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ponett · 1 year

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I have now finally seen the Mario movie. It was Pretty Good. Here are my wordy thoughts on it. (I am going to spoil the entire movie. Duh.)

In many ways, the Mario movie does what I wish the first Sonic movie had done. They just took the characters and the premise and the world from the games, and made it a straightforward animated adventure movie. It's bright and colorful and remixes things JUST enough to include fun elements from multiple games, and it doesn't make Mario get adopted by James Marsden or whatever. It even has the music!

That's all you really need, right? Right...?

I'll get this out of the way up front. Chris Pratt was fine. He's fine

If anything, it really feels like they did the movie a disservice by letting us hear so little of the Mario voice in the previews. It took one scene for Pratt to disappear into the role for me. It was totally fine. If anything, I found Charlie Day's normal voice coming out of Luigi WAY more distracting, even if I did like him in the role.

Everyone else was pretty good, for the most part. Jack Black was obviously very good as Bowser, but I'm biased. Seth Rogen does the Seth Rogen laughs as Donkey Kong, but I thought DK was fun, too. (I liked his little rivalry with Mario where he was just constantly giving him shit.) The only casting choice I truly hated was Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong. I hated every line that came out of his mouth. He sounds atrocious. Just the worst. I swear to fucking god if they do a DKC movie and we have to hear him for 90 minutes

I did think Peach was lacking, but that was on the script, not Anya Taylor-Joy's performance. It's cool to see Peach fight, but it's one of those all too common instances where the writers put so much effort into making the main girl kick ass and be an effortlessly confident girlboss that they forgot to give her an actual personality. Not that I'd point to Super Princess Peach and its mood swing superpowers as positive representation or anything, but there's a happy middle ground, surely. Shrek was 22 years ago, just having the princess do flying kung fu kicks isn't enough.

Okay. With the voices out of the way, let's talk about the big picture:

It's way better than the words "Illumination Mario movie" implied, and I mostly enjoyed my time with it. The spirit of Mario is there 100%. But I'd also describe it as "ruthlessly efficient."

This was perhaps the main complaint critics had, and they were absolutely right. People have responded to these totally average reviews with "Well, what did you expect? Shakespeare?! It's MARIO!!" Like, yes, I would prefer it if the movie I paid to see had writing that was good instead of bad. What a shocker. My issue isn't that it's not "high-brow" enough. The problem is that it feels mercenary. It feels like an editor went through and deleted almost every line of dialogue that isn't some form of exposition, at the expense of the pacing. Any scene that's not a montage or some sort of action is kept as short as they could make it, with barely any room for embellishment, character interaction, or anything other than the bare minimum word count to hit all the typical Save the Cat Hollywood screenwriting 101 story beats to the letter. There aren't even as many jokes as you might think (and the ones that are there are extremely hit or miss, including a lot of the slapstick with Mario himself).

Mario and Peach's little arc together in the front half of the film is probably the worst example of this pacing. Even having read reviews that complained about how fast Peach goes from meeting Mario (by her admission the first other human she's ever met) to deciding to train him as the new savior of the Mushroom Kingdom, I was SHOCKED at how fast it was. They don't even lampshade it.

Peach takes Mario straight into the big training sequence where he learns how to use mushrooms and jump over platforming obstacles. Peach is apparently already a hypercompetent platforming pro and a great fighter, so there's no clear reason why she's taking the time to train this random guy to be half as good as her when the world is in danger. Then they set off on their adventure, Toad joins them, and we get a VERY brief travel montage. It's about thirty seconds total - just long enough to give Peach a line about how she wants to protect this beautiful world of hers to try and give her some stakes. We get the genre-mandated nighttime campfire heart to heart, which is exactly long enough to have Mario say he misses Luigi and to have Peach give the two sentence summary of her origin story and not a second longer. Then they reach the Kongs, and their big journey is complete. (They barely interact for the rest of the movie.) So much of the movie is like this - always ready to get on to the next scene as soon as a new one starts.

I'm not criticizing the script because I expect The Super Mario Bros. Movie to be a prestige drama - although there are certainly halfhearted attempts at a dramatic arc. The stuff with Mario's family was a fun enough idea, but again, ruthless efficiency. We get one quick scene with them at the start to give Mario some pathos, because I guess Save the Cat said he's gotta have some pathos. And then Mario gets his dad's approval amidst the action of the final battle in Brooklyn to resolve his arc, just so the movie can end as quickly as possible once Bowser is defeated. (Despite now having the approval of their family and their community back in Brooklyn, Mario and Luigi move to the Mushroom Kingdom off-screen without a single word dedicated to this decision, because that's where they live in the games.)

Look. I am not comparing it to The Godfather. Don't give me that shit. I am not asking for an extra half hour to explore Mario and Luigi's childhood trauma. I am not asking for the complex inner workings of the Mushroom Kingdom monarchy. I know this is gonna be a basic Hero's Journey adventure for kids. It just feels like it's turning down so many opportunities to have a little fun with the characters, to let them interact and play off of each other, to let there be some adventure on this adventure. This is the first time we've gotten to see these characters interact with fully voiced dialogue in a very, very long time! "Yeah, it's not High Art, but it's FUN!" Stories are fun! Character interactions are fun! The script could be having so much more fun!! It is adamantly against making the Story parts of this story-driven movie any more Fun than they functionally need to be!!!

Mario, Peach, and Toad's journey to find the Kongs is shorter than the training montage that precedes it. After the opening, Bowser mostly just sits in his castle and waits for the third act to start. Luigi's there, too, but he only gets one scene with Bowser and then the movie mostly forgets he exists until the climax. He doesn't even get to try and sneak out of Bowser's castle and get up to hijinx. He's just there to be a motivation for Mario, so he sits in a cage for half the movie. It's the bare outline of a script with action scenes added in.

Aside from the fact that it's Jack Black singing as Bowser, I feel like this overly-efficient script might be part of the reason why the "Peaches" scene stands out so much. It's a moment that didn't strictly need to be there to keep the plot moving or to provide an action setpiece. It's not even a reference to another Mario thing. It's just a fun and memorable little character moment that's there for its own sake. That's what the movie needed more of. To stop and smell the roses more often. To play in the space.

To be clear, this isn't a unique problem with this movie. Critics have been noting for years that second acts are disappearing from big Hollywood movies in favor of the Act I plot setup and the Act III action, even though Act II is supposed to be where you get to explore your actual premise. And lots of animated movies give me this exact same vibe of being too "screenwriterly," or feeling like they had an executive breathing down their necks and demanding changes based on focus testing. But these common issues are why I come away mostly feeling like the movie is on the better end of "average," rather than totally blowing my mind. You have seen this movie many times before, just not with Mario in it.

And, of course, there's the music. The score by Brian Tyler based on various classic Mario and Donkey Kong tunes (frustratingly all attributed to Koji Kondo) is absolutely beautiful, but it's unfortunately frequently overshadowed by the licensed music. Everyone already complained about things like the use of Take On Me in place of a lovingly arranged DKC medley, but it feels illustrative of the tug of war the movie is caught in the middle of, between wanting to be a lavishly faithful Mario movie and wanting to be a generic tentpole animated adventure movie. Every single licensed song used is the most obvious, overused song they could have picked for the scene. It reeks of cynical executive meddling and it took me out of the movie every time.

But there really was a lot of care and love put into this movie - more than probably any other video game movie ever made, not that that's a high bar. I don't want to underplay that too much amidst all my complaints spurred by the absolutely insane response to the reviews.

Aside from the countless background references that people will be picking apart for years, touches like the Captain Toad tune playing in the background of Toad's introduction or the Mario Kart 8 menu music playing in the kart garage really help bring it to another level of authenticity. I also enjoyed seeing some more obscure Mario enemies that felt like they were picked more for being fun to animate than for being nostalgic and marketable. No matter how many times I sarcastically pointed to the screen and deadpanned "reference. reference." I am not immune to noticing these things and smiling. I am not immune to the DK Rap. These alone don't make the movie good, but it's nice to have a video game movie that feels like it was made by people who like video games.

Most importantly, the animation is great throughout. It's leaps and bounds ahead of other Illumination work, and it's the best the Mario cast has ever looked. They even made Donkey Kong handsome, somehow. They're all so squishy and expressive, and they move so fluidly - especially in the action scenes. I particularly liked the more kinetic ones like the aerial Banzai Bill chase and the Mario Kart sequence. Truly, the Mad Max-inspired car battle on Rainbow Road where Mario literally does the speedrun shortcut is this movie firing on all cylinders.

Other, more hand-to-hand fights nail the Popeye-esque vibe Mario should be going for. He's an underdog who gets the shit kicked out of him by bigger, stronger opponents until he gets his signature powerup and turns the tables on them. My favorite animation of all probably came from the use of Cat Mario to turn the tide in the DK fight. They had so much fun making Mario move like a cat. Again, it feels like a choice made because it'd be fun to animate rather than just a nostalgia move.

It's that animation and that attention to detail that carry the film, really. They elevate it from mediocrity into being a fun watch for a fan like me, albeit one I couldn't help but pick apart with Anthony as we watched it at home. I'm glad I saw it, but there's a lot of room to improve with the inevitable sequel. I hope they do. I can't deny that I had fun with the movie, but I hope next time that fun is partially because of the script instead of in spite of it.

Stray thoughts:

Overall, I would say I enjoyed the movie a lot more than Sonic 1, but probably not as much as Sonic 2. Not that these movies need to be pitted against each other.

I hated the Luma. I hated how hilarious they clearly thought the Luma was. They have the fucking Luma break the fourth wall to end the movie and start the credits. This is going to be a deep cut for fans of bad animated films, but the whole time I was just thinking of the little fish from Romeo & Juliet: Sealed With A Kiss who's just the director's kid saying random nonsense. You know I'm right

I rolled my eyes at the "our princess is in another castle" joke and several other jokes that would have been dated in a gamer webcomic 20 years ago but I guess they had to be there

How much of Brooklyn did Bowser's giant floating castle take out? We know 9/11 happened in this universe because the Freedom Tower is there, hasn't New York been through enough

I can't believe there's a Diskun easter egg

The dog is the most Illumination character design in the movie. It felt like it wandered on set from The Secret Life of Pets

Mario being a gamer and playing Kid Icarus of all things just made me remember this tweet:

Yes Anthony did get mad at me for being thirsty for Bowser

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fortunapre · 1 month

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This part is definitely my favorite so far...

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒𖧞 16+(suggestive), fluff, there’s definitely romance going on, fem-gender mentioned, Use of Y/n, swearing

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𖧞 oscar piastri x fem!reader

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𖧞 (scene iii) 2.3k i got carried away…

𝐀/𝐍𖧞 AHHHH ITS STARTING! thanks everybody who’s been interacting, following and reading! should i start a taglist? this is all new to me, but lemme tell ya, it’s def fun! anyways enjoy :)

Go back? (scene i) click here.

Go back? (scene ii) click here.

𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𖧞 Scene iii 𖧞 (𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧...?)

Tuesday, December 11th, 7:06 pm

“Seriously? What kind of question is that?” Oscar criticized me while moving his knight. “Come on mate, do better.”

