#what about alexander and the terrible horrible no good very bad day

[patchw0rk-quilt]

Hi it's Mr. Mister anon hate from tumblr I don't think your stitching looks good on you and you will never be a soft fluffy stuffed kitten for all the lovely little girls and boys to play with and love like a real kitty cat

l + ratio + my stitching is lovingly made + i am a soft fluffy stuffed kitten + all the lovely little children love playing with me and not you

[a34trgv2]

The Problem With Bad Adaptations/Spin-Offs

In today's entertainment landscape, there's definitely a surplus of adaptations and spin-offs of pre-existing IPs. While some are very well crafted and more than worthy additions to the franchise, others are, to put it simply, not. This post will dissect why bad adaptations and spin-offs do more harm to the IP than good and what aspiring creators can do to avoid these missteps.

If you're assuming that this post is going to point to the executives who only care about money as opposed to quality, you're sorely mistaken. Executives need to be finance and business savy so that they can keep the company running. The real root cause of an adaptation/spin-off's shortcommings falls on the shoulders of the creators. They're the ones who went ahead with the creative decisions, they're the ones that put the whole thing together, they're the one's whose name is slapped under the director or creator's credit. The executives may care more about how the project rakes in profits, but it's the creator's responsibility to make sure it's entertaining to the audience.

You know how many fans of books disregard the movie with the saying "the book was better" regardless if the movie was good or bad? Well, this saying is most predominantly used for bad adaptations because when they fail, the original book is used as evidence to support fans criticism. While changing things from the source material is a given with adaptations, the adaptation should make for an entertaining retelling of the original story with well rounded and fully developed characters, creative would building and really good acting. Films like Percy Jackson and The Olyimpians, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (what is up with that title being so long?!), and The Devil All The Time fail at all these essentials, and as such make for sloppy movies that don't do the books they're based on justice.

Like adaptations, spin-offs should be worthy additions to the original IP. Yet often, a spin-off is mediocre at best and absolutely terrible at worst. By haing a spin-off turn out bad, the creators inadvertently justify the doubts of naysayers who felt the spin-off was unnecessary. Planet Sheen, for example, could've been a really funny show that expanded the Jimmy Neutron universe and provide some more creative ideas. Yet because it turned out to be so unfunny and unfocused, fans of Jimmy Neutron were made correct into thinking it was unnecessary. This badly made spin-off is now a permanent stain on the legacy of the original IP and creators have no one to blame but themselves.

DreamWorks Animation has got to have the worst track record when it comes to their spin-offs and adaptations. With some notable exceptions such as She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Dinotrux and the Dragons series, most of their shows are some of the worst cartoons ever made and do a great disservice to the original IP. Among them, Legends of Awesomeness is the worst offender and the pinnacle example of how NOT to make a spin-off. The animation is terrible, the writing is atrocious, the voice acting is very bad, and the characters are one note and annoying. The worst part about the show is Po and how he's completely out of character. Where in the movies he's a really nice guy with genuine love and respect for kung fu, the show makes him a lazy, unfunny and annoying cheat who lies and decieves his way to get what he wants. Unfortunately, DreamWorks Animation has not learned the right lessons as their recent spin-off, The Bad Guys: A Very Bad Holiday, was absolutely terrible and their new Megamind series looks, unsurprisingly, abominable.

To anyone who's tasked with making a spin-off or adaptation, here's the mistakes you need to avoid in order to make a worthy addition to the IP. Firstly, don't assume your audience is already family with the source material, because more often than not, they aren't. Second, familiarize yourself with the IP and understand why it worked in the first place and how to apply those qualities to your work while still putting your personal stamp on it. Third, don't make changes to the story or characters because you were told to by the executives or because you think it would be funny or more digestible for the audience. Before you make any changes, consult your head writer and actors and ask them what they think. Lastly, consult the producer on how to work around budgetary limitations. If you're given a set budget, don't use that as an excuse to make your work visually dull. This is especially true with animation, where you can tell they had a small budget based on how flat and weightless the visuals are. My advice when making a spin-off based on a 3D animated movie is to hire art and animation directors with impressive resumes and who can deliver quality animation even under limited budgets.

Making an adaptation/spin-off is hard, much like making any movie or TV show with an original story. That said, I think the creators of adaptations and spin-offs of established IPs have a responsibility to not only do the source material justice, but also make an entertaining product that reintroduces the IP to new audiences. When the adaptation and spin-off is mediocre or terrible, it angers fans and alienates newcomers. We could've had a whole new generation of fans of The Green Hornet by now. But because the 2011 movie staring Seth Rogan was so mediocre and underperformed financially, the IP was sent right back into obscurity with a reboot stuck in development limbo. To conclude, an adaptation/spin-off should be more than just an addition to the franchise; it should be a very good appetizer to an already great main course.

[frogs-in3-hills]

here's the fma03 tierlist yay

can you tell i like bad moms can you tell i like terrible women who wield familially-coded power over others or otherwise do not know what the fuck to do emotionally with their motherhood.

i honestly like manga hohenheim more on a personal level (i'm very charmed by his floundering faildad autism. and his twitch chat.) buuut 03 hohenheim is just a horrendous father in the best and most fascinating yummy ways but i'm not even chewing on him i'm taking abite and going "yeah that's enough for me" and shoving the plate away. i think it's funny when he just dies horribly in front of his son and its not even like top five worst things to happen to edward elric. very memeable to me. inventing new ways to hit new fatherly lows every day

ignore that the dog placement is inconsistent alexander should be in the :] tier

couldn't quite condone putting gluttony above sciezka but i want you all to know i am soooo fond of him

those characters at the end of the "appreciate their narrative role" tier should probably have their own special tier of "i Get what you were trying to do but i really don't like them", but that is functionally the same as the tier they're already in so. huh. whatever.

the didn't Need more time to cook tier is fun because my reasoning ranges from "their narrative scope is somewhat limited and their execution isn't bad, but i like them and want more of them regardless of their necessity to the plot" to "don't actually care about them that much but with an extra five minutes and i might have". the shit with pride and selim in the last episodes have good bones i think it's interesting that pride trusted his son with his remains, but i can't quite brush away the weird plot contrivances happening there that weaken the scene

special archer tier is i don't care for him, terminarcher is obviously bad, but he's also my funny disaster character whose existence means i can say things like "frank get their asses" and "archer is better than half of those fellas in mangahood"

[sanityshorror]

hi. its me again....how are you?

some questions:

how was maeve ? did she now that oran was gay?

orans other children...how they think about oran?

how was Qinn?

good day / night / whatever

<3 teddy

Hey there! Sorry I'm just getting to this now, my asks have been backed up to hell recently and I've also been dealing with a lot so I just haven't had to get to asks much! Anyway, here we go!

Maeve was very small, frail, quiet and a massive push over. She wasn't directly physically abusive to her children however she enabled Oran, whether it be from agreeing beatings were needed or simply pretending to be unaware of other abuse that went on. She was very emotionally abusive however, including her pretending Julius didn't exist for multiple years at one point.

It's really hard to say whether Maeve knew or not about Oran being gay because she would have pretended to have never heard or seen anything that would have given it away. Whether or not she knew is further irrelevant because Maeve and Oran had a loveless marriage, it was really only formality. Oran was expected to marry, Maeve was expected to marry. Oran came from a working class family on the city outskirts whereas Maeve lived in poverty out in the rural lands, so while by no means was she marrying into money, she was still moving up the the classes by marrying Oran - she found that appealing. Their marriage lacked any intimacy other than for reproductive purposes.

Oran and Maeve had six children. The first were fraternal twin boys - Aidan and Alexander. Then their daughter, Niamh, followed by another daughter, Annabella. After Annabella, there was an infant who died, then following said infant, Julius. After Julius they had another son, Rian.

Aidan and Alexander both had a very shitty relationship with Oran. He wasn't good to them and they both ran away when they were 18, and rarely would come home to visit.

Niahm was very quiet and distanced emotionally from everyone. She was easily the most stable out of the entire household and being a girl, she did not suffer the same treatment as her brothers, which left her with the ability to realize how terribly dysfunctional her family was as well as allowing her to be able to recognize abuse when she saw it. Being a child herself, she never stood up for any of her brothers and I can't blame her, as Oran would slapped her the one time she did and would have if she did again. She married at only 16 in a desperate attempt to get away from hert family.

Annabella was very close with Oran, she was the family golden child. Annabella was oblivious to the worse of the abuse her brothers suffered through - like her older sister, the worst she ever experienced from Oran was getting slapped across the face a few times. She did stand up for Julius rather often which is why she did get hit multiple times. However - and by no means is this to say getting smacked isn't abuse because it absolutely is abuse - this was very mild compared to what her brothers went through, Julius being the one to have the worst of the abuse. She was a "Daddy's girl" and went along mindlessly with everything Oran taught her and expected of her.

Julius, as we know, didn't have a good relationship with his father, not at all. He was horribly abused.

