#i put all of these together to keep everything more concise~

[spadesolace]

drag me down: introductions

synopsis: in hanni´s second year of high school, a new face arrives, one that threatens her spot within their first meeting. first impressions last long and from there on out, hanni already despised yn.

words: 0.7k

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A new school year meant new classes, new teachers, newly renovated classrooms, and possibly new faces. For Hanni, she was nervous about those changes, having ranked top of her class with a perfect attendance and the right amount of extracurricular activities, she already got used to it and is taking precautionary measures to keep it that way. As her morning started with a perfectly balanced meal, her parents eating and conversing with her, she had gotten an update from her friends.

‘I heard that there’s a new student in our batch.’ Minji being one to gossip had immediately gotten the new scoop around campus. Haerin was one to back her up with this discovery only to confirm that the new student was in Hanni’s class.

‘Checking her socials… oohhhh Hanni has competition.’ Hyein has always been the one that needs proof for these sorts of things and luckily, the new student’s info was easy to find. One search of their name and Hyein would have everything she needs to know. ‘Oh, she’s close with Sullyoon.’

Hanni for one does not care for people’s personal affairs but what caught her attention is that Hyein has considered the new student as her supposed competition. The name hasn’t been mentioned in the group but Hyein has connections with everyone, she knows the gossip and everything going on around the academy. 

Eunchae probably knows who the new student is if Hyein got her socials.

A new face, new name, in her new class, Hanni was determined to find the new student as soon as she entered the campus. No one dared to take her spot as the top student, let alone someone new would give off that impression on their first day. Seeing her for the first time, Hanni already despised her. Her blazer showed her name; Park YN.

When the class had settled, their adviser was the one that called YN to the front, give a short introduction but apparently Park YN is a well known student.

“Hello, I’m Park YN, simply call me YN. I came from SOPA. Pleased to meet you all.” It didn’t go unnoticed when their adviser commented about her performance back in SOPA, she was also a top student, which made it worse for Hanni.

She thought her morning wouldn’t get worse but it did, they got seated together, Pham and Park not being far off but it did not ease Hanni that the girl was reciting almost for every class. Faster than her, more concise, it concerned her. She worked hard for her spot, she won’t give it up easily for a girl on her first day knowing most of the answers to the question. Park YN was a major threat for Hanni, it could jeopardise her chances of maintaining the top rank for her already planned future. That day, as YN tried to befriend Hanni only to be left hanging, was the very first day their rivalry started.

YN had joined almost the same extracurriculars as Hanni from creative writing, debate, the school paper, and science. Student council was something YN would never touch, the same way Hanni wouldn’t touch the football (soccer) club. Everything else has always been between them fighting, trying to one up each other, and Hanni always wins. YN never really cared about her grades or ranking, if she wanted to put the extra effort, she would. The last thing on her mind was taking the top spot, she wanted to mess with Hanni after being ignored, judged at, and snarked. Was there anything to gain? Yes, her attention.

The entire rivalry continued on, same with the subtle glances, short lived hand holding when trying to get the marker first, and the side comments that were actually helping each other. Everyone would have assumed something was going on but it wouldn’t be a normal day without them bickering.

“Blasting One Direction again?” Hanni removed one of her earphones to look at YN, who has always seated next to her despite no seating arrangement. Sort of got stuck together.

“As if you don’t listen to The Vamps.” Something simple. A conversation about their interests and yet they still make a fuss about it.

“At least I never cried when a member left.”

“At least I don’t get all down when a certain song plays.”

Everyone is used to it at this point, the rivalry has been ongoing for years, and everyone else knew they were a perfect match for each other. Sadly, they despised one another.

#newjeans hanni #hanni x reader #pham hanni #hanni #newjeans #newjeans x reader #newjeans imagines #hanni pham #pham hanni newjeans #nwjns hanni #nwjns #drag me down

[randoimago]

Day 23 - Opposites Attract

Fandom: Ace Attorney

Character(s): Herlock Sholmes

Type of Request: 31 Days of Oc-Trope-R

Note(s): Herlock is such an interesting character to write for. I really do love Capcom's version of this Sherlock Holmes.

In his mind, there was absolutely no reason why he should be so attached to you. You both met during one of his cases. You were actually a suspect that he was convinced played a larger part in a murder (which Ryunosuke thankfully shut him down on). You're calm and collected while he's all over the damn place, trying to put the pieces together to a single-colored puzzle.

It just doesn't make sense as you're sitting in a chair across from him, staying quiet and listening as he rambles and tells you about some case or whatever Iris had invented recently. His hands are moving as he speaks, emphasizing his words with his gestures. And then when you speak, you have your thoughts together and concise. You're not waving your limbs wildly while telling a story. It doesn't make sense.

And maybe that's why he is so attached to you. You're just a puzzle that he can't solve. That he doesn't know if he wants to solve. A missing piece that he can't quite fit in anywhere. Herlock brought that analogy up to Iris before, only to get back something like, "Don't compare someone you have a crush on to a puzzle."

It felt a bit absurd to him. Being told that the way he feels this way is because he has a crush on you. Because that's not quite right. A crush is just a small thing that can be fleeting or can blossom into more overtime. What he feels for you isn't a crush because it's in full bloom, he just hasn't identified what sort of flower it has become.

Herlock has thought about bringing these analogies to your attention, but he doubts you'll understand them. Don't get him wrong, you're smart in your own way. Your logic just isn't the same as his. He is a master detective and you're... well you're very aesthetically pleasing to him.

Honestly, it is a bit frustrating. His emotions are in turmoil because he wants to figure out this thing when it comes to you. You both have met multiple times - him being the one to ask you to meet - because he hoped the more time he'd spend with you, the faster he'd understand. Yes, Herlock understands that feelings are involved. That he is fond of you, but you both are nothing alike so how is that possible?

"Not everything needs an answer," you had said to him once when he was venting his frustrations. Your answer just added to his frustration because yes it does. He's a detective. He believes in science. Everything has an answer and those that don't mean that it hasn't been found yet. "You're going to get gray hairs and wrinkles if you keep worrying yourself so much," you added teasingly and Herlock was ready to pull his hair out with how much he enjoyed your teasing.

But maybe... Maybe you're right. Maybe he should stop worrying so much about why he likes you and worry more about how to show you how he feels. Romantic feelings aren't something that he excels at and so he already feels another complication coming up. But with another complication, that just means more time to spend with you and figure it out together. And he quite likes the idea of that.

#randoimago 31 days of october #herlock sholmes x reader #ace attorney x reader #tgaa x reader #herlock x reader

[kicktwine]

wanted to ask, could we get a look in to how you put together your animatics?? I've been toying with the idea of trying to make one of my own, but I've got no idea where to start

oh yeah totally

though to be fair, a HUGE chunk of my time is spent listening to about 20 seconds of a song and imagining how the images move around like a little movie, and I refine a ton of stuff in my head before starting to actually put scenes down on paper. This happens with non-music boarding too, imagining different versions of how the scenes line up with dialogue/music. So step one: put a song on repeat and daydream for at least two hours. But, if you aren’t sure how to do this, I’d suggest looking at animatics, MAP projects, AMVs, animated musicals, fight scenes, etc. what do they do that’s cool? Imitate them.

after that, I have most of the main images with some blank spots im not sure how to fill until I put them down. I make something like this and get the compositions of each main image looking more or less okay in this form. This is also the stage I figure out the in between blank spots. I try not to have weird camera moves or other storyboarding don’ts, but some storyboarding donts are completely valid to break if you know what you want aesthetically. As usual. This one was actually pretty clean, but check out all the framing edits. i always have to make the frame bigger

If you really don’t know what goes in between things, don’t be afraid to focus on some little details of the scene, pull out and show us the setting, put some flowery symbolism on screen, give us some fun little comedic anime inserts, or do what cowboy standoffs do and build tension. What we used to do was draw paws stepping across the screen or eyes blinking, lol

next comes audio sync! I like to get the timing extant on copies of these rough thumbnails before moving on. It helps my brain work through smaller more animated movements + testing if the things I came up with for the blank spots work. and also just makes it happy. And also, most importantly, it tests if the compositions work. If you can see it, the whole sequence with mom was a blank spot until I sketched it. I usually do this step in roughanimator even if i don’t finish it in roughanimator. Keeps it very rough.

after this is just a lot of polishing and layers! For lots of small animatics, I just use roughanimator and leave it like that. It’s surprisingly good for a very basic program. But, for things that need tweens or lots of camera movement, I use toon boom harmony. It’s more powerful and is actually supposed to be used for animation, which. Yknow. I do. I tried storyboard pro, it wasn’t my favorite.

Here are some, I guess, miscellaneous more technical tips for making your animatics feel nice!

If you’re going for lots of movement, try out timing it so big movements or scene transitions line up with the spikes in the audio WAV. If it doesn’t feel right, move it a few frames BEFORE the spike/audio beat. Your brain usually wants to see something move barely before it hears it - this works for dialogue especially. BUT! Don’t feel like you have to do this for every beat. unless you want to feel like Wes Anderson, which you can do and I will not stop you.

If you’re going for something slower with not that much movement, try motion tweening! or adjusting something very slowly so we don’t linger on one still image for forever.

you don’t need crazy camera angles for everything, but put a few in there for spice. This all depends on your mood you want to cultivate. Slow = flatter, spacious, details; fast = lots of moves, weird angles, perspective; disorienting = slow/jerky weird angles etc etc. the camera has emotions built into it. Because the camera is you! surprise!

watch storyboarding tutorials. lots of people zoom in too much when they draw and I am not excluded. Also, keep in mind the eyesight rule. It’s hard for me to explain concisely but… you as the artist are always leading the viewers eye somewhere, with every shot you make. Don’t make them dizzy by having the center of attention jump around to six different spots for six shots straight - if you find yourself unhappy with a sequence, especially a fast one, see if your line of sight is going all over the place and try moving the subject of a shot or two somewhere else or having them move/gesture towards the new shot’s focal point so the viewers eye moves there naturally. I’m actually not great at doing this when words/lyrics are involved, pmv makers have my respect.

contrast is your friend. If you want to emphasize a big fast move or big bright image, put little slow moves or simple images right before/after it. and vice versa! this counts for camera too!

easy camera shakes are just 3-4 frames of cam down/up/down less/up less, a blank tween or two (easing back into normal), and then a key for your desired normal camera location. Or left/right, whichever.

your brain needs about six frames to fully register an object as being an object. If you want someone to see and really See it, rather than just get a glimpse of it and go "What was that!" It needs more than six frames.

don’t be afraid to experiment!!!!!! And don’t get overwhelmed! Everything I just described I MOSTLY do off instinct, which you’ll get a sense for after you make one. Or like…. Ten. Does it feel good in your heart? Then that’s what’s important. Find an idea you want to make move, figure out your limits (programs, attention span, drawing capability, make sure not to commit to a minute long amv if you dont KNOW you wanna do a minute long amv), and plan around that. When I was A Child, people on youtube were just making like three amvs per second and cringe hadn’t been invented yet so they were all mostly untrained unpolished and so so important and based to me. Stop thinking so hard about it. You gotta get that animatic out there into the world or it’ll start fermenting in your brain and make you sick. So what if it doesn’t turn out exactly the way you imagined it? You’ll have another idea tomorrow. And if it matters that much, you can always do it again. Go make! Good luck!

