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waywardsalt · 1 year

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the phantom hourglass manga is the one i care about the most out of all of the loz manga and therefore the one i am most willing to rip apart because of its relation to the game, its own problems, and the potential that was lost or thrown away for any reason at all

making this separate than the list of things i liked about the phantom hourglass manga

im not going to be too organized about this; ill go by topic and in each topic go in chronological order through the manga and everything else will probably be all over the place

im not even going to touch the story yet and just go after the art off the bat because i really believe that this manga has the weakest art of all of them. i dont know if its due to some kind of time crunch or a lack of care but its really… im not expecting any of these books to have killer art, but in ph it just feels like there was less effort with inconsistencies in some designs and either very low detail or just absent backgrounds. this feels like a mean-spirited critique since i understand that manga is difficult to create and requires a lot of effort but its just visually… worse than the loz manga that came before or after it.

some specific grievances i have with the art are things like inconsistent designs of some characters (linebeck is hard to draw and i get that but hes just… never totally consistent) and some items like weapons (the shape of bellumbeck’s sword changes during the fight for some reason) and stuff is… left out. the fire temple has basically no layout since link’s just in some flavor of void for the entire blaaz fight. one of the panels with linebeck’s ship shows it from the behind at an angle where you should see the deck but its just not there

his ship is also missing its chimney on the cover art

this is also more of an opinion thing but the way astrid looks almost nothing like her game counterpart is just… it’s a nickpick based on opinion but that is Not The Same Character.

you can absolutely tell a fantastic story with lacking art, but the reason why im criticizing this manga’s art is because its the tenth in a series of manga who, up until this point, has had consistently good art, and then it drops off with weak backgrounds and character inconsistencies.

plus, i really care about how this story is visually portrayed.

the pacing, even with half of the story cut, is also a bit of a problem. as far as i'm aware, this is the only loz manga to have significant chunks of the story cut out, and while it admittedly works well with only half of the story, it fucks with the pacing a bit. specifically, it screws over linebeck's arc, which i'll talk about more in a different section, but it also kind of glosses over the phantom sword and (obviously) loses some possible time for further character exploration and whatever. the cut from the ghost ship right to jolene right to the final boss is, while handled well, kind of abrupt.

obviously, cutting half of the damn story will make what's kept feel a little too fast, but even some of the stuff more original to the manga is paced weirdly or is just... eh.

there's a bit after neri is found where linebeck decides to stop working with link and basically ditches him and this whole thing lasts one to two goddamn pages before everything is patched up and good and... why even include it if you turn the page and oh problem fucking solved. it's even a little out of character for linebeck at that point since a few pages before he's seen getting the sands of time for link and it's... it make sense but it's a really extreme character choice and while it serves its purpose (introducing the idea of linebeck not valuing other people very much and realizing that) it's still extremely brief.

the added stuff with linebeck being a past member of the ghost ship, while fine and interesting at first glance is also a strange choice that doesn't work all that well? it works for characterization and all of that but it makes for a weird situation with linebeck's character motivation where he's a coward and after the ghost ship for the treasure on it, but if he was present on the ghost ship literally as it was fucking gutted then he would know exactly what the danger of the ship is and want to avoid it no matter what. in the game his motivation for going after the ghost ship works because he doesn't know for certain whats on that ship and has never been on it. plus, aside from character backstory and whatever, it doesnt serve much of a purpose. linebeck even makes some comments about the ship's interior and the like but it all amounts to nothing because link never actually goes into the ship anyways. it's just a weird backstory to give linebeck.

the shuffling around (and cutting of one of) the three final bosses is also weird. it makes sense for the story order the manga goes with, but it actually lowers the stakes for the bellumbeck fight (in the game literally everything is on the line but in the manga its just linebeck and they absolutely use that to their advantage but still) and mixing the ghost ship fight and bellum fights make the final encounter really brief and kind of anticlimactic in some way. it's difficult to express, but the order of the final bosses in the game makes bellum a more interesting villain and melds with linebeck's arc in a much more interesting way. it feels like there was a specific reason for that given order and for the manga to just toss that aside means it loses something.

also reserving pretty much an entire chapter for jolene is A Choice to make. there's nothing wrong with using an adaptation to flesh out a character but here you don't learn anything new about jolene she just kind of makes very little sense in her motivations when you give her more screen time but dont change her from wanting to kill linebeck for fucking off but also still liking him maybe. good for you if you like jolene since she got more time here but they did pretty much nothing interesting with her

this is something i figured out while writing this, but the manga actually does Fuck All with the actual hourglass. you could've cut the fucking thing out and it wouldn't have effected the story too much. link never goes into the temple every again and the phantom sword is just. made on request with link having no interaction with it before using it to kill bellum. the only time the phantom hourglass is actually plot relevant aside from link first getting it and then using it to gather sand is when bellum tells link to bring it to the temple and then it's used exactly once to stop time and then it's used as proof that everything happened. oshus says link needs to use it and the sand to break the curse over the temple of the ocean king and then that never actually happens the sand and the hourglass is just used once to stop time once and otherwise it might as well not be in the story it's so weird. it's also implied that oshus needs the sand to restore tetra after he returns to his own true form but they dont say anything about that after he initially mentions it so who cares. oshus also tells link that zuaz will teach him how to defeat bellum. link never meets zuaz and still beats bellum anyways.

it feels like they cut the latter half of the story but forgot that the fucking majority of linebeck's entire goddamn character arc happens in that part of the story. sure, most of the cutscenes and whatever happens in the first part and linebeck does develop a bit in the first part but he doesn't really start to change until after the ghost ship, when you get his letter and his dialogue starts to change slightly to suggest that he's starting to like link more and care about something other than the possibility of treasure. the manga cutting out the latter half of the story but still making linebeck's arc end in similar places makes his arc feel really fast and even abrupt in the manga. he goes from being fully motivated to get treasure and still kind of selfish to caring a lot for link and deciding not to wish for treasure and the time was just NOT put in to make that a smooth transition.

honestly linebeck overall got fucked in the manga more than any other character. his arc was shafted, his characterization is strange and even kind of changed from the game, he's never drawn consistently and doesn't even look great since he seems to be stuck between two styles when he's drawn, he's more shallow and generally a less interesting character, and while most of that is probably a product of having one book to cover ph, it's still a problem.

like with all of the loz manga, the extremely limited amount of space and time the story is given absolutely fucks it over so you really are stuck with telling nothing more than an abridged and seriously inferior version of the story. i dont care how good the original stuff is if it barely qualifies as a good adaptation. the story wasn't told all of the way and none of the game's strengths are kept or expanded upon. you lose the majority of the best character's arc and depth. half of the story was cut. the title item is barely used. it feels like they didn't really care about adapting phantom hourglass and just hashed out a trimmed-down version of the story to fit into 188 pages and while there was some effort put in with a bit of a unique take on linebeck but it just falls flat when everything around it feels like it wasn't given a second thought.

i'm not suggesting that the author's didn't fucking care, i don't know what the process was with this, but it just... it doesnt feel like they actually wanted to earnestly create a good adaptation of this game. i have an altered perspective on all of this because this game is my special interest and something i deeply care about and inspect the little details of and it kinda just sucks that phantom hourglass never got a good adaptation because... this game has some serious potential for a really good extended adaptation.

Unlike the other Zelda games that the other manga cover, the structure of the journey in Phantom Hourglass has an insane amount of space for fleshing out of character, exploration of new concepts or character relationships, or just.. whatever you want. Providing you cover the original story, of course. Off the bat, there's a nebulous amount of travel time between islands, which can be used by authors for character moments and interactions and just little moments that can be used to further themes or concepts. You can use the implied time overseas between islands to have some interactions between Link and Linebeck. Show the three fairies hanging out with each other. Show the whole crew becoming closer to each other as time drags on.

