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#but i think the seeds are going to be planted in this season for sure
astbestos · 2 years
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alr so. i have noticed that it appears that viren is looking straight at the camera/viewer. i’m not really sure what it means, if anything, but like idk maybe it’s a sign of him starting to get more of a big picture view? i think in this season he’s going to become more aware of aaravos in general, although i’m not sure how. it’s said somewhere that startouch elves have big picture worldviews. maybe looking at the camera represents how viren might gain a little insight as to aaravos’ mind and will then start to gain a big picture view, maybe starting or even ending with the revelation that aaravos is merely using him and claudia. i think it would be cool if viren chooses to leave aaravos after this revelation and tries to convince claudia to leave as well but she is already too deep under his spell. idk. just a thought
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sanguith · 8 months
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i'm glad i decided to try out a ketosis diet again (aka changing my metabolism to basically only use ketone bodies made from fatty acids for energy by reducing carb intake to max 20g/day) for a few weeks because it was a neat experiment but i'm also glad I decided to stop because now i get to enjoy life's greatest fucking simplest yet finest delicacy: mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes with melted butter and salt. i cannot understand how i could live without that. just. vegetables. keto has opened my eyes to new ways to cook foods and experiment with ingredients but i don't think i can live without carbs. i doubt that the majority of people could. also have you any idea how much good simple near-zero effort food there is out there like holy gosh darn in heaven. i don't have to spend hours cooking something to have a nice meal
#food mention#diets#actually anything carb with butter and salt. how can it be so good. call me a lazy goob but i once just microwaved corn and butter#added salt. and it was the most delicious fuckin thing ive ever eaten#i've done low-carb in the past and tried keto a few times and always it felt so great after the keto flu disappeared after a few days#but this time the keto flu did not go away. i felt so weak and awful but at the same time i had less brain fog. and never felt hungry.#but it was werid. i think it might have been because i've been kinda high carb for the last few years and the change was so strong & sudden#also electrolyte imbalances can happen on keto if you're not careful. it's complex.#anyway it got me to eat a bit healthier like (almost) completely avoiding processed foods and unnaturally high sugary stuff#which i just want to generally avoid for personal health reasons which is a whole can of worms but i just dont want to overindulge#sure i can eat an entire bag of candies or chips in an evening if i feel like it but I *feel* my body just being like “nooo” and sure enoug#the next morning i do feel a little bit extra like shit#and another thing: i think i benefit from abrupt diet changes now and then. it feels natural in a way. ye olde scavenger hunter genetics#ya know. our nomadic ancestors would probably have to do that a lot when things weren't year-round available#sometimes only meat for months on end in cold seasons/areas#sometimes basically only plants and nuts roots and seeds and stuff#it's actually remarkable how human metabolism can adapt so much depending on what's available to eat#sometimes fasting for days when food was just nowhere to be found.#i'm not saying “stress your metabolic system it's good for you'” (it probably isnt) just idk. mixing it up a bit at least works for me#btw disclaimer i HATE the whole thing about diet-pressuring and some people claiming that certain diets will solve everything#it doesn't solve all health problems magically. ”"”superfoods“”“ are not a 100% faultless scientifically proven thing.#shit like ''the paleo diet is the number one key to optimal health without medications!!'' no. shut.#on the other hand i do believe diets can help a bit like a nudge. it's just one factor out of many that affects how we feel#ANYWAY conclusion: eat what you want. do what feels right for you. find your own ways to make the food you eat help your health a bit#or don't! be yourself! love yourself!#the chosen method is gonna be different for everybody#but from now on im gonna try and eat as close to natural unprocessed foods as I can in this day and age. it feels right for me somehow.#i think *my* preferred method/diet whatever is to mainly eat natural unprocessed foods and to mix it up a bit now and then with change#for that sweet ''METABOLIC ADAPTATION'' perk that feels good for me#(why did this post become so long. nobody cares. anyway i don't care if nobody cares. i care. *I* care!!! wooopp)
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honeytonedhottie · 2 months
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honey's guide to spring⋆.ೃ࿔*:・🪷
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i've been preparing this post for a while bcuz i LOVE spring and for this spring i just wanna embody feminine, fairy, dream-like beauty in my day-to-day this spring, and just enjoy it fully.
THE MOOD FOR SPRING : planting new seeds, fresh fruit, and bouquets of flowers. tea parties and floral prints and perfumes. green grapes, hibiscus tea and waking up early to see the sunrise.
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PREPARATION FOR SPRING : stock up on your favorite fruits and teas. if u want fruits that are in season, the fruits in season during spring include strawberries, cherries, blueberries, kiwis, bananas and nectarines. my favorite spring time tea is hibiscus and i love a good matcha during all seasons but especially spring, and lastly a good citrus tea is always something that i enjoy.
if ur someone who experiences rly bad allergies during the spring make sure that u go to ur doctors for a check up, and make sure that u have everything that you'll need to combat allergies.
THE PLAYLIST : a good playlist is always essential so my spring playlist consists of : eternal sunshine - jhene aiko. はるなつあきふゆ - ichiko aoba. afterglow - luna li. pisces - yerin baek. fairy of shampoo - TXT. scenery - red velvet. hydrangea love - TXT. cool with you - newjeans. salad days - iiso. pov - ariana grande. lyricist - heize.
REFRESH : time for spring cleaning both mentally and physically. analyze what habits are nourishing u and which habits are drying you out. analyze ur space and do a deep cleaning, that way u can feel lighter both mentally and physically.
wash ur sheets, maybe even buy fresh sheets (floral printed sheets for spring ofc)
go thru ur closet and put the winter and autumn clothes towards the back and bring the spring clothes where they're more accessible and visible
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deep clean ur room and clean ur house -> get onto clean-tok for some cleaning motivation cuz watching videos of people cleaning and organizing always motivates me to do so too
create new pinterest boards and delete ones that u dont use, or if u want to, create a completely new pinterest account. i've grown attached to my pinterest account so i won't delete it, but i've made lots of other accounts on separate devices
oftentimes we forget to clean what we use the most, and that buildup can cause our tools to be counterproductive, and just carry a lot of unnecessary germs so here are some things not to forget to clean and organize ;
behind ur ears
ur earbuds or headphones
ur skincare tools and devices (gua shas, face rollers)
ur phone screen
ur folders, binders, and folders
CULTIVATING CREATIVITY :
create something - do some painting, start a sketchbook, start dabbling in some poetry, maybe write a short story, cultivate an elite playlist etc etc
connecting with nature - go and get some fresh air, wake up earlier than usual to watch and enjoy the sunrise. drink different teas that you've never tried before, go to a local crystal shop if ur into that, make urself an elaborate platter of ur favorite fruits. go for a walk in the park, pick flowers and speaking of flowers, go and buy urself a pretty bouquet.
create a spring-time mood board
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TENDING THE GARDEN OF THE MIND :
ofc i MUST talk about the mind in any of my posts bcuz its just so incredible. but what you think matters!! what u think manifests! the thoughts that u continue to water and entertain are what you will experience. therefore when u change ur thoughts and water the seeds of the new thought, you'll get a new flower.
its like gardening. your thought is the seed, and ur mind is the soil. when u entertain ur thoughts ur watering the seed, and you'll get a new flower, the flower is the new experience. so this spring, plant new thoughts and entertain those thoughts ✨
FUN SPRING-LIKE THINGS :
picking flowers -> buying yourself a bouquet
have a tea party by yourself or with friends (reference my tea party post if u need some inspo)
make a bracelet or anklet out of flowers
take a bath and infuse the bath with things like rose petals, rose scented bath milks etc
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crystal shopping (last year i added amethyst to my crystal collection, this year i'd love to add selenite into my collection)
watch a 90's anime (i've watched sailor moon about a MILLION times and im gonna rewatch it again this year bcuz its just the girliest, best anime i've watched and is one of my favorites)
so i hope that this post sparked some ideas on ways that u can enjoy your spring girlies ✨
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rebeccathenaturalist · 11 months
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An App Does Not a Master Naturalist Make
Originally posted on my website at https://rebeccalexa.com/app-not-master-naturalist/ - I had written this as an op-ed and sent it to WaPo, but they had no interest, so you get to read it here instead!
I have mixed feelings about Michael Coren’s April 25 Washington Post article, “These 4 free apps can help you identify every flower, plant and tree around you.” His ebullience at exploring some of the diverse ecological community around him made me grin, because I know exactly what it feels like. There’s nothing like that sense of wonder and belonging when you go outside and are surrounded by neighbors of many species, instead of a monotonous wall of green, and that is a big part of what led me to become a Master Naturalist.
When I moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest in 2006, I felt lost because I didn’t recognize many of the animals or plants in my new home. So I set about systematically learning every species that crossed my path. Later, I began teaching community-level classes on nature identification to help other people learn skills and tools for exploring their local flora, fauna, and fungi.
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Threeleaf foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata)
Let me be clear: I love apps. I use Merlin routinely to identify unknown bird songs, and iNaturalist is my absolute favorite ID app, period. But these tools are not 100% flawless.
For one thing, they’re only as good as the data you provide them. iNaturalist’s algorithms, for example, rely on a combination of photos (visual data), date and time (seasonal data), and GPS coordinates (location data) to make initial identification suggestions. These algorithms sift through the 135-million-plus observations uploaded to date, finding observations that have similar visual, seasonal, and location data to yours.
There have been many times over the years where iNaturalist isn’t so sure. Take this photo of a rather nondescript clump of grass. Without seed heads to provide extra clues, the algorithms offer an unrelated assortment of species, with only one grass. I’ve gotten that “We’re not confident enough to make a recommendation” message countless times over my years of using the app, often suggesting species that are clearly not what I’m looking at in real life.
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Because iNaturalist usually offers up multiple options, you have to decide which one is the best fit. Sometimes it’s the first species listed, but sometimes it’s not. This becomes trickier if all the species that are suggested look alike. Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) and eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra) all have pinnately compound, lanceolate leaves, and young plants of these three species can appear quite similar. If all you know how to do is point and click your phone’s camera, you aren’t going to be able to confidently choose which of the three plants is the right one.
