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thegoldencontracts · 2 months

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Too Late!

You and Azul are texting each other one day when he accidentally sends you some more honest texts.

Note/Warnings: Azul/Reader, fluff with a smidgen of angst (specifically Azul insecurities, he gets comforted tho)

You loved Azul. A lot. You'd been dating him for quite a while now, after all. But you couldn't deny that it felt like he was a bit- formal with you, to say the least. Sometimes, it felt like he was playing the role of a perfect boyfriend in a Romance Novel's screen adaptation. How did he really feel? Was he happy to be somewhere, or was he just playing along so that the other students in his dorm could see how attractive and understanding he was while they seethed in envy at the fact that they were single and he wasn't?

Which was why when Azul slipped up one day when you were texting, you were very, very happy about it.

It was a boring evening, like always. You were texting Azul, complaining about your homework while lounging in your bed like always. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Zuzuuu <3: You know, if you'd like, I'd be happy to assist with your homework. It'll even be on the house, just for you.

Me: cant believe im dating a capitalist mf /lh

Me: really tho, tysmmm for helping <3 I don't deserve u bbg...

And then, something completely out of the ordinary happened.

Zuzuuu <3: how could you say that you're literally so perfect? I love you so much I keep doodling you bc you're so. Pretty. I simp so hard for you plz never say that again <3

At first, you wondered if Floyd wrote the text as a joke. It was pretty in character for him, after all. But that didn't make sense. This wasn't Floyd's way of texting, nor did it even attempt to imitate Azul's. When Floyd was in the mood to prank someone, he put in the effort to make it good.

Whatever. You took a screenshot of the message so you could treasure it forever. And lucky you, because right after you did, the message was deleted.

Zuzuuu <3: Please don't say such things about yourself, even for comedic purposes.

He was not being slick with that. You sent a text in response, giggling all the while.

Zuzuuu <3: Regardless, would you like to come over later today?

Me: Real slick hehe... Plz show me ur doodles of me they probably look so good bc you're good at art just like everything else somehow

After a while, Azul replied.

Zuzuuu <3: I don't know what you're referring to. Regardless, would you like to come over?

As much as you wanted to press, you decided not to. Too much pressing would just make Azul clam up more. You'd just have to get him in person, where it'd be harder for him to run away when you showed him the screenshot.

Me: Sureee! Heading over right now

And so, you set out for Octavinelle, evidence in hand. You were going to make him admit he sent that text.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time you got to Azul's room, you had everything planned out. He wasn't usually so candid with you, and he was clearly ashamed of it when he was. You were going to figure out why.

You knocked on the door, and Azul opened it, letting you in.

"Come in," he said, tone even more formal than usual, by some miracle.

"Thanks," you said, taking a seat.

"So, about that text-"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Azul said, quick to cut you off.

"So quick to interrupt, Azul!" You said with a mock-pout, before grinning as you pulled up the screenshot on your phone. "But I think you do."

First, Azul's mouth hung open in shock. Then, his whole face turned red, lip quivering as a high-pitched whine left his mouth. Then, he moved to snatch the phone from your hands.

You narrowly dodged, and you couldn't resist sticking out your tongue at him.

"Too slow!" You laughed as he tried to grab the phone from you again, only to fail even more without the element of surprise on his side, because for all of Azul's many strengths, speed wasn't one of them.

"Delete that at once!" He shrieked, voice cracking in the middle.

He kept trying to grab it for a while, before finally giving up.

"Fine, fine," he grumbled, pouting like a kid. Cute. "You win. Are you satisfied now?"

"Very," you said, "because I get to see you. Your actual thoughts. Not just the ultra-filtered version."

Azul scoffed at that, seemingly in disbelief, though you saw the way he stifled a smile.

"Don't flatter me," he said. "My 'true thoughts' are not something you'd want to see in the slightest. Merely a more pathetic, messy version of what I already tell you."

"And that's precisely why I want to hear it," she said. "You sound so perfect all the time that I wonder whether you're really being honest with me, you know. It's just so refreshing to see you be gushy and candid about things. And pretty cute."

"How odd," he said, before turning to you with a face more genuine. "Thank you. For what little it's worth, I'll try to be a tad more honest with you. I can't promise anything, though."

You smiled.

"That's all I ask."

And really, truly, that was enough.

Bonus:

"So, how'd you learn so much internet lingo? Never took you for that kinda guy."

"I'm in the board games club with Idia Shroud. What did you expect?"

#azul ashengrotto #azul ashengrotto x reader #azul x reader #azul x you #azul Ashengrotto x you #hurt/comfort #twst x reader #aaah i love the mafia octoboy sm <3

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vasito-de-leche · 3 months

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;R1999 TENNANT - General Headcanons

Compilation of headcanons and analysis on Tennant as a character and other related things.

I missed doing analysis like this and I got burnt out from writing oneshots, so since someone asked for a Tennant post last month or so, here we are <3

she's literally the only 5* I don't have, the woman avoids me like the plague LMFAO. because of this, the screenshots and examples will be taken directly from the fandom wikia!

On the subject of diamonds, Laurence Tennant and the House of Tennant.

I feel like we should talk first about her father, as it will give more context as to her current personality and themes. For the sake of making things less confusing, I'll be addressing Tennant by her real name (Ada) throughout this specific bullet point!

Going by Ada's Cover profile, we can confirm that she was born in Birmingham and at the age of 15, moved with her father to New Delhi.

Thanks to the 01 Story, we understand that the Tennants moved from their homeland because of Laurence's job (mining, identifying and transporting diamonds from British India to the UK). It's also worth noting that the House of Tennant seems to be extremely valuable to the UK because of their mineral/diamond related skills and arcanum - note how Ada's father is titled Sir Laurence Tennant in the first part, and how they strip him of his title.

But what the 01 Story fails to explain is the reason Laurence was persecuted. He's suspected of "an arcanum-related crime, thef, fraud" and other six unknown charges, that's all we know. The 02 Story gives a little more information on the crime he might've committed to have such a large bounty on his head.

"…Laurence Tennant stands accused of an arcanum-related crime, in which he may have turned a batch of diamonds into charcoal on their way to Britain through his arcane skill. The colonial government is still in search of Laurence Tennant and trying to locate the whereabouts of the diamonds and therefore cannot take legal action against the suspect at the moment."

Basically, he does the exact same thing Ada is currently known for. The year this event takes place in is also important - Bluepoch puts a lot of references to real people and events, and given how the House of Tennant lived through the british occupation of India and how they're related to the diamond mining industry, I'd like to talk about a very specific diamond: Koh-i-Noor, one of the largest diamonds in the world.

Now, as usual, I'm only getting this information from skimming wikipedia articles and anyone with more knowledge on this subject is free to correct me or add to the post!

The Koh-i-Noor is notorious for its conflicting and confusing origins, with the earliest mention of its existence being around the 1740s and that it was directly looted from Delhi. This diamond was passed around various royal figures, but we'll focus on what happened to it on the year Laurence Tennant went missing. In 1937, the Koh-i-Noor was put on the crown of Queen Elizabeth for her coronation.

For full transparency, the diamond had been in possession of the Royal British Family since 1851, so the idea that Laurence Tennant might've somehow acquired it while he was aaaaall the way in New Delhi doesn't exactly make much sense. Still, I feel like the year chosen for this event, the themes and the theft of diamonds, plus the subtle emphasis on british colonialism that Tennant's character has, are still worth discussing, to draw more parallels between the real events and the details chosen by Bluepoch.

Laurence Tennant might've or might've not stolen the Koh-i-Noor, for all we know he simply could've switched a handful of regular diamonds for charcoal using his arcane skills. To me this doesn't explain all the chaos that ensued, but it could still be a thing that happened!

My personal headcanon on this matter is that the House of Tennant has been doing this since the very beginning. Father and daughter share the same arcanum, after all. Laurence Tennant was stated to have been working in the diamond industry for many, many years - there's no way he could've missed something as important as the Koh-i-Noor. And in the context of politics, it's way easier to accuse the perpetrator of many different, smaller crimes than the big crime that could ridicule the crown or the authorities in power. I personally like to think this is what happened with the Tennants - that the Koh-i-Noor was found to be fake during Queen Elizabeth's coronation, that they finally realized Laurence Tennant's long scam, and they accused him of minor crimes to save face all while giving him the biggest fucking bounty known to man during those years.

What leads me to believe that the House of Tennant, that both father and daughter were scamming the crown all along, is Ada's 02 Story.

Once her father disappears, he's gone for good. Ada never mentions him again, not in her voicelines, not in her interview with Pandora Wilson. Ada never seems to grieve his disappearance, which seems weird since there's nothing that hints towards them being on bad terms. As far as we know, the Tennant family is only them.

A year after Laurence Tennant disappears from the face of the Earth, his daughter follows. In 1938, Ada also escapes the authorities that were actively supervising her during Laurence's case. We don't know how old she was exactly, other than she must've been older than 15 at minimum. And if she was spotted around the 1940s with her current age being 25, well...

For someone that young to vanish without a trace despite all the constant surveillance, all the attention drawn to her family due to her father's crime - to me it seems like she learned from the best. Especially when she begins her own career of crime in Paris that very same year, using the exact same methods as her father, the legacy of her family.

This would also explain Ada's constant lying and acting. These are all things she learned from her father, someone who was never truly obedient and loyal to the people he worked with.

I would also like to draw parallels between Ada and Druvis III. It's the same argument and parallels I talked about when discussing Forget Me Not. Feel free to skip this, if you already know the deal.

Both characters, Ada and Druvis, were part of important arcanist families, known and respected for their specific arcane skills. Both of them had to leave their homes behind: Druvis, an immigrant forced to abandon her roots and traditions for the sake of assimilating into the "american dream". Ada, who moved into one of the colonies her own country was actively exploiting, an outsider and indirect participant in the mining of diamonds.

Both characters also carry their families and legacies in their names, but whereas Druvis is constantly haunted by her past and the way people continue to talk about her family, the House of Tennant is forgotten. Ada's first birthday quote states:

Many years ago, the Tennants held a birthday banquet for their beloved daughter on this day. But now, almost no one remembers this déclassé family.

The House of Tennant is gone, despite their importance in history and the huge crime commited, no one remembers them. And yet, Ada wears her family name proudly, there's barely anyone left to remember where it comes from and the weight it used to carry.

It's understandable that people recognize Druvis. But why can't people remember the House of Tennant? I don't have an answer for this, I just think it's a very interesting thing, some food for thought!

On the subject of Tennant's ties to New Delhi, colonialism and her stance on racial and arcanist/human issues.

Not to hit everyone with heavy topics, but I feel this is an aspect of Tennant that often goes overlooked in favour of her whole seductive vibes.

Now, Tennant was born in the United Kingdom, but she has a noticeable darker tone to her skin, and while her ethnicity is never stated, it might be implied that she's a woman of color. I've seen people say that she's tan because of the time she spent in New Delhi - she does have a voiceline speaking about the scorching sun - but... She left New Delhi years ago. A tan you get from the sun doesn't ... stick for a decade. That argument doesn't make sense at all to me.

Either way, while I'll be treating her ethnicity as ambiguous, I felt it was important to note out that she might not be white, especially because of the themes I'll be addressing here.

Now, first and foremost I want to talk about the way Tennant talks of New Delhi - this is not the country she was born in, nor the place she was raised, as it's implied that she was also pretty young when she left for Paris. Yet she makes no references to the United Kingdom.

New Delhi? To be honest, I barely remember anything about it. It doesn't make much difference to England, aside from the scorching sun.

This quote? This is a lie. This is Tennant choosing to lie to Vertin for reasons I'll talk about in the next bullet point. How do I know it's a lie? Because the last item you can unlock for Tennant is this.

Cheap accessories she bought in New Delhi. And they must mean a lot to Tennant, because Pandora Wilson notes that it's impressive that she's managed to keep them until now.

The first skin Tennant gets in 1.3 is "Roaming in Delhi".

The text reads:

Back then, whenever there was a day off, I would put on a local outfit and wander around Delhi to visit some historical sites and handicraft shops... Those days were fun. Yours, Tennant.

Clearly, Tennant still thinks about Delhi. The time she spent there must've been important to her because to this day, she still carries part of it with her.

I believe that during her time there, Tennant came to understand the way rich countries exploit others, the lengths they'll go for something as simple as diamonds. And now, knowing that she dressed up as a local and saw their way of life first hand during the british occupation, it gives a lot more depth to her character and why she seems to cherish New Delhi above all the other places she's been in.

I won't pretend I'm a history buff. Again, all this information comes from quick searches and reading wikipedia articles. I'm a person of color myself, but I cannot speak on the struggle India and its people went through.

