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iguessitsjustme · 1 year

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To My Star - Music

It has been 6 months since @gillianthecat requested a music analysis of To My Star. I said I’d do it in a few weeks and I started it then shit life happened but I wanted to actually do the analysis so here it is…a million years later. I will say this might be a bit disjointed because some of my notes are from 6 months ago and the rest are from the past week so apologies in advance for that. I did want to make this a longer post since it’s been so long since it was requested so I might have gotten a bit carried away.

As always this is my disclaimer that I’m just an idiot with a somewhat decent ear and I enjoy soundtracks. I am wrong sometimes so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Before I get into specifics, my general thoughts are that it’s a fine soundtrack. It’s not my favorite, but it does work very well for the show. It does a good job of keeping the tone that the show is setting. Most of the time the soundtrack helps set the tone of the show, but for To My Star it felt like the actors really set the tone for the show and the music followed. It wasn’t as cohesive as I really like, but it worked well enough that it didn’t stand out as not working. But with that said, I did really enjoy it. Overall it felt like they sampled youtube’s royalty free music catalog except for certain instances, but what they did choose to do actually worked really well but more on that later.

One of the main thingsI noticed when doing my rewatch for this, is that To My Star utilizes silence quite a bit. While there are some instances of music when Han Ji Woo and Kang Seo Joon weren’t around, for the most part, the music only followed their story. Other characters were mostly given silence when they were the focus, which was an interesting choice. It worked for TMS because it wasn’t the only time there was silence. There was always silence during Han Ji Woo and Kang Seo Joon’s important moments. The music waited until something was said before coming in and joining the scene. So it wasn’t as jarring as it would have been to have silence for the other characters. The silence being used for Han Ji Woo and Kang Seo Joon’s important moments made it so when it was silent for the other characters, the audience paid attention because their part in the story is also important. TMS is ultimately about Han Ji Woo and Kang Seo Joon but it’s not just their story as they are impacted by the other characters around them.

But as it is Han Ji Woo and Kang Seo Joon’s story, what were some of their big moments that were impacted by silence? There are a few but I’m only going to talk about what I think is the most important one. At the beginning, Kang Seo Joon hears a crash and has a panic attack as a result (been there my dude, it sucks). There is silence before the crash that leads into the panic attack and there’s silence at the start of the panic attack as well. Then we begin hearing a repetitive, dissonant note during the attack, but it’s backed by calming music that grows louder as Han Ji Woo cares for Kang Seo Joon. This worked almost a little too well for me. I don’t like being reminded of my own panic attacks like that, ya know? But it does a good job of using music to convey what Kang Seo Joon is feeling. We see the panic attack and we can hear it. It’s jarring.

The biggest surprise to me about the soundtrack was realizing that Kang Seo Joon and Han Ji Woo have different genres. Some shows do this and do it really well. A more recent example that I really loved was Never Let Me Go. Both boys had their own distinct genre that had to reconcile with each other when those two were together. That’s probably the one of the easiest shows to watch and pick up on the distinct music for each character. It’s far, far more subtle in TMS, but it’s there.

During the show, Han Ji Woo is a jazzy boy. It’s a smooth jazz, which fits Han Ji Woo’s character very well. He’s soft and subtle and his life should be formulaic and set in routine, but nothing has gone as expected. His routine has been thrown off. He still has his calm, almost stoic exterior, but inside he’s facing turmoil. Kang Seo Joon has come into his life and brought something new and unexpected. He’s facing feelings he wasn’t aware he could still feel and he’s willing to do things he didn’t realize he’s willing to do. Once his turmoil is settled though, he reverts back to what I believe his true genre is: classical. Han Ji Woo is a piano concerto. He’s soft and beautiful and strong. He can get loud and stand up for himself when needed and he can become muted when he’s feeling a little lost. Han Ji Woo settles into his new routine with Kang Seo Joon and he’s no longer a jazzy boy. He’s back to himself as a classical boy. The inner turmoil and struggle Han Ji Woo has felt is made so abundantly clear in this line:

At this moment in the show, Han Ji Woo’s jazz was slowly being taken over by Kang Seo Joon’s music. He was already scared because his genre was off but now even not-his-genre is being overtaken by Kang Seo Joon.

Kang Seo Joon has been consistently coming into Han Ji Woo’s life and overtaking his music. Kang Seo Joon is pop music. He is fun and upbeat. He is the music that so many people in the world listen to. I mean, it’s called pop music for a reason! At first it makes sense that Kang Seo Joon should have the more formulaic music. He seems shallow on the surface, but as always, that’s not the case as he has hidden depth and struggles. A lot of the pop songs that play are in English which was surprising, but they could be a hint at Kang Seo Joon being more than he seems. He’s not just the cookie-cutter celebrity that everyone, including Han Ji Woo, sees him as. He has hopes and fears and he has experienced his fair share of pain. And when he meets and starts falling for Han Ji Woo? Their music starts to blend.

When Han Ji Woo reaches for Kang Seo Joon’s face, about to take an eyelash off, but stops and walks away, leaving them both feeling like something has shifted in that moment, their music combines. It’s both poppy and jazzy. This is the moment that they both start to become aware that there are feelings floating around.

By the end of the show, Han Ji Woo has embraced his jazziness because he realizes that his life isn’t going to go to routine now that he’s with Kang Seo Joon. When he’s alone, classical music follows him. But when he’s with Kang Seo Joon, he’s back to jazz. And in the very last scene, when those two are in bed and begin making out, the music is pop music but with a little jazz element thrown in. They’ve found their harmony and their balance as their two genres are able to meet to become one.

Here are some other things I noticed but they didn’t make it into the post itself:

-When Han Ji Woo is running to Kang Seo Joon at the end, it’s a pop song playing

-The music in the restaurant is smooth jazz

#to my star #to my star the series #to my star bl #sorry it took so long i was going through it #and music analysis posts always take me much longer cause i want to really think about them more than other posts i make #anyway i hope you enjoyed this five million bajillion years later #also i want it known that if you ever request something from me i will do it even if it means waiting a little bit #also not gonna mention that it’s possible that because han ji woo is only a jazzy boy with kang seo joon #that could have led to him not feeling like himself #and been one of the reasons he had to leave in tms 2 #watching tms just made me want to watch tms 2 again #i actually really loved the second season

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amemixfan · 11 months

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So I had previously canceled VIP because choices had a dry spell with books that seemed interesting, but I recently reactivated it with Kindled coming out. I also took the time to check out some of the other VIP books.

So rapid fire reviews:

1. First Comes Love is a garbage fire. The entire book radiates so much Pick Me energy that I’m half expecting MC to go into a “pick me, choose me, love me” speech.

I can practically imagine that entire book told in a Reddit post from the point of view of Rebecca. “Help, my lover’s toxic girl best friend is trying to break us up.” It’s so, so toxic. We could have gotten an interesting story of friends deciding to marry out of loneliness while realizing they had feelings for each other yet we got a love triangle with the emotional maturity of a playground fight. I’m surprised they didn’t make Rebecca a cheerleader just to hit all the “You Belong With Me” boxes that book is trying to hit. (Seriously I mean, gasp! Rebecca loves to travel and likes fancy stuff? Oh the absolute horror!!!)

2. Roommates With Benefits. Meh. I couldn’t make it past the first episode because the book seemed dull. The love interests didn’t interest me and the writing is meh. Not much more to say.

3. Kiss of Death. This book is frustrating because they’re selling you a mob star crossed lovers book with an MC who is so outside of the world of mobsters that most of the book is just her venting about how everyone treats her like a kid. It’s not a mob book if the main character is shut out of the family business.

I wanted to like it because it gave me Halsey’s music video vibes of Now or Never which I liked, but the end result is meh. The book would have been fascinating had MC actually been a trusted member of the mob and had a lot more power and importance. Instead, it seems like this is a teenage coming of age story with no edge or flair.

I treated it as a diamond mining book and didn’t see any relationship development that isn’t just lust or horniness between MC and Vic. MC tells them she loves them after one day and there’s not much explanation why. Even her bestie calls her out on it. The book just hinges on one random less than a day long encounter years ago as the premise of their love story. Like I get Romeo and Juliet were also dumb kids who thought they knew what love was, but Choices’ characters are supposed to have been grown adults.

4. Getaway Girls. This book I’m actually enjoying. It’s funny and light hearted. I’m just a few chapters in but it seems fun. Not a huge fan of the constant POV change, but each character has their own personality and taste which keeps it from becoming repetitive. We’ll see how it goes.

5. The Duchess Affair. I love a good period piece and am always biased in favor of it. This one isn’t the best Choices has put it, but it’s interesting compared to its other VIP books. The adultery aspect is bleh for me, but it’s not surprising giving The Nanny Affair was such a hit. I wish they hadn’t made the husband such a tool and given more high stakes to the story, but I guess they had to let people not feel guilty about cheating.

I will say though, it’s weird to see MC fawn over their tutor while diamond mining. I haven’t taken any premium choices so her worrying and fretting over committing adultery is bizarre given she’s only just talked to her tutor a handful of times and sat close to them. This book was definitely not designed to be diamond mined.

6. Kindred. This one seems promising. I love the art and the premise behind the book. The LIs seem interesting and the world seems fascinating. I definitely don’t regret resubscribing just for this book. It seems like it could become a favorite of mine.

My only complaint is that the plot moves fast. It’s very blink and you miss an entire explanation. The book thrusts you into what seems like an already developed world and expects you to just know everything already. I can keep up with some ideas because I’m pagan and know some of the concepts, but it’s still confusing to have so many revelations in the first two chapters and no time in between. I wonder how many things were cut from the book before publishing. It just seems like the entire thing is on fast forward and the characters themselves don’t react to major, groundbreaking news. Hopefully this’ll be fixed going forward.

I also know there’s a select release for a TNA POV book, but I don’t have access. I envy those of you that do though.

So yeah, this current line up is not the best Choices has ever had, but it’s also not the worst.

#playchoices #choices vip #vip choices

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tophabes · 10 months

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I’ve been reading ur Topher/Abe fic and it’s completely won me over for the ship I mean I LOVE this fic, I can’t believe there’s so much left looking at the expected chapter count, I’m excited to tune in for their future stupidity and dumbassery.

I was extra surprised because I’ve never really been a huge fan of “fake dating” scenarios but I think what I was really not liking was that most the time the characters are just super OOC in order to serve the purpose of a fake dating plot line, when not only is everyone in character but their also well written and the humor for the fic really is on point as a result.

I swear every other line when I’m reading this fic has me like screaming and throwing my phone away like, omg they’re so stupid they are the masters of their own disasters.

I can’t wait until the next chapter for Topher’s make over scene lmaoooo all I can image is the “make over make over” song from the forts season of clone high.

Hello!

I'm so glad you've been enjoying it so much, I've mentioned previously that the chapter count is subject to change either to longer or shorter depending on how things go, but right now yes twenty seems about right!

Fake-dating is my bread and butter, I would say it's my absolute favorite trope. So of course, I had to do one for TophAbe. I'm happy you seem to think that theyre in-character, I tried my best but I know in some areas I am lacking a bit!

It makes me feel very motivated that the makeover is so anticipated, however unfortunately I don't believe the next chapter will contain it. It will most likely be in either chapter eight, or nine.

I'd like for chapter seven to be primarily focused on the 'Abe confessing to Joan' thing that I hadn't gotten to in the previous chapter. Big plans, big plans..!

Thank you for reading!

#ask #personal text

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tarklesbehindthescenes · 9 months

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Self-Rec Tag Game

@heliopauseentertainments tagged me, so here we go

Rules: Share five of your works (art, writing, etc.). Then tag five people to share the things they made.