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Coren correctly points out that both iNaturalist and Pl@ntNet do offer more information on suggested species—if people are willing to take the time to look. Too many assume ID apps will give an easy, instant answer. In watching my students use the app in person almost everyone just picks the first species in the list. It’s not until I demonstrate how to access the additional content for each species offered that anyone thinks to question the algorithms’ suggestions.
While iNaturalist is one of the tools I incorporate into my classes, I emphasize that apps in general are not to be used alone, but in conjunction with field guides, websites, and other resources. Nature identification, even on a casual level, requires critical thinking and observation skills if you want to make sure you’re correct. Coren’s assertion that you only need a few apps demonstrates a misunderstanding of a skill that takes time and practice to develop properly—and accurately.
Speaking of oversimplification, apps are not a Master Naturalist in your pocket, and that statement —while meant as a compliment–does a disservice to the thousands of Master Naturalists across the country. While the training curricula vary from state to state, they are generally based in learning how organisms interact within habitats and ecosystems, often drawing on a synthesis of biology, geology, hydrology, climatology, and other natural sciences. A Master Naturalist could tell you not only what species you’re looking at, but how it fits into this ecosystem, how its adaptations are different from a related species in another ecoregion, and so forth.
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Map showing Level III and IV ecoregions of Oregon, the basis of my training as an Oregon Master Naturalist.
In spite of my criticisms, I do think that Coren was absolutely onto something when he described the effects of using the apps. Seeing the landscape around you turn from a green background to a vibrant community of living beings makes going outside a more exciting, personal experience. I and my fellow nature nerds share an intense curiosity about the world around us. And that passion, more than any app or other tool, is fundamental to becoming a citizen naturalist, Master or otherwise.
Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!
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theresattrpgforthat · 11 months
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I know you've done a game recommendations post about lighthearted solo games, but do you have any suggestions for someone's first solo ttrpg/journaling game?
THEME: First-Time Solo Games!
Hello friend! I sure do have some recommendations! Many of the games I present here are representative of a larger type, so you might be able to find other games within that category by browsing the related tags on itch.io. Most of the games require dice, and many of the games require decks of cards. Other than that, you shouldn’t need anything too fancy or elaborate to play these kinds of games!
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The Sky City Charade, by Ashley Morgan’s Games.
Elysia. Midtown. Someone rich was murdered. And you, a private detective from the lowest reaches of Sky City, have been tasked to find out why.
This is a solo journalling game based on the Hints and Hijinx system from Pandion Games. Create a character and navigate through a cyberpunk city stretching into the heavens, dealing with whatever it throws at you.
Using polyhedral dice, a deck of cards, something to journal with, and your own imagination, see if you can bring this case to a satisfying close by actually solving it and finding out who is behind this mysterious crime, and why you were asked to solve it.
Hints and Hijinx games use a pack of cards and a deteriorating dice mechanic to generate a story. In The Sky City Charade, you’ll assign your two highest dice (a d10 and a d12) to two stats: Smarts & Tough. Every roll you make in an effort to find a clue has a chance of giving you what you’re looking for, but also a chance of making future rolls harder. The game is divided into three phases: Setup, Investigation, and Closure. You’ll spend most of your time in the Investigation phase, visiting locations and drawing cards to determine what kind of complications arise in your efforts to solve the mystery.
What I like about this kind of game is the structure. There’s clear instructions for each section of play, and the deteriorating dice mechanic ensures that you both think carefully about when to look for clues and also finish play within a reasonable time frame. I also enjoy the thoughtful world building that went into the location creation for this game; the author knows what kind of world they want to present you with, and they deliver.
If you want more games of this system, I’d recommend checking out the Hints and Hijinx Jam!
Beast at Bay, by Ive Sorocuk.
You arrive back in your hometown.The journey was long.You have little memory of it but you do recall being attacked by some form of beast. A beast you can still feel deep within you, wanting to get out.
Beast at Bay is a solo rpg/journaling game that uses the Second Guess System. It’s a pretty simple game, only one page long, with a Humanity tracker and a list of 20 prompts. You roll a d20 and answer a question from the prompt list, adjusting the Humanity tracker as needed.
The Second Guess System thrives on re-rolls, and frames rolling the same prompt twice as a chance to examine your character’s uncertainty - was their original answer truly what was going on, or is there something hidden, possibly even from themself? In Beast at Bay, every time you must re-examine a question, you will need to roll a d6 to determine whether you lose Humanity. The game ends when you either reach 6 or fall to 0. If you like quick-to-read games that can be played in approximately 30 minutes, then I’d recommend checking out this game.
You can find other Second Guess Games in the Second Guess Jam!
Weeds in the Waste, by Meghan Cross.
Weeds in the Waste is a solo storytelling game about tending a garden in a post apocalyptic wasteland.
Determine the state of your wasteland, create your gardener, plant your seeds, and tend your garden as you play through the seasons in the wastes. It is a narrative, storytelling game played using 2d6s and a 6x6 grid, as well as a series of prompts. 
Grid-based games give you visual references that can help you visualize what is going on in your game world. They also give you a chance to strategize a little bit, especially if the dice you’re rolling will affect the map, like in this game. Despite the fact that this game happens in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, I still feel like some part of it is a cozy game. You’re not saving the world or fighting your inner darkness in Weeds in the Waste; you’re growing plants and striving to make your garden a place of hope. Much of the prompts provided are aimed at building up the world around you, whether that be weather events, celebrations, or the kinds of plants you are attempting to grow.
If you like games with lower stakes and visual references, I recommend this game. If you want other grid-based games with different themes, I’d recommend Wonderfall, by Catscratcher Studio, and Exclusion Zone Botanist, by Exuent Press.
Anamnesis, by Sam Leigh, Blinking Birch Games.
Anamnesis is a 24-page solo journaling RPG about self-discovery, reflection, and identity.
You play as an individual who has woken up with memory loss. You do not remember who you are, where you are, or what you care about. As you draw tarot cards, you fill the blank spaces of your past and learn more about your present. All that is needed to play is a deck of tarot cards and a way to record your thoughts.
Explore your character’s backstory through five acts, divided up using the four suits and major arcana of a tarot deck. This game is highly interpretive, giving you prompts to answer but depending upon your interpretation of tarot cards in order to determine the kinds of details that you’ll end up filling out. The fact that it uses a tarot deck may be it’s biggest obstacle if you don’t already own a tarot deck, but if you do own a tarot deck you’ll likely already have some experience when it comes to interpreting the cards, and so I don’t know if the openness of interpretation is that much of a hurdle when it comes to playing this game.
What I do know is that Anamnesis has won several awards, and is pretty well-known in the gaming scene. There’s both digital and physical copies, and the creator offers both discounted damaged copies as well as community copies pretty regularly. There’s also an Anamnesis Jam with many other Anamnesis - inspired games for you to check out!
The Sealed Library, by Sealed Library.
The Sealed Library is a solo journaling RPG played with a deck of cards, a tumbling block tower and a notebook/scroll.
You are the sole surviving librarian of the greatest library in history. It sits in the centre of culture for an ancient land, now fallen to invaders. They pillage and raze. 
The library has been barricaded and you are under siege. What important texts can you move down into the vaults and seal away forever before the barricade breaks? What will future generations discover inside the Sealed Library?
Wretched & Alone games such as this one usually recommend a Jenga tower but I’ve found them very playable without one. All you really need is a deck of cads, a six-sided dice, and some tokens, which can be anything (I use poker chips). Personally, I think the biggest con is the tone of the games - most Wretched & Alone games are meant to be tragic or horrific. For example, in The Sealed Library, you are a librarian trying to save as much of the library as possible before invaders knock down the doors and kill you, or before you die of starvation.
These games divide events in between four categories, to match the four suits of cards. In this game, these suits represent saved books, new discoveries, invader events and dwindling resources. If the tumbling tower falls, you die. If you draw all four Kings, you die. There are a few ways for your character to escape alive, but the chances of drawing the right cards in the right order are low. What I appreciate about this game is that it includes a debrief section, allowing you to process the story you have just told yourself. If you’re interested in playing out a story that may pull you into a tragedy however, games like this one may suit you.
Games I’ve Recommended in the Past
Untitled Moth Game, by S. Kaiya J.
Osteozee, by Psychound.
Global Dragon Egg Conservation, by KuumatheBronze.
Games from the Solo But Not Alone Bundle.
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glassiskies · 6 months
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no bc im thinking about it and I don't see any season 3 where aziraphale and crowley are separated for more than an episode at most.
I was listening to David Tennant's podcast episode with Neil Gaiman (released Oct 2020) and Neil started talking about something secret he is working on that is, in hindsight, so obviously about good omens.
The exact quote:
"There's a project that I can't talk about right now that I'm writing with somebody I can't identify right now- this is a terrible way of going into a thing- where we'd been working on it for months and months, and we've been building everything up, but we didn't know how it ended. And, finally, we were in the same physical space, actually having a conversation that wasn't on the phone, and all of the sudden we had the ending. And having the ending, knowing beat by beat just what the emotional ending of the thing was, opened up the entire thing like a door. Because we had the plot, and we'd had the plot for a while, and we just weren't sure why we should care. Everything turned, and I immediately knew what the opening scene had to be. And what's lovely is nothing sort of really changes in the plot, but it now allows us to go, okay, that's important, that thing that we didn't know was gonna be important, that's important. It gives us a feeling of, or at least it gives me a feeling of bubbly excitement. Which means that anybody I can take on this journey is going to get to that place and be just as excited as I was."
(And then he immediately cites an example where he was writing Good Omens LOL. The signs were all there!)
ANYWAY, I think it's so interesting that the emotional beat of Aziraphale and Crowley being separated was not figured out until well into the writing process. It leads me to think that Aziraphale was never promoted in the unwritten sequel, right? So if they're following the plot of this unwritten sequel closely, I don't see how Aziraphale and Crowley could be separated for longer than an episode. We only have six episodes, and Season 3 has more plot beats to hit than Season 2 did.
