#i know i know. the hyphen!! but the hyphen also seems to not actually work when it's tagged in my experience | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

monzabee · 1 year

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the name game – cl16

masterlist

Summary: The one where you and Charles try to get through one of the first hardships of parenthood.

Pairing: charles leclerc x reader

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: pregnancy (and pregnancy symptoms), crying, angst but also tooth rotting fluff

Request: “Can I request Charles and his girlfriend or fiancé having a baby? And they are talking about names and she suggest her ex boyfriends name to piss him off and he gets really upset and mad. And they then tlak about last names and she tells him she wants their baby to have her name and he is not happy about that or hyphenating as he feels strongly about his family name”

Author’s Note: hi, hey, hello!! i’m so happy to be back after a month of exams, and what better way to kick it off with a charles fic?? the whole concept was extremely cute and i loved it so much, but i kind of wanted there to be a chaotic aspect to it?? thank you anon for your request, and i hope you guys enjoy this one! good morning, noon or night wherever you are, xoxobee

Please also note that all of my works are protected under copyright, and not available for reposting on other platforms.

Some people keep saying that the hardest part of pregnancy is the first trimester, some say that the hardest part is actually giving birth because, well – it’s quite literally pushing a baby from right there. But to you, the hardest part is not the nausea, or the possible pain of giving birth, or the sleepless nights to come, no. To you, the hardest part is deciding on what to name your baby. Everyone around you seems to have an opinion on what to name the baby, of course, and with the increasing amount of (sometimes uncalled) suggestions coming from you from all around, you and Charles find yourselves in the middle of a never ending game of name the baby.

“Alfred?” Charles suggests, raising his head from his phone.

The suggestion gets a groan, you shake your head to let him know that it’s definitely not the name. “Excuse me, are we about to raise Batman’s butler?”

“Good point,” he nods his head, “we are Marvel people anyway.”

“You guys are useless at this, you know that right?” Arthur scoffs, raising an eyebrow at the two of you. “Why don’t you wait until the baby is actually born? Many people say that it’s easier to name a baby that way.”

“And how do you know these people?” Charles asks, eyes narrowing at the edges.

Arthur raises his hands on the either side of his face in mock surrender. “Touché.” He takes a moment to think, “Why do you only looking at boy’s names? I thought you didn’t want to learn the gender until the birth.”

“We don’t,” you affirm, slowly perching yourself on the barstool next to Charles, “Charles just thinks that it’s going to be a boy.”

Arthur watches as his older brother nods while smiling proudly, then shares a look with you which screams, He knows there’s a fifty-percent chance, right? You shake your head as you shrug, turning your attention back to your phone. “Oh, oh! What about Luka?”

“Luka,” Charles repeats, and tests the name coming out of his lips, “Luka Leclerc?” His watches as you give him a bright smile as you nod repeatedly.

“It does have a nice ring to it,” Arthur comments from his place on the couch as he abandons the book filled with baby names in his hands.

“Luka.” Charles repeats the name again, but as he looks into your expectant eyes, he can feel a nudging at the back of his mind. Luka, Luka, Luka – has he met someone with the same name before? Well, probably, he thinks. He does meet a lot of people during his day to day life, not to mention the race weekends. He decides to let go of the worry, establishing in his mind that he probably met a fan with the same name– “No, chérie! We can’t use Luka!”

“What?” You ask him with a small pout on your lips, “Why not?”

“You dated a guy named Luka, remember?” He reminds you, expecting you to catch onto what he’s saying. “Chérie, it was right before we dated!” You look at him in confusion as you try to piece what he’s saying together, but Charles just looks at you in disbelief, “I can’t believe you want to name our baby after a guy you dated!”

“But–” You start, eyebrows furrowing together as you try and make yourself remember. “That can’t be true.”

“I’m telling you,” Charles turns to Arthur, raises his eyebrows as he looks at his brother for support, “Arthur tell her that I’m correct.”

Arthur chooses to throw him the pillow he takes from behind him. “How should I know the guy she dated before you, you idiot?”

“Would it kill you to be on my side for a change?” Charles deadpans.

You tune out the rest of their argument, still trying to remember whether Charles is actually correct or not – the pregnancy hormones definitely not helping you on your case. “Wait!” You exclaim, making both of the brothers to turn towards you. “I never dated a guy named Luka,” you raise a finger towards Charles to shut him up before he even gets a chance to speak, “let me rephrase that. I never dated a guy named Luka, because the last guy I went on a date with before we got together was Lucas.”

Charles’ voice is tentative as he asks “Lucas?”

“Yes, you idiot.” You roll your eyes at him, “Why would I try to name our baby after a guy I went on one date with?”

Arthur nods in support of you, “You have to admit you overreacted, Charles.”

“Okay, you? You zip it.” Charles snaps at his brother and then turns to you. “I’m sorry, chérie, but I thought it was Luka.”

“Well it wasn’t,” you cross your arms over your chest, “and don’t tell your brother to zip it, he’s right!” You let out a chuckle as you share a look with Arthur as Charles watches the both of you let out chuckles at his expense.

He lets his eyes narrow and he silently watches as the two of you make fun of him for his outburst. He only talks when your laughter is dying down, “Are you guys done?”

“Oh come on, darling, it was cute.” You lean towards him to link your fingers between his.

He raises one of his eyebrows as he asks, “So you wouldn’t react the same way if I just did that?”

“Oh, Charles, don’t–” Arthur warns him, but you quickly stop him.

“No, no,” you bite back a smile, “continue, my love.”

“As I was saying,” Charles gives his brother a pointed look and then turns his attention back to you, “you wouldn’t react the same way if I wanted to name our future child ‘Charlotte’?”

“Excuse me?” You stutter, frowning as your expression turns into a pout. You wait for a moment for Charles to realise what he’s just said, but when he fails to do so, you prompt him by asking, “How is that similar to what just happened? And why would you bring her into this in the first place?”

Charles shakes his head in disbelief, “How is it not?”

Arthur gets up from his place on the couch and pretends to yawn as he stretches his arms over his head, “You know what, I’m feeling kinda tired maybe I should go home.”

“You sit right back down on that couch, Arthur Leclerc.” You point a finger at him despite having your attention solely focused on your fiancé sitting in front of you, and not on the poor boy who tried to get away from the inevitable fight you and Charles are going to get into.

He lets himself fall back on the couch as he groans and presses a pillow over his face as he mumbles, “Here we go again.”

“I hope you know that these two situations are not similar to each other – like at all.” You emphasise for Charles, “I can’t believe you would even say that!”

There is a clear look of bewilderment in Charles’ eyes as he asks, “You dated ‘Lucas’, I dated Charlotte, how is it not the same?”

“I went on one date with the guy, didn’t date him for three whole years, that’s not the same, you idiot!” You exclaim as you quickly press your hand against your chest as you glare at Charles. “I can’t believe you couldn’t see that, God, Charles! You do this, you always do this!”

Maybe under different circumstances, Charles would have acted a bit smarter. He is, after all, a smart man, he prides himself of being one, but being the absolutely stupid man he is, he asks, “Do what?”

Arthur turns back from the couch, almost breaking his back in the process as his eyes widen in shock as well as he gives his brother a look which screams, How more stupid can you be, you dumbass? In an attempt to diffuse the tension, which is building between the two of you, he recommends, “How about we focus something other than the baby’s name, like the theme of the nursery?”

“Fairy tales,” you answer at the same time Charles chimes, “Racing cars.”

“Okay I take that back.” Arthur mumbles as he watches you and Charles throw glares at each other. “Let’s just stop talking about the baby? It’s clear that the two of you are set on having all the fights you didn’t have before deciding to have a baby.”

Charles lets out a supportive sound. “We clearly suck at discussion right now, this is starting to turn into the argument we had about you taking my surname.”

“Are- are you serious right now?” You stutter once again, eyes widened with surprise. “You are so obstinate, Charles! You refuse to see the right when you’re in the wrong and you refuse to compromise!” You voice is coming more of as a groan now that he’s opened that door. “We didn’t need to have that argument, because i’ve been telling you that I am hyphenating my surname.”

He lets out a similar groan, as he tries to reason, “I just don’t understand why–”

“So our children can have your name, but they can’t have mine?” You raise an eyebrow in warning, eyes narrowing on the edges as you look at your fiancé with suspicion.

“No,” he retorts, trying to defend himself, “I never said I didn’t want the baby, or our future children, to have your surname, I said I just wanted them to have mine.”

You let out a humourless laugh at his reasoning, “So I’m just supposed to lose a big part of myself when we get married, is that it?”

Charles immediately feels a wave of guilt wash over him as he realizes the impact of his words. He jumps up from his seat and rushes over to you, kneeling down in front of you as he gently takes your hands in his. “Well, no– I didn’t mean it like that–”

“I think I know what you’ve meant, Charles.” You voice is shaky as you mumble the next words, “Can you just help me get up, please?”

“What?” Charles asks, motioning his brother to stand back. “Why?”

“Because I can’t stand up on my own, I’m six-months pregnant!” You exclaim, the tears finally start falling down your cheeks. “And it’s all because of you!”

In hindsight, Charles should’ve foreseen the way his words would cause such a commotion in your relationship – given the fact that the two of you have talked about it before. As the weight of his insensitivity settles in, a new wave of panic washes over Charles – he just couldn't shake the thought that his thoughtless words might push you away. And he knows he should’ve listened to Arthur’s warnings before, and probably should have used better words to express his feelings instead of saying things he didn’t mean in the first place; but then again, he’s never been too good at it in the first place. After receiving a very lengthy lecture from Arthur what to say, or rather what not to say, to a hormonal pregnant woman, he left the apartment the two of you share in a hurry to find you. Despite the logical side of his brain constantly remind him of the fact that you know the city well enough to not get lost, the nagging voice at the back of his mind reminded him of the worst things that could have happened both to the love his life and his baby. So imagine his frustration when you don’t answer any of his calls as he frantically rides around the city in hopes of finding you and apologising like he should’ve before you got out of the door.

