#okay so technically one of them's bi and also spoilers but still

[izzetengineer]

(Continued every-so-often 'hey, I wrote/am writing a thing!' re-up, because why not and because people keep on talking about wanting more stuff with transmasc leads [and also because tumblr's search function is... itself])

Because I know tumblr likes pictures, and while I definitely want to update this at some point, it absolutely works for now (EDIT: Also the photos are half mine [second one on the top row, all but the hands on the bottom] and half from Unsplash - the update I want to do is to make all of them mine)

ARGENTUM IN AQUA (Blood on the Snow, Silver in the Ashes, Fire in the Sky) All student magician Jonathan Fest wants is to keep his head down and finish out his first year of university without failing his exams too badly. Unfortunately for him, fate and the two secret societies warring in the shadows of the city have other plans.

Enter stage left Archer, a gentleman scholar with a past a good deal more chequered than his present would suggest; Sabbat, a thief and assassin whose loyalty to the few people he counts as friends is as unshakeable as his temper is fiery; and Viola, lady's maid, bodyguard, and surrogate big sister to the only daughter of the most famous family of magicians in Sacaan. Thrown together by a series of unexplained events, the four magicians soon find themselves facing down a cunning adversary and an escalation in the shadow war which could spell disaster not just for them, but for the city as a whole. Penny dreadfuls, it turns out, are a lot less fun when you're in one. Argentum in Aqua is an ongoing LGBTQ+ gaslamp fantasy serial which you can read for free over at my site: saranadosfiction.com

Content warnings: Contains a fairly large amount of swearing and, given several of the cast are vampires, non-trivial amounts of blood/upchucking (though more Gentleman Bastards/Six of Crows levels than First Law), as well as some stuff around addiction, mentioned suicide and self-harm (as a ‘you won’t get the satisfaction if I take control of my own ending’ response), PTSD and mental illness.

[loremaster]

rain code dlc thoughts

watched em all (spoilers obviously)

desuhiko:

can't believe this guy literally tried flirting with a child. he has gone unchecked for too long. we need to beat him up

enyne is good. i would love to see her in a cool thief outfit

not worth $5

fubuki:

the interactions between the detectives were cute. but i wish she'd gotten a chance to shine more on her own

it was kind of aggravating how slow they solved the mystery though. all that wondering about what the numbers could possibly mean... y'all the die was right there

not worth $5

halara:

kind of a shame that this one was the only actual investigative one. it was great!!! i liked the mystery setup and i liked figuring out how the culprit pulled it off even if the identity of the culprit was obvious the moment he showed up

"Good girl, Sugar" lololololol

good to know halara can be bought with cats instead of shien. love that yakou's totally onto their shit

and the cat they have a picture of is REAL!!! IT'S NOT A RANDOM JPG FROM THE INTERNET (WHICH I HAD ASSUMED)

worth $5

vivia:

i love how before it came out we were all like "please... one conversation with yakou... even just a mention of him would be okay" and then we got hit with a flaming rainbow fist #LoveWins

vivia all like "i wish i had something in this world to care about" and yakou literally forcing open the doors to his cold dead heart in response

the way he keeps flashing back to all the little things yakou has done to care for him... vivia you can't deny the truth anymore. you can't run from these gay thoughts

fellas is it gay to be another man's reason for living? (only if you share an umbrella)

for those who don't know, sharing an umbrella is like the most romantic thing you can do in japan. the only way this could have been more explicitly textually gay is if one of them pointed out how beautiful the moon was.

where's my Melt amv

'i'll enjoy the scenery along the way' *yakou seductively swaying his hips back and forth* HELLO???????????????????????

i hope after that is when vivia finally agrees to that dinner date

honestly up until now i've been very attached to the idea of vivia being head over heels for yakou the whole time and yakou not ever really noticing but now???? my god. this chief really can bisexual

speaking of bi i'm also not opposed to the idea of vivia/ryo... them both being like 'i'm interested in you' 'i'm interested in you too' oh are you now? hmmmm...

and they were both ghosts (oh my god they were ghosts)

I was saying to my friends while we were playing it that it makes sense the first suicide was 5 years ago, before the blank week incident... because otherwise she wouldn't have been a ghost at all, just a walking corpse

loved that line btw. 'all humans are just walking corpses' good news vivia, you're among peers here in kanai ward

worth $5. i mean technically since vivia/yakou dlcs are bundled together (gaaaay) it only cost $2.50 so it's extra worth it.

the amount of fanfiction that will inevitably come out of this is worth way more than $5

yakou:

his hips still do the little wiggle even as a zombie. can't slay the sashay away <3

him thinking of all the other detectives.... UUU....

yuma's flashback is from ch5 after yakou's already dead (but clearly there's still enough of him left...)

desuhiko's... is it from the dlc? idk. he said "i won't cause any problems" and then went on to cause many problems

halara's scene from the dlc is clearly a moment that made a big impression on yakou LMFAO... i mean if halara nightmare sat in MY chair it would make an impression on me too :flushed:

fubuki's i'm pretty sure is from ch.4 as yakou is dying on the floor?? he must have felt so bad, hearing her cry so much while he was fading away and couldn't do anything about it... his last moments UUUUUU

vivia gets the FUCKING aforementioned umbrella scene. sad wet cat man. learning to accept kindness and finding something (someone) worth living for... the exact moment vivia falls in love with him lmfao. and this is the moment that sticks out in yakou's zombie brain. seeing someone in need and actually being able to reach out and help them (for once). ;_;

and then SHE!!!!!!! SHEEEEEEEEEE

i shrieked when i saw her

mad she STILL doesn't have a name but oh man. i love her. i mean i already loved her when i saw the labcoat + turtleneck combo but the GLASSESSSSSS. and her VOICE AARGGGHHH they picked the perfect va for her

She must've given him the glasses while she was still alive, since he's the one wearing them in The Photo. good call, he looks naked without them

and now we really understand why yakou is as pitifully broke as he is, because he can't bring himself to make the corrupt choice that screws over innocent people for the sake of money. love that for him. he suffers so much for the sake of his city

very funny that he couldn't recognize his childhood friend (i'm assuming she recognized him immediately from across the room lmao). love the idea that she's trans. they're t4t your honor

she asked the most useless man to be her bodyguard but we all know who's protecting whom lmao

i feel like she must have been the one who proposed to him. or at least knowingly coaxed him into it haha

AND THE BADGE... UUUUUU.... and her ghost led him to it.... she had such an important job to do...

need to see vivia talk to her now. ghost 2 ghost communication. yakou simp 2 yakou simp

i think she would tell yakou to go kiss that goth boy silly

and most importantly... the medicine. the research... her dream lives on... i thought it was stupid that makoto literally cancelled everything about the homunculus research - sure they didn't need to make any more but how about research into alternate diets? or uv protection beyond like. sunscreen. WHAT ABOUT HER RESEARCH MAKOTO. PLEASE

so the existence of a possible cure for zombie homunculus begs the question... what's next for yakou? we thought his story was done but turns out it's far from yakouver, bitches. he's coming back one way or another.

what will he do with this magical macguffin - bring it to somewhere they can analyze it and duplicate it, or just take the pill himself? how complete is this untested theoretical cure? will yakou Come Back Wrong? is he gonna struggle to speak? (though that'd be a waste of kaiji tang)... is he gonna struggle with the urge to, you know, eat human flesh? i think that would be pretty hot cool

of course there's the chance it won't work at all. or will just straight up kill him, speedrun to reuniting with dead wife

definitely worth $5. or $2.50.

but at the same time since it actually does continue the main plot of rain code in an interesting way (or hint at it) i think they should bundle it with the main game instead of vivia's dlc

i mean if i had it my way they'd ALL be free but... i get it. they gotta gauge popularity somehow (and pay the devs/vas for extra work)

anyway. i should be working on homework but no. this game has absolutely ruined me

[2346khith]

AU retcons

So I decided to make a few retcon to my au either because of new ideas or past mistakes.

Sub Zero family name change: So I've been referring to my version of the Sub zero sister as Lisa Liang as I though that was her canonical name and that Liang was the family name. However I was just confused as Conquest Lisa last name was never stated and I just thought it was Liang from an unreliable source on reddit, @Laismoura-art aus and my own imagination because as stated in my bio, I'm a dumbass. So in order to avoid confusion with my version of Lisa I'll be referring to her as Kuai Lisa, using the Chinese tradition of putting the surname first though I may change this later down the line. Also, also, @laismoura-art, if your seeing this I just wanted to say that I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience. While my version of Lisa was inspired by yours it was never my intention to copy her nor is it my plan too. You've work so very hard visualizing Lisa into your own image, making her into such an amazing character and I don't want to ruin that for you. If you have anymore grievances about my version of her please let me know and I'll change them right away.

Sub zero's personality: Okay, this technically not a retcon but more like addon I forgot to mention in a pervious post So I made this long ass post about how my version of sub zero's personality is different from canon.

Check it out for better context. Everything said in there is true though there are some slight changes/add ons I'm here. Sub Zero personality is exactly the way I describe it in that post but basically, when I talk about my version of Sub Zero I want you guys to picture his personality as a combination of Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes(specifically Falcon and the winter soldier era) and Tom Ellis Lucifer Morningstar.

Basically he would have Bucky's tired of everything mentality, sarcastic wit, headstrong fortitude, loyalty, emptiness, major guilt, distance from others and Lucifers charm, impulsiveness, curiosity, insecurity, brutal honest, aloof of certain social cues, and persuasive nature mixed in with a calm demeanor, diplomatic mentality, calculative mindset and chameleon like acting skills. Again not exactly a retcon but something I wanted to mention.

3. How the reunion went. So originally had it so that Sub Zero reunited with his sister after he ran away from the cyber initiative, fled to America to find the other Earthrealm fighters, got jumped by the black dragon and left for dead in an ally way, until he was found and nurse back to health when Lisa found him. However after I wrote my Bi Han Irony and Pain, I wanted to implement some parts of Iwhat I've wrote there into my au so now in this timeline Bi Han was the only one who remember their childhood in America and told Liang about it and even told him about his plan to run away with him also wanting Liang to run away with him too though he didn't pay much attention to it, since he didn't have any attachment to his mother or sister that Bi Han would gush about. When the cyber initiative happened though, it was the only place he though be safe to go to so he actively search for it. This time he bad hurt from the Lin Kuei Cyborgs but he was saved by a mysterious figure(spoiler it scorpion) and manage to escape though still very injured and made his way to an address that Bi Han kept saying was there childhood home, lying there on the door step bleeding out until the door open and his sister rescues him. I not only wanted to change this because A. it wouldn't have made sense for sub zero to be taken down by a bunch of black dragon goons and B. I saw more story potential in this as unlike the previous concept he has no real connection towards his sister so there could be an ongoing arc from the start to the end of the story with them growing as siblings originally only be family through blood but growing into a true family.

4.What Bi Han gets up too. As stated before I wanted to implement some of my og timeline Bi Han theory into my au so I had to change Bi Han mentality and motives here.