1. Something you absolutely adore.

2. Something that was challenging to create.

3. Something that makes you laugh (or smile).

4. Something that suprised you (in how it turned, in how much people liked it, etc.)

5. Something you want other people to see.

1. This is one of my lesser read fics since it’s written for Robots in Disguise 2001, but I love how I set up Railspike in “Team Gossip Train”. His friendship with an elderly lady is precious, and I never actually intended for this to go anywhere. It was supposed to be some heartwarming fluff. But I’ve been getting motivation to write a fic that shows their friendship off a little more and I fully intend to follow up on that. I think it’ll be two chapters, and I’ve written a good chunk of chapter one. No idea when that’ll come out. But now you can look forward to it!

2. The most challenging series I’ve ever written has to be “Megatron’s Elite Trine”. I make no secret of the fact that I have not read IDW as a whole. I’ve seen whatever snippets and info dumps that cross my dash. I know about whatever “The Basics” talks about on Youtube. I’ve had lengthy discussions with my husband, who has read it extensively. But I myself am not completely and totally familiar with it like I am with other continuities. That and I had never written for a polyamorous relationship before. So this was new territory.

But seeing people are enjoying these fics provides me with a good amount of confidence. The characters and their interactions are becoming easier to figure out and write with each passing fic and I am enjoying myself. So overall, I’m satisfied with the results.

3. “Come Fishing” never fails to make me grin. I love Roddy and Ultra Magnus so much, and I really wanted to convey just how much fun their friendship is. It’s easy to write a stoic character who doesn’t laugh or smile, but that’s not who G1 Magnus is. He smiles and he enjoys a bit of fun, but his sense of responsibility usually has him by the reins. Roddy is that friend that makes it his mission to make sure Magnus gets a break now and again so he doesn’t work himself to death. His energy and enthusiasm is infectious and Magnus cherishes it, despite the fact that Roddy can be a bit overzealous at times.

4. Honestly, I am very surprised by how much traction “Decepticon Snippets” has gotten. It started out as fun little things to make the Decepticons seem less black and white, because as much as I adore G1, I like to venture away from the simple “they’re the bad guys and we’re the good guys” attitude. They’re all cybertronian. I wanted to have an excuse to dive into the Decepticons and flesh out their characters. And I’ve got a handful of rarepairs in there for my own pleasure. And then it developed a bit of a plot. And apparently a lot of people like it??

I planned on adding some OCs in there, but then decided it would make for better writing if I just made that story its own thing. I plan on making Astrotrain and Dead End an item once I get the motivation to continue it. But yeah, I’m always shocked whenever I get a notification showing that another person has added a Kudos to it. Because I’m still getting them, despite having not updated that one in ages.

5. I would absolutely love for “The Rise of Rodimus Prime” series to get more traction. It’s a passion project that my husband and I are both super excited to finish. This series is set in G1 and follows Rodimus and a trine of seekers around the galaxy, the initial trine being Redwing, Hotlink, and the conehead Sandstorm. As they go, Rodimus is trying to keep the seekers safe from the bounty that Galvatron put on their heads, while also uncovering a big mastermind plot with each encounter his group has against various antagonists.

The group gains more members over time and develops familial bonds with each other. The multiverse is also torn in some places, so there are more than a handful of bots that come from other continuities, such like: Robots in Disguise 2001, Shattered Glass, and IDW. This series will also be tied in to the third installment of “Maximo’s Legacy” when I eventually finish the second installment.

We also have a fic dedicated to showing how Hotlink’s character started out to show why we went the direction we did with him and provide some more insight on the mystery that Redwing is.

This is a very ambitious project and I cannot gush about this story or the characters enough. I know that I hardly ever post about them, but boy do I want to hold entire conversations with people about this!

Anyone I tag, feel free to ignore if you don’t want to participate: @rubski02, @tanglecolors, @tsubasa10126-unwinds, anyone else interested can tag themselves

#Transformers #fanfic #ask game #maccadam #writing #AO3 #G1 #IDW #RiD01

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frauleinandry · 3 months

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okay, so, the more I think about it, the less surprised I am about this year's CYL results?

so, like everyone else, I was expecting an engage sweep. yunaka and ivy/alear for the girls, and diamant and alear/alcryst for the boys. as everyone knows by now, that REALLY didn't happen. in fact, the only real contender was yunaka.

why was that the case? well, I have a few theories, which I'm read-more zoning because this post has gotten LONG

partially, I think this is caused by the year gap between engage's release and CYL 8. speaking as someone who's been hardcore into FE since awakening and has gone back to play all of the older games I could, I played engage, had mixed feelings, and then forgot about it.

... aaaaaand so did everyone else. yes, engage does have a fanbase, but compared to three houses and even fates/awakening... it's tiny!

I think there's a few reasons for this. firstly, there's the lack of shipping mechanics, which means it's less appealing to romance fans (which is a huge amount of people active in fanbases, and therefore voting for things like CYL).

secondly, the game is deliberately designed around dropping older units in favour of using your newest recruits, which means people are unlocking less supports, and are therefore less invested in the characters.

engage also lacks replay value due to said absence of romance mechanics and the difficulty of reclassing characters, which is another thing preventing people from actually unlocking the supports, and therefore caring about the cast.

truthfully, most of the people seriously invested in engage probably aren't active in a fandom sense, since they're playing it exclusively for the gameplay (and therefore aren't going to vote for it in things like CYL).

still, I don't think that's the only reason engage didn't win. for one, there's definitely botting - bernie winning isn't surprising, but by that much?? yeah, no.

I think that the engage vote being split - especially amongst the men's division - really didn't help. all of the three houses fans rallied behind felix and bernie, who have been consistently third place for years. meanwhile, you've got several serious candidates for both male and female engage characters, splitting the vote multiple ways - if all of the ivy voters had voted for yunaka instead, she would have easily scored second place.

alphonse and robin are a bit more surprising to me, but robin is the only major awakening character without a brave unit yet, and FEH characters historically do well. I also think the fans wanted to give intsys a message that OG alphonse/shareena/anna reeeeeally need an update.

for me, I believe the final factor in the engage loss of CLY8 is that... everyone thought they were a shoe in! everyone thought at bare minimum, yunaka and diamant were shoe ins, so why not vote for your fav minor character you'd like an alt for instead?

I think all of these factors combined is why engage did so poorly. now, do I think that this means we're never going to get any engage brave units? nah. with felix/bernie out of the pool, the three houses votes are going to be fractured between hilda, byleth, yuri, and the shezzes. truthfully, unless the rumoured genealogy remake drops between now and the next CYL, I'm very much expecting brave diamant and yunaka next year!

so, it's not all doom-and-gloom for engage fans, even if things didn't go their way this year

#fire emblem #cyl8 #fire emblem engage #review tag #okay this isn't really a review but i can't be assed making a separate analysis post tag

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steel--fairy · 5 months

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Hmmmmm, how about Barry? For the verse character thing.

barry! my very first rival! though i went with one of his other generic names and picked like. tyson for whatever reason. idk. 9 year old me was an enigma.

anyways that's to say, he has a special place in my heart the silly little kiddo

under a cut bc this, again, got super long

so to start with barry, we need to start with palmer. he and chryssas dad (henceforth referred to as cd since he doesn't have an actual name yet...) were both from twinleaf and dreamed of becoming great trainers.

and they did! palmer made it to the champion level, though being champion bored him so he quit after a bit. when plans to build a battle frontier in sinnoh popped up, he jumped at the chance to join.

cd eventually became a ranger which he was good at, but killed him in a freak accident. a lot of turbulent emotions for palmer--his best friend died the same week his son was born.

that's all relevant because it led to barry being childhood friends with chryssa and lucas whenever his dad was around... and then chased off by johanna whenever he was at the battle frontier.

cd's death shattered johanna and she partly blamed palmer. she'd never say that to his face, but she did kinda take it out on barry as a proxy.

as a result, barry had a weird time with his best friend (lucas). they could only spend time together at school or when johanna wasn't looking.

barry, despite his extroversion, was a very lonely kid. he couldn't see lucas that often and both of his parents worked busy schedules. palmer spent 5 days of the week at the battle frontier while his mom (who I should really also name) was a teacher who was constantly busy.

he had a lot of trouble making friends at school. he was a bit too extroverted yknow? tolerated at best as a class clown. lucas was basically the only person who actually liked him. (even chryssa basically tolerated him at best lol)

that left barry with a lot of time on his own. to most people's surprise, he actually spent a lot of that time studying! battling of course, not schoolwork. he studied video of his father or cynthia or whoever, went to the library to learn strategy, went by the high school to watch the older kids casually battle.

so, obviously, he couldnt wait to go on his journey! he just needed to wait for palmer to get him the perfect starter : )

...yea. he uh didnt. palmer knew barry wanted a pokemon but was also away from barry a lot. being home reminded him, but a lack of object permeance is mayhaps a family trait. barry ended up getting his starter from professor rowan.

which barry isn't bitter about at all! he's lying

barry really does love his daddy. he looks up to him as the coolest, greatest, awesomest person on the planet. the fact that palmer doesnt seem to be aware of how deep barry's admiration goes stings juuuust a tiny bit.

but he was on his journey now! and he had a rival in chryssa! (lucas was a boring nerd who worked under professor rowan)

....except chryssa avoided him. and turned down all of his offers to battle when he did find her. and the very few timea they did battle, she absolutely crushed him.

barry's journey was maybe a bit lonelier than expected.

but then he got a chance to study under crasher wake! ignore that wake didnt seem to want him around like everyone else! he was going to be as strong as his dad and this was going to help!

....if team galactic doesnt blow up sinnoh first. barry, despite a desire to help, doesn't get much done. he couldn't stop team galactic from blowing up the great marsh. he couldn't stop jupiter from taking uxie. he couldnt even make it to the peak of mt coronet in time to help there.

barry felt a bit useless and superfluous. he's strong, yea, but what's the point? he hasnt gotten his dads attention, he cant keep his friends, he cant make new ones, he cant help out.....

and uh. this is about where i am for barry. one of the things on my to do list for potential sinnoh fic is wrap up barry's plot line. have him talk to his dad, deal with his growing inferiority complex, all that. its one of those things i feel will be easier after actually writing it, alas, so I don't have much more to say.

but some other barry stuff!

adhd king as we all know

starts dating lucas as an adult. when they tell chryssa, she just kind of stares at them and says she thought theyd been dating for the past 5 years.

does make up with his dad and have a good conversation about everything. palmer never meant to make barry feel bad (and feels quite bad hinself for doing so on accident) and tries to make it up to him

eventually becomes a frontier brain? i have him as taking over from argenta but I'm not 100% married to that specific concept. i kinda want to see what others have for barry before definitively picking something

and that's barry! yay!

#pie has hcs #rival barry #verse posting

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adeadratiswatching · 1 year

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Doing my first playthrough of bg3 as my Tav Akris has forever altered my gameplay and views on everyone.

I had gone in without knowing much about the game outside the fact the current companions in early access were the assholes, so we got to know and like them first. Knowing this I thought it would be amusing to make a morally good character to contrast who we have currently, but I very specially wanted a character that wasn't naive to the cruelty and harshness the world had to offer. So cue me spending two irl days coming up with a concept, and finally landing on... A slave who recently found their freedom.

Now let me tell you I did not make this decision knowing that I'd end up having more than one deranged ex slave rogue in my party, but I gotta say i'm so glad it did. I had absolutely no fucking clue about any of the companions backstories, but finding out Astarion's while playing as a character who's supposed to have lived through very similar experiences was absolutely wild. It also ended up changing my view on Ast, from what little I'd known of the character being a megalomaniac asshole, to realizing he's actually kinda sweet. There was something about playing Akris from as close to a place of understanding and empathy as I could, rather than a place of sympathy and pity that really did bring to light little bits about Astarion's character I'm not sure I would have noticed if I had only played as some of my other eventual Tavs like my Gith cleric Vin'ael.