After dialling your number for the umpteenth time that night, he releases a relaxed breath when you finally answer his call. “Mon amour, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean–”

“Charles?” He hears your voice play through the car play speakers, “Oh, Charles, I did something bad.”

“Y/N.” Charles can swear his heart stops for a moment, he pulls the car over quickly to give you his undivided attention. “Talk to me, love, what’s wrong? Where are you?”

“I didn’t mean to do it, it was an accident–”

“Chérie, please tell me what happened.” He pleads, hands gripping the steering wheel tighter with anxiety. “Where are you? I’ll come to get you.”

He hears you take a shaky breath as you mumble your next words, “I accidentally ordered both raspberry and lemon ice cream, and I can’t finish both.”

“I- darling,” Charles lets out another relieved breath, “I’m coming to get you now, okay? Just wait for me.”

Your voice is sheepish as you mumble, but the small sniffle Charles hears through the speakers is enough to make his heart clench. “Okay, can you please bring me my blanket?”

“Of course I will, just stay there okay?” He mumbles as he starts up the car again, “I love you.”

“Thank you, darling, I love you too.”

Some of the anxiety he has been feeling about your brief disappearance ease with the enlightment as Charles begins to drive towards the small ice cream parlour near your apartment. Of course, you were right around the corner when he was looking for you throughout the entire city; and of course, he should have known you’d crave ice cream after eight o’clock. Thankfully, it doesn’t take him long to get to you, and he remembers to grab the blanked you keep in the car for when you get cold during night drive the two of you go on frequently.

He finds you sitting at one of the tables right near the door, sitting by yourself as you eye the cup in front of you with a small pout on your face. “Chérie.”

“Charles.” You mumble, meeting his eyes as you exhale a deep breath. “You found me.”

“Well to be fair, love, you’re right around the corner from our home.” He drapes the blanked across your shoulders before settling next to you. A small smile forms of his face when you push the small cup towards him. “You got lemon ice cream?”

You sigh sadly as you wrap the blanket around you tighter, “I couldn’t get far because the baby wouldn’t let me, and she wanted ice cream – and it’s habit, Leclerc.” You scowl at him, quickly adding, “I’m still mad at you.” You let out a frustrated groan when you find him smirking covertly, “What?”

“You called the baby a ‘she’.” He points out, grabbing the spoon and getting some of the ice cream on his spoon, “You think it’s going to be a girl.”

“I- I- no!” You gasp as you watch him bring the spoon to his mount and gives you a dimpled smile, “You stop that right now, Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc!” You reach over to hit his arm lightly, “I’m still very much mad at you.”

“I know,” he responds grimly, “we have to talk about what happened.” He laces his fingers against yours as he takes your hand on his arm in his, “I didn’t mean anything I said, I am so sorry.”

You let out a deep sigh, eyes softening around the edges, “I need you to understand that I don’t want to lose a part of myself just because we are getting married and starting a family, Charles.” You shake your head lightly as you give him a sad smile, “Do you know how it makes me feel when you say that you want our children to have only your surname?”

“I do.” Charles replies, but after receiving the look from you, he adds, “I mean – I do, now.”

“Charles,” you begin, “I love you, and I love that we get to go on this journey together, but I am not giving up my name. And I want our children to have both of our names.”

“I’m sorry, chérie, I don’t know why I said that.” Charles looks at you with a sad look.

“Your feelings are important to me,” you tell him, “I need you to know that.”

His eyes widen in surprise, “I know that, oh God. I do know that, Y/N.” He presses a small kiss to your conjoined hands, “And you have to admit, love, Y/N-Leclerc sounds great.”

“Thank you,” you let out breathily, eyes brimming with tears, “I love you.”

“I love you too, chérie.” Charles’ smile turns into a mischievous one, “So you think the baby is going to be a girl?”

“Shut up, Perceval.” You bite back a smile as you bring your hands on your belly, “I just hope she has your dimples and not your anger threshold.”

#monzabee #requests open #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #f1 smut #formula 1 #fanfic #f1 x reader #f1 x you #f1 x y/n #charles leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc imagine #imagine #fluff #angst #smut #charles leclerc smut #charles leclerc fluff

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forjongseong · 8 months

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pine-fresh // jay (ENHYPEN)

pairing: slytherin!jay x gryffindor!fem!reader

genre: hogwarts!au, somewhat rivals to lovers, smut (minors dni)

warning: profanity, a lot of making out, fingering // word count: ~4k

summary: a dash of bickering and a whole lot of miscommunication in Potions class landed you and Slytherin's Park Jongseong in detention. did you ask for it? no. did you regret it? also, no.

author's note: at last, the Slytherin!Jay of my imagination has now, sort of, come to life...

ever since I came across that edit you see on the header, I've thought about him A LOT. now that his hair is actually silver, I have thought about him MORE. especially when @jaylaxies made this, which I thought about ALSO a lot... let's just say that Slytherin!Jay has been occupying my mind a lot more than I expected.

my knowledge on the HP universe is quite limited, so please excuse if some scenes don't seem too believable (like Snape somewhat being less strict here, or detention being scrubbing the bathroom). the title of this fic refers to the password that is needed to enter the Prefects' bathroom.

now, I know I say when I post oneshots I intend for them to be standalone fics, meaning that I most likely won't write a part two. but for this one??? if a lot of you like it, and a lot of you ask for it, I might be open to writing a sequel (once I conduct a lengthy research on Hogwarts grounds)

anyway, I hope you enjoy this little treat! I'm trying to shake off my writer's block, so please expect secretary!Jay to return soon.

taglist: @jaylaxies @excusememissiloveyou @thots4hee @end-hyphen @nyanggk @maggstar @bucketofhiros @shinkenprincess-oh @mydarlingjay @mochimchimo @jongseonglogy @strawberrification12 @xiaoderrrr

permanent taglist is open! send an ask or DM if you want to be tagged.

As your House’s Prefect and one of the smartest students at school, you thought it would be impossible to dislike a class. Getting good grades in almost every subject seemed to prove that you liked learning everything, but by God, you hated Potions. Other than the fact that the lessons took place in a literal dungeon, which made it colder than any of the classrooms above, you always had to deal with the unpleasant smell of whatever was brewing in the room. Add the inconvenient detail that half of the class consisted of Slytherin students, which was more than you could tolerate.

You did not know when it started, maybe since the Sorting Hat placed you in Gryffindor or when you witnessed one of your classmates getting teased by a Slytherin, but you had a strong aversion to anything related to that house. It became so bad to the point that whenever you got paired with a Slytherin for an assignment, all you wanted to do was to get the job done quickly for the both of you so you could leave the class as soon as possible.

“Miss L/N,” called Professor Snape. Your head snapped up and you locked eyes with him, somehow convincing him that you had been listening to all his instructions despite staring into the empty vials on your table. “Today you’ll be working with Park Jongseong.”

You nodded softly and once Snape turned his head towards another student, you made an audible groan and leaned back on your chair.

“You don’t sound so happy to be paired with me.”

Jay took the now unoccupied seat beside you and sat with a force that made his robe flutter. The flash of green caught your eye, and you hesitantly pulled your books to your side, making room for his on the table.

“I’ll handle the mixing,” you replied, completely unrelated to his remark.

Jay frowned before letting out a soft chuckle. “Wow, I guess you really aren’t in the mood today.”

You turned your head only slightly enough to shoot daggers at him with your eyes, and his response was just a huff to his face, messing up the silver bangs on his forehead. The sound of Professor Snape’s voice caught your attention, so you straightened up and listened intently, but also noticed how Jay was mimicking you. Once you were all instructed to begin, Jay grabbed his quill and started making notes for the recipe.

For the first couple of minutes, the process went well. You were mixing and adding stuff according to Jay’s dictation. However, after he misread the measurements for a certain ingredient, causing your brew to bubble uncontrollably, you began scolding him and blaming him for everything.

“What’s distracting you? How could you have misread that?” You half-shouted, a handkerchief in your hand as you attempted to clean up your surroundings.

“Maybe if you weren’t shaking so much when you’re holding the vials then I could have paid more attention,” Jay retorted, snatching a vial from your other hand to prevent more spills. “We should switch. You tell me what to do and I’ll redo everything.”

“That will take us even longer, and everyone else is already halfway done,” you complained as you looked around the class. You saw Professor Snape eyeing your table.

“Do you have another solution?” Jay asked, staring back at you.

You reluctantly agreed to switch tasks, but it turned out that Jay was worse than you. He kept spilling liquid, pouring more than needed, and overall causing more chaos than when he was just giving you instructions. Your grunts and groans were starting to gain the attention of the whole classroom, and by the time you were almost done, the bell rang.

The sound of your quill hitting your book was silenced by the footsteps of the other students exiting the classroom. They had finished their potions, and your table was literally the only one in the room that was still messy, with a mixture that looked too suspicious to be called a potion.

“I have been patient enough to let you two bicker the whole time, but for you to not finish making your potions,” Professor Snape said as he walked back to his desk, his cape almost floating behind him.

“Great, he’s gonna put us in detention,” you muttered to yourself.

“That is correct, Miss L/N,” Professor Snape continued. “Once you’re both done cleaning up your table, meet me in my office.”

The frown you wore on your face was so bad that anybody who saw you could easily tell that you were pissed, but between gathering the books and papers and wiping off spills with a cloth, you could have sworn you saw Jay smirking to himself.

---

As you placed a bucket of water in the middle of the Prefects’ bathroom, you sighed at the exhaustion that you felt despite not having even started your detention. You and Jay were both assigned to clean up the bathroom, which, despite only being restricted to use by the school Prefects, Head Boys, Head Girls, and Quidditch captains, was in an alarmingly grimy state.

