#like it's such a great episode for ava

[simplykorra]

ava + every episode - episode 6: "isaiah 30:20-21"

[notsosecretlyalesbian]

"Janine, how many times is tattling gonna bite you in the culo before you quit being a narc?"

Lisa Ann Walter as Melissa Schemmenti in Abbott Elementary | 01×11: Desking

+bonus:

[dumplingcatho]

ep 4 omgggggg holy shit. arq tech?? lilith?????? GIRL NOOOO????????

[ifyourereadingthisblinktwice]

episode 6 rust my beloved… (yes i know he’s technically not rust for the second half but goughg i lovveeee characters who have two completely different lives where they have to act as two different people and then those lives and people from each life begin to cross over and bleed into each other. undercover characters my beloved)

[heytherecentaurs]

Burrow's End is an absolute masterpiece.

In the span of ten episodes Aabria and Co. weave an exciting and emotional adventure story about a family of sentient stoats. It delivers huge laughs, interesting societal criticism, remarkably emotional and well-acted scenes and concludes with a series of epilogue scenes that feel appropriate for each character, some heartfelt and subdued and others bigger than life and all the funnier for it.

Siobhan and Izzy play the perfect pair of siblings. They fight and argue but they also love each other. Jaysohn (Siobhan) looks up to Lila (Izzy) and believes she's the smartest stoat in the world (and by the end she probably is) and Lila hypes up her little brother's athletic skills. They both fully embodied these kids and I could watch them do fun stuff for more episodes. Give me a version of Saved by the Bell with them. Stoat by the Bell.

Brennan and Rashawn, playing sisters, also knock it outta the park, showing a more mature sibling dynamic. Brennan portrays Tula as the quintessential overtired single mother of excitable kids, and Rashawn as younger sister Viola straddles a very interesting line of being intimidating to outsiders but very much more naive and looking to her older sister when she starts a family.

Jasper as Thorn, a guy everyone just lets be a cult leader because he really wanted to, is fantastic. His is a difficult role as the only non-blood relative. Jasper plays Thorn with such real humanity of a guy in over his head and letting his ambition wife call the shots, but also one who agrees with her goal, really loves her and has moments of real menace. He has some very funny scenes, his big speech is perfect, and I just enjoy him.

Erika is wonderful. They play the epitome of generational trauma as many have said but as much trauma as Ava has, she is also loving and willing to learn. The fact Erika took this adversarial role is incredible. The tense dramatic scene primarily between Ava, Tula and Viola is amazing. They act their asses off and make hard choices that I imagine are difficult even for such an experienced player.

Aabria's DMing always feels fun. She doesn't get bogged down in the rules. She knows them. She plays by them. But as a master, she knows how and when to break them too. Her seasons on Dimension 20 have all had a tenseness, a particular edge to them that can give me anxiety during dramatic scenes between two characters. It always feel like one of her NPCs may say something devastating and the tension between characters reaches really thrilling heights. This is present in other seasons, but I don't think anyone does it as well as she does. The first season of hers to have battle maps, Aabria really swung for the fences and gave us some of the wildest maps to date.

Shout out to Carlos Luna's voice acting. He did an incredible job. And shout out to the whole crew who have put together one of the best seasons of D20. They keep finding ways to build on what's come before and they should be commended for it.

Dimension 20 is most successful when the concept is very streamlined. They don't do huge 100 episode campaigns capable of handling huge winding complex narrative, but short focused D&D stories, which is why many of the Side Quests have been so fantastic. They embody this philosophy most clearly, but it's apparent in the most beloved Intrepid Heroes seasons as well—John Hughes/High Fantasy, Game of Thrones/Candyland, Retrofuturism, Film Noir but in a Brain... Burrow's End fits this perfectly. It's streamlined concept paired with great storytellers and great chemistry sets it up to be a smash hit before it begins. And goddamn does it deliver.

Thanks Stupendous Stoats!

[mechaknight-98]

Gathering Episode O: I pitch Zagoth triome to chrome Mox (NSFW) FT Jiheon

Operator’s Notes:… well it happened

I pace my home listening to Ava excitedly tell me about the show she was running for her new company Tricell. It was a K-pop show featuring a bunch of Nugu Idols I adored who were not so Nugu anymore. It was a girl group extravaganza and she wanted my help making the show take shape. The only catch was that it had to be done in Racoon City Illinois. My first thought was no absolutely not as we were nearing the anniversary of its outbreak but Bela being the best convinced me otherwise. So I stupidly took a chance.

“Okay, great so you'll be the co-host with TJ. I'll send you the rest of the info later. Ava said in a tone that let me know something was off.

“Okay, what's the second catch,” I ask.

“Well you be working with Connor and Dexter,” Ava says.

“Okay,” I say as I shrug. Ava is surprised

“I thought you were mad when they left you?” she asked

I shrugged again in the video call.

“Is this it? If so I'll see you next week.” Ava says with a smile

Next week arrives in a flash and before I know it I'm in the lobby of the hotel all of us would be staying at. Despite not being the main logistics person (that was Ava) quite a few of the groups asked me how things were going to turn out. The groups in question and would be featured in the show were

Le Sserafim

Ive

Dreamcatcher

Cignature

Fromis_9

Oh my Girl

Qwer

Lightsum

Kep1er

Loosemble

Tj cautiously watched from behind me figuratively and literally. Especially when his ult bias and K-pop crush Yujin arrived. He attempted to say hi shyly but found himself unable to. He gave a polite wave and went back behind me.

One of the girls from Qwer (Magenta) liked my Zagoth Safari shirt and I chuckled, this led to me asking if she liked magic at the gathering. She nodded and said, “Do you play commander?” I nodded and replied

“Almost exclusively why?” I answered

“Oh great Chowon from Lightsum, and Yewon from Oh My Girl need a Fourth can you play tonight? We usually play with Jeewon but she and the rest of the Cignature girls are getting in late tonight” she asked. I nodded and Magenta smiled before walking off happily with the rest of her group. TJ approached me shaking,

“How did you do that?” he asked baffled

I looked at him confused, “Do what?”

TJ meekly pointed to the walking away idols “Talk to them…like they're normal?” he explains

I tilted my head confused as I answered “Because they are normal people.”

TJ was dumbfounded and I looked at him with a strange sense of paternal instinct kicking in.

“Look Theo it's not a big deal. While these women are talented and very attractive they are also quite dorky and very human. Treat them like they are the girl next door you have a partial crush on. Let your heart flutter but let it be grounded. I promise you they'll appreciate it. Unless you're just a weirdo like me then hide it.

TJ laughed and responded, “Thanks Hiro I needed that” I gave him a thumbs up as he went to his room. I hoped he'd take my advice to heart. Otherwise, this would be a long and painful shoot.

“That was kind of you.” an unfamiliar voice said behind me. I turn around to see Jiheon of Fromis_9 she smiles at me and says.

“You're Hiro right?” I nod and she smiles.

“Okay, I have heard stories about you from Dexter, Eunbi, Connor, and Yunjin. They say you're the most ruthless and diabolical deck builder they know.” I squinted

“I don't follow,” I responded.

“I want to learn how to play commander better,” Jiheon said plainly. I studied Jiheon’s expression for a moment trying to see if I was being taken for a ride, and when I only found sincerity I shrugged and said

“Okay, what colors do you play?”

“I like Red and Green, but I keep losing to all of the removal and counterspells.” I looked at Jiheon and said

“Okay let's get you tuned up.”

We went to Jiheon’s hotel room she was sharing with Hayoung. She looked up at me with surprise.

“Oh, unnie this is Hiro he's going to help me with my red green blue deck,” Jiheon explains.

Hayoung looked at me with surprise before saying, “Oh you're the one who bullied the Fimmies and their boyfriends,” she teased.

“Um no it was only one fimmie and her boyfriend and Eunbi and her boyfriend,” I respond Hayoung laughs happily and says

“Like that’s any better

I shrug defiantly back and say,” They team up against me because I play sultai which they all view as evil. Granted I am evil but not because of the colors I play. I'm evil because I lack remorse and a conscience.” they both looked at me and laughed I sighed and walked over to help Jiheon.

Hayoung rolled her eyes “Right,” she said sarcastically and then said “and what are you here doing?”

“Helping Jiheon get better at the game,” I responded flatly which made Hayoung giggle even more.

“Unnie please stop teasing him I need his help,” Jiheon said. Hayoung smirked and had me go on my way.

I followed Jiheon to her backpack and She opened her deck box and showed me, a Magus Lucea Kane deck. In it, I saw a bunch of expensive staples like Mana Crypt Chrome Mox, underworld breach carpet of flowers, and a few other pieces that made my eyes water.

“Is it bad?” Jiheon asked. I turned to her and said, “No but I can help.”

I got out my tablet and got to work finishing the deck based on what she had.

“So what do you want out of this deck?” I ask.

Jiheon looks at me confused. “Win

When we were finished I showed her and she was concerned.

“Why so little creatures?” she asked

“Well because this is more of a combo tempo deck to help you win more. Since you have all the really expensive pieces I'll just buy the rest of these cheap ones and help you.”

Hayoung laughed and said, “You're not evil.” I look at her and she just smiles at me.

“You remind me of my boyfriend Danzo. He's silly but he has a good heart. You have a good heart too.” I sigh and then fill an order at a nearby card shop, from what I am reading it's massive. I placed the order and picked it up for her along with the sleeves. When I finish helping her by explaining the combos and win Lines and what to say when she's in the position to Win. I also gave her a primer on Moxfield. She was elevated. She hugged me and said, “Thanks, Hiro. I hope I can finally beat them.” I smile and say.

“Well you should also talk to Hayoung sounds like she may know a thing or two.” Hayoung scowls at me but then smiles as she pushes me out saying, “Okay Mister Evil it's time for you to leave.”

After I finished helping Jiheon I went to my room to rest when I got a text from an unknown number.

“Come to room 808, and bring your strongest deck -Magenta,” the text said. I worried about it at first but figured who would try to abduct me, especially with all the other talent and random worth people here.

When I arrive I see Magenta, Arin from Oh My Girl and Chowon all setting up. Magenta (who smells like Whiskey) smiles when she sees me

“See I told you we'd get a fourth.” she slurs she guides me to my seat, and says, “Now sit mister. We were just getting ready.

I look around to see commanders. I see Mrs Bumbleflower (Arin), Vazi Keen the negotiator (Chowon), and Cecily haunted mage (Magenta). Their decks concern me but I do as Magenta asked earlier and bring out my best deck “Tasigur The Golden Fang.” I set it down and Magenta’s eyes go wide.

“Oooh where did you get this?” she asks seeing my alter for it.”

“A friend made it, and I have kept it since,” I responded. Magenta smiled and handed it back to me

“I love it. It tells me so much about you,” She slurred.