I guess one of the biggest things I learned about him while playing as a character who is intended to be a fellow slave as well, is that Astarion is quite appreciative if you avoid pity. He hates it. He'll like you a lot more if you let him process it on his own terms, and reason with him. It may not always give you approval, but it's the closest 'genuine' responses I've gotten from him. Man needs his space, and understandably so.

I also learned that you can get a surprising amount of approval from Lae if you 'know your place' and just take the L she loved to dish out. If you don't argue her degrading you, she likes you, especially if your choices are level headed and calculated. Playing Akris, his actions always are, because that's how he's supposed to have survived this long. Playing long con. Results are all that matter. Lae'zel is just really young and sure of herself. She's proud with a very specific way of viewing the world, and so long as it's what she somewhat understands she's not impossible to reason with.

Wyll however has surprisingly been the most difficult out of the companions while playing as Akris, despite them having very similar morals. That is to say Wyll is apparently unbelievably confrontational, and does not seem to enjoy doing things the subtle way, which means he seems to have a tendency to butt heads with Akris over things quite often, even more than Lae'zel or Astarion, who both don't even agree with helping others much at all. Absolutely wild.

God I love this game and just how different your relationships with the companions can be, even just in early access. I am both excited and terrified to see what's to come. Can't wait, honestly.

#ratsy plays bg3 #rambles of the personal variety #akris tag #tav

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imaginethreehouses · 2 years

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Hi! I saw that your matchups were open so I hope you don’t mind doing mine for male characters (one of each house? If you only do one per request, then just one in general in fine!) I use she/her pronouns! I have rose pink hair reaching to my mid-back and drown brown hair. I stand at 5ft and am left handed. I’m a Sun Capricorn, Moon Virgo, Rising Leo and an ISTP.

Most people think I’m quiet and polite upon first impressions, so they tend to be surprised when I’m with my friends and Im here bullying and gaslighting the living shit out of them. I’m told that I’m a blunt person, not in the mean way, but just speaking the truth when a person is in trouble and needs to see reality kind, apparently. I’m a very sarcastic person and am definitely a bad influence. I don’t tend to talk about myself much. I’m really bad at giving compliments and don’t tend to stress much. I don’t like seeming week or stupid, so I tend to act like a know-it-all as I try to hide my flaws, tho it has gotten to the point where a friend asked if I’ve ever cried once in my life which really hurt.

Anyway lol, I was a music oriented person, having played the piano mainly for over 12 years, violin, and guitar but it was never a passion of mine so I kinda dropped it. I love writing, drawing, and playing mostly JRPG games. I eat a lot lol, but I guess it’s better to describe it as I only get full when eating too much of one food since I get tired of it, and am a fast eater. I also have the humor of a 10-year-old boy with plenty of Your Mom and That’s what she said jokes.

Hey!! Sure, you can request one of each house, it's no problem! It actually makes it easier for me in a way because I'm always worried the people I write for will hate the match I pick? 😅 Now I have three tries. Also, I hope you mean bullying/gaslighting your friends in a figurative/exaggerated sense? I'm autistic and pushing 30 so I'm not always sure what younger people mean these days when they say these things LOL. Anyway! I hope you like the matches 🥰

From the Blue Lions, I match you with... Sylvain! ❤

Look no further. He's the one who'd be laughing his ass off at a "that's what she said" joke in the middle of a war council meeting.

Sylvain needs someone to be blunt with him and tell him how things are once in a while. Pretty frequently, actually. All the time, maybe, even.

He's often taken for someone with no feelings because of the way he acts, so he would get really angry if he sees someone do the same to you.

Sylvain would be the biggest fan of your writing, he would go as far as to draw terrible quality fanart of it.

If video games existed in Fódlan you can bet Sylvain would spend at least 3 hours a day gaming.

He's got his issues but I think the two of you could eventually fit together nicely!

From the Black Eagles, I match you with.... Caspar! ❤

I think he'd be another fellow 'fine' humor enjoyer and chaos wrecker 🤭

He'd support you so much in dropping what wasn't making you happy and going for what you really enjoy!

He'd think you're not that interesting upon first impression, then be delighted to learn what you truly are like when he sees you around your friends.

He might not really get your sarcasm sometimes and just get things comically wrong as a result. Feel free to either have mercy or mercilessly tease.

From the Golden Deer house, I match you with... Claude! ❤

Sorry, I think this pretty much completes the holy trinity of the "that's what she said" kind of humor fe3h guys 🤭

I think Claude would also enjoy gaming a lot. He is also a musical person though, so he would bug you endlessly when he inevitably decides that he wants to learn to play violin and piano.

Despite all his dreams and the complicated politics he's involved with, at heart he's a guy who loves to play jokes and tease. You'd fit together quite nicely!

This is completely unrelated to any of what you said but I think Claude is pretty much the best cuddler in the whole game. I can't explain it but IDK look at that gif up there, he looks so soft? 🥺

Bonus friendship match! From the Church of Seiros: Catherine!

#fe3h matches

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peroxideprinces · 1 year

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fav characters

djh -

i havent gotten too far into the show so far, but i'm already attached to both joey jeremiah and rick munro .

as i started tng first i already knew about joey a bit, but i was a little bit surprised to find out how immature he really was . it was a stark change from watching him try to figure out how to take care of a mentally ill teenager tbh . it was welcome, for the most part . i like how he matured from the start of djh to tng . i think he's very very compellin as a character n i feel for him a lot

rick i know less about . i was worried because he shares the name of another degrassi character . yknow the one . but instead i got a sean cameron-esque bad boy character with a bad family life . i think he's sweet ! i adore his friendship with joey even if it only really lasted that one episode . idk idk somethin about characters that joey saved from abusive fathers /j

tng -

the next generation is a . long show . i'm splittin this into diff eras to really be able to choose favorites from tee bee aych . i dont think it would be fair if i excluded characters jus bc there were too many of them . my faves, though, would have to b ellie nash, sean cameron, jt yorke, n craig manning

ellie is . interestin . shes introduced as an outcast goth girl that starts as a friend for ashley at first but then develops a lot throughout the series . she goes through a lot of serious issues that i think degrassi handled well . shes also jus a fun character to watch n someone you want to root for !

sean is very trouble . much like rick, hes a troubled youth, but he has a heart of gold . whenever he gets into trouble or makes a mistake in his mind he always seems to immediately regret it . he lives with his older brother and is very protective over the people he cares about .

jt ! jt . hes funny !! he lived, he died . if i talk ab him more i WILL cry .

craig......look . craig is not a good person . hes a very flawed character and most of his issues stem from issues relating to his problems with his family . its important that we, as viewers, know that craig was abused (resulting in trust issue . he thinks everyone will soon become bored of him and tries to hold onto something new that seems more interested, hence all of the cheating) and that he is bipolar . while these dont excuse his actions they do give the viewers some understanding as to why he could be like this . i think hes charming and hes just...layered . there are so many things to take into account and to look into with him that its just hard NOT to love him

tng pt two -

sorry this post is takin too long n i am sleepy . i do not really care about any characters other than the bhandari siblings n campbell SORRYYYY

by no means r any of these characters the best characters . i am jus holdin them in my palm like a bug <3

#dgrsi postin #anon #question mark

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bukojuiice · 3 years

Text

— genshin boys as your college roommates who are head over heels in love with you

ೃ ft. childe, diluc, kaeya, zhongli, and xiao x gn! reader

ೃ 400-600 words per character! ♡

ೃ warnings: mention of alcohol drinking ( but aside from that, just lots and lots of fluff!)

ೃ this is my very first writing contribution to the genshin fandom, so i hope everyone likes it! after 5 months of playing genshin, i think it’s safe to say my brainrot for it has finally consumed me and i’m confident enough to brew something up! <3

ೃ genshin impact masterlist

ೃ if you want to be a part of my taglist, answer this form! ♡

CHILDE:

– You and Childe are the perfect embodiment of the best friends to roommates trope. Whenever you wanna sleep in for 5 minutes more and you’re about to run late for your first class, Childe never fails to slowly drag you out of your bed, laughing as he does so. “Wake up sunshine!” is the first thing you always hear in the morning and you don’t complain if you get to hear his smexy voice anyway. He is a confident flirt and is not afraid to show you how much he cares or how much he pines over you.

– He’s always always there to save the day. There was a time when your classmates stood you up on the group project you were making, and guess who comes up to you with glitter, glue, and colored paper? Childe, of course! He stayed up until the wee hours of the night with you just so he can help you finish it. He even promises to set things in a “very civil way” with your absolute jerk groupmates the very next day. You practically hang out with him 24/7 as most of the time he just barges in your shared apartment with some amusement park tickets on hand or to some expensive yoga or judo class. There’s never a dull moment with him and with each passing day, the more you fall harder for him.

– After a morning jog with him and seeing cute little dogs frolicking around with their married owners, Childe suddenly had the urge to adopt a dog with you. But, due to a no pets rules established by the landlord, the two of you opt to owning hamsters instead! Childe named his hamster, narwhal (after his favorite animal of course!) whereas you named yours bunny, to match his irrelevant pet name picking. your hamsters both share the same house/cage and even they are pining over each other.

– His siblings visit a lot, especially Teucer. At this point, there was never a day the little boy didn’t ask when are you and Childe going to finally become “playground playmates” (a term for lovers that they use in second grade apparently) since the two of you are living with each other and seem so close. Childe is always able to successfully change the topic and shift away from talking about the shared feelings that the both of you have for each other. But, alas, the day had finally came to be and during your monthly trip to the amusement park, Childe confidently confesses to you on top of the ferris wheel.

“So... everyone in my life knows that you’re my best friend. Yea, that’s pretty cool and all but... Can we be more than just that (Y/N)? Is there hope if I think there could be something between us?”

DILUC:

– Diluc is your posh and rich roommate who sounds and looks too good to be true. The fact that you’re roomies with the literal heir to the country’s biggest wine and beverage company sounds like something straight out of a fanfic. But, it was of his volition to decide to live in a penthouse near Teyvat University. It was the doings of his step-brother Kaeya who tricked him into getting a roommate so that he won’t be alone for the rest of his college years... aaand that’s where you come in. practically barged into his life, but, you were a blessing. an angel sent from the skies.

– He’s quite cold and unapproachable at first, only greeting you whenever he sees you but never bothered to engage in small talk with you. Even if the both of you go to the same university. It wasn’t until your second month as roommates, when you accidentally had too much to drink after a friends’ night out. You come home to see him in the living room, drinking grape juice from a wine glass, and watching a rerun of Hannah Montana. You practically collapse at the front door, he rushes to you and helps you up as you drunkenly confess to him in tears how you wanted to become much closer to him especially since the two of you are going to spend the rest of your college years together. That was when Diluc realized how distant and aloof he’s been and vows to make it up to you.

– Diluc is very talented. Albeit in very discreet way, he makes sure to make use of his talents especially if it’s an opportunity to make memories with you. He is an amazing cook as much as he tries to deny it, He’s a secret virtuoso caught in 4k when you impulsively bought a guitar one time and you asked if he knows how to play, and he does so well. He practically serenades you in the most non-obvious way possible. Lastly, He’s very athletic. You invited him to play tennis one time, betting that if he won, you would do his bidding for the rest of the week. Before you could even blink, he wins. His “punishment” for you was that you accompany him in binge-watching TV Dramas. Grey’s Anatomy and Downtown Abby are just some of the shows the two of you would watch. It is absolutely adorable seeing him so invested in these dramas. and since the next on Diluc’s list were sit-coms, you were preparing yourself to answer his questions on the context of jokes that he didn’t get. In a poor attempt to flirt with you, he calls out your name and recites in the most Joey Tribbiani voice he could muster, “How you doin?” You were laughing so so hard that night because his pick up line actually worked on you and suddenly your realizations came full circle: you were very much in love with him too.

