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#still it definitely creates funny scenes
tossawary · 6 months
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In the "Howl's Moving Castle" movie, I was always kind of taken aback by Madame Suliman's identical blond boy servants and how closely Howl resembles them. Strict uniforms are definitely a thing, that blond hair could be dyed or could just be wigs or it could all be an illusion to disguise what they really look like, and it would fit the extravagance that we see of the palace to have such an absurd dress code for apprentices / servants.
But yeah, my first thought was clones or magical creations of some kind.
If not for the scene showing Howl as a boy meeting Calcifer, and I think a mention of having a wizard uncle when he and Sophie visit the flower field... (And also if not for having actually read the book and knowing Howl's backstory in that universe, but if the book didn't exist and the secret backstory there wasn't so funny...) then I would wonder about Howl having actually been created by Madame Suliman in some fashion. I mean, you could still do Secret Magical Clone Backstory as an AU for the movie 'verse: Howl could totally be lying about having a wizard uncle and the dark hair in the flashback could be a childhood rebellion thing.
It adds a whole extra layer of "what the fuck, this was never going to work" to Sophie briefly pretending to be Howl's mother to get him out of having to fight in the war, which is funny to me. I always got the vibe that Madame Suliman knew the "Mrs. Pendragon" bit was 100% fake from the beginning. And I think it would be funny to have Sophie yell at Howl for making her a distraction.
Anyway, I feel like movie 'verse Sophie could immediately cure Howl's upset over not being blond anymore by asking him if he also used to have to dress up like those boys when he was Madame Suliman's apprentice, and if he'd been trying to look like that still. (It's possible that the blond servant outfit of Suliman's servants and Howl's early outfits were just both of them separately trying to keep up with the latest fashions. The uniform may have looked entirely different when Howl was an apprentice.) "Is that the look you were going for?" Sophie asks dubiously, and Howl spends at least the next three days having a fashion crisis.
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teriri-sayes · 6 months
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Reactions to Deal Maker's Chapter 198
TL;DR - Cale is scared of Ron and Raon. Cale feels guilty at getting annoyed at worried HD. Jungwon offers his statue and an employment contract. Cale can now summon people from Central Plains. Emperor gives Cale some clothes.
Scared Cale The first part had some funny scenes. Cale thought Ron was scarier than GoB and Cale being scared of Raon when he saw the dented cheeks of Jungwon's statue. 🤣🤣🤣
And when HD began talking about his head exploding, Cale got angry and glared at him. But stopped and felt guilty when he saw how seriously worried HD was. 😂
There was also Raon's blacklist which had GoD, Jungwon, GoB, and the hunters... 😂 This was after Cale had explained about his "dream" to Raon and Ron, though he excluded the Raon and Lock part.
The Deal Maker Jungwon talked to Cale by moving his own statue. And offers his statue as a reward. The scene where he offered his statue was quite funny though. 😂
Jungwon: Let's talk about the reward. Cale: What will you give? Jungwon: Me! Cale: Don't wanna. Jungwon: I mean, not me, but this statue!
Apparently, Jungwon's statue that now had the power of a World Tree could be planted in Aipotu to grow a new WT there. Cale accepted it, finding it useful because a WT could share the counteracting weight with the Blue Wolf in Aipotu. But Cale, when LSH said something about you being a farmer, it was definitely NOT about planting World Trees... 😂
And then Jungwon offered Cale an employment contract, but with the way the scene went, it felt like Jungwon was the employee entering a slave contract. 🤣🤣🤣
Not much details of the contract were given. What we know is that there was no period of employment written (poor Jungwon will be exploited forever, haha), Cale could use some of Jungwon's divine items, and Cale could summon a select few people from Central Plains.
Why a contract in the first place? This was Jungwon's way of helping Cale avoid the karmic consequences of the imbalance he might create in Aipotu. With the contract, Jungwon could share some of his power to Aipotu, find if the Aipotu world was fully dead, and search for more individuals to bear the counteracting weights for Cale's actions.
The contract was even GoB-approved, but Cale had Jungwon revise some parts and have it be reapproved by GoB.
HD, I Summon You! Part of the contract was that Cale could summon a few people in Central Plains that he wrote down there. Of course, the person to be summoned had to agree first.
So when HD entered the room, Cale greeted him with his scammer smile, leaving HD confused. 😂And then Cale proceeds to call HD with "Cheonma-ya"... 🤣🤣🤣
Cheonma is the Korean word for Heavenly Demon, and adding "ya" or "ah" to the name of someone when calling them denotes one's affection or closeness to them.
Cale told HD (and the GED people) to work hard and become stronger (so that he could summon a stronger version of them in Aipotu). Well, I guess I'm happy with this. HD might not come with Cale to Roan and the other worlds, but at least, HD could be summoned anytime. No wonder the author built him up that well.
The Emperor's New Divine Clothes The emperor was in Beijing, so Cale was surprised when he heard that the emperor was going out of his way to visit Cale in Hainan (or did they go back to Guangdong? There was no mention if Cale was still in Hainan).
Initially, Cale wanted to refuse meeting the emperor because it was troublesome, but he did a 180 degrees when Chief Eunuch Wi said the emperor came bearing gifts. 🤣🤣🤣
And what did the emperor gift Cale? It was some black clothes that the first emperor of Central Plains wore. But this first emperor was the first person in this world who became an immortal (technically a god in the murim world). So now Cale had the cape of the first person to become god in Xiaolen, and the clothes of the first person to become god in Central Plains... Why am I seeing a pattern here? 😂
That RIDI comment about Cale having a full set of god clothes when he debuts as a new god had me laughing though 🤣🤣🤣
Oh yeah, did you know that the English words "new" and "god/divine" share the same word in Korean? Just me explaining the pun I wrote in the title. 😉
Ending Remarks I had fun with today's chapter because of all the funny parts (and that we can still see HD in the future). Next week, Cale will finally return to Roan, unless the author comes up with something to delay it again.
Also, we'll be having the 200th chapter of Part 2 next Wednesday, and the 1000th chapter of TCF next Friday! RIDI is currently having an event for the "EX-Rank Supporting Role's Replay in a Prestigious School" novel because it reached its 1000th chapter, so will TCF have one too? Then again, it will probably be some free RIDI points with some conditions attached, so I guess I shouldn't expect much.
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danicamaximoff · 4 months
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Pretend To Be Nice | Chapter Four
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Chapter Four: 70's Funk?
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Summary: A few months after forming their band "The Pussycats", Hazel and her friends PJ and Josie get noticed by a record label, and are quickly skyrocketed into fame. It's a dream come true for them, and all three of their lives are flipped upside down. Their quick arrival on the scene quickly draws the attention of many other artists and bands, including a popular girl band called "Nymphology". Unfortunately for Hazel, a mix-up and unintentional awful encounter ends up creating tension between the two groups right before they all leave for Nymphology's upcoming tour. Now forced to frequently interact with someone who she was convinced couldn't stand her, Hazel is desperately trying to fix things with the band's lead guitarist. However it doesn't help that Y/N is actively avoiding Hazel as much as possible, and the fact that Hazel found her insanely hot definitely didn't make things any easier.
Warnings: angst, rockstar au, eventual smut, slowburn, swearing, occasional alcohol mentions/use
Word Count: 4377
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“Should we get mac and cheese?” Josie asks as she pushes the shopping cart as her and Hazel wander through the grocery store aisles to get a few snacks and food for their hotel room.
“Like the microwave one or the stove one?” Hazel asks as she furrows her brows.
“Either one.” Josie says as she shrugs.
“Josie, we don't have a stove in the hotel.” Hazel says as she shakes her head. “Or literally any cooking items.”
“You can make boxed mac in the microwave, I do it all the time at Sarah Lawrence.” Josie says with a shrug as she looks at Hazel.
“That sounds disgusting.” Hazel says as she scrunches up her face a bit.
“I mean it tastes the same for the most part, mac is mac. You just have to get the shell ones or sometimes the noodles clump together and then I guess it’s a little weird.” Josie says as she grabs a few boxes of mac and cheese as well as the microwavable cups.
“Do you know when we hear from Wyatt if we get a record deal or not? Oh shit.” Hazel asks as she absentmindedly runs her hand along the shelf tags, eyes going wide as she accidentally knocks a few of them to the ground, mentally panicking as she immediately grabs them and starts trying to put them back in their spots. “Oh hey, we should get gummy worms too.”
“I mean the meeting is today, so we should find out soon.” Josie says as she shrugs. “What happens if they sign us?”
“I dunno? We make a record?” Hazel says as she looks over at Josie.
“No, like, are we staying in the hotel the whole time? I don’t want to live in a hotel.” Josie says as she gives Hazel a look.
“I mean we’d probably get an apartment, wouldn’t we?” Hazel says as she gets a confused look.
“I can’t afford Los Angeles!” Josie says as her eyes go wide in horror. “I can barely afford mac and cheese! How am I supposed to pay for an apartment?”
“Well they would pay us right? Plus it’s cool, if we get signed I can probably ask my mom to chip in or something. I’m pretty sure she has a beach house out here that she vacations at with boyfriends. My dad bought it for her when they were still together as an “I’m Sorry I Cheated” house. I heard them fighting about it in middle school.” Hazel says as she shrugs. “I can see if we can use it or something.”
“You never told me your dad cheated?” Josie asks with a confused and shocked look on her face.
“Well, yeah. You never asked, I didn’t think it was important.” Hazel says as she shrugs.
“I mean, you don’t have to, but I would tell you if something like that happened. You’re one of my best friends.” Josie says with a shrug.
“Wait, really?” Hazel says as she gets a surprised look on her face.
“Hazel, we’re literally in a band together and we hang out all the time.” Josie says as she gives Hazel a funny look.
“Yeah but I thought it’s mostly you and PJ doing stuff and me just tagging along.” Hazel says with a slightly confused look.
“What? No!” Josie says as she gives Hazel a confused look. “Hazel, you’re like the main reason the band exists, and I wouldn’t have come if you didn’t convince me.” Josie says as she shakes her head.
“PJ said you agreed to join the band because she said you’d get a girlfriend.” Hazel says as she frowns and gives Josie a confused look as well.
“Hazel, PJ says a lot of stuff.” Josie says as she rolls her eyes. “I love her, but she just talks to talk half the time. I never even wanted to be in a band, it scares the crap out of me, dude. I know I complained about the bowling alley a lot, but playing at the party was like the worst stage fright I’ve ever experienced.” Josie says as she shakes her head while grabbing a few grocery items off the shelves and into the cart she was pushing.
“But then why’d you-” Hazel starts to say before Josie cuts her off.
“Because I remembered you had always wanted to be in a band. Didn’t you have an obsession with Kiss or something when you were younger?” Josie says as she glances at Hazel.
  “I did, I went as Paul Simmons for Halloween one year.” Hazel says as she nods.
“See? That’s why I joined. You love music, and you do all the hard stuff like getting outfits and gigs and everything, I just have to show up and play, which is good because I think if I had any other responsibilities I would crumble under the pressure because I get anxious enough about performing.” Josie says as she shakes her head.
“I thought you guys didn’t like the cat ears?” Hazel says as she furrows her brows in confusion.
“I thought they were kind of fun.” Josie says as she shrugs. “I mean, I wouldn’t have cared if we didn’t wear them, but it was a cool idea. And people liked it and it fits with the band name.” Josie says as she shrugs. “I think it should be part of our outfits.”
“Wait, really?” Hazel asks as her face lights up with excitement. “Why didn’t you tell me I was the reason you joined?” 
“Because PJ takes over, so when she says we’re doing this to get girlfriends, you kind of just have to go along with it.” Josie says as she gives Hazel a look.
“I was never doing it to get a girlfriend. I just like the drums.” Hazel says as she furrows her brows.
“Yeah, but you can also say no to PJ, cause you don’t care. She’s my best friend so I just kind of go along with things after a bit.” Josie says as she shrugs.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Hazel says as she shrugs, before realizing something irrelevant to the conversation. “Oh I forgot to tell you, that girl you like is at the same studio as us. You know, the one from Nymphology with the like-” Hazel starts to say as she gestures at her chest where hair would be if she had long hair, but Josie cuts her off as she starts nervously laughing.
“Oh my god, please don’t remind me!” Josie says as she stops walking and leans her head against her arms as they rest on the shopping cart. “I already met her, and I almost threw up.” 
“What? You threw up?!” Hazel asks in shock as she gives Josie an alarmed look.
“No! God I would die if I did! I wasn’t being serious! I was just a total idiot when I talked to her!” Josie says as her eyes go wide and she shakes her head.
“What’d you say? I mean it probably wasn’t that bad, you’re a very likeable person.” Hazel says as her face scrunches up in confusion.
“Well I saw her, and I choked on the water I was drinking, and then she came over and asked if I was okay, and I said yeah, and then she was like “I’m Isabel” and I was like “I’m Josie” and then I stared at her for like a second and then looked away, and then I asked if she liked water because I couldn’t think of anything to say.” Josie says awkwardly as she looks up at the ceiling.
“Well did she?” Hazel asks.
“Did she what?” Josie asks Hazel with a confused look.
“Did she like water?” Hazel says as she looks at Josie expectantly.
“Yes. She did. Everyone does, Hazel, you need it to live.” Josie says as she looks at Hazel a bit in disbelief. 