Rian was abused as well, though whereas Julius suffered through it since he was four years old, Rian was 13 when things first began to get seriously bad and everything went to hell when he was 14½. Rian used to love Oran as a child but after watching the way Julius was treated, the love started to fade for his father. It turned into numbness and eventually blind hatred as the years went by.

Aidan, Alexander and Niamh all remained in Ireland when Oran and Maeve made the choice to immigrate to the United States with their three younger children (though they were all adults/nearly by then).

Quinn O'Sullivan was Annabella's husband and Julius' "side piece" prior to Julius' death as a human. Annabella was unaware Quinn was bisexual and she was also unaware about his relationship with Julius. She found out briefly before she killed Julius, because Julius told her while laughing in her face. Julius started hooking up with Quinn as 'revenge' towards both Annabella (despite her not knowing) and Killian (he did know) after he found out Killian had slept with Annabella.

Quinn started hooking up with Julius after Julius told him about Annabella sleeping with Killian. Quinn always questioned if his third child was actually his, especially since said kid had blonde hair (Quinn had light brown hair) and was always a bit tall for his age (Quinn was tall but not that tall).

Killian and Quinn got into a big brawl a few times, due to jealousy on both sides. Quinn was mad that Killian slept with his wife (and possibly fathered a child with her), and Killian was mad that Quinn was sleeping with Julius. The fights always had to be broken up by Julius and Rian.

Quinn cared a lot about Julius and considered him to be one of his best friends, though he was aware that was a one sided friendship. Julius only saw Quinn as someone to keep him company when Killian wasn't there and to keep him amused.

I'll stop here since this has gotten long lol please feel free to ask if you want to know more!

[weclassybouquetfun]

Hannah leading the TED LASSO pack.

Doing tourist tings.

"We saw you from across the bar and we like your vibe.."

With TED LASSO ending (and it is ending. I don't care about all the hedging that still persists about, "We told *this* story", the show's done. They need to hush their butts with that) it's time to look towards the future. What is on the horizon for AFC Richmond.

The cast next gigs...Oooh whee, what's up with that? What's. Up.With.That?

-Jason Sudeikis will appear in Charlie Day's directorial debut FOOL'S PARADISE.

-Hannah Waddingham: Will co-host Eurovision next month, appears in the four part Masterpiece mini TOM JONES

, will appear in THE FALL GUY with Ryan Gosling, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING Part 2, will have a Christmas special and will do voicework in Dan Harmon's animated series for Fox KRAPOPOLIS (alongside Matt Berry and Richard Ayoade) and voicework in 2024's animated film GARFIELD with Chris Pratt voicing the titular lasagne loving cat.

-Brett Goldstein: Brett will also do voice work for GARFIELD. He's also currently writing series two of Apple+'s SHRINKING

-Toheeb Jimoh can be currently seen on POWER on Amazon Prime. He's currently in rehearsals for his return to the stage in ROMEO AND JULIET for the Almedia Theatre.

-Nick Mohammed: Unsure whether the series that he created/writes and stars in INTELLIGENCE will be renewed as a series or as a wrap-up film, Nick has other works going. He costars in MAGGIE MOORES directed by John Slattery (MAD MEN) and stars Tina Fey and Jon Hamm; he will do voicework in the sequel to CHICKEN RUN titled CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET and he has a role in the upcoming Disney+ historical series THE BALLAD OF RENEGADE NELL which will star Alice Kremelberg (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK), Frank Dillane, Joely Richardson and Craig Parkinson.

-Jeremy Swift: Will do voice work in the animated cat caper 10 LIVES joining Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo and Simone Ashley. Jeremy also joins the Disney Descendants universe for the musical DESCENDANTS: THE RISE OF RED. He currently has a cd out.

-Phil Dunster: Phil is sticking around Apple TV+ for the time being as he joined series two of their drama SURFACE which stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw (the first season saw her opposite Oliver Jackson-Cohen).

-Juno Temple: Juno was already in the DC universe with a role in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, but now she joins Brett and Cristo in the Marvel world with a role in the upcoming VENOM 3. She also has a role in the upcoming EVEREST about George Mallory's attempt at scaling the mountain. It will star Ewan McGregor, Sam Heughan and Mark Strong. However, before all that, expect to see her in series 5 of FARGO.

-Cristo Fernandez is a jobbing actor. You will hear him in TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEAST as Wheeljack

he will do voicework in SCOOB! HOLIDAY HAUNT, he appears in four shorts, the feature 3 FLOWERS and it was just announced that he's joining series 3 of Apple TV+'s ACAPULCO and the Disney+ adaptation of ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY.

-Moe Jeudy-Lamour (Thierry Zoreaux Van Damme) will costar in the sequel to cousins Stephen and Robbie Amell's film CODE 8. It will be released on Netflix.

New Village People has dropped.

-Moe Hashim: Moe will costar in Roland Emmerich's gladiator series THOSE ABOUT TO DIE.

-Charlie Hiscock: Will appear in Yorgos Lanthimos' POOR THINGS alongside Margaret Qualley, Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo.

-Sarah Niles: Will turn up in the long gestating reboot of THE TOXIC AVENGER starring Peter Dinklage, Jane Levy, Elijah Wood, Kevin Bacon and Jacob Tremblay. She can currently be seen in ITVX's RICHES.

-James Lance: Always one for voicework, James has lent his talent to the short HANGING which is the writer debut of background Greyhound Joe Street (far right).

[brittanagirlcrush]

Brittana, 13

Prompt: Kiss me

Bad Days Made Better

A/N: This story is (eventually) going to fit into Dreams Come True (in progress) and occurs after The Only Dream That Matters.

Hope you like it! Thanks for the prompt :)

Also posted on FF.net

Xoxoxoxoxo Santana walked into the apartment and dropped her keys by the bowl on the cabinet by the door, kicked her shoes off, and dropped her jacket on the arm of the couch on the way to the bedroom. It had been a bad day. No. It had been a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day and she was Alexander. A quick glance at her phone notified her of a new text from Britt.

From: The Wifey

Hi honey! We're just finishing up, be home by 7. Love you.

Santana looked at the time and growled. It was only 6:30. Fine. She stripped down and went into the bathroom, turning the water on as hot as she could stand it.

Xoxoxoxoxo

Brittany walked into the apartment and immediately knew something was wrong. The feeling caused her to pause in the doorway and look around the apartment. Santana's keys were by the bowl instead of in it; she dropped her keys in the bowl then picked up and dropped Santana's into it. Santana's shoes were kicked off by the door; nope, Santana never left them by the door because Lord Tubbington thought they made great scratching posts. Santana's jacket was slung on the arm of the couch. Brittany sighed and picked up Santana's shoes, putting them into the cabinet then moving to hang up Santana's jacket along with her own.

Santana was going to be grumpy.

Speak of her angel … Santana wandered out from the hallway and into the kitchen.

"Hi, honey," Brittany tried to sound upbeat, "how was your day? What are you thinking for dinner?"

Santana grunted a hello and continued into the kitchen. She opened the freezer and grabbed a pint of Ben & Jerry's out of it then reached toward the drawer for a spoon.

Brittany took the ice cream from her hand and put it back in the freezer.

"You are not having ice cream for dinner," she chastised softly. She knew her wife and knew exactly what she needed to do.

"I'm a grown ass woman, I can do what I want."

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's waist.

"Kiss me."

Santana looked at her. "What?"

"When your wife comes home, it's customary for you to kiss her. So … kiss me."

Santana leaned up and gave Brittany a quick peck then tried to move away from her but Brittany just tightened her hold.

"Kiss your wife, not your great-aunt at Christmas."

Santana huffed out her annoyance but Brittany could feel the stress sloughing off Santana's shoulders as she leaned up again. Brittany met her half-way and their lips slid together, fitting perfectly, as always. Brittany swiped her tongue over Santana's bottom lip and, after a mico-second's hesitation, Santana complied. Their tongues met and danced and lightly dueled until Brittany felt Santana completely melt into her embrace. The kiss was sensual without being sexual; meant to comfort and soothe, not excite. When Santana's arms slid around Brittany's waist, she moved one of her hands from Santana's back and gently cupped Santana's cheek, softly stroking her thumb over Santana's cheekbone.

When they finally separated, Santana leaned into Brittany's shoulder.

"Hi." Santana murmured softly.

"Hi. Bad day?"

"Better now."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Santana hesitated a moment before nodding. "Yeah."

"Dinner?"

"Thai and couch cuddles?"

"Of course." Brittany released her hold on Santana who separated from her a little unwillingly.

"I'll get some wine." Santana moved off to grab a bottle of white wine and a couple of wine glasses while Brittany dialed the Thai place around the corner to place their order.

She smiled softly at her wife as Santana moved toward the couch and paused. She turned back toward Brittany with a small, apologetic smile on her lips and her eyes soft.

"Thank you. For … yanno … and my shoes and coat and stuff."

Brittany's smile widened. "Always."

