#i should mention again that the criticism i'm talking about was actually quite a while back

[ageless-aislynn]

For 10 years, my fic with by far the most hits on AO3 was "Five Times Oliver Held Felicity (And The One Time She Held Him)."

And I'm proud of it, don't get me wrong. I think it actually contains some of my better writing. 🤷‍♀️ But it ended up being a one-off sort of thing: I thought I'd write more Olicity or Arrow in general and then just... didn't.

However, it was so far ahead of all of my other fics in hits, I figured nothing would ever challenge it for the top spot. I hadn't checked my stats in quite a while and so I was surprised to discover that the "Five Times" Olicity fic was now in second place.

I've written 114 fics in the Flash fandom and none of them have remained in my top 5, that was another surprise! But 3 of my 11 Halo fics now are: "15 Minutes," (John/female reader) "Side Effects" (John/Cortana, John/Kai, very NSFW) and "Recreation" (Kai/male reader, same world as "15 Minutes").

Now, why is any of that important? It's for the sheer fact that I don't write sci-fi military fiction well AT ALL. My interest has always been in the more domestic and romantic themes, for lack of a better thing to call it. "You write the moments between the adventures" was what somebody told me about my Doctor Who fics ("Balancing Act," which is third place on that list, is a multi-chaptered Ten/Donna NSFW romantic fix-it fic where every chapter clearly takes place after some sort of new adventure that I don't show you but instead reference 😉). I agree with that assessment, that IS basically what I write.

A little while ago, I read somebody criticizing a particular type of Halo fanfiction. They didn't name mine by name but basically said it wasn't written "properly" like it's "supposed" to be and was everything that's "wrong" with uninformed people writing things they shouldn't be.

Here's the kicker: I think they're wrong. If they would've pointed at somebody else's fic and said that same thing, I would've wanted to jump in and tell them to get over themselves. People are allowed to enjoy whatever they want to enjoy! If somebody wrote a story that's "wrong" in your opinion, then all you have to do is scroll on by.

Heck, if somebody wants to write about Master Chief riding into battle on a T-rex while waving a glowing, magic sword given to him personally by Gandalf the Grey... Well, dang it, I'd read it, lol! Yeah, that wouldn't take place in canon but what is fanfic even for if not to allow all sorts of exploration? What if Halo had dinosaurs and magic swords? What if Chief and Silver Team or Blue Team or a brand new team of OC Spartans desperately needed to go buy new curtains for their apartments after they'd hung out for a while at the most happening coffee shop on Reach where Thel 'Vadam was the barista who made amazing specialty drinks while also heading up the local garage band?

(Yeah, I made that manip for something else but might as well get more use out of it, right? 😂)

Anyway, you get my drift. If one of my fellow Halo writers would've gotten criticism like that, I would've challenged it. But it was too close to my own work and instead, I absorbed it. I feel like I shouldn't be writing for Halo, I'm too wrong, I'm too off. I mean, no wonder I'm struggling to finish my WIPs, right? That's the first thing that pops to mind when I try to write anything: Yeah, but you're doing this all wrong. You should be ashamed of what you're writing. You're insulting the real fans of Halo by trivializing the characters like this. You're disrespecting actual military people living today by getting too much of this wrong.

And so seeing those stats at AO3 really meant something to me. I know I don't write authentic action-orientated sci-fi military fiction. I know that. But I love the characters and I love seeing them in situations they wouldn't be in in canon and I can't even tell you why. But people have been reading my fics? At least, I hope the hits aren't coming from people passing the links around with a big ol' ZOMG, please don't ever write Halo like THIS IDIOT, okay??? attached to them. 🤞😣🤞😉

This sounds pretty silly seeing it written down like this. I know, it's like, Get over yourself, Ais, not everything is about you! But I've been really struggling to get to the root of my writer's block so I could figure out what's keeping me from finishing my WIPs. And seeing those stats tonight and realizing how many more times my Halo fics seem to have been read over my other fandoms...?

Well, that might only mean that Halo is just the more popular fandom right now and it's nothing more than that. But it's nice to think that, even though there are people out there who think somebody unqualified like me shouldn't be posting their ridiculous little stories, maybe there are other people who've enjoyed them, even as unauthentic as they are?

I dunno. Food for thought.

I'm hoping this will inspire me to at least finish up the next chapter for "15 Minutes." 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Thanks for reading. *hugs* to you if you've ever or are currently struggling with anything like this. Tell your stories, they're worth it. I believe in you. 🤗🤗🤗

I just need to try harder to believe in myself, hm? 🤔

PS - I've gotten SO MANY wonderful comments on my Halo fics, so why is it that the hate that might not even have been meant for me is so much louder in my head and crowds the nice comments out? I hate that, I truly do. 😖

[boothillssugarmomma]

Hello hello!

Can I request a Dr. Ratio x reader that's a team leader and they're assigned to work together, and while he's complaining (whining) about her team they're not having it and they bicker (divorced parents vibes fr) (they're both in denial of their feelings). Just Ratio not being used to someone else talking back to him (pls make them make out thank you for your time regardless, I love your writing!

THIS IDEA GAVE ME SO MUCH BUTTERFLIES MAKING 😭 I hope you like it as much as I did creating it!

🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀

Sparks of Synergy

(Ratio x Fem!Reader)

cw-: mean!ratio, insults of intelligence, heavily suggestive, smidge of nudity mentioned

🎀 authorsnote: this is my first request fic and I literally screamed and giggled when I saw it!

please don't steal my work!

Taglist🎀HSR Master List🎀Other Lists🎀

"This part of this project is so simple! How do you not understand!? We've already been through this part multiple times!" Ratio could already feel an argument or a migraine coming. All it took was one glance down at your paper for him to practically combust.

"Fix this." He orders. He's spent hours going back and forth with you, hovering over your shoulder like a vulture.

He could spot all sorts of microscopic mistakes that he just was practically begging to point out. He doesn't exactly know why he even bothers. It's obvious that you were hopeless the moment you were recruited for his team.

Though, he suppose it's better for your dimwitted self and the rest of your team to come to him instead of doing it yourselves.

Aeons, he wouldn't be able to take in the sight of you doing this project alone and failing or asking for help from another bumbling, no-nothing dumbass.

The doctor is the best chance you've got with actually completing correctly, whatever it is you need help with...and he wouldn't have it...Any. Other. Way.

"Just because you're the team leader of this little project doesn't mean you can be so bossy." You hum and keep working.

"Bossy? Me?" Ratio lets out a scoff. That's rich coming from you.

He raises an incredulous eyebrow as his stare narrows at your ridiculous comment. Does this fool have the guts to insult him?

He rolls his eyes at the fact that you had the audacity to claim that he's "bossy" when he's simply trying to keep things together. He's not bossy, he has a title to live up to, unlike the likes of you.

"Yes...bossy..." Your eyes glance over at his in a glare. "You want to make the team quit?" You scoff.

"Please." Ratio shoots a condescending glance your way, leaning back against a wall and crossing his arms.

"If they aren't capable enough to handle my expectations and methods, then it's best for them to leave. I'm doing them a favor here. You should be thanking me, quite honestly. I am your team leader after all. I know what's best for this group."

He smirks. You should be grateful that he even allowed you to be a part of this team at all.

as you continue to bicker and fight the whole day the rest of the team just watches on in silence, until one by one they all start to leave

Eventually you both notice that you two are the only one in the room. Ratio let out an exasperated scoff and pinches the bridge of his nose. The headache coming back.

"Look at what you've done now." He snaps, his gold eyes snapping back to you once more. "You and your incessant nagging caused the others to leave. What a surprise."

The sarcasm was evident in his voice. He can't stand this.

"Oh you're going to blame this on ME!?" You scoff and fold your arms. "If anything it was your snide comments..."

Ratio let's out a sharp laugh, scoffing once again and turning his chin in a prideful way.

"What snide comments? The only thing I said was criticism that would help you improve on your work. You, just like the rest of those dimwits, can't seem to understand. Do you have any idea of the standards I live up to?"

"It's the way you say it Veritas." You sigh and rub your forehead with your index and thumb.

The purple haired smart ass stiffens. His golden gaze locked onto your exasperated expression. How irritating. How annoying. It was like a buzzing insect flying near his ear, one he longed to swat at.

"Perhaps try working harder instead of being so sensitive, idiot..." He scoffs. He was simply offering constructive criticism. It's not his fault that your little self couldn't take it.

"Ok you see!" You groan and push off the table. "That's what they don't like!"

Ratio scowls slightly. The audacity of you was absolutely ridiculous. He steps closer.

"What, do you propose I use a more 'soft' approach? Perhaps a 'softer' tone?" *He mocks, a sarcastic smile stretching his features. Soft? That's laughable. He doesn't do soft.

"You're just like them. Soft and sensitive. I have no tolerance for useless emotions. Only facts."

"Maybe you'd have more friends if you were nicer!" You raise your voice and clap your hands together before taking a breath.

Ratio laughs lowly, mocking your outburst. You had no right to judge him like that.

"How childish. If they truly were my friend, they'd stand by my honest and factual criticism. You see it as 'mean'. I do not. What is so wrong with telling it how it is?

I don't expect you to understand. Your feeble brain simply wouldn't be able to comprehend the standards."

"Ratio not everyone appreciates your random analysis of them." You scoff.

The doctor gives you a condescending side-glance, rolling his eyes. Random analysis? Surely you were aware that everything he thought of was correct?

"The facts are just the facts. People can either be offended by it or be mature and understand. Clearly, maturity is not a word you know."

"You seem sensitive and weak minded...GET OUT!" You mock him and throw a piece of chalk at the chalkboard before folding your arms.

It takes all of Ratio's self-restraint to not burst out into a hysterical, mocking laughter. His face twists into a sneer. You were the delusional and insensitive one here.

It's not long before Dr. Ratio had pushed you back until you were pinned against the wall his body pressed so close to yours that you could feel his soft, warm breath hitting the side of your neck.

"Weak minded?" He chuckles lowly.

"I would never dream of being weak. Ever."

You both just gaze in each other's eyes for what seems like an eternity before you clear your throat. "We should probably...get back to work..."

Dr. Ratio had almost forgot he was pinning you to the wall, but at the comment, it had made him pull back away slightly. He stares for a few seconds before glancing away and scoffing once more.

"Right, there's no time to waste on worthless chatter. I suppose it's up to me to be the bigger man once again and carry this team." He crosses his arms.

You roll your eyes as you walk back over to the table and start working.

After a small while there is no talking or bickering...until you did a slight mishap on an equation

He often glanced over quietly to make sure the work you were doing was correct. There were a few moments where he had to glance away from how badly your mistakes had irked him. He took in a breath to calm himself down.

He would be lying if he said that the silence wasn't slightly refreshing. But...he's quickly pulled out of that mindset when you made a mistake.

He lets out an irritated sigh and stands.

"Really? Another mistake? At this rate you might as well give me the paper for me to finish it myself."

"Don't touch it!" You rip the paper away from his hands.

He scoffed, his eyes narrowing as a sneer stretches on his lips. He takes another step closer to you, crossing his arms.

"Care to repeat that, idiot? You dare to talk back to me?" Ratio's gaze darkened slightly, his golden eyes practically gleaming in the light.

"Oh don't act like you're all high and mighty!" You stalk towards him poking his chest with your finger. "You're not the big bad Ratio everyone says you are!"

The doctor lets out a mocking scoff, his gaze locked onto you in a cold glare. He swats your little finger away like it was nothing.

"Big bad Ratio? You clearly are more ridiculous than I had originally anticipated. What, are you scared of me? Do my words... frighten you?" He steps even closer into your personal space, his voice dropping into a low growl.

Your heart flutters as your eyes lock again. His gold gaze holding yours so perfectly. But your stance never falters.

Ratio's eyes narrow as he can feel his irritation rising once again. Why is this bothersome woman making his heart beat like this?

He scoffs.

"You're getting too comfortable around me. Have I not made it obvious that I'm superior than you in every way?" He grabs your chin with his thumb and index, angling your face up.

"Superior? Superior!?" You scoff and laugh.

Ratio sneers, practically looming over you.

"Do you want me to list down everything that makes me superior to you, little one? The list would go on for miles and miles."

He stares down at you with an intimidating smirk, his thumb pressing against your chin almost possessively.

You glance down at his lips before locking eyes again. "Shut it...doctor..."