Check the post I linked for more details about what I meant. But the long story short of it is that I thought Bi Han as a mama's boy that hated working for the Lin kuei and was going to use bounty money to run off but got "toasty" by Scorpion and is butt hurt his baby bro decide to stay with the Lin kuei. In this au his origins is the same as the irony and pain theory, being raise in America for most of his childhood until he and his baby brother were kidnapped by the Lin Kuei and forced to be assasins until Bi Han decides to plan that he would use bounty money he collect to save up on necessities and possibly property in America so he could run away and find his mother. Just like in the original timeline however he fails and gets killed by Scorpion. Just as he was previously in my au he was worked on Quan Chi to be revived as the perfect weapon only to get out of hands and escape though this time it wasn't because he remembers Scorpions killing and was pissed but because he the resurrection process alter different aspects of him including his desire for freedom causing him not wanting to be a slaved for Quan Chi. He still has scattered and altered memories but this time his motive is to find out who he is and the most common memories in head just so happen to be from America. So basically he goes off backpacking across the U.S.A hitch hiking through the states which could make for some funny moments. I also wanted to mention a way to explain why the lin kuei wouldn't play a big part in the first act of this au as in this au they do search for Liang in the U.S.A but they don't know where exactly he at and occasionally they end up running into Bi Han who just so happens to remembers hating people who wear the same symbols as these flying machines and so he ends up taking them down over and over again. One day he walking along the street until he walks past a cemetery and spots a name on a tombstone. He walks towards the tombstone to see it has his mother's name on it. All his memories end up rushing back towards him. And then he kneels, lay his head on the tombstone and cries. And cries. And cries. And cries. And Cries. For days on end he just cries at his mother's resting place never moving until one day Lisa is doing her daily visit towards her mother's grave until she sees a man crying there. She assume that it an old friend of her mothers and goes up to ask who is until she actually sees him. His skins gone dark, he thinner than he was and he was way older than the last time she saw him. But she knows what her brother looks like. The two lock eyes with each other. Then the hug and collapse. And they cry. And cry. And cry. And cry.

5. Black Dragon territory expansion. Originally I stated that the Black Dragon was spreading simply because they wanted more territory. However now I made it so The Black Dragon form an alliance with outworld for power and so the territory expansion is actually just a set up for preparing station for outworlds invasion.

So yeah those are all the retcons I wanted to make in my au. Again if you have any concept ideas or constructive criticism, I'm all too happy to take it as stated over again, I'm not a professional writing and I lack writing knowledge.

[wikiangela]

thoughts on rwrb as I was watching:

under the cut bc spoilers lol

(also, I was gonna reread the book before watching but i didn't manage, so I don't remember a whole lot lol maybe for once I won't be biased when it comes to a book adaptation haha)

damn i miss June

Taylor as Alex is just such perfection, I love him already and I'm not even 10 minutes in - just purely Alex vibes through and through lol

Nicholas as Henry is amazing too, the casting is really so good

Zahra is already stealing the show sns 😂

the initial animosity and the overall dynamic between Alex and Henry is just hilarious and I'm loving it lmao

they cut the cornetto scene??? wasn't there promo with it?? whyyy did they cut it, it was so iconic wtf 😭

wait what?? aren't Alex's parents divorced in the book?? I got so confused I had to go make sure I wasn't making it up lol (after finishing the movie I get it, having him there wouldn't impact the story in any way whatsoever haha)

omg the texting!! and the phone conversations!!! loving it!!

I'm loving how their relationship progresses rn, as they just get to know each other, it's so fun to see

the chemistry between Alex and Henry jfc, the LOOKS, they haven't even kissed yet and I'm already feral over them lmao

aaaaah, the new year's party and the KISS!!! that whole convo!!! screaming!!!

I love Nora so much, she's amazing and so cool, and I love her relationship with Alex! (still missing June and our White House Trio tho 💔)

who tf is Miguel, I don't like his vibe sns

the way Henry grabs Alex's hair when they're kissing omg 😩🥵

my god they are so smitten already, just the looks between them feel intimate lmao

oh my god the sex scene!!! I felt like I was invading their privacy lol, like, it was sooo intimate - the chemistry between those two is really something, and omg the HANDS 😭 "most people are" 😭 why do I wanna cry during a sex scene 😂😂😂

I adore Ellen's accent, it's so pleasant

Henry calling Alex "dear" has me weak every single time 😩

"technically I'm the spare" pls Henry is so fucking funny and sassy, I love him 😂😂😂

"the B in LGBTQ is not a silent letter" CRYING 😭❤️ istg the bi rep in media lately is so good and so validating and I love it so much 😭 and the way Alex was so hesitant and could barely say "I'm bisexual" to Henry, and now he's laughing and casually telling his mom "I'm bi" 😭 so happy for him but also so jealous, I want this 😭😂😂😂

"you need to figure out if you feel forever about him" one of my fave lines from the book tbh, I love this so much

Ellen is the coolest mom lmao

I miss June lol

the karaoke!!! did Alex just realize he in fact feels forever about him 😩 or at least that he's in love?? god 😭 and it was literally all in his face, so good, give Taylor all the awards, he's amazing

"it's like there's a rope attached to my chest and it's pulling me towards you" 😭 and Henry's face oh no we're getting to the "break up" point 😭

also, both those actors are just so talented, you can see every single emotion in their faces jfc

"what difference would it make if I did" baby nooo I'm crying

the argument, the museum scene, "I can't help falling in love with you" the dancing, the way they're so soft with each other, and so in love - I am in tears

"history, huh?" 😩 I LOVE THEM

noooo the emails 😭 I knew this would happen but omg nooo

Alex's speech with the montage of how awful things are for Henry are bringing me to tears again - and the ending montage was so cute omg

Alex is so in love jfc it's literally radiating off the screen lol

Zahra is just amazing lmao - "you might be lousy at keeping secrets but I'm not" 😂 I'm in love with her 😂

"I'm white and upper-class so my affection comes with strings" again, he's sooo funny 😂😂

the crowd under the palace!! Henry's reaction!! I'm sobbing!!

crying, sobbing, screaming rn, I loved this movie so fucking much

okay, so final thoughts:

it was great, I loved it, I enjoyed it, so much of it was just perfect, the casting, the chemistry, the development of their relationship - amazing

obvi they had to cut a lot bc limited time etc but I'm still bitter about June and the cornetto scene lol - I saw people say that it should've been a limited series, and I lowkey agree (plus the emails! obvi it's a different medium, and there were a few, but with how big impact they had on the story at the end, a series could devote more time to them fr)

I also saw some people say that the pacing felt rushed but i didn't feel that tbh, it was great

overall, immediate impression: fucking loved it, I cried, I laughed, it kept my attention the entire time (which is difficult lately lol) and now I really wanna reread the book even more haha

it was a fantastic queer romcom, I still wanna cry over it - there were quite a few changes to the book, which always kinda sucks, but as someone usually lowkey critical of adaptations bc I can never get over the changes lol, this one won me over pretty early on, it was just such a great watch, definitely gonna rewatch at some point - maybe after I finally reread the book 😂

also, Taylor and Nicholas need to get all the awards for the best on-screen couple or chemistry or whatever the fuck there is, bc jfc they did amazingly 🔥🔥😂

[ilykirara]

Hey! So, I was wondering...will you elaborate on the memory of spears that the Reader had involving Sektor?

And if it isn't too much...can you please share some writing tips??? 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙇

Your storytelling is superb, (especially in the bi-han's perspective chapter) and I'm sitting over here wondering like...how does she make it flow this nicely???

Honestly, I mean it. Thanks in advance if you do.💗

Hello! I just finished skimming through my story to answer HHAHA. I'll admit, I get forgetful about what happens in my story and I usually have to like briefly skim my published chapters whenever I'm writing the next one

So, the 'certain memory' was referring to a spear interaction with Sektor in chapter Daggers, Spears, and More Smoke. It was a fun Easter egg and I wanted to incorporate how Sektor and Cyrax have different opinions regarding how the Lin Kuei should function WHICH will link back later into the story... waayyy later. Reader already interacted with Sektor once and finally met Cyrax later on which sets up some stuff that I won't spoil :D

I really like it when stories/plots link back to stuff that have already happened so I tend to do that... not even tend to I consistently do that in my story. I think it also serves as a great reminder for what has already happened in Kombat Hearts since I post like pretty much monthly HHAHAA (I'm planning on posting two chapters at once when i next update, or really closely because of how the plot is right now)

Thank you so much for the compliments!! Your words are confident boosters and readers like you motivate me to continue writing (*^▽^)/★*☆♪ I'll explain my writing process and mention some tips (I hope thats okay!)

I think my best chapters so far are Is It Getting Cold in Here? and En Passant (which is a title that has a hidden inference to reader's current relationship with Bi-Han!). For specifically En Passant and Bi-Han's background, what I did was I briefly planned out what I wanted to happen between reader and Bi-Han (ie how does this affect them?). I actually do short character analysis profile sheets of the different love interests on Notion — I'd share but it contains like all the spoilers possible for my story.

Using the little information we were given about Bi-Han's past from the game, I built on it by jotting down what I think would cause Bi-Han to eventually cause his betrayal. For me, it definitely stemmed from his father figure — to me, his core reason for becoming so cold was because of his father's cold treatment that burned out Bi-Han and to cope with the burn-out, he froze his heart and feelings so he could convinced himself that all his suffering was so he could surpass his father and reform the Lin Kuei (and he got to the reforming belief after making the correlation that the Lin Kuei was essentially dying out because his father was becoming more lax but was still making Bi-Han complete hardcore regimes. Why does Bi-Han have to spill blood over his training sessions whilst the actual Lin Kuei assassins sit idly waiting for the next mission?). He's the type to make sure that he's suffering for a reason, everything he does is for a reason. I think the past of Bi-Han explains the majority of my thoughts so I won't go too deep into that.

