#my team did a fantastic job on it go check it out ;;;

[littleulvar]

box art I created for the upcoming Kinfire Council game ✨ (with KS launch coming soon)

[skellyflowers]

Tour Bus Cuddles

Masterlist

Phantom x reader 

The European leg of the tour has been going fantastic so far. I was excited to be on the road and get the opportunity to travel around. However no one mentioned how hard being a Tour Manager Assistant would be! 

When Phantom dragged me into Brother Kevin’s office to nominate me as the new assistant I thought he was being a clingy boyfriend. He told me that he would miss me. I would miss him too. I was going to work on a schedule for us to still be able to still talk while he was gone. I wasn't expecting this. When Phantom first mentioned Kevin needing an assistant it was during our pillow talk so I didn’t take him too seriously.

I was surprised that Kevin made me his new tour assistant, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was because of how hard headed Phantom is. Kevin has me in charge of checking in the band at any hotel we stay at, ensuring the Green room has what the ghouls need and running last minute errands. 

However this show is in the biggest arena so far. So I have to cover way more ground than before helping the ghouls and completing my pre-show checklist. And to make things more complex two of the main stage speakers have been damaged. Lucky us the crew as backup speakers, they are not as loud but they are just as good. Unfortunately for me that means I need to help load the new speakers off the crew truck and bring them half a mile from the parking lot to the arena. 

When it is time for a sound check I can’t feel my arms and can barely pay attention to what the merch team is telling me. It doesn’t help that Phantom likes to keep me up after shows and work out his leftover adrenaline. I love him and we always have a great time together but it is going to be hard to do my job if I can’t feel both my arms and legs.

I’m in the Green room sitting on the couch when the ghouls come back after they finish the sound check. Phantom closes in on me and sits in my lap like a little cat. He starts to purr like one too. I smile at his actions and start to scratch at one of his horns, he starts to purr even louder.

“I missed you babe.” Phantom says.

“It’s only been 30 minutes, Bat.”

“30 minutes too long.” he pouts, cuddling into my neck.

“GET THAT CUTE SHIT OUT OF HERE!” Dew yells, startling me.

“Shut up, like you aren't going to come to me and beg for attention.” Rain says, rolling his eyes.

Phantom doesn’t get off my lap until it is time for the ghouls to get on stage and Mountain picks him up. We hold hands and walk from the Green Room to backstage and give a kiss before he gets on stage to the screaming crowd.

The show is amazing, just as all the others have been. When the final bow is taken and Papa has said the last goodnight I help the crew take down the stage and pack up so we can get on the road as soon as we can. The process is smooth and we are able to pack up the crew bus in under an hour. A new personal record.

When I get on the ghouls’ bus I am exhausted. I am happy to be the first on the bus tonight. Papa could herd the ghouls perfectly without my help but I felt a little guilty about texting him that I went straight to the bus and crawled into the first unclaimed bunk I found. Ghoul shepherding is part of my job.

I started to fall asleep when I heard the bus door open and close. I hear footsteps shuffle around until they stop in front of the bunk row I am in. I also hear sniffing? The curtain separating me from the mystery ghoul in the bus slowly opens. I’m surprised that I see Phantom, eyes bright and tail wagging.

“This spot taken?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

I let out a quiet giggle and scoot back as much as I can. Phantom gets a big smile on his face and crawls in next to me. He turns my body so he can be the big spoon, his second favorite cuddling position. If it was always up to him I would be laying on top of him at all times. I find his hand and lace our fingers together and he starts purring against my back and plants a kiss on my neck.

“Did you have fun at the concert?” I ask.

“It was fun, Swiss fell off his stage. But I missed you.”

“Maybe if you teach me to play the guitar Papa will add me to the band.” I said as a joke.

“That’s a great idea. We can start tomorrow.”

“You are so silly, Bat.”

“It is a good idea. We could spend more time together.”

“You never leave me alone. You're the reason I got this job.”

“And I will never give you a moment's peace.” He says, giving me a squeeze.

“We can talk about it in the morning.” I say, with a yawn. “Love you Phantom.”

“I love you too, My Angel.” kissing the back of my head.

I let his purring lull me to sleep as the other ghouls get on the bus and settle in for the overnight drive to the next sold out area.

[ronearoundblindly]

would you ever write an invisible reader? Like let’s say she’s an agent or a scientist. Quiet and stuff right? She always keeps to herself has the biggest crush on Steve but because she’s thinks she’s invisible she doesn’t ever think he might be interested too. There’s a mission she goes on and things go awry and she actually turns invisible. Something akin to how in the Fantastic Four movies they get their powers she gets this one? But it takes time to get under control. Steve thinks it’s his fault so he tries to help out. And through the the process of helping her gain back visibility she realizes Steve has seen her all along. Lol this really just came to my head when I was thinking about Steve using paint on someone’s body as a way to show them he thinks they’re art.

This. Is. Spectacular. I'm gonna fudge it a bit. Headcanon/stream of consciousness format. No warnings just canon-level "action." gif credit: @meidui

Erasure (Steve Rogers x junior agent!Reader)

My first instinct is to make it an ability to alter someone perception--i.e. you're constantly a little embarrassed of your input, so you tell people to 'forget you said that'--and let's say that constant hope that you won't be remembered badly is the innate trigger for your ability.

Probably a science experiment of Tony's gone wrong. He and the team are arguing about something that needs to be recovered before a damaged thing reaches critical mass. You sneak in to just grab what he wants and not waste time arguing. Tony doesn't know you're in there and locks the lab down until the dangerous pulse dissipates. (Steve doesn't know you're in there either because you popped in while he was facing and yelling at Tony, fwiw.) Maybe Tony saunters in once the doors open, finds you there with the part in your hand and knocked on your ass.

Your skin touches his as he reaches for you and the part. You jokingly tell him there's nothing to worry about, nothing to see here. You're surprised that he listens and walks off immediately, chatting and leading the team away down the hall to show them something else he's working on in the hangar bay.

Overall, once you catch your breath, you're fine. You don't want to go to the infirmary and tell them you did something so dumb.

Life continues.

Through a lot of trial and error, you realize what you can do--forcibly--by erasing people's memory of you being around. The head count for meetings is off. Several teammates you know you spoke to see security footage of you at the time and curiously remark that they don't recall you being there. Things like that. It works on everybody, or so you think.

There's a brainstorming session about how to infiltrate a possibly corrupt corporation's facility to gain intel. Everyone agrees to this elaborate rouse where two ripped agent dudes pose as janitors and blah blah blah. It's a little absurd.

You check the companies job listings, and knowing you qualify for one, submit an application the next day. The woman in HR who hires you doesn't work on the same floor as where you are technically snooping, and you can handle the work they actually want you to do in just a few hours a day, giving you a bunch of time to access nearly everywhere and nudge everyone to forget you were there.

The attempted break-in of fake janitors is the talk of the office on your last day, the one where you find the info Stark wanted to begin with, and then you quit, still quietly, returning to the Avengers the next morning.

You drop off the intel to Tony's office when he's not there, but just as you get situated back at your little desk, Steve comes up.

He looks concerned, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the flimsy cubicle wall.

"Feeling better?"

You're so confused.

"You were out for over a week. Did you need to go to the hospital? Was a family member with you at least? You could have called in for help."

On impulse, you grab his arm and tell him not to worry about you, yet he...doesn't move. After a flawless use of the power hundreds of times in a row, you don't understand.

Blinking up at Steve, you blurt, "I should be erased. Why are you still noticing me?"

He's bewildered, sure, but Steve tucks his head and smiles shyly.

"Can't erase you, doll," he chuckles, so soft only you can hear. "I draw you in pen--" Steve taps his temple "--up here..."

He bends down, his hand gently gripping your arm and his cheek touching yours.

"...now where you been for a week?"

And then, yes, some beautiful closeness and Steve paints on you to highlight what parts he drew so permanently on his mind!

🤗

a/n: Thank you for sending in this lovely idea, nonnie! I'm sorry everything I'm writing has been short and convoluted the last...while, but this is such a sweet premise. (Also, my apologies if you really, really wanted straight invisibility as the power. Just send in another ask, and I'll try to come up with an alternate version!)

[Main Masterlist; Light Masterlist; Ko-Fi]

[theflagscene]

15 Day BL Challenge (part one)

Day 5 - Biggest Flop

I’m gonna make so many people mad. Hoooboy!

