#thinking about it there's really only one logical answer. first of all trick question that girl was SHELTERED sheltered

[moe-broey]

Cinematic parallels. To me.

I'm NOT saying she's homophobic btw she would NEVER. What I Am Saying however is that as his beloved little sister it is her god given right -- no, her sacred DUTY. To hit him over the head with a cardboard tube at any opportunity

[ctghost]

okokok i can't stop thinking about @yan-randomfandom 's godling fic so here's some drabbles on ford's thoughts.. this can be some sort of continuation of this! (P.s i hope i'm not bothering by tagging you jdkdkrjk 😭😭)

part 1 part 2

visualization that inspired me

"Well i'll see you later, pines, until then!"

Ford wakes up.

You really aren't just a piece of his dream. But he can't just believe fact that you aren't bill. Second dimensional, wearing a bowtie, and all that. Who would know if he could just be wearing some sort of bizarre skin?

But then he starts thinking what you just called him. Pines. Bill never called him that. All his years studying and time with bill, he had never heard anything about a deity like you. Could you possibly be from the same dimension as bill? If so, wouldn't that mean you're bill's ally? That's got to be the only logical reason here. You're likely trying to trick him to be able to make a deal with you. Well that sure isn't gonna work now.

But he had to be sure.. maybe this night he'll try to get some answers out of you.

-

"You're not here to make a deal, are you?"

"Deals aren't my forte,"

"I do wishes."

-

"Is that so? Well then, how many wishes?"

"One." His eyebrows furrowed at that. "Bill-"

"I am not Bill Cipher."

-

"You could use your wish to help me gain my memories back, or you could use it for yourself, it's your choice, really."

After a little more talk, he knows now that you are likely not lying, and that really don't have any recollections of your own past, and even your name. Still, he couldn't just trust you. Everyone knows what happened the last time that happens. He still needs to fish out as many answers as he could get.

But you probably even don't have much to give anyway, since all your replies are just "i don't know" or "i don't remember". He became slightly frustrated at your lack of vary answers, but guess he should appreciate you not trying to twist any truth there is.

Back in the mindscape, Ford's deep in his thoughts as he observes you moving around almost boredly. There's just so many questions.

If he really used his wish to get your memories back, would you be indebt to him? Or would you try to burn the world down just like bill?

He let out a small sigh, but soon a realization hit him, You can read his mind. If bill has that power, you could do the same-

He suddenly jumped, alarmed. You paused what you were doing and looked at him. "You alright there, pines?"

He was about to retaliate- but seeing your almost sincere and confused look on just a singular eye, he calms down abit from his overthinking. Just because you have similiar physical traits, you're not bill. Atleast not as far as he knows now with your memory loss.

You can't hurt him. Not in the mindscape anyway.

"I'm fine." He finally replied, after seeing that you were still staring at him.

He should probably start investigating to see if there's anything out there that could tell him more about you.

-

Aka, ford keeps comparing you to his ex muse after first few meetings

[callmearcturus]

okay the Eye of the Duck for each of the MI films

Mission Impossible:

I promise I really thought about the Vault Scene and I could go on for ages about it and I maybe should since it's the marker of what separates MI from other action franchises.

But my heart lives in this scene as the emotional core of the movie, where Jim comes back from the dead and tries to spin a tale that Ethan is too smart to fall for but is still tempted by. The way Jim says one thing but Ethan's already pieced together what really happened-- and doesn't like the answer, rewrites it in his head to make it fit what he wants.

Ethan's emotions and how much he cares about people is his ultimate weakness and it remains so for the entire franchise, so to see him wrestling with that all the way from the start is crunchy.

Also Ethan soulgazing the camera for that long is very affecting.

Mission Impossible 2:

the point of the EOTD is to find the scene at the movie's center that reflects its core back at you. I think Woo's vision of MI is exemplified by that final fight scene between Ethan and the villain. I remember the first time I watched the movie, this scene made me go "NO" out loud several times.

I mean, mostly because absolutely not that handgun will not fire after being in the sand for that long, there is not enough gun oil in the world.

but since I have wisened up and realized MI2 is not the worst MI movie, I think I get it more. The over-the-top motorcycle jousting, the slow-motion, but especially the cuts to the roiling ocean-- everyone shut the fuck up and let your bodies tell the story, even if the 'story' here is as simple as "I'mma fuck you up." It doesn't have to be original, it just has to be a cohesive vision, and honestly I think people would like MI2 a lot more if they acknowledged Woo accomplished his specific vision here.

I don't love MI2, but I respect it. Way more than, uh.

Mission Impossible 3:

god i hate this fucking movie but the EOTD is really obvious.

The only scene in this movie that works 100% is after the stupid vapid villain is gone and when the movie returns to the two fucking actors who carried this horrible script on their fucking backs.

Ethan has a charge in his head that is about to detonate and kill him. He's asks Julia to kill him and then bring him back to life to defuse it.

I... My hatred of this movie is legendary but I love this scene. I love Ethan staggering around like a drunkard bc he's blinded by pain. I love the way he explains how to shoot a gun to Julia. I love his little "Don't point it at me" and the way he likens the reload of a magazine to the flashlight in their kitchen, something both of them understand. I love the absolute trust here--

Esp bc I think it's clear Ethan could die right now, but he'd rather go out trusting his wife to save his life than to worry about it too much.

And Julia actually fucking saves him, and it's good! It's the only good scene in the movie other than Benji's second scene. And if MI3's goal was to dig into the Emotions of the franchise, then fine, this is the scene that's best at it.

Still the worst movie. Someone stop JJ Abrams from ever writing scripts.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

holy shit i am stunned someone clipped this bit

I am straight up stealing Brendon Bigley's EOTD scene because he's right.

This moment, right after Ethan and Brandt have escaped the river, there's this incredible lull in the action where Brandt asks "Why would that work?" about Ethan's ridiculous flare trick to misdirect the KGB dudes with the rifles.

Ethan's confused about Brandt's question because... he didn't know it would work, he played a hunch.

Brandt's bitchy lil "'kaaaaay.... so what was your scenario" and the way Ethan actually smiles as Brandt tries analyzing the logic of what just happened and why.

This is the EOTD of GP because it's the film tipping its hat to everything its doing (and everything MI will become moving forward) in microcosm. MI is not about metriculous clockwork plots and spy intrigue, it's about heart and instinct and the fucking motto of the IMF: "I'll make it work." Tacitly, this convo between Brandt and Ethan is Brandt as audience surrogate and Ethan as filmmakers' surrogate.

Why did that work? Don't worry about it, just keep saying yes and we'll get through.

(Also the bit immediately after with the best Tom Cruise Is Short joke in the series, immaculate physical comedy, love it.)

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation:

fuck all y'all I'm going to pick a single joke and obsess over it

FIRST 15 SECONDS

THAT'S IT THAT'S THE EYE OF THE DUCK

I'm not even remotely kidding, but this is related to BTS info about the gag. The script apparently only said "ethan and benji get into the car" but when it came time to film, TC was like "I can't just get into the car, it's the waste of a moment. hang on, i got it" and for the next take just DID that stupid flail across the car. Pegg's stunned look is real because no one knew he would do that.

As a writer, I love this moment because yes, just climbing into the car would have been a waste. It would have been an opportunity to put in a character moment just forgotten.

This is related to that lovely lil moment in Fallout where the team are meeting up with Walker after catching Lane, and there's no dialogue, but as they come up the stairs, Benji spots Walker, and he immediately flattens himself to the wall to get out of Ethan's way and looks back at Ethan for guidance. Ethan gives Benji a nod to say we're good, don't worry and they continue up the stairs.

These are little moments of characterization that are mostly built from actors who are just very comfortable with their characters, and this expediency of storytelling. Cut all the unneeded seconds, and make sure every second that remains in the movie is doing some kind of work.

so yeah that's the EOTD for RN.

Mission Impossible: Fallout

the EOTD for the entire MI franchise is the scene with the Parisian cop.

Ethan stopping everything to try to convince a bystander to leave and keep them from getting hurt. That's the soul of MI, the same emotional damage Ethan's carried since MI1.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning

"I was hoping it'd be you."

shocker, I'm not picking the moment when Ethan literally Says The Fucking Theme Out Loud, nope. I'm picking the moment Ilsa decides she too will follow the new IMF's batshit "beat the trolley problem by pushing the trolley off the tracks" creed, and gives up everything for a woman she doesn't know who is in over her head.

History repeats, and Dead Reckoning's obsession with closing the loop and creating internal consistency out of a series that has had five directors and seven films works perfectly for me. Venice is a visual recreation of Prague in MI1, with Ethan racing down dimly lit streets to save someone but is just not fast enough.

I also have this personal read on the scene as a refutation of Gabriel and the Entity, who represent an almost Calvinistic philosophy of inevitability and fate. Gabriel tells a lot of fucking lies for a guy fashioning himself to be a prophet, and he taunts Ethan about having to choose between Grace and Ilsa.

But Ethan doesn't chose shit, he's busy getting almost suffocated by Paris in an alleyway. Ilsa is the one who makes a decision, and for a person like Ilsa who literally was the person to ask Ethan to run away with her because all this spy shit is useless and meaningless

Ilsa is the one who picks, and she decides to save Grace. Not Ethan and not the Entity and not Gabriel.

Ilsa died to save an innocent (well mostly) woman, and that's the entire point of MI. There is no such thing as acceptable losses and if you can prevent someone's death, you do it.

AND THEN ETHAN SAYS THAT OUT LOUD TO GRACE BECAUSE "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME" "WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE?" AND THAT'S MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

okay i'm done

[another-whump-sideblog]

Fixing Tracy -- Domesticity 

TWs in the tags

Masterlist

"Do you have a job?" Tracy asks as she helps Molly put away groceries. It's starting to strike Tracy as odd that Molly can afford all this and also spend the majority of her time with Tracy. Molly’s talked about past jobs, but never anything current.

“Not right now. Don’t worry, you’re not keeping me away from work or anything. This is where I want to be.”

“So how do you… afford all this?” 

“My parents were very wealthy, and I got all of it when they died.”

“Ah. That explains a lot.”

Molly laughs. “I’m not sure how to take that.” 

Hmm… Tracy tries to think of a way to direct the conversation that might give her helpful information. “Are you planning on getting another job any time soon?”

“Probably not. I don’t want to leave you alone all day.”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“Still, if you got hurt, or needed me for something else, you’d have no way to get help. And I like spending time with you. I would miss you the whole time I was gone.”

That makes sense, logically. No one is forcing Molly to be here, she must be spending time with Tracy because she wants to. Tracy wants to ask what makes her so special, but she chickens out. She gets the feeling that whatever the answer to that question is, she really won’t like it. “Do you… have any friends? At all?”

“Mm… I hope someday you’ll consider me a friend.” She puts the last of the groceries in the pantry. "Do you wanna play Wii Sports Resort? I bet you can get a new high score at wakeboarding."

"Sure." She's really good at the wakeboarding game.

Molly grins and sets up the game. It makes sense that she has no friends, but it’s disappointing all the same. No one is going to come visit her and ask about the heavily locked basement. Tracy isn’t getting outside help.

A thought hits Tracy like a bus. "Am– am I the first person you've kidnapped?"

"Of course!" Molly hands Tracy a Wii remote. "First and last."

A chill runs down Tracy's spine. It's okay, it's fine. Just gathering information. It doesn’t matter why Molly decided to kidnap Tracy, that knowledge won’t help her escape. "Right. Um…”

Thinking of questions is hard. Maybe she should just try to make natural conversation, and see if anything important comes up?

“Do you have a favorite video game?” Tracy asks, partially focused on digital wakeboarding.

“I’m not sure. The only thing I ever play alone is The Sims, so I guess that would be my favorite?”

“That makes a lot of sense. You like taking care of the- hell yeah!” Tracy is momentarily distracted by getting a long string of 100-point tricks.

“Yeah.” Tracy can hear the smile in her voice. “I do really like games where I can take care of people. I’ve had to ban myself from getting any games like that on my phone, I always end up setting alarms in the middle of the night to check on them. Sims don’t have their needs drain when the game is closed the way so many mobile games do.”

Tracy’s turn ends. She didn’t get a new high score, but she got close. “You’d… set alarms in the middle of the night?” 

“They’d be so sad and hungry every morning if I didn’t!”

“They’re… not real.”

“That’s the thing— how do you know? I can’t bear the thought of telling someone that they’re not real if they actually are. Can you imagine, someone coming up to you and telling you you’re not real? That would be awful! I don’t want to risk it. What separates us from programs, really? People a lot smarter than me have theorized we’re all in a simulation. If that’s the case, would it be okay for someone to starve and hurt us because we’re not real? Even deleting those apps felt kind of like killing people. I couldn’t function for weeks afterward… But I’m okay now!” 

“You’re… actually crazy.” That shouldn’t be surprising for a kidnapper, but it somehow is.

“That’s not very nice.” Her tone is lightly scolding. Not angry at all, but definitely the harshest tone she’s used with Tracy so far. “You probably didn’t want to hear about my issues, though. What’s your favorite video game?” As she talks, Molly repeatedly does so badly at the game that it pauses to remind her she needs to land on the water with her board flat.

“I never really played video games before I came here— before you kidnapped me, I mean. I think I need to try a few more before I decide.”

The conversation continues like that until Tracy gets a new high score. Just… pleasant, even if the things Molly says are disturbing sometimes. Tracy’ll have to mentally go through the conversation a few times before bed to make sure she didn’t miss any valuable information. Even if she didn’t, though, building a rapport with Molly is good. That’ll… that’ll definitely benefit her somehow, even if she’s not sure how yet.

“You’re amazing.” Molly looks at Tracy like she’s… Tracy doesn’t even know. Definitely not something human. A beautiful painting, maybe? A sunset? A skyscraper?

“For… being good at Wii Sports Resort wakeboarding?”

“For everything. Everything about you is amazing.”

“…thanks?”

Molly stares at her for a moment longer, then breaks eye contact. “I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. You barely know me, that probably sounded more like a stalker complimenting you than a friend. I’ll do my best to dial it back.”

“…I appreciate that.”

Molly fidgets with the Wii remote. “I think… I need to spend some time cleaning today. You won’t be able to relax if your living space is filthy! I’ve been putting it off a bit.”

The basement seems plenty clean to Tracy. "Okay."

"I've been keeping the cleaning stuff upstairs, so I'll go grab some stuff and be right back. Is that okay?"

"Yep, go ahead." Tracy feels like she should offer to help, but… she doesn't want to. This isn't her house, she doesn't want to be here and would leave if she could, she has no obligation to do any cleaning.

For the next several hours, Molly takes various cleaning supplies up and down the stairs (always making sure the bag with restraints isn't downstairs while Molly is upstairs) and cleans more or less the entire basement. 

Tracy plays some Minecraft, then starts a book that looks interesting. She's… enjoying herself. Is this the best use of her time? She could talk to Molly more, but did she really learn anything last time? She runs through the conversation in her head repeatedly, but can't find anything useful.

She puts the book back. She needs to think of more questions to ask, more information that might help her, she needs to do something because if she has time to enjoy herself she definitely has time to get something done but there's nothing to get done, she can't do anything she's useless–

"Are you feeling okay, dear?"

"I'm fine. Do you… need help with anything?"

"You're here to rest! I'll handle everything, don't worry. I'm basically done, anyway, I've just got to take the mop back up the stairs."

She's not pathetic enough to beg to help her kidnapper with chores, so she nods and heads to the kitchen. She'll just make lunch for both of them, Molly's okay with her doing that. It's really hard to just wait for helpful information instead of actively working towards escape, but… she can do hard things. It's not Tracy's fault that she's useless right now, anyway, it's Molly's, so there's not much she can do but suck it up and enjoy herself until Molly lets something slip.

Tag list: @whumpyourdamnpears

[kaledya]

Hello, small personal questions about Roo (which is really very well written):

1. Since in your AU Roo is considered the true ultimate antagonist, what's the way to stop her for good? (I mean, this character is so powerful that she's considered a deity whose power only gets better as evil spreads through the world)

2. Is she Constantine's sworn enemy? (Because in the fanfic "The Tale of the Prince of Hell" written by VL09, Constantine is trained to fight her, and in a drawing inspired by Avengers Infinity War, he tells Roo that she is his curse.

3. And finally, in The Parable of Cain, Roo indicates that she caused catastrophes in the world, but was she, for example, the one who influenced historical figures who caused world wars (such as giving the idea of the atomic bomb) or pushed humans to do atrocities so as to cause the apocalypse?

1-I think she can't be killed but can be sealed But for this to happen, this goal must be achieved by reaching the first Eve and then cooperating with her.

More precisely, if Roo's host is destroyed, this frees Roo and prevents it from taking over a weak-willed person.That's why it needs to be sealed.

I'm thinking of Roo as Radiance from the Hollow Knight

In other words, someone who gains power by poisoning people's minds. That's why I think it should be sealed in a strong mind, there will still be evil in the world, the wounds Roo inflicted will remain, but no more damage will be done.

2-Yes, kinda.. Constantine and Roo have a relationship like Thanos and Tony Stark.

The reason why Constantine is what he is now is because of Roo. He was raised in this style because of Roo's existence, that's why he received such strict training. Because of Roo's presence, he crushed his emotions and strengthened his mind.

He had to be someone who moved away from his emotions and acted logically, otherwise he wouldn't win this war.

Besides, the only person Constantine has to fear is Roo, there is no one stronger thn him in hell (Unless we don't count Lucifer).

So Roo's statement "You're not the only one cursed with knowledge" is talking about herself (Eve) and also Constantine because his innate intelligence is, in a way, ıt's his curse.

Roo wants to break Constantine's mind and use him.Roo sees Constantine as a really interesting specimen and wants to see what he can do.She wants to see how long he can withstand her tricks After all, in her long life she never saw anyone who was cursed with so much intelligence and knowledge as Constantine.

Constantine wants to seal Roo and destroy her if possible.

On this path, he's really deteemined and he didn't even care about dying.

So yeah,she is Con's sworn enemy. they'll probably give use seriously EPIC view when they start fighting each other. It will be a war in which there will be many mind games, philosophy and destructive power.

3-Even though Roo's access to the world is limited, she is exactly the 'devil on the shoulder' You know, some people say 'the devil made me do this'The devil here is not Lucifer, The Devil is Roo herself.

So yes, she was the one who put thoughts into people's minds, but people chose to follow that thought.Those with weak will are the ones who shed blood on this world

I hope I answered your questions correctly!!✨✨

[tf2heritageposts]

gary, the cryptofacist- “Hello officer! I’m gary. How do you do officer?”

“Yellow man!” he turns towards Cômo. “I mean, officer.”

empathy(trivial: success)- Cômo’s face almost instantly became much more sour upon hearing Gary’s casually racist comment. His face, usually adorned with an extremely grumpy and borderline angry glare, turned furious as he pulled something out of his pocket.

Cômo Marumo- It was a small, rectangular object, with a part in the middle that seemed to hint at it being able to open up.

Encyclopedia(Challenging: success)- It looked to be a balisong, a type of portable knife famous for its ability to fantastically open and close itself in a variety of “tricks”. The knife’s origins are commonly debated, but a common theory says they originated in seol, though other historians say they were imported from revachol first by the king at the time.

logic(trivial: success)- It didn’t really matter the history or fancy tricks you could do with a balisong, as its main purpose was still to be a knife.

Cômo Marumo: Cômo quickly flipped open the knife using a flick of his wrist, revealing the sharp blade hiding underneath. This seemed to put fear into Gary’s eyes, looking around to see if anyone was watching this. The only other one paying attention was Garte, who didn’t seem to care at all.

Physical-Instrument(impossible: failure): You knew what opening that was, you read about it in a book once.

-> 1. [ Take an actual guess at what the trick was (Encylopedia: formidable)] cannot be retried

2. “Was that an ice pick spin?”

3. “Was that a shortstop?”

Encyclopedia(formidable: success): “Was that a basic vertical opening?”

Cômo Marumo: Cômo seemed to be getting ready to chastise you again.

“Does this look remotely like the time for you to poorly guess at things agai-“ He then actually processed what you were saying and realized you were actually right. He seemed almost impressed with you.

“Hm. That is actually correct. Good job, detective.”

+1 morale

Gary, the cryptofascist- While Cômo was praising you, Gary seemed to be shrinking back a little, trying to see if he could run.

“Hey hey, that’s a very impressive trick officer, but I don’t think lethal force is necessary. I’m a law abiding citizen, aren’t I?”

Cômo Marumo- Cômo gently placed the blade on Gary’s neck, his expression dark.

“Let’s get one thing straight, you will not be referring to me with derogatory racial epithets while we interview you, do you understand?”

Gary, the cryptofascist- He seemed to shrink back again, sweat beading on his forehead.

“Alright alright, you got it officer, just please put the knife down.”

Cômo Marumo: Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Cômo took the knife off his neck and flipped it back into a closed position, then put it away.

You- You were starting to wonder just skipping Gary, as he seemed like more trouble than it was worth

1. “Hey, sorry about that, can I ask you some questions?”(continue)

-> 2. “We’re gonna head out now”(leave)

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s1 episode 17 thoughts

i enjoyed this episode and was deeply excited for my nightly scully and mulder time. these two factors led to me taking a lot of notes tonight, even by my standards!

the first thing i wrote was "okay i read the synopsis... are they going to get CANCELLED" (thankfully this did not happen!)

the title screen reading "present day" did not predict me watching this in 2024 but i love to prove ppl wrong!!

the trucker pulled his shotgun out and fired at a spaceship which was a bold move. we need to praise him for his courage if nothing else.

then our intrepid heroes jump to tennessee!! and mulder unpacks all his little gadgets to check for aliens... aww it's endearing to me

in the interrogation room they were talking to the trucker and this man really WAS lounging about in a whorish manner like that famous post said!!!!! i was shocked!!! no decorum, not even at an interrogation!!

okay they're talking about "gulf war syndrome". i need to look something up real quick -> good lord i thought they made that up for the show but it's real and that is horrific. wow. that will be the next research rabbit hole i dive down.

(she opens her mouth to say something) (he holds his finger up) "not-not here" argument SUCCESSFULLY POSTPONED!

some background character asked scully for a pen and she gave it to her and i KNEW it was a sneaky trick... my guess was that she was going to use her fingerprints for something but in actuality it had a tracking device in there!!!!

THEY TOOK A BUS!!! new mode of transportation unlocked for our duo!!!!!!! you can tell this is fiction because it involves the US having functional public transport!!!!

mulder takes scully to his latest collection of freaks and conspirators. he says that barney is the world's most evil agent which once again raises the question: what did barney do to deserve all this?

one of the ufo nerds says "she's hot" right in front of scully which she graciously ignores. but then she says the us government is incompetent and the guy says "she IS hot" louder this time and mulder tells him to SETTLE DOWN!!!! he said that is my FRIEND and you will be RESPECTFUL!!!

(scully gives her $20 bill to a strange man) (he rips it up) she says, in the most indignant scully voice you have ever heard, heyyyy >:(

she says those guys were the weirdest people with the most outlandish theories she had ever met and mulder responds with "you think it's remotely plausible that someone might think you're hot?"

(A STUNNED SILENCE FILLS THE ROOM. MANY WANT TO KNOW WHY HE SAID THIS AND NO ANSWERS HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED. HELLO???? WHAT WAS THE LOGIC HERE???? is he flirting. is this is twisted humor. scully, once again, GRACIOUSLY says nothing)

she's all mad at how self important those guys were being- "they probably think they're being tracked wherever they go!" (cut to tracking device in pen reveal) oh these silly geese!!!!!!!

mulder at home reveal!!! we haven't gotten much of this before. he promptly fell asleep on his couch lmao what a guy.

a deep throat return!!! he hands mulder a package from under his coat like they do in all the good spy media!!! shoutout to that weird old man!!

scully thinks it's weird that mulder is trusting some guy and says a line that will certainly haunt me forever: "mulder, you're the only one i trust" "then you're gonna have to trust me" (immediately proceeds to get betrayed by trusting that guy. lol. lmao, even)

he says they'll meet up at her place and reassures her with a shoulder grab and lean in that was entirely unnecessary but it brought me great pleasure

scully uses her sleuthing skills (eyeballs) to realize the alien photo deep throat gave them is very fake. she is a detective!!! but he is very angry that she won't go with him to chase this new lead!

(wait i wrote all of this next part down i loved it so much)

"i have never met anyone so passionate and dedicated to a belief as you. it's so intense, sometimes it's blinding. but there are others who are watching you, who know what i know, and whereas i can respect and admire your passion, they will use it against you. mulder, the truth is out there, but so are lies." <- banger monologue that really pissed off the man it was directed towards (even though she said she admires him!!!!!!)

when he realizes the photo is indeed a fake, he menacingly leans in towards scully and says "we're alone on this one. there's no one we can trust" and yeah it was scary but i was looking at scully's freckles. sorry (it WILL happen again)

mulder meets deep throat in an aquarium!!!! need to see him in an aquarium for recreational purposes. get him a little shark keychain in the gift shop.

but now he's MAD at deep throat for lying to him and denying the world the truth: that aliens exist! shh keep your voice down you might scare the sharks!!

deep throat says "a lie is most convincingly hidden between two truths" to which i wrote, "ooo good line"

deep throat knows mulder is being listened to electronically which made me think that if i knew i was being wiretapped, i would blast the most insufferable hyperpop i know over and over again. hello welcome to the 10 hour 100 gecs livestream in my living room, feds. i give you 20 minutes tops before you give up.

(cutscene to mulder ripping apart all of his furniture in his apartment) <- me when i get that Cleaning Urge at 3 am

ohhh the little finger hand signal means someone is listening to us !!! the intimacy of being able to communicate with someone with just a motion!

scully hails a cab which is so nostalgic for me, because i have never hailed a cab in my life and only see it happen in tv shows or movies. now we just call an uber which is like kinda the same thing but taxis popped off with the bright yellow design. sad i've never experienced that.

sometimes while i'm watching the show it will randomly go to like vhs level quality and it did that here while scully was buying a plane ticket lol

next thing i wrote was "there are only 15 minutes left they are NOT gonna solve this one boys"

mulder fell asleep in the car with his mouth wide open... that is my cringefail loser princess

the alien got away! (jk it was a trap... but i was momentarily happy for the alien)

scully was scared by this turn of events! "god mulder, i can't stop shaking"... oh, an episode 1 parallel?? (she still gets scared by these things!!! just not often!!! which makes it more impactful when it happens!!)

then they crashed a random party in the woods which i can only imagine is very good for your health, especially if its a ufo welcoming party

they very briefly got aliases to break into the government facility and i LOVE a good alias but it didn't really go anywhere. sad!

a guard is stalking them breaking into a place they Should Not Be and scully gives up and turns herself in, but mulder makes a break for it!!! "oh this isn't gonna end well," i wrote, "why does he keep doing this?"

but we meet DEEP THROAT at the scene!!! who reveals that post ww2 there was an ULTRA SECRET WORLD POWER conference during which they agreed to kill any aliens that landed on earth and that HE was one of the 3 people on earth to kill an alien!! which he did when one crashed in vietnam...

and that the innocence on the alien's face still haunts him, which is why he helps mulder out, to give him a chance to atone for his sins... a LOT to unpack there

mulder says he is trying to figure out which of these things he said is a lie and my money is on the super-secret conference. you think people had nukes but drew the lines at aliens being a safety threat to bring them all together? bffr.

but there is no resolution as to if mulder is mad at scully for throwing them under the bus as the episode ends! they just watch deep throat fade into the distance together which hopefully means it's water under the bridge.

overall i really liked this episode! it was fast-paced, involved a roadtrip, had the leads both fighting and comforting each other, confessions of admiration, secret hand signals, an aquarium, a peek into mulder's living space, him calling up some weird guys he knows... what more could you really want?

[brainyrot]

I said I would and so I did

Part one

Part two

----------------------------------------------------------

"I just feel constantly watched, that's it. It's creeping me out!"

"Maybe it's just the anxiety."

"I mean, the mind can trick you in many ways, maybe no one is really here."

"But what about the footsteps you and Felix heard?"

"I.. don't know yet but this place looks more abandoned than anything. it's probable some homeless people are here."

if that was actually true.

and if this mug could stop dividing his food to share with the others, it would be great.

honestly, he doesn't care that much, there's easier ways to get food and fast, the problem is that he can't right now. There's a certain follower here, which is already unusual, these weird toons following him everywhere and there isn't a place Wilson hasn't placed his stupid technology to keep him stuck in this form.

it's just annoying, that's it. he could lead them around, sure, but it's more dangerous for him than anything right now, he really hates this stupid form.

and he has no idea how to respond, in general, to them.

One asks about why he's so quiet, he tries to explain but they think he's just tired or just had..an ink attack or.. whatever. "His clothes are all full of ink!"

"The whole place is full of ink."

"Yeah but he literally has ink dripping form his hair. And have you seen his eyebags?"

such a weird observation.

what even is an ink attack? Like when he turns into the ink demon?

He wouldn't call it an attack but, sure I guess. Everybody's creative in their own way.

He needs to start being more creative because if they keep up with the cans and the lunch break room, they'll be stuck here forever.

He could wait until they are asleep, but none of them seem to be wanting to sleep.

those two dishes keep mourning over a dead body they haven't truly met before.

The girl keeps analyzing everything, and she's way more close to the truth than anyone, but it'll only drive her mad, like everyone here.

and the cat, acting sweet and kind, acting fatherly towards this demon he doesn't even know.

Either he's dumb, or something else. nothing positive though.

"Are you okay?" Are you?

"Do you need to lay down? Food?"

"Look once you feel better we can start looking for Boris." We can look for Boris right now actually, wouldn't hurt to pay a visit to that silly anxious wolf. Maybe those two can stop crying, it's pathetic really.

they don't even say why, they don't even look for comfort through the rest of the group, truly some kind of masochists.

and since no one here is gonna do anything, unless he does anything, he just got up and left.

They'll follow him like if they are little ducklings anyway.

he is not here anyway, anymore. He left. he's probably thinking of some sacrifice.

it's useless and stupid, you're not gonna get saved or spared, you're just living in an illusion created by your own mind to have some sort of comfort in this place we're all stuck here day by day until the end of time.

but it's stupidly funny how big this place is, very amusing, especially the reactions.

They are all confused and wary, especially because he knows this place despite "being his first time here", the girl is intrigued too, her curiosity will get her killed, the cat is too but he keeps to himself. Not like her.

She asks questions. She analyzes, she talks. The thing no one does here.

she points things out, she tries to find logic and reasoning behind madness and Ink. That's why she's driving herself crazy.

You can't find logic behind something that has nothing but no sense at all.

but it's not much of a problem for him, the rule here is that you are either mute, to keep yourself safe mostly, or you go mad. No in-between.

sometimes you're both too. Depends.

the more they go down, the more they ask questions, which he could answer, but he can't.

"the pipes are broken, explains the ink."

"People were surely obsessed with this joey guy."

"And bendy."

"what is even the deal with the ink demon?"

"Maybe they are talking about the ink illness?"

"Whoever wrote all of this is probably mad."

"I mean, have you seen this place? Who wouldn't be?"

they are there just not quite.

"this is probably an old abandoned studio some crazy lunatics used for either protection or just to have a roof on their head. they probably had some experiences with the ink illness, it could explain why they keep talking about this "ink demon", they could have used the word demon as a substitute for illness."

"like, when people say you're possessed by a demon when you act crazy?"

"Kind of. They think the ink illness doing is because of a demon, or think the illness is a demon itself tormenting them."

If he could sigh loudly, he would.

"why are we even exploring this place. We should go." He's right. This tall smoking cup is right. You should go.

"Because bendy has no intention to stop, and frankly I'm not leaving him here with who knows who." this cat is going to die first.

"is he looking for Boris?"

"Obviously! he's the only one that we haven't found."

"What about the others? Like Alice or..black hat, I don't know." oh? They know Alice too?

well he could do her a favor then.

"Wasn't Alice in heaven? And what would hat even do here?"

"One of his weird stupid experiments?"

"You think this is one of his experiments to figure out the ink illness?"

"Probably. He had a guy with the ink illness caged up like some animal."

He can't even tell who is talking and who isn't, they all sound the same, say the same thing. and he isn't bothering to make a difference between all of them.

"Oh my Lord!" But for the life of him he can't tune out Sammy's annoying voice.

and those finger guns again. They aren't pointing at him so he's fine, they are pointing at Sammy.

"hey! Don't you dare get any closer, ya weirdo."

A man now made of ink, willingly turning himself into a monster to please a lord that didn't exist in the first place.

"Oh, I'm so pleased my Lord! A gift just for me! oh you flatter me." The man says, holding his axe like his newborn child. A faint laugh from his lips.

"I'll make sure this time the sacrifice will make you happy." Ready fo attack, ready to slice their heads off. But how can you go against toons who can bend reality? How can you against things that were built to not follow logic?

Sammy is only human, a man pretending to be ink, he can't compete. but neither can they, truly a show worth to watch if it wasn't for that grip on his shoulder from the older cup, holding him like if he was some fragile vase that was gonna break any time soon, a friend to protect, something defenseless.

Which he was, but he wasn't in danger at the moment, not when Sammy was here, not when hundreds of lost ones have heard the chaos. Not when so many souls floating and swimming in the dark, lurking and waiting to meet the new guests.

no one is going to hurt him though, no one is going to lay a finger on him.

They all worship him, they all love him, he doesn't get why, but in times like this, he's glad.

but he doesn't want to be at the center of attention. He needs a corner, a table, anything to hide and be ignored until he can make a run for it and be finally free from this cage of a body that he's stuck with.

"I said back off!" He hissed, he surely knows how to act brave. He is not. He is nervous, he is slightly shaking. He is scared of the unknown in front of him, on his head, on the floor, kind of everywhere but he doesn't know.

"If any of you get any closer imma start shootin' and it's all over for you." But it's not effective on people whose life matters no more.

[sarucane]

Fragile Stories, Strong Stories in "We Gull Way Back": OFMD Meta Analysis

By episode 8 of S1, the stories on the Revenge have nearly fallen apart again and again. The crew plotted mutiny in the first episode; Ed planned to kill Stede in ep 4, changed his mind in ep 6--but still stood by while Izzy tried to go through with the plan--and was considering leaving in ep 7; Stede's actual skills as a pirate captain haven't exactly improved; Jim left in ep 7, leaving the Revenge without its most skilled fighter. And all this begs the question: how strong are the stories that bind these characters, anyway?

Calico Jack sets out to test exactly this. Jack uses stories as a weapons. He manipulates people's emotions,

he sidles in and tricks people into wanting to tell a certain story with him

and uses stories to separate people from each other.

And Jack's good at it. He's charming and fun. He fits into the pirate world in a way that Stede never will. Everyone wants to play his games with them, and no one wants to tell him "no."

Since Stede is the pillar at the center of the Revenge's story, it makes sense that just about everything Jack does is designed to undermine him. He immediately senses Stede's weak spot--he's not 'masculine' enough for the pirate world--and attacks it, calling Stede "the big gal." He repeatedly gets Stede's name wrong on purpose, he pretends fragility when called out on his bullshit, he wraps people up in games and booze so they don't notice just how toxic he is until it's too late.

And he does all this indirectly, by building a story around Stede and manipulating others to fill in the gaps.

Jack has actual conversations with Stede only twice. Both of those conversations have the same goal: drive a wedge between Stede and Ed by showing just how fragile the story Ed's told Stede--and by extension, the story Ed and Stede are telling together--really is.

When Jack tells the story of Ed setting the ship on fire, even he doesn't realize what he's exposing.

Ed's story to Stede about not having killed a man since is father? It's just a story. It's semantics, a split hair that lets Ed tell himself a certain story about himself. Ed's constantly telling stories about himself or acting out stories told by others about him, and even he doesn't really know which of these stories are true and which are false. He barely understands who he is, let alone what stories he wants to be telling. So, extending that logic, is the story he told Stede about not killing anyone as fragile as the story he and Stede have been telling together?

For Stede, the answer to this is actually no. Stede trusts Ed and Ed's 'strength,' rather more than he should sometimes. And Stede's opinion of Ed doesn't actually change after the story of the burned ship.

Jack's ideal outcome would probably have been for Stede to be the one who broke up with Ed. But although he does hone in on a failure of communication between Stede and Ed (one of MANY...and for that manner, a failure of Ed's self-awareness), he doesn't actually succeed in disrupting their relationship over breakfast.

But the second time Jack has a conversation with Stede, he does succeed. He rattles Stede with his talk of "dalliances," of careless sexual relationships, directly implying that any bond Stede thinks he's developed with Ed is fleeting. And then he says the quiet part out loud: Ed isn't who you think he is.

Stede doesn't really get what's going on here, but he knows he doesn't like it. So, he retreats. He tries to go back to the ship without talking to Ed at all. When he does try to explain why he's leaving, he plays into Ed's narrative that Stede and he don't belong in each other's lives.

Stede does well telling Ed how he feels, but he makes a mistake when he tells Ed he doesn't like who Ed is right now. He's openly doing the same thing Jack's been subtly doing: telling Ed "this is who you are." Stede means it as "this is who you are in this situation," but Ed isn't aware of the fragility of his own identity. Or of how much he's changed since his time with Jack.

So here Ed is again, with the idea that he's "a certain kind of person," and there's nothing to be done about it.

And then, everyone gets tested. A point of fragility is exposed, a vulnerability is attacked and destroyed.

And then everyone has to decide how they'll react. Whether they'll tell Jack's story, or their own.

Most of the crew gets through the test. Buttons holds to his truth, keeping glaring at Jack until he's off the ship. Stede gives Jack the boot, to the protest of absolutely no one. The crew don't even think about taking Jack's bait of mutiny when he asks them to come along.

Not so long ago, Stede wouldn't have been able to be this assertive. He would have bullshitted and made a speech, he would have wavered under Jack's glare. And the crew who first got on the Revenge wouldn't have been upset by the killing of a bird. They've changed. Their stories are strong enough to get them through this test.

But Ed fails.

For Ed, Jack's stories have given him a simple, easy, and narrative to regress into: he's a certain kind of person, who doesn't belong on the Revenge. His and Stede's relationship was always fragile and doomed. After all, it was based on pretense and lies.

And at the same time, another fragile story is being exposed. Back at Jackie's, Jim is facing the fact that the monsters of their childhood weren't exactly 'monsters.' those men were dumbass bastards, and if they keep chasing each murderer down they'll wind up as worn down as Jackie. And Jim doesn't really even want to be telling this story, either.

Back at Blind Man's Cover, Ed is faced with a bit of whiplash. He thinks he's here because this is the 'strong' story, this is who he really is. But he only went with Jack after an emotional appeal!

The next morning, Ed's clearly unhappy with what's happened. Because like Jim, Ed doesn't want to tell this story. And after an episode of yes-anding Jack, of protesting an then complying, he finally finds his limit when Jack suggests killing Lucius to steal his stuff.

Ed doesn't want to drink his breakfast, engage in careless murder, or treat his relationship with Stede as just another 'dalliance.' So it's not all that big of a surprise when Ed turns against Jack. Because the most important thing turns out not to be whether a story is strong or fragile. It's whether the tellers want to keep telling it.

And Ed finds that he wants to keep telling his story with Stede. That makes their story strong--and it makes Ed strong. Strong enough to face the biggest risk of his life, and go back to the ship without a clue what'll happen next.

And Ed's not the only one with an unexpectedly strong story. Button's madness turns out to have been truth. And his hex is stronger than anyone expected.

It's Jack's stories that turned out to be fragile. The ones that were true were shallow, and the ones that seemed 'strong' were lies that fell quickly away.

The episode ends with the crew captured, the English triumphant. But for now, at least, the chain isn't broken. And that means the stories are still being told.

[coraniaid]

Principal Flutie is, I think it's safe to say, not particularly consequential to the overall plot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Appearing only in the first half of the show's first season and almost entirely outshone by his successor Principal Snyder, his main claim to fame is the grisly manner of his departure: getting eaten alive by a gang of hyena-possessed students. As I write this, there are 26 works on AO3 tagged with this character's name.

Kendra Young is the second ever vampire slayer to appear on the show, Called as a Slayer after Buffy Summers (briefly) dies in the first season finale. Meeting Kendra helps to persuade Buffy that being a Slayer is a part of who she is and not merely a job she can one day escape from; while the existence of multiple Slayers will go on to become an important plot point in the show's third, fourth and seventh seasons. As I write this, there are 199 works on AO3 tagged with this character's name.

Given the above, which of these two characters do you think:

appears in the most episodes?

is mentioned in the most episodes after their death?

was actually given a full name while the show was still airing?

Here's a hint: all three questions have the same answer.

Here's a less subtle hint: it's not Kendra.

Robert ("all the kids are free to call me Bob ... but they don't") Flutie appears in a total of four Season 1 episodes (Welcome to the Hellmouth, The Harvest, Teacher's Pet, The Pack) before he dies, and is then mentioned again in three episodes (Season 1's The Puppet Show and Season 7's Lessons and Beneath You).

Kendra ("I have no last name") Young [who, despite being very clear on the subject when asked, suddenly acquired a last name when she needed one for the Buffy RPG tie-in] appears in a total of three Season 2 episodes (What's My Line? Part 1, What's My Line? Part 2, Becoming Part 1) before she dies, and is then mentioned again in two episodes (Season 2's Becoming Part 2 and Season 3's Faith, Hope & Trick) before never being mentioned again [at least not on the TV show].

You might think it strange that the show's actual focus seems so out of alignment with both fandom interest and what logic suggests should surely be central to its own mythos and world-building and to its major characters emotional arcs. You might think it strange that, after Season 2, Buffy never talks about Kendra again [the one time Kendra's name is spoken in Season 3 comes when Cordelia says it] despite Buffy having found Kendra's body and being falsely accused of her murder. [Fun fact: after Season 2 those same murder charges are mentioned more times than anybody expresses any sadness over Kendra's death, which is never. Oh, sorry, that's not a very fun fact.]

You might think it particularly strange that in Season 7 -- a season where the Slayer Line itself is a key part of the central plot and we meet many new Potential Slayers who Buffy is tasked with training and keeping alive, a season in which the Big Bad has the ability to appear in the form of any dead person she wishes and there are multiple episodes featuring flashbacks to the life of a former Slayer who was killed by one of the Big Bads from Season 2 [albeit flashbacks that involved recasting the original actor despite her interest in continuing to play the part] -- the Buffy writers thought to include two separate callbacks to the unremarkable and (up to this point) unlamented Principal Flutie (who surely only a minority of fans watching would have even remembered?) and exactly none to murdered Vampire Slayer Kendra.

Was a character who appeared in four episodes six years ago really so much more memorable than a character who sppeared in three episodes five years ago? Did Kendra really make so little impression at the time? Was there no reason to think one of the characters might have brought her up at any point? Was there really no room at all in any of this season's scripts to include even a fleeting reference to the very first girl Buffy met, tried to teach how to be a Slayer, and who then died in a way Buffy could blame herself for? Might Kendra's memory not have been slightly more thematically relevant to this season's story than the tedious ongoing sagas of "is Giles the First?" [no], "will the First ever use the hypnotized Spike as a weapon against Buffy?" [no] and "isn't Andrew Wells funny? doesn't he deserve his own spin-off show?" [no]? Is there any reason you can think of that might explain this puzzling creative choice?

Ah well.

Who can say what the writers were thinking? I guess it's just one of those little mysteries that will never be resolved.

[4am-enha]

enha as: your group in a zombie apocalypse

description/tags: short bullet points on each member, all enha members, some ideas of what i think they’d be like if you were all a group of survivors fighting on.

warnings: swearing, no punctuation/proper grammar or capitalization.

note: this is because i watch too much twd 💀 anyway, lmk what you think. do u agree or no? what would you be like/do? feel free to add on ideas you guys have! id love to hear them. i’m obsessed w apocalypse stuff rn idk why.

niki 🧟‍♂️

i feel like he would try and hide the fact he’s constantly shittin bricks

would always be the first to volunteer to do something risky though

would most likely make fun of and tease you from time to time for being paranoid

wouldn’t really be a leader but definitely always the one chosen to help with attacking and staying on watch

sunoo🧟‍♂️

he’s very expressive so you always know when he doesn’t agree with someone

the one that would actually stand up and say something about an issue , a lot of debating

the hope of the group. the world is fucked but at least sunoo keeps what’s left of his humanity alive.

might hesitate to kill.

jungwon🧟‍♂️

ofc because he’s such a good leader, he would naturally take on some sort of leadership role.

always the one giving out ideas, coming up with solutions, makes very logical decisions.

peacekeeper of the group- usually ends any fights that come up between you all.

wouldn’t leave a soul behind. very defensive of his group. would struggle to kill someone he knew.

sunghoon🧟‍♂️

probably always trying to crack jokes at the wrong times. the comedic relief of the group.

protective, but fearful. takes him a while to warm up to killing.

fast and flexible, slips away from close calls too often. causes trouble by being too honest.

follows others lead rather than his own, sticking by someone at all times.

jake🧟‍♂️

most likely hard to keep him quiet, screams without meaning to.

similar to niki, he might pretend he isn’t scared but he very much is. the only difference is that jake isn’t good at hiding it.

the one who dosent let go of his faith and hope. always thinking of a brighter side, but oftentimes conflicted.

very athletic and smart. solves hard situations along side jungwon, backing him up. best at scavenging.

jay🧟‍♂️

very very quiet. it’s easy for him to take responsibility of mistakes and deaths, even if it wasn’t his fault. blames himself too much.

good at spying and keeping watch, keeps everyone fed the best he can.

short temper of the group, easily gets frustrated in tough situations but it’s out of concern and love.

so protective he would sacrifice himself for the safety of you and the group- which might unfortunately lead to his quick death.

heeseung🧟‍♂️

people look to him a lot for answers and guidance, but he hates making any decisions or any leadership role.

another quiet one, but most likely acts on his feelings more often than logic.

asks a lot of questions, and he’s probably the flirt of the group alongside jake.

never thought he would be doing this shit outside of video games, but thanks to his gaming addiction, he knows a lot of handy tricks.

[boxfullaturtles]

For the fake title ask game: "Laughing through your crocodile tears" (I'm picking random song lyrics lol)

Okay this one gave me some trouble.

Initially was thinking post-movie or post-S2 finale. Everyone saying they're fine, making excuses for odd behaviors, smiling and pretending everything's all right and they can go back to normal. But eventually the cracks start to show and it's just a matter of who falls apart first.

But then I had a really mean idea. Time to throw Leo under the bus again. Sorry Leo. Leo's a liar, right. He lies easily, not out of maliciousness, but more like because he's two steps down from a con artist sometimes. He might not be the most charismatic but he knows how to lay on the bullshit. So opposite of one those "cursed to only tell the truth" tropes. Leo can only answer in LIES. And as these things tend to go, it's not that big of a deal at first. "Leo, do you wanna play some video games?" "With you? No way." "Leo, do you want the last slice of pizza?" "Nah, I'm not hungry." And it's not hard to put together that something's wrong with Leo. Those boys are stupid sometimes but they're not that stupid. "Leo, are you cursed?" "Whhaaattt? Pfff, no! Me? Cursed? I would never be cursed." "Yeah, he's definitely cursed." "Am not! You can't prove it!" "Leo, do you like Jupiter Jim?" "Uhg, no! They're the worst movies ever!" "...bro, you're totally cursed."

It's all funny haha make Leo say stupid stuff. But then it gets...bad. Then it escalates, as these things tend to.

He can't communicate with his team during a fight. Everything he says is a lie, an opposite, a trick. It ends up getting them hurt. He ends up insulting Donnie's tech. Badly. And it's...it's really hurtful. And Donnie logically knows that Leo didn't mean it because it's the curse talking. But...hearing that from his brother? Logical doesn't really hold a candle to hurt feelings. Mikey tries to help and get Leo to talk about how he really feels. And it works. Kind of. Actually it backfires, in a way. Leo ends up screaming his insecurities and self-loathing for everyone to hear.

And then, because what he really wants to do is cry. He laughs instead. Because why not top everything off by his own body betraying him. He wants to run so he stays put. He wants to hide in his shell but he can't move. He's hungry but he can't eat. Tired but he can't sleep. And everything that spills out of him is a lie. And if he tries to lie, tries to do the opposite of what he wants to do, tries to trick the curse into working for him, nothing happens. He's lost complete control of everything that he is. And the lines start to blur. He starts questioning where the curse ends and where Leo begins. Is he still cursed? Is he still lying? What if he's telling the truth now? It's messing with his head and he can't sleep and he's starving and his body aches because he wants to rest, so he just keeps moving, pacing the lair until Raph grabs him and holds him close because Leo's feet have been worn bloody and he's gasping for air and trembling and scared. But he can only laugh and tell them he's fine, he doesn't need help, he'll be fine. They know it's a lie, but he's still saying it with the smarmy grin of his and it's so Leo of him to do that. But it's not Leo.

And now they have to find a way to break the curse before Leo's body completely gives out on him, before the curse ends up killing him.

I don't have a resolution, I just wanna put Leo through the ringer. :) Maybe the Mystic Library has the answer? Find the right book, perform the right ritual, that whole shebang. Maybe they gotta make a deal with Big Mama? But that's a whole other can of worms. Maybe Hypno's got the answer, that would be interesting to play with. There would be a happy ending, of course, I'm not going to let Leo die like that. But it would be a terrifying and harrowing experience for everyone.

[weirdkpopgirl]

Friends? | Jisung Imagine #3

Title: Friends?

Genre: Best friends to lovers

Warnings: none

Word Count: 711

Author's Note: For some reason, the question of whether guys and girls can be friends was dancing around my mind the other day. I'm sure everyone has different answers. But it inspired me to write a little story, and I thought Jisung suited the concept the best. Hope you guys like it ^ ^

◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦∘◦❀◦

A peaceful silence flowed through your room, broken only by the sounds of textbook pages flipping and the soft scratch of your pencil marking notes in your notebook. As you worked diligently on homework, your eyes occasionally flitted to Jisung who lounged on your bed. Since his arrival, he had been lying there, eyes fixating on the ceiling above. 

However, the silence was broken when Jisung spoke abruptly. “(Y/n), do you think guys and girls can just be friends?”

Raising an eyebrow, you paused your work to shoot him a questioning look. “Why do you ask?”

“Chenle and I were arguing about it,” he explained, propping himself up on his elbows. “He said it’s impossible. What do you think?”

Contemplating the question logically, you found yourself nodding thoughtfully. “Yeah, I think it’s kind of hard for guys and girls to maintain a purely platonic friendship. It never lasts because someone usually catches feelings, which makes things complicated.”

Jisung frowned, sitting up in protest. “But you and I are friends.”

“We’ll we’re a different story,” you reasoned. “We’ve known each other since primary school.”

Turning back to your desk, you cast a slightly disheartened glance at your homework. “Besides, it’s not like we have any feelings for each other,” you added half-heartedly.

Feeling frustrated by your words, Jisung mumbled without thinking. “I do, though.”

Alarms instantly blared in your head, and you spun back around in your chair with a startled expression. Maybe your mind was playing tricks on you.

“What did you just say?” 

Recognizing his slip-up, Jisung slapped his hand over his mouth. “What?! No, I—I didn’t say anything.”

“Yes, you did. I heard you,” you deadpanned, unwilling to let him escape the situation.

Jisung sighed, his shoulders sinking in defeat. “Okay, this is going to sound crazy. But I’ve had this crush on you since…I don’t know…forever.”

His cheeks reddened when he saw your jaw drop. He then began to ramble about how you’ve always been there for him, and how his heart started beating faster when you were around. 

His confession hit you like a wave, capsizing the ship of your assumptions. Yet, as you pushed through the water, you suddenly realized all the time you had wasted thinking your feelings were one-sided. 

“Park Jisung, I like you too,” you cut him off, barely able to contain the glee bubbling within you.

The boy’s eyes widened in surprise. “You do?!”

“Yeah, I do. I just didn’t think you felt the same way,” you admitted quietly.

You watched in amusement as Jisung placed a hand over his chest in relief as if a weight had just been lifted off his shoulders.

“So, what do we know?” he asked, looking at you with a bashful grin. 

His question made you realize that you had never really thought beyond confessing to your crush.

You shrugged in response. “What do you want to do?”

Jisung hesitated for a moment, before meeting your eyes with a more serious gaze. “I want to kiss you,” he said, panic quickly accompanying his words. “But only if you’re okay with that!”

With a small smile, you nodded. “I’m okay with that.”

Still a bit shy, Jisung slowly stood up from your bed, and you met him halfway. Your heart rate instantly sped up when he cautiously cupped your right cheek. While you had been this close to him dozens of times, there was now a new, fluttery sensation of anticipation lingering in the air.

His lips gently brushed against yours at first, as if he wanted to confirm that you were okay. When you didn’t show any signs of pulling away, Jisung’s hand found yours. Once your fingers were intertwined, he leaned down to press his lips onto yours.

The kiss was a little awkward at first, given that both of you were relatively new at this. However, as you both began to relax, the experience became more enjoyable. It didn’t feel like you were kissing your best friend. Instead, it was the realization of a connection that had been in your heart for a long time.

As the two of you parted with shy smiles on your face, you both agreed that it’s pretty hard for guys and girls to stay friends.

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[obsoleteozymandias]

Part of a trade with the loverly @cakeboxie! <3

Thanks so much for both reaching out to me AND agreeing to do this with me! You’re an exceptionally talented writer and artist, and I can’t wait to see what you make in the future! Thanks again <3

== Twisted Wonderland ==>

I match you up with…

Vil Schoenheit 

Now THIS…this is enemies to lovers slowburn, 100,000 words, tagged with hurt/comfort and soulmates. 

At first, his arrogance leaves a negative impression on you. His confidence in himself and his own ideas very much mirrors your own, but given his haughty attitude about his fame, you hate him at first. 

Any time you’re both in the same room you’ll glare at him until you can escape to somewhere where his presence doesn’t pollute your mind. 

Even then, just the thought of him enraged you. 

And it’s mutual. You don’t back down to his authority, no matter what. You stand strong and hold onto your beliefs regardless of what anyone thinks, and so Vil finds you ignorant and foolish at first.

I imagine it would all change after the VDC, ESPECIALLY if you witnessed his overblot. He sees the world a little differently after that, and his judgment and resentment towards you wanes just as it did for Neige. He’ll apologize to you for his earlier behavior. 

And yet…you don’t forgive him. 

Vil is stunned. You’re clearly still holding on to some resentment from how he treated you in the past, but he’s changed, if even a bit. Shouldn’t you cut him some slack? 

But as days pass and he realizes that you still hold on to that grudge, he declares a new goal for himself: to get you to like and appreciate him. 

(It’ll be a challenge, if nothing else) 

From there on out it’s a constant struggle to avoid him as he compliments you at every turn, offers you gifts, and makes sure you’re never lacking in anything. It’s bizarre, and you get the sense he’s just trying to fuck you over. So you confront him. 

And he’s astonished by you once again. You tell him you won’t fall for his tricks, and that if he was actually sorry, he’d put some effort into his apologies. 

And THAT flips a switch in him. 

Vil is more earnest after that. He pays attention to what you have to say if only so he may talk to you about it later. He compliments you when he really means it, and goes through genuine effort to show that he does want to connect with you. 

When you finally relent, and you decide you can trust him, you two are INSEPARABLE. Whether it’s him listening to you talk about your hobbies, or staying up late to simply be in each others presence, you two can be found with one another often. 

And even though you hated him at first, you’ll find no one who is more genuine and honest than Vil. He doesn’t keep secrets and communicates so well that any issues you two may have had are over before they even begin. 

He also appreciates your practical solutions to problems. He isn’t excitably the most emotional person, so having someone like you who can think logically in the face of stress is an immense help. 

You can’t pinpoint when you start to fall for Vil, and though he knows he’s been a bit enamored with you for a while, he can’t say when he truly fell for you either. 

There’s just one day suddenly when you realize that you wouldn’t mind spending the rest of your life doing this with him. You wouldn’t mind laughing at his remarks, or criticizing him when he’s a bit too snide.

And when he looks at you, Vil finds that he can’t imagine a future where he isn’t next to you. 

And so when one day he asks you to go out with him - to be his significant other - it’s not dramatic or loud. It’s a simple question, and your answer feels just as simple. As if there was no other question to the answer. 

You two spend the rest of your time chatting, and then kissing, and then falling asleep next to one another. And the next morning, you’re ready to be by Vil’s side, and he’s thrilled to be by yours. 

[firedragon1321]

So here's a dumb writing thing.

I was thinking about Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and because writing is on 24/7 in my brain, I wondered who or what the antagonist is in the second half. The answer is really dumb.

Readmored for length, and because this is normally a weeb blog.

Note that the "antagonist"of a story is not the "villain". The antagonist is simply who or whatever is preventing the protagonist from achieving their goal. It can be a person, thing, or concept. Sometimes the protagonist's identity is difficult to spot too. But here it's pretty obviously Charlie.

I'm using the 1973 movie adaptation for this because it's the only one that actually answers this question.

The first half's antagonist is pretty clear. Charlie wants a golden ticket. The only way to get one is to buy a ridiculous amount of Wonka bars (or have someone else do it for you). Charlie's poverty is preventing him from buying chocolate bars. It is only through money randomly found in the gutter that he gets his chance. Therefore, the antagonist in the first half is Charlie's poverty.

Of course, that stops being an issue the instant Charlie gets the golden ticket. His goal now becomes something along the lines of "enjoy the factory tour", which is influenced by his poverty, but not threatened by it. So now who or what is the antagonist? Here's a list of people who aren't.

Slugworth- Slugworth is a threat to Wonka, but he's not the protagonist. He offers temptation to Charlie in the form of money. But this only addresses his initial antagonist (i e.- poverty). It initially seems he must return to poverty, so this is a good deal on paper. But the end of the film cancels this out.

The other four children- While they are in competition to win the factory, this isn't made clear to them or the audience until the very end of the film. Also, Charlie is not actively attempting to win the factory. You could argue they're his antagonists because he wants to enjoy the tour and they keep "interrupting". But this is shaky logic, as each individual "interruption" is a karmic punishment that has nothing to do with Charlie.

Wonka- You could argue he is the antagonist at the end of the film for a bit, as he keeps Charlie from his chocolate prize. But he isn't beforehand, and he isn't after Charlie surrenders the gobstopper.

Remember- antagonists do not have to be people. I also mentioned the only version that satisfactorily answers this question is the 1973 film adaptation. Not the book. Not Tim Burton's version. Why? Because there is a scene in that version only.

Fizzy lifting drinks.

The fizzy lifting drinks serve the same purpose as the temptations that lead to the elimination of the other kids. They exist to lure Charlie off the path (quite literally) and nearly lead him to a sticky end. Stealing them also directly leads to Wonka's antagonism at the film's conclusion.

Because the fizzy lifting drinks are in the same family as the infamous three course gum and the chocolate river, one has to wonder...

How much of the factory was an antagonist in disguise? If Charlie's goal was to enjoy the tour, all of the fates the other kids suffer would not be enjoyable. So triggering them himself would run counter to his goal. Not that the golden boy ever would. But just hypothetically. Does falling down a trash chute sound fun?

Assuming these fates were purposely planted traps (which with Wonka, who knows if they were), then- from Wonka's perspective- they exist to weed out children who shouldn't be allowed near his factory. The fizzy lifting drinks are just another trick in his arsenal. The only difference between them and the room full of golden geese is that they were Charlie's trial specifically. Even if Grandpa Joe had a hand in it, they were as narratively individualized as the television room for Mike Teevee.

As a counter argument, you could say the fizzy lifting drinks don't count because they show up partway through the tour. Or you could say Wonka really is the antagonist because he put them there. Counterpoints-

Wonka mentions the fizzy lifting drinks quite a few scenes before they show up, foreshadowing their importance

They have no other rival to harm/stop Charlie specifically except the boat ride, which is less a narrative antagonist and more the seventies being weird.

Wonka is playing the whole board. He's not going after Charlie specifically (assuming these are traps to begin with- he's so mad that it's impossible to know for certain). Also, his goal doesn't intersect with Charlie's, and no-one really knows what impact that goal will have on Charlie until the end.

Tl;dr- The fizzy lifting drinks are the primary antagonist of this film, and I will die on that hill.

[burnwater13]

The Client discussing the Child with Moff Gideon, on Nevarro. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 1, Episode 7, The Reckoning. Calendar from DataWorks.

Grogu didn’t think about the person who paid Din Djarin to find him very often. He wasn’t Morgan Elsbeth who seemed to live in Grogu’s mind, rent free. But every once in a while Grogu would see an older human walking across the plaza in Nevarro City and do a double take. Was it that gentle sounding man? It couldn’t be. Moff Gideon had ended him. So why was Grogu’s brain playing tricks on him?

First, he asked his dad. The Mandalorian had a lot of life experience and knew a lot about how people behaved under stress. He was a bounty hunter and a Mandalorian. Hunter and hunted. If that wasn’t stressful, what was?

Fat lot of good that did him. 

“Grogu, buddy, he probably reminded you of one of your old Jedi Masters and now you just mix them up with each other. It could happen to any one.”

Uff! No way was that what was happening. That client guy didn’t remind Grogu of any of the Jedi masters. Jedi masters didn’t send other people out to do the work that they were assigned. They did the work themselves. Jedi masters also didn’t kidnap children, or use stolen goods to pay their debts. Grogu was sure there were more differences, but these were the ones that he could think of off the cuff.

So, if the client wasn’t like a Jedi master, why did Grogu think about him from time to time? He decided to check in with his friend, IG-11-M. The droid-marshal had an interesting perspective.

“Humans are not subject to logical processing of data. There is no factual support for non-humans to be bound by logical processing. Your central processor may have a defect that is repairable. Perhaps you should run a re-boot sequence?”

Hmmm. Grogu could appreciate that advice. Why he thought of the man who had been powerful and still so vulnerable didn’t need to make sense. That was a relief. But how would Grogu put his central processing unit through a re-boot sequence? He really didn’t care for meditating, but maybe it could help? Maybe?

Grogu sighed deeply. He needed more help. IG-11-M had made a good suggestion, but Grogu wanted to put off meditating as long as possible. It would just remind him of the time he spent training Luke at the Jedi Sleep Away Camp and that had been pretty frustrating for him. But who should he talk to?

The high magistrate was off planet for a meeting with the New Republic. Cara Dune was still on whatever strange special project she’d been on for the last few years. If only his ba’buir was around. Or Fennec. But they weren’t available either. Dank farrik!

Grogu began to pace around the exterior of the cabin. His dad was taking a nap and didn’t like the sound of Grogu pacing. He said Grogu should either learn to pick up his feet or use the Force to float when he felt like pacing. Apparently the shuffling sound his feet made was just a shade too close to the sound of that weird creature that caught the Mandalorian when they first went to explore the planet. That hadn’t been a fun time for either one of them so Grogu took his pacing outside. 

As he walked by the N-1 for the thirty seventh time he heard the sound of the comms system ‘pinging’. Grogu wondered who could be calling the ship instead of the cabin? Grogu trotted over to the ship and hopped up on the fuselage and listened carefully to the automated system pick up the comm. 

It was Peli! Yippee! She was the just the person who could help Grogu, if he could get the canopy opened in time to transfer the call from ‘record’ to ‘live’. Since this was an urgent need and he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to talk to his friend, he decided that using the Force to help was acceptable. He wasn’t being selfish or tricky after all. He was trying to answer an important question and Jedi were always allowed to use the Force to do work like that. 

So one leaping, twisting, turning vault into the air, accompanied by a wave of his hand, and Grogu was in the N-1 and hitting the proper sequence of buttons and switches to accept that comm.

“Grogu! Buddy! How are ya’? Ya little womp rat!”

Peli Motto was as cheerful and effervescent as always.

Grogu coo’d and grumbled at her.

“Really? Well, I don’t know why your dad couldn’t answer that. He can be such a tin can at times. That old man changed yer life. He sent bounty hunters after ya, for crying out loud. Whadda gundark! But, if he hadn’t, yer dad woulda never found ya. Easy peasy. Some people are a necessary evil. He was an unexpected good. So don’t look a gift fathier in the mouth, kid. It never pays. Any whoo, is yer dad around? I think I gotta line on a Razor Crest for him. Gently used. Not a lotta hours on the engines. Real sweet machine. It is too Treadwell! Quiet! I gotta customer on the line!”

Grogu giggled and trotted off to get his dad. Peli had answered his current question and had answered a question he didn’t even have. How could they be bounty hunters without a ship that could host a carbonite system? Like father, like son, bringing the bad guys in cold was just what he wanted to do. If it hadn’t been for the Client he never would have met his dad, or Peli, or whole bunch of other people. He had been an unexpected good. Who knew you could be warm and cold at the same time?