#i said it was colour coded ToT

[apatheticlexicographer]

BYLER FIC REC WEEK DAY 1: POST-CANON recs

All We Need Is Time by SlytherinsAndSnitches

will-centric; some plot. one of my favourites, it’s “friends to enemies to strangers to ???” will has depression, and in the three years since S4 he’s drifted from the entire party. he and mike had a bad falling out, but when they become coworkers at the record store they’re forced to reconnect. as if that wasn’t enough, will is starting to show the signs of vecnafication. the angst is deliciously agonizing and the plot is just starting to kick in. multichapter, just came back from hiatus a few days ago

the gaps and the silence by delusionaltogether

will-centric; no plot. the supernatural events of S4 never happened, but mike’s awkward visit was basically the nail in the coffin for their friendship. will never left lenora, and he’s now busy majoring in art and avoiding people as much as physically possible. he’s taken off guard when mike, who shows up in town with the sole purpose of reconnecting with him, casually admits he used to have a crush on him. the mutual pining is stronggggg and neither of them are smooth T_T longshot, complete

Lost Without You by Julia_Skysong

alternates between mike-centric and will-centric; some plot. will and mike are 26 now and haven’t talked in years, since mike disconnected himself from the entire party. will has a career writing comics based on their experiences with the upside down. mike surprises him when he brings his 7-year-old daughter to one of will’s signings, causing them to reconnect. this fic deals with a lot of heavy topics about homophobia, trauma and addiction but it’s not a constant misery-fest. will and mike’s reblossoming friendship is very sweet and mike’s daughter is adorable. the burn is slow but it suits the story perfectly and feels a lot more healthy and organic than rushing into things. love isn’t framed as a cure-all for their issues, and i really appreciate that. multichapter, ongoing

I’m a Wreck (Without You Here) by TalkingToTheLights @talkingtothelights

mike-centric; some plot. 33 year old mike has been distancing himself from his friends and family for years, but a tragic death forces him to return home and confront everything he’s been hiding from. the angst is strong and MCD is part of the core premise, but i promise it’s not will who died. mike is a mess for real. multichapter, ongoing

the darkest hour by AmberEyedFox

mike-centric; no plot. mike finally gets his head out of his ass after he breaks up with el. some of the headcanons in this fic aren’t what i typically gravitate toward, but it’s written in such a captivating way that i don’t care. the byler is soft as hell, what more do you want from me. long AF twoshot, complete

The Crossover by nbfutureboy

will-centric; plot. the party are all grown adults now. will writes horror comics and mike is in a band. they haven't talked in years, after an explosive fight. they're both slated to attend the same convention, but will's plans to avoid mike are derailed when he mysteriously vanishes. the mystery is so cool! multichapter, ongoing

Path of the Paladin by olliecoddle

mike-centric; sorta plot. 23yo mike has a terrible fuckin time! the fic. featuring ted wheeler's funeral, mike's very messy relationship with will, his even MESSIER relationship with his sexuality, and copious amounts of D&D lore as a thematic framing device. multichapter, ongoing though it's been a minute since last update

I Didn't Run, I Was Not Done by ryoukootonashi

will (and richie)-centric; plot. when will goes to college his assigned roommate is richie, who keeps overhearing will talking about the weirdest shit to his friends. richie is still suffering from clown-induced amnesia and would really like to know what the fuck is going on. another "can't believe it's not not crack!!!" fic lmao. multichapter, ongoing

#bylerficrecweek2023 #bylerficrecweek #byler #i said it was colour coded ToT

[myrskytuuli]

So, confession time, when I was twelve I was like Huuuuge Kishigo shipper and that’s how I for the first time found my way tot he wonderful world of fanfics and fanart, but now as an adult I obviously see how toxic and problematic the ship- HAHAHAH GOT YOU GOOD! In this house I don’t grow and don’t become better.

Anyway, now that I’ve dusted off my almost 20 years old Kishigo ship-sails, let me just say how pleasantly surprised and absolutely hopeful I am about their dynamic in the reboot, based only off the short clip in the opening. Because we all know that the original Kishigo dynamic was fucked up as hell. It would be really funny and enjoyable most of the time and then briefly take a sharp turn to completely fucked up and then return back to the genuinely funny like nothing had happened. Oh early 2000s you were truly a different time and Ichigo’s three weed smoking boyfriends were all very much trapped in their 90s boyfriend harem archetypes. The gentleman. The tsundere with a heart of gold. The actual psychopath.

(As an aside, remember how fucked up it was that every girl with several suitors always had to have one of them being an actual sex offender. Like that was just a thing. Remember when we as pubescent girls said shit like “I wish I was raped by character X” like that was just a normal thing to say. And we would all blush and giggle. How did any of us survive puberty in the early 2000s?)

Getting back on topic, the fact that they replaced the nonconsensual kiss in the intro with Kisshu just jumpscaring Ichigo fills me with hope that they have gone the sensible route and toned down the uncomfrotable intensity of Kisshu’s “crush” and maybe kept him as an annoying flirt without it veering into disregarding Ichigo’s actual boundaries. (aside from the fact that they’re fighting obviously.)

The relationship between kisshu and Ichigo was really funny when they weren’t being weirdly sexual, and I want more of that best nemesis dynamic from them.

I want Ichigo and Kisshu to immediately have the very special kind of chemistry that only two people who understand each other at their base clown level can have, the kind of where they immediately dumb each other down and truly bring out the least dignified version of each other that there is.

The kind of where they both think that they are L and Light from that Death Note opening, standing on those colour-coded pillars, the only equals to each other’s genius, expect that they’re both dumb and make each other actively dumber. Casual strangers on the street describe them as “those two best friends who were yelling at each other in the park again.”

The kind where they will both ditch much more important tasks to fistfight each other in the 7/11 parking lot. Both of their teammates are begging them to please just focus on the mission and ignore the other, but the clown music taking over their minds the closer their proximity is to each other is too strong. Nobody thinks their rivalry is impressive expect them. They also know stupid amount of useless information about each other because they cannot help but overshare a weird amount of personal and emotional information to each other while punching each other in the face. One time while fighting Kisshu accidentally teleported them both inside a movie theatre. They were both so tired that they decided to take break and watch the movie together. It was okay, Kisshu thought the spacecraft in the movie looked stupid and unpractical, Ichigo didn’t like how only female character was a love interest, but they both agreed that the special effects were good.

