#this entire post is almost 2000 words

[vaguely-smart]

A very subjective ranking of the Superman and Lois characters

Love

Jonathan Kent

Ok I love this child so much. He's the epitome of gifted kid burnout and I relate to him to an unhealthy amount. I hope the writers give him more plot in season three and that they actually follow through on the storylines they write for him. Jon deserves to be treated better by the showrunners and most of the characters. He either need to get in a better place or just, like, spiral downwards and become a villain and/or just leave his family for a solo story (preferably either in a Disney sitcom with Jon-El or in a vampire hunting/befriending adventure) 10/10 Good Boy

Natalie Irons

Nat is a very close second to Jon in my opinion. She's just so nice. Her vibes are immaculate and I would want to be her friend. Her story is so interesting and I hope next season focuses more on the Irons rather than the Cushings. I love that they actually show her being smart and how they give her autonomy (unlike Jon). Her (and her dad's) hero moments feel the most earned to me and I would watch an entire show where they were the main characters. 10/10 good vibes

John Henry Irons

I'm sad to say this but I think John Henry Irons is probably the only actually good parent in this show, named after two parents. He actually talks things out with his daughter and treats her like a capable person?!? What a shocker. I gotta say, whenever he was fighting Clark in the first season I was rooting for him. All I can ask is that they stop hospitalising him, considering he's going to be working against intergang, hopefully he won't get sidelined into the ER next season. 10/10 best parent

Jon-El

I debated whether or not to put Jon-El higher than John Henry Irons. I think I like Jon-El more but in a more detached, point and scream "boyyyyyy" way than any actual feelings. He is great, though, and I'm pissed he didn't make it into the finale. He better be back next season. He doesn't get super developed but he's definitely a dramatic gay theatre kid with daddy issues. I am here for it and I will not hear otherwise. I just want the writers to give him screen time, therapy and a boyfriend tbh. In the words of Luz Noceda he is a "bad but sad boy" 10/10 dramatic disaster gay

Tah-Rho

I was indifferent/bored with him in season 1 but I'm season 2 I live for him. He's literally just vibing. He just wants a family. I just want to watch whatever random shenanigans he gets up to instead of helping the main story. He's just the weird uncle. I want to know what goes on in his head. He's so fun to watch. 10/10 chaotic bastard neutral 

Like

Denise Olowe

I have nothing against Denise. She seems like a chill person. She'll probably end up dating Jon and I wouldn't be opposed to it (she'd definitely be the best he's had). I'd totally be down to see her get more character development down the line. Like if they want to have a 'civilian' storyline, I'd much rather follow her family than whatever we're meant to call Sarah's disaster of a family. 10/10 seems nice

Kyle Cushing

Kyle gets an unnecessary amount of hate. Cheating is usually one of the only unredeemable actions in my eyes that good characters can take because it is just a wholly selfish action but I'm willing to give Kyle a chance. Sure he did cheat but it was in his bad phase when he was also being a bad parent and (possibly?) an alcoholic. He stopped of his own volition, though, and worked on himself to make sure that he could be a good father and husband. As far as I'm concerned the only thing he should really be trashed for is not telling his wife. I genuinely don't think the Kyle we see in season 2 is the same person who had an affair. Another thing is you can see how much Kyle genuinely loves his family. He's so supportive of both Sarah and Lana and he is their number one supporter. I honestly think he's the second best parent in the show. Sure he's an absolute idiot in some of the things he does and says but he is trying to work on himself and he just constantly gets sh*t on. (I do think a lot of this is tied to the fact that Eric Valdez plays home really well) 10/10 he's trying

Jordan Kent

I don't have that much to say about Jordan. He's chill for the most part. I want him to succeed and be happy and stuff. Sometimes his vibes are off and vaguely serial killery but for the most part I like him. 10/10 I like him

Mitch Anderson

It's fun to watch him suffer. I live for whenever his bad decisions decide to come back to bite him. It's just so fun to watch. I did feel really bad for him in episode 10, though. It broke me when he and Jordan-El were trying to talk about Bizarro Superman. I really wish he didn't die in that episode. I would have preferred it if he died in the final battle with Ally. It just felt anti-climactic, how it played out. I literally didn't even realise he died. 10/10 should have died in episode 15

Indifferent

Sam Lane

I don't know what to say here. He's there. He does stuff. It is interesting how he sometimes switches between a minorly antagonistic role and a protagonistic one. I don't have any strong feelings about him except that he should have been a better dad. 10/10 he sure was there, wasn't he?

Lois-El

She's there. She doesn't really get much screen time. I really felt for her when she was leaving Kal, though. 10/10 girlboss?

Lois Lane

Pretty similar to her dad, honestly. Seriously though it really feels like she drops the ball with Jon so much (not as much as Clark, though). I have faith that her character could be good if she wrote her well, so I more hate the execution rather than the actual character, if that makes sense. I hope they do her better next season 10/10 could have potential if literally anyone else wrote for her

Jor-El

He's there. He looks sad. 10/10 he needs a hug

Kal-El

I'm sympathetic towards him but also it pains me to watch his scenes. Like stoooopp you pain me. 10/10 second hand embarrassment

Chrissy Beppo

People rag on her too much. Like sure, she definitely is annoying and feels too entitled about information but put yourself in her shoes. Her idol just came in and bought half of her newspaper so now they are co-owners but Lois doesn't treat her like an equal and she definitely is keeping a tonne of secrets. From the audience's perspective Lois's actions are understandable but Chrissy has every right to be pissed at Lois, especially since their profession is all about telling the truth and journalistic integrity. Of course she doesn't want to be lied to. 10/10 annoying but not wrong

Dislike

Sarah Cortez

I'm a lot more forgiving of Sarah because she's an actual teenager and at least she told Jordan basically straight away that she kissed Aubry (though it shouldn't have happened in the first place). The whole trying to make Jordan and Aubrey friends thing is kind of strange but I can see where Sarah's coming from. Aubrey can relate to what she's going through, which she feels like she can't really talk to Jordan about because as far as she knows his home life is pretty great. There's also the fact that Jordan in no way expressed how upset he actually was about the kiss to Sarah's face. It's easy to say that Sarah literally thought Jordan wasn't too hurt. I know at least with my friends when we were 14/15 a bunch of people had dated or confessed crushes on other people and we were still all friends. You can totally be friends with people you've had/have romantic feelings for and Sarah might have been thinking along those lines. All in all, some of Sarah's actions are rude/annoying but she seems like she's trying but is just finding a little hard to see things from Jordan's perspective because she's so caught up in her own drama (which I might add, a lot of which has been publicised to the entire town) 10/10 will probably be better once she knows the secret and grows up a little

Clark Kent

Clark, what are you even doing?!?! Whatever it is, it pains me! He's just so dense. And blind (you sure you don't actually need real glasses, my dude?) He just is just such a bad parent to Jon. Can we please go back to season 1 writing for him? Please?!?! Hopefully the showrunners look at people's reactions to Clark and do something about it!!! 10/10 do better you idiot!

Candice Pergande

I dislike every one of her scenes except for the last one. When she goes to talk to Lois and Sam she does actually look remorseful and like she is trying. It feels like we were meant to see more scenes of her like that but they were cut or something. Obviously she should have taken accountability but she's doing it for her father so she's not doing it from a strictly selfish standpoint and it's very easy to see how she might feel stuck and scared in this position. She feels like she could have potential and I hope if she is kept around (unlike Teagan) that the writers will expand more on her character and actually make her likeable. 10/10 let's hear her out

Hate

Lana Lang

I don't even know what to say about Lana. I feel like most of it has already been said by other people. She's just so insufferable and rude all the time. She's so entitled and I hate how she reacted to Clark's secret, especially by being mad at everyone except for Clark. Like b*tch just shut up!!! Please! I get Lana's under a lot of pressure but it's so obvious that she doesn't care about her behaviour and neither do the writers. It's so annoying. I hope she gets sidelined so much more next season 10/10 please, either get a reality check or just leave

Lucy Lane

She's just annoying and is given too many chances. How come Lucy who was the right hand man for a litteral world ending cult gets forgiveness easier than Jon who took drugs like three times. 10/10 shouldn't she be behind bars or something?

George Dean

I couldn't decide whether to put him or Ally at the bottom. He is intentionally insufferable and, I gotta say, the writers finally succeeded at something. He's so smug and annoying and I can't stand him! 10/10 of course he's in politics 

Ally Allston

Booooooooo. Not that intimidating. Really annoying. I hate how she talks. I hope she doesn't return and just stays in prison for the rest of her life (this goes for both of them) 10/10 I hate her (squared)

Best Boiiii

Timmy Ryan

"Even Chads deserve character development"

"And love"

10/10 deserves an enemies to lovers arc

#the best boiiii section was co-written by quinthefool #this entire post is almost 2000 words #that feels like too long #idk #i havent proofread this so fingers crossed it makes sense #superman and lois #superman & lois #s&l #jonathan kent #jon el #jordan kent #clark kent #lois lane #superman #sam lane #lucy lane #chrissy beppo #timmy ryan #sarah cortez #lana lang #cw #john henry irons #natalie irons #ally allston

[canarydarity]

Hard to tell how indicative the bones on the floor are of anything about the catacombs themselves being how, every few minutes, Pix kills another skeleton adding to the collection. He swipes his sword through the one before him, and it collapses so readily into a pile of bone—like it was made to, like it was just waiting on his sword—that he has to wonder, not for the first time, what was holding it together to begin with. The bones rattle and clatter against those already littered around, and Pix sighs at the further disturbance to the scene as it was when he had entered; accounting for the damage likely done by mobs was going to make this hell to study. 

He grabs another torch and sets it inside one of the empty sconces that still adorn the walls, readjusts his grip on his sword—he can hear more lingering around the next corner; the low hiss that means a spider is near, the groan or two of a zombie. 

Pix picks up a chunk of cobble from the ground and tosses it down the hall, waits. Sure enough, out scuttles a spider. He disposes of it quickly enough, but it seems he’ll have to venture down the dark hall to goad the zombies. He glances at the clock he placed in his hotbar before embarking on this mission (it’s hard to tell how much time passes underground—something he learned quickly in his line of work). There’s still a good amount of daylight left, and he wants the catacombs cleared; he has other projects he has to move on to, things he needs to finish; he’ll just get through a few more halls—it won’t be an issue, surely. 

But the new corner he rounds remains dark even as he places a torch behind him to mark the way back. The groans can still be heard, but a zombie is yet to lumber his way, and so he has to wonder what's beyond his admittedly limited sight. Pix shuffles another foot or so forward, a torch in his non-dominant hand now as well, hoping for light, for vision. The research part of him—the logical academic—knows that it shouldn't still be this dark with the torches placed behind him nor the one in his hand, and that part is so much louder and more important than the one that knows this means something is wrong, the part that says turn around. 

The torch is lit, he can feel the heat of the flame as he observes it flicker in and out but cast no shadow on the wall behind—a wall Pix can’t even see but knows is there all the same. The circle of light provided extends no further than an inch or two out from the flame itself—comparable more to that of a birthday candle than a lit hand torch. If he hadn’t been staring directly at it, he would’ve assumed the fire snuffed out. 

He feels his eye twitch and his brows furrow. Academia liked concrete answers, things that could be explained and reasoned away—unequivocal proof. But Pix had always had a soft spot for the inexplicable, the ineffable. It was nice when he studied something and found an answer, it was riveting when he didn’t. How much more exciting to study it again and again, a riddle that begged not to be solved. (How much sweeter the prize if he were the one to figure it out in the end). 

His interest was piqued. He could feel it, the way his attention focused and his surroundings blurred and left him; his body on standby, his sword hand lowered almost subconsciously.  

In other words, it was entirely his own fault when the zombie grabbed him. Panic is never a good thing to welcome into a fight, but it likes to show up uninvited anyway. Pix's entire career revolves around studying human behavior, about how human nature cannot be fought against though it oft leads us to our own downfall and ruin. He finds it uncanny when he's reminded that this is a phenomenon from which he is not exempt. 

In haste, he elbows the zombie behind him and turns, back now to the darkness—the one not even his torch could dent. It’s an ugly bugger, eyes soft and misshapen from decay and skin so leathery it’s as if it's been treated and is ready for use as a saddle or armor. Logic replaced by horror, before he can run it through it advances, arms out, and Pix drops his sword to reach back, holding it at arm's length itself; their arms interlocked, pose not unlike meeting an old friend again for the first time in a while. His hands grip the woven fabric of what's left of its shirt, too old and worn to be from any time close to recent, and, despite the very real danger, his mind takes the time to process the period-accurate fabric, the hand-stitched design. He blanches again as he looks into its horrible milky eyes—this zombie was from the capital. 

Not sentient enough to know why it’s not actually getting any closer to Pixlriffs, the zombie makes a noise that sounds frighteningly human in its frustration and steps forward, and in his distraction, Pix lets it. The push seems to make his brain function yet again, and he shoves the zombie backward a good few paces away, but the momentum sends him stepping back himself, and his foot finds not purchase but, instead, the disturbing lack of solid ground, and with nothing left to do, he falls. 

He hits the ground with a thump and a crack and a lot of other sounds he would rather not describe as he feels they were likely very undignified. Winded but, it appears, still in one piece, he grabs another torch and strikes it against the wall, holding it up above him when it lights and shines this time as torches normally do. He buries the part of himself that is disappointed at this—the part that wants to panic and complain finally louder, now, than the part that says hmm. 

He didn’t fall too far, it seems. Now that the torch is lit he can see the gap he’d fallen through, just under a dozen feet or so above where he lays. It's obvious even looking from below how the stone floor had crumbled away, taking maybe one or two hits too many over time from overcrowded mobs or shifts in terrain or pressure aboveground. He tilts his head back but sees only another dead end behind him, and ahead looks like a further, deeper hall of the tomb he hadn’t uncovered yet, though the path is obstructed by debris from above; a net of spiderweb blankets the pile of stone and dirt, but no spider seems to be left guarding the web. 