It’s not my fault my mind went blank. How else am I supposed to react while playing chess? Of Course I'm putting all of my brain power into the game, because I have a burning desire to beat Oscar. Across from me, however, Oscar’s obviously beating me with ease. How was I supposed to know Oscar only wanted to play chess because apparently he’s a prodigy?

“What do you mean? My questions are perfectly fine, just answer.” I stared at the board in front of me, and the lack of pieces I've taken from Oscar. Then across from me, basically everything except my knights and king are lined up, having been taken by him. Ugh.

“Yeah, whatever,” I heard him mumble before he looked at me. I think this is the first time we’ve made eye contact since we started. “Um, I don’t listen to alot of music but something by The Neighborhood probably.”

Safe to say, I was baffled. My question was ‘What song would play in a movie about your life?’ I thought the question was pretty good, and was fully expecting some niche house music song to be his answer. But he’d surprised me. Yet again. Oscar’s surprised me a lot today actually. Maybe it’s just because I've also been paying more attention.

“Really? The Neighborhood? That’s my favor-” I began.

“Your favorite band.” He finished for me. “I know, I hear their music coming from your room practically every day.” He almost mumbled the last part.

“Um,” I wasn’t aware he was paying attention to anything I did, let alone my music taste. I was kind of shocked but decided to dwell on this new information later. Instead I said, “Ok, your turn.” I moved my king to the right.

Instead of firing questions like he was earlier, Oscar looked like he was really trying to think of a worthwhile question, given he probably only has a few left.

“Do you remember Christmas, two years ago? What happened…” He finally said. He looked up from the game, into my eyes looking for a reaction to his words.

My mind started whirring. Why would he ask that? What is he talking about? What happened two years ago?

We would have been 20, and I know that was the year the twins stayed at a friend's place instead of coming along. But… what could he possibly mean by that. What happened?

“Sorry?” I asked because maybe I’d miss-heard him.

“2 years ago. Christmas. In this cabin. Do. you. Remember?” He looked determined to get an answer from me. Like my answer mattered.

“I, uh, I don’t remember. What happened?” My eyebrows were scrunched together, genuinely confused by this.

As I answered, I watched Oscar’s worried expression slip away, replaced with relief. “Nothing important.” he said. He refused to meet my eyes as I watched him carefully, trying to make sense of his sudden switch-up.

“Ohh kayy,” I said slowly, “now my question.”

He nodded, watching me move. My pawn reached the end of the board, meaning I could trade it for a taken piece. I opted for my queen, obviously. I tried to move quickly, grabbing the plastic piece from next to him. I had to basically crawl over the chess board to reach my queen, moving awfully close to Oscar, himself. Once I replaced the piece, before moving back, I looked up to Oscar.

I smiled at him because of my new advantage in the game. But once I looked up, my smirk dropped and my breath hitched. I was a lot closer to his face than I thought. One small move and my lips could so easily touch his-

I quickly sat back down and folded my arms into my thick sweater, suddenly feeling awkward about the thoughts plaguing my mind. He smelled nice, like pine and spearmint.

Oscar cleared his throat and said, “Make this question better than the last.” He sort of laughed, low and awkward. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes as he joked. “Don’t be boring.”

I laughed awkwardly. Then, I thought about what I wanted to ask. What do I want to know about Oscar Piastri? As I thought, my eyes traveled over him, looking for inspiration. He was leaning back, now, on his arms. His sleeves were still rolled up and on his wrist was a small, braided bracelet. Orange and black: it must be from a teammate.

My eyes traveled to the rest of him. His hair was messy in the front, and darker than I remembered.

He started moving around, situating himself so that he was now laying on his side, head being held up by his hand. He was watching me, waiting for me to say something.

I finally thought of a question, and before I could properly think about what I was about to say, it slipped off my tongue.

“Why do you hate me so much?”

His eyes widened and he cleared his throat. He was definitely not expecting that. His free hand, that was fiddling with a chess piece, froze. He almost looked like he had stopped breathing as well.

“Because you’re annoying, that’s why.” He joked, looking down. “You terrorize me any chance you get. Obviously, that doesn’t make me very fond of you.” he went back to fiddling with the chess piece, refusing to meet my eyes, and I could tell his answer was true. But it wasn’t everything.

“Really?” I questioned.

“Yeah, really.”

“What else?” I asked again, wanting to hear his full opinion. I don’t know what made me suddenly interested in his view of me, but curiosity was burning in my mind.

“That’s two questions, you gotta wait for me to ask something…” He tried to argue, but I needed answers.

“What. Else.” I was determined. His eyes bore into mine, suddenly understanding that I wasn’t going to let him get away from answering.

He nodded and then said, “your voice. Something about it makes me want to stay away. Same with your eyes.” He went on. “I don’t know what it is, but they just make me feel….”

He didn’t finish that thought and instead moved on. “Another thing is your attitude. Your so fucking snarky. Some of the things you say and the things you do make me want to just lock you outside, so I don’t need to be near you.”

I didn’t know what to say. Honestly, I don’t know what I was expecting. He genuinely seemed to hate me, which shouldn’t be surprising. But I think something in me was hoping this mutual hatred could fizzle out after some clarity.

“Ok.” is all I said. “Your question.”

It didn't take him long at all to think of a question this time:

“Why do you hate me?” He used my same words against me. I should have expected he wanted answers as well, and I didn’t hold back.

“The way you act. You act all saint-like around others but when it’s just us, you patronize the hell out of me. I’ve tried to explain how annoying you really are to someone, but they never believe me, because to everybody else, you're Mr. Perfectly Fine.” I rambled, my voice slightly raising. “It's just SO tiring. And also,” Once I'd started, I couldn't stop. “Your stupid smirk you do, God, I want to just wipe it off! And your voice as well. When it gets all deep when you tease me and joke, I just…” I stopped myself and let out a long sigh.

There was silence as he took in everything I said.

A beat later he spoke. “Wow, Y/n, why don’t you tell me what you really think.” Oscar teased, breaking the silence. I glared at him, rage filling my eyes.

“You asked, I answered.” I said sharply. Suddenly, I wanted to go back to my room, as far away from him as possible. I rolled my eyes and stood up, about to leave. I was about to start walking away when Oscar got up and grabbed my arm, stopping me.

“Wait,” he started laughing. “Wait, Y/n. Now I know why you hate me so much! It's just that... I wasn’t aware of just how much. It’s a little funny.” He wasn’t taking anything serious, just grinned. “Come back,” he tried. “I’m bored, just finish the game.”

I looked at him. Really looked at him. His grip on my arm had loosened but it was still there, holding me. I went to pull my arm away, but his grip only tightened, as he pulled me closer.

His face was now closer than before. His smirk had dropped, and his eyes were looking into mine. I watched his eyes flicker to my lips, to my eyes, and then back to my lips.

He smelled like pine and spearmint. His scent filled the space between us, or lack thereof. We just held in place, inches apart. My heart was still beating from the anger I was feeling before. Except now, my heart was beating from something else entirely. I couldn’t tell you what happened in the next few seconds but the proximity between us plus the heat of his touch must have flipped something in me.

I tilted my head up slightly, my nose barely brushing against his. We held there for a bit, both of us unsure. But the longer we stayed close the more desire built and beat against my chest. I met his piercing gaze and then closed my eyes, moving a little closer. I was still hesitant, but Oscar didn’t hold back. He took my movement as an invitation and crashed his lips against mine.

I took my arm out of his grip and moved to grasp the front of his hoodie with both hands, pulling him closer. I had no idea why this was happening or why it was happening right after we just proclaimed our hatred for each other, but I couldn't care less. His hands moved to my hips, pulling us flush together. He titled his head to the side, deepening the kiss. His hands moved slowly under my sweater touching the skin of my hips.

My skin burned under his touch. I gained sudden confidence and put my hands in his hair, tugging at the ends. The kiss was heated and intense now. Our lips moved in sync, devouring each other like lovers who haven't felt each other in ages. As his hands felt me and gripped harder, I gasped. It gave him an opening to slip his tongue between my lips.

Knowing Oscar for as long as I have, I never would have imagined how good of a kisser he was. But why would I, imagining what Oscar’s lips feel like was never ever something I’d ever think of. At least it didn’t use to be.

Now, the feel of him is all that's on my mind. Our tongues danced around each other, discovering. His taste was intoxicating and I couldn't get enough. Oscar’s teeth dug into my bottom lip, pulling slightly, making me release a small breathy noise from the back of my throat. Oscar made a similar noise and started walking forward, moving me with him. My back hit the wall softly.

Oscar pushed his hips into me more than before, and his hands traveled higher up, grazing my ribcage with his knuckles. His touch was driving me insane. I brought my hands around his neck, pulling closer, if that was even possible.

He let out a low moan into my mouth and kissed me harder.

My mind was going hazy from the kiss. Our teeth and tongues clashed and fought, wanting to be as close as possible. I felt the heat of Oscar’s entire body on mine. Everywhere. Heat pooled in my lower stomach and lust filled my every thought.

Oscar held nothing back as he used a hand to grab my chin. He moved my head to the side, unlocking our lips. I felt cold at the loss of his lips and took in a deep breath. But not a second later, his lips attached to my neck, sucking under my jawline. The spots he kissed turned sensitive and warm. I wanted his lips everywhere. He traveled lower, sucking, licking and biting.

I was loving the attention he was giving my neck but was more desperate for his lips to be back on mine. I pulled him back to me and kissed him. Both of us were breathing heavily and our lips were becoming swollen.

I couldn’t stop, though. He felt so good.

I let out a moan into his mouth when I felt his lower body push against me. My hands went back to his hair, messing it up further.

Just then, the door opened and I heard our families walk in the door. Where we were positioned, they couldn’t spot us immediately.

“Guys, we're back!” I heard my father yell, and I pushed Oscar away from me, hard. He stumbled back, looking wild. His lips were red and his face was flushed. God, post-makeout Oscar was sexy, but that’s not what’s important right now.

The fact that I even know what a post-makeout Oscar looks like is insane.

What. The. Fuck just happened. Everything suddenly cleared and I felt immense confusion and embarrassment.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and walked away from Oscar, who looked dazed. I left him and went to my parents. Their hands were filled with brown paper bags of what looked like Christmas decorations.

They didn’t look at all like two people who just saw their daughter hardcore making out against the wall, thankfully. My face was burning so incredibly hot with embarrassment and simmering lust. I smoothed down my hair and put on a big smile.

“Hi!” I squeaked higher than normal. “You guys have fun?,” I asked, trying to sound normal.

“Yes, we did! Look at this honey, we found a small boutique with all of this cheap decor for the cabin. The Piastris bought just as much as we did so this place will be looking super festive in no time.” My mom had a huge smile on her face as she spoke. The twins walked in the door soon after, noses red front the cold.

“There was also this neat little bookstore I bet you would have enjoyed.” My father added.

I watched as my sister looked me up and down. She smiled a little while looking around, no doubt for evidence of something. She caught sight of Oscar and I’s unfinished chess game and then began searching intently around the room. She looked at me again and tilted her head. “Where’s Oscar?" she finally asked.

At her question, I looked behind me where I had left Oscar minutes before, but he had disappeared.

“I, um, I don’t know.” I answered truthfully.

“Here!” I heard from upstairs. He must have bolted up there earlier, because he looked normal again. His hair was fixed and he looked less tomato-y. “I’m right here, I was just in the bathroom.” He called, while jogging down the stairs. He caught my gaze and quickly looked away, putting on a smile for our parents.