Ratio smirks once more, a dark chuckle escaping his lips. His thumb traces your bottom lip slightly, admiring your features for a brief second before he lets out another scoff.

"You have the audacity to tell me that? Oh, you are a fool. A very adorable fool...now you should shut it."

"Shut. It. Or. I'll. Make. You." You whisper darkly.

Ratio's smirk widens for a moment, clearly amused and slightly caught off guard by your boldness. He lets out another scoff and leans down close to your ear, his hot breath brushing against your skin.

"And. How. Precisely. do you propose yourself to accomplish such a thing, hm?" He murmurs, a mocking but low chuckle falling from his lips.

You lean up and cut him off with a kiss. A soft one before pulling away slightly. You both gaze into each other's eyes.

Ratio's golden eyes widened slightly in surprise, not anticipating such a move. You...kissed him? How dare you act so brazenly? Yet...why did he like it...?

He lets the surprise linger in his expression for a few more seconds before he takes quick action. Ratio closes whatever space was in between you and pushes you back against the wall, his lips pressing against yours in a passionate and possessive kiss.

As the kiss grows to be more passionate small sounds can be heard escaping both of your throats as you entangle closer together

Ratio's hand wraps around your waist tightly, his other hand slipping into your hair to keep you closer against him. Your soft lips were so addicting, it made his heart flutter strangely in his chest. His tongue darted out to slide against your bottom lip, begging for entrance into your mouth.

You open your mouth just enough for his tongue to slide inside, and you begin to fight for dominance.

His tongue immediately sought for yours, exploring the inside of your mouth as a low groan escaped his throat. He began to press you more and more into the wall, his body pressing tightly onto yours with an iron grip on your waist.

He pulls you away from the wall to lay you on the table as he continues to kiss you

Ratio's hand traveled down to grab your thigh and hoist it up so your calf wraps around his waist as he deepened the kiss with a small hum, his body hovered over yours in an almost possessive manner. His long, slender fingers would slowly begin to slip under your shirt.

"MhM!" You groan into his mouth as he slides a hand over your breast.

Ratio let's out a low chuckle as he slowly begins to slide your shirt off, wanting to feel more and more of your skin against his. He began to trail small, light kisses down your neck, gently sucking on a particularly sensitive spot.

"V-Veritas" You whisper softly in his ear.

Ratio gives one final, rough suck onto that particular spot on the side of your neck, creating a small bruise. He pulled back slightly to look down at you. A low chuckle escaped his lips once more as he leaned in to brush his hot breath against your ear.

"Saying my name so nicely...You're almost making me want to ruin you."

You roll your eyes softly and laugh quietly.

"So doctor how long have you been hiding these feelings for me?" You tease as you kiss his cheek.

Ratio let's out a scoff, his face quickly flushing a dark red at your boldness. He was getting teased by you of all people. He doesn't remember the last time anyone has gotten the best of him in such a way.

He clears his throat and leans down to press a bruising kiss upon your jaw, beginning to trail his lips across your neck.

"...for a while..." He reluctantly answers.

"And is this your mhM way of asking me out?" You smirk through a small moan and tilt his chin up with your hand to meet your gaze.

Ratio's face flushed a dark shade of red at your question, his eyes narrowing as he let out a scoff. He was the Veritas Ratio. You have some nerve to tease him.

It takes him an embarrassingly long time to answer, his brain scrambled. He can feel your soft hand on his chin, gently making him meet your gaze.

"...I suppose so." He finally admits sheepishly.

"Does this mean you're going to be nicer to me?" You lean forward to kiss his forehead.

The doctors golden eyes widened slightly at the small kiss on his forehead, his face flushing a deeper shade of red. He didn't expect you to get this affectionate with him. He glanced off to the side with a scoff.

"I-I already am nice to you. I'm...simply just more blunt than other people." He mumbled almost defensively.

You both pause as you throw your head back to laugh. "You're very funny doctor!"

His eyebrows furrow slightly in annoyance. You...laughed at him. He would have reprimanded you if it wasn't for the fact that your laughter was incredibly cute. He would huff in irritation, crossing his arms.

"It's not nice to laugh at me, you know..." He grumbles with a slight pout.

"Fine fine... I'm sorry~" you lean forward to whisper in his ear.

Ratio's face flushed an even darker shade of red as your soft whisper sent a shiver down his spine. His hands gripped slightly onto your hips, holding you against him firmly. He let out a sigh at your teasing words.

"...you're insufferable...I hate how adorable you are." He mumbled lowly, his voice dropping a degree as he stared down at you.

As he lifts you off the table and puts you back on the ground you smile softly "Yeah but you like meee~" You poke his chest softly.

Ratio quietly scoffs again, although his face was still flushed a dark shade of red. Why, you...! You had him wrapped around your finger. His eyes narrowed, yet the corner of his lip twitched into a smirk.

His arm loosely looped around your waist and bring you close to him, letting out a low chuckle as he rested his chin on top of your head.

"Shut up...you are so fuckin...insufferable." He mumbled lowly, not denying anything you said.

You press a kiss to his throat and smile. "Shall we get back to work...my love?"

A shiver raced down Ratio's spine at the small kiss, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. His heart thumped in his chest, the soft fluttering feeling in his chest only growing. No, not during work hours. He must not get distracted until the work is done.

He gave a firm nod, his golden eyes locking onto your gaze.

"...Yes, my dear..."

As he turns to the table you smirk. "Oh and Veritas?" You smile innocently as he turns back to you.

"After work..." You slide a hand up his chest until it rests on his heart. "I want you to show me just how insufferable I. Really. Am."

Ratio's eyes widen slightly before they narrow into a smirk, catching onto your words almost instantly. He raised an eyebrow as he watched you.

"A challenge? You seem so confident, my idiot..." He murmured. He grabbed the hand on his chest and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss to the palm of your hand.

He leaned close once more, and with a seductive whisper, and smirk, answered.

"You're on."

🎀End🎀

[dorayakichan]

Hello 🤗 can I pls request dating + jealousy headcanons for Harry from windbreaker? Hope you have a great day 😊 thank you ❤️

Harry Shepherd Windbreaker : dating + jealousy headcanon

Genre: headcanon, fluff

CW: MDNI, slight mention of smut, fluff, jealousy

A/N: I've got a weird crush for Harry so I'm really happy when I get requests with him. I hope I can get even more! Thank you for the request!!💕​

If we could start with something, the first thing to say is that Harry is not the nicest kind of boyfriend. He has quite a foul mouth and doesn’t differentiate where or with whom he uses that. 

There is no doubt though, that he tries to correct that habit of his when he is talking with you. And you can sense that and are extremely happy that for you he is trying to change that.

He is the kind of boyfriend that notices. Even if he is throwing a fit about a race, even if he is blinded by rage due to something, the slightest flinch or scared expression coming from you will make him immediately stop what he is doing and try to calm down. He doesn’t want to scare you in any way possible.

Although he might have a thing or two to say about your cooking he never leaves the plate unfinished, he actually asks for a refill just to get it over with so he won’t have to eat the same thing again next time. Yet, he tries not to hurt your feelings by giving just some subtle constructive criticism about adding a bit more salt or stuff like that. 

He is the kind who loves showering with you, there is something about the feeling of the water dripping down your frame that makes him go crazy. As you both wash each other's body, so close skins, brushing against one another excite him and at the same time, relax him to such an extent he will do one of the two things after. Intense sex or sleep hugging you tightly like a little baby. 

No matter which of the two he chooses to do he will end up falling asleep holding you because your presence calms him immensely. 

He is rough during sex and he does try hard not to be. No matter how much he does, your body will never end up unbruised. How could it anyway with such a big and strong guy, you are lucky to end up with just that. His stamina too is one of a kind, especially when he sees you dressed sexily. So don’t do that if you don’t want to end up staying in bed for a whole week or worse end up at the doctor. Embarrassing! Do not recommend it.

Jealous? He is extremely to the point you fear the idea of someone else coming up to flirt with you because you know well enough Harry won’t be calm about it, he will be furious. You are his and only his and no one should even dare to approach you.  

Well, not many have the guts to as you both stay attached to the hip most of the time. Who would dare approach you while the bulky , huge blonde guy stands next to you anyway? 

He also won’t let it pass if anyone catcalls you or stares at you for more than a normal person should. Yet, he never stops you from dressing in any kind of way you won’t.

“It’s fine I can beat them all up, so if you like it wear it.” He says if you ever worry about wearing way too revealing outfits.

[thebroccolination]

I'm curious about something! In your opinion, which Between Us Specials are BounPrem and which are WinTeam? You mentioned on your last post staff and SWS were very mich aware of the mix, so 🤔🤔 Curious Stephh 🤭

Oooooohohoho, this is a fun ask!

THE BETWEEN US SPECIALS BOUNPREM vs. WINTEAM

Week 1

90% WinTeam

I'd call this one pretty solidly in character. Team moves around in his sleep a lot, Win grumbles a bit, gives Team a kiss on the cheek before he gets out of bed, and Team has an emotional meltdown because he was awake. I think Prem's just a tiiiny bit giddier than Team would be.

70% WinTeam

I think they both borrowed a little too much from their own personalities for this one, Boun more than Prem. Like, Boun's smile and laugh when he realizes Team wants a kiss goodbye are very much his own.

100% WinTeam

And thus, my overall favorite! Win pretends to be exasperated for three seconds, Team is a coddled baby, and Win is smitten. I'm pretty sure these are supposed to be set in the future, like Win's fourth year and Team's second, so this matches up perfectly with how they'd be down the road.

Week 2

30% WinTeam

This is very, very BounPrem to me. Boun just seems to be having fun with the goofy setup, and Prem's reaction at the end is a little too cartoonish. (Also, If I'm remembering right, the original skit Sheep wrote had them eating actual ice cream, so it melted faster and the tone was a little more ~erotic~. The popsicle they got for this scene wasn't really melting, though, so I think it made the scene a lot goofier than it was supposed to be.)

20% WinTeam

This one really drives home a comment Boun made about these special episodes: he found laughing as Win especially challenging because Win didn't really laugh in UWMA. He was fairly collected and calm for most of his scenes, so these lighthearted episodes where he laughs quite a bit are when Boun shines through most obviously. Like, this is just Boun being silly with Prem.

20% WinTeam

Again, this is mostly BounPrem goofing off and being cute. I remember Thai fans were very, "lol so this is a BounPrem week," when these three aired. It was cute, it just wasn't WinTeam Cute.

Week 3

0% WinTeam, 0% BounPrem

This was based on a short social media skit Sheep wrote in 2020. If I'm remembering correctly, Team pokes at his stomach and whines because the pool is closed during lockdown, so Win basically suggests sex as exercise instead. So it's another skit that was originally hinting at an erotic ending aaand turned goofy in the special episode. I honestly pretend this one doesn't exist. I didn't like the weight-shaming in UWMA and I liked it even less in the special episodes. But to give credit where it's due, when fans reached out to Paaty and Dao (BP's managers) about, they said they'd talked to New about it and he said they'd discuss the issue in more detail. So far, there hasn't been anything like it in BU, so it seems like they took the criticism seriously. (And considering one of their favorite sponsors is a plastic surgery clinic that specializes in weight loss, I'm impressed. Fingers crossed it lasts for the rest of BU.) Anyway, Win wouldn't weight-shame his boyfriend. NOT MY WINTEAM.

Note: Weight's a common topic in Asia, I know. When I lived in Japan, it was fairly common to get a cheerful, "You're skinnier/you got fat!" as a greeting from people I hadn't seen in a while. Still, it's one of those cultural things I don't think should be excused just because it's cultural. It just think it's universally unnecessary to comment on other people's bodies, y'know? You don't know what they're going through, it's not yours to comment on, etc. Plus I really don't like the position it puts Prem in.

5% WinTeam

Pffft. I'm remembering how much I disliked Week 3. This week was the one that really worried me about Between Us and how they'd portray Team. Like, why would he be this averse to sex in the special episodes, which are meant to be set when they've been dating for a while…? It just gave me those old-school BL vibes where the ~bottom~ is all "nooOoOOOoOoo I'm pure and I don't like sex" and I want to stab myself in the eye.

30% WinTeam

I think Boun channels the exasperation Win would feel, but Prem plays Team slightly too much like a caricature of Team for me. And then the whole second half is just playful Boun being playful Boun. And again, the "NOOOO NOT SEEEEX" thing.