In terms of technicalities when I was writing the perspective, I made sure to add information that I could reuse later into the story, and I had to make sure I re-mention information I already said in the previous chapter to make sure there's no plotholes (or at least... I think so :D). I also had to consider the different connections that Bi-Han had and how they affected eachother. I had to consider domino effects too and how it would eventually affect Bi-Han's development. Basically, everything has a meaning. I really love story plots that have intricate meanings, or even several meanings which is why my work tends to be quite descriptive

At the start of writing Kombat Hearts, it was actually my first time dedicating myself to writing violent, pure action-based fight scenes. I had to search up how to write fight scenes, and one of the tips said to not make fight scenes too long - a page will do (size of a standard book page so I kinda had to go well that seems long enough on Notion). I think that really helped me because I do understand how fight scenes can been really dragged out and boring. It was difficult at first because Mortal Kombat is fulllll of fighting but limiting how much fighting I put in my chapters allow me to focus on other stuff (e.g. how the characters are feeling and how the aftermath rolls out). To write fight scenes, I'd actually watch a short video on insert character gameplay and incorporate canonical moves. Highly recommend if you're stuck

Okay, to make sure I answer your question I'll actually say some tips :D

I tend to write my chapters a bit at a time (mainly because I don't really have the time to sit down and write it in one go) which allows me to have mini breaks in between and recheck my work with fresh eyes. I think leaving your work for a day is great because you give your whirring mind a break and you can look back at your work with a different perspective

Imagine yourself in your reader's position. This is what I tend to do when I figure out the plot of each chapter. As a reader myself, I know we want action and the drama and the juicy stuff, and if you're like me who posts monthly, you have to consider how your readers would feel if they waited for a month only for a chapter to be super meh. IMPORTANT NOTE if you're like me who's doing it for fun and for free, be indulgent! Yes, consider your readers because your readers are what allows your fanfic to be noticed and to be loved, but you're (presumably) writing the fanfic so you yourself can fan about the characters. Honestly put your love into your writing and people can instantly tell and appreciate the effort that you put into fleshing out beautiful stories for anyone to read

Do character sheets, doesn't matter how detailed it is. It helps you stay on track and serves as a reminder for what you want to write. I tend to accidentally go off the rails in my plot and at one point I'm like... hold on this will mess up my plot and I have to go back to remind myself what I want to happen and why

In terms of writing styles... I think a large reason why I write like that is due to the media I consume. I really love poetic material and shows that have depth to them. I just finished Hannibal today and I absolutely LOVED some of the hidden meanings in the episodes. Before Hannibal, I watched the entirety of Adventure Time and I loved the different meanings and life lessons behind the show/Finn in the later seasons. I think. writing styles largely come from how you absorb literature/story plots.

I'll also add on that my writing style came to me somewhat naturally and I have a strong affinity English and social sciences (I'd add humanities but I don't particularly enjoy history). But, with tons of practice and personal passion I developed my skills. I don't remember who said this, but it's like building an art skill. You have to train your eyes to recognise what you're drawing looks off and how to improve it. For me, when I'm writing, I make sure that what I'm writing looks right to me aesthetically

To be honest, some of the plot in my story comes from personal experience/my experience of the world and with other people. I use this story as a way for me to express my feelings sometimes and it is cathartic (e.g. Bi-Han's whole thing). I think it gives the story more realism and also I hope my story is cathartic for people who may have experienced something similar

That's most of the tips I have so far — i probably have more but i need a prompt to think of more xD. If you have any more questions or have anything specific you want to ask, please ask!!! It's 23:18 for me by this paragraph and I think I've been typing for an hour, but I loved every minute of it!!!! Thank you for the question and the support :)) if you need any help, feel free to drop me a message and I'll try to respond ASAP

[lil228]

Red White and Royal Blue Notes Day 8

WARNING- Spoilers for both the book and the movie

Despite the fact that Henry’s mom is dealing with a lot, but she’s still here for her son. That’s so sweet! We love supportive moms!

Catherine is so nice to Alex and that’s just so sweet.

I have a feeling the meeting with Queen Mary’s not going to go well.

Would she technically be Queen Mary The II? When dose the books timeline diverge from our own? I mean Anne Boylen is mentioned, and it seems the rest of history is mostly the same so I’m going to guess it diverges around 2015 ish. That would mean that she is Queen Mary II

Dose Trump exist in this timeline? It dosen’t really seem like it. So dose he not exist at all or did he just never get involved in politics? Dose Hillary Clinton exist? I mean she must exist at least as a former first lady but did she- none of this actually matters. I mean it’s what I thought about but it’s not important to the book.

Queen Mary is the worst! Not only is she homophobic but she’s also racist! Boo! Hiss!

Look I don’t want to be that guy but there might be some parallels between the fictional Queen Mary and the really Queen Elizabeth. And this came out before Meagn and Harry talked to Orpha. 

It’s also probably not a coincidence that this queen is named Mary, which is also the name of Mary I- half sister to Elizabeth I, and who is often called bloody Mary. 

I just want to give poor Henry a hug. He dosen’t deserve this bullsh*t

Catherine really is a good mum.

Yes Henry stand up for yourself sweet boy!

Alex dosen’t need you permission to do anything ma’am! (Queen Mary) He dosen’t even have to bow to you! I googled it out of curiosity one day, Americans- and any non-brit for that matter- don’t have to bow to the Queen or King of England 

 Philp shut the f*ck up, nobody aksed why are you even here?

I watched the movie, so I knew what was coming, but it was so much better and more heartwarming in the book somehow.

The Alex and Henry were here banner got a good laugh out of me.

Look I know this whole thing seems pretty cheesy, but straight people have the whole Hallmark Channel, queer people should get cheesy romance too!

Yes Catherine! You go future queen!

Philp! Shut. The. Fu*k. Up!

Bea is the MVP for getting Philp the hell out of there.

Okay that mural sounds stunning! I hope there’s fan art! I’d do it myself but I cannot draw, like at all.

I wish that headline was real! Also is Dykes on Bikes is a real thing? Oh my gosh it is! And it’s a motorcycle group! I don’t know why I thought it was a cycling group, it being a motorcycle group makes way more sense!

I love that June bought merch, also I would a thousand percent buy and wear a “History, huh?” t-shirt. Both in the book universe and in this one.

Uh where the f*ck is Nora? What is she doing? Is she okay?

Lol, I love that Nora just bursts in, and addresses the President of United States by shouting her first name.

The Richards campaign! They’re responsible? Invading people’s privacy and outing them for a political campaign is just a whole new zip code of f*cked up.

Wait! Wait! Rafael Luna told Nora about the leaks! Holy heel-face turn batman!

I’m so exited for Henry and Alex to be together publicly. 

Okay this books timeline/universe is clearly better than ours

No Trump (or at least he’s not involved in politics)

A gay prince 

A bi first son

A beloved high profile same sex couple 

No Covid

I’m really impressed by June’s speech writing abilities

I love Amy! She’s the best!

Amy has a WIFE? Just when I couldn’t thought she couldn’t get better! She’s been gay the whole time! Why am I just learning this now!

Amy is trans too!

After a quick google search I learned that Amy was played by a trans actress in the movie! That’s amazing!

 Cash is pan! Damn Helen and Zahra are the only straight ones in the White House! 

“Stupid Sam the Eagle face” got a good laugh out of me.

Okay so Senator Luna actually that bad, but he did switch sides, so I’m going to keep prediction point.

Okay nevermind, he was double agent the whole time! I’ll give back my prediction point I’m back down to 7.

Holy Sh*th Richards is a truly terrible person. He outed two young adults and he abused/ is abusing/sexualy exploting his staffers! What a POS.

Henry staying in the Queens Room- which is Dolores Umbridge of pink- made me giggle. But is makes sense, the internet tells me it is named after the many royals who have stayed there.

It makes me so happy that Alex gets to do all of the official royal suitor things!

I’m just so happy that these two get to love each other publicly now. 

The youth shelters! 

Why is Philip here. Go away!

Okay, maybe I was a bit harsh, Philip is at least trying to be nice.

Nora and Alex getting exited about their futures is so cute!

The jacket is a really nice touch.

I audibly squealed when June said she got a book deal.

It’s sweet that the candid photo is the one that got published.

Out of everything in this book I having the hardest time believing that Texas voting blue.

Henry wearing a tie with yellow rose tie, because of the yellow rose of Tx is so adorable. 

Liam! I was not expecting that! 

  Liam reaching out to Alex after he got outed was really nice of him.

Okay, we must protect Spencer at all costs 

I can relate to June stress eating.

Cash dancing on the chair made me giggle!

Amy is still the flipping best!

I think Zahra gets a pass for making out in public. She was incredibly stressed like two seconds ago.

Henry bought a place in Brooklyn! Squeal! 

Zahra is going to need the worlds longest nap after all of this

Henry being on stage during the victory speech! Oh my heart!

The double meaning of we won is just brilliant! 

Alex and Henry in Alex’s childhood home is so adorable! 

[life-in-the-monster-haus]

I have a question if that's alright. In you honest opinion, considering certain spoilers of the Monster High Movie; do you think they'll bring Jackson Jekyll and Holt Hyde back? Or do you think they have no chance of ever returning? I think it would suck a lot if they never came back. Jackson and Holt were, and always will be, my favourite mansters from Monster High, and never seeing them again makes me a little sad.

All questions are welcome! tis why my ask box is open! don't be shy! I will try to answer to the best of my abilities. Hmm, I need to be careful how I answer this because I just got done writing a College level dissertation defending Gil Webber and my brain hurts.

Okay! here's the scoop, I love Monster High in all of it's forms- this even includes G2, because of this I have been desperately trying to find ways that the G1 & G3 continuities can play nice together so that BOTH canon can peacefully coexist. I don't think the old Bloodgood is gone- I just think she retired and the new one is her wife. I don't think OG Lagoona is gone- she just got bounced out of the school database when G3 Lagoona got accepted & decided to go join the Olympics.

As for Jackson and Holt it is slightly more complex, but go with me on this journey. G1 in the same breath introduced us to Jackson and Holt and then yanked them away from us! Plus they were not in G2 at all, which means their doll sales were poor. This does not bode well for them returning for G3. HOWEVER! all hope is not lost! We have an ace up our sleeve! The Monster High Live action movie brought the whole Jekyll and Hyde thing back to the front of our consciousness. Mr. Komos is related to Mr. Hyde! which means TECHNICALLY He'd be related to Holt too. Someone mentioned him being Holt's uncle and I am 100% for that! Jackson and Holt would fit perfectly in G3's Monsters Vs Humans conflict! we haven't seen a character this complex since Warren Peace! Holt and Jackson could be a liaison for Monster Human relations! Maybe Holt wants to help repair the damage his uncle did! Maybe Jackson can help Clawdeen learn to love her human half! there are SO MANY OPTIONS! it writes itself!

Also: it's been 12 years, Frankie and Jackson/Holt never became official! I'm tired of waiting Mattel!

Do the fans right! No lone Manster was ever good enough for our Frankie! it took 2 in one body to make them happy! and they deserve to be happy! Also: can you imagine the sensationalism that would follow!? Jackson/Holt dating nonbinary Frankie!? Frankie is not a girl! which means Holt/Jackson are not straight! all of your Bi & Pan Jackson/Holt head canons just became real! you're welcome! AND Jackson/Holt could ALSO use they pronouns because they are 2 he's in one body! they are they in the plural sense! he/they! This would generate so much news and buzz! Mattel wouldn't know what to DO with all the press! you can't buy this kind of advertising!

Now, the unfortunate part of this is Mattel does not have an excellent history of listening to fan requests or fans in general BUT we still have a voice! We bullied Mattel enough that they brought Ghoulia and Spectra back for G3 after they were missed in G2. Let me be absolutely crystal clear: Do not bother the actors or voice actors of the G3 Monster High series... they have zero say in company business. If you want Mattel to listen to must contact them directly, e-mail them or call them to get in touch! Blow up MH's social medias! Youtube, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook! tell them what you want! Holt and Jackson back! (if you could also mention that they need to get a handle on their quality control that would be very helpful) If you're an artist please keep drawing fan art of our boy(s)! Mattel keeps tabs on that kind of thing! it lets them know who the fans (us) like!