“Well now you have something in common!” Hazel says as she smiles a bit, clearly thinking she was being helpful, as Josie sighs and shakes her head.
“We gotta work on how you comfort people, dude.” Josie says as she gives Hazel a look.
“What’s wrong with how I comfort people?” Hazel says as she furrows her brows in confusion.
“It’s not that there’s something wrong, you just-” Josie says before sighing. “I just mean that if you weren’t one of my best friends and I didn’t know you, I would think you’re being a dick and making fun of me.”
“Oh, really? I thought that would be helpful, cause now you have something in common with her.” Hazel says as she shrugs. 
“I-” Josie starts to say before stopping and sighing a bit. “Thank you Hazel, that actually is helpful.” Josie says as she nods, though she definitely was just saying that to not make Hazel sad.
“Oh really? Sick!” Hazel says with a grin. “Oh you know what you should do? Mention moss! Because it can help you find water! And then you have two things to talk about!” Hazel says excitedly as they continue shopping.
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“Hi mom!” Hazel says into the phone excitedly from her hotel room, feeling like she was about to pass out. She had just got back from the meeting with the record label, and The Pussycats had officially been signed for a three year contract, and if their first album did well, then that would most likely be extended. They started recording the rest of the album tomorrow, and the label agreed to pay for the hotel for the time being until the three of them found a place to live in. 
“Hi sweetheart! How are you!” Hazel’s mom says into the phone, sounding like she was yelling for some reason.
“Are you yelling? Why are you talking weird?” Hazel says with a confused tone.
“I’m on my elliptical right now, but I have a face mask and I’m doing that cucumber thing on my eyes! Annie said it will help with my bags and the dark circles! Annie, say hi to Hazel!” Her mom says over the phone, talking to her best friend Annie.
“Hi Hazel! How’s college?” Annie says in the background.
“No, Annie, she’s not at Sarah Lawerence right now, for that… that band thing.” Hazel’s mom says over the phone.
“Oh that’s right! How’s LA? Have you met Robert Downey Jr. yet?” Annie asks in the background, yelling as well.
“I’m here for music stuff, not movies.” Hazel says into the phone as she shakes her head.
“It could happen! If you meet him, tell him I’m single!” Annie yells, which makes Hazel roll her eyes.
“Yeah, sure, okay anyways, mom can I tell you my news now?” Hazel says impatiently.
“Yes, of course sweetheart! What is it? Annie shut up.” Her mom says over the phone.
“We got a record deal! The contract is for three years!” Hazel says excitedly, and her mother gasps over the phone.
“Oh my goodness! That’s amazing!” Her mom yells over the phone, though still clearly exercising as she talks. “Annie, did you hear that? Hazel’s going to be a musician!” 
“Yeah, I know! We start recording the album tomorrow!” Hazel says excitedly as she grins.
“That’s wonderful, sweetheart!” Her mom yells. “Siri! Siri! Si-Ri!” Her mom beggins yelling clearly trying to get her phone’s voice assistant to activate. “Annie why is Siri not working?” 
“Mom, why do you need Siri?” Hazel asks as she furrows her brows in confusion.
“I need to set a reminder to book a flight to LA!” She says to Hazel.
“What? Why?” Hazel asks, clearly confused by her mother’s sudden plans.
“Hazel, you’re going to be famous! I want to be there to see my little Witch Hazel spread her wings!” Her mom says into the phone, using a nickname from when Hazel was little, which makes Hazel groan.
“Mom, please stop calling me that! I’m not five anymore!” Hazel says with embarrassment.
“Siri! Siri! Oh for Christ's sake, Annie, I’m taking the cucumbers off.” Hazel’s mom says, before shuffling noise is heard as she seemingly grabs the phone. “Let me find a good flight, and I’ll fly out as soon as I can sweetheart!” She says excitedly, her voice significantly closer to the phone and not yelling as much since she was now holding the phone.
“No, mom you really don’t-” Hazel starts to say before her mom cuts her off.
“Do you girls need somewhere to stay? I assume you can’t be in a hotel the whole time.” Hazel’s mom says over the phone, which makes Hazel perk up.
“Yeah, actually! That’s part of why I called, I was wondering if we can rent out the beach house or something instead of getting an apartment, because PJ and Josie can’t afford rent out here.” Hazel says quickly. “We’d take really good care of it! We wouldn’t ruin it!”
“Oh, yeah, of course! We can sign you up for surfing lessons too, so you can be a California girl and get the full experience!” Hazel’s mom says with an excited tone.
“Oh I don’t really-” Hazel starts to say before she gets cut off again.
“No, no, no, trust me! You’ll want surfing lessons sweetheart! It’s very rockstar! Plus the instructors are usually hot. I had one a few years ago, what was his name?” Hazel’s mom says as she thinks for a second. “Well, I can’t remember, but I do remember he was very hot! We hooked up a lot that summer, he-” Hazel’s mom starts to say, before Hazel cuts her off.
“Ew, mom! I don’t want to hear about that!” Hazel says with a disgusted look on her face.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Her mom says defensively. “I’m just saying! They’re usually very hot!”
“Mom, I don’t even like men, you know this!” Hazel says, still disgusted at the topic.
“There’s girl instructors too!” Hazel’s mom says over the phone.
“Mom- I- No! I don’t- Can we go back to talking about the beach house?” Hazel says as she stumbles over her words.
“Alright, alright! I’m letting it go! Of course you can use the beach house sweetheart, we can work out all the details when I fly out. Anyways I have to go, I have a decorative bead making class in an hour and I have to change out of my workout clothes. I’ll text you the flight plans once I book it! I love you!” Hazel’s mom says before hanging up the phone, leaving Hazel confused.
“Decorative bead making class?” Hazel says to herself with confusion as Josie and PJ enter the hotel room.
“Hazel, there were the hottest girls at the pool just now, one of them was totally into me! I told you guys this was a good idea!” PJ says excitedly as she throws her towel down on one of the chairs in the hotel room.
“They looked at us like once, PJ.” Josie says as she gives PJ a look.
“Yeah and it was a “I’m totally into you” kind of look!” PJ says as she throws her arms up and looks at Josie. “Oh, Hazel, have you called your mom yet?” She asks as she flops down on the couch.
“Yeah! She said we can move into the beach house!” Hazel says with a smile.
“Fuck yeah!” PJ says excitedly as she punches the air.
“Hey guys? Have we like, put thought into what songs are going on the album?” Josie asks as she grabs a soda from the mini fridge.
“Shit!” PJ says as she sits up a bit.
“I mean I have, but it’s not-” Hazel starts to say as PJ cuts her off.
“Write it down! We need to have a plan for tomorrow! Fuck, Josie! Why’d you make me go to the pool!” PJ says as she panics a bit, as Josie throws her arm up in annoyance, as going to the pool had been PJ’s idea.
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“Fuck, that’s not right.” Hazel says as she frowns and scribbles out the notes she wrote on the music sheet. She bites on her pencil for a moment as she thinks, before setting it down and readjusting the electric guitar she was holding and playing different note sequences over again as she tries to figure out the guitar part for a song.
She was currently the only one in the studio, PJ and Josie had left about thirty minutes ago to go grab dinner, but Hazel had stayed behind, determined to figure out this new song they were working on that had her stumped. She had already figured out the general beat and the chorus, but the more fine details and actual instrumentals to the song was frustrating her, as she couldn’t seem to figure out a vibe that she liked and matched with the vision she had for the song. Josie and PJ had tried to convince her to take a break, but she refused to leave until she figured this out, so here she was, alone with one of the electric guitars as she ran over the same section over and over again, trying to come up with something she liked. 
It had been about a week and a half since being signed, and they had been working constantly on the album, picking which songs, discussing with Wyatt, and had even decided to come up with a few new ones per Wyatt’s suggestion, giving them advice and his thoughts on what the album was missing. 
Staring off into space, she hums the general vibe of the song she had so far to herself, her fingers absentmindedly tap against the base of the guitar as she bites her lip a bit and thinks. Lost in thought, she doesn’t notice the sound of the door to the studio opening as she begins playing another random string of notes on the guitar, her brows furrowed in concentration.
“Is that for the album?” Y/N asks from the door, as she leans against the doorframe, making Hazel jump in her seat a bit.
“Oh my god, hi!” She says as she quickly turns and sees Y/N, heart immediately racing.
“Hi.” Y/N says as she grins softly. “They leave you in here by yourself?” She asks as she looks around at the empty recording studio.
“Oh, yeah. Josie and PJ went to go grab food but I wanted to stay and work on this new song we’re writing.” Hazel says as she smiles, trying not to show how nervous she is.
“Can I hear it? I promise I won’t steal it.” Y/N says with a small laugh, a teasing grin on her face that makes Hazel’s stomach do cartwheels.
“Oh it’s not- I mean- it’s- I’m still working on it. It’s in shambles right now.” Hazel says, nervously stumbling over her words.
“That’s okay, I won’t judge.” Y/N says with a laugh as she shakes her head. 
“Oh, I mean- uh, yeah sure, if you really want to then.” Hazel says as she nods a bit.
“Yeah, show me what you got so far.” She says with a smile as she walks inside, the studio door closing behind her as she goes and sits down on one of the chairs near Hazel.
“Okay, yeah. Um, so this song is supposed to be like towards the end of the album kind of. A lot of our songs are like in the alternative category, but Wyatt said we should add more variety to what we have so far, so we added a few slower ones, and for this one, PJ said she wanted it to be more “funky” but not 70’s, and I don’t really know what that means. We don’t even have all the lyrics either, it’s very unfinished right now.” Hazel says as she nervously runs a hand through her hair, avoiding eye contact with Y/N.
“What are you working on right now?” Y/N asks as she scoots a bit closer to see what Hazel had written down so far. “I can try and help if you want.”
“Really?” Hazel asks as she looks at her in shock.
“Yeah.” Y/N says as she smiles and nods her head. “Nymphology finished recording for the day, I was heading out but I saw someone was in here so I wanted to say hi in case it was you.” 
“Why me?” Hazel asks, both in shock and confusion.
“Well we didn’t really get to talk a few weeks ago, and I’m curious about the moss thing now, because I think it was Josie? But anyways, one of the girls in my band is named Isabel, and apparently Josie brought up moss the other day.” Y/N says as she laughs a bit. “I’m just curious now if that’s like a friend group thing or not.”
“No! It’s not! It’s my thing! I told Josie about it because she likes Isabel so I said she should bring up moss because they both like water, so it connects, and that’s what I do.” Hazel says quickly as she shakes her head, before her eyes go wide as she realizes what she said. “Shoot, don’t tell her I said that.” She says as Y/N laughs.
“So you bring up moss as a flirting tactic?” Y/N asks with a grin, which makes Hazel panic.
“What? What- No! No, I don’t- Sometimes, but like-” Hazel says as she immediately stumbles over her words and blushes a bit. “Anyways the song!” She says quickly as she turns back to the paper she had been writing on. What is wrong with me?! She thinks to herself as Y/N giggles. She was rarely like this around girls. Fuck. She seriously needed to ignore the fact that Y/N was super pretty and get her game back. Except when she actually thought about it, that was definitely very impossible. Double fuck. “Anyways, this is the part I’m trying to figure out right now.” Hazel says as she nervously runs her hand through her hair again before readjusting the guitar again, internally just a jumbled mess on nerves and anxiety as she begins playing what she had so far on the guitar.
“And your friend said she wanted it to be what? Funky but not 70’s?” Y/N asks after thinking for a minute, a quizzical expression on her face.
“Yeah.” Hazel says softly as she avoids eye contact, glancing all over, eyes falling on Y/N’s shoes though, as the red converse had a lot of doodles all over them.
“Can I see what else you have?” Y/N asks, a bit more serious now as Hazel hands her the papers and notes without saying anything. She reads over, her fingers tapping against the paper as she figures out the beat and the drum parts Hazel had so far. “I think the only “funky” kind of part should be the guitar. But even then less funky and more fun. Do you listen to Paramore?” She asks as she looks over at Hazel.
“Wh- Yeah, I do.” Hazel says as her head snaps up and she nods.
“I don’t know if this will make sense, but maybe coming up with something that sounds like how their album cover for After Laughter looks?” Y/N says as she shrugs and furrows her brows a bit.
“I- That does actually, yeah.” Hazel says as she nods.
“Like, hold on, let me think.” Y/N says as she furrows her brows for a moment. “Can I see that quick?” She asks as she gestures to the guitar. 
“Oh, yeah, here.” Hazel says as she hands her the guitar, heart unintentionally racing a bit as their hands accidentally brush against each other.
They spend a while going over random chord progressions and different melodies, until after a while, they had created a pretty solid backbone for the guitar part of the song, that Hazel and the others could flesh out more later. As time goes on Hazel gradually relaxes more, being able to focus on the song and music helping her distract herself from her nerves, and allowing her to start cracking jokes more and actually engage in conversation outside of the song and music stuff.
By the time Josie and PJ arrive, Y/N was telling Hazel about crazy fan experiences, and wild things that had happened to her and her friends over the years, laughing as she mentions the time she had created a fake twitter account and started beef with herself and how pissed the fans got at her burner account. 
