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starf · 3 years

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StarF’s Top Ten Albums of 2020

Another year, another list. Let’s not even bother with the preamble this time around, you get what it is.

10. I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME - RAZZMATAZZ

Let me tell you right now, I struggled with this tenth spot. There were about four albums that were pretty much tied once I narrowed it down this far because it was a jam-packed year. Ultimately though I had to give it to iDKHOW for their smooth brand of piano rock-pop. This is their debut album and it brought the heat. While it didn't dazzle me immediately, with every subsequent listen I feel a little more of that promised razzmatazz from the title. I also absolutely love the ballad "Nobody Likes The Opening Band," which will certainly be a fun song to hear them perform some day whether they're the opener or not.

9. The Front Bottoms - In Sickness & In Flames

The last offering from The Front Bottoms, Going Gray, left me feeling a little lukewarm. In Sickness & In Flames, however, is a much stronger return to form for the band in my opinion. Some people say all of The Front Bottoms' albums sound the same, and maybe that's a little bit true. But maybe 2020 is the year that we needed to hear some new Front Bottoms material. It was a strange time for all of us, and in these times this kind of album just hits different. From the optimistic opening of "everyone blooms" to the infectious singalong moments of "Fairbanks, Alaska," this album is a good time all around.

8. The Used - Heartwork

Did you know The Used is still around? Not only still around, but apaprently they never went away! When I saw that they had released a new album early in the year I assumed it was a comeback, but I was wrong! For me there was a 12 year gap since I had personally listened to a new Used album, and this one blew me away in a big way. They're still going big, going hard, and rocking their signature sound - but updated for the modern age. This is a band that has managed to hold on to their roots while successfully adapting and progressing into the future.

7. Oliver Tree - Ugly Is Beautiful

Where do you even start with an artist like Oliver Tree? An absolute master of internet marketing, the release of this album was a tortured and dragged out experience, like a person chasing a 20 dollar bill on a string and having it constantly pulled away over and over again. By the time it came out it was a little disheartening that an entire half of the album had already been released via single, but overall it is undeniably a powerhouse of a pop album and a strong showing from Oliver Tree. A strange character, but an impossibly catchy album with earworm after earworm.

6. The World/Inferno Friendship Society - All Borders Are Porous To Cats

I pretty much always enjoy any offering from this band, but to varying degrees. Their last few albums have certainly been good to my ears, but for whatever reason just didn't resonate enough with me to earn a spot in my top ten. This album is clearly different though, and keeps me enthralled the entire way. With their unique brand of punk-jazz-cabaret, All Borders Are Porous To Cats tells the story of one Mr. Cat In The Hat, and it's a wild ride that you're going to want to hear.

5. Run The Jewels - RTJ4

One of the most biting and necessary releases of the year, RTJ4 dropped right when we needed to hear it most, and for free no less. It's my personal opinion that Run The Jewels continue to get better with every release they put out, and their fourth showing is easily my favorite so far. El-P and Killer Mike come through with some of their sharpest bars and heaviest beats yet. It's just a shame that for how much history repeats we as society still haven't learned some of the lessons that an album like this continues to attempt to teach us.

4. Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide

Spirit World Field Guide is not a typical Aesop Rock album, but then again what is? Back in 2016 I fell in love with the album The Impossible Kid, an accessible (by Aes standards) album that hooked me in immediately. Spirit World is a different beast that took me off guard the first time I heard it, and left me a little bit lost - but that almost seems to be the intent. An absolute monster of an album coming in at 21 tracks and over an hour, this thing wasn't necessarily meant to be ingested all at once, or even in the order presented. The more I revisit it the more I put the pieces together and enjoy it more and more.

3. Poppy - I Disagree

Let's take a journey all the way back to January before the world entirely fell apart. I discovered Poppy for the first time through this album and was quickly intrigued. Going back through her older music, and then her YouTube, and slowly unraveling the mystery that is Poppy was perhaps some of the most fun I've had experiencing an artist's work in years - all topped off with seeing her perform live that month, the last large live music show I've been to. I Disagree is an eclectic blend of pop, metal, and strange curiosity. It starts off right away with the oddball banger Concrete and promises to weed out those who aren't prepared to take the mental trip through this album right away. It's not for everyone, but it's definitely for me.

2. Jeff Rosenstock - N O D R E A M

Well here we are! The number one spot! You guessed it, it's Jeff Rose- what? This isn't number one? Well that can't be right, hold on. Nope, I guess that's correct. The new Jeff Rosenstock album, N O D R E A M comes in at number two this year, a fact that will probably shock and confuse anyone who knows me. This is the proof that Jeff doesn't automatically get my number one spot if he releases an album, but with all of that out of the way, let's talk about the album.

In a Post-Post- world we see Jeff returning to a more traditional take on putting together an album, rather than simply rushing through it to get the feelings out of his head (both perfectly valid approaches). N O D R E A M continues to explore themes of being lost and confused in such a soul-crushing and increasingly overwhelming world - all while attempting to find the silver linings and be optimistic about where we're headed. Whether it's the world at large or a personal journey, this album is an anthem to a year that saw most people holding their head in their hands and saying "please, just, let's all get through this, okay?"

1. Will Wood - The Normal Album

Wow. Just wow. Okay, where to begin? I was listening to a random Spotify radio when it started playing a song by Will Wood & The Tapeworms called "Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!" Intrigued by the style of the song, as well as the title, I clicked through and listened to their most recent album which was 2016's "Self-Ish." I thought it was really good! I enjoyed it a lot and continued to listen to it for about a week. At that point when I started digging further into the band I learned that there was actually an even newer album entitled The Normal Album, categorized on Spotify under just Will Wood, which is why I hadn't previously found it.

I enjoyed Self-Ish, but hearing The Normal Album took it to an entirely new album and blew me away in a way that I haven't experienced in years. This wasn't just a great album, this was one of those musical discoveries where you think "oh wow, this is something I can't live without going forward." Will Wood is exactly what I needed in the back half of 2020 to keep my sanity, and even now I still listen to this album usually at least once a day. It's perfectly crafted in every sense of the world. Not a single second is wasted or out of place. The technical skill is in full display without muddling the pure enjoyment of the melodies or taking away from the overall vibe of the songs. The writing is some of the sharpest and dense I've ever seen, without being undecipherable or inaccessible. This is an album that truly does it all.

The feeling I have when I listen to this album and attempt to get people to listen to it is identical to how I felt about Jeff Rosenstock in the late 2000's, back before he had sort of blown up. Will Wood certainly has a following, but his music is definitely niche at the moment and somewhat obscure. Much in the same way that eventually people listened to me about Jeff, I hope they will find out about Will. Everyone should hear this album. It's breath-takingly perfect.

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keytomythoughts · 3 years

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Perfection Imperfections | Chapter 1

Chapter Index

»»—————————————-　

Finally, summer break. It’s been a while since I was able to go home. Having to attend high school rather far from my home in Seoul, I never thought that I’d adjust to the new environment. Fortunately, I wasn’t entirely alone, since I stayed with my aunt for the four years of my high school life. School wasn’t so bad, but the homesickness is what killed it for me. Even though it was my parents' idea to send me a rather vast distance—me not being too excited about it, but I knew I wouldn’t get my way in the end—there was some good that came from it. The two only good things, actually.

I glance outside the train window, the buildings of Busan zooming past me. Sure, it may not be my home, but I won’t lie. I’m really going to miss this place. My phone suddenly vibrates in my lap, glancing down to see a text from my group chat, smiling as I respond.

(Binnie)

R u still on the train?

Yeah have been for the past like 30 mins

(Eunuwu)

Going back to ur parents? Or r u moving out?

Funny

Yk I can’t move out, at least not on my own. My parents won’t allow it

(Binnie)

What about Jaehyun?

Idk, they rlly dc what he does tbh

They’re just hell-bent on me getting into the top schools and shit

(Eunuwu)

Damn, rough

Mhm

(Binnie)

Try talking to them, u never know

They might change their minds?

Nah, I already know how it’s gonna end

Me crying and stuffing myself with pints of ice cream

(Eunuwu)

Doesn't sound so bad

(Binnie)

¬_¬

(Eunuwu)

Except for the crying part ofc

But c’mon it cant really be THAT bad

I’ve been over plenty of times, they seem nice

(Binnie)

U’ve been to her house??

Yeah him and oppa are friends too

(Binnie)

Righttt forgot lol

And that’s bc you were there dumbass and half of the time ur either in oppa’s room or out somewhere

Interaction with my parents = minimal

(Binnie)

That sounds awful ngl :( sorry Hyuna

But hey we should all hang soon!

(Eunuwu)

I’ll be in Seoul for the summer too so y not?

I miss y’all :’(

Ok I should be there around like 5 ish so I’ll text then

(Binnie)

Aww I miss u toooo

(Eunuwu)

*puke*

Shut up, ur just jealous

(Eunuwu)

Me? Jealous?? Of what, ur face?

Yea no thx, Ive got a great face already

And personality 0:)

Gr8, explains why ur still single

(Binnie)

LOLL

She got u there bro

(Eunuwu)

Shut up

Ur talking as if u’ve got a gf

Idiot

(Binnie)

At least I didnt reject them as coldly as u did lol

See? My point exactly

Your fAcE scared off every girl in sight bc of tht pErSoNaLiTy

I almost feel bad for them, u little heart breaker

(Binnie)

He made a couple of em cry I heard

Rlly?!?

YAH

U MORON

(Eunuwu)

Bin wtf

(Binnie)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

U JERK HOW COULD U??

Those poor girls omg

Im so kicking ur ass when I c u

(Binnie)

Me 2

(Eunuwu)

Wtf?? Y???

(Binnie)

No reason lol, just feel like it

And this is why ily Binnie

(Binnie)

:D <3

(Eunuwu)

GROSS

Can it u demon

Read 4:02 PM

I snort, turning off my phone and placing it back down on my lap as I go back to staring outside my left-hand window again. Meet Cha Eunwoo and Moon Bin, my two best friends. The only reason I got through high school how I did without major setbacks. Sure, there was the occasional homesickness and all, but had I not met these two, I probably wouldn’t have even attended and graduated.

Being so far away from the place I grew up never really suited me, and they saw it right away from day one how lonely and upset I looked. I didn't seem to fit in, especially since I skipped a grade and was placed in classes that were very advanced for me. Not that I minded the vigor, but it was hard for me to socialize, let alone make friends.

That’s when I met them. Freshman year in homeroom before my first literature class. Moon Bin, a boy with parted, coppery-golden hair accompanied by his shy, puppy-eye smile and sweet nature, offered me an empty seat next to him in class, even going as far as to share his textbook and asking how I found the school. No doubt, I was embarrassed and immensely shy, stuttering over my words and failing to meet his soft gaze. However, he didn’t make fun of me nor find me odd. All he did was smile, laughing lightly at my slightly flustered state. He stuck his hand out, introducing himself (most people just call him Moonbin or Bin) with that smile of his, thus the start of our new friendship. Since then, he became someone who always knew how to cheer me up when I was feeling down. No moment was ever dull with him by my side.

Eunwoo, the tall, brooding black-haired and charismatic student almost everyone knew (and crushed on) of, was usually with Moonbin when we hung out together, but he normally kept to himself. Though quiet and sometimes reserved with his intimidating looks, it didn’t take long for him to break the ice with us, the three of us becoming close friends. Promising to stay like this until we went to college and beyond. Regardless if we all diverge and tread different paths, we would always converge and come back to one another.

Four years flew by and graduation was upon us. Just like that, the two became like family to me, my ride-or-die duo. The two who were able to turn my world upside down, finding solace in a time where I thought it was nearly impossible for me to.

My thoughts are interrupted by my “Move” ringtone—yes, I’m a huge Lee Taemin fan—looking down at my phone again to see it’s my brother calling. I sigh, picking up the call.

“What?”

He gasps dramatically. “Is that any way to address your loving older brother after being away for so long?”

I snort, shaking my head. “Loving my ass, oppa. How are mom and dad?”

“They’re fine, living. Didn’t you tell them you’re coming home?”

“Nope, I don’t even text them that often. You already know this..”

He sighs. “Yeah, I figured.”

There’s a slight pause on his end, but he continues. “You took the three-thirty train, right? So you’ll be here around five or so?”

“Yeah, give or take.”

I look out the window again to see the endless stretch of greenery and flowing springs, sometimes even children playing in the fields. I grin mischievously, deciding to poke fun at my brother when he doesn’t respond right away.

“What, you miss me?”

He makes a sound similar to throwing up. “As if. I got so used to the peace and quiet. I’m not ready for it to go away.”

“Yah!” I realize that I had yelled a bit too loudly and eyes were now trained on me, and I bow my head in apology. I lower my voice, “You’re such an asshole.”

“Oh, I know, but you still love me anyway.”

“Shut up.”

I can hear his laugh resonate through the phone and a smile unknowingly tugs at my lips. I wouldn’t say it out loud, but it’s true. When I lived with my aunt in Busan for the duration of high school, I missed Jaehyun a lot. Though two years older than me, he didn’t seem to alienate me the way my parents do. While I hate the notion that they spoil Jaehyun endlessly and let him do as he wishes, I won’t lie and say that he was a prick about it. He could’ve been, but he never came off as selfish. I’m really close with my brother, shocking as it may be. Sibling relationships are like that—one minute you want to strangle them with their intestines and the next you’re singing duets together. Crazy, but that’s how it is for us. My parents don’t really pay me any attention, so Jaehyun decides to do that instead. Not complaining though. I’d rather take his pranking and teasing over my parents’ demands and reprimands any day.

“Aight, I’m heading out for a bit. Text me when you arrive.”

I smile again. “Will do, but make sure to get me food!”

“Let me think…” He hums, and I can practically sense the smirk on his end. “Nope. Get your own.”

“Oppa!”

Jaehyun laughs. “See you in a bit, Hyuna. Get here safely. Bye!”

He hangs up the call before I get a chance to retort, and I scoff. Typical of my brother. He knows how much I enjoy street food, and every time he goes out, it’s almost certain that most of the time he stops somewhere to eat. Did he ever bring food back? Sure, but by the time I’d get to it, most of it was gone anyways. That only lasted a little while before I had gone upstate anyways, so he had more food for himself, I guess.

As the train barrels down the tracks, I feel my heart racing in excitement, but there’s also a slight ounce of dread. I really don’t know why. I want to believe it’s because I’ve been away for too long, but part of me knows it’s the fact that I’ll have to face my parents again. Knowing that I only have two months to decide where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do, I know the bitter truth is that those decisions won’t be left up to me. Last time, I was sent to Busan.

God knows where I’d be sent to now.

***

“Final destination of the KTX Busan-Seoul train at Seoul Station is approaching and will arrive at 05:30 PM. The doors to alight are on the right hand side. All passengers are requested to dismount the train upon arrival. Thank you.”

That’s my stop.

Gathering my bag and hand luggage, I patiently wait for the train to pull up at the station. Seeing the familiar shops and buildings around me makes my legs bounce up and down in both excitement and anticipation.

Four long years away from Seoul...

Before getting off, I quickly text the group chat and then my brother, letting them all know that I’ve reached safely. Side-stepping the other passengers exiting the subway doors, I carefully land onto the platform with my luggage in tow. I breathe in the air around as I stretch my arms up into the sky, the grin widening on my face.

It sure as hell feels good to be back home.

I try my best to maneuver through the crowds, but it doesn’t stop the rush of people knocking into me. At times like these, I curse my genetics for favoring my older brother instead of me in terms of height. Eventually, I come to a clearing and when my eyes glance upwards, I spot a rather familiar dark brown-haired six-foot-tall male amongst the small crowd waving me over.

“Hyuna, over here!”

I gasp, my eyes widening. “Oppa!”

He smiles as I begin walking towards him, my feet hurriedly moving across the concrete. The distance between us shortens and I abandon my luggage as he opens his arms wide.

Only for me to sucker punch him in the stomach.

He yelps in pain, grimacing as he holds his abdomen. “Shit, that hurt. What has Aunt Sua been feeding you up there? Rocks?”

I smack his shoulder, my blood slightly boiling in anger. “Yah, why didn’t you tell me you were coming?! Do you know how much money I blew off for the bus fare?”

He straightens his back before going to rub his shoulder, then behind his neck.

“Fine, fine. My bad. I wanted to surprise you, but I guess that didn’t work, did it?”

I cross my arms over my chest, huffing in annoyance. He sighs, nodding.

“Okay, okay, I’ll compensate you. Dinner’s on me.”

At this I grin, blinking excitedly. I grab onto his arm and shake it vigorously. “Really? You mean it? You’re the best, oppa!”

“Look at this brat..” he taunts, shaking his head. In a flash, he headlocks me and rubs the top of my head harshly with his knuckles, upsetting the neatly-tied auburn ponytail.

“Yah! Quit it!” I smack his arms and flail in protest, but he chuckles, saying this is what I get for cunningly finding a way to exploit him the minute I stepped back into Seoul.

What can I say? It’s a talent.

He lets go eventually, and I try to smooth down my already-tangled hair. I grumble incoherently but Jaehyun pulls me into his embrace, wrapping his arms around me. His free hand gently pats the side of my head in comfort.

“Welcome home, sis.”

I stand there stiff for a second before hugging back. He squeezes me tighter and I find myself smiling into his shoulder.

“Good to be back,” I whisper.

We stand like that for a moment before he pats my back a couple of times, us pulling away from each other soon after. He reaches behind me to grab my hand luggage as he shoulders my bag. I tell him that I can carry them just fine, but he starts walking away from the platform to the parking lot. I call out after him as I run to catch up, and I can see the corners of his mouth twitch. Jaehyun leads me to his car, a sleek matte-silver convertible Mustang. My mouth drops open in shock at its stunning beauty, my body forcing itself to remain composed for the sake of avoiding public self-embarrassment.

He throws my luggage in the back seat before he turns to me, smirking at my expression. “You like it?”

“Shit, do I like it? I love it!” I run my fingers over its metallic surface, the silver exterior gleaming in the evening glow. Grinning, I stare up at my brother who catches my gaze as I stand next to the driver’s seat, my fingers already curled on the handle.

“Can I—”

“No.”

“Please—”

“Nope.”

I pout as I pull my hand away and step to the side. Jaehyun chuckles, rubbing my head playfully before getting into the driver’s seat and starting the car. The engine purrs to life as my brother pulls out his shades and wears them. He looks at me and cocks his head to the passenger seat.

“Don’t just stand there. Get in.”

Smiling, I quickly make my way over to the other side and slip into the passenger seat. I barely have time to buckle in before Jaehyun speeds off. I scream in fright, but he laughs heartily, telling me to let loose.

With the wind harshly whipping around us, I close my eyes and tilt my head upwards, absorbing the remnants of my childhood in a place I’ll always call home. A place where my heart always feels at ease.

