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firstofficerwiggles · 3 years

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Dress Code, Part 2

Link to Part 1, Part 3 (T rated), Part 3 (M rated)

Pairing: Din Djarin x female reader

Rating: T

Warnings: Some swearing, Jealous!Din, sexy dancing, touching

Summary: You continue to challenge Din about what you choose to wear. Pretty fluffy overall. Plans for a Part 3.

Word Count: ~4200

Author’s Note: I am not good at making up planet names so I will admit to totally stealing these. Eridani is the name of a real star and Alastria and Chantil are both from Star Trek. Also again a little hint of Ed Sheeran in the dancing scene.

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“Are you serious? More snow?” Your voice is incredulous as you fly over the frosted winter landscape of the planet Alastria. It’s been two weeks since you won your wager against the Mandalorian and you haven’t had any opportunity to wear anything that he could consider even remotely revealing. First he took you to Hoth, and although you and the child had a great time playing in the snow, you spent the whole time covered in sweaters and a giant parka. You had laughed it off though, enjoying his cleverness at finding a way to circumvent your win. But then, he had dragged you to Eridani and Chantil each one colder than the next. Plus to add to his diabolical plan, he has purposely been keeping the Razor Crest’s internal temperature low in order to ‘save on fuel’ so you can’t even wear your lighter clothes on board. You’ve been so covered up you might as well be wearing your own suit of beskar.

You suppose it hasn’t been all that bad though, you begrudgingly admit to yourself. The three of you have been spending more time together as you’ve been traveling. Lately it seems like Din always finds a way to be around you and the child. In the past he’s preferred his pilot’s seat while flying even with the autopilot engaged, but now he seems to find little projects to do wherever you are. Like the evening you were cuddled up with the baby telling him various fairy tales and Din had sat near you both spending the whole time cleaning the same blaster. Or when you were baking cookies, and he had decided to reorganize some supplies that happened to be right next to where you were working. Finally, the other day he had even thrown off the pretense of being busy and joined in and helped you and the child build a blanket fort in the hull. As the baby napped on a pile of pillows inside the fort, Din had stayed with you in there, just resting for once while you both had the chance.

With all of this closeness, you had hoped there might be some movement on the romantic front between the two of you, but there hasn’t been anything definitive in that area. You must have replayed him calling you ‘sweetheart’ a million times in your head, but he hasn’t said anything like that again. You’ve tried to show him how interested you are, wearing your necklace everyday so he can see it, smiling at him as much as possible, teasing him, and going so far as to touch him with little brushes of your hand, a pat on the shoulder, or even a squeeze of his arm whenever you get the opportunity. He seems receptive enough to your flirting, yet he’s given you so little response you wonder if he’s realized what you’re trying to do.

The Mandalorian’s voice brings you out of your musing, “I thought we could visit my old mentor, Davi. His town might be in the mountains, but it’s nice, I think you’ll like it, despite the cold.” He smirks a little under his helmet. He knows he should probably feel a bit guilty at the tour of icy worlds he’s been giving you, but honestly, he’s been enjoying getting under your skin each time you land on another freezing planet and he hears you sigh over having to bundle up again. He should probably admit to himself that he does miss seeing your dresses, but you look cute even under all those layers. Plus he was right, your necklace looks good with all of those sweaters and heavy knits you’ve been forced to wear.

“Who is Davi?” you ask, curious to know more about Din’s past.

“He sponsored me when I first joined the guild. I was his apprentice for two years before I starting hunting my own bounties.” Din tells you. “He’s retired now, and he lives with his niece, Isa. I think you’ll like them both.”

Even with the snow and ice, you can see that Davi and Isa’s town is charming, and you enjoy the quaint buildings with their pretty trim. It reminds you of the gingerbread houses you used to make as a child in the winter. The majestic mountains make for a stunning backdrop too and you are glad that Din brought you here. He notices the happy light in your eyes as he says, “I knew you’d like it here,” rather smugly.

“Yes, yes, you know everything,” you reply, rolling your eyes only slightly at him.

You arrive at a brightly lit home that oozes warmth and coziness from its frosty windows, and when Davi throws open the door, you receive a cordial welcome that makes you feel like he is your old friend too. Davi is thrilled to see Din and even more delighted to meet you and the baby. Even though Din has introduced you as his friend, Davi teases the Mandalorian about finally meeting his lovely family. Davi’s niece, Isa is also quite pleased to meet you and she even hugs you in greeting. She’s a pretty young woman in her early 20s with bright eyes and a cheerful smile.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she tells you excitedly, “I thought I was in for another ‘guy’s visit’ having to hear all of their old hunting tales again.”

“Oh come on, Isa, you love that story about the crazy Gungan we had to chase through the swamp,” Davi reminds her with a laugh.

“Sure, maybe the first 100 times I heard it,” Isa retorts. “I’m looking forward to some quality girl time instead.”

“That sounds great,” you tell her. You have been living in a heavily testosterone-laden climate and it has been forever since you’ve had the opportunity to hang out with another woman and just do ‘girl’ things. “What did you have in mind?”

“I’d love to go shopping and maybe get our hair styled too?” She suggests, “There’s this great party tonight and I wanna look fabulous!”

“Count me in!” you reply enthusiastically. You look over at Din for a moment though, hoping he’s not going to insist that he needs to accompany you shopping like he usually does. But he’s obviously comfortable here and he just gives you a small nod. “Let’s go now.”

Isa notices your exchange with interest, but doesn’t say anything, yet. She can’t wait to get you alone though and grill you all about your relationship with the mysterious warrior. You head back out into the snowy streets with Isa chatting excitedly about the shops and the fantastic salon that she’ll be taking you to. You arrive at a store with many party dresses, they’re beautiful but most of them are a bit risqué too. You’re just starting to look when Isa interrupts you with “Ok, spill, I want to hear all about you and Mando.”

“There’s not much to tell, I’m the nanny to his foundling.” You try to tell her, but your cheeks flush and she knows there’s more.

“Oh c’mon, I can tell you’re not ‘just-the-nanny’,” she laughs lightly. “He’s never ever brought a woman to meet Davi before.”

“Well, a few weeks ago I thought there was more starting to happen between the two of us,” you say and then tell her about the necklace and your silly wager. “I really thought that was leading to something…” you trail off and shrug, “but I guess not?”

“What?!? There is definitely something happening,” Isa asserts. “That was super romantic of him to buy you that necklace, and he clearly gets jealous of other men paying attention to you. He likes you.” She says it like it’s a fact. “You like him, don’t you?”

“Maker, I do, so much, probably too much,” you admit to Isa. “He’s the best man I’ve ever known. I know he seems rough and dangerous, and he can be, but he is also very kind, respectful, and considerate. You should see how gentle and soft he can be with the child. I don’t even care that I’ve never seen his face.”

“Your whole face lights up when you talk about him,” Isa is beaming at you. “I think you need to tell him how much you care.”

“But if he doesn’t feel the same way, it will just make everything awkward and weird.” You want to believe Isa, that Mando reciprocates your feelings, but the alternative scares you too much.

“He feels the same way.” She is confident about that. “But, maybe you could just give him a little push, feel him out more,” she says, raising an eyebrow at you.

“What are you suggesting?”

“Let’s find you a killer dress and make sure he takes you to this party tonight.” Isa turns back to the dresses pulling out several that are very sexy. “It’s in the hot springs caverns and it’s warm and steamy in there all the time,” Isa explains.

“Wait, so no bundling up?” you ask hopefully.

“Just for the walk there, but once we’re inside you’ll be plenty warm. So, we’re going find you something that shows plenty of skin,” Isa declares.

Gathering a pile of garments, Isa pulls you to the dressing rooms and then you both try on several looks that range from seductive to downright lascivious. She is partial to an electric blue dress that is tight on her figure and has several cutouts exposing various sections of her skin. The dress you find is surprise, surprise, silver, in a halter style. The bodice is tight fitting with a deep vee that ends just at the top of your stomach before flaring out into a flirty mini skirt looking like molten metal is pouring off of your hips. Your back is almost totally bare save for two delicate straps that cross over one another to hold the bodice in place. It is a lot more skin than you normally show, but you have to admit you look great. Light winks off of your necklace and you smile to yourself thinking about how your Mandalorian might react to seeing you like this.

“That’s the one!” Isa announces handing you a pair of strappy stilettos to try on with the dress. They are the perfect final touch. The rest of your time with Isa passes quickly in a happy haze of hair styling and gossip. She tells you about her friends and the guy she wants to impress. You’re really looking forward to tonight, but you’re worried, “How are we going to convince Mando to go to this party?” you wonder to Isa, “It’s not really his thing.”

“Leave everything to me.” Isa sounds like she is up for the challenge.

You and Isa return to her home giggling cheerfully about your big plans for the evening. Din loves seeing you so happy, his only regret is that you can’t have more days like this one. He had a long talk with Davi about all that has happened since he first found the child and the dangerous path it has thrust all three of you on. Fortunately for Din, his old mentor is more tactful than his niece merely providing a friendly ear as Din lists all of his concerns for your life with him. Davi can tell that Din cares for you more than he is admitting, but he doesn’t push the point. Instead, he calmly suggests that you appear to be able to meet the trials of living with a bounty hunter, otherwise you probably would have left by now. Din nodded in agreement to that, making Davi smile knowingly to himself.

As you sit down to dinner with everyone, Isa chats animatedly about your fun day together and suggests that you prolong your visit by a few days. Din, who ate his own meal in private beforehand, seems amenable to the idea, this town is fairly remote and only Greef Karga remembers Mando’s connection to Davi. As Isa talks, she manages to casually bring up the party to her uncle. Din is only half-listening as he is focused on the baby actually eating his food and not playing with it, until Isa says, “And you don’t have to worry about our safety, Uncle, because Mando will be there to watch over us!”

“Wait, what are you saying?” Din’s head snaps up.

“I think it’s a great idea!” Davi replies, delighted, “The ladies are all excited for you to take them to that party in the caverns tonight.”

“A party?” Din sounds like you are going to drag him to a deadly ambush. Except he feels more confident that he can handle the deadly ambush.

“Oh come on, you’re still a young man, you’ll have a wonderful time with these beautiful women. And I can take care of the little one,” Davi urges him, “after all he loves his Uncle Davi.” Davi tickles the child under the chin and receives a joyful coo in return.

“Please, Mando,” you give him your most hopeful look, “I promise we’ll have fun.”

Din sighs, but he knows he can’t say no when you’re looking at him like that, he’s not made of stone. “Alright.”

“Great! We’ll go get dressed!” Isa springs into action pulling you with her. You both manage to get ready in record time knowing that you don’t want to give Din any opportunity to back out on your plans. Before you leave her room though, both you and Isa make sure your cloaks are completely covering your outfits for the night. You caution Isa that if Din has even one inkling of what you have on, you won’t be going anywhere. You are thankful your cloak is so long that only the toes of your shoes peek out.

Isa leads you out of town towards the caverns and you see other young people heading in your direction. She discreetly stays ahead of you and Din the whole time under the guise of being the leader but mostly so you two are walking side by side. The new shoes are higher than anything you’ve worn for a while so you lean in and take Din’s arm. He seems to take this as perfectly natural and helps steady you on your feet. When you arrive at the caverns, balmy air hits you and you breathe it in welcoming the warmth. Isa ushers you in and leads you to a place where you can leave your cloaks. You can’t resist being a bit dramatic now that your big moment is here and you let your cloak drop from your shoulders in one fluid motion before handing it over. Then you do a small twirl to let the Mandalorian get a good look at you.

Din’s mouth goes completely dry and he feels like his heart skips several beats as he takes you in. He is thankful that his helmet hides his expression because there is no way he could hide the raw desire he is feeling right now. You look more gorgeous than he could have imagined. The silvery dress makes your curves sparkle alluringly and all he can think about is running his hands all over the silky looking material and then moving on to all of your soft exposed skin. Plus the color of the dress perfectly matches his armor, making it look like you belong with him. He feels as if all of the blood in his body is rushing to one sensitive spot and it’s making him slightly lightheaded. You are smiling at him expectantly, but he has forgotten how to speak. He has to clear his throat twice before he can ground out, “What is that?”

Ok, that wasn’t what you expected him to say. “It’s my new dress,” you retort, a little exasperated.

“That is not a dress. That is pieces of fabric pretending to be a dress.” He sounds frustrated and like he is trying to control himself.

“Hey, you remember our deal, you can’t say anything critical about my clothing.” You give him a pointed look.

“You look like walking sex.” He hisses at you.

“Well, I am going to take that as a compliment.” You flip your hair over your shoulder and huff off in the direction of Isa and a group of friends she has found. If Mando wants to be a fuddy-duddy all night, you’re going to let him. Isa is fun and you’re sure her friends will be too. You put your smile back on and square your shoulders in determination as you stride over towards them.

The caverns have been lit with several colorful lights which bounce off of the icy walls and the pools of hot steaming water. There’s a band playing music with a strong beat, a lively dance floor, and several servers circulating with fancy drinks. Isa cheerfully introduces you to her friends, one of whom is a handsome man with golden brown hair and a charming smile, named Guy. He seems to be a bit of a scoundrel, but when he voices how beautiful you are, you can’t help but be flattered. He’s telling you about his job as a pilot for a transport ship, trying to impress you with tales about near misses with ex-Imperials, when he notices the Mandalorian who is not-so-subtly invading your personal space.

Din had watched you walk away, a bit mesmerized by your swinging hips. Of course, by the time he gets his feet moving in your direction, some asshole is already flirting with you. He sees the man flash you a toothy smile and he even has the audacity to lean in and pick up your necklace, Din’s necklace, under the guise of admiring it, all the while staring blatantly at your breasts. Din hears his pulse roaring in his ears as he comes to loom over you and glare at this jerk.

“Hi, Mando,” you say a little sarcasm in your voice at the greeting, “meet Isa’s friend, Guy.”

“Guy?” Mando drawls out incredulously.

“Hey man, nice to meet you,” Guy is affable. “Didn’t catch your name?”

Mando just stares at him and then says, “Seriously, your name is Guy?”

“Guy was just telling me about making the Kuiper run in under 20 parsecs,” you break into the frosty exchange.

“Impossible,” is all Mando says drily.

“No, really,” Guy insists, “I managed to do it by skimming by a black hole.”

“It’s impossible,” Mando says again.

“Maybe you and Guy can trade piloting tips?” you say, adding a small chuckle to ease the tension.

“Not fucking interested.” Mando is being downright rude to him. You’ve never known him to act this way to someone who wasn’t a threat. Luckily, Isa comes to your rescue as she brings her friend Lisbeth over to meet Mando. He seems to come back to himself a bit and is polite as he greets Isa’s friend.

“Are you two together?” Guy questions you nodding his head in Din’s direction.

“Not like that,” you reply, “we’re just friends.” But you say it as if you don’t really believe it.

“You sure?” Guy smiles shrewdly at you.

“Well, he’s never said otherwise,” you conclude with a small shrug.

“In that case, how would you like to dance with me?” Guy holds out his hand to you and gives you a wink. You can’t help but glance back at Mando for a moment, but then turn your gaze back to Guy and say yes. You don’t imagine that Din will ask you to dance anyway as he seems determined to be a grump tonight, plus you’re pretty certain he doesn’t know how to dance.

Guy leads you to the crowded floor and you begin moving to the beat of the heart-pumping music. At first you’re just dancing next to Guy but then he starts closing the distance between you two and eventually puts his hands on your hips. He pulls you in a little closer to him but then suddenly he’s gone, being shoved away roughly by a beskar-clad arm.

“If you’re going to dance, you’re going to dance with me.” Mando tells you possessively. His hands replacing Guy’s on your hips, pulling you in close to him.

“Mando!” you squeak out in surprise at his abrupt appearance. “Is he ok?” You turn your head to look for Guy, embarrassed that Din has so rudely dismissed him.

“I don’t give a damn,” Din tells you as he reaches up and turns your chin so that you are looking back at him. Ironically, the lead singer of the band is belting out a warning to a woman not to fuck with his love. You face flushes as you look into the black visor of the helmet.

“I- I didn’t think you’d want to dance,” you stammer out, stunned by his actions.

“You didn’t give me a chance to ask you,” he replies and he begins to direct your hips to sway with his to the music. You move with him in a sultry pattern. You were wrong, Din does know how to dance. You move your arms up to encircle his neck as you let yourself relax into the movements, your bodies syncing together with the beat.

As the music changes a bit, he turns you in his arms and pulls you against him until you are flush with his body. You lean into his chest feeling the cool metal of his cuirass against your bare back and he dips his head down to your ear, and says “I like dancing with you.” His voice seems huskier than normal.

“I do too,” you tell him in reply. You’re feeling bolder now and you roll your hips over his and brush against something hard that is definitely not beskar. He groans deeply and then turns you around again so he can look in your eyes as he asks, “Do you have any idea what you do to me?”

“I think I have some idea,” you say flirtatiously and give him a wink. He pulls you back into him with a growl and guides your body into a move so sensual it makes your head spin. His hands are on your bare back now and even though it’s only the leather of his gloves that touch you, the heat coming off of them is undeniable. You can’t resist telling him, “Your hands feel good on me.” He doesn’t say anything in reply but merely tightens his grip on you and then lets his hands explore more of your back.

You lose track of time as you focus only on the Mandalorian and the way you move together. You’ve both become quieter the more you dance as if you no longer can handle verbally teasing each other and just want to feel. Each song blends into the next, and it’s like you are the only two people in the room. A sonic charge could go off and you wouldn’t even notice. When the lights flicker to signal the end of the party, you’re surprised. It takes you a moment to come back to reality, you feel like you’ve just awoken from the middle of an intoxicating dream and your head is a little dizzy. Fortunately, Din seems more in control, and he guides you towards Isa and the exit. Isa! You completely forgot about her. When you reach her, she gives you a sneaky smile and hands you your cloak. As you take it from her, she leans in and whispers, “I told you so.” Din takes the cloak from your hands and places it around your shoulders covering you back up against the cold. Then he takes your hand in his and threads his fingers through yours as he leads you back out into the dark night. All three of you are quiet as you walk back to Isa’s home. When you arrive, Din tells Isa, “We won’t come in, we’ll just let the child sleep here and come back in the morning.”

“Not too early,” Isa says rather cheekily, “I’m sure you’ll need your rest.”

As you head back to the ship with Din, your stomach flips at the idea of being alone with him all night. You shiver a little in anticipation.

“Are you cold?” he asks, noticing the shiver.

“Only a little,” you tell him, not wanting to give away the real reason.

“Maybe you should be wearing more clothing,” Din says, but there is a teasing tone to his voice now.

You reach the ship and head inside. It’s a little chilly in there but not as bad as you thought it might be. You whisk your cloak off of you again, headless of the cold, wanting Din to see you in the dress again.

“I’ll make you a new deal,” he says, his helmet moving up and down as if he is looking you over. “I’ll take you to some warmer planets and I won’t complain about your clothing, but only if you promise to never wear that dress in public again.”

The dress has served its purpose, better than you could have anticipated. “Alright, it’s a deal,” you tell him with a smile.

“Although,” Din drawls out, “if you want to wear it again when we’re alone together, I’d like that.”

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Thank you for reading! I promise there will be a Part 3 (if I can, I’ll do one T rated and one M rated). Please let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list.

@sleepwithacommunist @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @rueblogsthings @mackycat11 @tv-zepeda @remmyswritings @dee-rosemary @boomtownboy @mandosboobiez @hoodjarin @haley7242

#the mandalorian fanfiction #the mandalorian x female reader #din djarin x female reader #the mandalorian x reader #din djarin x reader #din djarin fanfiction

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captaincravatthecapricious · 3 years

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Black Eye- Prompt Fill

Three times Jon gives himself a black eye.

Cw alcohol, minor injuries, mentions of misgendering

@thevengefulhufflepuff

I have one more bingo fic left to post, and after that I am doing the "things you said" prompt list, so if there is something you want written for Jon or Martin or Tim, please please please send me a prompt because I need at least one by Friday, because that be writing day! Card by the wonderful @celosiaa

Jon is nine years old. Jon is nine years old and he’s given himself a black eye.

He doesn’t want to go home to his grandmother.

Technically it had been her fault anyhow. If she’d gotten him a book of activities for Boys instead of one for Girls, it probably would have better explained how to make a sling shot… and how to avoid punching yourself in the face while trying to use it.

But no. He has a book of activities for Girls. It has about seven different ways to braid your hair, and how to sew (which Jon does find useful so his grandmother won’t scold him for tearing his clothes), how to make dolls out of yarn, a handful of useless ways to use a bandana, a dozen crafts with doilies, and so on. Useless.

It wouldn’t help him protect himself, which clearly he Needs to protect himself after…. After That. Not to mention, he isn’t a girl, no matter what his Grandmother and teachers keep trying to tell him.

He thinks it’s the hair. If he could cut it maybe they would start getting it right. Grandmother probably wouldn’t mind, it would make him easier to deal with. No stray hairs on everything, no urging him to brush it, no forcibly making him get it out of his face.

Still. He doesn’t want his grandmother to see his black eye, because that will mean scolding him for fighting, which he wasn’t, and getting told it isn’t ladylike. He isn’t a lady.

Still. He can’t exactly wander as far as he used to. He knows his Grandmother will be no help at all with the Things he knows are out there now, but the illusion of safety is better than nothing.

