#without spoiling anything? that's impossible but i'll try

[4ln-stay8]

Rainy hearts

>summary: Lando was late for a game session with his friends due to picking you up

>author’s notes: I hope this isn’t as bad as I think it is

>warnings: idk some assumptions, some ignoring, some fluff at the end

Lando had promised Max that he'd join their gaming session and stream with their friends that evening. They had all been looking forward to it, but he found himself running late because you, his secret girlfriend, had called him in a rush. You needed a ride from your work to your university for your evening classes.

"Hi guys! Sorry I'm late" said the brown curly haired man

Lando finally joined the stream, but Max couldn't help but ask, "Lando, where were you? We had to start without you."

Lando sighed, frustration evident in his voice. "Sorry, Max. Sunshine needed a ride to her university, and she was in a hurry. She acts like such a spoiled brat sometimes, you know? She thinks I'm her personal chauffeur and that I'll be wherever she wants whenever she wants like I don't actually have anything else to do. She has a car and a driving license yet she still bothers me."

'Sunshine' was the code name they gave you for whenever they wanted to talk about you without people snooping in their business, and it worked.

Everyone knew about 'Sunshine' but no one knew the mystery identity of 'Sunshine'. Everyone knew she was Lando's girlfriend but no one knew anything about her. No one knew your name, your age, anything, and both you and Lando loved that!

Unknown to Lando, you've been discreetly watching the stream from your class, hurt by his comment. Did he really think that you were a spoiled brat? Does he really think that you see him as your personal driver?

You didn't wanted to be seen like that. That wasn't you! You never called him to pick you up just because you didn't want to take the bus or walk to university. You only asked him to pick you up when you were in a hurry and you were running late, and that wasn't often.

You have a driving license but due to the very busy neighbourhood your work was situated in you never took your car. To find a parking space there was nearly impossible and you would have to wait a while to actually find a spot which would result in you being late for work.

When your classes ended, you decided not to call Lando for a ride as you had agreed upon. He insisted that you would call him when you were done for the day so he could pick you up. After a while you agreed to call him, but now you weren't gonna do that. Instead, you walked home, and as luck would have it, the rain started pouring down.

Back at yours and Lando's place, thunder echoed as he anxiously checked the time. Realizing that your class had ended, he started to worry. It's been nearly 40 minutes since the class ended and there was no sign from you. He checked his phone at least 5 times but there was nothing there from you.

He said goodbye to the boys as he decided to leave the stream and go outside the gaming room and call you to see where you were. As he did that he heard the front door closing. Walking towards the entrance, he was met by his drenched girlfriend.

"Why didn't you call me, Y/N? I was worried sick!" Lando exclaimed, his worry turning into relief at seeing you safe.

You, avoiding eye contact, replied, "I didn't want to bother you or act like a spoiled brat who treats you like her personal driver,"

You looked at him, your eyes filled with a mix of hurt and determination, before turning away and leaving him standing in the hallway, his heart heavy with regret.

You walked into your shared bedroom, walking to the closet to find some dry clothes as you were wet and cold. Lando followed you like a lost puppy trying to find some words.

Lando sighed, realizing the unintended consequence of his words. "Y/N, it's not like that. I do want to help."

With a bitter tone and without even looking at him you told him "I appreciate it but I don't want to make you late for gaming with the boys" you said sarcastically and walked in the bathroom to take a hot shower.

He went to the kitchen to make you some tea so you could warm up even more, and something to eat, hoping that this would also make you a little less mad at him.

Around 20 minutes later, you walked out of the shower, dressed in some of Lando's clothes. You were mad at him but you won't deny that his clothes were more comfortable and warmer than yours.

You sat ok the bed scrolling on your phone while you snuggled in the blanket trying to get more warm. On the other room Lando was warming the tea, making a plate of food for you to eat.

He put them on a tray, picked it up and walked to your shared bedroom. He knocked on the door and opened it slowly.

“I brought you something to eat and some tea to warm up a little more” he whispered

You rolled your eyes at him trying not to give in and forgive him so quickly. “Thanks” you whispered as well, standing up a little and taking the tray from his hands.

“Look baby, I’m really sorry for what I said. I swear I didn’t mean it!” He whispered, his eyes pleading for forgiveness

“Am I really a bother to you? If I am I won’t ask you to pick me up again. Be honest!” you whispered avoiding his eyes, scared of his answer

“Of course you are not a bother to me, my love! I would come pick you up from the other side of the world if I had to! I swear baby I didn’t mean it! I was just annoyed because the traffic was bad when I got back! I am really sorry! Please forgive me!” He said, regret present in his voice

“I forgive you, but please don’t do say that again” you said, hurt still lingering in your voice

Even though you didn’t wanted to give in too easily, the tone in his voice made you break. You could feel how sorry he was for what he said, and after all he was your boyfriend and you loved him, so you did gave in.

“I swear I will never say anything like this again! What can I do to make it up to you?” the british man said desperately

“Just come and cuddle me, I’m still cold from the rain” you said putting the tray away and opening your arms

“Gladly!” He whispered and jumped on his side of the bed to cuddle you for the rest of the night.

[loucifersbitch]

yay for the follower milestone! For the prompt, can I suggest buddietommy and sleep deprived?

*looks at prompt* yeah, no way i'll be able to only write 11 sentences for this sldkfjslkfjskl

Eddie gets home first, dog-tired after a harrowing shift. They went their entire 24 hours without so much as a 5 minute break between calls. Willing himself to remain conscious, he drops his bag in the bedroom, stripping out of the clothes he'd hastily thrown on before leaving the station. The bed is damn near calling to him, but he knows he smells after the shift he just went through. He makes sure everything gets into the hamper (because otherwise someone will have something to say about it) before heading to the bathroom and starting the shower.

Stepping across the stone floor and under the rain shower head, he moans. The water pressure is heavenly, and for a few minutes he stands still under the spray, water running down his back, his sore muscles soaking in the heat. His eyelids droop with the exhaustion, but he forces them to stay open.

He barely registers the sound of the bathroom door opening, the smell of eggs and bacon and sausage permeating the air before the latch clicks again. Stuck in an almost trance-like state, he wishes he could sleep standing up. Or that the strength to lift his arms to wash his hair would hit him sometime soon.

Large, sure hands wrap around his hips from behind, and he immediately melts into it.

"Hey," Tommy says, his voice low as he kisses Eddie's shoulder. "Rough shift?"

"Mhm," he hums, nodding.

"Yeah, Evan said you guys didn't get a break."

Eddie hums in agreement again. "Where is he, by the way? I thought he was right behind me when I left the station."

"You know him, gotta make sure we eat before passing out for the next twelve hours. He'll be along soon."

Like they summoned him, the bathroom door opens and closes again, Buck joining them almost as soon as he'd entered the room. He plasters himself to Eddie's front, arms reaching around them until he's grabbing Tommy's shoulders.

"Jesus, Buck, why are you so cold?" Eddie asks, looping his arms around Buck's middle.

"'m not cold," Buck grumbles, burying his - very cold - face in Eddie's neck. "You jus' have the water temperature too high."

"Or he spent 10 minutes out in the freezing rain trying to catch Mrs. Petersen's dog for her again," Tommy murmurs.

"Hey, Greg is fast, and she's 74! I was helping. It's called being a good neighbor, Thomas."

"Mhm, and how exactly did you plan to catch him with your bare hands in the pouring rain?"

Eddie snickers at the mental image that springs to mind.

"I was being chivalrous," Buck grumbles again.

"Good thing it's your turn to do laundry," Tommy continues. "I wouldn't want to be the one to get those mud stains out of your jeans and shirt."

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up and get clean. We're wasting water," Buck says, staying exactly where he is and making it impossible to clean anything.

"Okay," Tommy says with finality, "Eddie first. Evan go sit on the bench."

Eddie can feel Buck beginning to pout where his mouth is buried against his clavicle.

"But I -"

"Now, Evan."

Buck huffs, but listens, sitting on the large wooden bench at the back of the shower.

Tommy begins washing Eddie's hair, and Eddie can't hold back the whimpers and gasps as gentle fingers massage his scalp. Tommy isn't trying to make it sensual, but Eddie is affected nonetheless. He can't help it when one of his partners' hands are in his hair.

Tommy moves methodically - meticulously - like with everything else he does. He has this particular way of caring for Eddie and Buck that makes them feel spoiled and cherished all at once.

When Tommy's done with him, Eddie and Buck trade places, and Eddie watches Tommy give Buck the same caring treatment he'd just received. There's a soft smile on Tommy's face as he works. This is just as much for him as it is for them.

Eddie and Buck both try to wash Tommy's hair for him, but he waves them off. They do manage to talk their way into washing the rest of him. Very meticulously.

The three fluffy towels on the counter hadn't been there when Eddie stepped in the shower, but Tommy always thinks of everything. They towel off, throw on the bare minimum of clothing, and quickly eat the breakfast sandwiches Buck had prepared.

They finally fall into bed, an unidentifiable mass of limbs and muscles, their bodies beyond exhaustion, their soft words turn into quiet snores almost immediately.

