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physalian · 4 months

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Writing Exposition (Or Turning a Textbook into a Story)

Exposition concerns every facet of your work from character descriptions, backstories, and relationships, to world history, geography, religions/faiths/superstitions, politics, and current events. Whenever the author takes an aside to say “Joe, Bob’s second cousin, said ‘hello’,” the exposition is establishing that Joe is Bob’s cousin.

So shaming a story for its poor handling of exposition is like shaming a movie for bad visual effects. Yes, some of it is probably bad, but I guarantee that you did not notice every single VFX shot in the movie, and you weren’t supposed to.

Most examples of bad exposition occur when the following happens:

Informed Character A exposits to Informed Character B and tacks on “as you know” with full sincerity

Random Important Detail gets dropped in conversation that does not fit the tone or direction of conversation

Character suddenly monologues about The Thing unprompted

Convenient Breaking News Alerts

Character, out-of-character, begins monologuing about The Thing even when prompted

The pacing screeches to a halt so the Exposition Train can thunder past

Exposition exists to give information, and in order for a reader to understand a story, not all of it can or should be agonized over making perfect. Settings have to be established. Character names and relationships have to be understood. “Telling” over “showing” is, in my opinion, perfectly fine when the “showing” would take more lines, effort, and priority over a single inconsequential sentence. Heck, sometimes the “telling” is better than the “showing”. The trick to understanding when, how, and to what degree to give exposition is making it motivated.

What is motivated exposition?

See this post about character descriptions and the plight of the cliche “mirror” trope for unmotivated exposition.

Motivating your exposition means giving it a reason to exist where it does, prompted by the story you’re telling. Citing the “mirror” trope: I can have my character wake up and describe themselves to you, but in doing so, that rarely tells the audience anything more than just what to picture as they read. Or, I can have my character description spread out as those details become relevant. They’re describing their hair color and texture as it begins to irritate or distract them, telling us both what it looks like, and what our character thinks of it, and a little bit about their personality in how they treat it.

I can open the first chapter with a long-winded editorial about the long lost king destined to unite the shattered kingdoms, or I can wait until the tale becomes important to my characters to tell.

I can spin tapestries about politics before you’ve even met your hero, or I can wait until those politics begin to cause the hero problems and then invite the hero to talk about why those politics cause problems.

See this post about pacing and ensuring your scenes always do at least two things at once. Motivated exposition takes bland information’s singular purpose (to inform) and gives it flavor in coloring the personalities of the characters who give and receive it.

When to give exposition

Caveat: Not all front-loaded exposition is poorly-handled. Everyone loves the Star Wars title crawls because they’re a part of the episodic movie experience. Whether it’s a cheap way to deliver information is irrelevant.

Most prologues exist to front-load exposition and, because I love using Lord of the Rings as my shining example in every post, the trilogy opens with a lengthy speedrun of the main villain, some of the important pieces on the chessboard, the importance of the ring, the smeared reputation Aragorn must live up to and repair, and an idea of the stakes should the heroes lose. Not only is it a prologue, it’s a narrated prologue. There’s an impressive amount of information given in not a lot of time.

Last Airbender begins every single episode with a reminder about the 100 year war and the aggression of the Fire Nation and the purpose of the avatar.

With that said, prologues and title crawls are their own tangle of weeds.

As I said above, exposition should be given when the story gives it reason to exist. Don’t talk about the politics until you have a scene where discussing politics is relevant.

If you need to establish your cool, unique magic system, wait until you have a character using that magic and give it in little chewable bites. That character likely isn’t using every trick in the book right then and there. If they wrote Last Airbender as a novel and started explaining the other three bending styles the second Katara levitated some water, it would read sloppy and slog.

Or, leave the exposition as a mystery to be told later. Make your audience crave the hero’s backstory, piecing together little hints throughout the narrative until just the right moment comes along where your hero would realistically start spilling the beans about themselves. Have other characters frustrated at the lack of information. Have other characters missassume and be wrong about the information they think they know.

Have your characters crave knowledge about their world as much as your audience does.

How to give exposition

Exposition can be given three ways: Via the narrator, via dialogue, or via images or texts observed by the narrator (think news broadcasts or the front page of the paper, books, letters, videos, diary pages).

No matter which avenue you give exposition through, the less random it is, the less “hand of the author” the audience sees. Characters given a lucky break by a convenient breaking news alert is a mini deus ex machina —- the heroes do not earn their victory, it’s just given to them. They are not active in the plot making decisions, they are being railroaded by information as it falls into place before them.

Narrated exposition

The narrator’s internal monologue will interrupt the story to explain whatever needs explaining in that moment. The difference between it reading like a textbook and reading like a story is whether or not this information is important to the narrator.

Meaning, what does my hero feel about this new information? Katniss Everdeen in Hunger Games exposits the entire book because she’s alone for a fair chunk of it with no one to talk to, and she’s no stranger to the politics and history of her world. And yet, she has such strong feelings about everything she says that it doesn’t feel like she’s just giving information for the sake of informing. Everything she says and how she says it reflects on her personality and how she views her world.

Dialogue exposition

When Katniss is clueless about the tribute parade process and all the nuances of Capital life, how she asks about this information and how Effie, Cinna, and Haymich tell her also speaks to their personalities and biases about what they’re saying. In essence: Their exposition is in-character, and, thus, services their characters.

This is the complete opposite of when two informed characters exposit to each other information both already know for the sake of the audience because the author has no other way to give said information. A prime example is the hero happening to overhear two minions discussing The Plan dropping lines like “as you know” (which makes it worse every time).

The only time “as you know” works is when it’s in character. As in, the villain expositing to their minion they think is stupid and the minion reacting to that assumption appropriately. Or, the heroes are gathered to discuss The Plan and the leader of the meeting goes “as you know” because that happens in the real world. Bonus points if some characters are irritated by the redundant recap.

Exposition via dialogue also opens the door for lies, half-truths, and characters simply being wrong or blinded by their biases. Or, characters simply being ignorant of the world they live in. In Lord of the Rings, Gandalf is like 3,000 years old and has been all over Middle Earth. It doesn’t break the plot to have Gandalf exposit because he would realistically have witnessed or have deep knowledge about historical events and politics. Aragorn, too, is 87, and has ranged all over the place. He’s the future king and thus had better know his history and politics. Aragorn expositing makes sense.

Say what you will about Last Jedi but it has a prime example of nuanced exposition: Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker have incredibly different perspectives on if/how Luke attempted murder on his nephew. There’s 3 sides to every story and the audience is never shown the truth. Had this been given in the title crawl, it would have lost much of its potency.

Dialogue also nurtures the relationships between the characters talking. Telling stories brings people together. If a character is sharing their backstory, why are they telling the narrator, and what does this mean to them as they tell it? If a soldier is sharing his grizzled leader’s backstory around a campfire, how does his relationship with his leader impact how he tells that story, what language he uses, how he sounds, the expressions on his face?

Third party exposition

Information given from an object can be incredibly hit or miss, depending on how hard the heroes worked to obtain it, and whether or not the object in question is meaningful to the heroes.

In the Assassin's Creed games, you abandon the gameplay in whatever historical era you're playing in to watch cutscene after cutscene of exposition (specifically referencing the Ezio Trilogy) by characters no one cares about, giving information that no one cares about, when we'd all rather just keep playing the game.

You can literally have a character read from a textbook, logbook, or daily minutes. What matters is how that info reads, and how the character responds to it. Is the information prejudiced or saturated with bigoted language? Is the mere existence of it where it is horrifying?

In the Mines of Moria (Lord of the Rings) Gimli learns that all his kin have been murdered by goblins once he sees their corpses all impaled with goblin arrows. Later, he finds his dead cousin’s crypt containing a dead dwarf cradling a book that tells of the downfall of Moria. The log entry isn’t finished, and the penmanship rapidly degrades as the dwarf writing it likely dies from his wounds, ending with the ominous, “We cannot get out, we cannot get out, they are coming.”

