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atiny-for-life · 4 months

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Ateez's Full Storyline Explained - Part 21

Masterlist

Before we begin...

I'd like to shout out @xuseokgyu's gifset on the MATZ MV since I adore her analysis and I really do think it might just be the real-life message they meant to portray. It was also one of the contributing reasons for my initial belief that the unit MVs were unrelated to the storyline.

MATZ (A-World)

Initially, due to the announcement that this takes place in the A-World, I was going to propose the theory that this MV takes place prior to Fever Part 1 - a flashback to Hongjoong and Seonghwa performing as a rap duo before they met Yunho and the rest and became Ateez, but I just couldn't figure out how all the robed cult-like people fit into this narrative... and then it dawned on me:

Halazia.

We saw the bluebird at the end of Crazy Form and the shattered Cromer which means the Halazia-squad has been traveling between Worlds and may likely have ended up in the A-World along the way.

I'm not gonna lie: I first thought of this because of Hongjoong's fluffy hat which reminded me of the one he wore in Halazia but once I had it in my brain, I couldn't help but notice various other similarities.

The abandoned building?

Reminiscent of the abandoned mall we grew all too familiar with during that funky little livestream before the release of Halazia.

All the chains randomly hanging from the ceiling?

Reminiscent of the ones they were dragging around in Halazia to chain up the orb.

All the people in robes willingly following them around to commit random crimes like robbing a small store?

Their version of the Black Pirates, aka the robed folks we already saw in Halazia.

Bro, they even brought back the purple lighting and specifically made fun of me personally because I'm too dumb to figure out the meaning behind these numbers.

(I'm kidding, of course, but it really isn't my fault I'm a dumbass.)

All this to say: these two are neither Hongjoong and Seonghwa from Ateez, nor the Black Pirates we've come to know and love, but rather the two we've only met briefly during one of the sickest goddamn MVs I've ever seen while they were performing the most spiritually and spacially transcendent songs I've ever head like holy shit, Halazia still slaps so fucking hard, how did they even come up with this.

Anywho - with this in mind, we can watch the video again and gather hints as to what they're up to in the A-World (besides committing minor felonies here and there).

We begin as follows:

They've ordered one of their people to fasten a tracker to the underside of a black car prior to their arrival on the scene.

Several black-cloaked figures then enter the car and drive away before we cut to the title card.

Matz exit the building and get into the car which is now no longer occupied by at least the two people in the front seats which means there's a small timeskip where we don't know what happened with the car's occupants. I'll get back to this in a moment.

We now see Matz take the front seats right before they get black bags pulled over their heads from the people hidden in the backseat. Clearly, they're not very surprised by this. They knew it would happen. It's part of the plan.

They get chained up and stuffed in the back and taken to a secondary location. (Take note of the blue-and-earthtone palette we've last seen in Halazia.)

Keep in mind that this is a vehicle their own people are able to track. This tells me it's not just the creeps who are after Matz - Matz are also after these creeps. Now, who would Matz have beef with in the A-World, a world they've never been to before?

That's right: Henry Jo, the leader of Skienslavar, aka A-World's Z whose straight up evilness has led to the brainwashing and mass-murder of a huge amount of people in Z-World and, most likely, also their own world (which we saw go up in smoke in Halazia).

Matz are currently on a mission to take down A-World's Skiensalvar before they can do as much damage as they did back in their own world. And it's this mission that then also leads them, and likely also the rest of their members, to Z-World at the end of Crazy Form.

Henry Jo last saw Ateez at the museum when they were trying to steal the Cromer to save Yeosang in the Fever Epilogue Diary Entries - hell, he even tried to straight up stab Wooyoung to get his hands on that thing. Naturally, he then also wouldn't shy away from kidnapping any of them to get the current location of the Cromer out of them.

This explains why they're tied to a chair and surrounded by cultists from all angles.

Right after this shot, we get to see yet another group with black hoods march up into the same building. However, unlike the ankle-length robes of the cultists, they're dressed in black pants and hoodies, leaning more toward techwear

They're the Black Pirates who've been tracking the black car they tagged at the beginning of the MV and they're here to free their two kidnapped leaders

Specifically, the Black Pirates head out the moment Seonghwa makes eye contact with one of the cultist's camera lenses, which I can only assume means that this messed-up cult is livestreaming their kidnapping of two young men in their mid-twenties

Likely because they're hoping either of them will say something that will reaffirm the cult's beliefs and thus validate them in the eyes of whatever audience they're trying to reach

Right after this moment, Matz break the chains binding their wrists and jump up from their chairs

We can then see them perform in the same location with some of the other Black Pirates - thus also utilizing the livestreaming equipment that was already set up to, presumably, try to undo whatever harm the preachings of the cult may have done to the current viewership

After leaving the area, Matz seem to teleport out of the premises which is indicated by a negative frame, followed by some skipped frames to create a nice flowy movement out of frame to the right that feels unnatural but seamless

Right after, we get another transitional frame from Matz in the outfits they've been wearing all along to just Seonghwa in a more fancy gold and fur get up

Along the way, we also get to see Matz run through an empty parking garage while some of the other Black Pirates are slowly wandering through a little music store

They're simply looking at all the CDs in the shelves - something they've never seen before after they've been denied access to music their entire lives back in their world

And then Matz arrive and start tearing up the place

But why? I think it might just be in their character

When we saw them in Halazia, they were burning the Black Pirates' uniforms and now we see them tearing up a store selling the music they themselves use as a form of rebellion

Like I theorized back with Halazia: I think they might be struggling with the legacy left behind by the Black Pirates; they might feel angry and abandoned and are now pissed off that, in this world, people have shelves upon shelves full of music while they themselves were denied any form of expression for at least a significant chunk of their lives

And now, they had to come in from another world to stop the same fate from happening to them and the people there will never know how much they did for them

We already know how different Ateez are from their Z-World counterparts - due to them growing up in A-World, they're more calculated, less provocative, less extreme (Inception vs Thanxx, Guerrilla vs Crazy Form)

Halazia-World's Ateez thus seem to be an even more extreme version of Z-World's Ateez - more volatile, maybe even more aggressive, certainly less open to making new friends from what we've seen so far

This is certainly also highlighted when we listen to the newscaster reporting on a case of two men who mysteriously disappeared after committing arson

Those two little shits legit set a fire and teleported out of there to not get caught - y'all, after all that fire in Halazia, I legit think these dudes are just serial arsonists hiding behind the guise of a revolutionary cause

In conclusion: I'm fairly confident in my theory and I think we'll be seeing these crazy guys again very soon; be that with another single or the next Korean mini or full album (though I would also very much appreciate a Japanese comeback tied into the main storyline - they're always underappreciated with any group, it seems).

#ateez #ateez lore #hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #yeosang #san #mingi #wooyoung #jongho #will - the world ep fin #matz mv

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andoqin · 11 months

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List of dramas that I am watching or want to watch, just for personal record reasons:

Cdramas:

The ingenious one (36/36): this drama has blown me away so far with its incredibly nuanced and sharp writing, its love stories between all the major couples and the absolutely magnificent cinematography. FINISHED verdict: HIGHLIGHT drama of the year for me so far. Smart, engaging, complicated, peak romance of all sorts, just what the doctor ordered tbh (overly long review can be found in my tags). 9.5

Chang Feng Du (40/40): I did not realise how close to the end I was. This drama is very pleasant and I adore our mains, but sadly except for a few highlights (the early beating gjs put on himself, the destruction of the gu family and the aftermath, the battle for wangdu) the writing hasn’t been able to keep the narrative tension up which is sad. FINSHED verdict: Very pretty and engaging in the beginning kinda loses me in the second half and then fizzles out emotionally, doesn't crash and burn but doesn't exactly stick the landing either 6.5

Gone with the rain (10/30): adore the gremlin4gremlin couple and from the spoilers I’ve seen not gonna adore much else

An ancient love song (1/16): incredible first episode and with only 30 min per ep and 16 eps in total this is gonna be a short fun ride I hope ( with lots of angst and tears naturally).

Here we meet again (18/32): started this for Wu Qian playing to type and Zhang BinBin being pretty but oh boy I’m struggling I just don’t care about the conflicts and in s surprising twist, I like the flashbacks to high school much much more, which is very funny if you think about the fact that the reason I started liking wu qian in the first place was because of her show stealing performance in the flashbacks of My Sunshine. I’ve been promised kisses in the near future so I’m gonna hold out till then but this might end up another drop.

Hidden Love (5/25): this one promises to be v sweet and kinda short but oh my god I have so many dramas on my plate rn so this might end up the first drop.

Till the end of the moon (22/40): I think I watched ep 1 when it started but then I got busy and now I am just staring at gifsets and crying, it’s definitely on the list to watch tho.

Heroes (6?/38): I started this a while ago, was really into it and then got busy… dammit. I might just rewatch the beginning so I can remember most of the set up for sure but man the visuals on this were so good, aaaa liu yuning.

Blood of youth (0/40): the last 12 months really have spoiled us with interesting looking wuxia dramas and this one is definitely on the list, I have been gifbaited once again.

Ray of light (0/30): usually hs dramas are something I avoid, but because I will not be watching the longest promise, for reasons, and bc @storge is a gifmaking temptress, this has made it on the list.

The legend of anle (0/39): Lmao trust YOUKU to screw up the release with bad subs only 1 ep even for vips and no released schedule… but at least I can put this on the backburner for now. Lmao should have known not to trust a youku dilreba drama, the tl has soundingly spoken and I'm gonna avoid this.

Ancient Detective (0/24): I was recced this by a friend when I mentioned my love for wuxia dramas, and since it’s almost shockingly short for a cdrama it’s on the list. EDIT: this got @purplehanfus seal of approval so it is def going up the list and since it's complete I'll probably at least watch it before the ongoing ones.

Butterflied love (0/22): see I barely made this post and already forgot about the screencap that got me started on writing it, the screencapa look great, but the drama is on mango, so who knows when I’ll truly be able to watch this

When I fly towards you (0/24): Well, I wasn't interested bc modern youth drama, but then I heard it described as "updated It Started with a Kiss" and... I'm weak? ISWAK was pretty much my crack gateway into asian dramas and while IDK if i could rewatch it today, something in me will always love this kind of story. Maybe it's like a quick palate cleanser in between since apparently eps are only about 30 mins.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook(0/40): CHENG YIIIII, in a possibly bromantic role? Or maybe het romance, I'll take it all. Plus I've already seen he's bleeding copious amounts as per his contract, so that's most of the checklist done.

Lost You Forever (0/??): because nature abhors a vacuum I apparently must have?? A minimum to watch pile and this actually and genuinely looks good??? A Yang Zi drama in 2023??? The mind boggles. Anyway I've been reading the recaps with delight, and am def going to watch this when part two airs in a couple of months but until then I have a thankful reprieve...

Kdramas:

See you in my 19th life (4/12): since kdramas release so slowly this is on the backburner but it does have some great gifsets that keep enticing meee

King the land (2/16): I am watching this for junho but it is kinda hard bc I have so much else on my plate and while I don’t mind a classic romcom type story I feel I need a bit more of an emotional hook

Story of the nine-tailed 1938 (0/16): so so many gorgeous and hilarious gifsets so little time. I loved season one so so much and the fact that this focuses on the brotherly relationship?? Extremely smart writing decisions were made!

The red sleeve (0/16): I blame @dangermousie for this she keeps reblogging angsts junho on my dash and I am but god’s weakest warrior.

Love tractor (0/8): gay himbo farmboy falls in love?? You bet this is on the list

Lady durian (0/?): ok this is only on the list for crack reasons but, daughter in law is in love with mother in law and both women are like 40+ truly kdramas have entered a new era and I kinda wanna be here for that

EDIT: Revenant (0/12): Kim Tae Ri in a spooky drama? POSSIBLY POSSESSED KIM TAE RI??? how could i forget to put her on this list, plus it was written by the Kingdom writer and I adore that drama plus it's only 12 eps which is smart in this case so... let's hope i get to it at some point D:

My dearest (2/20): I checked this out because it's got pretty much everything going for it from a production standpoint and boy did the first two eps deliver. This has got 2 seasons though so I'll probably wait until the second season is airing, since it won't be too long till season 2 or so the internet tells me.

My lovely liar (0/16): minhyun learned to act and I wanna see it happen!!

Jdramas:

Our dining table (2/10): ok this category is gonna be a bit shorter bc I haven’t watched too much drama recently but omg the gifs for this I am just crying thinking about it they look so cute??

Jack o‘frost (0/6): people have recced it and it’s short so here it is.

Utsukushii kare s2 (0/4): Season 1 was an unexpected delight so I hope s2 works just as well.

She loves to cook and she loves to eat (0/10): the manga for this is amazing (and hungry making) so I hope this adaptation holds up.

Ok this list is in no way exhaustive (well except for me being exhausted just trying toward this down) and probably subject to change ( I haven’t even looked at thaidramas or twdramas I gotta stop for now) but hopefully this will keep me on the ball and maybe I can add to it whenever a new tempting gifset crosses my dash…

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aerialworms · 1 year

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hello dear mutual! I have a question. I'm no longer in the fandom but I like watching from the sidelines. there was a poll asking if destiel will still be made canon and my question is: how. isn't the prequel planned about the parents? I would love an explanation cause I don't understand. thank you so much!!

Hello there friend!! I'm happy to explain, I love rambling about this batshit show so much!