Aoyama-kun, being the saint that he is, understands that sometimes a girl needs time with her alien nemesis. He just wishes that it was less often in the middle of their date-night.

#tokyo mew mew #kishigo #tokyo mew mew reboot #watch me already prepare to ot3 all three of them #also all the aliens are nonbinary obviously #they don't fit into human male/femal binary

[katra-applesauce]

Catra is a woc and way more human than cat but I don't see yall make bug jokes with Scorpia despite the fact that there are several bug jokes about her in the show hmmmmmmmmmm its the racism...

Catra is a magicat in a fictional universe. Any need or desire to brand her as WoC or Latina is just individual projection because its used as representation. Lonnie serves way more as a WoC representation. While iam fully aware what the production team said about it aka: "Catra is absolutely a WOC, but you're correct in why I've been hesitant to canonize her ethnicity. Fwiw, we considered her Latina, but I love the Persian headcanons! But it's not stated explicitly in the show so it doesn't feel right to take credit for it." which puts emphasis on it non being canonized. Which makes sense because she is considered a WoC because the production team based her of latina ethnicity. However for this tot ranslate into canon, the she-ra universe would need an Earth with a latin america on it. Ascribing the term Latina and subsequently WoC to a fictional character who has NOTHING in common with either the culture and heritage of WoC or Latina seems a dilution of the meaning of both terms and what they stand for and represent. Furthermore, ascribing the term based entirely on interpretation of Catra's skin colour rather than her ethnicity, culture and heritage is the actual racism, no? Being a WoC or Latina has significantly more depth and more meaning than just the colour of ones skin, it comes with a distinct cultural and geographical heritage that Catra explicitly does not share with either. Neither with Persia, to be honest. Can we just see her as a magicat rather than trying to class the people of a fictional universe by their skin colour into irl terminology? Adora isnt caucasian, Glimmer isnt asian and Frosta isnt Inuit. I understand that they are coded a certain way but thats because characters are made to be relateable, yknow in a meta-entertainment-production sense. And its fine for people to feel represented that way and to feel seen because of that coding. But that doesn't mean the fictional characters are the ethnicities that people SEE in them. Adora's ethnicity is Eternian, Catra's is Magicat, Frosta and glimmer are etherian. That being said it would make sense if certain regions and cultures on etheria would be describable as their own ethnicities. Technically Scorpia's ethnicity is Scorpioni Hope that makes sense? Loving the random questions that seem in no way at all to be aimed at starting some form of drama. Not seen that before *AT ALL* That was sarcasm, just incase. Please don't start it, its boring and dull and nothing but people unable to affect the misery of real life turning to attacking random people because it makes them feel somehow vindicated or accomplished.

#more random anon asks #two in one day after months of nothing #funny that #cant wait for the spop ethnicity drama to come bakc with this post #how about yall just chill #and stop infecting glorious and pristine fictional universes with real life drama

[richtea-biscuit]

Thank you @a-fritterer for tagging me. Prepare for a lot of answers in the negative

1. Think of the last person who said I love you, do you think they meant it?

It was my mum so I’m confident that she did

2. Would you date an 18-year-old at the age you are now?

No, 18 is slightly on the young side. Plus, I had to deal with many of them at uni last year and it made me realise what a difference 3 years can make

3. When’s the last time you were aggravated and happy at the same time?

Probably never, if I’m going to have mixed feelings about something, it’s not going to be that mix

4. Would you ever smile at a stranger?

I do if I accidentally make eye-contact just to be polite

5. Is there someone who’s mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are?

I’m not dating anyone so no

6. Have you heard a song that reminds you of someone today?

Yes, a song my grandad loved came on shuffle

7. What exactly are you wearing right now?

Gryffindor pyjamas

8. How often do you listen to music?

All day, every day

9. Do you wear jeans or sweats more?

Jeans

10. Do you think your life will change dramatically before 2014?

Wow, you can really tell the age of this game. In hindsight, I would say my life has changed, I feel like I know myself much better which has made me a lot happier. Even when life isn’t going great, at least I know who I am and no longer feel lost in my own body and mind

11. Are you a social or antisocial person?

I’m pretty social when I’m with people I know and like

12. Have you ever kissed someone whose name begins with the letter “A”?

Yes, it’s not a pleasant memory though

13. What about “R”?

No

14. Can you drive a stick shift?

Technically yes but not legally

15. Do you care if people talk badly about you?

Yes, I’m pretty paranoid about that. It’s turned me into a chronic people pleaser

16. Are you going out of town soon?

No

17. When was the last time you cried?

Whenever I watched series 2 of Derry Girls. The last episode made me cry, no shame

18. Have you ever told someone you loved them?

Platonically, lots. I tell my friends and family I love them all the time. Romantically, that person whose name begins with A and there are regrets

19. If you could change your eye colour, would you?

No, my eyes are the only thing I’m happy with

20. Is there a boy who you would do absolutely everything for?

Jeon Jungkook lol

21. Name something you dislike about the day you’re having

I feel like it’s been a day of Procrastination because I’m so tired-out from my mum’s birthday party yesterday

22. Is it cute when guys kiss you on your forehead?

I like the thought of it. And I love it in fanfic, it makes me soft

23. Are you dating the last person you talked to?

No

24. What are you sitting on right now?

My bed

25. Does anyone regularly tell you they love you (other than family)?

@penicillinjimin tells me at least semi-regularly

26. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have?

No

27. Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night?

My nan

28. Do you get a lot of colds?

Yes, RIP me every winter

29. Where is the shirt you are wearing from?

I want to say Primark but I don’t know

30. Does anyone hate you?

Probably

31. Do you have any empty alcohol bottles hidden somewhere in your room?

I can drink legally, I do34n’t need to be hiding it

32. Do you like watching scary movies?

I can take it or leave it

33. Do you want your tongue pierced?

Honestly, the thought gives me the ick

34. If you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be?

If I had to, the year of the “A” but I don’t really want to. I think I wouldn’t be the person I am now if I deleted it, and for the worse because that was the start of a very long journey of realising I was asexual. I think that about all my experiences, good and bad, they shaped the person I am today

35. Did you have a dream last night?

No

36. When was the last time you told someone you loved them?

My mum yesterday

37. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years?