His friend above seems to have lost interest now that he’s fallen out of sight, and its moans and groans get further away by the second. 

No immediate threat, Pix lets his head fall back onto the ground and takes a breath. He knew the crypt would be full of mobs, he knew it’d be hard, but still…

No, it’s worth it. It will be worth it. He has a job to do.

At least he isn’t defenseless—it’s more than he can say for the dungeons. Not a weapon to his name, fists wrapped in tape so red you’d never believe it’d been white to begin with; knuckles so raw and scraped and beaten by the time he’d made it out that they’d scarred that way—permanent marks of the fighter he was, of the fighter he’d proved to be. 

There was a fear there, too, at that very real and physical understanding of permanence. His studies proved expert in providing examples of what was permanent and what wasn’t, and where people weren’t, things were. He’d spent enough time studying what could be learned about a person by the things they left behind to begin to wonder if anyone at all would’ve remembered him if he’d died in those dungeons—not a singular weapon or item for him to leave behind and tell his story.

Pix stops wallowing. He sits up and reaches over his shoulder for his pick; he isn’t shocked to find that the shaft had snapped in two from the fall, it having been strapped to his back. He sighs, tossing it aside as useless. He’ll make another. 

He takes the time to remind himself again that he knew it was going to be difficult, and that difficulty was no reason to not continue. But it didn’t just feel difficult it felt…inhibiting. Dissuading, deterring, impeding. It felt deliberate. It felt like, stay out; like, we don’t want you here; like, leave us to our rest. 

(it wasn’t, it was something far more sinister. An idea he’d never thought to consider; like a torch was giving off too-little light in the hallway of a dark, long-forgotten crypt, he couldn’t see any farther than what was right in front of his own face. How cliche it’d be, in the end, when it came to pass—the academic too invested in their own research, too dismissive of the present danger posed until it consumed them. He’d have a moment to laugh about it later, when the dread had settled in and all options—or lack thereof—exhausted. While on the topic of permanence…

It was not go away that the tomb was saying, not a driving force out that was being enacted upon the archeologist, but a more frightening call of stay. A threatening but desperate find…become…join…

No, if it were trying to keep him out, why would it keep pushing him deeper? Add this to the list of things he’d realize too late.)

He stands and dusts himself off. The wall is thick and overgrown with glow lichen, and he grabs the nearest vines and tugs one, twice, three times before deciding it won't give and hoisting up. It takes a few minutes and a fair amount of huffing and puffing to get himself to the top and over the edge but he does it, collapsing on higher ground once again and taking a minute to slow his pulse. When he left the dungeons, he dove back into the studies he’d been missing and decided he’d had enough fighting to last a lifetime—this was not without consequence, he’s not nearly as in shape as he used to be. 

His sword is still on the ground where he’d dropped it, so he reequips and readies himself to push his way back out; he’d have to make time to come back and clear the rest another day. He would be back, and he hoped he would be welcomed. 

“I don’t mean to disturb you,” he says into the quiet blackness of the catacombs. He doesn't dare speak above a whisper, for there were still mobs around and his voice carried enough as it was, bouncing along the empty stone and quiet graves. “I'd like to tell your story.” 

There's nothing to hear but for the scuttling of various creatures far off in the dark, the shrill whistle of stray wind through small openings and holes. He raises his voice only slightly, a bit bolder. “Don’t you want me to do that? Will—would you allow me to do that?” 

Silence, and then—the rattle and clatter of a skeleton. It sounds like only one; he lit everything up pretty well on his way in, getting out should be easier. Striking another torch against the wall, Pix prepares to go. For a second, the light is brighter than it should be, its circle of light illuminating the hall completely, the hole he’d fallen into, the distance to the other side. He leans back to avoid the heat of the flame, and he sees it. 

The other side of the cave-in leads not to another tunnel but to an alcove, and empty it is not. His torch, though many feet away, sheds light on the scene; the heavily wax-encrusted stone above a pile of used candles and burnt wicks, the coin and other offerings of gold overflowing from bowls and chalices and any other orifice they could be piled upon, and her. 

He recognizes her immediately. The tapestry covers the majority of the wall, and though it's faded for certain, the lack of direct sunlight has done wonders at preserving what it could. The colors are familiar to his research, the subtle and light greens under warm oranges and yellows. He’s too far, he cannot see any detail; the background, what she's holding, her face—but he knows her. She’s their patron. 

The skeleton wanders closer, its bones clicking and clacking down the hall. Pix swallows. 

“I’ll return for you, I will.” It’s a promise. She’s holding a secret, he knows she is—he’s going to figure out what. Pix turns just in time to face the skeleton as it rounds the corner, and soon its bones join those on the floor, new and old alike. 

His words still echo off the caverns and crevices of the catacombs after he's left and gone, and though not possible to have been heard by human ears, the crypt whispers back good. 

~-~-~-~

Far below even the hole the archeologist had fallen in, leagues underneath the surface of the earth, buried perhaps the furthest underground of anything left behind from the ancient capital—so deeply you’d have to wonder if maybe it was done on purpose—the crown sits in a chest, waiting patiently to be discovered. It’s not a matter of if, but a nice decisive and quiet when. Eventually, the echo of the archeologists' words falls upon it where it sits, and slowly it begins to emit a soft glow. It says stay, it says find, it says become, it says join.

It says soon.

#me when i dont write anything for almost an entire month and then inexplicably come back with 2000 words of pixlriffs fanficiton #all of which is completely self-indulgent #if you couldn't tell by tags on my recent reblogs and by this hey im doing so bad about pix being fucking dead and all #the blind academic...to be so invested in your work that it consumes you... #to disregard danger for the sake of being so close to what you believe is an answer #he studied the past so hard that he became it #hahahaha. #good thing he enjoys his work #because now he can never leave. #okay sorry not to write a 2000 word fic and then also write like another 300 in the tags #but also its mY POST!! GET OFF MY LAWN!! IM ALLOWED TO DO THAT! WAH IM SAD! #last thing but i have so much more to say about pixs background being his weaponless playthrough of mc dungeons. so. #someone talk to me about this /please #i lied. new last thing. now that this is out of my head :) hey :) all my fic planning is done im gonna start writing sentinel species #worm writes #empires smp #empires smp fic #empires smp fanfic #pixlriffs #pixlriffs fic #empires season 2 #esmp season 2

[king-krisu]

SAME IN INGLIS - Mic Mac

Yes Hello you ask and you shall receive: a series where I take one song and explain some of the slang or any references that might get lost in an ordinary translation. Usually I or any of the other mains doing translations don't want to make posts too long by adding footnote after footnote, so some stuff might be lost intentionally. I'm using this series to dedicate my time specifically for all the stuff I usually don't comment on. I'm gonna include everything in here, even some of the "obvious" things. So up first by popular request:

MIC MAC

So firstly, the name. Mic Mac was a Finnish youth clothing brand between 1972 and 2013. They were particularly known for their provocative and shocking ways of advertising especially in the 1980s. They had their own brand of jeans that were extremely popular, but they also sold other brands in their stores like Levi’s or Wranglers. From what I know they only had stores in Helsinki/Uusimaa but correct me if I’m wrong on that. For a lot of us Mic Mac is a very 80s/90s brand, their peak was during those times as well.

Jere has a lot of other interests that are very reminiscent of a childhood in the 90s. Even the name Jere was very popular in the 90s, it’s the equivalent of Justin or Jake in english. In this song he talks about Pokemon cards, which I’m sure a lot of 90s kids will remember being very popular. In the same breath he mentions Habbo Hotel, a Finnish online virtual world game and chat room founded in 2000 that’s still active today. in Viulunkieli he references Bomfunk MC’s Freestyler which is like the most 90s song in this country you could play. He also grew up listening to other artists that had their peak in the 90s/early 2000s, like Eminem or Finteligens. My point here is that it’s clear he has a lot of fond memories of his childhood, and he lets them influence a lot of his music and lyrics. Mic Mac in particular feels almost like an ode to that time in his life and in Finland generally.

Now, to the actual lyrics. I’m gonna copy paste the entire verse/chorus and highlight slang/spoken Finnish, and I’m gonna take a few particular words from each part and explain them. The cursive words are just slang with a parenthesis of “official Finnish” next to them, and the bolded ones I’m gonna explain.

Meen (menen) ajassa taaksepäin

Mutta onneksi ne ajat taakse jäi

Olin merkillinen enkä esimerkillinen

Käyttäytymisen alkeet jäi hei

Oli rasavillin elkeet, katoin (katsoin) Smackdownii TV:st

Ja otin mittaa mun isoveljest (minun isoveljestäni)

Meno epäterve

Tuolit lens (lensi) minkä kerkes (kerkesi) kavereiden kesken

Olin pieni ja paskiainen, alakoulun penkillä laiskiainen

Poden vielki morkkist ja henki haisee siit tupakin (tupakan) maistiaisesta (Hyi!)

Ja niist muutamast katkonaisest (katkonaisesta) muistosta ne vielki hävettää

Ei muisteta pahalla ku tuut vastaa unohdetaa menneet ja halataa (halataan)

Rasavilli is a word derived from swedish (rasvill), which is extremely common especially for Finnish slang. It means an unruly, mischievous child, willfully causing chaos

Meno epäterve I decided to highlight this because the word meno in this context is used in a colloquial way to describe the atmosphere of something, so for this instance the vibe was crazy or something. Officially it means an errand or plans, or financial expenses, but a lot of us also use it as a descriptive word

Morkkis I’m sure you remember from his song Morgan, but it just means being badly hungover and having anxiety. It can though also be used to just in general feel regretful over something in the past

The chorus actually doesn’t have any spoken/slang Finnish except one word from what I can tell so I’m not gonna include all of it here

Menin olohuoneeseen odottaa (odottamaan) tuoretta pullaa uunista

-

Jolloin meil (meillä) oli päällä Mic Maccii, oltii (olimme) Mic Macci jätkii

Ei ollu (ollut) värillä väliä kuhan (kunhan) fit oli fättii

Fätti I chose to highlight this just to show that often we’ll take English words and add ä/ö to them to make them sound Finnish. Like here the word is Fat, but because the -A sounds like our -Ä we just type it out like that. Another example of this would be how a lot of the times you’ll see the word rap written as räp, even though officially we just use the english word (although as a verb I think even officially it is räpätä with the -Ä)

Taas ajassa taaksepäin

Mun (minun) suuri suu sai isommat pojat ravistelee (ravistelemaan)

Olin pihapelien Jarkko Ruutu

Leuka tummu ku (tummui kun) pojan nassikat taistelee

En alkanu aristelee (alkanut aristelemaan)

Jos piti frendi tempun takii (takia) tuikata tulee

Enkä astella heikoil jäillä

Jonka johdosta mummo sai kuivata kuteet (slang: vaatteet)

Jotain samaa on faijas ja mussa (minussa)

Ei omena parka pudonnu (pudonnut) kauas puusta

Mutta sillon ku (silloin kun) putosin, ni tuhosin mun (niin tuhosin minun) ranteen ihan tuusannuuskaks

Vielki Habboo on kiinni portit

Mä palautan pöllityt Pokemon-kortit

Jarkko Ruutu A Finnish former ice hockey player who went all the way to the NHL, who was known for his particularly aggressive and rough playing

Pojan nassikat Nassikka is an older, almost colloquial descriptive way to refer to a little boy

Frendi/faija/pöllityt These are all slang words derived straight from other languages which we do a lot, especially with swedish or russian. Frendi comes from the english friend, faija comes from the swedish far (father), and pölliä possible comes from the swedish bälla (to steal/use)

Astella heikoilla jäillä So this isn’t like fully clear BUT there’s this children’s TV infomercial that has run every autumn/winter since 1986 and probably does today as well, that warns children not to walk on ice as it can be deceptively weak. It is ingrained into everyone's memories because the bear that falls into the ice looks so miserable and terrifying as he says “Watch out for weak ice”, and since this song is about his childhood I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say it’s a reference to that

Tuusannuuskaks This is a colloquial term used to describe something shattering into a thousand pieces. I honestly couldn’t find the full origin for this but most likely it comes from the swedish word tusen (thousand) and the rest is beyond me lol (except that nuuska means snuff so maybe it’s about snuff being easily spread in a thousand places)

Ja ku mentiin liian pitkälle läppien kaa (kanssa)

Istuttiin jälki-istunnossa Mic Macci jätkien kaa

Läppä means a joke, but the official word for it is vitsi. I’m not sure of the origin but some researcher said it comes from the swedish word läpp, meaning lip, and heittää huulta is a way to say someone is joking (Throwing lip), and in a colloquial way you say heittää läppää, which means the same thing

Jätkä means a young man, either in a neutral way or depending on the context a condescending way. The english equivalent would be a guy. It’s also what we call the card Jack in a card deck lol

So that’s finally all the lyrics done. As you can see from the cursive words, when comparing them to the “correct” or official word, we often just get rid of the last letter in a word when speaking. We really are a lot like the french in that way, we tie words in a sentence together by matching vowels with consonants, get rid of vowels if they seem to obstruct the flow of a word or just change a word radically to make something easier to say quickly (like minussa -> mussa).

I hope at least some of this was interesting, I’m very passionate about slang and word origins and there’s a lot of Käärijä songs that have even more crazier slang that I can’t wait to get into (like Alaks Olee or Koppi Tules). Until then, hope this was informative/entertaining <3

#käärijä #jere pöyhönen #finnish things #same in inglis series #käärijä translated #any finns out there who might notice slang i didnt highlight lmk this isnt actually my native language lol #cringe finswe moment

[finalgilmoregirl]

thanks for all the love on my last two posts, here’s an idea i thought of the other day that i actually was able to fully flesh out

☆ a growing relationship between fnaf movie!mike x fem!mall worker!reader would include :

- pre fnaf movie events

a/n : i made this in head cannon form to save time but i might make a blurb series. ALSO IMPORTANT : i try to make the reader in my fics as physically non descriptive as possible which means i try to stay away from words like “tall, short, pale, thin” etc… if there is ever an explicit description, it’ll be in the title (like how i put “fem!” or “latina”) okay that being said, enjoy!

