#i’ll go back and add sources later
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getscaredhellyeah · 2 years ago
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updating that one post of get scared and escape the fate together
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otterdoesart · 4 months ago
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Hey hey hey mate! ‘S been a while but I’ve just kinda scrolled through your art tag from the last three years (TIME MOVING REAL!?) and it’s crazy to see how much you’ve done in that time XD! Real fond of your splatoon ocs (manta and Ray was it?) and that one love letter fanart you made (BLEW MY MIND!? THE LYRICS FIT THEM SO WELL!! I WAS IN AWE) X) really do love spending time on this app n’ yappin, makes me wish I spend more than like five minutes a week here ,, BUT gonna do my bestest to see what you’ve been up to/ going to get up to 💚 - Z (ALSO DO YOU HAVE A LIIKR A TAG FOR YOUR OC WORLD CUZ I SAW A FEW POSTS MENTION IT BUT I COULDNT FIND IT RAAARGHHH I would love to see it I am so sorry for yelling byebyebeybeye)
HII Z
Im literally at work rn crying at your kind words 🫶🫶🫶
It really is crazy it’s been so long 😭 I feel like I’ve improved in my art but stayed the same at the same time hehe
Thank you for loving my boys! I created them with my homie from high school and they consume my brain,,They’re just goofy little guys who fight and love each other :) Ray is dating Callie (gross🙄(affectionate)) and manta is dating Dove hehe
Thank you for saying so!!! About the letter fanart guehrhe I killed myself doing that last year on the midst of art fight 💀💀
A lot of my OC stuff is in my head and scattered across sites eughejehe I could ramble about them but it wouldn’t be coherent ! The story changes every 2 months jdhddndh
Oughhh i loveghsj themmm just some more silly guys
Anywho thank you for saying all that I really appreciate it and our friendship although we don’t talk as much anymore 🫶🫶🫶
#oc rambling in tags:#Orion is an elf wizard#elves are one of the few species that weren’t born inherently with magic so they learned it from the world around them#because of that a lot of others consider them to be fake#also rotating an idea about evil elves who source their magic through the slaughter of magical beasts#it’s a cheating way of gaining power and does not give respect to nature smh#Orion is roommates with Fyre-a dragonborn#the story takes place at Ajicae Academy#there are 2 ways to enroll-either have a lot of magic skill or potential#fyre has both#he’s very strong and feircly loyal#Dragonborn’s only have control over fire magic#elves have learned to control all types of magic so Orion is a jack of all trades#then their is Axel who is the heir to the siren kingdom#*there#he is protective of orion but doesn’t quite see them as equal#she has a bit of a tsundere personality 💀#Blanc is a tabaxi-the other species no born with magical abilities#tabaco care less about learning magic than elves#they’re generally inventors#Blanc creates things that aid in harnessing or strengthening magic#I’ll add more later maybe gotta go back to work lol !#the main humanoid races are fairies angels dragonborn tabaxi sirens and elves#I’ve considered giants but I haven’t found a way to make them interesting enough for me to draw and still differentiate from elves#the main forms of magic are water fire air plant light and earth#I know I want monsters to exist but I’m not sure how to separate them from regular magical creatures without being stereotypical#I’m thinking of making it so they’re infected with something causing them to be out of control?#but I also want there to be technology protecting Ajicae from monsters#I can’t have it both ways 😔#unless the monsters have existed a long time? hmmm I have to think a lot on it
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lulunothulu · 2 months ago
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“Picture Proof”
Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Reader
Summary: when you see there’s been an accident on one of Jake’s missions, you beg him to send you proof he’s alive.
Contents: talks of death, but mainly just worry/anxiety and fluff
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‘Reports have said that there has been significant damage to the pilot and their jet. No names have been given but we will keep this situation updated. This has been…’ ‘Multiple sources have told us that the pilot is at the hospital in critical conditions—’
You stare at the TV screen, eyes going foggy with tears.
There was an accident. A pilot got caught in a bird strike, their jet went down. Jake was supposed to be flying this morning. What if it was him?
Jake is fine. He has to be.
You couldn’t stop the tears from coming. Everything in your heart told you Jake was fine but until you heard from him, you wouldn’t know for sure.
Pulling your phone out, you text: Jake, please text or call me when and if you see this.
Two hours pass and still no word from Jake. You’re shaking at this point, trying to keep yourself from driving to base and walking to his normal hangar. Worry fills the pit of your stomach when you haven’t heard from him another two hours later.
You started praying by the end of those four hours. You weren’t one to pray, but you were now.
“God,” you cry. “Please don’t let it be him. Let him come back to me. Please.”
———
You were pacing now, Jake hadn’t texted or called you back in six hours and your mind was already trying to accept the fact that he might’ve been the pilot that went down.
Heart pounding, hands sweating, and mind racing, you text him again.
Jake, please PLEASE text or call me back when and if you see this. I love you.
Your vision blurs when you see the iPhone blue bubble turn green. Nononono. Please don’t have taken him.
A son chokes through your clenched jaw as you drop to the floor, hands on your temples to hold in some of the sobs. You feel a guttural scream erupting from your chest but you stay silent.
“The navy would’ve sent someone to the house if it was Jake,” you tried to reason. “Jake is fine.”
You smile to yourself, begging yourself to believe it.
“Jake is fine, he’s just busy doing pilot shit.”
You take a deep breath before squeezing your eyes but and nodding softly.
“Jake is—”
The text chime scares you out of finishing that sentence and on your phone screen you see a text from Jake.
Without skipping a beat, you unlock your phone and read his text.
Hi baby, I’m just now seeing this. We were in the air longer because of a flight gone wrong. I love you too.
Relief washes over you and you’re sobbing again. You clutch your phone close to your chest, sobbing even harder when you reread his text to you.
You: Send me proof you’re okay.
It takes a second, but Jake sends you a selfie. He’s in his flight suit and gear, hair unruly and eyes relaxed, mouth slightly apart. Behind him, the huge American flag inside the hangar.
You smile down at his picture and half sob and laugh when he adds:
Still looking hot as ever, aren’t I? ;)
When you don’t respond right away, his caller ID fills your screen. You answer and hiccup, “Hello?”
“Darlin’,” he drawls. “I’m so glad to hear your voice.”
“You’re glad?” You laugh, wiping your tears away. “I was terrified it was you that got caught in that bird strike. When you didn’t call or text me…”
“Oh baby I’m so sorry,” he says softly. “I couldn’t text you right away because Mav wanted everyone accounted for and then Cyclone wanted to have an emergency formation…it was a mess. I only now just got released.”
“Okay,” you say, choking back a sob.
“Darlin’?” Jake says in the other side of the phone. “Y/N, talk to me.”
“I’m just glad you’re alright,” you croak. “I’m so fucking glad you’re alright.”
“I am too,” he tells you. “I’ll be home in a few minutes, okay? We can cuddle and watch some of your girly movies tonight.”
You sniffle and nod. “Okay baby.”
“Okay,” he says, you can practically hear him smile. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
“Now, as a man who may have gotten hurt today, you better take that back.”
You laugh, shaking your head. “Never.”
Short and sweet but still effective 🥹
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fushipurro · 4 months ago
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Comforting Presence
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☆ Synopsis: You're having a bad day, but luckily you have Sukuna there to help.
☆ Content: soft!sukuna, gn!reader, hurt/comfort, fluff, established relationship
☆ Notes: had a lot on my mind and couldn't sleep so i wrote this up really fast to put me at ease. hopefully it brings you all comfort as well <3
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You awake to a familiar, delicious scent that overwhelms your senses all at once.
Momentarily you’re confused ─ disoriented from your nap. Sukuna shouldn’t be home from work yet, you had only shut your eyes a few minutes ago. You thought so at least, but judging by the darkened state of your bedroom, that early afternoon nap became more than just that.
You rub the sleep from your eyes, stretching out of the bed and onto your feet. The smell calls to you, and you aimlessly follow it to its source.
In the kitchen, you spot Sukuna with his back turned to you, a utensil in hand over the hot stove top. You step closer without another thought, snaking your arms around to his front and pressing your cheek to his back.
He laughs quietly, with that husky tone that never fails to raise goosebumps across your skin. “Morning, sleepyhead,” he greets, continuing to cook while you continue clinging to him.
“When did you get home?” you ask, your voice thick with sleep.
He hums, “Around an hour ago. I thought it was a little too quiet around here until I found your drooling face.” You can hear the smirk between his words.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I was going to, but then I remembered how grumpy you get when you’re disturbed.”
“Am not,” you argue, flaring your cheeks as you pout.
Sukuna laughs again, and you know in your heart he’s right. He’s always found amusement in comparing you to a hibernating bear when you’re sleeping, but this is also the same man that revels in danger wherever.
“I also know you only nap when you’re sick or something’s upsetting you, and you’re definitely not sick,” he adds while turning the knob to shut the stove off. “So, what’s wrong?”
You tense, caught off guard by how well he’s read the situation from something as simple as a nap ─ something everyone does. It shouldn’t surprise you though; he’s always been good at it, and only got better once you started living together full-time.
“…had a bad day.” You tighten your arms slightly, pushing your face deeper against his body. It’s a reminder that he’s really here, that all of this is real. “I missed you.”
The palm of his hand settles over the both of yours, fingers mingling to hold yours, his thumb smoothing shapes across your skin.
“Had I known, I would’ve come home sooner, but someone must not be checking their phone.”
“Sorry…” you say, sounding defeated as you do. You know he’s only teasing, but the thought of ignoring him ─ even if it was an accident ─ bothers you greatly.
Sukuna may display faux annoyance at your calls, but he’s always said that if you need him, call him. He could never truly be mad at you, but after the day you had, and being tired and hungry on top of it all, your emotions are a dangerous tide to swim with.
He sighs, breaking away from your grasp only to turn and face you properly. His hand still holds one of yours, the other landing against your face. It’s only natural that you angle yourself to seek his touch.
“Go sit up, and I’ll bring you your plate,” he says, leaning down until his lips meet yours with a ginger touch, atypical from his usual roughness.
You nod, stepping away to do as he asked, and a minute later he comes in with dishes for you and him. As he gets comfortable in his seat, he pulls your chair closer with his foot after deciding you’re too far from his side.
“After we eat, you’re going to tell me what’s on your mind.” Sukuna uses a stern tone to address you, and while it makes you want to shrink, or deflect that you’re fine and a bad day was all it was, but then you remember that this is Sukuna.
He loves you, even if he doesn’t say it as often as he should. You know more than anyone that he would let the world burn, watching with popcorn in his hand if only for you. You have always trusted him more than yourself at times. He knows you well enough after all, and just how to make you smile when all you’re able to do is drown in yourself. Just like how he knew from a simple nap that making you one of your favorite comfort meals would be exactly what you needed.
It's thanks to Sukuna that you never have to suffer again on your own. He’s all you’ve ever needed to feel better about life, and you love him with all of yours and the next ones combined.
“Now eat before it gets cold, brat.” He smiles, and you can feel your troubles already beginning to slip away with the tide.
You’ll get through this with Sukuna here at your side.