And not push away and guy that pays attention to me out of fear? lol

38. Do you think someone has feelings for you?

Not anymore they don’t, I made sure of that

39. Do you think someone is thinking of you right now?

The person reading this? Am I funny yet?

40. Did you have a good day yesterday?

Yes

41. Think back 2 months ago; were you in a relationship?

No

42. In the next 48 hours, will you hang out with a girl?

No

43. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you?

No

44. What’s the best part about school?

I loved learning but I didn’t like the other children

45. Do you have any pictures on your Facebook?

Other than my profile picture, they’re all about 5 years old because I hide from cameras

46. Do you ever pass notes to your friends in school?

Do people actually do that?

47. Do you replay things that have happened in your head?

I try to surpress it

48. Were you single over the last summer?

I’m the hopeless romantic that’s forever alone

49. Is your life anything like it was two years ago?

Not really

50. What are you supposed to be doing right now?

Whatever I feel like

51. Do you hate the last guy you had a conversation with?

No, I don’t waste my time like that. I waste it in infinite other ways instead

52. Are you nice to everyone?

Even when I don’t want to be. I just can’t be rude

53. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to?

Friend-wise, yes

54. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat?

Definitely yes. Even if I weren’t asexual, it would be yes. I absolutely despise cheating. My friend cheated on her boyfriend once and we had a massive row about it because she didn’t like that I wasn’t on her side

55. Are you good at hiding your feelings?

Yes, I cover them up with other feelings. It’s my special skill

56. Do you think you like someone?

It’s very hard for me to tell. It requires a 10-page thesis for me to work these things out. Not that it really matters because like I said, I get scared and turn into a bitch to push people away

57. Have you ever kissed someone whose name begins with a “J”?

Yes - spin the bottle. I got dragged into it

58. Do you prefer to be friends with girls or boys?

Boys. I think that’s more because it’s what I’m used to from when I was at school

59. Has anyone of your friends ever seen you cry?

Yes

60. Do you hate anyone?

No, I get fairly apathetic

61. How’s your heart?

I’ll ask it. “Hey heart, how you doing?” It says da-dum

62. Is there something that happened in your past that you hate talking about?

Yes

63. Have you ever cried over a guy

Yes, I was an idiot.

64. Who is probably talking a load of crap about you right now?

Nobody I can think of

65. Are your toenails painted pink?

No

66. Will your next kiss be a mistake?

I hope not

67. Girls love it when boyfriends cry, correct?

I feel like “love” is the wrong word. Boys should be encouraged to show their emotions though, crying is good for you

68. Have your trousers even fallen down in public?

No

69. Who was the last person you were on the phone with?

My mum when we were in proper lockdown

70. How do you look right now?

A face only a mother could love. It’s bedtime so there’s no make-up and my hair’s a mess

71. Do you have someone you can be your complete self around?

No

72. Can you commit to one person?

Yes

73. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to?

No

74. Have you ever felt replaced?

Yes

75. Did you wake up cranky?

No

76. Are you a jealous person?

Yes, I try to keep a check on it though

77. Are relationships ever worth it?

I like tot think that they are, but maybe fiction has given me an idealistic view point

78. Anyone you’re giving up on?

No

79. Currently wanting to see anyone?

My friends

80. Name something you have to do tomorrow?

Brush my teeth

81. Last person you cried in front of?

I actually don’t remember

82. Is there someone you will never forget?

Many

83. Do you think the person you have feelings for is protective of you?

Yes, Jungkook is my man and he is protective of all ARMY (I’m joking, don’t worry I’m not crazy. Just spicing my answers up)

84. If the person you wish to be with were with you, what would you be doing right now?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

85. Are you over your past?

Is anyone ever? Like I said before, I think it’s all important to who I am now so I keep key elements of it fresh in my mind as reminders to not make the same mistakes and let myself get hurt like that again

86. Have you ever liked one of your best friends of the opposite sex?

Yes

87. Is there anyone you can tell EVERYTHING to?

No

88. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept?

I don’t know about “true love” but if the person I thought I loved came to my door, I would tell them to fuck off

89. The last person you kissed just happens to arrive at your door at 3AM, do you let them in?

It’d probably be an emergency and we’re not on bad terms as such so yeah

90. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated?

No, they hating came later

91. Will you be in a relationship in two months?

I highly doubt it

92. Is there anyone you know with the name Michael?

My mum’s friend

93. Have you ever kissed a Matthew?

No

94. Were you in a relationship in January? How was it going?

I was emotionally invested in my relationship with the Jungkook photocard I had on the wall next to my bed. It was at head height when I sat down so when I was going through tough times, I would talk to it so I didn’t feel so lonely. It was an amazing listener lol. And it’s answer was always “love yourself” and I’d say “You’re right as always. Thanks Kookie” (I swear I’m not crazy)

95. Were you happy with the person you liked in march?

Same as January

96. Is the last person you texted attractive?

Objectively speaking I think @penicillinjimin is very pretty. I don’t find her attractive but that’s nothing personal

97. Who do you have texts from?

Domino’s (with discount codes, it’s true love)

98. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say?

Ok?

