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fanhackers · 7 months

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How To Be Gay, by David M. Halperin

While there are obvious fan studies classics, there are other books that don’t always fall into the “fan studies” canon that I have found incredibly useful for my own thinking. I cited one of them, Carol Dyhouse’s Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire (2017), a few posts ago; another is David Halperin’s How To Be Gay (2012)

How To Be Gay came out of a course Halperin taught at the University of Michigan, whose full title was “How to Be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation.” The initiation in question was not sexual, but cultural: Halperin believes that there are not only gay texts, a gay canon of sorts, but also gay ways of reading that are taught and learned and that help constitute something we might call a gay subjectivity (that you don’t have to be gay actually to have): e.g. Hollywood movies, opera, Broadway musicals, camp, diva worship, drag, muscle culture, style, fashion, interior design. Halperin asked both why this set of things–why musicals? why this diva or that–and what do they tell us about gay experience? Halperin was trying to trace “gay men’s characteristic relation to mainstream culture,” which often involves collaborative and camp appropriation: a queering.

I find this book very useful, both because fandom also has its own shared languages and rites of initiation (consider the idea of watching something with fannish goggles or slash goggles or a fanfic lens, as was recently discussed in a previous post; think about all the languages and tropes and artistic structures we all learn from each other) but also because Halperin talks about modes of identification that aren’t representational or based obviously in identity politics. So, for example, he says that the gay male students in his class were more likely to express themselves vis a vis a shared text like The Golden Girls than vis a vis the traditions of what Halperin calls “good gay writing.” There is, Halperin argues, a queer pleasure in the Broadway musical that’s different than the pleasures of gay identity or even gay sex; similarly, queer female fans might find pleasures in identifying with, say, Sherlock, Crowley, or Blackbeard that are very different from the pleasures offered by a woman- or lesbian-centered text.

Here’s an excerpt that gives a good sense of the book, I think: fans might identify with this or recognize it as descriptive of their own fannish feels. (FWIW, the italics are all his!)

[H]omosexuality is not just a sexual orientation but a cultural orientation, a dedicated commitment to certain social or aesthetic values, an entire way of being. That distinctively gay way of being, moreover, appears to be rooted in a particular queer way of feeling. And that queer way of feeling—that queer subjectivity—expresses itself through a peculiar, dissident way of relating to cultural objects (movies, songs, clothes, books, works of art) and cultural forms in general (art and architecture, opera and musical theater, pop and disco, style and fashion, emotion and language). As a cultural practice, male homosexuality involves a characteristic way of receiving, reinterpreting, and reusing mainstream culture, of decoding and recoding the heterosexual or heteronormative meanings already encoded in that culture, so that they come to function as vehicles of gay or queer meaning. It consists, as the critic John Clum says, in “a shared alternative reading of mainstream culture.” As a result, certain figures who are already prominent in the mass media become gay icons: they get taken up by gay men with a peculiar intensity that differs from their wider reception in the straight world. (That practice is so marked, and so widely acknowledged, that the National Portrait Gallery in London could organize an entire exhibition around the theme of Gay Icons in 2009.) And certain cultural forms, such as Broadway musicals or Hollywood melodramas, are similarly invested with a particular power and significance, attracting a disproportionate number of gay male fans. What this implies is that it is not enough for a man to be homosexual in order to be gay. Same-sex desire alone does not equal gayness. In order to be gay, a man has to learn to relate to the world around him in a distinctive way. (p. 12 - 13)

–Francesca Coppa, Fanhackers volunteer

#author: francescacoppa #fanhacker #fan reading #queer reading #subjectivity vs identity

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otakween · 1 month

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Digimon Frontier - Episode 22

Uhhh...this one was just weird. I guess the idea was to show Takuya his past self to reenergize the feelings he had at the beginning of his journey, but what does him turning into a weird little beast dude have to do with anything? Is this what you turn into when you go depression-mode in the digital world? Idgi...

Notes:

We got some PTSD stuff going on with Takuya and Duskmon. I just hope all this trauma and anxiety isn't magically fixed by the next episode...Feels like it's leaning that way.

I really wish they at least gave us a two episode real world arc, this felt rushed to me compared to the time spent irl in previous seasons.

Even though I don't really get what they were going for, I like Takuya's beast design. They didn't call it a digimon, so I don't know what to call it. He kinda cute.

The time travel thing reminded me of the time travel sequence in the recent 02 movie. Who the heck triggered all this? Does emo Trailmon have the power to distort time and turn boys into little monsters?

I kinda wish we knew more about Takuya's real world life because then I would be more emotionally invested in this episode. If we had had another irl episode maybe they could have showed more of his relationship with his family members. All we got was "man, I sure did fight with my little brother a lot...and my mom woke me up that one time!" Riveting.

Didn't appreciate the "clip show" aspect of this episode. There were just a little too many flashbacks/reused animation. Also, Bokomon's exposition about the 10 warriors again...I think they trimmed some of the fat in the dub, which I appreciate.

Koji has a twin?? Maybe? That's what this episode seemed to imply. Unless one of the Koji's is some kind of imposter...Is this related to Duskmon's freak out somehow?

Other!Koji sure fell hard from those steps! That was like, brain damage level height to fall from...

I don't really get what revelation Takuya had this episode. He went from being over confident, to being proven wrong, to going back to being confident? Nothing has really changed. He didn't get a power up or anything, he just shed some of his fear. IDK, maybe things will become clearer next episode.

#digimon frontier #digimon #anime #I'm sure someone will digisplain to me how I missed the deep symbolism of this episode lmao

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bbyboybucket · 2 months

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I’m trying not be a hater rn, bc it may be really good but damn I wish marvel would move on from brainwashing/possession at this point or at least take a break. I mean they have wore that concept out by now, just recently we had Wanda brainwashing a whole town and then being possessed/brainwashed herself by the dark hold, we had the black widow movie which was all about brainwashing. Captain Marvel was Brainwashed. The Eternals were semi-brainwashed. Clint and Loki have been brainwashed. Even Peter Quill was temporarily brainwashed by his dad. This is just off the top of my head, there’s probably more.

I mean are you really telling me that there aren’t better, cooler things to do Isaiah than reuse a plot point from a previous cap movie 10 years ago? This just sounds so fucking lazy, it sounds like marvel thought “everyone liked a brainwashed super soldier friend in one cap movie, so we’ll do it again for this one.” LAZYYYY. We’ve seen it with Captain America, we’ve seen brainwashing in a million other marvel projects. Like holy fuck can we please let go of the “mind controlled good guy acting bad” and use some of the other cool concepts from the comics. It’s just disappointing bc I don’t wanna see the same concept used for the 3000th time when there’s so much story potential here

#and like yeah I get a lot of characters have comics stories about brainwashing or something similar #but when you have an opportunity to do something cool and make Sam and Isaiah a team #why the hell would you just do TWS all over again but with Sam #and I get from a back story standpoint why Isaiah may have dealt with brainwashing during the time he was expiremented on #but why could they not just mention that or have the plot be that he’s trying to avoid getting brainwashed again and stop whoever wants to #like it’s mind control in marvel is so overused and washed at this point like please #you have interesting characters. use them right. don’t do the same damn story over and over.#sam wilson #Isaiah Bradley #captain america #captain america brave new world #cap 4

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adarkrainbow · 3 months

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I have been sharing things about French fairytale movies. We have been talking about Cinderella. As such I want to speak about a movie I actually can't really speak about because I have not seen it... But I need to just talk about it because... Well, you'll get it. It is the 2017's Les Nouvelles Aventures de Cendrillon (The New Adventures of Cinderella).

