#but I want the plots from the books to be heavily altered

[thecameronchronicles]

Grease Monkey 2

PART 1

TW: Semi-public sex. Smut. Language. 

SUMMARY: Your relationship with JJ, the mechanic, continues. 

WORD COUNT: 2000

REQUESTED

Anonymous asked:

Can you please do a sequel to Grease Monkey or Bartender? They are my favorite!

Grease Monkey 2

This was how it had been since you first met him in your father’s garage two months ago. You would feign interest all while watching him over your false project, most recently a book you couldn’t remember name, much less the plot, as your eyes fixated on him. The light sheen of sweat accumulated beneath hours over yet another client’s engine. The tense of his muscles pulling with even the most effortless of motions. Those little smirks that came when he caught you biting your lip or breathing heavily upon watching him. And yet, you would behave as your father had been just a few feet away, commending JJ and even commenting how any girl he had must miss him terribly and favor his hard work, well aware that if he found out about your relationship, he wouldn’t allow you to be there while JJ worked or maybe even together at all. With this, JJ’s eyes would flash to you but always shift back before being noted, all while your smirk continued from behind your book. 

A sudden call from your father’s office would allow you the long awaited isolation set between the two of you as you wouldn’t even have to try for a step before finding him before you.

“If you want to pretend you’re not staring at my ass, you MAY want to keep the book rightside up, there, princess…” He teased, altering your book to appear as such as you blushed. 

“It’s been weeks, JJ…” You groaned as he slowly nodded. 

“Nine days…” He looked at the clock having over his workspace. “And ninety six-seven minutes…” Your brows perked in having been amused by this. 

“Think I’d forget about the best sex of my life?” He smirked as your father returned, his face riddled with dismay as your attention was forced to refocus on him, followed by JJ’s as well. 

“I’m sorry, sunshine-”

“For what? Is everything okay?” Before he could explain, a familiar set of headlights made their way onto the pavement of the garage. Headlights belonging to your ex. A Kook ex that made your life a living hell the last summer and managed to rub your nose it it every chance he got. To make matters worse, it was because of him that your father was able to afford this space for the garage, which meant, your surname was entertwined with his for this debt. But all JJ was able to sense was the way this Kook’s presence has affected you. And that was reason enough for him to deduce as much from the situation as he could before being filled in by your father as you were forced to make small talk with someone you’d prefer under one of the cars, not pulling one in to be worked on. 

“Here for a tune up…” His eyes descended you as he removed his shades, half cast in disgust and half in lust as you pulled yours to the side, JJ nodding to validate your father’s words, before he made it his personal mission. 

“I’ll take a look at it for ya.” He spoke overenthusiastically before slipping beneath the hood. 

“I can take my lunch later, sunshine-”

“It’s fine…” You assured your father as he looked at JJ.

“Take care of my girl, would ya?”

“Always.” He spoke with a smirk as your ex would only scoff, almost annoyed by your father’s ignorance. But the second your father would leave, JJ would request your help. 

“Can’t even do your job on your own?” He asked. 

“If it bothers you how I work, you can always leave it with me and we’ll call your dad when it’s done.” He shot back, wrapping you in his arms as he had you hold the flashlight for him, your body on fire for how effortless JJ defended you and insulted him at the same instance. 

“Like I’d leave you alone with it.” JJ ignored this and would brush your hair from your shoulder, kissing the bare skin before tracing his tongue on the same path. 

“You always smell so good…But I can’t lie, sweetheart…you always feel even better…” His hand teased the hem of your skirt, absent panties as always, as he made it easy to forget you weren’t alone. And to be honest, you didn't care if you were. You would allow him to touch you anywhere, anyhow, just as long as he wouldn’t stop. 

“JJ-”

“But we have to behave because he doesn’t get to hear those little moans anymore…”

“He never did…” You explained as he smirked.

“Good…More of a reason he doesn’t get to.” He would brush his hand across your ass before moving to his work bench for a specific wrench as your ex would approach you. 

“Nobody else willing to fuck you that you go to some pogue now? Really that desperate?” You tried to ignore him by moving past him to get your book, but he would only stand in your way. “You DO realize what everyone is gonna think when I tell ‘em, right?” JJ heard your ex’s voice from the second he left, allowing him to get so far until he would intervene, his eyes narrowing in study as the continuation continued. 

“They ALREADY think you’re a loser-some little bitch whose only worth is that of being my ex…something I have to live with every day, I consider my contribution to charity…” To this, JJ had had enough, calling you over to him, to what you both believed had been out of earshot. But he heard every degrading word and intended to amend it for you. 

“You’re smart enough to know he’s only saying that because he’s jealous, right, sweetheart?” He asked this to learn the depth of the pain you felt in regards to your ex, a pain, even if only surface deep would be quelled by his ambition. 

"Hey…" He moved his pointer finger to a bend until using it at the base of your chin to make you look at him.

"Headlight fluid…" You cracked a smile in reference to your first meeting. 

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Absolutely nothing but it made you smile, didn't it?" You rolled your eyes before he suddenly stood close enough to brush your chest against his. 

"I want you in your dad's office. Panties off. Waiting for me. Don't touch anything that's mine." He smacked your ass as he turned you in the opposite direction towards where he wanted you. Even if a part of you was worried he would pummel your ex to dust, an action that made your morality gray as you wouldn't exactly stop hom, you obeyed JJ and waited in your father's office. Panties off. Impatient. 

Muffled voices would be heard until the door finally came open and JJ appeared to you, the tail end of a conversation making your head spin. 

"Dude?"

"Friends close, enemies closer, sweetheart."

"I must be your nemesis then."

He silenced you with a hand to your jaw, soft, but tightening gradually, before your mouth was forced slack. 

"I don't know what he did to you. But there is only one person who gets to make you shake like this. And you're gonna tell him who-" His body pinned you at the edge of your father's desk. 

"JJ-"

"Good girl, taking orders so well for me…" He commented as he brushed your sex, learning your panties were indeed clean off of your body. 

"You're beautiful. You're smart. You're clever as hell and way out of my league, but even I'm better than limp-wrist out there…and you're gonna think of how I think of you when I make you come." His fingers were rushing into you, pistoning one and then the other as his rings barriered at your sex. He would test your walls, the g-spot, your clit with his thumb, all while analyzing what garnered the reaction he was searching for. 

"JJ…"

"Louder sweetheart. I want him to hear how good it is…because it's the only way he's ever gonna hear you come. Because of ME." You nodded, a hand harsh around his wrist, as you rode into his palm. 

"Please…I need YOU-" But instead of relieving the ache of your caverns being quelled by his familiar stretch, he dropped to his knees. 

"Pretty sure you could squirt for me…" 

"JJ!"

"That’s it…mmmhmm…" He attacked your lower lips. 

"Ride my face til you come, baby…mmmm…" He moaned against you, your mouth slack. 

"Louder baby, come on…let me know how good it feels-"

"Fucking amazing! Don't stop!"

"Again, princess."

"Don't fucking stop JJ! I’m gonna come-I’m coming!" Halfway through your high. You were turned towards the desk, his shorts and belt quick to kiss gravity, before he was inside of you. 

"You're gonna keep coming for me…again and again!"

"It's-It's too much, JJ!"

"Not for my girl…my girl takes me so well…doesn't she? Whenever I want. Wherever I want." He grunted every few words before hiking your leg on the desk and pushing you into more of a bend. 

"This pussy is gonna be the death of me sweetheart…But if I'm gonna die, it will be stained with your come…" 

"Fuck, JJ!"

"Come again, that's right baby…give it to me…"

"Come! Please JJ!"

"You want me dripping down your thighs when you see him again? Want him to know how deep I was in that pussy, baby?"

"YES!"

"Because he doesn't get this. He doesn't get to have a conversation with you after today. At least not without knowing you're mine-" He slapped your ass. 

"Say it." Another slap made you gasp in approval. 

"Yours."

"Again!"

SLAP!

"Yours JJ! I'm yours!"