“Have fun?” He asked the twins, ignoring me as best as he could. But I was just staring at him.

What have we done...

(scene iv) CLICK HERE

pinterest-piece 𖧞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐜

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1tbls · 1 day

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i swear to god im asking this in good faith but why do you like jean? i genuinely don't get it

LMAO well i appreciate the good faith :p i feel like the jeancourse is a spectrum, where i know some of my mutuals are.... on the far left of absolutely despising jean. mutuals, i appreciate all of your faith in me despite my jean-critical jean-liking :p i hope i will be able to sate your curiosity, though i fear it may just come down to taste and i simply may not be able to provide you with an explanation that clicks for you!

for me, like... i like that he's a shithead, and a clown. i suppose for a similar reason that it's very interesting to me to explore harry and kim's shitty sides, the possibility of jean is interesting to me. like, the politics and society mechanics of elysium are so fucking delicious to me, and jean is a facet of that. on an analysis level, i'm similarly intrigued by jean, coalition warship archer, measurehead, rené, siileng.... what are the logical ends of their worldviews, the implications in their world, what are the logics here and how do they weave into the broader themes and lore of elysium. what is the function of the way they are? while i understand disliking jean, i think the occasional claim that he's just an inconsequential side character isn't earned. i do think he is an important foil for elucidating the game's themes around policing and addiction, and dare i say for understanding harry as a character.

on a more basic level. i just think he's funny. like i said, clown man. and also, yes, that he's a sad boy. what can i say. i like his sad pale dog eyes. i like his stupid french accent. i like that he works out like he's got the devil on his back. i like his canon c-cup tits. i like that he buttons his collar tight and high on his neck like a noose. i like the harry+jean dynamic i've made up in my head. i like that he's a petty shitty loser who sits in a motel cafeteria for multiple days instead of doing his job. like, what the actual fuck is your problem? he's a neurotic sad codependent freak and i enjoy seeing how people depict that.

#de tag #ask tag

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evaskjew · 27 days

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tag nine people you want to get to know better!

I was tag by @myokk & @traceyc-uk so let's go:

LAST SONG? - The Will by Alexandre Desplat. Call me strange, but I love listening to film/series/video game soundtracks (and have done since I was 14)! I listen to them when I'm preparing my lessons or correcting my papers, when I'm drawing or writing, etc. Really my "Musics for studying" playlist is the one I listen to most on Spotify 😂

FAVORITE COLOR? - Definitly blue! But I like cold colors in general. And also neutral tone & dark adacemia color palette too 😅

CURRENTLY WATCHING? - I spend my life watching series and films 😆 House of the dragon a short while ago (I love the GOT universe so much 🥰) and at the moment I'm watching Downtown Abbey and Nautilus. And I'm rewatching Sherlock.

LAST MOVIE? - Oppenheimer (by the way, a good biopic, magnificently directed, but in view of the critics I expected better)

SWEET/SPICY/SAVORY? - I'm hesitating between two 😭😭 I love sugar (as a French person, how can I resist pastries, les Religieuses my guilty pleasure 🥹 ) After that ‘spicy’ can have two meanings for me: either spicy that burns the throat (and I actually like it, but not all the time) or spicy in the sense of using spices. If it's the second meaning, then clearly I choose SPICY (I swear by them when I cook 🤤)

But not salty! I salt my food as little as possible and I've got used to eating very little salt (which means that when I eat something that is slightly saltier than what I'm used to, I get a very salty feeling 🥲)

RELATIONSHIP STATUS? - I have a celibacy subscription since 24 years (No doubt a counterpart to being born on 14 February 🤣 and being introverted +++)

CURRENT OBSESSIONS? - My cat 🥰🥰 (My best confidante and my favourite art critic!) She often comes to my desk when I'm drawing and watches me do it ❤ And at the moment she's a bit under the weather (we came back from holiday and found her ill, she lost 600 grams in 3 days and had to be hospitalised 😓). When I go up to Paris I won't see her anymore 😭 (she is my parent's cat)

And of course HP and HL 😅

LAST THING YOU GOOGLED? - "Impact foudre" We were under orange alert for thunderstorms and that allows me to know where the heart of the storm is (and also because lightning falling in your city at 3am wakes you up 🤣)

I did do and enjoy the tag game but when it comes to tagging people, well, I don't have anyone to tag 😞

As I'm very very introverted, I don't talk to anyone 😖 Leaving comments on posts is already an ordeal for me 🥲(so I hardly ever do it, I prefer to just like.) That just goes to show my introverted side!

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ghostedeabha · 1 year

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i haven't posted anything in a bit and i'm so sorry, i don't want to reveal too much detail at the moment but i've just been having a wacky time mentally to put things simply.

in return, have some (extremely) random personal COD headcannons :))

warnings: mentions of mental health disorders (including eating disorders), mentions of religious trauma, mentions of child abuse/childhood trauma, idk just some sad stuff but also way more happy stuff than sad stuff i swear

a/n: reminder that i've never played the game, a lot of the information i have on the characters is from fan created content and a little bit of research and some things could be slightly inaccurate canon wise. also these are once again personal headcanons, you don't have to agree with them, just pls don't be mean :)

anyway, i apologize that there's not that many :(( this is just a short lil list so there's def gonna be some characters missing and such. but i will have more headcanon posts out another time <3

cod headcanons (very random edition)

könig is a farm boy <3

impovershed farmer's child to soldier pipeline is real

also idk why but i feel like his real name is like eduard german spelling of edward or something

2 sisters (1 older, 1 younger but born the same year as him) and a little brother

soap is an ipad kid (i will be taking no criticisms)

ghost probably has borderline personality disorder but because it doesn't present in the way it stereotypically does for borderline men so he is undiagnosed

was audhd undiagnosed until he was 25

bro was baffled

the development of his bpd was both through the abuse and neglect he faced growing up and the trauma that one can experience from being autistic growing up but left undiagnosed

soap has severe adhd

PRICE LISTENS TO DISCO AND CLASSIC ROCK 🗣️ guilty pleasure is 50's love songs and smooth jazz

gaz tried to establish team game nights

regretted his decision after one game night

both ghost and könig are gymbros but in the disordered way

orthorexic könig

an-bp ghost

every one of those mfs has ptsd and/or cptsd

valeria is a radfem (trans inclusive)

gaz secretly likes a few kpop songs from various different groups (he really likes g-idle for some reason)

catholic trauma soap📢

was probably forced to undergo an "exorcism" at one point

also had a scene phase

emo könig :(( <3

ghost wouldn't necessarily label himself goth but he does enjoy quiet a lot of goth music and some of the fashion intrigues him

gaz used to be a roadman😭 absolutely hates admitting it though bc he's embarrassed about it

idk i feel like horangi would listen to ayesha erotica unironically

ghost listens to lana

i could also see könig having bpd as well (this is mostly feeding off of the obsessive/possessive/jealous headcanon the fandom seems to share, though i do have some other reasons i could go into another time)

can i get an amen for he/they könig??

soap jokingly said he wanted to use she/her pronouns too and now ghost wont stop actually using them seriously and soap doesn't want to correct him

ghost is fully aware it was a joke and he just wants to see how long it'll take soap to correct him

141 all have matching tattoos (including kate)

ghost also listens to hollywood undead

valeria's guilty pleasure music is taylor swift's earlier albums

ghost smoked weed in high school

dream blunt rotation is the 141, könig, horangi and valeria

könig's social anxiety really manifests itself as arrogance and sometimes he hates that

könig and soap are actual pyromaniacs

one of könig's favourite movies is howl's moving castle

that's all i can think of for now,, hope y'all enjoyed🫶

if you did pls gimme a like and send an ask if you want to request anything <3

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kittenintheden · 24 days

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Writer Interview Game

hee fun, thank you for the tag, @eraserspiral!

When did you start writing?

blah blah blah been writing stories since I was a kid blah but honestly I'd say I legitimately developed an interest in writing fiction when I was around 13. you'll never guess this but I was on the jr high literary magazine and I wrote a sweet lil 13yo romance story where a marine biologist verbally abuses a dude who hits a dolphin with his boat and then he gets them both to the emergency vet and then it turns into a meet-cute. I used the word "dumbass" in the story and my teaching advisor let it slide and it was published with the swear intact. it was a whole thing.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I read all kinds of things I don't especially want to write. a lot of nonfiction and investigative journalism, memoirs, literary classics a la Virginia Woolf. no interest whatsoever in writing it but it's good reading.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

there isn't like a specific writer I aspire to write like, but I have historically been compared to Neil Gaiman, which is very flattering. mostly I admire the writing chops of Laini Taylor for her beautiful lyrical imagery and dreamlike framing, Carmen Maria Machado for the way she blends horror elements with life, queerness and emotion, Christopher Moore for his incredible humor writing, and (surprise) Neil Gaiman for his approach to speculative fiction that feels so accessible and tied to the real world. like you could turn over a rock and find an entire magical world you never knew was there.

I don't necessarily want to EMULATE them but I have been influenced by them, for sure.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I write on a laptop curled up in the corner of my couch with noise-cancelling headphones on and am frequently interrupted by pets, a spouse, or children. which is why I tend to write late at night.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

sit my ass down and start typing. like I know that is not romantic or fun but part of writing is that I have to get into my flow state, and I can't do that by dicking around doing stuff that isn't writing. it can be really, really hard. sometimes it'll feel like shit. but I do it anyway.

something that helps me a lot is putting on the headphones and listening to mood music or a dialogue video to kind of kickstart my brain into the creative space.

I also do a weed. doing a weed relaxes my inner critic. sometimes.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

sibling relationships tend to feature prominently. I have several siblings and sibling dynamics are fascinating to me. there also tend to be themes of self-sacrifice, choosing love (romantic or platonic), and messy but ride-or-die style friendships.

What is your reason for writing?

I feel compelled to put the movies playing in my head to the page. it brings me joy to transcribe my weird ideas and give them form.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

when people tell me they've come back to reread something I wrote because it stuck with them. that's like. wow. what a feeling. what a motivator.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I try not to think about how other people think about me if I can help it, which I often can't, lol. but mostly I hope readers (and people in general) think of me as someone who tells emotionally resonant stories that make them smile or laugh.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

dialogue. expressing an emotion succinctly on the page.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I'm in a pretty good place about it these days. I write both professionally and for fun, and what I do in this space is my fun time. I can let go, be experimental and weird, not overanalyze every single word, and make something for/with a community that I really enjoy.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

a mix of both, I guess? mostly for myself, honestly. I write the things I would enjoy reading. I write the smut I would find hot. I write the jokes that make me laugh. but I also love giving little winks to readers and letting them know that they're part of the experience, too.

no pressure tags: @shewhowas39 @spacebarbarianweird @ghostfire @brain-rot-central @brabblesblog

#kitten writes #kitten rambles #tag game #writing life #writing is hard

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arisenreborn · 5 months

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Okay slapping together a bunch of assorted Pawn Lovers Guild QOTDs for archival purposes X'D

How do your Arisen & Pawn handle alcohol?

