#but also at that point i was still very much just starting out in learning to draw fat bodies fjdksl

[sabertoothwalrus]

OK PREFACING WITH IM SORRY IF I ALREADY SENT THIS EXACT ASK BUT MY WIFI KILLED ITSSLF AS I SENT IT SO IDK IF IT ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH. but in case it didn’t . i know youve gotten this countless times in the past because i blog stalked just in case youve mentioned something similar before but i need to know if you have any specific inspirations when you draw exaggerated expressions specifically like these two images of marcille. ive actually cried laughing over this comic and being able to communicate this type of visceral emotion is such an insane skill and ive followed your art for probably close to a decade through various fandoms so watching you develop this style has been fucking awesome and epic. like i cannot articulate how funny these are to me i just need you to understand i look at this comic to inspire me to draw now. the closest comparison i can draw to the feelings they evoke are like those mspaint reaction images and also mspaint tails i included for reference even though you probably know exactly what im talking about anyways but its actually so much harder to do that intentionally when you study art. also i lied you literally don’t even need to answer this i just had to let you know how obsessed i am over your silly comics and now ive written out a whole ass discussion post about it. im sorry if this is weird at all i think my daily prescribed amphetamines r wearing off and i know this is such a dumb specific thing to fixate on and im so sorry if its not something you want to hear about your art. ive just always seen that as an artist this type of expressive stupid silly style is something that comes after a significant amount of time and practice and study and style development despite being “simple” in theory. its just so cool to have worked with your own style so much that youre able to go “off model” from it and still maintain consistency with the rest of the piece. i said it already and im sorry this is actually rendundant now but the ability to communicate such raw emotion somehow decreases from at its height when someone is a beginner artist learning how to proportion and keep a steady line and what looks “normal” but somehow it all comes full circle because taking all that experience and using it to almost return to where you started but in a fully informed and intentional way so you can make choices to draw characters like this when the situation calls for it is just dhcidogakgoshfhw. i think i need to cut myself off or im going to talk in circles im sorry tumblr user sabertoothwalrus i just am fascinated by your style and progress and the years you’ve dedicated to art can be seen in so many places but this is just one that stands out to me specifically.

MMMMM what a fun question!!!

I'm not gonna lie, I think it's just Letting A Drawing Be Bad. I definitely think the people that struggle with this the most are people who have genuinely very pretty art styles, to the point of being kind of perfectionist about it. and to Draw Funny often means Drawing Fast and Weird. Pretty is kind of the antithesis of funny (unless being pretty is the punchline). do drawings that make yourself laugh. tracing/lining funny sketches almost always makes them less funny.

one of my favorite types of humor is when it skews more deadpan, actually. This is one of the reasons I love Adventure Time. minimal expressions and flat line delivery + absurd context is a really good combo. the key to comedy has more to do with contrast! if your drawings are allllll crazy ren & stimpy all the time, they're not funny anymore cause it's just "normal". if it's all subdued UNTIL it's extreme, and vice versa, then it's funny. The reason this comic is so funny is because of the complete lack of any expression. I feel like the one you sent of Marcille shouting "WHAT" is funnier when you know how much she tries to be dainty and feminine and delicate, how much she values her appearance, and how averse she is to "gross" or "weird" things.

something I find really annoying (and this is with comics/animation in general, not the expressions themselves) is when the joke goes on for too long. Like you'll have the joke, then the punchline, and THEN the characters reacting to the punchline??? Like the author didn't trust that their audience would find the joke funny, so they basically drew in a laugh track. But, this is distinct from a character's reaction being the punchline (like how the examples you gave from my Marcille comic are). MY POINT IS sometimes expressions aren't as funny on their own as you think, and context can affect how you feel about it!

as far as inspirations go!

my own face! even if I don't have a mirror, I like making the expressions myself so I can "feel" where the points of tension on my face are, and it gives me a sense of what to exaggerate.

my brother's art, believe it or not! we've been trying to make each other laugh with our drawings since we were kids, and he's really good at it.

ATLA has some great expressions

OK KO has been a reallyyyy good source for me lately. That show is so tailored to my sense of humor and the expressions and line deliveries feel exactly like the kinds of things I'd come up with. The tone, timing, and art style are all really close to the tv show pitch I'm working on, so when I feel like I've "strayed" too much from it (like after drawing a bunch of dungeon meshi, and my art feels tighter and... idk "manga-ier"?) I like to go and watch a couple episodes of OK KO to loosen back up

A lot of things like OG Spongebob, Calvin & Hobbes, the Simpsons, Chowder, etc etc

memes in general. if it makes you laugh, keep it in mind

and lastly, I wouldn't say I ever try to mimic funny expressions I see. Like if I watch a show for inspo, I'm not pausing it to copy specific drawings, I'm just trying to notice patterns and pay attention to what about it I find funny.

talking about being funny is really bizarre and I dunno if it makes it lose some of the magic. Ultimately it's something you can't think about too much, and just gotta go with your gut.

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

HBCU CONFESSIONS.

Part Two

The Great Conversation: A Historical Introduction to Philosophy sat on a circular table within the study hall of the dorm building. Erik was dressed down in a red graphic hoodie that read Lost Tribe in black letters with the map of Africa on the back. He paired it with grey joggers and Jordan retro 11’s. He checked his I-watch for the fifth time. It was going on 5:20 pm and Valencia hadn’t shown up yet. Erik wished he’d gotten her number.

Two minutes later, Valencia came rushing over, carrying her books in the crook of her arm and a flustered expression on her face. Erik sat up straighter in his seat and his eyes couldn’t help but scan her body. She was still wearing the same curve-hugging dress she’d worn earlier that day. Her braids were now up in a ponytail with a few hanging in front of her face.

She sat her bag down beside the table and before she could even pull out her own seat, Erik was behind her in a flash. Valencia’s back stiffened and she gasped. Erik gripped the back of the chair and slid it out across the carpet. Valencia couldn’t help but notice how Erik towered over her. He was standing at 6’3. She looked up at him with a faint smile and bashful eyes.

“Thank you, Erik.” She says with a light voice.

“You’re welcome.”

They each took their respective seats. Valencia opened her bag to retrieve her book and her notes. Erik waited patiently, staring at her with a slight, dimpled smirk.

“I’m so sorry, I’m all over the place.”

“No worries, Valencia.”

She finally had everything in order. Valencia exhaled and sat her palms down on the table to calm herself. She giggled and Erik couldn’t help but to laugh himself.

“I’m not always late, you know.” Valencia said to her defense.

“Can’t always expect to be on time every single time.” Erik replied with a smirk.

“I knowww,” Valencia tucked a braid behind her ear, “But you’re a TA. This isn’t a great first impression.”

Erik folded his arms against the table and leaned in. He quirked a brow up at Valencia, staring her down through his gold-rimmed glasses.

“You have a point,” Erik swiped the bottom of his lip with his tongue, “Prove to me that you know your shit, and I won’t hold it against you.”

Valencia turned away because she couldn’t stare him in the eyes.

“You have a deal,” her eyes darted towards his face then down towards her lap.

Erik’s eyes burned with mischief. He loved that she was shy and he wanted to push her limits. See how far Miss Valencia could go.

“Aight, let’s get started.”

Erik opened his textbook.

“Where exactly are you in class?” Erik asked.

“Free will,” Valencia sorted out her notes, “Yes, Free will.”

“Okay…”

Erik combed through the textbook until he found where he needed to be.

“What do Philosophers believe about free will?”

“Uhm—”

“Don’t look at your notes, tell me.”

Valencia was startled by Erik’s command. She cleared her throat and started playing in her hair.

“Uh—well I know that it’s a requirement for agency, rationality, creativity…”

“Okay, that’s good. So, as far as accounts of Free Will, what exactly is the Faculties Model of Will?”

Erik glanced over at Valencia. She was pondering his question.

“…It’s the dominant view of the will for much of medieval and modern philosophy…their possession of certain powers or capacities…”

“Very good. They also possess the capacities for intellection and volition. Another way of saying this is that free agents alone have the faculties of intellect and will.”

Valencia clicked her pin and scribbled down what Erik said like a good pupil. Erik continued to throw questions and topics at her, challenging Valencia. It was the way he did it that helped her retain the information.

“I’m so used to just…reading from my notes over and over.” Valencia said.

“It’s the active recall. Don’t get me wrong, using notecards is okay, but all that time you spend creating fifty cards, you can use this study technique by asking questions about the subject you want to learn after reading the subject, which will help you retrieve information deeper. You want it to go deeper, right?”

Valencia stared at Erik with a dazed look.

“Valencia? Did you hear me?”

“Ye–Yes—”

“I said, deeper, right?”

Valencia chewed on her bottom lip. Erik wanted to chew on it himself…

“I do. I want to remember the information better. The method helps me out a lot.”

Erik smiles at Valencia and she glanced up at the ceiling with a blush. He couldn’t visibly see the heat creeping up her face, but her cheekbones and half-smile was enough to tell. They went on to cover one last topic, Epistemology. After another thirty minutes, their study session was complete.

“You got it, just a little more practice and you’ll be set.” Erik encouraged.

“I hope so. How did you get so good at everything?”

Erik laughed, “Everything?”

Valencia giggled into her hand. She couldn’t stop smiling. It was the most adorable thing Erik had ever seen. Her giggling and smiling was infectious. This is probably the most Erik has ever smiled and laughed in one sitting.

“I mean—what I’m saying is—I saw your achievements and you’re pretty impressive. I aspire to be like that.”

“…Thank you. What are you studying again?”

“Psychology. I want to branch off into Neuropsychology. I plan to go back to school for my PhD.”

“There’s so much you can do in psychology. Believe it or not, I wanted to major in psychology at one point but engineering just stuck to me.”

“Why engineering?”

Erik gave Valencia a lopsided grin that showed off a glint of confidence. She focused on his plump lips, porcelain teeth, and gold slugs.

“There’s so much you can do. You can choose to work on projects that benefit society, help clean the environment, develop prosthetic aids, create clean and efficient transportation systems, find new sources of energy, alleviate the world's hunger problems, and increase the standard of living in underdeveloped countries. The possibilities are endless. And on top of all that, you make a lot of money…”

Valencia couldn’t tell you everything he was saying honestly. This man was too fine. The way his voice sounded to her ears felt like asmr.

“…job security and excellent job prospects—”

“You’re like, very attractive.”

Erik rested his hands in his lap and cocked his head. Valencia jerked her head in the direction of the window and shook her head.

“That came out unexpectedly,” Valencia laughed with embarrassment, “But you are—”

“Thank you.” He drew in a long breath, “Coming from someone as beautiful as you…”

Valencia held her breath. She hung her head and smiled. Internally, she was jumping up and down.

“Thanks,” Valencia fidgeted.

“Anytime, beautiful,” Erik continued to stare at her while his fingers tapped on the table.

“Are you from Houston?” Valencia questioned with a timid voice.

“Nah. I’m from California. That’s where I live currently but I decided to come back here for my doctorate.”

Valencia nodded her head. She crossed her right leg over her left thigh and leaned in with her elbow on the desk. That gesture showed that she was warming up to him.

“I love California. I have an aunt and a few cousins that live there currently. They’re in San Francisco.”

“That’s where I’m from. Oakland. I’m staying in LA right now though. Are you from here?”

“Yes. Born and raised in Houston.” Valencia replied.

Erik stretched his arms above his head.

“Tired?” Valencia asked.

“A little. I worked out really early this morning and I had to deal with that party.”

Valencia giggled, “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. I didn’t see you there.” Erik said.

“Rochelle used to let us get away with a lot…”

Valencia looked over at Erik.

“I know. Which is why she’s no longer your RA…”

Her body shivered slightly. The air was too cold in the building. She thrust her chest out unknowingly and Erik could see the outlines of her erect nipples through her dress. He leaned back in his chair to admire her fully.

“I’m not an uptight motherfucker but I’m not gonna let these students walk all over me. I have a great rep here at TSU and I wanna keep it that way.”

“Oh, no, I totally understand,” Valencia reassured him, “I love that you follow the rules. Rochelle acted as more of a friend and she really didn’t know how to discipline…”

Hm,” Erik licked his lips, “I’m really good with discipline.”

“Oh?” Valencia says. She felt her body tremble.

“I’m very assertive. I tend to…take the lead in situations. It can come off as aggressive…sometimes I have to work on that.”

“Okay…”

Valencia rubbed her arms.

“Cold?”

“A little—”

“Here…”

Erik stood up and proceeded to take off his hoodie. Valencia paused, staring at Erik’s torso. He had on a white T-shirt underneath that clung to his biceps and chest. The muscles put her in a daze. He handed her his hoodie from across the table. Valencia accepted it and pulled it over her. It fit her like a dress. She fixed her braids and smoothed down the wrinkles in the hoodie. It smelled like him. She fought to press her nose into it.