My name is Jung Hyuna. I’m eighteen years old, and this is my story.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 |

#moonbin x oc #moonbin ff #moonbin fic #moon bin #cha eunwoo #jung jaehyun #astro #nct #fanfiction #my writings #mine

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emoimo · 3 years

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“Theme of Sachio 2″: Analyzing how mabanua conveys Sachio’s character development through music

At first glance, Sachio’s Season 2 theme sounds pretty different from his Season 1 theme, and for good reason; he’s a very different character. But if we look closely, there’s a good amount of continuity as well.

If I had to describe the sound of the arpeggio melody in the S2 theme, I’d call it a glockenspiel (EDIT: In hindsight, it sounds more like pitched up strings, but everything in this paragraph about the S1 theme still holds). You can also hear a similar sound throughout both of his S1 themes (starting at around 0:10) as well as what sounds like a marimba (starting at around 0:28), also a mallet percussion instrument. In the production interviews included in the Season 1 Blu-ray, Moriyama mentioned that the vision for Sachio’s theme was a hip-hop sound with a childish feel. Because of the glockenspiel's bright, clear timbre and its association with toy instruments — and therefore childhood — I think the mallet percussion instrument family represents Sachio’s youth and innocence.

In addition to the instrumentation, Sachio’s S2 theme keeps some of the same musical language as the first: lots of arpeggiation, with stepwise moving bass notes. The main arpeggio melody is descending this time, though, instead of ascending, which might represent how Sachio has lost his way in the years since the first season. While in Season 1 Sachio served as the moral backbone of Team Bangaichi, inspiring the adults to work together and fight for their dreams, in Season 2, he is one of the most conflicted characters, suffering from the most internal strife of all the kids, and the last to accept Joe back into their lives.

This strife is further emphasized by the tinny, strained sound of the glockenspiel — in contrast with the soft, resonant tones used in the S1 theme — perhaps representing Sachio’s struggle to exist in an adult world while still a child. Mabanua also adds heavy, distorted bass and a wailing electric guitar to up the angst. The dirty-sounding bass is reminiscent of that used in Joe’s theme from Season 1, but it isn’t the only thing Sachio has picked up from Joe musically in Season 2. The key has changed from A minor in Season 1 to D minor in Season 2, the same key as Joe’s S1 theme, and there are a few melodic elements that evoke Joe’s theme as well. Namely, this section starting at around 0:37.

The first section (red) reminds me of the very last phrase from Joe’s S1 theme, and the second section (blue) reminds me of a repeated phrase from Joe’s S1 theme which can be heard first at around 1:30. Track 1 in the playlist above contains the excerpt from Sachio’s theme and Track 2 contains both of the excerpts from Joe’s theme below.

The third track in the playlist is what it might sound like if Joe's and Sachio's themes were combined. The way the melody in Sachio’s theme sits on the C# (ti ti ti ti do) makes me think it’s going to transition into Joe’s theme every time I hear it so I wanted to create how that might sound.

But, crucially, that doesn’t actually happen.

And it’s a beautiful musical representation of Sachio’s character arc — the way he tries to emulate Joe, fails, and then ultimately realizes that he is his own person. When the two of them finally reconcile in Episode 10, the track used is “Theme of Sachio 2 (Sollow [sic])”, a track which is certainly sorrowful, but is far more evocative of Sachio’s S1 theme with its ascending arpeggios and melancholy guitar. Perhaps the mallet percussion is lost as he sheds his false idea of what maturity means and genuinely matures as a result.

The Episode 13 epilogue adds one final piece. While the shift in key to D minor at first seems to represent Sachio’s misguided attempts at taking Joe’s place, by the end of the show we find that Sachio has in fact assumed Joe’s role as the young man chasing a dream, and that Joe has assumed Nanbu’s role as a father figure. The shift in key for Sachio is a musical passing of the torch in the same way as Joe passing on his motorcycle and taking ownership of Nanbu’s old truck.

Fun Fact: The blue phrase from Joe’s theme is directly quoted in Liu’s theme!

#megalo box #nomad: megalo box 2 #mabanua #megalobox #emoimo #meta

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psychedellic-phase · 4 years

Text

Fifteen (pt 2)

tw: none, fluffy

wc: 2337

Part one!

Spencer almost ran every red light and stop sign on his drive home. He didn’t even put the radio on. The only music was the sound of his ragged breath and skyrocketing heart beat. It hadn’t sunk in for him yet that you were really, truly, gone. You had only called it quits a few weeks ago, and work was okay. Good even. Hotch was nice enough to split you guys up a lot, sending you with JJ or Derek and Spencer with the newest member, Alex Blake. In the few small interactions you had, the two of you were better than you had been during the last few months of your relationship. It was just like the old days, before everything went sour. He guessed that was just you faking how much pain you were really in, and he was right. He cursed himself for not noticing that either.

He sat on his couch and opened up the box again to find envelope 1:

“Okay, Hey Spence. I’ll try not to be so long winded, but bear with me throughout this. I want you to really understand what happened between us.

These are going to go chronologically, so the story starts before we even started dating. The story starts the day I realized I loved you. November 17, 2010. So please take out:

1. Welcome Interstate Managers- Fountains of Wayne.

Please direct your attention to track 3. Stacy’s Mom. This may be my favorite memento from us. It’s so innocent. We were so innocent then, but not anymore.”

He took the disk out and ran his hands over the case. It had never been opened and still had the plastic film on it. He flipped it over and read the track list to find #3, ‘Stacy’s Mom’. He immediately knew where this was going. The memory hit him like a sack of bricks, knocking the air out of him and making it hard to breathe.

“This also may be one of my favorites because it’s so not you. No one would think that Stacy’s Mom of all songs would be so important to us. But it is, because it was the beginning.

We had just gotten back from that weird, awful case in LA. The one where the taxi driver had the weird smell thing and would remove skin from the victim’s feet? And Emily was being suspicious? Yeah, we had just gotten back from that one and Derek and I had each given you $50 to finish the paperwork for us. We were joking around and arguing about basketball of all things. I don’t have an eidetic memory but I remember that day so clearly.

“Is this really the hill you want to die on Derek Morgan?” I said.

“Yes, Y/N, Michael Jordan will always be the best basketball player of all time,” Derek said back.

“I’m just saying Lebron or Kobe could definitely pass him at some point! Especially now that Lebron’s on the Heat. Him, Wade, and Bosh are going to kill it.”

“Why do you know so much about basketball Y/N?”

You weren’t paying attention to us. You were doing the work we should have been doing. You always were the good one, Spence. When Em or D or I would go off the rails, you always kept it together. I admire you for that. I had a crush on you at the time. It wasn’t full blown yet, but it was enough to make me flustered and blushing any time I was near you.

I told Derek that I was a pretty big basketball fan because my brother had drilled it all into me when I was a kid. He scoffed and told me I didn’t seem like the sporty type.

“Well not everyone can kick down a door in one move like you, but I’m pretty athletic!” I argued.

“Athletic? C’mon Y/L/N, Hotch keeps you and Reid at the stations for a reason. You’re not a bad shot but your specialty is interrogation.”

I faked offense, being dramatic as usual. But, really I was a little hurt and D could tell. You had finished the paperwork then, and handed both of us files.

“Do you think I’m athletic?” I asked you.

You smiled shyly, “I mean, you’re not the most athletic but you’re not bad.”

“See?” Derek said, and I shoved him playfully.

“I’m not exactly athletic either,” You said, and you did the tongue thing that you don’t even know you do. The one where you poke it out of one side of your mouth. It makes me a little weak in the knees.

“I was bad at everything at the Academy Y/N.”

“Yeah? Like what?” I asked, “You’re good at everything.” Derek laughed, but I meant it. You are good at everything.

“Marksmanship, physical training, obstacle course, Hogan's Alley, you know, pretty much everything that wasn't technically book related. They ultimately had to make exceptions to allow me into the field.” You admitted, getting a sheepish smile on your face.”

Spencer stopped reading then, and wiped his eyes. He had allowed a few tears to fall as he read. He remembered this day so fondly. You guys have always been friends; the whole team is a family. But you always stuck more around Emily and Derek when you could. You worked with Spencer well, it wasn’t that you didn’t like him. In hindsight, you avoided him because of your crush on him. The thought made a smile creep up on his face. It was a watery smile, but still a smile. At that time in his life he was so insecure and unsure of himself but you always made him feel validated. When he would go on his rambling tangents about weird facts you always smiled and nodded when the others tuned him out. He needed that then, and, honestly, still needs it now.

All of you, especially Spencer, were still reeling from the loss of JJ to the state department. It was a constant reminder of how quickly everything could fall apart. So, he needed good memories, good days. Days like November 17. A few of his tears smeared the ink and mixed with your dried tear stains. He sighed, how did he get here, only being close to you through mixed tears? He shook the thoughts away and kept reading.

“This is a long one, sorry Spence, but the backstory is important I think. So anyways, we handed in the paperwork you did for us and we all went down to the parking garage together. Derek got in his car and left, probably to meet some girl of the week. Emily was gone, she was still being weird, which we all learned about later. Rossi? Hotch? Garcia? Who knows where they were. All that mattered was you and me, laughing about how not athletic we are as we made our way to our cars that we parked next to each other every day. I don’t even remember how we started the parking thing, but if I got there and I saw your car I made sure to be next to it. And you did the same. Somehow it made me feel safe. And of course, that day your car wouldn’t start. So I graciously tried to help you jump it, but still nothing. You reeled off the facts of how jumping a car works, but alas that did not get your crappy sedan to start. The two of us trying to fix a car is about as ridiculous as it gets. After our third jump attempt we gave up and I said I’d drive you home and we would get Derek to help us fix it tomorrow. You agreed and got in the passenger seat. There was crap everywhere, there always was. You always hated that.

“How do you have like eight outfits just in the car?” You asked, tossing a dress into the back seat.

“I have to always be prepared,” I said back, stifling a laugh.

“Oh? And what does this prepare you for?” You asked me, holding up a tank that would barely cover my chest.

I grabbed it from you and blushed. I was so embarrassed I didn’t know what to say.

“I’m kidding Y/N,” You said and we both laughed. It felt so right. So comfortable.

You had on a very Spencer Reid outfit that day. Purple dress shirt, dark blue cardigan, purple and blue tie. You’re striking. Derek doesn’t lie when he calls you ‘Pretty boy’.

But anyways, before I fall back in love with you just by descriptions—“

He had to put the paper down then. It hurt. Every word hurt. You’d fallen out of love with him? You said the last rule was he had to remember that you loved him. You did love him, you just weren’t in love with him anymore. There is very big difference. He thought he may throw up again but he took a few deep breaths, the same way you taught him to when he’d get overwhelmed, and kept going.

“We were sitting there and I started driving and I turned the radio up. You made that face, you always do when I put on top hits.

“Sorry I don’t have a lot of Beethoven,” I joked at a red light. You looked over at me, and we made eye contact, which caused my breath to catch in my throat.

“It’s alright,” You cleared your throat, “I know every word to every song I’ve ever heard, so I can follow along.”

“Okay, what’s this one?” I challenged, turning up the radio.

“Rolling in the Deep, Adele”

We played that game for a while. You guessing songs and me laughing. You got every single one right.

“Oh! I need to turn this one up! I love this song!” I said. It was the very beginning of Stacy’s Mom.

“Sing with me, Genius.”

You rolled your eyes, “I’m not singing! I-I can’t sing!”

“Too late, it’s starting.”

“As long as you promise to sing with me.”

We had our first pinky promise then. Your pinky was so long and large, mine so tiny.

“Did your mom get back from her business trip?” I started and you added the “business trip” in the background.

“Is she there or is she tryna give me the sli-i-i-i-ip? Give me the slip?”

You took over then, I think the line resonated with you, “You know, I'm not the little boy that I used to be. I'm all grown up now baby, can't you see?”

Then we took the chorus and the rest of the song together, jamming out like teenagers. My heart swelled. You singing, so relaxed with me, just made me so happy. You were comfortable with me. And your singing voice is pretty good too Spen, maybe if you hadn’t been groomed for the FBI you would’ve made a good singer.

“I know it might be wrong but I'm in love with Stacy's mom.”

We finished the song together, practically yelling, and when we looked up we both realized I missed the exit for your place. I made a u-turn and dropped you off, vehemently apologizing for messing up. Directions were always your thing, not mine. You smiled and said thank you, and even pulled me in for a hug. When we came out of the hug, we made eye contact. The steamy kind like in movies before the two main characters make out. I almost leaned in to kiss you, but I pulled back and left. You waved to me from the door.

The whole ride home I was freaking out. My heart was going insane. That’s the day I fell in love with you, Spencer Reid. I was teetering on the edge already, but sitting in my car with you, scream-singing Stacy’s Mom, that’s when I fell into the water. So put the CD in a player, turn it on, and listen to Stacy’s Mom. Every time I hear that song I will think of you, sometimes I even play it on purpose just to remember that day. To remember how complete I felt. Remember the electricity and tension. Remember how that’s the day you fell in love with me too. When the 3 minutes and 18 seconds of the song are done, go to envelope 2.”

Spencer put the paper down and shakily tore off the plastic. You were right, that was when he told you he fell in love with you, but really he had been in love with you a long time before then. He had fallen for you almost immediately after you joined the unit, but he didn’t say anything. He told you he fell in love with you the same moment you fell in love with him because that would be perfect. And you deserve perfect.

Spencer remembers a different day as the one when he fell in love with you. It was the first day you were introduced to everyone and Rossi raved about all your skills to the team. You dressed to impress that day, and impress you had. Not just your beauty, but your brain. That’s what he really fell in love with first. But that was almost five years ago. When his hair was too long and shaggy; a homeless poet was what he liked to call himself.

When the song ended, he started it over.

“She’s all I want and I’ve waited for so long,” Was another line he yelled extra loud, but you hadn’t written about it. He belted that one out because that was how he felt about you. How he still feels about you. He suddenly felt so claustrophobic, ripping off his tie and opening the top few buttons of his shirt. He paced around the room, the song still playing in the background. ‘How did this happen?’ He asked himself again. He lived it with you and still didn’t know quite how this happened. Knowing the answer was hidden in those pages, he got himself together enough to open up envelope 2.

PART 3!

#spencer reid #spencer x you #spencer reid smut #spencer reid fic #fluff #reid fluff #reid #cm #criminal minds #criminal minds fic #mgg #mgg fanfiction

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hitsuackerman · 4 years

Text

The Last Nugget (Hawks x Reader) pt.3

a/n: okay... so this ended up being quite longer than i intended it to be :’) this particular part does NOT have Hawks in it. Just mentions of him and the like. This is merely a transition part to smoothly enter part 4 :)

instead, this focuses more on what happens moments before~ ya’ll dont have to read it tho :) i’ll be releasing the last(?) part in a day or two :) i hope you guys enjoy :) !

link: part 1, part 2

warnings: none

Masterlist to my other fics :) here

A month and 2 weeks have passed.

A month and 2 weeks of having little to no communication with Hawks.

This was nothing but a tell tale sign that he was definitely not okay. Sure, there were longer periods of time where the two of you would not see each other. But Hawks was always Keigo when it came to you. When he felt you were near, he would send out a feather. Just to make you know he, too, thinks about you. However, this time, there was just nothing.

To say that the Hero Public Safety Commission was shocked to see you barge into their office would be an understatement. Seeing the number 10 hero approaching them with such hatred in her eyes was enough to rattle them. All eyes were focused on you, yet yours were burned holes into the lady seated in the middle.

“(hero name),” She began. Her elbows resting on her desk while her knuckles hid her lips. “What is so important that you came barging in without sched-”

“You know,” It felt like heaven to cut her off. “I’ve never liked you.”

“This is the very reason why we told Hawks-”

“You have zero right to call him by his name.” You spit out. Anger lacing with your voice. Following her every movement, you did not move an inch when she stood up from her seat. Her usual emotionless demeanor holding on. “If you open your mouth, I will not hesitate to hit you. I could care less if you take my license away.”

Her jaw tightened and you saw her swallowing some saliva. When the other suited officers tried to take her defense, you activated your quirk. Beads of sweat immediately formed on their foreheads. They weren’t that dumb to know that your quirk was much more effective than theirs combined.

Straightening her suit, she cleared her throat and motioned the others to sit down.

“What is it that you want, (hero name)?” She mockingly asked you.

“To see you all suffer.” Your focus jumped from one person to the other. “I’m a petty person. I’m sure all of you are aware of that,”

Walking around the room, you saw how each of their shoulders trembled. From under the table, you could see the small movement their feet made. The way their eyes desperately tried to evade yours. Of course this little show you put on wouldn’t last long.

Hidden beneath the anger, your heart was beating the crap out of you.This was done in such a hasty way that you were simply winging it. All you needed was confirmation. Confirmation that the place you suspected he was in, was true.

“Just tell me.” Your fingers began to lazily glide through their expensive glass topped desks. “Where is he?”

“We d-” The president tried to explain but only scoffed when you cut her off once more. Her blood was boiling and her eyes landed on the small telephone beside her. The red button to alert the guards, all too tempting.

“I swear to the gods. If you say ‘we don’t know’, I will break these luxurious tables of yours.” Tapping your index finger on the glass, you noticed how her eyes weren’t glued on yours anymore. A smirk landed on your face. Too easy. “You know what’s the advantage of dating the hero you guys created?”

It was adorable. The way their eye sights immediately focused on you when you dropped a bomb. One that you initially thought they had already found out. Still, you reminded yourself to remain alert and focused.

“You get to pick his little traits and bits of his personality.” Reaching out for one of the pens, you twirled it between two of your fingers. “Good stamina for some nightly dancing too.”

The president’s eyes twitched at such personal remarks.

“Too personal for ya chief?” You crossed your arms on your chest.”I mean, you already know the nitty-gritty of each and every hero. Might as well inform you about the intimate one’s right?”

“Tell us, should we hand over such precious information, what will you do about it?” She asked.

“Nah. I won’t tell.” You tossed the pen to a random person. Your face morphed into one with disgust when he failed to catch it. “I don’t do well with teamwork. I know that a plan is in the making as of this very moment. Yet, you people are still acting as if Hawks hasn’t given you the exact location yet. Almost as if you want him to carry the burden all by himself.”

With a restrained sigh, she took her pen and began to scribble down letters. To add even more insult to the injury, she crumpled the paper and threw it towards you. Catching it with ease, you lifted your hand up and uncrumpled the piece of paper.

“And what should I do with your suited ass if he’s not here?” You tossed the paper back to her. Making sure it would hit her nose. The look on her face, priceless.

“You have no-” “Nah. I’ll come back and kick all your asses.” You waved to them as you dragged yourself out of the conference room. Before closing the doors, you glanced over your shoulder and flicked her off.

The moment the doors closed, you hurriedly exited the building. It was an easier feat knowing you had knocked out every single guard in the vicinity. Though you were already prepared for the worst, you were pretty sure that anyone who would hear of this story would see it as false. Thank gods for popularity polls.

When you were now a safe distance away from the building, you grabbed your phone and called your most recent contact.

“Did you get it?” His voice was deep but still resonant despite it being through a speaker.

“I did.” You surveyed the area making sure that no one had followed you. “I’ll stop by your agency in a while. I’m on my way.”