Ignoring all the DNFs that I’ve had over the last year due to issues that had nothing to do with the show itself, my biggest flop that I finished and had an actual visceral disappointment to was Last Twilight but only because of episodes 11 and 12, everything up until that point was damn near pitch perfect. And yes, I feel like I can be salty over the ‘only by being fixed can a person be truly happy’ ending because I literally have the same type of head injury that Day has, also brought on from a car accident that was caused by a drunk driver. I very much felt connected to him and loved the story of accepting your life as it changes, losing our eyesight doesn’t make us broken. I’ve learned to live with my dwindling eyesight and current partially blind state for the past 15 years and will live with my completely blind state in the future, so to watch (heh puns) Day go from learning to love himself and accept himself as well as Mhok’s love, to instantly ignoring everything the show had been teaching him and the audience in the span of two lousy episodes - including an unnecessary breakup and ridiculous time skip - was heartbreaking. The series was so so good! And then it just was bad.

Now, all that being said, I absolutely do think that the show deserves all the awards and accolades it is currently receiving. I also think JimmySea did fantastic in their roles and also deserve all the awards for the work they put into making such a beautiful love story, but that doesn’t mean that for me personally I can’t also consider it a flop in my books for the reasons stated above. I loved Last Twilight when it was airing, but then it was like being punched in the gut. It will not be something I rewatch unfortunately.

PSA: if you haven’t heard P’Aof talk about his original idea for the story being a thriller you really should track down the interview, I won’t spoil it for you, but if you wanna know the original plot ideas check under the cut, I’ll post what I remember ⬇️

Last Twilight was originally conceived as a thriller based on Mhok looking to get revenge for his sister’s murder, she was going to have been killed in a car accident - yep that accent that Night and Day were in. Day was going to have been a driver that hit his sister and killed her, instead of having her commit suicide. The story follows Mhok as he tracks down Day and after finding out that he was going blind and needed a caretaker, he weasels his way into the job. They would still end up falling in love, but the whole plan was for Mhok to kill Day to get his revenge. When they left for the wedding at the beach, finally free from Day’s mother and brother’s constant surveillance, Mhok was going to take Day out into the middle of the ocean at night under the guise of a romantic swim and leave him there to drown. He was going to leave but then cannot go through with it and rushes back to save Day - and that’s all they got to until the rest of the writing team was like: P’Aof, you are a romantic, you love romance, you can’t do a thriller, your heart won’t be in it. You know this!

He agreed and ended up changing it from a revenge thriller to a romantic drama because he just didn’t feel like he was the right person to pull off such a dark storyline.

[serickswrites]

Set Up III

Part 1 Part 2

Hero stayed in Lair a month before they worked up the courage to seek out Supervillain one on one. The villain had looked more and more exhausted each time Hero saw them, but their engagement with their team never wavered. They were so different from Superhero. 

“I want a mission,” the words tumbled out of Hero’s mouth clumsily and quickly as they stood in front of Supervillain in the garden. 

Supervillain looked up from the book in their hand. “What?”

Hero swallowed. “I want to go on a mission. I’ve been training. I’ve run them before when I…when I was with Superhero.”

Supervillain nodded. “I’m aware. I wasn’t sure you wanted to work.”

“I need to do something. I’m useless at everything here.”

Supervillain stood up. “You aren’t useless. But I’m not going to argue with you. If you want a mission, assemble your team and I’ll find something for you to do.”

“Just like that?”

Supervillain smiled. “Just like that. Meet you in the briefing room in an hour.”

“You’re not going to tell me who I should and shouldn’t bring? Or that I should run it alone?” Hero called after Supervillain’s retreating back. 

“I trust you know your abilities better than I do. If you think you can go alone, I’d ask you to reconsider, but ultimately trust your judgment. Briefing room. One hour.”

Hero had their team of five in the briefing room in fifteen minutes. They were surprised to see Supervillain was already there. “Supervillain, we can come back—“

“No need. I thought you might be early. Simple extraction job for you. Just to get your feet wet. Right Hand,” they nodded over to the minion seated at a comm station, “will guide you through each check point. And they’ll be able to get you any aid you need if you run into trouble.”

Guide? Aid? These were foreign concepts to Hero for mission work. Superhero would just tell them to do something and chuck them out. There was no discussion or offer of help. This was…different. 

“Won’t let you down!”

Supervillain looked sad. “You could never let me down, Hero.” They stood up. “I’ll be in the field not too far from you if you need me.” They nodded at Right Hand. “Any of you.”

They were out the door before Hero could think to say anything else. They had never had someone in charge of them that was so hands on. Or kind. “They’re like that. Get used to it.” Right Hand said as they settled into their station. 

The mission went off without any hiccups. Each time Hero thought they would need to call for back up, more help arrived. Each time the team met a dead end, Right Hand was in Hero’s ear guiding them to the next safe space. 

By the time Hero returned to Lair they were never more certain of anything. This. This was the place for them. They had to stay. They wanted to stay. If Supervillain would have them. 

“Congrats on your first mission success,” Supervillain said as they swung by Hero’s room after Hero had been home an hour. “Heard you did a fantastic job.”

“Thank you,” Hero said as they felt their cheeks burn. 

“Keep it up, Hero. Really, you’re doing great here.” Supervillain turned to leave. 

Now was their chance! “I want to stay.”

Supervillain turned around to stare down at Hero. “You do?”

Hero nodded. “If you’ll have me.”

“Of course I’ll have you. But I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

“I don’t. Working for you—“

“With you,” Supervillain corrected. “We’re a team.”

Hero blushed. “Working with you has been unlike anything I’ve experienced. Everyone here is so…kind.”

Supervillain smiled. “I would be delighted if you stayed, Hero.”

“And another thing. I think I should change my name. Superhero changed my name when I started to work for them.”

Supervillain frowned. “I’d love to know why they name all their apprentices the same thing. What would you like to be called?”

“Villain.” Hero Villain said proudly. “I think you’ve more than set me up for success.”

Supervillain smiled. “The person responsible for that set up is you, Villain. Welcome to the team.”

Tags: @severalonions @prompt-fills-and-writing-spills @st0rmm @newgait @random-writers-sideblog @thenamesmobu @whoelseuprebloging @hhabaddon2 @zokazoma13 @jkl-uwu @mooseontheloose21 @hittingthebrainsfunnybone @laurenhufflepuff2 @writinglike-illdie @crow-with-a-typewriter @myv1lla1nacadem1a @lorlibrary @bluelovestoship @whumpedydump @ann-whispers @otherwiseiamnotallowedtoscroll @starlightsphinx @captainskeleboi @jackthecrimekangarooekangaroo @wafflenuka @meltedgallium @justparkerpots @writingpromptsfordays @whatinteresthave @idiotswitcher @smooth-orange-pebble @generoushelpingofwhump @halfseafog @ksfallingthroughlife @blipblipbloop @saltyontheside @nebulousboundsfloof @uniquezombiedestiny @i-love-chocolates @clever-kills @whumpitywhumpwhump @keeper-of-all-the-random-things @frostmaster1000 @just-a-space-rabbit @daemonvatis @hopefullywritingahit

[xanthippe74]

Masterlist of my “12 Days of Fandom” recs, inspired by this post. As always, please check the tags and author's notes before reading. Enjoy!

🔸 Terminal Lucidity by @romaine2424 (Drarry, HD Career Fair, rated G, 3K) This bittersweet fic has Harry putting his abilities as Master of Death to good use by comforting those close to death themselves. We see him at work here, adeptly easing the way for someone dear to him with compassion and care. I found this story incredibly moving and a beautiful portrait of family ties in the face of an impending loss. Featuring older, established Drarry and the Black-Malfoy family.

🔹 Our Objective Remains Unchanged by @citrusses (Drarry, rated E, 46K) Gorgeously and vividly written, this university rowing AU drew me in right from the get-go, despite the fact that Muggle AUs are not my typical cuppa. The enemies-to-lovers tension is perfectly paced as Harry and Draco fight for the same spot on the Oxford team. Citrusses did a fantastic job translating their backgrounds and personalities (as well as those of other familiar characters from the books) into this world. Class divisions and the pressure of a highly-public sporting event stand in very effectively for Harry’s canon experiences. All in all, the story has the poignancy and drama of a lush coming of age film, and I can’t recommend it highly enough!

🔸 The Pile by @b-vul (Drarry, not rated, about 1.5K) This hilarious ficlet was born out of littlewinnow’s tumblr post about Veela!Harry performing an intricate mating dance to impress Draco. Delightfully, it’s from Harry’s POV as he blindly “trusts his instincts” to guide him into increasingly bizarre actions. And the evolution of Draco’s reaction is pure comedy gold. I’ve come back to reread this one a couple of times, and it never fails to have me in stitches. (The tumblr thread also contains adorable art by regretfulcorrine!)