“Oh, really what does it say about me?” I ask teasingly. Magenta laughs and smiles

“That you value your individuality and growth, and will be rooted in that despite the sacrifices and changes you must make to yourself” I smiled until Arim who was sitting next to me interjected.

“That's what you told me!” she yelled. Magenta shook her head and said

“No, I told you that you are like authority each day you grow and change into your idealized self.” Magenta looks at me then at Arin and says, “The two of you make a good couple actually,” Arin blushes, and Chowon smiles happily. It's endearing.

“Okay, I have a bet. If I win you and Arin have to kiss,” I look at Magenta and then at Arin confused. Arin sighs and then says,

“Unnie please leave him be. He is not close enough to get your teasing.” Arin said firmly with an apologetic look directed towards me.

Magenta smiled and said, “Do you not want him because I'll take him.”

I blinked a few times processing what was being said before asking.

“Um, can we roll to start the game?”

Magenta turned to me and nodded.

We all rolled and I noticed that my starting hand had everything I needed to win. I looked around to see what other people’s turns would look like.

Arin who was first played tapped land and passed. Being next to her meant I was going second. I realized that if she's playing tapped lands then “using your strongest deck meant something different to them.”

I played a command tower and passed. Magenta was placed third and played a Sol ring into fellwar stone all off of an Og dual (tropical island)

On Chowon’s turn, she happily played a fetch land into a shock land then played carpet of flowers. In her second main phase, she played an ignoble hierarch off of the one green mana from the carpet of flowers. I sat there even more confused as on turn two Arin played Chrome Mox (pitching endless detour) and a mana crypt before playing her own Og dual (tundra) before landing a sol ring and her commander. Then she played an archon of emeria.

Unsure of the power level I just played a snapback (pitching a brainstorm) bouncing the archon on her endstep. On my turn, I powered out Tasigur and a rhystic study.

Magenta smiled one her turn as she played another Og dual (underground sea) after fetching it from bloodstained mire. She followed up by playing a Mox amber and her commander (from here on out no one pays for rhystic study) after that she played a mystic remora and passed the turn.

The rest of the game was pretty mishmashed like this as well. People played a flip-flop of expensive optimized decks and pre-con-level cards. It made me realize that I couldn't play as effectively as I usually do because they were not. This led to me watching more and intentionally throwing the game because I didn't want my “new friends” to invite me back.

So I took the loss in the game for the greater prize of playing with them again, despite the weird gameplay loops they created. However, that led to Magenta winning, and while I never agreed to her bet she insisted that Arin and I kiss. I turned to Arin who was blushing profusely I sighed and said “It’s no big…mph.” as I spoke Arin grabbed my face and kissed me. For a split moment, I understood why TJ was so flustered. When she broke the kiss my brain broke as well. Unable to process the insane turn of events I got up and said

“It's been a great night but I gotta get to sleep see you tomorrow.” as I walked out to my room. Chowon began laughing watching me stumble out.

I get back to my room and finally collapse after the long day. The next morning, I stumbled into the hotel’s breakfast lounge, still shaking off the fog of last night’s events. The memory of Arin’s kiss lingered in the back of my mind, making me feel all kinds of awkward. I wasn’t ready to face her, but as fate would have it, she was the first person I saw.

There she was, standing by the buffet table, unbothered, with a breakfast sandwich in hand. Her cheeks were puffed out as she chewed, clearly enjoying her meal. She looked… normal, and relaxed, like nothing strange had happened between us the night before. For a second, I just stood there, watching her, unsure of how to approach her.

Arin noticed me out of the corner of her eye and turned. Her expression shifted slightly—just a flicker of surprise—before she smiled, still mid-bite.

“Morning,” she mumbled through her mouthful of food, giving a small wave.

I chuckled, suddenly feeling a lot more at ease. “Morning. How’s the sandwich?” I asked as if that was the most pressing issue in the world.

She held it up like a prize. “Delicious. You want one?”

I shook my head, grabbing a tea instead. I wasn’t hungry, just… nervous. Last night’s kiss was like a ticking time bomb in my brain, and I wasn’t sure how to address it, or if I should at all. But Arin seemed completely calm, almost like it hadn’t thrown her off balance at all.

I sat down across from her, still feeling the weight of unspoken words between us. She took another bite of her sandwich, glanced up at me, and raised an eyebrow.

“You seem nervous,” she said, a bit of teasing in her voice.

I scratched the back of my head, trying to play it cool. “Well, last night was… unexpected.”

Arin set her sandwich down and met my gaze. “Yeah, about that…” She paused for a moment, thinking. “I didn’t mean to catch you off guard. Magenta can be… a little pushy, and I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

I nodded, feeling a bit of relief. “It’s not that. I just didn’t expect it, you know? But it’s fine.” I took a sip of my tea, then added, “I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

Arin smiled softly. “It doesn’t have to be. Let’s just… take it one step at a time.”

She returned to her sandwich, the tension slowly melting away. It was oddly comforting, sitting there with her, sharing a quiet moment in the middle of what was about to be a busy day. There was no pressure to say more than what needed to be said, and for once, I wasn’t overthinking it.

As she finished her breakfast sandwich, she looked at me again, this time with a playful glint in her eyes. “You sure you don’t want a sandwich? You’re going to need your energy for today.”

I laughed. “Maybe I’ll grab one on the way to set.”

“Good,” she said, standing up. “We’re going to be in for a long day.” I decided to grab a breakfast sandwich as I walked to the buffet Arin walked close to me and asked how I felt about Magenta’s observation.

“Well I don't know you all that well so I can't be sure how accurate it was, but for me, it was pretty much who I am.” Arin smiled

“Yeah, she does that. Also, I got a couple of glimpses of your hand last night when you weren't paying attention. You had some serious power in that deck. Why didn't you play it?”

“Well I'm not used to you all yet so I don't know how y'all describe powerful. I built this deck to beat one of the cameras guys who's been topping tournaments with his Rocco Caberetti Caterer build.”

“Oh, so you're a cedh player?” Arin raised an eyebrow.

“No, I'm competitive and don't like losing,” I respond.

“But you lost yesterday…intentionally.” she challenged and in that moment I felt at ease with her.

“That's different. I lost the game because I didn't want y'all to be like that. Oh, he plays too powerful. Mrs turn one tapped land.” Arin smiled and said.

“Oh Magenta was right me and you will get along just fine.”She leaned in closer to me as we grabbed more food. There was a moment, brief but noticeable, where my heart skipped a beat. Her presence felt… easy. Like I didn’t need to overthink things. Before I could dwell on it, we headed back to our table. As we sat down I heard someone say,

“Oh look it's Hiro. Let's sit next to him.” I look up to see Yujin and Tj walking next to each other. I smile seeing him so clearly elated and Yujin also looks very happy. They sit next to us with their plates of food and I tease TJ.

“What happened?” he smiles and starts his story.

Flashback to Yesterday

TJ had been pacing back and forth for what felt like hours. The advice the narrator had given him was fresh in his mind, but now that the moment had come, all of his confidence was wavering. He took a deep breath, mentally replaying how he was going to ask Yujin out.

Just ask her, he told himself. You’ve got this.

Yujin appeared a few minutes later, looking radiant, as usual. She smiled when she spotted him. “Hey, TJ! What’s up?”

He froze for a second, his mind going blank. Oh no… I forgot everything.

“Uh… h-hi, Yujin,” he stammered, his heart racing. Okay, here goes nothing.

“I was, um, wondering… would you like to… go out with me? Tonight?” He blurted out the words in a rush, barely looking her in the eye.

Yujin tilted her head, a slow smile spreading across her lips. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

TJ could feel his face heating up. “Y-yeah. I mean, yes, I am.”

There was a beat of silence, and he braced himself for rejection, but to his surprise, Yujin chuckled softly. “Well, that’s bold. I like it. Sure, I’ll go on a date with you.”

TJ’s eyes widened. “Wait?”

“Of course. Why not?” She winked. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Later that night, TJ found himself sitting across from Yujin at a cozy café. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the warm lighting and soft music set the perfect mood for a first date. His hands felt clammy as he tried to keep the conversation going, feeling her eyes on him the entire time.

“So… you like coffee?” he asked, immediately regretting how awkward it sounded.

Yujin smiled, sipping her drink. “I do. But you don’t have to be so nervous, TJ.”

He looked down at his cup, fiddling with the sleeve. “Sorry… I just didn’t expect this to happen. You saying yes, I mean.”

Yujin leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. “Well, I like surprises. And you surprised me. I think that’s a good start.”

Her words reassured him, and as the night went on, he slowly started to relax. As he did Yujin liked what she saw. She saw his humor and wit.

“So how did Ava find you?” Yujin asks TJ who responds flustered

“I went to college with her and Hiro.”

“Oh really what were they like?” Yujin asks

“Guarded and more anxious but they seem better now

“Okay, so last question. “Why me”

“Well you've always been a pillar of joy since your debut in Izone, and you've become so great that I'd be a fool not to try”. TJ says. Yujin smiles and says “Congratulations you earned a second date”

Cut to now

Oh “that's super cute I responded. Tj smiles as we finish breakfast.

“Well we better get rolling,” I say to TJ and Yujin they both smile and wave me off as Arin and I go to the set. She rode with her members I drove by myself. I arrived first to see Ava who was all smiles.

“As always you are early,” she says. I nod and she says. “Now go meet with today’s groups. It's QWER, Oh My Girl, Lightsum, dreamcatcher, and Cignature. I figured you’d pair well with these more eclectic and zany girls.” She said happily. I rolled my eyes.

I introduced myself to the numerous girl groups and they were very nice, polite, and in general pleasant to be around I hit it off with Nayoung and Chodan in terms of filming and I think it helped the filming shine. Granted I was trying to play it “cool” to make the girls feel confident and comfortable with me as their host since the next couple of weeks we’d be spending a lot of long filming days together. I think it was fine for the most part except for one girl in particular. As I took a break from filming and found a break room to rest in I noticed something.

The atmosphere in the room was more relaxed this time, but there was still a tension humming in the air. The kind you notice when everyone’s gotten a little too comfortable, but there’s something under the surface, waiting to bubble up. After last night’s game, I knew them a bit better—or at least, I thought I did.

Magenta grinned when I walked in, her eyes playful as always. “So, after sleeping on it, how does it feel to lose to me?” she teased.

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Hey, that was a tactical retreat, not a loss. I’ll take you down next time.”

Chowon, who was sitting beside her, smiled at me warmly. “You did great for your first time playing with us. Though I did notice you holding back.”

I shrugged, trying to keep things light. “Yeah, well, I didn’t want to scare you all off with my ‘cedh’ skills.” I made air quotes, remembering Arin’s jab from the night before. The group laughed, but it was Arin’s silence that caught my attention.

She was sitting on the edge of the couch, quietly observing as the banter flew back and forth. Her gaze wasn’t on Magenta or Chowon—it was on me. And when our eyes met, it was like that unspoken connection from last night flared up again, stronger this time.