What I gathered is that Tennant lived through the last stages of the Indian Independence Movement. And given how Tennant was spotted in the 1940's, it's safe to say that she outlived the British Raj, as India gained independence in 1947. The fact that all of these important events were chosen for her backstory doesn't seem like a coincidence to me. It makes sense that Tennant does not abide by laws and is considered a criminal - because the authorities she witnessed were anything but just and fair to the commonfolk. We must also take into account the issues R1999 introduces between arcanists and humans, which overlap with our own racial issues in the real world to a degree.

This might be a reach from my part, but notice how the news from Tennant's 01 Story change when addressing her father. First it's "an official in British India, Sir Laurence Tennant", when they believe him to be missing. Later, after they issue a wanted notice, it's "senior official, mineralogist, arcanist Laurence Tennant". They've already stripped him of his title and now that he's officially a criminal in the eyes of the government, they felt it was necessary to state he was an arcanist. And sure, they also stated his previous role and his job, but as a person of color myself it definitely feels similar to the way POC's ethnicities are highlighted in media whenever they're accused of crimes.

Language and wording matters a lot, and perhaps this is why Tennant knows this, why one of her most effective methods is sweet-talking.

Either way, Tennant does speak of politics and I think her character as a whole was meant to be political given the details we just discussed. There's this exchange at the beginning of her interview with Pandora Wilson:

Pandora Wilson: What's the difference between Britain, India and France to you? Tennant: Nothing different, my beautiful lady. Pandora Wilson: What do you mean? Tennant: For me, humans are all the same, no matter where they are from. Tennant: We share the same virtues and the same weaknesses, and we can't do anything about it. They are part of human nature.

Tennant has experienced all three points of view - that of the oppressor, moving to New Dehli because her family's business is involved in the diamond mining market. That of the oppressed, both as an arcanist and from the times she disguised herself as a local to experience life as just another girl from New Dehli. That of a third party, oblivious to the issues, in a brand new country who does not concern itself with these matters and live a beautiful life in ignorance.

She doesn't see any difference when it comes to all these countries she visited, because she knows of the struggles and how stupid prejudice and bigotry are.

Arcanists, within the universe of R1999, are hinted to be an entirely different race to humans because of the many differences in their biology, with their appearance being one of the things they share. And yet, Tennant doesn't make this distinction - WE share the same virtues. WE can't do anything about it. We are all the same, no matter where we come from.

Tennant, despite the lies she attempts to sell to the world, is an extremely grounded individual, just as multifaceted as the diamonds she recreates!

On the subject of Tennant's lies.

We can't talk about Tennant without addressing her whole lying motif. I've already covered characters who aren't fully transparent with their thoughts, feelings or intentions - not necessarily deceitful on purpose like, let's say, Forget Me Not, but just misleading.

In Tennant's case, this is taken to an extreme.

She's described as a fraudster, a con artist. There's a lot of stress into the fact that one cannot trust her. Deceit runs in her family, her medium is lies, her Inheritance Skill is called "Beautiful Lie". She states that her hobby is "diddling", cheating and scamming others...

And yet, this entire act is a performance.

This might be a controversial take, but Tennant is honest.

She delivers exactly the sort of behaviour and persona that people expect her to, the one she's built throughout the years. She's playing a character and performing for those willing to approach her despite the very red flags - because Tennant makes it extremely obvious that she's not someone to be trusted. You can see it in the way she speaks to Vertin.

Sunlight eases people's mind and endows diamonds with glowing luxury. What a perfect occasion for deceiving.

Good morning, my lady. I've prepared you fresh coffee, sandwiches, and this shiny diamond. Of course, I would never lie to you. This is a piece of cultured work. But look how it sparkles, how elegant, isn't it?

If you want to, you're always welcome at my place. I will be here, with my cleverest scam, waiting for your arrival and, of course, an invitation to yours.

This isn't to say that Tennant doesn't lie - she does that a lot, a good chunk of her voicelines are directly contradicted by her items. The voiceline in the middle is a lie. She's lied to Vertin already, when she said she did not remember New Dehli. She vaguely poses as a man...

If else, lies are to be expected when she's playing her part, when she's painting a picture of her nature as a con artist for you to fall for.

And speaking of falling for Tennant, aside from the whole counterfeit diamond scam, seduction is another aspect to her character. I don't have to go in-depth about this because everyone and their dog has seen her Insight 2 illustration, a good chunk of women who play the game did it because of Tennant's charms. Every day I look through the tag and see people talk about how Tennant was the one character that enticed them to play.

But I will point out a few other details! This is one of her voicelines.

So what's next? The young lady of the rich, resolute and courageous as she is, disregards my humble beginnings and takes her possessions to elope with me. But then, I will leave her and disappear, forever.

And this is the information given for her second birthday login.

On this day, countless maidens in Paris went dizzy with love. They all just happened to encounter an elegant, charming gentleman who gave them a "unique" invitation to a birthday date.

These fleeting relationships, her constant flattery and flirting - they're part of the performance and all the women who fall for it are willing participants. As far as I know, Tennant never steals from them, her targets being merchants and people who can afford to spend money on diamonds so frivolously.

This is why Tennant insists her behaviour is harmless, it's a game. Her conversation in the Wilderness is a perfect example of the way she operates, specifically the way she opens with:

Ironically, diamond itself is a product of lies. I merely add a new layer to it, won't you agree?

The phrase "a product of lies" is very evocative to me. Tennant more than anyone is aware of the truth about diamonds - their value is artificially inflated to support the whole market, but they're not that valuable and they're mostly sold to rich people. So she's right, a diamond is a product of lies! But this phrase could also be read differently, like the way a diamond is born from coal, or the way something so "high class" and brittle could be created through insane amounts of pressure and work. Again,

Bluepoch gives their character many, many layers, the same way Tennant adds yet another layer to the lies of a diamond.

"It's just a lie known to everyone."

So, to summarize: Tennant is honest and upfront about her lies, she's playing a character. Her big scam is to make people fall for something so obvious - she makes maidens fall in love with her despite everything, she makes merchants buy into her fake diamonds. It's both an innocent performance and a risky game she plays. It's like her Ultimate says - she has a sincere heart, just split into many pieces.

What leads me to believe that Tennant is also a very kind-hearted woman is the fact that one of her skills is a shield. This is also something I talked about when analyzing Dikke, since she's also a very violent person whose healing skill give more insight into her character. It's the same for Tennant here!

"People have always dreamed of such thing, no matter it's in the distant universe, or right in front of them."

These little things and the previous point portray a different Tennant altogether - she's offering a harmless, whirlwind romance to many girls out there who are willing to play along, who are enticed by the danger without knowing they're safe and sound by her side, to give them a taste of something beautiful and fleeting. She carries around a gun that is explicitly "seldom pulled out".

To end the post, I have to admit I don't have many in-depth headcanons for Tennant? At least not enough to warrant more bullet points, and I already sprinkled a few throughout the post, so that's about it from me!

#reverse 1999 #reverse: 1999 #reverse 1999 tennant #reverse 1999 headcanons

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fakesimp · 2 years

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Missing You, with Ike Eveland

Warning !

Fluff ! ; Clingy! Ike Eveland <3

A/n : As I said about posting something about Ike's voicemail voice tweet, It took me awhile since I'm still in writer block (⁠ ⁠；⁠∀⁠；⁠)

➶◜◝➴

Waking up to get 1 unread voice mail from your beloved Novelist, Ike Eveland. You gently smiled at his name that popped up the first thing in the morning, you then proceed to open his voice mail and proceeds to listen to it.

. . .

That's right, he's currently traveling abroad due to his work. You have to admit, you miss him too. Sometimes too much to the point you cried yourself to sleep.

When he's away from your grasp, you usually would send each other voicemails, like today for example. Sometimes you would listen to his other voicemails every night to help you go to sleep, and of course in one of his shirts.

After you listened to Ike's voicemail, you proceeds to hit the call button. Somehow you're nervous, though he did say to call him after you woke up. You wonder what time is it for him, is it late like he mentioned? After awhile you finally heard a familiar voice ringing into your ear,

"Babe, I-" "I miss you too Ikey.." you cut your beloved Novelist in the middle of his sentence, he chuckled softly. "I'm coming back home tomorrow.. I can't wait to see you again.." Ike said you can hear some rustling coming from his side. "Are you in bed right now?" You asked softly, "Mhm.. It feels lonely when there's no one to hug.." he replied. Making you awe by his cute statement, "We can cuddle when you got home.."

Both of you were on the phone call for quite sometime, Ike companied you when you ate breakfast, turning on the camera looking at each other through the phone screen. And oh how you want to just screenshot everything, Ike on the bed, cuddling with the pillow with his messy hair.

"Ike, isn't it late over there? What time are you going to sleep?" You asked as you continue eating your breakfast. The Novelist blink for a moment and looked over his phone, he then proceeds to lay back down and stared at you. Pouting.

"Ikee??" You called him out, you know where this is going. "What time did you go to sleep when you're there." You asked making the Novelist went stiff for a moment.

"At.. uh.. a reasonable time..?" He replied, "Ike Eveland-" "Okay-! Okay, I barely go to sleep here because I can't sleep well without you! I have tried multiple times but I failed." Ike cuts you off with an explanation. "I just want to go home and just dive myself into your arms.." you can hear the desperation in his voice, "Ikey.. I'll go pick you up tomorrow okay?" You said, "So go to sleep now, I'll company you to go to sleep through the phone call.." you continued. The Novelist's eye shines a little and then smiled softly, he whispered a little 'okay' and then he fixed his position to sleep.

"Sleep well, Ike.."

. . .

The next day, you're currently waiting for your beloved Novelist at the airport, with your heart beating so fast. Looking through the crowds, trying to spot the familiar appearance of your lover. After awhile, you finally spotted him.

Both of you made eye contact for a second, and the next second Ike quicken his pace and immediately engulfed you into his arms. "I miss you so much, God.." he whispered, he loosen up his arms a bit and looked at you. He kissed your forehead then both of your cheeks, "Ikeee.." you called his name and bury yourself in his arms. "Let's go home.." he whispered.

. . .

The moment both of you reached your home sweet home, you told Ike to take a shower first before cuddling. And the Novelist had the audacity to ask, 'Want to join me?' before laughing at your flustered state and proceeds to take a shower. But to be fair, who doesn't want to join him?

After awhile, Ike finally finished taking a shower. He immediately joins you on the bed, burying his face at the crook of your neck. "Mm.. I miss this feeling.." he whispered, you chuckled softly and pat his head. "Your hair isn't dried properly.." you commented making the Novelist chuckled, "Then dry it for me" he replied. Making you softly shaking your head, you grabbed the towel that's around his neck and proceeds to dry his hair whilst he's still burying his face at your chest.

"Ike, you know very well that I can't dry your hair like this right"

"Mhm.."

"Just move away a little bit, let me at least dry your hair first then we can cuddle.."

"Mm.. fine."

After a few minutes, you finally done drying your beloved's hair. "There, now come here." You said as you open your arms, the Novelist smiled and hugs you. You kissed Ike's temple, he then hums in delight. "You don't mind if I sleep like this right?" He asked, "Mhm.. sleep well Ikey" you replied and smiled softly at him.

Right before he dozed off, you heard a whisper from the Novelist,

"I Love you.."

©fakesimp

A/n : and there we go ! Hope you liked it (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧

Clingy Ike, Tskr.

#nijisanji en x reader #nijisanji x reader #luxiem x reader #luxiem #ike eveland x reader #ike eveland

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riftdancing · 9 months

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I'm insane but on my toes I could keep the world balanced on my nose I had a slumber party wit' all my foes Now I wear them like a badge of honor on my clothes

If I'm crazy, I'm on my own If I'm waitin', it's on my throne If I sound lazy, just ignore my tone 'Cause I'm always gonna answer when you call my phone...

Where do I start with this woman? At some point on Tumblr I stopped talking about my characters and I want to start breaking that starting with this post. Because I haven't filled most of Tumblr in on this character this is going to come with a little bit of backstory?

I love flavor abilities for characters. Ones that aren't over powered, often shadowed by some sort of weakness or draw back... and Blink's nickname unironically comes from her own flavor ability.

This woman can short range teleport up to three times within a rested cycle. While this potentially has the availability to be incredibly over powered I have always roleplayed it very respectfully. Something my roleplay partners seem to really enjoy about Blink's ability is the fact that it comes with a strong set of consequences.

The first 'blink' is pretty inconsequential. She might feel a very mild bit of fatigue from it, but not enough to hinder her combat prowess.

The second, however, will wind and stop her for a hot moment. She's gotta recover from it a bit, and she will absolutely be feeling a substantial amount of more fatigue.

