#this is totally ludicrous but it's really fun lol

[gingerbreadmonsters]

echo and... gavin??

ok so this is incredibly outlandish and doesn’t really have a huge amount of supporting evidence in canon that isn’t entirely circumstantial, but i think it’s cool and a fun idea to play with - plus, i have a wip based on this premise and i wanna lay the groundwork for that bc it’s a pretty mad concept if you’re not expecting it lol

so, i think about the imperium a lot - probably more than is normal or healthy - and i especially like to think about that one meme that erik posted on patreon just in the wake of cataclysm:

now, in all seriousness, it’s just a low quality meme that was probably made in about 5 minutes and just for fun, so i doubt it has any actual meaning - but i would like to propose a world where this meme is actually one of the most significant lore drops we’ve had yet!

in short, just go with me for a minute here - i would like to propose a world where gavin and echo are the same person.

we tend to treat a lot of these characters like real people with free will and agency, but they’re not - both on a meta level and inside the narrative itself. there’s a creator, and a larger narrative at play! even from echo’s very first introduction, he makes it clear that he exists as an independent, self-aware character - he’s emphatically NOT an impartial narrator, and while he certainly implies that he’s omnipotent and omniscient, it’s not clear whether he actually is, or where the real extent of his abilities and knowledge lies.

interestingly, he’s also both aware of AND separate from ‘Redacted’ (i.e. erik, canonising himself within his own universe) - he’s highly conscious that the events taking place aren’t real, and that he has some degree of control over the narrative. presumably, echo and ‘Redacted’ exist on the same level of reality in this universe - i.e. outside of it, but aware of what’s going on in there and able to change it.

ok, cool, but what does this have to do with gavin?

also, it’s a little bit weak, but go back and have a listen to echo’s playlist - don’t you think he speaks a lot like gavin (specifically early gavin, when he’s still all arrogant and whatever)? maybe this is just because they’re both being written by the same person, and their characters are just quite similar, but the resemblance is definitely there. circumstantial evidence, yes, but it’s worth mentioning.

to be honest, echo’s actually a little bit… strange?? when it comes to gavin?? he talks about him quite weirdly - the most obvious example for me is in ‘The Deal’, where he says:

it’s always struck me as a bit strange that echo SPECIFICALLY chooses gavin and fl to cross over with ivan and baby - and yes, i realise that there was probably an irl reason for this, but just go with it a bit longer! it’s likely that it was just pragmatism on erik’s part, of needing a storyline that could plausibly overlap with sadism’s hold, although maybe if the outcome of the poll had been different maybe this could have freed up fl to go out with damien as was the original plan… anyway, i digress.

hold onto that thought for a minute, and we’ll come back to the ‘why did echo choose gavin and fl?’ idea in a second.

it’s no secret that, if things continue as they are, freelancer is going to die - they are painfully, deeply human, and tbh they’ve survived some pretty long odds already! the confrontation with vega in their bedroom, the fight with vega in their living room, the inversion (and if you count the imperium, the takeover of - and escape from - the imperial academy)... all of these situations had the enormous potential to go horribly, horribly wrong, and freelancer could EASILY have died at any of those points!

if we exclude vega and fl’s first meeting (bc all things considered, vega was being cruel but not actually all that hostile in that interaction), gavin is almost always the one to save them - to step in and protect fl from whatever threats arose.

combine that with our idea from before - i’m suggesting that a world exists where freelancer dies at one of those points, or maybe even for an entirely unrelated reason that we don’t know about. maybe’s it’s vega in their living room, or the shade that killed xavier killing them too (i’ll come back to this later), or maybe it’s just that their natural lifespan comes peacefully to an end. they die, and that’s that.

except it’s not just that - because gavin’s not having it. it’s no secret, how much he loves freelancer, and i think he has the potential to do absolutely ANYTHING to stop them dying.

that anything, i suggest, is becoming echo.

this establishes the world that we’re hearing now - the universe that we’re familiar with is actually the second attempt. perhaps what we’re hearing are the delusions of a grieving demon, DESPERATE for a world where freelancer doesn’t have to die. or perhaps he finds a way to genuinely create a world where he makes the rules - maybe he finds his way to a world - ‘Redacted’’s (i.e. erik’s) world - where he can finally change things for good. maybe it’s time travel, or some sort of reset point, but whatever the case may be, he’s outside of it all now.

he couldn’t save his freelancer then, so he’ll do whatever he can to save them now - he’s walking them and this version of himself (whatever that might mean) through the life he had with his freelancer, just with a few… changes.

is he fully in control? no, that’s erik. but echo DOES control the imperium - and of everyone, it’s arguably vindemiator and freelancer who escape the horrors of that world the most successfully. they both survive RIDICULOUS odds, when you consider just how dangerous both of their situations are!

or, if you like, maybe echo’s not really in control of anything in the prime universe - maybe it’s erik steering the narrative but echo’s just able to hit the handbrake and make a few hasty edits whenever things look like they’re taking a turn for the worse. nothing earth-shattering, just changing a few minor details that keep freelancer safe (or even just alive).

in that vein, let’s come back to that point about xavier. this hc goes really well with the idea that fl is killed during the inversion, more specifically at the point just before gavin creates his ward. perhaps gavin can’t make that ward in time, and freelancer’s killed by the shade - so all that energy and power and hurt that OUR gavin pours into his ward from seeing xavier die? it’s that, but times a million if it’s freelancer who dies there - maybe that’s the moment where gavin manages to change things and step out of the bounds of the narrative. now, when we get to see it (i.e. in the versions of the audios that we know, which i’m calling here a ‘second attempt’), we’re given the character of xavier, who - apologies to the xavier nation - is essentially ballast, a human shield to stop the shade killing fl or gavin. for all intents and purposes, he’s a filler character with very little actually going for him - other than the fact that he dies during the inversion (and you can argue that even that is just to develop the characters of the DAMN crew a bit further). if we accept this hc, xavier is basically placed there by echo-gavin as one final, hail-mary barrier between freelancer and the shade who killed them the first time, to give gavin just enough time to put that ward together.

to take this a bit further, let’s return to the point about fl’s mortality for a bit. are we ever going to know their fate, or will this be left unresolved and up to our interpretation? will they settle for their human lifespan, or be turned into a vampire (willingly or otherwise)? will they die prematurely, or live out their natural lifespan, or find a way to artificially extend their life via some hitherto-unknown method?

placing this problem squarely in the context of the echo-is-gavin hc, i would love to see a world where echo finds some way - any way - to bend the rules of this universe, and to change freelancer or gavin in some way that they might be able to be together for the rest of both of their natural lives, however long or short that may be.

it strikes me as very interesting that when a’xerahn accidentally makes vampires, he’s searching for a way to create ‘a more manageable form of Concubus’ - of which incubi are a subset. is this just a choice that erik’s made either at random or because of the historical and cultural associations between sex and vampires and blood and all that? probably, yeah. but it’s especially interesting because it might imply that concubi are the easiest type of demon to convert humans to/from - which would then come with a whole HOST of implications for gavin and fl!

to be entirely honest, this is a completely off-the-wall hc that will almost certainly not come true - but it’s certainly fun to think about! basically i just want gavin and fl to be happy and in love and together forever, and i’ll come up with whatever hcs i like to make that happen lol

#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redacted gavin #redacted freelancer #redacted echo #this is totally ludicrous but it's really fun lol #absolute crack but i take it way too seriously as usual lmao #i have a wip that's all about this and i think this might be necessary to set that up #bc otherwise i just sound totally crazy #batten down the hatches ginger's theorising again

[zarla-s]

Man it's been a long time since I've done an ask cluster! Let's see if I can get some down...

He's an extremely fun character to write for and play with! So in that sense I'm fond of him, haha. He's such a huge disaster of a person, there's always something fun to do with him. Well "fun" in a relative sense.

I don't have anything to forgive him for, he didn't hurt me. |D He hurt the brothers!

I do have an idea for a cute feature inspired by Six-Eared Macaque! I should really sit down and do that already... and finish the one I half started but never finished...

I don't think my opinion on any of them changed! I love them all, haha. Which ones I drew comics about just depends on which ones I get ideas for really. Sometimes I get Alphys ideas and sometimes I get Goatparents ideas! Inspiration is fickle!

I don't have any solid plans or anything. :B Just gonna keep chugging along with silly comics and art! Work on Defrag and such. I'd like to finish a Ladyverse comic I've had lying around forever, and I had vague plans for doing a doujin for them too I could work on... and also seeing if I could format Handplates into a book format... I've always got a bunch of projects, haha.

It works on that level! It wasn't intentional though. |D

I do enjoy speculation! I don't really have much of my own though, I didn't predict anything in chapter 2 so now I'm assuming I can't predict anything in the future chapters either, haha.

Emesis Blue is great! Some really beautiful visuals in there, very striking! Love the mood of it too and a lot of the surreal imagery. I think it helped spur me back into TF2 again, haha. Medic and Scout's relationship was so cute.

I have thought about this! It has its share of challenges though... I outlined them more in this post. A pdf would be more doable though... could even include some extra stuff as well! Hmm...

I can see that! He'd probably spend as much time out in the rain as he could just doing whatever to stay outside.

It was pretty much always going to end like that. I always wanted it to end on a hopeful note! Which might seem weird with how dark it is at the beginning. I DID for a brief period at the very beginning of Handplates think about stopping with the Pacifist run, but that was only because I thought going where I wanted to go would take too long and already the project seemed so dauntingly huge at the time, haha. But it was always going to end in a positive way!

Gaster talks about what he originally intended to create here, and he explains a bit about the physical experiments he runs on the brothers here. They aren't really a solution in and of themselves so much as tools to try and find a way to break the barrier. Really though, Gaster got stuck in the sunk-cost fallacy lol.

I don't really have opinions about what canon Gaster would be like. |D Handplates Gaster is his own thing really. Canon Gaster, who knows! Deltarune Gaster, who knows! I will say I hope Gaster stays a mystery in Deltarune and never actually shows up but I think the odds of that are really low at this point.

I thought about doing a script along those lines! I did a few rough drafts of one, but it never really went anywhere... it'd end up dead-ending or kind of meandering off. I might see if I can get an actual script down for a side-comic or something in the future... it might be better suited for a fic.

I was just thinking about this lately! I was picturing Gaster totally forgetting about that until he sees Papyrus squinting and is like OH GOD YOUR EYES THAT'S RIGHT D: and goes to get him looked at lol.

I couldn't come up with a good idea for Flowey which is a shame, I do like him, haha. If one comes to me though I might make a little side comic about it!

Gaster's LV is complicated... his stats in-game are ludicrous if I recall correctly. Did he carry the damage from his murders into the void, even if those murders weren't his in the new timeline? Deep thoughts.

He fed them anything he could find, haha. Which is why sometimes they just ended up with chocolate bars (which he intended as dinner for himself). He probably fed them more often than he fed himself lol. He did feed them fairly regularly though.