It also makes me think about how Aziraphale leaving for Heaven really is just meant to be more of an emotional moment to plant the seeds for development in him and Crowley's relationship. I mean, obviously it is, but I don't know much significance it'll actually have in the plot of Season 3? If that makes sense? This is just me throwing out thoughts here, feel free to add anything!!
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babiebom · 4 months
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When You Fall (VIII)
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A/N: i got the sweetest message from someone(idk if they’d want me to call them out) and somehow it made me want to start on this chapter so I guess it literally just takes someone being nice for me to actually do something lmao. Also happy new year!! Also also whenever I’m writing one of these chapters and the tumblr notif shows up it jumpscares me. Like how do y’all know?
Tw: depression, reader decides to force themself to be happy, cursing. The usual
Wc:3.0k
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Sweat dripped from your forehead as you attempted to clear some of the farm from debris. It was taking long to clear everything, and though you knew that most of the land would be unused until you actually got enough money to plant more things and get a coop or barn.
Shadow ran around wildly, barking happily as she snapped her teeth at the air. It’s funny, watching her as she runs. Getting pets didn’t make being in a depressive pit completely go away, but they did make that pit less dark, less daunting and lonely. Mango lazed around on the porch, his tail slowly waving side to side as he watched you.
Sticking your rake into the ground and wiping the sweat again, you grin at your animals, letting out a labored breath. “Okay, so, I love you both very very much. And I’m sorry that I can’t take you but they’re hosting an Egg Festival in the town and I’m going.”
You move to sit on the porch, Shadow dashing to crash onto your lap. You open your arms and let her move her big body onto you with a roll. “And I swear I’m not going to enjoy being away from you both, but I have to go as part of my healing. I’ll be back soon.” Neither one of them did anything other than stare at you and then go about their own business as you get up and head inside to shower. Shadow trails behind you after a moment, her tail wagging so hard her butt wiggles along with it. You take one last glance at her as you finally get in the shower, hoping the day goes by quickly.
Walking into the town’s square, it’s like a decorating bomb went off. There are banners and decorative flags and other things littered around in a way that made you think whoever decorated spent way too long out here only for them to be messed up by the wind. There’s so many layers of tape that you feel irritated for whoever had to fix it.
“Farmer!” Pierre calls out from behind his booth. You want to ignore him, not really ready for social interaction but go over to him anyways. Forcing a smile onto your lips you lean on the booth counter, looking at the things he has stocked.
Some strawberry seeds, lawn flamingos, plants, a painting, a bright pink banner, a plush bunny, and a….decorative pitchfork? What kind of stock is this? What does this have to do with the egg festival? You blink a couple times and attempt to control the look on your face, maybe you could buy a couple of strawberry seeds. Even if you don’t plant them this season you can always wait. “Hey Pierre! Selling some good stuff?”
He smiles and moves his hand around, gesturing to his stock. “Yeah, looking to buy anything?”
“Sure…a couple strawberry seed packets…and that plush bunny.”
“It’s pretty cute huh? Okay that’ll be 2,500g.”
Your breath gets caught in your throat. 2,500g? The man has to be insane! What the fuck costed so much that you were being charged this much? “Yeah, prices are a little steep. But I have to make a living somehow,” he chuckles when he sees your expression. You try hard to keep your face in check, not wanting to snap on the man in front of everyone. You were here to make progress, not to make enemies.
After giving him the money you take your new things and stuff them into your backpack. The letter said the festival ended at two, and looking at your watch it was only 9:30. That meant 4 and a half more hours of agony trying to force yourself out of a depressive pit that you aren’t really all too sure you’re ready to leave just yet for the sake of getting better.
Well, at least there’s food…
Hurrying along, the sight of the buffet table makes your mouth water. Not eating breakfast and working all morning in a large field without totally knowing what to do is a bad idea, but now that you’re looking at all the different types of food you can’t help but praise yourself for how lucky starving yourself got you. Now you can eat, then when you get home you can pass out and sleep until tomorrow. Like another rest day that feels like a reward after running around in the dirt.
As you fill your plate with food, you can see Gus and what’s his name…’Clive?’ You think to yourself, nose scrunching in confusion, ‘No, that's a stupid name. Carl? It has to be Carl…what other C names are there?’ In your thoughts you almost drop your plate and gain the attention of the two men, Gus smiles brightly and waves you over while the other man averts his eyes. Weird…
“Hey Gus!” You smile warmly at the older man. There was a twinge of stress in his eye, but it seemed rude to point that out to him. His eyes moved over the rows and rows of food and it occurs to you that he must have cooked almost everything himself being the Towns Saloon owner and all.
“Hey farmer! I was just telling Clint here…you’ve met Clint right?”
You shake your head at his question. You had only seen him around maybe once and heard his name in passing from the blue haired girl who was talking to him when you passed by and from Maru when you were in the clinic. Thank Yoba Gus said his name or you would’ve been stood awkwardly just like you are but more so because you wouldn’t have known his name. “Oh well, he’s the towns blacksmith…anyways I was just telling him how I hope everyone’s enjoying the food. I’ve been cooking for days to get the food ready.”
“Days? Wow thats a lot of work…”
“Yeah I made fried eggs, boiled eggs, poached eggs, deviled eggs, scrambled eggs, chocolate eggs, you name it!”
“I mean it is the Egg Festival…”
“Yeah, not to mention the other foods. I’d be upset if it turned out horribly.”
You take a bite of whatever was on your plate in front of him, trying to make a show of how good it is, but not really needing to act because WOW can this man cook. How’d he even make this? His eyes light up at your expressions and mannerisms, his shoulders relaxing at the sight of you enjoying the food. “No Gus, I swear this is amazing! You don’t need to worry about anyone not enjoying the food at all!”
“Thank you for the kind words, Farmer, it means a lot to me.”
You nod vigorously, not wanting to ignore him but now overcome with the urge to stuff down as much of the food as you can. What the fuck was in this? Drugs? You can’t even remember the last time you were this hungry.
With your plate you walk around, smiling at anyone who talks to you, and try to carry on conversations that you didn’t really care much about. It had been weeks since you moved here, and you were just now meeting everyone personally. There were so many people living here in Pelican Town that you wonder how you had managed to avoid 60 percent of them whenever you ventured out.
As you make your rounds to the buffet table for the second time, the sight of a bright red cape catches your eye and the man with the eyepatch flashes in your mind. You hadn’t seen him since that day, but you had to find out what those stupid jelly things are.
“Marlon!” You call out, rushing to the man in the corner. He looked surprised that you were speaking to him, but made no moves to walk away or ignore you. Instead he looked slightly pleased. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
His eyebrows quirk up in amusement, “I could say the same about you, don’t hear anything about you going around.”
You shrug and realize that just as much as you stick to your farm, he must stick to the caves and mountains. Neither bad, but awfully lonely when you think about it. You wonder if there’s anyone he lives with up there. “I just thought that you would prefer to be adventuring or something…like in the caves?”
“Yeah, but even with my bad leg I never miss a festival.”
��Oh…say you know down in the caves how there are…things right?”
“Yeah the monsters?”
“Yeah um, have you ever seen the little Jello creatures? They’re really tiny and all but are like really strong for some reason, and jump at you like they’re legless spiders?”
“The slimes? Yeah you have to be careful with them. They might be easy to defeat but can quickly overwhelm you if you’re not careful.”
He frowns at you and you swallow. That’s exactly what had happened. The stupid things were just too much the more you ventured down. But you’d be ready for them next time, and whatever else is down there. “Yeah, they kinda kicked my ass last time I went into the caves.”
He nods solemnly, as if he could relate. Maybe he could relate, having a bad leg and an injured eye and living up there. There had probably been times that he’s gotten overwhelmed and hurt. The thought sends a shiver down your spine. If he could get hurt down there, and you have already been hurt, who’s to say that you won’t just die the next time you go down? It’s weird to think just how lucky you truly were when you were saved.
Thinking of being saved…your eyes flit around quickly trying to spot the man that had saved your life. Maru and Sam had said that Sebastian had gone down into the caves himself to save you, and even though you hadn’t seen him personally since meeting in the Saloon, the need to thank him was always in the back of your mind. And now you have the chance, Yoba you wished you were home.
You bid goodbye to Marlon and shuffled your way to the trio standing off at the bottom of the town’s square. Rehearsing what you’re going to say in your head, you hope that it would be a quick conversation, that you wouldn’t stutter over your words and that you wouldn’t act so awkward that they think you’re weirder than you are. But as you clear your throat as you walk up to them, regret settles in your belly at the looks on their faces. It was like being in school all over again and the kids that you thought were cool were too tight knit as a group and hated outsiders.
Before you could say anything Abigail speaks first, staring straight at you. “Do you think I’m too old to do the Egg Hunt?”
You frown at her in confusion before shaking your head. “No?”
She punches Sebastian’s arm as soon as the word leaves your mouth. “Ha! I told you I wasn’t too old. It’s like, why stop if I’m having fun?”
“How are you having fun searching for eggs with actual children?”
“Hey! Searching for eggs is like going on a treasure hunt! Besides, your sister does it too!”
Sebastian rolls his eyes at her, looking towards the river without saying anything more, choosing to sip on the punch in his cup. Sam looks like he’s suffering and you tilt your head, silently questioning him. “Ugh…it’s my doze…allergies.” His nose is so stuffed up that his words seem heavy. You wince at him and nod in understanding, Springtime wasn’t the best for people with allergies.
Sebastian clears his throat after a minute. “You know what I miss? The rotten egg toss.”
Both Sam and Abigail agree quickly, words coming out both of their mouths too quickly for you to really understand anything they’re saying. They’re very enthusiastic about it, recounting things that happened in previous years. In your confusion you look over at Sebastian, and he swallows his drink quickly. “We used to do a rotten egg toss, a couple years ago. It was only for like two years, Mayor Lewis put an end to it pretty quickly.”
