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canonicallysoulmates · 11 months

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Jared JIB13 Saturday Panel

He jumps right into questions and so will we...

Do he and Jensen drive around the Impala's or do they mostly stay in the garage?

Baby bro, his Impala, is in his garage in Austin next to the picture of him on a horse from French Mistake. He says he has to take a pic of that and tweet it, that they both got the Impala's restored and his got finished first but it's not registered yet in America so it's still a Canadian vehicle which is weird because it was born in America in Detroit but it go registered in Canada. In order for him to be able to drive it he has to get it registered but they will certainly go road trip. And he does a Jensen impression saying, "I love baby" 😂 x

Why does he think Sam only had one son?

He jokingly says Sam only had one son that he knew of 😉 But he thinks Sam did all right, in his opinion the reason he only had one son is that when Sam and Dean were both alive Sam had a questionable history as far as success and failures go when it comes to loved ones so to speak, you know his first love was on fire on the ceiling, his next was a werewolf, then a demon that makes you start the apocalypse so he thinks Sam had a child and he tried to not mess it up. He does truly believe that we'll see Sam and Dean ride again in the version of Sam and Dean that are played by he and Jensen but in the mean time he thinks Sam thought 'I've been through enough, this kid is healthy, ten fingers ten toes, I'm gonna honor my brother' so that's where he went. x

How does he think Sam dealt with his hell trauma through all of the years?

The way he played it, and the way he thought it- there's a funny thing being an actor on a show, especially a show that you've done for an ep or two or 3 because he thinks it's cumulative, it grows on each other. Every episode you do in a tv show, if you care, is like a brick. So episode 1 you get a brick, ep 2 you get another brick, ep 3 you might get 3 more bricks, and so on and so forth and there are some really pivotal episodes where you get a whole brick wall like I Know What You Did Last Summer, Changing Channels, the Simon Said one for him was very funny, Fresh Blood, Sacrifice. Sacrifice, he feels he put up an entire wall and poured some more foundation on the floor to build another wall. And so by the time they got to hell!sam you just kinda have to do the best you can, and say okay here's the house of Sam.

And he feels like this, and for people that he hasn't been able to talk to about mental health directly, he tries to think of himself and everybody else as a mountain and so you're a mountian and sometimes you look up and it's a cloudy sky or it's raining or thundering, the next day could be the most beautiful day you've ever seen so don't commit to that thunderous lightning sky. And vice versa if it's beautiful and there's rainbows and birds and you're like everyting's great and it's gonna be that way forever in a week it might be a very shitty day so things change, and that's not dissimilar to how to tell the story of a character so when he played hell Sam all of that was there and it was really though, it's hard to go there, and he thinks a lot of actors and actresses are really well equipped to play a scene like that they can kinda just go into it and come out of it feeling fine, but for him it stayed with him for a little bit, and he thinks it's because it was theraputic for him because there was some stuff he had to deal with and so he explored it.

He's really grateful for his friend Sam, he got to explore a lot of stuff that he would've failed at so he's happy to have had that relationship for 15yrs and hopefully again but all those aspects were there, and still are there if you think about it, he can go back and play hell Sam tomorrow, and he might, he hopes to. x

In a previous panel he mentioned stoicism, could he talk more about it?

The question that he had been asked in said previous panel where he mentioned stoicism was who would he like to sit down to have a meal with, and he says his first thought is that right now he'd love to talk to his grandpa that died before he was born.

He feels he's learned quite a bit about stoicism. He'd love to delve into it he thinks the perceived peace, and not that stoicism is being peaceful, but he thinks it's finding the peace and that has been a journey for him. Again the mountain, the clouds change but remain your own mountain and stay peaceful and pacifist and this too shall pass, so he thinks maybe one of the things he loved about learning about stoicism at just an elementary level that he'd love to keep exploring is how to keep seeking peace wherever you are. x

Does he get his hair permed?

He doesn't get it permed. He shares a cute story about how his hair now is very long because he hasn't had a haircut since wrapping up filming on Walker s3, which happened 3 days after the last JIB back at the end of February, he's had long hair before, obviously, but this is a short hair haircut that has grown out so he doesn't know how to do it, and so he got to the green room that morning and went to Jensen and told him he was fucked because he has hair product for short hair now and he didn't know what to do, and he didn't want to put on his beanie all day long but Jensen told him he might have something and saved his ass as Dean saves Sam's ass many times. Jensen always taking care of his boy 🥰 And if I want to headcanon that Jensen styled Jared's hair nobody can stop me. x

Has the why did uncle Jensen kill mommy talk happened?

It hasn't. He and G have watched some Walker with the kids so it's more why did dad want you killed if he's the producer, but there's something really funny that he feels, and people have asked many times if he's watched SPN with his kids, and his kind of canned answer is they're not old enough to see all that blood but they are, or that they can't see love scenes which they can they get it, it's more he has such a deep and abidding love for SPN and Sam and Dean and C and all the other characters that he doesn't want to watch SPN with the kids casually. He will watch SPN with his kids, he will watch every single ep with them but when he does so he wants to be able to pause and say 'hey here are the archetypes, here are the storylines, here are the tropes, here's why the storyline is going this way because soon it might go that way' basically he wants to able to explain it to them. This is something he's gone through with Tom about like Harry Potter or Star Wars and what's the hero's journey and the speedbumbs along the way. But he will watch it with them and he's sure he will get that question, and hopefully he'll have an answer by then. x

The next fan thanks him for Walker Independence and asks him what his favorite bit was

His favorite bit was attempting to give a voice to the stories that haven't been told yet, it's still an open wound but he's so proud of the cast, the storylines, the characters. It's one of those bummers when he has to remind himself that he's a talking monkey, we all are and sometimes it works out where the people who do or don't decide to pay for you to do another season do or don't decide to pay for it. He couldn't be more proud of the show, the stories, actors and actresses, characters, and he hopes we see more of it somehow. x

Does he have any birthday traditions?

He doesn't have a tradition, honestly when he turned 18 he was filming on Gilmore Girls. When he grew up they had birthday parties but once he moved to LA he believes between his birthday in 2018 and his birthday in 2005 when he turned 22-23, he thinks he was on set for like 12 of his 15 birthdays just filming, and he tells another really sweet Jensen story about how when they were filming Wendigo, it was like the 4th day of filming and it was his birthday and he didn't tell anyone but Jensen found out somehow and surprised him by having the crew sing him happy birthday and get him birthday cake 💕

"Ackles somehow or another found out that it was my birthday. And I think this was like day 4 of filming Wendigo, and I didn't say anything I was like, whatever I'm 23 it is what it is, I'm here to work and then when lunch happened I think Jensen was like 'hey, we're gonna rehearse the next scene before we break for lunch' and I was like okay, cool and so I went back into the set to rehearse and they had a birthday cake for me. I guess he had found out it was my birthday and had them all sing happy birthday to me and had them bring me a birthday cake."

This is so precious 🥹

Anyways, he doesn't really have a birthday tradition, if he were to have a tradition it's that he and G try to go to Italy every summer, and she's currently there so they're gonna spend the week there and try to celebrate this week. x

What's a scene between Sam and C that he would have liked to have seen on the show?

Two part answer to a one part question, he really loves the scene directed by Richard Speight with Sam and Sully, and he loves that Sam had an outlet in Sully to kinda talk about what he wouldn't talk to Dean about, and we're all in those relatonships where the person you care most about it's not that you lie to them but you don't tell them how stressed, or worried, or tired you are so he would have loved to see a scene between Sam and C where Sam thanks C for being there for Dean when Sam can't. With all due respect, that's a no from me. x

Has he heard his french voice in SPN? The actor who dubbed him also dubs Matt Damon and Patrick Dempsey! Also, does he find it weird to hear a foreign voice coming from him?

He finds it really fucking cool. He met in Barcelona, maybe 11yrs ago, the actor who dubbed him. He loves it, he thinks it's so cool. His first experience ever hearing himself dubbed was when he was in Beijing, China back in 2006. They had just finished s1, and he and his buddy who was there were unpacking, and they had the tv on and he heard the trailer for some tv show in the background and his friend started freaking out and told him to look and when Jared looked at the tv it was him in s1. So '06 or '07, he doesn't remember, in the summer he went to China and saw it dubbed in Mandarin, and he found it the coolest thing that's ever happened in his life. Says that if anybody wants to dub him, in any language, DM him, he loves it.

He'd love to watch it, and to meet the performer who does it in French as well. x

What's the secret to his and Jensen's brotherhood?

This questions is possibly a version of his favorite question that could ever be asked about SPN. The main thing he can say is that whatever you see on camera though Jensen and he were playing Sam and Dean Winchester they weren't faking shit. It was real to them and it was and still is an amazing life lesson that you get out of something what you put into it, if you half ass something whether it's a friendship, marriage, profession, diet, excercise routine, you're gonna get half-assed results. If you go 'fuck it, i'm all in and if I get hurt I get hurt and I'll abandon ship and do something else' and they went all in like he thinks sometimes he can think about when that moment happened but he thinks both he and Jensen just went like 'you know what this is found family, could be found family'.

Maybe Jensen turns out to be an asshole, maybe he (Jared) turns out to be an asshole and if that happens then he can reverse and put his guards back up and say this guy is a jerk or vice versa Jensen can say he's a jerk about him, but they both just kinda went all right I'm gonna trust you, they didn't say the words but they had that kind of non verbal communication and went after it, and he to this day loves the guy like a brother. And there are ups and downs, somebody goes through something in their life and he'll speak for himself sometimes when he's super stressed out he can be a little curt, a little maybe caustic, snarky or sarcastic and his buddies around him have to be like 'hey, you're kind of being a dick are you alright?' and he'll go 'no i'm not alright im going through this' but having that trust- he knows he and Jensen found that with SPN in Sam and Dean, and he loves their relationship like he wants that for his sons. He doesn't want the rebar but he wants them to rely on each other.

That he heard a great quote: parents leave us too soon, we're not around long enough for our children, siblings are the ones we go through life with. And he thinks siblings can mean anything, if you're an only child, it's your friend, it's your buddy, you need a partner, you need two people in that rowboat. It doesn't need to be somebody who's there everyday but somebody you can go to, and you might not agree all the time but life is not about agreement otherwise why go through life if you have nothing to learn, if everything you say is right, so he thinks they just trust each other and he doesn't know why but they held each others careers in each others hands and were like 'I got you, you got me? Yeah. All right let's get to work'. ❤️

On SPN G was like the demon on his shoulder, on Walker she's like the angel on his shoulder what did he like best demon G or angel G?

Storyline wise he loved demon G. Says, he's a weird guy, he's a nice guy but he's a weird guy because he loves being around people he loves and trusts that are intelligent when he grew up, in High School he was into debating so sometimes he wants to say something not because he means it but because he trusts somebody else's intellect and he wants to hear their reaction and response and he hopes they'll want to hear his as well so he'll say something like he thinks lights should be outlawed and we should go back to candles because this is bad for the enviroment and someone will counter reply he likes the minutia, he likes the back and forth, he likes conflict, conflict is what storytelling is about often and it's whatever the reminder of after conflict has been settled it's whatever the reminder is that teaches the audience and to an extent the performers what the whole scene was about in the first place, it's never what you think it's about. So, he likes that but as far as angel G in Walker it's been fun to show her off to his Austin cast and crew, especially during the covid days when no one else was allowed so he guesses he should say angel G, Emily, so she can come back to s4. x

...I could say something but I'm not going to....

Last question, was he able to sight see in Poland?

He answers that he finally got to his motherland Poland and it was amazing. He had a great time, he was there for 9 days but it was for a USO tour so everyday he was at a different base so not a lot of sight seeing but he saw a lot, he saw a lot of the country. The fan asks if he got to see any of the beaches, he did not, they were inland the whole time he didn't even know they had beaches. He also didn't get to see Katowice which is where his grandparents are from but he'll go back, he wants to go back; it was a lot of trying to give back to people who were in the front lines of the Ukraine-Russia conflict so there wasn't a whole lot of time for traffic or tourism but he can't wait to go back, he had a great time, loved the people. x

Jared JIB13 Saturday

#jared padalecki #noniwtv #mine #j2 #j2 tinhat

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arclundarchivist · 16 days

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Spoilers C3E94

Well, , interesting to see that Ludinus has surrounded himself with a bunch of self-serving traitors.

Kinda convinces me that my thought that the fucker is legit just out for himself is probably the truest form of how this plays out. Like, vessel goes in, gets Predathos and while their acclimating he absorbs them into his body and then becomes the God Eater himself, aiming to take on and consume the Gods.

But hopefully he fails and then maybe just like last campaign where Hunger kept being a big deal, we see another flash of Tharizdun.

Honestly a bit excited to see Essek again, but if I’m honest, Matt really derailed what was likely going to be a series of slow moments focused on FCG.

Like I hope it does come up in the next episode or so, cause they seemed like they were genuinely building something there.

But Matt kinda just threw them into the chaos again without giving the moment time to breath, particularly after the Crownkeepers break.

I have faith that Liam at least will follow through with what he seemed to be planning, cause he never lets go of his own plots.

But Ashton grabbed up FCG’s holy symbol, Laudna talked about FCG, but then so many of the Hells, going against what they were made for, and how that could inform her own character, but also why wasn’t Groon there to meet Imogen! She genuinely resisted the temptation like Kord prompted her to, we need them to give a shit fully about the Gods, Matt give her that moment.

Dorian not sure if he wants to trusts the Gods, expected, but at least he’s committed to helping, but I swear if he backtracks the growth they seemed to be cusping upon I might scream.

Edit: But I am now realizing this is the first time someone who actually knows shit about Dunamancy is going to be in close proximity to Ashton, and I *need* Essek to pry into that.

Can you imagine.

Ashton: “Yeah I kinda don’t fuck with the gods.”

Essek: “Well you have a piece of one in your skull, or so my people claim.”

#critical role #critical role spoilers #cr imogen #cr fearne #cr laudna #cr orym #cr ashton #cr fcg #cr chetney #cr dorian #ruidus #ludinus da'leth #zathuda

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bengiyo · 1 year

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My School President Ep 3 Stray Thoughts

This show is giving me everything I wanted folks to get out of Lovesick the series. Last week we switched to Tinn's perspective and learned that he's just a nerd suffering from benign neglect that fell in love with a pretty boy with a nice voice that was kind to him once. We also learned that Tinn has unsuccessfully attempted to confess his feelings repeatedly for years. I love Tinn.

Now, after spending a whole episode anonymously helping the music club procure replacement instruments, he's committed himself officially to seeing Gun succeed in this competition in the hopes that maybe they'll date.

Gemini and Mark are fun together. Tinn is such a simp and it's endearing.

"When did he get here?" - "A while ago."

I like the scale of the villain of the current principal. She wants to cancel troublesome clubs, and I think demanding that slacker students perform academically isn't necessarily an unreasonable request of students who want permission to represent the school in a public competition.

We should be seriously concerned that the school building has a termite intrusion.

Holy hell they're so dense.

These marble tables are giving me Make It Right flashbacks.

Tinn's fantasies being consistently ruined by reality is actually such an important subversive creative choice. As fun and adorable as this all is, I'm glad young viewers are being subtly reminded that your fantasies will not always align with reality. Tiw reminding Tinn to focus on helping his crush is *chef's kiss*.