"Then come for me baby. One last time…and I'll come with you!" You were pulled up against him, hands at your breasts offering the final feverish sensations of twisted nipples as you climbed to that countless release as he found his own. But you wanted more. You wanted his reaction to you licking yourself off of him. So you dropped to your knees, doing just that, as he forced you back against your father's desk. 

"Come back at closing. I want to make you come on each and every car in this garage. After you eat what I'll make for you of course…gotta keep you energized." He slapped your ass as you returned to your ex. 

"Bout time." You bit your bottom lip. 

"Sorry, you know how thorough some paperwork can be."

"Whatever. Have fun with your whore. Sloppy seconds have never been my thing."

"Have to have had me first in order for him to have me secondly." You corrected, relieved you never actually slept with him. 

"Screw you."

"No thanks. But he has. And he can…" You looked to JJ. "Whenever and however." Your ex rolled his eyes and left behind a slammed door as JJ just gleamed. 

"What?"

"Nothing…"

But as you set your hand in his pocket, you would feel something. Pulling it to view, you scoffed. 

"What is this?"

"May have disconnected his horn…and broken his stereo to only play an old Celine Dion CD I found on high…Oh and he'll be lucky if he makes it back to the cut with a cut fuel line…"

"You're twisted, JJ…"

"You don't know the half of it, sweetheart…" He kissed you, a peck that quickly drew both lustful flames into a roar once again. 

"My dad has another twenty minutes for lunch…and you did say ALL of the cars here…Think we have enough time on the Buick?"

"Never enough time for all the things I want to do to you…"

"Then you have plenty of cars to waste time on…" You moved to the car, pulling up your skirt to show your ass, red by his former swats before you then faced him, fingers teasing the hem once again. 

"Come waste time with me JJ…"

Taglist: @hopebaker @iovdrew @penny4yourthoughts @magnificantmermaid @pickingviolets @lovedetlost @trikigirl271 @maybankslover @slut4starkey @slvtherinseeker @obxiskewl @obxxrxfes @bluesongbird @slut-era @ailee-celeste @rafesbae @camilynn22 @bethoconnor @pankhoeforlife @pankowperfection

#jjmaybank #jj maybank x reader #jjsmut #jj maybank smut #jj maybank #outer banks #outerbanks #obx #outer banks smut #obxsmut #obx fanfiction

[finalgirleddiemunson]

You Smile at Me (Eddie Munson x Reader)

summary: you and Eddie lounge in the sunshine and enjoy the end of summer. (wc 0.8k)

warnings: none (?)

a/n: i realized it’s been literal weeks since i last posted, so i wrote this between classes and rehearsal (add that to your known S lore). it’s simple, it’s sweet, it has no plot. title and a piece of dialogue taken from “standard bitter love song #7″ by the mountain goats

masterlist

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“You’re killing me, baby,” Eddie groans when he sees you. 

Eddie just knows you’re not real. 

You’re some mythical being, like the kind from one of his books or a movie, sent to Earth specifically to torture him.

Eddie’s not sure what he did to deserve the punishment. 

You’re practically golden, soaking in the sunshine as you lean back on your elbows. 

You grin up at him, teeth and menace and mischief. Pull your sunglasses down the bridge of your nose so that he can see your eyes when you wink up at him. “I’d never kill you, Eddie. You know I can’t stand the sight of blood.”

You stretch up, shirt pulling with the movement. As though the cropped hem of your shirt wasn’t already enough to make him weak in the knees, the shirt rides up even more on your stomach, smooth skin exposed to the sunlight. He feels lightheaded. 

“Come sit with me, pretty boy,” you suggest, making room for him on the blanket you’ve spread out. “We have to soak up the last rays of summertime.”

“Have you seen me? I’ll be red in two minutes out here,” Eddie scoffs, even as he kneels down and stretches in your sun warmed spot. As if he could refuse you when you look like that. 

You lazily point a  finger up at the sky. “Don’t burn my boyfriend,” you chide the sun, suppressing a giggle. 

“I’m sure that’ll help,” Eddie nods as he sheds his denim vest, bunching the material into a makeshift pillow. He watches you settle into your new spot, legs on display as you kick away your shoes. 

He closes his eyes. As loath to admit it as Eddie is, it actually is nice out here. There’s a slight breeze that keeps the worst of the heat at bay, and the sun feels like a blanket, warming him down to his bones. This close to you, arm pressed to arm and leg pressed to leg, Eddie can smell the sweet notes of your perfume. 

The light behind his eyelids suddenly dims. Eddie creaks one eye open, staring at you as you block the sun with your head, leaning above him. 

“Hi,” you whisper, sly grin in place. Eddie’s done a lot of things in the time he’s known you just to see a glimmer of that smile. It’s practically indecent for you to look at him like that, he’s not sure his heart can take it. 

Your sunglasses slip down your nose a bit from the angle. He pushes them back up for you, cranes his neck up so that he can kiss you once. Twice. Quick and stolen, but he revels in the way your breath hitches. 

“Hi, sweetheart,” he whispers back, lips still almost brushing yours.  

“Do you want to go get milkshakes later?” You say it like it’s a secret, for his ears only. He has to hold back his laughter. His fingertips explore the bare stretch of your waist as he pretends to ponder the question. 

“What if I said no?” He asks, just to be difficult. Because he knows it’ll get a reaction out of you. 

You frown, brows furrowing together as though the thought had never occurred to you. “Eddie.” You’re disbelieving, and press the back of your hand to his forehead, “Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m feeling just fine.” He takes your hand from his forehead to lace your fingers together.

“Really? Because I thought I just heard you try and turn down a sweet treat.” You’re unamused, lightly thumping your joined hands against his chest where he’s brought them to rest. 

Eddie can’t keep up the act any longer, not with the way you’re looking down at him, so he sighs heavily as though faced with a life altering decision. “I guess we could get a milkshake.”

You nod once happily, “An end of summer celebration.” You push yourself away from leaning over him and instead settle yourself into his side, head finding his shoulder. He brings one of his arms to wrap around you, accommodating your new position. “I’ll even let you pick the music on the drive,” you say, tacking it on as though it’s a reward. He catches your teasing grin from the corner of his eye. 

He audibly huffs, squeezing you a little tighter to acknowledge your teasing, but lets his eyes slip shut again. Between the length of your body pressed against him and the sunshine and the promise of more hours with you, Eddie feels content. More than that, he feels happy. 

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x y/n #one day i'll have actual time to write again and then you'll see you'll all see

[hail-libertas]

Any book recommendations for fans of Red Rising?

Yes! Though not exactly like or in the same vein red rising, but after reading that series it’s been hard to find really good books. But here’s three that’s lived up to red rising for me and share that spot as my all time favorites. Also all sci fi because pierce has ruined every other genre for me.

The Last Watch - J.S Dewes. This is a military sci-fi (kinda similar to mass effect) following disgraced war hero and an exiled prince as they attempt to save themselves from the dangers of the universe with no help or resources. Kinda vague, but the premise and the danger is cool and terrifying.

Velocity Weapon - Megan O Keefe. First off if you like mass effect, you will love this. You follow Sanda as she wakes up in a space ship 200 years after a war to find everything she’s known and loved is gone. The plot twists and betrayals In this book are incredible and unlike anything I’ve read. It felt like I was getting whiplash from them. At one point I had to put the book down and think about what I just read. HIGHLY recommend.

Expanse series - James S. a Corey. I’ve only read the first and I’ve been watching the show, but it’s SO good and the show is so well done as well. Idk how to explain it so I’ll put what I saw someone on Reddit say, “it’s and extremely well done sci-fi story that focuses heavily on worldbuilding, realistic technology and humanity’s place in the universe. It’s a story that takes place after humanity has colonized the sol system: mars, the belt, the Jovian moons and beyond and the politics that arises because of that. Then they discover something hidden in the solar system that changes everything and alters the course of humanity forever.”

So yeah, HIGHLY recommend these if you want something as we wait for Lightbringer. Also, these might make you cry like pierce does, sorry bout that.

#red rising #pierce brown #book recommendation

[pawfulofwaffles]

What do you think your first ever special interest was? And if you can and want to, please info dump about it.

