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shouldiusemyname · 10 months

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Step By Step Through the Closet Door

First of all, I want to apologize for not breaking this with images and gifs. There's no excuse 🫣

Now, I've read all the excellent commentary coming out of ep 11. I believe it's all valid and there are points to be made all around. I don't have the knowledge or experience to comment on pacing, editing, and certain directorial choices. But I do want to say something in favor of the story the show is telling.

This is a different story than we're used to, and it's told in a different way. It takes some getting used to, but where I'm from this type of storytelling is used a lot. This is showing things the way they are to the point of annoyance. I think that what causes all the confusion and frustration is the fact that the show lets each character exist separately from one another. There is no cohesiveness because life has no cohesiveness. The characters act and react according to their own separate sets of rules as opposed to each other. I know that some will see it as bad storytelling, and it's no excuse, but imo it has its benefits when trying to tell a story about people.

MY CASE FOR JENG and Pat

Jeng has been consistent throughout. Everything he does is because his entire being is linked to the company. He never makes mistakes. He always puts the business first. His entire philosophy of "life and work should be combined" is his reality. He has no freedom. He's had to hide who he is as a person, not only his sexuality because he always needs to represent.

As for the money, it's not the first time he did it. We're told in the beginning that he's been keeping the department alive with his own money. The only thing in his dad's company that is actually his is that department, and fighting to keep it is fighting to keep his sense of self. That department became his identity, so he will do anything to keep it alive. This is about Jeng v. his father. This is about Jeng becoming his own person.

So how does Pat fit into all of this? Well, Jeng being 100% business 100% of the time, he sees Pat's talent and he finds it super attractive. Sure, he finds Pat cute and attractive when they first meet, but his interest in him grows when he sees his talent and potential.

In his mind, Pat is a driving force through this. He finds Pat and he feels that he finally has an ally. However, this has nothing to do with who Pat is. This is the idea of Pat, not Pat himself. He does with Pat what he does with work - he makes him part of his identity and links him to the department. So Pat is no longer a separate human being, but another aspect of Jeng. Pat becomes the part of Jeng's personality that fights to keep the department alive. Which makes him the logical choice to be his successor as the head of department. Losing one of them (department or Pat) means losing his identity as a man separate from his father and the company.

As for Pat, he has his own shit to deal with. He needs to work in a toxic work environment and face gossip that is typically reserved for women, who are usually the target of this kind of gossip precisely because of their sexuality. Pat needs to end things with Jeng because he can't deal with it. Love is not magic. Love can't fix society. Outside pressure can and does break relationships when the people in that relationship are unable to stand together.

Pat and Jeng cannot stand together at this point in their story because they exist in two separate worlds. Their realities and the way they experience life are so different and separate from what the other is experience, to say the least.

THE QUEER REALITY OF IT ALL

That intervention/interrogation scene was way too personal. Even if you've never been interrogated about your sexuality, or had to defend it, just sitting in a room where people talk about your sexuality as if you're not there is not a fun experience, to say the least.

Having to justify yourself all the time to everyone because of who you like. Having to sit in a room where YOU are being scrutinized for your entire being just because of your sexuality is something that queer people experience all the time. Straight people will have lengthy discussions about others' sexuality in a way that I haven’t experienced in queer spaces. They will expect us to live up to tropes and stereotypes, and if we don't, they will be disappointed because it's not what they were promised (I'm sorry, but this is hitting very close to home). This is the reality of being different in a way that most society can't understand. If there is something to say in favor of this show is that these moments are represented so accurately that it's sometimes painful to watch.

STEPPING OUT OF THE CLOSET

This is a story about closets more than anything. Not only in the queer sense, but anyone who needs to hide who they are for "the greater good" knows what it's like. When you need to hide parts of yourself, for any reason, it's easy to lose touch with who you really are.

Being outed for the benefit of others OR How straight people talk about other sexualities.

We can all agree that Pat is not in the closet. But throughout the show, he goes through the experience of being outed three times - first when he has no choice but to out himself because of toxic male co-worker. The second time, his relationship with Jeng is outed for political gain. Then, a much more public outing of his relationship with Put. So, we're starting with a one-on-one outing, through people in the more extended environment, and finally nationwide exposure. By the end of ep 11, he has no control over who is allowed into his private affairs, and none of these outings were even about him. These were all cases of him being outed for the benefit of others. (re: straights discussing queer sexuality as though there are no queer people in the room).

Your closet is serving life

Jeng lives in the closet. Not only his sexuality is closeted, but his entire personality. He's had to maintain this public persona for so long that he has no idea who he is. His every move is dictated by his need to maintain his image for the sake of the company. He can't afford to protect Pat because he is on the job 24/7. Having Pat in his life forces him to deal with new situations. It's the first time he finds himself in a dilemma where he has to choose between the company and the person he loves, and he chooses the company because the closet is locked from the outside. The only thing that's truly his is the digital marketing department. Saving the department is saving himself. For him, it means protecting himself as well as protecting Pat. So, this is life and death for him. Even when he's called for the "intervention" with management, then with his father, and questioned about his sexuality, the only thing he can do is protect the department. Pat and the department are one because they are both his identity.

