#it's one of the most powerful and universal things ever said in a drama so

[hotasfahrenheit]

[The Sign, 1.09]

[harmonysanreads]

La Follia

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Yandere!Sylus x Reader

cw(s) : yandere, coercion, implied murder, implications of forced marriage, one mention of blood, guns, imbalanced power dynamics.

「 words : 800+ 」 「 art credits 」

· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ This... is not the fic idea I said I had in my wips but somehow we ended up here anyway ^^;

Before signing any document, it is crucial to carefully read its contents.

Not this one though. Your spite digs its talons into the pen, glaring at the offending piece of paper its situated against. The strings of legal ruminations and dry wordplay are irrelevant, unnecessary and jeeringly useless before your present predicament. Your eyes would rather bleed than capture their meaning.

Vague phantoms taunt your periphery, specks of dust rising from litanies of codicies towards the flickering lightbulb make it impossible to forget your environment. The state of a government office ; a place to admonish rules and keep the reputation of the constitution flowing — he has no need to adhere to them.

Redundant cannot even hope to describe the absurdity of the situation, in fact, you think you're at a stage of mental stupefaction that no adjective can. Perhaps it would carry some semblance of logic had it been a toddler instead of a conscious adult conducting this ridiculous show.

A show, yes, yes — it is nothing but an impromptu drama. To dig and imbibe the fact into your and everyone else's heads, that the leader of Onychinus has the luxury, the power to carry out even the most nonsensical whims.

Why shouldn't it be possible? In a world dictated through strength, governed by the fittest and where history is written for posterity in hopes of conditioning them to sing the greatness of those who won, you suppose something like this isn't all that irrational.

Supposing now, all things considered, that none of this is illogical in the grand scheme of things. In fact, should the so-called strong decide that it is completely normal, acceptable even to hold a gun to another's head, push them to a stack of papers and shove a pen to finalize some joke of a matrimony — it would be deemed appropriate, because it is the one with the might who has thought so.

But what it wouldn't be, is fair ; another hapless notion that can be discarded easily with the universal knowledge that nothing ever is fair in this world.

You peer through your lashes to the unfortunate clerk that had the fortune of witnessing this hilarity. He tries his best to maintain a semblance of professionalism and fails effortlessly, if the way he toys with the silver-band around his ring finger is anything to go by. Your eyes shift to the picture frame kept with care at one corner of the desk, the innocent smiles of figures who you assume to be his family almost make your heart ache.

Marriage. Coveted, anticipated, so beautiful in its purest form yet the causation of so many miseries. You would've never thought it could be ridiculed to this degree before this day.

You don't need to look beside you to picture his amusement, fascinated at how the clerk appears as though he's seeing his every wrong doing and each moment of joy play out before his eyes despite it being you with a weapon pointed at your head.

There is no rationality behind the demand of marriage by a man who dwells in a land governed by the rule of no rules, no explanation as to why he saunters into this establishment and insists that it be finalized through legalese furthermore.

No, no, it is but to prove to your stubborn self — see and witness what I can do should I desire, I can adhere to law and trample upon it according to my whim. Will you still deny me, still deem me beneath you after this?

You will, if just to push his patience to its last hinges. You know very well this is all just a game to him. If Sylus truly desired to end your life, he wouldn't need a measly gun to do it.

You count the beats of time and construse your own schemes, searching for exits from this doomed playground and wander right into his trap.

“Can’t bring yourself to do it?” the purr is close, too close for your comfort. The tip of the pen shines as it tilts in response to your loosened clasp, sharp, you note ; pointed enough to pierce through an eye and dash away a few paces.

“Need some encouragement? Yes? No? Maybe so? You could've just said it instead of glaring at the poor paper.” the cold muzzle retracts from the side of your head but the heat of its presence remains.

The clerk's pupils are clear enough to reflect the panic that paints your face. The pen drops from your grasp, rolling across the papers and the worn out wood of the table ; gravity pulling it closer to the earth till it hits the tiled floor, splattering the crimson pooling around the surface.

The warmth of the hand that forced the weapon to your hand swiftly withdraws, your vision clears to the coldness of the gun in your clutch, the silence that follows the bullet's release nearly deafens your ears.

You hear the devil's whisper, “Now you and I are equal, no? As such, there should be no further excuses preventing you from marrying this monster.”

It would've been a taunt only some seconds ago, but now, it has become an irrefutable fact. No matter how cunning, how stubborn, the weak will always be controlled by the strong.

[in-class-daydreams]

My One and Only (Sebastian Sallow x Reader)

Pairing: Sebastian Sallow x Fem!Reader (Established relationship) Synopsis: It's seventh year and you're exceedingly happy with your loving boyfriend, Sebastian. Having had enough excitement for the rest of your time at Hogwarts, you both were happy to sit idly by and spectate the Triwizard Tournament. Only, that's not what the universe has in store for you. Notes/TW: Another installment in the Headmaster's Kid MC universe, because I love the drama. MC sort of has PTSD from the Ranrok thing, but it's not described in detail nor is it called such in the story.

You were in the Slytherin common room, leafing through Goblets, Goblins, and Gobstones: An Anthology of Magical Folklore. It was a gift from Sebastian from before either of you realized you loved each other. Back then, he couldn’t name the warmth in his chest whenever he saw you, but his regard for you was so great, he gave you a treasure from his childhood, the book of stories his mother used to read to him and his sister as children. Even though you were now utterly devoted to one another, you still liked to bring it out from time to time. It was as if his mother’s love extended to you, who never had anyone who felt like real family. The House of Black was not the most hospitable of bloodlines.

“She’d have loved you,” you remembered Sebastian saying. “You’re clever and funny and your brand of love is so similar to hers.” You liked to think that in your love for Sebastian, you returned a piece of his mother to him.

“Black!” Imelda shouted from the front door. “Your boyfriend’s gotten himself into another fight!”

You looked up, more than a bit confused. Since things had quieted down, neither you nor Sebastian had been getting into brawls of any sort. If there was one thing you’d learned about him over the years is that he always had a reason for doing things. You might not have realized that, considering you met him during arguably the worst year of his life, but now that it was over and Anne was cured, he was his affable, happy self. Even more so when he found out you loved him back.

Tucking the tome beneath your arm, you rushed over to Imelda, who led you a short distance to a hallway where a small crowd had gathered and Professor Weasley was already marching your boyfriend away from the scene.

You hurried to follow at her side.

“What happened?” you asked.

Professor Weasley sighed. “Yet another physical altercation. I thought you were done with these, Sebastian.”

Sebastian, face still red with rage, looked stubbornly forward. You noted his split brow and darkening bruise on his cheek with a frown.

“He normally is,” you insisted. “Please, professor, can we hear him out in private first?”

Professor Weasley was a reasonable woman, and she knew it was true that you and Sebastian both had been on your best behaviors since Anne was cured. The two of you had a happy, quiet peace together without goblin rebellions and cursed sisters, and the most exciting thing you did nowadays was play highly competitive games of Summoner’s Court. Some people wondered if you ever missed the excitement, and you’d reply that while you enjoyed a good challenge, you’d gladly give up being in constant peril for the rest of your time at Hogwarts.

Weasley relented and led you into a spare room away from prying eyes. You sat Sebastian down and set to work patching his wounds in a practiced routine.

“Sebastian. Lovey.” His hard stare softened at the endearment.  “Tell us what’s wrong, please?” you asked gently.

Sebastian took a deep breath and it became apparent that he wasn’t withholding the information, he was previously too enraged to explain.

“Yaxley and his band of idiots put your name in the Goblet of Fire,” he said through gritted teeth.

You let the information sink in, only for your blood to drain from your face entirely. With your luck, you had a highly likely chance of being selected to represent Hogwarts.

Since you’d accepted Isadora’s power to cure Anne, your magic had been permanently altered. You had returned to the Keepers, apologizing profusely and insisting that you were willing to return the power to keep it contained away from anyone. Given the fact that you were integral to stopping Ranrok and you surprised them by being willing to relinquish such power so easily, the Keepers tentatively forgave you. Though, you suspected that Professors Fitzgerald and Bakar were particularly softened by how you only took the power at all for Sebastian’s sake. One did not simply cast the Killing Curse in defense of a mere friend. You would know.

But even after the dark magic left your body, your own magic had become altered. More lethal, more sinister. You managed it just fine in the day-to-day since you yourself had no sinister intentions, but if the tournament put you in danger, you could not promise that your magic would stifle its lethality.

Professor Weasley was just as enraged as Sebastian.

“They what?” she raised her voice. “Did they succeed? Or was it only an idea?”

Sebastian’s head hung low and he rested his elbows on his knees. “It’s already been done. I didn’t act fast enough. I’m sorry.”

Disregarding your own panic, you hugged him close.

“Oh, Sebastian, don’t be,” you assured him. “I’ll manage. I always do.”

Sebastian looked like he wanted to say more, but you turned to address Professor Weasley.

“I don’t suppose we can get my name out of the Goblet, can we?” you asked.

The professor shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid not. The contract is magically-binding. We simply have to hope that someone who actually volunteered is chosen, not you,” she replied.

It was concluded that Sebastian would get an obligatory detention for starting a physical fight, but it would be short, and he’d be allowed his books, so it wasn’t much of a punishment. It was highly generous of her, and you noted as much. On her way out the door, Weasley smiled over her shoulder, stating that, “Had I been in your position when I was a student, I might have done the same.”

Afterwards, you helped Sebastian back to the dormitory. One of Yaxley’s group had gotten in a lucky shot to his leg and left him limping slightly.

“Sebastian,” you said before you parted ways. He turned towards you and you took his face in your hands. You pressed a butterfly kiss to his nose. “Thank you for trying to protect me.”

He furrowed his brow. “Trying isn’t good enough,” he stated.

“It is for me,” you replied gently. “No one’s ever been behind me one hundred percent until I met you. I grew up so alone and I always felt so unwanted.” You stroked his cheek with your thumb. “The fact that you care is plenty enough for me. So, don’t worry. Even if the Goblet of Fire spits my name out, I will manage, because I have you.”

You pressed a goodnight kiss to his lips and headed to bed. You thought Sebastian’s weak kiss back was because he was tired and distracted and, well, you were half right.

Several days later, you gripped your boyfriend’s hand as you all sat in Beauxbatons’s equivalent of the Great Hall, impatiently waiting for the Headmistress to draw a name. The large room was lavishly decorated, like a dining room in the Palace of Versailles.

Anne, Imelda, and Natty sat in front of you while Ominis and Poppy sat to your left. They looked at you with worry, having been updated on the situation. You all knew full well that the universe greatly enjoyed putting you at the center stage of great peril, and while you were honest with Sebastian that you’d manage, you were exhausted. Dueling was fun for a challenge, fighting for your life was tiresome.

