#me falling in love with the background character with two (2) lines? it's more likely than you think!

[cranberry-writes]

Dating Headcannons for The Boys characters!

Please send requests, i need motivation

Characters listed; Hughie, Butcher, M.M, Frenchie, Kimiko

Warnings; Mentioned drinking and cannon typical violence/language. Also i’m barely on season 2 please bear with me

Hughie;

- He’s so so sweet about your relationship

- He gets you flowers for no reason other than he saw them and thought you’d like them

- He has thousands of reminders so he won’t forget anything, from a drink you liked to your anniversary he will have it written down.

- Later on in the series he gets protective and cautious about the relationship, scared someone (homelander) will mess it up by hurting you

- He’ll probably push you away a bit to try and protect you but after you knock some sense into him he’ll be back to normal

- Loves park/library dates, going on a picnic during the summer and to the library when it’s to cold out.

- He will do so much for you (flowers, gifts, dates etc) and insist it’s nothing but will cry (happy tears) if you do the same

- Don’t get me wrong tho, he’s still a bad ass (sometimes). He just dosnt want you to think differently of him because of it, he’s hurt people, killed people, and he honestly isn’t too keen on focusing on it. Even if you two are in the same line of work.

- And if you two don’t work together he tries to keep his ‘work’ life and dating life separate, very separate.

“You’ve never told me what you do for work, maybe i could stop by and meet your co-workers.”

“Uh, actually, i don’t think that’ll work.”

“Why not? is everything ok there or something?”

“I-, uhm, work alone, so i don’t even have coworkers for you to meet really, it’s really boring infact you’d probably fall asleep just from me talking about it hahaha.”

- You find out like two days later

Butcher;

- Little shit

- I mean that affectionately

- His pet names will range anywhere from “Darlin’” to “Fucker” and i WILL stand by it

- He’ll probably introduce you to his work before he does his dog

- But his dog is the big ticket, you meeting Terror is essentially his way of proposing before proposing

- He’s protective but not in the “i’ll watch your every move” more in the “im teaching you how to use every weapon to ever exist” way

- Honestly work would probably come before you for a while before he sucks it up and actually makes an effort

- Dates will be at the most shity bar imaginable, unless he’s apologizing for something then he’ll take you to the nicest place he can and put on a suit. (it’s the Cheese Cake factory and he’s wearing a Hawaiian shirt under his jacket but he’s trying)

- Unlike Hughie he will introduce you to his work at some point, granted it would still be a while before he did but he would at some point.

- He’s sweet in his own way

“Darlin’, look what i got ya.” And it’s a Garfield shirt a size to big but you still wear it anyways

MM;

- Definition of husband material

- remembers anything and everything after being told one time

- makes you baths with rose petals and candles and all that stuff if you mention you’ve been tired lately

- Takes you out to the movies and a nice restaurant at least twice a month

- Good gods he’s sweet to you

- He knows how to cook/bake and will make stuff for you all the time

- My guy will make a meal from your culture and practice making it almost daily just to give you a taste of home.

- He really loves back massages and cuddling after a long day

- Put on some crappy reality show for background noise and nap together

- He wants you as far away as humanly possible from his work, will literally say shit like “everyone at work has the plague you can’t visit” as a joke to try and change the subject

- Chances are you won’t find out

- His favorite flowers are tulips and nothing will change my mind about it

“Baby what are these?”

“Tulips, I bought them from a street market on 11th today. They’re your favorite, right?”

“Gods, sweetheart you’re perfect.”

Frenchie;

- When you two meet you both think it’s just going to be a one night stand

-…then it’s two nights, then three, then a week, then you start spending more time at his place than your own. One day you guys just realize you’re moved in and dating

“Are we dating?”

“…Was there anything else we could be mon cœur?”

- honestly i don’t think you two would get together if you weren’t working together, or at least you were also into some shady shit

- But overall you guys have a strong relationship, one gets hurt the other kills someone, someone is hungry the other is already cooking, stuff like that

- He also cooks but it’s only french food, it’s like a super power. He can cook any french food effortlessly but literally anything else he messes up

- If you are french he’ll be super happy someone else will appreciate the same stuff in a similar way

- If not then he’ll be happy to share stuff with you, teach you some french words and tell you about stuff he grew up with

- Honestly he’s just happy someone (other than Kimiko) will listen and take an interest

Kimiko

-I have a confession to make, Kimiko is my favorite and i have a very blatant bias towards her

- Kill anyone you want bby i don’t care ill always like you

- Anyways, It probably takes you a while to get close enough to her that she’ll consider dating you

- Once y’all get to that point i don’t think you could break it tho

- I think she would like constant minimal physical contact, like hand holding or leaning on each other

- I think she’d be pretty protective over you, like someone looks at you wrong and she wants to maul them

- Learn sign language with/for her she will love it

- Draw with her, get her supplies, like those alcohol markers i’m sure she’ll love them

- Honestly i don’t think she’d be big on pet names, she wouldn’t object to it but i don’t think she’d give you one first

- Cook for her, i just think it would be sweet and she deserves it

“I got you some of those markers you’ve been looking at for a while.”

Thank you, this is nice

- Please she’s perfect i love her

[hiperchile]

might fuck around and seperate ame’s pov idk

[byoldervine]

Motivation For Writing

Getting Off Your Butt:

1. Aestheticise it. Let the light in through the curtains, turn on your fairy lights, lay a blanket over your lap, light some candles, whatever you need to do to feel like a writer. The right vibes can go a long way

2. Picture that one scene. There’s almost always a moment you’re super excited about that basically inspired the whole book. Picture it, play it out in your head in full cinematic fanfare, gush to yourself about how cool it is and how everyone will love it, picture a future fanbase going nuts for it. You might get excited enough to go back to writing

3. Set a word count goal. During NaNoWriMo this year I think I wrote more than I ever have in one go. The thing that kept me coming back was the desire to not fall behind. I ended up with ~45K words after some complications irl caused me to drop off in the final few days, and that’s all just because I was adding up the 1667 a day word count goal and realising where I needed to be at to keep up. I definitely can’t stay as rigid as I did with 1667 words every single day, but seeing that you’re only a few hundred words off of a goal is super motivating - just be sure to set realistic, easy to achieve parameters for just general use, like 1000-2000 words per week. I know 200 words per day is a popular one for people trying to establish a writing routine that can’t dedicate forever to the craft

Maintaining Motivation:

1. Writing sprints. Writing sprints are a godsend for me, I like to set myself up in the living room with Abbie Emmons’ writing sprint video on. The video lasts two hours and is broken up into two parts; 25 minutes to write and 5 minutes for breaks between writing, so four 30 minute sprints overall. Having the timer and countdown with peaceful music and an aesthetic background is both relaxing and encouraging, as well as giving me a specific time for how much longer I have to push through. It’s easier for me to say “Okay, only ten more minutes, then you can take a break” then it is to say “Just keep going, we’re not stopping until I say so” which is too arbitrary for my brain to accept

2. Give yourself a choice. If you’re struggling to keep your focus, come up with a finish line and tell yourself you don’t have to do any more work once you’ve reached that point. Finish the paragraph, go for another five or ten minutes, keep it up until your next scheduled break. Whatever sounds realistic and doable without being overwhelming. And once you’ve met this goal, ask yourself if you still want to stop. With any luck, you’ll have gotten back into the zone and will choose to keep going. Maybe you’ll want to take a quick break but you’ll come back later on. And maybe you’ll decide that now actually is a good stopping point. Just remember that, if you do still want to stop, don’t force yourself to keep going. You can’t strike deals with yourself if you know you won’t keep your word and all you’ll end up doing is burning yourself out, which will lead to even less writing getting done

3. Try a new angle. If you can’t be bothered to write anymore, is there anything else you can do for your book? Plotting, editing, worldbuilding, character sheets, one-shots all that sort of thing can still be productive for your book while still being different enough to give your brain a slight respite. It also means less work in that particular area later on

Afterwards:

1. Organise. Clean up your workspace and put everything away so it’s nice and neat for when you come back to it. Or if you don’t need to pack things out the way, set it up in an aesthetically pleasing way so it will tempt you back next time. Let it give you the writer vibe

2. Take care of yourself. Get a drink, have a snack, walk about, stretch your limbs, take a breath, cuddle your pet. Something that gets you away from straining your eyes looking at text for a bit. This is also a good time to reward yourself if positive reinforcement is something you use on yourself. If you always feel shitty after your writing sessions, you won’t want to go back to it

3. Positive reflection. Make sure to tell yourself you did good, even if you didn’t get as much done as you would’ve liked or it isn’t up to a standard of quality you’re aiming for. That can all be fixed later on, and you’re infinitely better off than you would’ve been if you didn’t do it. Be proud of yourself. Tell yourself you’re proud of your hard work and your dedication and your effort. Remind yourself that this is a fun thing you like to do. Marvel over how insane it is that you’ve gotten this far - not many people do - and that you’ve got all this tangible work to prove you’ve accomplished something so many people wish they could pull off. If this isn’t fun overall, there’s no point

[meanbossart]

So I’ve just completed ANE and I have so many questions! First of all, I love these characters and you’ve written them so well, thank you for sharing your talents with the world. I’m so excited for the next installment!!

Now for the questions, spoilers ahead!

1. Will there be more horror/violence in the upcoming chapters? The fight scene where Astarion’s arm falls out of its socket made my skin tingle. It was so well written, and I’m looking forward to more fight scenes if possible.

2. Any ideas/plans for our favorite disaster couple to get more alone time?? *wink wink*

3. I’m a little confused why there’s existing art between Izz and Grodderick? Will they meet in ANE? Have they met already?

OH BOY, I LOVE ANE QUESTIONS!

Absolutely, you can look forward to more fights/violence coming up, as well as some medical grossness that strikes a similar chord. These are all bound to ramp up as the story progresses and I'm very glad you enjoy those portions of the writing, they are my favorites to get into!

To be frank, sex so far in this story has been more of a tool to characterize DU drow's and Astarion's relationship as it progresses than anything else - not that I have anything against completely gratuitous pornography (I mean, have you seen my NSFW art) that's just not what this particular story is for. They will have more ✨love-making✨ scenes, but they will be in line with the ones we had so far both in nature and distribution. Hopefully that's okay! (Addendum: anyone is free to write some smut of their own with these two, if they would like to - just please let me know about it so I can read it LOL)

Izzy's and Grodderick's relationship is more a background thing rather than significant for the story - but yes, they do eventually become a canonical couple. It will make more sense later, I promise 😅

Thank you so much for your questions and for your kindness! Have a lovely night.

[cleabellanov]

Music in the Loki series (3)

Lokius

Yes, it's in the title. We've known that for a long time now, but let me make some connections.

First, Mobius is ultimately part of Loki's glorious purpose, the burden he chose to bear, as the famous lines reflect: "Most purpose is more burden than glory" (Mobius) and "For you. For all of us." (Loki)

I brought them up because in the score Glorious Purpose, from season 1, there is a small similarity that I just couldn't get over. If you listen to Lokius from minute 2:22 then go to Glorious purpose at 0:48, the notes are quite similar, with the difference of the instruments - violins for Lokius and cello/viola for Glorious purpose (as I'm guessing). And the latter only uses 4 notes, when the first ascends to a 5th before coming back to the low one. It's just an observation, but it integrates perfectly: Loki's person having a small spot in the Glorious Purpose score of his life.

As for the structure of this track, it starts very slowly, with vibrato / trembling notes at the beginning because, just like the relationship between the characters, it’s not yet stable, it doesn’t have anything to fall back on *yet*.

At 0:33, the singular instruments from the beginning (I like to see them as Loki and Mobius, but separated) start to be accompanied by a harmonic background. Like the 2 of them working together and starting to know more about each other.

From 0:50, the music starts to build up, going from the singular violins to being played by more instruments - like and actual orchestra. And the tempo goes from a Lento to a Moderato (so it’s faster in the middle of the track, it goes back to the initial speed at the end). The sound from the beginning integrates again at 1:13, but this time with background, harmonizing beautifully with it. (it sounds exactly like falling in love with someone you can’t prove me wrong).

