#cause apparently there's this interview where someone who worked on it i think?

[writingstoraes]

begin again 🌷 (split pt. 3)

pairing: charles leclerc/fem!reader

type: instagram imagine, social media au

notes: the long awaited part 3! this took so long only cause i had no idea how i want it to go lol anyway i hope u guys love this one :D lmk what u think!

about: almost a year after your split with charles, fans take a trip down memory lane and wondering why the two of you seemed to have watered things down after soft launching other people months ago. a bunch of rumors also set twt crazy along with speculations at your paddock appearance where you apparently support ferrari.

read: part 1, part 2 (can read on its own, but the parts provide context hehe)

yourusername

liked by isahernaez, lilymhe, landonorris, and 231,298 others

yourusername back at the happiest place on earth ❤️

lilymhe Have fun, love xo

yourbff Looking that good just to watch a race????

tyretactics QUEEN I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO YOU EVERY RACE

charliez1655 miss mam twt is on fire we all miss you 😪

leclercsluv wdym shes almost always at every race ricciardoshooey no they meant w charles lol

yourusername recently added to her instagram story!

Now playing: Charles Leclerc, 2023 Austrian GP, Post-Sprint Shootout Interviews

yourusername

liked by yourbff, lilymhe, carlossainz55, and 210,593 others

yourusername on a wednesday, in a cafe, i watched it begin again

lecslover looking GOOD AS HELL QUEEN

sainzplaylist god shes back to the man shes been soft launching i think i am going to be: sick

1655lecs that might be charles, we don't know 🙏 sainzplaylist yeah i think its time we let that go lol

wagsqueens mam im sorry wym by begin again???

charles_leclerc

liked by pierregasly, finemidnights, carlossainz55, and 982,221 others

charles_leclerc It's nice to have a friend 🌅

tyreexpert u cant tell me thats not y/n 😪 she's his friend after all...

joris__trouche Looking sharp!

lecssainz16 war is over you guys theyre back at it i am in my acceptance stage now

Some months later...

yourusername

liked by charles_leclerc, pierregasly, lilymhe, and 756,293 others

yourusername i am and willl always be your number one fan. words cannot encapsulate how proud i am of you; truly, you deserve all of this and so much more. congratulations, my love ❤️

it's nice to see you running towards me again :)

ps. yes we've been soft-launching each other the past months hahaha

leclercfan AM I DREAMING SOMEONE PINCH ME

livwatchraces i screamed when i saw you guys on the screen!!!

carlossainz55 Aaand they're back 🎉

charles_leclerc Thanks, number one shipper

charles_leclerc

liked by landonorris, maxverstappen, arthurleclerc, and 1,982,384 others

charles_leclerc Sunshine in human form.

A few months ago, I started hanging on to the fact that in good faith and in good time, things will eventually work its way out. Almost a year ago, it seems as if we have closed a chapter but today, we are living proof people who are made for each other can begin again.

Ce sera toujours toi 🤍 It will always be you.

scuderiaferrari We missed you tons, Y/N! ❤️

wagsf1 the queen of all queens is back we love to see it

lecslover it's years later and he still talks about her the same way he always have 🥹

sainzchamp The way theyve been soft launching each other all this time and that one rumor of Charles being with another girl was still Y/N 😭

yourusername sold our apartment already? too bad 😆

charles_leclerc I never actually sold it, if I did, I'd probably buy it back

---------

tagging: @slytherheign, @honethatty12, @siovhanroy, @mehrmonga, @mess-in-side, @leclerc16s, @thelovehypothesis, @dakotali, @aldene-styles

notes: eeee and its finally done! cant believe it took so much time before i finished all three parts lol anyway thank you so much for those who waited for the part three (i see all the asks on my inbox and the comments ehehe) i really just didn't know how i wanted it to go so! i hope you guys love this and lmk what you think <3

#writtenbyrae #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc x female reader #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc ig imagine #charles leclerc instagram imagine #charles leclerc social media au #charles leclerc insta au #charles leclerc l #fluff #formula 1 #f1 #f1 fluff #f1 imagine #f1 fanfic #formula 1 insta au #formula 1 social media au #f1 x reader #f1 x female reader #f1 instagram imagine #f1 instagram au #f1 social media au #formula 1 fanfic #formula 1 imagine #formula 1 instagram imagine #formula 1 ig imagine

[callipraxia]

Further Interview Analysis: the "Ford Plan," and Bill's Blind Spot

I didn’t sleep again the night after the “musical Weirdmageddon” post, and wrote a lot of loopy stuff the next day, and posted none of it. But then I slept, so yay, time for an attempt at some actual analysis! Original interview is, as before, here, with credit and thanks to @fordtato and @hkthatgffan.

"I think that Bill was trying to find Ford, but I think- I always think of Bill as like, this guy who has, like - you know, he’s stirring the pot of soup that is the Ford plan, and he’s got like 900 pots of soup across the universe of different things he’s working on, and at any given moment, he’s so cocksure that it’s all gonna work his way eventually."

Bill’s a trillion years old, so it’s like, Ford disappearing for thirty years is like- [snaps fingers] is like somebody saying they’re ghosting you and then texting you the next weekend, you know what I mean? He’s like- he’s like [handwave] “Ford’s gonna- Ford’s gonna be back. Ohh, [air quotes] we had such a big fight, Ford’s sooo mad at me,” oh, you know, “our will-they-won’t-they-take-over-the-universe relationship, like, he’s gonna- he’s gonna march off in a huff, and he’ll be back, ‘cause we’re- is Ford gonna find anyone else in the multiverse that strokes his ego as well as me?” Is there anybody else in the universe that’s gonna make Ford feel as important as Bill? No, of course not, Ford needs validation, and so Bill knows Ford’s gonna be back eventually. 

...so, Bill still had a "Ford plan," did he? Like, some active plan that involved using Ford in some way to escape the Nightmare Dimension? Interesting.

I always interpreted his cliche-villain-gloating routine when Ford confronts him about being a liar as the point where Bill was ready to discard Ford altogether. If he had wanted to - if he could have been bothered - after all, he probably would have had a very high chance of somehow manipulating Ford out of the realization that he'd been played: Ford had been literally worshiping Bill a few days earlier. He was basically a cultist, and he was not only someone who'd spent way too long talking to Bill, he was also someone who could only confront Bill on Bill's turf, so to speak. But Bill didn't even try to turn it all around, because (ran my reasoning) he'd gotten what he really needed: the Portal existed, and you can't close Pandora's box. The technology was there. It would not, from Bill's trillions-of-years perspective, have taken very long to find some way to manipulate someone else into rebuilding the Portal once it existed even given Ford's attempts to hide the plans. Bill was scribbling on the Journal in invisible ink after Ford's last entry, before he buried it but after he wrote all about his plans in some detail, even drawing a map to J2. The Journal separation plan would have been laughably easy for Bill to work around. So at that point, I assumed that the only reason Bill didn't arrange for Ford to - if I may be blunt - kill himself the first time he blacked out was because Bill was basically getting off on the psychological torture and wanted to see how long he could keep it going/enjoy himself until Ford literally died of exhaustion. Ford certainly seems to think he'd have been killed if he had lost the game of 'hide and seek' in the asteroid field. I thought the idea that "Bill used Ford until he used him up, and now he was done with him" was basically canon, and that Bill paid no more attention to him from that point onward than you would pay to a broken Solo cup in the trash until Ford did something unexpected - ie, survived the Multiverse, came back with a death ray, apparently took out a few Henchmaniacs, almost shot Bill himself, and then survived the experience.

But here we have what I suppose amounts of authorial commentary which seems to directly contradict the idea that Bill didn't even regard Ford was worth finding and/or killing. Bill was looking for Ford, all those years - not all that intently, apparently, or really very long from Bill's point of view, of course, but still - and Bill still had a plan for Ford. Bill also, if I'm reading that right, seems to have really just expected Ford to come back, of his own free will, to join him eventually, not to kill him.

Of course, it's possible I'm reading that wrong, and Bill just knew that killing him would also give Ford a massive ego boost and that Ford would have to eventually reenter his orbit in order to attempt to do so. It's also true that Bill just not being able to accept rejection in no way, by itself, implies he wasn't planning to go "hahahaha, no" and kill Ford fifteen seconds after he finished begging Bill for forgiveness. But the 'Ford plan' bit seems to undermine that. Let's assume the hesitations and half-sentences are Hirsch improvising, not Bill actually cutting off a thought he might not like the end of. So was Bill genuinely never planning to kill Ford after he bumbled into the Nightmare Realm back in '82? And if not - what in the world was he planning to do to him once one of the Henchmaniacs caught him, then? And why do I have the feeling that whatever it was would have made murder seem both a) kind and b) not at all disturbing by comparison?