So yes, the prequel is about the parents, but I'm not sure how much you know about it so here's a little primer: from what I've seen, it's actually Dean telling the story of how his parents met and fell in love, presumably while he's up in Heaven post-finale (y'know, where Cas is also supposed to be). Jensen and his wife Daneel are executive producing, and the prequel is being showrun by Robbie Thompson, known for writing such episodes as Goodbye Stranger (the crypt scene my beloved!!!!!!), Meta Fiction ("What makes a story work? Is it the plot, the characters, the text? The subtext?"), and Fan Fiction (the musical ep! With Sam teasing Dean about destiel!). So from the get-go everyone was like 👀 because Robbie has always been a destiel-positive writer! Plus, apparently, Daneel's favourite character is Cas, so it would make sense for them to bring Cas back if they (and Misha) wanted!

Please bear in mind that I haven't actually watched any of the prequel, i've just been living vicariously through my dash. People who have actually watched it/know more than me please feel free to add on/correct me!

So, to my knowledge, the reasons people are thinking they might make Destiel canon in the prequel are (in no particular order):

a) A few weeks ago there was an episode that had Gabriel (as played by Richard Speight Jr) as the MOTW and also had a background cameo from Rob Benedict in a very bad wig (unclear if that was Chuck or not), and there have been quotes from (i think) Robbie saying that they're only having cameos from OG SPN actors if it's relevant to the story they want to tell (and since the Rob cameo was not explained or plot-relevant people are thinking they're possibly going to do a Chuck won scenario? It could turn out that he was never actually defeated in 15.19 and now Dean has to show up to fight him again (and get Cas back?? maybe??))

b) In that same episode, there was a scene where Mary and John look at a picture of some dude who'd given them a clue or talked to John or something - it was Dean! So he's alive again, briefly, in the 70s. Could be time travel, could be he's escaped from Heaven. So if Dean is around in the show, whether just as narrator or as a character in the story, he has the potential to go rogue and look for Cas, or be telling the story to Cas up in Heaven. In either case, there is the potential for canon destiel, if they (Jensen, Daneel, Robbie, Misha, etc.) decide they want to do that.

c) Jensen has said various things at cons recently which are kinda 👀, including that he'd have been happy to keep going on SPN for another 6 years, and, most recently (this weekend), which I think sparked the poll you were talking about - that if Dean and Cas reunited Dean would say "Hey, can we talk about that goodbye a little bit?" and then joked that nah, it would be more like "hey, buddy, good to see you, old pal" but THEN said "I don't know, maybe we'll get to see that, that would be interesting" (Here's a gifset of him saying that if you're interested)

Also this:

[ID: Tweet from Toni @JensFloofHair.

JENSEN WANTS TO FILM A NEW ENDING FOR SUPERNATURAL, THE ONE HE HAD DREAMED OF. ABOUT A 2 DAY SHOOTING, HE SAYS.

Misha: I mean, you have the Impala.

Damn right, nothing stopping them!!

#JIB11 /End ID]

It's no secret that Jensen Did Not like the finale, apparently Eric Kripke had to talk him into it and he still makes salty jokes about it even now. Add the fact that he got someone else to film the confession for him because he wanted to have a record of it, and has said they cut out key parts of his performance in that scene (which is why the editing of it is so janky). So it's possible that he intended for there to be actual reciprocation in that scene and, well, now he's got the reins. He could do it if he wanted!!!

d) The prequel finale - airing next Tuesday, Jack help us - is titled "Hey, that's no way to say goodbye". Which was already kinda 👀 before the con this weekend, but combined with Jensen saying Dean would say "can we talk about that goodbye a little bit?" is um. Look I don't wanna get my hopes up. But also........ 👀👀👀

I think the prevailing theories at the moment (from what I've seen on my dash) are that either:

a) They're baiting us to keep interest in the prequel (I trust Robbie but I don't really trust Jensen, so this seems likely)

b) They really are gonna bring Cas back, either as him being the one Dean is telling this story to up in Heaven, or using that Rob Benedict cameo to retcon the finale and make the show about breaking free of Chuck's control for realsies this time (which hopefully means Cas actually showing up and not being explained away in one line like the finale)

Like I said, I don't wanna get my hopes up because I don't quite trust Jensen. But. Given Robbie Thompson showrunning and Daneel loving Cas and Jensen dropping all these maybe-maybe-not hints. If they DID make destiel canon. I would not be surprised.

Well maybe a little bit but in an "I can't believe I was right" way.

#my asks #artie talks #spn #jensen #bts #spn prequel #this got long lmao like i said i love to ramble #i tried to cover all the points! let me know if you want me to elaborate on anything though #personally i think that if they do decide to bring cas back they'll have him do a “hello dean” or something in the prequel finale #to hook people for the next season #or if they cant get misha for whatever reason this season they'll have dean show up and mention off hand that he's looking for cas #im leaning very far toward “oooooh i think theyll do it” but also. ive been burned before *tjlc flashbacks*#ill never trust a showrunner again #unless robbie does make destiel canon in which case im gonna marry him #also i think this is my first time talking to you hi hello! you activated my hyperfixation trap card i hope i dont scare you off 😅#my dms are open if you wanna chat more!#meta #destiel

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naturepointstheway · 2 years

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The Mute and the Maine (Cats the musical fanfic, based on the late ‘80s/early 90s Zurich Misto)

The following piece of Tuggoffelees fiction was inspired by a post I saw of a gifset of Lindsay Chambers’ Mistoffelees who was completely mute, and was pretty much an outcast among the Jellicles. In said gifset (and recording of the performance), Lindsay’s Mistoffelees points to himself while snuggling next to Old Deuteronomy when Munkustrap says “Jellicle choice” implying some dark thoughts. In the recording itself, it also looks like one of the other cats swats Misto’s hand away and ruffles his chest a little, and I’m assuming it was Demeter, though it may have been some other cat, but I’ll stick with Demeter as she’s coupled with Munkustrap. I’ve also combined Zurich’s mute Misto with that little bit of impish side we see in later Mistos, like Jacob Brent’s in 1998, but really only shows around Tugger. Zurich!Misto can have a mischievous side to him, as a treat. (I think Lindsay Chambers played him a little more like that in later productions anyway--definitely wasn’t mute in his later Misto years.)

This fic turned into a BEAST at over 5500 words, so therefore, more under the keep reading!

After seeing how Mistoffelees had used his powerful abilities to bring back their beloved Old Deuteronomy, Tugger naturally had assumed then that the other tribe members would treat Misto better, that they would open up more to him, that they would accept him more as a part of the Jellicle family. Tugger had always felt that, more than any other cat, Mistoffelees ought to have always deserved all the acceptance he could get--even though he himself had grown up with him all his life, not caring that he was mute (though his purrs could be loud), and just accepting the small black cat as he was. If Mistoffelees’ bringing back Old Deuteronomy was enough for even Munkustrap to fully accept him as part of the family, then surely it would be enough for most--if not everyone--else.

For the next while, it appeared that, indeed, everyone had fully accepted Misto into the family--with Munkustrap’s attitude changing the most from before. Munkustrap had always been a very firm-speaking leader around everyone, including Tugger himself, but he had always been especially stern, even harsh, toward Mistoffelees.

But ever since that night, Munkustrap’s attitude toward Misto improved for the better, much to Tugger’s happiness. Munkustrap, along with Demeter, was always somewhere nearby, as if to make sure Mistoffelees was safe, and he would be quick to chide any other cats--including Tugger--for startling Misto with sudden loud noises or high-pitched screeching.

“Tell your fans to tone down the screeching when Misto’s around, Tugger,” Munkustrap chided him at one point when Etcetera had spotted Tugger and screeched in excitement, causing Misto nearby to start spinning around in stressed circles. “Especially Etcetera.”

Tugger had doubted Etcetera would listen, and he was right: even after telling her a couple times, she still squealed at the sight of him even with Misto in the same room, causing the poor cat to stress stim again. Jemima wasn’t a screecher anyway, and Electra at least made sure she toned it down when needed, as did Victoria. He still showed off like the rockstar cat he was around them, but only if Misto and Etcetera weren’t in the same room together.

Speaking of Demeter, she was also never too far away either, and while Tugger chalked that up to it being mostly because she was Munk’s mate, he had a little inkling she was looking out for Misto too. If both Tugger and Munkustrap were apart from Misto, Demeter somehow magically appeared from around some corner to settle herself somewhere where she keep Misto company as he refined his magic. While Misto didn’t mind Munkustrap or Demeter hanging out nearby, it did not slip Tugger’s notice that whenever he was around, Misto’s magic always sparked brighter, happier, stronger, and his heart always skipped a beat or fluttered when they made eye contact, even for the briefest of a glance in the middle of a conjuring turn.

Nor did it slip Tugger’s notice that the moon had barely begun to reach its waning crescent phase before everyone, save for Munkustrap, Demeter, the kittens, and himself, began ignoring Mistoffelees again as they had before, the hype of his conjuring turns and magic now fading away as they focused on other things in their normal cat lives. It wasn’t like he didn’t expect things to eventually go back to normal (or as normal as one could after the trauma of Macavity’s attack), but still, it stung--really, really stung harder than he had thought, that most of the Jellicles eventually went back to ignoring Mistoffelees. All his hopes that finally, finally the others would fully accept Mistoffelees were mostly dashed--of course they only treated him nicely for a short while before moving on. Mistoffelees wasn’t impressing them anymore with giant feats of magic that wore him out so much he had slept from sunrise to sunset the next day (which had worried Tugger at the time), and because he couldn’t (or maybe he didn’t want to) speak, no one had the patience to get to try to know him better, learn how he communicated in other ways.

All his life, whenever he hadn’t been teasing or pushing Misto around, or off flirting with the other cats, Tugger had taken note of how the small cat would communicate. And communicate he could! His purr when content had a different timbre and tempo to when he was stressed. The way he would paw at his right ear when embarrassed, but at his left ear when plotting some impish scheme to hide the humans’ cutlery or make off with their balls of yarn when they weren’t looking (naturally, Tugger would join in when he could). Mistoffelees was not a touchy-feely type, which was fine by Tugger, who was not one for spontaneous cuddly sessions, not even with the humans (unless they were busy cooking or sewing or whatever). But he knew that if Misto sought him out for a nuzzle into his thick mane, it meant the other cat was deeply, deeply upset or distressed by something or other. Tugger would drop anything (and anyone) if it meant he could provide some comfort to Mistoffelees when the latter needed it. Nuzzly-mode Mistoffelees meant time to be there just for him, and let him have the physical comfort he needed. Except only a few times, back when they were full strangers and he had yet to learn anything about Mistoffelees’ communication style, Tugger never initiated any touching first, always letting Misto seek it on his own terms.

So it should have struck him as odd that from the time the Jellicle Moon had waned to its crescent phase, that there was nary a nuzzle, spin, or even any magical practice in sight. It wasn’t unusual for Misto to have a day where he just didn’t do any of that, but several days in a row?

His concern only increased when one morning, Demeter approached him, voice low in a near whisper as she asked to speak with him somewhere private. She didn’t even crack a smile when he joked didn’t she hate him, remembering her having swiped at him once or twice when he got a little too rowdy around her. But all ideas of light-hearted jokes and banter went out immediately when she immediately got to talking about something weighing on her about Mistoffelees--she only had to voice the first syllable of the magical cat’s name, and he was all ears, hanging on to her every word. When she made him swear to talk to Mistoffelees soon, Tugger’s promise was fierce in its sincerity.

Demeter’s right. I need to be the one to talk to him.

***

A couple evenings later, Demeter’s words still somewhere in the background of his thoughts, Tugger found himself looking around the house for Mistoffelees; knowing him, he would likely turn up right behind him out of nowhere, or be in the last place he’d looked. He perked his ears, trying to listen for purring, though he knew even that wasn’t always reliable. After all, a shadow of a purr could lilt by the fireplace or a bedside or inside an empty box for hours after he had long left.

Therefore, he wasn’t surprised when he finally spotted Mistoffelees resting on the rug next to the roaring fireplace, the sky already having grown fully dark with stars poking their studded eyes out into the night.

I swear, I circled back here three times! And he was here all along!

“Of course you’re right there, Mistoffelees!” Tugger marvelled in a booming voice, making the cat flinch, glaring at Tugger for a moment. “I’m sure I looked for you here several times in the last, what, ten minutes?”

Mistoffelees tilted his head back a little, nose in the air, giving an air of aloofness.

“Don’t mind if I sit down with you by the fire too,” Tugger said as he helped himself to a comfortable spot on the rug next to Mistoffelees. “Way warmer in here than outside.”

Mistoffelees gave no indication of a reaction, just turning his attention back to the fireplace, front paws crossed over each other on the rug. His eyes drew half-closed, as though being sent to slumber by the crackling warmth of the fireplace. Tugger wondered how he had never noticed the way his fur seemed to glow a soft amber as the light from the flames caressed him. Or how the firelight made the edges of Mistoffelees’ ears appear framed by a border of pale light. The lazy way his ears turned this way and that, flickering every so often perhaps with some thought or reflection.

He couldn’t help but smile, warmth in his voice, when he spoke again, much quieter this time.

“Misto, there’s so much I love about you.”

Mistoffelees tilted his head, ears swiveling in his direction, side-eyeing him like he didn’t quite believe what Tugger was saying.

“Yeah, yeah, look at me, the great Rum Tum Tugger, getting all soppy.”

A rattle of quiet amusement interrupted Mistoffelees’ purring, turning his head to fully look at him.

“But y’know, apparently one song wasn’t enough so...time to get soppy. So shut up and listen.” Tugger tossed a wry look in Misto’s direction to show he was saying the last part lightly. “At least you don’t think I’m a terrible bore, like Munk does, right?”

Another rattle of amusement,, one of Mistoffelees’ front paws reaching to Tugger’s face.

“What’s so funny? Is it the terrible bore thing?”

Mistoffelees bapped Tugger on the nose, a pleased smirk on his face.

“I’m not a terrible bore, c’mon!”