Infodumping you say? Oh, I’ll give you info dumping(this wasn’t supposed to be long HELP-)

(this is just a lot of artwork and text of me talking about Five Nights at Freddy’s. Don’t follow me for Five Nights at Freddy’s content, I don’t draw FNAF content anymore, maybe one day but not now, sorry)

So a lot of my hyperfixations double as special interests, the first one being no different. I’ve had fixations before, but none of them hit me quite like the horror game Five Nights at Freddy’s.

I know it goes back to 1st grade because I recall working on a project in 1st grade with this other kid who liked FNAF, and I remember very well that he told me that Golden Freddy couldn’t speak because he ate a guy and… the guy got wedged in his throat apparently??

Despite the obsession starting in 1st grade, I didn’t start drawing FNAF until 2nd grade. I have art from 2nd grade but I don’t know where it is, so the best thing I can give you is this one piece of art from 3rd grade,

And this art from 4th and 5th.

I also started a comic series in 4th grade called Foxy Fox.

I went under the pen name “Foxy Fox”, and Foxy was altered in the story to not be a pirate and to be female. Basically, I unknowingly made a Foxy kinsona. They started as QnAs, but then got an actual story of their own after book 6. There are 12 books in the main series, and around 10 side stories. I stopped writing them sometime last year because nobody was reading them anymore. I mean, nobody had been reading them ever since 6th grade, but for some reason I didn’t stop until 8th. To be fair, I was heavily obsessed, but I eventually ran out of motivation when nobody was there to read them.

I think what intrigued me so much was the whole deal with them wanting revenge on William. I have this thing where I love “character does something wrong, regrets it, victims get revenge” and also I loved woobifying villains… uhhh William was very woobified, it was really bad lol

To give you a rundown of the main idea of Foxy Fox, in the 4th book they find an unconscious yellow rabbit animatronic and they’re like “oh neat new friend” and then later he wakes up and kind of freaks out for a second but then he’s like “oh you guys are chill I’m Springtrap btw lol” and then Goldie sees him and is like “I LEFT YOU FOR DEAD WHAT-“ (except super quietly under his breath so only the audience can hear… I wanted to make it subtle that Springtrap was William, but I did not make it subtle) so basically, the whole thing was it was Springtrap becoming part of the gang with only Goldie knowing, and Goldie wasn’t telling because he knew it would hurt Springtrap more if he grew attached to everyone as friends only for Goldie to tell everyone.

And apparently this stupid plot gave me 6 years of obsession… damn.

I may be good at writing a lot, but I am not good at making a closing sentence, so… I’ll just dump a bit more art down here lol

(all of this is from the two newest books, and like a part of the plot was that there was RWQFSFASXC and Shadow Freddy, but there was also Shadow Foxy and Shadow Chica(both female) and the Shadows were like the bad guys, and the two most recent books have just been the Shadows fighting with the main gang, consisting of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Goldie, Mangle, Marionette, and their newest addition— Springtrap. There’s a reason why they’re fighting but all you have to know is that they’re fighting in order to understand the art I’m going to dump.)

Ok bye bye now @:3

#fnaf fanart #five nights at freddy's #fnaf #foxy the pirate #foxy the fox #fnaf foxy #foxy fox #Springtrap #Golden freddy #I accidentally wrote Sprongtrap in the tags at first #Kinda funny because my nickname for him is Sprong #my art #pawfulofdoodles #ramblingoverwaffles

[sea-of-dandelions]

Hiiii hello I saw your tags I'm climbing in here to ask about daisuke and okame ^^

i hold you. my most reliable mewtual. oblig spoilers for the entire series

Daisuke and Okame are two of the five main characters of the book trilogy Shadow of the Fox (written by Julie Kagawa, published 2019-2020)

Okay a little backstory on the plot itself. It's set in a fantasy version of Japan, Iwagoto, and heavily influenced by Japanese mythology. It follows a half-kitsune, Yumeko, and a demonslayer, Kage Tatsumi (and their group of friends that they pick up along the way. Mentioning Reika here. She's the head miko at this one really important shrine I can't remember the name of).

Essentially, there's this scroll that can summon a dragon and make a wish to alter reality every 1000 years or so. And after last time, it's been split up into three(?) pieces, to avoid. like. the possibility of someone being able to make said wish in 1000 years. Tatsumi has been sent by clan (the Kage/Shadow Clan, samurai iirc) to retrieve the pieces, and allies himself with Yumeko, who also wants to protect the pieces.

this is literally the best photo I can find of the map online. i cannot find a good photo of the english map. have fun.

Now. Taiyo Daisuke is a noble of the Sun Clan. Related to the Emperor of Iwagoto. An excellent swordsman. Refined, courteous, cultivated, etc etc etc, but disagrees with nobility's prejudices and way of life. And like. Tartaglia levels of bloodthirst here. iirc he went around Iwagoto as Oni no Mikoto and challenging people to duels for shits and giggles. One of the reasons he joins the group is specifically to fight Tatsumi. Has kinda a "neither of us can die until I get to duel you" relationship w him.

Hino Okame is a ronin. Snarky, sarcastic, annoying, loyal to a fault. Archer, gambler, alcoholic. I think some of his backstory was revealed in book 3 but that was the first book i read and it's been about two years since i've read it. I remember he has an older brother he feels very guilty towards. VERY important though, mentioning he refers to himself as an 'honourless ronin dog' several times throughout the series.

Initially, there's a lot of tension going on between the two. I mean. Nobility and ronin. See the above two paragraphs, their personalities conflict in several ways. It's mentioned several times that Wow nobles are dicks to everyone else. so like. what do you expect. Initially, Okame calls Daisuke by his last name (Taiyo). Eventually we see that Daisuke is Not Like Other Girls Nobles, and treats commoners as equals, even Okame.

HOWEVER there's a scene (in book 2, iirc) where the group is travelling to the Steel Feather temple (somewhere in the mountain range). The Confession Scene. Middle of the night. Daisuke and Okame are talking underneath a tree.

It's pretty blatantly stated that they're star-crossed. With like. The whole social status difference and everything. Okame (and likely several other people) would get killed if someone were to find out the Taiyo nobleman was kissing a ronin. being considered less than human and all. yk how it goes.

But they still kiss. Under the moonlight. Tada.

Unfortunately, since this is third person limited with a POV swap between Yumeko and Tatsumi (and Suki in the third book, who is, for all intents and purposes of this post, irrelevant) and you're just Aware that this private scene is being watched by Yumeko (foxed, thank god, but still).

BUT from this point on, Okame calls Daisuke by his first name. And idk when exactly this starts, but Okame starts referring to Daisuke as a peacock, and to himself as a dog. I think it might've came up in the confession scene

As I mentioned earlier, Daisuke is, well, Daisuke. In addition to wanting to fight Tatsumi, his preferred manner of death is to "die a glorious death in battle". Noting here that while Okame being as brash as he is, gets scared shitless and is very vocal about it.

etc etc their relationship progresses over the course of the series, beta couple to Yumeko and Tatsumi.

Nearing towards the climax of the story, they're going up a mountain (pointing to the map. territorio clan de la luna. moon clan territory.) and they're trying to stop the bbeg from summoning the dragon. They get ambushed halfway, Okame is incapacitated, Daisuke stays behind to fight the oni while Yumeko and Tatsumi continue forward.

Briefly. before i recount this entire chapter. Okame gets fatally wounded, Daisuke ends up having to stab himself to defeat the oni. They bleed out in each other's arms. Fully 1000% cuddling soaked in (mostly) their own blood. And depart to Meido together. And later say their goodbyes to Yumeko together. Daisuke gets his wish to die a glorious death and Okame keeps his promise to stay loyal to Daisuke.

And most importantly, by the end of book 3, Okame's petname for Daisuke was 'peacock'.