[atopearth]

Final Fantasy XVI Part 1 - A World We Want To Live In

The Eikons are very pretty! I think my favourite is the Phoenix, the colours are very nice. Shiva is very pretty too but after my brother said she's not blue enough, I can't get it out of my head lmao😂 Titan looks like Hugo lol, just a big version of him hahaha. Gotta say Clive's mother is absolutely terrible. The way she discards him so easily is horrible, and she's a traitor. I feel so sad that their father the Archduke died just like that, and it felt terrible to see Clive (I assume he's Ifrit) kill Joshua/Phoenix, that was pretty cruel to have to watch helplessly. I didn't think Jill would be Shiva, but I guess I'm mostly sad that he had to kill Tiamat to protect her, like dude Tiamat could you nottt. Cid looks good. Anyway, Clive protecting Jill, and being ready to die with her was cute. I was wondering if Cid was Ramuh so it's nice to have that confirmation. Assuming from the demo then, Benedikta is Sylph/Siren or something then?

I found it hilarious how Cid really shouted when he found his scout at Lostwing😂😂 Totally not an infiltration mission where you need to stay low hahaha. I'm not surprised that Cid and Benedikta used to be part of the same kingdom, since it seemed like Benedikta was fond of him in her own way. Cid definitely reminds me of Balthier from FFXII though but an older version that's probably more leader-ish considering all the people he picks up, whereas Balthier likes a bit more freedom imo.

My bad, so Benedikta is Garuda. I guess I was right to think that Cid and Benedikta were a thing back in the day! Wonder if she'd be willing to come to our side🤔 Anyway, guess we've got a new Eikon power to use! Too bad Benedikta? I'm not sure if I should feel sorry for her because I don't feel like I know enough about her to really be swayed a certain way especially since she followed Barnabas knowing that if she wasn't useful anymore he'd throw her away. I just wonder if Cid told her he was leaving the kingdom when he did, and whether he asked her if she wanted to go with him, because it does sound like she thinks she made the wrong choice so I guess she could have followed Cid but chose not to. I guess she's pitiful. I didn't think she'd die just like that though! And nice to see Ramuh! Although it seems like Cid gets one stop closer to death the more he uses Ramuh's powers. I wonder how Clive will react when he realises he's Ifrit?

Wow, I didn't expect to see Odin! I really love the look of Odin but who would've thought Barnabas would be the Dominant for Odin lol. As for Bahamut, Dion is cool but Bahamut not really. I hope we get to see Alexander, I still think the FFIX Alexander looked the best so it would be awesome to see what a modern rendition of him would look like. I feel bad for Clive though, he's been chasing after himself all these years thinking of revenge as the only thing to keep him going but then he realises that the one who killed his brother was actually himself. I guess Jill can be his new reason for living? But I wonder if Clive only went out of control because of that hooded guy? I'm so glad Gav didn't die because I was about to riot. The guy was so devoted to helping Clive, I would have been so annoyed if he died for it!

Omgggg the moogle is so cuteeee, full of fluff! The only negative is that it isn't voiced so we don't get to hear kupo!! Awww Clive and Jill's reunion was pretty cute, it's nice to know that she'll support him whatever happens when they go back to Rosaria. It feels like I'm cheating when I use the accessory that does combos for me haha, but it's so convenient when I'm too tired to really want to play lol. If only it told me what combos the AI is using so I can learn lol. Anyway, gotta love how this game gives you 5 gil like dudeee c'mon lol. Another gripe is what is the point of having a party in this game when you can't use them or tell them to do stuff? You don't equip stuff for them, you don't know what abilities they use, it just feels like such a lonely game. Oh and honestly, equipment in this game doesn't feel very progressive or different because all you do is get higher stats but there's no variation to make you particularly choose one weapon over the other because of other abilities or something, so it's boring.

Very interesting that I guess Bearers and Dominants all have a curse, or essentially a time limit like a crystal where they can be "used up" as they continue to use their powers, gradually turning them into stone and their body crumbling into dust, that's terrifying. I wonder if Cid is like that? He seems to be having difficulties with his body whenever he uses his powers. I feel sad for Martha and the Abbot's situation though. Martha buys Bearers who are too far gone because she can only afford those that are "useless" and the abbot due to the kindness of his heart uses the medicine Martha buys to take care of these people in their dying moments which is kind but terrible because he's basically surrounded by death with no one to support his well-being as he watches the people he cares for die one by one. Well, yep, Cid is definitely petrifying with that hand🥺 Not surprised that Anabella got far and ended up marrying the emperor but seriously, she's terrible. Lady Hanna/Murdoch's wife surviving and giving Clive his father's clothing was nice, I don't think these Bearers and everyone will live to go to Cid's place though. Going back to Phoenix Gate was nice, not that it looked anything much like what it was before. As for Clive's personal battle with himself, it was interesting and needed I guess in order for him to accept that he's Ifrit. It was sad to see Lady Hanna dead, killed by the Imperials because of Anabella, it was expected but it's sad to think about the life she lived after everything.

It was really sweet to see Jill and Clive hold hands and tell Cid the answer that they found after returning to Phoenix Gate and how they wanted to build a place where people could live on their own terms instead of just dying on their own terms like Cid has strived for. I guess it's interesting to think that the Mothercrystals which are considered divine to this world are the ones destroying this world and its nature by drawing all the aether or something like their life force from it. I guess that's kinda like how the Dominants work and that's why Dominants eventually succumb to petrification? Quite cute to know that Cid has a daughter that's studying somewhere else. If Gav isn't coming to Oriflamme, I honestly hope he doesn't die, I like him and Clive. I knew Moore village would be cruel but it's sad to see children treating Branded as pets you can just discard and then get a new one. I'm not sure if Clive letting the child know about how Branded also have family will affect anything since I'm sure once she goes home and tells her parents, they'll just brainwash her into thinking that guy was just crazy but yeah. I feel sorry for Tatienne, she felt like this guy was creepy and didn't seem to like him and now she's dead alongside him just because she wanted her comb back??

Sigh. I agree with Jill, the Mothercrystal was much bigger than I thought, kinda reminds me of the Crystal World in FFIX. I knew Cid would die eventually but I really didn't want it to be so soon😭 At least he died knowing that someone who believed in creating a better chance at life rather than just choosing how you want to die would be able to fulfil his wishes and dreams, I just feel sorry for his daughter and myself because I really liked him haha! Considering how similar Margrace looked to Joshua, it was natural to think that he was actually Joshua, it's just kinda sad but sweet that everything he's been doing was to protect Clive because these things want Clive to be some sort of vessel of theirs? Anyway, five years later and Jill looks exactly the same?? Couldn't they change her hair or at least her clothes lol, I mean Clive can't but she can! Anyway, Clive with a beard looks good, I always thought he looked like a boy from some angles so it's nice to see a more mature look to him now. Playing with Ramuh will be interesting, but knowing that it came from Cid will always be sad, at least Clive is now living as the new 'Cid' protecting Bearers? I wonder how Gav is doing though. Oh wow, the new Hideaway is beautiful and it is a good idea to have it only accessible via boat. It's also a very big place! I didn't even realise Clive's brand was gone lmao, I kinda liked it but very understandable that it's gone now. The story is picking up though so I'm a bit more excited about how everything will go from now on!

How ironic to have Black Shields as a version of the Shield of Rosaria to kill Bearers rather than protect them. It's sad that the abbot had to die but it was bittersweet to see how grateful the Bearers were to sacrifice the little bit they had left of their lives for him. I'm so glad Ambrosia the white Chocobo from back in the day survived and reunited with Clive. It would be great if the firebrand these people refer to is Joshua going against his mother, I think it's about time! I'm surprised Wade survived! Anyway, I'm glad we're getting more insight towards Jill's past and having her face her past, she's been very supportive towards Clive all this time, it's about time she also got that same support considering how terrible her life must have been as well. Honestly, Jill facing her past was done quite shallowly, nothing of substance was added and I didn't feel like it was as much of a breakthrough as it was for Clive accepting he's Ifrit. I mean, I didn't expect anything grand but I definitely expected more. I can't believeeee Gav ruined their moment for a kiss! It was the perfect time🥲 Guess we should blame Hugo for attacking Rosaria. It's sad to see the poor soldiers get massacred like that because most of the Imperial army is at the Crystalline Dominion so they're left with a measly amount of people. I love the look of the couerl here, might be one of my favourite renditions of it! Torgal the lightning wolf? He looks pretty cool! Not as fluffy anymore but very cool! I'm kinda disappointed that we didn't get to see the actual Titan again because I don't feel like we got see it much but oh well I guess, Hugo was such a life sponge, he just wouldn't dieee hahaha.

Honestly though, after this, I truly do love Clive and Gav's trust for each other and their interactions, the bromance is great haha! I feel like they understand each other and believe in each other and have each other's backs on a level that's well portrayed considering how much they've been through since the beginning of this game, so I really like them. For now, the game has been all right. The story isn't the most compelling but I do really like some characters and their relationships, well mainly Gav haha and it is nice to explore the world and see how people are living in it. And I'm curious and dying to see more Joshua haha!