“Make sure you are not being followed, (Y/N).”

“I know. I know.” You turned to an alley. A shortcut to you knew by heart. “I’m not number 10 for no reason, Todo-san.”

Hearing the number one hero scoff at your little pet name for him made you giggle.

“That chicken has been rubbing off on you.”

“In more ways than one~”

He ended the call. Placing the phone back into your pocket, you picked up your pace and saw Endeavor’s Agency looming in the skyline. From where you were, it would take around 20 minutes.

By the time you arrived, the receptionist merely greeted with you a bow and pointed to the elevators. The ride going up was slower than you wanted. The thought of what was to happen next loomed over you. Dread and a slight hint of panic hit began to creep in. When the doors opened, you were face to face with carpeted hallways and golden moldings on the ceiling.

Knowing where to go, you practically ran all the way there. Pushing the conference doors open, you were met with the familiar faces of all the top heroes. Name them and they were present. Save for one. It sent shivers down your spine when you knew he was surely never coming back.

Taking a seat next to Edgeshot, you gave Endeavor the go signal.

“We have gathered here today to further progress our plans for the coming infiltration of the PLF.” Endeavor began. “Yes, we have slowly begun our preparations but we can only do so much with little information the HPSC gave to us.”

The other heroes nodded in agreement.

“But, (hero name), has managed to obtain crucial information that can improve our pace. The location of their base.”

“2 places. Jaku General Hospital and Gunga Mountain Villa. The former being roughly 8 kilometers away from my little research. One of them might be the birthplace of Nomu’s while the other holds the villains.” You explained.

“For now, we will simply scout the area.” Endeavor added.

The rest of the meeting was a tad dull. There was a big advancement to the plans, from 6 months, it was now pulled down to 4 months. You sighed to yourself knowing that anything could happen at any given time.

The doors of the conference room opened and a bunch of assistants entered. Placing snacks on the table. Your brows furrowed and your stomach churned at the chicken nugget platter placed before you. Clenching your fists, you let out a silent sight and looked away from the food.

In the blink of an eye, you were now surrounded by heroes. Each of them displaying their costumes with pride. Looking around, you saw how some interns had also been chosen to join the raid. Now, you were staring at the building’s walls

“You nervous?” In the last few days of planning, Tsukuyomi and you managed to grow a bond. Hawks had shared stories about his bird intern, seeing him in person made you feel that this student had a lot of potential.

“Frankly speaking, yes.” He answered. “But, if it means ending this once and for all… I am more than willing to brush that thought aside.”

“I can see why he likes you.” You commented. “It’s not everyday he favors an intern over his sidekicks.”

“You are close with Hawks-sensei?”

A slight tint of pink spread through your cheeks. Chuckling at the thought, you felt the drive to rescue your birdman strengthen. Not bothering to give him an audible answer, you merely winked at the student. He wasn’t dumb. He understood right away and gave you a shy smile.

The next thing you knew, heroes began to charge towards the target. Cementos manipulated the area and soon enough the building bow bore a gaping hole that showed the inside. Hearing Edgeshot commanding orders only got you riled up.

You had one mission and that was to locate the number 2 hero. Scanning the floors, you couldn’t see any glimpse of red or even feathers. Stopping on your tracks, you witnessed one of the villains charging his quirk only to be absorbed by one of Tsukuyomi’s classmates.

Both your attentions were stolen when Fatgum called for your companion. Following his lead, the two of you raced towards another entrance.

What you didn’t know was somewhere on another floor, the person you were looking for was finally inching closer and closer towards the sun.

#hawks x reader #hawks mha #hawks bnha #takami keigo #wing hero hawks

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themanicgalaxy · 3 years

Text

SPN 4X19 Jump the Shark

Oh hey is this the illegitimate brother plotline

boy I love me some sweet sweet ANGST

whelp she's fucking dead

picture of JOHN?

Sam's peacefully brushing his teeth and Dean's Not a Morning Person

boy he's having a bad morning

to be fair, living out of the car is kinda not fun either

"I'm his son" Dean: I'm gonna fUCKING KIL-

he's..premed?

they're going to ruin his life too aren't they, Aren't The-

Dean is taking this really well

I mean he did get the brunt of John's Issues, so I get it, yike

ASDFPIHP them discussing their dad's ~sex life~ is very funny though

Dean was...preteen? when this kid was born? Sam was under ten definitely

Dean Please

No that's your Actual Brother guys PLEASE

hunting accident "ah fair enough"

"who is a nuclear family these days" FEELS SO LOADED

Dean...Dean please don't fUCKING KILL HIM DEAN

THE IMPALA NOOO

"he took you to a baseball game" IDSFHAPF

He's Trying not to CRY OH MY GOD NO WAIT

Sam resonates with the away from college thing oh NO

Dean is trying SO HARD not to snap

at least he's...trying..to keep adam out

corpse snatching => HEY LOOK IT's THE BONE STEALING WIT-

I think I need to stop being online jesus christ

the [both sigh] was so good

well...that's a lot of blood

How the hell do you break it to your illegitimate brother that you're ~technically Wanted by the FBI

at least he's not an idiot

HE'S SO MUCH YOUNGER THAN THEY ARE

I mean obligatory dead mom

"do i get a say in this?" "NO!"

no..no SAM DEAN HAS A POINT

Middle sibling + younger sibling gang up on elder

"have u thought about eternity" "bro i've literally been to hell Idk what to tell u"

Dean doing it solo but Sad is...:(

Oh he worked the old case, that's neat

"so it's over for you" welllllll

OO THE TRUCK SHOT WAS COOL

dean + long dark coat truthing tonight HE LOOKS G O O D

it wants revenge

YOU FUCKERS AND YOUR REVENGE BELA WAS R I G H T

and Adam Instantly wants revenge, you sir are definitely a Winchester

"it's life" WELL IT SHOULDn'T BE

the stupid isolationism I hate it

NO GO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE KRIPKE WHY

Sam's becoming his dad, and Dean isn't

...SAM WHAT THE FUCK

DAD MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT DO RIGHT BY YOU

HIS GODDAMN GRIEF SPIRAL GOT BOTH OF YOU

LET HIM BE NORMAL! HAPPY! IT IS TOO LATE FOR YOU RIGHT NOW(NOT ALWAYS)(Also very close to the thing with zachariah in placement(eye emojis) BUT LEAVE HIM ALONE!

I do appreciate Dean Eldest Sibling'ed it up even if he didn't like the kid/was jealous. Goddammit I wish we got connection in this stupid show

I was expecting a jump scare but somehow the squish is worse

sOn oF aBitcH

Ah FUCK NOT ADAM TOO

I do like the little angel Icon though, that's what's Dean's way out

Ghouls is a racist term?what????

no john winchester was 100% a monster

ah it was their father

yada yada father killing circle idk

YAY! DEAN'S INGENUITY IS BACK!

Ghoul!mom is really really good. I liked Scared Adam better though

the slicing sam scene is BRUTAL jesus christ

So...John got his own son killed in the end...

SERIOUSLY HE WAS TERRIBLE

Dean JESUS CHRIST

awww caring Dean is nice

AWW HUNTER'S FUNERAL

"Adam's in a better place" :(

Dean tried to fit himself into the Dad box, Sam's actually him

"you take it any way you want" oh for FUC- HE- I-

he looked so Sad, so like...he's stopped idolizing him

jesus christ.

boy there's gonna be overlap ok here we go.

1. poor dean. Ok couple things: 1) he elder sibling'ed it SO HARd! he didn't even like Adam, but he still tried to keep him safe(I think). he gave him a hunter's funeral! I just. It was nice to see. It was also INCREDIBLY painful to hear the realization of "you were always like dad, I never could be" and the fact that he didn't even see it as a good thing anymore? fUCK man, that huRT me. Dean tried so hard to be something he wasn't, he got probably the brunt of the abuse(because he didn't measure up to that metric like Sam always would), and in the end all it got him was...just. so much pain. Like it felt like John left his Broken children behind to get a new one, and just turned them into his quest for revenge. It was SO So fucked

Hey actually speaking of

2. AM I SUPPOSED TO LIKE BEING A HUNTER/JOHN? WHAT HTE FUCK?

YALL ALREADY MARTYRED HIM BUT UR MAKING HIM WORSE?

LIKE ok listen. John's kinda set up as the ideal of hunting. They martyred him! And I was halfway sold provided they didn't mention him again. Then! he did this thing where he abandoned his kids, seeing them only as tools to fulfill his quest for revenge, literally broke them(that too late thing+zachariah saying "it's in your blood" when really it was just trained from a young age), got a NEW family he treated a lot better. I just. I have...NO idea how I'm supposed to see him as a good guy here. Maybe I just kin Dean, or his plight is WAY more sympathetic(it is, Sam is kinda pissing me off), but John's just...coming off worse and worse and they KEEP doing it!

Also! this whole cycle of revenge thing! about how if you keep taking an eye for an eye, everyone ends up blind! they barely escaped this time, and I think this was the second revenge plot that I can think of with MONSTERS alone! it was a BIG theme! Like!! hunting sucks! revenge makes you end up in worse places! it's like this one episode was made to show how SHIT hunting was!

wait who wrote this

Dabb+lofflin. The hunting sucks always comes from-

this GODDAMN INCONSISTE-

3. Fuck John Winchester

4. Individualism. Ok this is a big one. Alongside the whole revenge plot thing(which is BIG, and a hunting sucks), this one drove home the sheer individuality of hunting. But while some of the writers see that as Badass, this one made it seem lonely, and painful. Like the flip side to American Individualism is American Chronic Loneliness. I know this one was used to process the ennui of the post recession/post 9/11 time, and it's doing very well for that, but it kinda ends up like this show is EVERYONE'S therapy all at once! the gang's all here! and we're gonna traumatize you in the process as well.

EDIT: and yeah yeah yada yada american individualism is King and then so is it’s accompanying loneliness in the post 9/11 post war in iraq post recession world(we were not having fun in 08/09)

and I get that this show is the writer’s therapy and whatever

(I just thing this is phrased better)

5. bring him back. Connect! Look. I know it breaks the core ethos of this episode. But having Weird Esoteric Hunter siblings would have been SO FUNNY!

give me more sibling content! Sam+Adam teaming up against the Eldest Sibling Dean WAS SO FUNNY! I WANT MORE OF THAT

6. SAM WHAT THE FU-. Look. I hate John. I very much hate John. They set up the Sam/Dean dichotomy in regards to John first episode, and Sam acting more like an ass+like his dad is. Not making me like him. Also I feel like this was written to sympathize with Dean. Which makes the finale even more ironic, I feel.

7. Listen. Listen. One of you has to keep track of continuity. Like I know this becomes a WAY bigger problem later in the series, but if a certain writer wants to process/examine a certain part of the Life/Story(and they should, they set up a lot of interesting stuff), they have to keep track! Because then the show becomes everything all at once.

Like this show has ALREADY started feeling like fanfic of itself, where it just kinda does whatever it wants with its own concepts. And the concepts are GREAT! but you can TELL how inconsistent it is, even in the kripke era

like it ends up being Study of X, Riff on X! and I think that's where the inconsistency comes from. It's also why it's so fucking Excellent in places.

whelp this was a lot holy hell.

OH AND ONE MORE THING!

Bela didn't fit the narrative. That's why they didn't like her. I said at the beginning that an Int'l art thief does NOT fit the vibe of "grungy Angsty American Midwestern gothic" and I was right. With the lucifer story and the vibe she didn't fit, and so they just killed her as foreshadowing, and only used her like that. God I wish they'd riffed on her, especially because her callouts were all completely correct

we're Bela Salting again

listen she was preppy Jack Sparrow with some spiritualism, how dare you tell me not to like her.

#pawswatchesspn #4x19 jump the shark #this one was a lot of...#I mean I can't say fun #but it was interesting #...I accidentally fucking quoted Gandhi #this show truly is everyone's therapy and I mean that in the worst possible way #this is unrelated to the gandhi thing these are two separate thoughts #And Bedlund wrote on the head of a pin #which was cool #but HE WROTE MONSTER MOVIE! MY PROBABLY FAVORITE EPISODE!#and the fun wishing well one #ok listen if spn was the reason meta shit got popular #or it helped #most of that was cuz of bedlund #....bow down to bedlund for singehandedly popularizing my aesthetic holy hell

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inventors-fair · 4 years

Text

Rising Action: Commentary

I appreciate your patience, everyone! You've waited long enough, so no further ado!

NOTE: If this week's feedback feels harsher than normal, just remember that this challenge put a lot of restrictions on your designs. The designs this week certainly aren't worse on average, but all the extra restrictions make it easier to pick out individual critiques. So, hard hats on for this week's inspection!

@aethernalstars - Regrowth of the Vastwood // Oran-Rief, Reborn

Slot: Vastwood Fortification // Vastwood Thicket. The MDFCs have their own sheet in the set, so they can only really replace each other. Luckily (if expectedly) Green already has a +1/+1 counter DFC to replace, though this is a more powerful enabler for that archetype. This uses Landfall explicitly, but the MDFCs always enable Landfall so that doesn't significantly improve its fit in the set.

Card: Mechanically, this is a pretty neat little callback to Retreat to Kazandu and Murasa Ranger. Narrow cards like this are actually great choices for modal lands, though I suspect the double-gating on this one (only green creatures and requiring a mana cost) is probably a little too narrow for something that appears as often in Limited as this does.

Nitpicks/Templating: The target hiding in the second half of this ability is strange, as you'll actually have to choose that target before you decide whether or not to pay. This would be an opportune place to use a recursive trigger, replacing "If you do" with "When you do", to avoid that weirdness. Also, only the mythic MDFCs got names that sounded legendary; all the others are named like standard nonbasics.

Overall: I agree that Oran-Rief probably deserved more than an Ooze, I'm glad somebody went for it.

Allison - Tarrasque, Party Crasher

Slot: Nissa of Shadowed Boughs, probably? Mythic slots are always tight, and this exact color combination is already represented there, so the only real option would be replacing that card for this one. At the very least they both play into the Landfall theme. That said, this actively punishes the Party mechanic, which is generally something you want to avoid when selling the themes of your set.

Card: Cards that rely on your opponents' deck construction to turn on are always a little iffy, as they're generally either great or terrible. Ignoring the parts you can't control though, this is still a huge threat that your opponents will have to answer immediately, and even when they do every land drop will just bring it back. This is probably a little expensive (or unreliable, at least) to see play in Constructed, and basically just 'game over' in Limited.

Nitpicks/Templating: Cost reduction abilities call themselves "this spell" nowadays, and this one would be be awkward to template nonetheless: probably, "This spell costs {1} less to cast for each creature in the party of the opponent with the most creatures in their party." Conversely, the Landfall trigger would refer to the card by name. I know, it's a little confusing.

Overall: I don't doubt that the D&D set this summer will feature a Tarrasque, and I suspect the Party mechanic as well. Maybe hold onto this one until then.

@dimestoretajic - The Last Relic

Slot: Myriad Construct. Colorless rare with kicker has a couple options, though this probably nabs the creature slot among those. This one doesn't support the +1/+1 counter theme as nicely as the Construct does, and I can't think of any other themes it's contributing to.

Card: Independently, this is a fairly reasonable design for a kicker Vehicle. The rate seems a little high for either the Vehicle half or the colorless 7-mana 5/5 evasive finisher, so having a card that can be either is probably well above rate, at least in Limited.

Nitpicks/Templating: You actually don't need a triggered ability for the kick effect: "If CARDNAME was kicked, it's a creature in addition to its other types" works fine.

Overall: I'm assuming this is intended to be a rare capstone to the uncommon Relic cycle, which is honestly a pretty nifty idea.

@emmypupcake - Seek Allies

Slot: Murasa Rootgrazer. The only muticolor uncommons in this set are the signpost ones, so this would be competing for space with that. Since the GW theme in this set is Landfall, changing the signpost slot to something that doesn't support that would cause a few issues.

Card: I actually really like what this is doing, though the rate on it is a little unimpressive. Eladamri's Call is cheaper, more flexible, and instant speed; while you don't need to compete with that for power level directly, it probably warrants a change or two to make that comparison less obvious.

Nitpicks/Templating: Looks good.

Overall: I agree that this is definitely the color pair I would expect this effect in, despite the structure of the set. We'll keep our fingers crossed for it in the D&D set this summer.

@fractured-infinity - Twinspell Mage

Slot: Coralhelm Chronicler, though the design itself is awkwardly similar to Sea Gate Stormcaller. You would likely want to either upshift the rarity to replace Stormcaller, or change the design not to hit so many of the same notes.

Card: You're not the only one to take advantage of the new flexibility of copy effects, though I wouldn't actually expect them to be that prevalent going forward. This probably isn't a totally unreasonable rate for that effect, as it costs extra for both the flexibility with kicker and the higher cost of copying permanent spells, though there's an argument that one more mana on the kicker would still be pretty good.

Nitpicks/Templating: You probably still want a line allowing you to change targets, since this doesn't only target permanent spells - and even permanent spells sometimes have targets.

Overall: I wouldn't be surprised to see something like this printed at some point.

@hypexion - Inscription of Authority

Slot: Archon of Emeria. There are a few slots in each set just for format regulators, and both of these cards are serving that role. Neither is a great rare to pull in limited, but small evasive creature and awkward inflexible removal are probably on a similar power level, with the Inscription being a slight upgrade for White in the set.

Card: This is mostly just a removal spell with a kicker to get the second two abilities, as you'll rarely spend the card to do the other two. The second ability is pretty awkward to use; you'll have to caste it in the upkeep and hope that it hurts your opponent's plans somehow. Preventing lands from untapping isn't a particularly fun effect, and in Constructed that's often going to be Silence.

Nitpicks/Templating: Those are some unusual effects, but I think you managed to template them accurately. Kudos.

Overall: I can see why they decided finishing the Inscription cycle was so hard.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes - Relic of Resonance

Slot: Lithoform Engine or Forsaken Monument. Mythic Legendary colorless artifact surprisingly has a couple options in this set. Engine feels closest to what this is doing, though this is much narrower than that; Monument is serving a throwback role in the set, so this would be more relevant to the set's themes but would cost it that element. Also consider that downshifting it to rare would allow it to take the place of Throne of Makindi.

Card: I actually really like the idea of this inclusion in the set. My biggest issue with it was just how narrow it was, as kicker is only one theme in the set and colorless cards are best at bridging themes with diverse colors. With a little extra going on, this likely would've been in the winner's circle this week.

Nitpicks/Templating: This wants to specify "spells" rather than "cards", and I'm not sure there's a compelling reason to limit how much you can reduce the kicker cost. "Kicked spells you cast cost {2} less to cast" would achieve the same thing much more concisely.

Overall: I think there's a cool design that fuses this with Lithoform Engine that I would've been really pleased with.

@ignorantturtlegaming - Tribe of Heroes

Slot: Throne of Makindi, though it's not really straightforward adding multicolor cards like this. The fact that this is the exact same four colors as Omnath, Locus of Creation led me to think that was the slot it would be taking, but they're at different rarities. Having both would mean you need extra Black at at one of those rarities in order to maintain color balance.