Not about skeletons, probably. |D

Man I know I had an explanation for this but it was so long ago... it's hard for me to remember. It could be that the Riverperson is just weird and has weird insight into elements of things, had a prophetic dream... I don't know! It bugs me now that I can't remember this, haha.

#undertale #handplates #asks and answers

[oodlyenough]

anyway here's some power of the doctor thoughts from someone who phased in and out of thirteen's era very casually and only saw like a cumulative 10 episodes of it, maybe

honestly i enjoyed it more-or-less/more than i expected, lol, maybe because i had no particular expectations riding on it i just wanted to see what would happen. i don't think it was the tightest or most coherent script but no showrunner's finale ever has been LMAO so... it is what it is.

the master's entire plan seemed overly convoluted and i don't entirely follow why we had half the plot elements we had, but i'm also always willing to accept the master doing fuckshit for reasons that don't really go beyond wanting to ruin the doctor's day and get their attention. so like. sure. i can roll w that lmfao. the daleks and cyberman stuff seemed totally superfluous too but... whatever idc

dhawan's master isn't my fave master but he's enjoyable to watch, imo. the most bonkers one of the 3 modern i think? which considering the competition is a high bar, lol.

i think a bigger crit, for me, of 13-era master is more on jodie's end, where i don't get as much conflict and whatnot from her, which in turn makes it a less interesting dynamic than the other modern master+doctor combos. the push-pull mutual obsession is what makes them fun! i don't believe 13 would cradle his body sobbing and begging him to regenerate after he tortured her for a year, so really, what's the point

it was nice seeing ace and tegan. i think i maybe once saw a serial with each but it was so long ago, so i won't pretend any kind of authority in terms of how they were written. but i liked having them around lol

i think it was a bit of an odd choice to have dhawan 'take over' the doctor's body or ...whatever... in jodie's very last episode. it would've been a better showcase for jodie whittaker, and accomplished the same basic plan, if somehow HE regenerated into HER, and jodie got to play both the doctor and the master. ah well, because...

i really liked the old doctor cameos! I was not spoiled for it at all and i thought it was very sweet, especially giving five+tegan and seven+ace their moments together.i'm sure the actors appreciated a chance to be together too. just nice :) and i love my man eight lmao... king

also the mishmash outfit of all the past doctor outfits was cute

i thought the "tag you're it" line was a cute ending line! (although it would've been better if she regenerated into ncuti ...lol. i'm sure it was written and acted long before they settled on the 60th plans so i guess it can't be helped.)

the big downside to me was: yaz and thasmin

thasmin isn't a ship i'm invested in personally but i did start watching again after they canonized yaz's feelings in EOTD because i was like oh, how far will the show go with this? and the answer is apparently "nowhere". LOTSD felt totally unresolved and then we just never brought it up again. i can live without a kiss or a happily ever after, but when you've spent nearly a year patting yourselves on the back for a queer doctor/companion relationship, only to not do the barest minimum to address it, that's fucked up. why canonize your accidental-by-admission subtext if you're not going to DO ANYTHING? sorry to the shippers who really got jerked around by this show for no reason.

and then, even setting aside that irritation, the most egregious thing of all...

yaz's exit. just absolutely flabbergasted they did yaz/mandip so dirty that they didn't even TRY to come up with and articulate a reason for her to leave. ludicrous!!! she spends her whole time swallowing her feelings for the doctor's comfort and that extends all the way to leaving because the doctor kicked her out with nary a hug? what the fuck? one of the longest running companions ever and this is the sendoff she gets, kicked out because the doctor decides, sans explanation, she "needs to be alone" to regenerate despite having regenerated with many companions prior? lmao... yaz sweetie i'm so sorry. she doesn't even get to give the speech to the companion support group. my god. martha jones you need to call her up immediately

#doctor who #dw spoilers

[x0401x]

Hey there! Since you've already finished vol. 3 of the Tsurune novel, are there any more quality Kaito/Seiya scenes?

Hiii! First of all, thank you for the ask. This was really fun to write. Second of all, I’m really sorry for taking so long to reply! It was super hard finding the time to finish it.

Now, to answer your question, there are indeed quite a few quality scenes of them in this volume, but more than scenes, I’d say there are lots of quality facts about their relationship. See, this volume speeds up the pace a lot and there are many characters being handled at once, so the focus often shifts all too suddenly from one scene to the other. Rather than getting actual moments of them, most of what we get is facts about the characters and their relationships. But in my opinion, they’re equally as delicious.

That being said, here comes the wall of text, lol.

First and foremost, I must make clear that throughout the whole volume, aside from the juicier stuff, we do get the usual interactions between these two. Seiya telling dad jokes and Kaito wanting to rip his own eardrums out, Kaito making fun of Seiya’s naming sense and pretending he didn’t say anything when Seiya asks what he means, the two of them mentioning each other in completely unrelated topics for no apparent reason, etc. The crumbs are just as yummy as the meals, I’d say.

One particular crumb that I love is the fact that Seiya is trying for individual competitions this year. We can check that one off our wishlists now, lol.

The first scene we get of them is actually a MasaMina scene that they take part in as kind of a bonus. The whole thing is fucking ridiculous and resembles a lot the boar scene from volume 2. Yeah, that one where Masaki protects Minato while Kaito protects Seiya and the whole thing just feels like some bullshit straight out of a cliché shoujo manga except with a bunch of guys. It also reminded me of the festival scene between Minato and Ren, where it starts out with Ren being hostile towards Minato and making clear that he doesn’t think Minato is good company for Masaki for various reasons, yet it ends with Ren asking Minato to “take care of Masaki”, showing that he resigns to the fact that Masaki isn’t gonna leave these kids ever. Still, though, this one MasaMina scene is even more ludicrous than the two that I just mentioned, and to contextualize the KaiSei bit that comes afterwards, I’ll have to explain it first.

What happens is that Kazemai is doing the yawatashi no gi at the Yata Shrine, just like the previous year, and Masaki and Minato go to the back to get kimonos. Minato had been feeling frustrated for some time now about Masaki avoiding him, which becomes even more obvious from the way that Masaki is walking so much faster ahead of him without looking back as Minato struggles to keep up. Minato asks to talk and Masaki brushes him off, telling him to save it for later. Minato then grabs his arm, which seems to be yet another parallel, specifically with that scene in Masaki’s car where Masaki isn’t looking at him, and Minato wants to grab his arm and brush his bangs away so that he can look at him in the eye, but holds back from doing it. Yeah, this time, he does it, but Masaki covers his eyes and asks Minato to please not give him “that look”.

When Minato asks Masaki what he means, he says he sometimes really wants to rub Minato’s head like he used to, but he “can’t let other people see that”. ‘Cause this choice of words totally sounds like what it should sound like. The actual context here is that the first-years of Kazemai have started complaining about the fact that Masaki is much closer to the second-years, especially Minato, so he’d been avoiding Minato and holding back from physical contact. What bothers Minato the most about this is the lack of eye contact, though. Yeah, his obsession with Masaki’s eyes is even worse in this book, if that was even possible. And that’s why these words bring Minato to the verge of tears. When he’s about to break down, his grandparents show up.

Yeah, his fucking grandparents. They literally just invade the back of the dojo out of nowhere. Minato’s grandfather, seeing him teary-eyed and all, starts accusing Masaki of being a terrible coach because “he’s forcing kids do club activities on an off day”. Minato tries to explain the misunderstanding, saying the club members were the ones who came up with the idea and making clear that this had nothing to do with his crying at all, but completely avoids explaining why the fuck he was crying in the first place, and his grandparents don’t seem to give much of a shit anyway. Speaking of explanation, Minato’s grandmother starts explaining to Masaki about the circumstances after the car accident that killed Minato’s mother and why they grew distant from that side of the family afterwards. This was completely unprompted and the flow of the conversation is, yes, “smooth as a jungle river” but Masaki rolls with it from behind Minato, putting an arm on his shoulder.

Minato’s grandparents take their leave, but not before asking Masaki the exact same thing that Ren had asked Minato in volume 2, except a tad more dramatic: “Please take care of him for as long as possible”. This “as long as possible” is actually just paraphrasing because the actual line was much heavier and wouldn’t fit. When people say “for as long as possible” using this specific term that Minato’s grandma used (��永く), they usually mean “forever”, “for eternity”. A bit too much to ask from a mere coach, let alone one that they just fucking met a minute ago, but this is the whole goddamn point, isn’t it, Ayano.

This is where Kaito and Seiya come in. They were, in fact, watching the whole thing unfold from behind a tree. No, not the whole club. Just the two of them. It’s not specified from what moment they caught the scene happening or if they heard anything that was said, but seem to know that all ended well. Kaito asks how Seiya knew that Minato’s grandparents would be coming and he explains that they’d gone to his house to greet his parents. Kaito then says Seiya should’ve said that earlier, so that he wouldn’t have had to worry. And then Seiya... apologizes. He actually fucking. Does that. It might be my memory failing me, but I don’t think I recall seeing him say “I’m sorry” before this scene. He says it so honestly that it catches Kaito off-guard, to the point he freezes up on the spot.

This bit is really cute because it just enforces even more that, yeah, Kaito and Seiya are the parents of the club, and more importantly, they’re Minato’s parents. The way they watch over Minato and Masaki as if they’re a couple receiving the blessing of Minato’s grandparents is hysterical. I love that this is just so natural for both of them. I mean, I understand Seiya worrying about what might happen, but Kaito? Why the fuck would he? And why should Seiya not only be able to assume that he’d be worried but also give him information before-hand so that he wouldn’t have to worry? The whole thing just screams “married couple” on a megaphone.

In-between this scene and the next one is where we get the delicious one with the song greenleaves at the fair. Later on, the next KaiSei snack comes from Seiya’s house, where the five second-year boys are studying for exams. In the middle of that, they get a visit from Seiya’s older brother, who came to town. His name is Gaku and he’s a whole can of worms of his own, and amongst a lot of other stuff, we find out two things: one is that Seiya thinks his brother is a weirdo and doesn’t respect him at all; the other is that, in spite of his attitude, Seiya refers to him as “Onii-chan”. This has Kaito shook, lmfao. He’s even more surprised by this than by Gaku’s eccentric personality and looks. In fact, so was I. This scene was so calm and slice-of-life-ish, yet it was pure chaos at the same time. It’s what I call the Tsurune Style TM.

It is also from this scene that we get more delicious fucking food about Kaito and Seiya’s relationship. Whoever has been reading the novel since the first volume probably had zero doubt that Seiya would be a doctor when he grew up and that taking over his father’s clinic would be his first and only choice. However, here the kids are on their second year of high school, where they have to think of their career paths so that they can plan it up and follow it through in the third year, and Seiya vehemently rejects the idea of studying medicine. Why? Because he’d have to leave town for that and because he’d have to focus a lot more on studying, inevitably leaving archery to the side. Regardless, Gaku tries to convince him to reconsider and asks the boys to convince him too. Their parents support their decisions in regards to their professions, but Gaku insists that Seiya’s vocation is to be a doctor (and he isn’t wrong). By the way, Gaku is an entrepreneur and wants Nanao to work for his brand in the future as a male model and makes the proposal right then and there.