To each their own closet

Chot must keep his relationship in the closet and is at the mercy of his partner. He has no choice but to hope that one day he will be allowed to be out in his relationship. Which we were all happy to see happen!

Jaab and Jen had to hide their feelings and flirt in secret because of Jen's relationship. After that ended and they had the chance to be out, Jaab chose to run because he can't deal with actually getting what he wants (I have things to say about that as well, but it will have to be a separate post).

Beam has closeted his feelings for Ae. He chose to hide and had to watch from inside the closet, how someone else is living the life he wants for himself.

And finally Ying, who had to hide her fujoshi side.

These stories can't come together and form a complete story, because they exist separately from one another. Even Jeng and Pat exist separately from one another, each in his own story without the ability to connect, because they exist in separate worlds.

If you got this far, I seriously thank you for sticking this out. I hope this makes sense, and again this is only how I read what this show is giving us...

#step by step meta #step by step #the story is important

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tiffanylamps · 2 years

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SO, i was on spotify right? and “ways to be wicked” (descendants 2) came on and for a sec i envisioned tdj but fantasy/supernatural au but! BUT! spell casters and sorcerers and mythical creatures are like a thing of past? or very /very/ rare (cuz they got hunted and stuff, y’know as humans tend to do and fits perfectly with the dystopian theme) AND

I just wanted Gaon to be this magic user/spell caster and i imagined his spells to be green (most likely also be cuz of descendents) and i just want this thing where every time yohan is like even mild threatening, gaon has to like reel in his powers to not accidentally lash out or reveal himself

AND

What if in a situation, Yohan is in danger and something attacks him (maybe another magic user in the opposite side or someone who can recognise magic idk) and they attack him and a shield (a green one, it has to be green) pops up and protects him and the opposite side’s like “tf? you have someone protecting you?” even better if yohan has zero fucking clues, + points if gaon and yohan are at odds each other again

anyways. yep i’m late to class now KWKDKKEKS

HEY!!! This is some big-brain thinking!

I got to be honest, I don't know what Descendents 2 is but I listened to the song you mentioned and it got 21st-century musical vibes to it.

Okay, a magic TDJ au is actually such a wonderful idea! I feel like this storyline is really like the BBC's Merlin! Which I just LOVE because Merlin is one of my first loves. But yes, the tension of a magical person hiding their powers within a society that mistreats magic/may kill them??? That's juicy! Also, magic = queerness is one of my favourite fantasy tropes.

What if Yohan works for the institution that puts people with magic on a register/detains them/hunts them down? Gaon thinks he does it because he hates people with magic but actually because he wants to stop the oppressive system??? (Perhaps his brother had magical abilities and was murdered bc of them).

AND AND AND we can bring in Gaon's naughty backstory into play by making him do something minor(-ish) against the law and so, as a part of "community service", he has to become Yohan's assistant. This is actual HELL for him because of his abilities, his attraction for Yohan, and because he can't stand the guy. But they work together, slowly suss each other out and soon, (after a lot of angsty sex) they work together to destroy the system that has hurt them both immensely but is also destroying the cohesive fragments of society!

(i haven't seen the ep this gif is from BUT OH MY GOODNESS! HOW SWEET!!)

But yes, I love the vision! This is wonderful. If you're the writing kind, I fully encourage you to write it! Also, I hope you had a great day in your classes!! Thanks for sending me this : )

#the devil judge #the devil judge au idea #answered #ask answered #this is honestly such a galaxy brain moment! I LOVE IT!#thank you sharing this with me <3

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dickgrcyscns · 3 years

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Falling For You

Falling For You, Edward Cullen. Written from a females perspective.

Summary: In which you let something very important come up under your breath, completely forgetting that your best friend is a vampire with super hearing.

Set During: Twilight

Word Count: 1580 words

Gif used not mine!

Being around him felt like dancing on top of the stars. He was magical, something out of this world. In truth, he was just dead. But he still made your human heart beat twice as fast when the two of you spent time together. He still managed to make your thoughts go crazy (which were especially unhelpful when he could read thoughts, though you typically just repeated song lyrics around him so he couldn’t hear your true feelings). A part of you wished you could never come off of that high. To be with him forever. In every sense of the word. Because you would stop at nothing to be with him, truly.

No matter how he felt about it, you wanted a forever with him. Even if you were bound to stay just friends, you never wanted to leave his side. The two of you worked well together and in some odd way, it was like the universe pushed for the two of you to be together. You liked to believe that was what happened. That somewhere within the cosmos, you and Edward were created from the same star. Two halves meant to find each other. And it was silly to think of something like that, a bit naive if anything. But you would never believe in anything less when it came to Edward.

He was everything you ever wanted. The only problem, he was your best friend. And best friends don’t normally feel that way about each other.

You rolled your eyes, holding onto the strap of your backpack with a smile as Edward met you in the hallway. The two of you began to walk towards the parking lot. This was normal for you guys, Edward driving you to your home and finding a way to stay over there for at least an hour. You knew he enjoyed it at your house, your family was always kind to him and they never interrupted you two when you were together. They trusted the two of you. A little too much from what Edward had said. But it was your normal and you loved it. Getting to spend time with him, listen to him rant about some of the idiotic thoughts some of your childhood friends have during classes, you loved it. When he would throw his head back and a chuckle tore past his lips, he was exactly like an angel.