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yujinnieswifeu · 3 months ago
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hello and thank you for the fic on sex appeal it's really great I really liked it thank you again
I wanted to know if you could make a fic about yujin or wonyoung filming the kisses challenge (candy, drinks, ice cream, popscicle) for reader's YouTube channel and wony or yuj gets a little naughty and horny because of all the kissing teasing the reader about that touching reader breast and reader pushing back their advance and telling them to concentrate on the basic subject after filming the video reader it's that she's going to have a long night (yujin or wonyoung getting hard after a moment in the video hiding they're hard cocks with a pillow video)
(you can easily find gay people filming this challenge you can use it as a source of inspiration)
thanks again for the other fic
-💌
pairings: sub!fem reader x dom g!p Yujin
warnings: smuttt, cumming inside of pussy (please don’t do this irl), kinda switch Yujin and reader?, mild cursing, needy Yujin
a/n: hii again anon!! I’m so glad u enjoyed the previous one that i wrote on Wony hehe, so here is another one w Yujin this time!! I missed writing for Yujin so this was so fun to write tbh, really missed my baby🥺🥺 i forgot to add that this was such a good request as well so tqsm😭. And might have gotten carried away w this askk haha, okk i’ll stop yapping here🥴. (Should i start an anon list btw?? Would you guys like that?)
You and Yujin have been seeing the viral kissing challenge, and wanted to try it out for a while now. You were scared but excited at the same time. It is not like you and Yujin were innocent when doing youtube couple videos, but the thought of doing a challenge like this, it was something new. Yes, sometimes your hand would linger a little longer than usual, sometimes your eyes would stare a little longer into hers, but kissing so intensely in front of the camera was something that you two would never think of doing until couples started doing the kissing challenge.
So fast forward to now, you and Yujin were sitting in your living room, the ice cream flavours were spread all over the table and the camera settled over the tripod just like usual. “I’m scared of this Yujin ah..” you mutter out your thoughts in your head, and Yujin goes to cup your cheeks, planting a soft kiss on your lips to calm you down. “Mm..what have we not accomplished huh?” She whispers against your lips, her eyes lowers down on them before going back to look into your eyes.
“You’re right…with you, everything is possible.” You gave her a wide smile, the one she adores and she smiles back widely as well, almost looking like a puppy. “Stop that lookkk.” You dragged your words, which makes her giggle, showing off her dimples. “That’s even worse!” You pout, and she takes the opportunity to pinch your cheeks instead. You were whining now and Yujin just shushes you up with another kiss. “We need to start rolling the video now, if not the ice cream will melt.” She looks over the ice cream, some puddle of water under the wrapper due to condensation (idk if I’m right 🧍🏻‍♀️), and back at you as you gave her a small pout.
“When i kiss you later, that look of yours will be gone baby.” She teased, and you just roll your eyes at her way of flirting with you, a smile forming on your lips now. “There’s that smile, i’m going to start now okay?” She asked and you nod your head yes. Within a few seconds, she starts the video, settling next to you and you two starts with the normal introduction, filling some fans in on how has your day been and answering the lucky fans questions. Finally, it was the part when you two would do the challenge.
“So..Yujin and me both know how fans have been asking for this content lately…so we’re going to do this challenge. Can you guys guess what it is?” You posed with your hand over your ear, as if hearing what the fans are saying and Yujin giggles at your actions. “You got it right, we’re going to do the….kissing challenge!” Yujin answers after a while of silence and you hid your face in your palms, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “As you can see, y/n here has been trying to get away from this, but of course, i convinced her.” Yujin teases, her hands going to ruffle your hair and you give her a glaring look, which makes her giggle. “Okay okay, i’ll stop.” She says, straightening your hair for you before going back to the task at hand.
“So for this challenge, we have prepared ice cream, and there’s so many flavours to choose from, we really just bought a bunch which we thought were nice to try for this challenge.” Yujin rambles on and you nod at her words.
。。。
Yujin shows the ice cream flavour to the audience, the blindfold was over your eyes now, making you unable to see anything but darkness. Your heart was racing during this time, being unable to see was not something you two were unfamiliar with of course, but thinking about her lips on yours while the video was playing, and blindfolded, there was just something about it that makes you all nervous and excited.
When you feel her fingers under your chin, you got the queue, your lips puckers a little and then you felt it, her cold lips on yours. Your breathing hitches in that moment, feeling her kissing you more intensely, her tongue presses through your lips, forcing you to taste the sweet taste of the ice cream that lingered on her tongue. It tasted like a mix of blueberries and strawberries. Your breathing starts getting heavier, and after a while, Yujin pulls away, almost drawing a whimper out of you as you bite your lips between your teeth instead.
“Well..what flavour was that?” She says slightly breathless, now grabbing a pillow from the edge of the sofa over her lap. “Mm..was that mixed berries?” You raise a brow through the blindfold and Yujin was a little shocked you got it right. “You guessed it right babe, how did you guess?” She quipped, now removing the blindfold for a while, your eyes squinting from the light slightly. “It tasted like blueberries but at the same time strawberries?”
“Oh, to me it just tasted like blueberries, maybe it’s because of you huh? Always distracting me.” Yujin smirks, her attempt to flirt with you makes you roll your eyes, your cheeks now slightly red from her words. “Let’s move on to the next flavour!” You added on, trying to change the subject which causes Yujin to laugh. “Okay, okay, put it back on then.” You place the blindfold back on, the sound of the wrapper fills up the room, the silence was making your heart race, not knowing when she will kiss you.
That was until you felt a pair of hands on your waist, pulling you closer to her, your breath hitches, a gasp falling past your lips at the unexpected touch. Yujin takes this opportunity to kiss you deeply, instantly sliding her tongue inside your mouth, you whimper softly, feeling her hands slide up and down your body teasingly. You were going to push her away and chide her but Yujin knew you too well, her hands sliding under your shirt to feel your skin against her palm. You moan into the kiss, not stopping her yet, until you felt her sliding her fingers past your bra and brushing teasingly at your nipples. You pull away almost instantly, breathing heavily and removing the blindfold that was covering your eyes just a second ago.
“What was that?” You were sternly looking at her now, and she pouts cutely instead, hoping it would work against you. “Don’t give me that look, we need to focus on our video and you know that.” Yujin just whines, she was getting hard doing this challenge and it was not helping when you were blindfolded. She was having those naughty thoughts about you, all blindfolded for her, maybe even bound to the bed…it was driving her and her cock crazy. She just wants this video to end at this point and show you how hard you have gotten her. “Baby…can we stop here for today?” Yujin whines, the pout still etched on her face and you sigh, shaking your head no. “Just 2 more flavours okay? We need to retake this one since you got carried away.” Yujin droops her head, almost like a puppy which makes you giggle. “Sorry love, soon okay? Then we can take care of that problem of yours.” You whisper the last part seductively into her ears, and she bites her bottom lip, suddenly eager to continue recording the content for you two’s youtube channel.
。。。
“A-ahh Yujin slow down!” You cry out, Yujin had requested for your blindfold to stay on, the camera still rolling as she rams her cock inside of you. “Ngh…s-so tight for me, is it cause of the blindfold?” Yujin pants heavily, spreading your legs apart as she drives her cock further deeper inside of you, reaching places that you couldn’t and you let out slurs and moans. She loves seeing you like this, so vulnerable for her. “Shut u-up.” You say breathlessly, and Yujin giggles slightly, pushing your hands up over your head instead to feel you squeeze around her even more. She groans softly against your neck, before licking and sucking at the skin there. “You like it when i do this?” Yujin tightens her grip over your wrist, and you whimper softly. Your hands were curled into fists, and Yujin moans, feeling you tighten around her more.
Just a little more and she would come undone, but that was not what Yujin wants. Within seconds, you found yourself being manhandled into a new position, Yujin slides her cock between your folds, whimpering into you ear as she has your front pressed down against the bed. “F-feel so good..your pussy is mine.” She bites your earlobe, pushing her cock tip past your hole again as she rams herself inside of you. You moan loudly, the sound slightly muffled as you had your head in the pillow. Yujin slides her fingers under your front, her fingers going to tease at your nipples, rolling and pulling them between her fingers, your moans becoming even louder at this point. Yujin whines against your ear, your pussy was closing deliciously around her cock, and she couldn’t stop. Within seconds, she cums inside of you, moaning how good you feel against your ear as her finger slides down to rub at your clit, which sends you over the edge as well.
You feel her hot seed inside of you, but she was still moving her hips slowly. It starts to get too much for you, and you whimper, unable to push her off you since she moves her hands to pin your wrists down, driving her cock that was still hard inside of you. “S-so good, i can’t stop baby, please? I want you to be full of my pup..i’m going to fill you up full of my pup o-okay?” And who were you to say no? When the thought of it turns you on so much? You two ended up doing it all night, and you were sure to be sore the next few days but that was the worries of tomorrow with how good Yujin was fucking you.
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anipgarden · 1 year ago
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What to Do Once Things Are Planted?
This is my seventh post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert--just an enthusiast--but I hope something you find here helps! 
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So you’ve gotten started on making a garden to boost biodiversity! 10/10, excellent work! So, now what?
First, you’ll need to keep watering the plants--especially if you’re going through a dry season. Native plants will be more acclimated to your area’s seasonal weather, but they’ll need a helping hand while they’re getting established--especially if you’re starting with young, tender seedlings. With that in mind, if you accidentally skip out on crucial watering days, don't panic! There's been tons of times where I haven't watered for an entire summer and had perennials come back the next spring! Even this year, during a heatwave, I completely did not water my swamp milkweeds, but they're already popping back up! You may also need to go in and weed, especially if you’re seeing invasive species popping up in the garden. Invasives are no good--if you do anything, do your best to get those out as effectively and safely as possible!
If you’re needing to maintain your shrubs in spring and summer, double check to make sure there are no active bird or insect nests within them. If it’s possible to wait until later to cut your shrubs, it could be extremely beneficial.
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When fall and winter come around and your plants begin to die back, don’t cut them away if you can! Many insects overwinter in the plant stems left behind as perennials die back to the roots. In addition, birds will use seed heads as a source of food over the winter. Try not to clean things up until late winter/early spring, when other food sources are beginning to come back and things are growing again. By then, the insects should be waking up and leaving the plant stems as well.
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However, don’t let this discourage you from collecting seeds! Collecting seed from your plants is a great way to continue gardening at low cost, as well as making friends and encouraging others to garden by trading seeds or offering them as gifts. If you're in an area where you do need to cut back, this is a great opportunity to collect the seeds and save them for the future. You could also cut back what’s dying in the front yard and keep things to overwinter in the backyard. Some overwintering habitat is better than no overwintering habitat.
Want to know how to collect seeds from specific plants? I've found YouTube to be a great source of info for this! Knowing what you're doing and when is key to getting a viable harvest.
As your mulch begins to break down, you’ll need to keep adding more to top it off, if you can. It can get a bit repetitive, but no worries--the mulch breaking down means your soil is improving! 
If possible, add to your garden! Expand, add in new things, and keep encouraging the growth of native plants. If you couldn’t add that water feature in year one, see if you can in year two! New interest in birds? Add a birdhouse, or more bird feeders. Loving the butterflies? Add plenty more nectar-rich plants, or do more research into what they lay their eggs on! Want more color? See what else you can add in! Came into some new pots to expand your flowerpot garden with? Find cool native plants to put in them! I always encourage people to start small and then expand over time, as opposed to starting big and getting overwhelmed.