[coraniaid]

6, 10, 19, 15 📚

Book asks

6) What books have you read in the last month?

This has been a pretty good month for me.  I've read six books in the last four weeks:

Furious Heaven by Kate Elliott

This is the second book in what I think is going to be a trilogy; the first book was Unconquerable Sun.  The elevator pitch for the series is "gender-flipped Alexander the Great IN SPACE", which made my eyes roll a little at first, but I think it's a lot more interesting than that premise makes it sound.  (It actually probably helps that I don't really know the historical period it's inspired by very well, so I kept being surprised by plot twists that probably weren't meant to be twists.)

Emperor of Ruin by Django Wexler

To be honest, I didn't enjoy the concluding part of this trilogy quite as much as I did the first two books: it wasn't bad by any means but i think it was just hard to follow up on the first two books without having the ending seem a little bit like an anticlimax.  I really like the two central POV characters though, and their estranged sibling relationship is very well done.

The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk

I know that reading actual proper capital-L Literature and then complaining that the characters are ‘unlikeable’ is a terrible cliche, but … I loathed the narrator of this.  One of the least sympathetic fictional characters I have encountered in years.  I only finished it because I was hoping something horrible would happen to him.  

The publisher’s website describes this as ‘an enchanting tale of romantic obsession’ so presumably you’re not supposed to treat the central character like you would if this were something like A Confederacy Of Dunces. Indeed, none of the people I've seen praising the book have talked about this at all. But while the prose was often very pretty the actual events being depicted were just utterly bleak. 

Autumn by Ali Smith

A friend of mine really likes this book and finally persuaded me to try it.  Honestly I think it would be a lot better without the (slightly shoe-horned in, I think) Brexit angle: the main focus of the novel isn’t really on that at all.  But it’s not bad, even if it feels a little bit slight.

Beyond The Hallowed Sky by Ken MacLeod

The first book of a trilogy with a fairly typical (for MacLeod) set-up so far: near-future SF with AI, space travel largely confined to our solar system and with (deliberately slightly vague) global political realignments having happened at sometime in the background.  Not really sure what to make of the plot until I’ve read the rest of it really.

Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir

Somehow managed to go into this mostly unspoiled despite ... well, having been active on Tumblr for the last two years. I think I'd absorbed a sense of which characters were going to be important and which weren't by general osmosis, and I recognized a couple of lines of dialogue, but most of the specifics of the plot were still new to me.  Liked it a lot: I’m about a hundred pages into Harrow the Ninth now.

(Trying to be as vague as I can about the actual plot just in case anybody reading this wants to try to stay similarly unspoiled.)

10) Do you have a guilty fav?

Not particularly guilty about it, as such, but I'm at least slightly surprised at how much I like Martha Wells' Murderbot stories, which if I just read a description of sounds like something I wouldn't have any patience for at all.  But for whatever reason I think they work in practice really well.

I used to be really into A Song Of Ice And Fire (which I started reading at ... uh, probably too young); not really guilty about that either but at some point I got tired of explaining that I really hated the TV show so I just stopped mentioning the books at all.  (Also largely given up on the series ever being finished, which makes them harder to recommend.)

19) Most disliked popular books

If I don't like a book I usually stop reading it fairly quickly these days, but that means that although there are popular books I've bounced off, I don't really stick with them long enough to develop any particular strong feelings about them.

Hopepunk as a genre tends to leave me a bit cold, where by ‘hopepunk’ I mean ... well, okay, I just mean Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series, if I’m being honest.  (In the past couple of weeks alone I’ve seen ‘hopepunk’ used as label for works as varied as Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree through to Ursula le Guin’s The Dispossessed or Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series, so I’m not sure I believe the genre actually exists beyond that.)

Oh, and I liked Robin Hobb's first two novels (Assassin’s Apprentice and Royal Assassin) quite a lot when I read them years ago but I've been pretty consistently underwhelmed by the rest of her work.  I can tell it's well crafted but it's really not just not for me.

15) Recommend and review a book

OK, I'm going to recommend Vellum by Hal Duncan.

This is a difficult book to describe.  It's the first part of a duology called the Book of All Hours.  It's about an adventure across time and space to recover the titular Book of All Hours, a lost medieval manuscript that some say contains a complete record of every moment of every possible reality.  Except no, the Book is really a map which shows its readers the true nature of the world around them, a world that is impossibly larger and more empty than they could imagine.  And the story is really about a great war fought between angels and demons and their offspring, a war waged across the multiverse with First World War artillery barrages and nanobots and a magical language which can reshape reality. 

Or maybe it's really about how stories and character archetypes recur again and again over different eras and cultures; or maybe it’s actually one of the most simultaneously heartfelt and angry love stories you’re ever going to read; or maybe it’s about a girl traveling across a future cyberpunk America in search of information about her dead brother, juxtaposed with a retelling of the Sumerian myth of Inanna's descent to the Underworld.  Or maybe it's just about how Hal Duncan really likes the work of James Joyce and Michael Moorcock.

Whatever it's about, it is safe to say it’s a somewhat divisive book.  A few sample 1-star reviews from Goodreads:

"One word: drivel" [...] "This book was actually painful to read" [...] "I was so relieved when I was finally able to finish this awful book" [...] "Pretentious and stupid" [...] "The writing was beautiful but it made my head hurt" [...] "This is a novel lacking in the basic principles of a story" [...] "Almost completely unreadable" [...] "Quite possibly the worst book I've ever struggled through" [...] "Telling a dozen stories poorly, chopping them up in a blender, and dropping the fragments without regard is not the same thing as telling one story well" [...] "It goes on like this for 500 pages [...] What the fuck is even happening?"

And yes, it does go on like this for five hundred pages (or 480 pages, anyway, in my paperback copy).  

The narrative is incredibly non-linear, jumping back and forwards and sideways in time repeatedly, sometimes from one paragraph to the next.  There are multiple sections written in the first person – but not always from the perspective of the same first person.  There are a number of unrelated major characters with the same surname, often addressed in the text by that surname.  There is time travel and trips between alternate realities and all sorts of meta-commentary about the text by the characters in it. Key players lose their memories and change allegiances multiple times; or are revealed to be other characters; or die and come back from the dead.  The entire universe is recreated from the atomic level up at least once.  It’s great.

The book and its sequel Ink came out almost two decades ago now and sadly -- apart from some poetry collections and novellas, and a collection of short stories called Errata set in the same universe –  I don’t think Duncan has published much else since. But on the other hand, Vellum feels like a book packed with a lifetime’s worth of ideas, so maybe that was always inevitable.

More people should read this weird book.

[the-team-system]

What about Alexander's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day?

i love stories where its just one guy’s really bad day

[alex-and-the-final-project]

Part three: The Theme

Judith Viorst uses very thoughtful words to craft Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. To me, the theme of this book is to not judge people on their bad days. Everyone has days that are hard and tend to bring out the worst of us and this is shown time and time again in this book.

Before reading we don’t know who Alexander is, and after reading we do. Kind of. The only version of Alexander that we got to meet in this book is when he is in a horribly grumpy mood; and it just goes more downhill for the rest of the book. We as readers don’t actually get to see what Alexander is like as a normal kid, and that leads to an unfair judge of character.

Think about it in your day-to-day life, let's say you hold the door open for someone and they don’t say thank you. You may think that it’s rude but we must remember that we don’t know what is going on in other people's lives; that person may have been having a horrible day, but that doesn't mean that your action wasn’t kind. Every person has a bad day where they aren’t themselves, if you don’t want to be judged for your bad days, you should not judge people for theirs. Bad days happen and that's a part of life, we can stop them so it’s about learning to live with them. 

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a great introduction to kids that bad days happen and that’s inevitable. Just because people have bad moods does not mean that we should judge them for that. We have no clue what is happening in other people’s lives, so extending an extra bit of kindness may go a long way for people who need it. 

The theme of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is that kindness goes a long way, allowing people to feel heard and let them feel their feelings is the best thing you can do.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Not Too Many "Disney" Movies These Days

When thinking about ELEMENTAL's box office prospects once again, *and* also Disney's overall struggles with the box office outside of Marvel movies and 20th Century titles like the AVATAR sequel that defied the terminally-online's expectations... It becomes clear to me sometimes that Disney just doesn't make too many "Disney" movies anymore... As in, mainline Disney films released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. (Well, nowadays it's just "Disney", but you get what I mean.)

If we except the deep-in-COVID years of 2020 and much of 2021, the usual crop of "Walt Disney Pictures" movies that aren't Marvel, Lucasfilm or 20th Century Studios endeavors are...

Walt Disney Animation Studios' usually annual offerings... Pixar's usually annual offerings... And at least one remake of a Disney animated feature...