Note: The locker room scene in BU damn near made me cry. I had almost no hope of them showing Team that enthusiastic about sex after the special episodes.

Week 4

90% WinTeam

Team's asleep throughout the scene, so this was all up to Boun, and he did well, I think! He's a little softer on the ABC gang than I think Win would be, but otherwise I think it's solid. Also, Team reaching for Win in his sleep is my second-favorite moment in these.

Note: N'aw, first introduction of the alphabet! (Minus Art, who was cast later as A.)

90% WinTeam

I was enormously relieved when this one aired because it actually had Team initiating sex. Yay! And the music is ridiculous, but I also really liked Prem's initial frustration/anxiety. He plays it a little too over the top, but in general this is probably my third-favorite scene.

Week 5

0% WinTeam

This is 100% BounPrem. The feet-kicking from Boun, the teasing from Prem, etc. This is WinTeam cosplaying BounPrem.

50% WinTeam

This is very cute, absolutely, but I don't see Win being this taken aback by a cheek kiss after they've been dating for months or possibly a year. Prem did fine though! This feels very much like Team.

60% WinTeam

Especially when you compare this to the horror movie scene in the main series, it's very, very clear that Boun's reaction here is zero percent Win and all himself. BUT there he tells Team he'll stay until it ends felt like Win. I can't decide where I fall on Team telling Win he's cute: it feels like Prem, but it's got Team's sass, so I'll lean in Team's favor for this one.

Week 6

50% WinTeam

This is EXTREMELY FUNNY but it's also EXTREMELY BOUNPREM. In fairness, I think Prem managed to stay mostly in character, but just look at that expression up there. That's 100% my gentle chaotic son Boun. <3

60% WinTeam

It's a little more in-character than the last one but it's still a little caricature-y.

BASICALLY, there's a reason why they put a "we're just fucking around, don't take this seriously" disclaimer at the start of every episode. I saw someone on here call the special episodes extended character workshops, which is genius and probably true.

Regardless of whether they'e more WinTeam or BounPrem, they're very cute and they kept us fed while we waited. <3

And it shows how much they've grown!

[literaticat]

Question re the ask regarding the author who got the edit letter. While I know an edit letter is common, if it requires such huge changes wouldn’t the publisher have mentioned that at the offer stage or given some indication they’d require lots of changes? Can an author ever pull out at this stage? I imagine most don’t and knuckle down and do the edits but if it’s a really major edit or full rewrite wouldn’t the author have grounds to end the deal if this wasn’t indicated before signing?

My apologies, I think a couple of you may have read the ask from yesterday and felt like I was saying something a little different from what I was trying to say. That's on me! Maybe I made it sound too dramatic! (But it clearly does FEEL dramatic to OP, and to the authors I'm talking about who have said these exact words to me in the past.)

My point was just, yes, it IS totally normal to feel overwhelmed/freaked out by an edit letter when you first get it, and for the auto-reaction to be either "omg they hate this book" or "I can't do this" or "they are wrong" or etc etc.

You'll note, though, that I didn't actually say that the edits they are being asked for are anything close to "a total rewrite" or "such huge changes". More that it often FEELS that way to the author when they first get the letter. You've been waiting for this letter for perhaps months and months. You're already a little intimidated by your editor even if they are the nicest ever. Finally, a 10-page edit letter lands in your inbox.

Gut reaction: AHHHH THEY HATE IT! Because what the author SEES at a glance is a big ol 10 page document full of criticism -- but when the author takes a deep breath and looks at it properly with an unscrambled brain, they will see that it is in fact five pages of praise, and five pages of questions and suggestions.

Edit letters are not generally dictatorial, like "you must change XYZ and totally rewrite this" -- it's much more likely to be something like "I'm loving this scene, but I'm just not sure why so-and-so makes this choice here, it kind of seems to come out of nowhere -- can you clarify?" -- it's things to think about. Maybe it's resolved by something as simple as adding a line of dialogue from that character or another. Maybe it's something that needs to be woven into his backstory, like, you as an author KNOW why he made that choice, it's because of the bike accident he had when he was ten, but that isn't on the page, so maybe you add a flashback in a different chapter to resolve this question. OR -- maybe you just leave it a mystery. Like, it's your book, there's very little you HAVE to change if you really disagree.

This is hard work, not because you are rewriting a book from the ground up or something - - this is not demolition derby time -- it's actually the opposite of that. It's hard work because it's thoughtful and careful. You are getting to look at the book through somebody else's eyes (somebody who probably has a LOT of expertise about story and who has distance that you are too close to the work to have) -- somebody who is, in fact, trying to take what you already have and make it the best it can be, NOT destroy it. That's valuable! You don't have to make every change or address every question they ask, but you probably SHOULD at least THINK about all of them -- because if they have a problem understanding XYZ, it's quite likely a regular reader will, too. (I talk more about this in some of the Revision posts in the FAQ).

That's why IMO when you get an edit letter by all means look at it -- BUT THEN STEP AWAY FROM IT. You don't want to knee-jerk reaction this. Take your time, think about it, and then when you approach it again, look at what it is actually saying and asking you to do, and take it bird by bird.

If it requires such huge changes wouldn’t the publisher have mentioned that at the offer stage or given some indication they’d require lots of changes? Yep -- if they really did want a total rewrite or just A BIG EDIT that might take it the book in a very different direction from what you intended -- they would have said so at the offer stage and it would be a point of discussion. If you indicated you really were not in agreement with that, they probably wouldn't have offered at all.

Can an author ever pull out at this stage? I mean I guess they can if they want, but a) again, the editor probs would have said so ahead of time if it was really THAT major a rewrite, b) if you are going to break contracts just because you don't want to revise, that's not a great look and probably doesn't bode well for getting future contracts. I would just, you know, take a beat before returning the money and breaking the contract. That's a nuclear option, last-resort kind of thing to do -- conversations should probably happen before you go there!

[7-wonders]

The Devil You Know

Michael Langdon x Reader (Mad Love Act II, Chapter VIII)

Summary: It's Fall Break, and Michael's taking you on a trip! Of course, it wouldn't be an outing with Michael Langdon without supernatural happenings.

Word Count: 4.9k

Author's Note: Well, well, well, look who updated Mad Love! I promise that the next chapter will not be nearly as long of a wait; I'm already halfway through writing it. As always, likes, comments, and reblogs are sorely appreciated because it lets me know that this fandom's not dead.

Mad Love Masterlist

When Michael sits next to you while you’re reading a book for your thesis class, you don’t really pay attention beyond smiling at him. After all, you both tend to seek each other out just to enjoy being together, so why should this be any different than any of the other thousand times?

But then you can feel him looking at you. When you look up at him, you only see the swish of his hair as he rapidly looks down at your phone. Chalking this up to him just admiring you (because your beloved husband is very much a devoted simp, even though he doesn’t really understand what you mean when you call him that), you uneasily go back to reading. That is, until you can feel his eyes on you again. 

Sighing, you close the book and turn to face him fully. “What is it?”

“What’s what?” Michael at least tries to act like he has no clue what you’re talking about, which is mildly amusing.

“Why are you acting so…” you wave your hands, attempting to convey how he’s been acting. “Weird?”

“I’m not!”

You give him “The Look,” which you like to think you’ve perfected by now. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” 

You wait in silence, giving him one last chance to come clean before slowly opening your book again. It’s only a matter of minutes before Michael breaks.

“You have Fall Break coming up, right?”

You nod and try not to smirk at how good you are at reading Michael. “Next week.”

“How do you feel about coming on a trip with me?”

“A trip? Where?” You’re expecting him to say somewhere romantic, like Paris or Venice. Maybe he’s finally going to properly woo you in a foreign locale like you’ve been teasing him about for so long.

What you don’t expect is what he says. “New Orleans.”

“New Orleans?” You furrow your eyebrows. An interesting city, sure, but not quite what you would have imagined for your first actual trip with Michael.

“Yes.”

“Like ’New Orleans’-New Orleans?”

Michael laughs. “Yes, the one and only.”

“Why?” You try not to grimace. “Is it Cooperative stuff?”

“No, it’s not Cooperative stuff. Officially, I’m going there because my Father has requested that I deal with some disturbances in the French Quarter.”

You ignore the fact that he’s acting as his dad’s loyal little follower, because the memory of what Cordelia said to you is still extremely fresh in your mind. You’re both on thin ice right now, and the only real way to avoid major consequences is to begrudgingly play along…for now, at least. Instead, you think about what business would bring Michael to that area, and a lightbulb goes off over your head (figuratively, because the last time that an idea came to you and Michael turned a lightbulb above you on, you almost smacked him). “Papa Legba?”

Michael nods.

“I thought Papa Legba and your dad had different domains.”

“Technically, Papa Legba…serves under Satan. He’s a gatekeeper between humanity and the underworld. I don’t have all the specifics yet, but it seems as though he’s not sticking to the responsibilities laid out for him.” You want to mutter something about temperamental rulers of Hell, but Michael’s continuing before you can. “Unofficially, I’m using it as a chance to go and look over Robichaux’s grimoires in the hopes of finding an answer for our Cordelia problem.”

You perk up at the mention of your best friend’s dwelling, and you can see how Michael stifles a smile at you having the anticipated response. Still, you try to look at least a little critical of this plan, and say, “So you want to drag me along on a work trip.”

“It wouldn’t be all work! We could explore–you love old architecture, and the French Quarter is full of it. Plus there’s lots of music and dancing, and we can go to a museum or two.” He’s really pulling out all of the stops here, checking all of the boxes on the buzzwords that make you say yes.

And you do say yes. “Fine, let’s go to New Orleans next week.”

Michael presses a kiss to your cheek and grins, hugging you tightly to him. “I love you so, so much.”

“You’re annoying me!” you playfully grumble and attempt to shove him off of you. “You already got me to say yes, you don’t have to suck up anymore.”

His annoyingly skillful fingers begin to trail down your sides until they come to a stop over your hips. “I can definitely be a little more convincing, if that will help.”

“I’m trying to work right now, and you’re making it extremely difficult.”

“That’s the point.”

You glower at him, though you can’t hold the angry expression for long. “You’re gonna make me change my answer. Now leave me be so that way I don’t have work to do while we’re on this trip.”

Michael takes a step away from you, a wicked grin on his face. “Alright, I’ll leave you for now. I have to go and arrange our transportation and lodgings, anyways.”

Thankfully, Michael elects to enjoy the comforts of flying for this trip, instead of any number of weird, magical transportation methods. You get to fly on a private jet, which is one of the coolest, most bougie things you’ve ever done. When you and Michael walk onto the tarmac to get on said private jet, you feel like a movie star.

The flight is the definition of comfort, and you’re almost sad when the plane begins to make its descent into New Orleans. Though, from what Michael’s told you (he’s kept where you’re staying a secret, wanting to surprise you), the hotel is going to be just as five-star as the plane. The Cooperative, or the Satanists, or maybe Satan himself–whoever is funding this trip, they don’t spare any expense when it comes to the comfort of the Antichrist.

Of course, there's business to be taken care of before the fun can actually begin.

When not filming her wildly popular daytime talk show in Los Angeles, Dinah Stevens holds court in a small “production studio” in New Orleans (notably outside of the traditional voodoo territory of the French Quarter). At least, that’s what it is officially. Unofficially, it’s where potential clients can come and seek the help of the “Voodoo Queen of New Orleans”. Though you never met her predecessor, the vibe that you’re getting is that she would be rolling in her grave at Dinah basically advertising her voodoo services.

The studio, though small, is clean and trendy. A receptionist sits behind a minimalist desk answering phone call after phone call, and the TV in the reception area (predictably) plays old episodes of Dinah’s show. When you and Michael enter, he waves his hand and shuts the TV off, causing the receptionist to look up.

“Good afternoon,” the receptionist greets, “what can I do for you today?”

“Is Dinah in?” Michael asks.

“She is, but I’m afraid that she’s busy with a couple of interviews. I can definitely pencil you in for later this week, though.”

“Oh, no need.” With a simple smile, Michael has the receptionist’s head dropping to the desk as he falls asleep.

You look over at Michael and laugh. “That’s so cool.”

He grins at you before holding open the door to what’s presumably Dinah’s offices. “After you.”