“Hey, Hazel- Oh. Hi?” PJ says as she walks in, doing a double take when she sees Y/N.
“Hi.” Y/N says with a smile as she looks over at PJ and Josie. “I’m Y/N. I’m friends with Hazel.” She says as she smiles and gestures to Hazel, the statement making Hazel smile.
“We know. You’re in Nymphology.” Josie says as she nods a bit nervously.
“Mhmm.” Y/N says with a nod. “You’re Josie, right?” 
“Oh, uh, yeah.” Josie says as she nods.
“Isabel’s told me about you.” Y/N says with a small giggle, making Josie blush and get a nervous smile on her face as she looks away, clearly worried about the fact Isabel had mentioned her to her bandmates.
“I’m PJ!” PJ quickly says as she stares at Y/N.
“Anyways, um, you should probably go, thanks for the help.” Hazel says quickly as she gathers the papers scattered around them.
“Oh, yeah of course, anytime.” Y/N says with a smile.
“Yeah, yeah, thanks. It was fun, I’ll see you soon probably.” Hazel says as she quickly gets up, immediately nervous and embarrassed again now that PJ and Josie were there.
“If you need any more help, let me know. It was nice meeting you guys.” Y/N says to Hazel before turning and smiling to PJ and Josie as she walks out, shutting the door behind her after waving bye.
“What the fuck?” PJ says in shock as her and Josie immediately look at Hazel, who was now heavily blushing as she fiddles with the shirt she was wearing.
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I genuinely love writing this story its sm fun. I love Hazel she's so cute. Also I fr have no clue how record label stuff works so I'm kinda just pulling this out of my ass lmao. I'm like "yeah I watched Daisy Jones and The Six and can google basic steps for this, good enough" and then just hoped it would be accurate dfdhsfkjhej. dividers from @saradika and @animatedglittergraphics-n-more graphic made by me lol
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cursingtoji · 1 month
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🎙️ just saw your post asking about blog recs…step up to the stage bc i need some!!!!
BLOGS RECOMMENDATION <3
— mostly jjk, but also chainsaw man and aot
*taping the mic* okay here are my nominees with some fics recomendations as well
disclaimers!
lemme start saying so plot is everything to me, pwp can be hot but i'll hardly remember it afterwards, that being said here's some writers that can do both great plots and hot scenes.
also while digging i realize i wasn’t following some of those and if you noticed im sorry im dumb but i truly love your writing.
i tried to tag every active blog i could remember but it’s possible i forgot a few since i’ve been reading more jjk recently. if i forgot you im so sorry please don’t take offense.
many blogs i loved were deactivated, rest in piece great works they had.
everything i read i reblog under the tag #recs
@thekillingmoonmoon ofc moon is the first one i think when the topic "best writers" come up, i freaking love her and everything she does its not even fair to pick one thing so im picking 3, this super passionate toji work that i re-read at an alarming frequency (which btw i consider my own personal gift). yakuza choso and yuki aka the hottest duo ever. the cherry on top is her kishibe series (just realized i gotta catch up on)
@rinhaler - luxe is def on my top 3, she comes up with very organic scenes. even if it's a simple plot she can develop it so originally. I recently read her underground fighter!sukuna and i'm still thinking about it.
@laudthingcat has the best headcanons in the jjk fandom hands down, it’s the perfect dose of hot funny and cute, pick anything from her masterlist it’s guaranteed you’ll have a good time reading it. when you moan their name in your sleep in particular gives me butterflies
@meownotgood is obviously the best aki writer out there, you can see the love for aki in their words and how they write him so well and so into character. arrival in tokyo is truly a masterpiece, they also have a +100k words series i've been wanting to read for a while but i want to rewatch chainsaw man first hehe, i'm 100% sure is fire tho.
@kentoangel roma writes choso like she's in love with him and you can tell. shes always on my for you and even her snippets are *chefs kiss* special kudos to stepbrother!choso
@kentopedia i just realized i'm assigning a writer per character and nanami is definitely rylie's. the domestic lovely way she writes him makes me forget canon.
@tojisun another blog that is very often on my for you page. cannot talk about toji fics without bringing up sun, everything she writes about him has me furiously nodding. not to mention simon and konig, just talking about them makes me wanna run to her blog and binge read everything
@chocochipsushi 's bodyguard toji is unforgetable to me, i wish i lost my memory so i could read it all again for the first time. bodyguard toji is the definition of living rent free in my mind, whenever i have to deal with annoying coworkers i immediately think “bodyguard toji would not allow them to talk to me like that”
@suget one of the greatest geto writers for sure, they have so many geto works, i was going through their blog to find the one i read more recently and there was so many others i haven’t seen! another writer i could very easily spend a whole day binge reading. btw this cult leader one was recommended to me and i fell in love with it <3
@staryukis has the cutest gojo drabbles
@tonycries brooklin baby was recommended to me by moon and it had me by the neck! also they have many other works im hoping to read soon as well
@mommypieck isayama created reiner but they created subby reiner
@titan-fodder ‘s the tinniest notion The Best Reiner fic in all the existence of the universe (tw: stepcest kinda?)
@nanaslutt mma!toji made feel every emotion possible so intensely
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cattimeswithjellie · 3 months
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I was thinking about The Tunnel Bore Incident. Because by the time they blew it up, Doc already had more diamonds than he'd need for the rest of the season twice over. And I had this idea about what Doc might have actually said to Grian and Scar. I feel like he would probably have taken them into a Discord call, and told them quite plainly: "I built a gigantic, intricate redstone contraption, and you two managed to cause a chain reaction that blew the entire thing to pieces. Luckily for you both, it was no longer strictly necessary. In any case: You owe me." And then he would Pause Dramatically. "So as payment, you and I shall spend the next little while making Content out of this catastrophe."
Something like that.
This would definitely be on-brand for Doc, who derived a great deal of evil joy at the beginning of the season explaining on Twitter exactly how dead Joe Hills was going to be for stealing the live shulker he left at spawn, only to wind up giving Joe another shulker so that he would still have a pet shulker at his base (and then never building a shulker farm of his own and leaving the reclaimed shulker at spawn for another year.)
The thing is, some people got very scared and worked up over both these incidents because for one, maybe they have trauma from other SMPs in the past they don't understand that all the Hermits are adults, professionals, and most importantly colleagues who all have a vested interest in the world they are creating together. Much like in the Life Series, nothing goes in front of the audience that the creators are not okay with. We know that the Hermits don't always agree on things, but we also know that they keep their disagreements private and settle them behind the scenes.
In both these cases there was an injury to Doc, from Joe when he played a prank that was far more difficult to fix than he intended it to be (Joe has a surprising natural aptitude for the horrendous task of moving live shulkers around), and Scar and Grian obviously for blowing up a massive piece of machinery. Joe has a lot of anxiety about prank wars because he's had problems with them in the past, so the dispute was settled quickly with the return of the purloined mob and, despite Doc's Twitter bluster, with minimal impact. Scar and Grian, on the other hand, love prank wars and escalation, so rather than grabbing a Litematica schematic and fixing the machine (or begging Impulse, Tango or Xisuma to do it for them) they compensated Doc for the loss with three or four episodes of highly entertaining content and an excuse to put his highly-trained supervillain mind to work.
Honestly, Doc is one of my favorite content creators on the server because he has this dichotomy to him, where on the one hand he _loves_ building death robots and war machines and turning the power of the Hivemind towards ever-escalating retaliations, while on the other hand he loves making artwork and pretending his slimes are tomatoes. He clearly has a lot of affection and respect for his fellow creators, and it's very funny to watch him feigning rage and annoyance when he'd rather be charmed by Scarland and all the balloons and cat ears he got from it. Most Hermits need the occasional all-out Server War for enrichment purposes, but nobody (except possibly Grian) gets as much enjoyment from them as Doc. He's so great.
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gyu-effect · 1 year
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COUPLE THINGS WITH SEVENTEEN
[♡] kissing under the stars with seungcheol. you giggled as seungcheol pulled you into the empty roof, causing your boyfriend to pout at you once more. “what’s so funny, baby?” he asked, breaking into a smile nonetheless. “nothing. just that…i didn’t know you were into such cliché things.” you replied, wrapping your arms around his neck as he pulled you in closer by your waist. seungcheol stared at you lovingly and your heart swelled with love. “not that i mind.” you added, making sure he knew how much you loved him too. “if you are with me…i think i can do anything and everything.” his lips brushed against yours, causing your eyelids to flutter close. as he encased your lips with his soft ones, you felt the entire world melt away, as if only you and seungcheol existed under the stars. maybe this wasn’t a bad idea after all.
[♡] binge watching a series with jeonghan. if you ever had to pick a partner to watch a movie or series with, you would pick jeonghan in a blink. other than the fact the two of you used movies as an excuse for a cuddle session, you enjoyed the running commentary the two of you always gave. sometimes it was just trivias while sometimes it was jokes but it definitely made watching more fun. and sometimes jeonghan would want to reenact the kissing scene, causing you to giggle at his childishness. “what’s wrong, hannie?” you asked as you felt your boyfriend shift beside you, adjusting himself so that now the two of you were facing each other. “nothing.” he murmured, eyes flicking to your lips. you felt your cheeks heat up as he stared at you with complete adoration. “just wanted to try it out, to see if it's possible.” he said, before crashing his lips against yours.  
[♡] going to a theatre with joshua. “you picked this on purpose, didn’t you?” joshua smiled at you innocently, causing you to roll your eyes despite the smile tugging at the corner of your lips. when he had bought tickets for a new play, you had thought it would be like your usual thriller movie dates. you did not expect a sweet romantic drama which was making you feel like you would combust any second from now. “do you like it?” his knuckles brushed against yours and you edged closer to him. on the stage, the two leads finally kissed, and you felt joshua lean towards you too. his familiar cologne smell engulfed your senses as his soft lips brushed against yours. you deepened the kiss as he took your hands in his, thumbs brushing over your knuckles. now, you were glad he chose this play.
[♡] singing a karaoke duet with junhui. “you are so bad at this.” the two of you stared at the huge zero on the screen, indicating your karaoke score. “shut up, wen junhui.” you muttered, partially embarrassed by your score. jun had scored a perfect hundred before you and even though you already knew this was going to be the outcome, you had hoped for a higher score. how bad were you if this was your score after all the seventeen concerts you had attended? all of a sudden, you felt a pair of arms wrap around you, pulling you into his warmth. “hey, don’t feel bad.” he muttered, kissing your ear softly to cheer you up. you pouted, but let yourself sink into his touch. “i know…but still! you love karaokes and i feel like i’m just ruining the fun.” you replied.  “let’s do this once more, but together this time. okay?”
[♡] creating a couple scrapbook soonyoung. “how about this one, baby?” soonyoung asked, pulling out another picture of you. “soonyoung.” you sighed, taking the picture from his hand. maybe you should have suggested him to make a scrapbook on you instead of the couple scrapbooks you wanted to make. “this scrapbook is supposed to have pictures of us. not only me.” he pouted at you, the expression causing your heart to flutter. “but you just look so pretty and cute in every picture that i want all of them in our scrapbook!”. you laughed at this, before quickly pressing a soft kiss on his cheeks. “then even i want to make a scrapbook completely dedicated to my baby tiger. how about this? we make this one on us and then we make another one for each other as a gift?” his eyes lit up in excitement and quickly gave you a kiss as an answer.
[♡] going on a double date with wonwoo. you were surprised that wonwoo was the one who suggested this idea of going on a double date with mingyu and his girlfriend. not that you were opposed to it because mingyu’s girlfriend happened to be your best friend too. and so far, the four of you were having a blast at the double date. as the two of you listened to and laughed at the antics of mingyu and his girlfriend, you felt wonwoo’s hand gently encase yours under the table. a smile tugged at the corner of your lips at this soft gesture. later, when the four of you were taking couple shots at the photo booth, he stole a kiss, causing your heart to flutter. “what was that?” you muttered, cheeks heating up. “nothing.” he muttered, smiling back at you. “just that you looked too pretty.”
[♡] stargazing on the rooftop with jihoon. jihoon was a very practical man. so when he suggested the idea of stargazing on the rooftop, you were more than taken aback. of course you agreed to it, because there was nothing you didn’t want to experience with him, especially something as romantic as this. the chilly weather was an excuse for the two of you to cuddle, his soft voice explaining about the skies nearly lulling you to sleep. “am i too boring, darling?” he chuckled softly, before planting a kiss on your forehead. “of course not.” you whined. “i love listening to you. i guess i’m just too comfortable right now.” jihoon smiled at you sweetly, causing butterflies to erupt in your stomach. “every time i look at the stars, i thank them because i’m lucky to have you in my arms.” this time, you laughed at his cheesiness. pressing a kiss against his lips, you replied “me too, baby. me too.”
[♡] writing each other a love letter with seokmin. “do you really need to read that out loud?” you whined at your grinning boyfriend, but there was no malice in his smile. instead, he was looking at you in so much adoration that you felt you would melt right then and there from his love, assuming that you didn’t die out of embarrassment first. when seokmin had suggested the idea of writing each other a letter, you had readily agreed because a) it was romantic and b) you always wanted to express your feelings in depth to him. but you hadn't expected him to suggest even reading it out loud. “why? did you write bad things about me?” he joked. “no but…” you muttered, averting your eyes from his soft gaze. he placed a soft kiss on your forehead before continuing again. “then i don’t mind reading whatever you wrote, darling. i want both of us to know how much we love each other.”