This past year, we only had *two* mainline Disney movies released in theaters: LIGHTYEAR, from the acquired studio Pixar... And STRANGE WORLD... Everything else was a Disney+ exclusive, including Pixar's own TURNING RED, a HOCUS POCUS sequel, an ENCHANTED sequel, the remake of PINOCCHIO, and CHIP N' DALE RESCUE RANGERS, all D+.

This year's a slight pick-up on that end. You have THE LITTLE MERMAID remake, now out. Then that's followed by Pixar's ELEMENTAL, and then a live-action HAUNTED MANSION reboot, and Disney Animation's WISH towards the end of the year.

2024 has Pixar's ELIO, a remake of SNOW WHITE, another Pixar in INSIDE OUT 2, a prequel to the CGI LION KING remake, and an unannounced Disney Animation film. There's also an unannounced Disney film, meaning a live-action movie, set for the first quarter of that year as well. Subject to change, though, it could be a date given to a 20th Century or Searchlight movie just like that. Very fluid dates.

So it's about 4-5 Disney movies a year, but not much in the way of variety, the chief offender being the "live-action" unit because of their remake binge that's been going on since MALEFICENT came out. MALEFICENT's release in 2014 coincided with a ton of interesting box office misfires, such as THE LONE RANGER and TOMORROWLAND, and smaller scale pictures like ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE HORRIBLE NO GOOD VERY BAD DAY and THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN just coming and going. Future Disney+ fodder, you could say... Fodder that Disney erases, because they don't want to pay residuals... During a damn writer's strike, no less. Good luck trying to find a movie like TIMMY FAILURE or STARGIRL now. A separate situation that completely stinks all around.

It seems like the big budget Disney endeavors are remakes, while everything else - even some remakes - goes straight to Disney+. Only 20th Century Studios and Searchlight are still releasing small movies in theaters, as evidenced by last year's BARBARIAN, THE MENU, and THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE. Even some midbudget fare, like DEATH ON THE NILE.

Most of Disney's post-outbreak box office successes are the Marvel movies, and the AVATAR sequel. Most of the post-2020 Marvel releases have been successful in some way or another, the only disappointment being ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA, and that $476m+ worldwide gross not being enough to cover a ludicrously high budget does speak volumes! It's like how CLEOPATRA had flopped hard in 1963, yet it was the highest grossing movie of that year!

It's the Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, and Live-Action/CG Tech Demo ends that have been struggling... That was no doubt not at all helped by former CEO Bob Chapek's aggressive pivot to streaming in the wake of COVID's outbreak, using movies like LUCA and TURNING RED as a carrot to get people to subscribe.

2022's sole Walt Disney Pictures theatrical releases, LIGHTYEAR and STRANGE WORLD, lost money. I doubt if something like PINOCCHIO went to theaters, it would've done well enough, CHIP N' DALE could've possibly done alright, but I don't think that was a movie audiences who were being tight with their money would've shelled out a fortune to see in a theater. I think HOCUS POCUS 2 could've been a good-sized nostalgiaquel, and DISENCHANTED could've possibly done okay too, but we'll never know...

So now we're in 2023, and it took nearly six months to get a new Walt Disney Pictures movie in theaters. THE LITTLE MERMAID took in a solid $95m (estimate) for the three-day weekend haul, and looks to make about $120m for the 4-day adding Memorial Day. This is a fantastic opening, and it's likely going to score a good 3x multiplier and get past $300m domestically much in the same way Memorial Day 2019 release ALADDIN did, which opened on the lower end for a Disney remake. However, MERMAID's worldwide debut was quite muted, and for a film that cost over $200m to make? It's gotta have some good legs everywhere and cover the budget/marketing expenses. Really says more about how much they pump into these things than the perceived quality of the movies themselves. That even a $300m movie in the states/Canada is still in the danger of a being a money-loser... Movies cost too much, both to make, and to go and see.

Ditto with ELEMENTAL, which predictably cost $200m to make, putting a lot of pressure on it to make at least $500m worldwide... And not every animated movie, pre-COVID or post-outbreak can just easily pull that kind of number out of a hat. Ya know? HAUNTED MANSION cost $157m to make, inexplicably! How do you make a movie about a scary abode so gargantuan? Especially when so many great and imaginative horror movies get a similar job done for less than $15m?? Heck, the 2003 movie starring Eddie Murphy cost $90m. Again, that one's required to be huge when it might not be. WISH likely cost around $150m, par for the course for a WDAS movie.

Again, newer small movies are on Disney+, like PETER PAN AND WENDY...

I know that Disney's past live-action pedigree is seen as a mixed bag, but I do like that the studio made quite a few little movies to have between the animated features and the spectacles. Problem is, the market changed so radically over the last 10 or so years, that there just doesn't seem to be space for those kinds of things anymore. Even if they were largely thought-to-be-mediocre comedies and adventures. In a way, the runaway success of the first PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movie kind of solidified the direction going forward, long before the MCU or STAR WARS' multi-movie return. (It's surreal to think that in the early 2000s, we merely got the Prequel Trilogy, each movie arriving three years after the other. In the Disney era, we had five movies in theaters back to back in the span of five years.)

Part of me just wants to see a genuinely good Disney live-action movie again, that to me has that magic. This is all subjective, obviously, but I feel only the two animation studios are still bringing that distinctive magic, Pixar more so than WDAS at the moment. I think, to me, a special Disney movie is one that might have some familiarity to it, but also tries a new thing that makes you go like "wooow"... Not dissimilar to the way Walt Disney operated, honestly. You knew you were in for some kind of magic when a new Walt Disney spectacle was out, but also something you've never seen before... In the 21st century, I'd say that's something like LILO & STITCH and WRECK-IT RALPH on the WDAS end, or RATATOUILLE and TURNING RED on the Pixar end, or... On the live-action end? Well, I quite enjoyed TRON: LEGACY and TOMORROWLAND, but those were the movies that flopped or didn't measure up to specific expectations. They were also met with mixed to negative critical reception, though in some circles, they're being held up as misunderstood greats from a former Disney that wasn't so soaked in safer pictures. Like to me, there's a clear difference between movies like LITTLE MERMAID 2023/MULAN 2020/LION KING 2019 and TRON: LEGACY/JOHN CARTER OF MARS/TOMORROWLAND... And then in the middle of this spectrum are things like... ARTEMIS FOWL... Whatever that was!

But eventually, the IP well dries up. Disney can only do so many live-action/CG tech demo reboots of the classic animated features, and they've now moved into CG territory with a MOANA remake incoming. Their alternative is theme park movies, as JUNGLE CRUISE managed to do pretty good back in 2021, and HAUNTED MANSION is around the corner, along with a JUNGLE CRUISE sequel, and plans for movies based on Space Mountain and Journey Into Imagination. (Whether those get off the ground or not is anyone's guess.) Outside of all that, they keep trying to get a TRON spin-off that seems to have *zilch* to do with TRON and TRON: LEGACY onto the rails, too. They announce movies like SADE and ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS, but they'll likely never get greenlit... Much like DELILAH DIRK, TRIBYVILLE, MATCHED, and PALADIN. Remember those?

Touchstone all but died in 2016, and Disney now just uses 20th Century for all the adult movies. Really, it's kind of slim-pick'ins these days.

But when your conglomerate is a house of big IPs and dependable franchises, there seems to be little room for anything else, especially as far as theatrical releases are concerned. In this late-stage capitalism hellscape that really only favors the big budget tentpole movies to begin with.

Though, maybe that's what Disney could use to cure its box office blues... More actual "Disney" movies, something new and it hits the audience by being ahead of the pulse... Much like how Walt himself often was...

[samuel-de-champagne-problems]

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (18+)

Summary: Spencer and Reader's schedules mean too many lonely nights and near misses. One bad day makes Reader realize just how much she misses and loves her boyfriend

CW: Spencer Reid x Fem (Doctor!)Reader (SMUT: Penetrative sex with condom, talk about birth control, kissing, fingering, tiny breeding kink)

Note: Ahhh I absolutely hate the title but whatevs. Also I know I fucked up the tenses. Let’s pretend grammar rules do not exist. I am no Emily Henry…..

Word Count: 3100

The worst day is always the worst day until, of course, another worse day comes along. Bad days, I’ve come to understand, are a lot like dominos. They fall one after another until the entire thing comes crumbling down. This week, the Monday domino came in the form of reports filed incorrectly. And the Tuesday and Wednesday dominos came in the form of an antsy four-year old that vomits violently and an elderly man with ‘bumps and lumps’ littered over his hairy back. At this point, I have to convince myself that I actually like the kind of doctor I am. But in reality, I’m totally jealous of my boyfriend’s more glamorous doctor honorifics.

As I walked up the staircase to our shared apartment, I’m reminded of a book I read as a kid. I would need at least two or three more hands to count how many times I’ve read Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I suppose that my younger self found some sort of comfort in the humor. I reached around in my backpack, searching for my house keys.