You squeezed Sebastian’s hand under the table. He gave you three pulses back, eyes never leaving the Goblet. He was more tense than usual, and you assumed it was out of concern for you.

The Beauxbatons Headmistress went onstage with great ceremony, giving a spiel about the history of the Triwizard Tournament and what an honor it was to represent the school in such a rich tradition of joint relations between the three schools. She had a heavy, lilting French accent and had a stately aura about her not unlike Professor Weasley.

The Goblet’s blue flame turned red and spit out a singed piece of parchment, which the Headmistress caught and read aloud.

“The Durmstrang Champion is…” she paused for effect. “Sava Peycheva!”

Their student body erupted in cheers and applause as a tall, powerfully-built girl with long dark hair shook the Headmistress’s hand and waved to the crowd. Unlike you’d have been, she seemed completely at ease, as if her victory was guaranteed. You could respect someone confident in her abilities to that degree.

Sava took her seat and the Goblet’s flame turned red once more. Taking the parchment, the Headmistress announced the next champion.

“The Hogwarts Champion is…”

The darker part of your magic sang, eager to be put through its paces, but you felt a lump in your throat. You had been willing to use lethal force once, but only because of what was at stake. The idea of harming anyone now was enough to make you sick to your stomach.

You white-knuckled Sebastian’s hand and you all held your breath when the Headmistress spoke, loud and clear.

“Sebastian Sallow!”

[absolutebl]

Best Angsty BLs with Family Drama & Bad Home Lives, or Past Trauma

That still end happily. Requested by the incomparable @winterswhumpblr (Warning these all have tiggers in them mostly suicide, rape, and/or child abuse.)

Until We Meet Again

Thai 2019 YouTube

UWMA is, without question, a work of narrative genius with a powerful and cohesive romantic backbone driven by family drauma and betrayal and stellar performances. It is (to date) the only Thai BL that I’ve rated a 10/10 predominantly on the basis of story structure. That said it is also very well cast (and it’s a BIG cast), with solid production values, and enduring pair branding. Discussion here.

Spin off, Between Us, also satisfies this criteria.

Blueming

Korea 2022 iQIYI

Hwang Da Seul directing this angsty BL that's a tiny bit dark and a tiny bit bittersweet, almost too honest to a university experience and first love. But if you want your mind ever-so-slightly messed with and your intimacy hellishly sweet, this BL will do it for you in a coldly distant manner, while bitch slapping you with self worth issues. I wasn’t into it at first, but the leads are solid and by ep 5 it got really good, becoming a narrative about self discovery meets understanding and accepting others people’s flaws without hurting them. Ultimately we witnessed two characters maturing because of each other and their mutual affection, without that affection becoming the conflict point. Instead, tension was built around other aspects of identity, popularity, and childhood trauma.

Tokyo in April is AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa

Japan 2023 Viki

Two young men with a shared tragic past reunite and fall in love all over again, but the past will not stop hunting them. Based on a manga, this office set reunion romance is GREAT… damn it. It’s Japan in full on soft focus which means it gets emo, abusive, and chewy. These two characters are giving parts of their souls away in a desperate attempt to shape themselves to the expectations they have of each other.

The Eighth Sense

Korea 2023 Viki

This feels more atmospheric gay coming of age romance than strictly BL. It’s got a bit of an age gap, country boy/city boy, stellar acting, complex characters, and leads with great chemistry and tension. It’s a bit chewy and sticky and less perfect than most KBLs (do I detect a touch of Taiwan?) This one deployed BL tropes (messy eater, shoulder sleep, protective seme, there’s even some hyung-slinging) but front loaded them with painful backstory and tons angst drives the 2nd half. This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a BL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled (which is the only reason it didn't get a perfect score) but it does have a glorious ending and that counts for a lot.

Bad Buddy

Thai 2022 YouTube

This was GMMTV’s flagship BL and it started 2022 on a BANG (okay no actual banging but you know what I mean), starring heavy hitters Ohm & Nanon in a pitch perfect university Romeo & Romeo masterpiece that will give you domesticity meets pain whiplash throughout and jet lag at the end. Some of the friendship and family dynamics are overworked, but it has great production values, killer acting, and some conscious effort to correct for half a decade of Thai BL’s anti-queer mistakes. The whole set up is build on family drama so, yeah.

Bed Friend

Thai 2023 YouTube

Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged. NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, could have been spectacular but was the story is overworked, especially at the end. Still if high heat is your thing, this one will not let you down.

Lovely Writer

Thai 2021 YouTube

What Lovely Writer does, at heart, is reexamine Thai BL has done to queerness, but in a very gentle way that has more to do with Thai BL growing up than any actual queer authenticity. It’s not parody or pastiche, but it is self reflective and trying to correct for some chronic mistakes. Whether it is ultimately successful in this matter is going to depend on the watcher’s relationship to BL and queer identity. But that’s what makes this show beautiful, interesting, and thought provoking. And I, for one, applaud the effort even if I didn’t personally connect to the characters. There is both family trauma and dram and childhood stuff.

Happy Merry Ending

Korea 2023 Viki

Stars Lee Dong Won (KNK) as an ex-idol turned wedding singer with an abusive ex and a panic disorder + the sunshine pianist who falls in love with him. Timid tsundere & sweetheart gay is an interesting match. They’re gentle together, almost kindly, and there is a calm ache to their pairing. However, it lost its way as a BL, being more about the main character’s struggle than the romance. It had a strong finish but ultimately the premise & characters meant this was never going to be one of my favorites. But if you like angst, well...

Given

Japan 2021 grey

Boy joins band, falls in love with other boy. The singing is terrible, fast forward through that but with the possible exception of the hair styles, this BL could have been made in 2015 and no one would be surprised. As such, it wasn’t ground breaking, but it didn’t disappoint either. Very much a tortured past for our singer. (More here.)

The Eclipse

Thai 2022 YouTube

GMMTV does gay Blacklist with a good boy/bad boy pairing. This is a good show but the cast is excellent and the leads are absolutely flawless, which elevates it beyond just good. We got a nuanced and multifaceted burgeoning relationship: philosophical (and socio-political) conflict contrasted to moments of empathy; flirtation contrasted to moments of genuine affection, plus plenty of angst. This narrative is less about love than it is about courage and tenderness. However, near the end the pacing was off and the plot frustrating. Still, this is an enjoyable watch, with a finale that features verbal consent and a fun blooper reel.

Love Class 2

Korea 2023 Viki

3 couples form within a semester of university: 1. a hyung romance reunion of exes, one of whom has a dangerous past, 2. a friends to lovers romance, and 3. a one night stand between a mature student and a TA (many aspects of which had me laughing). I enjoyed the characters and dialogue of this show immensely. It was a little bit more breezy and friendly than I was expecting after the first installment, Love Class (to which this bears little resemblance and no connection). I’m not entirely sure Korea can handle multiple couples like this because it definitely felt disjointed, especially with the 3rd more mature couple (also my favorite) who probably should’ve had their own series. But I enjoyed something different from Korea.

About Youth

Taiwan 2022 Gaga

A truly lovely little coming of age high school BL with a classic YA low drama but high angst and an earnest depth. I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. A weak seme/uke dynamic but tons of BL tropes (both rare in a high school setting but common for Taiwan) makes this one feel both sweet and colored by an almost real world authenticity and grit. More here.

Restart After Come Back Home AKA Risutato wa tadaima no ato de

Japan 2020 Gaga?

Atmospheric study in rural Japan meets complex family dynamics built on a romance framework of city boy meets country boy, grumpy/sunshine. It’s beautiful and icy sweet. Slow moving in places but ultimately worth the patience, low heat, low angst, and stunning.

DNA Says Love You

Taiwan 2022 Gaga

DNA deserves extra marks for an upbeat approach to a queer story arc that other shows have systemically mishandled with sadness (in the guise of realism). There is a twist, which I found predictable, but knowing what would happen didn't spoil this show. The leads are luminous and engaging, and it’s full of queer found family representation and an unexpected amount of domesticity, plus it’s Taiwan, so the kisses are great. The first few eps are rough going but have patiences, it's worth it as the last ones really are special and life/love affirming - and the end is big-grin charming.

My Tooth Your Love

Taiwan 2023 Viki

Earnest dentist hottie with sad eyes who worries too much is smitten by an adorable sunshine neurotic bar owner with serious anxiety issues. They fall madly in love while courting each other with food, plushies, and naps. Then, shocker, talk about their feelings and try to actually sort out their problems so they can have an adult relationship. Bonus crumbs = 18 year old poor little rich kid in mad crush with a much older man. I really enjoyed this show, it had a unique premise, killer dialogue, there was a solid lead pair with charming chemistry, soft flirtation, delightful smiling kisses, and stinkingly cute domesticity.

Where Your Eyes Linger

Korea 2020 Viki

Ostensibly high school set about a poor kid whose been raised in a mafia kid’s family specifically to protect him (whipping boy trope, attack dog variant). Themes of codependency and survival with pretty classic Korean style romance ending.

TharnType

Thai 2019 Viki

This Thai BL has everything: university setting, great acting and complex characters, interesting friendship groups, enemies to lovers, angsty coming out, high production values, AMAZING chemistry, and multiple BL side couples with all the issues. But when I said everything I meant it because there's also: damaging queer rep, strong seme/uke and husband/wife language, classic tropes and lots of them, child abuse, bullying, mental illness, rough play, dub-con, non-con, and statutory rape (by the seme/gay character).

and its spin off: Don't Say No also qualifies for this post.

In fact most Mame stuff will involved trauma & drama, specifically.

Love By Chance 2

Love in the Air (Part 2)

Wedding Plan

Some others but I'm getting tired:

I Told Sunset About You et al

You Are Mine

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Your Soul

Ghost Host Ghost House

But frankly there are a ton more depending on how you look at it. I mean, what about Why R U? FIghter's dad is the issues with him coming out, but it's not really in the plot until late so ?

Lakorn BL drama llama soaps & similar

Moonlight Chicken - review here

Laws of Attraction

To Sir, With Love - review here

Sirs not appearing on this list

Our Dining Table is driven by childhood trauma but not angsty, similar to Oxygen. Not Me is angsty and dramatic and family stuff, but that's not really the driver of the plot. Life Love On the Line is all angst but he brought it on himself.

(source)

Updated Nov 19, 2023, no intention of adding to this so if you want more, look at the comments. Someone is bound to get annoyed their favorite isn't on the list.

[wordyneonlights]

'And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you'

Welcome back to the inner workings of my mind!! This has been STUCK in my head since yesterday and I've finally gotten it all out. UGH.

Anyways, hope you enjoy this... whatever this is.

1.3k words by the way

You've made a mistake.