Another bap on his nose, before Mistoffelees withdrew his paw.

“Thanks for the support, Misto,” Tugger remarked with an eyeroll. “Glad to know I’m a giant bore.”

The small black cat rolled over on his side, front paws patting thin air before him, a cheeky glint still in his green eyes. Tugger stretched out his body on the rug, crossing his front paws over each other.

“Sooo...here it goes. The soppiest Tugger you saw--thank god only you are here.” Tugger looked around quickly. “At least...I hope so.”

Mistoffelees rolled over so he was sitting in a similar fashion to Tugger, paws crossed, nose tilted a little up in the air, eyes not quite meeting Tugger’s. The classic aloof Misto act. Tugger fought not to roll his eyes again.

Everlasting, I love you so much, Misto.

He didn’t want to think how different his life would be without this ridiculous magical cat. It meant more to him beyond words that Tugger was the only cat Mistoffelees was so relaxed and most like himself around, at least in private.

“Okay, get ready, because I’m probably gonna be here all night.”

Mistoffelees relaxed even more on the rug, head lowering to rest on his crossed paws, eyes never leaving Tugger.

“I could go on about your magic, the way your fur sparkles sometimes, the conjuring turns, everything, but...that’s a big thing. There’s lots of the small things I love, you know?”

A soft purr from Mistoffelees in response, as though telling him he was listening.

“Small things, it’s the small things!”

C’mon, Tugger, you can think of something! Don’t just repeat the same thing again like a Pollicle!

“Like...you know, when I sniff and sneer at my food bowl because I don’t like whatever the humans gave me...only to come back a few hours later to find someone who looks, acts, and sounds just like a certain Mistoffelees having cleaned my bowl already. In fact, I think I see that very cat before me now.”

Mistoffelees sat up on all fours, looking around the room as though searching for that very cat Tugger spoke of. Who could that cat be? After a few seconds of pretending to search the room for this mystery feline, Mistoffelees resumed his relaxed position, front paws tucked under, looking like the very picture of innocence.

“I think I seem to recall that cat’s name now too,” Tugger continued in his declaration, “Something that sounds a lot like...Mistoffelees. Isn’t that odd?”

An ear quirked, as though Mistoffelees was agreeing just how odd that really was, considering each Jellicle cat had a name no other cat had or would ever have.

“As a matter of fact, I can tell you from experience that this cat, so named Mr Mistoffelees, has also, on occasion, swiped a pawful of a second helping from my bowl while I was eating it.”

Mistoffelees’ left ear twitched, twice.

He knows what he did, alright.

Tugger couldn’t help a little grin. “And of course you’re not sorry about it at all, are you?”

The purr-laughter rattled loud from Mistoffelees’ ribcage.

“Just as I thought.”

Tugger tried to come up with something else.

“Your purrs? They’re a whole conversation sometimes, y’know? You’re a mute, but damn are you able to say a lot without saying a word. You have a purr for every emotion--angry, haughty, overjoyed, content, upset, scared--yeah a purr for everything.”

He was sure that the short purr from Misto now was one of surprise, with a hint of doubt.

“All your purrs!” Tugger waved a paw dramatically in the air. “Other cats who can’t be bothered to learn how you communicate? Not worth your time.”

Yep, that was definitely an unsure purr again.

“Sure, okay, I’ve been an ass at times, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t bothered to learn how you communicate.” Tugger lowered himself to the ground, head on his own crossed paws. “And y’know, now you’ve shown what you’re capable of, I’ll say even the kittens keep asking me about you.”

Misto raised his head quickly off his paws, blinking at Tugger.

“Yeah, Jemima? Victoria? Electra? Even Etcetera.”

He saw the grimace on Misto’s face, turning his head to paw at his right ear.

“Yeah, I know, but I think she’ll be willing to keep it down. But if you don’t feel comfortable around her...”

He saw Misto relax again a little at that.

“I’d say even Munkustrap would be willing to learn, and Demeter.”

Misto’s ears perked up in surprise.

“Yeah, Demeter was a surprise, but...”

Tugger hesitated.

Should I tell Mistoffelees what Demeter told me now?

A quirk of Misto’s head to one side told Tugger plain as day he was waiting for him to finish his sentence.

“Um...” Tugger quickly shook himself off. “Well, she is interested in learning too.”

Misto narrowed his eyes at him, clearly not fooled by his hurried ending to his sentence.

“You know what else I love about you?” Tugger declared, changing the subject. “You never fail to be amused by me getting stuck in bureau drawers--even though you can easily magic me out of them, you always just have to sit and pretend not to know what to do before helping. It never gets old.”

Tugger was definitely not telling him he sometimes deliberately got himself stuck in a drawer just to cheer up Mistoffelees if the black cat was having a low mood sort of day. It did not amuse the humans, but it certainly amused Mistoffelees, and that, for him, was enough.

“I know you’re about to cause mischief when you chitter and twitch your ears and whiskers.”

Mistoffelees lifted his chin as though to tell Tugger “Yeah I know. Next?”

“Then you lick your paws in a pretense of innocence when our humans find a plate or fork missing, or how did that fish paste manage to be taken out of its packaging and into your bowl without opening it. But you can’t hide that twitching ear or whiskers from me.”

Mistoffelees’ tail drew high up in the air, tip flickering, a smug acknowledgement of his sneaky little magical adventures.

He knows he’s an imp and he isn’t sorry, and just wants to have fun. And he wanted to be the Jellicle choice?!

“I swear, you’re more mischievous when you know I’m having a bad day, and your magic is that much more dramatic...” he sneaked in a cheeky little amused purr. “...than usual.”

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes, swiping a paw at Tugger, who dodged out of the way, unable to hide his mischievous smile.

“And I’ve seen you prank our humans at night by closing your eyes and moving to sit in their path, and then open your eyes, giving them a fright.”

Mistoffelees slow blinked, twice, before closing his own eyes, and if it wasn’t for the glow of the fireplace, even Tugger would not have been able to see him.

“Sometimes, Mr Mistoffelees, you even prank me by doing it to me too!” Tugger quickly added, “And no, that doesn’t count. The fireplace is lit.”

Mistoffelees opened one eye, then the other, looking disappointed--or at least, pretending to be so, if his amused purr hadn’t given him away.

“When you’re sleeping all curled up, sometimes your paws bat at your tail, and I swear every time that it’s the cutest thing I’ve seen.” Tugger shifted a little closer to the fireplace, and Mistoffelees did the same, lying back down on his belly next to him. “If it’s a really, really cold night, and the fire goes out, I’ll wake up to you just nuzzled all up in my mane, and then I can’t move.”

A hint of concern in Misto’s eyes, Tugger responding with a little assuring purr.

“...because I have the cutest magical cat sleeping on me, and I don’t want to disturb him. So I don’t move. And you know I don’t care for a cuddle--so that’s saying something.” Tugger paused for a moment. “Honestly? You’re the exception to my cuddle rule. I can’t say no to my Misto.”

The purring stopped a moment, and Mistoffelees’ expression lightened with hope, but an unsure one. He unsheathed a claw and pointed at Tugger, then at himself, then at his own heart.

“If you’re asking if I meant what I said with “my Misto”, yeah. I meant it. I mean, I mean it. Now, and forever.”

Mistoffelees batted at an ear with the same paw, claws sheathing and unsheathing. His face was turned away enough that Tugger couldn’t quite see what he was thinking, but it didn’t seem entirely happy either.

“I mean...”

Was that too much?

“I do mean it, but if that was too much for you to hear at once...”

Mistoffelees turned his eyes back on Tugger, with a little assuring purr.

“You’re okay that I said that?”

A little smile and nod, Mistoffelees tucking his front paws under his front again, looking toward the fireplace. To any other cat who hardly knew him, they would imagine he looked relaxed and content, eyes half-closed.

Only, Tugger knew better: the tell-tale flickering of the tip of his tail and twitching ears told him the other cat was not in an entirely happy mood. He batted at his ears, looking too tensed for a cat that would otherwise look relaxed to another feline who didn’t know him as well as Tugger. Which was virtually every other cat except Tugger, who suspected that even their humans knew Mistoffelees less well than he did.

He really didn’t want to dwell on that night of the Jellicle Ball again, and all that Macavity had done, but Tugger knew deep down he had to have this conversation with Mistoffelees. He didn’t want to do it, and he wouldn’t have had Demeter and Munkustrap not insisted. Demeter, who obviously had a soft spot for Mistoffelees despite only having known him since the Jellicle Ball, was especially insistent on Tugger doing it as soon as he could, no matter how hard it was. She feared Mistoffelees would try to do something and she didn’t want to live with the regret of wishing she’d done something. When Tugger had suggested she talk to Mistoffelees, she had said “No, you know him better than any of us, than all of us, even Munkustrap. Please do this, most of all for yourself. You really don’t want that regret. You can’t have back who you love once they’re off this earth for good.”

He’d pointed to himself. To himself. Demeter’s words echoed again in his head. He was asking to be the Jellicle choice.

“To himself...”

Only when Mistoffelees looked at him with a questioning purr did Tugger realise he’d said that aloud. Well, it seemed he had no other choice but to carry on. He hoped he wouldn’t mess it up. He’d never had to do this before, ever, for anyone, not least of all, Mistoffelees.

How do I even start?

Outside, Tugger maintained the pose of an adult, but on the inside, every bit of his being was curling into a kitten crawl, trying to hide away in the warm past when he had never thought anyone he loved could think this way.

“What a night it was, wasn’t it?”

Another questioning, confused blink and purr.

“The Jellicle Ball we just had a little time ago.”

A flicker of reproach in Mistoffelees’ eyes before he pointed at himself, then at Tugger, and made a shoving motion before pointing back at himself again.

“What? What are you talking about?”

He cringed--that came out a little too sassy sounding.

A sharp hiss of frustration before Mistoffelees stood up on all paws, now seeming to mimic someone coming in with a loud entrance before shoving something out of his way.

Oh. OH.

He had thought he’d only pushed Mistoffelees aside gently on entrance, but it seemed it had been much harsher than he’d meant for it to be. Now he could recall the spinning cat in a cockroach costume, and how he had shoved him out of his way.

“Hey, you know I can be like that sometimes, right?”

Mistoffelees tensed again, arching his back a little, but no hairs were standing along his spine and his tail was still its normal size.

“I didn’t hurt you--”

Claws unsheathed, and the hairs were definitely standing on his back, but the deep hurt in Mistoffelees’ eyes gave Tugger pause.

Okay, Tugger, maybe you did hurt him.

“Are...are you hurt?” Tugger looked along Mistoffelees’ body, as though he might see some damning evidence on his fur or something.

A long, tense moment passed as Mistoffelees just stared at him, but then, his back straightened out again, his fur less spiky along his spine, and claws slowly sheathed again. But then a paw went out to Tugger, then back to himself, a claw poking out as he held it over his heart, lowering his ears and bowing his head, tail drawing between his back legs.

Tugger didn’t need mind-reading powers to know what that meant.

How was it that knowing he’d hurt Mistoffelees emotionally more painful than if it had just been physical? Tugger was the last cat anyone could accuse of being overly affectionate, but right now, all he wanted to do was pull Mistoffelees into a hug, tell him he won’t do it again now he understood how much it had hurt whenever Tugger had been mean toward him. In the past, Tugger had usually teased or shoved Mistoffelees in jest, and he’d assumed that Mistoffelees didn’t mind because he showed no overt demand for him to stop. But now...he might as well have shouted “stop that!” despite being mute. And Mistoffelees was well within his right to do so.

“Hey, look, I’m sorry. I didn’t--I wasn’t thinking. But, it doesn’t mean I don’t care at all. I like to think you know I care. You know, right?”

Mistoffelees settled back on the rug again, curling up his back legs, eyes fixed on the fireplace. Tugger was about to speak again when the flames began to take the shape of a small cat spinning in what was clearly his signature Conjuring Turn. His heart skipped a beat when other flames took shape of a Maine Coon, obviously Tugger himself, looking on with admiration. It lasted a few short seconds, but it told him all that he needed to know. Even Mistoffelees seemed to understand that Tugger wouldn’t have encouraged and believed in him wholly, and with song, if he hadn’t cared, let alone believed Mistoffelees could bring back Old Deuteronomy.

Tugger swallowed, remembering the terror that was Macavity--he still haunted his dreams at night, not that he would ever tell anyone, except maybe Mistoffelees. The kittens, no doubt, were traumatised the worst on watching Macavity kidnap their beloved leader, before fighting and knocking out Munkustrap. That’s what Demeter had told him anyway, because of course the kittens wouldn’t confide in him--he was the handsomest tomcat in the tribe who wouldn’t care to listen to a scared kitten, apparently. Munkustrap was the one to go to if they needed a cuddle and reassuring words when scared, not Tugger.

He shook himself out of this train of thought, forcing himself back into the present, back into the same room as Mistoffelees, in front of a warm fireplace. Speaking of Mistoffelees...

“Macavity was terrifying that night--made my skin crawl. I still can’t believe he...did what he did--to Munkustrap, to Old Deuteronomy.” Tugger paused for a few seconds to compose himself. “And, Mistoffelees, few things terrify me more than him. I can think of two right now.” Tugger forced himself to take a deep breath, keeping a calm appearance before moving on. “You know what one of those are?”

Mistoffelees shook his head slightly.

“A world without Mistoffelees in it. Without you in it.” A shiver went through Tugger at the mere voicing of such a world. “That’s scarier to me than all the Macavities in the world. And not just because no one would have been able to bring Old Deuteronomy back.” Tugger picked at the rug with his front claws, sheathing and unsheathing and sheathing again. “It wouldn’t be the same without you around. Even if you agree with Munk I’m a terrible bore.”