I love Tiw with my entire being. We haven't had a wingman this committed in a long time. He might be a winner for the NAMGOONG BEST BOY AWARD for 2022. I'm glad the rest of the music club affirmed that Tinn is a good tutor, but Gun has specific challenges with math.

I also like the fantasy sequences not only because they reveal how ridiculous and adorable Tinn is, it allows Gemini and Fourth to have more fun interactions before they get together.

Okay, but I actually think it's awesome that Tinn's parents still are attracted to each other and can express that in front of Tinn. That Tinn only laughs about it means this is normal for him.

This apartment does seem very nice.

Not sure why they don't just share the bed.

And now we're ballroom dancing. Tinn's going to implode.

Did Tiw suggest he watch Bad Buddy to flirt, and then diss Ohm and Nanon to highlight Mark (his actor) while the Bad Buddy intro theme played? Yes he did, and I am losing it.

Scrubb is actually good, so I totally get the fantasy about "Close."

They always seem to have fun with these Canon ads.

Tinn's dad is the hero we needed when we needed him.

I'm all for baby gays being delusional about their crushes, but not when it comes to knife safety.

I do like the joke about how silly "baby is a messy eater" is as a trope.

They all passed! I wonder if we'll get a side couple out of Tiw?

Fourth is really charming. Gun's appeal is plain in this pool scene.

Hey, Tinn's first attempt at flirtation! He didn't cover it with a "just kidding" either.

One of the benefits of the last episode was showing that Gun isn't totally oblivious if someone is making active choices. So, when Gun suggests that Tinn join him on the bed, I can't help but wonder if that's a bit of curiosity from the poolside hint of a confession and the nervousness about dancing.

I love this dancing fantasy. Really a lovely sequence.

Well well well, looks like Gun is starting to fall, too.

Ahh, it's time for third party complications next week.

#my school president #thai bl #bl series #Ben watches

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aspiringwarriorlibrarian · 1 year

Note

this ask i’m about to send gets into fairly personal territory regarding ruby’s suicide attempt, so just delete this right now if it’s something you’d rather not have to deal with from a stranger (it okay, it’s been a long while and i’m doing pretty good in the present 👍)

something that’s frustrating me a little more than i’d like is the amount of people bringing up yang’s abandonment issues and how that might come into play. on one hand, yes, that is something that i thought about and would be interesting to see in the future, but as of the more immediate situation…

it brings up this old memory about me asking my own sister what she thinks about suicide, and her replying that she thinks it’s selfish. i love my sister, and i know she was well-intentioned, but it hadn’t helped at the time and there’s a reason why i go to my brother first instead.

the thing about suicide is that it can be selfish, but when a person is in that kind of pain they just want it to stop hurting, and even think it’s better for everyone else that way. on top of that, this response has the side effect of making the pain of the person affected, their own struggles, about other people instead - ‘you should think about how others would feel, if you did it’. it doesn’t stop a person from feeling depressed or suicidal, it just makes them feel invalidated. it makes them feel like their feelings don’t matter in the long run. and when they feel they don’t matter, well… yeah.

this is something that ruby has been struggling with all this while. she’s hurting, and she feels (particularly after that episode) that she’ll only make things worse if she sticks around.

ultimately, fans should be allowed to focus on the characters they connect to more, so they shouldn’t stop contemplating just because people (me, in this specific instance) is getting butthurt about it. i just, personally. keep seeing multiple people hoping for the story to focus on yang’s feelings about being abandoned in the next few episodes and. something about that just frustrates me, a little, because to me ruby’s pain has been building up for a while now, and the narrative should get to focus on how she hurts, without the idea of how that affects others from interrupting the narrative. because she’s always been keeping her pain quiet for the benefit of others, and now she can’t do it anymore.

given how rwby9 has thus far been making good development on ruby as a character, i doubt they’ll cut away from the focus on it now. i’m trusting crwby on this, at least. i’m just a bit miffed at seeing people want to shift the focus onto how it affects yang right away. it’s not a bad idea, but right now isn’t the time; ruby is hurt in a way that’s beyond what wby had all expected and she deserves to have the time to let herself feel. let the spotlight sit on her woes, for the moment. that’s what i hope for, at least.

Yeah I'm thinking that Yang's abandonment issues and how she was hurt by this are going way in the back seat and probably won't be addressed this volume. We've got to get Ruby back on her feet and the rest of them will be focused on rescuing her, and any fallout from watching her die will not be addressed until she's out of the Ever After.

And yeah, when you're in that much pain your brain will do anything to make it worse. My mom once had a friend's son commit suicide and she tearfully asked me "Please don't do that to me", and my brain interpreted that as "Don't kill yourself because it would make me unhappy.". But outright saying that someone's selfish for having suicidal thoughts is just unbearably careless and I'm sorry you had to go through that.

#rwby spoilers #rwby analysis #rwby ruby rose #suicide tw

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lutawolf · 2 years

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Soft D/s Element of Not Me Episode 13

If you don't know what soft D/s element or tendencies are, then you haven't read my other posts. You can find them on my master list here. If you're interested in more D/s content then check out my general master list here, there is also a short bio there telling you, my qualifications.

There are several types of subs and Doms for that matter. Which I give somewhat of a description here. The important thing to understand is that while a person might be a natural submissive and use to listening and responding to commands. They do draw a line at who they will take commands from.

We start this episode with White being more himself. He there supporting Sean but doesn't step in. He lets him have full lead.

Sean and White are now in an established relationship. There is care, protection, and support.

The go back to the abandon building to stake out and White finds his button. "It's my button. I thought you'd kept it." "Because I needed to get over you, I left it here." Sean wants it back now but White says no. "I'll give it back later." Sean then tells White to rest; he'll take first watch. He taps his shoulder indicating to White to use him to rest on.

While resting White makes the button bracelet. Jewelry has long been a sign of commitment. Add in the significance of the button. It was originally taken as a reminder of the moment because it was that special and because the button was the one right next to his heart. Then Sean left it because he needed to get over White but then it was found again, just like their relationship. Then White put it on a bracelet so that it can never be left behind again, just like them. Solid and together.

The drugs are being moved out of the warehouse. Everyone jumps into action, playing their part. Then Yok and Sean start arguing over where to drop the drugs, but Sean doesn't want to listen. White has shown full support of Sean as the leader but now he sees something he disagrees with. Look at how he talks to Sean though, he isn't commanding or demanding but explaining. Guiding Sean to see his side of things.

White can see Sean is struggling. This is bound to bring up some feelings considering its correlation to how his father died. So White offers all the comfort he can give. This is also comfort for White because in all the other missions, he has needed Sean's support. When the friends start teasing, you can easily tell that White could care less. Still Sean commands him to just keep hugging him. He is fully aware that White needs the support just as much as he does.

Then they come to the traffic stop. White sends a message to Gumpa. They make a plan B, White quickly tells the others. They have to make a run for it but in the process, Yok is shot. Sean knows he has to buy them more time. He tells White to get Gram and Yok out of here and he'll catch up with them. "Sean, I'll see you soon."

What I love about this whole situation, is that you see the balance of a D/s relationship and how well these two types of individuals work together. I know that I used the word balance, and it comes off as an oxymoron but hear me out. D/s is about one having more power and control than the other so it would appear there is not balance but for these particular types of individuals it is. When you have a Dom that knows how to listen, you have a better leader. You have a better mission when you don't have everyone fighting to lead.

Sean gives a good enough distraction that everyone can escape to the car. He then meets up with them, but the bleeding is too bad, and they have to go to the hospital.

While at the hospital White starts uploading all the information, they have to their ROL account. Sean gets onto White asking him what he is doing and if he is addicted to social media. White quickly assures him no and explains what he is doing. To which Sean has to eat some humble pie. "Thank you for helping me."

Then shit hits the fan. They try to escape but Dan shows up. Dan who has been put in a predicament of keeping his love and friends safe, as well as his parents. Honestly the part that kills me is when Sean cries. Not because Dan pulled a gun on him but because Dan hurt his friend. Thankfully Black comes to the rescue along with Dan slightly redeeming himself. He'll fully redeem himself in the next episode because all signs point to him following them and seeing them captured, taking a picture of the car tag and posting it. Because who else could have?

That's all for this episode. Hope you guys enjoyed it. 💜💜💜

#not me #not me the series #not me series #not me kink #luta opinions #coconuts mafia #luta talks not me series

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tellthemeerkatsitsfine · 1 year

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So, I think I’m going to go back and finish The Bugle. It’s a bit weird that I haven’t finished it already, given that it’s one of my favourite things in the world. I left it off after episode 4200, which means 200 episodes into the post-John Oliver era, because for reasons that Andy Zaltzman thinks are funny, he labelled the first post-Oliver one as episode 4001.

The John Oliver era had 295 official episodes, 383 if you count all the filler episodes during off weeks, from October 2007 to June 2016 (395 if you count the entertainingly opinionated daily special reports that Andy Zaltzman did during the 2012 Olympics). Then John Oliver left to go be famous or whatever, and Andy Zaltzman re-invented it as a thing he’d host with a rotating cast of guests from various countries (mainly still England and America, but Australians Alice Fraser and Tom Ballard are among the most common guests, and there are a few regular ones from NZ and India as well).

The first of these, episode 4001, aired in October 2016, but there was a longer gap than there seems based on those dates. By early 2015, John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight commitments got significant enough so episodes became sporadic at best, they put out a lot of filler episodes at first, but eventually the gaps were so long that they gave up on that and just had breaks. Breaks that were interrupted by more filler episodes in which Andy Zaltzman would tell us that they’re going to be back soon because John Oliver swears he’ll have time next week, and then there’s another gap of like three months. The final proper Bugle episode from that era was in March 2016; they then came back with a filler episode in April to tell us they’d be back soon, and finally, one June to say they were giving up on it. I listened to all of those 2015-2016 episodes within a couple of days, and fucking hell, it was painful. By the end, I was shouting Monty Python quotes at them: “This is an ex-podcast! Stop nailing it to its perch and trying to sell it back to us! For the love of God, put it out of its misery with some dignity! Let Andy Zaltzman go roam free in the fjords, or whatever the message of that sketch was!”

Anyway. I listened to all those John Oliver-era episodes in one go, almost literally. It took me just under three months, and that might have been a level of fixation that went too far even by my standards. I had The Bugle playing during every second of my life that I wasn’t asleep, or doing something I absolutely had to do for work. It was probably too concentrated a dose, which would be why I felt genuinely depressed when I got to the end of it. Well, that and the inherent tragedy in the way someone can spend so many years building up something amazing and then outgrow the project and their collaborator, everything beautiful ends, nothing gold can stay, and in the words of Andy Zaltzman, if the sun is going to run out of fire at some stage in the future, what’s the fucking point of doing anything now? I might have been projecting my own issues a little.

I didn’t go back to it for a while, because I knew that if I went straight into the post-Oliver Bugle, I would immediately hate it for not being the old thing, and I wanted to give it a better chance than that. I eventually did start from episode 4001, which aired a few weeks before America’s 2016 election, and was a stilted conversation between Andy Zaltzman and a fairly confused Hari Kondabolu, who clearly did not quite know what he’d signed up for. I spent the whole episode trying not to hate Hari Kondabolu for the crime of not being John Oliver, and it only sort of worked. Since then, The Bugle has found its stride, Hari Kondabolu has figured out what it is, and he’s now one of my favourite guests for them to have on, I’ve even gotten into his own stand-up off the back of his Bugle appearances.

Andy Zaltzman himself has admitted it was a rocky transition. He’s said it wasn’t easy to go from the rapport he’d built up for years with John Oliver, to trying to create something similar with people he didn’t know nearly as well. It got better when he stopped trying to make it another version of what it was before, and let it be something else.

It helped when they started occasionally, and then regularly, having two guests at a time, so they could bounce off each other as well, and the chemistry between Andy Zaltzman and one guest didn’t have to carry the episode by itself. Which is good, because Andy Zaltzman had pitch-perfect chemistry with John Oliver, but does not appear to have that with anyone else in the world. It really is amazing, how the John Oliver/Andy Zaltzman thing is the best chemistry I’ve ever heard (not just between two double act partners, but between any two people who’ve tried to do comedy together in any way), but Andy Zaltzman seems incapable of having a natural-seeming interaction with any other human.

Andy Zaltzman has this combination of a fairly niche sense of humour (vaguely surreal in a way he never explains), a penchant for relatively obscure topics and references in his humour, and just a socially awkward personality, that means that isn’t going to work with almost anyone. In several interviews, I’ve heard him stop just barely short of actually saying he knows he got lucky in 2002 to work with the one person in the world who fit perfectly into his style, and that’s why he created a way to stick with that partnership for as long as he possibly could, even when his partner moved across an ocean and pursued different career directions.

It’s difficult to explain exactly what made the Zaltzman and Oliver thing work so well, but I’m going to try. I think it’s the way they could play off each other during pre-written material as easily as most people do when improvising. Normally on a podcast or TV show or anything like that, you get one or the other. Either it’s pre-written, so it’s dense and high-quality really funny stand-up, or you get the spontaneous back-and-forth of two people just talking to each other. Zaltzman and Oliver managed to do both at the same time, which I’m pretty sure is only possible if two people know each other’s comedy styles incredibly well, and have those styles fit together.

They’ve said that the way they did The Bugle was a phone call a few days before recording to agree on what topics they’d discuss, and then they’d separately write material on those topics, and then take turns reciting that material and mutually riffing on it in the actual recording. I don’t think I know of anything else that does things that way. Gets in solid chunks of properly written material, and then does improvised back-and-forth on top of it. I’m going to guess that the reason most people don’t do that is it’s really really difficult.

It's impressive just to write that much material. Yeah, they sporadically take weeks off in which they release filler episodes. And there have been a few extended gaps – they were gone for much of 2015/2016, and they took the summer of 2014 off. But aside from that, Andy Zaltzman has been regularly writing enough new material to fill his half of a 30-45-ish-minute episode on a weekly basis since late 2007. Obviously not every single second of it is solid gold, but still. A hell of a lot of what he comes up with is very good, and that’s a lot more than most comedians write in a year.

This is why when Daniel Kitson starts talking shit about podcasts, and I immediately find myself getting defensive and saying “Okay, okay, I’m all for complaining about the newfangled internet media that those young people are doing these days, but let’s not start disparaging Andy Zaltzman’s life’s work here,” I then remind myself that this isn’t what he means. Most podcasts are just people talking, mostly unscripted, and it probably is fair to suggest that it’s kind of bullshit for that to be considered on par with actually writing strong material (though also I do think unscripted podcasts can be great fun, and some cover important topics and can say important things, and some are just funny because completely unscripted back-and-forth can be very funny even if that isn’t fair to the people who work hard on crafting material, improv is a skill too, and also Daniel Kitson has done much of his complaining about podcasts on his own unscripted radio shows, though to be fair to him, he also talks about how he doesn’t get paid for those radio shows because he knows they don’t count as actual art or work or whatever, anyway this is another subject). But The Bugle does use carefully written material, and add the other stuff that makes podcasts good, and it’s brilliant. It’s fucking brilliant.

But that goes back to what makes the Zaltzman and Oliver thing special, because you just couldn’t do that with most pairs of comedians. They’d worked together a lot before starting The Bugle – on a few joint Edinburgh shows, hosting the Political Animal gig together in Edinburgh and London for a few years, writing and performing the radio show The Department together, getting joint writing credits on a few TV things like that Rory Bremner sketch. And that pretty much was their careers, from 2003-2006. They had a few other things – I assume they did separate stand-up gigs sometimes; John Oliver did Mock the Week a few times, did guest spots on a few other TV things like Armando Iannucci’s Gash, and had “additional material” writing credits on a few TV shows; Andy Zaltzman had a few Radio 4 guest spots – but just about their entire careers were built on stuff they wrote together. Anything either of them wrote at that time would be heavily influenced by the other.