No... mistake is too small a word. Mistake is using salt instead of sugar; using the wrong 'there' in an essay; texting the wrong number; telling your mother anything about your love life

This was not a mistake, it was more accurate to say that you had royally fucked up.

Like the ginormous idiot you are, you'd gone and fallen in love.

And even that wasn't accurate enough, falling created the expectancy that you were going to be caught. You had crashed and burned into love if you wanted to get specific with it.

It hit you last week, when you were washing the dishes with him, hips bumping, silence you could sleep in surrounding the both of you.

You thought to yourself: 'I really wouldn't mind doing this everyday forever,'

Then you dropped your plate in the sink at the shock of your realisation.  Eliciting a laugh from him as he poked you with his elbow.

'You all right there?'  He had asked

And you laughed and nodded

'I've got an essay due tomorrow is all,'

'We can always pull an all nighter, run to the corner-store, put something scary on and speed run it,'

'My knight in shining armour,'

'And my favourite dragon,'

You'd rolled your eyes and he laughed making you laugh too and it had just been such a comfortable moment. So warm and safe, and you'd gone and ruined it all by falling in love.

The thing was, you wouldn't have minded as much if it hadn't taken you this long to even be friends with him.

He wasn't necessarily the most open person. A lot of people thought he was hostile, mean... you didn't think that.

OK fine that was a lie you had thought that, but you'd also bothered with getting to know him and he turned out to be the most sarcastically funny, kind, sweet, annoyingly handsome, person you'd ever known. But it had taken you two years to get to that point. And he hadn't dated anybody in the time you knew him.

You'd asked him once, if he was interested in romantic relationships, and he'd looked at you funny.

'Yeah,' he'd said, ' I'm just not looking right now,

'Aw, why not?'

'Tryna graduate first' he'd said poking your nose and shifting your face away from him

'Darn it, I thought I'd have a shot,'

Your heart had been hammering at that point, you had a crush on him by then but it wasn't exactly love, not yet.

He had given you a look but had been interuppted before he could say anything. You both didn't talk about it again.

You wished wholeheartedly that you had never met him (lies) or that you had at least, never fallen for him (more lies).

You were scheduled for one of your routine hangouts, at the local bar. Usually some of your other friends would have joined you but they had all bailed.

Maybe the universe was giving you some sort of sign? Maybe this was your chance to confess. You were quieter than usual as he drove you to the bar, staring out of the window.

"You alright?" he asked

"Uh huh," you responded

"We could always watch a movie or something, we don't have to go out,"

You nodded not really registering, his cologne smelt nicer than usual today, but then he always smelled nice.

"Are you sick or something?"

' Lovesick maybe,' you thought in your head.

"I mean don't get me wrong I appreciate the silence, but it is weird when you’re not annoying me about something,"

You rolled you eyes before smiling coyly, "Just admit you like hearing me talk," you said and he scoffed

"Never mind actually I preferred the quiet,"

You took this as a challenge obviously, and began chattering to him about the latest drama surrounding your favourite comic.

"So the fight's getting tense right, but he's got this super powerful being on his side but then his legs get sliced off and he has to jump into the god he's fighting and he almost gets devoured but then it gets eaten by his wall but then the wall eats his mom and-"

You rambled on before your voice fizzled out. You wanted to stop talking before you said something you'd regret. Besides, you were at the bar already.

You walked inside and sat on one of the outside tables. You sat in silence for about ten minutes, absently sipping your drink so you wouldn't talk.

Maybe if you confessed while drunk you could play it off as not that serious, at least it would be out there.

"Ok, what's the problem," he asked finally, and you raised your eyebrows

"What?"

"Are you sick? Did one of your 'faves' die again?"

"What, I-"

"Did that couple you were rooting for break up? Did you fail another paper?"

"Hey-"

"Are you-" his face blanched and your stomach dropped. Had he somehow figured it out? Your mouth went dry and you tried your best to look normal.

"Are you pregnant?"

...

...

Your mind went completely blank as you registered his face before you burst out into laughter.

"Pregnant?" you wheezed doubling over, "You think I'm pregnant!!"

Your laughter was so obnoxious you were getting weird looks but you didn't care. The absurdity of it all had you rolling.

"This is what i get for caring," he'd said blushing slightly after you had calmed down save for a few giggles every few minutes

"I can't believe you thought I was pregnant,"

"You weren't giving me much to work with," he muttered, "I was getting worried,"

"Rest assured i am not pregnant,"

Just hopelessly in love with you is all.

"Then what's wrong?" he asked, tone more serious

You hesitated, he was annoyingly perceptive. Maybe there was a possibility he already knew you were in love with him and was waiting for you to confess. Were you willing to take that chance?

"Just got some unexpected news is all," you said picking your words carefully

"Good news or bad news?"

"I'm not sure yet,"

"Well... as long as you’re not pregnant,"

"Why do you care so much?"

"I can barely deal with you and your period hormones," he teased rubbing his arm when you smacked him, "Pregnancy hormones would be a whole different beast,"

"Whatever, you’re stuck with me anyway,"

"Stuck with you huh?"

Your heart was drumming in your chest and you took another sip of your drink.

"You know... " I started, "There is actually something I wanted to say,"

"I think we've already established that,"

You felt queasy, and cleared your throat. You could feel yourself sweating as you built up your courage.

You have to say it, if not now then when? You can't be the sort of person who lives in regret, you can't be the kind of person who's scared of big conversations.

You steeled yourself, bringing your head up and looking him firmly in the eye.

"I love you,"

There, it was out, you'd said it, it was in the air, out in the open, the frequency of your voice had been registered as vibrations in his ear, he had heard you. You could tell because of the slight raise of his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I love you too, is that what you were so worked up about?"

You should have been happy, relieved almost but you weren't, your stomach twisted itself and you let out a shaky breath.

"No I mean I love you love you. I think you're one of the most amazing people I've ever met, you make me laugh, you make me feel seen and I want to be with you as more than just friends. I love you in the way that they talk about in poetry and I can't keep hiding it from you anymore,"

You stopped talking eyes still on his.

You couldn't read his expression, his face had gone pale and his eyes were wide.

"I'm sorry," he started and your heart clenched, "I don't feel the same way,"

Oof, glad I am done with this. Just wanted to put it out there I suppose. Not sure I had a person in mind for this when I wrote it so I'll probably just tag a bunch of fandoms or whatever. Hope you enjoyed!!

Title is from the song: 'Something Stupid' by Frank and Nancy Sinatra

[utopianparadoxist]

Hi! I'm most interested on reading your version of HS extension(?) continuation? re-adaptation? Ever since I first saw your analysis on Dirk and Jake I've considered you with amazing grip of the characters and the HS universe over all, Dirk is one of my fav characters of all time (if not the), and there is nothing I'd want more for him than a happy ending, the epilogues were truly heart breaking for him (even though I was more than willing to see where they were going with him in HS^2 in hopes of seeing him reach a happy end) Homestruck was and still is one of my fav properties ever and I'd love to see more from you, I'm sorry you had a hard time but I'm really glad you're back, here and in a better headspace. That said, I guess I'm just somewhat confused on in you have something written already or if it's in the works or from where in the timeline you're continueing from ? Maybe you have like, a master post with your list of essays and fics?

I also loved your youtube videos btw

Thanks! It means a lot to read this. As to your question:

The main project I've been managing since the Epilogues got posted is Pumpkin Path/Pumpkin Track, a sequel to the Meat and Candy epilogues focused primarily on Pumpkins and Vegetables as an alternative form of fan consumption.

The first installment of this arc is THE APOCRYPHON OF JAKE ENGLISH (2019), which follows Meat Jake immediately following Ultimate Dirk's desertion of Earth C. Brain Ghost Dirk declares Dirkjake cancelled and (trigger warning) self-destructs, unleashing the inner barriers in Jake's psychology that he always used his inner Dirk voice to maintain.

Thus Jake's own mind begins to lead him down a rabbit hole of speculatory metaphysics, esoteric spiritual symbolism, and esoteric magic theory that ultimately leads to his ascension to Ultimate Self as Prince English: Himself wearing Dirk's shades and orange hat and essentially larping as a Prince in imitation of Dirk proper.

Through the power he gains from this, he blasts off from Earth C and tracks down Ultimate Dirk for a no holds barred 8eatdown in which he reclaims their lost love and makes Dirk his prisoner with chains of love and mercy, cancelling his ability to die and comitting to becoming the vill8in of Homestuck, as well as its Her8, if it means he can keep Dirk safe and alive.

In the process he finally establishes Dirkjake as indisputable endgame canon, and becomes the equivalent of the I AM Christian God, the new existential equivalent to Lord English himself, with a will that predominates completely over everything else in Paradox Space. There may be some surprises that happen along the way, too.

Now, That much of the story has been written and published since 2019. You can read it on A03 right now and always could. In fact, I'd encourage you to do so and @ me, as well as maybe tag it with #Pumpkin Path, #Pumpkin Track, or just straight up #Homestuck for all I care. I want eyes on this thing, and I wanted them 4 years ago.

That said:

I am now nearing completion on the follow-up to the Apocryphon as an intermission piece between the Epilogues and Pumpkin Track proper, with what is essentially ACT 1 of Pumpkin Track: W(1)LDSCR1PT-B4R0QU3STUCK, a high-drama spectacle driven continuation of the plot of the Epilogues centering on a confrontation between Ultimate Jake English and Meat Jade Harley, who must duel for the right to decide if Dirk Strider dies.

In the process of their battle and Jade's necessary Ascension to Ultimate Selfhood in order to Rise uP to the level necessary to compete against a being like Prince English, deeply hidden truths will be unveiled; about the lives of Jade and Jake, about the moral logic that rules Earth C, and about the very nature and purpose of Paradox Space itself.

If I have it my way, if all goes as I Hope, then nothing in Homestuck will ever be the same once it's posted. The Apocryphon was setup. Now it's fucking Sh8wt1m3, and I can't w8.

The first half of Wildscript is written and has been being beta'd for several months, and I have a full outline written for the rest. Anyone who gets their eyes on the thing seems to come away pretty excited. Sometime in the near future, I'll post the first four Chapters of Wildscript on Ao3 or some other platform, and update the rest as I go. And once Wildscript is finished, I have future Acts and Intermissions planned for the foreseeable eternity, tackling off the top of my head: Ultimate Ascensions for Rose and Kanaya, Vriska and Terezi, Roxy and Calliope, Jane Crocker, and Nepeta Leijon and Tavros Nitram as they lead the twin charges of Nepetaquest 3033.

There is no endpoint to my ambition for the future of Homestuck save simply: 8. The only question is whether the fandom wants to come along for the ride with me in the long run. I think Hope Remains that we'll have a great time here if they do.

If not, I hope they have even more fun elsewhere.

Let's rise.