[rainba]

This is very random– BUT I wanted to talk a little bit more about Luka and his obsession with his darling. ((I'll be posting the Luka kidnapping Kairos and darling fic next. :3c But I wanted to get this out first.))

In most posts, it always sounds like he’s uncaring about his darling– being mean all the time– and only likes the thrill of chasing them. But…

Deep down, he truly is madly in love with his darling. He’s just… Horrible at expressing it sometimes.

tags/TWs: light mentions of stalking, yandere, slightly creepy/obsessive behaviors.

reader is GN

Luka isn’t used to feeling such strong emotions. Throughout most of his life, nothing has really made him feel much of anything. Getting perfect grades? Whatever. Going out on dates? He just did it because he could, not because he had any real interest in people. Winning a competition or getting into fights? A little exciting, sure, but the feeling fades pretty fast.

But when it comes to you..? He feels something indescribable. And it’s intense.

At first, he doesn’t really understand it. Why is his heart tightening in his chest? Why does his face feel so warm? Why is it hard to look you in the eyes? Why are you constantly on his mind?? He’ll never express these things to you, he’s amazing at hiding it, but his feelings for you are making him go crazy.

In the beginning, he’ll start stalking your social media without realizing it. Every time he’s at work and has a moment to spare, his hands will instinctively pull out his phone and open your profile. He checks to see if you've posted anything– and if you haven’t, he’ll settle for rereading your conversations, if you’ve ever had any with him. Honestly, it’s embarrassing, but he just can’t stop himself. It’s addicting. His heart skips a beat when he sees that you’ve shared something.

…Again, highly embarrassing for him.

Then the next stage rolls in: he gets your pictures printed and frames them in his house and on his work desk. Seeing your face always calms him down and makes him feel warm inside. The more stressful days at work now hardly affect him, all thanks to you… And now he doesn’t feel so disheartened when he returns to his empty home.

Then the third stage rolls around: he needs to see you multiple times a week. It’s similar to the way he checks his phone; he doesn’t realize it as his legs instinctually start to carry him wherever he thinks he may find you. He needs to know if you’re safe– needs to know that you’re happy and nothing bad is going on… Those are his excuses, anyway. He’s not exactly sure why he loves watching and following you, but he just does. He also does genuinely love the idea of being your protector, though.

Possessing you, protecting you, spoiling and loving you each and every day… He wants to do it all. Just for you.

But deep down, Luka’s constantly fighting himself. He has to learn to control his urges and manage his emotions… After all, since he’s never experienced such intense feelings before, he’s never learned how to cope with them. Seeing you being around other men makes his blood boil; he’s had to research ways to cope with his rage. Now he just listens to music and goes on runs, trying his hardest to not seek revenge on the innocent people you talk to.

Luka has never yearned for something so badly before. When he goes to bed at night, he finds himself longing to have you in his arms… It becomes almost impossible to sleep. 

How cute it would be to see you wearing his clothes to bed… How nice it would be to see you crawl next to him and give him a kiss goodnight as he wraps his arms around you, holding you close to him. How nice it would be to feel the rise and falling of your chest as he thinks about just how lucky he is to have you.

And Luka thinks to himself: “...Is this what it means to be in love?”

Deep down, he didn’t really think he’d ever feel it– he almost thought love was just a myth. When people told him that love is a wonderful feeling unlike any other, he thought they were lying. Now he doesn’t want to let you go… He can’t, he just can’t. He doesn’t think he could feel this way about anyone (or anything) ever again.

Once Luka has finally realized that he needs you more than anything, he’ll stop being ashamed of his actions. He will have already been a little bit close to you– he talks to you sometimes, but he’s remained somewhat distant up until now. He can’t keep the gap between you any longer.

Luka will do whatever it takes to get you the “natural way” first. In order to start things up, he’ll create a bunch of fake chance-encounters. Like, oh… You’re here ordering some food, too? How crazy! You’re also on your way to shop for some clothes? Wow, that’s also crazy, because he was just about to go out and buy himself a new leather jacket. So… You don’t mind if he tags along, right? (He tries his hardest to be nonchalant about it. Doesn’t want to look like he’s trying too hard..)

After that, he’ll start to ask you out on dates, buy you anything you’d like, ask you about your interests and let you ramble on about anything you like… He already knows all your interests, but he just likes the way your eyes light up as you talk about them. (Also, Luka sort of just adopts your interests too, as he doesn’t really have too many of his own.)

When Luka first tries to court you, he’ll be an extreme gentleman. He always pays all the restaurant bills, holds doors open for you and drives you everywhere. Although, to be honest, he does this even after the beginning stages… He just likes to spoil his darling in general.

In the end, he wants you to basically be his ”mate for life.” He wants you to be his one and only, the most important and special person in his entire life. You’ve shown him what it’s like to feel love, and now he yearns to know what it’s like to be loved in return. Luka won’t stop until he gets what he wants.

[cumtastiics]

yan! spoiled brat x g/n reader drabble

requests are open!! currently working on yan doctor drabble..

"Come on!" he pleaded, desperate to get ahold of your arm. "You - You can't leave! I have everything you'd ever want. I can support you and your family!" His voice was strained with emotion as tears streamed down his face, watching you walk away.

Your heart hardened as you felt his hand trying to grab onto your arm once more. How many times had you been in this same situation? Countless.

"I don't want to be here with you," you said, finally throwing his hand off of you and watching as he crumpled to the ground in defeat, his sobs echoing across the street.

"Y/N! I would die without you!" His dramatic tone made you want to slap him. He always took advantage of your feelings, never considering how his actions affected you. So, why couldn't you do the same to him?

"I'll do anything, please!" he begged, his words almost incoherent with his sobbing, making it nearly impossible for anyone else to understand.

But you did. You had dealt with this same situation every day for months.

[sukunasdirtylaugh]

tags: yakuza!kento x f!reader, reader and nanami don't meet yet but she's in the estate! again, w employer

the next day at your door, you're met with several bags of food. strawberries, loafs of bread, eggs, yogurts, and foods that would surely last you over a month. your employer's chauffer smiles before leaving you with an ankle brace, an ice pack, and three different ointment creams saying, "it's from the boss."

you are utterly met with amazement.

"kento," your employer's voice rings in greeting, "how's my favorite businessman?"

"it's good to hear from you, stephen." kento chuckles, "and no need for the exaggerations, I've been meaning to talk to you again."

"Oh really?" your employer chuckles, "well, so have I. how about we meet up for a game of golf? I'll have the kids stay with their grandmother. there's been someone I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"always straight to the point, huh steph?"

"you know me." he grins, "but you'll be glad this time."

by the time you return to your employer's home, you are already well from your ankle and back on your feet. those ointments he gave you really made a difference, allowing you to recuperate at a faster speed, using some free time to enjoy a book or two you've been blessed by the extra money he had given you to spoil yourself in some of your hobbies. if anything, you hoped to one day own a library as big as the ones you've seen in the movies. own a home where you can comfortably move and cook pastries without worries and live at peace.

several days pass and you're now days away from visiting your employer's friend. you don't know much about him since you'd never ask, but you assume the man is a friend from a similar line of work.

"since I got my kids new clothes," smiles you employer, "I thought I'd buy you something too. it's a dress. and shoes. they should be comfortable and your size, but if you find something wrong, please let me know and I'll make sure to get it changed." there was no amount of kindness in the world your employer had for you. you think it might have been because of what had happened the other week, or he'd seen how much his kids missed you while you were away. whatever the case was, when you tried on that summer dress, you felt you.

the arrival at your employer's friend's house was swift. you didn't see the man, but a few staff members had selected a few goods and treats that just made it impossible not to want to hold a picnic for the children outside. with a blanket and the help of the children, all of you settle for holding a picnic underneath a large tree. the estate of your boss' friend was admirably beautiful, with plants and free space to roam for what felt like acres. and the children at your side were overjoyed at the sight of sandwiches, pastries, fruit, and goods children generally loved to indulge in.

from a distance, you employer chuckles.

"what's so funny?" kento asks, confused for a moment as his friend crosses his arms, shaking his head.

"it's nothing. I was just admiring how happy my kids are with that girl. you know, the nanny I have for my kids. she's a good woman, makes a man think how happy she'd be in a place like this."

"is that your way of getting rid of your employees?" nanami raises a brow, trying to humor the situation in the air. "I told you-"

"-wait till you see her," kento is almost surprised by his friend's words, the certainty makes the bottom of his stomach swirl in curiosity. "but... try not to scare her, okay?"

[glitterguts13]

Dr Ratio/Aventurine/Sunday with pregnant Aventurine, with all three trying to do right by each other and their baby after everything that went down in the Penacony storyline (I don't know how it'll end but let's just pretend everything works out)

It's been a week and I still haven't emotionally recovered from 2.1 I need Hoyo to stop hurting my babies, please, and thank.

(JK I love the pain)

Seventeen system hours.

That day felt so long ago now, but it still sits heavy on everyone's mind. Ratio, ever the rational one, wanted to talk about it, get everything out in the open and to fix things because the good doctor didn't leave problems unsolved.