No words, just a lingering look. But it said so much more than a simple greeting could.

Magenta’s voice cut through the moment. “Oh please, you were too busy watching Arin to even play your best cards.”

I felt the heat rise to my face, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Arin blush, a slight smirk playing on her lips. “Unnie, stop teasing him,” she said, her voice calm but laced with amusement. “He was just getting used to our pace. We don’t all rush headfirst into a match, you know.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Magenta quipped, raising an eyebrow at both of us.

I laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. “I was just…feeling it out, you know? Trying to get a sense of how you all play.”

Chowon nodded, chiming in with her usual supportive tone. “You’ll fit right in once you get used to us.” She paused, her eyes flickering between me and Arin, something unspoken hanging in the air. “Especially with Arin keeping an eye on you.”

Arin’s smile was subtle, but there was that same pull between us, like last night—this quiet, simmering tension. We hadn’t talked much beyond the game, but I could feel her presence more than anyone else’s. It was like every move she made, every time she shifted in her seat or tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, my attention was drawn to her without me even realizing it.

At one point, as we all moved toward the small buffet table for food, Arin ended up beside me. She nudged me slightly with her elbow, her voice soft but teasing. “You did lose, though. Tactical retreat or not.”

I shot her a mock-offended look, trying to ignore the way my pulse quickened being this close to her. “Only because I didn’t want to embarrass anyone.”

“Sure,” she said with a playful smirk. “But next time, don’t hold back. I want to see what you’re capable of.”

Her words were innocent enough, but there was something deeper in the way she said it. Something that made my heart race. The rest of the group was chatting, oblivious to the growing tension between us. But in that brief exchange, it felt like we were in our little bubble, where every word carried more weight than it should.

We loaded our plates with food, the space between us feeling smaller with each passing second. As we walked back to the table, Arin’s hand brushed mine, and I swear the spark that shot through me wasn’t just my imagination. I glanced at her, half-expecting her to pull away or laugh it off, but she didn’t. She just gave me a sidelong look, her lips curving into a small, knowing smile.

When we sat back down, the group fell into easy conversation, but I could barely focus. Every time Arin shifted or spoke, my attention snapped to her. It wasn’t obvious to anyone else—at least, I didn’t think it was—but the pull between us was undeniable.

Magenta must’ve noticed something, though, because, at one point, she leaned over and whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “You know, Arin, I think you and he are starting to vibe. Just saying.”

Arin’s face flushed, and she shot Magenta a warning glance. “Unnie, please.”

But Magenta just laughed, winking at me. “What? I’m just calling it as I see it.”

The rest of the conversation continued, but that charged connection between Arin and me stayed. It wasn’t something we were ready to talk about yet, but it was there. And it wasn’t going anywhere.

After filming Magenta invited me to another game. As I was packing I also received an invitation from Jiheon. So I decided to see if I could mix the playgroups. The group had gathered again, ready for another round of Commander before heading to sleep. I entered the room, spotting Arin, Magenta, and Chowon setting up their decks. As I approached, Magenta gave me a sly smile while Chowon waved happily.

“Ready to lose again?” Magenta teased.

Before I could answer, I noticed someone new sitting next to Arin, sorting through a pile of cards. She had a relaxed, confident energy and looked up when I entered the room.

“Oh, you’re the new guy,” she said, standing up and extending her hand with a smile that was both charming and direct. “I’m Jeewon. I heard you threw the game last night. Bold move.”

I shook her hand, raising an eyebrow at her boldness. “I just didn’t want to play too hard on the first night.”

Jeewon grinned. “Smart. Gotta keep ‘em coming back for more, huh?”

She stepped closer, her eyes scanning me for a second before locking with mine. “I like that. I like you.”

Her words came out so casually as if she was talking about her favorite card in the deck. Arin, sitting a few feet away, tensed slightly, but kept her eyes on her cards, though I could feel the shift in her mood. It was subtle but there, like an unspoken pull between us.

I blinked, trying to process Jeewon’s forwardness. “Uh, thanks?”

Jeewon chuckled, amused at my reaction, and sat back down. “I’m upfront, just so you know. I don’t waste time. If I like someone, I say it.”

Magenta laughed, watching the whole exchange. “Jeewon’s always been like that. Gets right to the point.”

I stole a glance at Arin, who was quietly shuffling her deck, her fingers moving a little more deliberately than before. Her lips were pressed together, but she didn’t say anything. The air between us felt charged, like there was something unspoken, simmering beneath the surface, especially after last night’s kiss.

Jeewon’s eyes flicked between us as if noticing the silent tension. “So, what about you?” she asked me, leaning in with a curious grin. “You into anyone in the group yet?”

The question hung in the air, and I could feel both Jeewon’s intense gaze and Arin’s quiet presence beside me. The room seemed to shrink for a moment as I fumbled for an answer.

“I guess I’m still… figuring things out,” I said, trying to keep it vague.

Jeewon shrugged, her grin widening. “Fair enough. I’ll give you some time, but don’t take too long.” She winked, turning her attention back to the deck she was shuffling.

Magenta leaned over with a smirk. “Looks like you’re in for an interesting day.”

“Actually about that…Jiheon invited me to join her group so I figured we could all group up and play.

Jeewon smiles and says, “See I knew I liked this guy. A true bridge builder. You’re probably like Arin and play something like Temur or Bant.” Jeewon said I shook my head.

“Nope Sultai,” I responded and Jeewon’s eyes widened and she narrowed them.

“Ooh a bad boy… that just makes me want you more,”

Magenta and Chowon both save me by saying, “Nope he’s a good boy through and through,”

Jeewon smiles and grabs my arm.

“Well then lead the way.”

As we entered the room, Jiheon’s voice rang out in triumph. “And that’s game! Told you I was taking this one home.” She glanced over her cards before looking up, her eyes locking onto mine. A grin spread across her face as she stood up, brushing past the others at the table.

“There you are,” Jiheon said, making her way over to me. “You know, I couldn’t have done it without your help last time. That little trick you showed me was perfect.”

Before I could even respond, she wrapped an arm around my shoulder, leaning in to press a soft kiss to my cheek. “Thanks for that,” she said with a wink, completely oblivious to the stunned silence that settled over the group behind me.

I caught a glimpse of Arin’s eyes widening, her face flushing, while Jeewon raised an amused eyebrow, clearly entertained by the sudden shift. Magenta exchanged a knowing glance with Chowon, trying to stifle a laugh as Jiheon lingered a little too long, still close to my side.

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly, trying to gauge the reactions. “Uh… you’re welcome?”

Jiheon flashed another grin, completely unaware of the tension in the air. “Alright, who’s ready for the next game?”

Everyone nods and we shuffle groups. I am paired with Jiheon, Connor, and Yunjin. Before we begin though I ask if I can go to the restroom.

I take care of business and as I’m finishing up the door opens. I scream internally as I know I locked it but panic regardless.

In walks Jiheon. She stops for a moment as do I, while our brains try to process what is going on. Jiheon’s eyes wander down and she looks at my cock. She licks her lips then closes the door behind her and double locks it. She walks over to me and I’m still in the freeze response as she grabs my manhood. It’s warm in her hands she smiles and says, “Oh you’re so hard for me baby.”

She begins stroking me with leisured and languid strokes in between saying the filthiest words with her pretty mouth and smile.

“We don’t have a lot of time baby but I can see your balls are so full. I want all that cum on and inside me.”

Her dazzling smile made it hard to fight my attraction. She keeps stroking me and says, “Can I lick it?”

I moan and she smiles, “I’ll take that as a yes.” She says before licking my tip.. her pink tongue swirled around my bulbous head.

“It looks so angry. Are you neglecting yourself?” She asked. I nod helplessly before she takes me into her mouth fully. I moan again and she bobs on my cock. Getting her warm wet mouth all over my cock. Feeling bold she goes down the full shaft and lets me rest in her throat. She looks up at me and her big brown eyes drive me crazy and I have to resist the urge to grab her cheeks and fuck her face and let her do her thing.

She smiled and wrapped her tongue around my shaft. She slurped and gagged a few times before removing her mouth

“Okay, you’re ready.” She said before taking her shorts down. She slapped her ass and I watched it jiggle before lining up my rod and gliding into her soft wet snatch. She moaned.

“Oh, you’re so big inside,” Jiheon said enraptured. I started thrusting into her and she looked back at me smiling.

“Oh God! Baby this cock is so good.” Jiheon says as I thrust into her. She moaned and I slapped her ass. It jiggled just right and I smiled watching her tasty flesh fold and give way. Her wet pussy squelches around my cock as her slick pools under us. I feel my cock twitch with a familiar sensation.

Jiheon noticed and said, “Oh good are you close?”

“Mm hm,” I confirm. Jiheon smirks and says, “Just dump that big load inside of me.” I groan and she moans as I cum inside of her. I feel her tighten and her slick rushes all over my crotch.

After Jiheon smiles and says “Go outside first then I’ll be right behind a few minutes later. (She grabs my collar and pulls me in for a heated kiss leaving me hard again) we’ll continue this later.”

I smile at her as I pull up my pants and watch my cum drip down her thigh. I watch as she stares me down as I watch her pulls her shorts back up.

“Okay, you’ve gotten your show, now go.” She said and I did.

I walked and got to our table where Yunjin and Connor were waiting. They were bickering over whether or not Percy Jackson was a millennium or Gen Z. As always they were quite loud as well meaning that no one probably heard Jiheon and me go at it earlier. I got my deck set up and waited. As I did I put my head in my arms before taking a light nap. I wake up to Jiheon shaking me.

“Come on sleepy head.” She was saying as she shook me. I smiled and got everything set up for us. She leaned in close and laid her head on my shoulder. When she did that it felt natural, like I had always been in her place. Yunjin notices and yells

“Oh, are we doing two-headed giant?” I look at Jiheon and she bashfully smiles before nodding.

I looked for Arin and when I found her watching us I could see a competitive fire light in her eyes. I chuckled as we started the game.

Jiheon and I both have gemstone pre-game action in the form of gemstone caverns. The two red white players declared they were going first because they had to wait to use

“Oh, dear Connor says. This may be bad.” Jiheon and I both nod.

Jiheon, Arin, TJ, and I clean the house in all the games we play. Which leads to the rest of the players saying,

“Y’all play at the winners' table.”

We shuffle and cut and draw our starting hands. I looked around and I was going first. I draw for a turn and sigh.

“Before we begin does anyone have a way to stop me?” Everyone looks at me surprised then I ask does anyone have a mind break trap? Or any outbreeding counterspell?” The table shakes its head and I reveal my hand.