“Y/n?” Edward waved a hand in front of your face, a confused expression resting on his own. “You stopped listening to what I said a while back.”

“I,” you muttered, knowing he could hear you no matter what, “I don’t even think I heard you start talking.”

“You’ve got a storm of thoughts going on around your mind, I can’t even make out something cohesive. Is everything okay? We don’t have to hang out today, I can always drop you off at your house and get you up to bed. A nap might do you well.”

“I’m not tired,” you muttered. “Just a lot going on, nothing to worry over.”

“You’re saying that you’re fine, but I don’t think you are. Seriously, Y/n, you’re not acting like yourself. Maybe Alice has an idea,” Edward shook his head at you, walking off to meet his “sister” with a smile. You couldn’t hear him, though if you were a vampire like him you would be able to, but you knew they were talking about you. Alice glanced over to you from time to time, a worry-stricken face that she tried her best to hide. You felt fine. There wasn’t anything to worry about, at least not for you. It was just — you couldn’t keep him off of your mind. And you had to do something to keep him from hearing your true feelings. So, you kept everything scrambled and across the place. That normally kept him from pressing for answers from you (and it also convinced him to stay out of your mind).

“Edward, I promise you, I’m fine.” You waved him off as you sat down in the car. “Now, are we going to go or?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Edward muttered, sparing a glance at you.

You knew that he wasn’t going to drop it, he never did. That was something you admired most about him. When it came to the people he cared about, the people he considered his family (to which, he would never admit, included you), he never stopped until the truth came out. For the most part, he never needed to scrape for it because he could hear exactly what it was from your mind. But at days like these, when your brain was scattered and even you had a hard time focusing on just one thing, he wasn’t able to get a clear answer. You knew exactly what was happening to you, it was something you had been trying so hard at keeping locked away. But feelings are fatal and you can’t always hide them. No matter how hard you try.

“Y/n,” Edward paused for a moment as you two stalled at a red light. “You would tell me anything right?”

“Even if I didn’t, you would know,” you pointed out. “There’s no point in keeping secrets if you can read thoughts Eddie.”

“So you’re not causing your own mind to be scrambled to keep something from me?” Edward glanced over at you, just as you sucked in a light breath before letting it out as a giggle.

“Edward, why would I do that?”

“I’m not sure,” his brows furrowed, “but it’s the only reasonable explanation I have for what’s going on with you. And if it’s something you don’t want to tell me, it’s fine. I can back off for a while so you don’t have to tire yourself out doing that, okay? Whatever it is, I can tell you I’m not one to judge. Not at all.”

“That’s a lie,” you narrowed your eyes. “You judge people all the time.”

“Not you,” Edward smiled. “You’re different.”

“That’s also a lie, you judge me all the time.”

“I promise you that I wouldn’t this time,” you looked over to him, scanning his face as he spoke. His brow was quirked down, it only happened when he was worried about something, and his lips were pursed ever so slightly. A sigh tumbled from your lips as your head fell into your hands. “I’m giving you my word, Y/n, this is a judgement free zone. Now, will you please tell me whatever it is that is going through that mind of yours because I’m getting worried.”

“Edward,” you bit the inside of your cheek, “this could ruin our friendship, I don’t want to lose you because of something silly.”

“It’s not silly if you’re going to great lengths to hide it.”

You knew he was right, something in you wanted to scream it from the rooftops. Let the entire world know you are completely and utterly in love with Edward Anthony Mason Cullen, another part of you wanted to keep it hidden. Allow no one but yourself (and let’s be honest probably Jasper, you can hide your thoughts but feelings? no way) to know that secret. Sitting there, with your hands folded in your lap and chest filling with air, you were reminded of everything that made you fall in love with him in the first place. It was the small things; his smile when the sun started to set or the way he would go out of his way to make sure you were comfortable. The way he would protect you, softly wrapping his arm around your shoulders as he guided you through the town. Or maybe it was the way he allowed you to rest your head on his chest while watching a movie at his house, placing a blanket around your body and pulling you closer to him. Every little moment that was placed so soundly in your mind, a memory you liked to recall on often when you needed a smile.

You didn’t want to lose him. You didn't want to lose your light.

“I don’t want to lose you, Edward.”

“I’m right here and not planning on going anywhere.”

“You haven’t heard what I’ve been keeping from you.”

“I stand by what I said before.”

“Even if I told you,” a quick pause as you built up the courage. “If I told you that I was falling in love with you.”

A beat. “Then I’d tell you that I’m in love with you.”

Pause. That was not the response you had expected. You blinked a few times, processing what he had just said to you. “What?”

“I’m in love with you Y/n,” Edward smiled. “You have my entire soul in your hands.”

“That was,” you sputtered.

“Not what you expected?” You shook your head. “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting for you to say it either. But it’s the truth, I’m in love with you Y/n. I have been for a while. And I’d love to be able to take you out on a date, a proper one. You could have a nice dinner and I could just watch.”

“Or we could put on a movie up in my room and do something we both enjoy?”

“That sounds perfect.”

“Great.”

“Amazing,” Edward sent you a dazzling smile.

“I regret keeping that a secret for so long.” You muttered, because maybe you had kept it a secret for a little too long.

