#❝ ✦ ◜legends never die◞ — visuals.

[dangermousie]

Top Dozen cdramas - 2024

This can obviously change but nothing truly exciting looks to air for the rest of the year so that's unlikely. My Top Dozen for the year are likely be set in stone.

It's a very idiosyncratic list which has two mini dramas, three moderns (!!! for me that's insane) and a lot of vibes dramas.

12 Hard to Find - all vibes all the times. A tragic romance that feels like a Gothic fairytale, this is what minidramas could be.

11 Love In the Desert - out of all the dramas on this list, this is the one that screams most "a good time." It's a romance and visual feast and webnovel madness and sexy good time and it made me cry.

10 Fortune Writer - a mini that is so smart and meta and fun about narratives and fate and villainy and fighting the story itself. So clever.

9 Derailment - a puzzle and a love story, telling most anything about it would be a spoiler but this story about a rich girl from 2025 who seemingly wakes up in a parallel universe in 2023 in body of a poor doppelganger, and the young man who was in love with the original has everything including addressing what it must feel to people to have a transmigrator possess a loved one.

8 Tender Light - the ending was just - it's the reason it's not n1. But the rest of this drama about an abused wife and an idealistic young man refusing to bow to societal pressure was just exquisite. It addresses morality and loneliness and complicity and sacrifice. Just incredible. Poetry in motion.

7 Will Love In Spring - a modern romance cdrama? In my list? Is the world ending? But seriously, this is such a gorgeous, realistic yet intense exploration of love and loss and trauma. It made me utterly reevaluate Li Xian to boot.

6 Snowfall - this is such a fever dream of a mood piece of a vampire romance, with seriously BDSM and gay vibes, as well as utterly incredible canon age gap ride or die OTP with Ouyang Nana bothering to act for the first time in her life and Vengo Gao embodying a gentleman vampire to perfection. Li Muge remains one of my favorite directors for a reason.

5 Heroes - the story of three very different men all consigned to the dustheap of history by changing times (the best swordsman in the era of guns, a former imperial guard of a regime about to be overthrown, a constable obedient to obsolete code who studied for imperial exams which got abolished) as the Qing dynasty is about to fall, this has fights, humor, three (!) separate love stories, philosophy and utter and complete heartbreak. The performances, the ideas, the filming and the writing all combine to make a bleak masterpiece with a 99% death rate (I am not kidding, only tertiaries make it out.) If I were in charge, it would get all the awards.

4 The Legend of Shen Li - the one truly mainstream idol costume hit on the list. It's an adult, passionate xianxia that reunites Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin as deities and battle powerhouses in a love story that is so full of yearning and passion and intensity I feel like peeking through my fingers. This is everything xianxia romance tries to be and almost never is. This just might be my favorite xianxia of all time, tbh.

3 Eternal Brotherhood - a dark horse whose existence I didn't even know about before it aired. Visually stunning despite its tiny budget, this narrative about three sworn brothers in a kingdom and world in crisis, is pitch perfect in its humor, its intensity, its tragedy and its themes (also THREE!!!! amazing love stories despite not being a romance-centric show.) The battles, the friendships, the traumas, the darkness at the heart of it all!

2 Fangs of Fortune - the sole drama that can rival JoL2 for me (only caveat is it's still airing), this is visually the most jaw dropping drama I've ever seen, but it's also high fantasy the way it should be - making me feel so immersed that stopping feels like coming up from a deep dive or waking up from a hypervivid dream. It has impeccable performances (many from actors who I don't normally even like), and its plot and relationships and themes - fate and sacrifice and choice and found family bonds and trauma and so many other things - make it feel as if it was made just for me.

1 Joy of Life 2 - THE drama of 2024 for me. It's somehow better than the incredible first installment. It's funny, it's heartbreaking, it has insane performances, a narrative that hits all my personally favorite themes (a person trying to remain human in an inhuman world, righteousness not being weak), a large cast of fascinating characters who feel like they live in front of me (there are no throwaway roles in this), my favorite ship of the year (though it's not even a ship-centric show) and above all, Zhang Ruoyun's live wire of a performance as Fan Xian, arguably my favorite cdrama character of all time. It should not work yet it does. Brilliantly.

[thewebcomicsreview]

I'm hardly the first person to notice this, but good god webcomics are the least time-efficient possible way of telling a story, aren't they?

I've been trying to figure out a better method of telling a story so that I could finish it before I die of old age (or, perhaps more relevantly, before everyone loses interest). It seems like no one really wants to read prose on the internet, but also people don't really like a comic that takes a year to go anywhere.

The main bottleneck is dialogue. You can only get 2-3 lines in a standard comic panel, so even a short conversation of character texture can take several pages. It makes me wonder if the Single Panel With Text Beneath It style (like ForEach) isn't just the Objectively Correct™ way to tell a comic on the internet. It's very efficient on the art, you can include narration if that's your jam, and it's very easy to make it work on mobile. (Also the art being separate is a boon if you want to make marketing materials). But everyone will correctly call you a Homestuck rip off.

Though the other thing Homestuck did was make these sprites of the characters that could be used to crank out a bunch of panels for scenes where nothing visually interesting was happening. You don't really see that copied as much

Not openly, anyway. There's a stigma. I've thought about rebooting Legend of the Hare as a visual novel, where that kind of thing is arbitrarily more accepted, but it does start raising the question of why you're bothering with the visuals at all. I don't think the kind of person who makes webcomics is usually looking for an excuse to get out of drawing, even if it lets them increase their page output dramatically. Making sprites that don't look like absolute ass is also really hard. Homestuck sprites have a really specific janky charm to them that I've never really seen any other comic pull off.

And, yeah, you could always just use a simpler art style, like Order of the Stick does, but it's super hard to get anyone to read a webcomic with great art, let alone simple art designed to maintain a high page output. And, again, why are you making a comic if you don't want to draw, unless you just naturally happen to draw that way and be really fucking good at it like Rich Burlew is?

It seems like the only really good way to tell a story in a reasonable amount of time as a webcomic artist is to make enough money off it that you can work full time, and, um, that's not really feasible either.

I don't have an answer I like. I guess just kill yourself in the content mines working webcomics as a second job that doesn't pay you anything.

I don't have a conclusion, capitalism is a nightmare.

[weezarddd]

On a more serious note, I genuinely wanted to say.. it's okay to miss Flying Bark. Flying Bark brought us something truly special that I don't think could ever be replicated to a T, and that is okay. LEGO Monkie Kid was one of those shows that caught my attention the moment I saw it; the visuals, the voice acting, the story, the music, ALL of it sparked something in me. It brought forth a newfound passion for animation that I had never felt before. to the point where I created a Lego character as a muse for animation projects l'd make for my Personal Exploration class.

I would constantly look back at the amazing shots and scenes, and supported every single animator. Of course, like a lot of people, I was one of the people who came for the animation, but ultimately stayed for the story. But, I understand that the impact FlyingBark had was HUGE on many people who watched it. But, my only wish is that this loss doesn't become resentment. I want LEGO Monkie Kid to thrive with Wild Brain now working on it more than anything, and I think, as a community, we should give them all the support they can get!

Wild Brain could give us a new experience unlike any other, and I want us all to be there for the ride, and show our love to everyone on the team. We gotta understand that while the visuals will be different, Wild Brain is doing everything they can to give us an experience we will never forget, and will enjoy just the same, to keep this show we love alive and stronger.

I think we should look back on one of the very first quotes of the show, in the pilot:

"The thing you need to understand about the old legends is that the story is never finished. There maybe no pages left to turn, but there is always more to the journey."

While specific, this quote has been given a new meaning to me; While Flying Bark may no longer be working on the show, they are not gone. The impact that FlyingBark has had on all of us, on the show, is and will always be felt. FlyingBark introduced us to something special; LEGO Monkie Kid would probably not be as popular as it is now, if it weren't for the soul it was given with a type of animation many have not seen for a long time, and that will never die. The writers, the VAs, the music production, and the new team Wild Brain, is here to continue and give life to a new adventure; a new era of LEGO Monkie Kid, and I want all of us to support them so we can watch this show succeed.

With that, I have but one thing to say to Wild Brain:

Welcome aboard, buds. 💛

[askagamedev]

Shouldn't Overwatch also have the same problem then in regards to visual clarity? I'm sure if you were to give people Juno and Brigitte people would struggle telling what their role is probably confusing Brigitte as a Tank given she has a shield just like Reinhardt. Only Baptiste has said cross on his outfit which if he didn't people might confuse him from DPS since he carries a healing grenade launcher. Yet the only character design problem ive seen people talk about is Venture.