Once the brother leaves (like a storm, just like how he came in, as did Minato’s grandparents), Kaito is shaken again, by both of these things. Both mean Nanao and Seiya going away and even Minato can tell that he’s disturbed. And get this: Nanao actually asks him what he thinks of this. Not just his situation but also Seiya’s. Kaito says it’s their decision to make, acting like he’s got nothing to do with it even though he’s obviously restless. Nanao then asks Minato, and he replies, sincerely, that he respects Nanao and Seiya’s respective choices.

After everybody goes back home, the subject extends itself with Minato and Seiya on one side and Kaito and Nanao on the other. Minato seems 100% fine with anything that Nanao and Seiya decide, even though it might mean not being able to do archery with one or both of them in the next year. Meanwhile, he and Seiya are worried about Kaito, who insists to Nanao that this his and Seiya’s business and no one else can decide for them.

A while later, Nanao decides to turn down the model proposal, as his dream is to become a carpenter. Seiya, however, chooses to become a doctor and take over his father’s clinic, but asks his parents to let him prioritize archery in his third year even though he might become a ronin as a result. Just like with his brother, his parents fully support him.

What I find absurdly savory in this whole ordeal is that when there’s a risk that Seiya might not be there with them in the next year, the very first person whose opinion everybody wants to know isn’t Minato’s, it’s Kaito’s. And it’s not for no reason. He’s not only the one that’s most shaken, he’s also the one who’d miss Seiya the most and they all know it. Also, just like from the latter half of volume 1 onward, Seiya is with Kaito most of the time in this book. And it’s really neat that his input means a lot in the conversation. One more thing I love is Minato’s reaction, because it really shows how he’s willing to let anyone go no matter how much it might hurt, but not Masaki, whom he already made clear he won’t handle over to fate or death in volume 1 or to the gods themselves in this one. This scene really serves to show many aspects of the characters’ relationships and what they’re willing (or not) to give up, as well as how they handle that. It’s so subtle yet not subtle at all. Just *chef’s kiss* level. Keep feeding us, Ayano.

This is basically what we get from book 3, I think! My memory might be failing me a bit, so I’ll add more to this post if I happen to remember anything else. Again, sorry for the late reply and feel free to ask anything else!

#tsurune #onogi kaito #takehaya seiya #tsurune kazemai koukou kyuudoubu #narumiya minato #takigawa masaki #kisaragi nanao #takehaya gaku #ayano kotoko

[loveislarryislove]

2023 Goals Final Results

I know we're more than a week into the new year, but shit's busy so I only just now got around to looking back at my goals for the year and seeing how they panned out. Let's see how I did!

Numeric goals

Minimum goal: 5 fics and 50,000 words over the year

Aim goal: 12 fics (ideally at least 1 per month) and 80,000 words over the year

Ludicrous goal: 15 fics and 100,000 words over the year

I posted 16 fics totalling about 73k words, so Ludicrous by number of fics but Minimum by number of words -- but on the other hand, my writing tracker reports 94k words written, which is above aim, but then again only 79k are Writing rather than Brainstorming or Editing -- let's just call it approximately Aim goal overall. I'm quite happy with that. It's less than last year, but last year was kind of buckwild numbers-wise.

15,000 lifetime kudos

222,222 lifetime hits

1,000 kudos on 2023 fics

10,000 hits on 2023 fics

I fell slightly short on the 2023 kudos, but everything else I smashed! We love to see it. Watching the numbers go up makes my brain go brrrrrrrrrrrt.

General goals

Tracking my writing

Still doing! Wanna see some sexy graphs? Just kidding you're getting them anyways.

I also put all my fics ever into a spreadsheet tracking various things (POV, tense, word count, publication date) and one of the things I found interesting was confirming how little smut I write lmao. It's more than it used to be, but I still don't think of it as really a focal feature of my writing, and that's born out in the statistics.

Beta-reading more

Check! I beta-ed for the PJO Big Bang (which was super fun) and also for a few friends. Plus I've been beta-listening for @pandapodfics, which has been a blast!

Reading-reading more (both fic and non-fic) 

Mmmmmm I read some fic, but I genuinely don't think I read a single published book all year. which is a little sad. I just don't have the time to read an entire book in one sitting, and I don't have the self-control to stop XD

Branching out to explore new fandoms or new pairings

I wrote a Series of Unfortunate Events fic for Troped which was really fun! And for my @1dastroficfest fic, I had Larry, Ziam, and Shiall all as major focal ships -- Larry was definitely the foreground, but the side ships were not minor.

Replying to most comments

I think I replied to about 70% of comments this year, which isn't terrible. It could be better, maybe I'll go and do a few more, but I always struggle with comments that are just "this was great!" or a few emojis lol -- I appreciate them, but I just don't have much to say back!

Make a podfic

Make a fic rec of some of my favourite fics

Make a cover for one (or more than one) of my old fics

I still have not done these oop. But I have been helping with Panda's podfic as mentioned, so maybe half-credit? And in the new year I just started @1dcommunityficrecs to crowdsource recs, so maybe that's another half-credit?

Find the executive functioning to put my Wordplay and Troped fics into series

Come up and implement a generic AO3 pseud for my non-Larry non-critrole fics and sort those around

Did these in August! It's a little harder to keep track of things sometimes like what account I'm commenting from, but not too bad, and it feels more organized! In total, I've written 45k for Wordplay (17 fics) and 63k for Troped (15 fics).

Come up with and implement sort of Replying To Old Comments Project so I feel like less of a doof replying to comments from like… five years ago

Still want to, still haven’t.

Next up -- new goals! Or well, some recycled XD

#goals #writing #my fics

[seriouslysam8]

I always thought of Hermione as someone who would be single forever. She would be too into her career to focus on any relationship or anyone. If she ever dated anyone I think it would fizzle out because of her lack of commitment. I always pictured her continuing her education and going to muggle university to get her degree and maybe even her masters. I think this would have drifted her away from from Ron and Harry. Since she loves to argue and prove she’s always right she would have become a magical lawyer. I don’t know who in their right mind thought she could ever be the minister of magic. There is no way in hell she could have ever become the minister of magic. You need to be popular, liked, and be empathetic. She does not have a likeable personality. The only Weasley she was compatible with was Percy. I hate that git lol. Those two belong together. Both are controlling, think they are always right, and have a stick up their arses. I support your hate for Hermione. Sorry I just had to rant 😅

No, I totally agree with you! She is not relationship material. If she were to get married, it would be someone just as career oriented and academic as her with no real interest in having a family.

Her relationship with Ron makes zero sense. He’s very family oriented and a lot more social. If canon was to be believable, Ron would have divorced her shortly after Rose was born when she had zero interest in being a mother and more interest in climbing the corporate ladder. Before you come at me saying Ron climbed his career, he did but I also picture him like Harry where he didn’t miss anything important and was always there for those kids. Hermione would totally miss a game or performance in favor of work. Hugo never would have existed either. Sometimes, when I’m nostalgic, I really wish I wouldn’t have let people talk me into killing Hermione in Legerdemain. My gut was a divorce and I wish I would have listened to my gut. It’s one of my biggest regrets with that series.

I agree, she’s not charismatic or social enough to become Minister of Magic. There is no way anyone would want her to lead their party. They would be annoyed by her instantly. Even in my canon series, I quickly nixed that idea because that’s ludicrous.

Percy and Hermione would be perfect together. I could actually picture that. Ron deserves someone fun and more like him. Someone who would compliment him and build him up. Not argue with him and tear him down constantly like Hermione did.

It always warms my heart when others speak out against Hermione. Never apologize for a Hermione rant to me.

[seasonofthewicth]

Rowaelin Month - Day 5

prompt: I accidentally hit you with my car

extras: “You didn’t think you’d be able to get rid of me just yet did you?”

cw: language?

word count: 1.6k

--

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Aelin is aware she’s yelling.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” The guy is definitely yelling back so at least there’s that. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You just hit me with your car!”

Okay, so the attractive man yelling in the middle of the road might have a point.

“That was an accident,” she yells right back as she clambers out of her car. She rests her hand on the top of the bonnet, satisfied when there doesn’t appear to be any damage. That scratch across her front bumper was there way before today.

The man’s hands waver around his sides as he gapes at her. “And yet you still haven’t apologised.”

He sounds incredulous, which to be fair, is probably understandable.

“Oh yeah,” she says distractedly, running her eyes along the rest of her car just in case. “Sorry about that.”

The man barks out a surprisingly sexy, dark burst of laughter and it’s what finally drags her eyes over to him.

He’s tall, standing way above her as he watches her with a slightly shocked expression on his face. His hair is a shade of silver she’s never seen before, it’s not grey, definitely silver and she’s intrigued. He’s also built as fuck, his inked biceps bulging in his t-shirt as he brushes off his jeans. Jeans that cling to deliciously muscular legs. Aelin could certainly have run over someone less interesting.

He’s shaking his head as she reaches him, having sauntered over with a hand on her hip, and she’s delighted to find she has to tip her head fully back to look up at him. His eyes are very green this close up.

“You’re sorry?” he says, his tone full of complete bewilderment.

“I’m getting less sorry by the second,” she says with a shrug.

She doesn’t expect that to be what does it, but the bewilderment drops and a reluctant smile begins to crawl onto his pink lips. Aelin can work with this.

He shakes his head, but the smile stays. “You’d better watch it,” he says and his tone has changed too. The whisper of a threat has her pulse beginning to speed up.

Aelin puts her hand on her hip. “Or what?”

He runs his tongue over his bottom lip and Aelin is very aware of the motion even though this whole thing is fucking ludicrous. “You’re a bit of a firecracker then, hm?” he asks.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Aelin is insane, she decides and it seems this guy is over it. The smile she’d been enjoying so far is gone, wiped clean and replaced with an angry scowl. He’s still hot.

“No,” he states simply, and oof. “What I’d like is for you to not have run me over with your car.”

Aelin doesn’t speak for a few seconds as she reassesses her strategy. Somehow she really thought she’d turn this whole thing around.

“Think it’s a bit too late for that,” is what she settles on.

He looks to the sky, the motion highlighting the length of his throat and the thick muscles of his shoulders. It’s a pity really that this started how it did, she can think of a whole list of things she’d do to this man if he gave her the time of day.

Then he mutters something that sounds suspiciously like fucking childish and that train of thought has crashed and burned.

She raises an eyebrow because she knows what this expression normally does to men. He doesn’t back down, which is kind of getting the train back on the tracks. But no.

Bastard, she says with a flick of her brows.

He narrows his eyes. Brat.