Where the reception area was sleek and minimalist, Dinah’s–dressing room, would be the best way to describe it–personal rooms are filled to the brim with personality. Awards line the far wall, with her three Daytime Emmys proudly taking center stage. There’s a wardrobe rack with flashy clothes on it, as well as plenty of different shoes. If you didn’t know better, you’d think you were in a completely different building.

The woman herself enters her dressing room from another door opposite the one that you and Michael are standing in front of. Her hair is natural, with a leopard-print headband keeping it out of her face. It allows you to very clearly see the way that her brown eyes widen in shock and fear when she looks at Michael. She staggers back a couple of steps, but otherwise stays put. There’s nowhere for her to go; not when the Antichrist has come knocking for a meeting.

“Dinah Stevens,” Michael greets formally, his fingers running along a curtain hanging from the door frame. Dinah’s jaw tightens at this, but she doesn’t rebuke him for touching what’s not his. She can’t. Not when her magic is nothing compared to that of Michael’s.

“Antichrist.” Her eyes settle on you, and she smirks. “Mrs. Antichrist. Glad to see that there’s no lasting effects from Satan’s little poison apple trick.”

“Thank you for your help with that, by the way,” you say. “I couldn’t properly thank you the last time I saw you.”

She smiles just slightly, but the majority of her attention remains focused on Michael. “Can’t say I wasn’t expecting this little visit, though I was hoping that I would be wrong.”

“You know why we’re here, then?” Michael asks.

“Word on the street is that Papa’s not keeping the scales balanced lately.”

“That’s what I’m here to figure out.” Michael moves to stand directly in front of Dinah in what you assume is some sort of a power play. “I need you to facilitate a meeting between myself and Papa Legba.”

Dinah whistles under her breath. “That’ll cost you a pretty penny, Langdon.”

“I’m aware. As is my father. Name your price.”

She pretends to think about it, but you can both see the dollar signs that are flashing in her eyes. “A hundred grand. Cash.”

Michael rolls his eyes, but nods and smirks. “Done.”

Less than thirty seconds later, Dinah’s phone dings from her dressing room table. She checks the notification, and based on her reaction, it’s likely her bank alerting her of a large deposit into her account. Satisfied, she sits down in the chair at her dressing room table and looks back at Michael through the mirror.

“Come back tonight, then,” she says. “Nine o’clock, sharp.”

Michael, ever the dramatic, grabs your hand and transmutes you both back to the reception area. You scowl at him as soon as his two figures morph back into one. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t. Besides, you didn’t even come close to throwing up this time!” You’re not actually serious in your grumbling–you just wanted to clear up some of the darkness that’s lingered over Michael like a shroud since the moment you stepped into this studio. “C’mon, I want to take you to Robichaux’s. You’re going to love it.”

Before you leave Dinah’s studio, Michael lifts a hand and the receptionist springs back up to a sitting position as if nothing happened. In his mind, it is as if nothing happened. He smiles at both of you and cheerily calls out, “Have a nice day!”

“Thanks, you too!” you say over your shoulder as the door shuts. The bright afternoon sun makes you squint in order to properly see as you turn to look at Michael. “You’ve been there before?”

“Only once or twice, when I was at Hawthorne and the Council was testing my abilities.”

Grabbing your phone, you pull up Mallory’s contact and text her, “We’re coming for you bby!!!” Almost immediately, she responds with a bunch of heart emojis. 

Though you can see the teasing smile on Michael’s face as you start to hurry him along, he thankfully remains quiet. At least he’s smiling now; an actual smile, and not his haughty “I’m-the-Antichrist-and-I’m-better-than-all-of-you” smile. This, in your opinion, is much better, and you’re happy to hold onto his arm this time and allow him to transmute you again.

Miss Robichaux’s is a beautiful, white, Antebellum-style mansion that rests in the old neighborhoods just outside of the city. The grounds are spacious and well-kept, and there’s a wrought-iron gate that surrounds the perimeter. A brass plate attached to the stone of the main gate reads, “Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies.” It looks so picturesque, and nothing at all like what you had expected when Mallory and Michael called it a boarding school. You had been thinking of something from Oliver Twist, not a cute house that you honestly wouldn’t mind living in.

The black front door opens before you even make it up the front steps. A couple of young girls, no older than 15 and both dressed in black, walk outside. When they see Michael, they immediately start giggling and whispering to each other. You don’t blame them.

“Seems like you have a little fan club already,” you mutter to him as you pass the girls. Michael smiles at them politely, and you think you hear them both squeal quietly before they hurry towards the front gates.

“What?” He’s blushing now. “What makes you say that?”

“Because I was a fifteen-year-old girl once, and I would have acted the exact same way.” You lift up your joined hands so that you can kiss the back of his, but you quickly forget that when you see your favorite witch running down the large staircase inside the house and towards you.

“Mallie!” You drop Michael’s hand so that you can run through the door to throw your arms around the petite woman, who already has her arms outstretched and waiting for you.

You collide into each other as you hug tightly, swaying back and forth. God, you’ve missed her so much. Eventually, Mallory pulls away just enough to look at you as she exclaims, “I can’t believe that you’re here!”

“I know!”

“You two just saw each other a month ago,” Michael notes from behind you, the amusement heavily coloring his tone.

“Yeah, but it’s different because you’re here in New Orleans!” Mallory says.

“I’m happy for both of you, but, uh…” You both look over, where Michael’s stuck on the outside of the threshold like a vampire. “I seem to not be allowed inside.”

Mallory smiles at him sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t realize that there were still wards up to guard the house.”

“What’s the house being guarded from?” you ask.

Michael and Mallory both look at each other before Mallory says, “Michael.”

“What? Why?”

Mallory’s the first one to speak, though you can tell she doesn’t really want to. “There was a…time, after the coven had burned Ms. Mead for her crimes and before the Church of Satan had kidnapped you to be married to Michael, where he had threatened retribution on the school, on the girls. We took the necessary precautions to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to do so.”

You look at Michael in shock. “Retribution? Like, you threatened to kill them?”

“I was mad with grief, okay?” Michael begins to explain himself. “They killed the woman that was the closest thing to a mom that I had. I didn’t know what to do next, and I was very easily swayed by the influence of the Church. The witches were my enemies.” He pauses. “Cordelia was my enemy.”

“That was then, under the old regime. This is now.” Mallory smiles and makes a motion through the air with her left hand. “Michael Langdon, find yourself forever welcome in our domain.”

Michael steps through the doorway with ease now, though you’re half-expecting him to burst into flames in some sort of magic demon trap. Mallory sighs, apparently having had the same apprehensions as you. For now, though, all seems well.

The large foyer is bathed in sunlight from the windows three stories up, and you take a moment to bask in the grandiosity of this mansion before doors open and the house is flooded with girls having finished their classes. It’s organized chaos, and you find yourself subconsciously bracing yourself as if you’re about to be faced with a bully and feel a lot like the fifteen-year-old girl you told Michael that you once were.

Most of the students cast at least a cursory look at the three of you; after all, their Supreme with two mysterious strangers is undoubtedly going to end up as big news for the students of this school. Still, none of them do anything beyond shooting a friendly smile to Mallory and scurrying off to their dorms or their next class.

When all of the students have made it to where they’re meant to be and your little group is once again alone, Michael and Mallory smile at each other. You feel a lot like the odd man out, and so you say, “What’s so funny?”

“I just had quite the feeling of deja vu,” Michael explains, Mallory nodding in agreement.

“Wait. You told me you were here a couple of times when you were a Hawthorne student. So why did you and Mallory never meet before me?”

“Us students were taken on ‘field trips’ when the warlocks visited. Cordelia and Myrtle didn’t trust warlocks–”

“For good reason,” Michael interrupts with a scoff.

“Yes, for good reason. But yeah, that’s why we never met.” Mallory hops up the first couple of steps, as light on her feet as a fawn in a spring meadow. “C’mon, I’ll show you to the library. That’s where we keep all of the grimoires.”

“And what will you do, then? While I’m perusing your fine collection?”

“I’m gonna give Y/n the grand tour.”

The ‘grand tour’ after Michael is dropped off in the small home library is a quick run-through of the house before you find yourselves hiding out in Mallory’s bedroom and gossiping. Her bedroom, like the rest of the house, is almost sterile levels of white. You’re glad to see the posters and art that decorate the large bedroom and make the room seem more lived-in.

“This where the magic happens?” you ask Mallory, flopping down on her large, four-poster bed. She tosses a couple of books down on her desk before following your lead and falling opposite you. When you look at each other upside down, you break out into giggles.

“God, I’m too busy for any of that.” She sighs and rubs her eyes in exhaustion, careful not to smear her makeup. “I regret every time I was as much of a terror as these girls are. They’re going to give me gray hairs, I swear.”

You sit up, lifting Mallory’s head into your lap so that you can give her an impromptu head massage. “You also became Supreme pretty prematurely, if I remember correctly.”

“My own fault. I’m reaping what I’ve sowed.”

“You’re being quite the Negative Nancy.”

“No, I'm a Melancholy Mallory.”

You choke back a laugh at her retort. “Are you doing all of this alone?”

“Am I doing what alone?”

“Running the school, teaching the next generation of witches.”

“Kind of.” Reluctantly, she pulls her head out of your lap. The topic, you can tell, makes her feel uncomfortable. “Cordelia and Myrtle were the ones with all of that wisdom, and now they’re gone. I don’t know anybody that can help me delegate these responsibilities.”

“There’s not an alumni association of former students that you could call on to see if they’d be interested in coming back?”

“There probably is. Word hasn’t really gotten out yet about Cordelia dying, and I doubt they’ll support me as their Supreme when they find out I’m the reason that Cordelia’s dead.”

“Don’t say that,” you scold harshly.

“Why not? It’s true.”

“No it’s not. The only person that Cordelia has to blame for her death is her. Not you, not me, not Michael. Her.”

Mallory’s big eyes well with tears, and she looks down at her hands in her lap. It’s obvious now that she hasn’t really had the chance to process Cordelia’s death and everything that happened just a couple months ago. You feel stupid for not realizing that it would be affecting her so deeply. It should have been clear, even when she was smiling and having fun with you and Kate at Homecoming, that she was deeply mourning the loss of someone who she had once seen as a beloved mentor.

“I–” Mallory’s voice breaks, and she takes a long moment before finding it in her to speak again. “How could I not be to blame? I was the reason that Cordelia was able to kidnap you. I was the one who regretted it enough to go to Michael and tell him what had happened, and I stood by as he killed her.”

“You’re wrong. Cordelia manipulated you, Mallory, and she used you to her advantage. Her choices led to her death.”

“I just feel so guilty,” she confesses.

“And you can feel guilty. I’m not telling you that your feelings towards this aren’t valid. But you need to know that you’re not the guilty party here, okay?”

Mallory finally looks up at you, tears streaming down her face. You can tell that she’s going to attempt to argue this point, so you grab her face in your hands.

“Mallory. You are not guilty. You didn’t kidnap me, and you didn’t come up with the plan to kidnap me. Michael would have found me, with or without your help. Without you, it would have just taken him a little bit longer. And you are not the one that killed Cordelia. If you were, for some reason, to have stood in Michael’s way, he would have killed you as well.”

She nods, though it’s a little difficult to do so considering you’re still holding onto her. You want her to believe you wholeheartedly, but you know that she can’t. Not yet. She needs time and healing, and one conversation isn’t going to absolve her of the guilt that she feels. But you can’t help but to hope that this will be the start of that healing.

“I know you don’t believe it yet, but can you say it for me?” you ask.

Mallory takes a couple of deep, gasping breaths. Her hands grip your wrists, whether for stability or grounding, and she finally says, “I am not guilty.”

“Damn right you’re not.” You fully hug her then, allowing her to collapse into your arms. Stroking a hand through her hair, you rock her back and forth with you on the bed as she cries. “And I’m gonna make you say it every day, so you better mark off time in your busy Supreme schedule for when I call.”

“God, you’re stubborn.” She laughs through her tears, but at least she’s laughing.

“You love it.”

“Yeah, I do.”

By the time Michael finally finishes his research in the library, it’s as if nothing happened. Mallory has led you to one of her favorite spots in the large backyard: a hammock under one of the old wisteria trees towering over the yard. The sun is beginning to slowly make its descent, casting golden waves of light over both of you as you doze in the hammock, your head laying next to Mallory’s feet and vice versa. A light breeze blows the hammock back and forth just slightly, though you suspect that Mallory might have something to do with this.