He studied Misto’s expressions, trying to gauge what the other cat was feeling--but right now his face was unreadable, though his green eyes were fixed intent on him, hanging on to his every word.

“And we would have no magical Mister Mistoffelees, the original conjuring cat with his conjuring turns.” Tugger added, in an attempt to lighten the mood a little, “And who would get me unstuck from bureau drawers?” Tugger swept his tail around so it lay across his front paws. “Not Munkustrap I can tell you that much. He’d just roll his eyes and mutter “typical Tugger” and leave me to it.”

Mistoffelees stretched out his body on the floor, staring toward the fireplace now.

“But...”

I guess it’s now or never.

“The second scary thing? Knowing you believe the world would be better without you, knowing that you wished you were the Jellicle choice.”

The reaction from Misto was instantaneous: his whole body stiffened, claws digging into the rug, head still turned away, eyes staring more than ever at the fire. His tail whipped the rug a few times, nervous twitches and worried wags.

Here we go, Tugger. Don’t blow it.

“Demeter told me the other day she had seen you point at yourself when Munkustrap had explained to the kittens how Old Deuteronomy will make the Jellicle choice.”

Misto’s entire body was still tensed, not moving an inch, eyes staring into the fireplace.

“That’s...” Tugger tried and failed to find the words to say. Instead, he went to lay next to Mistoffelees, paws crossed before him. “Mistoffelees, have you...had you...”

Mistoffelees slowly turned an ear toward him, waiting for the question in its full form.

“Tell me you haven’t spent your whole life thinking this, Misto.”

Just voicing the idea of it broke his heart, wishing he could somehow shake sense into Mistoffelees, make him see that he deserved love, deserved to be here, deserved to show the world his magnificent magic and big heart. And then, another thought--one that made him dig his claws into the rug just to think about it.

“Did someone tell you this? That you...should be the choice?”

Tugger was relieved to see that the answer was a no.

“Good, because I would have given them a lot of hell. I sure wouldn’t be as diplomatic as Munk.” He paused, thinking back to when he had shown everyone in the junkyard what Mistoffelees could do with his magic, having faith all the way through that he could bring Old Deuteronomy back, even though neither had any idea if it would even work at all.

“When you brought back old Deuteronomy...did you believe it then? That you should be the...” he grimaced, steeling himself. “Jellicle choice?”

Mistoffelees pawed at the rug, ears flickering back and forth, along with the tip of his tail. It seemed to Tugger like he was torn between two answers, and it hit him how many things Mistoffelees must surely been longing to say in his brain but could not speak.

“Yes, but also no?”

Mistoffelees whipped his head to look at Tugger with a little start, eyes round. A few seconds passed before he nodded at Tugger. But, eventually, slowly, there was a nod of confirmation, ears flattening a little too in some mire of emotions Tugger could only mostly guess at: sadness, regret, guilt perhaps. Maybe even a little bit of grief in there too.

“Complicated, huh?”

Mistoffelees looked at Tugger as if to say “What do you think?”

“Well, I for one am glad you’re still here--and, yeah, this is gonna sound uncharacteristically sappy coming from me, but a world without you and your magic would feel way lonelier.”

Mistoffelees tilted his head, questioning.

“I know what you’re thinking--I have Bombalurina, Etcetera, Electra, Plato...you name ‘em. But none of them are you. None of them could replace you.”

Mistoffelees looked down at his own paws.

“Even if you didn’t have your magic powers, no one else can be you. Seriously, sometimes it’s great to come back to this house and know you’ll be here somewhere--purring away here at the fireplace, practicing your conjuring turns on the rooftop, or annoying our humans with some mischief. No one else can be Mister Mistoffelees except Mister Mistoffelees himself.”

A long silence interrupted by the crackling of the fireplace passed, Tugger losing himself in his own world, perhaps the one he feared, the one where Mistoffelees didn’t exist. No conjouring turns, no mischievous cat nipping forks and helping him out of dresser drawers, no purring black ball of fluff next to the fireplace, no dancing on the rooftops, no-one to bring back their beloved Old Deuteronomy.

To think of a world without Mistoffelees...it hurt.

It hurt.

He must have lost himself in his thoughts more than he realised, as he nearly flinched when he felt a nuzzling under one of his front paws, looking down in time to see Mistoffelees lying down with his back pressed against Tugger’s belly, purring fiercely. He couldn’t help but stare down at Mistoffelees snuggling up against him, with no tension in him at all.

He never does that. Ever!

He hesitated to wrap his paw closer around Mistoffelees or curl his own body around him, lest he triggered the cat’s sensitivity to touch. Tugger never tried to touch Mistoffelees, only letting him come to him when he needed a little nuzzle or paw bap of encouragement.

But this. Snuggling with his back pressed up against him?

Well, that was a first, and it wasn’t like Mistoffelees was tense either--on the contrary. And his purring! Tugger would not be surprised if Mistoffelees’ purring could be heard on the roof right now. He ached to pull Mistoffelees to him, but kept his paw steady, knowing full well to ask first.

“Misto?” he whispered. “Is...is it okay if I hug you with my paw? And curl myself around you?”

One of Mistoffelees paws wriggled free enough to bap at his larger paw, pulling it down as though to confirm that yes, it was fine for Tugger to pull him into a cuddle. Consent granted, Tugger wrapped his free front paw around Mistoffelees, curling his body around him too, so they fit together like two spoons. It was a strange feeling, having Mistoffelees so close to him, snug and warm, and without feeling any tension in the other cat’s body.

Then, to Tugger’s utter surprise, he had the sensation of a small tongue licking his paw--was Misto grooming him? He had never groomed Tugger before! What a curious night this was turning out to be, not that Tugger was complaining. He’d privately always hoped that one day Mistoffelees would be comfortable enough to come to him for a close cuddle session, but he wasn’t expecting this either.

“Are...are you...?”

The grooming stopped quickly, and Misto tensed as though waiting for a rebuke.

“Don’t stop. I just--you’ve never groomed me before. It just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

Mistoffelees resumed a hesitant lick or two on Tugger’s paw, and regained confidence when assured it was okay. Tugger’s heart was sure to burst, and he wasn’t sure now whose purrs were louder: his, or Misto’s. Either way, combined, surely they could be heard on the roof above the fireplace now.

“I love you, Misto, more than you think you know or believe, and I’ll keep telling you this until you believe it. And even after you believe it, I’ll say it anyway.”

Misto’s response was a little headbutt against his paw.

“Aaand that’s enough of soppy Tugger for the night,” he declared, trying to sound as Tugger-ish as he could, but his eyes were starting to feel drowsy. It was so warm sitting by the fireplace, with Mistoffelees huddled up against him. And grooming him too! He’d never done that before! He knew this meant there was a significant shift in their relationship, and for the better, and Tugger wouldn’t have it any other way. Now the room was quiet again, except for the crackle of wood, whispers of flames, and their loud purring. He couldn’t keep his eyes open much longer, not with the deep feeling of drowsiness and warmth surrounding him. He bent down his head to very gently nuzzle Mistoffelees before resting his head back on the floor, eyes closed.

“Goodnight, Misto...”

END

#Cats the musical #Cats fanfiction #Tuggoffelees #the rum tum tugger #mr mistoffelees

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woosansang · 2 years

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henlo my beloveds!! i cannot believe that an entire year has passed in which not a single day goes by where i dont think about, listen to, watch, or fawn over (or all of the above) the most amazing group of young artists that i’ve ever had the pleasure of loving.

below the cut you will find some unnecessary emotional babbling about my short but amazing time as an atiny and some words of love to some of the people on this website who have contributed to that happiness. (fair warning: it is really fucking long i am so sorry and i do not expect many people to read it. tags and messages are at the bottom if that’s what you’re here for)

a week or so from today marks my first anniversary of being part of atinyblr, but it was on the fateful day of saturday july 17th 2021 that i watched my very first piece of ateez content and fell head over heels for fireworks!yeosang.

over 6000 tumblr posts later (what can i say? when ya boy obsesses, she oBsESsEs alright), and here we are. tumblr user woosansang who had previously not changed their url for SIX YEARS breaks tradition for Some Guys. smh @ myself at how whipped i am. @/bowtiescarves, you had a good run.

while yeosang captured my attention literally instantly, some of you know how utterly in denial i was about my san bias, which manifested itself within mere days of discovering them, yet it took me over six months to acknowledge how much he affected me. seonghwa joined the bias line second, officially, but then he got kicked out after deja vu because apparently i can’t take him seriously when he’s got pink hair or something idk. anyway, for all of one week i was posting about yeosang, san and seonghwa. and then i discovered inception era wooyoung and my life was basically over then. like. fucking goodbye jazzy lol LOL.

i remember listening to compilations of jongho singing for hours. i remember being so upset that they came to australia back in 2019 before i really even knew what kpop was at all and feeling like i’d missed my chance (cut to me now, kind of considering a wholeass holiday to korea for the sole purpose of seeing them live). i remember watching every. single. thanxx stage. GOD. those first few weeks were wild.

then i made my first ateez gifs. of seonghwa of all people. and since then, i have made more gifs and gifsets in the past year than the previous seven or eight years of being a casual content creator combined. (like i said, i’m insanely obsessed but wcyd)

outside of tumblr, i am a dancer, and after only knowing of ateez for a few weeks, my sister (who introduced me to them) and i decided that we were going to cut together a mashup song and learn a bunch of their choreographies to perform at our dance school’s annual concert in 2021. lockdowns and restrictions meant that we ended up learning and teaching this dance to our friend almost entirely online, and if i’m being completely honest here, our ateez dance was one of the only things that kept me happy during all the time spent stuck at home. like. combine dance and my current hyperfixation and you get one happy jazzy. we weren’t perfect by any means, but i was so so proud of our little trio for what we managed to accomplish (i think most of you have already seen my dance but if you want, you can dm me and i’ll send you the link if you want to watch!). our dance was ridiculously well recieved by the audience and i cannot remember ever being happier on stage then when i was performing to ateez’s music. it’s wild how serotonin works hey.

the past year of my life has been hectic, especially this last six months with my new job, and ateez has been the main thing that’s kept me going strong this whole time. they make me so happy, and the friends i have made through them make me so happy as well <3 i am so grateful that i found them and fell in love with them when i did <3

if you read all of that.... wow im so sorry i dont know how to be concise to save my life bsdhfbsd

now because i am me and i am physically incapable of keeping things short and sweet, there are just a few people that i want to say some stuff to that i’m sure they already know but i’m a sap so i’m gonna say it again. behold:

@hwanswerland fio bro idk what to say here tbh you know we are both too awkward and stupid for saying nice things to each other but i guess i have to bc i like you or something </3 fr though you know i do love talking to you, i love sending you stupid shit and bad hwa screenshots and random photos i find on twitter that either i’ve cried over or i know you will cry over. i love how we revel in each other losing our minds over some guys. and i also love how easy it has always been to be real with you, how well we clicked when we first started talking and how much i love waking up to random text essays from you overnight. thank you for listening to my bullshit and giving me your own right back. thank you for understanding my dislike of exclamation marks. thank you for being someone who actually likes to communicate about things if we ever take issue with something or just need clarification because we’re being stupid about some feelings or whatever. thank you for being you. i dont remember how we even became friends but i’m incredibly thankful that it happened. i guess. idk. you’re boring and i hate you. that’s more like it <333333

@sanhwaiting megan <3 beloved <3 bubble tea buddy <3 evil demon friend <3 we havent talked as much lately since we are such busy bees but i love you all the same! thank you especially for being such a kind and welcoming presense in atinyblr when i first stuck my toes into this fandom, for helping me with random cc stuff, for being such a sweet and constant presence in my notifs, for sending me so much stuff that i had to create tags just to keep track of my own suffering </3 i miss our little chats and i hope we can get back to them soon <333 ilysm <3

@hwanwooyoung chey my dearest, i hope you are having an amazing day today because you deserve the world <3 i self proclaimed myself as your emotional support mutual and while i don’t always manage to hold up that promise, i hope you know that i’m subconsiously sending you love and support every day! you’re such a beautiful person and i just want the universe to see that and give you everything you want in life <3 ilysm beloved, thank you for always being there for me <3 <3 <3

@ocean-dreamer-sky-chaser elise beloved!! i love you so much my love <3 im so glad we accidentally became friends lmao i love that i can leave rants in your dms whenever i need to and that we both feel comfortable enough to have deep and meaningful conversations and help each other out, or simply support each other and know we have each others’ backs. and also then i can come screaming about being on my knees for woosan just to have you go “same *faints*” HDSFJHSDK also love that we are both into fic lol it’s nice to have someone helplessly flailing with me about it <3333

@applejongho anne i think you’re just about the coolest person i know. even though we’ve only started talking properly quite recently, you’ve always been an awesome precense in atinyblr and i absolutely love how easy it is to chat to you about the most random shit. also MATH BUDDY LETS GO NERDS <33

@hanjesungs jay, although not really that deep in atinyblr anymore, you remain an awesome friend with knowledge on the most obscure things that i come to you to talk about, whether that be some random ass stage jisung did a year ago or how to build a computer from scratch, you always seem to know exactly what i need lmfao. thank you for teaching me about skz!! you and a few others truly opened my eyes to how fucking awesome they are. we should do another watch sesh soon <3 thank you for also always being there at whatever random hour i start vagueposting on tumblr, you show up in my messages with your love and support and distractions and i love you for it. you really need to get to bed at a reasonable time one of these days though HJDFSJDHF LOVE YOU <3