[♡] going on a double date with mingyu. you said yes even before mingyu did when wonwoo suggested the idea to go on a double date. the four of you were extremely close (wonwoo’s girlfriend was your best friend after all) and this seemed like the perfect date plan for you. mingyu took this as an opportunity to showcase his friend how much he loved you, by showering you with extra kisses and hugs. “gyu!” you whined as he quickly placed a kiss on the back of your neck when the two of you were waiting for ice creams. “what?” he pouted at you, causing you to smack his arms playfully. “wonwoo hyung and his girlfriend aren’t here so why are you dodging my love?” he wrapped you in a hug and you scrunched your nose at him. “such a baby.” you giggled, before pressing a kiss on his lips.
[♡] having dinner with your parents and minghao. you had always wondered whether you were the overthinker in the relationship and today’s dinner definitely proved that. while minghao was calm over the fact that the two of you were going to have dinner with your parents, you were freaking out. “what if-” you began again, asking him almost your tenth "what if” scenario. “what if what, baby?” he asked patiently, parking the car and glancing over at you. you took a shaky breath in before asking, “what if they don’t like you?” the question had been nagging you for the longest of time, knowing how picky your parents were but for some reason you just couldn’t ask your boyfriend about it. you loved minghao with all your heart and you didn't want him to get hurt. “well then,” he said, reaching out for your hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze, “i guess we will need to break up then.” you gasped. “minghao! don’t joke about such things!”. he let out a laugh, before quickly leaning in and placing a soft, reassuring kiss on your lips. “don’t worry, baby. i’ll make sure they absolutely love me.” he promised.
[♡] kissing on top of the ferris wheel with seungkwan. you always knew seungkwan was a very romantic person, showering you with enough affection to make you feel like you were on cloud nine every time you were with him. so when he asked you out on an amusement park date, you thought it would just be a cute date where the two of you went on rides and fed each other cotton candy. what you did not expect was to be on top of the ferris wheel, kissing your boyfriend as he rubbed slow circles on your back. when you broke apart, faces still flushed, fireworks went off across the sky as though celebrating your love. “did you plan this too?” you asked, resting your head over his shoulder as you looked at the city underneath you. seungkwan rested his head over yours before chuckling and whispering a soft ‘maybe’ into your hair.
[♡] creating a music playlist together with vernon. the two of you listened to music together quite often but you had never really made a playlist together. so right now you found yourself cuddling next to vernon as you both sorted out your favourite songs in one playlist. “this is actually fun.” you said, adding a few more of your both favourites. “yeah. i feel like…i’m learning about you on a whole different level?” vernon said, to which you let out a laugh. “what’s so funny?” your boyfriend complained but you could see him smiling too. “nothing, nothing. just what you said…sounded so wise. but you are right. music is the window to our souls after all.” he snorted at this, wrapping his arms around you to pull you in closer. placing a kiss on your forehead, he said, “now who’s being wiser?”
[♡] going on a hot air balloon ride with chan. you were terrified. but lee chan was even more terrified, despite this being his idea entirely. “i thought you weren’t scared of heights.” you said, as your boyfriend clung onto you desperately as the hot air balloon rose higher into the air. “i’m not!” he wailed, wrapping his arms around you even more tightly. “it’s just that…this ride is bumpier than i thought so i wanted to cuddle you in case you lost your balance.” you scoffed but nonetheless let him be. the sun was setting across the horizon, tainting the sky pink. you glanced at the man beside you and felt your breath leave you. he looked so beautiful, with the warm hue giving him a soft appearance. “am i that handsome?” he asked, grinning as he caught you staring at him. you smiled back at him before connecting your both lips together. “yes”.
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A/N || My first svt fic please so tell me what you think about it! Comments and reblogs are appreciated!
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© 𝐆𝐘𝐔-𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
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notbecauseofvictories · 3 months
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what have you been watching/reading/listening to recently? i love your media opinions
I have terrible media opinions, but thank you for asking anyway!
WATCHING My latest fascination is with Netflix's 1670, a mockumentary comedy set in early modern Poland. There's something about a irreverent historical comedy that always finds me where I live---I loved season two of Miracle Workers for that exact reason, plus The Little Hours. Even The Court Jester, though that one is more just because I love Danny Kaye.
1670 is very funny, filmed Office-style with asides and pointed looks to the camera. Nobleman Jan Paweł is familiar, a trusty blend of ignorance, bluster, and unintentional comedy; rounding out the group is his ultra-devout wife, a lazy eldest son, his second son, a scheming priest who wants to climb the Catholic ranks and has a taste for torture, his over-educated over-liberal daughter, and a handful of locals---including Maciej, from Norway, who is apprenticed to the blacksmith on a study abroad program. There's a particularly good scene where his daughter starts crusading against climate change---but the people of the town stop listening when she announces it will happen in 480 years.
"Thirty years sounds more terrifying. We'd definitely do something then," one of them says, staring down the lens of the camera.
READING I think one of the strangest bits of growing older is the realization that the world is growing older with you. For example, I just read Mattie Lubchansky's Boys' Weekend, which is a charming, unsettling dystopian graphic novel in its own right---however, it also forcibly punted me back to about 10 years ago, when I loved Matt Bors and The Nib and was thrilled by the idea that the Sunday funny pages might give way for their 2.0 cousin.
That world has gone away, been eaten up---something the novel touches on, ironically. Still, it's surprisingly affective to think that Lubchansky and I have been moving forward all this time, each in our separate ways. That even now, a decade later, I can pick up a library book and know their lineart at a glance.
LISTENING Lately, I can't get enough of Larry & Joe---a fusion band, made up of a USian banjo picker and a Venezuelan master of musica llanera. Their music is a delight, and dovetails with some of my other favorites. (I do still listen to the album fusing Chinese folk music and Appalachian old-time, and I love that playlist of metal music from many cultures.) There's something that gets me about musicians swapping sounds this way---maybe because it's the same thing that created so many music genres in the first place. And if you've been following me long enough, you know I'm weak for a huge, weird, mess of people making noise.
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poisonpercy · 3 months
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I finally convinced myself to watch the 4th episode of the pjo show. Overall, it was probably the show’s strongest episode so far. That being said, I think it’s fair to say that I am not clicking with this show. I’m not saying the show isn’t good. It definitely has its moments, so it’s a fine show. But as a book to tv show adaptation of pjo, I don’t think it’s very good. I guess my expectations were way too high since I was promised that this is a true adaptation that has everything you would want in a pjo show, but seeing as I don’t feel that way, I can’t say that promise has been fulfilled.
The actors are great, but I find the writing and the overall direction of the show very dull. It’s just not something that keeps my attention personally. I have to convince myself to watch these episodes since they aren’t hitting that obsession that keeps you interested, and while watching, it’s very hard for me to stay watching because it’s just not pulling me in. Anyways, here’s some specific thoughts regarding this episode:
Like a lot of my mutuals, I am not too big of a fan of the flashback with Percy and Sally in the pool. Sally does not feel like the same character that she is in the books. She’s a lot kinder and more mindful of her actions in the books than she is in the show. I get what the flashback was trying to convey, but I honestly don’t think it worked. I remember that Sally had been described as someone who doesn’t raise her voice, and I feel like the writers have disregarded a lot of her prior characterization in the name of her being a #girlboss. To me it feels like they created a brand new character and slapped Sally Jackson’s name on them. “That’s not Sally Jackson! That’s an oc committing identity fraud” vibes
They are really shoving it down our throats that Percy does not like the gods. Which isn’t bad, but I feel like he still needs more time to grow into the resentment that he’s showing
Kinda weird that Annabeth was talking nice about her dad. And I’m more sympathetic towards her dad than most, but he still wasn’t great so giving him praise felt a little off. Not a huge fan of blaming only the stepmother. The misogyny is real
Sleepy, grouchy Grover was cute
The cameo of the centaurs leading into the conversation about Pan and searchers was nice. I wish the show talked about this being Grover’s last chance at getting his searchers license since that was a big part of his character arc in tlt, but idk if that’s ever going to happen
The cops on the train were awful. If this show got one thing right, it’s the fact that cops suck and don’t help
I felt like there was too much of Echidna in this episode. Idk, if you’re going to try to build up a monster, she’s not the one I would have picked
Going off of that, they definitely tried to build tension in this episode, unlike in previous episodes, but it just didn’t work. Like it was too obvious that she was supposed to be a monster without actually giving any tension for the viewers. It’s still very much telling and not showing which is a huge flaw of this show
I’m honestly not a fan of the arch being a temple of Athena. I guess it’s cool for world building, but it just feels too convenient. I did like that Annabeth was stating facts, but to me it felt less like her geeking out and more like her showing off the temple’s greatness
Grover and Annabeth splashing Percy in the fountain was funny but it would have been the perfect opportunity to introduce nectar and ambrosia since they have yet to be brought up
Bad parent Athena rep 🫡
Having Percy trick Annabeth to switch places with her was a nice nod to Percy’s loyalty
I felt like the whole scene at the arch was missing the chaos that was present in the book. Idk it just felt so dry to me
The fight between Percy and the chimera was so underwhelming. There was a lot more tension and chaos and moving parts in the book that the show just is refusing to show. Also, I’m getting tired of Percy being flung around. Let him build up some skill before Ares
The water grabbing Percy when he fell out of the arch was funny but I personally wouldn’t have done the scene that way
The underwater scene was lacking imo. I feel like a broken record by saying I liked it better in the books, but it’s true
Episode was way too short and the show’s pacing is way too fast
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alright no one asked but here are my final opinions on the kids. obviously spoilers for the quarry ahead
jacob: super mixed feelings. idiot who ruins everything, but most realistically 18-20yo in his behavior. makes stupid mistakes because he thinks with his dick, but also openly cries and shows fear often which i appreciate. didn’t like how he tried to force emma into a relationship at all, but the “i wish i could tell you i’m sorry; i don’t know what to do” lines were deeply satisfying for me. he was also actually funny to me in a couple scenes which is more than i can say for some of the others. “hhhngng skill”
emma: liked her, then didn’t like her, then was mostly distracted by her awful dialogue and strange mouth animation, not that that’s her fault. i think i understand her to an extent from her conversations with abi—she believes her talent and therefore her value lies in being entertaining, so everything she does has to be some kind of spectacle. unfortunately, it just wasn’t the kind of spectacle i found fun to watch, i.e. flirting with someone despite not reciprocating their feelings, creating drama where it wasn’t necessary, etc
kaitlyn: easily one of my favorite characters. i don’t find her funny at all, but just as it was with emma, that’s more the writers’ fault than anything. regardless, once the lighthearted tone of the night finally dropped and shit hit the fan, i liked her character infinitely more. she’s so clever!! and i love how handy she is. honestly many of the hacketteers wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for her taking the reigns when necessary. what a total badass—and i’d say a semi realistic one, who still exhibits fear and panic
ryan: love this kid. everyone in-game seems to think he’s mysterious and brooding but he’s actually mostly just awkward and shy—at least that’s how i read him. and even though i saw other people getting annoyed with him for pushing back against laura at first, i really admired his loyalty and his sticking to his personal morals until he couldn’t anymore. he helped her in the end anyway, isn’t that telling enough that he ultimately does what needs to be done? also love the headcanon that he’s autistic, i definitely see it.
dylan: right up my alley. slightly annoying smartass? check. actually quite genuine and kind? check. secret genius? fuckin check babe. hard for me to pick a favorite scene of his; i enjoyed watching him interact with the others regardless of who he was with. maybe that’s because i think his dialogue sounds the most naturally human? at least in the playthroughs i observed. i’m also a bit embarrassed to admit i actually found him pretty funny, but let me know if that’s just favoritism lol
abi: sweetheart, but pretty one-note to me. i admired her kindness towards the other characters but i spent most of her screentime feeling bad for her. i think she’s very cute and would’ve been open to seeing more from her, though i suppose i understand why she fell to the wayside a little bit. not everyone needs to be a fearless badass, i can appreciate her role of needing more protection than the others. she felt the most like a typical 18-20yo girl to me.
nick: i guess he seemed like a sweet kid before shit went south for him. obviously i enjoyed watching his behavior change from “baby deer” to “cause for concern” over the course of his transformation. his… let’s call it “food aggression” over abi was incredibly uncomfortable and delightfully creepy to me. i was glad when she pushed him away of course, i just appreciated seeing the progression. besides that i didn’t particularly care for him one way or the other.
max: not gonna lie i love this dude. i unironically find him funny, i appreciate that he wasn’t overly skeptical of laura when she was scared in the woods, and even when he snapped at her he apologized right away calmed himself down. i also liked that he was primarily the one who needed saving. his takes never missed he was always right, they should’ve just gone to the motel and leaving a voicemail is absolutely not the same as calling ahead. love u puppy boy
laura: took me a hot min but i did in fact warm up to her a bit. obviously the mess she got them into was largely avoidable, but seeing as this is a horror game, i won’t fault her for that. i can even admire her stubbornness for the sake of character depth. i also liked her intelligence and resourcefulness, and sort of enjoyed watching her grow more ruthless towards the hacketts in order to save max. corruption in the name of love is what horror is all about baby
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sunshineluverr · 1 year
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It's Thursday, let's break up on Thursday • kth
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Pairing : Taehyun x fem!reader
Word count : 4k
Genre : fluffy fluff, college au, (attempted) crack/humour, song fic
Synopsis : You're frustrated with your boyfriend's behaviour so you ended up deciding to break up with him on a regular Thursday.