99. Have you ever kissed someone older than you?

No

100. Who’s in your profile picture with you?

It’s just me

101. Ever kissed under fireworks?

No, fireworks are there to be seen guys

102. Has anybody ever given you butterflies?

Yes

Tagging whoever wants to do it

#my hands hurt from all this typing #how did this take me an hour? #tag games #I enjoyed it though

[cafephan]

dan and phil play golf with friends #2: a summary

DanandPhilGames caddy lads "you loved it, you were like yes the golf lifestyle, i'm wearing expensive polo shirts i'm sipping an overpriced drink, im nattering with the business fellows and hitting that ball" says dan whilst well in the knowledge most of us are shut away in our bedrooms in our pyjamas with not a penny to our name and sipping on tap water "so we're here in the dan and phil golf club and there is a certain dress code, dan" i like to take this as phil foreshadowing the beautiful fashion choices dan is making during this singapore trip even though he clearly isn't foreshadowing anything moment of appreciation for the singapore trip's outfit choices tho please moment over thirty three seconds in we get the first fond glance, hopefully the first of many "the only short sleeved short i have is creased, phil" the look that he's giving phil reeaaalllyyy makes me wonder how it got creased... "i don't care, just go get it on" says phil the fashion meister helllooooo moth shirt my favourite my best friend my one true love "we had green shit in our hair for like three hours after we put these on" who needs context amirite "dan thought i threw these away but no i've been secretly hiding them" ok but how is that so domestic "look how erect my flag is today" / "list of things you should like never say again...." (unless they're off camera to me) ((i finished the quote that the jumpcut edited out)) "you know the rules. we can only do one dan vs phil per game" is that a rule? have they said that before? okay sure let's roll with it they're playing for the burger socks from a few liveshows ago "i ordered this for a friend but they sent two" sure phil a company would clearly go out of their way to send two of the same product meaning they'd be out of profit,,, your friend definitely didn't just give them back to you "do i want to eat them or wear them?" i'm certain that this is not the first time that sentence has come out of dan's mouth "are you excited by that? do you want that? on your feet?" / "i so want the cheese on my foot." *jumpcut* *phil says literally one word and dan is already grinning at him* f o n d "this is something to watch like a sport, and enjoy like a sport" unless you're making a summary of this video meaning you have to rewind every two seconds thanks phil "lingering banter... just enjoy the time between jokes" *both giggle like the dorks they are* "you liked the last one, so strap yourselves in for some golf" "we need to customise our balls" can dan go one gaming vid without dragging tumblr like i go through all of this effort for you pls don't drag me you little curly haired shit "[about the colour of his ball] i would call that moonlight dolphin" dan has gone for plain white this time does this represent him emotionally who knows at the time of filming i like symbolism and connotations they're fun "oh my gosh, it's like... goodness has returned" phil why are you so cute "i'm calling our room dogs9000 today" / "very appropriate" first of all why is it appropriate second of all is that what they called their room on the tour bus "stop. they just do what they want. stop telling them what to do." / "i guess that's valid. i'm sorry, butterflies, you do you." "i'm like so oasis right now" "ancient egypt is my favourite historical period so i'd like to delve into there" i think i've found the next fic trend why are they using the chatroom when their chairs are literally touching and from the front angle it looks as if their hands are too "my pole is so tall you can't even see the flag" again my gut instinct is that it isn't the first time those words have come out of phil's mouth "... and other sentences that phil will never say again" (unless they're off camera to me) ((i finished his quote for him again he should pay me for this)) "beginnu" / "golf it up" dan has more fluidity in his hand movements than phil does take what you will from that information "here we go" / "here we golf" tag urself "oh you're inside my ball again" / "we're already freaking out inside each other" *phil laughs a lot and grins then followed by a mysterious jumpcut* "bit too much power for danny there" dan is already being a sore loser but he can't help but be all smiley that phil is all smiley and jokey phil cheers him on still "if i can get it in now, it'll be okay" i've said it once and i'll say it again... definitely not the first time those words have been said by danny boy they clean up the whole two computer debacle "i'm deceived by the curves" joint vibing and dancing to the music "you're in africa the hole is in antarctica" mister geography "you absolute cheeky little twit" a new addition to the list of fond insults from dan to phil sore loser dan continues to thrive phil manages to screw up literally the easiest shot in the world??? i love you boy but oh how you suck at this game and now dan is smiling again what a sadistic lil tot "welcome to the land of pain and misery" thanks dan for my new bio dan's lovely lady gaga rendition gets cut short by a jumpcut wtf give me the good stuff i deserve it oh he finished the rendition what a pair of lungs on that kid *phil definitely says 'oh shit'* "i didn't swear then" yes you did just accept your potty mouth perfect opportunity to kick the old branding to the curb a girl can dream ok "oh you're going to be stuck for ten hours, phil, how is this going to go" "i can't even see myself... oh i went in" seriously how many times in one video can my gut instinct tell me dan's said these sentences before in his lifetime "the power of wobbling knocked me in" "that felt good to me" "my lovely philly lumps, check 'em out" what a beautiful rendition phil i would buy it on itunes / "...things you should never say again, volume twelve" cocky dan strikes again "you okay there?" / "i'm feeling very emotional about this" "par? more like cheat" / "that's par for the course" please stop talking over each other this summary takes long enough as it is without having to rewind ten times "oh we're the same now" / "now we're even" / "i was so happy with my lead" / "guess we're going to have to cut our feet in half" / "yeah..." *phils cute laugh* "that's obviously just saying go for it... but how much power?" / "smack it" i imagine this is phil's outlook on life six minutes fifty four seconds in... rip headphone users "we're gonna take like eleven goes at this" not if you both strikeout, my guy "this is so much harder than the last one" phil please don't make this too easy for me "please release us from this hell" i'd like to thank the universe for the occasional slivers of dan skin we see through the gaps in his shirt buttons "i'll happily sit here for three and a half hours now whilst phil gets it in" ... oh come on it's definitely not the first time he's said that sentence drinking game: take a shot every time they say 'yes' or 'yeah' that'll get you drink awfully quick "get out of my