The third is a last ditch effort. Rarely has anyone pushed her to this state. This is a fight or flight response, most commonly used as flight- but I have seen her use it once for the sake of combat to try and land a finishing blow (which, for the record was a preplanned fail). After this charge is spent, she's incapacitated if not knocked out cold entirely. And it usually messes her up for a day or two afterwards. This is a life or death situation use for her.

But it takes a basic understanding of this 'ability' of hers for me to describe where the inspiration for these screenshots comes from, ha.

Blink loves a good free fall. She lives for the sky, and nothing makes her feel at one with it more than a free fall moment. Heights do not scare her. Why? Because more often than not if she's managed her ability right she can blink before she hits the bottom.

The amount of times she's pulled this stunt as a get away has lead it to almost become an art form for her. So much to the point that she's learned how to blink inside of moving ships flying in to 'catch' her. (Though not with some mishaps... oops- ask me about that later if you want. Legitimately. If you're reading this and want to know, shoot me an ask. Its a funny story.)

But just...

A lil cocky half ass salute to the people chasing her, then arms outspread, she just leans back, and suddenly she's gone...

That's my gal. Ex-sky Pirate extraordinaire. sksksksksks.

I love this woman with my whole chest.

#There's a literal novel under the cut about Blink if you're interested.#riftdancing - screenshots #character - blink vaniro #The Blink Vaniro Cinematic Universe™#ffxiv #miqo'te #gposers #ffxivsnaps #riftdancing - roleplay #What's up danger?#Spotify

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doctorofmagic · 2 years

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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness complete review (with spoilers)

See you on the other side of the cut o/

Just a quick disclaimer, I still do not have high quality screenshots (obviously) so I’ll try my best between pics from the trailer and leaked scenes.

So. Of course, I’ll be starting with none other than Stephen Strange. And by that I do not mean the other other Stephen, I mean the original one. Stephen grows SO MUCH in this movie, and this is exactly what I always wanted and been waiting for since the release of his first solo movie. After all, six years is not an easy period to endure. I was beyond sick of seeing so much arrogance and no development whatsoever. But FINALLY, FINALLY Stephen allows his vulnerability to show and, from that, heal and grow. There are two key elements which are intrinsic to make him question his entire subjectivity: love and happiness.

He begins his journey trying to understand why he failed to be with Christine. It’s really hard to see someone you love with another partner, but I can see in his eyes that Stephen is glad for her, even though he can’t help but investigate why they didn’t work out. Once more, Stephen’s need to be in control (something that is not that strange to comic book readers either) gets in the way because yes, he’s an insecure man, and this is where this toxic behavior comes from. He accepts that Christine can’t love this part of his self and he isn’t willing to change, thus sealing the fate of their relationship. And it’s perfectly fine. I know the MCU tends to portray Christine as Stephen’s ultimate love but stay with me. We’ll talk about love for sure. I simply love how Stephen is like “Okay, I blew up and she deserves happiness, even though I still love her. She still means the world to me.” He’ll get there. He will.

In addition, there’s this question that keeps popping here and there. “Are you happy, Stephen?” Of course, he isn’t happy. He lost the love of his life (or so he assumes), he lives alone in the Sanctum, saving Earth didn’t bring the fulfillment he needed either. Yes, he found another way to save lives, which is his purpose since he decided to be a doctor. Is it enough, though?

Throughout the movie, Stephen slowly learns that his variants may not be all that altruistic as he belives himself to be because of his need to be in control. Supreme Stephen made mistakes and accepted his execution as part of his guilt for allowing himself to be corrupted by the Darkhold and bringing an incursion upon his Earth, even though he indeed saved the world in the process. Defender Stephen died after trying to take America’s power when left with no choice. Sinister Stephen couldn’t prevent the incursion and was also corrupted by the Darkhold, becoming a murderer out of jealousy in the name of his love for Christine. I could go further and mention that What If?Stephen also ended up corrupted because death was not in his control, and he only realized his mistake when it was too late. All these Stephens have the same core issue, so what makes our Stephen different? He saw his variants’ mistakes and decided to take a different path (just a bit though). This is why he ends up reading the Darkhold anyways BUT he allows America to explore her full potential, finally letting someone else decide the fate of the universe for a change. This is controversial in some regards because, well, some expect the main character to save the day. But, taking into consideration the way I perceive Stephen personally, I am way more satisfied with his character development than settling a fight to measure wands and power. He wins by trusting America, he overcomes his trust issues, he IS better after this fight as a whole. I’ve always been here not for power but for his cunning, inherent altruism and growth.

Other important elements that allowed Stephen to grow that I’d like to point out: his relationship with Wong, not only the usual banter but Stephen actually bowing to him in the end of the movie, showing Wong that he learned humility (and their relationship is one of my favorite things about this movie); his trust issues which he gradually overcomes thanks to his relationship with America, allowing himself to be vulnerable and relying on others; his constant attempt to reach out for Wanda, never truly initiating the fight and giving her a chance and a choice; his acknowledgment that Wanda is indeed powerful and he may not be enough to save the multiverse. Really, in advance, I will say that I hate the plot deeply, but Stephen’s characterization and growth are absolutely magnificent and at least I can breathe in relief knowing that my character was treated with respect (and honestly, I don’t think it was the writer who made this possible based on the rumors on set. I think it was Benedict being extremely passionate about him, and the director following his directions).

Magic is also better, as I previously stated. Not perfect, though. Still no incantations, and yet better for a fact. I may have recognized some, like the Chains of Krakkran and the Flames of Faltine, yet it’s hard to establish such spells with accuracy when they’re not officially invoked. Still, there is diversification, from summoning monsters to manifesting physical... I dunno, stands? If you’re curious about my favorite scene, I can tell in advance that, after the post-credit scene, my favorite one was the bard fight between Stephen and Sinister Strange. And speaking of which, I really wish Donna’s demise had more importance instead of being just a mention to show Stephen his vulnerability and fears as a person (like, say, the animated movie), yet I can understand we can’t have it all and the plot sadly wasn’t meant just for him.

Lastly, let’s talk about love. I was kinda YIKES about Stephen falling in love with other Christine because it gives me the impression that people are fated to be together in the multiverse, leaving them no choice when it comes to fall in love with other people, an immutable point in time and space that repeats itself over and over. Thank the Vishanti it was not the case because SHE appeared. I AM VINDICATED, FINALLY. HER EXISTENCE CURED MY MENTAL ILLNESS, IT’S OVER FOR THE MCU. THE QUEEN IS HERE. Clea had 10 seconds on screen and she’s already the girlboss I always believed her to be. The chemistry they share is unbelievable. I cannot describe my happiness and relief after SO MANY EXHAUSTING YEARS of MCU fans telling me Christine is Clea. Why was it so hard for people to envision two different female characters? Christine in this movie isn’t even the Night Nurse, she’s a scientist and a technomancer, of sorts. She’s her own character, as is Clea. And I’m vindicated. You all know me, you know how much I love and simp for Clea, and how I don’t get tired of stating how hopelessly in love Stephen is with her. I will come back to this when I talk about the plot, I just want to conclude my train of thought here about love. So, overall, I’m really glad that Stephen recognized his fear of feeling vulnerable, and scientist Christine is really important for his journey. Because yeah, it’s cute that he loves Christine in all universes because he is a being of love (which is not the first time we talk about it on this blog). Love to Stephen is fundamental because it’s hard for him to love himself, despite all the apparent narcissism. Stephen may be confident and proud of his skills as a doctor and a sorcerer, yet he’s aware that he lacks skills in social circumstances and relationships. On the top of that, Stephen will have to allow himself to trust and love again, which is a very difficult process for someone who strongly believes he deserves to be alone. To open up again, especially for Clea, will be a blast.

And this is AMAZING because it’s been years that I’m trying to say that this character right here has TONS OF LAYERS, and we finally managed to see some of the deepest ones, which makes me extremely happy.

We saw how dependent on love he is, how his narcissistic self is a facade to hide his fears (being vulnerable; not being enough; not being in control; failing people - especially Donna; coping with loss and pain and loneliness; admitting to himself that he hasn’t found fulfillment and happiness etc). STEPHEN IS FINALLY BEING PORTRAYED AS THE CHARACTER I FELL IN LOVE WITH and I couldn’t be happier. This is why I loved him in this movie and I’ll not get tired of praising his characterization. He’s so on point. He’s just... perfect.

And this is also a double-edged sword for me because the plot is... terrible. In advance, I need to state that 1) I’m not an MCU!Wanda stan, 2) I do not stan actors in general and 3) this is my opinion as someone who is constantly rooting for 616!Wanda to have a proper representation and move past her terrible portrayals in so many recent runs. Feel free to disagree but please understand where I’m coming from, a comic book reader who deeply loves the magic community and defends the fact that this group is one of the most significant and strong bonds in all the Marvel Universe. On the top of that, I also defend how Wanda and Stephen are friends in 616.

In two words? Character assassination. I dunno, most of her stans are quite infamous and I’ve seen so many of them rooting for her to be a psycho villain and kill everyone. This is not the Wanda I wanted to see in the MCU. First of all, I cannot stress how much it’s problematic for me to see a female character who was supposed to be a hero, a freaking nexus being that protects magic and reality, reduced to... Samara with magic. Second, I really dislike how witchcraft has been reduced to an evil kind of magic, ESPECIALLY knowing that Wanda was supposed to be a WOC and her magic is deeply rooted in Roma culture. Third, mental health stereotype. I remember watching Cinema Therapy’s episode on Wandavision (and I do love them), but they talk about grief and how Wanda tries to cope with this pain by deceiving herself. They point out it’s an unhealthy mechanism and she does hurt people in the process, but she embraces the mourning and runs away in order to heal. They do not mention she’s sorry for the things she has done. Because she isn’t. I can’t help but wonder now if she can get away with all that to justify her pain, even though she was influenced by the Darkhold. She tortured and killed innocent people, she was willing to murder a teenager with the exhausting excuse of being a mother (and I really hate how so many people use motherhood as an excuse to be abusive, harmful and manipulative). Don’t get me wrong, I think that, overall, she’s one of the most interesting villains so far in the MCU, although I can’t pretend I’m not bothered by all the previous elements I just pointed. I will not endorse a redemption arc even though she “opened” her eyes at the very last second. Because the only thing that made her realize her wrongdoings was the fact that her children were scared of her. It didn’t feel altruistic to me. And according to rumors, we’re heading to Children’s Crusade, which is a book that YIKES... Rip my Victor von Doom. Rip Wanda as an empowered woman. I’m sorry, it’s just really hard to love Wanda in the MCU when I know she’s nothing like the hero I root for in comic books. I can understand why people love her but, again, in my opinion, this is not the character I’d waste my energy on and invest myself in. But enough of Wanda, let’s get into America *breathes in*

Ah, yes. I really love America in general. She’s sweet, funny, she has potential to be part of one of my favorite tropes (daughter adopted by dysfunctional dad), she’s strong and empowered, she’s latina which is amazing for minorities to feel represented. So what is my issue here? The issue is that absolutely nothing of her afro Puerto Rican heritage was represented as far as I can tell (there is also the issue of going for a Mexican reference, which basically confirms that Hollywood sees us as interchangeable). I’m not Mexican or Puerto Rican, despite living in South America, so please feel free to correct me on this one. Also I’m glad her mothers made an appearance but listen. After watching Eternals (and, not related but OFMD), I cannot be satisfied with lukewarm LGBTQIA+ representation anymore. This is really hard personally because unlike Wanda, whose portrayal is really bad in general according to my perspective, America is an amazing character. Yet I feel it’s my duty to listen to people who want to have their voices heard, be seen and represented properly in media. Again, feel free to disagree, but I do believe these aspects matter. I don’t want to spoil people’s excitement and joy, I just feel that pointing these things out is the bare mininum I can do as a human being, especially when it’s not my place to talk about it. Despite all that, America is really amazing and I deeply want to cherish for her. Her daughter/father relationship with Stephen is so on point (pretty much what I envision for Illyana, for instance). I was kinda hhhhhh when I saw her learn magic (because she’s not really a sorcerer) and I really need her to have more skills, but that will be definitely be explored (I have inside info that Wong and America will have a special so yep, daughter confirmed).