Linebeck's existence and function within Phantom Hourglass alone is so fucking unique and amazingly good for an extended adaptation. In most other Zelda games, the companions are pretty much glued to Link's side and follows him through dungeons, or they're characters locked in a specific place, more or less divorced from Link's quest, but Linebeck is an integral part of the plot, present for every part of it as it advances, and yet he's out doing fuck-all while Link is in dungeons. He's a great excuse for authors to add detail to islands, write new characterization for background characters, or even just give Linebeck his own b-plot running concurrently with the game's normal plot. He's important to the plot and yet doesn't touch the gameplay; he's free to do whatever you want while Link does dungeon stuff. One possible idea I've mentioned before is the idea of, while Link is in the temple of the Ocean King, is to create and explore a possible relationship between Oshus and Linebeck. Scenes of them talking can be used to flesh out Oshus as a character and to add some extra depth to Linebeck and make his arc more interesting to follow.

There is... SO MUCH you can do with Phantom Hourglass if you care enough to do it, and I'm just so frustrated that we got this solid 4/10 of a manga.

#salty talks #bitching about the loz manga #hi if you think i'm wrong or made a mistake in this i implore you to fucking yell at me for it #i care about this game so fucking much that i would love to know if i fucked this up in any way #anyways uhhhh yeah. oof. it sucks.#i dont like jolene at all and have tags blacklisted to reflect that and will not touch stuff w/ her so thats why i dont read this much #jolene wanting to kill linebeck but still being implied to be attached to him makes me slightly uncomfortable ngl #probably one of the biggest reasons why i dislike her so much she gives me really bad vibes and is annoying #anyways. yall out here talking about how this manga has good dadbeck moments are fucking lying #maybe i cant see it because i have a good relationship with my dad but at best he's just. idk he gives a shit abt link at the most #i hate manga astrid i hate her so muhc. like. look at astrid in the game. what the fuck were the manga artists smoking #game astrid looks nothing like manga astrid and i like game astrid better.#this is incoherent bc im tired and i dont know how to write things like this and im so fucking tired #if you want clarification about any of this like you want me to talk about something specific?#send an ask or bring it up in a reblog or smth ill gladly discuss this book and why i kinda want to feed it to my dog #i just. game linebeck has queer vibes. game linebeck can be read as autistic #manga linebeck is neither. milquetoast ass fuckin wet cardboard take on a character #i dont even hate him he just fucking sucks compared to game linebeck #like. i hold game bellumbeck in such high regard bc everything about is is wonderful its a beautiful climax #every little thing about it is great i love the stakes i love the implications you can make about linebeck about bellum #the music the atmosphere the events leading up to it its place compared to other final bosses #manga bellumbeck is cool but its not what it could be #i didnt add any more photo evidence for art grievances bc theres a lot. bellumbeck's design changes between chapters #can you tell when making this post is no longer fueled by tired hate. can you #i thought about painting a target on my back and tagging this as phantom hourglass but thats a bad idea lol

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ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole · 1 year

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Meet a sister, catch a girl

Meet Cute Monday Bonus (so that it's 52 on AO3)

Meet cute Monday Masterlist

Masterlist

For @boldlyanxious Happy belated Birthday and the first MCM was for you, it's seems natural that the last (planned) MCM is for you too.

I've done it!! 🎉🥂 52 (+1) MCMs!! Now that is a wrap and I can panic about other works instead.

...............................

Kon stared at the building nervously. He knew logically that meeting her changed nothing. That all this was just more a formality than anything else but to him his whole world was changing. This was groundbreaking. Even more so than heroes coming back from the 'dead'. Rising from the dead was old hat now. Finding out Lex has had other partners (other than his creepy obsession with Clark) was mind blowing and then to find out you have a half sister… that was… it is… ok, Kon was terrified, but he refused to show it.

"Arewejustgoingtojuststandhereorcanwegoinnow? I'm hungry!"

Rousing from his musing, Kon turned to his moral support, his chosen family, to find Bart bouncing on his feet. His eyes darted about the place as he watched Parisians rush about doing civilian stuff. Tim just raised an eyebrow at Kon as the tired teen leaned against Cassie.

"Yeah Kon. Why are we here?"

Cassie smirked back at Kon, the pair reading him all too clearly. Deciding to take back control and not let these so-called friends bully him, Kon steeled himself.

"One, Bart we will. In a minute. I'm just… just hang on a moment. Two. Rob, Tim, /you/ need a break, a holiday after like everything. This is what you need, an escape from the grime of Gotham to the city of lights, which still has Gothic architecture so your not completely not at home."

"A place that I trained with Shiva and only last year almost got blown up and killed in. Good choice of a getaway, Kon."

"Uhhhh, ok, you know the place and /we're/ here too. So it is a break. And Three, Cassie is here as we're the core four. We can't exclude her."

"Nope, you can't exclude me. That doesn't say why you're not going in though, Kon. You scared?"

"What!? No!! Maybe… this is life changing for me and as my family, I want you here with me."

Ignoring his friends' chuckles, Kon pouted. They were right about him being scared and all, and if he didn't move soon he'd be late. Drawing on the courage he usually used to take on aliens and villainous masterminds Kon took a step forward out into the busy Parisian street traffic to collide with another teen.

Admittedly he hardly felt anything but the girl bounced off him and onto the floor with an oof. Staring down, cornflower blue eyes blink back up at him in surprise. Cherry blush lips are sucked together before being bitten as the cutie winces as she moves to stand grasping her iced coffee tight. An 'Eeeeps' escapes her as Kon feels his friends leaning over his shoulder to stare down at her.

Shrugging them off, Kon extended a hand to the bruised teen whose callused fingers accepted. What felt like electricity passed between them, eyes widening in shock as they continued to take each other in. Kon felt hypnotised by the cornfield eyes, in a good way - not in a bad guy going to take over. His heart sped up as he swallowed. He offered the girl an apologetic smile and opened his mouth to speak when she beat him to it.

"Zut alors!!! You're built like a brick. That was like running into a wall. Baguettes!! I'm late!! Bonjour, thank you! Sorry!! Au Revoir!!"

Sending him an awkward grin, the teen let go of his hand and dashed off towards the building he had been working his way up to entering, downing her drink at an impressive rate.

"DoyouthinksheisyoursisterKon??"

"Dark hair, blue eyes match. Skin tones are different though. It is a possibility."

"She doesn't have to take after Lex either. Kon looks more like Clark anyway so definitely a chance. And she went into the location that Kons agreed to meet his sister."

"Gods! I hope she isn't."

"What?" "What!" "Judgement much!!"

Kon pulled his hand down his face and groaned. Damnit, he she seemed… nice, even if a tad chaotic and he would adore getting to know her more… but they had a moment and it didn't feel like a sibling moment.

"No, I, errrr… let's just go get this over with."

The quartet entered the Le Grand Paris Hotel to witness the fallen teen dart into an elevator. Resisting the urge to follow the dark-haired girl, Kon stuffed his hands into his leather jacket and walked up to the hotel's reception desk.

"Hi, I'm here to meet Chloe Bourgeois. I think I have an appointment."

Kon was met with a hugely judgemental look which only increases when his friends get closer. They tip tapped away on the keyboard while looking at the computer screen. With a scrunched up frown they seemed to be appeased by whatever they were searching for.

"Miss Bourgeois is on the top floor by the pool. You can't miss her. The top floor is reserved for our most honoured guests, so please do not disturb them with whatever you require from the young heiress."