Keep learning and observing native species of birds, insects, mammals, etc. See what’s coming to your yard now, and look into how you can improve things more for them on your budget. If you aren’t seeing what you were hoping, see if there’s other actions you can take that’ll attract what you’re hoping to see in your backyard habitat. Knowing more about the world around you makes it easier to know how to help the world around you. Talk to others about what you’re doing, the changes you’ve made, and the results you’ve seen! Curious neighbors? Work friends? Your closest homies? Your family? All fair game! You just might be the one who gets someone else interested in making their space a habitat for local wildlife!
That’s the end of this post! My next post is gonna be about the secret Other Thing you can do to help biodiversity--tackling invasives! Until then, I hope this advice was helpful! Feel free to reply with any questions, your success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in!
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nanowrimo · 8 months ago
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When Is a Small Press a Good Fit?
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When it comes to publishing, many writers will think about big publishers first. However, there are a lot of different publishing options out there to explore. NaNo participant and author, Clara Ward, talks about their experience publishing with a small press and gives you questions to consider while you think through your publishing options!
NaNoWriMo inspired me to write. Signing with a small press gave me the support I needed to publish a book I love. 
I’d published books before—starting with NaNoWriMo sponsor deals in the early days of online publishing—but I never had the right skill set to promote those books. As a result, they never truly found their audience. 
In November of 2020, I poured my heart into a genre-blurring near-future tale of sailing across the Pacific and building a neurodiverse, queer, and possibly magical chosen family. In 2021, I titled it Be the Sea and asked myself: What am I going to do with that?
1. Are you looking for fame or family?
Small presses are as varied as the people who form them. If you read widely, you may already have a treasured book on your shelf from your publisher-to-be. Try asking NaNoWriMo friends who share your interests if they’ve discovered any surprising or emerging sources for great reads. (At the very least, you may find books you’ll love in unexpected places!)
Admittedly, a small press doesn’t have a fortune to spend on paving your path to fame. But I have never felt as seen as when my soon-to-be publisher, E.D.E. Bell at Atthis Arts, wrote back, “I’m really in love with what you are doing and would like to talk about it.” 
2. Do you have the bandwidth for working with others?
Even with the most supportive small press, you may have to push outside your comfort zone. I know authors who love the absolute control and freedom of self-publishing. For a time, I felt very comfortable just posting my NaNoWriMo fanfiction novels on Archive of Our Own. At most, I had one or two beta readers to offer feedback on those works. Whereas E.D.E. told me in one of our earliest conversations that in addition to our three rounds of editing we’d need “a good number of betas” to cover the range of topics we were working on together.
I was delighted! I knew what I’d written was ambitious, and I welcomed all the feedback I could get. But it turns out, each extra person in a process adds new challenges and delays. I had to stretch my empathy as well as my publishing timeline because, to quote E.D.E. again: “It’s a lot of emotion (as well as brain cycles) to go through...” Outside perspectives will only improve your writing if you are willing to work with them, to truly listen and learn.
3. Can you handle the two-way commitment?
No form of publishing is easy. The myth that authors write while others handle business and promotion is not true at the top, and certainly not with small presses. In my experience, working with Atthis Arts was like joining a team or chosen family. Beyond certain paid tasks, such as editing and sensitivity reading, I discovered a community of authors who freely offered coaching before my first public reading, social media boosting, tips for author webpages, and an extra pair of eyes on letters requesting bookshop readings or other events. While not all small presses work the same way, this supportive culture proved to be an excellent fit for me. Naturally, I wanted to give back whenever possible.
Small presses can only succeed with community. This month, as I promote the launch of Be the Sea at bookshops in Mountain View, Davis, and Sacramento, I will be introducing many Californians to my Michigan-based small publisher, Atthis Arts. When I stand up as a panelist at Norwescon in Washington state or at various science, library, or Pride events later in the year, I’ll be promoting more than Be the Sea by Clara Ward. I’ll give back by sharing my appreciation for small presses, the supportive and inclusive practices they can normalize, and the opportunities they open up for future writers and readers. 
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Clara Ward lives in Silicon Valley on the border between reality and speculative fiction. Their latest novel, Be the Sea, features a near-future ocean voyage, chosen family, and sea creature perspectives, while delving into our oceans, our selves, and how all futures intertwine. Their short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Decoded Pride, Small Wonders, and as a postcard from Thinking Ink Press. When not using words to teach or tell stories, Clara uses wood, fiber, and glass to make practical or completely impractical objects. More of their words along with crafted creations can be found at: https://clarawardauthor.wordpress.com
Photo by Hümâ H. Yardım on Unsplash
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lxmelle · 7 months ago
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I wanted to make a post on the number of times Gojo and Geto “meet halfway” even beyond death. Just a complication of moments!
Spoilers if you’re anime-only.
Gojo Satoru stops in his tracks upon hearing something roll onto the floor; quickly followed by the voice of someone whom he killed with his own hands.
More under the cut:
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Gate open!
The same words upon a 10-year separation. Not “hisashiburi ne” but “hisashi ne” (a shortened version):
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(Worth noting: the flashback image of Gojo after killing Geto looks eerily like Toji upon death. There is a deliberate parallel.)
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Gojo tries to make sense of what is happening and his six eyes registers the physical information that it’s really Geto.
In processing this he is momentarily flooded with memories of the best 3 years of his life - the Blue Spring 青い春.
Ironically like being flooded with information after being hit by unlimited void, as there have been others who pointed out.
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He was rendered immobile with information on his precious memories and that’s what seals him.
His mind was matching up information from his physical senses (six eyes) and his soul (presenting as feeling).
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And his soul refutes the information. His mind knows Geto wouldn’t do this. Thus, he knows otherwise.
Here is where he reverts back to “ore” 俺 as his raw and authentic self presents itself for a the moment where he is experiencing heightened emotions from the sacrilege before him that gets his trapped.
And it all kinda sucks because seems unfair that Gojo is going to suffer again for what seems to be a heavily one-sided pining for his best friend.
But then, Geto, who really is unable to react (because it isn’t Geto, as he is actually dead) ... still manages to do something.
Although like a dragonfly whose head has been cut off, it responds. His body appears to be imprinted with information despite his brain (mind) and soul not being there.
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As someone pointed out on Twitter/now X, Gojo reacts to Geto’s words/presence and Geto react to his name being called (and possibly also from seeing Gojo in that position):
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Gege, thank you for making this a reciprocal moment.
That smug lil smile from Gojo also kinda depicts a small victory that he made that happen. Something, as a reader, we appreciate that even the ancient Kenjaku has never encountered before - the vessel reacting whilst he is the host.
It’s poetic how they react to each other despite the situation where one is practically dead but can still depict sentiments of a strong bond.
Gege follows up on this with a moment between Toji and Megumi to illustrate another example of parallelism and emphasis, just 7-8 chapters later:
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The narrator doesn’t finish the sentence, but it hints at how the remnants of a soul can still persist within the body if it’s important enough. Leading the body to react even if the brain isn’t there in Geto’s case, and the body in a vessel can still react even if it’s soul information wasn’t summoned by the curse technique user.
It also hints at the parallels between Geto and Toji who died after yielding and “burying” a part of themselves.
The reciprocal nature of Gojo and Geto extends to the afterlife scene.
Can I just add (again) that I love how they’re sitting closer together than compared with when the chapter began? 🤭 yes I like repeating myself because i dedicated a whole post on it before
And I like how they meet halfway there too.
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Isn’t it romantic somehow? Last person Geto saw before his death was Gojo, and the first person Gojo saw was Geto in the afterlife.
I wrote this in another post but I’ll include that here too: the top bit is in reference to Geto’s death where his reaction acknowledges that he doesn’t feel he deserves the loving words, but rather a curse at the end.
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Link: https://www.tumblr.com/lxmelle/748022415626567680/ah-this-makes-lots-of-sense-especially-that?source=share
And taken from my other whopper of a post on souls because I’m too lazy to write it all again:
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The end.
Thank you for sharing in my satosugu indulgence.
Please feel free to share and reblog with other moments worth pointing out! ╰(*´︶`*)╯~♡
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wildglitch · 7 months ago
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What if Zombies!Spidey x DCU LETS GOOOOOOOOO-
O K-
So, This is the (Probably not the last, don't worry) post with ideas for my What If Zombies!Peter In the DCU AU. This is the post that (Finally) Focuses on the DC side of things. This post Is also going to be mainly focused on Peter and what he's up to cause he's the focus of this AU, but I’m probably gonna make another post with info on the other heroes, so If your interested in that, don't worry cause I am thinking about them (Bucky & Loki = Brainwashed bros)
Its also part 1 of Idk since this post kinda got away from me with its length (oops)
Anyways, without further adieu, let's start :D 
-So! starting this off with something fun and not that serious that I just found out. this should have probably gone in the first post but I didn't know this until now so here, a +1 info on “facts about the zombie apocalypse” tm. 
Ok, so at this point you know I like to play around with the timeline right? Ok so, I’m researching the dates and events things take place in right? Turns out, the snap happened in either May or June, and one source even said that it happened on May 31. Now, with this in mind and the fact that I said the apocalypse lasted between 7-8 months, what happens if you subtract 8 months from May? You get October. And if you add the date to it? Guys…I accidentally made it that the zombie apocalypse starts on Halloween! That's just insane!
The official timeline now is 7 months of the zombie apocalypse, no more no less, sorry, I don't make the rules :^ (omg I made Antman & the Wasp a halloween movie lmao. It fits)
-Alright so, Peter, Head Scott/w the cloke and T’challa are on a plane on their way to Wakanda when all of a sudden, well, how many of you seen the Young Justice Episode s1e19 Misplaced? (Btw have I talked about how much I love Billy batson? I will one of these days ok, and that's a threat) well anyways
Airplane squad: *”peacefully” traumatized on a plane to Wakanda
Airplane squad: *the people on the plane fucking fazes out of reality leaving him alone to fly the plane*
Peter: *Panik*
Peter: *feels a pull wanting to take him but fighting it off as he tries to fly a fucking plane*
Peter: *also fades out of reality but much later the other and is now falling to certain doom in the middle of the ocean*
Peter: “Oh What the F-”
Ya that-
I mixed aspects of the snap and scene from misplaced as their way of splitting up. And, they did split up. A high speed plane plus the time it took them to disappear firmly separates Peter from the rest of the heros. And thus the adventure commences
-unlike Billy who can fly, Peter falls head first at top speeds and a thousand meters high into the ocean.  This can happen a few different ways
1) Peter is stranded, and is found by Young Justice or any superhero team that was passing through the ocean and thinks “Oh shoot, that's a child”. And this is how he ends up with the league. This one is kinda fast and there wouldn't be any identity reveal since at this point this Peter has no concept of such a thing. But a good way to work around this is memory loss. Not really my cup of tea but I can very much see this happening considering how hard he hit his head
2) …So Peter fucking dies-
Listen! I somehow started off with my 2 most opposite extremes of ideas, but hear me out. The fall? It kills him. But lets say that some cult or the league of assassins or some shit find his body, realize he’s a “meta” and decide “Yeah, this is a good revival candidate” And they revive the poor sucker. He is held captive HYDRA style and they try to turn him into a weapon. Obviously, he escapes, set free onto the world with a few months of trauma and a stolen one way ticket anywhere. And that anywhere just so happens to be Gotham. I’ll let your mind take it from there
3) This is the last version of events I’m gonna mention and I think this one is the one I'm sticking with, purely for the comedic potential I can see coming out of this. So Peter fought back the spell right? Well unlike the snap where he was fighting a force of nature were he would not have won, Peter was fighting Loki off, which,
Peter: Fighting off that staticy feeling that's trying to take him
Loki: *Genuinely struggling to get this non magic kid to corporate with him*
Loki: Damnit CHILD! I'm trying to save your worthless life!