He doesn’t try to cover it with makeup. He’s seen characters do that in books and in movies and it never works. So why bother? (Not to mention he doesn’t want to touch his eye. He’d been so afraid that he’d broken his glasses. He wouldn’t be able to explain that, and then his grandmother would have to pay for another pair and the thought of her spending more money on him makes his stomach twist with guilt. But his overlarge glasses that earned him many ridicules slipped down his face before he’d punched himself. (For a moment he’d worried he’d popped his eyeball, before remembering that eyes don’t pop like squished grapes… or at least not as easily as most people thought. There were tougher parts of the eye not to mention he could still see through it, and open it (mostly) and there wasn’t any blood or virtuous humor leaking out of him, so it was probably fine… or so he’d thought until he caught his reflection in a window and seen the darkening contusion.) He’d rather get the yelling over with. So he calmly washes up before supper and sits at the table.

“Have you been fighting?” She looks over the table at him with cold disapproval.

��No.” Jon stays calm. He is practically an adult. He can have a discussion as such.

“Then, how did this happen?”

“I made a slingshot and was practicing my aim in the yard, and I hit myself in the face.”

She studies in, trying to gauge if he’s lying.

The yelling never comes, so he guesses she believes him. But he does get the lecture on ladylike behavior.

That night he cuts his hair short with scissors. It effectively distracts his grandmother and his teachers from his black eye.

Jon is freshly appointed as head Archivist. Already piled down with paperwork, struggling with the keys to his office. Cursing as several papers escape his pile and drift to the floor. He can hardly see over the stack he’s carrying, and he’s afraid some of the files will fall instead of the loose papers on top. Mostly his notes and instructions and to-do lists. He wants to cry. Barely a week in and he’s already in over his head.

Why did He get this job? Why not Sasha?

There is already an aching chasm between him and the people that have been his friends, and he’s carved out a rift between himself and Martin. And what for?

He can’t do this on his own.

He can’t even do it, period.

Can’t even open his office door.

No. No. He isn’t going to cry in the hallway.

His key is in the lock now, but he can’t turn it. Can’t even manage to turn it half the time when he can see the lock and isn’t carrying things.

“Heya Boss!”

Jon jumps, just as the door unsticks.

His files tumble to the ground, his glasses slide off his face, and the door smacks him in the eye.

“FUCK.” Jon is knocked on his ass.

Tim snickers, because of Course Tim came along just in time to startle him.

Jon stifles a sob. “Go away, Tim.” If he isn’t going to help, and evidence from the last week points to Tim not helping, he can leave Jon to his stress and exhaustion and bruising eye.

Something in Jon’s tone must give him away, because it shuts Tim up, and he kneeling by his side, prying his hands away from his face, and giving a low whistle at the rapidly forming bruise.

“Shit Jon, do… do you need some ice? Do you want a hand with… Jesus, Jon how did you even carry all this?”

Jon curls away from him. “Not like you were helping.” Petulant like a child. Christ, what happened since his childhood, he had been irritating and rude, sure, but much less needy… right? Surely his nine-year-old self wouldn’t have been near tears in the hall because his friend might hate him. Stupid and sensitive. When did he start needing people? He’d been fine alone. Always fine. And no one got hurt when there was no one to hurt.

“I’m fine.” Probably would be more convincing if he weren’t curled up like a frightened child.

“Sure. How about we get you to the breakroom, and you can have a sit-down on the couch with some ice on that eye of yours, and I clean up this mess, okay?”

Jon doesn’t have it in him to say no. Because that sounds very, very nice.

Jon nods off there and wakes to find significantly less work than he had before, and all the files reassembled and organized.

It’s New Years, and Jon is struggling with a bottle of champagne.

He’s never really opened a bottle before. He’s not have champagne that often, in all fairness. A couple of office parties that were terrible and the drinks were cheap, despite the dress code. And there was the time Georgie bought them a bottle. But Georgie had opened it with a satisfying pop and it had tasted strange to him, but it had also tasted like happiness and contentment and safety.

Jon can’t get the foil off, and Tim is laughing at him.

Sasha is trying to help him, but she’s laughing too hard to get a word out, let alone stand up.

Jon is faking a pout, and fighting actual irritation, and trying to bite down his pride and ask Martin for help.

He gets the foil off, but can’t get a grip on the cork.

Tim is giggling something about his little noodle arms, which Sasha smacks him lightly and tells him to be nice about, but they are both laughing harder now, and it’s… all so Good. In a way that Jon hadn’t thought possible.

Or it Was good until the cork slips out of his hands as he finally pulls it free and it hits him in the eye. Again, knocking his glasses sideways (but thankfully not breaking them).

He stands there startled, only a little champagne spilling.

“Oh shit, Jon!” Sasha takes the bottle from him.

Martin comes running. “Jon! What happened?”

Jon is still processing what happened.

Tim is still laughing so hard he’s crying.

“Fine, Martin, just got punched by the champagne.” It honestly doesn’t hurt (especially not after everything else he’s been through), but Jon is very aware that it is likely bruising before their eyes. Damn his EDS.

“Ice! You need some ice!” Martin already reaching for one of their Many ice packs.

“Really, Martin, doesn’t even hurt!” He appreciates the care, it feels good to know that people are looking out for him… even Tim who still has tears of laughter streaming down his face.

“BOSS, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU GOT IN A FISTFIGHTTTTT REMEMBER WHEN YOU WALKED INTO THAT DOOR.”

Jon hmms in his driest academic voice, “I seem to recall that was your fault.”

“I REMEMBER THAT, JON WOULDN’T TELL US WHAT HAPPENED!” Sasha’s laughing again now too.

Jon is biting back a smile. He’s glad he has them back.

“You sure you’re alright?” Martin examines his eye, before handing over the ice, and leading Jon to a seat, with a kiss.

“Perfect. Promise. …Although I wouldn’t say no to some of that champagne.”

#the magnus archives #tma #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #sasha james #tim stoker #timothy stoker #cw misgendering #trans jonathan sims #cw alcohol #cw black eye #cw minor injuries #jonmartin #happy ending #my art #my writing #my words #fic #my fic

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sepublic · 4 years

Note

Hey! Hope I'm not bothering you, but since you already did an excellent take of Luz meeting the Amphibia girls, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what would happen if Amity were to ever meet Sasha.

I’m honestly VERY flattered by this ask, this is such a fun one to me and admittedly I went overboard answering this… But I appreciate the compliment, it means a lot, and I myself love YOUR answers to asks regarding Amphibia!

Sasha and Amity are definitely interesting characters to me! I think one of the key differences between the two, when it comes to either the ‘real’ Amity, or the cold façade she puts up…

…It’s that she’s really not much for social interaction. I’m sure part of the reason is to keep up appearances of being an elitist Blight who has ‘high standards’ and whatnot regarding who she hangs out with, and her own trauma after the Willow incident definitely encourages Amity to not reach out in general, but. Even without her parents’ elitist abuse, she honestly gives me vibes of someone who’d prefer to mind their own business? That cold façade or not, she doesn’t really actively seek confrontation, and would rather mind her own business; Around Boscha and the others she’s clearly distant and tells them not to bully Willow because there’s no point.

And with Willow? The one time we DO see her bully Willow, it’s at least implied –through retroactive revelations- that Amity may have legit been trying to reconnect with her friend, and/or didn’t realize how condescending she was being; Or at least, she THOUGHT what she was saying would actually encourage Willow to be better. She’s definitely internalized a lot of toxicity from her parents and siblings.

Obviously Luz is helping with that, but in the end- Amity comes across as someone who would rather be left alone. If she feels like she’s being attacked or having her space invaded, she WILL retaliate… But again, she just wants to mind her own business and wishes for others to do the same. She only lets in a select few individuals who can really earn her trust, and that trust is something carefully earned and requires a lot of emotional navigation.

Sasha is different- She’s very much a social person! Whilst Amity will snap and get right to the point, that NO, she does not like you… And when Amity DOES have to hang around others, she puts in the bare minimum of interaction and is clearly cold and distant otherwise; Sasha seems to prefer diplomacy! It’s one of the first things we see about her character, in contrast to Grime… Even if she’s annoyed by someone, she’s learned that honey attracts flies, not vinegar! Sasha doesn’t resort to confrontation or putting her foot down, unless she feels like she’s been specifically ‘pushed’ to that point.

Not to mention, she very much seeks out people and friends! Sasha loves her social interaction, and while there’s some potential speculation on how her homelife may have contributed to this… This girl has to surround herself with other people to thrive, she gets energy from social interaction! She’s popular back at school, and captain of the cheerleading squad, which we know Sasha and Marcy aren’t members of- So that involves a close leadership and sway over a whole ‘nother group of classmates.

Obviously a part of her is intrigued on what she can get from others, as seen with the Toads… But in general, I think Sasha does enjoy the feeling of getting to know others, and being loved, or at least adored! When she’s unhappy with Maggie, she makes a point to be diplomatic about the situation… And when Maggie continues pushing her, Sasha gives her another chance, but also adds onto the pressure by threatening to not invite Maggie. So there’s this idea of surrounding herself with others to maintain a sense of control, a certain possessiveness to Sasha here.

Ultimately… I don’t think they’d really get along, alas! Even if it’s Amity as of now, or when we first see her, interacting with either Sasha pre or post-character development… These two likely wouldn’t get off to a good start! I see only Sasha making the first move; She’s a social butterfly and wants to get to know people, it’s good to make connections so you can utilize them! And this Amity Blight, she’s clearly talented and Top Student, she seems pretty cool! Sasha would likely offer herself up, maybe offer to buy lunch for her, hang out, etc.

But Amity? Amity’s used to people like Boscha. She’s going to see the similarities. And even if she doesn’t? Well, Amity comes across to me as the kind of person, who… When she’s approached by others, her mind immediately fires on all cylinders as she starts desperately trying to figure out what this person wants, why they’re here, what their goal is, etc.! She can’t really imagine people wanting to get to know her just because… Again, not only because her abuse conditioned Amity to see others –herself included- only in terms of what they can do for others, but also because I think she just doesn’t understand social cues all too well.

Amity would very much be on the defensive; She’d see Sasha coming in and reflexively put her walls up, become cold and put on a façade. She wouldn’t immediately snap at Sasha, but she’d definitely try to get the point across as subly as she can. The thing about Sasha to me is that she has both exterior and ulterior motives, simultaneously. When Sasha keeps pressing, Amity will likely reach a point where she just exhales, gets blunt, and asks Sasha what she wants and why she’s here, and to just ask or leave!

And, Sasha will be surprised! She’ll be taken aback, but I don’t think she’ll take it personally- She’ll forgive Amity for the bluntness and try to assume the best before all else. I can see Sasha perhaps saying a thing or two, joking around, and Amity interprets it literally, and gets the impression that Sasha is making fun of her… So Sasha tries to clarify that no, she isn’t making fun of her! She’s being honest, she DOES want to be friends! Maybe she’ll try to laugh it off, tell Amity to relax, but it’s just going to make Amity feel like she’s being patronized.

I think it’s worth noting that Sasha is friends with Marcy, and while Marcy definitely seems to have more connections with Anne than her… She’s still at least Sasha’s second-best friend, based on how much they hang around. Marcy is Autistic-coded, and to me and many others, Amity is ALSO Autistic-coded as well. If Sasha knows how to humor and handle Marcy’s infodumping and occasionally literal mind, then it’s possible she’d have the experience to navigate Amity.

Though, Amity is still a VERY different and closed-off person than Marcy. I think a lot of their interaction would be filled with Sasha trying to figure Amity out, see what makes her tick- And Amity is getting all the more uncomfortable and suspicious, because she does NOT like being open or read by others, especially by this girl who probably sees her more as a trophy to collect or whatever… Amity just wants to mind her own business!

And the thing about Sasha is- She’s also a troublemaker. A bit of a delinquent. She’s totally going to give Amity the same vibes as her older siblings, and that won’t be so great… Even if this is Amity as of the Season Finale, I think she’d still be wary, because she at least KNOWS Ed and Em, but she doesn’t know Sasha. Amity is still a person who’s very beholden to the rules, and unless Sasha specifically ‘proves’ herself to her, she’s going to look down on Sasha’s lack of reverence for school. In particular I think she’d react somewhat negatively to Sasha, should the girl casually dismiss Amity’s desire to study, over hanging out with her.

And naturally, Sasha is going to get frustrated, she’ll wonder what this Blight girls’ deal is- She’s trying SO hard to be nice and diplomatic, she really is trying to navigate Amity’s ‘eccentricities’! I think she’d sooner just give up and do her own thing, leave Amity be, as the two of them agree to just mind one another’s business and exist separately. I don’t think Sasha would feel the need to specifically step in, especially since Amity isn’t really a friend to begin with, and clearly just wants to be left alone. Sasha only seems to ‘step in’ when she feels she has a certain hold on others, and Amity is far too distant.

So, Sasha can read the room… She’d approach Amity, want to be friends. Amity gets suspicious and assumes the worst, and even if it’s not the worst she’s just not intrigued in general. Sasha is a troublemaker, and Amity’s trust requires a lot of emotional work and honesty that Sasha isn’t just used to- So Sasha reads the room and leaves, no other questions asked!

…Although, if Sasha WERE more interested… It’d be interesting if she learned what Amity’s situation is like, specifically with her strict parents. I can’t say much about Sasha’s own upbringing, but given her current scenario as of Toadcatcher and how she’s very much overthrowing the authorities to establish her own rule…

I think Sasha would try to pull something off similar to Anne (in a scenario where she REALLY wants to get close with Amity), and try to goad Amity into just ignoring her parents, and being her own person! And while her intentions are good and Amity being her own person is a net positive, I think she’d handle it about as constructively as Emira and Edric, and end up just making Amity feel pressured to get into trouble, be far too dismissive and condescending of Amity’s feelings, and cause the girl to feel like she’s being made fun of and all the stuff she looks up to is casually trashed!

And, Emira and Edric are her siblings. Unless the Blight Parents specifically ask Amity to hang out with Sasha, this girl isn’t going to have any of it; She’s going to snap, and she’ll tell Sasha to back off. And while Sasha might be taken aback and even get a little bit offended, again… She’d rather things go smoothly, and not create unnecessary conflict. I think she’d read the room, and then leave.

Worst-case scenario, she TRIES to ‘step in’ and exert her influence… But really, Sasha has none over Amity, whose family is considered superior even amongst other noble families, and also she has magic! The girl was the Grudgby Captain for a reason. Sasha is going to recognize the situation and see she’s not wanted, and it’s not worth it- No point getting riled up, this isn’t someone close to her like Anne or Marcy! So again- She leaves! Although…

This is Sasha prior to Reunion. But as of Toadcatcher, where she’s clearly becoming a lot more blunt about her feelings, a lot more physical and smashing her way through things? Still capable of manipulation, but also doubting her abilities… Amidst her own brief self-reflection over how she treated Anne? Then, depending on exactly what she’s aiming for here (and to be honest my read on Sasha as of Toadcatcher is a little blurry, I think the show is trying to be ambiguous as to her exact headspace given she’s still figuring things out herself)…

MAYBE Sasha tries to get her way by brute force, but again, I doubt it. Unless it’s something she REALLY specifically needs, I don’t see her picking a fight, because even if she’s getting physically blunt, she’s also being emotionally blunt as well. When it comes to emotions her tactic is to run away and close her eyes, look the other direction- So Sasha is going to deny that this bothers her.

She’s going to insist that Amity’s constant rejections aren’t getting to her. She’s just going to LEAVE, and let it be! It’s fine, what’re you talking about? And if this is engaging with Amity, as of her character development? Same thing, really… Amity may be a bit less cold and dismissive, a little less elitist- But she’s also learning to prioritize herself and to remove herself from situations she doesn’t like. She’s not going to be ready for Sasha anytime soon, probably not ever!

Worst-case scenario, Sasha gets a little TOO personal and straight-forward, trying to give advice to Amity on what’ll make her happy- And Amity will snap. Sasha might feel a bit offended, maybe begin to doubt herself and feel like her charisma and ‘touch’ has been waning… but ultimately she’s going to deny her feelings, shrug, and leave Amity be. Both girls will mutually agree to let the other exist in isolation from the other, maybe stepping in if the other is in trouble and somebody else isn’t already there to help.

…But for fun! Let’s talk about if they WERE friends, by some inexplicable, stroke of fate and circumstance!

Sasha is definitely going to be someone who’s VERY mindful of how Amity functions, what she likes, what bothers her, that sort of thing! She’ll know Amity’s schedule by heart, and she’ll focus on helping the girl calm down, or be less cold… She’d be a more diplomatic voice for Amity! She’d definitely handle most of Amity’s social interactions for her… In particular, I see Sasha acting as a ‘gatekeeper’, evaluating others who are trying to reach out to Amity, seeing if they’d bother her friend or not; And if so, telling them to get lost, but in a way that’s subtle and casual. But of course, if the person keeps pushing their luck… Well, this is Sasha’s close friend, so she’s going to feel insulted, and eventually she’ll reach a scary point.

In general, I would see Sasha as someone who can automatically read Amity, and tell whenever she’s in a situation she’s uncomfortable with… So she swoops in and takes Amity’s place, giving her an out and direction the attention to herself! She’s going to help defend Amity from anybody who annoys her, and she’ll do what she can to support the girl; She’ll probably held lead cheerleading rallies for a Grudgby game or two, although Amity would likely tell her to stop, that’s excessive, and you don’t need to do that! And Sasha says that’s silly, they’re friends after all!

I’m not sure if I can see a scenario where Sasha has control over Amity, though. Again, the Blights come across as more high-class and powerful than Sasha’s family, whatever they might be like. I think she’d be a bit like Boscha to Amity, except a lot more receptive to how this girl feels, telling her that she’s all that and has nothing to worry about; You ARE the Top Student for a reason, don’t let anybody else make you think otherwise! If your parents or siblings are mean to you, they just can’t appreciate you properly! And Amity’s going to appreciate that, but occasionally ask Sasha not to go that far- And Sasha understands, and lets it go!

As for Amity, I can see her occasionally flexing her power and position, in a scenario where Sasha encounters someone who isn’t impressed. During social events, she’ll quietly gravitate towards Sasha for comfort and reassurance, and Sasha will instantly recognize. I don’t see her helping Sasha cheat or anything, but Amity would definitely at least help her with homework and give pointers, though she wouldn’t outright do it for her, she’s still too beholden to the rules for that.

Anytime Amity DOES reciprocate or voluntarily show affection, it’s going to mean a lot to Sasha. I can definitely see Sasha beginning to have concerns over the abuse of Amity’s parents and how they’re indoctrinating her, and how she’d see the Emperor’s Coven as a bit toxic… But ultimately, I’m not sure if she’d be able to do much, there’s a LOT of factors to take into consideration here! I feel that should Sasha try to step in, she and Amity still wouldn’t be that close and Amity may rebuke her…

And because they ARE actual friends, it WILL hurt Sasha, and maybe she’ll take it personally and become a bit bitter. Maybe even entitled, because she’s worked so hard to make Amity happy and protect her, and this is how she gets treated!? I can see Sasha intiating some distance at first, and Amity gets hurt by that and immediately accepts this as her new scenario and doesn’t try going back to Sasha, not because she’s better, but because she’s already screwed up and why would Sasha want to go back to her?

But ultimately, Sasha’s going to come back because she craves social interaction, and in the end she DOES care. I can also imagine Amity and Sasha contributing some toxicity towards one another, as they never learn to actually confront these issues but just sweep them under the rug; Sasha might enable Amity’s tendency to snap and lash out, tell her she can do no wrong, while Amity would just enable and lowkey encourage Sasha’s controlling behavior over others- At the very least she won’t speak up against it.

They wouldn’t confront one another over their flaws, especially since they may not be self-aware enough to even notice them in the first place; And in Amity’s case, she might not want to jeopardize her relationship with Sasha, and it’d go against what her parents taught her anyway. She might be a little concerned, but ultimately, what does she know? Sasha seems way more confident, she likely understands herself better than Amity does.

Due to her lineage, I think Amity would retain the ‘power’ in the friendship, or at least not fall under Sasha’s possessive control… But Amity would still doubt herself in general and not be fully genuine. She’d see what Sasha does as typical things that loved ones do for one another because of her parents, even if Amity wouldn’t really flex this type of control over any of her friends to begin with!

She’s not going to participate, but she won’t speak out either, and that’s going to contribute to Sasha’s own assumption that she knows and does best. Really, I see these two not quite agreeing with how the other treats people, but otherwise not objecting either! If it were up to them, Sasha and Amity would do things their own way, but besides that there’s no point in jeopardizing their friendship over such a ‘minor’ issue.

Sasha would come across as the ‘reasonable’ friend, while Amity is more the cold and blunt one. Sometimes Sasha tells someone who bugged Amity to back off, other times she’ll reassure them, tell them that’s just how Amity is, and then invite them to be friends; While still keeping them from Amity of course!

Amity’s fine with this, she just wants to be left alone and doen’t control who Sasha is without her. The girls at least respect each other in that way. I can definitely see Sasha as someone who can reason with Amity and get her to lower her guard a bit, maybe even reconsider her stance on another person, but that’s about it. Sasha is very much the only person who can really ‘talk’ to Amity. Sometimes she’ll get her to cool down, other times she just steps aside and/or helps defend Amity. It really depends on the mood of the day, the person in question, etc.!

I don’t think Sasha would be able to fully understand Amity. I think she’d try to listen to Amity’s insecurities, try to give advice and understanding. But ultimately she’s someone with her own issues as well; She’s no Luz, who I think would just naturally get Amity to open up and make her a lot happier! And I can see Sasha maybe even scouting out Luz specifically for this purpose, because she seems like a cool and friendly person, and if she can make Amity happy and openly laugh, then she HAS to have her in the group!

And… those are more or less my thoughts on how Sasha and Amity would interact, within a few different contexts! I’m not exactly an expert on either character, all of this is speculation, and I confess I don’t know Sasha as well as others… Especially given her mindset in Toadcatcher, where it seems like she’s still figuring herself out! Also, I apologize for VERY much going overboard in answering this ask… I suppose I got excited, because this is a very fascinating concept to me, and I feel obligated to fully explore it in every way I can, in order to do it justice!