While this is true, it's a very different situation. Overwatch is an old game, it's been running for eight years now. When Overwatch launched, there wasn't anywhere near the kind of well-established competition that there is today. When Overwatch launched, there was no Apex Legends, Paladins, Deadlock, Quake Champions, or Valorant. Further, Overwatch's launch cast was designed with incredible visual clarity - nearly every character had a silhouette and visual design that both made them distinct and conveyed their style of gameplay. There's a pair of business terms for this kind of thing - Blue Ocean vs Red Ocean.

A Blue Ocean is mostly unexplored and pristine - you're entering a market that's mostly untouched and there isn't much competition. This favors the first-mover advantage - the first ones there have more time to experiment, set things up, and learn from their mistakes. The customers/players in that market don't have anywhere else to go if they want their gameplay, so you can afford to make mistakes, iterate, and improve. Since there aren't many other games to switch to, the players will likely stick with what they are already familiar with.

A Red Ocean is a saturated market, where the waters have been dyed red with the blood of all of the dead or dying competition. There's already a lot of competition, meaning that any new product must stand out significantly from its peers or it will soon die from lack of audience. In a Red Ocean, the initial launch is much more important because you never get a second chance at that first impression. Further, audience retention is also super important because of how much competition there is - a new product might be able to draw some attention just from the novelty, but novelty wears off quick and most of the players already know the genre and the other games available. If the new game doesn't serve their needs immediately, the players won't give it the time to improve - they'll just go to one of the competitors that already does serve their needs.

We can't really compare the two games in a vacuum, we must compare the full environment that the games launched in. Overwatch had the added benefit of significantly less competition in its Blue Ocean, meaning that the playerbase really didn't have anywhere else to go while they waited for Overwatch to improve things. Concord was unable to grab attention immediately in a Red Ocean, meaning any potential audience quickly dispersed themselves among the large number of competitors already out there.

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[zylphiacrowley]

What is Suikoden about? :>

Ohhhhh hohohohoho Meg, you have no idea what you've done (I'm sorry this is going to get wordy... I just really love this series so so much).

So all the mainline Suikoden games (plus Suikogaiden I&II which are visual novels) take place in the same universe, some years apart. All the games have war as a main central conflict, but you usually play as a young "unnamed" protagonist (technically all the heros have like manga canon names iirc), with the exception of Suikoden III which took on a tritagonist situation where you switch between three main heros and then you make a decision about halfway through the game which one you want to be the "main" hero (as a bonus you also get to play the story from the "villain's" perspective as well if certain conditions are met). The series is based on the classic Chinese novel, The Water Margin (perhaps rather losely. I own the novel but I haven't actually ever gotten that far into reading it OTL).

One major important part of the story is the runes system, which is essentially the magic system. There's many runes that you can just straight up buy from vendors in the game, but then there are also 27 "True" runes, which are super powerful, and usually come with built in immortality (except the Rune of Punishment which.... Does not :)) and a lot of them also come with fun and horrible Extra "Perks":tm:! Each game also has at least one of the 27 True Runes that your protagonist ends up wielding. The in-game legend about the origins of the True Runes goes as follows (pulled this direct from the wiki):

In the beginning, there was "darkness." Then finally, the "darkness" shed a "tear." From that "tear," the brothers Sword and Shield were born. Sword Bragged that he can cut anything. Shield replied that he could protect anything. Then the brothers began a legendary battle for seven days and seven nights. At the end, Sword cut Shield and Shield smashed Sword. Sword became the sky, Shield became the earth, and the sparks from the battle became the stars. And the jewels that adorn Sword and Shield Became the True Runes-- The runes that all other runes were born from.

Each game has a "base" that your hero finds at some point that gets built up not only as the story progresses, but also as you recruit characters to your army. Which is another thing all the games share! There is a collection of 108 recruitable characters in each game (give-or-take as III is kind of different in that it includes antagonists, and also the other games have some characters that will take other's places depending on certain conditions e.g. there's one character, who if you make certain decisions, will die in battle, and his son will join your army in his place, taking his place in the roster, but if you don't make those decisions, you keep the father and never meet his son). Not all the recruitable characters are playable in battle however, some of them are there as either battle support, offering you different benefits to your combat party, and some are there to add things to your base such as minigames, shops, or entertainment (The Suikoden II Iron chef style minigame is still my all time favorite videogame minigame, although some of that might be nostalgia talking lol). It's incredibly rewarding to return to your base after recruiting people and then find another wing added onto it and sometimes with more fun minigames to play. It really starts to feel so lively! Also if you recruit all 108 characters and fill your roster (known in-game as the Tablet of Stars) usually before the final major tactical battle, you unlock different really cool extras (like the aforementioned ability in III where you get to play through parts of the game from the "antagonist's" PoV)

Oh gosh, another thing all the games have in common is there are three battle systems. 1) your typical turn-based system (6 characters):

2) a duel system where it's 1v1 in a sort of rock-paper-scissors style thing where you have to read your oppenent's dialogue to determine how they're going to attack and react accordingly or take massive damage

and 3) the large-scale "tactical" battles, where you set up battle units with the characters you've recruited and then you essentially play a semi-chance based version of chess and fling them at each other on the field and try to reduce the enemy to a certain number, hold out until a certain amount of moves/time has passed, or just all out reduce their army to zero.

(also lol this video has the joke about Viktor's Lion flag)

Along with all the war, there's a bunch of deeper underlying themes like companionship, loyalty, hope, grief, loss, guilt, you know all the happy fun JRPG style storytelling elements! And honestly that's what really elevates the games. I think it's a lot like some of XIV, especially StB and HW in that respect. Like yes, war is going on, and it's the main big central conflict, but there's always more to keep you engaged and interested in the heroes and their journeys. I was going to go on and explain a synopsis of each game specifically, but lol just this is already soooooo long. There's also a villain (he's not the main villian.... ohhhhh no) in the first two games who's a vampire, his name is Neclord (fuckin lol), and he has a bangin battle soundtrack:

There is literally so much more I could say about the series, but like literally if it sounds even slightly interesting to you, I implore you to pick up the remasters when they come out in March (I believe on multiple platforms, including Steam and Switch iirc?)

Also a special mention about the creator Yoshitaka Murayama, who passed away in February of this year. He created his own game studio, Rabbit & Bear Studios which developed the Spiritual successor series to the Suikoden series, Eiyuden Chronicle (which had an incredibly successful kickstarter campaign and is available to play to the public right now, and I own but have not yet played).

[zeepz-art]

Spoilers for Arcane season 2 Episodes 1-6 ahead, tread with caution:

Also keep in mind everything I rant about here are just my current opinions and concerns, this could change after the next three episodes' release.

Ok.... first of all, never has a show made me sob as hysterically as this one has. The end of almost every episode has had me in tears so intense that I'm sitting there hiccuping oh my god. Like when Vi and Vander hugged at the end of Episode 5, or when the 'Remember Me' flashback happened GOD

The art and animation is as STUNNING as usual holy shit. This show is so beautiful and the visuals are addicting. It's all such good inspiration for fanart and just future artworks in general, it's honestly an artist's paradise and I genuinely can't believe something like this exists.

Anyway, initial gushing and ranting aside, here are some of my... gripes? concerns? about Season 2 for now.

(Please keep in mind that these opinions are not set in stone since the season isn't fully released yet but I still want to rant about them and get it all out of my system.)

Overall the season has been really really good, I am really enjoying it. But I can't help but feel SO confused. Maybe it's the fact that it seems a lot more focused on League of Legends storylines and references this time (I have no knowledge of League lore), but so many of the different plots throughout the episodes have left me so confuzzled.

For example, in Episode 6, it feels like so much happened that was so out of pocket. When Vi runs into Caitlyn, even though Cait was the one who literally left Vi to rot in a hole to continue her quest to kill Jinx, she immediately agrees to stabbing Ambessa in the back and just seems to forget entirely about what she's been doing for the past 2 and a half episodes?? It just felt like her mentorship with Ambessa, her 'relationship' with Maddie, and her obsessive search for Jinx were kind of tossed aside in favor of her and Vi making up.

Don't get me wrong, I love to see them together again, but I'm so confused as to WHY they're back together already. Not to mention Cait's reaction to seeing Jinx again is so tame in comparison to how much she seemed to despise her an episode ago.

Another Episode 6 example: Jayce... What the fuck?