You purposefully steered away from the side of the room with the toilet stalls and stood by the large, swimming pool-like tub sunken into the ground with bath taps surrounding it. The tub was drained, and you much preferred scrubbing it to cleaning all the toilets.

Jay was standing by the bath supplies on one side of the pool, staring at the different kinds of soap, bath oils, bath salts, shampoo, and conditioner. It took a while for him to realize you were glaring at him, basically waiting for him to start working already.

“Damn, it would be worth becoming a Prefect just to be able to use this bathroom,” Jay muttered, placing a small bottle of bath oil back in its place. “You must take baths all the time.”

You snorted, audible enough to make it echo throughout the whole room. “I don’t have time for baths.”

“Really? What a shame,” Jay sighed, rolling up his sleeves. “How long do you think it would take for us to finish?”

“If you keep using your mouth instead of your hands, probably a lot longer than I expect,” you replied without a pause, sounding annoyed.

Your snarky remarks did not bother Jay at all. In fact, it amused him, and the way he was laughing softly was not helping at all. He walked over to the stalls and finally began to work only minutes after you started.

“Today is really not your day, huh?” Jay’s voice echoed behind the stalls.

“Thanks to you, it’s not,” you answered, polishing one of the hundred golden bath taps that surrounded the tub.

“You know,” Jay started, only to pause to flush the toilet so he wouldn’t have to compete with the sound. “I have a feeling that you don’t like me.”

You rolled your eyes and moved your bucket to polish the other bath taps. Jay cleared his throat as he waited for your reply.

“Is it because I’m a Slytherin?” He asked. “I mean, it’s kinda unfair that just because I’m in this House, you automatically hate me—”

“I don’t hate you,” you finally responded. “Hate is a strong word.”

“Alright then,” Jay walked out of one stall and looked in your direction before entering the next stall. “So, what’s the story?”

You let out a heavy sigh and wrung out the cloth you were holding. It was a long story, you thought to yourself. You came from a family of Slytherins—both your parents and your older brother were—but since you were old enough to understand and remember things, you had always been the odd one out in your family. They would excel academically and go on to achieve things you never even dreamed of. Your interests were always different, and what got you far at school was thanks to your personality and smart work.

It was still a vivid memory to you, the moment you sat down and let the Sorting Hat analyze you. You thought you would hear a confident ‘Slytherin!’ from the Hat, but after a couple of seconds of deciding, it placed you in Gryffindor. Switching houses was never a thing, so you did what you could and made good friends, studied hard enough to make the professors notice you, and eventually, you earned the title of Prefect as you entered the fifth year.

Despite that, throughout the years in Hogwarts, you kept hearing and witnessing stories about Slytherins, how they always happen to achieve so much but at the same time are notoriously problematic. The house you once dreamed of being a part of quickly became one that you were relieved to be excluded from, but somehow, the longing remains.

Around your third year in Hogwarts, you began hearing chatter about Park Jongseong. He became popular, it seemed, after he was assigned to be the Keeper of Slytherin’s Quidditch team, and also after he had an insane glow-up. You then noticed that he was the quiet nerd who used to bury his nose in whatever book he was reading in a dark corner in the library, but since then, he had ditched his glasses and styled his luscious silver locks in a way that—

“Y/N, are you okay?”

Jay’s voice woke you up from your extensive daydreaming, and it made you realize you were polishing one bath tap for way too long.

“How long were you polishing that tap?” Jay asked, tilting his chin towards your hand.

His question spooked you, and you were beginning to think he might have heard your thoughts. You cleared your throat before moving to the next tap. “Not long, why?”

“Because I’m done with all the toilet stalls, and I noticed you haven’t moved an inch.”

Well, that’s embarrassing, you thought. How long exactly did you zone out for?

“Should I start cleaning the pool’s floor then?” He asked, fixing his folded sleeves before squatting down and then jumping into the empty pool.

“Sure,” you said, immediately picking up your pace and trying your best not to steal any more glances in his direction.

“Listen,” Jay began, both his hands firmly holding a mop. “You got really silent after I asked a question, so I’m sorry that I made you uncomfortable. We can continue to work in silence if that’s what you prefer.”

You smiled as you moved on to the next tap. “It’s fine. I was just tired.”

You refocused on your own task, determined to leave the bathroom spotless, but after a moment, you noticed Jay moving oddly around the pool floor, dragging his mop in a way that was not normal. When you lifted your head to look at him, you saw that he was singing, no, lip-syncing a song and using the mop as a mic stand, completely immersed in his imagination but being considerate not to bother you with noise.

At this sight, you burst out laughing. Jay stood up straight and turned his heel to face you, looking surprised.

“Please,” you said after you contained yourself, “do continue.”

“Miss Prefect,” Jay sighed, “this bathroom is way too huge for only two of us to clean. Do you think we can sneak out and get our wands from Snape’s office?”

You shook your head. “The door is locked with a password.”

“But you’re Miss Prefect,” Jay said, matter-of-factly. “Don’t you know the password?”

“He literally changed it after leaving us here with these cleaning supplies, Jay. I don’t know the new password.”

Jay paused and for a moment you thought he was figuring out a way to escape, when in reality, his stomach just did a backflip from the way his name rolled off your tongue.

“So, what you’re saying is there is literally no way to get out of this bathroom unless we finish cleaning it?” Jay asked.

“That is the point of detention, yes,” you replied, shrugging.

Jay groaned and turned around, pushing his mop and reluctantly continuing to clean the pool floor. You were almost halfway done with polishing all the bath taps, and you sighed as you looked at all the mirrors waiting to be scrubbed clean too.

After a while, Jay finished scrubbing the floors, and you began to wonder if you should have taken his work instead since the bath taps seemed like a never-ending task to complete. He loosened the tie around his neck and undid the first few buttons on his shirt, making you quickly look away.

“Should I help you with the bath taps or start doing the mirrors?” Jay walked over to your side before pushing himself up the edge and then standing up, towering over you.

“Mirrors, please,” you answered, this time tilting your chin to point at the direction of the sinks.

“Really? Because you seem like you’re taking your sweet time polishing all those taps,” Jay said, tilting his head to one side.

You looked up at him and he had this teasing, lop-sided smirk. Meanwhile, the unintentional doe eyes you were giving him made him almost choke on his own saliva.

“Just do the mirrors, Jay.”

You saw him smile the second you finished your sentence, and when he turned his back to you, it somehow looked like his shoulders were happy. He stood in front of the sink and did a quick count on the number of mirrors he had to clean. You saw him start from the far left, where one of the mirrors was cracked on the edge.

“Be careful with that one. Ravenclaw’s Head Girl almost—”

“Fuck!”

You heard Jay groan as he stumbled a few steps back, wincing in pain and shaking his left hand.

“Jay,” you sighed, standing up and throwing the cloth you were holding to the floor. “I didn’t even finish my sentence.”

You walked up to him and stood before him with your hand out. He looked at you questionably before lifting his left hand for you to take a look.

“Is it bad?” He asked, slightly looking away. “I don’t like the sight of blood.”

“That explains a lot,” you muttered, placing your hand carefully over his. “Oh, my God.”

“What? What is it?” Jay asked, his right hand shaking in panic.

“Your fingers are so thick and stubby, like cocktail sausages.”

Jay snorted before pulling his hand away and you giggled.

“It’s just a scratch,” you said in an attempt to calm him down. “You can carry on.”

“Well, do you have something I can use to treat it?” Jay asked.

You were already sitting by the edge of the pool to continue with your polishing. “Do I look like a walking first aid kit to you? Just spit on it and move on.”

Jay looked at you, unsure of your advice. He then turned around and decided to wash his hands with soap. The suds obviously stung, so he was flinching and wincing quietly, but he could see you giggling silently from your reflection in the mirror in front of him.

“Do you really mean it?” Jay spoke, looking at you through the mirror.

“Mean what?”

“That I have stubby fingers,” Jay clarified.

You were unsure what to make of his tone. He sounded curious but also hurt, or maybe…

“So what if you do?” You asked back, not paying attention to him.

The strands of your hair were becoming loose and covering your eyes, and you were dying to fix the scrunchie on your ponytail, but both your hands were wet and occupied with polishing. You kept huffing and puffing and even attempting to move your hair using the movements of your shoulders until Jay sneaked up behind you and tapped you on your arm.

“Here, allow me,” Jay said calmly, tugging on your scrunchie.

You sat up straight and let him pull your scrunchie off, letting your hair cascade to your back. He began brushing your hair with his fingers before gently bunching it into a ponytail. He skillfully tied your hair up into a bun that was less messy than before. You were about to thank him, but he moved from behind you and jumped back into the empty pool, standing in front of you and tucking the loose strands of hair behind both your ears.

His fingers brushed against your ear, and for a moment, you were lost in his eyes. The next thing you felt was his hand behind your neck, pulling you closer as he stood in between your legs, his lips crashing against yours. You sighed as you let yourself be enveloped in his warmth—his tongue tugging yours, his lips devouring yours, his palms pushing against your back, and his breath mixing up with yours.

You felt his hand travel lower down your back, settling on your ass before he pushed you closer to him, earning a soft yelp from between your lips. His mouth detached from yours only to give you a sly smirk before he dove back into you. Your hands rested comfortably on his shoulders as you gave into his every move, and when you felt one of his hands grazing the exposed skin of your thigh from the gap between your skirt and your knee-high socks, you gasped.

“Wanna see what these fingers can do?” Jay asked, speaking right against your lips.

Your eyes searched for his before you nodded a little too eagerly. He chuckled before sliding his hand between your legs and under your skirt. His fingers easily found their place on your clothed cunt, and despite his gentle moves, you could not hold in your moans.

“Jay,” you whimpered, hands bunching up his shirt.

“Oh, I like it when you say my name like that,” he teased, leaving a wet peck on your chin. “Can you say it again?”