#long post #haha sorry! That turned into more of a tutorial which I hope is what you wanted #i dont know how to do edits; honestly; but thats not what you asked. a very cool form of video making! no clue how to do it well #ask #anon #hmm for the eyesight rule #dont misunderstand -- dialogue over the shoulder shot a/ shot b style are not 'jumping around' #i mean like something moves on the LEFT and then the next shot has something spinning down from the TOP to the BOTTOM and then the next #you have something on the LEFT again moving UP #yknow? #idk if hearing gifs counts as synesthesia but silent moving things make noise in my head #so it kinda works vice versa. sometimes noise can make moves

[chaifootsteps]

Rewrite for Seeing Stars idea, based on both yours and some other's criticisms of this show:

- Its an episode set up the same way, only with more parallels being drawn for Octavia and Loona feeling ignored by their respective fathers for not wanting to do an event with them. They decide to then sneak out using the Grimoire together, ending up somewhere in Los Angeles instead of where Octavia meant to. No matter though, because Loona is stubborn and determined to let Octavia have a good time.

- Blitz only notices the Grimoire missing because he wanted to do a contract that day (to get the whole Ozzie's ordeal out of his mind), and now he has no access to the human world– Similarly, Stolas only notices Octavia is missing when he goes into her room to apologize for cussing out her mom in front of her and how it wasn't sensitive of him seeing as she still maintains a pretty good relationship with her, and notices the calendar with their big event circled. He then gets a phone call from Blitz [extremely awkward, given what had happened like a few nights prior] and puts 2 and 2 together when he says the Grimoire is gone too. Oh Fuck, My Angsty Teen Daughter Took YOUR Angsty Teen Daughter (Because to me Loona and Octavia will always be the same age) And Now They're LOST in the HUMAN WORLD

- Stolas takes Blitz to human realm, and tries to give him a proper human disguise this time around just for the extra safety, but Blitz specifically insists not to get one because he doesn't want to be around Stolas much and just get everything done with, and Stolas takes it surprisingly well by respecting his boundaries and staying a bit distant from him.

- Blitz / Stolas go looking for Octavia and Loona, and the previous two are just having a fun day while also trauma bonding about having less than ideal fathers.

- Instead of the dumbass Brandon Rogers plot, we get to see how much Blitz cares about Loona through a series of flashbacks and lore exposition, showing how the two slowly got closer together as Loona realized she and Blitz had a lot in common (for example, both getting ostracized from their communities for having autis- I mean, being weird and aggressive!), and Stolas reflects on his own relationship with Octavia as he realizes "Holy shit I mess up all my relationships by being distant from the people I love or trying to protect them only to come off as selfishly pushing them away, this is an issue and I should fix it"

- Octavia is really shy and awkward while Loona is super smug and outspoken, so I think they could have an absolutely adorable dynamic as they hit the town. In this version specifically, maybe they go to a karaoke together and Loona gets to see Octavia loosen up while she sings some emo shit with her, which i think would be an awesome parallel to Stolas' own songs :DD

- M&M are off on their own shenanigans because of the intrusion on Ozzie's, so the plot stays a bit more concise. I like to think there'd be a cutaway gag with Blitz screaming really loud and it cutting to Millie/Moxxie on vacation and one of them going "Did you hear somethin" "Nahhh dont worry Bout it. We're on 2 weeks leave"

Let me know what you think :)

This is adorable and would have been so much better! It keeps things light but still tackles the blow up from Ozzie's...the fans would have liked this, everyone would have liked this!

#Anonymous #helluva boss critical #actual blog post

[depressed-teacup-inc]

And… we’re back.

Ok Deflagration is back, I’m a day late, but I literally do not care ok? I was having a rough day and put mental health first, and this show is not mental health for me

Anyways I’m keeping this review concise because this episode was actually pointless.

Like no joke, genuinely fucking pointless! It’s just as bad as the first half of Kwamis’ choice, where for some reason it’s alright to give up the miraculous for your love life (because being able to date is so much more important then the safety of the universe), the identity rule continues to pretend to matter (tho I will say the tracking on the alliance rings is smart) and no one has a personality outside of the love square, and everything in the end of the episode reset, to the point they make tongue in cheek jokes about it

…yep you can see why people are slowly giving up on this show (myself included)

I think if anything, my main complaints about this episode are these:

1. No one gives a shit about ladybug and chat noir quitting

This connects to how Alya and Tikki were always like “yeah marinette is right to quit so she can date adrien” but literally no one gives a shit! For something as huge as Ladybug and Chat Noir quitting after over a year of constant fighting, and giving the miraculouses to complete amateurs there is literally no reaction! Everyone is just fine with this change, make a quick tribute and even make tongue in cheek jokes about how they must have quit in order to date, which in general just shows how the show doesn’t actually care about the heroic part of the story? Like this is just the love square show, with ladybug worshiping sprinkled in.

(Also the way the only indication of the Kwamis and holders missing each other was Adrien, who was basically a background character this episode, being sad for unexplained reasons and Tikki saying she missed marinette)

But I digress next complaint

2. The way… this episode was just Chloe Slander/Zoe worship.

I…SWEAR TO GOD!!! Listen I don’t hate Zoe, she doesn’t do anything to make me hate her, and I do realize Chloe is not a good person, but the show shoves it in your face so much! Like every single moment this episode being like “omg Zoe is so kind and sweet and better then Chloe look how awful Chloe is hate her” when Zoe is (no offense Zoe) so bland, that her entire personality consists of being better then Chloe and being in love with marinette!

And as for the Chloe slander, I swear to god! The show goes out of its way to have this entire scene where Chloe tries to humiliate marinette (which is so tactless and dumb? Like it really felt like the show just needed to remind you that Chloe sucks you guys hate her guts please) and makes Plagg rant to Zoe about how awful and irredeemable Chloe is and how he should cataclysm her (like he speaks of Gabriel, the literal terrorist) and has Chloe willingly accept an Akuma (as if she didn’t fight the akumas a couple seasons back)!!!

So all of this together, we just have another Lila on our hands! The show is legitimately arguing that Chloe and Lila (stereotypical 14 year old bully characters) are as bad if not worse then the terrorist plaguing Paris and being an abusive father on the side, and justifies that by making them increasingly worse to the point where it’s just unrealistic and laughable!

Honestly the only two upsides for this episode is that at least we didn’t see Marinette whining over her crush on Adrien (which sprung back out of nowhere), and that Adrien got to show up his dad by taking the ladybug miraculous away from him (the resistance is nice, the names are weird but it’s nice)

All in all? Kwamis’ choice was Completely pointless, and everything is back to the status quo except LOVE SQUARE OooOoOoO

#miraculous ladybug #mlb fandom #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #zoe lee #alya cesaire #ml rants #ml season 5 #this episode was completely pointless

[irlarcadegannon]

Thoughts on Vulpes ? be as detailed as you’d like I love hearing ppl brainrot about him

Oh, you've asked the right person, because I have a LOT to say. I mean, a lot. This post is long and it doesn't even scratch the surface.

hbomberguy put it best in his Fallout New Vegas video when he referred to Vulpes as an "imposing weirdo". It may be the most concise and simultaneously descriptive summary of him I've ever heard.

He's such a vague character that so much is open to interpretation. Ask a hundred people and not once will you get the same answer on who he is. I think that's a fantastic thing for the sake of variety and creativity in the fandom.

So what do I think of him?

I hate him, I love him, he needs to get himself together, I can't take him seriously, I can take him way too seriously..

He's one of the most volatile members of the Legion. He's walking a tightrope line between two extremes: being the Legion's poster boy, or abandoning it entirely—here's why I say that:

Vulpes is standoffish and dramatic. He has some, er, theatrical passion to him that other Legionaries do not. He runs up to you at Nipton to give you his evil monologue you just know he was rehearsing in the mirror for days, anxiously waiting for someone to come along so he can put on a show.

It's comically evil. And he knows that. He wants to be the big bad, because that means it's his chance to shine, and prove to the Legion that he is useful, he serves a purpose, see, you guys, I did it all in the name of the Legion!

It's childish. And I don't say that to absolve him of any guilt, no, this is a direct criticism of him. He's so out of touch and so entrenched in what the Legion has taught him that he fails to recognize the world around him as anything other than a stage for his performances.

If anything breaks that mirage, it's going to completely shatter him.

Talk to Caesar and he'll tell you that Vulpes has been saved from the brink of execution (at least once, I think multiple times) by his word alone. He's too stubborn, too independent. That tells me that Caesar is the one thing keeping Vulpes alive, let alone in the Legion.

He's young, and yet he's somehow the top frumentari? (Reeks of Caesar's interference.) Listen to the way he talks to you, he's so earnest that it's almost laughable. He'll do whatever it takes to give himself a name and credibility, and most importantly, to get the attention of Caesar. That is the foundation of his existence.

I think the rest of the Legion hates him. They can't stand him. He's Caesar's favorite so suddenly he gets to run everything? The man can't even stay incognito on the Strip, that's his one job!

If you took the Legion away from him, he would be nothing. And that would challenge his entire world view.

He tries so hard, yet everyone remains so unimpressed (you know who's the legend among soldiers? Joshua Graham. It's never Vulpes they mention). He's outrageous and horrible, and yet, you can't take him seriously. I've heard so many players say they shoot him on sight. They don't fear him. And if you kill him, guess what? He gets replaced! Nothing changes! The game demonstrates as blatantly as possible that he is replaceable (and will not be missed)!

His ego is so fragile that if it takes a single hit, it will result in the most catastrophic critical failure ego death imaginable.

That's why I like him. Because I'd really like to see that ego death happen. My first few times playing the game, I honestly thought he was meant to be a companion, because he seems so perfectly set up for a character arc that you as a player to influence for better or for worse.

Would you enable him and let him stay in his fantasy land where he gets to play the starring role? Holding his hand through more violence and slaughter? Would you show him (or let him figure out on his own) that the Legion doesn't care about him and watch him fail when he doesn't know what to do without them? Would you give him a reality check and tell him to change or die? That to change he's got to accept that he's caused a whole lot of pain to a whole lot of people that he can never undo and no one will ever owe him forgiveness?

He's a very important character in my fan works, arguably a main character in some of them. I think his symbolic status sets him up for some really interesting dynamics with other main characters, particularly the companions that represent their factions. I assure you I have PLENTY to say about those, too, but I'm cutting the post off here before it reaches novel length.