Had Gandalf warned Gimli ahead of time that all the dwarves were dead, or had they never found the crypt or figured out the owners of the arrows and simply were told “oh yeah we’re about to be attacked by goblins, I suspect they’re the reason Moria is a ghost town” that would have lost all emotional impact, and character development for Gimli.

This doesn’t have to be just objects, get creative! Have the hero watch a parody retelling of the Big Event. Have someone tell it like a ghost story around a campfire. Have it be a crazed rant all across live TV that no one takes seriously. Have six different characters remember it differently and all argue over who’s right. Have someone tell it poorly, thinking it “just a stupid rumor”.

When to withhold exposition

Satisfaction is the death of desire and sometimes uncovering the details of an enticing tidbit of information ruins whatever the audience had imagined to fill in the blanks. In terms of “showing” vs “telling” concerning worldbuilding, deciding whether to have a character speak about the information, or actually writing the scene they’re referring to, is entirely dependant on the story you’re telling.

If you are going to write a flashback, or describe a video of the event, that flashback and video has to be *packed* with as much information as you can cram in there as artfully as you can. Flashbacks and dream sequences take up space and entire scenes and settings need establishing so the audience isn’t floating in the ether trying to follow along. Which tends to mean that the meat of the flashback is barely half of the words you’re now forced to read.

Decide how important it is that the audience sees the incident as it happened, versus told in the aftermath through the biases and flawed memory of another character.

Sometimes the fewest amount of words pack the biggest punch. You can have a shattered soldier describe the battle of which they’re the last survivor in gory detail, or you can have them simply say “it was hell” and let the oomph hit in their expression, how their voice cracks, how vacant their eyes look. The injuries they sustained, the traumas visible in how they hold themselves. At that point, the audience can imagine whatever hell they want. At that point, what you are "showing" (the emotional and physical toll taken on the speaker) is likely way more important than the battle itself.

Concerning pacing — no matter how hard you worked on designing your politics and royal lineages and fantasy geography, odds are if that information isn’t important to your characters, it isn’t important to your readers. It’s not motivated.

I love trivia and fantasy maps as much as everyone else, but I like them on the wikis and next to the table of contents, not interrupting an engaging story.

And, give your audience credit where credit is due. How many fan theories stand on the basis of a few scant lines of narration or zoomed-in snippets of background characters (R+L=J anyone?) and pieces of costume? The mystery is what makes it fun, and I just watched the criminally disappointing second adaptation of the Lightning Thief completely robbed of that mystery every chance they had.

—

In short, the amount of exposition isn’t what makes it well or poorly handled, it’s how and when it’s delivered. Inception is my favorite sci-fi movie and the entire script is exposition, but the way it’s given is entertaining. Motivating your details to exist for a reason, to be given exactly when the time is right and not a moment before, is the spoonful of sugar helping the medicine go down.

Make it timely

Make it relevant

Make it important to the cast

Make it earned by the cast

Make it entertaining

#writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writing tools #writing a book #exposition #writing

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kanekisfavoritegf · 2 years

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What a lovely time to go to Dubai...

Ghost - COD

kinda like a prequel to the other trilogy.

He is such a lil cutie 🥰

READER IS IN EARLY 20s

UNEDITED

Warnings: smut, oral, vaginal penetration, cum eating, overstimulation, mentions of breeding.

“Four days.” You mumbled to yourself as you sat on a dusty couch.

“What?”

“It’s been FOUR FUCKING DAYS, GHOST!” Your temper was at an all-time high while your patience was at its lowest.

“And who’s fault is that?” Ghost retorted with a little scoff. “I told them not to let a rookie come on the team. I told them.”

“I graduated with the title top sniper and best combatant!” You exclaimed, your voice strained from all the shouting and running you had been doing for the past three days.

You, Ghost, and three other soldiers had gone on a special assassination mission. It was your second outing as a professional but your first out-of-country one.

“And yet here we are, in hiding, because YOU shot a senator. We just have to wait it out until the government can pull us out inconspicuously.” He huffed at you.

“Look, I know I messed up, and I am sorry. I’m just frustrated. After years of being the best at school... I mean— It’s just—” You struggled to find the words to describe how it felt to fail this badly.

“Different on the field.” He finished your sentence.

“Yeah, I never expected it to go like that,” you responded, sitting up a little to face Ghost, who was sitting on the floor.

“Hey, everyone’s first kill is different, and it can leave a mark. Hell, you should have seen Price on his first kill.” His eyes were dark as if he was replaying a bad memory.

“I just wanna stop thinking about everything right now.” You whispered to yourself, eyes fogging up.

“I can help you if you want..” You heard him say lowly.

“And how exactly would you do that?” You questioned.

Your eyebrows raised in shock when you watched the 6’3 man rise from his position on the floor. He was now on his knees right between your legs. As he tugged on your pants, he held eye contact with you. Waiting for you to send him a sign, a signal to stop.

You didn't give him one. Instead, you helped pull your pants off, spreading your legs more. You felt his calloused fingers graze over your skin. He moved slowly, applying squeezes as he got closer and closer to the one place you wanted to touch.

Ghost suddenly pinched your clothed clit before giving your cunt a slight slap. Making you mewl and whine at the feeling. Watching as Ghost began to lift his mask. Just a little over his mouth. He stopped moving as he stared up at you.

“Can I?” That is all he asked. Despite his voice being deep and gruff, you could hear a little hint of neediness as he awaited your response.

“Yes, fuck, please.” You said, impatiently begging for him to give you some kind of reprieve.

As soon as he had the okay to continue you felt his teeth sink into your thigh, causing you to let out a loud moan. He pulled away from your legs to look at you once more.

“Shhh, Y/N. you have to be quiet. What will we do if we get discovered, hm?” he mocked you a little.

He had found his place once again between your thighs, licking over the spot at which he had just bitten. Making you whine into your hand as you tried to keep your sounds to a minimum. Now he had brought his teeth to your clothed pussy, his nose grazing the fabric that blocked him from you.

He bit onto the side of your panties, his hands cusping your ass, raising you off the couch so that he was able to remove your underwear with ease. It should be criminal how wet you got just from the sight of him pulling your undergarments off with his teeth.

You couldn't stop yourself in time from gasping loudly when you finally felt his mouth latch onto you. Ghost rolled his eyes at you before pulling away once more.

“Why can't you listen to instructions? Hm?” He brought your panties to your mouth, shoving them deep within your mouth to mute your sounds.

His tongue flicked and licked at your bud as his hands moved to your thighs, throwing them over his shoulder as he pressed his face deeper and deeper. It was as if he were a starved man. He ate you out with desperation. Whining and groaning along with you every time your thighs squeezed at his head.

You were deeply out of it as you struggled to keep your composure. Your eyes seemed to be glazed over. Eyelids fluttering every time he nipped at your bud. Your moans, though muffled by your underwear, were still loud enough for Ghost to know he was doing everything right and more.

You tapped at his shoulder to indicate that you were reaching your high. Your flushed cheeks were now stained with tears of pleasure.

“Are you close, baby?” Ghost smirked between your legs. His pace had slowed down now, only giving you kitten licks.

You nodded aggressively, begging he'd let you finish. Your whole body convulsed as you felt his fingers working their way into you with such a relentless force in a come here motion. Ghost’s eyes stayed on you the entire time, making sure not to miss you falling apart on him.

His eyes bore into yours as he watched you moan out an incoherent pronunciation of his name. You watched as he stood up slowly, his eyes low and full of lust. You were too out of it to realize that he had dragged your thighs to his waist and pulled his hardened length out of his pants. You only really noticed as you began to feel him prod at your entrance.

You clawed at his clothed chest as you felt him enter you. He was too big. He was too long. You were feeling yourself become overstimulated as he began to thrust. His pace was relentless as he rut into you. His hands gripped onto your thighs with such a painful force that you knew they would leave marks. Ghost held you in a mating press. His eyes only focused on the spot where the two of you were connected.