Now let’s move to other characters. I’m just SO glad Wong remained as the Sorcerer Supreme and the fact that he holds knowledge that Stephen doesn’t, which is GOOD because that’s how their dynamics are supposed to be according to the magic hierarchy. I’m relieved to know that he didn’t die so Stephen could take the mantle, that would be problematic af and I don’t want that either. I do think he could have performed more spells but I understand that the movie is basically Wanda and Stephen. I already mentioned how he was a wonderful comic relief with the right amount of comedy, but also a wonderful leader. A thousand years of Wong supremacy!! also they’re super married

Now, what really BOTHERS me is how both Sara and Rintrah were forgetable. I talked to two different friends and they both couldn’t remember Sara’s name, because, yeah, she died. And I still do not know who she is. Is she Mordo’s mother? Is she Sara Wolfe? Is she an entire new character that only existed to give a hint about Wong having a relationship with someone? And Rintrah was supposed to fix Cloakie!! I’m very disappointed concerning these two, they deserved so much more. And I was also baited and led to believe Mordo would have a more significant role but no, he was just part of the Illuminati. Glad he didn’t die, all things considered.

But yeah, speaking of the Illuminati... I SCREAMED SO MUCH NOT ONLY BECAUSE REED AND XAVIER BUT BUT BUT LISTEN, REED TALKED ABOUT THE INCURSIONS!!! SECRET WARS!! DOCTOR DOOM IS COMING, PEOPLE!!!!! THE HYPE IS REAL!! ;-; But I’ll get there as soon as I talk about comic book references *holds my own horses*

Just a quick mention about Christine. I loved her alternate version and the fact that she managed to apply magic to technology. I also adored that she didn’t end up with Stephen - and maybe I’m biased here because I’m team Cleaphen all the way up, but listen. They wouldn’t work out, and that Christine is just a projection of what he lived with his Christine. She knows she’d be loving an idea, and Stephen is just too hopelessly in need of love to notice that so of course he’s willing to try. Poor little meow meow...

Mmmm, what else am I missing? Probably a few things, there are too many details so let’s review the comic book references that I was able to notice before I forget them. (there might be more, though, so feel free to check other sources!)

1. Darkhold, Chthon and some Wanda’s lore

As I stated previously, no arc was adapted in this movie, except the few times Wanda was possessed by Chthon. Chthon was indeed mentioned (and I immediately thought of Super Hero Squad’s Chthon, if you know, you know), but he was not directly involved in this plot, which was LAME imo. If Chthon was indeed involved, that would still grant an opportunity for Wanda to redeem herself. It was not what happened. Go read Darkhold Alpha/Omega, a recent comic book about Wanda overcoming Chthon and absorbing the Darkhold into herself (Victor is terribly portrayed in this but it’s fine, it’s fine). Wundagore is of course deeply related to Wanda but that’s it. It’s also fair to state that the Darkhold isn’t just about dream walking but it also contains a spell that extinguishes all vampires on Earth (the Montesi Formula). Stephen used it once and survived the Darkhold’s influence (the same can’t be said about MCU!Stephen though...). This is as far as I can go about this matter so feel free to dig more about these subjects.

2. Artifacts

The book of the Vishanti was an obvious one. The Sands of Nisanti were used to poison Stephen and America and also prevent them from using magic and powers (you can check this spell in The Oath and also Cates’ run during the Loki: Sorcerer Supreme arc). And well, the Evil Eye was not the Evil Eye as we first assumed since 2016, despite having the same design (I’m immensely sorry but I totally forgot its name). Once more we managed to see the Wand of Watoomb. Clea’s weapon shares a deep similarity to Stephen’s scalpel in v5, being able to cut rifts between dimensions.

3. Incursions, Illuminati, New Avengers and Secret Wars

No one touch me right now, I’m having a full meltdown thinking of my beloved New Avengers and Secret Wars. But for real, hhhhh. I knew Peggy, Xavier and Monica were going to appear because of the leaks, but Black Bolt and especially Reed (!!!) were such a good surprise. And on the top of that, incursions????? Soooo, what about incursions in the 616? Strangeplaining Hickman is hard enough, ngl. But it’s worth the reading. It’s basically the same concept, two worlds colliding, except they don’t merge. They literally collide, and the cause is also different. I don’t suppose incursions will be centered on Beyonders after watching dsitmom. I think it will be definitely related to magic and Stephen will be a key element for that. But we also need our MCU!Illuminati to become a reality (I’ll never call MCU the 616 universe, I’m sorry, Christine, you are just wrong). Also can I just say that I MELTED when Reed talked about Sue and Franklin and Valeria? THEY EXIST, THEY’RE REAL, MY FANTASTIC FOUR IS REAL, HELP ME, I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR SO SO SO LONG, LEMME BE ANNOYING ABOUT IT. AND IF VALERIA EXISTS, IT MEANS THAT DOOM ALSO EXISTS CAUSE HE WAS THE ONE WHO HELPED SUE TO GIVE BIRTH. OH, VISHANTI, IT’S HAPPENING. Also also also if Xavier real, so is Illyana *becomes dust*

Okay so some people were upset about the deaths and Reed telling Wanda about Black Bolt’s powers. I pretend I do not see it. Do not count on me to criticize anything about Reed, he’s perfect. Black Bolt is okay, I didn’t watch the tv show because I do not hate myself to this point. But listen. Reed is kind enough to try and reason with cray cray Wanda. Also the Illuminati are supposed to do shady stuff like lying and manipulating facts, come on!!!! It feels like you guys never read New Avengers v3. So do me a favor and go for it. Also they died fast??? It was convenient for the plot, guys. It’s not like they had 40 minutes to battle and be even more amazing. They were supposed to be fanservice, AND I’M TAKING IT FOR SURE AAAAAAAAAAAA

*X-Men ‘97 theme intensifies*

4. Corruption

So, the third eye. The third eye in comics isn’t *just* related to corruption. It allows the user to see supernatural things that ordinary people can’t. BUT the movie was a clear reference to this New Avengers v3 panel here.

And guess what? In the middle of an INCURSION!! I’m all down for corrupted Stephen, as long as he doesn’t become a Wanda 2.0. I want him to feel guilty and miserable about it, just like New Avengers v3 and Doctor Strange v4. And yes, I do love Stephen, was there any doubt about it?

5. v4 reference detected!!

Stephen is wearing this outfit conceived by Bachalo for v4 in the first post-credits scene.

6. Multiverses

I spotted The Living Tribunal, and my friend said that the Fortnite world was also a thing (I don’t play it so this is why I missed this one haha, but it makes sense assuming Fortnite now is basically a super fandom and Marvel has indeed strong ties with the franchise). More and more we’re seeing cosmic beings and honestly I can’t wait for my Eternity to show up.

And lastly...

CLEA

MY LOVE, MY QUEEN, MY EVERYTHING. I KNEW Marvel was pushing Clea for a while now, it was not a coincidence. And again, I can finally rest. She’s perfect. 10 seconds on screen and she’s the girlboss she’s meant to be. They share such an amazing chemistry, she bosses Stephen around and he immediately goes “yes, mommy”. I NEED THEM RIGHT NOW.

LOOK AT THEM, LOOK AT THEEEEEEEEEM, IT’S MY SHIP OVER THERE, I CAN’T WAIT FOR THEM TO CLEAN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE, IT’S OVER FOR EVERYONE AAAAAAAAAA

*ahem*

I’m probably (definitely) forgetting something. It’s just too much info to process and despite watching it twice, I was too caught up in the fanservice, I couldn’t help but vibrate and scream and feel emotionally full by seeing my Stephen on screen.

SO, SUMMING UP.

Bad plot, not centered around the protagonist because of the fandom. Best Stephen’s characterization in the MCU so far, though. Tons of fanservice. Danny Elfman did it again, I shall love him for that symphony fight alone. Magic is becoming cooler and cooler. Cleaphen is real. New Avengers/Secret Wars next project confirmed. All my dreams are coming true and all my faves shall interact one day *believing intensifies*

If you’re here for Stephen, go ahead and watch this movie. It’s definitely worth it. The post-credit scene alone is enough, I assure you.

Final score: 8,5/10.

#doctor strange #stephen strange #wanda maximoff #scarlet witch #america chavez #wong #karl mordo #christine palmer #clea #clea strange #reed richards #mr fantastic #review #mcu #dsitmom #dsitmom spoilers #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness

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nightttdreamers · 1 month

Text

Night Shift | Craig x Kenny

AAA chapter two is heeeere its mostly silly fun before we actually start the fake dating part hehe pls enjoy (and check it out on ao3 for better formatting pls)

AO3 Link | 4k words | Chapter 2/?

Craig and Kenny strike a deal.

Craig has never been a morning person, but recently, it feels like every force in the world is trying to keep him in bed.

There’s the brief, near blissful moment when he’s just woken up. He can barely hear his alarm, the sleep not quite shaken off yet, unaware of what the day brings. Then, inevitably, his first thought washes over him; Tweek dumped you.

Just knowing that this is going to weigh on him all day is exhausting to think about. He doesn’t waste time wondering what he did wrong or how to best avoid the other anymore. The exhaustion comes from knowing that Tweek’s absence is just something he has to deal with now, every damn day.

Before, the habit of trying to beat his boyfriend to the first ‘good morning’ text motivated him to get up. But lately, he always spends a few minutes letting his alarm ring out, trying to delay his day for as long as possible. But, then his phone begins to buzz to life, and he knows he can’t ignore the real world any more.

On this particular morning, the urge to pull the covers over his head is particularly strong. Not only did he work late last night, but the fact that he looked like an idiot in front of Kenny is also hanging over his head. Craig groans, recalling their bizarre interaction.

“You wanna be my boyfriend?” He had asked.

Kenny looked bewildered, a mixture of surprise and concern on his face. But, before Craig could even go back on his question, Kenny replied, “Like, for money?”

Unable to bear the look on the other’s face, Craig turned away, pulling out a pack of Kenny’s usual cigarettes. “No, that would be stupid,” he stammered out. “I’m being stupid, fuck. Here, I can-” He took the magazine that Kenny had been holding and scanned it along with the Camels. Finally, he looked back up at the blonde. “Anything else?”

Kenny’s brows knit together as he looked at Craig. His lips were pursed together, shifting around his face like he was trying to talk without opening his mouth. “No,” he said after some pause, drawing out the word. “That’s it.” Kenny slid a few bills across the counter, not looking away from Craig as he took his items.

Craig thought that if tried to speak again, he would say something even worse than what he already had, so he simply nodded.

Kenny headed towards the door, shooting Craig an awkward glance back just before he left. “Take care of yourself, man.”

Craig rolled over onto his stomach, pressing his face deep into the pillow in an effort to stop his brain from playing the memory over and over again. When that didn’t work, he turned his head to the side, grabbing his phone from the nightstand and finally turning off his alarm.

He squints as the screen lights up, serving as the only light source in his room. There are two notifications from Clyde, one sent around 2AM linking a YouTube video called “BAD DAY Better Watch This 😂 1 Hour Best Funny & Fails” and another sent 20 minutes ago, asking “Tolkien had to make up a test please pLEASE can u drive me today PLEASE?????”

Craig gives the message a thumbs down and ignores the typing bubble that immediately appears (he’ll end up driving Clyde, of course, he just wants to fuck with him first). His next notification is a Snapchat message from “kmck69,” a username he doesn’t recognize until he opens the message.

kmck69: were u being serious b4

kmck69: it is a rlly stupid idea

kmck69: but also im down if ur down

Craig reads the messages, then reads them again just to make sure he’s not hallucinating. As an added measure, he checks the user’s last story and, sure enough, it’s a selfie of Kenny holding a beer, Cartman lurking in the background, with the caption “5 screenshots and i piss in cartmans drink.”

Once Kenny had left last night, Craig had spent the last hour of his shift overthinking every detail of their interaction. He didn’t even know where his bizarre idea had come from, it had just slipped from his mouth before it was fully-formed. Hearing that Tweek was out hanging around with some goth kid infuriated him beyond words or logic. The only coherent thought Craig could form about it was that something had to change. He didn’t want to keep rotting in his bed, head swimming with thoughts about his ex. He just wanted to do something.

Asking Kenny to pretend to be his boyfriend was just the first idea that came to mind.

He hadn’t expected the other to even justify him with a response beyond their uncomfortable conversation. But, apparently, Kenny was mulling it over until nearly 4 in the morning when he texted, which is far more thought than Craig put into it.

It’s a stupid idea. He knows it is, they both know it is. But, it’s something.

spacemancraig: Yeah I’m down

He stares at his screen for a moment, quickly feeling the prickle of anxiety in his chest. It’s useless to sit and wait for a response, so he puts his phone down and pulls himself out of bed. The second he actually rises from his mattress, his phone buzzes to life, and Craig almost drops the device in how quickly he grabs it.

(Clyde) Literally I’m already ready I won’t hold you up I’ll even buy you starbucks or whatever gay shit you like

(Clyde) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

(Clyde) I’m sorry for calling you gay and starbucks gay bro PLEASE don’t make me walk

He sighs, typing out a quick response before he puts the phone down for real.