He pressed his thumb on your clit before sliding it down your folds, and he could already tell that you were soaked. You were biting your lip, and he chuckled, bringing the same hand that was caressing you up and towards your chin.

“Come on, now,” Jay cooed. “Prefects are usually good students. You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”

His thumb slid upon your bottom lip, and you could almost sniff the scent of your own arousal. You were trembling at this point, desperate to feel more of him, so all you could give as a response was a nod.

“Say my name.”

“Jay—”

Your voice was muffled as he slid in a finger when you opened your mouth. You instinctively sucked on it before he entered another one, and then he hurriedly placed his hand back between your legs, pushing your panties to the side before easily sliding those two fingers inside of you.

“Jay!” You moaned loudly, spreading your legs wider so he could do whatever he wanted to do to you comfortably. Your fingers reached for the back of his head, pulling on his silver locks before you pushed his head to your neck. He began licking the soft skin under your chin before placing wet kisses down your neck. With one hand, you unbuttoned your top and pulled your collar open, giving him more access to your skin. He sucked on your collarbone softly and, at the same time, curled his fingers inside of you.

You repeatedly moaned into his ear, and at some point, you thought you sounded way too pathetic, but the way Jay was thrusting his fingers in and out of you and the way the squelching sound was echoing throughout the whole bathroom made you believe that the sounds you were making were actually quite tame.

“Jay,” you sighed. “Oh, my God.”

Jay lifted his head from your neck and flashed you a proud smirk before leaning in to kiss you again. You whined at the contact, and as your hands found his face, you began to caress him, pull him, and do whatever was necessary to send the message that you wanted him bad.

You felt the increasing pace of his fingers between your legs, and you began to feel the ache in your ass for sitting on the edge of the pool for too long. Jay pressed his thumb on your clit, and you threw your head back in pleasure, grabbing onto his biceps for support. When your moans started to sound higher and more in sync with the movements of his fingers, Jay leaned in and pressed his cheek onto yours before speaking right into your ear.

“Cum for me, will you?”

The deep tone and gentle vibration of his voice sent shivers down your spine, and with that, you finally reached your high. Your legs were shaking, and to soothe you, Jay began kissing your cheek softly. He kept kissing you and moving towards your lips, giving you a long peck before moving down to your chin and neck. He kissed the parts of your skin that were beginning to turn purple, and once he heard your leveled breathing, he pulled away to take a good look at you.

“Good girl,” he said right to your face.

You playfully, and very gently, slapped his face. He let out a wholehearted chuckle before pulling his hand from between your legs. Just seconds later, you heard the sound of footsteps approaching the bathroom door. Your eyes widened, and Jay quickly registered the situation. He fixed your collar for you to button up before he sprinted back to the mirror he was supposed to be polishing while you frantically searched for the abandoned cloth that you had been using the whole time.

“Why am I not surprised that you haven’t finished cleaning the bathroom?” Professor Snape stated after scanning the area. “It’s almost curfew, so wrap up and continue cleaning tomorrow. I’ll consider your detention done once this place is spotless.”

You stood up and observed as Professor Snape reached into the pocket in his robe and took out your wands. After he handed them over to you and Jay, he turned around without further question and left the bathroom. Jay looked at you, and you sighed in relief, almost collapsing to the floor because of your weak knees, if not for Jay holding you up by your elbows.

“That was too damn close,” you commented, standing uncomfortably since your panties were not fixed the right way.

“I’d say it was exciting,” Jay said, leaning into you and sniffing your neck.

“Jay, stop it,” you said, placing your palm firmly on his chest.

“That’s not what you wanted me to do when I had these stubby fingers inside you,” he teased, raising his hand and wriggling his fingers in front of your face.

You smacked his hand away, and he cackled, almost making the room shake from the echo.

“We still need to come back tomorrow and whose fault is that?” You asked, your back turned to him as you were tidying up the supplies.

“Fault?” Jay tilted his head. “No, favor. You’re missing the point. We get to come back here tomorrow.”

You stood up straight before turning to face Jay. He boldly took a couple of steps towards you, closing the distance and pulling you by your waist to press your body against his.

“Are you honestly telling me you’re not looking forward to it?”

With Jay’s arm firmly around your waist, the heat of his body against yours, his eyes boring into yours, and his silver hair messy from the way you were pulling on it earlier, there was no way you could lie to his face.

“Okay, I am looking forward to it,” you said after gaining enough courage. “Maybe instead of your stubby fingers, you can show me something else.”

Jay’s eyes twinkled at your daring tone, and you both chuckled before letting each other go, nagging at him as he collected your supplies while shamelessly ogling your body.

-END-

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!!! do NOT copy, translate, or repost any of my work to your blog or ANY other platform.

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daisywords · 11 months

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I personally know there are multiple types of editing but I've never seen anyone explain it in a way that actually made me understand what the types of editing actually were (yeah cool that you say {}editing is different from []editing but *how*). So if you wanna explain, feel free to.

Your handy-dandy guide to different types of editing

disclaimer: writers, you can literally edit however works for you. these distinction can be useful to your process, or just if you're looking to hire an editor. Not all editors make distinctions in this way; there are various ways of dividing. But no matter what vocabulary you use, it's best practice to start with broad, big-picture stuff and move towards narrower issues. Some editors do all levels of editing, while some specialize.

Developmental Editing (Is it a good story?)

Developmental editing has to do with the content. For a novel, that means working on the bones of the story. The plot. The pacing. The characters. Do their motivations make sense? Can the reader understand why things are happening? Does the story drag in places, or seem to brush past important elements? Do all of the subplots get resolved? etc. etc. (At this stage an editor is mostly going to be offering suggestions, pointing out issues, and throwing out potential solutions. Beta readers can also be very helpful at this stage to get a reader's perspective on the story beats and characters.)

Line Editing (is it well written?)

Sometimes called substantive editing, line editing is zooming in a little bit more to focus on scenes, paragraphs and sentences. Once we've decided that a scene is going to stay, lets look at the mechanics of how it plays out. Does the scene start to early or too late? Does the writing style communicate the emotions we want the reader to feel? Does the dialogue match the characters' voices? do any of the sentences sound awkward or ugly? Is the movement being bogged down by too much purple prose anywhere, or is there not enough detail? (This can get pretty subjective, so it's important that the writer and the editor are on the same page with taste, style goals, etc.)

Copy Editing (is is correct?)

Copy editing is all about the details. Think grammar and punctuation. Do the sentences make sense? are they grammatically correct? Is the dialogue punctuated correctly? Any misspellings? Should this be hyphenated? Should this be capitalized? Should we use a numeral, or write out the number? etc etc. A significant part of copy editing is matching everything to a style manual (like Chicago or AP) a house style guide (individualized preferences from a publisher, for example), and a project's own internal style sheet (are the character's names spelled the same every time? if we used "leaped" in chapter 4, we shouldn't use "leapt" in chapter 7) Copy editing is still subjective, but less so than the earlier levels, so a copyeditor will be more likely to just go in and make a bunch of (tracked!) changes without consulting the author for everything.

Bonus: Proofreading (did the copyeditor catch everything? are there typos? formatting issues? have any errors been introduced?)

Lots of people say editing when they really mean proofreading. Proofreading is the absolute last thing to get done. It's the one last pass just before something is published. It's important, but as you can see, there's a whole lot more to editing than just checking for typos.

#editing #writeblr #editing process #writing process #editors or writers who have worked with editors feel free to chime in! we are not a monolith lol this is just they way I've learned

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lilislegacy · 1 month

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I actually have my own little head cannons about percy and annabeth's own family, and I'm gonna share them for no reason other than being annoying <3

Percy and Annabeth have lived in unstable homes throughout their childhood; I truly believe that they got married in their early twenties after college

Annabeth hyphenated her last name! She becomes "Annabeth Chase-Jackson" because she loves the Jacksons and is a part of their family while also keeping her last name because she's THE Annabeth chase and it's iconic

I think that they always wanted kids together, but it was always a thought for the future, even when they got married and were busy with their careers

So yes, their first kid was a total surprise, but a very happy one

They were the first of the hoo group to have a kid

Their first kid's a boy (ik unpopular opinion), with blonde hair and green eyes.

I always imagined they'd named their kids something both unique and greek, with maybe a middle name after a lost hero? Giving the first name of a lost hero sounds painful, and also defeats the whole purpose of Sally naming Percy after the only greek hero with a happy ending. An example I like is Amycus Charlie Jackson. idk tho, something more normal makes sense too.

Amycus would probably be a stereotypical angel first child tbh

Because they had their first kid so early on, I think their second would be a couple years later, I think around 4.

They'd have a girl next, Daphne Zoe Jackson, with Percy's raven hair and Annabeth's gray eyes. She'd be a little more troublesome lol, but in a loving way!

I honestly think 2 kids are good enough but my heart says they'd have 3. He'd be a surprise baby, and on the younger end of the hoo group's kids (if not the youngest). I haven't thought of much characterization for him yet, but he'd get Sally's blue eyes for sure.

And they live a great life in New York, I'm sorry but they aren't moving to New Rome! Especially Percy, he's a New Yorker through and through

Annabeth works from home from time to time as an architect, mostly to spend more time with her kids, especially when they're babies.

Percy has a pretty chill job doing something in marine biology or marine vet, so he's there for the kids plenty too

Sally babysits the few times both of them are busy

Ya that's their perfect domestic life in my head hehehe >:)

thanks for the ask @littlesillyfilly!

i love all of these!!! super cute! i shall go through each one

1. same! some people think they don’t get married, but i hate the reasons why most people think that. as demigods, percy and annabeth didn’t grow up in a stable family setting. i think they would want that stability, and to do normal stereotypical couple things, because they crave as much normalcy as they can get.