I firmly believe there will be nothing but good to come if Jackson and Holt come back for G3. Please blow up Mattel, be aggressive and assertive! we can bring Jackson and Holt back if we are loud enough I am confident in this! Mattel wants us to be happy! happy people buy their products! Be loud! draw fan art! tell them directly! it takes all of us!

[ramonahblog]

Okay so I went into Heartstopper expecting it to be the exact opposite to what my tumblr dashboard was shouting. 

I am very shocked to discover that if anything, my dashboard was being subtle here. I much prefer this way, tbh. 

Also I can’t believe the show actually said bisexual (and bisexuality) multiple times. I know technically that’s a light spoiler but it’s so fucking rare even today. I’m an old and crabby lady when it comes to how media portrays bisexuality. 

Spoilers for Heartstopper season one. 

Nick lives on the edge - taking sexuality quizzes but not going in an incognito window. 

I won’t drag the kids too much since they’re teens but I fell out of my chair laughing at the “he’s the straightest” line. 

Pfft. Meanwhile Nick is bi panicking over here. Speaking of, like I mentioned, good bisexual characters are still rather rare and a bisexual guy (especially a sporty one) is even rarer. 

I’ve seen posts and fanvids say Nick has golden-retriever energy and that is a very apt description. 

Also I have watched the scene where Nick comes out to his mum so many times. The first time, the show had me concerned they weren’t going to say bisexual but since they already have, I gave them a chance. Just know this scene has been watched multiple times by me. 

It’s still so rare to actually have “bisexual” stated full on. 

Also the acting in that scene from both Nick’s actor and Sarah’s actor is amazing. Just everything Nick does - the nervousness, the lead-in and making sure his mom doesn’t misunderstand what he’s trying to tell her. Then his face as his mum hugs him. It’s amazing.  

And on Sarah’s end - did anyone else pick up the fact Sarah looks like she wants to interrupt and reassure Nick? But she like physically stops herself (look at her face) until her son has said everything. 

And just “I’m sorry if I ever made you feel that you couldn’t tell me that” and the hug she gave him. I don’t even like hugs and that got me. 

[dimonds456]

Gem Steven’s gem is flipped upside-down. (Theory/Speculation time!)

SPOILERS FOR @spudinacup’s SU AU “Gone Wrong”!

Also WARNING: long post!

So recently, someone pointed out that Steven has a scar on his torso going across his gem’s location, which I found interesting in and of itself. Makes sense, since he wasn’t able to heal it since he DIED and his gem was shoved out of his body before it got the chance to heal him. That slash mark is there now. Wow, neat! Nice detai-

Wait.

Hold on a sec.

Is his gem... flipped upside-down? Well, it’s been like this for a while, maybe it’s just a creative choi-

...oh.

This is VERY intentional.

So I did some digging, and found much more symbolism and possible foreshadowing, and now I want to throw out my theory about Gem Steven here, including his potential arc and character development. I’ll try to keep everything brief while still blowing your minds, and I’ll try to get across what my jumbled mind has come up with.

Spud please notice me.

I will not be uploading photos to go with everything I say (go reread the comic after this and verify for yourself what all I’ve said), but I’ll show visuals when they’re necessary. I do not claim ANY of this art as mine (I wish my art was this good ;u; ), all of it belongs to Spudinacup and their SU AU, which has all kinds of hidden symbolism, foreshadowing, and visual cues we haven’t picked up on yet, as I’ve just learned while researching this theory. This ain’t your run-of-the-mill AU, everything in here is intentional. Scott Spud doesn’t do coincidences. So I’ll point out that stuff in screenshots.

Okay let’s go.

SO! To begin with, let’s talk about why his gem may have flipped, and to realize that, we have to know when. We don’t see the gem much, but we do see it constantly through Chapter 1, where it is normal. The pentagon is pointed upward. However, in Chapter 2, this is where we see it flipped upside down. When did that happen? We didn’t see it. I believe it happened in that first scene in the bathroom, right after we left. The butterflies were swarming angrily, and Steven was very lost in thought.

Notice whenever those butterflies appear. They seem to show up every time he thinks about who he is. Is he still Steven, or is he someone else now? Steven is dead. Everyone is mourning him, trying to heal him, but Gem is still here. So if Steven is dead, but Gem is still alive, that must mean he isn’t Steven then, right? But then that undoes everything we learned in “Change Your Mind.” He IS Steven. He’s always been Steven. But that’s when they were together...

...And so the butterflies swarm.

Notice how the first one shows up when he looks at himself in the mirror. When you look in a mirror, you should see yourself, right? But who IS he? In the show, butterflies represent thoughts and ideas, mostly dark ones, disturbing ones, or ones you don’t want to think about. Well, he already spent WAY too long proving who he was, so now to do it again sucks.

But he isn’t Steven anymore. He’s on the couch being mourned. But he’s already proved he IS Steven before, and it’s this uncertainty that is making his mind swirl. I believe this is why he flipped his gem. Just upside-down, so it’s a small thing no one will notice, while he tries to figure it out. In doing so, he’s separated himself from “Steven”, as they’re not one and the same anymore, and the flipped gem shows this. He’s someone else right now. Maybe. He’s not sure.

So what do we call you for right now? Steven. He already proved he was Steven, so until he’s proved otherwise, Steven it is. Now he just has to figure out what exactly that name means and wether or not he still fits that quota.

Flipped gem/Pink Diamond imagery is EVERYWHERE, mostly hidden in drastic shadows or in panels. It’s things you don’t notice at first, until they’re staring you in the face. See if you can spot them from the 3 screenshots below.

There’s probably more hidden throughout the comic, these are just the ones I’ve found that I feel confident enough to show as hard evidence.

So, what does it all mean? We’ll talk about the screenshots in order, left to right.

First, the Diamond is hidden as the panel in the center. In it, Human Steven lies upside down while the gem-panel is technically upside right. This can be interpreted in a few ways, but what that means to me is that something isn’t right here. If you flip Steven back around so he’s upside right, the gem is now upside down. Notice Gem Steven looking towards his human half on the bottom panel there, clutching his shirt over his gem. It’s a motion we’ve seen Steven do a TON throughout the show, anytime he’s thinking about Rose/Pink, who he is, or complicated gem stuff as a whole. Because early on, his identity was always shrouded in shadow. THAT is Steven, on the couch, without his gem. So for Gem Steven to call himself Steven is inaccurate, but also not at the same time. It’s all swarming in his head, and thus, the gem is flipped.

Next, he’s just broken the rejuvenator. This was probably the hardest to spot of the three, but if you look at the panel where Bismuth asks “feel better?” you will see, in the background, a white line cut through the soft pink hues. Look closer. It’s the outline of the gem, but it’s flipped correctly this time. This is because Bismuth seems to be the only person NOT saying Steven is dead, and treating his gem half one and the same. Is she unnerved? Yeah, but who WOULDN’T be? This is still Steven we’re talking about, as emotionally blocked as he is. He’s aware of why everyone is being weird around him, so to see Bismuth trying her best to treat him with familiarity instead of a completely different, new, dangerous stranger is really calming and helps to calm the storm a bit.

Notice the gem is flipped correctly. This is because he feels like Steven right now. Bismuth has been constant confirmation that he is still Steven, no matter the circumstances. Notice how his eyes dialate back to a larger size. They do that a lot in the comic, articulating his emotions without changing the rest of his face. It’s a clever detail to keep track of. His eyes grow more relaxed, dialating bigger when she pats his shoulder, asking if he feels better after destroying the weapon that killed him. It’s a huge relief for him to hear. So, the gem is correct.

Finally, we see Bismuth telling Greg that his son is dead, which is very contradictory to what Bis was saying earlier (in Steven’s eyes). Where is the gem on that frame? Look at Steven’s shadow. There it is, facets and all. To us, the gem is correct, but think about it this way: if Steven were actually replaced with the gem in that frame, what would it look like, Pink’s or White’s? That’s right. The point is coming from his feet, meaning it would look more like White’s, meaning it is back to being flipped upside down. Again, Bismuth just said Steven is dead, meaning he’s back to questioning his whole entire identity. So it’s back to being flipped upside-down.

It seems that the orientation of the symbolic gems hidden throughout panels show quite clearly where his head is at in terms of who he is. If it’s upside down, he’s separating himself from the cold meatball on the couch, whereas when it’s normal/upside right, he is associating himself WITH the cold meatball on the couch.

Notice he’s been grabbing at his gem a lot recently, too, all things he does while in turmoil over who- or WHAT- he is. He cannot heal right now. He can’t use his powers. Some powers are new and unfamiliar (see the more recent pages where Lapis struck out with water and he blocked with those hexagonal shields/walls). “Steven HEALS people.” He can’t, so who is he?

This is something he’ll need to have an answer to by the time the comic is done, and this is a mission for Gem Steven and Gem Steven alone. If his human half were alive (and content without his gem), he’d probably call himself “Steven” no questions asked, since he GOT his answer already, two years ago. But Gem can’t do that, not when everyone keeps drawing all these lines between the two. He needs to learn what being “Steven” means, and know that he is a part of a greater whole, but on his own, he is STILL Steven. Everyone else needs to realize this, too, and stop separating the two. It’s gonna be rough, since it may feel like replacing what they lost, but is it really? It’s going to be a tough road to trek, and I don’t know what anyone’s answer is gonna be (that’s the big mystery here, after all), but I’m here for it.

Remember, all of this has been speculation on what may happen based on facts and clues Spud has presented us with. I’m not claiming to know how Gem Steven’s arc will end, but I am throwing my hat into the ring on where I THINK it will go. Either way, the foreshadowing, symbolism, and unspoken characterizations here have been excellent, and I’m looking forward to seeing everything play out. Spud, your mind is incredible, and whatever you’ve got planned over there, I’m confident the answer will be satisfactory.

I’ll shut up now. Thank you for reading this huge meta post, and go read Spud’s comic. You can find it at @suaugonewrong or on Spud’s Tumblr, which was linked above. If you think I’m wrong or have a counter argument, bring it. Let’s talk, cause this is genuinely interesting and fun to dissect. I wanna talk about it OwO

Thank you. You may now continue scrolling.

[47crayons]

THE WICKED WITHIN—A COMIC SANS WIP REINTRO

!!!!! it's here :D the wip that started to consume me and has been continuing to do so since, now with a much better sense of what exactly is Happening

current tww taglist let me know to be +/- !! @a-completely-normal-writer @writing-is-a-martial-art @wannabeauthorzofija @magic-is-something-we-create @croctears @writeblrfantasy @opes-magnas @author-a-holmes @zoya-writes@fuyugomori @ink-fireplace-coffee

transcript is under the cut!!!