(Craig) Fine

—-----

Kenny stumbles into Chemistry three minutes after the bell, handing their teacher a crumbled-up excuse note before shuffling to his seat. It’s not uncommon for him to be late, and normally Craig would pay it no mind. However, normally he’s not anxiously waiting for a Snapchat from the other.

Craig can’t take his eyes off him, his notes trailing off as he drowns out the voice of their teacher. He’s not sure whether Kenny’s changed his mind and is brushing him off, or genuinely just oblivious of the holes Craig is staring into the back of his head. The blonde just rummages through his bag and pulls out a few sheets of paper, not even sparing Craig a glance back.

Somehow, in every class he finds himself staring at the back of a blonde’s head. He wonders if he might be the problem.

At first, Kenny just chews on his eraser and passes notes to Kyle sitting beside him. But, after a few minutes of this, he turns and locks eyes with Craig. Before Craig can even try to communicate something quietly across the row separating them, Kenny turns away again, and Craig wants to throw his textbook at the other’s head. Before he can, though, he feels his phone buzz to life in his pocket.

kmck69: we have 2 talk abt it obv

kmck69: do u have work 2nite

Craig rolls his eyes as he reads the messages, unsure as to why Kenny needs to use the least amount of characters possible when he texts.

spacemancraig: No

kmck69: cool well i do

kmck69: im at the bijou from 4 to 12

kmck69: if u want free popcorn tho u can come after 10

kmck69: thats when concession closes so its kinda old but tbh still good

spacemancraig: Yeah I think I’ll pass on the stale popcorn

spacemancraig: But I’ll come by

kmck69: ur loss

kmck69: word tho

kmck69: also cute username lmao

Craig’s face scrunches up as he reads the text, glancing up to look at Kenny. The blonde looks back at him, flashing a smile, and Craig just flips him off in response.

kmck69: ooh rawr ur so scary and mean

kmck69: can u leave me alone im trying 2 learn >:(

He wants to retort that Kenny was the one who started it, but typing that feels incredibly childish. Instead, Craig rolls his eyes and tucks his phone away, looking back up at the lesson.

—------

There are a lot of points today when Craig’s wondered when his life took a wrong turn. Losing sleep over a conversation with someone he has never really given a shit about, feeling like shit the entire morning waiting on a message from the aforementioned someone, and now, he’s at South Park’s lamest and only movie theater at 10PM on a Thursday.

Maybe it wasn’t just a wrong turn, maybe it’s an eighteen-year downward spiral and he’s just getting closer to rock bottom.

The Bijou is, of course, dead. Craig only goes when they randomly decide to screen something from the Criterion Collection. He and his friends used to hang around the place more often, but then Tolkien got a home theater and every movie started being available to stream, and they didn’t have to secretly spike their slushies in the Black household. Now, the only people that frequent The Bijou are the elderly and his 15 year old sister, for some reason.

He decided to wait until 10PM to go. Not because Kenny made the stale popcorn sound appetizing, but he figured the later he went, the less likely he was to run into someone he knew. He parks his car a few blocks down the street and walks to the theater, hands tucked in the pocket of his hoodie. The marquee has been defaced, as per usual, and just reads “PENIS” followed by the scrambled extra letters from whatever movie title it once said. How original.

The ticket booth is empty, and when he steps inside, the theater is just as deserted as he expected it to be. Craig isn’t exactly sure of his next move as he lingers by the entrance, looking around. Just walking into the theater without a ticket to look for Kenny feels wrong, but so does just standing around awkwardly. Before he can choose, though, someone speaks behind him.

“I’m sorry, sir. We’re not selling any more tickets to our last screening- Oh, Craig?” Chirps a voice from the concession stand. Craig turns, coming face-to-face with Butters. The other boy smiles at him, far too brightly considering the two of them are not friends. The most they’ve interacted in all of high school is the rare occasion that Craig visits the Bijou, in which he affords Butters a small head nod as a greeting if they meet eyes.

“Hey, Butters,” Craig says. “Is Kenny around?”

Almost comically, Butters cocks his head to the side. “Kenny? I didn’t know you two were friends!”

An abrupt silence comes between them, and Craig just waits for Butters to tell him where his coworker is. However, the blue-eyed boy just looks at him with a quizzical expression on his face, and Craig realizes he’s waiting for a confirmation.

“Uh, sure,” Craig mumbles after a moment. “Friends. Friendly, I guess. So, where is he?”

Butters beams at his answer, starting to wipe the countertop he’s standing behind down as he responds. “That’s so nice. He needs friends who won’t get him into trouble, you know? And he was just talking about you the other day.”

“He was?” Craig asks, but before Butters can elaborate, the two are interrupted.

“Craig!” Shouts Kenny from across the theater. Clad in a button-down, black skinny jeans, a red vest and matching bow-tie, he looks starkly different than he did this morning. The almost formal outfit doesn’t look quite right on him, and Craig realizes he’s never seen Kenny in something that wasn’t two sizes too large. When the blonde arrives at the concession stand, he’s grinning, looking at Craig so excitedly that the dark-haired boy has to turn his face away.

“It’s me, don’t cream your jeans,” Craig says, earning a little snicker from Butters.

“I’ll sure as hell try,” Kenny replies, not sounding nearly as sarcastic as Craig. “I was starting to think you were bailing. It’s late, man.” As he speaks, he lifts himself onto the concession counter and sits, dangling his legs.

Butters frowns, putting his hands on his hips (Craig didn’t know that people did that in real life, but it suits Butters’ cartoonish mannerisms). “Aw, Kenny. I was just wiping that down.”

Kenny rolls his eyes, swinging his legs around to the other side of the counter and hopping off. “Happy?” He asks his coworker, who lets out a little puff of air in response and returns to his cleaning. Kenny shoots Craig a funny look, and Craig feels like he’s missing something. “As you can see, Butters and I take a lot of pride in this establishment.”

“That sounds awfully insincere, Kenny,” Butters grumbles, mostly to himself. “I do take pride in this establishment.”

It’s pretty weird to watch Kenny and Butters interact like this. They’re both oddballs in their social circles, especially Butters, and he can’t help but feel a bit out-of-place talking to them, especially outside of school. Craig absent-mindedly slides his phone from his pocket, checking the screen, just out of habit.

“Got somewhere to be?” Kenny asks, and when Craig looks up, the other is staring right at him, of course. He’s holding one of the soft drink cups, filled to the brim with popcorn.

Craig tucks his phone away. “You were serious about the stale popcorn?”

“It’s just gonna get thrown out,” Kenny says, popping a few kernels in his mouth. “Did you want some?”

Craig narrows his eyes in suspicion, responding with an unsure hum. One time, in the 5th grade, he saw Kenny pick up an earthworm from the sidewalk and swallow it whole. He did it, of course, for five bucks from Clyde, but Craig still doesn’t trust his taste.

Kenny rolls his eyes, opening up the machine to fill another cup. “Don’t be a princess. It’s still good. Right, Butters?” Kenny asks as he slides past his coworker, crossing to Craig’s side of the counter.

“Oh, I don’t like to eat the popcorn much,” Butters replies, attending to the machine once Kenny’s done with it. “I gotta smell it all day, then clean the machine, scrape all the burnt pieces. I used to think movie theater popcorn was one of the yummiest smells, but now it doesn’t really get my tummy rumbling.”

Talking to Butters is weird, Craig thinks. He’s not sure if he’s ever heard anyone else use the phrase ‘tummy rumbling’ in his life. He glances at Kenny, who seems entirely unphased by the other’s weird expressions.

“Yeah, okay,” Kenny says with a small shrug. He hands one of the popcorn cups to Craig, who takes it reluctantly. “I don’t know why I asked him.”

“Not that this isn’t thrilling,” Craig says, turning fully to Kenny. Butters is pretty engaged with his cleaning, but Craig doesn’t need him hearing any part of this conversation, so he speaks low. “Can we talk now?”

Kenny lets out an amused puff of air. “Butters, I’m gonna go do theater checks” he says, not taking his eyes away from Craig. “Craig’s coming with me.”

“You better not just be sneakin’ him into the movie for free, Kenny,” Butters grumbles, but his coworker is already walking away, waving a hand dismissively. Craig spares Butters an awkward glance before following behind Kenny.

“You do that often?” Craig asks.

“What? Sneak people in?” Kenny replies. He shoots a look back at Butters, making sure he isn’t listening before he continues. “Not all the time. I’m not really into losing this job.”

Right, Craig thinks, Kenny actually needs this job. The thought makes him a bit uncomfortable, that Kenny has to put in the hours at a shitty movie theater to pay for things he actually needs. Meanwhile, Craig works so he can get out of the house and have some spending money.

Kenny glances behind them, then slides a vape out of his pocket and hits it. He turns his head to the side, courteous enough not to blow smoke right at Craig, though not enough to pick a less obnoxious flavor.

“Sorry,” Kenny says, noticing how Craig wrinkles his nose at the scent. “Butters doesn’t like it either, probably because it’d get us in trouble.”

“So you don’t care enough about this job to not vape?” Craig asks.

This time, Kenny blows the cloud right in his face. “Be nice to me, Tucker. I let your sister sneak in here all the time.”

Craig pauses, taking a second to process what Kenny just said. “You what?”

Kenny stops too, poking his head into the closest screening room as he speaks. “Yeah, she comes by a lot. Here, this one’s empty,” he steps into the theater, holding the door open so Craig can follow. It’s a bit odd-looking inside. It’s not often he sees empty theaters with the lights on, especially not clean ones. Kenny takes a seat in a nearby row, throwing his legs over the chairs as he munches on his popcorn. “Don’t worry, no one’s gonna hear us. I cleaned this one an hour ago, and I’ve only had to kick out people who stayed after a movie like, three times, so we’re good.”

Craig takes a seat a few spots away from Kenny, giving the other room to sprawl out. “Why did they stay?”

“Sometimes they just fall asleep. One time there was a couple fucking, though. That was pretty sweet. In that row over there,” Kenny points behind him, a smirk on his face.

Craig blinks and wonders what ever happened to the Kenny he went to elementary school with, the one who rarely spoke except for the occasional dirty joke. Focus, Craig.

“Uh, so about last night,” Craig begins, straightening up a bit in his seat. Kenny mirrors him, showing that he’s listening. “I was just talking without thinking. It is a really fucking dumb idea.”

“But you showed up to talk about it,” Kenny notes.

Craig sighs. “Yeah, I did. Because I’m really fucking dumb. And I’m sick of the sympathy from my dumb friends. And you said you’d be down.” Kenny just looks at him, and Craig finds himself talking just to avoid the awkward silence. “If you’re not anymore though, that’s fine. There’s no pressure or anything.”

“I’m still down,” Kenny says with a small nod. “As long as I’m paid for my time. God, I sound like a hooker.”

“You’re not a hooker,” Craig adds a bit too quickly. “We don’t need to actually do anything, I don’t think.”

“So what do I have to do?”

Craig doesn’t answer for a moment. Apparently, this tells Kenny all he needs to know.

“Oh, so you really didn’t think this through, huh?” Kenny makes an odd clicking sound with his tongue, shaking his head. Craig thinks he’s trying to be funny, but it’s not helping how embarrassing the conversation feels. “Okay, Craig. If you want Tweak to take you back, what do you think would really get him all pissed off and hot and jealous?”

“Hang on-” Craig sits up a bit, raising a hand as Kenny speaks. “I’m not trying to get him back.”

“You’re not?”

Craig opened his mouth, but words couldn’t quite seem to come out. Was he trying to get Tweek back? There were plenty of couples in South Park that broke up only to come back together. In fact, he’d stop getting hopeful when Bebe and Clyde would split, as it was inevitable they’d be sucking face again within a week. But, he’d never thought about that possibility for him and Tweek. They didn’t break up because of a fight or mistake or something stupid. Honestly, Craig still couldn’t quite pin why they had broken up. All he knew is that Tweek didn’t want to be with him anymore. The thought of trying to get his ex to change his mind and take him back hadn’t even occurred to him, and right now, it just sounded pathetic.

“Jeez, I didn’t know that would be such a tough question,” Kenny muses, bringing Craig out of his thoughts. “It’s fine if you want him back, man. I don’t judge.”

“I don’t” Craig says, maybe a bit too assertively as it makes Kenny lean a bit further away from him. “He doesn’t want to be together, whatever. I’m not gonna try to trick him into getting back with me. I just want people to know I’m cool about it.”