🔹 Shine on, You Crazy Diamond by @lagerloutfic (Drarry, HD Mpreg Fest, rated E, 42K) This is one of those fics that you can’t stop reading once you start (something I confirmed this morning when I went to skim through it for this rec and wound up spending a few happy hours devouring the entire thing again). It’s laugh-out-loud funny and deliciously smutty, with a full cast of delightful side characters and just the right amount of feelings. The story begins with the discovery of Draco’s surprise pregnancy, then switches to a long flashback of Harry’s gay awakening and his fast sexual/slow emotional burn relationship with Draco. The entire fic has a joyful feel—banter-filled pub nights, chaotic family dinners, audacious curse breaking—culminating in the baby’s arrival, which left me in happy tears and wishing for another 40K of this fabulous story. Featuring confident Harry, supportive friends & family, hot Charlie, and some shamelessly kinky Unspeakables.

🔸 Silhouettes by @sweet-s0rr0w (Draco/Ron/Harry, Dronarry Fest, rated E, 16K) Draco/Ron/Harry is not a ship I’d ventured into before I read this fic, but I’m so glad I did! Sweet’s writing always hits the right spot in my brain, and her alternating POVs and spot-on characterizations of all three boys are delightful. I especially loved Ron’s sexy self-assurance here. The unique magical theory around sentient houses is fascinating and ultimately poignant, once Draco gets to the root cause of the Burrow’s behavior. Sweet-sorrow surely lived up to her username with this one, weaving grief with humor and a heartwarming resolution.

🔹 Harry Potter Gets a Job (A 106-Page Comic) by dustmouth (Drarry, HD Career Fair, rated M) Dustmouth’s comics never miss, I swear! In this one, we find Harry overcoming his distrust of Draco with the help of the Weasleys, especially Ron (who is definitely up to something himself). All of my favorite Dustmouth elements are here: the expressive characters, Draco’s wild wardrobe choices, and punchy dialogue galore. Also featuring drunken shenanigans at the Burrow, adorable Teddy, and some first-class Slytherin-ing by Draco to win his man (and find Harry that job). What a treat!

🔸 the earth from a distance by spqr (Drarry, rated E, 15K) A whirlwind time-travel fic with breezy humor, bedsharing, and spqr’s unmatched smut with feelings… What more could you ask for in a fic? Oh, yeah: fantastic worldbuilding for Hogwarts in 1599, brilliantly clever Draco, and a dash of enemies to lovers. I can never get enough of this author!

🔹 A Year In The Life by @ladderofyears (Drarry, HD Career Fair, rated M, 19K) I swear, the author conjured a little bit of magic to write this story. It’s told entirely with 50-word microfics, one journal entry for each day of 2006 (an impressive feat, by itself!), and yet it reads just as smoothly as any traditional fic. Draco’s voice is perfect here, full of wit and subtle emotion, as his and Harry’s developing romance takes a sharp turn with an unexpected pregnancy.  Draco’s anticipation, worry, and joy are mixed with deftly-chosen details of his daily life, all captured with Emma’s trademark tenderness and warmth. This fic is a perfect comfort read for family feels and gentle romance.

🔸 try to fix you by @maesterchill (Harry/Ron/Hermione, HP Snooze Fest, rated M, 2K) A beautifully and tenderly written hurt/comfort fic set in the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts. Ron is the glue that holds the trio together here, caring for Harry and Hermione with gentle devotion. There’s no dialogue needed to tell this story, just Ron’s perceptive POV that captures the grief and love that compel him. I have a soft spot for this triad forming immediately after the war, as a way of holding onto each other and holding themselves together. Maester’s fic makes their transition from friends to lovers feel like the first step towards healing.

🔹 The Scent of Soft Rains by @dodgerkedavra (Drarry, HD Career Fair, rated E, 20K) When Harry is left housebound and isolated by a traumatic injury, magical prosthetist Draco gets called into help. But Harry’s struggles go far beyond the physical ones. This recovery fic combines magical and non-magical therapeutic treatments in a way I can’t remember reading before. The hurt/comfort is just as it should be—both heart-wrenching and soothing—but there are enough surprising revelations to keep the story from feeling predictable. Draco is wonderfully unflinching and patient, and the ending left me crying happy tears. With lovely, restrained prose and vivid magical imagery, this one’s an absolute stunner.

🔸 Connecting Lines, Connecting Crimes by @sleepstxtic (Drarry, H/D Career Fair, rated M, 15K) With its intriguing careers, fascinating magical theory, and well-researched worldbuilding, this story captured my attention immediately, and the mystery at the heart of it kept me engrossed. This was one of the more thought-provoking fics I’ve had the pleasure of reading, exploring the intersection of magic, the environment, and colonialism. Harry’s first-person POV is lovely, and it feels like we’re learning to love India and the people he meets along with him. The getting-back-together romance is gentle but satisfying, propelled by pent-up yearning that’s palpable. There’s so much to enjoy here, all in only 15K words!

🔹 Waking Up Slow by @sweet-s0rr0w and @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm (Drarry, H/D Wireless Fest, rated E, 22K) The first word that comes to mind while reading this fic is charming. First there’s the novel setting: a Christmas shop in the tourist destination of Cheddar Gorge, in the middle of a July heatwave. Next, there’s the shop itself, so imaginatively described and full to the brim with clever Muggle and magical details. Then there are the delightful OCs, Draco’s seemingly unhinged enthusiasm for all things Christmas (including ridiculous jumpers), and Harry’s complete disregard for professional behavior. But underneath the playful banter and humor, there’s also a layer of poignancy to tug at the heartstrings, especially when we find out the backstories behind Harry’s and Draco’s unlikely careers. And to top it all off, like the glowing star on the tree, are Joy’s exuberant, colorful illustrations. This is a Christmas-y fic I’d reread any time of the year.

Thanks to all these brilliant creators for sharing their work with us!

Happy New Year!

[daily-hanamura]

Love your analysis of Yosuke’s character, it’s so detailed and fun to read! I’m kinda curious, what are your thoughts on his characterization in the fighting and dancing games?

Waaah thank you so much!! I'm glad you enjoyed them 💖

Oooh I actually LOVE his characterisation in p4d and p4au, probably because I think it brought out all my favourite parts of Yosuke and it really felt like Yosuke had matured a lot compared to his first appearance.

In P4A/U for example we see a lot of thoughts from other characters, and I really love that it's revealed how the others - not just Yu, but also Yukiko and Chie - rely on Yosuke a lot for emotional support, as the morale booster of the team, for direction when they don't know what to do, as the glue that keeps the group together, and it's so fantastic because it's so unlike how Yosuke sees himself. A lot of Yosuke's POV also reveals how much overthinking he does and how, despite his empathy in noticing when others are frustrated or worried, he feels like he doesn't do a very good job at cheering them up, even though when we look at their POVs we see that he did!! Both Yukiko and Chie call him up when they were worried about their friends going missing BECAUSE they feel better from talking to him!! Sorry but this particular factoid, this specific gap, sits in my head like a spitroast being rotated all the time because I cannot get over it. But he's trying though - we can see his motivations for the things that he says and how he tries to lighten the mood and yeah. It's great. I went into P4AU thinking it was going to be whatever but let me just say that was the game that triggered my single-minded obsession about Yosuke and the reason why this blog exists LOL like I was very much souyo and yosuke-brained aftert P4G but oh boy. P4AU tipped me over from obsessed to building this damn shrine for him :'D

He always laughs deprecatingly at himself even in the post p4g games, like in P4D - when he dances well he has a line that's like, "not such a disappointment after all" and it, again, really shows how he has such a poor perception of himself that he doesn't see his own good points, like the fact that he held out the second longest during their dance training, losing only to Rise, as pointed out by Yu. He's naturally talented and keeps up well with everyone elses dance style, but he doesn't really notice that either? Also a side thing I find hilarious/cute/endearing in P4D is also how Kanji exposes Yosuke's idol-loving-hours and Yosuke gets extremely embarrassed about it, because at his heart Yosuke does still like that kind of (somewhat) superficial thing, but he doesn't want people to know! It's a stark contrast to how he was earlier in P4G where he's more open about checking out girls (again, the whole "is this overcompensation" vs "is this a product of bro culture from his childhood friends" is a conversation that we can have) but it's a reflection of how that kind of talk tapers out a lot as the game progresses, and P4D was really consistent with the kind of growth that P4G gave Yosuke, instead of reducing him into that best-bro-friend stereotype, and for a game that was actually so short in narrative substance compared to P4AU, it was great. (I'm also convinced that P4D was trying to tell us Yosuke and Yu were dating but I'm not going to start on that again LOL)

And I think ultimately the reason why I feel like P4AU and P4D showcased a lot of growth for Yosuke is in his relationships with other people, because as much as Yosuke worries about how he's remained static, I think the fact that the others treat him with such respect (like when the first years and Teddie acknowledge that Yosuke is basically the team wrangler, and the difference between Yosuke at the start of P4G/in Magician compared to P4AU/D was someone who had become a lot more receptive about forming genuine relationships with other people instead of just protecting himself by surrounding himself with superficial relationships and yeah. yeah.

