#but at least in this episode he got some compensation

[elvyn]

Shinji because his scenes in the last episode were so damn cool

#and that song in the background?? so damn good #I said earlier in the tags that I don't really like how the storytelling works in Bleach #But I still have some characters that I really like and Shinji is one of them #The idea of his character is so cool that it annoys me that he has so little screen time (like most of the characters I like there lol) #but at least in this episode he got some compensation #hirako shinji #Bleach #bleach tybw #my art #anime

[fans4wga]

Where Are My Residuals? Actors/Writers Share Horror Stories On Picket Line, Social Media

"With all the strike talk about low pay, WGA and SAG-AFTRA members are starting to play a little show me yours and I’ll show you mine when it comes to their (paltry) residual checks.

Just about everyone has a story to share about how their residuals took a serious nose dive with the advent of new media. A recent story in The New Yorker about how actors on the once successful Orange is the New Black never enjoyed a financial windfall only exacerbated the angst felt by actors and writers these days.

Here’s a sampling of their stories:

With all the strike talk about low pay, WGA and SAG-AFTRA members are starting to play a little show me yours and I’ll show you mine when it comes to their (paltry) residual checks.

Just about everyone has a story to share about how their residuals took a serious nose dive with the advent of new media. A recent story in The New Yorker about how actors on the once successful Orange is the New Black never enjoyed a financial windfall only exacerbated the angst felt by actors and writers these days.

Here’s a sampling of their stories:

Jason Belleville (Home Economics): “I wrote on the first season of Cobra Kai, which is one of the biggest shows in Netflix history. I think I have more money in my pockets right now than any residuals I’ve seen from that. I was also was an executive producer of a show for Netflix called Sneakerheads, which was a smaller show, but it premiered No. 1 one in a bunch of countries for a little while. I have yet to see $1 from that. And I was a writer and EP on that, in comparison. Some of them [broadcast shows he worked on] you can still get some money from but obviously, it’s not like it was. But there’s always a steady trickle that comes in to remind you that you once worked, right? The [residual] formats for cable and for networks are clear and transparent. Whether they’re as much as we want them to be or not, they’re at least something that you can rely on. Whereas, some of these YouTube shows, these [shows licensed to] Netflix. This whole strike is about having money you can rely on through the years so you can pay for your mortgage, you can take care of your kids, as opposed to opening an envelope and going ‘oh, it’s a nickel this time.'”

Aisha Tyler (Criminal Minds, The Last Thing He Told Me): I do a show [Whose Line Is It Anyway] that is double and triple and quadruple pumped in the United States and maybe 50 countries, and I don’t see any residuals. I know it’s been very frustrating to me and my co-stars. It’s theft. We generate all of the creative output on that show. We are the writers, we are the performers, we do everything and we don’t get compensated for it. I already I already threw a couple of temper tantrums so you can see I’m a bit more sanguine about it now but we’ve been fighting about it for years and it’s just pure and simple. It is creative theft."

Mike Royce via Twitter (writer-producer, One Day At A Time, Men of a Certain Age): “Some people are wondering how residuals will work for this, and since One Day at a Time had the somewhat unique experience of running on streaming, cable AND network TV, I can tell you how it worked for me. In 2020, season 4 of ODAAT was on the Pop Network (cable). Later that year CBS repeated it, because it was the pandemic and they needed programming. I co-wrote an episode with Gloria Calderón Kellett so we split the residuals. For the Pop showings I got (lower) cable residuals, but the CBS repeat paid me half the network residual (exactly what it should be for a co-written episode) … For perspective, that one CBS repeat of one episode of ODAAT paid me roughly the same as I’ve been paid IN TOTAL for one episode of ODAAT streaming on Netflix 24/7 for the last 4-6 YEARS. In other words, 1 network repeat residual = 5 years of streaming residuals. This is why we’re on strike."

Sarah Sokolovic (Big Little Lies, Homeland): “I can tell you the money I made from residuals dropped in 2015 to less than half in 2018. And the funny thing about it was I was on two, Emmy-award winning shows. It’s not on the side of the individual producers, of course. It’s really about the studios making sure that the basic contract has things in place so that actors like me benefit from their work residually over time. There was a time when I was traveling out of the country, so I had to have my mail forwarded to my mother. She was helping me with deposits, physical checks at the time. She opens a check and she goes, ‘Sarah, it’s three cents’. I said yes. She said it actually costs more to mail it.'”

Marqui Jackson (showrunner, All American: Homecoming): “Just in general, residuals are not what they used to be. You can’t depend on residuals to even begin to sustain a living in between gigs. It’s just kind of like extra money because sometimes they’re as low as a couple of bucks. I don’t think there has been a wellspring of residuals from All American: Homecoming, even though we are doing well. It is hard to fight for the right number when you don’t know what the numbers [ratings] are. That’s part of why we’re fighting because if they’re making money off on our content we should be part of it.”

John Carroll Lynch (Trial of the Chicago 7, White House Plumbers): “I’ve noticed that anything I do for streaming is not even one-tenth of the residual stream that I got for something terrible that I did. I certainly got paid more for an episode of The Visitor, which is a show I did when I first got here and only lasted one season. I got higher residuals by about 100 percent to what I get when it [was licensed to] Netflix. At some level, we’re dealing with a different group of people who have union institutional memory. Disney as a corporation has institutional memory of using unions, often much to their chagrin. That’s true of Warner Bros. and Universal. Apple, Amazon, and Netflix all come from Silicon Valley which has no institutional memory of unions. It’s time to teach them what sharing needs to be.”

Kevin Sussman (The Big Bang Theory) “For me the big issue is residuals for streaming. I’ve known that it’s been untenable for years. I was surprised that it took this long for there to be a strike like this. I’ve seen residuals for my own shows absolutely tank once they go to streaming. I’m lucky because I was on The Big Bang Theory, which was on a broadcast network for years. Since it moved to streaming [like Max and Amazon Prime], it’s night and day. I don’t see how it’s possible for an upcoming actor these days to actually be able to make a living.”

Charlie Barnett (Men in Black 3, Russian Doll): I have those check stories of like $9 coming out. Twenty years ago, if I had the career that I have today, it would be entirely different. I can’t afford to buy a house. We just moved into a smaller place in order to start saving. It would be improper to say that I don’t have a certain amount of privilege in the position that I am. I have to recognize that. But us in these positions in of height, have all the ability to fight for the people who are under us, who are still climbing. Just the background deal that they said is historically different is bullshit. I started out in background. Are you going to tell me that I’m going to sell my image in perpetuity to a studio? It’s insane. What happens to my career for the rest of my life? It doesn’t provide any safety, any protection, any ability for growth for what this industry is, for what it’s always been. These contracts that we have built off of network television have stood for so long. We have not seen any growth through the streaming platforms. It’s kind of the Wild West. The conversation point in saying over and over again, the industry we are funding and continuing to put millions and millions of dollars into, is not profiting us. It’s BS. It’s also mirrored in the fact that half of these execs, their pay is raising continually, year and year. We have not seen growth on our side. And through the writers as well.”

#sag-aftra strike #sag strike #current events #union solidarity #writers guild strike #wga strong #wga strike #writers strike

[brawltogethernow]

Do you remember when subbers used to get "fancy"? I remember watching a Naruto Fansub and when he used Rasengan the subtitles swelled when he called the attack name. And at least one time they spun too. Some people are just that extra.

It's basically a meme to poke fun at fansubs now, but at the end of the day, while encompassing pretty much the entire spectrum of competence, amateur teams are definitionally going to give more of a shit than professionals actually being compensated for their time. Anyway I had to track down and download the old Lunar fansubs of Ouran because I tried to watch the Funimation ones once and had an allergic reaction to them not matching the fonts of the text on the screen.

...Just opening the episode at the top of the folder to a random point to grab the first decent examples I ran into I was decadently coddled by the subbing team approximately once every three seconds. Why would I NOT want to live like this. EVERYTHING labeled is captioned next to where the text actually is on the screen in the same color and a font with the same vibe as long as there's space to do that legibly. Twists at the ends of sentences with pointed pauses in them fill in when the characters actually say them so you can't read ahead and lose the comedic/dramatic timing. The opening theme has a translation of the lyrics AND a phonetic transliteration, AND the transliteration fills in to full visibility as each syllable is reached like a sing-along video to make it easier to follow along--which wasn't even weird! That was sort of industry standard before faster official releases started outmoding fansubs, except I'm not sure if you can technically call free guerilla translations made by volunteers an industry!

You also got plenty of Millennium Tin Sticks, but it's not like I can watch twenty consecutive minutes of subtitled TV through friends' Crunchyroll subscriptions without hitting at least one moment of "lmao WHY", except those don't even make good memes. They just make me either vaguely concerned about worker conditions or disappointed depending on what flavor of stupid they represent.

#thinking about how well the subs i watched of op's alabasta arc handled the first opening theme playing over the end scene ;A; #thinking about how i'm trying to watch ML with a friend and the only subtitles netflix has are just the dub script................... #asks answered #anonymous #hit undo and tumblr reverted back like 200 edit steps instead of 1 with no redo #and my text cacheer didn't have the latest version because blocks perplex it #so that ordeal gave me some kind of disease of the spirit people get in victorian novels #giftogethernow

[dragon-cookies]

First ep of Hazbin Hotel nearly fucking killed me, like it was PAINFUL to sit through. So, I'm gonna list off some general thoughts and critiques

I really, REALLY feel like the angels should've been revealed mid to late-season, this feels like we're seeing the Diamonds in the first season of Steven Universe. And if they don't give a shit about sinners getting into Heaven, what even is the point????