Card: I'm not sure why this wasn't five-color, or even non-green - the colors for Party in this set are RB and WU. But then, this isn't actually a Party card: it uses the mechanic, but mostly circumvents what makes the mechanic interesting to play with: you don't even need to run other creatures in your deck for this to work. This plays into the flavour space of Party, but mechanically it isn't really supporting what that Party does for the set.

Nitpicks/Templating: You could probably get away with just listing the relevant types when creating the token, but the template you went with allows the token to be printed accurately. I think yours was probably the correct choice.

Overall: The mice are super cute. I don't totally get it, but you don’t need an excuse for cuteness.

@illharg-the-rave-boar - Master of Possibilities

Slot: Jace, Mirror Mage. Mythic slots are tight, and maintaining a (rough) balance of colors means yanking the one mono-Blue mythic already in. The result is less kicker support and more Wizards Party support, though at mythic they weren't contributing much to as-fan anyway. Somewhere in the midst of commentary, I lost track of how many mythics there were in the set: mono-Blue has two, and Sea Gate Stormcaller is definitely a more direct comparison for this card, as it plays into the Wizards and instant/sorcery themes in a similar way.

Card: My biggest issue with this design is how often the trigger just won't do anything - there are zero Wizards with Flash in Zendikar Rising, so Wizards and sorceries will generally trigger this for no benefit - especially in the Wizard tribal deck you would typically want to play this in. The idea is kinda clever, but the execution just doesn't really deliver on how cool the idea is.

Nitpicks/Templating: We've never seen a target self-replacement in a triggered ability like this, and I'm not convinced it works. Normally the ability wouldn't check your party size until resolution, but targets need to be chosen when the ability is put onto the stack. The template probably looks familiar because it's used on spells with things that are chosen before targets (like X values or kicker). This may be as simple as a rules update to cover it, but I'm not convinced there aren't other repercussions.

Overall: I feel like your Sphinx looks more like a typical Zendikari Sphinx than the one that did make it into the set.

@kavinika - Spear of Radiance

Slot: Akiri, Fearless Voyager. There's a cycle of ten rare two-color legends, so any multicolor rare would require breaking that up. Mechanically, this plays in some similar space to Akiri, with each providing one of the 'halves' of a Warrior/Equipment deck. Both offer protection and incentives for equipping, though this does so in a much narrower way.

Card: The most interesting part of the design is definitely the protection effect, which is an interesting take on what Akiri was doing and a fairly unusual approach for Equipment. If I had one qualm, I think I'd rather see the bonuses reversed: the untap effect does neat things with several non-Warriors in the set, and there aren't really any Warriors that can maximise it.

Nitpicks/Templating: You're missing a comma between your trigger and your effect (between "battlefield" and "attach"), and the condition in the activated ability should read "it's" rather than "it is". Both very minor quibbles.

Overall: I agree that that art would look very at home on Innistrad.

@mardu-lesbian - Tuktuk, the Ever-Returning

Slot: Crawling Barrens, probably. That's the closest we've got in colorless, at rare, and that synergises with Landfall. Losing the one creature land in the set feels like a big loss, but gaining a familiar legendary creature has its own advantages. Both are resilient threats that make drawing lands late in the game not feel so bad, so functionally the resulting formats probably look similar.

Card: Based on what I saw in the Discord, I believe your intent was for this to trigger from both your graveyard and the battlefield, so we'll assume that's how it works. Turning every land you draw into two tokens is pretty powerful - that's about on par with the first mode of Felidar Retreat, except this one can't be removed and sometimes doesn't cost mana. There are no good ways in Limited to permanently remove this card, and the Mill/Rogues draft archetype likely just can't win games where this is a factor. Outside of Limited, this is much more likely to exist in multiples and more likely to be free through self-mill, which sounds like a very, very powerful effect that would likely warp the Standard environment around itself.

Nitpicks/Templating: As implied above, as written this ability only works from the graveyard. Making an ability work from multiple zones requires stating so explicitly, and you generally don't want to do so with abilities that don't make equal sense in both zones. This would be a tough one to make work, though perhaps there's a clever template that I'm just overlooking.

Overall: I would've been really pleased to see more of Tuktuk.

@misterstingyjack - Roil Watcher

Slot: Tajuru Paragon. None of the other Green rares lean into the Party mechanic at all, so the committed member of the vertical cycle of multiclass creatures is the best bet. This trades out Kicker and additional Party synergies for (big) Landfall synergies, as well as synergy with MDFCs - this sounds pretty even, but because Kicker and Party both need the extra support in order to be playable themes, trading their support for themes that need it less might be a risky exchange.

Card: This is a neat way to interact with MDFCs and to turn on Landfall in the decks that want that - getting up to four additional triggers in a turn can be gamebreaking, but isn't always and the card doesn't feel overpowered at all. It has a similar feel to Nahiri's Lithoforming, leading me to believe it's probably an effect the Landfall decks really want.

Nitpicks/Templating: Effects that return your own lands generally don't target, and didn't in Zendikar Rising. As a general rule I would avoid targeting on anything unless making those choices before resolution actually leads to better gameplay, and opponents will rarely be able to interact with your lands at instant speed to make it matter here.

Overall: This one showed a really good grasp of the themes of the set. Kudos.

@nine-effing-hells - Total Party Kill

Slot: Shadow's Verdict, the Black rare sweeper for this set. Total Party Kill is definitely more aware of the set's themes, though it falls into the trap (pun intended?) of punishing what the rest of the set is trying to encourage. Party isn't something that works naturally in every set, so a lot of design work goes into making it as reliable as possible in Zendikar Rising. As such, we can't really afford to spend slots actively making it harder.

Card: That said, the card is a really clever idea. One thing to note for the design: sets with Kicker generally have a lot fewer modal spells, because those operate in very similar spaces. It might've been worth a couple extra passes to see if there was a Kicker version of the effect you'd be happy with.

Nitpicks/Templating: It's an unusual template, but probably the correct one for the effect.

Overall: This beat out two different Bruse Tarls and a whole party of mouses for Card That Made Me Chuckle the Most. That's gotta count for something.

@reaperfromtheabyss - Akoum Magnamancy

Slot: Nahiri's Lithoforming. This is doing something pretty different from Lithoforming, but noncreature rare slots in Red are slim. Both do a bit to enable Landfall, while this also reaches into Kicker and party space. That said, I worry it may have stretched itself too thin - I'm not sure any of those archetypes really want a card that requires so many pieces to optimise.

Card: There's a lot going on here, and even I'm struggling to come up with all the different permutations. It has four different modes (kicked and unkicked, and with and without party), up to two possible targets, and interacts with several different themes. It's definitely an ambitious design and it's certainly interesting, but it's hard to gauge, likely hard to use, and especially hard to maximise: which just means it will often prove less satisfying to play than to read.

Nitpicks/Templating: The last effect wants to be first, as a cast trigger: "When you cast this spell, if you have a full party, copy it. You may choose new targets for the copy." As written, this is part of the spell's effect, and the copy still 'knows' that you had a full party as you cast the original, causing it to copy itself ad infinitum. Probably not intended.

Overall: Magnamancy has been a really fun word to roll around in my mouth. Moreso than actual magma, I assume.

@shakesz - Kesenya, Sea Gate Head

Slot: Omnath, Locus of Creation. Mythic slots are always tight, and multicolor mythic slots are even tighter. There's a color balance between the planeswalkers in the set, leaving only the colorless mythics and Omnath easily replaceable. Dropping Omnath for Kesenya means less landfall and more Party support, though mythics aren't really all that relevant to Limited anyway.

Card: I was expecting to see some designs that stretched the limits on Party, and this wound up being the only one exploring that space. That said, I expected to see it turned up to five; potentially doubling the size is a much larger boost. The tap ability is a bit snowbally, as it does essentially nothing on its own but does a lot on a crowded board. That said, the card is not individually powerful.

Nitpicks/Templating: The elephant in the party room is that Party doesn’t work that way - “party” returns a numerical value, it’s not actually a way for grouping creatures on the battlefield. The first ability almost works, though as written it’s not absolutely clear that “of each type” refers to party types and not...well, each type.

Overall: You’ve definitely succeeded in piquing my interest in the character, so that’s a win.

@starch255 - Zulaport Subjugator

Slot: Nullpriest of Oblivion is the closest thing, mechanically. And it’s when we look at the set this way that we see the obstacles they were facing with making Party work: adding more Warriors largely meant axing other Clerics, or Rogues. Skyclave Shade is the one rare Black creature without a party type, but that design is supporting +1/+1 counters, Kicker, and Landfall - replacing it just to get a small increase in Warrior as-fan would probably cost the set more than it gained.

Card: The design seems individually solid, and rather powerful.

Nitpicks/Templating: Looks sound.

Overall: I agree that Standard could use more Black Warriors to make Party come together, but we may have to wait for Kaldheim for it.

@socialpoison - The Lithoform Core // The Murasa Skyclave

Slot: Emeria’s Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave. There’s exactly one slot for a mythic White DFC in the set, so adding this requires breaking the bolt land cycle. I’m inclined to think that’s not worth it. Attaching the land’s tap condition to your party seems clever, but lands coming in untapped is almost always most important on early turns and that’s especially true for the decks that will rely on curving out into 4 different party members.

Card: This overlaps unfortunately with Ondu Inversion at a lower rarity, though this is effectively an instant speed sweeper. In addition to punishing your opponent for committing to the board, it punishes them for things like...playing lands, and tapping them for mana. At seven mana I can’t imagine it being a very effective hoser for the things it’s trying to stop, which is probably for the best because I can’t imagine the format where this sees lots of play would be very fun.

Nitpicks/Templating: Legendary lands are still a thing they try to avoid. Having another side does ease some of those issues, but it’s still probably best practice just to let people play their lands - especially if that land is just a bad Plains.

Overall: The callout to Lithoform Blight is pretty sweet, I have to admit.

@thedirtside - Refreshing Breeze

Slot: Lotus Cobra. This is ramp that helps enable Landfall, so the rare Green ramp/Landfall card seems like the clear cut for it. This interacts interestingly with the large amounts of incidental mill in this set, providing you a way to ramp when you do happen to wind up with lands in your graveyard. Unfortunately, there are many ways to enable it yourself, which leaves it slightly lacking.

Card: I’m a sucker for a good ramp spell, and this one is very cleverly done. In formats with fetchlands it is a much better Birds of Paradise, since lands are much more dependable ramp than creatures. In Standard it’s interesting, because it’s one-mana ramp that almost never works on turn one on the play, which is when one-mana ramp is most powerful (and most dangerous).

Nitpicks/Templating: This would be a much better fit for the set if it let you play an additional land from your graveyard - the most reliable way to get lands in your graveyard in this set is on the back of an MDFC, but unfortunately as written this ability does not work with those.

Overall: I’m a big fan of the simplicity of this design, though I can’t help but wonder if there was room for a small Kicker effect to round it out.

@wolkemesser - Bruse Tarl, Bull-Headed

Slot: Akiri, Fearless Voyager. This successfully fits into the ten-card cycle of rare two-color legendary creatures, so kudos on that. It has a kicker effect and is a Warrior to support Party, but its Landfall ability actively discourages you playing with the themes of the set.

Card: I think you must have underestimated how powerful a 3/4 double strike, lifelink for two mana actually is - thanks to his Landfall ability, he would serve as the top-end for a deck that only ever wants two lands on the battlefield, and seeks to end the game by turn 3 or 4. I can’t imagine the kicked ability coming up very often, because random Ox tokens are generally worth so much less than an hyper-efficient creature like this.

Nitpicks/Templating: Looks like you forgot to tell us what color the Ox tokens should be. White, I’m guessing.

Overall: I suspect this was intended as a Commander card, but since this challenge was for a Standard-legal set I have to keep that in mind. The idea is neat though, and I love how it makes Bruse and his Oxen adversaries.

Thanks again for your patience in getting this commentary out this week. This challenge was a little smaller than our weekly average has been, but I received enough positive feedback that I'll probably still try to make it a recurring feature. I appreciate everyone that took the time to join my little experiment this week!

~Mod [ @3smuth ]

#inventors fair #mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #rising action #3smuth #commentary

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westernchords · 3 years

Text

2020: a replay & reflection

so... here we are at the near end of a very long, unsettling & strange year. and at this particular moment in time, spotify has released its 2020 wrapped feature, an annual highlight for gay people everywhere (self VERY included). since the world is very large & this is a personal blog with a limited scope, i'll talk about what i know best: the view from my corner of the musical world.

i only had two songs in common with any previous year -- i wish i missed my ex by mahalia & sugar by brockhampton (... i know, the heartache is loud already,)

4 unique rain asmr audios made it into my top 15 (they help me sleep lolol)

show tunes was my #4 most listened to genre and yet not a single one made it into my top 100. (i'm pretty sure it was all of my late night waitress sing alongs)

i discovered 1,012 new artists and 162 new genres

all very fun and interesting things! however, in looking at this year, there are two things to discuss that are most important: the amount of time i spent listening to music (111,989 minutes) and my top song, fake mona lisa. let's discuss both.

on time: in short, music means a lot to me. in long, i mean that music has been central to my life for as long as i can remember. i think of my church choir and my mother singing eartha kitt and corrine bailey rae in the kitchen, my father's surprise talents at piano when he would play in chapel, and how i like to make up little ditties to sing for my dog or while i cook or to solely entertain myself. if one was to take a look at my journals, each entry is annotated with the song i was listening to or suited my mood at the time i was writing. at any moment, i am capable of revisiting the emotional landscape of old memories all set to the very soundtrack that holds that particular past closest.

i still remember plucking violin strings at 5, how i used to stack music books so i could sit up straight on my piano bench because i was too short at 7, picking up woodwinds in highschool and letting my best friend act as conductor, and now, singing endlessly- day in and day out, because it makes me feel like i am traveling home. i think of creole folk songs that connect me to my family, my diaspora. i remember the favorite songs and artists of people i don't know anymore, but still. it stays with me. my friend cj says i have a great emotional sensitivity to music, but more so, music simply connects to every cornerstone of who i am. the creation of it, the listening, the love of it. the constancy.

music is integral to my daily routine and life. since i was 13, maybe younger, i have always believed that the first song i hear in a day sets the tone so i always try to play something i love and makes me feel joyful to start off on the right foot. i will do this my entire life. every day is permeated by sound and the data shows it. 111,989 minutes is almost 3 months straight. this doesn't even count soundcloud listens or youtube tracks or music i play on my own. this felt fitting. music, this year in particular, has been a salve to both new and old hurt. and maybe i am picking at my scabs, but 2020 has amplified so much anger and shame and fear and despite that, there is so much joy in art. music is a balm for the world, it is poetry in its own right.

on fake mona lisa: so .. i am kind of obsessed with this song. fifteen hours worth of listening, i text my friends i'll join the video call soon - i just need one more replay, i got high and played this song while lying in the middle of a meadow and experienced more emotions than i had had in a very long time, my friends lovingly tease me about it so it's sort of like a character trait now, kind of obsessed. my turning to this song was the sort of romance that i didn't anticipate, but fell very hard into and, if you know me, you know that's my favorite kind. let's get into why: when dedicated side b came out, i was heartbroken. there's really no other way to put it. i was alone, back in my childhood bedroom, and harboring a reopened wound from past relationships that maybe had never closed in the first place. i was in this strange, melancholic knee-deep-in-emotions place & if you're an avid CRJ fan, you recognize that's a place she knows and sings about well.

as a song, fake mona lisa tends to be one of carly's more lyrically opaque tracks. which is fine, i'm a storyteller at heart, i'll craft my own narrative. (and honestly, there wasn't much legwork here.) without doing a full blown analysis, here are pieces that i find important to note about the song lyrically and resonate most with me -- big or small.

(transcription at bottom)

what i'm basically saying is that this song is about risk and young love and sex. its about secrets, cheap thrills, fast & easy desires, and the fantastical euphoria of a dead-end-but-still-fun “we're young so what's the matter,“ relationship. (very reminiscent of LA hallucinations, imo) and to me, someone who has been in and out of this same subset of emotional affairs, fake mona lisa stuck with me. vegas is a city of high risk, high reward- where else to chase that superficial, unattainable someone? more so, the song gives you the understanding that the relationship doesn't last, but that was not what carly ever truly wanted out of it. fake mona lisa is, at its core, about over indulgence in pleasure as a stand in for actual love + commitment, something i am oft to do myself & only did more of after dedicated side b dropped. i latched onto the slow and simmering exposition into glittery pre-chorus, starlit imagery, shiny-faraway vocals, and frankly, there was no competition for my song of the year. the song is a dream. i love it and i know what that says about me, but i stand by it.

dedicated side b, especially fake mona lisa, carried me through the healing process of heartbreaks that crystallized into many other things- indulgence, desire, risk, short lived romances, secrets, joy, kisses i should've kept to myself, spontaneous dance breaks, tears, etc., it is an album about love, recovery, and returning to the self. fake mona lisa is just my favorite stop on a long train ride to an okay-ness with aspects of romance (both with the self and others) that i am still figuring out the messy, rose-tinted, contours of.

and sonically? i just adore the key of d minor.

as a last touch point, fake mona lisa was only the tip of the iceberg of songs i obsessed over about not-exactly-ideal romances. again and again and again, heartbreak anthems appeared in my top 100, a deviation from my typical warmth towards romantic sentiments that appeared in past years. instead, there is a sense of love-at-a-distance, a painting yourself as the object of desire, a severed attachment, a not wanting to commit at all (see let's be friends, heartbeat, want you in my room, all by crj ... all appearing on the list.) however, much of what appeared celebrated love and having tremendous, special, struck by cupid, feelings. it's all there. what i'm saying is that carly rae jepsen writes music for lovestruck people- both lucky and not so much, hopeless or hopeful -- you name it. she writes about how you can fall in love with almost anyone, soundtracks for the highs of the first throes of intimacy, the first (and last) kiss, the shared moments between two people when they are each other's whole world, and the palpable distance of heartache, separation, and the landscape between.

she writes as though she is both eros and psyche, armed with arrows of cascading melodies, tipped with a salve for suppressing+healing+amplifying heartbreak, and lyrics so intimate and dreamy, you really can't help but believe in love with the way she speaks of it. love is a venture from shame, a fantasy that is more real than anything else, tender and kind, pleasurable, and escapable into. the world is better in it, the world is better because of it. in carly rae jepsen's discography, love is the defining pillar of experience. a northern star and guiding principle. it is the only thing, no matter what form. & frankly? i cant help but agree.

as a final note, in hanif wills-abdurraqib's emotion review for MTV, carly rae jepsen's public displays of affection, he says this:

thats all for now. bye 2020.