#edward cullen imagines #edward #edward cullen #cullen #twilight #Edward Cullen x reader #Edward Cullen/reader #twilight imagines #cute #fluff #Bella swan #Carlisle cullen #esme #Paul lahote #Seth clearwater #Leah clearwater #Alice cullen #Rosalie hale #jasper hale

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zackcollins · 3 years

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Love Wins (4) || Tyson Jost

masterlist || part 1 || part 2 || part 3

Author’s Note: Hi! Here’s part 4 of the Pride Month series I’m doing! Today’s prompt is “cuddling.” I hope I did alright incorporating it into the narrative because I am trying my best to also make this fic cohesive while at the same time including elements of the prompts from the Pride Month calendar I’ve chosen to follow. I’ve also decided on a direction for this fic (read: I know how I want it to end) so you’ll start seeing more elements of that creeping in as the parts start coming out in the coming days. Alright! Enough rambling. GIF credit to gabelandeskog!

Warnings: As always, Caelan is in the foot cast. Foots don’t magically heal in course of the same conversation, seeing as this part picks up right where the last part left off. There’s also brief sexual overtones on a couple of occasions. There’s no actual sex that takes place, but there is a reference to a sexual act and some skin tracing that makes Caelan react with a little too much oomph. Oh! There’s also a reference to an assault and a robbery but their is no explicit details about how bad the injuries were or anything like that. If you need to avoid that, feel free to skip over it. It’s mentioned just after Tyson suggests that they should go to bed because it’s getting late. Other than that, I don’t think that there’s anything. Anyone is welcomed to tell me otherwise and I’ll add a warning for whatever anyone feels needs one.

Word Count: 2.2k+

Series Count: 8.9k+

Title: Love Wins by Carrie Underwood

Additional: As usual, the main character is Caelan Stuart. He’s a cis guy that uses he/him pronouns. Feel free to send asks to get to know him or to get to know his and Tyson’s relationship dynamic. Other than that, enjoy this part!

Caelan stared back blankly, blinking a few times in surprise. He shook his head to clear his brain; he hoped that that would make it function properly again. When it didn't seem to work as intended, he leaned back on the couch and pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed heavily, running his thumb and forefinger down his nose and around his mouth. He sighed again, sitting up and looking at Tyson.

He noticed that Tyson was staring back nervously, wringing his hands together in his lap. Caelan kicked his good foot against his boyfriend's shin, smiling softly when he saw that it seemed to make him calm down. Tyson fell back in his chair, putting his hands on his thighs and running them back and forth. Caelan smiled sympathetically as he reached over and grabbed one of Tyson's wrists.

"If you wanna be on top, that's fine," Caelan said, running his thumb across the pulse point. Tyson relaxed a little, his shoulders sinking down from the sudden release of tension. "I've been waiting for you to ask me since we set up that code three years ago."

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Tyson asked, quirking the corner of his lip in surprise.

“It wasn’t my place. I didn’t wanna bring it up and then make you feel like you were forced into deciding. You needed to get there on your own. Ya know?”

Tyson nodded, an agreeable smile cracking his face. He took his free hand and patted the top of Caelan’s hand, looking into his eyes as he did so. “What did I ever do to deserve you as my boyfriend?”

Caelan chuckled, patting Tyson’s knee. He smiled softly as he looked at his boyfriend. “How much time do you have? That’ll determine how long my answer is.”

“Har har, smartass.” Tyson took his hand and pushed Caelan’s face backwards until his head was against the back of the couch. Caelan giggled, licking a stripe up Tyson’s hand. Tyson scoffed, removing his hand from Caelan’s face and wiping it on his shirt. “Gross!”

“You just had my dick in your mouth. And that’s gross?” Caelan rolled his eyes, kicking his casted foot at Tyson. He chuckled and smirked bemusedly when Tyson stuck his tongue out and shot him the middle finger.

“I know where your dick has been,” Tyson grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and shooting daggers at Caelan. “It doesn’t go much further than my mouth or your pants. I don’t where your mouth has been. Or what kinda things you put in it.”

“That’s…” Caelan trailed off, staring at Tyson owlishly. “That’s actually a good point.”

"I do make those sometimes," Tyson said as he nodded sarcastically, his facial expression and voice expressing the same sarcastic quality.

Caelan made an amused noise as he shook his head dismissively. He smiled with the corner of his mouth as he did so, his eyes crinkling ever so slightly to show his amusement. Tyson dropped his arms from his chest and placed them on the arms of the chair, beginning to drum his fingers against the grey fabric.

Just then, a loud beeping echoed from the direction of the kitchen. Tyson perked up, standing from the chair and smiling as he walked to the living room archway. He turned back to Caelan, motioning over his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen.

"That was the timer for the cake," Tyson said happily. "I'm gonna go check on it and then we'll see about getting started with sex."

"That sounds like a plan to me," Caelan replied, grabbing his crutches from where they were leaning against the back of the couch. "I'll wait for you in the bedroom." Tyson smiled, nodding his agreement before he walked out of the room.

Caelan carefully stood from the couch, situating the crutches in his armpits as comfortably as he could. When he was satisfied that they were as comfortable as they were going to get, he made the short journey from the living room to his and Tyson's bedroom. Once there, he made his way over to their bed. He leaned the crutches against the nightstand before carefully manoeuvring himself into his usual spot on said bed.