Also WHY does Adam swear and call sinners "cunts" and make god-awful ""jokes"" about male and female "eQuAliTy" when he's supposed to be an ANGEL??????? Why is he allowed to be just as awful as all the demons we see in hell yet still be an angel??? Wouldn't it be more interesting (and a hell of a lot funnier) if the angels were all proper and refined compared to all the sinners and demons?

I also get that Charlie's supposed to be the "naïve but well-meaning" princess archetype, but watching her sing happy musical numbers while stepping over the corpses of the people she claims to care about just feels so god-awfully tone deaf. It just makes her look extremely stupid, and I say that as someone who really liked Charlie in the pilot. Naivety isn't an inherently bad character trait but it needs to be at least somewhat believable. That and she also swears, the same as basically every other character on this show

On a related note, the songs just come out of absolute nowhere. Songs in a musical, as I've heard, start when spoken words are no longer enough to convey an intended emotion, and this show doesn't do ANYTHING to earn the big, glamorous broadway-like numbers they're trying to pull off. Characters will be talking and then suddenly they're singing, that's all the buildup you get. It's like if Gaston just spoke about how he wants to win Belle over and suddenly halfway through his plan he THEN starts singing about it.

Alastor is literally carrying the show solely because he doesn't swear every other word and actually has a modicum of subtlety and intrigue to his character. He's constantly smiling, which make his true emotions difficult to read, and his intentions with the hotel aren't immediately obvious. I swear to god the only times I didn't feel like clawing my eyes out were when he was on screen

I also don't want to nitpick the animation solely because I know the animators were being horribly mistreated and not compensated nearly enough to animate these overly complex character designs. The quality of the animation is definitely suffering though, and it shows.

I am, genuinely not sure if I'm gonna be able to watch the remaining episodes. At least not in one sitting. And this is once again coming from someone who enjoyed the pilot. It had potential, and it just feels like it got absolutely squandered.

#dc talks #hazbin hotel critical #god it's been ages since I've made a proper text post on here #what better way to do it than rant about a show and make points that probably everyone else has already made lol

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

missed opportunities

This isn’t meant to be a summary or a translation of the Sunset Savanna event!! I just wanted to share my thoughts surrounding the actual tournament and the characters involved in the overall story.

I felt like??? This event was originally meant to be much bigger and much more elaborate than what we got. Is that just me?? Don’t get me wrong, what we ended up with was… okay. It was serviceable. It worked. I just feel like it could have easily been more, but there had to be significant downsizing for some reason.

One thing that kind of confused me was the hyping up of the Catch the Tail tournament versus what we actually got?? (Loved the tourism part though, hearing about local foods, stories, and customs is fun!) I understand the cultural significance of the game, but a tournament arc doesn't work that well if we're only invested in one side; obviously, we'll be rooting for NRC to win because we know them the best and have spent the most time with them, but... They have no significant rival or opposition to go against (which is at least one thing episode 5 had going for it in the form of Vil vs Neige, and even in the Harveston event when the Seven Dwarves reappear). We don't even really have names or faces to think of as their foes. We aren't really given the chance to cheer for anyone else. Like???? NRC's first opponents get no artwork at all, and then their second opponents are supposedly Cheka's usual trio of guards--except they're just beastmen mobs A, B, and C. What happened to the lore about "most of the important roles being fulfilled by female warriors"?? You really going to sit here and tell me that the people assigned to guard the person who is essentially the future of your country aren't roles traditionally fulfilled by strong "lionesses"? All three of the roles just happened be occupied by easily reused assets? Even the replacement/temporary guards assigned to Cheka were women, and the way the originals were foreshadowed made it seem like they would later be a big deal or the "rivals" NRC had to overcome in their final matchup. They technically were, but they were just your typical run-of-the-mill mobs. They have some investment, being that Kifaji trained them and they are bitter about having won previous years but Leona stood them up for training. It’s basically one big ploy to circumvent Leona not wanting to give the warrior lessons to the winning team, a way to counteract his laziness. It makes sense for the story, but it isn’t very high-stakes.

The other team NRC fought against was even more unremarkable; they cheated just as much as NRC did and didn't even compensate for it with at least recognizable artwork or personalities. In fact, they got NO art at all. If anything, this team should have been the run-of-the-mill mobs from how generically mean they were.

It feels like this event had a handful of red herrings and cheeky lines thrown in to tease at the reveal of significant new characters, only to never follow through on them. I like Kifaji, and it's reasonable that Leona says tourists like the NRC kids can't possibly meet the head of state (Farena/Falena). However, I don't like that a lot surrounding Cheka's guards amounted to nothing?? They even mention they have a member to substitute in that's a retired imperial guard, but that ends up being of no real importance either… (he throws the match because Kalim showed him great kindness.) It’s more like a convenience that lets Leona swap in and cinch the win for NRC). It's so... anticlimactic????? Especially since the competition is supposedly for the best warriors to prove their wits and might.

Another missed opportunity is that??? The competition is supposedly open to anyone, even those from outside the Sunset Savanna. That may very well be just a writing loophole for Leona to easily shoehorn Kalim/Jack, Vil, and Lilia in as competitors, but there's so much more you could do with that idea!

Maybe there are other outsiders come to fight for the title. Maybe Rook shows up as a competitor to spook them if the devs don't want to design that many actual "rivals" with unique designs or new faces. Maybe there are your "non-traditional" fighters as well, people that are very young (just for the lols, imagine a kid Cheka's size kicking butt, using their small size and speed to their advantage) or very old (Rafiki weaponizing his wisdom and experience in combat, idk) but are still skilled enough in their own right to participate. Maybe show us more types of beastmen and how they use their specific animal’s physical traits to their advantage! I don't know how likely it is for merfolk or fae to join (since those races seem like recluses compared to beastmen and humans and merpeople don't do well in arid climates), but it would have been cool to see others throw their hats into the ring!

There were probably just limitations in place due to this being a hometown event…? It wouldn't be fair for the others to only feature one new character while this one features a TON of them, nor would it be fair for this hometown even to be significantly longer or more detailed than the others. Basically only the Halloween events are super extensive. In which case, I get it. I still would have really liked to see this concept more fleshed out and fully realized though!

#twisted wonderland #twst #Leona Kingscholar #Vil Schoenheit #Kifaji #Farena Kingscholar #Falena Kingscholar #Kifaaji #Cheka Kingscholar #Nala #Rafiki #Rook Hunt #Jack Howl #Lilia Vanrouge #Kalim Al-Asim #spoilers #notes from the writing raven #Neige Leblanche #disney twisted wonderland

[mahou-furbies]

Closing thoughts on Precure All Stars Movie F

Early in the story there was a visual gag with La Mer and Prism that made me think "is this by the guy who directed the best episode in all of Precure (That tropiRouge one)?", so I had to stop and check. And indeed it is the case, and he also directed Go! Princess Precure (one of the best seasons) and the Star Twinkle movie (the best Precure movie), so I knew I was in good hands. And indeed this turned out to be a pretty good movie and a really good anniversary movie, even though it does come with the unavoidable issue that 17 characters is way too many for a 70 minute movie. Towards the end when everyone joins the battle they even have to swap to the 3d models because nobody wanted to animate all that by hand and it looks rough.

Clunky 3d aside this was a very pretty movie, with a lot of beautiful scenery and colours, creative shots and dynamic action. Unfortunately no new forms but at least there was a new Cure design to compensate.

There were also a lot of really good character moments, we did have to waste some time on characters just spouting their catchphrases, but there was still room for funny ways to have the characters from different shows interact with each other. The chaotic muscle brain energy of the Sky-Precious-Summer trio was probably my favourite. Also points for including almost all of my top tier Cures in the main cast! And as a known hater of the over-abundance of friendly and energetic Cures, I welcome the serious edgelord Cure Supreme with open arms.

Due to the short length of the movie and spending a significant amount of it on over a dozen characters just hanging out the story had to run through its worldbuilding, but I don't think that was a huge problem since the character interactions were the best thing anyway, and certainly more interesting than the exact mechanics on how the movies' world was created or where the Cures' ultimate power comes from. But I'd say the film would have greatly benefitted of some 20 extra minutes spent on the plot.

But who cares about the plot, this was very much an anniversary celebration movie, with the theme explicitly being something like "what makes a Precure?" and even a clip show of some of the franchise's biggest moments. Everyone is included in some way, even randos like HapiCha international Cures. Especially the nod towards mascots-turned Cures warmed my heart. Or really making it a plot point that the Cures have mascots in the first place, probably the first time in the history of the franchise that I appreciated it. And in the epic finale (that had music that slaps and some really good action in the shots that didn't use the 3d models) they clearly had fun grouping the Cures by themes, like here we have the mermaid Cures in the same scene for a few seconds! Here are the princesses (and Tsubasa)! Here go the butterflies!

Finally a shout-out to NOT including the stupid light sticks, or at least as obtrusively as usual. I was ready begrudgingly to accept them this time because it is a celebration of the franchise's history after all and they are unfortunately a part of it, but to my delight there were no calls of action directed at the audience.