That did change a bit after that, but only on one side. John Oliver had really really significant other things going on, like writing and performing in the premiere political satire show in America, and Andy Zaltzman was doing the same stuff they’d been doing before, stuff that John Oliver has since described as shit (I do understand why the compulsively self-deprecating John Oliver likes to say his career in England was terrible, but hearing him do too much of that does, once again, trigger my “Okay, let’s not disparage Andy Zaltzman’s life’s work here” defensiveness). Which would be why John Oliver described his experience on The Bugle as great fun and because he got to listen to his friend and brilliant comedian Andy Zaltzman be funny for an hour every week, and Andy Zaltzman has described The Bugle with the words “It saved my career.”

This would also be why, when they talked a lot of shit about Rupert Murdoch in 2011 and then got their funded pulled by TimesOnline (not saying there’s causation there, but definitely correlation) and it looked like The Bugle might not be able to keep running, John Oliver said he’d hate to lose thing he loved doing, and Andy Zaltzman used the words “I’ve got Jack K. shit else going on” to explain why he sounded palpably more desperate to find an alternative funding source.

Honestly though, it is cool that even if the desperation wasn’t nearly as significant, John Oliver did still sound invested in finding a way to keep The Bugle going into 2012, and once they did find a way, he stayed with it for a few more years. He barely needed The Bugle when they started it in 2007, and definitely did not need it by 2012. By then was one of the most successful Daily Show writers/correspondents and regularly traveled all over the United States to perform stand-up – no way did he need the money or any extra fame he’d get out of The Bugle. He was just doing it for the love of the game by then, the world got way more years of John Oliver doing a trans-Atlantic topical podcast than they had any right to, which I try to remind myself when I’m annoyed that it didn’t last forever. I’ve just said it’s impressive that Andy Zaltzman writes as much material as he has to for The Bugle – John Oliver was doing that as his side gig next to the Daily Show.

Having said that, that is why, while they were definitely equal co-hosts and no one was anyone’s sidekick (fuck you, Dominic Maxwell), Andy Zaltzman tended to have more minutes of prepared material in most episodes, and why he was the one doing things like the Bugle blog, finding a lot of the stories, coming up with the more complicated concepts and conceits to try out. Which means that while John Oliver was writing with lots of different people and for lots of different audiences and in lots of different mediums, almost everything Andy Zaltzman wrote was for The Bugle, and therefore for getting picked apart with John Oliver. They established their comedy styles together, and then they kept developing together, with everything Andy wrote and at least some things John wrote getting tested out on each other each week. They didn’t just learn each other’s humour, they created it. Obviously there had to be some compatibility to start with – they both had a few years of trying comedy before 2003, and they both just brought different skills to the table, and at some point figured out that what they already had fit together well. But after that, they had years of taking something that worked, and developing it in the direction of working more and more.

I am convinced that all of this was required to create the magic in those first seven-ish years of Bugle episodes. That’s how they could come to the table with material they had not already tested on the other person, and be confident that it would work. They’ve said they never heard each other’s material before the actual recording, which was a cool way to make the reactions natural, but they didn’t plan it that way specifically to manufacture that effect – it was just done because Johnny Showbiz (as Andy affectionately nicknamed him for seven years, and then repeated with at least a little genuine bitterness in his voice during some of the low points of 2015) could only carve out so much time.

That’s how they were able to create lightning in a bottle with the quality and precision of something pre-planned, and the fun of spontaneity. They were each so good at knowing when to pause in their material to let the other come in on something, and knowing when to keep going because what they had next was going to be better than the interjection. And they knew when to interrupt and when to let the other stay on their roll. They knew how to elicit certain reactions out of each other, and how to react in ways that set up the next bit, even when they didn’t know exactly what the next bit would be. They knew when to go off script and how to go back. They knew how to add bits of their material into the middle of the other’s monologue. They knew how to write their bits so they not only wouldn’t clash with what the other one would write, but would build on it.

Every once in a while there would be some little awkward misstep, like if one of them read out their material on a topic and the other admitted… “Well that’s basically what I had, so no point in me doing mine.” But that sort of thing almost never happened, and when you think about it, that’s fucking impressive. The existence of a few missteps just highlights how impressive it is that they were rare.

They also had other sources of natural double act chemistry. It helps that they clearly find each other genuinely funny. Every Andy Zaltzman monologue is made more delightful by the sound of John Oliver stifling giggles in the background, and every John Oliver rant is made better by hearing Andy Zaltzman choke on his words a little as he tries to respond. You know that thing where people on panel shows will laugh too loudly at someone’s joke, and sometimes I’ve heard that joke said on a different show and those people were both there at that time so they’re clearly just pretending that this is their first time hearing it? I don’t even really mind that, I know that’s how panel shows are going to work. But The Bugle was the absolute opposite of that, and it’s great. No one was pretending anything. They had so much shared history, and if one of them said something the other had heard before, the other would point that out, probably accompanied by some story of who scored the last goal in the football game at which they first told that joke or something like that.

I’ve compared it to a sport before, and I maintain that that comparison. Sometimes, when they get into a really good rhythm, listening to it is exactly as impressive as watching two people who are really really good at a sport do that sport at each other for an extended period of time, with no interruptions, just the purest form of what they do.

In my own sport, you sometimes get that kind of magic when you have two training partners who’ve known each other and worked together for a long time. Person A learns exactly how to respond to everything Person B does, so Person B has to learn how to counter those responses, and then Person A learns how to counter that, and so on and so on. We talk in the sport about first-line/second-line/third-line defence, but if two people work together for long enough, they get into seventh-, eighth-, ninth-line defense. What do you do if you do this and then they do this and then you do this but they do this and you do this and they do this? No matter how good two athletes are, they don’t get that far against opponents they don’t know. The highest level of the sport I’ve ever seen in person has not been in the finals of national championships or at the international tournaments I’ve attended, it’s been in a practice room between two high-level athletes who are longtime training partners.

That’s the best analogy I have for why Zaltzman and Oliver worked. They kept trying to find ways to impress each other and surprise each other, kept finding different ways to respond to the other’s material, kept finding new ways to fit their ideas together. Learned exactly which way to go when one person tries one thing, and then how to respond to that, and they sound like they could go forever.

I’ve found it really sad, in my time in sport, when longtime training partners get split up because one moves away or moves on or something else. It’s a loss to the sport. You can’t just create that again. They were doing something that most people can’t do, and I hate seeing a dynamic that pushed the sport’s boundaries get dissolved.

I did think that when the initial era of The Bugle ended. Though I have to admit… okay, I hate ever admitting that any kind of change might have any upsides, because as a rule, I am no fan of change. But I have to admit that Andy Zaltzman’s comedy did start getting noticeably stronger in the few years that followed that. It had been getting better at a steady rate before that, you can hear it develop as the early Bugle years progressed, but there was a steep incline around 2017, as he began the new era of The Bugle. He jumped a couple of levels all at once.

I’m sure there are multiple reasons for that. He’s a topical and political comedian doing a trans-Atlantic podcast, and this did coincide with some major political shake-ups, trans-Atlantically. So he had new stuff to work with, and maybe some genuine emotional responses that created a more visceral feel to the comedy.

But also, as beautiful as a longtime training partnership can be, I have also, as a coach, sometimes moved around an athlete who’d been working with one person for too long. Told them that I know what they do with their main training partner is great, but there are massive holes in their game in the shape of all the things that one partner doesn’t do, and they need to work with other people to be more well-rounded. I’ve sometimes made the mistake of not doing that in time, and then taken an athlete who did amazing things in the training room with their one partner, sent them into a tournament they should have been good enough to win, and watched them get caught in something easy and obvious because they’d never learned how to respond to it.

I realize I’m stretching the metaphor here, possibly beyond the point where it makes sense, but that might have come into play with Andy Zaltzman. Like I said, John Oliver had other shit going on, but Andy Zaltzman, for years, wrote everything with the intention of fitting it into John Oliver’s contributions. I’ve heard his stand-up from those years – clips of it were often released as Bugle filler episodes, and a few other recordings of it are floating around – and it sounds like pretty much all his stand-up shows consisted of stuff he’d originally written for The Bugle. Which makes sense – he wrote so much for that podcast, he’s not going to write a whole extra hour for Edinburgh every year. He’s going to take the best of what he has.

Andy Zaltzman started trying new things when he wasn’t working with John Oliver anymore. He started combining the surreal stuff with the grounded political points in ways he never had before. Started injecting a little more real emotion into it, possibly because he was no longer playing the dispassionate foil to John Oliver’s grandstanding. I think he might be a better individual comedian now than he would have been if that hadn’t changed.

So he had the new and improved material, and he had new partnerships. Lots of new Bugle co-hosts, all of whom brought different things to the table, and gave him different things to play off. It was awkward at first, but he figured it out. Not really by getting less awkward, but by learning to work around it. Having multiple co-hosts who could play off each other. Starting live shows so they could play off the audience. Making the show about the variety of personalities and comedy styles, about the new features and the advances in Andy Zaltzman’s comedy, rather than the rapport between just two people.

And it’s not like he never had anything going with anyone else. I’d say the real turning point for The Bugle, back into something great, even if different, was when Alice Fraser got on board. She became a regular, and now appears in most episodes, alongside whoever else is there that week. Having that consistency again is good, and of course it’s good that it comes with someone who’s so individually funny, and who fits into The Bugle. Because she is, and she does. She has a similar sense of humour to Andy Zaltzman. She knows Andy’s sense of humour, she’s talked about having listened to The Bugle in the Zaltzman and Oliver days, she knew what she was getting into.

But still… Zaltzman and Fraser are very funny together, I would not call it the same level of “chemistry” as Zaltzman and Oliver. Same with Zaltzman and Kumar, even though Nish is on there a lot as well, and with his longtime friendship with Andy and longtime fandom of the original Bugle, he definitely knew what he was getting into and was the right fit for the show. Alice Fraser and Nish Kumar play effortlessly well off each other when they’re on together. And they clearly both have massive respect for Andy Zaltzman – I get the impression that they would both die for him and/or throw hands to defend his honour, if necessary. And they clearly both find Andy very funny. But still, there is a bit of a beat missing in their back-and-forth with him.

That still works, though. Andy Zaltzman’s relentless lack of chemistry with anyone in the world who isn’t John Oliver (and maybe Mark Steel) can be very, very funny. Awkwardness is funny. The awkwardness that stubbornly sticks around in Andy’s interactions, even with fellow comedians he likes and gets along with and shares a sense of humour with, can definitely be funny. There’s a difference between the awkwardness in early 4000-series Bugle episodes, when Andy clearly had no idea what to do with this Hari Kondabolu person, and the awkwardness of Andy Zaltzman just trying to talk to someone he knows and likes but isn’t quite in step with. The latter is quite entertaining.

Anyway. That’s what The Bugle is. I listened to episodes 4001-4200, from October 2016 to July 2021, last year. I listened to it stumble as it tried to rebuild, and then slowly find its feet, and then turn into something new and fantastic in its own way. I listened to that relatively recent interview in which Tiff Stevenson sounded like she was kind of trying to lead Andy Zaltzman toward admitting that the reborn version of The Bugle is actually better than the original version, and he politely (and awkwardly, as always) declined to do so, saying they’re both excellent and too different to compare.

And then I stopped. It was October 2022, and it was getting too close to the present. I’d started listening to The Bugle for the escapism, and the topical stuff was getting close enough to no longer be escapist. I decided I needed a break, so I put The Bugle on hold while I got into other things. I knew I’d go back and finish it, and I expected to do so sooner than this. I got rather distracted. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting my search for, among other things, Daniel Kitson recordings, to be quite so successful (honestly I lucked into it being unbelievably successful, it got rather out of hand). I was a bit busy discovering the collected works of the greatest comedian of his generation, and telling him to stop being a dick about Andy Zaltzman’s life’s work (and occasionally coming across a recording of Kitson performing with Zaltzman, which is always hilarious due to the absolute dearth of chemistry between them, Kitson has one story about a time when hanging out with Andy Zaltzman for a night was so fucking awkward that he had to cut off a dead pig’s head just to salvage the evening – there were other factors at play to make that evening difficult, but I think Andy Zaltzman also just has that effect on people, they find out they don't have as many human buffers as they were expecting between themselves and Andy, and they start cutting up farm animals).

So I’m going back to The Bugle. I’ve listened to every episode they’ve put out between October 2007 and July 2021, and I really may as well listen to the last couple of years worth of episodes, and bring it up to date. Episode 4261 aired last week, so that’s 61 episodes to catch up on. As I wrote that, and realized there are only 61 more episodes out of the hundreds I’ve already heard, I remember that I also put it on hold because I enjoy it so much that I don’t want to get to the end of it. But it’s all right, because they’re still putting out new ones regularly. Andy Zaltzman has dragged this podcast through so many changes and so many threats to its existence, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be around as long as he still has breath in his lungs and that shed in his backyard where he does his writing and personally keeps political comedy in the UK alive.

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deans-haunted-baby · 4 years

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Okay I see there are those who are confused as to why most of us are pissed about 15x19 I will gladly explain in depth:

Let’s start off with our boys Adam Milligan & Michael. These characters have not been seen for 10 fucking years. During that time there were Adam stans like myself campaigning like mad to have him and the infamous archangel return for some much needed closure. We had to content ourselves with headcanons, fanfictions and metas based on what we briefly knew of Adam and Michael as people while they unfairly sat in Hell. You might have seen the “Adam’s Still in Hell” memes that circulated. WE WAITED OVER A DECADE FOR THIS. And finally SPN answers our prayers and returns these boys back into the story for the final season. None of us anticipated what their arc and dynamic would look like. Before we could only imagine who these two characters were/are after having been trapped in a cage so long; what their personalities would be like and if they’d be antagonistic to TFW. 15x08 was a surprise because not only were Adam and Michael likable right out of the gate but the writing for them and their dynamic was damn near flawless! And Jake fucking stole the show he killed it as these two. It’s a crime they were not featured in more episodes because the chemistry between these characters is amazing and they’re played by the same dude.

We were given so much background into both Adam and Michael’s psyches in just a short period of time. Their motivations, interests and how they viewed those that wronged them (like the Winchesters); how Hell affected/changed them both and how they viewed their families. We got to see them banter, cooperate with one another and most importantly their different personalities. With Jake Abel appearing in only a handful of SPN episodes, he still fleshed out Michael and Adam beautifully; giving them layers and complexities that most side-characters (who’ve appeared more times than they have) didn’t. The way Jake played Adam’s anger and resentment towards his brothers was brilliant because it’s more under the surface compared to his angsty teenage self in 5x18. He’d become somewhat restrained, laid-back, gentler and wiser which works because Adam displays traits similar to Sam and Dean. He’s kinder and has a sense of humor but none of that distracts from rational thought as he’s quick to analyze and dissect situations. Man, he would’ve made a great hunter/Men of Letters recruit. We know right off the bat Adam’s pissed at his brothers for abandoning him in a thousand-year-prison-sentence and didn’t lift a finger BUT that ironically doesn’t compromise his willingness to help them unlike his past self in 5x18. Jake gets the point across with this character without saying much and that’s what made him so compelling to watch in this episode.