2. another vote for the hyphenated name! that seems to be people’s favorite option

3. yes absolutely. they always have wanted kids. it’s not even a question in my mind

4. i agree, for some reason i’ve always had the hc that their first kid is either a total shock, or it takes a really really long time for them get pregnant. it’s one or the other 😂

5. completed agreed. honestly? i dont even know if many of their friends would have kids. i mean, frank and hazel, together or not, probably would i think, albeit much later than percy and annabeth. but i don’t know if i see anyone else having kids. i think its not super common amongst demigods, especially greek ones

6. absolutely 1000% agreed. i have always thought and said that their first is a boy with curly blonde hair and sea green eyes.

7. agreed! i like them doing a mix of things when it comes to names. and this is so funny because i always have liked the name charlie (after beckendorf) for one of their kids! it’s in my percabeth baby names list LOL. so i think i like their second son being named charlie, and then i have a girl name for their daughter that i love.

8. oh absolutely. first babies seem to always be so precious and sweet and easy. that’s how they get you. then the second one comes and all hell breaks loose

9. i agree that their second kid would come a few years later. they would need a hot minute to adjust. having kids as a demigod would be hard i think, but once they get the hang of it, they want more!

10. i absolutely agree that their next kid has percy’s black hair and annabeth’s grey eyes! personally, i always imagined it being another boy though. he is their charlie in my mind.

11. yeah, i think they would originally plan on 2 kids, but end up having three (if not 4🤭). and in my mind, number 3 is their girl! i’ve always imagined her with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes with a bit of green in them.

12. you are team percabeth living in new york? ok ok i like it. idk personally i feel like they would start out in new rome, for safety reasons. also having a community of demigod friends and family would probably be very comforting for them. but i definitely see them ending up in new york again! percy is absolutely a new yorker through and through!

13. aww annabeth being able to work sometimes at home would be cute. i can see that!

14. can i just say im so glad people are getting on board with percy becoming an aquatic/marine vet?? i’ve always been so alone in that thought, so seeing other people like it and agree with it makes me so happy!! he’d be sooo good at it! but yes, it’s a chill job so he can be around for the kids a lot.

15. sally and paul would love babysitting. 100%

i loved all of these so much and agree with nearly everything!! thank you for these!!

#percabeth #percy jackson #annabeth chase #pjo #heroes of olympus #pjo headcanons #percy jackson and the olympians #answered

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drstonetrivia · 7 months

Text

Chapter 204 Trivia

What we thought may be a politics arc may in fact become a brotherly feud…

Galileo's quote is taken from his book "The Assayer", considered to be one of the pioneering works of the scientific method. At the time, most science was done by philosophical arguments rather than observation and trying to understand the mathematics behind them.

Math is the universal language because the symbols may change, but the meanings/axioms cannot. Because of this, the cover of the Golden Record placed on Voyager 1 (the probe leaving our solar system) has instructions written in math in the hopes some future beings can understand.

Ryusui wasn't wearing two swords last chapter, I wonder where they came from and why he's wearing them now…

(Maybe this is why Sai was running from him haha!)

Mathematical errors have ruined a lot of space missions: the Mariner 1 was destroyed because of a missing hyphen, and the Mars Climate Orbiter was destroyed on landing because of a failure to convert units.

Avoiding these errors was very difficult when it was all done by hand.

This seems to be at least partially true, however the practice has lessened over the decades. Indian-educated parents and grandparents may remember, but students these days probably only need to learn up to 19x19!

The HR industry in India is incredibly large, and are a very useful resource to have for any business looking to scale up. It's not surprising that the Nanami Corporation set up a university there!

Sai appears to be the 554th most popular name in India and can be used for both genders, but it's generally a male name.

The equations in the background here I haven't identified yet, but the gamma (γ) thrust here may be alluding to the thrust equation used with rocket engines in space. The gamma is the specific heat ratio of the gas.

The day is October 1st, so the team likely left Spain sometime between September 15th-20th if it did in fact take them 10 days to travel the distance (with some delays because of the Suez situation).

The food here may be a somewhat generic curry as the sound effect seems to indicate, or it could also be lamb gosht based on the color, region, and spices used.

Technically we don't know that Ruri specifically called for the defensive positions, but we do know everyone in Japan is probably in them.

I think this is the same sky image as the one Tsukasa saw in chapter 188, but with a different star pattern.

The Fellenius method and what Senku is actually doing here is dividing the slopes into segments and calculating how stable each one is using the properties of the dirt and rock. Putting the segments together should give you how likely a rock slide is. Strata are layers of rock.

The many-armed pose Sai is found in is a reference to Durga, a major Hindu deity. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction and wars.

This comment I believe is Chelsea's from the "I'm not a fan" part, with the "baaad" learnt from Chrome's habit.

The meaning of her comment is confusing, but it might be because the last pretty-boy character introduced was a villain (Stanley), however shes also a fan of Hyoga…?

Sai's outfit is very simple and rather lacking compared to Ryusui's, however they share elements such as the collar type and addition of a belt.

The belt buckle is very interesting, it doesn't follow Ryusui's nor Nanami Corp.'s branding and looks like a C+.

My guesses for the meaning: -C+, the programming language, based off the fact he was petrified on his laptop presumably. -C, the Roman numeral, indicating 100+ because of the million-times brainpower comment (million in Japanese is 百万, 百=100). -C, from E=mc^2, for light speed.

Sai's odd yell ("peegyaaaah!") may be a computer joke, as the sound effect "ピ" (pi) tends to be used for computer beeps, like pressing a button.

A similar sound has been used in the past for Xeno's encryption device.

Sai's character could go a lot of directions since he's unlikely to be one of the traditional nerds they described, nor one like Joel since Joel exists. What Ryusui did to scare off his older brother though, I'm very curious about…

#trivia #dr stone #chapters #sai nanami #204 #bit of me-trivia here: i got spoiled from the leaks from someone updating ryusui's wiki page to include sai and i assumed it was a joke #until i read the chapter and was like “ah.”#i still wish there were more hints to sai's existence before he suddenly appeared out of nowhere

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noahtally-famous · 11 months

Text

some Dave family & childhood/adolescence headcanons:

bc I wanna dissect this guy and his mind fr-

(fyi I'm desi (a person of South Asian descent born in another country), and I'm like 99% sure Dave is desi as well, so this is just a note for ppl so y'all are aware that I'm an Indian too! however, if anything at all mentioned below doesn't sound right (and not opinions, though I'd love to hear those too, I mean like actual info) pls lmk!)

uh, also mentions of homophobia, internalized homophobia, and trauma relating to mysophobia

some of these might be subject to change or tweak here and there, but overall, I'm satisfied with what I have!

- his father is a prestigious businessman who was born in Canada—he worked his way from the ground up as his parents (Dave’s grandparents) were immigrants from India; his reputation is everything to him, and he sees his family as a way to enhance said reputation so that he doesn’t lose face.

- his mother is descended from a wealthy family—she likes to say her great-grandfather was a Baron who’d resided on the India-Nepal border—and she was born in London. It was her grandparents (Dave’s great-grandparents) who emigrated from India to the UK. She’s artistic and the lower level of their house is her own studio.

- Dave’s parents marriage was more of an ‘alliance’ than anything. It’s little details that are also glaringly obvious that signified to him that his parents really didn’t love each other in that way—and if they did, it isn’t a priority; things like his mother hyphenating her last name and not fully taking his fathers, the distance in the way they interact, just slight emotional ticks that let him know their love was more of a facade.

- since then, Dave vowed that if he ever found someone, the love they’d share would be real and genuine—ironically, he became a bit of a romantic (okay, a huge romantic). Obv his parents weren’t good role models in the romance department but all those movies he’d watched are!

- anyway back to the family; Dave’s father spent long hours either at the office or traveling for business. Whenever he’s away, their house feels a bit more like a home—his mother unfurls like a flower and her already overprotective nature due to his weak immune system heightens, and Dave let’s himself believe he’s a normal guy in a normal family when this happens.

- but eventually his father returns and the emotional distance ensues, the high expectations, his mother retreating back into her shell, and the reality hits that he just can’t ever be ordinary.

- only one person has brought up the topic of a divorce and it’s his older brother; it’s mentioned half-heartedly too as though he knew she’ll disagree. It’s a funny thing; Dave’s mother does love his father and maybe that feeling is returned, but there’s so much weight and expectations and pressure they’d placed upon themselves that whatever affection is straining.

- his father reacts to this by overworking himself; his mother by retreating.

- (Dave also vowed that him and his lover won’t have a relationship this complicated. It’ll be simple, cliche, normal, and perfect.)

- Dave has Middle Child Syndrome. He has three other siblings and he’s not just the middle kid, but also the kid who doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing (in other words, who doesn’t seem to be able to ‘enhance the family name rep’. He’s just…There.)

- perhaps that’s why he and his father are so distant—more than his siblings are. No matter how hard he tries to impress his father with anything, it goes awry and/or his father never seems to give him more than a curt nod.

- there’s his older sister: she’s graduated from law school, is 25, and is currently an attorney for their fathers business. She goes with him on his business trips, and Dave is so not jealous. She’s strong, bold, and isn’t afraid to look assholes, sexism, and racism in the eye and shoot them down with her words and expressions. She’s like the shield, a mature presence in the siblings’ lives.

- his older brother is second. A double-major in history and business, and 22 years old. At first, he was meant to take on the mantle of their fathers business when the time was right. However, that took a drastic turn when news got out that his brother was fully and utterly homosexual. Naturally the equation in his fathers head was: ‘homosexuality = hate = losing precious reputation’ and the following arguments that spawned between the two of them from this were some of the nastiest. That’s when Dave, listening in keyholes, over banisters, and in other random locations, found out one huge thing: his father is a homophobe.

- (not that that mattered to him. He’s straight, he liked only girls. Right?)

- anyway, their father told his brother to ‘hide his gayness’ and pretend he’s straight. His brother said that’s bullshit and that everything rich ppl do is ‘pretend’. Long story short, his brother moved out. Currently, he lives in Europe and owns an art gallery that his mother sends her artwork to (his father found out abt that once, and that resulting fight was a mess too--but dw she still does it and he can't stop her).