My final verdict is that this is a very good movie for Precure fans, but probably not that interesting to anyone else. It was also not a very good Hirogaru movie since the Hirogaru girls kind of got buried in the sea of Cures, and didn't get that much of a connection with the antagonist, or even that personal character moments.

#precure #review I guess

[owmylasagna-blog]

So, what's the real appeal in Ed/May? I see that this popular, but over all the show I see aproximately zero positive moments/development between them, including in the finale. Nothing positive, I can't think of anything that wasn't one-sided or outright negative. And I think Ed deserves faaar better than her; I don't see him just forgeting all she made and sudenly falling in love with her (fanfics where they're just dating out of nowhere specially irks me) without any explanation or development.

The appeal seems just ''pair the dumb/goofy ones'' (why not Ed/Nazz? Or Ed/Rolf? Or even Ed/Jonny?)

Honestly, I'm under the impression people only ship it as a Beta Couple for Edd/Eddy, and nothing else more. Your reasoning?

Wow I’m actually pretty glad I got this question because I’ve had a half baked post on this very subject that’s been sitting in my drafts for weeks. Now I have a reason to actually share it.

And from the jump, no I don’t ship Ed and May solely because I’m an eddeddy shipper. I actually see some interesting potential here! I also ship Ed wildly because he’s just a lover boi in my mind. Perhaps even most wildly out of the entire cast of the show: I have the receipts for dabbling in edrolf and ednazz but I can really only imagine those pairings as little flings.

So what is it about edmay that works?

Of the three Kanker sisters, May actually seems to be the only one to genuinely have a crush on her preferred Ed. It goes beyond the typical taunting and harassing her sisters subject the other Eds to. The intro to Hanky Panky Hullabaloo is a prime example of this: May makes a mushy valentine and Marie and Lee make fun of her for it. Afterwards the two talk about May behind her back: “Now we know who got mom’s genes.” “Hormones”. I think it's an interesting summary of how the sisters have differing perspectives on relationships and how they think about boys/men. While Marie and Lee are more disenchanted by romance, they see May as more naive and prone to getting emotionally attached in the same way their mom probably falls for one disappointing man after another. Anyway, the point is that I think May cares whether Ed reciprocates those feelings while Marie and Lee don’t with Eddy or Edd.

CUTE!

Now we have Ed’s reactions to May. In the earlier seasons, he doesn’t seem as averse to the Kanker harassment. Honestly sometimes he’s sort of enjoying it or just not bothered at all. I don’t think Ed generally would show his interests or feelings in a very typical way. Actually the most damning evidence that he might actually be attracted at all to May or just girls period are the moments where he is acting the most repulsed by them. We are talking about a 12 year old after all, probably a bit panicked by some new hormones and feelings about “icky girls”: to me, it reads as the early stages of immature boyish attraction.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t include at least one reference to the Ed-cyclopedia that is Kevin Lordi (as per usual), who got the scoop that the writers toyed with the idea of making Ed and May canon in the earlier seasons, even scraped S2 episode where they are caught kissing in the bushes being the basis for HPH (Lordi 2017, 2018).

So what is in this ship for them? I really like exploring this ship because of many of the parallels I see in their characters. I think it’s safe to say that Ed and May are respective outliers in their trios: May being the younger punching bag to her older sisters, Ed sort of being off on his own planet or plane of existence from Edd and Eddy most of the time. I could see both naturally branching out on their own while the remaining two are prone to buddying up. Other similarities, as you mention, also make them a cute pair: they are goofy, a bit ditzy, naturally kind hearted, a bit off beat, a tad (or a lot) gross. Nothing wrong with that!

Both come from pretty bleak home lives, lacking in support or parental nurturing. For this reason, you see them often compensating by being the nurturing types themselves: Ed being the protective big brother to Sarah and his two best pals, May often playing out a maternal fantasy (more than once she plays mommy and baby in the show; coddling Jimmy in BPS). Now just think of a relationship where these two get together!!! Having an outlet for compassion AND on the receiving end of it. I think they have the potential to have a very sweet relationship ripe for healing and personal growth.

I see them coming to appreciate each other with a bit of time and maturity, maybe striking up a friendship first before actually dating later in their teens or early adulthood. Oddly enough I make lots of parallels between Edd and May as well and could easily imagine some aspects of Edd and Ed’s friendship manifesting in edmay. The biggest factor being what I said about May having this maternal care-taker drive. Seeing as the Kanker sisters just about raised themselves and had to grow up really fast, you end up with a very “parentified” child. And if Edd isn’t the poster child for being a parentified kid I don’t know what… Anyway, in the same way that Edd acts as a stand-in parental figure to Ed I think May would quickly take on a similar role. I’m NOT endorsing this dynamic as 100% positive!!! I think it would be complicated! But it’s an interesting ship dynamic nonetheless and I’m trying to explore that in my aged up AU now.

#love having a reason to talk about edmay more! there isn’t enough discussion about them #yap yap dribble dribble #edmay

[littlehypnone]

(ask from main) sorry it's been like a week I'm just barely alive lmao its not much but I didn't want to leave anything unfulfilled so here you go, I hope it's at least somewhat decent :(

477 words, tiny dew, cg rain, dew is being a fussy baby, there's tears, he's just having a bad day, but rain helps!!!

He’s been panicky all day. No one could even move an inch away, it was setting him off immediately. He’d sob and wail and shake until someone would press him tight to their body.

No one really knew why Dewdrop had a bad day like that, but they all supposed it was all it was, just a bad day. It happens to everyone once in a while, right? The ghouls wouldn’t even dream of complaining, though. They loved Dewdrop so much, regressed or not, happy or fussy.

It was—again—Rain’s turn in attempting to maybe get the fire ghoul to take a nap. He had Dew on his hip, his head on Rain’s shoulder, as they were walking around the Den. The water ghoul was humming some random tunes, throwing in soft, affirming words now and then if he felt Dewdrop tensing up.

Another one of those tiny episodes of panic came when Rain had to adjust his grip on the other. Dew didn’t get physically smaller and even though he was barely a handful it could be slightly tiring to carry him around for hours on end. Rain cupped the back of Dewdrop’s head with one hand and grabbed his thigh with the other to hook it higher up around his middle.

Dewdrop didn’t like that, immediately bursting into tears, even though he was still as close to Rain as before. The water ghoul sighed, pained by Dew’s unease.

"Shhh, you're safe,” he cooed, all but squishing the fire ghoul to his chest. He loved the pressure even more when small than when big. “I won't let you go, Droplet.”

Rain hummed some more, taking another lap around the Den. His legs were getting tired of all the pacing, though. He decided to risk sitting down, at least for a moment. He chose his bedroom to do so in, hoping that his smell being all around would soothe Dew some more.

“Let’s try, yeah?” Rain whispered, more to himself than the little ghoul this time. He sat down on the edge of his nest and immediately started rocking back and forth, trying to compensate for the lost movement of walking around. It seemed to be alright with Dewdrop, at least for now, but Rain didn’t want to jinx anything. “There we go, a little break, alright? Maybe you could even take a nap?”

He didn’t want to get his hopes up but the yawn Dewdrop let out was like a perfect answer to his question. “You are a sleepy baby, yeah. You can let go, I’ve got you. Rest, Droplet, I’ll keep you safe.”

Even like this, it was something Dewdrop would never forget. It was etched into his brain. Rain meant safe, and that was it. And so, after another ten minutes of Rain's rocking, he started to drift away.

"Rest, my baby, you deserve it."

#hypno writes #little ghouls #age regression #little dewdrop #cg rain

[fandoomrants]

Funny thought that followed my previous post but...

The whole Ghost crew had so many undercover missions and literally had to be unnoticeable 90% of the time and yet.

They were the most colourful and easy to spot bunch out there. In every sense of the word.

Sabine? Colourful hair, colourful armour, sticks out in the crowd from miles.

Hera? Sure Twi'leks are a big part of the population and aren't rare but still, she's green, how many green Twi'leks have we seen? In any case, she's noticeable ...

Zeb... Where do I even start from? He's giant. He's purple and hairy. He's from a deceased race. He's loud. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised when I think of it now how except from some episodes where his backstory was mentioned, there weren't more cases where he got noticed and commented. A Lasat should be a very rare sight, seeing how even he kinda thought he's the only one left until he met a few others.

Chopper is... Chopper. Funny enough, maybe the least noticeable just because droids are everywhere. But he compensates with attitude. Also, he's not one of the most popular models around.

Even Ezra and Kanan had some very distinguished features - hair, eyes.

I honestly think that the whole thing got to work for them all is just because on most missions on places where there were more people or humanoids around, it would be Ezra and Kanan going and usually they were dressed as Stormtroopers or something. And like, almost everyone in Star Wars is wearing a helmet and it's not a rare or questionable thing there. Otherwise they would have been so busted.

And technology and everything is so advanced! Sure there were some posters of some or all of them here and there but honesty, how did they make it so far?? How weren't there more detailed photos or information leaked about them, how didn't once someone spot one of them and immediately realize they're part of the rebels because they're just so noticeable!

#sw rebels #sw #star wars #sabine wren #ezra bridger #rebels #rant #zeb orrelios #garazeb orrelios #chopper #hera syndulla #kanan jarrus #ghost crew

[silversmoke-20]

I'm very sorry if I am not answering your requests, Tumblr for some reason got rid a few of the drafts and I had to write them down all over again! So in a moment of sadness I was Playing my comfort game Spyro Reignited trilogy. Also why did Tumblr deleted my drafts? So I decided to make a demon Slayer HC with a reader who is a half-dragon half-human.