“It looks good on you.”

“You think so?” Valencia wasn’t so sure.

“Yeah. So Valencia, do you mind if I have your number?”

She was not expecting that. Her eyes went wide with surprise.

“Is that okay?” Erik asked with furrowed brows.

“YES!”

She covered her mouth with her hand. She didn’t expect to scream it. Erik was cracking up.

“Yes, it’s okay. I’m sorry I don’t know why I yelled like that.” Valencia toyed with one of her braids, “Yes you can.”

She retrieved her phone and unlocked it. Erik did the same. They exchanged numbers and switched back.

“That way, you know how to get in touch with me if you have any questions about philosophy or just…anything in general really.”

“Definitely. Thanks so much, Erik. I really appreciate you.”

“Anytime. And you know you can always knock on my door…”

Oh, yes. He does have a dorm on the same floor as hers. She beamed at him and he smiled back.

“Sure…I can do that.”

They both stood up and gathered their things.

“Well, this is goodbye for now. I have to get ready to meet some friends tonight.”

“I hope I didn’t hold you up,” Erik tucked his textbook inside his bag.

“No, no.”

They stood there for a moment, staring at each other. Valencia broke eye contact first and turned away to leave. She glanced back at Erik, giving him a final wave goodbye before heading towards the elevators. Erik returned the wave with a smirk, his eyes never leaving Valencia.

—————-

Cindy, Skai, and Brielle were sitting in a booth nursing mixed tequila cocktails. Skai was sitting next to Brielle and Cindy was third-wheeling. She rolled her eyes every time Skai and Brielle would eye-fuck each other. Valencia texted Cindy’s phone that she just parked and is on her way in.

The Poetry Party Live is a college hotspot. They’re known for playing great music, having tasty food, and drinks that sneak up on you. It was definitely a more romantic vibe that Friday evening. So many couples were on dates. Cindy spotted two professors in the booth in front of them. Professor Boyd and Professor Parham.

Valencia came in and she searched the throng of people until she recognized Brielle’s ginger coils. She changed into an orange dress that compliments her mocha skin. Cindy looked up and over her shoulder, waving Valencia over with pleading eyes.

“What took you so long?! I’m dying over here!”

“My bad. I had a tutoring session that ran a little late.”

“They’ve been torturing me,” Cindy cringed, “And Dior isn’t here yet.”

Valencia frowned.

“Who invited Dior?”

Cindy pointed to Skai. Skai sipped her drink with a guilty look.

“I’m sorry! She really wanted to come. You still don’t like her?”

“No, I don’t, Skai. She’s weird.”

Skai rolled her eyes. Brielle laughed.

“Is she drunk already?” Valencia asked.

“You know she is. This is her third one.”

“Brielle!”

“It’s a Friday night and I passed my lab practical!”

“WOOHOO!!

Skai bounced up and down in her seat. Valencia squealed, reaching over to shake her friend excitedly.

“YES BITCH!—oh shit, I’m loud as fuck.”

Andrea looked up from her seat in the booth over and noticed Valencia. They locked eyes and waved to each other. Brielle glanced over her shoulder at Andrea. James turned around with a smirk on his face and a glass in his hand with dark liquor.

“Oooh! Ya’ll on a date?!” Cindy teases.

“Yes, we are,” James replied with a chuckle, “Hope you’re ready for that test on Monday, Cindy.”

Cindy shot James a playful glare that had everyone laughing.

“I’m kidding! Enjoy!”

James turned back to his date and the girls snickered.

A waiter brushed past Valencia and Brielle shouted to get her attention. She halted her footsteps, long ombré braids swaying against her back. She smiled and made her way over to them.

“Need anything else ladies?”

“Our friend just showed up! Can you get her a—”

“Long Island Iced Tea please.”

“Okay! Can I see your ID?”

Valencia opened her small white Telfar bag and plucked her license from her wallet. She showed the waiter and she put a thumbs up.

“Almost your birthday!” The waiter said.

“Yeah! Twenty-two.”

The waiter sauntered off and then a round of applause erupted around them. A full-figured woman with sister locs made her way on stage. She stopped in front of the mic, testing it to make sure it was on. She scanned the crowd with a warm smile before introducing herself. The instrumental to Floetry Say Yes started playing. She was blanketed in spotlights and the rest of the club was shrouded in low ambience.

“This one is called Enticing Night…”

whisper light, a sigh so deep,

In tangled sheets, secrets keep.

Your touch ignites a fevered glow,

As fingertips trace paths below.

On velvet skin, my hands explore,

Each curve, each line, I yearn for

more.

She paused, appreciative hums making her words all the more real.

Breath mingles in the heated air,

A rhythm builds, we're lost in where.

Our pulses race, in sync they beat,

In this embrace, our worlds complete.

“Thank you…”

Snaps filled the room.

“That was good,” Valencia accepted her drink.

“Dior!”

Skai stood up to get her attention.

Valencia looked up at Dior fighting the urge to roll her eyes. She didn’t understand what Dior didn’t like about her, maybe it was because of Isaiah? As far as Valencia knew they weren’t together. And she didn’t want him anyway. Dior scooted next to Skai, directly across from Valencia.

“Brie, Cindy, Val…”

“Hello,” Valencia waved.

“Why ya’ll chose this place? Ya’ll don’t wanna shake some ass?”

“Girl, we did that last weekend. It’s okay to switch it up,” Skai argued.

“I feel like I need whatever Brie sippin’ on because she is lit!”

“Peach Tequila!” Brielle shouted.

“Okurrrr. I’ll have that then…who the waiter?”

Cindy pointed at the young girl who was currently clearing off a booth.

“She got a phat ass butt,” Dior bit down on a long acrylic french nail, “She can have all my monies…”

“You’re such a whore for some booty, Dior.” Skai jokes.

Valencia giggled. She swirled her straw around her drink before taking another sip. Cindy rocked back and forth in her seat, singing along to Beyoncé Check Up On It.

“Hi! I’m Chanel…”

“Hi, Chanel, I’m Dior. I wanted to order what she had.”

“Okay, ID?”

Dior flashed her ID at Chanel while giving her a seductive look. Valencia and Cindy share a look before laughing into their drinks.

“you fine. You like girls?”

Skai slapped Dior on her arm. Chanel laughed at Dior.

“I have a man, but thank you.”

It was so cringe.

Chanel walked away and Dior’s eyes were glued to her ass like flies on shit.

“You need to chill. What’s up with you and Brooke?”

“That bitch? Girl…”

Dior and Skai talked about her drama while Valencia excused herself to the restroom. Brielle ended up following her. They entered the bathroom and Valencia let Brielle go first since she was on the verge of pissing herself.

“You never told me who you tutored with!!!!” Brielle yelled.

“My crush,” Valencia smiled.

“For real?! What does he even tutor?”

“A lot of shit but it was for philosophy. He asked for my number.”

Brielle flushed and damn near shoved the door open. She gawked at Valencia before they switched places. Meanwhile, Andrea exited the stall next to theirs and she walked over to the sink to wash her hands.

“So basically that means he’s into you? So the HBCU blog was the right thing to do, huh?”

“Yep! If it wasn’t for the advice the owner of the blog gave me, I wouldn’t have made it this far!”

Andrea slowly dried her hands while hanging onto their every word. Valencia flushed and left the stall. Andrea tossed her paper towel and stood within the mirror to fix her ponytail. Valencia caught her eye in the mirror and smiled.

“How’s everything going this semester, Valencia?”

“It’s going good. A little harder than last semester but I’m close to graduating so that’s good.”

Andrea nodded her head with a bright smile.

“You got this girl. And good luck with your crush…”

Valencia giggled. Andrea left the restroom, holding the door open for a woman to enter.

Back at the table, Andrea scooted into the booth to find another drink. She gave James a look and he chuckled.

“You know I have a lot of work to do tomorrow, James.”

“That’s why you need this drink. Take a damn break.”

Andrea rolled her eyes sassily before grabbing her drink. She toasted with James before taking a sip.

“What took you so long to ask me out?”

Andrea peeked at James from the top of her glass.

“I didn’t want to cross any boundaries. I didn’t wanna look like that guy friend who only wants one thing. That’s not what it is with you.”

“I get it,” Andrea sat her drink down, “I’ve crushed on you hard since undergrad…”

“Same. I always thought you had a thing for Daka though.”

“Seriously?” Andre laughs, “Everyone says that.”

“I see now it’s like a brother and sister thing.” James said.

“I used to sit back and watch you run after all these chicks…Thinking back to that Kappa party, my Delta sistas kept hassling me to tell you how I felt…”

Andrea traced the rim of her glass with her finger. James watched her intently.

“I’m just happy both of us get to sit here and express how we really feel.” James said.

“Me too.”

James cracked a smile before reaching over to grip Andrea’s soft hand. He stroked the top of her hand with his thumb.

Valencia and Brielle walked past their booth and settled into theirs.

“…That D9 party is gonna be lit tomorrow night!”

“I’m tryna go. Took y’all long enough!”

Brielle slipped past Dior and Skai to take her seat. Valencia sat down and pulled out her phone.

“You still talking to Isaiah?”

Valencia looked up at Dior.

“No. I’m over him.”

“Oh wow, what happened?”

“He wasted my time and he’s annoying as hell.”

Dior let out an obnoxious laugh, “YEAH. I could have told you that.”

Valencia looked towards the ceiling.

————

-I know it’s late, you’re probably not up. I just wanted to thank you again for your help 🥰 he asked for my number today! I don’t think it was because he’s interested but it’s a step, right?

Valencia sat alone in her dorm room wearing Erik’s hoodie and some panties with her braids tied down with a satin scarf. She sat at their desk with the television on in the background.

-I’m here ☺️ I’m happy I could help. If he asked for your number, I’d think it’s because he’s interested. It’s a big step actually.

Valencia typed a reply.

-You think so? I mean, he did flirt a little today. I just get so nervous around him.

Erik was in the middle of sprucing up his gold boots. He’s wearing a pair of red briefs with no shirt. It felt weird staying in the dorms when he has his own room at the Omega Psi Phi house. He picked up his phone to see the message that Valencia sent him.

-Don’t be. Try to be more open with him. See where it goes 😏 did you do anything special tonight?

-I went to this poetry club with some friends. Had two drinks and I’m a little tipsy now. It was an okay experience.

-...Is there anything that could have made it even better?

-yes 😭 if I was spending it with Erik. I wonder what he’s doing right now.

-you should text him. See what happens.

Valencia looked over at her phone next to her.

Fuck it. She had a little liquid courage.

Valencia: Hi ☺️

She made her way back to the blog

-I did it! 😭

Erik fell back against his bed. He typed a reply.

Erik: Hello 😌

Valencia: I hope I didn’t wake you.

Erik: I’m up. How was your night?

Valencia: it was alright. You?

Valencia nibbled on her nails anxiously.

Erik: Hazy. Had a little smoke session.

Valencia returned to the blog.

-Is it too late for a dare?

-Definitely not lol. This is fun. What’s the dare?

-I dare you to send a risky text. However you want to.

-How risky though?

-😈

Erik waited to see what she would do. He wanted to see how far she would go. The fact that she would have preferred to spend the evening with him made him wonder what they would have gotten into.

Erik: Did you crash on me?

Valencia:

She couldn’t believe she sent that picture. She tossed her phone on the bed and stood up from the desk. Valencia paced back and forth. Hands covering her face, heart racing, stomach in knots. Did she do the right thing?

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…

That picture was meant for Isaiah and boy was she happy she sent it to Erik instead. She’d heard her phone vibrate minutes ago but she was too scared to see what he said. Valencia walked over to the bed and picked up her phone. She pressed it against her chest, scared out of her mind. Overthinking per usual. Finally, she looked at his text and boy was she glad that she did.

Erik: Shit girl 😍

Erik: 😍😍😍😍

Erik: I can’t stop staring 😩

He didn’t expect that at all. That was the furthest thing from what he expected. He sat up in bed and drooled over that picture. That ass up and that beautiful arch. He wondered what other pictures she was hiding. He loved her body so much. He knew exactly what to do with all of that. Play into his size kink. His dick was brick hard. No pussy in almost a year. The longest he’d ever gone without sex. He could have easily linked with his ex girlfriend on campus but he pictured himself digging Valencia’s guts out whenever the fuck he pleased.

Valencia: 😛

Erik: You tryna tell me something? 👀

Erik: I see you do like it deep…That tutoring session was necessary after all 😍

Valencia was over the moon thrilled at Erik’s reaction to her pic. So much that she was jittery. Back on the blog, Valencia quickly typed.