Neither of them speak, and Aelin pours her efforts into the stand off instead of getting lost in the deep, forest green of his eyes. She can’t ignore the thrill running through her at the challenge this guy presents, her blood heats and a smile creeps up of its own accord.

Then he shakes his head and turns to leave.

“Do you not want my details to press charges? I can give you my number,” she calls as he begins to walk away.

He turns and hits her with a look of pure bewilderment that has her flipping the bird and storming back to her car.

Whatever. Next time she hits someone with her car she won’t be so polite.

She hasn’t been to this bar before, it’s on the other side of town to where they usually go out, but it’s closer to Elide’s new office so she suspects they’ll become regulars soon enough. Her friend’s text had come through only an hour before but it takes Aelin time to perfect her look. She’s almost there when another text comes through from Lysandra.

Are you coming or what?

Almost there, she types back as she thanks her Uber driver.

Lysandra’s reply pings almost immediately. Well hurry up there’s fit lads here and they’ve actually got good chat one of them legit got hit by a car today lol.

If Aelin wasn’t Aelin she’d have probably stumbled. Instead she lets out an almost silent groan and debates immediately ordering another Uber home. How many people do you think get hit by cars everyday? She’s hoping the number is high. In the least bad way possible.

She’s not sure what she did to deserve this—apart from hitting that guy with her car—but she’s a grown up she can face it and she pushes her way into the bar. She spots Elide and Lysandra easily and yep, that’s some silver hair and broad shoulders squashed against a dark haired guy and another blond.

This could be fun.

“Excuse me,” she says as she slides into the booth next to him. It’s a tight squeeze and his hand comes to her waist to settle her, the warmth of his fingers sinking into her bare skin. “Hi, great to meet you guys. I’m Aelin,” she says with a grin, daring this guy to kick off.

His gaze flashes to hers and his fingers tighten at her waist as his brow raises. “You,” is all he says.

“You didn’t think you’d be able to get rid of me just yet did you?” The corner of his lips quirk and she’s totally winning him over. She nods at his friends before turning to Elide and Lysandra. “Sorry I’m late, was really busy hitting this guy with my car.”

Lysandra and Elide blink as her announcement drops until his blond friend lets out a cackle.

“That was you?” he asks.

“The one and only,” she grins, holding out a hand for him to shake. “Aelin.”

“Fenrys.” He shakes her hand, a mischievous smile dawning on his handsome face and she likes him already. “I don’t know how or why it happened but thank you. I don’t think you understand how much it has made my life that you hit Rowan with your car.”

She laughs and feels the hot guy’s—Rowan’s—fingers tighten again at her waist. She glances at him and he realises his hand is still there at the same time she does and he pulls it back, resting it on his thigh. Right next to hers. She can get that hand to her thigh by the end of the night.

Aelin shrugs. “I think when you wander around in the middle of the road there’s always a chance. Look.” She turns to Rowan ignoring the soft laughter from the group.

“I wasn’t wandering around,” he says, his tone softer than she’s heard it so far. She likes the way his voice sounds when he’s trying not to laugh too. “There was a bird in the road I was trying to save. I’d much rather you hit me than the bird.”

Certain parts of her pulse at his revelation. Animal activist does it for her apparently.

“Okay,” she says, flicking her eyes across his truly handsome face. His green eyes are intense and they’re flicking across her face too. “I really am sorry I hit you with my car.” Another snort from Lysandra and Rowan’s dark-haired friend. “I would love it if we could move past this, it seems my friends are keen on you and your friends chilling with us tonight. Let me buy you a drink, make it up to you?”

She fixes him with a genuine smile, none of the flirty front she’s put up so far. Her offer is genuine.

The corner of his lips curl, like he wants to smile and Aelin sees it, her own grin breaking into something bright. He breaks, a low laugh tumbling over his lips as he shakes his head and Aelin giggles. She likes that sound.

He looks softer when he smiles too, the harsh line of his brow transforming into the crinkles by his eyes. “Okay,” he says and his accent curves around the word. “You can buy me a drink to apologise.”

“That I can do,” she says with a pat to his thigh. She can feel the thick muscle hidden beneath the denim and she may or may not run her hand down the length of his thigh as she slides out of the booth.

“Aelin,” he says, catching her hand in his as she turns away. He stands too, still delightfully taller than her. “I’ll get you a drink too.”

“What for?” she laughs. “You didn’t hit me with your car.”

He smiles, a confident curl of his lips, and squeezes her hand before he leads the way to the bar. “I’m hoping it will get me your number.”

#aelin is such a little shit in this one I love her lmao #rowaelin #rowaelinmonth #aelin galathynius #rowan whitethorn

[shadlad24]

More Funny Little Moments #1: Season 1, Episodes 1-12

So, I decided to do this post after all. Halp. LOL Because I apparently LOVE giving myself a bunch of unnecessary work, I decided to choose two to three extra moments, per episode! SUPER halp! X’D Anyway, these are moments that didn’t make the cut for my FFLM series because: my sense of humor is a little weird, they were gonna be too much work (LOL/Siiigh), I like to highlight patterns, and I don’t like a lot of repetition. [Links to each FFLM along the bottom of the post. :)]

Let’s start with something I originally agreed with other fans on but have since changed my mind. A lot of people didn’t like this part of “Chariots of War” because it seems so ludicrous that Xena would forget her chakram anywhere. Well, let me tell you! This lady has left her weapons behind most episodes thus far. I didn’t note it every time here (and especially didn’t bother with her whip) because that’d really overrun the post buuuuut… You’ll see. XD

1.01 Sins of the Past

Xena’s shift being so much dirtier than the little boy’s clothes though she’s high up off the ground, and he lives in smoked-out rubble.

Yup. Xena forgot her sword (and later, her main saddlebag) at her mother’s tavern. Pft.

Sorry these were kinda lame, but I didn’t want to re-use any more of the original fifteen points I made about this episode... Ah well. Moving on! (heh)

1.02 Chariots of War

Xena loses her sword after the chariot crash, taking up and discarding Sphaerus’s but walking off without her own. (See her front and back and both of Argo’s sides.)

Gabrielle chewing Xena out, Xena being bummed about it, and Argo being surprised. X’D

1.03 Dreamworker

This got me good. Gabrielle does Xena’s war cry so well here that I really thought it was Xena for a few seconds. Realizing it was GabbyWabs only made me chuckle more because she apparently can’t do it when it really counts in “The Greater Good.”

Argo NOT being on Team Gabrielle. XD (Their feud is a little funny to me.)

1.04 Cradle of Hope

Xena tossing aside her sword after killing Nemos. Extras even dance and celebrate right on top of it! Wut thuh?

I decided to avoid mentioning Hope in the FFLM because Xena’s quote here is more ironic than comedic, and Gabrielle’s little face is just so sad, but I didn’t want to let it pass by entirely unremarked upon. At least GW gets to show off her oracle skills again? :’)

1.05 The Path Not Taken

So, Xena and Gabrielle walk into a bar… Heh. No, but really, they enter this tavern for the first time ever, yet the bartender not only knows what they want, he knows that they’re coming and has their drinks waiting for them too. All Xena has to do is knock on the counter and nod to get her fire-breath alcohol/oil, and Gabrielle barely has the word “cider” out of her mouth before the guy hands it to her. Xena, like me, is duly amazed.

Lucy, through Xena, making another timely anti-peanut statement. I just didn’t want to do the same thing twice back-to-back in the FFLM. X)

1.06 The Reckoning

Gabrielle thinking along the same lines Xena and I did about this poor excuse for a judge.

Me not being well-versed in ancient Greek heroes and picturing the fool who Draco killed so handily in the first episode. heh

1.07 The Titans

I’ll let Xena explain this one. …Mostly. I can’t believe Gabrielle not only sassed the Titans such that she unashamedly put Xena and Phyleus in danger too, but also kinda got this (admittedly awful) town demolished and didn’t lift a finger to actually help anyone in the temple. Tsk tsk. XP

So… Hyperion here can smash homes and businesses that were probably well-built and reinforced and all, but he can’t get his hand out of a stocks-cuff that was made in a single evening with scraps from those destroyed buildings. He also, inexplicably, has no use of his left hand or the power-breath that he used to knock Gabrielle over. Okie. XD

1.08 Prometheus

Is this really a thing? I was giggling quite a bit in disbelief that severed windpipes can heal. Like, perforated is one thing; completely bisected? Yeah, I don’t think so.

Gabrielle being incredulous upon learning that Xena has other friends, realizing what the warrior princess means, and then wondering if that could be her one day. 

   1.09 Death in Chains

Gabrielle enjoying watching Xena kill someone for the first time, then quickly realizing that fact. Whoops.

I found this moment really odd and then kind of hilarious. This poor dying old woman begs for water and goes ignored not only by the hospice workers, but also Talus and Gabrielle. Then Talus decides to be helpful. Gabrielle goes to the woman and lets her talk a lot (undoubtedly drying her mouth and throat even more), hears that Xena might be in danger, and then just… leaves. Talus goes with her, not having gotten water from the well after all. What a couple of jerks! XD

1.10 Hooves & Harlots

I really don’t know why Gabrielle kept making this face as Terreis died, but it tickled my funny bone too. So, I provided alternate subs to go with it. [Did you notice how she kind of cringes when Terreis tries to hold her hand and then just lets the Amazon flop once she’s died, flinging her hand aside like, “Ew, get it off me!”? What was that all about? X”) Hm… maybe she has an aversion to dying people, and that’s why she abandoned the old lady last episode?]

Gabrielle being a smart aleck, just like me, because Phantes’s complaint here is so ludicrous. But then you see the close-up of little hoofies in cuffs too, and, if you’re anything like me too, kinda just topple over laughing. The poor actual horse they did this to, though, man! What even?

Gosh, this episode was chockfull of hilarity, eh? Why did this happen? Gabby, take it away!