I just started to get into Demon Slayer. I'm already at the hashira meeting episode, so no spoilers of the show please!

Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke and Nezuko with a Dragon!Reader.

Tanjiro Kamado

This Boy would immediately assume you are a Demon. But that's when he notices that he can't sense you are a Demon.

You tell him that you are a dragon of legend, who has fought Many foes and has lived to tell the 'tail'....heh.

Tanjiro would be amazed at your feats and the adventures you had been on.

Tanjiro would tell His sister to stop touching you without your permission, who merely began to pat your Dragon features, such as: Tail, Horns, Facial scales and Wing's.

_________________________________________

Tanjiro: "Ah! Nezuko don't do that, they might not like that."

Nezuko: "Hmmm!"

Nezuko tries to make grabby hands as she was pulled away, she just wants to feel those rough yet smooth scales of your tail as you let out a literal 'Fiery' laugh.

Y/n: "Hahah! You Guys are adorable, mind if I tag along?"

Tanjiro: "That's alright, we can't bring a civilian in danger."

Nezuko: "Hmm-Hmmmm-Hmmm!"

Nezuko got out of Tanjiro's hold and immediately put her hands in your mouth to feel the sharp teeth that occupy your mouth, Which you immediately cough and gag at the sudden hand in your mouth.

Tanjiro: "Nezuko!"

Nezuko: "Hmmmm!!!!"

A little while later Nezuko was sent to her room [box] as she attempted to grab your wings without your permission.

_________________________________________

Out of compensation for Nezuko bizarre behaviour, The older Kamado sibling allowed you to tag along.

You proved yourself to the stories of your acts of heroism to Tanjiro when fighting demons.

You and Tanjiro are considered best buddies.

You showed tanjiro your scars that you gained from various foes.

Tanjiro would immediately get Angry when you told him that you are hiding from Dragon Slayers because of what you are.

You and Tanjiro make a good team... you're both still confused with Nezuko's behaviour and curiosity of your existence.

Zenitsu Agatsuma

When Tanjiro and you met this boy, you had a look of disgust at how he was begging a girl to marry him.

He screamed at the very sight of you.

Look at those Teeth! That tail! Those sharp horns! And those Claws. HE'S GOING TO DIE!

He then calmed down when you didn't attack him and just continued to look at him with disgust. DON'T LOOK AT HIM LIKE THAT, STOP IT!

You begrudgingly agreed to let Zenitsu tag along when Tanjiro asked you.

_________________________________________

Zenitsu: "Please stop looking at me like that!"

Y/n: "ಠ_ʖಠ"

Zenitsu: "Tell him to stop judging me!"

Tanjiro: "ಠ,_｣ಠ"

Zenitsu: "AAAAAAAHHHHH-"

_________________________________________

When Zenitsu becomes part of the group, you have taken the job of flarking around with him.

Showing him your sharp teeth, when you tore the cooked meat as he swallowed his saliva as he grabbed his neck.

When Nezuko got out of her box, she immediately began to chase you to grab your Tail.

He chased you and Nezuko...mostly Nezuko....mostly you as well for hiding a beautiful girl because tanjiro asked you to.

Inosuke Hashibira

He wanted to throw hands with you the moment he saw you.

When you denied him that request, he decided to display his "Strength" by somehow suplexing himself into the ground.

What.The.Fuck

Will you fight him now? Nope! Coward!

Inosuke basically reminded you of a Crazy Earth Dragon back home.

_________________________________________

Inosuke: "Fight me you nerd-ass-Gecko!"

Y/n: "at least speak to me in a respectful manner."

Inosuke: "thoust thou wish to duel my good bitch?"

Y/n: "somehow that's much more worse than before."

_________________________________________

He's basically always trying to fight you.

You haven't realised it yet, but he's been beating up any Dragon Slayers without your knowledge of them somehow founding you.

It's because you told Zenitsu and Inosuke about you being hunted down by dragon slayer's for sports.

Inosuke basically took it upon himself to kick the sh!ts out of Dragon Slayers.

Nezuko Kamado

First off, she didn't mean to touch your dragon features.

It's just you are a literal Dragon and she just wants to see what your scales feel like.

When she was Human, she always loved hearing the stories about Dragon's and what they can do.

Nezuko practically sees you as her best friend.

_________________________________________

Nezuko: "Hmmm!"

Nezuko looks out of her box to see everyone asleep.

Nezuko: "Hmm!"

Nezuko would 'Whoop' in her own way as she made her way towards your sleeping form.

She then practically started headpatting your soft but unruly hair as you let out hum of comfort as Nezuko smiled at how she wouldn't get caught by her brot-

Tanjiro: "Nezuko....Box....Now."

Nevermind it's back to the box as her brother stared at her with that "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" look.

Tanjiro: "you can touch their hair when you have permission."

But Nezuko wants to braid your hair and she can't do that in the day cause you like to be in the sun!

Maybe she'll have to be even more sneakier.

_________________________________________

Nezuko would probably kick any dragon Slayers flying if her friend is being hunted down by them.

Nezuko would practically enjoy listening to your Stories of your adventures.

When Nezuko becomes Human again, she's going to braid your Messy Hair.

I just see Nezuko as a hair braider ok!

#demon slayer #demon slayer x reader #Dragon!reader #tanjiro x reader #nezuko x reader #zenitus x reader #inosuke x reader #tanjiro #nezuko #zenitsu #inosuke

[lithuanianking]

What do you think about the bits of characterization implying that Seymour thinks Audrey likes abusive guys (the leather jacket scene/"Gee I'd like a harley machine, toolin' around like I was James Dean, makin' all the guys on the corner turn green!"/her choosing Twoey over him in his nightmare in the extended movie version of The Meek Shall Inherit), this stuff drives me insane and I don't ever see anyone talk about it but I think it's really interesting and can be tied into things like his insecurity about his masculinity and the reality of her 50s housewife dream actually being very messed up and conductive to abuse unknown to her and yeah why do I never see anyone talk about this it's so (strange and) interesting

I have never heard this concept before omg.

Seymour definitely tries to "mirror" orin in the sense that he at least wants to look like him.

Audery actually kinda admits to him that she keeps ending up with abusive guys "I'd meet a man and I follow him blindly,he'd snap his fingers,me I'd say sure." Also with in the movie how she excuses orin by saying he makes good money and that he's a Professional.

So I don't know if I agree with Seymour thinks she particularly goes affter abusive guys but I don't disagree either.

But I'm gonna have to flat out respectfully disagree with you about her wanting to be a house wife being messed up.

The second wave of feminism took place in the 1960s which was did critique the idea of women having to belong in the kitchen. But just because a woman wants to be a housewife does that mean she has internalize misogyny?

Let's break down her song somewhere that's green.

"I know Seymour's the greatest

But I'm dating a semi-sadist

So I've got a black eye

And my arm's in a cast."

It's pretty clear what she's saying here,Seymour is the ideal guy for her but she can't really leave orin.

"Still, that Seymour's a cutie

Well, if not, he's got inner beauty

And I dream of a place

Where we could be together at last"

Being a house wife isn't audery trying to confine to social standards it's a place for her and Seymour to get away from there hard lives.

"He rakes and trims the grass

He loves to mow and weed"

Here she talks about how Seymour would Also be doing his fair share,even though it is the more "masculine" chore. But she likes the idea of having a husband who'd just like to do chores and be a good father.

It suddenly Seymour she mentions being raised by a single mother so she probably wants a "normal" adult life and wants to raise children with 2 parents.

Also yes Seymour is definitely concerned about his masculinity. He is a very nerdy guy and allways portrayed as the weak guy.

To get a little off topic but in the cartoon i mentioned there a episode that he's I'm home ec and he gets bullied by paine and his friends for not being manly enough.

He probably feels almost pressured by orin who is this overly masculine guy (which is to compensate for the fact he is a closed gay man but that's not what this posts about) and might think audery won't like a little shrimp like him.

He's also constantly getting picked on and pushed around and mostly by his own creation. I myself do struggle with some toxic masculinity and can sympathize with Seymour being more feminine by the people around him.

So audery "choosing " orin over him 100% makes him feel not manly enough.

Thanks so much for this ask it was great to think of something I've never took into account !

#seymour lsoh #lsoh twoey #orin lsoh #orin scrivello #seymour krelborn #suddenly seymour #little shop of horrors audery #little shop of horrors

[otakween]

Digimon Frontier - Episode 10

Woohoo 10th episode 🥳 This one was okay, at least we got some interesting developments. The animation was noticeably limited but they seemed to over-stylize the shots to compensate for it. It felt...off but passable. If I was a kid I probably wouldn't notice.

Notes:

Koji gets a solo episode because he's a ~lone wolf~ I'd probably have a crush on him in elementary school, embarrassed to admit. As a 31 year old viewer he just seems like a lil shit lol

Really enjoying meeting new, friendly digimon each episode (although I guess there wasn't one last time). The digital world feels more fleshed out and lived in than it did in previous seasons and the digimon act more like people.

Bokomon calling Neemon "Bakamon" and snapping his waistband is really old. It was never really funny to begin with.