I know we'll probably get context and exposition in the next few episodes as to where he's been and why he's like this, but still, it feels so strange that he went from sacrificing everything to save Viktor's life in Episode 1 and 2 only to show up and kill him in Episode 6. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU JAYCE PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW WHY YOU ARE MURDERING YOUR POOR WET CAT BOYFRIEND

My other concern with season 2 so far, is that the pacing/storylines and plot feel really fast? it kind of feels like so many plots were crammed into season 2 that they now only last a few episodes until they finish or are forgotten? Like Isha was only there for 4-5 episodes until she died, Vander/Warwick's existence was built up across 3 episodes only for him to die really soon after he was revealed? Vi's breakup era only lasted for a few minutes in a montage? Viktor's 'Jesus' era had maybe 10 minutes of screentime? the list goes on.

I enjoyed all of these plots and storylines a LOT but I wish we got just a bit more time to appreciate them instead of getting emotional whiplash every episode. And that comes from someone who LOVES emotional whiplash.

To be fair though, none of the 'deaths' I'm talking about are necessarily confirmed yet since they're just implied until the next 3 episodes, So I do hope that at least Vander/Warwick is still alive because we barely got to dive deeper into the emotions the sisters must have experienced after seeing him again.

Anyway, Season 2 is honestly still so good it's a solid 7.5/10 for me so far. It has its flaws but it feels unfair to focus on them too much considering the season hasn't even finished its release yet. So yeah I'm really enjoying myself over here and am frothing at the mouth for the next few episodes to come out. Until then I will be curled up in the corner drawing infinite amounts of Arcane fanart to sate my endless thirst for more of this show.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk and thank you for your patience.

[dc418writes]

•|Legends Never Die|•

✨Pairing✨: dark!Curtis Everettxblack!reader

Summary🪄: Curiosity doesn’t kill cats. It kills the nosey

⚠️: 18+ NO MINORS, chasing, mention of blood, abduction, minor bondage, allusions to basement wife, language, noncon touching

A/N🎤: Hey guys! So this is my little twist on the infamous Headless Horseman tale and I hope you guys like it☺️💕!

*DISCLAIMER!: although visual was made by me, I DO NOT CLAIM OWNERSHIP of pictures used as they were all found via Pinterest*

Everyone you interviewed in the small town warned you about going down that dirt road. How those who dared pass through that wooden tunnel were never to be seen again.

But you didn’t listen. Instead letting your need for the truth overshadow your caution.

Once you heard about the mysterious figure looming in the woods and read all the accounts from those young and old, your piqued interest wouldn’t rest. You needed to see for yourself if this horseman really existed or if it was just a boogeyman of sorts with stories being passed down from generation to generation.

Dead grass and autumn leaves crunch under your sneakers as you journey further into the wooded area. The cool air prickling your nose and cheeks while buzzards squawk overhead circling with their wings spread wide.

That should’ve been your sign to turn back, but your legs carry you until you’re meeting a withered cabin. Smoke rising from its chimney into the gloomy sky.

“H-Hello!?,” you call out, but there’s nothing. Whoever lived here clearly wanted to be alone being the only cabin out in this stretch of woods that you could see.

“I don’t mean any harm! Just wanted to ask some questions,” you ask as you reach the front door.

You knock twice, but again you don’t hear anything. Can just see a peek of the lone, vintage couch and coffee table resting on top of the decorative rug in the living room through the crack in the curtains shielding the windows.

The floorboards creak under each step you take - no matter how careful - wandering along the wrap around porch while your eyes focus on the woods with every crack of a twig and swish of leaves.

Meaning you weren’t paying attention when you tripped over the metal bucket; knocking it over as you stumbled forward.

A reddish-brown tinted rag rolling out along with a small amount of water tinted the same color pooling around your feet is the final straw feeling your stomach begin to sink and anxiety slowly rise.

Something deep inside tells you to hide when you hear the whinny of a horse along with its trotting hooves approaching from somewhere in the forest. It’s the fastest you’ve moved since your high school gym days setting your eyes on a decent sized shed a few feet away.

Luckily it’s latch is open allowing you to quickly slip inside just as whoever approaches the property. Crouched by the small, smudged window, you can see the black stallion being led by a person in all black themselves from their thick coat to their leather gloves and down to the boots on their feet.

A pumpkin mask with detailed carving covering their face.

It looks like it was made from the gourd itself. But most surprising - and fear inducing - a hatchet on their hip. Its blade stained with someone or something’s crimson blood that steadily drips to the ground.

“What’d I get myself into?,” you think watching as the tall figure rounds the house before stopping upon noticing the knocked over bucket and rag. Clearly now on alert that somebody was there how his head turns left and right.

Your heart rate increases as he appears to be coming towards the shed. (More than likely to put away his horse as you now notice the bags of feed by your feet.)

It’ll be impossible to run out the same way you came, so you hurry towards the back crouching behind a barrel near the corner. Your knees pressed into your chest to make yourself as small as possible just as the double doors open and both step inside.

Hands covering your mouth, you can hear them tying their horse away before filling its container with food and beginning to brush along its mane and the short hairs on its body.

A skid of a breeze across your face nearly startles you - thinking whoever arrived found you - until you see the plastic flap of the doggy door gently moving back and forth. It seems big enough that you could fit through, but you won’t know for sure unless you try.

So you patiently wait until you hear the double doors open again and the thud of boots becoming quieter with each step, signaling that you were finally alone and able to move again.

Carefully your arm goes through first then your head, but your opposite shoulder only bumps into the wall unable to pass. Shifting your body, you try again hoping someway you can make it through but your efforts are futile.

Just giving you enough of a distraction that you don’t feel the presence of someone behind you until it’s too late. Roughly grabbing your ankles and yanking you back as you scream.

You thrash kicking and swinging trying to get away, successfully hitting his crotch deep enough to have him groaning as he keels over on his hands and knees.

“Bitch,” he grits out as you scramble to get your footing to run out the shed. The horse whinnying and stirring about due to the new commotion.

Bursting out the doors, you keep running without any direction just setting your sights forward while trying to dodge limbs and trees along your path.

At the galloping not too far behind you, your heartbeat increases hoping there’s another house somewhere in these woods you can ask for help.

As your chest heaves and throat gradually becomes dryer from the air constantly rushing through, it seems you two are the only ones out this far leaving only one end in sight for you.

The stallion’s galloping grows closer and louder - as if it’d never get tired - while you feel exhaustion overtaking the adrenaline that once controlled your body.

You make the grave mistake of peeking over your shoulder trying to gauge just how close your hunter is not realizing your path was soon ending. Flying forward, your body tumbles down a dirt hill until you’re roughly thudding to a stop.

However, rather than hitting the cold ground you’re horrified to find a decaying body with its eyes wide and staring right at you. Some flies buzzing from them to you as if thinking you could be their next snack.

A deafening scream rips through your chest as you try to scurry away, echoing off the surrounding trees until something hitting against your head makes everything go dark.

-

Opening your eyes, you first notice the dark, wooden beams of the unfamiliar ceiling. Definitely older from their weathered appearance as one seemed to be a good hit away from breaking in two.

You try to move, but your arms and legs are bound to the semi-firm mattress below you with expertly knotted ropes you know you’d never get out of. It left you spread wide and fearful to what your captors next plan would be.

“You’ve done a lot of research.” The deep voice startles you, instinctively making you turn towards the corner to find the person chasing you earlier. They’re still in all black with the orange mask attached to their face as they look through your notebook of interviews and printed articles.

Had they been there watching you the whole time you were out?

“Have to say, I’m flattered,” they lowly chuckle closing the book and haphazardly tossing it on the ground. You see just how tall this person is when they stand and their head is only inches away from the beams above. It fills your stomach with nausea and dread how they slowly approach the bed reaching their finger out to teasingly trace from the post by your foot to your ankle.

“I-I’m sorry,” you cry with fresh tears dripping out the corner of your eye and down to the mattress below. A line of black left in its path from your mascara and liner.

Carefully removing their mask, the face underneath is surprisingly handsome. Near crystalline like blue eyes shielded by long lashes and a sharp jaw covered by an almond colored beard, you could honestly find yourself falling for the man in front of you if you met under normal circumstances.

His fingertips slowly trace higher - from your ankle to your calf and finally the inside of your knee - making your squirm and tears fall heavier while you plead, “Don’t.”

“Looks like you found your horseman kitten,” he smirks. “Too bad you’re little story won’t ever get published. Especially not with you tied up down here until I’m done.”