[thesrctsoftheuniverse]

i finished season 2 of 9-1-1 last night, here’s my thoughts:

athena and her family are so important to me. i love them so much and i love how quickly they accepted bobby into the family (except for athena's parents). bobby is going to be a great stepfather, and I love the relationship between him and michael. bobby and athena's relationship is adorable, i love them and i love the way they talk to each other. the sudden engagement and wedding were a bit wild ngl, but damn bobby knows what he wants!!! bobby's struggle with addition and with the grief of what he lost is so important to me. him telling athena that he's struggling to stay on the wagon after eating those brownies is so important to me. i love him.

maddie buckley you are the love of my life, want to get married?? she is so brave and so cool and so strong and i LOVE LOVE LOVE her relationship with buckley and chimney. her growth throughout the show, the confidence she gained in doing her job. one of the lines that still flies around my head is "help is not coming". she is genuinely so great. i loved the episodes centered around doug finding her, she fought so much. and the scene where she gets back up and stumbles through the forest and buck finds her and runs and jumps over stones and shit to get to her is truly one of my all time favourite scenes. as an older sibling that shit is so beautiful to me. buck and maddie love each other so much. it ruined me ngl

chimney is such a fucking hero. i love him. he's a fantastic friend and somehow managed to save the fucking day while on sick leave. if he hadn't checked the news and hadn't called his team and then called tommy to ask for help with the fires, that whole neighbourhood would probably be gone. i love him so much. he is so patient and kind with maddie. he loves her so much but he also respects her and her boundaries, no questions asked. he is just such an amazing character and i love him and i love his friendship with hen, they are truly besties4life!!!

hen. idk how to put into words how much i love her and how much her being a lesbian and having a family means to me. her recording that audio message while stuck in that hotel in the earthquake episode broke me. she loves her family so much. eva hurt her so much and she could have just let her die, but instead she did her job and helped her. her selflessness and compassion is so amazing. her hen begins episode is wonderful i miss her and athena having more scenes together though

buck is going through it with his relationships this season. he clearly has abandonment issues, he clings to his thing with abby way longer than necessary out of a sense of guilt or gratitude and simply because he believes that he cant find someone else that likes him for him. and then taylor goes buck 1.0 on him (deserved!!) and then ali dates him for a while (wish we had seen more of that, instead of time jumps) but as soon as he gets grievously injured drops the bomb on him that she doesn't know how to be with him while he has this job, the job that means everything to him. he's a workaholic and needs therapy, this much is clear. he loves maddie and watching him realise in real time that his sister and his coworker like each other was HILARIOUS. his relationship with eddie..... no words. and he LOVES chris. and i love his friendship with carla!!

eddie diaz i am a lesbian and i am in love with you. the introduction.... alright gay ass. he is just there and hot and competent and buck gets all angry over it LMFAO. the fact that he was still a probie during all of season 2 is wild, that man is so smart and quick at his job. him literally spider-manning up a building to save that boy??? jesus. i love him and i love his love for chris. he clearly loves being a father so much and puts chris before everything. his partnership with buck at work and friendship outside of it is everything to me. they are bonded for life. his character arc and getting to know him this season was beautiful. i loved shannon but it was clear they would have only stayed together for the kid(s). he wasn't sure of anything until she mentioned she thought she was pregnant again. the fact that he got her back, only for her to want a divorce when he had just told her he wanted to be a family again and then her immediately dying.... that man goes through so much shit. also FUCK his family. dude had to bury his wife and mother of his son and they're trying to uproot him. i love him i love him i love him. he is such a good dad and so good at his job and he deserves the world.

the earthquake episodes were amazing, i loved having them all react to this one thing from all different sides instead of 5 different emergencies in one episodes. the hen/chimney begins and the bobby begins again episodes were so important to understand the characters and their relationships to each other. chimney losing kevin. i kinda saw that coming but still. and hen having to deal with all that shit as soon as she got to work at the 118, only for chimney to immediately try to adopt her as his friend. i love them. bobby was fucking amazing at showing the 118 that he was a great captain once he got there, i love understanding more of his story. he is a great captain. he might not go to therapy but at least he talks to the priests, which seems to help him a lot and thats all that matters.

ALSO THOSE TWO OLD GAYS THAT HAD SPENT THEIR ENTIRE LIVES TOGETHER AND WHEN THE ONE DIED THE OTHER DIED SHORTLY AFTER WHILE HOLDING HIS HUSBANDS HAND WAS SO FUCKIGN BEAUTIFUL AND HEARTBREAKING I LOVED IT IM GONNA CRY I LOVE SEEING OLDER GAYS ON TV

also that scene at the end where civilians help life the truck off of buck's legs....crying.

hope i didnt forget anything! i currently have a headache, likely from always staying up late watching this fucking show.

bye

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

‘Our Flag Means Death’ Sneak Peek: Inside Blackbeard & Crew’s New Season 2 Looks

Breakups aren’t easy, but that’s especially true for the new and improved — depending on how you look at it — crew of the Revenge in Our Flag Means Death Season 2 premiering Thursday, October 5th on Max, as Blackbeard, a.k.a. Ed (Taika Waititi) continues to unravel after Gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) abandoned him in Season 1.

As with the end of Season 1, Blackbeard recedes even further into the persona of himself painted by various wanted posters. He’s sporting the same black eye makeup as he did in the first season’s finale and also influencing the way his crew looks while serving him aboard the vessel previously helmed by Stede. Above and below, we’re delving into some of those details with exclusive photos, exclusive interviews, and a brand-new clip teasing the dynamic aboard the Revenge.

In the sneak peek, below, times are tense for Frenchie (Joel Fry), Jim (Vico Ortiz), Fang (David Fane), and the newest member of the team, Archie (Madeleine Sami), as they observe Blackbeard’s second in command, Izzy Hands (Con O’Neill). As seen in the minute-and-a-half exchange, Izzy’s getting testy with the shipmates when they question orders to throw treasure overboard. “It is not your place to tell me what does or does not make sense. It is your job to follow my f**king orders,” Izzy spits, emotion welling in his makeup-darkened eyes.

Fang is the first to note that Izzy doesn’t seem to be doing fine, and Jim steps forward to add, “Yeah, we think you’re in an unhealthy relationship with Blackbeard.” Additional tidbits from the crew include the fact that Blackbeard does “a lot of rhino horn” and he’s cut off more of Izzy’s toes.

In other words, Ed’s downward spiral is wreaking havoc on Izzy and the rest of the gang. But depending on how you feel about certain pirate looks, their exterior makeovers are sure to excite, regardless of the reasoning behind them.

“[Blackbeard] sort of has this Mad Max thing that we already established in Season 1, that’s so gorgeous and so unique to [him]. So I just wanted to up that ante,” costume designer Gypsy Taylor tells TV Insider. “We started with that Mad Max black leather violent side of him, and he’s sort of infiltrated this crew now. So they’ve taken it upon themselves to become Beard’s crew in whatever circumstance they’re in.”

“They’ve all taken to that color palette of the black leather and filth, which makes ’em look mean,” Taylor adds with a laugh, but makes it clear, “individually, I wanted to give [them each] a really unique look.” Teaming up with Taylor to accomplish that look is hair and makeup designer Nancy Hennah, who enhances the fantastic clothing ensembles viewers will see onscreen.

“We spent a lot of time working out what we were going to do for the raid makeups,” Hennah says of the Revenge crew. “Blackbeard in particular has lost it a bit and is really going off on a tangent, and the rest of the crew have kind of been pulled into that. We spent a lot of time working out what products were going to be good to emulate [something like the] grease found on the boat and they’ve smeared it on their faces.”

“Blackbeard is really struggling with having lost Stede and is leaning into that dark side, which is frightening for everybody else, but they’re sort of trying to play along,” Hennah continues. While fans may have already seen previously-released photos of the crew, Taylor and Hennah dug into their personal archives to share exclusive sketches and behind-the-scenes photos to provide a closer look at their process and each individual character’s look aboard the Revenge. Check them out below.

Our Flag Means Death, Season 2 Premiere, Thursday, October 5, Max

“With Jim, that’s a huge transformation,” Taylor says about star Ortiz’s onscreen evolution. “It was a really exciting one. We talked about it a lot with Vico, and I wanted to bring in a whole lot of ropes and things that they would’ve found on the ship to make an outfit out of and a giant fishhook that we made a belt out of.”