#the owl house #owl house #amphibia #the owl house amity #amity blight #amphibia sasha #sasha waybright #speculation #ask

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saltywhovian · 4 years

Text

seven minutes in heaven is hard when there’s four people in the closet

Marinette loved Alya. She was her best friend, her confidant, her rock. But Marinette was going to strangle Alya. She was going to murder Alya, ressurect her, and then murder her again. If she made it out of this closet without being suffocated to death. But hey, being suffocated during Seven Minutes in Heaven is such a good way to die.

Earlier

“Marinette! I’m having a little sleepover tonight, nothing fancy, just a few friends, some chips, some bad movies, will you pleaaaase come??”

Marinette glances over at Alya, who is practically down on her knees begging Marinette to come to the sleepover. “Alya, I-” Marinette makes eye contact with Alya, who has become the literal definition of puppy eyes. Marinette sighs, and grabs her phone. “You know what, I deserve a night off. I’ve been working myself too hard. Let me ask my parents.”

After getting a positive answer from her parents, Marinette gives Alya a thumbs up. Alya squeals, and throws her arms around Marinette. “Girl, you won’t regret it!”

“Okay weirdo,” Marinette chuckles. “Let me finish this homework.”

As Alya walks away, she grins to herself.

She goes up to Nino and Adrien, and after planting a big kiss on Nino’s cheek, she turns to the boys. “Hey, I’m having a sleepover, do you two want to come?”

Nino nods, and Adrien furrows his brow. “I’ll have to clear it up with Nathalie and my father,”

Alya interrupts him with a grin. “Uh-uh my friend. I already got approval from Nathalie. You can check with her right now.

Adrien, who is even more confused, pulls out his phone, dialing Nathalie.

“Hey, um, Alya invited me to a sleepover, and-” he stammers.

“Yes, I am aware of Ms. Cesaire’s get together. You already have your father and I’s consent to attend. But of course, it is your choice on whether or not you go.” Nathalie responds.

“No, no, I want to go! Th- Thank you Nathalie.”

“Have fun Adrien.”

Adrien turns to Alya, amazement in his eyes. “How? Just- how??”

Alya walks away dramatically, calling over her shoulder, “A magician never reveals her secrets.”

After inviting Alix and Rose, Alya goes to Juleka. “Hey girl, I’m having a little sleepover tonight, do you and your brother want to come?”

Juleka smiles, and shoots a text to Luka. “He would love to come.”

Alya smiles slowly. And that makes four.

You see, Alya was smart. And although everyone except for Adrien knew about Marinette’s “little” crush, Alya knew there was more. Because whenever Kagami was around Adrien, Marinette would get jealous whenever they touched each other. Not just if Kagami initiated the touching, but if Adrien did too. And whenever Marinette was with Luka, they were gentle, they were the same in a quiet kind of way.

So Alya dug a little more. She grilled Adrien enough to know that he’s head over heels for Marinette, just in denial. She then accomplished the harder task, figuring out Kagami’s feelings. It took nearly a month of careful plotting, and finally, finally got Kagami to admit that she wanted to take Marinette into her arms, and.. Alya stopped Kagami there.

And then she dug more. Kagami and Adrien weren’t hard to figure out. And the moments that Luka and Adrien shared were so sweet, Alya thought she might get diabetes. As for Kagami, and Luka? There was definitely something there. It just needed a little push.

Alya did such a good job figuring this all out, she was considering a career as a detective. So with all this information, what was she going to do?

Well she was going to scheme. But she couldn’t do this by herself. So she enlisted Nino, and then after some careful thought, she pulled Juleka into the planning.

After another two weeks, they had a plan. Operation Seven Minutes was a go.

Honestly, the hardest part was convincing Kagami and Adriens parents to let their children attend a co-ed sleepover. Alya went to Nathalie first. She explained that Kagami would be there, and that they would be doing meditation, to relax and tame their emotions due to stress of everyday life. She said that it would be beneficial and would allow Adrien to focus more on his duties. Nathalie gave her a smile, and told her that Adrien had her permission to attend the sleepover. For Kagami, it involved simply stating that Adrien Agreste would be in attendance, and Gabriel Agreste approved of the affair. Ms. Tsurugi approved immediately.

So she invited the four, and a few others to create less awkwardness in the room, so she could trick the idiots into a false sense of security.

Technically the main objective of Operation Seven Minutes was to get the four idiots together, but the true objective was for Alya to live all her shipping fantasies and be as amused as she can possibly be.

She sends a text to Operation Seven Minutes.

Red -The birds are in the bush

Purple - What?

Green - Everyone’s coming.

Purple - Why couldn’t Alya just say that?

Red - Code names, Purple!

Purple - They’re kinda dumb

Green - She’s got a point, babe

Red - Whatever, whatever. Time for Phase 3.

Evening

Marinette rings the doorbell at Alya’s place, face slightly flushed at her late arrival. Alya opens the door, and pulls Marinette in. “There you are, girl! I got worried for a second that you weren’t coming!”

“I’m so sorry Alya, there was an emergency at the bakery…” Marinette trails off as she takes in the people in the room. Nino and Alix are engaged in fervent conversation that’s no doubt involving some extreme dare, Juleka and Rose cuddling, and…

Adrien, Luka and Kagami all sitting together looking mildly awkward. Scratch that, really awkward.

Marinette slowly turns to Alya, her face twitching. Before the situation escalates, Alya snatches Marinette’s bag and yeets it into a corner.

“Alright, gather round, gather round!” Alya beckons. “Now that Marinette’s here, we’re going to play Uno!”

Marinette balks at the circle, unsure on where to sit. Kagami tugs at Marinette's sleeve, indicating a spot in between her and Luka. “Sit next to me Marinette.”

Marinette smiles, which the team notices, thanks to a nudge in the ribs from Alya. “O-Okay Kagami.”

Luka makes a small wave at Marinette as she settles in. “I’m glad you’re here, Marinette.”

Adrien leans over from Luka’s other side. “Me too!”

Kagami gently scoots in closer to Marinette, leaning into the conversation. “I as well Marinette. I always seem to enjoy myself when you’re around.”

Marinette is practically speechless, already furiously flushing. Nino, Alya and Juleka fist bump, whispering “Pound it!”

Uno goes better than Alya could ever imagine. Sure Alix is another +4 away from murdering someone, but that was a foreseen circumstance. No, Alya is very pleased because the four have been slowly snuggling closer and closer to each other. And because of how competitive Marinette gets, she is no longer stuttering around anyone.

Kagami looks at Marinette, her eyes gleaming in regret. “Marinette, I’m so sorry, I have no other card..” She places the +4 card down. “I hope you can find it in your heart to ever forgive me.”

Marinette meets Kagami’s eyes, her own filled with understanding. “It’s okay Kagami, I know you would never willingly betray me. Besides, you’ve given me the perfect opportunity.”

Luka looks at Marinette in alarm, clutching his three card deck to his chest. “Marinette, you couldn’t. You- you wouldn’t!”

Marinette shrugs, looking nonchalant, but a smirk is threatening to break through her casual expression. “I’m sorry Luka, but you are a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

“Marinette, it doesn’t have to be like this!”

“Oh but it does.” She slams the +4 card down on top of Kagami's card. “Uno.”

Luka stares at the card, disbelief taking his body. Adrien rubs his back, mourning the defeat.

Marinette tenderly places a hand on Luka’s face. “I’m sorry it had to be like this. Maybe in another lifetime it would work. But it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

Luka gasps at the touch, much to Juleka’s delight. But before he can respond, Alix leaps to her feet, eyes raging, pillow in hand. “I’ve had enough! This means war!” Alix then swings the pillow into Ninos face, knocking him to the floor.

The room erupts into chaos. Everyone scrambles to grab a pillow, and attack the foes around them. Adrien immediately jumps in front of Marinette, acting as a human shield. “Marinette stay back!” he yells. “I’ll protect you!”

On the ground, Marinette looks up at Adrien, who is practically glowing in the fluorescent lighting, framed by feathers floating around them. The moment is ruined by Adrien being shunted to the couch by a pillow to the ribs. Marinette rushes to his side and clutches his hand. “Adrien! Are you okay?”

He looks up to her, and hands her his pillow. Marinette nods, determination in her eyes. “I’ll avenge you.”

She rushes into battle, the power of the past Ladybugs flowing through her veins. Kagami and Luka, who are currently fighting back to back, can only watch in awe as Marinette, crowned with righteous fury, slams her pillow in Ninos stomach, causing him to fall into Alya.

“Oh girl I’ll get you for that!” she cries, hoisting her pillow into the air.

In a blink, Kagami rushes to block Alya. While engaged in a furious standoff with Alya, she cries “Luka, now!”

Alya looks back to see Luka leaping into the air with his pillow above his head.

From the couch, Adrien yells “Finish her Luka!”

And finish her he does. With one final blow, Alya is struck to the ground. The battle ends with Luka and Kagami flanking Marinette, while their friends lay fallen around them.

Rose looks up, and starts laughing. “I think that’s a good segway to pajamas, huh?”

Marinette fidgets with her pajamas, displeased with her selection. She had picked them based on the thought that it was just going to Alya, Rose and Alix, so she’s wearing a silky tank top and short combo that she made herself. The pink tank top sometimes rides up to show a little stomach, and the shorts show way too much leg than she is comfortable letting Luka, Adrien and Kagami see. “Alya,” Marinette hisses under her breath. “I cannot go out in this!”

Alya tugs a stubborn Marinette into the other room. “Girl, relax. Once you see what everyone else is wearing, you’ll calm down.”

Marinette doesn’t exactly calm down, per say. She doesn’t really notice what Alix and Nino are wearing, but sees that Rose and Juleka are matching. But she stops right in her tracks when she sees her crushes.

Kagami, who is watching Luka and Adrien squabble, is wearing the prettiest red nightgown Marinette has ever seen. It’s big and billowy, falls right above her knees, and the puffy sleeves give Kagami this innocent yet beautiful look. Kagami rushes to Marinette’s side, clutching her arm. Marinette is trying, and failing to ignore how Kagami's fingers feel against her bare skin.

“They’re fighting because they’re matching,” Kagami whispers into Marinette’s ear.

Marinette finally looks at Adrien and Luka, and almost faints. Luka and Adrien are both wearing Ladybug onesies, both with hoods and feet, and are in a heated argument over the matching.

“I’m just saying that you should change because I’m the biggest Ladybug fan.” Adrien argues. “I’m literally Chat Noir- I mean in the animated movie.”

“Any true fan knows that the movie sucked,” Luka counters. “Just because you are ‘Chat Noir’,” he mocks with air quotes, “Doesn’t entitle you to the title of the biggest Ladybug fan.”

Marinette whispers back to Kagami, “I should probably intervene before this cat fight gets ugly.” Shouldering her way inbetween the onesie clad boys, she gives both of them a stern glare, silencing them. “Boys, you’re both pretty. Besides, I think Chloe wins that title. She literally has an expensive Ladybug cosplay, wig and all.”

The boys nod in agreement, mostly distracted by Marinette’s choice in pajamas. Luka hates to prove the “boys are distracted by girls shoulders” stereotype, but he cannot stop staring. There’s something about the dip from her next to the shoulder that just makes him…

“Alright, losers, let’s play some truth and dare!” Alix’s challenge breaks the spell. The boys and Marinette sit down where they are, and Kagami joins them at Adrien’s side. “Alright, Rose, truth or dare?”

Rose blinks at the question, weighing the options. “Truth!”

“If you could kiss anyone in this room, who would you kiss?”

Without any hesitation, Rose blurts out “Juleka!”

Juleka, who is settled in at her side, slowly turns to Rose, her face the same shade as Rose’s pjs. “Um, really?”

Rose, who is also bright pink, nods, and pulls Juleka into the hall. The rest of the room sits in silence until the two come back a few minutes later.

Juleka breaks the silence. “We’re dating now.”

The room, once again erupts into chaos. Luka rushes to his sister, crying about how proud he is, Alix to Rose saying that it’s all thanks to her. In the chaos, someone bumps into Marinette, causing her to tumble right smack into Kagami. Thanks to some cruel twist of misfortune, Marinette’s hands… are dangerously close to where they shouldn’t be. Marinette flings herself back, stammering out apologies, but Kagami silences her with a hand and a smile.

“Marinette, I know you would never purposely do anything to me,” Kagami assures Marinette. “You are pure and true. That’s why..”

But Kagami never finishes her sentence. With a roar, Alya silences the room. “Okay, we can all agree that we all just witnessed something beautiful. Now let’s get back to Truth or Dare.” She peers around the room, eyes landing on Adrien. “Adrien, truth or dare?”

“Uh… dare?” the blonde answers.

“I dare you to sit in Luka’s lap until dared to move.”

Adrien is practically red. “I, uh, erm…”

Alix whoops, “You’ve got to do, blondie. A dare’s a dare!”

So Adrien makes his way over to Luka. “Are you okay with this, Luka?” Adrien asks, desperate to not be placed in this situation.

Luka, who most definitely wants to be placed in this situation, shrugs, trying to hide his excitement. “Yeah.” he pats his lap, wiggling his eyebrows at Adrien. “Sit down, Monsieur.”

Adrien slowly drops himself into Luka’s lap, gently moving until he’s comfortable.

Alya sneakily takes a picture.

After a few more truths and dares, it’s Juleka’s turn to ask. “Marinette, truth or dare?”

After a few seconds of thinking, Marinette answers “Dare.”

“I dare you…” Juleka makes a huge show out of thinking up a dare, but the one she has is one memorized from Alya’s meticulous planning. “To give Luka a kiss on the nose.”

Adrien looks at the two, who are starting to look like Ladybug’s costume, and asks “Do I have to move?”

Juleka shakes her head. “Stay where you are.”

Marinette sputters, but makes her way over to Luka and Adrien. Leaning past Adrien, who melts at the feeling of Marinette breathing by his ear, Marinette locks eyes with Luka. “I’m going to kiss you now,” she whispers. He nods, and Marinette brushes her lips onto the tip of his nose. Luka cannot control the sigh that escapes him. Marinette pulls back and returns to Kagami’s side, who straightens up, and looks to Adrien.

“Adrien, truth or dare?” Kagami asks him.

“Uh, dare I guess?” Adrien answers, intimidated by her intensity.

“I dare you to sit in my lap.”

You can hear a pin drop.

The team was not expecting the operation to go this well.

“You heard her right, Adrien.” Rose chimes. “Go sit in her lap!”

Luka, who is very reluctant to give up Adrien, watches as he goes, and settles into his second lap of the evening. Kagami leans forward into his back, and whispers into his ear, “I missed you.”

Adrien thinks he is going to die.

This time, Nino takes the picture.

After another round that results in Alix reliquenshing her hat to a very delighted Rose, Alya takes the reins. “Luka, Kagami, I dare you two swap pajamas. One of you can change in my bathroom, the other in my bedroom.”

Lukan and Kagami make eye contact, an unspoken message coursing through the room. Kagami taps Adrien’s lower back. “I’ll be back.”

He stands up, sitting with a very delighted Marinette, allowing Kagami and Luka to go to Alya’s room. Once in the room, Kagami closes the door and turns to Luka. Luka is the first one to break the silence. “What’s your game at?”

“What game?” Kagami drawls, not breaking the stand off.

“Well, I just found it odd that you dared Adrien to sit in your lap while Marinette was right there, and you’ve been glued to her side all evening.”

“I do not hesitate, Luka. I know what I want, and I get it.”

Luka raises his hands in a sign of peace. “Hey, I’m not trying to start a fight or anything. I’m just trying to figure out if we’re on the same page.”

“What page, Luka?”

“Do I really have to spell it out?”

Kagami’s silence is all the answer he gets.

“Fine, fine. Listen, I’m in love with Adrien and Marinette, and I’m almost positive that you feel the same.”

“You are correct about almost everything.”

“Almost?”

“You failed to account that I might be in love with you.”

“Oh.”

Kagami raises an eyebrow. “Oh? I confess to you and all you have to say is oh??”

Luka backtracks, trying to explain himself, but Kagami interrupts. “It’s okay. I’m not going to be selfish.”

“No, no no! You’ve got me all wrong, Kagami!” Luka slides a hand through his hair. “You’re like, part of my harmony. The four of us, we’re like a four part harmony. I… need all of the chords to sound good.”

Kagami gasps, a blush dusting across her cheeks. “Oh!”

Luka chuckles, and Kagami shoots him a glare. “The irony is not lost on me. However, the main issue at hand here is the fact that we’re being set up.”

“Definitely. But, I’m not mad about it..”

Kagami raises an eyebrow. “Hm?”

“Well, think about it. Do you think we would’ve ever figured it out on our own? I lo-love all of you, and you’re probably the smartest of us all, but we’re kinda dumb. Marinette will figure out if given many many hints, and Adrien…”

Luka falters, not wishing to insult Adrien, but continues. “When it comes to crushes, Adrien’s about as smart as a rock. Not like a cool rock. Just a rock.”

Kagami snorts at the comparison, and turns to Luka, smirking. “I say we play along, and enjoy ourselves. Besides, whatever’s going on,” She laces her fingers into Luka’s, who is smiling, and squeezes her hand back. “It already led me to you.”

“Let’s finally complete the dare, huh?”

Kagami nods, and they split to change, fingers touching until the very last second.

When Kagami and Luka leave, the sitting arrangements have slightly changed. Alya and Nino are cutely snuggled up. Alix is sprawled on top of their laps, smirking at Adrien and Marinette. Alya sees the pair, and motions to be quiet. Adrien and Marinette are holding hands, red as Adrien’s onesie. Their feet are brushed up against each other, and Marinette is very pointedly not looking at Adrien.

Marinette would later swear she felt Adrien purring.

Kagami leans over to Alya, whispering, “Where are Juleka and Rose?”

Alya whispers back, “Alix dared them to play Seven MInutes in Heaven, which should be up right….” A timer beeps off, and Rose and Juleka stumble out of the coat closet, mildly disoriented but both foolishly smiling.

Luka and Kagami make eye contact, an unspoken thought passing among them. Marinette finally notices Kagami and Luka and squeaks when she sees them. She’s mostly excited about how cute Kagami looks in the ridiculously oversized Ladybug onesie, but her and Adrien quickly notice the nightgown on Luka falls smack in the middle of his thighs. Both Adrien and Marinette fight an urge to touch his legs.

Alya wiggles her eyebrows, and nudges Nino, who grabs Juleka’s attention. They all know it’s time for the final phase of Operation Seven Minutes. It’s perfect that Alix already made a segway to having people playing it, really, this is going way too well. “Hey Marinette, you haven’t had a turn in a while. Truth or dare?”

Marinette chuckles, somehow miraculously still holding Adrien’s hand, decides “I’m feeling a dare.”

Time to go for the kill. “I dare you to play Seven Minutes in Heaven with someone of your choice.”

Marinette looked ready to murder Alya. Twitching hands, and a very fake smile. Nino jumps in, as according to plan, in case Marinette couldn’t pick. “C’mon Alya, don’t make her pick! She’ll take so long, that we’ll all be 80. I’ll pick.”

“NO!” Marinette practically screeches. “No. No. Alya dared me to pick, and so I’ll pick.” She doesn’t pick.

After a minute that felt like an hour, Juleka speaks up. “I have an idea. How about Marinette goes in the closet, and whoever wants to play Seven Minutes in Heaven with her will follow. Anyone opposed?”

When no one speaks, Marinette nods, and shuffles off to the closet. As she sits in there, her mind begins to race. Why is no one coming? It’s because no one likes you, you should’ve just picked Alya and hugged her for 7 minutes..

While Marinette worries outside, her friends sit in silence. Suddenly, Kagami stands up and rushes to the closet. Luka leaps up, hot on her tail. After a few seconds, Adrien jumps up, and scrambles after the two, muttering “Crap, crap, crap!”

Alya, Nino and Juleka just stare in amusement, and Rose and Alix...are going to need a moment.

Before Marinette can spiral any more, Kagami slams the door open, then attempts to lean on the door nonchalantly. “Uh, hey-” she’s promptly interrupted by Luka's body slamming into her, causing both of them to fall in with Marinette. She squeaks as they both fall in, and if it wasn’t awkward already, Adrien also trips and stumbles in. Alya makes no time in quickly shutting the door, and the fours eyes widen hearing the lock click. “Seven minutes starting now, have fun!”

Marinette is the first to speak up. “So, um, all of us are in here. In here, in this closet, for s-seven m-m-minutes in heaven. Hm, hm, so I uh, hm..”

Marinette is so cute that the three might die.

Kagami smiles. “Marinette, may I?” Marinette cues her with a nod. “I believe that Marinette is pointing out the fact that we all wanted to play Seven Minutes in Heaven with her, a party game for the sole purpose of making out. I know that I would love to make out with Marinette.”

Luka nods in agreement. “Same here.”

Marinette is a squeaky, blushy mess. They all turn to Adrien.

He is blushing just as bad, if not worse than Marinette. “Y-yeah…”

Marinette almost faints. “I, um, would like to uh, make, make, um up, no out, with all of you too.”

Kagami, who would later claim that she already knew this and just wanted the others to know, lets out a faint “Yes!”

“Erm.. Continue.”

Marinette nods. “I, um, also, notice, that you guys, all kinda, you know, um, like each, each, other, and I um, like, want to sugg- suggest,”

Luka tries to rub her back to encourage her, but because of how small the closet is, he ends up being squished a little too close to Marinette, with his face mere inches from Adrien’s.

Adrien is going to give Alya the entire Gabriel fortune. He’s going to give her the entire company.