#i'm so sorry i'm terrible at describing things #but them. they. you understand. #they are literally. holy fucking shit some of the things they say to each other. #the series does read like a published fanfic in the sense that it felt less. professional? which Was a bit off-putting #but it was a good series and I got over it like halfway into the first book #oh. and their implied to have slept together. #either literal sleeping together or fucking it's up to you idk #being abruptly woken by Events (youkai). disheveled and coming out of the same room together #also they're so fucking pretty #like #canonically #Daisuke is one if not The Prettiest character. #unfortunately NONE OF THEM HAVE OFFICIAL ART !!!!!1!!!!1!11!!! #but we do get descriptions :thumbs_up: #Daisuke is mentioned to have feminine features and long white hair that he often keeps down. #Okame's hair is (i believe) brown‚ and he keeps it tied up. sometimes to pass himself off as a samurai. #hang on

[tigger8900]

Hell Followed With Us, by Andrew Joseph White

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

The world as we know it ended when a Christian doomsday cult unleashed a deadly virus upon humanity, an apocalyptic event known as the Flood. Now they've engineered a new strain, one that will bring about Seraph, a monster that will finish what the Flood began. Benji, a 16-year-old trans boy, is on the run. As the cult pursues him, he runs into a group of teenage survivors headquartered in a local LGBTQ+ center. He joins forces with them, but struggles with the weight of his own secret: he has been infected with the Seraph virus, and it's already changing him into a monster destined to destroy all that's left of humanity.

Y'all, this was really good. I will warn you that it leans heavily on gore and body horror, so if that's not your thing you might want to give this one a pass. The other major horror element is the religious cult, an aspect that I found absolutely bone-chilling. Benji's transformation was scary and suspenseful, but his interactions with the cult members were what really hit the horror vibe for me.

Something that might surprise readers is that the publisher's summary teases a romance that ultimately isn't a major focus. Yeah, Nick's cute and all, but really there's bigger concerns at almost every point in the plot. This definitely isn't your typical YA post-apocalyptic romance, and if that's the primary reason you picked it up you'll probably walk away disappointed.

The author is both trans and autistic, and that really comes out in the plot and character designs. Something I picked up on that I thought was clever was the use of masking, with a literal mask being worn(or not) as Benji chose to hide(or not) an aspect of himself. That specific terminology is from the neurodivergent community, but the concept isn't unique and can certainly be applied to gender and sexuality, though usually we refer to it there as "closeting" rather than "masking". But it's fundamentally the same concept, the act of altering your natural behaviors in order to be perceived as "normal".

I would recommend this book to anyone who isn't afraid of blood and cracking bones, loves a good rageful power fantasy, and who finds satisfaction in the idea of reclaiming monsterhood.

#books #book review #hell followed with us #andrew joseph white #lgbtq #queer #transgender #autism

[plasticmantalk]

Did you know that in the mid-to-late 2000’s, author Judd Winick created a subplot in his Outsiders and Green Arrow/Black Canary books that featured Plastic Man?

In The Outsiders 39 (2006), it’s shown that Dr. Sivana, old Captain Marvel villain, has been taking DNA from different metahumans and making clones, Plastic Man being one of them. It’s a direct clone, although it’s brain hard been tampered to make it a perfect slave. It really only gets in a single fight with Grace Choi, and is then kinda forgotten about, although the island it’s from is blown up, with the implication it died.

Sick as heck costume though. If we ever get a game with Plastic Man as a main playable character who gets tons of costumes, I want this to be one of them. I wish we got to see more of this clone, and give him a proper personality. The rest of these guys, in fact. (Also, fun fact, Grace Choi almost immediately recognized Plas’ clone here because she and Plas had a few sexual flings.)

Anyways, in Green Arrow/Black Canary issues 8-12 (2008) Plas was kidnapped by Sivana directly, and placed in a cryo-coma for… no one actually knows how long. (Thanks DC, gotta love how you have your heroes show concern for other heroes by having no one noticing they’re missing…)

Anyways, during Plas’ icy stay, Sivana took fresh samples of him, and used it to create “Vanytes”, thugs/books genetically engineered with Plastic Man’s powers. Sivana even calls them “basically his offspring.” I don’t know if that means they’re mostly clones, or if they’re just regular people who’ve been heavily altered, like Connor Hawke and Shado’s son Robert. Anyways, once again Sivana blows up the lab when he leaves (guess he just wants to spend his pyrotechnics funds), but he outright says the Vanytes will survive… and they never appeared again.

So, there is a huge possibility of there being DOZENS of Plastic Man clones out there… swimming in the ocean… I see some potential there. But then again, this is DC, why would they wanna follow up on a PLASTIC MAN plot point, right? Right.

Still, again, sick costume. I also like how it subtly has Plas’ colors, a little hint at who he’s made from

#plastic man #dc comics #eel o'brian #superhero #jack cole #patrick o'brian #green arrow #black canary #dr sivana #connor hawke #shado #outsiders #grace choi

[thornquillthefiendish]

Currently while drawing this Mapleshade thing I’ve been thinking about an idea I’ve had for awhile and

Would anyone be interested in a rewrite mainly focused on Tnp? Because I’ve been focusing on this part of the series a lot recently and I think it was filled with so many interesting concepts, but sadly laid groundwork for tropes that would either be furthered later on or worsened previous issues from tpb. I just. I really like the idea of a journey in most stories and I wanna write something about that wonderment and danger, and the kind of found family angle that is so easily applicable to these characters is so good.

Some of my ideas rn are

- rework Crowfeathers personality intensely (core asshole will be preserved I just want real development and consequences, and how those consequences will affect him later on)

- more emphasis on how close the prophecy cats get — suddenly interrupted by the jarring realization that things cannot stay this way forever

- maybe hawkpaw tags along too (moth is also important I just want them both to be more heavily mixed into this plot because of the innately interesting stories they have)

- bramblesquirrel won’t happen here — for plenty of reasons personally but also because I think the omen leafpool got could’ve been foreshadowing for something more interesting (coughFirestar adopting all of Tigerstars kidscough)

- ofc, gay

- interpersonal and relationship struggles are explored more so (what is family, where loyalties lie between friends amongst different factions) to kind of highlight a growing issue that is the code just. Not working

- soft rewrite of tpb, things like altered bloodlines, character names, timeline even (I don’t want to rewrite tpb at least now because I feel like that’s easy for me? I don’t love tnp and I wanna challenge myself)

- hawkfrost redemption arc (with real consequences for his actions)

- StarClan revision (benevolent StarClan because while I like evil StarClan I have this really neat narrative idea I think would work well to combat the lack of real progression in the series from a certain standpoint and also I just really don’t want to have them torture squirrel and leaf like in the books it’s so messed up when you think about it)

- I can promise that the story begins very similarly but the direction it’d head towards would be extremely different or at least plays with altering aspects of the story a lot more.

- lots of added stuff and other alterations that will be a surprise :)

I’d also like to know if I should just do that on here or make a separate tumblr, might make things nearer or might give me a better way to schedule things around here.

#warrior cats #wc #warrior cats au #wc au #wc rewrite #? #maybe #name in the works as of rn #I’ve been legitimately thinking of doing this for awhile to have something to push me back into my own individual works #writing for these cats is a lot easier than my personal pieces which are a lot more messy #I’d love feedback!! maybe even some other things people want out of this specific arc?

[bookdepositori]

Post-vacation post 4/4

Lastly of the books I read on the trip, I finally read my first Toni Morrison book. Read it on the flight home that got delayed several times, so it kept me company while stuck in Philadelphia. It definitely left me excited to read more of her work.

It’s been so long since a book has immediately gripped me within the first five pages. Morrison is able to express so much with so few pages and maintains that same momentum for the entire book. I read this book over the course of about 36 hours, but when I finished, I felt as if I had been reading it for months.

This is already one of my favorite examples of magical realism I’ve seen anywhere. This book is full of so much authenticity and texture even after its supernatural premise is revealed in the first couple sentences. This book doesn’t read too differently from many realist novels I’ve read despite its setup. The heavily spiritual imagery also does wonders to amplify the emotional palette presented to the reader. Feelings of loss and guilt and given physical shape in ways that shook me to my core.