Sunday didn't take the same approach, because ackowling the issue meant acknowledging how he'd hurt and almost killed their lover. How close he had been to taking away the brightest light in their lives and he couldn't do it. Instead, he spends their time together lavishing his partners with gifts and spoils but still keeping a safe emotional distance.

While Aventurine waves it off, saying it is fine, he doesn't care, all that matters is that things worked out at the end, even if he still woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and violently trembling from the nightmare of having the Harmony dug deep into his aching brain.

Seventeen system hours.

It was hard to believe it had happened at all, or that they still hadn't managed how to talk about it without one or all of them ending up so heated they needed to walk away.

"Veritas, you're crushing me." Aventunine grumbles under his breath, feeling the scholar's tight arms wrapped around him while they prepare for a dinner party that evening. The doctor mumbles something he can't make out before loosening his grip.

"You always hold me like I'm about to disappear," he says it as a joke, but the way Ratio goes still behind him makes Aventurine's heartache deep.

"I didn't mean-"

"Quiet." a trail of kisses is left down the back of the blond's neck and over his bare shoulders.

"Are you almost ready?" the click of Sunday's shoes alerts the pair before he turns the corner to their room. Aventurine hears the breath catch in his lover's throat, and Ratio quickly releases his hold.

"You look...divine." Sunday struggles to find a word powerful enough to describe his beautiful lover, but it is nearly impossible. The garment left his shoulders exposed, but draped softly around his arms and dipped low at his chest. The cloth hugged the curve of his swollen belly, his hands resting gently atop it. A faint blush creeps over his cheeks, unable to look away.

"I don't remember purchasing that for you."

"Because you didn't. Robin did. Not that I need either of you to buy me things." none of the three could be described as anything short of idiotically wealthy, but Sunday and Ratio always insisted on spoiling Aventurine regardless. Not that he minded at all.

"She's excited for tonight." Sunday quirks a small smile, something he'd started doing a lot more recently with Robin having returned to his life.

"That makes one of us," Aventurine grumbles, tugging at his sleeve and adjusting the hem of his top.

Ratio places a hand on his shoulder, and Sunday steps closer, cupping the blond's face with his hands.

"You don't need to be worried. Everyone will love you."

Aventurine snorts, eyes darting to avoid Sunday's eyes.

"The family was less than thrilled to find out, I can imagine 'polite society' will be even less understanding of you having a child with a-" he stops himself, mouth snapping shut and eyes squeezing closed.

"Aven, I love you," Sunday pauses, glancing up to meet Ratio's eyes, "We love you. All of you. Every part of you." Ratio's thumb graces over the brand on Aventurine's neck, and he shutters.

"Other people will not be so understanding. If it was only me, I couldn't be assed to care but our baby is going to be the center of attention and the target of so much-"

"And if anyone so much as looks at you wrong, I'll have their heads." it isn't an empty threat, and it only causes Aventurine to shutter once more.

"You are not facing anything alone. Not anymore." Ratio wraps his arms around his lover's waist, large hands resting over the taunt bump. Sunday joins him, gently running soothing circles where their unborn child slept.

"You two are impossible, you know that?" the men chuckle, Sunday coming to meet Aventurine's mouth with a deep kiss, and Ratio's lips working their way back across his neck. The blond moans, shivering and pulling away from their touches.

"If you don't knock it off we're going to be late."

Sunday laughs, and Ratio rolls his eyes.

"Very well, we'll simply finish this when we return home tonight."

[duckapus]

Pokemon/WarioWare crossover because why not throw yet another Anime Rewrite AU that I say I'll write a fic for and fully intend to but never do on the pile? (i have issues...)

Five years before the start of the series Delia and Ash find a girl around Ash's age with red eyes lost in a park who can't remember anything about herself except that her name is Ashley. Fallers are a bit more common in this timeline than others (though still pretty rare and not yet well understood) so when the authorities investigate they realize her situation pretty quickly...particularly how near-impossible it would be to get a 5-year-old who seems to be from a world without Pokemon (Fallers typically remember what Pokemon are and can name ones they're familiar with, so the fact that she only refers to them by general terms like "cat" or "bird" and is confused by a lot of their behavior is very telling). Delia, of course, agrees to take her in permanently after they break the news to her (she'd already been looking after Ashley during the investigation because of course she would).

So now Ash has a not-actually-a-twin sister. She still manages to become a witch-in-training since she's still got her massive potential for magic and witchcraft is canonically a thing in the Pokemon Anime. She even manages to summon Red and make him her familiar at seven. She's a bit more outgoing thanks to being raised in the Ketchum household instead of growing up more-or-less alone in that haunted mansion, but at her core she's still the grumpy little witch girl we know and love.

Anyway, she and Ash both plan on challenging the Indigo League, though they're going to travel together at least for their Kanto Journey (...yeah they're definitely gonna stick together even after that 'cause this is still meant to be a canon rewrite), partly because they know ahead of time about the Starter shortage and they figure that as long as at least one of them gets a Pokemon they can help the other catch something on Route 1 so they don't have to wait a month for a new set to be available (what, you really think Oak would've left them in the lurch for a whole year if the shortage had been real and not a Timeline Preservation Measure? though given how big a head start that would give the other trainers (particularly Gary) it still makes sense why 10-year-old Ash acted like it was the end of the world).

Of course, their alarm clock mysteriously breaks and they oversleep and end up with a Pikachu who hates them and an Eevee with absolutely no thoughts in its fluffy little head.

Anyway, things are mostly normal for a while aside from Ashley and Red being along for the ride, up until Power of One, where they encounter Wario. Apparently he ended up in the Pokemon World because he found some sort of magical artifact during one of his treasure hunts. Notably, he isn't Amnesiac like most Fallers, and he's not from the version of the Mushroom World that Ashley originally came from, as evidenced by him recognizing her on-sight even though she would've disappeared before ever meeting him. Anyway, he helps them beat Laurence III, then decides to claim the Hikokyu as spoils of war and fix it up to use as the local WarioWare HQ. So he's settling down in Shamouti for the time being.

Meanwhile, back in the Mushroom world, the WarioWare crew and the main Mario cast are trying to figure out what happened to Wario. They eventually manage to create a pipe that goes between Diamond City and Shamouti at some point midway through Johto...and find out that he ran off to Johto with Melody to challenge their League because he found out that Pokemon Battling, especially official League matches, gets you prize money, and he needed funds for replacement parts to get the Hikokyu up and running. So Mario, Peach, and about half the crew are off to fetch him. They don't finally catch up with him until the Alto Maire incident. Ashley's part of the search party, so she and the AU's main Ashley (and both Reds of course) end up meeting and it's a bit awkward at first. They end up going by Ashley K (for Ketchum of course) and Ashley M (for Mushroom, since she doesn't have a last name and Ashley W would be too clunky to say, plus she wouldn't be caught dead naming herself after Wario) for the sake of convenience (the Reds follow suit, of course).

I also have the idea of having the Hikokyu set up shop in Orre after it's been made skyworthy again and fully converted into a second game studio, then having the WarioWare crew stumble into and run roughshod over Gale of Darkness's plot with their own brand of glorious mayhem while just trying to introduce their games to the fresh new audience the Pokemon World provides.

[theaddictedwatcher]

Hello everyone!

The series I'm going to introduce to you today is very close to my heart, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to tell you all about it. A science fiction series produced by Graeme Manson and John Fawcett for BBC America, its first season was released in 2013. It consists of five seasons of 10 episodes each, and last year saw the birth of its spin-off. Today, I'm going to talk to you about the Orphan Black series!

As always, let's start with a synopsis that's a little longer than usual: Sarah Manning, a young thief in her twenties, orphaned and penniless, witnesses the suicide of Detective Beth Childs, who looks exactly like her. She decides to assume her identity while erasing her own existence by pretending to have taken her own life. Sarah is also the mother of a little girl, Kira, who is being looked after by Sarah's adoptive mother, Mrs. S. The latter agrees to give her back to her on condition that Sarah can prove that she can be a worthy mother, by bringing in a sum of money to support them. Through Beth's investigations, Sarah learns that they are not just twins and that there are a number of them in North America and Europe. She meets Cosima Niehaus, a scientist specializing in genetics, and Alison Hendrix, a stay-at-home mom living in a comfortable suburb, whom she assists in learning more about their origins. In the course of her investigation, Sarah finds herself in the crossfire between two entities: the Dyad Institute, a powerful biotech consortium; and the Proletians, a sectarian movement convinced that they are abominations and which is behind the hunt for them. The two entities step up their hunt when they learn that Sarah, who has escaped their supervision, has a baby daughter - theoretically impossible since they are supposed to be sterile. Sarah, and those she now considers her sisters, are sometimes on the run from these organisms, sometimes fooled by their manipulations, all the while searching for their origins. And now, a short technical presentation: - Created by: Graeme Mason and John Fawcett - Music by: Trevor Yuile - Main cast: Tatiana Maslany, Jordan Gavaris, Dylan Bruce, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Kevin Hanchard, Michael Mando, Evelyne Brochu, Kristian Bruun, Ari Millen, Josh Vokey.

