#trying to write two different scripts because I keep coming up with ideas for both at the same time

[tangerinesgf]

Oh my God the dirty talk in Tomxreader getting caught was so hot 🤭. Do you think you can write something with Tom wanting reader to sit on his cock between filming? Perhaps more dirty talk and a little bit of being cock drunk?

A/N: Thank you so much for your request I hope you enjoy it! I hope it's not too short :)

Tags/warnings: smut 18+ MDNI, p in v sex, reader riding Tom, dirty talk, hints at being cockdrunk. Gn!reader, but is refered to have the body of afab. Not proofread sorryy...

Many of your friends had warned you against working with Tom Ryder. Words like selfish, idiot, narcissist and alcoholic were dropped as you told them about the new movie you were gonna film with him.

And sure you believed everything they said. Tom Ryder was a right asshole, you'd spend enough time with him to know that. Yet in a way it was different for you.

Because you were Ryder's partner. The apple of his eye.

Admittedly you had never made a movie with him before despite both of you being actors, but you were mostly excited. As was your boyfriend. You had never seen Tom this excited to get started on a project.

You were about halfway through filming the movie and to be honest it was great. Both of your schedule's aligned for the first time in forever and you got to spend more time together. With both of you being actors one of you was always somewhere half across the world, away from each other.

Filming together was like a dream come true. Tom was in a good mood which made everyone on set a lot happier as well. Sure he was still weird as hell, but he wasn't as much of an asshole as he usually was.

In these last few weeks you've seen more of each other than in the last months. Your favorite moments were spend in between filming were you could just have some time for the two of you. It had really done wonder's for your relationship

Like now as you were both in his trailer (which you slept in more often than in your own), reversing your lines in between takes. You had about an hour before your next scene and what better way then to run a few scenes... or well that was the idea.

You were rehearsing a love scene between both of your characters as Tom guided you to sit on his lap, trying to increase the intimacy. And because when so close together neither one of you had any self-control you started making out.

So now here you were, straddling Ryder's lap, his cock buried deep in inside you as you ride him. Pages of the script were discarded across the room, the entire scene forgotten. Your hands were buried inside his hair, pulling ever so slightly to get those sweet soft moans from his lips.

"I love the way you sound.." You moan softly as he bucks his hips up, hitting just the right spot. "Keep making those sounds f'me while I make you feel good."

He nods and leans forward to kiss you again. It´s sloppy, kissing you from your mouth to your jaw and your neck, his hands running over you back to pull you closer. "Faster, baby.. ah shit-" Tom groans, his hands gripping your waist.

"Nuh uh.. no helpin'." You grab his wrists and pin them down at his side while increasing the pace, trying to drive him over the edge.

"You're killing me here, darling.." Tom groans. You can tell he has to control himself not to touch you, a control he doesn't show very often. He loves touching you, woreshipping every part of your body.

"I know.. and you love it." Your walls clench around him as you feel his cock twitch inside you. "Fuck- you close? I can feel it, come on baby.. cum f'me." Somehow you find it in yourself to go just a bit faster before you feel all the tension leave his body.

"Oh god, I love you." Tom throws his head back against the chair, letting out a string of whimpers as he cums inside you. His hips buck up into you, driving you over the edge with him.

You let out a loud moan as your orgasm washes over you and you collaps on top of him. It almost feel euphoric, no man had ever made you feel this good. And he hadn't even actively done anything.

As the both of you catch your breath Tom wraps his arms around you, caressing your hair gently. "You're so good to me, darling." He mutters as he kisses the top of your head. "You alright?" He asks when he doesn't get much of a response from you.

"Yeah.. yeah just need a minute, you're a lot." You mumble quietly.

"Awh, was my cock too much for you, love? I didn't even do anything." He teases you. It's almost funny how almost immediately after finisheing his submissive attitude disappears, replaced by his normal cocky behavior.

"We still got a scene in 30 minutes, remember?" He reminds you you with a small grin on his face.

"Mhm.. just gimme a minute yeah?"

"Sure.. I'll just let you lay here with my cock still inside you. Doing nothing at all.." There's a mischievious grin on his face as he rolls his hips up, forcing a whine from your lips. "Tom.."

"You're so sensitive, baby.. alright I'll knock it off." He chuckles softly before he gives you another kiss.

"Rest. I'll wake you up, okay?" You nod in respone before falling asleep comfortably in his arms.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading, hope you enjoyed it :) Comments and reblogs are much appreciated, I live off those.

I know I'm a bit slow with the requests but if you do have any don't hesitate to send em in, I promise iĺl get to them. Love you guys <33

Taglist: @earth-elemental18 @allaroundjejje @cockete (lemme know if you wanne be removed/added)

[alldevilsarehere90]

Title: Pretending Pairing: Daryl x Female Reader Summary: You'd been waiting long enough for Daryl to make it clear how he felt about you and now you were tired of waiting. Rating: 15+ (SFW) W/c: 1.6k Setting: Alexandria / Abandoned town Genre/Warnings: One shot / fluff / Romance / Friends to lovers / Bad language / slightly suggestive if you squint Prompts: "You wouldn't second-look me before the world went to shit, so don't pretend otherwise.' Requested by @ravenrose18  A/n: Tried to make this as fluffy as I could, I had to re-write it because I made it too angsty the first time, I can't help it, it's in my nature lol Enjoy

You'd had enough, enough of waiting for Daryl Dixon to make a move, enough of not knowing if he even wanted to. The mixed signals he gave you were sometimes enough to cause whiplash.

Your mind was made up, today was the day you would confront him and find out once and for all how he felt about you.

This morning, as you showered and got yourself ready to go on the run with him, you had been full of confidence, consumed by your plan and practising your confession repeatedly to yourself in the mirror. The words ran through your mind over and over, like a script you were trying desperately to memorise, as you head down the pathway leading to the gate. 

As soon as you spot him waiting for you however, your bravado runs off, abandoning you, leaving you feeling vulnerable and second guessing your decision. 

"Yer ready?" He asks, already seated on his motorbike and sends his cigarette shooting across the road with a flick as you approach him.

Nodding, you climb on, hands unsteady as they make their way around his waist. 

Your clammy palms lock together to keep yourself in place. His scent instantly claims your senses; tobacco and leather with an added note of something so him, you couldn’t put your finger on it but breathed it in and relished it just the same.

The gate opens and as soon as it's a wide enough exit, his hands move and you speed off, leaving Alexandria a blur behind you.

The wind whips through your hair, sending it flying wildly around your face. You enjoy feeling the cool air ripple against your skin, calming your nerves and clearing your mind. Before you knew it, you found yourself leaning your cheek on Daryl's back, closing your eyes, enjoying the closeness and warmth radiating from him but when you notice him stiffen under you for a brief moment, back muscles pulled taute against the softness of your face, you almost sit upright again before feeling him slowly relax back into the journey. 

But all too soon you had come to your destination and were forced to unwrap yourself from him. 

An abandoned town sat a fair few miles from Alexandria that had been discovered by the two of you on the way back from another run. It was getting dark when you came upon it previously and you were both tired and dirty and just wanted to get home. Investigating in the dark is never a good idea if it is not necessary.

You'd agreed to come back a few short days later in the daylight to explore it and here you were. Staying near him, eyes constantly surveying your surroundings, while Daryl hid the bike in the opening of the woods. 

The place seemed deserted, eerily so, with no sight of any one dead or alive. Odd but not unheard of.

You both get your weapons out ready and head into the surrounding buildings, searching one by one and finding a surprising amount of supplies and only a handful of walkers to deal with. It was shaping up to be a very successful run. And once you'd swept through the empty little town, taking anything you could use and putting it in your packs, you journeyed to the final building; a clothes store. 

You both grab standard clothes in different sizes so there could be something for everyone and fill up the last of the space in your packs in the process.

Wandering the store and surveying the racks looking for anything new and interesting, when you spot a black cowboy hat, taking it off the shelf and searching around the rails for your companion. You spot him pulling items off hangers and shoving them into his bag. Quietly walking up behind him and placing the hat on his head with a giggle.

"Why, howdy there partner, fancy seeing ya in these neck'a the woods." You mock, in a deep southern accent. He turns to you, smiling, that same smirk that you've grown to love so much and never fails to make your heart beat faster.

“Ma’am.” He nods, flicking the brim of the hat, attempting to join in with your playfulness. 

Your stomach quivers as you relish seeing this side of him, a side it seems only you can bring out. “Well, well, ya can take the boy outta the country but ya can’t take the country out the boy.” 

He scoffs and tosses the hat at you, managing to land it on your head. “Suits yer better.”

You hold the brim and incline your head, “thank yer, thank yer very much.” You say, spinning off towards another section of the store, hearing his quiet laughter causing butterflies to fly rampant inside you. 

A perfect cobalt blue sundress catches your attention and you head over to it. The material felt soft and thin against your fingers, perfect now the warmer weather was here. It wasn't until the sound of Daryl clearing his throat behind you, you realised he'd been watching.

"Why dun yer take it?" He asks, his bag full and slung over his shoulder.

Turning back to the dress, with your bottom lip caught between your teeth in hesitation, you shrug. "I've got no reason to wear it." You finger at the material one last time, admitting to yourself that you want it more because the colour matches Daryl's eyes than because of the way it feels. "What do you think?" You ask him, peeking at him slyly.

He shifts his weight to the other foot and picks at his nails. "Try it, see if yer like it" he nods his head towards the single dressing room.

You mull it over before agreeing that's probably best. If you don't feel good wearing it there's no point in taking it.

Shutting the door behind you as you enter the small space, you begin to remove your old clothes and slip the dress over your head. A little manoeuvring and smoothing the material down before you brave the mirror attached to the wall. You're not sure what you expected but it wasn't the sight that stared back at you. 

You looked pretty. You haven't felt pretty in…well, in a very long time. Seeing yourself in this dress, as silly as it sounds, made the world seem as if it hadn't ended and it was just another day out shopping for something new. You take a moment to adjust to this version of yourself in front of you before slowly opening the door and hesitantly exiting. Peering around outside where you'd left Daryl, only to be met with nothing but still, quiet space. 

"Daryl?" You whisper.

His face shot out in front of you, "yea," he replies, as he appears from inside the rack closest to the changing room. He laughs as you jump, clutching your chest but unable to help the grin stretching the corners of your mouth. Your hand playfully hit his chest, "you jerk." 

His smile drops as his eyes fall to your outfit and he takes a step back to really look at you. A red tinge blooms across his cheeks as his eyes roam over your body, more skin on show than ever in this strappy, short dress.

Your stomach flips at the way he’s looking at you, feeling more confident than ever in how he feels about you.

"So, what do you think?" You say, giving him a spin and in the process sending the dress flying up a little higher than you intended.

He clears his throat again, "s'nice." His voice more quiet and raspier than usual. You enjoy watching his adams apple bob up and down following the loud swallow.

There was only a few centimetres of space between you, his radiating heat made you painfully aware of his proximity.

Reaching forward, fingers in search of his and when you find them his eyes dart downwards at the unexpected touch but they respond quickly and entwine with yours. It was the confirmation you needed, bringing your other hand to tuck some of his long hair behind his ear. But he dips his head, taking his gaze away from you.

"Hey," you whisper, cupping his face and pulling him up to look at you. "If you don't feel the same, you can say." 

He scoffs. "If I dun feel the same?" He repeats in surprise. "I've wanted yer since the day we met."