- movie takes place in 2000s so naturally reader would work in retail whilst in college (movie!mike is thought to be in his mid-20s so i’m also making reader around that age)

- i think the first interaction between the two would be at her place of work, on a particular slow morning

- he’s only had his security job at the mall for about a week, and his employers had him bouncing around different stores, trying to find his place in the building

- which is how he ended up standing at the front your store at 10am

- he’d spoken to the assistant manager for a moment right before opening but it wasn’t until almost an hour into his shift that he’d noticed you

- he’d just failed to stifle his tenth yawn in the last few minutes when he heard your voice, snapping his brain into high alert

- “excuse me?”

- he turned his head in your direction and widened his eyes a bit before trying to relax

- you were talking to him, and you were beautiful

- “uhm, yeah?” he replied, instantly cursing himself in his mind for not replying more politely

- you obviously didn’t mind his response as you smiled sweetly, reaching an arm out, which is what made mike take notice of the to-go cup in your hand

- “sorry, i just thought you could use this.”

- oh! this surprised the man, and you took notice of the look on his face.

- to be fair this was weird, at least a little bit. you’d never given the other security guards coffee. you were always polite to them of course, but you never went out of your way to try to make an impression ike this.

- but then again, none of the other security guards were this cute

- and you thought mike was very cute

- “i know, it’s a bit weird but i was over there stacking clothes and couldn’t help but notice how tired you seemed.” you pointed to where you were just a moment ago, before you’d gone to the back room to get mike his drink

- mike looked to the area you pointed out, taking notice of the pile of clothes you’d seemed to be in the process of organizing

- mike wanted to hit himself. he was so caught up in his own head and trying to force himself awake that he didn’t even notice that you had been a mere ten feet away this entire time.

- he then looked back at you and realized he hadn’t make a single coherent reply to anything you’d said so far

- he shook his head out of his thoughts and gave you a small smile

- “no no that’s not weird” he said, taking the coffee out of your hands and trying to ignore how soft they felt as his fingertips brushed against them, “that’s really nice of you, thank you.”

- you shrugged, playing with your now free hands while trying to ignore how your heartbeat had started to quicken

- “it’s no big deal, i just thought it’d be best if you were awake in case anyone tried to rob us” you joked, earning a chuckle from mike.

- “i’m y/n by the way” you held out your hand to him

- “i’m mike” he said as he took it, giving it a light shake and reluctantly letting go

- you looked into each others eyes for a moment, and warmth started to circulate your bodies

- unfortunately, the moment was gone too fast as one of your coworkers called you over, asking for your help in taking down some boxes

- you looked back at mike, who still held the smallest smile

- “i guess i’ll see you around.” you shrugged, walking away

- as the day went by and the store got increasingly busier, you and mike failed to have anymore interactions and soon, he had to leave, saddened by the fact that he couldn’t say goodbye but also hopeful at the thought that he might see you again

- it wasn’t until a week later that he did

- he unfortunately got stationed at a kiosk near the entrance of the mall, however that didn’t stop him from walking by your store on his breaks in hopes to catch another glimpse of you

- he did this for three days until this routine paid off.

- you were working the cash register, conversing with a young girl and her mother as you bagged their clothing

- “have a good one!” you smiled brightly at the pair as they walked out of store, which is when you saw mike approach the entrance

- he walked in shyly, hands in his pockets

- he’s wanted to see you… but what did he even plan to say?

- “hey mike!” you called out to the brunette as he walked in

- he responded with his own “hi” as he walked up to the counter

- “what are you doing here?”

- “you know, just…taking a walk”

- he looked down for a moment, nerves creeping up on him. well, he thought. i might as well take advantage of this moment. i mean, you’re right there.

- with a sudden surge of confidence (and despite the sweat now pooling down the back of his neck) he looked back up and said : “i actually just realized.”

- you looked back at him expectedly

- “i never got to repay you for that coffee.”

- when asked if you’d like to cash in that debt you replied a bit faster than you would like to admit, and a date was set for the same day

- where mike had four more hours to go after his break, you had three. which you thought was more than fine, just more time to prepare for this date

- you would meet at the coffee place across from the food court after both of your shifts

- and when you did, it was like something out of a movie

- mike of course, as guarded as he his, tried his best from dumping any trauma on you and steered clear from anything he thought was too personal in fear of scaring you away. however after picking up bits and piece from your life, he had a feeling you wouldn’t judge him

- despite you basically being a stranger, he felt more relaxed than he had in years, him learning about you was enough to distract him from whatever nightmares plagued him at all hours of the day, just for a little while

- as time went on and you both kept in touch after your first date, mike began to open up a bit more

- after the first few weeks he told you about abby, more so about their situation

- you sympathized with him a bit, offering advice if he needed it and a helping hand if any issues with their current babysitter came up

- your selflessness solidified his thought that this could be something good, which led to your first kiss after your fourth date

- you figured it would take a while, you sensed from the first date that he would be a tough book to crack open, but you really liked him and were more than happy to be patient.

- back to abby :

- as much as he was okay with talking to you about abby, he hadn’t planned to tell abby about you. not knowing how she would react to adding a random woman to possibly be a part of her life after their mother

- this of course became a small issue when she began to notice how much more time he spent on the phone

- phone bill be damned, he would still lean against the kitchen wall, twirling the phone cord around his finger for at least half an hour while he talked to you

- “who is it?” abby asked one late afternoon.

- where she was supposed to be in bed already, she came out to get a glass of water, catching her brother talking in a hushed voice.

- “don’t worry about it” mike would tell her.

- “what are they saying?”

- “abby can you please just go to your room”

- she would very soon find out about your existence when one evening mike put the phone down for a second to go look for a book he wanted to tell you about

- as soon as he walked out of the room, abby jumped from her place on the couch and snuck to the phone

- “hello?” she whispered, cupping her hand over the transmitter

- “hi” you smiled, picturing the young girl that mike had described to you before

- “who is this?” abby asked, almost aggressively, confused as to why her brother has been talking to a woman

- “i’m y/n” you told her, trying to suppress a laugh

- something clicked in the child then

- gasp “are you mikes girlfriend??”

- it was just then that mike had returned, and with a face of anger and horror her snatched the device from abby’s grasp and lightly shoved her away with a light scolding “abby what the hell did i say?”

- you laughed harder at his tone

- “i am so sorry about that. what did she say to you?”

- “oh nothing” you sighed, “she just asked me if i was your girlfriend.”

- he mouthed a god dammit as he looked to the ceiling

- he wasn’t embarrassed that abby had asked, he was embarrassed that he hadn’t asked you yet

- there’s no protocol to dating as an adult. “will you be my girlfriend?” sounds too childish and when that’s out of the question, where do you go from there?

- “well…” mike shut his eyes tightly as he asked, “what did you say?”

- “i didn’t get to answer. what do you think i should have said?” you said, lighthearted but pointedly.

- swallowing the bile he felt creeping up his throat at the nerves he rubbed his hand to his sweater clad chest

- “i mean…” you continued. “do you want me to be?”

- my god yes he desperately thought but tried his best to sound casual “yeah, i’d like that”

- “well then, i suppose i am your girlfriend. maybe i can actually tell her next time”

- he sensed the teasing in your voice and gave a mixed of a chuckle and a sigh at your answer, the weight the nerves left on his chest lifted.

- “next time” he said softly, “sounds good”

☆ might start planning a part two

#kelly : mike thoughts 💭 #mike schmidt x reader #fnaf movie #mike schmidt #josh hutcherson

[strwbrrykss]

𝕶𝖎𝖓𝖐𝖙𝖔𝖇𝖊𝖗 𝕸𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙

Happy Spooky Month! Below the cut are the 31 prompts I’ll be using for my very first Kinktober! Thank you to everyone that has requested a character for these prompts to fill out the list, I hope you all enjoy this smutty buffet!!

All works are 1000-2000 words, with little to no plot - just straight up smut [by default these pieces will be f!reader but if there’s any that you want to see as afab! or gn!reader, let me know!]

all kinks + pairings were chosen by me; based entirely off what I felt comfortable writing. If anything from the below list makes you uncomfortable, I strongly advise you not to read it

ageless blogs // minors interacting with this post, or any of the linked posts, will be blocked

As and when each piece is posted, the title on this post will be pink to indicate the link has been added!

ALL CONTENT BELOW THE CUT IS 18+/NSFW. MINORS DNI. BY OPENING THE “READ MORE” YOU AGREE THAT YOU’RE OF AGE

Dry Humping - Eddie Munson

Sometimes you’re both just too tired to get completely down and dirty, but Eddie has a new approach to an old problem

Hide N Seek - Dean Winchester

It started as a stupid game, something to keep you entertained whilst exploring an abandoned mall with Dean. And transpired into much more.

Begging - Benedict Bridgerton

You both knew it was frowned upon to leave a party early, but sometimes, you just want to hear your husband beg for your attention behind closed doors.

Masturbation - JJ Maybank

After a day spent out on the water in your new swimwear, JJ just can’t help himself and takes matters into his own hands... Literally.

Daddy Kink - Kevin Atwater

It came about by pure chance in conversation, what he wanted you to call him, and now you say it almost as much as his real name.

Overstimulation - Bucky Barnes

There is nothing Bucky loves more than to push you over and over to the edge of release... Except for watching you fall apart when he finally lets you finish.

Praise Kink - Anthony Bridgerton

Despite thinking you knew Anthony better than most, there’s still one more thing you’re yet to learn about him and it’s... Surprising results.

Dacryphilia - Robert “BOB” Floyd

Sweet as he may be, Bob loves nothing more than to see your makeup streaked down your face and he has plenty of methods to make it happen.

Mirror Sex - Eddie Munson

Eddie wants to show you just how pretty you really are, especially when he’s rocking your shit for the fifth time that week.

Cockwarming - Jake “Hangman” Seresin

Sometimes, all he needs is to be as physically close to you as possible, and you’re all too willing to help him out.

Facesitting - Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw

There’s very little you haven’t tried with Bradley, even with your status currently undefined, there’s one thing he can’t stop thinking about.

Lingerie - Matt Casey

At the end of a stressful week for you both, you decide to surprise Matt with some new additions to your wardrobe.

Breeding - Nomad!Steve Rogers

You thought you’d seen the last of him after the fiasco with the Accords. Steve has other plans now that he’s no longer America’s Golden Boy

Threesome - Pornstar!Jay Halstead + Pornstar!Adam Ruzek

After you revealed that you’d always been interested - or at the very least curious - to try a threesome, Jay brings home the perfect solution; a costar.

Food Play - Derek Morgan

Trying to cook a nice meal for yours and Derek’s anniversary doesn’t exactly go as planned... And leaves more of a mess than either of you want to admit.

Car Sex - Adam Ruzek

Adam always looked forward to seeing you on his lunch break, but when you proposition him, he isn’t going to refuse.

Toys - Pornstar!Jay Halstead

Jay confesses he wants to try something new - something that he might be able to add to his - not exhaustive - resume, you’re all too happy to oblige.

Uniform Kink - Jake “Hangman” Seresin

There’s just something about seeing a man in uniform that makes your blood run hot. Jake is no exception to that rule, despite your rocky relationship.

Morning Sex - JJ Maybank

In the Summer following graduation, you and JJ spend your time one of three ways; surfing, smoking and fucking.

Phone Sex - Steve Harrington

A town-wide curfew puts a damper on your date plans with Steve, so you find other ways to spend some quality time together.

Unprotected Sex - Will Halstead

After a lengthy discussion over the course of several weeks, you and Will decide that it’s time to ditch the condoms.

Clothed Sex - Dean Winchester

The last thing you expected whilst Sam was out on a solo hunt was for tensions to break between you and Dean after all the pining, teasing and flirting.

Sensation Play - Connor Rhodes

Candles and ice cubes seemed like mundane things in your relationship with Connor, until he has an interesting suggestion one night.

Quickies - Lip Gallagher

A surprise visit from your boyfriend at work, prompts you to take your lunch break a little sooner.

Pegging - Connor Rhodes

When your “present” for Connor arrives earlier than expected, he’s more than eager to put it to use as soon as possible.

Thigh Riding - Sierra Six

You’re feeling particularly needy and Six knows exactly how you can get your fix and it’s no longer just a quiet night in.

Anywhere But The Bed - S1!Sam Winchester

A long weekend with Sam on a hunt turns out to be just the push you needed for the levee to break and hormones to run rampant.

Semi-Public Sex - Billy Hargrove

Billy just can’t wait to get his hands on you, regardless of the fact that you’re in no suitable place to meet his demands, he’s quick to find a way around it.

Hair Pulling - Dean Winchester

Who knew that just a playful tug on Dean’s hair could change the mood so drastically? You certainly didn’t and you wish you’d done it sooner.

Accidental Stimulation - Roommate!Luke Hemmings

Movie night was a Friday ritual for you and Luke, until one too many chance touches alters the dynamic between the two of you.

Pool Sex - John B Routledge

A sure-fire way to get petty, self-indulgent revenge on your Kook ex-boyfriend? Fuck John B in his pool when he’s not around.

#bradley bradshaw x reader #jake seresin x reader #adam ruzek x reader #billy hargrove x reader #eddie munson x reader #steve harrington x reader #john b routledge x reader #jj maybank x reader #matt casey x reader #will halstead x reader #jay halstead x reader #kevin atwater x reader #anthony bridgerton x reader #benedict bridgerton x reader #bucky barnes x reader #lip gallagher x reader #luke hemmings x reader #dean winchester x reader #strwbrrykss writes #kinktober 2022 #strwbrrykss

[mikashisus]

Clipped Wings

”i could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; i would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. i would know him in death, at the end of the world"

— madeline miller

summary: He was like the fresh breeze on a warm summer day, brushing over your skin with the most delicate of touches.