PRESENTATION

It's going to be pretty difficult to talk about the series without spoiling anything, so I apologize in advance for the slight spoilers present in this article. I'll try as far as possible to limit them or point them out if they're unavoidable, but the main spoiler I can't avoid is the main subject of the series.

As you'll have gathered from the summary, one of the main subjects of the series is human cloning. Indeed, Sarah, Beth, Cosima, Alison, and all the others - all played by Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk, Chronicle of the Living Dead, The Listener)- are not mere twins, but clones. That's why the Dyad Institute and the Proletians are looking for them, although they don't have the same intentions for them if they find them.

SPOILER + In the final episode of season 1, Cosima discovers that each clone has a different DNA tag based on ASCII-coded base pairs. In addition to the identification code, there is the text "This organism and its derived genetic material are restricted intellectual property." followed by a series of patent numbers. Sarah receives a photograph whose caption suggests that the cloning project that produced it was called "Project Leda". SPOILER END

But that's enough spoilers for now, we can finally start the analysis!

CASTING

At the end of the first season, ten clones of different nationalities and social backgrounds are revealed. Other clones gradually emerge in subsequent seasons. In episode 8 of season 2, Tony, a transgender clone, is introduced. All are played by Tatiana Maslany, who alone plays a good third of the show's characters. Often praised by the press for her acting and the complexity of her roles, it was several years before she received any awards for the series, much to the dismay of fans and the press who couldn't understand why.

In Tatiana Maslany's portrayal of the eight main clones, she was aided by Kathryn Alexandre (Darknet, Saving Hope, Designated Survivor), who acted as her understudy and acted in scenes where several clones interacted. Although she was not credited in the first season's episodes, she was present throughout the series. She doesn't appear on screen as the clones in any of the broadcast episodes, but motion capture and post-production compositing were used to replace her on-screen with Tatiana Maslany's performance. I'll come back a little later in the SPECIAL EFFECTS AND SHOOTING ANECDOTES section to explain how the footage was prepared to facilitate the work of the actresses and the editors. Tatiana Maslany said of Kathryn Alexandre's performance: "She's so incredible. She memorizes all the lines, all my blocks, all her blocks, my mannerisms, my impulses; she somehow memorizes it all and gives it back to me in a performance that I can build on." Kathryn Alexandre had worked as an actor's reader during the casting auditions for the initial production of Orphan Black. She then auditioned for the role of Tatiana Maslany's understudy and won the spot because the producers were looking for, in Kathryn Alexandre's words, "an actor rather than just an understudy".

KNOWN CLONES (SPOILER)

Throughout the series, each Project Leda clone has its own existence and therefore its own relationships. Early on in the series, we meet Alison Hendrix, mother of two and housewife, and her husband Donnie, as well as Cosima Niehaus, a scientist specializing in genetics. Both of them - played by Tatiana Maslany - and the relationships they develop over the series are key elements of the story.

We also encounter other cloning projects with Project Castor. It's revealed that the original samples from the Castor and Leda projects were brother and sister, making all clones genetic siblings. But there's an even stronger link between the two genomes: a single woman, Kendall Malone - played by Alison Steadman (The King's Man: First Mission)-, is in fact the original of both clone lines, as she is a human chimera. We later learn that, in addition to being the donor of the genomes' DNA, she is also the biological mother of Siobhan Sadler - played by Maria Doyle Kennedy (Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case, Outlander, The Tudors)- Sarah and Felix's adoptive mother and Kira's guardian.

Unlike the Project Leda clones, all Project Castor clones are aware of their cloned nature and have been raised together by Dr. Virginia Coady -played by Kyra Harper (Warehouse 13, The Dresden Files)- in a military setting.

As with Tatiana Maslany, Ari Millen (My Life with John F. Donovan, The Expanse), who plays the Project Castor clones, was supported by Nick Abraham as his understudy when necessary.

Other key clones in the story are also introduced in the course of the series, whether allied or not, but I've already told you a lot and wouldn't want to spoil the whole story for those of you who want to watch the series. I'll just end this part by pointing out that the final episode of the series gives us a glimpse of a worldwide count of 274 Leda clones…

OVERVIEW

I'd like to pay tribute to the titanic efforts of the production team, Tatiana Maslany, Ari Millen, and their understudies to achieve such fluidity in the transitions between the various shots and the many (very many!) roles played by the actors. On a personal note, I have to admit that, over and above the story and the investigative aspect, it was Tatiana Maslany's acting that won me over so quickly to the series. What a performance, to know how to nuance her acting to interpret seventeen characters and make them all different and identifiable. Of course, she didn't do it alone: the writing of the story, the artistic team, and the technical team all contributed to this success.

I'd also like to salute the work of Evelyne Brochu (Tom à la ferme, Café de Flore, Paris Police 1900), Jordan Gavaris (Degrassi: Nouvelle Génération, Take Two), and Kevin Hanchard (Suicide Squad, The Expanse, Hudson & Rex), who were great discoveries or rediscoveries for me, giving this series a warm, familiar feel.

The role played by Matt Frewer (Watchmen, Supernatural, Hercules) is also very important, bringing an extra shade of toxicity to this morally dubious universe.

THEMATICS

While we're on the subject of this series' morals, and in particular those of its characters, I'd like to take a moment to focus on certain themes that I feel the series highlights, to open up a dialogue in the viewer's mind about these subjects.

One of the first themes to emerge in the first few episodes is the questioning of patriarchy. Between Sarah's toxic relationship with her drug-dealing ex-partner Victor, and Beth's relationship with Paul, who not only is her partner but also spies on her for the Dyad Institute, the depictions of couple relationships in the very first episodes of the series are very much in favor of patriarchy. These are situations in which the man in the relationship tries to control his partner's every move, but also to control her mentally by exerting moral pressure. What's interesting for me, beyond this faithful depiction of toxic relationships, is that not only did they not stop at showing this pattern in couple relationships, they extended this possibility to professional and family relationships as well, and, throughout the series, deconstructed these patterns by allowing the female characters to free themselves from these holdings, albeit sometimes with very heavy blows, to regain their independence and find themselves again and not the version altered by the male figures in their environment.

What's more, the very existence of clones means that the series tackles the subject of the exploitation of the body, particularly the female body. SPOILER Between the fact that the stem DNA used to create the two clone families comes from one and the same woman, Kendall Malone, and the fact that they're looking for Sarah and Helena because they're the only two clones with the ability to give life (ndlr. Alison and Donnie's children are adopted), something that until now was not possible in experiments, the female body is used as a tool to satisfy unhealthy research carried out by scientists who have no respect for human existence as we know it. END SPOILER

The series is full of strong female characters, from the clones played by Tatiana Maslany to Mrs. S -Sarah and Felix's adoptive mother and Kira's caretaker played by Maria Doyle Kennedy - and Dr. Delphine Cormier - played by Evelyne Brochu - and it's a great way, in my opinion, of popularizing in viewers' minds that deconstructing patriarchy isn't a bad thing and won't lead to the end of the world, as some people seem to think… An evolution, be it moral, sociological, scientific, or other, is not necessarily a bad thing, but we must welcome it and try to understand it before directly considering it as a danger to be eradicated.

But beyond this aspect, for me, there's a real questioning of the capitalist world, which is ready to tolerate or even encourage any experiment as long as it's profitable. Long before Elon Musk and his Neuralink launched in 2016, the series had already understood and set out to denounce the potential excesses of technological developments in the medical field. I'm not saying that there aren't advantages to such advances, particularly if they help to improve or save lives, as long as they are governed by strict rules, particularly concerning experimentation, whether animal or human, as was the case with Project Dolly in Scotland in the late 90s, to which the very theme of the series refers.

For those of you who don't know, Project Dolly is a sheep famous for being the first mammal clone in history, obtained from the nucleus of the mammary gland of an adult sheep. The nucleus of this cell, containing the entire genetic make-up, is injected into the egg cell of another ewe, from which the original nucleus has been removed. In this way, the nuclear DNA of the first ewe replaces that of the second in the latter's egg cell. 277 egg cells are created, giving rise to around 30 embryos. Only one of these develops into an adult. For the first time, a viable being resulting from this cloning technique survives. Scottish scientists named the sheep "Dolly" after the American singer Dolly Parton, renowned for the generosity of her breasts because the cloning was carried out using mammary gland cells.

The media hype surrounding this project has given rise to the misconception that a clone is a carbon copy of another individual. The identity is that of the nuclear DNA, which implies that the clone is neither genetically identical to another individual, since the genetic heritage is made up of the nuclear DNA contained in the nucleus of the organism's cells and the mitochondrial DNA contained in the cytoplasm of the ovum (and therefore also in the enucleated ovum); nor an identical physiognomy as a result of the role of the environment in which the DNA is expressed, and even if a great resemblance exists, it is ultimately less than that which exists between homozygous twins.

Cloning from differentiated cells of an adult organism represents a major breakthrough in the scientific world. It proves that the regulation of gene expression is reversible, and opens the door to the production of transgenic animals (with extra genes, such as those encoding human proteins used for medical purposes) or animals with special qualities. This could be an interesting technique for safeguarding endangered species.