“Okay so here’s the combo:

1,) Play Mana crypt, Mox, vault, sol ring lotus then delve Zagoth triome and lotus to cast tasigur

2.) Neoform the tasigur to scholar of the lost troves then neoform that into hoarding brood lord

3.) Convoke hoarding brood lord and cast saw in half that was exiled off of brood lord

4.) Cast sacrifice and use the 8 mana to cast peer into the abyss with the second brood lord draw half my deck

5.) Okay so now divergent points

6 .) Play all my other fast mana and follow up with one of my win cons

7.) Cast demonic consultation thassas oracle

7.b.) cast nadu, lightning greeves, and spring heart Nantucket. This will bring me a nondeterministic loop in which I will physically draw the rest of my deck

7.c.) cast displacer kitten and Crabhomination then noxious revival losing two lives. This will start a semi-infinite cast loop that exiles everyone else’s deck and wins me the game.

8.)win the game.”

As I finished my explanation the other tables were all looking at me wild-eyed.

“Hold up you have a turn-one win in your deck?” Siyeon asked bluntly. I nod to Sakura and her complaints about how BS that is. I shrug and say,

“See this is why I throw games, because you all aren’t as competitive as me.”

“You don’t go to tournaments, though.” Dexter challenged.

I laugh and say, “Yet I still beat the breaks off you Mr. I’ve topped 8 tournaments and have an almost 45% conversion rate.” Dexter looks at me stunned and then twists the knife even further, “You beat the same people day in and day out I’m much more exhaustive in my choice of prey. I choose the biggest fattest strongest prey as they make the best meals. And I tear into their weak points and let those kill them rather than me. Then when the defiant spark has left their eyes I go in for the kill. Now please keep in mind this is all metaphorical. ” As I spoke I felt my voice take on a familiar edge which meant I was getting too frustrated. As I look into the eyes of everyone present I see various emotions: fear, excitement agreement, pity (that one infuriates me) disappointment but the main one I feel from all those around me is a collective terror. I begin to feed on that emotional energy floating in the room, but the feelings become muted. I decided to step out. I grab my stuff and take the elevator to my room on the fifth floor. When I exit I see the sponsor. She’s talking to Hunk the famed Umbrella Corps specialist. I crack my knuckles and ignore them as I walk around. I overhear them talking about plans and the lady turns to me.

“Oh, you're Avaline’s little mutt.” She teases. I roll my eyes as she says, “Roll your eyes all you want but when things go down you won’t be smiling or laughing anymore.” In the very pit of my being, I feel it. The desire to destroy to hunt to eradicate, and here she is presenting herself as the fattest juiciest of prey. I turn to her and speak slowly.

“Is that a threat?” I ask

I watch the lady’s mood shift from happy to fearful. Her “ally” also cowers a bit.

“Because I don’t take well to threats.” I could feel my desire for violence surging madly within me terrible visions surged within me as I looked at the both of them. Then they ruined it by backtracking

“No, we aren’t planning anything,” Hunk said.

I could hear his elevated heart rate give him away as a liar. I sighed and said

“Listen cowards whatever convoluted and half-baked scheme you’re coming up with leave me alone as well as my friends or you will both personally find out I’m less of a dog and more of a kaiju.” The lady smiled and her calming heart rate told me she thought she had some leverage

“Well, Mr Ballas. I will tell you that you can’t save everyone so maybe I just may be so inclined as to…”

Knowing where this stupid conversation was going I responded. I stood my full size and then hunched in closer to show them how small they were in comparison “If anyone I care about is hurt here because of your stupid plans, I will make sure He will be a vacation from what I will put you through because you’re right I can’t keep them all safe but you know what I can do that I’m way better at. Revenge. (I switch my tone from menace to calm and happy) now have a nice night and remember to leave my friends alone.”

The terror in the air tasted delicious as they took the elevator down. As they left the emotional high I had crashed and I felt drained. So I opened the door to my room and crashed into the bed.

The door creaks open a little later after I recovered a bit. The dark room I had left myself in was pierced by patches of light. I turned over to see what was facing me. It was Jiheon. She smiled mischievously as she closed the door. “You ready babe?” I could taste her hunger and her lust as she entered. The air permeated everything as I watched her inch closer and closer.

As she did a new piece of clothing would fly off in the dark room until she reached me. She leaned down and all I could see were her soft brown eyes. She smiled before her hands dipped down into my pants. She began to stroke me again. To get me to explode in her hands she began messaging my balls

“Oh fuck honey” I screamed Jiheon smiled,

“Yeah let everyone know how good I'm making you feel.” let everyone hear you scream my name as I make you cum.” her smile was evil as she began to pick up the pace before I couldn't take it anymore I bucked into her hips and my cum flew out to her face hands arms and chest. She smiled and stared t my hard cock still raging

“You animal. I love it Jiheon cooed before straddling me and then lowering herself on top of me. She smiled and said,

“I could get addicted to this; the size and gerth are just right for my tight pussy.” I moan she bounces on my cock.

“Fuck, honey. You're so wet.” I groan out as I slip and slide in and out of her almost soul-snatching pussy.

Jiheon smiles and says, “I know, now cum.” her words put me into a deep trance as I release another load into her as I keep thrusting into her. I can feel her tighten as well and she starts to orgasm making a mess on top of me. With a smug grin she smirked and said “I'll see you later baby,” and with that, she was gone as fast as she came. I lay in my bed confused and still hard. Unsure what to do I just go to sleep and hope tomorrow is less weird.

[cosmichahn]

BEWITCHED

Melissa Schemmenti x Fem!Reader —☆

about: melissa only expected for her friday evening to go as always, but plans change when she sees you crying on the sidewalk

warning/s: mild cursing

word count: 4.7k

note/s: first time writing for mel, might be a bit rusty but i really enjoyed writing this and hope you guys enjoy reading! lyrics from bewitched and from the start by laufey mentioned. (i also have not watched the new episodes yet so yeah)

The parent evening at Abbott Elementary just ended, as every teacher and every parent went their separate ways. Everyone but you who left about an hour earlier than everyone. No one knows why, no one dared to ask when you rushed out of the building after cleaning up your classroom and grabbing your bag. Not even a goodbye like you always do, especially to Melissa who grew worried because of this; but she decided not to call you, especially how it seemed as though you wanted some time alone.

Your movement wasn’t harsh, nor was it rough. It was more of a quiet rush that might as well be considered worse than an angry one.

Melissa says her goodbyes to her co-workers before setting off to go home. She looks at her phone set up on the side with an attached stand to it, pondering on whether she should call you and ask how you are or perhaps not. You’ve only been at Abbott for a year, and in that year, Melissa grew very fond of you. There was just something about you she couldn’t pinpoint in the beginning, not until one of her kids came rushing to her crying and asking for you, for some reason. You started as an aide just to see if the teaching position would fit you at Abbott after about four years of teaching experience in a different state.

When you were Melissa’s aide, her days never ended up being exhausting. You were a breath of fresh air and really helped her around the classroom; with managing two classes at once, it’s not an uncommon occurrence for Melissa to stress herself out. Eventually, you’ve come to apply for an official teaching role at Abbott to teach 6th grade Biology after 2 and a half months of being an aide. It was perfect since the last Biology teacher just straight up gave up and signed up for a resignation; which is a bad image given that it kind of shows the students a message that they may not be worthy enough to stay for since that said teacher left to go to Addington. It’s great that you’re qualified for the teaching role and Ava, especially, was thankful for that.

The redhead drives over the street, her mind only occupied with next week's lesson plans that she should finish on Sunday. Thankfully she’s already done with grading papers. As her mind wanders, she comes across someone familiar on the street, tears pouring down. She stops her car immediately near the familiar broken down car whose owner is the person crying in front of her. You.

Upon noticing the sudden warmth of someone’s presence, you look up only to feel embarrassed, so you quickly wipe off the tears that already stained the bottom of your shirt used for wiping them off. You have the mascara stained from all the tears, and the lipstick that smudged just right on the side of your lips. This is an ugly cry that you never want anyone to see, but Melissa is the exception. You don’t mind her.

She looks at you with not pity, but worry. Wiping off the dust and small grains of dirt she can get off beside where you are, Melissa takes a seat, trying not to be too close to you so you can have enough space to be comfortable or not feel too crowded. “Hon, what happened?” Her voice is so smooth that it sounds like the only symphony you can listen to for the rest of your existence. She looks at you, her eyes speaking more emotion than her words, as always.

“It’s nothing, really.” You sniffle your runny nose in between words that shake your voice and tone. “Just a mishap, but thanks.” Your eyes meet hers, giving her a light chuckle which makes her raise her eyebrow.

“You know me enough not to believe this stunt.” She slightly tilts her head towards you, crossing her arms. Melissa knows you too well upon the year she spent with you at Abbott. She knows when you’re being all bullshit. This is one of those times.

You look at your lap, then your hands that had small stains of black from that mascara that you wore today. “Fine, it’s something. But it’s not really that big of a deal, Mel.” Your gaze turns to her. “It’s just a parent being a parent.”

“Seeing you like this doesn’t make it feel like it’s a small deal.” Melissa isn’t always one for being interested so quickly towards someone, but you just managed to intrigue her the more she knew about you.

In defeat, you tell her what happened; but you feel guilty upon telling her all of this. For whoever up there’s sake, this is only your second year at Abbott and you’re already dropping a bucket worth of tears over one comment a parent made for the first time in your whole career. “One of the parents, um, she called me a terrible teacher because her son was struggling with something and all I really did was help her son out but she wasn’t listening to what I was saying and blamed it all on me.” Talking about your problems really has always been the catapult to a breakdown that you can never find a way to stop. “She blamed it all on me that her son’s grades weren’t high enough, when he has always excelled in all of his subjects. He’s on the verge of burning out, and I’m just trying to help him, Mel.”

“She thinks her son’s grades aren’t enough, when they’re high and he already reached his goal. The mother is so strict but I can’t speak on it because I am not the parent, I am only the one who teaches and calculates the grades. I don’t make the grades, I just help the students achieve the grade they want. She called me terrible. A terrible teacher. I have never been called that and I feel so bad, so guilty, and sensitive, for feeling this way about it. About what she said. And I’m sorry for dumping all of this on you when you’re handling two classes at once, you’re incredible, and I know how stressed you are at times. I care about you a lot.”

Melissa thinks before she speaks, signaling if she can touch you and you nod in response; and so she places her arm around your shoulder, pulling you in with a small apologetic smile. “Some parents really are like that, and unfortunately we can’t exactly do anything about it other than have a quiet and listening conversation with our student.” You hold onto her other hand, feeling her squeeze yours in comfort. “And you don’t have to apologize for feeling this way. No apologies to me, we all have our own experiences, hon.” Melissa removes her arm around you, where she is now holding both of your hands in hers. You melt under her touch, she brings you warmth. She’s the beaming sun that lifts up your glow. “Your feelings aren’t any less. I care about you too, I care a lot.”