Also gives us, in a way, some insight into Bill. Kinda. We've always known that there's this...level, this very deep, seldom-relevant but very important level, on which Bill doesn't quite understand how people work. We see it primarily in the mistakes that Bill makes with Stan and Mabel. Maybe there was nothing he could have said or done in the situation with Stan to save himself, Stan had reached the point of literally suicidal determination and there's really not much you can do to budge someone at that point and especially not once their consciousness has already caught fire, but with Mabel - in Sock Opera, all Bill needed to do to win was keep his mouth shut for three more seconds. He was clever enough to see how Dipper and Mabel's relationship could be exploited to get Dipper to do what he wanted, but he did the exact opposite of what he should have done to get Mabel to do what he wanted, because for one thing he underestimates Mabel and for another...it comes back to that elusive Thing that Bill can't or won't understand about the deeper levels of humans. Or maybe it's Things, plural, and a distinct one for each person, but there's something there at the bottom of the personality that Bill apparently can't jive with.

With Ford, for instance, he clearly underestimates the power of genuine self-hatred and remorse. Bill may feel bad in some way about what he did to his homeworld, but look at the actual words of the Axolotl's prophecy: he feels that way not because he has realized at some point that what he did was fundamentally wrong, but because he wants to go home and can't. Essentially, his regret is for his own inconvenience. And in a lot of ways, I can see how that could have translated into him feeling he did, in fact, know all he needed to know to push Ford's buttons, because while it's never spelled out for us, it seems, based on his habit of carrying around family photographs on his person apparently since college despite not getting on well at all with his family, that there was maybe some tiny part of Ford that also wanted to "go home," and not just to flip off the town. Ford was also someone who deeply feared the consequences of his actions, if you read between the lines in the Journal - his worries about a 'Close Encounter' with the government, his scrawling that he must not lose his nerve on some early Portal notes, his talking more and more about Fiddleford losing his nerve in a way that starts seeming kind of projection-y - and Bill could certainly understand that fear perfectly well: we see Bill panic outright in the finale when he realizes he's out of options he's going to remotely like. In the unlikely event Stan would or even could save him, Stan obviously wouldn’t have done so so on Bill's own terms: Bill would have been stuck making an honest deal for once, or else left with the options of "die" and "take a one-in-a-million shot and do his invocation of the 'Ancient Power,' possibly putting himself squarely into the hands of an enemy whose full aims he probably does not know." But then, that's Bill's flaw - the things that drove him to become what he did were revenge and the fear of Death, of the ultimate loss of control. His arrogance makes him think he can take most any situation, no matter how disadvantageous it might seem, and twist it around sooner or later, but Death - well, that's it, ain't it? Or, as Horace might say in a really old translation:

When life is o'er, and Minos has rehearsed The grand last doom, Not birth, nor eloquence, nor worth, shall burst Torquatus' tomb.

(Horace, Ode 4.7. The Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace. John Conington. trans. London. George Bell and Sons. 1882.)

Bit different from most translations I've read, but close enough and in the public domain I believe, so we'll go with that. It's possible that Bill's...unique...state of existence may actually make dying an even more terrifying prospect for him than it for the rest of us. He became what he was to escape limitations, including mortality - but after all that killing and burning and transformation, he found out that he might not ever die, but that he could still be destroyed. And even when he found his own 'territory', it started decaying around him, which proved that dimensions, too, can die even if nobody is apparently actively trying to destroy them. What happens to him then? That's what he's afraid of, and he cannot quite grasp that others might be able to overcome that fear in service of either another principle or another fear. That's where he keeps running into trouble in the series timeline, too. It never occurred to him that Gideon might have enough humanity to want Mabel to actually care about him, instead of just about possessing her - much less that Gideon could want that enough to risk death for it. It was inconceivable to him that Dipper and Mabel could voluntarily turn their backs on even a blatantly false paradise to willingly walk into a living hell, just because it was the right thing to do. And as for Ford and Stan....

Well, on one level, he's right about Ford. When he met Ford, they did have certain things in common: frustration, ambition, deep and secret regrets, loneliness, and fear of facing the consequences. Ford's desire for respectability and honor from those who had rejected him his whole life may have extended this even further for him than it went for Bill in some ways: he couldn't even admit to himself that what he was doing was totally self-interested, whereas Bill, like Stan, has long since come to terms with his own selfishness. And like Bill, Ford probably didn't even have the ability to see that no matter what he did, it would never be enough, and would never really satisfy him. But death? Ford doesn't fear death. Never really has, as far as I can tell, but he certainly doesn't now. The way he lives his life, the man might as well be courting death - sending it roses every week and buying all its drinks at the bar, so to speak. He and Bill both fear the consequences of their actions, but 'consequences' are a category, and it's just as possible to be afraid to live as it is to be afraid to die. And Stan...Stan is harder to be sure of. Certainly Stan's priority is always for self-preservation. He's probably depressed to some degree, and he will risk life and limb without hesitation when he perceives a threat to that which he loves, but that's something that usually happens in a crisis. He doesn't hesitate because he doesn't think about what he's doing, which is what makes the Final Deal such an incredible gesture for me - he not only had plenty of time to think about what was going to happen, but he had to actively take steps himself to enable it to happen. To me, at least, that seems the hardest thing...but then, the whole situation in the Fearamid is one that brings to mind some of my worst fears, to the point that I find the scene difficult to watch and I almost scrapped an entire 22,000-word story once just because it required me to write about a small part of it. I'm sure Bill risked death, in some fashion, to become what he is, and I'm sure he was afraid of failure every time - but he was less afraid of a bad outcome that might come from leaping at the chance for some semblance of life, any semblance of life, no matter what that might look like or how long the odds might be, than he was of doing what he knew would lead to...wherever even destructible gods go, when they go. This is why the Stans were the thing he couldn't account for, really. He couldn't conceive of having a priority higher than self-preservation, of overcoming his worst fear - and that was what destroyed him. Maybe, anyway.

It's sort of funny, actually - I started writing a completely different post yesterday about how to develop a new character based on some of Hirsch's remarks, and in the course of it, I made the remark that I found it hard to fathom how you could write any of Gravity Falls, at all, without knowing ahead of time that it is the story of (if I can make so bold as to quote my own story's dialogue) "the Faustus of New Jersey and His Knucklehead Brother and the Hazard Sign From Hell," and without at least a fairly good understanding of who those three people are and how they got there. If one looks at the story that way, I suppose you could say the events after their starting situation are also the story of these three being thrown up against the places where their real deepest fears lie, and seeing who has something he really, really will not compromise on...or at least, it did at the start of this paragraph. But did any of them, really? Bill blatantly fails that test, of course - Bill runs, just like he's been, in a way, running for his entire miserable existence. Ford comes close to what might have been a couple of breaking experiences for him - either surrendering to Bill or, had the memory wipe worked the way he thought it would, with living with whatever the fallout of essentially killing his brother would have been - but the universe was kind and stacked the deck just enough to let him cheat his way out of that one, at least for the most part. But what about Stan? He didn't want to die, but we already knew that he'd risk it for the kids, because we've seen him do that before. The way he went about it this time arguably took more courage than the others, when he just went in swinging at an immediate and obvious threat, but it was still an escalation on an established thing. Stan's real worst fear isn’t death - it’s of being alone again, of losing his family. That's the principle that overrides self-preservation for him. What would have happened if he'd been in Ford's shoes - required to take up the role not of the sacrifice, but of the one who performed it, giving up one member of the family to save the others? Could he have done that?

...though that is wandering from the topic I was originally talking about, isn't it. Which was that yeah, Bill is, in his way, as fallible as anyone else despite his immense resources - which is gonna be a fun topic to get into when I get around to the post in this series about writing higher intelligences, but that's also not the point, which was that Ford was never going to go back to Bill the way Bill thought he was, because Bill's inability to understand other people's ability to do things that he can't is a serious blind spot for him. It's the thoughts he can't have that doom him (probably...hopefully, anyway...), fortunately for the rest of us.

#gravity falls #gravity falls characters #ford pines #stan pines #bill cipher #gravity falls analysis #inspired by the Hirsch interview #rambling happened #my ramblings

[wheredostarsgowhenyoudie]

Once upon a time when employees are being interviewed at SI:

.

.

Interviewer: So what is it like working for Iron Man?

Employee A: Oh! Easy question. I like that. It is an honor, you know. It's what I thought when I joined, and it still is now. But also, I did not expect that SI is a place where we are allowed to prioritize things like family. Like last time, I left my phone on silent at my desk cause I had to go to a meeting. My kid at home was having an emergency and I couldn't be reached. But apparently, Friday, Mr. Stark's AI, keeps track of phone vibrations so she made the report and someone came to notify me. I didn't even know there was a protocol for that. Turns out my daughter was having her period for the first time! And I'm a single father so I had no idea what to do and I was panicking. Next thing I know, an SI nurse came and apparently she was sent by Mr. Stark to walk me through how to help. Apparently, Fri also caught my panic rumblings and triggered 'YOU ARE NOT ALONE PROTOCOL' or something. (*laughing*) The next week, we received an official email introducing a new department called Human Care. They encourage everyone to reach out if we ever find ourselves out of our depths on non company emergency matters.

.

.

Interviewer: How long have you been working here?

Employee B: Eight years, two months, six days and counting.

Interviewer: What's the weirdest thing you've witnessed here?