[krisbianbitchface]

Ok so to warm my heart a little from the coldness of knowing I will have to wait 2 years to see dear Rhaenyra again I have started watching Game of Thrones,I was not very fond of it when it came out however now I am older and just desiring to binge watch anything to get myself to sleep and I have a few thoughts I need to get out of my head or maybe opinions,it might me a little over the top since of course I am a lesbian drama queen and I live to complain,im only in season 3 almost ending the season...

I fucking hate that kid bran,he takes soooo much screen time just to retell dreams and look like that snarky kid that throws random stuff on the ground in Walmart with a stupid look on his face (I really Wish Jamie would have killed his ass)

Melissandre is the most interesting character of the series,so witty and cruel in the best way,I was shocked when she killed that king with her baby demon and absolutely smitten,I love cruel women.

Jon Snow is the most boring character I have EVER witnessed in the story of television and trust me I've been there since Xena Warrior Princess graced the screens,just no goals,no path,no big dick or small dick energy,no energy AT ALL,just a big fat ugly Hero complex that I just can't stand because the actor has the same expression everytime no matter what happens,even having a boner with a cute girl cuddling his dick he is 😐 like gtfo of my face

Cersei is second to Melissandre in the scale of bad bitches,she is just so fucking resented and hot,everything she says sounds like wind chimes even if she is sending a child to his death,I cant help but want her to hate fuck me and call me a fagg0t and then tell me Im the worst fuck she's ever had and just use me again.

Dragons...Should I say more? I started the series of House of the Dragon because I just love dragons,and a particular scene is just edged in my mind like iron,Daenerys saving her little dragons from that sorcerers dungeon and their cute little faces watching her almost like trying to say "Momma! You're here! we missed you!" I think is the cutest scene ever.

Daenerys...She serving cunt,she ate and licked the plate,she served and left no crumbs,the director said cut and she heard CUNT and went with it, she caused a motherquake of 9.99 in the cunt scale,she's mother, and no other than the Mother of Dragons, I just love her,she is what Cleopatra VII was before hollywood found her and turned her into a makeup propaganda fashionista, a true strategist and conqueror.

Kal Drogo,I just mourned his death,he was so cute and murderous, i wept real tears for sweet Daenerys, I think the actor was really good and he needed more screen time, his scenes were charged with masculity and power,something we really lack these days in television.

Sansa, she is a beauty,the kind of beauty fantasy writers try to describe and there is just no way that human exists and then there is her...But she is so fucking traumatized and set aside just like every other woman in that universe,hell,even in life,I feel for her...And also wanna date her,i won't lie

Aria is a tough little woman,I think they really need to step up her action scenes because I think she serves well as a hope in the darkness kind of character however I do wish the actress was more prone to make a proper action sequence ala Eleven from Stranger Things,you can say what you want about miss Millie Bobby Brown but she is one of the few actresses willing to make many changes ln television for years to come with her characters.

Jamie Lannister is an interesting fighter and I wish it was possible to swap his fight scenes with Aria since i think it was proper giving the context,anyway he has good fighting sequences that I think were ment for someone else.

The sex scenes... This was a series HBO really set the bar high for nudity,there is so much nudity,sometimes unnecessary and cruel for the actresses involved and at the same time, is not surprising considering this series was made by two straight men,this always happens in the industry although these days is harder due to the constant intimacy coordination, but yeah in those times I can't imagine how unerving it was for actresses to bare it all for a couple of coins in a popular series.

Enough with my ramblings,I declare myself a fan of game of thrones only for Daenerys and her cute little dragons 💖

[ingek73]

How we made

Culture

‘I was attacked by a bloody rabbit’: how we made Xena: Warrior Princess

‘The studio was hesitant about suggesting Xena and Gabrielle were in a romantic relationship. But as time went on, they decided to look the other way and just let us get on with it’

‘Somebody once asked me if they had ever had sex’ … Lucy Lawless as Xena and Renee O’Connor as Gabrielle.

Interviews by Chris Broughton

Follow Chris Broughton

Mon 1 Jul 2024 16.19 CEST

Steven L Sears, writer and co-executive producer

I was in a meeting with an executive from Renaissance Pictures when he mentioned a series they were going to do: “A hip, updated version of Hercules.” Xena was a character in that, compellingly brought to life by Lucy Lawless. When Hercules: The Legendary Journeys became a big hit, they decided to spin her off into her own series. That’s when I became involved.

Building on Xena’s backstory, we developed a character who has been turned into a feared warrior because of things that happened during her childhood and early adulthood, but at heart she is a good person keen to help others. The common take was that she was on the path to redemption, but my belief was that she felt she could never redeem herself for the thousands she had killed.

Gabrielle, meanwhile, is a simple village girl given the chance to realise her dreams of adventure. Since she recorded the duo’s escapades on scrolls, fans started calling her the battling bard. Right from the start, though, we refused to make her just a sidekick. She offered a beautiful innocent perspective on Xena’s darker, more barbaric character. Ultimately, she became Xena’s saviour.

Steven L Sears in 2022.

‘We went from drama one week to satire the next’ … Steven L Sears in 2022. Photograph: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images

The show’s co-creator Rob Tapert would present us with wild ideas and leave us to make them work. I can’t think of a regular show that did a musical episode with original songs before we did The Bitter Suite. One time, Rob wanted me to change the word “camouflage”. He said: “It’s a French word and this is not a French show.” I said: “You’re having a problem with a French word in a series set in ancient Greece with a protagonist played by a New Zealand actress using an American accent?”

Later, we expanded our universe quite a bit. In one episode, clones of our heroes interacted with Xena fans in the present day. Another, set in an alternative reality, saw Xena ruling over the Roman empire with Karl Urban’s Julius Caesar after their marriage. Xena offered the opportunity to go from drama one week to satire the next and, more importantly, had a cast and crew that could pull it off.

People called Xena a sword and sorcery show, even though our universe had swords but no magic. There were mythological creatures and entities with powers, but those powers had restrictions. Most of the gods echoed the pettiness of mankind, with all their egos and desires.

Back then, the studio was very hesitant about suggesting Xena and Gabrielle were in a romantic relationship. They even objected to a moment in the title sequence where Xena is seen walking seductively towards the warlord Draco, because he was shot from the back and had long hair, so could be mistaken for a woman. But as time went on, they decided to look the other way and just let us get on with it. Somebody once asked me if Xena and Gabrielle ever had sex. I said: “It’s none of my damn business. They do social and domestic duties together, they have fought for each other and died for each other. If you’re defining the relationship just on sex, you’re really missing the whole point.”

We had a very varied following, from children to students to older people. My dad once spotted a neighbour, in his 80s, waving a stick in his front yard as if sword fighting. “I’ve been watching my favourite show, Xena: Warrior Princess,” he explained. “You should see it – there’s a guy called Sears who works on it.”

Renee O’Connor, played Gabrielle

My focus with Gabrielle was how to make her feel empowered and not just the damsel in distress. The time I’d spent doing gymnastics at school probably helped with some of the moves I had to perform: handstands, backflips and so on. I loved working with weapons and dancing around stunt people. During one fight, my stunt double was standing in for the antagonist and, as we were twirling around, we stepped too close to each other and she ended up with a broken nose.

Even in the first season, we started to hear from people who thought Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship was more than just friends. Later, that subtext started to develop. We didn’t get a sense of how big the show was becoming until Lucy came back from a convention in the US and said: “Oh Renee, it’s like you’re a rock star!” At that point, the show hadn’t started airing in New Zealand. So, as we filmed in our little sacred space in Auckland, we could still walk around anonymously.

I tried showing Xena to my kids when they were young, but my daughter was terrified, seeing her mother repeatedly getting beaten up – or even attacked by a bloody rabbit. I kept the weapons Gabrielle used and still have a few boxes of costumes. My daughter’s 18 now and I know she’ll end up wearing them on a date or something.

I can relate to the young Gabrielles I meet at conventions who appreciate that kindness doesn’t mean you’re weak. Being able to live through my character emboldened me, helped me stand up to the bully. That’s definitely carried on for the rest of my life.

[sharlmbracta]

i can't help but think that the two firelords in aang's fever dream would've been ozai's previous, early-staged designs, from the concept of the "firelord" to the concept of "ozai"

1.

this guy literally has fire shaped eyebrows and a fire nation insignia (or what it used to be?) stuck on his forehead. his blatant (stereotypical?) theme from his appearance is powerhungry(small eyes, bulky form), greedy-arrogant(eating grapes as a symbol?), brute-forced(war-themed clothing). I think this could be the very first design of him when creating the first idea of the "ultimate hero" and the "ultimate villain". The marks of the "first" can also be seen from the clothing design (the scarf? napkin? thingy around his chest) and simple color choices (simple red with simple yellow).

also you can see that he was agreed to have a very long and thin beard from the beginning which would feed on the "wisdom" "intelligence" and "strength" propaganda

2.

again, simple red and simple yellow.

clothing looks rather flashy, which means this look of him was also made at early stages of development and the atla fashion in general hasn't yet been stabilized. (: the flair in his wrists and the thing that goes across his shoulders to his chest. makes no sense. the top half looks like a flashy sleeping robe while the bottom half looks like... an outdoor activity metal skirt?)

he looks older than the previous one. does he? he looks more manipulative though. i think this is where his "slick tongue" personality was established bc a narrow eyes, narrow eyebrows character design kinda points to a stereotypical "rat person". i think. again long beard. that points to his high status or whatever.

this design looks like it was given to an earthbending trainer who haggled on money rather than actual teaching, who was assigned by toph's parents to be her earthbending teacher

3.

this is the very first time his face is actually shown. in seasons 1 and 2, his face was intentionally hidden, probably a tactic to bubble up the audience as "what could a monster like him look like 😱".

but ironically, he's a very normal looking guy. in fact, the most normal looking guy the designers could ever make intentionally. No part of him that could make anyone go "yep this is the face of the villain." this design of him is meant to convey that looks are often the most deceiving to your judgement. this ALSO shows when the gaang finds his baby picture in his beach house on ember island and mistake him for baby zuko.

it represents that everyone can go crazy with propaganda and an insane amount of power. like aang said, how everyone is capable of "great evil" and "great good".

taking katara's quote on the baby picture, "but he looks so sweet and innocent": his "innocent" look acts like a mask he puts on, as well as the mask of neutral expression, on top of the mask of his slick tongue.

the only thing that changes from here on is the frame of his face for anatomy i guess

below is also an impacting scene in my viewpoint:

how his face contorts from this

to this

in less than a second at azula's proposition of "burning it all to the ground". shows him that he's able to mask everything as he want it to, especially about stuff like neutral-face and power-face as that is NOT his ego-high power-tripping face:

THIS is his ego-high power-tripping face

and this is him putting back on his slick face right after a moment of being unable to mask his shock-rage and consequently rage-stripping himself

"now the universe delivers you to me like an 💅act 💅 of 💅 providence 💅" yep the providence that single-handedly blew your fucking ship up

also i forgot that the scene right after defeating ozai existed, i forgot how much of a drama queen he is:

"i'm STILL ALIVE"

and "i AM the phOEnix KING"

ok girlie fellow girlie

one more thing: he sounds genuinely proud of zuko when he commends him for "slaying" the avatar. and he reprimands aang for being "weak even with all the power in the world". looks like he really does think everything around power and ONLY power. hmm, i wonder who taught him that, hmm? tragic.