Your heart jerks at his confession before galloping away your chest, part of its own solo race towards him but confusion spoils your happiness, not understanding as to why he seems so unsure. You wait with a questioning gaze on him, searching his eyes for answers.

Finally, he sighs, "Yer wouldn't second-look me 'fore the world went ta shit, so dun pretend otherwise."

You bring both your hands to either side of his face and wait until his eyes meet yours again. "Daryl Dixon, I can promise you, world ending or not, I would have second, third and fourth looked you."

His answering smile made you feel like you were getting through to him.

"No one is pretending here." You insist as your hands wind around his neck and you lean up on your tiptoes to be closer to his mouth. "I have waited and waited for you, Daryl. How about we don't waste anymore time?"

As soon as the last word passes your lips, his touch yours before you even have a chance to form your next thought. 

His hands come up to your face, cradling you softly and caressing the skin of your cheeks with his thumbs. Everything in this moment was gentle, loving and far more passionate than you'd envisioned. You held each other close with a lingering desperation lurking beneath the surface, something to be explored when you were both ready.

When you finally break apart, breathing hard and hearts pounding, he slides his hands down your sides to clasp yours.

"Here's ta not wasting time." He says into the silence, placing a quiet kiss on the back of your hand. "Come on, let's go home."

[pixxiies]

hii, how are you?? i've got a req for you to write! (the explanation is a little long please bare with me) anyways to sum it up, its kinda based of the song casual by doja cat. if you dont really the idea i think you'll kinda get it once you listen to the song, (and im not really good at writing) but to sum it up, reader and chris have got a situationship, or like their just casually hooking up w/ eachother (i dont know what the label is 😭😭) but they act like lovebirds tg, like im talking cuddling when their watching a movie w the boys, getting eachother gifts, ALL that mushy cute shit.. chris realizes that he's inlove w/ reader, and y'know how hes like afraid of commitment and proper relationships? so instead of telling her that he is, he avoids her for like 2 days,and tries to fuck with someone else to forget about her for a bit. when she comes into the house to hangout with nick, she hears him fucking another chick, and she gets JEALOUSS let me tell you. she pulls that poor girl out of the room, telling her to get dressed and when the girl leaves she starts going off at chris (gettin a lil angsty). but like the whole point of me wanting it to be based off the song was kind of so that you could realize it was based off the song, so maybe u can add lyrics! (idk, just a thought) "if you is a player, i dont think ima play with ya" , "if you wanna lay with her, why don't you just stay with her?". he tries to deflect, and i guess reader kind of confronts him about how she thinks he wants more then hooking up and he denies it, but she knows hes lyin. "you say you don't want a girlfriend but when we are in person, you always act so different, you make it all seem perfect", "you hold me when we wake up, say you like me with no makeup", "is it casual, or are you tryna spend your life with me?". anyways in my lovely optimistic mind, reader tells him its ok because shes inlove w him too, and he finally doesn't deny it. she tells him shes scared too, but they'll go through it together cuz their in luvv 😛 anyways lets just say the night ends with some slow soft sex between reader and chris. "take it off, follow me out, let me in don't shut me out" i understand if you can't do this req, but i saw your post saying you needed reqs to write on a trip tmr, and i thought of this on the spot so sorry if its really shit 😭

ꨄ ⌒ ⋆｡ ˚ CASUAL

│⊹ warnings ⋆ ;; angst if u squint, y/n is used like twice sorryyy, p in v, pet names (baby nd mama), unprotected sex, lowercase intentional, and word count is 2.2k

│⊹ pairing ⋆ ;; chris sturniolo x fem!reader

│⊹ haven’s notes ⋆ ;; hey.. how y’all doin 😙.. sorry for being gone AGAIN i keep having writers block but i wrote smth for my script so i got motivation to write again 🤌

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

you have been waiting impatiently at the triplets front door for about five minutes now. finally, chris opened it for you. “took you long enough.” you scoff with a smile as you walk in. “sorry, matt almost started a fire.” the brunette boy replied, scratching his chin when closing the door.

“what?” you laugh while kicking off your shoes and leaving them on the shoe rack. "oh by the way, i got the shirt you were planning to buy." you giggle softly, handing him a bag. "oh shit! thank you!" he says excitedly as he pulls you in for a warm hug. "of course, c." you give him a toothy smile. you notice how his facial expression changes a little bit once you smiled but you brushed it off. the two you walk up the stairs into the living room and kitchen. you saw both matt and nick try to cook dinner or something. “matt! your gonna burn it’!” nick exclaimed before turning to see you.

“what are you guys even making?” you snicker as you walked up to nick to give him a small hug. “burgers but matt almost started a fire trying to grill the meat.” he rolled his eyes in annoyance. “let me help” you say, walking to the stove and shooing matt away. “but at least i didn’t, i wont do it again!” he stated while crossing his arms. “matt relax, i got this” you say while flipping the patty. the boys talk for a while and from time to time offer to help but your stubbornness always said no.

chris left an argument that he was talking about with his brothers and waddled over to you and placed his hands on your shoulders. “you sure you don’t need any help?” he asked which you reply with a nod. once you finally finished making the food, you plated them nicely on the table. “bon appetite!” you laugh while sitting down next to chris.

the four of you eat while talking about a random topic or plans of what to do for the following week. “do you guys wanna watch something?” matt offered when he finished eating. “im down” you reply and the two others agree as well.

now, nick is currently putting the dishes in the sink as you, matt, and chris are all sitting down on the couch to debate what to watch. “nah i don’t wanna watch a horror movie.” chris whined when you suggested for them to see one. “ugh fine, maybe batman again?” matt quickly agrees, of course.

chris had been laying down on your chest for about an hour or so into the movie. your hands rested on the back of his head, your fingers scratching his scalp gently from time to time and he let out small hums whenever you did. after a few minutes you desperately needed to go use the bathroom. "chris" you whisper, loud enough for only him to hear. "hm?" he hummed while looking up at you. "gotta piss, get up" you state as he slowly got up from your chest.

after you did your necessities, you walked back to the living room and sat down next to chris. only this time he patted his chest, signaling you to lay down on it. of course, you don't mind since you and chris were always so touchy so you did. while watching the last 30 minutes or so of the movie, you heard his heartbeat start pounding against his chest rapidly. mentally, you started to count each one. and you did this till the movie ended.

"thanks for coming over!" nick said to you as the triplets started to walk you downstairs. "of course! i love hanging out with you guys." you reply, looking at each of the small smiles on their faces but except for chris. he looked rather stressed and confused. instead of saying anything about it, you simply just brushed it off. you said goodbye to the three boys then left.

it had been two days since you heard anything from chris. you asked nick and matt about him and they both said that he was okay and didn't know what was wrong with him. you began to get worried, scared if it was something you did or said. so, to clear your head you decided to invite nick to the mall since it was somewhere you guys both enjoyed going together. you got to the familiar entrance of the sturniolo home, quickly seeing an excited smile from nick as soon as you knocked on the door. "hey! you ready?" you ask while pulling him into a small hug.

"yeah! let me just go grab my things real quick." the brunette boy said as he let you inside. you didn't bother taking off your shoes since you two were about to leave. upon walking up the stairs you saw matt's face that was mixed with discomfort and trying not to laugh. "what?" you and nick ask him. "whatever you do, don't go downstairs." he mumbled while grabbing something from the fridge then walking back to his room. you give nick a look, he gives you one back that obviously meant to go see what matt was talking about.

hesitantly, you leave your bag on the couch and then walk downstairs to chris' room while nick grabs his things. upon being about three steps down, your ears immediately fill up with moans. both chris', and someone else's. another girl. your cheeks get red as your feet think before your mind and now you're in front of his door. with no hesitation, you grab the knob and swing open the door. as soon as you did so, chris looked back quickly. your eyes observed what was going on. you saw the mystery girl completely blissed out with her face dug inside a pillow and completely naked. you saw chris' hands wrapped around her hips firmly and how his front pieces of hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. "what the fuck chris?"

you feel your cheeks burning up in frustration as you watch chris struggle to put his pants back on. "dude! get out!" he said while the blonde girl turned around and saw you at the doorway, quickly blushing out of embarrassment. "no, you get out!" you tell the girl in his bed loudly, her getting up as soon as you said anything towards her. you and chris make heavy eye contact as she got changed and got her things.

she closed the door upon leaving and you immediately start bashing chris. "chris what the fuck is wrong with you? you ignore me for two days and I find you fucking another chick?" you argue as he quickly tries to find something to say. "you can't just hook up with me casually then ignore me then hook up with someone else." your sigh is shakey, trying not to start crying in front of him. "I feel bad for her even because you're probably just gonna ignore her and then hook up with some-" you were finally cut off by chris.

"why are you arguing about this like we are more than friends y/n?" he argues back, taking a breath to continue. "you're saying this shit like we are together, we aren't anything but friends." the brunette boy said while crossing his arms. "friends that hook up almost every week?" you laugh sarcastically, you process what he said for another few seconds. "don't act like I don't know about how your heart was racing when i was layin' down on your chest the last time i came over." you note. "is we hooking up something casual for you or are you looking to spend your life with me?" your voice is unstable and shakey, biting back the tears coming up on your waterline.

"fine, i'll admit, y/n." he finally said, his voice evenly shakey as yours. "I realized that i'm in love with you that night. you know im scared of commitment. i ignored you 'nd hooked up with another girl to try to get over you." chris sighed and his eyes softening. "im scared of being in a relationship, you have seen what my fans say even if im standing next to a girl—" you cut him off by walking towards him and shutting him up with a soft kiss. you can tell he is surprised when he hesitated to place his hands on you. “im in love with you too chris, and i am scared too.” you say softly as you tuck a strand of hair behind his ear.

“but you know we can work it out together.” you sigh while your eyes look up into his. chris’ hands planted on your waist, rubbing small circles on them. “you think so?” he whispered. you nod in reply, pulling him into another kiss. “‘m sorry.” he whispered again, desperately kissing you like his life depended on it. you start to tug on the hem of his black tank top and backed up a little bit so he could notice that your trying to take it off. he pulled it over his head himself and quickly went back for a kiss. he turns you so your back is facing the bed and he guided you to it. you lay back on his bed and he quickly reaches to the waist band of your shorts. “can i take these off?” he asked with his tone laced with need. you nod eagerly, him taking not another second to pull them down. he then went to your shoes, untying both laces and placing them on the floor.

you watched in awe as he touched your body so gently. he cupped your cheek and kissed you softly, his tongue grazing against yours lightly. he backed up with a smile, and looked into your eyes for a few seconds. with one hand, he went down in between your thighs and hooked his fingers on your panties and pushed them to the side, with the other hand pulling down his shorts.

he held onto your hip while he slowly slid himself inside of you, both of you letting a little hiss. his thrusts are slow but firm and his grip on your hip was light. you whimpering softly and let your body relax as his hips moved in and out of you. chris grabbed your leg and hooked it around his torso, being able to plunge deeper inside of you. “fuck, such a good girl f’me.” he panted with a little smile on his face. you whine back in reply, completely blissed in ecstasy and pleasure. his hips rutted a bit faster inside your puffy cunt as it suctioned his cock. “fuck, feels so good.” you sigh while leaning your head back into the pillow. “yeah? m’cock feels good mama?” he groaned quietly, you nod weakly.

you let out a small moan when his tip grazed that sticky patch inside of you. you arch your back off the bed as the knot in your stomach began to tighten. “‘m so close-“ you gasp gently while the brunette boy started to drill deeper inside of you. “mhm, gonna cum for me baby?” he whispered gently as his thumb went down and rubbed your sensitive bundle of nerves, this just sending you over the edge. “fuck! do-dont stop please please” you whine as your mouth fell agape. the knot in your stomach slowly started coming undone from his thrusts. “‘m cumming!” a small squeak left your lips. “shit, im right behind ya’” he whimpered as his hips remained the same pace. your stomach muscles clenched together as you came on his cock, then you felt him fill you up with his lukewarm cum. he fucked both of you through each other’s high before he stopped.