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

Are there any songs you particularly associate with any of the Flashfam? Asking for...reasons

Ballroom Blitz by Sweet is the quintessential Flash family fight song to me. It's 100% the song that'd play in the background as the entire family does badass fight scene stuff together.

Talk to Much from COIN is a younger Wally's theme song. It's very 'teenage boy' and 'ADHD'.

This one is a very specific cover. How Far I'll Go/Go the Distance by Scott & Ryceejo. Some of the lyrics about sailing are a little off topic but the song is perfect for teenaged Irey and Jai. How Far I'll Go is all about a young daughter struggling with being everything her father wants her to be and her ever growing wanderlust that calls her to explore the world. It fits in really well with a teenaged Irey who is uncertain about the responsibility of upholding the family legacy and just wants to explore the world. This is all duetted with Jai's song about wanderlust. But he isn't yearning to escape expectations like Irey is. He's longing to be a hero in his own right. He doesn't want to be in anyone's shadow and he wants to do it by himself, no matter how hard it is. The final line, "till I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms", I visualize as being a reference to their dad. They want him to be proud of them, to see them as heroes, even if they do it differently than he did.

Can't Help Falling in Love by Pentatonix is Barry and Iris' wedding song. Follow My Feet by the Unlikely Candidates is the campfire song Barry made all the kids sing with him whenever they went camping. (He learned how to play the guitar and he thinks the song has good morals)

Dreamland by Fox Stevenson is Bart vibes. Run That Race by Dan Auerbach is Max's song.

Legends Never Die (Remix) from League of Legends, Alan Walker, Against the Current and Mako always gives me 'revive' vibes. Like, this is when the speedster is knocked down, knocked out, possibly dead and all hope seems to be lost. Then from the speedforce comes the voices of the other speedsters and the speedster is filled with love and determination and is able to get back up.

Anyway, I have a ton of songs I associate with the Flash fam but a lot are kinda obvious (like Born to Run or You're Gonna Go Far Kid) so these are just a few of my more unusual picks that I really like.

[masterchefatbaratie]

Beneath tired fingers layers the sculpt of fraying pages. Under waning light or by candle, the uneven lining of cell walls would accompany him in a thorough read. The book's spine divulged myth recognized only as gospel. Desperate eyes voyage in earnest, committing every word to memory. Its complementing illustrations, however, detailed the otherworldly. 

Nestled at the crux where all four sees meet is the All Blue. 

The book of boundless marvels was left behind, blanketed in dust, and put to fraying rest to wither in its age as every year folds it further inward. Its legacy, however, lived within the boy who occupied its cell, trekking beyond bars to behold the splendor it promised.  Motivation transcends the intention of becoming a chef, let alone the greatest in the culinary world. Taking refuge onto a passenger ship, these dreams are set into motion through an impassioned vow. A child's dream proclaimed among returned stares varying between chagrined and bemused.  "It's a cook's paradise." No longer confined to a cell poring over legend, his gaze would follow rays of light splitting clouds through a porthole of his room. An urgent mind drinks in the illusory, his memories never warped of pictures on paper, mouthing descriptors, chapter by chapter. Maybe an effort would be made to remake the book.  To any staff members that would listen, line cooks busying themselves over the natural clamor of pots and skillets, Sanji would proclaim again that he is going to find the All Blue. Their laughter mingles, falling upon deaf ears.  "and I'm going to find it one day." When their laughter runs silent, and tides of luck no longer lap at his favor, an adamant snarl reclaims him. Rage eclipses fear and in the face of death, Sanji proclaims once more that he will not die until he finds the All Blue. When the passenger ship is reclaimed by the ocean, and all lives snuffed a pitiable dream mapped by pictures burns at his core, kindled by a promise by death who spares him.  A weathered pirate captain in search of the All Blue, surviving at his side sacrifices his flesh on his behalf. While life pools onto stained rock, Sanji is asked to find a place of legend on his own. Sharing the same dream is not enough. Ten years under his guidance, and a pen to paper, Sanji divulges ornate visual to book with inelegant form where detail burns brighter. Between breaks, after hours, every word. Chapter after chapter. Sanji takes to retelling and rereading all in one. His eyes map while the words of his captain echo to live on and find the All Blue. It is real.  It's real.  Setting sail towards the Grand Line, beyond the East Blue, Sanji is as adamant as he was at a tender age by candle. Following the captain who preserves motivation and cherishes it as he. Every day, every year, inspired by pictures and word, Sanji sets to experience the All Blue. For himself and for Zeff, chef, guardian, and retired captain of the Cook Pirates.  "That's my dream." 

[cienie-isengardu]

I find it hilarious the Grandmaster probably banging Sektor's head on the wall about how loyalty is important and how Lin Kuei principals are absolute since he was baby and he didn't see Sektor might develop a tinge of independence to realize he didn't have to be told what to do once he's in a superior body. I feel like Sektor was kind of just waiting for a chance to seize power from his father and the Cyber Initiative gave him an opening and I feel his programming somewhat deteriorating was actually just Sektor's personality resurfacing above protocol and seeing that his father was no longer necessary.

I feel Sektor was honestly probably waiting for his father to die in the back of his mind prior(maybe he thought the guy would just die of old age or something) but when the Cyber Initiative was in motion and he got converted, this thought came back and eventually it just kind of weakened the loyalty protocols to where Sektor's desire to rule overrode his father's authority and he didn't feel like waiting for him to expire on his own.

The major reason why I have so hard time buying the whole human Sektor's desire to replace his father from MK9’s BIO is that the story mode, alongside other sources, doesn’t give me anything suggesting he was that ambitious or cunning to begin with and even less to think he was the designated heir. Quite the opposite, from the all named Lin Kuei characters from the same game, he is the most obedient one, the most willing to put Grandmaster’s wish over his own well-being and (at least visually wise) easily dominated by the presence of his fellow clan members. When Bi-Han is shown with Cyrax and Sektor, he takes the central place within their little group. When he is out of the picture, Cyrax openly questions Grandmaster’s vision of cyber Lin Kuei while Sektor is on the defensive, as he has no real argument to add to the discussion and Cyrax clearly doesn’t treat him as his superior, especially when Sektor confronted him about not killing Johnny Cage. 

It may be just me, but the human Sektor lacks the initiative that is characteristic for his cyber version. Similarly, for a supposed heir he feels so… subdued and withdrawn, not to mention his father sent him on a very dangerous mission in which the chance of dying was very high. Sub-Zero’s BIO from Deadly Alliance summed Kuai Liang’s choice to aid Raiden in his quest against new threat as “It was highly unusual for the Grand Master to embark on such a dangerous mission” and I think it wouldn’t be too far-stretched to assume Lin Kuei had a similar approach to the Grandmaster’s designed heir.

Sektor is a grown up man in MK9, if he was meant to replace his father at some point, I imagine he would be trained from birth for this duty. However, all the BIO says is that he had no choice about being Lin Kuei, but there is no information he was designed to be next Grandmaster. For all we know, the Grandmaster could have more children than Sektor and even if the man was considered as a potential candidate, sending him to the Mortal Kombat Tournament seems like too much risk - if he died, literal decades of proper education for the leadership would be wasted, wouldn’t it? 

My point is, I don’t think Sektor was seen by his father as the future leader of Lin Kuei - or anything more than an useful pawn, so I can understand that Grandmaster has never considered him a threat nor questioned his loyalty. Especially after automation, as C.I. Project was supposed to perfect the human warriors, not grand them better understanding of trauma and abuse they endured for Lin Kuei's benefit.

Frankly, maybe the fact that his son was so obedient and lacked initiative was the reason why he allowed Sektor to volunteer for C.I. Project - additional sources like Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms adds a lot to that feeling of my, as Grandmaster’s explanation - complaint - about human weakness seemed to be solely directed at Sektor, the only cyborg fully presented during the speech: “The mortal body is fragile, weak. So, we enhanced them.”

Maybe you are right and Sektor waited for a chance to seize control and C.I. Project provided it - and the BIO indeed tells the truth that his “ultimate goal is to supplant his father as Grand Master of the Lin Kuei”. However I personally think it was not human Sektor’s desire for power nor personal ambitions that corrupted his programming, as he has never been shown trying to enlist Bi-Han or Cyrax for his planned coup. I think the problem lies in the fact that Grandmaster removed the ��flaw” that kept Sektor in check, be it out of love or fear of his father. And once the flaw was subdued, Cyber Sektor could clearly see for the first time that his father is the danger he needed to remove to ensure his own safety, but also Cyber Lin Kuei’s independence. Because this is what you get when you remove humanity from a ruthless killer - no loyalty, no mercy. 