-I can’t believe I sent him a risky photo. I thought he wouldn’t have liked it but I was wrong 😂

Ping.

Erik went back to the blog messages. Wouldn’t like them? Was she crazy! He loved them! Boy was he happy that he found out about Valencia when he did. He wanted to put her in that position. Arch that pretty back over the edge of his bed, slip her panties to the side, and slide his dick in deep and slow. He wanted her to feel his length. He had a big toy dangling between his legs. Girls with that type of body can take dick. Girls who arch their backs like that need the dick.

-No. if the feeling is mutual, why would you think that?

-IDK. I’m always overthinking shit. 😭

Valencia had to take a second to rethink what she was doing. Sure, she wanted to do unspeakable things with Erik. Nasty things. But she felt she was coming on too strong. Maybe she should dial it back a little…make him …yearn for more? Tease him. He’s older and definitely has more experience. He’s probably used to woman throwing themselves at him. No. Valencia was going to do the opposite. Who said she couldn’t be shy and purposely excite and sexually arouse while withholding gratification?

She left him on read.

Valencia logged out of the blog and shut off the light for bed. She pulled her duvet back and just then, Brielle came in. She had her curly, ginger hair up in a puff. Her pleated skirt was situated higher around her waist, showing some of her ass. Her cropped shirt was dangling from her shoulder and she looked freshly fucked.

Brielle noticed Valencia was still awake and she gave her an enigmatic smile.

“I’m surprised you’re still awake.” Brielle whispered.

“I’m surprised you’re still walking,” Valencia laughs.

————

It was 6 am and Erik stood on the race track and stretched his quadriceps. Flexing his toes in his green Nike running shoes, he took off running. He liked to go for a run around the track before he did any strength training. AirPod Max Pro’s over his ears, shirtless, and black running shorts on, Erik was a mission. In the zone, the heavy bass from the rap song he was listening to fueled him.

Erik made it around the track once before stopping to take a sip of water he’d left at the bleachers. He jogged over to grab a drink and when he looked up he saw his ex girlfriend from undergrad, Jeanette, stretching her hip flexors. She glanced up at Erik and waved to him. Erik returned the gesture. She stood tall and made her way towards him. She’s wearing a track and field outfit, similar to what she wore back then when she ran.

“Stevens. It’s been a while. How are you?”

“Good. You?”

“Great. Have you been avoiding me?”

Erik arched a brow.

“Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know…you’ve been back for a minute now and I haven’t had the chance to catch up with you. It feels like you’re dodging me.”

“Nah, Jeanette. I’ve been busy. What happened to that dude? The one that keep running his mouth?”

Jeanette broke out in a fit of laughter. Erik was dead serious. That nigga better be lucky he don’t go to TSU. That nigga better be lucky Erik didn’t find him yet.

“Erik, relax okay?”

Jeanette caressed Erik’s sweaty bicep. Erik eyed her down with a stony expression.

“What do you really want, Jeanette?”

“Whatchu think?”

Erik carefully moved Jeanette’s hand away from his arm. She kissed her teeth at him.

“I haven’t seen you in years. You look good…real good.”

“I know,” Erik smirked cockily.

“Still got that big ass ego…”

Erik glanced down at his I-watch. He needed to finish his run.

“Well, it was nice seeing you, Jeanette. I gotta finish my run…”

“Mhm, am I gonna see you at the D9 party tonight?”

“Of course I’ll be there.”

Erik backed away towards the track. Jeanette placed her hands on her hips, eye-fucking Erik while continuing her stretches.

“Ima put this AKA ass on you tonight, Daka!”

Erik sprinted off with a shake of his head.

Some time later, Valencia had finished swimming laps and doing a bit of water aerobics with weights. Her body was sore and drenched. After taking a shower, she gathered her things and walked out of the gymnasium. On her way back to her dorm, Valencia wasn’t paying attention and she almost collided with someone as she was leaving.

She didn’t have the best workout today because her mind continued to wander. She still hadn’t replied to Erik. The thought made her smile to herself. She shouldered her gym bag and took sips from her water bottle. As she approached her dorms, the man that distracted her was busy texting on his phone while listening to music. His head popped up and he paused in his tracks, staring Valencia down hard.

Valencia spotted Erik opening the door for her and she automatically grew timid. She tucked her chin and gave him a shy wave. Seeing him in person was completely different from texting him last night. The recollection of what she sent him hit her like a freight train. Her heart was practically rattling around in her chest cavity. The closer she got, the more his penetrating stare commanded her.

“After you.”

“Thank you…”

Valencia felt so exposed in her little gym shorts. He was directly behind her. She could smell his natural musk and it sent shivers throughout her body.

“Mm…mm…mm…”

She couldn’t contain her shaky exhale. He was probably picturing himself bending her over right there…

“Sleep well?”

Valencia blinked her eyes up at Erik.

“H–Huh?”

“…sleep? Did you get some rest?”

“Yeah! Sorry…”

“I figured you went to sleep since you left me on read and shit…”

Erik pressed the button for them to get on the elevator. Valencia avoided his gaze, her eyes looking around her.

“Valencia?”

She snapped her head in his direction. He was already on the elevator. She could tell he was fighting a laugh. Embarrassed, she walked in.

“You’re hella distracted…I’m the one that should be acting like that after what you sent me last night, girl...”

Valencia took in a breath. He did things to her body she couldn’t control. The trembling, the uneven breathing, the wetness that drenched her panties. She was in lust for this man and she needed him to fuck her. She wouldn’t say that to his face though.

“I…I have a lot of work to catch up on…and I’m really hungry…”

They left the elevator and Erik walked slowly so Valencia could catch up with him. She spotted Skai and Cindy sitting in the lounge studying and when they noticed her they gave her a weird look. Erik looked down at Valencia, biting his bottom lip openly so she knew that he was feeling her. Valencia slowed down her footsteps in front of her dorm room door. Her eyes discreetly roamed Erik’s body. His russet skin glistened with sweat and his muscles looked defined and sculpted. His locs were messy and resting against his forehead. He looked so fucking edible.

“This is me,” Valencia pointed to her door, giving Erik a quick glance with a smile, “I guess I’ll see you later…”

“You guess?” Erik cocked his head back.

“I—I didn’t mean it like that.” She spoke with a barely audible tone.

Erik startled her by reaching out to caress her arm. His hand stroked from the back of her upper arm, past her elbow, and down her forearm until he was holding her hand in his firm grip.

“You know you have a lot of explaining to do, girl.” Erik whispered.

He smelled so fucking amazing. His natural scent crowded her. She wanted to press her nose against whatever area that had exposed flesh. Lick his skin to see what his sweat tasted like—

“Do you know about the D9 party tonight?”

Valencia twisted her lips to fight a smile.

“I do. Are you asking me to go?”

Her eyes dropped down to her hand in his. She swayed from side to side.

“I am. I wanna see you there.” Erik said.

Valencia’s cheeks hurt from how hard she was smiling. She tried to hide her face so Erik took it upon himself to lift her chin.

“You gonna be there, Valencia. I want to see you there.”

She blinked at Erik slowly. His eyes dropped down to her juicy lips. He wanted to taste them…

“I’ll be there….”

“You better.”

Erik stroked her chin with his thumb. It sent shockwaves throughout her body. Straight to her pussy. It was such a small gesture that held so much dominance. Erik finally let go and backed away, his eyes dancing up and down her frame while he drew his plump bottom lip into his mouth. His eyes were low and almost sleepy-like and it made him look dreamy. Valencia giggled and looked away, unable to hold his gaze.

“We should get lunch later.” Erik said raising his brows.

“I’d like that.” Valencia replied.

“Aight, I’ll see you then, beautiful.”

He turned and strolled down the hall with a gait.

#nahimjustfeelingit-writes #killmonger imagine #killmonger fanfiction #killmonger smut #erik killmonger

[myfairstarlight]

An Ode To Friends to Lovers - Colin and Penelope's story

Fine, I give in.

As someone who considers themself more of a casual viewer (as in, I've never engaged in the fandom before), I went into this new season with mild interest. And then I fell down the rabbit hole. I should have suspected it though, Friends to Lovers is a trope I affectionate particularly when it comes to romance, unfortunately one I very rarely think is done well. So I was still skeptical going in.

But by God, did they deliver on that front and I need to break it down and talk about it. So I guess this is my review of Bridgerton s3, part 1.

Under the cut though, because this is gonna be a long one (seriously, this is a warning).

I don't particularly think Bridgerton is a complex show, and one can argue all day about whether it is even good (in my eyes, as long as it's entertaining, I don't care if a show is "good"), however, the number of takes I've seen online not understanding basic story-telling worries me a bit.

Don't get me wrong, I agree this first half has pacing issues but I do not think Penelope's and Colin's love story suffered that much, it did not feel rushed to me since we already knew these characters for two whole seasons (and I maintain Colin has always had more depths than what people pretend he does, it seems like, just like the ton, viewers like to overlook him and just characterise him as naive).

And I guess this long ass post was born in the process. So:

Part One: Penelope's glow up

Yes I'm starting by looking at them individually first. I think this post on reddit sums it up so perfectly. I get we're all joking about how unrealistic it is that no man was ever interested in Penelope despite how she looks like an absolute goddess (and I maintain she was the cutest in both previous seasons as well!) - unfortunately it is realistic. That's the reality of bullying, it doesn't get solved by a glow up. Even her association with the Bridgertons through Eloise and Colin did not lessen the bullying, so without them? Even the prettiest dresses would not have changed the ton's perception of her, and she's still the awkward, anxious girl she's always been, and unfortunately, most of these men are not attracted to that. It's not satisfying, she doesn't get her triumphant revenge on a society that always ostracised her - and I think it's important that she does not. That she accepts it. She should not have to change for a ton that will not change for the better either. And it's a lesson she learns quickly - someone will love her for who she is, pretending will only lead to misery. And, it is when she's being herself that she successfully gets the interest of some gentlemen (shout out to Lord Remington! I was so hoping we would be seeing more of him on top of Debling. He's such a Whistledown fan I thought that even after the whole lesson reveal scandal he would have stuck to call on Penelope the next day to gossip together, it would have been cute but I guess he too wanted to avoid being written about) (also I'm just saying in fics he should be the one considered as a proper other suitor for Pen since they seemed to have a genuine connection, meanwhile Debling was really searching for practicality).

The thing I wanna add to that post is this: despite all that, she decided to change her looks for herself. When I first learned of the plot of this season, Colin helping her find a husband, I was scared it would mean Colin would be the one to tell her to have a makeover. It doesn't happen. Sure, Penelope subconsciously requests for a more Parisian style for her new dresses because it is the last place Colin went to, but by that point she has already given up on him. She wants something new, and to feel good in herself. That's how she blooms, by finding a style that she feels comfortable in, finally free from her mother's horrendous tastes. That's what allows her to be more confident as well, the new looks and her motivation to move on from her "unrequited fantasy". As for Colin? He never comments on her change, he compliments her dress (and mind you, that is when he's trying to play up the charm because he knows she's upset with him and he gets humbled, hard) but he never says it looks better on her than what she wore before, he never has a "I never realised how beautiful you were" moment we see a bit too often in friends to lovers stories, because to him she's still his Pen, new dresses, new hairstyles, but the same Pen he's always loved, even if he didn't realise to what extent yet.

But Penelope's confidence... is not quite there yet. Difficult to be, when she's grown up in a loveless home, with horrible sisters, a father who barely cared and a mother who constantly puts her down. Whenever she gets a compliment, her first reaction is "ah, it must be a joke" - that isn't even exclusive to Colin, in the brief interaction between Edwina and Penelope, when Edwina compliments her dress, Penelope also dismisses it. And then, there's Colin, who is always oh so honest with her and does not shy away from praising her. But I'll touch more on that later.

Part Two: Colin's new self.

And then we have the opposite: Colin showing up with a new attitude, and succeeding at it (well, on the surface). Something I haven't seen people bring up a lot though is that he's already tried a new look in s2, and he got mocked for it. The only one who didn't? Penelope. Why didn't he try to emulate being a rake back then? Because Penelope's letters grounded him, he admits it himself. It's seeing himself through Penelope's letters that gave him confidence. But that kind of confidence was not enough in the ton's eyes, and on top of that, between s2 and s3, this time Penelope doesn't write back, and neither do his family. He grows insecure, he's lost the one person who kept him grounded, he thinks his family is annoyed with him, and he still is in search of a purpose, so what does he do? He clings to Anthony's words in s1 after the disaster that was his engagement with Marina: he's too green, time to "fix" that and be more like his big brothers. They got it together, they know their purpose (well, Benedict lost his again but that's a story for another day), so surely, if he acts more like them, and not like the sensitive and naive boy he was, then surely everything will be alright! Right? Note that as opposed to s2, where he kept talking about his travels and it annoyed everyone, in s3 he doesn't go into details about them anymore, even when he's asked. They're only interested in the company he kept during the travels rather than the sights he saw. And honestly, it was heartbreaking to see right away how much of himself he was holding back, even with his own family. Penelope, however, gets the details without even asking because he already knows she likes hearing him talk about them and she makes him comfortable, and he's fully aware of that when he apologises in s3e1.