- august

///

transcription of my notes:

verse 1:

city/star light imagery

i am known for wearing a star stamp on my cheek

infatuation & attraction

paints a photo of a starlet and her lover, a fair weather affair

pre-chorus:

always waiting fro a chance the object of desire

a high from love, addictive pleasures

chorus:

sex & art & risk taking (art synonymous with beauty. + seduction)

she knows she cant handle this in a real way, but wants it

desire vs/& (in conjunction with) pain

verse 2:

an idealistic worldview, hoping for the best, always somewhere else not present.

dreamy lyrics + dreamy state of mind, cloudy even.

specifically the words fake mona lisa:

contrast, beautiful yet fully acknowledged to be unreal/superficial

a stand in for “real art“ aka “real love“

#crj #mine

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irenereru · 3 years

Note

For the Daft Punk asks: 1993-2021.

Yes, Irene. I want you to answer all of them (except the ones you don’t want to answer, of course ❤️).

/2B

Well well well, this is gonna take a while! I already answered 2011 to 2013 in this ask right here, so I’ll be skipping those!

1993: When did you first hear about Daft Punk? That’s an odd question, and hard to answer.

During my childhood I KNOW I heard songs like Around The World, Music Sounds Better With You, One More Time, Harder Better Faster Stronger, and Technologic later on.

It wasn’t until around 2011 when I had my first contact with Daft Punk, when on a restaurant, on a TV in the background, One More Time was playing. I could not hear the song, but the visuals catched my attention and I became fascinated. Sadly, I did not catch who’s song was that, nor the title.

It wasn’t until Get Lucky and RAM released that I FINALLY figured out who Daft Punk were. The moment I saw the robots, when I rediscovered and watched Interstella 5555 in it’s entirety in one setting, then, was when i got hooked up to them, forever.

1994: What do you find most striking about the band? THE ROBOTS! I love the dessigns, they have SO MUC PERSONALITY. But other things I love are, obviously, their music, the “not giving a shit” actitude, and the way they worked. That’s something I admire a lot, keeping control of your works. As an artist myself, it’s something that can be really important and can help you out in the future.

1995: Do you have any favorite music videos? I love Interstella 5555 with my whole heart. The Homework MVs, specially Burnin’, hold a special place in my heart. I love that in Burnin’ the boys make a cameo for a split second, wearing odd costumes and wigs.

1996: What do you think about the Homework album? Pretty good! I love house music, and it’s certainly the album that introduced me to the genre, so... Da Funk, Around The World, they’re just absolute BANGERS. The “harder” songs on the album aren’t really my thing, tho...

1997: What do you think about Alive 1997? A bit bare-bones, not gonna lie. It’s like 45 minutes long. That’s not a lot. It certainly is something of it’s time. What I love the most are the scarce pictures and videos of that era of them playing live. You can REALLY tell they’re having a blast, specially Thomas.

1998: Do you have any favorite remixes/mash-ups? Their remix of Chord Memory is certainly one of my favorites. It really gives you a... Something. It feels like it’s telling a story, with it’s change of tone later on and then mashing both. Also, that WDPK 83.7 reference!

1999: Has your opinion of the band changed over time? Not really. It just started high and they stay high as my favorite band/musicians. They’re extremely inspiring, specially for the fact they did so many different things, but all feeling so unique to them at the same time. Them also being nice people and supporting of social rights and the LGBT community is certainly a great plus!

2000: Do you have a favorite ‘era’ of Daft Punk? Discovery. It’s the most fun, colorfull, and the one they seemed more “silly”. The robots appeared in their rainbowy marvel and odd/oversized clothes.

2001: What do you think about the Discovery album? It’s My FAVORITE! There are barely no songs I dislike. It have so many different vibes, feelings, you have vocal tracks and instrumental tracks, all with the same quality... And my favorite song from them, Something About Us, is from that album.

2002: Has Daft Punk inspired you creatively? Absolutely. Like, 100%.

2003: What do you think about Interstella 5555? They could’ve worked on that lip-sink a bit better, it’s something that ALWAYS pulls me off. But aside from that, it’s a great concept, and a very special animated film. You can tell there was a lot of care put on it.

2004: Are there any lyrics in particular that stuck with you? Within. That song just, resonates so much with me. Check out my other post with answers, I talk in depth about it!

2005: What do you think about the Human After All album? You can tell it was made in 2 weeks. They were angry, frustrated. And you get a lot of “Thomas Vibe” in that. It feels like it wasn’t a good time for them and it’s reflected in the album.

2006: What do you think about the Musique album? The only good thing from it is that they FINALLY re-released Musique and those remixes! Also, in the special version, you get the Interstella 5555 DVD, which is how I got the movie myself physically!

2007: What do you think about Alive 2007? It’s just great. I wish there was an official version of the entire concert edited by them, where you could see the visuals, the vibes, and the boys all in one enjoying themselves. I’m sad I couldn’t go see them, but at the time I just did not know who they were, and I was only 11. I remember seeing their pyramid on TV when they came to Spain in 2006! I thought it looked really extra, and it really is.

2008: What do you think about Electroma? It’s heartcrushing. I have the feeling they could’ve cutted the ending a little, and I don’t really get why of the dunes looking like a woman and going like, inside the vagina... But still. Also, I can not laugh when they wear the human masks. They’re so ugly x’D Is that how they see themselves?

The bathroom scene ALWAYS gets me. GM08 getting extremely mad and frustrated, while TB3 tries to hold on to what’s left until it can’t be recovered... That says SO MUCH about them, about the robots, as characters and people. You can really get what they’re feeling.

The ending, though... That ending. My god. Everyone always talks about TB3′s death, but the one that really got me the most is GM08′s. It seemed like he wanted to keep going, but finding himself alone ends up being his demise. They need each other. And when he tries to reach to his self-destruct button but cannot, and he just stares in the distance... I really, REALLY felt that.

2009: Do you have a favorite Daft Punk cameo/reference? I talked about the Burnin’ video before, but if I have to think of something else... I think their cameos in different productions are great. Like Sebastien Tellier’s videos of the songs he made with Guy-Man, one with magazines with drawing of GM08, while on the other he appears as a background guy, face partially covered... Also Thomas’ cameo in the movie Realité, where his wife is one of the secondary characters, where he just, again, appears for a split second. I find those really funny.

2010: What do you think about TRON: Legacy? It had a lot going on, but it’s story just... Was bad. The effects are cool (except for the guy they tried to make look younger), and I love that Daft Punk just kept vibing when the fight breaks out at the club. Aside from that, that’s all.

2014: What’s your favorite moment of Daft Punk at the GRAMMYs? The hug. Come on, that’s like, the loveliest thing ever. You can tell how happy and emotional they were. They even had to hold Thomas’ hand because his helmet fogged on the inside.

2015: Do you have friends who like Daft Punk? Hmm... Does all the cool people I’ve met in the fandom count? ;D Specially @edbangingrobot and @invader-777 they’re the coolest people ever <3

2016: What Daft Punk collaborations stood out to you? Probably the one with The Weeknd, but only because of their AMAZINGLY COOL COSTUMES, more than anything. Those have to be my all-time favorite looks for the robots.

2017: Did you get to see Daft Punk live? No :(

2018: How does Daft Punk fit into your taste in music? They have that disco-electro-house vibe I LOVE so much. Why do you think Discovery is my favorite? x’D Tho my tastes go all over the place, if I’m honest. You just have to take a look around my Spotify playlist to see what I’m talking about.

2019: What Daft Punk song makes you smile? One More Time, Digital Love, Voyager and Give Life Back To Music. If you wanna make me get in a good mood, play those.

2020: Did Daft Punk help you get through tough times? They certainly helped me focus on something. I found them in one of the toughest, darkest times of my life. Just had to drop out of school due to my mental illness, only to be abandoned by my old friends, while my family did not listen to me about my depression, anxiety and agoraphobia. Not only that, but we also moved for the third time in a decade, and it wasn’t for fun reasons. Having Daft Punk’s music there as a new discovery to me certainly helped, with their cheerfull, thoughtless songs for a time where everything felt too much.

2021: How are you “holding on” after the split? I am extremely sad we will never get to see the robots again. They’re a really important part of my life. Just like their music. All I hope is that they’re in good therms, and that they’ll be happy for now on. We do not know the reason, but there surely was one behind their decission. If any of them does make something new in the future, I’ll make sure to check it out. It wouldn’t be the first time they’ve done things aside from Daft Punk.

#ask #well that was long #you could say it was #too long

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takonei · 4 years

Text

Beta AU - Main story, Chapter 3, daily life (Part 2)

Note of the author: It’s motive time bois.

Chapter 3: What is beyond humans’ control - Daily life

Day 10 since the beginning of the game. 8:00 AM.

Shuichi woke up at the morning announcement. he slept better than expected, thankfully.

After taking a shower, he got dressed up to join the others in the dining hall.

Just as he left his room, he saw Angie leaving her room as well.

“Oh, hey Angie.” he yawned.

The girl span around so fast she almost tripped on her own feet. “G’morniiing!”

Shuichi chuckled. The two started making their way to the dining hall together.

“Apparently you helped Himiko and Kokichi making statues yesterday?” he decided to start a conversation.

She nodded. “Yeah! I taught them how to use chisels and hammers and woodpeckers and a lot of other tools!”

“I see,” he smiled. “That must have been fun then.”

She grinned. “Although they’re not the best at it, it was their first time!”

There was a short silence.

Shuichi didn’t know if asking her about her island was a good idea, but it was worth a shot. “Hey... I know this is probably a touchy subject for you and I won’t force you to talk but... How was it back there, sculpting?”

But when he looked at her, her eyes were empty. She had stopped in her tracks. “... I wish I could slaughter Atua with my own hands for all the shit he put all of us priestesses through. Just cutting him like Monokuma cut Maki with the scissors and watch his-”

The violinist couldn’t believe what she was saying. He wanted to put his hands on her shoulders, but refrained from doing so. “Angie! I-”

He paused. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have talked about this.”

She stared at him silently for a moment, then took a step back. “I told you, didn’t I? This is all behind me now! Now I can live with you all here in the academy!”

Shuichi didn’t know how to respond. He wanted to leave but seeing Angie like this made him feel sad. He had a family to go back to, but for those like Kirumi and Angie, this was a whole other story.

“Let’s... Just go to the dining hall. Miu and Kirumi probably already made breakfast.” he couldn’t look at Angie in the eyes. “But please consider talking to Kiyo about all of this. He can try to help you just please...”

He looked at her with pleading eyes. “Talk to someone about this.”

She looked at him with dumbfounded eyes, but then smiled. “Sure thing! But you don’t have to worry about this, Shuichi!~”

They finished their walk in silence.

When they reached the dining hall, Shuichi hoped to see breakfast ready and some of the others here to brighten up the mood.

Unfortunately, a way more confusing scene unfolded in front of his eyes.

Ryoma was in the corner of the room, curled into a ball, Rantaro desperately trying to talk to him.

“Ryoma please- Are you feeling okay??” he asked.

“S-Stay away from me! What did I even do to you?” the small man shakily replied. That was... Unusual.

Miu was a few meters away. She subtly approached the two.

“What’s going on with him?” Shuichi whispered to her.

“No one knows what’s going on. Ryoma looks afraid of everything and everyone, Tsumugi seems to have amnesia and we’ve been trying to understand the situation for twenty minutes. The two also have a huge fever from what Rantaro said.” she replied, as confused as him.

The others came in one by one, and explaining what was going on was impossible.

Rantaro was desperately trying to resonate with Ryoma, but it was useless.

Kirumi tried to talk to Tsumugi, but all she got from her was “Who are you?” and “Where are we?”

Once everyone got into the dining hall, the monokubs popped in.

“My goodness! That’s obviously bad!” Monophanie exclaimed.

The students turned to the bears.

“Teddy bears?” Tsumugi asked, confused.

“What did you do to them??” Miu yelled.

“Ahem! It looks like you want some explanations...” Monotaro said.

“Yeah no shit.” Kaito glared at him.

“MEET-YOUR-NEW-MOTIVE. THE-DESPAIR-DISEASE.” Monodam explained.

That didn’t seem to answer a lot of questions.

“We... May or may not have let some tiny insects inside the academy and it looks like they find you all appetizing!” The pink bear rubbed the back of her head.

Rantaro sighed. “Quit your bullshit. This is obviously your doing. No existing disease infects people that differently.” he glanced at Tsumugi, quietly sitting on a chair and Ryoma, curled up in a ball in the corner of the room.

“How dare you assume we’re lying! Bears never lie!” the red one raised his metal paws up in the air. “Anyway. It’s a really annoying disease where you get a high fever, along with various symptoms!”

Monodam pointed at the two sick students. “TSUMUGI-HAS-THE-AMNESIC-DISEASE. RYOMA-HAS-THE-COWARD-DISEASE.”

Kiyo put a finger on his chin. ”So basically the opposite of their normal personalities.”

“But be careful! Sometimes the despair disease can get passed from person to person just like a cold!” Monophanie put her paws on her cheeks.

Rantaro’s eyes widened. “And it had to be contagious of course.” He approached the bear. “And what’s the cure?”

“THIS-DISEASE-DOESN’T-NEED-A-CURE. IT-WILL-HELP-EVERYONE-GET-ALONG.”

“That’s right! It’s in the most difficult situations that you guys help each other. We thought that would help you all!”

Everyone fell silent. The absurdity of the statement was way too much.

The cubs, noticing the sudden tension in the room, chanted their catchphrase and left.

Shuichi glanced at Rantaro. He looked beyond mad. He took a deep breath and clapped his hands once.

“We’re gonna have to isolate them for now. Except we don’t have a comfortable separated facility for them.”

Shuichi pondered. “So we’ll have to keep them in their own rooms...”

“This is going to be a nightmare to take care of them. I have stuff in my lab but if I have to walk from my lab to the dormitories each time they need something I’m not going to keep up for long.”

Kirumi was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. “I know this isn’t the best place, but what about the three rooms on the fourth floor? We’ll have to transport stuff here but at least it’s closer.”

“That’s probably the best we can do for now.” He lifted his head to look at everyone else. “I’ll stay here to keep an eye on them for now. Please try to make two of those rooms as comfortable as possible for them. There are three beds in my lab. I’m counting on you for this.”

“W-wait...”

Kokichi raised his hand. “I d-don’t really know... M-Maybe I’m wrong but... I feel like I have it t-too...”

Himiko jumped. “Huh? Really?”

He nodded. “I... I feel dizzy a-and my head is spinning... But I don’t feel any mental change s-so I’m not sure.”

Rantaro approached him and put the palm of his hand on the small boy’s forehead. “You’re feverish. We shouldn’t take any risks.

He pondered for a moment. “Does anyone else feel sick, aside from Kokichi, Tsumugi and Ryoma?”

No answer. “Good. You guys prepare the three rooms while I keep an eye on those three.”

Shuichi turned to him. “Hold on, you're volunteering to take care of them until they get better? You think you can take the risk being infected?”

He turned to the violinist. “I’ve seen worse. I’m the ultimate medic, so don’t worry about me, alright?”

The two stared at each other. Shuichi nodded. “Thanks a lot, Rantaro.”

The rest of the students spent the rest of the morning transporting the beds from the medic’s lab to the rooms. They also took furniture and items from various rooms and labs to make the room a bit more comfortable and less creepy than before.

Lamps and books from Tsumugi’s lab, chairs from Kirumi’s lab, and some decoration and items from the other labs and the warehouse.

At least those rooms looked more like bedrooms than occult-ish rooms. Of course there wasn’t the usual comfort of the dorms, but it was better than nothing.

Shuichi let Rantaro guide the patients to their rooms. They were surprisingly cooperative.

Tsumugi, Ryoma and Kokichi... He really hoped those three would get better.

Shuichi went to Rantaro’s lab. It pained him a little to learn that he was going to do everything by himself from now on.

When he stepped in the room, he was wearing a mask and plastic gloves, carefully handling medicine, beaker and eyedropper in hand.

Once he saw the violinist entering the lab, he put down his tools to look at him. “Do you need something? It’s probably best if you don’t approach me too much, just in case.”

Shuichi winced. “I mean... We can’t let you do everything by yourself... Can we at least do something for you?”

“Shuichi’s right! I can’t just stay here and let you do all the work!” a feminine voice came from behind.

Miu had just appeared in the lab. But while Shuichi was calmly asking how he could help, the girl was clearly determined to do so.

“I... Want to help the others in this. I want to apologize for everything I did after the motive videos... Even though it’s just a little, I want to be useful.” She bowed to Rantaro.

Unfortunately his expression was almost unreadable because of his mask, but Shuichi could clearly see the surprise in his eyes.

Rantaro stood up. “Like I said it’s better if only one of us takes care of the patients, and I’m the most qualified for this. But...”

He paused.

“If it’s not too much to ask, could you please make individual meals for the ill ones and me? And perhaps bring me a sleeping bag since I’ll probably stay here for a while.”

Shuichi put a finger on his chin. “And you’ll probably need some clean clothes too...”

Miu quickly stood up, pointing two fingers to her temple. “Leave it to me!”

Rantaro smiled behind his mask. “However could you bring me dish soap with it? It would be bad to give you back contaminated empty dishes.”

Miu smiled. “Got it!” she turned her back to him, and added: “Make sure to take care of yourself, alright sweetie?”

The medic chuckled. “Alright, alright. Take care of yourself as well, okay?”

The street artist smiled and left. There was a visible blush on her face.

He turned back to Rantaro and giggled. “She really seems into you, calling you ‘sweetie’ like this...”

He shrugged. “I’m not really used to affection like that, but it feels nice. Although I don’t see her ‘that’ way.”

Oh.

“I’ll go for now. Just like she said, don’t overwork yourself, okay?” Shuichi said.

Rantaro gave him a thumbs up. “Don’t worry about me. We should be alright for now.”

The group spent lunch together, but there were four less people than what was supposed to be. Obviously Himiko looked worried for Kokichi, but Angie was keeping her company, so it was fine.

Afternoon came and with four less people around, the academy felt empty. But at least they were in good hands.

Himiko and Angie were once again sculpting items in the latter’s lab.

Kaito and Keebo were in the warehouse. The biker had tried to replace Tsumugi and Ryoma for his maintenance.

Miu and Kirumi were cooking in the kitchen some meals and snacks for the infected ones and Rantaro.

Kiyo was outside, not doing anything in particular, so Shuichi approached him.

“Oh, hello Shuichi. Do you need anything?” he asked.

He shook his head. “Not really. Just thought we could hang out.”

The two sat under the wisterias of the courtyard. They had a relaxing feeling, and Shuichi often saw Kiyo talking to people under here.

The violinist picked a flower and started fiddling with it. “What do you think about all of this? I’ve never heard what you thought about this situation.”

Kiyo looked at him. “About what exactly?”

“I would guess the disease... Rantaro said he didn’t believe the bears and said they were lying about the origin of the disease.”

The therapist pondered for a moment, staring at the void.

“... I don’t really know. To be honest I’m contemplating the possibility of the mastermind being one of the ill ones.”

Shuichi’s eyes widened. “Huh? You think the mastermind is either Ryoma, Tsumugi or Kokichi?”

“I didn’t say that I was sure, just that we should not exclude the possibility.”