And yes, indeed, there is something hilariously ironic about Grandmaster's blindness to the danger of the C.I. Project and perfecting his own son that already dedicated all his life to him and the clan.

[usagirotten]

The Crow 30th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray Drops May 7th

As the calendar turns to May 7th, 2024, fans of the iconic film ‘The Crow’ are in for a treat. The beloved cult classic that has captivated audiences for three decades is making a grand return, this time in the form of a 4K Blu-ray edition, commemorating its 30th anniversary1. The 1994 masterpiece, directed by Alex Proyas and starring the late Brandon Lee, is known for its gritty atmosphere and poignant storytelling. It tells the tale of Eric Draven, a musician who is resurrected to avenge his and his fiancée’s murder, becoming an avenging angel in the dark cityscape. This special 30th Anniversary Edition promises to bring fans a viewing experience like no other. The remastered version boasts a native 4K resolution (2160p) enhanced with Dolby Vision and HDR10, providing a visual feast that honors the film’s original aspect ratio of 1.85:11. Accompanied by a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track, the haunting score and intense action sequences will resonate with unprecedented clarity and depth. In addition to the standard release, a Limited SteelBook Edition is also available, offering collectors a unique package to treasure2. Both editions include a digital copy, ensuring that you can enjoy this timeless story across all your devices. The release of ‘The Crow’ on 4K Blu-ray is not just a celebration of the film’s legacy but also a testament to its enduring impact on cinema and culture. As we revisit the streets of the dark city and the poignant journey of Eric Draven, we are reminded of the film’s message about love, loss, and redemption. Fans can pre-order their copy today, ensuring they don’t miss out on the chance to own a piece of movie history. As ‘The Crow’ returns, it’s clear that even after 30 years, some stories never die; they only grow more powerful with time. Inside of this edition: - Shadows & Pain: Designing The Crow – NEW!                                                        - Angels All Fire: Birth of the Legend - On Hallowed Ground: The Outer Realm - Twisted Wreckage: The Inside Spaces - Sideshow Collectibles: An Interview with Edward R. Pressman – NEW TO DISC! - Audio Commentary with Director Alex Proyas                                                       - Audio Commentary by Producer Jeff Most and Screenwriter John Shirley       - Behind the Scenes Featurette                                                         - A Profile on James O'Barr                                                                                          - Extended Scenes:                                                                                                           - The Arcade Bombing - The Funboy Fight - The Shootout at Top Dollar's - Deleted Footage Montage                                       - Trailer                

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[the-present-is-a-gift-au]

Chapter 24: In Which Twig Receives Some News

The Future Trio left soon after their abrupt arrival— Twig’s home, vacant as it was, wasn’t well enough equipped to house three extra guests, and they were comfortably confident that Twig wasn’t going to die any time soon. On a strict regimen of oran berries and bed rest, she healed up quickly and well. It was a struggle to keep from losing her mind out of boredom, but she made it out the other side alive… albeit with a newfound appreciation for the fluidity of the spoken word as opposed to the dry text of the one book she owned. 

She should probably get some actual children’s books before she tried to force herself into reading full-on scholarly manuals. At the very least, they’d probably have some nice pictures. That textbook barely had any diagrams in it, and Twig felt the lack of visuals keenly. 

Darkrai made for better company than Twig expected during the process of her healing. Maybe it was just the fact that she now knew him as Ark better than she had as the menace who tried to shroud the world in darkness, or maybe it was the fact that she was actually sleeping through the night now— either way, she enjoyed the conversations they had as she practiced her handwriting in that old notebook she used for kindling and he stitched away at whatever landscape he was embroidering. 

Twig pointedly avoided thinking about how one of the thread-paintings looked oddly like Dark Crater. Darkrai had said that they were just places that came to mind from his travels— he could have doubled back there after losing his memories. It wasn’t anything to worry about. Everything was fine. They were getting along great. She didn’t even mind him being around anymore. Everything was fine.

And then Twig opened a letter from Kip and everything went sideways.

“Are you well?” Darkrai asked from somewhere behind her, sounding miles away despite being just a few feet across the room. 

She didn’t answer, eyes roaming the page again in the hopes she misunderstood her friend’s looping penmanship. It wouldn’t have been the first time. She must have just misread it. She definitely misread it. She—

“Twig. You’re shaking.”

“I’m good! I’m good. Just— uh—” She cleared her throat. “Um. Kip is back home.”

“Is that not good news?”

“It’s great news.”

“You sound worried.”

“I’m not.”

“Hm.” He sounded unconvinced.

“It’s awesome. I’m just… I’m just a little surprised, is all. Those three years went by real fast, y’know?” She let out a weak chuckle. “Hey, we should probably head out to the market. Don’t you need more thread?”

“I suppose certain colors of embroidery floss have been used moreso than others. Are you certain you’re alright, though? You’re almost pale—”

“Yep! Yep, I’m good. I’m great. Let’s go. I could use the exercise.”

Twig’s leg had healed to almost its former state of wholeness, the only remaining sign of her injury being a slight limp or aching pain when she overdid things. She was able to travel to the market and back with no issue. But she found herself trembling all the while as she parsed the stalls for fruits and spices, the pain seeming to rise up anew and overtake her entire body as she tensed every last muscle in her shaking frame. 

Kip was home.

He was home, and he wanted to see her.

He wanted to see her, and she had a Legend attached to her hip who had haunted the poor mudkip’s nightmares for months after their fateful encounter in Dark Crater. 

You never thought this through, did you, Twig? Nice going, genius!

Maybe Darkrai didn’t want to meet Kip so badly anymore. Maybe she could just leave him home for a few days… But what if he remembered something while she was gone? What if Kip wanted to visit her at her new house? Didn’t she plan on moving back in with Kip when he arrived in Treasure Town? She couldn’t do that— she couldn’t exactly move back into Sharpedo Bluff with Darkrai stuffed in a suitcase, could she?

There was no way out of the mess she’d gotten herself into. Kip was going to find out about Darkrai eventually, and she was going to have to explain her reasoning for housing their shared worst nightmare— which meant explaining the return of her memories— which meant she would have to go through the gut-wrenching, stomach-twisting experience of baring the ugliest parts of herself to someone she loved. 

Dusknoir’s words echoed somewhere in the back of her head. “You were a child. You survived things no child should have to. You were not meant to be clever or strong. You were meant to be loved and cared for as you so clearly needed, as a child must be.” She couldn’t bear the dissonance that line awoke in her— somehow it felt like a balm and a poison in one line. A child. You were a child. Child or not, Twig had left her entire bunker to die, and she knew that Kip would take that news harder than she could put into words. 

The trip to the market didn’t last long enough for her to cook up a plan or for Darkrai to forget about her admitting that Kip was back. Sure enough, the first thing he said when they were back through Twig’s front door was about what she said. “I’d still like to meet Kip, if you think it is a possibility.”

“It’s not, Ark.” 

“Is he not in Treasure Town? It’s only a day’s journey.”

“It is, but— look, it’s just not an option for you to meet Kip. Honestly, I don’t even know if I can face him myself. And I can’t tell you why.”

Silence. Twig went to work lighting the dark room, having put out all the lights before they left, but found herself hesitating after lighting a single candle. She watched the flame dance and flicker as Darkrai spoke. 

“I understand that you have your reasons,” he began. “You’ve always been fiercely protective in the time I’ve known you. It is in your nature as much as nightmares are in mine. But that does not change the fact that I would still like to meet with this character at some point. Forgive my sentimental language, but it feels as though this is something I have been waiting nearly all my life for. There is something significant about your partner’s arrival that I feel within my core.”

She didn’t respond. Staring into the candle made her eyes sting with tears. 

His voice lowered. “… Is it not disheartening?” He asked. “To know your dearest friend is only a brief journey away, and yet you refuse to reunite with him despite all the years you’ve been apart?”

“I mean, yeah, it feels awful. But how I feel doesn’t change how things are.”

“Perhaps. But it seems to me that you are using the present state of matters to paralyze yourself. You shouldn’t indulge in fear. And given his history, I’m sure Kip would share that sentiment.”

That last line sent a spike of dread through Twig’s heart. “His history?” She hadn’t ever mentioned anything about Kip’s background to Darkrai other than him being her old partner and best friend. He shouldn’t know anything about his past. What was he talking about?

She put on a nervous smile. “H-Hey, um, Ark? What do you mean by—?”