The apartment was silent. It’s that weird sort of time. It’s early enough, by his job’s standards, for Spencer to still be working. But it was also late enough for me to walk into the small bedroom and find Spencer passed out from lack of sleep.

“Hello,” I called. I kicked off my shoes, plopped my backpack on the floor and shed my coat. No one responds to me, making me think that Spencer’s still working.

Millions of thoughts ran through my mind. I thought about the unwashed laundry piling up in the basket. I thought about the yogurt in the refrigerator that’s well past its expiry date. And I thought about the last time I fell asleep in bed with Spencer by my side. We both knew this day would come. But, it seems, this day turned into weeks and those weeks turned into months. I would call him, tell him just how much I miss him, but I’m just too tired.

I hardly even remember how I got into the bedroom. It was like I was in the hallway, staring at the smiling, happy faces of Spencer and me in picture frames and now poof! I’m in the bedroom. The bed was unmade and messy. Books were practically oozing from the sides, battered copies of mass market paperbacks, ornate and decorative copies of books we’ve wasted half our paychecks on. I usually don’t like the mess and disorganization, but I was too tired to even care. Or I just found it utterly charming that this mess is a product of the person I love the most in the world.

I tried to focus on that. On how many books we haven’t read together. On all the lazy Sundays we’d spend snoozing in bed way past a respectable hour. On him coming home soon and slipping into bed and holding me close as we both finally…

***

“Y/N!”

The first thing I realized, even before I opened my eyes, is that I was wet. The second thing I realize me is that Spencer is yelling.

I opened my eyes, finally taking in my surroundings. I’m in the shower? After the shock of being awoken, I realized that I must have fallen asleep in the shower. My clothes are soaked and Spencer’s crouched down next to me.

“Spence,” I croaked. My voice is ladened with sleep, “Your socks are going to get wet. You’re going to get wet,”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” he said. He sounded a little annoyed, but maybe it’s more like bemusement. I’m too tired to decipher the tone of his voice right now, “God, I thought something bad happened to you. I need to check out your head, I want to make sure you didn’t fall,”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, Spencer,” I said, sitting up in the shower. He rolled his eyes, sitting up to get a better look at my head.

“Shh. Let me check you. I am a doctor, after all,” he said, a playful, yet tired smile toying at the corner of his mouth. I had to fight the sleepy urge to kiss all over his stupidly handsome face.

“You’re a fake doctor,” I muttered.

“Oh, hush,” Spencer chastised. He studied my head, finding nothing, he kisses me, “Let’s get you out of these wet clothes,”

Spencer helped me up and I pulled off my soaked shirt and damp jeans. I tossed them towards the Laundry Pile of Doom. We moved quietly, like one symbiotic machine moving together to the same goal. I’ve learned to appreciate the silence with Spencer. We’ve learned how to say a wordless I love yous and silent I’m here for yous.

“Let’s get to bed,” Spencer said. He held out a pair of pajama pants and a soft tee-shirt. I nodded, wordlessly thanking Spencer. I follow him into the bedroom, already playing the dreams in my head.

“I’ve missed you,” I told him, helping him make the messy bed before we crawl in. Since we’ve been together, Spencer’s learned that it’s impossible for me to sleep soundly in an unmade bed. I hate the feeling of the crinkled sheets under my legs, “Even though we saw each other yesterday,”

“I know,” Spencer whispered. He sits on the bed, watching me. I smile and scoot closer to him, “Are you going to tell me why I found you sleeping in the shower?”

“Spence,” I groaned. “I just had a really crappy day. I had to change five times today. There’s this kid, a literal demon-child, that has this awful case of food poisoning. I showered at the hospital before I got home, but I just thought a hot shower would relax my muscles or something. I don’t know. I guess I was just exhausted,”

“I’m sorry, baby,” Spencer said. He kissed my cheek chastely. I can get carried away very easily with Spencer, especially when we’re both drunk from lack of sleep, “That sounds really bad,”

“Oh god. Oh god,” I cringed. I plant my hands into my face in embarrassment, “I am so selfish. Spencer, how-? I’m such a selfish idiot,” I groaned.

Spencer’s face floods with confusion, “No, no you’re not. What are you talking-”

“Me! Spencer! Me, I’ve been complaining about getting puked on by a sick child and you’re out there….you’re out there almost dying. And I’m just. I’m just an idiot,” I lamented. I leaned over and kiss Spencer on his cheek, “I’m just an idiot. And you’re freaking hero,”

“You’re not an idiot, Y/N. You’re a doctor. I’m a fake doctor,” he teased. Spencer smiles, kissing my cheeks as my smile grows. Spencer’s laughter is contagious. It rattled across the room in a sound that’s pure joy. I wish I could bottle it up and keep it forever and ever.

“You’re a really hot fake doctor,” I whispered. I let him kiss all over my face and encouraged him with a tug of his hair as he leads down my neck, “Spencer,”

He answered me with a groan. I flipped the blankets off me and hook my legs around Spencer’s torso. I felt his body flush against mine, so I can feel everything. I can feel all the soft parts of him and especially the hard parts. His body fit perfectly against mine. Spencer deepened the kiss, pulling me in by my jaw. Hungry, Spencer whimpered into the kiss. I traveled my hands under his shirt, feeling the heat on his skin.

It’s like I could feel the room spin. My heart swelled inside my chest and it’s almost too much to bear. Spencer’s hands were eager as he touched me. It’s hard to remember that there was a time, not too long ago, that his touches were marked by trepidation. His touches are lazy, uncoordinated, but they are exactly what I want. Spencer is exactly what I want.

“I can’t get enough of you,” Spencer whispered into my ear. I felt my skin prickle at his confession, even if it’s something I know all too well already. “You’re just so…beautiful. So beautiful,”

I brushed my tongue along Spencer’s bottom lip. It’s soft and plump. He tasted like home. Kissing Spencer felt like home. I never liked when romance novels would try to convince readers that their boyfriend would taste like cinnamon or coconut, when in reality you’re lucky if he tastes like minty Listerine. But I could taste the toothpaste and Listerine on Spencer’s lips. I smelt our shared shampoo and body wash. I smelt the detergent we use to wash our clothes. I smelt him in the shirt I wear, the very shirt that he’s clawing off my body at the moment.

I could smell him, feel him, taste him all around me. And it all screams a single word with as a single syllable: home.

It’s all around me. All around us.

Home.

Spencer sighed. It’s the kind of sigh that’s full to the brim with contentment. He sighed as if he could kiss me and cradle me like this for the rest of our lives. I may be tired, but I’ll never be too tired to object to something like that.

“Hi,” I whispered. Spencer gave me this toothy grin that completely melts away my annoyance. The entire day, including the vomiting kid and the old man with the pusy back, just simply melted away.

“Hi,”

“I love you,” I told him. I stretched my neck to kiss Spencer’s forehead, “I love you so much. But I would really like you to finish what you started,”

“Patience is a virtue,” Spencer joked. “I’m going to take my time with you, sweet girl,” Spencer’s tongue flickers out from his lips. Wetting his lips, Spencer tosses his head forehead in a gesture that I’m left to assume is meant for me to take my shirt off. Usually, I would respond with some sort of snarky comment, but I’m either too tired or too eager to come up with something witty. So I, for once, oblige.

“God, I never will get tired of this,” Spencer huffed. He helped me with the shirt, tossing it on the floor, and threw his clothing with it. His hands, like magnets, cling to my chest. I hissed at the sensation of his cold hands against my warm skin. He rolled my nipple in between his thumb and index finger. I bit my lip at the feeling, I close my eyes, but not before I sneak a look at Spencer’s gleeful expression.

“Me too,”

I kisses him again, loving the feeling of his swollen lips against mine. For a moment, it’s like everything disappears. Spencer’s kisses make the world, all the bad things, melt away. I grind down in his lap, forcing our bodies to rut against each other.

“Y/N,” Spencer called out. His voice is a warning sign or a white flag being waved.

“God, please,” I cried into Spencer’s mouth. His smile burned into my jaw as he kisses downward. He left wet, sloppy kisses across my collarbone, sure to leave marks that will be well hidden under the privacy of clothes, “Spence-”

“Shhh,” Spencer hushed, “This is all about you, sweetheart. All for you,”

With a surprising amount of agility, Spencer maneuvered us so I lie on my back. He hovered above me, looking down at me like he’s gazing at something beautiful. I suppose I am beautiful, in Spencer’s mind, at least. It’s hard to feel beautiful sometimes, but when his mouth is on my mouth and his hands can’t get enough of me, it’s hard to think otherwise.

Actually, it’s hard to think at all.

Spencer slithered down to my waist. He grabbed my hand, pressing tiny kisses into my wrist. I thread my fingers through his hair, tugging him up to look at me in the eyes. A grin, that I’m inclined to describe as devilish, appears on his face. He’s so pretty and beautiful and all the words that describe something so immaculate that it numbs you.