Kenny makes a little high-pitched hum, his face scrunching up. He takes another hit of his vape, looking thoughtful as he does so (as thoughtful as someone hitting a neon green cylinder can). “Okay,” he says, blowing out smoke. “We’ll make everyone think we fucked.”

“What the fuck- Kenny,” Craig stammers out, shaking his head as he speaks. “How would we even, who would fall for that? What’s that even gonna do?”

Kenny leans forward again, resting his arms on the arm of the chair and once again being too close to Craig’s personal space. “No, Craig, listen. This is one of my better ideas. If you immediately start dating some dude, everyone’s gonna think it’s a rebound and people know I’m not really the dating type. It’ll be weird, someone’s gonna see through it because I’m not not gonna hook up with someone else. But- if people think we just fucked, they’ll be like, ‘Wow Craig moved on and he doesn’t give a fuck and he’s so cool,’ which is your goal, right?”

Craig stares at Kenny, wide eyed, and Kenny stares right back. It’s impossible to focus on what the blonde is saying with that eager look in his eyes, like some kind of dog waiting for a treat. However, when Craig actually does start to process the idea, he realizes Kenny’s making some good points. Kenny raises his brows, still waiting for a reply. Craig lets out a sigh, looking up at the theater ceiling. “Fuck. That’s- Yeah, that’s a good plan.”

“I know!” Kenny starts drumming his fingers along the side of the seat, and Craig can tell he’s beaming without even looking at him. “I want sixty-five.”

Now, Craig looks back down at Kenny, who is making a face like that wasn’t a ridiculous thing to say. “Bucks? You want sixty-five dollars?”

“Cash,” Kenny adds. The two just stare at each other for a moment because every time Craig looks at Kenny, apparently Kenny’s already looking at him.

“I’ll give you forty,” Craig offers, hoping his tone sounds firm enough to stop any further negotiation.”

“Deal,” Kenny finally leans back in his seat and Craig feels like he can actually breathe again. If they’re gonna do this, he needs to talk with Kenny about personal space. And maybe that god awful vape flavor too. Shit, they’re actually doing it.

Craig nods before his brain fully catches up, like he’s convincing himself this is real life. “Okay, yeah. Deal. Wow.”

Kenny glances over at him. “You good? You can’t back out now. We said deal.”

Craig is still nodding, rubbing his palms on his thighs. “We’re good. I just didn’t really think you’d say yes. I don’t, uh, have much of a plan.”

Kenny puts his hand on Craig’s shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, dude. ‘Cause I already have a plan.”

“My head’s not-” he starts, then lets out a breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What’s the plan?”

Kenny stands, looking back down at Craig with a grin. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to get people talking about my sex life. And lucky for you, I have just the party to get this rumor started.” Kenny rubs his hand on a chair, then sticks it out for Craig. “You trust me, dude?”

Looking up at the blonde, the sheer dumb confidence on his face, his stupid uniform bowtie, there’s no way Craig should feel at ease. But, he has forty bucks and his reputation on the line, and Kenny might just be the best shot he has at escaping his current hellhole situation. Craig stands, gripping Kenny’s hand.

“Fuck it,” he says. “I trust you, let’s do this.”

#crenny #fanfiction #south park #craig tucker #kenny mccormick #fake dating au #tweek tweak

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clairehadenough · 2 months

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Story time

*Delulu deciding what to do on the internet today*

-Oh I know! Let me go to a random restaurant account from a country I never set foot in and comment on a photo that has nothing to do with me. Truth being said, I don't like seeing my imaginary boyfriend with his real life wife so let me bully the woman who posted a picture of them because that made me mad. I know, I'll make up something totally untrue so that I can accuse that mean naughty woman of lying. That'll teach her to post pictures that upset me😤

*goes to instagram*

-Oh but since l'm so clever, I'm not going to post from my personal blog, nooo, l'll use my cat's instead so no one can know it's me! I mean, I do follow my cat's account and it follows me too. Also my cat has a location that coincidentally is the same as mine. Everybody knows where l'm from because I keep repeating all over the internet that I work in that very famous place that is in said location. Also I shared a picture of my face with everyone and their mothers before, so it doesn't matter if it's also my personal account's profile picture, right? Right😌

*posts comment*

-There, I'm so clever! What a gotcha moment I got!😀 Let me take a screen shot to show my friend/boss, I hope she's going to be proud of me!

*said friend/boss is so proud that she shares the screenshot with everyone on the internet!*

-Oh wait, that screenshot contains the name of my cat's account, who's following and is being followed by my personal account who in turn has a profile pic of my face with my imaginary boyfriend.

*delulu slowly realises they have official doxxed themselves*

-Ok I know what to do! I'll accuse everyone who caught me being stupid and willingly share all this personal info of...doxxing! I mean, yes, I do know I'm the one who actually doxxed myself but my friend/ boss told me that playing the victim and gaslighting people is a great way to try and hide how stupid I am. Apparently she's tested this method lots of times...🤡

Note from author: the delulu and her friend/boss technique failed, like everything else they have ever attempted on that blog. People made even more fun of them then usual, the imaginary boyfriend is STILL married to someone else, and the restaurant’s instagram account still has the photo up.

Fin

#rogersstorm2005 #delulu #captregina #2 peas in a pod #Fail #dont play with me #self doxxing queens

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bokettochild · 2 months

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😅🥺🤡😈💖 i had to stop looking after the 5th because i wasn't gonna stop otherwise

😅 - What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?

Well, the answer to that is actually one I really had fun writing! A Bride For Hyrule's Prince. See, when my friends found out I was a writer, one of the guys pestered me until I gave up my username, and that was the story he decided to read in order to judge my skill. He's a bit of a hick, and his take on my writing was not very favorable, and he kinda nitpicked his way through it while sending e screenshots of the parts he was on + reactions. I don't think he meant anything cruelly, but some of the comments hurt and now reading that one makes me queasy in remembence.

Lesson learned! Don't share with IRL friends!

🥺 - Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

I think every time i write a character lowering their guard and accepting others in, there's this little zing of delight that runs through me. Found Family is definitely my favorite trope if you haven't guessed :)

🤡 - What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

I'm easily delighted by my own wit, but usually anytime I'm writing Four, one of the colors will say something out of pocket that catches me off guard. The one that sticks with me is the first time, In TBBU, when they're trying to puzzle out the timeline and somebody asks where, on the timeline, Wild would fall, and Blue's kneejerk response is "down every hill in Hyrule".

😈 - Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

The entire existence of the OC Gassun. He resembles Twilight, traumatized Warriors, and every time I write about him, I can almost hear certain readers bracing themselves for what tortures he'll cause next :)

💖 - What made you start writing?

Ooh! Tough one! So... I've been writing for about fifteen years now, and that basically means that I've been writing since I learned how too. Even before that though, my sisters and I engaged in story telling to each other, so the stories have been coming for as long as I remember. I did use to hate it though, because it was so tedious trying to get my hands to keep up with my head.

What really got me WRITING though, not just storytelling and trying to record it,was probably when I was 11 or so and we discovered the Redwall series by Brian Jaques. My sister went off on writing and I was impressed that actual people could write stuff too, so I tried it. My first novella was a piece of shit (still have it) and will never see the light of day (buried it in my hope-chest) but I had fun with it at the time. Since then, the words never stopped!

It sucks a bit, because my parents have been asking about my writing and I have nothing to show them (writing fanfiction) but maybe I'll finally write that novel I talked about as a kid and give it to them. They really did like my stuff before I became a fic writer.

#asks and answers #asks game #writer emoji game

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factorialsotherfandoms · 3 months

Text

XCOM AU, like 11/12 years prior to Felps getting defrosted. Read on for unethical military and prison systems! More unethical than usual! And massively unreliable narrator because jfc it's funny with the context this is actually Felps trying to sell Cellbit out, not help him. Still, it is genuinely the start of their friendship. Ish. It's where Cell decides to cling to Felps, anyway. Vice versa takes longer.

Cell has no idea how long it has been since the door to his cell last opened. After those fucking assholes abandoned him to die, the guards had found him. They threw him into the prison hospital, then into solitary, and he has not seen another person since. Food and water get shoved through a hatch in the door, but that is it.

He talks to his guards, sometimes - talks to, screams at, threatens… It is all the same really. They don’t respond, beyond an occasional yell for him to shut up.

They are not always there, either, but that’s to be expected - Cell has been thrown into the deep depths of the prison, and left to rot.

The first few months he threatened and snarled and plotted, but now… Something in him has broken, now, some part which once promised to fight and keep on fighting has torn away. He survives, because he is human, but it’s hard - so hard to plot an escape, when all he can think of is burning hunger.

It is a surprise, then, when one day his cell door opens.

And in steps a man Cell is absolutely certain should be dead.

But, then again, he probably thought the same of him.

“Oh hello,” Cell greets his old ‘friend’. His lips are genuinely dry when he licks them. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again. Come back for another round, did we?”

Slipping into the threats is so easy, though he has to wonder… Felps was rid of him, and the blackmail counts for very little now. So why, oh why, did the man come back?

“I have a proposition,” the guard says. “A way out for you, maybe.”

“Oh?” now that does spark Cell’s interest, though not as much as he expected. Whatever spark is still there… Cell has to put effort into fanning it, to remember who he is and how he acts.

More than truly interested in escape, Cell is /bored/, and bored is a dangerous thing to be.

The bite scars in his own arms are evidence enough of that.

“Right,” Felps seems… A little too cheerful about this idea for it to have merit, but maybe Cell can work with something. “What do you know about aliens?”

Okay, that? That was not what Cell expected. He has to give Felps some credit for a genuinely funny idea, and knocking him so far out of line. It’s a curveball, one which Cell fails to catch and leaves him struggling to make it back in time to catch the next.

“What?” he asks, leaning into the joke. “Are you going to get your little green friends to abduct me and do experiments? Don’t be ridiculous.”

Two can play at this game, and Cell does not have anything but his claws to kill him with. And he’d really rather not be stuck with the blood on his hands, when all he has to clean himself is an extremely unreliable sink.

“I’m being serious. Actual genuine flying saucers have been dropping aliens and these weird devices in major cities all over. Abducting people - but not just that, they’ve been bombing places, too.”

What.

“Felps,” Cell plays with the name on his tongue, watching the flinch as he does. “Felps, Felps, Felps - what have we learnt about lying to me?”

Felps does not reply, instead he tosses Cell a newspaper. It’s in English, but Cell can read it just fine. The front headline reads ‘ALIENS OVER NEW YORK’, with screenshots from security cameras showing… About what Felps described - small pink aliens, big eyes and all, chasing people down, and others trapped in some sort of gooey green netting. In the article itself are a whole host of other cities attacked, statements from the US Minister for Defence, smaller ones listing other countries who have suffered the same problem…

Page two is interviews with various conspiracy theorists, including some appropriately named Ohian fool.

Page three has two thirds taken up by a photograph of some mostly naked celebrity Cell has never heard of before.

He goes back to page one.

Reading over the article a few times, it looks too elaborate for an idiot such as Felps to have put together. Still, faking a functional newspaper is something he has seen plenty of people attempt. Either it is real or Felps has people with him, and Cell is not sure which option is more terrifying.

But how would he check…?

…

Felps probably has a phone. Cell isn’t sure if he can steal it - and if he does, he’s keeping it - but… He can try, right?

And, hey, Felps is being /cooperative/, so might as well ask first.

“Too easy to fake. Give me your phone - let me check the news sites.”

There’s a long pause. Cell did not really expect to be given it, but it is good to set the framework for an interaction down properly. Especially with something like this, where Felps is bringing up aliens and all sorts of crap.

He is getting ready for a fight, or Felps leaving, or something.

He is not ready for Felps taking a deep breath, walking to the middle of the room, putting a phone down, and stepping back away.

Cell… looks at it.

Cautiously, he approaches. Why… Why would Felps…?

It has to be trap, right?

…

It isn’t.

Cell picks up the phone and nothing explodes, and he opens it to find it working.

What a stupid, stupid display of trust.

And yet, Cell navigates to the internet browser anyway. He types in the name of one of the major news sites, and waits for it to load.

There, as headline news, it talks about alien abductions just the other side of the Argentinian border.

He tries another. It takes another minute or so and, this time, something about aliens attacking Berlin.

Foreign sites, other places - even conspiracy boards get checked. All agree, all match.

Cell does not know what to think. He… He doesn’t know what to do. This isn’t like the war, just a bloodbath of everyone against everyone where he fought tooth and claw for survival. This isn’t the streets, or the apartment he stole, and it’s barely even about the prison any more.

Suddenly, his very dark, very quiet, lonely cell seems so much better than anything outside it.

Something like fear settles in Cell’s dead heart. Carefully he places the phone back on the floor, and retreats back to sit on his bed.