He knew just the right words to say and how to say them, and lies slipped from his lips easier than wine slid down his throat.

pairing: venti x fem!reader

content warnings: foul language, panic attacks, mentions of alcoholism, graphic depictions of violence, mentions of abuse and trauma, mentions of torture, religious symbolism, and suggestive scenes (including innuendos)

ch.1 wc: 1.9k

author’s notes: earlier chapters are between 1000-2000 words long.

this fic is semi canon divergent. only few canon events will be mentioned, and timeline is around 3.0 when the traveler is just entering sumeru.

cross-posted on ao3 & wp (-FOC4LORS)

CHAPTER I: sowing the seeds of hope

"Oh what pain doth the heart sing

When faced with the churn of old love's sting...

The seeds of hope shall be thrown askew

And a maiden's heart will be turned anew"

The lovely sound of a lyre in the corner of Angel's Share tavern attracted your attention. Setting down the bard's drink on the table and tucking a tray underneath your arm, you sent him a small smile.

"New song?"

"Yep!" he giggled, taking a sip of the drink you placed down. "I think I'll call this one: (name)’s Woes! How's it sound to you?" His ever playful tone rang in your ears; a pleasant change from the recent events.

Just the thought of said events made a bitter taste settle on your tongue and your heart ache in a painful way. It had been hard to get your mind off of things lately.

You sighed, averting your gaze to the floor. "Well, considering you have a knack for picking up on other's emotions, I'd say, yes... it fits the mood quite well." You met his cerulean eyes again, which were now shining with more mischief than before. You could only assume the tricks he was holding up his sleeve, and wondered what kind of tomfoolery he'd pull off just to elicit a smile from you.

"Care to drink with me?" he offered, the question a little quieter than his earlier enlightenments. "You look like you need a break." He gave you a once over. To be fair, you did need a break. A break from everything, even your job at the tavern.

Shaking your head, you clicked your tongue. "Would love to, but I'm technically still on shift. But, you can keep playing— our patrons love your performances." You sent him a warm smile, one that made the tips of his ears turn pink and his heart to start racing.

"You seem to enjoy them more than they do, though," he smirked, sending you a knowing look as he strummed his lyre again.

Of course... there was the teasing. You expected it to come at some point after talking with him.

And he wasn't entirely wrong, either... you loved his songs, always finding your eyes wandering to him when he was performing in the plaza. However, you never thought anyone noticed... much less Venti himself. You had always thought you were being subtle in your intrigue. Nothing got past the bard, you knew that all too well by now.

A little flustered, you grabbed the wine glass from the table before he could take another sip. It was almost empty. "I'll go get you another wine," you turned on your heel, hearing the bard chuckle. Before he could utter a retort, you swiveled back around. "But only if you behave!"

He saluted you, "Yes, ma'am!" he winked, watching as you stormed off behind the counter before thinking up a new song. His eyes drifted to you, watching as you prepared another wine for him.

He frowned. It was no secret that your recent relationship with the chief alchemist had taken an immense swan dive. No one really saw it coming... especially since the two of you were so infatuated with each other. But alas, he made the mistake of tossing you aside and shouting hurtful words at you when you expressed how lonely you felt as of late... and to top it all off, his outburst had happened in a public area, where he freely humiliated you and treated everything as if it had been nothing. As if he had never cared for your feelings at all.

And to think it all started because you were a little upset that he was spending so much time on his research and little time with you.

Usually you didn't mind all that much when he was busy with work, as being an alchemist was his job, and the immense fixation he had on his interests were understandable, but he had been putting off spending time with you for over a month. At first, you didn't say a thing, mainly because you thought you were simply being petty or acting childish— but after trying to talk to him about how you felt, and having your feelings be completely ignored, you realized that no... you weren't being childish.

He was blatantly ignoring how you felt, and he had the audacity to think you'd still stay with him after he yelled at you like he did. After he utterly humiliated you and destroyed every single shred of dignity you had left.

From an outside perspective, everything between you two seemed fine... but maybe that was because you were an expert liar. If it weren't for you dropping the news to your boss last week, then Venti would've never known anything had been going south so fast in the first place.

Diluc had offered you a day off from work to take some time to yourself, but you refused. You knew that if you were left alone, your mental state would deteriorate further. Therefore, you continued to work, seeing as it was a delightful distraction. And indeed, it was... even though the shouts of drunkards weren't particularly any better than the thoughts that roared on like a waterfall in your head.

Maybe you should've taken that time off after all...

Venti could tell the whole ordeal must've taken a toll on you... after all, dating someone for two years and then suddenly breaking up with them had to be hard. He pondered on whether or not he should conjure up a new song for you and play it when it's finished. The one he just played for you was something he merely thought up on the spot and used as a mood lightener. If he were to make you a real song, he'd want to do it right— it would have to be perfect; no teasing or sneaky lyrics.

"Here's your wine," you slammed the glass down onto the table, making him flinch a little as he was brought out of his stupor.

"Aw c'mon now, (name)! Spare an innocent bard, will you?" he teased, batting his eyelashes. "You know, if you intend to attract more patrons, you'll never do it by making that face and acting all violent." He chuckled when your eye twitched, and sent you a knowing smirk. He was definitely looking for trouble tonight, that was for sure.

"Innocent, huh? More like shameless!" you retorted, rolling your eyes as you remembered the countless times he's flirted with you when you were already in a relationship with someone else. Not like you minded the sudden adoration, but it was a bit uncomfortable at the time. Now though...

"Learn to control yourself— especially when in the presence of a taken woman!"

"Not to be insensitive, but you don't classify as a taken woman any longer," Diluc interrupted, joining the two of you at the table. He set down a Dead After Noon on the table before you, nudging it in your direction, and glanced between you and Venti. Was he subtly insisting that you should take a break?

"So, to be frank... anyone could try their chances with you right about now."

You didn't like the way he said that... it sent a shiver down your spine as his crimson eyes bore through you, before they shifted back to Venti with a warning glare. "However, some people need to learn what restraint means. Taken woman or not." Then he was gone, retreating back behind the bar to serve a drunkard.

You hadn't even realized he had been here tonight until now. Had you been that caught up in your thoughts since the start of your shift?

You let out an exasperated sigh and crossed your arms overtop of the table. Venti was back to humming and strumming his lyre, the melodious tune that left his lips beginning to lull you into a calmer state. This was why you loved his songs. They were serene and told tales of love, woe, war, and tragedy. Each one had a meaning, and whether or not you knew those meanings, they were still delightful to hear. Your favorite was the one telling of a young maiden who fell in love with a god.

No matter how much the maiden wished to ascend to the heavens and be with him, she couldn't. She was fated to stay on the surface as a mortal, and her lover was doomed to eternity in the skies. Even though it was a tragic tale, the love portrayed between the two was something you could only ever dream of. You were silly to think you found that everlasting love with your ex.

Then again, you really did think the two of you would have a bond stronger than that in fairytales— one forged in blood and cherished until the end of time. That was your childish dreams speaking... to wish for something that only existed within your wildest daydreams. To think that your first love would be worth salvaging until your dying breath. How naïve you were to believe it all.

"You like that one, don't you?" Venti questioned as the song neared its end, drawing you from your thoughts. He could somehow sense the downward spiral of your emotions, and quickly diverted your attention to something else. You admired his knack for reading others' emotions, and having a high sense of empathy for those around him. He truly was enticing.

You opened your eyes, being met with vibrant crystal blues mixed with verdant greens. You hadn't even realized you closed your eyes in the first place, but the sight of Venti gazing at you made you push the thought aside.

His eyes were brisk, like the breeze on a hot summer day, yet warm like a campfire on a chilly night. Though, there was always something off about his eyes; an underlying sadness laid deep beneath his cerulean irises, hazing over his curious stare like a thunderstorm over a raging ocean. You wanted to debunk whatever it was, but you knew that even if you tried, he wouldn't let you.

You smiled sadly, "Yeah... it's definitely my favorite."

He chuckled softly. The beating of your heart seemed especially loud in the corner the two of you sat in, so loud that you swore he could hear it. And unbeknownst to you, he could. He could hear every raced thump inside your ribcage, every shallow breath of air you took in to your lungs— cause what was a bard if not someone who could read the souls of those he wrote ballads about? And he suddenly had an idea for a new one.

"You tend to like the love songs more than the others. Shall I play more of that genre when you're around?"

Maybe he ought to write one for you if you admired them that much. The thought made him want to start on it right away... and he was already coming up with the perfect melody.

"Please," you sighed in relief, resting your head upon the table as Venti chuckled once more and began to play another one of your favorite songs, one shrouded in a blissful tune and depicting the love of two people who lived out the rest of their lives together happily.

"As you wish."

author’s notes: i hope u enjoy this fic as it progresses! the first 3 chapters are a little ehh but that's simply cause i wrote them back when i had no clear plot to go off of. i'll prolly end up rewriting them later on, but for now they'll stay how they are.

chapter 2

#genshin venti #venti x reader #genshin #genshin x reader #diluc ragnvindr #kaeya alberich #albedo #angst #genshin impact #— clipped wings 🪽

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls: Season 2, Episode 21, Lorelai's Graduation Day, Part 6

I may be something of a rank amateur as far as how many times I've watched Gilmore Girls (2 times through seasons 1-7, currently in the middle of my 2nd run of seasons 1-4 only) while some people have seen it dozens of times (how do you do it, I'm in awe of you, I love this show but it drains my life force). I may be a walking encylopedia of stupid knowledge about Luke and Jess (like how Luke actually serves Folgers coffee and Apartment Jess in season 4 has a Recycling On Tuesday sticky note on his fridge) but I've had to look up basic-bitch things about Rory and Lorelai like why there is so much bootleg merchandise that says "Copper Boom". My point is that with every viewing, I learn a lot. Right now I'm learning that my memory is a shady bitch. She's been tricking me into thinking many of the episodes I remembered as hunky dory "Comfort episodes" from beginning to end were not. The reality is this: the beginning of many episodes are innocent enough, the "favorite/comfort" is actually just some small portion in the middle, and the last 10-15 minutes are a shit tornado of epic proportions and almost without exception due to Lorelai and/or Dean’s fuckery (example: There's the Rub). MY POINT IS, I do have a vague memory of how this episode ends and I anticipate that while it won't be the worst Last 15 Minutes Shit Tornado I'm hoping it won't wash the sweet sweet taste of Literati StepCousin Wiener Tasting In The City out of my mouth right quick. EDIT after finishing the episode: It was not rage-inducing at all. It was fine. Lorelai barely even talked because Rory wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise. It was just ridiculous and went on too long. Read more at the end of the post. Due to it's lack of fuckery, one minute each of Dean and Christopher, and Lorelai's lack of interference, StepCousins In The City can hold it's trophy aloft and retain its standing as my favorite Gilmore Girls episode of all time.

That was pointless and disgusting and it goes on through the entire graduation. And yeah, that's the dude who voices all the characters on Family Guy, Seth MacFarlane. Pretty much just playing one of his characters. With his Brian Griffin voice which is really just his normal voice. Charming. Did you know Family Guy was one the first shows to be revived after it was canceled due to overwhelming demand from fans? The Network was like "if it'll shut ya'll up we'll bring the damn thing back." I was a biiiiiig Family Guy fan in the early 2000's, spent countless hours on FG message boards and added my momentum to the campaign. The network listened. They bought it back. It was horrible. I never watched it again. AHEM.

Thanks a lot, Family Guy. And I’m sorry that I took part in the first successful revival campaign for a canceled tv show. I could not know the domino effect it would have. Alright, my memory is failing me again. I cannot for the life of me recall how Rory ends up missing Lorelai's graduation. I don't think she got on the wrong bus (Jess would never let her). Does the bus break down? Oh, how I love playing Memory Roulette.

So there's one single road leading out of New York City into all surrounding states, and a single accident will prevent “all” busses from leaving the state? Thousands of people are being held hostage over one car crash? That won’t be pretty. I feel like her best option would be to take the train. A taxi would be too expensive, but Jess knows how to drive, so maybe Liz has a car. Steal her car. I just feel like there are alternatives than being held hostage in a stinky bus. Back at the graduation, Family Guy and his girlfriend continue yelling at each other to shut up and die and then they bully Lorelai for having wealthy parents. This is community college. I am an alumni of a county college myself. Many classes would be half empty by the end of the semester as people constantly dropped out (especially night classes). There were some bumps in the road so it took me 3 years to get my 2 year Associates degree, and I was proud of myself for finishing. I didn't pursue any more education after that; but the graduation ceremony was small because most people were transferring to a four year school and they didn't see the point, I guess, of bothering with a graduation ceremony halfway into their college career. Nobody lived at school so your personal connections to your classmates were loose at best. My point is no college adult would ever give a damn about some total stranger's parents to the point they're going to openly bully them AND their friends. I just wanted to graduate and be done with school forever. We’re adults, we all wanna go home. Family Guy is picking on Sookie and Jackson for their "expensive" clothes now. Joke's on you Family Guy, Lorelai runs the Independence Inn where all three of them are employed and she pays them both in beans.

This is what I say any time someone compliments my outfit. Lorelai's face is priceless.

Sometimes this show makes me feel old. This time, I feel young. Because I'm nearly 40, and still too young to know squat about pagers. I grew up in the same Gilmore Girls timeline where certain people (but not everyone) had primitive cellphones, but I don't remember anyone with a pager. I wasn't aware that pagers could get any sort of texts that communicated "I'm running late." . So I had to jump down another GoogleHole . The answer is yes, they were capable of sending and recieving alphanumeric messages, and since the mid 90's, to boot.