(I also want to note that, even if this new persona is fake, his new style genuinely fits him better. Just like Penelope, this season Colin found the style that makes him feel good and confident.)

And here's where I need to praise Luke's acting for a bit, because he absolutely nailed the subtle way Colin behaves differently with Penelope vs everyone else. His voice is softer, he is effortlessly charming (I was kicking my feet when he recalled how they met), his smile is bigger, even his whole face looks more relaxed whenever Penelope is around, meanwhile he always appears stiff and like he's calculating his every move when around his "friends". In fact, it is in the carriage scene we finally truly see s1&2's Colin back. When he has that look on his face, as he decides right there and then he's gonna marry her, and then a second later when he asks the question, his face. By God, his eyes are sparkling, he's so happy, and he looks as youthful and carefree as he did in previous seasons, far are the thoughts of trying to fit in a society that he hates.

Because above all, these two know and understand each other in a way no one else in their lives does. And that is a fact that remains despite the outward changes. So yes, I liked that their dynamic did not shift to romance because of their "glow ups", but because they are spending even more time together now. Speaking of which:

Part Three: Authenticity and Vulnerability

One big theme this season is being true to oneself. It's no coincidence mirrors are such a big part of it (even outside of the yet to be seen spicy scene), because looking at a mirror means looking at oneself, and be vulnerable. If s2 was about duty vs heart, eldest siblings trying to do right by their family to the point of self-sabotage, s3 is a battle between the head and the heart. It is not even exclusive to Polin - Eloise is learning and growing by trying to take genuine part in society but struggling to fit in. Cressida wants to become a better person, torn between the pressure put on her shoulders by her parents and this new friendship with Eloise. Benedict is looking for his purpose after learning Anthony paid his way to art school, and feeling like a fraud as an artist. Anthony and Kate are unashamedly in love, as they deserve to be after the struggles they went through last season. Francesca has no care for the suitors the Queen and her mother parade in front of her as the "sparkler" of the season (sidenote but I hated that, stupid name, should have stuck to diamond or select another gem) as her heart seeks out the handsome and quiet John Sterling instead. And this will continue in part 2, as Penelope will have to be honest about Lady Whistledown (because she's always her most authentic self around Colin, there is still this big secret she is so determined to keep to herself, when she should not).

The beauty about friends to lovers stories to me is the small declarations of love sprinkled throughout the relationship. It's about the trust already built in with no expectations and the vulnerability we'd never allow anyone but our closest friends to see, something even our family can be ignorant to. I mentioned earlier that Colin never shies away from praising Penelope, way before their dynamic shifts to lovers. He tells her she's good, constant, loyal, special, warm. All of these are declarations of love, even if not with romantic intent, it's about showing his appreciation for her, for the role she holds in his life. And Penelope responds in kind as well. That is why I believe people who think the romance was rushed in s3 either did not watch the past two seasons or see friendship and romantic love as two distinct things rather than a cohesive continuation of each other. In s1, people focus so much on the Marina stuff, as if that cancels out Colin's friendship with Penelope. We still do see Colin actively seek out Penelope at balls, and defending her against Cressida, he compliments her and tells her she's the one who inspired him to travel. Then s2 rolls in, and they're exchanging letters, which will become the cataclysm for their dynamic changing later on. And then there's one of my favourite scenes with them: them talking about their purpose. They both open up here, Colin about his insecurity, Penelope about her dream, it is so intimate. And then, there's of course Colin protecting the Featheringtons from ruins. I'm mostly emphasising Colin's actions, because Penelope's crush on him was always in your face, and while Colin may not have realised it yet, he's always cared about Penelope in a special way, as manifested by his actions and how vulnerable he allows himself to be around her, when even his own family has no idea about what's going on inside his head.

There's a misconception that Colin calling her his friend was him rejecting her, and yet we see in s3 he had no idea whatsoever that she has a crush on him, so he could not lead her on (unlike his book counterpart, who was aware of Penelope's infatuation and was careful never to toe the line until he realised his feelings. Show Colin though? Completely oblivious. And it makes sense, he's still young.) He asks Violet "how do you know it was reciprocated" and not "how do you know you're in love with your best friend". As of right now at the end of part 1, he genuinely thinks he's the one who fell in love first, or at least realised it first. His "You're Pen, you do not count, you're my friend" in s2, was not a rejection in his eyes, but a declaration of love; he's forsaken love and women but not his Penelope, never her, she's his exception And it's not like Penelope resented him for that friendship he so readily gave her, yes she had a crush, but she was proud to call him her friend! He was, with Eloise, her solace away from her family. At the end of the day, this is a friends to lovers story, it is silly to get upset that they considered themselves friends first before there is a click as they realise they are now on the same page to shift their relationship.

Side note but I've never liked the term "friendzoned" because it makes it sound like being friends is a bad thing. I've had unrequited feelings before but I've always felt grateful that being friends with them allowed me to stay close to them even if I knew nothing else could happen. I was still very much happy and content. But maybe I'm projecting on Penelope and that's another debate.

See, what I ended up loving about the lesson plot, which I was so wary of at first, is that Colin barely teaches Penelope anything. At first, he goes for the "do what society expects women to do" (since it worked for him) but then she acts awkwardly, she can't fake it, and it surprises him for a moment. That's when it clicks for him, she just needs to be comfortable because with him, she's always smart, witty and charming, she's herself. He's always seen her that way, and he did not quite realise he had that privilege in the first place. And I love how we see him slowly realise it is no longer a privilege thanks to his help. We see it in e2. When she talks to the guy with the dead horse (forgot his name, oops), Penelope forces the flirt and Colin is amused by it. Fast forward Penelope approaching Lord Remington by herself, without Colin's initiative, and she's being more authentic, and suddenly Jealous by Nick Jonas plays in the background and Colin doesn't look proud, but apprehensive, or dare I say jealous. The shift in Colin's head happens long before Debling is in the picture. I'd argue it already shifted earlier in that episode, in his study, which he flashbacks to in e4.

His journals detail how unfulfilled he feels when he lays with random women in his travels. He longs for emotional intimacy. And guess with who he finally finds that, when a certain red-head asks the one question that allows them to break the physical barrier they had to keep between them for the sake of propriety?

Ah yes, that first kiss. To Colin, everything has been building up to this, this is his true Oh moment. A favour turned into a revelation. For Penelope, this is quite literally the end of her fantasies. This is Penelope's most vulnerable moment. She bares her heart, she's sad, she's desperate. And some people have been calling that moment pathetic, interpreting it as her being weak and giving in to her crush again, saying that she should not have to beg for that man's affection. I concur that she is brave, and bold. I also concur that some of you all are a bit too attached to the girlboss archetype forgetting that allowing oneself to be vulnerable is also a strength. She's never had to beg for Colin's attention anyway because he readily gives it to her, but in this one instance, for once in her life, she is truly being honest. In her head, she has nothing else to lose, and she wants to experience the one thing she thinks she can never have so of course she's gonna turn to the one person she's always trusted and feels the most comfortable with, because before her crush, Colin is her friend. She's asking a favour from a friend. And then she can move on, whatever "moving on" will turn out to be. In this instance, she has the power in her hands.

And it is her bravery that is the true cataclysm for things to change properly. Of course, things have already started to change the moment she stopped replying to the letters, but that moment really expedited their relationship.

Part Four: Lovers, but in a best friends way

The thing with Bridgerton, in the books or in the show, is that each couple has their trope. This is not news to anyone, I think. We've had fake dating, and enemies to lovers, and one characteristic that these two tropes share is a growing tension between the characters before it snaps. There is a reason the early marketing for s3 focused on Penelope being cold towards Colin, tension and conflict are more appealing on the surface. And then the first half of the season comes out and that conflict between our main couple? Solved after one episode because they did one thing that is severely missing in most romance dramas: communicated healthily. Penelope laid out why she was upset (although she does not stay to let Colin explain and then vents out her feelings in Whistledown... she still has some learning to do), Colin immediately went to apologise and make up for it. All of this by talking. And yet I'd argue friends to lovers still has its own tension, just not to the same intensity as the other two, and more difficult to market. The tension comes from the brewing feelings, the way you start seeing every touch, every interaction, in a whole new light, and wondering if it's only in your head or if it's reciprocated. But now combine that with Colin who's always been so earnest about his feelings with Penelope? And Penelope who's always quietly wanted their relationship to evolve that way? Of course they figured it out quickly and got together in half a season. And I'm delighted that we will see them handle the whole Whistledown mess as a couple, as two people aware they love each other deeply, which gives a whole new meaning to the conflict compared to the book where I felt like it was brushed over a bit too quickly (because they got distracted in that carriage). It is the last secret between them, their last obstacle.

I also do not like the "Colin should have grovelled and pined more" argument, when he is the one who insisted on the lessons to help her find a husband in the first place, and then has to face the fact that actually, he doesn't like the idea of another man taking Penelope away, and oh, isn't that the consequences of his own actions? He is grovelling, you just don't see Penelope holding it over his head, because that's not the person she is, this is not a revenge fantasy story, in fact she does not realise the power she has on him because she is used to Colin seeking her out. I like that he didn't stew on his feelings and decided to act on them right away. I also don't like how this whole grovelling thing makes it sound like love is a competition, that just because Penelope has known she's been in love for longer and "suffered" longer, that means Colin needs to do the same to even the planes. Because in my eyes love isn't exactly something to be earned — it is given. Now, are you worthy to keep it? To nurture it and make it bloom and last? That is the real question.

Admittedly, since this is only the first half of the season, we do not see them in a romantic setting a lot. That first half is focused on them rekindling their friendship lost during the summer when Penelope stopped responding to the letters, and Colin having the realisation he cannot live without his best friend, not just because she is his best friend, but also because he loves her. But we do have two important, and obvious instances.

So let's talk about that first kiss again. It is, in my opinion, one of the most gentle and romantic moments in the show so far and also showcased their friendship really well. Colin trying to joke to lighten the mood as Penelope spirals down (peak best friend behaviour actually), the gentle, swelling music, the light of the moon, Colin's deep exhale of realisation as he holds her face when he goes back in for the second kiss, with the furrowed brows of a man on a mission. This is Penelope's most vulnerable moment and Colin's big realisation. And I felt like I was intruding.

And same goes for that carriage scene, but even before they go at it; now this is Colin's most vulnerable moment, and Penelope's realisation that they can be more. He chases the carriage by foot, then goes on his knees to confess his feelings to his best friend in the softest and most determined voice we've ever heard him use this whole season, eyes wide, tears threatening to fall as it is his turn to bare his heart and ask for a chance. Meanwhile Penelope takes it all in, running her hand through his hair because she can finally touch him, melting under him. Things get steamy. And then... and then... The carriage stops, they get startled, Colin jokes that the driver should have kept on driving and then... they laugh. They just made out, and went to second base together, and yet here they are now, laughing. It is such a genuine and lovely moment. And it's then that Colin has that look in his eyes, that "I'm gonna marry her" look. That is when he realises he cannot live his life without her. That his purpose is now right in front of him: making Penelope Featherington, soon to be Bridgerton, laugh until the end of their lives.

Conclusion

There's no conclusion, I just love them so dearly. Yes, there still is the whole Whistledown mess to deal with and sure, the argument with Eloise may make you think great angst is ahead but if there is one big difference between Colin and Eloise, it is this: Colin has always listened to Penelope, and this is not a diss on Eloise. Eloise, bless her heart, can be pretty self-centred, she's loud and a bit immature, something she is growing from in s3, and you cannot ignore that she did not really listen to Penelope (she has no idea Penelope wishes to marry when Penelope tells her she does in s1, we can blame the writing, but I do think it fits with Eloise's journey to realising how privileged and dismissive she is. Penelope was too polite to call her out until their falling out. Meanwhile Cressida is exactly the type of honesty she needs for a wake up call). Colin, on the other hand, is very sensitive and a good listener. Furthermore, this season, Penelope is learning to be more confident, to voice what she wants, and I like to think it is leading to her finding her own voice and not needing Whistledown to hide behind anymore. If there's someone with whom she has no filters, it is Colin, so I have faith that when the reveal happens and an argument breaks out, this new Penelope will not back down and will lay out all her reasons and all her regrets, and Colin may be stubborn, but he loves that woman and he always listens.