- Dave hates him. He wants to hate him so fucking badly for leaving him behind, for not listening to their dad and pretending to be straight, for being gay in the first place! Bc he and his brother were tight; they were super close and he’s the one guy Dave felt he could rely on and now?? He’s in another damn continent and Dave’s stuck in this suffocating atmosphere and ugh, goddammit he wants to hate him but he can’t bc he’s his brother and he loves him. So yeah. He def has mixed feelings lmao

- (this is also when his internalized homophobia started. He doesn’t care who other ppl love, he just cares who he loves. He’s not making the same mistake his brother did.)

- his younger sister, 14-15 years old, going into high school. Unlike the rest of their siblings, she doesn't want to be bogged down by office work or business drags. With a foot in every sport imaginable and an expert breakdancer, she's already got her sights set on making it professional in the sports category or becoming a famous dancer (maybe both, depending on how good she is, and she is good). She may only be in 9th grade, but words already spread that she's been scouted to go pro. She takes self-defense classes, helps coach soccer and softball for the younger kids during summers, and basically whatever her siblings didn't do in the athletic field, she's making do with flying colors.

- so yeah. After all this, you can see why Dave feels as lost as he does. Whichever way he turns, there's one or more of his siblings achieving great things, and he's just there...doing nothing...not being recognized because he's good at nothing. Just average. At every goddamn thing.

- normally he'd be fine with that, considering that's what ordinary ppl feel and that's what he wants to be, but it goes at odds with the side of him who wants to impress his father, make his mother proud, also stay at the same level as his siblings are.

- he's just so confused, he doesn't know what to do, and he's too scared to take a step forward. He's just some sheltered rich kid who doesn't understand/know cues in society, what good is that?

- onto his childhood/adolescence; boarding schools. That's basically all he's known. And ofc it has to be fancy boarding schools that the parents of other rich kids send them bc despite Dave being so average, his father will be damned if he sends him off to some middle-grade school.

- boarding schools left their own respective impressions on him as well. He used to be made fun of, teased, and even bullied bc rich ppl are nasty and they don't hold back—even to one of their own (especially to one of their own). One stark incident that left a huge mark on him was when he was eleven and his bullies took things a bit too far--you can't put a bunch of kids whose parents are competitive maniacs in a harsh cooperative and/or political world together and expect nothing crazy to happen; this was one of those crazy incidents. Long story short: some older kids took advantage of the fact that Dave has a weak immune system, lots of dirt was involved, a near burying-alive incident, lots of name-calling and taunting, and, as a result, on top of his immune system problems, he developed mysophobia too—which added more to his germaphobic tendencies.

- Whenever he's in a situation similar to the one that triggered this phobia, he falls into a panic. Those first few weeks, months, couple of years, it was horrible; only his siblings (mainly his younger sister and older brother bc his older sister was away a lot) and his best friend at the time would make any headway pulling him out of that trauma. Overtime (and the only time Dave was actively determined to do smth) he forced himself, his mind, his body reactions, to tune in with his thoughts so that if he ever got into a panic, he'd have a greater chance of pulling himself out instead of relying on someone else.

- but yeah. He has mysophobia, is a germaphobe, and has a weak immune system (smth his father considered a weakness) so him asking if smth is unhealthy or dangerous or "of questionable origin" isn't just him being a hypochondriac.

- that wasn't the only thing he went through in boarding schools. But, before we get to that, imma just say after that incident, he learned his lesson—he learned that rich kids are nasty pieces of shit and he's not gonna get anywhere the way he's being right now. So he excels in the art of people-watching, of careful observation that over time just becomes a habit/instinct—scoping out the opposition. He knows who's the assholes, who're worth interacting with, what to do to stay under the radar. Like magic, the lack of bullies dwindles once he starts doing that, and he finds out that everyone rlly does have something to hide—but he's not a blackmailer, he just observes, gives a mental nod, and moves on with his life.

- he often fluctuates with what his father would expect of him, and what he expects from himself; one of them is the lengths to go to stay on top. For example, despite knowing he's not a blackmailer, he'll still hesitate bc it's "what his father would've wanted".

- anyway, he's switched boarding schools twice—the first bc of the dirt incident, the second bc that's when he got his sexual awakening:

- his best friend in that boarding school—the only person he lets loose around—ends up also being someone he, to his horror, gets a crush on. Why horror, you might ask? Simple: his best friend is a guy.

- see: Dave's internalized homophobia. My dude already has fluctuating feelings abt impressing his dad, if he comes out as liking guys, he just knows that's not gonna be well-received. Literally, the one thing he thought wouldn't ever happen does. So he reacts in typical Dave-fashion: he panics, and does what his mum would do: retreat. He basically runs away from the problem lmfao, he ignores his best friend—which he still feels guilty for to a degree bc the one person who accepted him for who he was and supported him, and he just...stomped on him bc of a sexuality crisis lmao. And that's not the worst of it: he actually nails the head in the coffin by asking his dad to switch him to another boarding school bc his roommate is gay. (And yeah, ofc, they were roommates lmao).

- not his best moment, everyone's well aware.

- (and try as he might, his bisexuality (though he doesn't know that he's bisexual yet) isn't "gone" like he hoped it was; it's more so repressed, buried, deep within him, but in a manner that one tilt off-axis will send him spiraling into another sexuality crisis)

- anyway, he's in his third boarding school when he comes across the Total Drama audition flyer online, and decides why the heck not lmao.

- before his younger sister was born, Dave spent most of his early childhood at his aunts place—his mother's younger sister. The utter normalcy of the place compared to what he’s used to astounds little him, and his visits there leave a great impact on him. His aunt, an art teacher at a local school, had a small, modest house filled with sketches, paintings, murals, and the various designs and bright colors were mesmerizing to him. They took him to a world where only colors mattered and nothing else. His aunt doted on him too, and Dave loved spending his days in that house more than his own place.

- Unfortunately, when he was seven, his aunt died—a mundane way to die for a mundane young lady, he couldn’t help thinking; (I'm thinking either getting hit by a car while crossing the street or what is a 'simple viral infection' which turned out to actually be a tumor). As mentioned though, those times left a great impact on him. Made him realize that it is possible to an extent to lead an ordinary life even while connected to such extraordinary. It also made him harbor a love for art—any and all kind of it (except maybe pottery bc it’s messy, as well as the unconventional types like using dirt and the outdoors as tools).

- her death, if I wanna go the tumor route, will emphasize his germaphobic tendencies and his mysophobia. Depending on which road I wanna take, if I do this, the dirt incident at the boarding school won’t have happened, maybe?? not quite sure 🤔

- given all this, it's no wonder he has attachment issues. Usually, he's standoffish, he keeps to himself, he still interacts with ppl but he doesn't trust or get close to ppl easily. But when he does, when he finds someone who he actually vibes with, he sorta just...latches to them bc of this worry that they might leave him, or the other shoe will drop, or smth bad will happen to them. Basically, it's hard for him to let go. He's capable of it, but it's difficult for him to process—heightened depending on how strong the bond is with the other person.

- being ordinary is the center point of this guy's persona—his core existence. it's why when he auditioned for Total Drama, he's labeled as "A Normal Guy". He didn't mention anything abt his family and if he had to, it was the bare minimum; no one knows who his parents are, who he's connected to, they just know him as a germaphobic average joe.

bonus stuff:

- for his last name, I'm thinking Jha??? idk I rlly like it and I think it suits him.

- vegetarian, due to his cultural background.

- hates horror movies, he's the guy to cling onto your hand or arm if you're watching one with him, and def the type to scream at the jump scares and then curse up a storm.

- gore is a no. it's too messy and makes his stomach twist; same with zombies bc uh...the effects are basically overkill for him. (Shawn dared him during one of their scavengings that if he won the show, Dave would watch a bit of The Walking Dead with him. Rip Dave lmao.)

- he can tolerate horror and gory movies, btw, he just doesn't prefer it.

- I've this standing silly hc that he and Noah are family friends; as a desi, let me tell you, we've a lot of family friends lmao. The opposites of his and Noah's home lives only serve to prove that it is possible to lead a normal life where your emotions aren't secondary to the public.

- despite leading a variety of lives, Dave and his siblings are pretty close! When they were little, they used to have tree-climbing contests, which is why, even if his arms might look chickeny, his legs are pretty strong stamina-wise. They might be more distant now with a lot more differences between them, but they're capable of standing together when need be.

- speaks English and Hindi; due to his upbringing, he's fluent in several other languages too.

- obv closet disaster bi; his main fear is someone will find out and his sexuality will be exposed on international television

- likes to garden, but only if he's wearing gardening gloves; he also feels productive when doing so bc it makes him feel strong tackling the dirt to let beautiful plants grow—like facing his fears to let smth else grow there instead. He has several potted plants in his house.

- while he seems standoffish and 'colder' at first, ironically, he also has the tendency to get emotional easily. Especially when it comes to rejection—he's not very good at handling that. Basically he's a mix of nervousness and distant—he can be quick to judge, especially when it comes to ppl who have different quirks like Beardo and Leonard.

- he learned coding bc that’s what his dad wanted him to do. All he got from his father was the usual ‘curt nods’ so he thinks he’s just average at it. Whenever his dad gives him one of those nods, Dave just assumes that means he’s not particularly exceptional at whatever it is he’s currently doing—even if that may not be the case.

- the attachment issues and emotional detachment of his family are one of the main reasons for his snarky self-aware yet also lack of self-awareness (and, at times, rude) personality; I want to say it's like a shield--the snarkiness, I mean--but it's also basically an ingrained habit.

- doesn't like being called David. his father (and his mother, oftentimes) tend to call him that, and hearing the name reminds him of them and the expectations and pressure and everything he cannot be. He much prefers Dave.