[aworldforastage]

A Totally Subjective List of Favorite Danmei Novels I Read in 2022

Qiang Jin Jiu :: 将进酒 唐酒卿

Silent Reading :: 默读 Priest

Jun You Ji Fou :: 君有疾否 如似我闻

Those Years I Opened a Zoo :: 我开动物园那些年  拉棉花糖的兔子 

Golden Stage :: 黄金台 苍梧宾白

Your Scandals Are Way Cuter Than You :: 你的黑料比本人可爱 毛球球

Professional Body Double :: 职业替身 水千丞

Lantern: Reflection of the Peach Blossoms :: 提灯映桃花 淮上 

Guide on How to Fail at Online Dating :: 网恋翻车指南 酱子贝

FOG :: FOG[电竞] 漫漫何其多

Qiang Jin Jiu :: 将进酒 唐酒卿

“你坐明堂上,不要沾风雪。” “Your place is in the great halls, untouched by wind and snow.”

[historical, political intrigue]  – (I wrote a spoiler-free introductory synopsis here.)  Plenty of people have already said lots of good things about this novel, but the highlight for me is its rich cast of three-dimensional characters, who are simultaneously cruel or frustrating but also sympathetic and redeemable. The characters’ actions and decisions are mingled with compromises they must make for their circumstances and values. The world is built with extreme care, with plenty of details that I didn’t catch until my second pass over the novel. I read nearly 70 titles in 2022, but I spent almost a month on QJJ alone to re-read and listen to the audiodrama. Despite the length of the novel, I still wish I can spend more time in this world. 

Silent Reading :: 默读 Priest 

“ 我不是凝视深渊的人，我就是深渊。” “I’m not the one staring into the abyss; I am the abyss.”

[modern, police procedural] – If QJJ is my go-to recommendation for a historical danmei, then Silent Reading aka Modu is my go-to for a modern one. This is basically a police procedural, focusing on five major cases, with the finale weaving together clues scattered throughout the novel. Priest is a masterful writer who introduces new information in a measured pace, so you gradually get to know the characters and immerse into the complex world. The cases takes us face-to-face with some of the the darkest facets of humanity, but the work decidedly leaves you with a sense of hope, that even the deepest wounds can heal, and there are more people than you may ever expected who will want to help you.

Jun You Ji Fou :: 君有疾否 如似我闻 

刹那间上万只蝶忽然振翅飞起，满胸膛的蝶翼扑动，心彻底乱的没有章法。 Suddenly tens of thousands of butterflies spread their wings to take flight. His chest is filled with fluttering motion, and his heart falls fully into disarray. 

[historical, political, romance] – In JYJF, two longtime rivals with opposing political priorities coming to a new understanding of each other and fall in love.  They are both clever, principled, but black-bellied in their own way. This novel has undeniable weaknesses as a political drama, but it has built a reputation as a romance with poetic prose, well-developed characters, and a delicious blend of humour, fluff, and angst. The “light” political plot lines will not bog the reader down, and functions instead as an effective backdrop to showoff how the characters work together, the way their ideologies clash and align, and why they can come love each other. [incomplete translation]

Those Years I Opened a Zoo :: 我开动物园那些年  拉棉花糖的兔子 

“也没有什么诀窍，就是夸他，一个劲夸他，从内夸到外。”  “There isn’t really a trick to it. Just compliment him, keep complimenting him, compliment him from inside out.” 

[comedy, urban fantasy] – This is my go-to feel-better novel when I need a good laugh. The protagonist operates a zoo with the help of a magical app, and some of the most formidable names in Chinese mythology (Su Daji, Bai Suzhen, Sun Wokong etc.) must blend in as “staff animals”. There is no real angst or conflict, and the romance, between the twenty-something zoo owner and a mythological bird who has been “single for tens-of-thousands of years,” is equally light and fun. Even though his boyfriend is one of the most powerful beings in the universe, the human shou is the one who actually sets the pace and tone of the relationship, since he is the one with higher EQ and more “knowledge”.

Golden Stage :: 黄金台 苍梧宾白

“朝廷走狗不残害忠良，怎么对得起天下悠悠众口？”  “If the dog of the imperial court doesn’t scheme against the loyal and the just, what will all the interested citizens gossip about?” 

[historical, arranged marriage,  but really reconciliation] - The emperor arranges a controversial marriage for an injured but popular war hero and his rival, a favored but notorious court official. Instead of shifting the political balance like the emperor has hoped, the couple works out their old grievances and forms a formidable alliance which soon becomes the only hope for the ailing empire against foes within and beyond. A lot of the political themes in this novel are very similar to QJJ, but while QJJ is very hardcore in its depiction of the politics and mechanics of an entire government, Golden Stage is a much shorter and easier read, with its focus on the core characters, and their values and relationships. 

Your Scandals Are Way Cuter Than You :: 你的黑料比本人可爱 毛球球

难得有这么一大波人送上门来吵架，江影兴奋得很，但，他有他的职业道德，自家的粉只能护，不能怼，至于戚逐家的，他只针对戚逐这个人，不针对戚逐家的粉。 It's not often that such a large group of people brings the fight to his door; Jiang Ying is very excited. However, he has his own ethical standards: he needs to help his own fans, not go up against them. As for Qi Zhu's fans, his problem is only with Qi Zhu himself, not the fans.

[comedy, actors/celebrities] –  A hilarious “entertainment circle” novel where the idol actor protagonist loves the industry not for the acting or the singing, but the gossip and cat fights. He is so invested in arguing and fighting with antis online that he nearly misses the fact someone is seriously in love with him. The protagonist’s brother’s story is told in Your Memes are Way Better-looking than You, which takes place before this novel. “Memes” generally has the same funny tone but a slightly more serious plot, but this novel is a pure sugar-fest. 

Professional Body Double :: 职业替身 水千丞

他看到了一个成熟的男人是怎么对待爱情的，又是怎么用那种恰到好处的温柔和宽容去感染、缠缚对方的，他就是那个被周翔紧紧抓住的人。 He saw how a mature man deals with love, using just the perfect amount of warmth and generosity to infect and cling onto his lover; he was the was one who had been tightly held onto by Zhou Xiang. 

 [angst, romance, actors and celebrities] – A gentle introduction to the infamous “188 Club”. Yan Mingxiu’s ranking within the 188 really varies depending on your priorities, but I mostly have a soft spot for him because Zhou Xiang seems to really love him (and also, the extra chapters written from YMX’s POV kinda sorta maybe gave him sympathy points).  Zhou Xiang is caring, smart, and extremely charismatic. I am very moved by the way Zhou Xiang loves and pursues Yan Mingxiu before the accident, the way his confidence and maturity are undercut by his insecurities and loneliness as an orphan and a gay man. In the end, I root for them mostly because I want to believe Zhou Xiang can make it work with the boy he loves so much. 

Lantern: Reflection of the Peach Blossoms :: 提灯映桃花 淮上 

“我不是来打仗的，我是来求婚的。” “I didn’t come here to fight, I came to propose."

[romance, urban fantasy, reconciliation ] – This novel probably has my favorite relationship arc, in which love has never been so powerful and so useless at the same time. It’s a love story between gods and demons, and but it’s also about the insecurity of marrying across classes, the damage of emotionally abusive upbringing, the balance between children and spouse, and the sacrifices you make for love and duty. It’s a HE reconciliation story with lots of comedy, but it’s a long and cruel journey to uncover and patch up the mistakes that brought them to this point. One note I must make is that this novel is kind of hard to follow due to POV switches and the character themselves having incomplete information; the full conflict and relevant backstory is not really clear until around 65% into the text. 

Guide on How to Fail at Online Dating :: 网恋翻车指南 酱子贝 

渣男怎么了？ 渣男多好啊？！ 渣男文可为我写诗！武可啪啪三日！上暖绿茶！下暖萝莉！二十四小时温柔在线！七十二小时暖心待机！恋爱不查短信！分手绝不纠缠！经期会冲红糖！睡前会说晚安！ 天啊！渣男就是这个世界上的宝物！我永远爱渣男！！！ What’s wrong with scum boyfriends? Scum boyfriends are great! Scum boyfriends can write love poems with his pen! Can go for three days with his sword! Delivering warmth to green-tea and loli’s alike! He is online for 24 hours a day, on standby for 72! No checking your phone while dating! No pestering you after breaking up! He can make brown sugar drinks during your period! He’ll tell you ‘goodnight’ before bed! By heavens! Scum boyfriends are treasures of the world! I will love scum boyfriends forever!!! 

[online gaming, cat-fishing, mistaken identities, college-setting] – AKA: “fake green tea vs fake scum boyfriend.” Jing Huan poses as a girl in an online game to catfish the Big Name Player who tricked and hurt his cousin. Meanwhile, Xiang Huaizhi notices photos from the girl who keeps flirting with him in an online game can only be sent by someone at his school, specifically, one underclassman. There is plenty of comedy in Jing Huan’s effort to pose as a girl online, and also plenty of hurt when the truth and deception are laid to bare, but overall this is a sweet college romance with just dash (or maybe a spoonful?) of angst and plenty of humour. (PSA: No knowledge of gaming is needed (I don’t have any) to follow the story.) 

FOG :: FOG[电竞] 漫漫何其多

不喜欢的人的心机才是心机。 喜欢的人的心机，那叫撒娇。 Schemes are only schemes if they are coming from people you don’t like . Schemes from people you like, that's flirting to get your attention. 

 [E-sports, (sort-of?) reconciliation] – My first “E-Sports” novel that focuses on professional competitive gaming (but it’s a fictional game so no prior gaming knowledge needed). As a E-Sports novel, FOG does a great job of portraying the camaraderie between teammates and the youthful passion of the players, while also touching on the cynical and exploitative side of the industry. There is an extremely sad and infuriating backstory that explains how the main couple came to be separated for two years (it’s not their fault), but their relationship is otherwise very sweet. However, I have never seen a story with a tournament arc that ends when the main characters win the quarter-finals … (yes, there are extra chapters, but still …)  

[lonesomedreamer]

The Rings of Power Liveblog: “The Great Wave” and “Partings” (Episodes 4 & 5)

“The Great Wave”

As always, I appreciate this show’s commitment to being gorgeous!