Now Michael was even more of a mystery onion since he wasn’t onscreen as much as Adam had been in past episodes so Jake got to really build on top of this character. Going from the uptight, cold-blooded merciless celestial warrior/dutiful son of God we saw in 5x22 to someone whom despite his arrogance and regal princely demeanor was very human, intelligent, fair, mindful and compassionate. He trusted Adam and respected his opinions even if he didn’t agree 100%. Whereas most angels take over the vessel completely from their original occupant; Michael chooses to share his vessel with Adam as a mutual agreement which says a lot about who he is. He’s fascinated with humanity and wanted to explore it instead of returning to his throne in the clouds. We know that Michael was created specifically to be Humanity’s protector and guardian of Heaven and Earth so these quirks he’d demonstrated in 15x08 aren’t too far off. He holds a lot of pain inside from his abandonment issues with his father whom he loves to a fault and grief over the death of his brothers. On the surface there’s very much an abused child syndrome thing going on with him though he masks it with a domineering presence. And above all this we saw that he was capable of forgiveness. Whether or not Michael always had these traits inside to begin with, its very evident that his friendship with Adam influenced the person he became post-Hell. And that was someone who, like Castiel, chose to rebel for the sake of free will by aligning himself with the Winchesters after witnessing the evil his father had committed. He actually cared about saving the world. This is what we call character development.

What does 15x19 do? It shits all over that. We don’t get to see Adam and Michael’s dynamic at all; and this was perhaps one of (if not the first) most healthy portrayal of a relationship between an angel and its original vessel occupant in the history of Supernatural. Adam is just killed off-screen Thanos style without so much as one last word and Michael barely reacts like he gives a crap. It was just established to us in 15x08 that he’d developed an emotional bond with Adam through years of inhabiting the same body. He protected Adam while they were trapped together in Hell. They were each other’s only friend and source of comfort. They’d developed a certain co-dependency on each other while respecting one another’s space. They’d both made peace with their joint situation. All they had was each other and the writing in 15x19 basically tells us their relationship meant absolutely NOTHING to Michael based on his OOC actions in this episode. He shows up much darker and shadier now that Adam is gone and its like all those years of friendship, things like that independence, newfound strength and humility he’d gained from living with a human for so long are erased. Michael just reverts back to Chuck’s 5x22 bitchboy persona in the most ridiculous 180 shift I’ve ever seen in my whole damn life. And all because his little brother called him mean names. Pitiful. Just when he lectures Lucifer about standing up for what’s right; he betrays his own words, his allies and the rest of humanity in T-minus 2 minutes. That is total character assassination. Nothing about this motivation makes any sense.

There’s no build up to it, no foreshadowing in 15x08 or throughout 15x19 until they get to the lake. He’s completely deconstructed as a character in this episode and rendered weak. It’s like 15x08 never happened. Stripped of all his development for lousy shock value. Instead utilizing all of what he’d learned through Adam and sticking it to Lucifer by proving he could be more than what Chuck tried to mold him into; Michael becomes just another NPC in the story forfeiting the hero he was. And his reasons for siding with Chuck are never specified. Was it about about saving Adam? Was it about proving something to Lucifer (whom he’d already killed in anti-climatic fashion)? Was it all an act that he was in on with the Winchesters; cause there’s absolutely NO FUCKING WAY they could’ve predicted he’d flip on them like that for their magical plan to work. Not after everything Chuck’s done, killing Adam and Jack and leaving Michael to rot in Hell for eternity. And why would he suddenly go along with destroying the Earth when defeating Chuck would probably get Adam back (if that was his goal) which IT DID not to mention its his sworn duty to freaking protect humanity, hello? So his betrayal meant jack shit in the end as it got him killed by his fucking dad!! He’s brought back into the show only to be ruined forever and killed off in the stupidest fashion.

Moving on.

Jack Kline & Castiel. This iron-clad relationship has been in development for 4 in 1/2 years since before Jack was even born. And next to Adam & Michael its the other most healthy relationship on the show. Castiel, a million year old celestial being, spent the first 9 years of his arc on Supernatural following around the Winchesters, being torn between his loyalty to them and to Heaven. He rebelled when he was supposed to be a straight-by-the-book warrior of God. And he defied every rule in the process even when the odds were stacked against him. There was an endless rinse and repeat cycle of love, loss, betrayal and redemption when it came to his relationship with Sam and Dean. It made his character complex, interesting and layered but it still didn’t give him an arc that was his own. Castiel started out moreso being written as just the Winchester’s angel BFF/side-kick. Until Lucifer got Kelly Kline pregnant in 12x08 then things really took off. Before this, Castiel was a lost soul. His faith was broken, he was depressed, lonely, battered and rundown from years of being conflicted over the other angels and Sam & Dean. He felt he’d lost a sense of self and meaning in his life. And didn’t have a mission. Once he turned on Heaven’s orders, Castiel was a rebel angel without a cause so to speak. But like I said this changes the moment he meets Kelly.

Originally Castiel was suppose to kill Kelly in 12x19 because she was carrying the child of the devil and Nephilim are considered forbidden abominations. Told that if Lucifer’s kid was born he could unleash even more evil into the world. But instead of doing what he thought he should, Castiel decides to runaway with her. Choosing to protect her from all threats (Lucifer, demons, other angels, princes of Hell); this especially included the Winchesters. During this short time-frame the angel develops a strong, emotional bond with Kelly and her unborn son that stretches all the way to the S12 finale; to the point where it actually gave him a power-boost. From the womb, Jack appoints Castiel to be his father and protector and he’s given a glimpse into the child’s destiny that he’ll bring paradise to the world. A prophecy that the writers establish head on. This is an unusual circumstance because right here is where Castiel’s solo arc apart from the Sam & Dean takes shape. The journey of becoming a first time parent and guardian. Its a new kind of independence that for the first time has nothing to do with his friends or his family members/colleagues in the sky. Its his own personal mission that he willingly accepts, the second he connects with Jack from inside Kelly. Castiel immediately falls in love with him, before they even see each other; and adopts the boy devoting himself to keeping him safe. Making a promise to Kelly that would later become a vital plot-point in the seasons to come.

Castiel literally risks everything (Heaven and Earth) to ensure Jack’s birth and ends up dead by 12x23′s startling conclusion. Leaving the newborn infant Nephilim alone in the care of the Winchesters going into season 13; scared, confused and aged into a seemingly 18 year old boy for his own protection. And Alexander Calvert who is a fantastic addition to the cast really brings something wonderful to this role; he’s like a breath of fresh air and a bright light in the middle of a dark room. Jack’s naïve, innocent and curious about his surroundings but also as Castiel once put it “remarkably intuitive”. Right when he’s introduced his arc is intentionally paralleled with Castiel’s. Their alien-fish-out-of-water beginning is practically identical as is their adorable stoic facial expressions. Like father like son. And this helps because while the angel is currently dead in the beginning of season 13, there’s an empty void he’s left behind. So Jack is kind of his temporary stand-in. Odd enough this type of switcharoo would’ve been considered very controversial but it’s handled quite well. Alex is so likable and charming I almost wish Supernatural had introduced him sooner. I mean I really thought I was looking at Castiel’s actual mini-me and not the son of Satan. But I digress Jack’s story in the first half of this season is pretty much about discovery and reuniting with Castiel. He’s a baby so everything is new to him but he’s also one of the most powerful beings in the universe destined for greatness which makes the Winchesters very nervous.

Jack remembers choosing Castiel as his dad which is why he already feels strongly connected to him. Its a bond so powerful that it actually resurrects Castiel out of the Empty the first time. Something Chuck himself was unable to do (that was until the mess that is 15x19). When they’re finally reunited the payoff comes so naturally. Misha and Alex have such a phenomenal onscreen chemistry starting with that first hug; they really play off one another so well that it doesn’t feel like two angels interacting but a genuine father and son duo. So much of what makes Jack and Castiel’s relationship so relatable, deep and endearing is because of what the actors bring to it. But they’re not just a fascinating relationship, they’re compelling on their own too. Both trying to find their way in the world and within the Winchesters’ lives. Death is no stranger to either of them (tragic being that Jack is only a toddler). They’ve each experienced their own personal pain, traumas, life lessons, mistakes and decisions. The biggest for Castiel would be his deal with the Empty to save Jack in 14x08. While for Jack it was the consequences of said deal that would lose his soul causing him to accidently kill Sam and Dean’s mom in 14x18 as a result (something that Jack struggles with immensely to the brink of depression from so much guilt and regret that he’d rather die). Repercussions that would follow into the shows final season. What’s interesting about this deal though is that Castiel made it on parental instinct alone not as a promise to Kelly. He chose to sacrifice himself for the sake of his son as a selfless act of love and kept it a secret from Sam & Dean until his death in 15x18. That’s the extent how much this child meant to him. The other great thing about their family dynamic is that it parallels nicely with the Winchesters. Castiel and Jack share this unconditional love that can never be broken. its even greater than their ties to the Winchesters themselves just as Sam & Dean’s love for each other is greater than any of their other relationships. They would do anything for each other. Castiel would go to the ends of the earth for the little nougat baby because that’s his son.

Each time these characters were faced with danger or died, Castiel and Jack were overcome with extreme devastation and distress. That said its not just pain that binds these two its happiness. Jack is the best thing that ever happened to Castiel. Literally becoming a father to that child saved him. It brought him back to life, restored his faith and gave him a sense of self-worth and hope he’d long since abandoned. And for Jack, Castiel is the best dad he’ll ever have! He gave this baby comfort, wisdom, nurturing, strength. Was always there when he needed him whether it was to talk or to have his back. No other person in Jack’s life has ever made such an important impact nor made him feel more safe and loved than Castiel. Even when Jack had done such a horrible thing to Mary alienating himself from his family; it was Castiel’s unyielding devotion to Jack that ended up being his salvation. This was huge because once again he’d chosen over the Winchesters proving that no matter what (whether it be the world ending) his son comes first. So when Castiel’s pact with the Empty finally comes due in 15x18 you’d think it’d have an earth-shattering affect on Jack in 15x19. I mean for the first bit it does...until he becomes God. Then its like to hell with that relationship. Castiel is a complete afterthought to Jack and the rest of TFW in this episode. JACK DOESN’T EVEN GET TO GRIEVE HIM PROPERLY. And he just lost his dad because of a deal he’d made a year ago for him. A DEAL JACK HAS BEEN FUCKING DREADING WHILE HE WAS SOULLESS MIND YOU. And when he finally has the power to bring him back, he doesn’t? Jack just walks around with a conceited smirk on his face, bids Sam and Dean adieu and fucks off. I mean who gives a shit right, its only your dad that you love more than anything. This was extremely OOC given that time in 14x14 Jack nearly lost his shit when Castiel got infected with gorgon poison; the anti-venom wasn’t working so Jack resorts to using his powers putting his soul at risk.

I mean if he was so limited to helping Castiel in the Empty AT LEAST FREAKING CLARIFIY THIS TO THE AUDIENCE. This is not about shipping a certain pairing btw. Jack becoming God is not the issue its his characterization after the fact. His first instinct would’ve been to save his dad above getting in touch with the Earth. Yes we knew this transformation was coming it was foreshowed way back in Season 12. Does that justify bad writing or character assassination?? HELL NO.

This is what I’m talking about, episode 15x19 deliberately butchers these characters and their relationships. It shat all over them. No one is behaving like themselves. The pacing is wonky and inconstant. The script feels like it underwent several rewrites and I swear there were scenes cut out. The acting is off too and maybe the pandemic could be blamed for these things but it ultimately falls on the writer. Buckleming screwed up by showing us they don’t know who the hell these characters are, their motivations nor do they give a rat’s ass. And its noticeable on screen. I’ve known better fanfiction writers for SPN than these guys. It’s like they all came back to work but just didn’t care to put the effort into it. That’s why people like me are upset and we have every freaking right to be. Some of us have been with this series for the entire 15 year run. I at least expect these characters to be handled better and for things to make sense. 15x19 doesn’t and its not satisfying its just a cruel joke. The writers and Dabb should be embarrassed to have put this out there thinking we’d just swallow it and shut up. But far as I’m concerned the only thing this episode serves is to disrespect and ruin everybody while angering long-time fans.

MICHAEL. ADAM MILLIGAN. JACK KLINE AND CASTIEL DESERVED BETTER. And that’s the tea.

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bewitching-elizabeth-olsen · 3 years

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Press/Gallery: How Elizabeth Olsen Brought Marvel From Mainstream to Prestige

“The thing I love about being an actor is to fully work with someone and try so hard to be at every level with them, chasing whatever it is you need or want from them.”

GALLERY LINKS

Studio Photoshoots > 2021 > Session 008 Magazine Scans > 2021 > Backstage (August 19)

Backstage: Elizabeth Olsen grins widely over video chat when recalling many such moments on set with her co-stars. Yet, she can’t bring herself to divorce such a lofty vision of film acting from the technical multitasking it requires. The camera sees all.

“But then you move your hair, and you’re in your brain, like: OK, remember that! Because I don’t want to edit myself out of a shot. I know some actors are like, ‘Continuity, shmontinuity!’ But the good thing about continuity is, if you remember it, you’re actually providing yourself with more options for the edit.”

That need to balance being both inside the scene and outside of it, fully living it and yet constantly visualizing it on a screen, feels particularly apt in light of Olsen’s most recent project, “WandaVision.”

The mysteries at the heart of the show grow with every episode, each fast-forwarding to a different decade: Could this 1950s, black-and-white, “filmed in front of a studio audience” newlyweds bit be a grief-stricken dream? Might this ’70s spoof be a powerful spell gone awry? Could this meta take on mockumentary comedies be proof that the multiverse is finally coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

The series’ structure, which branches out to include government agents intent on finding out why Westview has seemingly disappeared, calls for the entire cast to play with a mix of genres, balancing a shape-shifting tone that culminates in an epic, MCU-style conclusion. What’s key—and why the show struck a chord with audiences during its nine-episode run—is the miniseries’ commitment to grounding its initial kooky setups and its later special effects-driven spectacle in heartbreaking emotional truths. It’s no small feat, though it’s one that can often be taken for granted.

“I was thinking how hard it would have been to have shot the first ‘Lord of the Rings,’ ” Olsen muses. “Like, you’re putting all these actors [into the frame] later and at all these different levels. All the eyelines are completely unnatural. And yet the performances are fantastic! And technically, they are so hard. People forget sometimes that these things are really technically hard to shoot. And if you are moved by their performance, that took a lot of multitasking.”

As someone who has learned plenty about harnesses, wirework, fight choreography, and green screens (she’s starred in four Marvel movies, including the box office megahit “Avengers: Endgame,” after all), Olsen knows how hard it can be to wrap one’s brain around the work needed to pull off those big, splashy scenes.

“If you think about it, it’s, like, the biggest stakes in the entire world—every time. And that feels silly to act over and over again, especially when people are in silly costumes and the love of your life is purple and sparkly, and every time you kiss them, you have to worry about getting it on your hands. Those things are ridiculous. You feel ridiculous. So there is a part of your brain that has to shovel that away and just look into someone’s eyeballs—and sometimes, they don’t even have eyeballs!”

The ability to spend so much time with Wanda, albeit in the guise of sitcom parodies, was a welcome opportunity for Olsen. Not only did it allow the actor to really wrestle with the traumatic backstory that has long defined the character in the MCU, but having the chance to calibrate a performance that functions on so many different levels was a thrilling challenge.