When it comes to the Revenge crew’s ensembles, there’s a focus on found materials doubling as clothing, “so sort of scrounging and finding elements around pirate ships that they could make a costume out of,” Taylor elaborates, noting that the pirates are being resourceful in “almost the same way that drag queens do.”

When it came to styling Ortiz in their costume alongside the other crew members, Hennah says, “Vico had a great new hairstyle, which we were really excited about, and we cut that early on in our testing phase. Then they had to hide [it].

Everywhere they went, they were wearing a hat.” It was all about “getting the right balance between the amount of hair on top and the amount of hair that we took [off] on the side,” she adds of Jim’s mohawk sported by Ortiz, which can be seen in the sketch and behind-the-scenes test photos.

Similar to Jim’s found fashion, Frenchie’s sporting an edgier look this season that is supposed to look like stolen wares from another pirate. “Because pirates steal a lot,” Taylor says, “they’ve quite often got cool things that they’ve stolen off of other pirates. And that’s where the inspiration for Frenchie’s jacket came.” As fans may recall, Frenchie found cats particularly terrifying in Season 1, so it makes sense that he’d emulate the feline, which has a motif on the back of his coat according to Taylor.

“Maybe he stole it from another pirate ship, and then he made it his own by putting this sort of ode to Desperately Seeking Susan on the back of his jacket with this rearing cat, which in the first season, the cat was very innocent lightly licking his paw, and now we’ve gone really manic and bad,” says Taylor.

Meanwhile, Blackbeard’s soft-spoken, but brutish when-needed crew member is enhancing his look from last season with some ornamental additions. “We didn’t want to change Fang too much, but I incorporated a whole lot of new elements to his costume,” Taylor teases. “So he’s got the teeth of sperm whales all around his necklace, and then he’s got walrus teeth coming out of his jacket. So he’s sort of made a new look based on animals that he might’ve found out in the open seas, like dead carcasses and things like that.”

This behind-the-scenes shot from Hennah offers a closer look at Fane’s Fang on set.

An exciting aspect of the season for Taylor and Hennah was the addition of Archie to the crew, giving them something new to craft. “Archie’s now part of the gang, and she’s just a badass,” Taylor gushes. “We figured she was sort of deep from the dark alleyways of New York in her sort of street punk aesthetic.”

One piece of Archie’s ensemble is an homage to one of Taylor’s favorite films, The Warriors. “She’s wearing a little Warriors red leather gang jacket,” Taylor shares, adding, “Her t-shirt is a really cool, very subtle print of Blackbeard’s wanted poster.” Why? “She’s a bit of a fan girl,” Taylor notes. “She really looks up to Blackbeard and how bad he is.”

When it comes to tattoos, Hennah says, “I try to talk about their personal heritage and where they’ve come from and if there’s anything that they want in terms of tattoos.”

For Sami, Hennah sought out designs with Fijian and Indian influence to reflect the actor’s personal heritage. “I approached a Henna artist, and we just got her to do a drawing of some designs,” Hennah reveals. “And then Madeline and a few of the other makeup team [members] and I spent about four or five hours just turning those little puzzle pieces into the tattoos.”

Sami loved her tattoos so much that Hennah says she was told Sami “is thinking about getting one of the tattoos for real.”

And when it comes to Izzy, he’s not changing things too much. “He’s just a man of his own. He wouldn’t really listen to Blackbeard,” Taylor says. “So there were very subtle things [that we were going to do], like adding studs to his gloves so that when he beat up people, it was a little bit more violent.

But in the end, we took it away. He’s enough of a badass on his own.” Ultimately, the only real change people will see on Izzy went the show returns is, “He got a bit dirtier from being at sea. We broke him down more, added a bit more sort of salt and all those crusty sort of overlays.”

When it comes to the crew’s man in charge, Blackbeard’s transformation has evolved a bit since viewers last saw him in Season 1. “I wanted to keep his leathers because pirates, as you see in Season 1, are at sea for a really long time. They don’t have a closet, unlike the Gentleman pirate Stede. So they’re always just wearing the same thing and getting dirtier and dirtier and dirtier.”

When a pirate dons a new garment though, it’s usually stolen. Such is the case for Blackbeard, according to Taylor: “We figured he’d stolen this black leather jacket in a raid, but he’d sort of made it his own in his own manic way, much [like] he’s done with the ship where [things are torn down and burned].”

Wanting to reflect the season’s production design in Blackbeard’s coat, Taylor says, “We burned it, and we ripped it, and we added six different belts to the sides that are holding it together, which would be like he murdered six pirates and stole their belts. And he’s started to collect a little bit more jewelry. So you’ll start to see some new rings and a little lovely pearl necklace that he’s stolen off of someone at the wedding party [seen in the teaser trailer] perhaps.”

As for Blackbeard’s makeup and hair, Hennah says, “We stuck mostly around his eyes. It just looked more sinister, and he was a lot more disheveled. He spends a lot of time this season wet, which is a bit of a nightmare when you’ve got beards and wigs and drying and getting back to dry. He has always had two wigs, and we got an extra one made this season as well because we were having to swap between wet and dry a lot.”

Apart from the extra wig, it was the tattoos that made up Blackbeard’s biggest makeup change. “We added quite a few tattoos,” shares Hennah. “I think in Season 1, he had around 24 tattoos, but at times this season, we were up to 30, and three of them were the big chest tattoo and then a brand new back tattoo. I worked with Dean Sacred at Sacred Tattoo for the big back tattoo design. He did a beautiful drawing for us of the skull with the snake coming out, the skull’s eyes with the snake crying.” As fans can see, the snake and skull sit above another tattoo with the words “Trust No One.”

Will he ever trust again after Stede left? Only time will tell.

Source: TV Insider

[crescencestudio]

Intertwine!! WOW - you and your team did such an amazing, stunning, stellar, fantastic job. This story is going to stick with me for a while. it is also SO inspiring to know something so powerful can be created in so short a time period. You devs are absolutely crazy haha (but in a good way).

I've been eyeing some of the other Jam submissions, but... but there are so many. Are there any you have played and would personally recommend? Ideally with similar themes or softer stories?

ahhh thank you so much anon!!!!! i’m so happy it left an impact like that :’) i hope it leaves u with the happiest, warmest feelings <3 and yes! i was rly excited about otojam bc it would be this little story and experience that had to be contained within two months (in complete opposition to alaris which has taken eons). i would recommend a jam for any creative person it’s such a fun, helpful way of pushing urself to see what u can create in as little time as possible 💖

there are a lot of otojam submissions this year. very much like a little christmas for our community haha ^^

i haven’t gotten a chance to check out many bc catching up with work and resting but the ones that have caught my eye that might be in a similar genre are:

Project Blue

Silhouette (this one is very high on my list. i love another game this team has put out and this particular game looks very light hearted and fun/sweet!)

LyteLove

Potion Panik

Between: Stardust Rail (haven’t seen a lot of ppl talking about this one but the art is extremely pretty and soft!)

When the Wind Blew You Away (in terms of “softness” i’d say this game seems closest to intertwine! it seems to explore some of those softer, longing, intimate parts of love)

[lamuradex]

40K In 42 Days Update: Week One

@the-wip-project

Started with 20,191. I'm now at 24,331.

So that means I'm 4140 Words in. 10.35%.

I think I might be a little behind a week into the challenge, but I'll catch up. I'm not gonna let myself get too stressed by all this.

For this challenge I'm continuing my latest novel The Madman and The Princess, a comedic crime drama, which features a pair of crooks, Gideon and Madeline, trying to make their way in the world, all the while dealing with bigger criminals who keep trying to cause them trouble.

And, just because I'm bored, I'm going to post the last section I've been working on, where Madeline is part of a heist crew, and she's stuck with the insufferable team hacker while robbing someone's house and disabling the security.

Excerpt below the break

Madeline started looking around the room. A few bookshelves, multiple hard drives, a few processors branded with SuperTech, so they were almost certainly in the right place. No valuables though, which was disappointing.

“So, what I’m doing is, I’m plugging into the system and attacking the Log In Protocols with various programs. One’s that will bypass the password and let us in,” Charles explained.

“Great,” Maddy answered with very little interest.

“I just need to get something into the OS, make it boot up in safe mode, and thus bypass the log in altogether.”

“Grand,” she said with more emphasis.

“And then I’ll be able to-”

“Fantastic!” she interrupted sharply. She was still searching the room by torchlight, but could hear how put out he was. She didn’t care. “Isn’t all the security footage usually stored in a hard drive anyway? Couldn’t we just steal that?”