He was pussy drunk. Drool started to drip down your mouth as you watched him in his orgasmic daze. He looked to only be chasing his high as he fucked you like a cock sleeve.

Your moans, still muffled by your panties, fueled the man even more. His pace was relentless as he whined and moaned each time you squeezed down especially hard on him.

You felt yourself cum for the second time, this orgasm stronger than the last. The pressure felt so strong as you squirted on the man who was still fucking you like an animal. Your mind was gone. Ghost breathlessly chuckled as he watched you go dumb from being fucked. But his amusement didn't last long, as he felt his climax sneak up on him. To prevent being loud, he bit into your shoulder, muting his whiney moans to the best of his ability, making you moan once more at the pain.

The two of you stared at each other, panting hard as you tried to calm yourself down. Slowly he pulled himself out of you, eyes pinned on the juices that coated his dick. And you just couldn't help but fall to your knees in front of him. Hoping to return the favor.

#cod ghost thirst #cod ghost smut #ghost thirst #ghost smut #i’m head over heels in love with ghost #ghost cod #simon riley smut #simon riley #simon ghost riley #simon riley thirst #Simon ghost riley smut

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singularattitudeofasafetypin · 2 years

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How You Get the Girl

Masterlist

Summary: Eddie's had a crush on Reader forever but doesn't know where to start when talking to her. Luckily for him, she has the perfect advice and he's in just the right place to overhear it!

Word Count: 3.8K ish

Warnings: none really. Spoilers for Star Wars original trilogy and my maybe controversial Star Wars opinions.

A/N: This isn't based on the Taylor Swift song of the same name, but I've recently listened to 1989 for the first time and it's my entire personality now! Listened to it a lot while writing and it's too good of a title not to steal for this! I had lots of fun with this idea, I hope you enjoy reading!

Please don't copy my work

'I just don't get it!'

It was a quiet afternoon in the middle of Autumn. A few solitary customers meandered between the shelves, but Family Video was almost deserted. You stood behind the counter, arms folded, while you endeavoured to solve the enigma of why you best friend couldn’t get a girl.

‘Is your hair not cool enough or something?’

Steve scoffed. ‘Look, it’s not about the hair!’ He mirrored your stance.

Despite your friendship, you couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. In high school, girls would have given anything just to be seen with him. Maybe he’d lost his touch? Maybe high school just didn’t matter after all? Either way, King Steve had lost his crown.

‘What’s it about then?’ you relented, seeing his face drop in defeat, ‘How’d you get the girl?’

He stuttered, struggling to condense his elaborate, and frankly shoddy, wooing methods into coherent sentences while you watched him flounder.

In truth, he was different now. Steve wasn’t looking for some meaningless hook-up anymore. He wanted something deeper. Something built to last,

And that was a whole different ballgame.

Unseen between the shelves, Eddie Munson smirked. He wasn’t pretending to browse the selection of tapes he told himself, he just couldn’t help but listen to the two of you go back and forth.

Especially you!

Your voice was music to his ears. He could hardly decipher the words so it wasn’t technically eavesdropping! The melody alone was enough to overpower him.

Eddie had been crushing on you hard for almost three years now. You’d been friends of friends for a while, hanging out in the same group with Steve, Nancy, Robin, and usually Dustin Henderson.

He’d almost asked you out a thousand times but something always make him chicken out. It was ridiculous really; flirting was something that had always come easy to him. Poetry and showmanship were his weapons of choice but something short-circuited in his brain whenever he tried to talk to you. The words stuck in his throat.

You scared him, okay? You were classy and confident, so sure of yourself. You were never ever afraid to speak your mind and you didn’t care what anyone thought of you!

Kind of like him, he thought. Except he did care. Eddie really cared what you thought of him!

‘You’ve got to be joking!’ your disbelieving tone cut through the clouds of his thoughts.

‘What?’ Steve retorted.

You shook your head hopelessly, ‘Act like you don’t care?’ you mimicked, adding sarcastic air quotes, ‘Wait for the… ‘electricity’? No wonder you aren’t getting any girls!’

He threw his hands up in surrender, ‘Well you’re a girl!’

‘Yes, well spotted Harrington!’

‘Go on then, tell me what to do!’ he contested, leaning back on the counter, ‘What makes you see a future with someone? What makes you want to go out with someone, and stay with them?’

Eddie’s ears pricked up. He couldn’t help it.

You agonised, ‘You’ve got to care Steve! You’ve gotta make her feel wanted! Remember the little things about her, compliment her! Not just quietly but when other people can hear!’

Eddie rummaged in his bag for a pen and paper. He couldn’t believe his luck! After years of not knowing where to start to show you how much you meant to him, here you were, unknowingly giving him a step-by-step guide! Tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth, he started scrawling madly across the page as you spoke.

‘Ask her about her interests and listen to her! I mean really listen!’

Easy!

‘Get her flowers! Show that you’re thinking about her!’

Eddie never stopped thinking about you.

‘Invite her to spend time together doing things you both enjoy!’

Piece of cake! (Ignoring all the times he’s failed to do just that!)

‘Be honest about your feelings for her!’

Now hold up. His pen froze, hovering in mid-air. If talking was an Olympic sport, Eddie would win gold but he’s never been great at talking about how he felt. Not that he didn’t have feelings, he supposed he just had too many.

‘That’s so much work!’ Steve whined and you laughed. The sound refocussed Eddie’s despondent mind.

‘True love takes work, Harrington! You’re not some fairytale princess!’

The conversation went on in the background but he didn’t hear the rest. You were right. If he wanted this, wanted you, he was going to have to work for it! No more backing down! No more shying away! No more running!

‘You okay over there, Munson?’

Eddie snapped out of his trance, nearly knocking the shelves over. ‘Yeah!’ he choked, resolve shattering. He stuffed his paper and pen away and grabbed the nearest movie, stumbling over to the desk and your smiling face. Incapable of looking you in the eye, he shoved the tape onto the counter. ‘Please don’t be anything weird!’ he prayed to no one in particular as you turned it over.

Your customer service smile split into a real one, ‘Oh no way! I love Star Wars!’

‘I-uh-,’

‘Say something Eddie!’ he thought furiously, shifting his feet and wishing the ground would swallow him whole, ‘Yeah… I thought it was about time I got round to watching them!’ he managed.

‘You’ve never seen them?’ your face morphed into shock then mock offence, ‘But they’re the best!’

His mouth moved but nothing came out. ‘Ask about things she’s passionate about!’ a small voice whispered in his mind.

‘Which… one’s your favourite?’

‘Oh, I don’t know!’ you rested your elbows on the counter, head in hands and thinking hard. Eddie stuck his hands in his pockets so you wouldn’t see them shaking. You really were breath taking. The way you frowned slightly, the way your eyes narrowed and lips pressed together like this was the most important decision in the world. It made him giddy.

‘Everyone says Empire’s the best,’ you said slowly, ‘But I think Jedi’s my favourite! You just can’t beat the ending!’

‘Is that the one with the teddy bears?’ Steve chimed from the back room, giving Eddie time to pick his gaping jaw off the floor.

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly turning over your shoulder, ‘Yes, well done Steve! For the last time, they’re called Ewoks!’

Eddie couldn’t help laughing. You shook your head with a smile, ‘You’ll have to tell me what you think of them!’

‘Yeah!’ he choked, ‘Absolutely!’ His head was reeling from what must be the longest conversation he’d ever had with you.

‘Well, I’ll see you round, Munson!’

‘Yeah… yeah!’ he grabbed the tape from between you, turned heel and hurried out of the store grinning like an idiot. Step one complete! Gone, were the days of wistfully hoping you’d take notice of him! Now he had a battle plan and this film was his way in!