Vulpes is such a blank slate, with details that are so telling. He is fascinating.

#Vulpes Inculta #Please ask more if you have more questions! #or add your own thoughts #He is one of my favorites. I love him

[nieves-de-sugui]

My personal experience with BL history for @waitmyturtles​

After reading through the posts of your Old GMMTv Challenge, I decided to add my own perspective, as a watcher, of how BL has evolved as a genre as time went by. I hope this “history from the perspective of the viewer” might shed some light in some of the questions you might have or bring up interesting things for your viewing and understanding of the shows. I will try to not repeat what has already been said through your posts by all the wonderful people in this fandom and keep it as concise as possible (turns out it’s still super long).

I’m gonna use ABL’s chronology of the shows as a timeline guide for easy understanding:

Context: How I made my way to Thailand

I’ve always been into BL (yaoi, gay shows, whatever you wanna call it), but I became commited to it around 2008. The options for queer content back then were very limited, as I’m sure we all remember. But for the sake of adding context this were my go to:

Youtube playlists of cuts of “the gay storyline” from western shows (Brothers and Sisters, Hit The Floor, Shameless, Skins and soap operas (Salatut Elamat, Days of Our Lives), etc), 

Queer as Folk, 

bad japanese live action adaptations of yaoi mangas (Takumi kun) or just sad/melancholic movies about lost men, 

sad chinese movies (usually with fucked up plots), 

indie queer movies (Were The World Mine, Judas Kiss, Shelter, Yes or No, Love of Siam etc). 

But I was starving for more. I wanted shows. 

In the search for more content, through Love of Siam enters My Bromance (very sad ending, also pseudo incest?, still part of what I thought were just indie movies with yaoi influences) and then appears Lovesick (S1 and S2), with very questionable subs, but finally a show with a gay couple as protagonists. 

Lovesick was for me the first show that finally put a queer story as a main thing to focus on, finally breaking free of the eternal side story filled with drama and hurt that was never comforted. After that only Make it Right was around. It was more of the same thing but this time the cast was a lot more reduced and everyone is gay. Also, it showed some of the sexual aspects of the genre (which now feels wrong for so many reasons, but alas). 

One day, SOTUS is on youtube with subs, plus it’s the official channels (yay! finally we can be legal!). 

First shock, there’s an actual plot centered around these two people, who are their own characters besides being gay, and they actually kiss (I remember it was so impactful to me (in a never seen before way) that I did fanart of it). Thai shows became my guilty pleasure, they were bad but they were telling the stories I wanted to see and no one else was doing it. Only Thai shows cared to show cute love stories that ended well, without the big drama we were used to in the west. My thoughts were “It’s bad but I’ll take it, I’m staying here”

Living through the different booms

When Together With Me came out it brought proper making out session and high heat to the genre. Sround here is when I started watching everything that I could find because I had finally found my jam. So I watched all that now I could not watch again (because, man! they’re bad) like 2moons, Puppy Honey S2, What The Duck, My Dream,... And then, with Love By Chance we got the first signs of consent and communication with AePete. It finally felt like we could get stories with healthy relationships. 

Also, Our Skyy came in! Great moment! Treats for everyone! And honestly, it was such a fun project to watch. Iconic side-couples from straight shows getting their moment of spotlight on the same level as the main couples from BL shows. To me, Our Skyy comfirmed the importance of the main 3 (OG, TN, KS) and cemented the path GMM was taking with their BL shows. It started to be part of the norm and not just some shows here and there. It was no longer waiting for someone to make a BL once in a while, but an assurance a small but constant flow of BLs. 

Also Taiwan started the HIStory franchise.

BIG BOOM#1 - TharnType! Also, Ossan’s Love. 

TharnType comes in. The 1st episode ends and everybody hates it for the lack of consent, but everybody loves it for the high heat and the chemistry (also for those of us who had liked Mew in WTD it was nice to see him in this show, that seemed to have less drama around it). Plus, the hype of knowing more about Tharn from LBC, who was such a nice older gay character when he was palyed by Earth (Pirapat).

I think to me, TT was a mix of a lot of the usual flaws with the very new (only achieved before by MaxTul) high heat chemistry  (which despite the controversy is an important part of the BL genre, you can’t take the sex out of BL) and an interesting idea for a plot. 

Also I watched Great Men Academy for Captain (Noh in Lovesick), and he slays. Plus the BL in the show is good (even tho technically not bl, but queer enough)

Simultaneously Japan gets Ossan’s Love, it’s first mainstream BL boom, with very well known actors and gets talked about by the regular drama watchers. Everyone was watching Ossan’s Love in Japan, it brought the genre to the mainstream for the first time. (And prepared the grounds for Cherry Magic, imo)

Other shows that left an impact at the time were He’s Coming To Me and Dark Blue Kiss. HCTM was the great Ohm comeback (who I though we would never see again), paired with Singto doing a BL again. Besides the chemistry, the change in themes was very interesting, it was the first thai bl that showed thai culture for me. For its part, DBK had an interesting opening and Aof personal queer touch to the storyline (which made it wonderful) Especially for MorkSun. It was the first taste of what we know Aof for, but it was also the first time BL had such mature and nuanced themes to it.

little BOOM#1 - Until We Meet Again and Theory of Love

UWMA and TOL, to me were surprises. I thought that like KirstSingto and TayNew, OffGun would never do another BL with new characters. That BL was still just an undervaluated stepping stone that people didn’t treat as a proper genre (as everybody had been doing up to that point, do it once and never be seen near the genre again). 

However, UWMA confirmed that BL was here to stay. It was growing, it was exploring mixing with other genres and famous thai actors were in it. It was also moving away from the usual university storyline. And TOL was the comback of the year. I remember everyone losing their shit (me included), it was the lengendary OG afterall. Up until then they had done cameos and Puppy Honey season 1 and 2 but that was it. TOL also did something interesting with its theme, and the romcom references. AND! it was the first proper kiss in a gmmtv BL. From dead fish PickRome to full on make out with KhaiThird.

BIG BOOM#2 - 2gether and Why R U?

The BL expansion thanks to the pandemic was very very noticeable. Everybody was seeing 2gether and WRU. First time anything BL trended on Tumblr. Everyone was descovering thailand. 

Also 2gether was again a first, it felt like the story made more sense. It was more believable, with tolerable tropes and a cute main pair (this was the first thai show I dared to recommend to someone who was not into BL), plus the music. The ending of the show ruined it for me, however Still2gether Fixed everything that was wrong from the 1st season and showed quickly how the show could’ve been. WRU’s plot was directly affected by the pandemic and bettered what TharnType had started with the high heat chemistry. The whole success of the show is due to SaintZee having amazing chemistry and going with it. 

My engineer was the surprise of the year, it had nothing going for it promising but it managed to be good (I think thanks to some parts of the story and the cast mainly). 

little BOOMS#2 - Cherry Magic and ITSAY and others

The riples of the pandemic 2gether boom were felt in Japan. Nothing breaks throught the japanese content barrier. Japan only consumes MADE IN JAPAN, and yet 2gether made it there. And showed the Japanese show runners that there’s an interest there. Cherry Magic aired a few months after and it was big success, like OL had been. Korea starts with Where Your Eyes Linger here too.

The thing about I Told Sunset About You was that nobody knew what we were getting. I had heard about My ambulance, I even saw some of the clips, but it seemed to be side couple queerbaiting and honestly I wasn’t expecting much. But they had promised a BilkinPP series. I think it’s no wonder it blew our minds, nobody was expecting that! 

Then the big comeback of MaxTul with Manner of Death, broke our minds just as OF had with TOL and bringing again the mature themes to the genre (they are called the daddies of BL for a reason). No one thought they’d come back.

Around here I started watching the GMMtv end of the year announcements. All the build up we had had from the growing of the BL genre and p’Aof culminated on the annoucement of A Tale of Thousand Stars. Because of how it breaks the rules of thai bl (no engineers, no university, no highschool, no city, no 2000′s yaoi tropes just regular shoujo tropes) and tells a compeling story that tasted so new the hype didn’t die even when it came one year later than it should have. 

And Lovely Writer, was the first to present the criticizing of the industry as well as expanding on the mature themes outside of university and the lack of need for fanservice off screen between the actors. They acted like normal people :D

Light on Me appared around here too, and showed us that korea can do better than it had. And Taiwan gave us We Best Love.

BIG BOOM#3 -  Bad Buddy and Kinnporsche

BB was the biggest annoucement GMMtv has ever made. The thing about it was the combo AofOhmNanon. Always grazing BL and forever ghost shipped with Chimon, Nanon decided to do his first (and probably only) BL with none other than Ohm (with who he had great chemistry since they became friends in Blacklist) and under the guidance of Aof. Here I want to add that Aof considers BB to be his first Y series, the ones before were dramas, so I assume by that that the thai public makes a difference between the more mature tone series and the more highschool/university BLs (??). Such a year that was! Accompanied by the epicness that was the annoucement of Not Me (confirmed to be the last OG show... but then they went and annouced another). 

And last but not least, Kinnporsche breaks the internet, everyone knows about thailand now. It entered the realm of darker themes and violence. Accompanied by other shows exploring other themes like: You’re My Sky (sports), Something In My Room (ghosts), etc...

Which is the flow we have now, some of the known old stuff some of the new expanding stuff, waiting for the next boom. My, what a journey!

I hope this was an interesting read and that I managed to show how these shows were perceived when they came out, even though now they might not be as groundbreaking. If anybody else wants to add how they perceived these shows when they came out, feel free to add to this!

#bl viewing history #thai bl history #I hope it's not too heavy of a reading #let me know if it was helpful or interesting #I love reading your reactions to old shows

[brighteyedbushybrowed]

𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 - 𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲

A/N: Ngl this was my first time writing for Nancy and I’m absolutely bricking it worried that I’ve gotten her character completely wrong hahaha (I’m dying inside). 

As per the last part, the suggestive and somewhat spicy content of this fic means that this, and indeed the rest of the series, is 18+ only. MINORS DNI

It wasn’t that you hadn’t expected the bottle to land on Nancy. The chances of it landing on her were one in eight, so logically speaking it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. No, what had surprised you was the fact that Nancy didn’t seem phased by it at all. She and Jonathan just gave one another a brief kiss and then off the two of you went into Steve’s guest room, her hand gripping yours as she led the way.

Admittedly, the thought of kissing Nancy had crossed your mind once or twice in the past. You’d never acted on those thoughts of course; you weren’t a homewrecker. There was just something about the way she held herself and how much more confident she’d become over the past few years that attracted you to her and made you wonder what her lips would feel like against yours. You knew she used a strawberry flavoured lip balm – Jonathan had mentioned it once or twice in passing – so would she taste like that? Or would she taste of the coffee she drank every morning – black with three sugars and a pump of vanilla flavoured syrup?