“Yeah, too many people complained that it stunk.” Abigail laughed. It sounded pretty fun, tossing rotten eggs at a target or something, but the smell…ugh.
Before you could say anything else, Sam says he’s going to get more food before the egg hunt starts and they put everything away. Abigail looks between you and Sebastian and smiles. “I’ll go with him, either of you want anything?”
You shake your head, plate still full from the second round. “Maybe some punch? If it’s not too much trouble?” She shrugs and looks at Sebastian who just hands her his cup. She leaves without another word and without turning back. Ha…now it’s awkward…
“I didn’t think you were one for socializing.”
You’re surprised at his words, but think that in a small town there are rarely secrets. Everyone must know that you’re suffering. “Yeah um, just had a bad couple of weeks. I’m better now, though, ready to mingle and become part of the town…being alone is no good.”
He snorts, glancing at you and your heart stutters in your chest. Did he think you were joking? Were you that obvious in your dislike of talking to others? “Yeah sure…been there once.”
You don’t ask him what he means, understanding that he’s seeing right through your fake chipper exterior. For a minute the silence stretches on, but it’s not as tense and awkward as it was before. Maybe it was a good thing he could tell you were faking, there was no need now that it was only you two. “Y’know I’ve been meaning to thank you.”
“For?” He sounds disinterested, but when you look at his face he seems more…uncomfortable.
“You saving me? Your friends told me you went down into the caves to get me.”
“Fucking…yeah. It was no problem. You should be more careful, though, I was only able to help because I noticed that you didn’t come up.”
“Yeah…I really should…anyways. Thanks for saving me, hopefully you won’t have to do it again.”
He shrugs and says nothing.
“I owe you one.”
“Sure.”
The mayor claps his hands loudly, speaking into a megaphone that he’s holding. “If anyone is participating in the egg hunt, gather round. It’s almost time to begin!”
“You participating?” He asks, and for a second you almost say no before remembering that the whole point of coming was to become part of the community and bettering yourself.
“Yeah…you?”
“Nah…”
You nod and cough into your fist, unsure of how to separate yourself from him. “Well, I guess I’ll see you…later?”
“Yeah, sure. I’m either at home, or at Sam’s or the Saloon during the weekends…”
“Okay, cool.”
You walk away quickly, confused as to how you had somewhat made a friend of him? There was that saying that misery loves company…maybe he was the perfect person to be miserable with. He seemed like he had problems himself. Mayor Lewis claps a hand onto your shoulder a little harder than necessary, causing you to wince. “Enjoying yourself, Farmer?”
“Yeah…”
“That’s good! It’s about time you introduced yourself to the townspeople. Everyone was so excited to meet the new farmer in town and you just…disappeared. They thought you were a recluse or something!” He lets out a laugh that makes you frown. You had forgotten how much this guy could talk.
“Yeah well, family deaths will do that to you.” You keep your face straight as you stare at him. He coughs and sputters out some words before the conversation is effectively ended.
After another minute and a half the egg hunt begins and your heart starts thumping in your chest. The kids are already running off, and Abigail is darting around so quickly that you think that she’s going to knock one of them over. Looking at the other participants, the urge to beat them overcomes you. Winning at this means that you’re officially part of the community right? You’re putting yourself out there?
Your feet move without another thought from you and soon enough your basket is full with eggs. Looking at the others it seems theirs are too. You can hear Lewis counting down from ten and your heart races even more. How were you supposed to win this? You run across the square, hoping to get one last egg.
Five…
Where are the rest of the eggs? What the fuck is there no more?
Four…
In the corner of your eye something yellow gleams under the sun. An egg! Near the river!
Three…
You dash towards the egg, hand stretched out towards it.
Two…
A couple more steps to go, you’re unsure if you’ll get there in time.
One…
Your hand closes around the egg and into your basket it goes. Your heart thumps and your breaths come out uneven. But you made it! The last egg.
Lewis calls everyone back towards the center of town, eyes gleaming as he looks at everyone’s baskets. He seems happy to see more people participating in a dying tradition. There were only two kids in town so an egg hunt is bound to get boring as everyone gets older.
It takes five whole minutes for Lewis to count everyone’s eggs, yours being the last basketbhe gets his hands on. “Nine…ten…” Abigail groans in annoyance next to you. “Eleven! The winner is the Farmer! Come up and get your prize!”
Prize? If you knew there was going to be a prize you wouldn’t have tried so hard. Now someone was going to be mad at you for winning instead of them. You walk slowly to Lewis confused as to what he could be offering.
“Enjoy!”
He hands you a straw hat…well at least it’s helpful?
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bluekidchaos · 7 months
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Kinktober day 3 - Spencer Reid
for once keeping under 1k words woho! also i originally forgot i was doing the praise kink so i had to add that after i was already done lmao
Pairing: Spencer Reid x fem!reader
Prompt: Praise kink
Warnings: 18+, Sub!spence, praise, pet names (baby boy, bunny), cream pie, unprotected sex, season 3 spencer hair, the mommy kink snuck up on me i-
Words: 700
Can also be read on AO3!
Kinktober masterlist. Regular masterlist.
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Being a BAU agent came with a heavy burden, you could see it in Spencer on rough days. He would slump together on the couch and just stare into space, you'd try and comfort him the best you could but sometimes he just needed some time. 
You made sure to pamper him when he was home, cooking dinner together, cuddling, and sex. Really just anything you could do together. He craved intimacy and was highly touch-starved, you didn't mind though as touching him was your favorite thing. 
You loved how you could get him so riled up with just a couple of words and small touches. Having him on top of you yet you were in charge, making him whimper from your praise. 
He would be begging you to let him move once he was inside you. Head resting on your shoulder and barely holding himself up by his forearms. "Please, baby, god, please. Need to fuck you so bad."
Cooing at him and his desperation, "Hold on baby boy, let me just feel you for a second. You're so good for me, bunny." You raked your fingernails over his back and down his sides, leaving red marks in their path. Hearing him groan at the pain made your cunt clench in return. "So big and it's all mine."
Spencer tried to steady his breath, thinking of something else that wasn't his dick in your perfect pussy. He was going through any and all statistics he could remember at the moment in his head, anything to keep still and not just have his way with you.
"Okay, Spence. You can move now, but slow, baby." He whined into your neck as he finally could move his hips. Gently pulling out of you and pushing back in, Spencer was moaning right into your ear at the pleasure. 
Your hand pushed away some of his hair that had fallen in his face, putting it behind his ear. "Th- thank you, mommy, God thank you for letting me fuck you." You could feel his hips speed up a little on their own volition and you tugged a few strands signaling to slow down again. 
"Doing so good for me, baby. You're my good boy right?" He nodded quickly, keeping the pace slow. Languidly thrusting against you. You're planting kisses on his throat, sucking hickeys onto his collarbone.
"Do you wanna cum, bunny? Wanna fill mommy up like a good boy?" Fingers digging into his cheeks, forcing him to look into your eyes. His gaze was hazy with pleasure and glassy from unshed tears. "Make mommy come first and you can come inside me."
Spencer's eyes widened and in a matter of seconds, he was thrusting into you at full speed. His hand snaking down to play with your clit. "Yes, thank you, I'll be good. I'll make you come." 
His hand was making quick work at bringing you right to that delicious edge, feeling it become tighter and tighter in your stomach while he pounded into you like a wild beast. Your legs were wrapped around his waist, the angle making him hit that magical spot inside you every time. 
You're moaning unrestrained into his ear, no doubt garnering noise complaints again, but you couldn't care less. "Spence, yes just like that! You fuck me so good, always so good. So big inside me." You're chanting his name like a prayer as he pinched your clit one last time before you fell over the edge, your end bringing his own. 
Feeling you clench down on him hard and pulse around him. A strangled "Oh, shit, I-" before you feel him fill you up completely. He pumped into you a few more times before stilling and laying down on you, careful not to put all of his weight on you. 
You could feel his seed trickle out of you, making a mess on the sheets under you. You stroked Spncer's hair and planted big wet kisses all over his face and neck, anywhere you could reach. "I love you so much, baby."
Spencer is smiling down at you, that big goofy smile that you loved so much. "I love you too, and thank you."
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lost-technology · 1 month
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The Twin's Dossiers
So, something I've been thinking about a lot and something I have seen speculation about, both on tumblr and on the sketchiness that is TV Tropes: The Dossiers of the twins on the Project SEEDS computer in where the Tesla record is being stored. It has information on Kni (Nai) and Vash, with Vash's file expressly in with Tesla's folder, which alarms a lot of fans. And a lot of us are wondering how did it get there? I've wondered, was it just a computer record the ship just does automatically about whatever goes on in it? Did Rem input the data for, say, health-information reasons (presumably to delete it all later?) Was it...for sinister reasons? Or did William Conrad come along and input it? I believe that Conrad did it.
It's possible that I'm wrong and will be eating crow when the second season of Stampede comes out, but as of now, I believe that it makes the best sense. There isn't a record of them like this in the manga. There is the Tesla record, but no trace of them on the main ship's computer.