The same Scottish team cloned 13 ewes, including 4 in 2007 (Debbie, Denise, Diana and Daisy) from the mammary gland cell line that gave birth to Dolly 10 years earlier. Unlike Dolly, these ewes show no signs of accelerated aging. While less than 3% of cloned embryos were born healthy in 1996, this proportion has risen to over 20% for the cohort of ewes in 2016.

To my mind, the potential scientific aberrations of such discoveries are one of the things the series wants to warn us against, and it's all to its credit when we see in the media today all the madness that laboratories are capable of producing under cover of private funding… All progress is good to take as long as it's useful for improving the comfort of life for everyone, but also as long as it's accessible to all and not reserved for a privileged class who has the financial means to afford it. Here's a link to an article that goes into more depth about the biomedical criminality present in Orphan Black.

Finally, I'd also like to talk about representation in this series. With a predominantly female cast thanks to the various clones played by Tatiana Maslany, the series offers a very diverse range of female characters, but not only. It also offers a fine representation of LGBT characters that I won't name to keep you surprised. Whether it's several lesbian couples, gay encounters, or even a transgender character, the series gives pride of place to this community which, for once in a time, is represented outside the clichés. Indeed, they are portrayed as any heterosexual or cisgender person (cisgender: a person in agreement with his or her birth gender, the opposite of transgender) and it's refreshing not to find the scenarist facilities too often used or to have characters portrayed as excessive, "freaks". Whatever your sexual orientation or gender identity, everyone is entitled to self-respect, and it was a real balm for me at the time to see such characters on my screen.

PRODUCTION

Casting for the lead role was announced on September 17, 2012. Although Canadian actor Elliot Page was considered for the lead role, Susan and Sharon Forrest, in charge of casting the series, chose to give the role to another Canadian, Tatiana Maslany. The rest of the main cast was announced at the end of October 2012 as filming for the first season began in Toronto.

In March 2014, BBC Worldwide North America signed an agreement with Amazon for exclusive broadcast rights to the series on Amazon Prime Instant Video. The quality of the series, which is worth watching in one sitting, was cited as one of the main reasons for Amazon's interest. In April 2014, the airing of the first episode of the series' second season recorded a 91% audience increase in the 18-49 age group in cumulative TV broadcast audiences plus Amazon Prime Instant Video. In fact, this increase can be explained by the possibility of viewing the episode after it has been broadcast, which makes it easier for viewers to watch. This is the biggest increase for any first-run drama series on cable this season.

In April 2014, writer Stephen Hendricks sued the BBC and Temple Street for $5 million, alleging that they had stolen the idea for Orphan Black from him. He had submitted a script written in the late 1990s, entitled Double Double to Temple Street in 2004, who then considered and ultimately rejected it.

SPECIAL EFFECTS AND FILMING ANECDOTES

Scenes in which Tatiana Maslany has several simultaneous roles were filmed several times using carriage-mounted motion control cameras that reproduce the movement between each take. This device, the Technodolly, is referred to as the "Time Vampire" on the Orphan Black set because of the length of time several clone scenes take in the production schedule. In these scenes, Tatiana Maslany first plays the scene with her understudy Kathryn Alexandre in the alternate clone role, then alone in the same clone role, then alone in the alternate clone, then a fourth time with the scene filmed with just the camera movement for a background plate. Suspended tennis balls help the actress maintain appropriate sight lines. In post-production, Kathryn Alexandre and the tennis balls are replaced by Tatiana Maslany's footage from alternative shots, allowing for more action in the scenes where she interacts with herself. In the season 2 finale, when one scene required the presence of four different clones, two days of shooting and several additional body doubles were used to create the effect, and the post-production work of Geoff Scott and his team at Intelligent Creatures VFX would have taken hundreds of hours to complete.

Tatiana Maslany created different music playlists to help her distinguish the many clone personalities she embodies. She also used dance to develop the physicality of the characters, including their postures, gestures, and movements and drew on her experience in improvisation to develop the characters more fully.

The character of Cosima is named after science historian Cosima Herter, a friend of showrunner Graeme Manson, and a scientific consultant on the series. Cosima Herter works with the writers to ensure the plausibility of cloning and other scientific aspects of the series, as well as the complexity of the philosophical and ethical concerns it raises.

Make-up artist Stephen Lynch, hairstylist Sandy Sokolowski, and wardrobe supervisor Debra Hanson are instrumental in creating the visual differences needed to distinguish each clone. Indeed, their work is often used to develop the characters' personalities before lines of dialogue are even written. The screenwriters use the character of each personality as reflected in their physical appearances and clothing to refine the moods and nuances of the characters.

The drawings of Sarah's daughter Kira in the series are created by Sash Kosovic, a member of the art department.

In season 4, a reference to the scientific cloning of Dolly the sheep is made through a sheep's head mask worn by a character to keep his identity secret.

SHOOTING LOCATIONS

Orphan Black was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, but it's not specified whether the series was set in Canada. Graeme Manson said in 2014 that the setting was deliberately ambiguous: "It's supposed to be Generica. It's part of the price you pay for this kind of co-production.". John Fawcett agreed, saying "to be honest, we don't want to say we're American and alienate Canadians, or say we're Canadian and alienate Americans. The fact is, we're one big happy family. We're just a little further north than you are. Grantland's Tara Ariano argued that this ambiguity is "a bold new way for a producer to work within the restrictions of CanadaCon: place your show in Canada (technically), employ a Canadian crew, air it on a Canadian channel… and make room for recurring guest stars like Maria Doyle Kennedy… by casting a Canadian in nearly a dozen roles.".

But beyond that, the Canadian location was apparent through details such as Ontario license plates, Beth and Mrs. S.'s Ontario driver's licenses, the currency used, scripted references to the Ontario suburb of Scarborough and Toronto's Parkdale, and a plane ticket in the pilot episode identifying Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Bridgepoint Health and Toronto's Don Jail are stand-ins for the exterior of the Dyad Institute. Scenes set in the Scarborough suburb where Alison lives are actually shot in Markham, Ontario, a suburb immediately north of Scarborough. However, details are often deliberately obscured; American pronunciations of words like "lieutenant" are used.

The co-production also influenced another important aspect of the series: Sarah's British accent and origins. John Fawcett explained that BBC America had asked them to make the main character British, which she wasn't originally, to better match the BBC brand. John Fawcett, however, saw this directive as an advantage, as it made it easy to differentiate Sarah from the other clones and broaden the geographical scope of the series' plot.

OTHER MEDIA

COMICS

In July 2014, a comic book series published by IDW Publishing was announced. The series, whose first issue was released in February 2015, is co-written by series creators John Fawcett and Graeme Manson. A new issue was published monthly until July 2015, when the last of the five contracted issues was published. The issues in order feature Sarah, Helena, Alison, Cosima, and Rachel.

The comic book miniseries was conceived as a way of conveying information about the clones' past and childhood without interrupting the fast-paced TV series. It is presented as an extended universe featuring off-screen events not shown in the episodes. The comics are directly linked to the events of the first season of the series, to anchor the comics in the already established universe. The mini-series offers audiences the opportunity to better understand the emotions, thoughts, and feelings underlying the characters in the TV series.

In August 2015, the comic's conclusion revealed another self-aware clone: Veera Suominen. She was thought to be one of the clones executed in Helsinki, but she survived. The next comic, Orphan Black: Helsinki, published in November 2015, expanded on her character.

AUDIO SERIES

In June 2019, a 10-episode audio series entitled Orphan Black: The Next Chapter was announced, with Tatiana Maslany reprising her role. Serving as an official continuation of the series, it takes place eight years after the series finale. Malka Older is the showrunner with Mishell Baker, Lindsay Smith, Heli Kennedy, Madeline Ashby, and E.C. Myers as writers.

The series is broadcast via the Serial Box platform and the first episode was made available on September 12, 2019. Since then it can be found on YouTube via the link above, or on Spotify and Audible.

A second season aired in October 2021, co-produced by Realm and AMC Networks, adding original cast members Jordan Gavaris, Kristian Bruun, and Evelyne Brochu to the cast.

MUSIC

In May 2015, two compilations of the series' soundtrack were released by Varèse Sarabande Records. These two compilations include music from seasons 1 and 2 with compositions made by Trevor Yuile for the series but also music made by other artists such as Tears For Fears and featured in Orphan Black.

The series' main theme, Theme From Orphan Black, is composed and performed by Two Fingers, a Brazilian musician-composer and producer of electronic music, and features on both compilations.

As usual, I'm also attaching the link to listen to the entire series soundtrack. Just as Tatiana Maslany has done to immerse herself in her characters, I find that the soundtrack not only perfectly reflects the different personalities of the clones, but also underlines every aspect of the plot's stakes.

SPIN-OFF

In March 2019, it was announced that a new series set in the Orphan Black universe was in development at AMC, to be produced by Temple Street Productions just as Orphan Black had been. In February 2022, it was announced that Anna Fishko would be the writer of this new story set thirty-seven years after the end of the original series.