(+ a cute day out with him!)
Warnings : slight angst cause it's about a break up, mentions of food (pork belly and other things), misunderstandings, reader overthinks stuff, some swearing, use of nicknames, slightly suggestive (?? barely just some mentions of it ig)
Few Disclaimers! : This is a work of pure fiction and only meant for entertainment purposes and does not depict anything about the idol or reader in real life
That being said, the website thing I've mentioned in the story is completely made up and even though that particular website exists, it does not read out the same instructions I've written down (for funny reasons)
The bonus scene is just something extra I wrote for fun and wholesomeness and is not that much relevant to the point of the fic. However I'll still recommend reading it, so, enjoy!
Song recommendation :
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Biggest red flag :
Being scared of your own boyfriend.
Does that mean the boyfriend is a red flag? No. It's definitely you. Or at least that's what you believe in your head.
It's not been long since you started dating Taehyun. It's only been a month to be exact. Still you have yet to figure out how to act and react in a relationship and 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 with someone like Taehyun.
Taehyun first met you during a group assignment between science & mechanism and physical education students. It was kind of a big deal for your college too, to be holding a project, this large scale.
The two of you kinda seemed to hit off instantly as you were assigned partners and shared your interest in having the thirst for knowledge.
The project was to create a device that will somehow help in boosting physical activity level of an individual. It was a complicated assignment indeed, causing you and Taehyun to work really hard on it together non stop which led to both of you having to be inseparable for weeks.
You ended up always having lunch together, spending breaks together, and always being at each other's dorms. And neither of you seemed to mind the closeness and comfortability that naturally came with spending so much time together.
On presentation day, it was a huge success. So much so infact that the device you both created for your project, was used as an example to other students and juniors. That night you both went all out to celebrate. That night was crazy.
"Oh what's this? Kang Taehyun has brought cake? What about the calories??" you tease him, going through the grocery bag he brought full of things for you two to celebrate.
"Calories are invisible for me when I see stawberry shortcake. Besides, we deserve it" He puts both arms on his waist and gives you a proud smile, you return the gesture, smiling warmly as you nod in agreement.
"Meat meat meat!! Grilling the meat Taehyunnie!" You do a little dance and song while he grills the pork belly for the two of you to eat.
You missed to catch the glimmer in Taehyun's eyes, as he watches you being so excited, he stares fondly because it brings joy in his heart to see you so happy. The two of you feast till you're content and then ended up sprawled on the carpetted floor, stomachs full.
"It's funny that we spent this much time together for merely a college assignment. None of the teams probably took it this seriously" You laugh at the irony and he hums in response.
"Like seriously Taehyun? How did you even get so much free time? Do you even have any friends?" You say in a mocking tone.
"I am pretty sure I have more friends than you, actually" Taehyun says bluntly to your comment. But you're used to his blunt and absolutely savage comebacks at this point.
"Okay okay Mr. popular, you're probably right too." you give a weak laugh
"It's true, I am just a lonely girl and after this, now that the project's over, we don't need to hang out together all the time, we must go our separate ways and-"
You're interrupted by Taehyun suddenly getting up and coming on top of you. You're extremely shocked and fall stiff.
"Um...Tae-"
"Shut up"
"Oh um...sorry." you gulp. That was kinda scary.
"No I mean, shut up about what you said. Take it back. What do you mean we're going separate ways? We can only become closer from this point on" Taehyun says as he is only inches away from your face, yet there is no sign of any emotion on him, as always he is so hard to read.
"If you want to stay friends Tae...we can, I will be more than happy to-"
"Friends? You really don't get it do you?" He says as he closes in the distance, to the point he's practically breathing on your face.
"I like you" he whispers and you surely felt your heart skip a whole beat.
The two of you just stay silent in the same position for a full two minutes. You needed to process what just happened.
You'd admit, you had feelings for Taehyun too, the way he smiles so rare but so pretty, the way he is so passionate and talented about his work, the way he randomly starts doing push ups anywhere and looks so hot while doing them. He was such an attractive guy, but you never took your feelings into consideration as he was kind of your first friend on college grounds. You didn't want to confuse romantic and platonic emotions.
But now that Taehyun, the Kang Cold Taehyun has confessed to you, you felt a wave of confidence beginning to loom over you.
"You like me? I like you too... Should we date?"
You finally give a reply to the boy hovering above you.
He gives away a soft smile then gets up, reaching out a hand to help you get up as well.
"Alright it's getting late right now, tomorrow is class after all"
"Huh what? What why where?"
Before you're able to process anything, Taehyun places a lingering kiss on your cheek and gives you a smile and a wave goodbye and immediately he is out the door.
"Good... night?"
That was the day it officially all began. Taehyun the dreadful boyfriend era.
The two of you never 100% established that you're officially dating, but you're going along with it.
There were quite a few significant changes that confirmed you're dating, like how whenever Taehyun and you walk side by side now, he makes sure to grab your hand. Another thing is he invites you over to eat dinner together basically every other day. It was fun but also nerve wrecking.
But besides the hand holding, You knew that Taehyun is not the best example of a warm and affectionate person, so the lack of touch that comes with being in a relationship was evident. But it still annoyed you so bad, the two of you didn't even kiss yet! What is this? Middle school?!
Something else that bothered you is how much Taehyun doesn't have any opinion on anything. Whenever the two of you eat together or plan to watch something together, he lets you decide every single time. Who does he think you are, some sort of decision factory?!
Another change that freaked you out was : As friends, Taehyun was always so precise, whenever the two of you ate out, you would always perfectly split the bill but ever since you began dating him, he's bought you, your morning coffee, every single day! Even when you refused, he forcibly insisted?? Taehyun would never spend for someone's food like this. It made no sense.
And yeah okay sure, maybe he is an affectionate "would do anything for you" type of guy after all and you misunderstood him? Not! because the most important thing to him is his gym time. This was confirmed by your conversation with him on last Thursday.
* "Taehyun! My evening classes are cancelled! If you want we can hang out a bit extra today! Maybe go to the arcade, have some-"
"Oh today is lifting day. I'll just meet you at our usual dinner time. My place again today?"
"Uh...yeah sure.." *
You were heartbroken! Is "lifting" more important than spending quality time with your girlfriend?!
Oh and yeah the dinner thing probably seems sweet...but he never stays the night! Even if you'd be finishing until 11:30 pm, he'll not let you walk home all alone in the night and go with you to drop you off, but he definitely won't let you stay either!
Every damn thing of Kang Taehyun as a boyfriend confused you. And you've been wrecking your mind to try and figure out the whole dating situation, so you give up. It's just a simple first time dating someone, it's really not that deep, plus it won't be like he would be heartbroken ; so you decide to break up with him, this Thursday. You two were truly better off as friends.
Thus began, the depression arc.
This week you had been incredibly sad, you even missed a few classes and deadlines, especially weird when you're always so punctual and attentive, but suddenly you seemed to lose motivation to do absolutely anything. After barely getting through the first class this morning, you slump on your desk instead of going out for break like you usually do.
"Hey"
You were disturbed from your nap by a poke on the head. You slightly lift up your head to look at the culprit of the person that woke you : who else but Taehyun.
You respond in groans and he sits down next to you, in that empty classroom.
"I brought you your lunch here. Your welcome."
"Don't wanna" you whine
"But you have to. What's up even with you lately?" He asks, sounding confused but mostly, concerned.
"It's your fault!" You speak without thinking, still half asleep.
"My fault? Did I do something wrong? Tell me if I did something to make you uncomfortable"
"No. Bye. Break time is almost over" You're blunt and reject his politeness.
"I'm not going until you eat. I'll feed you myself if I have to." He insisted, stubborn as always
He'll feed you? by his hands? You blush. The offer was so tempting. But you must resist, you can't lead him on by acting lovey dovey if you're going to break up soon.
"I swear I'll eat in the next break, just go okay? I don't want you to be late to a class because of me."
"If you insist" he shrugs in dissapointment. And as your eyes watch him leave the door, they almost get teary, you wonder why.
Today was the day. Taehyun asks to have dinner with you again, so you go along because it would seem too unusual if you refused to have dinner with him. That's literally the one thing you guys do together. And probably the last time you will do it ever.
You realise you're a bit upset that you could lose you're only friend in your college by breaking up with Taehyun. But you assumed that he is a mature man and will probably continue the friendship, going back to the things and how they used to be. Finally.
You were less excited for tonight's dinner though, breaking up seemed easy but it was still a bummer. Even when Taehyun said he'll make fried rice for you, which was special because he would usually make some protein rich, healthy food, but today he was making your favourite. Gosh why today of all days he decided to be so sweet?!
When you arrived at his dormroom, you tried your hardest to maintain that cold aura. You exchanged fewer words, took off your coat and sat on the floor table. Still, Taehyun greets you with a smile.
"I have good news."
Why?!! you wonder, now you bringing the bad news will be such a downer!
"What is it?"
"All of tomorrow's classes are cancelled due to a condolence holiday, we can stay up late! In celebration, I bought cheese tteok and ice cream" Taehyun beams.
Actually this news cheered you also up as well too, like a free day off from school was always something to be happy about.
Taehyun brings in the pot of rice, two bowls and you begin to have dinner. Usually you start the conversation, but not doing so the two of you ate in silence. The uncomfortable awkward-ness started to build up from this point on.
When you both finished, you helped Taehyun to clean up. At the beginning of your friendship, he would strictly refuse for your help to clean up because of his default polite personality but gradually, he got better at taking help from you since how often you'd come to his dorm, you practically lived there. (but of course you're still pissed off about the fact that he never asked you to stay over, though)
As the tidying and dishes were done, Taehyun suggests to play a videogame together but you brutally refused to which he pouts. You can't spend time in bonding with him right now, it's too late. You're about to break up with him any second now.
So you just sit on his couch scrolling through your phone, trying to distract yourself from the sight in front of you, that is, Taehyun doing his after meal work-out session. Even though it was annoying, he looks hot while excercising, so.
To try and find some motivation and ideas, you look up on your phone : "How to break up with your boyfriend?
You take a look at a site called wikihow, seemed suspicious..
" Method 1. Kill them"
You almost choke on air.
": If your boyfriend is dead! The relationship doesn't exist anymore! Super easy plan"
Wow okay um...if that's number one then what's number two?
"Method 2. Burn down his house : He will get too busy in trying to find a new house so he will break up with you himself!"
Is this site...for real????
You change up the text on your search bar to "How to break up with your boyfriend *gently* ?"
This time the results were different and safer. Phew.
Step 1. Compliment him
"Tae, uh you have some nice muscles you know? It's looking good"
"I know. Thank you"
Okay next...
Step 2. Try to start a conversation with him
"Taehyun come here. Can we talk?"
"Sure...?" He comes and sits beside you on the couch.
Step 3. Hug him
You give Taehyun a hug, he seemed to tense up a bit because he was surprised, but quickly returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around you. It was such a nice hug. He's so warm and muscular, yet soft, hugging him feels like the most comfortable heaven. You're going to miss hugs like this
Step 4. Say that you want to talk about something important
"Taehyun, I need to tell you something important"
"What is it? You can say anything to me"
Step 5. Rip off the bandaid!
"I wanna break up" you realise you only think the words and not actually say them from your mouth which lies hanging open. Taehyun watches you, confused.
"I..."
"Is everything alright?"
"I uh.."
"Are you crying?" Taehyun asks as he frowns with worry
"Huh? What? I am?!"
You touch your face and it's wet with hot tears. Sad feelings starting to sink in.
"I'm- I'm sorry"
"Why? Are you okay? What happened?" Taehyun voice is soft and caring as he cups your face.
You give in and start to sob, crying hard. You didn't contemplate the fact just how hard you had fallen for Kang Taehyun. It's true that even though there so many things that bothered or confused you, there were enough factors that kept you wanting more and needing more of him, all the time. He's imperfect but perfect as well and you loved him, you couldn't break up with him, you just couldn't.
"I'm sorry I can't" you sniffle
"Can't what?" He asks wiping a tear
"Can't break up with you"
Taehyun's jaw drops lightly, he really did not expect you to say that
"Who is asking you to do that? It's not like I'm breaking up with you"
"Oh yeah..." you let out, feeling dumbfounded
He smiles, in amusement almost.
You frown and throw a light punch to his arm.
"I'm breaking up with you because you're a terrible boyfriend!"
"I am?!"
"Yeah!" You sob more
"Uh did I do something wrong?"
"Everything! Taehyun you don't understand, this is my first real relationship and you used to be my only friend, so whenever I feel stressed about something on how to act or react as a girlfriend, or how everything is so confusing I cannot ask anyone or rant to anyone because I'm just a sad loner and and-! just! I don't understand anything!"
Taehyun lets out a small laugh and you look at him in confusion.
"Why don't you rant about your boyfriend to me...as your friend?"
"But you are my boyfriend!"