This was one of those books I felt like I could’ve just read forever. There’s a decently sized chunk of chapters in the middle of the book where the plot doesn’t progress much, but it was one of my favorite parts of the book because just spending times with these characters and Morrison’s prose is so engaging in itself. I also found myself going back to reread passages much more often than I usually do because there’s so many incredible examples of symmetry and rhythm between how certain chapters are written.

Then also, I usually don’t talk about spoilers in these posts, but I really want to talk about the later chapters. The one thing that stuck with me the most about this book was Sethe’s moments of introspection towards the end. Specifically the idea that even though she has been freed from slavery, the experience has left her spiritually tarnished. Lots of books, films, songs, etc discuss the physical suffering that American slaves endured (and for good reason, as it’s a subject that’s still horrifically under-taught in this country), but I haven’t read much that discusses this spiritual aspect. An important aspect of the tragedy of Sethe’s character is that while she is free in name, her soul has been left permanently altered by what she experienced. There’s no amount of revolutions that would undo that.

#books #books and novels #fiction #reading log #reading #book blog #tbr #paperback #classic literature #contemporary literature #toni morrison #Morrison #beloved #magical realism #horror

[oldyears]

Have you read rf kuang’s the poppy war? If so, what did you think about it?

yes i have! i read the entire trilogy in the span of 3-4 days last year haha 🥲 personally tho, i did like the story enough, but i found that after the first half of the first book it seemed like there was no driving force for the plot anymore and rfk was making things up just to arrive at an ending. there were a lot of plot lines and characters that were introduced, but they either had an abrupt end or had no elaboration/follow through with their subplots, which was frustrating because i think rfk had built a good foundation for most of the characters included in the story. the world-building was also okay, but because rfk derived it from real life historical events concerning china and other parts of east and southeast asia, particularly during the opium war right up to ww2 (if i'm not mistaken!), it felt forced upon the story to adhere to the political turmoils mimicking the events rfk was referencing. also i thought that some of the depictions of violence was excessive, mostly because it doesn't really say anything about these occurrences and doesn't really contribute to the conflict of the main character? so it makes you ask why it was there and presented to that extent, especially since we all know sexual violence and killing bad esp in a war, so then What; that kind of thing.

by the second and third book i could also see how the story was barely hanging on and the third book in particular felt like a drag. it was like one of those filler episodes but make it 300-something pages. tedious as hell. i did love the characters though, especially the platonic soulmates and the complexity of rin's and nezha's feelings towards each other. and the writing was pretty good, considering rfk wrote and published it while she was in undergrad. for me personally the story suffered from not knowing where it wants to go and what it wants to do with its characters. and it would have been better if rfk didn't rely so heavily on lifting from real life events and only alter them a bit to fit her narrative like a retelling.

#rinezha u will always be famous......... #i don't like what rfk did to venka in the third book as well :/ #anon #answered

[amber-ish]

*BONES AND ALL NOVEL SPOILERS*

I read the description and was interested in the concept more than anything, but underneath a seemingly hot take on something so taboo as cannibalism, this book says absolutely nothing. The writing itself was lacking in emotion and fell flat for a majority of the novel. Despite plenty of imagery and descriptions there was never a full or meaningful picture of any place in the novel. I never got a solid emotion or was able to pick out any significant imagery in the novel other than the heavily implied importance of the books, which at times seemed so out of place. It felt as though this book was just a collection of places that had no meaning themselves, and that the books theme played no role in the actual storyline or emotion of the book. I was unable to connect to any character, much less Maren. There was a lack of feeling in most of what should have been pivotal and altering moments for her as a person, and she never seemed to come to a full realization or experience any growth.

I also struggled to understand the concept of her “affliction” or struggle with inherent cannibalistic urges. The concept of her eating people who want her doesn’t fit with the first incident with the babysitter, unless we imply something sinister about that girl, and comparing that incident to her eating a majority young boys who seem to want her badly and pressure her we don’t get a sense of where that fits in. If the act of her eating them is a metaphor for sex or intimacy, the babysitter does not fit in. Also along those lines, how is a toddler killing and eating an entire person, down to the bones? How does this grown woman allow a toddler to simply kill and eat her? I believe this novel doesn’t establish any supernatural ability with the eaters, so this seems to be only a way for the plot to work, which is fine and wouldn’t have detracted from the novel if the emotional aspect had landed.

The emotions in this novel were almost nonexistent. I felt that Maren seemed to be a very “woe is me” character without taking any precautions. I didn’t get an overwhelming sense of loneliness from her that would have worked to drive her to crave such company, and I also didn’t get a strong sense that she was working so hard to avoid them in a way that could create a conflict in her mind. It seemed that she more so relied on people avoiding her and then went along with whatever they wanted, leading to deaths and ultimately forcing her mother to uproot many times.

There wasn’t a huge statement on feminism like I expected, and it seemed like Maren was hesitant to be on her own, but also that she never really experienced it. I didn’t get a strong message about female sexuality and coming into your own the way I thought I would, especially with confusion surrounding her reason for eating people.

Overall, it was a dry and hollow rough draft of what could have been a very good novel. The concept is great! I was very interested at the start, but pieces didn’t add up and nothing ever impacted me. Dry writing that fell flat and dull with no real message and characters that I wanted to love but couldn’t help but hate.

#bones and all #novel review #book review #bones and all novel #help me figure this book out I’m lost #this confused me so bad

[barrygeuse]

Content Warnings + Scare List: Midnight Mass (2021)

Midnight Mass is a show that deals heavily with themes of religion (Catholicism/Christianity in particular), death, and alcohol (to a certain extent). The last two episodes in particular lean heavily into an apocalyptic scenario. Graphic gore and violence. Detailed animal death shown around 34 minutes into episode 2. Racism, specifically Islamophobia. Lots of scenes in church and regarding communion, as well as scenes in a sort of AA meeting. I won’t be pointing them out here due to their frequency. 

Though I tried to be vague, some things are impossible to mention without spoiling various plot points. I highly recommend watching the show raw if it sounds like you'd be able to based on the above, but your experience will not be altered badly by checking the specific warnings.

I really loved this show, and I wanted those who may be wary of its contents to be able to enjoy it as well. Be safe and happy watching!

Scare timestamps and content warnings below the cut.

Scare Timestamps:

E1: 3:51, 13:41, 29:35, 34:10  E2: 20:21, 52:29, 54:24, 56:44 E3: 55:20, 1:00:18 E4: 1:06:01  E7: 7:36, 17:07

E1: Book I: Genesis

Opening scene has flashing police lights.

Opening scene is of a car crash induced by a drunk man, who speaks while intoxicated. The body of the victim is shown in detail.

12:30 - Teens are shown smoking weed. Alcohol is opened but no one is visibly intoxicated.

19:00 - Someone is seen drinking and there is discussion about him being drunk. He is not visibly intoxicated.

29:22 - A dead (visibly wounded) cat is shown onscreen.

34:10 - The face of the car crash victim is shown in detail.

55:35 - Many dead cats are shown.

E2: Book II: Psalms

Opening scene - More detailed shots of the dead cats from before. Visibly wounded.

20:21 - The face of the car crash victim is shown in detail.

34:04 to 35:08 - Extremely detailed shots of a dog dying due to ingesting poison. The dog’s body remains in scene but not shown up close again.

53:20 - Someone notices blood spotting in their underwear. 

E3: Book III: Proverbs

4:54 - Blood is shown in a sink, having been coughed up.

15:44 - The body of the car crash victim is shown in detail.

23:22 - Someone faints abruptly.

42:41 - Someone is shown collapsing with convulsions, spitting up blood, and eventually dying onscreen. 

55:34 - Someone is attacked by the creature. Their neck is shown, bloodied, and they are also pictured drinking blood from the creature’s wrist after the creature cuts itself open.

E4: Book IV: Lamentations

Opening scene - Someone's baby has disappeared. There is no blood or pain, but it is a sort of miscarriage nonetheless.

9:00 - Blistered skin is shown on someone’s hand/arm.

15:00 - Discussions of an abusive mother/husband.

22:00 - A metal cross is shown dug into someone’s palm.