Now to understand WHERE this movie comes from, we need to return to 2015 and the release of another movie "The New Adventures of Aladin".

This movie is a comedy, an humoristic retelling/parody of the Aladin tale - France has quite a history of One Thousand and One Nights-cinema, and already humoristic takes on similar stories had been done (Gérard Jugnot had notably played in an humoristic Ali Baba movie I saw when I was young, for example). Here the main star and the actor playing Aladin is Kev Addams, which was then a young humorist that had been on the rise for quite a few years and was an "idol of the youngs", so to speak. The gist of the movie is: two thieves are disguising themselves as Santa Clauses in modern-day Paris to steal at the Galeries Lafayette. But they are stuck with a group of children who asks them for a story - and so to get rid of them, they decide to tell them an improvised version of the story of Aladdin, which in turn parallels the real-life events surrounding the thieves.

[Note the writing of "Aladin" with one "d", to carefully avoid any Disney lawsuit.]

This movie was very, very popular in theaters. It was popular enough to actually get a sequel called "Alad'2" (a pun on how "in" sounds like "un", "one"), which also was one of the leads of the box-office in France, and brought in another French humorist, this time of the "previous generation" before Adams - Jamel Debbouze:

But there was one problem... Both movies were absolutely torn to shreds by the critics. In newspapers, on websites, everybody agreed that these movies were actually bad, and not at all good movies nor great comedies. In fact, the reviews of the movies and the sales corresponding to it clashed so much it caused an online scandal when it came to the website AlloCiné (one of the French websites of reference when it comes to cinema), who was openly accused of faking reviews and inventing profiles to boost this movie's note - because it seemed impossible, with all the negative critics and the backlash, that the movie could obtain a mid-rating (3/5).

All of that to say, these movies were very polarizing - seen as embodying the typical bad comedies and a certain "downfall" of French cinema everybody has been talking about in the 2010s, and yet being massively mediatized and very popular among young audiences especially, and bringing in a lot of cash...

Now we reach our movie. Welcome "The New Adventures of Cinderella"! Which technically seems like a spin-off of the Aladin movies, and yet by its chronological placement seems to be a sequel "by the principle", not directly following it while still reusing its principle and referencing the previous movie (this movie was released BEFORE Alad'2)

This movie basically does what "Les Nouvelles Aventures d'Aladin" did - it is an humoristic retelling/open parody of Cinderella, framed as an adult being forced to tell a story to children. In this case it is Julie, a young girl who finds herself alone on the day of her birthday, without anybody remembering it... Until Marco, the man she secretely loves (and the son of her boss) calls to tell her he is coming over. Filled with hope she awaits... only to discover Marco brings her his son because he needed a last-minute babysitter. Stuck with this particularly bratty child, Julie is forced to tell him a story, and fed up with everybody treating her like a servant, she decides to tell a version of Cinderella where she plays the main role - and Marco is the prince she tries to win. Other characters from her life are recast: her boss is the king, her bitchy colleagues are the wicked stepsisters, her annoying neighbor if the evil stepmother... And Snow-White with her seven dwarves pop up at some point - because just like with the "Aladin", Disney references are quite present...

The main actress (Cinderella/Julie) s Marilou Berry, who truly was noticed and became quite famous thanks to playing in "Vilaine", and after passing by a series of movies (including "Les reines du ring"), she had another focus thanks to the success of the "Joséphine" movie. The cast also gathers other actors quite used to the world of comedy, ranging from older generations of the "classics" (Josiane Balasko as the wicked stepmother, Didier Bourdon as the king) to more recent ones (Arnaud Ducret as the prince Marco, Vincent Desagnat as the prince's older brother).

Now, I have not seen the movie, so I can't confirm or infirm this... But when it was released, this piece got bashed. Really, really hard. Harder than the Aladin movie, from people simply calling it "unfunny" and "cringe" to other actively pointing it out as being offensive and sexist, if not misogynistic. Aladin's note online roughly went around a 3/5. This one hesitated between 2/5 and 1,5/5. Now, again, I can't say I agree or disagree with these reviews because I have not seen the movie - and we all know a mass-opinion can be wrong. It seems more recently kinder reviews have been opping around the Internet - pointing out that all the backlash ths movie received was exaggerated and the piece was better than what everybody descibed.

Now, if you want my two pences of thought, I do believe that maybe this has to do with the audience that went to see these movies. As I said, Kev Adams was quite the "idol of the youth" when he did the Aladin movie (I don't know if he still is), but he had a BIG fanbase among teenage girls for example, as well as a certain scope to a young audience. And precisely who kept talking about these Aladin movies and who was more interested in those Aladin movies? Children. Meanwhile this Cinderella movie lacks any star or face that a young audience could recognize - no real Kev Adams. Yes, Marilou Berry is here, but her audience is not known to be young children - and as such, I do believe that the Aladin movies were favored by having a natural "fanbase" and already formed young audience ready to dig in. Meanwhile here two of the prominent stars are actors who symbolize the humor of the 20th century and are now quite aged - Balasko and Bourdon - who will speak to adults, but probably not to children... Anyway I am really speaking out of anything here, especially since I haven't seen the movie, but I do believe that this played a part in how this movie was received in a lesser way than the Aladin ones. (Plus the Aladin movies were clearly aimed at a male audience, which coupled with Kev Adams' natural teenage girl fanbase and the big success of Disney's Aladdin among girls, made sure both genders could go see it without shame - meanwhile this movie is clearly a "girl movie" meaning the audience is already restricted a bit more... And as such much more offended - as I said the movie was accused of being a piece of misogynistic jokes (doesn't help that there are only men who wrote and directed this movie).

But again, it might also have to do with the movie just being bad, you know. After all the man behind this movie (Lionel Steketee) is not the one that made the first Aladin movie (Arthur Benzaquen) but rather the one that did its lesser-appreciated sequel... Though the same script-writer was used for both (Daive Cohen).

Now, my only question, from what I have seen (extracts and trailers and previews) is actually... What is the target audience? Maybe it will clear up when I get to see the movie but this is all framed and sold as a kid-friendly entertainment, it even being an "all-public" movie to which families are supposed to be able to bring their kids but... a lot of the jokes I have seen are typical of adult things. I mean there's a lot of sex jokes for example, which made me think originally this was an adult movie, but then it also kind of is framed and written as a kid-level comedy and... Yeah this leaves me a bit confused. Just take the movie's poster, at the top of the post... You can't tell me there isn't a big sexual innuendo in the way the prince "rides" Cinderella! And yet it is sold as a movie kids can go watch and that isn't for a more mature audience? Anyway, I do not have a lot to say, since I haven't seen the movie, but I wanted to make a "preparation" post for when I will get to see it.