Peter: *Legit almost wins and gets left by himself in the zombieland* 
Loki: …What did they feed you?
Yeah, so since Loki had to focus on getting that idiot spider child to cooperate, he loses track of everyone else, and all of a sudden, the fuzzy mental image he had of everyone dissipates, and Peters becomes the full focus. This lets him save the kid from the crash, but he now doesn't know where all of the others are, including his brother, and now he can't really get to any of them.
-Peter is saved with a spell that's basically the bubble from steven universe but Loki style. He can breathe just fine, but he can't get out or call for hell. He spends many Hours like this.
-Ok so, Loki is a god. We have established this, I keep mentioning it (sorry) he himself brings this up multiple times. What is something gods tend to have sometimes? Avatars, people who act out their will on Earth. You see where I'm going with this? Since Peter is the only mortal from his world he has access to, and because he is stuck on the watchtower, he decides to make a deal with Peter to make him his Avatar and have him look for the others (Thor). Peter, after having most of the situation explained to him, accepts his offer, with a few conditions here and there that prevent Loki from taking full advantage of him. But at the end of the day, they are both desperate and accept the others' offers and conditions with little fuss.
-Deals and conditions for the avatar contract between Peter and Loki
Loki’s Mission: Find the other mortals and spread chaos as his agent Loki’s Offer: Slight magical aid, “ability boost”, Protection from other magical entities, Godly guide and knowledge and Loki wont force Peter into doing anything too grotesque Loki’s conditions for Peter: He will be able to access anything Peter is seeing and be able to take control of any situation if he sees it fit, he must go on the missions he sends him on, And if the situation ever truly demands it, he will listen to everything Loki tells him to do Peter’s Mission: Finding his friends and finding a cure to his world in this new one as Loki’s Agent. He must also make good impressions on other Magical being in this world as to not shame the god he’s representing Peter Offer: His loyalty and tentative trust, he won't argue too much and will do his absolut best to find Thor. he will Listen to Loki and do what he says Peter’s Conditions for Loki: Will become his Avatar as long as he gets to keep being a hero and doesn't have to hurt or kill people. He will only do a mission once a month, and he will not advertise the Avatar bit. Peter gets free will, He can refuse to do something as long as he isn't demanded of it.
With this, a hand shake, and some blood, The deal is made in the bubble in the middle of the ocean.
-Peter is now Loki’s Avatar, Moonknight style, Yay! They don't really like each other that much due to circumstance but it's fineeeeeee. I did this because 1) I thought of a scenario that didn't really make sense unless Peter was somehow talking to him 2) It’s a little nod to the fact most of the fics have the snapped souls with Peter on his adventure. I thought that this way he can still have his voice in his head , it's not that crowded because it's only one voice, and it's not that Intrusive because Loki isn't going to be with Peter 24/7 only when he needs him, he's using some of his powers, or when he can sense distress or danger coming from Peter- Other than that he's stuck at the watchtower trying to plan his next moves. And 3) Cause the thought came to me and i thought it was fucking Holirouse.
-With Some trickery, Peter sneaks onto a boat and spends his time hidden under the deck pretending and hides like a corner spider the whole trip
-Peter in his, Hasn't been around actual living breathing humans for such a long time, self, breaks down and cries at the docks. Coincidentally, The bats are doing a drug bust there and a wearhouse not 10 feet away from him blows up. 
-Peter in his typical fashion, Puts on his mask and runs into the building looking for survivors.
-The bats, not knowing what happened, see’s this costume stranger helping the thugs get away and immediately clocks him as a villain. Opps
-They fight, misunderstandings happen and now, The friendly neighborhood Spider-Man Is on the front page as gothams hottest new Rogue. Well shit
-Peter being the smart guy he is, squats at an unoccupied apartment and claims it as his. Then Loki shows up after weeks of radio silence, takes one look at the place and says, hell nah, and fixes the place up with magic making the place more than livable. With some (probably magical) persuasion, the guy renting out the place actually puts him on the lease with 50 bucks of monthly rent. Does Peter feel guilty…well? Gotta roll with the punches man. Plus, this place looks nice, ignoring his 20 something neighbor that has enough blood on him to turn his white hair dye red that had sent his spider sense. This is fine.
-With some help from the voice in his head and walking through dark alleys at night, he finds a guy that works for immigration and was selling sketchy (But legit) identities. Not really trusting the guy but in desperate need and ID for the lease he was about to sign, He coughs up all the savings he had, took a Photo, and Ben P. Riley was born. He said he didn't trust the guy.
-Peter has decided to go by an alias for a few reasons, like not knowing if there was already another Peter Parker in this reality and not really wanting to risk it or the plain fact that he didn't really trust anyone in this new reality with it  (Loki and his magical guidance, he has firmly decided to never give out his name so freely ever again). His name is one of the last things from his past life that he can call his own, And if his “Villainous” identity was revealed as Peter Parker, he didn't know if he could handle it. The most simple reason was that he just missed his family and wanted something in this new life he was making for himself to remind himself of them. Ofcourse, he still added that P in there middle so as to not completely erase himself.
-Peter spends a full month just trying to get used to living in a society again, This causes some problems and misunderstandings.
-After many series of misunderstandings and mishaps, everyone thinking he's evil, Peter decides, YK what's, If I can't beat them, join them. Peter starts going out as the “Villain Spider-Man” doing sketchy shit (normal teenage shit) and causing a commotion in Gotham. Peter counts this as his act of mischief and Loki agrees when he sees the kid sell his own photos to the newspaper. Peter isn't actually doing anything evil, it's just his presence that brings fear. The fact that the bats have caught him breaking into multiple high security facilities doesn't really help his case
-Peter spends his months looking through files and files of info searching for the others, but has just about no luck on anything.
-Peter, forced by a mission, goes undercover in Gotham prep to follow one of Loki’s leads. He doesn't really know what he's doing here, but this Tim guy is pretty nice
-Cause of the amazing pictures he keeps selling to the paper, the company hires him full time as their photographer for special events and even lets him write a few articles when they see the notes he puts next to his pictures that provide contexts and stuff like that. This job opens Peter to search to a whole new horizon.
-With Peter's new job, hes sent to many different cities which introduces him to many different people
-He meets Jimmy Olson on a trip to Metropolis and hits it off pretty well with the older man. Jimmy introduces him to his friends and coworkers Lois and Clark, both of whom are just a delegate. Though that Clark guy as not stopped setting of his spider sense since he met him
-The next place he went to was a city called Fawcett, where he was sent to help with a story with one of the local reporters who was apparently his age.
Boss guy: Ben, meet Billy. You two will be working together on the report for this years summer festival
Peter: *Looks at Billy*
Billy: *Looks at ‘Ben’*
*Insert that one Spider-Man meme*
The two sniff each other out as godly “employees” and exchange numbers. And thus, a friendship was born as Billy decided to keep an eye out for any other reality travelers, and Peter is put as one of his emergency contacts to help him get out of shit since he was “technically 20 according to his ID”
-Peter is also sent to Gothams sister city Bludhaven. Peter,ends up meeting a weird police officer that keeps expecting him to take pictures of the guy. But he's nice enough and bought him a hotdog and a cinnamon roll(even though he now thinks he's allergic to them), so the weird outweighs the good.
-On his trip to Bludhaven, Peter decides to go out as spider-man. Not to cause trouble, but to go sightseeing and swinging without the interference of a bat. He ends up sitting upside down on an old building (like that one Atsv scene)  working on some leads he has when all of a sudden, Nightwing appeared right behind him dangling off the side of the building like a mad man giving him a heart attack. Nightwing is about to confront the spider after his sneak attack was caught, but before he does, Peter holds out the cinnamon roll towards the vigilante as a peace offering rushing out the words “Please don't hit me!” and Nightwing just stares. He stares long and hard looking between the treat and the Spider mask. Peter was about to run from them when Nightwing sort of just…sits. Or sits at the best of his abilities with no gravity defying powers. He actually does a pretty good job at it. Nightwing takes to offering with a nod and the 2 just sort of sit there in silence. It's awkward and weird, and quiet but for some reason he doesn't feel as uncomfortable as he thinks he should. Even less when he feels the ringing of his spider senses slowly die down as the minutes pass until it's just a constant hum at the back of his head
-They don't talk after that but from here is a turning point as to how the Bat clan view the spider.
More? Nay I say! (There will be a part 2 to this specific post, but it has gotten too long and I need to go to bed. So hopefully this will do for now :^) Plus this feels like agood stoping point since I feel like that ending would mark the ending to an arc
Please let me know what you think of this AU. I love seeing other people's ideas and thoughts. It fuels me lo
And make sure to keep an eye out for Part 2 of this post.
Later
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blarefordaglare · 3 months ago
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Fan Joy July day 23
This one’s by @chatter-cow
Link: https://www.tumblr.com/chatter-crow/756643689225437185/for-the-art-requests-legend-wild-fluff?source=share
I think this is so sweet-Legend teaching a non-musical (I mean we have Kass and the stable trotters-but they don’t really count as LINK isn’t playing the music) Link music. The art style is also very pretty and I loved how you included lighting. I hope you enjoy this fic as much as I enjoyed making it!
__
“So you never learned music?” The veteran leaned an ear in closer, as if trying to convince himself he was hearing wrong, “Not even a flute?” He felt music was the key to a soul. The thing that adds color to gray lines.
The champion swayed from foot to foot-a nervous habit, “I mean, I can hum,” he offered, “but I only really do that when I cook.” 
Legend let out an exasperated sigh, “better late than never,” he breathed, “I’m going to give you something-just this once-and you’ll give it back after we’re done with it, no damage whatsoever, promise?” It was less of a question and more of a command, as he didn’t even bother to acknowledge the boy’s vigorous nod, instead pulling two instruments from his pouch. One was a white that held the mix of fluffy clouds and fresh buttercream in its color, the other a bright pink, an energetic color that held a sense of elegant power.
“This is an ocarina,” he stated slowly, making sure to have Wild’s full attention. He carefully placed the pink instrument in his scarred palms, making sure to curl the champion’s fingers around the ceramic to prevent dropping, “it’s a standard twelve hole one, but it’s capable of making a wide range of music. From upbeat to-“ for a split second, his gaze shifted to the sky above, as if searching it, before he laid his eyes back down to the instrument, “melancholy.” 
“What about that one,” his finger bluntly pointed towards the other ocarina in the veteran’s hand, causing him to fuss over the fact that the pink ceramic was carelessly held up with a few fingertips, “it’s more… hole-y.” 