Employee B: (blanks out)

Employee B (struggling to think): Ahm. Really? Just one? Er- That's a tough one. Maybe that one time they set up a room for everyone to try lifting Thor's hammer? Or wait, no, maybe that time there when flying roombas were everywhere following Mr. Stark and reminding him to eat? Or when a villain came via the vents but before he could come down, Hawkeye accidentally hit him with pepper spray? I don't know, man. Weird things happen a lot. We're used to it by now.

.

.

Interviewer: Do you feel safe working here?

Employee C: Yeah. The avengers live here. But to tell you the truth, I think Happy Hogan and his black tux team of agents scare all the potential bad guys away. I heard rumors that Black Widow personally trains them. Like, I know two of them. Jake, for instance. He's like a giant, and he is intimidating but I saw him crying one time and when I asked him why, he just said Mr. Hogan.

.

.

Interviewer: Which avenger have you met?

Employee D: Oh, I've met two of them. Captain America and Thor. It was odd but one time, they were in the cafeteria and carrying trays of food and I do not mean just one each. Nope. Like, a ton! Like they're feeding an army. But it makes sense. Can you imagine the workout? With bodies like theirs? And the battles they go to? Man, if I have to save the world from aliens, I'll probably need the same nutrition.

.

.

Interviewer: Which avenger is the kindest?

Employee E: Ahm...We all know they're all badass. But kindest, I think Spider-Man. Last Thursday, it was raining, and then Spidey suddenly came all wet and holding a box and I'm gonna quote him now. He said, "Friday, can you please ask Mr. Sam Wilson Falcon sir to come down? The shelter is close and I have a box of puppies and I really, really want to bring them up but Mr. Stark is gonna ban me from the lab again."

Interviewer: Aww. So what happened next? What did they do with the puppies?

Employee E (grinning): Falcon came down, alright. But he came with Iron Man who zoomed past everyone to drag Spidey to the penthouse. I am not sure what I heard but he was muttering about oven toasters and frozen spiderlings? In the end, aome employees volunteered to take care of them. But I believe two of them are at the avengers' floor. We saw Mr. Stark ranting about puppy paw paint marks on his armani.

Interviewer (gasps): Oh my. Was he mad?

Employee E (ends up laughing): Mad? Try grunting fondly? Peter really likes those puppies. Mr. Stark tried to act like he hates them but really, he adores everything about the kid, puppies included. He even had custom made collars with avengers logo made for them.

.

.

Interviewer: I'm sorry? The Winter Soldier was asking directions to where?

Employee F: The Lego Store.

.

.

Interviewer: How would you describe the workload? Do you still get work life balance?

Employee G: I guess it depends. I work in R&D and we're all nerds there. So like, we're typically busy but it's play for us. Some days, we're really cramped with work, mostly when deadlines are nearing or sometimes, we're just really in the zone, we do not want to stop. Peter activated 'NIGHT NIGHT PROTOCOL' for that. Had Fri lock us out of the lab and we had no choice but to go home or nap at the sleep wing. And would you believe? After the product launch, we got emails on mandatory vacation leaves with bonus to spend! Like, who does that? So yeah, it's cool working here.

.

.

And then, there was this:

Interviewer: How does it feel to be the heir of a multibillion dollar top green tech company?

Peter (stares quizzically, dumb-founded): Uhhh-....Look, sorry, I think I'm in the wrong room. I'm not- Maybe you got the wrong questionnaire? I'm just an intern-

Interviewer: Oh. Wait. Is it top secret then? Sorry, I was told of your identity as Mr. Stark's kid so I thought I could ask. But if you're not comfortable-

Peter: WHAT!?? Who said that? They're probably just joking.

Interviewer (chuckles nervously): Ms. Potts did actually.

Peter (freezes): Oh.

Suddenly the door opens and Tony walks in.

Tony: Hey kid, and Ms. Carrenland. How's the interview going? Thought I'd drop by for moral support, you know.

Peter (looks torn, but excuses himself to go to Tony): Uhm, Mr. Stark, can I talk to you for a second? Look, sir, ahm, I think there's been a misunderstanding. The interviewer asks me how it feels to be your heir. Like that's real. I don't-

Tony (has his brows rising to his hairline): Kid. Peter. Breathe.

Peter (groans and sighs embarrassingly): I just didn't want to lie! They mistook me for someone else. It was a misunderstanding!

Tony (smirking): It's really not.

Peter: What?

Tony: Kiddo, I was the one who gave Pep the approval to sign the questions. And really, you've been managing the R&D department and shadowing Pep at management for a year now. You never wondered why I make you do that?

Peter: Oh.

Tony: Yup. Genius child here.

Peter: I just wanted to help. You seem stressed out with the Avengers' work and dealing with the government. I thought I could lend a hand. I didn't- I don't expect you to- I'm not worth that, Mr. Stark.

Tony (scoffs): I beg to differ. Look, I'll be honest with you. Even if you aren't interested in the company, it's still gonna be yours. Look around you, kid. Do you think I let just anyone go around with a free pass at my tower? You have a room at my home. This place is your home, as where as everywhere else that I own. Plus, it's another motivation for you to take care of yourself when you go out as Spidey. Imagine all our employees. They need you, kiddo.

Peter (mumbling softly): I'm just Peter Parker.

Tony (smiles and pats his shoulder): And that is why I chose you.

#irondad #irondad & spiderson #ironfam #spiderson #spider-man #iron man #avengers #mcu #tony stark #peter parker & tony stark #peter parker tom holland #peter parker #stark industries #incorrect marvel #incorrect avengers #incorrect irondad and spiderson #fun fics

[salsasvault]

because i apparently now have the writing itch thanks to the increase in free time, here's a classic book trop drabble with a sprinkle of fifty shades of grey cause i just rewatched that movie, very unorginal but i eat this trop up everytime time. might just continue this

if you have any ideas or asks, leave a request!

meet cute

ceo!ghost x reader

ceo!ghost: who met you one day when you were in a hurry.

Moving to a new city isn’t easy, and job hunting certainly isn’t either, so finally landing an interview at a respectable company was a blessing.

What wasn't ideal was being late to said interview, a chain of events led to you leaving the house merely 20 minutes before you had to be there.

Rushing to get coffee you join the line while going over the details of your resume and talking points. You put in your order, wait, and pick up. Your nose still buried in your phone you don't notice as you open the door to leave the man walking in.

Of course to add to your luck you crash chest-first into him, spilling the contents of your drink onto his white button-up and suit. With the difference in temperature and liquid staining your shirt you're pulled out of the shock and filled with a high amount of embarrassment and guilt.

"oh my god! I'm so sorry, I-" You move the cup, upright so it can stop spilling onto both you and the man you've so graciously made sticky. Simon who, very much did not expect to be covered in coffee before work, makes a noise of acknowledgment.

"I-let me pay for the dry cleaning, that suit must cost a lot and-" You pause quickly thinking of ways you can remedy the situation. "let me buy you a coffee, a coffee and pastry, they have really good Danishs." You say a little nervously, hoping he takes you up on the offer.

The man responds his voice deep with an accent uncommon to find in Chicago.

"s'alright, no need for that." he clears his throat, he can't say this hasn't happened before, but he will say it was the first time he met someone so apologetic.

"no really, let me buy you something and here" You get out your wallet, pulling out two 20s, yes you were short on money but no you were not just going to hand this man a 20 to cover what looked to be a very expensive suit. Extending a hand you open your palm, waiting for him to accept it.

"Trust me I don't need your money sweetheart " his tone is flat, unimpressed.

"maybe you don't but it would make me feel infinitely better, so take it and let me get you a coffee." You try and make your voice sound firm and commanding, but it doesn't quite come out that way.

You're stubborn, a good trait to have but he didn't need your money, he could very much buy 1000 of these suits and still never see a dent in his wallet. He was running late and needed to cut this short.

"just the coffee," he grumbled out, heading inside.

You followed suit, glancing at the time, you had 10 minutes, following through with your word you bought him the coffee, after he begrudgingly gave you his order. And as promised a cherry cheese Danish to accompany it. Glancing at your phone to peek at the time, you cut the interaction short.

"I'm really sorry again."

"s'alright watch where you're going next time." "will do." You give him a small smile, walking out and half running to your car.

#simon ghost riley x reader #salsawritesagain??? #simon riley x you #ghost cod #cod mw2

[static-radio-ao3]

@jegulus-microfic // august 14 // prompt: hockey // words: 553

Regulus' hair is matted to his sweaty forehead, worsened by the press of his helmet over it for the past hour or so. He tugs off the bulky hockey gloves before reaching up to unclasp the helmet. Once he's free, he runs a hand through his curls, trying to get them to look somewhat decent before he steps into the press room.

To encourage inter-team communication, policy now said to do post-game interviews with a player from each team, which is why Regulus joins James at the front of the room.

James, to Regulus' frustration, looks good. His warm skin glows under a sheen of sweat. It doesn't make him look gross, it makes him look delectable. His hair sticks up in the back where he ran his hand through it and Regulus wishes he could mess it up some more. The only thing that's missing is James' glasses, which he swaps out for contact lenses during games, much to Regulus' chagrin.