Your eyes flutter open when you feel a pair of lips on your forehead, and you look up and smile upon meeting Michael’s gaze. “Hey. How’d it go?”

“Alright, I guess. There’s some texts about banishing spirits, but they involve sending the spirits to my father’s domain, so not exactly doable.”

You frown. “I’m sorry. We still have time, though! I’ll help you after your break.”

“Mm, I figured I’d call it a night, actually. We only have about three hours until we have to meet Dinah, and I thought you might like to go explore some of New Orleans with me.”

“Are you asking me out on a date, Michael?”

“That depends, are you going to accept?”

“I don’t know, Mallory and I are pretty busy right now.”

Across from you, Mallory groans. “Disgusting, both of you. How dare you flirt at my school, in front of me.”

“I can flirt with you too, Mal. All you have to do is ask.”

“No, you can not flirt with Mal,” Michael says with jealousy lacing his tone.

You and Mallory both laugh. “I’m teasing, Michael. But yes, I would love to explore New Orleans with you.”

“You’re meeting Dinah at nine?” Mallory asks. When Michael nods, she sits up and stretches. “I have a couple of things to give you for protection, just in case she tries to double cross you. Give me five minutes to grab them before you jet off on your date.”

When Mallory goes back inside through the open French doors, Michael takes her place on the hammock. You begrudgingly sit up as well, leaning your head on his shoulder as you fully wake up from your post-nap state.

“So, a date? Where are we going?” you ask.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Michael says.

“You know that I don’t really like surprises.”

“Well I love surprises, and they do say that relationships are all about compromises.”

When you pout, Michael kisses your lips to try and remove the pout from your face. It works, but for argument’s sake, you keep it on in an exaggerated fashion. “Can I at least get a hint?”

“Hmm.” Michael pretends to think. “There’ll be music?”

You furrow your eyebrows, already thinking about what it could be. A bar? No, that’s not really Michael’s scene. Maybe some sort of a live performance. But still, knowing Michael, there will be more than just the music. Now you’re excited, and he can tell that you are.

“Food, too,” he adds.

“Good, I’m starving.” And you are starving. You haven’t eaten since the plane this morning, and the nonstop action of today means that hunger is just starting to catch up to you.

Mallory nearly skips to you, her arms full of stuff. You’re not quite sure what you could possibly need to prepare for this meeting (after all, you’ve never really interacted with voodoo practitioners), and as you look at the items she hands to Michael, you still can’t make any sense of their significance. Luckily, Mallory explains them one by one.

As she gives Michael a small box, she says, “Cuban cigars for the offering. They’re Papa’s favorite.”

A bottle with crushed up herbs, she explains, “This mandrake will help to amplify your magic. Though Dinah will be doing the summoning, with this, Papa Legba should be bound by the laws of your magic and not hers.”

Finally, she pulls out a charm, which she gives to you. There’s a symbol etched onto the small circle at the bottom of the crystal chain, and you run your thumb over it. “This charm will help protect you, Y/n, since you don’t have any magical powers. Papa Legba shouldn’t try anything; he’s an honorable being who typically doesn’t take what has not been explicitly given to him. Still, it never hurts to have a little extra protection.”

Michael leans over your shoulder to look at the charm, but Mallory places a hand on his arm before he gets any closer.

“The charm protects against all beings that are not of this plane, as well as those descended from those beings. I’d prefer that you don’t end up zapped to Hell because you got too curious.”

Michael scooches back warily, taking Mallory’s warning to heart. After you’ve safely pocketed it, he says, “Thank you, Mallory. Truly. It’s nice to know that somebody cares about Y/n’s safety like I do.”

Mallory shrugs, a blush appearing on her peaches-and-cream complexion. “Friends don’t let friends accidentally make deals with preternatural beings.”

“Just take the compliment,” you stage-whisper, making her laugh.

“You’re welcome, Michael.”

Before anything else can be said, a younger girl appears at the back door. “Miss Mallory? Miss Zoe’s looking for you, somethin’ ‘bout a book you have.”

“Thank you, Abby, I’ll be in shortly.” When the girl runs back through the house, Mallory sighs and runs a hand through her hair. “Duty calls, I guess. Try not to have too much fun tonight.”

“I hope it will be uneventful, but we’ll see,” Michael says. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

You and Mallory hug goodbye before she’s off, back to pick up the mantle of Supreme and deal with everything that entails. You and Michael are left sitting in the backyard alone, though it’s only a moment before Michael slips Mallory’s gifts into the pocket of his coat.

“I figured we’d go to the hotel first and freshen up before going out. That sound okay?”

Considering you can feel the staleness of flying still lingering on you, that sounds like heaven to you. “Definitely. Wouldn’t want to scare my date off with how I look after a day of traveling.”

“Luckily for you, I have it on good authority that your date thinks you’re the most stunning person he’s ever seen, no matter your current appearance.”

You roll your eyes, but your cheeks are fucking burning right now. You bury your face in Michael’s shoulder under the guise of preparing for transmutation and say, “Just take us to the hotel.”

Within the blink of an eye you’re gone from Miss Robichaux’s backyard, with only the last notes of Michael’s delighted laugh remaining as evidence of your presence here.

///

Tag List: @thatonehumanbeing05 @michaellangdon @xavierplympton @hecohansen31 @dark-mei-rose @blakescoven @wroteclassicaly @we-did-it-joe @codycrazy @love-on-the-murder-scene @michaellangdonswhore @nsainmoonchild @langdonsjoyy @aftertheglitterfades @ferndolan @the-mysticalm-blog @hellfire-club-things @moonlike33 @narwhal-swimmingintheocean @a111318 @angiestopit @littleangel4996 @xo-angel-ox

[caladamn]

I'm not even gonna venture onto DR twitter rn cause I know the Plane hate will piss me off. Like... I completely understand not liking what she said or agreeing with it! But it pisses me off when people call someone racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic (you get the idea) for no reason when whatever they said just doesn't warrant that reaction?? I don't know much about Chappell and I'm sure she's a lovely woman, and PJ deffo (just for her own sake tbh) shouldn't have posted that cause, well... we now know how people react and she probs should have just sat in silence with it for a while longer (also idk if i'm not understanding fully, but did pj say she's heard some drag queens say that chappell is rude or did that not happen? cause i've only seen one screenshot of plane talking about it, but some are saying that PJ said that other drag queens have had been interactions with Chappell) ANYWAY, sorry for this ask - you don't have to answer it cause its so messy and all over the place lmao but it genuinely rubs me the wrong way... I think most of the people getting super angry over what she said are people that don't like pj, haven't from the start, and just kinda followed along with the overall fanbase when they started opening up to her, and they've been waiting for something to set them off (cause i remember people being set off during the lip sync smackdown episode when pj joked about amanda and quite a few people started calling her a bully again on twitter) i think everyone should just take a deep breath like i understand why people are mad or annoyed but it's the people REALLY going in on her that are pissing me all the way off like... fucking relax you're acting like she said something horrific

i 100% agree anon !

at first I was mostly annoyed by the fact that people just blew everything completely out of proportion (imo-- cause I really don't understand how "I don't vibe with this person" becomes "I think this person and everyone similar to this person is not valid"- ???). but then they started calling pj things that she's clearly not (there's multiple videos of her saying she loves women and lesbians, hello?). and I somewhat understand why seeing someone who's a white cis gay man being skeptical of a lesbian artist feeds into the narrative of gay men excluding queer women from queer spaces--- but that's literally not what pj did. and you're right, she did mention that she heard from local queens that had worked with chappell in the past that she wasn't the nicest (not sure how true this is, but if that's what she heard who am i, or anyone, to deny that).

and the worst part is that now they're using this to bring up past FALSE allegations against her. it's pretty obvious atp that these people don't actually care to defend the reason this whole discourse started for, they just want pj cancelled and gone. I've literally seen people just go on and on about how shitty of a person (they think) she is instead of defending lesbians or queer women who do drag. they don't care about queer women.

also, everyone's entitled to an opinion (!). all pj did was give her (albeit uninformed/incorrect) opinion/criticism on chappell. she never talked about lesbians as a whole. and even if she did. WHO CARES. there's more important things in the world and a person's opinion is not going to change anything or have any true impact on anyone's life. this is such stupid discourse imo.

[blooming-violets]

I don't want you to think I'm critical of dancing on her own OK maybe I am but I'm not here to .....make your day worse just give my own two cents I'm glad that peter gets therapy and I'm glad you mention peter is extremely young during all of this it makes me a little bit more empathetic to see his side of the matter and while it's wonderful that our lady character is capable to forgive him despite all this shit he put her through I still don't think she should be romantically involved with him like ever it not that he doesn't deserve her and bla bla (though that is also a very valid point) it not healthy for either of them she has seen him as an escape from her abusive childhood and clung on to the one thing she sees as normal it's quite similar for him to keep her with him because of his abandonment issues maybe there is quite strong love there but is it strong enough to take away the fact that they both view each other as coping mechanisms ? Im also much more optimistic and I like to think if anyone was in th place of the oc would've cut out peter along time ago which is what I wanted for them to go on healing parts separately from one another and find themselves and each other along the way again that's what is my hc for this actually that she views Gabe as the last starw forces him to move out And gets the fuck away from this man whose cut her of from so fucking much just cause he can't stand to have someone else in her life that's so so shitty but then I'm not her I don't even know how I would react if I was put in this situation humans are so weird in this way we are all wired differently while we like to think we want to do something some way we might do the opposite I guess I'm one of those people who like the "but this is the right way to go about things" ending rather than gray ending that don't satisfy me but that's my problem maybe that's what makes this fic so good for me it forces me to confront how I feel about morally Gray characters and complex situations rather than conforming to this good Black and white ending we have something Strange though it is also happy ending just not the one I agree with so yeah....the point of all this is youre a great writer thanks for writing this and I hope peter gets all the therapy he can lives with knowing that he's a very very lucky man cause I would've kicked him out a long time ago. I'm going to go ahead of believing that they never ended up together romantically

Hahaha this made me chuckle because I thought I was bad at rambling, run-on sentences with zero punctuation but I think you have me beat! I need to go reread this line by line because it's so much and I love it. And I'm glad you have your own opinions on it! That's what makes writing fun to me is seeing everyone's different takes and sides and who identifies best with what part. I love discussing my work and other people's work that I love in detail. Sometimes I think too many people just throw out a "this was good!" and then bounce. I want to talk about stuff and hear people's deeper thoughts. Esp for a fic like this, I knew it would potentially be divisive.

When I write, the characters sort of are their own people and I'm just their puppet for them to put their stories on the page. I don't know how else to describe it but I have such a clear picture of who they are, what they do, and why they're doing it that they become their own little entity chillin up in my brain. So when I write, I can say "How would x react to y?" And then they sort of take over from there.

For this particular story, I had two very broken, traumatized people. You hit it perfect by saying they were each other's coping mechanism. She has literally never had another friend in her entire life besides Peter. That is not healthy! None of this relationship is healthy. It starts off with Peter protecting her from bullies, the first and only person in her life to ever stand up for her, so she basically imprints on him as her savior. She views him through rose colored glasses. Even when he's horrible to her, when she looks at him, she only sees that scrappy little boy from the first grade beating her bullies with a stick. She can't separate that image of Peter from the man he's grown up to be.

Peter, on the other hand, is so psychologically broken that he's just as bad (actually, he's worse). He's torn between wanting to always save her but not being able to know how/being too scared of failing/her actually not needing him. He doesn't know how to navigate being a super hero and the deaths that come with that and how to keep up healthy relations. You are absolutely right when you say it's not healthy! It's very much not. His depression also lead him down the path of becoming hardened, bitter, and mean. He emotions are frozen up still.

What's funny is that I don't actually view the ending as happy. It feels almost bittersweet to me. She had been waiting her whole life for Peter to love her how she wants. This is the first time he's expressed that out loud to her. She's been waiting for that kiss for so long that I don't think anything else mattered to her in that moment. She's blinded by her childhood dreams. Peter is blinded by his fear of losing her.