“Yeah, because of that it’s a bit harder to maneuver,” he gently applied force to the other’s hands, therefore putting back a firm grip on the ocarina, all while trying to ignore the ringing pleasedontbreakitpleasedontbreakitpleasedontbreakit in his head, “but they still work pretty much the same.” 
“Can you teach me?” His eyes held that curious spark, the spark that got Legend out of bed that one night.
“You know, it’s just like humming… but with blowing, and fingers- wait- Wild not like that!” Legend scrambled to catch the falling ocarina, narrowly missing the ground. He could have sworn he broken a rib in the process, but that would be a later thing to deal with. 
“Okay, I’m going to let go of it now. Remember-No. Dropping.” Right as his hands slipped away from the ocarina, leaving the champion to hold it, or at least he was supposed to. Instead the clay managed to squirm its way out of his hands, “Wild, I swear, I will tape your fingers to that thing!”
“Now how about we start playing a G? Here I’ll show-“
FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET.
By the time the ‘lesson’ was over, Legend could have sworn he had a year’s worth of headaches in one sitting, but it also felt worth it. He could feel the mood in the forest improve, the tree leaves falling down with rhythm.
“Here you go,” Wild’s lips curled slightly as he carefully placed the instrument into the veteran’s palms, removing the small, sticky, pieces of tape on his fingers, “You told me to return it.” 
Legend’s eyes met the champion, a quick glance, yet he could see the swirl of emotions. Excitement for this new discovery, yet a hint of lament of having to give up the skill so soon.
“Keep it.” 
“Really?” Legend bounced on the balls of his feet. Would he break it? Would this mess with the timeline once we return to our respective lands? 
“Of course. Now shoo-I’m busy.” The veteran’s hand waved for emphasis. 
Maybe sometimes Legend would need to block his ears-or at least invest in 8 pairs of earplugs. Maybe sometimes Legend would precariously place the pink ocarina, teetering  on a small rock, back into Wild’s bag. Maybe sometimes Legend would need to invest in glue to repair broken pieces of ceramic together.
But it was all worth it. 
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justdrawlynn11 · 3 months ago
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So in the Sonic underground au how does being roboticized work with them already being robots? (Side note I love this au so much, Sonic underground was my favorite show growing up)
Okay, so here’s what I got for roboticization in the Celestial Underground Au. So the factor of being roboticized is in multiple levels to it.
Roboticization in the CU Au is a bit different from the original source(Sonic Underground) due to multiple factors, such as the main cast and at least over half of the population of Superstar Kingdom (yes that’s the name of the kingdom for now)being animatronics.
Roboticization physically enhances an animatronic and ‘human’ person’s body and ability, it’s like an “upgrade” of sorts.
In depth explanation below.
Physically:
For humans it works the same as it did physically for any organic (there’s plenty of different animal species)characters from Sonic Underground, with all of their flesh being converted into metal.
Animatronics on the other hand, when getting roboticized, are “upgraded” to be superior to their former selves physically and strength wise.
Any clothes the roboticized wore when roboticized will also fully fuse with the “person’s” body(like the original from what I can tell), no need to change clothes when roboticized or something.
Mentally:
Mentally on the other hand is a different can of worms. Overall from the outside the roboticized are not their former selves, being a husk meant to fulfill either the command of the Creator or his forces, or to be ‘improvements’ of their former selves to create the Creator’s desired superior world.
For most roboticized people their former consciousness is basically in a comatose state, unaware of anything happening and basically in mental storage asleep.
Then there’s rare cases, like with the chamber that Moon was roboticized in not comatosing the former self, but them being trapped inside their own heads and forced to watch their bodies move out of their own control(the Creator made this chamber like this because Sun’s magic wouldn’t work if he was permanently comatose, he also tested it on a few people before Moon).
De-Roboticization and a bit on Sun and Moon’s powers:
First off, a character’s innate magic is separate from their magic medallions. The medallions add onto the characters magic ability but they are separate(Like hair extensions or something). Sun’s VERY powerful magic for example isn’t related to his medallion, but his magic can boost the power of his or his siblings medallions.
So for de-roboticization I need to address Sun and Moon’s medallion powers. They are the vocalists of the family and if they were to sing the theme song they couldn’t be allowed to sing together or else they’d probably explode everything(I’ll explain the siblings powers fully later and how they collaborate with each other), but alone they’re not strong enough to do more than use it as defense/offense.
BUT when their medallions(individually) are boosted with an external power they have the power to basically mentally de-roboticize someone, or at least give someone who had no control over their own body via an evil force(like possession or something) control over their body once more.
They cannot do this to each other with their own respective medallions(Sun couldn’t de-roboticize Moon with his own medallion and had to use Moon’s, same would go vice versa) so that’s why Sun needed to use MOON’S medallion to help Moon stop being trapped in his own head(they can use each other’s medallions if needed via a spell).
The magic is only the first part, as the second part of de-roboticization is allowing someone to gain full control of their body back, for example while Moon could move his body and prevent himself from actively attacking, his body was still IN attack mode and was trying its best to do as much harm as possible.
Here’s where Solar and Sun’s collaboration comes into play. Sun asked Solar for help in seeing if they could get Moon back(before Moon’s de-roboticization), and Solar agreed. So he tried his best to semi-self teach himself how to override and get rid of any influence the Creator has on a hosts body(like the coding).
Sun tried his best to help where he could and neither of them really PLANNED for Moon’s de-roboticization to happen as soon as it did(the trigger for the reunion), so Solar was working the best he could(with Nexus’ help now that Sun wasn’t hiding from the triplets and he didn’t have to keep it a secret).
They found out how to override and get rid of the Creator’s influence on a roboticized persons code and body
ALSO-
For the hypothetical question of ‘Why didn’t Sun or Moon use their powers to de-roboticize people before this point?’:
They didn’t know that they could just give others their free will back with extra magic for a boost, and they were trying to not get caught as well as they could and the Creator could’ve tracked them if they used enough magic to give someone their mental freedom back, and they’re probably aware that using their medallions together would cause everything to explode(or something). Sun had gone off of a last ditch effort from Solar’s hypothesis in order to try to de-roboticize Moon. Sun had told Solar about Moon’s old nightmares for potential futures(I will write about this one tomorrow), Solar then created a hypothesis based off of reversing the nature of the future Moon was so scared of that he got nightmares. And it worked.
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My little goober trying to unpack all of that after spending multiple days contemplating this topic and staying up far to long to finish answering this ask(I also went to my state fair earlier and I’ve been up for about 20 hours when I need to be fixing my sleep schedule) (@derpymuffins33)
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anonymoushouseplantfan · 1 year ago
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Do you think Harry is aware of this current and on going strategy? and that divorce is on the table?
Yes, I think they’ve been effectively separated for a while.
I base that on the brf reactions. I suspect the family knew they were separated in January. I think the end of the FrogCott lease was a message to Harry that he wasn’t welcome post divorce. That was announced in March, but it apparently happened in January.
And Tom Sykes had a Daily Beast article where the royal staff essentially said Harry didn’t have a place in the family post divorce.
That was May 31st of this year.
If you look back, you realize she started to detach herself from his book last year. I’ll look for the articles and add them after posting. EDITED: it was actually January of this year.
And she started individual pr in March [EDITED: Actually, it was August. Oops] of last year with her disastrous The Cut interview. [Ditto on adding the articles later. I just don’t want to lose this post and Tumblr is eating my drafts. ]
So I think this has been in the works for a while. Of course, this is just my opinion and people can disagree. I guess we will all find out eventually.
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randomsufff · 3 months ago
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Ok fuck it- I keep seeing the Great Gatsby pop up (thanks Gravity Falls lmao) and recently saw The Great Gatsby on Broadway and I need to spill out my thoughts on this musical
I’ll hold off my grips with it compared to the book till the very end- since I know a lot of argument around this musical is that it’s an adaptation and the adaptors are liable for taking creative liberties. Which- yeah! That’s valid! But I’d argue that in order to adapt something successfully, if you’re gonna make huge (and I mean HUGE) changes to the source material, it’s gotta somewhat follow some reason that makes sense for the characters and/or adds some layer or depth to the story or else you get something like HBOs Velma. But more on that in either an entirely other post or later depending on how long this gets
Read bellow if you want a really fucking long, detailed description of the show and what I think it did right and very, very wrong.
I will say- as a TLDR rn- I thought the show was just…ok. Like- “yeah that show sure was a musical.” kind of ok. The good songs and amazing spectacle of a few of the numbers kinda cancel out the bad pacing and really questionable narrative choices the show made. Also- hearing Eva Noblezada sing live changed my life.
OK- so I’ll start out by saying- I believe we had basically all the original current cast except for Jordan Baker was played by Traci Elaine Lee (who was absolutely phenomenal so I’m not too sad about missing Samantha Pauly)
I really thought the show was ok. Like I don’t hate it vehemently but I don’t love it either. I feel like the only reason it’s so famous is because of its two powerhouse leads (Hot take? Maybe.) Anyways, I don’t know how to go about this so we’ll go list form
1) PACING WAS ATROCIOUS
Again, not even comparing it to the novel- the pacing felt really off and didn’t even make much sense story wise. Like we would rush past certain information and then linger on scenes that didn’t really need to be lingered on? At least to me, I felt like there was other stuff the show should have prioritized showing- CAUSE THATS THE THING WITH THIS SHOW- is that they TELL not SHOW a LOT of information- so it kinda just feels like you’re being tossed plot without experiencing it.
For example, literally as soon as the show starts, Nick and party goers just throw all the information about Gatsbys party and being mysterious at the beginning by telling us and not showing, like he never shown to be cryptically hanging around in the first like 20 minutes of the show (at least that I remember- there was a lot happening in the opening number 😭) . Which sucks because they did this REALLY COOL thing right before the show started where Gatsby was standing there and was immediately gone as soon as a screen passed. LIKE YOU COULDN’T HAVE THAT HAPPEN AGAIN WHEN THEYRE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT HIM???
(Also- recently saw a rehearsal (?) video where Gatsby like actually opened the opening song “Roaring On”, and that would have been great if they kept that! Because looking back, I felt like Gatsby had the least amount of stage time. Which probably I sn’t actually true, but it really felt like it. Like where is the main guy??? His first appearance (after his little disappearing act) is like, 20 minutes into the show. Idk for something that’s called “The Great Gatsby” he sure wasn’t on stage a lot. )
Then a couple scene later, Gatsby reveals to Nick- a man he JUST MET FACE TO FACE- that he’s in deep love with his married cousin and asks him TO HIS FACE that he wants him to set up a meeting with her. And then they move on. Like???
If you watched the show, maybe this’ll make sence to you, maybe this won’t, but it feel like they rushed past everything in the original source material, and only expanded and talked at length the aspects they wrote in.
Also the ending was so. Incredibly. Rushed. Like we don’t even get to see Daisys reaction to killing/hitting Myrtle. As soon as the fight at the Plaza ends everything else happens in like 15 minutes. Are you kidding me. WE DONT GET TO SEE DAISY ACTUALLY HIT MYRTLE. They did the ol’ “Bright lights get shined at the audience as character pretends to get hit” but that’s it! Literally THE REASON why Gatsby is killed and we don’t get to see it or their reactions in the moment. They just… tell us what happened instead of showing it to us. (“Daisy tried to swerve to the next lane but there was a car coming- and then… she just peeled off. She’s packing now…” YOU COULDN’T SHOW THIS TO US???) No idea of how Daisy or Gatsby reacted immediately after, only the next day. No rambled and frightened dialogue of their game plan, no glimpse into Daisys psyche where it’s shown she’s not going to choose Gatsby after all. Nothing.