– His naturally cool yet shy nature had always gotten the best of him. He’s always wanted to ask if you wanted to carpool with him to school. Riding with him in his Tesla sportscar that goes 150 Mph? Heck yeah. However, it took quite a while before he could muster up the courage to ask you (4 months of being roommates until he finally popped the question) Since then, the two of you go home to and from University whenever you had similar schedules. Ever since then, Diluc had began to soften. His cold and hard facade slowly melted. Asking if you could help tie his floofy red hair then he’d let you play with it and let you style it in different ways. He takes you out on café dates during lunch breaks and take you out to watch a movie after both of your late night lectures. Everyone in campus thinks the two of you are practically together at this point. All that was left was to bare your feelings with one another through a fumbling and awkward confession.

“Words cannot not suffice these feelings I’ve been harboring for you since the very beginning. I L-like you a lot. Do you feel the same way too?”

KAEYA:

- Everyone loves Kaeya. Your friends and family, The School Faculty, The owner of the Convenience Store from down the street, The old lady who lives next door, The little kids from down the hall, and even the angry brown poodles from the farthest apartment to your right absolutely loved him. it was hard to keep up with having a roommate that not only were you crushing so hard on, but also had such a vibrant social life. Kaeya interacts and socializes with a lot of people and he admits that it does tend to get tiring at times. But, if these sacrifices lead to coming home to his cute roommate who has captivated his heart since Day 1, then it’s all worth it.

— Despite how warm and friendly he may seem, Kaeya is a very private person. He’s brought two or three friends like Jean, Lisa, Albedo, or Rosaria. But, only to discuss school affairs. He wasn’t the kind of person who trusts others easily, even if he was giving off the impression that he was a trustworthy and reliable person himself. He’d much rather spend time with you on days off from school. He may be a party guy on the outside (he insists he does it for future connections when he graduates) but he’s quite a homebody. Kaeya is the type to watch korean dramas and anime with you, go on late night convenience store cravings, and these always resulted in a perfect evening spent with him. When the both of you are fully immersed into the anime and things get a bit cozy, you rest your head on his shoulder, huddling for warmth.

— Kaeya would always come home with a little something for you. May it be take-out food, A trinket, a board game, an accessory, and even skincare products. The indigo-haired man is very particular about self-care and you bet that he’s bought different kinds of face masks, ointments, and even matching cute headbands just for the two of you! He’s very flamboyant and flirts with you a lot. Trying to impress you with pick up lines and suggestive jokes, but you always thought that he was just joking around because that was always a part of his personality. It was always a part of him. For Kaeya on the other hand, it seems to him that you don’t take him seriously and it's possible that you don’t return his feelings at all. He had to set things straight and it didn’t take long until Kaeya found the perfect opportunity to do so.

— With the help of practically everyone in the apartment, Kaeya is about to surprise you with a candle-lit dinner up on the apartment rooftop. His sly smooth-talking quickly convinced you that the both of you were just going to go out on your nightly convenience store trips. Your curiosity grows when he takes you by the hand, covering you with a blindfold, and whispering to your ear, “Do you trust me?” Gripping onto his hand tightly, the both of you go up some stairs and you reply, “Yes Kaeya, I do.” He slowly uncovers the shield from your eyes and your eyes sparkle at the sight of the candle-lit dinner, complete with jazz music, and a romantic view of the city.

“(Y/N)... You are the most precious person to me. I hope you can take me seriously, especially my feelings. I am saying this with my heart in my hand and with nothing but genuine love in my soul.”

ZHONGLI:

— Zhongli is truly husband material. You’re saying this as his friend, as his roommate, and as someone who’s absolutely smitten over him. He’s a third year environmental archaeology student at Teyvat University. Gentle, kind, and has nothing but wise and intelligent things to say. your lovestruck self can’t help but just admire him from afar, not knowing that he too has been entranced by you ever since you moved in.

—He's always the first to wake up in the morning. The first thing he does is make you a cup of coffee. He's got your favorite memorized, (Coffee with cream. Not to sweet and not too bitter.) The both of you own matching mugs, (written in colored scribbled letters, “The Wise Roommate” for Zhongli and “The Cute Roommate” for you.) He always wants to spend his free mornings with you. Both of you have different schedules so you never see each other at Campus and this was the only blissful time of the day you can spend with one another. Once you get home for dinner, (Zhongli is always the first to get home if he doesn’t stay too long at the library or strolling around the city) If it’s your turn to cook or if it’s his, he never forgets to brew you oolong tea after dinner. A perfect chance for the two of you to just talk the night away and engage in deep and meaningful conversations.

—Zhongli fell in love with you because you just quietly listen to him. Sometimes, you would share your thoughts and insights, even sharing your own personal knowledge that Zhongli had not known prior. You were one of the very few people in his life whom he could talk about absolutely anything with. Well, who wouldn’t listen to a handsome man who has a voice as smooth as butter? He is very passionate about his studies. Taking a lot of extra courses and spending a lot of money on his research. and so, most of the time, he spends all of his Mora on his extra studies (excluding the money he needs to pay for rent) and other interesting antiques. You understood why though. So, instead, you ask him to accompany you to do mundane chores. Going grocery shopping, doing the laundry and cleaning the apartment. He always helps in any way he can. The prying eyes of people around you and the old lady fr next door boldly coming up to you to ask if you and Zhongli were a married couple. You blush profusely whereas Zhongli coolly denies the woman's claims. It hurt quite a little but who were you to complain?

— It was during one of your night strolls with Zhongli. He had invited you out after dinner under the guise of wanting to have some fresh air and find a clear spot for the fireworks from a nearby festival. Your heart was thumping loudly to a non-existent rhythm, blissfully unaware that Zhongli was feeling a burst in his chest too. He clears his throat and his shoulders straighten. Zhongli puts his hand on your shoulder and breathes deeply. His cool and gentlemanly aura still radiating off of him as always. A wonderful array of colors fill the sky as his lips began to form the words he's always wanted to say:

"Tonight is beautiful isn't it? I thought that this would be the perfect time to open my heart up to you... You are a diamond in the rough that few see the beauty of. My beloved– Will you accept my feelings?

XIAO:

— Having a popular twitch streamer as your roommate was a one in a million chance. Especially if you’re not even an influencer or internet figure yourself. But, how did this come to be? Why have you developed a crush on Xiao aka VigilantYaksha without knowing who he was? A gamer with over 6 million followers on different social media platforms? Simple, a high-end apartment near Teyvat University had a special discount if you were willing to be roommates with someone. It’s an amazing deal, near your school, cost-efficient, and you believed the 10% chance of scoring a hot roommate as seen on reality TV and romantic comedies. It was like rolling through a Gacha Game and getting a 5 star character. As that “character” is soon to be revealed as Xiao.

— Things started off rocky at first. On your first day, he flatly welcomed you by the door, introduced himself, then quickly retreated back to his room. As soon as you locked eyes with him, he gave off a certain cold and unfriendly aura. You wanted to get to know him better. Maybe with a little love and care, he could open up to you and you could become friends! That same day, you had mistakenly thought of your room as his and you walked in on him streaming a horror game. He wasn’t spooked by the jumpscares. But instead, he was looking at you in horror because you’ve just exposed yourself to thousands of people. You wave at the camera, apologize, and left. Since then, his fans, (called the Anemo Tofus) have been shipping the two of you together. Creating fanfiction and fanart of Xiao and the mysterious roommate that accidentally walked in on him. They practically begged Xiao to at least talk a little bit about you, to which, he declined. When you surprised him with dinner (as a little treat since this was your first week with him) He sits across the table from you, his eyes gazing deep into yours, as he pops the question, in a very tsundere tone: “Would you like to appear in my streams? T-the Anemo Tofus wanna learn more about you. B-but, if you don’t want to, it’s alright! You don’t have to-” You cut him off before he could continue his doubts, “Xiao! What are you saying? I’d love to!”

— There was something blossoming between the two of you after that particular dinner with him. Starting with your first “roommate video” that you had thought of when you were brainstorming for video ideas. It was an Almond and Mapo Tofu mukbang whilst the two of you answered questions from fans! The viewers noticed how visibly comfortable he was around you despite his usual reserved attitude. He was cracking up a lot more sarcastic and self-deprecating jokes whilst Tofu filled both of your mouths. Outside of the confines of social media and inside the comfortable space that was your apartment, you and Xiao grew closer. Wearing matching hoodies, going on midnight snack runs, playing in arcades, and stargazing with him up on the rooftop as you contemplate about life and talk about the mysteries of the universe. There were times when you would stay up late doing school works and would accidentally fall asleep on the sofa. Xiao would come out of room because he periodically had cases of insomnia. When he sees you on the sofa, he can’t help but smile at your sleeping figure and admire your beauty. First. he brings all your clutter back to your room then slowly picks you up from the couch, into his arms, and brings you back to your room. He places a blanket on top of you and your stuffed plushies next to you so you can hug them any time.

— On a particular night, you fell asleep on the sofa once again and begun to have recurring nightmares. Xiao was there to witness you whimpering, muttering to yourself, and shivering to a mental image that he could not see. (He wishes he could erase all the pain that these nightmares were giving you) You subconsciously grab onto his hand, murmuring to yourself: “Xiao, please don’t go.” He whispers back, “I won’t.” Your nerves slowly relax when you feel the Yaksha squeezing himself to lie next to you on the couch. Holding onto your arm, he continues to reassure you that it was going to be okay. You grab onto him, hugging him from behind. He feels your heartbeat revert back to it’s normal pace and you return back to your peaceful slumber. “I’ll always be here for you, (Y/N). I’ll be here to protect you. Forever and always.” Turning to you to plant a kiss on your forehead, you nestle your head on Xiao’s chest. He watches as you cling to him for love and warmth until he is slowly whisked away by his weariness, rewarded with a peaceful sleep he hasn’t felt in a while.

“And they were roommates.”

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mycatismyeditor · 2 years

Text

Supergirl episode idea my brain won't give up on...

So because I’m a huge story nerd and like fixing things I think about Supergirl a lot, because that show was a mess and the greatest waste of potential I think I’ve seen… possibly ever. Anyway, I’ve had this idea about an episode that won't go away so I’m sharing it here in the hopes it stops coming to me at 3am and I can finally get some sleep.

I feel like an episode like this, one where the focus was on Kara and her emotions and letting her talk, could have been useful in terms of character development and I think Melissa is more than capable as a dramatic actress of holding our attention without needing a million other things going on around her and an episode like this would have given her a chance to actually show that as Supergirl. I also think it would have been a good chance to show some actual processing of emotions and issues without it being about fighting someone (because really too much of that show was about fighting someone over actual story and character development).

So this idea is set early S3, when Kara is struggling with her identity and not wanting to be Kara and all that jazz. Please note this is not an attack on the writers or suggesting what they used in S3 instead was bad or anything like that, this is just an example of the kind of stories and character based episodes I really wish we’d gotten on the show because honestly I haven't even been able to finish watching most of it as the writing is just so... honestly boring. But I love the characters so I keep trying.

Also it's a bit long so sorry about that.

......

We open with Kara having just done some kind of fight and the DEO are collecting like a Fort Rozz detainee or something. Have Alex say something about how that’s all wrapped up and suggesting Kara get some rest because she’s really been putting in extra hours and it’s getting late. Kara saying she’s just going to do a short flight before she goes home. Alex reluctantly agrees. Maybe have Alex (or possibly Winn over coms) say something about reports of some hikers setting off fireworks in the National park.

Result, Kara is flying over the mountains around National City and then her powers falter and then she tries to recover but not very well. She barely manages to give Alex a warning before she crashes into a cliff having blown out her powers.

Her earpiece is destroyed in the crash and she’s a little beaten up but otherwise okay. She sighs and takes out her phone and tries to call Alex (no service) then sees a picture of her and Mon-el as her phone background. She starts breaking down a bit her head in her hands tears coming and then there’s a voice calling from somewhere nearby.