@blueberrysan shay!!! i love you so much <333 tbh, you are the heart of my life as an atiny, no doubt. you are the sweetest most precious angel and i wish we talked more but we’re both so stupidly shy it’s almost annoying sdjfsd thank you for also introducing me to svt and mr yoon jeonghan! i can’t thank you enough for all of the sweet messages and asks you’ve sent me, the little gifts here and there that i treasure. you’re so fucking lovely shay and i am so glad i am priviliged enough to know you <3 <3 <3

@hyunfelix dani im so glad we found each other again after being mutuals via stranger things without even talking to each other and then somehow being into some of the same kpop groups like a year or two later??? crazy how that happened. we need to come up with some kind of phonecall schedule lmao because we’re always missing each other being online but i love talking to you so much, it’s kind of like talking to myself but with an american accent BHSABD ilysm <3 text me again sometime pls <3333

a smol and special mention to sofie @seonghw-a and simi @yuggietual for the yeotent that i first found when searching for ateez content on tumblr lol, you guys were probably the first ccs i followed on here so you’re my og atinyblr crushes i guess sbdfjhf thanks for all your service to the yeo stans of this world <3

also a smol and special mention goes to the amazing work done by romi @songmingki providing atinys everywhere with content that we would not otherwise be able to access. i thank you internally every time i watch, save, gif, or simply drool over something you’ve uploaded. thank you so much <3

some other beloveds who i haven’t really spoken to much but deserve an honourable mention for making atiny and atinyblr incredible are @97choi @abiaswreck @ateezbiased @bvlnoriyas @dejawoos @jeongyunho99 @mangomingki @ortali @sanshine @seonghwaminho @soppa @lee--felix @woojoongz @wouyoung @xuseokgyu (i am so so sorry if i forgot anyone, it’s late and my brain is fried today)

last but not least, any non-mutuals who happen to be reading this, hi hello thanks for following my insane journey through stanning these silly, talented, gorgeous boys. i hope to stay here for a long time <3

thanks for coming to my ted talk. keep stanning ateez everyone <3

#jazzy's first atinyversary #dont rb #jfc this is a long ass post i am so sorry #but im just so so so so so so so sososo so so oooosoo happy to be here on this platform with these amazing people #i am so happy i found ateez #and i just want to scream about them all the time and you guys let me do that and just nod and pat me on the head like Ok Jazzy.#except fio. u bully the shit out of me </3 #anyway HDFSDJKF if u read the whole thing lmk cause im certain it's way too long to be interesting to anyone lmfaooo #pls dont rb though!! replies are appreciated <3

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hopefullystillatheatrestudent · 3 years

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i'm so excited about you taking asks again ahhhh okay so. if you'd absolutely had to choose. what would be your top 5 cockles moments, and why? thank you ily <3

here’s the thing: there are so many routes i could go down with this, because cockles moments come in all shapes and sizes and formats. these include moments from their panels, their bloopers, the footage we get when they don’t even know they’re being recorded, stories being passed down from photo ops & autographs(one of my personal favorite ways to get cockles, tbh, because they’re all insane), and social media(tweets to each other, instagram posts & comments, etc.).

SO! since many a list like this has already been made, and i want to stand out from the crowd, what i’m gonna do is definitively give the number one spot to each of these five categories.(i might even throw in honourable mentions because they’re so despicably in love that they warrant that. i really put my whole pussy into this, guys, i hope you’re happy.)

disclaimer: these are my own personal opinions. but that also means i’m right. so. enjoy.

number one: top cockles panel moment

so we’re starting off with a bang, because how do you even BEGIN to rank what atrocities jensen and misha commit at jibcon. every single one they’ve had is damning in it’s own right, for different reasons.

however, considering just how much unabashed fuckery they’ve given us to sift through, it’s a good thing i do have a personal favorite despite it all. it’s heartwarming, the sweetest thing i’ve ever seen, AND it’s jarringly cinematic - mainly because it has a whole ass arc to it that was years in the making. it might even be surprising to some people, but my favorite cockles panel moment, and what i consider the one that encompasses their entire gut-wrenching journey from 2008-2013 in the most sweepingly romantic gesture possible, is this one.

i want this burned into my retinas. i am not even joking. when i'm through with my explanation, let me convince you why this is thee most romantic cockles moment of all time.

first, some history: people call this the resume off, but many seem to forget the botched attempt at a resume off a year prior. and yes, you guessed it: it's during their break up. it's a juicy time period for a reason, guys. it came across as exceedingly one-sided and VERY awkward. let me refresh your memory as to just how bad it was, and just how hard jensen was trying and ultimately failing at winning misha over: the funniest part of the whole resume off in 2013??? every joke/bit had literally already been made/done. they were just going through the motions again, but the difference THIS time...is that misha reciprocated jensen's energy. it. is. fascinating. i want to get into it more detail in another post, and i'll link it here when i'm done, but the main takeaway, i think, and the main difference that showcases how much they've grown in a year, is that in jib 3, misha flat out refused to do an accent, and this time around, he indulges jensen for literal minutes. when i tell you they're crazy, they're crazy. i can't wait to actually dive into it later.

ANYWAY, the resume off culminates in this moment here. and, like, a million things happen in this gifset. actually, more like a million and one. the music starts playingneediremindyouthatthesongissingingintherain(h e l p), misha starts dancing, jensen 'perpetually fake grumpy' ackles lets misha think he's not going to join, misha sits down defeated, but no!!! that was jensen's plan all along(look at his stupid fucking smirk) and he offers his arm to his dance partner who immediately grins like a fool, jensen then leads misha into their kick step, they perfectly synchronise and let loose, and are then very clearly having the time of their lives, hanging off of each other with joy and ease. from their expressions alone i can tell that this moment is so. so. so. so! much more than what initially meets the eye. i mean-misha is fighting back the biggest smile i've ever seen. to me, it reads like jensen is offering something to misha, something that misha kind of gave up on expecting, and him offering his arm like that is like, a surprise to him in the best possible way(and it's so not platonic, let me just say that.) as soon as jensen did that, it ushered in a new era of cockles. this panel is jensen and misha's favourite for a reason, and i think this moment is the biggest clue as to why.

whew!!! ok. that took a lot out of me and that was only point one. moving on,

number two: top cockles blooper moment

cockles bloopers hold an extremely special place in my heart, because it shows just how fucking disastrous jensen and misha are. they are so goddamn infatuated with each other that they HOLD UP PRODUCTION ALL THE TIME TO FLIRT WITH EACH OTHER(???). let me repeat. let it sink in. jensen ackles; arguably one of the most professional actors on that show who puts everything he has into each scene, with mountains and mountains of notes to prove it: would rather hold up production to flirt with misha collins. this sounds fake. it's not. he does it. all. the. time. and here's the thing guys!!! i'm gonna let you in on a secret!!! misha loves it. he loveesssss it. on top of that-misha collins: overlooked because he's pranked and people assume he's unprofessional as well, but his only pranks are in retaliation/off-set, and he rarely if EVER causes problems if he can help it....lets himself get carried away when it comes to jensen making kissy faces at him!!! are you actually kidding me!!! i mean. misha. it's just a face. you've seen it a million times. i don't buy that it triggers something in you that strongly....you like it, and you like jensen's reaction. you can't fool me!!! lisa berry's face in that one gifset shows just how fed up the crew is with their gross, coupley boyfriend antics.

i could pull up so many examples. sooooooo many. but my favourite was sealed since the moment i saw it.

i actually already wrote an analysis on it but i can't find it :(((( which SUCKS because i really unpacked the whole thing. i'll try to summarise.

basically, a backstory is part of this too!!! jensen and misha both had a really really hard time with this scene(because it's explicitly romantic there i said it), they sat down for hours and poured over their scripts together, they were super super nervous going into filming, both of them, jensen especially, were super hard on themselves for their performances not being true to their characters but they both complimented the other's work(boyfriend moments fr). so, yeah. they weren't confident going into shooting. and how do they get themselves to feel better???? by cuddling each other, apparently.

a lot. a LOT. happens in this specific blooper. to the point that i saw it years before i knew about cockles and it raised all sorts of flags for me.

1) stop pulling my face towards your crotch(as a thinly veiled request that misha would, in fact, move jensen's face towards his crotch, considering it was jensen moving himself there in the first place. also, why so comfy down there guys???) 2) you're my baby daddy i know(in the most intimate voice i've ever heard please) 3) i know, i know, i love you too i didn't say i love you i know but you wanted to say it etc. misha's right, of course. that's what jensen meant.

it just reeks of comfort, familiarity and intimacy between the two, and it's a moment that is extremely sweet and silly at the same time. they're so <3

number three: top cockles found footage moment

WONDERFUL category. truly the culmination of the cockles experience. many people have said that shipping cockles doesn't work because 'they're just onstage you dummies!! they're playing it up for the audience!!!' here's the thing, love. i could not disagree with you more. once you climb your way up the cockles ladder, you soon learn that they are, in fact, playing their dynamic DOWN, not up. they really are just Like That™, and they could not care less about the paying audience, if we're being honest, considering how much time they take to giggle with each other and refuse to let the audience in on the joke. and i love them for it <3

anyway, my point is that this category is for all you naysayers out there, all you 'jensen and misha's relationship is just for show and is real life queerbaiting'(?????lordhelp???) oh yeah? ok, explain this.

he. he. he calls jensen sweetheart. literally enough said. there's nothing to really add here, except, misha and jared then immediately engage in damage control. jared's method is distraction and misha's is retconning('get out of the car, dude') this was what got me to buy into the cockles dumpster for GOOD good. you don't call your buddy sweetheart accidentally and sound so completely earnest while doing it! especially not when that buddy is jensen ackles!!! you think he would let any of his friends call him that? do you?

one more thing; if it was a slip of the tongue, little mouth thing or whatever, you think jared wouldn't have jumped on it immediately??? i can hear it now. 'did you just call him SWEETHEART???' yeah. that's what i thought. you know why he didn't? because it was too revealing.

number four: top cockles autograph moment

i mean, i think we all know what it's gonna be, and if you don't, well, do i have the piece de cockles resistance that is gonna send you over the edge.

if you haven't heard of this story by now, as a cockles, truther, i'm gonna go ahead and get you to read it, because there is no possible heterosexual explanation for any of it, and you're fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

spoiler alert: it's the story where phones weren't allowed in an auto session, jensen nuzzles himself in misha's hair, leans his full body weight onto him, holds his hand, etc. etc. i'm imploding just repeating this back, actually. also, just, the sheer amount of stories from photo ops where they tackle hug each other or slap each other's asses or sing romantic songs to each other or almost kiss is, frankly, a lot. if i could wish for anything, it would be to witness them in person.

and finally,

number five: top cockles social media moment

this one is super difficult, because there's obviously a lot to choose from. but you know what? full send, i'm going with this one:

i just. what to say about this. how often do misha and jensen watch sunsets together for it to qualify as ‘always’ ??? why are sunsets synonymous with their relationship??? that’s like??? a very romantic thing????? ‘this guy’??? the fact that it’s a CANDID??? i don’t know guys.

that could have been better but i am TIRED so. there you go rose ily

#cockles #cockles ask #liz answers #i really just. spend hours. writing about misha and his boyfriend.#why. why do i. do that #long post for ts

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maghrib-genova · 3 years

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I just finished watching murder on the orient express and a snippet of martin eden and I just realised that marwan smiles so big like a thousand watt smile, while luca's smile is more subdued like he's shy almost (or maybe that's just martin's character???) And I'm just falling in love with them all over again ❤❤ do you have a favorite of both their movies? I'd love to watch those smiles more often 😍 (also never realised how broad luca's shoulder is wow tog really downplayed his features a lot)

Ah yes. It's all because of their characters they portrayed, that's why you see such a contrast in their smiles. Both of these movies, the characters have entirely different motives to show through their expressions, so it's understandable why there is a stark different in the way they smile.

Since we all know that both of them are such brilliant actors, everything they did in their movies I believe is the deliberate choice in their part to highlight the character personality.

Pierre smiles so widely in the movie because first I think he overall does it because of his job requires him to be all smiling and friendly and he also has something to hide, this is a mask too, this smile.

there is a moment where there is trouble behind his character when he sit on the chair in front of the rooms, waiting, subtle fidgeting on Marwan's part. I mean Pierre didn't have much screentime but all the small moment given to him, Marwan have used it to the best of his ability to showcase all of Pierre's motive as a character.

But yes his megawatt smile was truly enticing in this movie.

Now we move on to Martin. Martin smiles too a couple of time in this movie but there is some irony behind each smiles, some hidden sadness and even in his happiest time, we can still see that lingering gloom in his eyes, like he is not sure if he should smile or not, like this moment will vanish before his eyes and everything is just some sort of illusion.

Compare with this Smile when he played other characters. One is mischievous smile, sexy even though it was simple smile but we can feel his confident and his playfullness when played as Primo and another one was a genuine happy smile for his brother, with twinkle in his eyes when he played as Loris, a loving and caring brother.

Everything is deliberate choice for Luca. Even when he played Nicky.

Ugh..especially when he played nicky. Him not doing much is actually Luca doing most to show that Nicky is reserved and calculating and listening and just observing his surrounding and understanding. Then he laugh freely once when he was only with Joe to show us how much he loves his husband, how happy Joe made him even in the most hopeless place, strapped in torture table. 😘👌

(Also I think this is the most beautiful smile/laugh from Luca in any of his movies I have ever watched he's in. Or I could be bias. Because I love Nicky lol but seriously, this smile is so precious. We have to treasure it.)

Also Yes. Luca has such a broad freaking shoulder. Like it's there so jarringly when you watched his other movies. I think even when he's playing Nicky, his shoulder clearly shows that it's broad as hell.😂 they didn't down play it, it's just limited screentime for Nicky if we didn't pay too much attention we might miss it. That's why have to watch it at least 5 times guy to appreciate tog to the fullest. And to appreciate Luca as Nicky. It's chef's kiss 😘👌

What interesting though. Even though his shoulder was so broad, in that recent video Gina gave to us, when Marwan engulfed him in his embrace, that broad shoulder kind of disappeared. So I don't know who has broader shoulder at this point haha.