[transcript: a powerpoint presentation of black text on white background, written entirely in comic sans.

start slide one the top left corner reads in red, "warnings (most relevant) war, death, drugs (& addiction), poison". in the center, "the wicked within", and underneath it in smaller font, "a comic sans reintro by @47crayons". the comments around the entire slide read "a family that is so found!!!", "gang rivalry :D and gang content in general", "crime found family basically", "childhood friends to STILL FRIENDS", "all queer cast :p", "eat the rich (not quite, but it’s the right sentiment aldskjfls)", "kickass women, yeah bay bee", "nuanced relationships between different groups :D", "morally grey characters!!!", "so many different governments!!!", "a (mostly alsjflksdj) stable relationship!!!" end slide one

start slide two in the beginning of time… there were four gods: eltenjer, he/him, earth; skari, he/him, fire; aenged, they/them, air; thilda, she/her, water. i didn’t /mean/ for them to have genders, but a quiet breeze whispered “psst. i use they/them.” in the beginning? so you mean… they’re not there anymore? kind of! the gods need followers to survive, and after several unfortunate events, they lost the majority of their followers. the aforementioned unfortunate events: the great ruination, in which natural disasters caused several years of famine and other hardship. the restoration era, in which renovation led people to believe they can live without the gods. if the gods are dead, what’s the point? the gods aren’t /really/ dead, closer to dormant. they can’t actively interact with the mortal realm, but IF they had followers, they would come back to life. oh. did i mention that they control the magic. end slide two

start slide three the dormant gods who can't do... anything control the magic??? hey, no one said magic always has to work. foreshadowing alert huge foreshadowing alert. let’s talk about how magic works, shall we :D people use the Spirit to do magic. people have a Vessel (representation of stamina or how much Sprit can be used at once, can be trained!). people also have a Strength (a type of magic that works well with the user, these have varying frequencies which also depends on location). there’s too much i could say here, but the important thing is the main characters’ Strengths. the right depicts an image of a flowchart showing that gods need followers and produce sprit. people need spirit to do magic. end slide three

start slide four okay but where are we??? where could the magic be so fucked? well, here, of course! the left side shows a line art map, split into five parts going clockwise: portingdale, worchester, the hooks, elderwood, unlabeled. the legend shows that there are mountains in portingdale, forests in elderwood, and rivers that run from portingdale to everywhere else. the place where the four labeled regions meet is called the Inner City. the text on the right reads. welcome to Kjer! there are 3 districts. but wait! there are five? sections? and one isn’t even labelled. worchester used to be a district,,, but it left after the war began. the unlabeled section is the disputed region (re: war). let’s talk more about this war. elderwood wanted easier access to water (see: the rivers in the Wetlands) elderwood & portingdale have been fighting there on and off for over half a century. the hooks has three wards: west (hella rich), south (lower income), north (somewhere in between). end slide four

start slide five whomst. skip to the next slide if you want the actual characters. character basics: the unnecessarily-winded-and-cram-a-lot-of-lore-in version. in the North Ward of The Hooks, there are three main gangs. Kaer Styen, meaning “wicked ones”, Ghetfaer Skarnen, meaning “trickster lords”, Ad Knesten, meaning “the grumbles”. that was so many capital letters i don’t like capital letters alskjdflksjd. they have rivalries and conflicts from time to time, but it’s pretty rare. the tww cast is kaer styen !!! their main means of profit is a drug called jezdin. relieves physical and mental pain. lethal in high. quantities/ when tampered with. can also be addictive. they operate out of a dingy tavern-like building, and they live upstairs!!! okay so this is purely for vibes. how did u know. end slide five

start slide six the Gang. literally :3 Kaer Styen, my beloved. the first thing in each of their bios is their Strength (re: the magic slide). artbreeders!!! i fixed quite a few of them, but my artbreeder skills are questionable at best. this slide is split into three columns. the first column shows a white person with short, brown, curly hair and a firm, but not angry, facial expression. len, he/him, pan. Shifter (can manipulate physical properties). cynical, very cynical (because he has killer instincts). “oh people are dying? am i dying? are you dying? why should i care?” in a relationship with cal. the second column shows a person who appears east asian with long, black, wavy hair and fair skin. chloe, she/her, aroace. Chemist (chemistry but magical). literal archery god. also she’s so quiet it’s SCARY. seems welcoming, emphasis on /seems/ she’ll destroy your ass. knows what you’re feeling. she just. knows. the third column shows a white person with dirty blonde hair. they are smiling. cal, they/them, bi. Whisperer (can persuade others through speech/music). so casually funny all your burdens disappear for a hot minute. gets very attached very deeply. grew up in Portingdale which becomes Important later. end slide six

start slide seven cont. also they have piercings!!!! maybe i will make some picrews later (listen, i KNOW i’ve said this before but. maybe i’m for realsies this time, okay?) this slide is also split into three columns. the first a smiling white female with light blonde hair. eden, she/her?, demi lesbian. Healer (healing magic <3). seen hell and doesn’t want others to suffer. still believes in the gods’ existence. we Don’t talk about her awful parents. raised by a lovely woman in the South Ward, known as Nana. this eye (left) is almost PURPLE which i didn’t do on purpose but is honestly such a cool idea. the second column shows a partially smiling black man with short curly hair. jereth, he/him, gay. powerful life magic thing (will be spoilers if i talk any more). joins them at the beginning. honestly kind of scared of them (who wouldn’t be), but wants to live up to expectations. throws himself into stuff to avoid Thoughts. the third column shows a woman with brown skin, black wavy hair, and a small smile. she is NOT a member of Kaer Styen, but i’m talking about her here all the same. adalaide, she/her, bi (i didn’t like the e in adelaide alskdfjlsj). Melder (metals and the like). heir to the Portingdale throne (assuming her dad doesn’t disown her). Cal’s ex from a few~ years ago she’s still a lil’ hung up on them. technically an antagonist but i love her. so all my characters are queer sue me </3 end slide seven

start slide eight some semblance of plot? coming right up!! the four (jereth isn’t there yet!) are attacked in the Inner City. turns out it’s portingdale soldiers. and then they discover that portingdale has been poisoning the southern rivers (affects worchester and the south ward) because worchester doesn’t really contribute to Kjer as a whole. word gets out, and elderwood, naturally, is even angrier at portingdale (remember, they've been at war). so, they try to stop portingdale from being power hungry enough to poison the entirety of a country while learning about why worchester is so isolated while ALSO trying not to get killed by everyone who hates them. end slide eight

start slide nine memes :> the first is the meme of spongebob reading a sheet of paper and burning it. the paper reads, "going into worchester by yourself is going to get you KILLED", and spongebob is labelled "chloe". the second is the levels of brain template labelled "jereth". from the weakest to most powerful: "trying to figure out his magic", "doing it by accident", "saving everyone's lives". the third is the sleeping person and brain meme. brain: "you're going to portingdale". cal: yeah, i know. brain: you'll see adalaide. cal's eyes are wide open in fear. the fourth says "corporate needs you to find the difference between this image and this image". the first image says, "family", and the second one says, "len, chloe, cal, jereth." eden says, "they're the same picture". the fifth is the spiderman copycat meme where jereth is copying len. end slide nine

/end transcript]

[runekeepershymnal]

10 Characters, 10 Fandoms, [10 Songs,] 10 Tags

The esteemed Mili @rajalagang tagged me, and I have finally pared it down to ten. Some of these Blorbos do not, as far as I know, have a fandom at all, but I love the movie The Show, and The Invisibles was a hugely formative comic for me. Also I’m gonna give you a song for each of them, just ‘cause my hipster, so-old-that-I’m-still-occasionally-tempted-to-write-a-songfic ass likes to slap more music onto everything.

Adam Parrish - The Raven Cycle / The Dreamer Trilogy (In all his flawed, bitchy, mean bi glory.)

Diminishing Returns - Harvey Danger

Rhys - Tales from the Borderlands (Haven't gotten around to BL3 yet because I stupidly bought it for XBox and was lost without WASD and twenty carefully mapped mouse buttons.)

Boyscout’n - Menomena

David - John Dies at the End (Oh, David. He's like if a character exposed to Eldritch horrors beyond his ken was capable of intense compartmentalization and swinging a baseball bat like a champ.)

Foreign Object - The Mountain Goats

Joy Wang / Jobu Tupaki - Everything Everywhere All at Once (Yes, baby, make it everybody's problem while dressing like the God you are.)

People II: The Reckoning - AJJ

Fletcher Dennis - The Show (Watch this, it's trippy and cool)

Top Drawer - Man Man

Five - The Umbrella Academy (Long pants at last! Cranky man child mathematician.)

Here’s Your Future - The Thermals

Sergey Razumovsky - Major Grom (movie and comics) (Okay, but this tech billionaire villain is a queer “coded” [the code is pig Latin- no one is being fooled but Bubble comics is still, technically, in the clear] sad little meow meow and I love him, your honor.)

Puppet Loosely Strung - The Correspondents

Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy - Star Trek (He and Spock are my fictional dads. The rest of the crew are my fun aunts and uncles.)

Wheels - Cake

Lord Fanny - The Invisibles (there are lots of problematic aspects to this character, but this was one of my earliest, longest exposures to a trans character and she meant, and means, so much to me.)

Fighting Fish - Dessa

I don’t have the mental wherewithal right this sec to tag specific people so if you are reading this I am tagging you! If you’re thinking, “that probably means mutuals, they don’t mean me” I DO MEAN YOU and we would probably be mutuals if I wasn’t avoiding spoilers on 9000 things. You don’t have to, or if you do you don’t have to include songs but I hope you do because I like it.

[galeforged]

{ ooc } So I spent most of yesterday playing the Three Hopes demo and now that I’m presumably almost finished with it, my gOD I’m already frothing at the mouth over all this new lore and world-building. While it’s not the complete story just yet, I think I’m confident enough to start building on Forwin’s Three Hopes verse(s) so I’ll be sharing some notes and impressions under the cut!

FTR, I’m going to stick to Scarlet Blaze and save my Azure Gleam and Golden Wildfire play-throughs for when the full game drops. Only real reason for that is the demo for just one campaign is already several hours long, so if I’m to do so two more times... I would want to have the added renown points for previous game completion at my back come that point lmao-

ANYWHO FIRST THOUGHTS YOU’VE BEEN WARNED FOR SPOILERS LET’S GO:

So Shez is a complete unmitigated disaster child at the start of the game and I love that for him so much. That Arval went and actually kept count of how often he almost died makes for excellent sass material. “I’ll jump off a cliff to get tougher!” AND HE YEETED HIMSELF THREE TIMES-???????? UM?????????????????????????

Also veeeeeery curious to see what you and Agarthans have in common there buddy-

I went with f!Byleth as the antagonist this time around and uh. Mommy.

Man the prologue really did just speed-run through the Academy Phase, huh-

MONICA IT IS SO GOOD TO FINALLY MEET YOU AND SPARE YOU FROM A TERRIBLE FATE OF GETTING KRONYA’D—and my goodness does she have an obvious hard crush on Edelgard and want to be praised by her while butting heads with Hubert all the while. I LOVE her timeskip look and can’t wait to see all her supports at length (especially the A ones with Shez, Hubert, Edelgard, and Dorothea I think so far, so sapphic-leaning bi-game strong if Three Hopes allows for Three Houses-style paired endings?). And Minor Crest of Macuil confirmed! Verdict? She is cute. She is so very cute. You’re doing amazing sweetie- (also “never forgets a face” huh? HMMM-)

DADS. DADS EVERYWHERE. I CAN’T HOLD ALL THESE DADS?! Leopold von Bergliez! Waldemar von Hevring!! They both look so good and I am living for their constant ribbing at one another!!! Oh and there’s Grégoire von Varley too I guess. Gross. Disgusting. Stinky bastard man. You do not deserve good things in life (CHIEFLY BERNADETTA) and I hope those assassination attempts mean you will never enjoy another good night’s sleep ever again. As Hubert said, it couldn’t have happened to a better man.