“Hello! Is anyone there? Please, I need help!”

Kara of course follows the voice and goes into a cave to find a rock climber trapped in the cave partway down on a ledge under a small rockslide with a large boulder pinning his legs.

“Supergirl!” he says excitedly. “Wow, am I glad to see you. Can you get me out?”

Then Kara has a bit of an extension to her breakdown because she looks at this guy who’s evidently trapped suddenly so excited thinking he’s saved. She gets down to him and tearfully has to tell him she’s so sorry she actually blew out her powers so she’s only human right now.

He just looks at her and sighs.

“Well… that sucks,” he said giving her a smile. “How’d you blow out your powers?”

“I uh… I haven’t really… slept in… like a week.”

He looked at her and nodded slowly. Maybe here she notices he's shivering and so shifts to be holding him and wrap him in her cape or something to keep him warm.

“Well uh, since it seems we’re both stuck here why don’t you tell me why you haven't slept in a week.”

Kara lets out a surprised laugh and wipes at her tears.

“You want me to tell you about my problems right now?”

He nodded.

“Well I think my problems are pretty obvious,” he motioned to the rocks covering his lower half. “Big rocks stuck on my legs, slowly bleeding out. Yours seem much less obvious and far more interesting, come on tell me all about it. I’ve been told I’m a good listener. At least that’s what my wife says, she always tells me Pete you might drive me mad but at least I know you’ll listen as I complain about it.”

He gives her a bright smile and Kara thinks about it. She looks at him and then the rocks and back again.

“Normally I wouldn’t rush you, but I don’t wanna pass out from blood loss halfway through something important, you might think I’m being rude.”

“How can you joke about that?” Kara asked horrified. “Maybe I can move the rocks and free you and-”

“And I’ll die much faster,” he said giving her another smile. “Some of this is actually stopping me from bleeding out. And before you suggest going for help the nearest person is a three hour hike, and I’ll be dead by then.”

Kara looked at him alarmed.

“I’m a pretty experienced climber, not that it looks like it right now but…” He sighed. “I know I’m dying Supergirl, but... I’d rather not die alone in the cold and dark.”

Moment of quiet then another smile from the guy and he pats her hand.

“So come on, tell me what’s going on. I promise I won’t tell anyone else. And I could uh, I could really use a distraction.”

Kara looks at him and then sighs and nods.

“So I… I had a boyfriend. And I had to uh… he was…”

She took a deep breath.

“He was so annoying! He would never do what I told him and he was always getting into trouble and I would have to drag him out of it and it was so…” She made a strangling motion with her hands. “Like I got him a job, at my workplace, and he of course got fired on day one. Not, get this, not for sleeping with one of my coworkers in the printing room but because he gave her all his work to do.”

Pete laughs and then so does Kara

“Like seriously. I…”

She starts to cry.

“He was so… sweet. And he was… he tried. He was awful when we first met and then he, he changed. He was hopeless at it sometimes but he kept trying and he made me laugh as much as he drove me crazy and I just… I loved him. I really loved him. And then I had to send him away because he was a Daxamite, the Prince of the Daxamites! Which he didn’t tell me! No, he kept that a secret so when they demanded his return I thought he was going to his execution or something so I…”

Cut away to Alex and the DEO desperately trying to find where Kara is to save her. They’re all stressing out. Alex most of all. J’onn being the best space dad reassuring Alex and promising her they’ll find her eventually. Winn desperately trying to use some advanced modelling to work out her flight path and it not really working which frustrates Alex. Maybe he’s trying to trace her radiation signature but because she’s blown out her powers it’s not really working so they’re trying to find her phone and using advanced hacking into satellites. Lot’s of ultra technical advanced stuff and none of it’s working. (Maybe have a side thing of instead of trying to do something technical the best idea would be to actually get out there in force and manually look becuse the damage to the cliff is pretty obvious.)

Most of the episode is Kara just talking with Pete. Firstly about her relationship with Mon-el and her unresolved feelings and grief at losing him and the fears she has about where he’s going to end up since she sent him away. Maybe a few small connections to her trauma from seeing her planet explodeand being stuck in the Phantom zone.

Then she asks about why he’s down there alone against all cave diving rules. Turns out the guy is there because he did this cave with his little brother years ago. It goes really deep and there’s a few water sections but when you get to the end there’s this amazing hidden spot with rock carvings or something. On their climb his brother panicked when they got down near the bottom where it’s really dark and there's water.

“And I got… short with him and he-” Pete cleared his throat. “He made a mistake and he died. I uh… I know it wasn’t really my fault but… I still think about all the ways I could have saved him, you know. Even though I logically know I did all I could. I got him out of the water and did CPR and I tried and it… I did everything right but… Do you ever have a moment where even though you did everything you could, more than anyone would have asked of you, when you nearly die yourself trying to save them and they still…”

“Yes,” Kara said softly.

Pete looked at her and nodded.

“Yeah, I guess you do.”

They’re quiet for a minute.

“I came out today to get something, his, his watch. It’s a dumb thing. A kid watch really with Snoopy on it for God’s sake. But he loved it because it was a gift from me. The first gift I gave him actually. We were… he’s my step brother. We didn’t get along at first. Classic step family issues. I thought he was trying to muscle in on my space with my dad and I didn’t want anyone replacing my mum and… well I was an idiot. when we were kids”

He sighed heavily and looked at her again.

“One day after school I was running late when I went to get my bike and I saw him getting his butt kicked by one of my friends and well... no one picks on my brother but me.”

Kara laughed softly.

“So I jump in started beating up my friend then a teacher came along because of all the noise. We all got in a lot of trouble until I managed to con this teacher into thinking we’d all had an accident on our bikes and well… I think she just pretended she believed us because we were all spouting the same story and it was late in the afternoon. But my brother’s watch got damaged and he was so weird about it at the time. He kept going on about how he would be late for all his music lessons without it so I dragged him into the first store I found with watches and bought him a cheap one just to shut him up. Then he never took it off.”

Pete smiled softly clearly lost in some memory. He let out a laugh.

“He showered with one hand up for four years because the damn thing wasn’t waterproof. I called him an idiot everytime I saw him do it but he always smiled back insisting it was his most prized possession. Proof his dumb jock brother did care.”

Pete fell silent for a moment.

“I just… the watch wasn’t on his body when they got him out. It’s um… it’s gotta be down there and I wanted to see if I could get it back. This isn’t my first time trying but it’s in the water, well I think it is. I wanted- I wanted to give it back to Mum. But she um… she died last year and I- I know it’s stupid. I know it’s just a watch and it doesn’t really matter. But I… Just finding it I’m sure it’ll give me… closure or something.”

Kara nodded.

She talks about something she had on Krypton, maybe the spy beacon with her aunt and how much it would mean to be able to have that again. We could get some nice closure discussion here about her feelings from the end of S01.

Kara breaks down crying again apologising to Pete and saying how she shouldn’t have been so wrapped up in her own issues that she let herself blow out her powers. If she hadn’t then she’d have been able to rescue him within minutes and… none of this would have happened if she’d just been better.

“Superman never has this problem. He always saves everyone!” she yelled frustrated.

Pete put his hand on her arm.

“Hey, no he doesn’t. No one can, not even superheroes. It’s not your job to save everyone Supergirl. You gotta put your own oxygen on first before you help others.” (if there's some cave diving saying that's similar just switch it out for that here)

Kara looked at him.

“But you’re going to die… and I- I can’t save you.”

Pete shrugged.

“That was going to happen anyway. You might not be able to save me because you blew out your powers but…” He gave her a very gentle smile. “Now I won’t die cold and alone in a dark cave. I’ll have someone here. Someone who will be able to tell my wife what happened to me, and where to find my body so she can bury me. Someone who will be able to tell her I love her and that I’m sorry for being such a stubborn fool and not listening to her.”

Pete’s fading a bit. Kara cries a bit.

“But I’m a hero, I’m supposed to save you!” she said.

He smiles at her.

“You don’t need to save me,” he whispered. “Just stay until the end.”

Then they hear voices in the distance. They both look up as powerful torches cut through the darkness above them.

“Pete!” someone calls. “Pete Davis! Are you able to respond? Your wife said to tell you you’re in big trouble!”

Pete laughed and looked at Kara.

“He’s down here!” she yelled.

Pete smiles at Kara.

“You know, you’re not the only hero around here Supergirl. Sometimes us humans manage to save each other.”

Kara laughed and hugged him as a rope was dropped down and a man in rescue gear dropped down with them.

“Hi- Supergirl!”

She gave him an awkward smile.

“Hi, I uh, kinda blew out my powers and crash landed here…”

“And she still came to help me,” Pete muttered. "Kept me from freezing to death before you got here."

The rescue guy laughs and then smiles at Kara.

“Even powerless you’re is still saving someone.”

Kara smiles back and awkwardly shrugs.

“I guess so.”

Pete smiles at her and then there’s more search and rescue guys coming down. They’re looking at the big rock and Kara says if they can let her use a radio she can get someone to help with that.

“Superman?”

“I know someone a bit more local.”

J’onn arrives (as Martian Manhunter) and lifts the rock so the rescue team can get Pete out and onto a stretcher medical personnel already working on him.

Kara says something to J’onn and he nods.

Then we see Pete in an ambulance and Kara comes over and holds out a watch (covered in grime but we can see Snoopy on it). Pete takes it and holds it close.

“Thank you,” he said. “For… for coming when you did. I was starting to lose hope.”

“I think I should be the one thanking you, for the reminder,” she replied.

“Reminder of what?”

“Of what this symbol means.”

She taps the symbol on her chest.

“Superhero?”

“No, El Mayarah. Stronger together. I had kind of forgotten that meant I didn’t have to do everything alone.”

Pete nods they smile at each other for a moment then we hear Alex racing over.

“Supergirl!”

“Alex!”

We get a lovely emotional Danvers sisters hug. Then Alex telling Kara off and threatening her for pulling a stunt like that and she’s going to be under the sunlamps the moment they get back and she better not complain about it because after the night she’s put her through…

Camera backs up showing Kara cowering slightly as Alex gives her hell for the stress she’s experienced. Kara nodding and the ambulance doors closing as Pete smiles at Kara.

(And as a little continuation progression thing)

At the start of the next episode when she’s going int to work or something as a little visual of her moving on a bit we see her phone screen is of her and Alex or, because I am supercorp trash, her and Lena.

#supergirl #episode ideas #random thoughts on this show i will probably be obsessed with until i die #kara danvers #alex danvers #j'onn j'onzz #can we just let kara process and talk about some of her trauma #kara blowing out her powers #kara helping people without her powers #can we just let characters talk sometimes and trust that's enough to be interesting

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semisgroupie · 3 years

Text

Third Time's The Charm

Club Member!Taichi x Fem. Reader

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: fingering (f!receiving), exhibitionism (Oikawa watches), condom usage (i know, crazy right?), praise, many many check ins, safe word mention, characters are college aged (both seniors in college so 21/22)

A/N: this is my submission for the @hqintheclub Haikyuu University Sex Club collab! Read the rest of the works here! I am so thankful for this network and to contribute to the collab, I hope this does a good job in conveying safe sex practices. Also a huge huge thank you to @meiansmistress for beta-reading!!! Yes the safe word is a little tribute to what Taichi does in the timeskip.

Once Shinsuke called the end of the meeting, Kawanishi stood up and made his way to the front of the room with his clipboard in hand.

“Alright my fellow club members, I’m just going to go over the statistics before the end of the month, who need to go for their STD tests and the notes I took from this meeting.” He adjusted his glasses and flipped through the papers. “Okay, so some recommendations from this meeting are, ‘buy scented toilet paper’ by Tooru. Yeah, not happening.”

A whine came from the back of the meeting room.