Once you both reached the closet, you were pretty sure the two of you just stood there and stared at it for at least thirty seconds in silence, your hands no longer joined. The chatter of your friends reached your ears, the group clearly unaware of the fact that neither of you had actually gotten inside yet. Now that you were there, the concept of making out with her in a closet felt a tad intimidating.

“We don’t have to do this if you’re not comfortable with it,” Nancy reassured you and you glanced at her, her smile putting you at ease.

“I know. It’s just a bit –”

“Scary?”

“Yeah.”

You both laughed, the tension immediately dissolving. Figuring you both didn’t have to make out if it felt too awkward, you tilted your head at the closet.

“Might as well make the most of it and just hang out for a bit, right?” you suggested, your hand already gripping the handle. Her nod encouraged you to open the door and climb inside and she closed the door after her once she was inside too.

Despite the closet being better than yours at home, it was still a little too cramped for the two of you to sit down with your legs stretched out. Instead, Nancy sat on her knees while your legs were drawn up against your chest to try and create some more room for her. It was quite dark inside the closet, but not so dark that it was pitch black. A tiny beam of light filtered through the crack between the doors, illuminating the interior ever so slightly.

You cleared your throat. “So, uh… how’re things? You know, with Jonathan.”

Nancy’s smile could be heard in her voice as she spoke. “It’s great. It’s nice to have him back in Hawkins. He’s already taken so many photos and put them together in an album with dates and context descriptors.”

“Oh damn.” You blinked in surprise. “I didn’t think he was that detail oriented. I mean, I know you kind of have to be for photography, but I didn’t think he was that focused on details.”

“Oh yeah,” she replied, “he loves it almost as much as he loves developing the pictures themselves. It means he has a concise record of when and where each one was taken if he’s looking for a particular date or photograph.”

It was sweet that Jonathan wanted to keep such an in depth record of his relationship and his work. You’d often thought to yourself that you’d love a partner that was so keen to make memories. Someone that wanted to make every moment count and have something to look back on one day. Nancy had really lucked out with Jonathan, even if he’d overstepped her boundaries in the past with his habit of taking pictures of everything.

Nancy’s dress made a soft rustling sound as she adjusted her position a little. “We’ve actually kind of talked about what it would be like to kiss other people before. We love each other a lot, don’t get me wrong, but we also wanna be able to share our love with more people if that makes sense.”

The tips of your ears burned a little at her words. “You mean like… dating other people as well as each other?”

She coughed. “Yeah, kind of. We’ve not had serious discussions about it or anything, just tossed the idea around a bit. We’ve not really thought about who we’d add to our relationship if that’s what we wanted to do.”

You licked your lips. “Why are you telling me this? Does everyone else know?”

“Not exactly,” she told you. “You’re the only person I’ve told, and Jonathan hasn’t talked about it with anyone yet. Not everyone in this town would approve of or be receptive towards that kind of relationship.”

You clumsily changed the way you were sitting so that you were also on your knees, inching a little closer to your friend.

“I guess what I’m trying to say in a roundabout way is that you don’t need to worry about it effecting our relationship if you did want to… you know…”

You could hear your blood pumping in your ears. “Did you want to?”

There was a pause, your words hanging in the air between you. You didn’t dare move, not sure what Nancy wanted and conscious of the fact that this was new, unfamiliar territory for the two of you. You jolted slightly at the shift in the air as your friend leaned in closer to you. Trembling hands placed themselves gently on your shoulders.

“Only if you want to. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or like you’re imposing on mine and Jonathan’s relationship.” Her voice was tender and soothing, actively seeking to assure you that it was okay for you to say no.

Your own hands shook as you hesitantly placed them on her hips and moved your face a little closer to hers. The scent of her floral perfume filled your nose, a shuddering breath leaving your lips.

When Nancy closed the distance between the two of you, your eyes closed on instinct, and you moved your lips against hers gently. Her lips were soft and slippery – likely from newly applied lip balm or gloss. The way she pulled you in a little closer and trailed her hands from your shoulders to your lips encouraged you to open your mouth. Your friend took the initiative to slide her tongue into your mouth experimentally, testing your reaction. You couldn’t help but notice that she did indeed taste like her strawberry lip balm, the taste intoxicating and leaving you wanting more. Her movements became bolder when your own tongue caressed hers, the kiss becoming a little more heated as you both moaned softly against one another. You weren’t sure if it was the sound she made or the way her hands squeezed your neck slightly, but suddenly you had the guts to move your hands round to her back and pull her so that you were flush against one another. You felt her hips move against yours and it sent your heart into overdrive, thundering in your chest like a drill.

Your eyes fluttered open when your noses bumped, breaking the kiss briefly. Heat rushed to your face and ears when she moved to start mouthing at your throat and one of her hands brushed teasingly over your nipple on top of your shirt.

“N-Nancy,” you huffed out, your voice breathy. Her teeth grazing your skin had you whining. The slight embarrassment you felt as your hips jerked against hers melted away almost immediately when her other hand started to rub against your clothed crotch. Your hands crept down towards her behind and you bit lip when she quietly groaned at the sensation of you squeezing her ass.

Just as you felt Nancy’s hands unbutton your jeans and start pulling down the zip, there came a knock at the closet doors, and it was almost as if you both deflated. You’d both completely forgotten that you only had seven minutes and that you were playing a game and you couldn’t fight off the disappointment that settled in your gut.

“We’ll be right out,” your friend called out, buttoning your jeans back up in the process.

“Um, it’s me,” Jonathan responded, his voice hesitant and timid.

Nancy’s boyfriend came into view when she pushed one of the doors open, his eyes glazing over a little as he took in the sight of both of you so close together and out of breath. His cheeks turned a dusky pink when he caught sight of where his girlfriend’s hands were positioned on the body and the way your own rested on her ass.

You cleared your throat. “Is everything okay?”

He merely nodded and averted his eyes to stare intently at the floor. “Yeah, yeah. Robin told me to come and get you both.”

Your brows furrowed when Nancy stopped you from getting up, licking her lips as she looked up at Jonathan.

“We could always… not go back to the group,” she suggested, her voice husky.

The dusky pink on his cheeks turned to beetroot red at what Nancy implied and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Y-Yeah?”

Your friend was up and out of the closet with a hum, a playful smile tugging at her lips when she leaned in to whisper something into his ear. He quickly glanced at you before looking away again while Nancy giggled.

Before you could ask what was going on, Nancy was pulling you to your feet and held both yours and Jonathan’s hands.

“Let’s go somewhere a bit more private.”

Tagging: @alonezz​ 

#spicy content #stranger things #nancy wheeler #nancy wheeler x reader #fanfic writing #my fanfic #mine

[rookrecurring]

I don’t know where you’re at with this question or how often you’ve been asked it, but how are you doing these days? What have you been up to? I did a triple take when you started posting again and it’s good to see your art again! I hope you’ve been well.

—longtime RMR fan

Hi! This is such a kind message, I appreciate you checking in. I feel like I've been offline for so long that I'm always surprised to hear anyone remembers me or Red Moon Rising at all, haha. I've received a few emails here and there from former readers over the years which I've replied to, but I think it's probably time to say something more public in case anyone else has similar questions.

I tried and completely failed to keep this concise - sorry for rambling all over your relatively simple ask, but the long and short of it is: I'm doing pretty ok! Life is confusing and difficult! More under the cut!

In all honesty, I burned out very badly while working on Red Moon Rising. The tipping point unfortunately coincided with the Kickstarter for the print version (way back in 2017), but in retrospect it was a long time coming.

Shocking no-one, webcomics basically pay nothing and I was treating it as a job on top of the commission and freelance work I was paying the bills with, and in the end it just kind of crushed me. I became very overwhelmed with the work required to get the comic ready for print in the time that followed, so I never quite gave myself space to recover from the burnout because I felt such an obligation to fulfill the Kickstarter - people had paid good money for this and I wanted them to receive the books they had been promised.

The good news these days is that the Kickstarter is more or less all the way there. My publisher has been an absolute saint this entire time, checking in with me about the work without ever being demanding or pushy, and a few months ago a box arrived at my flat with all three volumes (consisting of the first 300-ish pages) of Red Moon Rising in print.

It's hard to be ecstatic after such a tiring journey to put it all together, but I'm proud of what we made. I can't overstate what a great job I think my publisher has done and how kind they've been to me - they received a lot of flak from people about the massive delays and never once threw me under the bus or pressured me to work harder or faster.

Regarding RMR's future: the website is currently down, but it shouldn't be for long. I've had some help from a friend recently (a recurring trend that I'm very grateful for) and the site should be back online soon more or less as it was. Pages, commentary, comments, everything.

However, the comic will remain on semi-permanent hiatus - never say never, but for the moment I've moved on.

I'm sure this isn't a surprise considering the last page was posted six years ago, but I hope it's not too disappointing for anyone. I always thought I would come back to it sooner or later, but I still feel like I need some space.

-

On an even more personal note, it's been a crazy few years. I think everyone has had a difficult time recently what with the… well, everything. I've been through a lot of health problems, some very difficult housing and financial situations, and I also came out as gay and asexual to my friends and family, and now to anyone who happens to be reading this.

Fortunately I have no horror stories regarding this last point, everyone around me has been beyond supportive and kind. I think the main takeaway I have from this period of my life is how amazing my friends are. I could probably fill this post to the character limit talking about the lovely people in my life and the numerous kind things they've done for me. I'm in a very good place right now thanks to them.

So in a post-Kickstarter, post-RMR world I'm at a bit of crossroads these days. I feel like my burnout has finally more or less faded and I've quietly been up to all sorts of small things.

I spent a lot of this year learning Japanese to an intermediate level (mostly through watching hundreds of episodes of Super Sentai shows in pure Japanese), something that didn't occur to me I would ever be capable of until I started doing it

I've been composing more orchestral music and sending it to like two people

I did a game jam!

I picked up Python programming recently and am trying to create a program to act as a music composition aid

I speedran learning Blender last year for a job application and made exactly one (1) piece using it that went so well I'll probably never draw a building by hand ever again

I've been playing a lot of DnD and other tabletop RPGs and made quite a bit of art related to those that I never posted anywhere

My biggest freelance project of the year was doing all the art for a friend's board game project that I'm cautiously excited about - it should be seeing the light of day some time next year

Basically I'm approaching some sort of critical mass of "uhhh maybe someone on the internet might like to see what I'm up to if I actually posted it" and now I'm confronting the scary emotions of once again being visible online. Yet another friend has offered to help me set up some kind of art stream in the near future and I think I might actually work up the nerve to do it.