Half-steps are also used: notes that are right next to each other and don’t offer a complete, resolving sound, but a more mysterious and maybe dissonant one; that’s why it’s called a half step. A good example that is easy to hear are the descending notes on the violins from 0:53 to 0:56. And it’s a very good choice for this track: it’s for two character that create great chromaticism after all! (think of the white and black keys on a piano: they create half steps too; I like to think about Mobius as the white keys and Loki as the black ones).

And the end (from 2:22), is similar in structure with the beginning - but it’s a few octaves higher (I think) and almost happier, like the relationship between characters once trust is founded (and love too). The last note is held for a few seconds, showing stability, and slowly fades out, leaving the track with a calm, serene ending.

Now some scenes this score plays:

in season 1, episode 4, as Mobius is interrogating Loki about the other variant (Sylvie), visibly not only doing this as an analyst, but for himself too, out of jelaousy. I think it's significant that they chose to play Lokius in that moment, in synchronicity with a display of Mobius's reprised affection and burst out of jelousy

At the freaking McDonalds scene. In season 2, episode 2, 33 minutes and 19 seconds in. Yes, I'm being specific, because it's just soooo ironiccc that the first meeting Loki and Sylvie have in the season has LOKIUS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND - the producers couldn't be more straightforward than this; or perhaps biforward, since it's Loki we're talking about

I'm entirely sure about this, but when Loki timeslips back to Kang at the citadel of time too

One last thing is that, even if i searched for it, I couldn't find a major relative to this track - written in G minor. It could be just a coincidence...but what if it's left like that especially because they are separated, and the major theme will play when they reunite? ( it makes perfect sense in my head, but idk about marvel)

2. Purpose is Glorious

I talked about Ascension in the previous part. And it continues here: the soft, pianissimo notes at the end of Ascension finding their stability in this track's intro. Purpose is Glorious is Ascension's relative key: being written in F major as a contrast to D minor. So there's the first sign that although this throne at the end of time is a heavy burden - its also a purpose. And purpose is glorious.

It repeats the same notes over and over again (A - B flat - C - D I think? ) very slowly: Instruments come in the background, but those notes remain the same - it's like, amongst all those timelines, Loki is still looking over the ones that matter the most. Or it could be his heart beat, still longing, still not wanting to be alone, even as the Multiverse plays out at his fingertips.

Halfway through, those 4 notes get quieter and quieter, giving way to the synthezisers ( and other instruments I can't quite name, sorry), until, at last, the notes don't repeat anymore. The ascend, then, finally, change - at 2:13. This is also the part that plays on screen while, between the intertwined timelines of sparkling greens, we see Loki's face as voices echo to him ("Let time pass"). This part is like the outburst, the bittersweet ending of the tragedy: the world lives, but the hero can't live with it.

And the end of this track also feels like a cliffhanger, like there could be more. The flicker of sound at the very end, barely audible, feels like magic that waits to be discovered. I guess we'll see whether that's true.

Aaand thanks for reading! This is what happens when two interests collide

If you have any additions feel free to share or kindly correct me if I'm wrong with anything.

Kindly, your friendly neighborhood marvel stan and music enthusiast ;)

[synergysilhouette]

Another 10 Disney hot takes/probably unpopular opinions

Not a fan of Meg and Hercules as a couple. I ADORE them having an innocent male lead and a jaded female love interest, but Meg's situation with Hades makes it feel very toxic. The movie is kinda confusing on whether or not she can refuse Hades; one minute he uses incentive to get her to do what she wants (which is bad enough; her freedom for Hercules' death), and then when she tells him the deal's off, he reminds her that she has no say in the matter. Following this, she rejects his deal and he forces her into being exposed so Hercules will make a deal. She does sacrifice herself for him in the end, but it still feels very iffy for me, particularly since the backbone of her resisting him isn't even "I can't let this guy get killed" but instead "I don't wanna fall in love after getting my heart broken and having sold my soul" (which is EXTREMELY valid, but so is the other point). Had Meg been a normal human and made a deal with Hades to save Hercules or help him earlier on during his training, it'd be so much better.

2. Disney needs needs to stop making sequels just because of financial success and actually work to craft a narrative that requires a sequel or two. It's risky (considering the first film could have negative critical or commercial success, as well as take time and resources away from other films at the studio), but would have a better payoff, imo. I enjoyed "Frozen 2" despite it's flaws, but the fact that it felt independent of the first film did make it feel like we could've used an entirely different cast and made the same story.

3. I need more musicals with a male lead--The last one we had was "Tarzan"--or "Hercules," depending on your criteria. The revival era has had female leads for all their musicals, with a male playing as a co-lead or a deuteragonist. I know the girls are MUCH more valuable at Disney due to the Disney princess line and musicals with a male lead may be harder to market (well, not really; "Aladdin" and "The Lion King" were the highest-grossing animated films at one point, and their remakes grossed over $1 billion).

4. "Moana" needed a bigger (main) roster--Something I love is a nice-sized amount of main characters in a movie. "Moana" only had Moana and Maui for most of the movie, and thus it wasn't as enjoyable for me in that respect. "Moana 2" is introducing new characters, so I hope they can hold my interest.

5. Involve the Anderson-Lopez team in more musicals outside of the "Frozen" franchise--they almost got to do this with "Gigantic," but it fell through. Their music has been great, so I really hope to see them in more musicals for Disney outside of Disney's "Frozen."

6. NEVER return to hybrid animation for a feature film--It's too disorienting for me personally, and while the animation for "Wish" wasn't bad, it definitely didn't have the storybook vibe it was going for except with backgrounds. It would look fine if it was a video game, though.

7. "Gigantic" should've been Disney's anniversary film instead of "Wish"-- I already did a post on this, so I'll just leave it at that.

8. Raya is one of the best Disney leads in a while--Granted, her movie could've been much better and I wish the color of her clothes reflected her culture instead of going for neutral colors, but Raya is the blueprint for a great protagonist. It's been mentioned before how she's a feminist icon without having to really show it in ways others have in films, by being a confident warrior with no discussion of marriage or gender inequality brought up in the film. She's also deliciously sassy and quick on her feet. I may have preferred her OG concept of being stoic, but her swagger makes her one of the more engaging Disney leads, particularly as the adorkable trait started to show up. Speaking of...

9. Ariel and Mulan are the best adorkable leads for a Disney protagonist--While I don't have much issue with Anna and Mirabel and don't really find Rapunzel or Moana that adorkable, Ariel and Mulan were the blueprints for a funny female lead, and they felt less forced than later leads.

10. Aladdin is one of the worst Disney princes--DON'T KILL ME! He used to be my favorite Disney prince, until I watched a "therapists react" video to Disney couples and they brought up the fact that Aladdin had lied to Jasmine several times over the course of the movie. Him being insecure is a great character trait (a common one with Disney leads since the 90s, really), but it's poor writing to make his romance with Jasmine be based on a lie. I'd rather he just kept tight-lipped about his identity when Jasmine caught him the first time rather than covering up with another lie.

[swanqueendaughter]

911 BUDDIE THOUGHTS

So after the last episode of 911, I need to speak out:

1. I'm so sick of people who write that using buddie scenes to promote an episode is the norm of media production, not queerbaiting. Of course, Buddie's fandom is the most numerous, it can be seen from any social networks and comments, so this step is quite dirty, but of course effective for promotion.

2. I've been watching this series for the last 7 years since season 1, but I wasn't buddie shipper until season 7. I mean, I caught a certain vibe in seasons 2-3, but only 7.04 made me consider this pairing seriously. The whole episode was literally saturated with Buck's jealousy of Eddie. And no, fans of Buck and Tommy relationship, we're not delulu. Buck literally tells Maddie when they have lunch at the call center that he was jealous and wanted to get EDDIE's attention. However, in the last scene, he really tells Tommy that he wanted to get his attention, which of course does not fit into my brain, but the kiss and the arc of bi-Buck really distract my attention from this mess. I would also like to highlight the scene in the gym where Tommy wasn't even there and the scene where Buck pushes Eddie on the basketball court. Can you imagine that Buck, our sweet kind-hearted Buck, is pushing his best friend for the guy's attention? No way. What I see is an incredibly jealous friend who is seething with indignation that Eddie is trying to replace him in his opinion. And the scene with Tommy, where he assures Buck that no one is going to replace him, especially since Christopher wouldn't allow it? The whole arc comes down to the fact that no matter how selfish it is, Buck wants to occupy all areas of Eddie's life (his free time hanging out as best friends, being part of his family with Christopher and being number 1 for his child).

I mean, this whole arc has only two readings - the first is Buck, who is not aware of his feelings for Eddie, being burdened by his heterosexual role and their friendship, chooses to turn his attention to a more accessible option - Tommy, who has a similar background and interests with Eddie. The second is, of course, buddy's queerboating,  writers/producers might well have no desire to lose some of the conservative audience by making Eddie queer character. So in this matter, maybe Oliver/Buck was just lucky to pull out a successful plot straw (I mean, at least for media PR), while Ryan/Eddie (who originally should have had a love line with Tommy) got an unenviable plot with Marisol. 

3.I can't help but speak out about this absurd Eddie/Marisol arc. I mean, it hardly seems to be successful in any way, not even for buddie's shippers. This is literally Cap saying that love can be met by chance, implying his relationship with Athena. Eddie listens to him and, as if trying to copy this scenario, "falls in love" with the first girl he sees. It's absurd.

4.Eddie definitely has a problem with relationships with girls. There is a clear feeling that he chooses them relative to their qualities, and not the special bond they share. He married Shannon because she got pregnant, and the opinion of religious parents played a role. Over time, Eddie could love the idea of their small family, because Shannon was a good woman, but she was not Eddie's partner, so as soon as the first difficulties arose, Eddie ran away, instead of somehow solving the problem, and then Shannon ran away. Sad.

Eddie and Shannon's attempt to rekindle their relationship was doomed from the very beginning, and I think when Shannon realized the dysfunctionality of their marriage, she asked for a divorce. Thanks Shannon!  

Anna was just another girl who met Eddie's criteria, an ideal potential wife and mother for Christopher, but who did not have an emotional connection with him. And although the screenwriters tried to fool us with a picture of the perfect happy couple, albeit slightly unsettled Eddie, as a result it turned out that he did not develop the slightest feelings for Anna. I mean, he had a panic attack at the thought of Anna as his wife!! What a shame!

5.I understand that some people have been watching the show for so long that they start to forget the plot of the first seasons of the series. However, I advise you to review the flashbacks with Tommy in order to form an opinion about him not as Buck's love interest. but behind the beautiful picture there is a completely faded and indifferent character to the fate of the team members. His evolution after he changed jobs and came out of the closet is pretty ridiculous. Yes, I see a handsome, confident man who has done just one good deed so far. But I still have no idea where this evolution comes from. Does coming out make you a different person? Doubtful. Lou is a wonderful actor, but I don't share Tommies's admiration as a character. He's cool and confident, but there doesn't seem to be anything behind that facade.

6. Buck and Tommy. The sexual energy between the characters, which is useful for creating spectacular passionate kisses and perhaps something more, is undeniable. I like to see Buck exploring his sexuality. But as for the emotional component? An absolute hopeless abyss. The scene with the costumes for the bachelor party was quite revealing. Is it possible to fill it with a decent emotional component? With the good work of the screenwriters, yes. But the truth is that good true canonical engames click right away (Madney, Cap and Athena).

7. Should we expect a Buddie canon? I think season 7 can be considered the last to summarize this issue. Remembering such series as Castle, Bones and the Mentalist, the pairs of main characters did not become canon right away, where by season 4-6. Perhaps the pair of Jane and Lisbon was the longest in this matter, and the most controversial according to the reviews of the audience (meaning that not everyone believed that there would become canon couple). They only got together in the season 6 finale. This is also season 6 for Badie, so I think everything will be resolved this season. Waiting for the canon in season 8, unless a direct indication is given in the finale 7 (awareness of the feelings of at least one of them)!would be absurd. I'm not calling on buddies's entire fandom to quit watching the series (although in the case of outright queerboating of this fandom, it would be fair), but I would urge my sensitive friends to stop deluding themselves at the end of this season.