The violinist frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean...”

“Let’s say the mastermind is the one who gave the ‘disease’ to us. We would obviously think they wouldn’t give the disease to themselves. So they could have just given themselves a fever and act like have the disease.”

Shuichi put his elbows on his knees, head resting on his hands. “But can we even be sure there is a mastermind among us? Maki’s execution still went on even though Monokuma was destroyed, and he came back right after...”

“I don’t really know about this part. We thought that the mastermind would go to the hidden room to summon another Monokuma, but Maki’s execution proved us that it wasn’t the case.”

Shuichi tried to think. “Maybe... They had a remote on them?”

Kiyo narrowed his eye. “That’s a possibility. But... Monokuma wants us to feel despair, right?”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Because Monokuma reappeared the next day the first time he was crushed, we assumed someone had to go in the hidden room to manually create another one, and they needed to wait until everyone was asleep to act.”

He nodded.

“But if Monokuma’s objective is to destroy our hopes, the mastermind probably let us hope he was definitely destroyed, then created another one to intensify the psychological effect. They could have been able to do it since the very beginning. However, since Maki’s execution was an emergency, they didn’t have time to think and immediately created another one.”

Shuichi lowered his head. “That’s messed up... But that doesn’t explain how they do so...”

“I’m not sure. The remote seems like a plausible theory. We were all in a panic when the courtroom was falling appart, so they could have done something without us realizing.”

That... Made sense.

“But if they can create another Monokuma whenever they want, doesn’t that mean there is a possibility they’re not among us and simply hiding in the hidden room?”

Kiyo hummed. “It’s possible, however since there is still a chance they’re in this group, I wouldn’t talk too quickly.”

Shuichi nodded.

“But to come back to what you said about the despair disease, what would the mastermind gain by giving themselves the disease?” he asked.

“To make us think they’re not one of them, at the risk of not being able to do anything since Rantaro keeps an eye on them at all times. But that would be quite the gamble.” Kiyo explained.

That was quite unlikely, Shuichi thought, but not impossible.

“And Rantaro... I can’t say for certain. He has a great influence on the others but I know a genuine speech when I see one. That’s what last trial proved me.” he added.

Shuichi remembered Kirumi’s words the day before.

‘Willing to listen’ and ‘trusting’ are two very different things. That’s what differentiates strategists and friends.

Rantaro... He was a strategist. He gave the key to his lab to Ryoma in case someone tried to get it from him. He knew another killing would happen and did his best to keep the group calm and rational. Even going as far as to expose the truth about the lack of benefits he would get by escaping. He also volunteered to take care of the ill students all by himself. It was clear he wanted to have a good influence on the group. To be in control of the situation, in a good way.

But him being the mastermind wasn’t something Shuichi wanted to think about.

A part of him also hoped Kiyo wasn’t the mastermind and said all those theories on purpose to confuse him.

The discussion felt tiring.

The two decided to drop the subject for now to talk about their respective lives.

Evening came. The rest of the group joined in the dining hall but Shuichi still felt like someone was missing.

There were 12 students alive in the academy. 3 of them were resting because of the illness and one was taking care of them. Yet only half of the remaining students were in the dining hall.

After a quick glance, Shuichi noticed both Miu and Himiko were absent.

Right after thinking that, the street artist entered the dining hall, alone.

“Where’s Himiko?” he asked as she sat in front of Kaito.

“She’s in front of Kokichi’s room and they talk through the door. She’s been at it for an hour now and I don’t think she’ll leave soon.” Miu explained.

Kaito raised an eyebrow as he was eating. “Rantaro doesn’t mind?”

She shook her head. “He said as long as Himiko doesn’t enter the room it’s fine. Also that she must be out of the way during his checks.”

She took a sip of water from her glass. “So right now they’re eating dinner separated by a door.”

Shuichi nodded. Rantaro probably knows more about him about what they should do.

After finishing dinner, since there wasn’t much to do, everyone parted their ways. However there was one last thing Shuichi needed to do.

He quickly looked at his monopad to see where the therapist was. He was outside, on a bench near the wisterias, as usual.

It didn’t take long for Shuichi to reach him.

“Hey, Kiyo?”

He turned to him. He seemed to have been lost in his own thoughts. “Do you need anything?”

He winced. This was a touchy subject, but he had to.

“I think you should try to talk to Angie... I’m a bit concerned about her.”

He explained the whole situation. What she told him in her lab and their discussion this morning.

Kiyo hummed.

“I see. If as you say she resents her home more than this entire killing game, then there is a high possibility she went through severe trauma.”

He stood up. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll talk to her tomorrow, since it is getting late.”

The two went back to the dormitories, hoping Rantaro would be fine by himself.

The disease didn’t need to make any more victims and suffering.

They could only hope for the best.

#ndrv3 #danganronpa v3 #ndrv3 au #beta au #main story

14 notes · View notes

the-gedonelune-times · 4 years

Text

Chapter Five: A Day Out and Meeting With The Potions Master.

Summary: Gedonelune, the prestigious royal magic academy is waiting just for you! The door has opened a whole new world of possibilities for your future. For the next thirteen days you’ll be undergoing the provisional trial to see if you have what it takes to become an official student. Along the way you’ll be meeting new faces and going on exciting new adventures. But be warned, shadows are being cast on the land, if you dive to deep, you may find yourself being swallowed up by the chaos. Your journey begins now, will you be able to banish the darkness?

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

“Discuss what exactly?” My voice held a slight hesitation.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. If anything you’ll be happy to hear the good news.”

“Oh?”

“Remember yesterday when I mentioned the shop that was selling those phones?”

“Oh yeah, the magical ones, right?”

“Correct. Lucky for you I’ll have to be running into town soon, possibly during the weekend.”

“Am I allowed?”

“I’d have to discuss it with the Headmaster, but I’m sure you’ll be able to go. I’ll let you know the details later through a magic note, alright?”

I nodded. “Alright. Thank you, Persephone.” As usual, she mumbled something under her breath, leaving before I even had a chance to say another word.

Hours passed by since I had entered my room. Lily and I had sent a few notes back and forth to one another while I practiced on some spells. Most of the spells were basic but I slowly progressed into casting some higher difficulty ones after some more practice. Even though a majority of them were pretty weak, I still felt proud of what I had been able to accomplish so far. I continued on with practicing until I could no longer muster up the strength to cast anymore. With a tired sigh, I changed out of my uniform and into some comfortable nightwear before slipping into bed. All I had to do was go through another day of classes and then it would be the weekend.

When I awoke the next morning, I felt a bit more awake and well-rested than the previous days. I checked the time, making sure that I still had time to stop and grab something fro breakfast before classes. That’s when I noticed a magic note next to the alarm clock. I felt my heart begin to beat hard against my chest, thinking that it might have been from Lily, but wasn’t too disappointed when it wasn’t. It was Persephone explaining that the Headmaster agreed to let me go into town with her. I was ecstatic to be going into town, but also a little bit nervous. I thought back to the conversation Lily and I had back in the village. She told me that something had happened.

Though it had been a few days. That thought stuck with me all through class and pretty much the rest of the day. Should I ask Persephone about it? I pondered the thought as I sat my stuff down in my dorm, pulling out a grimoire as I began working on today’s assignment. Once I was finished, I decided to send a magical note. Since it was rather late, I found myself hesitating a little as I finished the note before sending it out.

‘I know it’s a little late, but I wanted to share some good news! I’ll be going into town tomorrow. I’ve only been there once, so I’m really excited to go back and take time to actually explore a little bit. I wish you could come, I’d love to meet up and see you again.’

A few minutes later a note appeared on my desk and I excitedly began to open it.

‘No way! There’s something that has to be picked up in town tomorrow, I’ll talk to Willem and see if I can go. I’d love to meet up with you. Sending notes like this is nice, but I really miss hearing your voice. If I can’t come then please enjoy the town and tell me how the experience was, okay?!’

My heart skipped a beat and I found myself re-reading the first sentence over and over again. Though it was small, there was a chance that I would see Lily again, and that alone made my heart swell with delight. I had just pushed my chair and got up when I saw another note land on my desk. Was this one also from Lily?

‘Hey, just checking in. I’m not sure if you’re in bed yet or not but I want you to see this before you head into town. Meet me by the gate to the academy by eleven, I want to get this supply shopping done as soon as I can and that’s when most of the shops are opened.’

Ah, it was from Persephone. Keeping the time in mind, I headed over to the bed, slipping into an early night’s sleep. Unfortunately, my excitement forced me into a super early start to the day. It was only six in the morning but thankfully I was able to get some caffeine into my body, so I at least had that going. Now all I needed was a hot shower, a change of clothes and something to distract me until I had to go and meet Persephone.

Luckily I was able to check all three of those things off after I started catching up on one of my favorite books that I brought with me from home. I got so caught up in the story that I hadn’t realized the time. I practically threw my book and rushed out of the room, nearly tripping on everything on my way out. By the time I got there, I was out of breath and ready to collapse right there on the spot. Persephone was already there and shot me a concerned look.

“Let me guess, you overslept?”

“Quite the opposite, I underslept. I got caught up in a good book and lost track of time. Sorry.”

“Whatever…” Persephone huffed before holding her hand out.

Her emblem resonated with the gate and within seconds, the gate opened up only to shut itself the minute we exited academy grounds. It was only a short walk to the town and once there, Persephone came to a stop.

“Okay, I want this to be our meeting place.”

“Meeting place?”

“Yes. Schuyler only granted us a little bit of time, but since I’m not super rule-abiding so go ahead and do whatever you want for that time. That should be enough to grab your stuff, right? I want us to meet back here at twelve-thirty and please try not to get lost. I’d never hear the end of it from Schuyler.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Persephone gave be a wave as she went on ahead, turning and disappearing down one of the streets. Meanwhile, I took a look at my surroundings, trying to figure out which shop it was that I needed to go. I got lost a couple of times, hitting a few dead-end alleyways, but now I was feeling more comfortable as I kept walking. I had to backtrack when I realized I had it a few shops back. I took a peek of the inside from the large window and noticed that there were others already in there. With a relieved sigh I opened the door and headed inside, immediately being greeted by the owner who had a smile on his face.

“Hello there, how can I help you today?”

“Oh, um, I’m here about the magic phones.”

“Ah, our hottest selling item. Yes, yes, let me show you our selection. Right, this way.”

The owner stepped away from the counter and led me to another section of the store. It was rather barren except for a single row which had a few different magic phones available.

“I’m afraid this is all we have right now and we’re not due for any more for a while, at least a month or so. But if there’s one that interests you, let me know, I’ll even throw in a special deal for you.”

“Special deal?” Now my curiosity was piqued.

The man chuckled. “If you buy one, I’ll throw in another one at a discounted price.”

Lily’s face flashed in my mind the minute the man told me about the deal. I had enough lune saved up that I could afford it, and it would definitely make communication easier between the two of us. I looked back at the phones, eyeing them before picking them out.

“A special gift?” The man asked as he made it back to the counter.

“Yeah.”

“Oh? For that someone special?”

I could feel my cheeks begin to burn in embarrassment. “W-Well…”

Suddenly the door to the shop swung open and someone called out my name.

“L-Lily?!”

She was out of breath as she made her way over to me. Her hair was a little messy, clearly, she had been running. “I….I knew it was you!” She smiled happily.

“D-Did you run here all the way from the village?!”

“Uh-huh! Willem gave me permission to come into town and I didn’t want to waste any time.”

“Ah, so is the lucky lass who’s getting this gift?”

“Gift?” Lily tilted her head.

Well crap…..

“I suppose the surprise is ruined now.” I muttered under my breath.

Perhaps it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but I swear I saw Lily’s cheeks turn a soft hue of pink. I chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of my head.

“I thought this would make communicating with each other a bit easier.”

I handed the phone to Lily who hesitantly took it in her hands. She held it close to her chest like a precious treasure, her eyes glistened over and she blinked the wetness in her eyes before smiling.

“T-Thank you. I’ve never received a gift from someone other than the others back at home.”

Her hands never left the phone, not once, not even as we were walking around in the town after having bought them. I still had quite a bit of time left and was asked by Lily if she would like to accompany me to the hop she needed to pick something up from.

“Have you had something to eat yet?”

“Hm?”

“It’s nearly lunchtime and you seem a little more sluggish than usual. I’ve heard that humans can feel tired or look ill if they have not had proper nourishment or rest. You don’t look tired per se, but perhaps you’re not nourished properly?”

As if on cue, a rather loud noise came from my stomach, which prompted Lily to laugh as she reached one of her hands out to mine, gripping tightly as she pulled me along.

“I guess that answers the question then.”

“Yeah? Well here’s one for you, where are we going?”

“There’s this really cute coffee shop that sells really good breakfast and lunch stuff. Mischa told me about it.”

“Mischa?”

“Oh, my neighbor’s cat! She’s super cute and knows where all the good places in town are.” Lily smiled.

We kept walking and walking for what seemed like forever, the streets were beginning to grow crowded and navigating through the town was definitely becoming a bit more challenging. When Lily alerted me that the shop was down the end of the street after the corner, I felt a sigh of relief wash over me. But I felt it fade when I overheard whispers.

“...her back.”

“Did some beast do that?”

“Look at those marks.”

“Is she cursed?”

“W-What if the beast comes back to finish her off, but goes after us instead.”

“...she needs to leave.”

“There’s someone with her, maybe they’re cursed too!”

“Run them both out of town so we can be safe…!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I looked over at Lily who didn’t seem fazed by the hurtful comments that were being made. I looked at Lily’s back, the wound was still fresh and if anything, it looked even worse. I can’t imagine the physical pain she must be going through...and to think that some people in the town would be so cruel to say such things. Lily might be able to ignore it, but I wasn’t. I stopped in my tracks, pulling my hand away from Lily before facing the people who had just been gossiping and saying such hurtful things. But just as I was about to say something, I felt a tug on my arms. It was Lily. She pulled me closer to herself and kept walking neither of us saying a single word until we were away from the more crowded area.

“Lily, why? Why did you stop me?”

“Because we need not to make those people even more fearful.” Lily explained. “I could hear it in their comments, they were scared. Yelling at them for being in such a state would not help matters in the slightest.”

“So...you heard everything….”

“Yes.” She nodded. “But their words don’t hurt me, I understand their feelings. Though...it is a little sad to see that I’ve caused such fear in them to say such things…”

“Then why didn’t you try to explain? Surely they would have understood.”

Lily chuckled. “Confronting them would probably cause even more problems for us in the long run.”

“Lily…”

“Y-Yes?”

I gripped her hand tightly in mine and looked at her. “No matter what happens, I’m still going to be by your side.”

I heard a soft gasp come from her now trembling lips. An audible gulp left her as she fought hard against built-up tears. She refused to look at me and instead walked ahead for the rest of the way to the coffee shop.

*************************

About half an hour passed by before we finally made it back near the town center. I had just a little bit of time to spare and decided to join Lily on her way to a potions shop she told me about when we had a quick lunch.

“Is this the place?” I asked while looking up at two-story shop.

Lily nodded. “Mhm, that’s the one. I think he should be in here by now.”

Lily hummed as she walked up to the window and peeked inside, she gave a small wave from behind the glass and smiled at me.

“He’s in here, I can’t wait for you to meet him!”

I found myself practically being pushed inside of the shop by an excited Lily who, once inside, immediately ran over to a man who was putting some things on a nearby shelf. They exchanged a few words before Lily looked in my direction, the man at her side followed suit and with a smile, he came my way.

“Hello and welcome.” His voice was soft and kind as he straightened his glasses. “You must be the one that Lily always talks about.”

“She talks about me?”

The man laughed. “For the past week you’ve always been mentioned in one of her letters to me. I was so thrilled to hear that she had made a new friend and the fact that I’m meeting them today is rather a treat if you ask me.”

I fought back a blush with the clearing of my throat. “So, how long have you two known each other?”

“A couple of months. She wandered in here once by accident and struck up a conversation with me almost immediately. We’ve been talking ever since.” He smiled. “I’d like to think we’re pretty good friends and any friend of Lily’s is a friend to me. Oh right, how absolutely rude of me, my name is Fe...er, Beckford.”

He held his hand out to me where we gave a firm handshake before he took a step back, looking over at Lily.

“I suppose now is a good time to get the thing you’ve been wanting.” Beckford smiled while browsing one of the shelves. He grabbed a small vile with an icy blue liquid and handed it to Lily. “Here you go.”

“Oh, thank you!” After putting her phone away in her small side satchel, Lily grabbed the vile and was about to reach into her satchel for lune but was stopped by Beckford.

“It’s free of charge.”

“Are...a-are you sure?”

He nodded gently before removing himself from the shelves and to the front.

“When I heard about what happened, I immediately wanted to help.”

“Will this get rid of the scar?”

“No, I’m afraid not.” He spoke sadly. “This potion will only make the area feel numb for a rather long period of time. I can’t reduce the size of the wound nor can I heal it. I’ve tried all that I can and this is the end result. I’m afraid that wound is surrounded by a rather heavy amount of cursed magic and I’ve yet to find any way to combat.”

Lily held the vile up, admiring the liquid before hugging it close to her chest. “That’s alright. Maybe one day you’ll conjure up a potion to help get rid of it. If anyone could, it’d definitely be this town’s potion master.”

“Potion master?” I asked curiously.

“Yeah, Beckford here is a master at making potions. His store is super popular, especially later in the afternoon when it really gets busy and everyone is heading back home.”

I watched as Beckford messed with his messily pulled up hair in embarrassment. “She’s obviously blowing this out of proportion. I’m merely a man who wishes to help others the way I know how. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“You’re much too humble.” Lily sighed with a smile.

A little bit of time had passed and although I wished to stay here longer, I noticed the time and practically leapt from my seat. Persephone is going to kill me!

I said my goodbyes to them both and went on my way back to the town center where Persephone was waiting. She had almost an annoyed look on her face when she saw me. Thankfully I was spared from a lecture from her and was asked about my time in town instead.

I wished that my time in the town didn’t have to end, nor did I wish for the weekend to go by as fast as I had. I wondered if there would be a chance to see Lily again in the near future?

***********Meanwhile***********

“You know what you need to do.”

A man’s cold voice pierced the night air and the man next to him merely stood in silence. They shifted ever so slightly, almost uncomfortable with the task that they were being made to do. There was a gentle breeze that rustled the leaves in the nearby tree and an eerie silence was soon descending in the area.

“Don’t fail me. You know what will happen.” The man turned on his heel and disappeared in the shadows while the other clutched his fist.

“But why….why here? Why her….?”

---------------------------

Nadia: Hey, I heard you and the new student went into town today. How was it?”

Persephone: They seemed to enjoy it. Seems they met up with a close friend of theirs. Meanwhile I was stuck with work *sigh* lame….

Nadia: Hey, don’t look so bummed, we can go into town next time together, I promise we’ll have a blast!

Persephone: Tsk, I don’t know about that.

Nadia: We’ll have to see then. Anyways, it seems like the story is going to take a serious turn soon. The next chapter is ‘Emergency!’