-

Compared to 2017 the internet now is obviously a very different place and it's quite intimidating to step back into it if I'm being honest. It feels like there's much more pressure on Cultivating A Brand™ and I can already tell I'm going to be completely terrible at it because that pressure to be a consistent Content Creator™™™ totally smashed my brain in before and I'm not interested in going there again.

On the other hand, I appreciate that someone who is interested in seeing my handful of bird drawings one month might not also be interested in seeing my Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger fanart the next. I don't really know what to do about that except post these things anyway, because otherwise they're just piling up on my hard drive.

So that's it, really! My life is a lot more stable these days and I'm tentatively planning on posting more stuff here and possibly other places too. Thanks again for the ask, and sorry for the impromptu novel!

#words words words #red moon rising

[oddree13]

Burning Down the House - Chapter 1

(Part 1) (Next Chapter)  

(Read on AO3) 

His mother is apologizing to their guests for the third time tonight. "When we moved out here we anticipated that the town might develop more, but what can you do," she laughs, tossing back more wine.

Steve is fiddling with the bottom of his tie which earns him a smack from his mother under the table. He looks up with an apologetic smile to see that his father is talking business on the other side of the table with his colleague. As his view pans a seat over he's met with the gaze of Tiffany Edison, the daughter of one of his father's associates, a socially acceptable alpha. She’s feminine and slender, the type of girl his mother insists upon, and she’s blonde (a preference his father has and never got despite his mother’s failed attempts at getting it from the bottle). Tiffany is capable, refined, everything the Harrington’s want in a connection. Steve's reluctance to go to college and decision to keep working in Hawkins had led his parents to decide he's unfit to make choices for himself and needs an alpha to give him direction. And Tiffany is their latest choice.

He can't explain that he'll go to college once all the kids have graduated because he needs to be here to protect them. After all, that is predicated on two things - (1) telling his parents that the upside-down exists and having them believe him and (2) having his parent be around enough to know anything about Steve's day-to-day life.

Because even if he couldn't tell them the first, at least they'd see that Steve doesn't just spend his days doing nothing and working at Family Video, but instead coordinates the schedule of a whole gaggle of kids he adores. Steve does anything and everything from school drop-off and pick-up, homework help, science fair assistance, and club manager. He takes Will into the next town for art supplies and drives Max to her skateboard competitions. He practices free throws with Lucas and lets Erica tear him down so she can practice for speech and debate. He helps El with the bullies she's facing at school and Dustin with well almost anything he needs. But none of that matters to his parents because Steve isn't the son they wanted. Now he's just a bargaining chip.

Which is how he finds himself sitting at Enzo, forced to leave work early, put on a suit, and look together enough that maybe Tiffany Edison will court him.

"Steven, Tiffany asked you something," his mother chides, using a laugh to cover her irritation. "Sorry dear, our Steven has always been a little spacey."

"Oh, it's alright. I was just asking what kind of music you listen to Steve?"

Music. Steve could definitely talk about music. "A lot of different types actually. One of my good friends works at the music shop two towns over and keeps me up to date on what's coming out. I think the cassette I've been playing the most is the new Smiths album," he answers and sees a bemused look on Tiffany's face.

"Did I mention that in addition to spacey our Steven tends to ramble? I honestly blame that Buckley girl, you used to be so concise. Tiffany here plays the viola, second chair at Vanderbilt, right?" his mother offers, clearly embarrassed by her son’s primitive taste in music.

"That's correct ma'am though my major is business. Music is nice but it's not a living," she titters, and Steve would know one very vocal metalhead who would disagree. Eddie's whole life is music between the shop, the lessons he teaches, and his gigs.

"Business major," Steve tries, knowing if he attempts to keep the conversation going the car ride home will be much more pleasant. "Why did you choose to go into that?"

"Why to take over the family business of course," her father good-naturedly supplies from next to her, putting his arm around his daughter. "Edison Industries has been in our family for generations, and Tiffany is next in line until she has a successor," he winks, and the implication makes Steve smile tightly.

Their plates come out, giving Steve a welcomed distraction, but as he lifts a bite to his mouth he feels a foot run up the back of his leg. Over her salad, Tiffany is almost leering at him and Steve wonders if this is how rabbits feel when being hunted. Her foot starts to inch higher and higher which makes Steve jolt. "Ah excuse me, I need to go to the restroom," he swallows, standing up and walking away, his heart racing.

Closing the bathroom door behind him, Steve leans against the wall and tries to think of a way out of this. It's not like this is the first time his parents have set him up on a blind date like this. They've been trying to do this for the last two and a half years. The problem is Steve's running out of excuses and his parents' patience is running thin.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just say yes. If the alphas he's being introduced to are anything like his father they won't be around most of the time to bother Steve, just long enough to knock him up.

Before his thought process can continue though, Steve feels a spray of water overhead followed by a high-pitched alarm going off in the restaurant.

***

It’s Friday which means Eddie’s routine is the same as it has been for the last several months. He gets off work, his shift ending two hours before Steve's which leaves him enough time to drive back to Hawkins and loiter at Family Video for an hour before picking a movie off their running watchlist to bring to the pack's standing Friday movie watch.

The problem is that when he walks in this Friday, Harrington is nowhere to be found and finds an annoyed Buckley. At first, he thinks it’s because she’s missing her sidekick, but then he sees Henderson come out of the back office, yelling into a walkie-talkie. “No, I said it was code purple, not red, over!” he yells, looking at the receiver for a response before noticing that Eddie is there.

“Eddie! Thank goodness you’re here,” he exclaims, looking at Eddie as if he can somehow help whatever situation is going on. A part of his stomach drops, because the last time Henderson and co. had that sort of panicked look he ended up with a chunk of his stomach missing. The only thing that isn’t making his hair stand on end is that Buckley still looks annoyed and not alarmed.

Robin rolls her eyes and swats at the air as if she could smack down Dustin’s anxiety. “He’s just worried about Steve,” she starts but is cut off by Dustin.

“You should be! He’s not here, and he’s not at home,” he starts, which to Eddie wouldn’t be a cause for concern because who wouldn’t want to ditch work at Family Video every once in a while.

“How do you know he’s not at home?” Eddie asks, hopping up on the counter. If he’s going to watch theatrics, proudly he thinks, he might as well be comfortable.

“Because Lucas rode his bike by the house to check if he was there. Steve’s car is there but his parent’s car isn’t.”

Eddie still feels lost. “So what? The Harrington’s car is never in the driveway. They’re never home.”

“They are this weekend,” Robin supplies, and Eddie turns to look at her, wondering how that information escaped his radar. “What? Is it really that surprising to you that Steve failed to let anyone know his parents were back in town? The only reason I do is because his father called Keith and demanded Steve’s schedule be changed.”

“Doesn’t he realize Steve is a grown-ass man?” Eddie spits, hating the level of interference that occurs when the Harringtons are in town. Ninety percent of the year they ignore their only child but dominate the remaining ten percent when they are in town.

“Nope,” Robin says, popping the p for emphasis. Eddie’s about to ask more when the static of the walkie comes on and it’s Mike on the other line.

/We found him, over./

“Great! Where is he?” Dustin calls into the walkie, too worked up to remember the protocol he insisted everyone learn.

/El did her thing and it seems he’s at Enzo’s for dinner? Over./

“Enzo’s?” Dustin asks, his eyes flicking to Eddie. Eddie’s not sure why the fact that Steve is at the only upscale restaurant in town has anything to do with him, but before he can dwell on that El’s voice comes over the speaker.

/Steve is in a suit. Steve is with his parents. He is with three other people too. One is a pretty lady and she is smiling at Steve. O-over./

Dustin’s head falls back in frustration before calling into the walkie, “You see, code purple people! Max? Erica? Positions? Over.”

“My position is here dumbass,” Max calls out as she walks into the video store, looking between Eddie and Robin. “Oh, good Eddie’s here. Now we won’t have to bike to the code purple.”

“What is code purple?!” Robin finally asks because the kids keep saying it without context.

“Oh, that’s the code we came up with for when Steve is in trouble,” she shrugs like it’s perfectly normal for a bunch of teenagers to have a plan of action to save their babysitter. “Not like trouble-trouble, just like his parents are being asshats trouble. Or he forgot to get supplies for heat.”

Robin wrinkles her nose at the last part and Eddie has to laugh because Steve would die at the knowledge that his kids have fail-safes for his heat. But the amusement slowly fades when it hits him why the kids are worried. The pretty woman smiling at Steve is probably a Harrington picked and approved alpha - someone that would undoubtedly take Steve away from them. All of them .

Eddie knows he should be the voice of reason in Nancy and Steve’s absence, but something inside him is smothering that voice with a pillow in order to go along with whatever plan his gremlins have.

“Alright boys and girls, how are we ruining this dinner?”

***

What took the longest was gathering everyone into the back of Eddie’s van because no one was willing to be left out. The only one who stayed behind was Robin because she had to close the store, but was only allowed to stay behind when she promised that she would not only reconvene at the Wheeler’s home for movie night but that she’d bring the movie in question.

Eddie drives, trying to drown out the noise of the kids planning in the backseat because if he listens in on their speculation he might not make it to Enzo’s without hitting at least a curb. He rationally knows that he has no right to interfere. He and Steve…well they aren’t exactly nothing but aren’t anything either. Sure they spend most of their free time together, Steve loitering at Smash Records when he’s off work or dragging Eddie along to whatever errand he’s running for his adopted pups. And yeah they sit pretty close during movie nights, and Steve is constantly stealing his clothes but they aren’t anything official. It’s just mutual comfort.

“And she’s blonde?” he hears Max say over his internal monologue. “Steve doesn’t even like blondes!”

“Yeah, anyone who knows Steve knows he has a type,” Lucas agrees.

“And what type is that?” Eddie asks, making the entire car suddenly shut up. He looks in his rearview mirror and sees seven sets of eyes staring back at him ranging in expressions from wide-eyed at being caught to ‘jesus h christ you’re an idiot Munson’ .

Erica is the one to break the silence rolling her eyes. “Brown hair, Bambi eyes, and a total nerd.” The statement earns her a hiss from a few of the boys, and Eddie has to laugh. Wheeler certainly fits that description and thankfully Robin is not in the car to hear Erika link her alpha to Steve, again.

“She’s not talking about my sister dumbass,” Mike pipes up, making Eddie almost miss the entrance to the Enzo parking lot. He wants to tell them that while Steve very much appreciated their hiatus at playing matchmaker, they should all really keep the streak up. But before he can form those words the kids are barreling out of the car and towards the bushes that line the restaurant's bay windows.

Eddie walks over, crouching low until reaches the kids already parting the bushes. It doesn’t take long for Eddie to spot the Harrington family. His parents look just like the oil painting over the mantle. His eyes move and land on the woman across from the table. He can only see her profile but she is everything Eddie is not - well-mannered, refined, probably rich, blonde, and most important for the Harringtons - a woman. She’s an embodiment of all the reasons Eddie stops himself from making a move because it would only end in heartbreak.