I mean, in Marwan's Workout Video or when he played as Majid. It was clear that he also has broad shoulder.

Anyway, it's become quite long and I haven't even answer everything. I got lost in making all the gifset to answer this haha. I have more smiling Luca gifset now. It's a bonus so thank you for this ask.

My personal favorite from all of their movies I have watched :

For Luca Marinelli I think his best role was playing as Primo in Trust FX (2018). He owned that role to the point I don't think anyone can do the character Justice the way he did in that series. He is like a wild untamed animal, like we couldn't predict what he would do next and he is playing the criminal in such a charming way. Everything about Primo screams sexy. It's hard to hate him as a villain of the story because he was so compelling and so interesting you just want to see more of him.

Martin Eden (2019) also such a good role, but it's bleak and it's poetic. Beautiful but decaying and it's hollowing. Something about Martin that makes you feel helpless and hopeless about the world and I love that movie because of it.

Luca as Fabio in They Call Me Jeeg (2015) also such a good role that Luca portrayed, playing a villain too but I still think Primo is the OG. But watching Luca as Fabio was really fun too. He wasn't a conventional villain, he sing, he is clean freak. He is beautiful and deadly too.

Ohhhh It's a long List of all The luca roles I like. I love him playing Roberta (The last man on earth/L'ultimo terrestre 2011) too! He completely become another person like it's hard to find Luca in Roberta, like Roberta is Roberta and Luca is Luca and that's how you know he clearly nail the role when he emerged as another person entirely.

Paolo (Il padre d'Italia 2017) is worth mentioning too because there is something about Paolo that makes you feel too much for him too. The last one is Loris (Up to the world 2013) because after being tortured by Luca's filmography because most of it are sad and bleak and to see something sweet with Luca character didn't have too much baggage to carry, I feel liberated and want to cling on Loris to make me happy 😂

For Marwan Kenzari I personally really love him in Wolf (2013) as Majid. It was such an interesting role to play, so many side of majid, so Marwan has a role to showcase all his acting abilities with this role, so much room to show all his emotions and his physicality and the story also I think hits home for Marwan so it feels personal to watch and such a beautiful movie too. Majid will always be my favorite.

Another one from Marwan that I think everyone should watch was when he played real life figure Ashraf Marwan in The Angel (2018) , there is a strong charisma and charm he carry as this character and tenderness and also fierceness, secret in plain sight that makes us keep questioning the motives of the characters even though we already know the story. It's such a fun movie to watch and also one of Marwan best performance.

Marwan as Idris (Instinct 2019) also need to be mentioned because how good he played this unsettling character, it's an interesting watch for sure. Another one is Adrian (what Happened to Monday 2017) though he wasn't the prominent role but he made an impression that stays with you after watching the movie. And the movie also was truly truly good too, He was so handsome here too.

It's been fun answering this question for 2 hours, I hope it's informative enough😂

#answer #the old guard #joe x nicky #immortal husbands #luca marinelli #marwan kenzari #kaysanova #lapinangeliq #movies #movie rec list

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pynkhues · 3 years

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I got so excited seeing you post about Succession, I am absolutely obsessed with everything about that show from the writing, to the performances, to Kendall fucking Roy. Would love to hear any of your takes or analysis on the Roy siblings.

Oh my gosh, me too, anon. I'd been watching the eps a few at a time and when I got halfway through s2, I started watching them one at a time just because I didn't want it to end! It's been a crazy long time since I've done that, and it was such an invigorating feeling to enjoy a show that much to want to draw it out again. I finished s2 a few days ago and am halfway through a rewatch already, haha, and I am SO. HYPED. for s3.

It's so well written and like you said, the performances are top-notch (Jeremy Strong ridiculously deserved his Emmy last year, oh my god), and just the pay off with plotlines and character arcs is unreal, even if that pay off often hurts. I think it does such a great job of showing how filthy rich they are too, but making no part of their life aspirational? Which is a hard line to walk. They're all so miserable and traumatised and disconnected and lonely and they're destined to stay that way because they have no emotional tools to do or be otherwise. It hurts, but it's so frequently what they deserve too, and that gets so tangled up and twisted. I love it.

And man, the Roy kids!! Putting some broadstrokes analysis / opinions under the cut, because omg, I feel like I'll be talking for 1,200 years otherwise, haha.

Connor Roy

Legit obsessed tbh. When I was growing up, my mum was a huge Spin City fan, so she used to park me and my sister on the floor in front of it with toys while she watched, and as a result I think I have this really warm response to Alan Ruck, haha. He's fantastic in this, and lends the right amount of vulnerability to Connor.

I love that there's this push-pull with him as kind of an outsider, but also not? Like he's there at the table, to borrow the phrase from Tom, but there's very much this feeling that it's a courtesy or formality to Logan's previous family (and god, I'm dying to know more about his mum / Logan's first wife), but that doesn't stop this deep rooted need that Connor shares with his siblings for their father's validation.

I think a lot about what Connor says to Kendall in the s1 finale about how anyone can have a million dollars, but right now, with Logan's empire, they're somebody. It's this sort of tangled disconnect from reality (anyone can have a million dollars??) but also his desire to be seen broadly, but more specifically seen as Logan's son, that I feel really grounds Connor's arc, and I feel like he's just going to get louder and louder about it, especially with his presidential run getting closer.

Kendall Roy

Okay, okay, okay, I know that he's an absolute nightmare and a terrible human, but oh my goooooddddd, I love him as a character. I saw it in somebody's tags on a gifset, but I love this set-up where Logan keeps Kendall on the shortest leash, but it's a leash all of his siblings, despite themselves, want to be on. That's awful, but so indicative of the toxic way that Logan's raised his children.

There's also a great quote from Jeremy Strong somewhere, and I can't find it now, but to paraphrase, he said that the whole family is raised on this idea of strength and power, and Kendall's sort of a case study in strength not being his native language. It's so true, and I think Kendall's smart and resourceful and quick on his feet, but he's also so often desperately trying to wear a costume of who he thinks he should be.

I don't think he's weak (in fact, I think he's really resiliant), but he's definitely a fragile character and an addict, who nakedly needs nurturing that no one is willing to give him, least of all his mother (which, god, that scene when he tries to talk to her in the UK destroyed me) so instead he pretends to mould himself into the perceived image of his father and fails every time.

It's brutal to watch, especially when you see other characters know that and use it to manipulate him. Hell, his own father pretends to nurture and protect him (and I think kind of genuinely does too? But it's so warped?) the whole of s2, and it brings Kendall closer than ever before. It's painful, and affecting, and it's just this manifestation of trauma in a hopeless, cringe-inducing package, haha.

Roman Roy

Another nightmare baby I tragically love, hahaha. I actually think Roman's had one of the most interesting arcs on the show and one of the few that seems to be positive? Like his tendency to not take anything seriously so that he never truly fails was pretty fun in the first season, but to see that evolve into someone who's green but has great gut instincts, and is good when he lets himself be and when he lets himself try, is really invigorating narratively, especially as the other characters all slip further down morally and/or stagnate.

I'm loving the way that it's sort of cannibalising itself though too with him and Geri's relationship suddenly, um, pivoting, hahaha, and especially the way she's honed in on him getting off on being demeaned. There's something really fun about the one character clawing his way up masturbating to being told exactly how low he is.

Plus Kieran Culkin is a gem.

Shiv Roy

Sarah!! Snook!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've had a huge crush on her since Not Suitable for Children so was already totally delighted to see her in this, but oh my god, she's so good, and Shiv is so awful in so many wonderful ways. I love that she's kind of like Kendall in the way she pendulums between extreme competence and the most mortifying self-sabotage, and the way she's a very specific sort of insecure. Logan never asked her, y'know? Not really, and the way she knows she's his favourite, but knows that being his favourite without the validation of succession doesn't mean anything.

In a lot of ways, she encapsulates the show's themes and Logan's abuse in the best way, because she has what her brothers want. Her father loves her more openly than he does any of them, but that love isn't enough, because Logan's made sure it never will be. It's not a true love after all, because Logan loves them, but he loves none of them more than himself and his legacy, and being given the latter is what they've all been convinced will make them happy when it never will.

Nothing will.

It's just so good and so painful, and I'm in love with it all.

#i hope this makes an ounce of sense anon #i am still extremely in my feelings haha #hbo succession #connor roy #kendall roy #roman roy #shiv roy #welcome to my ama

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door · 2 years

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door i trust your taste implicitly so i am THIS close to watching wheel of time even though i thought it looked dumb in the trailer i saw. but please could you tell me what it's uhhhh about? i have seen so many very pretty gifsets but i could not even begin to guess what the plot is & i'm just not ready for that kind of commitment if i don't sort of know what im getting into

ok, so. hello. i love you. thank you for affirming my taste. it will likely make me even more insufferable to my loved ones. :)

i just actually watched the trailer for the first time, and yeah i don't think i would have watched it off of that. i started watching wheel of time because i was very intrigued by images of Nynaeve and Lan, and for the first 3 episodes i largely played games on my phone and texted my friend who has read all the books so he could make vague references to things that meant nothing to me while other things were happening and then focused when they were onscreen. this was a very enjoyable way of watching for me, but it may not be for you! i understand that completely. during episodes 4 and 5 i have become more interested in the rest of the plot, however, so:

some very broad wheel of time spoilers under the jump.

plot?

please nobody fact-check me on this because i remain very ignorant of the wheel of time's world-building, but: a long time ago there was someone called the dragon and they did some big things. was the dragon a literal dragon? perhaps! it's probably been addressed but i haven't seen fit to retain the information. the dragon like. did some things. with the world's magic. now only women can wield it. when men channel magic it will drive them mad (yes this is a pretty gender essentialist set-up). the dragon has now been reborn and is likely 20 years old. that's all anyone knows.

moiraine (rosamund pike) is an aes sedai (female channeler/magic wielder) and she is searching for the dragon reborn. she is accompanied by her warder, lan (daniel henney), a dude who is there to have her back basically. warders and aes sedai share a mind link and since moiraine and lan have been on this search for 20 years, they are very closely bonded. it's a deep, intimate, entirely platonic bond and tbh it rules. they get to a village, locate 4 likely suspects for the dragon, but cannot narrow it down.

chaos ensues: rocks fall, most everyone dies, and then it's 2 grown-ups with 4 children. this is where i clocked out. 1 kid having a coming-of-age heroes journey is one thing but 4 is too many. i'm sorry. once larger, external plot things started happening to them, i found the children interesting once again. i hope this continues, but if not there is no limit to the number of crossword puzzles i can do.

here's what's in wheel of time for me:

high fantasy tv in the post-game of thrones era. i didn't watch all of got, but i watched enough. 5 episodes in, there have been so many decisions made by the show which have set it up in opposition to got. everyone is very clothed (although you do see daniel henney's butt in the first episode. this is not a complaint), and there hasn't been any excessive lingering over pain, pain experienced by women in particular. there's a scene in the last ep (5) in which a young woman is bathed against her will by a group of men and it is filmed in such a way that you feel it as a violation, but it doesn't expose the actress and nobody is salivating. that's plainly not what it's about.

this story is so interested in women's lives and communities, and in such a way that feels genuine rather than performative (see: the witcher). 3/5 episodes thus far have been directed by women, and 2/5 have been written by them. there's also been an encouraging amount of queerness onscreen, both in the background and the foreground. it's not a show that is free from sin (there's some troubling colorism in the casting and i don't LOVE the fact that the community group clearly based on Irish Travellers and led by a white woman all wear their hair in locs), but it seems earnest in a way that is unusual for a show of this kind and with this budget and i enjoy that very much about it.

but nynaeve and lan are the linchpins. nynaeve is the best character by far, and zoe robbins is playing her with such nuance. i love it. and the nynaeve/lan relationship so far is. whew. i feel insane.

if that seems worth your time, then i recommend it! i do understand if the promise of insanity is not terribly attractive however.

#asks #anonymous #wheel of time #hey anon drop your location so i can lie under your feet on your tombstone like a loyal medieval dog

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sambuckylibrary · 7 months

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SamBucky Gift Event 2023!

The @sambuckylibrary will be holding a gift event!

Just make a SamBucky fic, podfic, moodboard, gifset, piece of art, fic rec list, or edit for someone! Use one of our badges and tag @sambuckylibrary in your post for each fill. We will be tracking #sbgift2023 for reblogs.

No need for sign-up. No theme to the gift, but you can certainly make it holiday-themed if you would like to. All you need to do is gift your piece of SamBucky something to someone!

The event will start on December 1st and run until January 7th. During that time, we will be reblogging and sharing the work you guys create here on our blog.

If you are posting on AO3, please add it to the SamBucky Gift Event 2023 Collection.

The Badges are:

FAQ

What is this?

It’s a SamBucky gift event.

Is there any pressure?

No pressure at all. No sign-up. Just give a gift to someone, use one of our badges, and tag @sambuckylibrary if you join the event.

How many gifts should I give? Can I give more than one gift to a person? Can I give one gift to multiple people?

Give one gift to one person. Give several gifts to one person. Give one gift to several people. Give a bunch of gifts to a bunch of people. Do however many you please and give to however many you'd like to.

Will you provide me a person to give a gift to?

We won't, but if you want to, you can always give your gift to the SamBucky Library.

Are there any prizes for making anything for this event?

Just the satisfaction that you made something cool.

Is it just SamBucky?

Yes please, just SamBucky. There can be side ships, but the main ship should be SamBucky.

How long will this event run?

It will run from December 1st and run until January 7th.