“you okay?” chris hummed while tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. you nod shyly while attempting to sit up. “i should go then, nick is probably waiting for me.” you chuckle a bit, whining quietly as chris pulled out of your pussy. “alright, i’ll still see you today then?” he asked as he helped you clean up and change. you hum in reply, standing up and wobbling a little bit. he put his boxers and shorts back on before turning back to you. “drive safe.” he smiled, pulling you in for a little kiss. “i know, see you later chris.” you smile back. you left his room with him behind you, your shoes in his hands.

upon going up the stairs you saw nick with his headphones on, thankfully. “ready to go?” he asked, his tone annoyed since you took so long. you nod with a laugh as you grab your bag and shoes from chris. “i’ll put them on in the car.” you say while you both start walking downstairs.

“what took you so long by the way?” the brunette boy asked when putting his headphones in his tote bag. “sorry, something happened with chris and i had to help” you lie terribly. nick could tell in your eyes that you were lying. “you fucked him didn’t you?” “nick!”

│⊹ haven's notes part two ⋆ ;; IM FINALLY DONE !!!!1

│⊹ taglist ⋆ ;; @deftonesmatt @mattsluttywaist @luverboychris @sturniol0s @mattscoquette @xoxo4chrisss @sweetstars-posts @bambi-slxt

[shihalyfie]

I've alluded to tri. having some very troubled production behind the scenes, and among everything that apparently went on back there, there seem to have been at least two major bottlenecks: 1) the fact that the director (who, based on his own statements about deliberately not consulting source material, most likely didn't even watch Adventure to begin with) kept asking everyone to make things more "mature" without being clear on what that actually meant, and 2) the fact they ran out of budget and had to rewrite the entire plot halfway into it. Even the most brilliant of creators probably wouldn't be able to work at their best under such conditions.

But conversely, this also means that there were some excellent people involved in production whose efforts probably haven't been as appreciated as they should be! So I want to take a moment to spotlight some people I want to give props to:

Ayana Yuniko and Nakanishi Yasuhiro: These two scriptwriters were childhood Digimon fans who were thrilled to be on the project, and their enthusiasm clearly shows in every interview they were in. Ayana even made keen observations like noticing that the Adventure kids aren't as super-tight as people tend to make them out to be (something I've pointed out myself, and something that generally only tends to crop up among fans who have studied the series closely), and Nakanishi stated that she would slip him detailed notes about the characters and their relationships.

Both of them stated they were trying to portray the Adventure characters in a character-accurate way but kept getting their scripts rejected for not being "mature" enough, leaving them unsure about what they were supposed to do. Their roles on the series were also limited; Ayana was on parts 1, 2, and 4 while Nakanishi was on part 4 only, and they were sharing the scriptwriter role with multiple others (even within a single movie). But if I were asked to pick who on the staff list I would want to see come back for another Digimon work, it would absolutely be these two.

Kakikara Yuuko: The one in charge of overall writing for the series. tri. had a total of five scriptwriters and could have up to four(!) on a given movie, so because of that, her statements on the series and its story direction have been a bit difficult to tell whether it was her idea personally or whether she was delivering the writing room's discussion result. But one of her final statements on the series basically amounted to "I'm grateful if you even came to watch it to the end at all," and she was quite humble about saying she felt things could have been done differently; considering it sounds like she had a hard time keeping everyone and everything in order, I can only imagine she went through a lot trying to make sure everything ended safely. Incidentally, her writing portfolio is also quite respectable (and even includes kids' shows).

Suzuki Takaaki: The person with the job of "setting researcher", i.e. the one with the job of looking into the lore. Sadly, it seems like most of his ideas didn't make it into the final series (possibly because of the budget loss-induced rewrite), but his one solo interview indicates that he put quite a bit of conscientious thought into how Digital World lore works, including the idea of an EMP weapon that would affect Digimon easily but not humans (an idea that doesn't pop up among fans as often as you'd think, and took up until last year to make it into actual Adventure material via Takeru's 02TB in-universe fanfic).

Sakabe Gou: The person in charge of the series BGM. We haven't heard a lot from him, but the little we have indicates that although he also had difficulty understanding what the director was asking for when he wanted "mature" music of some kind, he himself put some very thorough thought put into the composition. In particular, he went into detail regarding the music used at the beginning of part 4, which seems to be a fan-favorite track from what I've seen (it's also my favorite too!). Sakabe also has an extensive and respectable portfolio outside Digimon; in particular, he's very highly regarded in Kamen Rider circles, so if you have a friend who's a fan, it might be a good idea to ask them about it!

[lokiondisneyplus]

Sophia Di Marto [sic] knows why the Marvel Studios breakout series “Loki” was so successful creatively. It was partially due to the casting. Much of it was in the writing and the direction, but mostly, it was about the dynamic between the title character, played by Tom Hiddleston, and Loki’s multiverse doppelganger, Sylvie, portrayed by Di Marto herself.

“Some of it’s in the writing, some of it’s in what Tom does, a little bit of it’s what I do, but that it’s how these two characters rub each other up the wrong way,” Di Marto says. “They’re so similar but so different. And I think that fine line between the two is what’s really entertaining to watch because they know exactly how to wind each other up. Sylvie knows exactly how to wind Loki up and audiences love watching Loki being wound up. So, it’s just really entertaining and that’s part of the chemistry because they sort of hate each other, but love each other and will always be connected now. So it is this really specific dynamic, which is a massive gift to be able to play with.”

Over the course of our conversation centered on season two, Di Marto reflects on whether Sylvie found peace at the end of season two, how the stunt choreography keeps her in shape, what new directors Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead brought to the series, and much, much more.

____

The Playlist: First of all, I have to tell you, that even though it aired last fall, “Loki “is still one of my favorite programs from the past 12 months. I just thought it was so well done.

Sophia Di Martino: Thank you.

When you found out you were coming back for season two, did you have an idea already of where Sylvie’s arc was going to go?

No, I had absolutely no idea until I read the script and then I had to read the script like three times because it was quite confusing.

Did Eric Martin, who was the head writer, sort of sit you down and give you a heads up, this is where we’re going, this is how we see her?

I’m trying to remember exactly what happened. If anyone sat me down, I think Tom might have given me because an executive producer as well, so he’s more involved in the writing and all the behind-the-scenes stuff. I think he may have given me a little headline sort of idea of what the second series was about, but I didn’t really know what would happen until I read the scripts. And then as we’re shooting, it’s changing all the time as well. The main structure is the same, but it’s really a moving beast and a big collaboration. So we’re rewriting it all as we go with Eric.

After reading the initial scripts, did you at least think to yourself, “O.K., we’re going to get to a point at the end of the season where Sylvie is at least at peace?” Or do you think part of her is still out for some sort of revenge”

I dunno if she’s at peace at the end of series two. I don’t think she goes back to Oklahoma. I don’t think she tries to get that peaceful human life again. I think she’s on another adventure, but I dunno. I feel like she just keeps casting an eye over what’s happening with Loki and with Sylvie. I don’t think she’s ever going to be truly at peace. I think she’s a sort of natural-born fighter. I think she’s only ever truly herself when she’s fighting for something. So she’s perhaps gone to look for the next fight.

Do you think that’s the big difference between her and her alternate timeline version of Loki played by Tom? That’s the inherent difference because Loki doesn’t seem to always want to fight.

I don’t think he wants to fight, but he has something within him that’s unfinished and he’s always searching for his glorious purpose. And I think they’re both doing that in slightly different ways.

And I know every member of the media that you’ve spoken to has asked you this in some way, but have you been given any tea about whether Sylvie will continue looking for her glorious purpose down the road?

I have no idea. They’ve told me nothing.

Do you like that in a way?

Yeah, I mean, because if you can just get on with your life until you get a phone call that says you have to be somewhere at a certain point, do something. Yeah, it’s an exciting part of it.

Was there any scene or moment in particular where you were like, “O.K., this is a moment that I’m going to have to dig deep into. This is a tougher scene than maybe I might’ve expected this day”?

The scene that was most interesting to play was that moment in McDonald’s when Loki and Sylvie meet again for the first time. I don’t think there were hardly any lines in that scene. Maybe she says, “Are you going to order something or not?” And it is very sparse the dialogue, but there’s so much unsaid, there’s so much acting going on and they look at each other for the first time. And that was really, really cool to get to play that. It’s bumping into your ex for the first time.

And I’m guessing there is not a lot of rehearsal time correct? It was mostly working it out on the scene on set.

Oh yeah. Yeah. The only rehearsals that we got were some choreo or some fight stuff. Yeah, we didn’t get much rehearsing for the actual dialogue scenes, but I like it that way.

Do you feel like there’s more spontaneity?

For me? Yeah. I like to rely on my intuition and my spontaneity.

Well, I always heard that when you put good actors together should get good results. But this cast in particular had such great chemistry. Even in season one. Do you think that that was just luck? Is it just the talent of the actors?

I think it’s also the characterization. Some of it’s in the writing, some of it’s in what Tom does, a little bit of it’s in what I do, but that it’s how these two characters rub each other up the wrong way. They’re so similar but so different. And I think that fine line between the two is what’s really entertaining to watch because they know exactly how to wind each other up. Sylvie knows exactly how to wind Loki up and audiences love watching Loki being wound up. So, it’s just really entertaining and that’s part of the chemistry because they sort of hate each other, but love each other and will always be connected now. So it is this really specific dynamic, which is a massive gift to be able to play with.

I know you had stunt doubles for a lot of it, but you did do a lot of your own action choreography, correct?

Yeah, yeah. We learn it all and then they sort of swap it and change it when they need to make it look better.

Was it fun? Is that stressful as an actor to have to do that stuff compared to just regular scenes?

I love it. It was a really great opportunity for me. I mean, I was like three months postpartum on the first [season]. It was a great opportunity for me to get fit. I don’t go to the gym. I was the most unfit person when I started, so it really kicked my ass into gear. But I really enjoyed it. And it’s watching the finished product, it just makes you feel like an absolute badass, even though it’s not me. Some of it is not me. It feels great to be a part of it, and it really helps me get into character as well as Sylvie because she’s such a brawler. She loves fighting so much. I’ve realized that I do too. And I’ve carried on. I box a couple of times a week, and I really enjoy the feeling of being able to channel my aggression somewhere. And as a woman, I think it’s quite rare to be able to be given the opportunity to be able to be aggressive and I love it.

At least for season two, do you recall one sequence or set piece that was tougher than any of the others?