"Err… ok. Yeah, sure."

The core four piled into the elevator and rode it up to the roof. Meeting them at the top was a red headed girl who escorted them to Chloe. Kon was dumbfounded as Chloe was blonde. His friends also seemed surprised as this wasn't who they expected. The harsh icy blue eyes were a spitting image of Lex, and her harsh tongue to both the redhead and his friends was frustratingly similar. Clenching his fists, he ignore the irritation and sat down as his friends waved him off and wished him luck as they went off with Sabrina to let Kon and Chloe get to know each other.

Trying to connect with Lex's daughter was… painful. If he was the son of Clark with a sprinkling of Lex, Chloe was the daughter of Lex with a sprinkling of her mother, but at the same time what she gave way about her mother made it sound like she was just as bad. Her drivel was sucking out his soul. The nervous and excited energy he once was being crushed.

What didn't help him, as Kon tried to focus on what his half sister was saying, was across the way was the petite teen who'd crashed into him earlier talking animatedly with the Jagged Stone! He could hear her with her light giggle. He could see her with her tongue pointing out her mouth as she concentrated and putting something down in her note book.the way the sun hit her, lot her up sonit was like she glowed. It was cute. It was adorable. It was attractive. It was very very distracting.

Chloe said something meaningless to Kon, and he replied still keeping an eye on the semi mysterious girl on the other side of the roof. The conversation had somehow drifted to Lex and his hair, or lack of it as Chloe bemoaned her fears of inheriting that gene. Kon could admit he had that fear too and joined in moaning about their joint parent, all the while sending glancing looks across the water.

Suddenly he jumped up, startling Chloe, as he witnessed a CROCODILE appear and start biting the girl. She screamed in surprise as the other teen started to wrestle with the beast. Kon went to help when Chloe grabbed his arm.

"What the hell Conner!!"

"There's a guest being mauled by a crocodile!! We need to help!!"

"What? Where?"

"Over there!!!!"

Kon shot his half sister an incredulous look. Was she blind. Why wasn't she let him go, he didn't want to hurt her, but, this was serious.

"*Huff* oh my god! This is ridiculous! Utterly utterly ridiculous. Sabrina!! SABRINA!"

Frowning, Kon swiftly but carefully removed Chloe's grip from his arm and rushed towards the incident. He found he was met by his friends who had rushed to help to observe the 'injured' teen tickling and baby talking to the giant reptile.

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? Fangs a good boy, the cutest. Who wants all the attention. Was Jagged taking up all my attention Fang? He was, wasn't he."

Kon was confused. This was not what he was expecting. Ok maybe he had been hoping he'd come in to save the day and get a hero's kiss from the girl (if she wasn't too badly hurt obviously!). Finding her playing and treating the monster as if it was a puppy was… unexpected. He turned to the other Young Justice members who were just as bemused as he was.

"CanIpethimtoo?"

Bart's enthusiastic question followed by peering over the girl's shoulder spooked the fellow teen who let out a loud squeak of surprise. She tipped back to look up and see everyone but by doing so shifted her weight so that she fell.

Into the pool with a loud splash!

Without thinking, Kon shucked off his leather jacket and dived in seamlessly as the dark haired beauty floundered in the water by the unexpected dip. With grace Kon swam to her and pulled her to the side of the pool where his friends helped pull her out.

Pushing himself out he joined the growing gathering to gently rub the back of the now spluttering teen.

"Dupain-Cheng you are a disaster. A major clutz! Sabby, Darling get the riff raff a towel… and one for Luthor-Kent. I suppose he needs one too. And keep the water away from my hair!!"!

"C-c-c-cheers Chloe. L-l-l-ovely feedback. I'll file it-t-t-t with the rest of yo-ur crit-t-ti-ques."

Impervious to Kon's discontent with how the conversation was going as he tried to soothe the partially drown victim, Chloe continued.

"As you should do. Mummy thinks you have potential and you need to aspire to improve to avoid disappointment."

Dupain-Cheng rolled her eyes as she coughed more and shivering. Kon wrapped her closer trying to warm her up with his Kryptonian 'warmer than normal' body. He grab the towels off Sabrina as she returned and started to wrap Dupain-Cheng up in one before draping one around himself

"Chloe… that's… what the hell!?"

"MINI ROCKSTAR!!"

"Oh g-g-g-ods! S-s-sabrina, s-save me! Jag-g-g-ged is go-i-ing t-t-to go nuts-s-s-s!"

"Marinette I'll… I'll try but this is."

Before the redhead could finish her sentence, the over dramatic rockstar appeared with his manager in tow. He pulled Marinette from Kon's grasp, who pouted, and started fussing over her trying to bark orders about, with his manager shutting them down as quickly as he came up with them.

Chloe whistled a piercing sound as she glowered at everyone who turned to face her.

"Ms Rolling, take Mr Stone and his pet to his room. He is upsetting other guests and you know what Daddy's terms are about him staying here. Sabby, go to my room and get Dupain-Cheng some dry clothes. Last seasons and not the nice stuff either…. and see if the spa had anything that may fit Luthor-Kent. The rest of you sit!!"

Cassie looked like she wanted to say something but Chloe's glare shut it down. Slowly everyone moved to following the instructions in a cautious manner.

"Th-thank you."

The soft whisper of a voice caught Kon's attention.

"For s-s-saving me, that is. A-a-and f-f-for helping m-me warm up-p"

"No problem Cuteness. It's all in the hero's job."

The arched eyebrow caused Kon to pause and blush as he watched her bluebell eyes sparkle in the light and processed what he said.

"S-s-uppose you are m-my hero t-today."

Kon grinned at the comment, warmth rushed through him as at least some of what he had hoped for happened. Lifting an arm around her shoulder, Kon pulled her closer, rubbing it a little more to try and dry Marinette off and warm her up more.

"Yurgh! Gross. Now this is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous."

Kon and Marinette blinked up at Chloe.

"You are not going to play cutsy with my brother Dupain-Cheng!"

"B-b-rother?!"

As Marinette tried to lean away, Kon held her close and narrowed his eyes at his half sister.

"Yes. Half, thankful. Did you see what he considered fashionable? Disgraceful."

"I… I was-sn't aware Audrey had other child, other than Z-z-zoe."

Chloe sniffed in disgust.

"Mummy doesn't. Father does."

"Mr Bourgeois?!"

Marinette's exclamation was louder than expected causing Kon to wince at the volume change.

"Not Daddy!! Father."

The bitter tone was clear to see and Kon marvelled as the girl in his arms softened at Chloe's poorly hidden feelings. Despite Chloe brashness towards her Marinette seemed to still care about her. It reminded Kon of Tim and his ever bleeding heart with his family. His 'wrap them up in bubble wrap' senses started to tingle as the girls eyed each other with caution.

"Oh. OOooh, I'm sorry Chlo."

"Whatever! Stop playing cutesy with Conner. I don't know if either of you are up to standards for each other. And his puppy eyes are just infuriating."

Chloe looked up and huffed.

"Sabrina's here. Take the clothes and sort yourselves out."

Reluctantly, Kon let the shivering Marinette out of his arms to go collect clothes and change. He looked up to find a pensive expression on Chloe's face as she scrutinised him.

"You like her?"

"Maybe. I don't really know her, but I'd like to."

"Hmmm." Chloe eyed him critically for what felt eternity, "Dupain-Cheng has been through a lot of grief over the years. We may be blood, but I will hurt you if you hurt her. She is a… chosen distant relative that you want to hide. I will protect her from you Luthor."