A part of me also wishes they keep the jealousy he felt about her writing in the book, and that they don't focus just on the whole "you lied to me" aspect (we've already had that with Eloise). How he, himself, is insecure about his writing, and here Penelope is, less fortunate than he is, and yet who did have the courage to get her writing out there, even if publishing under another name. Because that is also a reality in relationships, when your partner is at a different stage in their career, and how they can communicate to support one another.

Anyway, I'm just rambling now (as if that isn't what I've been doing this whole time). I like them. A little. Just a bit. I'm very normal about them <3

#bridgerton #bridgerton s3 #bridgerton spoilers #colin bridgerton #penelope featherington #polin #long post #ok i got it all out of my system don't expect more bton posts from me lol #at least until part2 i guess #star.txt

[deoidesign]

.

#ok finally making a post about meds #I've not ever tried taking medication before. I was sorta raised with that classic 'dont rely on meds you have to learn to manage without' #I mean I was also raised with the idea that therapy is stupid unless you have 'real' trauma. and also like idk. #can't stay home from school unless your temp is over 100 or you're throwing up. etc. very suck it up mindset #so I was just really nervous to start. also of course worried about losing myself or whatever I know that's a silly fear but #it's also a common fear for a reason!!! anyways #so I finally was like 'I need to do something' when I realized I was so anxious I couldnt even get myself to go outside alone #like I just don't want to do ANYTHING alone to a detrimental effect. and it was butting into my ability to do my work... #for various reasons. but then ALSO adhd has been a constant issue with my work as well! #it is SO hard to write and draw on a weekly pace like I am without being able to focus #my whole life I've had these terrible nightmares constantly and I've always woken up constantly in the night #sleep has always been terrible so I've always dreaded going to bed.. ESPECIALLy because it didnt even make me less tired #it was more something that I just did because I had to. #but going to bed was always terrible. there have been times I was too scared to go to sleep for weeks on end... #I've been mitigating this for years of course. and recently I've been taking melatonin which has been helping too. #but I've also always struggled to get up. because I've always been EXTREMELY exhausted #but also anxious of what the day might bring... idk. #anyways it has all hit a point that I was like okay. I am doing as many coping mechanisms as I can. the psych said they were good too #but... it just has never been enough. it's never been enough to make me not tired it's never been enough to make me not scared #so I finally talked to the doc about it. and she was like youve def got smth wrong basically. which yah I know.. but yknow #anyways so I started taking wellbutrin. and I am so frustrated now. because it's WORKING #that constant looming sense of dread is gone. I'm excited to get up. I'm excited to go to bed BECAUSE I'm excited to get up #I feel like for years I've been holding on to the idea that I have to get up because I have to put something good out into the world #and I've been clinging to knowing that if nothing else. I am able to help other people feel better. #but now for the first time in my life I'm like. free of it. I didnt even know it was possible... and I'm so sad how much I've lost out on #and so frustrated how my whole life I've been told to put up with it and push through it. and treated like a failure for it being too much. #and just. It has only been 2 weeks. but the lack of anxiety is SO noticeable I'm so... #I'll never miss it. the adhd is still pretty present but like whatever. I can manage that better. #and I'm just crying because of all this combined. #I just. I hope I get to finally be the best I can be now. for myself but also for you guys!

[child-of-helios]

hello. I've a rather stupid question. I've only read the books once, as a kid, and I don't understand why people hate calpyso x leo. whys it so bad? why does everyone seems to hate it on here?

xxx,

eurydice

First of all, this is my first ever ask, I've made it mother :D Secondly, I'd gladly explain! Though please note that it really has been a good while since I've read the books too, so my memory is kinda foggy :] Warnings for: Slight mentions (but not too much) of rape, pedophilia and mental illness (oh boy this is a tough one)

So, I have made a post abt this before, but it was written in a fit of rage so not my proudest moment (but my most popular post, oops). Anyways, I feel that the hate towards Calypso x Leo is because of a few reasons. 1. It simply didn't get enough development to feel worth it imo. Similar to Jason x Piper, I felt like there wasn't enough there to warrant a canon ship. There is also the fact that personally, I thought that their dynamic was more of a familial or that of siblings, which made me uncomfortable. I would've much rather have them be friends. 2. The uncomfortable age gap. It feels very weird because while yes, Calypso was depicted as a teenager, she is thousands upon thousands of years old. The fact that she fell in love with a literal child is incredibly weird. It was weird enough with Percy, but at least they didn't end up dating. With Leo though, she did end up dating him and the age gap feels very odd. Its even weirder knowing she had a relationship with Odysseus, who by that point was a pretty old dude so she was probably very mature and an adult (though she doesn't act like it). 3. Calypso is kinda a rapist. In the Odyssey myth, she forces Odysseus (a married man) to sleep with her. I'm sorry, but I can't support any relationship involving a rapist unless its rapist x prison cell. It makes me uncomfortable because she could very well take advantage of Leo, a mentally ill teenager with self-esteem issues. 4. Her toxic treatment of Leo. Calypso was very pissed when Leo arrived on her island, rightfully so after what she had gone through, but even then her treatment of his was outright cruel, especially compared to that of Percy and Odysseus. She made him sleep outside, exposing him to the elements after he got flung through the air and ended up on her island, which must've caused some damage. Then after they started dating, I still felt uncomfortable reading about the two, because their dynamic just didn't work, and I don't recall her apologizing to him for her treatment of him. 5. Leo's arc was thrown away. I think the worst of all, is how this impacted Leo's character. He should've had an arc where he learnt to love himself, but because of Calypso he didn't. I think the moral was supposed to be: 'even if you're mentally ill or have problems, you still deserve love!' but it came over more as: 'ignore your issues and get all your love from someone else.' Isn't it more important for kids to learn about self-love? And as an extra: what could've been. I think that Leo shouldn't have gone back for Calypso, that that ship shouldn't have happened. I prefer him going back to Echo and them learning about self-love together as buddies (and maybe evolving into more than that). Echo was stuck in an abusive relationship with the Narcissist, so I think it would a good arc for them both. I also think that if you really wanted a romance, Jason x Leo would've been much better. We know that Rick can write good gay romances, we know that Piper turns out to be a lesbian, so why not make Jason and Leo gay? I think it would add much more to the tragedy of Jason's death, but that's for another post (and this one is getting too long already oops). In conclusion, I think Caleo is bad for many reasons, but especially because it didn't have enough time to develop and the dynamic was simply too creepy for me to get invested in. Sorry for the super long post- Have a lovely day :D

#pjo #percy jackon and the olympians #leo valdez #heroes of olympus #hoo #percy jackson #anti calypso #anti caleo #calypso #rick riordan #jason grace #leo x jason #odysseus #the odyssey

[the-apocrypha]

Hello!

I've had a brain worm about your cottagecore verse stuck in my head for a month now, so I'm finally sharing it.

The mob that stormed Hob's cottage in Eskham didn't come out of nowhere. Someone has been spreading rumours about a dangerous creature in the hedgewitch's cabin for some time. Someone who doesn't particularly like their older brother. Desire knew that they would have to stoke the tension in the village carefully, so that when the villagers' fear got the better of them, Dream would not be there to save Hob. They knew very well that even armed with torches and iron, a mob of peasants wouldn't stand a chance against a fae prince. That didn't matter though - Desire didn't need the mortals to hurt their brother directly; he just needed to be taught a lesson about taking human lovers. Getting banished from the realm of the fae just wasn't enough. 

What Desire didn't expect was to be on the recieving end of a similar fate as their brother - turns out that Mother Night does not approve of her children taking human consorts, even if that child might excel at cruel games and bargains. Long story short, when Desire falls in love with a travelling sorceress named Unity, they are yeeted out from their mother's court much like Dream was.

I think it would be funny if Desire ended up getting tossed into Hob's garden while Dream is away doing fae things™️ in the forest. At first Hob panics (understandably, they aren't really expecting visitors in the middle of nowhere), but once he recognises that the being currently squishing his strawberries is another fae, he brings them inside (does he hope that seeing another of his kind might make Dream happy? Maybe. Think of it as enrichment for your lover). Needless to say, Dream isn't exactly thrilled to see his sibling, especially when they let slip that they're rather surprised to find them both alive and (relatively) well. Oopsie, your sibling might have had something to do with your recent troubles, Dream (who would have thought).

I'm hoping for some sort of reconciliation and some reflection from Desire? Maybe being shunned by their kind might help them reconnect. After all, Desire's gonna need all the help they can get if they are to find their beloved out there...

OMG I love this so much, thank you for sharing this glorious brain worm! I love the idea that Desire is out in the mortal realm doing market research for plotting his brother’s downfall and in the process meets Unity and—I’m imagining it wasn’t quite so Love At First Sight, because sorceress!Unity definitely knows better than to tangle with the fae and wants nothing to do with any of Desire’s shit. (Desire’s always liked a challenge.) But eventually, somehow, despite both of their better judgements, the love does happen. 

Also love the idea of Desire getting dumped into the (Dream’s! Special!) strawberry patch—they’re probably not looking too hot, ala Dream when he was first exiled. Hob absolutely takes them into the house as soon as he sees the ears. He’s learned to be wary of his fellow mortals but he’s still a sucker for fae, especially ones who bear a familial resemblance to his lover, and especially ones who are all alone 😩 and hurt 😩. (Dream obviously is unimpressed with all of this, but Hob is at this point well-practiced in tuning out Dream’s Are You Trying To Get Yourself Killed, I Don’t Care That You Survived Thirty-Three Years Without Me, You Won’t Be Surviving The Next Five Minutes If You Don’t Start Apologizing, You Useless Fragile Mortal Tirade).

Also! The idea of Dream and Desire hissing faeish insults at each other over the dinner table while Hob is desperately trying to steer the conversation back to English—hysterical. Dream getting possessive of Hob when Desire looks at him a few seconds too long, and Desire being like “I absolutely do not want your grubby little bear-man, Dream, calm your tits. Unlike you, I have standards.”—excellent. I love it all. 

(Though let’s be real, in this particular AU the moment Dream finds out Desire was the reason that Hob got shishkebabed, this goes from a family feud to attempted murder real quick. IDK if Dream would get over that for… at least a few decades. Desire would be turfed out of the house so fast their head would spin. Their only saving grace might be if Hob suggests that the faster they find Unity, the faster Desire will be out of their hair.) 

I’ll be honest, the possibilities for fae!Dream + siblings are limitless and wonderful, and I’m constantly sad that the cottagecore ‘verse ended up constructed in a way that means—without some very exceptional circumstances, as you have crafted here—we won’t ever really see Dream interacting with his family ever again. At least, not in the official version. Please feel free to tell me all about the elaborate ways in which fae!Dream and Desire get forced into a metaphorical Get Along Shirt, or Death dropping by with little fae care packages with all the stuff Dream misses from his home, or Delirium going on forest walks with Dream and asking him ten million questions about all the strange mortal animals and plants. Dream deserves better relationships with his siblings than what I dealt him in this ‘verse. <3

#under the cut because i went long on this answer #but omg i loved this so much #cottagecore needs an au with 1000% more endless sibling involvement #cottagecore verse #dream of the endless #desire of the endless #sandman #hob gadling #dreamling #my writing

[madelynhimegami]

To my knowledge, you like Puyo Puyo! But what do you enjoy most about it?

Honestly, it might be easier to explain my intoduction to the series. Ideally we'll get there in the end either way. You ever seen one of those "What I Played/What I Expected/What I Got" memes? My story is pretty much like one of those.

I don't remember when I started learning bits and pieces about it, or when Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine went from being itself to a Puyo game in a trenchcoat in my mind. But by mid 2017 I knew the aforementioned (I called the CPZ boss in Sonic Mania a Puyo boss on twitter when I played it), recognized Carbuncle, recognized Draco Centauros (thanks to a friend who is still a big fan of her), and had heard that there was some sort of story to it, but didn't know a lot of details.

Then in September of 2017, a friend of mine mentioned that he had been playing Puyo Puyo Tetris lately as his go-to "pick up and play" sort of game. I looked it up in the eshop, saw it was cheap, and thought a pick-up-and-play game was what I needed and bought it. Not that I knew shit about playing Puyo well, but I at least had some basic competency at Tetris to balance things out.

And hey, at least the story mode would be a good way to learn! So I dove in to the story and started playing.

I was expecting the story to be inconseqential to my enjoyment of the game. Something either generic or corny, with characters that ranged from "tolerable" to "painful anime cliche."

The thing that knocked me on my ass almost immediately was that the writing was actually funny, made better with the English cast's fantastic delivery.

Those are all from just the story's first chapter! The first one is from the prologue! The other two are from the third scene (couting dialogue before and after a round of gameplay together as one scene)! And it kept going!

For the record, even though I was picky with what to include, and stitching lines from the same scenes together, I still had almost fifty (50) funny moments I wanted to drop out of context, in a game with a rough total of two hours of story material collected to write this post. And then I had to narrow it down further just so I wouldn't hit the image limit too quickly.

Was it a little corny and awkward at points? Sure. Several voice actors had to grow into their roles. Plus, the impression I always had from the script-- an impression that's only gotten stronger the more I learn about this series and then come back to this game-- is that someone on the development team was not expecting this to be all that successful overseas. And not for no reason, since Puyo Puyo's tried to get its foot in the door in the west several times by this point. But the end result of this lack of faith was a localization team that tried very hard to make this game stand on its own merits with as little understanding of the games that had come before as possible. Which, honestly I think they did a pretty dang good job of! Especially since it didn't shy away from the hard-hitting stuff when it came. Which I'm going to intentionally leave even further out of context so as to not give away all of it.

There was also this line here, which was what first clued me in that the writing's quality wasn't an accident, that the writer is actually thinking all this stuff through:

Fun fact, the only people you will see in your dreams are people you have seen while you're awake. The parts of the brain responsible for dreams can't make up new faces, or throw together composites of preeviously-known ones. Hence, this question, which does in fact get answered in the next scene, in a way that made me go, "Ohhh, that's really smart, actually!"

But yeah. That was just this one game. It took me a few more years before I tried other games that had been translated, fan or otherwise, but the more I've played and the more I learn about these characters and their worlds, the more engrossed I get. It's a hyperfixation now. It seems like there's always something new I'm learning about it, but it's not overwhelming, it just feels like I'm knowing a good friend better and better. The modern artstyle is deceptively simple and very endearing, and so many of the characters are interesting and fun. And the current writer is just so galaxy-brained, I'm not even kidding.

The characters in the Puyo Puyo series are all morons. They're all crazy. But at the end of the day, they care about each other, no matter how little they want to admit it. And they all have their own theming to the magic they use. It's a lot of fun. From your standard-fair RPG spells, to cosmic forces, to math terms,

I can't recommend this series enough, no matter what your skill level with puzzle games is! There's something in it for everyone.

Unless you're looking for genuinely evil characters, I guess. Like, there are characters that are intimidating or sinister or threatening, but almost none of them are actually evil. Fraid the closest to that this series has is a(n as-of-now) gender-ambiguous Elon Musk with better hair in the Japan-excusive gacha game.

Further reading from the author (that isn't already on their tumblr):

[1]

[2]

[3]

#puyo puyo #puyopuyo #puyo #puyo posting #ask the princess

[cosmicjoke]

Am I the only one who finds Erwin and Levi's relationship toxic?

I've read your discussions and I agree that in ACWR Erwin set up a plan to get Levi to join the SC that would get his friends killed. And even though Levi is betrayed when he learns of the intentions of this man he has blindly followed over time, and even though he realizes that the man he followed for his ideology does not serve that purpose, he still follows him. It's very disturbing that he follows him for no reason, even though he's following him for this purpose and even though he finds out that it doesn't serve this purpose, even though he has no reason to follow him, in a way. Did he wonder if he himself was part of this betrayal? Was the deaths of Farlan and Isabel also part of this plan? I would have given him the right to hold a grudge against Erwin just because of their deaths, but he doesn't even do that, let alone mention them once.

I think this is a failed character script and characterization

I will never understand why people romanticize it by saying they have a great relationship.

I agree that Levi's situation is really sad and I find it disturbing that he follows him despite all this.

Erwin didn't want Furlan and Isabel to die. I don't know why anyone thinks that. Yes, he endangered their lives by forcing them into a military unit that has an astronomically high death rate, and I'll agree 100% that Erwin's manipulation of Levi and his friends was the most morally wrong and unethical thing he ever did. But it wasn't his intention for them to die. He used them, undoubtedly, but Erwin isn't a sadist, and he isn't a bad person, despite his many, many flaws.

The thing that needs to be understood about Erwin is, he bought into his own line about fighting for the victory of humanity as much as anyone else. He convinced himself that's what he was fighting for, as a means of coping with the truth, which is that his true motivator was discovering the truth of the world to atone, basically, for the death of his father.

This self-delusion of Erwin's begins to unravel during the Uprising Arc, when for the first time, he does something that is counter to humanity's well-being, that being the military coup he enacts. And we see Erwin begin to spiral from there.

Levi trusted in and believed in Erwin so much because Erwin, in fact, WAS a great leader and DID have a far-reaching vision that allowed the Survey Corps to make more progress toward freeing humanity than any other leader in the SC's history. Levi never "blindly" followed Erwin. He took plenty of issue with Erwin's methods and approach as a leader. But he also trusted in Erwin to do the right thing because, up until the Uprising arc, he always had when it came to benefiting the greater good. He trusted in his abilities as a leader because he'd proven again and again to be someone worthy of that trust. It's why Levi thanks Erwin near the end of his life and tells him that it's thanks to him that they've made it as far as they have. That's the truth. The SC never would have made it to that point without Erwin's leadership and guidance.

Erwin began to sink into a mire of self-loathing and guilt (which in and of itself proves he never was some heartless, uncaring sociopath), and that colored his own perception of himself as somehow unworthy or undeserving of his role as Commander. But Erwin was never the bad person he believed himself to be. Yes, he was motivated by a selfish dream, but the moment that dream began to interfere with his actual ability to lead, we see Erwin start to fall apart and the self-loathing begin to consume him. If he was actually a bad person, he wouldn't have felt anything at all about it. He would have been a-okay with the dawning realization that he'd been selling people a lie this whole time to get them to sacrifice themselves. And it's also important to understand that Erwin, even though he wasn't able to completely let go of his selfishness, and he needed Levi to make the choice for him, he WANTED Levi to make the choice because he WANTED to do the right thing. He just knew he didn't have the strength to do it on his own. But the desire to do the right thing, even as he lacked the strength for it, is also proof that Erwin wasn't some horrible, evil man that was just out for himself.

Levi is a better person than Erwin. But then, Levi is an exceptionally good man. Most people aren't as good as him. It doesn't mean Erwin was a bad person, just because he wasn't as selfless as Levi.

Levi has a greater insight into people than basically any other character in AoT. He sees people for who they really are. And he saw a goodness in Erwin that Erwin couldn't see in himself. That's why he followed him. Erwin was flawed, and in some ways, weak, but ultimately, he cared and wanted to be the leader that everyone believed he was. Levi helped him become that leader.

Their relationship isn't romantic or "great", maybe, but it's important and meaningful and, ultimately, deeply poignant.

Again, this desire to see Levi "hate" Erwin for failing to be the perfect, ideal man is more projection than anything. People projecting their own lack of sympathy or empathy or compassion onto the most empathetic and compassionate character in the series. Of course you're going to be disappointed when Levi doesn't succumb to the same, vengeful mindset and petty grievances that most of us would.

#Levi Ackerman #Erwin Smith #anon asks

[oneshotdepresso]

aaaaree youuu still doing the "give me a made up fic title" ask?

heres something to wiggle the braincells—

the term "double copula" has made my brainworms writhe ever since i found out what it is. i'd like to see how would a theoretical bojere fic with that title will go.

arrrrre youUUUU?

yes im still doing those!

just looked it up and oh, i didnt know there was a term for that phenomenon omg,,,, the more you know 🌠

while double copula seems to refer only to the double "is", ive noticed that english has a lot more examples of these awkwardly repetitive, but somehow grammatically correct or acceptable phrasings

is is, has had, that that.

i can see a fic titled "double copula" to be a lil introspective character study oneshot. probably bojan-centric bc he's the one who's more fluent in english and would more likely notice the phenomenon. but i could also see a jere-centric version— he's trying to improve his english skills and finds himself reading or hearing a double copula, and his curiosity spurs him to learn more abt it.

but let's go with bojan bc he's the overthinker here LMFAOOOO

anyways, the fic could start off with bojan reading a book during his rare free time. his eyes pass over a sentence with double-is. he looks it up, discovers the term "double copula", and his mind starts to wonder. he and jere are two peas in the same pod. "we have the same dreams, the same goals... we love together."

they're very similar to each other despite their surface appearances. contrary to the belief that opposites attract, bojan and jere gravitate to each other like magnets. that's when bojan starts to compare them to double-is

is is.

bojan and jere.

the thing is, a double copula is generally considered to be grammatically incorrect. or at least, an editor might advice u that there's a better way to word things. this is the point where bojan begins to spiral. at the same time, he and jere exchange messages, feelings obviously brewing between them. he notes how much they match, how perfectly they'd twine with each other. but the double copula continues to haunt him: the long distance, their clashing schedules.

fast forward to bojan visiting jere in finland. tension rising between them. neither can help it, they keep coming back to each other, attaching themselves to each other's hip. it culminates into a confession and some sloppy making out.

jere blabbers on in his crappy english and bojan comes to the conclusion that grammar is fucking stupid.

who gives a shit abt whether something is "wrong" or if their love seems like an impossible task?

that shouldn't stop them from trying.

back home, he scrolls through his phone while lying in bed. he suddenly realizes two things:

the usage of "is is" can be valid in a pseudo-cleft sentence, and;

what true love is, is whatever the two of them have.

#ask game #bojere #not!fic #almost forgot to finish this bc i had to go to a party LMFAOOO

[thriftingfreak]

Nothing Lasts Forever

Pairing: Luke Castellan x female ares!reader

Summary: Some moments in time where Luke and you can’t seem to figure out how you feel about one another. Part 1??? Maybe more if y’all like it!

Warnings: Yearning. Pretty much a yearning page at this point. Also a lot of background building. My bad yall. This is so long i’m sorry _____________________________________

the very first night

The day you rolled into camp is a day that will go down in infamy.

At least, for Luke it would.

There was no day he would ever remember more clearly.

The sun rose among the clouds beating down upon the plethora of kids and teenagers. He could remember helping some of the younger Demeter and Dionysus kids in the fields with their different crops ranging from strawberries to the beloved camp grapes. Luke wasn’t the biggest fan of grapes himself but he never turned down one from a Dionysus kid.

“Yes, those look perfect Courtney” A grin spread wide across his face as he watched the girl pluck a perfectly ripe strawberry from the plant. If anyone knew how to grow good fruit, it was a Demeter kid.

As he stood up, he brushed his khaki shorts clear of dirt. A flash of a shadow appeared from the corner of his eye. As he turned around, he came eye to eye with a very bewildered face.

“Where am I?” You muttered out. You bent over, placing your hands on your knees. He could tell that you had been running from something terrifying enough to prompt the expression.

“Camp Half-Blood” was all Luke could muster up.

“What?” Oh, this poor girl had no idea how her life was about to change.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked, looking you up and down. Your jean shorts were slashed and your right elbow looked like it had been burned.

You looked up after catching your breath, you shook your head. It was a dumb question, because anyone could see you clearly weren’t doing too great. To this day Luke still felt embarrassment from it.

But even with your confusion and aloofness, you followed him to the infirmary and get the cuts and gashes cleaned up.

Your feet dragged along the path, a couple feet behind him. When Luke turned around, your eyes were pointed toward the ground to the mud stained tennis shoes.

He wanted to explain Camp Half-Blood and every single thing that came with it, the good and the bad. Although now definitely wasn’t the best time. He was afraid you would burst into tears or worse, start hitting him. Luke learned that some of the campers react in that manor, the hard way. Thoughts rattled his brain trying to figure out the best decision.

“Why are you staring at me? Never seen a girl been chased by a big ass bear before?” you snipped at him. At least she wasn’t crying, he thought.

“Uh, actually I have” Luke smiled at you, hoping you would appreciate the sentiment.

You did not. A scowl festered on your face. Maybe from all this anger you’d end up being an Ares kid.

This thought process would prove him to be correct.

Entering the infirmary, he guided you over to a room with several beds. Collapsing on one of them, you shoved your shoes off. You brought your knees to your chest, staring at the ceiling. It was difficult to comprehend the sudden and profound change in your life. Luke knew the feeling all too well.

Luke sat down in the chair across from you. He watched you, almost with care. You seemed to notice though because you immediately sat up.

“Is someone going to explain what’s going on here?” He noticed the sudden quietness in your voice.