The foreshadowing of Tar-Míriel’s dream is fine as a narrative device, but it feels…deceptive? Númenor was destroyed because they deliberately broke the Valar’s Ban by sailing to Valinor, not because one Elf showed up. (To be fair, they did so due to the influence of [redacted], so…)

Yeah, the whole “the Elves are gonna come take our jobs!” thing is, um…it’s too much.

Love that Al-Pharazôn is using their descent from Elros, the son of two half-Elves who both chose to live as Elves, to pump these people up…bc the Númenóreans had come to resent “the choice of their ancestor” by this time! They don’t fear the Elves. They envy them—resent them. They enjoy life and want to keep on living it. They want to be immortal. That really shouldn’t be a difficult idea to get across on screen!

I initially appreciated the obvious Mediterranean influences in this design, but now it seems over-the-top and doesn’t fit in well with the aesthetics of the rest of the universe.

It’s really dumb—and rude—that the queen keeps calling Galadriel “Elf”

It’s a shame they’ve stripped her of all her wisdom.

Unsure if it’s the fault of the writing or the acting, but Tar-Míriel is not doing it for me at all. Alternating between widening your eyes and smirking does not a compelling performance make.

Cheap comic relief from Elendil—thanks for nothing, writers!

“Isildur” continues to provide this show with unnecessary, meaningless teen angst/drama. No thanks.

More grimdark Orc stuff. At least Arondir’s finally getting out.

Oh, the horror movie nonsense, bad CG, and bad costumes that make up the Southlands subplot…I didn’t miss it.

The actor playing Celebrimbor looks more like someone you’d cast as a Hobbit than an Elf. I’m getting way more “old Bilbo” vibes from him than “master smith of the Noldor”…

WHAT is going on with the timeline? Most of Episode 3 took place over a few days in Númenor. In that time, Bronwyn’s village has run out of food at their watchtower refuge—believable enough—and the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm a) decided to help build forges in Eregion after all and b) already partially completed said forges! Make it make sense.

“Are you suggesting Durin’s got himself a wee girlfriend?” “These wee’uns are turning my mind to much.” I did Shakespeare in high school, and once, after our director asked us to project for the umpteenth time, she shouted, “You do not mic the Bard!” That’s how I feel about these line. I’m so sorry, Professor.

Elrond just wandering around in the mines of Khazad-dûm, alone, like it ain’t no thing, lmao.

Mithril!

Not them making me care about this made-up friendship between Durin and Elrond a tiny bit.

Huh, a Palantír. I didn’t see that coming.

“Palantíri show many visions. Some that will never come to pass.” Cribbing directly from Galadriel’s actual canon dialogue!

“I will not second-guess the gods.” This is so funny to me, bc like…Galadriel lived among the Valar! It’s giving “do not cite the Deep Magic to me…I was there when it was written.”

Arondir saving Theo and then holding his own against like a bazillion Orcs while also trying to defend him…as if!

We just saw the Orcs running around a village in broad daylight, but suddenly they can’t keep chasing Theo and Arondir because the sun’s coming up??

The power of music…now that’s very Tolkien. ♥ This scene also gives the Dwarves, with their exaggerated Scottish accents and bad dialogue, a few all-too-rare moments of dignity.

Which is quickly destroyed by Durin angrily screaming about his “old goat” of a father.

I’m grudgingly going to admit that I kind of like Elrond. Though I still think the actor is wrong for the part, he does have a certain gravitas when a scene calls for it.

“For ever am I with you, my son.” Oh…oh, it’s a good scene. And King Durin also has dignity and gravitas! I didn’t think these writers had it in them.

As surprisingly compelling as the Khazad-dûm stuff is, the Southlands subplot is dull. I’m not interested in Theo at all, and I’m barely interested in Bronwyn—and since they’re not going to bother to develop her character properly (there are just too many characters at this point), it doesn’t matter.

Also: the exchange between Theo and the guy in whose barn he found the Sauron sword about the return of their “king” is really heavy-handed foreshadowing.

Númenor is lowkey a narrative disaster. Aesthetically pleasing, though!

Wait, how did Halbrand get out of prison…? Did I miss that??

“I’ve decided to personally escort the Elf back to Middle-earth to aid our mortal brethren who are now besieged in the Southlands.” Again “the Elf” instead of her name…also, how is Tar-Míriel accompanying her going to make a difference? Sending troops, sure—but having the reigning monarch leave Númenor???

“Brave sons and daughters.” Do we think there were Númenórean shield-maidens? Genuinely asking. Yes or no, an absurd number of women volunteer to serve. I’m genuinely all for gender parity/equality, even in fantasy. However… a) it seems unrealistic in this setting/the style of combat they’d be training for, and b) women can be valuable and valued beyond being soldiers (Tolkien knew this—just look at Éowyn)!

Okay, this one was a doozy!

The Good:

Visually stunning, as anyone who’s gotten this far should now expect. I’m going to say that every time. (Tbh it’s why I’m even still watching.)

It’s nice to return to an Elven location (with the promise of more next time!) They gave a magical, ethereal atmosphere to the first episode that’s been missing ever since, and they feel a lot more escapist than Númenor and the Southlands.

Elendil continues to be hot

Some really touching, well-acted moments in Khazad-dûm*…I even thought Elrond was solid. And mithril!

The stuff with the Palantír was kind of cool.

Tar-Míriel is almost a real character rather than a Cersei Lannister knockoff. The acting’s still meh, but an improvement from the previous episode. And her headpieces/crowns are to die for.

Numerous references to Eärendil, most of them cheesy, but still…the little things.

The Bad:

Everything else.

The entire Southlands plot is spiraling into absurdity. I’m not invested in any of the characters involved, and since this is the halfway point of Season 1, I don’t expect that to change. It’s ridiculous that Theo and Arondir are even still alive after that forest chase scene.

Most of the dialogue is mediocre to Bad. *I think the Dwarves might be the worst offenders…poor Disa, the actress and the character both deserve to do more than spouting stereotypical “Scottish” sounding lines!

Even if the Númenóreans were less sympathetic if they openly yearned for immortality, their perspective and hostility towards Elves would make a lot more sense than “the Elves are gonna take our jobs” or whatever…

Isildur, his OC sister and her OC maybe-love interest are all wasting my time with their personal drama and angst. @ the writers: please stop wasting screentime on this!!!

Time passes differently depending on where you are in Arda, I guess? That, or the Dwarvish craftsmen in Eregion have superpowers.

No Nori at all. :(

I know it’s nitpicky af, but as a history lover, there’s something too historical/not fantastical enough about this Númenor. The design borrows heavily from classical Greece with a helping of Byzantine aesthetics and, confusingly, some generic “medieval” elements thrown in as well…overall, it just doesn’t mesh convincingly with the rest of show. It’s beautiful but imo it feels too grounded real-world motifs.

“Partings”

“I’m peril.” Sadface! Nori and I love you, not-Gandalf.

Listen, I understand exactly why people don’t like the Harfoots. I just do like them, contradictions, clumsy dialogue and all.

Poppy’s song is a real treat! It feels like something Bilbo might have written. No Tolkien adaptation other than the Rankin-Bass films has ever featured enough singing. As anyone who’s read LOTR knows, songs are ubiquitous and inescapable in Middle-earth.

Maps!

Why in the world do the Harfoots migrate THIS far every year? No wonder so many of them keep dying! And the Brandyfoots have definitely become separated from the rest of their village by now…

Overall, a delightful opening five minutes.

Weird “witch” (?) characters, Orc subplot… I’m using the fast-forward option liberally.

Who nominated Bronwyn to be in charge of the Southlanders?

Nitpick alert: We see some other women wearing the same spaghetti-strap style dress that Bronwyn has—good consistency—but why is hers the only one with any color? Some are black, and it’s not like black dye is easier/less expensive to get than blue…

The conniving tavernkeep guy instantly wins over half of the people who were willing to “stand and fight” with Bronwyn thirty seconds earlier. Lol.

I just like to look at him.

Oh no! Mean Daddy Elendil is Disappointed in poor Isildur. It’s a good thing Elendil’s easy on the eyes, because this is dismal. (Maybe it’s supposed to echo Denethor and Faramir, but to me it’s just giving teen drama.)

I don’t buy Halbrand’s Jon Snow “I don’t want it” routine, and neither should Galadriel.

It makes no sense that the Harfoots are willing to leave five or six of their own to die to avoid “making a widow or an orphan” of someone else. Sure, the needs of the many—but there’s no real evidence that the Brandyfoots are endangering anyone.

Not-Gandalf coming to Nori’s rescue…my heart…

Galadriel’s definitely into Elendil. (And who can blame her?)

The swordfighting scene was a little silly. That’s okay, though. I don’t hate fun, and it’s not unreasonable that a millennia-old Elf would be able to show up some overconfident human teenagers.

“When all this is over, the Elves will take orders from us.” How does Al-Pharazôn figure that? Yes, he will eventually take power and lead Númenor to ruin, but someone needs to tell the writers that this is not Game of Thrones.

Too bad the dialogue is leaving something to be desired.

People who haven’t read the Silmarillion are still wondering who tf Aulë is (and now Manwë, too).

How does Durin, a future king, expect to find out what the Elves are “up to” if he can’t be a little more tactful/diplomatic than accusing them of thievery?

“The ore containing the light of the lost Silmaril.” lmfao, WHAT. That’s…ridiculous.

Why and how would mithril—even if it did contain the light of a Silmaril—help heal the blighted tree in Lindon?! Be serious, writers…

More teen drama and hijinks with Isildur…you can go to the bathroom or get a snack without pausing any of this and miss almost nothing.

“This mithril is our only salvation?” It sure fucking isn’t! Why would the Elves even think so? The thing about the Elven-warrior-and-the-Balrog story is that most of these Elves would’ve been alive when it supposedly happened and should therefore know whether or not it’s just mythical nonsense (which it is lol)!

“We believe that if we can secure vast quantities of it quickly, enough to saturate every last Elf in the light of the Valar once more—” Except that doesn’t make any sense. What are they even talking about!!!

I’ve been coming around to this Elrond, but he’s leaning way too hard on the whole “sad puppy eyes brimming with tears” shtick this episode.

Me, currently rereading the Silmarillion: actually, Galadriel had more than one brother (sorry, Orodreth, Angrod, and Aegnor…none of you matter ig).

“They could not longer distinguish me from the evil I was fighting.” ??? ? ? ????? What?

Whether it’s the lighting, the direction, the writing, or Morfydd herself (most likely, a combination of all of them), the delivery and facial acting in this scene…ain’t doing it for me.