“I-” she gulps. “I would like to suggest us, being in like, a poly group. Only, only if everyone's okay with it, and I know we would have to work out all the kinks-”

Marinette is quickly silenced by a swift kiss from Kagami. While the two girls kiss, Luka and Adrien are both trying to decide to get jealous, or kiss each other. Kagami takes her sweet time pulling away, and whispers, “I would love to date you. All of you. If-if you’ll have me.”

Surprisingly, Adrien speaks up. “It would be a dream to date all of you. I, have to admit, I loved Marinette first, deep down, and then Luka and Kagami came into my life, and I’ve, I’ve never been the same.”

Everyone looks to Luka, who lets out a hearty chuckle. “Of course I want to date you guys! All of you are my harmony. My beautiful, beautiful harmony.”

Marinette looks up at all of them, tears brimming in her eyes. “I love you guys!”

“We love you too Marinette!”

“You know,” Luka mentions, wiggling his eyebrows at Adrien. “Alya shoved us in here to play Seven Minutes, and those seven minutes are ticking by…”

Outside, Alix glances over to Alya. “Did you set the timer?”

“Oh no!” Alya gasps, most definitely insincere. She makes a huge show out of picking up her phone, and pretending to be surprised that the timer isn’t set. “I’ll just set it to seven minutes now. I just hope they don’t mind!”

Nino rolls his eyes, snaking an arm around his girlfriend. “I’m almost positive they won’t babe.”

After the actual seven minutes, Alya finally unlocks and opens the door. “Times up,” she calls, “I hope you guys weren’t too..” All four of them topple out of the closet, tangled and flustered. “Uncomfortable.” she finishes with a smirk.

Marinette smiles, stands up, dusts herself up, and pulls up her girlfriend and boyfriends, kissing each of their cheeks. “We managed.”

Later that night

“M’lady,” Chat Noir calls, settling next to her on the Eiffel Tower. “It’s 1 am, are you okay?”

“No, yeah! I’m actually great!” she assures him. “I called you here to tell you something. So, you know how I kept rejecting you?”

“Yeah, about that-”

“Wait. Just, let me finish, kitty. I’m dating the boy now, and I’m also dating two other people that I really love, and I thought was a rival for me to the boy, and the other boy the boy thought was his rival and I’m telling you this because you’re my friend and my partner..”

And in that moment, a fog is lifted from his mind. He places his hand on Ladybug’s shoulder, and whispers, “Marinette?”

“How-” and the fog is lifted from her as well. “Adrien?”

He pulls, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. They pull each other into a deep hug, and sob into the night.

“Of course it’s you,” Adrien cries into Marinette’s shoulder. “It’s always been you.”

They share a tear soaked kiss, weighted down by each other, by their love for each other, by their love for the two still with Alya.

Marinette stands up, and pulls Adrien to his feet. “Let’s get back before Luka and Kagami notice we’re gone.”

They’ve already noticed, but they will let the duo tell them on their own time. For now, they just let the two snuggle in close, and hold them tight. After all, that’s what love is. Trust.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltywhovian

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archived-brokentoys · 3 years

Text

@kldblodiige asked:

🔥 your opinion about The R!ddler in live action adaptations

IT’S UNPOPULAR OPINION TIME ! / ACCEPTING !

MOST OF THEM ARE BAD. 🙊 I’ll just begin by talking about each Ed in each live adaptation...

Let’s start off with the first! Frank’s from the 60s! This one ISN’T bad. Which might come as a surprise, because I’m always the salty motherfucker who complains about Ed’s character being portrayed as too much of a joke. But it didn’t matter that he was portrayed silly in this show... because so was everyone else! It didn’t feel like Ed’s character was the butt of the joke, because EVERYONE WAS! Therefore, his character felt just as respected as the others’. Now this obviously isn’t my favorite portrayal of Ed... even if I do take some fun inspirations from it, it’s... not exactly how I picture Ed. BUT. Frank was a fun actor, and not only that... but he practically saved Ed’s character. Ed made his debut in the comics in 1948. Then... after the two-parter, his character literally faded into obscurity, never to be seen again. UNTIL. The 60s! Because the 60s show decided to use the R!ddler. Then... suddenly Ed was beloved again! People adored Frank’s portrayal of the character! It caused Ed to return to the comics. So, yes. Even if people may not like Frank’s portrayal because of how silly it could be. I think he still deserves the respect nonetheless. I feel if it wasn’t for him... right now, would’ve been looking back at Ed as that weird one time character, and he would’ve never played such a big role with the rogues. So, I’m certainly thankful for Frank’s portrayal!

Now time for Jimbo’s portrayal in Forever. I... I don’t like it! I’ve noticed a lot of people are starting to find a new appreciation for it, especially Tumblr. Which I can understand, seeing that he was queer-coded, and Jim fans might appreciate it. But my problem with this portrayal is that... he’s just another Jim character. He didn’t feel like a R!ddler character, but instead a Jim C character. He said his portrayal was based on Frank’s... which I have two problems with 1) every Jim character is wacky, and watching this? It still felt more like a Jim portrayal than a Frank portrayal. 2) Again, Frank was more of a product of his name. At this point, we’ve kinda evolved away from that. Now, I’m not saying we can’t have no more fun B/atman related things. Brave & the Bold is still fun, as well as anything based on the 60s show. But the movies were known for being more grim/dark. So, it’s kinda weird to have such a silly character... (Harvey was also portrayed as wackier, too.) for a sequel. I also feel Jim is the anti-Frank for R!ddler as well. While Frank popularized and revived Ed’s character, I honestly feel Jim killed it. I just feel there was a drop in Ed’s popularity after Jim’s portrayal and the failure of Forever. So, I can’t really enjoy Jim’s portrayal, just because to me... it doesn’t FEEL like Ed.

Also, I get turned off by any portrayal that depicts Ed as a SCIENTIST. I know this is a... weird pet peeve of mine. But it feels like such UNCREATIVE writing. Like the writers are just sitting there thinking, “okay... this character is SUPER SMART... but how would people know he’s a GENIUS?? Oh! I know! Make him a SCIENTIST!” So many media opts to make the genius a scientist. Even tho it’s like... not every smart person becomes a scientist lol! This is why I appreciate Ed’s “backstory” in Nu52, Ark verse, and Animated Series... because they all involve computers or programming. I feel that’s much more fitting for Ed, AND it’s also a way to show that he’s smart without making him a scientist!

G0tham Ed also bad. I can’t FULLY judge because I never watched G0tham. But from what I’ve heard... it’s just a big can of YIKES for me. Just because I’ve heard far too many bad things about it. Such as apparent homophobia, and again... I feel they’re more concerned about portraying him as a zany/quirky crazy rather than actually mentally ill. Again, I didn’t appreciate that, as far as I heard, he doesn’t have OCD? Just because I felt OCD is a big part of Ed’s character, and who he is. I can say one nice thing about G0tham Ed, and that’s his design/look. Although I don’t believe Michael is the perfect Ed looks wise... (but that’s understandable, it’s difficult to find an actor who looks exactly like the character.) While I probably prefer Frank’s suit more (I really like the question marks!) But Frank was more often in the um... can’t really call it spandex, because the outfit was made of cloth. But he was in those classic PJs more times in the show than he was in the suit. And as always, I prefer Ed with glasses over the domino mask or no eyewear at all. I also like the black leather gloves.

And finally... the new movie. I hate, hate, HATE this design. But I’m not really sure if that’s an unpopular opinion? As I honestly don’t know how every one else feels about it! I don’t often see many other R!ddler fans talking about it. Anyways, this just doesn’t feel or look like Ed at all. I don’t feel Ed’s STYLE or CHARACTER when I look at it. I also think out of all the actors Ed’s gotten, Paul looks... the least like Ed. But... other than not liking the design. I can’t say anything about his actual character because it’s too soon for that! The trailer made me feel he might be portrayed correctly! I loved the “NO MORE LIES” thing in it. It feels like this could be an Ed I always wanted to see more of) one of anarchy and believes he’s going up against the corrupt government/police force of G0tham. And also perhaps one that doesn’t like to lie... but again, we won’t fully know until the movie’s out!

(Also is it me, or does the “books” in the background looks like they’re PlayStation 2 games? I’m fairly certain I see Star Wars: Battlefront back there.)

#GENERAL: OOC #GENERAL: INBOX

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elliot-orion · 3 years

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1-5! :)

Pretty sure this was from the deep dive asks a while back., sorry for it taking so long! i just didn't have a project to work on, but I do now!! I’ll be answering for the White Lake (temp title) characters, Logan, Nellie, and Charlie. Thank you so much!

1. Who are two characters that don’t like each other? What do they reveal about each other to the readers? Will they ever learn to put aside their differences?

Logan and Nellie have a bunch of tension at first, honestly. Logan is stubborn, but Nellie is more so, and both want opposite things. They also have a weird initial dynamic of “we were like... friend adjacent in high school, haven't talked to each other since, so we feel like we know the other but we’ve really barely exchanged a few words outside of class projects.” They were both the school weirdos and stuck together out of necessity, not real friendship, even tho both consider the other a friend even tho they really aren’t, so it leads to a lot of ‘i think you are this way but you arent behaving this way, why the hell wont you behave this way??” bc of the other like... placing what they want the other to be like onto them. if that makes even a lick of sense. I guess it all reveals what they want in a friend to the reader, bc they assume the other to be their Ideal Friend since they have nothing to confirm nor deny that. But its more of a ‘what you want versus what you need’ thing. Nellie wants someone who will listen to her and let her protect them without asking questions bc not listening and asking too many questions that nell couldn't answer got her one actual friend killed. Logan wants someone who just accepts his weirdness and doesn't try to push him. But Nell is pushy when she thinks she’s right (and tbh she usually is), and Logan is curious, and its a mess at first. They do put aside their differences tho. Nell is determined as hell and she realized at some point that she needs to work with Logan to keep him safe, and Logan learns that he needs to teach Nell how to accommodate his autism (that he doesn't know is autism because his parents suck) because she has no idea and just thinks he’s being difficult and has to meet her halfway too. Its messy but they work it out and become way way better friends because of it.

2. What do you hope readers will take away from your WIP? Is there an intentional theme (or themes) to the story?

I mean there’s not an intentional theme to it. I definitely want people to be unsettled and a little freaked out, I am intending it to be like... romantic era horror level horror book, if that makes sense. more atmospheric and eerie then ‘im actually going scream I'm so afraid’ horror. But also themes of friendship maybe? idk I haven't decided if there will be romance yet but definitely friendship and found family stuff.

3. What do you love most about your protagonist? (It can be something you’d admire in them if they were real, or something interesting about them as a character.)

Oh jeez. I love how determined Nell is to protect Logan. She doesn't always do it right, because misunderstandings and her idea of safe is different than his idea of happy and she needs to learn that he might be safer with her way but he’d be miserable. She just loves her people so much and she’s determined not to fail again, but its all coming from a place of deep love and I really admire how much she’s willing to put into keeping her family together. For Logan I admire how strong he is honestly. He lives in a really conservative, ableist town with parents who think he's just being difficult when its not his fault he's neurodivergent, but he knows who he is and what he needs and even when Nell is trying to push her beliefs about him onto him he stands strong in who he is. He knows he’s not wrong. He’s just lonely because no one else knows that. Its really admirable in my opinion (maybe because I've never been able to do that with my neurodivergencies and I'm definitely projecting but whateverrrrrrr). He’s also a really good friend, he’s just not given many chances to be that. As for Charlie I just love how happy they are. They try so hard to get Nell and Logan to get along, and they are always smiling even when they are the one who has the most reasons to be miserable (considering they did you know. die horrifically and are now trapped by an eldrich lake)They are always pushing themself to make others happy, even at their own expense, and while its not a trait I admire, it is one that I love in characters because I just love the hurt comfort when they break :3 also they are just fun as hell and I love my little extrovert cinnamon roll (who is way more devious than they seem but thats what happens when you basically grow up and then spend about 130 years with a ghost circus)

4. Is there anything in the story that is implied, but not directly stated? Will this become more relevant later on? How perceptive would a reader have to be to pick up on this?

A lot of the lake stuff is implied at first, and there's a big misdirect, but it gets cleared up after just a bit so I don't think it counts. Um... idk ok I haven't even written draft one yet so idk what will be implied vs told I'm a pantser I've got about 6 plot point checkpoints and a vague idea of progression here most of this is being bs-ed. Im not even sure yet if I'm making Logan a trans guy or if there will be romance or anyone’s sexualities besides Nellie (who is v much a lesbian) I’ll get back to you on this. Although wait actually - Logan never gets his autism diagnosed, I know that, so that is implied but it's like. heavily implied so you won't have to be super perceptive to figure it out. I’m not doing any -coded stuff, he is, he just lives in a shitty town with no therapists for anyone to talk to. kinda hard to go to a therapist not from town and go ‘yea my best friends are ghosts, my town is actively trying to kill me, sorry im late the road disappeared how are you today?’ you feel? no one in this town gets any goddamn therapy. But its not explicit no.

5. Which character has the most intricate backstory? Is this backstory common knowledge from the start, or is it revealed later on? How does this backstory affect the narrative?

Oh man uh... I guess Charlie has the most intricate backstory? definitely, the longest since they did die in the 1890s. In a fire. While they were trapped in a tiny ass box. in the middle of said fire. and burned alive. .... What i said it was horror didn't i?? Charlie has some SERIOUS claustrophobia my guys. It’s common knowledge to the circus folks how Charlie died, they sorta agree its the worst of them all. Everyone died from the fire but only Charlie was trapped in such a small space unable to get out. They are the contortionist of the circus, it was a combo act with the magician who locked them in this way-too-small box and was going to make them disappear when the fire started and he ran off to help people and forgot them in the box. He’s super apologetic and Charlie only sorta still blames him. Logan and Nellie know that Charlie died in the fire but they don't find out until later exactly how. Idk how much it affects the narrative yet, but it does affect how Charlie interacts with the other circus performers since they tend to be mother hen-y around them, tho that also has to do with, again, charlie basically being raised by the whole crew. they ran away at like 11-12 or so to join, so yea, especially the people who have been there forever tend to view them as their kid in a way. It takes a village after all. But whether it affects the whole story, idk, again haven't started it yet.

thanks again for the asks, and im sorry it took so long!

#white lake #asks #charlie #logan #nellie

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otomeverything · 5 years

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CODE REALIZE: WINTERTIDE MIRACLES

Release Date: February 14, 2019 (North America) Developers: Idea Factory, Otomate Publishers: Aksys Games Platforms: PS Vita, PS4

I literally took my time playing this FD, knowing it’s the last (physical) otome game that will ever grace localization in the PS Vita.

Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles (Shirogane no Kiseki) is the second fandisc of the series, Code Realize. This game contains varieties of alternate and after stories that happened after the events of the last fandisc, Future Blessings.

This fandisc contains the following stories:

Cantarella (Side Story) – Walkthrough available here.

Finis’s Epilogue

Sholme’s Epilogue

Love Triangle Stories (Short Stories)

Wintertide Miracles “First Christmas” (Alternate Stories)

Special Epilogues (Epilogues for White Rose’s stories in Future Blessings)

ART AND MUSIC I know this is probably redundant as I’ve gushed about it a few times in my reviews for Guardian of Rebirth and Future Blessings. But, the artist Miko has done it again! I could not for the life of me, describe how incredibly beautiful the CGs are for this fandisc. There were also new sprites available for all the main and side characters, wearing their cozy winter outfits. Even Queen Victoria gets a new sprite wearing her expensive royal fur faux garb!

What I also loved about this fandisc were the new BGMs added for the series, they were all unforgettable and were specially made for the game’s Yuletide theme. One song that really stood out to me was the second Ending theme (Finis’ and Sholmes’ ED) “Beside You” by the artist SHOJI. Listen to the full track below:

***I purchased the whole soundtrack for Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles in iTunes. Link here.

NEW CHARACTERS

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Cantarella (CV: Mamiko Noto) – Fuuka (Persona 4), Kotomi Ichinose (Clannad), Inia Sestina (MuV Luv), Felicita (Arcana Famiglia), Marvis Vermilion (Fairy Tale)

Miles Strand (CV: Keiji Fujiwara) – Kagura Mutsuki (Blazblue), Jiro Hyuuga (Binary Star), Reno (Final Fantasy), Kiriya (Senran Kagura), Sakuya Tougane (Psycho Pass)

Baron of Aiguille (CV: Sugiyama Noriaki) – Akito (Norn9), Thor (Kamigami no Asobi), Suou Hana (Ayakashi Gohan), Katsuragi Naomasa (Yunohana Spring), Kashika Galle (Cendrillon Palika)

SIDE STORIES AND AFTER STORIES I did Cantarella’s route first, followed by Finis and Sholme’s epilogues, then knocked out the love triangle dates before I played the main course, that is the “First Christmas” alternate stories for Wintertide Miracles. I myself, enjoyed this play order, though I would suggest playing whatever story you feel like playing first because that’s the whole point of a fandisc! lol

CANTARELLA (Another Story) This story happened somewhere in the middle of Guardian of Rebirth’s common route. On their way home, after watching a performance at the Royal Opera House, Cardia and the rest of Lupin’s gang witnessed an attempted kidnapping of the Opera House’s beloved songstress, Cantarella. They’ve managed to save her as well as send her perpetrator running for the hills. They then took Cantarella to her home for safety measures, which lead the gang to meet her so-called “father” Miles. In this story, Cardia finds a friend in Cantarella and later on, discovers her true identity as both their existence managed to connect each other’s fates.

Just like “Lupin’s Gang’s” (side) story in Future Blessings, Cantarella’s route offers new likable characters and an interesting new plot for us to follow. Although I’ve very much enjoyed this story (for what it is), I didn’t like how the writers threw in these important characters on the third game, since canonically they don’t matter anymore as the main plot officially ended in Future Blessings. I would rather have this as an alternate story than a side story because It felt kind of unfair for Cantarella, Miles, and Auguille to get dissed like that after this little episode. lol Unless they’re planning on a third fandisc! (laughs)

Although the choices you make in Cantarella’s route, will not change the whole outcome of her story. It will, however, change a few scenes and dialogues in the game depending on the guy (main characters) your choices are inclined to. You can view my walkthrough for this route here.

FINIS’ EPILOGUE (After Story) This after story took place right after the end of Finis’s route in Future Blessings.

Six months have passed since Cardia managed to save his little brother, Finis from the unfortunate Nautilus incident in London. During this time, both twins return to their home in Wales and spend each day cleaning and repairing their old abandoned house while enhancing their bond as siblings. Suddenly, all hell breaks loose when one of Isaac Beckford’s invention called the “Knockers” have been spotted destroying a couple of buildings in London. It was made clear in the story, that these supposed-to-be-quarantined inventions of Isaac were “wrongly” activated by accident and it is now, up to the Beckford twins (Finis’ most especially, since he’s fully knowledgeable when it comes to their father’s inventions) to stop this heaving uproar that threatened London its peaceful days.

This was probably one of my favorite After Stories in the series. Not only we get to see Finis in his true nature, as Cardia’s adorable cinnamon roll lil’ brother. We also get to see Lupin’s Gang and the Gordon Family in action as they help out clear the disruption in the streets of London during the main incident. ***This epilogue was very heartwarming and I absolutely enjoyed seeing Finis’ soft side while he deliberately declares threats whenever one of the main bois flirts with his sister! *chuckles* (´ ω `♡)

HERLOCK SHOLME’S EPILOGUE (After Story) This after story took place right after the end of Sholme’s route in Future Blessings.

It’s been half a year since Sholmes defeated his arch nemesis, James Moriaty (in Code realize Future Blessings). During this story, Cardia becomes part of Sholmes’ Detective agency together with his partner John Watson. The three of them fight crimes for the cause of good, even to the extent of ‘trying‘ to stop Lupin, the gentleman thief’s planned diamond heist of the prized jewel called “Mermaid’s Tear”. Though try as they might, Lupin, as cunning as he is, still gets the upper hand and was able to escape with ease together with his genius engineer assistant, Impey. I know this was just a filler episode but it was kind of weird seeing Cardia as their enemy for once, but oh well…

Anyway, Sholmes actual main story revolved around finding a cure to Cardia’s poison. As the Horologium still present in Cardia’s body, this fact still poses a threat that one day it will activate again, killing her along with the demise of London and its people. With this complication at hand, Sholmes gathered his A-team geniuses in the field of science and medicine; Victor Frankenstein, Dr. John Watson, Impey Barbicane and even the deviant genius scientist Nemo, who apparently now lives in a tiny cardboard box located in sewers (laughs) 😂 Poor guy! As all of them try their hardest to conduct research on a formula that will counteract the horologium’s poison, more problems seep into the picture that eventually causes Sholmes and Cardia make one life-threatening decision.

I like how Sholmes’ epilogue was narrated in a fairytale-esque kind of way. I enjoyed the story’s fluff content though, to be honest, this is probably the weakest story in the game (imo) as there really wasn’t anything “new” going on. Nonetheless, if you’re a fan of Sholmes, I’m sure you’ll have an awesome time discovering a few surprising sides of our favorite hot daddy detective.

FIRST CHRISTMAS “Wintertide Miracles” (Alternate Stories) These are “after stories” that happened right after Finis’ route in Future Blessings. It’s merely an alternate story where our heroine Cardia finds love during the Yuletide season. We get one story for every five main characters. What’s really special about these stories is that Cardia falls in love with one of the guys while his brother is alive! …THIS couldn’t be any more perfect, ❤️ I almost wished this was headcanon!

Spoiler Warning: I will only be posting each story’s premise but I’m putting up my spoiler banner just in case.

Victor Frankenstein After Isaac Beckford’s Nautilus incident that wreaked havoc in the city of London six months ago. Victor ended up opening a clinic located in the downtown part of London in order to help as many people as possible at a cheaper cost.