zone! stop touching me!" / "knock. knock." stop talking over each other please i beg of you "i'll touch you when i please..." okay dan you are aware of the camera pointing at you right phil's reaction is all of us at dan just saying that sentence "... don't say that again" (unless it's off camera to me) ((now i'm apparently finishing phil's sentences for him, he should pay me too)) "i'm so sorry for this whole video" ty dan cocky dan is here to stay, it seems like dan got so cocky that he fucked up i love life "that's what you get for being cocky!" i love phil "i'm out of strokes? that's how bad i was?" i don't know why my gut instinct is telling me phil's said that before but... anyway "you are now... eight over my score, phil." look at dans hands he's dying to do a mr burns impression and say excellent "that was a mystery adventure if i ever saw one" "*sigh* oh phil" "phil, phil, dear me" in all the videos of this game i've watched before nobody managed to make that pillar shot and yet dan does it on his first try...... sure okay "king of golf. yes." / "shush" phil made it too yay "guys if you're feeling like i'm just going to lose, i'm really going to try from now on" he looked at the camera like he meant it *dan looks over* "phil's gonna take this so seriously. no more bants, just solid golf seriousness" dan do you just stop listening to yourself when you talk "solid whacking" / "okay in the list of things that are serious, saying 'solid whacking', that's- that's not up there" *dan two seconds later* "so i'm just gonna whack it" "boom... slide... crack" i'm not even trying to analyse that "how would anakin do this" "i was using the force! did you see?" / *dan smiles fondly* "no i didn't" "if you whack me over the edge i'm going to bury you alive" "shit fucking wank fuck" "how did you get that wrong?" i'm still asking that question to phil about that other hole dan i feel you "that was sexual" / "that was the most erotic math based experience i've ever had" / "i liked that" "the skateboarding teenager inside me wants to go back and do this" / "could skateboarding teenage phil ever have skated around that?" / "he would have said that he could do it, but he would've fallen off... and hit his head" / "it's the trying that counts" "oh philly philly two whack" the game either wants phil to win and keeps sabotaging dan, dan wants phil to win and he keeps sabotaging himself, or dan is just that bad at the game he keeps fucking up i'd put my money on the latter "i want to have children with this course" first of all there will be fics of this and i will turn over in my grave, secondly poor janice :( "shitty fuck no i need to be in a straight line" "i wouldn't trust that with a barge pole" king of the english language "miss miss" phil being the ever supportive best friend "lara croft would... love this" "remember that you owe me two strokes" / *sassily* "no i don't" / "yeah you do, the game broke" / "that's-that's your fault" / *laughs* "no it's not!" this is literally the conversation that defines their friendship and it is beautiful "he's the one that's trolling me by stopping my ball" dan pls "i'm going in" / "do it, phil" you're just making it too damn easy for me "i would watch golf on tv if phil commentated it" dan you would watch anything that phil was even remotely involved with dan the sore loser back again dan is doing some kind of animal impression and if sounds as if it's a bird in heat or something "you wanna say that's not count (*literally dan wtf*) see the comments. they'll be- they'll be ju-thirsty for justice." not considering you drag us every chance you get you lil shit #teamphil also dan is tumbling over his words so much this video is he okay dan makes up a stupid penalty for phil to do because the game apparently hates him but in reality he just sucks, and phil goes along with it because he's phil how the hell did dan manage to jump over the high wall "i just left clicked and i bobbed.. i wasn't supposed to bob" "that's definitely not in- okay you did it" oooh one point difference "oh i didn't get some dinghy time then" "how ya doin? nice to see you there" "believe in the power" "you did a much more satisfying one than me" "your non-gender specific caddy gimp would need to be fanning you..." / "caddy gimp?" / "yeah" / "i'd just want them to put me on a camel, give me a pina colada, play golf for me... and i'd just be like this on my laptop" we all know phil loves his pina colada *wink wink* "... yeah that's the dream" well we know dan's opinion on pina colada don't we *wink wink* "leona lewis would hate you" shots fired "yes i did just cheat by looking at your bar" / "you can't look at my bar!" / "oh well i just did!" cocky dan back with his questionable sounds "he's thinking about how tasty your ball is right now" "yes sphinx daddy, let's go" "climbing inside the pyramid vagina" "you've got a mystical glow about you" "you're kind of ruining the vibe" "look how much you're illuminating the whole" dan the cocky sod literally looks like a child rn "i don't know what's happening but i'm excited by it" did phil just channel his inner chandler from friends bc that is all too similar to the chandler quote "tease it in" / "never say that again" "that deserves extra points that was incredible" proud bf phil "ooh toasty ball" they're helping each other along aw "i mean fuck the dan vs phil board... this is a prize worth playing for" *dan shakes the burger socks* the game broke so they restarted it and they now have the same score wooow "this is not how god wanted it but this is what's happening" phil says as he takes his two shot penalty "i don't think, erm, if god does exist, in any form, that He would give a shit about this game, phil" / "i think he would" dan gives phil a full rundown on his math-based plan "you copied my strats!" "let me just sniff these socks" / "ew" "are you more of a leftie or a rightie?" / "i'm gonna be... rightie as that is what i write with" rip all you leftie philgirls "how do you know? you don't know left and right" bloody hell dan calm down "it's a bridge to cleopatra's bedroom" *phil lands on the pyramid* "is he wearing any underwear?" "everyone who doesn't know math right now is just like... whirring with calculations right now" actually i'm just sat here typing this so screw you howell you don't know me "i'm just going to max power it over here" did anyone else think of the simpsons? when homer changes his name? anyone at all? okay then "that means i win!" phil shouts enthusiastically and claps his hands together phil continues to clap it ends as a draw!!!! "so does that mean we've gotta share the socks?" "i want the cheese- i want the lettuce" phil bless you "it'll be like those people that get like best friend necklaces that complete each other except for us it's burger socks." *modelling the socks* "look at those dank socks" "the best bit is when you went through the sphinx's mouth and when you went through the uterus" they'd be up for another vid yes please i need one!!!!!! n e e d!!! the twilight course would be next "now we're gonna pick the green stuff out of our hair... go on phil, groom me like a monkey" dan. "get that moss out" seriously. dan. danisnotsandy auterusphil (which of them did this) also phil pretended to eat whatever he just supposedly groomed from dans head okay eventful video.