Technically this isn't the "end" also. I mean, it's the end of me writing the story but they would still live on in the fictional universe. I do think that she would lose her virginity to him eventually and I do think he would be really sweet about it. But as for them working out long term, I really don't know. The thing about therapy is that it slowly unveils stuff about yourself that you didn't realize over time. (I also don't think a therapist would encourage this relationship, both hers and his, I think they would tell them to hold off on it). I doubt they will listen, though, because I know these characters. They are going to try before they are ready. They are going to try to force things and I don't exactly see the best outcome for them.

For the ending, it's not exactly happy or a finality of what they will be. It's meant to be hopeful and nudged into the direction of healing but that's where it ends.

The rest is to up to you, my love! Envision their messy attempts at a relationship to fail. Envision her striking up a conversation with Gabe a year into the future and him inviting out to movie. Technically anything that happens after they go back home is up to the reader! It's out of my hands!

Final points because I've rambled far too long, the story wasn't meant to be about what is right but what would happen if you put two messy, traumatized humans together and forced them into different situations. They wouldn't make the right choices because they've never been taught anything different. All she's ever known is Peter so, therefore, all she's ever going to chose is Peter...until she works on that in therapy and, hopefully, finds her own self again and learns how to live without her crutch. For now, they recognize their love for the other, whatever form that takes and, for now, that will have to do because they don't know any other way of living. Bittersweet! Not happy.

Thank you for this ask though. It made me happy that someone could even care enough to feel anger on behalf of a character I wrote and want justice for them. All I want is for people to love the creatures in my head as much as I do.

[ram-de]

[read] extraordinaries

gosh it's been a long time since i put my random commentaries afetr i read a book. i read a lot but i haven't been putting it in words like these. i think it's a nice way to take a breather and appreciate the story for a bit. though i'm itching to read and jump to another one. alright. let's jump in.

the extraordinaries by t.j. klune is the second book i read of his! the first being the house by the cerulean sea. and i wept for that one. it's achingly sweet. and cute. and also hits hard a bit. i should reread it soon. now this one... this one features the main cast being highschoolers. and damn i didn't know I NEED IT SO BAD... LOOK... a lot of romances i read before features teenagers that acts way too mature and also quite high in steam (aka they can't keep it in their pants for 5 minutes) and i. it's not that it's bad. it's just... you know after a while of reading several books, i kind of tend to notice the pattern of like, the tropes, and like, the prose, and um. basically at some point it loses it charms and i ended up groaning, "not again..." or "i felt like i have read this storyline 32 times this month..." NOT THAT IT'S BAD OF COURSE... i eat it when i'm hungry. when i'm full i just need to take a breathe.

and man. NICK...!!! having the book centered around nick is so, so, good. a peek to his ever-flowing racing mind and how he's just, being him, as a whole. and this guy is a... a fanfic writer. and the love interest being his beta reader... I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS CRACKS ME UP... the dynamics is so good though i felt like they can feel a bit one-dimensional sometimes. i don't know why i'm criticizing. i don't know shit about stories 101 lmao. alright. nick is also very straightforward and cannot lie for good. the way he rambles about everything is adorable (i see u seth...) he puts his mind to it and pushes through everything. i love my delusional son akjsdgashda

THE HUMOR... very up to my alley.

"Nicky, no!" "Nicky, yes!"

AND THE CROWD (me) CHEERS... that sums the whole book actually. nicky got an idea, everybody told him no, and he did it anyway. sdhgfadskhaskjh. or this one passage. context being the dad is injured and was advised not to talk, and nick asked him how his day and glared at him. it's funny to me!!

and this one i have sorta expects from the author. it's how heartfelt the story can be at times. t.j. klune is poignant with his words. the story touches grief very delicately, how it impacts the whole family and their relations to another. there's this one part where nick have hard time breathing the moment his dad said he's gonna take his phone. his dad grounds him, distanced him from his friends, cutting of internet and all other things. but the one thing that was about to break him is the fact that he would have his phone taken away, due to the thoughts that if something happened (to his dad), then he wouldn't know. like how it happened with his mom. AND... :-( ... that's why it also hurts so bad when the two get caught arguing and his dad ended up telling nick why he is the way that he is.. :"""" I'M SO WEAK WITH FAMILY STORYLINES... they're always the one that made me teared up...

one thing i did not like is the blue-balling of important revelations that's like kinda obvious but they kept pushing it back. "oh, nick, don't you know? he's actually..." and suddenly the door opens. [plot ignored for several pages]. "i can't keep it anymore. i'm gonna tell you. actually..." and then suddenly a bomb exploded or something. LIKE... the fact that i'm writing it down means i'm annoyed by it lol since i don't actually notice these stuff usually. also i think the book kind of drags down by the end. i don't really hooked enough for shadow stars storyline. maybe another thing i didn't like is that it have real person shipping... though it's mentioned and implied a lot of how unhealthy that is lol, i can chalk it up to nick being a delulu y/n fanfic author.

it's been a while since i consumed any superhero-related media. i used to be into marvel movies but then they kinda... i don't know. lame. i watched ms. marvel and i liked it. i tried to watch she-hulk but i forgot it exists by the time episode 4? happened and i haven't finished it since. i also despised secret invasion's intro enough to never watch it. ever. i need to watch spiderverse....

why am i getting distracted. OKAY... the thing is. i loved the book. i enjoyed reading the book. i took my time reading it, and the character still lives in my head for now. and because this is a superhero-setting... i ignored any normal haircolor depiction in my head and instead put wacky colorful hairtones for every character anime style. nick? shiny silver (with a stupid ahoge). owen? fiery red (subversion, this is so good). gibby? deep purple. jazz? pink and yellow ombre. seth... black.., because subversion, uh... (he gets his colors from his ties and knots instead)

uh... what i want to say is it's lighthearted! it can be sweet and poignant at times. it's an enjoyable read. mr. t.j.klune good :) i'll put more thoughts if i remember

Edit 5 minutes later.

IT'S A SERIES??!?!?!??!? I thought that last part was the story being cheeky and a references to how superhero movies do post-credits scenes teasing future reveals. there's TWO MORE...!?!??!?!

[destinyc1020]

I have to disagree with that anon about defending the critics. I get their overall point that of course applies to most journalists, but quite a few with TCR were downright nasty. Calling it an 'overlong sob story' absolutely implies a total lack of empathy in the writer. As someone who deals with mental illness, a disorder that is not DID but that is similarly trauma based, the reviews slamming it (which, again, were not the majority - I think out of the ones I read there were about 5 that were unfortunately snarky instead of thoughtful) were borderline ableist to me in the way they approached their critiques. I could tell that those critics not only did not have experience with mental illness, but that they lacked empathy as well. It is just a huge, huge bummer to see modern film and tv criticism turn into a battle over who can create the most scathing headline, it disrespects the hard work done by people who come together to make art.

I'm so glad Akiva did that interview. For my part, it made me feel a lot less alone. The whole show did. It was well made and well acted, the production design was on point, I think the writing was compelling too. Even with the flaws, I don't think it remotely deserved those handful of critics trying so hard to tear it apart. I'm so glad that it seems to have found success in audiences - and I honestly worry about RT scores not just for this project, but for all. I don't think RT is a great method to determine if something is watchable or not. I loved Martin Scorcese's take on RottenTomatoes and other aggregate sites. He went in pretty hard and called them a disgusting spectacle, and lol while I wouldn't be that hyperbolic, I think he has a point! Scores and numbers should not dictate the value of a show or film. I kind of wish we could get rid of the scoring system and just rely on actually reading critic articles instead - I think that would encourage people to think more critically and also to think more for themselves.

Also just want to say I love your blog Destiny! You always have such a great and balanced view of things and it's just appreciated in this fandom

First of all Anon, I'm so sorry that you went through whatever trauma that you've endured, and I hope you are getting any help that you need for any mental/emotional struggles that you go through. 🥰❤️

As you know, that's something that touches me deeply, so I do hope that my followers are doing well, and taking good care of themselves, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. 😊

Anyway, I can see how someone who has the background that you have could view the reviews for TCR as a bit harsh and unsympathetic...maybe downright apathetic even.

I agree that sometimes SOME critics may forget that real people deal with these issues that are being depicted in these films that they watch. Honestly? I think when you watch as many films/TV shows that they have to watch and critique, I think it can sometimes make you a bit calloused and it just becomes a bit of a "job". Unless something really grabs you and your attention from jump, it might become a bit redundant watching film after film, project after project. Don't forget too that some of the critics were more so taking out their anger and frustration at Akiva and the "rules" that were set forth w/regards to not mentioning DID at all in their reviews. To their defense, it IS a bit hard to write a review for TCR WITHOUT mentioning the fact that Danny is suffering from DID. Nearly MOST of the series is Danny talking to his therapist, and trying to pretend that the series isn't about helping a person with DID come to the realization of his past and his condition is kind of challenging, ngl. It still doesn't make the reviews any less hurtful though, so I get it.

At this point, I just think that as long as you (the viewer) enjoyed the series, that's all that really matters at the end of the day. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Also just want to say I love your blog Destiny! You always have such a great and balanced view of things and it's just appreciated in this fandom

Aww...thanks sis. ❤️

[missnight0wl]

Wow, the new Christmas TLSQ starts strong with MC's family information. Again, MC stays at Hogwarts, and Ben asks "what about Jacob?" (guess this takes place after you rescue him and before knowing your father), but MC says they can't spend Christmas with Jacob this year but doesn't mention the mother at all. I'm starting to think she went to America and stayed there or she could be dead. What do you think about that?

Actually, this scene has multiple versions. For me, it looked like this:

But when you look at the datamines, there apparently are five different options:

… which is pretty insane, if you ask me. I mean, they usually have two options: for before and after a certain event. But here, their approach was quite detailed. And seeing how this quest is the Y2 Achievement, I assume there has to be a version where Ben simply doesn’t ask about Jacob.

Still, the Mother is indeed not mentioned at any point. So, what do I think about that? Honestly?

I think it’s basically meaningless.

Here’s the thing: we’re talking about TLSQs. And I just had a discussion with my friend about how TLSQs probably should be treated as a separate reality, and it might be especially true when it comes to seasonal stories. I mean, just look at the placement of those quests. Three of Christmas TLSQs are currently marked as Y2 Achievements. In my opinion, it’s quite clear that JC doesn’t really care how they influence the main story. They simply want as many players as possible to be able to participate in them when they're released.

So, am I saying we should ignore them entirely? Well… yes and no. I think we should be more critical of them. Personally, I only consider the first Christmas TLSQ as a reliable source of information. And that’s also why I’m always so surprised when people use the rest of them as hard evidence that MC’s Mother is a terrible parent who leaves their child at Hogwarts each year. Because I might be wrong, but I truly believe that when JC was about to write the second Christmas TLSQ, some employee was like:

“Well, damn, who would’ve thought that people would be paying for this game for so long… Anyway, Christmas is coming, so we probably should have another Christmas story. But we need an excuse for MC to stay at Hogwarts. Hm, what to do… Oh, of course! Let’s use the same explanation as in the previous year!”

And then, they did it again. And then, I suppose they realised it might be a little odd. Because I’m pretty sure that the last year’s TLSQ (“Holidays at Hogwarts”) didn’t mention MC’s reasons for staying at Hogwarts at all, right? I didn’t play it, but I checked it quickly now, and I didn’t see any mention of “Mum”, “America” or “Jacob”. I’m not sure why they returned to explanations this year (and they prepared so many options), but… I just honestly doubt there’s any hidden meaning behind no mention of the Mother.

At least for the story itself.

Because while I was thinking about my reply to your ask, I realised that the Mother is not really mentioned much in the recent chapters either. I mean, Peregrine did talk about her. However, it’s been a while since we had our usual: “don’t tell Mum” etc. And I started wondering if JC is not preparing for some plot twist with her. It doesn’t make much sense, but I suppose it might make sense for JC, seeing how they executed the plot twist with Peregrine. I mean, if nobody talks about Mother’s reactions to the current events and nobody draws attention to her, we’re all gonna be so surprised when she suddenly appears at Hogwarts or something, right?

Right?

Again, I might be wrong. But I wouldn’t look too deep into that, really. Especially since, like I said, the quest is officially placed in Y2, and we know for sure that MC interacted with their mum during the summer between Y2 and Y3.