#i do have names for his siblings that I'll add if I feel like it (and if this is well-received)#oh what the heck jaydha gabriel and viola are their names lmao #I think...that might be subject to change but I like them so far #im 10k words into writing a skylett (with a side of dashawn) oneshot when I decided it's high-time to jot down my notes for this guy lmao #the random things I decide to do instead of being productive and finishing a oneshot smh #td dave #total drama #kit speaks #noahtally-famous #kit stuff #td #tdpi #total drama pahkitew island #this is just a silly little thing I wanted to post bc I love dissecting dave like hello this guy's mind?? def worth looking through

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spookyscarydemonbabe · 1 year

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Hello! I was wondering what your thoughts on what the Hellfire club member's last and/or middle names would be :D idk it's just something going across my mind recently

(Also ack I meant to request this yesterday for my birthday but unfortunately I'm sick rn and I didn't because I was sleeping all day lol)

hello my love!! happy late birthday 🫶 i’m sorry i’m getting to this so late but i’m glad you asked!!!

I know that we already know Eddie’s full name from the show, and Emerson is a fanon last name for Gareth but i never see people talking about the other boys names!

I’m someone who often likes the idea of characters middle names being the same as the first names of the actors that portray them, i’ve found that most of the time it usually fits them quite well.

Edward Joseph Munson definitely fits him, especially with how both names sound more ‘proper’ given his personality. I assume his parents wanted to give him names that made Eddie seem like he was going to be a sweet boy when he was young but unfortunately they knew that probably wasn’t going to happen given his family history.

Gareth Gwydion Emerson 100% works in his case, especially given how i’ve headcanoned his family. His parents were hippies and they wanted their children to have fun names while still being able to be addressed formally by people. They knew they were naming adults, not babies, so they made all of their children have ‘normal’ first names and unique middle names to still give them a sense of their own personal style. (And while i’m getting into it, Claire’s middle name is Opal and Macys is Tigerlily)

I’ve never thought too much about last names for Jeff and Grant, especially because they don’t really have their own sections of the fandom, but i feel like their actors names work fairly well for them as well. Though i wished that we were given an actual name for Grants character inward as of just ‘freak’, from the few minutes of screen time they had you could tell they had very interesting personalities that all work so well together.

Jeff Trey Fisher i feel would suit him for how i’ve headcanoned his family. They’re upper middle class, never really struggled much, his family are very well put together and his older sister was actually quite popular when she was in high school but since she’s left she can’t do much to stop the other popular kids from being mean to her brother and the rest of Hellfire. It’s nothing super extravagant, but when you hear the name it sounds very casual, very normal. Which is exactly what his parents were going for. They didn’t care what their children’s personalities would be, which is why they have them both fairly neutral names. (And since i did it for Gareth i’ll also mention that his older sisters name is Patricia Michelle)

I’ve never really thought much about a middle name for Grant but i do know he would have a hyphenated last name.

Grant Baker-Peterson. Him, his younger brother, and his dad all agreed to also take his stepmoms last name when they got married. His dad and his brother are all fairly similar to him, bigger guys who stick mainly to themselves and never really have much to say. His stepmom is quite the opposite. She’s a sweet little thing who is always very bubbly and happy about anything and everything. (And because i can, his little brothers name is Thomas, and his stepmom was his elementary school teacher which is how her and his dad met each other.)

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #eddie munson #gareth emerson #jeff stranger things #freak stranger things #hellfire club #corroded coffin

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leggerefiore · 3 months

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Question:

I've always assumed when Cyrus finally officially marries his S/O that they would become an Akagi (or whatever other headcanoned surname). But it dawned on me that he could also take their name amd I've heard of couples making one up too. Do you think he would opt for an alternative arrangement? To maybe shed the pressure of his own family name? Post Spear Pillar Incident, taking his S/O's name may actually protect them both, given their relationship wasn't super public (CEOs get paparazzi'd so it may have been outted) and the S/Os family isn't famous somehow. I can't tell. While Cyrus doesn't strike me as a particularly "traditional" man, or not "tradition-for-tradition's-sake," I could see him deeply enjoying the sense of marked territory. That's HIS name. That's HIS spouse.

Though I'd leave the S/O's family stuff to the individual readers out here. Some may imagine being from a prestigous background like his or whatever else. I stick to working class because it's what I know.

I'd classify this as Creep Lore, but I think my last name is pretty neat, so I've considered keeping it if I ever marry IRL. Or maybe doing a hyphenated married name so I can have the best of both. Cue the Marvel (Iron Man specifically) jokes because it's Jarvis.

Hmm... I think he's pretty traditional. It's probably unconscious, but he was raised in such a rigid way that he struggles to think outside it. He only rejects it when it causes him too much pain. (Ie, not agreeing to an arranged marriage because he doesn't want that.) I do think he would prefer his partner take his last name. While he may despise his parents, there is something he feels in proving them wrong. He is capable and can do everything they seemed to think he couldn't. The pressure may bother him, but there is still. A connection to his ancestors (really, after he meets Cyllene, he would likely feel more bound to it).

Though, post Spear Pillar, who knows? Maybe he would allow it for Cyllene while she's growing up for her safety, but as an adult, I think he would want her to take his as the heiress to everything he has to offer her. He might carry the shame and weight of his actions in his name alongside the pressure. He cannot truly run from it, after all.

For his partner... He definitely wants them to take his name, but he probably would relent to their wishes. It's partly possession and another part thinking another person to share his name and not make him despise it.

#cyrus.ima

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satelliteaccident · 2 years

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Writing Elytically: This Time, It's Details

(Last time, it was big-picture stuff!)

So you want to format your fic like the game

I'll start with two words: collect screenshots. The more in-game references you have for those "but how does the game do X?" moments, the easier it will be to find answers.

In addition to screenshots, try FAYDE, which is a searchable database of in-game text (including variables!) and a load-bearing part of my DE ficwriting process. I cannot say enough nice things about it and about @morgue-xiiv, who made and hosts it.

Next up: keep a style sheet, and update it like Kim will be *disappointed* if you don't.

What goes in a style sheet? All the zillion formatting guidelines and decisions you make when you put word to keyboard.

For example, while there are exceptions, the game's skillset dialogues usually follow this case-sensitive template:

SKILLNAME [Difficulty: Outcome] – What the skill says goes here, and it doesn't take quotation marks.

When you plug in the specifics, the result looks like this:

RHETORIC [Trivial: Success] – Words can be exchanged for goods and services.

Note the square brackets and the space-en dash-space that follows them. An en dash is this guy – not a hyphen (that's shorter -) or an em dash (that's longer —).

Also, the body text/content of dialogue uses different dashes again: two hyphens in a row. Here's what that looks like:

I took a screenshot because on Tumblr, some browsers will automatically convert two consecutive hyphens to an em dash, which is a great way to make copy editors very sad.

Exceptions

We actually just saw one! That's because Perception follows:

PERCEPTION (SENSE) [Difficulty: Outcome] – What the skill says goes here, and it doesn't take quotation marks.

. . . except sometimes, when the game does it like:

PERCEPTION (Sense) [Difficulty: Outcome] – What the skill says goes here, and it doesn't take quotation marks.

I'll never know why they're different, but I would guess the team didn't have a "final reads are FINAL, stop re-writing after them you hooligans" policy, which intellectually I recognise is unlikely to end in apocalypse and emotionally I experience with the editorial equivalent of the meat sweats.

Another exception: Coach Physical Instrument just yells at you without following the template, which seems on brand:

COACH PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT – Bracing yet homophobic encouraging-slash-berating goes here!

Weirdly(?), Limbic System and Ancient Reptilian Brain do the same.

Other skills follow the template first, *then* just chime in the second-plus time they appear in a single dialogue event, like this trio from The Whole Sorry Way Down:

VOLITION [Challenging: Success] – Hey. Loser! This isn’t your bed. Get up. PAIN THRESHOLD [Medium: Success] – Oh, *god*. PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Easy: Success] – Was that springs? And footsteps? They were moving away from you. VOLITION – What? Who cares? Get up, and cut the dramatics. PAIN THRESHOLD – They’re not dramatics. You’re in pain. PERCEPTION (HEARING) – That’s… definitely footsteps. Getting closer, this time.

Oh my god, what else?!

SO MUCH ELSE. Let's see . . .

Active skill checks

Can I find a screenshot of one at the moment? No, because that would be easy. *facepalm* But here's how I formatted them in M+P when I was still obsessively checking the game to see how these things worked:

1. [Skill Level#: Difficulty] [Thing you're going to do.] "Thing you're going to say, if anything!"

And a concrete example:

YOU – 1. [Strike a Sam Bo pose.] “If you can best me in HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT.” 2. [Move aside.] “Sure, c’mon in.” 3. [Composure 15: Heroic] [Move aside.] “Of course. I’ve missed you.” Composure: Failure YOU – You move aside and get as far as “Of” before some involuntary emotion-muscle spasms. Your throat feels small, your face hot. Fat, guileless tears vanish into your beard.

Note that the dialogue option you "select" is bold, as is the outcome line. Also note that [Action you'll take] ends up in square brackets, but if you're going to lie, then you do it like so: (Lie.)

Miscellanea

Place names: Spelling and hyphenation can be a pain. If not using your own notes, I suggest FAYDE and screenshots; or, for variety, screenshots and FAYDE. Google is okay, but sometimes, it lies.

If you can't find evidence of how the game does it, make a decision and slap it in your style sheet. You're the captain now!

Tricky fish:

The place is Sur-la-Clef; the language is Suresne.

The place is Vesper; the language is Vespertine.

The place is Revachol; the demonym is Vacholière (Suresne) or Revacholian (Vespertine).

LA REVACHOLIÈRE – IF SHE IS SPEAKING, SHE SPEAKS LIKE THIS. Shivers doesn't, though, unless La Rev speaks "through" it.