If he’d turned around, he’d have seen the small smile spread its way over your mouth. Steve poked his head out of the back room and wiggled his eyebrows. You moved to shove him and he ducked out of the way, a grin of his own stretching his face.

***

Sharp Autumn wind made you hug your cardigan closer. Leaves crunched and puddles splashed underfoot as you trekked the familiar streets to work, your favourite song blaring in your headphone

‘Hey! Hey, wait up!’

Fumbling with your headphones, you twisted round. Barrelling toward you was Eddie, his tongue poking out as he tried to balance two takeaway cups in his hands while running at breakneck speed.

You couldn’t help but smile.

He skidded to a halt in front of you panting wildly. ‘Here!’ he thrust one of them out at you and you took it. The cup warmed your cold fingers and your name was scribbled on the lid in black sharpie.

‘What’s this?’ you asked as he slurped his own.

‘Hot Chocolate,’ he answered, ‘You like that, right?’

‘Yeah…’ a sigh of laughter passed your lips, ‘I meant what for?’

Eddie just shrugged, ‘You mind if I walk with you?’

‘I’m on the way to work.’

‘I know, I’m headed there too!’

You started walking and he fell into step beside you. After a long sip of hot chocolate that warmed you right down to your toes you spoke. ‘Did you watch the movie?’ He nodded excitedly. ‘And?’

Eddie pretended to think for a second, ‘Uh and it’s amazing!’ He meant it too! The movie had blown him away, had him on the edge of his seat the whole time. He couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to see it!

But even if that wasn’t true, even if it had been the most boring movie he’d ever experienced, he’d watch it over and over just to see the light that shone in your eyes when you talked about it.

‘Sorry, I’m probably being really annoying!’ You caught yourself in the middle of a tangent.

‘No!’ He couldn’t reply fast enough, ‘I love hearing you talk!’

‘Really?’ the words made your heart skip a beat. Privately, you’d never been sure about Eddie. Sure, you’d hung out before in groups but whenever you’d tried to talk to him, he always seemed to shrug you off. From his short, usually monosyllabic answers, you’d just assumed he found you irritating. Disappointing, because you might have harboured a bit of a crush but there was no point pursuing someone who clearly wasn’t interested.

Yet all of that seemed to have changed. Now, he was trailing after you to work, listening to you babble on about some sci-fi movie and hanging onto your every word. It was nice. Really nice!

From there you talked about everything. He asked about your music taste and hesitantly shared his own. You found out he played guitar in a band and made him promise to tell you when his next gig was so you could come and see.

The video store approached. He stepped in front, opening the door then letting you go first.

‘You after Empire then?’ you asked, taking off your hat and scarf and hanging them in the backroom.

Eddie nodded, ‘This is the one that everyone says is the best, right?’

‘Yeah,’ ducking under the counter, you searched for the tape, ‘It is really awesome! There’s lots of surprises!’ He noted the knowing look in your eye. At last, you found it, holding it out with a smile, ‘Enjoy!’

Your hands touched a bit more than maybe they needed to as he took the video.

‘I’ll be back!’ he promised, tucking it in his bag and scooping up your empty cup for the bin.

***

First thing the next morning, Eddie crashed through the doors yelling at the top of his lungs. ‘What the hell?’

You jumped out of your skin and so did the customer you were serving. Your face split into a smile. You hurried the transaction but Eddie was still hollering, gesturing wildly with both hands. ‘You never told me Darth Vader is Luke’s fa-! ‘

‘Eddie!’ you cut him off, barely able to control your laughter, ‘Spoilers!’

The rest of the store suddenly solidified. Everyone was staring, some shaking their heads in disapproval.

‘Sorry!’ he winced. Tiptoeing up to the desk he leant in, comically close, ‘You didn’t tell me he was Luke’s father!’ he repeated in a stage-whisper.

‘I know!’ you giggled, matching his theatrical tone, ‘What did you think?’

‘It was amazing! I honestly don’t know how anything’s gonna top that!’

You grinned, ‘Well you’ll have to wait and see! You want the next one right away? I put it aside for you!’

‘You did?’

‘Course I did!’ Without waiting for an answer, you slipped away into the back to find it. Eddie took a shaky breath, missing the closeness. Anxiety twisted in his stomach.

‘Come on, Munson!’ he chided himself. ‘It’s now or never!’ He fiddled with his rings, wrists resting on the counter.

It didn’t take you long to come back, holding the video case aloft in ceremonial fashion. ‘Here ya go! The thrilling conclusion!’ setting it down. He managed a grim smile. ‘You gotta come by tomorrow and tell me what you thought!’

A lump stuck in his throat and he grimaced, ‘Oh well… I uh… I was wondering-,’

‘You okay?’

‘Yeah!’ he chuckled awkwardly. This was going great! ‘I was just wondering if… if you maybe wanted to watch it… with me?’

That was it! The words were out in the open now, he had no way to recall them!

The invitation took you by surprise, eyes widened and a small ‘Oh.’ Was all you could manage before he rambled on. Words, previously impossible, now wouldn’t stop.

‘I mean just because you said it’s your favourite! I was thinking we could get pizza or something! I dunno. We don’t have to, I know we haven’t really talked much before but I just thought-,’

‘I’d love to!’

‘-it would be really cool to maybe-!’ he stopped, it took a second to hear that you’d spoken and longer still to process your response. ‘Wait what?’

You smiled and repeated yourself.

He was gobsmacked. Was this real? He never thought he’d get this far!

‘Right! Yeah, cool!’ the words stuck again, ‘I’ll uh… I’ll see you at six, right? …At mine.’

‘Sounds great!’

Somehow, he made it out of the store, clutching the video in both hands. He waited ‘til he was out of sight behind his van before punching the air. Finally! After years of failed attempts, he did it! The drive home was a haze; it was a miracle he made it back in one piece.

At some point he must have ordered pizza because some kid in a yellow shirt showed up at his door at a few minutes to six. All afternoon he’d been floating on air. Now he was freaking out.

What if he messed something up? What if he said something weird? What if you changed your mind and didn’t show?

What if? What if? What if?

***

You arrived a few minutes before he’d said to, giving yourself time to figure out where to park and glance at yourself in the rear-view mirror.

Steve and Robin had teased you relentlessly for dressing up. Claims you categorically denied, of course!

Sure, you’d made an effort. A light dusting of makeup made it look less like you’d worked the late shift for the third night in a row the day before and you just liked the way your favourite sweater made your eye colour a bit more vibrant. That didn’t mean anything! Besides, it wasn’t like he meant anything by it! It was just a movie! Pizza and a movie!

So why were you nervous?

He opened the door almost immediately after you knocked, ushering you inside from the fast-falling dusk. His trailer was cosy and inviting; from all reports, you guessed he must have tidied up significantly. The lamplight enveloped you in a warm glow and the intoxicating smell of pizza made your tummy rumble.

‘You still like pepperoni, right?’ he asked, opening the box, releasing a plume of steam into the air.

‘Yeah,’ you breathed in the scent, ‘How did you know that?’

He looked at the floor suddenly embarrassed, ‘I uh… remember that one time in eighth grade when we had that pizza party? I remembered you were sad because they didn’t have pepperoni.’ He looked up, assessing your response before backtracking hastily, ‘I’m sorry that’s so weird!’

‘No, no, it’s amazing!’ shaking your head and picking out a particularly cheesy slice, ‘The only thing I remember from middle school are those crazy outfits you and your band wore for the talent show!’

‘You remember that?’ He grinned at the memory, ‘Super metal, right?’

After loading a plate each with pizza slices, he slipped the movie into the player and settled next to you on the couch. For a while you didn’t speak much, eating and absorbed by the movie. That was until Obi-Wan’s ghost revealed that-

‘Leia is Luke’s sister?’ Eddie shot up, knocking his empty plate to the floor.

You giggled at his outburst, ‘I know!’

‘How many more reveals are there going to be? Hey! And they-,’ he wrinkled his nose in disgust. You could see a specific scene from the last movie replaying in his mind.