Kon searched deeply at Chloe's expression before his lips twitched on a fond amusement. She may act as cold as Lex, and detached as Audrey and as callus as Marinette's fingers, but that's what it was. An act. The blustering earlier, she was sussing him out, playing the spoilt rich brat card. Behaving as Luthor would expect from her. Standing, Kon wrapped Chloe up in a hug and cackled as she screeched about her hair and tried to escape his damp grasp.

"I'll be careful Chloe, promise."

Looking over to his friends, Kon smirked as he watched them chatter amongst themselves judging him. Letting go of his sister, Kon grabbed the outfit Sabrina offered him with a swagger sort of grace and walked off.

"You best do, Kent-Luthor! I've got my eye on you!"

Laughter escaped Kon's lips as he went to change. This meeting hadn't been too bad. He had a girl to go get to know. He even sort of, maybe, connected slightly with his sister.

#maribat #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #maribat au #ml x dc #dc x ml #konette #konetto #kon x marinette #marinette x kon

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bossbex · 3 years

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5x06 Reaction

JARCHIE!!! I missed their interactions so much... like honestly in S4 they barely spoke. I’m loving the “roommates” dynamic.

Ok the kevin/fangs/toni apartment(?) is... amazing!!

I love how they hired actual teenagers (or close to it) to play the high school kids... since all the “teachers” were playing high school students, what, 3 episodes ago??

Ok mechanic Betty is SO HOT

DORITOS I AM CRYING AT THIS PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Veronica’s taking over the Blue Velvet!!! Why not reuse that set lmao

Thoughts on this initial barchie interaction:

I’ve seen all the discourse about it seeming like Archie doesn’t care about Betty’s problems, or not taking them seriously, and people comparing Archie’s “oof - that sucks” to jughead’s “white noise” speech in 1x08 (which I thought was cringy AF and I even liked b*ghead at the time) and here’s what I’ll say:

His “oof - that sucks” comment as MATCHING Betty’s tone - she says it kind of matter of factly and with a bit of an eyeroll, she does NOT seem very upset about it, and she is a grown ass adult who DOESN’T need Archie’s condolences in that moment - and Archie knows that.

She then brings up Polly, and Archie ASKS A FOLLOW UP QUESTION: “didn’t your mom say she does this? Takes off for a couple of days” which shows that he is referring to a previous conversation about this - they’ve BEEN talking about it and he DOES care (not to mention they showed that he had texted her about Polly at the end of the last episode)

She says she’s trying not to panic - because she knows this is something Polly does and may not actually be in danger - SO HE OFFERS A DISTRACTION during a time when she is basically asking for one, and then SHE COMES UP WITH THE IDEA OF WHERE TO GO HAVE SEX

Anyway I have argued with enough people on twitter about this lol.. I feel strongly. Also, this scene was super cute and both Archie and Betty look so good in it.

I love Tabitha. Smart, enterprising, witty... I’m all for the Jugitha pairing. (seriously though, is a ship name decided for them? I’ve seen Tabhead and Jabitha as well, lol.

Uhhhhh ok this car sex scene? It somehow feels even more explicit than the shower scene?? The moaning and breathing?? HOW DARE THESE STONEWALL KIDS INTERRUPT THIS

LMAO NIGHT JOGGING

Is it just me or is Sheriff Keller looking really hot? Silver fox??

I have to note that Archie’s hair colour looks SO BAD in this whole episode but especially this football scene with the Reggie confrontation. It’s like, almost burgundy? But somehow bright orange at the same time? I hate it.

Ok Cole is absolutely nailing this “down on his luck, beaten down” adult Jughead. His character is funny all the sudden?? I love that he kept the money in the tip jar like OF COURSE

Ok Chad coming into Veronica’s class HE’S THE WORST!!! And then SITTING AT THE BACK I HATE HIM SO MUCH FOR THIS

Alright, now we have another scene that has people talking, which is where Archie meets Chad. My thoughts:

Archie clearly sizes up Chad. I mean, he dated Veronica for 3-ish years (in the show’s timeline) so yeah, it’s normal to meet your ex’s new partner and size them up. It read more like “he thinks Chads a douche” as opposed to “he’s jealous of Chad because he wants to be with V”.

They show makes a point of showing Betty’s reaction to them meeting. THIS SHOT IS NOT RANDOM. Yes, I’m sure the show will go there, she’ll get jealous of V at some point. Betty thinking that Archie is jealous of Chad is not the same as Archie actually being jealous of Chad.

I kind of loved how Chad just jumps in here to join in the karaoke night - he didn’t redeem himself from the previous scene where he SAT IN THE BACK OF HER CLASS WHILE SHE WORKED but I like how they’re not playing him completely evil

Next scene: BETTY AND TONI ARE TALKING!!! I REPEAT!!! BETTY AND TONI ARE TALKING!!! Seriously, it’s so refreshing that they’re actually letting all kinds of new dynamics and character interactions happen this season.

Also, NEDSLIST!!!! THIS SHOW!!!!

I am living for Cheryl being completely beautiful whilst yelling at construction workers.

So like... she actually doesn’t have that much money. She couldn’t really afford the donation for the school... I kind of wish that once she says “I can’t afford it” people would like, not keep pushing? I’m looking at you Toni, whom I absolutely adore, I just wish the writers didn’t make it like Cheryl’s being squeezed dry. I get that it’s needed for plot purposes but I don’t love it.

Kevin and Betty are friends again!!! Love it!!!

Karaoke night thoughts:

At no point is Jughead hanging out or interacting with the rest of the group. He stays separate from them - with Tabitha, which I appreciate, but I am just noting this because I’m sure it was done purposefully.

“She probably forgot it’s Gekko now” uhhhh didn’t Toni announce V as “Veronica Gekko” in the last episode?? LOL THE SHADE

I love Veronica’s voice

Ok so Chad actually comes off so great in this scene?? I guess this is part of his manipulation - come off as such a great guy in front of all her friends to get them to like him?

Jughead’s reaction to the duet is so me every time I’ve watched people do karaoke lmao

During the “or do you need more? Is there something else you’re searching for” they cut to Archie’s and Betty’s reaction. Archie is not thinking about V in that moment.

I am not seeing one iota of jealousy from Archie. He looks genuinely happy for them.

This Chad and Veronica bed scene makes me uncomfortable. But I’m glad they’re showing their softer moments!

The Archie/football recruitment sequence... Chad in the back of Veronica’s classroom again??? HOW IS THIS HAPPENING I HATE THIS!! Also, this is another scene where Chad looks jealous of Archie... not the other way around.

Britta!!! I love her. And I feel like the writers inserted her in specifically for Britta Lundin, former Riverdale writer and acclaimed author (read her book Ship It, seriously, it’s so good), and I love that. BUT THE WAY ARCHIE LOOKS AT BETTY IN THIS SCENE IS THAT EVEN LEGAL

We get the first glimpse Toni’s “Operation Bring Cheryl Out Of Hiding” plan here, when Archie asks her for funding for the football team and says its earmarked for something else (hmmmmmmm... this plan has been in the works for a while... and I’m here for it)

Ok. This scene where Archie goes to ask Cheryl for money is... a mess. My first reaction is that it was so OOC for Archie to bring up Jason in that way. Then I got to thinking... Archie probably would want to honour his dad in that way and was genuinely suggesting that as something that might actually be helpful to her, as opposed to purposely trying to manipulate her. He knows what it’s like to lose a family member, he just didn’t realize that Cheryl doesn’t grieve in the same way. The boy doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body. Anyway, now he’s been banished from Thornhill! But don’t we see him (and everyone) there in a bts photo from possibly 5x08? Isn’t that at Thornhill? Will this be addressed or will the writers just forget it ever happened?

I love Betty and Kevin investigating together. It’s so refreshing.