Reverie is kind of wary of the stuff starting out, she's already got a hazy head and that just feels dangerous, but as she starts to get more comfortable she will occasionally have a drink or two with friends, but rarely more than that. Though once or twice she did go drunk ""complaining"" to Klaus about Rann (Klaus and his poor unrequited love listening to her obviously crushing on her frustratingly charming Pawn) Rann is also a bit more reluctant, he likes to keep a clear head, but he'll sip slowly on a mug or two while the Arisen takes care of their business (or social calls). It doesn't… seem… like it has much effect on him? He generally has a pretty high tolerance but There Will Be Signs. The occasional "I swear to drunk I'm not god." verbal slip-up. A sudden bout of clumsiness. Not that he's particularly austere normally, but he'll smile and laugh more openly. Might even tease a little (in a sort of big brotherly way) P much opposites of Rev and Rann, Olivia and Emrys… they do enjoy their drink. Olivia slightly more, but she's… she's so bad. Like, the girl does not know her limit (which is fairly mid-high but she will drink herself into a ditch). She's just having too much fun! Very friendly and not a mean or angry or sad drunk or anything like that generally speaking, but definitely inclined to perhaps accidentally get into more bar fights or ending the night running from the guards. More often Emrys has to carry her (flailing, singing terribly) back home as he debates just dropping her. ^^ Emrys is similarly jovial, and only slightly knows his limits better than her. Just enough to be the one responsible for steering their comical staggering walk back home. Though he begrudges it a bit, you can count on him to be the one to get you back into bed and pull your boots off and make sure you don't die in your sleep.

What Pawns say about their Arisen

Most of Rann's remarks would be subtle, and usually would refer to similar habits when they happen to overlap; recklessness, forgetting to eat or sleep, etc. On the flipside, more cautious Arisen would hear quiet sighs and "If only my own Master could learn from this." But occasionally, when settling down around the campfire, you might hear him murmuring a soft remark about how "Though I've traveled in worlds beyond the Rift many a time, of late I cannot help but feel a certain melancholy when I am gone from her side overlong." Emrys… no holds barred. He will out her dirty laundry, especially if the subject comes up. And sometimes even if it doesn't. "Do you think it's a requirement that Arisen are to have insufferable savior complexes, or is it just mine?" (This can be genuine or sarcastic depending on the demeanor of the Arisen he's serving, and could either be seen as praising or critical tbh X'D) (if a quest ends in failure/someone dying/etc., he remarks somewhat more sadly) "…She'd not have liked that." (starts laughing when fighting phantasms and such) "Oh, sorry, just remembered a time my Master went screaming and running the first time we encountered these, I thought for sure she'd damn near pissed her pants." (if the Arisen gets their ass woefully and embarrassingly clobbered while trying to help or bite off more than they can chew) "Don't worry, seen it all before." (I should stop I could probably go on for a while you get the gist)

What kind of video games would they play?

Reverie would probably play more "relaxing" games, with a simulation/management side like SDV or Rune Factory, visual novels, and also all sorts of indies - but then she'd also have a few obsessive favs like Dishonored and Assassin's Creed (stealthy kinds of games with some good story). Rann's a cRPG guy, but he also probably gets into all of the popular co-op games like Among Us, Lethal Company, Phasmophobia - but Rev probably got him into like, Fire Emblem because it's very funny for me to imagine him getting into the particulars about getting good stats on babies.

Olivia will try just about anything, and is pretty competitive - she doesn't get very toxic but she will rage quit and just never pick a game up again. She'd probably be pretty big into something like Monster Hunter too, but she'd also play dress-up games and stuff like the Sims. Emrys... my sorta-meme answer is that he looks for "freedom and choice" in a game, he wants everything Todd Howard and Peter Molyneux promised and will bitch about it when it doesn't deliver. So: Elder Scrolls, Fable, Fallout, some certain cRPGs, etc Oh, he'd also play Pokemon though and get really attached to all of his Pokemon. (...his favorite is Probably Black and White)

What lines would the Pawns have upon the Arisen dying?

Rann: I'm thinking just an effectively heart-wrenching shouting of her name. One of those few instances all walls and restraint break down. In contrast with his usual soothingly calm town, it's pained, cracked with desperation, and a snarling touch of anger, a wellspring of grief. Emrys: "Arisen…?" He'd sound stunned and almost amused in disbelief. The air has gone from his lungs and he can't quite get it back. I think the main thing for him would be a long, dreadful silence tbh, the mental clambering for what to think, say, feel, do in this situation at all, because there's so much of everything welling up and most of it he does not want. "Hey… that's enough of that…" Whether the battle continues or not, it's over for him.

#crow's lorebook.#pawn lovers qotd.

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karahalloway · 1 year

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Morally Grey - Part II: Hard Drive

Fandom: TRR x Mission: Impossible II

Pairing: Drake Walker x F!OC (Harper Gale)

Series: Morally Grey

Synopsis: Drake drives after Harper and things get wild, in more ways than one...

Word count: 3,700

Rating/Warnings: E (swearing, road rage, all kinds of dangerous driving do not try this at home)

Chapter theme song:

A/N: So, I apparently had too much fun writing Game of Thieves, so after I finished it, my mind decided that it would be great idea to create a follow-up exploring the car-chase scene from Drake's POV. So, here we are! There will probably be two more parts after this.

A/N2: The clip (for anyone who hasn't seen the movie, or doesn't remember) is below. Enjoy!

youtube

"Dammit..." I cuss under my breath as she drives off.

As asset recruitment went, that had crashed and burned like the Hindenburg.

Not that I strictly know why I need to recruit her in the first place.

Apart from the very clear directive I received in my mission brief.

...you may select any two team members, but it is essential that the third team member be Harper Gale. She is a civilian, and a highly capable professional thief. You have forty-eight hours to recruit Miss Gale and meet me in Stormholt to receive your assignment...

In and of itself, such an instruction — while rare — isn't that left field. Because even though IMF prefers to operate in the shadows, there are times when the mission parameters call for third-party assists. To gain access. To throw off suspicion. To provide specialist expertise.

So, over the years, I've found myself teaming up with all manner of civilians — from world-renowned scientists, through morally shady politicians, all the way down to your entry-level gang-banger in order to get a mission over the line.

But Gale isn't any of those things. She's a common thief. Admittedly a drop-dead gorgeous and bitingly sassy thief who's quick on her feet... but a common thief nevertheless. And those are a dime a dozen. In both IMF, and the underworld.

So, that doesn't explain why Constantine has gone to such pains to single her out as a mission-critical part of this assignment.

Which means that he obviously knows something I don't.

But I'm not gonna find out what by standing on the Beaumonts' drive like a moron.

"Hey, Pete," I call, turning back around. "One more for you."

The valet manager deftly catches the token that I toss to him. "Right away, Mr Dallas."

"Thanks," I acknowledge as I pull out my phone.

One of the upsides of having had to pretend to be the Beaumonts' external security consultant over the past couple of days is that I'm now on a first name basis with most of the staff.

Which definitely pays dividends when you need something done quick.

Like I do now.

Unlocking the encrypted device while Pete radios through for my ride, I tap on the tracking app and enter the number that I pulled off her phone while waiting for her to crack the safe.

Because somehow, I'd known I'll end up in this exact situation.

After a few moments' calibration, the software throws up a map with a flashing red dot in the centre.

I feel the corner of my mouth twitch. You can run, but you can't hide, girl...

"Your vehicle, Mr Dallas," advises the valet, pulling up in front of me.

"Perfect timing," I grin, pulling my wallet out to extract some notes to stuff into his breast pocket as he exits the car.

"Oh, th-thank you, sir," he stammers, clearly unaccustomed to receiving a healthy tip for his services.

"You're welcome," I nod, getting behind the wheel of the Porsche 918 Spyder.

Besides the fact that the average Joe's manning these kinds of events made fuck all money while the guests drank champagne costing several grand a pop, it always paid to cultivate goodwill with the staff. Not just from a common decency point of view, but also because you never know when you’re gonna need their eyes and ears.

So, parting with a couple hundred Euros, or a favour, in exchange for potentially priceless intel down the line is always a fair trade in my book.

"Have a wonderful evening!" enthuses the still star-struck valet as he closes the driver's side door 'round.

"Yeah. We'll see about that," I mutter under my breath as I slot my phone into the cup holder at the top of the centre console.

The evening hasn't exactly gone to plan so far...

But, as Constantine likes to say, this was Mission: Impossible, not Mission: Difficult.

Which means that even though Gale would probably like nothing more than to shoot me on sight, I have to go after her. And somehow convince her to change her mind.

Otherwise, I'm gonna be up shit creek with this mission...

...and with Constantine.

And neither of those things is something I'm particularly keen on letting happen. Now, or ever.

So, pressing my foot down, I throw the car into drive and take off with a throaty roar as the naturally aspirated 4.6-liter V-8 kicks the 608 horses under the hood to life.

And, despite the height of the stakes, I feel a grin spread over my face.

Fuck, this car's something else!

Thanks to the less-than routine nature of my work, I frequently find myself behind a wheel. Planes, trains, automobiles — I've driven them all. But I can still count on one hand the machines that have simply taken my breath away.

And the 918 is one of them.

Because despite the fact that it doesn't come with the covetous price tag of a Koenigsegg, or the iconic lines of a Ferrari, the 918 is still a work of art. Not only does it go like shit off a shovel, but it also handles like a dream. Which means you're not crapping yourself every time a high-speed corner comes around.

And for these unlit, backcountry roads that I'm about to drive, that is critical.

Reaching the end of the gravel-lined drive, I spin the car out onto the main road and open up the throttle.

Gale is already a good few miles ahead of me, and — based on the way she hightailed it off the estate earlier — has no intention of slowing down. So, I'm gonna have to step on it if I want to keep pace with her.

As even though I have a lock on her carrier signal, her phone could be a burner — she could decide to turn it off, trash it, or leave it in a dumpster somewhere. And I'm up against the clock, so I don't have time to play hide-and-seek across the width of the continent with her.

Probably shouldn't've told her about the alarm...

But, hindsight's always 20-20.

Not that that necessarily would've changed my decision.

Because despite the fact that I need her professional skill set, I couldn't let her swindle the Duke out of his priceless heirloom. For one, it had merely been convenient bait. And for another, next week's auction is all that stood between the Beaumonts and bankruptcy.

And while I may operate in the shadows, I'm not a complete ass.

Plus, I'd wanted to be up front with her. From the very start.

Because nothing sinks a team like secrets and bad blood. And I'd much rather deal with any potential fallout now, before the start of the actual mission, than smack, bang in the middle of it when a lack of trust has the potential to claim actual lives.

And — if I'm being honest with myself — I kinda like the chase. It makes the eventual win taste that much sweeter.

Especially with a firecracker like Gale.

I swallow an inadvertent groan as my mind falls back to the feel of her pressed up against me in the tub, her eyes flashing with defiance, and a hint of—

I shake my head. Focus, Walker.

But the Beaumonts' unexpected interruption had been worth it. Because it'd convinced me that despite her civilian status, she has exactly the right combination of brains and balls needed to not only stay alive, but actually be an asset on this mission.

But, I don't have her yet. And if I'm gonna finish reeling her in, timing will be key.

So, as I spot a pair of Mercedes tail lights in the darkness, I ease off the gas.

Because her emotions are already running high and I don't want to spook her further by making her think that she's being tailed.

Especially not on these blind-spot riddled roads, in the middle of the night, where one moment of inattention could easily become your last.