‘I know! It’s so gross!’

‘I don’t believe this!’ he sat back down, ‘I’m never going to recover! Never!’

You elbowed him, ‘Watch the damn move, Munson!’

Was it your imagination, or did his breathing hitch. You’d scooched much closer than before, practically laying your head on his shoulder. Was he uncomfortable? Were you too forward? Your worries were put to rest when he draped his arm around you, slow and tentative, as if giving you a chance to pull away.

You didn’t.

The rest of the movie passed by in comfortable quiet, interspersed with Eddie asking excited questions and you berating him to be patient! You couldn’t stop yourself giving the odd bit of trivia or behind the scenes insight and to your delight, he actually seemed to care!

Eventually the credits rolled. He didn’t move right away so you wriggled to look up at him. He was starstruck, open mouthed, and more than a little misty eyed.

‘So?’ you asked cautiously.

His eyes switched from the screen to yours, forming a breathless smile. ‘That was amazing!’ You laughed. ‘I mean it!’ he said, ‘It was so epic! That final duel on the Death Star was just… and Anakin’s death? Wow! And the ghosts at the end? You were totally right about the ending being the coolest thing ever!’

You laughed with him. The mile wide grin on his face lit up his eyes like a thousand stars, sending butterflies whirling in your stomach. He felt like a different person. Secretly, you’d worried he wouldn’t enjoy it, that he’d think it was silly or it just wouldn’t be his thing but he gave you no doubt! His enthusiasm was the most genuine of anybody’s you’d ever seen and you realised then, you’d give anything to see it again and again.

Eddie started to clear away the plates and pizza box. While you helped, a question kept gnawing at you. A question you were almost afraid of the answer to.

‘Why are you doing this?’ you asked, stopping before you stooped put your shoes back on. He froze like you’d caught him doing something wrong.

‘Doing what?’ his voice failed to imitate nonchalance.

‘Being… nice to me all of a sudden.’ It was the only way you could describe it. He really seemed to care, to actually want to hear your opinions, share your joy.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ he continued clearing up but he hid his face behind his hair.

‘You’re a terrible liar!’ you moved closer and saw his shoulders tense, ‘Tell the truth!’

He didn’t speak. All the light from before extinguished, something closed him off again. Maybe you’d crossed a line? Said something wrong?

‘You know, you aren’t as mean and scary as I thought you were,’ you tried gently, anxious to get the other Eddie back. He smiled a bit, though still not looking at you.

‘Neither are you!’

‘You thought I was mean and scary?’

‘Not mean!’ he clarified, ‘But scary as hell!’

You couldn’t help but laugh and a small chuckle escaped his chest. ‘Why?’

‘Because!’ he gestured at nothing in particular, ‘Because you’re you and you’re so sure of yourself and you don’t care what anyone thinks! And…’ he stopped.

‘And?’ you asked when he didn’t continue. He didn’t want to tell you, not yet. He was only just getting started! There were still so many things he had left to do before…

‘Be honest with her about your feelings!’ wheedled his brain. It was a struggle but he forced himself to meet your eye. Looking like a man about to risk it all, he wet his lips and took a steady breath.

‘And…’ he continued, voice low, ‘I’ve had a massive crush on you since… forever!’

Oh!

The words hung in the silence between you. They echoed in your head and in your heart.

Before you could respond, he tore on, ‘And I never knew how to talk to you before because I was scared that you’d… I don’t know… laugh at me or something? Because I know, I’m a colossal disaster and I don’t know how to say romantic things or anything when I’m around you!’ He stopped to draw breath.

‘What changed?’ you cut in, still trying to process his confession. All this time you’d worried he didn’t like you and now he told you he felt all that?

Eddie hung his head. He raised a hand to his neck, rubbing furiously as a flush rose in his cheeks. ‘Um… You remember like a month ago? You were talking to Harrington about why he couldn’t make a relationship work?’

‘Yeah?’ the interaction seemed so small, so inconsequential.

‘Well… I might have been listening and I wrote down all your advice and planned to use it on you!’

His nose scrunched; shoulders tensed. At last, everything was laid out on the line. All he could do was wait for your response.

Worst case scenarios, none of them remotely in character, fired through his mind. You being super weirded out and never wanting to talk to him again. Laughing in his face and telling everyone you knew that the big scary metalhead was a hopeless romantic sap in disguise.

To his surprise, you reached up and cupped his face in your hand, rose on your tiptoes, and kissed his cheek.

He looked down at you, eyes wide. You held his gaze. He hardly dared hope.

‘I guess I give really good dating advice!’ you murmured.

He breathed out slowly, and a bright shining smile graced your lips. ‘Yeah?’

You nodded. ‘You should tell Steve it worked! Maybe then he’ll listen to me!’ Eddie let out a laugh, relief washing over him.

Your eyes found each other’s again. For a moment you just stood there, admiring his features up close. The faint brush of freckles over his nose, his slow, steady breath that moved his chest up and down, the way his eyes widened when he looked at you. Like they were seeing the whole world at once. You noticed them flicker to your lips and your heart fluttered.

‘Do you want to kiss me?’ your voice was quiet but earnest.

He blushed at the question, then, almost imperceptibly nodded. You smiled, moving ever closer, until you were practically nose to nose.

‘Go on then!’

***

Thank you so much for reading! Feedback and reblogs are so incredibly appreciated! It makes me all warm and fuzzy when I hear that you enjoyed a story I wrote! Let me know if you want to be tagged in anything else I write!

Tags: @sadbitchfangirl

Masterlist

#eddie munson x reader fluff #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson fluff #eddie x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x female reader #amber writes #stranger things 4 #steve harrington #eddie my beloved

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lee-sanghyeok · 21 days

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On July 10th, BOYNEXTDOOR will be releasing their first Japanese single alongside the Japanese versions of One and Only, But Sometimes, and Earth, Wind & Fire. It'll be released as 'AND,' following the style of their previous EPs with 'WHO!', 'WHY..' and 'HOW?'

It's unsurprising they're releasing a Japanese track. They're widely popular in Japan, so it was only a matter of time before they catered to those fans—especially since they released an English version of EW&F. (I'm v curious about that shift in marketing, from Japanese audiences to Western audiences despite K-pop's strong ties to Japan, but that for another post.)

Interestingly, the first promotional image for 'AND,' seen above is a direct reference to 'WHO!' with the bright blue colour. BOYNEXTDOOR has stated is a Spotify video that their colour is royal blue, so it might just be part of marketing, but I believe that their Japanese single will have similar vibes to the songs on 'WHO!'

Which makes sense. 'But I like You', 'One and Only' and 'Serenade' are their brightest, most innocent songs, which are key terms K-pop groups usually go for whenever they release a Japanese song. A recent example of this is 'Yura Yura' by ZB1.

Another thing we should pay attention to is the shape within the letter A of 'AND,'. It looks like a thumbs up. Perhaps it hints at the title of the Japanese single. Something like, 'Okey Dokey' or the Japanese way of saying okay, like, 'iiyo!', 'wakatta!', or 'いいぞ！', meaning 'thumbs up!'

Lastly, the comma after AND feels important. It implies the continuation of a sentence. It implies a sentence isn't over yet, that someone is still speaking, thinking, writing. I believe they're using the Japanese single as a bridge between their Korean trilogies. They've finished the WHO trilogy and are now able to explore a new theme. But to do that, they might want a song to prepare the listener.

Aka, their Japanese single.

'WHO!' 'WHY..' 'HOW?' 'AND,' ... and then what? A new EP. If my assumption is correct, then it's a brilliant way of connecting their body of work.

Anyway, I really look forward to this single, the concept photography and the possible performances.