1.11 The Black Wolf

I laughed at this too. But now I wonder. Is Xerxes related to Caesar and/or connected to Rome or something? Because Xena does this twice around them too. In “When in Rome,” she jokes that the two guards lost playing tag with her, and in “A Good Day” she informs Pompey that if there were more guards hiding around their meeting space, then she would have had more helmets. heh Oh, Xenie. I think I know why Gabrielle’s turning out to be such a little punk ...or vice versa? Is Gabrielle actually a bit of a bad influence on Xena? XP

So, this fight just struck me as really odd. Xena passes her sword to Flora though she (Xena) needs to battle the big boss of the episode, and… actually, is totally right. The king throws a single wide-ass punch, waits while Xena kicks the guy behind her a few times, lets himself get kicked in the face a couple of times, and then comes at her with a little piece of chain, presumably from the restraints that were intended to keep Flora in place during her execution. Sir, you have a sword! A giant sword, right there on your hip! What are you doing? Then, when Xena kicks him a final time and sends him flying, his (supposed-to-be) metal armor is no match for the splintered wood of the axe she broke earlier. …Okie. XD XD XD   *gif below*

Xena once again leaves her chakram somewhere. …And I am now imagining this being part of Gabrielle’s maid duties: the poor kid has to go find Xena’s weapons each night and bring them back to her. I’m especially imaging the fluffball hilariously, adorably struggling to get the chakram out of things like this wall, as she did with Xena’s sword in the tree stump in “Dreamworker,” but more parallel to the floor. Cuuuute! XD

This plus this 

*pic + GIF below*:

1.12 Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts

This scene too really made me wonder, though amused as well. Why is Gabrielle so surprised that the only city nearby, that they were headed to, is the one they find? Is she really being that loud? Is Xena goofing around with the bootlaces question? Why startle Gabrielle and then yank her into enemy territory screaming, when what you want is quiet? What’s with the trapdoor-spider soldiers? Xena’s pose throwing the chakram. XD Gabrielle mostly featherlight dance-y moves through the battlefield. XD XD XD Why is it that when Xena tells Gabrielle to stick right behind her, Gabrielle disappears? And what was with the bucket-sitting soldier? Gabrielle is like, “Oh; no, thank you!” when she sees him and turns tail. Then Xena ...follows her. “We’re goin’ this way! Now we’re goin’ that way!” But they still end up dead-ahead from where they burst out of the bushes. XD That was ridiculous and nonsensical, and I’m very confused but had lots of fun. heheheh  *gif below* [ETA: Darn! The original file was too big, so I had to remake the GIF and cut quite a few things out. :( Sorry]

Xena’s outta-nowhere crusade to emasculate Deiphobus coming full-circle. What was that all about?

Welp, I hope you had as much fun as I originally and then later did. Not so much in the middle with the collage-and-GIF-making and editing and redoing, but; y’know. XD Wouldn’t trade it for …Hm… Nevermind. LOL

If you missed any of the FFLMs, then please click on the corresponding number-links below. :D

#1  #2  #3  #4  #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12

#xwp #xena #xena warrior princess #gabrielle #xena and gabrielle #fflm #funny #comedy #season 1 #forgetful #magic #shenanigans #argo #chakram #sword

[simplylove101]

2021 Horror Challenge: [15/?]

↳ “Time to cut out the cancer.” Malignant (2021) dir. James Wan

Plot: Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.

Starring: Annabelle Wallis, Maddie Hasson, George Young & Michole Briana White (with an appearance from 

I’m still deciding all my thoughts on this one. On one hand, there were elements that should have made this work imo. The plot twist, while totally ludicrous, was actually the part that made this watch get more interesting. I went into this with probably too high of expectations because when you see the name James Wan and it’s a horror movie, you can’t help expecting certain things. The man gave us outings like the first 2 Conjuring movies, Insidious and Saw. The man knows how to make a memorable horror movie. And you know, there were some memorable things, visually, going on with this one. You can see the clear influences that he was trying to emulate like Argento, Bava, etc. Very giallo horror, which was interesting having watched Demons the night before. But the thing is, the criticism of this movie having a genre identity crisis is totally fair because the first half would have you believing that this is gonna be a haunted house kinda thing or something, except it’s never genuinely scary and it feels like Wan was going for the cheap jump scares, which feels very unlike him. Just cuz usually there’s more subtly there with him. And then towards the end, we come to find that the story’s turned into a body horror ordeal. Which would have worked if everything leading up to it hadn’t been almost completely laughable and cheesy. The voice and face of Gabriel are hard to find terrifying imo. Also, Annabelle Wallis tries but not every beat works for me. I do think if this movie had been made in the 80′s, it could have worked for me because you just know it would have at least been sold as a campy, fun story. Now I will say the jail scene was definitely memorable, not just for the gore, but the choreography with the fighting as well. Made me think of Upgrade (which I totally need to rewatch someday cuz that movie was a good body horror lol), so that’s a compliment. But that conclusion... was that setting up for a sequel? Does the world even need a sequel? I don’t really think so. I so wanted to like this one, but I don’t know if I can. :/

#malignant #horrorchallenge2021

[anemonenemerosa]

Omg if you’re taking requests for coops, maybe sirius showing up with a huge bouquet of roses and remus and the team not being able to handle it, or the team trying to stealthily follow them on their first date by like hiding behind pillars and having code names lol. oR sirius asking for the teams help to do something for remus. hope one of these peaks your interest!

Dear Anon,

you have not been forgotten! I just needed a moment to come up with something.

Abort Mission!

He would rather eat a skate than admitting that he's a total sap and yet, here we are.

Remus was lying on a blanket in the middle of a wildflower meadow at the edge of lolligo-lake in the park, surrounded by candles, his head on his boyfrieds lap while being fed strawberries by said boyfried.

He absolutely loved it! And even more, he loved that Sirius obviously loved it. His dopey smile hadn’t left his face since he removed Remus' blindfold on the blanket.  

Little did Remus know that in the nearby shrubbery, a certain Russian tried to not freak-out as a little spider slowly roped down in front of his face.

"Kuny be quiet! They will hear us!" Nado was on edge.

"NADO is spider, might bite us, might be ve- veno... Might be bad!" Kuny whisper-yelled while leaning as far away as possible without leaving the greenery.

"You are 6'4'' Russian terror on legs! Stop getting spooked by a tiny spider."

"But spider..."

"There are no venomous spiders in Gryffindor. Keep calm, love." Nado patted the head of his, secretly very soft and sensitive, flatmate in a calming way.

Nados phone lit up with a message.

 WHAT THEY HELL ARE THE DISASTER TWINS DOING?! THEY WILL BE SEEN! – The coolest Team

Who? – Voice of reason?

Kuny and Nado. – The coolest Team

This night will be over before I have learned that. – Voice of Reason

 On the other side of the completely undisturbed and definitely not spied on couple, Kasey and James were laying flat on the ground between the high grass, binoculars rised.

"See anyone snooping on our precious lovebirds, Kase?"

"You mean except us?"

"Oi! We're not snooping, we protect them. With love. No one dare interrupting my lovesick puppies. I will take them all down before they even come close!!"

"Endearing, Pots. I think I already have like nine ticks at my- Hell no!" Kasey dropped his binoculars and started frantically tapping on his phone.

 I think they have spotted the Voice of Reason! Abort approach! – The coolest Team

Who? – Voice of Reason

YOU! Stir the boat away from the shore before they can make out your faces! – Disaster Twins

Whose idea was it with the stupid code names anyway? – Voice of Reason

Oh, Shut up Dumo, they're brilliant! – The coolest Team

No. No, they're not. – Lovebirds

It's Talker here and they are brilliant! – Voice of Reason

NO! Do not betray me! – Voice of Reason

Nicknames is fun. Not have much fun here! Spider try kill us! – Disaster Twins

Oh, hell xD – Lovebirds

 "Oh my god, this is gold!" Leo sniggered and leaned out of the giant hammock they've installed the day prior in the crown of a large weeping willow, directly above Remus and Sirius.

He and his two boys were scheduled to keep an overview of proceedings and who would say no to a night out in a hammock with the hottest guys of the NHL, which just so happened to be his boyfriends? Even if the occasion was absolutely ludicrous, he was in.

"But the codenames are bad." Logan put his binoculars down to rub at his eyes.

"Well, Pots came up with them, what did you expect?"

"True." Logan yawned and carefully rolled over to bury his face in Finns chest.

"It's funny in Potty's flat and stupid sense of humour. I Mean Lovebirds. Us. In the tree. In a Hammock that resembles a nest. Not subtle but entertaining."

"Shut up Fish." The other two groaned in unison.

"What is that?" Leo sat up, making grabby hands for Logan's spy glasses.

"What?" Finn peaked up, too.

"Over there, near Kuny and Nado"

"You mean the disaster twins?"

"Finn you're sleeping in your own bed tonight." Leo was getting a little irritated with these stupid, overcomplicating names. Potter!

"Ok."

"Alone."

"NOOOOOOO!" Finn was a man! He would never whine! But he did.

"Then shut up, there are people coming! Logan, send an alert."

 Hey, Nado there is a group of teenage girls approaching! – Lovebirds

Oh no. And it’s Disaster Twins. – The coolest team

 And sure, when Nado turned around there was a gaggle of gushing girls ducking a few feet away in the same bushes, peaking out to get a glimpse at the unsuspecting couple in the meadow. Nado tried to stand very still while also looking intimidating wnough to scare the girly away. If I don't move, they won't see me. Just like in Jurassic Park.

"Nado."

"Nado."

"Nado."

"WHat?" This time, it was the addressee's turn to whisper-yell.

"I'm think is too much same." Kuny quietly fidgeted with his hands.

"What?"

"They and we. Should feel bad for snooping on cap. We just like girls."

"Kuny, we do not snoop. We protect!"

"Sure?"

"...no." Nado, veeery slowly, turned to his phone.

 Hey guys, you think we've taken this too far? -Disaster Twins

Why, what would ever make you think that? - Lovebirds

WE. NEED. TO. PROTECT. – The coolest Team

And who is gonna protect them from you? Or... us? – The voice of Reason

OH SHIT! One of the girls in the shrubbery is Adele!!!! – Disaster Twins

Has she seen you? – Voice of Reason

ABORT MISSION! ABORT MISSON! – The coolest Team

My end is near. Farewell, friends. It was tolerable knowing you. – Voice of Reason

RIP Dumo. - Lovebirds

 After watching the others flee the scene, more or less stealthily, Leo turned to Finn and Logan.

"Think we're we done now?"

"Seems like it." Finn just shrugged.

"Then let's go home."

"We can't." Logan stopped mid getting up and looked at Leo.

"Why?"

"Caps and Loops cannot not notice us climbing down the tree directly besides them. And so far, I think we might be the safest of them all."

"Right." Logan plopped down again.

"Well... We have blankets, it's a mild night with a clear sky..." Finn just noticed airily. And continued with a little smile while his boys were following along with interest.

"We're together..."

"Rather romantic up here isn't it, with the branches like curtains..." Leo continued with bright eyes.

"Might make the best out of it?" Logan patted suggestively at his side.

"YES!!!" Leo exclaimed in a very quiet whoop and flung himself between the others.

  Little did Remus know... Or, did he?

  Three days earlier...

  Remus created HELP!

 Re added Lils to the group-chat.

Re added Nat to the group-chat.