And what I definitely don't need right now is my mark ending up in the ER — or worse, the morgue — because I let the heat of the moment get the better of me.

Best that I just hang back, let the dust settle, and re-engage upon arrival at our destination. When she's hopefully calmer.

Key word — hopefully.

Because let's face it. I'd be pretty pissed off too if some asshole'd fucked me out of a six-figure payday.

So, I can't exactly blame her for her explosive reaction.

But, unfortunately for her, there's a lot more at stake here than a jewellery heist gone wrong. The mission brief wouldn't have landed on Constantine's desk unless all hell is about to break loose.

Better pray this girl's got a conscience...

Rounding the bend, we come upon the lights of the town of Ramsford.

But, despite the fact that we're entering an urban environment, Gale blows past the 50 km/h speed limit sign like it doesn't exist.

"Christ, girl..." I grumble under my breath.

And even though I told myself mere minutes ago that I was gonna hang back and give her space, as I see her whip the roadster 'round a narrow corner at breakneck speed, I find myself throwing my original plan out the window as I press pedal to the metal to keep pace with her.

Because while I don't want to lose her, I also know that engaging in a midnight drag race through the streets Ramsford's only gonna result in one thing — the cops coming out of the woodworks to breathe down our neck, and Gale even more pissed off at me than she is already.

So, I need a Plan B.

Skimming my thumb over the controls on the steering wheel, I pull up her number and hit dial...

...and pray that I can talk some sense into her.

The ring of the pending call echoes out from the Spyder's infotainment system once... twice... thrice...

She finally picks up after the fifth ring. "Hello...?"

"Would it kill you to slow down?" I ask dryly.

I see her stiffen as her gaze flies up to the rear view mirror in disbelief.

I flash my headlights at her in response.

"How the hell did you get this number?" she demands as she manages to find her voice again.

"You got your tricks, I got mine," I tell her simply, easing up on the gas slightly as I pull up behind her.

"Yeah, you're a regular David Copperfield," she snarks down the line.

"I prefer Darren Brown, personally..."

"Hmm..." she purrs. "Then you're really gonna love this trick."

The call goes dead.

I shake my head with a scoff. 15-Love to Gale.

But the match ain't won yet. And I'm not backing off that easy.

So, hitting redial on her number, I wait for the call to reconnect...

...but all I get is radio silence.

"You wanna play it like that, huh?" I say under my breath as I swing the Spyder out into the oncoming lane.

Luckily, at this hour, the roads are deserted. But that doesn't means that they're gonna stay that way for long. Which means the time for games is up.

Opening up the throttle, I force my car up alongside hers. Raising my voice so that it'll carry over the roar of the engines, I shout, "Pull over and listen to me, will ya? Just listen!"

"Yeah!" she scoffs in reply. "'Cause that worked out so well for me last time!"

"You walked away, remember?" I remind her. "Can't guarantee that'll be the case next time 'round."

Her gaze snaps defiantly to mine. "Is that a threat?"

"It's simple maths!" I tell her. "You can't evade the law forever! Especially not with a Red Notice hanging over you. But if you help me, I can make all that go away."

"Go aw—?" Her eyes suddenly widen. "Holy shit! You're a spy!"

I answer her with a self-deprecating shrug. It paid the bills.

She recollects herself to throw me a sly look. "Prove it!"

Without warning, she rams her Mercedes into me.

"Jesus fuck!" I cuss as the Sypder lurches to the side from the impact, its rims scraping the curb.

Flipping me the bird, Gale punches the gas to dive back in front of me, whipping her car 'round a tight bend.

Spitting profanities under my breath, I yank the Spyder back onto the road.

She wants to play rough? I'll play rough.

Throwing the engine over to sport mode, I reach for the seatbelt over my shoulder and click it into place as I throw the car after her, the rev counter on the dash going mental as the engine doubles down.

And despite the adrenaline-fuelled chase, I can't help but grin.

This girl's definitely something else...

And she's sure as hell determined to make me work for it. Or — at the very least — give me hell for the way I screwed her over back at the Beaumonts.

Either way, she's got my blood pumping, and she knows it.

Which makes me even more determined to catch her.

We hit a roundabout, and Gale looks like she's going straight over...

...but at the last second, she slams her car hard to the left to take the third exit instead, tires smoking as they battle for traction on the cobblestones.

"Shit," I cuss, twisting the wheel hard over to keep pace with her, the Porsche's Pirellis screeching in protest.

Exiting the roundabout, the road in front of us cuts suddenly to the left. Slamming on the breaks, Gale skids her Mercedes 'round the bend, the force of the manoeuvre kicking the roadster's tail out. Very narrowly missing a lamppost, she manages to right the car at the last second to barrel it down the start of a tight switch-back that led to the centuries-old bridge on the edge of the town.

"Sweet fucking Jesus, girl..." I gripe under my breath as I speed after her.

There's being cocky. And then there's being reckless. And the way she's driving, she's definitely tempting fate. Because there's only so many times you can luck out before your luck actually runs out.

Which means I have to figure out a way to stop her before she runs herself off the road.

Depressing the gas pedal again, I search for an opening that I can use to dive in front of her and force her to slow down. But she seems to anticipate my plan, and closes off the gap before I'm able to make use of it.

Grabbing the e-break, I rip it upwards, forcing the Spyder’s tail out as I skid the car 'round her, looking for a gap on the other side.

She rewards me for my efforts by ramming into me again, nearly sending me into the flimsy metal railing that lined the edge of the asphalt.

I feel my jaw tighten at her antics.

First time? Kinda cute. Second time, not so much.

Especially since there were only a grand total of 918 Spyders ever made, and I damn sure don’t want to be responsible for taking one out of commission.

So, I make the reluctant decision to back off again, biding my time until the road opened back up.

We hit the bottom of the switchback, engines blaring and tailpipes sweating, and she immediately punches it towards the old stone bridge that spans the Rams river.

"Better luck next time, Walker!" she calls over her shoulder.

But my attention isn't focused on her. "Watch the road, girl..."

She whips her head around at the last second to clock the rickety Fiat that had just pulled out from behind the blind corner, straight into her path.

Instinctively knowing that she isn’t gonna avoid a collision, she ditches the breaks to try and swerve the Mercedes 'round the hazard instead.

But her momentum is too great, she's forgotten to account for the oversteer...

...and she descends into a tailspin.

"Fuck..." I curse under my breath.

All rational thought evaporates as my adrenaline spikes and my faculties give over to raw instinct.

I gotta save her.

Barrelling the Spyder after her without any semblance of a plan, the only thing I'm focused on is stopping her before she hits the bridge... or worse, the river.

The nose of her car whips past me, and I wrench the wheel to the right, clipping her bumper.

The off-the-cuff interference is enough to change the course of her trajectory, helping prevent her getting wrapped around the stone pillar at the foot of the bridge.

But the Merc's still freewheeling out of control.

Jerking the Porsche 'round, I slam it into the side of her car, trying to use the weight of my vehicle as a ballast to counteract her momentum.

But we're still going too fast.

We go flying down the narrow concourse of the bridge, like a pair of buzzards locked together in a high-stakes dance, speeding towards our fate.

The force of the impact whips her head around. She catches my gaze, and despite the low light, I see the sheer terror in her hazel-green irises...

...and the world around me condenses down to a single point.

Her.

The bridge, the cars, the entirety of my being fades to inconsequence in the face of the nakedness of her vulnerability.

I'm barely even conscious of my actions as I battle against the inevitable, trying to keep a lock on the steering wheel that’s threatening to jump out of my hands, feathering the throttle with a mix of reflex and dogged defiance in an attempt to alter the course of our trajectory, to slow us down, to narrowly avert disaster.

Because even though I know in the furthest recesses of my mind that I'm engaged in a fool's errand, like Icarus, I'm too much of a stubborn ass to back down.

Especially when I know that I'm literally the only thing standing between her and death.

The Merc hits the curb and slams into the low stone wall lining the side of the bridge. The centuries-old mortar crumbles under the weight of the impact, falling away into the ravine below.

But — whether by the grace of God or blind, dumb luck — the red roadster somehow catches itself on the mess of granite and skids to a stop, suspended over the edge of the bridge.

Only... there's no Gale in the driver's seat.

Throwing the seatbelt off, I leap across the seats into the Merc, where I find the driver's side door flapping over the darkness with Gale hanging on for dear life.

"Ahhh...!" she squeaks, scrambling for non-existent purchase as she tries to maintain her hold on the elbow rest...

...but I can see she's slipping.

Knowing that we're fast running out of time, I throw myself forward, reaching for her.

"Harper!"

Her eyes snap to mine, and I can see the fear and desperation welling within.

Latching onto the top of the door with one hand to anchor myself into place, I snap a hold around her wrist with the other and heave her back up.

"I got you, girl..."

Clearing the side of the car, her free hand shoots out to tangle into the material of my shirt as I pull her toward me. She crashes against me with a sob of relief, knocking me backwards into the seat.

She lands on top of me, trembling, and I wrap my arm around her, holding her to me, heart hammering as I stare up into the night sky, trying to catch my breath.

Her quaking form sink against me as she buries her face in the crook of my neck, fingers still latched onto my shirt, our hands still entwined.

Sweet Jesus, that was close...

"You okay?" I ask, running my hand over the arch of her back questioningly.

"Yeah," she nods shakily, not quite meeting my eye as she quickly wipes the wetness from her cheeks.

"Hey," I say softly, reaching up to cup her face in my palm. "It's—"

"I feel like such an idiot..." she grumbles.

"Well, you're the one who decided to Mad Max it through Ramsford like a—"

"Shut up!" she reproaches, smacking me on the chest.

"Christ! I save your ass twice and this is the thanks I get?"

"I didn't need saving!" she counters, laying into me again.

"The evidence points to the cont— Ow!"

"The only reason I'm in this mess at all is because of you!" she cuts in heatedly. "If you hadn't shown up tonight I'd—"

"Probably got caught anyway..."

"Fuck you!" she shouts, giving me a shove. "Why can't you just take 'no' for an answer, instead of chasing after me like some—"

"For fuck’s sake..." I grit, grabbing her by the back of the neck to yank her towards me.

Her eyes widen, but before she has a chance to protest, our mouthes have crashed together like cars in a freeway pile-up — violently, hazardously — the unexpected brush with death and the heart-thumping chase beforehand having already kicked both our pulses into overdrive.

And as our lips meet, that pent-up tension explodes like a flash-bang.

Her teeth scrape against mine with an intensity that's almost feral, even as I feel her body press into mine, her nails raking over my shirt.

My tongue thrusts past hers forcefully to claim the coveted warmth of her mouth, coaxing a soft moan from her as my free hand glides down her body to clamp onto her backside, pulling her to me hungrily as I throw every rule I'd ever been taught out the window.

Never get involved.

Well, too late for that.

Because I'm sure as shit involved now.

The story continues in Part 3 - Russian Roulette.