#boynextdoor #useroro #usermask #forbnd #userfoive #eritual #bonedo #bnd

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squash1 · 1 year

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alright i have some thoughts that need to get out of my head so bear with me.

i’ve been thinking a lot about mirrors, and more importantly false mirrors, in the raven cycle/dreamer trilogy because of a a few specific moments in blue lily. which i find extremely interesting especially because of the mirror themes that are even evident in the title (blue lily, lily blue).

i’ve been obsessing over these two instances in bllb where gansey and adam, on separate occasions have these false mirror sentences in their internal monologue. first, gansey has this moment in the dittley cave where he’s reckoning with the idea of his hunt ending:

and then adam has a moment where he is reckoning with the possibility of gansey’s death and what fully knowing about it would mean:

and in both of these situations the second sentence is what aligns with what we believe to be true about these characters. gansey has been on this hunt for so long, desperate to find his king. by all accounts, he should be ready to find glendower. but his first thought is that he’s not ready for it to be over. adam has a need to know everything in every situation. he always wants to be in the loop. he should want to know everything about the possibility/inevitability of gansey’s death and yet his first thought is that he does not want to know. and this idea of a false mirror — which these sentences structurally are — is fascinating to me. it speaks to the constant contradictions of existing — of wanting to live out all possibly outcomes of a situation. and if you add to this analysis the idea of adam and gansey, in many ways, being false mirrors of each other, it just is like. wow. gansey and adam both want to be like the other. both are trying to mirror the other, but that isn’t how life works — you cannot become the perfect mirror of someone else, so they are a false mirror of one another, contradicting themselves and one another.

the second moment is with a literal mirror. when noah is first possessed by the third sleeper, jesse dittley holds up a mirror to noah to break the possession. noah being able to see his true form scares/startles him back into himself. as if seeing his real face reminded him of who he really was. in many ways jesse showed a false mirror — a reflection of who noah had become while possessed by the sleeper in an attempt to create a true mirror image of the real noah. this moment contrasted with the scene in mister impossible with the dreamt mirrors that show your true self is so interesting. in some ways those mirrors — the one ronan looks into and sees all his complexities & goodness, and hennessy looks into and sees jordan — are a false mirror, they are an idealized version of the looker. but in both moments, across books and characters, are intended to have a positive effect on the looker. for noah, a false mirror allows him to become his true self again, and with ronan and hennessy it allows them to see positive things about themselves they would have otherwise overlook.

so yeah mirrors ! i’m in awe of maggie’s genius !

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shrekgogurt · 4 months

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Well folks. I’m on my substitute teaching grind again this week! Scheduled each day up in hopes of getting some good writing done. I did on Monday! And then proceeded to finally start reading @ninemagicks Game/Set/Match yesterday and did that every bell so uhhhhhh. Today………..well ummmmm…..yeah today I worked on chapter graphics because I’m in big procrastination mode. I want to keep riding this wave of engagement (that sounds corporate gross) but I’m also very much in my head about delivering. I should probably channel this energy into writing the chapter since such pressure is Baz’s literal arc but uhhhhhhhh why do that when I could Simon avoid. I love being mentally well!

One might say I need to find my own bravado. (more under the cut)

lol the chapter title for 13 is bravado by lorde

youtube

ok anyway

“Work In Progress Wednesday” right? That means I can talk about the progress of every part of the process? Huh? Yeah? Are you gonna stop me? TRY! TRY TO STOP ME!

Aggression aside, let’s get into it.

As previously stated on Sunday, we find ourselves at intermission. But that’s just the theatrical way of slicing up the story. The fun thing about 24 chapters (I got rid of my originally planned intermission chapter because I didn’t want to write it anymore) is that math really loves the number 24. It’s scrumptious. Yummily divisible. Ergo, IKABIKAM also has/is/will be deliciously divided. Afterall, I do keep saying I’m cooking on it.

Now, to put @alexalexinii on blast (sorry for perceiving you), they wrote in the tags of a Chapter 12 reblog: #made me realise that this fic had proper arcs? And I grinned. I cackled. I rubbed my grubby little hands together at the top of my tower as I’ve been doing this whole time because oh ARCS???????? YOU WANT ARCS???????????? I’VE GOT ARCS LYING IN WAIT LIKE YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE. (I love overselling myself.)

Allow me to let you in on some of the building blocks thus far.

Chapters 1, 2, 3: a complicated reunion which is shaky but ultimately sets up

Chapters 4, 5, 6: developing the friendship which is a crucial foundation for

Chapters 7, 8, 9: the gay (Baz’s increasingly more external “hi i’m gay”, Simon’s internal “oh wait me too”) which then explodes into

Chapters 10, 11, 12: all that political parent stuff that’s been hinted at in passing which is BIG relevant and incredibly intertwined in this tangled up mess that leads into the work of….

You get it. They’re mini trilogies. Don’t ask me about dividing the chapters into groups of four because I didn’t have that in mind while writing. I like threes better. Always have. Absolute banger of a prime number.

If you for some reason want to read more about the structure, I write a little more about it in this wipsday from when I was procrastinating 9.

Now, @cutestkilla keeps telling me I’m at the downward slope now but honestly delivering on what I’ve set up scares the shit out of me WAY more than the grunt work. I’m uhhhhh yeah. This is why I’m chronically unable to finish projects but by GOD I will finish this one. I swear by it.

So here are three sentences. You get to guess from who and when.

Loving him comes as naturally as breathing. It’s intuitive when I’m not thinking. Or rather, when I’m not panicking.

If you want to follow along with all the songs I’m hyperfixating on as inspiration I’ve been sharing them over on the “shrogurt” instagram. There’s nothing I love more than talking way too much about this damn fic. Thanks for reading!

And thank you for the tags today: @nausikaaa @facewithoutheart @hushed-chorus @artsyunderstudy @prettygoododds @emeryhall

Now tagging: @brilla-brilla-estrellita @captain-aralias @dani-vc @ebbpettier @excalisbury @facewithoutheart @fatalfangirl @hagnoart @iamamythologicalcreature @ileadacharmedlife @imagineacoolusername @ivelovedhimthroughworse @j-nipper-95 @larkral @letraspal @martsonmars @messofthejess @moodandmist @mooncello @nightimedreamersworld @onepintobean @palimpsessed @raenestee @rimeswithpurple @theearlgreymage @theimpossibledemon @thewholelemon @valeffelees @whogaveyoupermission @youarenevertooold @you-remind-me-of-the-babe

#as i was typing this an eighth grader started singing that jack harlow song help #wipsday #ikabikam #vainposting #Youtube

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the--artist · 2 months

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Patterns in Leg Expression over the Danganronpa Trilogy

Wait, I know this is a weird title, but please bear with me for some time. **Spoilers for sprites AND death order for all three games

I'm going to be defining "leg expression" as different leg movements in sprites. Dr1, has by far, the highest amount of different leg movements, while V3 has the least amount of various leg movements. Dr2 is in the middle, with certain characters.

Danganronpa 1: Trigger Happy Havoc:

Example: The Gothic Princess

I chose Celeste because of her expressive head sprites (plus being my favorite DR character...shhhh). Overall, Celeste has three varied leg sprites. The bottom two mainly show up during her trial and during her breakdown, so it makes sense to see these different leg movements. On the other hand, calmer characters like Chihiro don't have any "new" leg sprites besides their standard. However, the general trend of characters in DR1 tends to be multiple leg expressions for each character. It's still a common occurrence - especially if they tend to show a wide range of emotions. In general, in DR1, there were more 3/4 body sprites where that turn their back on you (Sakura, Kyoko, I'm looking at you)

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

Example: The Glorious Bastard of Danganronpa

Nagito is one of the most expressive characters in DR2, but most of his sprites involve only small positional changes with his legs. Even characters such as Ibuki and Gudhum tend to have 1 or no different leg expressions. After going through the DR2 cast's legs (what a weird sentence to say..), a common occurrence was in mirroring the legs. However, compared to Dr1, the leg variation has slightly gone down. Of note, Kazuichi has some good variation, while Mikan has two versions of her leg that are distinctly different! Sonia also surprisingly has some really good leg variation!