While he waited for Tyson, Caelan took his shirt off and tossed it across the room in the general direction of the laundry hamper. He would wait to take his pants off until his boyfriend arrived. Taking them off while he had a cast on his foot, he had found, was a lot easier if he had Tyson's help in doing so.

He shimmied his way down the bed, placing his head on his pillow when he was comfortable with the position he was in. He laid there, listening to the sounds around him. He heard the buzzing of the mini fridge in the corner of the room. He heard Tyson banging around in the kitchen. If he knew his boyfriend, he was opening every cupboard and drawer as he tried to find the spatula to remove the cake from the cake tin. Caelan also heard the faint sound of sirens. It reminded him that there was a world outside of his apartment, despite the fact that he hadn't been out there to see it since he broke his foot. He had been too busy being on doctor's orders to move as little as possible for the first few days with the cast to be able to venture into the world outside.

Caelan must've dozed off because the next thing he remembered was Tyson climbing into the bed behind him, slotting in as the big spoon, and mumbling "sleepyhead" into the nape of his neck.

"Sleepyhead?" Caelan replied, voice thick with how tired he was. "I wasn't sleeping."

Tyson huffed a hot breath against Caelan's neck, chuckling as he did so. He brought his hand up, tracing the Yggdrasil tattoo on Caelan's ribcage. Caelan felt a sizzling sensation blossom at the contact as he shifted around, trying to get Tyson to apply more pressure.

"Right," Tyson chuckled again, bringing his hand up from Caelan's ribcage to trace the tattoo of the Avalanche logo that surrounded his left pectoral. "Then tell me why you were snoring when I walked in here?"

Caelan reached back and swatted Tyson's hip. "Fuck off. You and I both know I've been having trouble sleeping because this damn cast is uncomfortable. Let me nap in peace."

That made Tyson huff another hot breath against Caelan's neck as he moved his hand over to trace along the tattoo sleeve on his left arm. Caelan closed his eyes at the sensation of Tyson's fingers brushing against the ink; it felt like he was being transported to another plane of existence because of how serene it felt. He hummed something halfway between erotic and content when Tyson traced the tattoos in the sensitive crook of his elbow.

"Oh, fuck," Caelan mumbled when Tyson traced the same tattoos again. Tyson did it a third time, causing Caelan to moan softly. "That feels… feels…"

Tyson traced the tattoos again, this time pressing his finger a little harder into the skin. Caelan moaned a little louder, bringing his hand back and clutching Tyson's hip with as much strength as he could manage at the angle he was at.

"Good. That feels good," Tyson said, finishing Caelan's train of thought. Caelan nodded fervently, clamping down on his lip to keep from moaning too loudly and bothering the neighbour. There had been one too many awkward conversations between him and little, old Mrs. Franklin about what he and Tyson got up to in the bedroom. He would much prefer that she not know anymore about their sex life than she already did. What she already knew was more than enough for anyone's lifetime.

Tyson moved his fingers away from the inside of Caelan's elbow. Caelan wanted to whine at the loss of contact but when he tried, all that came out of him was a soft moan. He looked down and saw that Tyson hand turned Caelan's hand over and was tracing over the eye sockets of the skull tattoo that was admonished on the back of it.

"You… y… Tyson… really." Caelan stumbled over his words as Tyson moved down to tracing the nose socket of the skull. Caelan took a steadying breath, trying his best to compose himself. He took another when he felt Tyson dig into his hand slightly, massaging along the bone underneath the tattoo with his thumb.

"Cat got your tongue?" Tyson said, chuckling against Caelan's neck. He rubbed Caelan's hand twice more before he removed his hand and wrapped his arms around his midsection, shifting his head up and burying it in the mass of curls at the base of Caelan's skull.

Caelan took a breath. And then another. He was trying to collect himself after what had just happened. He took a third breath just to be sure he was in complete control of himself. He let go of Tyson's hip, placing his hands over top of his boyfriend's where they were splayed against his stomach.

"More like a dog," Caelan said. "Seeing as you're colourblind and dogs supposedly are too."

Tyson scoffed, squeezing Caelan's stomach. "That's exactly what Jimothy-Timothy told me when I asked him what he thought my Patronus would be if I went to Universal Studios the next time we were playing the Panthers and took the official quiz."

"He said your Patronus would be a dog?"

"This is J.T. we're talking about. He said it would be a Saint Bernard because he thinks he's the funniest motherfucker ever."

Caelan made an amused noise rolling his eyes. “Your best friend really is something, huh?”

Tyson chuckled, his breath hot against what little skin was sticking out through Caelan’s mass of curls. Caelan felt a shiver run from his neck all the way down his back. He shifted a little bit, somewhat uncomfortable with the way that sensation felt. Tyson loosened his grip a little, sliding back from Caelan’s back ever so slightly. Caelan reached one of his hands back, patting his boyfriend on the hip. He mumbled his thanks before he closed his eyes and let out a soft breath.

“Why don’t we get some sleep?” Tyson said, yawning when he was done speaking. “It’s getting late and we need to be at Gabe’s before noon.”