(I will just add that while some of the jokes I have seen do seem really bad - like a certain joke about a character's throat which was used already in Les Visiteurs 3 and seems really out of place in a kid movie, clearly taken from the Men in Black - some actually made me laugh. Most notably there is a great slapstick moment you can glimpse in the trailer where the Lady Tremaine-like stepmother just... headbutts Cinderella for speaking to her. I did quite like this joke as it subverts the pose and subtle threat of the Disney-wickedstepmother, while also clearly dedramatizing the violence into a goofy, cartoonish way. But that's just me.)

#i am fascinated by this movie because i do not understand it #and i have this sort of bile fascination where you clearly had efforts put in there in the making and yet everybody is absolutely hating it #french movies #fairytale movies #i don't want to even tag this cinderella in case when I watch it i realize it is just as bad as people said

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fallloverfic · 10 months

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Dr. Meredith Blitzmeyer and the "Nimona" movie

Spoilers for the "Nimona" movie beneath the cut

So José Manuel Fernández Oli put out some concept work for the movie on Facebook and this piece is for: "Before painting a representative moment of the movie, several layout sketches are done, offering different points of view, acting, etc. This is one of the different layout sketches of the " Runaway " moment with Meredith Blitzmeyer."

Another piece from him:

"If you're familiar with the original comic book, you'll know who the doctor and magician Meredith Blitzmeyer is. This is a concept painting from previous script versions, where Ballister Boldheart asks his scientist friend for help."

I know we've seen posts about the Silver Society (that Blitzmeyer was maybe a part of) and Blitzmeyer footage (that was scrapped and kind of reused for Queen Valerin) but they were planned to be friends!!! THEY WERE GOING TO BE FRIENDS!!!

Anyway I wrote a fic after I saw the movie on June 24th about how Blitzmeyer is movie!Ballister's friend and helps him out and it's not really like what I'm seeing in concept art but anyway I am feeling things seeing all this stuff about how important Blitzmeyer was going to be before being cut.

#Nimona #Ballister Boldheart #Dr. Meredith Blitzmeyer #concept art #Nimona spoilers #Nimona movie spoilers #Nimona film spoilers

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albiclalepsza · 4 months

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Ok. So I'm going to rant a little about the nominations.

I love that Past Lives and Anatomy of a Fall got nominated for best picture. If Past Lives wins I'm going to be so happy, apart from Godzilla it's my favorite movie of the year.

Margot Robbie got snubbed, which is such a shame because her performance in Barbie was phenomenal. Especially since both Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera got the nominations (my theory is that it's because of how viral Ferrera's monologue went and how popular everything about Gosling is). Keoghan also didn't get the nomination when he acted his ass off so much. Gladstone got the nomination thankfully, hope she gets an Oscar, that scream she lets out when she finds out about her sister's death was genuinely bone chilling, the rest of her performance was stunning too. I'd like to see Natalie Portman nominated too, she was great in May December.

When it comes to animation, at this point I'm wondering what does Pixar have to do to not get nominated??? Elemental is aesthetically the most boring movie ever, can't say what the plot is like since I couldn't be bothered to watch it but it's probably really bland in story aspects as well. I haven't heard of Robot Dreams before but probably everything on the list is infinitely better than fucking Elemental. I hope Nimona wins, both because of how great it was both as a movie and in its message, and partially because I want to see Disney humbled after they cancelled it for being too queer. But both Across the Spiderverse and The Boy and the Heron are great too, so they could win as well.

Nothing You Can Take From Me from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is not on the list for the best og song which is sad, such a bop.

For some fucking reason Indiana Jones got nominated for the score, probably because it reminded the people voting for the nominations what the Indiana Jones theme sounds like. It just reuses the motifs from the previous scores without doing anything interesting. They don't have the guts to nominate Godzilla, which actually did phenomenal things with classic sound themes and complimented them with new ones.

Godzilla got a nomination for the best effects but with that competition I don't think it'll go to them. If someone gave me the means to pick nominations they'd get a few but well, I don't have that power. Rye Lane also didn't get anything. It was really visually interesting so I hoped they'd get at least one nomination somewhere, but no.

My most out of pocket picks, if someone would hand me the power to nominate shit would be John Wick 4 for best cinematography and Full River Red for best og score and best og screenplay, but since that's a Chinese production that was never going to happen.

So yeah, as per usual, a pretty disappointing year, will probably get worse when they actually announce the winners. Fuck you Academy Awards, see you in March.

Sorry @finch-connor but I haven't seen Fallen Leaves yet so I didn't put it anywhere

#in some different better reality there is a godzilla sweep in these nominations #and full river red gets some sort of shout out #academy awards #oscars #rant

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girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 1 year

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tuesday again 3/14/2023

one of the good things about the tuesdaypost series is that it reassures me i did actually do things in a particular week, even if the week felt very much like an unmemorable gray blob

listening

Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools this came on last night as i was making dinner. two (three? let's not think about it) years ago i found the las vegas jazz station bc i wanted something on in the background while i wrote cowboyfic. and now (when i remember internet radio exists) it's in the rotation of things keeping me company while i tend to my databases

youtube

reading

it's been just over two weeks since philip marlowe has burrowed his way into my brain. i have read through most of The Simple Art of Murder, which contains the titular essay and eight novellas/short stories. if you enjoy reading and thinking about criticism as its own genre/art form, this seven page essay is well worth reading. chandler had extremely strong opinions about his colleagues that he kept to himself with varying degrees of success. aside from a brief catty snit at what we now call "cozy" mysteries, it's a very level look at the challenges and limitations of detective fiction as a genre.

The realistic style is easy to abuse: from haste, from lack of awareness, from inability to bridge the chasm that lies between what a writer would like to be able to say and what he actually knows how to say. It is easy to fake; brutality is not strength, flipness is not wit, edge-of-the-chair writing can be as boring as flat writing; dalliance with promiscuous blondes can be very dull stuff when described by goaty young men with no other purpose in mind than to describe dalliance with promiscuous blondes. There has been so much of this sort of thing that if a character in a detective story says, "Yeah," the author is automatically a Hammett imitator. And there are still quite a few people around who say that Hammett did not write detective stories at all, merely hardboiled chronicles of mean streets with a perfunctory mystery element dropped in like the olive in a martini.

i had a tremendous amount of fun reading through the novellas and picking out elements he reused and expanded upon in later full novels.

im yoinking this example from wikipedia but this sequence in The Big Sleep:

The room was too big, the ceiling was too high, the doors were too tall, and the white carpet that went from wall to wall looked like a fresh fall of snow at Lake Arrowhead. There were full-length mirrors and crystal doodads all over the place. The ivory furniture had chromium on it, and the enormous ivory drapes lay tumbled on the white carpet a yard from the windows. The white made the ivory look dirty and the ivory made the white look bled out. The windows stared towards the darkening foothills. It was going to rain soon. There was pressure in the air already.

first appeared in the short story The Curtain:

This room had a white carpet from wall to wall. Ivory drapes of immense height lay tumbled casually on the white carpet inside the many windows, which stared towards the dark foot-hills. The air beyond the glass was dark too. It had not started to rain, yet there was a feeling of pressure in the atmosphere.