Charles flapped his lips like she’d just proposed flying out of there. “Are you insane? There could be so many back-ups. And even if not, it’s better to make sure the footage isn’t still on the computer.”

“Then why don’t we just take the whole computer? I’m sure it’s worth something,” she suggested.

“Yes, but I’d love to see you carry it out of here,” Charles shot back.

Maddy glared. “Ever been slapped by a plastic hand, Charles?”

“Pardon?”

“Would you like to be?” She brandished her prosthetic.

Charles grimaced, priming some insult. Likely one concerning dexterity. But Maddy didn’t give him the chance.

“There’s a safe over here, by the way.” She shone her torch at it. No picture to hide this one, it was a black rectangle in the wall with a keypad on it.

“Interesting,” Charles sprang out of his chair. “Let’s see what goodies are in here.” He popped on his headset and got Gloria on the line. “Gloria, I need info on a Hazard Safe 4013, serial number 345-” and Maddy stopped listening. She wandered to the computer, the tablet plugged in and doing… something. Then she paused. A metaphorical bulb came on over her head.

Security’s greatest weakness was always human error, or so Gideon had always taught her. You could walk right in to or out of any building with the right uniform and a confident enough attitude. All it took was a lazy guard who didn’t want to check credentials, or someone who could be intimidated out of doing their job.

And this security room was inside someone's house. Surely, if someone was in here, as they already were, then that meant they’d already beaten the security, right? And from what she knew, Efram Malik was in his forties. He was old. The kind of man who may have forgotten his dog and left it to his staff to manage for the weekend. 

She leaned around the monitor and checked the back. And, while not on the monitor itself, there was a little scrap of yellow paper sticking out from under the mouse mat. It was a post-it note. On it was written “Mailk1985SUPERSTAR!” in messy handwriting.

Without checking with Charles, she typed it in and unlocked the computer.

“I’m in,” she said dramatically.

“What!” Charles looked back.

Maddy got up and didn’t care to explain. “You two got that safe open yet?”

“What? No? How did you-”

“Have you tried powder on the keypad to check for fingerprints. That’s worked for me in the past,” she bold facedly lied.

“I’ll… I’ll get to that computer in a minute. Don’t touch anything else.”

“You sure? I could check the cameras to see where the valuables are?” she suggested.

Charles flapped, stuck between working on the safe and working on the computer.

“Do you want me to work on the safe? You can hack the system or whatever?”

“Um… Yes, that sounds right,” Charles agreed, sounding a little confused at even that decision.

“Then I’ll need your headset, right? Have Gloria walk me through the safe?” She stuck out a hand to accept it.

Charles thought, but clearly couldn’t come up with an argument. He passed over the Bluetooth earpiece and a small bag of tech tools. Maddy clipped on the earpiece.

“…and what do you mean you’re alone with her? Charles? Answer me?” Gloria called.

“Charles can’t come to the phone right now. He wants me to get the safe open while he deals with the cameras and such,” Maddy answered in her best call centre voice.

“What? Why are you on Charles’s phone?”

“I literally just said,” Maddy stated. “Now, how am I getting into this safe. Because I could just take a crowbar to it if it’s easier.”

“No!” Gloria stopped her. “Seriously, Charles wants you to open the safe?”

“He’s very busy,” Maddy brushed her off, temper rising.

“How much do you know about private security?”

“I’m going to say very little.”

“And what about coaxial ports and cables?”

“Even less.”

“And you’re supposed to get a safe open? Oh, honey,” Gloria crooned.

Maddy took a breath, counting to ten in her head. “Look, all you need to do is tell me what bits go where and we can do this. If not, we can wait until Charles is done with the computer. So, what are we doing?”

Gloria sighed. “If I must. Tell me, are there any ports on the front of the safe?”

Maddy looked. “No.”

“No little divots? Little plug sockets? You know what a plug looks like, right?”

Maddy did her best to shoot a scowl down the phone line. “Did you really just ask that?”

“Are there any holes on the front of the safe?” Gloria asked slowly.

“No there are not,” Maddy answered slower. “The front is a clean matt-black with a ten number keypad. There’s a digital display for the numbers but the classic sort like a calculator display. There are no ports of any kind. So, now what?”

Gloria thought a moment. “Can you find any powder in your vicinity? There might still be residue on the buttons.”

Maddy gritted her teeth so hard it hurt.

[marthawrites]

Late again, BUT here's my October reads! General spoiler free thoughts below the cut ♥

From Below: Diving into this book I really wasn't sure what to expect aside from the obvious! The premise was pretty simple: a diving team goes under to examine a shipwreck that mysteriously happened in the 1920s. So, lots of dark, creepy, unsettling vibes in the deep dark ocean. AHHH I hate deep dark water so when I saw this book I knew I had to check it out. Overall this was a very tense, suspenseful, and claustrophobic read. For me, personally, the pacing felt a little weird. But it was an enjoyable story nonetheless with tons of creepyness going on. I think it would make a really interesting movie!!

Diavola: This was a "haunted house" style book that I was really interested in checking out! Honestly one of my favorite horror tropes is "the house is sick and so are we" (thanks AHS murder house!!). This story definitely had ghosts and psychological horror vibes and it was overall a spooky, entertaining, and weird read. The family in it was borderline insufferable though LOL and I think that was the whole point!! The ghost dilemma was nearly (if not totally) overshadowed by how horrible the family was! Which, again, I think was the point - the author did a fantastic job writing believable shitty characters (and I say this with respect)!

Salt and Broom: This was a witchy retelling of Jane Eyre. It fit perfectly into the October vibe and the writing was a refreshing change for me - a very sweet, secretive, somewhat dark, clean read. A lot of books I read are intended for a mature audience, and this was a nice change of pace. I would 100% feel good recommending this to a pre-teen to check out! It had a happy ending too and I am always a sucker for a happy ending!

A Friend In the Dark: Oh man this one was crazy!! It goes to show how you can never be too careful around people you meet online - ahhh! Very wild. If you enjoy face paced thrillers I definitely recommend checking this out!

Black River Orchard: Okay this was by far my favorite read of the month. I really don't want to give too much away because it's GOOD and when the things start adding up it's a big "OOOOH!!". Overall this is, imo, an incredibly well done, original, take on vampires. There's lots of different characters in this book, and they all have POV chapters, so at first it seems (to me anyway) overwhelming to keep track of everyone. Speaking of the characters, I absolutely loved how the author wrote all of them. They all had their own distinct voice and it was soso well done. HIGHLY recommend looking at this book!

The Haunting of Ashburn House: My last spooky read for the month! Haunted house stories are always fun for me, and this one didn't disappoint. Overall an entertaining read that also had a cast of well written characters

Shadow and Storms: The final book in the "Blood and Steel series"! This whole series was a nice break between the horror, thrillers, and weird books I've been reading. The ending did feel a little rushed, all the big build up to the big bad guy villain and war, for it all to be over relatively quickly. But, I'm not totally complaining. It DID end with a happily ever after and I'm always a fan of those

Bonded by Thorns: A "beauty and the beast" retelling. WHEW defs not kid appropriate though! This was very "spicy" while also staying relatively true to the original story. A great read if you want to check out of real life for a bit!

Never Lie: My first Fredia McFadden book! I now understand why people call her books "popcorn thrillers". It seems like people either love her stuff or hate it. I enjoyed this one for sure! Very twisty, fast paced, and quick! I'm glad I started with this one because I feel like it's one of her more popular ones. I will be checking out more of her stuff!

This was the most books I've ever read in a single month - wowowow!

[splitting-infinities]

To Perish Twice

It's finally time to post my contribution to the 2023 Malevolent Big Bang!

Introducing a spooky, gothic ghost story inspired by Jane Eyre:

This fic also includes some stunning pieces created by two absolutely wonderful artists, Court @rawkingbunny and Drake @genderfluid-draws. You can find their art and more on their linked Tumblrs! They're also embedded in the fic during the corresponding scenes.

Court also created a fantastic podfic to go along with this story, which will be linked to the fic on AO3 as a related work. You can also listen to the entire thing on Spotify here.

Stay tuned for a masterpost that will include all pieces created by our team once everyone's posted them.

Special thanks to @cosmya, my good friend and long-time beta for being a second set of eyes during editing.

And finally, thank you to the organizers of @malevolentbigbang, who did an incredible job orchestrating such a fun event. If you have a chance to send some love their way, please do!

Don't forget to check out the rest of the amazing works in the 2023 Big Bang collection, which you can find here.

Hope you enjoy!

[danmeiljie]

Just Say It: 说

Remember this scene:

It is one of my favorites from Advance Bravely.