7. To sum up, I would advise the screenwriters to start writing good love lines for Buck and Eddie, if they are at least as capable of it. Because what's happening on the screen right now is pretty disappointing.

[justabooknerdposts]

Percabeth Drabble: Fall in Love Questions

*Okay, so the idea for this came to me a few years ago—I was watching The Big Bang Theory and it was the episode where they discuss this list of questions that will allegedly make two people fall in love.  Sheldon and Penny decide to go through them—spoiler alert, they don’t fall in love, but they say they do feel closer at the end.  So anyway, I went online to find the questions, out of curiosity, and then, after reading them, I thought it might be a fun writing exercise to play with this as if Percy and Annabeth were answering the questions.  So here it is! 

The Scene: The Jackson-Blofis apartment, early fall.  Percy and Annabeth are sitting cross-legged on the floor beside the coffee table, leaning back against the sofa—a half empty pizza box sits in the middle of the coffee table, as well as a couple of partially full glasses of Coke.  Golden sunset light is coming through the window.  The baby monitor is also on the coffee table, showing Estell sleeping in her crib.  This is Percy and Annabeth’s first visit back to New York since heading off to New Rome University.  Tonight, they’re baby-sitting, giving Paul and Sally a chance to go out to dinner and a movie.

Re-runs of a sit-com are playing in the background as Percy reached for his third slice of pizza.  The characters on the TV show were talking about a list of questions that will allegedly make two people fall in love after answering them together.  So, Annabeth nabbed Paul’s laptop and, while Percy was debating a fourth slice of pizza, she looked them up.  After scanning the list, she told Percy, “Let’s try it.”

He looked over at her, right in the middle of taking his first bite of his fourth slice.  “What?”

“Let’s try it,” she said again, showing him the list on the computer.  “It might be fun.”

Percy looked skeptical, like their definitions of “fun” didn’t exactly line up.  “But we’re already in love.”

That drew a smile from Annabeth.  “I know.  But we might learn something new.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“Nope.”

“Alright.”  Percy finished his fourth slice of pizza, then took a drink of his Coke.  “Hit me with the first one.”

Annabeth kissed him on the cheek, then turned back to the questions on the laptop.  The TV droned low in the background.  On the monitor, Estelle’s chest rose and fell as she slept on her back, one arm curled up around her head.  The air conditioner chugged in the window, fending off the last heat of late summer as it gave way to early fall.  Percy’s arm lay along the couch cushions, lightly touching Annabeth’s shoulders.  He had his legs stretched out beneath the coffee table and she was sitting criss-cross, her left knee resting on his right.  It was a peaceful, relaxing evening.  Scrolling to the first question, Annabeth began to read.    

Set 1

1. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?

[CAVEAT for them, can’t be each other or anyone you could just call up for dinner right now].

P:  My mom’s parents.  I never got to meet them, and I think it’d be kind of cool to get to know them.  Learn more about that part of my family and all.

A:  My mom.  I know that’s almost like cheating, but I would honestly just love to sit down and have dinner with her and just, you know, talk.

2. Would you like to be famous? In what way?

P:  Absolutely not.  I mean, when I was younger, I kind of wanted to be a famous skateboarder, but after everything, nah, I don’t want to be famous.  I just want to live my life.

A:  I’d like to be a famous architect.  But you already know that.

3. Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?

P: Sometimes.  I did before we were dating, when I would call you, sometimes, just to make sure I didn’t sound like an idiot.  And sometimes now, if it’s an important call and I don’t just want to blurt out whatever.

A:  Not usually.  If it’s a really important call, like a phone interview, then yeah, I might have some notes, but usually not.

P:  Huh, that’s kind of funny.  Almost seems like it would be the other way around.

A:  Yeah.  Interesting.

4. What would constitute a "perfect" day for you?

P:  Has to start with sleeping in, for sure.  Maybe my mom making pancakes.  Hanging out with my family.  Hanging out with you.  Just chill.  Maybe at the beach.  Pizza for dinner, obviously.  Hanging out with some friends and playing video games.  Then you and I curling up and watching a movie…and sometimes not watching the movie.  I guess just chilling with the people I love.  What about you? A:  Okay, for me, this might be a little bit in the future.  But waking up in my own home, um preferably next to you, and it’s still early, and I just make some coffee, go to my own office, which has lots of light, and I just sketch for a few hours.  Then, when you wake up, we go out to breakfast, or brunch, whatever, and then just hang out.  Maybe go walk around a park or something, go to a matinee movie or show, maybe meet some friends for a late lunch or early dinner, then yeah, I like the idea of coming home, curling up on the couch together, and watching a movie.  Just normal, relaxed, you know?

P:  Yeah.

5. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

P:  Not gonna lie, I was singing in the shower this morning.  And, uh, I sang to Estelle yesterday.  She likes when I do “Under the Sea.”

A:  I don’t sing.  I mean, I guess I kind of hummed to Estelle the last time I watched her.  And, oh, shoot, you know what, I did sing to Peleus before, because lullabies calm him down so he doesn’t eat people.

6. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?

P:  I have no idea.  I mean…mind, I guess?  That’s a weird question.

A:  Mind, definitely.  But yeah, that’s kind of a strange question.

7. Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?

P:  Do I even have to answer this one?

A:  No, we’re skipping this.

8. Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.

P:  Oh, wow, this is an interesting one.  Um, I think we both really care about our friends.  We’re both good at putting important stuff first, especially when we really have to.  And, uh, good-looking?

A:  Dork.  But I really like those first two, and I agree.  I think we’re both tough, like resilient.  I think we both always want to do the right thing.  And I think we both have a good sense of humor.

P:  I like those, too.

9. For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

P:  Being here right now with you.  And, in general, for the people in my life.

A:  Same.  About the people in my life, too.  But I’m definitely most grateful we can just sit here together like this right now.

10. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be?

A [humorless laugh]: Pretty much everything.  I guess, if I had to say something specific, better communication.

P [takes her hand and laces their fingers together.  She smiles and gestures for him to go]: I don’t think I’d really change anything my mom did, like as a parent.  If I was going to change anything, it would have been that Smelly Gabe wouldn’t have been around and I wouldn’t have had to go to all those boarding schools.  They usually sucked.

11. Take four minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible.

P:  Don’t we already know all this?  Are you getting out a stopwatch?

A:  Yes.  It’s one of the questions.  So get ready, Seaweed Brain, you’re going first.

[8 MINUTES LATER]

P:  Okay, that was actually kind of cool.  What’s the next one?

12. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?

P:  I’m still pretty jealous that Frank can change into animals and I can’t.

A:  Is that seriously your answer? P [considers a moment]: Yes.  I mean, otherwise, I like my abilities.

A:  Yeah, they are pretty cool.  And you have a lot of good qualities. P: I do? A: Yeah, Seaweed Brain.  You definitely do.

P:  Aww, thanks, babe. [He kisses her cheek].  Okay, what’s your answer?

A [after considering]:  Honestly, I wouldn’t mind being able to breathe underwater or will my clothes dry.  That would be useful.  Especially hanging around you. [Nudges him with her shoulder].  For qualities, though, I could probably do better not getting so focused on my own stuff sometimes, so maybe paying attention to what other people need more.

P [shrugs]:  Maybe, but I like your intensity about stuff.  That’s one of your best qualities.

A [looks surprised]:  Really?

P:  Yeah, definitely.

A [leans over to kiss him]:  I like this question thing.  Alright, we’re moving on to the second level.  Or set.  Whatever.

Set 2

13. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?

A: I think I’d want to know that we’re okay in a few years.  Like, I wouldn’t want the details spoiled, necessarily, because as much as I love planning, it’s also fun if some things are a surprise, but I’d like to know, just in general, that we, you know, kind of get our happy ending. [blinks quickly and swipes hand across eyes]  Oh wow, I don’t know why that made me kind of tear up.  Okay, you answer.

P [considers for a few moments]:  Honestly, after all the shit we’ve gone through dealing with prophecies, I’m not sure I’d even want to look.  I like your answer, but I think I’d like to just be…what’s that phrase?  Blissfully oblivious about the future.  And yeah, sometimes surprises are nice.  Good surprises, I mean, are nice.

14. Is there something that you've dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven't you done it? P: I have to think about this.  You go.

A:  I’d really like to go to Falling Water, Frank Lloyd Wright’s place he designed.  But I haven’t had a chance to go yet.  I used to say the Parthenon, but we’ve been there.  I wouldn’t mind going back, someday, though, when we could actually spend some time there and enjoy it.

P:  Good to know.

A:  There was one highlight of the Parthenon trip though.  [smiles at him, and he returns it].  So what’s your answer?

P [looks down]:  So, I don’t know if this is really a dream, but I’ve wanted to talk to my mom about just…Gabe…and our life before I found out I was a demigod.  For a long time.  I just never want to bring it up though, don’t want to bring up the bad memories, you know?  And I usually try not to look back too much, or dwell on stuff, but I just feel like it’s something we should talk about at some point.  Dang, I actually didn’t really realize that until I had to think about it just now.

A [quietly]: I think that’s a good idea.  Maybe one evening when it’s just you two?  It might be good for both of you.

P:  Yeah, maybe.  [deep breath].  Okay, next question.

15. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

P:  Great, easy one.  Saving Olympus.

A:  Yeah, being designated official architect of Olympus was pretty good.  I feel like we could be more thoughtful with this one, though.  What would you say is your greatest accomplishment outside of hero stuff?

P [groans]: You never settle for an easy answer, do you? A: Nope.

P:  That’s okay.  It’s another one of the things I like best about you. [kisses her cheek again when she smiles at him].  Okay, outside of hero stuff?  I’m pretty proud of graduating from high school.  And getting accepted to college.  Because I wasn’t sure that was something I would ever be able to do.  So it feels pretty good.  Surviving almost two years as your boyfriend feels pretty good too. A: Graduating definitely feels like an accomplishment, especially after the past couple years.  But I am actually going to say our relationship, truthfully, because I never thought I’d have something like this.  It wasn’t in my plans, at all.  But coming up on our second anniversary, and going to college together, definitely feels like an accomplishment.

[question answering is briefly interrupted]

A: Percy, we really need to finish this.  I don’t think you’re supposed to take breaks.

P:  Fine.  What’s up next?

16. What do you value most in a friendship?

A:  Loyalty.  And honesty.  Those kind of go together.

P:  Yeah.  And somebody who does the right thing, even when it’s not easy. 

17. What is your most treasured memory?

P:  Underwater kiss.  For sure.

A: Under the Parthenon.  Easy.

18. What is your most terrible memory?

P:  Damn.  I mean, leaving Beckendorf, thinking my mom was dead, thinking Tyson was dead, thinking you might be dead when you were kidnapped, everything that happened in the Titan War, leaving Bob and Damasen at the Doors, a bunch of other stuff.  Should we do that four minute thing again?

A: Right?  What would you say the worst moment was, though?

P: Truthfully…well, no.

A: What? P:  I was going to say when we were dangling over that pit and I realized I couldn’t pull you up.  That was terrible.  But actually, what happened with Akhlys was worse.  When I realized you were afraid of me and what I was doing.  That’s my most terrible memory, because I was out of control and I was enjoying hurting her, and I don’t ever want to be that person again. [clears throat]  Um, your turn.

A: That’s pretty high on my terrible list, too, because that’s not you, Percy.  And yeah, leaving Bob and Damasen at the Doors was awful.  And so much that happened in the Titan War…everything with Luke…Silena…and, gods, those months when you were missing.  That was miserable.  But if I had to pick an absolute most terrible memory, it would probably be after the arai attacked, when you were dying of the gorgon’s blood poison curse, and I didn’t know how to save you.  Because all I could think, other than I can’t lose him, was that you were only there because of me.  Because I didn’t think to cut the spider silk off.  And if you died, that was my fault.  And I would have to live with that.