Oh! And guess how long Gatsbys funeral was? Like a minute long. Just Nick sitting next to a casket in the background while party goers, Jordan and Wolfsheim dismiss Gatsby with a throwaway line. Like bro… that’s your main lead character… shouldn’t you give him, idk , at least more than a minute on stage when he dies? And like yeah I get that that’s the point that he’s forgotten, but I thought it was going to be more prominent than that! Give me Nick standing solemnly next to a casket thats dead center on a completely empty stage while he narrates how no one showed up. How despite the riches and infamy, no one, not even Jays own father (cause literally no one was by the casket on stage but Nick) showed up for his funeral. Instead of weirdly dismissing it like it’s not important?
2) NICK AND JORDENS “RELATIONSHIP”
Nah this actually pisses me off because there’s literally no point in this being so highlighted when it literally goes fucking nowhere.
So their relationship arc goes like this: Jorden says relationships sucks because she wants to be an independent woman in the 20s. Nicks like, I am not looking for a relationship but if we were in one I’d let you do all those things. They flirt, almost kiss, flirt more, do kiss, Nick says “let’s get married /j” Jorden says “yeah let’s get married /srs”, they get ENGAGED, they fight after discussing if they inadvertently caused Myrtle’s death (Jorden intentionally let Myrtle know where they were going that night), break up, and never speak to each other the rest of the show.
HELLO? What the actual fuck was the point of this then? If you wanted to expand Jorden to be the independent, feminist, girlboss *cough lesbian cough* that she is, just let her stay single?? She doesn’t need to be with Nick if you want her to be a part of the main cast.
The main problem I have with this is that the musical put wayyyy too much emphasis on it. And it’s so funny because there’s this big, dramatic, movie-esc pause Nick does after he says “I don’t want to marry you”, and sorry to the people who genuinely gasped, but be fr, are we surprised??? Jordan has been saying from literally her first line that men/marriage sucks, and that she would never do that willingly- then when she get married to a guy she knows for, at most? 1-2 weeks (idk how long the musical take place over), I’m supposed to take that relationship seriously????
In fact, I felt like their relationship often overshadowed Gatsby and Daisys, which shouldn’t happen, because the whole fucking shows about Gatsby.
For example, they steamrolled Gatsby and Daisys reunion with a budding Jordan and Nick plotline, for some reason??? Like they literally show Gatsby and Daisy seeing each other, have them say a few sentences wistfully reminiscing their first meeting, then have them go inside the house while their silhouettes are shown talking while the audience stays with Nick and Jorden OUTSIDE as they joke and almost kiss each other. HUH??? How are you going to literally push your years-long, slow burn yearning MAIN ROMANCE reunion to the side for a budding relationship that came out of nowhere and frankly dosent need to exist? And since we’re not going book accurate, you can actually SHOW how Gatsby and Daisy fall back into each others orbit, how their conversation went. But no.
It got so bad that I honestly can’t tell if one of the themes of this musical is something about marriage because of how much they pushed the “married/ people in a relationship” dynamic. Like what are you trying to tell me? All marriages are doomed??? I don’t even know (mayhaps just me being aroace)
What grips me the most is that they don’t even get any closure. Like they literally never speak to each other after that night Myrtle is killed. (Mostly cause the show ends literally 5 minutes later). The whole show they put these two together, build up their romance, show them having cute and funny moments together… all for what? For nothing?
AND I DID LIKE THEM. They were a cute couple, and their chemistry and jokes together were funny and charming. Their dynamic was interesting too, with Jordan wearing the pants, so to speak, and insisting she maintain her freedom while in marriage/ a relationship which wasn’t heard of in the 20s. But for all that to end because Jorden didn’t want to tell the cops Gatsby and Daisy possible ran her over/they’re partially responsible??? Like they INVESTED. SO. MUCH. in this relationship (to the point where they got ENGAGED???) that it feels so stupid and dumb for it to end like “wow you’re heartless :c I don’t want to marry you anymore :ccc” “well too bad, L, you’re guilty too asshole. Bye.”
AND what really grinds my gears is that if they cut this whole shit out, or at least made it more in the background, it would give more time to flesh out the few other problems I have with this show
3) SONG… EFFICIENCY (?)
Ok last point that’s not as much of a complaint as the others, but it was still something that bothered me. Some of the songs just say nothing/ repeat stuff we already know. Mainly thinking of (and sorry to people who like these songs- I’m not saying they’re bad! They’re just not a lot of info there) “For Her”, “Go”, or “Shady”
Like “For Her”, he’s just saying “I did [list of things involved with his fame/money] for her” for 4 minutes and you don’t even know who “her” is until like, the last line. Like this could have been a perfect opportunity to deep dive into Gastbys upbringing/ past, but the most the musical goes into Gatsby’s past is that he was in the war. Like you don’t get the sense that this man worked his way literally from the ground up for this woman. It’s just so repetitive that, even though it was Jeremy Jordon, I was getting bored halfway through.
AGAIN, this is not slandering Jeremy Jordan (JJ stans please spare me), you could have the most amazing Broadway singer sing with the best technique, but if it’s a dull, repetitive song, PERSONALLY, I’d be bored. They could have just combined this with another song, or as I suggested, add more purpose to the song and maybe put it later in the musical.
Similarly, “Go” (and, AGAIN, love Jeremy and Eva) was super repetitive and could have just been reduced to dialogue.
And “Shady”, though also a really good song, frankly could have been cut out. For some reason the musical really wanted Wolfsheim to be a main antagonist/prominent character and gave him this song- but there’s nothing in it that wasn’t already implied in the first Act and it really has nothing to do with any of the other characters, other then a vague “Jay and Daisy” gotta keep their affair secret (which… yeah I think we know that, but also to compare that to… hiding dead bodies and minding your own business- it’s???? Idk what they were going for)
(Tbh- I conversed with my dad who also mainly wanted to see the show for Jermey Jordan and Eva Noblezada and he said that none of JJ songs were that memorable, which I kinda agree with. He’s a great singer, a very talented man, but the songs he was made to sing in this show were not it. Just nothing of substance or catchiness. Which SUCKS. Because how are you going to get someone like Jeremy Jordan and not have him sing an absolute banger? But weirdly, none of his songs (maybe except “Only Tea” which I really liked) stood out which I’m so disappointed about.)
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Ok that’s all just as it’s own thing (mostly) NOW MY FUCKING PROBLEMS WITH IT COMPARED TO THE BOOK
1.B) NICK AND GATSBY’S FRIENDSHIP
THIS IS THE BIGGEST ONE- Nick and Gatsby friendship is so fucking integral to the original, and it feels like it didn’t even exist in the musical.
Like regardless on whether you ship them or see them as friends- Nick was Jays only fucking friend. He was the ONLY ONE who truly cared about him and went to his funeral when no one else did. In the book, Nick did So. Much. just because he wanted to for Gatsby. Gatsby had to ask Jorden to ask Nick to set up his tea meeting, he attempts to charm and lavish him in trips, and even tries to pay the man to get him to agree. But Nick refuses and is even offended that Gatsby would pay him money for such a thing and immediately accepts the night he finds out. And they actually hung out! Like a lot! At least before Jay asks him for the tea request. And though it could been because he wanted to make it easier for Nick to say yes, they were friendly with each other, and felt like actual pals. Nick genuinely was worried about Gatsby at the end, and even tried to warn him about what he was attempting to do multiple times.
In the musical that bond is just… not there. They rush past meeting each other, they never hang out one on one, and any interaction between them seemed slightly aggressive or politely concerned, like one would be to a stranger, which they technically are!!! The only reason he agrees to Gatsbys plan is basically petty revenge against Tom for punching Myrtle and being an asshole to Daisy/ in general. (Which- I feel like a move thats so out of character for Book!Nick cause he also dislikes Daisy.) Like Nick never learns Gatsbys backstory here (I don’t think he ever tells it, not even to the audience).
The “ you can’t repeat the past” line seemed more aggressively exasperated in delivery then the more soft concern for a close friend I initially read it as. And the “you’re worth more then whole rotten crowd put together” line didn’t really hit as hard because they don’t feel like close friends and nowhere in the show has Nick expresses this pedestal he puts Gatsby on like in the book.
Literally the only times they’re together alone is their initial meeting, and setting up for tea at Nicks. Every other time either Gatsby is with Daisy or Nicks with Jorden. They could have at least put together a cool ass montage of them hanging together, using those moving panels, going through diffrent activities as Jay introduces himself with his Oxford and army line, instead of dumping it all on him on their literal first meeting in his study.
(Also noted that they made it so Gastby owns the property Nick lives on and is renting it out for the man. Idk why they did this- to make it so Nick is indebted to Gatsby??? Also Gatsby vaguely threatens/ says something with a condescending/threatening aura (???) before Nick leaves after Jay ASKS A MAN .5 SECONDS AFTER MEETING HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME FACE TO FACE for the tea set up. Like there was a moment where he held onto Nicks hand as they shake goodbye, held his eye and said a line (I forgor) and kinda stood there staring him down before Nick awkwardly left. LIKE WHAT WAS THAT???? WHO ARE YOU???? WHY??? Literally doing everything to make sure no one can ship them)
2.B) THEY STRAIGHT-IFIED MY BOY.
NICK WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU. It felt like they wanted to take away any whiff of an implication that this man is gay. Like literally no build up to Jay and Nicks friendship, no meaningful scenes between the two, going head first and completely committing to Jordan, AND THE MR MCKEE SCENE BEING LIKE THAT.
AND MR MCKEE, IM SO, SO SORRY WHAT THEY’VE DONE TO YOU. They made him to be some predator who harasses Nick the whole party scene. And this could have been so. easy. to fit into the queer lens if the actor who plays Nick (Noah J Ricketts, fucking what a talented man) acted interested in Mr.McKee but was actively restraining himself and trying not to engage in order to save face in front of Tom and Co. (Please, please, please- making a prayer circle and manifesting that one of the later actors does this down the line) But noooooo, Nick is shown to be mildly uncomfortable while McKee follows him around (in an unfortunately a banger of a song) EVEN THOUGH IN THE BOOK NICK ACTIVELY ENGAGES WITH HIM IN HOMOEROTIC DIALOGUE AND EVEN GOES TO BED WITHBNANJSBSJB
3.B) Jordan’s Purpose
Already touch this before but what the hell was the point of Jordan here. I love the “cool independent woman in the 20s” angle they were going for, but then why the hell would you immediately shackle her to a romantic relationship with Nick when that goes against literally everything she stands for. And I’m not saying she can’t get in relationships, but the speed in which SHE of ALL PEOPLE, was like “Yes I want to get married to you for real” make me…
Sure it was said in the novel that Nick and Jorden were together, but he was always flighty about her; saying he was attracted to her but also hated some of her qualities (dishonesty and heartlessness). It wasn’t the main focus like it was here (I can’t even remember much of their relationship in the book tbh) and they didn’t invest so much in it as they did in the musical that it didn’t feel out of nowhere or too much of a big deal when they broke up. Like it fr felt like the musical held up a “Gasp Now” sign when Nick said he doesn’t want to get married to her cause they wanted that moment to hit so hard for some reason???