Permatags

@twinkleallnight @lovingchoices14 @kingliam2019 @petiteboheme @angelasscribbles @aussiegurl1234 @nestledonthaveone @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @tessa-liam @alyshak92 @secretaryunpaid @princessleac1 @walkerdrakewalker @tinkie1973 @twinkle-320 @knaussal @nikkis1983 @lunaseasblog @ficloverevie @indiana-jr @differenttyphoonwerewolf @kristinamae093 @eversoaringqueen12 @3pawandme @alexabeta @veebug8 @fangirling12566 @queenmiarys @lancelotsimp @coco-lina-s @lolablackwrites @ivyflowers13 @persephone13 @hollygirl1269 @adri-ja-96 @harleybeaumont @katedrakeohd @uneravine @alj4890

Picture credits:

Drake - Porsche - Harper

#harper gale #drake walker #the royal romance #hard drive #mission: impossible #mashup #morally grey

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rhela-xiv · 2 months

Text

Taking a break from my regularly scheduled posting to do this. Advanced warning: rambling incoming. There's been a lot of conversation, and discourse, about whether or not the content in Dawntrail is "too difficult" for casual players. And after the experience I had today, I can't help but wonder if some of that feeling isn't the result of the attitudes of many long-time XIV players. Sure, there's a certain amount of "get good" that goes along with having a character at level 100, but some things just come down to whether or not you've seen a fight before. And are we really giving people the kindness and patience to learn and improve? I spent more than an hour in a level 100 dungeon today. We wiped more than 10 times across all three bosses. This isn't about my frustration with "oh I'll run a quick roulette before lunch" turning into a 75 minute excursion. This is about how the other people in my party reacted, and why I think the XIV community can do better. More under the cut.

I queue into Alexandria as a tank. I see a DPS and a Healer "Viewing Cutscene". "first time, forgive me" pops up, from the healer. "nw~ need me to pull a lil slower?" I don't mind doing that, especially in higher level dungeons where you can easily wipe to trash if someone misses a critical heal, or doesn't see the AoE indicator under the wall-to-wall pack of enemies. We get to the first boss. Which is not an easy boss the first time, or even the fifth time. There's a lot going off on top of each other, the safe spots are small and not always easy to see in the window of time you have to find them, and it's not very forgiving if you miss a mechanic. The healer dies, and despite the best efforts of our summoner to get everyone up again, we wipe. And wipe again. I double check to make sure everyone understands the mechanics, and it's just a timing thing. All good, we keep going. (I'll acknowledge my own failings here, I ate a lot of vuln stacks. Someone stuck a Dorito on me and it was just too much pressure.) And keep wiping. But we're getting further in the fight each time, and cleaner. At some point, the following comes in from the healer: "I'm sorry, I just might not be good enough" And it absolutely gutted me. Because I've been there. As a healer, as a DPS, and even as a tank. When it feels like you're trying your hardest, and you swear you can feel the other pixels on your screen getting more pissed at you by the second. The first time I ran Aurum Vale, I got so frustrated I cried and nearly quit the game. I had a similar experience with Heroes Gauntlet. The people in my parties were flat out -mean- about every missed mechanic, and every death. I still, to this day, with several Extreme clears and at least one Savage clear under my belt, get anxious when Aurum Vale pops up in Leveling. It would have been really easy to let the healer drop out, or kick them, or vote abandon. But what would that really have accomplished other than making someone feel like they're not good enough to enjoy the game that we're all here because we love?

All of this to say: For you, it might be a daily roulette between meetings or on your lunch break or after a long day at work. For someone in your party, that might be their MSQ experience. They might be learning. They might be coming back from a two year break between expansions. It costs absolutely nothing but time and a little bit of patience to be kind. And if we don't give people time and opportunity to learn, the whole community suffers for it. Dying is not the end of the world. Messing up a mechanic is not the end of the world. I've seen a lot of comments about "getting comfortable with messing up" floating around, but that only works if the other people in the party are also comfortable with messing up. With wiping and restarting three, four, TEN TIMES, and continuing on.

It was a level 100 dungeon this time, but I've been in ARR trials where someone queues in to a party that's half sprouts going through the fight for the first time, and gets pissed when there's a wipe. I had someone abandon me with two brand new players fighting Titan for the first time because we wiped twice. And we have to stop doing that to people. I can say for damned sure that the healer I played with today has a much clearer understanding of the mechanics in Alexandria bosses now. Because the party was patient, and gracious about mistakes, and wasn't afraid to own their own mistakes. And the next time they queue in for expert, they'll do better. And if everyone extends the same courtesy I experienced today, the whole community gets better together. Last thing. Rorrie the Summoner from Diabolos, if by some chance this finds you: you have the patience of a saint and you were absolutely the MVP of that run. I hope the people you play with regularly appreciate the hell out of you, because I sure did.

#ffxiv #ooc rambling #seriously so much rambling

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weemssapphic · 11 months

Text

20 Author Questions

Tagged by @scorpsik - thank you! :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

41 :')

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

230,542

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Any Gwendoline Christie character, with a heavy preference for Wednesday and Game of Thrones

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Lipstick Stains

in my head

Visions

Hers and Only Hers

Amortentia: Fated Attraction (i hate that title, i'm changing it)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I try to at least. I respond to every comment I get on ao3 because I very much appreciate the time someone took to write something, and I want to give that time back. On tumblr, I try to, but I don't really respond to tags because it's not the best system to reply to tags. But I adore each and every last one endlessly <3

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Everybody Lost Somebody - I cried SO hard writing this.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I feel like most of my fics have a happy ending so... happiest? Hm. I like the ending to in my head quite a lot, also I desire. And I crave.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully no, which I am eternally grateful for <3

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. Often. Almost exclusively save for the occasional hurt/no comfort that my brain tosses out. Always wlw <3

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

No, I'm not a fan of crossovers - I have one or two that I've enjoyed reading, but I don't think I'd ever bother writing one (who knows).

11. Have you ever had a fiction stolen?

No, save for once when someone reposted a bunch of fics on wattpad? That got taken down though so. :)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-writtten a fic before?

Not yet... I do have a fic with @autumn-leaves-chasing-breeze that is chilling in my open tabs though :')

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I only really write x reader, and I read a lot of x reader, but I used to (and still do sometimes) read a lot of Swan Queen <3

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have one Larissa x f!reader fic that I drafted out a long time ago about reader's relationship with Larissa as a fellow student at Nevermore and how it evolves over time into adulthood and working together. But I never have the motivation to write the parts in between the scenes that are stuck in my head :(

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm my own worst critic and would love to say nothing in a very self-deprecating way, but I will be kind to myself and say I've been told that characterization is one of my strengths and would tend to agree - at least, it's what I work the hardest on.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm the slowest writer in existence, I swear it. I also struggle with dialogue sometimes, and transitions. Not sure how much it shows but they're a pain sometimes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I haven't done it much, and I tend to be cautious and would try to get it double-checked to make sure what I'm writing is correct.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Wednesday (Larissa x reader)

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

You Make Me Feel - hands down! I loved writing this fic and I have re-read it countless times myself hehe

I also have a soft spot for some of my earlier Brienne fics like Your Favorite Dance because !! Brienne fluff !!

Tagging (no pressure! <3): @pro-weems-places @milfsloverblog @crow-raven-crow @dianneking @rippersz

#personal #20 author questions #writing stuff

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stuckinstrangerthings · 2 years

Text

Senior Year - Where we lose count

(part 7)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!reader/ y/n Henderson

Context: y/n is Dustin's big sister. The events of S1 to S3 have happened with y/n being a part of it to some extent. S3 ends differently with Hopper escaping the Russians with Joyce and Murray. Joyce and Hopper made it to Enzo at some point and they are now happily dating. Joyce didn't move to California so the gang is all together in Hawkins.

Dustin's and y/n dad died a few years ago. He was Hopper and Joyce's high school friend so they are very close to the family. Hopper is y/n godfather.

I don't know yet if some of the events of S4 will happen in this serie, but I can promise that Eddie will be safe if they do.

Summary: Y/n is starting her senior year as Eddie's starts his third one. They know each other from being in the same high school, but are not really friends. She likes him. Good thing her little brother is now a part of the Hellfire Club.

Warnings: (for the whole serie) mention of dead parents, mention of drugs and alcohol, swearing, slow burn, flirting, mutual pining, fluff, friends to lovers, smut 18+.

Author's note: I want this will be a serie. English is not my first language. Also, this is my very first time writing fanfic. Please feel free to comment and give constructive criticism. Thanks!

----

It's Saturday afternoon and Eddie gets to your house as planned to work on your chemistry assignement due on Monday. As soon as he parks his van, he hears total chaos coming from inside. He chuckles, guessing the source of said chaos. He opens the front door and what he sees confirm his theory. All the youngster are there, spread all over the living room and the kitchen. Eating sandwiches and chips. It's loud but you look so happy. You are chatting and laughing with El, Max and Will sitting in the living room. Dustin, Mike and Lucas are eating and arguing in the kitchen.

Everybody warmly greets Eddie.

"Guys, you need to clean up and leave soon if you don't want to miss the movie!" you say.

They all get up, hurrying to finish their lunch and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Getting ready to leave. Today's plan for them is afternoon at the movies and sleep-over at the Byers.

"Dustin, don't forget the banana bread!" you shout, grabbing the container and putting it in his backpack "You guys leave some for Joyce, Hop and Jonathan".

"I'll try my best" he says laughing.

You and Eddie watch as they all jump on their bikes (or skate) and leave for the movie theater.

You get back inside.

"Eddie, I have leftovers, i'm making us sandwiches!" you say.

He smiles. By now, he knows there is no refusing food from you. Besides, why would he refuse, he loves all the food you make.

"I'm sad the banana bread left with Dustin" he jokes.

"Don't worry, I hid our portions. I also have extra for Wayne". you answer.

"Of course you have Princess. I don't know why I was worried" he winks at you.

Yes, the nickname stayed, and yes you love it. Add the winks... goosebumps. You like Eddie a lot as a friend, but at this point you know for sure you love him and oh my do you want him. Is the flirting a game? You don't know, but boy do you enjoy it.

You both go to your bedroom with your food. Eddie takes a first bite of his sandwich. He moans and closes his eyes.

"Princess, even your sandwiches are heavenly. What's in there?" he says.

"Can't say, secret ingredient. Family secret" you reply.

"Wow, now I have to marry you to know everything" he answers.

You laugh "You want to marry me for my cooking skills?".

He gets that naughty look on his face and answers "Oh I'm sure you have plenty of other skills worth discovering"

You laugh...and you blush "Ok Munson, that was sexy. You win this round".

You both smile at each other.

"Ok, let's do this damn chemistry assignement so we can have a little peace for the rest of the week-end" you say.

After a few hours, you are both tired but you are finally done with the assignement. It's now dark outside. The only lightening in your bedroom is from the lamp on your desk. You and Eddie sit in a confortable silence at your desk. You start touching his forearm, tracing the bats from his tattoo.

"I like this one" you say.

"Yeah? I didn't know you liked tattoos" he looks surprised.

"I love tattoos!" you reply.

"Do you have any?" he aks.

"It depends, can you keep a secret?"

Eddie face is a mix of shook and amusement "You do, you totally have at least one! No way! I want to know!".

"Oh my God, Eddie" you laugh but you are also worried "I'll tell you everything but you have to promise to keep it a secret. My mom would kill me".

"I promise" he says, mimicking locking his lips and throwing away the key. He looks super excited.

"Ok, nobody knows. For real, nobody but you. I have two small tattoos. Got them at a small tattoo shop while I was in Indianapolis last summer".