Ok this place Jughead is going to is legit the creepiest shit I’ve ever seen. I am having trouble making myself care about this “Mothmen” plot??

Betty’s “Straight to the Point” interrogation style is actually effective in this truck stop stakeout scene.

Alice again with her wine... I wonder if there will actually be an “Alice is an alcoholic” storyline or is the wine just part of her personality now?

Ok like it’s so inappropriate for a teacher to be wearing an HBIC shirt BUT I AM HERE FOR THIS DRAMATIC VIXENS HALLWAY WALK!! And Toni is correct, Cheer is a sport so sit down, Archie. Notably Toni adds in “not even Cheryl managed to do that” - I’m thinking she new Ms. Bell would be eavesdropping ;)

WHY IS THIS PORTAIT OF JASON WORTH SO MUCH??

Is this Minerva character going to be important?? I keep seeing people talking about how she and Cheryl are going to hook up but is that just because she’s a female character who interacts with Cheryl? I’m not seeing it yet but hey, it’s Riverdale.

JUGHEAD BRINGING UP THE EPIC HIGHS AND LOWS OF HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL I SCREAMED

Seriously though, since we know Jughead wasn’t there when Archie said that, there’s two options: Either Archie told him he said it, or (my preferable theory) Archie used to just SAY THAT REGULARLY and has said it in front of Jug lmao.

Chad again seems legit supportive when she tells him about her jewelry store plan?? THEY’RE SO UP AND DOWN!!!

Ok, so Betty is an FBI agent (trainee, whatever) and she JUST NOW THOUGHT OF TRACING POLLY’S CELL PHONE

This scene... when Veronica finds out Chad has been talking to Hiram behind her back... this is where she decides she’s done with Chad.

Another scene with Archie - I am still getting zero vibes that he’s into Veronica? And zero vibes that Veronica’s into Archie? It makes complete sense that Veronica would want to help the bulldogs. Chad is a total dick here and is definitely threatened by Archie... again, not the other way around. Side note: Chad, if threatened by Archie, is a TOTAL IDIOT for suggesting Archie renovates the Pembrooke - like, he’s going to be working? All the time? Where Veronica is staying? And probably taking his shirt off because he’s sweaty from all the working?? WHYYYYY WOULD CHAD ENCOURAGE THIS

This little flirty scene between Jughead and Tabitha (and it’s the first that I would say has any flirty undertones whatsoever) is pretty cute.

THIS BARCHIE PORCH SCENE I HAVE THOUGHTS

The fact that people are suggesting Betty showed up there because she wanted to talk to Jughead is SENDINNNNGGGGGG

Let’s be clear, she only asked about Jughead so she could make sure he wasn’t home so that she could bone Archie. There is no other interpretation for this.

THIS IS THE BEST BARCHIE KISS TO DATE

They are playing the song from the porch scene in the pilot... DON’T TELL ME BARCHIE IS MEANINGLESS WHEN THEY ARE USING THIS SONG

I think the fact that this is the first time they had sex and we didn’t see it is meaningful - they are showing that the relationship is deepening and they are more than “just sex”

As Betty leaves, Archie looks like he wants to reach out for her and then stops himself - he is definitely falling hard and he’s afraid Betty isn’t feeling the same way

Ok, Cheryl is straight up wearing lingerie in Toni’s office!!! And the red lipstick is back - notably, throughout the entire show, she has worn the red lipstick as a kind of shield - she never has it for her “vulnerable” scenes. Seems like that is still happening. AND this is where we see Boss Toni’s plan come into fruition - she started up the vixens and MADE SURE CHERYL FOUND OUT ABOUT IT because she knew that was the one thing that would make Cheryl come out of her Thornhill hiding spot. Well played, Toni.

Archie and Veronica announcing the bulldog funding... again, I’m not seeing ANY “romantic/attraction” vibes here? He does react when she says her last name is Lodge again but like, anyone would?

MS. BELL YOU GOSSIP I’M OK WITH YOU REPORTING TO CHERYL BUT I DRAW THE LINE AT HIRAM

Is Reggie... filing his nails? Lmao

I really hope Polly isn’t dead?? Like I very much want a Polly redemption story!!

Sooooo I guess Archie and Jughead are both going to die in this fire? Lol... well... they’re main characters so I’m sure they’re good.

I’m doooone for this week! So far really enjoying the timejump? Obviously because of barchie but also, everyone is just - better.

Well this turned out to be a novel. If you made it this far, thanks for reading :)

#riverdale #barchie #riverdale thoughts #riverdale 5x06 #5x06 #riverdale season 5

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buddietomytarlos · 3 years

Text

9-1-1 Lonestar S2 Ep1 Thoughts

LONESTAR IS BACK BITCHES!!!! MY FAVES ARE COMING BACK TO ME!!! Under the cut are my thoughts on the episode ☺️

- imagine stealing a TANK. Fucking psycho but honestly with how things have gone recently I’m not surprised. I’m surprised this hasn’t actually happened yet (has it?)

- CARLOS 💕💕 “and if he decides to shoot as us with the cannon?” “Duck.”

- driver goes... around...? Lol okay um-

- how convenient that the radio is the only thing that doesn’t work

- “you sure?” “Yeah, his daughter wasn’t accepted... *sees rank coming* yeah I’m sure.”

- OH YEAH GINA TORREZ JOINED THE SHOW. She was the therapist on Riverdale for that one ep.

- this family is so cute pls

- “don’t your momma look like a boss?” “She IS the boss!”

- her not wanting to play against someone who fucked her up is justified but sure let’s convince her to do something she doesn’t want to...

- so no ones gonna say a thing about that spike? FUCKKK

- HER ARM I was wondering where her arm was Owwww

- but so far I love the new captain 😍😍

- “my boyfriend” 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

- LOL poor TK being between his mom and dad that sucks :(

- Lowkey they’re kinda cute but you didn’t hear that from me

- his leg looks fucked oof

- BITCH WHAT THE FUCK?! Why is this person hitting people on the cell tower???? Also how is their aim so good lmao

- this poor dude was just trying to do his job and this crazy bitch thinks that you can get a virus from 5G lines or whatever...

- firefighter and police taunting 🥰🥰 “you figherfighters are smug bunches.” “You love it.”

- I love Captain Vega bye

- Rob Lowe showed the relief and shock of finding out about his cancer being in remission perfectly

- a zoom call... who’s gonna have choke

- so no one calls until after he collapses... anyways lol all because Mary doesn’t know how to turn off her camera

- “TK knows.” “Who else knows?” “Everybody.”

- that cgi lava though... THAT CUT OFF SCREAM LOL

Overall this episode was really good. I kinda forgot everyone’s names which is why I tried not to name anyone so im gonna have to refresh next time but uhhhh yeah 😀😀

#9-1-1 Lone Star #Thoughts #9-1-1 Lone Star Spoilers

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thiswasinevitableid · 4 years

Note

winter promts: 100 with ot4!! (mayb 2 double beds so they have room yknow)

I went with fluff rather than smut with this one, so there are references to sex but the fic is SFW. For context, Stern in this universe has a lot of anxiety around belonging somewhere.

100 from this list: The b&b we’re at asked if we wouldn’t mind sharing a room since we know each other and this snow storm has brought in some unexpected guests...one bed...three nights...

“I’m so sorry, sir.” The harried looking young woman behind the desk looks between Stern and Barclay, “between the blizzard and it already being New Years weekend, we’ve had to take in a few more people than expected.”

“So our room’s been given to someone else?” Stern puts on his professional demeanor, the one he uses to soothe tourists who’ve definitely seen something they shouldn’t

“Yes, unfortunately. The, the only room we have left is the cottage in the back. It sleeps four, but we can’t guarantee you wouldn’t have to share with another couple.”