[brief silence, holding hands]  Okay, next question, right?

P: Uh, yeah, definitely.

19. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?

P:  Why did these suddenly get so depressing?  And honestly, that’s how I’ve been living for years.  So, no, probably not.  Other than maybe I’d spend less time on homework and more time hanging out with the people I love.  And I would eat only junk food.

A: I believe that.  I don’t know if I’d really do anything different.  Maybe, yeah, spend more time with the people I love.  Maybe try to complete some additional sketches and leave plans for how they could be implemented.  But otherwise, like you said, we’ve been living that way for years.  Now, for the first time, we kind of don’t have to as much.  So, moving on.

20. What does friendship mean to you?

P:  Didn’t we already answer this one?

A:  No, that was about what do you value in a friendship.

P [stares blankly]: Are those different?

A:  Yes.  What do you value is like traits, what friendship means to you is more…I don’t know…broad.  Or something.  I mean, friendship is incredibly important to me.  Especially when I wasn’t getting along with my family, my friends became my family.  So yeah, it’s important.

P:  Yeah, me too.  It’s important.  I mean, especially with what we’ve been through, you need people you can rely on, who you know have your back and care about you.  So yeah, friendship is important to me.  Is that the right answer?

A [rolls eyes]: There’s not one right answer, Seaweed Brain.  But yes, that works.  Moving on.

21. What roles do love and affection play in your life?

P:  They’re good things?  I don’t know how to answer this one either.

A: Try.

P: Okay, I mean, if you want the deep answer, isn’t it all about love?  Not just romantic stuff, although that’s obviously important, but like love for family and friends, too.  I’ve only been able to do some of the stuff I’ve had to do because I love you, my family, and my friends.  Love gives you strength.

A: Wow, Percy.  That’s…that’s a really great answer.

P [shrugs]: It’s true.  What’s yours? A: I think, for me, because of how I felt when I was little, love and affection are almost painfully important to me.  If I want to go really deep, I think I associate them with acceptance.  When Thalia and Luke first took me in, they gave me hugs and tousled my hair and stuff like that, and acted like they wanted me around.  That blew my mind.  When I got to camp, Chiron would pat my shoulder or head when I did well.  Grover and Tyson give hugs to show they care.  So does your mom.  Piper, too, actually.  And then you came along, obviously.  And even when we were younger, just sitting by you, or holding your hand, always made me feel better.  So I guess, to me, love and affection go together.  Like physical affection is such a clear way people show that they care about you.  I know it’s not the only way, but it’s definitely important. [blushes]  Anyway, next question.

22. Alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of your partner. Share a total of five items.

P:  Sweet, another easy one.  Okay, your eyes.

A: That’s very sweet, but it says “characteristic”, not “attribute.”  I think it means more internal stuff.

P: What happened to no wrong answers?  But I’m sticking with my answer, because, I mean, yeah, I think your eyes are beautiful, but they can also be fierce and intense and scary, so I still think it fits.

A:  Okay.  Your heart.  You have a really good heart, and I’ve always loved that about you.

P: Thanks.  I’ve always been amazed by your strength.  Like, just with everything.  You have more guts than anybody I’ve ever met.

A: Thanks, Percy.  I love your sense of humor.  You can always find something to lighten the mood, even when things are really bad.

P: I do my best.  I was going to say your intelligence, but that feels like a given, so I’m going with your passion for architecture and stuff.  Like, I love watching your face light up when you talk about stuff you’re excited about.

A: Really? P: Yeah.

A:  So, you can be goofy, and that’s great, but when something’s really important, you get this intense focus that I really appreciate.  And your confidence.  I admire that too.

P: I have confidence? A: Yeah, babe, you do.  Like when you were leading everyone during the Battle of Manhattan?  [smiles slyly] It was pretty hot.

P: Good to know.  Okay, my turn.  I like how you genuinely care about people and you want to help them.  I don’t know if everybody always sees that, but I do.  And I really admire that.

A [biting lip, trying not to smile]:  Thanks.  That means a lot.  You also just took my next one about you, because it was basically that.

P [grinning]: My bad.  You can still use it, too, if you want.

A: No, I’ve got a few others still.  Like the fact that you’re an amazing big brother.  Like how you stood by Tyson that first summer he came to camp, which I know wasn’t easy.  And seeing you playing with your baby sister is the cutest thing ever.

P: Well, it helps that Estelle is adorable.

A: That doesn’t hurt.  Okay, last one each.

P: Already? 

A: Yep.

P: Dang, I liked this question.  Okay, I like how you always manage to surprise me.  Ever since we met and you told me I drooled in my sleep.

A [leans forward and kisses him quickly]: I like your arms.

P: Huh? A [shrugs]: Your first one was my eyes, my last one is your arms.  You have nice muscles.  And, you know, you’re a very impressive swordsman, so it still falls under that characteristic thing.

P: Huh.  Again, good to know.  How many questions do we have left?

A: A few.  Ready to move on?

P: Yeah.  Let’s go.     

23. How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people's?

A: Oh gods.  Is this for real?

P: Do we want to just skip this one?

A [sighs]: No, we have to answer them all.  So, my family is getting better, but I don’t think I’ll ever describe them as close and warm.  Although things with my dad are much better.  And everything with Magnus is good.  But my childhood was definitely not happier than other people’s.  Your turn, Seaweed Brain.

P: I’m definitely close with my mom.  And Paul and Estelle.  And they’re all warm.  So’s Tyson, obviously.  Things with my dad have been good, can’t complain.  I doubt my childhood was happier than most other people’s, but there were some good moments, too.  But…never mind.

A: What?

P: But one day, in the future, like way out, when I have kids, I want to make sure they have a genuinely good childhood.  I mean, I’m going to do my best to make that happen.

A [holds his eyes for a long moment]: I love that idea.

P: Cool. [swallows hard] Um, next question? 24. How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?

A [facepalms]: You have got to be kidding me.

P: My mom’s awesome.  Next question.

Set 3

25. Make three true "we" statements each. For instance, "We are both in this room feeling _____."

P: Okay, this is another kind of weird one. 

A: A bit.  Three true “we” statements each.  Okay, so we are both in this room feeling vulnerable?

P: Yeah, that’s true.  We are both demigods.

A: Percy!

P: What?  It’s true.

A: That’s practically cheating.

P: Okay, fine, that one doesn’t count.  How about we are both learning some new stuff about each other?

A: Yeah.  Nice to know we can still do that.  And we both believe we can build a future together.

P: Definitely true. [pauses, thinking] We believe in each other.

A: We do.  And we put each other first, or at least we try our best.

P: I agree with that.  And, most importantly, we love each other.

A: Absolutely.

P: That was a good one.  What’s next?

26. Complete this sentence: "I wish I had someone with whom I could share _____."

A: Umm…I have no idea how to answer this.

P: Yeah, I’m coming up blank. 

A: I mean, my first thought was maybe my love of architecture, but Malcolm and I have great discussions.  Leo, too, is great for talking about engineering and design type stuff.  And everything else I talk with you about.  Or Piper.  Or your mom.  Sometimes friends at school.

P: Yeah, maybe I’m not thinking deep enough, but I think you and I have a lot of those types of conversations.  Or I talk to my friends.  Or my mom.  I thought about my love of video games.  But guys from camp and school are around for that. 

A: Does it count if we at least had a discussion about how we don’t have an answer?

P: I’m good with that.  Next.

27. If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know.

P:  Gee, Annabeth, if we were friends, what would I need to know?

A [laughs]: Okay, I’m guessing this question is for people who don’t really know each other.  But if I was going to give an honest answer, even if you already know it, it would probably be helpful to know about my history, and why I hate people letting me down.

P: That’s actually true.  I mean, I felt like I understood you better once I learned some of that stuff.  Kind of similar, I think it would be important for someone to know how important my mom and family are to me.

A: Definitely.

P: And you, obviously.  That was a given.

A: Ditto, Seaweed Brain.

28. Tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you've just met.

A: This is interesting.  I mean, I feel like we were pretty honest last time.  That was definitely not stuff I would say to someone I just met.

P: Same.  But I might be able to come up with something else.

A: Yeah, me too.  So, even more honestly, what I like about you is that you’re reliable.  I know you always have my back and I can count on you.  For me, that means everything.  And I also love that you’re kind and sweet and respectful and funny and cute and smart and strong and…well, a lot of things.

P [kisses her]: Sorry, couldn’t help it.  I love that you’re just yourself.  You don’t try to change to impress anybody.  I mean, I know you put a lot of pressure on yourself to do well and achieve your goals, and that’s impressive, too, but you’re always still Annabeth.  You stay true to yourself.  And I love that.

[brief kissing interlude]

A: Okay, let’s finish these last few questions.

29. Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life.

A: Oh gods.  Um, okay, this one time, I started my period in the middle of class and had to wear a sweatshirt tied around my waist the rest of the day to cover up the small spot on my jeans.  Your turn.

P: I dangled from a billboard in Times Square in my underwear.

A: You what? P: Yeah, it was a whole thing with Grover and Apollo and it was pretty humiliating, so I never told you about it.  Next question.

30. When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?

P: In front of another person?  When we found out about what happened to Jason and everybody at Camp Jupiter.  I cried in front of you when we went back to your dad’s house.

A: Yeah.  I think that was my most recent time, too.  What about by yourself?

P: I mean, I’m not a big crier, usually.  I might have been upset about all that again, but the time that comes to mind, honestly, was after Estelle was born.  I don’t know why, but I remember standing at my bedroom window, looking out at the city, and I got all choked up.  But that was like, good crying.  Like, my mom was happy, she has Paul, now they have Estelle, I have this great family, this amazing girlfriend, I was getting ready to graduate high school and go to college.  I think I was just kind of amazed that was all real.  What about you? A: Honestly, I think it was something similar.  On the drive out to California, we stayed in that one hotel that had a balcony, looking out over that lake?  I couldn’t sleep, so I went out on the balcony, and I was just looking out, and thinking about everything.  Like that this was really happening.  And it was kind of overwhelming, but in a good way.  And I might have cried a little bit, but happy tears.

P: I didn’t know that.  You could have woken me up.

A: I know.  It was okay though.  I think I just needed that moment to process everything, you know?  Anyway, next one.

31. Tell your partner something that you like about them already.

A: Okay, this has to be for people who don’t know each other.

P: Yeah, but we can make it work.  Unless you’re out of nice stuff to say about me? A: Not even close, Seaweed Brain.  I like how honest you’re being with all this.  It’s really nice.

P: You too.  And I like that smile you keep giving me occasionally, when you like one of my answers. A: I am? P: Yeah.  It’s cute.  Next question.

32. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?

A: Sexual assault.

P: Yeah, pretty much anything related to abuse.  Not funny.

A: Moving on.

33. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven't you told them yet?

P: Wow, that’s an interesting question.  So, I think I do okay about telling people stuff.  But if I’m being honest, I might regret not telling Paul he’s a great guy and I really appreciate everything he’s done for my mom.  And for me.  I mean, I think he knows, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually told him.  Not for any reason, just haven’t.  But maybe I should.

A: I’m sure he’d love that.  And yeah, I don’t think there’s anything I’d regret not telling you. [nudges him with her shoulder].  But I think I’d wish I told my dad that I’m glad we’re getting along again.  And I appreciate the support he’s given me about my college choices.  I just don’t do well being emotional around him.  He’s not great at that either.

P: But I bet he’d love to hear it. 

A: Yeah.  Okay, we’re holding each other accountable.  Sometime before the end of the year, so no major rush, just when it feels natural, we’re going to tell them both, Paul and my dad, what we just said.

P:  Deal.  How many questions are left? A: Just three.  Almost there.

34. Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?

P:  Huh.  Assuming I have my camp necklace on and Riptide is in my pocket, I guess I’d want to grab maybe some pictures?  Or the Minotaur horn.  There’s not much stuff I’m that attached to otherwise, though.