You only mumble a quiet thank you to her, letting go of her hands before moving closer and burying your face on her neck, feeling the warmth she had to offer. The comfort her presence gave you was enough to recharge from a tiring day. “Thank you so so much, Mel.” The warmth Melissa gave not only came from her natural body temperature, but also the sudden contact of you leaning into her this close that sent up sparks in her mind and caused her to grow a blush she couldn’t take away.

Melissa places her right hand on your back, leaning her head on yours, before whispering “Anything for you, cara.”

“You’re so nice to me, Mel.” You whisper with a small chuckle, feeling her heart beating, feeling it speed up. “I never knew that something I would say is enough to make your heart crazy.”

“Great assumption you got there.” Melissa jokes, lifting your face off her shoulder. You looked a mess with your smudged makeup, and yet still she was enchanted by you; to her you were still beautiful as always, and she was glad that you felt comfortable being in states like this around her. She keeps your trust the way you take care of hers.

“No use in lying to me when I look like a mess.” You shrug your shoulders, feeling the tension of your feelings cool down and feel lighter. She only playfully rolls her eyes and chuckles at you.

You never denied your attraction towards Melissa, but that’s something she doesn’t know. Something you never had the guts to tell her; you were just scared, confused as to how and why would she date someone like you. Someone younger, obsessed with movies, and could talk about anything and everything within every second of the day. You’ve seen how Melissa acts when Jacob starts yapping about something, but then if you’re the one doing it, she never scolds or avoids you when you talk about your interests even though she doesn’t get most of them. Melissa could just be really friendly to a selected number of people, and you’re lucky enough to be one of those people; that’s one of the main reasons as to why you’d rather not express your romantic feelings for her.

Melissa is too important to you. She’s your friend first before all.

“Why are you even stopped here anyway?” Melissa questions, looking at your car parked on the side near hers.

Embarrassed, you answer her with a small hint of nervousness “Well, you see, I ran out of gas.” You also realize your inability to head home because you remember now that you left your house keys on the desk right before you rushed out of the school a while ago. “Shit! I left my house keys in the school. Son of a bitch.”

Your evening after that parent situation really isn’t going how you want it to. First, you forget your apartment keys in a school that’s already locked, and second, your car is out of gas. You have nowhere to go and nowhere to sleep in, until an idea pops up in mind, but Melissa had another idea. “You can always stay at my-”

“I can call Janine and ask her if I can stay.” You say in full confidence, remembering how Janine once offered for you to stay at her place if ever that there were any cases of unfortunate occurrences. But instead of Melissa agreeing and knowing it’s better for you to stay at Janine’s, she reacts differently.

“No! I meant you can stay at my place.” This peaks the curiosity in you. A year of being friends with Melissa, and yet you’ve never been to her house before, surprisingly.

“As tempting as that offer is, I don’t want to be in the way of your weekend.” You say. Melissa only scoffed and shook her head with endearment. “And I do know how much you cherish your privacy.”

“That’s nonsense, sweetheart. You’re an exception.” Before you can say anything, Melissa stands up to open her car, making sure that you follow. “I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer, by the way.” She’s pretty persuasive. Pretty and persuasive. She smirks at you as she waits for your approach; she leans on the car and crosses her arms with the keys dangling on her finger. “We both had a tiring day, so a little wine wouldn’t hurt too, right?”

You nod with excitement, looking back at your car while approaching Melissa’s. “Don’t worry, we can get back tomorrow. I have a guy that can help with your car without hassle.” Thankfully, the area where you stopped your car when it ran out of gas was a safe space. Knowing this part of Philly, it surely is more peaceful. Melissa is so thoughtful and just the sweetest, when what she always does, at least to you, is what you think of as something like the bare minimum or just something she does to her close friends. You’re not that special to her, as to what you think; but to her, you’re more than that.

Before leaving off with Melissa, you first check over your car just to grab your things. “Let me just get some stuff from my car. I don’t want any important things gone.” She nods as you head off, unlocking the back of the vehicle and grabbing some things. You take your files filled with student papers you need to check off and grade, then in front of the car is your bag with all of the pens you use and essentials. You double check to lock the door then look over to Melissa. “Well, it seems like we’re both gonna be occupied.” You say, showing her the very thick file folder you have.

“We can grade papers and drink wine.” She suggests, and all you can imagine is grading papers on the table together with Melissa’s glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose, hair up in a loose bun with a wine glass in hand and the smell of her lingering in her home. She holds your hand every so often after taking a sip of her wine and you brush a strand of hair off her face while she smiles at you and thanks you. That is all an image in your head.

“Sounds like a fun evening.” Is all you can say in reply.

As you approach her car, Melissa opens the door for you and you quickly thank her for it. The car ride was comfortable and quite fun. It’s not your first time riding in Melissa’s car, and usually she leads playing music in the car, but she actually lends you the aux cord from time to time. You connect your device to the speaker and radio in her car, where you then blast one of Laufey’s songs; a fairly recent artist that Melissa denied when you first played it around her, but she soon grew fond of the artist knowing that you loved listening to her music a lot.

Melissa would always find herself looking the artist up just so she could be reminded of you when she listens to it. It just for some reason makes her feel closer to you whenever she engages with things you love.

“You bewitched me.” You sing along the rhythm, slightly bopping your head to the light and magical tone of the song. Melissa quietly glances at you, a smile growing on her lips upon adoring the sight, before looking back on the street. “From the first time that you kissed me.” The lyrics catch Melissa, causing her to swallow the invisible lump in her throat. “To experience this song is to make my life complete.” You joke, not imagining anyone to dance to this song with other than Melissa.

Upon hearing this, Melissa wanted you to kiss her under the bustling lights of an evening in Philly. She wanted to lean in and whisper how much she wanted to keep you in her heart. She wanted to be the one who makes you bewildered, bewitched.

“Well, if I ever get the time to buy her vinyl, that would also be an alternate way to complete my life.” You shrug, chuckling.

But I’m falling so badly, I’m coming apart. The song continues. You cast me a note, cast a spell on my heart.

Melissa takes a quick glance over the radio. Well, you’re right about that. She thinks to herself, indulging the lyrics of the sweet yet whimsical song.

“Not the first time you’ve talked about the artist.” She looks over to you through the front mirror, noticing the embarrassed chuckling you let out. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I think it’s cute.”

“Thanks, Mel. People don’t really engage with me when I talk about things I love.” You look over at her with an endearing smile. “But thankfully I have you, don’t I?”

“I talk about firefighters to you a lot, hon. I think we’re even.” She laughed quietly. “And you really love the food I make.” In all honesty, there’s a mix of excitement and nervousness in Melissa right now. It’s your first time both going to her house and staying over there for the weekend. Is the sink cleared? Will there be time to whip up a quick meal? Is her bedroom clean? Wait, you’re sleeping in her bedroom? On the same bed as her? Unless you don’t want to, she’ll just sleep on the couch. Melissa’s mind just shuffled.

You notice that Melissa kind of dozes off, so you try to catch her attention. “Mel, you good?” Waving off your hand beside her, until you catch her attention.

“I’m good. Just thinking of something.” You quirk an eyebrow making an attempt to guess, but trying not to push it much as for Melissa to not get frustrated.

You remember the vending machine guy that the Abbott crew would always mention to Melissa. Given that he leaves hints that he likes her. This happens way after they forget to tease you and Melissa for being close. Although there’s some sort of jealousy that flows through you whenever this happens, it’s not really something you can do anything about, given that perhaps Melissa feels the same for him too. “Ooo, is it Gary?” You tease.

Melissa shakes her head quickly. “No, that’s not- he’s not-”

“Oh! My bad, sorry.” You apologize but she denies this apology, saying that there’s nothing to apologize for.

The next moments were filled with comfortable silence, as you then start humming to the next song playing.

Don’t you dare look at me that way; I don’t need reminders of how you don’t feel the same.

─────────

Shortly afterwards, you arrived at Melissa’s place, seeing the beautiful interior displayed right in front of you. She looks at you adoring her house, with only the luminescence of the neighboring houses and the moon lighting up your face. “Beautiful.” Melissa compliments.

She leads you to the door, unlocking it while you stand behind her, carrying the file folder and your bag. You’re greeted by a well decorated living room and several photo frames across the walls and the side tables. “You can just place your things on the couch and I’ll whip us up something to eat for dinner and maybe a snack while grading. That sound good?”

You nod in response, carefully placing your things on the couch that’s still covered by plastic, but that’s okay. It’s very Melissa, quite as you think.

“You know, Schemmenti, you’re all heart and passion.” You say, following her to the kitchen. Melissa manages to short circuit after what you just said, trying to mentally fix her composure.

“Flattery doesn’t work around here. Sorry, Sweetheart.” She shakes her head with a soft chuckle before turning to you and leaning on the counter. “And besides, you’re not helping in the kitchen, but you can sit there and look pretty.”

Compliments like these are common between you and Melissa. Both of you appreciate and care for each other’s everything; even when Melissa’s stress and temper gets a hold of herself, or when you go quiet from being too overwhelmed. “Funny, but I do need to fix this face.” You point at the several faded marks of makeup on your face, making Melissa walk towards you and offer to take you upstairs where the bathroom is.

She points to the bathroom then leaves you there, with the idea going across her mind that you probably don’t have any spare clothes to change into to be able to sleep comfortably. Due to this, while you’re getting yourself clean in the bathroom, Melissa gets an old Eagles shirt that she found in her closet and a pair of sweats she never uses. She knocks on the bathroom door with the clothes hanging on one of her arms. “I got you some clothes, hon.” She says, and you reply to her with thanks. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you so much, Mel.” You open the door and thank her, carefully taking the neatly folded clothes from her arm.

You soon finish freshening up, looking at yourself all fixed up in the mirror with the change of clothes on. The Eagles shirt smells exactly the way Melissa does, and you take it in, feeling as though she’s with you right now. The scent fills you with comfort and warmth you don’t want to stop feeling.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, you’re greeted with a quick meal that Melissa made that’ll surely fill you up for the evening. You wonder how long you took in the bathroom because Melissa is already in a different set of clothes with, just as you thought, her hair in a loose bun. She sees you and the only thought that comes across her mind is ‘Damn’ There was just something about seeing you in her clothes, in her kitchen, even in her car, that felt so domestic. It’s the same thing she feels every time she offers to pick you up from somewhere or when you have lunch ‘dates’ where it’s just the two of you; or when sometimes she asks you to go to the farmer’s market with her, and you ask her to go to music stores and bookstores with her.

Now, you’re here in her house. You’re staying over for the weekend, and she can’t help but just keep herself from getting too attached to the idea of a domestic life with you.

“That looks delicious!” You exclaim, walking towards the counter where Melissa had already set up two stools and two sets of plates.

“You look delicious.” She blurts out which makes you burst out laughing, in mind that she was probably just joking around like always. You playfully punch Melissa’s shoulder, and if anyone were to ever do that to her, she would probably punch them harder, but she only looks at you with her brows furrowed.