We get Flirting. Awkwardness. Tall actor/models making other tall actor/models look tiny. The almighty Loom. So it made me want to remind myself how this scene played out in the novel.

I thought the phrasing "just spill it" and "dont be mouselike" was a bit odd sounding to me, and since American English is my first language and Im forever inexplicably interested in Mandarin, I wanted to do some research.

DISCLAIMER: This post is in no way attempting to criticise or put down the original translation team and their work on this novel. They did a fantastic job with this insane story! Im just being a very curious language learner. Neither am I claiming to have any training as a translator or in the Chinese language. I am just taking advantage of the few tools available to me.

@sugarbabywenkexing helped me think this thru and got me the screenshots from the show. Thank you friend! She also worked on updating a translation for her own gif project and was the one to catch the difference between the book and the drama. We both found that they adapted the scenes from the book very faithfully as they could!

Note that the line in Mandarin in the novel and the line in the show are a little different. Notably, the show drops the little bit at the end and takes out a character:

Line from novel: “下次再想吃就直接说，可怜劲儿的。”

Line from script: 下次再想吃直接说。

First I decided to see what google translate does with the line. Google is usually hit or miss for me, but I find if you include enough context it comes out okay.

Line from the novel:

Line from the script:

(Im ignoring the improper usage of "I want" since I already know the subject of the sentence is "you" or Xia Yao and not Yuan Zong, the speaker)

I noticed the difference between "mouselike" and pathetic and decided to consult Pleco, my favorite chinese dictionary app.

Seems that it checks out.

Also the Mandarin verbage of "直接说" which google is saying means "speak directly", seems to be fairly straightforward enough, and my guess is, the phrasing "spill it" is trying to invoke his casual tone by relying on english slang. It made me think at first there was a euphamism going on here since this novel is chock full of sexual innuendos, but it seems the Mandarin here is not a slang term. (Native speakers welcome to correct me!)

CONCLUSION:

I love the flirting tone of Yuan Zong here. Xu Feng does a great job portraying that with his performance and the voice actor who delivered the line had great inflection. I guess the script writers decided to cut out the "its pathetic" comment, but I like it for this scene in the book.

I think the original fan translation does a creative job of expressing Yuan Zong and his teasing of Xia Yao, but like I said it felt a bit unnatural in English and if I were to take a stab at the line, I'd go with something closer to the MTL.

"Next time if you want to eat some, just say so. It's pathetic."

Why does any of this matter?

*shrugs*

It doesnt really like I said before I love languages and am curious about translation and wanted to see for myself. The gist of the scene as written in the novel comes across accurately in the fan translation and the drama adaptation.

Remember, if you want something, just say it. ;)

Thank you to the original translation team for allowing me to read this danmei novel! Unfortunately I like it too much.j

[londonspirit]

Breakups aren’t easy, but that’s especially true for the new and improved — depending on how you look at it — crew of the Revenge in Our Flag Means Death Season 2 premiering Thursday, October 5th on Max, as Blackbeard, a.k.a. Ed (Taika Waititi) continues to unravel after Gentleman pirate Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) abandoned him in Season 1.

As with the end of Season 1, Blackbeard recedes even further into the persona of himself painted by various wanted posters. He’s sporting the same black eye makeup as he did in the first season’s finale and also influencing the way his crew looks while serving him aboard the vessel previously helmed by Stede. Above and below, we’re delving into some of those details with exclusive photos, exclusive interviews, and a brand-new clip teasing the dynamic aboard the Revenge.

In the sneak peek, below, times are tense for Frenchie (Joel Fry), Jim (Vico Ortiz), Fang (David Fane), and the newest member of the team, Archie (Madeleine Sami), as they observe Blackbeard’s second in command, Izzy Hands (Con O’Neill). As seen in the minute-and-a-half exchange, Izzy’s getting testy with the shipmates when they question orders to throw treasure overboard. “It is not your place to tell me what does or does not make sense. It is your job to follow my f**king orders,” Izzy spits, emotion welling in his makeup-darkened eyes.

Fang is the first to note that Izzy doesn’t seem to be doing fine, and Jim steps forward to add, “Yeah, we think you’re in an unhealthy relationship with Blackbeard.” Additional tidbits from the crew include the fact that Blackbeard does “a lot of rhino horn” and he’s cut off more of Izzy’s toes.

In other words, Ed’s downward spiral is wreaking havoc on Izzy and the rest of the gang. But depending on how you feel about certain pirate looks, their exterior makeovers are sure to excite, regardless of the reasoning behind them.

“[Blackbeard] sort of has this Mad Max thing that we already established in Season 1, that’s so gorgeous and so unique to [him]. So I just wanted to up that ante,” costume designer Gypsy Taylor tells TV Insider. “We started with that Mad Max black leather violent side of him, and he’s sort of infiltrated this crew now. So they’ve taken it upon themselves to become Beard’s crew in whatever circumstance they’re in.”

“They’ve all taken to that color palette of the black leather and filth, which makes ’em look mean,” Taylor adds with a laugh, but makes it clear, “individually, I wanted to give [them each] a really unique look.” Teaming up with Taylor to accomplish that look is hair and makeup designer Nancy Hennah, who enhances the fantastic clothing ensembles viewers will see onscreen.

“We spent a lot of time working out what we were going to do for the raid makeups,” Hennah says of the Revenge crew. “Blackbeard in particular has lost it a bit and is really going off on a tangent, and the rest of the crew have kind of been pulled into that. We spent a lot of time working out what products were going to be good to emulate [something like the] grease found on the boat and they’ve smeared it on their faces.”

“Blackbeard is really struggling with having lost Stede and is leaning into that dark side, which is frightening for everybody else, but they’re sort of trying to play along,” Hennah continues. While fans may have already seen previously-released photos of the crew, Taylor and Hennah dug into their personal archives to share exclusive sketches and behind-the-scenes photos to provide a closer look at their process and each individual character’s look aboard the Revenge. Check them out below.

Our Flag Means Death, Season 2 Premiere, Thursday, October 5, Max

“With Jim, that’s a huge transformation,” Taylor says about star Ortiz’s onscreen evolution. “It was a really exciting one. We talked about it a lot with Vico, and I wanted to bring in a whole lot of ropes and things that they would’ve found on the ship to make an outfit out of and a giant fishhook that we made a belt out of.” When it comes to the Revenge crew’s ensembles, there’s a focus on found materials doubling as clothing, “so sort of scrounging and finding elements around pirate ships that they could make a costume out of,” Taylor elaborates, noting that the pirates are being resourceful in “almost the same way that drag queens do.”

When it came to styling Ortiz in their costume alongside the other crew members, Hennah says, “Vico had a great new hairstyle, which we were really excited about, and we cut that early on in our testing phase. Then they had to hide [it]. Everywhere they went, they were wearing a hat.” It was all about “getting the right balance between the amount of hair on top and the amount of hair that we took [off] on the side,” she adds of Jim’s mohawk sported by Ortiz, which can be seen in the sketch and behind-the-scenes test photos.

Similar to Jim’s found fashion, Frenchie’s sporting an edgier look this season that is supposed to look like stolen wares from another pirate. “Because pirates steal a lot,” Taylor says, “they’ve quite often got cool things that they’ve stolen off of other pirates.  And that’s where the inspiration for Frenchie’s jacket came.” As fans may recall, Frenchie found cats particularly terrifying in Season 1, so it makes sense that he’d emulate the feline, which has a motif on the back of his coat according to Taylor. “Maybe he stole it from another pirate ship, and then he made it his own by putting this sort of ode to Desperately Seeking Susan on the back of his jacket with this rearing cat, which in the first season, the cat was very innocent lightly licking his paw, and now we’ve gone really manic and bad,” says Taylor.

Meanwhile, Blackbeard’s soft-spoken, but brutish when-needed crew member is enhancing his look from last season with some ornamental additions. “We didn’t want to change Fang too much, but I incorporated a whole lot of new elements to his costume,” Taylor teases. “So he’s got the teeth of sperm whales all around his necklace, and then he’s got walrus teeth coming out of his jacket. So he’s sort of made a new look based on animals that he might’ve found out in the open seas, like dead carcasses and things like that.”

An exciting aspect of the season for Taylor and Hennah was the addition of Archie to the crew, giving them something new to craft. “Archie’s now part of the gang, and she’s just a badass,” Taylor gushes. “We figured she was sort of deep from the dark alleyways of New York in her sort of street punk aesthetic.”

One piece of Archie’s ensemble is an homage to one of Taylor’s favorite films, The Warriors. “She’s wearing a little Warriors red leather gang jacket,” Taylor shares, adding, “Her t-shirt is a really cool, very subtle print of Blackbeard’s wanted poster.” Why? “She’s a bit of a fan girl,” Taylor notes. “She really looks up to Blackbeard and how bad he is.”