#THIS TOOK SO LONG TO DO WHAT THE FUCK #sorry this is so long but also not sorry #hope you enjoy #gaming vid summaries

[janeaustentextposts]

Question! I noticed - maybe I'm wrong - that in all the adaptations, the casting for the main characters is similar: Darcy is dark haired, and so is Lizzie; Jane is blonde and (for some fascinating reason) Bingley is ginger-y. Is there a reason? something in the books that I missed? Some extra source? It seemed too much a coincidence (although I do love Ginger Bingley) thanks!!!

First off, I’m going to refer back to Mullan’s What Matters in Jane Austen? again, because he’s done a whole chapter on what her characters look like (and starts off with a basic examination of casting choices in adaptations and the admiration or outrage which always follows.) “How people look is often suggested rather than specified in Austen’s novels.” He then goes on to quote Sterne’s Tristram Shandy, “…paint her to your own mind–as like your mistress as you can–as unlike your wife as your conscience will let you.”

All we know of Jane is that she is considered very beautiful–as much is said by Bingley, her mother (who has no difficulty criticizing her children when they displease her,) and even Darcy must admit it as a fact. Looks are important in novels where often penniless girls must rely on other attractions in their manners and person–”…words used so frequently about characters when we first meet them: handsome, pretty, gentlemanlike, elegant…”. And yet she avoids specifics–perhaps as a reaction to other novels of her era, where a heroine’s precise points of beauty are totted up among her other virtues to make her a peerless wonder. Austen’s heroines are often described by other characters, rather than the narration, as it’s important to consider who is looking, and how, when looking at their judgements. Some people use a mention in Jane Austen’s letters about Jane wearing the colour green and Elizabeth preferring yellow to be some kind of marker of what their haircolours must have been in Austen’s mind’s eye, but that’s a tenuous argument at best, and if Austen had wanted the world in general to know imagined particulars about Jane and Elizabeth, she would have set them down in the text.

We know Elizabeth’s eyes are fine, and dark, but beyond that, we are given no details. On a genetic level, dark eyes are far more likely to occur in people with darker hair, but Austen wasn’t working with genetics–and dark eyes paired with lighter hair can sometimes be a rare sign of remarkable beauty, as in the descriptions of Irene in Galsworthy’s Forsyte Saga books. (A description which was entirely ignored in the casting of my future wife Gina McKee, but then Irene’s beauty and her allure is such a pivotal force in the novels that to pin it down as necessarily belonging to certain shades of colouring is to make it more trite than it truly is. Irene’s beauty is something beyond what one sees at first glance–it is transcendent charm.) Dark could mean brown, or also a very dark blue or grey–it’s impossible to tell, exactly. Anne Elliott’s eyes are mild and dark, Fanny Price’s are soft and light, Harriet Smith’s are blue, Jane Fairfax’s a deep grey, (and her lashes and eyebrows called dark, giving us some notion of the likely shade of her hair,) Mary Crawford’s are sparkling and dark…eyes are often the only thing near to a solid description we are given of physical attributes, and even then half of the description is more to do with the expression of the personality or feeling of the character through their glances and gazes, rather than specifically the colour of their irises. (Only Emma Woodhouse’s exact eye-colour is known–they are “hazle” and no adaptation so far has given enough of a shit to make certain of casting.) Marianne Dashwood has very dark eyes, and there is a general comparative description of the figures of the two sisters–but casting directors rarely, if ever, I think, take specifics of figures into account beyond an ‘acceptable’ level of Hollywood slimness.Now, for the casting trends (exceptions to the pattern you laid out being the 1940 P&P’s Greer Garson being a dirty-blonde/light brown Elizabeth, while Maureen O’Sullivan’s Jane had very dark hair; and the 1980 miniseries with Elizabeth Garvie’s Eliza also having light brown hair while Sabina Franklyn’s Jane was several shades darker–but indeed, the two more recent and well-known adaptations of 1995 and 2005 have the colourings you mentioned,) it’s probably just down to Hollywood mechanics where you’re going to have to combine the tropes of a comparative Ugly Duckling sister as well as a Best Friend/Beta Couple plotline. Coding a blonde woman (or man) as ‘good’ and a darker-haired person as ‘less good’ has been a Thing since long before cinema showed up on the scene. There’s a reason Laura Ingalls spends so much time inwardly (and outwardly) bitching about her sister Mary’s luck in being blonde (and also better-behaved, though this is never explicitly tied to the fact that Mary is blonde, but just ties INTO the overall notion that Mary is The Better Daughter.) Dark-haired heroines throughout older literature have bemoaned their lack of golden locks (notably also in LM Montgomery’s works, with Anne Shirley’s famous sensitivity about her hair being red, but also briefly in Emily Starr’s contemplation of her own black hair and atypical looks, which gets a bit of verse thrown at it which I can’t find sourced anywhere else so must have been made up by Montgomery herself: “If the bards of old the truth have told the sirens had raven hair. But over the earth since art had birth, they paint the angels fair.“So culturally, in the west, there’s a pervasive notion (especially when it comes to women,) that dark-haired women are the ‘darker’ side of their humanity…the temptresses, the more-likely-to-be-bad. (Though any reasonable reader would be like “…well, they’re human, you see, not out-and-out evil.”) But of course anyone compared to the fair-haired saintly paragon of womanhood would look bad–and so equally is the angelic blonde woman a trope in literature, often but not always used in comparisons against her brunette foil.

In cinema, quite often it’s just to better differentiate between characters, and to use these assumptions which are deeply entrenched in our cultures to play upon our immediate and almost instinctive reactions to visual cues. Jane is super-good, so she’s blonde. Bingley is likewise a bright and easy-going character, with more elements of comedy about him, so he’s got lighter hair, too, either as a strawberry blonde or redhead–but he is definitely the sidekick. I, personally, would be all for a ginger Darcy. Or a ginger-everybody P&P. (But that’s not going to happen, because redheaded men are culturally de-sexed/made less masculine or attractive, whereas redheaded women are more inclined to be overly-sexualized. Humanity is weird.) Darcy is a brooding brunette, because darker hair in the case of a male character gives them gravitas and mystery. It’s that damn Byronic thing coming into play. Dark hair, dark secrets. It’s a visual construct we’ve trapped ourselves into, at this point. Also, when you’ve got two love-stories running more or less concurrently, an audience needs visual markers to help them quickly identify and individualize (and therefore emotionally-invest in) the characters. More morally-dubious and fascinating hero and heroine Elizabeth and Darcy are brunettes because we see them making mistakes and drawing our attention by being fuck-ups. Lizzie can’t be the Prettier Sister, so she’s more automatically made the Brunette Underdog. Darcy is brooding and mysterious–so it’s very easy to make him dark-haired. Their contrasts are in their secondary characters–Jane and Bingley. Jane is prettier, and good-hearted (moreso than Eliza, anyway,) so she ascends to Blonde. Bingley is the Good Friend, and seemingly with fewer social defects compared to Darcy, so as the Nice Man, he gets lighter hair to also differentiate him from Darcy and make him more matchy-matchy with Jane. Our brains are making these connections based on visuals even before we’ve gotten half a dozen words of dialogue from any of these people.