I heard there are badges I can use for each fill?

Yes! You can see them on this post if you scroll up.

RULES AND GUIDELINES

What are the guidelines for the bingo?

I will be borrowing some of this from the MYSU Valentine’s Day Bingo 2022 Guidelines, since they were fantastic.

For Everyone:

1. Remember to @sambuckylibrary in the post as well as #sbgift2023.

2. If you��re uploading to AO3, please:

a ) Say somewhere which prompt you’re filling.

b ) Add it to The SamBucky Gift Event 2023 Collection (SamBucky_Gift_Event_2023).

For Artists:

1. Create at least one piece of new art that can’t have been posted anywhere else before this.

2. All visual art forms are welcome:

a ) Gifsets, at least 3 gifs.

b ) Aesthetic boards or moodboards, at least 4 images each.

c ) Drawing/painting, that is not a sketch.

d) Fan video.

e) Graphics edit.

For Authors:

1. At least 500 words.

2. Posted on Tumblr or AO3.

3. Can be part of a series, but should work as a standalone.

For Podficcers:

1. The podfic should at least be 5 minutes long.

2. It should be posted on either Tumblr or AO3.

3. The podfic can be of a fic made for the event, a fic not made for the event while still adhering to the prompt, or a notfic.

For Fic Rec Lists:

1. You must have at least five fics or podfics on the rec list.

2. Make sure to give brief descriptions of the fics or podfics as well as their rating and wordcount.

Things to be mindful of when creating:

For Sam

Avoid framing Sam only as a caretaker or emotional support for Bucky. Be mindful of Sam acting angry or aggressive in an out-of-character way and falling into the angry/sassy Black man trope (check out the MCU source material to help with character traits).

Avoid decentering Sam as a main character and refrain from focusing entirely on Bucky.

In art: avoid whitewashing Sam’s skin and research drawing Black characters.

General disclaimer: Race affects every aspect of his life, including interacting with police/government and the white structures of the world when it comes to performing his duties as Cap and simply being a Black man that lives in the U.S.

For Bucky

Avoid phrasing “flesh/normal/human hand” to refer to the contrast between his prosthetic arm and his right arm. The phrasing is ableist. You can simply refer to his prosthesis when relevant, otherwise use “right/left arm/hand”.

For more information, please check out this document suggested by @ninesdb on how to write Bucky as an amputee. @ninesdb is also open to questions if you have any queries not answered by the google doc.

Specific Tags:

Avoid tags in AO3 like “Sam Wilson is a Gift”, “Sam Wilson is a Saint”, and “Bucky Needs a Hug”.

Have fun and we look forward to your SamBucky Summer Bingo fics!

- The Mods

#sbgift2023 #sambucky #sam wilson #bucky barnes #sambucky fanfic #sambucky art #sambucky edit #sambucky moodboard #sambucky podfic #sambucky fic recs #gift giving event #mod: thatmexisaurusrex

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tuiyla · 2 years

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Gif maker appreciation! Talk a bit about your five favourite gifsets that you've done and send this to five other creators <3<3<3

Aah okay getting around to this!

I'm just gonna do Glee ones since Glee got me back into gif making anyway. These are in chronological order btw.

Naya's 34th birthday

I remember spending a while on this one and don't regret a second of it. Blew up a bit too and I think it's my most popular gifset, which I'm not complaining about. If anything, I'm glad it's this one. Feels strange to say but there's love put into it. The sharp knife of a short life indeed.

Every Santana song: New Directions group numbers

I wanted to mention one of these here and this took by faaaar the most time. Selecting and organizing was a pain but I liked it in the end and even though I'd do it differently today, a year later, I'm still happy with it. One day I might actually finish giffing all her performances lol.

the original five + connections they’ve made (and +Bram version)

The first paintbox prompt! I'd say this and paintbox as a whole is what reaaally got me back into making gifs so it's special in that but this also just happens to be pretty much the only gifset that turned out (almost) exactly as I imagined it. I'm never truly satisfied with how things turn out but I'd change very few things, if anything, about this one. Plus it was just fun to make.

Underrated mash-ups

I really thought I'd pick the Glee girls edition here but there's just something about this one that sparks joy? I did it in a single day which I almost never do and I dig the colours and layouts. Home/Homeward Bound could have been better, what with being my fav song of the bunch but overall yeah I like it.

Quinn + mad at god

Listen I'm not 100% satisfied, like I say I rarely ever I am, but it was such an effort and I tried so many new things with it, plus the song would not leave my mind until I got it done. So I'm happy to have made something for her Skankness and tried my hand at lyrics gifs because I wanna do more of those.

#brighter-than-a-carnival #ask #gif maker appreciation #thanks for sending this back :)#i have one or two more in mind but these are currently the ones i'm most proud of/happy with #shoutout to the klaine one though haha #already sent this to like 7 people haha

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the-littlefangirl · 3 years

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TFATWS episode 1 rewatch commentary

The first scene was so beautiful. I loved that we didn't start directly with the fight sequence. It feels way closer to the quiet beginning of CATWS and I love it so much.

The title is also SO NEAT, music's on point too but hey it’s Henry Jackman the one thing I’m sure it’s going to be great overall is the score.

The choreography is AMAZING, really well shot. Sam shielding himself with only one wing was MA-JES-TIC.

“WHAT'S UP” EXACTLY SAM EXACTLY

I did feel so uncomfortable in regards to the military aspect of it. Not that I was expecting anything else, but both here and in Captain Marvel the military we're good guys < 3 propaganda is so blatant and ugh:/ At least there wasn’t a literal recruitment spot like with CM.

The yellow filter in the Tunisia scene BYE please stop with the yellow filters 2k21

"I've been working with the Air Force for six months now" So, did Sam even catch a break at all after Endgame? Or did he just throw himself to work like SOMEONE did after being iced for 70 years. Hmmm? Sam????

"Essentially, these people, they want a world that's unified without borders" OH NO! HOW AWFUL, how evil of these bad guys smh

Joaquin: SO about Steve

Sam: :)))))) nope

"Moon stuff" SAAAM

#1 cry with Sam's speech, full on chills.. Fuck. Me. His voice about to break before saying thank you bYE.

Shady politician: "It was the right decision" (FUCKKKKK YOUUU)

Rhodey: *press any key to doubt *

I need someone to analyze the different curation of the two exhibits pretty please

NOT THE PHOTO POST-AZZANO JFC. That photo is my weakness, Bucky sweetie (also I find hilarious that usually when there are articles about Stucky and/or #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend they aaaalways use that photo LMAO)

In case someone wants to read the transcription of the texts about Bucky: "In 1944, while on a mission to thwart a Hydra weapon transport in the Alps, Barnes was thrown from a train and believed to have been killed in action. It wasn't until 2014, over seventy years later, that it was revealed that Barnes was alive, having been found by Hydra operatives. Captain America himself (i can't read) the effort to bring Barnes in only to later aid in a escape from custody having been convinced of his innocence. Steve's loyalty to his old friend, coupled with his refusal to sign the Sokovia Accords, led to the dissolution of the Avengers and drove the Captain into hiding with other like-minded Avengers including Natasha Romanoff, Wanda Maximoff, and Sam Wilson. The current whereabouts of Barnes remains unknown, habing been labeled a fugitive following his escape from custody."

"current wherabout unknown" but not the government, interesting. Also, pretty good summary of CACW from the public's perspective, although one of the things I always wanted to see explored was the public's reaction of the fallout of them going into hiding after Civil War (which I'm hoping we'll get to see a little bit of in Black Widow).

Interesting point about the 70 years without having Captain America. Clearly the sacrifice play wasn't enough this time to fuel the nationalism so they went with a squeaky clean John Walker instead.

Sam saying the shield belongs to Steve I'm going to cry now excuse me. Sam. Sam sweetie.

The No. 1 Captain America comic in the display ugH fuck yes

See this is how you do a cameo that has actual meaning. Thank god for Malcolm Spellman being a competent writer. That scene was so well written.

HAVE YOU PRAISED ANTHONY MACKIE'S PERFORMANCE TODAY?? Holy shit that last shot fucked me up.

I'm loving the use of the wide shots, especially in the flashback. The camera movements are in synch with The Soldier's state of mind and mission focus, so good.

EVERYONE STAND UP FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM aka The Winter Soldier theme composed by Henry Jackman.

Without a doubt the most brutal TWS fight scene there has been, People involved in Punisher and John Wick are involved in this and it SHOWS.

For the record, still stands that the only time we've seen him chocking someone with his right hand instead of the metal arm remains the Maria Stark assasination. I know it's probably because of blocking and the way the shot was composed but the implications are still bone chilling. God.

Uhhmmmm I'm very ambivalent about the "Hail Hydra". On one hand, it was 100% fanservice and the internet is probably going to go insane over it, and the dead way Sebastian Stan delivered the line. Good shit. Buuut what I love about CATWS is the way Bucky never, ever ever, mouths Hydra rethoric, and even when Pierce tries to gaslight him with it, it's just an empty effort. The Winter Soldier isn't doing anything because of ideological loyalty to Hydra, even if it's product of brainwashing, it's just sheer dehumanization. They don’t need him to say the words because he’s just An Asset. There are people who have put it more eloquently but yeah, I rather go with the fanon interpretation of that aspect.

The music growing louder with the shot of the keys. GOD.

I'm fine this is fine.

#2 cry with the therapy scene of fucking course.

The government monitoring Bucky is noooot going to end well lmao.

"We need to know that you're not gonna * slowmo stabbing motions *

Bucky: * nodding along slowly *

I laughed out loud.

"It's passive agressive" I love him.

The way this scene just sucker punched me in the face, made me weep and then had me cracking up. Amazing.

Therapist: You can't do anything illegal

Bucky: yup yup check checkity check. What IS considered illegal tho?

*aggresive tablet finger pressing *

"Then why isn't it rule number one?" Bucky your Steve is showing.

I love the close up shot. I'll keep saying it. It's so good.

"I'm James Bucky Barnes" yeah you are🥺

That smile is nightmare fuel LMFAO I love it.

Uhm the way I'm kinning Bucky it's not funny anymore damn

That whole “are you lashing out at me” rambling is really reminiscent of the bar scene in CATFA and how he lashed out at Steve after Peggy left. Uhm yeah fuck.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" "Peace"

"That is UTTER BULLSHIT" "You're a terrible shrink"

yeah ugly crying to ugly laughing speedrun for me

"You're free" "To do what?" jesus. That entire scene. #3 and #4 and #5 cries for moi.

Ugh that Brooklyn shot. Someone needs to do a gifset compairing it to the one in CATFA asap.

"It's like Monique but it's got a "U" in there for uniqueness" "That's absurd" LMAO

"You can't keep fighting with your neighbors" uHM * redacted redacted i'm shifting into 1940s mode abort abort *

"Nobody passed 90" "So young. Such a shame" FGADHGA

🥺🥺 yes flex those flirting skills good for you

"It's a dance to this things. You can't… you gotta warm up and I haven't danced since 1943. Feels like." #6 cry I completely broke down into tears with that.

This Yori storyline is going to punch me in the face with a metal fist. Great!

The TWS theme when he looks at Yori fuuuuuck.

GREAT LET'S GO TO LOUISIANA THAT WAS GETTING HEAVY.

Those shots of Sam in the car. Immaculate. Showstoping. Yes.

Marvel, what if instead of promoting the military industrial complex you put a lot of publicity about cars?

"Uncle Sam!" LMAO subtle.

Everyone trying to have the wings lmao same.

I've only had Sarah for a day but etc. Brooklyn 99 meme

Good mirroring about Steve and Sam family's legacy. Good shit. Goooood shit.

Sam is trying so hard ouch my heart. I can't imagine how painful the scene with them reuniting must have been. He 100% still feels a lot of guilt about being gone for those 5 years (and even longer before that).

"Maybe it is time for us to move on" uuuuuuuuuuh

"To the rescue" "Always" 🥺🥺 i love them so much already

That shot outside the restaurant is so beautiful. Can't wait to see the night scenes in Madripoor tbh.

"I tried the whole online dating thing. It's pretty crazy". Uhm well that is something that Bucky Barnes has now said. In canon. Damn.

"It's a lot" "You sound like my dad" LMAO

Every Bucky fanfic trope speedrun with this scene

"Wow you really can drink" OH you have no idea

Just realized we don't even know her name, well.

"You have any siblings?" "I have a sister" THE WAY I SCREECHED. We're definitely getting Becca

Well that escalated quickly. The important thing is to try?

I can't deal with this BUCKY SWEETIE #8 cry right there fuck

The wardrobe department is KILLING IT, there's such a difference between the outfits of the shows vs how ugly and generic it usually is.

"ThEre is NO such thiNg as on time. You're either EARLY or LATE . picK One" lmao the way he delivered that line

At first I thought the flag smashers had thrown two cars out of a window LMAO

"I don't know how jurisdiction works here, but I'mma have to place you under arrest" uhm yikes. The way they changed Joaquín Torres backstory to just random army nice guy #1 is not sitting well with me, what can I say.

Sam's wings motions I LOVE HIM YOUR HONOR

Fuuuuck this guy.

"Funny how thing's always thighten around us" "Look, I'm on your side. After all, he's a hero". This script is C R I S P as hell, great fucking job.

"I don't care, I'm not gonna quit" "What are you trying to prove? And who you trying to prove it to" SHIT HSIT SHIT!!! UGH amazing. Look it's not necessary to say the show's questions out loud but how they flow between the conversations is still very satisfactory without feeling in your face about it. Inner conflicts have been set up fucking perfectly everyone * claps *

Ugh here we fucking go. I knew this was how the episode was going to end but my stomach still dropped like a rollercoster. God.