“Dude, why not? You know how girls have to pee after sex? They could have something that smells good while they do it!” Tooru’s eyes lit up offering his proposal, just like every other month, only to have it shut down again.

“Buy scented candles or something for your smelly bathroom.” Chuckles and snickers erupted in the room while Tooru sat back and pouted like a child. Kawanishi went through the rest of the recommendations and other areas of concern before moving onto the last topic.

“Okay, so for the fun part. Time to see who has had the most and least sex this month.” The room went dead silent as Kawanishi went over the log book. He did a onceover of the totals before looking at the group.

“So the lucky guy with the most amount of happy customers is… Osamu with eighteen.”

“Huh? ‘Samu? He isn’t even here! Not even a member.” Atsumu huffed and kept on ranting and raving about his brother until Kawanishi interrupted him.

“Actually, he’s an unofficial/official member who does not need to really attend meetings since we haven’t properly officiated his membership. But we definitely need to do that since he’s definitely bringing popularity to the club. Next is Mr. Chairperson Tooru and Mr. President Shinsuke both tying in with twelve happy ladies. Congratulations to the both of you. So, now the two least are—well you guys shouldn’t be surprised as these results have been consistent for a while now. But in good spirit, it’s me with two and Keiji with one.”

A shrug came from Keiji as the results were read. Kawanishi felt the same way, it got annoying every single time he had to read the results. They both knew they had to get laid but Kawanishi had his eye on a special someone.

The meeting was called to an end and Kawanishi made his way to his room to get ready for his chemistry lab. There was only one thing circling in his brain—he had to raise his number, but how? There was that one person he wanted but he wasn’t even sure if she even had plans to use the services the club provided, let alone choose him.

You were Kawanishi’s cute little lab partner. Always looking at him with bright doe eyes and always greeting him with a huge smile. You were too cute, too innocent to use the sex club. Kawanishi was sure of that. You probably even had a boyfriend so any hope he had for you was gone.

That was until he overheard you talking to your friends.

You were huffing and complaining about your sex life as you stood in front of the lab room—well, lack of sex in your life. You had a cute pout on your face as you rambled on, completely unaware of Kawanishi eavesdropping on such a private conversation.

“My toys aren’t even as enjoyable anymore! I just give up halfway through because it's the same thing over and over, I’m tired of it! And there’s absolutely no way I’m going to find a random guy on Tinder because he could be a creep or just horrible at sex.”

You sighed and started scrolling through your phone while your friend started thinking about what you said. Kawanishi recognized her, he knew her name started with a J and she was with Osamu last week. He remembered her moaning—well, screams—of Osamu’s name. As Kawanishi shook the thought from his head, “J” spoke.

“Remember that hook up I told you about last week?” She waited for you to nod before she continued speaking, “Well, there’s a website I met him off of. I’ll give it to you now and check it out. I think I saw a picture of your lab partner on the site. But check it out and let me know who you pick. Enjoy your class!”

You gave her a quick thanks before walking into the lab room, getting your goggles and supplies as Kawanishi soon followed. You made small conversation but every time you snuck a glance at him, you couldn’t see him as the type to be a part of the university’s sex club. Jay probably got him confused with someone else but for some reason you couldn’t wait until you got back to your apartment.

You just had to make sure. It was just curiosity. Well, that was what you kept telling yourself when you opened up your laptop and typed the web address in. You were met with the website, seeing the names of all the members and things that they specialized in. While you were scrolling through, your eyes widened and your heart dropped to your stomach.

Secretary: Taichi Kawanishi Specialty: Fingering

“Holy shit. It’s him.”

You read the name over and over again. Maybe it was just the lack of sleep finally getting to you or maybe it was because you unknowingly inhaled some drug that caused you to hallucinate and see his name. No matter how many times you refreshed the screen and rubbed your eyes, nothing changed. His name was still there and so was his specialty.

“Fingering? Well, he does have nice fingers. They are very long.”

You started thinking about his slim fingers, wondering how they would feel on your skin, grazing your most sensitive parts, but before you got too deep in thought you snapped yourself out of it. This was your lab partner! Not some pornstar or prostitute. Not some rando you met on a dating site. You would see him again if you decided to go through with it. How would that change how you two interacted with each other? Would it bring unnecessary tension?

You had this back and forth with yourself all night. You finally made your decision when you couldn’t get yourself off, the toy on your clit no longer bringing the same satisfaction it used to. With a huff you grabbed your laptop and went back to the website. Once the page loaded, you looked through all the guys and their specialties.

“Corsetry? What is that?”

You looked through the rest of the other specialties and you were equally intrigued and confused. You went back to Kawanishi and stared at his name. You didn’t want to ruin anything but you couldn’t stand this any longer—you needed a good fuck and you needed it badly.

“Fuck it.”

You scheduled an appointment with him, Saturday evening, a time where the site said he would be free. You put your laptop away and went to sleep.

The next morning Kawanishi woke up to frantic knocking on his door. He rolled out of bed and opened the door to be welcomed by Tooru.

“Dude, what the fuck? Did someone die?”

“No but check your phone, someone has been scheduled for tomorrow evening.”

Kawanishi rolled his eyes and checked his phone, the notification woke him up.

“Y/N scheduled me for tomorrow evening?”

“Don’t worry my friend. I will get you condoms. But aren’t you glad I sent you for STD testing on Monday? You can thank me later.”

The rest of the day went by normally, then Kawanishi remembered one of the main rules.

“New members and members who fuck the least need to fuck in front of an official club member.”

Kawanishi went to some of the other guys first, but Keiji and Koutarou both said they couldn’t. Shinsuke had to visit his grandmother and some of the other club members were occupied. That left only one person.

“Tooru, are you busy tomorrow evening?”

Tooru thought for a few seconds then shook his head. He furrowed his eyebrows in a silent question as to why he would be needed tomorrow evening.

“You forgot the rule, didn’t you?” Tooru kept a confused look and shrugged his shoulders.

Kawanishi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed before continuing. Only if anyone else was free. He would take anyone at this moment over Tooru.

“People who fuck the least in the club need to fuck in front of an official member, and everyone one else is busy so I’m asking you.”

A smile grew on Tooru’s face as he got up and wrapped his arm around Kawanishi’s shoulder.

“Oh my friend, don’t make me seem like I’m the last choice—“

“—you are.”

“Ouch, anyways I’ll be glad to watch. Do you need any tips? All the girls have left with a smile on their face after a night with me. You know I would’ve never thought I’d say this but you should’ve gone to Seijoh or maybe I should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa… I would have gotten you laid all the time, or at least done a better job than stupid Ushiwaka, you wouldn’t have had this little dry spout you’re having now—hey!”

Kawanishi removed Tooru’s arm and walked out of his room.

“Thanks for doing it, I don’t need your help though. If you try coaching me, I don’t care what I’m doing, I will throw you out of the room myself.”

Kawanishi spent the rest of the night and most of the day Saturday organizing his room, making it neat and stuffing his mini fridge with drinks and snacks. When it was time for you to come over, he waited for you in front of the club house.

As he waited, his nerves were getting the best of him. He hadn’t felt this nervous since he lost his virginity. Before he could really start worrying, he saw you approaching, giving him a small wave before you could greet him with a hug.

“Hey, well first off, thank you for choosing me for this. I should explain that we will have someone watch us, so if that makes you uncomfortable I completely understand. It’s just a rule we have for the club and I can show you the rule book if you need me to once we get to my room.”

“It’s okay. If you don’t mind me asking, who will it be?”

Before Kawanishi could answer your question the man in question wrapped his arms around the both of you.

“Hello you two! I shouldn’t need to introduce myself but I’m Tooru and—oh! I recognize you, Y/N right? I think we had biology together last year. You saved my ass so many times with your notes. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Kawanishi here treats you right—ow!”

Kawanishi pinched Tooru’s side and gave him a mean side eye.

“Tooru, remember what I told you yesterday.”

Tooru raised his hands in surrender at Kawanishi’s warning and you couldn’t help but laugh at the interaction. The sound of your laughter helped calm Kawanishi down a bit. He just had to get it through his mind that you were just a regular person with needs just like him, and he was going to help you satisfy those needs.

Light conversation was shared between the three of you as you all walked to his room. Once you crossed the threshold of his bedroom, Kawanishi took your hand as he led you to the bed and sat next to you. You rested your hand on top of his and offered him a shy smile, leaning in slowly.

“C-can I kiss you Kawanishi?”

He cupped your cheek and closed the distance between the both of you. Your lips felt so soft against his and he couldn’t stop himself from deepening the kiss. His hand moved to squeeze the fat of your thigh that was exposed by the skirt you were wearing. He broke away from the kiss to sit against his headboard, patting his thighs.

“Come on, come sit on my lap, pretty girl and we can get started. If you feel uncomfortable, your safe word is mojito. Once you say it, I will stop whatever I’m doing and we can just cuddle or do whatever you want, okay?”

You settled yourself on his lap with a meek “yes” before leaning back in to kiss him. Tooru was sitting on the spare chair in the room, scrolling on his phone. It was adorable to see you get so shy. You were always so confident and so outspoken, but once Kawanishi got you inside his room you crawled into a little shell.

He pulled you down to kiss you this time as his hands wandered over your body. His hands moved over your clothed breasts, squeezing them softly, making whimpers leave your lips. He moved his hands lower to your ass, squishing the flesh, and when you bucked your hips into his he gave it a light smack, swallowing the moan that left you. He pulled away to look at you.

“Can I touch you some more? I just want you to feel really good for me.”

“P-please touch me, w-want more.”

He smirked at your stuttering—it made this even more enjoyable. He leaned in and trailed kisses from your lips to your jaw and neck, your hips bucking more. You were so sensitive he couldn’t wait to see how you would react to his fingers. His hand trailed up your thigh and his thumb grazed against your panties. You bit down on your lip, trying to hide your moans.

It was embarrassing to you how quickly you were falling apart; he hadn’t even touched your skin for more than a few seconds and you already felt like once his fingers touched your bare pussy, you would cum.

Kawanishi licked your neck as he slid your panties to the side.

“Are you ready? I’ll go nice and slow for you.” He spoke into the skin of your neck as his fingers rubbed your slick folds.

“Yes, please.”

Your head dropped to his shoulder once he slid his middle finger inside you, moving slowly. He hissed at the way your cunt swallowed his finger, thinking about how it would feel once his cock was buried inside you. He sped up his thrusts, your muffled moans and whimpers encouraging his actions further. He slipped another finger in, leaning back to see your expressions as you quickly lifted your head from his shoulder.

Your jaw went slack as moans kept falling from your mouth, your hips bucking into his hand as you got lost in the pleasure, chasing your orgasm. His fingers were so long and hit so deep. They felt so good, better than any toy you had used in the past month or so. You were embarrassingly close to your orgasm after only a short time.

“Ka-Kawanishi, ‘m close!”

“I know, just cum for me, okay? Cum all over my fingers, let me know how good I’m making you feel.”

He thrusted his fingers faster, using his thumb to rub your clit. He rubbed your back with his free hand while watching all your expressions. Your hands made their way to his shirt, balling the fabric in your fists as you came undone on his fingers with a moan of his name. He slowed his fingers down to help you relax, making sure he wasn’t overstimulating you.

“You did such a good job for me. You look so beautiful when you cum. So good for me. Are you okay?”

“Yes I’m fine,” you reply breathlessly.

“We can stop here. All I care about is you cumming. I could continue fingering you until my fingers turn pruney if you want or I could get you some snacks and water and just talk.”

You shook your head; you couldn’t leave him hard. You wanted to fuck him, and the snacks and drinks could always come later.

“I-I want to fuck you. I want you to feel good too.”

“Don’t worry about me, this is all about you and your pleasure. I’m here for you, okay?”

You nodded as he reached over for a condom on his nightstand. You lifted yourself off his lap slightly to remove your panties and skirt as he pulled off his sweatpants and boxers, revealing how hard he was.

“Okay, so how do you want to do this? I want you to be comfortable and enjoy yourself.”

“I want to ride you.”

You sat yourself on his thigh as he opened the foil package and rolled the condom onto his cock, pinching the tip of it. Once it was on, he placed his hands on your hips to help you guide you down on his cock. His grip tightened, feeling your warmth envelop his cock and fighting the urge to just thrust up into you. He moved you down slowly until you bottomed out.

“You did amazing, now take your time. I’ll help guide your hips so you don’t go too fast.”

You placed your hands on his shoulders as you slowly bounced yourself on his cock, the tip brushing against your g-spot over and over again. Praises kept falling from Kawanishi’s lips as moans kept coming out from yours. Tooru couldn’t help but start palming himself over his sweatpants at the sight of you and Kawanishi, your sweet moans and cries filling the room. Your hands went under your shirt, freeing your breasts from the confines of your bra. You played with and teased your nipples, adding extra stimulation to the pleasure you were already feeling.

The closer you got to your orgasm, the more your legs shook, making him take more control. He bounced you up and down on his cock, thrusting his hips up to meet yours. You felt so good around him and the sight of you playing with your nipples turned him on even more. If he thought you looked beautiful when you were fucking yourself on his fingers, you looked like a goddess now. Your pussy clenched his cock tighter and tighter with each thrust, signalling to him that your orgasm was approaching.

“Cum for me Y/N, cum for me. I know you’re close, I feel you clenching me so tightly. Come on and cum for me.”

Once the soft commands were spoken, you came around his cock, your eyes clenched shut as your jaw went slack letting out a silent moan. As you were riding out your orgasm Kawanishi couldn’t keep his eyes off of you. Small beads of sweat rolled down your neck and you finally opened your eyes to make eye contact with him. You leaned down and connected your lips with his once more.

Kawanishi kept thrusting until he filled up the condom with his cum. Once he felt you relax around him, he lifted you up slowly and laid you down on the bed, covering you with a blanket. He pulled the condom off, tying a knot and throwing it out in the trash can in his room. He nodded at Tooru, giving him the signal to leave, and so he did with a wink and a wave.

Kawanishi reached out for your hand and helped you get up as he walked you to the bathroom.

“I just need you to go to the bathroom and then we could watch something.”

You did your business and left the bathroom with a small smile on your face.

“Is there any way we could have this happen again? I don’t know if you guys can have regulars or if it's against the rules.”

Kawanishi chuckled and walked you back to his bed.

“We have no rules about regulars and I’d love to do this with you again.”

He kissed you on the forehead and handed you a water bottle to drink from before laying down next to you.

As he laid down next to you, talking about a random topic you brought up, he finally understood when people said the third time's the charm. He couldn’t have asked for a better person to raise his total to three.

#taichi kawanishi smut #hq taichi smut #hq smut #haikyuu smut #tw exhibitionism #sex ed collab #hqintheclub

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introvertguide · 2 years

Text

Over the last few years, I have gone out of my way to try and point out actors that weren't necessarily top billed or currently well-known but have still given top performances in amazing movies. Sometimes these people have outshined their costars, but they have always played an integral part in the film. John Cazale played five key roles in 5 fantastic, Best Picture nominated movies over 7 short years, and then tragically passed away. Here is a list of his cinematic performances and it will tell you why he stood out so much as an actor.

SPOILER WARNING FOR SOME VERY GOOD MOVIES!!! I TRIED TO JUST SPEAK OF GENERAL PLOT, BUT SOME THINGS MENTIONED COULD SPOIL SOME OF THE EXPERIENCE!!!

The Godfather (1972)

Not a bad part for a first major acting role, Cazale plays the second son Fredo Corleone, the least intelligent and weakest of the children in the Corleone family. He is passed over to lead the family when his older brother is assassinated, and for this he holds a grudge. Fredo's poor decisions are a constant threat to his family, and it becomes obvious in the first movie that he will have to be dealt with at some point if the family is to remain in power. Cazale had been performing in a theatre troop alongside Al Pacino and Richard Dreyfuss and was spotted by well-known casting director Fred Roos. He was suggested as a character player to Francis Ford Coppola and his career went up from there.

The Conversation (1974)

It is hard to believe that Francis Ford Coppola put out two outstanding films like this in the same year, but it is not surprising that he chose John Cazale to be in both of them. Gene Hackman plays a shut-in surveillance expert that taps into the wrong conversation and his life becomes in danger from the client who asked he do the bugging. Cazale plays the partner to Hackman's character that does most of the footwork. He plays almost a Watson like character to Hackman's Sherlock Holmes and the film ends up feeling like something I would expect from Alfred Hitchcock. This is a fantastic movie that was also inducted to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. I am somewhat surprised that it is not on the AFI top 100.

The Godfather Part 2 (1974)

Cazale reprises his role as Fredo, and, this time, the character is causing so much trouble that it results in attempts at killing members of the Corleone family. It all stems from Fredo's jealousy of his brothers and that he was never considered to be head of the family. His poor business decisions and willingness to make deals behind his brother's back just to have a larger piece of the action speaks of his conniving and weakness. He famously is given the kiss of death by his younger brother when it is discovered that a business deal had given a rival crime family influence among the Corleone group, had gotten the head of the family indicted for racketeering, and even allowed an attempt on his brother's life. Fredo is such a memorable character and Cazale plays him so well as both weak and simultaneously powerful enough to be dangerous.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

This is a strange film about a bank robbery gone wrong since the robbers are after the money with good intentions. Cavale plays one of the bank robbers named Sal who is the only person who seems like they would legitimately kill one of the hostages. Cavale seems to play a good stooge in his parts, a soldier who is not too bright but still has great aspirations for power and position. Sal really seems to think of himself as a Robin Hood type thief despite having none of the cleverness. This was the first major motion picture for Cavale that was not directed by Coppola, but he did get to costar next to his good friend Al Pacino.

The Deer Hunter (1978)

This was Cazale's final role as he had developed lung cancer that metastasized to his bones. He knew that this would be his last film and it was through the prodding of director Michael Cimino by his friend Robert De Niro and his girlfriend at the time, Meryl Streep, that he got the part. He again plays a weak character in a group of guys who often bully him, and he doesn't appreciate his low standing. He does not go off to war like the other men, yet he tries to get the same respect. In fact, I would say that Cazale played almost all his characters as desiring valor that they did not earn. What is heart breaking about this film for me is that one of the very last scenes that Cazale would film is at a funeral, not six feet from Meryl Streep. There is a realism in this scene that comes from Streep and Cazale looking at the coffin knowing he would soon be in it, and she would be grieving his death. The film is full of powerful scenes, yet this one always strikes me the most.

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Although Cazale was never nominated for any awards himself, all of his films were nominated for Best Picture and three of them took home the prize. He was remembered by his friends and costars as a great guy who dedicated his life to the craft. With so many actors taking on roles just for a paycheck, Cazale is the only actor I can think of who's entire filmography is nothing but classics. Rest in peace after a job well done.

#john cazale #the deer hunter #the godfather #the conversation #best picture #dog day afternoon #introvert #introverts #great movies #psychology

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bigskydreaming · 3 years

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Hi! I was reading a fanfic and it brought up Roy and Dick's fight, which I see a lot of in fics but never what they fought about and consequently why they don't talk. I thought it was a vague excuse/reason why Roy was Jason's friend not Dick's anymore but this fic brought up when Dick was batman so I was wondering if there was actually a fight between them? Btw I really enjoy your metas! They're v thought out and well articulated. Also it's v easy to separate what's your opinion and what's fact which is. Very helpful for me

Yeah this is one hundred percent a fanon thing that's kept deliberately vague to justify why Roy in his friendship with Jason seems to have no positive thoughts or concerns about Dick whatsoever. Now granted, Dick and Roy are not nearly as close in the New 52 as they were pre-Reboot. The lack of their friendship there is definitely one of the things I disliked most about the Reboot - and I actually don't care if Jason and Roy are friends tbh, its the total erasure of his history with Dick as if he can't be friends with both, that like, bugs most.

But so like, yeah, Roy and Dick aren't super close when they interact on the Titans in the New 52, but there's literally nothing in any of their interactions that explains the complete absence of him from Roy's life or a reason that Roy would like, hate him the way he tends to in a lot of Jason-centric fics.

When you factor in pre-Reboot stuff though, it starts to get a LOT more.....uh wyd? And this is why I have trouble buying that people just write Roy and Jason the way they do because its the only thing they know from recent comics. Like one, most fans talk about how they don't even read the source comics, so there's no reason their knowledge of the characters or events would be limited to just recent comics if they're going off wiki summaries and scans anyway. And second, most fans AREN'T limited in their knowledge to just recent comics.

Like, the second people start writing Roy and Jason and Kori but with their pre-52 characterizations and references to events from THAT timeline, it all gets very messy, the way they're like, completely antagonistic towards Dick a lot of the time. Because Roy and Dick were always solid. Yes, they fought. A lot. But they always, ALWAYS made up afterwards. They had conflict about Roy's drug addiction - it didn't stop Dick from being there to support him through rehab, or Dick being the first person Roy called to help him get Lian after he learned of her existence. Dick literally held Lian before Roy ever did? He's the one who first put her in Roy's arms for the first time.

(Which is the prime grudge I and most Dick Grayson fans have about Roy and Jason fics which make Jason like, the absolute apple of Lian's eye. If you want to expand Lian's circle of loved and trusted ones to include Jason as Roy's friend and thus her uncle, like go for it! But there's zero reason that should require invalidating and erasing the fact that Dick was this little girl's adored godfather and uncle for pretty much her entire life. And the way Dick is just shoved offstage from Lian's life entirely, to slot Jason into his place as though they're completely interchangeable, its like....THAT'S the kind of thing that gets people irey about how Jason 'steals' Dick's dynamics and character relationships.

Because there's nothing saying they both can't be major players in Roy and Lian's lives! But just that they're not interchangeable! You need to develop the specific role Jason plays there WITHOUT just overwriting everything Dick actually did in relation to the two of them pre-Flashpoint, which is what you're drawing from the second you write Lian, unless you're specifically going with the few appearances we've had of her within literally just the last year.

But I mean, when people just search and replace Dick Grayson in all Roy and Lian's pre-Reboot stories and act like Jason was the one doing all of that instead.....why wouldn't fans of the source material be annoyed by a character getting credit for interactions and things done for Lian and Roy that Jason literally NEVER DID, while at the EXACT SAME TIME, conjuring some mysterious, unnamed 'Falling Out' that Roy and Dick had, that was clearly all Dick's fault, and resulted from him being basically excised entirely from Roy and Lian's lives?

Same with Kori, for the record, and like despite being Dick's ex, she and Dick have NEVER been like, estranged? She and Dick have often been close even after their breakup. None of it makes any sense, and the fact that a lot of fans don't even try to make it make sense or justify it, and expect other fans to just be fine with settling for an inexplicable reversal of Dick's every actual dynamic with these characters while setting up Jason to occupy the exact same role Dick played in these other characters' lives, like.....lol. Its fun.)

Anyway, back to your question, like, there are fights you can go with pre-Reboot as the source of various conflicts between Dick and Roy - but again, I maintain its just as crucial that they're always written as getting past them. They have a very tempestuous relationship because they are the two people MOST likely to call each other on their shit, two of the two people WITH the most shit in common due to the parallels in their childhoods and the roles they've occupied in the Titans and the superhero community in general, and the two people most resistant to being called out on their shit by each other, lol. Mostly in that case because like, they do recognize that they have a lot in common and understand each other very well, so the second the other is calling them out for something, they're usually like "ugh, if HE'S saying this, its probably true and I am just not prepared yet to be wrong about this. I need more time being unjustifiably rawr about things." Its like that thing where they both look at each other doing something that feels familiar or calls back to their own reasons for doing something and they're like ugh I'm in this picture and I don't like it.