“We’re bowing down to the evil bloodthirsty orcs we just fled from because we’re scared and it’s obviously the only way to save ourselves” is a cop out and lazy writing! So is the idea that the Southlanders might somehow be more susceptible to evil by nature.

“Without [mithril], my kind must either abandon these shores by next spring or perish.” This is such utter, arbitrary bullshit. By next spring?!? Five episodes in, I’m coming to a full understanding of why this show pissed people off at last. To me, this is almost worse than the Halbrand subplot.

“Our immortal souls will dwindle into nothing.” And they believe this why? Based on what???

So pretty, and for what?

oh my GOD, they really did everything in their power to make him look like Viggo Mortensen!Aragorn here and I SCREAMED (not in a good way).

Don’t worry, Isildur’s OC sister: your dad and insufferable brother both have impenetrable plot armor.

Speaking of armor, this is truly hideous.

It’s great that the opening five minutes of this episode were so enjoyable, because the rest of it was a HOT MESS.

The Good:

Visuals: some gorgeous landscapes + the beauty of the Lindon set design is still breathtaking. A couple of really good costumes, though fewer standouts than in previous episodes.

Poppy’s walking song ♥

I admit it: the banter between Durin and Elrond is charming.

Not-Gandalf and Nori’s scenes (until the last one) are very sweet. I love that, for her, he’s the hero she sees in him.

I like Elendil and Galadriel’s faces.

The Bad:

Everything else!!!

Al-Pharazôn’s political scheming/machinations and Tar-Míriel second-guessing herself are just pointless filler, as is almost everything that we see in Númenor (though the teen angst plotlines of Elendil’s children are still the worst).

The Southlands subplot(s) are almost unwatchable. They’re boring and depressing—so, the opposite of why I love Tolkien. Frankly, I don’t give a shit what happens to Brownyn, her kid, Arondir, or any of them at this point.

Halbrand. I wish they’d reveal the twist already instead of trying to make him seem like this dangerous but sympathetic dude with amnesia who just wants to start over in Númenor or whatever.

The unexplained three witches/priestesses/whatever they were supposed to be

What the HELL is going on with the Lindon/Khazad-dûm subplot?! Mithril contains the light of a Silmaril and therefore of the Trees and therefore of the Valar? And that residual light will then heal all the Elves, all of whom are suddenly sick/fading??? WHAT were they thinking?! This is not based in any kind of lore or even any internal logic informed by the lore. It’s awful nonsense inspired by the fact that the Elves were indeed fading—at the end of the Third Age, i.e., thousands of years after the events of this series! TROP features not only legacy characters, but also legacy character dynamics (i.e., an odd couple Elf/Dwarf friendship, not-Gandalf and the Harfoots, a disapproving father and the son trying to impress him) and now legacy subplots, because why not?

More bad dialogue, and the acting is leaving a lot to be desired. Good-to-great acting can elevate mediocre writing; the combination of mediocre acting and mediocre writing is a lot less enjoyable.

This was the worst episode so far by a significant margin and the first one to make me actually upset with the changes they’ve made. Unfortunately, I don’t expect it to be the last.

[noodyl-blasstal]

After the aftermath - Blupjeans Week day 8 (weeks are longer now, sorry)

My @blupjeansweek prompts are part of a story and this is a little ficlet to tie it all off! Find the others here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 or on Ao3

When people asked for the proposal story Barry never really knew what to say. They didn’t want to hear “one day Lup said it’d be baller if we made our wedding rings out of bone and I had some at home, so we did it, and look here it is! She did that cool twisty thing here first try. Isn’t she great?” Most people outside their immediate family just did weird squinchy faces about it or looked sympathetic. Barry had no idea why, as far as he was concerned it was perfect, mostly because Lup wanted to marry him and he wasn’t really bothered about anything else. 

“How about the bone church, babe?” Lup asked, stretching her legs out in front of her on their picnic blanket. 

Barry stayed cross legged and hidden from the midday sun in the shade of Lup’s parasol. “I know it’s what your spooky heart longs for, and I want you to have the perfect day, but bones or not it’s still a church.”

“And?”

“We’re not in any way religious? Or, well, the right kind of religious, church religious, obviously I worship you.”

Lup snorted. “Bad. Awful. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Said Barry, and squeezed her hand. “How about the university?” 

“So we don’t have to take leave?”

Barry laughed. “Yeah, we’ll just get Dav to use his captain powers and do it in the 10 minutes between lectures when we rush past each other in the hall on Fridays.”

“Taako would have to be there.” Lup said thoughtfully. “But  I think we could make it work… the drama of the time limit sounds kinda hot.”

“I… No, I mean… that wasn’t a serious suggestion, Lup. I was thinking more like the library, or the fancy hall? We could shove everyone round one of the big dramatic bench tables. Plus, we’d get staff discount. I bet they’d let us decorate it however we want as long as we put it back again after. We’re fire wardens too, so that’s the safety certificate sorted.” 

“Ooooh, we do have all those skulls to en-candle. They can’t stop us from having flames if we’re qualified about it.” Said Lup, sitting up a bit straighter. “And we could wrap twinkly lights round the beams…”

“... oh! And we could probably steal the flaming carpet from the office and see if Taako would be able to transmute something longer.”

“Pssh, he’ll be offended if we imply anything other than unfailing confidence in his ability to do it.” 

“Good point. I’ll let you bully Taako into doing a lot of manual labour.”

“He’s got Kravitz for that. Goth boy will be on carpet rolling duty as soon as Taako asks. He’s got it bad.” 

“They both do.”

“Yeah, they do.” There’s a long pause, a comfortable one. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever have this, you know?” Lup said. Barry didn’t dare say anything yet, Lup didn’t talk about the past a lot. He knew it was a hard topic and he wanted to let her get the thoughts out without interruption so he just squeezed her hand and hoped it conveyed ‘I’m here’, ‘I’’ve got you’, ‘I love you’. “There was just a time in the middle there where I wasn’t sure how we were gonna climb our way out of the shit pit life dropped us in.” 

“But you did.” Added Barry, unable to hide the pride in his voice. Sure, his life hadn’t been a walk in the park, but he’d always had Marlena.

 “We did.” Lup nodded. “And now we’ve built a whole family, and Taako has Kravitz, and I have you.”

“Forever and always.” Said Barry, nodding firmly. “You can’t get rid of me now…” He winced. “Okay, wait, no, that sounded creepy, but you know what I mean.”

“I do.” Said Lup, and leaned over to kiss him on the nose.

[monalisamartian]

INFO DUMP FOR UNIVERSE 11208

This universe doesn't have a Spiderman Instead it has a Prowler. (Which leads to alot more crime since no one is around to stop it)

The symbioties of this universe are huge (Venom is about 8ft tall in his big form and carnage is even bigger big tinner) they also have tails and spikes/horns. They are more animal like and are more intune with the hive mind that spans across the multiverse.

Hobie brown is the prowler of this universe. (Cos we love a evil version of the man I love)

Eddie "spiderman" aka the first Venom but they where doing the whole hero thing until he got hurt and is now in a coma (hence why Vi now has him)

Vi and Eddie dated (which is why he chose Vi to take on Venom, she already knew about him and they had a weird 3 way thrupple going on)

The sister 6 is mostly that same but a little more sinister then silly. (I will desing them at some point)

Symbiotes are a big part of the universe and will show up a lot with and without a host.

The Symbiotes can still have thier own big form even when attached to a host insted of the host wearing them (they are alot more independent, mostly using host as an energy battery)

Norman Osborn is the green goblin and is actually a pretty big threat to the universe they live in.

Since Vi is on a mission to connect all the Vemons to the bigger hive mind she barely spends time in her own universe. So she's got merch of all different spidermen and definitely has favourites since her own universe lacks a proper Spiderman.

Hobie brown became the prowler after Venom ate his mother. (Drama)

So answer thesew from discord

Q; first question I got are How did Vi and Venom bond? And I know you said Spider-man doesn't exist in your world, so what happened to Peter, Miles, Eddie, Cletus, and Flash?"

A; Vivvian was dating her universes Eddie while he was trying to be the hero the word despretly needed. But in a fight against Carnage (hyped up on goblin toxins) Eddie got hurt and ended up in a coma with a head injury. Peter Parker never got bit he's just a regular dude (tho I'm thinking about making him a carnage host later down the line)

Q; are Vi and Venom connected like Eddie and venom and the movies, or do they are Separated but still Is connected if that makes sense

A; So Venom and Vi are always connected even when he's in his big form separate from her he's connected by atleast one tendril at all times (which means they can't go more then a few meters apart at any given time) but Oh yeah for sure, it's thier biggest weakness. But they work around it and are good at working as a duo. But if Venom ever dose get de attached Vi loses all her powers (she isn't a spider man so she never got bit by a spider, she's only got venom powering her)

a add on from this, Vis biggest draw backs are that 1 she would absolutely die in a fight without venom. 2 the connection (they do have a connection in her DNA so it's hard to disconnect them but one he's not on her…she's kinda helpless) 3 she is strong AF and doesn't hold back bit because she's powering a whole nother person she runs out of energy faster and looses stamina faster then most.

[callipraxia]

oh!!! this is a few hours later, but i also wanted to ask what the lost-but-recently-revived project actually is, because i've never thought to ask in an ask box until now. when my tablet is dead. eugh. it must've been mentioned before, but if you'd like to say more, i'd love to learn about it!!! i feel like i've been talking too much about my own things lately, and i wanna read about others', specifically yours >:] (i remember something about gideon and the axolotl, but that might have been a different project---regardless that sounds whimsy af) if you dont feel like it or anything, you can ignore this :^

The lost project actually hadn’t been discussed much, if at all; it’s a post-canon one-shot where Stan and Ford go back to Glass Shard Beach, reasoning that Stan probably needs to see the place again for the good of his memory and that Ford should probably pay some form of respects to their deceased parents. Stan has a video camera. He ends up documenting just how much everything has changed. He and Ford have Feelings about this, and then they run into someone unexpected. It’s...hardly high drama, so it probably doesn’t make sense that it’s taken this long to start rewriting it, but so it goes with my short pieces.

The Gideon thing is a spinoff/sequel to FWJB I’m considering – specifically, what happened to him after the final battle. It begins ten years later, with Gideon waking up to discover that someone appears to have recently jammed the majority of a tube of drugged lipstick down his throat. Since said lipstick would knock someone unconscious and induce mild amnesia in a much smaller quantity, it’s done a real job on him, which leaves him trying to figure out where he is, how long he’s been there, who drugged him, why that person drugged him, and, in fact, most of who he is – he knows his name is Gideon, he knows he should really not tell anyone that, and very little else. Not even why it’s so important to hide his identity.

Naturally, once he figures even a tiny bit of that information out, he promptly finds himself with even worse problems than he started with.