The score is on point. Damn. Damn.

God, Sam.🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

The captain america franchise's visuals in the credits are always so amazing.

Also, does anybody know why Mackie isn't first in the billing? Uhm what's that about?

ANYWAY CONCLUSION THAT EPISODE WAS SO FUCKING GOOD LIKE HOLY SHIT. I love them so much. The balance between the personal conflicts and the political aspect (although the military aspect is still very much yikes) was on point and it was overall a joy to watch.

#tfatws #tfatws spoilers #i'm so happy rn #sorry for the ramblings i just wanted to have it all written down #sam wilson #bucky barnes #captain america #tfatws commentary

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dnaes · 3 years

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⊹ content creator year in review ⊹

Not tagged but I kinda wanted to do it and a lovely anon encouraged me :) I will be linking work from my old blog (just a heads up so people aren’t confused)

first creation of 2020: I just realized I’ve been making bangtan content for only a short while (feels so much longer for some reason), but anyway here is my first gifset!

most recent creation of 2020: this tae set from new years eve live. I really loved his look.

one of your favorite creations from 2020: this hobi set from tiny desk concert. I like how warm the colors turned out, it really matches the vibe of hobi / the performance :)

a creation you’re really proud of: I really like this jin one. I know it doesn’t look like much, but I don’t really create single big gifs often since I still find it a bit challenging. I liked how this one turned out, though.

a creation that took you forever: I suppose my relationship comps for the gtkm meme took me a while to make (kudos to all the comp masters on this website. It is something I want to explore more in the future, but rn I’m letting impatience get the best of me 🙃). However... I will just choose this one because it took me a while to get the coloring just ‘right’ and cohesive. Ugh to lighting differences, my head started to hurt a bit lmao.

a creation from 2020 that received the most notes: This one for my gtkm meme. Going back to the comp thing I did actually enjoy making them! It was fun choosing each moment for each set...

a creation you think deserved more notes: I'm not sure, tbh. Even as a hobby, I'm still trying to get the hang of things (I'm used to making things for tv shows/dramas)... But honestly I appreciate every like, reblog, nice tag someone leaves, esp since this is a baby blog, so ty <3333

a new fandom you joined and a creation you made for it: Nothing this year! I thought I was going to make things for stranger (kdrama), but I never got around to it.

a creation you made that breaks your heart: does this one count ^^;; Like it breaks my heart not in a tragic way but because he’s such a precious sweetheart????

a ‘simple’ creation that you really love: This one. The coloring was such a hassle, but I loved that moment.

a favorite creation created by someone else: Ooof. Just one? Because I’m going to link a few ~recent~ faves -

this gorgeously spooky set by chiimki ★ (but like honestly everything chim makes, really). jvngoo’s jimin bday set ★. junghosoks’ bts hairstyle series ★ (mobile doesn’t link the series so I’ll just tag hobi’s set <3). vhopego’s hobi gfx ★. these two slipped-away’s gfx ★, ★. sermindipity’s jimin gfx ★. jimimon’s bts meets theatre anastasia gfx (galaxy brain ftw) ★. jmin’s dicon mag gfx ★. jsuga’s yoongi telepathy gfx ★. jiminslight’s christmas jimin set ★.

some of your favorite content creators from the year: finally have a reason to mention just ~some~ of the many admirable creators I see in tumblr tags / blogs I follow / etc. Personally I admire these blogs’ creativity, coloring, and/or comp making!

@chiimki, @dazzlingkai, @doona-baes, @flipthatjacketjiminie, @heybaetae, @hobeah, @hobibestboy, @hopekidoki, @houseofarmanto, @introtae, @jintae, @jmin, @jvngoo, @jimimon, @jjoon, @junghosoks, @joenns, @jsuga, @jiminslight, @jung-koook, @kooksv, @kimtaehyunq, @love4hobi, @minhope, @ofkimtaehyung, @oncupid, @sermindipity, @slipped-away, @sthrame, @syubb, @soie, @sweetsnight, @taeguks, @taee, @taemaknae, @tanyoorine, @vhopego, @yoongikook, @yoonjeen

and for good measure, another couple more creations of yours that you love: ☆. ☆. ☆. ☆. ☆. ☆. ☆. ☆. ☆. ☆. ☆.

#cc year in review #reya.blurbs #i hope all the links are working correctly #anyway this was fun ♡#i better post this before i chicken out bye

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actualbird · 4 years

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nobody asked but here i analysed polygon’s “unraveled” and bon appetit test kitchen’s “gourmet makes” and i think they are similar and use three key story elements to their success | a 1.9k word long analysis by an unhinged creative writing fresh grad trying desperately to use their degree to connect two dots

If you asked me who my favorite internet celebrities are, I would not hesitate for a second to answer. Brian David Gilbert from Polygon and Claire Saffitz from Bon Appetit Test Kitchen. They’re awesome! They both host popular YouTube webshows about video games and cooking respectively, two things I am terrible at and don’t do very often. And yet I am enraptured by every episode of their shows. Why? How?

My thesis is this: Polygon’s “Unraveled” and Bon Appetit Test Kitchen’s “Gourmet Makes”, while wildly different shows on many levels, are extremely similar in how they use three key story elements very, very, well.

These three story elements are 1) Plot, 2) Character, and 3) FAWWIEOT (it’s an acronym, I’ll explain it later, I promise)

Let me start with the first and most basic story element these two shows wield amazingly: Plot.

Plot is, in simplest terms, what “happens” in a thing. This is what you’ll find on a movie’s Wikipedia page summary, the details of what went down, the events that took place, the things that occurred. There are many different types of plots because there are many different types of stories, but one of the most basic kinds of plots is very clearly illustrated by something called Freytag’s Pyramid.

Freytag’s Pyramid is a very simple plot that is moved forward by a non-negotiable in many, many stories: conflict. All is well, the line is straight, then a challenge arises and things start to escalate. At the climax, a decision or a group of decisions are made that leads to a de-escalation of the conflict, bringing things down until we are back at a flat line and the conflict has been resolved.

Every single episode of Gourmet Makes can be plotted onto Freytag’s Pyramid

Nearly every single episode of Unraveled can be plotted onto Freytag’s Pyramid too (with the exception of some, like a number of the categorization episodes, the Kojima name generator)

I know what you’re thinking. “So what if Gourmet Makes and Unraveled fit on some funky pyramid? What does that mean?” Well, dear reader, it reveals to us just one of three reasons why these shows are so enjoyable.

Freytag’s Pyramid is basic as shit, and yet it is one of the first plot structures taught to fictionists because people, up to this day, like it. Why? Because Freytag’s Pyramid fulfills two very important desires that we, as humans, love. 1) The desire for there to be a problem and 2) the desire for that problem to be resolved. It scratches our eternal itch to want to watch shit go down but doesn’t leave us up on a cliffhanger, it gives us our catharsis.

Gourmet Makes gives you the entertainment of watching Claire struggle with her task. Then Gourmet Makes shows you Claire slowly and surely rising above the challenge (notable in literally every episode of Gourmet Makes). Unraveled makes you watch BDG work himself up into a frenzy trying to do something stupid, but then Unraveled shows the payoff of...of watching BDG do something stupid, but this time towards some kind of resolution (very notable in the latest Unraveled “How to increase your stamina with terrible video game tactics”).

It is clear to me that Gourmet Makes and Unraveled both use plot in a way that gives viewers satisfaction. But what keeps them coming back for more?

Well that leads us to the second story element: Character.

People love Claire Saffitz and BDG.

Don’t believe me? Look through the tags of literally any gifset of either of them. Here, I did it for you. Here’s some tags for Claire:

And here’s some tags for BDG:

It’s pretty obvious to see that these two are well loved, but why? It’s not just because they’re both good looking, it’s because Claire Saffitz and BDG, with how they are presented in their shows, are good characters.

Claire Saffitz in Gourmet Makes isn’t scripted. She brings her own human frustration, determined hard work, and joyous glee to the show and it makes watching the show all the more enjoyable. BDG in Unraveled, however, is scripted, but he brings to the table his chaotic performance and ‘off the shits’ lecturer energy that brings the viewers in. Regardless of their differences, Gourmet Makes and Unraveled are similar when it comes to character because of one thing: they actually have characters.

What am I talking about? Well, for a period of time on the internet, people in the cooking media sphere and the video game media sphere settled for video content that was divorced from who was presenting the information. Videos like the ones from Tasty where everything was filmed top down and you only saw two hands perfectly putting ingredients into a bowl. Videos like the myriad of video game walkthroughs or video essays that are presented only by a disembodied voice who also seems allergic to actually having fun. This is content that hinges on the fact that people like seeing cooking or video games and that the presenter will mostly just be a background thing.

Bon Appetit Test Kitchen and Polygon both did not want to succumb to this style of presenting information. They both made the decision to bring their presenters into their video content, highlighting their respective presenters’ personalities, quirks, and styles. This is evident in all of Bon Appetit Test Kitchen and Polygon’s video content, not just Gourmet Makes and Unraveled. Do I watch Bon Appetit's show It's Alive because I want to actually make foccacia? No, it's because I love how Brad Leone mispronounces words and makes me laugh. Did I watch "Fixing Anthem’s boring mech’s with ballsy design" because I actually give a shit about video games? No it's because I love how Pat Gill jokes about fake testicles and also I think he's hot.

The fact that there are actually characters for us on screen to see, makes Gourmet Makes and Unraveled good shit. We’ve got a plot with clear conflict, but that means nothing if there are no personas for us to root for. Gourmet Makes and Unraveled gives us these personas. They give us Claire Saffitz whom we want so desperately to see smile and succeed. They give us Brian David Gilbert whom we want so desperately to see go a little bit crazy. They give us people to connect to, and that often bridges the gap to viewers who honestly don’t give a shit about cooking or video games. Viewers like me who just keep coming back to Gourmet Makes and Unraveled because of the fact that these are characters I care about, these are characters who I want to see smile after finally nailing the recipe or slowly take off their suit as they tell me shit about Zelda I don’t understand.

Gourmet Makes and Unraveled utilize plot in a way that makes these webshows satisfying, and they use character in a way that makes these webshows accessible and keeps people invested.

But they go further.

This brings us to our last story element, not exactly a common or rudimentary one, but an important one nonetheless: Fucking Around With What Is Expected Of Them.

(I know there’s probably a legitimate literary term for this, but sue me, quarantine has kept me stuck in my house since March, so I may have forgotten the exact words I learned in class. FAWWIEOT will have to suffice.)

The gist of FAWWIEOT is that stories have been around for fuckin ever, and because of that, there are clear patterns and tropes that stories follow. FAWWIEOT is the recognition of those patterns and tropes, using them, but finding a different outcome or flair to make themselves special, to make themselves stick out. Kinda like when you’ve got a fic on AO3 tagged with ‘friends to lovers’ but also tagged with like, I dunno, something completely random like ‘character is also a dragon’. Use the tropes, but do something different. Give the audience something they already know, then throw in something new to make them remember your content specifically.

Gourmet Makes and Unraveled FAWWIEOT (I’m using the acronym like a verb now, this is my post, I’m allowed to) very purposefully using an important technique: Flaws.

The standard trope of a cooking show is the chef easily talking to the camera as they perfectly put the ingredients together. All the food comes out perfect on the first try and everything is heavenly and wonderful. Classic cooking shows like Barefoot Contessa (hosted by Ina Garten) and Everyday Italian (hosted by Giada de Laurentiis) followed this pattern, and it made for good television.

But who fucking watches television these days? Everything is online now, and the internet is vicious. If you aren’t interesting, the internet will throw you out to the gutter. So how did Gourmet Makes set themselves apart?

By showing you that things aren’t perfect after all. Gourmet Makes shows you every trial that Claire tries, they show you her successes, but also her failures. They show you when she gets tired and hopeless, they show you when she bounces back and tries again. Gourmet Makes made a cooking show that was flawed, and people loved it.

And what about Unraveled? The design of Unraveled, from BDG’s suit and mug to his presenting style, key us in to the fact that we are watching some sort of lecture. Some kind of educational performance. Personally, this makes me think that Unraveled is FAWWIEOT-ing academia and basically any other media where an “expert” talks at you.

The standard pattern of experts talking to you are basically like TedTalks. You have somebody very well versed in the topic trying to explain to you something, showing you their hypothesis, their process, and their findings.

Unraveled FAWWIEOTs expertise by making BDG research the most crazy shit like OSHA regulations or the Geneva Convention, make the wildest hypotheses like ‘Monster Energy in the morning will be a good idea’ or ‘Sonic is blasphemous’, and then, ultimately, completely unravel himself. The expert in Unraveled isn’t an all knowing being who is always right, he is flawed (and loses his marbles, more often than not.) And we love it.

FAWWIEOT-ing is key because of how it gives us a pattern we know, and then does something new. Novelty is important on the internet, and Gourmet Makes and Unraveled have made a name for themselves on the unique way they Fucked Around With What Was Expected Of Them.

Gourmet Makes and Unraveled are two of my favorite webshows on the internet as of now, and there are many reasons why, many reasons I didn’t include in this post. What I wanted to do here is to highlight how these shows use story elements to be good content because at the core of these videos, even if they aren’t literary fiction, they are good stories. Good stories with a plot that satisfies us, with characters we can see and love, with new twists that keep us on the edge of our seats.

Good stories make for good content, and Bon Appetit Test Kitchen and Polygon have me as a subscriber for as long as they continue on this road.

Thanks for reading!

(Read my other Polygon-adjacent analysis essays at actualbird.tumblr.com/tagged/nobody-asked-but

If you have any suggestions or ideas for more Polygon-adjacent analysis essays I can write, send me an ask!)

#polygon #batk #bdg #unraveled #nobody asked but

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