22:24 - Someone cuts their palm onscreen.

41:29 - Someone is shoved and knocks their head on the corner of a table, causing them to bleed out. Someone is seen drinking this blood from the floor.

47:40 and 51:00 - The body from above is shown, as well as a lot more blood around the scene.

1:04:33 - The creature cuts its wrist open and bleeds into a container.

1:06:23 - Someone is attacked by the creature. 

E5: Book V: Gospel

7:22 - Sudden outburst of rage from a male figure (yells + hits object).

23:55 - Someone’s neck is snapped back into place multiple times.

25:42 - Someone’s skin is burnt badly and blisters.

33:30 - Men yell angrily a lot during this discussion.

43:38 - Someone cuts their wrist and bleeds into a chalice. This blood is consumed.

58:15 - A character is shown burning entirely alive while another watches and screams for them.

E6: Book VI: Acts of the Apostles

22:20 - An outburst of rage from a female figure (yells + shoves someone else).

49:27 - Someone is shown collapsing with convulsions, spitting up blood, and dying onscreen. 

Starting around 54, multiple people are shown willingly drinking wine laced with poison. All of them collapse and die like the person above. Graphic spitting up of blood, convulsing, etc.

56:10 - Someone is shot in the forehead.

59:00 - As the poisoned people start to wake up again, they begin to attack the other people in a complete chaos of cannibalism and blood. There is a lot of screaming.

1:01:00 - Someone is shot in the chest.

1:02:06 - The body that was shot in the forehead is shown, as well as the carnage in the building. Everything is covered in blood and there are many bodies.

E7: Book VII: Revelation

The entirety of this episode carries out the themes of the previous. There are people being continuously attacked by others, many gunshots, cannibalism, and a very large fire. It leans into apocalypse territory. The scares are listed above but there is too much content for me to mark individually. Especially graphic points of note:

10:32 - Someone cuts their throat onscreen (chest-up shot). They are shown bleeding out.

44:10 - Someone is attacked by the creature. The creature feeding from this person is shown multiple times in detail.

59:08 - People are shown burning alive (minimal screaming, only from one person and out of fear not pain)

#i really enjoyed this show and i wanted someone i love to be able to consume it safely so i wrote this up and figured i'd share it #SUPER SUPER SUPER recommend #midnight mass #mike flanagan #riley flynn #ed flynn #warren flynn #annie flynn #erin greene #bev keane #beverly keane #john michael pruitt #john pruitt #father paul #paul hill #father paul hill #mildred gunning #sarah gunning #joe collie #leeza scarborough #content warnings #jumpscare list #timestamps #sheriff hassan #hassan el-shabbaz #ali el-shabbaz #crockett island #st patrick's church #millie gunning

[obscure-nexus]

I'm gonna use this post to info dump about my paras!!

ONO2 (Obscure Nexus of Observers)

A note: I'm not from Illinois, nor do I know anything about how serial killers are actually handled. My knowledge comes from reading the online law book of Illinois, my living in a poor town, Vin's sp/in in serial killers/criminal justice, researching about Illinois and it's towns, and Google maps/Wikipedia. Use your suspension of belief with me here 😅

Lyra Jones' aunt is murdered shortly before she moves into the small town ( fictional, unincorporated) of Pigeonfield, Illinois. She acts as a vigilante to find the murderer behind it, soon uncovering the mass corruption in the town- in which her friend, Vincent, is caught up in as well because he can't escape his preteen mistakes. She also learns the murder is connected to a string of murders, belonging to a serial killer dubbed 'The Vulture' by the Cario Police department, in which, her father works.

This is the story. Do I ever actually drop lore about it? No lmfao! Who do you think I am? A productive member of society?

This one is a system para!

COP (Cult of Pain)

This is the story of Ezekiel Rivets, a delusional queer man in the 1950s of the south USA. He lives in a cult that has severely traumatized him and those around him. He romantically loves the God of the cult and despises himself greatfully for it. This follows him breaking out of the cult and healing his trauma and accepting his delusions not as reality.

This is based on my tramua and my journey of healing it. It is also a way to project pain onto a fictional character instead of myself or bottling up my feelings.

I drop cryptic lore about it, but will happily dump about it explicitly if asked. :D

This one is London's para

R&R (Robots and Romance)

Alabaster is an android that is made for cleaning and working. He works in children's entertainment as a cleaner while non-sentient animatronics play music. He deviates from his programming after falling in love with his technician, Calhoun (or Caz, as in Cazenovia). He works throughout life of an android, trying to understand human concepts and trying to express his sweetness on Caz.

What a reason to deviate! Falling in love with your caretaker!!

This one is a few alter's para.

Melon Causalities!

A DnD type story with my own original species added in. It follows Melon, a druid Elrim (said species), traversing the land to learn new magic and heal abilities. They are accompanied by a half-elf bard who wants to eat every food possible and a goblin barbarian who wants the benefits of two healers for her impulsive adventures. They adopt an antsy Dragonborn paladin.

This one is not as fleshed out the others, but just as fun to me :>

This one is Raziel and Vinny's para.

HAH-A (Homage to Another Homicide- Again!)

A story with no real plot about Vonté Collen and their life as a disabled queer person. They uncover and heal their trauma from their childhood and learn to love the "ghosts" that haunt them. It's kinda episodic with each day/week of their life ending in a moral that they tell to the deity of the world. They are self aware to a certain degree.

This is a perspective heavy piece of my own life, they are very oriented towards that. It deals heavily with our system's trauma and Vonté is used as a vessel for my life's story telling.

#para cop #para ono2 #para mc #para r&r #my paras #para haha #is this lore :0 #yes #take it

[but-im-jess-saying]

So I watched season 1 of Sweet magnolias, and I have thoughts and feelings. So I immediately tried to spoil myself by googling the book series the show was based upon and found out that that event at the end of the season did not happen in the books at all. So I began to create my own theories as to what might happen next and also what I would like to see happen next. I thought about it a lot and I'm 100% sure certain they are going to use flashbacks in season 2 to show what happened between Kyle running out of the party and the car crash. Something had to have happened because we don't see anybody grabbing the car keys which means it was probably in Tyler's pocket, though why Jackson would have a ‘no phones’ policy at his parties but not a ‘no car keys’ policy too idk. So, either Kyle took them from him or Tyler gave them to Kyle, why would he do that? What would happen to get Tyler and Kyle in a situation where Kyle can grab the keys and get to the car before someone else can stop him?  I think that there has to be a couple scenes. They could have someone who was there just tell the parents about it but I think it would be more effective to show it directly. My thought as to who was in the passenger seat is probably Annie and I'm sad about it because I feel that it would be better if it was Tyler, like it would make more sense. But if Annie is injured then the show can use that for drama, with the burgeoning Annie/Tyler relationship and to further animosity between Annie and CC. In the book series Annie spent the second book in the hospital for a different reason and I think that the show might borrow a lot of that plot line for her recovering from a car accident, if they intend for Dana Sue to have the same plot line and HEA as in the books. I don't want them to though, but I think they are going to keep it because it's a romance series and when people watch movies based on romance books they expect the core couples to remain the same. But, with the cheating issue they are probably going to have to muddy the waters more to make it seem like Dana Sue overreacted, I don’t think they should though, I want Dana Sue to get together with Hot Farmer.  But lesigh, Dana Sue's probably going to get back together with the cheating ex and the show will likely have Annie in the hospital to give them time to bond and hold hands and whatever by her bedside. I hope they decide to change the details as to what Ronnie did to make Dana Sue leave him because like if it's straight up cheating I don't think i could support that because its like Bill cheated and he’s a selfish ass for that, should not be forgiven. Check, I agree on this point. Then you have Ronnie, who also cheated, but he’s not a selfish ass (because…?) and he should be forgiven… why? The show is going to go into why/how Ronnie is different from Bill and make a case for why he deserves forgiveness and show him earning it. I would rather see Dana Sue and Jeremy get together but probably it's going to be Dana Sue and Ronnie. 