Caelan blinked. He hadn’t noticed that it was late until Tyson mentioned it. They had lights in the bedroom that turned on at the first sign of darkness and only turned off when one of them voice-commanded them too. They had them because Caelan was petrified of the dark, having been assaulted and robbed by someone in an unlit parking garage in his first week living in Denver. Now, he wouldn’t go anywhere that wasn’t well lit for fear that it would happen again. He even retrofitted his own home with a lot of fancy lights, some that even operated on battery power so he wouldn’t be in the dark during power outages like the one he had a month or so ago that prompted him to install all of the fancy lights in the first place. He didn’t want to run the risk of it happening in his own home, no matter how slim that risk was.

“Lights, off,” Caelan said, tapping Tyson’s hip as the room plunged into darkness. When Tyson didn’t respond or move, Caelan tapped his boyfriend’s hip again. “You can move closer. Thank you for moving back before but I’m perfectly fine with you plastering yourself onto me again if you wanna.”

Instead of a response, Caelan felt Tyson move closer and wrap his arms tighter around his midsection. Caelan hummed satisfactorily, putting his head comfortably on his pillow. He started slowing his breathing in an attempt to even it out towards sleep, feeling the comforting pressure of Tyson’s hands on his stomach as he inhaled and exhaled. Tyson nuzzled his head into the crook between Caelan’s neck and shoulder, pressing a soft kiss there. Caelan exhaled softly, feeling a warm sensation blister his skin where Tyson had kissed. He shifted around a little to try to make the angle Tyson’s head was at a more comfortable one. When he felt Tyson kiss the area again and squeeze his midsection, Caelan assumed that his mission had been accomplished.

“Goodnight, Cae,” Tyson mumbled, yawning around the words.

A few moments later, the soft sounds of Tyson’s snoring filtered into Caelan’s ears. Caelan smiled fondly as he closed his eyes. He reached his hand back, running it along Tyson’s hip. Tyson snuffled but didn’t awaken. Caelan made a bemused noise as he brought his hand back and laid it next to his head, stretching his fingers across his pillow. He patted the pillow, yawning sharply.

“Goodnight, Tys,” Caelan mumbled. He kissed the index and middle finger of his hand and moved his head forward slightly. He then wrenched his arm at an awkward angle but he managed to press the finger he had kissed to Tyson’s lips. Tyson huffed, Caelan feeling his lips twitch underneath his fingers. Caelan smiled softly as he brought his hand back around to where it belonged and dropped his head back so that Tyson’s head was nestled where it once had been. “I love you.”

Then, to the void of blackness in front of him, Caelan sighed and chuckled wryly.

“I just wish I knew some way to show you how much.”

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whitewolfofwinterfell · 6 years

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I’m just curious but why is season 6 your least favorite? My favorite is season 6. I’m so interested in knowing how people view content so differently so I would really like to know! :) I hope your having a good day/night!

Hey! First of all, thank you for being so lovely and respectful to ask for my opinion. I’m exactly the same as you and love to find out how/why people view things so differently to me, it’s all part of the fun!

There isn’t one specific reason season 6 is my least favourite, it’s a combination of factors really, so please bear with me, because this will be long and probably messy because I suck at structuring my thoughts cohesively in posts like this.

I think the biggest reason season 6 is my least favourite is that it’s so sloppy. Continuity was never the show’s strong point but season 6 felt like it was lacking in direction. When I was making the gifset of the season for the 30 day challenge I struggled to choose gifs because I couldn’t find specific ones that best displayed the overall story and main plots for that season. The main story-line that carried throughout season 6 was Chris’ and that’s another reason why the season is my least favourite.

I know that a large part of why season 6 is so popular is because fans love Chris’ character, but I think his entire story-line was handled terribly. It had a lot of potential, but it was so obvious that the writers didn’t really know what to do with him and didn’t have an actual plan, they were just making it up as they went along. That’s where the continuity issues come into play. There were so many plot holes in this story-line and so much ambiguity about the dark future that Chris came from. If Piper died when Chris was 13 (or 14, I can’t remember exactly) and Leo was never around who took care of him? If Wyatt was evil and living in the manor where did the rest of the family live? How the hell is it that the sisters didn’t find a way to save Wyatt? I just don’t believe that in any version of any reality the sisters wouldn’t find a way to save him. Every obstacle the sisters ever came up against they defeated and there’s no way they would have ever given up on Wyatt. We saw how much they worked their asses off to keep him safe in seasons 5-8, so it made no sense. Chris’ actions and behaviour also made very little sense and came across as bad/evil. Why did he send Leo to Valhalla? Just look at the damage doing that caused, it teared his family apart, broke his mother’s heart, left little Wyatt without a father and put the entire family in jeopardy. Why did he use Gith to create alternate realities that put all of the sister’s lives in danger once again? There was nothing to gain from doing that and even if he didn’t intend for them to die and tried to save them, his intentions are illogical and hardly pure. Everything about the way Chris handled things was flawed. If he was coming back from the future to stop Wyatt turning evil as he claimed why not come right out and tell the sisters and Leo that? He clearly wasn’t capable of taking on such a huge task by himself and he needed their help. It’s not like them having knowledge of the future was harmful, because they found out in the end anyway, so there was really no reason for Chris to withhold the truth in the first place. Generally, the story-line just wasn’t very well thought out.