“It was such an amazing work experience,” she says. “Kathryn [Hahn] uses the word ‘profound’—which is so sweet, because it is Marvel, and people, you know, don’t think of those experiences as profound when they watch them. But it really was such a special crew that [director] Matt Shakman and [creator] Jac Schaeffer created. It was a really healthy working environment.”

Related‘WandaVision’ Star Kathryn Hahn’s Secret to Building a Scene-Stealing Performance ‘WandaVision’ Star Kathryn Hahn’s Secret to Building a Scene-Stealing Performance Considering that the miniseries spans several sitcom iterations, various layers of televisual reality, and a number of character reveals that needed to feel truthful and impactful in equal measure, Shakman’s decision to work closely with his actors ahead of shooting was key.

“We truly had a gorgeous amount of time together before we started filming,” Olsen remembers. “Our goal was—which is controversial in TV land—that if you wanted to change [anything], like dialogue in a scene, you had to give those notes a week before we even got there. Because sometimes you get to set, and someone had a brilliant idea while they were sleeping, and you’re like, ‘We don’t have an hour to talk about this. We have seven pages to shoot.’ And so, we were all on the same page with one another, knowing what we were shooting ahead of time.

“Matt just treated us like a troupe of actors who were about to do some regional theater shit,” she adds with a smile.

That spirit of camaraderie was, not coincidentally, at the heart of Olsen’s breakout project, Sean Durkin’s 2011 indie sensation “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” As an introduction to the process of filmmaking to a young stage-trained actor, Durkin’s quietly devastating drama was a dream—and an invaluable learning opportunity.

“It was truly just a bunch of people who loved the script, who just were doing the work. I didn’t understand lenses, so I just did the same thing all the time. I never knew if the camera would be on me or not. There was just so much purity in that experience, and you only have that once.”

The film announced Olsen as a talent to watch: a keen-eyed performer capable of deploying a stilted physicality and clipped delivery, which she used to conjure up a wounded girl learning how to shake off her time spent in a cult in upstate New York. But Olsen admits that it took her a while to figure out how to navigate her career choices afterward. In the years following “Martha,” she felt compelled to try on everything: a horror flick here, a high-profile remake there, a period piece here, an action movie there. It wasn’t until she starred in neo-Western thriller “Wind River” (alongside fellow Marvel regular Jeremy Renner) and the dark comedy “Ingrid Goes West” (opposite a deliciously deranged Aubrey Plaza) that Olsen found her groove.

“It was at that point, when I was five years into working, where I was like, Ah, I know how I want it. I know what I need from these people—from who’s involved, from producers, from directors, from the character, from the script—in order to trust that it’s going to be a fruitful experience.”

As Olsen looks back on her first decade as a working actor, she points out how far removed she is from that young girl who broke out in “Martha Marcy May Marlene.”

“I feel like a totally different person. I don’t know if everyone who’s in their early 30s feels like their early 20s self is a totally different human. But when I think about that version of myself, it feels like a long time ago; there’s a lot learned in a decade.”

Those early years were marked by a self-effacing humility that often led Olsen to defer to others when it came to key decisions about the characters she was playing. But she now feels emboldened to not only stand up for herself and her choices but for others on her sets as well.

“[Facebook Watch series] ‘Sorry for Your Loss’ I got to produce, and I really found my voice in a collaborative leadership way. And with ‘WandaVision,’ Paul [Bettany] and I really took on that feeling, as well—especially since we were introducing new characters to Marvel and wanted [those actors] to feel protected and helped,” she says. “They could ask questions and make sure they felt like they had all the things they needed because sometimes you don’t even know what you need to ask.”

It’s a lesson she learned working with filmmaker Marc Abraham on the Hank Williams biopic “I Saw the Light,” and she’s carried it with her ever since. “I really want it to feel like we’re all in this together, as a team,” Olsen says. “That was part of ‘Sorry for Your Loss’ and it was part of ‘WandaVision,’ and I hope to continue that kind of energy because those have been some of the healthiest work experiences I’ve had.”

If Olsen sounds particularly zealous about the importance of a comfortable, working set, it is because she’s well aware that therein lies an integral part of the work and the process. As an actor, she wants to feel protected and nurtured by those around her, whether she’s reacting to a telling, quiet line of dialogue about grief or donning her iconic Scarlet Witch outfit during a magic-filled mid-air action sequence.

“Sometimes you’re going to be foolish, you know? And [you need to] feel brave to be foolish. Sometimes people feel embarrassed on set and snap. But if you’re in a place where people feel like they’re allowed to be an idiot,” she says, “you’re going to feel better about being an idiot.”

This story originally appeared in the Aug. 19 issue of Backstage Magazine. Subscribe here.

Press/Gallery: How Elizabeth Olsen Brought Marvel From Mainstream to Prestige was originally published on Elizabeth Olsen Source • Your source for everything Elizabeth Olsen

#Elizabeth Olsen #WandaVision #Avengers #Scarlet Witch #Wanda Maximoff #Sorry For Your Loss #Avengers Infinity War #Avengers Age of Ultron #Captain America Civil War #Ingrid Goes West #Godzilla #Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness #Marvel #MCU #Candy Montgomery #Love and Death #Avengers Endgame

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princeescaluswords · 3 years

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*clumsily does cartwheels onto the lecture hall stage, baffling the attendees, especially since my hat of fandom logic never falls off* You know who's at fault for the Sheriff being hurt? Stiles. He's supposedly a powerful and mighty archmage, yet..... he never protects his own flesh and blood with his awesome powers. He can use it to commit bloodshed with white men like Derek or Peter, but he can't erect simple wards or craft protection charms for dear old dad? How utterly selfish. He only uses his magic to impress his lovers or gain popularity. According to fandom, he can literally bend reality to prevent a gun from firing to hit him in the head, but he can't work a little magic to protect Noah 24/7? Maybe if he wasn't so obsessed with the Hales... Hmm, actually, this is making sense! He is knowingly using his reality bending to cause crimes so his life is more interesting! He is responsible for Laura's death, and Peter's victims, and the Kanima's, and Jennifer's!!! He conjured up two good looking white men to canoodle, but not extra money to help out at home. He's FORCING them to love him, robbing Derek's autonomy.

I remember that! I remember after Weaponized (4x07) how the fandom turned into a cadre of ballistics experts and tried to imply that a television show which once had an episode where a loft went from full night to full daylight in two minutes in order to drive away Japanese firefly demons would spend time and effort on creating accurate ballistic paths. It gave me a good laugh, anyway.

Parts of the fandom were so certain that "Stiles is something" that they began playing whack-a-mole with scenes, led by certain BNFs with a lot of imagination and a genuine hostility to the lead. There was the hospital scene in Monstrous (4x10) where Melissa locked Malia and Stiles a hospital room to work out their issues -- Stiles pointed it out -- but we didn't see her do it. When she unlocked the door after they had made up, certain people took that as Stiles having unlocked the door with his mind, rather than Occam's Razor that, having accomplished her goal, Melissa unlocked it. Think of all the times they said "Look at Stiles holding down/holding back a werewolf!" as if they had never heard of leverage.

It was hilarious, but I honestly don't think the urge itself was without grounds. I do believe that the production was building up the possibility that Stiles might choose to make his own way into the supernatural in some manner, especially with the mountain ash scene in Raving (2x08) -- though the 'spark' was a damn analogy! Deaton said that in next sentence! -- and with Noshiko's pronouncement in Insatiable (3x23) "more you than nogitsune." I don't think that they were going to make him a supernatural creature, but I think they were hinting at him possibly pursuing a path to power.

What happened to it? I think the production examined audience reaction and went "oh, hell no." While sometimes it gave in to fan service, the production did have a very strong grasp on the story it wanted to tell and they realized that making Stiles supernatural would be a disaster. Just as I think they recognized at some point between 3A and 3B that developing the Stiles and Derek relationship further would be a disaster. Fandom complained that after several emotionally developed scenes in 3A, Stiles and Derek didn't have a real scene together until De-Void (3x20) and that was Void Stiles kicking Derek's ass. They complained loudly.

Because I think that the production, in the end, had to limit their interaction, and the Sterek shippers have only themselves to blame for that decision. They had created a fandom juggernaut that was already distracting the audience from the stories that the production wanted to tell and the themes they wanted to explore (see Poseygate), and if they gave Stiles and Derek's relationship more importance, it would be like pouring gasoline on a fire. So they cut the scenes back. They didn't get rid of them entirely, because that would be against theme and story as well, but they were far more reluctant and cautious with their interactions.

I feel the same way with what I call the 'magical awakening of Stiles' -- they had to put an end to it. The fans were already in full-on "Schism mode," trying to spin events into Stiles needing to get rid of Scott in order to take over the show. Stiles developing any sort of ability would have been like blowing up the dam and watching it flood the village.

How did this happen? Because I feel they took one look at the fandom and realized that a majority of them had rejected one of the primary themes of the show already -- "Scott doesn't care about power; he cares about people." -- and were hungry for their favorite white boys to gain power and, more importantly, focus. They wanted Stiles to be the most powerful so he could punish their enemies and protect his one true love -- which was whatever white male killer was on the screen at the time.

How do I know this? Because everything fandom did with Stiles, they didn't do with Lydia, who was actually the one going through the awakening of her power. Sure, there are meta/stories out there where Lydia develops her abilities and becomes powerful, but it's always in the service to Stiles or Derek or Peter. I can count on one hand the number of stories I've seen where Lydia grows strong, rejects Scott's morality, and destroys Peter or Stiles or Derek slowly for what they did to her. From the content of their fiction, isn't that what they wanted?

Of course not, Lydia isn't a dude. /sarcasm

Take a common fanfiction trope -- Stiles has always been supernaturally powerful, but he hid it from Scott and even sometimes from his father. Even as he watches Scott beaten by Derek or hunted by the Alpha or the Argents, he does nothing. You see, his power is for him, an inheritance due to his super special nature. (See Claudia the Hale Emissary, Claudia the Born Shifter, Claudia the Tree Stump) And when Stiles decides to use that power, it's always for him -- or more specifically, for the white people he should be using it for, and not his best friend of years, who owes him obedience and loyalty, but to whom he owes -- nothing much.

What's amazing is how often this revelation happens after Season 1. Stiles uses his power against Gerard or the Alpha Pack or Kate or Theo or against Scott when he finally tires of Scott trying to do the right thing after watching Scott struggle against the people trying to kill Stiles (and Lydia and his father).

Because Fanon Stiles cares about power, and only some people make the cut from time to time (namely, the hot white men to whom the fandom are attracted). The purpose of his power is not to serve others, but to validate Stiles. Fandom wanted this even after the production had explored the danger of that attitude in the stories of Peter, Derek, Deucalion, Jennifer, etc. All of these people saw power as the path to self-satisfaction, and it destroyed them.

I feel that when the production saw that trend in the fandom, they had no choice but to say "Nope, Stiles never gains power," because, like the Derek and Stiles relationship, the audience would transform it into something that ran directly counter to the stories and themes the production wanted to tell. Why would a show do that to itself?

(I mark this anti stiles stilinski not because it's against him, but out of courtesy. Fanon Stiles isn't Canon Stiles.)

#teen wolf meta #anti stiles stilinski #anti stiles stans #coach finstock #teen wolf fandom problems #racism #sexism #fandom racism

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enha-woodzies · 3 years

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➸ CHAPTER 6 | " AT LONG LAST PT. 1 "

starring: enhypen ft. i-land daniel

pairing: jungwon x fem!reader x sunghoon

genres: royal au, romance, angst, slowburn, 18th century setting

word count: 2.5k

taglist: @serendipitysung (betareader) @angeljungwon @en-sun @affectionaterainoflove @renkiv @softforjungwoo @jislix @fluffi @gyeraniee @stxrryemxlys

[ PREV. CHAPTER ] | [ M. LIST ] | [ NEXT CHAPTER ]

To be promenaded in front of the entire ton is one of every lady’s desires. From the piercing stares of the envious, to the love-struck looks of those smitten by the pair, the two most-loved couple of this season gracefully saunters from the cemented pathway and down to the grassy lawn, ever so politely greeting Northumberland with their warmest and charming presence.

The young marquess joins the young miss’ family under the canopy near the lake. With a hand draping over Sunghoon’s arm, Lord Niki mutters swears to the gods for lightning to strike upon the chap, as the gagging sight of his sister along with his most despised douche is gradually sucking the life out of him.

“Good morning!” Sunghoon greets the family and so did Lady Park. Jay gives away a polite nod followed by a toast of the teacup, whereas the almost always brooding Niki responds with an exaggerated rolling of his eyes.

“Your Grace. Always the charmer, aren't we?” Niki jeers to which Jay chokes on his warm, jasmine tea.

“The smoothest at being one, Riki.” The name rolls naturally off his tongue like a snake’s hiss that roused Niki’s ire. The boy could feel the crescendo of his spite, yet he eases it casually with a sly smirk.

“Smooth like a snake, perhaps? I anticipate those fangs in action.” Niki surprisingly snaps back. Jay clears his throat as he whispers to Niki in hopes to prevent him from further fumes, although he knows it would be of no use.

Sunghoon scoffs in return, “need I remind you that I shall deliver if provoked. However tempting that may be right now, I regret to inform you that I’m only here to promenade your sister and impress your dear mother.”

“I do hope she turns you down in the most painful way possible, Your Grace. I find my sister's taste in men quite genteel. Surely, you're aware of how opposed you are to that considering your…” Niki walks closer to the marquess to give an exclusive barb against his ear, “nasty record.” He brushes off imaginary dust off Sunghoon’s shoulder before bumping against it, “Good day to you two!”

“Oh dear, your brother is making me worried. Is he alright?” Lady Park whispers to Jay and the gent soothes their mother by softly massaging her hands, rubbing circles on the back of her palm, “he's just going through puberty, mother.”

“Is that so? I don't remember you having those episodes before. Furthermore, I apologize, Your Grace. Rest assured it won't happen again. I will definitely see to it.”

“No worries entirely. It's Niki after all, he may be a tough handful but as far as I recall he's completely-”

“Held back? Are those the words you were going for?” Jay cuts off.

“You're quite forgetting the fact that I’m right here.” Y/n attempts to intrude only to be silenced by her brother once again. With his head held high, Jay saunters up to Sunghoon, who is almost the same height as him. Locking eyes with the chap, he simpers, “come, Your Grace, I require a brief moment with you. Excuse us for a bit, sis.”

And with that, the men left the canopy, leaving Y/n and her mother utterly baffled with the uncalled tension.

The sound of paper being folded into an almost crumple echoes around the parlour, where the only sound that existed prior was deafening silence from the three men sitting across each other.

The culprit was none other than Yang Jungwon, who appears to be insulted from what he just read. Throwing off the now crumpled paper, Daniel perfectly catches it mid-air and opens it in haste.

Sunoo takes a gander at the Daily Tattle’s contents that Daniel incoherently mutters. Jungwon carefully studies his brother's reaction as Sunoo’s smile quickly transforms into shock, followed by the furrowing of his eyebrows with his mouth ajar; the final gesture, shooting a questioning look-- with his mouth still ajar-- at one of the scandal’s subjects.

“Surely, me asking two dances from you was already too cheap but, one, brother? Are you seriously being expensive right now?" The eldest exclaims.