when you are an exacting self-editor who will spend five months on one short story i imagine it's quite easy to go back and expand on a previous framework? it is fun to see how the sausage gets made

watching

the westerner (1940, dir. Wyler). really had me thinking about the Types of westerns i like. this is a perfectly adequate, well-acted little open range vs. homesteaders film with an impressive prairie fire sequence. walter brennan (a guy i love to see) more than deserves his oscar. gary cooper is great as a quick-thinking drifter who scams his way out of a noose. our heroine looks very much like olivia de haviland around the eyes. the original nyt review points out that cooper is very much overshadowed, and cooper only did the movie under duress bc he was worried about this very thing (p. 138-140).

between the fact that the movie thinks cooper should be the lead but brennan steals every scene he's in, this movie does not grab me by the lapels and shake me like some others i could name. part of it is that i do not like brennan's character. he is a self-appointed judge with a 100% hanging rate. i also think this is a totally different movie if you are not a woman, bc his character is INCREDIBLY weird about women. the ending tried very hard and failed to make me go "aw he was all right deep down anyway huh".

the other part of why this movie does not work for me: it starts off as my favorite genre "Some Guy has an incredibly fucked up day" but most of it is about good bible-thumping homesteaders enacting the american dream. what if we all got along??? america's big enough for everyone isn't it?? this movie really pulls its fuckin punches re: any sort of a theme, and i do not like cooper as an actor or brennan's character enough to say i had a good time. this movie does not delve into an aspect of the cowboy western mythos i am particularly interested in, but it is on kanopy, and it is part of my goal to watch every western on kanopy in order to convince the boston public library to add more westerns.

playing

man i wish fallou/t 4 was good. ive really got to fucking suck it up and start rdr2 even though i know it will consume my life in a time where i do not have a ton of time to spare

making

chicken fajitas. no pics all gone.

also: 6/10 baby blanket repeats. im trying to get this out by midapril so if i decide to fly down and look at apartments in person i can deliver it in person. so far i am happy with this rate of progress. i am going to frown about the edging for a while when im done knitting the body but that's a problem for future kay

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem

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marygodwin-bsd · 1 year

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Hi there! Welcome!

I am a level 21 category she/her human 💞💞

This is a secondary blog. so if i respond to comments itll be with a different acc (@cupidthewriter but I'll let you know. )

Writing Masterlist This is a blog dedicated to the anime Bungo Stray Dogs and the OCs I’ve made for it. Expect a lot of Kunikida content- I like him.

Here’s a guide to Mary for now. I’ll add to this post as I work on more ocs.

Note: I’m aware there’s already technically a Mary Shelley in the world of BSD but there’s barely anything on her and I didn’t know that until after I’d done a ton of oc work so it’s too late now lemme introduce you to Mary Godwin enjoy

Here's a short guide, its from my other blog

Mary Godwin (she/her)(reference to Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein). She is the cousin of Dr. Wollstonecraft. Age: 22 (Birthday is Aug. 30) Height: 5’0 ft (152.4 cm), with her platforms it’s 5’5 Personality: a little hard-headed and bold. She tries to be as independent as possible, and is very devoted to those she loves. She’s goth. Very private. Ability: “Modern Prometheus”- the ability to animate non living things (this includes severed limbs and dead bodies, but also inanimate objects such as lamps). This power has a range of 20 meters. It’s purple. Affiliation: Europle(previous), The Armed Detective Agency (current). She works as a forensic biologist. Family: Victor Godwin (son), Dr. Wollstonecraft (cousin) Mr. Godwin (father) Pets: They have 2 cats. Their names are Beans and Toast. Friends: The ADA, Kunikida Doppo (private romantic partner), Dazai Osamu, Yosano Akiko, Dr.W. Hobbies: watching thriller movies, experimenting with her ability, just hanging out with her kid, bug taxidermy

Victor Godwin (he/him)(a reference to Victor Frankenstein) Age: 3 or 4 (Birthday is March 30th ) Height: Personality: A very bright little boy who's a little too curious. Loves math.(COMING SOON) Ability: Reuse. He is able to drain people's strength and put it out towards other objects. this is temporary. Affiliation: the ADA, although only through his mother. I haven’t yet explored his future. Family: Mary Godwin (mother), Percy Shelley (biological father, has never met him), Mr. Godwin (grandfather, has also never met him), Dr. Wollstonecraft (cousin once removed) Pets: Frank, a rat he kept that used to be a class pet in pre-k but his teacher gave him away. Every time Frank dies, they get a new pet Frank. Friends: Children from daycare, he believes his mother’s adult friends are his friends (this includes Kunikida Doppo and Dazai Osamu) Hobbies: Junior Mathletes, “designing experiments”, trying to teach Frank tricks

Percy Shelley (they/he)(reference to Percy Shelley, romantic poet) Age: about 27 (birthday is August 4th) Height: 5'6 Personality: Loyal, flirtatious, fragile mental state. Bold only when it comes to protecting the ones who matter. Ability: "Mont Blanc," they can grow plants out of their body or the environment, but it comes out far too strong and it drains Percy of their strength. It has resulted in something close to chronic illness. Affiliation: Decay of Angels, specifically under Fyodor. kind of Fyodor's lapdog. Will follow any order given to him by Fyodor out of loyalty and wanting to be useful, even if it will hurt themself or other people. This will be expanded as I develop them more!

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd oc #bsd original character #bsd ocs #kunikida doppo #kunikida x oc #armed detective agency #anime #new blog #oc blog #bungo stray dogs

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watching-pictures-move · 4 months

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Movie Review | Miami Vice: Freefall (Mayberry, 1989)

Miami Vice in its fifth and final season was a very different show from its heyday. Michael Mann’s name continued to be slapped onto the end credits, but the lightning in a bottle quality of the first two seasons, with their mixture of effervescent aesthetics, defiance of conventions and willingness to leave the audience in violent disconcert, had long since dissipated and the show had become increasingly straightforward, formulaic. Probably the easiest way to demarcate the phases of the show would be the colour schemes. The first two seasons favoured pastels, which provided ironic comment on the edgier subject matter. The third and fourth seasons favoured neons, hinting at a more straightforward idea of cool. And the fifth season shifted to an even darker, high contrast colour scheme, with deep blacks in the interiors and at night, contrasting with the sunburnt daylight hues. And musically, the sometimes complex and layered, sometimes giddy music by Jan Hammer had been replaced by a more conventional hard rock sound by Tim Truman.

There’s an obviousness to this final aesthetic, that brings to mind the laboured style of modern prestige television, which can lean on drab colour schemes and ponderous camera moves to lazily gesture towards seriousness. (I should note that I pretty much can’t stand HBO sheen.) But the overwhelming feeling here is of exhaustion. Episodes increasingly settled matters through shootouts, with a higher gunplay quotient than in previous seasons. The moments of bemusement offered earlier are increasingly scarce. And the personal cost of the job seems to weight increasingly heavily on our heroes Crockett and Tubbs, as their efforts seem to make little difference in the grand scheme of things. (The series is certainly an ‘80s cop show and carries a certain cavalier attitude about law enforcement as one can expect, but it’s been more willing to interrogate those qualities than I expected going in, and has always had a social conscience.)