Because it wasn’t well thought out, I also ended up disliking the way Chris was treated by the family and the relationships that he developed with them. The family treated him like absolute shit until they learned who he really was and suddenly they loved him unconditionally. Why did he have to be their blood before they started treating him with love and respect? The show tried to force Chris to be a part of the family and show us that he finally found a place he belonged, but I never believed it. It felt rushed and un-organic, and all of those issues Chris had due to the life he’d lived were never really resolved. He was so damaged due to Leo’s abandonment, Piper’s death, living in Wyatt’s shadow, growing up in a life consumed with evil that he wouldn’t just magically be okay the way he was. It was lazy to write him that way. Also, the ending to this story-line was incredibly unsatisfying and rushed. After everything Chris went through he died. Just like that? What the hell was the point of that? Essentially, the season was coming to an end and the writers had no further use for him so knew they had to get rid of him, but that was a very harsh ending. Not only did he die, he literally faded into nothing. Where did he go? If they saved Wyatt from evil that means the future changed and technically that version of Chris never existed, so he quite literally just stopped existing. That’s too sad.

Moving away from Chris and his story-line, I also disliked the sisters individual character arcs. Paige spent the entirety of season 5 trying to discover herself, but season 6 started out the exact same way with her temp jobs. Why give her the exact same arc she had in season 5? I did like that she got more in touch with her whitelighter side in season 6, but once again, she’d already started to do that in season 5 in Sam, I Am. Her relationship with Richard was pointless and did nothing for her character. From the very start that relationship felt volatile and unhealthy. Richard had too many problems and instead of trying to heal himself, he projected it all onto Paige by trying to make their relationship perfect to act as a band aid for how broken he was. Phoebe’s arc in the first half of season 6 felt exactly the same as season 5. It was about her career and relationship with Jason. Hyde School Reunion was probably the best Phoebe episode in terms of showing us how far she’d come, but Phoebe didn’t get the attention and time she deserved in season 6 at all. I also disliked what they did to her in the second half of the season by taking away her powers and making her obsessed with having children. I have no idea where that sudden obsession came from and it didn’t seem to fit with Phoebe’s character at all. Piper’s arc was what you’d expect of any female character that is a mother and was very wrapped up in Wyatt and Chris, which I can’t criticise. However, I don’t like what happened to her relationship with Leo. I was furious that she didn’t tell Leo she was pregnant with Chris and I generally didn’t like the complete lack of communication between them in season 6. Even if they weren’t together, they were parents and I feel like Piper and Leo were both the kind of people that would prioritise that above everything. Remaining on this subject, Leo was completely OOC in this season. Are we really supposed to believe he would be an absentee father that didn’t bother with his kids? I don’t think so. Yes, he was an honourable person that was duty bound and that’s why he left to be an Elder, but when push came to shove Leo was the kind of man that would give up everything in a heartbeat for his family, which The Seven Year Witch proved. I do like what they did with Leo in regards to making his character darker, and in fact, I think that was the best character arc of season 6. Leo was always such a level-headed character, but after what he went through in season 6 it made sense for him to go to the dark side, especially since it was connected to his children. Leo was a fierce father first and foremost and that consumed him in season 6.

Some other things that make me dislike the season - the introduction of Magic School (again, a good idea in theory, but it just didn’t fit and appeared out of no where), the treatment of Darryl (I still can’t watch Crimes and Witch Demeanors, it upsets me too much) and the lack of sisterly moments (the sisters are at the heart of the show for me and this is the first season I felt that was sidelined and forgotten). I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t like the entire vibe of season 6. It doesn’t feel like Charmed to me. There was a lack of togetherness and the sisters didn’t feel like themselves. I am also guilty of making comparisons between season 6 and the previous season. I love season 5 and what was built in that season - Piper and Leo’s relationship was strong and happy and they went through a beautiful process of becoming parents after wanting it for so long; Phoebe finally moved on from Cole, launched her career and matured in a new way; Paige found her place within the family, honed her craft and rediscovered herself. The family were a strong, cohesive unit that were loving and supportive, and all of them had their own journey’s in that season. When I compare this to season 6, season 6 didn’t manage to achieve any of that and actually derailed the development and progress that had been made in season 5.

Lastly, season 6 is my least favourite season simply because it has the episodes I enjoy the least. Every season of Charmed has it’s brilliant episodes and it’s not so good episodes but season 6 has the highest number of episodes that make me go “meh.” The only episodes I actually like watching from season 6 are: Valhalley of the Dolls, Little Monsters, Spin City and It’s a Bad, Bad, Bad World.

So yeah, that’s why season 6 is my least favourite season of Charmed. Thanks for stopping by to ask my opinion and I hope I didn’t bore you too much haha. I’d be interested to know why it’s your favourite season. Perhaps you can help me to find more positives in this season and see something in it that I may have overlooked :)

#answered #my meta #charmed meta

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madebycinexo · 6 years

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…light (Baekhyun vs. Dementor)

Resources:

Cold Breath (I seem to have deleted the videos, so I’m not sure which exact ones I used)

There’s a lot of things about Baekhyun’s Pathcode teaser that scream Dementor to me. Something hovers in the dark, watching him. The lights flicker. He turns around, and begins to run from something we can’t see. One by one, all the lights die down. He reaches a dead end. He’s trapped. We see him go out of focus as he’s taking a shaky breath. It seems like it’s over– the kiss of death, if you will. And finally, his power comes into play– light.