He watches as the woman laughs, and can’t help but wonder if he’s reading the condescending aura correctly from here. But when she reaches over to touch Steve’s wrist, Eddie can’t stop the snarl that comes out of him as he watches Steve give her a tight, nervous smile. He feels the kids' eyes on him again and turns to see that most of them look pleased if still a little shocked.

“Told you,” Erica drawls and prods Dustin to start putting the wheels in motion.

“Right operation flambé is a go people,” he calls clapping once, making the kids disperse until it’s just Eddie and Will.

“Do you not have a role?” he asks, wondering if he and Steve need to have another inclusion chat with the boys.

Will shakes his head. “No, my job is to make sure Eddie doesn’t do anything stupid. And to watch where Steve goes,” he adds.

“Me? Stupid? Byers are you listening to your brother’s tall tales of me again??” Eddie asks in mock offense, making Will laugh before he turns his attention back to the window. They watch for a few minutes the Americana dinner scene before them until Steve gets up to go to the bathroom. Eddie is half tempted to jimmy open the window and sneak Steve out, and that’s when he realizes why Will is there to watch him. He’s about to ask Will what he’s supposed to do when he hears a scream followed by a fire alarm.

“What did you all do?” he asks, his jaw falling open as servers guide soaking wet patrons towards the exit. He’s staring in amazement until Will is tugging him around to the other side of the restaurant.

Eddie doesn’t find out about most of the plan until they are far away from the fire alarms but from what he pieces together the following occurred. El and Max entered through the back where the kitchen is and start a grease fire - Max flaming it, El controlling it. Dustin calls 911 ahead of time, while Erika pulls the fire alarm at the first sign of smoke. As for Mike and Lucas? Well, Lucas went to the valet stand ripping off the tags on the keys, while Wheeler went and punctured holes in the tires of the most expensive parked cars. Eddie would later confiscate the switchblade Mike had gotten his hands on, and give him an army knife in trade. He was a reasonable man after all.

Will stops them at one of the side exits and puts Eddie against the wall by the door, figuring he gets the next step on his own. He does. As soon as the door opens to reveal Steve walking out from the exit closest to the bathroom, Eddie takes his hand and pulls him around the corner.

“Hey there big boy,” he beams, enjoying the shocked face of Steve Harrington looking relieved to see him.

“Eddie! What are you doing here?” he asks, his hands going from Eddie’s shoulder to cupping his face in disbelief.

“The Hawkins rumor mill works overtime when Steve Harrington is in danger of missing movie night. Figured I’d come get you for a late-night double-feature picture show,” he lies.

Eddie is about to lead him to the van when the motion of his step pulls him into Steve’s arm, the omega hugging him tight. “Thank you,” he murmurs into his ear and only breaks off him when Will clears his throat.

“Sorry to interrupt but none of us want arson on our records before college so we should head to the car.”

“Arson?!” Steve shouts, but Eddie pulls him along to the van, opening the passenger door for Steve before ushering all the little pyros into the car.

#steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fics #omegaverse #omega steve harrington #alpha eddie munson #stranger things #stranger things fic #robin buckley #dustin henderson #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #mike wheeler #el hopper #will byers #erica sinclair #myfics #Six Kids and a Winnebago

[andysandfordcomedy]

Some Things To Consider While Writing Jokes

Lately I have been doing one on one Joke Machine sessions with comics of all levels where I go over all the material they send me and see if we can improve upon that material. I’ll also watch a set they send and give feedback. It’s been interesting and very informative to see the different ways people stray from doing their best stuff the best way. Generally speaking, the comics who came to me were concerned with self awareness and open to criticism. That allows them to progress so much further than someone who would scoff at the very idea of doing that. I have a lot of respect for comics willing to do whatever it takes to get better. 

Earlier this month I was asked by Blue Ridge Comedy Club in Bristol, TN if I would be able to do a 3 hour joke writing seminar. Having recently done those Joke Machine sessions with comics turned out to be crucial in putting together a 3 hour lesson plan of sorts. That brings me to this: an attempt at a condensed version of that seminar. Just some things to keep in mind and steps to consider when writing jokes that I think will help you no matter what your particular style is. and with that; a caveat of sorts: I cannot make you funnier than you are. I can’t tell you how to guarantee yourself a successful comedy career. I can tell you that the most important aspect to a succesful comedy career is being good at comedy. I mean, really really good. Better than what anyone would expect. Try to get into a mindset of constant progression. Always try to envision what the better you looks like, and then be that you the next time you’re on stage. It’s the only way I know of to reach the level necessary to do comedy professionally. Ok, let’s get into it.

1st RULE TO WRITING JOKES: YOU MUST WRITE 

This is something people don’t like to hear. Many comics, when asked about their writing process, will say something to the effect of “I don’t really sit down to write.” Just know that this is bullshitting yourself. If you want to get good at something hard, you can’t be afraid to dive in and work. The time you spend on stage is a fraction of the time you put into your act, or should be. Set aside a couple hours every day to sit down and write. You will find that you can’t force your creativity to a tight schedule. That’s ok, don’t let that stop you from trying. When you are in a groove/the zone/whatever...when things are popping, RIDE THAT OUT. Cancel appointments if you have to. The time spent in the zone has to be maximized. That is as important as sitting down to write every day. Don’t bring things to a halt while you are in a groove and think that you will resume that creative rush later: you won’t. So, big takeaway here is write often, and when in a groove, ride it out. 

TALK OUT THE JOKE AS YOU WRITE IT

Stand up is only written to be spoken. As you are writing, talk out the joke. Find a comfortable rhythm. Find that perfect wording and assess each line. Always keep in mind that the joke’s final form is vocal. I personally hate writing in coffee shops for this reason. I can’t say messed up shit out loud in a coffee shop. I like writing outside if the weather is nice. If that’s not doable, I write at my desk. If you are able to, try to have a dedicated office space where everything you do while sitting at that desk is career related. The second you get away from important things and start dorking around on facebook, get away from the desk.  

WORD ECONOMY

My definition of word economy may be more in depth than other people’s, but it isn’t about just making everything shorter or using less words. Yes, conciseness is key, but overall just always consider every line you say. Does that line serve a purpose? Does it need to be said? Could it be said better? Remember that a setup is just the information needed to get the joke. If you can make the setup funny while being concise, perfect, but it’s more important that it is concise. One thing that helps me is to write jokes in outline form. Write down only the lines you know you need to say and have a space in between them. Then think, “get from this line to the next line as quickly and naturally as possible.” I find if I write down the transitional sentences I get hung up on them. It helps me to think of everything I say filling a balloon up with air, so the longer it takes me to get to the next laugh, the bigger the pop(laugh) should be. Sometimes I won’t be comfortable with how much setup is required to get to a mediocre pop, so I will find an “on the way” joke to get a little pop along the way. That visualization seems to help a lot of people I have shared it with. 

STEP 1 TO WRITING ANY JOKE: IDENTIFY THE PREMISE

If I were to ask you, “what’s the premise of the joke,” do not say “well first I say this...” No, I mean the concept of the joke. The idea that is funny. If you just come up with something that’s funny, assess it and be able to explain why. You don’t want to have to explain why it’s funny to an audience, but you should be able to explain what is funny so that you can find the best way to get that premise across to people. Drill that into your head: Know the premise. KNOW THE PREMISE. Know the premise. 

STEP 2: HOW MUCH MEAT DOES THIS PREMISE HAVE?

As you identify the premise, consider how much meat there is to that premise because that will determine what kind of joke it should be. You may think you have majority of the joke figured out and then need to stop and zoom out. Ask yourself, is this actually one aspect of a much wider premise than I originally thought? If so, the rest of the joke may kind of write itself. 

STEP 3: GET THE JOKE TO A STAGEWORTHY FORM

Remember to keep talking out the joke vocally and find that wording that works. Don’t work it most of the way out and put a pin in it. Get the joke to a point where you can try it on stage. Don’t put too much on yourself. Doing any joke for the first time is an undertaking, but you have got to follow through and write a complete joke once you start. Not doing that is a really bad habit. Once you try the joke on stage, consider what worked/what didn’t, then change the joke as necessary, and when you do: make sure you have a new complete version to try. Remember that a joke is always malleable. You can always change it/make it better. Do new jokes right up top. You may want to open with something reliable to get em first, but then do the new thing. Don’t put off doing the new thing. If you are confident in how funny it is, go ahead and open with it. 

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Stand up is just one premise presented to completion, then another premise presented and performed to completion. One after another. Over and over and over. Don’t make it more complicated than that. Don’t try to weave some complicated tapestry filled with little half baked joke ideas and expectations from the audience. Keep it simple, crisp, and clear. This joke, then this joke, then this joke. One after another. That’s it. 

HAVE FUN

I have learned over 15 years of comedy that the one way to make sure you don’t do well is to not have fun doing it. If you can see that this show is gonna be a nightmare, find a way to make it a fun nightmare. It’s the only way to do well. The good news is: this is always possible, I promise. You will bomb occasionally: There is no escaping it. Do not concede to bombing though. Don’t speed through parts of the joke to get to the part you think they’ll like. If you don’t like how things are going, slow down. If things are going well, speed up a little. 