Taking a deep breath Luke started the same speech he gave every new camper, with some exceptions. He left out minor details usually directed toward young campers. You clearly weren’t young, at least 16 or 17. Pretty old for a new camper but hey, Luke didn’t discriminate. A part of him didn’t want to scare you away with all of the knew information, leading to little white lies.

“I’ll give you a tour tomorrow morning of camp but I think you should just rest up for now” Luke stood up, walking toward the door. As much as he wanted to stay, he knew the Apollo kids had to do their job.

“Oh by the way” He turned around to face you, “I’m Luke.”

You gave him a curt nod before shutting the door in his face. __________________________________________

a place in this world

It took a couple of months but it finally seemed like you were settling in. Even though your mom had told you about the Gods and Goddesses and how your father was a God, you didn’t have the heart to believe her. That was, until a hairy brown creature was chasing after you.

For the first time in weeks you noticed you didn’t wake up with a heavy heart, missing home.

Someone else noticed it too.

Luke, very slowly, had built up your trust. He really was a good guy, even though he annoyed the piss out of you at first. Countless lonely nights in the Hermes cabin had been made better by him. He would listen to you complain about everything and cry over missing your mom.

That was until an intense game of flag football concluded in being claimed.

After Chris had thrown the ball to some poor Athena kid, you chased after him. Yanking the strap around his waist so hard it sent him flying into the ground. When the ball launched up in the air, you had caught it, sprinting so hard you thought you were going to throw up. In the end, it didn’t end up counting as a point for your team, to your disappointment. Although when a red holographic boar appeared over your head, peace finally seemed to settle in your heart.

The Athena kid did end up in the infirmary after the game but in your defense no one had explained the rules of flag football to you.

On the other hand being claimed meant moving out of the Hermes cabin. In some ways, this was an upside. No more blue dye in your shampoo or whip cream on your face. You wouldn’t feel like you wanted to drown the Stoll brother.

The one who was affected by your claiming the most though was no other than Luke. So many warm nights of your body heat radiating off of his own were no longer. He couldn’t reach out to you in the dark anymore. Now it’s for the better, he thought.

Even with these bubbling feelings, he couldn’t force himself to come to terms with them. They would sit in the back of his throat, burning and itching. But maybe the pain was worth it.

That night he helped you pack your things up to move in with your newfound siblings.

“I wonder why it took so long to get claimed” You wondered out loud, shoving your childhood teddy bear into your backpack.

“The Gods do everything on their own time” Luke’s face fell into a solemn stare. You knew it was a touchy subject for him, specifically his own father. Ares may not have been the best shoulder to lean on but in his own ways he still managed to beat out Hermes by a mile.

Doing your best to shake his mind from it you said, “Did you see Bryce though? I really didn’t mean to yank him so hard” You smiled at Luke and in return you were granted the smallest laugh.

The next morning, you were itching to hang out with your friends (and distance yourself a tad from your brand new siblings). It was a group Luke got along with, but didn’t care much for. Gods knows why. Of course, however, your new found sister Clarisse remained a part of the friend group and Luke never really liked her. She was soft with you and some of your other siblings but rarely anyone else.

The rocky path crumbled under your shoes as you made your way to dinner. You swung your water bottle around your hands before spotting a warm and familiar face.

“Hey Poppy” a smile broached your face. You linked arms with the daughter of Athena. Even though you loved your friendship with Luke, Poppy was your number one. She had only been here for a month before your arrival, causing a very tight knitted bond between the two of you.

“How was the first night in the Ares cabin?” Sharing a look, you both knew the answer. You shrugged. There wasn’t much to share. Your brothers and sisters didn’t seem to hold their rage as well as you thought they might. Arguments ended in screaming matches. Or a dagger being thrown.

“Listen, I’m hot-headed but they really take it to the next level” You both giggled.

Right before you stepped up to the pavilion, Poppy unhooked your arms, turning to face you. “Are you sitting with us today or,” she paused and in air quotes she said “Lukie Pookie?”

Ah yes, the nickname everyone around camp designated upon him. You knew Poppy meant no harm by it but even just by the mention of him, it felt like a pillow smashed your stomach.

Brushing it off you quickly looked around for him, “I was planning on sitting with you guys and I don’t even think he’s here yet.”

Poppy raised an eyebrow and pointed to the curly haired boy across the pavilion. Shrugging once more, you grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the opposite side of the benches.

Your friends, a cluster of kids from different cabin, were gathered in their usual spot. Before you could even sit down, someone called out your name. Whipping around, it seemed as if the curly haired boy teleported.

“Speak of the devil” Poppy muttered. You lightly smacked her shoulder.

“Hey” A soft smile graced Luke’s lips, “Mind if I sit?”

Interesting.

His eyes lingered in yours for a moment before you shook yourself out of it.

“Of course!” You patted the spot next to you. You mouthed a quick ‘sorry’ to the group, just incase.

A flash of hesitation crossed his eyes but he plopped down anyway.

“Mhm! I’ve been meaning to ask you Luke” your friend Ben started “I was wondering if you could help me with my swordsmanship?”

Luke nodded quickly before turning to face you. It was the signal that he wasn’t interested in the conversation. Although you knew Ben would pry about it later as Ben was also a child of Hermes.

But he didn’t see things in the way you did. Instead Luke focused on how your hair fell in front of your eyes. It took everything he had in him to not move it. Others around him could talk and talk and talk but he was only ever focused on you. Over and over again he chose you. But what were best friends for, right? __________________________________________

snow on the beach

The sound of footsteps against a shallow pier never particularly bothered Luke. That was if they weren’t disturbing his peace.

The humming of the trees blowing in the wind, soothed his mind over. His eyes followed the way the fish swam with air bubbles peeking over the surface.

Watching the water helped slow everything down. His particularly dense relationship with his father was starting to wear down on him. Luke knew how even the scar on his face didn’t do his hatred justice.

Too clouded by his thoughts, he didn’t notice a familiar giggle breezing behind him.

You placed your fingers over Luke’s eyes and he immediately reached up to touch your hands.

He turned around and peered up, meeting your gaze. Luke’s breathe slowed when he met your eyes. There was a mutual sense of warmth between the two of you. Shared between little moments of laughter and light. And just by looking up at you, he knew he was in a little too deep.

Luke could, of course, fess up. But even the thought of that made him want to hurl his cookies. It’s not like he wanted these feelings and trust, he’s tried to get rid of them. They were more painful than awkward. The flutter in his stomach when you stood just a little to close to him. The way he caught his breath anytime you looked up at him and smiled. Or the shakiness in his throat and on his tongue whenever you quipped a snarky comment.

He quickly stood up reveling how he towered over you so easily.

His eyes glanced down to your hands which had been pulling something out of your jean pocket. A small string bracelet was cupped between your hands.

He snatched it from you, looking it over. It was covered in red and blue zig zags. His favorite colors.

“Hey” you whined, “I worked hard on that.”

A grin broke out on his face, “Is it for me?”

You frowned, “Well it was supposed to be but since you don’t seem to have much patience, I’ll be taking it right back!”

Before you could seize the gift back, Luke’s arm shot up in the air, holding the bracelet overhead. It was a trick he pulled on you plenty of times. Of course it did nothing but annoy you yet that was the fun of it.

Many could not dupe a child of Hermes. Even so, if there is one thing you inherited from your father it was the fight response in oppose to flight.

Your hands wrapped around the front of Luke’s orange t shirt, bunching it into a fist. Swiftly you yanked him back just enough before you efficiently shoved him backwards.

In the blink of an eye, he performed a large flop into the lake. Although the water that had skyrocketed upwards, dunked you clean with water. Worth it.

Now soaking wet, his mane of dark curly hair, bobbed up and down in the water.

“Not cool” He sputtered out. He pulled his upper body on the dock, holding his hand out for you to grab.

You sighed, knowing what was about to happen. In order to escape future prank endeavors, you had to let him do it.

Before you knew it, you were handing over your right to dry clothes.

Head hitting the water first, you tumbled off the deck. Your entire body, including the dry clothes, plunged into the inhospitable water. How on earth could fish swim in water this cold?

As soon as you breached the water, Luke shoved your head down. Well played.

“Was that necessary?” you groaned, water stuck in your ears and nose. Luckily it was pretty shallow otherwise you would have been way more upset.

“I have bad news” Luke paused, running a hand through his hair, “I think I lost your bracelet” He hesitantly waited for the backlash he was about to receive.

As soon as your mouth started to curl into a frown he knew it was over.

You dove headfirst into Luke. He tumbled back and you pushed him so far under he hit the sand. Although it wasn’t that deep, he managed to grab onto you, pulling you underwater with him.

Your laugh threw bubbles all around. His brown eyes shot open. For a minute he seemed like he was searching yours for something.

In just a couple of moments, it felt like the world stopped moving. You could feel the air in your lungs start to sting. Maybe it was time to resurface.

You mentally clocked all of the seconds you could spend underwater without passing out.

But when Luke smiled, all of your thoughts went muddy. He grabbed your hand, pulling you up.

You gasped for air, feeling the sharpness. It quickened when you realized Luke’s shirt cling to his body.

Look away look away look away look away.

A hint of rose rushed to your cheeks. You cursed yourself for thinking anything different.

After you two had burned every ounce of energy you had, you found yourself laying on the deck, eyes closed.

You could hear Luke breathe as his chest fell up and down.

The sun started to set in the distance, and the buzz of grasshoppers with Luke laying next to you is all you needed.

It’s all you ever wanted.

Almost as if he read your mind, Luke mumbled “I could lay here for hours.”

You hummed in response, simply glad he appreciated the sentiment as much as you did.

Something tickled your cheek with its moisture. You opened your eyes to find small snowflakes falling from the clouds. Snow, specifically snow at Camp Half Blood was rare.

It was weird, but it was fucking beautiful.

It crossed your mind that maybe it was Zeus’s doing, a little reward. You were reminded that even though the Gods had failed you time after time, there were small moments where none of it seemed to matter.

Like laying next to the boy who pulled at your heart strings when snow fell.

You glanced at Luke and caught a glimpse of his smile. The way his lips tugged at each other, you knew he felt the exact same way. It was provoking the way you both knew the ins and outs of one another.

In the back of your mind, you knew the snow wouldn’t last long as it was the start of summer. But oh how you enjoyed it so.

As some would say, nothing lasts forever.

———————————————————————

Authors note: I definitely meant to put this out sooner however I have been booked and busy! Now that it’s summer, I should definitely have more time to write because I love writing this stuff. Lemme know if you guys want more pieces in time of Luke and reader! Also if you have any requests or recommendations send them in!!!!

-Bee

#luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #percy jackson #pjo #luke castellan x ares reader #percy jackon and the olympians

[boxwinebaddie]

an uncle nina check in <3

hi team! thanks for sticking around! i know my blog isn't always the most exciting and enriching place in the world in terms of content, but i am very /content/ to have you all here. <3333

i promise, oddly enough, i have A TON of inspiration and ideas for all my weird styles ( if you're curious about anything please lmk! i've been trying to flesh out my aus out lately ), i've just been in a major bummer depression era lately, so it's hard for me to get my asks done and i'm having a hard time committing to finishing my writing. :<

i think it's because of stress and my bipolar, but i am trying to get back on the horse! ( are we all laughing at the idea of me trying to get on a horse? i'd start crying help city girl fail moment for me ) yeehaw!

and while, unfortunately due to the instability ( fabulous legendary iconery ) of my pretty girl popstar personality, i do not know whether i will be answering almost no questions or one million, regardless of that, i just wanted to let you know, i'm still here, still kicking my feet, twirling my hair, cooking...i'm just really trying not to force myself to put out anything i don't like...and only do what makes me truly happy.

however, nothing, my dear sweet e-darlings...