 Sweetie, what's the matter? - Nat

Sirius and I will have our first official date in three days. - Re

Yes, baby! - Nat

Whoooo! - Lils

What do you need? - Lils

They are up to something. - Re

Who? - Nat

Potts and Kase. - Re

What do you mean? - Nat

Yes, they are. - Lils

What do you know lils? - Re

James is too excited. Somethings Fishy. - Lils

You think Finn is in there, too? - Re

xD - Nat

Not what I meant, but most likely. Yeah. - Lils

But why? - Nat

I don't know. - Lils

Hey, let's add Celeste. She can read Dumo like a book and if Finn is involved, Logan is, too. - Nat

...And then Dumo knows... and then Celeste knows. - Lils

Correct! - Nat

 Remus added Celeste to the group-chat

 Bonsoir messieurs dames! What is the occasion? - Celeste

Remus and Sirius are going to have a date and some of the other idiots are up to something, you know something? - Lils

HEY! - Re

You are not an idiot, love but you boyfried.... -Lils

... Fair. - Re

Ohhhh, that is happening. Pascal is very excited! Je suis content pour toi, Remus. - Celeste

Thank you, Celeste <3 But do you know whether they are planning some nerve-racking stuff to destroy my moment? - Re

I will not let that happen! - Celeste

Leave it to us, sweetie, we're gonna stop them. - Nat

Oh, I don't want them to stop. - Re

Really? - Lils

I want them to regret. - Re

LOVE IT! - Nat

YES! I'm in. - Lils

Absulemont. - Celeste

I love you all. - Re

  Two hours before the date...

  Everything is ready. – Nat

Thank you!!! – Re

You get an update after your date. - Lils

Adele is ready and wants you to know that she got it. Now go and don't worry ma chérie. - Celeste

Alright :D Love you! - Re

  The morning after the date...

 When Kuny and Noda arrived at the locker room, about five minutes late, they were in for a shock. Every stall of the 'Mission protect- squad' was plastered with photographs of them spying. The guys that politely declined any involvement were chirping them badly for being that bad in secrecy.

They would probably never hear the end of it.

 Although, no pictures of O'Knutzy were taken during the mission, there were indeed pictures of them setting up the hammock.

Sirius and Remus were nowhere to be seen... the quiet was freaking them more out than any yelling ever could.

And then, it came down on them. Cap and Loops were already waiting on the ice with snacks for the team and death-drills for the assholes.

 "We'll never do that again!"

"Snooping on our Cap and PT? No, they are too much of a powerful combination."

"But how did they get all the photos?"

"Adele." Dumos face was crestfallen.

"But that means-" Nado piqued up while rubbing his sore ass.

"Celeste." Dumo nodded. 

"Oh, hell." Leo muttered while he and Finn dragged an almost passed-out Logan along. If his exclamation concerned that or the evil genius of Dumo's wife, no one knew.

"Probably Lily and Natalie, too." James and Kasey were leaning against each other.

"No chance. Too smart." Kuny shook his head while he softly kneaded Nados shoulders.

"Caps and Loops are gonna pay for that mean trickery." The desperation on Dumo's face was replaced with utter determination.

"I've pranked people before they were even out of their diapers! With my own wife, nontheless! Je n'accepterai pas la défaite!"

 "What have we done...."

 I really hope you like it!

Writing it was a lot of fun. I would never laugh at my own jokes.

As always stay safe and channel your inner Hufflepuff <3

#lumosinlove #sweater weather #lumosinlove ocs #sirius black #remus lupin #nado #kuny #papa dumo #Potts #Kasey #o'knutzy #logan tremblay #finn o'hara #leo knut #first date #Sirius is a sap #Remus is an evil genius #So are Celeste Natalie and Lily #Everyone is an idiot #codenames

[batmansymbol]

can you rec any good dramione fics to read while waiting inbetween chapters of yours??

dear anon! yes, i have a few favorites:

first and foremost, i have gone at dusk through narrow streets and i am sleeping on a time bomb by i forgot to blink. Time Bomb, set mostly in Antarctica, is a very dark post-war fic and leads with a suicide, so be warned! Narrow Streets cuts back and forth between the events of the war and the immediate aftermath, and isn’t quite as dark. i want to push these on absolutely everyone. i read them ages before i was even into this ship and they still became instant favorites--they’re just gorgeous stories. delicate and haunting, impeccably characterized, and the kind of painful that exists to remind you of hope.

god, i always get all melancholy when i think about these fics, lol. this author wrote these two stories in august 2011 and that’s it. there’s no identifying information in their profile. and i just get this achy lonely feeling in my chest when i think about the fact that i’ll never be able to read anything else by them. the pieces have made a really profound impact on me--i haven’t forgotten them in nearly a decade and i hope they stick with some of y’all too.

for good feelings, Bite Marks and Upper Body Injury by @provocative-envy​!! tbh, anything by envy, obviously. her stories make me swoon and grin like a moron by myself in my room at two in the morning. her writing is so tactile--the way she writes textures and faces and descriptions is ludicrously evocative and specific, and her pacing is perfect every time. her dramione list on ao3 is here, and is basically my dramione bible. please rise for a reading from the book of Upper Body Injury.

how to win friends and influence people by olivieblake - i’m sure most dramione folks have read this one, but yeah! just a really fun, confident piece of writing!! this one is looooong and to be totally honest i haven’t finished it, but i had a total blast with what i read and would like to read more by her.

this is not a particularly long rec list, but ... yeah. i feel like i’m maybe a bit too picky when it comes to how people write draco? also, this particular ship happens to be full of tropes that don’t do much for me--even the best Marriage Law fic, for instance, is just never going to make me happy bc the concept is such a personal nightmare to me, lmao.

but i’m actually pretty new to dramione, so i don’t have a deep wealth of knowledge when it comes to fics! i would love recs if people have them!

#reply #dramione #Anonymous #fic recs

[oodlyenough]

the last of us 1x06: kin

surprisingly don't think i have a ton to say about this ep of the last of us but i feel like i should continue posting for posterity at this point lol. (eta: i said that, then started writing my thoughts, and wrote a gazillion words anyway.)

side note: any canadians watching on crave? isn't it fucking terrible. trash service

anyway: 1x06!

continuing to enjoy joel and ellie a lot. the further we get into the show i think the more they've come into the roles and evolved into their own versions of the characters, which is fine. good even. i think bella ramsey and pedro pascal have very fun chemistry together, and i think bella carries the comedy beats really well, which means i've been enjoying seeing more and more of those. i also really like those scenes because they feel familiar without being complete retreads of the game dialogue (which inherently invites me to make comparisons on delivery, etc)

so this joel is much more openly vulnerable. i think this change works to go with what we've seen in the show so far and places where the show is presumably going. and, i'll be honest, i find show joel a much more likable character. 🤷🏼‍♀️

the "not my daughter" scene hit differently... tbh i think it hit less, but not really through any fault of the show's, if that makes sense. it's just one where beat by beat i know the words as delivered by troy and ashley and my brain is super imposing them

loved the opening with the Indigenous couple, they were so funny, and the idea of florence seeing joel puffed up like an angry bird and identifying zero threat and making him soup lmfaoooooo hkghlkg. honestly w game joel i don't think that would work, lol, but w show joel it did. such a funny way to use the map easter egg, and the "there are firefly people?" followed by the couple laughing at their own joke killed me lol

also loved ellie's indignation about how they probably don't know anything because they're "a thousand" and they don't even know the fireflies, who are probably a total nonentity outside select QZs. extreme kid energy. they haven't even HEARD of paw patrol can you believe it. what do they know. also, congrats to them escaping joel and ellie mostly unscathed... minus a rabbit. (rude, ellie.)

show maria was great idc. imo game maria is not much of a character, so the show had plenty of room to expand, and i liked how they did it. i see some people reacting badly to her skepticism of joel and forgiveness of tommy, but we also don't really know what exactly she's been told by tommy. maria being pregnant is also a more solid reason for why tommy can't take ellie than we got in the game.

i can't really evaluate tommy or maria as characters without factoring in part 2 and at this point there's enough difference that who knows where the show will go with tommy and maria in s2, so, it's all kinda fair game imo

the university scene felt a bit rushed but i guess there really isn't that much to do there when you're not rearranging dumpsters and killing infected. it was the first time the show felt notably rushed to me, and i suspect that feeling will get worse in the back third of the show. ah well.

joel's injury and the fight felt anticlimatic compared to the big action set piece of the game, BUT i think it worked much better in context (joel's explicit fears in this ep becoming manifest), and also, game joel's injury is sooooooooooo ludicrous and video game it just wouldn't work on tv lmao. i kind of wish we'd seen ellie land any of her shots on those guys, but i have my theories as to why we didn't. tbd

misc other thoughts:

diva cup scene... excellent. was worried about those musty tampons.

SALLY FUCKIN' RIDE lmaoooooo ellie. u lesbian. ilu

like everyone i was beyonce.gif DINA?!?!?!? in the cafeteria scene. 100% that was dina, there's no way it wasn't. it might not be the final cast actress (i can see them not wanting to cast a major role so far in advance for a cameo, and they have a time skip to justify any appearance changes), but as a character that was surely meant to be dina. ellie that's ur WOMAN

we're 10000% getting some other cameos in the finale. i'm ready 👀👀👀👀👀

lastly: can't wait for this weekend's episode. the one i've most anticipated. left behind DLC my beloved...

#the last of us hbo #the last of us

[racingtoaredlight]

RTARL’s 2020 NFL Season Week 14 Extravapalooza

The Week 14 slate of games is straight doo-doo until the AFC North rescues us in primetime. As a result of this, I found it pretty difficult to get up for this week’s Extravapalooza. I know what you’re thinking: I’m a professional being paid ludicrous sums of money to show up on the weekend and give it everything I’ve got. But, I’m only human. My assistant puts my pants on me one leg at a time, just like everyone else. Frankly, I think this lackluster effort falls more on the coaching staff than it does on me. 

My picks are in BOLD, and the lines come to us courtesy of our friends at Vegas Insider. I use the “VI Consensus” line, which is the line that occurs most frequently across Vegas Insider’s list of sportsbooks. Your sportsbook of choice may offer a different number, and if you’d like my opinion on said number A) you are insane, and B) leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer at some point before things kickoff today.

EARLY GAMES

Houston Texans (-1.5) at Chicago Bears

Hey, did you know that the Bears traded up in the draft to take Mitchell Trubisky over DeShaun Watson? It’s true! Today, it’ll look like it was the right move. LOL, not really. But, I’m putting my faith in the ability of the Bears defense to bottle Watson up just enough to allow Mitchell a brief afternoon of sweet, sweet glory.

Dallas Cowboys (-3) at Cincinnati Bengals

OH BOY, ANDY DALTON REVENGE GAME!! This game could’ve been a fun time with Dak Prescott and Joe Burrow calling the signals for their respective squads, but sadly what we have in reality is a hideous slopfest that only the most degenerate among us would dare gaze upon.

Kansas City Chiefs (-7.5) at Miami Dolphins

I think the Dolphins defense can do a reasonably good job holding K.C. down, relatively speaking. The problem is that I’m not sure their Tua-led offense can keep pace. They’re still adjusting to life with Tua as their triggerman, and losing their best RB, Myles Gaskin, to the COVID list is a tough blow.

Arizona Cardinals (-2.5) at New York Giants

The Giants have won 4 in a row, while the Cards have dropped 3 in a row and 4 of their last 5. These twin developments are most unexpected. I just can’t bring myself to pick against my beloved Kyler Murray in this one, even though he’s been scuffling and the Giants made Russell Damn Wilson look like crud just last week. Daniel Jones is expected to be back in the saddle for the Giants, which provides another reason to pick New York that I’m choosing to ignore.

Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7)

The Vikings are agents of pure chaos capable of both thrashing anyone and being thrashed by anyone, while the Bucs haven’t strung together two good halves in over a month. I truly have no idea what to expect from this game*. 

*Judging by my picks record, I have no idea what to expect from any game

Denver Broncos at Carolina Panthers (-3.5)

Here we have an incredibly resistible force meeting an exceptionally moveable object. The Broncos will be without their top 3 CBs, which is less than ideal. Carolina won’t have RB Christian McCaffery or WR DJ Moore, but I still like their odds of hitting a big play on offense and/or capitalizing on a Drew Lock mistake enough to pick them to win by more than a field goal.

Tennessee Titans (-7.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars

Derrick Henry is the jewel of my fantasy team, and since my playoffs begin this week I’m putting the idea of him cranking out a hilarious yardage total while grinding out the clock out into the universe. 

LATE GAMES 

Indianapolis Colts (-3) at Las Vegas Raiders

The most non-descript game imaginable.

New York Jets at Seattle Seahawks (-15)

The Seahawks need a get-right game after losing to the Giants last week, and lo and behold the Jets are coming to town. The only thing giving me pause here is the non-zero chance that Pete Carroll got sidetracked during the week and the team spent their preparation time learning the TRUTH about a totally different New York jet situation.

Green Bay Packers (-8) at Detroit Lions

Somebody on Twitter (possibly Jim Harbaugh Scramble?) pointed out how much the FOX cartoon graphic for Packers TE Robert Tonyan looks like White Michael Vick from the infamous “What If Michael Vick Were White?” story from a few years ago, and it cracked me up for a solid 10 minutes.

LOL

New Orleans Saints (-8) at Philadelphia Eagles

I’m morbidly fascinated by this game. Saints QB Taysom Hill has looked shockingly competent...when playing against the Atlanta Falcons. How will he do against a different, larger species of bird? I don’t know what to expect out of Eagles QB Jalen Hurts in his first start, but at the very least I think he’ll take off running to try and gain SOME yards if his first couple of reads are covered, as opposed to holding the ball and waiting to get creamed a la Carson Wentz. The Saints defense is a brutal first matchup for him, though.

Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Chargers (PK)

I’m following my “Don’t Pick the Falcons If Julio Jones Is Out” rule here. I have no idea if that rule has actually served me well whatsoever. 

Washington Football Team at San Francisco 49ers (-3)

As of this writing, I can’t find any solid info as to whether or not Football Team O-linemen Brandon Scherff, Morgan Moses, and David Sharpe are going to play. Even if they manage to get out there, they’re pretty banged up. The o-line injuries combined with the loss of studly RB Antonio Gibson has tamped my enthusiasm for Washington down considerably. 

SNF: Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills (-2.5)

FIRE TOMLIN! Seriously though, this is Pittsburgh’s third game in 11 days, which is ridiculous. They’ll also be without CB Joe Haden, which will only tempt Josh Allen to chuck it up even more. Whether or not this is beneficial for the Bills depends on how you feel about Josh Allen, I suppose.

MNF: Baltimore Ravens (-3) at Cleveland Browns

The Browns and their fans are riding too high right now. The laws of the universe require them to be knocked down a peg or two, possibly due in large part to former Ohio State Buckeye JK Dobbins returning to Ohio and running roughshod over the home team.

Last Week’s Record: 8-6

Season Record: 82-91-6

#Sports! #Footballl #NFL #Gambling

[loveislarryislove]

2022 Writing Goals: Halfway Home Check-in

We are halfway through 2022, so I wanted to take a moment to check in on the goals I set at the start of this year -- see what I’ve accomplished, what I’d still like to do, if I’m on trajectory for the longer-term ones, maybe even set a few additional goals! You can see the original post here, if you want the full commentary.

Numeric goals

Minimum goal: 5 fics and 50,000 words over the year

Aim goal: 12 fics (ideally at least 1 per month) and 80,000 words over the year

Ludicrous goal: 15 fics and 100,000 words over the year 

So far this year, I’ve posted 5 fics totaling 34k, and I have another 13k for 2 fics that are almost finished. That means I’m almost to my Minimum Goal already -- and the Aim Goal feels plausibly reachable, if I keep up the pace! I don’t know if it’s likely, but it’s definitely possible. Even the Ludicrous Goal isn’t totally out of reach, though it would be a stretch.

Total hits: 150,000

Total kudos: 10,000

Done! I was pretty close to those thresholds already, so I was pretty sure that would be a slam dunk, but I still wanted to encourage myself to acknowledge and celebrate them -- because WOW that’s a lot of numbers! Eight years really adds up! Interestingly, only around a third of my Hits this year have been on fics I wrote this year, so the oldies are still getting quite a bit of traffic :)

Write for at least 4 fandoms (including at least one new fandom)

Done! Thanks, Troped! For the new fandom, I wrote a fic for The Old Guard, which was a lot of fun. I fucking love that movie -- I hear they’re filming a sequel and I need it.

Write at least one self-motivated fic, that isn’t for a challenge or exchange or fest, just a story I want to tell

I... have not done this lol. Maybe eventually. Maybe not. External motivation is super helpful for me, and that’s valid haha. But I do want to post more of my Sorcery & Cynicism series for Critical Role

Non-fic/fic-adjacent goals

Write at least one poem -- not done lol

Write at least one song (this could be a fandom song) -- I did this! The song “Would You Come Home” that Alex Manes sings on the show Roswell, New Mexico absolutely destroys me, and since Michael is also musically inclined I wanted to write kind of an answering song. One of the first lines I came up with was “I thought love was a weapon / til you put it in my hands” and I just expanded from there, about feeling alone and afraid and pushing people away before they can hurt you... until someone won’t let you push them away, someone stays when no one else did, someone finally persuades you that happiness is possible. 

Submit writing to at least three publications/competitions -- I’ve definitely submitted (and been accepted!) to one place, the Healing Verse Poetry Line. I’m also tempted to count the post I made to Pantsuit Nation about Stories Cut Short, the Facebook group I run for victims of US gun violence (shameless plug, check it out here if you’re interested in supporting my work). 1 or 2 out of 3 ain’t bad!

Track my writing because I love data and spreadsheets and graphs -- I’ve been doing this pretty consistently, and it’s been super fun and motivating! 

Beta read more -- I’ve worked with a couple people this year, but definitely interested in doing more! Feel free to reach out if you’re looking for someone :)

Read more fic -- mmm I’ve been medium on this. Probably reading more than last year, but still not a lot. Definitely not the once a week I initially suggested to myself. And very little long fic, if any.

Reply to all comments I receive on my fics (stretch goal: reply to all past comments) -- I don’t think I’m 100% on this year’s comments, but I’m pretty darn close! I’d call that a success, honestly. I haven’t replied to past comments, but maybe I’ll do a spree sometime. 

New goals

Since I hit the kudos and hits goals, I’d like to set a few more! I know there’s more to fic than getting attention but like... I also like attention XD

Total hits: 175,000

Total kudos: 12,000

2022 hits: 10,000

2022 kudos: 750

And then since I’ve hit a lot of the non-fic/fic-adjacent goals or made good progress on them, let’s throw in a few wildcards -- I might not accomplish them, but I’d like to put them on my radar as I think they would be fun!

Make a fic rec of some of my favourite fics. I don’t read enough to do regular recs or probably like themed ones, but I think it would be fun to do a round up and share some love and appreciation for stories that have left such an impression on me. 

Make a cover or song or podfic or some kind of creative work inspired by another person’s fic. 

Make a cover or post for one of my old fics (or more than one!) that doesn’t have one

Write a crossover fic. idk, this is random, but it just feels like it would be neat. Maybe for Wordplay!

Write a sequel or timestamp for a fic I’ve written before. 

Tagging a few people who I think did goals posts to see if they’d like to check in as well! @larry-hiatus @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed @larrysballetslippers @alwaysxlarrie @jacaranda-bloom @fallinglikethis

#writing #my fics #goals

[sothischickshe]

did i ever send you asks? did i???? anyway i have faith in you and believe that you can answer #3 four times ❤️❤️❤️❤️ (but also i really want you to answer 4, 20, 6, and 9 heh heh)

i dont fucking KNOW, am i to remember things???? although i presumably would have felt a jolt of disgust at seeing your username so maybe i’d recall if you had???

re 3 x 4, im a total hypocrite cos i did basically this to someone else but ugh, topics make it easier!!!! but ok

3. rant. just do it

i. serenity isn’t that good of a film. look, i like firefly, i like it a lot! and obvi i can appreciate why ppl feel fondly about the revival-ness of the film, and it was trying to tie a lot together. but i hate how the thread of moral greyness of the show was kind of lost and suddenly they (and especially mal) are like there is RIGHT and WRONG blah blah blah. (also, i kinda hate how in the board game characters get neatly denoted as im/moral... feel like whoever made it was watching a different show to me tbh)

ii. the make your own post button is free!!!!!!!!! sure there are times when additions are totes reasonable and fun, but if you wanna make a different point... just make your own post.

iii. i mean i’m not a lesbian so maybe this isn’t my rant to have but i had an anon gold star lesbian ask in my inbox which i deleted... like fuck off with that gross judgemental shit?

iv. nore’s whole waffle abt how they’ve had so few lady guests on drink champs bc the only women whose phone numbers he has are his wife and foxy brown is LUDICROUS. first of all... dream fucking guests???????????????? so!!!!???????????!!!! second of all, hire a booker???????? third of all MARY EP WHEN. i feellllll like dave east was sorting that out for real yea??????????

all right, good number choices. i’ll give you that.