This happens often in films and TV shows–in Coppola’s Dracula, Sadie Frost (a natural brunette) was made a vibrant redhead as Lucy to contrast to Winona Ryder’s more sedate and mysterious Mina. (Though this also had the fun effect of tying in a possible reference to the historical link between redhaired people and vampires, and the whole mythos of redhaired women in particular and sexual allure/witchcraft/spiritual evil–particularly as THIS version of Lucy is much more heavily sexualized compared to her book counterpart. I don’t know how much of the hair-colour-change was on purpose from Coppola’s perspective, and largely it’s just handwaved as being so people could really tell apart the ONLY TWO MAJOR FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THE FILM, but personally I think it’s an interesting choice–particularly compared to Katie McGrath’s blonde Lucy.) Again, we see the contrasting of virtue coded in hair-colouring, as Lucy is a character known for her sweetness and purity…as well as being a secondary female character to the heroine, and hence her more-virtuous foil…with lighter hair. Mina’s place as an educated, working, and married woman, with a more active part in the narrative, particularly as her brushes with dark forces mark her as ‘unholy’, makes it easier to code her as ‘complicated’, i.e. a brunette. Interestingly, this is set on its head in Penny Dreadful, where Mina becomes the blonde, doomed damsel, and her friend/lover Vanessa is the raven-haired woman at the center of a maelstrom of fucked up shit full of vampires, witches, and devils. Essentially if you want your heroine to go ‘bad’ a little (or a lot), give her a better-by-comparison blonde friend and have at it.Of course, since these tropes are so pervasive, we do see stories where this is purposefully mirrored or mocked, where the icy blonde is the femme fatale or turncoat who uses her appeal to deceive others–but this relies just as heavily on the initial assumption that a fair-haired character is intrinsically ‘better’ on a moral level.To conclude, this is why I think we see that general trend with colouring when it comes to casting/styling these characters in cinematic adaptations, as we have really very little in the text to go on, but from the characters themselves there are long traditions to draw from for visual cues to quickly and adeptly condition audiences to draw certain assumptions about these characters which enable us to rapidly bond with and understand them to some degree. I want to specify “Western” audiences because the blonde/brunette thing is at its roots kind of a colourism thing which is grossly pervasive in a white supremacist society going back for centuries, and Caucasian beauty standards do not and should not apply globally; but as the media most of us are familiar with is dominated by this white heteronormative patriarchal history, these tropes and codings exist for ultimately gross reasons. Frankly we could all do without them from this day forward, but change can be slow and so these stereotypes continue to exist and blonde people on-screen for now often continue to be the tacit code for ‘these people are the purest bestest people’ while the darker-haired people are almost always more morally-grey, complicated–even troubling–and made more ‘fascinating’ by their more flawed natures. It’s a shitty way of doing things, but we’ve been culturally conditioned to respond to things like that, and so it works.Anyway, thanks for asking this one–my answer went to places I wasn’t fully expecting me to go, but I enjoyed blowing the dust off my film studies qualifications and I always love yelling about culture.

#Ask Me Anything Austen-Adjacent #AMAAA #eorlsdotter

[victoriabrownproducer-blog]

Last Summer I spent a week doing work experience at Halo Post Production. Here is the Diary I kept during that week.

Day One – Monday 27th June 2016

Today I started Work Experience at Halo Post Production. I was introduced to the runner team and shown round the buildings. This alone taught me a lot because this place is used by people from the industry to edit real films and TV shows. The company provides the facilities for production companies to use to edit. They use AVID and Pro Tools which are programmes I’ve used at university which is brilliant and I feel more prepared for the industry from knowing how to use them. The runner team were really nice and there were quite a few of them. Their job is to bring to clients whatever they ask for which is mostly Tea, Coffee or Toast. The runner team is based in a little kitchen and they have a phone which can be called from any of the client rooms or reception. All the runners were fairly young and aspired to work in the industry in some way. The jobs they wanted varied which reinforces the idea that everyone starts off as a runner. There have been some high profile people at the company so the runners said it was a great opportunity for networking as giving a client a good experience will make them more likely to befriend you and help you further your career. I’d opted to dress formally because I wasn’t sure of the dress code. When I arrived I realised I was overdressed. The runners had to wear T-Shirts with the company’s logo on but with that most wore jeans and trainers because it seems this industry doesn’t mind what you look like so it’s best to dress comfortably and practically. The casual attitude to clothing was not translated to their service as they made sure everything that was given to clients was of a high standard.

​

Day Two – Tuesday 28th June 2016

Today I learnt a lot more about fitting client’s specifications. The company pays so much attention to detail when it comes to what the client wants. They always put the items on a clean tray and I was instructed to be very friendly and emphasise that if they need anything just to ask. I also had to do a lot of moving heavy things. The company is moving it’s accounts office to another building so everything had to be moved from the 3rd floor of the old building to the 2nd floor of the new building (Which was luckily only across the road from the old one). The stuff was very heavy and it was strenuous work but that’s the reality of being a runner – you do whatever is needed as you’re the first port of call to do the basic jobs. For the first time I did a toilet check which meant going round all the bathrooms and checking they were clean and tidy. Once again I was amazed by how much effort had been put into making things pleasant for the client. The bathroom bins were emptied every hour and were always well stocked with everything from candles to deodorant. It really showed me the standard of service that is required for this industry.

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Day Three – Wednesday 29th June 2016

Today was quieter and there weren’t as many orders, because of this me and the other work experience people were allowed to talk to the tech team about what they do. They talked about transcoding footage into AVID which was stuff I’d learnt at Uni but that was interesting in itself because it’s reassuring to know that what I’m currently learning at Uni is relevant to the industry. The tech guy mentioned equipment such as the C300 that I’ve used so that was great. They told us that they’d all started off as runners and built their way up into the area they liked which had taken them a long time so that’s something to prepare for “it’s going to be about 10 years before you’re where you want to be in the industry”.  We also had to move more of the accountant’s stuff to the new building which again was tough but it’s all part of the job.