[rookie-critic]

City of Angels (1998, dir. Brad Silberling) - review by Rookie-Critic

The third stop on my Nicolas Cage weekly movie nights was an odd choice. After two absolutely unhinged films like Con Air and Face/Off, why would my friends' next choice be a rom-com between Cage and Meg Ryan that happens to be a remake of a beloved 80s film by auteur Wim Wenders? The answer was simple: The song "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls was written for this movie, and that was intriguing enough to give it a slot, and honestly I'm the kind of person who wants to devour an actor's entire filmography, especially for an actor like Nicolas Cage, so I didn't mind at all. I didn't have super high expectations going into this one, I'd never even heard of it before and, looking at the reviews, they didn't seem too favorable. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how well written, well acted, and just generally well made this was.

Cage and Ryan both give absolutely stellar performances, with Cage actually managing to draw a tear out of me with a line delivered towards the end of the film. Special shout out should also go to Dennis Franz, who is unforgettable as Nathaniel Messinger in the film. While the story may seem a tad ridiculous on the surface; an angel wants to become mortal after falling in love with a human woman, the film does a very good job of bringing that frankly wacky premise down to Earth and making it believable within the rules the movie sets up for itself. I know I've already mentioned that Cage gives a stellar performance in this, but I don't think I've really sold it enough, so I'm going to keep talking about it. This isn't Cage unhinged, this is Cage subdued. It's such a straight-laced, non-bombastic performance that I'm not sure I've ever seen out of him before. Even taking Pig into account, which by all metrics is a more subdued performance from his average outing, still has aspects to it that are wacky, and only one scene in this entire film sees Cage approaching his normal levels of insanity, but even then it fits within the confines of the character. I know that a lot of the charm surrounding Nicolas Cage is his crazed, frantic acting, but when I see him in films like this, like Pig, it makes me a little sad, because I know that he's more than capable of giving a truly incredible performance. One that's memorable for how good his acting is as opposed to how bizarre and bonkers it is, which, again, has its own charm and appeal. I don't necessarily want Cage's reputation as a wildman actor to go away, I don't want his legacy to consider how genuinely talented he is, as well.

While I don't understand the Tomatometer's 57% for this film (inversely to how I don't quite understand Face/Off's 92%), there are aspects of it that don't work for me. For one, while the dialogue is amazing, Ryan and Cage have absolutely no chemistry. Cage is definitely not the rom-com scene partner that Tom Hanks is to Ryan, and it shows. It really is their chemistry because, as I stated earlier, their performances are both stellar, but I just got nothing in the romance department out of them. Another lackluster piece of this puzzle is that it does lean over into overly sappy territory more than once, for sure. A lot of the music cues, while the songs themselves are good, were almost too much. One in particular, when Sarah McLachlan's "Angel" plays during a pivotal romance scene, was actually too much. This very possibly could be because of that song's connection to the ASPCA commercials from the mid-2000s, and if that is that case I can't really hold that against the film, but the on-the-nose nature of the song's titular line and the style of music it is was more of a hindrance than a help, as was the case for the scene where "Iris" plays.

One last thing I'll say in the con category is with a specific scene in the film in which we are shown flashes of black-and-white clips that don't really seem pertinent as well as black-and-white versions of things that had happened earlier in the movie. From what I understand, the black-and-white aspect of this is in reference to original Wim Wenders film, Wings of Desire, in which it is a major plot point that angels can't see color, which is all well and good except for the fact that this had never been established in City of Angels up to that point, which makes it very jarring and confusing as to why that was been presented that way. It also still doesn't answer what those other, unrelated clips were. The closest thing I think for them to be are shots from Wings of Desire that were placed there as a way to homage the original film, but I have no idea if that's true or not, and it still wouldn't make sense as to how they relate to Seth in this film. Regardless, City of Angels was great. It's one of the better genuinely fantastic performances I've seen out of Cage, the writing was awesome despite its leads' lack of chemistry, and most importantly, I had a fun time watching this with friends. What more can you ask for?

Score: 8/10

Currently available for rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and on DVD & Blu-ray through Warner Bros./Regency.

[boyfhee]

hey! you don't have to post this tbh but this is @ the other anon talking about modi.

I'm not indian at all and thus I don't have a formed opinion of bjp or congress. I will say though that anon's comment struck me as wrong because:

1) there should be nothing wrong with 14 year olds being interested in politics and having an opinion; I say this as someone who is well past that age. 14 year olds can have complex thoughts and beliefs; it is definitely a little difficult as being younger causes children to be more impressionable and can lead to extremism, so be cautious. but there should be nothing wrong with 14 year olds having opinions or expressing those opinions -> the ones who are the future of the country should be the most invested in learning about it.

2) I understand feeling frustrated in regards to "horrible names" but it's not a big deal because political figures should never be put on such a pedestal that they can't be criticized, they actually need to be criticized in order to have fruitful discourse, etc.

3) Is modi not extremely hindu nationalist? He significantly marginalizes any muslim indian population, and in fact is a big supporter of israel & netanyahu, these feel like valid concerns to me. feel free to let me know if any of this is incorrect, but I've seen several credible news sources regarding this? and modi definitely doesn't hide it.

hi ^^ i know u said i dont have to post this but i think i just wanted to clear some things up as well :>

firstly, i do agree that there is nothing wrong with 14 year olds having a political opinion. what i think that anon meant is probably that some people or in this case, kids, follow whatever is posted online about politics. they're free to like a political leader and dislike the other but most of the time, again from what i've seen around me including my experience with my brother and a few of his friends, their reasoning for disliking modi is like ... just because. as in, oh just because this person said so. and i see this a lot. i'm not saying everyone is like this, but what i feel is that the previous anon was particularly talking about those who join the hate train without any idea of what's happening and not actually against the kids having / participating in any kind of political discussion

secondly, i quite literally have no opinion on that one since i haven't actually seen anyone calling modi the said 'horrible names' ( in terms of profanities or other vulgar / sensitive terms ) i just think it's one's own decision how they want to perceive these leaders and how much they idolise them

lastly, yes! he is pro-hindu and he basically rode this hindu-muslim agenda the entire election. and he's playing this two-faced game where in one state, he says he doesn't believe in religious differences while in another state, he says something along the lines of “we can identify these disturbing public elements just by their clothes” which we know is clearly targeted at their way of dressing. and saying all this in a country that has terrible relations with islamic country/ies is not exactly smart because he's basically setting up the people against themselves ( like i've seen people around me talk like all muslims follow the terrorism agenda. even parents tell their kids to be wary of their muslim classmates and not be close to them )

about the genocide— that is also true. india has good relations with israel and even though modi said they're 'neutral' and won't pick a side in this ( which i know is not a choice here ) it's quite clear he's just trying to save his relations with netanyahu while also wanting to be seen as a country that doesn't support genocide / has no stance in this. i haven't seen a single news channel talk about the genocide, not a single indian celebrity aside from a few mentioning it and we definitely don't talk about it as much as we should. i think it's also the public's fault for being silent, but mostly the media for putting it in a way where most of the people would support israel

[papirouge]

once again you prove to be the only blog on this site with common sense. do you know how much of a relief it is to see someone call out these morons gaslighting people for not wanting to see sound of freedom because they suddenly care about trafficking? they most definitely not since they radically support tate like you mentioned and idolize trump despite his association with epstein. it is frustrating to see how they take the same argument they mock and drag sjws for. "if you don't talk about it, you're part of the problem!!1!" and accuse people expressing any form of criticism towards the hypocrisy of defending child trafficking. it's pathetic how they only care because of the people behind the movie, not the issue itself as they had no issue supporting brands who use child labor and defend celebrities who abuse children and women. and someone should explain to me how is a movie about one man's account more important the countless stories told in documentaries or social media accounts by actual victims, many of which disapprove of the movie (and have likely been called leftist ops or whatever for being against it)? this movie isn't any different just because it's made by angel studios, the same people who do the chosen and i'm quite terrified of how much damage this show has done on people's minds. americans are so stupid.

You're welcome 🩷🩵

To be honest, more people should learn to act normal about this movie: NO, this movie isn't going to stop worldwide child trafficking and expose the whole network of human trafficking in the world. NO, you don't have to a be q-anon support this movie. NO, not wanting to see it doesn't make you accomplice of "pEdo gRoOmeRs"

Here on Tumblr a Catholic blog that's relaying a lot of information about the NGO backing up the movie, how to donate, etc. and some other blogger got so mad about it and say how this NGO was actually a threat for the good fight against child trafficking and linked an article to back up her claim. It turns out this article was actually an opinion piece written by a person who assisted to one of their "operation" of tacking back girls to traffickers, and said their brute modus operandi was ultimately traumatizing for the girls they saved (lots of gunshot, etc.). She also said the NGO lacked means to take properly care of the people they saved and that a bunch ended up getting back on the street..... which shows that people donating money is actually useful to help the NGO offer a better accommodating system for the girl they rescued..?

To be honest , a lot of this anti TSOF movement feels try hard, biased, and lowkey of bad faith. Sure they have valid objections to how child trafficking is pictured....but it's a MOVIE not a documentary. The way people have suddenly become suspicious of how removed from reality a FICTION was. It reminds me how people were seething because Black Panther -a DYSTOPIA - wasn't truthful to Africa's IRL situation....

Articles were like "The movie focuses on child trafficking when most of child trafficking are teenagers" ok, and? that movie can't focus on one facet of that problem? Beside, that article admitted that most trafficking crossing the US/Mexico border were actually children, soo...Child trafficking is definitely a very significant issue.

THAT BEING SAID, aaaaaall the conservatives who won't shut up about this movie while supporting Tate are clowns and piece of crap. It's like in their mind, women being trafficked was a less moral offense than using children as such. Trafficked women were most likely trafficked when they were underage. Tate is definitely part of the problem. By downplaying adult being trafficked (calling those women liars, clout chasers, etc.) they downplay the obvious pipeline there is between child trafficking and women in porn. They are so frickin dishonest abd I wish they would all shut up. They all sound like psychopath with their performative concern about children, when they don't have an ounce of sympathy for women just because they're adults.

[marissapaul]

final project and reflection

so i really enjoyed this project. i was quite anxious for it at the beginning for a number of reasons, but as i got going i came to love and appreciate it. as a trans person i don't like audio projects or talking out loud as that is one of the ways in which i show up that can be othering. i don't necessarily have dysphoria about my voice, in fact i quite like it, but there is always a worry in the back of my mind that my voice doesn't match what people might be expecting when they see my name. but as i got going i really got into the groove of talking, or at least as much of a groove as i can get into as someone who far prefers writing over talking. nonetheless, i had a really great experience with this. the other thing i was anxious about is that i don't have a ton of experience analyzing and critically engaging with art. i'm still new to that aspect of life, i got some practice with it in undergrad and again in the latina feminisms minimester class where i reflected on an art exhibition called "mapa wiya (your map's not needed)" which is an aboriginal art piece that was on display at the menil in houston where i saw it.

this is the title piece of the exhibition and i like it a lot. the exhibition is all about land back and reclaiming indigenous modes of knowledge. it rejects the artificially created borders and lines that colonizers drew up and gets back to indigenous understandings of geography, space, and of living. but beyond that, i didn't have much experience with this, and coming from a world where i was taught that you were either born with the "art gene" or you weren't and that it was just an intrinsic talent and not something that artists spend years and decades meticulously honing. but through dra. sotomayor's classes i have come to deconstruct that way of thinking, in fact i consider myself an artist now, i consider my thesis to be art, i consider my very amateur paintings to be art, i now see art as the ways in which i communicate with the world. throughout my years on this earth i have collected words and frameworks and lenses through which i have come to understand the universe and my place in it and i view the things i create as art that shares those lessons that i have learned with others.

so as i started this project i entered with that mindset, but i was having trouble sifting through the artists and their art to find something that really resonated with me and that i could speak on with the lessons of this semester and i eventually discovered renee stout's "when 6 was 9" exhibition and i fell in love. the exhibition is all about imagining the otherwise, especially when the physical world we live in and reality we endure is too much, she is telling us to turn to the imagination. and she isn't just asking us to imagine, she's asking us to bring about that imagination in our own lives, and i think that is really powerful. we have seen time and again this semester how the spiritual systems we have been learning about are based in the here and now realities of their practitioners and that is what renee is offering up in this exhibition. though the focus is imagination, it is through imagination that she is leading us towards liberation and towards actualizing that world that we imagine, a world post-capitalism, imperialism, racism.

i really got into a groove towards the back half, i am not always the most clear speaker, i much prefer writing as i have spent far more time honing my writing voice than my speaking voice - for reasons mentioned above - but i enjoyed this. my throat is a little dry from talking more than i have in quite a while, but i am happy with what i have shared with the class and the world should they happen upon this link. this exhibition will absolutely remain in my mind as i go forward in life and in my academic journey in much the same way that mapa wiya has stuck with me for the past three years. i am beyond thankful for this opportunity to explore academic conversations in new and exciting ways that i definitely don't get to engage with in my history classes. i ended my latina feminisms blog with the missive, "let us go forth and create" and i am happy to report that i have. since that time i have written all three chapters of my thesis, i have gone on to paint a number of things including this super awesome mickey mouse painting that i'm proud of that i'll show below. so i suppose i don't have as clear a missive this time, but i would say lead with love, empathy, and imagination.