Entitled Orphan Black: Echoes, the series follows Kira Manning -played by Keeley Hawes-, now an adult turned doctor, and her wife Eleanor -played by Rya Kihlstedt, as they try to help a woman named Lucy -played by Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones, Don't Trust the B*tch in Apartment 23)- who has become amnesiac following a surgery she underwent.

A ten-episode first season began its run in June 2024 and, so far, we don't know if the series will be renewed for a second season as Season 1 airs until the end of August in the US. Series creator Anna Fishko has revealed, however, that she has the entire storyline already planned and is ready to continue the project if the series' ratings allow. Only time will tell, then, whether we'll get the rest of this adventure... 

Returning from the original series are Jordan Gavaris who played Felix, Sarah's adoptive brother and therefore Kira's uncle, and Evelyne Brochu who played Dr. Delphine Cormier, Cosima's partner and genetic researcher. The original series theme composed by Two Fingers is also used as the closing credits for the spin-off.

CONCLUSION

And that's it for this series! Sorry again for the delay, it was a big piece for me to write. I hope you've enjoyed reading it all, and that I've succeeded in making you want to watch the series.

I'm aware that some of the scenes in the series may be difficult for some people to watch, because the subjects it tackles are very real, and I find it easy as a viewer to identify with some of the characters, or at least to sympathize with the ordeals they go through.

I really enjoyed discovering it when it first came out, and I hope I'll have the opportunity to watch it again with more experienced eyes, given the themes it tackles.

As for the comics, the spin-off, and the audio series, I haven't yet had the chance to delve into them, and although I'd like to, I'm afraid it would spoil my fond memories of the series. But never say never, so why not maybe one day...

On that note, I'll leave you after this far-too-long article!

As always, I wish you a wonderful week and good viewing, and I'll see you next time!

Eli

[monstersinthecosmos]

HI <3 Sheith VC anon here back with a very humble request. So I've read TVL and am currently reading QoTD, just finished the Devil's Minion chapter (oH mY gOD my HEART). I'm going through the books a bit slowly bc life stuff, but I have sooooo many thoughts and feelings and feel like I need to read lots of fic to work through it LOL. I would love it if you could rec me some (or tons of!) fics that wouldn't give me (m)any spoilers re: stuff that happens after this point in the series. I realize this might be a kind of hard/maybe impossible request because a lot of those spoilers would be referring to things that chronologically would have taken place prior to DM for instance, but I'm so starved I thought I might ask just in case! I'm not suuuper partial to any specific ships (Lestat/Louis is a bit boring IMO 😭 but I love them so I'll take it) and I don't have any NOTPs, so I'm down to read pretty much anything (esp if it's spicy and/or hurts my heart and/or features Armand lmao). Totally fine if this is too much trouble or if it turns out to be an impossible ask indeed; thank you in advance anyway! AND THANK YOU AGAIN for introducing me to these brain-rotting books lol I spend like half my waking hours thinking about Armand now.

SHGKJALDS I SPEND HALF MY WAKING HOURS THINKING ABOUT ARMAND TOO SINCE LIKE THE YEAR 2000 LMFAO im so glad you see!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU GET IT MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So babe tbh the reason I started writing Armand/Daniel fic at all is because there really ... isn't that much? And I was like GUESS I GOTTA FUCKIN COOK FOR MYSELF. So tbh I haven't actually read a ton of VC fic at all. The otp:true filter for them on AO3 (excluding TVverse fics) only has 237 fics hdkjgalds but you can start here LOL. I think for the most part you'll be able to tell in the tags if it's post-QOTD because people usually will tag like "post canon" or "Prince Lestat Era"; for QOTD fics check for a Devil's Minion/Devil's Minion Era tag. I don't always remember to tag my own fics but my only post-canon D/A fic is called "In the Trials of the Heart" and all my others are Devil's Minion era and shouldn't spoil anything ! Be aware that the TV fandom and book fandom sometimes overlap so there might be stray TV fics in the book tag; it won't spoil anything bc the TV canon is a completely different story, but it might not make sense if you jump in to read it. So without actual fic recs I'll share some authors that I really trust!! Have a look through their VC fics!!!!!!!

apoptoses (pervert extraordinaire 10/10, all the D/A fics are Devil's Minion era except for Blood Sanation so go nuts!) covenofthearticulate (this is Ash, she actually writes Loustat & Louis/Armand mostly but she's so smart and I trust her so much!!!!) Diabolus_Invictus HekateInHell (writes a lot of Lestat/Armand and also has a human AU called Our House that I'm obsessed with!) ImhereImQuire Nothing_But_Paisley rainandcoffee (if you're sick of all of our doom&gloom you can find fluff and lightness here!) whisperbird (just one VC fic but I think about it every day of my life I love it)

Whenever I remember I try to post VC fics that I do read, kinda like how Sheith fandom does Wednesday Fics, I try to tag #VCFicFriday so try there too!

Anyway if anyone wants to add to this post and share recs PLEASE DO I actually am not a great fic reader bc my attention span sucks and I'm picky about canon compliant porn LOL! But help our new friend out if you want to share any!!!!!!!!!!!!

[comshipbracket]

Antis DNI - Block the tag "comship" if this causes discomfort.

Remember, you are voting for the ship you prefer, not the ship you find more problematic

Propaganda for both ships under the cut.

Disclaimer: All ships (other than NozoCoco) on this bracket are FOLLOWER-SUBMITTED ships, the Mods do not always hold necessary knowledge to be aware of any errors or fanonizing what should be canon material that may arise.

Stuilly Propaganda (Abusive Dynamic)

"Billy is bent on murderous revenge, and Stu is the fucked up little person who's along for the ride. Their killing spree climaxed with symbolic mutual penetration as they stab each other as part of their scheme to pin it all on the film's final girl. The way they touch each other is affectionate to the point of intimacy. When their plan is out, Stu can't keep his hands off of Billy."

HaniMori Propaganda (Cousins, Pseudo-Age Difference - There isn't one, but Haninozuka looks much younger)

"Mori will literally do anything for Honey and it’s so cute!! You see them together in almost every scene they are so close"

Stannarrator Propaganda (Codependency, Toxic Power Dynamics - In most endings)

"The Stanley Parable is a game about The Narrator wanting to tell a story through their game but having to rely on the Stanley's choices. The core of the game is that Stanley and The Narrator are bound to each other: Stanley needs The Narrator to make the "parable" he lives in, and The Narrator needs Stanley to make the choices that drive the story.

The Narrator clearly has the most power in this dynamic, since he can alter the world the Stanley lives in: modifying the rooms, creating and deleting objects at will, reloading the game, altering Stanley's perception, knowing almost everything and being almost everywhere. But, despite all that power, he isn't able to control the one thing that keeps his story existing: Stanley's choices.

Okay, spoilers to both the original 2013 game and the Ultra Deluxe remake from here on out since it's impossible to talk about them without spoiling a lot of the endings.

In one of the new endings on the Ultra Deluxe remake, the Skip Button ending, The Narrator creates a button that lets Stanley skip his dialogue `inspired` by a bad Steam review, but when Stanley clicks this button The Narrator is left all alone in that room, and which each click the skip becomes longer, from minutes, to hours, to weeks, to months… And in the fifth skip (where Stanley stays frozen for like, one, two weeks), The Narrator breaks up, talking about how he needs Stanley to listen to him and how scared he is of slipping back into the silence he passes through every time we use the skip button. In his own words, `I can't lose myself in the stretch of emptiness between you and me.` Of course, since it's the only way to advance in this ending, we skip again, and again, until The Narrator ends up eventually disappearing after the 12th or 13th skip, leaving Stanley alone in a desert, and that's where the ending stops, though it continues on the Epilogue, but I'll leave some things to add as propaganda during the polls.

Despite this, The Narrator still has more control of the situation than Stanley, like on the Explosion ending, where he traps Stanley in a room while the building's destroys itself as consequence for choosing to activate the Mind Control Machine instead of shutting it down to free everyone. He keeps acting like Stanley is nothing but a vehicle for him to pass a message through his story. `Watching you try to make sense of everything and take back the control wrested away from you…it's quite rich. I almost hate to see it go!` `You're only still playing instead of watching a cutscene because I want to watch you for every moment that you're powerless, to see you made humble. […] You wanted to control this world; that's fine. But I'm going to destroy it first, so you can't.`

But there's one point where they're equal, they both want to free themselves. On the Museum ending, we meet a being that is higher than The Narrator, the Female Narrator (yeah, that's her name), and she gives the best description of the relationship between these two: `Oh, look at these two. How they wish to destroy one another. How they wish to control one another. How they both wish to be free. Can you see? Can you see how much they need one another? No, perhaps not. Sometimes these things cannot be seen.`"

[mrnicekisser]

[Street Gacha] Chapter 6

Written by 木野誠太郎

Ruka: U-uh... Erm... Thats impossible...

Suzu-senpai knows that I'm too nervous to sing in front of people, right?

So even if it doesn't match the image of "Fallen Angel," I think it would be better if Suzu-senpai sang it.