He cut her off, seeming not to notice her stuttering mumbles. “Returning to the previous topic, are you not eager to return to your former role in an exploration team? You have spoken so highly of the experience. You made it sound like the greatest thing the world could offer— I myself have envied Kip’s status as your partner as a result of the praises you’ve sung.”

She couldn’t deny how much she missed exploring alongside Kip. She opened her mouth to answer that he likely wouldn’t be returning to Wigglytuff’s ranks of explorers before what Ark said clicked in her head. She smiled again, genuine this time, and chuckled. “I almost— pfft, Ark, I almost thought you were hinting that you wanted to join my team!” She couldn’t hold back her mirth. “Wow, I really misread the room there—”

“So you finally caught on this time?”

All the laughter bubbling out of her promptly died in her throat. “What?”

He didn’t take it back. He didn’t say he was kidding, or that this was a prank, or that he had suddenly taken up the cruelty he loved to indulge in during his previous life. 

 “Wh— How long has that been a thing?! When did you— Why would you— What?!”

Ark put up his hands in a placating gesture. “It’s been a thing since early on in your housing me. I’ve alluded to the concept numerous times rather than outright asking because… Well, you may judge your own reaction as the reason. It seemed as though your heart would give out if I came to you about it directly.”

That was a fair assessment. Her heart really did feel ready to give out in that moment. “No, not why you didn’t ask me to— I meant— I mean— Oh man. Hold on, I need a second.” She took in a long breath and closed her eyes, trying to collect herself. That was a bombshell if she’d ever heard one. She let out the breath in a slow puff and paused before turning her eyes back to Ark. “I was asking why you would want to join Team Venture. You never voiced an interest in exploration teams before, when you— when you had your memories. I guess I’m just confused by that sudden shift. What changed?”

Ark was silent for a long moment, eyes flicking away from her face and narrowing in a familiar coldness as he considered his answer. He seemed almost like Darkrai at that moment, but then the cold glare was gone, replaced by a strange melancholy. He flexed his hand at his side, bringing it up to clutch lightly at his chest. “I don’t think much has changed at all, surprisingly. It isn’t as if I had a sudden epiphany or change of heart on the subject. The thought of joining Team Venture is… something appealing. I suppose it always has been.” He turned back to her. “Is the opportunity not serendipitous in its presentation? Our abilities are complementary. Kip’s resilience is bolstered by your courage, and your combined strength could benefit from my knack for stratagem.”

Her voice left her inaudibly— barely a mournful squeak. “It’s not that simple, Ark, it’s…”

“No matter what obstacles appeared,” he continued, and her jaws snapped closed in sudden terror, “overcoming them would be entirely possible if we three band together.”

(She was in Dark Crater. She was in Dark Crater, and Kip was collapsed and bleeding out. She needed to get to him. She needed to save him. She needed to—)

“Well?” He asked, innocent. “Your answer, Twig?”

She shook herself, gritting her teeth. This was a coincidence. Only a coincidence. That was all. There was nothing special about it. “No,” she replied, voice tight and bordering on furious. “Sorry, but no.”

He watched her light the rest of the lamps throughout the home in silence. Twig caught a glimpse of his face as she turned to light one beside him and found his gaze narrow, but not unkind. 

“What’s with the weird look, man?”

He tilted his head, then looked away, almost flustered. “Nothing. Just a sense of deja vu, I suppose.”

With that, he fell quiet, and not another word broke the tense silence in their home.

[whatsarasaid]

9 People to Get to Know Better

Tagged by the always lovely @lordbhreanna.

1. Three ships: In general, you can just say the word 'partners' and my ears will perk up like a German shepherd who's just heard a slice of American cheese crinkle open, but here are three that my AO3 history says I've read in the past six months.

(Answers below the cut because this got long).

Jyn Erso/Cassian Andor (Star Wars): War refugees finding purpose in self-sacrifice to higher ideals. Brief comfort in each other while facing the horrors. Reading into the unsaid. This one is funny because it's had a lot of longevity for me although it's never lived in the hyperfixation category. The only time I like Star Wars is when it leaves the Jedi hocus-pocus and nostalgia references behind, which means Rogue One and Andor are my personal pinnacle of SW.

Simon "Ghost" Riley/John "Soap" MacTavish (COD): Similar to above, although the military propaganda bois here have less nobility in their cause. You know, it's that— “You want to be brothers-in-arms, to have him to yourself […] to be shipwrecked together, [to] perform valiant deeds to earn his admiration, to save him from certain death, to die for him — to die in his arms, like a Spartan, kissed once on the lips […] or just run his errands in the meanwhile. You want him to know what cannot be spoken, and to make the perfect reply, in the same language.” (Stoppard, The Invention of Love) Safe to say, my definition of romance includes camaraderie, devotion, banter, and gritted teeth. Also, the pro of one-dimensional video game characters is that fic writers can fill in the blanks with whatever they want, and this ship has some crazy-talented authors who flesh them out excessively well.

Peter Parker/Wade Wilson (Marvel Comics/Sony): This is my lazily-popping-Ritz crackers-into-my-mouth ship, although I'm very fussy with which fics I read from it. It's wild and irreverent and dysfunctional, but the heart wants what it wants, and sometimes, it wants the sassy vigilante who's experienced a lifetime of grief to get caught in tête-à-têtes with an unfiltered mercenary who can't die.

2. First ever ship: Probably Zelda/Link (Legend of Zelda). Ocarina of Time told me to go rescue the princess, and my kid-self went, "Yeah, let's go get my girl. We're in love, bb."

3. Last song: Vampire Empire by Big Thief.

4. Last film: Poor Things. A willful and visually extravagant satire that made me cry once, flinch constantly, and laugh scornfully throughout. It fearlessly addressed the many ways men attempt to control women in general and their sexuality in particular. It felt like watching a novel, which is difficult to do, and the triumphant ending was a nice reward.

5. Currently reading: The Self Under Siege by Firestone, Firestone, and Catlett and Exhalation by Ted Chiang. Both are excellent and have tight, elegant writing styles that uphold their even better— although very different—content. I picked up This is How You Lose the Time War by El-Mohtar and Gladstone from the library recently, too. Why yes, that is too many books to be reading at once, thanks for noticing.

6. Currently watching: Nothing at the moment. The last thing I watched was season two of The Bear.

7. Currently consuming: Black coffee.

8. Currently craving: BBQ pork buns and guava curd doughnuts from the long-closed Asian-Portuguese fusion bakery that used to be a couple of blocks from me. RIP RIP RIP. Craving never to be slaked.

Tagging: @her-satanic-majesty @primewritessmut @periodically-puzzled @elenafisher-wong and, of course, anyone who wants to participate and make it nine for me. Tell me what you're into these days.

[aplanetaryghost]

Sucker

I'm pretty sure my best friend's a vampire. I'm aware that opening with that makes me sound delusional, but I promise I'm not.

Maya's been my best friend since middle school. I told her when we were ten that I thought she was the most interesting person I'd ever met, and she gave me a glow-in-the-dark Silly Band and, giggling, invited me to her secret society. And thusly, we were inseparable, as most childhood best friendships go. Through the trials of middle school dances and AP classes. She was the first person I told when I stopped believing in God; I was the first person she told when she got a girlfriend last spring. We keep each other's secrets safe. So Maya's never been scary, never been weird before— I mean, we've both been weird, but in the way little girls are. Inventing elaborate backstories for our fairy characters on the playground, making potions out of sticks and grass. 

The weird-weird stuff only started this past summer. Or at least, that's when I first noticed it. I don't remember the date, but it was early August, those dreamy midsummer days when school's not an imminent threat, but a distant memory. 

Maya had had a dance recital. She's been doing ballet since she was tiny, way before I knew her. You'd think she'd resent it by now, but she doesn't, isn't the kind of person to lose her love for something because of what other people want her to be. Her dance company was doing The Firebird, and I certainly can't remember the plot, but I remember Maya. A riot of red, a ribbon of flame. You know how there are some people who just— sort of— glow? Maya's one of those people. Like, of course she got the lead, because there's something electric about her, something impossibly magnetic and expressive. I'm the quiet kind of storyteller; I keep it to self-indulgent fanfiction and the homebrew DnD campaign that'll blow everyone's socks off if I manage to finish it before I die. But Maya— Maya's a center stage sort of girl. She's the only one I'd believe playing a creature of legend. She's such a good dancer. 

After the show I gave her some flowers; I don't really believe in traditional forms of manners like thank you notes and flowers, but my mom told me to bring them, so. And then Maya beamed as she took them from me, her brown eyes warm, honey-gold. Molten. Like there was fire in her then, too. 