Other ideas...what the heck, I might as well talk about them a bit, not least to, er, document them in some fashion. Been thinking that writing them down might be a good idea anyway, so here we go:

1) You once suggested I kill Ford and make Stan have feelings about it. I’ve started that one, too; it’s the one I wrote down a lot of and then typed up and then lost...last week? Week before last? Week before last, I think. In this sad little universe, Ford manages to break his neck and die like six months after Weirdmageddon. Stan takes this poorly.

2) In other possible returns to old stomping grounds, I’m intrigued by the idea of going further into how Agent Trigger, of all people, somehow managed to slip under the radar, climb the ranks of the DFSI, and end up recruiting Dipper. Similarly, I’d like to do at least a short return to the IG Epilogue situation, if I can think of a good plot for it beyond Dipper’s initial reaction to “...did that guy really just take his face off like a pair off sunglasses and call me by name??” Plus, of course, if I’m ever in a fluff mood, I gotta write what happened when Soos made good on his promise to loan Ford the deeveedees.

3) Road trip time with Fiddleford and the Stan Twins! What could possibly go wrong?

4) So, Powers. Tell us more about how your agency spotted signals from Gravity Falls thirty years ago. What did you guys do then?

5) Writing more of McGucket’s memoirs, and/or the horror novel about the building of the Portal that I’ve had in mind, and/or a between-the-episodes incident where Fiddleford, struggling to remember who the Author was and why he’s so darn difficult to remember, convinces Tate to talk to him about the past, resulting in them going over a bunch of letters Emma-May had kept and Fiddleford struggling to figure out what was real vs what he was lying about, all while he and Tate are having feels (and sometimes explosive arguments) in the present.

6) Some college years stuff. I have vague ideas for something about the construction of the mind-control tie, and for something else about That One Time Fiddleford Convinced Ford To Come With Him To Tennessee Over The Holidays.

7) More angsty one-shots...stuff like Stan pretending to be Ford at Filbrick’s funeral, and the first day Ford went back to high school by himself, and some stuff with small Tate, and...you get the picture.

8) I will admit this only because of your current tagline – I, too, have entertained the idea that Stan has actually read Moby Dick. Specifically, that in his last months in school, he and Ford ended up in separate classes for part of the day because Ford was taking calculus or something, resulting in Stan having to take the standard-issue American Lit class by himself, and the teacher essentially annoying him into making a good-(ish; it is Stan we’re talking about) faith effort to do his book report properly...only for it to all end on the most depressing note possible, of course. I’ve told myself I cannot actually write this, but… *shrugs*

9) Early in his years in Gravity Falls, Stan visits the library. The librarian is someone he finds attractive. Somehow, one thing leads to another and he finds himself being strong-armed into helping with the town science fair, despite a) him not really being a scientist, only playing one in front of tourists and b) his very specific hatred of science fairs.

10) It is September. Everyone is going back to school. Wendy discovers that Tracey and Quattro exist. This is the one that had me complaining about how I missed the apocalypse not long ago – it’s harder to 99% ignore their infatuation with her in a lower-stakes scenario, and I have no idea how to handle that.

11) It is the academic year. Pacifica struggles to deal with her new social milieu.

12) Some other AU ideas...mostly “what if someone didn’t think of [clever thing] in time” disaster scenarios. There’s also the Better World AU, where...let’s just say it’s not a very nice place at all, at least for some people.

So, there you are! It’s...the majority of the ideas floating around my head at the moment. Some could merge together into one project. Some might not ever see the light of day. But I’ve got plenty of material to work with, just have to get my head back in order for writing, and I’m pleased to say that my head is getting closer to order by the day.

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: History of Trunks Abridged Review

Originally posted May 13th, 2016

The darkest entry yet.

“History of Trunks” is an odd entry in the Dragonball Z: Abridged, as it toes the line between traditional anime melodrama and comedy, yet comes out more often on the side of actual drama than any other episode, special, or film has. Where Team Four Star merely hinted at their interest in directly engaging with this drama in “Fear and Loathing in Ginger Town,” “History of Trunks” dives directly into the melodramatic meat of Trunks’ backstory, while the comedy has a far subtler role.

I call the comedy in “History of Trunks” subtle because despite the presence of cutaway gags and an often sarcastic narrator, the special focuses far less on the comedy than it does the narrative of Trunks himself. We get to follow him from being a doe-eyed teenager obsessed with heroism to a functional nihilist who has sacrificed his innocence for the sake of personal strength, and it’s this very subtext that makes his transformation into a Super Saiyan so goddamn poignant.

We saw this with Goku as well, back on Namek, when Krillin’s demise and the hopelessness of the fight against Freeza triggered the first Super Saiyan transformation we would witness on the show, but the context here is even bleaker: even post-transformation, Trunks is nowhere near as strong as Gohan, and Gohan never stood a chance against the Androids himself. Where Goku’s transformation gave us hope in the fight against Freeza, Trunks’ transformation gives us nothing more than the pain of pointlessly battling for a world that is too far gone to ever be saved.

The overlay of “Doomsday” from the Doctor Who soundtrack1 adds to this moment tonally and thematically in an incredibly powerful way as well; the Doctor is time traveling hero of eternal optimism and hope, and in the moment “Doomsday” first plays for him, he’s forced to accept the hopelessness of ever being able to reconnect with the person in the universe he loves the most. In this moment, Trunks is forced to deal with the first great loss of his life, and he lashes out in anger, transforming into bestial version of himself for no reason other than to physically embody his own pain, because his last hope for his own world has died, and there’s nothing else to be said.

I realize that so far I’ve spent the entirety of this review focusing on that singular moment, a single scene that lasts no more than two minutes, but “History of Trunks” is at its core, the story of Trunks, and the entirety of Trunks’ person can be traced back to that singular moment where his world was shattered before his eyes.

The rest of the characters in this special are confronted with this same experience: Gohan refuses to validate Trunks’ romanticizing of the past, viewing it in stark terms of constant death, fighting, and abuse; Android 18 slowly becomes disillusioned with the destruction he and his sister wreak across the world, unable to find joy in the end of the world; Bulma refuses to believe in destiny and only holds hope in the possibility that she might undo everything horrible that’s happened to the world. The only characters that find any solace at all in the destruction of the world are TJ and the Wombat, and their solace stems from purely selfish desires, justifying their lack of pain by dismissing the value of the people they love.

I could go on about how the characterization of our protagonists embody typical responses to trauma, as the voice of Piccolo lingers in Gohan’s mind or Bulma embraces hypersexuality as a coping mechanism, but this review has gotten bleak, and truthfully, “History of Trunks” is interested in more than simply exploring the darkness at the end of the world.

Bulma’s hope, in fact, is the one thing that saves Trunks and allows him to retain some form of optimism, even if he’s only optimistic about being able to rewrite the entire timestream. In the face of this destruction, he and his mother still have the gall the write “Hope!!!” on the outside of their time machine, to look to a possible alternate universe where things don’t end up nearly as shitty.

Trunks may have been forced to embrace the hopelessness of the Doctor, but he embodies the same kind of foolish optimism too, understanding the true capability of humanity to fight back against its failures and mistakes, even if that battle only results in a better universe that isn’t even your own. For all the darkness “History of Trunks” has to show us, there’s a tiny glimmer of optimism too, and that optimism is ultimately far more important than anything else.

Especially since it means Trunks will finally get to see his father.

Rating: 5/5

If you liked this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

1Specifically the season two soundtrack, for the curious.

Trunks: “Mom, do you believe in destiny?” Bulma: “I’m a scientist, so, no.”

Gohan: “I’ve got one Mr. Piccolo.”

“We’ve got plenty of room, but no extra beds, so we’ll have to share.” Now, I don’t know about you all, but I hope to someday have the same unflinching confidence in my sexuality as Bulma does here.

Ox-King: “So, is dinner happening?” Chi-Chi: “Will dinner bring my husband back!?” Ox-King: “Maybe?!”

Gohan: “If you’re already bored, maybe you should take a ride on my fist!”

Trunks: “She wasn’t wrong. I, however, was.”

Android 18: “After you wipe an entire genre of music off the face of the earth, what’s left?”

Android 17: “I’m gonna range the shit out of that park!”

I love how monkey-like Trunks is made to look when he first goes Super-Saiyan. It’s a very nice touch by the original animators.

Vegeta’s scream though! That’s real commitment to continuity right there.

Bulma: “And…multiverse theory it is. Shit.”

[slaapkat]

alan vlad for the ship meme

FROM THIS

SHIP IT

1.What made you ship it? -granted this is leaning HEAVILY on headcanons given the only real source we have for their relationship is largely between a Geoff Johns interview and Vlad's Who's Who entry in The New Golden Age (2022) #1 BUT i think what largely drew me to it was simply the concept of the one single other person in the world who is evenly matched with Alan in every single way. as a huge fan of Superman: Red Son generally too im SO fascinated by the concept of how someone with powers like Alan might be changed by growing up in that environment. the fact that Vlad's described as being an expert hand-to-hand combatant, a highly successful Red Army assassin, that it's mentioned he and Alan actually worked together TMFU-style and whatever happened impacted Alan enough that he asked if he could work again. that Geoff himself said he created Vald with the EXPLICIT purpose of making it so Alan could be the main character of the universe. all these unanswered that im DESPERATE to see how it plays out. everything's just soooo immensely delicious to imagine.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship? -THE DRAMA. literal star-crossed lovers. the way the two of them come from SUCH vastly different walks of life it's insane. Vlad's a deadly trained soldier with the full sponsorship of the Red Army and Communist Russia, given his powers by scientific experimentation for the specific purpose of being the Green Lantern's equal/superior. compared to Alan-- received his powers after a near-death accident, and remained largely a street hero for the vast majority of his history even after joining the JSA, self-trained, and at one point so at odds with his own government he'd sooner accept forced retirement than do what they say. and yet, despite all that, despite their apparent frequent clashes, the occasion they have to work together impacts them SO much Alan is driven to want to have it happen again. what happened!!!! that's all i want to know.

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

-probably the fact that even if i do ship them, i really don't see any kind of typical "happy" ending for them. what little else i've seen of other people shipping it imo have a wayyyyy too unrealistic expectation of the emotional aspect of it. they love each other and all but definitely do not get married at any point or ever or even live together. Vlad's been MIA and presumed dead for decades now (im assuming anyhow, as of this writing that's what the current canon seems to imply), and even they've thought about each other still this whole time i feel like it's kind of a hard thing to get over. at most i see them working best being in a very private relationship, unwilling to make much of a spectacle out of it or involving any more people than strictly necessary. they've both been in hiding for so long (Vlad literally, Alan figuratively) that that's simply what ends up being most comfortable.

also Alan is 100% gay homosexual and he and Vlad regularly have sex about it always. key to a healthy relationship.