Suzu: Yeah, everyone knows that Ruka is anxious.

But, Ruka, this isn't just a matter of my emotional state.

However, you have a beautiful singing voice. It is perfect for ballads. My husky voice would spoil the image of the song.

That's why I can't sing the ballad you wrote. It matches your style, not mine.

Please sing. I want to hear your voice echo through the streets.

Ruka: B-but...

A~h... Alright...

Well, that's fine. It would be much quicker if we called out to the owner ourselves. If the song isn't sung, it won't reach the owner.

I was also disappoited at Kuromori-senpai. I thought she was a pretty charismatic, since she's called a "Fallen Angel," but she can't even motivate all her juniors.

Suzu: ...

Runa: That's sweet. Too sweet. In our company, we would make our juniors do it even if they said they didn't want to. Even if you have to be hated, your role as a senior is to provide proper guidance.

Suzu: We're different. The light music club, unlike the lacrosse club, is a special place for those who have become separated from the group.

If my heart becomes demonic as well, then those girls will no longer be able to belong anywhere.

Runa: That's what makes it "sweet". They pamper the members who can't perform on stage because of their light-stimulating condition,

That special place of yours... If the light music club disbands without ever having any activities, will you take responsibility for it? That's what I'm asking.

Suzu: That's true. But there are circumstances where that's not always the case. The kids on the lacrosse team are strong. They've been brought up to be strong. Honestly, I respect them.

But that approach doesn't suit the light music club. Forcing tests or rushing for answers won't produce good results.

No matter how much I am criticized for being unfit to be a club leader, I intend to watch over my team members and wait for them to make their own decision.

Ruka: S-Suzu-senpai...

I'll sing.

I hate seing someone insulting Suzu-senpai, but more than anything, I'm starting to hate myself for trying to run away from her, even though she has such high expectations of me.

I'll do my best, so I'd be happy if Suzu-senpai would support me...

Suzu: Yes. Ruka, my precious junior. I have no intention of making you sing alone and exposing you. I'm prepared to take all the dirt. Let me support you with all my might.

Ruka: Ah. ♪ It's reassuring...

Okay then. I need to work hard…!

I'll make you regret being so harsh on Suzu-senpai, lacrosse club member!

Runa: That's the spirit, little one named Ruka. It's time to show us yourself, girlie!

Ruka: Huh?! Um, why are you suddenly rooting for me?! Just a moment ago you were fighting against us!

Hayate: Ahaha. I was totally taken in by Hiiragi's provocation. ♪ Isn't she really good at making people do work?

Ruka: Uh, provocation..?

Mizuki: Yes. I think Hiiragi was motivated well because she doesn't want to get her hands dirty. ♪

When it came to abandoned cats, I was also almost forced to buy powdered milk.

Wait! Now that I think about it, I feel like all the trouble was forced on me because of the abandoned cat!

Runa: Hyahya, ♪ I think Futaba-senpai's memory is wrong~

Mizuki: Hmm. I'll curse you!

Runa: I don't believe in curses, so please feel free to do so~ ♪

Ruka: (I see. I had the wrong idea. But they are good people at heart, if they take care of a stray cat. They deliberately provoked me to take a step forward.)

(Although it's scary to be on stage alone, I have reliable seniors around me.)

(I was scared wanted to run away before, but now, I feel like I can sing in a relaxed manner. I think it's all thanks to my seniors and the kittens... ♪)

(Yes. Before i'll pick up guitar, I'll try singing a little.)

~ ♪ ~ ♪

(Hehe, i feel so happy... ♪)

[didderd]

Another interesting thing, you say? 👀

Now I'm curious, what might that interesting thing be? 🤠

oh you'r rly spoiling me today, aren't you :3

this one's a long ramble lmao, so i'm putting it under a read more:

ok, so some ppl with tics get thought tics, this is probably the most interesting thing i'v ever learned abt tics.

they're tics that ofc come in the form of thoughts. i don't think they fall under either tic category?? (those being verbal and motor tics.) tho maybe some are verbal tics that aren't strong enough to surface? i'm pretty sure at least that that's what my first(?) one was. (which i'm pretty sure was my first tic that i can remember.)

a lil off topic, but i can't talk about thought tics without talking about this: when i was like 13? (way before my tourette's rly surfaced/became active. i think it was just dormant for a long time?) my older sister had me watch her kids for a moment, and i was sitting there staring at them. and i kept getting the strong urge to ask if they were ok, even tho they were obviously fine. they hadn't fallen down or anything. one of them was even offering me chips. at the time i reasoned that it was just paternal instincts and shrugged it off (even tho i was still very confused abt it lol), but years later (at 18) after learning abt my tourette's i thought abt it again and it clicked that it was probably a tic trying to come out, but not being quite strong enough yet. :D

ANYWAYS, Sweet Anita kinda described them as like random or word association thoughts that will interrupt your train of thought and make it very hard to focus.

i don't often get them, and they can be hard to recognize even when i do, but i think i'll more often get image related ones.

it's REALLY annoying when i'm trying to daydream and the two ppl interacting are at a table and silly lil tourette's brain wont stop making whoever has any amount of their weight on the table fkn tip the table over lmao. even if it's just a hand. even if the table has four legs. that hand will suddenly weigh more than both ppl at the table combined, and two of those legs might as well not even exist.

this one is something that happened more often before my tourette's surfaced, so it was especially confusing and frustrating, but it would also force the body of whoever i'm trying to think of to contract and expand. from impossibly thin to impossibly wide. when this happened i could not for the life of me focus on one body type, and it would derail the whole daydream n i'd eventually fall asleep or give up.

so yeah, thought tics can be frustrating lmao, but they are also very interesting. :>

[justdsmp1]

⋆ I'll give you that one (Quackity)

Pairing(s): Quackity x reader

Pronouns: They/them

About: You trick him with something you learnt

Words:377

Masterlist

Y/n couldn't stop laughing when they saw this happening on TikTok one day of how this woman tricked her husband in the funniest way ever. Luckily Quackity couldn't hear her as he was streaming upstairs but that gave her an idea. Giggling to themselves they walked into the kitchen and reached for the cupboard above the fridge. Grabbing down a bottle of wine.

They poured themselves a glass, grabbed a tea towel and headed up towards upstairs where their boyfriend was streaming with Karl and Sapnap. It was a just chatting sort of stream so he had his face cam on. Slowly opening the door, Quackity turns to see you.

"Hey Mi amor, what's up?" He asks, spinning around in his chair.

"I wanna show you something" They reply, walking over to his desk, putting the wine and tea towel down and grabbing a chair. He gives them a confused look. Placing the tea towel over the glass, they turn to him.

"Okay, do you reckon I could drink this wine without touching the tea towel," Y/n asks, trying not to laugh to spoil it.

"I don't think so, it seems pretty impossible" Quackity responds.

"$200 says I can" Y/n spoke, challenging him,

"What are they up to chat?" Quackity turns to his computer, some had no idea others had ideas but didn't say anything. Y/n starts moving her hands around weirdly and making weird sounds, Quackity smiles, trying not to laugh.

"Okay, did it $200" Y/n smirks looking at him, Quackity was confused and took off the tea towel by now Karl and Sapnap were watching his stream trying to see what is happening.

"What no yo-"

As he took it off and had it off, Y/n grabbed the wine and drank it.

Karl and Sapnap burst out laughing, they could hear them through his headphones, Quackity's jaw dropped then started laughing.

"$200 pay up, love" Y/n smiles, then also laughs

"Okay, okay I'll give you that one" Quackity speaks, grabbing his phone to transfer over $200.

"That's how you easily earn $200," Y/n tells chat, laughing

"I should've done it to Mr Beast" Y/n realises, the 4 of them burst out laughing at the ridiculous thing.

[msclaritea]

Directors, stop saying there's no CGI in your movies | Creative Bloq

"There was no CGI in Oppenheimer, right? Nor in Barbie. That's the impression that's been given about two of the biggest movies of the season. There's been a reaction against visual effects and it seems to have become something of a fashion for filmmakers to boast that they made their films the 'old-fashioned way'. 

It's perhaps understandable that, amid the explosion of AI image generation, the idea of making something without computer assistance is becoming attractive again. But it's not true, visual effects artists say. If Barbie used no CGI or VFX, why does the film have such a long list of visual effects artists in the credits? (and those are just the ones that got a credit).

This tweet is for @guardian and Shaad D'Souza: If you bothered to watch Barbie until the end credits you would have discovered that the film, which you claim has ‘almost no CGI or VFX’ has a credit list of 207 VFX artists and 5 VFX companies. Please also note that 3 out of the 5… pic.twitter.com/5bodtvGuPHAugust 3, 2023

The filmmaker and VFX supervisor Hugh Guerra wrote a post on Twitter in response to a Guardian article that was headlined '"It’s exactly as they’d have done it in the 1910s": how Barbenheimer is leading the anti-CGI backlash'. The article had commented on a spate of recent films using practical effects and prosthetics instead of CGI.