Victor’s main story started when one day he receives a mail from his parents in Switzerland telling him to settle down. He, in reply, told them he has no plans in getting married anytime soon but then started talking about how he’s currently interested with this ‘one girl’ and went all out writing two whole pages regarding his feelings for Cardia. (´ ε ` )♡ Without thinking of any repercussions, he sends the letter back to his parents judging its only the right thing to do as he’s speaking honestly from his heart. uwu. The next few days, he receives a reply letter from his mom saying they’re coming to London for Christmas so they can meet their son, Vic’s girlfriend. 🤣

In result, a panicked Victor travels to Wales to ask Cardia to be his “pretend” girlfriend just for Christmas while his parents are in town. 😂

***This was by far the cutest, most endearing “First Christmas” story I’ve read among the selections and I absolutely enjoyed it to bits! Besides its overwhelming fluffy contents, we also get to see Victor introducing Cardia to his parents (in CG!).

Saint Germain Six months after the Nautilus Incident, Saint Germain, visits Idea’s leader Omnibus and reports that both Finis and Cardia, Isaac Beckford’s “problematic twins” are now living peacefully in Wales as normal human beings and are no longer a threat to humanity. As one of Idea’s faithful apostle, he awaits for Omnibus next order but was surprised to hear her tell him to take a long sweet vacation instead.

Still dumbfounded by their leader’s words, Saint Germain goes back to the mansion to find something to do with his newly acquired free time but since everyone in Lupin’s gang went about their own lives after London’s incident, he was left as the only resident in his house. This made him feel lonely and he admits to himself how much he misses the rowdy group clamoring inside the premise of his mansion. What’s more, is that he longs to see the face of his beloved, who he has not seen since his last visit in Wales.

This made him decide to write invitation letters to the group for a Christmas “Get-together” party. Though unsure if his anticipated guests would actually make it to the planned event. Saint Germain waits with hopeful eyes to see the faces of his precious friends again.

***The part where he waits for his friends actually made me tear 😭. Why are Saint Germain’s stories always melancholic? Why?! Thank goodness, this ended really REALLY happy. I would also like to gush on the fact that this is the only episode in the whole series where we get to see Guinevere outside her armor! Seriously, you absolutely can’t miss this!

Abraham Van Helsing After London’s Nautilus incident, Van decides to travel with Delly all over United Kingdom in search for survivors of the Vampire War.

During their travels, the duo hears about the upcoming Christmas festival in London and decides to come home for the occasion as well as attend the gang’s Christmas party at Saint Germain’s mansion. They haven’t seen everyone in a while, so this decision made Van and Delly both excited. While at it, Delly proposes to take a side trip to Wales before coming to London and see the Beckford twins. Van agrees with him with Cardia in mind. ( ´ ▽ ` )

A few days have passed and they both arrived at Cardia and Finis’ home in Wales only to be disheartened to see the twins not being around. But with optimism as their friend, Van and Delly decided to wait. Night falls, and finally, Cardia and Finis arrived in the most unfashionable way ever (their automobile almost came crashing towards the duo) 😂 Everyone says their greetings when Cardia noticed that Van and Delly have been waiting out in the cold for too long, so she insisted they stay for the night.

The supposed-to-be one night stay turned into days and the group eventually decided to go to London together. While still in Wales, Cardia wanted to make everyone Christmas presents in the form of knitting and Van insisted on helping her with it.

***I love this! (/▽＼*) This surprising side of Van Helsing is all I ever wanted. I’m so glad to see him happy, always smiling and in his positive beaming self. It’s so refreshing! I need more happy-ray-of-sunshine Van Helsing in my life!

Impey Barbicane Half a year has passed since the Nautilus incident in London and Impey visits the deviant scientist Nemo in prison from time to time as he plans to re-invent the gravity alleviator and is currently taking notes on Nemo’s advise while at it.

One day, In Saint Germain’s mansion, Saint tells Impey they received word from Van and Delly saying they’ll be back in London for Christmas. Since Lupin and Victor are already residing in the city, they decided to might as well invite Cardia and Finis in order for the gang to reunite once more this Yuletide season.

Meanwhile, in Wales, Cardia, (while fixing their automobile) thinks of how Impey’s constant declaration of love for her makes her heart feel woozy. She gets confused because she’s sure she loves Impey back but also “loves” the other members of Lupin’ s gang as well as her brother Finis. With this train of thought, she pesters her little bro and forced him to say the phrase “I love you” (to her), to which a blushing Finis, with all the effort, reluctantly did. 😂 But then yo girl was like “Oh but why does it feel different when Impey says it?” 😂 😂 😂 ROFL. This was adorably hilarious! I just can’t! 😂

Later that day, they received a package from London in the form of a miniature Impey doll with a recording of Impey, Saint Germain and Lupin’s voice telling the siblings to come home for Christmas.

***I really enjoyed reading this one! I love how Cardia was strongly forward of wanting to explore her own feelings as she tries to discover the different meanings of “love”. …and seeing Impey immensely blush time and again was such an awesome treat, I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear! Another plus point was that we get to see Nemo give love advises to yo boi and that, to me was the icing on the cake in this story! (laughs)

Arsene Lupin After the Nautilus incident in London six months ago, Lupin is back doing his thievery schemes like the proud gentleman thief he is.

One day while on a mission to steal a prized necklace from a corrupt Duke’s estate, he ends up being chased by Leonhartd as usual and just when he was about to execute his dashing escape, he gets distracted (by thoughts of Cardia) and gets shot by a rubber bullet instead. This, not only surprised Lupin himself but his perpetrators, Leonhardt, and his men were also perplexed at how they were able to take out the famed gentleman thief in one easy shot. In the end, an injured Lupin still managed to get away as he limped his way back to safety.

Back at the mansion, Victor along with Impey confronts Lupin saying he’s not being his usual self lately and asks him to perhaps, take a rain check from work (theft missions). A week later, Saint Germain chimes in, telling him the same and suggests that perhaps he’s longing for “someone”. Taking in the Count’s advise to heart, Lupin begins to think of Cardia and how her absence is taking a toll on him. He then concedes with his true feelings and finally admits he misses her badly and the only way to cure this yearning is to see her face to face. So he starts writing the ‘perfect’ love letter for his beloved lady. 😂

***I must say, this after-story has the best CGs, as expected from the game’s headcanon boi. Just like Lupin’s uwu story in Future Blessings, it had its glorious romantic moments between the couple. As far as I see it, the game is clearly biased on Lupin’s story… the kabedon scene and that loooong kiss at the end, come on! I couldn’t ask for more!

TRIANGLE DATES (More CGs!) These are short stories which involve scenarios of Cardia spending her day with two main characters in the series. Although these are rather shorter stories compared to the ‘Wintertide Miracles’ selection, I was really impressed by how exceptionally good these little episodes were. You think you’ve had enough doki-dokis? Try this one on for size!

Here’s a list of all the Love Triangle episodes (you can play it in any order):

Lupin and Victor

Lupin and Impey

Lupin and Van

Lupin and Saint Germain

Van and Impey

Van and Victor

Van and Saint Germain

Impey and Victor

Impey and Saint Germain

Victor and Saint Germain

Secret Episodes:

Delly and Sisi

Aliester and Nemo

Hansel and John Watson

SPECIAL EPILOGUES These are short epilogue stories continuing the last events of Future Blessings (White Rose). These will unlock last, after finishing all of the above’s selections.

IMPEY It’s been a few days and Impey hasn’t returned home after going on a work-related project (fixing airships and submarine engines in London). Cardia was left alone in the mansion and although she knows Impey will come back soon, she thought of surprising him by gathering a lot of research documents related to their ‘moon-project’. She leaves for Wales to collect any information her father might have written in the past that can possibly help with the project. Not to ruin the surprise for her hardworking husband, she leaves a note that says “I’m going”.

Impey arrives at home, finds the note then begins to panic thinking Cardia has left him.😂 So he hurries and follows her to Wales to clear out this whole silly misunderstanding.

LUPIN Cardia and Lupin go on a picnic at their secret place which has a great view of the industrial city of London and Lupin suggest that it’s about time to go on a honeymoon. Next few days, he takes Cardia to his birth city, Paris. There, they visit and the grave of his master, Theophraste and both of them said their prayers. They also ran into the head of the French police whom Lupin coined as someone equivalent to ossan Leonhartd. They had everyone (French police) chase them for fun and the couple gallantly escaped in style.

VAN Cardia and Van are finally getting married and Shirley helps Cardia put on her wedding dress. Cardia decided to step outside the church so she could practice walking in her high-heel shoes when a bunch of men in black suits kidnaps her and takes her to another wedding location. There she finds an impatient man wearing a groom’s outfit who urges her to walk down the aisle with him. Cardia remembers the combat techniques her husband taught her and throws the man to the floor. Meanwhile, a worried and upset Van bursts out through the church door and started taking down the men in suits Liam Neeson style! 😂 😂 😂 Before things get worse, the gang stops Van and explains this was all a misunderstanding as the kidnappers and groom were actually actors and the bride actress never showed up for rehearsals so they thought Cardia was her by mistake.

The Moral of the Story: Don’t mess with this couple… ever! 😂

VICTOR Cardia is now working as Victor’s assistant in the Royal Society and they spend their days doing research in Victor’s lab. Though they call themselves husband and wife, they realize that they never really had an actual wedding ceremony. So Victor asks Cardia if she wants to have a proper wedding and she says yes. A few days later, they began their search for a church in London but couldn’t find any since it’s peak season. Queen Victoria, along with Leonhardt notices Victor’s sullen expression and asks him what’s wrong, Victor tells them their circumstance and a snarky Victoria promises to help him only if he can prove to her how much he really wanted the wedding. After their deal, Victor comes home later than usual as he’s working extra hard to get her beloved wife that perfect wedding she deserves. Finally, the day has come for Victor to propose to Cardia and Victoria granted them permission to use the newly renovated St. Paul’s Cathedral. They got married in front of their friends and the Queen, and Cardia couldn’t be any happier.

SAINT GERMAIN Cardia is now free of her poison and she and Saint Germain return to London so they can hold their wedding ceremony. The Count buys the ship “Gloria” from their mafia adventures in Lupin’s Gang (Future Blessings) episode and tells her this will be their venue. A day before their promised wedding, Hansel takes Cardia to Omnibus cottage and there they meet with Saint Germain and the leader of Idea herself, Omnibus. The old lady gives them her blessing, saying they will no longer be in the watchful eye of Idea and Saint Germain is now finally, freeee! Both couples said their thanks to Omnibus. They got married in their luxurious ship the next day and all of their friends are with them happily celebrating the couple’s most special commemoration.

Will I be able to enjoy this game even if I haven’t played Future Blessings? There were a lot of characters and events in Future Blessings that were present and added to this game, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to skip Future Blessings in the series. In addition, the main “Wintertide Miracles” stories continue from the last events of Finis’s route in Future Blessings, so, all the more reason not to skip the first fandisc.

Localization There were a couple of typo mistakes that I couldn’t really overlook which makes me think that perhaps because of it’s promised released date on Valentines Day, the game was rather rushed and there wasn’t a lot of time spent dedicated solely on proofreading it. ┐(︶▽︶)┌

TRAILER

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FINAL THOUGHTS? ＼(＾▽＾)／ My overall play length for Code Realize Wintertide Miracles was a good 10-15 hours. Despite me trying to make the game last forever for about at least, two weeks, I finished it pretty quickly because I just couldn’t get enough of it.

Cantarella’s side story was way better than the gang’s Mafia adventures in Future Blessings and I sure did wish the ‘Cantarella-characters’ would’ve made a cameo in the special epilogues, because seriously, what a waste of good characters to be squeezed in, on the third game. ┐(‘～` )┌

Finis wins best boi in my book. This was one of the things I really appreciated most in this FD, and I’m sure most Code Realize hardcore fans would agree. Finis’ character finally gets justice! We get to see more of his adorable side as Cardia’s little brother while maintaining his hostile and dubious personality 😂. Who would’ve thought this boy is such a tsun-tsun! ❤

Do I recommend this game? YES (esp. to all Code Realize fans) Take note, this game is the series’ second fandisc. So literally, one cannot play it all willy-nilly without fully playing it’s first two predecessors. Personally, I’ve enjoyed this game a lot but that’s because I’m such a huge fan of the series. Perhaps to those who aren’t into Code Realize, you probably won’t enjoy this as much.

With the production of PS Vita consoles and games, completely shutting down worldwide this year, Code Realize Wintertide Miracles was such a special treat for us otome fans ~ esp. now, where there is scarcity of otoge releases in the West.

The game’s romantic Christmas theme really took this one up a notch and the newly added side stories are really something to look forward to. If you already like this series, loved the game’s main casts and wished for more adventures with them, this game is definitely worth the purchase.

CHLO’S RATING: 8/10

Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles Review CODE REALIZE: WINTERTIDE MIRACLES Release Date: February 14, 2019 (North America) Developers: Idea Factory, Otomate Publishers: 4,080 more words

#code realize #code realize wintertide miracles #Code Realize Wintertide Miracles Review #Otome game review #PS Vita #Shirogane no Kiseki #Wintertide Miracles Review

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dearestpartnerofgreatness · 6 years

Note

Character ask: Benedick Hobbes (LoLiLo) Frankie Price (FMWL), Rochefort (A4o), Janet (The Good Place)

Benedick Hobbes

Sometimes he lies awake at night because all he can think about is the possibility that everyone close to him might go off and live their lives doing amazing things and leave him behind…but then he gets a text in the group chat or feels Bea’s breathing against the back of his neck and he’s alright.

His first professional video project is a music video for a song off of Balthazar’s first EP–it gets many compliments/views & he’s super proud of it.

His go-to shower song is “The Phantom of the Opera” (yes, he sings both parts including Christine’s high note at the end).

One time Bea sneezed and he thought it was the cutest thing ever and he went on about how adorable it was to Pedro for like an hour.

Frankie Price

overall: who? / i hate them / i dislike them / kinda wanna fight them / they’re alright / i like them / i love them / *accidentally drops thousands of pictures of them*opinion: again, who??? / the purest bean / cinnamon roll / who knows really / sinnamon roll / the problematic favotp(s): Top choice is Frankie/self-respect. Although I’m happy she ended up with Ed considering she loved him, I would have been ok with her ending up alone as long as she was happy & confident in herself. Frankie/Ed is good too tho. ;) other ship(s): Nah. Never shipped her with Mary or Henry, tbh. #noromo ship(s): Frankie/Rory, Frankie/Julia, Frankie/Susie, Frankie/Will crack ship(s): Frankie/Rory (I JUST LOVE RORY OK AND THEY HAD FUN HANGING OUT TOGETHER but yeah I know it wouldn’t really work lol) fav headcanon(s): Frankie is totally the angel who carries around extra pads/tampons and always has them ready whenever a total stranger needs them.

Every year at the end of term, Frankie compiles a “What We Accomplished” montage for Ed’s class so they can see how much they learned & grew. (Ed supplies her with the footage of course; she’s not just popping in to film during the school year lol)

Whenever Frankie is feeling sad or lonely she watches the episode where Will surprises her and then she feels happy again.

Frankie, being the dutiful and kind friend she is, agrees to read & give feedback on the first drafts of Susie’s Doctor Who fanfiction. What’s more, she never forgets to give every final version a kudos & leave compliments in the comments once they’re posted on ao3.

Although she always turns down Yates’ offers to put her in his next project, she does agree to edit the trailers for Lovers’ Vows II: Betrayal Cometh (featuring Julia as a meaty & complex villainess) and Lovers Vows III: ‘Til My Last Breath (which, according to Rory, apparently has a plot twist that rivals that of Frozen).

Rochefort

overall: who? / i hate them / i dislike them / kinda wanna fight them / they’re alright / i like them / i love them / *accidentally drops thousands of pictures of them*opinion: again, who??? / the purest bean / cinnamon roll / who knows really / sinnamon roll / the problematic fav otp(s): n/aother ship(s): n/a #noromo ship(s): ROCHEFORT/DOROTHY (the ultimate bromance), Rochefort/Portia, Rochefort/Treville crack ship(s): nahhhhhhfav headcanon(s): The group plays a ruthless game of Capture the Flag (Connie, Dorothy, Rochefort, & Monte v Treville, Portia, Henry, and Alex) and the only reason Team Connie wins despite Team Treville’s excellent strategizing is that Rochefort and Dorothy are a combined force to be reckoned with–not only do they have no shame when it comes to hiding in trash cans, they fake a huge fight in which Rochefort pretends to quit the game entirely, luring the opposing team into a false sense of security. They then ambush poor Portia (who was guarding her team’s flag) with contraband Super Soakers.

He idolizes Michelle Obama (as we all should) and for his birthday one year the group gets him a framed & signed photograph of her as a joke but he keeps it in his room as a reminder to BE THE MAN MICHELLE KNOWS YOU CAN BE, OWEN. MAKE HER PROUD.

One time Treville complimented his outfit and now he wears that exact ensemble once a week because wouldn’t you (#outfitrepeater)

Henry & Rochefort spend hours playing Fortnight together; it’s their THING and honestly it makes him feel so cool to have a “thing” with another dude. Growing up, he never had a ton of close friends, but now he does and it’s super wholesome.

The first time Alex felt too anxious to go to class Rochefort appeared at her door the next day with detailed/color-coded notes. Now, every time she feels that way due to anxiety/depression or has to miss an MST meeting for therapy/doctor’s appointments, she knows he’s got her back.

Janet

She and Jason still can’t figure out how to have sex so she begs Eleanor to let her borrow the Cheleanor tape to learn how.

Michael and her have matching friendship bracelets made out of paper clips.

For Halloween she and Jason dress up as Velma & Scooby Doo.

To her delight Eleanor & Tahani start inviting her to girls’ nights where they paint nails & gossip and watch British Bakeoff and drink margaritas (she just throws on some magnets and she’s good to go).

#from Mansfield with love #frankie price #janet #the good place #the good place janet #a4o #owen rochefort #rochefort #benedick hobbes #benedick #lolilo #nmtd #nothing much to do #all for one #all 4 one

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animeloveworld · 6 years

Text

A Review On Sword Art Online

Note: This review is not mine,I have posted this here because I feel this review has properly summed up Sword Art Online. I agree with most of the points made by the reviewer.

This review is taken from myanimelist.com from the reviewer iWriter88.

However I will be posting my own reviews in the future once I have more experience.

Overall Rating 7

Sword Art Online was one of the most hyped up animes of Summer 2012 and has probably the widest range of scores I’ve ever seen. Does it live up to the hype? Read on to find out! That being said, skip to the consensus (TLDR) if you don't want to read blocks of text! :D Please do not send anything overly negative to me; polite and constructive criticism is always appreciated.

PLOT:

The Good:

Man, they really went for a lot here. The light novels themselves were actually more action/adventure focused, something that doesn’t happen in the anime. I’m going to do my best not to give any spoilers, but essentially, the anime Sword Art Online aims to be a love story of epic proportions, where their relationship will experience highs and lows ranging from boundless joy to aching tragedy. Straight up, if you don’t like the main characters, you probably won’t like this anime. That’s how most love stories work. However, if you’re like me, and you absolutely adore the main characters, then this anime is definitely for you! Sword Art Online additionally does a brilliant job of easing us in to the massive, awe-inspiring frontier that is Aincrad. The concept of this anime -- being trapped in a strange, exotic new world and living in it -- is a dream that we all have had at one point, and it's fascinating to see it being unveiled before our eyes.

The Bad:

At the same time, however, the execution has been done terribly. Lots of fans/first-time watchers – me included – felt that Kirito and Asuna were not given nearly enough character development. It’s hard to root for someone that you barely know or hate. Another problem lies in the pace. The side stories were rushed, no doubt about, which is bad because they offered interesting insights into Kirito and Asuna’s relationship and personality. At the same time, you can't really justify having two episodes of precious anime time being given to the side stories, and they honestly aren't as interesting as the main plot. Something else that irks me about Sword Art Online is how it suffers from deus ex machina. That is, it'll solve really big situations with just dumb stuff like "it's the power of love" or "strength of will trumps everything". However, other amazing shows (Harry Potter, Clannad) have done similar things, so it's whatever.

CONSENSUS: 7/10. Sword Art Online attempted to create a love story of epic proportions…something that they partially succeeded in. Although they eased us in beautifully in the start, undeveloped characters, a rushed storyline, and miracle syndrome make it lose quite a bit of its impact.

ARTWORK:

The artwork in this anime can be summed up into one word: inconsistent. The sceneries are drawn very well and have a wide variety (ranging from icy snowcaps to flowery meadows to beautiful cities…), and the characters are done beautifully (a nice contrast to the stupid body proportions in Code Geass or the crazy facial expressions in Fate/Zero), but it gets stupidly bad during the battles. For some strange reason, instead of treating us to a smooth action sequence, we instead constantly gaze at character still shots. It’s really frustrating when you know that the battle sequences could have been amazing!! Background animation is probably the most inconsistent part in that it gets really bad in towns but great in landscapes. I really don’t know what to think. I think the animation of this anime is something that really sets it back from some of the great animes, and I’m hoping it gets better in the future (especially the battle scenes, they can really make those a lot more enjoyable to wach).

CONSENSUS: 7/10. Battle scenes are very badly animated, and backgrounds sometimes are drawn very sloppily. However, the sheer scope of sceneries in this anime is a delight to see.

MUSIC:

The music is incredible. Yuki Kajiura is one of the biggest names in anime music, and her music is absolutely astounding. So far, the music’s been perfect and set each mood beautifully. In particular, the battle scene music. Oh my god. I found myself humming it when I was eating breakfast, just a testament to how well done it is. As for the OP/ED, they’re really generic. They’re being done by LiSa, who’s done so many OP/EDs by now, but they don’t really stand out…in a good or bad way. I don’t know, I think Yuki Kajiura’s music makes up for any disparities here though.