Okay but dad-rants aside I am very curious to see how Edelgard will fare with TWSITD coming for her while warring against the Church. That she managed to wreck their plans and bare her fangs against them this early compared to Three Houses—all because she and the other house leaders encountered Shez in the woods instead of Byleth—has me excited for what’s to come! FINALLY we’ll get to see the fights that were just TL;DR’d in Crimson Flower’s ending!!!

WOLVES WOLVES WOLVES WOLVES WOLVES WOLVES WOLVES—okay Abyss was just prominently mentioned towards the end but it sounds like the Ashen Wolves really just stayed disconnected from the prologue and kept to themselves? And now the Church is calling on them to bolster their own forces come the Empire knocking at their door... but evidence suggests they’ll be recruitable mid-battle. Good. Good.

As for Duke Gerth... it doesn’t seem like they’ll build upon him more than what little they’ve done for Three Houses, since technically speaking he was already introduced there and only got a passing mention from his fellow nobles here. EXCELLENT NEWS FORWIN, WE’RE STILL SAFE. I CAN WORK WITH THIS!

[onekisstotakewithme]

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

So I finally saw Volume 2 of Stranger Things 4 last night and I just... have a lot of thoughts about the season, and I've already yelled at my friends so now I'll be sharing them here!

Warning: unpopular opinions and some spoilers ahead 😅

I honestly can't decide if season 4 was really good or just okay. I will probably be able to say with more certainty after I've had more than 24 hours to think on it. I will say that it left me feeling kind of empty and like full of... dread, I guess?

Like I have no idea how we're going to come back from this, how Hawkins will, how Max will (yes, I sobbed, I was very upset!).

Okay, first the good:

I did actually quite enjoy Eddie. I wasn't sure how to feel about him at the start, but he turned out to be quite sweet (him and Chrissy were adorable together!!), and he brought that newcomer vibe pretty good.

I love that Steve and Robin are best friends. I love how the team up of the kids and teens (or. older teens and younger teens?) happens way earlier than normal. Tammy Thompson 😅 and Vickie is great! Love the Molly Ringwald vibes she has going.

Also put some damn respect on Sadie Sink, she carried this season.

I adored all of the callbacks to the earlier seasons (the lite brite scene in episode 7 had me yelling i tell you. YELLING) and how everything was connected! I love that they dove deeper into the overall mythology and lore of the show, and given us some long-awaited answers (and also Hopper's backstory being revealed. OOF).

(More + spoilers under cut)

I am THRILLED that we finally got the Jopper kisses. All the scenes in the church had me simultaneously cheering and 🥺😳.

Big confession here: I actually am enjoying the stancy renaissance. I'm technically a stoncy shipper because the three of them fighting the demogorgon was unparalleled in season one!

And also I don't think it's out of character, I don't think it was out of nowhere. This is the first time they've really teamed up since their break-up in '84, and they've both grown up a lot as people. I mean the ideal would be the three of them all working out their issues and just becoming a throuple but eh. I think Steve and Nancy have more natural chemistry.

Okay, that was the likes. Here's what I didn't particularly enjoy:

The series felt simultaneously rushed and bloated.

Did we really need to spend so much time over multiple episodes in the Russian prison? Did we need to spend that much time with the stoner jokes and Cali team plot (Argyle's role could've been wayyy reduced)? Did we really need to spend so much time in the NINA project?

Also I have to be honest, I'm still devastated by the finale, and eager to see where this goes, but also dreading it.

And... okay. I'm probably going to be disliked for this, but I am just not seeing Steddie or Ronance. This is my own opinion, but I don't think either couple has all that much chemistry. That might be a me problem! But I just don't see it.

I do absolutely think Steve is bi, but that's a different matter entirely.

Oh by the way, even if the whole “love triangle” thing was stale (I don’t think it is), I honestly felt annoyed that we couldn’t get any resolution for it. I know bigger things were happening but just. I wanted some actual answers! And we didn’t get any!!!

Also like I said previously, the story was simultaneously full of some of the best storyline decisions ever (it was Henry Creel all along!!! everything in Hawkins can be tied back to him!!!!!! that is BITCHING), and also literally the dumbest of all moments.

Like. The Duffer brothers had yet another season where they forgot about Will and Jonathan as characters beyond the whole 'is will gay/is will going to come out' which mostly manifested as him staring longingly at Mike. Please give him more to do in Season 5, D-Bros. You even forgot his birthday.

Like what is going on with Jonathan? What is going on with him and Nancy? What happened to him dreaming about going to NYU since he was six? I know people change but we've barely covered him at all since season 2, and now he's just a pothead who's like an absent father to his own brother.

Mike continues to be an asshole who frankly wouldn't deserve Will even if Will came out to him. It may just be that he's a teen but he's just. Yuck.

And I loved the almost-coming-out but i just. i just wanted him to come out dammit! I don't need fanfair, it was like that scene was metaphorically holding its breath. JUST SAY IT.

They also forgot the fucking nail bat. The ultimate iconic weapon and it is nowhere to be seen in a season that involves going into the Upside Down.

Okay. I think that's everything.

My tentative belief is that season 4 was good. I don't know if it was the best season. I don't think it was the worst season. It tied in a lot of cool lore, but really kind of went all over the place in terms of stories, and a lot of characters ended up left out in the cold. Trying to cut it some slack because of COVID happening but it was. A lot.

Thanks for listening anon, but also deepest apologies for rambling at you.

[bisexualoftheblade-old]

how many wips do you have? like what are they all, and not the number of wips in a fandom? what are all the names?

okay. fuck you. fuck you so much. fuck you.

i’m putting this under a read more cut no one else deserves to see this shit. a lot of these are requests, and for those i will just write out the request itself

Shadowhunters:

domestic polycule fluff with tem, jessa, and will because im not a coward

Supernatural

- hehe hoho i request destiel hehehe

- request 61/? cai cai cai cai i need you to rewrite the destiel scene but yk. GOOD. not like i'm in the know about the spn fandom or anything, it's been years for me. but DO IT

Bright Sessions

- caleb/adam grisha AU

- mark bryant vs. united states aka sue the AM

- caleb/adam college fluff

Umbrella Acaademy

- request 31/? i want a ben and klaus drabble please spare me some brotherly bickering

- AND SO BEGINS NIGHT 4 with request 13/? oooh oooh can i get a raymond and allison playlist??? i think their vibes together would SLAP

- hi there night 2 is technically morning 3 but who's counting not me anyway request 5/? can i get a ben moodboard? gotta rep my tua bb

Percy Jackson

- request 9/? can i get a percabeth moodboard or quote edit?? like god they're the og couple goals take me back to high school cai

- For the 100 follower things :D Jercy getting caught in the rain

- request 29/? a drabble about literally anything to do with pjo. i’ll be happy with anyone and anything i’m love these children

- *somersaults in like I’m a real fancy acrobat* hello ello ello may I request some camp half blood chaos possible involving *does a flip* ✨side characters✨ <3

Penumbra Podcast 

- request 52/? drabble about the penumbra podcast. this is for ren bc ren likes it and i don't actually know anything about it. juno? i think? that's the one ren likes. write it for ren

- Tpp ghost hunting / buzzfeed unsolved au

- sad juno smut

- final resting place fic go brrrr

Marvel

- request 6/? i'm going to my roots y'all can i get a spider-man playlist? if not a playlist then i'd honestly be happy with literally anything involving spider-man

- request 15/? i'm going crazy this is recorded evidence of me actually losing it ANYWAY can i get a quote edit for something from iron man? literally anything that man says is gold so cai's choice :D he deserved better in endgame i'm still bitter

- request 42/? do another spidey thing that differs from the other spidey thing

- request 73/? you have Opinions. rant about infinity way and/or endgame. go.

- request 74/? quote edit for deadpool!!

- spideytorch relationship character study

- peter parker as a tired grad student monitoring the young avengers (send help)

Six of Crows

- okay listen i wasn't going to request anything bc i worry about you but also? if you want to/have the time hit me with a playlist for our girl nina zenik

- request 43/? fuckin give me the ending anya should have had. she is alive and with her new son and having a great time

- request 45/? inej moodboard?

- request 47/? will you make literally any meme of your choosing for six of crows?

- request 48/? write a drabble for kaz, my favorite bastard

- okay so i don't actually like nina or mattias that much but i still wanna hear about your thoughts (and also see if you'll change my mind)

- kaz brekker turning 18 fic. birthday party, everyone singing, whole shebang. i need it stat

- religious trauma fic aka i started shipping kaz/alina/inej and i can’t stop

- kaz trauma soup (he has D.I.D. and you can’t prove me wrong)

- my two redacted fics for @grishaversebigbang​

- wesper fake dating

- six of crows bright sessions crossover: everyone gets therapy

TMA

- uhh... s1 gang having a nice time? melanie getting to have some Pride™️? some "fun" horror thing?

- request 7/? spare steph and jason bonding? please sir? spare some for a humble child such as myself?

- okay so this was meant for night 3 but i had midterm shit SO this is honorary night 3 let's DO THIS request 8/? i want a moodboard of extremely out of context magnus archives shit like i mean confuse the FUCK out of me i don't go here i know Nothing about it

- request 11/? OKAY so i need tim stoker meeting tim drake now i need my timmy to meet your tim plus i want to see character differences no i'm not trying to create a tim stoker in my head so i can read a's fic while NOT thinking of tim drake whaaaaaat you're crazy

- request 18(i think)/? i need a quote edit of every time within the first like. 15 eps of tam where jon is like “sounds fake but go off” thank u bb

- request 40/? i challenge you to write a tma drabble based only on the episodes i've heard. i'm currently halfway through episode 23

- Jon being lovingly bullied into taking a break. I'm aware this has been written a million times but it is one of my favorite things.

- spiral!sasha AU

- extinction martin go brrrrr

- high school era timsasha. they've both been friends for years, and everyone always asks when they will be a couple. they decide to fake date, to prove everyone wrong and show what a bad couple they would be. turns out that's a bit trickier than they thought

- after sasha comes back, tim is broken. he can't let go, scared that if he looks away for even a minute he'll lose her again. sasha suggests shibari as a way for him to give up control

- sasha pov mag 19 au, sacrificing herself to save the others, knows that if she gives herself up to the not!them it will let the others live

- this is the "tim finds a polaroid of sasha" trope

- early archives days,, long nights in research,,, clothes sharing,, somft. late nights and falling asleep at their desks warm and safe in the other's presence

- two parts: timsasha as kids, each picking a constellation that is "theirs". just soft kid antics. tim at sasha's grave glancing up to see their constellations

- continuing your job’s a joke (you’re broke)

DC Comics

- TIMSTEPH HADESTOWN AU,,,

- my redacted fic for @batfam-big-bang​

- request for you to get a decent amount of sleep? serious answer, dickkori, SAL's Venus

- request 4/? timsteph morning after 👀 mayhaps?