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Example: The Junko Kinnie

Danganronpa V3 has the least amount of leg movement by far. Very vivid characters who tend to be very expressive (Kokichi, Angie, Tenko, Miu, Korekiyo, Maki, Kaito) don't get ANY new leg movements. Tsumugi has the most by far with three distinct leg movements while another character might maybe have a second version. Compared to Dr2, a lot more mirroring of the legs happens in V3 - and definitely compared to Dr1. For V3 in particular, so many of the characters are so much more vivid and eccentric that maybe more of the budget could have been spent on their top halves - this would lead the legs to not be changed as frequently between sprites.

Conclusion

This isn't a perfect analysis with perfect statistical analysis! But it was so much fun to go through the sprites of such a huge cast.

#danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #danganronpa v3 killing harmony #drv3 #ndrv3 #danganronpa 1 #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #danganronpa 2 #danganronpa goodbye despair #dr2 #dr2 goodbye despair #tsumugi shirogane #nagito komaeda #celestia ludenberg

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oohbuggypie · 4 months

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it's both my God given right and duty to never shut up so i am going 2 not be quiet about BullDon 🫡 putting all text ("analysis", fanfic reccs, general rambling) under a read more so those who don't gaf can scroll easy 🩷 HERE WE GO !!

(all fanfics and their respective author are linked within their titles 🩷)

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

K WHERE DO I START . their dynamic, past the obvious matador and bull trope, is so interesting to me. i think that their backgrounds have so many similarities; Don is a matador and is shown to have hundreds of people gathered in a stadium to watch his match, and Bull is watched relentlessly by the paparazzi. but they both have very different reactions to the fame and attention they receive. Don soaks it up and Bull can't stand it, and i think it contributes to their odd, almost mirror dynamic a lot

past that is their personalities and ethics,, both of them are SO full of themselves i actually almost forget, with Bull only being slightly more humble (cuz he can't exactly brag about his looks 😭) . Don is more prideful than he is cocky imo; but he's VERY expressive of his anger and distaste for losing, which makes him kind of paralell to my idea of Bull. though this follows more of a headcanon of mine and not whats in the game, i think Bull is really calm outside his persona in the ring (i.e his intermissions,,, he's being friendly if anything with Doc and he speaks so calm and low in Title Defense). unlike Don, he's shown actually building endurance and managing his emotions compared to his Contender cutscnene, essentially the OPPOSITE of Don, who only gets more sour and negative after he loses. i think in that aspect they're complete opposites but that switch makes their dynamic and relationship so much more complex to me

in the ring i think they share the factor of channeling their anger to help them succeed; Don is stronger when he's pissed at his missing toupee and Bull is .. Bull ? the Bull charge and his gut punch in Title Defense are very telling if his entire character isn't about how genuinely angered that man can be and i think that gives them a more complex element to how they'd work together; they're both sour and ugly about being perceived/looked at (more literally) in a way they don't want to, so that's just another thing that i find so interesting .. they have a BUNCH in common yet they're drastically different when you look at their characters generally

K NOW FANFIC RAMBLE TIME 🩷

Suficiente:

if anybody knows the author DetectiveCapan from AO3 personally im so dead srs when i say u should message them and praise them. i could not stfu about their BullDon writing and im not going to in a paragraph or two here but OH MY GODD. i have always avoided both actual books and fics alike that are written choppy and simplistic, and especially ones that lack atmosphere simply cuz they're just unappealing and hard to make me feel what's actually going on. but their BullDon trilogy ?? somehow their style of writing, which doesn't use complex words or long sentences packed with detail, is genuinely some of my favorite that i have EVERR read . they make the emotions the characters are feeling SO easy to understand and feel even without exaggerated expressions and dramatic descriptions it's actually kind of incredible ? and the bit of humor isn't overbearing, it's just silly and it sets up the atmosphere, which never ends up terribly serious. they write relationships with a familiarity in the atmosphere and actions that have been unachievable in any other piece of fiction ive read and the gestures omg .. IM GONNA BE SPECIFIC IN MY RECCS SO YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT IT BUT OMGG. DETECTIVECAPAN IF U SEE THIS BLESS UR HEART SERIOUSLY UR AN AMAZING AUTHOR 🩷🩷 PLEASE KEEP DOING WHAT U DO UR WONDERFUL AND I'D LOVE 2 SEE MORE OF UR WORK ABT BULLDON / PUNCH OUT!! WII IN GENERAL 🥹 now the recc list!!

possibly my favorite out of all three and it's literally the first one 😭 ough i could gush about this one FOR SO LOOONG ,,, i love how they immediately establish Don's mindset and attitude with how he both admires and pities the World Circuit for what they get and what they go through. when Don's out of the shower and he sees Bull half dressed there's no implication of sexual tension despite them being mostly undressed in front of each other and thats actually SO special to me because i had a morethanfriendship just like this and they captured the reality of it in a perfect way, like feeling for feeling . same in the way that Bull watches Don get dressed; they mention he stares but he doesn't have a corny, shocked "omg i hope he didn't notice me" reaction to catching himself. instead they mutually understand that they're admiring each other and they just smile about it . LIKE UGH THATS SO SPECIAL TO ME OMGG. and also Don putting on his - what'd id assume - rosary and then dabbing cologne behind his ears .. literally clutched my own cross necklace like omg that detail makes me crazyy i love the religion mention sm 😭

also UGH Bull's mannerisms .. a little annoyed at Don but there's such an endearing thing about it; he's annoyed at his demands but he complies anyway cuz even though he knows Don is purposely trying to make him a little pissed, he likes him enough to and he knows it'll make him happy .. THERE'S A DEEPER SENSE TO IT AND I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT IS BUT IT'S HARD TO WORDD 😭 also Bull being quick tempered about small things like the radio playing static and the music not being his taste .. and just the mutual like attachment they have with each other.. Bull never says anything about taking Don "home" (his hotel room) but Don knows exactly to get in his car and go with him anyway ,, and i cannot stress hard enough that it's just the little things seriously. i will never ever be regular about Bull liking to tie Don's boot laces, or promising to get his favorite beer when he offers it, or purposely (and patiently) waiting for him to get out of the shower so they can talk 🥹 like all those little gestures of love that show that he really does care . also possibly my favorite thing about this whole trilogy is that they have a very unestablished relationship ! it's never explicitly stated that they're dating or in love or anything even romantic but there areee quick mentions that imply (if im reading them correctly) that they're def a bit more than friends i.e Don mentioning how he thought his skin would burn from being in Bull's shower water temps ,, but the fact that it's not an established relationship and they don't outright express romantic interest in one another makes it SO much more special. it sets a completely different tone that creates warmth, familiarity, and comfort between them 😭

that's about that for Suficiente .. I LOVE IT SO MUCHH 😭 PLS READ IT, LEAVE KUDOS, AND IF U CAN COMMENT UR PRAISES !! 🩷 it is so well deserved genuinely. now on2 the next:

La Cosa Sobre El Pelo:

ugh i love this one equally as much. im gonna be repeating a lot of the same praises and ideas from "Suficiente" bcuz the whole trilogy creates the same kind of atmosphere but i still wanna gush about and explain it 🥹 omgg the paragraph about Don having a bald ass head and it scaring away the ladies made me giggle SO BAD . also UGH okay .. the sentiment of Don being vulnerable enough to confess his biggest insecurity to Bull, and for Bull to actually reflect and think about it so long after he's been told and reciprocate the vulnerability by showing Don a photograph of him before he lost his hair .. OUFFFGGHH actually the cutest and sweetest thing ever . also i am a nitpicker and a sucker for small details and i just absolutely LOVE how naturalistic the author makes the characters move. like Don doesn't get up and stand to grab the photo off the nightstand, he leans over and props himself up with his elbow and continues sipping on his beer when he's observing it like any other person would .. ugh i LOVE that detail , i get a little bothered when people write characters to be unnaturally animated in a setting where it doesn't exactly make sense to be, so that's another aspect of their writing that i appreciate soo much 😭 also it's the gestures omg .. when Bull grabs Don's thigh and shakes it and Don doesn't jerk away or question the closeness , he just leans back onto the bed and continues/ends their conversation about how he'll look bad with no hair and Bull looks good without it ,, I LOVE THAT SO BAADDD again it's the familiarity the meaning of Bull's gestures ,, the care that they quietly express instead of directly saying it .. GAWDD that's like my fav thing 😭 there's something so special about the silent concern and care that Bull has for Don in their writing; the small actions and the thought behind them do so much more than what words could say and i think it's super in character for him as well .. literally stellar i think i need to reread and add onto this one once i look at it again but I LOVE THIS ONE SO SO MUCHH 🩷