"One that is very exclusive and controversial, might I add." Daniel chimes in. “What was all that about?"

"Remind me why I need to explain myself to the both of you?" Jungwon monotonously replies with his eyes fixed on the book he was now reading.

“Because we ought to know?”

“Well, if not to us, at least to Y/n?"

“Good god. Why is she in this conversation all of a sudden?"

"Because you pulled a dick move on her and we ought to know what's going on inside that brain of yours! You're so dense. Must we shake you up to shrug off those lil rust in there?"

"Oh, shut up, Daniel."

“That thing you did there? With her? Was very unlikely of you, Jungwon." Sunoo stands from his seat and transfers to Jungwon’s side on the couch.

"Well, what is like me then?"

"Spit it out or Daniel and I are gonna have to annoy you for the whole week.”

Jungwon slams the book on the couch and lets out an exasperated sigh before grunting out loud. "I just wanted to be alone with her, okay?! Are you pleased now?"

"Wait. You like her, don't you?”

“No, I don't! And I would never for heaven's sake."

“But you want to be alone with her. Isn't that what people do when they're in love?" Daniel rubs his chin in thought.

“Oh, god! Whatever lets the both of you sleep at night then. Assume the worst for all I care." The heated gent lifts himself up from the couch and strides towards the exit.

“Where are you going?”

“Away from the two of you. You won't stop annoying me either way, so I’m gonna get myself some cleaner air.” Jungwon slams the door shut behind him for a relieving walk to the woods.

“Now he's mad.”

“All we ever said was the truth, didn't we?”

“He is pretty rusty, alright.”

Y/n visits the Kielder Forest once again to run away from the stressful men of this morning’s promenade. She could've stayed in her fortress, but because of their foolish ruse, she had to show up. Now her brothers had to meddle with the already confusing mess.

Pages from the borrowed Austen book are now being flicked through again. She couldn't concentrate no matter how hard she tried, as Niki’s words still lingered in her mind.

“What nasty record could he have?” She mutters under her breath. Soon after, crunching of leaves startles her, and she realizes her whispers weren't the only noise around. Y/n dashes out of her sheer fort only to be welcomed by her most coveted man ever.

"What are you doing here?!" Jungwon asks in an angry kind of worry.

"What are you doing here?"

"Taking a walk, obviously?"

"Well, I’m reading. Obviously." Y/n sassily blinks at him, to which he returns a slightly puzzled look.

"You're much aware that you shouldn't be here, let alone unchaperoned, right?"

"Well, good thing you're here!"

Y/n crouches down to re enter her fort now that she has a guest. She softly taps the extra pillow, gesturing Jungwon to join her in a momentary bliss. One that is very rare when it comes to the both of them, and something that the young miss has found herself accustomed to now. When it comes to Jungwon, he'll just leave her begging for more.

Was it simply luck that had caused him to turn down this pathway? Whatever it was, he didn't feel the need to complain. As of now, all he ever wanted was a piece of mind from his brother's interrogations about him and Y/n. Not fully realizing that the very person who triggered him to rush out of his house would be the one he was impossibly hoping to run into.

"You still have that?" Jungwon points his lips to the book she was flipping. She had borrowed it from him and had yet to return it after all these years.

"Are the inclusions still there?" He continues. Although he wishes he didn't. He recalls all the little notes he left on his favorite pages just to get his feelings across and now he chuckles at the mere thought of him playing Romeo.

"They are. They're kind of tattered now, but they're still comprehensible. You do have a remarkable penmanship after all, something that's very impossible to miss."

The boy chuckles at the thought. "You do mean those things you wrote here, right?" She concerningly asks to which Jungwon only shrugs his shoulder with lips shut tight. "Well, don't mind me 'cause I'd like to think that you did."

"Suit yourself." He mutters. Little did she know he was smiling to himself with flushed cheeks.

The boy looks around the interior of the fort while whistling to the air, followed by a few jabberjays mocking his tune. They chuckle over the memory and realize they had traveled back in time.

"Jay's going to get aggressive with me on fencing once he hears about this. I've been conspiring to keep his sister hidden." He playfully smirks.

"Do you remember we used to do this in the garden lawn? Playing hide and seek just to get a glimpse of Jay's maddening face." Y/n reminisces the good old times they both used to share. Although there were petty fights here and there, what conquered most was their endearing bond.

Jungwon looks over as he vividly remembers that exact memory, "and we ended up building a fort out of the picnic sheets we used to hide in and officially made it our castle" he adds.

"I've forgotten what it's like to feel young." Y/n lets out a deep sigh, minding the pressure she's bearing now that she's about to be offered to the life-long commitment that is marriage.

Jungwon looks over her, feeling all concerned with the worries that she might be facing as of late; things that he wouldn't have any knowledge of as a man.

Society has dictated women's place in the world as persons who are supposed to be emotional, submissive, and homely; something very opposed to those of men. Knowing Y/n well enough and how she enjoys her liberty, her own principles, Jungwon worries her future companion, if not him, would find her very indifferent and of no use in the long run.

And it pains him to think that she wouldn't be well off with someone even worse than him.

She deserves more and he knows that fully well.

"Well, I, for one, miss moments like this more than anything." He lightens the mood in hopes of seeing that beautiful smile on her face.

As he turns to her, the two lock eyes. In that moment, Yang Jungwon swore of laying out his long-hidden sentiments. Under normal circumstances, he would speak his mind. But with Y/n looking at him like this, he would most likely fuck things up.

And he fails himself yet again.

"So uhh… you and the duke-to-be, huh? That must be thrilling." He looks away and pretends to play with the twigs on the ground.

"Y-Yeah! Yeah, indeed, it is. The promenade went well today… before the two decided to sabotage it."

"Do tell."

"We're all aware of how Niki ultimately detests the marquess, aren’t we? He kind of uhh… insulted the man in front of mother."

"And… Jay?"

"Stole the marquess from me to have a word with him."

"I reckon he had many words with him."

Y/n chagrins at the imagination of Jay going head to head with the marquess. Being the overprotective one, Jay will go out of his way to expel threats in the family.

"You seem to be clearly aware of that. Yet you entertained His Grace anyway. I pity Niki. He must be going through a loophole of shit again, now that his dear sister's off strutting with that man." Jungwon blurts out, though he wishes he never did… again.

He is clearly rusty and he kind of admits it now.

"That man? Whatever's the matter with all of you?! You dare speak of him like you know what happened between him and my brother-"

"Y/n, we all went to the same university. What makes you think I know nothing?"

"That man you're referring to was just the man who saved me from an embarrassing night, no thanks to you."

Jungwon scoffs at her pettiness.

"Don't turn away with those remarks now. You toyed with me that night, left me there with nothing but utter shame to bring home. I'm sure you're very proud of that now."

Promenading would be every woman's desire, indeed. But being ghosted or fled from is something that every woman fears, especially when they've been shunned by someone they adore the most. Such shame and reproach haunts them for almost the rest of their lives, especially when the ton won't let them sleep at night with that reminder.

"Have you not at least any bit of politeness left in you? You must be ashamed, asking my brother for such favor that you cannot even put through yourself."

"I have my reasons."

"I highly doubt they're even valid." Y/n retorts. Jungwon sighs in exasperation, finding the situation rather unnecessary that he'd rather keep his mouth shut. She deserves to let her anger out after all.

"Whatever happened to you?" She mutters under her breath, looking over to the boy who kept his head hung low with his elbows leaning on his raised knees. "Sometimes, I look at you and see a completely different person. You know, I never learned to read your mind, Jungwon. So stop giving me all these silent treatments as if something happened even though nothing ever did."

Jungwon lets out a sharp exhale before poking his cheek with his tongue. "Stop seeing Sunghoon then. If you care so much about your brother, stop frolicking around with that scoundrel."

Y/n scoffs at him, followed by the rolling of her eyes, trying to stifle an untimely tear from falling.

"You're unbelievable! Just so you know, I've wasted many sleepless nights crying because of your stupid ass, and I still do for heaven's sake! But now it's very clear to me that there's no amount of crying left that I can do for you!"

Y/n groans heavily before standing up from the pillow she was sitting on, throwing the Austen book hardly on the cold ground.

"So much for hearing nothing but the truth from you, huh? I despise you, Jung. Very much."

She runs off from the boy for what seemed like the nth time. For the past years, this exact scene had happened. Jungwon closes his eyes and lets himself fall harshly on the pillows. He raises a hand over his head, looking at the gaps between his fingers thinking of how he let her slip away, again. He drowns himself in deep thoughts, all the while trusting that Y/n will forget this day ever happened, like before.

He knows she will.

At least, that's what he tells himself.

Though deep down, his stomach churns in fear.

And there's no one to blame but his damning pride.

*send me an ask or a message if you wish to be added on this series' taglist!

ㅡ © ENHA-WOODZIES, 2021

#kpopscape #enhypenwriters #enhypennetwork #of lords and mischiefs #enhypen angst #enhypen fluff #enhypen imagines #enhypen series #enhypen fics #enhypen jungwon #enhypen sunghoon #enhypen heeseung #enhypen jay #enhypen jake #enhypen sunoo #enhypen niki #iland daniel

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waitimcomingtoo · 4 years

Text

Paranoid

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

submitted by @7teenbl-ck : your Criminal Minds obsession gets you paranoid about crime in your neighborhood. Everything scares you now, even Peter

Masterlist

(this gif has nothing to do with the story but omg look at it)

“Baby, wake up.”

You jolted awake when Peter shook you, your laptop sliding off your stomach and onto the bed.

“What time is it?” You asked groggily as you rubbed your eyes.

Sleepy you was peters favorite version of you, so he took a minute to answer as he admired the way your hair stuck up in every direction.

“It’s not even nine yet. I just got back from patrol.” He told you as he rubbed your hip.

“I must’ve fallen asleep watching Criminal Minds again.” You said before hiding a yawn behind your hand.

“Why are you so obsessed with fake crime when you have a boyfriend out there fighting real crime?” Peter pouted, moving your laptop off the bed so you wouldn’t lose it.

“I watch it for the plot.” You smiled sleepily at him, and he saw right through you. Peter let out a short laugh and brought your hand up to his mouth to kiss it.

“You watch it because you’re in love with that stupid agent Reid or whatever his name is.” Peter grumbled, his jealousy making you smile.

“It’s Doctor Reid.” You corrected, and he rolled his eyes at you.

“You’ve been watching that damn show every single night when I come back from patrol.” Peter whined as he pulled you into his chest and rubbed your back. “Why don’t you let me tell you about the real unsubs I see?”

“Fine, baby.” You patted his knee and curled into his chest, still half sleep. “Tell me about patrol tonight.”

“I saw a pigeon l in the backseat of a moving taxi.” Peter said excitedly, and you chuckled against his chest.

“How is that a real crime?” You teased him.

“That’s theft of service. That pigeon could get get fined up to $4,000.” Peter argued and you let out a laugh.

“Who would waste their time trying to bring a pigeon to justice?” You asked, and Peter fell silent.

“Peter? I need you to be honest with me.” You said, your tone suddenly seriously.

“Okay, sure” Peter sat up a little to give you his full attention.

“Did you go after the pigeon?” You squinted at him in the dark. Peter was quiet again and you could see him chewing his bottom lip in the moonlight that came through your window

“Peter.” You repeated in a warning tone.

“It was a slow night! The pigeon needed to be set free before he committed a misdemeanor.” Peter defended.

“You know who never has a slow night?” You wiggled your eyebrows.

“Don’t say the BAU” Peter groaned.

“The BAU!” You cheered. “Let’s watch Criminal Minds.”

“But I want to cuddle.” Peter whined. It not that he didn’t like the show, he just wasn’t in the mood for it. He’s much rather hear about your day or just about anything else you wanted it tell him.

“We can do both.” You insisted as you pulled your laptop into your lap. Peter scooted between your legs and let you be the big spoon as you clicked on an episode.

You spent the entirety of your Saturday watching Criminals minds while Peter was at his SAT prep class. He told you he’d be over around 5 to keep you company, something that had slipped your mind around the fourth episode you played. This episode in particular hit a little too close to home, as it took place in New York. As the episode went on, you began to feel fear bubble up in your tummy. It didn’t help that your parents were away for the weekend, leaving you all alone in the apartment. You paused the episode and went to make sure that your door was locked. You sighed a breath of relief when you saw that it was, and leaned your back a against it. That’s when it dawned on you.

You have so many windows.

And windows are just tiny glass doors that criminals can come through.

You rushed throughout your apartment, shutting and locking every single window you had. You shut all the curtains before returning to you bedroom to resume the episode.

While it played, you googled crime statistics in New York.

“443 out of 100,000 people in New York are criminals?” You read out loud to yourself, suddenly feeling very unsafe. You began to google crime in your immediate neighborhood when the episode caught your attention.

“Our unsub is a white male in his mid to late 30s. He’s going to be physically fit and may have already inserted himself in the investigation.” Emily Prentiss said, making the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

“I know some physically fit white males in their mid to late 30s.” You whispered in fear.

“He’s only attacked cars at first, but he recently escalated to apartments.” Derek Morag added and you gulped.

“I live in an apartment building.” You realized as white hot fear shot through your body.

“His last victim was a high school girl. He broke into her apartment when her parents weren’t home and attacked her while she was drinking a glass of water in her bedroom.” Hotch explained.

Your eyes shifted to the glass of water you had beside your bed. You swiftly punched the glass, making water spill all over your carpet. You had just turned your attention back to the screen when you heard a knocking at your window. You let out a scream and dove under the covers, saying a prayer in every language you could think off. You let out another shriek when they knocked again.

“Who’s there? Are you the criminals? From the statistics?” You yelled form under your covers.

It wasn’t until your panicked breathing calmed down that you heard your boyfriends voice.

“Y/n? It’s Peter. Open up.” He called, his voice muffled through the window. You peaked from beneath your covers and saw Spider-Man perched at your window. You sheepishly got out of bed and opened the window for him, locking it the second he got inside. You peaked through your curtains for anyone who might be watching and shut them tightly.

“Why was it locked? I thought you always left it open for me?” Peter grumbled as he took off his suit. He put on the clothes he left in your room as you sat on your bed.

“But leaving it open for you Peter is the same as leaving it open for all the criminals in New York. All 443 out of 100,000 of them!” You exclaimed and he paused as he was sliding on his shirt.

“What?” He asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

“I have been googling crime statistics in New York all day. Do you know how bad the crime has to be for it it warrant statistics?” You asked him, panic evident in your eyes. He took a seat next to you and took your hands in his.

“Baby, this neighborhood hasn’t had a crime since the guy on the fifth floor stole that lady’s package. And he returned it once he saw it was a cat bed, so no one was even arrested.” Peter reasoned with you but you still looked scared. “What’s got you all worked up?”

You looked at Peter as you nervously chewed your lip and it clicked.

“Don’t say the BAU.” He groaned and buried his face in your neck.

“The BAU!” You protested and he muttered something against your skin before picking his head up. He could see that you were genuinely afraid, so he pulled you into his arms and rested his chin on the top of your head.

“Sweetness, that show isn’t real.” Peter sighed as he rubbed your back. “It’s dramatized and fake and unrealistic. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“The show isn’t real, but the criminals in New York are.” You said quietly. “There are a lot of bad people in the world and New York is full of them. And then you tell me about all this crazy kinds of bad people with giant wings and illusion technology that the rest of the world doesn’t even know about.”