#writing jokewriting comedywriting comedy standupcomedy Standup AndySandford jokes write

[septembersghost]

When did you realize you loved Elvis?

trying to figure out the answer to this is like trying to put a mosaic together, because my first thought as a reply was a quote echoing in my head ("i've loved you since i've known you. no, that's not...i think maybe even before"), and this picture i saved a couple of weeks ago because it reminded me of him:

and this:

the fact that he said "my people," because that's what we are, that's what we share and the level where he'd meet us...the kindred spirit in that, the open vulnerability. even now, that's the way he welcomes us into that embrace and connects us, that humanity and warmth and generosity and love is still so, so present that it's hard to believe he's not right here giving that of himself like he always did.

i've mentioned this a bunch of times, but i'll reiterate it since i don't know how long you've been here and if you've seen it - there's not a time when i don't remember being aware of him because he's such a cultural icon and because i always adored vintage things, and i have all these memories of him trying to get through to me. the fact that i've loved can't help falling in love for as long as i can remember (and have been familiar with a lot of his famous hits, but in a way that was more superficial), the picture frame my grandma gave me with his photo in it as a child, and i didn't take him out because i thought he looked friendly and sweet, seeing the unchained melody performance as a teenager. i keep relying on the same metaphor because it's the way i picture it in my head, that he was standing in my open doorway waiting for me to fully understand and let him in. that really is what it feels like? i should've loved him so many times before. and maybe in some fateful way i already did.

still, the timing was cosmic and perfect that he became fully-formed and heard and beloved to me more recently, because it's like he knew exactly when i would most need that touchstone and comfort. he's given so much light to me. i love the raw passion and joy of hearing his voice and the depth of his music, i appreciate knowing how real he was as a person and the many layers there, how profoundly complex and yet beautifully simple he was all at once. i don't think there was a moment i can wholly pinpoint as the definitive moment i realized - was it in the film, when the perspective switch flips, and we hear his speech, when we hear, "so i keep singing a song," and it took my breath away? was it the morning i talked about yesterday, when i was listening to true love travels on a gravel road and was so captivated i had to sit down with it? was it before that, when i cried watching him perform if i can dream, and the way it resonated and everything it meant to me? was it the night bridge over troubled water came up on shuffle and felt like him holding out a hand while i was ill and struggling with a heavy sense of grief, and hearing the words of the song was consoling? was it day i read this and it rang through my whole heart?:

it feels like it was years' worth of time coalescing, and that it happened suddenly and all at once. it's why i reflect on, "i'll be coming home, wait for me" a lot, because it felt like a piece of home that had been waiting a long time. like he walked through that door smiling softly and fully-formed to say: hi honey. knew you'd find me one of these days.

so it's not a concise answer! somehow i just loved him, and knew that it was intrinsic and fateful and true. 💗

#anonymous #letterbox #i was a dreamer #elvis presley #sail on silver girl; sail on by #bubble wrap around my heart #i'm sorry this took me two hours to answer! i don't feel like it's articulated well or makes sense but thank you for asking #i love the question 💖

[chococolte]

Hey, Sophie!!! Are there any tips you have for writing or starting a new blog? You really inspired me to start a writing blog <33

i'm so happy i inspired you!!!! 💗 below the read more are just what came to mind, but if u have any other questions pls let me know!

blog wise 🧾 —

one: stylization. choose a theme and/or color palette (2-3 colors) and stick to it. stylize your [writing] posts to look nice and pleasing to the eye. aesthetic is important. you want people to want to click on your writing. if your post is just the title, warnings, and then the writing, with no header or divider (esp with no read more), you're likely to get less interaction. if you're the kind to get quickly bored of a theme, then stylize your posts in a way which will look good with any palette.

two: fandom. be aware of what fandom you're writing in. if you're writing for a smaller fandom, then the audience your going to reach is smaller, and vice versa. if you want to get popular/for your writing to reach a bigger audience, i recommend writing for a popular fandom. you can reach out to smaller stuff once you have a sizable amount of people that will read whatever you put out. of course, it's all up to you— write whatever you like, and for whatever you like! don't be disheartened by lack of interaction. what's most important is that you're happy with your work.

three: navigation. making your blog easy to navigate is important. tag the writing with a writing tag, tag your misc text posts, tag readers gender, tag reblogs, tag discourse (though i recommend keeping discourse entirely separate from your writing blog, as fanfic is mostly used as an escape), everything— this is important for your blogs navigability. i only tagged my text posts in the beginning and now i have to go back and add tags to my older posts so people can have an easier time going through my writing. it sucks. so much so that i've been putting it off and only have like, 10 writing posts tagged properly rn. save yourself the trouble and do it from the start!

writing wise ✒️ —

one: readability. you do not want your work to be hard to read or to understand. it's important to be concise, and to simplify sentences when they become too jumbled. note: i am not saying to dumb down your writing, but accessibility is necessary if you want your work to reach a bigger audience. just keep this in mind when rereading your work. i elaborate further on what i mean by 'readability' below.

two: word-usage. it's important to note that there's a fine line between showcasing your vocabulary, and using words you don't fully understand to impress an audience that truly does not care for it. call it black, not stygian. say it was dark out, not "the tenebrous clouds loomed over the crepuscular sky".

i'm not saying to completely remove words that may challenge your readers vocabulary. no, most people actually like learning new words. but it's important to know the distinction between learning a new word, and being overwhelmed by them to the point you can't fully understand what's being described.

there is a time and place. there will be a time where calling the color black stygian or pale green glaucous feels right. that is not going to be when you just learned of the words existence. these moments should feel and be natural, not forced.

three: word-choice. you can tell a lot of things just be using a specific word. if a character is meant to be seen as strong and mighty, you can paint how weak the reader makes them (this is under the assumption u want to write fanfic but this applies everywhere dsbxjdbd) by calling their blushing 'delicate' or 'fragile' in direct juxtaposition to their persona. readers r gonna understand the subtext.

four: familiar phrasing. familiar phrasing are phrases, or certain words strung together, that are familiar to the reader— to a detriment. phrases such as "a shiver ran down his spine", or describing a storm as "raging", are all familiar phrasing. They aren't unique descriptions, and while every sentence doesn't need to be perfect, this is still something you can work on on your own pace.

what's most important is what you're invoking for the reader. you could describe a sun's reflection on the sea as just that, the sun's reflection— or you could describe it as a second sun dipping beneath the horizon, gold and glittery, honey dipped in water... whether those descriptions resonant with the reader is unknown, but at least they evoke something that is unfamiliar. they paint a picture that is distinct from simply a sun's reflection. keep it in mind! ^^ i think that's all i have to say for now... sorry if my wording was a little wonky in places, it's 1 am for me rn... but i still hope this helps nonnie, and feel free to msg me again if u want me to elaborate further on any of these or if u want my advice/tips on something more specific..!!! <3

#[🦇] — sophie's musings #this is a little long #but i hope it helps!! #sorry it took me a moment to write this all up! #once u make ur blog pls tell me it <3

[wildwoof]

Sign language comes naturally to Rei, practiced and perfected until each motion is as intrinsic as breathing, a form of communication often as concise as it is beautiful. He thinks it's a shame it isn't more widely utilized; as verbose as he tends to be, the constraints make for an interesting challenge if he wishes to maintain his theatrical flair.

This isn't sign language, and truthfully, isn't even all that similar. Just the same, it excites him-- as do all things secret, coded, and guarded. There is an allure to the puzzle that he simply can't deny… even when they're as plainly spelled out as this. And maybe it's better that way, he thinks; maybe it's best for the veil of secrecy to remain just that when it comes to matters such as these. Shading, but not a true cover.

He starts with a light tap to Koga's nose with his index finger, flashing a grin despite himself. "You're so cute," it says, and he can imagine performing the very same motion on a child, or perhaps a puppy, tail wagging in excitement at the brief spark of attention. Koga, of course, is neither… but it's difficult not to laugh to himself at how apt the image truly is. He likes to think he's got a good grasp on his unitmate's reactions, and expects this silent statement to speak for itself.

He moves on, a glint of mischief in his ruby eyes as he slowly drags a hand down Koga's side, over his waist. Possessiveness, apparently-- a difficult sentiment for him to spit out in earnest, but one that builds behind his lips nevertheless. There has never been an inherent danger of Koga straying from his side. Not even when he would have preferred it. But Rei has always been poised to sink his fangs into those things he claims, so to speak. To call someone his own is to accept a desire within him he has known as monstrous and terrifying-- a fire he has always been afraid will consume everything he has ever dared to love.

And, as he considers the concept of love, his touch reverses direction. (If his pinky lingers on Koga's hip beforehand, a spot that indicates interest in this little game, it most certainly isn't unfitting.) He trails his fingertips up, leisurely in their journey, until they curl into a fist against the other's chest, settled just above his heart. This is a message full of intent, eyes wide open. "I love you." There's meaning in the taking, Rei has come to realize. To offer one's heart is an entirely different matter altogether from accepting another's, and to hold Koga's is more of a treasure than even he can put to words. But maybe there's meaning in the gesture-- a message in the taking, words without words nestled safely in his grasp.

touch my muse! tell me how you feel with your touch!

This little game plays in the silence of a calm room. Not one's average game to play while in another's company, but one to be open without the necessary words singing from vocals. When one wishes to keep it's between two people without others typically understanding to ruin the sweet secrecy.

It certainly holds no similarity to the intricate language of silence where eyes pull together an understanding of each symbol mimed by hands. Even Koga's gotten better at reading the language over the years. Though, this moment hangs between the two of them and no one else. The silence he finds to be a tad bit uncomfortable. As a man with a loud mouth and rowdy manners, it proves difficult to stay quiet on his end. But to this eccentric man stationed before him? It's a piece of cake.

Scrunch up of his facial features shows a small grimace, yet he sometimes continues to hold his silence prominently. That twinkling playfulness he never gets away from. Small tap against the tip of his nose causes the guitarist to slightly recoil back. A surprise to start this game off with. Cute?! He's supposed to be cool and awesome! A master of his abilities! Jaw briefly parts as if to yowl back in retaliation, yet he stays silent ultimately. Why? Because Rei's already moved the game onto the next step.

Lips scowl in almost a pout while golden honey orbs watch carefully to those crimson ruby hues. A huff. Eventually they won't get away with calling him cute! Well... being cute might not to be too horrible... Could be worse. He allowed his thoughts to divert from the situation that he forgot to pay attention to where lithe digits travel. The sensation of touch upon his waistline causes Koga to jump a tad. Muscles tense in the shock.

To caress an area that signifies a level of possessiveness. Not a possession in a manner of objectifying, but a place of belonging. Koga never once devised to slip away from the raven-haired man. A level of devotion stored so deeply within himself that blossomed into innocence and love. Capable of handling whatever bullshit spewed from this man's lips. Whatever actions shoved their way toward him. Sure, the man he once thought of as his God no longer lived, but he needed none of that.

The pain and suffering they both witnessed and sank into themselves lives on in the past as they strive forward together. They are both human and alive. Eventually -- sometimes one cannot help allowing their desire to possess boil over. Nevertheless, Rei let so much go after that one year, so for them to admit this possession... A carnal desire? A wish? Yes... deep within himself he wants to be possessed by these alluring eyes and vocals dripping so sensually to coil and squeeze around him.

Is it okay for him to want this to? Can he be honest enough about it? The last thing Koga ever wants is to build distance between the both of them again... It's scary -- the idea of abandonment -- yet he faces the older head on without flinching. Sink fangs in as far as possible to the bone and allow it in return.

Still, Koga cannot hold back the tiny squeak when that soft finger pad hovers at the hip. A small sensitivity in his nerves acting up. The guitarist almost swats the man's hand away at that point. Not even like they brushed hand against him at a multitude of points. It's been a whole TWO so far. It still tickles, nonetheless. Teeth grind gentle together. The hell do they mean by interest?! Interest in what?! So vague in so many ways that his mind could easily begin to think -- More and more embarrassing the longer he stays quiet at this point!

At last... that wandering hand comes to a final halt. Softly pressed against his chest. Gentle heartbeat pounding beneath ribcage just beneath the area that hand rests. All other emotions drain out of his features. Something Koga brought up multiple times over, yet never once expecting such in return. Though the words not spoken. The emotion presented in a touch of this little game. Genuine with no malice. Fingers quiver at his sides as said heartrate begins to pound harder.