"Pretend I'm not"
"Well..then" you begin, wipping off a tear.
"My boyfriend is so annoying because he always pays for my stuff even though I never ask him to"
"Maybe that's his way of showing his love for you, his love language is acts of service?"
"I suppose that makes sense...But he never lets me stay over! Like we are boyfriend and girlfriend for fucks sake we can sleep together if we want to!"
"Maybe he is scared that if you stay over, his temptations will get to him and he is afraid you're not ready for taking that step so early into the relationship"
"Um well..uh he totally loves gyming more than me! He spends more time at the gym than with me!"
"Maybe if you voice your demands to him, he will comply and spend a lot more time with you, whenever you need"
"But but... he's so distant...we haven't even kissed yet!"
And instead of getting another logical (and wholesome) reply from your "best friend" Taehyun leaned in to press a kiss on your lips. It was soft and warm and sweet. You felt so happy to kiss him.
He separates the kiss and you feel like crying even more.
"Taehyun... you're the best boyfriend ever! I'm sorry I doubted you... I'm the worst"
"Shh shh...do not say that about yourself. I'm sorry if I seemed too careful or too distant. I will try harder for you."
"Me- me too! Taehyun...I love you"
"I love you too." He places another peck on your lips
"And really, you can just ask if you want to sleep over...but don't blame me for what happens after that" he gives you a playful smirk making you blush
"Kang Taehyun you drive me insane!!"
Step 6 : Congratulations! You have broken up with your boyfriend unsuccessfully!
(♡Bonus Scene♡)
"Tyun. Today I will take you out for the best adventure ever!"
"Oh?" he perks an eyebrow at you "but what's the occasion?"
"Hmm just, you'll see!"
That conversation you had with him, this morning, in the bath, while he was washing your hair. It isn't a often thing you two would shower together, but since you've grown so comfortable with him and today you really needed to save some time...
It was the best bet (even though it was so relaxing to the point you would spend the whole day right there but no way that's happening because it will probably be a health hazard)
Taehyun was confused about it all. It wasn't like today was your anniversary, birthday, valentines day, none. But you very specifically asked him to finish all his assignments beforehand, take an absentee from class and spend the whole day with you.
You had even picked out clothes for him by your choice, he was still confused but gladly accepted anything you ask him to do because he trusts you so much.
When he saw that the two of you, actually, matched clothes, like a cute couple pair set of clothes, he nodded and gave you a bright satisfied smile and a peck on the cheek. You're excited to receive those kind of reactions from him all day long because of all the surprises you planned.
Another surprise was that you would be driving! Although you would be using his car, cause you don't have your own. But since he's always the one driving for the two of you so you wanted to give him a break and return the gesture.
"But-"
"No buts! today you're the passenger princess babe, now hop in!"
Taehyun rolls his eyes at your teasing, though his heart flutters at you puttting in so many efforts just for him. He feels so loved and so in love, it's practically too much.
You drive around for a while, your destination clear in your mind. But even if it took quite some time to reach the location, the car ride was far from boring. You had put on a playlist of Taehyun's favorite songs, to put him in even higher spirits than he already was.
When you finally arrived, It was at a park, a hiking park to be specific.
"Wait baby really-? Are you sure you'd wanna do something like this? Will you be even alive?!" It seemed like he was joking but by his expression, he was genuinely concerned for your well being, knowing very well how much you hate any sort of physical activity.
"I'll be fine and we won't go that far so really you don't need to worry" You give a reassuring smile.
And yes, it's a shame you're not as physically energetic and adventurous as your boyfriend but that is exactly why you chose this place, it was perfect because it was completely unexpected. And his excitement was so clear on his face, it was so worth it.
The two of you began moving up the rocky road, hand in hand (or you'd probably fall to your death if he wasn't holding on tight)
The weather being perfect, just as you'd hoped it'd be. Despite your exhausted self, you appreciated the beauty of the hiking park ; there were flowers on every edge and small animals here and there.
As soon as you started recognising the pathway more and more, it was now you guiding Taehyun instead of him guiding you. He was surprised at your sudden enthusiasm but followed patiently nonetheless as you led the way.
You came to a stop to a bunch of trees that had hanging branches. Taehyun gave you a confused pout as to why you stopped suddenly and your heart did somersaults at his precious face.
"So, as we go through these branches, I want you to close your eyes."
"Huh? Why?" gosh he's stubborn as always, you think.
"just! please! or else I'll do it myself with my hands!"
"Okay okay" He finally closes his eyes. You firmed the grip on his hand and dragged him ahead, moving a few bushes and branches with your free hand.
"Okay" you sigh "You can open them now"
Taehyun's big eyes, grew bigger than ever and sparkled more than ever at the sight.
It was a giant tree, decorated with all sorts of confetti, ribbons, balloons, streamers and lights. One of the big branches had a swing attached to it, The swing was also adorable. There was a wide and thick picnic blanket spread across the grass. There was Large carving of yours and Taehyun's initials on the tree trunk. There were even Polaroids of you and Taehyun with tiny sticky notes next to them, bearing sweet messages, stuck on the tree.
It was absolutely beautiful and the most breath taking scene ever.
"So...what do you think?" You ask, expecting some words from your awe-struck boyfriend
"I...I don't know what to say.." Taehyun's eyes glimmered, almost a bit too much. Was he actually.... crying?!
"Taehyun are you-"
He interrupted you by lifting you in the air and twirling you around. "It's amazing. it's the best thing anyone has ever did for me! I love it so much!" He beamed.
His face was flushed and eyes were watery, surprisingly, but he had definitely teared up. Still you didn't ask about it as to not embarrass him and ruin the mood.
"I'm glad you like it!" you wrap your arms around his neck, leaning in closer.
"Like it? I love it! I love you!" Upon saying that, he immediately connected your lips, you're fluttering with affection.
The two of you, after hugging and kissing a bit more, finally settled down on the picnic blanket to enjoy the spread of lunch you had prepared. His compliments were endless, even if he wasn't a talkative person, he just couldn't stop expressing his love for you again and again.
"Love, please, would you tell me why all this special treatment you're giving me today? I'm so grateful for it but come on, there has to be something right?!"
"Why? I did it because you deserve it so much my dearest tyun!"
"that's not what I-"
You laugh. "fine fine, I'll tell you why I decided to do all of this, today, especially"
He leans in closer to listen attentively.
"So Taehyun, ready for the big reveal? Today is the anniversary of....'I was almost about to break up with you but I'm so glad I didn't and not doing so was the best decision I ever made' Surprise!"
His mouth was left hung open, unsure of how to feel about that information.
"Oh... really? why don't I remember that..."
You frown. "Geez Taehyun! unromantic as always!"
"Huh??" He's left more perplexed making you burst into laughter at his cute reactions.
"I'm kidding! and technically, it's the anniversary of our first kiss as well so it's on you for forgetting about that!" you give a light punch to his shoulder and he scrunches his face to give a fake dramatic reaction.
"Okay okay I'm sorry for not remembering, I suppose I have to kiss you to commemorate the occasion, so?"
"Hmm. You may." you shrug jokingly, receiving a laugh from him.
He leans in for a soft kiss, and a lot more.
But deep down you knew that you thought of this day as something else really, It was one of the biggest reliefs of your life, for not breaking up with Taehyun. Or that would've definitely been the worst kind of mistake as he's the best person you've ever met and loved and will continue to love forever.
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A/n : Thank you so much for reading till the end and I hope you enjoyed this fic!
Thursday's child has far to go is one of my favourite TXT songs so I decided to kind of base a fic on it!
Btw if you saw my last post on here, I finally figured out how to use italics (turns out you can do it on Tumblr itself and I was just very stupid)
Anyways, I hope you have a nice day! And comments, critisism and feedback are highly appreciated! <3
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britcision · 3 months
Text
In honour of a combo Wednesday and then post-midnight Yule, have a WIP Wednesday friends! We haven’t seen Sam for a while and Hanukkah was early this year (finished on the 15) but we are here now!
This chapter’s already gotten intense as hell for Danny and Jason with Lady Gotham but we’ve been tragically without our resident fashionable goth (sorry not sorry Bruce) and we are definitely still a muppet movie, so enjoy Sam-Miss-Piggy creating some extra chaos behind the scenes 👀
No promises about how regular these updates will be because again, plot chapter, I like letting those drop without spoiling the reveals too much, but we shall see
——————
Chapter 18 part i So That Just Happened
Back in her own room on the other side of the country from Gotham, Sam Manson reclined back into giant, coffin shaped body pillow her beloved girlfriend had given her when they moved and contemplated her phone.
The brand new Wayne-chat was blowing up satisfactorily, although apparently Tim was a massive stalker too. That was probably a good thing; it meant she hadn’t actually nuked Tuck’s chances with his nerd-crush. Now they could bond over their mutual stalker tendencies.
But, did that make her revenge less effective?
It wasn’t like she was actually out to ruin his life, but she’d kinda like to leave a mark. Something that would make him think twice about letting her think he and Danny had fucking died in Gotham in her absence.
Or. Well. Gone radio silent in Gotham, which was probably actually worse because if they were dead she’d know exactly where they were.
The Wayne chat were all pretty sure Tim and Tucker were together too, and Sam’s new best friend Babs had even pulled up the feed from their living room tv somehow. Sam wasn’t exactly the tech wizard Tucker was, but… after seeing that, she disconnected her and Val’s TV from the wifi.
And settled in to remote watch Tuck get his ass kicked at Spiderheck, apparently. At least for a little while; until something else on her phone caught her attention.
It was… almost funny. While she knew she was a whole two timezones away, she’d never really felt left out before. Like maybe she should have stayed on the east coast…
Not that she regretted it, of course. She had a good job, a good school, a wonderful girlfriend who’d been so excited to get into a good school and really go to town on the business department.
(Apparently there were posters of Val’s face in the ethics classrooms. Sam refused to ask if they were golden example or dire warning.)
She was just… a long way away. Even a long portal away, and… being back with the guys, even in Gotham, made the quiet of their comfy little apartment seem lonely.
Huffing, she turned and traced her fingers through the leaves of her mimosa plant on the windowsill beside the bed. They curled gently shut at her touch, and made her smile. Just like always.
She was happy to be home. She wasn’t technically liminal enough yet that it was her haunt, but… well, for all the jokes Val made, Sam had to admit she’d put down roots. She loved her job at the greenhouses, and her internship at the botanical gardens.
She loved scaring the hell out of the dudebros in Val’s business classes who thought ethics were a waste of time. She loved sharing messages with Jazz about the boys, laughing that even three hours ahead, Tuck and Danny still couldn’t get up before them.
She was kinda considering texting Harley about Timblr too. Not like, for any particular reason; if Tim’s family weren’t gonna embarrass Tucker enough, Harley probably wouldn’t either. She’d probably think it was adorable.
Or, y’know, worrying evidence of obsession. Psych types worried about stuff like that, usually.
Sam was kinda also considering sending Harley Jazz’s number. Jazz might still be skating just on the neurosurgery side of the line, but she’d always been big into psychology. Big enough to try and double major, and only drop to major-minor after the third pre-exam meltdown.
And she could use having someone else do the shrink bit on her a little more often. Although really, for that Sam should make her a professional appointment; friends didn’t ask friends to psychoanalyze their overprotective pseudo-sisters. And Jazz could use more friends.
Jazz could use a transfer to a specialty that would let her sleep once in a while, a more stable supply of fresh ecto, and about six weeks in a meditation retreat to get the accidental telepathy under control, but more friends would be good too. And less stubborn insistence on her second try for double majors.
Maybe the switch to psychiatry full time would be good for her? Or psychology. Sam was a little fuzzy on the difference, which one Jazz was minoring in, and which one Harley did.
(Jazz’s current second major was neurosurgery, which Jazz insisted was totally less taxing alongside a neurology major because it was the same body part. She was the only person in her class attempting the double major though, so.)
Humming tunelessly to herself, Sam flicked back into the group chat. Babs was still sharing the feed… brows drawing in, Sam frowned at the little spider figures still fighting to the death. Now, she wasn’t as big of a gamer as she used to be, but she was pretty sure Spiderheck didn’t actually offer red berets.
Snorting a laugh, she flicked back out of the chat and opened a new one, adding both Jazz and Harley. All it needed was the perfect name… something that would grab both of their attention.
Obvious. Child’s play.
Snuggling back into her coffin pillow, Sam grinned down at her phone screen.
Danny Has A Boyfriend chat was live.