There was two of the fighting stuff. I’m trying to remember. The stuff on the Ferris wheel was quite tricky because the space was quite small and there were wires. We were doing wire work, so that was tricky. And a lot of it gets changed last minute. So, you learn the sequence and then they figure out how they’re going to shoot it, and then they realized you can’t do the sequence anymore, so you have to do a different sequence. And so a lot of it is learning choreo on the fly and changing it up and doing something different that works for the camera. So, that was challenging. And I remember I had to throw the TVA guidebook and I couldn’t get it in the right place. Things like that, take ages to try and do. In the first series, there’s a sequence where a knife lands right next to my face, and one of Loki’s daggers stands right next to my face. Little things like that take hours.

In the final episode, you have a great moment when Loki continues to go back to sort of the workroom area where you guys all keep getting killed again and again. And Sylvie sort of imparts on him one last time about what he needs to do. Do you remember that scene that I’m talking about?

Is it in Key’s workroom or the Key Lime Pie?

It’s the last time that we see that version of Sylvie. The spaghetti is coming to sort of wipe her away. It’s before he goes back and realizes that he has to go into the…

Oh, yeah.

I don’t know if you remember that scene, but it seems like such a rich moment for Sylvie. I was wondering, did those moments at least sit with you at all about how emotional Sylvie’s connection had become with Loki?

Yeah, definitely. And I think she’s the spokesperson in a way for his friendship group. It becomes a real ensemble by the end of series two. It’s not just Sylvie. He’s made quite a few friends and they’ve become almost like a little bit of a team and he’s watching each one of them disappear. And I think Sylvie’s the last one to be turned into spaghetti. And that’s the moment where he realizes he needs to figure out how to control this time slipping so he can change what’s happening because otherwise, he’s going to lose everyone.

The drop-off between season one and season two from Kate Heron to Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead was almost non-existent. They certainly have their own directorial style, but the quality is just so good. Can you talk about what they’re like to work with as directors on set and what you thought they brought to the series?

They are so relaxed at times. I was like, “Why are you so relaxed? It’s making me feel nervous. Why are you so confidently cool and calm?” They just know exactly what they want and what they’re going to do. And they have their own style and they’ve done a bunch of indie films, so they’ve done their time and know how to do it, and they know how to work with each other so well. I dunno if it’s about something to do with being two of them so they can share their stress or something just so chilled out and so open and collaborative and funny and just so easy.

I know you recently wrapped “The Radleys” with Damian Lewis. It’s a horror vampire comedy, right? Can you talk about it at all?

Honestly, I dunno when it’s going to be released, but it’s a vampire movie about a family of vampires trying to live in suburbia and not drink blood.

And it’s funny. It’s hopefully funny.

Hopefully. Yeah.

[humbledragon669]

S1E6 – The Very Last Day of the Rest of Their Lives P4 - from the departure of Shadwell and Madame Tracy

There are just under 10 minutes of this episode left at this point, so I’m hoping I can get this season pretty much wrapped up in this write up (not counting the write up of the opening credits, or the couple of bits I’m intending on doing around the book. Oh, or the work I’m intending on doing around the deleted scenes in the Script Book. Or on identifying differences between the Script Book and the end result. So y’know, so close to getting season 1 all wrapped up…). If I forget by the time I get to the end of it, I’ll just say thank you for sticking with me – I hadn’t really intended for any of these write-ups to be as comprehensive (waffling) as they are, but here I am, 64K words later, not even finished the first season. So, yeah, thanks and other such affectionate gratitudes.

There’s something to be said about Gabriel’s idea of what exactly the “greater good” is. He still seems to think that the “greater good” is little more than winning the argument against the legions of Hell, which seems quite ridiculous: imagine holding the outcome of an argument in higher regard than the consequences that the event of said argument would have. But then I suppose that’s largely what war is – two parties adamant that they’re right, trying to force the other to concede. We as the audience are likely to see the preposterousness of Gabriel’s stance in this particular instance because the consequences include the obliteration of the entire human race and the planet that they reside on. Still, the principal is the same, and ultimately I feel like world peace is entirely possible, in both the show and in real life, if people simply respected the right to an alternative point of view.

We also see the recurrence of a running theme in this scene – the idea that “what” you are defines your nature by default.

Don’t talk to me about the greater good, sunshine. I’m the Archangel Fucking Gabriel.

This statement is something akin to stating that all hedgehogs must, by default, be irritable (or… prickly… *tumbleweed* I’ll get my coat), and in fact we have come to understand that this ingrained attitude as to what constitutes a “good” or “bad” could actually, in and of itself, be construed as a “bad” quality to have, and that being capable of seeing nuance is an inherently “good” quality to have. The irony of that statement is almost philosophical, isn’t it? Still, we get to hear John Hamm use the F word, possibly proving that Aziraphale’s reluctance to use it isn’t necessarily because he’s an angel (which just hammers all of that point home even further).

Let’s take a quick look at a couple of things we see from Crowley (as Aziraphale) prior to his entering the Hellfire. Firstly, his use of the phrase “for Heaven’s sake”.

It’s a little different from the last time we saw Crowley using the same phrase.

I don’t know whether this much easier delivery of the same phrase is because he’s in Aziraphale’s body (issued to him by Heaven) or if he’s having to exercise a monumental amount of restraint as he says it. It doesn’t look like the latter, but he’s been doing a pretty good job of keeping his own mannerisms under control up to now, so why would this be any different? After all, the Hellfire reacts to the being that inhabits a body rather than to the original source for that body, so you’d think this principle would apply for other matters to.

The second thing I want to take a look at is this glance Crowley (as Aziraphale) takes at his captors before he steps into the Hellfire:

It’s so beautifully knowing. He knows full-well what’s about to happen as he steps in the column of flames: absolutely nothing. He’s checking in to make sure his cover is still intact before he takes his leap of faith.

There’s an interesting difference between the reactions from Heaven and Hell in the aftermath of the punishment being applied. Both parties are, understandably, terrified. Hell’s assessment of the situation is that Crowley has “gone native”, even going so far as to say he isn’t one of them anymore (I don’t really think he was ever truly “one of them” though, was he?). This is an accusation we have heard before, not always so explicitly stated, levelled at both Aziraphale and Crowley by their respective employers. In this instance, we are to take it that they think he has become human, or at least more human than demon. I don’t think the Heavenly hosts would be able to come to the same conclusion – presumably a human would be consumed by Hellfire just like an angel would. It’s my belief that their assumption, based on their accusation that he is a traitor to Heaven and therefore siding with Hell, is that he has somehow converted to a demon, or that he is on the way to becoming one. I find this difference interesting, as it suggests that, whilst Heaven still firmly believe the antithesis of their agenda lies in Hell, Hell in turn believes that the worst thing a being could possibly be is human. Stripping all of the philosophy and theology out of the situation, what’s important is that neither Heaven nor Hell are aware that a body swap scenario was a possibility, and both believe there has been a fundamental change in their accused.

I also find the individual responses of Crowley and Aziraphale (in their respective other half’s body) to the outcome of the punishments to be rather charming.

There’s something really special about knowing that, despite the work they’ve both done to make sure they’re acting as the other one would, they cannot help their true personalities from coming through when they’re enjoying themselves: Aziraphale (as Crowley) playing the situation with his intelligence and resulting wit, and Crowley (as Aziraphale) choosing instead to strike fear into his captors with harmless mischief (rather like we saw him do to the paintballer at Tadfield Manner).

Let’s talk Michael’s reaction to seeing (Aziraphale as) Crowley in the bath. Subtitle capitalisation is taken from the Script Book, rather than being my own emphasis.

I know I’ve seen this discussed in other posts, so I won’t dwell on it too much, I just wanted to acknowledge that firstly there is a definite question mark over the use of phrase here. Is it just an exclamation or is there something more subtextual going on? I vote the latter because… well because I’ve watched the show really. And I don’t think the scripted words are ever used without thought to their meaning, overt or otherwise. Secondly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a verbal reaction to Crowley’s presence containing the “L” word. Remember Paris, 1792?

Did I just use this tiny scripting point to so I could revisit that incredibly hot look Aziraphale gives Crowley in the Bastille? 100% I did. Sue me. However, there is an important difference here that the angel also uses the word “good” in his exclamation. I don’t think Aziraphale has ever truly considered Crowley to be anything other than at least a little bit good, so that does make a lot of sense.

Theirs is something of an odd paradox in Anathema burning the second volume of Agnes’s prophecies, isn’t there? Because Agnes, being the incredibly gifted psychic that she clearly was, should have foreseen that the copy given to Anathema after Armageddon is averted would be burned. So why send the box at all? More importantly, is there perhaps another copy that she wrote and kept somewhere else? There is a nice symmetry in Newt helping Anathema to burn the pages though, seeing as his ancestors have a history of burning her actual family members. I’m sure it’s meant to be symbolic that he’s present for the literal burning away of the things that tie Anathema to the past, and I can’t help but feel like his own unpleasant ancestral ties are being erased at the same time.

There is so much tying up of subtextual ends in Adam’s final scene, it’s rather difficult to know where to being. Let’s first address the non-so-subtextual confirmation that, at this point in time at least, he has retained some of his powers.  

We have a few more hints at the idea that people are forgetting what happened the day before, firstly when Wensleydale asks Adam what happened, and again with this line from Adam:

Tomorrow will be alright. They’ll have forgotten by then. They always do.

Then there is, of course, the reference not only to a garden, but of having to leave it, and that his leaving would be the result of a choice he makes to right a wrong. The informed choice that Adam makes here forms the ending of the book, and serves to prove God’s prophecy from the beginning of episode one:

It starts, as it will end, with a garden.

Adam’s choice to leave the garden is, without doubt, a comparison to the departure of Adam and Eve from the original Garden of Eden. The difference here is that they were forced to leave because they chose knowledge and free will, whereas Adam leaves through choice because he already has free will. The parallels between the two situations don’t stop there either – Adam (Young) is next to be seen taking an apple from a tree, which he is forbidden to do (because it’s not his to take. Technically stealing I suppose, but hey, he’s the ex-Antichrist, he’s done worse) after he leaves his own “garden”. He takes it willingly, and of his own accord, rather than having been tempted as Eve was.

We also hear God telling us that Adam has an awareness that “something” was ending. I think it’s likely the “something” being referred to here is the innocence of childhood, particularly as he has now been made all too aware of the potential cruelties of human nature. And lastly, we have a pretty strong statement being made, not only about the idea that knowledge should never be considered as being owned and should always be shared, but also that the cost of the acquisition of knowledge is always worth the sacrifice it took to get it.

He couldn’t see why people made such a fuss about people eating their apples, but life would be a lot less fun if they didn’t. And there never was an apple, in Adam’s opinion, that wasn’t worth the trouble you got into for eating it.

Quite beautiful really. That previous scene being the last we see of any of the characters other than Crowley and Aziraphale, we join the main couple in a park. By now it should be blatantly obvious that something is very different about both of them – their voices, speech, and (most obviously) postures are complete opposites of what we’re used to seeing from them. Crowley sitting bolt upright with his hands clasped in his lap whilst Aziraphale’s slouch is so severe it looks like he poured himself into the bench. What I love about this is that we’re being shown the extent to which both of them have had to fight to hide what comes most naturally to them. What’s even nicer to see is that they drop all hint of pretence now that they’re back in each other’s company again. And just so we can see how perfectly David and Michael are at copying each other, just observe how little movement there is between the before and after body swap reversal in their postures.