So they clash. A lot. But always with the implicit bedrock of like, there's nothing either of them can do or say to the other that will push the other away for good.

They fought over Roy replacing Dick as leader of the Titans when Dick's wedding fell apart, even though Roy actually didn't want to do it and was kinda pushed into it by the government, but again, Dick like, got over it and realized it was for the best and forgave Roy for it that very same issue. And on and on. It always went like that. So there's plenty of stuff that can be used or pointed at as a source of conflict between the two, but the part I'll always call unbelievable is the idea that they never make up after one of these fights. Why now? What fight, specifically, is so bad between them that despite everything else they've gone through AND gotten past, they can't get past this one? Y'know?

So yeah, that's my take on this. There is no definitive falling out between Dick and Roy as many fics like to point to in order to shove him offscreen and make room for Jason in Roy and Lian's lives, and personally, I just don't find it necessary and I actually think it makes Roy look REALLY bad. Because when you're not specifically detailing all the things that Dick has actually DONE for Roy, the lengths to which he's been there for his friend, and like, specifically invalidating each and every one of them as something that never happened in a particular fic, then literally anyone who reads that fic and has their own awareness of Dick and Roy's friendship is kiiiiiinda likely to be reading that and thinking wow what an ungrateful asshole, when Roy's just written as bitching about Dick with Jason and sandbagging him without any real explanation as to WHY, beyond just 'oh they had a fight years ago.'

(And coming up with some random awful thing that Dick did to justify Roy hating him now isn't like, a superior alternative, lmao, because again, its still just trashing one character for the sake of getting him out of the way of two other characters' friendship and people are going to think what they think about that).

Anyway, my now standard stock disclaimer that like, there doesn't actually need to be a canon fight obviously, for people to just write things this way and handwave that Dick and Roy had an epic falling out years ago and now they just hate one another or whatever, or just Roy hates him or vice versa. Obviously people are free to do what they want. They don't need a reason other than "I want to write it this way so Jason and Roy are friends and Jason doesn't have to 'share' him with Dick or have his friendship be overshadowed by their greater history together." That just happens to be a reason that no Dick Grayson fan is ever really going to be happy about, lol, for what should be perfectly obvious reasons, so it honestly shouldn't be surprising to people that fans of the source material often gripe about it.

Because yeah fanfic is a tremendous opportunity to transform the source material into something better, but if what's better for some fans actively takes away what was working perfectly well for other fans the original way, they're going to say that. Especially in a fandom where so many new fans take their view of the characters and their dynamics from fics rather than the source material - when fandom has that much of an influence on what new fans perceive to be 'canon,' fans are perfectly within their right to emphasize what is ACTUALLY canon and what isn't, so that new fans at least have the opportunity to determine for themselves what take they want to go with, instead of just accepting at face value that the nature of say, Dick and Roy's relationship is just that Roy hates Dick because of some mumble mumble ancient history vague mumble details not found mumble mumble fight.

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night-unfurls-its-splendour · 3 years

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Every Emma Woodhouse Ranked and Rated

With all my reviews of all the period-set adaptations now finished, I'm beginning my series in which I rate and rank each interpretation of all the principle characters, starting with our girl Emma!

Now I wanna be clear--I am not rating the actresses that played Emma. I am rating how the character was handled in general in each adaptation. The actresses are a factor, but they're not the sole factor, since the writer and director have as much, if not more, to do with how the character ends up in the finished product. So without futher ado, let's rank...

“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her….

“The real evils indeed of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much of her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself; these were the disadvantages that threatened alloy to her many enjoyments.”

NUMBER 5: 1972

Portrayed by: Doran Godwin

Age at time of filming: 28

Clocking in as the oldest actress to play Austen’s famously TWENTY-ONE year old heroine (at the ripe age of 28), Doran Godwin also snags the coveted position as inhabiting the worst portrayal of the character (in my personal estimation) to date.

Just about everything about this interpretation of Emma Woodhouse is bad, from her seemingly automated recital of her lines to her all-too-intense, wide-eyed, hypnotic stare. The 1972 portrayal of Emma highlights all the character’s worst qualities while also failing to convincingly communicate her good qualities, such as her caring nature. The script is equally to blame for the awfulness of this interpretation, adding unnecessarily cruel and condescending lines, including one where she negs Harriet for being sad after Elton’s marriage, and then forces Harriet to come with her to meet the new Mrs. Elton, when Emma in the book did her best to shield Harriet from exactly that kind of situation.

Godwin couldn’t pass for 21 if her life had depended on it, and the worst part is that the script actually states Emma’s age, so she seems like a bit of a crazy spinster, preying on the naïve Harriet. Whether it’s her intent to bathe in Harriet’s blood to keep herself young, or to bake her into a pie is up for debate.

Rating: 1/5 Half-finished portraits

NUMBER 4: 2020

Portrayed by: Anya Taylor Joy

Age at time of filming: 23

I thought long and hard about this. This movie is a modern period drama phenomenon. It’s gotten so many people into Jane Austen and satisfied long-time Austen fans by giving them an interpretation they never dared hope to see. It’s a gorgeous film.

But I don’t like this interpretation of Emma Woodhouse. Though Anya Taylor Joy is one of the youngest actresses to play Emma (only two years older than the character) she’s played with a careful stiffness that perhaps shows us a glimpse of the Lady Catherine she might turn into without swift intervention. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, and this isn’t a commentary on Anya Taylor Joy either—her appearance or her acting ability—but I just don’t like her as Emma. And she’s not the sole problem, she turns in a solid performance, she’s a good actress, but something about this characterization is just off-color to me. Anya Taylor Joy plays a great mean-girl; but I think that’s one of the reasons why they thought she’d be a good choice for this role, and it’s one of the prime reasons I don’t think she wasright for it. Emma is a deeply flawed character and, of course, the biggest turning point in her story comes as a result of a thoughtlessly mean remark to someone who has only ever shown her deference, hospitality and gratitude.

All that said, Emma is not, at her core, a cruel person. Emma has gone all her life thinking condescending things about Miss Bates but it’s only when Frank comes along and validates her less kind commentaries that she actually starts to voice them in search of validation from a peer.

The problem with this in the context of 2020’s Emma Woodhouse is that Frank hardly gets a look-in in this adaptation. Emma’s relationship with him is severely underdeveloped and the actors don’t have enough chemistry to pull it off in the limited time they’re given. The result is that Emma appears to cross a line just to cross it, and it pushes Emma’s character from thoughtless to out-and-out frigid.

Still better than Doran Godwin, since she's identifiably human.

Rating: 2 1/2 / 5 Half-finished portraits

NUMBER 3: 1996 (MIRAMAX)

Portrayed by: Gwyneth Paltrow

Age at time of filming: 24

Despite the fact that Gwyneth Paltrow was an appalling casing choice for Emma Woodhouse (I will be forever salty that they passed over Joely Richardson), and I know there are some who will think me, at best, crazy (sacrilegious, at worst) for ranking 1996’s interpretation of Emma higher than 2020, I actually feel that solidly in the middle is right where this version of the character belongs.

There’s so much wrong with this Emma: she swings from mature to bizarrely infantile at the drop of a hat, much of her script is genuinely tragic, Gwyneth can’t convincingly portray Emma's social naiveté, her accent is overwhelmingly nasal and impossible to listen to, just for starters.

And yet… I don’t hate her. I don’t like her particularly either, but even though much of the dialogue re-working butchered Austen’s prose, there are a lot of things McGrath seems to have gotten right about Emma’s character. Her relationship with Knightley feels comfortable and playful, and, while Emma of the book probably doesn’t really care for Harriet Smith in the spirit of true bosom friendship, I believe she does care about her and wishes to spare her (further) pain. She shows exasperation with Harriet while still being patient with her, which is very much in the spirit of the book. Her concern for Harriet at the ball feels real, and her contrition at Box Hill following Knightley’s rebuke, while not profound, at least feels like contrition and not self-pity.

Perhaps, given the soft-take that the Miramax version is, it shouldn’t be surprising that the biggest faults in characterization rest on awkward writing and the biggest triumphs highlight Emma’s better side. It’s not a very in-depth take on the character, but it at least, is an adequate one.

Rating: 3/5 Half-finished portraits

NUMBER 2: 1996/97 (ITV)

Portrayed by: Kate Beckinsale

Age at time of filming: 23

Those who’ve read my reviews of each adaptation of Emma might be surprised to see ITV’s portrayal of the title character sitting so high on my list. To be frank, it’s a distant second, and she may have stolen the number two spot only because she’s played by Kate Beckinsale and not Gwyneth Paltrow.

In truth, I see a lot of parallels between 1997’s Emma and 2020’s. Both actresses were 23 (or thereabouts) when they played the role, both have extremely childish moments, and both crumple down and burst into tears that don’t feel entirely genuine after Box Hill.

So why is 1997 on the good side of the number 3 spot and 2020 isn’t? I’m not precisely sure. I think it may be because Andrew Davies (and/or Diarmuid Lawrence) at least understood the scale of Emma Woodhouse’s wealth and status. This Emma feels sufficiently self-important, a bit haughty, sure—but she’s also believably naïve. You feel her isolation, you understand her caring relationship with her father, and she’s not as patently rude to Robert Martin compared to the 2020 version (she at least acknowledges his presence when he meets Emma and Harriet in the lane).

Grudging though this favorable placement may be, I can at least acknowledge that Emma herself is the least of my problems with this version, and even though Beckinsale’s acting is a bit sketchy at certain points, she also has some truly great moments, especially her interaction with Robert Martin at the end of the film. This portrayal is consistent, and Emma’s better qualities aren’t overpowered by her negative ones.

Rating: 4/5 Half-finished portraits

Number 1: 2009

Portrayed by: Romola Garai

Age at time of filming: 26

And in a shocking twist—I’m kidding this is neither shocking nor unexpected to anyone who knows me or has read my blog/reviews of the Emma adaptations. Am I totally biased? Probably. I don’t care, this is a completely subjective list. Here, finally—my first and true love as Emma Woodhouse—is Romola Garai. I suppose it’s also not surprising that the first actress I ever saw in the role would still be my favorite a decade on. I just love everything about this interpretation of the character. She rides the very difficult line of being bright, caring and intelligent, while also being completely naïve and lacking in social savvy (in her own age-group at least), coddled, and painfully sure of her own self-importance.

Even though Garai was 25 or 26 at the time (far too old for the character—almost as old as Doran Godwin) her energy and charisma are enough that she’s able to carry it off convincingly. Everything about this Emma screams youth, and when Emma’s child-like social ignorance is her most prominent characteristic, it feels authentic and natural. Equally authentic are her emotions—her love for her family, her dynamic with Knightley, he exasperation, patience, and concern with Harriet. Most of all though, this Emma seems to experience the most maturation in the last quarter of the story. Box Hill really feels like a turning point—not just a chastened young woman, but a true coming-of-age moment. Emma faces a reckoning here that begins a chain reaction culminating in her realization of her feelings for Knightley, and everything from the writing to Garai’s performance conveys the magnitude of this shift in Emma’s life.

This version of the character seems the most… complete to me. Somehow, between Romola Garai’s vibrancy, Sandy Welch’s screenplay and Jim O’Hanlon’s direction, this interpretation takes an extremely divisive character and helps the viewer understand just why everyone in Highbury loves Emma Woodhouse.

Rating: 5/5 Half-finished portraits

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If you liked this, check out my rankings of Mr. and Mrs. Weston

#emma woodhouse #jane austen emma #jane austen #period drama #emma 2020 #emma 2009 #emma 1996 #emma 1972 #romola garai #kate beckinsale #anya taylor joy #gwyneth paltrow

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