——————
And in at the last minute, Jazz! We’ll see if she shows up in person this chapter, I’m hoping it’ll be the last big lore dump before the first plot arc begins but We Shall See…
Chapter 20 is right around the corner though, and I like my divisibles of 5 so I miiiiight shoot for that Red Hood Reveal then… 👀
Tag List: @welcometosasakiworld @someonebored0100 @stealingyourbones @starkcravingmad @frostedthroughghost @akikkobara @rainbowbunny0159 @littlefeather345 @violet-catsarelife @serasvictoria02 @wolfjackle @blacksea21090 @secretdestinywerewolf @anime-hipster-the-amazing @undead-essence @skitscratched @blackroserelina @snoodly-boop @mayoota-blog @xysidhe @little-apricot-the-writer @chaoticmistake @the-legal-shipper @bun-fish @aroranorth-west @demon-cat-goes-woof @perfectwastelandcreation @onyxlightdragon @larks-and-katydids @peachesandcreamfemboy @jesus-camp-the-sequel @may-rbi @mothman-the-mothman87 @viyatrix @stargirl1331 @thedepressedrobin @skulld3mort-1fan @rootsmudge @ravenshadow17 @cankoking @phantom-dc @mentalcarebear @magic-pincushion @redamancyardor @lyra689 @itsparadoxlacuna @alcorbearson @asphyxia778 @why-must-i-be-like-this @tkiesai @greenpyrowolf @frivolous-pastel @honeysuckletook @adorkable1291
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reesiereads · 5 months
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James and the Dupes (Goosebumps 2023 Analysis 3/5)
If you haven’t read the previous two parts of this analysis I highly recommend you do, however the jist is that I am attempting to show how each Biddle item is purposely symbolic of the kid it’s tied to.
I’ve already discussed Isaiah and Isabella so let’s talk about James.
(Spoilers below the cut, I seriously recommend watching the show first before reading, it’s definitely worth it)
James is the point of view for Goosebumps’ third episode The Cuckoo Clock of Doom, however James’ object is not the clock for which the episode is named. When listing the objects in Go Eat Worms Margot specifically says James’ object is the “dupes” aka the duplications of James that the clock created. I’ll be discussing the significance of this in a moment but keep this in mind.
The Cuckoo Clock of Doom starts once again the night of the Halloween party at the Biddle house and with James hitting his head for the first time on the cuckoo clock. James is disoriented and it’s implied he hit his head fairly hard but he decides to go through with the party anyway and it’s through his actions at the party this first go around that we see the most vital aspects of James’ character.
James goes throughout the party talking to just about everybody. He knows all their names, he’s personable and friendly, he’s a complete social butterfly. It’s very obvious though that he isn’t actually saying anything of substance; it’s all small talk. He knows everybody and everybody knows him but none of them are his actual friends. James’ demeanor through this scene is also very (for a lack of a better word) safe, it’s the sort of polite but casual tone you take when trying to make friendly small talk and it’s the sort of tone that while very forced very few people could take issue with.
When James stops to talk to Isaiah this very palatable tone fades but not completely, there’s still a very obvious amount of effort and energy being pushed into what James is saying. His words are casual but his body language and tone are practiced.
Essentially, James is a performer. His given description prior to the shows release labeled him as a “class clown” and this trope is a perfect encompassment of everything James embodies. He’s funny, he’s charming, just about everyone likes him but nobody actually knows him. He’s got a sort of casual confidence about him that is a complete act, but he’s so at arms-length with everyone around him that most don’t recognize his facade.
There are two relationships that perfectly show James’s true character: Sam and Isaiah.
Sam is the boy James likes but we aren’t given much of an indication why James like him other then that Sam is hot: this is deliberate.
See, Sam is the perfect vehicle to showing how James conducts most of his relationships. He approaches a person, he makes some small talk, he finds a topic the person likes and (whether he has any knowledge or interest in the subject) tries make himself palatable by discussing it. As a people-pleaser myself I can say with full confidence that this behavior is done with two goals in mind: to make the other person like him and to keep the conversation on the other person so he doesn’t have to talk about himself. This is the main reason Isaiah tells him he needs to stop trying so hard to be liked, because this people-pleasing behavior hinders James’ ability to form actual deep connections.
The reason James doesn’t take this advice is because that’s exactly what he wants. What the time loops reveal is that even when given the opportunity James will not be himself. He’s presented with the perfectly opportunity to try and be himself with Sam, being completely able to just reset the night once again if it goes wrong, and instead James abuses the time loop so that his lie about sharing interests with Sam will be more convincing.
This is further emphasized by the clones words to Sam. While yes, the clones are being purposely cruel to try and ruin James’ life, a majority of their words are rooted in some kind of truth. They are James and they are using the exact information and feelings James has to manipulate the people around them. When ruining James’ relationship with Sam the clone specifically states that Sam is “too clingy” and I believe this is the exact reason James was interested in Sam in the first place.
James went after Sam, a person he seemingly shared no interests with and only found attractive, because James assumed he could have a very (for a lack of a better word) shallow relationship with him. James was never looking for anything serious and his comment about “I don’t know anything about soccer but I don’t care because Sam is hot” emphasizes that. Why would James want a deep emotional connection with someone when he doesn’t even have a relationship like that with his best friend?
Isaiah is James’ best friend however his actual relationship with Isaiah seems to go roughly the same as his relationship with just about everyone else. Sure, they hang out a lot but most of their interactions seem to be James hearing Isaiah out about his issues and them talking about their crushes. Isaiah does question about James about how he’s doing but James either deflects or avoids the seriousness of the situation.
In The Cuckoo Clock of Doom Isaiah and James have a discussion after James’ botched attempt at talking with Sam. In this discussion Isaiah immediately knows James was not being himself when talking to Sam and encourages him just be himself rather then trying so hard to be liked. This, on it’s own, seems like reasonable advice however what’s interesting is James’ response: “that’s easy for you to say.”
Isaiah questions what he means by this and James, clearly uncomfortable, says nevermind and essentially forces the conversation to be dropped. Despite Isaiah being his best friend it’s very clear James is not comfortable being honest about his emotions with him.
The questions comes up again once James is found however and this time James is upset enough by the discovery that Isaiah, his best friend, doesn’t know him well enough to know if he’s a clone or not, that he elaborates. He states: “It is really hard to be 1 of 6 gay people in a town.”
The crux of James’ behavior, the reason he people-pleases and dances around serious topics is because he feels othered. He feels different from the people around him and he’s scared of the judgement that could come from that. A lot of his behavior reads as a sort of compensation, as if he’s trying to be as palatable as possible so people will like him despite the fact that he’s queer.
I imagine James also feels isolated the same way Isabella does, at least in an emotional sense. He keeps everyone at school at an arms-length and his relationship with his Mother is implied to be rather distant. She treats him more like a best friend then anything and paired with her alcoholism there is a very clear emotional wall between the two of them. There is no one James feels safe to confide in and I imagine it’s only worsened his feelings of otherness.
Now, finally, let’s discuss the Dupes:
The Biddle Clock and Dupes (roughly) work like this: When making contact with the clock a person is trapped into a time loop from the time of hitting the clock. The loop is restarted if the person attempts to leave the Biddle property. Every loop creates a duplicate of the person from an alternate timeline which Biddle is able to communicate with and who act as Biddle’s minions. The duplicates have all the information the original person had during the loop and, as their forms are goo of some kind, can likely change their appearance at will.
The duplicates take James’ place for roughly a week and during this time they set out to ruin James’ life as throughly as possible by destroying all his relationships. Sam is broken up with on ground of being “too clingy,” Isaiah’s relationship with Allison is worsened and his feelings for Margot are revealed which are things James likely knew a lot about as Isaiah’s friend not to mention the clone picking on Isaiah’s insecurities, and based on the comments about James’ mother James feels some resentment for his Mom’s behavior which the clone is more open about then James would be.
No one recognizes that the clones have taken James’ place despite them not acting very in-character. The people the clones strive to ruin James’ relationships with also all react very volatile to the clones’ behavior, showing how despite James’ efforts to be very likable his efforts haven’t fostered very strong relationships.
The message of the episode is fairly clear: If you keep everyone around you at arms-length and try too hard to be likable then you are inevitably going to be isolated as none of your relationships will have any kind of stable foundation.
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oops-its-a-fanwork · 1 year
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Part one of "Some interesting devil fruit abilities for reader to have in the pirate au" (from someone who's never seen one piece so bear with me)
I'm not a native English speaker so these may have some mistakes in them, sorry!
Also, this particular pirate au was created by @mega-punani! Thank you for creating characters I can rotate in my head like popcorn in a microwave xx
I present to you: Pocket docter!!
Devil fruit: Tiny fruit
Reader can get tiny at will!
Thats it.
:)
...Well, okay, they have some outfits that shrink with them, and possibly some jewelry and stuff they keep on them at all times, like a little healing kit! Outfits that don't fit or they don't consider theirs wont shrink or grow with them. Embarrassing!
Probably a little salty that they gave up their ability to swim in the ocean for this... regardless of having had a choice in the matter. Its not a flashy cool power but it sure can be useful!
They can make really specialized tiny tools, get very specific parts of plants and other remedies for illnesses, and they can treat delicate wounds with extreme precision if needed! The tiniest needle and thread known to man is at their disposal.
This power could have reader in fight scenes but in someones pocket, passed around to heal during battle (a little risky but that's fun!) or captured by an enemy and then suddenly be gone (if there's no sea prism stones used ofc).
Not to mention some interesting interactions with the boys!
Sans put his hat on your head while you were tiny and laughed his head off-- its a pretty goofy sight and you're struggling to keep it near you against the wind. You still insist it looked better on you than it does on him and he kind of agrees.
You end up sewing teeny tiny little things into his hat whenever you end up trapped under there. Little stars and shapes, puns, messages... You've assured him you can easily remove them but he loves it. At some point he offers it as a makeshift bed for you if you ever need it, having added a tiny pillow and letting you use the scarf as a blanket. The sight of you asleep in his hat on his nightstand endears him to no end.
Dang hes already tall but Papyrus really dwarfs you huh? He will encourage you to not feel bad or less than others for being absolutely tiny!! --even if your normal form is about average or even tall. Everyone is small compared to him and he's truly nice about it so you forgive him for it.
I feel like he might accidentally forget you in the crows nest and then frantically get the crew looking for you while you're just chilling up there. He didn't forget to put your safety first up there so you've got a lovely view to enjoy!
(Hes no longer the shortest let's GOOOOO-)
Alright so Blue is the most dangerous man to be around out of all of them. Not out of malice of course! Hes just very strong and very energetic, and where Papyrus might punctuate his extravagant poses with acrobatics, Blue does so with his unbridled strength! Which meaaaans he might grip you just a little tight when picking you up, or that he'll forget you're near him while moves around, sweeping your feet out from under you. He definitely learns with time, but you're having much more fun being carried around while at your normal size.
You've pranked Stretch by pretending to be a rat a couple of times, scuttling from under a table or jumping at him suddenly because you are very funny! And also because he was trying to ignore your presence on the ship at first. What better ways to get along than to prank and bother him relentlessly until he talks to you? Unfortunately for his pride, it works, and the pranking turns into lighthearted inside jokes instead. He wont admit it, but hes much less jumpy at the sight of wandering mice and rats now...
I also think Stretch has some of the softest clothes on the ship, and that on some cold days, you can snooze in his hood/scarf while he plays some gentle tunes. Its a very relaxing time for both of you.
Red thinks you're so, so cute... now how can he convey this to you without sounding condescending?
Through trial and error of course! You can yell at him that hes being mean and he'll think its hot, but he will genuinely tweak his approach to you a bit. He'll call you kitten, but if you say you feel he's not taking you seriously when you're small he'll only say it when you're regular sized. Hell he'll call you boss or sir/lady if that's the only thing you can tolerate. And also because that's funny as hell.
You asked to help him with hard to reach nooks and crannies on the ship and its really bonding for you both. He will always check/clean whatever spot you need to reach a bit before you climb in (like a gentlemonster) and then he'll stare at your ass when you're reaching for whatever is inside (like a perv!).
Someone makes mother hen and chickadee joke.
Someone gets tossed off the ship.
It might not be the worst analogy though: Edge is quite protective of you when you're that small, and you can always turn to him when you're 'getting bullied' by the rest of the crew. Hide in his coat and stick your tongue out while he chides them, that'll show 'm!
Edge is probably one of the people who suggested creating a little room for you to do tiny crafts in so he doesn't accidentally blow your materials away when he walks past in a hurry. He has places to be! Its definitely not because he thinks you're cute and distracting nope--
He does kind of regret it sometimes when he hasn't seen you all day. Show him you thought of him by gifting him a tiny craft, yeah?
Reader might help Razz get super specialized tiny equipment to draw with, like incredibly sharp edged pencils or brushes with materials that you know will still draw well at that size. It could make his detailed works even better!!
...ifffff he lets you watch while he works of course. It'll help you get a better understanding of what he needs! Besides, its very easy to forget that there's a cute little human on your shoulder when you're concentrating that hard. Surely you wouldn't surprise-attack kiss him on the cheek will you? ;)
You get stolen/kidnapped by Cash often, for 'ransom' (food or favors from the others), 'evil purposes' (pranks) or 'for funsies' (attention). Depending on your tolerance/love for pranks he could be an awesome pranking buddy, or a bit of a nightmare.
He might scam people by selling you as a fairy in a cage and then stealing you back immediately, or by trying to convince you to help him cheat at games with a drunk bunch in a pub.
Of course, your ability to grow back to normal size ensures there's always some form of consent to these japes. If you've had enough, grow back to size on his shoulder or in his hand, that'll show him!! He's to lanky to keep his balance, even if he sees it coming.
Bear loves feeding you things when you're small, since most foods are tough to eat when your head is the size of a grape. For example, eating crackers forces you to nibble like a mouse would which is adorable to him. He also tries to make tiny sized dishes for you for a few reasons: one, it hides the before mentioned intentions of watching you eat behind just making you food, two, he's bored and tiny dishes are genuinely challenging, and three: it gets him genuine compliments and interactions with you, resulting in a lovely blushy skeleton.