Anyway, her mom had work stuff (her mom always had work stuff) so she came home with us. We sat on my bed with the stripy sheets, and she didn't make fun of me for having way too many stuffed animals for a junior in high school, and after we talked for a while she spotted my ukulele leaning against the side of the desk. And she asked me to teach her something. 

I mean, everyone and their mom learns "I'm Yours" on ukulele. It's super popular and it's in C, so it's sort of baby's first uke song. I said something mildly mocking about this to Maya and she laughed and said "Well, you don't have to teach me if it's too basic," and I blushed and said no I actually hate pretentiousness, and what kind of ridiculous person would try to gatekeep ukulele anyway, and she just laughed at me again, all airy and unsulliable. Sometimes I think Maya's made of different stuff from the rest of us. Sometimes I wonder why she bothers hanging out with me. 

I explained a little bit about how chord diagrams work, but Maya's not really a visual learner, so I handed the ukulele over so she could try it out herself. But she still hadn't quite gotten the hang of how to press the strings down so they don't buzz when you strum them, so I reached over to help. It's sort of instinct to do that— I did it when I was teaching my little sister, Lou, too— because it's hard to explain it any other way. I feel kind of bad for invading people's space, but Maya's a pretty touchy person anyway, so I shifted closer to her on the bed and leaned over her shoulder. I reached to place my fingers over hers on the fretboard. 

Her hand was freezing. It was ninety degrees outside, and our AC is super finicky, so it wasn't much cooler indoors. But Maya's hand was icy, and there were goosebumps up her arm. On some sudden fervent instinct, I grabbed her hand in both of mine and rubbed at the skin. "Why are you so cold?" I asked with a little laugh.  

She looked down sheepishly and gave a forced chuckle, gently tugging her hand from mine. "Maybe it'll warm up if I actually get this chord right."

She sounded uncomfortable. Nervous, almost. Like I'd caught her out on— what? Having cold hands? Maybe she just hadn't expected me to touch her. Logically, I should have been able to brush it off, but I just couldn't. Everything about that afternoon stood out to me, but especially the feeling of her frigid hand in mine. I just kept thinking about it. In bed that night, long after she'd gone home. In the car the next day, on the way to pick up Lou from summer camp. Practicing ukulele by myself a couple weeks later. The warm line of my shoulder against her back and the slightly-too-closeness of her face and the chill that seemed to pass from her to me when I touched her hand. It was just so fucking vivid, and not in a bad way, exactly, but it was weird. 

School started up again. I found Maya in homework and she beamed upon seeing me, and something sort of bubbled in my stomach, some weird nerves-excitement that I guess happens when you don't see your best friend for several weeks. And things were normal. I can't point at anything that was actually, tangibly off in those first few weeks. It's just that every interaction with Maya felt so charged, like now that she'd passed that strange electricity to me once, every time we touched each other that current flowed between us again. And it was unfamiliar and unsettling and also it meant nothing because nothing had actually changed, except for the fact that I was sort of addicted to it now: kept catching her eye in class, kept switching seats to sit next to her at lunch. 

But I didn't really have anything to ascribe the feeling to until Mrs. Richmond introduced the first unit of Honors English. Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla, like Dracula but before Dracula, and with more women. I'm not really a spooky-scaries person (as evidenced that I say shit like "spooky-scaries"), but it's short and has fantastical elements, both of which are very rare in books you have to read for school. So, fine by me. I know it came out before all those tropes existed— is maybe the reason we have these tropes— but it's funny reading a story that feels kind of like the ultimate vampire archetype. Spooky castle in vague eastern Europe. Beautiful mysterious stranger who hates crucifixes. Sorry Laura, but I think she vants to suck your blood. 

I've never read vampire stuff before, though, and there's something compelling about it. There's this intensity to the way Laura and Carmilla talk to each other, a sort of self-destructive desperation that feels like maybe there's a universe where Laura just says screw it and runs off with Carmilla on a whirlwind vampire quest. I always make this joke that if some kind of portal-fantasy door opened up in my life I wouldn't think twice before diving through it— fantastical dangers or no, I want to see a dragon! And there's something sort of like that in Laura. Like she's looking for something she can't find, except maybe Carmilla is it. Just something about the way Laura thinks, feels, talks, there's a flicker of— something— in my mind, in my heart, in my stomach. A sort of recognition, but of what? 

It tips over the edge when Maya bites me. That sounds weird, but— well, it's a little weird. Maybe I'm just making it weird. 

We're sleeping over Jess's for her birthday and we're marathoning the entire High School Musical trilogy. But we started late so it's 2 a.m., maybe, and we're about halfway through the third one. While Kelsi tries to convince everyone to do one last show to celebrate their senior year, we giggle deliriously and flick popcorn at each other. Maya keeps trying to steal my sour patch kids, but she hasn't got a subtle bone in her body, especially when she's on a sugar high and loopy from how late it is. I hold the cardboard box of candy over my head, my arm flinging wildly enough that it'll probably spill all over the floor anyways. She clambers over me, grasping at my arms, a tangle of limbs and warm laughter, and I stagger to my feet, using my height to my advantage and dangling it out of her reach. 

She huffs at my "unfair" use of "tall person privilege" and flops to the floor, declaring "I give up!" I follow suit, giggling softly, but I'm barely settled when she dives toward me again, eyes sparking. I fling the sour patch kids away but she just plasters herself to my side and announces, nonsensically, "I bet you taste better than sour patch kids!" and gives an exaggerated chomp to my shoulder, bare in my pajama tank top. We're all past laughing by now, more of a breathless wheeze, the kind you only get when it's way too late at night and you know each other better than anyone. 

Then Jess cackles and says "Why are you two children? I'm trying to watch Troy Bolton's existential crisis over here!" And something about the awareness of another person in the room— what, did I think it was just me and Maya? this is Jess's house— snaps me back to the present, and a cold feeling comes over me. My stomach drops, and there's heat flooding my face, and I don't know why. But Maya just blinks a little and then goes back to chuckling at the movie, and Jess and Margo don't seem put off at all, so I settle back into our nest of blankets on the floor and try to focus on Sharpay singing about her big Broadway dreams. 

The Monday after, October begins, and we're still talking about Carmilla, now with a sort of goofy spooky edge. We do a close read of the bit where Laura describes her dreams, but I can't focus on the strategic use of sensory imagery and foreshadowing because something about Laura's words is ringing, is resonating like a tuning fork set to the same note as some strange hidden part of my psyche. A magnetic pull, the rushing of a river. A strange, tumultuous excitement that was pleasurable, ever and anon, mingled with a vague sense of fear…

Mrs. Richmond says the river is the literal sensation of blood leaving her body, but I think it's something else. I think it doesn't matter what's physically happening when you're so wrapped up in a feeling; that Carmilla's consuming more of Laura's mind, or spirit, or something, than she is her blood. I know that intensity of feeling, have felt it before; it echoes the giddiness of that past Saturday, the sense that I was losing my mind in a good way. Maya's mouth on my bare skin. 

Well— okay, hang on. That's. That's not normal. Most people don't think about their friends the way they think about vampires.

I'm a pretty rational person, okay, and a skeptic to boot. But something's felt off for a while, and my brain latches onto this idea. Conjures a corkboard in my mind, draws strands of yarn between cold hands and strange attraction and teeth against my skin. Scrawls MAYA IS A VAMPIRE in messy red marker over the top. 

There's no fucking way. Right? Except now that the idea is named in my head I can't stop seeing it. Maya shading her eyes in the sun. Maya leaning into me for warmth. Maya not eating any of Margo's mom's garlic bread even though it's fucking delicious. Maya's eyes meeting mine and my brain plunging into some pool of Maya Maya Maya as if there's nothing else. Don't vampires have hypnotism or something? 

This is so stupid. I feel like a crazy person. I can't stop thinking about it, though. I go through the rest of the day in a weird haze, passing through class and homework and dinner with my mom and sister like a zombie. I try to distract myself but can't focus on anything because as ridiculous as this idea seems it also feels like an answer, like one I didn't know I was waiting for. I go to bed and toss and turn for a few hours and eventually give in, grabbing my laptop off my desk. The faint glow of the screen casts a ghostly glow on my face in the dark of my room. 

I don't really know what kind of search terms would get me where I need to go, and my brain's not really firing on all cylinders right now, so my first search attempt is the astonishingly intelligent carmilla vampire feelings real??? Which, shocker, does not bring up a helpful step-by-step checklist of signs of vampirism in your childhood best friend. 