First of all, I'm not sure the ship's computer would just be tracking them and making its own record, even with advanced AI, nor would have a deliberate file-placement. Second, Rem isn't stupid. She tells Nai to eat and drink like a human and to hide his powers. She does this for a reason. It is doubtful that she would keep records that the rest of the crew could be in danger of discovering should an emergency happen with the ship that would cause them to wake up. Third, the idea that Rem would have something sinister in mind for them is grossly out of character. I've seen that idea fronted. I think those people haven't read the manga. That leaves... The bastard, himself. In the manga, Conrad had opposed the experiments on Tesla along with Rem (according to her). He met Vash and Knives briefly when he'd not gone back to sleep right after the emergency situation on the ship and had snuck around. He was accepting of them, found them quite a wonderment and agreed with Rem to keep them a secret. He later wound up being recruited by Knives, but was more of his personal doctor / Plant-scientist and wasn't involved with the Gung Ho Guns / was just another recruit, held at literal knife-point and looking for atonement. In Stampede, he took a level in Asshole. He wasn't the greatest of guys in the manga, but he took a real hit in Stampede, doing gruesome human experimentation on Wolfwood and Livio personally, as well as on Rollo (who is sort of a new, Stampede-only character given how much he differs from the original Monev's origins). In Stampede, much like the recruitment meeting in the manga - Knives knew Conrad. He sought him out. While Knives *could* have found out Conrad purely from records, I think they'd met before, on the ship, just like in the manga. So.... since these suspicious dossiers exist, since Knives knew Conrad on sight and since Conrad is much more of a bastard in Stampede, (I think he was more involved with Tesla, too) I'm going to wager a guess that an incident happened like what happened in the manga with the crew waking up, Rem putting them back to beddy-bye, Conrad staying awake to meet the twins... And then at some point, putting their data into his research-computer. In other words, I think in the reboot, he gave Rem false assurances, convinced her of his remorse over Tesla when he probably wasn't as remorseful as he let on. Or perhaps something more complicated is afoot. Nai he saw as a "perfect being" - untouchable, the perfect bridge between Plants and Humans. Meanwhile, Vash is in the same folder as Tesla - perhaps, as a Plant with some human needs (food / water / sleep) and no apparent powers (until the push-pull thing comes into play), Conrad sees him as "the expendable twin," and thus a good test subject model, just like Tesla. He certainly treated Vash as such in the Soup.
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trashy-corvian · 4 months
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Once again what could have been keeps me up at night. Just a mess of thoughts so bear with me. Usual warning for terrible grammar and typos
So, the lesson 16 and the rest of season 1. We all hated it, it's trash.
Timeline doesn't make sense. MC makes a pact with Belphie at Dia's birthday party. Which is at Halloween. Which is in October. Am i supposed to believe that ALL pact making/building relationships/forging bonds happened in 2 MONTHS???
Or maybe they go by japanese timeline which is ,ok more realistic, but still not enough time for someone (sup)
We never got to have Satan bonding time after making a pact with him. Unfair and homophobic if you ask me.
In better version of obm i propose the following. Satan, with all of his baggage, sees how brothers start to treat MC. He sees how all of their kindness and strength of character, all their efforts, everything that they done gets diminished. All of this is not becaise of MC as a person but because they related to Lilith (big sus on this but to each their own).
Satan sees it. And it makes him ANGRY
(The following based on my own MC so it has headcanons)
I propose the ending of season 1 to be Satan's time to shine. He will become our supporter, our confidant. The only one who will see how fucked up it all is. MC has no trust left for the brothers, their behavior hurted them deeply. Satan is the only one they can trust.
Maybe MC will tell Satan or he will ulfigure it out on his own but when the "being murdered isn't ok for humans" will click ohhhh. He also fucked up for ignoring this at first. Feeling guilty and searching up books on human psychology, consulting Solomon (who is immortal and his advice is shit)
Solomon who realises something is wrong. Gets so fucking angry when MC explains what happened.
Just Satan and Solomon being the only ones who MC talks to. And Luke ofc but you can't tell him about the murder.
Planting seeds for Simeon character arc. He thinks MC just needs to forget it all. They need to think of brothers first. Think about how your behavior hurts them , MC. They're happy about their sister, why must you ruin this? Just forgive already
MC won't even stays for the rest of the year. They got back to human world with Solomon to study under him. They summon Satan so he can visit.
And the season 2 is, again, how MC is a human represantative making sure Exchange programm will be safe for humans. And this time it's the brothers who seek us out. Reverse roles from season 1 so now they need to get MC's forgiveness before they got back to human world again
Now i need 1 million $ to commission someone for a fanfic
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invisibleicewands · 10 months
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When Good Omens wrapped its first season, the story was over. That was it, the Amazon Prime TV series created by Neil Gaiman had finished adapting Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s 1990 apocalyptic comedy novel. But Gaiman wasn’t quite finished with the tale of the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and the demon Crowley (David Tennant).
“We always knew from the beginning that there was more story because Neil and Terry, when Terry was alive, had talked about ideas beyond the first book,” Sheen tells Inverse.
In fact, some of those ideas made it into the first season of Good Omens, which aired on Amazon Prime in 2020 to widespread acclaim. With new characters like the archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm), and scenes showing further insight into the millennia-long relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley, Gaiman was planting the seeds for the second season of Good Omens. That wasa gamble, considering Season 2 didn’t get greenlit until 2023. Even then, Sheen and Tennant weren’t even sure if Good Omens Season 2 was happening until they showed up to set the first day.
“Until you’re on set on day one, you don’t really believe it’ll happen,” Sheen says.
Nearly five years after they filmed Season 1, Sheen and Tennant settled back into their characters as if they’d been doing this for, well, millennia. With the apocalypse out of the way, Good Omens Season 2 is very much the Aziraphale and Crowley show, dedicating lengthy flashbacks to their friendship (or maybe more) through the ages. The chemistry between the two can be credited to Sheen and Tennant’s close real-life friendship, with the pair even poking fun at their relationship in a comedy series called Staged that aired during COVID. But the Aziraphale and Crowley relationship took off in a way they couldn’t anticipate after the first season, and which Sheen and Tennant felt some pressure to live up to.
“Gradually, I’d start meeting people dressed up as Aziraphale and Crowley,” Tennant tells Inverse. “And then that would happen more and more and more, and you realize, oh, this has got legs.”
Inverse spoke to Sheen and Tennant about Good Omens Season 2, how they dealt with the show’s passionate following, and what Easter eggs fans can expect to see.
Knowing the first season of Good Omens finished adapting the book, what was your reaction when you were asked to be in the second season?
Michael Sheen: Well, there was no real clear point where it was put to us. We always knew from the beginning that there was more story because Neil and Terry, when Terry was alive, had talked about ideas beyond the book. And in fact, some of those ideas are in the first series. The angels and Gabriel are not in the book. So we knew there was more story. And then as the series came out and it got the reception it got and the audience seemed to enjoy it so much, it was clear that there was possibly an appetite for more. And I think because Neil had talked it through with Terry in the past, about where the story could go, that gave him the confidence to feel like maybe we could explore this. And then it just developed.
David Tennant: Yes. But it crept up on us, didn’t it? It evolved as an idea, and it went from being something that, oh, wouldn’t it be nice if, to a genuine exploration of a possibility of Series 2, to when can we do it?
Sheen: Until you’re on set on day one, you don’t really believe it’ll happen. And then when I did turn up on day one—
Tennant: I wasn’t there.
Sheen: Because he was ill.
Tennant: I got COVID for the first couple of days of the shoot. Remember that was a thing? Everyone stayed off work and everything.
Sheen: Well, you did. Some of us battled on.
Obviously, both of you were in Doctor Who. I saw the handful of Doctor Who references in this season, with Aziraphale haggling over a lost episode of Doctor Who, Peter Davison playing Job, and David, your reference to Alpha Centauri. Whose idea was it to sprinkle in those Doctor Who nods? And were more that didn’t make it in?
Tennant: That’s Neil [Gaiman], isn’t it? Neil’s a fan, and Douglas [Mackinnon], our director as well, who’s worked on Doctor Who, so there are a few overlaps. But there are lots of, not just Doctor Who, there are lots of references to all sorts of things that are sprinkled in there.
Sheen: For film and TV buffs, there are so many little Easter eggs. There’s not a scene that there isn’t something going on in there.
Tennant: Yes. Some of them are very explicit, others you have to really search for, and lots I still don’t understand. But there’s a lot going on in there and there’s a lot of hidden content.
Sheen: Yeah. Because the episode of Doctor Who that I did was written by Neil. That was the connection.
A fantastic episode.
Sheen: Some say the best episode.
Tennant: Eh, there were better ones. I don’t know.
The relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley was a major part of what made Season 1 work so well, and I was overjoyed to see Season 2 doubled down on that. They’re obviously close in the book, but it was your chemistry in the show that made fans really embrace them as ineffable husbands. Did the glowing reception for the Aziraphale-Crowley ship influence Season 2’s direction? And how aware were you of the immediate fan reception to your characters together?
Sheen: Well it was quite overwhelming, really. When the first series came out, I’d never experienced anything like it before. I suppose David, having gone through the whole Doctor Who experience, had experienced some kind of passionate fan base now.
Tennant: Yes, yes. Particular shows like this that have that kind of enthusiastic following, it is quite overwhelming. But it’s lovely. It’s very humbling to be in the midst of that. And Good Omens, I don’t know that I was immediately aware of it, but then gradually I’d start meeting people dressed up as Aziraphale and Crowley. And then that would happen more and more and more, and you realize, oh, this has got legs. This has grabbed a level of adoration and love that is really lovely. It’s a real privilege to be connected to because it goes well beyond anything that we do. It becomes its own thing, and that’s lovely.
Sheen: There’s a lot of incredibly creative and talented people out there watching this show. And then putting that creativity and talent into writing fanfiction or doing fanart or making things, I’ve seen the most extraordinary things that people have made based on this show. And it’s amazing to have that and to know that people care about the story and these characters so much. And we carry that responsibility into the show, and take it very seriously, the way people have responded to this, just seeing how people have created their own communities based on it and formed incredible friendships and meaningful relationships as a result of it. It really is a privilege. It’s very humbling to witness that.
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mansionofhaunts · 16 days
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I do wonder exactly how much of this lore Brennan has had in the tank since freshman year, because I doubt he's had all the specifics completely worked out. That's not a diss or a criticism: when Fantasy High first launched, they had to have had zero idea that Dimension 20 was even going to have another season, let alone another season of Fantasy High, and one of the earliest lessons you learn as a DM is that you never plan too much, because sometimes that's wasted time and energy.