Reporters have not stopped shouting for attention. It used to be overwhelming, but Regulus has gotten used to the cacophony of voices and the bright flashing of the cameras. James points to someone, prompting them to ask a question.

"James, first of all, congratulations on the win,"  the reporter says. Regulus feels the corner of his mouth twitch in annoyance, but he keeps his face as neutral as possible. "Was it a stroke of luck or do you think the team's fortune is finally turning around after an admittedly disappointing season?"

Regulus doesn't miss the thinly veiled insults, but neither does James, apparently.

"The Slytherins are a formidable opponent and I wouldn't say we got lucky, because we worked our asses off for this win, but they definitely didn't make it easy for us." 

Really, the reporter should have known better than to try to rile up the most well-mannered player in the league. James winks at Regulus, who only rolls his eyes in response, but the action seems to have caught the attention of some of the reporters. 

"Regulus! Regulus! What do you have to say about James Potter's miraculous save today?" 

"He did well," Regulus says mildly, "for a Gryffindor."

James scoffs beside him. To anyone else, it might sound annoyed, but to Regulus the fondness is evident.

"Regulus!" Another reporter calls. She waits for Regulus to nod before asking, "Do you have anything to say about the Black-Potter rivalry?"

It used to be funny. Entertaining, even. But lately, all anyone asks about is the supposed rivalry between the Gryffindor goalkeeper and the Slytherin winger. And frankly, Regulus has had enough.

He stares down the eager-eyed reporter. She has her pen poised, ready to record whatever scathing insult Regulus is about to throw out there. "James Potter is a great goalkeeper who keeps me on my toes and on my knees,” Regulus jeers. “Also, the marriage certificate says Potter-Black. Thank you for your time, good night." And with that, Regulus grabs James by the front of his jersey, yanking him in for a bruising kiss. James blinks at him, startled, when they pull away, but Regulus simply drags him away from the reporters and towards the locker rooms, ignoring the mayhem they just caused. Regulus doesn’t hear the shouts of the reporters anyway, all he hears is James’ laugh.

#jegulus #regulus black #james potter #jegulus microfic #my writing #fake rivals to lovers #regulus x james #james x regulus #starchaser #mil's microfics

[djeterg19]

So I know Day needs to grow up and deal with his shit with Night like an adult but...where the hell has their mom been in all this? Because they all live in the same house. She must know there's deep issues between them. She was pushing hard for Night to be Day's guardian. Why would she ever think that would be a good idea with how much Day holds a grudge against/resents Night? Is this another case of her burying her head in the sand and ignoring the issue? Does she not care that one of her sons hates the other? Or is she just gone so much that she has no idea what their relationship is like? And why does she travel so much? She's a chef, a profession not known for needing a lot of travel, and a rich one at that. Even if she was doing things like frozen meals or cookbooks, she could be home way more than she is. Remote work, especially when you are as well off as they are, is not hard to arrange.

Not only that but there are signs that she parentified Night and made Day a golden child. Day clearly was a high achiever considering how well he did at badminton and Night has been expected to take over as Day's guardian even though I don't think that's what either of them want. Like what does Night want to do with his life? Is he allowed to have an interest outside of taking care of Day? Or does the family just expect him to give up everything because his brother got into a car accident picking him up?

And Day doesn't seem to have been held accountable or faced any consequences. He's gone through who knows how many caretakers before they hired Mork. Night mentioned they didn't last more than a couple of days at most and I can only assume they were working with professionals before they started resorting to the interview process where they first met Mork. His behavior must have been pretty bad or he just kept firing them without any consequence. And really he should not have had the power to just fire someone on a whim or if they said or did anything especially after it happened a couple of times. Because if he didn't have money or a family that enabled that behavior he would have been on his own much sooner. This goes back to my frustration that Day was not put into therapy after getting the diagnosis. And nothing was done to get Day to adjust to the new situation. The house wasn't changed and he wasn't given tools to navigate his own home either. I've ranted about this before so I will leave it for now.

And, yes, being a single mother is hard but she apparently had the option of allowing the dad into their life and didn't want him around. Don't get me wrong she had every right to leave and move away because of the cheating and not want to be around him but she should have found a way to co-parent with him or at least maintain some kind of relationship with him for the boys. Even if it was just phone calls or having the kids spend a holiday here and there with him. There's no indication that he didn't want to be a father to their children. Maybe it's because I come from divorced parents but when you decide to have children you should know that it will come with doing some things you don't like or wouldn't choose for yourself for their best interest.

Anyways, I don't think Night and Day's issues started with the accident. They go much deeper than that and I can't help but think it's due to how they were raised and in a way neglected emotionally that caused them to see each others as rivals for her attention instead of brothers that both equally deserve her love and attention. Because Day thinking Night is trying to steal their mom's affection is not normal at all. It's deeply unhealthy and has to have roots that have grown over years and not just since the accident.

#last twilight #last twilight meta #idk if this makes as much sense as i thought it would when i started...

[sapphire-mage]

Glasgow Wonka Thoughts

I'll admit that I have been having moments of dismay as I look at fan art of the characters from the Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience thing. Cause a part of me keeps looking at it and going 'We're making fan art of characters made by AI... It's fucking over...'

But then I kinda thought about it for a while. And I saw people's takes. And I saw interviews with the actors playing the lady Oompa Loompa and The Unkown.

Like, we all saw this picture.

We all saw the jokes in the realm of 'drug addict Oompa Loompa' stuff. And it sucks, cause the actress didn't think this would lead to this hell. She was just doing a job.

But then other pictures of her started being posted.

And people started realizing: "Wait... She's TRYING to make this work. She's trying to do her job, and she's trying to make these people happy despite how awful everything is."

And there was a turn around on her. Suddenly, she's the saving grace of the entire thing. Suddenly, she's more of a poor woman who is trying her best to do her job so she can be paid by a bunch of weasels who thought they were making something amazing with just the bare minimum.

Meanwhile, the AI script used to make these characters creates the 'nonsense' character of 'The Unknown'.

Like, I'm well aware that Willy Wonka's story, in every version, is weird as hell. But why in god's name would the factory have a shadowy mask figure living in the walls. Why would Wonka be like, "Yeah, that's fine. They don't have to pay rent."

...But then you watch her performance as the Unknown, which she claims she built herself because the 'AI Script' barely gave her anything to work with.

Look at her.

She's giving Babadook.

She's giving Brahms from The Boy.

She's giving one of those N64 Zelda NPCs that would get on a list of 'nightmare fuel from when we were kids' lists.

No wonder the kids are crying during that clip. She's delivering 'a being known as The Unknown that has been living in the walls'. And it's pageantry!

And I can't help but smile, cause all this does is affirm a human truth:

AI Cannot Replace or Replicate True Human Creativity

It only can through the means of the capitalistic eye that sees art as profit and nothing more.

So yeah: Everyone is going to run in to make the same cheap jokes they can make, but then you also see great art being made in celebration of the effort these two put in. Especially in fandoms, right now.

And yeah, maybe these girls might milkshake duck themselves (the actor playing Wonka already did; he is apparently a groomer; yikes). But their performances already hit people.

Someone is already going to want to make a creature like The Unknown. Maybe they're a horror monster. Maybe they're sympathetic. That'll be different from person to person.

Somebody probably wants to already make a character like the Oompa Loompa: miserable and wants to go home, yet still trying so hard when the moments where she cares strikes. I can see so many comedies and slices of life from that.

And making good art out of inspiration is the best thing to take out of dumb things like this.

To be clear: The higher ups who used AI to make this dumpster fire won't learn a goddamn thing from this. Cause what's new with them.

But we got to get art from people who were trying to be creative and trying to be kind, and it's led to people making more art out of it. And we get to celebrate that new art. Which is the best damn thing!

...I'll get to making my art official soon, I swear...

#Willy Wonka Experience #I dunno: I've been thinking about this all week

[kalims]

rating my moots,

cause why not?!

note that I didn't add everyone since I felt too shy to tag em aksbsnna

1. @kalimsstan

9/10 because I've never had a fan account before, the interview was very fun and I cackled when I saw the AMOUNT OF TAGS USED WHEN I CHANGED MY THEME AJSBSJ

2. @ravenlking

9/10!! guys meet my editor in quotev. raven is very patient and fun to talk to ☺ its always a great time where we manage to strike a conversation together

3. @not-idia-shroud

10/10. ah yes, rain. remember when we literally never chat at the same time in discord? BYE I BE WAITING FOR A RESPONSE AND WHEN I GET IT ITS THE NEXT DAY

4. @v-anrouge

8/10. because we actually haven't interacted much and we mooted when I saw that they follow me and I followed them in turn cause they seem like a cool person!

5. @twistedlotus

7/10. IDK WHEN THIS HAPPENED HLP UMMM... HI ELARIA U HAVE A NICE NAME??? 😭

6. @a-hollow-angel

10/10. I swear they work a full time job liking all my posts 😩 like I fr post once then I get a notification immediately.. it doesn't matter when it happens,, THEY JUST DO JT

7. @merotwst

11/10!! ellie da best and I've known her for like.. LESS THAN A MONTH?? A MONTH?? MORE THAN A MONTH?!?!? idk man basta. she had big lady balls if steel (which she said somewhere in discord I just don't remember the specifics)

8. @myujis

10/10. vivi i miss u 🥺😭.. anyways yh I actually got confused on who myuji was then I saw it was vivi and went: OHH

9. @akiville3

12/10 MISOOOOOOO HIIIIIIII <333333 NEED I SAY MORE?!