"That is so cool. I did not see that coming Princess. Pleasantly surprised" he says with a big grin "Where are they?".

"Well, let's say they are well hidden so my mom can't see them even when i'm in a bathing suit".

"I think i'm gonna faint" Eddie says as he rubs his hands on his face.

You laugh "Are you blushing? Am I winning a new round?"

He stays silent for a moment. Face still in his hands.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours" you say.

He takes his hands off his face to look at you. He is definitively blushing and you win this round. A victorious look on your face.

"Princess, you will be the death of me" he sighs.

You decide to push it further. You are alone with him. Nobody is coming home until tomorrow. And this proximity with him in your poorly lit bedroom is making your head spin with desire. Also, you did what to see all his tattoos.

"It's a serious offer" you tell him.

He stops smilig, still blushing but now also very curious "Really?"

"Yup, but you go first. Show me all your tattoos. And no lifting part of your t-shirt or pants. You have to take the piece of clothing off. That's the deal". And that was a pretty good deal considering you were wearing only a dress.

"Deal". He gets up and quickly takes off his t-shirt.

You stand up and get closer to him "Can I touch you?".

"... yes" he replies a little shaky.

You smile but don't look at him. Your fingers slowly and gently touching his tattoos. Some of them you knew he had, some are new to you. You get to his back to discover big bat wings tattoos. You continue touching, taking your time, contouring the tattoos. You can hear his breathing changing. You feel the goosebumps on his skin. And you enjoy it... a lot. You come back to face him, tracing the tattoos on his chest, slowly coming down to the one besides his happy trail and disappearing a little under his pants.

"The bats on your forearm is still my favorite one" You put your hand on his lower abdomen tattoo "But this one has the best placement for sure". He puts his hands on yours. Your eyes meet his and there is no doubt on both your minds. This isn't just a game. You bite your lower lip and you shiver a little.

"Your turn Princess. I want to see yours now" he whispers.

"You'll have to find them" you softly say has you turn around and hold your hair out of the way so he can unzip your dress. He gently does and your dress falls to the floor. Leaving you only in your underwear. Nice black ones of course. You were always ready in case the flirting would lead to more.

His hands and his eyes are exploring your body. Searching for your tattoos, but it's also way more than that. It's very sensual while being very respectful. No inappropriate touching, He takes his time, slowly touching you everywhere your skin is exposed and paying attention to your reactions. At this point, you can't help making little sounds. Moans and sighs. But you don't feel self-conscious at all. You feel confortable, high on Eddie. You feel on fire. You are really enjoying this. This is foreplay and you are in heaven.

After exploring your legs, he stands up, dangerously close to you. Close enough for you to clearly feel on your stomach that this was working for him too.

"I can't find them" he says.

You lustly look at him "Guess you are going to have to take my underwear off to see them".

He licks his bottom lip and takes your face in this hands "I really want to kiss you right now" he confesses.

You look at him and reply "I always really want you to kiss me".

He blushes, smiles and leans over to kiss you. His hands finding your waist while yours find his neck. And it's soft and perfect and everything you wanted and then hungry and full of more desire from both of you. He grabs your ass and lifts you up. You wrap your legs around his waist. You can feel him kiss you everywhere he can while taking you to your bed.

Finally, this is happening.

#stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things #eddie x reader #eddie munson #eddie x fem!reader #eddie munson slow burn #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson friends to lovers #eddie x y/n #eddie munson stranger things

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jenevawashere · 4 months

Text

Writers Truth & Dare Ask Game

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats: how about no

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? I wanted Wanda Maximoff in the X-men movies. I had a vision for it and I might revisit it someday...

🌵 ⇢ share the link to a playlist you love: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6mwovYLQUxzDlP3bR1L5GS?si=baa885e9c42c4fc9

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that? seven. It has become more enjoyably as my writing style has changed. I edit as I go because I write in chunks, then go back and edit when I hit a metaphorical wall.

🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis: ok! good luck decoding this shit: 📍🛑🔩👁️🍫

🥑 ⇢ you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help? none of them are on here that I know of but Q and S. Maybe G depending on who...

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love: I have a whole list. So instead, here's a shit ton of my bookmarks. https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendofthePhoenix1234/bookmarks

💌 ⇢ how many unread emails do you have right now? 5 in the main

🌻 ⇢ tag someone you appreciate but don't talk to on a regular basis: How do you tag on here? Seriously, not a joke I have yet to learn that skill.

🐇 ⇢ do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or a mix of both? Original or existing characters.

🧃 ⇢ share some personal lore you never posted about before: I'm allergic to watermelon. No idea how the fuck that is possible but it happens.

🎲 ⇢ what stops you from writing more in your free time? Short answer? Life. Long answer? Also life. And procrastination.

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favorite ships or pairings: uhhhhhhhhh NEXT!

🧸 ⇢ what's the fastest way to become your mutual? shit if I know. Just hang out and say hi every once in a while. If we share fandoms, then cool! *shrugs in idk*

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now: finally having a job, a few projects to switch through, and my cat.

📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app? fic notes. See previous wip related question to try and figure that out

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character: I'm gonna have to come back to this one. Brain overloaded when this question came up

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project? recently? (more on a personal level in terms of weirdness) a bunch of information on science related topics. I was the arts kid in a stem class so you can imagine how weird searching for that stuff is.

🦷 ⇢ share some personal wisdom or a life hack you swear on: "Be the kool aid man."

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best? My doctor who fics and literally anyone else that isn't me and has a much better understanding of the whoniverse.

🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity: there's no advice from me. It happens, sometimes for months on end and it sucks.

🥐 ⇢ name one internet reference that will always make you laugh: Oh boy! We have another list! "Burn it. Burn the jacket." "A fire? At the sea parks?!" "Hamburger (the H is silent in this context)" "Surprise harmonica" and I'm going to stop listing things now...

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work? ANY! Seriously, even if it's a single emoji, please say something. Kudos can only do so much, and that's assuming I count them.

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate: I just spent a good five minutes trying to remember what character I hate. I think I've blocked them out in all honesty.

🥝 ⇢ do you lie a lot? what's the most recent lie you told? I have the memory of a goldfish, you expect me to remember that?

🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately: I hate Hate HATE gathering basting stitches SO MUCH

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? Music.

🍅 ⇢ give yourself some constructive criticism on your own writing: what you think is bad, someone else will think is good. What you think is good, someone else will think is bad.

🐚 ⇢ do you like or dislike surprises? depends on a lot of factors here. Need more specifics.

🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here: *panics* Have 58 instead! *awkward jazz hands*

Lars had forgotten his keys at work. He had made it all the way to the door before he realized he couldn’t get into his flat - apartment according to Americans. He still called it the “wrong thing,” no matter how many times he was corrected.

“Of fucking course.” He rolled his eyes as his shoulders slumped in defeat.

☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username? X-men fan. Jean Grey is a favorite. That's where all the Phoenix stuff in my original username came from. The one on here is a pseudonym.

🐝 ⇢ tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them: I ask again. HOW DOES ONE TAG?

🌸 ⇢ do you have any pets? if you do, post some pictures of them: Cat and no. You don't deserve picture of my baby floof.

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it: ...am I allowed to say a whole book? If yes, then the Scarland Art Book that was literally just announced.

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately? Stuff I don't like.

#ask game #writers ask game #why did i do this #idk how to tag this #ao3 fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #this is very old #but im cleaning out some of my drafts so yeah

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acaplaya-musings · 7 months

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Voiceplay Visuals: Moana Medley

For the second part of this series of mine, we're going with Voiceplay's most popular video on YouTube (and Facebook) ever: their Moana Medley! Released on the 19th of August, 2017 (just a few days shy of Geoff's 37th birthday), it currently has over 44 million views on Youtube, and it truly is impressive in its arrangement and vocal performance. But I'm not here to talk about vocals, I'm here to talk about the visual stuff! So let's go!

Group shot! I love how Rachel is wearing a cute red(?) tropical dress, and the others... barely even try with their outfits 😂

Layne is wearing long pants (or three-quarters at least), but he's at least wearing a "surf Cali" shirt, so there was at least some thought in it. Earl I will allow, as he's just kinda got Beach vibes here ngl (I think it's at least partially the hair). Eli kinda looks more like he's ready to go play golf, and Geoff is wearing a hoodie! Geoff, dude... 😅

I was thinking about this video a while ago and was like "wait, who did J play again?" and then I had to remind myself "oh right, this was before he had become a full-time member (for about 3 or 4 years) (but after Tony left the group to focus more on Pattycake Productions and behind-the-scenes stuff)

Kind of a lucky coincedence that this video was the one that introduced a lot of people to Voiceplay (before Oogie Boogie's Song at least), since they actually tell you in the video who everyone is and who they're representing from the movie.

"How many pounds of sand did we use to create our fake beach?" Voiceplay asks in the description. I don't know, but i'm guessing Quite A Lot.

Consider the COCONUT! (the WHAT?) Consider its treeeee!

(Voiceplay assured fans via video description that no coconuts were harmed in the filiming of this video 😋)

I said in another post that I was really tempted to do a thing studying the way Geoff's hair has changed over time and the various styles it has taken, and screw it, I'm doing it via this series! And this is what I mean by it:

A quick trace over a screencap (using a drawing app I have on my laptop), plus a few colour-picks from his hair (because I swear the shade of brown changes a lot just from the lighting alone). Anyway, we continue onwards!

Shoutout to Geoff's expression on "that's right!" from the opening song, Where You Are, love this boy

Who did the waves? Was that Kathy? (She's done puppeteering for other videos, such as Get Back Up Again). It's very cute, love the dedication

Rachel as Moana? Yeah nah yeah you don't say! 😂

"HEY!"

(Okay yes a lot of this is just going to be me pointing out amusing moments, but Voiceplay really know how to be funny, and I'm having fun, so eh)

Eli is underrated when it comes to comedic moments tbh, and also the king of Eyebrow Game (Geoff's a close second)

Well that answers my question about Earl's upper arm tattoo from the This Is Halloween video, anyway! (I.e. it is apparently real)

Layne was in charge of both the music arrangement and the video for this cover, so like, did he cast himself as Hei Hei? 😂 He could have been "Mini Maui", who is another nonspeaking character, but would have made more sense for his singing/rapping bit, but hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing! He makes a great Hei Hei 😁

(Also the fact that Layne's character card thing is orange, and this was before he earned the title of Carrot Lord! The foreshadowing!)

Geoff just deadpan handing a coconut to Layne, love that (also what is it with Voiceplay and nearly every single video screencap looking like a great Draw The Squad/Tag Yourself prompt? 😂

"Get the hook! Geddit?"

Geoff with not-yet-shoulder-length hair (i.e. Younger Geoff) is a different vibe to long-haired Geoff honestly. I very much love him as he is today, of course I do, but I still very much enjoy him here too <3

It's a freaking crime that they cut away from Geoff on the "I can't" part of the "I'll never hide, I can't, I'm too shiny!" line tbh /j

Geoff wears a watch a lot in videos (and since the last few years at least, he usually has something on the other wrist too), but for this video he apparently decided to not wear a more regular black or brown watch, and instead went with something a lot more, well, Shiny! (low-key drama queen vibes ngl, love that for him)

The "Know Who You Are" section is absolutely beautiful in every single way, 10/10, no notes

Love Rachel's dancing, she's a brilliant performer, both on mic and in front of the camera!