You shake your head, “I thought flattery doesn’t work around here.” You sit across Melissa from the counter where you both prepare to eat. It’s filled with silence, before she clears her throat and tells you.

“Delicious doesn’t say it all.” Melissa shrugs, wanting you to take the flirty compliment.

After exchanging a few laughs with each other over dinner, you stop to look at Melissa who just finished laughing at something you said. “I like this side of Melissa Ann Schemmenti.” You rest your chin on your palm, elbow flat on the table with your eyes only to hers. “Anyone who would have the chance to be with you is lucky enough to experience what it feels to have a domestic life with you.” You say without thinking of what this might cause to the aura in the room.

“Well, um, not that it matters when I say it.” You say, feeling your palms grow sweaty by the clock. “I think a domestic and simple life with a partner I love is just a really incredible thing, I mean, I would want that kind of life to be mine. Not that I’m assuming that it’s the same thing you want, of course.” You smile apologetically.

“You think about it a lot?” Melissa asks, intrigued to know more and yet still going back to what you previously said about her. Even though she knows she has feelings for you, it still sits in the back of her mind that she may not be fond of marriage. Especially with things during and after Joe, she’s not sure when, but she knows she’s not ready for anything other than a relationship. No marriage, no union or anything.

But why is it that when she thinks of you, she thinks of marriage? She thinks of a life where she wakes up with you on her side. She gets ready in front of her vanity with your reflection in the mirror adoring her from behind. Walking hand in hand around every corner of town. Giving each other flowers just because you felt like it. Taking care of each other when one’s sick. Talking about everything and nothing at night.

“Marriage? Not a lot, but settling with someone I love? Of course.” You like the topic of it all. You love love; how it’s always there, how it doesn’t always have to be a person, that it can grow in places or on people you don’t expect. To love and be loved is what you want, and have always wanted. “I want to one day be loved. To be held, heard. Be sappy and all. To wake up and do the littlest of things. It doesn’t matter if it’s only a quiet day at home or looking through the grocery list while the sounds of the washing machine bustle in the background.” After that brief monologue, you catch Melissa’s eyes.

“You never know.” She gives you that reassuring and hopeful smile. “That person might just be the one in front of you after all.” Melissa sees the way your expression changes from sentimental to a confused furrowed look that made her eyes widen upon realizing what she had just said.

This makes you think for a bit, your brain split in half. Is she just being helpful with the conversation or is she confessing something. She waits for a response quietly as the two of you silently sit across each other. Does she regret saying this? Is she overthinking things?

“I hope so.” You respond nervously. “Are you saying what I hope you’re saying?” She takes her hand out on the table, hoping for yours to hold hers and you do so.

“I want it to be me.” She holds your hand softly.

“Oh.” The only word that came out of you, not being able to process things immediately. Until this registers in mind. “Oh.” You’re clueless as to how to respond. “I need to pinch myself.” You say before standing up, in which Melissa lets out a soft laugh. “Jesus Christ.” You mumble to yourself.

Melissa stands up to tidy the table, but all you can do is freeze in place. Perhaps this is what really happens when your mind short circuits. She puts the used dishes properly in the sink, before wiping her hands clean where she then walks to stand near you, the counter facing your back as she is now standing in front of you. Only the surface of the counter and Melissa in between your body, with only a shorter distance between herself and you. She walks closer, making you walk back, but the edge of the counter is now sticking to your lower back. Both of her hands are placed on either side of the counter behind you.

You clear your throat, only able to look her right in the eyes. Her lips were right there, ready for you to lean in closer just to feel what you’ve always wanted to feel. Her. The risk is for you to take. No, for the both of you to take.

“May I kiss you?” Before you could receive a vocal response, you feel her lips coming in closer onto yours. With closed eyes, Melissa’s hands make their way up to your hips, then to your waist, which slightly lifts up the shirt you were wearing; and so the coolness of your untouched waist was cooled from her fingertips.

A smile grows from your lips, returning it. The world feels as though it froze around the two of you. She pulls away only to look at you and your stunned and lovesick reaction, not wanting the moment to end before kissing you again. A groan escapes her lips, relief and excitement. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this.” Melissa mumbles in between kisses.

You swoop in and place both of your hands on her cheeks, feeling the warmth of her face on your palms. She takes a short step back as you lean more into the kiss, giving a light bite on her lower lip where she then smiles softly. “You’re the most beautiful person I have ever seen.” You whisper close to her, feeling her pull you closer by the waist. You’re smitten, and finally, she knows.

Your hands find themselves on Melissa’s shoulders as she pulls you in for a tight hug, her arms snaking around your waist as you rest your head on the crook of her neck.

The world froze around us, you kissed me good night.

[12-seconds-to-live]

(Un)Lost: The art of war

Pairing: F12022/3!Grid! x Fem!Driver!Oc

Warnings: DNF’s, angst, a little bit of love, episodes of anxiety, Seb’s retirement, harsh words.

DRIVE TO SURVIVE SEASON 5 - EP. 1  THE NEW ERA

“It’s freezing in here” I said while I was puting my cap in my head, my Williams cap, ready to sit in the famous black chair of Netflix. “Thank you Netflix for make this possible, Bahrain is being cooking itself now” The producer chuckle.

“So, we’re going to let you introduce you and then make you a few questions. Everything clear?”

“Sure” I look for a better position in the chair and look to the camera “My name is Charlotte Robyn-Jones and I’m engineer strategist for Williams Racing Formula One Team” I said with a smile on my face. I saw the people in the back laugh and I copy the action

“You can’t lie to Netflix, kid”

“I think I just did ... Anyway, 1, 2, 3, Monday to Friday, My name is Charlotte Robyn-Jones, I’m 23 and I’m a race driver for Williams Racing Formula One Team” I tilt my head to one side and laugh “Cool”

“So cool. What’s for you to be at the top of the game right now?, obviously avoiding the question that you must  be bored about” 

“Being a woman is fantastic, except for that thing every month but I can’t complain. I have to say that it’s not easy. You can dream of some things happening but all the same time, If you really wanted, the answer is get up and look for your better options to make things happen.” I gassped and look down and to the camera. “I remenber when I told my dad that I wanted to give it a try in karting and I wasn’t even 6, he looked at me like  I was some sort of silly muppet but then he make me promise that I will do great in school and then he will help me with the racing carreer I wanted. The rest is history”

A series of videos of her carreer show up, from her beginning in karts, F4, F3 and her successfull 2021 in F2 finishing as champion, smiling faces all around and obviously a very proud Charlotte.

“You just mention your dad. What about other members in your family? Friends or even a boyfriend?” I look at the producer with a side smile

“You guys are really something else, right?” they laugh “I’m single ready to mingle. I don’t talk to much about my family, I like to be private about that. I almost dropped all this. My family is my priority and two years ago I lost my mom due cancer so...”

“I’m sorry we don’t...”

“No, it’s okay” I smiled to the camera “She’s not here but I still talk about her like she’s just in the back of the house screaming to the dog for being so silly, she’s still here and I know she’s proud” 

“Sure she is. Just to finish ... Any expectations for your team. Everybody wanted to see you in a bigger team like Mercedes or Ferrari, did you hear any rumors about that?”

“Well, certanly I did hear, but the thing is, mmm, I always believe that If you wanna prove yourself is better to start from the very bottom, understand the little things and then you’ll find success, almost glory. Being in this sport is so tricky, like, one day you won in Monaco and the next day you’re out of the points or feeling that all your pasion is going out to your body” I see everybody’s faces like I was saying something fascinating “This is sport is like war, you better watch out your back ‘cause even your own team could kill you.”

“So, this is your year to discover yourself?”

“Yes, my bingo card this year will imply me being playing the art of war that is F1″

“Okay Charlotte, this is all for today. We’ll see you along the year”

“Thanks and don’t spill my secrets. Snitches end up in ditches, they say” 

I go out of the room straight to the Williams garage. Sure thing is that this year is going to be wild, after what happened last year between Red Bull and Mercedes, man, I really don’t want to be any member of those teams.

“Hello Ms. Jones, everything all right with Netflix?” My PR, Ava asked. She was in Alex side of the garage talking to other people

“Yeah, they’re like school girls” She laugh

“Yeah, sometimes. Today is media day so since you’re ready with your Williams merch, we can start signing some caps and cards and then continue with your schedule. Or do you want to start with press?”

“Up to you really, better doing the easiest first then I’ll face the sharks” We walk to a conference room when I found Alex with his girlfriend and his PR. Last year I met the girl in a tournament in the UK and we have been really close since then.

“Oh hello you, my girl and my boy rocking together this year” Lily said and hug me, while Alex put a false angry face

“Nice to see you Lily and yes, we’re going to rock or better than that” I said she smack Alex shoulder

“See, I tould you she has spirit!”

“I know, I think that everybody saw that video of her running along the track after her win in last year championship”

That video.

Well, you don’t win F2 championship many times in your life, right?

“I don’t know what are you talking about”

“Everybody know you do”

“Shh” I sit next to the pile of merch with my face on it. It’s 9:45 so I have time ‘till lunch and more interviews.

INTERVIEW ROOM @14:20

W/ Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel

“Don’t be nervous, ok? I’m not gonna tell what to answer, you’re smart so answer like a pro”

“Like a pro? So I can say <<inchident>> or even ask about the interviewers plans for the summer?” I showed Ava a side smiled

“Please don’t and you’re going to be in between, your name is on the sofa” I enter the room and saw the amount of people organized in the back of the room with notepads, cameras and tricky looks.

“So, welcome everybody to the second session here in Bahrain, we are here with Lando Norris from McLaren, Carlos Sainz from Ferrari, Charlotte Jones from Williams, Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes and Sebastian Vettel from Aston Martin. Welcome to the drivers, we’re going to have a round of questions for this sesion, if that’s ok” I look at the others who nod.

“Hello, this question is for Charlotte” Great. “We want to hear your first impresions of your new team, if you have the chance to meet the other drivers and expectations for your rookie season”

I tried to smiled but I suddenly felt like I wanna dissapear and the lights we’re too bright so I put on my glasses and I hear Lewis laugh and how he copy my action and take the microphone “It’s sunny outside so there’s no need to put the  light to bright, thanks guys” And squeezed my hand.

“Yeah, lights, mmm, almost everybody saw me in the car last year when I met the team and my teammate. Everything has been great so far, mmm I spent half of the holidays with the Sainz family, there been close to my mom’s family so, yeah, Carlos and his trainer just help me to get in better shape for this rodeo, something that I’m grateful for” I fist bump with Carlos and laugh “And expectations, well, I prefer to see how it goes after the race, I sent my ideas and questions the past month so I know now that the car is fast and let’s see If we can put Williams on the top again”

Sebastian took the microphone and look at me “Do you know about engineering?”

“Yeah, I finished my degree in mechanical engineering last month, obviously online, so...”