I realized that, although everyone is meant to have a beast form and a human form...isn't Chakmon already a beast form? Maybe it has to do with being bipedal? (Altough Grottomon's beast form is bipedal so idk)

It was interesting to see a digimon (Gotsumon) striving to become a legendary warrior. I feel like they could have just recruited him to help with the fighting lol

Izumi loses her spirit which apparently is a thing that can happen. It reminded me of when Juri lost Leomon because her digivice had TV static on the screen. Why do I feel like stealing spirits from people is gonna be a video game mechanic in one of the Frontier-based games?

I noticed that in the sub, they just call the beast spirit digivolution "spirit evolution" but they specify the "beast" thing in the dub. I like it when they're specific! It's a lot less confusing.

Weird naming sense for the new beast spirit evolution. In the Japanese he's Garmmon which is a Norse mythology allusion. But in the English he's KendoGarurumon? First off the design doesn't scream "kendo" to me and second, it feels weird to give him the "Garurumon" name. I mean, I knew this design was a rip-off, but it's weird they're making it explicit!

Naming and derivativeness aside, I do prefer Garmmon to Wolfmon. His little heelys cracked me up though. He feels like a redesign of MetalGarurumon, like an iPhone upgrade lol. Pretty much the same but sleeker.

We got a new insert song which was probably Koji's image song. I look forward to giving a proper listen later.

#digimon frontier #digimon #anime

[promptthebear]

Hi sorry, I don’t rlly know how to request but I hope this makes a bit sense > _ < 👍

🧺Arthur Fleck Joker - Something about Easter, what they would do and would they do hide and seek? Idk surprise us! :3 🙌

Happy Easter too! ✨ 🪺

💐Celebrating Easter with Arthur Fleck 💐

CW: Child abuse, parental neglect, food insecurity.

First off, I can’t imagine that Arthur really celebrated a lot of holidays growing up.

He probably had the typical crafts and class parties at school, which he enjoyed very much, but what would happen at home was kind of a toss up.

If Penny was lucid, and they had the money, I can see her being the type to go all out. Most food bank programs offer special meals or food related to those meals around the holidays. Penny would absolutely take full advantage of that, and do either a turkey or ham dinner with all the fixings.

Arthur remembers these moments fondly, sitting on the couch with a full belly and maybe watching a church service or something on TV while he and his Mom decorate eggs. Having food for days after between the dinner leftovers and the eggs, which for Arthur meant eating like a king at least for awhile.

However, if Penny was having an episode or worse if they were staying with one of her so called “boyfriends?”

Well, in those cases Arthur was lucky if the day passed without ceremony like any other.

Depending on the conditions of their place, Easter could mean he got one less beating on account of the holiday and the closest thing he’d get to dinner was dry crackers and a juice box that he managed to scrounge up from the cupboards, if that.

Arthur doesn’t like thinking about those times too much. It’s just another reminder of all the happiness he missed out on and is desperately trying to bring back into his life.

After meeting and having a relationship with you, he’d probably mention all of this at one point or another when the holidays start coming around.

Even if he’s still living with Penny, or if you have your own place, you’d probably go all out to compensate for his childhood.

You’d probably go as far as to plan an itinerary and a menu, which both confuses and delights Arthur.

Him??? You’re really doing all this for him??? But it’s too much trouble, too much work, at least let him help with the-

Shush baby boy, just relax and let your partner spoil you.

First on the agenda? Special Easter breakfast.

Whether you stay over from Saturday or come early Sunday morning, Arthur is woken up by the smell of pancakes and bacon.

As far as I’m concerned, Easter breakfast is almost as important as Christmas. Especially if you come from a Catholic family and were fasting for lent like mine did sometimes.

Arthur isn’t even off of his sofa bed before you’re putting a heaping plate in his lap.

For a moment, he’d be too stunned to speak. You’d really outdone yourself.

First off, there’s a whole pile of bacon, still steaming hot and cooked to a crisp just how he likes.

“You eat every bite of that, or else.”

It’s not a real threat because you give him a gentle poke in the ribs when you say it. Arthur knows you’re doing it because you care and want him to have a decent meal for once.

Next are the pancakes. Oh my god, the pancakes.

These aren’t your garden variety, maple syrup and butter kind of pancakes.

Like yes, you’ve included those things, but also you’ve gone the extra mile and added in fresh fruit and chocolate chips and even tried to make some into fun shapes.

There’s an “A” shaped one, as well as a bunny with a blueberry eyes and a strawberry nose, and best of all, a clown with banana slice and chocolate chip eyes, a raspberry nose, jam mouth and whipped cream hair.

They’re so pretty Arthur almost doesn’t want to eat them, but does in the end because he doesn’t want you to feel like he doesn’t appreciate it.

Of course, know you’re getting a kiss between each and every bite.

It’s while he’s eating that Arthur also notices the colourful eggs that are stashed around the apartment. He’d look over at you, eyes sparkling with delight and give you a big grin.

“Are we gonna do an egg hunt???”

He can’t remember the last time he’s done an egg hunt, if ever. Even on the good Easters, usually all they did was dye some eggs to eat later since Penny was usually too sick or didn’t have the extra money to commit to an egg hunt.

You’d smile back, and lean down to give Arthur a kiss on the forehead. “Mmm-hmmm, though don’t get too excited. There’s no chocolate in these ones but they’ll lead you to your next surprise”

It’s all Arthur can to do wolf down the last off his food before he’s off like a shot, tearing around the apartment like he’s setting an Olympic record for egg finding.

You love seeing him like this and the way the childlike wonder takes years off his expression and posture. This is Arthur at his most authentic and you want to cherish every second.

You tried to be as creative as possible when hiding the eggs, even in such a small place. There’s six of them in total and Arthur finds them all in about twenty minutes.

Like you said, the eggs don’t contain chocolate but instead are plastic shells that pop open with something inside.

Arthur would spread the contents out on the coffee table and discover that it’s basically a picture puzzle with the pieces cut into horizontal strips.

Immediately, he’s all business. He’d hunch over the coffee table and light a cigarette, his expression one of intense focus.

When you try to help or give him hints, he waves you off, determined to solve this by himself and make the most of your hard work.

So of course, you oblige him. If you’re in the apartment he shares with Penny you’d probably check in on her and make sure she has something to eat, explaining that you and Arthur will be going out for the day.

If it’s a place you and Arthur share by yourselves, then you’d start cleaning up the dishes and the kitchen while he works at the puzzle.

For once the two of you have the chance to bask in peaceful, domestic silence. While you’re excited to do all the activities you planned with Arthur, you know this is what the holidays are really about. Having these quiet moments together where you can just take it slow and not worry about what’s coming next or where you need to be.

You’d just be putting the last of the dishes away when there’s an excited cry from the living room.

You’d poke your head in through the kitchen door to find Arthur, grinning triumphantly around his cigarette with the completed puzzle on the coffee table.

The picture it makes is of Gotham Central Park, specifically the front entrance.

You’d come over to Arthur and lean down to give him another kiss on the forehead.

“Good job babe, you did that so fast! How’d I get lucky enough to get someone who’s handsome and smart?”

Arthur would sit on the couch for a moment, eyes closed and basking in the praise like a cat in a sunbeam.

When he opens his eyes a few seconds later, he’d stub out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray and ask “Are we going right now?”

The way he says it is like a kid asking about Disney world, a little breathless and like he can’t quite bring himself to believe it.

That breaks your heart a little, in spite of the glow in the pit of your stomach.

It’s just a trip to the park. You’ve done it a million times or more with your family over the years, but once again this gives you a glimpse of the kind of life Arthur has had until you came along. Things haven’t been easy for him, and so he takes nothing good for granted, no matter how small.

You’d smile at Arthur and reach down to caress the side of his face with your hand

“Yeah, if you get ready in the next fifteen minutes we could probably make the 9:30 train”

Arthur would all but leap off the couch, grinning wide and with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Before you can react, he’s scooped you up into a massive bear hug that lifts your feet clean off the floor.

He’s squeezing you so tight it hurts a little, but you don’t mind. You squeeze back just as hard.

“Thank you so much for doing this” he’d murmur in your ear “I love you so much”

He’d punctuate that statement with a long, deep kiss where he almost leans you into a dip. He’d taste like smoke with a hint of maple syrup, which makes the warmth in your gut blossom and spread in a pleasant tingle across your body.

When the kiss breaks off you’re flushed, panting and unable to say anything more than a half mumbled “you’re welcome”

#arthur fleck x reader #Arthur Fleck x you #Arthur Fleck #The Joker 2019 #easter askbox event #A week after Easter is still soonish enough for this right? #Also sorry it's so short I would've done more but the new Tumblr character post limit made that impossible

[scifrey]

Cling Fast: Chapter Four

By Losyark

The Sandman (Netflix with some sprinkling of comics canon, and Gaiman Cinematic Universe canon) Dreamling (Hob Gadling x Dream of the Endless | Morpheus) Unfinished (tentatively 9 chapters) PG-13 (for now) Unbeta’d

*

Hob spends the next month finalizing deal memos outlining compensation and percentages, which Lucienne helps him parse, and then quibbling with the legal department of the BBC on the actual phrasing of the longform contract to ensure he’s not accidentally signing away his soul. Morpheus does him a solid and sets up a dream with an entertainment lawyer, and the poor woman has the most boring night of her life, explaining each of the clauses to Hob.

She has good taste, at least. Her fancy New York corner office overlooking Central Park is filled with abstract paintings that swirl and roll on each of the walls, and riotous bunches of vividly orange goldren rod bloom against the watermelon-blue of the Manhattan skyline.