makes me happier than coming home to all of you. <333

so thank you for flooding even the darkest corners of my life with bright light, supporting my phantom fics and being wonderful,

uncle nina xx

#nina speaks #hi my loves #idk what the point of this was #i just know my blog is really inconsistent and i know i dont really post anything or anything that useful #but i wanted you to know that i love you very much and i still care a lot about all of you and all my content actually #which i have been fleshing out in notebooks and google docs i've been doing lots of world building and character study #so feel free to ask me something challenging about any part of my nina sp auniverse that interests u itll make my brain work #i've also been taking very silly but dilligent notes abt what ravesey style looks like for ter so if u want to laff at those u can #i just love taking notes on detail and understanding exactly what characters look like or what settings appear like idk #might be some experimental writing on here i like doing different mediums like i was being silly #and started writing a netflix trailer for rm haha i also have been doing weird personality tests and questionnaires #i've been trying to think very deeply about tkak and my tfbw styles if u have any questions there and am deep plotting rm #trying to be impactful while also keeping things fun and learning to enjoy myself again i suppose #so again thakn u for being here sorry its weird on here but thank u for supporting me as i learn and grow my sunshines #also ik i have a ton of asks and uve already asked me so many things so never feel inclined to message me #but i love hearing what ur curious about hopefully i can answer some stuff eventually but again im on a break #i'm here but i'm not this is a safe place we try and fail we have fun and promote style world domination thru my weird styles #ilysm i'm shutting up now i promise i'm still here i'm just trying to be healthy and happy esp rn when i am not emotionally well #gotta protect my peace and my vibe palace but im still here! #MWAH MWAH MWAAAAAH #really trying to heal my inner child or like the girl in me that liked to write silly stories and create crazy things #weird hcs big dramatic plots silly stuff...i want to honor that girl because she was happy and free and had fun #and i want to do that again so lets have fun guys #no judgement no seriousness just good vibes and good reads #welcome to the uncle nina learns to laugh again arc #i hope you enjoy it

[b4kuch1n]

learning how to color with my new screen tablet. turns out people still zoom in digitally and dont put their face up to ~.3 cm from the screen

#pokemon #swsh #champion leon #swordsman/beastiarian AU #coloring with this tablet is turning out to be! a learning curve #keep having to remember to not. plant my face directly onto the tablet to see small details #(this does not work btw. turns out there are a limited number of image particles on a physical screen and looking closer only lets u see the #particles. not the details of the drawing.) #instead of zooming in digitally #I need one of those shelves kids have to put distance between their eyes and their reading materials #like a plastic rack with foam padding and I put my chin on it and it keeps my face off the tablet. like a horse #and also it's still a Feat for my brain to like. delete the stylus tip from my vision. I have to look at the cursor instead of the stylus! #but I dont do that! I look at the stylus! which is big and of darker colors versus the bright screen! and also on top of the screen! #it's like having a new nose. and being Very aware of it. #I think it'll get better I'm already starting to forget it's there at points. that just needs to become more frequent #anyways. it's a curve for a reason. we are taking it a step at a time #inking with this tablet was really fun tho!! everything really is so much bigger and I love the tactile directness.... #but for now. I sleep. and then hopefully tomorrow I take care of more business #have a good night lads!! every day we learn something

[meme-loving-stuck]

i remember being brought up christian like, almost concerned that i never felt a connection to any of the shit they were talkin about,

and when i was younger i was like "oh no! am i bad for not feeling connected to god?? is it bad i feel like my dead mom doesnt talk to me or watch over me?? am i horrible for pretending?????"

but turns out i just had Autism Powers that made me immune to it and i was able to completely sever myself from the idea of being Christian at the ripe old age of like 13. and it was such a HUGE comfort to see that there were all these other beliefs and spiritual sort of things that other people chose to believe in and didnt necessarily treat their beliefs as COLD HARD UNDENIABLE FACT the way christians treat the existence of god & heaven & hell

like now that i am older i know i was in fact traumatized by the culturally catholic beliefs my family held & forced on us all, but i am really immensely grateful that my child self looked at all the other aspects of christianity that would horrify most other children into behaving/conforming, and basically just went, "okay, source?"

and that was the end of that

#BLOGGING LOUDLY #okay source sounds so cringe ik but like #i really couldnt buy into any of it after a certain point #even though i almost found comfort in it! the idea of prayer was very much that for me the way it is for many ppl #i just literally could not believe something that didnt have proof i could see or touch #and when i was a bit older i did get hit with the 'well you cant SEE gravity but you believe in that' #but again immediately i was like... you can still prove gravity though. i learned it in seventh grade. LMAO #i dont know part of me is relieved i didnt feel the painful separation or conflict that so many others feel #but i am still kind of sad i couldnt just. be that way. and find a home somewhere #and that nothing else has really stood out to me except like non theistic satanism which also sounds. edgy teen boy #like it is a legitimate belief system and i feel closely aligned to it! but im still just kinda meh about using the label ... hrmm #perhaps need to look into the various kinds of satanism again #i tend to stay away from pagan stuff but its also something i found interesting #my partner seems very interested in becoming a jew despite not really... ever having been exposed to judaism or jewish cultures #but id like to learn more about it too i have many resources just kinda sitting.... #idk i guess i started thinking about this bc actually studying other religions etc could be very fulfilling but i just....eh....

[racke7]

Me vs FF14 part... 2?

It's taken me pretty much three full days of running from cutscene to cutscene. But I've finally reached Heavensward.

And like... on some level? I'm kind of offended?

Like, a part of me genuinely wants to replay the entire game from the start "as something else" (different main-class, different race, different starting-area, whichever), because the dungeon-queuing system is actually really fun when you start to Understand it.

As in, FF14 has somehow made an MMO that has almost eliminated the feeling that it is a level-grind? Partially? It's turned the whole thing into a surprisingly comfortable level of (limited, but genuine) social interaction.

To the point where even someone who isn't obsessively grind-focused like me, can genuinely enjoy themselves. Just queuing up for dungeons, Hunting some bounties, and-...

And then FF14 has so many fucking quests that it literally chokes the life out of the gameplay.

As an example, one of their biggest dungeon-draws (bcs high rewards) is a quest that almost everyone hates playing. Because doing that dungeon means watching literally eighteen minutes of unskippable cutscenes.

And that's with them having reduced the amount of cutscenes in that dungeon, because the players complained so much about them.

Like... I'd be perfectly happy replaying the game from the start with a different character, even knowing that leveling isn't some kind of pain-free thing. But the thought of having to restart the fucking Main-Quest? Of having to spend literal days just running back-and-forth to cutscenes?

I'm currently feeling a bit burned-out as a result of the binge I went on to get here, but I'm pretty damn sure that I wouldn't replay this fucking thing even if you paid me for it.

(And, of course, Heavensward also has a Main-Quest continuation that you have to follow. And now I'm not even allowed to fly everywhere to cut down on the "running back-and-forth"-part of my complaints. Not until they arbitrarily allow me to discover flight for the new areas, by going through even more of the Main-Quest.)

(Not to mention that now I have to go back and do even more Class-quests, with their own cutscenes, in order to unlock a bunch of skills.)

(I'm very fond of the "the church is evil because it doesn't let you fuck dragons"-meme, and I'm very much seeing it. But like... come the fuck on. Why is this MMO a feature-length movie-series? Why can't I just play the game and have fun?)

#and yes. i'm very much aware that ''you can do anything with one character'' #bcs everyone gets one (1) race-changing potion. and classes can be switched out super-easily. but that's not the point. #video games #ff14 #rants #personal stuff #also like... i'm unemployed and waiting for my classes to begin a few weeks from now. i have INFINITE free-time. #and i still feel like ff14 is actively trying to waste my time by ''telling a story'' that should be in a single-player game. #... actually. that'd explain a lot. did the writers of this game learn to write from single-player games? #is that why there are so many cutscenes and minor characters to constantly juggle? did nobody tell them that they were making an MMO? #(the feeling of going ''all-in'' on the genuineness in the cutscenes even when it's corny as shit? good.) #(being forced to sit through cutscene after cutscene instead of actually playing the game? bad.) #like... even just the dungeon-cutscenes? to some degree it's expected that you SHOULD skip them? bcs you're making others wait? #(and during the Raids. that means outright being left behind. ain't nobody stopping for anyone.) #so you're losing a massive bit of story-telling. bcs it's trying to tell that story in the WORST place. #it's a good story? i guess? but it's so fucking inconvenient to _play the game around_ that it feels more like a chore than an adventure. #and in a single-person game? i think it'd be great. maybe not entirely my kettle of fish. but genuinely good. but as an MMO? #like i get that a lot of it has been added onto it over the span of YEARS and that ppl playing it since launch would've been desperate #for new content. despite how the amount of content seems incredibly overwhelming for new players. #but jesus fuck. at least let people wanting to start a new character to just... skip the fucking thing? they've already seen it once. #* nevermind. they thought of that. they're selling ''story-skip''-potions for 10$. wow. just... wow.

[dandyshucks]

was flipping thru sketchbook to find some blank space in older pages to fill in while i do some test doodles to figure out how to draw some characters, and oh my god fhdksl i started out drawing Guz so skinny 😭😭 i know i was just going off his canon design but damn bro !!! thats not my boy !!! he looks malnourished in comparison !!!!

#he has gained weight as i drew him more and i think that is beautiful fhdkdl #he is becoming safe and comfortable and happy !!! #same thing happened w my OC bramwell when i was designing him a few yrs ago tbh fkdkdl started out much less fat than he is now #but also at that point i was still very much just starting out in learning to draw fat bodies fjdksl #at least with Guz i had some experience under my belt when i started drawing him but DAMN. feed that boy!! he was so skinny!!! #anyways yay gaining weight as a sign of being safe and happy and comfortable for the first time ♡ #ask to tag #unsure if this needs a tag since it's all said in a very positive way but lmk if u want it tagged !! anon is on if u want it to ask !! #dandy.cmd

[the-busy-ghost]

Warning- this is a very petty post, but I think I'm entitled to at least one petty, pissed-off reaction every time I finish a classic novel that hit harder than I expected so take this as my quota for the year.

Also spoiler warning for a book that came out over a century ago but still, I didn't know the plot going in so don't want to ruin it for anyone else, if you haven't read it shut your eyes. (Also Local Tumblr User Going Wild Over Book Published a Hundred Years Ago That Everybody Else Already Read should probably be categorised as akey part of indigenous tumblr culture at this point).

Anyway I just finished the War of the Worlds and in between studying I've thinking about Themes and Motifs as you do, and idly looking for further analysis. I then accidentally ran into an article called 'A Quiet Place II Succeeds Where the War of the Worlds Failed' and:

Now I haven't seen any of the Quiet Place films, this is not a rant against them and of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But re: the ending of The War of the Worlds, I have to ask, did this guy somehow miss, uh, the entire point of the book or am I just utterly insane?

#You're right it's not very satisfying for humanity that the invaders are foiled by a bacteria and not human action! Maybe that's the point! #Maybe it's supposed to be FRIGHTENING and make you ask questions about what humans will do under extreme stress #Not be a morally uplifting tale about Humanity Heroically Defeating the Martians in a Glorious Hollywood Ending #Maybe it's MEANT to be unsatisfying because this is not a straightforward fairytale #I mean I've only read it once and don't know much about Wells' work so I might have misunderstood the point of the book too #But at places it is a very pessimistic view of the human condition and that's partly WHY IT'S SO POWERFUL #That doesn't mean there aren't moments of individual acts of heroism (the Thunderchild for example) #But the question is not just 'how will humanity beat the Martians and prove that we're still the masters of the universe' #Rather 'a) why is humanity so confident that it's ultimately in control of its own destiny #And b) here's lots of scenes of societal collapse and of people pushed to the brink and what would YOU do in those circumstances? #Would YOU feel remorse about silencing the curate even if it did lead to his death? #What if it rather than a foolish adult it had been a small child? #And even if they were weak did they DESERVE it? Yes it might have been necessary but should it be policy going forward? #Would you also be attracted briefly by the certainties that the artilleryman's (rather fascist) plan seems to offer so humanity survives? #But what sort of humanity would that be if it DID survive and is it worth it? The narrator feels he needs to justify the curate's death #The artilleryman would have probably never have thought it was anything OTHER than justifiable or indeed laudable #Under strain and stress would you start to turn against even your loved ones and become brutal? #Is that the only hope for human survival beyond complete surrender? And was the destruction of London maybe even 'cleansing' #In the eugenics sense or in the sense of a natural horror of dirt and germs? #And the vast exodus of six million people fleeing headlong in panic - we might not have seen that exact phenomenon #But didn't the twentieth century subsequently go on to show us unprecedented scale of slaughter and refugee movements and communal strife? #At the end of the day what really separates humanity from other animals? And what separates us from the Martians? #It's not an uncontroversial book- it was written over a hundred years ago for goodness sake and there are questions worth asking #about the way imperialism and arguments about eugenics and population control and all sorts of other dodgy areas operated on Wells' mind #But dear God I really don't think the problem with the book is that 'Humanity didn't save the day!' #Unsatisfying ending? Yes. A FAILURE? No not in my opinion- looks like it was exactly what Wells set out to do #Humanity didn't win the war of the worlds they had a narrow escape and though it might not be martians next time #Why wouldn't disaster return in the future? Sure we've studied their flying machines and even preserved a martian in a jar #But for all our science what have we ACTUALLY learned that will enable us to avert future human catastrophes? Ethically or socially? #Alright rant over- as usual my opinion is not universal nor necessarily well-informed this take just really got my goat