10. @hytyyto

8/10. HEYOOO I barely do talk with yall and am sorry but I'm very busy.. 😭 PLS TALK TO ME IF UCAN I WILL TALK WIT U <3

11. @yuistan

8/10. not as close as well but I will spoonfeed my moots a handful of chicken soup you know.. unless other soup if you don't like chicken 😚

12. @spadecentral

9/10. very nice, sends me sweet stuff 🥺 ngl highkey keeps confusing myself who ellie and eli is.. 😭

13. @malleusball

10/10 one of my longest moots ever! we go WAYYY BACK even in the most atrocious times I don't want to remember <3

14. @kerosenesin

10/10. I THINK U IS DUST?? LEONALOVER69???pls I double checked if i mistook u as someone else again.. SAY LEONA IF UR THEM

15. @chenyann

10/10. yako i started panicking when I didn't see ur user on my following page but turns out I was just being blind. anywaysss ily

16. @twstwonderlandstuff

8/10. AYEEE ANOTHER FELLOW WRITER! on a side note, when a blog I like follows me you know I'm following back ASAP, destroying the screen type shit

17. @zgvlt

13/10. IDK WHY BUT NATHYA IS JUST 13 POINTS. I love her works sm as well as the graphic designs of her posts!! it's so aesthetically pleasing to me eyes I'm cryin (the one follow I could NOT GET OVER FOR DAYS)

18. @riddlesimp

8/10. ANGELLLL HALLOOO we haven't talked much despite us being moots for a long time ong 😭😭 angel is very sweet and apparently my daughter in law

19. @zeina-is-bored

2/10 (/J) MINUS SIX BECAUSE YOU DIDNT INVITE ME TO THR WEDDING. ☹☹☹😞😞😞😞😭😭😭😭😭😭

20. @rggie

11/10. if there's someone other than nathya with amazing graphics it's definitely mal. I can see the effort put into her theme!! gods I swear all of her blog is all connected to one theme and I love it!! IS U OK THO BABES??

21. @arent-i-the-fairest

8/10. cutieee!! love the works, I love me a bunch of neige works I can binge read <3 every1 should appreciate the rsa writers I swear

22. @achy-boo

1/10 (/j) I swear the friendship we have is so chaotic, WEVE INSULTED EACH OTHER MQNY TIMES AND CALLED EACH OTHER BITCHES QKSHKAKQ

23. @dicetheroll

8/10. see you soon dice! good luck on your finals.. when i first followed dice i immediately ran straight to the OM!works once I saw they wrote. It was AMAZING

24. @scara-lovebot

9/10. you are the one that shaped our minion coochie gc theme <3 my most prominent memory of you was the minion tampons era

25. @jabberwockk

8/10. chris :o was the one that answered me patiently when my dumbass didn't go to google for a fat answer when I asked for the birthdays of the characters.. we had a crisis about being broke together

26. @soldmygenderforglitter

9/10. I MISS U BAEEEEEE.. ilysm for talking to me in dms in tumblr for nearly everyday! I'm so sorry bout the late replies sometimes t-t I hope ur doing well babes

27. @celiapoststuff

10/10. MY CHILDSDDDDDDDDDD who adopted ME instead of the other way around lololol. love ya celia and your like for xiao and kalpas

28. @dr3amscap3

3/10 omg we haven't talked so long bt I GIVE U A 3 (JOKINGLY) BECAUSE U STARTED THE RICKROLL ROSA CHAIN AND NOW I CANT GET AWAY FROM RICK ASTLEY AND THE RICKROLLS 😭😭😭

29. @ravynous

1921739/10. THE BEST PERSON I SWEAR. RAVY ILYSMMMN <333 ur always there for me and so supportive.. how are you doing bae 😭💞 I hope ur kicking finals ass instead of the other way around

30. @raix-lv

1038171/10 REMEMBER WHEN WE MET THROUGH THE NEIGR ARTICLE JEEZ THAT WAS SO CHAOTIC. anyways, I can definitely say rai is one of my closest moots. GIRL WHERE HAVE U BEEN

31. @hxnarii

192911/10 we became moots after my vent post I think?? I thought u were really nice & kind so I followed u. GODS I DONT EVER REGRET MEETING UR RANDOM BRAIN (also ty for the pjsekai acc yknow yknow <3)

32. @nanamisflowerfield

11/10. OK LISTEN WE BARELT TALKED. the last thing I remember is the manhwa reccs but nanami is so sweet I swear YOU CAN SEE IT ON HER BLOG ITSELF SHES SO NICE

33. @honey-milk-depresso

192719/10 MY FIRST EVER MOOT AND YES I REMEMBER. I've seen honey around when I was writing for genshin her comments were so sweet! even though she keeps denying her love for the three men I still love her <3 mwa

34. @cynthinesia

9/10. I had to edit to add u SRYYYY UHMMM WERE U THE CATER PISS BOTTLE SOMETHING PERSON

35. @cupids-chamber

-12028/10 JOKES ON YOU IT ISNT BEST FOR LAST 👿 you never forget to remind me of the rickrolls (aka bane of my existence) THR AMOUNT OF CHAOS IN UR SERVER I SWEAR. DONT THIK I FORGOT THE TIME WHERE I JOINED ONE OF UR SERVERS AND IMMEDIATELY GOT RICKROLLED NOT EVEN 5 SECS IN

THERES MORE BUT NABSKA

gods did I have that much moots

#★ — rating my moots #★ — chats

[bythenineshards]

i think the reason which makes me angry about acotar & its fandom as a whole is the double standard that exists in the fanbase. rhysand sexually assaulted feyre? 'it's a dark romance so you should go read your vanilla stories & also he did it for her own good'. but when someone says 'well, if it's a dark romance, surely we can have a tamlin redemption arc 'cause he & rhys are the same 'cause he was also protecting feyre 'for her own good'', they'll come at you with pitchforks about how feyre needs someone who is 'feminist' to have a 'healthy relationship' with. like WHICH ONE IS IT??

i am in the hannibal, killing eve & interview with the vampire fandoms. i do like me some mutually toxic relationships that makes you look through characters psyches & pick apart motives & themes.

but acotar goes for this weird stance in its own morality that it doesn't make an ounce of sense. it would've made sense if feyre had left tamlin even if they had a healthy relationship to go join rhysand & then the story could've had a darker turn there. that could've been the basis of a dark romance. or feyre & tamlin's relationship being built on the same lines of toxicity & feyre betraying/hurting tamlin to join rhysand because she wants more power. & tamlin be an equal adversary for them (not antagonist). then the story be continued from there. give me moral ambiguity so that i don't know who to root for. these kinds of things happen in adult high fantasies all the time.

but sjm chooses to compare two equally bad (or 'morally gray', as the stans love to call it) characters and be like 'see, this one is better!!' but if someone points out that they're equally bad you have to watch them do all kinds of unnecessary mental gymnastics & say 'b-but it is a dark romance with dark themes & it's adult!! and rhysand is MORALLY GREY!!! if you can't handle it don't read it!' or the argument of 'it's fiction & they're fae!! you can't apply real world morals to it!!' like sure but where is the CONSISTENCY???

Hey Anon! I could've sworn I answered this. But apparently I didn't.

I can't stand the justifying of Rhys' deeds. Dark Romance books don't feel the need to do that. The guy doesn't need the justifications and hero framing. The books are thrown around as feminist or empowering. The point is that the relationship is a toxic dynamic. Maas has said in interviews that she writes healthy romances. She views this as a healthy relationship.

You know what's funny? The road to hell is paved with what? Good. Intentions. The best villains are people who meant well but had evil methods to achieve that goal. Rhys did x______ because it was for....? Doesn't matter, still did it. Thanos (in the movies) killed half the universe because it would create more resources for those left. Good intention. Horrible idea considering he had the power to create more resources.

You're right that there were so many other angles this could've gone to make it better. Personally I believe the best idea would've been to just have them grow apart. Cuz that happens and it wouldn't have taken Tamlin being abusive to do. Feyre could've fallen for Rhys knowing what he did was wrong. I'm sorry but there was no excuse or justification for working for Amarantha. Rhys should've been punished. However that would mean more work than comparing a retconned Tamlin to Rhys and made Feyre actually flawed.

Ugh... this series... so glad I'm not buying anymore of her books. You know, it's so weird how easily impressed I am with books that do the bare minimum effort to be decent after reading these.

#anti sjm #anti acotar #anti rhysand #anti feyre #anti feysand #anti sjmaas #sjm critical #answered asks #ask box #send me asks #ask me anything #ask holly #my asks #thanks for the ask! #anon ask #ask

[phoenixradiant]

OC Interview Tag

My thanks to @tildeathiwillwrite for the tag! I promise I'll get around to the OC interaction one eventually, I just can't decide who to do it with!