I think that Tyler being the character who is in this passenger seat would make a more interesting situation because if he's in the accident and he's injured then it might foster a situation where CC and Annie have to work together to support him or whatever and they can get to know each other without the level of jealousy that we've seen between them previously. I also worry about the potential of a  ‘and reality ensues’ plotline of the situation with your kid illegally driving a car while emotionally disturbed and harming or nearly killing someone else’s kid.  In situations that like that people tend to look for people to blame and it would be rational for Dana Sue and Ronnie to blame Maddie and Bill for their daughter's injuries and  for that matter for any parent to feel that Maddie and Bill should be held responsible for their son's actions, but if it's Tyler then you know there's no one to be mad that isn’t already involved. it makes the situation more straightforward, or rather more simple to have only one family involved, I guess. And then there's no reality ensues plot and the town taking sides and gossip and legal actions between families for damages, or medical bills, and the Townsends lose their house and the friendships over because Annie was hurt so bad and blah blah blah and it's just not as interesting to me if you have something obvious like where there’s a forgone conclusion about what will eventually happen which is the destruction of the friendship, which is the best part of the show or you'd have to like blatantly ignore the natural reaction of a mom when her child’s been hurt, ‘no Dana's not going to blame her friend for this she's going to blame...someone else’, idk. It's just not rational or reasonable to me but if the only set of parents whose children were harmed is Bill and Maddie and it's clearly an accident Kyle did not mean for this then I feel like the show can be more interesting than just the breakdown of a friendship over a tragic accident. Though I do think that Maddie will one way or the other blame Bill for giving her kid that Goddamn car when she knew her child was not ready for that and if he had asked her she would have said no don't do that Tyler is struggling with rage issues He's going to drive while mad and wrap himself around a fucking pole and that's not exactly what happened but she was correct in principal.

Couples from the books I think the show might actually change is Annie and Tyler. A lot of people have said that Tyler seems like he might be gay or bi and I do think that they might change the core couples of the books for the purpose of adding more diversity to the show. I mean there are LGBTQ characters and there are characters of color but more is better in this case and Tyler would be a different type of gay character, or bisexual, depending on how they decide to play it and i think it would be really good to have more characters breaking stereotypes about gay people. One thing I definitely want to see is CC and Annie becoming friends. Like it doesn't have to happen right away like I'm not saying season two starts and suddenly they're braiding each other's hair and having sleepovers but I would really like them to bond and see them learn to appreciate each other. I’d like for CC and Annie to have to work together and they get to know each other without the level of jealousy that we've seen between them previously like CC totally thinks or perhaps knows depending on your theory about it that Tyler is into Annie and Annie definitely understands that Tyler's more comfortable expressing interest in CC and I think they both want to be what the other is, and I don't think either of them really has learned to appreciate themselves the way you do when you're older and I think that they could you know sort of give each other a crash course in self-esteem and be like ‘of course I want to be you you're fucking amazing’ ‘I’m not amazing, you’re a-fucking-mazing’ and you know that could sort of be the basis for a friendship between them.  Like, you know that idea of history repeating itself I'd like for all of the children characters to eventually go off to college and build life and then come back to Serenity and like you know could be a time skip sort of thing and Tyler's had a career in baseball and maybe he's had a career ending injury like in the books or otherwise had some sort of scandal. I sort of like the idea of borrowing the plot from the book where its a cheating scandal, but its CC and his relationship that ends and CC goes back to Serenity with his kid and Annie is there too, and Tyler is juggling trying to build or rebuild a relationship with his son and get visitation and everything, while also dealing with a renewed attraction to Annie, who in this version would be a lost love character. And Annie could be like, “No, we are not starting anything with each other you need to focus on you’re fucking kid, remember how you felt during the whole thing with Bill, that is exactly where your son is emotionally right now, so dont come to me for comfort, go to him and show him you care about him, you ass.” And CC could be bitter and angry, only to discover that Annie is on her side and Annie and CC could become friends through Annie helping CC get her life back on track, maybe Helen could take CC on in her law practice (I feel like CC would be a lawyer or something, but not a practicing one, like she has a law degree, but not an active law licence and she’s actually been a stay at home mom).

Or maybe Tyler's been outed as gay/bi... I don’t really like that but him being forced out of the closet but that could be a career ending scandal and Jackson could be a local business owner (or a teacher at the highschool, this idea just occurred to me) or Annie could have been a renowned photojournalist or just a well known photographer or something. Whoever they decide pair Tyler with I'd like for them to have separated and grown into adulthood separately so they can like meet back up in serenity and get to know each other as adults as Tyler is dealing with this upheaval in his life and his love interest could be the one giving him the tough love, advice and comfort he needs at that point. I think that would be a really good storyline there like he's had his dream come true dreams come true, but not been happy because somethings missing, or he’s keeping this huge secret, or whatever and when it all falls apart he goes home and meets this person from his past. 

But I do definitely want CC to come back into it in some way as well and maybe she's like been in serenity the entire time in some sort of analogous role to the role Helen plays in some of the storylines. Maybe she's got a successful practice, maybe it's a little bit bigger than Helen's is portrayed, maybe she travels instead but serenity is still her home base and she supports the community the same way Helen does.  I think Annie and CC could be really good friends. Maybe more than friends, if the show decides to go with the fandom preferred, everyone is gay strategy. 

Anyways thanks for reading my rant... Please come scream with me about this show.

#sweet magnolias #I don't know what couples i prefer #but I want the plots from the books to be heavily altered #and its kind of weird that i have no strong feelings about Cal #except that he is def better than bill #and bill should feel bad #also good on noreen for leaving him #insert good for her gif here #and jamie lynn spears is supposed to be back for season 2 #so yay for that #I hope she brings her brother too #i liked him #i want season 2 so bad

[absynthe--minded]

so what would the Amazon show have to do to be a good adaptation, in your eyes? since you don’t think condensing the timeline would work, and you both like adaptations that change things AND adaptations that don’t.

that's the question, isn't it?

here's the thing: I think a good adaptation of the Second Age is possible, but I'm very annoyed by the fact that Amazon is choosing to go about it in the way they are. the thing about Tolkien's details is that, frankly? they're necessary. there are a few tiny things that can be changed here and there, but even the relatively mild changes made by the Jackson films created serious problems that don't exist in the books.

every event here is interconnected, and in order to successfully dramatize them and preserve the emotional impact of the story and the scope of its events, you have to relay these events accurately and in the order they occurred in canon. there are not vibes that can be preserved, there are not changes to the plot that must be made to facilitate an easy transition into TV. TV in fact is eminently suited for Tolkien, as it's got time to delve into the politics and the characters and the way their legacies and families interplay. inventing extra things is unnecessary, there's plenty there on the page. removing things, or speeding up the pace, does not work, and it doesn't work because taking out one domino takes out all the others.

I speak from experience here - I had to spend years getting to know the events of the First Age like the back of my hand to write Blessed Hands, I put blood sweat and tears into memorizing dates and timelines and family trees. I have had to do this so that I know exactly what can be cut or altered or combined or moved around, and where the breathing room is. Sure, the Amazon writers haven't had as long as I've had, but they have had since the mid-2010s to develop their work, and unlike me they were getting paid to do it.

but, putting one's money where one's mouth is, etc, here's my off-the-top-of-my-head bullet point list for a five-season Second Age series. there are in fact some changes here, but my goal is to preserve as much of the story as possible.

first season is establishing the world and the characters. the plot is about the Gwaith-i-Mírdain and how they're panicking about entropy and decay and they want to stop it. Númenor exists in the background, on the periphery, but the real drama is politics with Galadriel and Gil-galad (Fëanárian vs Nolofinwëan vs Arafinwëan inter-House rivalry REPRESENT) and the friendship between Celebrimbor and the Dwarves. Elrond, Ereinion, Celeborn, Galadriel, etc. all make their first appearances here. last shot of the season: Annatar makes his entrance in Eregion.

second season is the Ringmaking. no TV show is ever going to do Silvergifting justice so just keep it heavily coded and implied but not explicit. more political drama, more relationship drama. midseason break is Sauron's reveal, second half of the second season includes the fall of Ost-in-Edhil and Celebrimbor dying

third season is the War of the Elves and Sauron, including an appeal to Númenor for help. we get a whole arc of Galadriel-Celeborn-Ereinion-Elrond fighting Sauron, ending with Númenor coming in clutch to kick Sauron's fucking ass. season ends with Sauron being taken back to Númenor as a prisoner.

fourth season is the beginning of the fall of Númenor. really delving into the Faithful-King's Men split, fleshing out the colonialist nature of the empire, showcasing Sauron's growing influence on the court. Focus on Tar-Míriel and Elendil as protagonists who are ultimately helpless. season finale: Sauron convinces Pharazôn to build a temple to Melkor

fifth season starts after a time skip. the temple is done and the human sacrifices are rolling in. this is a political thriller about the survival of the Faithful and the downfall of the island that ends with the attack on Valinor and the drowning of Númenor and the escape of Elendil's ships. the last shot of the series is Elendil's "Out of the Great Sea to Middle-Earth am I come..."

it's not perfect, and I don't actually want it. but if I were to be in charge of development, that's what I'd do, that's what I have, and I'm some idiot with a computer and too much time on her hands.