A: Same.  My camp necklace, definitely, but if I have that on already…probably pictures.  Oh, my sketchbook.  I’d definitely grab my journal and my sketchbook.  Is it okay that that’s two things?

P: They’re in the same category, so sure.  Also, we’re making up our own rules as we go anyway, and I’m fine with that answer.

A: Great.  Moving on.

35. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?

P: These are some strange questions.  But I guess if the point is to really get to know somebody….Anyway, I’d be devastated, obviously, if something happened to you or my mom, same with Paul or Tyson…or my dad, but I forget about him sometimes for something like this because…well, you know.  But if we’re talking about disturbing, it’s Estelle, hands down.  Just because she’s still so little.  It doesn’t feel like anything should happen to her, like she should just be in this protective bubble because she’s a baby.  I don’t even want to think about anything happening to her.  So, your turn.

A: Ugh, I can’t even stand the thought of something happening to Estelle.  Talking specifically about my blood-related family, yeah, if something happened to my dad, or Bobby or Matthew, or even my stepmom, I’d be devastated.  And probably feel really guilty, somehow, too, for not spending enough time with them.  Most disturbing, though, would have to be if something happened to Magnus.  Just because, you know…he’s already dead.  So it would be awful not knowing what else happened to him or where he went, like if he’s trapped somewhere worse or something. [pauses]  And obviously, if something happened to you, I’d be completely heartbroken.  Then I’d stomp down to the Underworld and drag your butt back.

P [grins]: Obviously. A: Alright, last one.

36. Share a personal problem and ask your partner's advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen.

A: Wow, this is kind of tough.  I mean, I already usually talk problems through with you.  And honestly, at this particular moment, I don’t have one. [pauses, looking pleasantly surprised] Wow.  I don’t have any serious problems right now.  That’s possibly the first time that’s ever happened.

P: Nice.  So nothing right now? A: Not really.  I mean, I’m a little nervous about starting college, especially with balancing UC Berkeley and New Rome, but I think it’ll be okay.  Any advice on how you’d handle that? P [small laugh]: Honestly?  Not well.  I don’t think I’d be great at running back and forth and balancing everything.  But you will be.  You’re good with organization and time management and everything, so you’re going to be fine, Wise Girl.  If I had to guess, I think you’re just nervous because you want to do well.  But you will.  Because you’re awesome.

A [smiling]: Aww, thanks, babe.  What about you?  Any problems right now? P [shakes head]: Nothing major right now.  Well, actually, now that I’ve said that…I’m kind of worried about my major.  Like for college.

A: Really?  Why?

P [shrugs]: I mean, marine biology kind of makes sense, because of my dad and all.  But I’m not like a major science guy or anything.  So I’m a little worried about it.  Any thoughts? A [considers for a few moments]:  That makes sense.  So it sounds like you’re a little worried you’ve chosen something that you can do, not necessarily something you want to do?

P: Yeah, pretty much.  I mean, I never really thought much about what I’d want to do for a major or a career.  I never thought I’d get this far.

A: That makes sense.  Do you want my advice?

P: Isn’t that the point of this question?  Also, yes, I’d want to hear it anyway.

A: I think you should just stick with it for this first semester, maybe this first year.  Most of the classes are gen eds anyway, so they’ll apply to any major.  Maybe keep an open mind during your classes and see if anything jumps out at you.  There might be something you’ve never even thought about that you end up loving.  And if you decide to change majors, I think that’s totally fine.  And I support you one hundred percent.

P: Thanks, Annabeth.  And I like that idea.  It makes sense.

A: Cool.  [leans forward and kisses him lightly on the lips].  So that’s the end of the questions.

P: Sweet.  Although that was kind of cool.  Is there anything else?

A: Yeah.  The last part is four minutes of eye contact.

P: Holy shit.  Four minutes?

A: That’s what it says.

P: Isn’t that awkward? A [rolls eyes]: Only if you make it that way, Seaweed Brain.  Just relax.  It’ll be fine.  [gets out phone for stopwatch again] Alright, time starts now.

[4 minutes elapse, which include some laughing, some comments, but also following the rules]

A: And that’s four minutes.  Done.

P: Cool.  So, what does that mean? A: Apparently we’re supposed to feel closer.  Do you think it worked?

P [considers]: Actually, yeah, I think so.  I mean, it was nice to talk about some different stuff that we might not have otherwise.  So yeah, I think it worked.

A: Agreed.  That was actually kind of fun.

P: Yeah.  But now can we just relax?  And maybe make out?  Just throwing that out there.

A: Gods, yes.

And that was the end of the question and answer portion of the evening.

[terapsina]

For the ask game

Fandom: tvd 2

Ship: elejah 14 and 20

Character: elena 20

(from this ask game)

Fandom:

2. ...my three favorite characters and why I love them so much.

Oh. That's mean. I obsessively adore more than just three of them.

Well, one is definitely Elena.

Which is why what was done to her makes me so sad and angry. She has so much love for her friends and her family and she survives so much. And the scenes where she outmanouvers people far older and more powerful than her? Freaking glorious.

Another is probably Bonnie.

I have a soft spot for witches. And Bonnie was a complete badass. I just really wish they'd have given her better (more interesting) love interests because she was always far cooler and more fun to watch than them and it was a bit of a bummer.

Also. She should have been part of the central trio with Elena and Caroline (in the way of a show like Charmed), instead of centering around Elena and her two shadows.

And the third. Dammit. Okay, I think Rebekah wins by a slight margin over Caroline or Elijah.

She's so mean, I love her. But also, she's very wounded and lonely and I spent basically the whole time she was on TVD hoping she'd become full on friends with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline because every scene where she was edging on frenemy territory was always so fun to watch.

Ship:

14. ...which tropes I think describe them the best.

Conflicting Loyalty, Everyone Can See It, Grand Romantic Gesture, Inconvenient Attraction, Longing Looks, Love Across Battlelines, Third Option Love Interest, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Anguished Declaration of Love, The Big Damn Kiss, Held Gaze, Antagonists to Allies to Friends to Lovers.

20. ...how and when they should get/should have gotten together.

It's hard for me to decide on that with Elejah because they're one of those OTPs that I wanted together (a lot) but that in canon would have been hard to get inserted without a lot of work first.

I think... probably, I'd have wanted Elijah to make another appearance after American Gothic where he admits to Elena that he was never actually fooled. And have this clearly affect Elena but leave her a bit speechless.

Give them a moment. But have Elijah still leave, just with the possibility of them running in the background.

Have Elena survive the show, finally free of Mystic Falls, and not romantically tied to anyone. Leaving the doors for the future she gets to choose now wide open.

Letting us then decide what Elena's ultimate happy ending would actually look like (which for me would obviously be Elena and Elijah then running across each other at some point down the line and seeing those possibilities come alive).

Character:

20. ...my queer headcanon for them. Unless they're canonically queer, in which case whether or not I think they're good representation or kinda badly explored.

Hmm. I like the idea of Elena being bisexual but not having actually done all that much self-exploring about it? And being mostly oblivious to it?

I can see Elena and Bonnie having been each other's first kiss because they're best friends and it felt safe. And it was nice but because they're such deep friends and because they were so young at the time it didn't spark any big revelations.

No Humanity!Elena era was probably when she had that particular realization (she did seem to be honing in on girls a lot during all her feeding scenes) which admittedly says a lot of of annoying things about the way media likes to glue together bisexuality, with predatory sexuality, and the 'hot and evil' aesthetic but if we take a step back from that particular can of worms it works as Elena's bisexual awakening in the wake of shaking off all the bells and whistles.

[nerdieforpedro]

🦴

🍓

🥤

Please!

🦴 = a piece of media that inspires my writing?

Not really one set piece. More like music in general does. I often listen to lofi beats when writing or my writing playlist to set the mood of what I’m trying to write. Or it could be music I’m listening to in the car or waiting somewhere could lead to some bullet points that become a fic. 😆

🍓= what led me to write fanfic in the first place?

Going deep here aren’t you Em? 👀 lol I’ve enjoyed writing since I was little as an extension of my love of reading. First with poems and the anime fanfiction when I actually watch more anime. Now I read more manga and don’t write fanfiction about it. If one squints on A03 - I may have dabbled in Marvel characters and actors for a short time. 🫢 The took a long pause as life happened. Sometime last year as my mental health improved so did my love of writing and I hyper focused on Pedro Pascal so here we are. 🤣 I write more the better my mood is. Maybe a bit too much background 😵

🥤= recommend and author or fic you love

Ugh just one? Dammit. 😒 I shall not! I’ll do eight because there are no favorites! Only peeps we support! And I can’t really call any of them number one I enjoy them all too much. 🥰

1. @morallyinept Pretty much anything you read of Jett’s will be beautiful, sensual, take you to a far away place or have needing to remove clothing - possibly from reading the same fic. 😆 She covers a wide variety of Pedro characters and is a wealth of knowledge on them. She also is just really talented and sweet.

2. @maggiemayhemnj Sure Ms. Payday doesn’t have a long Masterlist but every fic on there is worth reading for her turns of phases, vivid descriptions and her love of both Joel and Ezra. 💕

3. @megamindsecretlair One of my fellow black writers who keeps readers thirsty and eager for more with her Sam, Bucky and Loki series (all of which I need to catch up on or finish 👀) and is a hilarious person as she is kind.

4. @soft-girl-musings Another fellow black writer who’s “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps” 1920’s or 40’s (I’m not great with telling time obviously 🙄 ) has me wondering what’s going to happen next, what is going on in that club and where else am I going to see curly haired Marcello is going to pop up at. 🤣

5. @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin The Mistress of Agnst. Her masterlist is for those who aren’t afraid to explore the darker side and stories that may not have happy endings but you’ll still feel satisfied that to finished it. To feel another type of satisfaction, you’ll need to read her smut and seek your other completion there. ☺️ You’ll be thankful for both rides.

6. @pedroshotwifey A newer moot to me who has equal parts smut, agnst and dabs of darkness in there. What can I say? I like dark fics if they’re just right. Like I like my crime dramas and cop procederals. 🤣 She and I have a good time supporting each other and exchanging thots. Her “To The Flame” series has set the reader up for what may be a spectacular fall or maybe she’ll find her way out? Only she knows.

7. @magpiepills Ezra’s second wife (because @morallyinept is his first wife and I think @maggiemayhemnj is the paramour - because it sounds fancy) The amount of filthy things she’s had him do both with one arm and two is something everyone should read twice. I also especially enjoyed her fic “Aquarius” which a whore version of Javier Peña that spoke strongly to me. Or maybe parts of me, let’s not split hairs. 🤭

8. @angelofsmalldeath-codeine She’ll say she’s not a writer. BUT as all writers know, we don’t do very well if someone isn’t reading stuff we toss out into the ether. Hemmy is as supportive as they come, reblogging and offering many a thot as both the High Chancellor of the Horny Delegation and as a friend. ❤️ Plus she supports my very soft bois Dieter and Javi G. 😆 She I think was one of the main reasons I wrote more of “Weddings 101 with Dieter.” She asked me something along the lines of, “is there more to this? This is a very cool or unique premise.” As she well knows, just tell me I did something well and I’m happy as a pearl in a clam. 🤣

Fanfic author ask game

Thanks for the ask Em! Just know I pretty much write paragraphs because I gotta explain. 🤭 I’m Nerdie and I’m wordy. 😚 I had to make one bad joke. You have to be able to tell it’s me.

[metatronhateblog]

The Opening Sequence Pt 2 The Cemetery

Welcome back to the opening sequence breakdown. It only took me forever to get back to this thanks to con crunching (curse you Crowley's leather vest), split attention, and work. Today I will be, you guessed it cause you probably read the title, talking about the cemetery sequence.

Now there isn't too terribly much here, and I'm sure a lot of this has already been talked about. I've no doubt people were smart enough to already find all this.

But as I have no self control and am in fact procrastinating finishing my Crowley cosplay, here we are. I promise we'll get into some more....weird? Less noticeable??? I don't even know? Stuff as time goes on. We're just starting off with the basics cause it's easier on my brain.