Felps does not get up to take it again. He does not even look at it

“Oh,” he whispers, when he can find his voice again. And then, a little louder, “but, what the fuck does that have to do with me?”

“The government’s putting together a special task force - military unit, basically, but with its own science team and funding and shit,” Felps seems a bit distant as he talks. “They’re looking for people to do the actual fighting. I… Might have put your name forward?”

Fighting?

Cell knows how to fight.

Aliens, people, what is the difference?

But… Why would Felps give him an out so easy to escape from? Because he could. He knows battles, knows bloodshed like the claws in his hands. Get into a fight and it becomes so, so easy to slip out in the chaos.

His mind feels distant, but he still asks, "why would you even ask that for me? Aren't I too dangerous? I did nearly kill you, you know - and I ate those other men."

Felps makes the mistake of making eye contact. It makes it so much easier to see a conflction.

"Because I think you’d be a good match for it - you clearly have the skills, why not let you use them?" Felps tries to be nonchalant about it, but Cell can see the something more in his eyes. “Knife, alien, death. So long as you get some samples back to the lab, they probably wouldn’t even mind you snacking.”

That something is fear, or so Cell names it. Felps might be sat on the floor of his cell and doing everything to look calm, but Cell can see the touching and the twitching and the tapping. It only gets worse as the silence drags, and slowly, slowly Cell begins to laugh. The fear is… He likes the fear.

Or, at the very least, it is familiar.

"You're scared of me. You claim the high ground, but you're scared of me."

It’s not literal, though, the bed is definitely higher than the floor.

"Yes. But that doesn't mean you can't do good in this world, it just means I'm afraid."

Cell looks and assesses, and holds Felps in eye contact. No matter what he does, no matter where he looks, Cell… He can find hidden truths, more complicated aspects to the statement, but he… Felps actually believes that tripe?

Felps actually, genuinely believes that Cell has the capacity to do good, when all he has ever done is soaked people in blood.

Oh, the poor fool, thinking he can be better. Giving him a way out.

It is… Hilarious, honestly; Cellbit cackles, and it becomes a laugh, echoing and deadly in the silence of his cell.

“Me? Do good?” The laugh only grows more as Cell asks that and, perhaps he’ll keep Felps around, because this is a very very good joke.

… Cell sort of wishes it were true, but it is a very, very good joke.

“Why not?” Felps asks him, as though it is the simplest thing in the world to just /do good/. “Why can’t you do good, if given the chance to?”

Oh so so many reasons, not in the least that Cell has no fucking clue what he would do with it. His memories begin on that battlefield, desperately hungry and resorting to eating a corpse only to find it healing the gaping wounds all over him. Every second since has been paid for in blood and a pound of someone else’s flesh. Felps doesn’t understand that, and Cell is not sure he ever could.

"I'm a murderer, a serial killer, a cannibal - what makes you even think I'd even want to help?"

There’s hysteria in his tone. How dare he, how dare Felps - a man he as good as killed - believe he can do good? He’s seen the worst of him, how dare he say these things?!

He has no knife to clutch to, no sense to be found, but his fingers find the bedsheets and they try.

"You could say no,” Felps offers. “But then you’d still be here, and sooner or later someone is going to fashion a shiv, break into this cell, and kill you in your sleep - you’re not liked, you know?"

And Cell knows - he knows that. He wants out and at this point death is a perfectly good option.

But Felps…

How can Felps just offer him an alternative escape? He doesn’t… All this talk of doing good means nothing, when Cell has already proven that he /cannot/ be better, that he’s just a bloody corpsemaker through and through.

“Isn’t that what you want?” Cell asks, knowing he sounds as desperately confused as he feels. “Me dead? Seems like it’s a very complicated way to go about it, with this alien bullshit; as soon as I’m taken past this door I could kill everyone in the unit and flee."

“Or maybe you wouldn’t. Maybe you want to change.”

Felps does not skip a beat in answering and Cell…

How the fuck can Felps sit there and say he believes in him? How can he do that, how can he do that to him?

How can Felps offer him a change to be better, when Cell is already damned and runed and condemned to the bloodiest of hells?

Cell feels something inside him break, and a whine take over his tone.

"You believe in change for people like me?"

“Why not?”

And Felps says it like it is obvious, but Cell begs and begs him to understand - it is not obvious, not at all, or rather every reason why this is a stupid idea is! Because, because… “because I’m evil” Cell answers, knowing it true with his entire fucked up soul.

“Now, sure,” Felps shrugs as he says it. “But you don’t have to be.”

And Cell… Cell has no idea how to argue with that. All he can do is sit, and stare, and he can’t - his brain will not even begin to process the ridiculous nature of this situation.

It sits, uneasy, until Felps stands.

He picks the phone back up, and replaces it with a flask, and leaves.

… The door locks, and Cell realises… All he had to do was open it, until then - it was never locked when Felps came in.

He hesitates, and cautiously approaches the flask.

It contains nothing but fresh, black coffee.

#qsmp x xcom #qsmp fanfic #qsmp au #qsmp cellbit #qsmp felps

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hypergamiss · 4 months

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Okay. Story time. 😂 Firstly, him acting like he dumped you is funny as hell. Secondly, was the “unblock fee” discussed in advance? Or did he just automatically know you weren’t unblocking without a large gift?

He emailed me because he was blocked on everything else. So when he emailed me saying he needed to talk to me I sent him a Venmo request with a note that read “unblock fee.” Usually every guy that dates me is aware of my unblock fee because I do make sure to bring it up naturally in conversation after a few dates so that they’re aware of my boundaries and that I simply don’t give my time to just anybody. They usually laugh about it when I first bring it up but you know that saying “they always come back” is true to its core so they usually end up paying the fee.😂 He actually thought I would unblock him after he sent a few gifts to me like flowers and shoes but I was firm with my unblock fee and he gave in after his failed attempts. So yeah all of that trouble he went through just to finally get a hold of my undivided attention and during conversation say things like “the reason I needed to take a break from us was because…” I was like WHAT. WHAT ARE YOU SAYING. Do you hear yourself? Are you retarded? I lost the little bit of attraction that was barely there for him instantly. I literally had to show him the texts of me telling him that I am no longer interested in him and him replying “I already miss you more than you could possibly know.” So yeah that was my experience with an athlete attempting to gaslight me. Never again, too much wasted energy on someone that didn’t value me and treat me the way that I am used to being treated. He never really stopped trying after that and I would ignore him until one time I was extra annoyed that he kept telling people the wrong story and wouldn’t let the situation go so my phone suddenly got “ hacked” and the screenshots of his buddy’s trying to ask me out on a date were leaked. He finally left me alone after that lol.

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jadelotusflower · 5 months

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Stargate rewatch: 1x17 Solitudes

aka episode of the blurry/dark screenshots. What is this, Game of Thrones?

A Brad Wright episode, and the debut of the franchise’s most prolific director Martin Wood.

Jack and Sam bond over his broken bones and her inability to make a splint, heh.

It’s Siler! aka Dan Shea, RDA’s stunt double and later Stunt Coordinator.

Hammond giving him half the time Siler says it will take to fix the Gate and Siler going “it doesn’t work that way sir” is great, nice subversion of a trope.

lol, how many times do we get an extreme close up on Daniel’s face and a blurry pov shot of him waking up from being k’o-ed on this show? A lot, I can tell you.

Sam correctly identifies their situation (option 2) but gets stuck on the probabilities of the SGC finding them, leaving Jack to be the optimist. Nice callback (unintentional or not) to him sarcastically telling Samuels in 1x02 to “let me be the optimist for once.”

Sam then deduces that the matter steam jumped to a different but nearby Stargate, just as Daniel comes to the same conclusion. Wonder Twin powers, activate!

At least they got good lighting in the close ups!

The gang's all here - even Harriman (who as this point is just Airman/Technician).

I do love it when they use the plexiglass map.

What is Siler’s job anyway? Chief engineer?

Sam identifies this symbol (far right) as the point of origin on the DHD. We later learn this Gate was the original one used by the Ancients and this could conceivably be an Alteran-esque symbol since we know their written language is block based and their aesthetic is heavy on the circles. It could represent a sun and a pillar, or maybe a Stargate itself.

It does explain away a bit of a plot hole with Earth’s point of origin being a pyramid if the gate was built pre-Ra. It makes more sense that this is the original Earth point of origin and the other was built/chosen later.

Oof Jack coughing up blood onto the snow.

Why Sam doesn’t try to dial any addresses other than Earth - la la la don’t think about it. Sam's brain too cold to function I guess?

Or maybe the DHD has something else wrong with it? We learn later that connecting the DHD designates that gate as the primary gate on Earth, so really the SGC gate shouldn’t be working at all if Sam is trying to use the Antarctic gate.

Nice little moment where Sam says that if they don’t make it she won’t have any regrets, and Jack says he’ll regret dying - a good reflection of both their characters.

Daniel with his ever-present coffee, but this time with good reason. There’s a cool shot of him in the control room worrying, tracking up to Hammond in the briefing room worrying. Martin Wood loves a tracking shot. I love a tracking shot too.

I also love how interactive the set is, the gate room, viewing room, briefing room, and Hammond’s office are all connected allowing us to move through the set as if it were a real facility.

“I should have gotten you out of here by now.” Aw, Sam! Telling language through use of “you” and not “us.” She’s the problem solver but can’t solve the problem, and even though Jack is in command, given his injury she’s now the one who feels responsible for him and his safety when usually it's the other way around.

Amanda Tapping is great in this episode, we don’t often see Sam so frustrated, unable to push through to find the answer.

Also a tender moment when Jack calls out for Sara and Sam, having been told earlier that Sara is what got him through a similar situation, giving him the comfort of “I’m here, Jack.”

Uh oh, I think that means there’s a T-Rex around!

“We ruled out a world we shouldn’t have.” Daniel thinking forth dimensionally again! Even separated the team are still working together, the juxtaposition of Sam trying and failing to the dial the gate but Daniel still receiving the message is great.

Ah, I love it when they work a retcon into the plot! The SGC installed “frequency dampeners” that stopped the shaking of the gate (and made the trip through smoother/less cold), so the shaking now is unusual and helps them solve the mystery.

Aw, Hammond going along with the rescue party. He’s well and truly Papa Hammond now!

#stargate sg1 #stargate rewatch #1x17 solitudes

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chickdoop · 6 days

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I'm trying to nail down aspects of body language and filming styles in the movie, and just rewatched the penultimate scenes of Withnail and I. There is a great subtlety to the last scene in the flat which I missed before. It’s amazing how much they managed to cram into it.

These two scenes aren’t often spoken about or analyzed much, which is rather a shame as they have a lot of really interesting details which I wanted to share for those who love the film. They are really interesting examples of the way both writing and camerawork work together to portray the beginning of the end. At the same time, contrasting it to the rest of the film is a fantastic way to learn how good filming techniques can really deepen the sense of connection between characters.

In ways I actually feel that these sections are as sad as the final scene in the rain, as you can see that Withnail is both devastated and unwilling to accept the full reality of what is happening. They show that awful stage which I think most people will resonate with, when everything is starting to go to shit, there is an air of dread pervading the whole enterprise, and yet there's absolutely fuck-all you can do about it.

You can see, in the scene back at the flat, that the accord, trust, and physical harmony between Marwood and Withnail has completely disintegrated. They are no longer pursuing the same goals- Marwood wanders in and out of shot with tasks variously related to the house, the part, and his nervous freak-out, fragmenting not only the conversation but also the lines of movement across the screen. Marwood is also realizing that he doesn’t want to live like this any more.

Script screenshot (plus some period-specific racism alas)

Withnail’s anxiety, and focus on, Marwood is also reflected in the script; it’s easy to miss, but the reason he walks over to the window is because he’s following Marwood walking to the phone box outside. He is deeply unsettled without Marwood and can’t relax (with the exception of briefly being knocked-out from the joint).

He and Withnail do not stay put within the same frame (which they have previously shared for most of the films) and their lingering glances have stopped. They no longer touch. Their ‘groupings’ have shifted- Marwood can be seen in various frames, only in fragmentary glimpses, crossing to and fro. Most of the conversation also relates to endings or confusions of various kinds. The tracking seems disjointed and lacks the tightness of Marwood's POV and narration, probably reflective of Withnail's scattered state of mind.

Compare this to sections of their earlier scenes, where Withnail and Marwood are usually standing very close together, sharing most frames, making sustained and intense eye contact and working to the same goals. Frequently, their scenes show them occupying the frame in extreme close-up for long stretches of time, filtering out much of their surroundings and focusing their attention on each other. This has completely stopped in the penultimate two scenes. Annoyingly Tumblr won’t let me add more images via the app, but I’ll try to see if I can do it via desktop at sone point.