I did Cellic and Maiph last time (and they spent the whole interview flirting very badly), so I think this time around I'm going to do Magrom and Lutian Karven.

Are you named after anyone?

Magrom: He shrugs. "Some ancestor a dozen generations back. No one of note."

Lutian: "My mother's dead best friend. I was going to be named after Father's mother, but a week or so before I was born Mother's friend died and they agreed to change my name."

When was the last time you cried?

Magrom: "Last time a con called for it. Last time I cried for real? I don't think I've ever done that."

Lutian: "When- when F- whenfatherleftandsaidhemightnotbebackforoverawholeentiremonthandhe'sstillnotbackandI'mworriedandIthinkhemightbedeadand-"

Magrom: *gestures furiously to move to the next question*

Do you have kids?

Magrom: "Rai, no!" He pauses. "Unless Lutian counts. She's Keidor's kid, but I did most of the raising."

Lutian: "I don't even know where I'd get one. I thought you ate them and then they grew in your stomach but when I tried to find one to buy Allor told me that's not how that works."

Magrom: *gives her a surprised glance*

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Magrom: "No, the wordsmith who has no problem offending people and rolls lies off his tongue like a river down a mountain never uses sarcasm! It's undignified!"

Lutain: "I learned it from him."

What is the first thing you notice about people?

Magrom: "How strong their shame is. Figure out what people are afraid of, what they're ashamed of, and you can control them, or imitate them to a t. Everyone's ashamed of something, except me. That's why I'm a god among men."

Lutian: "Whether they can be trusted. It takes a right good liar to evade my watch, even Kar can't do it!"

What is your eye color?

Magrom: "Naturally it's brown, but I change it so often that I doubt anyone else could tell you that."

Lutian: "A light goldish color. Apparently my mother had this same color, and her sister, my aunt, has an even more angelic color."

Magrom: "That's the only thing angelic about your aunt."

Lutian: "Take that back, she's right nice!"

Magrom: "Fine, fine, I take it back! Angelic is a strong word anyhow."

Lutian: "HEY!"

Scary movies or happy endings?

Magrom: "Eh. I don't get scared easily, and happy endings are boring. Give me a good tragedy!"

Lutian: "I haven't seen anything scary or happy, he's taken me to most of my plays, so they've been tragedies."

Any special talents?

Magrom: "Lying. Anything I say after that can't be trusted, and a conman never reveals his secrets, so might as well stop there, eh?"

Lutain: "I'm naturally good at pretty much everything. Except animals. They don't like me for some reason."

Where were you born?

Magrom: "Dunno. Royal family's secretive like that. Raised in Knithren, though."

Lutian: "Same as him."

Do you have any pets?

Magrom: "That's the kind of thing that hinders taking on new identities. No thanks."

Lutian: "Lots! None of them seem to like me, though. It's a real shame, 'cause I'd treat 'em kind if I had the chance!"

What sort of sports do you play?

Magrom: "I'm more of a 'games' person than a 'sports' person. Only so many different ways to trick somebody trying to get a ball from here to there."

Lutian: "No one ever wants to play anything with me except Kar. They'll talk honest enough, but no one wants to beat me. I settle for playing tricks on my minders instead."

How tall are you?

Magrom: "Tall enough that I could feasibly imitate a tall person with thick enough boots."

Lutian: "Kid sized. I'm never going to be taller than Father and he's not getting me any siblings, so I don't care enough to keep track."

What was your favorite subject in school?

Magrom: "Politics. It's great to scam someone out of their coins and then learn later in the week that that was the duke of here or there."

Lutian: "Acanics. I can make things explode! For school! Also poetry, but none of that flowery stuff. I like the insulting ones. There's this really great kid from King Falder's kingdom who writes stuff for the People's Missives every month, and he has the most acerbic sense of rhyme I've ever read!"

What is your dream job?

Magrom: "Me? Honest work? Imagine!"

Lutian: "What Father tells me a queen should be- smart, kind, honorable- sounds a lot better than what my minders tell me a queen should be- prim, proper, minded- so if I could be the kind of queen Father wants me to be, I'd be that."

#writeblr #writing #kelovir #magrom karven #epic fantasy #fantasy #oc interview

[arathergrimreaper]

So, I was accosted by some self-proclaimed Christian at the laundromat, right?

Keep in mind, I was minding my business as much as I could while waiting on my clothes to dry (forwent putting my earbuds in because it was too much hassle with my journal/sketchbook, my pen case, my bag, etc. and that seems to be how strangers in public fucking GET you so I will cease forgoing forthwith). She just comes up to me and hands me a card with her church and a QR code on it that, according to her, leads to "an important video" I just have to see. Mutuals, followers, cunt-rymen, when I say I never wished to have pyrokinetic abilities to be able to set it on fire in my hand more than at that moment....

Now, idk what tipped her off that I am one of those damned souls she's been indoctrinated to go after rather than doing anything actually fucking useful for the world (i mean, there are several genocides happening at the moment, pick one to help stop, why dontcha?). It might have been my lanyard which is rainbow, or my colored hair/piercings/tattoo, or the fact I was drawing gay aliens kissing but she just wanders over and politely...begins grilling me about where I live, where I work, how old I am, the afterlife, what I believe, if I think of myself as a good person, what would make me want to come to her church, etc (i did not tell her most of these things in any detail and it genuinely bothered me that she was asking. like I got warning bells about the fact she was asking).

Y'all already know what my queer, Pagan witch ass is about. I fucks with y'all. She had no idea, but all the audacity, apparently. Unfortunately, I still had 15 mins on my damn clothes so I had to play nice until I could leave.

She was genuinely surprised when I told her I don't consider myself a good person, nor really care all that much about the afterlife, including if there's a Hell or not. That I don't think you have to be a good person to do good things either. In Hellenic Polytheism, most people don't go to a paradise when they die. Or to Tartarus, unless they truly screwed the pooch somewhere. Elysium is meant for only the most impressive mortals, not necessarily what we would consider "good" in modern times. Heroes and demigods and the like. So, I don't subscribe to getting something necessarily better than this life after I die either. Said I would just be happy as long as there's no capitalism I have to live under when I die. She said 'I don't even know what capitalism is...'. That's when I knew, for certain, I didn't owe her a single damn explanation and started treating it like an interview upon receiving some kind of writing award or something.

She still kept trying to imply that I wasn't taking the threat of Hell seriously, but I also wasn't taking her seriously either. Woman is a teacher! Of little tots! Hope they tie her up with a jump rope on a spindly chair and wheel her ass into the closet. This who is shaping young minds and people really believe that crap about the old bigots dying off--they have already passed their bullshit on and it's running, footloose and fancy-free. Now, I honestly wish I hadn't held back about how much I hope I go to Hell just to beat the fuck outta Reagan.

I have not been able to stop thinking about this interaction and getting mad all over again, guys. Just mad that there are people like that in the world who would come up to anyone and start a theological debate when they aren't causing them a lick of harm. Someone who don't know shit about shit but wants to try and tell me what I should prioritize. People like this are running our country and making up our laws.

We were, like, the biggest mistake.

#long post #anya says shit #if you're reading this and think you have a good defense for her #you really don't so hush #if you think like this person go ahead and unfollow me because I am already praying your downfall #religion #i know it's not all christians #but yall need to come collect your damn trash

[alittlefrenchtree]

I think Taylor's more professional and calmer/put together side is very noticeable in so many videos of him. Think about it! When he's interacting with fans and he's so patient, soft-spoken and the way he gestures and moves? The way he's so chill and level headed in interviews? Please read the Tatler interview from China cause it's so good and it is so apparent in how he manages himself. Like you say, because he's an adult in his early 30's, he's at that stage in life where you know who you are and he seems very confident in who he is and that's displayed on the way he speaks, which is so so beautiful. I also have a competency kink, lol. But more than that, his kindness turns me on so much, it's insane.

Hi there! I don’t even know if you remember sending this since your message has been sitting in my inbox for so long and for that I’m so sorry. I’ve been caught in the delicious daily life of being either too busy to hang out here or too tired to think and write in English. On top of that, I was late in answering asks so it took me a while to get to yours and here we are, weeks(? Probably) later.

You’re obviously right in everything you mentioned about Taylor. I feel like this conversation has been going on for so long (and it’s my fault entirely) that we kind of lost the point of how it started. All of the things you talk about are examples of how he acts when he’s the main character of the situation. Obviously for Taylor, how he acts when he’s the center of the attention and when he’s not seem to be two close things, but it’s not always the case. What fascinated me in the post that started this whole discussion was how he acts when he is part of the background somehow? What it says about him -- that someone who he’s a model and an actor with such a sunshine personality doesn’t feel the need to push himself in front of the lens, doesn't feel the need to put the attention on himself and simply is this quiet presence in the background, who just focus on his work even if it doesn’t look like the most exciting thing to do (like taking the same step over and over again to get the perfect shot) -- has intensified how I feel about him.

Like said, the thing you talk about and the thing I talk about are close things — the same traits (calm, patient) in different settings.