So in the cemetery, we already know that Jim is hiding out behind some headstones next to the mausoleum they enter. Nothing too weird there, aside from the fact he's hiding. BUT WE'RE NOT HERE TO TALK ABOUT JIM.

Instead I'm here to talk about all the weird little things on the headstones. Again, I wouldn't be surprised if it's all already been found, I just personally haven't seen anyone talk about it?

We start off seeing this little mausoleum that says 'ARCHER' on it

Which we also see make an appearance in episode 3, when our beloveds are in Edinburgh.

(Did I start this draft then immediately drop everything to lighten/color correct all of season 2 episode three so I could see if there was anything in the background? Maybe...)

Then we have our lovely statue of the one and only beloved yet self absorbed Gabriel. Again, nothing too fancy.

And this little cross with an very interesting symbol on it right next to Gabriel. The symbol from a glance looks to be a money sign but when you take a closer look, I think it's actually three crosses? Or maybe one cross with two little lines on either side and a big 'S' slapped over top.

Then we have our 'Everyday' headstone which is of no surprise due to reoccurring song appearances in the season.

But then something else caught my eye while I was making this post that I didn't notice previously... See that little guy up in the corner of the everyday headstone?

Him?

yeah well idk who he's supposed to be but he's not the only one...

And then a third that is hidden behind a cross

Perhaps important characters? Or maybe a little hint about something that I don't know yet. Or maybe even just put there to fill in the background with no meaning....who knows.

Either way these gentlemen (or ladies) appear in the actual episode behind the Gabriel statue.

Then here we have two...stone caskets? Above ground graves? Where they both look the same, but one appears to be crossed out, maybe worn away with time, and you can't see the other because it's hidden by a headstone that says 'Peter Paintball.'

I have no clue who Peter paintball is. Maybe it's a reference to Season 1, or maybe it's someone on the crew or something. But I have no Earthly clue.

Moving on. As our boys continue their cemetery date with a trail of people and creatures and...objects? Behind them. We see the mastermind behind our Clerkenwell Diamond Robbery. Miss Austen herself.

I'm just as unphased at her name being in this cemetery as I am 'everyday.'

From here, I've had to do a lot of tweaking and playing with the lighting, and I won't lie, some things are still kind of...not quite able to be made out imo. So now we have...

A two for one that kind of leaves my brain churning questions like butter. I'll start with the more legible one.

"Here lies the former shell of Beelzebub."

I mean 'they're just such a little ray of sunshine' so of course this headstone makes sense. But also...why? What exactly does this mean. Like what's it referring to? I get that demons are dead inside which...mood. But could this possibly be referring to whoever Beelzebub was before falling? Or maybe the fact that Beelzebub feels some sort of happiness after meeting Gabriel and therefore the shell has been buried? I don't know. I just sit here and mull this over sometimes and maybe it's not a detail I should agonize over, but still.

Then we have 'here lies...Adam...' with the words underneath that I can only barely make out some of. I have tried fixing this so many different ways, and maybe it's just my lacking photo editing skills but still. I believe Neil has said this headstone is referring to Adam as in Adam and Eve? (Correct me if I'm wrong.) And if I squint I can make out....(from my best attempt at cleaning this up enough to see it)

"I do not understand, surely your very existence requires....of the world..."

Some of the words I can't make out, and the whole bottom line is a mystery to me because it's blocked entirely by the shadow that I can't fix.

Buuuuuut using my skills of deduction I'm going to assume this is a quote from Adam in the show? Gonna assume show and not book all things considered. (Upon further investigation it's Death who says this to Adam.) I can't remember. But the quote is something like

"I do not understand, surely your very existence requires the ending of the world. It is written."

Which...well hell that's a very interesting thing to put on a headstone (once again questioning which Adam Neil said that headstone belongs to...)

(Maybe it's a reference to Adam Young but Neil is saying he's not dead? Because he never actually confirms which Adam this is a reference to but I suppose it could be either considering it begins and 'ends' with an Adam.

But the thing I find really interesting is actually the headstone right next to it, also a take on something Death says in season 1.

'Left early to beat the rush.'

Which. Hell this one took me by surprise the first time I read it. Death says it to the mail man in Season 1 'Think of it as leaving early to beat the rush.' And if I recall correctly (I don't know where the source is) Neil has said something similar about Terry? So for all I know this headstone could be a nod to Terry Pratchett....or it could be two very interesting Death quotes on back to back headstones.

Could the Adam one possibly be referring to the fact that Adam, by the end of season 1, technically reversed the end of the world? Or something along those lines? I just find it weird that amongst a bunch of (i'm using this word lightly) joke headstones we have two very intriguing Death quotes....

Finally, we have this little interesting bit on the side right here.

We have that symbol from before but a little clearer now...and? A head? There's a bust here in the corner in front of Gabriel.

At first glance it reminds me of the Gabriel angel statue...and maybe this is supposed to be Gabriel...But if you look a little closer...you can see a button up.

Now this is the best shot I can manage of it.

This looks specifically like Jim. Not Gabriel, but Jim. It's dressed similarly and I think that's his hairstyle. The face looks similar. I momentarily thought it might be Aziraphale or even Crowley but that wouldn't make sense...right?

So for now, I'm thinking that this is a bust of Jim. Very interesting considering Jimbriel is hiding right in front of it and there's a different statue of the Archangel Gabriel earlier in the cemetery....So what the heck is this all about...

Now if I missed any, or if any of the headstones in the background have writing that is hard to make out, let me know and I'll update this post.

But as I said before, I'm sure someone has already done this. Consider this a reference post, maybe let your gears turn a bit about some of the epitaphs because they're certainly some head scratchers if you ask me.

Thank you for reading this, and keep a look out for more of the opening sequence breakdown series in which I slowly lose more and more of my mind staring at this thing and picking out little tiny details.

[spiritshaydra]

Was tagged by @novafire-is-thinking ! Sorry for taking a hot minute to do mine 😭 I also decided to do ten songs because I have

A lot

Of trouble

Narrowing it down to just five (hell even ten was hard)

ANYWAYS

All of these are taken from my playlist uhhhhhh

That

Which is like,,, every song that remotely scratched my brain the slightest bit. ANYWAYS THE CHOICES. I tried picking songs I haven’t shared here before, with each being from a different artist, and each kinda having their own sound :} (I’ll also be adding why I like each one, what it makes me think of, what parts I like, etc)

Native Colossus - Shield of Wings Spotify|Youtube

HOOOOO BOY OKAY SO- this one makes me think of the lead up to a clash between gods, if not the actual battle itself. I’m talking reality shredding, time shattering, shows of power. Like a battle between two creation gods. I picture one of them descending from the sky with an incomprehensible form, rings circling around it like clockwork, its presence stretching across the horizon. This one is the one that’s defending with the other being an invading force that’s already on the ground.

Maybe this is the brutal battle that resulted in the patch of irreparable dead space in my original work? An area of space time that’s so badly shattered that nothing can stitch it back together. It’s the only remnant of the Old Universe.

I just think this thing sounds badass 10/10 great song to have my eyes stare blankly at a wall to

Free - Mother Mother Spotify|Youtube

I just love the part in this song that goes:

“A bloody war, right behind my eyes. I come out right on the other side. So close the door, and shut the blinds. I’ll come out right on the other side.”

There’s something about that part that itches my brain SO GOOD. Like I can picture animating something to that SO VIVIDLY. AUGH. Just,, something about two characters going through absolute hell while staying by each other’s side the entire time,,,

Strangers to Ourselves - Modest Mouse Spotify|Youtube

OKAY THIS ONE. Normally when you hear Modest Mouse, you think of songs like Float on, Dashboard, The Ground Walks With Time in a Box, or The Ocean Breathes Salty; which are all more energetic(?) songs with Dashboard and Ground Walks being VERY high energy. But Strangers to Ourselves is,,, not that. It’s very lowkey and subdued and has a good atmospheric sound to it that I really like. The slow steady bass line done on what sounds like a cello in the background accompanied with the occasional guitar just makes for a really nice song that makes me think of winding down for the night.

Whenever I do plan on making a long form comic with chapters and the like, I want to do these “credits outros” in between chapters that each use a different song that matches the chapter before it, with each one being somewhat animated. This is one of the top contenders for this one story I want to write/illustrate called Meridian. It would show a variety of locations at sunset- the countryside, the city skyline, the character bases all winding down for the night. Maybe showing various characters as they close up shop. Just,, all around a chill quiet vibe leaning towards the somber.

De Selby (part 2) - Hozier Spotify|Youtube

This one was a recent discovery for me and one that I REALLY like.

I specifically love the chorus parts that goes

“Want to be when you fall on me like night every time, and I want to be so far from sight and mind. I wanna kill the lights. I wanna run against the world that’s turnin’, I’d move so fast I’d outpace the dawn. I wanna be gone. I wanna run so far, I’d beat the mornin’. Before the dawn has come, I’d block the sun, if you want it done.”

There’s something about it that makes my brain feel like,,, I dunno how to describe it,, like stars? Going by really fast as I fall backwards into the void but I’m also not actually moving anywhere.

Also GREAT animation fodder methinks.

Oh no, he Said What? - Nothing but Thieves Spotify|Youtube

Can’t be a Spit music list without at least one Nothing but Thieves song <3 anyways~

This is one of their more recent songs and it’s also one I think is REALLY fun to listen to because it’s got a sort of beat and melody to it that makes you feel like you could dance to it (I cannot dance but I still try) it also sounds like one that would be FUN to play live, especially from the vocals side of things. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t consider trying to cover it myself. Nobody wants to hear that and I don’t have the proper gear to record my voice 💀

The lyrics I like from this one are

“So did you find that thing you're looking for? Does it make you feel alive? Wait, he said what?He'll start a war, tear down the planet for the hype. You know it always ends the same, honesty’s a losing game. It died a long, long time ago with your favorite god. He said what? Oh no, we have lost control. Have you seen the video? But for heaven’s sake don’t ever let the, let the people know, oh no.”

Also GREAT animation fodder as well. I can see it EASILY being either 404 (my personal project) or fandom related. It just depends on what’s rotting my brain in the moment I either listen to it or decide to actually animate it.

I’m also really hoping to be able to see them live again in October, assuming I’m able to pass my driving test next week :,D I kinda need a driver’s license to drive back home from campus in order to even go to the show,, (NBT is AMAZING live btw)

Shut Eye - Stealing Sheep Spotify|Youtube

THIS ONE. MAKES MY BRAIN FEEL TRIPPY. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT HITS THE CHORUS. I’d say it’s animation fodder but I honestly have no idea what I’d animate other than it would be trippy to match the beat and just yeah I don’t know how to describe this one. I’m pretty sure I discovered it from someone’s animation project years ago? I only rediscovered it recently where it hit me like a train. A GREAT song to disassociate to because of the way it makes my brain feel if that makes sense. The colors and movement my brain comes up with when listening to this one is very fun :)

Curses - The Crane Wives Spotify|Youtube

OUGH. THIS. Is a song I get SUPER INTO when singing along to it. GREAT animation fodder. I’m not entirely sure if I’d do 404 or fandom for this one but MAN it SLAPS.

The part I get super into is

“Oh, ashes, ashes, dust to dust, the devil's after both of us. Ooh, lay my curses out to rest, make a mercy out of me. Oh, ashes, ashes, dust to dust, tell me I am good enough. Ooh, lay my curses out to rest, make a mercy out of-“

I know somewhere in my backlog of characters that’s a hundred OCs long I GOT to have SOMEONE that fits this if I do go the 404 route. (Hell might even have a fandom OC that fits, somewhere in between all the TFP and PMD Oblivion lmao)

Blackout - Breathe Carolina Spotify|Youtube

AYO WE GOT A SONG I DISCOVERED ON FLIPNOTE BACK IN LIKE 2012. AND I THINK ITS A BOP.

Edgy? Hell yeah. Do I care? Absolutely not.