​

Day Four – Thursday 30th June 2016

Today was another quitter day at Halo as there seemed to be even less orders but I guess that’s how the industry works – some days loads happens and others not so much. I made a couple of mistakes today, I dropped a bottle of milk that I’d just been sent out to get and it burst. I also messed up buying a client’s lunch by getting the wrong sandwich and being unable to exchange it. I felt awful about both of these incidences because the company paid the extra costs (I offered to but they declined) and it caused an inconvenience. Everyone was really nice about it and reassured me that mistakes do get made every now and then. I made sure I owned up to my mistakes and apologised to everyone involved which shows that people are understanding and making one mistake doesn’t make people doubt your abilities, especially when you’re still learning.

​

Day Five – Friday 1st July 2016

Today was quite a busy day although there were quieter gaps. The runners were preparing some croissants for all the clients so that made things busier. There was also more stuff to move to the new office but luckily I didn’t have to carry anything down the stairs again because I was just told to wait at the front of the building and keep an eye on the stuff that had been brought down. The highlight of the day was when I took a tea to one of the colour graders. I volunteered to take this one because whenever I’d delivered stuff to him before he’d been particularly nice. Most people would just say ‘Thanks’ under their breath and be so engrossed in their editing that they don’t even look at you but there were a few that were much more friendly. This man started telling me a bit about the project he was working on and asked me what area I was interested in. Sensing the tone I thought it was okay to ask questions so we had a little chat about how he got into the industry and it was all really interesting and great to hear from someone whose actually gotten to where they want to be. He also said some stuff about how in London you can specialise in what you do but if you go further afield the projects have smaller budgets so you’ll probably need to do a broader job. This was useful advice for when I start tot think about my post-graduate location. I’ve really enjoyed my week at Halo Post, it was so eye opening about how the industry works and everyone was so kind and eager to answer my questions. It was also great preparation as at some point I will have to work as a runner. It was such a lovely company and I really admire how much respect everyone shows each other despite the differences in status, everyone is treated the same whether they’re a runner, editor, receptionist, tech support, colour grader or even a simple work experience person – everyone is equal.

[aru2017]

3-1 = 2

1st things first. This is not a post slandering the team member who left the group.

The past 13ish weeks of development have been very grueling and tricky. We took a new idea and tried to create it correctly, this turned out to not be the case due to team members.

The issues arose from our very first prototype “TrumpaLumpa”. Adam committed very little to the project except for downloading some audio files - not making them, downloading them and adding them tot he file explorer, not actually in the game so they would play. Just the project files themselves. Adam was also the project manager for this project and did very little work again. I had to tell him jobs to do even though he was the manager. This was however forgiven as it was a simple and small prototype.

For the 2nd prototype we decided to scrap the original idea and move to the idea we have no. Adam was lead programmer for the 2 weeks. No code was created by Adam. I tasked him with even making a simple controller for the car. Nothing amazing, just to make it move. It took 2 weeks for Adam to add any code into the game. This script was found to be plagiarized from the internet. Adam had simply copied and pasted someone else works online and claimed it as his own. The best thing is that the script didnt work as it was from someone online asking others for help. (We didnt find this out until 1 week ago). Myself and Liam were so frustrated with Adam over the lack of work he had produced as this was “his time to shine” and make up from the previous project and previous prototype. Myself and Liam have no issue with lack of knowledge, its lack of motivation.To help Adam i gave him the basic pseudo code for the controller. Get the rigidbody and apply a force along an axis. Sounds simple doesnt it. As i said the script we were given didnt work etc. I sat Adam down and created the script myself in literally 5 minutes. Something it took Adam to do in 2 weeks and still do wrong.

Once again i forgave Adam as he is my friend and decided to give him the role of artist to see if he could do better. He started off very slow until he was threatened with expulsion from the group. This kicked him into gear and he made some really really awesome models. There were some issues with them but i was just happy he was doing work. After 2/3 weeks of work he had 7 low poly vehicles, a pyramid, LP snowman and a fence post. He was also tasked with creating multiple particle effects but only 1 was created.

On the final project Adam still hadnt done any programming. I gave him the task of creating a shop in which the player can purchase items to use in game. It took him 12 hours to add 6 images and 6 text boxes. Once again, nothing was coded. He also had to create 64x64 colours for the map. We described them as Minecraft textures. He game back with ¾ 64x64 of a solid colour. Something that would take seconds to create. He was also in charge of testing and audio. Once again no audio was added and no testing was done. I think there may be one bug report he done.

If my memory serves me correctly over the entire project Adam has

Added 2 audio files

Created a logo by putting 2 images ontop of each other

Made a gannt chart (i told him to)

Made a very basic and useless Trello

Plagiarized a script which never worked

Created 7 good low poly vehicles (They had some minor issues)

Low poly snow man

Low poly pyramid

Fence post

Particle system

6 images and 6 text boxes

I think that is it. It has been a hindrance rather than helpful as if we knew there would only be 2 of us from the start we would of managed our time better to fulfill the tasks in which Adam was supposed to do. We never wanted this to happen and i always gave tasks to Adam to help him gain marks in the project. Time and time again he refused to do any work.

The last thing Adam sent to the project was 20th-23rd March in which he added 1 vehicle, block colours and a particle system.

Unfortunately i am unable to show any history previous to that date as thats the date in which Adam corrupted the collab. An issue in which Unity had to contact me asking for more information.

On the 30th of April Adam decided he would leave the group and says he has been “working on his own game for months”. Why not focus your efforts into the current game? He removed all the vehicles from the game which made extra work for us to finish the game as we will have to model more vehicles, as well as fix scripts as they were built around the vehicles stats, rigibodies etc. Work we simply don’t have time to do

Overall, Adam promised me personally that he would “pull the finger out” for this project. He did not deliver and broke his promise, for that i can not forgive him as i am in risk of having bad grade due to him. I really wanted to release this game but that will never come true not.

An old saying is “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”. Adam is still my friend but i can not forgive him for a 3rd time and i will never ever work with him again.

#jamiemcclenaghan #racinggame2