From my own, comparatively modest experience DMing, I look at Porter and Jace being weird, and the Nightmare King crown as...seeds you plant, thinking, "hey, maybe I'll get to that later, but I can lay some groundwork down now, right?" I've got stuff in my own campaigns like that, where I'm like, "I maybe might not ever get to this, but: I'm putting a character here, right now, that thirty sessions from now, I can expand upon," you know? And I have ideas for those characters and what they might be up to, and how it interacts with the entirety of the world I've built, but I don't know the specifics, and I won't work on those until maybe it starts being more relevant.
My guess is: Brennan didn't have the full history of Ankarna sorted out in Freshman Year, but he did have an idea for something like that, and knew that you need to plant some noticeable NPCs around to come back around to later, maybe. Did he know that Porter was going to work with other students to ascend to godhood? Probably not in freshman year.
I think he did start to lock that stuff in in Sophomore Year, however, because that's where he had to commit to building out the Nightmare King lore. That's also where there was considerably more time between sessions, and I think where he got to spend more time just...existing in the world. But yeah, like...Porter transferring Kalina to Ragh? Gotta believe that Brennan was locking in on what he wanted to do with Porter then, for sure.
There's one other aspect of this that's important here: the rest of the crew's contributions to the story absolutely shifted the direction of what Porter's plot was probably going to be, because while, as a DM, you kind of know some tricks you're gonna pull and some twists you want to use, the players are also going to do that. The direction Ally took Cassandra in in particular had to have a massive impact on what he was planning, because Ally played such a huge role in defining who Cassandra would ultimately be in the campaign.
This is a lot of words, I guess, but the sort of long term planning that DMs have to do while not committing overly hard is so fascinating to me, and I wonder if he'll get into this on Adventuring Party. It's such a specific skill, and Dimension 20's format is a unique application of that skill.
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i8
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fluff
t/w: Distrust/Suspension, descriptive kiss and make out.
a/n:....so im alive and my exams didn't kill me ^^. but it did take me half a month to actually post something soooo~ anyways, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoy! This has been sitting in my drafts since November I feel like it could still be better but i don't know how T-T
Away from the chaos and social ramble of the Christmas gathering, Schlatt escaped into a faraway room on the second floor which happened to look like a small study. The walls adjacent to the door were lined with ceiling-length bookshelves, deep mahogany in colour, and in between one of the shelves was a fireplace. Dividing the room into two, there was an area for sitting, with a couch and coffee table in front of the fireplace, and there was an area for writing which had a large desk opposite to the couches. The balcony was visible through the sliding glass doors, it had upon it a thick layer of untouched snow.
It was easily brought to Schlatt's attention that even this room was not safe from holiday decoration; garlands lined the tops of the bookcases and alternating green and red stockings hung on the deck of the fireplace. The centre coffee table was decorated with for-show gift boxes wrapped in various colours. Even the scent of sugary Christmas treats and savoury snacks managed to sneak into the room. 
Quietness filled the room, for the most part, Schlatt could only hear the low chatter of everyone speaking downstairs since most of it was drowned.
Though the holiday season was joyous and everyone gathered happily to mingle with one another, Schlatt found himself standing alone in the room farthest from everyone. There seemed to be a recurrence of Schlatt's tight-lipped frown and furrowed brows. 
Standing turned into pacing.
And with pacing followed the feeling of uneasiness and doubt.
Schlatt was thinking, once again for the nth time this month, about you. 
Your sly flirting and paying special attention towards Schlatt had not gone unnoticed. Your attempts had planted a seed of curiosity in him which slowly but surely blossomed into fondness. He himself was pleasantly surprised by this. Flattered even to the point of catching himself smiling like an idiot at the prospect of what could happen and where it could lead. 
But these thoughts were short-lived as his mind too quickly was plagued with distrust.
Schlatt was deep in thought, trying to detangle his pasts from his present while staring out into the heavy snowfall. The wind carried the snow in fluffy white swirls. The door handle turned and he wasn't sure if you were the last person he wanted to see or the first. His thoughts were like a ball of yarn that fell prey to Jambo's paws. 
"Hey." 
Schlatt only nodded back at you, taking notice of the two mugs that you were holding and carefully walked in with. 
"Not liking the party?" You asked, handing him a red mug of hot chocolate. The mug was piled with marshmallows and he distinctly remembered that there was a shortage of marshmallows in the kitchen. You must've saved some for him or gone to the extent of going out and buying some. Schlatt's fingers ever so slightly grazed yours and you wanted to make it last as long as you could, taking a step towards him... but within a split second, he retrieved his hand back awkwardly. He averted his attention to the books on the shelf.  
Schlatt was wearing his usual clothes; a black sweatshirt with beige pants and white sneakers. He looked the furthest from having a festive spirit. His chestnut hair never failed to look soft, even when going through another phase of change.
Your gaze on him was gentle, done without realising it. Every time you looked at him, his features would captivate your attention; the way he’d fold his arms, furrowed his brows or the way his bottom lip would pout sometimes. Though it is impossible, you would admire him for hours if you could. Schlatt had somehow gotten used to it, the feeling of your eyes trained on him. He could almost always tell whenever you were looking at him. "What are you trying to do?" he asked, breaking the quiet.
Giving him a questioning look, your brows knit as you slightly shook your head. "What am I trying to do?" 
"You know," Schlatt turned, "Your advances. Your sudden change in behaviour and your particular attention to me." 
"Are they… unwelcomed?" 
His face felt warm at the question. Schlatt huffed out in what seemed to be annoyance, "And that. All that endless teasing or whatever it is."
"I thought I was a bit more subtle with it but I guess..." You said more to yourself than him, shrugging in slight embarrassment. You placed your mug of hot chocolate down on the table and took a step closer to him. With the balcony to your side, you felt the slight chill of the weather passing through the glass doors. "So? Are you going to do anything with that information?" 
The small curl of your lips made Schlatt's eyes narrow. The gaze they held- or rather the glare, was broken for a split second, looking away from you to the side. When his eyes drew back, you first thought that you saw anger in them but you quickly found it to be frustration. Indecisiveness even. "A fling? Like, is that what you're looking for?
"I'm actually not." You said, taken aback by his words. But not shaken. Have your actions not written everything out by now? You leaned on the glass door with your shoulder, the cold pressing through your sweater. "You think I'm a fling type of person?" 
Schlatt again looked at you, between your eyes from left to right and back. Really searching for something. "I'm just...being careful." 
"I'm looking for a lot more than just a fling." Sighing, you felt dejected. "I was." You tried to approach him slowly and revealed your likeness by one small fraction at a time. But for whatever reason, his walls seemed to only stand taller and guarded heavily. Looking down, your hope was slipping. With now a cold shoulder, you leaned off of the door to leave the room as well as Schlatt. 
But catching you by surprise, Schlatt stepped in front of you. Not only did he block your path to the door but he had you standing between the glass door and himself, leaving as little as a few inches between you two. Schlatt raised one hand towards you and instinctively you took another step back and bumped into the glass. His fingers brushed against your hair as he plucked something out of it.
The absolute closeness and the tension of it had your nerves. Be it the way he looked at you or the pent-up longing you had harboured for him, words escaped your lips before you could stop them. "My feelings for you are genuine Schlatt. They," Your heart was beating up your throat "... are as exactly as I've shown them." 
Held between his index finger and thumb was a red berry. You get caught off guard by it. Schlatt looked up and you followed his gaze. There were green branches, adorning long thin leaves and ruby red berries. Tied to the frame of the balcony door by a shimmering red ribbon was a small bouquet of mistletoe.
Without taking your eyes away from the berry caught between his fingers, you spoke, "Do I still have to say more?"
Your anticipation silenced and the distance between the two of you finally closed. His lips on yours were gentle. They barely even pressed down on yours. The timidness showed through as his hands remained where they were, even though they wanted to lace with yours or hang around your waist. It was as though he was testing the waters- making sure you were okay with this. Making sure he was okay with this. Schlatt looked for signs of discomfort, whether you wanted to stop, step back, or perhaps rethink your likeness of him. But you didn't. Eyes closed and hand moving to his chest on its own accord. You kissed him back, just as gently as he did.
Soft.
His lips were unusually soft. Yes you had imagined that they would be so but to actually feel them for the first time, your mind had stopped working. All you would focus on was the pressure of him on you. 
Schlatt, having initiated the kiss first, was also the first to pull away. His habit of staring at you- into you, did not seem to cease. Looking into your eyes, looking for something- anything that could possibly hint or prove his suspicions to be true. But staring back at him was just you. You and your dilated pupils drawn on him showed only trust and honest intentions. 
“If you try anything-” Schatt started.
“-Nothing you wouldn’t like.” your small voice retorted before he could finish. Your teasing once again brought out the redness of his face, along with your own this time. In a swift motion, Schlatt’s hand moved to flatten against the door with a thud. With his hand right next to your head, you felt even more enclosed than before. You had a way of getting on his nerves, without even trying
There was another beat of silence that filled the room. Schlatt remained in the same position, and so did you. Standing in each other's space, you were almost sharing the same breath. You had not realised but this single small kiss made your chest heave. You continued to heaven as you stared into Schlatt’s eyes. With such closeness, you swore they were a type of brown you had never seen. Unique and so deep, you felt being pulled into them.
Just then, slicing into the thick silence, a voice called out from you. One of your friends was looking for you and you could hear their footsteps in the hallway from inside the room. They were looking for you to help them with something.
Your attention diverted, you were about to call back to the voice, saying that you’ll be there just in a minute. But before you could do so, your lips were drawn and sealed with Schlatt’s. Again. What was different this time was that he did not hold back. That timidness he showed before had gone… It was replaced with some sort of fire.
The voice drifted away.
Schlatt pulled at you. Your voice of surprise was muffled by the way he kissed you. Your noses pressed into each other's faces. Taking another step forward, Schlatt had your back pressed on the glass. A shiver crawled up your back and you pushed away from it, in turn pressing into Schlatt’s broad figure. The hand beside your head cupped your face and his other hand finally got to hang on your waist. Your own hands were sitting on his shoulder and the nape of his neck. The way he led the kiss showed no signs of timidness. He led it with intention, lacking no passion.