So there is a certain dulled quality one can expect with the finale, but I must report that I found it an immensely satisfying finale to the series. Like the other two-parters, the narrative is more expansive than usual, although along with the lower number of needledrops, this is an area where the smaller budget for this season shows. The first half has the boys heading down to a Latin American dictatorship to extract a politically friendly despot (modeled after Manuel Noriega, but played by Ian McShane in brownface makeup that makes him look like Muammar Gaddafi). There are shootouts and battles and an exfiltration from the presidential palace, although it rarely feels like they’re actually in Latin America. (The combat footage is recycled from “Stone’s War”, which is one of two episodes to feature the most bananas stunt casting in the show: G. Gordon Liddy as a CIA scumbag.)

But the second half feels like Vice much closer to its peak, setting off a series of double crosses that evoke a violent sense of whiplash, each twist of the plot punctuated with as much blood and gunfire as ‘80s network TV would allow. Crockett’s and Tubbs’ exhaustion turns to rage, leading to a thunderous finale that mirrors the iconic capper to the pilot “Brother’s Keeper”, with the boys heading down to the pier to settle things once and for all. Crockett even dual wields like he did in the pilot. I do think it’s a mistake to not have reused Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”, although Honeymoon Suite’s “Bad Attitude” isn’t the worst song in the world.

And on a superficial note, it’s nice that both the boys return to wardrobes somewhat similar to the ones they had originally. Back to the pastels for Crockett. No more awful prints for Tubbs. Some of the other regulars are awkwardly integrated. Gina and Trudy barely figure into the episode, and Castillo’s hair in his final scene looks very… unconvincing. (I believe Edward James Olmos as shooting Stand and Deliver around this time, in which he has a combover, so I suspect he’s wearing a wig in the scene.) But at least Switek’s gambling problem, which the season tried so hard to push, finally pays off with something interesting. And there’s no way I can be objective about this, but having spent half a year obsessed with this show, the final scene between Crockett and Tubbs had me tearing up a bit.

#film #movie review #miami vice #miami vice: freefall #russ mayberry

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mask131 · 2 years

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Am I the only one who can’t really stand the Alex Meyers review videos anymore?

I mean when he was still doing Riverdale and stuff , he was still the cool kid on the playground, you know but... I don’t know if it was because his style was perfect for reviewing insane stuff like Riverdale and those crazy Disney shows, or if he just shaped his whole reviewing style to fit them to the point he forgot to reshape it for other content.

Because ever since he stopped the Riverdale videos and started looking at many other kinds of movies and television series... it doesn’t work with me anymore. He keeps a very superficial look at things filled with rushing points and omitting elements ; he keeps reusing the same jokes over and over again with little variations ; and he does a thing that always make me grind my teeth when it comes to reviewers - when he reviews a movie or a show based on a book or a comic book or any other previous material, he completely ignores the fact that it is an adaptation and judges EVERYTHING as if it was the writers of the movie that came up with it, and as if there was no prior material before the existence of said show/movie... Which ties in a general problem of lack of research which always irritate me with those who try to be “reviewers” but don’t bother doing the most basic Google search about the piece of media they try to review (a lack of knowledge which sometimes show up in the reviews themselves, as some of the reviewers concerns, questions or criticisms fall flat with the most basic one-minute search).

But I am going off-road here. My point is... yeah I think the Alex Meyers reviews became more irritating and annoying now? I don’t know if it was because he switched the material on which he was doing these reviews (that work much better for nonsensical, superficial, convoluted crazy stuff like Riverdale) ; or if just watched enough years of his videos to realize he just repeats the same style, same jokes, same points over and over again to the point what seems cool becomes boring (Hell even the Red Flag parade, while HILARIOUS and that I used to be obsessed with, seems sometimes just meh...)

I don’t know - but I will certainly take a big break from his videos, something I already intended to do for quite some months now.

#alex meyers #internet reviews

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pacixfrisky-reborn · 2 years

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There seems to be a few misconceptions about Pyramid Head roaming about, so let me, someone who has never played Silent Hill 2, or any Silent Hill game, weigh in.

Pyramid Head is a manifestation of James Sunderland's guilt and desire for punishment for killing his wife. The town manifested that as Pyramid Head, since, on a previous visit to Silent Hill with Mary, he saw a painting featuring Pyramid Head, titled 'Misty Day, remains of the Judgement' and thus was manifested to pass judgement upon James, and test him to see if he was strong enough to overcome said guilt, especially when that guilt is intensified by the death of Maria, which spawned another Pyramid Head, this one with a bright red helmet to contrast with the rust red one; one signifying the recent blood spilt from Maria, the other representing the old blood spilt of Mary.

Pyramid Head is also somewhat of a dark reflection of James. Part of James' issues is that he's been repressed sexually, even before losing his wife, because of Mary's illness meaning that he couldn’t touch or really be intimate with her. This is why the mannequin enemy is only made of the bottom halves of mannequins stuck together, and why his nurses are a lot more revealing in their attire than the ones from the first Silent Hill, when they were representations of Alessa's trauma instead. There are several times when Pyramid Head appears to be taking out his sexual frustrations on other monsters, reflecting James' own frustrations.

So, if Pyramid Head represents any sins… I’d say they represent Wrath first, and Lust second. Since his main purpose in Silent Hill is to punish James.

Does this really matter for lewdness? …No, but I am a bit of a stickler for the finer details of a character, even when it comes to lewds.

Oh, and if you want to talk about Pyramid Head beyond Silent Hill 2… let's just not. Pyramid Head appearing in other games or in the movies just… doesn’t make as much sense, and I think it’s just them deciding to capitalise on how iconic and popular the character is, especially since 2 is usually considered the best game of the series.

Fun fact for those who read the whole thing: In Silent Hill 3, the corpse of Harry Mason actually uses James' model. I’m guessing they didn’t want to have a PS1 model in the game, and didn’t want to make a new model for Harry, so they simply reused James' model as an asset. You can’t really tell at a glance anyway, given how bloody the model is.

#out of determination

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thesoftandhardcore · 2 years

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Hi @thesoftandhardcore! I got a question for you. What do you suppose KFP4's plot is? I believe that DreamWorks will take it in either of these three ways:

(1) During the movie, there'll be a lot of romance between Po and Tigress, with TiPo eventually becoming an official thing while they are off on some awesome adventure;

(2) One of the villains from the previous movies (or all of them???) will come back more powerful than before-- and that'll be Po's challenge (because I really don't think they'll be able to fit in another previously unknown villain again, honestly);

(3) There'll be a SERIOUS plot twist and Oogway would be revealed as the REAL bad guy (I have a theory that Oogway trained and brainwashed Shifu and everyone else to believe he was this enlightened, noble Tortoise Master and actually is secretly the real villain of the whole franchise, much like Darth Sidious in Star Wars)

That do you think? I'd love to hear your ideas! (Oof sorry this ask is so long LOL I just was curious what you thought about it) Hope you are having a great day! 😊

Hello! I am very very sorry for responding so late. I’ve been so busy with school lately that I couldn’t find the time to post or reply to your questions, so I’m really sorry!