- a concept: nonbinary stephanie brown

- teehee hi mom, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, but can i request damian angst for your accomplishments 100 followers?

- hi you can ignore my first request if you want, or you can ignore this one. but bls possibly write some bikini ra’s? -the bikini bitch

- request 27/? jay is asking through me for a jondami playlist but tbh i also want it so win win yk?

- "I don't know how to help you but I can help you find someone who does" with bruce and jason? im just craving bruce being a good day to jason for once

- “I am putting you in time out because you need to understand the consequences of your actions.” with steph and jason as dumbass disaster bi best friends pretty please?

- request 32/? timsteph patrol date!!!

- request 33/? timsteph *gala* date? mayhaps??

- request 37/? tim drake drabble but make it Edgy cai

- request 39/? drabble of a prank war between tim and damian

- joyfire cuddly fluff please? or like just any outlaw fluff if joyfire isnt your thing (feel free to add every member of the outlaws, dont feel like u gotta stick with jason, kori, roy i love them all)

- barbara and robin! jason fluff? bonding over books or something?

- request 62/? i need a drabble about the chaotic trio jason, tim, and steph i'm love them ty

- request 63/? batfam x mcu crossover. batfam meets ironfam. give me ALL the cliches. ALL OF THEM

- request 64/? young justice x young avengers - jay cuz idk SHIT about the young avengers

- request 66/? jondami moodboard pls and ty

- request 67/? timsteph moodboard!!!!!!

- request 69/? HEHEHE kinky 😏 i would v much like a timsteph drabble of the almost first time. does that make sense? like i don't want you to go all the way NSFW cuz i know that's against the rules and i'm a rule follower. but like they *almost* go all the way. this could be fade to black or some shit i don't care just make it a lil steamy and have Fun

- i request damian angst! all of it

- hmm... maybe i request? jondami?

- mayhaps,,,,some batfam,,,,,committing crimes? ily be gay do crime <3 - lu

- How about a ficlet with Steph and Cass?

Found Family Bingo Prompts

- no powers au

- tunnel

- first day

- join the club

- hurt/comfort

- experiment

- playing favorites

- hold on

- possession

- 10 o’clock

- singing

- road

- snitch

- curfew

- timer

- fantasy au

- zombie au

- dreams

- campfire

- are you okay

- movie night

- games

- scared

Miscellaneous

- a request: Write A Drabble, Coward

- is it too late to request a moodboard for me?

- request 20/? i’m going off book because i’m in a Chaotic Mood™️ can you just absolutely vibe check me like go off cai demolish me

- request 21/? i formally request that you pick a favorite cai. i don’t care what that favorite pertains to, just pick a favorite something

- request 23/? roast me

- request 24/? can i have a buzzfeed unsolved spoopy playlist but spoiler alert it’s not spoopy bc shane doesn’t believe does this make sense it has been a Day™️

- request 25/50 i want a jake and amy fic make it Soft cai i’m love them b99 is so good

- request 28/? i know nothing about the lord of the rings so make something that will confuse the shit out of me

- request 34/? malvie and jaylos moodboards 😈

- request 35/? a moodboard for the bbb mods!! perceive all of us!!!

- request 36/? moodboard for the tua mods too???? mayhaps??

- request 41/? doctor WHO? idk but i want a drabble of him and the one character i know from doctor who which is rose

- request 46/? make an alignment meme with our group, have fun!!!

- request 49/? i want you to kin assign me a character from every fandom you can/want to. go feral

- request 50!!!!/? this is a special request. the most special request. can you make a bastards tbh playlist? i want our vibes encapsulated. i want us in music form. i want to hear those songs and be like "that's me and cai" and smile.

- requests 51/? i know jack shit about good omens. explain it to me in the most confusing way possible. make me know less by the end than i know now

- request 53/? can you write a mel aesthetic? i'm Curious

- request 54/? give me a list of book recs cai i want some good book recs pls

- request 56/? edit a picture of US together too

- request 58/? oooh can i have a disney edit? like. hm. i just really love disney and i want anything to do with disney. like a quote or an aesthetic or an aesthetic edit i just want disney.

- request 59/? i would v much like a recipe for carbonara. i've never had it but it sounds fucking delicious

- request 60/? ooh hey can i get a makeup tutorial? i know you like makeup, i'm shit at doing makeup. teach me

- request 65/? i need the most emo playlist you can make that vibes with dear evan hansen thank you

- request 68/? i want a superwholock moodboard. this can be serious, with the actual fandoms in mind, or literally what the era felt like. the insanity. the horror.

- request 70/? ooh ooh ooh do you have a good bread recipe?? i wanna get that bread

- request 71/? i want a playlist with the vibes of summoning a demon. please don't ask questions. i don't have answers. and if i do, no i don't.

- For the requests, how about writing something based on a friend?

- request 75/? MMMM i want literally anything to do with natasha, pierre, and the great comet of 1812

- request 76/? i want some healthy recipes. help a girl out

- a feral bbb quote or two?

- you perceive my plant but now I dare thee to perceive mine own visage

- okay this is a two for one request. 1. you did the bee movie script so now we need a shrek two script edit 2. sleep please

- Pansexual mb for my lil queer soul?

- my (probably) final request is just for you to ramble about something, i don't really care what

- HI ILY CONGRATS AS WELL CAUSE IM LATE BUT CONGRATS. could i request a pirates of the caribbean (or just pirates) or whatever you what to do, free range.

- mood board for the beluga whales who got brought to the animal sanctuary in Iceland please?

- 100 follower request: Moodboard for my stuffed cow Oaky?

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML au: Childhood Soulmates: Chat Blanc: (Version 1. The Finale) (Part 1 of 3)

(ML spoilers for Chat blanc, Miracle Queen, Because Chat Blanc takes place AFTER Miracle queen.

I should note that this is very different from the actual episode because this is technically is the finale for Childhood soulmates not miracle queen.

-Marinette has been burying herself in her guardian work, doing her best to focus on being the best guardian she can be. She hardly does anything outside of school at this point. Its been about two weeks.

-Adrien is also worried, very worried. He knew she has been through some s***, though she isn't mentioning it.

-Alya and the girls try to hang with her after school. Marinette thanks them but says she can't.

-Adrien talks to her, it is their Bi weekly movie night. They canceled the last one and he thought tonight would be.... denied.

-The Fencing tournament thing happens (or match, whatever that thing was in . Adrien sorta Vents his frustration in fencing. He crushes the tournament.

-Kagami comments that he is bothered by something.

-Adrien confesses that he is worried about Marinette.

-Kagami tells him its time

-”What do you mean?”

-”Confess you sappy tree stump! You are literally killing the mood of our team wining the tournament with your weakness.”

-Adrien is oddly motivated.

-He decides to go and see Marinette.

-He tries getting in the bakery after dropping off Kagami and pretending to go up to his room.

-Tom and Sabine are happy to see him, but Marinette asked not to be disturbed.

-”Even me?”

-Sabine and tom sadly nod.

-Adrien walks out.

-Plagg telling him that Marinette has a lot on her mind and probably just needs some time. They can go get cheese.

-Adrien decides to use his powers to get to the balcony.

-Super stealth so marinette doesn't hear.

-He transforms back into Adrien and enters the trap door.

-”Look Marinette I know you said you were busy, but I and our friends are really worried about you. I need to know if you are okay because I....”

-Adrien looks to see Marinette frozen, a miracle box on her bed, dozens of Kwami around her, including Tikki.

-Marinette sees Adrien, and she just starts hyperventilating.

- Adrien rushes to her, Its been years since Marinette has had a panic attack. The other kwami are so confused and scared.

-Adrien knew what to do and gets her to be stable.

-Marinette realizing she just had a panic attack. Adrien holds her close. The boy is happy she is okay.

-Marinette explains that this is awful. No one can know about this. She can't have anyone know she is the guardian.

-”There is only one other person that should know... as much as I trust you. You can't understand.”

- Marinette tells him its chat noir.

-Adrien blinks, then smiles.

-”But my Lady, I am he.”

-Plagg flies out.

-Marinette tackles Adrien. she keeps telling him how incredibly reckless and stupid he is. 

-”It was already awful knowing Chat noir was at risk. But You are him! You are the guy who has been fighting with me this whole time.”

-”I always said it was us against the world Maribun.”

-”You know its dangerous that we know each other’s identities now.”

-”Yea, but that doesn't make me love you any less. So I can deal.”

-Marinette giggles. 

-”Flirting now? You know If I didn't know any better, I would think you were seriously in love with me.”

-”Have been since we were 6 but hey, glad it didn't take a decade for it to be known.”

-Marinette stops.

-Adrien takes her hands.

-”I am in love with you Marinette. I have been for so long. But I was so afraid of Losing you, I never stated it outright, always trying to play it off. But... Marinette. You are the one person I love more then anyone else in the world.”

-Marinette felt her face flush.

-Adrien also turns red.

-”Oh Kwamis I finally said it. Okay, I think I will go in the corner and just pray that it won't be awkward when you turn me do...”

-Marinette gives him a big kiss. A real one. A kiss of romantic intent long over due.

-”I love you too, you stupid banana head.”

______________________________________________________________________

-The next day. Marinette is her happy peppy self again. Alya is relieved.

-”Glad to have you back. Now everything is back to how it was before. Perfect”

-”Well, not everything is not exactly the same as before.”

-Adrien shows up.

-”Hey alya, hey beautiful.”

-Alya laughs, everything feels normal, Adrien flirting with Marinette.

-Marinette rolls her eyes, still smiling

-”Always with the compliments you cheesy flirt.”

-”Well you can always shut me up.”

-Alya’s jaw dropped when she saw them kissing. not the friendly kiss on the cheek. Nope. THAT IS A IN A RELATIONSHIP KISS.

-The class was ecstatic.

_______________________________________________________________________

-Thus the wheels were in motion for something big

[revolution-john]

My Childhood Trauma PTSD as Triggered by the Following Movie Montage

by BENJAMIN DREVLOW

That scene in American History X. You know the one. Or maybe it was Higher Learning, I always get those confused. That curb stomp scene always reminding me of the time I tripped and face-planted in the barn while corralling bull calves, to get castrated, my two front teeth chomping down on all that jagged concrete and manure, it adds a different flavor to the recurring nightmare I have, though in my case, usually nothing to do with race relations. I wonder if everybody else who watched that movie also missed the whole point of it. Except the Curb Stomp. Everybody remembers where they were when their stoner friend with big ideas about ending racism across the world made them watch the movie with the Curb Stomp.

~

Mel Gibson getting drawn and quartered in Braveheart. You may take our lives, but you will never take… our… FREE-DOM!