We’ve turned this, disorganized bedroom that’s littered with battered books and dirty clothes and coffee mugs to some secret oasis. It’s magical. I’ve thought that couples that believed in sparks or whatever, were insufferable. But it’s magical. Spencer’s magic. I’m magic.

We’re magic.

Spencer’s fingers are certainly magic. With a wicked grin, Spencer’s fingers dug into my thigh. He separated my legs, giving me the slightest bit of pressure and friction. I rutted my hips towards his hands, downright delirious for any kind of contact.

I studied him. I carefully studied the curve of his nose, the sharpness of his jawline, the softness of his eyes. This is the man I’ve looked at, the man I’ve loved for so long. All those stolen glances, all those quick pecks and lazy hugs, all those times our fingers meet. All those touches and all the touches yet to come. I’m on fire for him, begging for his touch. I felt it build in my ribs and sear throughout my body.

“Hurry, Spence,” I chanted. His name is a sweet prayer on my lips.

Listening to me, finally, Spencer kissed me on my thighs. His tongue traveled finding exactly where I wanted him. His fingers, swift and nimble, circled across my body. I twisted my hands into his hair, cheering him on silently.

I felt a Spencer-shaped knot build in my belly. It spreads into my chest, like a white-hot wound that demands to be felt. His finger is buried inside of me, beckoning me closer and closer to the edge.

“Condom?” Spencer asked. I nodded, tossing my head to the nightstand. Frantically, I started to search, but stopped when I feel the pressure of Spencer’s hand on my arm, “I got it. Don’t worry,”

I smiled, grateful for him because at this point I hardly doubt I could see six inches in front of me, let alone into the drawer for a condom.

We’re overachievers. And over planners. Which makes us a perfect recipe for anxiety and an awful case of what’s the worst thing you can think of? game. Between my residency and Spencer’s never-ending work schedule, a baby would not be ideal. Maybe it will one day. One day when we’re not crashing into an unmade bed at 2AM after eating a tray of four day old, chilly lasagna and stale marshmallows.

“Thank you,” I whispered. Even if I know I don’t have to thank Spencer for it. He gets it. He always does.

“Of course,” he answers, struggling with the condom packet. I smiled and covered my hand over his, telling him I’m here. He handed it to me, but not before he grabbed my jaw to pull me into a kiss, “Of course, Y/N. One day, I’ll put a baby in you. One day, but for now–”

“–Practice,”

“Exactly,”

Swiftly, I ripped open the packet and help roll the condom on Spencer. He hissed at the sensation. Within seconds, I felt Spencer line himself up. And then I felt that familiar pressure and a deeply warm sensation in my belly.

I swallowed Spencer’s moan into my mouth. He smiled toothily into the kiss, clashing his teeth against my lips. The apartment, yet again, is silent for a moment. And then I heard Spencer’s guttal groan in my ear. His breath is hot against my ear, but it makes my skin chill. I clung to Spencer’s tee shirt, ready to rip it off him. He must have realized this because he sheds it, dropping it to where he tossed mine before.

“Spence–”

“I know, I know. You feel so good, Y/N. I missed this…you,” he cried out. He buried his head into my neck. Spencer’s high pitched whimper pierced in my ear as his fingers, deft and skilled, cast quick circles against my clit. That, coupled with the way he slid in and out of me, is enough to drive me crazy.

I hummed into Spencer’s hair, inhaling the smell of his shampoo– my shampoo. He’s beautiful and fragile like this, yet he’s strong and stoic. The mounting pressure grew inside of me as Spencer’s trusting became more less calculated. His fingers sped up, begging me with his motions and words to reach that edge with him, for him.

“Come on, Y/N,” he cried out, voice muffled by my neck. He kissed me softly, sweetly as we both unravel. I could grow addicted to the way he holds me close after this finishes. He kissed me, leaving no patch of skin or freckle or scar unkissed.

“God, you’re so perfect, Spencer,” I said. I brushed his hair from his forehead, licking my well-kissed lips with a smile.

He stayed inside of me still, both of us a combination of too lazy or too tired or too in love to care to move. I love it, though. I love the feeling of our bodies flush together. I love the feeling of him inside me, even when we’re still and unmoving. Eventually, we’ll separate.

Eventually.

“I really do love you, Y/N,” Spencer reminded me. He propped himself on his elbow and looks down at me.

Dimples.

I added that to the list of things I absolutely adore about Spencer Reid.

Hands. Hair. Cardigans. Smile.

“I know,” I replied with a cheeky sort of grin. “I love you more,”

“Impossible,” Spencer said. He sat up in bed, yawning. I stifled a yawn myself, even if it’s futile. I thought during it, I forgot just how tired I actually was. Now, we’re both beyond exhausted and covered in sweat and other various bodily fluids.

It’s totally sexier than it sounds.

Maybe a shower would be good. A shower with Spencer.

Like that totally won’t lead to more.

“Did you know that people who yawn after witnessing someone else yawn are shown to have a proclivity towards empathy. There’s even certain studies that suggest that yawning in front of someone displays an intense emotional connection,”

“Is that so,” I said. I tugged at Spencer’s neck, pulling him in for another kiss. You’d think that I’d grow numb or tired from kissing Spencer by now, but I doubt I ever will, “Is that your way of telling me you love me most?”

“Sure is,” Spencer responded. He offered a hand, leading me to what I hope is a hot shower and a very long night’s sleep.

“You have to promise me one thing,” I ordered as I stood, “No funny business in the shower,” I smiled, losing all credibility when I fell back into his arms.

“Sure,” Spencer said, “We’re too tired to do anything anyway,”

“I’m deliciously–no, deliriously happy,” I said, kissing him on the forehead one last time. I marvel about how this day– this week, started off as horrible and terrible and no good and very bad, but is ending up quite the opposite.

- TAGLIST -

@pastelbabygirl19 @reidsbookclub @reidslibrarybook @fightingdragonswithreid @sleepyspencer @fandomfriend33 @folkreid @muffin-cup @jswessie187 @doctorspenceryeet @alexrosex99 @reidslovely @shemarmooresfedora @xoxospencerreid @gspenc @ssa-uglywhore27 @alexxavicry @nomajdetective @spencerreidat3am @reidsacademia @fandomstuffff @foxy-eva @reidselle

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

Besides cats, what other children’s novels be perfect to be adapted into a musical? What are your ideas?

hmmmm...

"Madeline" gives off Matilda vibes, so I feel like that'd be a cute musical!

ngl if "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day" was made into a musical, i wouldn't be mad about it

"Eloise" but a musical would be *chef's kiss*, specifically if it's "Eloise at Christmastime"

[mancrushsaturday]

Sometimes when everything is being destroyed around us, our lives and the lives of those we love being ravaged by circumstances out of our control it can very often be difficult to find things to be thankful for. 2020 has been one of those years. If it could go wrong then it has gone wrong during this roller coaster of a year. Several times over the past year I've been involved in situations that brought to mind the Children's book, 'Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day', only it hasn't been just one horrible day...it's been an entire year.

But....

Finding things to be Thankful for even in the 11th hour of this Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year has come alot easier than I expected. I am Thankful for all the things one is usually Thankful for. My amazing Children, my career, my home, my health. However, this year I have been blown away by the amazing friendships I have formed here in the most unlikely of places....Tumblr. People I have met and found an instant kinship with. This year has been full of some very dark and difficult roads we have all had to walk down, but how blessed are we to have such an amazing family of friends to walk with us. To help guide us, to pull us along when we felt like it was just all to much. In a year filled with so much bad I have seen so much Love bloom. And all of that love and friendship that has flourished will be what I choose to remember the most about this year. That bright sparkly thread of Love gives me reason to Hope for the better that is surely going to manifest. And Hope is always something to be Thankful for.

I am a firm believer in Karma, and the balance of all things good and bad in this world. This year has been trying on its good days, but perhaps all we have been through is setting us up for all the great things to come.

I hope each of you has an amazing last month of this year, a Peaceful, Happy and Thankful Holiday season and I wish you all the blessings that hopefully 2021 can bring us. Stay safe and healthy, be good to each other😘

🖤Ladylost7721🖤🔥💋

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Tell me a story about Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Wildbow.

The first half-hour passed in silence.

"What the hell do you mean you're going to have a problem?" Alex asked after the first two or three minutes of silence.

"Yeah," Blake said. "The problem you said I'd have is pretty much exactly the problem I have."

"It's a different problem now." Alex's voice was flat.

Blake was looking at his hands. "I didn't know, you know? I didn't know. They sent us an emergency alert about the end of the world, and everything. And there's people talking about the end of the world in the halls. They're not telling me about this in words, Alex."

"Okay." Alex was watching the floor. "If you're not getting this from what I say --"

"I am getting it from what you're saying," Blake said. "That I don't have to be a fucking baby and be nice to people who think that you're an actual fucking person. I didn't know this. You didn't make me, Alex. You didn't make any of this."