“Uh, ‘scuse me, miss, but I think we can make that work.” Duck Newton steps around Barclay, Indrid busy looking over the many brochures on the far wall, “you see, my friend and I’d more than willing to bunk with these two, since they’re friends from back home. Assumin that’s alright with them?”

“Of course.” Stern smiles.

“Oh, thank you, thank you all for being so accommodating. And I’m sorry again about the inconvenience.”

---------------------------

“Well, that went better than expected.” Stern sets down his duffel bag on one of the two beds.

“You’re tellin me, this is way easier than bookin the two next to each other and sneakin back and forth.”

“Yeah, had my fill of sneaking around.” Barclay adds, evaluating the small kitchen.

“I mean, unless one of the other guests took a rather blurry photo of you, it’d be better than your previous attempts to ‘sneak’” Indrid is finally down unwrapping himself down to his sweatpants and the pink and yellow sweater Duck bought him.

“You’re on to talk stealth, mr. my-pants-say-mothman-on-the-ass.” Barclay grabs said ass, making Indrid squeak.

“I am wearing them ironically.”

“Uh huh, sure.”

Duck, meanwhile, flops down on the bed where Stern is unpacking.

“Jesus, darlin, how many books did you bring?”

“Three. When Indrid said there’d likely be a blizzard, I assumed that would cut down on our outdoor activities. And cable is so atrocious these days.”

“So…” Duck tugs the front of his shirt, bringing him down for a kiss, “you really can’t think of another thing we’d be doin to stay out of the cold?”

“Duck, we can’t do that for three days straight.”

“You sayin you opposed to tryin?”

“I’m saying” Stern puts away the last of his clothing, “that I am a mortal man, and three days of non-stop fucking would probably kill me.”

“Hey, we’d stop some. Gotta eat, and sleep too. Probably throw in a few showers. Unless what does it for you is the smell of a bunch of sweaty dudes.”

Stern wrinkles his nose, and Duck laughs.

“Oooh!” Indrid steps into the room, clapping his hands excitedly, “I’m going to take a bath.” He swings the bathroom door open, revealing a tub. It occurs to Stern, as the skinnier man strips down without delay, that none of them even bothered asking how Indrid knew the tub was there.

Stern never thought he’d be around them long enough to get used to his boyfriend always being a bit ahead of him.

He heads back into the main room of the cottage, finds Barclay unloading groceries.

“Glad we stocked up before we left. Think trying to get the car down to that grocery store we passed would be impossible. I have had enough car-based hijinks for one lifetime, don’t need to add doing Icecapades in a Jeep to the list.”

“Car based hijinks?’

“Long story.” Barclay turns, offering his hand, “c’mon, agent, haven’t gotten to hold you nearly enough today.” The larger man stretches out on the couch, Stern laying so he’s cuddled against his chest.

A chirp-moan splashes out of the bathroom.

“Guess Indrid’s got company.” Barclay chuckles. Another chirp, this one more of a trill, and Barclays legs shift as if he’s hiding something. Stern has a good guess as to what.

“Feeling the need to join them? I know you get wound up when Indrid makes sounds like that.” He traces a finger along the blue lines of Barclays plaid shirt.

“Nah, not right now. Right now, kinda enjoying being all warm and cozy with the best thing to ever come out of the FBI in my arms.”

Stern snorts, kisses his chest. Let’s his mind wander like a cat searching for a sunny spot as intermittent moans continue reaching them.

“Wait…there was a report from the 90s that I always thought was absurd. Something about Bigfoot stealing someone’s car. But the location, the timeline…”

“Uhhhh.”

“Oh my LORD, why would you steal a car?”

“Things got out of hand! Quickly.” Barclay regales him with the story, Stern doing his best to look affronted at the reckless behavior but tipping quickly into pure amusement.

Barclay eventually coaxes Stern off of him so he can go ask the kitchen in the main B&B if they have cumin. Stern wanders into the bedroom and finds a now mothed-out Indrid falling asleep with Duck in his arms. The Sylph lifts the wing resting atop the human, an offer for Stern to join them. He does, looping his arms around Duck as the wing gently returns to its role as blanket.

“You know” Indrid murmurs, “one of these days I ought to make you all moth disguises, just so I can see what all the fuss is about.”

“That could be a fascinating exercise.” Stern whispers.

“Hell yeah.” Duck wiggles in Sterns embrace “Mothman cuddles.”

--------------------------------------------------

Stern wakes up alone, though someone has thoughtfully draped a blanket over him. As he rouses, voices drift in from the living room.

“Do you think he knows?”

“Judging by the futures, no.”

“Please tell me we’re tellin him soon. If I end up havin to try to lie about this it’s gonna go bad.”

Hmmmm, that is not the kind of conversation one wants to overhear their boyfriends having in hushed tones.

He yawns exaggeratedly, assuming that will bring a hush over the trio.

Instead, it brings a certain ranger right on top of him. Duck kisses him, smiling as he does, and all Sterns worries evaporate.

“Perfect timin’, darlin, dinner’s almost ready.”

“I’d love to join you all, but it appears I’m being attacked by a bear.” He smirks. Duck growls playfully, bending down to drag a rough kiss up his neck. Stern retaliates by placing a hickey on the first exposed patch of skin he sees.

“You two are welcome to continue in that direction, but be warned I will eat any cheesecake not claimed in the next five minutes.”

“Indrid, that’s for dessert!”

“I reject such arbitrary notions of EEEEEEEP”

“Come on” Stern sits up, Duck coming with him, “let’s go make sure Indrids glasses don’t come off from Barclay throwing him over his shoulder. Again.”

----------------------------------------------------------

“The methodology in this show is truly abhorrent.” Stern rests his head on Ducks belly, the two watching one of the dozen ghost hunting shows airing on the Discovery Channel.

“No kiddin’. Also, these fellas startle so easy they’re doin a better job scarin themselves than any ghost could.”

Duck strokes his hair and he sighs, nuzzles at the slip of skin that’s showing between his boxers and white t-shirt. The boxers only went back on about ten minutes prior, as Stern had been seized with a desperate need to unhurriedly and lovingly suck his boyfriend off, fingers teasing and squeezing the thighs he so adores.

The front door creaks open and whines closed, Barclay and Indrid walking in arm in arm.

“Did you have a nice walk?”

“Indeed.” Indrid’s face is school-girl shy.

“You’re blushin, ‘Drid.” Duck teases, before sitting up so animatedly that Sterns rolls to land facedown in his lap with an “oof.”

“Holy shit, Barclay, did you work some kind of magic shit to make him willin’ to have sex in the snow? Because that’s fuckin impressive.”

“No, I am merely feeling a bit nostalgic.” Indrid unzips the first of his three outer layers.

“The first time Indrid and I met was in the middle of a really, really bad winter.” Barclay sits on the edge of the bed, rubbing Sterns legs gently as he talks, “Uh, is it gonna weird either of you out to hear this?”

“No.” Stern reaches out to squeeze Barclays hand once, before returning it to rest comfortable on Ducks knee.

“Nope. Gotta admit, been kinda curious about it ever since you first mentioned y’all had fucked around when you were younger.”

“Well, long story short, I was in a trailer park, renting a little spot while I tried to sort shit out. One night, I kept hearing noises I recognized as being from another Sylph. And whoever was making them sounded real upset. So I trudged out in my pajamas and followed the noise to this other trailer. Poked my head in and there was Indrid, looking sad as could be. And, y’know, like a giant fucking moth.”