Withnail is now usually paired up visually with Danny and Presuming Ed. This grouping doesn’t quite suit him- you can see how different his body language is when away from Marwood’s presence, in particular his assertiveness- he even takes up less space in the frames, perhaps a symptom of Marwood’s disinvestment in him.

Along with this, his body language and voice tone has changed. See how dejected he looks during Danny’s spiel about ‘letting go of the rope’ and the end of the 60s. This may also be because it mirrors Marwood’s decision to leave; (who pushes past Withnail and exits the frame for the kitchen just before this starts, failing to rejoin the group afterwards.) His voice in this section is also unusually soft and subdued.

For those who are a bit crushed by Marwood’s seeming indifference, it’s worth noting he does not look at all happy to be leaving (in fact this is so important that it is even explicitly noted in the stage directions); and he looks back to his room not once, but twice. His body language is more withdrawn than usual and his voice more downcast. In the script, the last book he packs is a notebook titled ‘Withnail and I,’ his account of their time together, which he obviously values enough to bring with him.

Initially, as Withnail comes into frame, he appears to be ignoring Marwood.

However, then he actually glances back surreptitiously to see where he is

…then carries on ignoring him. (This is a very subtle detail and almost impossible to clearly screenshot - it only lasts a split second and is just a movement of the eyes). It’s an interesting hint as to the fact Withnail does not always show what he’s actually feeling and that there is often an element of subterfuge involved; it’s of particular interest here that it’s his vulnerability that he’s trying to obscure, especially given the final speech in the park. We only actually see his raw emotion and pain once he is outside of Marwood’s sight/ frame of reference, which has rather interesting implications. What else has he potentially missed?

It’s fantastically subtle acting and well worth rewatching the scene, as it gives a rare glimpse of Withnail’s underlying fragility

You can also see the table, laid for two people, to the left, which is a nice little detail.

It’s interesting to note here that this little smile and pitch shift where Marwood tells him his dad will sort out the car is the last recognizable bit of the ‘Marwood’ we have known in the film. You can see that he is trying to say it in a more cheerful way, presumably in an attempt to lift Withnail (or the mood) a bit.

Just after this is when Withnail gets up ‘casually’, properly acknowledges Marwood and asks if he wants a final drink. He has the aspect of a child who wants something very much but won’t admit it, and who is being unsuccessfully sneaky as a result, which really suits Withnail’s mix of amorality, innocence and vulnerability. In fact, the egotism of Withnail is really more like the egotism of a child than that of an adult, which is probably why he ultimately still comes off as lovable, and why Marwood has so frequently forgiven his terrible and utterly enraging behaviour.

He’s unnaturally cheerful and is obviously desperate to have him for just a little bit longer- hopeful, yet about to be disappointed. After Marwood refuses, he grabs his umbrella and insists on coming along, still overly jolly and enthusiastic, ignoring all Marwood's subtle gestures of rejection.

It’s an interesting example of the way Grant sneaks subtle flashes of vulnerability into his character. Another good example of this is his expression in the phone booth when his agent hangs up on him, and obviously also that final scene in the rain (might bung that one up in future too as it’s also a good scene.)

This fear of losing Marwood is in ways hinted at throughout the film, with its general themes of entropy and physical decay. But it is also shown more personally- from Withnail twice reacting furiously to him saying ‘We’re in the same boat’ to his resistance to the idea of him applying for the role, and his frequently-expressed fear that Withnail himself is never going to be a success. So this section is the tail- end of a long running thread.

#ramblings #withnail and i #withnail & i

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kaleidoscopicnova-staticcoffee · 1 year

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MTMTE SCREENSHOTS WITH SOME LOST LIGHT SCREENSHOTS TOO

Sorry for not doing this in any other transformers screenshots posts I’ve made I’m going to do this from now on for all future screenshot posts

⚠️ SPOILER WARNING ⚠️

Swerve has a good point, though

I really want to put a giant Christmas Story Lamp lampshade on Ambulon

Basically the intro to “Bob’s Burgers”

This panel had me imagining a homeless puppy rescue commercial but it’s Rodimus using layman’s terms and a bunch of scientists collapsing with that in the arms of the angels song in the background

Petition to Avenge Swerve’s Feelings signup here!

*Me trying to be cool and miserably failing as usual

I took this screenshot bc of the spine. It’s so spiky and cool looking

Petition to Hug and Protect Rung bc he’s a Baby Girl signup!

The FEELS! I can’t take this much!

Dayum Ambus! You’re looking quite robust!

AWWWW YEAH TAILGATE! KICK HIS AFT BABY!

Get served Brainstorm

AGAIN WITH THE REASONABLE TARN! I LOVE YOU BUT YOUR ONE HELL OF A MASSIVE HYPOCRITE!

Words can not describe the amount of envy I feel

Trying to name OC’s bs like

Is it some constant of every universe that Sentinel is an asshole or something?

I see what your doing and I appreciate

Whirl and Killmaster is something I never knew I shipped until I did.

Rodi, if I could I’d kiss you

The husbands are cuddling and it’s making mE FAN GIRL SQUEAL!

I feel ya Rodi, I truly do

On behalf of myself, I thank you Brainstorm

Ngl that looks like a Tumblr URL in disguise

Proof that Rodi has a British accent

Rung’s happiness gOT ME FANGIRL SQUEALING

No caption. Next screenshot.

No caption here, either. Next screenshot.

Not the Rodpod! Anything but that!

Geez Nautica.

*Cackles hysterically

#mtmte #lost light #maccadam #Tf screenshots #Screenshots

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sizzlingpatrolfox · 1 year

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A review of set me free ?!

- hey if u watched the mv what were ur thoughts?

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HAVE I WATCHED IT!!

(I took all these screenshots and everything last night but then fell asleep before I could finish it).

There's honestly so much to be said about this song, about every single aspect of it. It's so good. POP IS BACK!!!!!!!!

I was taken aback at first. I don't even know why because I said in one of my last posts that it would be a song very much in line with what boy groups have been doing lately, that it would be sharp and dark. I thought I knew what was waiting for me, but when the song actually started I still needed more than a moment.

It was what I expected and so much more too.

The beginning feels and looks like a controlled chaos. The formation, the "screams", the way it starts in a narrower part of the set than opens up behind them. Many people have described it as eerie and it's exactly what it feels like to me, too. To whoever's into zombies and apocalyptic movies/shows, it almost depicts that moment where the living dead are about to attack. I could describe it as so many things, actually. I also see vines twisting and turning. I see the Devil's Snare from Harry Potter.

The intro is about rearrangement. It's the beginning of change.

Watching MVs like this for the first time, MV's that I've waited for a long time, it's usually too overwhelming and I fail to really pay attention. The first time I watch without subtitles, and I did the same yesterday too. First time I watched it was without subtitles, and it sounded so big. It was a lot to take in, just from the sound aspect of it.

I have to mention it just because it's such a center piece in the song even though at this point I think everyone understands it, about the autotune being such a poignant, conscious stylistic choice.

I personally don't like that much autotune as they used in the verse where he shows up shirtless. I had to listen to it a few times to really get used to it. It's not that I didn't or don't understand how it was used, it's just a matter of what one's ear is accostumed to (in 2020, I wasn't that into black swan at first because of the autotune either, for example). In the end, autotune is a stylistic choice and people will like or dislike it because that's what styles are about. Shakira's song, one of the biggest songs in the world right now, is autotuned through and through. It was used in a different way than Jimin used it, but the song is still heavily autotuned. It's a tool, it's a style, it's something that's "in" in music, too. Because trends are also a thing in music, it's literally the reason the "80s, 70s, early 2000s" exist. Because there's a sound that differentiates them.

It's such a sad thing that the hate becomes so unavoidable everytime Jimin so much as breathes but I have to say there's something abnormally sinister in the way people are so fucking vile towards him for absolutely no reason. But that's a conversation for another time.

Moving on. This time, however, it went beyond the use of it stylistically; in this song I think it has actual significance. There's so much autotune in black swan, dynamite, but you see the difference there and now in SMF2 how Jimin used it to show progression and different voices throughout the song.

The use of autotune in fact gives me the impression that there's more than one person in the song. I think this could be done to try and portray a "conversation" between Jimin and Jimin, or also like I've said, to show progression, to make it seem like the song is actually moving, changing, it's not at a standing still.

Musically, it's fantastic, it really is brilliant. The choir, the (real) instruments, the beat, the background vocals. It doesn't seem like there was anything left to chance; everything served a purpose and it was thought through and there's so much detail everywhere. I've talked before about Jimin and his thing for details that make up an entire composition by themselves. There's a lot of that in this song and MV, too. The details feel huge and significant because they're so specific and polished.

It's funny because the part that I like the least of the song, seems to in fact be the climax of it. That moment he shows up shirtless, bare, where he sounds like he's screaming at the top of his lungs, moving the fastest he moves in all of choreo, the most frenetic verse: that's the peak of the song. That's the climax the song has been building up to until that moment.

This is the last shot right before he shows up shirtless and that frenetic verse starts:

He's in front of the camera but the dancers push him back and take him back into the formation.

One of the first things I thought of when I saw him with the writing on his chest was of idioms like "wearing your heart on your sleeve", "an open book". You're bare and you're being read.

I thought he would be dancing more. I mean, he's never still at any point but I thought he would be doing more choreography like the dancers. However, what I see is that he's actually dancing to his own beat. The dancers are a monolith of people dressed the same, moving the same way, even making the same sounds; but except for a few moments here and there, Jimin is moving a different way than the rest of them. I love this aspect particularly because he's never not involved; he's always part of the formation, he's even the center of it at all times and he's moving alongside them, but not with them. Many people see it as him being the commander, as the one leading the dance. I see it as the dancers representing that thing, or one of the things he's breaking free from.

He stands out from formation not because he's dancing in front of them, leading, which is usually the case when having backup dancers; but precisely because he's not dancing with them.

At the end of the most intense choreo moment (the shut up fuck off verse), this happens again:

This whole segment of the choreography starts and ends the same way: with him being dragged back into the dancers circle.

This time to be pointed at, singled out, recriminated. Judged.

(How cool is it that every single moment of the MV looks like a movie or even a painting? I keep thinking to the chiaroscuro technique).

Speaking of chiaroscuro, there's a whole theme of clashing elements in the song and in the MV. Well, not so much in the MV itself as in the cinematography of it, but in the song, as far as sound goes and in the choreography. I guess for me this "clash" that's most obvious in the song is the use of a choir in a song that's been autotuned like this. You don't really expect to hear a real human choir and real instruments in a song where there are elements that are computer-made. There's this sense of what genre am I exactly listening to???

I think the set is perfect for the message the lyrics are trying to convey. Having Jimin in different locations and sets wouldn't have actually delivered a feeling of being trapped. It had to be done like this because it's that place he's trying to leave, to escape. I also think it's really, extremely fucking difficult to have only one set in a music video and not make it boring.

If I had to choose, my favorite part of the whole thing is the choreography. The dancers really did a superb job, and I love that Jimin literally puts them in the spotlight. You want to watch the dancers as much as you want to watch Jimin, you can't help but watch them.

I said movie but it doesn't feel like one either. It has that flare of a contemporary dance play, actually. When the second teaser was released I thought it had the dramatics that only theatre can deliver. And it is theatrical like that.

The end gives me goosebumps everytime.

I also loved the reference to BTS songs. A line from ON, and "butterfly, fly away." I don't think any other member respects and truly embraces what it means to be a BTS member as much as Jimin does and that's a hill I'm willing to die on. And look at the results! So far, he's showing to be everything that was good about BTS. The best of BTS, that's Jimin.

It's not mine but I really love this take on the "butterfly, fly away" lyrics, too! I wish we'd know if this was his intention or not.

(I mostly think everything in this song/MV was intentional, but I also believe art can be interpreted differently, and as long as they're respectful, all takes are valid).

On the same note of things that could be intentional but also worked really well even if they weren't, this:

Which in turn relates to one of my very personal takes on the whole thing. The sense of repetition. There's the line "again, I repeat" but it's everywhere. Repetitions in the lyrics, the choir, the lines on the ceiling, the patterns of the wall. And that for me changes the whole idea from being imprisoned to being stuck and trying to break cycles. Set me free from this maze, from this constant wandering and circling back to the same thing again and again.

Well, I don't really know how to end this 😂 I wish the album and like crazy would come out tomorrow already. I wonder if like crazy will be a continuation of this, if it will represent the before or after, I mean will it be a consequence or a reason for set me free to exist. Or it could be not that related.

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