“That’s impresive, kid” answer Sebastian

“Am I the only one scared now?” Ask Lando to everybody. Everybody laugh at that. The interview session went smoothly and not many questions were to me, since Lewis was in the room, the events of november where reminded. Questions about strategies and upgrades for Ferrari and Aston Martin and the chances of McLaren of getting a podium this year. After that, the session ended, Carlos stopped me.

“Welcome officially, girasol” He hug me in the process and we heard a cough

“Are you good, man?” 

“Since my friend here it’s so disrespectfull, nice to meet you, yo soy Lago” 

“Nunca le enseñaste bien español” I said laughing to the spaniard

“Ciertamente él fue un terrible alumno”

“Please don’t. Back to a common language” I smiled to him and oh boy! such beautiful eyes

“Charlotte, rookie, friend of this guy, fan of dogs, chocolate cake and be on my xbox the whole day” I shake his hand and he gasp

“Marry me”

“In a few years, maybe” I look to Carlos who look at me with wide eyes

“I don’t want him on family holidays, ten moths are too much now” As we were walking through the paddock, a few photographers and fans aproach us. Since Carlando were more famous that I am, so I go straight to my motorhome to lay down for a bit.

What a day.

A few headers on instagram and twitter about the conference

2022 ROOKIE READY TO DRIVE AND BEING A THREAT

CHARLOTTE ROBYN-JONES, NEW SENSATION IN THE PADDOCK

IS THIS THE YEAR OF WILLIAMS?

Mind clear and then start proving myself.

I’m a girl, yes, but right now I feel that I have a chance to be like them, it’s ny time.

A champion, one ready to fight.

I finished my day with more media duties, to 6 pm I was going to wait for Carlos who offer a ride to the hotel. While I was waiting in the parking lot, the papaya pair waved at me.

“Hiya, you must me Charlotte. I’m Daniel, the one with good looks in the team” He said with a smile.

“Nice to meet you Daniel, how you guys doin’?”

“All good, we’re heading to the hotel, ready to kick asses tomorrow?” I saw how Lando seems certanly interested in the question

“I’m feeling normal, but yeah, let’s see tomorrow. My driver arrived so... see ya” I waved at them when Carlos opened his car. Daniel and Lando saw the couple leaving the parking lot when the australian looks at the youngest

“Say it”

“What?” 

“Why do you look so shock around her? I mean, even Max who lives in a rock knew about her”

“I’ve been friends of Carlos and I never see her around, it’s weird”

“Ooow, the kid is jealous of the newie” Daniel started laughing and going to his car

“Man stop... I’m not jealous and also I’m a man!”

BAHREIN CIRCUIT @13:45 - FP1 & FP2

“Radio check, please” my race engineer said. Williams had the chance to start fourth in the two practices after Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Red Bull and Alpine.

“ And I thought my heart was detached, from all the sunlight of our past, but she's so sweet, she's so pretty, does she mean you forgot about me? Yeah, yes, I’m going to send you my playlist for the race, what dou you think?” 

“We’ll  evaluate that after practice”

“It’s not a no, I wil take it”

“Ok Charlotte, 30 seconds to start heating the tyres and whenever you ready, your flying lap”

“Copy”

“Now, we’ll have Williams coming out the pits to start practice, first our rookie Charlotte, fresh out the oven as F2 champion. She’s heating the tyres and has 15 minutes to do a few laps and see how that car goes”

On the broadcast, the faces of the team principals were on screen, with their expectations on the girl and see how she start.

“Ok Charlotte, you can start in the next lap with Leclerc and Ocon in front of you” I pressed the copy bottom. Here I go.

One thing about me it’s that I brake late but my left foot likes to keep itself on the throttle. A girl have to give it all, right?

“I feel like I’m watching the Mercedes W11 all over again. Wow! I can see a future world champion, multiple times If she wanted too”

“That car is fast” said Christian Horner looking to Max’s engineer “What the hell?” 

“Definitely it is” 

“Toto, even when she brake the car doesn’t go below 170 km/h. what?” Lewis and Bono stand beside the team principal of Mercedes.

“I think that your eight championship have to wait a bit, I can’t believe my eyes”

“That girl is the real Toretto, don´t you think?” asked Yuki to the french man

“I wanna throw myself down a hill to be honest” 

“What the f***?, which car is that?, I almost get dizzy” asked Charles over the radio

“That was a Williams, the rookie, she’s 3 seconds faster than you”

“This is going to be a long season. F***”

“Well done Charlotte. With his pace you can certanly win every race this season”

“Haha, good job to everybody from those in the factory to the ones in the garage. What about Alex?”

“As good as you, the difference is 0.337″

“That’s good”

“Yes, we’ll wait for you in the garage”

As I parked, I could heard the applauses from my team and the people around the garage. 

And yes.

A very long season ahead.

--

intro

That was fun. 

For those who doesn’t speak spanish, here the translation:

Girasol: sunflower.

Nunca le enseñaste bien español: you never taught him Spanish well.

Ciertamente él fue un terrible alumno: He certainly was a terrible student.

Hope you liked it :)

[flamebearrel]

“But Kris, if I wanted to watch Anim vs. with all the different series how should I even go about it??”

It largely depends on the topics and cast you’re interested in seeing. The show is split into three subseries as well as the occasional standalone episode: Animator vs. Animation (the original created in 2006-7 by Alan Becker alone), Animation vs. Minecraft (the longest and most popular, shorts stemming off a standalone from 2015), and Animation vs. Education (the newest from 2023, visualizing high-level STEM concepts)

Personally, I think core AvA is required reading for anyone who has appreciation for past eras of the internet, UI, or principles and genres of animation. AvM and AvE are equal in quality but honestly you won’t appreciate them as much if you aren’t familiar with the topics they cover. Alan and his team do try to visually introduce things step by step, though, so you can at least get a general idea of what you’re looking at

Besides that, core AvA specifically follows the Hollow-Heads, hand-drawn stick figures created by the Animator, “noogai”/Alan. In particular you have The Chosen One (shortened to Chosen, Cho or TCO) and The Second Coming (aka Second, Sec, TSC or Orange). TSC is the de facto main character and the only one appearing in all three series, while TCO and the Animator are exclusive to the original.

The SticksFight squad - the four sticks originating from sticksfight.com and named after their colors - have developed distinct personalities as the main cast of AvM, but only take a collective side role in main AvA (Yellow has a slightly larger role than the others). Here’s a summary of their individual personalities so you know what to look for in their smaller appearances

Red - Impulsive and energetic, always the first to jump into action and with a soft heart for creatures and beasties. He’s a little simple when it comes to technical things, but excels with reading the people around him, then building off of their quirks. Since the rest of the group babies him a bit, he puts in extra physical work to prove he can hold his own. Red also tends to play around with new or out-of-the-box solutions - knowledge that extends to his pranks. Most ready to fight with his fists or use heavy-hitters like maces and clubs. (Good intro/focus eps: The Rediscovery, Texture Pack, Monster School, The Prank)

Blue - A mellow fellow! Blue is one with nature and focuses on farming, cooking, and potionology. Due to her pacifistic tendencies, Blue prefers to reason things out or find other solutions rather than fighting, but will throw herself into the face of danger for others. Otherwise she takes up ranged weapons like guns and bows. She’s detail- and aesthetic-oriented as well as graceful, but doesn’t often step outside what she knows. A bit of an addiction to nether wart, which is somewhere between an unusual snack and a drug. (Good intro/focus eps: Potions, The Piglin War, The Chef, Blue’s New Superpower)

Yellow - She loves more than anything to get down to the root of things, and that makes her the group’s engineer! …And a bit of a troublemaker, paying more attention to the thrill of a discovery than the consequences. Yellow tries to find fairness and justice for friend and foe alike. While they have a reliable, supportive demeanor, they’re also very peppy, excitable and tough with how they stand strong in dire situations. Often her fighting style takes place behind the scenes, using things like explosives or a command-casting staff. (Good intro/focus eps: The Roller Coaster, Command Blocks, Lucky Blocks, AvArcade Games)

Green - Originally the weakest on the team, but has since come into his own after a lot of reflex training (read: getting tossed around). Green has great adaptability to learning new techniques and getting creative, particularly with styles of music and architecture. He loves the spotlight and usually competes with the others or takes the chance to show off; however, he also cares deeply about welcoming in those he meets. Dashes and zips around all the time during battle, usually via fishing rod-grappling hook. (Good intro/focus eps: AvYouTube, Note Blocks, PvP, The Dolphin Kingdom)

If you’re just gonna watch the REQUIRED ones this is what I recommend:

AvA s1 (1-4, previously I-IV)

AvMinecraft (original)

AvYouTube

AvA s2 (5-8, previously “shorts” combining into V)

AvMath

AvA s3 (9-ongoing)

That way you get the introduction of both subseries, with how each establishes the cast/direction, as well as one standalone. I put vs. YT here since it best fits the theme imo but you could go with vs. Pokémon or vs. Arcade Games if you prefer

If you’re willing to take on AvM/the rest of the series this is pretty much the order of the timeline:

AvA s1

AvM (original)

AvYouTube

AvM shorts s1 (1-14)

AvLeague of Legends (required for an AvM character’s development)

AvM shorts s2 (15-19)

AvA s2

Other standalones

AvM shorts s3 (20-30)

AvE (ongoing)

AvA s3 (ongoing)

AvM shorts s4 (ongoing)

Or just follow my playlist!!!

[theintrovertedsculpter]

I need podcast recommendations, here is a history of my likes and dislikes when it comes to podcasts.

Malevolent: 10/10 love hearing Arthur's life get worse every episode.

Midnight burger: 1000/10 found family? Caspar getting roasted by Ava? The WOLF LADY GLORIA?? amazing.

Red valley: 8/10 poor Gordon. But listening to Clives life fall apart was a treat

The mistholme museum: 6/10 ran out of places to go and the author I feel lost the passion for the project and just wanted to end it. I feel like it went too big too fast and could have benefit from a slower plot progression.

TMA: 7/10. I'll be honest it didn't really leave an impact. John being a paranoid idiot every episode made it more funny than anything else especially since he was half wrong about everything.

Desert Skies: 4/10 really cute podcast, the writing is not my cup of tea.

Welcome to nightvale: 5/10 I really appreciate everything that it has done for podcasts as a media but this is one of those rare times when I feel like the series is too long and the overarching story gets lost. I can't even remember if there was one.

Tower 4: 3/10 why am I hearing this man's internal dialog? I did not like it. Great dialog and voice acting but I couldn't do it.

Death by Dying: 7/10, loved the first season. I tried the second and I feel like the story was pretty complete already so the second felt pretty meh, but that's just me.

The slit verses: ?/10 cannot rate because I didn't finish it and I don't want to give a bad rating. I listened to the first episode and a half and felt very confused and lost because they kept talking in code If anyone can tell me if things clear up I would greatly appreciate it.