#anti the rings of power #anti trop #replies #anon replies #tolkien

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

Are you confident Bughead will be endgame on this show? That’s literally the last strand I’ve been holding onto, but the thread is weakening. I really can’t believe that they would take this ship, their absolute most popular and loved one, and just end it like this forever. I am so angry with the writing!!

Hey there, anon! It is unbelievable, isn’t it?

What a tricky question you ask! confidence + prediction + the Riverdale writers ... As Jughead would say: yikes!

The thing with these writers is that they use a lot of words without knowing their meaning. “Endgame” is one of them. “New” is another. “Exciting”. “Darkness”™. “Adult stories”. “The message”…

Dangling the bughead “endgame” carrot at the end of one or two seasons of no bughead or -worse- of b*rchie and j*bitha f.e. is not an endgame. The general definition of endgame -outside of chess- is: the last stage of a process. If the process (i.e. the season’s content) isn’t about bughead, then bughead coming together at the very end is not an endgame, it's a peripeteia i.e. a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances.

In shipping, endgame is a couple that will inevitably end together (for ever and ever and ever). In order for something to be inevitable, you have to create that sentiment, you have to build the couple up.

There’s an article about the misappropriation of the word “endagame” that I find particularly funny, as it starts by mentioning Riverdale!

Anyway, this is a long-winded way to say that, yes, I do believe that the show will end with bughead and varchie as their main canon couples. It’s just that, like you, I’m so very tired with these story lines. There is satisfaction to be had at the notion of endgame but a seasonful of investigative bughead would be infinitely preferable. For me (and I can only speak of myself) the journey is more important than the destination -even if for the simple reason that -in TV show time- it lasts longer!

Why do I think bughead is still … that word? Everything’s under the cut, so as not to clutter your dash!

1. A lot of people have been theorising that what happened in 5x18 was not the original plot. I agree.

Let’s start with 5x18 varchie.

Their break up came completely out of left field. Its unexpectedness is reminiscent of 4x17. I make fun of how s5 is a reboot of s1+s2’s leftover ideas, so another copy-paste shouldn’t feel out of place, and yet … really? Another repetition? To what end? If the season’s goal was not varchie, b*rchie was already there waiting at the beginning of the time jump! Why abandon that plot? In terms of romantic varchie time, that was extremely limited, since after their kiss in 5x7, Veronica’s divorce kept them apart until 5x17 … Why have Archie being extremely jealous of Chad, Veronica getting involved in all of Archie’s schemes (firefighters, bulldogs), Archie getting involved in Ronnie’s (rescuing daddykins) or Veronica telling her father she chooses Archie over him in 5x17? Also, for those who remember, there was this by the-writer-who-shall-not-be-named.

The reason of the break up is as ludicrous as Veronica moving into Archie’s childhood bedroom (with its effing slanted roof!) on the premise that long term the Andrews’ residence has more room! (By the way, I don’t know what surprised me more: that Veronica thought that Archie and uncle Frank would know who Ina Garten is or that Jughead didn’t.) Why is Veronica astounded by Archie’s involvement in the same activities he has been involved in all through the season?! For f***’s sake, she’s the one that gifted him the fire truck!

Ok. Now let’s give 5x18 j*bitha a try.

For me, 5x18 could either have gone bugheadwards or j*bithawards. J*bitha had some heartfelt talks, a hand touch, a hallucination and a kiss. Bughead had one unfinished heartfelt talk (the only one in the whole season for Betty), two shoulder touches, two hallucinations and Jughead attempting to reconnect with Betty (without specifying what his intent was, it's true).

While I do think that j*bitha is a ship that has been adequately teased, the way they were explored in 5x18 was … not underwhelming exactly (after all, they’re not my ship, so I didn’t have any expectations about them) but … maybe lukewarm is the word? They had but minimal dialogue, only enough to establish that Tabitha’s parents were in town. Then a song where Tabitha initially rejects Jughead, although she had been supportive before. Then another song, where the lyrics were heavily altered and didn’t make much sense anyway (we hadn’t been properly introduced to the Tates) but where the original lyrics were very compatible with Bughead’s history and state of being as of 5x17. The kisses were ok, I have no problem with the actors’ chemistry. But -and this is strictly a personal opinion- Jughead’s flirting scenes (not the make-out ones, you perverts!) with Cora were better and so was the j*bitha kiss in 5x10. For the 5x18 j*bitha to flow, more dialogue and more flirting was necessary (always a persona opinion). So, no, I don’t think j*bitha were supposed to sing what they sang in 5x18.

Production for s5 wrapped up one week after the official announcement of the 5 special episodes for Riverdale and The Flash: “we expect it will take us until Fall 2022 to get back to a regular schedule” was the official quote. Re-organising the cw’s overall schedule didn’t happen overnight. Yes, more likely than not, the writers knew about the specifics of s6a before shooting 5x18-5x19 and had time to re-write them.

2. The couples spoilers for s6 do not make sense plot-wise.

If the end-goal for 5x19-6x1 had been b*rchie, j*bitha and v*ggie all along, these were pairs already happening (except from v*ggie) at the beginning of the time-jump. As for v*ggie, last time we saw them, Veronica pulled a face when she heard that he had had (still has?) an affair with Hermosa. And what about Nana Rose?! (ok, that was a joke! ... or was it? 👀)

The majority of both the fans and the general audience are bugvarchie shippers. Teasing b*rchie and j*bitha as a means of maintaining the viewers’ interest in a will they/won’t they way, only works if the audience finally gets what they want. In this season. Not the next one! There is so much trolling one can take after all. In the space of 1.5 year (4x17-5x19) b*rchie will have been teased ... THREE times (and still lacking build-up)!

I cannot myself see b*rchie, j*bitha and v*ggie as endgame couples. For the audience to invest in them after 4 years of bugvarchie, the writers have to a) give j*bitha an absolutely incredible development that will surpass bughead and the cinematography to go with it (good luck with that) and b) undo Archie’s character (highly unlikely) and/or give Betty a lobotomy (at which point a lot of people will quit en masse, because Archie as The One All The Girls Want just doesn't resonate with the majority).

I have no idea if s6a is an AU or not. But if it’s not, no one will be left to watch 6b.

Can I guarantee a bughead endgame? Of course not. I have no idea how the minds of the Riverdale writers work. But I do think that Jughead and Betty getting back together is more than wishful thinking.

Fervently shipping Jughead/Betty, Jughead/his book and Betty/therapy, sincerely yours, @raymondebidochonlifechoices

I hope you have fun with the Riverdale universe regardless, dear anon. Riverdale has given us one of the most beautiful getting-together stories in s1 and lots and lots of beautiful canon bughead afterwards. Here's to many more! Much love to you!

#asks #anon #Bughead #Riverdale writer's negativity #(what's new?) #anti-b*rchie #anti-j*bitha #Riverdale season 5 speculation #Riverdale season 6 speculation