AND. There was an ACTUAL PURPOSE to Jordan relationship with Nick in the book (a representation of the wealth he was attracted to then repulsed by [*cough* also contributing the “Nick is Queer” lens *cough*]) they… kinda? did it in the musical? And it would have been boosted by Nicks new naivety in the musical, but it falls short because they never speak again, or really explain Jordan’s value on wealth and herself is why it went wrong other then a “you’re heartless” line that feels out of nowhere. (Idk maybe I was too focused on how pointless that relationship felt that I failed to noticed if Nick had a Big RevelationTM here on Wealth and Jordan)
4.B) Character Differences
Some of them are great, like there’s more dimensions to some, but some character choices, I’m like- that goes against everything they’re supposed to represent in the book.
Like I found it so weird how willing Daisy was to run away with Gatsby in the musical when in the book it was more obvious, at least I read it so, that she was holding back a bit and was never going to run with Gatsby that far. Like wdym Gatsby could have had it all if he just ran with Daisy then, WDYM HE SAID NO BECAUSE OF HIS PRIDE???? HUH? WHERE did this priority of PRIDE come from???? When Daisy’s RIGHT. THERE. Like she was sobbing, begging him to run with her. In what universe would Gatsby turn that down???
Like many people say, this seems like it’s supposed to be a love story between Gatsby and Daisy, but in the book it’s pretty obvious how Daisy isn’t as committed to Gatsby then she is Tom cause of their Old vs New money.
And Myrtle? Why did she suddenly turn back to George? I felt like the only reason why that happened is cause the creators wanted shock and tragedy factor. Like “aw she finally found peace in where she is but oops now she’s dead”
And it would have been good if they actually showed why she thought this beyond the 3 minute song, cause that’s not enough time for someone who only chased after money to do a 180. Like, sure she figured Tom would just move on from her (YES EVERYONE CHEERED, GREAT CHARACTER MOMENT) but George isn’t shown to be that great either in his last moments with her. I mean he locked her in the house? Bathroom? and was pretty violent towards her. Sure we learn earlier that he’s doing a lot for her but we never SEE it. He sings to US the audience about his dream to move them out and live a nice life but not to HER which could have been a cute point of connection but nooooooo.
They also made Nick like, kinda naive. Like he really likes Daisy and Jorden and I guess Gastby (though it’s not shown) compared to his counterpart who know how money corrupts and kinda hates everyone (even Gatsby at points). Any I feel like they could have done well with making him naive to that fact, to really make this a tragedy (like Hadestown esc) but they fell short somehow. I think it’s cause the ending was so rushed. Like there wasn’t enough time to show the consequences of everyone’s actions and how hurt and changed he is. It all flys by in like 7 minutes.
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Ok now we’re done being cynical- here are the good things I liked
1.C) The woman are 3-Dimensional yay/ Nicks also here
Myrtle’s song (Second-Hand Suit) is phenomenal. Great way to introduce more character and backstory to someone who originally had none.
Also, again, loved Jordan’s independence angle (if only they WENT SOMEWHERE WITH IT) and I lowkey loved the “well Tom cheats why can’t you” line and Daisy’s whole attitude as she one ups Tom in the dinner table scene. Also Daisy was already kinda complex in the book, but it really shows how turmoiled she is here and that’s interesting,
And despite how I kinda ragged on it, I really did like Nicks personality throughout the musical. He was sooo humorous in a way he wasn’t in the book. Also, thinking about it, his nativity is an interesting spin on his character that I really would have liked if it was executed properly.
2.C) The songs fucking slap
I can’t lie, most of these songs are bangers. I have half of the songs on loop. Not to mention the actors who sing them are absolutely incredible. I won’t lie, I was mostly interested in this musical cause of Jeremey and Eva; and Eva, holy shit, is an absolute powerhouse to witness live. I was So. Surprised by how effortlessly she sang notes and how clear and crisp they were (“Absolute Rose” was… idk what it was about that song, but I’m obsessed with how she sang that song, [except the “open” part? Idk it grates me for some reason???] even though it’s not my favorite song) Like she truly embodies Daisy Fay and it was incredible to see that in person.
However, the rest of the cast was so incredible too, ESPECIALLY MYRTLE (Chilina Kennedy). Holy Fuck is that woman amazing at singing. Her two songs she sang absolutely ate, like I’m obsessed with her voice. Wolfsheim (Eric Anderson) and George (Paul Whitty) also had amazing voices.
Also NICK??! Holy shit, I’m so sorry you’re not in like any promotional stuff cause you fucking killed it. The way I’m obsessed with how he sings “If only I’d knew then, that I would never be the same” in “Roaring On” and how he sings “The Met” is amazing
3.C) Visuals- kinda
Some of the visuals were ok tbh- kinda boring- but the ones that went big, WENT BIG. Of course “New Money”, “Roaring On” and “The Met” are the ones that stand out the most in my mind. “New Money” and “Roaring On” are exactly what you probably think it is, big dance numbers with sparks and huge lights. But I loved “The Met” cause the furniture slid around and literally moved around Nick while people drifted in and out of the room. It was just great to watch visually.
4.C) THE ENDING NUMBER HOLY SHIT
I. Love. Love. LOVE. How they brought back the opening number, and the theme of party goers going on from party to party to show how unimportant Gatsby was to the world, and how everyone moved on.
Like, Nick stood in the center of the stage, reciting the end of the book, in tears and voice cracking, as the ensemble in the back slowly get revealed and are just having a grand ol time looking for the next party. Just- chills. It was amazing conceptually and they pulled it off so well.
If the musical got nothing else in terms of structure going for it- at least they got the last minute right cause omg, I love when media has opposing moods in the same scene, and they did so well here.
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Overall, yeah. Not horrible but I don’t love it. The lack in plot and nonsense relationships and complete disregard of the book didn’t totally ruin the musical cause I had a good time and liked the songs and such but I would not go back and re watch it.
I think of you know nothing about the book or anything about The Great Gatsby other then there’s a guy named Gatsby and he’s great and you just want a nice sounding show, you’ll probably like this, but people who are burdened by the knowledge of the book will be hung up on a lot of things I mentioned here.
Always, long ass post, congrats to anyone who actually read this real informal review. I haven’t gone into how this is a pretty bad adaptation, but I’ll have to do that in another post (if people want to see that) and another time cause this took my literal hours to type out.
(Tbh I might just do the adaptation essay anyways, cause I’ve written at least 4 papers on adaptation in media [and how Groundhog Day the musicals the best Movie to Musicals adaptation] and I love that shit)
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thebluestbluewords · 9 months ago
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Moral Education
*chanting* OT3 OT3 OT3!
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Mal's teeth are sharp when she grins. “The beast king locked all the royal children up in his castle, just as he’d been locked up and abandoned by his own people. It’s to teach us all a lesson. So we can learn the power of isolation, or something. I don’t know what moral lessons your father is trying to impart. I’m not from here.” 
“Where did you hear that?” 
“School.” 
“Do you–” Ben starts, and then just stops for a moment, with his mouth open and his jaw working like he’s trying to digest the fact that the villains have more accurate information about his father than he’d reckoned for. “Did you have a source for that? One I could read, maybe?” 
Mal scoffs. “Like I’d ever steal a textbook. That’s school property. I’m a beacon of goodness and moral integrity for these trying times, and I’d never steal textbooks from a blessed institution of learning.” 
Ben levels an incredulous sort of look at her. “Really.” 
“Really. I didn’t steal anything–” anything of value, Mal adds to herself. “From Dragon Hall.” 
“Because there wasn’t anything to steal.” Evie adds unhelpfully. “And you didn’t attend very often.” 
“I had better things to do.” 
“Liar.” 
Mal rolls her eyes. She attended school enough of the time. Like, at least half of the days that they were allegedly supposed to attend. She showed up just often enough to keep all the little villains in line, and to get the free food that some particularly enterprising adult got for the cafeteria. “Whatever. The point is, we know that your father donated his old castle to keep the royal children all locked up in one place, and that’s why we’re not allowed to leave. The king wants us all contained so we can be just like him.” 
Ben’s face folds up into a frown. His eyebrows do this cute crinkly thing when he’s confused that makes Mal sort of want to kiss the point in the middle of them, right where his head goes all wrinkly. Like a weird, sexy old man. “That’s not true. We’re allowed to leave on the weekends.” 
“You’re allowed to leave,” Evie chimes in. “We’re not. Only the Auradon kids who have parental permission can go into town. I asked Fairy Godmother, and she said that we don’t have signed permission slips from our parents, so she can’t bend the rules and let us out, even though we could just send the permission slips over to the Isle of the Lost for them to sign.” 
“Like my mother would ever sign something to make our lives better.” 
“My mom would forge her signature for you,” Evie says sweetly. Ben’s eyebrows are reaching a new level of distress, but that’s not their problem. “She knows how. It’s something you learn, when you’re cohabitating with someone. Which our mothers are doing. Because they’re fu–” 
“OKAY, OKAY, OKAY.”
“Fucking,” Evie finishes, flashing an absolutely wicked grin. “They’re fucking. Because that’s just the headache we needed. Our mothers having a forbidden isle romance, after we already claimed that story.” 
“I’m going to end our romance if you don’t stop talking about my mom’s sex life,” Mal grumbles. She’s watched a lot of shitty, awful things happen on the Isle of the Lost, but her mother’s romance with the Evil Queen has been one of the most disgusting.  “They’re like watching a pair of goblins try to catch a fish.” 
“Disgusting and wrinkly,” Evie agrees. “And something that feels illegal. In the boring, gross way. Not the fun way.” 
“I’ll show you the fun way.” Mal shoots back. Her mouth just runs on autopilot sometimes, without any actual input from her brain. It’s sort of a problem. “In bed. You wanna get up to some indecent exposure together, princess?” 
Evie’s mouth is so red and sweet, and Mal is well aware that it’s lip gloss, but she still wants to lick the shine off of Evie’s perfect smile when she turns it on like this.  
“I think that should wait til later, M. We have a guest right now,” Evie says sweetly. “Ben?” 
Right. They have his royal highness over. 
“I’m–yeah,” Ben squeaks. He’s so cute when he’s flustered. “I mean, sorry. I didn’t know that Fairy Godmother wasn’t letting you four leave on the weekends. I mean, I knew that you weren’t going anywhere, but you’re always so busy, Evie, and I just figured that you were staying on campus to get everything done, because that’s what I have to do, and– uh, I can talk to her. About it. If that would help.” 
So sweet. 
“That would be great, babe,” Evie coos. “You’re the best.” 
Ben ducks his head into his smile. It doesn’t make sense for the crown prince to be shy, but Mal’s maybe, possibly been keeping track of when they can coax a real smile out of him, and nine times out of ten, when they get his real smile instead of his public one, he ducks his head to hide it. 