Hob gets the go-ahead from the university, and gives a head’s up to the students who don’t want to potentially appear on TV to attend online, and then teaches his final day of classes before the summer break with a camera crew following him. This is for something called "b-roll", which they’ll intercut during the sit-down “talking head” interview that Hob has yet to give, and will appear in the first episode when they introduce him.

Morpheus has very firm ideas of what Hob should be wearing in this footage, and pulls together a look from the fantasies of students who clearly fetishize their profs. Hob rather likes the nebbish cream-colored cardigan with the dark-brown elbow patches, but he spends the whole lecture trying not to squirm as skinny jeans in the same shade of brown try to cut him in half at the waist. The waistcoat, in a deep hunter green, comes with a matching tie, which Hob thinks is excessive. He’s never worn a tie to his job here a day in his life, not even when he was first interviewing for the position. But Morpheus had said that he is the master of his domain and ought to look it.

“Prince of under-caffeinated students and precariously balanced stacks of unfinished marking, am I?” Hob had laughed. “Where’s my crown, then?”

Morpheus whisks a circlet of ivy into existence, leaving a small pile of sand on Hob’s bedroom rug, and drops it crookedly on Hob’s head.

"Ha ha. Thanks for ruining my hair,” Hob complains with a chuckle.

“Your hair is fine,” Morpheus assures him. “Enjoy your final class.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Hob says, slinging the ivy over his arm and snatching up his briefcase on his way out. He hangs the circlet jauntily on the edge of his laptop, out of the way of the camera for the students at home. He likes the idea of his friend’s gift being immortalized in a TV show.

Summer term starts. Hobs' already offloaded the one intro course he'd originally been meant to teach onto a poor newly-tenured baby prof (powerpoints, syllabus, pre-written quizzes and all, Hob’s not a monster). He walks Dennis through payroll and grocery ordering one last time, but he isn't worried—Dennis literally knows where Hob lives, if he gets in the weeds.

And with that, Hob has nothing to do but focus on his eight-week stint as a television presenter.

*

Matthew joins Hob on his walk to Broadcasting House on his first official day on the job. They share a pain au chocolat, and Matthew works through a bit of what he remembers of his human life. It’s not that he’s entirely forgotten, he knows his full name and that he’d been married, that he’d died in a coma brought on by an accident, that he was in law enforcement like his father. But the details are muddled, and he suspects that in the manner of dreams, he’s misremembering a lot of things.

Hob’s offered, more than once, to search for his obituary. Matthew isn’t interested. 

“Got my closure, I’m good,” the bird reassures Hob from his shoulder. “And I dunno if it’s ‘cause I got this little raven brain now, but yeah, I don’t much care? Living for the present, and all that.”

“Must be nice,” Hob says, offering up a buttery corner of pastry. Matthew nips it from his fingers.

They’re walking along the smaller roads, in front of sleepy brick terrace houses with potted trees and empty sidewalks, away from the heavy pedestrian traffic and tourist areas. Neither of them are too concerned that they’ll get strange looks. Just a regular man with a giant talking raven on his shoulder, nothing to see here folks.

“Hey, nothing’s saying you gotta spend all your time in the grief, you know. Like, I know it’s all churned up right now,” Matthew allows, “what with all the papers and stuff. But you’re doing this to remember the good times. To…. I dunno, finally say goodbye.”

“Is that what I’m doing?” Hob wonders. He hasn’t been sleeping well, plagued with nightmares about the miserable nothing-years between the night Hob had died with Robyn, and the night in the White Horse when the sight of his Stranger had brought him back to life.

Morpheus has not banished the Nightmares when the visit. Instead he sits with Hob each time his sleeping mind conjurs up the front door of the tavern, the proprietor barring Hob’s way, the desperation he felt to just get in, to just see his Stranger, to just finally put an end to this awful century–until the terror subsided and Hob remembered where he was, what year it was, and why he was reliving this. Then he shifted himself into lucid dreaming, politely thanked the Nightmare for doing it’s job, and let Morpheus complain about his siblings or political headaches until he’d felt ready to go explore some more peaceful part of the Dreaming with its king.

“Man, I dunno,” Matthew says, pulling affectionately at a piece of fly-away hair beside Hob’s ear. Where Morephus offered his hand when Hob felt unsettled, Matthew’s version seemed to be preening him.  “But I know everything went to shit for you so fast, there can’t have been time to, you know, process it.”

“I had ten years to grieve Eleanor and wee John. And I sat in that forsaken house alone, wretched and longing for Robyn for another thirty before they–they…”

Matthew pulls out a few hairs sharply. “Getting drunk as fuck on a century’s worth of hoarded wine and passing out every night for three decades is not a coping mechanism.”

“Ow,” Hob mutters, rubbing his scalp.

“You gonna finish the last of the coi-sant?”

“Have it, you feathered menace.”

*

Hob is given an ID badge, a gaudily branded tote bag with an equally gaudily branded metal water bottle, and escorted back to the same cramped room filled with wobbly cubicles and the overcrowded inspiration board.

The room bursts into applause as he enters, startling him so bad that muscle memory has him reaching for a sword he doesn’t carry any more.

“God’s bones,” he gasps, as Harriet scurries through the dozen or so folks lingering around the entrance, looking to shake his hand or pat his back. “You really know how to make a guy regret all his life choices.”

The assembled crowd laughs, and Hob goodnaturedly lets himself be hustled inside. Closest to the inspiration board, someone’s crammed in an uneven, dinged up metal desk that looks like something stolen from the set of Doctor Who. 

"This is you," Harriet says brightly. "Sorry for the squeeze."

"Cozy," Hob counters with a friendly pat on her arm. "Trust me, I've had worse."

Like fox holes, third class steerage, and my own grave that one time I didn't duck an arrow fast enough.

Hob sets the hunter-green satchel on the chair. Morpheus had pushed on him to match his last-day-of-class outfit, and Hob doesn't want to know which high-end fashion designer's dreams Morpheus snatched it out of. Hob’s got another squashed pain au chocolat in there, his wallet and phone, some pens, a fresh notebook that he picked from the ‘too-pretty-to-write-in’ hoard which he’s accumulated over years worth of end-of-term gifts, and Eleanor’s diary, carefully wrapped in archival quality tissue and bubble-wrap for transport.

Glenn gives him enough time to make himself up a fresh mug of tea at the snack station in the back corner, before he’s being dragged cheerfully around the room to be introduced. 

First are there’s wardrobe researchers and costuming assistants. They're keen to take his measurements, and one of them, with blonde hair and amber-brown eyes also looks like they want to eat him alive.

Then there are food experts pouring over Francatelli’s chicken-scratch handwriting and planning the five or six main dishes to feature on the program. Hob begs for as little posset and as much hypocras as possible, and it’s met with an evil grin from the woman in charge of authenticity.

Next come researchers pouring over contemporary descriptions of the house and furniture. He’s told the restorationists working on a few pieces at an off-site workshop including, to his awe and delight, Hob’s favorite reading chair from his study. 

And lastly, of course, there are the ever-present researchers and writers that this sort of endeavor requires. They are all salivating over transcripts of the documents Hob handed over to the V&A.

Hob is delighted to see that he’s one of the few old white men on the crew. He looks forward to the perspectives other people are going to bring to the table, especially since he might accidentally get himself entrenched in his old patterns of behavior once he’s reenacting them. 

The last person they introduce him to is their most recent hire, wielding the most interesting piece of equipment of the lot.

“What’s that?” Hob asks breathlessly, as he and Glenn approach a wide table with some sort of futuristic overhead projector-looking thing on it.

“This is Shami,” Glenn says. “They’re a specialist in digitizing especially fragile historic documents and texts. They were brought on board to handle the digitizing of the Gadlen Fell Crate Papers."

(Jesu maria, are they really calling it that? It makes him sound like he tripped into the duck pond).

"Nice to meet you," Hob says, and isn't offended when they don't answer. They're concentrating very hard right now. "And what's that you're working with?"

"A 3D scanner," Glenn answers.

“What will humans think of next,” Hob laughs, with all the childlike delight that bubbles up under his skin. 

Shami doesn’t stop to shake his hand, as they’re wearing archivists’ gloves and are in the middle of a page. They're smoothly and slowly pulling what looks to Hob’s undrained eye like a grow-lamp on a stand mounted on a wheeled track. They hover it above a curled and age-browned page weighted down in the corners with soft little sandbags.

“Sorry, hi,” Shami says when they've finished. “And yo, thanks for showing up with enough stuff that they had to give me a job, yeah?”

“Oh, my pleasure,” Hob says. “How does it work?”

“The wand is a scanner–I’ll go over the same document a few times, with different styles of lights and grades of lenses. Then the computer compiles the images into a single, interactive document… there, see?” They point at the huge monitor on the table next to the scanner set up. “Look, you see in this layer here, if I–” they snap off a glove and poke at the keyboard.

Suddenly the words written in ink on the page (part of the Shakespeare Cardenio folio) vanish, and what Hob only sees as faded marks on the actual paper are enhanced in the image. Hob realizes it’s marginalia, originally written in pencil. He can’t read the handwriting itself, and doesn’t recognize it, but the fact that he can see it at all, clear as day on the screen, is incredible.

"Then what do you do with it?"

“It’ll all be online, every scrap of paper in the Crate, not just the motherfucking Shakespeare holy grail.”

Oh, Hob likes them.

“And when the scanning’s done, I get to make sure the resulting files are all accessible too."

"Accessible?"

"You know, alt texts and screenreader prompts, clean transcripts without a minefield of hard returns, things like that. The V&A marketing team’s cooked up this whole plan for an interactive website to bring the Crate Papers to life. You know like… so you go to Gadlen House, right? And you see a recipe behind glass. But then scan it with your phone and it brings up an ingredients list and a cooking demonstration video so you can make it at home, and a link with a social media feed where you can upload pictures of your own attempt to a community.”

They pick up one of the gravy-stained sheafs of paper, and turn it so Hob can read the heading:  Receipt for Marchepane Byrds ayn Snow. 

Hob has a sudden sense-memory of a tooth-suckingly sweet dish that Robyn had begged for each of the twelve nights of Christmastide, the year he was eight. Snow was a bowl of whipped egg whites, butter, cream, rosewater, and enough sugar to choke a cat, served with a little sprig of rosemary decorated with the springy fluff as if it were a pine tree in a winter forest. Francatelli had made a trio of little red-breasted robins out of marzipan to sit beside the tree, much to Rob’s delight.

"And you're doing this for everything?" Hob asks, breathless again, but for a different reason. He's stunned. He's moved. "You're bringing everything to life this way?"

Hob wonders how much he'd have to pay Shami to add Eleanor's diary and Robyn's sketchbook into their work. He wants to keep the originals, but he's not adverse to letting the scans out into the world.

He's lived a long time, he's not ashamed of his centuries-old sexploits being splashed across the internet. Not if it means that people might sing Eleanor's little compositions, or fall in love with Robyn through his drawing master's eyes.

"Everything," Shami confirms.

Amazing. He can't wait to see what humanity comes up with next. 

He has so much to live for.

*

Hob’s visit to the Dreaming is brief that night, too exhausted from the day to want to do much more than to sink into the deep oblivion of true non-REM sleep.

While it's summer in London, it must be springtime in The Dreaming, because everywhere Hob looks there seem to be flowers, and fungi, and vegetation galore. He doesn't know the names of most of them, aside from the ones that he knows will kill you if you try to eat them, but it sure smells nice.

Morpheus lets Hob’s dream-self nap on a luxurious chaise longue in the corner of his office, under a blanket woven of the light that shines between logs in a bonfire, the first taste of whiskey pulled from flask shared between friends, and the deep green fronds of ferns that grow in old forests. Hob was surprised to learn that Morpheus has an office, but it seems that even the King of Dreams and Nightmares, Shaper of Forms, Prince of Stories, and God of Sleep has to deal with the frustrating mundanities of correspondence.

“We should get you a computer,” Hob mutters dozily. “Make the fair folk send emails. I’ll set up your Outlook for you.”

But he’s vanished into the dark, deeper warmth of dreamless slumber before he can parse Morpheus’s rumbling reply.

*

The next day sees Hob, Glenn, Harriet, and the scripting team locked in a meeting room with a plate of sandwiches, a carafe of tea, a box of markers, a whiteboard, a pack of cue cards and instructions that they would not be let out until they’ve broken the series outline.

"Obviously we're keeping mum on the Shakespeare thing," the showrunner, a robust no-nonsense black woman named Ponle says, before Hob's barely settled in his seat. "We're still waiting on authentication, and if we get to feature it on the show, we're saving it for the final scene of the penultimate episode."

Hob learns that penultimate means second-to-last, which he knew but he'd forgotten he knew. Sometimes he loses words in the dusty, unused corners of his memory, and it takes reminding to realize that they're still there, he just hasn't needed them in a decade or so. Makes him wonder if one day in 2123 someone will shout "yeet!" or "yolo!" at him, and it'll take him a moment to remember what that means.

There are two other writers locked in with them: an adorably earnest young nonbinary kid fresh out of drama school named Jae, and a middle-aged dyke who's the punkest woman Hob's seen since since punk was new, named Nastunye (both of them as straight as an overcooked noodle, as far as Hob can tell). 

"Jae, Doc Bob hasn't done this before, so why don't you explain how we structure these shows while I get the whiteboard set up?"

Doc Bob? Hob mouths at Harriet, perplexed. She just shrugs and whispers: "Too many PhDs in one room." She points at herself, then Glenn. "Doc Hari, Doc Gee"

Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, Jae scootches their seat close to Hob's and lays down the clipboard they've been clutching this whole time. "So, uh, you've seen the Historics before?"

"Some, yeah," Hob says. "I've got a friend who's seen them all, though. He has great things to say."

Jae nods firmly, not to be sidetracked with praise. "So normally they frame the narrative of the show with the calendar. They create twelve episodes, one for each month of the year, plus a holiday special explaining the feasts and revelry, if the era celebrates one. Each episode gets four 'events' —a Meal, an Outdoor, a Domestic, and an Economics. So, for example, an episode set in, say, April, would be gathering things like peas and carrots and fennel, and making a sallet. Outdoor stuff could be some lambing and calving, the Domestic is always—"

"Spring clean!" Glenn and Harriet groan together on cue.

"And Economic is inevitably the first of the milk and cheese production. Do you see?"

"Got it," Hob says, not sure what this has to do with why they're here trying to figure out the pace of episodes. Seems like the seasons dictate the narrative, not the writers.

"Elizabethan Manor was originally meant to follow the same pattern," Jae says. "But then…" they gesture politely at Hob.

"Me?"

"You," Nastunye says with a smirk. "You really threw a wrench in things."

"I tend to do that a lot, yeah," Hob reposts back, unrepentant. That makes Nastunye grin widely at him, and yeah, okay, he can get into the rhythm of this. These are good people, and they were all in here together to figure it out, not one-up and dick measure.

"So!" Ponle says, smacking the whiteboard to pull everyone's attention to it.

She's divided it up into ten columns, and along the top it reads (to Hob's spiking anxiety):

The Rise and Fall of the House of Gadlen

"That's just ten episodes," Hob says. "Am I missing something?"

"Production cut two episodes to be able to pay for you," Nastunye explains, unrepentantly blunt.

"Oh," Hob says. "Um, sorry?"

"Nah, don't be. It'll be nice to do something new."

Hob looks around the room, and everyone seems to agree with her, so he doesn't let the concern faze him.

"Plus, you know, all the assets you've already brought to the table," Glenn says. "Quite literally."

"So I'm thinking…" Ponle starts, and turns her back on the room to write. "Instead of going by seasons, we go by themes. Something like…" She adds to to the top of the first column:

Rise to the Top Printer -> Shipyard -> Court

"Makes sense," Nastunye offers. "For episode one, we follow the Gadlens for what bits of history we have primary sources for, finish on the building of Gadlen house?"

"So, mode?" Jae asks, pen at the ready over their clipboard. It's not until Harriet and Glenn start brainstorming ideas that he realizes it's not mode, it's M.O.D.E.

"Meal could be pasties," Harriet offers. "Make four different versions with different ingredients and pasty coffins to demonstrate the economic status of the different ancestors, and the advancement in cuisine. Focus on the fast food of the ears, what you packed in your lunch box, as it were." 

"And we can roll Outdoors and Economics in together, if we look at each of the jobs —printer's assistant, shipwright, master of an estate," Glenn tosses out. "Domestics, we can do, uh, maybe serving staff?"

"Or maybe the architecture of the eras?"

Jae and Nastunye both throw out ideas, the gists  lost in their overlapping voices, and Ponle cuts in with a snort and a "No, we did that last series."

"Beds," Hob says softly. Everyone turns to look at him, and he tugs on his ear, disquieted by their intense focus and the sudden silence. "Uh. Three different beds." He sketches out the idea with hand gestures, describing the size of each with the width of his arms. "Or, sorry, no, is that not good?"

"Go on," Harriet urges him.

"I just mean… imagine it," Hob sits forward, getting into his descriptions. "A rough, narrow rope-strung cot by the fire in Caxton's, so his apprentice was right there to stoke it in the middle of the night, to make sure the bottles of ink didn't freeze in winter. Then, a bunk in a loud and rough boarding house by the water, little more than a moldy straw tic on a rough-hewen board, soaked through with other men's sweat but as comfortable as the freshest bed of moss when you're too exhausted with labor to care. And then the double wide four poster, with the cabinet doors to keep out the vermin, and the light, and the eyes of servants when the Master and Mistress were at their pleasure. Eiderdown stuffing, warming pans between the sheets, and the faint whiff of piss when someone lifts the lid of the Night Water jar to have a squat." Hob looks down at his hands, which had pulled the blankets over his own shoulders in each of those beds he's described. And more, besides. "Uhhhh, or maybe four beds, if you want to count the one made specifically for the queen when she came to stay."

"Damn," Glenn says after a long moment, sitting back. "You can sure paint a picture with your words, Doc Bob."

Hob clears his throat. "Thanks, Doc Gee."

Ponle adds to the bottom of the column:

Toil and Rest.

Jae, who is writing furiously, begs for a moment to finish their notes before they move onto the next episode. Everyone helps themselves to more tea, and Nastunye passes around a tin of her wife's Makivnyk poppyseed roll cake.

Harriet reminds Nastunye that she was promised a recipe to take home for her son to try, and then Glenn is saying something about his own wife and teenagers, and naturally enough, their curiosity and conversation turns to Hob.