Guilt twinged in Peters chest at your words. He never should’ve told you about the guys he was fighting if you were already paranoid. He picked up your head and held it between your hands, giving you a gentle smile to calm to down.

“You know what those guys have in common?” Peter asked you and you shook your head.

“No, what?”

“I took them down.” Peter said with a cooks grin and you rolled your eyes at him. “Beck is dead and Toomes is in prison. They can’t get to you.”

“But-“ You began.

“And neither can anyone else.” Peter finished. “My job as Spider-Man is to keep New York safe, but my job as your boyfriend is to keep you safe. You’re always gonna be my number one priority.”

You smiled slightly as Peter and pulled him into a long kiss to thank him.

“Thank you.” You mumbled against his lips. “I guess I shouldn’t be this paranoid. I just kinda forgot my boyfriend was Spider-Man.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m here.” Peter chuckled. “To remind you.”

Tag List 🏷

@maybemona @foreverxholland @writing-for-hours-on-end @lavender-writer @captainmandeestudent17 @whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning @imyourliquor-youremypoison @theolwebshooter @andreasworlsboring101 @guksmyfav @waiting-to-be-myself @letsloveimagines @peterparkoure @a-villain-vying-for-attention @justcallmehitgirl @averyfosterthoughts @jackiehollanderr @tiny-friggin-human @celestial-skylines @mara-twins @iamaunicorn4704 @delicately-important-trash @spideygirl2003 @the-crazy-fanfictionist @maryjanee23 @spacebitch2 @geeksareunique @emmamarshmellow @jillanaholland @unbelievableholland @rebekkah4766 @flixndchill @sovereignparker @wendaiii @thisisthebiplace @spideydobrik @every-marveler-ever @undiadeestos @caelestii-e @eridanuswave @itscaminow @thegr8kush @solarxmoonchild @where-art-thau-romeo @canyouevencauseicant @probablyparker @illwritetomorrow @thehappygrungelife @saysomethingspiderman @parkerboop @smilexcaptainx @hes-amarillo @quaksonhehe @kelieah

#peter parker x reader #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker imagine #peter parker fluff #peter parker x you #peter parker x y/n #peter parker angst #criminal minds #tom holland fluff #tom holland x reader #tom holland imagine

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screamingatanemptyroom · 4 years

Text

Please Fix the Story! - pt 15 - Vampire Romance

The story continues!

Masterpost linked here

Enjoy!

________________________

“Class we have two new transfers today” The teacher announced cheerfully, ignoring the excited murmurs around the class. “This is Belaire and Alexander, they are a brother and sister who have recently moved to the area, please make them feel welcome!” She turned towards us. “Would you like to tell us a little about yourselves?”

I stood up at the front of the classroom, feeling tired.

I hate high school so much.

I glanced over at Alex, like me he had camouflaged his red eyes with illusion magic, looking like a fairly normal seventeen year old male. He looked over the students, his gaze stopping at the front row near the window, breaking out into a wide smile.

“Hello! I’m Alexander. I’m seventeen years old, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you all much better.” His eyes never left the object of their focus while he spoke, the intensity uncomfortable. I followed the trajectory of his gaze, and let out a sigh.

I guess I underestimated the pull of the heroine. I thought uncomfortably to the scene in his bedroom yesterday. He had woken up this morning perfectly normal, but continued to insist that he would go undercover at the school as well. Any time I tried to object he had grown angry, finally snarling at me to mind my own business. Throwing my hands up in the air, I had given up temporarily.

It’s like the reasonable brother I’ve known these past few days was just an illusion.

Everyone had turned towards me, waiting for my introduction. I sighed loudly. “She told you my name already. I’m… eighteen… I guess? I’m here to focus on learning so please keep your distance.”

There were a few disgruntled murmurs at my impolite words, but I ignored them. I wasn’t here to make friends.

The teacher’s smile stiffened in place. “Very… interesting. As for where to sit…” She scanned the room. There appeared to be two open seats, one in the back near the door and the other…

“I guess we’ll be neighbors.” Alexander grinned at Chelsea and stepped towards the empty seat next to her.

Only to fall flat on his face as I tripped him.

“Sorry, brother dearest, I’m a bit short sighted and need to sit near the front.” I stepped on his back, ignoring his grunt of pain and lightly sat down at the desk next to Chelsea. I glanced back at him, noting his gloomy expression and waved cheerfully.

“You…” His voice was a growl, only audible with my better than human hearing, but I interrupted him loudly, giving him a thumbs up.

“Thanks for being so understanding.”

Alex glared at me, and I smiled brightly back. I might not have been able to stop him from following the plot so far, but I’m not about to let him flirt with a confused adolescent right in front of me.

After a long moment, he stood back to his feet and headed towards the empty seat in the back.

“Wasn’t that a little mean?” Chelsea whispered to me, her eyes following his back a strange light in them. Strangely enough, she wasn’t overly concerned about him. If anything she looked… embarrassed. Compared to her tears and tantrums the last time I saw her, she seemed much more reasonable today.

Maybe she’s just not a night person?

“It was very kind, actually, once you take a longer view.” After all, he had committed double suicide after an unhealthy relationship with her in the original.

She seemed unconvinced. “Then why do you seem so… happy... when you watched him fall on his face?”

Oops, my inner villainess must have been leaking out a bit at that time. It was pretty fun to watch the hero fall though.

“It’s a vampire thing.” I answered finally. “You wouldn’t understand.”

She nodded innocently, not questioning further. I watched as she turned her attention to the teacher, taking notes diligently in a bright pink notebook.

You know, she’s a bit of a brat, but she seems fairly normal today... there may be hope for her yet. With Alexander’s recent changes, I might have more luck approaching the problem from her side instead.

My mind made up, I then looked back at the blackboard, wincing at the calculations written there.

Calculus, my mortal enemy… we meet again.

________________________

After class I grabbed Chelsea’s hand, pulling her into the hallway. I could feel Alex’s angry glare on my back, but didn’t turn back to give him attention. Before we could get too far however, we were stopped by two teenage boys.

“You’re the new girl, right?” The boy flipped his overly long blond curls out of his eyes, leaning on the wall to block our path.

I stopped with a sigh. “So they tell me.”

The other boy chuckled at my words, leaning closer. “You don’t look half bad. How about you skip the next period and come out and play with us?”

Chelsea, looking nervous, hid behind my back at their words. “These two are trouble.” She whispered in my ear. “Their fathers are on the school board, so the headmaster turns a blind eye when they bully others.”

“I see…”

She took a deep breath, tears in her eyes. “If you run away now, I’ll try to distract them.”

Did she forget I’m a centuries old vampire? I couldn’t help but grin. Although this habit of saving people is what keeps getting her in trouble, I can’t help but find it a bit cute. Definitely need to protect the young from my brother.

“Hey, we’re talking to you!” The blond one snapped, growing impatient. “Don’t pretend like you’re not interested.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “If you come with us, we’ll show you a great time.”

“Well although that sounds about as appealing as dousing myself in gasoline and running through a burning building, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to pass.” I crossed my arms and grinned. “If you don’t like it, feel free to start a fight. It’s been a while since I got to beat up idiots, I’m starting to get a bit itchy.”

“…” Both of them stared in shocked silence for a few moments, until it was interrupted by Chelsea’s laughter. Turning red at the sound, the closest boy raised a fist, preparing to strike me.

“You…”

BAM!

He went flying backwards at a high speed, hitting the lockers behind him with a loud crash, denting the metal in. His buddy fell to the ground with a frightened squeal, staring up at the assailant with horror.

“Sorry.” Liam grinned, not looking very sorry. “Didn’t see you there.”

“W-who are you?” The terrified boy asked.

“I’m the new gym teacher.” Liam cracked his knuckles, staring down at him with a frightening smile. “Looks like you two boys have got some extra energy, trying to pick up my wife… I mean pick up this random high school student that I don’t know at all.”

“What?” The confused boy had no time to protest before he was lifted up by his collar. Liam dragged him behind him, picking up the other that had been thrown into the lockers as well. “Time for some special hell punishment… cough… I mean personalized training.”

“Do you know who my father is?!”

“I’m shaking with fear.” With a cheerful wave back towards me, Liam dragged the two boys away, leaving us to stare after him in silence.

“That’s… your husband?” She asked timidly.

“Yep.”

“He’s human, right?”

“Last time I checked.”

“Is he always so….”

“Yep.”

She grinned. “That’s so sweet. I want to have a romance like yours one day.”

Hmm.

I pulled her into an empty classroom, staring at her for a few moments. After a short uncomfortable silence, she turned red.

“What is it?”

“Why are you so different today?” I asked quietly. “When you came by that night, you were a lot more… excitable.”

She winced at my words, shaking her head slowly. “I …” She trailed off, obviously unsure of what to say.

“You acted like I was your mortal enemy. Now you’re so friendly, and I’m not sure what to do with it.”

Chelsea stared at me for a few silent moments, and then rubbed her face with her hand. “I don’t know if I can explain this, it seems too strange.”

So says the heroine of a failed novel to a world traveling amnesiac.

I suppressed a smile. “Try me.”

“A few days ago, I woke up in the middle of the night, and something had… changed.” She sighed softly. “I felt panicked, lost. It was as if the world had shifted somehow, and left me without a place.”

“Shifted…” A few days ago… that would have been around the time I woke up in this world.

“I know this sounds crazy. I had already met Alex before this, and thought he was handsome and cool but that was it. He wasn’t that important to me right then. But after that… shift… I started obsessing over him. Wondering where he was, worrying that he wasn’t thinking about me. I received that letter, and it seemed to confirm my worst fears.” She stood up, pacing around the room uncomfortably. “I was frantic by the time I showed up in front of you. I was convinced that you were trying to separate us, that you hated me because I was human… I wasn’t willing to listen.”

“That’s a pretty accurate description of how you were… so what changed?”

She looked embarrassed. “Last night, it shifted back. It didn’t make sense. I felt a sharp pain, so severe that I thought I was dying. But once it passed, I felt… relieved. The world was right, I was no longer lost. It was like my place in the world was secure once more. When I saw you and Alexander this morning, it was horrifying to think of how I had behaved.”

“…” I couldn’t help but think of Alexander’s episode yesterday, which seemed strangely similar. When he was being reasonable, she felt lost and hysterical. Now that he’s obsessed with her again, she’s back to normal?

Something is wrong with this world.

“I know this doesn’t excuse how poorly I’ve acted.” Chelsea sat back down next to me, her eyes slightly wet with tears. “But I am sorry. I am grateful that you’ve gone to all this trouble to protect me. “

I patted her head. “It’s fine. We’ll help you out.”

“Thanks!”

“I do stand by what I said last time though: you shouldn’t be in a romantic relationship with Alex right now. You are a teenager and he is a centuries old being. Allow yourself the space and time to grow up, to enjoy your life without being pressured into life-altering decisions by an adult who is almost fifteen times your age.”

Chelsea paused at that, and then nodded slowly. “It makes sense when you say it today.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I just don’t know if I’ll still be rational about it later.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you whether you are rational or not.”

“…” Her eyes reddened at my words, and she threw herself forward, hugging me tightly.

“Thank you!”

“It’s fine… could you stop choking me?”

“You’re like the sister I’ve always wanted!”

“Sounds good… please let go.” How many times would I have suffocated in this world if I wasn’t already undead?

She finally released me, sniffing loudly. “So can I consider you a friend?”

I held up a finger. “On one condition:”

She nodded.

“Try to restrain the crying at everything.” If I’m going to be spending my time with the heroine, I’ll need all the crying-free time I can get.

She blinked rapidly, stopping the tears in her eyes from overflowing. “Deal!”

I let out a sigh of relief, shaking her hand firmly. “See, this is nice. I don’t get many nice calm moments like this…”

CRASH!

Four men broke through the window wearing bronze masks and brandishing weapons. “Kill the vampire scum and her minion!”

“… Curse my unlucky mouth! I really need to stop making vague foreshadowing statements!” I pushed Chelsea towards the door. “Go get Liam.”

She nodded, but then halted at the door. “What about you?”

“I’m a vampire queen.” I grinned, showing my fangs. “You should be worried about them.”

She ran out, and I blocked the men from following her.

“Don’t let her get away!”

“Fool! We need to kill this monstrous hag first, then we’ll go after the brat that serves her.”

I paused at their words. “Excuse me? Did you just call me a hag?”

The leader of the four snarled at me. “Silence, foul demon!”

I grabbed a desk chair, snapping off a leg. “No, no no, don’t go changing your insults now. I already heard it, and I must say that I’m very offended right now!”

I let go of my disguise completely, allowing my eyes and hair to become a bright red once more.

“Unfortunately for you, I think I’m going to take out my frustration at your poor choice of words by beating it out of you.” I brandished my makeshift club. “Try not to die, okay? I need to get confessions out of you later.”

“Don’t listen to her lies! We outnumber her!”

I laughed out loud, going full on villainess laugh with glee. Snapping my fingers, I spread my dark magic towards the doors and windows, sealing the exits, blackening all the lights.

The room plunged into complete darkness.

“You should have brought more men.”

With that, I leapt forward, club raised.

It was a one sided battle. Unable to see in the darkness, the humans flailed around, trying to corner me by the sounds in the room. To me, who could see perfectly, this provided a source of amusement, including leading them into swinging at each other and injuring themselves. Eventually I tired of playing with them, and with four hard taps, knocked the men unconscious. I dissipated my dark magic, just in time for the door to burst open and for Alexander and Liam to rush into the room.

“WIFE!” Liam ran towards me, somehow managing to step on all four assailants before reaching my side. He picked me up, squeezing me tightly in his arms. “Are you okay?”

“… You realize she’s standing calmly in a room with four unconscious assassins.” Alexander knelt next to one of the men. “I’m pretty sure she’s fine.”

“’Pretty sure’ is not good enough!” Liam held me up in the air, turning me around, looking concerned.

“Liam, I’m fine, you can put me down.”

“… Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“I can hold you longer, there’s no need for you to be tired.”

“Remember what I said when I agreed to let you be a teacher in this school?”

“…” Liam set me down, hanging his head. “You said don’t be creepy.”

“That’s right, everyone thinks that I’m a teenager and you’re a student. You can’t act like you usually do.”

“But you’re older than me! And we’re newly married!” Liam scuffed his foot against the ground, managing to grind his shoe on the head of one of my attackers. “It’s not fair!”

“We’re in high school. What ever made you think that life here would be fair?”

Liam tilted his head, seeming confused. “Why do you hate high school so much? Did you even go to one? You were a teenager centuries ago.”

I’ve lived multiple lifetimes as the side character or villainess in the worst version of high school to ever exist: teen romance high schools. I shuddered at the memory, patting his shoulder. “Just trust me on this one.”

“Can we focus, please?” Alex interrupted our conversation with a rude tone. “The important thing is that someone put Chelsea in danger.”

“Actually she was relatively very safe, she left the room before any fighting…”

“She’s such a special person, of course these groups covet her.” Alex looked down at the unconscious men with a sneer. “I have to protect her. I’ll pull her out of school, she can stay with me for now...”

PSST!

I pulled my brother behavior modification tool out of my bag and sprayed his face multiple times.

“BAD VAMPIRE! No stalking or kidnapping teenage girls!”

He wiped his face, his eyes changing back to a bright red in his anger. “Can you cut that out?!”

“I will when you stop being a creep.”

“You’re such a bit…”

PSST!