Since I DID discover it on Flipnote Hatena back in the day, I obviously think this is animation fodder. But specifically in the style of the old Flipnotes that I miss oh so dearly.

I think I found it on a Pokemon Flipnote..? So might keep it in the spirit of that by making it a PMD Oblivion AMV.

Exit Strategy of a Wrecking Ball - Diablo Swing Orchestra Spotify|Youtube

OKAY THIS ONE. THIS IS A SONG THAT I THINK HAS AN INCREDIBLE INSTRUMENTAL WITH VOCALS TO MATCH.

I think I’d consider its vocals to sound almost haunting? It just sounds. SO. COOL.

The amount of different instruments I hear in it too is really cool too?? Like I can hear brass and classical strings during the breakdown of the chorus and it just leads to SUCH A BADASS SOUND. Like you have the heavy rock sound with the guitars and drums, but then there’s horns and strings as well?? It’s such a unique sound. Tbh Diablo Swing Orchestra as a whole has a very unique sound from what I’ve heard.

My brain also gives me fun visuals when listening to it. Lots of spiraling color when the chorus happens.

Hold on - Belle Sisosky Spotify|Youtube

Tumblr keeps refusing to save this post for whatever reason >:( It’s too powerful. Had to switch to desktop to even finish editing it. 💀

ANYWAYS. THIS SONG. SOUNDS SO COOL. It gives me a HUGE cyberpunk sort of vibe, and I’m honestly just a huge sucker for EDM music that has the low chanting in the background because I think it has such a cool sounding effect. (ESPECIALLY Mongolian throat singing) Also what’s really neat about this song (and pretty much all of her music) is that it uses a LOT of instruments you basically never hear in mainstream music, ESPECIALLY in pop. Some of the instruments include the Tapi’, the Hulusi flute, the Guzheng, the Angklung, the Sabe, and the pratuokng. 

TAGGING @mysticfoxdesigns @errolluck @sonicspacebar @jessenitrogen @aer-arts

@aer-arts @deathlypancakes @antiqueberry @zyanova @aecho-again AND ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS IN

[willowmosby]

Listen I told my self that I wasn't going to get invested enough in Person of Interest to talk about here but here I am anyway. It was chugging along being a good background show with Some really fun, if a little trope-y, cop characters and watching Harold Finch and John Reese act kinda gay and stop crime. I'm a big Amy Acker fan ( that's actually why I even started the show) so I wasn't upset about the shift in focus towards Root and Shaw a little bit as I entered season 3.

The problem I have actually run into is fucking season 3 episode 9: The Crossing. It just made me angry at a show's choices in a way I haven't felt in a while - please note I haven't watched past that episode as of writing this but I will eventually do so.

An the assumption that she really is dead( that looked pretty fucking fatal) I will miss Joss Carter a lot but that's not necessarily what made me angry. It seemed to me that the writers knew that the actor wanted out of the show from the start of the season as the whole season 3 arc was a seemingly slow moving suicide. It wasn't poorly written but it was obvious that this was a different type of Joss Carter than season 1 & 2.

No my problem wasn't necessarily her death. It's the "romantic" declarations of the episode. Now before you look back at the start of this and post and think I'm just mad because it wasn't my very unlikely to ever be a cannon ship that got confirmed, well you're only partially right.

Yes I'm a Rinch shipper( if follow my blog at all you've probably put together that I often root if the queer ships) but I genuinely would have been fine resigning myself to fanfiction while they get hopelessly paired up with some unsuspecting women. I understand that's how crime drama TV operates. And you know I actually like John and Zoe as a ship, if they were developed a bit more I think they could've been a lot of fun.

My problem is not that the whole you "saved me from commiting suicide" speech John gives Carter is equally, if not more, applicable to his relationship with Finch. Well, okay my problem is not only that. My problem is where was any of the romantic build up between Carter and John, like literally anything? They work great as narrative foils when Carter was still on the "the law is the only law" train. And they work great as friends as Carter steps more into the "some minor crime for the greater good is okay" camp. But not once did I think " oh these two are about to fall in love". Not even when Shaw asked about it earlier in season 3 did I think the show was going to actually pair them up like this. Now I hear you when you say that there are examples of characters with less chemistry have become couples. It's just, I'm not sure what the narrative gain is here. They had to know they were killing off Carter that same episode and this "revelation" doesn't add anything to the character. If anything it doesn't make sense with the revenge for Cal Becher (Beacher? Beecher?- You know who I'm talking about) angle that the writers have been using all season. And if it's about furthering John's character that's just dumb. I wouldn't consider it fridgeing as I'm pretty sure this is an actor who wants an out of contract situation(feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), but that doesn't excuse it as a narrative choice. John unequivocally cares about Carter and would be upset about her death regardless or romantic inclinations, as would Lionel and Finch. They already have an in on the revenge story line (which is where I assume they are going with this). Why bother with the romance especially when John already has the lost love story in his background. Like what Jessica isn't enough of a dead romance they needed to shoe in Joss as well.

Anyway I also wish this was like a mid season finale not episode like 9. Like bro why are you putting away one of your biggest villains so far and this is only a third of the way in the season.

And I wish that Lionel wasn't just suddenly back in the plot, like I know you have a bigger cast now and I m glad he's here but build the guy up a little bit better please.

I also think the Root in a cage thing is a little weird like I know all of these people are chugging the " the ends justify the means" juice but it still seems like there are other options Finch would choose. ( that being said Root and Finch's conversation about the machine somehow come off like " I had sex with your daughter, and I don't care if you know” which was hilarious to me)

Anyway sorry for the rant thanks for listening and I do hope the show gets back into a groove.

[yeonkimintakecare]

Washed Up - Chapter 2

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Reader; Angsty Fic

Summary: You've decided to audition, but will it be that easy?

You run into old acquaintances from the industry and new enemies.

Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taking me so long to write this, but I'm trying to write more lately.

Warnings: mentions of alcoholism, mental health issues, swearing, general angst.

(previous chapter) - (next chapter)

“Sorry! I’m just so proud of you! It doesn’t matter to me if you do the worst acting you’ve ever done. We are going to get through it together! Oh my god, ok. Ok.” Papers shuffle in the background as she mumbles to herself. “ Ok, so I’m sending the script over to you now. Somebody will drop them off in about an hour. Learn them the best you can and I’ll be over tonight to help you. The auditions are next week and we have a lot to work to do. I hear Song Mijoo is also auditioning. She will be tough competition.”

“Song Mijoo? Wasn’t she that rookie idol that wanted to break into acting? I remember just thinking she was okay but she was so stiff whenever she delivered her lines.” You said into the phone, starting to calm down and make yourself a cup of tea.

“Oh, that’s definitely her. But she’s changed a lot over the years, she started working with that one coach, Kim Minji, that worked with your costar on The Star’s Above, Jiwon.” Rina said, keyboard clacking in the background. She’s likely putting everything in motion as fast as she can so that I can’t change my mind. Wise decision on her part.

“Minji is a miracle worker. Anybody who can make Lee Jiwon actually able to cry instead of having to use any artificial tears deserves to win every award.”  You both laugh at that statement. “Ok, tough competition then, so I’ll need to practice as much as a can. I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have a job.” You say with a chuckle, but it’s a bit empty. You can crack jokes all you want but inside you just feel a huge pit in your stomach.

Were you making the right decision? You didn’t want to mess up and embarrass yourself. Again. And this time you would have to be, painfully, sober. God, this was going to really hard.

Over the 4 days, you read the script and practice the lines. Rina was right, this script did speak to you. It’s about a woman, Eunji,  who was trying to get back into her career and life after years of being a wife to a husband who was negligent. While you lost your career due to your own issues with alcoholism and mental health, you can relate to the her feeling of the loss of her youth and the character’s struggles with her own mental health.

The audition scene is a pivotal part of the show where Eunji has realized her husband is having a child with her best friend. She’s extremely hurt, not just because she’s learning the two most important people in her life are betraying her, but also because she’s never been able to have children, which she has always wanted.

It’s a heart wrenching scene and you just hope that you’re able to portray the feelings you have to, you really want this role and so you start to muster up some feelings from your past. You think about the life you had imagined for yourself when you had just begun in this industry.

You were 16, your mom had gotten you into this high school drama, she had gone to school with one of the producers of the show. You were just an extra with one line in one of the episodes. But then they started calling you back to do other small roles in their other shows. By 18, you had landed your first lead. In a high school drama, you were the main character who was in love with your best friend’s brother. It was a very stereotypical romance drama. But there was a scene in it where you got to show of your dramatic work when the male lead left your character to go study in the England.

After that role you started to book more lead roles and by 22 and decided to take a role about a teacher. The show was an easy one to be on. A show about a teacher who was falling in love with a parent of one of her students. That’s where you met Tae, or I guess V now. He was silly and optimistic. He played a recurring character, he was a teacher who would sometimes be comedic relief.

At first you guys weren’t close, but you could definitely tell he was an attractive man. But you couldn’t date, you had to focus on your career. You were on a fast track to be the top actress in Korea at the time. But then one day he bumped into you, and he was so nervous and cute, which normally wouldn’t have affected you, but then you saw his smile. His adorable wide smile. It’s like all dreams for your future flew out the window and all you could think of was how to get this man to smile at you again.

You soon found yourself searching for him in every scene you did together. You even went as far as asking the writers to make his role larger, pretending that it was just because his character was so funny. He was a very good actor too so it wasn’t hard to pull the strings.

Before you knew it he asked you out, and you knew you shouldn’t but you couldn’t help but say yes to him. Especially after how brightly he smiled at you. It wasn’t much longer until you were kissing him and staying over at his apartment most nights a week. You thought you could live forever in his arms, talking about your goals and dreams.

It was peaceful for a couple months, until a paparazzi caught a photo of you guys while you were getting breakfast after a night you had spent together. Your manager at the time was freaking out and your company had decided the best way to deal with it was to have you deny any relationship with him. They said you couldn’t be seen as the type of girl who was unavailable, not at such a young age. They told you if you wanted to make it, then you had to listen to them. They convinced you that if you weren’t viewed as attractive to your fans, they wouldn’t want to watch you. Claiming that your acting was no good unless he public viewed you as fuckable.  And like a stupid, naive young girl, you believed them.

You snap out of it when you hear Rina walk through the door of your home. She’s holding groceries and walks straight to your kitchen counter.

“I got some dinner, which I figure we can eat right now, but I got us some sweets for when we finish running lines. I thought it would be a nice treat –“ She stops suddenly when she looks at you for the first time. For the first time, you realize that you had been crying. Your eyes were puffy and red, cheeks stained with tears. Rina comes towards you quickly.

“Are you okay? Are you having regrets? We can pull out if we have to. You matter more to me than your comeback.” You smile at her as you shake your head.

“No no, I’m fine. I just was trying to muster up some old feelings so I can connect with the character.” You say, wiping the tears from your face. Rina steps closer and holds you in her arms.

“Ok, well if you decide it’s too much, don’t feel like you’ll disappoint me. I don’t think there is anything you could do that would ever disappoint me.” She pats your back as you feel yourself calm down and like that, you feel like yourself again.

You wipe your face and slap your hands down on your knees, making a loud slapping noise. “Ok, let’s eat and then get to work. I still have a long way to go.”

--

Days of working every minute on your craft, Rina had helped you film your audition and send it in. It took a couple takes, but you selected the best one. You didn’t want to look, but you forced yourself to, as Rina sent it off. You felt like a boulder had been lifted off of your chest. You felt relieved, and almost hopeful.

Some days passed and your anxiety began to grow as you waited for a response. You knew this could take some time, but you just wanted it to be done already. Did you make it to the next stage or was all of this a mistake. You had to keep reminding yourself to not get so negative, but after being out all these years, it just doesn’t feel right to be confident.

A week after you had sent in your tape you were cooking lunch for Rina and you were going to bring it to her office. Both of you were single so you did couple things together, like going to paint classes, picking up groceries together, and sometimes you made her lunch. She was an awful cook, so you offered to cook for her most of the time. You guys don’t live that far apart so its easy to pop into each other’s homes. You have keys for her apartment, as does she for your home.