Anyway, to answer your question, yes, I do have a few ideas and theories about what the fourth movie might be all about.

(1) During the movie, there'll be a lot of romance between Po and Tigress, with TiPo eventually becoming an official thing while they are off on some awesome adventure;

As much as I would love to see that on the big screen (believe me, I would absolutely love that), I doubt that DreamWorks would put "a lot" or focus more on romance between Po and Tigress’ relationship. I believe this for the following reasons: 1.) The film may focus on romance rather than the actual element or concept, which belongs to the action/comedy genre. and 2.) We are all aware that not all people in the Pandom are fans or shippers of TiPo. Some may be against it, while some are neutral about it. With that being said, if the movie does focus on romance between the two, I’m afraid non-TiPo or fans of the franchise in general, might not like or enjoy the idea of the movie focusing more on romance (I apologize for overusing some of the words).

Before I start with this topic, I apologize in advance to the people who want the KFP villains, especially with Tai Lung, to come back or have their own "redemption arc" for the upcoming movies.

As I was saying, I’ve seen a lot of people wanting the old villains to return in the future films, especially Tai Lung. The idea of him returning is that he will have his own "redemption arc," join Po and the Five, and together they will defeat the bad guys. In my opinion, it is not a bad idea. In fact, I actually find it interesting. Although I’m afraid that the idea or possibility of them coming back is a little impossible. And as always, it’s for these reasons. 1). Tai Lung had already been sent to the Spirit Realm and had stayed/trapped there for a long time, so I think it is safe to say that he had already turned into a spirit. As for Lord Shen, um, he’s already dead? So, he is also a spirit. And as for Kai, well, he’s basically gone. and 2.) I recall Jennifer Yuh saying in one of their interviews with Allesandro that they don't want to or try to avoid reusing characters or villains from previous films. In other words, I don’t think they'd give us the same or previous villain/s we already had in the previous films because it’ll take a lot of time and effort for the writers and producers to come up with another challenge for Po, considering that he has already defeated them.

Oh 👀

To be completely honest with you, I’ve never actually thought of that before. I’ve always seen Master Oogway as someone who is wise and would never do such things... or maybe I could be wrong lol I don’t know, I guess we’ll just have to find out when the fourth movie comes out!

I hope I answered your questions correctly or at least satisfied you with my answers 😊 I’ll probably make a separate post about my ideas or theories that I have about the fourth movie because it’s going to take a while and it’ll be too long to include in this post, so yeah.

#ask #didn't realize it was this long lol

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18plusroleplayseeker · 2 years

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Looking for Andrew Spider-Man for JCINK Spider Trio

Hello hello! Thanks for taking a look at our buddy request. The short and sweet of the story is that we’re two 30+ RP loving gals who happen to play Tom Holland (Ruby) and Tobey Maguire (me) Spider-Mans and we’re for Andrew Garfield Spidey to complete our trio on the panfandom JCINK site we run called, Between the Lines.

While *Spoilers* we LOOOOVE No Way Home, we don’t require that you pull him from it. Tobey Peter comes from directly after that movie, but our Tom Holland Spidey comes from around Endgame, before No Way Home. He has no idea what awaits him. Muhahaha!

We're currently working our two Spider-Mans into the same city with a bit of Eddie Brock and Vee causing chaos in the middle. Tom Peter maaaaay currently be playing host to a certain alien made of black goo while Tobey Peter is reluctantly teaming up with the symbioteless Eddie to help his younger self and he could really use Andrew Spidey's help.

As long as he's still his Amazing Spider-Man self, we’re pretty flexible on whether your Spidey knows about the other Spideys or if you want to add a bit of comic/previous iterations for flavor (my Tobey Spidey has a begrudging friendship with his universe’s Deadpool, he’s worked briefly with the X-Men), etc.

Ruby also has a cinnamon bun of a murderer with Andrew’s face (FCs can be reused, yay multiverse!) and we’d love to see some wonderful chaos where people mistake Peter for Angel and freak out… because glorious IC drama. This totally isn’t required, though and definitely up to you on how you wanna roll.

With that said, there are a few things we do want, both from the character and a writing partner in general.

The Character:

Definitely still The Amazing Spider-Man, rather than a comic book Spidey with Andrew’s face.

Mid 20’s to mid 30’s

Near the end of his dark place after Gwen’s death, or through it.

Still his wonderful, quirky nerd of a self.

You as the writer:

We’re pretty much always throwing ideas (and some IC chat) back and forth to test out headcanon babies. We’re definitely looking for a third buddy to gush, plot, and write with.

Rubes and I can be fairly speedy, but flexible posters. We have our own stuff going on from mental health to busy work schedules and that means we have our slow times like everyone else. But we’re also friends and we chat even when one of us can’t post for whatever reason. Someone who posts less than once a week on a regular basis or who just disappears off the face of the Earth when a real life moment hits probably isn’t going to work for us.

We consider ourselves fairly good writers with a decent grasp of grammar and creative writing (show don’t tell, etc). Ideally, you’d be the same. To clarify on this point, we don’t need you to be perfect. We definitely are not. But we do love to paint a picture.

We tend to write anywhere from 100 to 500+ words depending on our muses and would like the same in return.

We’re both in the EST timezone if that matters. It really doesn’t to us. We’re looking for a buddy and while it would be amazeballs to have someone up and chatting when we are, we’re in it for the friendship and the story, not the clock.

We’re also both over 30 and the board is 18+ for players. We're definitely looking for a mature, adult writing buddy regardless of the rating of the content we choose to create.

We're admins on BtL and looking to have this plot (and others) on our site. We won't do private discord or Doc RP and aren't willing to join another site at this time.

And finally, we're REEEAAALLY craving this plot right now, but, ultimately, we're looking for another buddy we can swap plots and characters with. Feel free to check out the board, message me here, or catch us on Discord to see if we might be a good fit (Brie#6630 and Ruby#6300).

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desperatelyseekingroleplay · 2 years

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Two 30+ Ladies Looking for an Andrew Spider-Man

Hello hello! Thanks for taking a look at our buddy request. The short and sweet of the story is that we’re two 30+ RP loving gals who happen to play Tom Holland (Ruby) and Tobey Maguire (me) Spider-Mans and we’re looking for an Andrew Garfield Spidey to complete our trio on the panfandom JCINK site we run called, Between the Lines.

As long as he's still his Amazing Spider-Man self, we’re pretty flexible on whether your Spidey knows about the other Spideys or if you want to add a bit of comic/previous iterations for flavor (for example, my Tobey Spidey has a begrudging friendship/hinted at relationship with his universe’s Deadpool, he’s worked briefly with the X-Men), etc.

With that said, there are a few things we do want, both from the character and a writing partner in general.

The Character:

Andrew Garfield as the FC (naturally)

Mid 20’s to mid 30’s

Near the end of his dark place after Gwen’s death, or through it.

Still his wonderful, quirky nerd of a self.

You as the writer:

We’re pretty much always throwing ideas (and some IC chat) back and forth to test out headcanon babies. We’re definitely looking for a third buddy to gush, plot, and write with.