When it comes to tattoos, Hennah says, “I try to talk about their personal heritage and where they’ve come from and if there’s anything that they want in terms of tattoos.” For Sami, Hennah sought out designs with Fijian and Indian influence to reflect the actor’s personal heritage. “I approached a Henna artist, and we just got her to do a drawing of some designs,” Hennah reveals. “And then Madeline and a few of the other makeup team [members] and I spent about four or five hours just turning those little puzzle pieces into the tattoos.” Sami loved her tattoos so much that Hennah says she was told Sami “is thinking about getting one of the tattoos for real.”

And when it comes to Izzy, he’s not changing things too much. “He’s just a man of his own. He wouldn’t really listen to Blackbeard,” Taylor says. “So there were very subtle things [that we were going to do], like adding studs to his gloves so that when he beat up people, it was a little bit more violent. But in the end, we took it away. He’s enough of a badass on his own.” Ultimately, the only real change people will see on Izzy went the show returns is, “He got a bit dirtier from being at sea. We broke him down more, added a bit more sort of salt and all those crusty sort of overlays.”

When it comes to the crew’s man in charge, Blackbeard’s transformation has evolved a bit since viewers last saw him in Season 1. “I wanted to keep his leathers because pirates, as you see in Season 1, are at sea for a really long time. They don’t have a closet, unlike the Gentleman pirate Stede. So they’re always just wearing the same thing and getting dirtier and dirtier and dirtier.” When a pirate dons a new garment though, it’s usually stolen. Such is the case for Blackbeard, according to Taylor: “We figured he’d stolen this black leather jacket in a raid, but he’d sort of made it his own in his own manic way, much [like] he’s done with the ship where [things are torn down and burned].”

Wanting to reflect the season’s production design in Blackbeard’s coat, Taylor says, “We burned it, and we ripped it, and we added six different belts to the sides that are holding it together, which would be like he murdered six pirates and stole their belts. And he’s started to collect a little bit more jewelry. So you’ll start to see some new rings and a little lovely pearl necklace that he’s stolen off of someone at the wedding party [seen in the teaser trailer] perhaps.”

As for Blackbeard’s makeup and hair, Hennah says, “We stuck mostly around his eyes. It just looked more sinister, and he was a lot more disheveled. He spends a lot of time this season wet, which is a bit of a nightmare when you’ve got beards and wigs and drying and getting back to dry. He has always had two wigs, and we got an extra one made this season as well because we were having to swap between wet and dry a lot.”

Apart from the extra wig, it was the tattoos that made up Blackbeard’s biggest makeup change. “We added quite a few tattoos,” shares Hennah. “I think in Season 1, he had around 24 tattoos, but at times this season, we were up to 30, and three of them were the big chest tattoo and then a brand new back tattoo. I worked with Dean Sacred at Sacred Tattoo for the big back tattoo design. He did a beautiful drawing for us of the skull with the snake coming out, the skull’s eyes with the snake crying.” As fans can see, the snake and skull sit above another tattoo with the words “Trust No One.”

Will he ever trust again after Stede left? Only time will tell.

[altschmerzes]

Thoughts on the new ted lasso episode?????? I have so many conflicting opinions re: zava

well first of all this is how i enjoyed it:

i will be repeating the experience weekly. cannot more highly recommend cosymode ted lasso.

as for the episode itself- [shrieks into my hands] i'm gonna put some thoughts under a cut, both generally and re: zava specifically, thank you for asking. these thoughts are not going to be at all organized and mostly composed in run-on sentences i am so sorry.

IM ALSO.... CONFLICTED ON ZAVA I THINK though it's interesting bc as i was watching the episode i kept getting like, OUTRAGEOUSLY distracted by..... [checks notes] not knowing what his first name is. this is not a joke. it was ACTIVELY distracting for me. i kept telling myself sometimes people are like this. like cher. you don't need to know his first name. and then two minutes later someone would mention him again and i'd be like What Is The Man's Fucking Name Though. it was so bizarre lmaooo.

honestly re: the man himself i'm like!! idk!!! jamie is clearly already way in his feelings about this and i can only imagine it's going to get worse which is gonna be. fucking delicious if we actually get to spend some time with and unpack it because 'i feel like i'm being replaced and i'm getting anxious/upset/lashing out about it' is one of my favourite sources of Angst Plots. we shall see. i am as always a combination of hopeful and anxious.

the dude playing him really did a great job striking a very specific and identifiable vibe for someone who had like Three Lines of dialogue and whose face we saw clearly like once.

i feel like i have two diverging paths in front of me with this guy's arc and it's either gonna be 'i'm riveted and having a great time' or 'please get this dude out of my face' and no in-between

and now for some general thoughts:

didn't realize this was the chelsea episode and somehow still had 'chelsea dagger' on repeat while cleaning up and getting ready to go cosymode. (i am stealing that song from its association with the chicago hockey team. it whips too hard to be left to them.) enjoyed the accidental reference when i turned on the tv and saw the title. also kept remembering a couple irl friends who are chelsea fans and having myself a giggle.

speaking of 'great time' vs 'get this out of my face' how relieved am i that they've now bait-and-switched me TWICE with fucking. love triangle bullshit. with roy and keeley and jamie. when he followed roy and not keeley i was like. oh thank fuck. the ensuing scene was both very sweet and very funny. they are welcome to continue bait and switching me on this as long as the switch Continues To Happen but if this goes in a Direction i am not gonna be thrilled.

something is brewing with keeley's company. it's not gonna....... go well, i think. something is gonna come to a head there, i got the feeling from the drop, and i'm not sure what or how yet but something's gonna give with that. all those scenes have this weird like. tension to them that i can't quite put my finger on and im intrigued to see where it goes.

i actually really like the CFO woman? she seems like a very interesting character and i think she and keeley could balance each other very well.

my jamie and dani besties agenda is flourishing. so is dani's hair. it's fantastic and i want to braid it.

oh speaking of hair back to zava for a second. beard pulled up the footage of him and i literally said out loud, pronouncing the letters not the word 'motherfucker': "oh this mf has my haircut"

AND SPEAKING OF DANI when he said "fuck off trent crimm" i think i shriek-laughed so hard the whole block heard me. dani my fucking beloved. i adore you.

y'know who else had a good episode here? isaac. his body language thing was so good. it made me laugh and also was a SPECTACULAR look into him as a person. every time we get a scrap of characterization on one of the secondary richmond player characters i dance around like the soot sprites with the candies in that ghibli movie i can't recall the title of off the dome.

i probably overblow this in my head, right, because everyone thinks their own perspective is like Super Unique or something but i really do think being an enormous irl sports fan is enhancing the experience i'm having with this show so much. watching the fans unfurl that banner for roy and cheer for him like that was like... immediately a half dozen welcome back tribute videos and player homecomings i've watched raced through my head and i was literally in actual physical tears. both bc of what was happening on screen and bc of All The Rest Of That in my head.

speaking of. oh my gd my heart hurt so much for roy as soon as he pulled that fucking. newspaper clipping from his wallet. i liked that he ripped it up at the end but i do wish it had come a little harder. he's been carrying that thing around for 20 years i'd have liked to see a biiiiit more of a battle over letting it go. still. holy shit and the bit at the end? about leaving chelsea? winded me. WINDED ME.

to be honest this was a rough one for him all around. i cannot imagine everyone i know making my breakup front page news in THEIR life too. which is like- they mean well and it's obviously coming from a good place and the people talking to him directly - jamie, ted, etc - are like. trying to be kind and supportive but if i were him i'd want to run away and also die in a hole about it so. big #felt that whole thing. even so, i do also have to say-

the roy's hyperbolic violence/threats thing is Back With A Vengeance! we know how i feel about this. i had a whole post about how i feel about this. it's a Bit, i know, it's a goof, this being a comedy show and roy being The Angry One but still i just. i feel like they take it a liiiiiittle past the pale in this ep, in general and also with jamie specifically. roy flying at him in the locker room during the big 'who's on first' round robin was a Bit Much for me - and i know i harp on this a lot but i maintain my stance here - given their history to this point. ted saying to roy near the end of the episode that like, he needed to get his act together or he'd be ruining more than one match was a good touch that did a lot to defuse some of my unease with this running thread but. it was still there and i was still a little [oh boy.gif] about it.

anyway so now i'm knee-deep in a fic about That.

overall it was spectacular, i really enjoyed it. knocked out of the park episode thank you so much.

i have many more discrete thoughts but i have to clip it here my keyboard is starting to lag lmaoooo