~

Mel Gibson ripping his shoulder out of its socket in Lethal Weapon.

~

Mel Gibson torturing the shit out of Jesus, then blaming the women and Jews for everything, including his drunk-driving and plummeting career options.

~

Fuck pretty much any Mel Gibson movie. Except maybe that one with him and James Gardner and Jody Foster and all their comedy hijinks. It’s the gambler one but not The Gambler. But now that I think about it, isn’t Jody Foster a big Mel Gibson apologist? So I guess fuck that movie too.

~

Any movie where somebody gets shot or stabbed or thumbed in the eyeball or has one or both of their eyeballs squeezed or ripped out, which always reminds me of that time I got elbowed right below my eye but also on the eyeball and it literally pushed in my eyeball a millimeter and I still get double vision to this day whenever I line up a shot playing pool or line up a screw to hang a photo on the wall or sometimes re-hang the toilet paper dispenser next to the toilet. I’d been playing pickup basketball and my buddy who was like four inches taller than me elbowed me on a rebound and like I say I went down and lay there on my back and then all the blood started pooling in my eye socket and I couldn’t see anything and my friend couldn’t see my eyeball and he kept hissing through his teeth grossed out by it but then telling me it would okay and the whole time lying there thinking I’m thinking about my eyeball I’m thinking of the scene in Any Given Sunday where the guy’s eyeball is just lying there on the football field. I’m thinking of that closeup all the way to the hospital when they unwrap the mummy gauze from around my head and the ER doctor breathes a sigh of relief after peeling off all the dried blood to reveal that I needed fifteen stitches and I’d broken my orbital bone, but I still had my eye.

~

Any movie where somebody’s sitting there reading a book before bed, watching TV, gossiping with girlfriends, when the camera pulls back only to zoom back in on the dark night window behind them—cue the string section.

~

If I had to choose one, I’m thinking of that one zombie movie, something 28 Days something but not the one about Sandra Bullock finding love with Viggo in rehab. It’s not even about the zombies. It’s about the dark night window, not to be confused with the Dark Knight window, sorry that was a shitty pun for no good reason whatsoever, but also maybe not completely random with the guy from 28 Days also having played the scarecrow in Batman Begins where he sprays people with a drug and makes them see their worst fears, which never really did it for me, at least not like the secluded house with the zombies lurking around. I grew up in a big old farmhouse out in the barrens of northern Wisconsin. Lots of windows, no shades. In so many ways I grew up in the dark. It wasn’t the zombies I worried about. It was the methheads. Which, sure, I guess if you’re getting technical about it, same thing, fine, you win, I’m scared of zombies.

~

The Zapruder film, but as replayed by Kevin Costner in Oliver Stone’s fever dream of a conspiracy theory. The magic bullet, back and to the left, back and to the left, back and to the left. How it gets stuck in my head, JFK’s exploding head replaced with my brother’s exploding head, sometimes my own, except unlike my brother and JFK, my head’s still mostly intact. Back and to the left, back and to the left. Sometimes I think about that too with that one Seinfeld episode with Keith Hernandez and the magic loogie, but usually the loogie gets replaced with a bullet and Kramer’s head gets replaced with my brother, mine, back and to the left.

~

The sound of the gun shots in the final scene of that Tom Hanks movie where he plays himself again, a good guy, a family guy, a sly sense of humor, but this time a mob hitman with a strained relationship with his oldest son. The look on Tom Hanks’ face walking back to the house from the ocean—having survived it all, the hit that his old mob boss Paul Newman had put out on him for putting a hit on his old mob boss’s son as played by James Bond who also played Ted Hughes in that movie about Sylvia Plath killing herself. But this is past all that, it’s the happy ending. They’re on beach somewhere, white sand, somebody’s house that Tom Hanks and his kid are going to live in now. The silence before and after. Jude Law! It’s Jude Law’s face, his eye all fucked up, how did it happen, I don’t really remember the specifics but I remember the specifics. Bang, bang, bang. I think it might’ve had something to do with Jude Law being a photographer, like one of those where you pose with your kid or something or say you get promoted to head CEO or godfather of the family. Smile. Click, click, except in this case with a gun.

~

The gunshot at the end of American Beauty, pretty much the same thing, different movie. Chris Cooper confusing Kevin Spacey as gay but before Kevin Spacey actually came out as gay and a sexual predator. Not that the latter necessarily had anything to do with the former. Neither in the movie nor real life, well not really, but sorta. You get the point.

~

Jared Leto as Angel Face getting his face smashed in by Ed Norton as Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden’s split personality in Fight Club. Not so much Jared Leto, but the wet mushy sounds of it. That part on the audio commentary where Chuck Palahniuk and David Fincher defend the violence of the movie, Fincher pointing out that he was not glorifying violence, he was making it realistic. That’s what it sounds like to punch your opponent into the concrete, Fincher says and Palahniuk laughs and agrees. Don’t worry I’m not going to make any puns about the first rule of fight club.

~

That part of that one weird depressing Robin Williams’s movie where Robin Williams’s kids get killed in a car accident while backing out of the driveway on the way to school. The one where Robin Williams later on gets plowed over by a truck going the wrong way while Robin Williams is out trying to help another couple who’d been injured in a different car accident, but before all that his wife kills herself because she can’t take it and then Robin Williams goes to the suicide afterlife to save her. But then there’s fucking Cuba Gooding Jr. who—spoiler alert—turns out to be the ghost/angel of his dead son who then explains to Robin Williams that his wife/Cuba’s mother can’t be saved because she killed herself. It doesn’t matter that she had a pretty fucking good reason too, she’s still stuck face down floating around in that black swamp of bodies of everybody else’s killed themselves and nobody’s getting to heaven. That shit really messed me up—not the car accidents, but the afterlife for selfish losers like me who kill themselves. And/or my brother.

~

The bulging vein in Tom Cruise’s head from Magnolia. Respect the Cock and Tame the Pussy, Respect the Cock and Tame the Pussy. I think probably my therapist would have some thoughts about all this, and some questions. Questions and thoughts.

~

That one version of A Christmas Carol where the Ghost of Christmas Past undoes his robe to show off the alien children living under his robe.

~

I got the worst set of blue balls you could imagine while taking my best friend’s girlfriend to Baz Lurman’s remake of Romeo and Juliet. That Romeo and Juliet. I missed most of it, I kept having to go to the bathroom to masturbate in agony and to no avail. Leo and Claire Danes are hot and heavy on an acid trip, and every time my best friend’s girlfriend reaches for a handful of popcorn she makes sure to wipe the butter off on the inside of my upper thigh. This is what I get for being the good guy of falling on the grenade for my best friend, the grenade in this case being Shakespeare and my best friend’s hatred of literature.

~

Mark Wahlberg’s flaccid rotten dick in Boogie Nights.

~

The Secret of the Crying Game but not in a transphobic way. No, it’s the smallness of it what got me back when I watched it as a teenager. The tenderness. The growing tent in my pants at its sudden appearance on the screen. Maybe you don’t believe me but I was a naïve podunk kid from off the farm. I didn’t have cable. I didn’t have access to the internet. His/her (now their) secret opened up a lot of questions for me. I often dream of dressing up in drag and someone sucking my little bitty dick and if that makes me a little bit gay or maybe bi or what’s it called, body dysmorphic. I mean I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, it’s the new millennium, we’re all a bit sexually confused aren’t we?

~

This one porno my friends and I watched at somebody’s uncle’s cabin up in the U.P. for a three-on-three basketball tournament. The Snapping Pussy. The sound her vagina made, like somebody really dramatic at clicking their tongue and slurping a half-empty malt the same time. The scene of us boys all sitting there with our boners watching a porn and wanting to masturbate but not because we were all boys and we were afraid we’d be gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a little bit gay.

~

There was this made-for-TV movie, me six years old and home alone while my big brother, supposed who’d to’ve been baby-sitting me, the only time he ever babysat me that I can remember, maybe because his one time—that time—he didn’t actually babysit me. He went out to a party, while I watched the made-for-tv movie about some kid who’d watched his mother get murdered, and then goes mute, keeps drawing these pictures of Peter Pan and Captain Hook. The kid’s grandfather, one of those big hooks, like the one in I Know What You Did Last Summer, but this was long before that, though I’m not sure it was before the book. Did you know that there was a book I Know What You Did Last Summer? I mean this isn’t about the book or the movie, this is about that kid whose grandfather had molested his daughter for years and then as an adult gutted her with a fishhook and then how he’d then come back to finish the job with his mute grandkid, I don’t know how this movie ever got green-lighted (green-lit?) for TV, but then it’s weird to even think about those made-for-tv movies and if they actually existed or if I’m just making this whole thing up, but then my brother, we had a walk-in basement at the time, this being before I’d accidently burned that house down with two space heaters stolen from the barn, before my brother’d killed himself, he’d come back late, or probably it was only eight or nine, but I was young and alone out in the woods where we lived, and he’d come back through the basement, which was attached to the family room, where I’d been watching and then all of a sudden that kid on TV was being stocked by his granddad with a fish hook and the door to the basement was opening, and for god knows why I’d turned off all the lights to watch the scary movie by myself, and it turns out it was just my brother who’d go on to kill himself in like a year, maybe six months, and he was just playing a little prank on me, or maybe he’d just come through the basement for some reason, he was always hanging out down there and tinkering around with things, but in my mind, I can remember that exact look on his face, that smirk, even in the dark, the light from the television in a blacked-out room, a blacked out house, reflecting off those pop-bottle glasses of his, the shiny too-big-for-his-face silver frames. My mother always tells me I should try to remember the happy times I had with my brother, and honestly, I can’t, I can only remember that smirk, those glasses, the handle turning a moment before he appeared.

~

Any and all sequels where it turns out that the dead character didn’t actually die at all, or maybe it’s magic, or maybe there’s time travel.

~

Any happy ending ever.

~

Every ending in my worst nightmares involves everyone I’ve ever loved or hated, their faces turning to snake faces. Snakeheads, snake arms, snake butts. Snakes snakes snakes. They slip out of their clothes and come up from under my bed, slither under my covers. They bite me, they kiss me, poison me, they consume me whole and regurgitate my bones. That’s how they always end. Me dead and abandoned.

~

That scene in the first Indiana Jones with Indiana Jones and getting trapped in the cave with all the snakes. I hate snakes. All my worst nightmares turn to snakes. Fuck snakes. This all might have something to do with my undersized penis. If you want to go down that path. The Secret of My Crying Game.

~

Has Mel Gibson ever made a movie with snakes? I don’t know, you tell me, but fuck that movie if he did. Mel Gibson is snakey enough on his own.

~

BENJAMIN DREVLOW is the author of Bend With the Knees and Other Love Advice from My Father, which won the 2006 Many Voices Project, and the author of Ina-Baby: A Love Story in Reverse, which was  released by Cowboy Jamboree Books in 2019.  Buy his books here. He is currently at work on a novel, a novella, and a collection of story-poems. He serves as the Managing Editor of BULL Magazine (@BULL_magazine_) and is a lecturer at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia.