#this has been in my drafts for 2 years... got damn...

[flamentnagel]

since i remembered it and idk if everyone's seen it here's the GG collab cafe menu cuz i miss it (if any newcomers are looking for your faves, this was circa Xrd Sign with only it's playable cast included)

[imwritesometimes]

me: this is too much exposition. you should not directly tell all the time. let dialogue and tone/body language descriptions do some of the work

also me: this isn't exposition it's literally the second paragraph of chapter one you're setting up the plot you gotta drop a little exposition

also also me:

[yawneon]

hcs for

percy jackson hcs for hogwarts color houses? (if you wanted to - maybe for reader too?)

(this has been marinating in my drafts for MONTHS)

PERCY JACKSON !

- im a firm believer in percy being harry in another universe

- if harry wasnt a BBBBBITCH

- gryffindor prefect whether you like it or not. (turned head boy, lily and james situation over here.)

- 1/3 star trio (somehow percy’s in it)

- would and could beat the shit out of harry potter

- IS DEFINITELY A QUIDDITCH PLAYER

- probably a seeker or a chaser but im getting off topic

- hes a prefect that all the first years look up to yk

- like those cool older students that you want to be when your fresh in high school.

- “percy is so cool!“ “i wanna be a prefect like percy!”

- loves the attention ngl

- sneaks around to ravenclaw table to sit with annabeth (or you) and then when he gets caught he goes “i was just asking her something!” when he knows damn well he was flirting with her.

- you can tell by the shit-eating grin on his face. ^

- definitely is in a organised wand fighting club

- most likely is a pain in the ass for the teachers but he gets good grades (thanks to his girlfriend) and he probably has saved the school from some sort of magical monster once or twice

- secretly avada kadavra’d a fly once (felt bad afterwards and held a funeral for the fly)

ANNABETH CHASE !

- ravenclaw head girl.

- 2/3 of the star trio

- everyone loves annabeth, shes like the star student.

- “ask annabeth she knows.” “annabeth can you help me with this question?”

- gods shes smart but shes more than that.

- she likes to hide away in one of the towers and she makes castles ans structures out of toothpicks she steals from the tables at breakfast, lunch and dinners.

- also a student alot of the first years look up to.

- but mainly the girls like annabeth.

- the ones who felt they weren’t ever going to be smart enough or were never going to amount to enough.

- annabeth would smile sweetly at them and remind them to believe in themselves.

- is the only person percy really listens to.

- percy could be messing around and not listening in a class and the moment annabeth even mutters a word starting with p hes sat on a chair, hands in his lap, posture straight and mouth SHUT.

GROVER UNDERWOOD !

- now i don’t want to stereotype… im not that type of girl.

- hufflepuff prefect

- AND BEFORE ALL OF YOU COME ALONG AND START WHINIGN AND CRYING “I HATE HUFFLEPUFF” BLAHS BALAHA BALAHA SHUT UP.

- he loves his house and takes so much pride in it

- i don’t think he’d like playing quidditch but he would be in the front row seats cheering on hufflepuff

- and if his house wasn’t playing he’s there cheering for percy

- 3/3 of the star trio.

- grover “my bf” underwood is a hufflepuff.

- alot of the younger kids look out for grover in a crowd

- especially the misbehaving gryffindor kids that are running away from clarrise

- if they can’t find percy they cower behind grover

- and grover being the big hearted boy he is he stands guard of the kids despite shitting his pants himself

- he loves his house.

- he loves care of magical beasts class

- all the new hufflepuff kids IN GENERAL always go to him for directions which makes him 1 too many times late to class. but im like so sure the teachers know and love him so they let him off with just a soft warning.

- “i’m so sorry professor! i was helping a first-“ “just sit down underwood.”

- to all those fans that watched fantastic beasts, grover is 100% using a tower like newt did with new beasts he finds.

- has probably accidentally wandered into the forbidden forest with annabeth and percy by chance. (he wanted to find a unicorn)

- some random slytherin kid picked on a hufflepuff first year and grover ripped the kid a new one. hes loyal to his house 💔

- he had to get a new wand once or twice because he used to chew on it in exams (when he got especially anxious)

CLARRISE LA RUE !

- despite her being sometimes rude

- i do think she’d also be in gryffindor 😭

- kinda like an arrogant, “im better than you” gryffindor

- like how she is in the show and most of the books towards percy

- but underneath her hard exterior shes soft towards the ones she loves and is close to

- also a quidditch GOD

- the most exhilirating beater to watch in quidditch.

- alot of first year girls also admire clarrise

- more so the ones that want to be strong and join quidditch.

- EXTREMELY PROUD TO BE A GRYFFINDOR

- she REPS THAT SHIT HARD

- “i think slytherin is co-“ “GRYFFINDOR IS THE BEST HOUSE SHUT UP”

- extremely prideful of her colours and her house

- a little bit too much sometimes

- when someone loses house points you better pack it up and run because miss girl is hunting for you (looking at you percy)

LUKE CASTELLAN !

- erm

- slytherin head boy

- “luke is so cool!” “and hes hot..” “but percy’s better!”

- theres luke people and then theres percy people

- luke is alot more cunning in the sense that he openly does things to capture more hearts and beat percy in this ongoing war (he will be the hottest prefect.)

- probably descended from a line of gryffindors but then he popped out

- seeker in qudditch but also is a good chaser due to his build

- THE slytherin boy.

- he is so unbelievably good at quidditch and leads slytherin to most of their wins.

- another star student here

- “why can’t you be more like luke?”

- maybe has possibly been an inside spy for he who can not be named. (voldymort)

- definetly in that chamber of secrets fucking shit up

- such a helpful head boy.

- like he loves his house and will die in green

- this guy probably has every single passage in hogwarts mapped out perfectly like dimensions and all.

- may or may not be plotting something in the forbidden forest.

[redishflavor]

if you saw the other one no you didn't

someone's John dory ask got eaten and I can't find my previous draft on it 😔

A/N -> I'll be starting school soon again so I won't be able to write as many fanfics as right now, but still send it requests! I just won't be able to publish them as fast as before 😅

but anyways (this is way longer than my last one damn)

John dory x reader headcanons

okay let's get one thing straight

this man has been in the wild for over idk how many years

he probably is secretly touch starved

and he's probably really bad at flirting

let's say this is after the events of TBT, so he's back in society again (probably)

hes bumped into you a few times and during those few times it was just some small talk here and there

but then when he bumped into you again he decided to flirt

with a terrible pick up line

after he said that he gave a look that was like "Yep, still got it"

he does not got it

you just looked at him, looked away and snorted

he thinks it's working

it might be

without him asking, you gave him your number on a peice of paper

there was a small not under the number (yall choose idk what to put) with a small heart at the end

(ur stinky but funny ❤️) (I sorry I had to😭😭)

he didn't read the note, he js put it on his wall in a frame

he was the first to text you

just a simple "Hi this is John dory"

and you know how some people type something but not send it?

he did that

"PLEASE PLEASE DATE ME 🙏🙏" then he deleted it to respond 'normally' to your text

after a few weeks of talking to each other you were the first to ask if he wanted to go on a date

he probably has never responded so fast to someone on his life

I js had to add this but he probably lost his other glove bc Rhonda ate it

anyways back on track

the first date you two went on was at a small Cafe (idk I panicked😭)

you two talked about a hunch of stuff but then settled on the topic of bands

one of your favorite band was BroZone

his eyes visibly lit up at the word BroZone

asks a bunch on questions like "who's your favorite band member" or "what's you favorite song"

takes his SWEET TIME telling you he's THE John Dory from BroZone

so many questions from both him and you

but after that date he offers to walk you home

and that's also how he got your address

a few more dates later he's the one to make the first move

a small text saying to meet him up at the Cafe they had their first date in

hes already there looking a bit flustered

after you two sit down he asks if you want to date

and that's how yall start dating (I am so sleepy rn guys)

every now and then he would send small gifts to you like flowers, candies, anything that reminds him of you at almost any store he goes to

he likes compliments, both giving and receiving them

when he's spending the day at your place he likes to cuddle with you

or hold you in any way

hug, hand holding, any touch basically

LOVES when you kiss him

like pepper him with kisses and he's melting

grab a bucket and mop he's gone

when he first introduced you to his brothers they had many questions

when Poppy met you (probably through Branch)

you two both bonded over dating a member of brozone

as you and Poppy were fangirling over them JD just looked at you lovingly

like he almost forgot his brothers were there

he loves you too much

he also gets you free tickets and backstage passes to every single one of BroZone's concerts

you've never missed a single concert

and you have way to much merch (mostly JD's merch) (and it's signed with his signature)

I think I might end it here bc I'm running out of ideas and any longer to post this would end up taking longer to post because school starts in like 2 says for me 😭😭 anyways I hope this was good for whoever asked this and again so sorry I lost your ask! I hope you have a great day/night!!

[phoebe-delia]

can you do a jeddy or drarry tis the damn season fic... i loveeee your fics btw!!

Wireless Fic Claim: 'tis the damn season

I got this ask at least 2 years ago, and I've been meaning to write a fic for this song for even longer. So when I saw the lovely @sky-is-torn prompted it for @hd-wireless, I knew it was time.

Thank you to the mods for running a great fest as always. I've also got to thank my friend @greattemptation for the pep talks and brainstorming. And, last but never ever least, @basicallyahedgehog because none of my fics would make it out of my drafts if not for Rowan.

Sky, and anon, this is for you. Anon, I hope you see this (not that I in any way expect you to remember asking it) and Sky, it was a joy to get to write for you.

Please enjoy Drarry being idiots in love!

Potter turns up outside his hotel room on December 23rd wearing tight jeans, a green jumper, and a crooked smile. “Hey,” is all he has to say for himself, and Draco is momentarily enraged.

But he doesn’t say a word. He grabs Potter by the front of his sweater, pulls him easily into the room, and pushes him against the wall for a searing kiss.

Their little Christmas tradition started in Eighth Year, with both of them spending the winter holidays hiding out at Hogwarts; Potter, from the Weasley family after breaking up with Ginevra, and Draco from, well, everyone.

Potter had sat next to Draco in the Great Hall with a shrug.“Might as well not be alone. Even if it’s you.” And dinner turned into dessert, which turned into the two of them passing a bottle of firewhiskey back and forth. “Swiped it from my father’s personal collection at the Manor. It’s not like he’ll be needing it in Azkaban. I hope he rots.”

To this day, Draco isn’t sure why that, of all things, is what made Potter snap. He doesn’t know how Potter took that as his cue to close the distance between them and touch his mouth with soft lips instead of a closed fist.

He doesn’t know why the universe seems to keep placing him in Potter’s proximity every time he returns to London. He doesn’t know how they keep falling into bed, every year, like clockwork.

To this day, Draco has tried not to question it.

Read the rest on AO3

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | January 1st-7th 2024

First rec of 2024! Happy New Year everyone! I hope it's a good one!

(damn, can you tell I was off from work? this rec is long af 😅 I know it's a bit late but once I got done I just wanted to yeet it off my drafts asap)

Complete

🔥 All My Shattered Oaths by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (Vampires AU | 107K | Explicit): Eddie wants to stay away from his family’s legacy and give his son a normal life. Buck’s desperate to find a way to get over the love he lost. Fate has other plans for both of them.

🔥 a blaze in the dark by woodchoc_magnum/ @woodchoc-magnum (Post-S6, Eddie Coming Out | 117K | Explicit): Set post-Season 6, where Buck has inadvertently sacrificed his friendship with Eddie in order to focus on his new relationship with Natalia, and is shocked when Eddie comes out to the team and subsequently reveals that he is dating a guy.

i'm down on my knees (i wanna take you there) by burnthatbridge/ @burnthatbridge (PWP, Glory Hole | 5K | Explicit): Buck is… a little drunk. So, he honestly thinks, when he first spots it, after stumbling into the stall, clumsily undoing his fly, and taking a very needed leak, that he’s seeing things. It takes him reaching out — with a hand he was already going to wash and probably should doubly do so now — and sticking a finger through it to convince him that the sight hasn’t been fabricated by his inebriated brain. It’s real. It’s a glory hole. His first thought is, huh; his second is, I have got to show Eddie.

making love to the flashes by sibylsleaves/ @sibylsleaves (PWP, Hot Firefighter Calendar | 11K | Explicit): When Buck had told them all the Hot Days, Smoldering Nights, Men of the LAFD Wall Calendar had selected him to represent the 118 for the month of July, Eddie hadn’t thought much of it. He’d congratulated him with a clap on the shoulder, laughed along with Hen, Chim, and Bobby’s good-natured teasing, and that had been that. Well, Eddie certainly isn’t laughing now.

with a bird at your door by @sibylsleaves (S6, Getting Together | 3K | General): Eddie starts spending all his time with Buck. Which would be fine if it weren't for the fact that Buck is in love with him.

we're gonna need some land between our bodies by @sibylsleaves (Post-Poker Date | 9K | Explicit): or, Buck and Eddie can't fuck yet (four times Buck and Eddie try to define the relationship and the one time they do)

my heart's a secret (tell me you'll keep it) by @sibylsleaves (Getting Together | 5K | Teen): Or, Buck tells Chimney a secret. This proves to be a mistake.

the winner takes it all (the loser has to fall) by @burnthatbridge (Getting Together | 4K | Teen): Buck and Lucy compete to see who's the better kisser. Eddie somehow finds himself the judge. (Part 1 of winner takes all)

the winner takes all (of me) by @burnthatbridge (PWP, Buck/Eddie/Lucy | 4K | Explicit): An alternative ending to Buck and Lucy's kissing competition. (Part 2 of winner takes all)

Calling (So You'll Answer) by Princessfbi / @princessfbi (Angst, Hurt Buck | 29K | Mature | Warning: Rape/Non-Con): “Buck? Did you drunk dial me?” Eddie did not envy Buck’s headache in the morning. He fought back the urge to smile at the thought of Buck, hungover and pouting with his curls in wild form on his head and his hands twisting and knotting in his favorite hoodie for the comfort the texture brought him. “Can you come take me h-home?” Buck asked, his voice sounding so painfully young. “I don’t …feel good.”

Smoke and Ashes Brushed Off with Ink by @princessfbi (Tattoo Artist Eddie AU | 18K | Mature): Tattoo Artist!Eddie Diaz AU inspired by the tumblr thread about praise kink discovery when getting a tattoo.

i'll lie awake for you by diazbegins/ @evanbegins (Married Buddie, PWP | 8K | Explicit): Or: Buck and Eddie, newly-weds, spend their well-deserved time alone.

I'd Wait Here Forever by @princessfbi (Angst, Stalker | 21K | Mature | Warning: Rape/Non-Con): “Come on. You and me could—” Buck caught Chimney moving to intervene between them but the words were already falling past Buck’s lips before he even realized he was speaking. “I have a boyfriend.” Buck stopped when he registered the words. So, did Chimney before he shot Buck a look over his shoulder like Buck had grown a second head. Probably because, like Buck, Chimney knew that Buck did not have a boyfriend. In fact, he’d been single for a painfully long time since he and Taylor split up. Single and probably very obviously hung up on his best friend who didn’t seem to notice the way Buck would throw himself into oncoming traffic if Eddie asked.

Tear Me to Pieces; Skin to Bone by @princessfbi (Undercover Mission, kidnapping | 22K | Teen | Warning: Violence): Bobby wasn’t comfortable with the LAPD wanting to use Buck as bait. Because that’s exactly what Buck would be: bait. Or: The LAPD want to borrow Buck for an undercover mission to hunt down a serial killer. No one is thrilled.

pink and black and blue by devirnis/ @devirnis (Getting Together | 1,5K | Teen): “Hey!” Buck calls. Eddie spares himself a moment to briefly entertain the idea of fleeing out the back, but knows it would ultimately be pointless. His truck is in the driveway so Buck knows he’s home, and they’re on shift together in two days and there’s no way his bruises will be gone by then, no matter how much he ices them. “In the kitchen,” Eddie answers resignedly. (Bad Things Happen Bingo: Black Eye)

on sleep and unspoken things by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Post-S4 | 2K | Not Rated): “You reached out for me. On that day. You tried to touch me.” The words sink into the silence between them. He did, didn't he? Eddie doesn't remember much from the shooting—only pain, and fear, and screaming (his own and so many others), and the vague echo of Buck’s voice—but he remembers that.

in red blue green by hammersmiths/ @henswilsons (Documentary | 11K | Teen): The commissioner signs off on a workplace documentary set in the 118 to better community attitudes towards the fire department. Unfortunately, whatever is going on between Firefighters Buckley and Diaz is a much more interesting story.

with blood in my nose by @henswilsons (Canon Divergent, S4E14: Survivors | 9K | Teen): or, Buck is the one who gets shot instead of Eddie.

let me know you (bedhead and morning breath) by @burnthatbridge (Post-Lightning | 6K | Explicit): Buck hasn't gotten off since the lightning strike. Eddie watches him do something about it.

sometimes an onion really is just an onion (and that’s all there is to it) by snarkymuch / @snarkythewoecrow (Post-Grocery Store Argument | 5K | Teen): Buck wanted fajitas, so he went to the store for the sweet onions he needed, but he got the wrong kind because he unexpectedly ran into the team, which had nothing to do with why he was crying in his kitchen--obviously, the shitty onions were to blame. And his day just gets worse from there--as he ends up fileting off a strip of skin, bleeding everywhere, then accidentally hitting his talk-to-text and sending a ramble he never meant anyone to hear to the last person on earth to care: Eddie.

i find you in everything (but its here you find yourself) by withmeornotatall/ @chronicowboy (Post-S6, Getting Together | 3K | Teen): Buck takes another sig of beer, "she left." "Sorry, man, I know you liked her. Guess where most people are scared of death, a death doula is scared of life." "Wow, that's actually pretty poignant," Buck says. "Didn't know you had it in you." Eddie just rolls his eyes. "Its weird, though, her being scared off by a donor baby." Eddie frowns over at him. "Chris didn't freak her out?"

Paper Rings by buckleyblueyes (orphan_account) (Canon Divergent, S4 | 6K | Teen): Maddie went quiet for a moment, looking at him not with pity, but instead with empathy, and shared sadness. “So. What did you find, then?” “An engagement ring.” The words weighed heavy on his tongue. “He’s going to propose to Ana.” 

Burn a bridge, learn how to swim by WatermelonShots (AvocadosUnderTheEaves) / @applesorcery (Getting Together | 13K | Mature): In which there is some unexpected making out, some pining, one third of an existential crisis and a lot of unhelpful advice. Not necessarily in that order. (Part 1 of Burn a bridge, learn how to swim)

Can't cross the sea just standing there by WatermelonShots (AvocadosUnderTheEaves)/ @applesorcery (Established Buddie, PWP | 7K | Explicit): In which there are sleepovers and snakes and some jealousy. (But probably not the kind you think.) (Part 2 of Burn a bridge, learn how to swim)

tell me how it feels (say it ain't so) by Iover_of_mine (I_almost_do)1 @lover-of-mine (Post-S6, Getting Together | 8K | Teen): Eddie hears Natalia saying Buck's death was cool and things spiral out of control from there.

Arm Candy by @princessfbi (Poker Date spec | 8K | General): “Act cool.” Buck shivered at the rumble of Eddie’s voice. “I think I got us in on the game.” Act cool? Act cool! How was Buck was supposed to act cool when he had Eddie dressed like sin parading Buck around like— Buck choked on his tongue as he finally realized what Eddie was doing and why apparently everyone had been so blasé about Buck going undercover after treating him like he was made of glass for weeks. “Am I the arm candy?” Eddie was damningly silent.

empty, broken, lonely, hoping by DaniWib/ @daniwib (Post-S6, Presumed Dead | 44K | Mature): Eddie's world crumbles when Buck’s apartment building becomes engulfed in a cataclysmic seven-alarm fire, resulting in a devastating mass casualty event. Amidst the chaos, Eddie and the rest of the 118 grapple with the heart-wrenching belief that both Buck and Christopher have met a tragic fate within the merciless inferno.

i lit the match, the firemen can do the rest by honestlydarkprincess / @honestlydarkprincess (Post-S6, PWP | 6K | Explicit): Or, the one where Eddie is pining and decides to drive over to Buck's. He doesn't expect to walk in on friends-with-benefits Buck and Natalia and he definitely doesn't expect the night to end with him getting everything he's ever wanted with Buck.

The Comfort of Your Hands by Spotsandsocks/ @spotsandsocks (Getting Together | 3K | Teen): Buck accidentally starts running his fingers through Eddie’s hair. Eddie lets him and things slowly move towards something special.

unfold me (tell me you love me) by extasiswings/ @extasiswings (S4, Love confession | 2K | Teen): Eddie goes on a date and has some realizations about what he really wants

the measuring contest by ColorMeParanoid/ @color-me-paranoid (9-1-1 LS S2E3: Hold the Line | 2K | Teen): Hen snorted from her own cot. “Trust me, guys. This isn’t the kind of measuring contest you want to play with Buck because you will lose.” But, comparing scars and exchanging crazy stories when meeting other people in your profession was basically a rite of passage so of course they didn’t take her warning seriously. It became a challenge instead and Eddie settled in for the show.

live while we're young by ashavahishta / @ashavahishta (De-Aging | 5K | General): Or: Some wonky magic leaves the firefam to take care of a tiny Buck for a few days. He's really, unfairly cute.

Radio Silence by madamewriterofwrongs/ @madamewriterofwrongs (Hurt Buck | 9K | Mature): Bobby was going to have a long talk with him about his self-sacrificing habits. For now, he kept his words calm and authoritative; for both their sakes. “None of that, you just hold still. Are you injured?” There was silence. Around him, the paramedics and firefighters of the 118 waited with bated breath. “Pretty bad.” There was little humor in his voice, though they could hear him trying. “My head. And uh, hahaha,” his laughter came as a gust of air. “I’ve been impaled?”

Buck Is My Warrior by elisela/ @elisela (Fluff | 5K | General): “We’ll be filming a special edition of American Ninja Warrior,” Troy announces after the introduction to the current contestant ends, “focused on our brave first responders. Go to our website to find out more details and how to submit your videos.” Oh. “Buddy,” Eddie says, “I don’t really know if that’s my thing.” Christopher looks at him, then says, “I want to nominate Buck.”

The Badass Background of one Evan Buckley series by Onlymystory / @theallandthemoreofit (Navy SEAL Buck | 5 works | 32K | Complete):

A Six Minute Man (Hostage | 3K | Teen): Or the one where Buck's secret background as a Navy SEAL comes in really handy in a hostage situation. Buck Begins (Backstory | 1K | Mature): When Evan Buckley Spencer is five years old, he wants to be a firefighter. They save people he says. He’s going to be one someday. One of the Good Guys (Revenge | 3K | Mature): Eddie says “You find every single person that hurt our son and you burn them to the ground.” - The Moscow Rules are simple. “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time is enemy action."

With A Little Help From My Friends by @extasiswings (PTA Eddie | 3K | Teen): Eddie makes friends outside of work and realizes that Buck might not, in fact, be just a friend

(Not) Under the Mistletoe by Tizniz / @tizniz (Christmas | 2K | Not Rated): Buck is definitely not avoiding Eddie at the Christmas party where mistletoe is everywhere.

Flash Forward by @daniwib (Different First Meeting | 3K | Explicit): The last thing Eddie remembered was pressing the tiny, blood smeared photograph of Christopher to his trembling lips while huddled behind rocks, hiding from the insurgent's attack. The next thing he knew was when he woke up, naked, with a muscular body on top of him. OR: Eddie has a flash forward when he gets shot during his last tour.

WIP

and we are homeward bound by glorious_spoon/ @glorious-spoon (established Buddie | 1/3 | 3K | Explicit): "Okay," Buck says finally, muffled. He rubs his face against Eddie's shirt again. "You promise you're not going to dump me if he smashes a salad bowl over this?" "I promise I will not dump you if our kid has a tantrum about us finally getting our act together," Eddie recites solemnly. Buck laughs against his shoulder and finally pulls back. Or: Buck and Eddie get around to telling the people they love that they're together. (sequel to Something Dumb to Do)

Kiss Me Once Cause You Know I Had A Long Night by I_still_dont_understand_13 / @sherlockcrossing (Prompt collection | 21/? | 14K | Teen): 100 kiss prompts.

Chapter 21. 10. Surprise kisses, in which your lover wasn't prepared but responds immediately

🔥 Precious & Fragile Things by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Small Miracles AU, Angel Buck | 10/? | 25K | Teen): Buck is the Fallen Angel of Petty Temptation, who has been tasked with tempting human Eddie Diaz to sin and enjoy life, but just a little. He thinks the job will be easy - get in, get out, go back to Peru to continue messing around with eternity. But when Buck arrives in Los Angeles, he finds Eddie is harder to tempt than expected, and more compelling than Buck had hoped.

and if i bleed (you'll be the last to know) by diazchristopher/ @captain-hen (Canon Divergent Season 6, Friends with Benefits | 2/18 | 9K | Explicit): or, an alternate look at season 6 where buck and eddie have been casually sleeping together since before the beginning of the season. somehow, this changes both everything and nothing at all.

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon, S1 through S6 | 104/? | 283K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

Re-Read

🔥 the weekly bet (but the forever kind) by theleftboobgrabber (Post S3E15 | 49K | Explicit): When the squad bets on how long it will take for Buck and Abby to get back together when she comes back to LA, Eddie is forced to reconsider keeping his feelings for Buck a secret.

🔥 come out to the sea, my love by allyasavedtheday/ @littlespoonevan (Canon Divergent - Tsunami | 8K | Teen): Tsunami au in which the 118 find out about Buck and Chris being stranded on top of the ladder truck and come to rescue them before they get separated.

🔥 Your Scars and Your Lonely Heart by Taste_is_Sweet (Sentinels AU, Tsunami | 82K | Teen): Clara Williams just wanted to visit Pacific Park during her layover in Los Angeles. She never expected to find a young, exceptional Sentinel dying for lack of a bond. Actually, what she really never expected was a tsunami, or the same Sentinel to save her life. But Clara's a Guide, so now she's on a mission to keep Evan "Buck" Buckley alive until she can get him to Eddie Diaz, the Guide who should have bonded with him, but didn't. Because Clara can't bond with Buck, no matter how much she wants to. There's just one problem: Buck's convinced Eddie doesn't want him, and he might not survive long enough to find out the truth.

i (for)get you by withmeornotatall/ @chronicowboy (Temporary Amnesia | 6K | General): buck hits his head, forgets the past month and suddenly eddie has a secret girlfriend... right?

you're my whole house by hammersmiths / @henswilsons (Getting Together, PTA Eddie | 12K | Teen): Eddie shrugs. “Christopher mentioned to Daniel that Buck and I are partners. I mean, sure, it’s a little weird that she invited him over as well, but—” “Partners,” Hen interrupts, “like work partners?” Eddie and Buck glance at each other. “Uh, yeah?” Eddie says. “What other type of partner?” Hen stares at them for a moment, before she bursts out laughing. “You dumbasses. She thinks you’re together.” or, Eddie joins the PTA.

I can't love you any more (than I do now) by wikiangela/ @wikiangela (Didn't Know They Were Dating | 2K | General): Eddie's pretty sure he and Buck are dating and kind of living together. Neither acknowledges it, until Eddie finally does.

Tell me where you wanna go by allyasavedtheday/ @littlespoonevan (Post-S6E11: In A Flash | 4K | Teen): Buck wakes up from his coma and Eddie offers him a passenger seat and a couch and a home.

🔥 Autocowrecked by HMSLusitania/ @hmslusitania (Miscommunication | 2K | Teen): Eddie is never, ever using the talk-to-text function on his phone. Ever again.

[californianedgeworth]

I wrote this tirade about the Gavinners' theme in my notes app months ago but I had no Ace Attorney fans to share it with but I have a tumblr blog now so I will unleash it upon all of you:

We only know 2 of the 5 Gavinner members. There have to be 5 since there are two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a keyboard player as established by the instruments in Turnabout Serenade. But the only ones with canon appearances and names are the guitarists, Klavier Gavin and Daryan Crescend. Since we know less than half of the band, it sends my mind running who the others could be. It would have been so fun to see all the designs of the band, but we don’t! So I just have to imagine what they look like, possibly based off of Klavier and Daryan. Some people have made their own headcanons and fanart, and I like them but I feel like there’s an important matter they never touch on.

As far as Klavier goes, his design is straightforward. 

(sorry his png is so damn big. I figured out how to edit in html to make the image smaller but every time I save the textpost draft it undoes my edit. no I will not open a photo editor to size him down)

When I show a picture of him to my friends who haven’t played Ace Attorney, they ask if he’s a rockstar. And he is! His design conveys the fact. He’s also a lawyer, so his style strikes somewhere between courtroom attire and rockstar. A lot of the Ace Attorney designs are fun and great at conveying character, and I’d say Klavier is a pretty solid design.

But then there’s Daryan, who is dressed like a shark. 

Idk if anyone else agrees but I’m not a fan of Daryan’s design. I also don’t really like him as a character either tbh. If he wasn’t holding a guitar, would it even be clear that he’s a rockstar? All the Gavinners members are part of law enforcement, but you can’t really tell Daryan is a police officer either. His design kind of bewilders me. With Klavier, you can tell a lot just by looking at him. What comes to mind when you look at Daryan is “shark man”. I mean, shark man’s a sick design concept, but I don’t like looking at Daryan! I think it has a lot to do with his ugly ass hair. His hoodie’s fun, but I don't like his hair. It's an unfortunate shape. And I think the people agree: half the fanart I see of him, they change his hair.

Usually with bands, you expect them to share a common style. But in the rock band the Gavinners, one of the members is dressed like a rockstar, and one of them is dressed like a shark. Like, I guess you could argue that Daryan is kind of in line, and his fashion fits into the rocker style. But I don’t know, in my mind the fact he’s a shark guy makes him very inconsistent with Klavier to me. So that got me wondering, what percentage of the Gavinners is dressed as rockstars vs Gavinners dressed as marine animals? I thought through some of the possibilities and proposed the ones that are funniest to me

Ratio 1 - 4 Rockstars to 1 Marine-Themed Star

This would mean Daryan is the odd one out. The weirdo who is a little too into Sharkboy and Lava Girl. A band of 4 guys who wear similar rockstar styles and then there’s just Daryan in his shark hoodie. 

Ratio 2 - Split 2 to 3 Either Way

In this scenario, the band can’t agree on what their theme is. Half are dressed in chains and leather, the other half are out of a marine biology textbook

Ratio 3 - 1 to 1 to 1 to 1 to 1

The Gavinners has no theming in the costume department. Each member is dressed however they like. Aesthetic nightmare

Ratio 4 - 1 Rockstar to 4 Marine-Themed Stars

I imagine it like this:

A 16-year-old Klavier Gavin walks into the studio, which at that time is the Gavin family’s garage. The Gavinners have just come together recently, and are rehearsing for their first show. But when Klavier enters, he finds his band mates are dressed up as a shark, a wrasse, a clownfish, and a lobster.

Klavier is confused, because he thought that the Gavinners was going to be themed after Klavier Gavin. He expresses this thought to his band.

Daryan tells him that since Klavier decided to name the band after himself, it was only fair the rest of the band mates got to choose the theme. And they were all super into sea life, so they dressed up as their favorite marine animals.

Klavier is annoyed they didn’t talk through it with him and says that maybe their theme is getting a little muddled. But since they’re all so enthusiastic, he’ll try it out. And he wants to be a merman. 

All the other members side eye Klavier. A merman isn’t a real animal, they tell him. Maybe he could be a manatee, a seahorse, a sea angel, a parrot fish? All of those creatures are just as majestic and beautiful as mermen, and they actually exist. Despite Klavier’s protests, the rest of the band does not budge. They persuade him to be a parrotfish.

The day comes for their first show. They got Klavier a parrotfish costume, which he keeps making faces at as they set up.

Klavier tells the other Gavinners he doesn’t want to wear the fish head hat since it will cover up his fresh haircut, but they insist he should. As they get ready in the dressing room, Klavier excuses himself to the bathroom.

When they’re called to the stage, Klavier has not returned. They assume he might already be onstage, or will be there soon. As they all get there and Klavier does not, they start to feel concern. Klavier is their lead singer and guitarist. He’d been thinking of nothing but their show for days, so it’s strange he’s suddenly missing. They ask the manager to delay the curtain call for a few minutes. The manager denies them, saying they’re on a tight schedule and they don’t want to delay the performers coming after the Gavinners. The band considers going into the bathroom to check on Klavier, or if they could perform without him.

As the curtain begins to rise, Klavier finally walks out on stage and joins the rest of them. But he’s not in a parrotfish costume. He is in a matching black shirt and pants combo with silver chains. Not even close to being parrotfish themed. The bandmates are shocked, but know they can’t make a fuss about it when the show is starting. They give him glares while they play. But they know they must look so bad when they’re all dressed up as various fish and an arthropod while their lead singer isn’t. The performance is received well despite the tension, but there are some mild comments on how strange the costuming is. Once it’s over, the bandmates confront Klavier, but he absolutely refuses to dress as a parrotfish for any of their future shows. When they realize they can’t change his mind (and they still won’t change their minds about letting him be a merman), they agree to just go to shows that way. Four of them dressed up as ocean animals, while the lead singer is not.

Over time, the other bandmates eventually give up on the whole marine life shtick. If they’re not all coordinated, what’s the point? And from their dressing room in the AA4, it looks like the band’s styling is in line with Klavier’s. But as the other members shed their marine life costumes, one keeps his through it all: Daryan. As the band builds regard and a fan base, he remembers how Klavier ruined their theme. So many of their arguments over the music and the band image are started because Daryan is secretly wounded no one dresses up as a fish with him. Now this gets into theory territory because I believe this could be his true motivator in Turnabout Serenade—

[vintagevict0ria]

𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞

“You brush past me in the hallway…”

chapter 1

pairing: Adam Driver x f!reader

content: n/a

a/n: omg i am soooooo excited for this you have no idea. Its been so long since i posted and this idea has been stuck in my drafts since july and since im back in my Adam driver era- id thought id finish this. This is mostly inspired by Taylor Swifts song "I can see you" and each chapter will be based on a lyric! So i am no expert on how film/actor/movie stuff works so bear with me. Hopeful as this goes on, it will get better. Im planning on finishing this by the new year (who knows if that will happen) but since im on break i should take advantage of my free time. Ok long story short I will be writing this shit non stop since im on a writing high so who knows if the next chapter will come out tommorow! Hope you enjoy! Notes are greatly appreciated!!

Y/n, a famous actress known for her beautiful face and captivating personality but also her incredible acting skills. You had been nominated for over 50 awards and won 5 oscars. It had been a while since you were on a set nor a movie. The last film was a roaring success and the critics were crazy about it! The media begged for another film starring Y/N Y/L/N.

The first thing you heard when you woke up was the sound of your phone ringing. Your agent- Carolina, was calling. You quickly answered- yawning and hoping she wouldn’t hear it. “Y/n! Great news!” You sighed, not really understanding what was happening. “You got the job!” The job? what is she talking about? “huh?” You rubbed your eyes, laying back down. “The movie!! Adam Driver is in it too! Oh my gosh i can hear them now! ‘Y/n y/l/n and Adam Driver are co-stars in the biggest hit of the year!” Once you heard his name, you sprung up “Wait what?” “Yeah! They want you here in LA by tomorrow morning. I’ve already booked you a flight to leave in..5 hours! Bye!” She hung up before you could say another word. You glanced over at the clock- 9:35. The flight was at 2:15 and it would take a while to pack and get ready. So, being the smart woman you are, you got up and started the day. Showering, packing, and of course- stopping to get starbucks.

Once you arrived in LA, you headed to the condo where you would be staying for a majority of filming. That morning you woke up and started getting ready for the day. Showering, and making a coffee before you headed out to the table read. You threw on a pair of leggings and a tshirt. It was late autumn so you took a jacket on the way out. At the studio you said hello to the crew and a huge thank you to the casting director. “Y/n!” It was Carolina- she ran up to you and embraced you in a tight hug. “How was the flight?” You smiled at the redhead girl “Great.” Carolina jumped up and down with excitement and handed you sheets of paper. On the cover was the name of the film, the name of the director-JJ Abrams- and your name. “Heres your script. You need to go ahead and head in there! Bye!” She walked away, the sound of her heals clicked across the floor. You quickly skimmed through the pages while walking and not paying attention. You soon enough ran into someone, your coffee spilling over you and the floor along with your script- which was on the floor…covered in coffee. “Oh gosh Im so sorry!” You apologized while picking up your script, wincing at the wet paper. “You might want to watch where you are going next time.” The voice was soft but stern. You looked up and realized it was Adam Driver.

He was wearing all black and his hair was messy. He glanced at you with a subtle stare. “Im so sorry!” You stood up, brushing yourself off. “No worries, happens to the best of us.” He rolled his shoulders back and popped his neck, closing his eyes. Damn he was attractive. ”You headed in?” You asked, trying to keep your composure together. Adam simply just nodded.

The first day of the read consisted of going over the aspects of the film and the time line of production. After the read through, filming would start, then the movie premiere would take place after filming and production in Hollywood, but that was a whiles away. When the read was over you walked out with another co star. Heading to your condo, you received a text from Carolina. "Girl, just talked to JJ and he just gave me word that there is a sex scene between you and Adam 😁" The stupid emoji at the end made you cringe. Carolina giving you this news shot your nerves through the roof. As if you weren't already nervous enough about working with Adam, having to film a intimate scene made it far worse. Kicking your shoes off and falling onto your bed, you opened instagram, an attempt to get your mind of the situation at hand, it didn't work.

[midnightsnyx]

that angst 😭 could write a part two where reader calls back a few weeks later to see if there’s a chance or something but another girl answers the phone? 😳

original prompt here. i freaking loved this idea and it's been in my drafts unfinished forever but i finally finished it. hope u like it <3 requests are open!

The funny thing is that you know what Taryn’s voice sounds like. You know it like the back of your hand because in the 4 years you and Matt had been together, Taryn became like a sister to you. 

Except, you panicked the moment you called Matt back a couple weeks after his drunk call and hung up as soon as you heard a female voice because you can’t. You can’t handle having your heart broken again, just because Matt drunk dialed you and you were dumb enough to call him back. So you ignored when he called you back an hour later, when he called you that night and ignored all the texts he sent, not even bothering to open them. 

It’s not until 2 in the morning while you’re laying in bed unable to sleep because there’s a nagging voice in the back of your mind wondering why that voice sounded so damn familiar that you open Matt’s texts. 

From Matty: hey call me back plz

From Matty: taryn answered my phone cuz she’s visiting with mom.

From Matty: i’m only speculating why u hung up as soon as she answered

From Matty: is it cuz u thought it was a random girl?

From Matty: sry taryn said that sounds bad 

From Matty: plz call me. taryn wants to talk to u too but she doesn’t want to bother you

From Matty: sry she told me to stop blowing up ur phone. I understand if u don’t want to call me back and i'm sorry 4 drunk dialing u. I’ll leave u alone now

You can’t help but smile at the string of text messages. Matt was always bad for sending multiple texts instead of just sending what he wanted to say in one text. It’s kind of comforting to see that hasn’t changed. 

You start to write a message, but pause, unsure what exactly to say. It’s too late in the night to call him although you’re certain he would answer it if he saw your number despite what time it is. But, he has a game tomorrow, and you don’t want to interrupt his sleep so you settle on sending a text message.

To Matty: hey

30 seconds later, your phone rings. 

Matt.

You hesitate, only for a moment before answering the call. 

“Hi,” you say quietly.

“Hey,” he replies, a little breathlessly, like he didn’t think you would answer. “I didn’t think you’d call back.” 

Neither did I, you think to yourself. 

Instead you say, “well, I did call you first.” 

He chuckles at that and you realize how much you missed that sound. It makes you want to cry a little.

“Yeah, there was a little miscommunication, I guess. Taryn felt bad, she’ll probably call you tomorrow… if that’s alright.”

“Of course.” You’d never say no to talking to Taryn, especially if she’s feeling bad for something that’s not her fault. 

Another pause and then: “why did you call me?”

The thing is, you weren’t going to call him but an opportunity arose that gives you the chance to move near him but you didn’t want to make any assumptions considering he was drunk when he called and told you he missed you. 

“I got a job offer at a Firm in Fort Lauderdale and I wasn’t going to take it, but then you called and I thought,” you pause, realizing you’re rambling. “Well, I thought maybe the reason you called wasn’t just because you were drunk.”

He hasn’t said anything so you take a deep breath. “Look, I - we can’t just pick up where we left off but I thought, maybe this could be a refresh button.”

He’s been quiet too long that you’re starting to panic when he lets out a breath like he’s been holding it in. 

“You’d really move out here?” he asks quietly, probably remembering the last argument the two of you had that essentially ended your relationship.

“It’s a good job opportunity… and I miss you too,” you admit.

It’s a risk, taking the job and moving to another country, leaving everything you know here in Calgary. It’s a leap of faith and you can’t help but wonder what will happen if it doesn’t work out but when you arrive at the airport in Fort Lauderdale and see Matt’s smiling face waiting, you begin to think about what will happen if it does work out.

[thebardbullseye]

On the Purpose and Appreciation of Compelling Recaps: “Of the Reaching Green” (WWW Episode 10)

From the desk of TheBardBullseye

“Previously on “The Wizard, The Witch, and The Wild One.” Naram, spirit of the gentle sea, lies bound at the base of the Calabel Nautomantic Apparatus by Guild Mage Morrow of the Scepter’s Chorus. Our heroes stand divided. Having re-established contact with The Citadel, a castigated Suvi now has direct orders to do nothing until Steel arrives in Port Talon three days hence. Eursulon, having returned to the Ace of Wands alone, once again wields Wavebreaker, the sword that legend says belonged to Naram himself, with the power to break the spells and curses of his foes. And Ame, with just such a curse still clouding her mind and concealing crucial memories of Grandmother Wren and her most important lessons, now rushes forth to find her fox familiar, chasing him beyond the walls of Port Talon into the wasteland of witch fire and ash that stand between the city and the wrath of creeping kudzu beyond. We now return to Port Talon in the wee hours, as a tall and tipsy traveler ambles contentedly down a cobblestone street, a gleaming sword swinging at his side. [music swells] (0:00:18-0:01:30)”*

tl;dr below the fold- I’m captivated by the "Previously On" at the start of episode 10, and I wrote a whole damn essay discussing it. The recap is a brilliant piece of writing and a fascinating snapshot showcasing why this particular actual play podcast is So. Damn. Good. They didn’t have to go this hard!

// Spoilers (both direct and indirect) for Arc 1 // (but honestly I think if you don't already listen to this show, then hopefully this essay convinces you to.)

I’ve been relistening to “The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One” (WWW) from the beginning (starting with the Children’s Adventure). My work life has gotten super crazy in the last month (yay promotion!), and I’ve found the first arc (and firesides) to be a great boon during a stressful time. As I already know the story, I’m less concerned about missing something and will listen to it whenever I need to—note that when I listen to a new episode, I allocate free time to listen and do only that (and play solitaire so I don’t scroll social media). Anyways, when I got around to episode 10, I was reminded by how much I loved the “Previously On” recap at the start. I don’t know if it was written separately or improvised, and although I suspect the former, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the latter (1).

Before I get into it, y’all, this podcast is so fucking good. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it. There have been numerous moments, developments, episodes, etc. that have grabbed me by the shoulders and shouted in my face, “HEY! STUFF IS HAPPENNING! PAY ATTENTION TO THIS! MAKE THE HAPPY BRAIN CHEMICALS!” (in the Fox’s cadence and voice, of course). And sometimes, that voice compels me, perhaps as a Geas, to Do Something creatively (much like what you’re reading now). Early on, this was mostly a ramble to a friend, or word dump in a doc or group chat. Then, I wrote some music and some lyrics and some poetry, and then a full-length academic essay (…5k words long), and then designed a magazine cover, and on and on. (I don’t know why this podcast has my brain in a vice, but also, I sort of do, which is another essay in the drafts.) Regardless, the first instance of Creative Compulsion that manifested in a more structured manner was when episode 10 debuted and is in fact this very essay (that has since been rewritten and fleshed out). I didn’t have a Tumblr at that time, so my thoughts on this recap have just been collecting dust in my documents folder for more than a year. But, upon my relisten, I realized this episode introduction was significant and that there was more I wanted to say and praise, since I haven’t heard another one like it since.

When the episode first aired, I heard the first 90 seconds (2) of “Of the Reaching Green” and instantly replayed it three times before moving on to the rest of the episode because I was so captivated. After I finished the episode, I listened to it again. The episode had just come out, so the transcript was not yet available, and I wanted to see the recap as well as hear it. *Above, you will find my transcript of the recap, preserved as it was on that day, so my apologies for any unintentional spelling or grammar mistakes (3). Then, I stared at it and reread it, and started to piece together my thoughts on why the hell I’m so enamored by this. It’s 90 seconds of an hour and twenty-minute podcast, and not only that, it’s not even technically part of the diegetic episode, since it’s a recap! (What the hell, Brennan?!)

I promise I’ll get to those specific thoughts soon, but I think it’s important to alight briefly on the nature and necessity of recaps. In serialized storytelling mediums, most notably television shows, the audience often requires a recap of the previous events to refresh one’s memory since it’s been a week (or more) since the previous episode (TV Tropes). I think these may have fallen out of favor as of late, especially in the advent of prestige television, DVRs, and streaming—most producers probably assume that their audience is either binge-watching the show, has access to the previous episode, or can just look up a summary. Or if not done well, it may further confuse the viewer if too much or too little information is included (4). Further, recaps are NOT synopses of the previous episode—they serve to highlight the main points of the previous episode/storyline and specifically underscore what the audience needs to know for this episode. Additionally, these don’t necessarily show up before every episode; for some shows, these only happen for mid or end of season finales, when major storylines conclude. These are not just for returning viewers- in the bygone age of broadcast tv (I jest, kind of), people didn’t always catch every episode every week, so recaps also needed to be compelling. They needed give any random channel surfer the general gist so that they could watch the episode and convince them to not change the channel. Recaps don't need to execute on these all of these elements, nor do them perfectly, but a good recap communicates all of these things well in a very short time frame (usually around 1 minute). Essentially, "Previously On" segments say, 'pay attention to this.'

For actual play shows (a catch-all term for recorded or streamed TTRPG games), recaps serve this same purpose of reminding the audience of previous events, but these also do the additional duty of reminding the player characters themselves at time of recording of what is important in the story they’re telling and game they're playing. Often, the GM will recap the previous session so that everyone’s on the same page, and this is often improvised (as most things are). Needless to say these aren’t usually the most compelling part of the episode (though they don't have to be), and often devolve into synopses of the previous session (i.e., “Last time you guys did XYZ, Timmy fell down a well, ok let’s start…”). Or, if the GM does recap the most important points to know, it’s not usually that compelling to listen to—and honestly, why would one spend extra effort on something that insignificant anyway? Moreover, recaps in most actual plays serve the purpose of recapping for the players first and the audience second (5). The GM can remind, and players can ask questions, so the burden of this segment is lessened.

Ok, so back to our regularly scheduled essay about WWW. I mentioned earlier that I thought that the recap in episode 10 was not improvised at the start of the session and instead was written and recorded separately. While (to my knowledge) this hasn't been discussed publicly, there is some evidence in the structure, cadence, and delivery that lends credence to this assertion. On the whole, I don't think it particularly matters whether it was written or improvised; I merely mention it because the choice to script is significant when every other introduction is improvised (just look at much people love the "Fire" introduction for Calamity). This creative choice makes a lot of sense both in narrative and in production.

WWW first debuted in March 2023, releasing biweekly, so episode 10 aired in early July 2023. I would wager that most listeners don’t relisten to each episode in the intervening weeks, so most episodes start with an informal recap or general scene setting. However by this point, the story had just reached its major turning point at the end of episode 9—the recovery of Wavebreaker. This sword is the MacGuffin of the first arc, and each character is connected to it in some way—it breaks curses (one of which Ame is under), Eursulon was the last one with it but parted with it years ago in Port Talon (he also needs a weapon), and Suvi was the one that gave it to him in childhood. The previous episode also focused on Naram, a great spirit trapped in the harbor of Port Talon, who up until then seemed tangential to the protagonists—but then Ame discovered on her own that Wavebreaker originally belonged to Naram. This pivotal moment is what propels the story to the conclusion of the first arc, thus the need arose for a moment to remind the audience of the stakes and current landscape.

From a production standpoint, this podcast has a lot of love and care poured into it, especially with the marriage of masterful improv and immersive sound design. It’s clear (and has been explicitly stated) that this crew prioritizes the quality of the final episode through little details and extra effort. So, whereas with other APs, fewer resources would be allocated to a recap simply because it’s not necessary, Worlds Beyond Number finds the use-case where it becomes necessary to put a little extra mustard on it.

That said, it’s a really good recap, excellent even. It contains everything a good recap should have: it paints the big picture, snapshots the major players, flows perfectly into the opening scene of the episode, and above all, is compelling. To further support the theory that this was written and recorded separately, it also lacks the filler words, pauses, and direct address to the players (i.e., Suvi, you did X, and Ame, you did Y) that are typical of an improvised introduction and recap—and thus it has the tone akin to the opening crawl of Star Wars. It is eloquently written, with so much information communicated by inference in just seven sentences, so let’s analyze line by line:

“Previously on “The Wizard, The Witch, and The Wild One.” Naram, spirit of the gentle sea, lies bound at the base of the Calabel Nautomantic Apparatus by Guild Mage Morrow of the Scepter’s Chorus. Our heroes stand divided.”

Translation: It all starts with Naram. Naram is a gentle spirit held captive by another wizard and his fancy machine. “Our heroes stand divided”—they had an argument in the last episode about whether or not to free Naram (and how). Needless to say, the situation with Naram is more complicated, but those four words express that succinctly.

NB: Naram is alone.

In the context of the previous episode, the listener is reminded of this quandary—what to do about Naram. But, there is an ingenious double meaning here. That last line not only alludes to the philosophical division amongst the party, but a physical one as well.

“Having re-established contact with The Citadel, a castigated Suvi now has direct orders to do nothing until Steel arrives in Port Talon three days hence.”

Translation: Suvi has been reprimanded by Steel after unintentionally going AWOL (“re-established contact”) and now she has to keep the situation with Naram locked down until Steel arrives. The audience is reminded that Port Talon is remote from The Citadel since it will take three days to get there.

NB: Suvi is alone.

Steel, Suvi’s adoptive mother, is flying by airship because the travelling door is broken, but since this is extraneous information to the immediate situation, it is left unsaid. As Suvi is the party member with the least connection (relatively speaking) to Wavebreaker and Naram, I think it makes sense that Suvi is mentioned first and has the least airtime in the recap.

“Eursulon, having returned to the Ace of Wands alone, once again wields Wavebreaker, the sword that legend says belonged to Naram himself, with the power to break the spells and curses of his foes.”

Translation: Eursulon ran off to see Will Gallows (proprietor of the Ace of Wands) but got his sword back (“once again” wields Wavebreaker), and it is a legendary sword belonging to Naram that can break curses.

NB: Eursulon is alone.

This section is also brief but sets up the pattern for a clever sequence that subtly shows the movement of the sword over time. First, Naram (who owns the sword), Suvi (who gave Eursulon the sword), Eursulon (who got the sword back), and then finally Ame (who needs the sword). The last phrase, “with the power to break the spells and curse of his foes,” neatly sets up the next line.

“And Ame, with just such a curse still clouding her mind and concealing crucial memories of Grandmother Wren and her most important lessons, now rushes forth to find her fox familiar, chasing him beyond the walls of Port Talon into the wasteland of witch fire and ash that stand between the city and the wrath of creeping kudzu beyond.”

Translation: Ame is cursed and because of that, she is lacking crucial knowledge (but the sword can break the curse). Now, she has left Port Talon and is chasing after her fox into the dangerous wasteland choked with smoke and treacherous forest outside the city.

NB: Ame is alone (do you see the through-line?).

Now, with the major characters introduced and with the stakes increasing, the segment concludes as it introduces the present moment and establishes the opening scene:

“We now return to Port Talon in the wee hours, as a tall and tipsy traveler ambles contentedly down a cobblestone street, a gleaming sword swinging at his side.”

Translation: It’s the middle of the night and Eursulon is triumphantly (and drunkenly) wandering the streets of Port Talon.

It’s notable that Eursulon is not mentioned by name at the end but trusts the listener to have been paying attention, though the next spoken word as the recap fades is “Eursulon.” The opening scene transitions seamlessly to him arriving at the Chantry—now we've come full circle. (This is Morrow's HQ, who trapped Naram in the first place).

Thus, it’s clear that this recap is descriptive yet not needlessly verbose or rambling (unlike this essay), due to its well-formed sentences and syntax.

But beyond that, it’s pleasing to the ear. There is ample use of consonance throughout (e.g., “bound at the base,” “wields Wavebreaker,” “curse… clouding… concealing crucial,” “rushes forth to find her fox familiar,” "walls... wasteland... witch fire," "creeping kudzu," and “tall and tipsy traveler ambles contentedly down a cobblestone street, a sword swinging at his side”). There’s also an interesting alternating alliterative and rhythmic pattern of k and s sounds with “contact with the Citadel, a castigated Suvi”. There's just enough to be noticeable but not too much to become annoying, and the brevity certainly helps. It's poetic.

In the sound quality and design, there’s an air and cadence in Brennan’s voice of being read a bedtime story, and he speaks clearly and with purpose. Further, the musical motifs of the chorus signifying the spirit world at the start transitions to a carefree, plucky tune during the last line that embodies Eursulon’s mood and instills it in the listener. As it ends, this musical transition is reminiscent of waking up and slowly starting to hear the ambient noise around.

When analyzing any kind of creative choice in any medium, I tend to remind myself that the creator(s) could have simply chosen to not make that choice, for any number of reasons or limitations (6). The "Previously On" in episode 10 could have been unremarkable, rambling and verbose, it could have had no music or sound effects, it could have been written and structured in an entirely different way, or it could have simply not existed at all. But it does exist, so I look at what is there. Now, this analysis is not intended to be prescriptive for future recaps in WWW or other APs. As is evident, this recap is one-of-a-kind and serves a greater purpose overall in the first arc of the story. In writing this, I spot-checked a handful of other opening moments of WWW, and while those introductions were improvised, Brennan is so adept at it that I would not expect to hear another a written recap unless the narrative and production calls for it again.

These seven sentences are truly brilliant. There are plenty of moments that have stuck with me since WWW started in March 2023, but it speaks volumes that something this insignificant spawned a ~3000-word analytical essay (7). Damn.

Footnotes:

(1) I elaborate on this later in the essay, but I suspect it was written and recorded separately solely because of how concise it is, both in word choice and in delivery (the lack of filler words or pauses), as well as the difference in tenor/tone as it transitions to the opening scene. We’ve also heard plenty a recap from Brennan in WWW and other shows, and I have yet to hear one as crafted and, dare I say, perfect as this one. Not to knock other improvised (or otherwise) recaps of course, as those fulfill their purpose well and fine. I just appreciate the extra mustard on this one (no shit, I just wrote a whole damn essay with footnotes). I suppose I could submit a Fireside question and ask (lol) but I think that (sky)ship has sailed, since we're now on episode 35. (If for some godforsaken reason someone involved with WBN reads this... let me know if I'm right, I guess? If I'm wrong, I don't want to know /j)

(2) I refer to the recap as 90 seconds as shorthand throughout, but it technically just ends at 90 seconds. And I think that’s neat. It's also easier to just say 90 seconds—a nice, distinct chunk of time—than its true length, which is 72 seconds (due to the WBN theme).

(3) Formatting the quote in this way also neatly organizes my analysis of it later in the essay, which is not exactly reflected in the transcript (but that’s because it’s for readability).

(4) Complete tangent to the podcast discussed here is that I’ve seen DougDoug (internet streamer) do a blind reaction to just the “Previously On” recaps for "One Tree Hill" and "24" (without knowing the plot of either show) to hilarious and baffling results. It further demonstrates my point that recaps are not synopses, and you can’t fully grasp the plot of something through these. Because that’s not their purpose—which is to make clear to the audience what they need to know for that next episode-- not necessarily explain what happened in the last episode (and clips can be from earlier episodes as well).

(5) Something that I think is often discussed by WBN et al. (among others) is the distinction between an actual play and a home game. In a home game of D&D, the sole audience is the people playing the game. In actual play, the audience is BOTH the players and the viewer, and (good) actual play has to balance the two—you want to make sure the people playing are having a good time but also that it makes for a good viewing/listening experience. This tension between the two audiences can be balanced for- either in the moment of recording or in post-production, and I think WBN does an excellent job at this balance. However, I make the point that players come first and audience comes second specifically for recaps, because if your players don’t know what’s going on beforehand, then the whole shoot/recording could be in jeopardy, and it may simply not be worth the time, effort, or resources to craft an outstanding recap. So, there’s fundamentally going to be less effort put into the recap from viewer’s perspective in actual plays, and they just don’t matter that much, since players can just ask questions/GM can remind players of things.

(6) Might be a hot take, but I find it counterproductive and uninteresting to engage in editorializing player and DM choice in APs when it is presented as critique or literary analysis (i.e., "they should/could have done this instead" or "XYZ would have made for a more interesting story"). I've noticed this sentiment crop up in AP spaces/fandoms, but there isn't a writer's room to edit and revise the story being told (well there is one, and it's happening in the moment). To me, it's more interesting to look at the story that is being told and the choices made, and ask, why? Which is the point of this whole essay—to look at those seven sentences and go, "why is this here and what does it mean?"

(7) Or I'm just a nerd. Or both. Don't mind me, I'm just over here building my donut house. (I reblogged a post about fandom and donuts recently—it makes sense in context I promise.)

[vikkrest]

I'm bored, so that's my vision on Nikolai (reboot ver.) Just random things without much depth and explanation

Was born on August 2, 1971 in Russia, in a small town near the military base. His father is Russian, capitan of tank division, his mother is from Tatarstan, she was a military nurse when she met her future husband.

Nikolai is a firstborn, has a younger sister (Anna) and had a brother (Miron), who was killed in 2005

Nikolai knows Russian (native) Tatar ( kinda-sorta native, C1) English (C1) Georgian (B2) Arabic (B1)

His mom begged her husband to name their first child a Tatar name, so her side of the family would be satisfied. I won't tell you what name they had picked. But it sure starts with N

He's an Orthodox Christian, so his younger siblings, was baptized in the name of Saint Nicholas, that's where "Nikolai" is from

His family moved a lot from base to base, according to where his father was being deployed. Nik changed at least 3 schools during his childhood, he made few friends here and there, still visits them on leaves when he has time

Was good at languages, physics and math in school. Had been reading about aviation a lot in his free time.

He haven't got into uni, instead got drafted into the USSR army, was serving without a fuss until he expressed dissatisfaction with the foreign policy of the USSR, and was recruited by MI6 as an informant. His father already retired at that point. That time he really struggled to keep in touch with his family.

In 2000 his sister married her fiance from Georgia, and in the same year Nik became an uncle to their firstborn son Mikel Mzechvili, in 2001 his niece Nino was born, then in 2004 - Gogi (my oc). In 2005 Natela was born and the last one to come was Davit, in 2006. All of the kids were born in Georgia, but often visited their grandparents in Russia

Just two days after Natela was born, Miron was killed at his friend's wedding. Nikolai couldn't make it to his funeral, because of the work overseas, this still haunts him.

After retiring from the army, he became an "adjuster" with valuable connections at the highest level and in the criminal world.

He met Laswell through MI-6 on one of the missions,she then introduced him to Price after some time that Nik and Kate spent working together. He was in his mid-20 at that time

Nikolai took Gogi under his wing when he got kicked out of uni, but was too scared to be drafted into the Russian army (because at that time he was a Russian citizen for a studying purpose). Nik, on the other hand, was scared that Makarov might get to him through his nephew, so after some time spent on bureaucracy he enlisted Gogi in UK army.

Knows a lot of "new Russians" Got a lot of intel and financial support from them (like, where the hell he would get a damn TANK or a helicopter??? Exactly!)

[shotiv]

sigh

“i’m in love with him” atsumu has finally realized what his feelings were,he came home defeated after a hangout with the orange haired boy from karasuno.”huh” osamu ask osamu was the closest person to atsumu they did share a womb after all atsumu throws himself on the couch not responding he thinks to himself mumbling under his breath and groaning.Osamu pays no attention to this brother as he truly couldn’t understand what atsumu was talking about. shortly after osamu finishes his food and washes his plate he hears faint cry’s from the couch curious he walks over to see a sobbing blonde “am i this ugly when i cry” osamu sighs and cringes”SHUT UP” tsumu screams and throws a pillow at his brother what a nuisance he was never any help. samu catches the pillow and sets it down and sits next to his brother, he doesn’t want to have a conversation about his brothers love life as he doesn’t care but he loevs his brother and would like the wails to stop as well. “who”… atsumu wipes his face with his sleev a string of snot and tears staining, osamu is disgusted. “shoyo” the reply was soft and quite samu could tell he was heart just from the sound of his voice. He knows why he’s hurt hinata is with the setting from karasuno Kageyma Tobio. “i know he’s with tobio” trumu says with a chuckle trying to convince himself he’s fine ,he looks at his twin who staring back with a straight face. osamu is trying to emphasize with his brother but he’s never been in this situation so he try’s to sympathize instead. “what does that have to do with anything,him being in a relationship doesn’t have to stop u from liking him” a dumb response tsumu sighs his brother doesn’t know anything about love what would he know and with that he stands up and goes to there shared bedroom slamming the door. confused and puzzled osamu wonders what he said wrong, truly what did the shrimp being inna relationship have to do with tsumus little crush he sits in silence watching tv “ill go to sunas tonight. in the room tsumu plops onto his bed and stares up at the bottom of his brothers mattress the moment playing in his head over and over he’s thinking about that happend at the hangout the memory playing in slow motion in his head. Hinata picking up his phone the words hey babe rolling out of his mouth so naturally tsumu jumped a little thinking to himself ‘babe?’ what who’s he talking to he stiffens up when shoyo starts making plans throwing in words like presents dinner Anniversary love and what not. the phone call ends and shoyo apologizes for interrupting tsumu ,he didn’t care about what he was talking about before anymore “who was that at on the phone” “hm” shoyo squeaks looking at tsumu confused like he just asked what year it is . atsumu had a feeling he knew who he just didn’t want it to be true “it was kageyama, it’s our 7 month anniversary and where getting dinner tonight” he beams his smile wider than ever his cheeks flushed a rosy red thinking about his boyfriend. tsumus heart breaks a little trying not make the rest of the afternoon awkward he congratulated shoyo and wished him a happy anniversary before leaving t go home quickly making up some sort of excuse to leave. back to the present tsumu is done crying and wallowing in pity . getting up to take a shower washing his hair with the present sho got him a citrus orange shampoo the smell remind him of the boy who’s so dear to him. walking out the shower drying himself off putting on sweats and a white tee ,remembering how fast he left sho he decides to text him and apologize. ‘hey sorry about leaving so fast samu needed me at home’ sent. he didn’t expect a quick response with sho being at dinner with his boyfriend

ouuuuf this has been sitting in my drafts for way to long it was just something for me hence all the damn spelling mistakes but i need to share maybe will make a part 2 i don’t know but i love them

[goodenoughformeee]

A story for an aroace person aka me part 1 ( this is all rough draft kinda story) :p

you know as there is a lack of aroace characters/representation in many shows/ stories/mangas/manhwas/ etc.

So, my brain is like "if there is no representation, just make it yourself" XD

{ story summary: two best friends died and got reincarnated into the original mc and original villainess in an otome game }

So since I don't know how to start this story imma just wing it and see how it goes lol

Keep in mind I might change some of the plot in the future. Keep in mind this will be just a rough draft kinda story, I'm saying that cuz idk how to actually star the story TT

Our story starts with two best friends of whom I've yet to name so therefore will be known as A and B untill they get their reincarnated names :p

So the two best friends, around the age of 20 are returning home to their shared apartment from a bar.

As ti why they were at the bar?(Idk how a bar works, never been to one I think so bare with me here TT )It was because B broke up with her boyfriend ( this can change) so in order to cheer up B, A took her to the bar to drink her problems away. So the two friends chatted and drank and drank until around 1 pm when they both decided to go home.

So B is full on drunk and A being the one to support her, were crossing the road. It was then it happened, the accident. The truck hit them (classic reincarnation death of the mc lol) And then they you know...died :p

(the main character of the story is A btw)

Our main character A who you know just died, her conscious was like "damn so this is how I die?" and everything went black but that was not the end of her story.

Suddenly, A could hear voices of a person talking to themselves.

"who in theirs right mind would abandon a baby?"

A is of course confused as to what is happening as she just literally seconds ago died and came to know that she's in fact alive when she was able to open her eyes and sees the person who was carrying her.

"ayo did I ACTUALLY got reincarnated!? I know I said I wanted to get reincarnated but- you know what I'll take it, cause that truck really HIT like I'm pretty sure me and my bestie flew and died on impact or sth" was what A though upon realizing that she got reincarnated.

Fast forward

A is now 3 years old and during the 3 years she got a new name "xia". She has been observing her surrounding and also is trying to figure out where she reincarnated into. As she had read and watched a bunch of anime and manga/manhwas and also talked to her friends and with B about it.

So she assumes that she's most likely is in a game or anime or novel or manga. The only problem was that she could not figure out where she got reincarnated into, was this world an anime or a novel or a manga/manhwas or was it a game?

A being confused "ugh! How the hell am I supposed to find out what anime or a novel or a manga/manhwas or game this world is!? I read 4-6 mangas/ manhwas which usually aren't completed a day or go through 2-3 anime or play a game or two.

And then go WEEKS upon weeks without so much so as not even TOUCHING an anime or manga. I relay on my tabs and search history to guide me back to where I last watched or read.

I don't even usually REMEMBER the characters and refer to them by their hair colour or the plot"

So Xia (A) puts a hold to that and continues observing and interacting with her surrounding. She find out that the area she's currently in is an orphanage and is in a rural and neutral area so far.

There were kids from various age groups, from babies to young teenagers with all kinda of hair and eye colours.

(that's it for now, hope you enjoyed the story so far and if you have any questions feel feel to ask. I'll reply when I got the time since it's night time where I am so I'm going to sleep :D

Hope you liked the story and have a good day or night! <3

[mamashenanigans]

No-Quirks CEO AFO AU Snippet!

Wanted to do something different and try to write Kudo and Bruce interacting for the first snippet of this story.

Quick background:

1. Yoichi died right before their surrogate gave birth to their daughter, Kotomi.

2. Something happened between Kotomi and AFO(Daiki Shigaraki) three years ago that has changed her outlook on her Uncle. Only she and Kudo know as her father doesn’t want to reveal such sensitive information about his brother-in-law, regardless of how much he may hate him.

3. Yoichi’s last words to Kudo before his death, along with a video will, are important to Kudo even if some of it does involve his brother-in-law.

4. AFO is incredibly rich and the CEO of All for One Industries. He became a recluse after Yoichi’s death and hardly leaves his skyscraper where both his business and living quarters are. His business ambitions became far darker after the death of his only moral compass. Kotomi took on her dad’s role of trying to persuade AFO concerning his business dealings. She’s actually been quite successful in the last three years, but doesn’t talk about it much unless cornered by her father’s old teammates.

5. The One for All Operation was created by whistleblowers, law enforcement, and others to try and finally have AFO pay for his crimes, but they’ve never been able to succeed due to AFO’s legal team and ability to pay anyone to do anything. Kotomi knows nothing about this.

Anyway, enjoy this little snippet. It’s a rough draft so excuse any grammar mistakes.

———

“Knock, knock!” Bruce called out as he let himself into Kudo’s apartment. He let out an impressed whistle as he took in his surroundings.

“Wow, Kudo, my man! This is quite a nice place you have here!” He shouted as he moved further in following the sound of running water. He found Kudo in the kitchen at the sink, his back turned towards his friend. Bruce casually leaned on the corner of the archway and quirked a brow.

“Um, you hear me, ol’ fearless leader?”

”Yes, Bruce. I heard you before you even walked in. And that’s the reason why we preferred you at a computer most of the time.” Kudo answered nonchalantly, his back still turned.

Bruce would have chuckled if the words didn’t sound so hollow. He eyed the fancy kitchen then asked, “So, where’s Kotomi?”

Kudo turned off the faucet and turned around. “Where do you think?”

”Dear ol’ Uncle, huh?” Bruce shook his head, but couldn’t help but grimace as he caught sight of a large television on the wall of the adjourning family room.

“Speaking of which,” Bruce leveled his eyes with Kudo’s, “how’d you afford all this, Kudo?”

Kudo threw down the cloth he was using to dry his hands and turned back around. He planted his palms on the counter and growled, “I knew this was coming. I don’t want to do this right now, Bruce.”

”You promised that you wouldn’t use any of his dirty money and, damn, you haven’t since Yoichi passed, but now you’re fine with it?”

”Bruce, I lost my job-.”

”So?! You’ve changed your cover jobs more times than I can count! You got a whole new apartment! Have you really sold out like this?” Bruce breathed in heavily once he finished and gestured to the family room.

Kudo slammed his fists on the counter then spun around once more, his glare piercing through Bruce.

”I did it for Kotomi, okay! The private school here is one of the top in the country and my daughter’s too damn smart to miss out! The university here is just as prestigious! I know Yoichi would want what’s best for her too! So, yes, he offered and I accepted.”

Bruce sputtered. “Oh, an offer, huh? And what was it exactly, Kudo?”

”He offered to pay for all of it! The school, the apartment, even the university once she goes there! I couldn’t pass it up, Bruce! I was tired of watching her potential be wasted! She can do so much for this world, like Yoichi wanted to himself…”

Bruce closed his eyes as his thoughts wandered to his old friend. Yoichi was one of those dreamers that always wanted to do good in the world. Even though he knew his brother’s business had morphed into something dangerous, the man could never take his twin out of his life. Daiki had always been a shadow in the background of their friend group’s relationship. For a good while, many of the One for All Operation members were wary of him, convinced he must be a spy. Yoichi wasn’t, but he also never committed entirely to the cause. He was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place: he hated what his brother’s company was becoming, but still believed he could change him. Or, at the very least, guide those predatory eyes to something less evil…if only for a moment.

“Since you won’t just fucking say it, Kudo, what’s the catch? Aye? What did he want?”

Kudo finally broke eye contact and looked away.

“Pfft, it has to do with Kotomi, right?”

”Yes!” Kudo yelled. Bruce took a step back and shook his head.

”So, what? Are you forcing her to visit him now? That poor girl—”

”She wants to go,” Kudo whispered and Bruce barely heard it.

“Excuse me? Wants to go? You’re joking right? Who wants to be around that asshole?”

”She does! I’m not making her do anything and that’s…that’s the hard part, Bruce!” Kudo finally left his vigil over the sink and sat himself down at the kitchen table. He grabbed his head in his hands. “She’s been more than willing for the last three years to see him. It was harder when we lived farther away. It became harder and harder to deny his limos that came to pick her up, to turn away the delivery men with gifts, and keep her from running off to ride some derelict train to the city. This…this works for her and for him.”

Bruce scoffed. “Does it work for you, Kudo?”

“It does if Kotomi is happy and able to have the best education possible.”

”Dude, you know that’s not what I’m asking.”

”And that shows you aren’t a parent.”

Bruce decided not to detonate that bomb and moved on. “So, what? She visits him more often now? That’s all he wanted?”

”Often isn’t quite the right word,” Kudo bit out. Bruce tilted his head in question, so Kudo continued. “He…he has her spend the night a lot. Like…a week at a time. Her, uh, her school is pretty close, so…”

”Are you joking?! Are you guys sharing custody or something?”

Kudo was out of his chair faster than Bruce could react and was now in his friend’s face.

“Don’t you ever say that again!”

”Why? Did it strike a nerve?”

”GET OUT!” Kudo roared and Bruce was smart enough to obey.

As he backpedaled towards the front door, he couldn’t help but call back, “Our team has been working for DECADES to get that man behind bars! I know Yoichi wasn’t aware of all of our plans, but are you sure he would want this?”

Bruce slammed the door as he exited leaving Kudo to stand alone in the hallway of his new home. He clenched his fists and looked at the floor, tears held back just barely.

”Yes,” he whispered only to himself, “I know he would and that’s why it hurts.”

[sushigal007]

Damn, apparently I started this draft back in April, but the new post editor sucks so hard, I put it off until now. Now is currently 27/06/2, so this has the potential to get even funnier. But I'm doing this thing where I set a timer for 30 minutes and force myself to focus upon a task, and then I can allow myself a distraction as a treat. So far it's working, but it's also only been three days, so who knows if it'll stick.

I probably should've tried seeking an ADHD diagnosis years ago lol.

Anyway, I'm down to 26 minutes. Let's get this party started.

Rick: If you're having a party, don't invite this guy. Good news! I have no idea who that is.

Opal: Skills! Boring!

Let's watch Rick swim instead. Rick: *gloom*

Jules: The world. Rick: Fascinating!

Mrs C: I know what you are.

Rick: Juice me up. Bartender: You're a teenager. Bartender: Happily this game uses UK drinking laws, so I can still serve you.

Jennifer: Please fix this. Ugh. Maybe later.

Edward: Skills. Still boring! What's Rick up to?

Sharla: Soda. Rick: So true. Forget the soda, what happened to your hair!?

Rick: A family dinner. It's just you. Rick: That's the way I like it.

He's a pretty little ballerina.

And look! Growth! Rick: I'm going to college soon. Gonna need someone to do my laundry.

Opal: Speaking of laundry.

Edward: I got a promotion! Wanna celebrate?

Opal: Yes please!

Rick: Don't get my hair wet.

I did not bring you here to play video games in the bogs.

Rick: I'll play basketball, but I'm not happy about it.

Opal: Got promoted! Ready to celebrate again!

Opal: You can fuck right off though.

Rick: HELP!

Firefighter: *helps*

Opal: Did I tell you I got promoted? Rose: Rick's going to college. Opal: This isn't about him.

YA Rick! Rick: It's tough being this beautiful, yet I persevere.

I think I forgot to send something to college with him, so here he is, visiting the parents. Rick: Father. I bring laundry. Edward: Oh, I'd better go get ours too.

Opal: Stop looking. Opal: Pervert.

Promotion: Celebrated.

Opal: This is either money or a computer. Enjoy.

Opal: You suck at this game. Rick: It's the routing. Opal: Loser.

I'm not allowed more images!? Booooo. All right, see you in three months for the rest of the post! And hey, I've still got 15 minutes left, I'll start loading them into a new post ready!

[plague-stricken-marionette]

So! I feel like rambling and gushing about everything I love about this comic which means... y'all know what time it is

Below the cut is my passionate ramble which is stupid long (and took three hours to write according to my drafts if you were curious). You have been warned before you open that

I got to The Dummy's Dummy pretty late all things considered because I came in after Season 2 wrapped up (at the time of writing this, there is no Season 3 yet so I will be exclusively gushing about everything that was shown up to the Season 2 finale). I found out about it because a close friend convinced me to start checking out some Webtoons they love and started going through their rec list

I've really enjoyed all the ones I've read so far and have a lot of thoughts about them too (maybe I'll dump those in a different blog one day), but THIS ONE- This one has just completely gripped my brain with the force of a vise grip. I'm in love with everything about it to the artwork, the plot, the character design, and of course the characters themselves

I love Paris and Yumi and Lily. I really do. I love all three as individual characters but I love them even more when they're all together because I love their dynamics together and how it progresses over the course of the comic

Lily is absolutely hilarious at times and such a freaking mood too which makes her super fun to watch- And she's so good with Yumi too from keeping an eye on her to backing her (and Paris!) up when crap hits the fan

Yumi is adorable in a lot of scenes, but she also gets up to a lot of cool stuff too. And scary stuff! Poor kid is eleven years old (at least according to the old canvas/tapas version of the comic) and basically has the weight of the world sitting on her shoulders right now because she also happens to be a psychic who gets premonitions of people that might get hurt soon or die

And then there's Paris. The damn puppet that's consuming most of my free braincells

I'd be lying if I said Paris isn't my blatant favorite character, but make no mistake that I still love the rest of the cast too. Paris is so... His design aside, he's just fun to listen to because of the way his dialogue is written and he's- an extremely complex character that has a lot of layers to him. He's not a good person (or at least not a perfect paragon of good/a selfless hero), he even says so himself during the comic, but he's not evil either. He's so perfectly morally gray imo and he's- well- he's learning

A lot of his behavior is hardcoded into him by virtue of how Ivan's curse works and how it animated Paris (though even then, even more of his personality was shown to be influenced by his past experiences), but you can see that he can do kind things and he grows even kinder and perhaps a tiny bit softer over the course of the comic as he comes to care about Yumi and Lily and they start to break down a lot of the walls he's built up around himself

And I think that's beautiful. I love a character that isn't the perfect embodiment of good or evil. It ironically makes him very human and I think the storytelling is great because of that on an individual character arc level

That's not to say the overarching plot isn't good though because, make no mistake, it's incredible too. Yumi went seemingly her entire life seeing things that terrify her but when she meets Paris, she realizes that she can use those powers of hers to save people

And that's a lot of what the plot is. A lot of the early plot is them dealing with the things she has premonitions about until the big bad is introduced. BUT EVEN THEN- There's just so- So much going on and it's scary and it's terrifying and that's why Paris and Lily's dynamics with Yumi is fun

Paris and Yumi sort of settle into this big brother-big sister relationship and it's just... God it's so sweet. It's everything to me. Yumi trusts Paris completely and she worries so much about his wellbeing and wants him to be okay. And she calls him her hero!! HER HERO!

And Paris is just... He worries about her too. He admits with his full chest that he was just using Yumi for her psychic abilities earlier on, but by the time he admits that in the comic? He follows it up with the fact that he now cares about her so much to the point where he'd rather be destroyed than see her hurt or let her get hurt. He cares SO MUCH even if he's struggling with and/or refusing to admit that

And that's so... So... It plays into the last time he really cared about a human (his creator) and everything that came out of it. ESPECIALLY given how things ended with Ivan by the time Paris was put into that trunk for 80 years and left to be found and freed all that time later by Yumi

That's all just gushing about Yumi and Paris too. That's just touching on the two characters we see the most of. There's so many more unique and colorful characters in this comic I haven't even touched on yet- Like Lily!

I mentioned Lily already but I need to deep dive on her for a minute too because she deserves it as much as Paris and Yumi do. Lily is Yumi's babysitter which is how she winds up as involved with the other two as she is (besides the fact that they had to rescue her from a scary situation too)

And because she's her babysitter... That means we get a lot of big sister Lily vibes in there too because she's absolutely ready to kick ass on Yumi's behalf and protect her from creepy things. She routinely voices the fact that she's creeped out and scared by all of this weird creepy stuff and ghosts and possessed toys and all of that but she keeps putting herself out there anyway because she won't let Yumi go it alone

That extends to Paris too! Lily and Paris definitely have a rivalry in the beginning and Lily absolutely does not trust Paris at first when it comes to things with Yumi. But she comes to care about the guy too because she rushes straight into danger on Yumi's behalf to save Paris' life later on

And that's not even counting the way she immediately jumps to Paris' defense when everyone is talking after an encounter with the big bad and Paris is telling his backstory. Without even hesitating, she jumps right in to his defense to tell him that he's not broken for having the choice to act how he wants to act. That he's not broken for being a person with thoughts and feelings

I just- I can't with these three. They all work so well together and their friendship is something to behold. I need so much fanart and fanfic of these guys together and doing stuff as a team

AND THAT'S JUST THE THREE MAIN CHARACTERS- All of that rambling and gushing is literally just for the main characters. Even the freaking side characters have a lot going on with them or have a lot of depth to their characters

Let's take Darla and Dorothy there as an example. The Darling Dolls. Dorothy in particular has a lot of interaction with Paris and proposed a major character defining moment/question to Paris in the past, but we see some of Darla too and what we do see of her is just...

They both got mixed up with the big bad, right? Our introduction to them is that they're mixed up with the big bad. Dorothy is helping the big bad because he threatened Darla. Darla, her sister, who outright told Dorothy to run and bought her time because she didn't want Dorothy to get hurt too

So there's some big character stuff right there. And while we're on the topic of the big bad...

Even he's got a lot of depth behind him and his motives if you start to read between the lines and think about some things based on other plot clues we get. He's horrifying and he very much does pose a threat to our main characters as well as everybody else around him, but...

He's not pure evil either. First of all, he's dealing with an absolutely terrifying situation of his own (that I'm not sure if he even fully understands what's happening to him) which does drive the villainy he's getting up to, but that's the thing. He's being driven to do what he does because he is- Uh- He's not doing great actually!

And second of all- The big bad was made by the same guy that made Paris and the rest so in a way... The big bad is as much of a victim as some of the others in the sense of Ivan's curse took him and twisted his mind and made him turn out the way he did

Because the kicker is that the big bad guy thinks or at least thought he was doing good and bringing justice to people. He says he was designed and specially created to be a hero, so anything standing against him has to be evil, right?

That makes for... a really complicated villain of the story if you sit there and put all of these things together (and interpret them the way I am, at least). Just like how Paris isn't the picture perfect of good, this guy isn't the picture perfect of "evil villain without a cause" either

Personally, I don't think Ivan helped either. It's clear that he wanted to stop his wayward creations from hurting people (read: other humans) which is why he created Paris. But... I think in his doing that... He managed to hurt people like Paris and our big bad by failing to see them as the complicated and complex people they are too

And that gets into even more morally gray stuff because Ivan wants these toys rounded up before they can kill humans... but his insistence and way of going about it kind of bulldozed the people he created and was using to get the job done. You can absolutely draw connections between present Paris' behavior and cageyness to his experiences with Ivan in the past once the backstory reveal comes up

It's just an absolute mess. The whole backstory with Ivan and Paris and our big bad is just... It's just a mess and I don't mean that in a bad storytelling kind of way. I mean that in a good storytelling kind of way because it's so freaking emotionally complicated and hard to pin the blame on any one person.

Do people deserve blame and should they take blame for how some things turned out or what some of their actions were? Oh absolutely. But it's more complex than just "this guy was bad and only ever bad"

That whole stretch of backstory episodes is just... exhausting to read in a good way. At least if you're the type that really sinks into a story and empathizes with the characters like I do. It is draining and it hurts and it is beautiful in its tragedy

And that's all just what we see in the first and second season. I don't know what's going to happen next in the comic but that's everything I've seen thus far

I may think of more thoughts to add to this later or make a second post to ramble in, but I think I got it all out for now. This comic is just... It's gripped me in a very strong way and I want to talk endlessly about it and make a lot of fan content for it

Anyway ahem yes this is basically my long winded way of saying you should go read The Dummy's Dummy if you haven't already. It's 100% free to read and costs nothing but your time to read it