4. do you think it’s ok to separate the artist from the art?

i think it’s ok to enjoy things made by terrible people. you can’t change what you like, and i think it’s disingenuous to pretend that you can. like, i hate r kelly, but that doesn’t make ‘vibe’ a bad song, nor can it. however, you can choose whether or not you (still) want to engage with that person’s creations, and i think you do have to make a decision as to whether you want to (financially) support that creator. (i do not!)

ultimately, i think you can rarely successfully separate creator from creation, their perspective leaks in. and understanding that can make your appreciation of their creations much better! or it can help you critique it, especially if you find something about it unsettling but are finding it hard to identify/name.

i do think it’s ok to enjoy ‘problematic’ things made by ‘problematic’ ppl bc everyone and everything is problematic somehow, especially if you’re going back into time. everyone’s lines in the sand are gonna be differently placed and i think that’s ok. there are some creators works i have no interest in engaging with. there are some i have already engaged with before learning more about them, and i cannot turn off the existing opinions i have of those works, though they do become shaded by the things ive learnt so im unlikely to want to engage with them. there are many that i disagree with on many things but whose creations im still interested in engaging with bc i like experiencing a range of perspectives. i DO curate my experience with media pretty heavily - i don’t own a tv or subscribe to any streaming services or listen to the radio. if i feel like im engaging with a lot of men-led media i tone it down, lol.

but i do think this is probably the wrong question. the question is more CAN you separate the artist from the art? and i think the answer is no, or at least i don’t see how you can do it well, without losing its context. and artists who encourage you to.... i think are hiding something tbh. (like!!! did anyone listen to that seinfeld ep of wtf???!? WTF indeed)

20. describe your blog in 3-5 words

profoundly and rage-inducingly unsearchable

6. how many pairs of shoes do you have?

answered

9. favourite brand of clothing?

eh, i’m not really big into brands. whoever makes these oversized men’s tshirts i keep (kept) swiping from conferences? they’re very good quality.

for shoes it always WAS adidas anyway, lol

ask meme which again i’ll point out has a wide range of numbers on it which are not the number 3

#lotta rage man lotta rage #tv #films #podcasts #am i just mad cos i wanna play as atherton AND hire a companion....maybe but not ONLY #tumblr #drink champs #like srsly an ep with his wife??? i'd love it???? #shoes #clothes #Board games #Oh i guess i subscribe to the bbc lol but only for uc and oc

[the-desolated-quill]

It’s Summer And We’re Running Out Of Ice - Watchmen (TV Series) blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. if you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

I’m not going to lie. I was incredibly sceptical going into this. This isn’t the first TV adaptation of a classic novel to go beyond the source material and try to continue the story, and they nearly always suck (see The Handmaid’s Tale and The Man In The High Castle). There’s a reason why books end where they’re supposed to end. If the author intended to carry the story on, they would have done so. This is why I get angry when the TV industry arrogantly oversteps the mark and try to continue a plot that has already come to a satisfactory conclusion. Doing a sequel to Watchmen, a story that hinges on the ambiguity of its ending, is just utter madness to me, and allowing Damon Lindelof to write that sequel borders on moronic at first glance. This is the man behind the TV series Lost, a show that ran out of steam within the first couple of episodes due to the fact that the plot was complete and total bollocks and the fact that nobody could be bothered to come up with satisfying answers for these ludicrous mysteries and series arcs beforehand. They were just making that shit up as he went along. Now you’re handing Lindelof the keys to one of the most intricate and detailed comic book properties of all time?! Fuck, why don’t you just let JJ Abrams direct the next Star Wars mo- Oh yeah, I forgot, he already did that.

Thankfully, judging by this first episode anyway, HBO’s Watchmen is nowhere near as bad as Lost. It’s certainly far more engaging and coherent. Does that mean I’m looking forward to the rest of this season? Well... I don’t know if I’d go that far. I’m definitely intrigued though.

HBO’s Watchmen is a sequel to the graphic novel (Lindelof called it a remix, but come on. Grow a pair and call it what it is. A sequel). Superheroes are still illegal, Robert Redford is now the President, Rorschach’s death has inspired a white supremacist cult, and it’s raining squid.

Yeah, the raining squid thing feels like the only egregious bit of fanwank in here, to be fair. Maybe they’re going somewhere with this, but I have my doubts. Are we supposed to assume that Ozymandias has been making squid rain for the past thirty odd years in order to keep up the whole alien invasion ruse? Why squid rain? And why is everyone so nonchalant about it? Shouldn’t people be just a bit concerned by this, considering what happened in New York?

Speaking of Ozymandias, we see him riding a horse and writing plays for his butler and maid in some fancy mansion. Quite what the significance of The Watchmaker’s Son is, I don’t know. All I do know is I’m not going to be able to sleep at night without thinking about Jeremy Irons’ thighs from now on, so thanks for that.

Putting my cynicism aside for a moment, I do like what Lindelof is trying to do here. He’s not merely cashing in on the Watchmen brand. There is a genuine effort to do something fresh and different with this material, and I commend that. Watchmen’s central theme has always been about power, but whereas the source material focused mainly on its relation to sex (Comedian’s hedonism, Nite Owl’s impotence, Rorschach’s mummy issues and the sexual objectification of Silk Spectre), the TV series seems to be zeroing in on race as a topic. This I applaud. Expanding on certain areas that the graphic novel only ever really touched upon is a great idea. This doesn’t feel like a repeat of the graphic novel, but rather a clarification of it, exploring areas and themes that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons may have overlooked. This helps set this series apart from the outset. 

The opening scenes where we see the Tulsa Massacre of 1921 is a pretty harrowing way to start. I’m ashamed to say I had no idea about the Tulsa Massacre prior to this, and we could have a whole other discussion about why schools seem to have been avoiding teaching specific topics like this in favour of the broad strokes of the Jim Crow era, but now is not the time. The fact that it’s depicted here sets the stage for what’s to come. Some have criticised the show for the length of time the opening focuses on Tulsa, claiming that it sensationalises the pain of black people at that time. I personally don’t think it does. It’s not overly graphic or gratuitous, at least in my opinion, but it is a very shocking way to open a series. Some might say even upsetting, but I think it’s important that we saw this because it’s relevant in setting the tone for the episode and indeed the season as a whole, as well as letting the audience know that this show isn’t going to fuck around or shy away from more sensitive topics, and I can respect that. Unlike Zack Snyder’s overly stylised adaptation from 2009, Watchmen the HBO series is grounded very firmly in reality.

Let’s discuss characters. This episode mostly focuses on Angela Abar, also known as Sister Night. Regina King has given some terrific performances in the past and this is no exception. She’s simply phenomenal. The way she switches from light-hearted wife and baker to violent, no nonsense vigilante cop. The shift is noticeable and yet both personas feel like they’re aspects of the same character. It’s exceptionally good. It also helps that the character herself makes for a great protagonist. Having survived the ‘White Night’ four years prior, where the Seventh Kavalry attacked the families of forty Tulsa police officers in response to the government giving special reparations to the victims of racial injustice, Angela has become cynical and battle hardened. She has no sympathy for Kavlary members and is willing to skip due process by beating one of them to a pulp and bundling him in the back of her car. She’s angry and in pain, and yet retains the audience's sympathy. I’m interested to see what happens to her over the course of the season.

I also really liked her friendship with Don Johnson’s character Judd Crawford. Johnson is a charismatic performer and Crawford is a charismatic character. He really dives into the olde western sheriff persona and seems to be having a lot of fun with it. Crawford is the only other character, besides Angela, who stayed on as a police officer after the White Night, and the two characters seem to have a great relationship. They laugh and joke around and there’s clearly a mutual respect between the two. I genuinely like this character, which is what makes his murder at the end so much more heartbreaking. Not to mention all the little details that force us to realise he may not be what he seems. We see him sniff cocaine in private and there’s a photo on his desk featuring the kid from school who aggressively asked Angela why black people deserve reparations. It doesn’t necessarily mean that Crawford himself is racist, but there’s clearly more going on with him that we don’t know about.

The final character of interest at the moment is Tim Blake Nelson’s character Wade Tillman, aka Looking Glass. We don’t know anything about him yet other than he’s a human lie detector, which I find very intriguing and I hope will be explored further as the show goes on. There’s a lot to play around with there, and the moral implications are tantalising. A conviction based not on physical evidence, but rather on the observations of one man. Even Sherlock Holmes has to back his deductions up with evidence, and yet Looking Glass clearly doesn’t need to. That just raises so many ethical questions. What if he has a particular bias towards someone? What about burden of proof? What if forensic evidence contradicts him? If Looking Glass is supposedly that accurate, does that mean the police will side with him regardless? It’s a great premise for a character and I really like Nelson’s performance, giving him a cold and detached personality that contrasts beautifully with Angela’s.

The characters and ideas are solid, however where I feel the show is lacking is with the consistency of its world building. Let’s analyse. This is an alternate history where Nixon used superheroes to extend his term limits, but after the New York attack at the end of the graphic novel, he’s been kicked out in favour of Robert Redford (nice nod to the source material there by the way. lol). As a result, black people got reparations for the racial injustices their ancestors went through and police are now unable to openly carry firearms without special permission from Panda (literally a cop wearing a panda costume). However, after the events of White Night, the government agrees to allow cops to wear masks to protect their identities, hence why quote/unquote ‘superheroes’ like Sister Night and Looking Glass are around despite the existence of the Keene Act. These are, in effect, legal vigilantes. Except already there’s a problem with conflicting messages. I like the idea of masked cops. In the current age of Black Lives Matter and police accountability, it makes sense and could be interesting to explore. However this is hindered by the whole ‘no guns’ stuff. Again, not a bad idea. America’s current gun laws are, to put it mildly, woefully inadequate. What if we went the other way? What if not only was it near impossible to own a gun, cops couldn’t even use a taser without special permission. Both ideas could work... but not at the same time.

Cops being allowed to wear masks creates the effect of empowering them through anonymity, and runs the risk of officers overstepping the mark and normal citizens being unable to hold them to account. But on the other hand, we’ve also got cops whose lives are constantly at risk and who are hindered in their duties by an overprotective nanny state, which effectively depowers them. So... which is it? It can’t be both. I like the scene where Panda reads the law about how the use of firearms can only be permitted in extreme circumstances, and everyone just angrily shouts him down because it tells us how the police feel about this new system. The fact that they’ve made one cop the sole arbiter of these new restrictions and forced him to dress like some ridiculous furry demonstrates the sheer amount of disdain they have towards this policy. But having said that, with the masks on, they have the power and freedom to break into people’s caravans and basically kidnap and assault them without consequence anyway. So what the fuck are they complaining about? It just doesn’t gel together. Either have it that the rules and regulations of the police are the same as our world except that cops can wear masks now, which has led to an increasing problem of police brutality and corruption, or have it that the police are being too heavily restricted and so a few have chosen to turn toward more ‘unorthodox’ methods of crime fighting out of frustration. Pick one and go with it.

Then there’s the Seventh Kavalry. Again, not a bad idea. In fact I love it. A white supremacist cult that’s taken Rorschach’s journal as gospel and have banded together out of a fear of being sidelined in a more liberal world. Very relevant and very interesting. Except... well... there’s not an awful lot to it, is there? In the original graphic novel, there was no clear bad guy. Ozymandias believed he was doing the ultimate good by killing millions of people to save the world, and everyone reluctantly went along with it. It was morally complicated. This, not so much. They’re unambiguously evil. The end. So what? What is there to discuss? It just feels lacking compared to the graphic novel and it runs the risk of creating a conflict that’s too clear cut. Obviously we’re going to end up siding with the cops, regardless of what they do, because the alternative is objectively bad. Hopefully Lindelof is going somewhere with this, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t say I was slightly concerned.

So on the whole, would I say I enjoyed this first episode? Well... I’d say I did, but with reservations. There’s some good characters and ideas that could be interesting to explore and develop, but its execution feels a little shaky in places. Hopefully the episodes to come will offer further clarity.

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