Ahhh, love to see her amongst the commoners.

She misses her cousin, okay? You don't have to remind her. Please do not talk to unaccompanied teenage girls on public transportation and tell them to smile, you pervert. He informs Rory that she got on a Local bus, which is why it's taking so long and making a lot of stops, while the bus she took into the city was an Express that doesn't make stops. Okay, you know what, I actually blame Jess for this. I literally just said "Jess would never let Rory get on the wrong bus." And what did he do? Screwed his cousin. Figuratively. It's not the wrong route, but given that he's aware she needed to be home on time to see Lorelai’s graduation, how important it was to Rory, and with him knowing that little miss "can I eat a hot dog on the subway" was under his supervision as a born and bred New Yorker to get on the correct bus to get home in time, well Jess, you fucked up. Jess Mariano's second fuck up is that Rory clearly has some way of communicating with Lorelai, and if Little Mister Walmart had a cellphone, she could have disembarked the bus, called or messaged him, and he could have directed her to the right bus or given her advice on alternate modes of transportation.

You should have, but it's still your cousin's fault. You're making lengthy conversation with strange men on the bus. You're too naive. You can't be trusted in a big city by yourself. She also listed two scenarios where if this were only a couple of years later, having a smartphone to check traffic and schedules would have changed the entire course of the episode. Because We're still on season 2, where you can't show someone drinking a beer and Rory goes to house parties thrown by popular kids where they only drink "imported sodas", this guy is using his beer can for his spit and not to drink. At least by the end of season 3 (KegMax) beer is finally a thing which exists and that wayward youth are seen indulging in.

Family Guy continues to bully Lorelai for being "rich" even moments before she gets her degree. This isn't funny and is in fact quite nauseating and awful.

Yayy. We spot Emily holding back tears during Lorelai's graduation, but afterwards she can only a muster up this ol chestnut: "Congratulations. Hope Raul got some pictures. Welp see ya tomorrow, we gotta go." Okay, okay, this is the worst graduation in history. Mr and Mrs Asshole Family Guy bully you the entire time, your daughter doesn't show up because she's dilly dallying all over New York City shoving wieners in her mouth with your punk future-nephew, you didn't want your parents to show up in the first place because you feel like you'd only disappoint them, but they show up anyway because their grand daughter went behind your back to invite them, then they make a spectacle only to tell you "congratulations" and then try to leave. And to break Lorelai's heart even further, in a few moments she'll find out that Dean Forrester's on his way to being moldy old Wonderbread to Rory and Jess is...the new fancy organic expensive bread from the good supermarket outside of Stars Hollow. Look, she's due for some pretty bad karma but maybe this is a skosh too much at once.

Put it towards therapy.

Certainly not stuck on the wrong bus because her chaperone couldn't be trusted.

Oh Rory you're SO BONED.

Back at home... L: Whatever kept you, whatever you were doing you should have gotten out of it just this once. Was it school? Was it Paris? Oh boy Lorelai I hope you're ready for a real doozy. Anyway, we're finally down to the last four minutes of the episode which is the entire length of Rory's rambling, over the top groveling/ apology.

Hey, that might be enough time to get Dean off your back. Tell her you went to see Jess. DO IT.

"After he called me last night, that phone call... it DID SOMETHING TO ME. I'm ill! I'm sick!" Girl, I feel you. I get it. I get it. Come here. Give me a hug. Rory's groveling is so desperate and pitiful that Lorelai looks utterly reasonable. She is just standing there shaking her head, because let's face it, she's already had one hell of a night so what's one more cherry on top of the shit sundae that was her graduation?

How could I resist? "I can't believe Icut school when finals are coming up to go see a guy who isn't my guy and end up missing my mother's graduation!" But you did it, you were brave, you followed your dear little heart, and I'm proud of you. And the groveling goes on on and on...the stinky bus...the guy with the spit can...she's so sorry...please ground her and make her wash the dishes for a year...she's so sorry...she's stupid and dumb and "girly" for being so impulsive...this isn't her...what a dumb selfish stupid non thinking freak she is...

Uh…

L: "Maybe you don't have a medical condition or a mental problem, maybe you're just falling for Jess." I love Jess, but making the decision to get involved with him DOES involve some level of mental problems, it's pretty much a requirement. The same goes for Rory, who is also deeply fucked up but just better at concealing it. Star crossed lovers, bound by fate, dirty hot dogs, the stars above, the marriage of his uncle to her mother, and loads of familial trauma. Rory-O and Jess-Iet.

Rory, you're a terrible liar. Work on that.

That's it! FOREVER! She adds. Said every 17 year old about some asshole pig boy they dated in high school. It's gonna last forever, Mom! But with the way he weaves in and out of her life for over five years, this is sadly closer to accurate than I like to think about. If Lorelai had a crystal ball or called Miss Cleo she could see into the future and rest easy knowing Jess and Rory only date for like 7 months. But she'd also find out she was going to marry into Jess' family and she would have to see Jess for the rest of her natural life and he would call her Aunt Lorelai at every chance he got just to get under her skin. The universe has a way of evening these things out.

Rory keeps up the pathetically transparent "I love Dean! Dean Dean Dean! Jess is gone. Evaporated. Jess? Jess who? I'm not in love with my cousin!" charade but Lorelai isn't buying it. Ladies and gentlemen, she's still going. And now she has a list. While she was on the Stinky Bus she wrote a list of all the ways she's going to make up for her transgression. She is now going to read the items on the list to Lorelai. One by one. This is surely not the most insufferable ending in gilmore girls history but it's one of those scenes that could have been cut down to half the time. Four minutes of Rory's incessant groveling felt like 30 minutes. Lorelai just looks at Rory as she goes off the deep end, not angry at her but sympathetic and bewildered as her daughter begs to be beaten and suffocated. Oh, and Rory left the Go Go's record she bought for Lorelai on the bus. The end.

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls season 2 #rory gilmore #literati #denise rewatches gilmore girls #lorelais graduation day

[catofoldstones]

The bemoaning of s@nsan's loss of popularity by shippers fascinates me because iv'e seen a lot of ancient fans stance on it was that sansa's flaw is liking pretty things/people so her lesson should be to marry the hound for humility yet not ONE of them look inside the text that all the men that attack/abuse/molest sansa all find her pretty or are infatuated with pretty women worst abuse them, the double standard of fans against sansa fascinates me as they ignore one of sansa's character traits is to treat people with courtesy,they also ignore every character has been attracted to pretty people even j0n yet not one person says that hes vain for liking val based on her attractiveness, the only person iv'e seen thats been as criticized is d@ny simply for her infatuation in daario and dismissal of quentyn and while we as readers didnt like that she did that she's also a teenager(and doesnt know quentyn) again there's huge double standard for girls and boys in this fandom yet no one saw it

im getting off track but basically s@nsan's loss of popularity shouldn't be such a surprise when there's a whole new generation of readers that might not have the same readings or bias from previous years especially when a lot of it was just misogynistic undertones

Has san/san lost popularity? It’s still heralded as one of the most iconic ships to come out of the game of thrones and late 2000s/ early 2010s in general, isn’t it? And the san/san posts I see have a good number of notes, always around and upwards of 400, which is a hefty number to me. But yes, it has definitely left major pop-culture discourse centres.

I have heard a lot about this “flaw” you are talking about and I consider myself extremely lucky that i didn’t join the fandom earlier. I absolutely cannot imagine being in the fandom from the 90s to 2018 as a Sansa stan, when hating her was the norm. I was just about to bring up this point you mentioned, that all men, who are full grown adults btw, lust after Sansa based on her looks. They consider her pretty and want them all for herself, and all the while she’s a 12 year old.

“Why should I be guilty? My wife wants no part of me, and most especially not the part that seems to want her.”

Tyrion VII, ASOS

“Give your Florian a little kiss now. A kiss for luck.” He swayed toward her. Sansa dodged the wet groping lips, kissed him lightly on an unshaven cheek, and bid him good night. It took all her strength not to weep.”

Sansa IV, ACOK

And these are just two people, with one out of many such instances each, among a hoard of men who think of her like that. A very simple answer to all of this is misogyny, in and out of the universe. Of course the entire san/san fandom has no hive mind, they were apparently the first ones to come up with the qitn Sansa theory while also coming up with the cottage theory, but shipping a 12 year old with a grown man who almost raped her at knifepoint is an open letter invitation for haters to find a settling point for making sansa suffer without actually getting called out for it. It becomes such a perfect cover for actively hating a 12 year old because even the haters realise how insane that actually is.

I think the “flaw rectification” argument was birthed to fuse the thought that yes, sansa did bad things, here’s how we can still enjoy her character while the undercurrent of unfounded hatred runs through the ship while we conveniently never acknowledge it. Obviously new readers came along who had never interacted with the fandom and realised “hey, what the fuck?” and had a different opinion of “that’s a defenceless 12 year old girl who actually did nothing wrong”. I’m sure there were voices who expressed such opinions before but were silenced. Internet is such a friendly place after all.

The “courtesy” thing is so true. She literally has no option but to respond the way she does. One wrong word and she might get beaten or killed. That girl is terrified and only trying to survive. Considering Sansa’s action as anything but survival mechanism is so superficial. This is so analogous to how women today are polite to men while because they’re scared that the men might hurt them/kill them. It’s the same shit, times ten, with Sansa. This also goes for when San/dor catches her during the battle of black water and demands a “song” from her (which is a thinly veiled euphemism for rape), and Sansa sings him a hymn of Mother’s mercy as a way to protect herself.

As for the Dany thing, I just want to say, what exactly is wrong about a teenage girl having a crush? Why is she termed as “lovesick” and “stupid” and “annoying” anytime she shows any interest in a guy? And it’s always the dudebros screaming this the loudest. Obviously, Daario is not a good choice and Dany herself acknowledges that.

“Daario might whisper words of love when the two of them were as one, but she knew it was the dragon queen he loved. If I gave up my crown, he would not want me.”

Daenerys VII, ADWD

I mean, the other shoe will definitely drop with this guy but this the first time we see Dany have a consensual relationship, which I feel is important to her arc - the relationship and the man she has the relationship with. Moreover, she has bigger fish to fry like her governance/dragons/moving towards westeros etc.

And berating her over Quentyn? Wasn’t she supposed to get married the next day to Hizdar? Didn’t she herself say that she’s not sure if Quentyn is the real deal or not? Moreover, she remembers Quaith’s prophecy about the “sun’s son” and double backs (Dany and prophecies are a whole another thing which we can talk about later) and solidifies her decision to go forward with her wedding with Hizdahr.

“Enough,” Daenerys said. “Prince Quentyn has crossed half the world to offer me his gift, I will not have him treated with discourtesy.” She turned to the Dornishmen. “Would that you had come a year ago. I am pledged to wed the noble Hizdahr zo Loraq.”

“The sun’s son. A shiver went through her. “Shadows and whispers.” What else had Quaithe said? The pale mare and the sun’s son…”

Daenerys VII, ADWD

Although, the Martells will not understand that Dany didn’t order Quentyn’s death and might antagonise her so that’s a chekov’s gun waiting to go off. Clearly, Quentyn was clearly the first leg of a bigger arc that we’ll likely see in TWOW (consider Quaith’s whole prophecy) and a part of a bigger theme Dany has to fulfill. Her decision to make Quentyn wait was not based on whether she found him ugly or not, it was based on being right in the middle of a political crisis with another volatile variable being added that has the potential to uproot a lot of what she has struggled to maintain (which ultimately does happen). Dany does have a knack of picking the worst option and that does not bode well for her governance/politics but that is not the point here. The point here is how dare a 16 year old doesn’t find a guy attractive and another guy too attractive (which is a part of a bigger theme btw) and sometimes, it’s a thin line between misogyny and valid criticism. Let’s stop flattening female characters into digestible one-dimensional beings, especially when it comes to teenagers. The fact that they have more than one motivation to act a certain way, makes them so much more enjoyable and interesting and honestly, human, like you and me.

Let’s also stop pigeonholing (12 year old) female characters into high-school mean girl clique leader trope who is so shallow and superficial that she needs to be assaulted by an “ugly” middle aged man to come to her senses. Also, that is called projection. The character that we are talking about isn’t like that at all. But whatever 🙄

Sorry I got carried away and got angry, things like these piss me off so bad. Never change, fandom, never change.

#anti sansan #fandom misogyny #anon asks t

[firephoenix2305]

This is a Rory Williams appreciation post

Because I have recently finished season 6 and I need to shout about it to someone.

(Disclaimer: Severe season 5 and 6 spoilers ahead. If you haven't watched them yet, run away very very fast. Or don't, it's up to you. But you have been warned)

Okay, don't get me wrong. I love Amy, she's great. And I love The Doctor, because well, he's The Doctor, and also Matt Smith, so he's great too.

But.

But. But. But

If I had to pick a favorite...

Rory. Fucking.Arthur. Williams.

I don't even know where to start with this man.

The way he loves Amy. The way he cares about her more than the entire goddamn universe. The way he DOES NOT BUDGE from her side even when she kisses another man the night before their wedding, then proceeds to severely third-wheel him in a very Mickey Smith sort of way for the better part of two episodes (which in retrospect isn't really that much, but STILL) and takes her sweet time to realize she is in love with him.

We are talking, ladies and gentlemen, about the Last goddamn Centurion. This is a man who willingly lived through every single second of 2000 years of human history only to protect Amy Pond. 2000 years without so much as a wink of sleep, or rest, or any synonym of the word. How does this man's heart not physically burst from the sheer amount of love he has for Amy?!?!

I just...I want one. I want a Rory. Does anybody know where I can find a Rory? Pretty please?

And another thing. I'm not sure what it was that Rory did to the writers of this show but JESUS CHRIST. Why so much hate?