I’m pretty sure I’ve already read the Tatler interview but yes, point is, I suppose we’re all receptive to different circumstances even if it’s of the same qualities. I like all Taylor content but I always take very public content with a grain (or a pinch) of salt especially regarding of what people really are based on how they act in front of a camera. I don’t know if that makes sense. English is hard. I hope I don’t come across as saying that you’re wrong or that you didn’t understand something. I just like details and nuanced thoughts and I like to split hairs (is that how you say it?) to express opinions I guess.  

And oh and yes, competence kink. I had never actually put words on it before reading it in Alex but yes, obviously. Admiration is the big thing for me and what better way to summon admiration than by looking at someone who is very competent? Please.

But kindness doesn’t do much for me, actually. In general or in an is it attractive trait or not situation. It is a valuable thing but not something that triggers anything particularly positive in me. I even (sometimes) not to be suspicious over kindness because human beings are so rarely worth of trust even when they look like it. Obviously not talking specifically over Taylor here, just in general. Therefore, that’s my cue to stop rambling and say thank you for your message. So sorry it took me so long to answer 💜

#alft asks

[my-mt-heart]

SF can weigh in, but I think the intention was to help people understand how these interviews are utilized. AMC needed an explanation for poor decisions that they made and as the showrunner it’s Angela’s job to deliver it. What she said about the contracts is true and that can affect the story, but that’s not why Daryl and Carol were separated all season. We’re getting too bogged down by the contracts lol

Agreed :P The contracts are a smokescreen.

Like MT says, I was trying to explain the logistics of the contracts (they don't dictate the story, but they do influence who's in a particular storyline) to illustrate that as the showrunner, you're the public face of management, even if you're not actually part of it. Interviews are to sell the product and to do damage control. If a network decision angers the viewers, you have to minimize the blame placed on your employer. A lot of the time, it means that you are the one who gets ripped to shreds on social media.

In that EW interview, the lack of Caryl had to be brought up because AMC/TWDU wants it swept away. It wasn't a question raised by the interviewer, so that's the reader's first clue that something else is going on. You can double-speak and say things perceptive people might pick up on—like referring to the contracts where correlation does not imply causation—but mostly it's a signal to others in the industry that you're not the cause of the issue. Nobody wants to hire a showrunner who fumbles and you have to look after your own professional reputation too.

While the answer is, strictly speaking, truthful, it's not the reason for the lack of Caryl and Carol.

The show had good buzz in S10 and a lot of the attention was on both Carol and Caryl. This was happening at the same time as Gimple was getting a mountain of notes on his movie script and did a million rewrites. FtWD and BW were getting a lot of criticism. This does not sit well with someone like him. Caryl can't be better liked or be the epic love story 11 seasons in the making, and the work of someone else (on the same show) can't get positive feedback, especially as it's frequently compared to previous seasons.

Apparently, if you can't succeed by doing well, you tear down the competition. Never mind that when you're working on the same project, that's your teammate, not your opponent.

[SF]

I appreciate you taking the time to shed some light. I see people directing their anger at Angela, but I think we need to continue holding the people above her accountable. Carol and Caryl mean a lot to so many people, and they aren’t just going to be swept away. AMC needs to find a real solution to the problem, not just marketing ploys, so that we can enjoy TWDU too. Hopefully they already have. You'd think our interests would align, but it concerns me a lot if someone who "keeps score" gets to be CCO and showrunner at the same time.

#caryl #darylneedscarol

[counting-eyerolls]

it's so sad to see the whole laura scarborough situation because it's been all over my feeds and dashes and seeing her video on instagram now is just heartbreaking.

i've seen so many posts on twitter where people straight up criticized and bullied and insulted her and it was 1. insane to see all the people who were so in love with her and supporting her just turn like that and 2. just disgusting to see how hate gets spread around so easily because people have this inherent need to criticize and share hate and negative opinions. and that affects everyone. literally everyone. the artist and their supporters and literally everyone who comes into contact with those posts because you intentionally or unintentionally (depending of course on the nature of your post) influence those who have not shared their opinions on the matter yet.

yes, she used ai. yes, ai is harmful for artists. yes, it's not the best thing she could have done and her initial replies from that fucking interview didn't help her situation much. but that's no excuse for bullying and the behaviour i've seen all over twitter during the last few days. and it's not just specific to this situation, i see it all the time (which is why i've come to hate being on twitter because it's so full of discourse that people just start out of boredom and it shows up on my feed even though i don't follow them).

no one is saying you have to agree. no one is saying you have to like it or support or anything of the sort. but sending hate to the artist just because you disagree with them is such a shitty thing to do. constructive criticism is a thing, you know? you don't have to bring someone to such a bad emotional state that they have to take their art down or, worse, feel horrible about the art that they made. not all art is for everyone. not everybody will share the same tastes or appreciation. but respect for someone's work is rightfully owed. or at least basic decency aka not being an ass about it.

i'm aware ai is very harmful towards artists and it sucks from an artist's pov. but if you really want to advocate for a cause and teach others that using ai might not be the best thing they could do, you don't have to be rude about. you can be civil and respectful and not post on your little ghost twt page where all i see are videos of the ghouls on stage and then you come at me with comments and rude captions like "girl, please stop" and "omg so disappointed, even insert random unmasked nameless ghoul here liked her post". what comes out of that? what do you achieve by spreading these posts and just adding fire to the fuse? wouldn't it be better and more helpful to try and make people aware of how ai is harmful and teach them if they don't know about it? or to wait and see if the artist is really so clueless and doesn't give a shit or if maybe things were misinterpreted?

so much hate and so many comments but you don't take a step back and think of how your actions affect others. because what? 'what is a twitter post gonna do?' well, a lot apparently.

and this goes for more situations, not just this specific one.

just, idk, i'm so sick of just hate and disrespect as the initial and instinctive reaction to something you don't agree with.

#count rambles :3 #laura scarborough #unmasked ghouls #ramble #i also don't understand the need to be so vocal and involved in these people's personal lives. which is a different topic but it amazes me #how little respect people have for their privacy and how people feel a need to post about them and tag them and unfortunately sexualize the #and straight up have no respect whatsoever for them as human beings #just agh tell me if you disagree but sometimes it gets too much for me personally

[estelscinema]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Thousand of years before the Fellowship of the Rings, the land of Elves, Men, Dwarves, and Numenorians, lived in peace till darkness returned from the shadows.

Amazons billion dollar gamble, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, has finally arrived, and it is a disaster. The speculation, controversy, and mixed anticipation, have caused my expectation for this series to be rock bottom. Yet somehow, Amazon has managed to go lower than the Mariana Trench. When this series was first announced, I was not precisely happy because I thought they were doing a remake of The Lord of the Rings. Which I thought was way too early and unneeded. Then, they finally showed the map of Numenor, and I became incredibly excited. The fall of Numenor and the history of the entire Second Age is something that I would love to see a proper adaptation of. So my hope became incredibly high for the series, but sadly it was a fool's hope. Soon after the beginning of production, negative stories began coming out. Renowned Tolkien Scholar, Tom Shippy, was fired from the series. A rumor that the entire writer's room was fired, and actors leaving due to creative differences. It had all the signs of a negative series brewing. Then the first articles, interviews, and pictures arrived, and my worst fears were confirmed. Amazon was turning Tolkien's beloved work into something that it was not and using his name as an embezzlement scheme.

There is so much wrong with Rings of Power I don't even know where to begin. It became apparent in the opening moments that they threw Tolkien's masterful work out the window and decided that they wanted to tell Tolkien's mythos better than he could. Not only is Rings of Power a complete butchery of Tolkien's work, but it is a disaster in itself. The showrunners and writers violate so many basics of storytelling that I am gobsmacked by how second-rate the story is. Instead of telling a compelling story with great characters, dialogue, and action, the showrunners decided to rely on numerous "mystery boxes," such as who Sauron is, to keep the audience engaged. The Mystery Boxes causes the story to focus heavily on hitting multiple plot points rather than telling a cohesive story. Thus forcing the pacing of the series to be all over the place. The audience is thrown into four plotlines, and none of them are given a chance to properly breathe and develop, causing most of their storylines to feel like filler. Then, when the story does develop, they bulldoze through it at lightning speed. All conflicts are told to the audience rather than being shown, and like the story, it's immediately resolved with ease or offscreen. Therefore, causing there to be no emotional payoff nor tension and stakes. How can I care for these characters if they never feel in danger? What further adds to the disastrous storytelling of the series is that almost all of the plotlines and scenes are stolen from someone else. Numerous storylines are rip-offs of the stories in Tolkien's work that Amazon does not have the rights to. Many scenes feel like cheap copies of scenes in the Jackson trilogies. This series wants to stand as its own house but uses the groundwork and the brickwork of its predecessors as cheap nostalgia bait. Ultimately, I am amazed by how the Tolkien Estate approved this series but condemned the Jackson films.