Also the teaspoon thing would be so funny in this context lmao. You can buy or carve a pretty one to make him feel better about it if you want, and he would find it hilarious if you made and showed him tiny sized food utensils.
You pull Cinnamon around ratatouille-style on occasion. Or at least he definitely lets you lead him around the place while chatting excitedly about everything and nothing. He loves having you so close, and you've built up enough trust for him to know you wont embarrass or prank him. Not that you could pull off a prank anyway: his ability to see auras makes him the only person on the ship who rarely overlooks you when you're tiny.
You've both decided he doesn't tell the others where you are when you need some time alone, but he does feel better knowing you're safe on the ship somewhere, so you do give him a little wave when you spot him.
Then for some extra little tidbits:
If Blue or Red are being annoying while training with reader (as in using reader like a weight for training), reader will suddenly shrink to throw them off balance.
If you're the kind of person to avoid confrontation when you're in trouble then congrats! You can now blip out of place during any uncomfy conversation. This leads to things like the following:
If you nervously leave a lot of conversations by shrinking and leaving when Edge is grilling you, he might take the hint that he's being more harsh then you can handle and he'll treat you with a different tone of voice (to the best of his ability of course). He might use some excuse about his loud voice impacting your tiny tiny eardrums or something but we all know you're just a softy Edge <3
And if you're a trouble-maker like some of the gang, you might actually get on bears nerves enough for him to chase you! And as that usually ends with you shrinking to avoid getting hit with a teaspoon ladle, he just picks you up and puts you in his chest pocket. You are now officially in time-out, and you can either stay there and watch him cook or grow big again and get hit (or at least, thats the implied threat. You both know he wouldn't). He says you'll stay an hour, for punishment, but it only ends up being like ten minutes before he gives mercy. Unless you get all sleepy in his pocket of course...
If the crew would ever need to find and/or rescue you, they would send Cinnamon and Edge or Sans on the case: Cinnamon can find you with his aura vision, and Edge and Sans are respectively the most focused on the task at hand and able to pull you out of whatever place you're in without hurting you.
When the crew plays card games and you're to tired to play yourself, you'll sit on someones shoulder to give advice. Is it good advice? Possibly. Are you cheating by checking in on others? Maybe. Do you use your powers for good? If whoever you're sitting with has been nice, sure :) !
You're either considered a lucky charm or a menace, its up to you ;)
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What is your take on the show using stabbing as an allegory for sex? But only some of the time, between only Ed and Stede.
Stede stabbing Ed. Sexual.
Frenchie and crew talk about wanting to be stabbed by him, and it reads as sexual.
Izzy stabbing Stede, not sexual?
Stede dreams of stabbing Izzy?
I think different stabbings take different valences, so there's not a one-to-one allegory going on.
Stabbing throughout is used to highlight characterizations and especially to discuss violence, dominance, and penetration.
"The stabbing scene" between Stede and Ed is quite obviously sexual and intended to be read as such, but it's not sexual to Stede. He sees this as him hurting Ed, and part of what's being highlighted is the fact that he doesn't see causing pain as sexual in nature. Ed does see it as sexual, and we know that's in part because he associates sex with violence. He isn't able to actually ask for what he wants—to be held and penetrated by Stede—so he creates a violent game where Stede essentially has to hold him. It's funny because Izzy overhears it and reads it as sexual, but it's also very indicative of Ed and his desires and how he navigates those.
Frenchie and the crew's desire to be stabbed by Jim is similar - sex and penetration is about violence in the pirate world - and it's highlighted by the fact that, as we know, Jim is not a man. I'd have to think about it more to decide how to read all of that, but it's definitely the crew fantasizing about being penetrated.
Izzy stabbing Stede is sexual in the sense that Izzy also associates penetration with domination and power, and he has to fix the dynamic that has been destabilized when he overhears Stede stabbing Ed. It's not at all "Izzy wants to fuck Stede," but Izzy wants to force Stede back into his acceptable position in the hierarchy, where he's dominated by a superior male. Stede again upends this because he doesn't know the game being played and he won't play it correctly. He's stabbed and wins—he forces Izzy off the ship. He's penetrated and he still won't fall into line.
I think Stede's dream of stabbing Izzy does fall into the power fantasy a bit more, but it's not sexualized; it's him removing what he knows is one of the barriers between him and Ed. He's acting out a fantasy where he's this big masculine hero who kills the bad guy and saves the princess, but he never follows through on it in real life (no, not even in the Ned Low bit). His reaction to seeing Izzy again is to tell him to fuck off. He also almost immediately starts crying when his dream self sees Ed again, so it ceases to be that power fantasy and becomes more the reality of who Stede is - the guy who burst into tears and run across a beach to be reunited with his own true love.
So, yeah. I don't think stabbing can be read as a one-to-one allegory throughout the show, and how it's treated within the text is important beyond just the act of stabbing (remember that Stede gets stabbed by the Spanish as well, and that's not sexualized). It is definitely about power and penetration, and it's particularly important that Stede is the one who never sees a correlation between penetration and dominance.
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cyber-corp · 9 months
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A summary/review of parts 1-100 of Homestuck
~by a gecko who knows what a Megalovania is
Let's start things quick and simple. It is the distant year of 2009, where the date is the 13th of April. It is the protagonist John Egbert (aka Zoosmell Pooplord)'s birthday. How fun!
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John's actions are very much based around RPG mechanics (the Sylladex, Captchaloging, etc.), which as indicated by the chatlogs seems to be the norm in this world.
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Once he opens the magic chest in his room, he gets access to a variety of artifacts, some of which he'll use later. He only takes the smoke pellets at first because he's stupid.
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We get some glimpses of the author Andrew Hussie's dated yet charming late-2000's humour through asking John to shit on his desk.
After nailing a Little Monsters poster to his wall (a gift from his Dad), he gets a message from one of his friends on Pesterchum, TG, who says that he got the beta for SBURB for John's birthday.
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However, his dad has just come home and John doesn't want to go through the trouble of holding a conversation with him. In the meantime, he figures out how to use his Strife Specibus by allocating the Hammerkind Abstratus, and reads the GameBro magazine, which John seems to have a loathing for.
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However, with the freed up room in his Sylladex, he creates a convincing disguise to fool his dad and grab the SBURB beta (it won't).
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He goes downstairs into the living room, examines his father's shitty harlequins, knocks over and picks up his Nanna's ashes and opens a large gift for himself, which is also a large harlequin.
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Before deciding to sticking fake arms on the harlequin, John gets a message from another Pesterchum mutual, TT.
TT oddly knows everything that John has done up to this point, including being in possession of the SBURB beta and wearing a funny disguise. They tell him to go get the game from his father from downstairs.
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After snooping around his father's study and playing a little tune (which is a great way that Homestuck utilizes its medium), John heads outside to the mailbox, to find that dad has already scooped the mail.
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But there's a sense that something isn't quite right. With "Windchime Foley" by Clark Powell playing over empty streets and a main title appearing, it implies this scene is the true beginning of the story. The text mentions a "Desolation" that's playing the tune diegetically throughout the streets/town. Maybe it will be a long day.
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John heads back inside to finally confront his father and sneakily get the beta, but oops! The disguise didn't work (who would've thunk it?), and there's only to get pass him, which is with a Strife!
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(This fight scene's really cool, I quite enjoy this)
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After the Colonel's book activates the smoke pellets, John quickly snatches his father's PDA as a joke, and finally gets his hands on the SBURB beta, which is where I ended off.
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So is it good? I mean, yeah.
Even if I only read what is a tiny, tiny fraction of Homestuck's story, I can still see how so many people became obsessed over it. The cutesy, almost surreal art style (complete with low quality JPEGS in the vein of Newgrounds), Hussie combining the mystical with the silly in his writing, and the brief bits of music in it illustrate a very "calm before the storm" feeling. I can definitely see how people like Toby Fox were inspired by it.
Despite what some think, the first little bits of Homestuck are an enjoyable experience which foreshadows something bigger yet to come. Solid 8.
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suzuran777 · 28 days
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Review: Lamento stageplay
I've been waiting for a Lamento stageplay since the DRAMAtical Murder stageplay in 2019, so I'm really happy that it's finally real and that I got to watch this one! Since I also wrote a blog post about the sweet pool stageplay, I wanted to write one about the Lamento one too. I really enjoyed it! As usual the pictures I used in this blog are pictures posted by the staff and the official Twitter account! Please check it out if you want to see more.
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First of all, this stageplay is pretty long! It's almost three hours long, an hour longer than Nitro+Chiral's previous stageplays. As usual, the first 45 minutes were a bit of a common route in which all the characters appeared. This was mostly the same in every route, but it did change a bit near the ending. After a short 10 minute break, it split into three different routes, so I had to watch three different shows to see all of the endings. It's technically a "musical drama (音楽劇)" which means it combines elements of a stageplay and a musical. I was kind of expecting only the Sanga to sing, but the main characters (Rai, Asato and Bardo) also sing together with Konoe sometimes! My favorite song was probably the opening song, when all of them sung a new version of Itou Kanako's "Lamento" with different lyrics! They also sang a slightly different version at the end of the stageplay. The common route also has two duet songs sung by Rai and Konoe, as Konoe learns about his power as a Sanga.
The new music was really nice, especially the background music. I love how they brought back the composers who made the game's OST to create new songs! I lowkey wish the devils had more songs because whenever they did sing during the opening and ending song of the stageplay, they sounded amazing together! I think it would also be great if they released studio recordings of the songs, as they are always a bit better than the live versions. So far they did already release an album of the instrumental songs which you can buy here, Ototoy shouldn't be region locked, so I think anyone can buy it!
The stage This time the venue was the same as the DRAMAtical Murder stageplay (Shinagawa Stellar Ball), which I've actually been to before, however it looked completely different this time! I liked how they turned the stage into one big forest. Whenever Leaks used his power on Konoe, they used this effect which made the stage look strange and trippy, it was really cool! I also really liked the green light effects they used whenever Konoe would use his Sanga abilities. The screenwriter Uchida Hiroki posted this picture on his Twitter account which kind of gives you an idea what it looked like!
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Plot I was curious how they would turn a rather long game into a stageplay, but I think it worked surprisingly well. They kind of skipped over some of the stuff that happens early in the game when Konoe is still in Karou, but they do explain the general story, like the problems caused by the Void and the Sickness. Shui's character also kind of functions as a narrator in the stageplay, similar to Kamiya in the sweet pool stageplay and Virus and Trip in the DRAMAtical Murder stageplay, which is always a nice addition. It's not unusual for fans of the actors to watch stageplays without knowing the original source material, so I think this makes it possible for everyone to enjoy the show, no matter if they're familiar with the game or not.
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Now for the different routes, I think all of them were great and the actors definitely put a lot of effort into their roles. Bardo's actor was really funny, especially in the scenes in which he teased Konoe (when he wanted a kiss lol), but I think he also did a great job during the serious scenes! I think Bardo's and Rai's actors had a lot of fun messing around with each other, like jokingly pushing each other, or fighting each other with their tails, which happened during one of the curtain calls people were allowed to record. Asato's actor definitely was a lot more calm compared to these two, but he did a great job at showing Asato's gentle personality! His actor mentioned listening to the drama CDs too including Lamento Love Love Gakuen, doing some extra research! (And for some reason he suddenly got into Togainu no Chi if I look at his Twitter account now...). They ended the stageplay performances on Sunday with Rai's route. Rai's actor, Katou Shou, did an incredible job as Rai during the more emotional scenes, like when Rai insists Konoe finds another Touga because he's afraid he will hurt Konoe. That scene in which Konoe realizes Karou (his hometown) had been completely consumed by the Void was also incredible.
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I should probably mention that they showed the good ends only, so no devil endings in this one sadly. Razel's actor agreed that Razel should have his own route because every devil gets quite some scenes depending on the route, but Razel is always kind of left out! Also, can I just say that I absolutely love Froud's stageplay actor, he did such a great job at making the character look intimidating (he's also very tall...) even his voice sounds similar to Froud in the game. I also really liked Leaks' actor, he has a nice deep voice, and Shui's actor liked teasing him sometimes!!
I'm just happy that Lamento has been getting new content again lately, first the webtoon and now the stageplay. You can find lots of pictures and recordings that were taken with permission if you look for the ラメステ hashtag on Twitter! I saw that both Froud's and Konoe's original voice actors (Sasanuma Akira and Hatano Kazutoshi) actually went to watch the stageplay in person. Slow Damage's artist Yamada Uiro, who's also in charge of lots of other official Nitro+Chiral illustrations, also watched the stageplay and drew some new art of it! Always happy to see new Lamento art in the year 2024, I've been enjoying all of the new fanart posted on Twitter as well.
I wonder what stageplay they're planning on doing next, only Slow Damage and Togainu no Chi remain (unless they're planning on bringing Itsuwari no Alkanet or World End's Nightmare back). Next year is Togainu no Chi's 20th anniversary, so I am curious if they are going to release anything new! The director of Nitroplus (Digitaro) also mentioned that N+C is currently working on a new project, though it's currently unknown if it's a new game, Slow Damage fandisc or something else. I guess I will be patient!
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