Persephone: ….That doesn’t sound good.

Nadia: Hm? Wait, Persephone, are you worried? If you’re worried then this means things could be getting really bad!

Persephone: Let’s hope it doesn’t.

Nadia: Agreed! For now, let’s be on guard!

#wizardess heart+#shall we date?: wizardess heart #wh fan route #The Three Seals Series #The Queen Of Forgotten Time #Lily Bloom #Persephone Onyx #Fenrir Beckford

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iximaz · 4 years

Text

Blood-Forged

Summary: Din takes his young charge to a new planet with a new plan to hide. It quickly goes sideways after he meets another Mandalorian who has never seen her own kind.

Characters: The Mandalorian (Din Djarin), Baby Yoda, enby!fem!OC

Pairings: Slow burn Din Djarin/OC because it turns out I’m a thirsty hoe

Warnings: Eh, right now it’s just in light PG-13 territory. Mentions of family death, some blood/violence/bodily harm. Will probably end up becoming smut later.

Word Count: 2428 (indefinite chapter count coming)

Part 1 (you’re here!) Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

The Outer Rim had been a bust. The solitude never seemed to work; in fact, it just seemed to make things worse. Word traveled fast, as he liked to say, and a Mandalorian traveling with a strange alien child stood out in the small communities they’d visited like a pair of sore thumbs.

Maybe it was time to go back to the Core Worlds. More eyes was a risky prospect, but bounty hunters didn’t tend to operate in New Republic territory since criminals preferred to hide out in places nobody else wanted to go. And the more populated an area, the less people tended to pay attention to strangers.

Din sighed as he closed down the galaxy map, turning to the kid sitting in his makeshift basket seat. “What do you think, then?” he said, and the kid’s ears perked up at the sound of his voice. “Coruscant?”

The child cooed, tiny green hands wrapping around the rim of the basket.

“Great,” Din said, and pushed the throttle forward to jump into hyperspace. “Glad we agree.”

He would put the kid down for a nap when they landed. Find somewhere to put the Razorcrest up at a storage hangar, rent a flat somewhere nobody’d look twice at him, and then find a way to smuggle the kid in. He’d already gone through plans A, B, C, D, and E. Plan F couldn’t go much worse than the others, at any rate.

He didn’t like the idea of needing to confine the kid to an apartment. Sorgan would have been perfect—open space, other children to play with—but he was never going to be able to stop running. Not until everyone with a tracking fob was dead.

Coruscant would be a temporary stop, but it would give them both a chance to catch their breath while he planned their next move.

He’d have to track down where the clan had gone to set up their new home, too. It had been too long since he’d touched base with them.

The baby cooed again and clapped his hands when they jumped out of hyperspace to see the glittering lights of the great city-planet before them.

“Yeah,” Din said, glad that his smile was hidden behind his helmet. “Pretty, isn’t it?”

The kid nodded and crawled out of his seat, little legs wiggling before he dropped to the floor to toddle over to Din. He held his arms out and whined.

Din sighed and picked the kid up, setting him down on his lap and gently knuckling the top of his head before refocusing his attention on the landing.

He got confirmation to land at a shuttleport just on the border where the wealthy part of the city met poorer, and he piloted the Razorcrest down, pausing only to lightly swat the kid’s grasping hand away from a lever. “Not now,” he said, and the child’s ears drooped.

As soon as they landed, though, he unscrewed the top of the lever and handed it over. The baby giggled, turning it over in his three-fingered hands as Din picked him up and carried him down to the cabin.

“Alright, stay here. I mean it this time,” Din said, setting the kid down on the bunk. “You can play with that until I get back. It’s a big city out there—if you follow me, you’ll get lost. Understand?”

The baby stared up at him, eyes wide and ears wiggling curiously.

Din sighed and rolled his eyes. “Don’t know why I still try,” he muttered, and shut the door before that innocent face made him change his mind.

The pulse rifle would attract too much attention in the city, sadly, so he left it on the ship and headed out armed with his blaster and a few explosives for good measure. He tossed a full credit chip at the hangar attendant, followed with a stern order to not let anyone near his ship, and left the hangar.

The smell of rubbish, piss, frying food, and burning fuel hit his nose as soon as he stepped outside, strong despite the filters in his helmet. He breathed in appreciatively; it had been a while since he’d been in a big city, even longer since he’d last visited Coruscant.

He’d checked and double-checked before settling on the planet that he wasn’t on the New Republic’s most wanted list, just in case he hadn’t properly wiped the cameras from the prison ship. He wasn’t one to make mistakes (not like that, at least), but he was still paranoid of what might happen the one time he’d finally slip up.

People gave him sidelong glances as he pressed through the crowd, a few going out of their way to give him a wide berth when they noticed the distinctive Mandalorian armor. But nobody commented—or stopped him—and unless they were very, very good, he was sure nobody was following him, either. So far, so good.

A distinctive silhouette caught his eye and he froze, the crowd continuing to flow around him as he stood on tiptoe to try and get a better look. The figure wasn’t much shorter than him from what he could tell at this distance, and was clad in an ill-fitting suit of green-painted Mandalorian light armor.

Din felt rage pool in his stomach, and he forced himself to move. Suits were made to fit to the wearer—one that didn’t was a guaranteed sign it had been stolen.

Easy, Din, he told himself. Use that anger for something productive, but don’t do anything stupid.

He set off after the figure, maneuvering through the crowd until he was almost parallel to them, trailing just behind so he wouldn’t be spotted. A boy, he guessed, maybe a young teenager judging by his stature and the way the breastplate (forged for a woman) gapped on his chest. Which just raised some more questions as to how a kid could have stolen a Mandalorian��s armor.

Then again, might not be a kid. Could be another alien. Or could’ve just looted it off a corpse he’d come across. It wasn’t much better of a prospect, not paying the dead their respects. Judging by the scorch marks on the edge of the bottom back plates, he would guess the latter; it looked like the fatal shot had struck the suit’s last owner just below the covered area, directly in the spine.

Din followed the boy into a bar, face contorting behind the visor when the boy sat at a table and pulled his helmet off. Messy brown hair, brilliant green eyes, a heavy burn scar covering part of his young face. Human, or at least near enough. He was engrossed with something on the datapad built into his armguard, which looked uncomfortably tight on him.

No Mandalorian would ever willingly remove their helmet.

Din stopped by the table. “Nice suit.” He kept his voice level despite the building anger.

The boy looked up and his face broke into a delighted smile a split second before Din’s fist connected with his nose with a loud CRACK.

The yell of pain that followed was definitely feminine, and the woman lashed out, foot slamming into Din’s knee. He grunted and dived on her, driving into the unarmored parts of her body.

She was pinned under his weight, but managed to get a hand into the gaiter on her calf, where she grasped the hilt of a vibro-knife and slashed at the gap between his helmet and shoulderpad. He twisted and the blade skidded off the beskar, throwing up a shower of sparks. She readjusted her grip and brought it back in a reverse swing, the pommel slamming into his helmet. The CLANG resonated over the bar conversation.

Several patrons looked up briefly out of curiosity. Most went back to their drinks. The ones that didn’t looked like they were watching little more than a mildly interesting street performance.

“How dare you?” Din said in Mando’a, swatting the knife out of her hand. “That armor belongs to Mandalore!”

“W-wait!” she cried in the same language, and he managed to stop his next blow, visibly startled. “Please, I am from the Mandalore—parents of mine am from planet and I am from planet too!”

Her Mando’a was broken and halting, but recognizable. Painfully familiar. And certainly not anything he’d expected to hear from anyone outside his tribe.

“Please, I get up now?” she asked, stuttering as she felt his piercing gaze despite the visor. Her lip was split, blood trickling down her face from her nose and the corner of her mouth.

Din closed his eyes briefly before he stood up, picking up her knife with one hand and holding the other out to her. “You speak Basic?”

She nodded as he pulled her to her feet; her gloves were fingerless, and she used a thumb to wipe the blood off her face before sticking it in her mouth. “Doesn’t everyone?” she said, wiping the thumb off on her flight suit. “What the hell was that about?”

Din hesitated, then glanced at the bar. “Buy you a drink?”

“Least you can do after that,” she muttered.

They ended up at a booth near the back; Din, of course, ordered nothing for himself, but his new acquaintance now had her hands wrapped around a flagon of darkoma.

“Where did you get that armor?” Din asked after she’d had a sip.

She grimaced at the sting of alcohol on her cut lip. “It belonged to my mother,” she finally said.

“You said your parents were Mandalorians?”

She nodded. Her fingers curled on the flagon, knuckles going white. “They were killed when I was small,” she said. “Along with the rest of my tribe.”

Din tilted his head. “You survived.”

“Nearly didn’t.” She looked away. “I’m Aysa,” she said after a moment, looking back at him. “From… what used to be Clan Kelborn. You?”

He blinked at her, not that she could see it. “Everyone calls me Mandalorian.” Odd, that she felt comfortable sharing that readily.

“Well, that’s not going to work, there’s two of us now,” Aysa said. “I can’t just call you Punchy, either.”

His grimace was hidden, but at least his voice was apologetic to match. “I’m sorry. I jumped to conclusions.”

“Why?” Aysa leaned forward, eyes narrowed.

His head turned so he could look pointedly at her helmet, sitting on the table beside her.

“Oh, come off it,” Aysa said, following his gaze. “You hit me because you didn’t like my helmet?”

“You took it off,” Din said. “That is not the Way.”

Aysa’s frown deepened. “The hell do you mean?”

“No Mandalorian can show his face,” Din said. “To take the helmet off in front of others—you can never put it back on again.”

Aysa stared at him for a long minute before she laughed, and took a large gulp from her tankard. “Okay, but seriously. You nearly broke my nose, least you can do is give me a straight answer—“

“How old were you when they died?” Din asked suddenly. He noticed her flinch at the question and he grimaced again.

“Old enough to remember their faces.”

Din’s eyebrows flew up at that. He leaned forward. “Your tribe sounds like it was very different from mine.”

Aysa looked back up at him. “You really mean you never take that off?”

“Of course.” Din paused; he was having maybe a little too much fun messing with her, now that she was established as aliit. Aliit from a strange tribe, but aliit nonetheless. He gave her a few seconds to look incredulous before he grinned, smile audible in his voice. “I take it off in private.”

“Must make eating a pain,” Aysa remarked.

“This is the Way,” Din said, and shrugged.

Aysa shook her head and took another drink. “Not the Way I remember,” she said. “That was just… clan and family, and family and clan. Honor in battle and justice.” Her face hardened. “There was no honor in how their killers fought. No justice for the dead.”

“Are you really the last one?”

Aysa nodded; Din was glad his mask hid his disappointment. More Mandalorians would have been wonderful to bring into the fold.

“I thought… well, for a while, I thought I was the last one left at all,” Aysa admitted. She drained her drink and set the flagon down, chewing her lip as she spun the empty flagon between her hands on the tabletop. “It’s not… not just you, is it?”

Din glanced around; though nobody seemed to be paying attention, he didn’t want to give too much away. “There are others,” he finally said, and Aysa pressed her hands to her mouth, eyes shining.

“What happened to the rest?” she whispered through her fingers. “Everyone I’ve met has thought Mandalore was wiped out.”

Din stood and scooped up her helmet, lightly tossing it to her. She caught it and hurried to follow him as he strode to the door. “I’ll explain on my ship,” he said. “I have bacta pads if you need them. It’s private there.”

Aysa jammed the helmet onto her head—it was barely large enough to fit, Din noted when he glanced behind him. She was nearly as tall as he was; her mother must have been a small woman. That armor couldn’t be comfortable for her to wear.

“You’ve got your own ship?” Aysa asked eagerly as she followed.

Din nodded.

“Never owned my own ship before,” Aysa said, a hint of awe in her voice. “I’ve just been getting around hitchhiking. Or I get hired to act as a guard for people—they give transport well enough.”

She was very chatty, Din decided as he led her back to the hangar. She rambled as they walked, going on a tangent that started on a job she’d once done for a wealthy merchant, that meandered into an anecdote about the time she’d first tried eating Fodu, to a side note about how an underground trade war was driving the prices up, which launched her into musing aloud about whether or not literal underground cartels existed— “Cartels with their bases actually dug out of tunnels and things, you know? Oh, hell—” She broke off, and Din could just picture her face reddening under her helmet. “I’m sorry, I’ve never met another Mandalorian before. I’m a bit excited. And nervous.”

“I can tell.”

“I’m just going to shut up now.”

Finally, Din wanted to say, but settled for a quiet sigh instead.

#mandalorian #the mandalorian #fanfic #the mandalorian fanfiction #dyn jarren #OC #baby yoda #star wars #din djarin

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dragons-bones · 4 years

Text

5 Questions for Writers

Tagged by: @frostmantle (thank you!)

Tagging: @ishgard, @starsandauras, @twelveswood, @autumnslance, aaaaaaand YOU (because I cannot keep track of who’s done this or not XD)

1. Do you have a favorite character to write? Who and why?

2. Do you have a favorite trope to write? Or one you want to write?

3. Share your favorite description you’ve written?

4. Share your favorite dialogue you’ve written?

5. Scene you haven’t written, but want to?

----

Cut for length!

1. Do you have a favorite character to write? Who and why?

I am, of course, obviously quite fond of snarky, quick-witted characters, and my OCs banter a lot. Dialogue is one of my favorite things to write, so chatty characters in general I find easier to approach. It’s fun slinging sass back and forth! (This tends to be why I focus a lot of Synnove and Rereha most often--they’re the snark queens of the Squad and the most likely to turn the sarcasm filter off and just go off on someone. Which further reminds me I need to have Thancred and Rereha trading jabs, too, at some point...)

I’ve also really been enjoying writing Aymeric specifically, even if it is intimidating to do so at times. I obviously headcanon him as ridiculously smitten with Synnove (the feeling, of course, is mutual), and finding the right balance of “deeply in love with a Warrior of Light” without it coming off as overly saccharine or out of character is a great mental exercise. Also of course I enjoy indulging my personal fantasy of having a handsome man be a badass, deeply in love with his lady, and perfectly delighted to kick ass beside his lady!

2. Do you have a favorite trope to write? Or one you want to write?

Food porn. My mother’s Italian, I grew up being taught to enjoy food, I love sharing my enjoyment of food. Plus it’s usually accompanying some happier moments, or domestic ones, and is basically a cue to the readers that the story is meant to be light and fun.

I have no idea what the proper trope name would be (and going to TV Tropes to asking to start a rabbit hole dive I shouldn’t begin), but as we all know, I love Shenanigans. I typically write them in reaction to how serious the setting is; I deeply enjoy stretching how far I insert some humor and levity without it becoming crack. I think it provides some fresh air; I enjoy angst and hurt/comfort and dark themes, but frequently it’s not something I prefer to write for myself.

I also enjoy found family, battle couples, magic-as-science... Anything that gives me an excuse to write character interactions and/or worldbuild. The great fun of fanfiction, particularly in a setting like FFXIV, is that we’ve got a bare bones foundation, with some areas more developed than others, but otherwise there is a ton of room to grow my own ideas. I personally like to work within lore, but it is hugely enjoyable for me to figure out how to get certain concepts to work with the lore rather than against it. (See: my approach to arcanima.)

3. Share your favorite description you’ve written?

This obviously changes all the time, but there’s a couple I really love:

From Pearls of Wisdom:

It was one of the most basic principles of magic, not just arcanima: astral elements and umbral elements. It was such an accepted, unquestioned foundation that she had never even considered that the three elements most commonly used by arcanists for their carbuncles were not all the same primary polarity. Every element could manifest as either polarity, but Roksana Blackspark was correct, now that Synnove properly thought about it: wind, earth, and fire were much, much more likely to be found in a stable state. Even the Guild’s enormous aether batteries, all the way down in subbasement twelve, had been initially tricky to install until they found the right combination of overgrown elemental clusters, with most of the problems coming from the water, ice, and levin clusters.

Of course trying to infuse any sort of gem with those three elements specifically was going to fail, they were fucking overaspected to astral or umbral. The equations didn’t fucking work as they should because they were built to account for elements that naturally occurred in stable states, and so the infusions fizzled and the gemstones cracked and no carbuncles could manifest.

But.

But if she did account for instability, or, in fact, deliberately found crystals with which to infuse gems that were of opposite polarities so that the final infusion was stable…

A new thought made itself known, and Synnove stuffed the rest of her cake in her mouth, set the plate and fork aside, bookmarked her spot in the journal, and opened up the note taking program, yanking the stylus from the side of the case. As she chewed, she began scribbling in frantic shorthand. Perhaps in addition to ensuring stable aetheric polarity, she could also try infusion over time as well? Even when artificially infusing emeralds, topazes, and rubies, the stones still cracked every one time out of eight. Certainly, working with water, levin, and ice aether would benefit from a slower infusion speed, as it would allow her to keep a better eye on maintaining polar equilibrium, and if that issue was what was affecting the failures for wind, earth, and fire, then that would be two problems solved.

…Perhaps three, Synnove sucking in a deep breath and her heart pounding as she wrote. A proper balance of aetheric polarization combined with a slow enough infusion potentially meant that she could, theoretically, infuse any precious stone she desired, not just ones with a specific hardness and durability. Of course, the equations would need to be further adjusted to take into account the specific chemical properties of the specific gems and how they would need to interact with different elemental aether, but that, while difficult and tedious, was still doable.

Writing characters smarter than oneself is really difficult and intimidating, but I think I did a really good job showing Synnove’s thought process, and based on some of the feedback I’ve gotten, I succeeded! So I’m really, really proud of this passage.

From Suffer, Promise, Witness (FFXIV Write 2019 #19):

The ground shook, suddenly, and Synnove whipped her head around to the direction from which it originated, staring in shock. In the distance, an enormous red…key, for lack of a better term, pulsing with blue aetherlight, had struck the ground. The dust cloud kicked up rose immediately into the air and began obscuring it, and even from here she could see that the force of the strike had knocked down allies and foes alike around it.

Then a roar of sound—a deep, resonant thunder of triumphant, all-consuming rage—engulfed Carteneau, drawing every eye skyward, to see Dalamud’s outer shell, glowing with more of that sickly blue aetherlight, cracking open.

And Dalamud exploded.

The shockwave hit her first, throwing her and every other living being on the Plains still alive and standing to the ground with a force that punched the air from her lungs. The sound came next, shaking her bones and cracking the stone around her in an awful crescendo of combusting, howling aether. Her ears rang—or maybe it was just the screams of terror from every damned soul on the Carteneau killing fields all blending together.

The sky was aflame, and then the first of the pieces of Dalamud impacted the ground. Molten earth flew into the air, and then again from another impact, and another, and another, until the heavens and the earth were indistinguishable from how they both burned. Synnove desperately tried to sit up, feet scrambling to find purchase on the broken ground, as Galette and Tyr converged on her, eyes wide with fear as they tugged and pushed on her to get her upright.