Even with numerous talented writers and the showrunners being former script doctors, it could not save this series from atrocious dialogue and writing. Every once in a while, a line or conversation enveloped Tolkien's writing style. When characters speak in Tolkien's work, it's elevated but straight to the point and brings in wise proverbs, poetry, and similes/metaphors when needed. However, most of the writing feels like they were trying so hard to capture Tolkien's linguistic style that it's a meandering mess (think of the opening about why ships float and rocks sink). While the remainder of the writing is a rip-off from the Jackson Trilogies written by AI. Paper-thin and unlikeable characters also add to the series' atrocious writing. Canon characters are not like their canon counterparts, looking at you, Galadriel. Non-canon characters feel like cheap, made-in-China knockoffs of canon characters (Nori = female Frodo, Arondir = token Legolas, etc.). Nearly all the characters are written as inconsistent as Jeff Bezos's tax returns. For example, Galadriel fantasizes about committing genocide against the orcs while torturing Adar, and then five minutes later, she states you should not be happy about killing orcs. A key to writing great characters is to have their morals established and slowly change and build them as their character arc progress. Instead, Rings of Power decided to have the character's morals change from scene to scene with a coin toss. The character's plot armor is miles thick. I am still dumbfounded about how they all survived a pyroclastic flow without a single scratch. Nearly all the characters are so unlikable that I am cheering for Sauron to win.

Even the acting is as atrocious as the story and writing. However, I will state the best performances came from Joseph Mawle, Lloyd Owen, Robert Aramayo, and Owain Arthur. They were really the only performances that captured their characters, had life to them, and were not wooden. I will raise a glass to you, gentlemen, because your backs must be sore from carrying all the performances of this series; you deserve much better than this. For the role of Galadriel, it would be tough shoes to fill given its predecessor performance from Cate Blanchett, but Morfydd Clark completely fails. Her only expression on screen is the "resting bitch face." She has zero charisma, is incredibly wooden, and does not hold any of the power of Galadriel. I can't believe that the showrunner stripped her of her femininity and turned her into a villain. Ismael Cruz Cordova and Nazanin Boniadi have zero chemistry with one another, and their love story is forced and cliched. Cordova constantly looks like he is constipated, and Boniadi is unconvincing as a leader. Charlie Vickers fails entirely as a made-in-China Aragorn. Charles Edwards is grossly miscast as Celebrimbor. Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Lenny Henry, and the remaining psychopathic Harfoots bring possibly one of the most offensive performances of the series with their over-the-top, stereotypical, and harmful Irish accents. (If you are unaware, the Harfoods are portrayed as a racist stereotype of the Irish, specifically Travellers. There goes the series standing against and condemning racism when they have no problem portraying racist stereotypes of others). None of the remaining cast has charisma and is doing the bare minimum for their roles.

The only part of this series where you can see its budget is its VFX. Sadly, good VFX can't save a show; as Tolkien wonderfully puts it, "All that is gold does not glitter." The costumes look incredibly cheap and poorly fitted to the actors. Many costumes are printed in sweatshops and not embroidered like in the original trilogies. The armor looks like it is made out of plastic. The production design is also inferior and looks like something out of a historical documentary. Many of the sets are being used for similar sequences (Isildur and Halbrand both get beat up in the same alleyway) and don't feel lived it. Thus causing the world to feel incredibly small and lifeless. Though the score by Bear McCreary itself is excellent, it is poorly used in this series. The score is either bursting our eardrums or entirely non-existent. It never feels part of the story, only just there. Character design is absolute garbage. Elves and Numenorians look like regular people, and dwarf women miss their iconic beards. The cinematography is beautiful, but it feels lifeless in many shots. Mainly due to the series copying the legendary cinematography by the late Andrew Lesnie in the Jackson trilogies. The only good thing I can think of is that the orcs look really good.

I understand that this series did not have all of the rights to the Second Age. I know that many aspects will be made up and compressed to tell a better visual story, but they threw Tolkien's mythos out the window and decided they would tell the Second Age better than Tolkien. The audacity of not only the creators of the series but also the Tolkien Estate, specifically Simon Tolkien, is almost insulting. They have turned Tolkien's legendary work into a made-by-committee, embezzlement cash grab that only Morgoth could create. This series is a mockery of Tolkien's work. The showrunners could have made their own fantasy or fleshed out a part of Middle Earth that was left unwritten, i.e., the Haradrim and the Easterling. But nope, they had to go with the second age. All they had to do was fill in the gaps and flesh out the story. If the series was unrelated to Tolkien's work, it would have bombed and been canceled after its first season. This series is so bad that I could probably write dozens of essays on everything wrong with this show. This review barely scratches the surface of what is wrong with this show. This series can only bring me back if they fire everyone working on it and hire people who care about Tolkien's work.

For the end of this review, I will leave you with a quote that perfectly describes this series. As wonderfully stated by Frodo Baggins as he is in the heart of Mordor in Return of the King, "A Shadow that bred them can only mock, it cannot make: not real things of its own."

I am giving The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, an F.

#film #cinema #movies #movie #filmmaking #filmmaker #moviemaking #moviemaker #cinephile #cinematography #film review #movie review #film critic #movie critic #tv #television #series review #rings of power #lord of the rings #lotr #jrr tolkien #middle earth #galadriel #patrick mckay #john d payne #morfydd clark #ismael cruz cordova #markelle kavenagh #lenny henry #daniel weyman

[dzamie]

The AO3 Tiffany G thing

So, unlike apparently everyone else in this shitshow, I decided to actually RTFM so I'm not working off of hearsay of hearsay.

What's going on?

The AO3 is electing new board members. One of these members is aliased "Tiffany G." She's facing criticism from part of the AO3 community, who say she doesn't know enough about the AO3, she wants to censor things, and that the AO3 censoring things is bad. Other parts of the AO3 community object to this characterization, saying any of: she doesn't want to censor things, the AO3 censoring certain things is good, and the criticism is driven primarily by sinophobia (anti-Chinese racism).

Where can I find info for myself?

Search "Chat Transcript – August 1" (copy/paste, in quotes) on your search engine of choice. You'll probably either get the transcript directly, or a Tweet with a link. I'd link it here but tumblr hates external links.

Okay, so. Allegations.

Why do people say she doesn't know enough about the AO3?

She refers to herself as a newbie a couple of times, though this doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't know her stuff. However, from Tiffany G in the interview:

I hope [proposed changes to the TOS are] like more warnings and ratings for posting work so people know what to expect.

(responding to whether she believes certain content should be disallowed) That is not what I proposed actually. I would want to be more specific in the rating system and clarifications so people know what to expect.

The AO3 is well-known for its rating, warning, and tagging system. Tiffany's detractors read these responses as though someone walked into a library and said "I think it'd be cool if the nonfiction section was categorized by topic, maybe with a few levels of subdivision. We could use decimal numbers."

Additionally, earlier in the interview, she says this:

a lot of external people are very concerned about the fact that some works contain child pornography, pedophilic content, and other illegal content

This is factually incorrect. The interviewer later clarifies that the AO3 does not host any content illegal in the US (where the Archive is hosted), be it child pornography or otherwise. Her critics claim that saying that the AO3 hosts illegal content shows that she's not familiar with the site, which has a link to a report form at the bottom of every page.

Why do people say she wants to censor things?

From Tiffany G in the interview:

I support 100% “maximum inclusiveness of content”, yet there is always a boundary to everything. Since OTW is already an influential org, we need to protect our image and hold a better image to the public. I want the public to think of us as an inclusive and socially responsible community.

To members of the AO3 community who were active in fandom when LiveJournal and FF.net were major fandom sites, "we need to protect our image" reminds them of the reasons that those sites removed most queer and explicit fanworks: public image, particularly towards advertisers. More recently, Apple demanded tumblr remove sexually-explicit material in late 2018 (dropping site traffic by 50-90%), and again in late 2021 (the #girl incident), again citing the need for a family-friendly image.

This, combined with mentioning a "boundary" to "maximum inclusiveness of content," is tripping a lot of memories and causing people to think this indicates a desire to remove queer and explicit fanworks from the AO3.

Critics of this characterization point to Tiffany saying that "[removal of written sexual content of minors] is not what [she] proposed, actually."

Why do people say censoring things is bad?

*sighs, looks over at a towering pillar of books labeled "Arguments over the morality of censorship in fandom," topped with a dictionary with the entry for "archive" highlighted*

...let's save that question for another day.

Why do people say the criticism is driven by sinophobia?

Tiffany G is Chinese. She mentions a couple of times that the AO3 is banned in her home country, and the only country that has banned the AO3 is China (if you search "countries banned ao3," you get results about China; if you add "-china" to filter the country out, you mostly get fanfic about characters named Ban). There is a great amount of justified criticism of the Chinese government, particularly in regards to speech laws, but people sometimes direct their ire at Chinese citizens, expats, or their descendants instead.

Particularly, people worry that her focus on public image and illegal content is a veiled term for applying the Chinese government's restrictions on speech to the Archive.

There are undoubtedly sinophobes whose biases contribute to their criticism of Tiffany. Millions of people use the AO3, after all. However, the points addressed in this post prior to this section would remain even if she were from the US, Brazil, Germany, or anywhere else.

#text #ao3 #fan wank #politics #proship #long post #rawrs