As long as he could stay by their side... be on stage with them... that's all he ever needed. Never once asked for a return of his emotions. Perhaps why nothing came to light prior. Can he... can he truly begin to feel this happy? Thoughts buzzing wildly. For two hearts to exchange in equal measure. A treasure worth far more than the depth of the very words.

No. They need not tell him in words, as actions speak far louder than any words ever could. Bubble up of emotions -- he almost could cry, but fuck that -- that's not very rock'n'roll at all! After a moment of eyes unwilling to tear away from the man in front of him, the younger lets his eyelids close tightly with a drop of his head. Lips curl ( a smile? ). His thoughts couldn't forget the playfulness in their first gesture, the heat in their second, the tease in their lingering third, and the raw emotion laid bare in the final gesture.

Maybe he's taking it a little too seriously, or maybe this is just as strong as he believes it to be. This meaning he hopes to interpret correctly from Rei. No vocalizations. Only a message seeped behind the touch in a silent language. After a brief period of doing absolutely nothing. Stay calm, stay calm, ya dumbass, now's not the time to be uncool. Slow inhale, slow exhale.

Reaching out with a single hand, he thrusts it against Rei without thinking about the exact amount of force he has behind the action. With his knuckles, hand in a fist, pushing against their chest in turn, he practically fist bumps in generally the same spot above their heart. He's far too out of it, as if steam comes out of his ears, to return much else in this little game.

His imaginary tail wags behind him, clearly that puppy happy to be given this attention by Rei, just like imagined. [I love you too, Sakuma-senpai]

#bloodymoonxvampire #( the lone wolf ) ic #( the lone wolf ) ask #long post.tw #i honestly hadnt planned to be able to answer this tonight. #but here we are... & this got long

[koolkat9]

GerFra Week 2023: Day 6

@gerfraweek

Prompt: Jealousy || Drunkenness

Relationships: Setting up of Gerfruk, established Fruk and set up/focused on GerFra

Word Count: 834

Read on AO3

Happy for You

Ludwig was happy for them. He really was. Why wouldn’t he be when two of his friends had finally gotten together after years of confusing feelings and then even more years of pining because they were too stubborn to change things between them? But finally, someone took that crucial step, and Arthur and Francis were finally an official couple.

And as Ludwig watched his two friends laugh and bicker affectionately, the way Arthur tucked a piece of Francis's hair behind their ear, how Francis wrapped their hand around Arthur’s wrist and squeezed it lovingly, Ludwig’s chest burned with red hot... happiness. His grip tightened on the handle of his beer, and he clenched his teeth at the display.

Then the smiling stopped, and Arthur reached into his pocket. Ludwig usually condemned the practice of eavesdropping, but in his partially inebriated state, curiosity got the best of him.

“Wait…Berwald slow down,” Arthur hushed, “What?–Oh is that all?–No, it’s no trouble–Just give me an hour, and I’ll be there.” He stuffed the phone back in his pocket.

“What was that?” Francis asked.

“Berwald needs me to watch Peter for the night. Something is going on with Oskar, and they don’t want to worry Peter too much.”

“Ah, I understand. See you at the hotel?”

“Of course.”

With a quick peck to Francis’s lips, Arthur departed. Ludwig watched it all, knuckles white. Perhaps he needed to cut himself off.

Francis’s gaze drifted over to him, and Ludwig immediately turned back to his drink, cheeks burning.

Over the thrumming of his heart, he didn’t hear Francis approaching.

“Ludwig?” he called.

“Ah…Y-Yes. Good evening Francis um…How may I help you?” Ludwig tried to keep his words clear and concise, but he stumbled and slurred a few of them. He refused to meet Francis’s eyes.

“May I sit?”

“I-I guess.”

Ludwig sipped his drink anxiously, stomach flipping as he heard the chair scratch against the floor.

Francis ordered a glass of wine before getting down to business. “So…I can tell something’s eating at you. Don’t try to deny it. What’s wrong?”

Ludwig steeled his eyes on his drink before downing the last third of his glass. The amber liquid burned down his throat, and his cheeks flushed an even deeper red. He took a minute, letting the drink fog over his mind and loosen his lips.

“I like you okay?” Ludwig slurred, a little more aggressive in tone than he meant to, “A-And I like Arthur. B-B-But–Forget it, just forget it. You two are happy, I shouldn’t be talking like this.” He rose to his feet, swaying a lot, shaking his already twisted stomach. He needed to leave before he ruined the happiness of the two he loved so dearly.

But Francis grabbed his wrist, tentatively and pulled him close so he could keep Ludwig upright. Ludwig’s heart pounded in his ears.

“I had a hunch. I see the way you look at us. At first, I thought you were jealous of one of us, but recently I’ve noticed the fond look you give.” He smiled softly. “If I’m honest, before Arthur stopped dragging his feet, I was considering pursuing you instead.”

Ludwig felt his heart shatter. All he wanted to do was crumple to the floor. He had been so close, and he hadn’t even realized, and now it was too late. He had to leave before he said something stupid.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Francis hushed. Considering they were shorter and less muscled than Ludwig, Francis had a surprisingly tight grip. Or maybe Ludwig was just too drunk to put up a proper fight. “I’m not done.”

“Stop…Just stop. I’m happy if you two are happy. I-I just need some time to move on.”

“But what if we both liked you too, and wanted to ask you out?”

The room was spinning, and Ludwig’s stomach lurched. He needed to leave. Before his heart broke anymore. “N-No…You don’t need to spare my feelings.”

“I’m not!”

Ludwig pulled away and almost landed on his face. Everything was becoming blurry, and he couldn’t tell if it was from how drunk he was or if he was actually about to cry. Either way, he just wanted to curl into his bed and fall asleep. Hopefully, he’d forget this foolishness and pain tomorrow.

Francis sighed. “There is no getting through to you tonight I see. Come on then. We need to get you to your room.”

With some stumbling and a few more almost falls, somehow Ludwig arrived back at his hotel without too much fuss. Francis sat him on the bed. He flittered off to get a glass of water, and for the morning, he brought aspirin.

Ludwig tried to keep his eyes open until Francis returned, but by the time they returned, Ludwig had nodded off.

“You really are an adorable man,” Francis cooed, though his voice sounded distant, “Sleep well mon cher.”

And like that, Ludwig was out like a light.

#hetalia #gerfraweek2023 #hws england #hws france #hws germany #gerfruk #gerfra #frager #fruk #ukfr #fanfiction #hetalia fanfiction

[rgr-pop]

i think the genesis for this has two parts: conceptually, it's a continuation of the financial crisis love songs mix i was trying at years and years ago. many will remember. it revolved entirely around the idea of short skirt/long jacket, which is that there was something financialized about dating at the end of/beginning of the century. and, you also know this about me, i'm conceptually preoccupied above all else with the 'right before.' this effort still has not cracked that open for me, but i go on. what better theme for a 9-11/radiohead/enron/fukuyama obsessed person born around that time, and also, what better gift could i (electroclash era millennial) bestow. at some point in the prehistory of this project i asked marisa for some recommendations and she made this perfect and spot on mix about, maybe, the right-after. it was obvious to me this year that electroclash as an economic phenomenon was foundation of this mix, so i spent that time earlier this year researching and putting together this collaborative mix with your and my suggestions. partially this is all like anticipating that they will come for electroclash after they invented--and i think, are getting wrong--'indie sleaze.' it's much easier to get electroclash right, i think, but i wanted to get ahead of it, too, lol.

aside from that, the idea that i would do 'live mixes' (am not a dj) came to me a few years ago when i started collecting this certain type of sound from 1993--it really really all started with thinking about how the mr t experience put out a nerdcore track that sounded straight touch and go. so i started collecting these kind of droning repetitive rock grooves from that era, and filing them by year. i was thinking about how it came to be that everything was grunge (maybe more in the great lakes/noise sense than the hard rock sense) for a year or two. i was calling this 'pop noise americana' and this is where i started to talk about wet beats, soggy grooves. i was also very interested in framing as dance songs the rock (not even industrial) songs from that era that did a lot of big/small build-bust-climax stuff in the period between nirvana and the point when that would come to more or less belong to emo. i don't have these lists on this computer but i recall this is my favorite song from that period of my thinking, and rim shack flipped something on for me, too. this is also when i became really insane about brainiac.

pop noise americana:

i started collecting things in this way, and it became obvious really quickly that i didn't have the range to describe what i wanted to be describing, and i was too out of practice to even be able to hear what i was looking for as well as i wanted. so i had to learn to beatmatch before i could do anything else. in general don't @ me dj haters but if you want to practice listening skills or other kind of detail-focused music skills for other kinds of music needs, you should teach yourself how to dj a little bit. it's really good practice! so i said something back then like this is the opposite of a brad shoup mix. concerning one moment in time, but very small and focused. i also wanted to (i continue to want to, and keep failing to) make tiny, concise micromixes. like this one. a little mix like that, but about a very specific sound instead of an idea on its own. i was imagining 12 songs from the same year with very similar grooves if maybe from slightly divergent scenes or genres. but what i want to do is also the same as brad shoup mixes, which produce something that doesn't rely on your memory and doesn't necessarily reinforce what you already believe to be true about a year in music. (in this way what it is really the opposite of is the hood internet mashups, which i'll return to.) the thing you know i always do in mixes is selectively take something you know very well and force you to listen to it differently (or tell you that you're wrong about it). and in general deep listening in a year should serve the purpose of challenging conventional wisdom about music as well as history. but for me, i think more than he does in his playlists, i like to do something like: here's five songs you maybe don't know, and they will help you be surprised by this song that you do know, a very obvious or perhaps cliche or perhaps forgotten hit, and maybe you will be a little startled.

i don't remember how i decided to do 01 00 99 at all, or when or why i decided to work backward (though i'm sure it was with the intention of closing 99 with my signature climax sugar ray falls apart), but i started a pile of songs with little beats that surprised me for whatever reason, just a save for later pile of grooves, and in that heap i had mirah - of pressure, and that was kind of that. i knew i could make some dance hits from that, the era of, you know, tracy + the plastics. (incidentally i have cut them entirely... rip.) my process starts with my own instinct and combing my own music library, then doing an associative deep dive using only - only ! - my own memory, wikipedia articles, discogs rabbit holes, and primary sources from the period. maybe a little similar artist spotify clicking through. once i get a draft down and a to-listen list, then i can start reading year-end lists and casually browsing like brad shoup playlists if he's done them, or peoples pop polls. then when i think i know what i have or am trying to demonstrate, i edit and build, and only at the end do i go through and listen to the hood internet year mashups. after i do that i can add new stuff to my review pile from their suggestion but i also check: do i have too many songs that the hood internet has? if so, that's hits parade, gotta go back a few steps and work it out. if the vibes are nostalgia generated (emo nite) it's not right!

#music #mixes #1999 #2000 #2001