It’s cute, in a sad sort of way. It’s one thing for Mal to watch Evie, and Jay, and Carlos hide their real smiles, because they’ve grown up hiding their emotions from everyone but each other, but Ben’s supposed to be the well-adjusted one. He’s supposed to be Auradon’s perfect prince. The boy wonder who always has a kind word for everyone. Their future leader, equipped with a strong arm and a kind heart and a level head. It’s sort of distressing to think that he’s been taught to hide his emotions just the same as they have, so Mal buries the feelings for now, and keeps watching and waiting instead. 
“The best,” Mal echoes. “Best boyfriend ever.” 
Ben’s eyes flicker up to meet hers. Gods below, but she has got to stop falling for this boy every time he smiles at her. It’s not fair to the others. She’s got a limited number of butterflies that her stomach can produce, and they all seem connected to the way Ben’s smile makes his eyes crinkle up at the edges. It’s even worse when he’s all sunlight and golden like this. She’s going to have to have Evie make blackout curtains for their room, because it’s just not fair to keep bathing Ben in golden afternoon light. He’ll get some sort of complex. 
“Thanks,” Ben says, voice round and soft around the word. It fits naturally into his mouth just like it doesn’t in Mal’s own. “I’ll do what I can. There’s nothing I can do about official school policy, but I’m pretty sure there’s a loophole about students whose parents don’t have custody that we can exploit to get you four off campus. I’d wondered a bit why you never took us up on visiting the ice-cream place.” 
“Maybe we hate ice cream.”  
“I’d believe that.” Ben says seriously. “I would. That was a good delivery. But I know you, Mal, and I know that you’d never turn down an offer of mint chip.” 
Ugh. Unbearable. The butterflies aren’t going away. 
“ANYWAY,” Mal says, spinning away from her boyfriend and his stupid golden eyelashes. “As I was saying, I’d never steal from Dragon Hall, because I am a beacon of moral purity now, and stealing is wrong.” 
“And because you didn’t go to class,” Ben agrees, with just a hint of a laugh in his voice. “Or so Evie says.” 
“Evie’s a liar and a cheat.” 
“And she’s right here, Malfeasance Bertha, so if you want any help with your remedial goodness homework later, you’d better watch your mouth.” 
Her girlfriend is the worst. 
“Anyway,” Mal says again, turning so she can face both of her beautiful, perfect nerds at once. “We were taught that king beast locked up the royal kids in his former castle so he could keep control of them. And for moral lessons, or whatever it is you good folks tell your kids to keep them compliant. And then we got here, and we’ve been stuck on the castle grounds since then, soooo.” 
“So your logical conclusion was that your teachers were right, and my dad locks us up here,” Ben says, nodding. “Okay. I see it now. Do you want to know the real truth, or would you rather bring it up to Fairy Godmother when we ask her to let you off campus?” 
“I want the truth.” Evie breaks in. “Please. I spent enough time locked in a castle back on the isle, so if there’s another way of living, I want to know about it.”
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swallowerofdharma · 7 months ago
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Yashiro’s Cruel God part four
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There are probably brilliant analyses out there about the first part of this manga and what I say might as well be just an uninteresting repetition. But we analyze things for ourselves first, to understand them better, to make sense of a story for ourselves, so I’ll give it a try anyway.
Continuing my thoughts on Doumeki and another digression: You’ll be fine. I’m a man and you’re different from your father, right?
If there hasn’t already been a tension within Yashiro between his nihilistic tendencies and his yearning for change, the story wouldn’t be possible. If Don’t Stay Gold is the original one-shot where Yashiro appeared as a background character, when Saezuru begins that some story is repurposed masterfully as a critical starting point for a Yashiro that is now a main character: This setup would become nothing more than a knife that gets thrown right back at me. You can already see this is going to be brilliant writing. When Doumeki was introduced, Yashiro had to be at a point where he was ready to let go of Kageyama, but - at same time - the fact that he had wished for them to be more than friends, that this was something he had remained open to, despite his past and despite his failures, was essential to show a believable story of him falling in love with someone else. What about Doumeki then? I have been asking myself, what are Doumeki’s motivations for being so persistent?
Yashiro is captivated immediately by Doumeki’s eyes, he makes a comment about it and later, in chapter 4, Yoneda captivates the readers too with a beautiful page with no words that isolates Doumeki’s eyes in the rear view mirror of the car, while his gaze is focused on a melancholic Yashiro. The previous sequence, at Kageyama’s clinic, was in large part framed coherently with Doumeki’s point of view as he witnessed for the first time Yashiro interacting with his doctor friend. In chapter 23 Yashiro realizes something unexpected about Doumeki. The English translations of this dialogue varied, I’ll reference here the official translation: The truth is, we’re not similar, at all. From the beginning you were always different. That’s why you look at me like that. With different eyes than his. Yashiro’s expression here is fearful and lost, because he only had those few points of reference, and those he cared for most were his parents who had abandoned him and Kageyama who had rejected him.
After Yashiro was injured on Doumeki’s watch, Nanahara orders him to cut his finger off. Needing medical attention, he goes to Kageyama and tells him about what happened. The doctor’s reaction here is so cold and heartless that if at this point you care for Yashiro at all you can’t help feeling really hurt hearing his words.
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The source of Kageyama’s cruelty is his ignorance. He doesn’t know Yashiro well or rather he has built a static image of him and he can’t shake it; he constantly shows how shortsighted he is when it comes to his supposed best friend. And I remember reading people’s thoughts about the symbolism of the contact lens that Yashiro stole, so I think that was sufficiently discussed. I’ll add my two cents to this topic, because I find it interesting the detail of Kageyama being the son of a doctor and becoming one as well, not a very good one he said himself. When his classmate Yashiro told him - in that awkward and nonchalant way of his, another product of the distorted reality that his parents left him with - about the abuse he had endured from his stepfather, Kageyama stops touching him, doesn’t get closer anymore. I think that in his mind, because he had already internalized attitudes that come from medical practice just from his father, in that moment Yashiro stopped being someone he could touch because he became a “case of child abuse”, someone he needed to emotionally distance himself from. I wonder if there are readers doing the same. When Yashiro goes to his father’s wake, Kageyama is happy to see him there, that his classmate cared, but later Yashiro, so unaccustomed to his new delicate feelings, fumbles badly for the right words and any potential connection falls flat. Yashiro didn’t really need confirmation that Kageyama wasn’t straight, he had understood that much, or that the reason he was rejected had to be a different story. Kageyama’s shortcomings now and later are tied to his inability to perceive Yashiro as a full person, capable of yearning, of changing, of suffering from something else rather than the obvious. Yashiro becomes a “mental case” and the good doctor can’t do anything much about it, since it isn’t his specialty. He’ll stay as a friend, but unkind. And when Doumeki discovers that the only person Yashiro is attached to could be so unsympathetic to him, he is angry. Doumeki doesn’t confront Kageyama, for Yashiro’s sake, mostly, for reasons of hierarchy and responsibility, he needs to treat respectfully someone who is on equal standing with his boss. The ones who confront Kageyama are Kuga and Nanahara and it works: when Yashiro brings Ryuuzaki’s girlfriend to the clinic, Kageyama’s perception of him has changed and readjusted.
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Doumeki could see glimpses of Yashiro’s yearning, of Yashiro’s love, and he is still determined to see it through now as he was before. He won’t let go or accept lies from Yashiro and about Yashiro. Doumeki isn’t just foolishly in love and enduring everything that comes with it, he wants to know. His motives are layered with the stubbornness that comes with detective work, after what happened between them in chapter 25, he wants to confirm that Yashiro reciprocated his feelings, because he also needs to prove himself that he isn’t a rapist, he isn’t just like his father. He fully committed to it. Only if we acknowledge our selfish reasons, we can really be honest about our feelings, about how we open ourselves to others, how we want them, and all the things we want from them. Yashiro and Doumeki aren’t letting go of their feelings in part because they need a confirmation that they are good enough. And that’s why this story surpasses the romantic premises about love and makes sense from a very down to earth, realistic perspective of how grown men behave, too.
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We established that Doumeki is someone who was looking closely at Yashiro since the beginning and won’t stop looking for the truth until he is satisfied. The root causes of his conviction and commitment are various but ultimately go back to his sense of failure regarding Aoi. He aimed to be and became a policeman and failed to see something that was right under his eyes. To be continued…
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tortoisebore · 1 year ago
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Fic recs?? It’s so hard to find good stuff😩
i’ll list a few of my recent favs, but first i’ll give u some tips & secrets ab how i find new fics 🥰
my first & biggest source—i snoop on everyone’s bookmarks. like everyone. if i read a fic i liked, i check that author’s bookmarks. if someone comments on my fic, i check their bookmarks. if i come across someone talking ab fic on the tl, i go to their ao3 and check their bookmarks. i’ve found so many great fics just by snooping on what other ppl are reading 🫶
my second most-used tactic: searching for tags & using filters. if i’m looking for something specific, i search the tags/pairings i want and make sure to exclude things i don’t want (i.e. i don’t usually want to read jegulus, so i make sure to exclude that pairing in my results. same goes w tags/ratings/warnings u don’t want). i’ll sort by date, kudos, and hits separately, and add anything that sounds interesting to my bookmarks to sort through later. ao3 really has the best filtering and tagging system out there, but a lot of times we don’t use it to its full capacity! if you want to read something specific there’s a very good chance someone has written it, you just need to search and filter your results so that you’re not just seeing the most recent stuff! (i also filter by word count a lot too bc i’m not always in the mood for something multi-chaptered or something that will take me multiple days to finish reading)
last, sometimes i’ll go into the main pairing tag i’m looking for and sort by kudos/hits/date/whatever and jump to like….the 30th page of results. there’s sooooo much stuff i miss just bc it gets lost in the flow of new/popular fics, so jumping to random deep-dive search results will help you find new stuff & come across fics & authors you haven’t seen before 💞💖💘
now here’s some of the stuff i’ve been enjoying lately!! 💞💖💘💕
love by the seaside by viwrites
this was very cute and a great quick read! remus is a disgruntled painter/barista recovering from a toxic relationship & sirius is the sweet, dashing stranger that he meets by accident on the beach one day. lots of early-morning coffee runs and nervous flirting with some christmas fluff as a treat
hurling crowbirds at mockingbars by wrappedup
y’all know i am typically NOT an exes to lovers kind of girlie. i find this trope very hard to read most of the time bc i am a huge baby, but this one was a quick read and the plot was overall very sweet! remus broke up with sirius & left the country out of the blue almost 10 years ago, and then comes back to town with a fiancé. sirius learns very quickly that he’s still hurt, and remus learns very quickly that he might have jumped the gun all those years ago.
in the dark there is discovery by lynxindisguise
wolfstar pirate au!! need i say more!!
disarm you with a smile by five_ht
listen to me. look me in my eyes. this is explicit as fuck and i encourage you to read every single one of the tags carefully. seriously read all of them. it will not be for everyone but like….,oh my fuxking god. sirius steals remus’ phone number while hanging out with his friend (remus’ niece) one day and starts sending him increasingly suggestive texts anonymously. it’s all fun and games until sirius starts to catch feelings & remus starts to get curious ab who he’s been talking to.
in the centre of a circle by moonheavens
reccing this again bc I HAVEN’T CAUGHT UP YET BUT IT’S SO SO GOOD i’m going after the latest chapter as SOOOOOON as i have the time this week 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 sirius lives with the lupins and is very much in love with remus. he consults various people for advice.
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