CONSENSUS: 9/10, Music is great and going to be developed by Yuki Kajiura, the person who did Fate/Zero and Madoka Magica. OP/ED are generic, but that’s not a bad thing.

CHARACTERS:

The characters are ridiculously hit or miss. Kirito is pretty much your perfect, flawless teenager. That’s going to be a deal breaker for many of people upon knowing that. Many people like their protagonists to have flaws, to be more humanlike, more down to Earth, and having a character that’s flawless frankly drops a lot of the realism. I would like to argue that the alternative of having a whiny protagonist that doesn’t do anything is a lot worse though (Guilty Crown, I’m looking at you). The same lies for the female protagonist, Asuna, our main character’s love interest. Frankly, the relationship just came together too easily. Asuna also has the privilege of being practically perfect in every single way. No really: she can cook, she’s incredibly beautiful, she’s good at swordfighting, she’s dedicated, and she’s a tsundere (personally I love tsunderes). The side characters and the villains lack depth as well. Can anyone else picture how much more interesting this anime would have gotten if Sugou was initially some good guy that Asuna begins to fall for...only to be someone rotten in the inside? Instead, we're treated to a generic villain who literally doesn't have a single good quality.

CONSENSUS: 6/10, Main character Kirito isn’t absurdly annoying like A LOT of other main characters, but he does get what he wants a little too easily. Side characters are overly generic and get far too little time. Same with Kirito and Asuna, we needed more time for their development!

THE BREAKDOWN:

It's a great anime if you like Kirito and Asuna, but if you don't, you might as well watch another anime. The anime itself suffers from various flaws -- plot holes, shoddy animation, undeveloped characters -- that prevent me from giving it a high score. Still worth a watch though, if only so that you can rant about how good or bad it is on the forums after each episode. 7/10!

(+) The light novel for this anime is incredibly well done (#1 rated light novel on MAL).

(+) Incredible nostalgia for any MMORPG gamers.

(+) Music is stellar, designed by the best.

(+) Anime gets a lot better after episode 8.

(+) The landscapes are absolutely beautiful...one of the benefits of making the anime set in a fantasy video game.

(+) Tons of people to discuss this anime with since it's popular; since it's polarizing, you get some very interesting arguments too.

(−) Characters not developed thoroughly enough.

(−) Anime may be rushed in first few episodes.

(−) Suffers from very poor animation in some the fight scenes and in the background (budgeting).

(−) Insertion of side stories before main plot may cause some viewers to lose interest.

(−) Anime suffers from miracle syndrome (occasionally will solve problems with a miracle).

(−) Causes you to waste time talking with people about the latest episode of SAO, whether you hate it or love it.

#sword art online #review #anime review #anime

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mdwatchestv · 6 years

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Westworld 2x02: I Am Never Learning Character Names

Wow I don’t know about you, but I was surprised by how many of my questions from episode one were addressed! Kind of refreshing how forthcoming this season is with explanation and backstory, I have a clear picture of what to expect from this show moving forward!

Jk lol I have no idea what the fuck is going on. Not only do we have zero answers, but we have at least one (possibly two) additional timelines to contend with. I don’t know if it was intensely noticeable but most of my show recaps I just wing from memory, if I don’t remember it, might as well not have happened. Not so here my friends! I have written detailed notes. God this show is so impenetrable, maybe if I just make this whole blog an introduction no one will notice.

Okay so this episode starts with Dolores breaching the Westworld control center immediately (?) after the massacre that ended last season. Westworld workers don’t believe a panicked guest that they are under attack, causing one to yell out towards the commotion in the hall “Hey, is there some kind of trouble out there?” Out of all the things that have happened on Westword, that line of dialogue was honestly the most egregious. I can’t let it go. Anyway there is trouble out there, and it’s Dolores coming to kill everyone. With her is poor Teddy who is finally seeing behind the curtain and he is SHOOK UP. Teddy is not ready for this jelly, for any jelly (more on this later). Dolores tells the guest who questions her ability to take over the “real”, world that she is more than suited to lay waste to “our” world because she remembers it, she’s seen it before. Or has she?

Cue another timeline. In this flashback, we see Arnold (human Arnold) talking to Dolores in an ultra modern Hong Kong-ish city. Have you ever seen anything so full of splendor? Arnold argues with a much younger Ford that Dolores isn’t ready for something (we will soon see what that is). Arnold then takes Dolores across the city to see the foundations of a home he is intending to build for his family to be “closer to work”. Later in this same timeline, or at least this same world, we see our old friends Ben Barnes and Jimmi Simpson pre their own Westworld experience. Ben Barnes, son of the head of Delos, is being courted by the Argos Initiative (another corporate name to learn) whose representatives are Zahn McClarnon (from Fargo! and pretty obviously a host) and Talulah Riley (known host).

I’d like to pause my recap here to call out my absolute favorite thing about Westworld, and that is its music. To me nothing better encapsulates the thematic soul of the show than Ramin Djawadi’s beautiful re-workings of pop songs. They are both familiar, and strange, both closely nostalgic and tantalizingly out of reach. What a purely delightful moment to realize season one’s bank heist was set to a swelling orchestral Paint It Black. What better way to underscore a series about a world like our own, but not quite; people who are like us, but not really. This is all to say that when that first high C note rang out during this scene it was immediately transporting, like an audible firework. The artist of that particular piece is not having the best time saying... ideas at the moment.... but this instrumental cover of Runaway was absolutely gorgeous and I loved it! It’s on Spotify if you want to relive in your car.

Okay back to Ben Barnes. Zahn and Talulah take Ben to a room filled with guests, telling him this is his private demonstration of their tech, and his job is to spot the “robot” in the group. As we’ve already guessed, there is not one host, but rather everyone in the room, including Talulah and Zahn, are hosts. We noticeably see the ill-fated Clementine at the piano, and Jonathan Tucker (!!) amongst the crowd. Ben Barnes is floored, and Delos’ interest in the business is fatefully sealed. The deal is christened by Ben Barnes sleeping with Talulah (and others), and we see what it really was Arnold was protecting Dolores from.

Theory alert: This timeline is presented to us as being in the ‘real’ world, we see a glittering city, and presumably this is what current-day Dolores is referring to when she says that she has seen “our” world. My theory is that this is NOT actually “our” world but rather another park, or discreet Argos Initiative bunker/illusion/subspace. For one thing the city, although massive, has no recognizable landmarks, and is clearly not meant to be recognized. For another we know that Jimmi Simpson and Ben Barnes were explicitly invited for a demonstration, whether that was to the club they were hanging out at, or a larger space is not made clear. Argos has also brought a great number of their highly-profitable and (up until that part) confidential tech to this space, which would be risky to transport. Arnold also describes the city as eventually not looking like anything, which feels very close to the wording “it doesn’t look like anything to me.” The explanation he has of building his house “closer to work” also felt a bit cryptic. Also later in the episode when we see the palm tree laden Delos estate, there is a very similar looking city across a body water. Feels suspish!

ALTERNATIVELY the city also feels a bit futuristic, and the fact that it’s unidentifiable could mean that Westworld is taking place in a future time period OR a radically different “real” world than ours. Ben Barnes comments that “we aren’t here yet” with tech, which feels like he is living in a world similar to ours. But we haven’t had any experience with the world outside Westworld and of course assumed it was like ours, but what if it’s not????

Also while we are wiggling around in the past let’s hit up the throwback scene where Jimmi Simpson (now jaded and on his way to blackhatdom) pitches Westworld to his father-in-law, the supremely enjoyable Peter Mullan. Jimmi Simpson claims that Westorld is more than just a diversion, but rather a way to delve people’s darkest desires, to see what it is they really want. This scene raises the question - what is it that Delos wants? Is there interest in the park purely for market research, or is there something more nefarious? There are all sorts of ways that learning about wealthy people’s secrets could be profitable after all. The question of what it is that Delos wants is also amplified by the fact that we know in present day they are after the Westworld park code, so is there an even larger design at work? We are also treated to a flashback to Peter Mullan’s retirement slash Jimmi Simpson’s ascension party. There a piano-playing Dolores runs into a sloshed Ben Barnes, who is horrified and disgusted by whatever it is that Delos has planned for Westworld. If we know anything about our friend Mr. Barnes from his time in the park, his morals are more than a little loose- so to see his contempt for whatever it is that’s happening should be more than a little alarming.

Back in our more present day with BAMF Dolores, she learns from torturing an employee that Delos has sent an army of people after her and the other host rebels. So what does Dolores need? A bigger army. She sets off into the park to recruit hosts where she runs into Maeve and co on their own mission. Dolores tries to recruit Maeve, but Maeve says revenge is just another construct (which is weird because I thought she said all she wanted was revenge literally in the last episode but whatever) and thinks that Dolores’ bloody quest is worthless. This was in an interesting interaction and illustrated how these two hosts are responding differently to their “independence” (if either of them is really even acting independently). Dolores is seeking revenge and retribution against perceived wrong doing, while Maeve is using her consciousness to pursue her own desires. Which is the expression of true freedom, which is the more righteous path? These are the questions of Westworld.

The army Dolores has in mind are the Confederados of Westworld who are led by none other than our very own Jonathan Tucker! Dolores proves her might by shooting them all to death and then reviving their leader (Jonathan Tucker). By pulling back the veil of their perceived reality she proves herself to be the real deal and gains their allegiance. Teddy continues to be shooketh. In this episode especially we see that Teddy is really not Getting With The Program, which could be even more reason why Dolores perceives him as not able to go on to take over the “real” world aka drown-worthy. Dolores wants to take her army to a weapon she knows about at the edge the park (again the valley beyond). How does she know about the weapon? Because once again a man woke her up to monologue to her. Guys, you have GOT to stop doing this. This time the man was Jimmi Simpson, who I think mostly just wanted to see her naked, and also drop some exposition.

Speaking of Jimmi Simpson, his older iteration Ed Harris (The Man in Black) reunites with his lackey Clifton Collins, Jr. in the “present”, or sometime in the post-massacre park. He too is looking to recruit an army, and goes in search of El Lazo’s band of criminals (keep in mind Clifton Collins, Jr in some storylines was also El Lazo). There we are surprised to see the leader of this crew (the new El Lazo) is none other than Giancarlo Esposito! Giancarlo refuses to aid The Man in Black, instead he delivers a monologue about elephants. This little speech is about questioning ones own reality, but whether this is an instruction for The Man in Black (who is in a prison of his own making), or a warning about the hosts in the park (who have now pulled up their stakes) remains to be seen. He then tells The Man in Black this is a game he must play on his own, before he and all his men commit suicide. Chilling! This is all part of the game Ford has left for the Man in Black, clearly part of the end game is forcing The Man in Black to confront something solo. The Man in Black, like Dolores, is also seeking the thing he created years ago, something he says he never should have done, at the edge of the park So what is it?? Dolores thinks its a weapon, but I don’t think it’s quite so literal, maybe it’s more of an insurance policy? Could it be the a dam or water reserve that winds up flooding the park and killing most of the hosts? My brain is tired.

Questions:

What is it that Jimmi Simpson made and left in the park?

What are Delos’ true intentions with Westworld?

What or where is the city that we saw?

What is the geography of the parks? Are they all close together, or perhaps world over? Can one hop to the next?

What is Ford’s game for The Man in Black?

Did Dolores kill Teddy (i say yes)?

Are Maeve and Dolores really operating under their own free will? Or are they still playing out a narrative?

When will will this blog be over?

I can answer the last one, it’s now!

XO MD

#martha writes #westworld #westworld gifs #westworld spoilers #westworld recap #westworld theories #tv recaps #tv writing #tv reviews

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sunlitroom · 7 years

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Gotham – s4e07 – A Day in the Narrows

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Professor Pyg is here. What joy. Jim says the murdered cop was a message to Oswald. Ages ago – Bruce punched a schoolmate for insulting his parents. Barbara gave a sales pitch. Selina is terribly desperate for a family – any shape, any size. Oswald though Sofia was up to no good, but she was actually opening an orphanage and – for reasons that are unclear, wanted this to be a surprise for him. Ra’s wanted to kill everyone Bruce loved. Pyg wants to kill everyone on Oswald’s payroll. Jim had the iron-clad nerve to get at Harvey for being corrupt.

As always, long post will be long. There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)). There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism. Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

GCPD. Jim is stting at Harvey’s desk, reading the newspaper, which carries a prominent Pyg headline. Harvey appears in the doorway, and asks if Jim has called dibs on his office. Jim jokes that he was just measuring it up – but then tells Harvey that he should still be resting. Harvey does indeed look dreadful.

Harvey claims he’s well enough to be back, and takes a swig from a hip-flask. That can’t be helping anything. Jim says, then, that it’s time to talk about him taking money from Oswald. Harvey grimaces, and says he’s not well enough for that. Jim stubbornly says it stops today.

(OK. Stop here. So, first off, Jim can see that Harvey looks like death warmed up. He doesn’t even think he should be in work. But then he decides to raise a topic that he knows is likely to cause Harvey massive stress? Even then, if Jim really felt the topic had to be broached there and then – why is he approaching it like this? Last week, his closest friend and constant ally – who was nearly killed – told him that he was just about drowning in money troubles, which was apparently news to Jim. But he doesn’t open with: ‘the debt, the bills you mentioned – talk to me. What’s going on?’. Or even with a more self-centred, ‘why didn’t you tell me you having problems – we’re supposed to be partners’. Instead, he just wades in with an accusatory, scolding tone.)

There’s a commotion outside, which cuts short what looked like a fight brewing.

Pyg has had 44 pig’s heads delivered to GCPD. Jim doesn’t get one, because Pyg is a shit researcher, and is presumably unaware of the very many times Jim has broken the rules. He’ll not be getting any academic title from me.

Or he’s connected with Sofia somehow, and this is a longer game.

A charity fundraiser at Wayne Manor. Bruce is silently brooding while Alfred desperately tries to lift the mood, thanking him for holding it there, since it was a particularly important charity to his father. A waiter bumps into Bruce, and Bruce lashes out brattily. Alfred remonstrates repeatedly, but Bruce continues, before closing his eyes for a moment, and then storming off.

Alfred follows him, to where he’s now brooding silently in another room. Alfred says he hasn’t wanted to push – and that he knows Bruce is hurting after what happened with Ra’s. Bruce tells him to get off his back, before apologising. He takes a breath, and says he

Just… can't stop thinking about what I c-

Alfred cuts him off here to try and empathise again – which was a bit odd, since it sounded like Bruce was about to open up about something before interrupted. Bruce starts again, saying that he

Should feel bad, guilty - I just….

Alfred cuts in again, which still doesn’t make sense – he wants Bruce to open up. He comments that Bruce is just angry, and that anger is concealing what's going on. He tells Bruce he needs to face it full on. Or it will consume him, and erupt. He tells Bruce that he knows what he’s capable of and don't want to see him or anyone else hurt. I think there was a flicker of hurt here from Bruce, at the notion that Alfred would perceive him as a threat to others. He blurts out that he needs some air and storms out, as a young girl watches from the party crowd.

(An aside – I wasn’t terribly engaged by Bruce’s plot at all this week. The only vaguely interesting thing in it was that the boy he punched seems to have actually grown as a person. That’s it. What we see doesn’t really seem to lead on from when we last left them, Alfred’s interruptions seemed a a little contrived to force miscommunication, and I wasn’t entirely sure what I was to understand about Bruce’s behaviour. Is this grief and guilt for Alex? Ra’s? Both? Worry about a lack of guilt? No clue.)

Back at GCPD. Jim releases the van drivers. They plaintively tell him that they’re COD – but Jim tells them to get the hell out. Harvey calls him up to his office. Oswald is there. He’s fairly buzzing with nervous energy, and tells Jim that they’re working hand in hand. Harvey adds that he just showed up to offer help. Jim glances disdainfully at Harvey and offers a sceptical ‘did he?’ Which is really pissy of him – what does he think, Oswald’s counting out notes into a swag bag for Harvey to take home? That whole bit was just aggravating.

(An aside – and again, just not in keeping with what we know about their relationship. Why is Jim suddenly being a complete ass towards Harvey? Even if we look beyond their friendship, and think only about what Jim wants to achieve: why is he behaving in a way that might well alienate Harvey even further?)

Oswald introduces his temporary henchman, Headhunter. He is back-up security left by Victor, who -Oswald tightly informs us – is off visiting his bubbe. I didn’t know what this word meant – so had to look it up. It’s a Jewish word for grandmother.

(An aside - The fact that Oswald uses the word suggests that either Victor or Oswald, or both, may be Jewish. This bit of backstory is welcome in Gotham – which can often be stinting with details. It’s also easily the most interesting thing, for me, in a very uneven episode)

Headhunter introduces himself to Jim, and starts to brag about his signature move. Oswald already seems tired of him and pissed off at Victor’s absence, and describes him – with a clenched jaw – as ‘colourful but effective’.

(An aside – I wonder if Victor deliberately left someone who would irritate Oswald in order to ensure that his own position wasn’t usurped?)

Jim angrily barks that he doesn’t want help from Oswald or his ‘idiot hitman’, Oswald gets in Jim’s face – as usual – and tells him that these are his cops, his employees. Jim snaps back that they don’t work for him or with him, ever. At this – Oswald laughs, and comments that his captain says otherwise.

(I honestly can’t remember here whether we see Oswald and his temp leave, or Jim and Harvey leave first. They surely didn’t leave them in the office – that would be weird.)

As Jim and Harvey walk downstairs, Jim angrily says that working with Oswald is legitimising him. Harvey points out that he’s been legitimised for years – he was the mayor. The money is mentioned again. Jim tells Harvey he’s dangerously overreacting to the situation. Harvey points out how many cops have deserted the precinct because they’re terrified. Jim gets on his high horse, and says that Oswald and his thugs will beat and torture their way through the city to find Pyg, and eventually execute him.

(An aside – hey, remember last week, when Jim was roughing people up and shoving them into the boot of a car?)

Jim then – without an ounce of shame or self-awareness – says

The people need to know they don't need gangsters to protect them

(An aside. No. Just no. Again – another episode where I don’t know what I’m being guided to think. This is nakedly hypocritical, given Jim’s current scheme. To nod to that, to reassure us that the hypocrisy is intentional and recognised in universe – all that would have to happen here is for Harvey to comment on Jim’s asking Falcone for help, and Sofia’s sudden arrival. When that doesn’t happen, I’m left wondering if the show is suffering from amnesia)

Jim says he'll find Pyg. Harvey’s had enough.

Good for you

Harper interrupts yet another squabble. Three cops have been kidnapped and taken to the Narrows.

Champagne is being poured into a glass, but the mood is far from celebratory. Barbara’s gun emporium is closing its doors. Selina and Tabitha are seriously pissed. However, the whole venture and scheme was apparently Ra’s – and now he’s gone, there’s no point. There was no sincerity in her offer – just a sales pitch.

Selina – trying desperately to keep some kind of life and family for herself- suggests that they can’t still profit from spying on other criminals’ plans. Barbara is cruelly dismissive. She sees through what Selina wants - a plucky little family – and gives her sisterly advice: in this life, you’re on your own – always.

(An aside – superficially, this notion makes sense from Barbara if you just focus on how hardened she is by this point – but her survival since season 2 has been built on an ability to work in new relationships – even coercive, dangerous ones. The Maniax, Theo, Tabitha, Ed, Ra’s – she’s virtually never a solo operator.)

Anyway – Tabitha doesn’t like this and shakes her head. Barbara leaves. Selina tells Tabitha that she knows where a motorcycle gang keeps their stash – but Tabitha thinks it’s too dangerous, and tells Selina they can find something else. Selina pulls a face at this, and leaves. Tabitha is left behind – frustrated.

Police cars scream into The Narrows. Oswald’s men also arrive. Harvey sees the car the cops were presumably transported in, the seat soaked with blood. A woman looks out at them all from an apartment window.

Hey! Was that eyepatch guy? I think it was!

Harvey tells everyone that the Narrows is the poorest of poor, and hardest of the hard, with a code of silence.

Underlining his point, someone lobs a TV out their window at them, fortunately spotted by Harper. They all scatter. A lamp follows – showily shot by Headhunter – who laughs. Gee – thanks for the shards of glass.

The door is broken down. Headhunter grins at Jim, and tells him this will be fun. Jim, having roughly the same worldview on fun as a puritan preacher from the 1700s, gives him a disapproving look

As they work their way upstairs, we see Jim stopping both Oswald’s men and GCPD from beating residents to get information. The cop he holds back is incredulous – saying that everyone in the Narrows likely has some sort of criminal background or connection – but Jim insists they’re potential witnesses, not suspects or perpetrators

(An aside – so, taking that to its logical conclusion – Jim is OK with beating information out of possible suspects and perpetrators. Also – it just doesn’t wash with what we’ve seen before, which is Jim getting handsy with anyone who might have information he needs. Again – I’m left asking, does the show believe what it’s telling me here, or am I supposed to be remembering previous antics?)

Harvey breaks up the brewing brawl between Jim and the other officer. Jim snarls at him that this is working out great. Harvey juts his chin, and says that as long as it gets him his cop killer – then it is.

Bruce is angsting in the kitchen now. I’m not sure if we’re to think about the contrast between the hard, poor life in the Narrows, and Bruce’s charity benefit cocktail party woe – but I’m going to do it anyway.

The girl who watched him leave before wanders in and introduces herself. She’s Grace – and she goes to the same school he used to attend. Bruce is – apparently – now home-schooled. I say ‘apparently’ because while it is true he doesn’t attend school anymore, you virtually never see him being tutored. He does what he wants.

She shyly says that the fundraiser is boring, and asks him if he’d like to go somewhere else. Bruce agrees.