"I --" Alex's mouth snapped shut, and he took a few seconds to try to sort out his thoughts. Then, in a way that was more like his normal speech than anything he'd said before, Alex said: "I understand why you feel this way. I really do. You don't have to say it."

There was a long pause. "I need to say it. I have to say it. I'm going to say it. I want to say it. I need to say it."

"Say what?"

A pause. "I -- I don't think I'm going to make it through this day."

Then there was a brief, soft silence.

"Okay," Alex said.

Then, as if this were the kind of thing a friend would say, "Is that all right? Can you tell me if I need to leave the apartment for a moment or something?"

"No, I'm going to be here for a while. It'll be bad. Just a while. For me."

"I know. Thank you for telling me, at least." Then, in a tone that was probably meant to be light and conversational and still sounded like someone who was trying to hold a very tightly wound rubber band, Alex said: "I don't mean to sound like an asshole or anything. I'm not upset with you. I just think that's -- you know? You're going to have a hard day. Maybe a lot of hard days. But you can handle them. I have no reason to doubt that, at least. This is just what I think."

It wasn't the most comforting thing in the world to hear.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm really sorry."

Then, there was a long, long pause. Then, in a tone that was probably meant to be light and conversational and still sounded like someone who hadn't fully processed what he was saying: "I'm just, like, an asshole and I'm an asshole. I'll do my best to be a nicer person, okay? But I'm not going to be great. Or happy. Or anything."

"That's --" Blake looked up. "Yeah."

"I think -- I think I've been really -- it's going to be a hard day, okay? But it's not the end of the world. Or anything like that. It's just a bad day."

"You're saying I'll have bad days?"

"I mean, sure. And then you won't have them as much as you think you would, for a bit. But it doesn't mean you should quit, or anything. You haven't had one in a long time. It's not like it's a brand new thing that could never happen ever again. We're just getting used to being alive. I wouldn't even take this as a bad day. I wouldn't even take this as an actual, honest-to-god bad day."

"What the hell, Alex."

"If you need to go now, go now. But if you can get through this day, I know you can. You've proven you can, a hundred times over." Alex stood up, then.

"Can we -- wait, Alex. Let's not talk about this until after lunch, okay?"

"Do I need to go right now?"

"No. I -- yeah. I guess I do. I'm -- I'm just kind of --"

"I understand. Look, do you -- you want to eat together? Lunch?"

"Oh. Yeah. That sounds okay." Blake hesitated, then stood.

"I'll be right back. Don't leave the apartment."

"Okay."

"Don't go, either."

"Right. Of course."

You were an asshole. And I'm a worse asshole than you are, which means you were right. Your mistake, though, was assuming that I wanted to be someone I wouldn't have to be to you.

I just want to be a good person to you. That should be enough. It's already enough.

He'd been an asshole.

And he'd been right.

(There was another long, long pause, and then Blake got up, too. He picked up one of Alex's stuffed animals, a teddy bear with a blue bow on his head, and put it into the bag of his backpack. And then he left.)

You were right. I've got to be. And I don't want you to have to be.

(The long, long afternoon of the twenty-third of January began, and went on, and on, and on.)

He couldn't make it to lunch. He couldn't make it through that first long, long afternoon. By lunchtime it was clear that it was going to be a bad day. In fact, it was pretty much a guarantee.

(The long, long afternoon of the twenty-fourth of January, which was now a quarter of the way over, began, and went on, and on, and on.)

[2ndstar-ontheright]

Little Tim Drake’s No Good Day

Fandom: Batman 

Characters: Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne (Batman)

Words: 1059

Summary: “I was wonderin if you could write a lil fanfic with a baby regressor Tim Drake - like ages 0-3! - having a tantrum cause of stress and Bruce, like the good dad he is, helps him calm down n stuff!” -Requested by:  WonderingLullaby. I hope you like it! Also I’m sorry if it’s kind of cliche and cheesy, but that’s what makes it so wholesome am I right?

Friday evening couldn’t come any sooner for Tim Drake. What with school, helping Mr. Wayne fighting crime, and trying to keep himself out of harm's way, it would’ve been shocking if he weren’t as stressed as he is now. He barely got any sleep last night and got in trouble for falling asleep in class. So you could say he wasn’t in a great mood. As he continued to walk home, he could feel himself getting smaller and smaller. “Oh wow! How convenient Tim!” He snarked. (Which I mean, it kind of is since you’re almost home already Tim!)

He continued on his way home until he saw Wayne Manor. Walking up the front steps, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He could finally take a break! A little one to be exact! All he had to do was get past Mr. Wayne and things would be a-okay. It wasn’t that he didn't approve of his age regression, rather it was because he didn’t want someone he idolized to see him in such a small state. “I don’t want to bother him anyway, He’s busy.” He said going up to his room. 

Shutting the door, he walked towards his bed and slumped off his backpack. Going over to his closet he picked out a little outfit which was: a bat hoodie and a pair of baby blue stretchy shorts. He crawled back towards his bed with his box labeled “Tiny Tim Things”. After what seemed like forever to little Tim, he was finally ready to be little. But, when he tried he remembered that he had science homework to finish. Getting grumpy, he bunched up his blanket in his fists. “Why did Miss Swamp have to give us homework on a friday? That’s so mean!” He asked. Sighing, he got his homework out and sat at his desk to finish. Before long 2 hours had past and Mr. Wayne was calling him for dinner. Still in a sour mood he set his work aside and walked downstairs. 

Bruce had been working in his office on a new hotel design. The hotel would only have 3 floors and instead of a pool it would have a drawing room that would display the works of his favorite artists. Such as: Georges Saurat, Lee Stan, Kane Bob, Rembrandt, and Frida Kahlo. He was snapped out of his work when he heard his son, Tim, come home. Walking out of his office, he hoped to catch a glimpse of him before he retreated up to his room. Hearing his footsteps go up the stairs, he was too late. He sighed, shrugged it off, and went into the kitchen to make dinner. 

He had taken notice of how stressful the past few weeks have been for Tim, so he decided to make his favorite, lasagne. After 2 long hours of cooking, dinner was ready. “Tim! Dinner’s ready!” He called. 

“I made your favorite. Lasagna!” Bruce said, bringing the dish to the table. “Can you set the table for me, Tim?” Tim nodded and walked into the kitchen to get the flatware. Once he got the plates and the silverware out he walked back to the table. 

As the 2 of them began to eat, Tim felt himself getting more upset. Bruce took note of the fact that he hadn’t eaten anything and chose this moment to see what was bothering him.  “Tim, are you okay”? Tim shook his head. “Oh. What’s wrong buddy?” “Nothing.” “Tim, c’mon talk to me. What’s wrong?” Bruce said sternly. “I SAID NOTHING!” Tim yelled, pushing his plate onto the floor. He tried to run off, but slipped and fell onto the floor. Lasagna all over him. His eyes filled with hot tears and knowing that his dad would be furious, he started crying.

Bruce looked at his son in shock, he hadn’t seen him like this in a while. “I guess things were a lot more than they seemed” he thought. Tim’s sobs filled the silence as Bruce’s heat broke. Suddenly, it hit him like a batarang to the Joker’s henchmen, “He hasn’t regressed to help with his stress until now. That explains the tantrum” He realized. Standing up, he walked over to the boy to try and calm him down.  

“Tim, you know that it’s not okay to throw things and yell at people. Especially me, right? ” Bruce said, putting a hand on Tim’s shoulder. Tim looked up at him and sniffled, “ Yeah, I know. ‘M sorry papa!” “It’s okay kiddo. But next time something’s bothering you, talk to me about it and we’ll work it out! Don’t keep it inside until you explode and get upset, okay? You’re not a volcano!” Bruce joked, wiping his tears away. “Yeah. Vo’canos are scary!” Tim giggled. “Yeah” Bruce laughed, “Now you know how it feels for me when I see you get upset like that. It feels pretty scary,” He said seriously. “M’ sorry Papa, I don’ wan’ you to be a’scared” Tim replied. “This kid” Bruce thought, “How did I get a kid who’s so sweet?” “It’s okay buddy. I’m not scared, I’m just glad you’re okay. Now, I believe it’s time for a little robin to get a bath” He said smirking at the end. “Nooo! No bathtime!” Tim said laughing. 

Later that night, after Tim, his clothes, and the mess had all been cleaned, Bruce walked back upstairs to say good night. Tim had been the same as he left him, in his pajamas with his stuffed dog in one hand and his bottle in the other. Bruce smiled at the scene as he saw him trying to read a book, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-good, Very Bad Day” to be exact. He chuckled and rolled his eyes at the irony. 

“Papa! Can you read a story, please?” Tim asked, holding the book out to him. “Of course buddy,” he said, taking the book. “I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair...'' Bruce began. Before long, Tim fell asleep to the story. He closed the book and placed it and the bottle onto the nightstand. He tucked Tim in and kissed his forehead before leaving the room. “Good night little one” He whispered before going to bed himself. And the Bat family fell asleep peacefully under the moon’s watchful eye.