This might not be one of the biggest displays of "hey check out what I/we can do!" for any of the Voiceplay members out of all their videos, when it comes to vocal ranges and stuff, but it's still a great one to watch, and I'm happy that it did so well on social media! It's got the playfulness and silliness that has always been and continues to be part of Voiceplay's overall "brand", while still being a really good production and arrangement.

#voiceplay #acapella #geoff castellucci #eli jacobson #layne stein #earl elkins #earl elkins jr #rachel potter #moana #moana medley #acaplaya analysis #voiceplay visuals

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tigerbears · 1 year

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Hello there!

You can call me TigerBear.

I’m a 20s something trans-girl who's only been on tumblr for over a year

I mostly just do reblogs, and just random stuff but I'll also post links to my fanfics so keep an eye for that! (Only been one so far, but lots of folks seem to enjoy it xD)

Expect my fics to mostly be UT and DR fics... Same with posts.... Just a lot of UT/DR related reblogs and post, but you'll also see a few posts related to other games I like or things that catch my fancy. (E.G, I've reentered the doctor who fandom after like 4-5 years)

Aiming for the blog to be SFW/Minor friendly but y'know, I'm still an adult and stuff. Might reblog stuff with swearing. May also reblog SFW posts from NSFW blogs/"Minors DNI or do not follow" blogs, but I don't usually follow these blogs and will likely not touch their risky stuff. TL;DR this blog be safe, can't guarantee the same from those I reblogged.

Guess I can talk about some things about myself.

I’m a trans-girl lesbian who goes by she/her pronouns.

I'm also neurodivergent (autistic specifically) so if I act differently/misunderstand things that's why. I'm sorry my brain just be running differently.

I’m likely suffering from chronic Asriel and Noelle brain rot. I want goat boy to get a happy ending and love the Trans Noelle head-canon. Shipper of Suselle (Susie/Noelle) and Dessriel (Dess/Asriel). (Oh and of course Alphyne (Alphys/Undyne) but I'm not obsessed with the pair like Suselle and Dessriel. Alphyne's still cute though!) Also opened asks! (but don't really know what I'll do with them, and don't expect quick responses, especially bc I’m the shy type of trans-femme. Also, keep the discourse crap away from me.)

Haven't gotten a lot of asks so I just opened the anonymous ones. (Note: This is on thin ice. I may turn off anonymous asks if I change my mind and realize it's a mistake. I already turned off messaging from people I don't follow because I kept getting incomprehensible bot messages.)

If I ever reblog something that's "WIP "a mess of the original post's tags" it means I f--ked up and forgot to remove the wip tags when the post was in my drafts. Please let me know so I can fix it.

Standard DNI: (note realize it got too long with my explanations so I put the longer ones in a separate footnote post. You can find it at the bottom of the DNI list.)

DNI if you hold

transphobia/TERF beliefs. are homophobia or queerphobia in general. exclusionary towards enbys, transmascs, transfemmes, aro & or ace, intersex, & or other folks/identities. are a transmed/truscum, & or any other gatekeeping/invalidation type. racist. xenophobe. Islamophobe. ableist. or are discriminatory in any other way.

Religious fundamentalist, Militant Atheists, or anyone cant respect other people's religious/areligious beliefs. (Its ok to criticize religious people that are being bigoted/harming others, or parasitic cults abusing and leaching off of their members though. Just don't interact if you say stuff like "All religious people are mentally ill" or "all people of X religion are bigots/terrible".)

(can't believe I have to say this) DNI if you ship "those ships." Y'know, the ones which involve some form of i*nest or p*dophilia. (Fontcest, Chasriel, Frans, Lancer/Susie,) Just generally do not interact if you ship any of those "yikes" ships. I don't want my posts to be associated with these accounts if they reblog my posts or whatever. (Footnote 01)

Ralsei's resemblance to Asriel makes Kralsei concerning, but for now (for now and only for now) it just barely gets a pass because we don't fully know what Ralsei is, but future reveals may push Kralsei shippers into the DNI category. Still not touching the ship due to Ralsei's concerning resemblance to Asriel. If its revealed Ralsei's the personification of Kris's familial love for their brother or something, and you still ship Kralsei do not interact. You won't be punished for shipping Kralsei before the reveal though; I'd just see you in a similar light to those who shipped Luke and Leia before ROTJ. Even in the best case scenario though the ship is going to feel weird to me though just because of the resemblance to Asriel. (Footnote 02)

Please tag your anti-ship posts as anti-[shipname], or I will likely block you, especially if you just tag the ship name. When I follow the Suselle tag I'm looking for everything but Anti-Suselle posts. (Footnote 03)

If your posts look like that of a p*rn bot I'll likely block you.

DNI FOOTNOTES IN THIS POST! GO HERE FOR ELABORATION!

Here are the tags I use for my own stuff. " ([On Blog]=on my stylized blog.) ([On Tumblr]=Tumblr's default interface.)

#reblog [On Blog] [On Tumblr] For all the posts I reblog.

#queue [On Blog] [On Tumblr] For all the posts in my queue (which are just reblogs)

#posts from tigerbear's tumblr [On Blog] [On Tumblr] (Or) #my posts [On Blog] [On Tumblr] (Or) #tigerbears posts [On Blog] [On Tumblr] Stuff that's from me (or reblogs which have comments from me.) Pretty much "tigerbears posts" is going to be anything past the 25th or 26th of April 2024 (because I'm not going back to change all of my past tags.)

#tag that are like posts from tigerbear's tumblr [On Blog] [On Tumblr] Basically similar to posts from tiger bear except their reblogs and the new content is only in the tags. (I don't use this tag often/probably ever btw)

#Upsetting-Triggering [On Blog] [On Tumblr] For the very few posts/reblogs that are potentially upsetting, E.G talking about stuff like wars or LGBTQ+ rights being stripped away, general transphobic stuff, ect. (I usually come to tumblr for escapism, so if you feel the same way add it to filtered tags so you at least get the warning pop up before seeing it)

#stupid discourse crap [On Blog] [On Tumblr] I hate discourse. But sometimes the discourse comes to me even though I don't want it. If you don't want to deal with that stupid crap on this horrible website than block this tag.

Here's the link to my YT channel even though I've so far not posted anything!

Here's my AO3 too! Even though so far I've only posted one fic!

I also have a pronouns.page

Anyway I hope you enjoy my blog!

#posts from tigerbear's tumblr #undertale #deltarune #undertale spoilers #deltarune spoilers #spoilers #blog info stuff #introductory post #dni list #(go to link below DNI for elaborations/footnotes on the list.)

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tathrin · 1 year

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✏ 🐺 ⚠ 📚 please! :D

Answers for this LotR ask-game.

✏ rewrites: here's a pencil, which ONE thing in the novels/films are you changing?

Oh gods, just one? Ughhh that's hard. Okay, even stretching the definition of "one thing" to the utmost limit to be an entire character subplot...I'm still torn between Give Arwen An Actual Coherent Plotline (which I think would do the best thing to fix for the movies) and Show Legolas And Gimli's Friendship Arc (because that's at least something that just gets largely overlooked-and-glossed-over with the occasional flicker of lip-service paid to it at random rather than being an absolute cluster-fuck of incoherent half-assed thoughts that stumble all over themselves without any actual fucking resolution/explanation like the Arwen Stuff). Much as I would personally like to see the latter, I think if I were actually given the chance to change one thing, then it would be the Arwen Situation just because that's such a fucking MESS and it really needs fixed.

If we're going with literally just one single thing, then: Denethor burns to death on the pyre instead of running like three fucking miles to the end of the city what the fuck.

🐺 GROND GROND GROND: which of the battles is your favourite to watch? is there a combat scene in particular that you enjoy?

The Battle of Helm's Deep. As much as it bothers me that the elves are there without any plausible explanation, and especially that they just fucking disappear from the entire plot as soon as it's over, it also looks so damn good to watch! And my irritation is mitigated by the GRIN that I absolutely cannot stop from breaking out over my features every single time I hear "that is no orc-horn!" and see the look on Théoden's face when Haldir walks in (and the smug little grin on Legolas's face too because let's face it, he doesn't get to be a little shit in the movies the way he is in the books and that is a crime) as well as by the absolute fucking BEAUTY of that battle itself, not least of all the heart-wrenching scene where Haldir dies. THAT MUSIC OH MY FUCKING GODS AM I RIGHT!? Gods, even when you're watching it as critically as possible and picking-out the bits where cause/effect break-down and narrative order was shuffled in ways that don't make logistical sense and picking up on the minute little errors and inconsistencies...it's still so damn fucking good.

(btw I know I cannot be the only one who noticed, but since it seems that many of the little details that the early movie-fandom used to talk over obsessively in the 2000s have fallen out of common knowledge in more recent years...who else desperately wants to see the footage of the cut where it's Legolas who hauls Gimli out of the water after the wall is breached, rather than Aragorn? Because it's Legolas's hand that actually pulls him up, but then the footage cuts to Aragorn helping Gimli away...but it was Legolas whose hand pulls him out of the water, Legolas who yeeted himself down the stairs on an orc-shield to get to Gimli, so why don't we get to see the rest of that!?)

PJ, the Extended Editions are godsends don't get me wrong...but could we have ALL the deleted footage sometime? Pretty pretty please with elevensies on top?

⚠ fucking buckleberry ferry: from the clip of Dom and Billy discussing the one swear word they could theoretically get by censors, which line would you change?

I honestly don't know, because I don't know that that would actually do anything to add to the weight of things? But a very soft, "oh fuck" when Théoden sees the Nazgûl flying towards him, perhaps!

📚 boxset: how were you first introduced to Middle Earth?

My little brother actually read them first, and he made me read them. I think I was in eighth grade? Give or take a year or two.

Our mom had a collection of "classic novels" that she'd gotten from some kind of book-club some years back, so we had copies of all four books on the "fancy shelves" in the living room next to all the "real literature" and boring biographies and stuff, so I read nice pretty leatherbound editions first, with lovely maps and illustrations, and I think that added to the "weight" of the story in a way, because none of my other fantasy/sci-fi books ever merited such treatment so it made them feel special.

But it also made me leery of reading them tbh, because I'd spent my whole youth being told that the books I liked were crappy books that just Could Not Compare to the Worthwhile Literature that real readers liked (and which were, imo, usually shit). So I'd actually ignored LotR my whole life because it was on the Fancy Book Shelf so I assumed they were also crap. But my brother insisted that I suck-it-up and read them anyway, and that I had to read all of them and not just The Hobbit and call it a day (he knows what a stubborn, contrary person I am, and that it was A: going to take several thousand words for me to give them a fair chance and also B: the Hobbit alone wasn't going to blow me away) and I was reluctant, but he persisted and I did and oh boy was he right. Then like one or two years later, we found out they were making movies so of course we had to re-read them so we'd be ready and I think we both read them at least a dozen times between then and the release of Fellowship, to the point where mom eventually bought us each our own paperback copies so keep us from pestering each other lmao.

(The Silm took a while. I had to literally trap myself on a train freshman year of college with nothing else to do in order to get through that one the first time shhhh.)

#lotr movies #middle earth asks #lord of the rings #me #arwen #legolas #gimli

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