And just to prove I'm not even exaggerating, here's a brief summary of some of the things which have happened to this poor guy in seasons 5 and 6. (From the point where he officially joins Amy and The Doctor in the TARDIS onwards, that is)

- S5E7. Killed by the Eknodine in the Dream Lord's fake reality. (And given that horrible ponytail, btw)

- S5E9. Murdered in cold blood by a rogue Silurian, then absorbed by a time crack and hence deleted from the memory of the entire universe. (Being murdered obviously wasn't enough, no)

- S5E13. This is a big one. Revived as an Auton, realized Amy doesn't remember him, then when Amy finally does remember he unwillingly kills her because of his programming (which he eventually breaks free from), stays with the Pandorica for 2000 odd years and finally, after all of that, gets erased from reality. Again. (But it's okay because The Doctor has rebooted the universe, so real Rory came back. Or, rather, never left in the first place. Doctor Who is complicated, okay?!)

- S6E3. To start off the season well, he drowns and practically dies, and is then transferred to a spaceship healing facility where he is essentially hooked to a live support system until Amy brings him back to life.

- S6E4. Tortured and "killed" by the thing controlling the TARDIS, who had a blast warping time and making him go crazy and ultimately making him die of old age. (Not sure if it even counts as a death, but his rotting skeleton was there, so I'm counting it)

- S6E6. Finds out that his wife is not actually his wife but is instead a bunch of sentient flesh which is pretending to be his wife; and that his actual wife is nine months pregnant and currently giving birth to their daughter God knows where. (I did say it was complicated).

- S6E7. Finds Amy and baby Melody, only to lose Melody to the creepy eye patch lady because having lost Amy in the exact same way the previous episode clearly wasn't enough torture for him.

- S6E10. Has "other" Amy (the older version) absolutely hate his guts for something which isn't his fault at all, and has to re-convince her that she loves him. Again. (Seriously, Amy?). Then, he has to sacrifice the other Amy to save his Amy, which was extremely painful for him. (Man, this season gets weirder and weirder, doesn't it?)

- S6E13. Suffers inhumane amounts of pain and almost dies (again) when he lets himself be electrocuted by the eye patch thingy to give Amy, River and The Doctor time to escape. (I know this wasn't technically the same Rory that went through all those other things, but I decided to include it anyway)

AND I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED SEASON 7 YET. Give the man a break! And stop killing him, for God's sake!

(I know this won't happen, because although I haven't watched S7 I accidentally spoiled the whole weeping angel business to myself, so yeah)

And lastly, this scene >>>

Do. Not. Fuck. With the roman.

I just love him.

That is all. Thanks for hearing me out, I feel better.

(@capinejghafa was the furthest back I could track these gifs, but I don't know if they were the one who made them).

#doctor who #eleventh doctor #rory williams #amy pond #doctor who season 5 #doctor who season 6 #the last centurion #don't fuck with the roman #whovian #phoenix just rambling

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

To the anon who wanted to rant on my blog and warned us to brace ourselves:

You sent me an ask, longer than a Leonard Cohen song. I used a word counter. Almost 2000 words. That's an entire essay there, except it wasn't edited at all and had no thesis or a central theme or anything.

I'll summarize it right here: "I'm a Jimin stan and I don't like Jungkook, but I guess jikook had something together. Taekookers are nuts. Jimin is a saint and no one deserves him."

That's the gist of it. Even with examples and nuance, I'd say max 500 words would suffice. You have to learn how to be more concise. And you need a lot of time to write those many words. It's the only reason why I'm answering cause I feel a little bad because of the effort.

And to be honest, there wouldn't have been anything for me to say that hasn't been said on the topic. We're all talking about this ad nauseaum. Taekookers this, taekookers that. Jikook is real or maybe not. Jimin is this and Jungkook is that. At least we should make it snappy or funny. Anything so readers wouldn't just scroll immediately.

Don't take this the wrong way. I know it may look as if I'm scolding you, but I'm not. Take this as an advice. Or don't, it's your choice. I can't help myself cause I work with texts for a living. I can't just ignore how something is written. You lost me because there was no structure. Too many examples that we all know. But more than that, it would have been better in an actual post of your own, not an inbox.

Happy to talk. To you anon in particular, or anyone else. But let's make this a more enjoyable experience, all right?

Here, have a jesus/saint Jimin for a laugh

#m thoughts

[centrally-unplanned]

River's Edge & The Flat Battle? Field: Deep Diving a Single Word

So the 1993 manga River's Edge, by Kyoko Okazaki, was finally officially released in English last week. It's a problematic fave of mine, and (as I discussed in my review of it many moons ago), the peak of its edgy angst is this poem, standing alone on a field of black, near the end of the book:

"The flat battlefield" is a phrase that has really stuck with me since I read it, and anything that has that level of sticking power is a meaningful piece of art. My opinion of the manga has grown over time.

So when I got to this section in the official translation and I saw:

I was a bit bummed, "flat field" really just lacks the impact "battlefield" ha-

-wait what?

Reprinted by Permission of SSL/Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. Copyright by William Gibson, originally published in "Robert Longo"

Okazaki didn't write this, William Gibson did?? The American cyberpunk fiction author? He...writes poetry? Turns out by the way this attribution is in the original manga, it just didn't survive the scanlation process.

I was curious about both how and when this translation shift occurred (if it ever did), and the origin of this poem - which was really hard to find! "Robert Longo" is not a book, he's a person - an American artist and filmmaker who directed the 1995 movie Johnny Mnemonic, which William Gibson wrote the screenplay for (and wrote the short story it is an adaptation of). When you search books by the two of them nothing really turns up - at least on the western side of things. In America they never really did publish a book. But in Japan they published a few actually - some too late for 1993's River's Edge, but in 1991: 

Publisher Kyoto Shion's Art RANDOM series, vol. 71, featuring the collected art of Robert Longo, edited by Kyoichi Tsuzuki...and featuring inset poetry by William Gibson. Funnily enough one of the listings (Fukkan) actually notes:

現代美術コレクターだけでなく、ウィリアム・ギブスンのファン、岡崎京子のファン共々気になる作品集だと思います。 This is a work that will be of interest not only to contemporary art collectors, but also to fans of William Gibson and Kyoko Okazaki.

The poem from this book - which is called "The Beloved: Voices for Three Heads" - is way more famous as a reference by Okazaki than as a work by Gibson. Which turned out to be a problem when I wanted to dig deeper and find the actual poem and its context; when you google it you get...almost entirely Japanese results discussing River's Edge! Which means I couldn’t actually find the poem, just Japanese translations of it. And I am pretty sure the poem was not originally in Japanese - the bookseller listings note that the book is bilingual in both Japanese & English, the Gibson poems would be the obvious English candidates. 

However, buried beneath piles of mid-2000’s Japanese Okazaki fandom blog posts, I found the work of academic Gary Westfahl. He wrote a deep dive book in 2013 on the works of William Gibson, and in the abstract header for Chapter Five:

It also considers Gibson's poems such as “The Beloved: Voices for Three Heads,” his ventures into writing song lyrics, and the approach he used in some of his later nonfiction works

Ba-bam - and with a quick trip to LibGen pulling up a pdf version of the book, here we go: 

Gibson's first literary publications, in 1963, were poems, and he obviously remained interested in the form, since in the 1980s and 1990s, when artists approached him about collaborative projects, he usually provided poetry. To date, Gibson has published three poems, not counting fanzine efforts, along with two other poems available only as excerpts.  Asked to contribute to Robert Longo's 1989 performance piece Dream Jumbo, Gibson wrote a poem, "The Beloved: Voices for Three Heads," later included in a book, Robert Longo: Art Random, largely devoted to documenting that show

Gary fucking Westfahl, coming through in the clutch!! I was curious why this combination art book/poetry existed, but now it makes sense; the poem and the art were already a packaged deal as part of a performance art exhibit. And this also explains why the poem was so hard to find - as of 2013 Gibson only ever published 3 poems in his career! I am curious how this play got over to Japan - Dream Jumbo premiered in LA in 1989, but additionally in 1989 Longo had a titular "Robert Longo" art exhibit at the Seibu Contemporary Art Gallery in Tokyo, which had its own art book published - its fair to say he was "big in Japan" and so the success of Dream Jumbo made its way over. He would actually run a sort of gallery-version of the performance in Tokyo in 1995, for which he gave an interview that taught me that the name "dream jumbo" is pulled from the name of a popular Japanese lottery; perhaps it was always destined for Japan and also Robert Longo is a bit of a weeb.

ANYWAY the actual text of the poem: 

Our love knew The flat field

Yeah, it was originally ‘field’. Westfahl also confirms that this poem was only ever published in print in Japan, making it virtually unknown outside of it. Which, and this is kind of cool, means that the publishing of the translation of the Japanese manga River's Edge is the first time Gibson's "The Beloved: Voices for Three Heads" has ever been published in the West. 

Knowing that the original is ‘field’, I checked the original Japanese page for River's Edge and:

戦場 - Battlefield

The first kanji is literally 'war', this is not ambiguous, there is no other read here. River's Edge changed the word from "field" to "battlefield" - assuming that the original art book did not have its own Japanese translation of the poem. On reflection, it probably did; it's not like Okazaki herself is a translator, and in the manga the poem’s translation is credited to translator Hisashi Kuromaru, who had previously translated Gibson’s novel Neuromancer. However, it’s not like I have a copy to check, so I can’t say for sure.

…or so I thought! But when looking around for Kuromaru’s translation credits, I stumbled on the most precious resource one can find; a blog post from an Okazaki-otaku a decade+ after the fact who was obsessed with the poem and hunted down a copy of the original Art RANDOM artbook to see it for themselves. In their post they give a line by line comparison of the poem and its translation…credited to Kuromaru, confirming that this book is where the translation comes from. And lo and behold:

Kuromaru is the source of our creative twist. Chad of chads, “Tach” from 2005.

What is funny is that this is not like a tiny little quirk I am interested in - I mean, okay, it's mainly that. But "the battlefield" is actually a small part of Okazaki's brand as an artist. Here is a sketch she sold titled "Girl's Life on the Battlefield" (It uses the same kanji)

Here is a link to an exhibit of her work in Japan that was titled:

(Her art is incredibly on point btw).

Here is an entire book by art critic Noi Sawagari investigating How we survive on a flat battlefield - Kyoko Okazaki's theory! The one Amazon review says its content is "thin” and it was “tiring to read”, 2 stars, ouch.

But you get what I'm saying- Okazaki leaned into this phrase. I'm actually a little let down, when I read River’s Edge and was so taken with this specific moment I thought it was a ‘me’ thing; turns out the entire country of Japan was equally smitten and it became the tagline for the manga. Real loss of hipster points for me on this one! Still, I really think “battlefield” is way more impactful - this elevation of the phrase would not have happened if it was just ‘field’, I feel confident on that. And I am not calling the translation ‘wrong’, or anything. It is just one of those tiny contingencies, this liberal translation and odd series of events, art crossing from LA to Japan, led to a brand for an up-and-coming josei manga author that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. And in fact, I am willing to say that the translation just published by Kodansha of River’s Edge is… not right. It doesn’t matter what Gibson wrote - this is Okazaki’s poem now. She wrote a manga about the battlefield, all of her fans agree, and a truly faithful translation would build on that.

So I’m sticking with “battlefield” and y’all should too.

#river's edge #ash anime culture deep dive bullshit #essay

[eaglefairy]

I have no liveblog to offer this weekend, so instead please take 2000 words of Meyneth analysis because I have opinions and I'm no longer afraid to share them. Summary: According to the canon of xenoblade 1, Meyneth is either an existentially less powerful god than Zanza, or her stated morals are in direct conflict with the actions she takes within the plot of the game. I walk through the reasons the former is at most implied by the game while being contradicted by the game's events and lore and what about Meyneth's characterization points towards the latter explanation. Huge thanks to @likestoimagine16 for chatting with me about this and looking this over before I posted it, it was super fun!

(Before we begin, a note: all of the following analysis is based solely on the canon of Xenoblade 1.  I will not be incorporating any potentially relevant information from 2, Future Connected, or Future Redeemed.  Anything from after the first game is just not true to who Meyneth is or to the characterizations of the people surrounding her in 1.)

Introduction For all of her stated importance in-game as the Mechonis's soul, Meyneth really does not do a lot during the game. The sum total of her actions are as follows:

Speaks to Zanza at Prison Island, begging him to cease their war and let the living be at peace

Saves the party from Egil at Galahad Fortress

Briefly acts from within Fiora to guard the party from Gadolt after his boss fight, but does not speak

Reveals herself properly for the first time in Agniratha and exposits the history of the Machina to the party

Saves the party from the explosion and holds them in the air long enough for Miqol to catch them

Battles Zanza at Mechonis Core and dies

At first glance, this doesn't seem too terrible. Zanza also doesn't actively do a ton over the course of the game; in fact, he probably does fewer discrete actions as himself than Meyneth does. There is one big difference between them, though: Zanza is inactive because he has a plan. He's controlling the narrative via the passage of fate, making him extremely active even if the party and player don't know he's there. Meyneth, on the other hand, is almost entirely reactive to what Zanza is doing and gives us no indication that she has any sort of plan to fight him. The most she does directly as a means of fighting him is ask to talk to him at Prison Island (which Zanza immediately rebuffs) and then debate him on philosophy before dying at Mechonis Core.

Option 1: Weaker God I can see two potential explanations for this inaction.  Option one: she’s just less powerful than him, and so any attempt by her to fight him is immediately doomed to fail.  There are some things in-game that support this.  Most strikingly to me, she and Alvis never directly interact.  For a while I was concerned that they never directly acknowledge each other’s existence at all, leaving open the possibility that Meyneth doesn’t know Alvis exists*.  Alvis does have a single line of thought immediately pre-Mechonis Core where he acknowledges that it’s Meyneth residing within Fiora.  However, Meyneth herself never acknowledges Alvis.  If only Zanza has direct access to Alvis’s power in Providence, that would in fact make Meyneth significantly less powerful and extremely disadvantaged against him.