#punch out!! wii #punch out wii #bald bull #don flamenco #rambling soo hard #THIS IS NAWT COMPLETE THIS WILL BE EDITED AND CHANGED CONSTANTLY TILL IM DONE SO IF U SEE TEXT HERE NOW THATS NOT HERE LATER UR NOT CRAZY #ugh can drafts stop escaping

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iamamythologicalcreature · 6 months

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Six Sentence Sunday Climbs Out the Window

Hello all! Thank you for the tags today, @aroace-genderfluid-sheep and @youarenevertooold! And thank you to everyone who has tagged me in the past couple of weeks. I'm woefully behind on reading WIPs-Day posts, so I really appreciate the tagging. It's the only way I'll find them when I'm finally able to read. So please keep tagging me, even if I'm slow to respond. I may have taken on a bit much this month. >.> Anyhoo, on to some WIP sentences! This will be my last teaser before posting the actual Chapter 1 of the @carryon-reverse-bang fic at the end of the month (Oh God it still needs a title...). I've never tried to tease a single chapter for so long lol. Soooo I'm giving you a little slice of Chapter 2, today. Right at the beginning, though! So really no spoilers. Simon's POV continues:

After another quick inspection of the fire damage, I look back to the window. On impulse I check the latch on the window. At first it sticks, but I manage to persuade it open with my usual flare for diplomacy. I breathe in deeply as fresh, green-scented air wafts in, and push the window all the way open. I rest a hip against the sill and lean out a bit, looking around. There’s a wide overhang just under me, and above me… I can’t quite see. (Or maybe I just want the excuse.) I grin a little as I climb out the window onto the slate roof, being careful to test the shingles before each step. Everything’s solid, though. Whoever had this room before it was closed off was one lucky git. I can only imagine having something like this just outside my bedroom window. It nearly makes up for all the gargoyles. Nah, it completely makes up for them.

Simon knows how to make use of a good excuse. And how to sneak out of bedroom windows. (Did we really ever doubt that would be part of his skillset? Nah.) Tags and hello's under the cut!

No pressure and also HI! to @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @leithillustration, @prettygoododds, @rimeswithpurple, @artsyunderstudy, @ic3-que3n, @blackberrysummerblog, @shrekgogurt, @aristocratic-otter, @hushed-chorus, @nightimedreamersworld, @best--dress, @whatevertheweather, @ileadacharmedlife, @theearlgreymage, @thewholelemon, @alexalexinii, @scribble-tier, @imagineacoolusername, @cutestkilla, @brilla-brilla-estrellita, @alleycat0306, @angelsfalling16, @fatalfangirl, @erzbethluna, @tender-ministrations, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @katmiscellanious, @anxious-m3ss, @raenestee, @ebbpettier, @bubble-gumhead

#I know nothing about slate shingles #it's possible I've just written Simon into falling to his doom #the end!#no it's cool he has wings right?#if he does die it will be doing what he loves #impulsively charging into an unknown situation #snowbaz #six sentence sunday #simon snow #carry on #simon snow series #the simon snow trilogy #carry on fanfiction #yeah there's a haunted mansion involved #I'll give you that one for free #since it's not exactly subtly hidden #srsly tho I need a title #jodofic

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shudderue · 5 months

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amfom: some new thoughts

this is going to get long so is getting put under a read more. no tldr, we die like men

i don't know when this was released, but there's been a new blurb released for spxvi, on the official sp website. no clarify, i had A LOT of issues with the old one, which is as follows:

A bone-shaking new trilogy begins – the latest adventure in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series.

A murder. A mystery. Two murders, actually. Well, three, if you’re counting. Oh, look, here comes a fourth...

So much murder that skeleton detective Skulduggery Pleasant must annoy Valkyrie Cain, the infamous Destroyer of Worlds, with his incredible deduction abilities at every available opportunity. As Valkyrie’s irritation grows, the detectives sink deeper into a hidden world of dark motivations, festering hatred and unimaginable pain.

And a teensy bit more murder.

my issues with this were mainly that it's a horrible clash between the more adult vibes and topic this centres around. it's talking about murder, about "dark motivations, festering hatred and unimaginable pain" - in a teehee, kid friendly way. and it's just so badly done and makes my skin crawl.

the new blurb is as follows:

SIX YEARS AGO, THE UNIVERSE ENDED.

When it restarted, blinking back into existence, it brought with it a darkness that remains hidden from the mortal population.

A week ago – fuelled by unimaginable hatred and unstoppable rage – a masked sorcerer killed one of those mortals. Then he killed another. And another.

With their time running out, Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain must work to solve the puzzles the killer leaves behind before more innocents die, embarking on a journey that will force them to deal with the apocalypse they failed to prevent the first time around.

AND MURDER. LOTS AND LOTS OF MURDER.

ooft. SO much better. punchy starter line, assures us that the stakes are not just being whittled back down and we're not just forgetting everything that happened in until the end. one of my biggest criticisms of the old blurb, inelegant mashing of kids and adult vibes aside, is that it felt as if everything was ramped up to 1000 and then we just... forgot about it and went on a merry detectiving hunt. this is more cohesive, actually gives consequences rather than the world was reset lets start over and ignore everything, and the wording is far more elegant (although i could do without that last sentence. ah well.)

"...force them to deal with the apocalypse they failed to prevent the first time around," is a half-sentence i really love in this; it summarises so many flaws with valkyrie and skulduggery's characters (not a flaw with their writing, to clarify) in that neither of them are particularly good at giving a shit about the consequences of their own actions beyond the direct effects they have on them.

anyways. this is far more cohesive and a much better way of looking at the aftermath of the apocalypse, rather than what was implied with the first blurb, which was that it was just going to be ignored. and and and, makes me actually want to read it. who'd have thought?

anyways. the actual detective focus on it is something i've mentioned before, but tldr i really do think that putting this into a ya age range couldn't hurt here. i think it's a more complex subject that is going to be hard to do well and simultaneously range towards eleven year olds, but if landy's been bitten by something of a "wanting to write detective novel" bug, then it makes sense he's returning to sp. do i kind of wish he'd let it go and write an adult-leaning fantasy detective novel, and actually make it stay a detective novel instead of introducing eldritch gods? eh, yeah, but as i say, i have a lot more hope for this being better tied in now.

something i did notice though which may well be coincidental is that the title seems reminiscent of ian rankin's "a heart full of headstones" - possibly landy's been reading a lot of detective, crime-y books and is wanting to take inspiration, which i would take a million times over the marvel crap that started seeping into phase two. i really hope that actual books were his inspiration here.

this has got long, but overall i'm a bit more hopeful for the new book. i've not picked apart the actual plotline that's given to us in the new blurb, but this is long enough as it is and i have too many thoughts on it (including the usage of the word apocalypse when they brought back the god of the apocalypse in a deal and now have to stop him doing anything dodgy) to keep this post from becoming an honest to god dissertation. last point though before i post - i wonder how many people made fun of the first synopsis for there to now be another on the website lmao

#lucy's shit #skulduggery pleasant #sp #sp 16 #a mind full of murder

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