Rubes and I can be fairly speedy, but flexible posters. Some days we post multiple 200+ word posts a day. Other times we might go a week between posts. We have our own stuff going on from mental health to busy work schedules and that means we have our slow times like everyone else. But we’re also friends and we chat even when one of us can’t post for whatever reason. Someone who posts less than once a week on a regular basis and who just disappears off the face of the Earth when a real life moment hits isn’t going to work for us.

We tend to write anywhere from 100 to 500+ words depending on our muses and would like the same in return.

We’re also both over 30 and the board is 18+ for players (kid characters and FCs are allowed with strict stipulations about content they can participate in, so if that’s something you don’t like, it might not be the best place for you). We're definitely looking for a mature, adult writing buddy regardless of the rating of the content we choose to create. With that said, we’re not looking to ship the Peters. Our Tom Holland Peter is 15 and this would be purely a brotherly/menor style relationship. Not a romantic one. Nothing against that ship at all. It’s just not the kind of adorable brotherliness we’re looking for.

Finally, we're both admins on BtL and looking to have this plot (and others) on our site. We do double and are more than happy to make other characters for each other on site, but won't do private discord or Doc RPs and aren't willing to join another site at this time.

And finally, we're REEEAAALLY craving this plot right now, but, ultimately, we're looking for another buddy we can swap plots and characters with. Feel free to check out the board, or catch us on Discord to see if we might be a good fit (Brie#6630 and Ruby#6300).

#Roleplay Partner Wanted #Roleplay Partner Search #Roleplay Partner Needed #Rp Buddy Search #Rp Partner Needed #Rp Partner Wanted #Seeking Roleplay Partner

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enigmawriteswhump · 2 months

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The Last Librarian

Part 3

💠 Previous

Tw: swearing, blood, hypnosis, drugging

______________

Rain was a dichotomy for me. I loved using an umbrella, swirling it around in my hands as I walked. But I also disliked the soggy, grey clouds hanging above me. The warm-weather part of me wanting the sun to paint my skin with its tan.

Still, my day is like the rest, until my shift is cancelled at the library. I feel bereft.

It's my day. Lucas is going to miss me. I can't let him down. Not when I want to hear his thoughts of Dragon's Son. I just know he's loved it.

Sarah said that there was another venue who wanted to rent out the library today - and until next Wednesday too. But I am rather inclined to go anyway.

The library was a sore thumb of the shopping district. One of those creaky, stately houses, with an outside furnished like an old mansion. One of those buildings the government liked to take up and reuse as a public building.

Perhaps it was why I was so drawn to it as a child. That I would become a Lucy Pevensey and discover a magic in the building that would save me from the tragedy of normalcy. It was a multi-storey building, but the upper levels had been off limits to me when I signed up as a volunteer. I'd wanted to search curiously... But after looking at the amount of dust on the stairs, I was inclined to doubt the stability of them.

Still, looking at the building, there was a distinct lack of life there. The window's curtains were drawn, and the whole lane felt eerily secluded. But the weird thing was, the car park was almost full at the back. You had to walk past it to get to the library and it backed onto the park I played at as a kid. Well, until vandalism hit it like a battering ram.

But still, there were no lights on. I didn't like it. And while I could see a "Library closed sign", I felt indignant. Sarah could have told me last week, but no.

I'd promised Lucas.

He was going to be here any minute. I wasn't going to disappoint him. Not from some silly out-of-the-blue event that she couldn't care to tell me about sooner.

Darkness was coming rapidly, the days of summer far behind us. Suddenly, I see a light turn on dimly inside. On the second floor. And then a few more on the first. Perfect.

I purse my lips. If the company wasn't using the entire first floor, then I could go in and grab Lucas a new book. It wouldn't hurt if I asked, right?

It was probably one of those stuffy meetings, with men in suits. One man pointing at boards with pie charts and graphs on.

I sigh, and tug on the door practically twice my size, stepping into the foyer.

I blink. My breath freezes.

A hundred eyes turn to look at me.

______________

I don't think what aptly described my reaction could have been shock. It boarded on both hysteria, and ice-cold fear.

There was a lot of people here.

And they'd torn down my bookshelves. My displays are gone. The old ceiling fan is torn away, replaced by a stupidly guady chandelier. There's a few men in work shirts hanging up something glowy on the walls. Fairy lights? A few people arranging tables. The carpet has been newly replaced. The gold inlays look so posh I feel bad just standing on it.

And there, in the middle of this whirlwind chaos, is - is - a creature pressing something against someone's neck. But they're not lips, no, they look like fangs. That couldn't be possible, because this isn't a movie set.

Vampires don't exist.

But the blissful expression on the person having those wicked-looking teeth in their neck, was far more petrifying.

They weren't trying to leave. They weren't screaming. If anything, they were practically falling into the - the Vampire's grasp.

As if the casual way of supping someone's lifeblood was a normal occurrence. My mouth is gaping. The lanyard holding my electronic pass flutters to the floor. My heart is stuttering. Faltering. I feel sweat trickle past my fingers.

My eyes are frantic, darting to the poster against the wall of the entry way.

"Human, Fae and all other kin. Auction Wednesday 31st."

"Best prices, best quality, best ethics."

"Finest purebreds seen in over a century."

I'm backing away, the book and Lucas forgotten. The eyes that followed me are numb, unaware, apart from a few narrowed pairs. They stand still. I edge another step backwards.

"Sarah didn't say anything about one of hers coming in." a monotone voice made me gasp as they stepped forward, a clipboard in hand.

"You think she sent us a snack?" a grinning woman slithered beside the man, who also seemed far more awake than the others. They had resumed doing their tasks. As if the woman vampire who was leisurely wiping their mouth with blood - red dyed treacle, right? - was completely sane. As if we all hadn't just witnessed what was essentially cannibalism. Right?

"Doesn't seem to be on the list. But," the man sniffed the air, a small sigh breezing past his lips, "I'm surprised this one isn't, considering the quality."

Inanely, my body feels wrong, as if I'm waiting for someone to tell me the truth. That in the corners were cameras. That Sarah had just pranked me big time, and this was just one of those insipid reality TV shows she watched.

The woman sniffed too, in a way that reminded me of a big cat smelling a small, harmless cub.

"Oh, I see what you mean. She does smell good. Might be even a double AA, if we're lucky. What do you reckon? Sarah might be upset we've stolen her volunteer."

The man looks at me again, eyes drawing across my body in a particularly invasive way, his gaze which focuses on my neck in particular. I flinch backwards.

"Too valuable. Don't know how she's hidden from the scouters though."

"Does it matter?" the woman is slinking forward, and suddenly I realise that this is my time to run.

Run.

"Oh, darling, you don't need to run now. You're going to start feeling sleepy, and docile now. Will you tell me your name?" her voice was soft, syrupy, and there's a flutter. She really was very beautiful, and I could feel myself leaning towards that sotto voice.

Run. Lucas.

I blink, my sense of self returning, and I'm chucking my bag at the woman. There's a growl as she fumbles with it, but it leaves me enough time to skid through the door.