A sort of fire kindled within him. 
The heavy snowfall settled and the wind ceased to howl. Outside, past the glass doors of the balcony, the night sky was sprinkled with stars and the ground below, a blanket of white snow layed untouched. The weather would continue to be crisp and cold, but with what you ignited within Schlatt, you would be kept warm throughout your winter.
++++++
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johnnys-breastmilk · 1 year
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it’s always the boyfriend | peter parker x male reader
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a/n — i needed to write this omfg gahhh i meant to post this on halloween
summary — Peter devises the perfect plan to spice up sex just in time for the colder season.
warnings — smut 18+! mask kink, some light degrading and knife play
words — 2.4k
~~~
When Peter asked you to meet at his house around seven for another tender movie night spent in the vulnerability of his room, you expected him to be on time. Now, you tapped your foot in time with the kernels popping in the microwave. The kitchen was quiet save for the sizzling and eventual pop of each seed. At any second, the billowing brown bag would burst. You took it out before it could and set it on the brown counter by the knife rack to cool.
Faintly, in the moonlight, came a thud on the roof, and then the phone rang. You brushed off the first noise and turned to the phone on the wall. It was a landline—black and spiral-corded, rattling to the point where it would have slipped off if you were not there to catch it. There was a low chance that it could have been Peter calling to tell you about his latest Spider-Man kerfuffle, how it made him late and that he was endlessly sorry for keeping you waiting. You placed the speaker to your ear, taking the greater chance that it was a telemarketer or something else. "Parker residence."
A strange voice, rasped and warped, spoke a single word over the line, "Hello?"
It was a blatant attempt to signal that whoever he was trying to reach was probably off doing something better than waiting around by the phone all day. Of course, you were the exception, waiting for a buzz to come from the phone in your pocket or the now-occupied landline.
"Why would you be home alone on Saturday night?"
"Why would you be home alone on Saturday night?"
The question struck you as an odd retort to your own aversion to the stranger, but you evaded his question with a question of your own, "Why would you call someone on a Saturday night?"
"I call when I feel like having some fun."
"This is fun?" You asked. A new idea started forming in your head, an idea that was a lot less fun than this guy suggested. Maybe this was about Peter's crime-fighting, slowly bleeding into a surreal nightmare—his next spandexed villain finally targeting the thing he cared about the most: you.
"Sure it is! We're about to get to my favorite part. It's almost like a movie."
"Really? What happens next?" You pried and turned to peer past the tilted blinds and recessed windows that left you exposed to the dark, looking for light. The light cast from the kitchen spanned a few inches out into the darkness, letting you see the plant life sway in the breeze and not much else. Your eyes darted upward, praying the windows themselves were, at the very least, locked.
"I would never spoil it. You know me better than that."
"Do I know who you are?" You fired at him, praying that he was some Joe Schmoe who worked for a landscaping company and not some evil supervillain.
"I don't know who you are."
Your panic ceased, your thumping heart slowing its tempo back to the pace of the night you expected to have. He had no idea who you were, so you grew softer, more vulnerable, "You sure you want to? I don't even think my boyfriend likes knowing who I am."
"See? We're learning so much about each other already! Let's play a game. You asked the first question, so I'll go next. What's your boyfriend's name?"
"Peter."
"Peter." He repeated satisfactorily. "I bet you love to moan his name."
You were ready to tear the phone from the wall; if only that were the way to hurt this prank-caller. Instead, you readied to lay the phone on its side after ending the call, "Look, whoever this is, it's been fun. But this is obviously a prank. Go do something with your life, Flash, or whoever you are."
Turning away from it, you heard the phone ring again. Surely that guy couldn't be dense, could he? He had to have known the effects of what he said, and you concluded that it was deliberate. Purposefully, you let it ring until it ran out of motivation to pull your attention.
You planned to shoot a text to Peter, but just as you fished out your phone from your pocket. . .
"Stop calling."
"You hung up on me."
"I had a good reason to. What do you want?"
You were already rounding the house as he took his sweet time answering your question. The front door was still locked from when you initially came over, but the long strip of glass embedded in the door seemed like a vulnerability you didn't have time to fix. If the man on the phone were to break the glass, at least it would be impossible not to draw attention to the noise.
"To finish our game. You asked your second question, so I'll ask mine. Do you watch movies with Peter?"
"Sometimes, why?"
"Because I want to know, what's your favorite scary movie?"
"The one where the creep on the phone dies."
"That's harsh. I'm just biding time."
"For what?"
"The next scene. When the creep on the phone arrives."
There was a knock above you, closer this time, on the second floor instead of the roof. It came from Peter's room; you were sure of it. His bedframe was never the quietest, so you had to get creative with not disturbing anyone in your position. That's how you knew which rooms were above the ones on the ground floor, but it proved too difficult. Eventually, Peter settled on using the ceiling for your more intimate times. Now, you used it to your advantage and bolted up the stairs with the intent of trapping or attacking the intruder, though you weren't sure how. The final step on the set of stairs harshly whined when you reached it.
Loose clothing and stacks of books occupied the space between his messily made twin bed, disorganized desk, and the small, overstuffed bookshelf by the window. Amid all the clutter, you had an eye for the missing things; Peter's backpack, phone, and a few gadgets from his desk—all missing, but none stolen. There was a camera propped on three metal legs to get an angle of his bed. That wasn't there before, so you trusted your suspicion that Peter was responsible for all of this.
"Nice try, asshole. I'm not looking outside for you to get me."
"Who said I was outside?"
Reluctantly, you approached the open window, stepping over anything covering the hardwood floor, and ignored the camera, speaking to the breeze, "Come on, Peter. Just come in and apologize for being late."
The man on the phone refused to let up his game, "This isn't Peter."
Yet, you were ready to give up and leave. "Yeah? And I'm not waiting anymore. Get in, or I'm getting out."
"You don't want to do that! I'm already in the house. If you leave, you won't make it far."
He spoke to no one as you dropped the phone from your ear and hung up, turning to face the doorway. Your stomach dropped, as did the phone in your hand. A figure dressed in all black blocked the entrance. The only other color present on him was the white of his mask, pulled into a long face of anguish. He looked ready to scream—possibly a battle cry, the preparation for a charge toward you with the silvery steel knife in his right hand angled precisely to hit only your most vital arteries. At least, that was what you expected him to do. But he raised his left hand, revealing the tattered ends of his loose robe and drawing attention to the white box receiver he held. It met his long mouth, and the same modulated voice came through.
"Next question. Do you trust me?" His cotton-gloved finger lifted off the trigger, and the pinprick of red light on the modulator disappeared. He kept it to his mouth, waiting for a response. The only noise filling the silent room was the soft collision of his breath to the inside of the mask. You nodded.
"Good. Wouldn't want to make this a horror," he taunted.
"This was your idea of movie night?" You didn't bother to wait for a response, proposing your next question less than a second later, "What kind of movie are we making, Pete?"
The figure dropped his voice modulator to the floor, freeing his hand to reach for a part of the robe at his stomach—the waistband, you guessed. He used the other that carried a knife to motion to the bed. You followed its direction, crawling onto his bed and treating the man as if he were Peter looming behind you, keeping yourself on all fours. The already messy comforter became even more ruined upon first contact, creasing where your elbows and knees held your weight. In a swift moment, you felt the bed shift, Peter's cheap springboard creaking expectedly. You looked back to see the ghost-like man on both knees. His gloves were gone, and the bottom half of his robe was missing, too.
In fact, you noted that his underwear was absent from his body as well, and he passed the favor to you. His hands tore the fabric of your pants and underwear in a way that only Peter could replicate. Everything told you this was him, down to the contour of his thighs and abdomen, but you winced at the brief thought that it wasn't. Or maybe, it was the hard press against your ass that caused the feeling. An abruptly tepid heat burned against your bare skin, and the cold breeze crept where his touch couldn't cover.
It was intimate and you were exposed, but that didn't take away from the fact that he tooled around with the knife in his hand. With deliberate slowness, the marble-like blade scraped up your thigh and rounded one of your fleecy mounds. One cut of the thread and you would come undone, vulnerable, and reliant on the stranger's intent to keep you unharmed. The heavy breathing emitting from behind the mask was the only noise that filled the room and a constant reminder of your possible demise.
His entry was fast but still painfully much more noticeable. The stranger was smooth—no foreskin from what you could tell of it—the rest, indiscernible. It took a good minute before he finally bottomed out, leaving a pit in your stomach at how stretching he was. He had to have been as long as he was wide, hitting all the right places while widening your hole and its tight entrance.
His hips started to swing back and forth in either direction, taking everything with him and pushing himself back in with a loud smack.
The stranger's continuous rut into one end of you urged moans from the other. You struggled to form words, to perform for the camera looking over your exposed body.
"Say it for the camera, babe." The Ghost let out, his hand holding the knife creeping toward your neck to give you a reason to say it.
"Fuck me, please, Mr.Ghostface."
Without any warning, he did the opposite and pulled out of you, and you felt hollow without him.
Then, suddenly, his arms were wrapped around you and twisted you on your back with the impossible strength you knew of all too well. He fetched the camera and returned to his pace, pumping himself inside you. He made sure to keep the action in frame, neither of your heads visible in the shot, only your body and the lower half of his torso as he rocked his hips back and forth so that it would appear as if the viewer was taking your place. Usually, Peter was one for capturing the most intense moment in vivid detail on his digital camera, but he knew that the sound alone would be enough.
You slipped your hand around the rounded end of the mask and pulled. Slowly, the black drape came around his head to reveal tufts of messy, dusky brown hair. The cloth fell into the concave mold of the mask and spilled out to the floor when you threw it.
There was Peter in only a thin veil of dark, tattered ends. His chocolate-brown eyes locked to yours as you stared up at him. His face creased with buried eyebrows and an agape mouth, elation taking form as he struggled to contain his inner feelings. His muffled moans became audible grunts, short awes, and conventions of disbelief slipping under his breath.