(An aside – Yawn.)

Back at the Narrows, we have more punching and stairs. Jim takes a breath, and knocks on an apartment door, asking the woman who opens it if he can come in.

When we enter, we see that there’s also a man there with an oxygen mask (Nebuliser? Repirator? I’m not sure, sorry). Jim tries to convince her that he’s sympathetic, and knows that life in the Narrows is hard, and tries to wheedle information from her – promising secrecy. He might be getting somewhere – but Headhunter bursts in.

He grabs the guy in the wheelchair and drags him outside – presumably down all those stairs. When he gets him outside, he drops him on the ground, puts a gun to his head, and announces loudly that if the old lady doesn’t talk, the old man gets it.

(An aside – this guy is just an idiot. He could easily have killed this old man by just doing what he did. Victor is brutal – but he’s precise, and he wants to get his job done.)

Jim is furious, and aims his gun at Headhunter. Suddenly everyone is aiming guns, while Harvey tries desperately to de-escalate the situation. As he does, the woman caves. She runs over to the man on the ground and tells them that Pyg was driving a hearse, and headed west.

Headhunter grins at Jim and thanks him – telling him that he never tried good cop/bad cop before , but it works. Jim grimaces. Harvey turns to Jim, and says the area Pyg is headed to is easy – but Jim is distracted by seeing Headhunter chatting and showing off to some of the police officers. Harvey pleads with Jim to trust him, and pops a painkiller. They head off.

We are now in the other location, searching noisily again. Jim finds two men tied up in what looks like an abandoned school room. One is still alive – but gagged – and pleads for help. Harvey runs in – and tells Jim that Pyg has disappeared.

The Falcone Orphanage, where Oswald is watching TV.

(An aside – much of Oswald’s storyline in this episode was pretty dumb. Yes, he’s seemingly decided Sofia is trustworthy – but he does still have a job to do. The idea that he’s just hanging around here is silly. He’s obsessive and controlling of the entire city. He’s paranoid about the prospect of challengers. This makes no sense)

He’s watching footage of the raid, and turns excitedly and tells Sofia those are his men. He also mentions Headhunter, who’s kind of a moron, but effective. He laughs – giddy with his success – and congratulates himself that technically, he saved the life of the cop they found in the schoolroom. It’s great PR.

A little girl steps in front of the television and stares at him. Oswald tries to shoo her – but she doesn’t move, and he impatiently lifts her aside. He sits back down and continues to congratulate himself that co-opting the police was the most brilliant idea, and that his Pax is moving to a new level. Realising that he’s been monologuing, he turns to Sofia for attention

Hello?

Sofia smiles, and passive-aggressively tells him that he doesn’t need to know what she thinks. Oswald grimaces in annoyance, and says that he now definitely needs to know.

Telling the children to cover their ears, Sofia says that her father would never have publicly aligned with GCPD because they are incompetent and unreliable. They will fail, and fail big, and Oswald will fail with them. She smiles sweetly.

So, that’s what I think

Oswald is livid. He thanks her for her input, and for having shown him what not to do. He’s now going to get even more personally involved. Sofia, disgruntled, snaps at him that he shouldn’t ask for her opinion if he doesn’t want to hear it. Oswald fumes and – lifting the little girl out his way again – leaves.

(OK. A noticeable drop in tension from previous scenes with Oswald and Sofia. There wasn’t really much evidence of the emotional ties we saw being tentatively made last week, other than the obvious joke of making Oswald behave as childishly as the children present. That scene could have been done with Victor instead of Sofia with no real difference.

Sofia – as ever – is difficult to read. We know she’s playing Oswald, but it’s hard to ascertain sincerity within that. We did see, however, her annoyance at her father overlooking her ability to operate in Gotham. We could maybe say that her reaction to her opinion being rejected was sincere, even though the opinion itself might not have been?

Her prediction of GCPD failing big could simply have been an educated and plausible one, or might hint to involvement with Pyg.

Generally speaking, Oswald’s lack of brains here just seemed manufactured for this storyline. While the Pax is obviously riddled with problems – it is also huge and daring and ambitious, and he has been extremely successful. He has made important political ties. We also saw him successfully draw a line under the mess with Ed. While everyone has their flaws and foibles that will cause them to make mistakes – it’s infuriating when he has to fall flat on his face just because it’s at the point in the plot where he has to.)

The biker warehouse. A summary – since this episode wasn’t gripping: Selina steals the stash, but trips an alarm and gets stuck. One hapless biker is tortured for failing to spot an intruder, and Selina looks horrified.

Jim is in the ambulance with the injured policeman – Vizzoli. Harvey calls and says there’s no sign of Pyg or Patel. As Vizzoli comes round, Jim hangs up.

Jim introduces himself – but Vizzoli says he knows who he is. He’s distressed when Jim says that Berkoff is dead – and says that he was tortured for hours, and that he had to watch him bleed out while Pyg sang nursery rhymes. He asks Jim why Pyg is doing this. Jim says he’s insane, but maybe he reached a breaking point – there’s so much rot in the city, everywhere. Yes – torture and murder doesn’t add to rot.

Jim says that sometimes even he – even someone as pure and incorruptible as Jim? Good lord, the ego – feels like breaking.

(An aside – just…. ‘feels like breaking’? What’s going to Falcone, If not breaking?)

Vizzoli says he’s on Oswald's pay. It started small but got out of hand. Jim tells him he gets it – hes done bad stuff too, for Oswald, even.

(An aside – or, for himself, even – like when he trotted off to Oswald to get his old job back in season. That wasn’t instigated by Oswald. That was all Jim)

He tells Vizzoli that they can make it right. Get Pyg, take down the Pax, and clean up the dirty cops.

This seemingly prompts trust from Vizzoli, who tells Jim that Pyg mentioned planning something nearby where ‘justice used to be’. Jim quickly figures out this means the abandoned courthouse. Jim asks the driver to let him out so he can run to the courthouse. As he leaves, Vizzoli thanks him, and tells him he’s one of the good ones. Jim’s brain apparently doesn’t do cognitive dissonance, and we don’t even get a wince from him before he runs off.

(An aside. Interesting that Jim says he’ll take down the Pax, not Oswald himself. Noticeably specific. I’m not sure Sofia is drawing the same distinction)

The boring teen storyline. Grace has brought Bruce some bratty penthouse. Bruce is introduced, and sees Tom Elliott is there.

(An aside – he looks waaaaay older than Bruce. I googled him to see if I could find an age – but other than discovering that he is also a model, I couldn’t find one)

Anyway – he seems amiable now, and tells Bruce that he deserved the punch on the face. His character development is literally the only interesting thing here. The assembled rich bratty teens ask Bruce what he does for fun. He delivers this cringey line:

I used to walk on rooftops and fight crime but now I’m not so sure

Moving on…….

The other guy there (Brant? Was this guy’s name actually Brant? That’s not a name. That’s not even a dog name. That’s some sort of cabinet from Ikea) tries to provoke Bruce by insulting Alfred. Bruce imagines attacking him, but doesn’t. Brant continues to behave like a tool – as he was doomed to do from the moment his parents named him ‘Brant’, but the rest of the party tries to smooth things over, and they go off to some club. Whatever.

Jim nears the abandoned courthouse. He’s unimpressed when Headhunter strolls up – telling him that Harvey told him where he was going, and even less impressed when full backup arrives.

(An aside – while Jim might well be annoyed because he thinks Headhunter is heavy-handed (although this is really rich from Jim) and because he doesn’t like the cooperation between criminals and police (except when it suits him) – the impulse from Harvey is clearly that he doesn’t want Jim charging in alone, which is understandable, given last week.)

Oswald gets out of a car, and heads for Jim. He thanks him for leading the way, but then tells him that we’ll take it from here. Jim bristles, and we cut to another scene while they have another public domestic squabble.

Babs is counting money out for Tabitha, commenting that it looks as though Tabitha doesn’t trust her. Tabitha takes a call from Selina – and hears about the mess she’s in. Tabitha tells Barbara that Selina needs help, but Barbara isn’t interested. Tabitha says Selina only did this to prove their team could work – but Barbara points out that getting caught proves it doesn’t. Tabitha says that Selina only wants a purpose and a home, but Barbara sneers. Tabitha says she thought she could maybe think about someone other than herself, but Barbara just sneers again, and watches Tabitha leave.

Oswald is boasting to some assembled reporters about the success of his consultancy service – Pax Penguina taken to a tactical level – while Jim fumes nearby. Harvey is telling him that he wasn’t about to let him go in alone, and this way Oswald’s thugs take all the risk – but Jim isn’t interested.

Jim’s phone rings. Oh, joy, it’s Pyg – who’s as talky as Jervis but far less entertaining. He tells Jim that he spells his name with a ‘y’ because Pygmalion. Yes, whatever. I hate this guy so much. Long story short – the courthouse is a trap. Before he finishes the call – he tells Jim that ‘he’s one of the good ones’, echoing exactly Vizzoli’s voice and words from earlier. Jim yells to Harper to call the hospital. Pyg has ripped off Silence of the Lambs, and done this, but with less style.

Bruce and co arrive at the club. Brant can’t get in. Bruce brushes past, buys the club, tells Brant he can’t come in. Don’t caaaaarrreeeee.

Jim runs over to Oswald and Harvey, who are waiting outside the courtroom. He tells them to call it off – the guy in the ambulance was Pyg in disguise. He fed Jim the clue – it’s a trap. Oswald, incredulous, asks why the insane serial killer who is targeting cops would warn Jim. Jim says because he’s against dirty cops. Oswald sarcastically replies except for all the times you are one.

Jim has no answer for that – and hopefully it stings even more given the Sofia situation. He asks them again to call it off. Oswald suggests that Pyg is trying to save himself by stopping the raid, and Jim is being played – not for the first time. I’m guessing this is an allusion to Theo.

Jim says again that they called the hospital, and there’s no way Pyg could have beaten him back here from the ambulance. It makes no sense that Oswald and Harvey didn’t acknowledge this point, to be honest, they’re both more cautious than Jim.

Harvey insists they have visual (er, why didn’t he say this earlier?). Jim insists again that it’s a trap. They all squabble some more. Jim says that he’s not going to clean up Harvey mess on this one which, again, wow Jim. Harvey, angry tells him to stand down. Oswald says this is the first useful suggestion Harvey’s made. Harvey starts to mobilise while Jim and Oswald have a stare at each other.

Barbara saves the day at the biker warehouse. It looks like she’s just going to take the money, but she’s seemingly changed her mind, and they strut out – now a team, heading ‘back to the nest’. Selina is thrilled. I’ve just spent as much time and care on that summary as the show has on this storyline. Sirens is coming.

Harvey leads a team into the courthouse. Someone in a Pyg mask – who is pretty clearly a bound and gagged cop – yells and sort of wriggles. Harvey shoots – and then we see that it’s actually Patel.

Harvey is broken up

No…oh no.

It’s a set-up. When a chain/rope is tripped, a machine gun is triggered, which sprays the whole area with bullets. The exits are blocked.

Outside – the news is delivered that they’re all trapped. Oswald tells his men to get in there – but they refuse. Jim glances at him, and runs in. Oswald stares after him, both irritated that his own men have been bested, and not entirely happy about Jim running into a trap.

There’s general carnage inside, but Jim manages to disable the machine gun. He looks over the bodies lying on the ground. Harvey looked beaten.

At GCPD, Oswald is being interviewed by reporters and trying to clarify that Harvey gave the order to proceed – not him. As Jim arrives, the reporters stream away from Oswald, and ask Jim how he found the courage to run in there. He ignore that, and says clearly that if Pyg is watching, GCPD will take him down. Oswald and Jim have another stare at each other. For the love of God, boys – just kiss and make up. This storyline is tiresome.

(An aside – a lot of this is actually pretty personal. You could argue that Oswald has taken Jim’s role away from him because he’s harbouring resentment and hurt over Jim’s actions when he was infected. Jim can’t be trusted to be the protector anymore – and Oswald will drive that message home by adopting the role himself. Additionally, Jim is smarting because he arguably recognises how personal this is. Everything is charged with history and familiarity)

Jim approaches Harvey, and tells him Patel is going to make it. Harvey congratulates him, telling him bitterly that he’s a hero, while he’s just a cop who shot a cops. He wanders off.

Jim’s phone rings. It’s Pyg. He tells Jim that he’s amazing, that they want the same things, blah blah blah. He says that his work will be a saga, an epic, a spectacle – all inspired by Jim, his muse. Fuuucckkk offfffff. Please. Mercy. Any other criminal. Anyone.

Oswald is back at the Iceberg Lounge with Headhunter, who is still talking. He is standing very, very still – which should be a huge red flag, but he’s not very bright, and makes the mistake of mentioning that Jim was right. Oswald turns and stabs him twice, commenting that the second one (the same way he killed Frankie Carbone, I think?) is his signature. He walks away

Back at the club I don’t care about, Bruce goes off the rails. Isn’t this Smallville Lex’s backstory just before the series starts? Careful Bruce. You’ll be all dissolute, but then all contrite and tortured, and have to go and live in the country and be in the weirdest retelling of Jane Eyre ever with an abnormally handsome alien.

Back at GCPD Harper thanks Jim. He tells her she’d have done the same. We also see the cop Jim was fighting with at the Narrows rejecting one of the crime licenses. He nods over to Jim, and Jim nods back. Harvey watches blearily from the balcony while knocking back another drink. He looks a very specific kind of drunk which I can only describe as ‘sodden’. He gives Jim a look that communicates pain, bitterness, self-hatred and betrayal all at once, and staggers into his office. Jim watches him go.

General Observations

Hmmm. Not so keen on this week’s episode. There was a lot of people suddenly being very stupid just because the plot needed them to, as well as copious conflict balls, and unnecessarily poor communication.

So. Harvey and Jim. I’m having some problems with this current plotline. Problems like – it’s almost completely inconsistent with what we’ve seen since season one.

First of all, Harvey – like every other police officer in GCPD, including Jim, is not clean. Jim knows this. In fact, Harvey’s willingness to break the rules has often been to Jim’s benefit, usually because Harvey is often cleaning up the mess left behind by Jim’s headstrong and reckless actions – or participating against his own better judgment, to make sure that Jim comes out alive.

I can buy that Jim feels personally stung by Harvey taking Oswald’s money because his whole conflict with Oswald is personal – but his lack of understanding, his censoriousness, his apparent rejection of all the times Harvey covered for him, and saved his neck – why? Jim confided in Harvey that he murdered Galavan when he didn’t even tell Lee. Harvey broke Jim out of jail. Harvey knows Jim went to Falcone and didn’t do anything about it. But suddenly he doesn’t get any understanding?

It’s the same old problem with Jim. I don’t know whether the show wants me to swallow that he’s a hero, or whether I’m to be outraged by his hypocrisy. I’m going to say that I’m to believe he is capable of heroic behaviour – but that this doesn’t make his other sins go away, and there will be a debt to pay for his dealings with Sofia.

Oswald and Sofia. He just seemed irritated with her this week to the point where I’m not sure why he’s hanging around the Orphanage at all. I’ve read elsewhere that Sofia’s big reveal/drama moment isn’t until episode 11. That��s going to be a hell of a lot of wheel-spinning until then, if we continue like this.

Other than Selina’s evident delight at two proxy mothers – I don’t much care about the nascent Sirens.

As for Bruce. Nope. Brant

No Victor. I feel personally wronged.

Thoughts?

#gotham commentary #gotham s4e07 #a day in the narrows

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ncruuk · 7 years

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Get to know the author: 6, 19, 24 & 25.

In non-sequential order because I’m contrary like that *g*....and because they were a great selection of questions.... so not only is there a ‘keep reading’ line but some of the answers have footnotes.....

Thank you for the great questions - I’ve had an agonising interesting evening trying to come up with the answers!

19: When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline etc.?

Honestly? I don’t… I just think and write. And think some more. I know I probably should have lists and outlines and the like. I’ve tried few apps and programmes but never manage to actually get going with one.

I’m not very good at writing stuff down generally - by the time I got to university I couldn’t really write for very long, so my notes during lectures were virtually non-existent compared to my fellow students (back in the days of longhand note-taking in lectures). Two sides of A4 (UK speak for a decent sized piece of notepaper) was about my limit for a 1 hour lecture when others would be 4+ sides. I ended up dictating all my exam scripts*. Suffice to say, I hadn’t exactly written out many revision notes or mock essay answers either…

I am fascinated by people who do plan/outline/draft things, fascinated in the same way I am by people who can produce fabulous craft projects or complex cooking concoctions or dance etc. To me, it’s a completely separate and distinct activity to story telling and writing….and one for which I have the writing equivalent of two left feet!

*You think turning over the exam paper, reading questions and thinking I have no idea what to put on this blank piece of paper is bad, try sitting in a little room on your own with your exam paper, your amanuensis (willing volunteer to write to your dictation) and an invigilator...in silence because you have no idea what to answer with, the amanuensis sitting there pen poised, waiting for you to speak…

24: Have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

I’m not sure I’d call myself an ‘expert’ on anything, including all the topics I’ve supposedly studied academically or use on a day to day basis professionally…. But I certainly would never have done any of the following in the last couple of years had I not been writing in my current two fandoms of choice (Dr Who (for the Kate/Osgood) and Holby City (for the Bernie/Alex) - I’ll let you play guess the story that required each area of reading *g*:

Studied the Queen’s Regulations (the UK Military equivalent of the US Uniform Code of Military Justice and so forth)

Read about the protocols for traumatic limb amputation by first responders outside the hospital ED environment

Studied Swiss Railway timetables and customs regulations for the importation of dairy products

Read up on the step-by-step approach needed to extubate a patient, including the UK/US differences in preferred angle to have the patient at for the procedure

Read about the Curiosity Rover SAM and how/why it ‘sings’

Got to grips with what the VLT is, what the GMT will be, why the E-ELT is going to be cool but not as cool as the OWL would have been had it been affordable enough to construct…

Various bits of quantum and particle physics, inorganic and organic chemistry, what exobiology is (vs what I thought it should be given how cool it sounds…)

25: copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of

Captain Janet Fraiser was a medical doctor and commissioned Air Force Officer. An exceptional student, both of medicine and the military, she had advanced far up the ranks of both bodies quickly, achieving far more than her career lengths would at first suggest. Her current posting, to the Centre for Disease Control in New York, was testament to her expertise in this area. Highly infectious, often unknown diseases were this lady's speciality, making her a highly valued physician, not only to her fellow medical staff, but also to the military. In short, the perfectly formed, diminutive frame that housed the vibrant personality and phenomenal intellect that was a world class doctor and scientist, as well as being a model officer, was an academic and military force to be reckoned with.

Is it my ‘best’ writing? No.

Is it my most ‘popular’ writing? Not by a long shot - in fact, I’m probably the only person who remembered it exists, and even then I couldn’t remember it word for word. It’s not even finished, I can’t really remember where the story was supposed to go, nor can I read much of what comes after that first paragraph without cringing at some point. And I certainly can’t remember the specific moment that I posted it, although the Yahoo Group I posted it in tells me it was almost 14 years ago.

It is, however, the bravest I have ever been in the context of fanfiction writing, and therefore the paragraph I’m particularly proud of.

That ordinary introductory paragraph to a long forgotten SG1 WIP is, after a quick bit of (rather terrifying) arithmetic, words 3-130 of what is now about 1,150,000 ish words** of posted (so I can’t fiddle with it any more) fanfiction.

Had it not been for that paragraph (and the ones that followed it) and the kindness of the writers and readers in that Yahoo Group who didn’t laugh or flame but quietly encouraged, I wouldn’t have believed I could write something worth reading, wouldn’t have carried on writing, discovering a multitude of characters over the intervening years who had stories I wanted to read if only I’d just write them down first.

** Seriously, and I scared myself. Thanks to AO3 I think I can roughly pinpoint my 1,000,000th word as being somewhere in the first few chapters of ‘Boiler or Helicopter? It’s a Matter of Perspective’. In the process, I’ve also realised I’ve still got some of my ‘favourite’ fics to round up from their various scattered homes across the internet and dump into AO3 so they’re easier to find and reread. Ho hum.

6: Something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now?

Early 1995.

They’re the first 2 words of the fic that is my answer to the previous question. Because right from the beginning of my fic writing, I’ve latched onto the big idea with the long establishing backstory that I have to write in order to give my characters a proper foundation to stand on for the actual story. It’s far too late (see previous answer re words written) to correct this habit, but boy is it making life complicated… I can’t begin to imagine all the different ideas and half thoughts I could have had room for in my ‘fic plotting brain’ if I’d not lumbered myself with writing epics…...

[For context, the wonderful website ‘Passion and Perfection’ which was my first femslash website haven as both a reader and a writer used to run a writing challenge called ‘Epic Proportions’ for stories >20,000. ⅓ of the stories I’ve written since rediscovering my writing for the most recent time two years ago would have qualified for that challenge. Who knows what stories I might have discovered if I’d been a drabble expert....]

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disappearingground · 5 years

Text

“I’m speaking about stuff I’ve never talked about”

AV Club March 19, 2019

Jenny Lewis on her best solo album to date

By Erik Adams

Jenny Lewis has been making music for more than 20 years, on her own and with bands like Rilo Kiley and Nice As Fuck. But she’s never recorded anything quite like On The Line. Her fourth solo album and first since 2014’s The Voyager sounds humongous: rafter-raising vocals, pianos that seem to ring out endlessly, and, on “Red Bull & Hennessy” and “On The Line,” an earth-shaking double-drum attack courtesy of session warhorse Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr. On The Line is the crispest-sounding entry in Lewis’ catalog, and the most emotionally complex, written in the wake of a breakup and the death of her mother. Yet, as she discussed by phone this month, the true nature of those songs is a little more complicated. The A.V. Club talked with Lewis about “summoning” a former Beatle, the links between The Voyager and On The Line, and whether knowing the recipe ruins the cake.