“I was busy feeling sorry for myself and was therefore not watching the futures. It was startling to suddenly have a human in my space. At least until you took off you, hmmm, what was it then?”

“I think it was a ring. Anyway, once we were on the same page, Indrid just kind of started, uh-”

“You can say babbling. It’s an accurate portrayal. I was lonely, I’d been having a run of bad visions, and I’d found myself more homesick than made sense.”

“Aw, ‘Drid.” Duck opens his arm and the Sylph slips under it, Barclay scooching closer as well.

“I was also, shall we say, dealing with an unexpected spike in my arousal levels, almost like a heat. So I was craving touch and connection. I must have been a sight.”

“Yeah” Barclay rumbles, “a real cute one. Little moth.”

Indrid chirrs bashfully, pressing his face into the crook of Ducks neck.

“Anyway, ended up spending the next few days together. Bumped into each other a few times after that, but nothing could ever top finding him that first night.” Barclay smiles at his fellow Sylph, who continues making charming chirrs. After a moment, Indrid lifts his glasses, smiling at the trio. It starts off sweet, moves to wicked as he finishes his question.

“As I sense that’s brought a, ah, romantic air to the evening; would anyone care to help me push the beds together?”

------------------------------------------

Stern is about to be broken up with. He can tell.

That morning he’d awoken with Indrid still snuggled up around him, purring softly, but when he stepped into the kitchen he’s certain Duck and Barclay had switched to an innocent topic at normal volume, rather than the whispers they’d been making before.

Later, as they’re lounging about by the little bot-bellied stove, reading (or, in Indrid’s case, drawing), he noticed the pale-haired man taking care to not let him see certain pages.

But truly, the most damning fact is that Stern has never had a relationship last more than a year, no matter how well it seemed to be going. And no matter how much logic he applies to the situation (Duck murmuring filthy suggestions for that night into his ear, Barclay kissing him any time he walked past, Indrid pulling him into the bedroom for a vigorous bout of sex), he cant stop thinking that the end has come. Patterns are patterns, and while he knows that’s a tautology, he can’t help feeling it offers some unshakeable truth.

It’s the early evening when Barclay, coming up behind him for a hug, says, “Damn, babe, your back is all knotted up.”

“It must be from the cold.” He replies, sighing when Barclay nuzzles his cheek.

“If you need to shake the chill, I found that bath yesterday quite helpful.” Indrid lilts.

And so Stern draws himself a bath and settles in with the “champagne” scented bubble bath provided by their hosts. How very seasonal.

Maybe they won’t do it until after the all return to the lodge. That makes the most sense, as it won’t ruin anybody’s trip. If that’s the case, maybe he ought to savor this last little bit of bliss.

He does feel a little better after the bath, though he’s now covered in a faintly sugary smell that’s far better suited to Indrid than him. He pulls on one of the fluffy robes, heads into the main room to see if dinner is ready.

“SURPRISE!”

“JESUS!” He jumps, unprepared for the sight of his boyfriends standing around the table, at the center of which sits a cake and...are those fondue pots?

Hanging on the table is a banner, obviously handmade, that reads, “Happy Anniversary.”

“Anniversary?” He looks at the others, perplexed.

“Little delayed, on account of we thought it’d be more fun to wait and do it now. And, uh, you had to fly back to D.C the actual week.” Duck says, stifling the giggles he got from Sterns surprised outburst, “but it’s the one year anniversary of when you turned up in Kepler. Kinda. And we wanted to celebrate you comin into our lives, even if it scared the livin hell out of us--you okay, city mouse?” Duck’s face falling is the last thing Stern sees before his head collapses into his hands, his built up dread pushing out of his body in shuddery gasps.

Barclay’s arms are around him in an instant, “Hey, babe, hey, it’s alright. We’re so fucking glad you turned up.”

“It’s, it’s not that.”

“Oh dear.”

He glances over Barclay’s shoulder, sees Indrid coming out of a peek at the futures.

“Oh pet, did you really think all the secrecy was because we were going to leave you?”

“Wait, what?” Ducks glances at Indrid, who nods, “Joe, we’re crazy about you. Hell, Barclay was flirtin with you even when he thought you might put him in area 51 or some shit.”

“I, I know. It, it seems silly in retrospect but unfortunately my track record is a bit bleak. I once had a date I’d been seeing casually for six months sneak out the bathroom window while we were out to dinner. Never heard from him again. Another called me up the day after I got accepted into the UP and said we could never see each other again. We’d been fine two days before.”

“Yeeesh” Barclay kisses his forehead, “can see why you got jumpy.”

“Even so, I’m afraid I let my anxiety drive more than I should have. I’m sorry”

“Unnecessary apology accepted.” Indrid teases, pulling out a chair, “come, Barclay’s been having to beat me off with a stick the entire time he was making that red velvet cake and my patience is waning.”

“You didn’t mind the spatula to the ass.”

Indrid chirps, mock affronted, and Duck snickers, settling across from Indrid as Stern and Barclay take their seats.

“Only you could manage fondue in a rental cottage.” Stern smiles fondly at the cook.

“I’ve got like, a dozen fondue sets. Jake keeps giving them to me at the holidays. I’m not sure if it’s a joke, or if he just forgets he’s gotten me that before. This year he put Hollis’s name on it too.”

“That...explains the color palette.” Stern grabs one of the black skewers from the yellow pot. To his side he sees Indrid set his hand out on the table, Duck’s coming to rest in it automatically, as if the two were made for each other.

“Hold up” Duck uses his free hand to lift his glass, “wanna make a toast. Here’s to makin it through the end of the world, to findin each other even if the mess of monster-huntin that was our lives and” he grins at Stern, “here’s to the fact no one could lie well enough to keep you from stayin at the lodge.”

Stern raises his glass and clinks it with the others, smiling back as he murmurs, “cheers.”

#sternclay #winter aus #indruck #OT4: Government Men and Their Cryptid Boyfriends #agent stern/barclay/indrid cold/Duck newton #agent stern/duck newton #Indrid cold/Barclay

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scullydubois · 5 years

Text

thoughts on Three Words (8x16)

Written by Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz Directed by Tony Wharmby

Jumping back in! Let’s gooo

White House crasher!

He’s just trying to deliver a copy of the Oscar-winning first X-files movie to the president...I don’t see a problem with that

PTSD

He’s healed! Wild as hell...could that be from The Gift?

“Like Austin Powers” clown energy is back!!

Hey what the fuck

There’s a lot going on here, I don’t want to talk about any of it

I’m also having trouble processing so

Jeremiah Smith…

Oof, Scully and Doggett had a higher success rate

And what about it?

“Agent who?” Oof

Magic bullet this, magic bullet that

He’s got a weapon now

There he goes

Perfect escape

Doggett’s got a hella nice place

Oh boy

The invasion has begun ladies

Texting now!! Wild AF

The energy that this show gained by Mulder’s return...damn

Uh oh for Doggett

Stealing evidence from the evidence room like there’s nothing to it

“Since when has an X-file not defied a certain standard of credibility?”

He just wants his Princess cruise okay

She’s gonna book it for him

Sucks for Doggett

Close call, close call

What a greeting

Then again, Scully threw water in his face, so Doggett isn’t exactly a master of the first impression

The reunion we were all waiting for

A blessed event...yeah

Of course Doggett’s got an informant

Fight! The! Future!

Honestly? Probably shouldn’t tell him, but do it anyway

Wait so did she tell Mulder and then pretend that he found it himself? She threw him under the bus for nothing, that’s kinda funny

Of course it’s a set-up! It’s always a set-up!