I think it worked really well, with Dumbledore’s quote as well. When I was watching the Harry Potter movies for the Pathcode #HOGWARTS edit, I also made sure to look for things that could work for this edit. It took a while to really narrow down which exact clips I was going to use. The process kind of reminded me of film editing, you know, piecing footage together.

The first Dementor gif when it first pops up is from Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry is practicing his Patronus in Lupin’s office (so technically it’s actually a Boggart, but who cares); the second one where he’s chasing after Baekhyun is from Deathy Hallows Part 1 when they’re at the ministry of magic and Harry’s polyjuice potion wears off. The last three gifs are from the beginning of Order of the Phoenix, where Harry and Dudley are being attacked by Dementors.

Apart from flickering lights, another thing that happens when Dementors show up, is that everything goes cold. So I added some cold breath in the first gif, kind of as a warning sign. Then Baekhyun turns around and I wanted the Dementor to pop up behind him. This was a bit more tricky, as the camera moves. The best way of doing this really would have been to rotoscope the Dementor in After Effects and then track the footage in order to insert him in. I don’t currently have After Effects, so I fully did this in Photoshop. So what I did was layer mask the Dementor out frame by frame to the best of my abilities (which obviously isn’t going to be super clean). And then I thought about tracking. You can’t track in Photoshop, so I had to come up with a method to track manually. I zoomed way in, found a prominent spot, like a corner, and put a little dot there on a new layer. Then I went through the gif frame by frame and moved the dot back to the spot where it should be, and when you do that, it tells you how many pixels you’re moving it left/right and up/down. So I’d write down those numbers and moved the Dementor accordingly in each frame. (I do not recommend doing this.) Needless to say, this isn’t super clean either, but it looked acceptable. I also messed around and blurred some of it a bit since there’s camera movement and there should be a motion blur (again, After Effects...). Then the clip of Baekhyun I used in the second last gif reminded me of Prisoner of Azkaban where they’re by the lake and you can see Sirius’s soul leaving his body, this:

I wanted to recreate that, so I tried to find some similar looking particle stock footage and insert it. It looked really fake, and just did not work at all, so I scratched that. Then while reviewing some footage, I thought about maybe doing the whole distressing soul-sucking action that comes prior:

But Baekhyun is shown from the front, and I think this effect works much better when shown from a different angle. On top of that, I also had no idea how to do it in Photoshop, because this is something you kind of need to do in– you guessed it– After Effects. So I just added some more cold breath and ran with it.

The rest was really about matching the coloring to make it more cohesive. Here is the uncolored version if you want to see what it originally looked like.

I’d like to redo this edit some time and add better effects and maybe even make it into a video edit.

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beckielyaesthetics-blog · 6 years

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FINAL EXEGESIS

My work was all about testing the limits with stills. My obsession and love for the ocean prompted my experimentation process. In terms of creative direction, I was first fascinated when shown Stan Brakhage’s work in class, and became intrigued with the way light sat on the water and the abstract shapes it made. I began experimenting with how the surface moved so dramatically when I touched it, i.e. kicked it, splashed it, first at the beach, and then in my backyard pool.

After shooting some pretty dramatic stills, I decided that I wanted to push my work further. I have always had such a connection with the ocean and have been so fascinated with how spectacular the underwater landscape is. I have taken many underwater photographs and videos underwater over the years, so I decided to begin to take some underwater videos for this project. I first started with filming the waves on a really big swell, but decided these film clips were too linear and too familiar for me. I got my sister to jump in our backyard pool at night, knowing it would create quite an etherial affect with the blue light and dark surrounds. This was a success and once imported into Premiere Pro, began playing with speed/duration to dramatise the clip.

I experimented numerous times with stills and film, trying to tie the two together and make a cohesive piece. This process can be seen on this blog. I printed out three of my strongest images and contemplated having prints with accompanying videos. I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to have the stills and film pieces together as one film piece, I would have to make the stills a moving image. I was, however, aware of the beauty and strength of the stills and did not want to ruin this. After creating gifs from the stills, I decided I would create a number of short gifs with stills overlaid with the underwater films. I experimented numerous times with opacity, and discovered an interesting new piece. I think gifs are the strongest way to portray my experimentation with pushing the limits with stills and making the image ‘come alive’, whilst still retaining its richness.

The main goal of my work was to push my practice and create something that was experimental, out of my comfort zone, but could still retain some connection and meaning to me. I think the whole meaning of water is so temporal, the surface is so silky and ever changing - no image of water will ever be the same. I think the beauty of this comes out in the mini gif films as it shows water moves so quickly, as does light, yet there is something simple and magical about this. The fast pace of the clips can feel jarring at times, but I think this is a positive affect as in the end water consumes us and moves all around us when we immerse ourselves in it. What I hope from this work is for people to feel a bit confused and consumed, feel like they are watching an experiment in process, and to watch the gif over and over and discover a new shape/piece of light/movement each time they do.

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