Honestly I love this whole piece, but trying to describe what’s basically a trailer from another perspective (while also trying to portray the passage of time in an accurate manner) was difficult. I’d been dying to write the Synnove at Carteneau piece for a long time, and I just let myself write without worry. I think it came out pretty well! (Everyone screaming at me after the fact certainly boosted my confidence. :D)

From Assessments (FFXIV Write 2017 #25)

He did not attempt to step softly, as it was always a poor idea to sneak up on any warrior, never mind a Warrior of Light, but apparently Synnove was deeply enough engrossed in her text to not register his approach. Tyr, however, looked over as soon as he noticed the loud clacking of boot heels on stone floor coming closer to his mistress. He perked his ears up and came to meet Aymeric, shoving his face into the elezen’s hands.

“Maow!” the topaz carbuncle said, deep and echoing like a brass bell, only a little bone-rattling.

Aymeric laughed softly and obliging scratched behind his ears. Tyr thrummed happily, enjoying the attention for a few moments, before he disengaged and went back to Synnove. He braced himself on the rungs of the ladder and reached up with his paw to tap her foot, chirruping quietly.

“Hmm? Whazzit, honey?” Synnove said, voice distant and distracted. She did not look up as she turned the page.

Tyr sat back on his haunches and said, “Maow!”

Aymeric hadn’t the faintest idea of what Tyr had said, but Synnove most certainly did, as her head jerked up in surprise. (He winced sympathetically; when she had straightened, her spine had made an awful crack.) She frantically looked around until her gaze settled on Aymeric. She blinked rapidly, quite obviously not yet comprehending what she was seeing, until a smile finally bloomed across her features, her green eyes crinkling at the corners. “Well, fancy meeting you here,” she said, her cheerfulness tempered by the slight slur of exhaustion in her voice.

There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair was obviously unkempt up close, and her fingers were ever-so-slightly shaking from the particular combination of too much caffeine and not enough sleep, but Synnove Greywolfe was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Aymeric grinned up at her, not bothering to disguise how besotted he was with no witnesses about to see, and said, “What brings one of the celebrated Warriors of Light to Ishgard a bell before midnight?” He took a few steps closer to the ladder and held out his arms.

Synnove winced as she closed and shelved the book she had been reading. “Thal’s balls, that late?” She slid to the edge of the ladder’s seat, pushed off with her right hand and foot, and unceremoniously dropped into his grasp.

He tightened his hold on her as he caught her, drawing her close, and he dropped a kiss on each of her eyelids, relishing the giggles the action elicited from her. Another kiss on her nose, one to the beauty mark at the side of her chin, and then he finally kissed her properly. Synnove, in turn, languidly draped her arms around his shoulders and ran her fingers through the hairs on the nape of his neck, practically purring as she did. He hummed appreciatively against her lips, and they both ended up laughing into the kiss.

(Next to them, Tyr sighed, and rolled his eyes.)

Aymeric reluctantly drew away and set her on her feet, keeping Synnove steady as she wobbled and her spine cracked yet again. His beloved immediately leaned back into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and slouching so her cheek could rest over his heart. He smiled and returned the hug, resting his chin on her head. He closed his eyes and swayed with her gently, enjoying the familiar and much-missed comfort of her presence.

An older bit, but I love these two goobers, and I love writing them being physically affectionate and just basking in each other. Fucking cuties.

4. Share your favorite dialogue you’ve written?

FUCK I HAVE TO CHOOSE. Okay, let’s start with Pearls of Wisdom again:

Rereha threw open the doors to Aymeric’s office, shite-eating grin firmly plastered on her face as she skipped inside, and sang out, “Congratulations! It’s twins!”

Two things happened.

First, as soon as the doors opened, but before Rereha even opened her mouth, Lucia, she of finely honed Frumentarium instincts and years of friendship with a lalafell infamous across the realm for her Theatrics and Shenanigans, reached out and yanked the multitude of reports on the desk in front of Aymeric out of the way.

Second, Aymeric, who had been taking a sip of tea at the exact moment Rereha entered the office, choked and spat out said tea across his desk—and where all of the paperwork had once been not even a second before—in the most glorious spit take Rereha had ever engendered. A tiny part of her was saddened at the waste of perfectly good tea, but, wow, that had been spectacular. She gave herself a mental pat on the back and came to a stop in the middle of the office, grin widening to manic levels.

Lucia pounded Aymeric on the back between his shoulder blades as he coughed and sputtered, stopping only when the Lord Commander wheezed out, wide-eyed, voice high-pitched and halfway to a full-blown panic, “WHAT?!”

THREE YEARS THIS LIVED IN MY HEAD. THREE FUCKING YEARS I HAVE WANTED TO WRITE THIS STORY AND BEGIN IT WITH THAT LINE. THREE YEARS AND IT’S FINALLY OUT IN THE WORLD AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

From Needling (FFXIV Write 2019 #17):

Merlwyb drained her cup dry and poured herself a fresh serving (no whiskey this time, however). Grudgingly, she filled a second, and slid it over to Synnove, along with the bowl of maple sugar cubes and jar of cream. The arcanist doctored her tea as she preferred it—three lumps, generous dash of cream—and took a luxurious sip, humming in satisfaction.

“Why are you here?” the Admiral finally said, tea cup in hand and elbows braced on her desk. She wedged her feet a little firmer beneath Tyr.

“Mmmm, we had to bodily force Thubyrgeim to take a vacation,” said Synnove. She took another slow sip of tea. “Accounting realized she hadn’t taken a proper one in nigh on three years. So, we kicked her out of the Gate, with the caveat that she wasn’t to come back until next moon, and then we divvied up her usual responsibilities among the lot of us. I volunteered for the pleasure and delight of taking over our dear Guildmistress’s sennightly meetings with you.” Here the woman batted her eyelashes.

Merlwyb eyed her. “You have an ulterior motive,” she said, enunciating clearly for emphasis. “You always have an ulterior motive.”

“I enjoy the faces you make when you are confronted with the stark reality that every single one of your arcanists is capable of rewriting the laws of creation but are, simultaneously, godsdamned lunatics who should be taken out back and shot.”

“I should start with you.”

“Start with aetherochemistry; they just invented a new plague.” Synnove took the top folder from the pile and slid it across the desk to the Admiral.

“Of course they bloody did,” Merlwyb growled, opening the folder and skimming the abstract on the first page. Dear gods, did they really decide to mix malaria and consumption? Always so busy wondering if they could they never bothered to consider if they should. She plucked her reading glasses from their usual spot, sliding them on as she turned the page to the formal report, written in the aetherochemistry department chair’s tiny, cramped hand. Absently, she said, “And no, we are not testing it on the faculty of the University of Radz-at-Han.”

Synnove pouted. For the first time that afternoon, Merlwyb cracked a grin.

Merlwyb doesn’t get enough love, in my opinion, and of course I imagine she’s a salty bitch underneath the cool, commanding exterior. Couple that with Synnove probably letting loose the Full Sass (she would never behave such with Raubahn, Nanamo, or Kan-E, but she’s been an assessor for fifteen years, she knows exactly how far she can poke the Admiral and is well aware it’s tolerated only because she’s been an arcanist for so long) and the “out back and shot” line is my single favorite sentence from the whole of FFXIV Write 2019, and this is my favorite character exchange that’s I’ve done in a long time.

From Of Taunting and Tales (FFXIV Write 2019 #25)

Knock knock a-knock—knockknock! “Guess who~.”

A loud groan answered her. “Go away, you debauched scandalmonger!”

Rereha poked her head into one of the private rooms of the Rhalgr’s Reach infirmary, wicked grin firmly in place. “Now, now, Mr. Scaeva, is that any way to speak to the lady come to relieve your unending boredom?” she drawled.

The former tribunus laticlavius of the XIVth Imperial Legion raised his arm, hand up and middle finger extended, without lifting his head from his pillow.

Rereha cackled and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. A disgusted sigh came from Nero’s direction, and he flopped his arm back down on the mattress with a characteristically overdramatic wave of his hand. She grabbed a chair sitting by the wall and dragged it behind her as she waltzed towards Nero’s bed, the wood shrieking angrily against the stone of the floor, and whistled a cheery little ditty deliberately out of tune. She could see his jaw clenched in annoyance as she set the chair up near the head of the bed and cackled again as she hopped up into it. She placed the book she had been carrying on her lap and folded her hands primly on top of it, beaming.

“How are we feeling today?” she chirped.

“Like I’ve been run over by a flock of rabid chocobos.” Nero stubbornly refused to open his eyes, instead folding his hands on his stomach in unknowing mirror of her. “And then sat upon by a buffalo.”

“That’s an improvement! Last time you said you felt like you’d been chewed and spat out by an enraged king behemoth!”

“Rereha,” he sighed, still not opening his eyes. “Why are you here? Garlond and Greywolfe are infinitely more stimulating conversationalists, for all their damned sanctimonious self-important morals and ethics.” He spat out the last word like it was a particularly loathsome curse.

“I’m hurt, Nero,” said Rereha, placing her hand on her heart. She pitched her voice to express layers of emotion: disappointment, regret, sadness. “Genuinely hurt. A friend of mine has been grievously wounded in the course of his attempts to safeguard not just Eorzea, but Hydaelyn as a whole from an interdimensional entity of vast and unfathomable power. I come in my spare time to bring some light and laughter to his dreary hospital room as he heals, and he insults me and wishes for the company of others.”

A long silence descended over them both. Finally, Nero arched one golden eyebrow and cracked an eye open to stare at her incredulously.

Rereha pursed her lips together and said pensively, “Laid it on a bit too thick, didn’t I?”

He raised his hand and held his forefinger and thumb a quarter of an ilm apart.

“Damn,” Rereha said, crossing her arms. “Ah, well.”

Rereha basically exists to let me write Sass and Irreverent Humor. Nero is full of Salt and Sass. Together they could flay someone with words alone. I also really enjoyed writing Nero being a sassmaster without using words. Wordless dialogue is fun!! :D

5. Scene you haven’t written, but want to?

One day I’m gonna get over my hesitation about writing (and sharing) smut and fucking write the first time Synnove and Aymeric had sex. I know exactly when and where and how.

...Also Synnove getting ravished in one of the Neo-Ishgardian dresses. That’s, like, second on the list. Ooohh, and the Vacation Fic; maybe I should write that one as scenes and worry about connecting them after the fact. I think because that one will require chapters and I’m more of a one-shot person is a reason I have yet to start it.

#meme stuff #writing #dt's writing

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almondbiscotti · 4 years

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Stuff I’ve Watched this CB

Sorry, really got a lot. I’ve ranked them from most recommended to least recommended. And separated movies from series. And have included some shows I’m planning to watch!

Series

Kim’s Convenience S4 I LOVE APPA. Was a bit appalled I didn’t know S4 was out on Netflix because it’s one of my favourite shows on Netflix. It’s REALLY GOOD. So many laugh out loud moments, the characters are WONDERFULLY fleshed out and the chemistry between the actors is through the roof. Story telling is also amazeballs. 10/10 would recommend.

Dirty Money S1&2 10/10 would recommend! I really liked Dirty Money because I learned so so so so much from the show! I do think the producers had no intention of being unbiased and presenting a neutral stance on the “villains” because I wanted to punch every single “villain” every damn episode. If you’re looking for objectivity and “both sides of the story”, I don’t think this show is for you. But that said, everything presented is factual so I did learn a lot. Supplemented with additional reading post show, I felt like a whole new world was opened to me. :)

Kingdom S1&2 JUST WATCH THIS. IT’S SO DAMN GOOD.

Only issue I had was how damn ridiculous it was that whenever a horde of zombies were running towards our protagonists, they’d just stand there and do their typical Korean AISSSSSHEEEEBYEFUCK stance for like a full 17342154 minutes while the music and tension builds and the zombie horde comes closer and closer and closer and THEN they finally decide to run. Eh friend, what siah. Also, I concluded from watching Kingdom that if there ever was a Zombie apocalypse, I’m completely and utterly FUCKED. But I live in ridiculously hot Singapore surrounded by water... so I guess I’ll be alright? 9.5/10

Derry Girls S1-2 Irish Catholic School Girls, I’M SOLD. I mean, come on. How can I not LOVE this show? It’s HILARIOUS. And having spent 10 years in an all girl catholic school, Derry Girls really really resonated with me. The characters are laugh out loud hilarious, and all really likeable! The only issue I had with it is that the characters don’t really grow very much over the course of 2 seasons. So season 1 first episode vs season 2 final episode, it won’t matter even if you watched it backwards.

Because the seasons are very short, only 6 episodes per season and there are only 2 seasons so far, it doesn’t matter very much. For now. But I reckon if they had like 7 seasons, it’s going to get VERY repetitive. But at the moment, ISSA GREAT! 9/10

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency S1 8 Episodes of ABSOLUTE CRACK. It’s based off something Douglas Adams wrote so I wouldn’t expect anything less. Acting isn’t great but the storytelling is riveting. If you enjoy Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (the book), it’s very likely you’d enjoy this. It can get quite frustrating sometimes though because it’s so ridiculous so if you’re looking for a detective series based on solid logic, look somewhere else. But if you just want some fun and silliness mixed with some smart, this is wonderful. 8/10

Never Have I Ever S1 I had a lot of trouble liking the main character but on retrospect, it might be because the character doesn’t even like herself that much to begin with. Had quite a few laugh out loud moments and the Asian family moments were very relatable. THE MOTHER. THE MOTHER IS EVERYTHING. She’s my favourite, I would watch an entire series with just her. The main problem with Never Have I Ever (in my opinion) is that it tried to do a lot of things to prove the same point. So it does get a bit frustrating after a while. By the 3rd episode, I’m just like GET ON WITH IT I GET IT. I GET THAT FAMILY IS MOST IMPORTANT, I GET THAT SHE’S NOT GRIEVING HER FATHER. So... it can get a little cliche and repetitive. To me la. But still funny, still good. :) 8/10

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt S1-4 The opening track really really grows on you. UNBREAKABLE! They’re alive, damn it! IT’S A MIRACLE! Created by Tina Fey, this show is silly and full of fun.

I really liked S1-3. It’s a very light-hearted show that makes you feel really good watching it because it’s just so positive and optimistic. S4 got a bit too ridiculous for me and the characters started doing some really weird shit that is a bit too incredulous (it was never a logical show based too much on reality to begin with but S4 was really a bit much). But if you like shows like The Good Place, I reckon you’d like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. 8/10

The Circle USA Can’t remember why Housemate and I started on this but it was actually not bad! I think it’s because the OG characters were really likeable! JOEY! JOEY IS A PRECIOUS PUPPY THAT NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS. It’s not very intellectual and I was never too invested in any of the characters or relationships. BUT! great if you don’t want to think too much and just watch some mindless TV that isn’t absolute trash. (TOO HOT TO HANDLE I’M LOOKING AT YOU.) 7/10

Tiger King S1 SIEOW ONE THIS SHOW. It’s an absolute MINDFUCK. I started with many questions, I finished with A BILLION more. I don’t even know how to describe or explain this show. IT’S MADNESS. There are big cats, gay husbands who turn out not to be gay, tiger queen who allegedly killed her husband and fed him to her tigers, crazy dude who tried to pay some other dude 5k (i think? or 3k? seriously it’s crazy) to kill tiger queen, big guns and expired meat and pizzas?!?!! Yah, Mindfuck. CRAZY/10

Cable Girls S1-4 Season 1 and 2 were BEAUTIFUL. The characters have so much depth, the acting is impeccable, the costumes are AMAZING, the cinematography is inspiring, the story telling was riveting. Then season 3 and season 4 happened and... I will pretend the show ended in S2. -_- Character development took a major hit from season 3 onwards. But I would still recommend Cable Girls because the acting, the acting is AMAZING. 10/10 for s1&2. 5/10 for 3&4.

Money Heist S4 Was quite hyped for this and was really quite let down. The beauty of Money Heist has always been structure in chaos, elegance in the mess. S4 was very frustrating because it didn’t have that. I felt like they were trying very hard to make you think the heist team was going to fail and started to fill in weird impossible things to ensure the plot was still able to proceed. Did not enjoy S4 as much as I thought I would. :( But if you have invested in the previous seasons, you know you’re gonna watch it even if it’s absolute crap anyway. 6/10

The Letter For The King S1 Ep 1&2 Premise was quite interesting, trailer was interesting enough. But DEAR GOD WAS IT SLOW. And also, literally ALL the characters were unlikeable! I don’t understand why anyone would make a show with entirely unlikeable characters. I couldn’t get past the 2nd episode but I went ahead to read a few reviews and recaps. Yeah, was a good idea to stop at episode 2. Would not recommend. 2/10

Movies

Game Night Rachel McAdams is QUEEN. A really loltastic film. Is a really good post dinner wind down to end the day film. And particularly because I can relate to how competitive our main couple was. :) Some parts don’t add up and there are a few times I think the story becomes a bit too much for itself, trying to layer upon layer of twists, but still a good fun movie! :) 7.5/10

The Half of It Heartwarming. :) Enjoyed it because i think the main protagonist is very likeable. And she’s so... plain and relatable. I hate to say this though but... I found the whole movie quite forgettable. Like, it didn’t feel very deep to me though it did touch on quite a few intense and deep topics of first love, family, self acceptance etc. But it’s just doesn’t reverberate through every cell of my being. The whole movie is just so gentle and because it is so mild, it becomes forgettable. Acting is good, character development is okay I guess. But generally... just mediocre to me. But not bad. I just wished it wasn’t so... light and airy. I wish it made me cry. 7/10

Cabin in the Woods Housemate wanted to watch it because it’s horror-esque. I was okay with it cos it’s horror comedy. And also Chris Hemsworth. :D Was quite loltastic. Though SPOILER ALERT Chris Hemsworth’s character dies a bit too early for my liking. I really liked the over the top inclusion of various different monsters near the end. Was fun trying to identify them. Fun movie! Not very scary but quite a bit of gore that’s peppered with lots of humour to make it okay. 7/10

Extraction LOTS OF CHRIS HEMSWORTH. But plot wise... hmm... Housemate enjoyed it because he said the fight scenes and the things our extractor does are very real and is what a trained professional would do in the high pressure situations he finds himself in. They probably had a great consultant to keep things realistic. I didn’t enjoy it as much because I felt that our hero was... too powerful and the bad guy was too bad. Almost caricature-ish. Difficult to have character development like that. But hey, I didn’t watch it for depth, I watched it for Chris Hemsworth’s face so... very much satisfied. :) 7/10

Other Stuff I’m Planning to Watch

After Life S2 I liked S1 so... just a continuation I guess. Typical English humour. Also, I watched S1 dealing with a death of a friend so the show does have some sentimental meaning for me.

Hollywood S1 New show seems promising! There are blacks, gays, sex, extortion, glitzy costumes, glamour and really blonde blondes. Also the guy who plays Sheldon Cooper in BBT. High hopes, I have high hopes!

The Victims’ Game DETECTIVE SHOW SOLVING CRIMES. I’M SOLD.

Whoa fuck, I really watch a lot of Netflix.

#netflix #NessaBingeLogs

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