[thejustmaiden]

So out of nowhere I was tagged and quoted by a SR shipper for a blog of mine posted in August of last year. Talk about throwback but, hey, gotta appreciate that level of snooping. 😉

Back in the day I actually used to encourage discourse amongst Inuyasha fans- both shippers and antis alike- but I've since realized that it's a lost cause. But for you, @feministmetalgreymon , I'll grant this exception. Just 'cause it's been a while so why the hell not. haha

I want to assure you, however, that nothing you say will ever convince me that Sesshomaru and Rin are meant to be together romantically or that the story intended it so. Nor will you find any validation here. You can ship them for all I care, but please for all that is good and holy while I have your attention try- I mean really try- to understand why it is so many of us Inuyasha fans are so against this pairing in the first place (newsflash: it's not about ship wars), and why we believe a romance between the two of them is completely and utterly out of character.

For those of you interested in reading this, the blog of mine in question that the above shipper mentions in their counter-argument is here for reference. It's titled "Jaken = Rin's Dad?" I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'm also making no such promises. After all, I'm not exactly known for my brevity. haha Now let's get crackin'!

Like you, feministmetalgreymon, did for your recent blog here where you took screenshots of mine to address certain parts, I will be doing the same and dissecting yours accordingly.

[Snippet 1]

I worked with kids for many years as a teacher, and many people in my family have too or still do. Two of them happen to be just over 5 feet which is quite short for the average adult woman living here. I've also worked alongside many a women of short stature, and never did I hear any of them complaining of issues with their students having difficulty differentiating them from their own peers just because they were short as well. I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. Kids are quite smart and pick up on a lot more than you seem to give them credit for. Height is not the only characteristic they look at to determine who's an adult and who's not, and it's foolish to suggest otherwise. So unless you're a babysitter who's still in their teens and/or who has very childlike features or behavior then I'm afraid what you're getting at is total hogwash. This is just another example of how you shippers offer nothing of real substance to your reasoning, it's only ever cherry-picking or strawmanning from you guys. Stop deflecting from the real issues please, because this certainly isn't one and only winds up being a complete waste of time for all parties involved.

[Snippet 2]

Okay, calm down now. I wasn't insinuating that relationships between parents and children can't change over time in terms of how they get along. Of course that's possible, as all families experience their fair share of estrangement and abuse. What I was speaking about was in reference to the overall dynamic between the two. Because a bad mother or father can still be viewed as a parental figure to their child even if say they're not in said child's life anymore. Since Sesshomaru and Rin share a healthy bond- and just a friendly reminder that in my blog I even said that he doesn't have to necessarily be labeled her father but that a romantic relationship later would still be inappropriate- I didn't deem it necessary to address what you brought up. Plus, it kinda, umm, misses the point?? Please, let's stay on topic. And it's not captured in the screenshot, but stop acting like there isn't a small part of them that idolizes their parents at some point during childhood. Just like you mention later on how it's normal for kids to have innocent crushes on adults that they eventually grow out of? Well, guess what, the same concept applies here. Kids eventually learn that their parents are far from perfect and make mistakes too. Rin is so damn young in the OG series though that we never even get to see her reach that maturity level.

[Snippet 3]

LOL! Alright, okay, so the "unbreakable bond" bit you're mentioning was actually me quoting you sessrinners. Did you not catch that? I literally spelled it out. *sigh* The whole point I was making is that shippers like yourself make hypocritical and contradictory statements all.the.goddamn.time. One moment you guys claim that Sesshomaru and Rin were essentially strangers and meant very little to each other, only to say in the same breath a few seconds later that they were destined to be together and their bond is like no other. I agree, their bond is special, but why must that mean they're going to fall in love?

That is the root of the matter here. Too many animes/mangas have romanticized this older adult man & young girl growing up falling in love trope that it's become way too normalized and widely accepted across the world- and yes, in some cultures more than others. Sadly, you lack the awareness to recognize how this all works. You know how we know that? When we see that you shippers are so desensitized to sexualized images of girls in the media that you share posts like this one below which *subtly* imply a future romance although one half of that pairing is still just a child in the pic and then try and pass it off as cute. That's like super fucking problematic and it scares me that you can't see that (or deny you do). 🤢

After all that's said and done, Sesshomaru leaving Rin in the village with Kaede is to me the strongest indicator more than pretty much anything else he's done for Rin that proves he is her adoptive father. It's so funny to me how you somehow see the exact opposite though. 🤔 What I think is happening is that you got yourself on some squeaky clean ass shipper goggles fresh out of your little echo chamber. Because I hate to tell you, but what you're fantasizing is what you want to see and not what's actually there on screen or was written into the story. I'm strictly talking about Inuyasha and the manga of course. [For the TL; DR version skip to the last paragraph.]

Parents looking after their kids is what parents are supposed to do. A good parent will do anything to keep their child safe and ensure they are cared for, so what he did for her by leaving her there was in her best interests clearly. Besides, as a babysitter, you more than most people should understand that parents aren't always able to be there for their kids so sometimes others gotta step in to help. Haven't you heard of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Which in Rin's case is literally true! 😂 Sometimes kids are even sent off to stay with grandparents and that's who raises them instead. Or maybe they have to temporarily live with an aunt or uncle because their single parent's job requires they work out of town 4-5 days of the week so they're hardly home. But that doesn't mean that the parents care or love their kids any less, and it's foolish to assume that Sesshomaru must have thought very little of Rin simply due to the fact that he made the decision to leave her in the village. Come on, y'all are acting like he abandoned her there!!

It's just given the circumstances Sesshomaru finally came to learn that Rin traveling with him was no longer safe. I also like to think it's because he wished for her to live a more normal life and to learn how to fully trust humans again. Plus, continuing to travel with him as young as she was would have proven dangerous and unwise. Now for you to know all this and still manage to turn his past actions towards her while she was just a child into a romantic gesture is what boggles my mind. Regardless of how you look at it, from my perspective or your own, Sesshomaru is in the wrong. Either he's a father figure who impregnates his daughter at the young age of approximately 14. OR he's this man she used to travel with who maybe isn't a father to her but who nonetheless basically rapes her since kids her age can't consent to sex with an adult. Idk about you but it sounds to me like nobody here wins with either scenario we're given. In other words, you should be just as mad as we are. If only one side didn't choose to forsake their morals they know we both have in common for the sake of a ship. Welp. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, incest is disgusting but that's not the only problem we have with this pairing. A romantic bond forming between Sesshomaru and Rin would also constitute as grooming.

You realize that over the years he visited her in the village that he brought her gifts too and essentially watched her grow up right before his very eyes, right? I mean, I know you do, but I really shouldn't have to explain further why pursuing a romantic/sexual relationship with each other is plain and simple wrong. And before you say it's not because he didn't have any malintent, please understand that considering their history and power dynamic up to then that yes this is still considered grooming even if Rin supposedly "wanted it" or "made the first move." Whether you consider him her father or not, as the adult who took on a role resembling that of a caretaker in her early life- a critical developmental time for a child- Sesshomaru is obligated to turn down any advances by Rin and most definitely should not initiate any himself. As the first close adult figure she's had in her life since her parents died, it's unfathomable to imagine how Sesshomaru could go through with taking advantage of this young girl who was under his care and supervision since they met. To think he could be capable of betraying that trust sickens me to the core.

This. Now THIS is how a parent/guardian or a similar adult caretaker (babysitter, teacher, etc.) talks to a child. And, in turn, this is how some young children talk to adults. You'd be insane and delusional to deny it! We see it in our everyday lives, do we not? From where else do you think our stories draw most of their inspiration? Yes, obviously these fictional universes have aspects of fantasy that don't exist in the real world, but so how then do you suppose we're able to relate to them? The reason for that being is because these stories are written by people for people, so naturally there are going to be real life aspects embedded throughout. Sure, a little escapism doesn't hurt as we don't need to take everything so seriously, but ultimately we all need to recognize that the messages in the stories we tell matter. Most stories possess a combination of both light and dark themes, but when it specifically comes to the latter we gotta be careful with how we tackle this in children's media since kids are far more impressionable.

So if at the center of a story we have two of the main protagonists whose mom is basically their same age and to top it off she knew their dad when she was just a girl and who just so happened to help raise her, wouldn't you say that's beyond fucked up or at the very least so fucking weird? Like why would we think it's even remotely okay for our children to watch this garbage?? Really think about it. Try and be objective for once and think about how it would sound explaining this storyline to an outsider who's never watched IY or HNY. Well, antis have tried this before many times and we always get the same reaction: Ewww!

Like I said earlier, if you wanna ship it then fine, but 1) please stop seeking our approval or trying to change our minds - your ship wish came true didn't it, so why do you need us to validate it? 2) even though it's not canon, respect that we don't support this sequel portraying pedophilia in a positive light. It's harmful af to not only allow but glorify the continuation of sexualized images of young girls everywhere. And I shouldn't have to say this, but just because this trope is popular as you say does not make it right. Lolicon themes in the media have been an issue forever and it needs to stop. Yes, even some people in Japan or "the East" would agree. Shocker!

We're pissed off and rightfully so because Yashahime's TV rating is 14, not to mention it airs at the prime time kids in Japan watch TV after getting home from school. That's Towa and Setsuna's age, true, but if Rin being the mom when she's like only a year older than them (please don't argue w/ me about the math- antis have so far been right every time with it) is straight-up disgusting and not something we should be supporting or endorsing. Rin's a whole ass child!! Please don't start with the "but times were different then so her having kids at 15 is acceptable" argument either, because we've already debunked that and every other single excuse you guys throw at us. Besides, how or why would you expect young viewers to know these historical "facts" anyway, especially if as you suggest fiction doesn't affect reality so what does it matter? Yet here we are, arguing over a fictional show in real life almost a year and a half into the "Sesshomaru fucks?" sequel being announced. My ass, your ass, hell all our asses fiction doesn't affect reality!

Look, I do apologize if the tone of this blog came off as snippy or condescending at times. I do not wish you any ill will, it's just I'm not really sure what you expected to get out of all this besides maybe getting on my nerves perhaps. haha A lot of you shippers have been desperately scrambling to interact with us, lurking in our tags, jumping onto our posts screaming canon and getting so defensive even though you sought us out first. We've been sticking to our tags, so how about you stay in your lane too. By the way since we're on the topic, have you seen Twitter or Reddit?! SR shippers there are the actual worst and many Inuyasha fans (not just antis) have complained of not feeling welcomed to engage in fandom spaces anymore. Shippers swarm them and scare them off simply because fans don't like your ship and refuse to accept it. It's pathetic, really. No one should ever be bullied or harassed just because they don't like something you might. We're all fans of Inuyasha, aren't we? So let's act like it. Yashahime on the other hand, you guys are welcome to that pungent heap of trash. Fans have a right to criticize it too, but if you like it then good for you, so keep on liking it and don't mind us.

I'm almost done, but real quick back to Jaken! Let's not forget about how the official Yashahime website- which came out after my blog, mind you- described Jaken. This translation isn't the best one available but it's the only version a fellow anti friend could track down. They do recall a better one done by a native Japanese speaker who was also an anti, and that member confirmed that Jaken is indeed called Rin's babysitter. So you see, I was right in my interpretation. In the original post I did compare Jaken to a brother, but after talking to others (some comments can be found under said post) I did acknowledge that he's more of a reluctant babysitter who's not related. And if he's not at least a brother to Rin, then he's definitely not her father.

At the end of the day, the creator Rumiko Takahashi has the final word. Which is guess what? Hogosha. 💖 Probably should've just started out with that and saved us all the trouble, huh? Good day/night to you.

Papamaru bids you adieu now. 🤞