They each managed to set themselves up to sit like the other pretty much exactly. Very impressive. And of course, the red collar is back, which Crowley (as Crowley now – thank goodness I don’t have to keep writing those confusing sentences out anymore) actually draws attention to. It does make me wonder if the only purpose of the tartan collar was to have something tangible that could be pointed out after the fact. The change in tone of voice, speech, gait, and behaviours could be argued as objective, but a piece of material that’s a completely different colour? That can’t be argued as being fundamentally different from the norm. And it’s subtle, which I don’t think could have been achieved with something about Aziraphale’s outfit (for instance, changing his bow tie from tartan to red).

I think it’s so telling that it takes the pair of them next to no time at all to settle into their old comfortable ways. Aziraphale for instance, can hardly keep his eyes off Crowley once they’re restored to their normal bodily states. In fact, he’s back to flirting at the first opportunity. Check out this gorgeous little side eye and gooey gaze:

And he’s so desperate to tell Crowley what he did that was so clever. Almost like he would pop if he didn’t tell someone about it… We will of course later come to find out that this little personality trait is apparently one of the only reasons that Aziraphale calls Crowley, so it’s actually quite nice to see that this behaviour isn’t something he limits to interactions that aren’t in person. What his anecdote from Hell does tell us is that they do not have any access to the memories that were made in their own body during the body swap – they apparently go with the essence of the being that inhabited the body at the time the memories were formed.

I do not believe for a second that Crowley’s mention of “leaving the garden” is simply there to wrap up the story line. Both he and Aziraphale will be well aware of the connotations that go along with that statement, having been present when the original residents of the original Garden were forced into the wilderness. And whilst there’s a feeling that the angel and the demon are also wandering into the wilderness, they are doing so under their own free will, which they have actually been exercising for millennia. The difference now is twofold: firstly, they have no intention of returning to the false promise of safety that the garden (aka affiliation with a Heavenly or Hellish authority) proffers them. Secondly, their free will, and their choice to exercise it, is no longer forbidden, and whilst both Heaven and Hell may not approve of their friendship, relationship, or any other consequence of their free will, they no longer have any authority over them. They have in a very real sense of the word, been set free. Leaving the “garden” is really just a metaphorical way of them stretching their wings (no pun intended) before taking full flight into their newly gained freedom.

Ah, wasn’t that all really beautiful? Well, don’t get used to it, Crowley’s about to lower the tone.

Did ya see it? Let me see if I can make it a bit more obvious:

Maybe it’s me and my dirty mind, but that invitation to lunch looks like it comes with a much more personal invitation from Crowley… I mean, even if we disregard that fairly blatant “presentation” of what’s on the menu for Aziraphale, let’s remember that it’s my belief Crowley enjoys watching the angel eat. And yes, I do believe that watching Aziraphale eat is a sexual (or perhaps sensual) experience for him. So him asking the angel to go to lunch with him is far from an innocent invitation in my opinion. That last point is perhaps underlined by Crowley’s use of the word “tempt”, which he would have historically done to lessen or destroy the innocence of others. And Aziraphale has absolutely no hesitation in taking him up on the offer. So absent is his hesitance in fact that it seems to me that his acceptance of Crowley’s temptations is something he is very used to doing. *wink wink, nudge nudge*

It's my view that we would be foolish to think that this lunch at the Ritz is anything other than a date. We know that this is one of the things Aziraphale suggested that they do in that awful car conversation in 1967. We know that they have been there before on at least one occasion. Aziraphale’s choice of venue tells us everything that we need to know about things between the two of them being set to rights. I’m sure Aziraphale knows that his offer comes with un underlying offer of peace between them, and when you see Crowley’s reaction to the offer, I’m pretty sure that he knows it too. He looks impressed, a little surprised, but most of all, happy.

I don’t think I need to go over the song used in the soundtrack here. I know I have written a lot of words about this season, but I think that my running word count would look pretty pathetic if we were to count up all the words written about the choice of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square” being played at this particular point in the storyline. So let me simply highlight the particular part of the lyrics that make it the absolutely perfect choice as the closing song for this season:

There was magic abroad in the air There were angels dining at the Ritz And a nightingale sang in Berkeley Square

Right, that’s that addressed. Despite the fact that there are less than 2 minutes left in this episode, there’s still so much to talk about.

Aziraphale’s furtive glance at Crowley before the champagne is poured; the loving gaze he gives him to assure him that his assessment of him being a “good” is meant in love and not in animosity; Crowley’s acceptance of the compliment with his own look of resignation; Crowley’s loving gaze as he awaits the angel’s response to being told he’s a “bastard”; Aziraphale’s acceptance of the return compliment suggesting that it might just be the best thing anyone has ever said to him: all of these things are enough to melt my heart, but they are NOTHING compared to this:

Or perhaps, more precisely, this:

I said Aziraphale couldn’t take his eyes off Crowley, didn’t I? That lingering gaze he rests on his demon’s face after the toast is complete genuinely makes my stomach flip. It’s beyond gorgeous. And it would be horribly remiss of me not to talk about the toast itself. Aziraphale proposes they toast to the World. On a surface layer, this would appear to be in reference to the fact that they have just saved it. But. But. They look each other in the eyes when they’re actually making the toast. Because they are each other’s world. It might have sounded like the toast is in recognition of their part in saving the world, but really, it’s to them. I appreciate that this is probably going over old ground, but I need to get it written down so that the words can stop going around my head.

I do want to do a tiny bit of backtracking to look at the way that they compliment each other on being “good” and “bad”. It does not escape my attention that Aziraphale refers to Crowley as “a good person”. Not simply “good” or a “good demon”. A good person. I think this follows up on the conversation that they had with Adam in the time bubble, that they now think of themselves as closer to humans than to their respective ethereal beings. Not only that, but there are no more arguments between them about being a little bit good, or a little bit bad. I think this probably applies more to Aziraphale than to Crowley, but they’ve come to the full realisation that you don’t have to be all “good” or all “bad”. And with that realisation, comes the knowledge that each of them having their own “good” and “bad” qualities actually make them a better partnership, because they compliment each other so beautifully. They “cancel each other out”, as Crowley so eloquently said. He was only about 1000 years ahead of Aziraphale on that one. But most importantly, it’s the supposed “flaws” in their characters, the bits they’re not supposed to have, that actually interest and attracts them to each other.

As we leave our beloved pair, we see one last act of affection from each of them.

It’s so subtle. Not only does Aziraphale reach for Crowley across the table, he switches the champagne glass to his other hand in order to do it. He places the glass next to his right hand so that the hand closest to Crowley will always be free, presumably in an effort either to flirt with its presence near to something of Crowley’s (mind out of the gutter please, this is the Ritz) or to actually make contact. And Crowley’s returns the gesture with silent attentiveness. It’s so charming to see him just watch Aziraphale babble away, fixing his gaze on the angel’s face. At least that way it won’t be weird when he deliberately stares at him whilst he’s eating…

I have one last thing to say about this episode, and it’s actually about a character that we have been acquainted with from the very beginning of the show, yet observe so little about. It’s God. Sounds like a pretty bold statement about religion in general I know; it’s not meant to be. I’m not about to go off into some sort of religious diatribe about how the voice of God has been guiding the audience through the story blah blah blah (did I mention I’m Pagan?), I merely wanted to point out that God has been narrating this last part of the story of the demon and the angel that are in love. Does she sound disappointed or unapproving at all? She really does not. In fact, it sounds like she’s pleased. And when she talks about the nightingale in the Square, she sounds a little smug, proud almost. It makes me wonder if this was her way of blessing the partnership. And if she’s blessing it, doesn’t that mean it was all part of the Ineffable Plan in the first place? I guess that might come to light in season 3, but for now we’ll just have to wait and see…

You know the drill by now. Questions, comments, discussion: always welcome!

[mediumgayitalian]

Im writing a ficlet to post here on tumblr and I got inspired by ur writing but everytime I read the mere start it's just a big no no What do i do???

first of all send it my way if you like!! second of all you have a few options:

1. Just Keep Going

remember you can go back and fix things!! if you keep writing you’ll stumble into a flow, and then you can go back and edit the beginning or middle to fit your vision.

2. Fuck Beginnings

the number one obstacle i had with writint when i was first starting out is that i could never think of a damn beginning. even now i struggle with it. best way to handle that: fuck beginnings. wherever you have a scene, start: in the middle of an argument, the middle of a scene, hell, the middle of a damn sentence. wherever the start of your idea is is the start of your story! don’t force something that doesn’t exist. (that 10k will angst fic i just wrote? started w the sherman & will argument scene! i had Nothing beforehand! and you’ll notice a lot of my stuff starts in the middle of a conversation, cause it’s easier!*)

3. Start Over

sometimes i’ll try so hard to make something i’ve already written work, even if i’m stuck, because i’ve already sunk so much time in it that starting again feels like a waste of time. but, dude, trust me — if you’re that stuck, just start over. maybe not the whole damn piece, but you can definitely rewrite a paragraph or chapter. personally, i tend to cut and paste whatever isn’t working into a new doc so i don’t lose it (in case i manage to reuse it elsewhere) and then i begin again, with uncluttered space.

4. Post What You Have

i should really link y’all to the first post i ever made. it was Hot Stinky Garbage. i don’t care. it Helped, you know? it started me out. maybe your thing isnt perfect — post it anyway. maybe nobody cares — post it anyway. (took like two weeks for someone to care about what i was posting on this account, and i posted daily. my first fic had zero notes for eight days.) you might even find that you’re just being too hard on yourself!

5. Dialogue Prompts My Beloved

dialogue is so so easy for me to write. it’s WAY easier for me to script a conversation and then build facial expressions, emotions, actions, and intention behind it, because i never shut up! i have a lot of practice. as you may have noticed i’ve been using the @p0ck3tf0x 100 ways to say i love you list — i’ve put it in a spinner wheel lol. so i spin the wheel and write the prompt, then i don’t have to make a decision. if i don’t like what comes up i spin again.

good luck!! wish you all the best!!

*it is a thousand times easier to build exposition through context. example:

Kayla walked up to her brother, who was sitting morosely on the porch. “Hey, Will. You good?”

Will shrugged. “I’m okay.”

vs.:

“Will. Hey. You good?”

“‘M okay.” He tried for a smile. “Thanks though, Kayla.”

see the difference? in the first, i am outright telling you that 1) kayla is walking over to will 2) he is sitting on the porch 3) he is sad 4) he is answering her question. this are all stated things, either by the narrator or by the dialogue. this is clunky! this is so clunky!

but why?

you know all these things. you know ‘hey’ is a greeting — so obviously kayla is newly approaching will. kayla calls will by name — you know who she’s talking to. will mumbles, and ‘tries for a smile’ — both things that indicate he’s feeling morose. he responds to kayla by name, so you know who he’s responding to. when you over-explain or state too much in your writing, you’re telling your readers twice, which can feel awkward.

[createwithintent]

My fav manifesting methods

For the girlies who enjoy variation in their manifestation process

Scripting

Supplies: pen, paper (pref a notebook or js ur notes app)

Scripting is basically when you write out your manifestations in the past tense, e.g.: "I recently went shopping with my mom" or "my dad recently gave me 100 € to go shopping!" While also trying to describe how you feel in that described moment. So it'd be something like "I'm so happy, today I went to the beach with my friends, we went thrifting, picked shells and got ice cream together, I am so grateful to spend time with them."

An important sidenote is to be grateful, seeing that gratitude is an important aspect of manifestation (at least it is in my manifestation process) because the universe can't deny a grateful person. (in my personal belief)

And to expand on this, here's a method I've been using these past days (I dont know where I got this idea from though)

Writing letters

Another cool method is to write texts/letters in your SP's name or to get a specific desire.

For example: Dear Elle (my name) we of so and so are glad to let you know that you have been admitted to our [desire]!

And you can vary on this! Say I want someone to apologise to me, I can just write something out in my notes or a physical sheet of paper and either get rid of it (or keep it, you do you!) And boom! You just manifested your desire!!

Pretending to be a narrator in a story

This method basically entails that you pretend to be e.g. an all-knowing narrator of a story that draws out a scene of a character(s) and adds a description. (Like the one from Eah!)

(Maybe add a twist and pretend to be a sassy side character in an early 2000s TV show that just saw the two MCs kiss and is ab to spread rumors— just get creative.)

So it's pretty much a fanfic on crack except it actually comes to life because we're all master manifesters ✨️

Oh and if you can't draw just manifest that you can draw‐

And if you don't wanna put too much effort into this, just draw stick men or items to represent your desires/specific people :P

This also relates to scripting

Vision boards

Supplies: use either Pinterest or an in-person scrapbook with magazine cutouts and drawings

I feel like this mostly speaks for itself, after all: an image says more than a thousand words.

Seeing your desire in an image can help your brain kinda 'target' your desire.

Your brain doesn't know the difference between reality and imagination so essentially you're gaslighting yourself into a specific idea/mindset/etc.

Also here's an example of one of my personal vision boards which i used to manifest all As for my finals last year.

Simonesquared and Fernanda Ramirez both have amazing videos and explanations on these topics, i suggest watching them to get a better idea on making vision boards. (Tho i might just make a masterlist with different links/explanations/deets sometime!)

Subliminals/affirmation tapes

Supplies:earbuds/headphones (optional), any device

If you've been in this community for long enough I'm sure you know what they are and if not here's a brief explanation.

Then there are affirmation tapes, these are the same as subliminal except the affirmations are meant to be heard to be get picked up by your conscious mind as well.

If you haven't used any before, here are some subliminal creators that put out amazing content and deserve each snd every ounce of support!

Slade (all pronouns) they practice Indian folk and also make subs that are shifting-related (for my shifters out there), though their subs don't contain any witchcraft unless specifically mentioned.

Moza morph is a medical student who makes subs, the benefits of her subliminals are thought out very well and quite descriptive. She makes great content regarding manifestation and the workings of subliminals too.

Baejin cafe and mii! both make a wide variety of subliminals but their school and grade related subliminals are popular for very good reasons!

Guided meditations

Supplies: a device, earbuds/headphones (I recommend using these for a better immersive experience)

A brief explanation on meditation can be found here.

Even though i dont use this method as often, i notice that it helps my focus and gives me clarity therefore I highly suggest it to others new in the game.

Here are some favs (YouTube links)

Guided meditation for meeting your future self

Guided meditation for self love

Also this one by Joe dispenza just because he's the goat

Visualization

Supplies: just you and your brain

I consider this by far the easiest manifestation method since you can do it literally anywhere.

It's pretty much just daydreaming about your desires, and if you're particularly into it you can listen to some music with lyrics that is aligned with your goals. (For example: I listen to Lucky girl by Carlina to enhance my lucky girl syndrome while daydreaming)

And it doesn't necessarily have to be based on your sight, if you can delusion yourself into hearing your SP's heartbeat, or condition yourself into smelling your fav flowers in the living room, then you're good!

(Sometimes when I'm watching a TV show that's one of my DRs I also visualize my highest self randomly chiming in or saying or doing something I'd say)

That's all for today!

And remember

If you have it in your imagination, it's already yours.

Stay educated and hot

With love

Elle 🤍

[thelastharbinger]

Tidbits of ATSV That I Enjoyed (Or Alternatively: Just Miles Being The Most Endearing Spidey Ever)

Miles patting The Spot's head after successfully webbing him (I don't see this as condescending, but rather him still engaging with the humanity of a villain like Spot) and ~very assertively~ telling/asking him not to escape.

"I'm like Robin Hood-if he gave to himself."

Miles' spidey senses going off when he arrives late to his dad's party because there's nothing more frightening than Brown parents when they're mad at you. Beware the chancla or correa!

O.k. So we all know there are different versions of the movie out there. You may already know that one of the slight differences is when Miles goes to save Inspector Singh. There's a version where you can hear Gwen's voice in the distant background yelling no! when she thinks Miles gets crushed under the rubble, and there's another where she's silent as she webs to him. Now, I have found ANOTHER version (online) where her shouting is even more at the forefront. She's practically screaming and sounds more desperate, (prolly because it's close to the same way her Peter Parker died so she's reliving trauma) and the fear in her voice is palpable. That one haunts me.

Jefferson trying to equate studying for his police exams to childbirth, which Rio quickly nips in the bud.

Ganke having a soccer poster of Son Heung Min, a famous Korean footballer who currently plays for the Premier League Tottenham Hotspur and is captain of the South Korean national team.

Miles having a Sashimi (his universe's version of Supreme, but I just like the idea that Miles loves eating sashimi. Like I know that kid has good taste in food) poster in his bedroom.

The fact that Miles kept in touch with Aunt May for long enough after the events of ITSV that he helps her move.

The Spot saying he was one of the more handsome scientists at Alchemax according to his colleagues.

Miles and Gwen having the same collectible toys, the only difference being that he keeps his in the box and she doesn't.

"Hey, don't try to wow me with big words, man," *in deep manly voice* "I do crosswords every day"- Miles after Spot points out Alchemax as "the crucible of our connection!"

Miles going, "This job is so dumb sometimes" after he tries to web Spot at the deli, but it goes through a hole and lands on his face.

"Nahhh, he seems more Dominican to me." Kinda want Miles to meet a native Dominican Spidey because that dynamic would highkey fuck hard *pun not intended*. They would repair relations between our two islands-PR&DR.

"Almost there Mami *smiley face* *cowboy* prayer hands*"

The college admissions coach at Visions Academy straight up saying, "That's your story! Now, just stick to the script..." Ma'am what???

"Calmate Mami, eso no es my fault."

"I've hit a lot of different villains with a lot of different food...I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

Miles in his angsty teen era and smart-mouthing everyone around him. Love that for him.

"He almost killed his mom as a baby, I mean, look at those shoulders." No but for real tho. Those shoulders are as wide as a truck. Kim Seokjin who??? (if you understood that reference, ily).

Miles writing a love letter to his dad in 2 cakes.

Gwen at the water tower chowing and saying how feelings make her hungry after her and Miles talked about how they can't be together cause it would end in tragedy. Like Gwen, come again?!

Also, Miles' and Gwen's talk at the Williamsburg Bank Building being lowkey the catalyst for the 2nd/3rd acts of the film. Without them both kind of silently admitting their feelings for each other, Miles probably wouldn't have chased after her the way he did. Pretty sure you know the rest.

"I bet she doesn't even speak Spanish," and Jeff going "Que barbaridad" in his very broken Spanish. Queue Rio's bombastic side eye.

Both Gwen and Miles referring to Spot as a Villain Of The Week, even though neither of them have spoken about Spot to each other.

"I was bitten by a-wouldnt you like to know? Know what I mean?" SIR. Chill. This movie is for children.

The Spot inverting himself, going from a white mass with black spots to a gaping black hole with smaller white spirals. It's giving Junji Ito.

The irony of Pavitr exclaiming, "Well that was another easy adventure for Spider-Man!" right before an incoming canon event. HIS. He was about to experience his first big loss, and his happy-go-lucky nature would've been challenged.

Miguel saying conyo! when all the Spideys start pointing at each other.

"!Cállate!" "Nosy!" Sidebar: we don't talk about Gwen's banter with bad guys enough. She's so funny!

A lot of the Peters saying hi to Gwen as she passes HQ because she is canonically the one lost love--the love interest they all would've ended up with had she not died, so they all have an affection for her.

Web-Slinger going "Giddy up!" Cause he's swinging up.

Miles offering his fresh new takes on how to deal with the Spot upon meeting Miguel, saying "He just wants to be taken seriously. Like we all do." MILES YOU BEAUTIFUL, COMPASSIONATE GOLDEN SUNFLOWER BOY I LOVE YOUUUUU.

Hobie referring to Peter B. as Humbling Reality Spider-Man, which considering how steeped in tragedy the Spidey lore is, is really saying something.

Miguel's nonono no puedo más no puedo más. His misery is very funny and delightful to me. Little bitch ass.

"You know you're the only Spider-Man who isn't funny." Yes! More Miguel slander in the next one, please! Little bitch ass.

"Snitch!"

Miles shouting out Peter's name for help whilst Miguel pins and lays into him the fact that he's an anomaly. This after he momentarily glitches back to his ITSV store-bought suit. Mimicking the way-in also the first movie-Miles shouting out Peter's name for his own rescue as Doc Ock attacks him at the research facility. Because even though he feels hurt by Peter at this point, that's still his dad mentor and he still instinctively looks to him for protection. Rip my heart out why don't you!

Gwen sneaking back into her and her dad's place just to get that printed polaroid of her and Miles, a pic she already has on her phone.

Earth-42 Miles wearing Nike while our Miles wears Jordans.

[themonotonysyndrome]

i can’t stop thinking about how castin must’ve felt when he was falling/in love with the baroness. how do you think he felt? or how he tried to express it? like did he watch from afar or try to do little things? i’m imagining him in a room with us, rhett and him came in and we both immediately tried to leave, but rhett told them both to stay, and now he’s just watching us interact with people and he’s just like “damn. i messed up.” or something like that.

i love lovesick castin.

so some headcanons on how he felt/what he did when he was falling or just already in love with the baroness?

i’m imagining him in a room with us, rhett and him came in and we both immediately tried to leave, but rhett told them both to stay, and now he’s just watching us interact with people and he’s just like “damn. i messed up.”

Yoooooo! Anon! You were close to what happened in Castin's Prologue audio! Rhett did try to smooth things out between Castin and the Baroness by making them play a game together, but then Castin messed up near the end by hiding his true feelings and pretending to be all manly Intacian warrior, and that pisses off the Baroness, lol.

But... hmm... perhaps instead of headcanons, lemme try to write a oneshot about Castin slowly falling in love with the Baroness:

-

Rhett, who is at the patio, is watching Castin, who is watching the Baroness from behind a tree, who, in turn, is watching the wild rabbits frolicking about with her entourage.

What a hilarious sight they all make!

With a sigh, Rhett sneaks up behind Castin and whispers, "Brother, this is pathetic. Just go talk to her already."

Castin must be out of it because he nearly screams when he realises Rhett is standing behind him. The warrior quickly crouches down before the Baroness can notice. The King is utterly unimpressed when he immediately pulls Rhett to the ground with him.

"What are you doing here!? I thought you were with the Queen!?" Castin hisses. His cheeks are red, embarrassed at getting caught. At this moment, it feels like the two of them are boys sneaking behind their parents' backs. A pair of impish friends without the weight of the world on their shoulders. It's nice.

"I could say the same for you." Rhet whispers back, deadpan. "You've been stalking the Baroness for days now. It's sad. I'm feeling sad just looking at you. Do something about it before the entire country notices how much you're pining after her."

"P-Pining!? Over her!? Eww! Brother, eww! What's that?"

"By the Goddess, Castin! This is no time for memes. You've never had any trouble sauntering your way into a group of women before, so why now?"

"That's different! She's not fun like them. She's a nerd and you know how pissed off they can get."

"I believe you've already pissed her off the moment the two of you met each other. Now the truth, please."

Castin grumbles and looks away from Rhett in favour of the Baroness. Apparently, one of her friends manages to coax a skittish rabbit to come closer with some veggies. When the Baroness' eyes widen with delight as the bunny hops onto her lap, Castin engraves it into his memories. Rhett nows a lovesick expression when he sees one and 'subtle' has never been in Castin's dictionary.

"She's... she's different. She isn't like other people." Castin finally confesses. "Not you, Not Ma, not Lilia - no one. She keeps to herself even when she's there with her friends, but then there's these little moments that bits of her peeks through, you know? And when she laughs! Look!"

As if the world has scripted it to be, Rhett and Castin watch in amazement as the stoic Baroness laughs when the rabbit kisses her nose. Even her friends stare at her in surprise.

Rhett blinks while Castin lets out a long, heavy sigh. This goes beyond simple crushes; his best friend might truly be in love for the very first time! And if he's too scared to approach her then -

"I have an idea! Leave it to me, Castin. I know of a game that can get her to talk to you."

[thana-topsy]

Ok, gosh, sorry to pester but your response got me actually sorta tempted to maybe give writing atleast a small fic a try. So I've got a fair lotta experience with running and playing ttrpgs and I imagine there's *some* skill overlap (Both kinda being in a roundabout way narrative writing, just as a group) and, well, wondering if you have any tips and tricks for fic writing? I know I really struggle with character dialogue when I'm writing both sides of it 😅

YASSS LET'S GO!! Fic writing time!!! (And don't worry, you're not pestering me. If anything you've infected me with Minotaur Brain).

Okay, this is about to get long, so apologies in advance. You've unleashed the beast.

I actually went from playing and running TTRPG to fic-writing because I had more ideas than any single game of DND could possibly contain. I wanted these stories out of my head and I wanted complete control. (Do I have control issues? Maybe~ But only when it comes to impatience. I didn't want to have to wait on people to make story decisions, damn it!) So I can say that, yes, there's absolutely some overlap that'll come in handy!

Ahhh character dialogue. I know a lot of people struggle with that exact mechanic, so you're not alone. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I have the boon of having conversations with myself pretty constantly lol. Dialogue comes very naturally for me, and is one of my favorite things to write. I'd say just pay attention to how you speak to people, how people speak to you, and keep in mind that two people talking are going to have different motivations and interpretations of the conversation. It can feel intimidating, but the #1 thing to prioritize is knowing your characters inside and out. Their responses in dialogue will come naturally if you know their personality well.

As far as external sources, I follow a lot of "On Writing" type channels on YouTube, and I'll link a few of my favorites: Hello Future Me has a whole playlist of writing tips and tricks, but his entire channel is just lovely. For dialogue specifically, I gotta recommend this video, which I've watched plenty. (Also he has videos on The Elder Scrolls!) The Closer Look tends to focus on movies and scripts more than written work, but one of the best ways to get better at writing is to critique all types of storytelling media. (Critique as in look critically at what makes a story successful, not just shit on popular media for fun). Brandon Sanderson is an absolute master of fantasy fiction and has a WEALTH of videos on youtube. His playlist on writing advice is great for bite-sized nuggets of knowledge, but also he has entire college-level lectures available for free on youtube. Shit's amazing.

I also love watching channels, like Cari Can Read, that read and discuss popular books. It's entertaining, and also a good example of what to do, and often what not to do, in a story lmfao.

I've also read many many books on writing techniques. "How Fiction Works" by Oakley Hall is probably my all-time favorite.

I hope this helps you get a good start! But at the end of the day, just write! Technique can come later. Get some words down and see where the story takes you. Worry about the craft later. As they always say, you can't edit a blank page.

Best of luck, my friend, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with. 🙏

[caltropspress]

RAPS + CRAFTS #24: NAHreally

1. Introduce yourself. Past projects? Current projects?

I’m NAHreally, an MC and beatmaker from Massachusetts currently living in Jersey City, NJ. I’ve been releasing music as NAHreally since 2016. My most recent album is called BLIP. It’s a collaborative album produced entirely by the Irish producer The Expert. Before that, I put out two self-produced projects called HACKINAWAY and Loose Around The Edges. Before those, I put out 5 tapes entitled TAPE through TAPE 5.

2. Where do you write? Do you have a routine time you write? Do you discipline yourself, or just let the words come when they will? Do you typically write on a daily basis?

I turn rhymes and lines over in my head everywhere I go all day long, but the central hub of my writing is my desk at home. Nothing is final until it reaches the desk. I don’t have a routine or consider myself all that disciplined—I just write when I find the time to. I work toward writing every day, but probably only sit down specifically to write two or three times a week (more when I’m lucky).

3. What’s your medium—pen and paper, laptop, on your phone? Or do you compose a verse in your head and keep it there until it’s time to record?

Lately I’ve been using the notes section of my DAW (Logic) in the project I’m going to record into. Sometimes I’ll write a whole song in there. Other times I’ll start in a notebook, continue on the phone, then compile everything in that DAW notes section. I typically have my verses memorized by the time I record, but when I don’t, it’s easy to pull up and read as I go. Plus, it helps keep me organized.

4. Do you write in bars, or is it more disorganized than that?

I write in bars and quatrains.

5. How long into writing a verse or a song do you know it’s not working out the way you had in mind? Do you trash the material forever, or do you keep the discarded material to be reworked later?

As early as right away and as late as album sequencing. I’ll sometimes salvage a handful of lines from an abandoned song, but generally the stench of abandonment keeps me away.

6. Have you engaged with any other type of writing, whether presently or in the past? Fiction? Poetry? Playwriting? If so, how has that mode influenced your songwriting?

My day job involves a lot of writing and editing—nonfiction educational video scripts and even rap lyrics. This type of writing has greatly influenced the clarity of my rhymes. I want my lyrics to be immediately digestible, and my day job has helped me with that a lot.

7. How much editing do you do after initially writing a verse/song? Do you labor over verses, working on them over a long period of time, or do you start and finish a piece in a quick burst?

I edit as I go. It’s rare for me to move on to a new line until the one I’m working on feels final in both content and delivery. This can leave me stuck on a single line for hours and sometimes months. When I do know what’s coming after a line, I’ll make a note but almost never start writing anything in earnest. In some cases, when I finally write the line, it can strike me as a better fit for one or two lines later. When that happens, I move it down and get back to work on the set up.

Because of this approach, the only editing that really happens after a verse is written is to achieve a different shade of meaning through certain words or because I realize the flow could be cleaner or more interesting.

In some cases, particularly with more conceptual songs, I’ll write out what I’m trying to say in prose then make it rhyme.

8. Do you write to a beat, or do you adjust and tweak lyrics to fit a beat?

A big part of my writing process is rapping aloud, so I almost always write to a beat (though it may not be the beat I end up recording over).

9. What dictates the direction of your lyrics? Are you led by an idea or topic you have in mind beforehand? Is it stream-of-consciousness? Is what you come up with determined by the constraint of the rhymes?

The first line tends to dictate the direction of my lyrics. In my mind, once you have a great first line, the song is basically written—it’s just a matter of trial and error until you find the rest. That first line often determines whether a song will have a topic or be a little more random. Occasionally I’ll pick a topic ahead of time, but usually it’ll stem from a more naturally occurring bit of writing.

My opinion on rhyming changes depending on what I’m trying to do. If I’m writing in a stream-of-consciousness mode, those rhymes better be unique and interesting. But when I’m looking to communicate information, I’ll take whatever rhyme I can in the name of clarity.

10. Do you like to experiment with different forms and rhyme schemes, or do you keep your bars free and flexible?

Free and flexible mostly, but I’ve been in a tinkering mood lately. We’ll see if anything sticks.

11. What’s a verse you’re particularly proud of, one where you met the vision for what you desire to do with your lyrics?

“That Many of ’Em” on BLIP. The experience of being inundated with information and opinions is practically universal and yet it’s hard to discuss without sounding like a whiny baby. I think I did OK here:

Where do people find these opinions On every last thing that’s outside of their dominion? I mean, the way they pull them out of thin air Makes me worry my opinion-having muscle is impaired. I’m confronted by opinions on a litany Of subjects daily, and it’s starting to get to me. It’s so hard to find out what’s taken place Without first working backwards through a bunch of hot takes. And I’m so damn inundated That it’s difficult to tell which opinions I’ve created In my own head and which ones were osmosis. Also, there’s this collective psychosis That makes pedestrians opine like a pundit On big picture things about which they know nothing. Fantasy GMs and political junkies Will write War and Peace on smooth vs. chunky. Too much cable news. Expertise brutally murdered by YouTube. I feel surrounded by a vocal minority Whose willingness to speak is their only authority. But squeaky wheels get grease And comments and likes and of course retweets. It appears we’ve made sane people retreat By handing the megaphone to these opinionated freaks.

But I don’t think there’s that many of ’em, And I don’t wanna know any of ’em. But it feels like there’s plenty of ’em, But I don’t think there’s that many of ’em.

12. Can you pick a favorite bar of yours and describe the genesis of it?

This section is from “Civic” on Loose Around The Edges:

In a Civic bumpin’ Misfits. Number one in your heart, two on your shit list. I’m an interesting fact not a statistic. One of my friends is related to Michael Chiklis.

Like I said, when I’m going stream-of-consciousness, the rhyme matters more. “Misfits,” “shit list,” and “statistic” were already there. When I try to think of rhymes—particularly multisyllabic ones—I form the sound(s) with my mouth over and over. Real words, gibberish, whatever comes out—just something that might make a light bulb go off that leads me to the right rhyme. I don’t actually remember it, but I’m sure that’s how I landed on “Michael Chiklis” (famous actor and my friend’s semi-distant relative). 

So there the line was: “One of my friends is related to Michael Chiklis.” It’s the type of mundane thing that might make you say “oh wow” in idle conversation but not really anything you’d find in a rap song. There’s just something so funny and exciting to me about transporting a throwaway tidbit like that into an unfamiliar and absurd context. On top of that, the preceding three lines are all a bit unexpected in their own right, so there’s a sort of build up leading to the oddest possible payoff—something I love to watch people react to in real time when I perform this song live.

13. Do you feel strongly one way or another about punch-ins? Will you whittle a bar down in order to account for breath control, or are you comfortable punching-in so you don’t have to sacrifice any words?

I can rap all of my verses straight through. I don’t do punch-ins, but I do often comp portions of multiple full-verse takes together to create a final Franken-take. I rap the entire time I write (out loud in private or just above silently in public), so lines I can’t rap get changed immediately. For what it’s worth, I have nothing against people who punch in.

14. What non-hiphop material do you turn to for inspiration? What non-music has influenced your work recently?

When I was writing BLIP, I read a lot of Kurt Vonnegut, slightly less George Saunders, and a little Joan Didion. The Expert also sent me a monster playlist of what he considers well-written non-rap songs. Some highlights: “Depreston” by Courtney Barnett, “Lah-Di-Dah” by Jake Thackray, “I’d Rather Dance With You” by Kings of Convenience, and “Cult Boyfriend” by Jeffrey Lewis. My favorite non-rap songwriter lately is Jonathan Richman.

15. Writers are often saddled with self-doubt. Do you struggle to like your own shit, or does it all sound dope to you?

I oscillate between not-quite-crippling self-doubt and utter certainty that I’m one of the best rappers ever (with several stops in between).