I'm unsure of the sight of the dozen cars on one side, and I freak out looking at the way to the park. No one is there. But here, to my left, there's dozen wheels, a dozen places to hide in the mechanical forest. If someone was there, inside their cars, I could reach them. They could protect me.

I sprint forward, panting by the time I roll past two rows of cars, hunching over to conceal myself.

Where was Theo's big, hulking Bentley when you needed it?

My breath jars as I duck between two cars, rolling under a rangerover. Gravel bites into my bare shoulders and I wince. I bite my cheek, withholding my girlish squeal. I hope that in the darkness, the woman can't find me.

But her calling sounds much similar to a lioness on the hunt.

"Come on out, dear, we won't hurt you. I promise." but there's a feral edge to her voice and I quiver, huddling into the ground.

"Damn it. I do not have the patience to chase after you." her voice is sharp as firecrackers, and I can't tell how far away she is from me. I can only hear silence. She's taken off her heels. My stomach drops.

"I don't have the patience or time of a normal Scout, you know, human. I don't do the whole hypnotism crap. I organise. I plan. I create visions for others. But I don't enthrall."

I would have peaked from under the car had I any strength of will, to gauge how many cars more I needed to roll over to. To peer into a window that wasn't empty of humanity.

But then I do hear steps, those almost quiet scuffles getting fainter and fainter. My body is in action, rolling away. Crawling in a mimicry of a child, using my hands and knees to the car in front. This time it's a big Toyota, and I pray that if I shuffle under, I could see something on the ground I could use as a weapon.

So far, my fingers only scrabbled on a tin can's tab and I wrap my fingers around it. The cool metal presses against my skin, and I squeeze it.

I screech as I'm yanked back by my hair, nerves on fire from such rough treatment as I'm pulled into the road. Racking waves of agony makes me moan as I see the fire-haired female grin wickedly.

"Gotcha. Don't try to run, kid. It's over."

A flurry of indignation makes me snarl, and the tab in my hand strikes against the woman's face, catching the edge of her chin. Blood drips down, as her lips peel back in a chilling sneer.

"Fuck you!" I growl, and twist out of her grip, even as I can feel my roots tearing in protest. My eyes sting as I stagger away, trying to pick up speed. Trying not to feel deadly glad I dared to mark her. That mark was for the human she was feeding on. And for the many more she'd take from.

I'm about to make it to the road leading into the shops before I feel a sting against the back of thigh. Dragging my eyes down, I see a sort of dart piercing through my trouser leg.

Shit.

With a second of hesitation, I yank away the dart, gasping as it slides from my throbbing flesh. I could feel a trickle of blood warming the side of my fingers. I feel dizzy just smelling my blood.

The needle was as big as half of my thumb, and I throw it away in disgust. Bastards.

I look up and that man was there, his fingers curled around a nasty barreled gun.

I freeze.

"Stay right there."

My heart stutters again, and my wheezes fill the air. Asthma had never troubled me much since I was a child, something I thought was almost dormant.

But I'm wheezing now, the chill of the air curling against my lungs.

"Now, now..." the man's words seemed kinder, that monotone voice disappearing, "You're safe now. We won't hurt you." he steps forward, and he drops his gun.

I stay still, searching for the woman. She was the one who'd just dragged me from under the car. But I can't see her. Where was she?

"I - I -" I'm not ready for the tears creeping into my words, "Please don't -"

"Shhh, just listen to my voice. Look here, Dahila. Focus. Look at my fingers. Look at them. You're feeling tired, sleepy. Look at me. Look, Dahlia. You want to listen to me, Dahlia." there's a finger stroking my wrist, light circles, and a dizzying sensation. I'm able to look up at him, meeting soothing green eyes. Eyes of a forest. He's suddenly far too near, a musky scent invading my senses.

"There we are. Yes, look at me. You're doing so well. Focused on me now," I keep my eyes locked away, trying to force myself to focus on the street lamp.

"Oh, you can look away. Look away if it's more comfortable." but a glint brings me to his fingers, weaving in the air like shadow puppets to a child.

I gasp uneasily. I had loved playing shadow puppets.

Those patterns begin again, in, out, in, out, duck, weave... And the voice warms my jack-knifing heart.

"Hmmm yes, here we are, look at my fingers there, look at the pretty shapes."

I feel myself almost swaying to his rhythm, almost instinctively to match him. Why were we swaying? What did I need to remember? But I couldn't. What was it. But those shadows dancing before my vision were waves of light and dark. Charcoal against summer. Waves lapping from sea foam. A feeling of that easy compliance, the one mum used to practice on me. His welcoming smell. Colonge.

"So you are a well behaved one, aren't you? You like being called sweet, docile, don't you Dahlia."

I almost sway at his warmth, curling into his dulcet strokes.

"Oh Dahlia, you are nothing but calm. Wanting to look at me. You're wanting to sleep. To listen. Watch me, listen to me. Calm now." I'm closer to him now, cotton brushing my chin, fingers briefly brushing my cheek.

"That's it, keep listening now. You're so very calm, aren't you?" his fingers are flickering across my vision, so quickly, so easily calming, leaving sensation. A pulsating need to follow, focusing. Focus. I wasn't missing something. I'm calm, a good girl.

But as I watch him, those pretty fingers, that soft lulling stroke, that same stroke down my hand. I fall into the sensation, his kind touch soothing in a peace I hadn't felt until I was so young. His voice creeping, seeking refuge in my body. But that wasn't right. I was needing to run... But what from? This man was so lovely. Smelled so nice. So calming. It was nice, this feeling of weight lifting. That weight that was always there shifting. Lifting.

" That's it, yes... Keep listening to me, that is it. Good girl, Dahlia. So calm, so quiet, such a good little one, yes. Yes, my little one. Calm now, my sweet." words are blurring, and I'm floundering under his calmness. He was so soothing. So kind.

No worries now, no times or worries or places to be. Nothing more. This moment now, where I existed. Boat upon the waves. His lulling voice. There's nothing else.

Such light movements on my wrist has wound to my face, and I feel a tender stroke against my cheek. A small hum. But that wasn't right. I couldn't be enjoying the way his fingers worked their way into my hair, that lazy hum he seemed to be emitting mimicking mine. But it felt so nice. Just to be touched so gently. To have fingers fondly trickle through my hair.

"Oh darling," he breathed, a catch in his voice, "There now... There now, such a good little one. Following my voice, eyes on me. So sleepy, so calm, needing to listen to me. Listen to me, yes, Dahlia. Close your eyes, give me everything, yes. Good now, rest. Rest now, little one. You are safe, so safe." I'm leaning into him, and I feel my world sway as I float. I'm floating, floating so serenely I can't remember the last time the lights had ever flown over my head. A still, moving chest against my cheek.

Lights look so pretty as they hang above me. Fireflies between closed eyes.

"That's a good little one, close your eyes now, rest. Focus just on me now." shifting closer, loosing my weight, leaning, "Oh, no no, you are calm, so calm. You want to sleep, you want to obey, my little one. It gives you pleasure when you obey, so close your eyes little Dahlia, close them. And sleep. Sleep. Shhh. Focus now, focus... "

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Welp, that took a bit longer to write! But I hope you enjoyed!

[Go to @oliversrarebooks for the source of this inspiration!]

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