To my surprise, Liam took out a bottle and sprayed Alex before I could react. Seeing my look of confusion, he smiled. “Selina gave me an extra, said I would need it if you were going to be around so many hormonal teenagers.”

“That reminds me, what happened to those two boys from earlier?”

Liam let out an ominous laugh. “Nothing permanent.”

“Don’t ignore me!” Alex shouted. “This is about keeping Chelsea safe!”

“Exactly.” I waved the bottle of garlic water in the air. “Which is why she’s not staying with you. I’ll protect her.”

“Belaire are you okay?!!” Before Alex could respond, a tearful voice called out from the doorway. I turned, just in time to see Chelsea throw herself at me, crying.

“I was so worried about you!”

“I told you I’d be fine.”

“But you were outnumbered!”

“They could have brought an army, and I still would win.” I patted her head. “Trust in your friend.”

“…okay.”

“Now didn’t you just promise me that you wouldn’t cry so much?”

She laughed stepping away and wiping her tears. “Sorry.”

“…”

Liam and Alexander stared at us in shock.

Alex recovered first. “Since when are you two so close?”

Chelsea’s smile faded a little as she turned towards him. “We’re friends now.”

“But she’s standing in the way of our relationship!”

“We’re not in a relationship.”

“Don’t lie!”

PSST!

Liam stepped between them, spraying Alex again, looking confused. “Is it just me or did we just have this conversation, but with the roles reversed?”

“I’ll explain it later, dear.” I knelt down next to the unconscious men. “Now help me tie them up.”

As we restrained the men, ignoring Alex’s furious sputters. Eventually, the leader of the group woke up first, his initial confusion fading into horror as he stared up at us.

“Don’t be scared.” I smiled at him. “I’m just going to ask you a few questions.”

Liam cracked his knuckles. “Unless you plan on disrespecting my wife. Then you should be terrified.”

Chelsea also tried to crack her knuckles, looking much less terrifying. “Yeah, what he said.”

“…” Everyone, including the assassin, stopped and stared at her.

I patted her head. “I appreciate the thought, but stick to your strengths.” Turning back towards the captive man, I continued. “Now, who sent you?”

He glared at me. “Vampire scum, my brothers will hunt you down and send your soul back to Hell!”

Liam frowned. “Vampire hunter? I don’t recognize him.”

“Not everyone was willing to work under a traitor like you. His eyes were wide and fanatic as his speech became pressured. “A new world is coming, one which has no place for monsters and human traitors! We will cleanse this world of its filth! The flames of judgment will consume you, and we will watch with joy as you suffer!”

I rolled my eyes. “What a pleasant gentleman.”

“He’s certainly… passionate?” Chelsea shrugged.

The man looked up at her. “Foolish girl. You sided with these monsters. You betrayed your kind, and will be the first to fall!”

I saw something flash by me, and shouted “WE NEED HIM ALIVE…!”

SLASH

The man’s throat was cut, his blood soaking the front of his clothing as his wide shocked gaze met my own. His body slumped to the floor. Alex stepped back, wiping the blood from his hands, seeming calm.

“I won’t let anyone who threatens her to live.”

“Oh, isn’t that sweet.” I smiled, and then reared back and punched him.

As he hit the floor with a groan, I leaned over. “We needed him to talk, idiot. To protect Chelsea, I need to know who is behind these men. You are not this stupid, Alex. What’s wrong with you?”

“You don’t understand!”

I grabbed his collar, pulling his face close to my own. “You’re right, because I’m actually using my brain.”

“We have three other…” He paused looking over, as there were light groans from the other side of the room.

The three other men convulsed, white foam spilling from their lips.

“Poison.” I growled, dropping Alex and stepping away, frustrated. I searched the bodies. Beyond silver knives, there was nothing on their bodies. I turned the leaders head to the side, ignoring the large wound in his neck, and found a marking at the side.

A black rose.

A quick look confirmed that the other men had the same tattoo on their neck.

“Liam, do you recognize this?”

He shook his head, frustrated. “I don’t.”

Liam contacted his group, bringing in men to dispose of the bodies. As they cleaned up the room, he pulled me to the side, a sulking expression on his face.

“I need to return to the headquarters and look into this. I’m worried they might have ties to the hunters.”

I reached out and touched his cheek, smiling. “I understand.”

“It’s not fair! We’re finally married!” He frowned, picking me up and hugging me. “…But bringing a vampire into the hunters headquarters doesn’t seem like the best idea.”

“I’ll let Chelsea stay with me tonight and protect her. Don’t worry, and come home soon.”

He pulled me in, kissing me. “I’ll come back as fast as I can. Please be safe.”

“I will.” I squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I promise.”

________________________

It took very little effort to convince Chelsea to come stay with me that night. I was mildly worried about how quickly she trusted me.

But I guess that’s her problem in the story, right? She kept saving people with ties to the supernatural world and trusting everything they say.

Alex on the other hand, argued heatedly all the way to the castle once he heard she was planning to stay in my suite. As we entered the front hall, he grabbed my arm, snarling.

“This is ridiculous! I should be taking care of her!”

PSST!

Feeling bored, I sprayed him. “Maybe I need to put a more effective fluid in here? Like adding silver powder?”

He shook his head, garlic water dripping from his hair. “I don’t trust you to keep her safe!”

PSST!

Chelsea sprayed him this time. She held up the bottle, grinning. “Your husband gave this to me, saying it was useful!”

“That was the right thing to do.” I smiled back. “You keep that with you.”

“Miss… is this… person… staying here.” Selina arrived silently, a look of disapproval on her face.

“She’s going to be in my suite, Selina, please prepare her room.”

Chelsea turned to her, reaching out a hand. “I’m sorry for my actions the other day, Selina. I hope you can forgive me.”

Selina stared at her silently for a few moments. “Try to keep your hormones contained, teenager.”

“Umm… Sure, I promise.”

“… I haven’t teenaged-proofed the rooms. ” She let out a long sigh. “I’ll go prepare the bed… and place protective coverings on the furniture and carpets.”

Chelsea turned towards me, confused by the obvious hostility of my butler. I patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Selina just doesn’t like teenagers.”

“That’s reasonable. I don’t like them either, and I am one.”

We laughed, heading up together.

“Are you sure it’s okay that I’m staying with you?” Chelsea seemed nervous. “I don’t want to cause you more trouble.”

“It will be fine.” I grinned, “You’re in the center of my territory now. What could go wrong?”

“... Didn’t you say you were going to stop making vague foreshadowing statements?”

“...” I patted her head silently, having no words to reply.

________________________

I got her settled into a secure room in the suite after dinner. There were no windows, with only a single entryway through the door. Wishing her goodnight, I set up a chair in front of her doorway, ready to guard through the night.

Fortunately I’m a vampire and don’t really need to sleep.

After a few hours, just past midnight, I heard footsteps leading up the nearby stairs. I jumped to my feet, taking a defensive posture. “Who’s there?”

Alex stumbled up the stairs, his face pale, a pained expression on his face. “Bel?”

“Alex, what is going…”

He collapsed to the ground in front of me, grabbing his head, as I head him whisper.

“Help me.”

#writing #please fix the story #fantasy #vampires #fighting #violence #high school is back #belaire loves it

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yurimother · 4 years

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Interview: Shilin Huang, Creator of Amongst Us and Carciphona

Shilin Huang ( @okolnir )is a Canadian freelance artist and comic creator, known for her long-running series Carciphona. She has a Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Western Ontario. Carciphona is a long-form fantasy story set in a world where demon-magic is forbidden. The series follows a young sorceress named Veloce, and the mythical assassin assigned to kill her, Blackbird.

Shilin’s newest book, Amongst Us, based on the webcomic of the same name, is an alternate universe comic that reimagines Veloce and Blackbird as musicians and girlfriends in the modern world. You can support the physical release for Amongst Us book 1 on Kickstarter today.

The first book of Amongst Us is coming soon. How do you feel about the release?

Eager and relieved!! I had worked for so long to make the web format viable for print format, as well doing all the extra drawings that were necessary--like covers--that I had to keep under wraps, it felt great to know that that part is finally done and I can release my child into the wild. I was very worried too before the launch of the Kickstarter, because though I am the one who made this story, I am not quite a slice-of-life type of person myself, and it was hard for me to see value in this mundane, not-plot-driven kind of story as a printed book. But I was very lucky to have that worry dispelled!

What drew you towards creating comics and artwork? Was it a dream of yours?

I’ve been drawing since before elementary school because I enjoyed it, and somewhere along the way, I wanted to create my own characters, and then I wanted stories for them. It was always just me doing what I felt like doing, more so than something that I aspired towards achieving consciously. If I had to analyze the allure myself, maybe it was because people and the world are so interesting, I’ve always loved thinking about their nature and circumstances, and art/storytelling was the best way for me to explore and share those thoughts.

Could you briefly walk us through your creative process for making a page of Carciphona or an episode of Amongst Us?

Carciphona is a long, plot-driven story, and so the scale of preparation required before the page eclipses the actual drawing of the page itself. [A] small moment has some larger impact in the plot, character development, and accuracy of world-building. So I usually spend about half a year or more writing out an entire volume, read it over many times over the course of the years, before I do the same thing with sketching the entire volume on the computer, rearranging pages and panels and entire scenes for best delivery, before I finally commit to drawing out each page in detail on the computer.

Where Carciphona is like an elaborate set course where I chop up and measure ingredients and time their cooking with a careful game plan so everything can be served as they should, Amongst Us is more like an omelette that I’m making to taste. There is still planning and writing ahead of time, but each episode is much more self-contained, and I do more of the planning of the episode within the episode itself, adding and taking away details as I see fit before I feel like it reads naturally enough for me to fine line, colour, and paint.

You talk about being a self-taught artist, how did you learn to create artwork? What are some of your favorite educational resources?

While I did come across many tutorials, they were mostly short ones here and there made by my peers, so I don’t have any favourites in my mind that I can share ): . I learned by just looking at the art of my peers at the time and drawing a lot myself, thinking about what I could learn from each time I see something great, and what I could try next time to make the next drawing look better to me. When I had just started drawing digitally, the internet was quite new, drawing tablets expensive and uncommon, with no social media to share art or find resources. Over time, I did try to learn more properly by doing studies and seeking out professional tutorials, but I found that I hated it and decided that I’d rather learn and make mistakes at my own pace and be happy than to commit to effective and efficient learning and make myself dislike drawing.

Amongst Us is, of course, an Alternate Universe comic featuring characters from Carciphona. What inspired you to put your characters into a GL slice of life work?

Back in 2006, when I started drawing Carciphona, I had no plans of this frenemies dynamic for the two main characters, Blackbird and Veloce, and when the thought had occurred to me as I continue to tweak the story, canon GL relationships were still rare and rarely accepted. I was even told on many occasions by readers that they hope the two do not end up with some couples dynamic, or they will no longer be interested in the story. Ultimately, Carciphona was a fantasy story about an entire world, and I wasn’t going to risk the story’s reception over a small detail like whether or not Blackbird and Veloce sleep together, so I just played with the ideas of their relationship on the side, in paintings of many different AUs. Eventually, all that did was make me become so attached to the idea that I decided to say, screw it, I need someplace where they could be together, and I’m drawing an AU for real.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your work? Both Amongst Us and Carciphona.

I love a lot of things, feelings, aesthetics, and I eat up all of that and take it back out in the form of my stories. The inspiration is everywhere, from beautiful imagery I witness in pictures and in real life, to [the] lives of people that I hear about or experience firsthand, to the ethics and structures of professions from mechanics to medicine… In feelings, knowledge, and perspective, there’s an infinite amount of things that makes me think, and that thinking is what creates AU and Carciphona, whether or not that line of inspiration can be clearly drawn back to the root of the thought.

What are some of your biggest challenges or fears creating Amongst Us? Was there any realization or advice that helped you overcome those difficulties?

My biggest fear is always in relatability because it’s a difference between me and the reader that I do not and cannot have a solution for because it involves another person. In such a relatable genre as slice of life/comedy/romance, where the readers have more experience and therefore more varied but stronger expectations of a version of life that is relatable to them, I know that even if somehow I become a master writer, I still would not be able [to] say whether I could story that others would get or would be interested in, especially because I am aware I am an oddball when it comes to how I think, how I live, and what I value. What helped me the most was simply seeing that there were readers who did enjoy the stories for what it was, and reminding myself that I’m telling the stories to find those who might enjoy it, not to avoid those who might not. It’s a different perspective, rather than a solution, so the worry constantly resurfaces, but I hope it becomes easier over time as I am proven wrong more often!

Amongst Us readers have gotten to see Veloce and Blackbird as an established couple, and now we are witnessing flashbacks to how they first met. Where do you hope to take the series in the future?

I intend to tell both of these timelines concurrently, so as the couple timeline ended at episode 20, I intend to end the flashback at around episode 40, and then switch again at episode 60, and so on. While this kills the momentum for each arc, I made AU so that I can have the cake and eat it too--I want both their back story and a happy ending at the same time without having to wait 10-20 years for it, like I do with Carciphona’s plot haha!

What is one dream or aspiration you would like to accomplish? Even if it is unrealistic.

My only dream right now is just to finish both Carciphona and AU before my time’s up! Funny how unrealistic is specified, it made me realize that I rarely consider unrealistic dreams/aspirations as worth thinking about as they are unlikely to happen when there are so many other things I want to do that are actually possible. Most of my unrealistic dreams actually revolve around music, a profession I had left behind with an aching heart. I dream to play a concerto with an orchestra someday, or even learn to conduct, but for now, drawing my dreams out feels enjoyable and fulfilling enough a compromise!

What advice do you have for people wanting to create artwork and comics?

The true challenge these days I feel like is rarely in the work itself; there are so many readily available free resources that anyone who is capable of working hard and thinking critically will sooner or later be able to master skills they acquire to some degree. What is truly challenging is finding, and then accepting, what paths work for you. Someone might find great joy in working in a studio with a group on something big, while someone else might only enjoy drawing what they feel. Both, in this current climate, will be compelled to adhere to the standards of drawing what others want to see in order to gain recognition and financial stability, one will thrive, one will not.

I think the most important thing to keep in mind is understanding what you want out of drawing/creating, and why. Understanding yourself is often not as straight-forward as it may seem, everyone has different circumstances that subtly motivates them to sometimes misdirect energy and misinterpret what it is they truly want. Some people need to be understood, some people want an excuse to execute, and some people want fame, money, recognition, validation. Whatever it is, and all valid, understanding and accepting your own motivations to create can tremendously help you find the path forward that is suitable for you, not anyone else, even if it might mean following an impractical path that no one else recommends.

Finally, after the release of the first Amongst Us book, what is next for you? Anything special your fans can look forward to?

My game plan through the decades has always been to just keep going. I did choose long-form projects such as the comics that I draw, and the best thing I can do is to just keep it up and reach those exciting points of the story that I’ve always worked towards, no matter how uneventful that may make my work routine sound. However, I do have a little side thing with a(nother) recurring theme that I’ve been doing here and there for fun whenever I had time, people who keep up with my social media art posts may have noticed. If I ever accumulate enough material, maybe there will be some bonus snacks for my readers on the horizon!

Read Carciphona and Amongst Us online now and be sure to support the physical release on Amongst Us book 1 on Kickstarter today. Also, be sure to follow Shilin on Twitter @Okolnir.

#yuri #news #essay #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtq+#queer #gay #shilin #girls love #gl #wlw #essays #interview #art #artist #comics #indie #carciphona #amongst us

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