16. Who’s a rapper you listen to with such a distinguishable style that you need to resist the urge to imitate them?

Homeboy Sandman.

17. Do you have an agenda as an artist? Are there overarching concerns you want to communicate to the listener?

I don’t think so, but as the years have passed I’m less and less sure.

RAPS + CRAFTS is a series of questions posed to rappers about their craft and process. It is designed to give respect and credit to their engagement with the art of songwriting. The format is inspired, in part, by Rob McLennan’s 12 or 20 interview series.

Photo credit: Noah Anthony Mezzacappa

[midnightraine131]

Hello hello Raine!

2 in Hiding in Plain Sight (yes, I'm eager to know!), 4 (also HiPS), 7 (HiPS and Love Letters), 9 (Love Letters), 16, 22, 24

Hi Anna! It's been so long!

Thanks for the ask. 🥰

2. What are the endgames for everyone?

[Hiding in Plain Sight] I have three major pairings in this fic. I will try my best to answer this question without spoiling too much. 🤐

Jeanpiku - they will soon find the right time to grow. Someone needs to learn to let go.

Eremika - Everything Eren does has a reason, and most of it is to protect his besties. He's planning a getaway, but he can only save one.

Aruani - being forcefully separated with all the disappointments, heartaches, miscommunications, trust issues, and being done with his overwhelming fame. Someday, somehow, in the cold asphalt of Manhattan where they first found each other, one will kneel down with a diamond ring on hand.

4. What is the hardest to write in Hiding in Plain Sight?

Definitely courtroom scenes. Although I have a handful of mock trial scripts, I still spend two or three rounds revising them to make them sound natural. So yes, I'm still writing HiPS, but now at a slower pace because things are getting serious after Chapter 10.

7. Which chapter was the most fun to write/which chapter has been the most fun so far to write?

[Hiding in Plain Sight] I think the part in chapter 9 where Armin serenaded Annie. I was really imagining Armin playing a tiny ukulele with Louis Tomlinson's voice, lol. I was dancing and smiling the whole time I wrote that part, so it's kind of a mess.

I also enjoy writing Annie and Adelaine's interactions. Although Annie keeps telling herself that she's unlikeable, deep inside, she wants to be friends with Adelaine. She's like me. I'm always awkward around kids, so...

[Love Letters] I have used a different writing style in 'Love Letters.' It's simpler and has a teenage vibe to it. So it was easy to write, as if I'm working on a teen romance series for Netflix. I've had fun writing chapters 1 to 4 so far.

9. How did you get inspired to write this?

[Love Letters] I've always wanted to write about teenage Aruani and first loves, but I couldn't seem to come up with something different. So one sleepless night, I recalled an awful experience I had a year ago at the church we used to attend and decided to draft it. Then I came up with an idea to make it a fic, deciding that Armin's character will be based on a true story about one of my friends and how the church people burnt their group leaders out. It was cruel, so I will make Armin cry here. Disclaimer: I have nothing against any churches, but its people, and I'm married to a Christian.

16. Least favourite ship to write for?

I think it's eremika. I love both Eren and Mikasa, but I feel like I've neglected them in 'Hiding in Plain Sight.' I will make up for it. I promise.

22. Something you wished you included afterwards?

[Hiding in Plain Sight] During the dinner at Annie's house, I had originally planned for Eren to interrogate Armin about his thing with Annie to the point of pinning him against the bathroom wall. I found it funny but unnecessary, so I removed the entire scene. I think it's already obvious to everyone that Armin and Annie's relationship is more than just business.

24.Do you prefer multichapter fic or oneshots?

I'll go for a multichapter fic because I've always wanted to have something to look forward to writing about, and I play the scenes in my head like a movie.

If I do oneshots, that will probably porn without plot. 🫢

[dykesynthezoid]

Best part is the disaster KK3 script happened because Kamen couldn't convince producers to make his time travel story, so he left. The guy they hired to write that script was so bad, they paid Kamen to come back and write something else and so the legend BEGAN

God can you imagine if we had two regular karate kid movies which, sure, push suspension of disbelief in mild ways here and there but are still very much character-driven contemporary stories, and then all of a sudden the third installment had time travel. Bc. It would’ve been wild

I would’ve LOVED if it was done in the flavor of magical realism tho. That honestly sounds really intriguing and I would’ve eaten it up

(Also love the idea of Kamen finally coming back and being like FINE I will write you a different movie but I’m NOT happy about it)

I also think I have an inclination not to be too hard on the tkk3 first draft just because it is, after all, a first draft. And I can see the through-lines and there are elements that I do really love, but in keeping any of that it would still need some pretty major revising.

And also the way narratives were changing in the late 80s makes a bunch of other thoughts swirl around my head too of like, ok I can see how they were trying to keep up with the times but it still wasn’t really working…. American media in the late 80s was really going through this sort of “edgy” period that’s hard to articulate (it was different than the later post-9/11 grimdark era, but also much more sincere and less self-aware than what came later in the 90s). Idk I guess when I read that script (and also, honestly, watch tkk3 itself even though it’s a completely different story) I go “oh, I can see how we arrived here culturally even if this itself is far from perfect”

But it’s funny that both the first draft and final product feel so fundamentally products of their time given that, ironically, it was originally gonna be about time travel lmao

[cookierunrebaked]

Progress Update (05/15/2023)

There's no traditional weekly updates this week, unfortunately; this is for a good reason, however! In case you didn't see last week, we've been running a poll that involved a lot of meta restructuring how to handle artwork (and to a lesser extent, writing) for the sake of the two currently extant issues. In essence, a very, very heavy amount of housekeeping that calls for a little bit more attention than usual.

Said poll also ends at Monday 2PM… Usually our weekly progress update time. So, writing ahead is fairly difficult, isn't it? But, of course, that doesn't mean I didn't try--and so this now doubles as an announcement of sorts!

So, as you might be aware, that poll to go forward with the plan did indeed pass. So, here's what's gonna happen:

The writing process will mostly happen in issue specific channels, still.

Within a few days, we will be sharing the scripts available pages for both of the stories, in their entirety. We'll be posting them in #solidified-ideas on the Discord.

As new pages are finished, we'll share them in the discord wholesale as well.

Sketches are first-come, first-serve; that being said, if an artist takes up and abandons a sketch, we'll consider it free.

We'll still be summarizing new page scripts for the weekly progress updates, simply because that's fun, and people on the Tumblr might not have seen them.

Weekly progress updates will, when applicable, contain an image or two of panel sketches.

At any rate, however… As a bonus, have a teaser for Page 16 of City of Wizards, even despite how different this is from usual! I did say I'll keep doing these for the sake of the Tumblr, so I will.

Panel 1: Similar shot to Pg15/Panel 4, 3/4ths view of Cinnamon and Wizard beside one another, Cinnamon looking nervous while Wizard is *trying* to keep his cool. A sihouette of a spoon is looming ominously, distinctly between them. Cinnamon is holding the Magic Powder in his hands. <A Side: Cinnamon: "I... Had a feeling it wasn't going to be so easy, I just didn't wanna say anything." | B-Side: Wizard: "...I had a hunch something was up.>

[gwhite2by2]

Project Evaluation

For this project I originally wanted to have a much bigger focus on narrative, I do normally have some narrative elements but it never really wrote any scripts or clearly outlined anything and that was something I wanted to do for this project but ultimately didn’t get a whole lot done on that side mostly because it wasn’t what I wanted to do it, I didn’t enjoy it and instead just wanted to keep working away on unreal and the dialogue I didn’t write wasn’t any better than normal mostly because I wasn't properly engaged in it being my main focus. One place where I did move on from old habits was the use of AI generated music for the game instead of using existing songs as it helped me differentiate my world and idea from the music that helped me come up with it and I learnt how to efficiently make use of boomy’s tools to generate music that fits as well as music can fit for it being generated and not made by a person. This also helped me reach the collaboration requirement of this project even if it was at a small level as I was worried about being able to get something on that side of the project.

I think I did a better job this project than I have on my previous year 2 projects of just simply making it clear what my design decisions behind mechanics of the game where and why I thought they would work particularly with the dual item system which I think is much better and more thought out item system than I had in some of my previous projects. I also think that although I didn’t get nearly as far into it or as much done with it as I’d hoped that the concept I’d come with was cool, unique and fit both the 2 by 2 and Noah's ark themes in a cool way. The original concept also fit the collaboration brief with NPC’s helping out but in the end I didn’t have time to implement those mechanics so I’m a little bit disappointed by that but I know that the ideas were there and that I mentioned them in my blog. In terms of actually meeting the collaboration aspect of the brief I think I spent too much time researching different AI tools and talking about how would use them in game instead of actually just implementing the game and by the end I had some surface level visual inspirations implemented as well as two AI generated pieces of music that I think came out all right. I think using AI over directly working in a team was the right choice for me personally and AI music in particular I think I will be using for future projects but I could’ve done a better job of directly implementing that into the games itself which is something I’ll be trying to do in future.

I think that I got overly ambitious with this project and expected myself to have a much larger game by the end of the project and instead I feel like I have an unbalanced half finished demo but when I look back and remember that I’ve only had 4 weeks Instead of the usually roughly 6 and remember where I was at 4 weeks into previous projects I realize that I have done pretty well and just got overly ambitious with the concept. I do however think at the same time that I could’ve had a much cleaner more solid game if I had some point during the project tempered down what I wanted to get done and just focused more on certain elements instead of wasting time trying to get myself to write dialogue on slides which I really didn’t enjoy doing that I could’ve made something more cohesive and finished. My final outcome only really meets my project proposal as like a demo of what I envisioned but still meets the majority of the requirements I set for myself. 

I think the biggest thing I learnt from this project is that I just really don't like writing dialogue in the template that I had set up for myself which sounds like a small silly thing but I spent a lot more time that I should’ve just trying to get myself to get on it with a write which led to it feeling forced and unenjoyable. One thing that was a big negative for this project but will be great for FMP is that I just felt disconnected from this project and didn’t feel that attached to the idea which led to decreased motivation for it which was mainly due to the fact I already had an idea for my FMP that I’m very much in love with and wanted to start work on immediately but didn’t use for this project due to the fact I wanted te longer development time of the FMP to work on it. This means that I almost definitely won’t have the same lack of motivation for my FMP as I did for this project since I’m so excited about the idea and I want to bring it to life to the absolute best of my ability. Another thing that I think contributed to the lack of motivation was thinking about the scope of my idea and looking at how much time I had left just made particular mechanics feel daunting to start and made just getting on with much harder and the fact that I’d made very similar mechanics in the past made it feel more like repetitive work rather than the usual fun desperation to see my ideas brought to life although those repeated mechanics were what I wanted for the game. These are all problems I don’t think I’l have for my FMP just because of my excitement for the idea, the longer development time and the fact that it will be very differently structurally and mechanically from previous projects which means I’m giving myself fresher mechanically ideas to think about.

Overall I think this a project that I should be proud of since I made a lot of progress in visual effects, music, art direction and much cleaner implementation of mechanics but I ultimately just don’t and feel like it could’ve been so much more and that there was a lot of missed potential, especially with the sequel template but I am happy enough that the game is in a decent state and I can soon move onto FMP which I am very excited about and I think will go incredibly well as I haven’t been this excited about an idea since my year 1 FMP which came out well for the same reasons.