*To be clear, I don’t actually think this is the case.  Based on everything else in the game, it would be absurd if Meyneth didn’t know about Alvis.  Where else could she possibly get her divine power from?  However, I do think it’s notable that the writers didn’t consider it necessary or narratively valuable to show Alvis and Meyneth interacting as an overall indicator of her status in the narrative, so I’m pointing it out here.

However, very little else in the game supports this.  Both Zanza and Meyneth have titan bodies, they seem to be about evenly matched within those bodies given that the battle at the beginning of the game ended in a standstill draw and not Zanza winning right then and there, and both Zanza and Meyneth seem to have created successful civilizations of people on their titan bodies.  

If anything, Meyneth might have been “better” at it, as the Machina worship her directly while neither the Homs nor the High Entia know of Zanza.  The Homs do hold the Monado in reverence as the fabled sword of the Bionis that can cut through Mechon and they have their funerary rites centered on the Bionis, but neither of those require a direct knowledge of Zanza of the kind we see the Machina have of Meyneth.  The High Entia I find even more interesting; while it would make sense for them to have intentionally erased the cultural knowledge of Zanza after the first battle of the titans when they sealed Arglas and the Monado away, there’s no evidence of that cultural knowledge ever existing, considering there are multiple side quests concerning High Entian history and not a hint of Zanza’s presence as an object of worship.  (Would the Valak Mountain War God count as an aspect of Zanza in this sense?  Interesting idea to think about…)  

Additionally, Zanza says “Now that I have both Monados, I should be at one with the passage of fate,” during one of the cutscenes before the final boss fight.  That implies that Meyneth’s presence in this world as the bearer of a Monado interfered with his control over the passage of fate (which is corroborated by Shulk interfering with Zanza’s sight during the final battle).  That in turn suggests that Meyneth had some amount of power over fate as a god, if we believe control over fate to be something that can be divided as Zanza alludes to in his dialogue.  All of this leads me to believe that if Meyneth is a weaker god than Zanza, it doesn’t affect any of her actions in the backstory or during the events of the game.

Option 2: Weaker Writing That leaves the other option: a writing flaw in which Meyneth’s stated character does not align with her actions and morals within the game.  We’ve been through her actions, but what are her stated morals?  She believes in the right of life to self-determination.  She sees Zanza’s actions specifically as directly in conflict with said stated right, and potentially the existence of gods as a whole.  Most of all, she believes in peace to the exclusion of things such as revenge or justice.  She (and the other Machina) want Egil to give up his plan of revenge and live in peace with them to heal from what Zanza has done.  When she’s speaking to Zanza telepathically on Prison Island, she asks him how many more he’ll kill and then tells him she’s there to talk.  Even when they’re battling in Mechonis Core, Meyneth is more focused on arguing against his philosophy and telling him that gods should not interfere with the lives of their people.

This is the heart of the problem.  Meyneth is portrayed as an unconditionally good character, Zanza’s rival in every way who wants mortal lives to be lived in peace, not under the tyranny of gods.  However, her actions and apparent values within the game make her near criminally passive against a god who fundamentally does not care about any of that.  Zanza creates and destroys all life in order to sustain his own existence (and I have to assume also Meyneth’s?  If she’s figured out the secret to divine immortality and hasn’t shared it with Zanza to make him stop that just makes her even worse, so…).  Narrative choices are narrative choices, but that Meyneth would still be at the “I can fix him” stage after who knows how many cycles of this is a narrative choice that strains my disbelief.  

Characters choosing to adhere to their morals even when it puts them at a disadvantage against their enemies is not a bad thing; however, having her hold to pacificism to this extent just makes her seem selfish and callous.  It is simply incompatible with her stated goal of opposing Zanza when Zanza’s actions are so extreme.  And to be clear, her choice to continue to try and talk Zanza down wouldn’t be so bad if the narrative didn’t absolutely stonewall her for it.  It’s very clear that Zanza is not open to negotiation, and Shulk doesn’t win by convincing him that living beings have inherent value outside of the resource they are to him.  It just makes Meyneth look silly to keep trying to talk the genocidal maniac down from doing genocide.

Objections Before I conclude, I want to take a moment to address some objections I could see to what I’ve laid out here so far.  First, as far as her actions go, Meyneth does have Vanea place her into Fiora with the stated intent to get closer to Shulk, but it’s still unclear what the end goal was there.  Was it to counterbalance Zanza’s influence on Shulk as the wielder of the Monado?  If so, Meyneth does remarkably little towards that goal.  The party isn’t ascending the Mechonis because of anything Meyneth said to them, they’re going up to fight Egil.  They don’t even know Meyneth is there until Agniratha, and the exposition there is mostly delivered by hologram.  Meyneth never directly interacts with Shulk about anything, let alone the cycle of war, which I feel is the bare minimum action if her goal is to erode Zanza’s influence on Shulk.

Notably, there are some suggestions in-game that imply peace with Zanza could be possible.  While I wouldn’t believe Zanza’s definition of “friendship” that he says he longed for at the end of the game to be reliable or at all similar to what friendship actually is, Alvis does repeat that Zanza wanted friendship and I’m much more inclined to take him at his word.  After the final battle, Alvis says that Zanza’s future and the desires of the party (and by extension Meyneth) could have coexisted, “but that time has passed”.  However, the game doesn’t indicate exactly when the time passed; the timing certainly implies that it was Zanza’s death that ended the possibility, but there’s no reason it couldn’t have been earlier.  

In addition, we’re given no indication of how likely that event was.  Given that nothing else in the game supports Zanza’s world being compatible with the freedom of mortal lives, I find it likely that the chance was infinitesimally small, something never quite impossible but extremely unlikely nonetheless.  While this does open up the possibility that Meyneth was justified in continuing to try to talk to him, the way it’s tossed in at the last second and is only told to us, never shown in any way throughout the game (through, say, High Entian legends or any kind of relationships between Zanza and his disciples) make me more inclined to believe it’s a last-second effort to add false depth to Zanza’s character.

Conclusion Overall, Meyneth suffers from a lack of focus that is sadly common to many of the female characters in xenoblade 1.  A lack of insight as to her inner thoughts combined with her extreme pacificism make for a narratively weak character who seems to be either fundamentally weaker in-story than her sworn nemesis or so committed to talking to him and making him realize the error of his ways that it literally gets her killed.  I find it most likely that the writers simply intended for her to be weaker than Zanza for unspecified reasons: disappointing, but not surprising.

What gets to me the most is that it didn’t have to be this way.  Even if she were just as strong as Zanza and/or more willing to fight against him, she would still have a significant disadvantage against him that sets the ground for the conflict seen in the game: her care for the lives and wills of mortals.  Her care to minimize collateral damage in the form of mortal lives will always give Zanza the upper hand in battle, whether directly in the form of attacking mortals being another way to hurt Meyneth or indirectly in the fact that Zanza has no qualms about manipulating mortals to do his will, while Meyneth likely would consider such a thing to be immoral and avoid it.  That, to me, would be a far more interesting setup than what we got in-game.

If you made it all the way to the end, thanks for reading! Please drop a comment or leave some tags, I'd love to keep discussing this.

#original tag #xenoblade chronicles #xenoblade chronicles 1 #meyneth #fandom meta #my writing

[absolutebl]

Ai’ with Aye & Akk - The Eclipse & Thai honorifics

hazmatilda asked: (and tumblr ate it so I’m reposting)

So I went down quite a rabbit hole with your bl linguistics Tag (thanks for that, 3 hours of reading when I should have been sleeping or working on my masters thesis for Wednesday :/ ), and I am riveted. I started watching Thai BLs with bad buddy when it was airing, and have watched most of the ones that have aired since then and now working on the backlog. I love linguistics, and have been noticing the different personal pronouns etc in Thai especially, so it was really cool to see that all laid out in your posts! The third person one is particular is quite special to me, and I wish it existed more in English and German. It's very frustrating being a genderqueer person living in Germany because non gendered pronouns don't really exist, and when they do it's quite niche and hard to get others to use :/

I couldn't agree more. I've grown to have real affection and love for Thailand's pronouns.

I also adore the way in many Asian languages we can just say our own name for the "I" pronoun. So much harder to forget someone's name and ALSO  you're consistently reminded of what it is and how it shoudl be pronounced.

Just so you don't have to deal with my terrible (and hugely erratic) tagging system, I do have a language post meta guide (master post round up) just in case you want to rabbit hole some more: 

BL Language & Culture Master Post (mostly Thai) 

Back to your question... 

Anyway, my question is, I noticed in The Eclipse the Ai' prefix (particle?) used between the boys, which you mentioned is not really used in BLs often, and I wanted your more detailed take on the way that Akk changes in his address of Aye in this regard, especially over the last couple of episodes. Is he being particularly rude?

Ai is an honorific originally used between peer/age mates/equals. (Like Phi or Nong.)

But now, depending on the stress/emphasis it carries different connotations including affection (Akk & Aye), insult (Ae & Pond in Love By Chance), annoyance/exasperation (Leo in Don't Say No), or pleading/whining (Fiat in Don't Say No).

Is he being particularly rude?

Yes but also, no. He's being... rudely affectionate? He's changing the boundaries of their relationship with, what amounts to, what I'd call an “insult honorific or mode of address.” (Common within peer groups, particularly marginalized ones. See gay & masculine identified use of "bitch" in late 90s early 2000s queer culture, particularly in North American coastal cities.)

So amongst some of my queer friends, regardless of gender or orientation someone will often yell, "Hey Biiitchesss!" Technically an insulting term, in this context, a friends honorific among peers and a way of identifying oneself and ones friends as different from the surrounding social morays.

Back to Ai'.

It seems mostly used for relationship emphasis these days (friendly intimacy, of a jocular/teasing nature), and almost always among peers. I think of it occasionally as an insult honorific.

In California the word "dude" is often used for this. "Seriously, dude!?" when someone cuts you off on the FWY. "Hey, Dude" to a friend you meet for lunch. "Awe, Dude, that's rough" affection/sympathy. And so forth.

I haven't watched Eclipse in a while so I can't speak to the bit your actually referring to. So there may be an additional use pattern in play, but Ai is an interesting honorific, in that it's one of those that isn’t always, or even often, entirely honoring. So to speak.

I do talk about Ai quite a bit in this post: 

Why Ai'Hia was so funny in Cutie Pie

Never let me go also seems to be playing with the formality a lot, due to the class differences, which is cool to see. I'm sure the changing register and formality will play into PalmNuengs speech as the show progresses hehe.

Sorry for the ramble! 🧡🧡🧡

No apologies for rambling needed here, since I’m ruler of rambletown. 

Yes it’s very very fun to see. You also get this a little with RainPhayu in Oh My Sunshine night (young high class seme + older servant uke), and a TON with Ae & Pete in Love By Chance. 

If you haven’t watched it, I would highly recommend that one. Pete talks almsot entirely in high formal register and Ae in low. It’s a great way to train your ear for the two different registers. There’s no spoiled prince dynamic, so it’s an entirely different play on a class difference than NLMG. They are one of my all time favorite pairs for many reasons. Language is one.

All the best and I hope you keep enjoying yourself with BL and the linguistics! 

 (source)

#asked and answered #thai BL #thai language #thai linguistics #Never Let Me Go #The Eclipse #AkkAye #AyeAkk #Love By Chance #AePete #cutie pie the series

[callsignspark]

soft-tober | 11 | Billy Avalone

soft-tober is about experiencing the joys of October with loved ones. each day is a fall-related one-shot for one of the couples from my Dagger, Sword & Shield universe, plus a few extras! today is Billy and Aaron with “I don’t like scary movies.” “I’ll keep you safe.” from this prompt list.

If you’d like to be tagged for soft-tober, please send an ask!

word count: 1.6k

soft-tober masterlist | main masterlist | divider credit here

warnings: implied homophobia but nothing is actually said, this takes place in a vague time during the late-2000s before DADT was repealed bc I haven’t nailed down their exact timeline yet, some miscommunication but it gets resolved

callsignspark disclaimer: my blog is an 18+ space; minors do not interact - you will be blocked. I do not consent to my work being copied, run through an AI generator, translated, or posted elsewhere. I do have an AO3, where I eventually will be cross-posting my works.

11. “I don’t like scary movies.” “I’ll keep you safe.”

“Oh, for the love of god!” Aaron slams his hands on the table, wincing even as he does it for fear of the librarian kicking them out. Again. “You have got to stop.”

“Stop what?” Billy feels dumb asking, but he’s actually not sure what’s annoying his best friend.

“The fidgeting, Billy! Tapping the pen and bouncing your knee, you’re shaking the entire table!”

“M’sorry.” His voice is tiny, scolding himself for not being able to do anything right lately.

“I know,” Aaron sighs, scrubbing his hands down his face. “I just really need to finish this paper, so I need quiet right now.”

“I’ll go.”

“You don’t- I don’t want you to go, Billy. I just need quiet for the next hour.”

Billy sucks his lip into his mouth, he’s been jittery all week, and today has been worse than any other day, unable to sit still. Things have been tense between them since last weekend, and he doesn’t want to make Aaron even more mad.

“I don’t think I can.” He quietly admits, ears burning.

His best friend glances up from the textbook he’s furiously flipping through, taking in the bashful expression of the man across from him. Aaron opens his mouth, but Billy’s stomach growls, interrupting him.

“Have you eaten dinner? Why don’t you go grab some food?” Aaron suggests when Billy shakes his head. “Leave your stuff here, and by the time you come back, I should almost be done.”

“Do you want me to grab you something?”

His heart skips a beat when Aaron gives him a small smile. “Nah, that’s alright; thanks, B.”