"Do you have anyone waiting for you at home, Doc Bob?" Ponle asks, forthright instead of dancing more politely around the question.

Hob laughs. "I live above the bar that I own. I have hundreds of people in place every night."

Harriet finds his answer delightful. "But no one special?"

"Only in my dreams," Hob huffs.

"Okay, done," Jae says. The move onto episode two.

Everything is coming together swimmingly, until at in the column above episode nine, Ponle writes:

The Witch Knight

“Do we have to call him that?” Hob groans, tugging at his ear.

*

When they're finally allowed to pack it in, several long hours after sunset, the episode list reads like this:

1: Toil and Rest

2: Decadence and Decoration

3: Court and Courting

4: Music and Dance

5: Fun and Game Hunts

6: Marriage and Maternity

7: Childhood and Schooling

8: Tragedy and Tears

9: Witchcraft and Wreckage

10: Hope and Dreams

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#Cling Fast #Losyark #fanfic #fanfiction #the sandman #the sandman fic #the sandman fanfiction #lord morpheus #hob gadling #dream of the endless #dream #morpheus #morpheus x hob #hob x dream #dream x hob #hob x morpheus #centennial boyfriends #centennial husbands #matthew the raven #storybreaking is the woooooorst

[charliethomascoxuniverse]

I’m currently rewatching ep 2 S2 of Kin for like the 4th time (so happy we got so much more Mikey goodness this episode!), and I think this little exchange between Michael and Jimmy is my favourite of the episode.😂

Jimmy: I’m telling you, Michael, wait until you f*cking see this! Coming in?

Mikey: Do I have to?

Jimmy: Yes! You’re my brother. I value your opinion on these things. 

Mikey: F*ck’s sake. 

Jimmy: Yeeeaaaaaah, that’s the attitude! 

The sheer exasperated sibling quality of this scene cracks me up - Michael being a grump and Jimmy compensating with mockingly extra enthusiasm. 😂

And then once they get inside, what are they there for? A baby Burmese python! Naturally, Jimmy’s just dragged him along to torment him with snakes again. lol

(Is this the face of a man who has any opinions to offer on the matter of snakes? Except that maybe buying one that’s going to grow to be 20ft long and keeping it as a pet is not a great idea.)

The Jimmy & Mikey scenes are always among my favourites (both for the brotherly affection and the greater complexities of their relationship), so I hope we get more of them this season. 

I do find myself worrying about the rift their father’s return from prison is likely is cause though. Michael obviously already has Bren’s number when it comes to what the man’s capable of and immediately took the initiative to try and make sure the rest of the family is united against him. 

Despite Michael’s trepidation over Bren’s return, he also seems to be the only one who’s not afraid openly go toe-to-toe with him. Other than Amanda (and maybe surreptitiously Frank), he seems to be largely standing alone thus far.

Jimmy’s obviously aware of what Bren’s like, but perhaps not to the same extent. Plus, his relationship with Bren - despite it’s tensions - doesn’t seem quite as adversarial as Bren’s with Michael. And I can’t help but notice that whenever Bren’s going off about something, Jimmy is always the one most conspicuously closed-mouthed. 

The juxtaposition of the scenes in episodes 1&2 where Jimmy and Michael separately accompany Amanda to the Turkish money transfer store just speaks volumes about the difference in their characters. 

When Jimmy’s told only one person can go in the back, he just accepts it and remains behind (despite looking uncomfortable about it) while Amanda conducts the rest of their business. Whereas Michael, in same scenario, just silently stares the store clerk down as if daring him to stop him from going with Amanda; unsurprisingly the man doesn’t challenge him. One brother is an insecurely submissive follower, and the other is a self-assured Mr F*ck-Around-and-Find-Out. xd

But it’s Jimmy’s insecurities that ultimately weaken him, and thus make him so malleable to Bren’s manipulations. Manipulations that can only serve to drive a wedge between he and Amanda - who will then just be driven even more firmly to Michael’s side, resulting in further conflict between he and his brother. 

All of which is great for Bren, because in playing Jimmy off against Michael he not only gains himself an extra lackey (who Mikey will be unwilling to take out), he also checks him as a support to Michael and Amanda. 

At least until Bren crosses the line and Jimmy finally wakes up and realizes he needs to find his courage and stand up to the man. And that he needs to stand with Michael to bring him down. ~

(*screeches* In case it’s not obvious, I really NEED the rest of those episodes!! I am in torment okay- Netflix bingeing has ruined me! 😭😬)

And speaking of Mikey and Jimmy, here’s some interesting things Charlie had to say about their relationship and his role as Michael:

“It really helped explain Michael (the brotherly dynamic). How Jimmy handles being around Michael, how he’s protective and also kind of feels threatened by him, was so revealing to me. I think that their history with their father is very, very complicated. I think that Michael has done stuff that is almost unforgivable in the past towards his brother, but at the same time, weirdly, he kind of - I think Jimmy knows Michael took the brunt of the father’s abuse. And in a way Jimmy can’t ever, you know, can never not try to be protective of his brother.

There was a version of a lot of the Jimmy and Michael scenes where we could have played them with much more tension. And much more kind of chest-puffing, like try to be the top dog, and neither one of us felt like that was right. We didn’t discuss it necessarily, but I think that we both felt that like ‘these two have been through so much’. That really they just love each other, and they want to support each other. What that means sometimes - and this is true of a lot of siblings, a lot of families in general - it means you have to find a way to forgive things that once seemed unforgiveable.”

~

“One of the things I liked about Michael, I’m fascinated by what he doesn’t say as much as what he does say, you know? And in a family where everyone’s got opinions and everyone’s giving their input, and he just kind of sits back and takes it all in and keeps his opinions to himself most of the time.

I’m not, as a performer, I’m not afraid of that. I’m not sitting there counting my lines in a script wanting more. (laughs) You know, I quite enjoy that. I did a similar thing with Boardwalk Empire - you know, the character in that doesn’t say a huge amount but he’s very influential.”

~ Charlie Cox

(That said, I’m thrilled to see Mikey stepping up so much more this season!!! 🔥❤️🔥)

#less than a day to go until the next episode 😮💨 #*vibrates with impatience* #it's almost 6 am and I've been awake all night...I've no faith the coherency of anything I've just been rambling about btw #*sits here talking to myself about Kin* LOL #michael kinsella #jimmy kinsella #bren kinsella #charlie cox #emmett j scanlan #kin amc #kin amc spoilers #my random ramblings #Mikey & Jimmy #quotes #interview

[tumblingxelian]

CRWBY's efforts to explore ideals of toxic masculinity and heroism through Jaune's character development are some of their most ambitious but also most troubled efforts I think. To see what I mean lets break this down by volume:

V1/3: This was messy as each volume seemed more insular in its handling of the topic.

V1, would have been fine if Jaune had learned he got help from Pyrrha and accepted it gratefully. But instead he's allowed to think he defeated the Ursa all on his own even though she outright saved his life cos he was ignoring Glynda's advice by neglecting his aura and defense. So it feels like only after he got a confidence boost was he willing to ask for help. The set up was there but not the execution

V2, just doesn't work with me cos I find his constant pestering of Weiss to be obnoxious at best & the fact he was the 'good guy' in that scenario and Weiss is forced to reconsider her views on him just rankles. Plus his annoyance with Pyrrha taking command when he wasn't doing so & swinging wildly with his sword to win don't really work. The dress scene isn't bad inherently, but I find the reliance on "I have sisters" and such to make it more muted. Especially as the gesture itself is kind of eh on its handling of gender presentation, but then this was like 2014.

V3 was good in that it was a tragic slap in the face to everything he was trying to do right. He was supportive, encouraging, he listened and was fine with stepping back to let Pyrrha be the face of the team. He was becoming the kind of person worthy of his position. Then Pyrrha shows a lack of faith in him (From his perspective) and he's left helpless as she dies, setting up the next stage

V4/6 This is much tidier and it all flows together much better.

Jaune forgoes defense in favor of offense with his giant and largely useless super sword. He falls back on anger and lashing out to cope with his grief. He outright has a death wish which only serves to endanger himself & others while gaining them nothing.

He is generally falling into a really unhealthy mindset but is guided through it, begins adopting a more supportive role and comes out with a solid resolution. The main struggle with this is was it isn't obvious that was the plan until V6/7, so in the interim it could be quite frustrating in places. V7/9 In the first two of these volumes Jaune is at his peak.

He's not prideful but quite humble, fine with taking escort missions with kids and doing a good job at it. He's empathic and supportive, trying to encourage his friends and not responding in anger when they are upset. Plus he keeps a good handle on his temper & has really embraced his role as someone who provides support and healing over raw power.

Which makes his inability to help Penny all the more tragic. & his utter degradation in V9 all the more poignant and powerful, especially as so much of it is at least partially self inflicted by refusing to move & trying desperately to fulfill and idea and role he had been outgrowing. His obsession with it a bid to compensate for his failure.

The issue mostly came down to timing as it felt like focus was given to his resolutions and feelings in scenes where it came at the expense of others, IE Episode 9.

Conclusion: Looking over the 9 volumes of story, let alone the added material there is certainly a lot of stuff done well on these topics. But its also very easy to see where bits and piece did not quite fit together, or were otherwise unable to meet their potential. Still, I am glad CRWBY have the ambition to try these things, its part of what makes me love RWBY so much.

#RWBY #CRWBY #Jaune Arc Meta