You enter the building through the back entrance they give to celebrities who don’t want to be photographed. I feel the air change as I step into the office. I see the secretary look at me and look away with a grin. Oh no… I didn’t get it and now everybody is laughing at me. My stomach drops. I was so stupid to even try for it. I should’ve known that I lost my touch. I try to avoid contact with the rest of the workers as I make my way to Rina’s office. I take a breath before I open the door, prepping myself to face disappointment.

When I open the door I’m shocked. Rina has a cake and pops the cork on the "champagne" in her hands as she sees me walk in.

“Congratulations you talented bitch! You made it to a chemistry read! You’re this much closer to getting back into the industry!!” Rina shouts while jumping up and down. You feel a smile creep onto your face as you watch the 30 year old toddler. Did you really do it? Is it really happening? What happens now? Will you be able to prove yourself again, or will you fail again in front of everybody? Your smile drops as you start to spiral. Rina immediately senses what’s going through your head and rushes over to you.

“Hey, it’ll be alright.” She pats your back “Just breath in.” You listen to her. “and breath out.” And you do. “It’ll all work out. I have a feeling that you’ll get the role. I wouldn’t have presented it to you if I didn’t think that you’d be able to do it. But ____ so much time has passed, and look how quickly you fell into it again. You’re a natural, and you’ve been doing this for years. It’s like riding a bike.” She says, comforting you.

You wipe your tears and laugh “ That’s not relatable. You know I don’t know how to ride a bike.”

She laughs at your joke. “Ok, that its as easy as breathing. Acting is like breathing for you. I know because I’ve seen it. You are talented, so talented and so strong that I know you can get this role and get back up onto your feet, and even if you don’t get this role, it doesn’t matter because there are so many other projects that you would absolutely kill it in.”

She’s right, this role is everything, but also nothing. Your life wont end if you don’t land this part, this audition is just your first step out the door, your first toe back into the pool and once you make the plunge, there’s no going back.

--

The next week you arrive to the studio where you’ll be doing your chemistry read. Rina asked who you would be doing the read with and they said it would be the second male lead for now. An idol who is making his acting debut names Jungkook. You’re doing one of the scenes where your character has to reject the second male lead, a man who is higher up in the company but younger than your character. Unfortunately for him, at this point in the story the character has started to fall in love with the CEO of the company, who is also her best friend’s older brother that she has known her whole life. But she has gotten very close with the second male lead, as he has helped her transition back into the work place and they have become very close friends. So the scene is very emotional because they both want to be there for each other, but know that they aren’t on the same page.

Makeup artists touch up your makeup and hair before you sit on a stool in front of a camera. Behind the camera is Rina, several producers, writers, assistants, and the director, Min Yoongi. You’ve worked with him before, but he was only an assistant director back then. You’ve remained on good terms with him, the last time you had worked with him was before you became an alcoholic, although it would be hard for anyone in the industry at that time to have not heard what you became.

“____ How have you been?” Yoongi asks while walking up to you, holding his hand out for a hand shake.

“Yoongi, I’ve been doing well.” You say with a slight smile on your face.

“Genuinely?” He says with a concerned look on his face. You know that some people would be offended by this, but you know that he’s a straight forwards guy who just wants to make sure you aren’t going to ruin his project if you land the part.

You draw a deep breath in. “Genuinely. I’ll be candid with you, I’m 6 years sober.” You say, knowing that with him, you have to be honest. It’s probably one of the only things that he truly respects about a person.

With that he offers you one of his signature closed mouth smiles where just the corners go up. “Good, that’s good.” He says giving you a pat on the shoulder. One reason why you guys always got along was that you didn’t have to talk a lot to understand each other. You both were quiet and reserved people who just focused on the work they had to do. “Alright, lets get this started. Taehyung should be here any minute now.”

And like that the breath left your chest. You hear Rina pounce as you feel unable to move.

“I thought she would be doing a read with Jungkook today? That’s what she’s rehearsed for. Why weren’t we notifies of this change?” she says, you see Yoongi withdraw back into himself, clearly intimidated by your best friends protective mama bear side. One of the producers speaks up instead. A younger woman in a classy dress with a neat bob with blunt bangs.

“Jungkook had some idol promotion work that came up and we are running a tight schedule, V was available. Does she want this or not? If she’s truly a good actress like everybody had said she was, then she should be able to read the lines with him.” You can’t help but notice a slight smirk on her face. You can’t help having noticed her ‘was’ when talking about your acting skills. She was challenging you. And you knew you couldn’t disappoint everybody again, you had to prove to everybody that you still have what it takes to be a top star.

Rina starts to respond but you stop her. “You’re absolutely right, Miss…?” you ask.

“LaLisa Manobal, but most people know me as Lisa” she says with an eyebrow raised to you.

“Ah yes, I’ve hear of your work Miss Manobal.” You had heard of her years before. She was an idol from a young age who went solo and had wanted to getting into some of behind the scenes work of making drama. It seems that she’s succeeded now.  “Well, I can assure you that I am still perfectly capable of a simple chemistry read.” You say with fake arrogance. The truth is this wasn’t simple. It was the furthest thing from it. Soon you were going to have to see the only man you have ever loved for the first time since you broke his heart six years ago. ‘

“V’s car just pulled up, they’re bringing him up now.” One of the PAs says to Yoongi. You feel your heart stop, you start to breath faster as you feel your heart beating so loud that you’re scared they can all hear it.

You breathe in. You breathe out. You’ve got this. You practiced this. You worked so hard for this. Breath in. Breathe out.

“You okay?” Rina mouths from behind the camera. You nod. You are okay. Not good, not bad, just okay.

That’s when you hear the door click open, some body guard and managers walk through first and that’s when you see him.

Kim Taehyung. Your Tae. The only man you’ve ever loved.

(next chapter)

[lucksdraw]

heyy all ♥ name's lola, here presenting 1/2 of the #601 unit, kim minhyun — probably the worst person to be against when you're playing dodgeball because you will lose, but also someone with an extremely... well. non-flashy, boring power. i haven't been present for the original run of astonish but i've heard only good stuff about it so i am beyond excited to be here. you can read his profile here and a general background here, under the cut i will present more of trivia ♥

his power... basically this whole video. "luck is not a superpower" and doesn't really get you on the front-line of superism rankings, so he's just minding his business trying to survive in a world of heroes and villains. at least when the city is falling apart a-la avengers style, he's gonna come out unscathed? but overall, couldn't really give less about it all, or the glitz and glamour that comes with being a hero. sometimes will even cheer on a villain :/ also aeternal training academies are LAME!

a bit bitter, when you take all things into consideration. like, he could have been spitting fire or having a pair of wings he can fly with, but he's stuck with just being lucky? some people don't even believe him when he says it.... damn... also a bit guilt ridden but that's level 10 friendship unlock x

despite his lucky powers, his whole life is unlucky. as seen in the background preview, not the best upbringing, rough childhood, mild #mommy_issues

on other hand, thanks to his lucky powers, he's very chilled out, laid back, carefree, doesn't care, etcetera; he knows that things will work out for him one way or another. says he doesn't care about others either and is flying solo, but as much as he says he doesn't care, he will end up helping, regardless of how messy of a situation you've got yourself in? you two just met but you need a place to stay at for whatever reason? well. come over ig...

not opposed to doing some illegal stuff. the depth of this will remain redacted for his own good

like sure, he's never gotten the best grades or anything... but if he wanted to, he could take his chance at the slot machine and hit the #jackpot. but it would probably get #cancelled, since he is a registered metahuman after all

works as a snacks attendant @ gg. spends time after shift gaming until his eyes are red. plays league like, #religiously, has an edgy u/n; something like... HER VOICE RESIDES (who gets the reference? mwah..) and plays smth edgy like kayn or zed. GM rank... the whole world is falling apart outside but he's still gaming and climbing the ranks #grind_never_stops

also... does not know anything about any thefts at all. will know if you lend him some money though wink wink!

he's consented to be prodded and to sharing his biomedical data <3 everything for cheaper rent

most of the complaints about him are regarding loud music (he makes up for like 60% of simon dominic's streams) , noises past midnight, or breaking into the building (because he forgot his keys!!), or he's asked someone for some coins so he can wash his clothes @ the laundromat for like the tenth time in row. also, if he's not at work you can almost always see him moping around the building complex and he's recognized by wearing his iconic "fish love me women fear me", "my tummy hurts", "human by chance alpha by choice" and shirts alike. no, he will not reveal where he gets them. it's his personal gold mine

probably biggest fan of minions alive. would adopt a minion if they were real. like, holy shit he loves minions.

depending on who asks, down for some sprinkle sprinkle brownies x

for plot bunnies... given minhyun's character, literally anything goes. he's a bit of a #loser so not too much on romantic aspect... but friends, enemies (different opinions re: aeternals/the academy/blockers), someone who's caught him breaking into a store and is blackmailing!!, fellow gamers, they're party animals together or partners in crime,,. literally anything goes lets brainstorm in ims!!!

anyway. minhyun tweets!!!

[zairaalbereo]

Fic Writer Interview

I was tagged by @laviejaguardia. Thank you! 💕

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 

89, but 12 of them are art only

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 

724,869

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

That’s His Name (Merlin) - 29.981

In the Winter of My Soul (Merlin) - 5.952

Just Have To Save The World (Merlin) - 4.343

Me Casa, Su Casa (X-Men) - 2.427

Most kudos for The Old Guard: Room for Love - 904

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

I try to because I love them, and that’s why sometimes I fall into that trap of “I need to adequately convey how happy this comment made me, I can’t just say ‘thank you’’ and then I leave it for too long. Also sometimes I don’t have the spoons at that moment. But I appreciate every last one of them.

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I love angst, but I love a happy ending even more, so in my fic the angst usually gets resolved. A fic that regularly leaves people in tears, though, is At Samhain, but the ending has hope.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

So many happy endings! ☺️ One of the happiest might be my Merlin Age of Sail AU, The Seven Seas , which has a very happy ending after a lot of angst and heartache.

7. Do you write crossovers?

No, not really.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really personal attacks so much, but I have received snide comments, character bashing and absurdly wilful misinterpretations. And always on anon of course.

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

Yes, I do. I’m a proud alumni of multiple Pornathons in the Merlin fandom. When I write kink, it tends to be PWP of the kind that’s about losing control, or pushing the lines of taboos. In my longer or more plotty fic it’s more emotional, focused on the characters’ connection.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I once had someone write a fic that had the exact same plot down to locations and minor details and even almost the same dialogue as one I was posting. Like a (bad) rewrite. It was very weird.  

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, a few, which I’m ever so grateful for. 💕

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I’m honestly not sure how that would work for me. 😅

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Joe/Nicky really is the fulfillment of all my shippy hopes and dreams. 😍 Beyond them, maybe Cherik. I like the drama. 😂

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

A Cherik bodyswap fic, set between XMFC and Days of Future Past, while Erik is imprisoned. I love the premise and what I have so far, but it’s been so long that I’ve been in that fandom.

15. What are your writing strengths?

Conveying emotions and believable dialogue 

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Transitions and being overly dramatic, which is probably connected lol

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I do enjoy it in sprinkles, if it’s done well. Endearments, curses, stuff that mostly won’t need a translation footnote but grounds a character in a different cultural background. 

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I wrote stuff before I knew about fanfiction. Before you could find (and easily post) stuff on the internet. But the first fic I wrote and posted was Harry Potter, gen with very, very heavy wolf star undertones 😅

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I don’t really have an unfulfilled craving right now, and I tend to focus on one fandom, and even one ship almost exclusively, but I’m a little surprised at myself for never having written Sterek. 🤔

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

That is so hard to pick, but two favourites are Shalom Malak for XMFC and If You Abide With Me for TOG

Tagging, but obviously only if they want to @falcon-fox-and-coyote @tobebbanburg @pinkninjapj @beepbeepsan @isabellehemlock 💗