Billy returns the smile, tidying his side of the table and pushing his chair in before heading to the student center. Should have grabbed a sweatshirt, he thinks as he steps out into the chilly Thursday evening. The setting sun stealing the warmth out of the air, making him shiver.

During his walk to the student center, he contemplates the same thing he has been doing all week, trying to brainstorm how to fix things with Aaron. He hates how stiff things got after he apologized.

The two of them had been hiding outside the house, drinks in hand, as they took a breather from the lacrosse team’s annual Halloween bash. Neither of them had put a lot of effort into their costumes. Billy just wrapped some white tape around a pair of broken sunglasses to be a nerd, and Aaron was Michael Phelps, plastic gold medals around his neck to complete the look.

He looks so hot.

That thought had been the start of Billy’s downfall. After that, all he could do was stare and admire his best friend’s body - his male best friend - as his brain got fuzzier from the alcohol. Then Aaron caught him staring. Normally, he would make a joke, and they’d laugh, move on. But that night, he had just stared back, taking a sip from his red solo cup as brown eyes roamed his body.

A splash of beer dripped down his bare chest as he lowered the cup, soaking into the waistband of his swim trunks. Billy watched the liquid trail down his roommate's solid chest and strong abs of his roommate, only stopping once it was absorbed. When their eyes met again, Billy made the first move.

Lukewarm beer splashed their legs as they collided, and Aaron pushed Billy against the rough siding of the men’s lacrosse house, using his two-inch height advantage. Then they were kissing, tongues intertwining, and hands roaming, unable to get enough.

I’m kissing Aaron. I’m kissing my best friend. God, he’s so warm.

It had been a great kiss, the best kiss of Billy’s life until it got interrupted by his teammate.

“Fritz! Yo! Where are you, dude?” Tansey yells, causing Aaron to pull back enough to breathe. “We need you for pong, man!”

“You should g-”

“We shouldn’t have done that! I’m sorry!”

Aaron freezes, his face shuttering closed like it does whenever his feelings are hurt. A face Billy has never been the cause of in their nine years of friendship.

“What.”

It’s not even a question. There’s no emotion behind it.

“No, not like that!” Billy tries to explain, but his tongue is tied, the alcohol making it hard to think.

“You should go; sounds like they need you.”

Aaron had walked away, rounding the corner and leaving Billy panting against the house, their cups littered by his feet. That’s where Tansey had found him and forced him into a beer pong tournament. He had woken up the next day on the couch, Aaron sitting in the armchair across from him.

He had been kind enough to wait for Billy to finish throwing up before yelling at him. Reminding his best friend how hard it is to be gay and that Billy was the one to make the first move so he doesn’t get to make him feel bad for kissing back.

“I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad.”

“And the best way to do that was by telling me we shouldn’t have done that?”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Then how did you mean it?” Aaron is across their living room, and Fritz wishes he was closer; all the thinking is making his headache worse. “Billy, I need to know what you meant. I need to know if I need to move out.”

“What? You can’t move out!”

“If this isn’t a safe space for me, yes, I do.”

“You’re safe with me! You know that!”

“Am I?”

“Of course! Oh my god, Aaron.” Billy stands up, walking to his best friend. “You’re always safe with me; I’ll keep you safe.”

The twenty-one-year-olds stare at each other, emotions swirling around them. They have been friends since middle school and have dealt with bullies and Aaron’s family ridiculing him for his suspected sexuality. Billy has stood strong next to him the entire time. It had never mattered to Billy who Aaron had a crush on, just that he was happy.

Aaron blinks, his green eyes watery. “Billy, I need to know what you meant.”

He’s been trying to figure out how to answer this question for the last twelve hours; he knew this moment was coming.

“I meant that we shouldn’t have been drunk.”

“You wanted to kiss me?”

“I moved first.”

Aaron absorbs that information, nodding in realization that Billy had been the one to initiate the kiss. “What does that mean for us?”

And this is the moment he hoped wasn’t coming.

“You’re my best friend-”

“If you don’t want anything, just say so.” Aaron harshly cuts him off.

“That was the first time I’ve ever even thought about kissing a guy, Aaron! I don’t know what I want! All I know is I don’t want to lose you. You’re my best friend, and we’re about to graduate. We’re not going to see each other for months, and who knows how much we’ll be able to talk.”

“Yeah, I’m sure they don’t have cell service in Rhode Island.”

“Aaron, c’mon, you know that’s not what I meant. I’ll be going through officer school, then flight school, and you’re gonna be in California, in law school. Those are things that don’t leave a lot of free time. I’m sorry, I don’t know what I want right now. But I couldn’t take it if we weren’t friends.”

Aaron had agreed, not wanting to lose the friendship, but told Billy that he needed space. He had agreed, thinking it would be a few quiet days around the apartment. But now it had been a whole week, and they were still being awkward around each other.

Billy is drowning his sorrows in chicken nuggets when he overhears some freshman girls talking about the horror movie double feature the theatre in town is hosting. It gives him an idea.

“We should have our own marathon!” He tries to convince Aaron on the walk home, hoping that quality time will smooth out the roughness of the past week.

“I don’t like scary movies.”

“I know, but I’ll keep you safe.”

The words leave his mouth in a softer tone than he meant, changing the air around them and stopping them on the sidewalk just outside their apartment building.

“Yeah?”

“Always, Aaron.”

“Okay.”

“Also.” Billy takes a deep breath, aware that he’s about to change things and make them much harder. “I’ve been thinking about it. We should go out tomorrow night.”

“What?”

“I want to take you on a date. You’re my best friend, and I’m pretty sure we’ve been in love for years now.”

“You’re not gay.”

“I don’t think so? I’m still attracted to women. But I want you, Aaron.”

“William.” Aaron breathes his name, the one that’s never used. His mouth opens and closes a few times before he ushers them inside and up to their apartment, not speaking again until the door is locked behind them. “You’re going to be in the Navy. You’ll get kicked out if they catch you!”

“I know. We’ll have to be careful, but not having you at all would be so much worse than having to be quiet about us. And they’re going to repeal DADT someday, and then we won’t have to hide!”

“Billy, I don’t think you’re thinking about this fully.”

“Aaron, all I’ve done this week is think about how to apologize to you and if you’d want to go with me to Sophie’s for dinner tomorrow.”

Aaron blinks at him, wide green eyes the only thing betraying how flustered he feels. “You’re taking me to a pizza place for our first date?”

Billy’s heart feels like it’s going to burst. This time, he’s the one to push Aaron against a wall, trying to pour all his feelings into their second kiss.

“We can go wherever you want to go for dinner.” He pants, smiling so hard his cheeks hurt when Aaron squeezes his waist. “Just as long as you say yes.”

“Pizza is fine, Billy.”

“You’re saying yes?”

“Yes, now c’mere.”

@gretagerwigsmuse | @hangmanapologist | @hangmanbrainrot | @princessphilly | @hangmanssunnies | @thesewordsareallihavetogive | @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby | @katieshook02 | @hellojameshowyadoin | @aristotles-butthole | @atarmychick007 | @whatislovevavy | @kmc1989 | @sometimesanalice | @laracrofted | @yuckosworld | @mika-darling | @bradshawsbaddie | @bobblebobsbae | @ohtobeleah | @withahappyrefrain

#elle’s soft october #top gun maverick fic #top gun maverick au #top gun maverick imagine #top gun fic #top gun au #top gun imagine #DSS universe #billy fritz avalone fic #billy avalone fic #billy fritz avalone x oc #billy avalone x oc #bill avalone imagine #fritz imagine #Amour Kärlek Love fic #AKL fic #elle writes

[philhoffman]

The summer is almost over and I can't leave the season without this classic—Almost Famous (2000), dir. Cameron Crowe. I used to think it was a perfect start-of-summer film, but I'm realizing may be better suited to these late August, early September weeks.

I read a comment the other day from someone who was not the biggest fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman's acting, who said the real test of his skills and legacy would be which of his performances would stand the test of time. They doubted any of them would—he didn't have any "iconic" characters, they argued.

While I obviously disagree with their entire assessment—for just one example, The Master and his other projects with PTA will be/remain classics 50 years from now—it did make me think. Phil was, though it's a touchy term, often described as a character actor. Even when he was a leading man, he wasn't playing himself. An actual quote from him in 2002 I just found: "Even if I was hired into a leading-man part, I'd probably turn it into the non-leading-man part." He doesn't have an Indiana Jones, a James Bond, but I don't think that disqualifies him from having iconic or lasting characters.

That's what came to mind rewatching Almost Famous tonight, and I might argue Lester Bangs is PSH's most iconic character. If you consider the ratio between screen time and cultural influence, there's probably zero competition among his roles—under eight minutes of screen time vs. untold thousands of people who still quote, gif, share, gif, write, post, and otherwise remember and feel inspired by his words, over two decades later. (Dusty Davis might be the second-most influential, considering how many people got into storm-chasing thanks to Twister). He's a voice for generations of music lovers, film lovers, everyone who watched Almost Famous for the first time and fell in love with its magic or sided with Bangs' cynicism.

What does it matter what some stranger on the internet says, anyway. Whether people will be watching dozens of his films in 80 years or just a few or none at all, we're watching them now. Last night I found a tribute from film critic Brian Tallerico, from the days after Phil's death: "In Mary and Max, [PSH's character] Max says... 'We can, however, choose our friends, and I am glad I have chosen you.' Hoffman felt like more of a friend than another actor. And I am glad he chose us."

Patrick Fugit, playing William Miler, was just 16 when he starred in Almost Famous, his first movie ever. Phil was violently sick with the flu while filming, sweating and shaking and throwing up between takes. But he still found time to look out for others. Patrick wrote this remembrance of working with Phil, which is making me cry a lot as I reread it tonight:

They had lit the scene quite bright from the outside and the light was just behind Philip. So every time I would look at Philip, I would start squinting and my eyes would start watering, so I would kind of look down at the paper pad to pretend I was writing. They kept telling me, “Hey, you have to look at Philip when you read your lines.” I didn’t know how to say that I can’t actually physically keep my eyes on Philip but Philip had been watching me. He’s like, “Guys, c’mon! Can’t we move the fucking light? I mean, the kid can barely look across the table!” And he and [cinematographer] John Toll kind of got into it. John was like, “We’ll adjust it a little bit but the light’s there for a reason, buddy. We got to light the scene.” Philip said, “Fuck lighting! Do you want it to look fucking good or do you want the kid to be able to act!” ... Then they’re like, “Okay, we’ll move the light,” and then we shot the scene. But it was the first time where I got in a situation where I didn’t know if I could stand up for myself. And he just stepped up and did it for me. And then he kind of looked at me and smiled and said, “Dude, if something’s bothering you, you have to speak up.” I was like, “Okay, yeah, yeah, totally.”

#'dude if something's bothering you. you have to speak up.' #🥺 #monday philm #almost famous #philip seymour hoffman #psh #* #thanks for choosing us phil. i'd love you if you were teaching english in france. if you were pumping gas in the midwest. #but i think you picked well. i love you making art.

[marciabrady]

I read your post about how Hollywood and media have lately dismissed classic romances for being "unrealistic" - like the ones of Snow White and Cinderella with their princes - and I feel that's consequence of the 'deconstructing everything' trend that many critics in Youtube and media in general started in the 2000s. It's not only the Disney movies, even movies like Titanic haven't been free of this, as I have read many people complaining that Jack and Rose fell in love in only four days and "they were very young" or that they can't believe that Jack was the love of her life and not the husband she later married for years - since it was Jack whom she met in the afterlife. There's so much cynicism and an excess of going "meta" in movies and I feel like that is affecting the industry right now, romances are measured like a scientific study of "for how much time they met or how mature they were to comprehend what love means" in order to approve what qualifies a "realistic romance" and I feel like this remove the magic and heart in the stories.

I completely agree and I think the key word to what you said was "scientific." This is not the purpose of film or any art- there are a variety of values to the medium of film, like escapism, representation, hope, creativity, but it isn't science. Aurora and Phillip meeting in the woods is the essence of romance to me and I don't care about the screentime being "limited." Cinderella finding love at the ball after being abused her entire life gives me a high that modern romances don't. Snow White finding someone who sings to her of his love being "constant and true" and being so driven to find her that he aimlessly wonders through the forest for seasons in search of his lost love is something that's leagues above modern Disney ships that, to me, don't have chemistry or are awkward around one another. And that's okay, because we're allowed to like different things! I think the fault of the contemporary critic is they ignore the nuance of art. So, let's view films as people. Let's say I don't like a certain comedian, for instance, but that doesn't mean said comedian has no merit by existing or their own fans. Instead of critics and modern audiences simply saying, "this comedian isn't for me" they want to omit every single one until there's literally one person left in the industry. Which is unnatural, because you can't be all things to all people and not everyone is going to like the same person! (which is why I think it's bizarre that LITERALLY every ranking I've seen of the princesses has the original three in the bottom of the ranking and, without fail, Rapunzel and Belle in the top three slot)

With films, it's like they want to omit everything about a genre or style for future generations until we only get one type of female character that's approved in their checklist, one type of generic plot that has to go through all the motions instead of being focused on capturing an actual bond/vibe, making sure it's palatable to as many people as possible- almost as a machine- and it's just so indicative of the extremely consumerist culture we're living in and it's okay to let people have different interpretations of the same thing! For instance, just because some people don't like Aurora and think she's passive doesn't mean that's the case, it just means that character is not for them and they'll gravitate to someone else. If they like another character better, that doesn't mean we have to do away with characters like Aurora forever and only ever create more versions of the popular character over and over again and that can be the only model we have moving forward. Likewise, I think they want to feed people everything about a character which is so annoying to me. If everyone has the same take on one character, where's the art??? Idk there's so much more to say on this, and I've spoken about it before but I very much agree with your ask and appreciate it being sent in!

#ask #anonymous