The A.V. Club: I’ve been listening to On The Line a lot, and I feel like every time I do, I come out of it with a new favorite among the songs.

Jenny Lewis: That’s the hope—that people listen to it all the way through, and maybe more than once. How much do people listen to one album now? I know I do, because I have to limit myself to fall in love with something—like one side at the time.

AVC: How do you listen to music these days? Is it streaming, is it physical media?

JL: I have a cassette player that I love, in the kitchen. I really like listening to cassettes because of the parameters. A couple songs, let me digest it, flip the side. I listen to vinyl. I also listen to a lot of Howard Stern [Laughs.] in the car. A ton.

AVC: So you’ve got that satellite radio hook-up?

JL: Yeah, I’ve got that Sirius. When I’m driving, I like Howard, and the Grateful Dead channel, and the Beatles channel, which is so fun to listen to, because it’s just like trivia.

AVC: And now you have a Beatle on your record!

JL: It’s crazy. It’s crazy!

AVC: How does that feel?

JL: In the words of Larry David: Pretty, pretty, pretty good.

AVC: How did Ringo Starr end up playing on “Heads Gonna Roll” and “Red Bull & Hennessy”?

JL: I feel like we may have channeled him from the East Village. We may have summoned Ringo without realizing it. A friend of mine [Nice As Fuck drummer Tennessee Thomas] had a shop called The Deep End Club on 1st Avenue, and one day this Frenchman drove up on a motorcycle, and he just rode it right up to the shop door, came into the shop—just the two of us in there, myself and Tennessee—and the guy was watching something on his iPhone. He showed it to us, and it was this video of Ringo in a blue onesie with a silver star on it, singing “Only You (And You Alone)” with Harry Nilsson on background vocals, and a giant spaceship made out of papier mâché on top of the Capitol Records Building. [Laughs.] And I became obsessed with this video. I must have watched it a hundred times.

And there’s a little shop down the street called Flower Power—it’s like a little witches’ shop—and they have this oil called Come To Me Oil. And it was for romantic reasons that I bought this oil, but then I think it sort of got crossed with this Ringo video. [Laughs.]

AVC: It’s not just Ringo—it’s the studio, too.

JL: I would have never considered Capitol Records as a place that I could record. Honestly. My motto in life is “One up from the cheapest.” I want that to be my headstone. It’s a great way to choose a bottle of wine. So to end up at Capitol, that was a real trip.

AVC: How do you feel like the studio wound up influencing the album? How is it heard in the final product?

JL: I think the part of record-making that is magical, and mysterious, and human—it’s in the air, it’s in the space. When you record on a computer, you’re recording in a vacuum. When you record on tape, it’s alive. The hiss is the room. So when you’ve got the tape—which, we recorded on tape—and then you’ve got a room like that, which is just resonating energy, sound, air. I think that’s where the magic is, in the air.

And then you’ve got someone like Benmont Tench, who plays on the record, whose specialty is fog. He adds a layer of fog to music. He is so amazing at creating tension—melodic tension. Sometimes dissonance. But the fog and the air, I think that is the space.

AVC: Is there anywhere on the record where that fog is particularly prevalent? Or is it throughout the whole thing?

JL: It’s in there, and you can just feel it. On The Voyager as well. It’s this pristine, modern recording, which is cool as well. That’s why I think Auto-Tune is so popular, because it adds an otherworldly element that you’re not getting in the digital form. It’s so tight, digital recording, that Auto-Tune is a little bit magical, mystical, and creates space and fog. I think it’s almost like a reaction to the sterile environment of digital recording. You can still make something amazing on your phone, but I think there’s this humanness that people are drawn to in music.

AVC: And tracking the songs live in the studio provides its own energy, too. “Red Bull & Hennessy” feels muscular and electric.

JL: We call that “the big boy pirate ship.” “Red Bull & Hennessy” feels muscular because there are two men drumming on the track—Ringo and Jim Keltner, arguably the two best drummers alive—and the power of that.

So we started in the studio at Capitol, and then I mixed the record with Shawn Everett, who’s a different kind of artist and technician. He changed the sound. He put the sail on the big boy pirate ship.

AVC: You’ve talked in other interviews about getting the drum sound on the record by taking the midrange out—in layperson’s terms, how does that affect the sound?

JL: That isn’t necessarily specific to the drum sound. The drum sound was an organic drum sound through Shawn’s filter, which is: He is on his own trip, and I was there to go on that trip with him.

What I meant by removing the midrange: That relates to the whole track and creating space in the middle for the vocal. With guitar music, guitars eat up the same sonic space as vocals. By scraping some of that out—in the same way that a hip-hop track would be produced, where it’s bass, vocal in the middle, and then cowbell or hi-hat—sonically, those kinds of productions are really clean and sparse, and you can hear what’s going on. So Shawn and I were referencing some hip-hop for a clean, but muscular, track.

AVC: That hip-hop influence really comes across on “Do Si Do.” The percussiveness of the lyrics, the way they flow—they could be rapped or sung.

JL: Beck produced that song, and it feels so Beck to me. Although it’s Jim, and it’s Capitol Records—you know, it’s, like, singer-songwriter music—Beck is really so great at finding the groove. I wrote the lyrics like I wrote my first lyrics as a kid: I wanted to be an MC when I was 10. And I think the first poems I wrote were actually verses. They were rap. I had a freestyle battle with Biz Markie when I was 17, in Hollywood at this place called The Gaslight. And I realized that I wasn’t a very good rapper—I was probably a better writer. So that was the end of my rapping career, but that’s my formative writing skill, in that form. And then I learned about indie rock later, and then country music. So I’m aping those genres, but through a hip-hop prism, because that’s all I kind of know how to do.

(In addition to Beck and Everett, On The Line was in small part produced by Ryan Adams; following the sexual misconduct allegations against Adams published in The New York Times, Lewis tweeted the following: “I am deeply troubled by Ryan Adams’ alleged behavior. Although he and I had a working professional relationship, I stand in solidarity with the women who have come forward.”—Ed.)

AVC: Another of the Beck songs on the album is “Little White Dove,” which is about your mother’s death, though that might not be immediately apparent because of the groove and the bounce that it has. Can you talk about writing and recording that song?

JL: I started that with a guitar, with a drum machine—I have a little music room [at home]. My mom was ill, and in the hospital, and I would spend the day with her and then come back home and I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Nothing was working: The weed wasn’t working, and I didn’t want to drink tequila, or go on a hike. Really music was—it was just something to do. That song came out of those days I spent with her.

AVC: There’s overlap between some of the themes and subject matter of The Voyager and On The Line—both deal with the death of a parent—and the albums’ cover photos are similar. Do you view them as companion pieces?

JL: They are. The Voyager, I didn’t have a title track for it. I needed to write another song for it. And there was a motel in Van Nuys called The Voyager that burned down. And my mom was living in that motel. This is years ago. And I just happened to turn on the news and saw it on channel 5. And I wrote “The Voyager,” which isn’t really about that. But it gave me the idea of this song, which is about everyone’s journey.

So [On The Line]—life just happens. Shit happens. You keep going. It’s definitely linked to The Voyager. Which I just realized right now. [Laughs.] Interviews are so weird! I don’t even know why I make this shit, but then I have these conversations, and I’m like, “Wait a minute: This is deeply coded.”

AVC: And that’s inherent in your songwriting. There’s always an ambiguity: “Heads Gonna Roll” has that line “I’m gonna keep on dancing ’til I hear that ringing bell,” which rings of “for whom the bell tolls”—but it’s actually a reference to boxer Floyd Mayweather.

JL: That’s one of the things it could be. I like to write lines that have, like, five different meanings, where it really is open to interpretation. And the album title, On The Line, means so many things. To find the meaning underneath the meaning, it’s the true meta vibe of the song—or to just uncover some clue. Or listening to something over and over again, learning more about it. I hope I don’t blow it by talking about it so literally. I feel like I’ve opened up and I’m speaking about some stuff that I’ve never talked about before. When you know the recipe, is it going to ruin the cake? Or does it still taste good?

AVC: It’s all context. It’s all additional understanding. Hearing about the experiences that inspired these songs and these lyrics might strengthen people’s connection to them.

JL: But it’s also a little embarrassing. I feel really vulnerable. It’s easier to just have a poem. When you start addressing your own life, like your family and your relationships—but it’s my own fault. I’m just [Laughs.], “Blab, blab, blab.”

But the songs are not true, through and through. I take many, many liberties. They’re not not true, but they’re not true. You know what I mean.

AVC: They blend memoir and fiction.

JL: And I’m not consciously doing it—I’m just doing it. I just write every day. I live and I write, and hopefully I’ll always be able to write. Because if not, then I’d just have to live, and that’s terrifying.

AVC: From what I hear, that’s the best way to do it. I interviewed Paul Williams recently, and he compared his creative process to juggling: “I think you have to just throw the balls up in the air and catch them. You start thinking about it, they wind up on the floor.”

JL: Yeah, I don’t think you want to analyze too much. There’s a magical element to creation, if you’re an artist. Some people listen to a song, and then they write another song: “I want to write a song like this!” But the other part of it is pretty mystical. And I think you maybe follow the bread crumbs. It’s all right there in front of you, if you just open your eyes.

#publication: av club #album: on the line #year: 2019 #mention: life motto #person: ringo #person: benmont tench #mention: recording process #song: red bull #person: beck #mention: songwriting #song: little white dove #song: the voyager #song: heads gonna roll #mention: album title #mention: mother

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ravenswood · 7 years

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ed (if no one has asked), vivi, aaand leopardpool! you asked me about a cat i ask you about a cat,

as much as i call him out constantly for his creepy-ass paintings, he has actually made something of an effort on denny to tone it down, especially with lorraine around. he’s kind of gotten the feeling it might upset her after the whole valak thing, which is also the reason he’s hidden that one with the Collection after it showed up in the icc attic. silent hills may or may not completely destroy this tho

ed is the absolute 100% most lukewarm person when it comes to halloween. he gets enough of that spooky stuff on the job okay leave him alone with it for the rest of the year. he’s a total sap when it comes to handing candy out to the neighborhood kids tho

he gets really domestically into christmas tho and yall can BELIEVE its gonna be An Event on denny this year considering that he actually has people to celebrate with now.

he’s also 100% That Husband who will just like bring home flowers or something for lorraine for no occasion other than the fact that he was just thinking about her. Disgusting

alright listen to me. listen. this is a thing i had to briefly ponder last night for his icc with volle but if u think for a second ed would be like..... anything-phobic u need to get the hell out of my christian home in jesus name ah pray. like listen there was absolutely that kinda shit going on in the 70s but have you MET this man. can you imagine him with that kind of hatred like honestly

this one’s based on a dumb inside joke but the only reason he thinks exorcist 2 is better than the original is that a) he’s never seen the original exorcist and b) i don’t....think exorcist 2 is a traditional exorcism movie? i’ve only seen reviews of it but anyway he was kind of :/ when the original exorcist came out because it felt like capitalizing on and sensationalizing what’s actually a dangerous ritual irl. i’ve put way too much thought into this for a joke wtf

he and lorraine don’t/didn’t (depending on whether we’re talking about them on denny or not) actually have too many like Close Adult Friends. neither of them are super eager to place that kind of trust in people not to be skeptical/dismissive of their work and thus, they just kind of keep to themselves and the few people they’ve managed to meet through their work. drew is a good example of this.

in that vein, ed usually tries to keep in contact with the people he and lorraine help out, especially in the wake of a case that was particularly hard on a family ie the perrons and the hodgesons. it’s usually just a phone call or something to make sure that everything’s okay and they’re not experiencing any kind of activity, but he and lorraine have been back to the perron house a couple of times for casual visits and he’ll occasionally like write a letter or something to the hodgesons.

literally the only reason he has a normal-ish sleep schedule on denny now (even more normal than it would be at home) is that there’s like literally nothing more comforting to him now than getting to have lorraine next to him while he’s falling asleep. he may or may not be mildly clingy when it comes to curling up with her at night.

HE’S A GRYFFINDOR im cementing this now.

vivi

she has a mild caffeine addiction and will legit get migraines if she doesn’t have her morning coffee.

she’s dyslexic, which is a fact that tends to surprise people considering how much she likes to read. the pink tint of her glasses helps her eyes to better make sense of the words on the page in front of her, and tbh she’s really into stuff like comic books and manga, where she can follow the story through visual pictures, and also audiobooks.

this isn’t headcanon but she plays electric guitar! and acoustic too, but she prefers the Loudness of the former.

listen mystery ben can pry the fact that vivi build arthur’s prosthetic arm out of my cold dead hands. she actually has a bachelor’s in engineering, particularly robotics, but given that she’s pretty focused on her paranormal investigating, she hasn’t done very much with it.

also not headcanon: her favorite video game series is silent hill. 3 is probably her favorite of the franchise and she definitely has Opinions regarding the later games in the series.

in that vein, she ran an cr1tikal-esque lp channel back home where she played a lot of horror games straight-facedly and rolled her eyes at a lot of them. sh4 and homecoming were definitely among these.

she’ll take any nicknames you wanna throw at her. ‘vivi’ is actually already short for ‘vivian’ but phoebe and arthur both have occasionally called her ‘vi’ or ‘viv’ and ‘blue’ and ‘blueberry’ were both affectionate nicknames from the latter. lewis would probably also have dorky nicknames for her if he did the talking thing.

mystery is her familiar and, back home, he typically shied away from talking around random strangers. on denny, he’s way less cautious about it and just kind of openly talks to anyone. it’s v freeing, if you ask him.

she has a fondness for spicy food and one of these days she’ll remember it’s because it was a specialty of the restaurant lewis’s family ran. she’s also big into cultural food, especially japanese, given her heritage.

she’s a ravenclaw if we’re doing hogwarts house sorting for all of these.

leopardpool

she’s Very Gay although given that she’s staunchly against taking a mate, this isn’t very likely to come up in her life.

she has a scar running down between her shoulder blades from a kithood incident -- she and tangleclaw and dappledawn were a Trouble-making Squad when they were younger

herb-gathering is a v relaxing thing for her, particularly because her knowledge of what different herbs look like is one of the few things she’s fairly confident in re: med cat skills.

she never knew her ~biological father, harepath, and never really considered him family (he died in a border dispute before she and her siblings were both), given that she was raised by a pair of Gay Moms. she’s met him in sharing tongues with starclan, though, and their relationship is only slightly awkward.

her main starclan guide, though, is rowanfall’s old mentor, ratnose who will prooobably be a starclan npc at some point on denny. he’s played a big part in soothing leopardpool’s insecurities and anxieties after rowanfall left and is kind of quietly disappointed in his apprentice for this nonsense. he’s fond of sagepaw too tho.

her relationship with sagepaw is.........a work in progress. she’s tried her hardest not to let memories of her mother taint their mentor/apprentice stuff, because even if it was against the warrior code and resulted in so much shit hitting the fan, it was dappledawn that kind of bluntly pointed out to her that it wasn’t sagepaw’s fault. it’s lucky that patience are some of sagepaw’s virtues tbh.

she adores dappledawn’s daughters, nettlepaw and smokepaw, and was eagerly anticipating being made an aunt again before the rifts took her -- tangleclaw’s mate was with kits at the time.

med cats are taught a little of how to defend themselves and how to hunt, but leopardpool has never been particularly good at either of them. at best, she relies on her dark pelt and light pawsteps to get close to prey, but she has a bad habit of not paying too much attention to where she’s stepping, resulting in a lot of snapping twigs at the last second.

which is kind of a shame, since her mothers named her leopardkit in the hopes that she’d be as quick and stealthy as a leopard one day. whoops!

i’ll just finish these all off with hogwarts houses -- she’s a hufflepuff.

#saintvivec #PHEW alright done B)#are hyou okay denny #nerd queen #fame is a fickle friend #ocs #leopardpool #headcanons

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the-mayor-of-space · 7 years

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Do all thirty of those identity things have fun

do you have a creed?you bet your ass i’ll have fun

if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to? - uhhhhh fuckiinnnnn.... off the top of my head, im sure im missing a lot of important stuff here: listen to hawaii part 2, dinosaurchestra through to spirit phone of the lemon demon discography, and a bunch of miscellanious game music / siIvagunner. and just like have a base understanding of what vaporwave is about. probably you could get a pretty good sense for what im like by going through several hundred pages of this blog honestly. also if youve ever [media appropriate verb]ed anything where theres a theme of alternate timelines and resets and all that. lots of stuff has that kind of stuff going on recently. rick and morty, pokemon, hs, ut, you name it. also also, the story of the hollows from dark souls and the themes it brings up speaks to me on some level, so theres that.

have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who? - no i dont think so. i dont really do a lot of reading anymore, even though i used to be captain books when i was younger.

list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with. - god this is a good question but the way its worded just doesnt jive with me. its so 2013 tumblr you know? that being said the more i think about this the less of an answer i have. sorry thats boring and not giving an answer defeats the whole point of the ask.

do you like your name? is there another name you think would fit you better? - i guess. i mean its alright, im not really sure what i would rename myself to if it was up to me to choose. i like that you guys all call me “mayor” here though. obviously that doesnt work outside of the internet but like you know.

do you think of yourself as a human being or a human doing? do you identify yourself by the things you do? - instead of adressing the stupid jumble of words masquerading as a deep question, im gonna take this opportunity to express my worry that my answers to these asks might just be a bunch of inane, barely legible rambling. if nothing else im sorry that my formatting is shit. in response to that second question though, yeah sure i guess. dont we all?

are you religious/spiritual? - pffffft no no no.

do you care about your ethnicity? - not particularly, although i realize that the fact that that’s my answer is a luxury in and of itself

what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime? - like i get that technically its not a wrong usage, but “lifetime” feels like its implying that im way older than i am and also that im dying. anyways. neil cicierega, recently at least. although im well aware that connecting to someones music is different than knowing them as a person, its a lot more interpretive than just actually getting to know someone.

are you an artist? - debatably.

do you have a creed? - nope.

describe your ideal day. - its foggy and raining outside, me and my lover are curled up in bed with food and computers. maybe we go out and take a walk, mostly we just spend the whole day together. mayb we’re having conversations that arent as deep as we think they are. maybe we’re playing games. doesnt really matter. we’re together.

dog person or cat person? - cats. arent you guys happy when my answer to something isnt three run-on sentences worth of esoteric thought?

inside or outdoors? - indoors. i just realized that you can say “side” or “doors” for both of those words and it means the same thing either way. thats kind of interesting isnt it?

are you a musician? - nope. i like the idea of being one, but i dont think i have whatever it is it takes to be one. a bunch of my coworkers assumed i was though, so thats something. must have been my hair.

five most influential books over your lifetime. - uhhhhh

if you’d grown up in a different environment, do you think you’d have turned out the same? - theres probably a preppier version of me out there in an alt timeline? idk. i wish someone got me to learn how to code earlier, thats relevant to my interests and actually useful going into the 21st century. as it stands im just starting out now, shit at it, and beating myself up over the fact that im not that good at it despite the fact that sitting on my computer all day is just what i do. its a small event if i bother going anywhere.

would you say your tumblr is a fair representation of the “real you”? - ehh? idk. nobody is exactly the same in all contexts, the situation you’re in influences how you’ll act, that doesnt mean one of them is more of the “real you” than any of the others, theyre all facets of one person. god that was pretentious and psuedo-intellectual. the point im getting at is “yeah sure.”

what’s your patronus? - i took a test online and it gave me a hare. so there you go. i wouldve assumed some kind of bird but w/e.

which Harry Potter house would you be in? or are you a muggle? - i took a test for this too and it said slytherin. now im having a small crisis over whether or not im an edgy boy.

would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia, Hogwarts, or somewhere else? - the pokemon world is pretty idyllic all things considered, lets go with that.

do you love easily? - nope. i crush easily though. though for what its worth, i can always tell its not real love, so i never wind up acting on it. mostly im just constantly lowkey sad that i cant find anyone to have a long term relationship with. how the fuck do you become close to someone.

list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order. - christ dude idk i dont have stats for this shit

how often would you want to see your family every year? - .3 times a year sounds good to me. i’d settle for .5

have you ever felt like you had a “mind-meld” with someone? - no. what does that even mean.

could you live as a hermit? - “could” i? i think you mean “do”. and yes.

how would you describe your gender/sexuality? - captain privellege. the downside though is i dont know even one straight woman, so ive got nobody to fall in love with. real inconvinience this is. not much anybody could do about it.

do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the “real you”? - i’ll spare you guys another ramble a la question 17. my point would be “yeah sure i guess”

on a scale from 1 to 10, how hard is it for someone to get under your skin? - depends on the person, if im not already predisposed to liking you its probably like a 4. none of you people reading this will probably have to worry about it though, id assume if youre the kind of person who would send an ask or message me youre also probably the kind of person i like, so dont feel scared of bothering me. i’ll be pretty clear if you are. [which you won’t be]

three songs that you connect with right now. - i alays have so much less to say about music than i think i will. borns - electric love, mystery skulls - get it together, hotline miami ost - daisuke

pick one of your favorite quotes.- guys i want you all to know how much i hate that quotes are one of those things that immediately drain out of your mind as soon as youre asked to recall one. theyre like jokes. im gonna default to my usual boring answer of morty’s “nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody’s gonna die” speech to summer. i wish i could come up with something better for that though, im not feeling that nihilistic right now.

lemme use a couple more fuckin commas here, just sprinkle some in there,

,,,,, ,, ,,, ,,,,, , , , , , , ,,,, ,, , , , , , , ,, , ,,,,,,, ,, ,,, ,,,,,,, ,,, , , ,, ,

#autocrossbow

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