You watched his eyes melt at the peak of his travel, his mind spinning around stars in the night. He came, spilling hot white inside you that he was sure had seeped onto his sheets next to your own load. The bed stopped creaking. His arms gave in, and he collapsed on top of you with a few final thrusts coaxing out whatever remained.
You composedly spoke between Peter's deep breaths, "I should've known. It's always the boyfriend."
"Or the best friend," he heaved.
"Or the bitter ex," you retorted.
Peter rolled off you and onto his side, almost failing to stay on his tiny twin bed as he propped an elbow up for support, "Ouch. Are you saying you would break up with me?"
"After a stunt like that? Never," you admitted. The urge to fall into his arms and spend the rest of the night exactly like that tempted you, but the continual red pulse coming from Peter's camera lured you away from him. You managed to escape from your position on the bed and went to retrieve the tape in the camera, teasing Peter along the way, "Let's see if we just made a new hit. . ."
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leighlew3 · 6 months
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Hi Leigh, hope you are doing well!
Maybe you have answered this question before: how would you have written the Supergirl reveal to Lena?
You still have the elements of it being so late in series and that Lena actually already knows.
I wonder how a good writer would approach this because in the show it was an actual train wreck- Lena wanting to expose Supergirl’s identity at the Pulitzer party before Kara actually said it?! So out of character. And all that stuff after? So stupid.
Anyway thanks for answering this question :)
Hi! Hangin' in there, thank you. 🤗
Well, it depends on what point the launch off was.
Let's say she learns via Lex, just like in the show (rather than rewrite the whole damn series in this post, haha).
Just thinking on the fly, here goes... I woulda just had her reeling, feeling betrayed, and isolating rather than putting on a front.
Kara doesn't understand what's happening, but wonders if maybe Lena is secretly angry with her for killing Lex (remember, Kara believed she took him down in that final fight at the end of S4). This is hammered in further after Alex plants the seed that, evil or not, Lex was still Lena's brother, and so some level of sadness is likely to still exist there. She advises Kara to give Lena time and space.
Kara, further worried by Lena's worsening isolation and mood, ignores her sister's advice and makes efforts to connect, but increasingly senses the distance and her guilt grows.
Meanwhile Lena -- between finding out the truth that Kara is Supergirl in such a terrible way, while also hiding that she killed Lex (to protect Kara, ironically) truly spirals and starts to think that Kara perhaps never was truly her friend at all, only using her to be able to eventually take down Lex. A means to an end. Feeling like that's all she's ever been to anybody, including her "best friend" who meant the world to her, Lena becomes darker and more cold, sure -- but never takes those ridiculous 'villainous' actions of any kind.
Alex pulls a typical Alex move and starts to suspect that Lena's isolation and darker vibes could mean trouble as "She is a Luthor." and she's worried she'll carry Lex's torch now that he's gone, and her isolation means she's up to something. Kara of course doesn't buy it -- much like in the show, defending Lena, rebelling against the notion.
After ramping the tension throughout Season 5A on these fronts, a dramatic series of events eventually leads Kara to go to Lena and try to have a much needed conversation. Lena thinks she's perhaps finally going to confess, and she allows herself to feel hopeful again -- alas that hope is dashed, when instead Kara simply apologizes for killing Lex (so she thinks she did), and not realizing how much doing so would cause Lena pain. Lena finds this ironic, Kara's concern for her pain, considering she's lied to her all this time and still won't be open with her. Lena then decides that if nothing else, she won't lie.
She tells Kara that Lex died at HER hand, not Kara's.
Kara is shocked. She's pulled away by an emergency before they can discuss this further. And thus, Kara now believes Lena's distance and darkness is driven by guilt over killing her own brother, and Kara now feels more guilty than ever that she went through that, and that she continues to keep Lena in the dark, even though Lena opened up to her. As we approach mid-season, the two have several 'almost' moments where it seems Kara might actually confess her identity. And we make it clear that she wants to. But the more she sees how hurt Lena is about having to kill Lex, to protect her no less, the worse she feels and the more she's terrified to tell Lena her secret, believing that Lena's done so much for her, meanwhile all she's done -- is lie. It wrecks Kara. And her anger issues start to rise up again, and that comes out a lot in Crisis crossover (in which our world's Lex is NOT yet present again btw), which is of increasing concern to everybody.
Post Crisis, in which Lena and Kara work together to save everybody even though they can barely even look at each other, we have these two idiots with their secrets, both struggling tremendously -- Kara with her anger and guilt, and Lena with her sadness and pain. And both with their regrets. And the rest of the group is noticing these tensions, between missions / various genre adventures.
It ramps up, until finally, shit hits the fan in a 100th episode. Lena is held hostage by someone threatening to kill her if Supergirl doesn't reveal her identity (similar to how it was in the show, but without the Mxy stuff, or at least using it better) -- Kara is fully willing to reveal herself to save Lena. She prepares to do just that, and even goes to the press conference, but just before she has to do it, her friends find a way to save Lena without the reveal needing to happen. But Kara is also nearly killed in the battle. The closest she's ever come to dying.
In the aftermath, Lena has now seen how far Kara would go to protect her -- both in terms of being willing to give up her life AND reveal her identity to the world. Lena of course forgives Kara (quietly, to herself) and decides to let Kara have her secret, even if it means they both pretend the other doesn't know, silly as it it. Alas, what she doesn't expect, at the end of the episode --
Kara reveals her identity to Lena (at Kara's place after everyone else goes home). Turns out almost losing her life made her realize she didn't want to die a coward and a liar on this front. And also, Lena not knowing put her at worse risk than knowing. And she deserves to know, so she can protect herself. So Kara can better protect her.
After/during her confession, Lena sheds a tear, and Kara starts to profusely apologize, thinking Lena is devastated by the revelation. But Lena confesses that it's tears of relief, because she's already known. She was just wondering if Kara would ever trust her enough to tell her the truth. Kara is shocked to know Lena knew, grateful she's kept the secret for her, and heartbroken to know she learned it from Lex, before killing him. She also makes it clear she didn't keep it from her because she didn't trust her, it was never about that. It was simply the belief that not telling her protected her somehow. But now she's seen that was foolish, in this case. Realizing now they've both been dumb and their secrets have done nothing but cause each other, and themselves, so much pain -- they agree: no more secrets.
And they hug it out -- because besties! Just gals being pals right?!
*eye roll*
Then the rest of 5B becomes all about Lex popping up alive, and being furious that Lena and Kara are closer than ever, and that his attempt to destroy their relatio- I mean "friendship" failed. And he comes at them harder than ever, with Lillian's help. And so on. And by the end of S5, in an epic battle, Lex is finally stopped and captured once and for all and hauled off to prison, but not before sending Kara to the phantom zone.
Lena is devastated, as she and Kara only recently had all cards on the table and were growing closer than ever, so S6A then becomes all about the super friends trying to find Kara in the Phantom Zone (with a LOT less cheesy stupidity, and a lot more focus on Kara's traumas and torture while in the PZ rather than any dumb filler crap with her dad being alive -- perhaps she sees him, but it's just a cruel illusion).
Meanwhile, Lena, at wits end, visits Lex in prison, hoping to get information out of him as to where and how they can find Kara in the PZ. But he taunts her, plays games with her, etc until finally, she tells him goodbye for good. He doesn't believe she'll be able to stay away forever, especially as long as he knows how to find Kara. But she finally sees through it all, basically tells him he's full of shit, that he has no idea how to reach Kara in the PZ, he's a liar, always has been, and his power over her is gone. She vows to find Kara on her own and to never be anything like him, as he's selfish and cruel and insane. And she finally walks away from him. And he can't believe it.
Now that she's found her inner strength, Lena is able to think more clearly, less out of anger and desperation, and thus she, Alex and the Superfriends eventually embark on an action-packed retrieval of Kara in the Phantom Zone, ultimately saving her in the mid-season finale.
The final half of the final season (6B) focuses on Kara's deep traumas experienced/re-lived in the phantom zone, as she struggles with doing her job as "perfect" Supergirl while mentally screwed up. No one really notices but Lena, because Kara hides it well. Alex is just happy her sister is back, busy planning a wedding, focusing on vigilante work, etc. And the Superfriends have lots of other issues to focus on as well. But Lena sees Kara's struggles because she knows a thing or two about trauma, and she's there for her. Especially after Alex and Kelly get married with a few episodes to go and Kara doesn't want to burden her sister, who is finally so happy.
The final episodes feature Kara facing her demons, internal and external (as villains from past seasons pop up to haunt her, as it turns out the events post Crisis brought them into this universe, and now they've come after her, and they've all got to take them down).
In the end, the show wraps up with Kara finding a level of peace she never had before, having faced the past and all she's gone through and lost, in great part thanks to having Lena by her side.
And the show ends focused on Kara, for an episode called KARA. Not focused on Lex, nor the supporting characters, not on shoe-horned cameos, nor other bs. But Kara herself, and her journey, her healing from a lifetime of loss and trauma, her relationships to her family and friends, and rediscovering that which is always going to rest deep within her soul, even if it gets a little lost sometimes...
Her unbreakable sense of HOPE.
The End.
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bad-and-breakfast · 6 months
Text
Shadow and Bone been cancelled
Honestly, I’m not sad only because we won’t have more of this amazing series, but I’ve never enjoyed more of BTS and marketing videos for a show because that cast looked like a family having a blast making this show. Sure, season 2 was not at the level we wanted it to be, and was horribly packed, but it was still really good. Fantastic/fantasy always getting the short end of the stick, okay it’s more expensive but I think we are a lot being real tired of those university shows that have nothing special. Don’t take a very successful franchise to make a very successful adaptation only to rush it then let it go ? You could have make a lot of money, but Netflix is like a fckin impatient kid throwing a tantrum if the seed planted yesterday doesn’t give a tree tomorrow.
This is honestly so sad, for the fandom, the universe, the cast and also, overall, the direction taken for fantastic / SF / fantasy shows.
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