Wolf 359: 8/10, I listened to the first hour of the finale and noped out because I recognize death flags and no. Nope. Absolutely not.

Limetown: 8/10 loved the story and the puzzle clicking together. Loved the twist at the end, loved how the characters felt real. Lia Haddock deserved better.

[simplykorra]

beatrice + every episode - episode 3: "ephesians 6:11"  

[wordsmith30]

Now that I look back at it, what if Ava didn’t fall into the lake because of Beatrice or because she lost focus, but because that was the first time the Halo gave out on her?

I know the timing of “Concentrate” was pretty funny (you tell someone not to look down, they look down), but Ava was making great headway up to that point, and this clearly wasn’t a new training exercise. She was running a clear path, keeping a good pace, and the finish line was in sight (hi, Bea!). The Halo glowed steadily through her sweater, alive and working.

And while we don’t see the Halo go out because of the camera angle, we can hear the noise it makes. It’s like a machine short-circuiting.

Ava feels it fail and that’s when she panics. That’s when she stumbles and plunges into the water.

Ava does tell Beatrice that she’s tired afterwards, but this “glitching-out” noise is consistent with all the other times the Halo fails: the Prado Museum, the church fight, training in the courtyard, the hotel where she falls from the sky, the roof of Adriel’s cathedral. And it always catches her by surprise while she’s performing tasks that she’s become very confident in (flying, phasing, etc.).

When the Halo is activated, it begins with that gentle, high-pitched ringing noise. The Halo pulses have that added “Whee!” with the burst of light.

But while it’s on and working for extended periods of time, the ringing is quite muted. It’s only when Ava draws on more of its power that it flares up again.

This is only episode one, but Adriel has already amassed a following in those two months since his release. His churches and crosses have gone up, as we see in episode two with the FBC and Kristian’s usurpation of Arq-Tech in 2×04. The stronger Adriel gets, the faultier the Halo becomes.

But I also wonder if Ava’s determination to succeed/fear of letting everyone down ever caused her to overexert the Halo on top of that.

[industryhbo]

the writing on hacks season 3 (and the whole show) is so good okay and here's why.

the main theme of the show is older and younger generations learning from each other, which is demonstrated mainly through ava and deborah. it started off with ava learning to respect deb's work and her career and understand all the obstacles she faced. this leads to deborah learning from ava: she learns that her story matters, and that by sharing it, she can connect with people and elevate her comedy like never before, which shapes the main plot of the show.

of course, deb also learns from ava about how to treat others. ava is always bringing up social equity, saving the environment and other political issues. a lot of it is trivial and played for comedy -- but now in episode 8, it has become CRUCIAL to deb's career and ultimately has a fantastic payoff.

further credit to the writing, deb's growth is not a straightforward benefit. it realistically portrays the messy and uncertain process of learning and putting your beliefs into action. from what ava has taught her, deb gets frustrated and "blames" ava for making her want more for herself, because learning is an uncomfortable process and hacks has never shied away from that. also, deb abandons the party with her comedy icons because she chose to stand up for ava instead (which hasn't had an immediate material effect on her career, but shows a very realistic conflict between peers, deb making that difficult decision, and ultimately she is the one who achieves higher success and is rewarded for her growth).

of course deb has a lot of people around her who have similar influences on her. dj and marcus and jimmy all have their shining moments where they also push deborah to reflect on herself and help her to grow. another credit to the writing to include so many nuanced relationships that all contribute something special!

but throughout this season they've really demonstrated why ava is so essential to the show. they told us explicitly at the start of season 3 that no one else has a relationship with deb like ava does, and it extends far beyond fashion advice. ava is the central relationship that has the greatest effect on deb's career because they are peers, and they have both put in the work to understand each other and collaborate. and it's ava's gen z qualities, her brash, entitled, unfiltered personality that facilitates the all of the great fights, confrontations, and discussions that have led to deb's growth.

and now, deb has FINALLY gotten her late night show, and it happened because ava convinced her to apologize. it's because of the dynamic that has been building since s1e1--ava calling out deb's bigotry, the feedback loop of them understanding each other's perspectives and growing into better people and better comedians because of it. that dynamic is the direct catalyst of deb's lifelong dream coming true.

we have had similar victories every season, with ava convincing deb to change for herself. ava helped deb write her special, and transformed her career by convincing her to share her story, and listened when deb started opening up in the first place, and was there all along to cheer on the vast untapped potential of a wounded woman using comedy as a mask, to help her evolve, and learn to use to her work to reconcile and heal.

in season 3, things are a little different. deb has to answer to others. she must face up to some real mistakes she's made, and all the little moments of ava correcting deb's language and questioning her actions, that always seemed like a petty annoyance before--now these very issues are the final test that will decide deb's fate.

when the world starts attacking her jokes, of course deb's strongest instinct is to defend herself, as she's had to do now for years and years and years. she's spent all this time building her career all by herself, one joke after the next, and if she spent one second in weakness or second-guessing, she would've been crushed. for deb, defending her career is her deepest, longest-held conviction, and going against that is REAL change. the question is, can deb handle it at this level? can she drop that defense? can she put respect for other people before herself? can she humble herself, admit she was wrong, and apologize?

with ava's help, she can. and for that, she wins.

[verosvault]

🚨SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 8 OF BURROW'S END!!!🚨

Dimension20 "Burrow's End"

Episode 8

Timestamp: 15:11

Video Length: 4min. & 52sec.

I can't fully explain how powerful this scene is to me. One thing I love about Dimension20 is the fact that they're never afraid to roleplay the hard situations and the hard talks. It's-

I love how Tula has this hard conversation with her mom and she isn't afraid to tell her mom that she has an obsession with power and control. Ava really seems like she's at a loss for words, and it's understandable, because she's being called out on it....and it's hard. It's because Ava feels so much guilt and shame for losing Ken. The same feeling that Tula probably feels for losing Geoffrey. Ava chooses to feel guilty and tries to forget what happened... while for Tula, her losing Geoffrey is a constant reminder to her that you have to always be careful because so many bad things can happen? It's like- ugh. I don't even know if what I said is right..but that's... that's how I feel and it's so strong.

I wish I could have a talk with my IRL mom like this. In a way that she can just understand and apologize. Which, Ava didn't apologize right away, she did it later on. But I don't even think my IRL mom has apologized to me for so much. She just guilt trips me and says that she failed to raise me...or whatever. And I'm like...if I could have a talk with my mom like Tula did with Ava, and my mom actually just sat there and tried to actually understand what I was saying, I really feel like my own relationship with my mother would grow. 🥲 It's crazy how they have these types of talks in a show like this!! It's SO REAL and they're just playing a game of D&D! It's insane!!

And like- Viola standing up for Tula! Ugh! It was SO NICE! I LOVE Viola and Tula's relationship SO MUCH! How Viola sees Tula as a role model for her own self! I'm- It's so amazing! Tula and Viola are definitely my faves this season! I just can't with them! Rashawn did such a GREAT JOB with this season and I want to see her in more seasons! She gets so involved and attached and I can't even explain how much I enjoyed her in this season!! 😭✋

Also, Lila trying to comfort Ava near the end because Lila felt a little bad for her. Ava was getting cornered, but...the reason Ava gives for thinking and feeling that way...it kind of makes sense? Even though it's not the best thing to say or even think about and put onto yourself mentally. About like, when something bad happens, just finding someone to put blame on or saying that you haven't done enough or telling your own kids that when they lose someone. That's so tough. It's not right. But I can see why someone would feel that way. It's like- always wishing you could've done more. Because if you did more, then things like that "won't happen". But the truth of the matter is that sometimes things are just out of our control...and we have to have an understanding of that. Sometimes there really just isn't anything that could've been done. :/ As sad as that is...that is basically what Thorn was describing to Ava. Sometimes, life just HAPPENS! And you can't do anything but stand and watch.

I love how this season is scary but is also able to explore these super interesting family themes! I love it so much! It's so relatable in multiple ways and it's insane because these are stoats! It shouldn't be this relatable but it really is! I love watching shows that involve strong family dynamics! (One of the many reasons why I also love "The Umbrella Academy"!)

Family is strong! And it's so cool to see a family grow mentally, emotionally, and physically! My relationship with my family isn't the best. But it's cool to see the people inside of a family trying to talk things out and improve their relationships with each other so that they can finally bond and become stronger! 🥺 The messages here are so strong and powerful and I don't even know how else to say it or explain it in words! 🥺🥺🥺 This has been such a strong, and heartfelt season! 😭✋❤️

[marvels-baudelaire]

double date

I honestly thought this was a good episode and great insight on Gregory's character.

Showing him spiral because he thought Janine was on a date with Manny really shows how much emotions he has and also shows how much he truly cares for Janine. It shows how Gregory would act if he and Janine were together in which it would be justified but because they aren't and that is in fact his fault, he did overreact but I found it hilariously messy. Also after they left Janine watched him walk out and the camera panned on her so I think that look meant something. The fact that Janine wanted to replace the district flowers specifically with a plant Gregory grew was so cute, and I feel like she feels confident in how Gregory feels about her. I dont think she ever truly lost feelings for him and now we see just how much he never lost feelings for her. Maybe they weren't at the forefront of his mind until now, but I think seeing Janine with someone else and seeing her nearly kiss someone else is something he couldn't take. Also did yalll see mg? SHE BAD ASFWK! Gregory never wanna lose ha!!

I loved the episode overall, including the book club debate.

unpopular opinion: I would choose Ava, she is very well prepared

A lot of people on reddit are being more critical of how this makes them lose interest in the will they-wont they but honestly this makes me even more interested to know how Gregory is going to go about this, especially since he didn't deny liking Janine, in fact he admitted it.

And I LOVE the shade Ericka throws at Gregory for being on a date and asking so many questions as if he wasn't on a date himself LMAO. The fact Janine gave him a play-by-play and answered all his questions no hesitation. She step ten toes behind her man 😝

Lastly, Jacob is real ASF for covering for Gregory!!

Im gonna write a follow up chapter

[wowieeitsisa]

AvA VI (s2 ep2) SPOILERS

There is SO much to consider in this silly billy episode

Boss is NOT beating the Victim allegations (I am in denial) (too many call backs to AvA I)

CHOSEN IS SUFFERING LIKE A GOD DAMN CAGED ANIMAL ON HIS BIRTHDAY

And the thing I want to talk the most is the fact that: Orange is MUCH more powerful than he thinks, much more than ANYONE thinks

Did you see the scene with simple drawing they brought TO LIFE? The impact left on the workers? the Rocket Mercs and Boss/Victim’s reaction to CHOSEN’S MEMORY OF ORANGE BLASTING THE DARK LORD?

The existencial dread left in the hands of a friendly creative orange stick? In the way he’s not caged properly for someone with something GREAT hidden inside, she’s not important as Chosen in this scenario, then why…