Another day, another infiltration of a federal facility with the Lone Gunmen’s help

He’s in

Love this “modern” 2000s facility

“Let’s do some emailing” absolutely iconic

Mulder said fuck Doggett

Mulder’s ready to be a whisleblower

They’re coming

Listen to them Mulder!

Love a good ceiling escape

Weird informant guy is back

Uhhhh ohhh

Consensus: A pretty solid return by Mulder.

4 out of 5 stars

#the x files #txf #season 8 #8x16 #three words #chris carter #frank spotnitz #tony wharmby #4 stars #gillian anderson #dana scully #david duchovny #fox mulder #robert patrick #john doggett #thoughts on

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bitchsexuality · 5 years

Text

@animaliae

ok first off i’m sorry i took so long to reply!! i’ve been busy in the most tedious way possible so my brain’s not exactly my best friend right now. second off: THANK U SO MUCH these were so fun to answer!!

i’m putting all of these in the same post because i started talking and i could not Shut The Up, and i think one atrociously long post is better than four long posts when it comes to like, scrollability. scrollpastability? scroll-Something. and putting it under a readmore too for the same reasons

SO, from top to bottom:

weirdest character idea for D-N-D:

it’s an idea i’ve already had because i can’t come up with anything right now dksjfgbd, but

once i made a druid for a D//N/D-based CRPG who only cast spells when they gave him something edible (in theory ofc, the game didn’t let me eat my summoned bears... thankfully...), so i ended up with nothing but goodberries and several animal summoning spells. then i proceeded to cheat my way through the game, which defeated the point sdfgsd, but it was still fun concept-wise

also made me spend too much time wondering if the entangle spell’s vines could be eaten. i mean you can’t eat the WHOLE thing but maybe you could like, munch on it a little, or try to slurp it up like a noodle. it wouldn’t be tasty, it wouldn’t be easy, and it most definitely would not be healthy, but it’s like. the principle of the thing

if ur asking yourself WHY i did that… well there aren’t THAT many D/ND-based CRPGS out there and i’d already played that one —several times, in fact— so i wanted to try something different :0

i mean it’s not THAT weird tbh, but he’s the only OC i can think of right now that soooooort of fits? and my brain is like, a tundra of creativity at the moment. a deep tar pool that absorbs all inspiration and drags it, kicking and screaming, to its viscous doom. well you get the idea. or i hope you do because i sure fucking don’t

ideal ending for one of my characters:

hmmmm for like, original fiction characters i more or less have all their endings planned out? most of them ARE ideal because i am fully in control of their destinies and i am also a softhearted lidle bich who prefers stories with relatively uplifting/happy endings. or tbh even the ones that aren’t technically happy are still ideal in terms of character arcs, development, etc

(i might be giving myself way too much credit there though skdjgbdksjfg)

and —though this is super unlikely and mostly just me deceiving myself at this point— i do want to publish what i’m working on rn, so talking about endings would be a spoiler for something that does not exist and probably never will outside of my idiot fool head. so i’m gonna talk about an old OC that i’m not doing anything with anymore!

her name was elina and her entire deal was that she came from a family of very powerful witches who owned a, uh, i guess you could call it an archive? or a library?? idk, it was just an ABSURDLY large collection of magic-related books, and it pretty much contained all known arcane knowledge (though come think of it, “all known arcane knowledge” can’t have been THAT much because the archive was just one room. a huge fucking monster of a room yeah but like. still just One)

so anyway, her family members were very dutiful + responsible when it came to the archivelibraryroom thing, but they were also too traditional for her tastes? like they didn’t bother practicing/using magic, or experimenting, or looking for anything outside of books; they only cared about written things, and even then they did nothing but get the Very Important Books, put them in the archivelibraryroom and forget about them completely

then elina ran into a group of other magic-users who were investigating a weird phenomenon in her hometown, and she asked her family about it, but they essentially were like “oh if it doesn’t affect the books we don’t care lol anyway it’s your turn to clean the archivelibrary now”

but yeah i’m sure y’all can tell where this is going kjdfgbd elina was the typical YA protag in that she was super rebellious, so she turned her back on her family and left her house to help the group of inconveniently yet stereotypically teenage magic-users, made friends, learned about magic, blah blah blah

the issue is that i never gave that story an ending? like the closest thing to it was a vague “uhhhh elina goes back home to find the archivelibrary is burning down and pulls some kind of mysterious water magic out of her ass to save it; then her family apologizes, they begin to respect her and she stays with them to keep caring for the archivelibrary, But With A Progressive Twist”

the issue was that after writing around two chapters i realized i didn’t actually Have a plot, so i didn’t know what story that ending would be... ending... and since i couldn’t think of anything + i wasn’t THAT attached to the characters anyway i just gave up on it

but now that i’m thinking of it again, just for the sake of ending the Story That Never Was, i feel like making her earn the respect of her family just because she saved the books + proved she actually cares about that too is, idk, shallow? out of character?

because she believed that her family’s fixation on history + Neatly Documented stuff was holding them back and making things worse for everyone. she left her home behind because her ideals re.: magic —that it should grow and change to fit the context + people’s needs, and not the other way around— were so strong

OOF THIS IS GETTING SO FUCKING LONG KSDJGB i’m just gonna stop here and say: elina’s new ideal ending is pretty much that while she ends up in friendly terms with her family —because, in spite of their fundamental disagreements, they never hurt her— she doesn’t go back home and chooses to travel around the world instead, helping people in whichever way possible and freely sharing her knowledge with anyone who’s willing to listen and, at the same time, learning from them

i mean, the concept’s not too original ksjdbg just something i thought of super quick, and that’s just a half-assed attempt at closure for an OC i made when i was like… 9

headcanons about my favs:

ok this one’s hard because i’m not into any like… fandom things right now? i haven’t found anything that rly interests me or that i could see myself being passionate about, which sucks because i do kinda miss being into stuff with Established Content :(

so i’ve been focusing on my OCs + original stories and such. and i’m not sure if OC headcanons count as headcanons because i control canon so technically everything i come up with IS canon. then again it’s headcanon too because it’s a canon from my head because that’s where ideas come from. okay wait i’m not making any cents here x

but uhh knowing me i might think of something right after publishing this, so if that happens i’ll come back and edit this post :0

also just saying but if any of y’all know of something i could get into then lmk, i’m open to suggestions! preferably free stuff though... i’m beset by capitalisms

a favorite scene that i loved:

i can’t remember any in particular right now, either from my #content or somebody else’s SDFKJGBDF god my mind 😔 well i mean i’m gonna be a little bit full of meself and say that i’ve written things that i really like, especially imagery-wise, but i Also want to publish those someday… like i’ve also written original/OC-related stuff that i don’t plan on publishing, but i’m not THAT proud of them tbh :/

i was —emphasis on was— trying to write a short story about jasna (one of my D-N/D OCs, a cleric of oghma) that never really went anywhere, but i did post a snippet on my OC blog, and that’s what i hate the least out of all my recent attempts at writing? so i’m just gonna put it here again ig sdfgs (not actually linking to the OC blog post because it’s kind of a mess rn, i need to fix the theme + clean it up a bit)

if you got this far and read all of this nonsensical verbal monster: i love u with all my heart and i would legitimately die for u.

#otherworldly whispers #hope it's OK that i'm mentioning u btw!!!#just so u know i wasn't like. ignoring you or anything dsfkgsd #also if i'd answered the question directly it'd have shown up in ur activity feed anyway right? so technically it's the same #... i think...#long post #im talking a LONG ass fucking post that's not a joke or an exaggeration this bitch is LONG #text heavy #food ment - . / (Kind of? not really????)#family ment - . /#fire ment - . /#again kind of not really #ask me to tag - . /#bc im not sure how else to tag this skjdfb

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