"If you bothered to watch Barbie until the end credits you would have discovered that the film which you claim has 'almost no CGI or VFX’ has a credit list of 207 VFX artists and 5 VFX companies." He said that three out of five companies listed had missing credits, so the complete number of artists would be longer. "Just like Oppenheimer and Mission Impossible, these films have hundreds of invisible VFX and CGI," he added.

Guerra's tweet provoked comments from VFX artists who worked on the film, including some who didn't get a name check in the credits. "People have no idea how broad the term 'VFX shot' is. There is no movie made today without VFX," one person replied. Someone else suggested "'Almost no CGI' tends to mean 'good CGI'. 'Almost no VFX' just doesn’t even really mean anything."

I watched it a few days ago, it's full of vfx 😂 The virtual production LED counts also as VFX, artists worked in Maya for the environment and I don't know how many used unreal 5. "Almost no CGI", really sad August 4, 2023

Some have suggested that it's a great compliment for the quality of the visual effects in the films if reviewers can't tell that they aren't real. However, others raise concerns that the so-called 'VFX-backlash' downplays the importance and contribution of VFX artists to film, which can provide an excuse to cut budgets, leading to poor VFX, which ends up being what people think VFX is.

"It's so sad to see how underappreciated VFX artists are. Especially since studios are being sucked dry and then when the effects are “subpar” they blame it on the artists without having any context," one person wrote. "VFX artists have given us some of the most iconic moments in cinema."

You all know how this started, don't you? It came from competing studios like Warner Bros Discovery just to use against Disney, as an attack on the quality, and an attempt to downgrade the value of superhero films...at least, the ones that came from Disney. Heaven forbid you find anything wrong in Snyderverse 🙄

The psychological effects to fans everywhere, to look forward to a film, only for a horde of corporate trolls online, tearing it apart, piece by piece is not fun, not cool and shouldn't even be legal. That damages a competitor's film in such a scummy way. I'll say again, it wasn't like that when I was younger. We could like what we wanted to. There weren't a bunch of raving lunatics trying to spoil a good time. As an aside, I'm sure the inevitable damage to the special effects industry was also a very big consideration.

[wyattjohnston]

key take aways from the feedback i was given about the exchanges. i've responded to a few of the responses that were left :)

you can still leave feedback (even if you didn't participate, i'd be interested in why!)

i got a lot of love, too, which is nice. i don't do this to be praised or anything else but i also do love to know when people are having fun with it

What changes (if any) would you like to see?

Maybe like one or two people who are not writing in the fic exchange could act as "beta" and be there to bounce off ideas, help find gifs, give feed back on things that people are writing. Someone that we can talk to without fear of them telling the person we are writing for what the idea is/ worrying they are the person writing for "me". If that makes sense.

this is an excellent idea--i just don't know if it's feasible because most of the people who would act as a beta reader are usually signed up for the exchange

so! i absolutely cannot enforce a blanket ban on asking for help from another writer in the exchange and i wouldn't want to. the only thing you're 'ruining' at that point, is that you aren't writing for the person you've asked to beta. we had 43 people sign up this time around, that doesn't narrow it down too much.

if you do have a beta who is writing in the exchange, just be courteous and don't ask them anything about their fic, and do not put them in the awkward position of having to decline if you offer to beta theirs. also maybe don't put the name of the person you're writing for in the doc/doc title so you're not totally spoiling who the fic is for :)

i'm also around if you need help! it obviously would be impossible for me to help 40 people with brainstorming and editing, but i try to do what i can!

i could maybe add a new question like “would you be down to help someone else with fic ideas/being a beta?” and then if someone told me they needed some help, i could put some feelers out as to who would be best suited. i just don’t know if it would be a question a lot/enough people would agree to just because like i said up top, the people who would beta are usually already knee deep in their own fic

(not verbatim) a couple of suggestions to add a question about what the Main Character’s gender identity should be

will absolutely do this. i usually see people ask the question as an anon for reader insert preference so had taken for granted that that was happening <3

Maybe include a time zone in the deadline

i dont put a time zone with the deadline mostly because it makes it more confusing. if i were to do that i would make it Australian Eastern Time, like the sign ups, and i guarantee that fics will roll in towards midnight of the writers timezones anyway. all in all, the final date is purposely left without a time specific deadline because it gives people an extra day almost. i'll make it clearer that it's literally just midnight of whatever time zone the writer exists in

tbh even the sign up time isn't super hard and fast, as long as i haven't started matching yet then i'm not opposed to opening the form for a last minute entry

Do you have any other feedback?

If anything, maybe a mock-up of "starter questions" to send your match in case people are new and/or don't know quite what to say. That might be helpful.

i'll come up with some questions before the next one and put it in the matches have gone out post. if you've got suggestions, let me know. there’s no fool proof system to it. some people ask lots of questions, some ask very few. some people give super in depth answers and others prefer to let their writer run free

I like having the two-ish months to be able to write instead of a very fast and stressful turn around time

good news! two months is here to stay. giving the halfway and then 1 week follow ups seems to be the key to making sure people don't forget that they've signed up

What were the factors in you not signing up?

timing, re holidays & commitments

absolutely understand, it's not a great time of year with holidays and exams for a lot of people

nervous to sign up

please don't be! i know it's not as easy as that, but if it's something anyone wants to talk about (ever! now, in march, when sign ups open for the summer one), i want to talk to you!

if i see a new person has signed up and i haven't read their fics before, i don't go scrutinising their masterlist and i am never ever going to tell anyone that they're not good enough, or haven't written enough fics, or whatever, to sign up.

i want people to have fun with these and try something new (whether that's signing up in the first place or being adventurous with what they write)

I wasn't sure if I could commit to getting the story completed.

100% understand, writing to a deadline isn't for everyone! if you want to. if it's something you want to have a chat about, hit me up :)

What do you like most about the exchange?

i loved hearing that people enjoyed stepping out of their comfort zones and trying something new! and i also love hearing that people found new writers, my goal is to help make the community a little more *together*

[light-wolf]

Ok, time for some thoughts regarding yesterday's Nintendo Direct!

Pikmin 4: Nothing too revolutionary, just taking the Pikmin formula and refining/expanding it, like Pikmin 2 and 3 did before it. And honestly, that's not a bad thing! I love the Pikmin games, they're really fun and charming and this one seems to continue that trend. It seems we're getting all the existing Pikmin types in addition to the new Ice Pikmin so that'll be cool. And the new doggo is adorable! I'm really looking forward to this one.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective: This is a game that I always wanted to play and never got to do it, so I'm glad to see it ported to the Switch! Maybe this will be the time I actually play it.

Sea of Stars: Absolutely gorgeous and looks really fun as well, taking inspiration from one of my favorite games ever. Apparently it got a demo so I'll probably give that a try. I still need to play The Messenger though...

Game Boy and Game Boy Advance added to Nintendo Switch Online: Finally! And now I actually have the Expansion Pack thanks to a friend so I can get hyped about GBA too. The libraries are a bit limited for the time being but that's to be expected. Looking forward to replaying some of my favorites from that era and also try a few classics for the first time. Although the games I'm most hyped about are the ones that were confirmed to come in the future, like Oracle of Seasons/Ages, Pokémon TCG, Metroid Fusion and of course freaking GOLDEN SUN (yes, I'm ready to replay it for the millionth time).

Metroid Prime Remastered: Okay, I wasn't expecting this one, even though it had been rumored for a while. While I would've liked to see the entire trilogy in one package, the first Prime is arguably the best one and also one of the best games ever made. The remake looks amazing and much more polished than just a simple HD port. Seriously, if you haven't played this game before, give it a try, it's a masterpiece, and this is coming from someone who hates shooters (Metroid Prime isn't really a shooter).

Baten Kaitos I & II Remaster: HOLY SHIT. Another one (two?) that I always wanted to play but didn't get when it first came out before it became impossible to find, and never bothered with trying to emulate. I'd love to give the series a chance on modern hardware.

Professor Layton And The New World of Steam: HOOOOOO BOY!!! This might seriously be my favorite announcement of the Direct, even though they didn't really show us anything! I was a HUGE Layton fan during the DS era and I was so sad that the series kinda just died all of a sudden. I'm honestly so fucking hyped for this! Please be good, please be good, please be good!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC Wave 4: The new track looks amazing! Yoshi's Island was one of the defining games from my childhood so this gets me extremely nostalgic. Also Birdo was a nice surprise! I wasn't expecting characters in the pass! While I don't really care about Birdo in particular, this opens the door for more characters so maybe this means I can finally have my boy Diddy Kong again. Please. It's been so long.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: Honestly I don't have a lot to say about this one. Am I hyped? Absolutely. But we still know so little about this game! What's the story about? How does it differ from BotW? Although, part of me kinda wishes it stays this way. Trailers tend to spoil too much stuff these days, so I'm fine with keeping the surprises for when I actually play the game. Oh, and it's a minor thing, but I hope they bring back Wolf Link and/or a similar mechanic (and not locked to amiibo this time). I just loved exploring Hyrule with a doggo.

Overall a really exciting Direct, and there were also a bunch of other cool announcements that I didn't touch here. Now to work on my backlog so I can play shiny new games without feeling guilty, lol.