It does bring up an article called "Queer Desire in Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla," which takes me aback. I click on the article and read through it, then go back and click on another. The rabbit hole swallows me and suddenly it's 4 a.m. and I'm deep in the YouTube comments of some vlogger-themed adaptation of the book, all of which say things like Carmilla could murder me and I would thank her and me, not knowing I was a lesbian: wow I wonder what it's like to kiss a pretty vampire girl.

At this point the blue light is hurting my eyes a little and, exhausted from my strange fugue state, I shut my computer and stare into the dark of my room. For a couple seconds there's just white noise in my head, my brain overfull with words and snatches of dialogue and flashes of photos. I let it sieve through my brain, the fluttering thoughts settling until suddenly they coalesce into a question I somehow hadn't even thought to ask. 

It's four a.m. I sit in my bed. I ask myself do I want Maya to kiss me? And—

Well, shit. 

The static fills my brain again, but not— not in a bad way, this time, I don't think. Just that flood of Maya Maya Maya, terrifying and reassuring all at once. Uncertain what to do, I'm left still staring at the ceiling until I fall asleep. 

The next day, Maya sits next to me in math, and the world implodes. I mean, it doesn't, not really, there are no external indications that such a thing might be happening. But I feel like someone pumped me full of helium and if I don't cling to reality white-knuckled I'll float away and maybe accidentally burn up in the sun. That sounds like my luck. I just keep looking at her. That Maya Maya Maya chorus has gotten louder, incessant, like my brain has decided it's key to my survival that I be distinctly aware of her presence at all times. We're partners for solving a problem on the board. She grins at me and jokingly names our team after the two of our names smashed together, like we're a popular ship from a sitcom. My insides are fizzing like that time when I was nine and ate five packets of Pop Rocks on a dare. 

But the world goes on even after it ends, apparently, because I don't spontaneously combust that day. Or the next. Or the next. I stammer my way through a couple of interactions with Maya, I shift uncomfortably in my seat when we talk about our opinions of Carmilla, but there's no catastrophe. I think this is what they were talking about when we learned about adaptation in bio. Sometimes shit just happens and you just…continue to exist. Reshape yourself around it. The feelings for Maya, unexpected and unrequited as they are, become comfortable. Like a worn-in sweater.

Maya talks about her girlfriend— not the one from last spring, someone new from the grade below us who she's in dance with, her name's Lily— more and more. It seems like she's getting more comfortable, too, and I'm happy for her. At first I think I can never tell her about me, like the fact of loving girls is permanently entangled with the fact of loving Maya, and admitting my sexuality to her would be showing my hand and ruining her relationship and a whole other host of anxious spirals. But weeks go by, and my heart settles a little. When Jess asks if there's a guy I want to take to the winter formal in November, I seize the moment and awkwardly reply "Or girl." And Maya grins and echoes, "Or girl." And then it's done. 

And then I tell my friend Parker from band, who's been out to me since freshman year anyway, and who thankfully is not embroiled in this whole mess and therefore is perfectly willing to listen to me lament my unrequited love as much as I need to. And slowly, the crush on Maya starts to feel less like an earth-shattering event or a collapsing star and more like something I can melodramatically gossip about in the band room after school. Then we finish Carmilla a week before Halloween and I get possibly the best idea I've ever had, even though it's literally an inside joke with myself.

There's a party at Jess's on the thirty-first. Maya will be there. So will everyone else. An hour before, I press fangs onto my teeth with cosmetic glue and smudge fake blood across my lips. When I'm done, I grin wickedly in the mirror. 

Maybe being a creature of the night isn't so bad. 

[nazuri]

So other day i saw something about movie Stardust based on Neil Gaiman book of the same title i don't even know what the post was about but it intrigued me and I decided to watch it today

And holy shit is that movie good

I love the plot it's so fun i love that we don't play into misunderstandings and things like that i just love it i never was good at describing a plot and i for sure am not going to be better at it so...

Characters

Tristan - fucking love him he's stupid in love like man that girl wasn't worth it and he still went for it just to later come back and basically say "here is a piece of star for you now see ya i found someone better and you kinda a bitch" and i fuckin respect it especially when he dropped her after she went in for a kiss and i love the banter he had with other characters

Yvaine - gorgeous witty love how over it she was at the beginning and she still fell for that stupid little man i love her character and how she just seems like that distant light for some time and then how she just pours her heart out when Tristan's turned into a mouse because she thinks he doesn't understand and then the absolute panic and cringe she feels when it turned out he understood all of it absolutely perfect

Dunstan and Una (dad and mom) - he just went over the wall one day visited the market had sex with a princess turned witch's slave and just went home and 9 month later he just gets a package with a son in it and just says nothing and accepts the situation absolute champ

Captain Shakespeare - icon reputation obsessed guy who just wants to dress up and have fun he thinks he's fooling his crew into thinking he's this ruthless killer without remorse and fails miserably because they still know but don't say anything so he doesn't get embarrassed 10/10 give me more

The princes - absolute mess like imagine being one of 7 brothers fighting for the throne and when you die you are just forced to look how others are doing till the next king gets crowned especially when they are the ones to kill you especially love how they're not like holding grudges and just have fun commenting like they are at some fucking golf game love them they are so stupid

Witches - i enjoyed how unhinged they could be sometimes i always laughed with them especially loved the getcha moment at the end when she pretended to be all "my sister's are dead nothing matters anymore" and then just went "sike you thought" they were fun that's for sure

I loved the humor the banter the visuals were pretty her hair shining was such a nice effect i loved the little training montage at the ship

Oh my god i almost forgot about the best character

The old guy at the wall

My god i love this guy

First he just sits by the all for like 80 years or so and this random kid outsmarts him by pretending to go away just to wait for our guy to turn and sprints for the wall and what does our old man do after that defeat he learns and when the kid of that kid tries to do the same and i mean exactly the same my guy pretends to fall for it and just beats the crap out of the kid and when at the end he sees all the magic shit and murder and stuff happening over the wall he just says "i quit" absolute legend

So that more or less my feelings about this movie i loved it it was great i definitely recommend

[aventereux]

Pure - Mac Miller by d2camilli Rip Pure Lyrics [Intro] Whoa, whoa Whoa, whoa Hope I got enough oxygen for this Whoa, whoa, whoa Let's uh, let's see Whoa [Verse 1] How do it feel when you make it? Is every day just another vacation? Livin' needs no reason, just like seasons, they keep changin' Have you seen the people's faces when you take away their pain? That shit is prettier than any picture Monet could've painted I, swear to God I never could've saw this happenin' You was, you was rappin' and your mind started unravellin' You back again with complications, that was then, this is now You was on your way out, you stayed up and turned that shit around Pittsburgh is a little town, you made it out of (Yeah) Look at all these things you did, are you not proud of What you accomplished? Was success everything that you wanted? Are you bein' honest with yourself? (Yeah) How you doin'? How's your health? (Yeah) Well, I'm fine (Fine) I left the past behind (Behind) I'm only an architect, the world is just design I don't mind all of the rumors, I'm just fine bein' a loser Sit behind my own computer It's divine, it's Hallelujah on my mind (Whoa, whoa, whoa) You need to let it all play out The world is tryna hold you back, you found another way out See the signs (Signs) 'Cause they're right in front your face You got the light inside you, please don't let it go to waste (Whoa) [Chorus 1] Don't waste your time here You don't got time to lose Walk along the chosen road On your own Please free your mind here You got a mind to lose Will you make love to my dirty soul? (Make love) Whoa (Will you make love, girl?) Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Whoa, whoa Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Whoa, whoa-oh-oh [Verse 2] Yeah Everybody got opinions when you make millions All God's children, let me keep livin' I've been keepin' it real (Real) I can't sleep without pills (Pills) Will it all go wrong? (Will it all go wrong?) What'd you visualize every single time that you made them songs? (You made them songs) Can you just hold on? (Hold on) Yeah Havin' nightmares from the bottom (Bottom) Heaven is for legends, Hell is Hell for the forgotten (Whoa, whoa) I've been dealin' with some problems, I've been longin' for your love (Love) Crazy, selfish, doin' drugs (Drugs) Check off all of the above, yeah (Whoa) They told me, "Get it together, 'cause God is waitin' for you" (Waitin') Your life will never be normal, I got some paper for you (Money) Just respect who you are, or they gonna take that from you (They gon' take it) Everybody gotta die, that shit just make you mortal