Hjelmdallermann (bless you)

Satellite Officer X or Satellite-Officer X: The game does both, so pick the one you prefer -- or go full homage and switch it up.

Sam Bo

Wirrâl (I fucked up the accent in M+P and it still bothers me tbh)

There are always more, so keep adding to that style sheet. Kim's depending on you. <3

#writing elysium #writer wangst #i love wordcraft i love teaching it and i take requests

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taytayswiftly · 11 months

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@skarsbill - continued from [ xxx ]

"you probably curse paperwork all of the time trying to fit everything into those boxes that aren't long enough." he said with a laugh. "my step-mom hyphened hers when they got married and my sister didn't change her last name at all. so do with that as you will." he couldn't imagine how much longer anya's name would become adding his into it without dropping anything that is. except he was looking forward to seeing what she was going to do. the brit was right, some people did have four houses and bill wondered how they made adequate time to spend time in all of them. the mere fact that he had one, an apartment really, and was rarely home made him feel disconnected with his stuff at times. he'd really feel disconnected if he had three more places that he rarely saw. two? that seemed a bit more doable and it was a short enough plane ride of two hours; where they could spend adequate time in each place. "we could. it would be way more doable than four houses.. those people are crazy by the way. it also makes sense for us to have one in london and stockholm because that's where our families are. if we lived in another place it would be more of a hassle in the long run. after working and getting home the last thing we want to do is make a long ass flight to see family no matter how much we love them." getting home from south africa had been an all day affair for him and if he lived in la, going to see family after that would have been rough. listening to her suggest eloping in london since they were already here and the surprise trip brought a smile to his face. "do you think we could do it at hyde park in the rose garden? not that i'm opposed to city hall, it was just a suggestion. does this mean i have to tell you what the surprise trip was going to be?" planning the trip for them had been hard as far as nailing down a date. things came up -- like cannes, work, and now their elopement; alas he knew that the date would get sorted out eventually. every time they talked about their future together his heart grew more with the love that he felt for her. there was no one else in the world for bill, she was everything he could ask for in a woman. bill laughed, "i just had the most frightening thought about us having kids.. i hope they don't get the ability to do the pennywise smile from me. but eighty percent of the family can do it so.. oh lord help us there."

——- ❝ Oh , definitely , ❞ she laughed along with bill . hearing about his step mom and sister , anya gave a little nod of her head , a soft smile crossing her reddish coloured lips . ❝ thanks for sharing , love -- in all do time , you'll know what i'll do with my name when we marry . ❞ the blonde kissed the tip of the swede's nose before leaning back where she was sitting , across from him . the idea of keeping a place in london as well one in sweden -- sure they'd make trips else where for vacations , seeing other friends but those two places would always be home to them and would surely be home to any of their future children as well . it definitely seemed like the best bet for them at the end of it all , which that alone made the actress feel so happy with her and bill's future together . ❝ yeah -- i'll let taylor swift know you think she's crazy , ❞ the brit said more as a joke , laughing some as she teased him . ❝ yes -- london and stockholm would be perfect for us and i agree -- but who knows what crazy shit we'll do down the line . i think for the fact we're talking of our future , staying by family is for the best , for sure . ❞

All the speak of elopement , now it was the only thing on anya's mind , getting to have her future with bill -- the wedding they almost had if they didn't part ways mutually for work related reasons -- they'd surely be secretly married already . ❝ honestly -- hyde park in the rose garden sounds perfect , billy and you might have to tell me sooner or later -- especially if you want us to actually go and now it could basically be our honeymoon , ❞ she smiled softly , kinda enjoying the idea of not just a trip -- but also she just wanted to get away and enjoy time with bill . let her heart feel again and not worry about anyone else but each other -- they both deserved it . hearing bill mention that infamous pennywise smile , anya gave a little nod . ❝ they surely be able to but -- if we're lucky they won't know or think about it . ❞ she shared simply before gently moving forward to kiss bill , a soft smile on her face .

#{ ooc ; reposted with the new editor so we can cut it easier <3 }#★彡[private; ᴛʜᴇꜱᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ꜱᴀʏ]彡★#★彡[adventures; ᴀ ᴛʀɪᴘ ᴀʟʟ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ]彡★#★彡[ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ ᴀʟᴏɴɢꜱɪᴅᴇ; bill skarsgard]彡★

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radiantlyrey · 11 months

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Thoughts on Uprising Ep8 “The Reward”

- (pre-viewing note: is this the episode where a program nearly gets drawn and quartered?? I remember this vividly from 10 years ago but it hasn’t popped up yet…..) (note from later: APPARENTLY IT IS!!! OKAY THEN.)

- I haven’t mentioned this yet, but the recaps before each episode are a fucking delight. it’s like a full-on course in double meaning and irony and the delivery is just *chef’s kiss* I know there’s a button to skip the recaps but they’re so fun I usually watch them anyway…….

- cold open: it’s pretty obvious from early on that this is a dream, and I did not realize/remember that programs dreamed! this is useful information for fic-writing, thank you show. the content of the dream itself is a little disturbing, mostly from the way the Renegade is just ragdolling around while Tesler ineffectively tries to fight him. it’s honestly a great way to display Tesler’s insecurities, and very effective at that.

- Tesler has got a good point—they’re wasting too many resources on tracking down the Renegade; they might as well outsource the bulk of the work. his speech in the arena is very effective; Henriksen is a great VA for him, and honestly Tesler is pretty effectively terrifying as the main villain of the series. (nitpick: the “RENEGADE FREE ARGON” sign during Tesler’s speech needs a fricking hyphen after “Renegade.” Though in a delicious twist of irony, the Renegade is trying to free Argon, so without the hyphen there’s a delightful double meaning in there.)

- related to the speech, Tesler wishes the programs of Argon “Happy Hunting” which made me think of Janelle Monae’s song “Violet Stars Happy Hunting!!!” from her first Metropolis album. It is a banger of a song, and it also got me to thinking about whether there are bounty hunters on the Grid at all?? Like, given the Renegade issue in Argon alone, there must be other enemies of the state that Clu wants eliminated, right? (but then that digs into the whole issue of currency on the Grid, which there is no mention of AT ALL and argh) but that’s just my brain running away from me……

- semi B plot with Paige and Pavel (tho I’ll be honest, this ep is all A plot): Paige is doing her job, Pavel is being paranoid, though his paranoia may be slightly justified. also we got Bartik and Hopper hanging around again, and these guys still baffle the fuck out of me, especially Bartik??? But I’ve gone over that like three times now, so I’ll let it lie for now. and it’s absolutely no surprise that Pavel’s being sneaky about things… ugh.

- also the whole neighbor turning on neighbor thing that we see here is… a little disturbing, for a Y7 show??? maybe not, I don’t have a good gauge for these things. it just seems a little reminiscent of some parts of history, to me? I don’t know. (mind you, with the Scars episodes up next, I’ll have plenty to talk about in re: appropriateness for 7 year olds……) (don’t remember much about Scars, but I do remember the fucking TORTURE SCENES)

- meanwhile, it’s nice to see Beck actually hanging out with his friends for once (and also nice that Zed calls him on the fact that he has not been hanging with them very much recently) (ya gotta get a better work-work-life balance there, kiddo) it is nice that Tron deferred to his judgement on what they needed to do about the hunt for the Renegade (and I loved Beck’s “finally he listens to me” reaction….) tho it kind of sucks that their favorite club has turned into an army hangout….

- and then we have a one-scene, one-minute character in Gorn! who fascinates me to no end. apparently memory modifications are possible, but it’s a specialized task that takes a steady hand and a good deal of patience. which Pavel of course lacks. anyway, what a fascinating one-off character; kind of hoping she pops up again at some point…..

- I love that Beck and Paige are approaching this whole “Hopper’s the Renegade!” thing from two completely different angles, both arriving at the same truth (albeit for very different reasons…) Beck’s smooth moves getting in with Link are hilarious, for one, and Paige actually like…. listening to people is cool of her, and another indicator of her complex character.

- and then MARA FUCKS UP REAL BAD HOLY SHIT GIRLLLLLL. Mind you, Tesler’s already in a prickly mood, so it’s no surprise (also considering what he did to Paige’s friends way back when) that he decides to execute Zed and Mara as sympathizers… tho I find it hilarious because literally the previous episode Zed was complaining about how the Renegade is a menace to society, etc. I also like that Mara and Zed are trying to do the right thing even though neither of them like Hopper very much. good on them.

- further notes on the public execution: okay, so it’s more drawing and thirding than drawing and quartering, but nonetheless. (also file under things I’m surprised they got away with putting in a Y7 show…..) love that Beck has a growing history of grand theft auto, what with stealing the roadster from Link to save his friends (and Hopper). the sequence where Beck swoops in to save everyone is really neat, too. that missile gun of Pavel’s was kind of terrifying tho….

- also it is kinda tragic that Beck got to spend time with his friends… but also not. poor kid.

- and re: Zed/Mara - this crush thing between the two of them is going to KILL ME, I swear!!!!!!!! USE YOUR WORDS, KIDS. IT AIN’T THAT HARD!!!!

- all in all: pretty fun episode, though not necessarily a lighter one…..

I may or may not get to Scars (both parts) tonight, we’ll just have to see………….

#tron #tron: uprising #tronblr #skye liveblogs things

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seeminglyseph · 10 months

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I’ve been sick today and yesterday and I don’t know where the days met, everything’s a little fuzzy, but somehow I’m watching a video about Ken Penders’ Sonic the Hedgehog and I really do feel like. I wish someone would cover it from the POV of someone who read the comics like…. Before the lawsuits and the memes. Like everything feels like “so I heard about these crazy comics and looked them up, this is crazy!” But like.

I know I wasn’t the only kid reading these fucking comics. There were other people who read these books and liked these characters, and cared about the plot lines maybe because they were 10 and didn’t know how storytelling was supposed to work. It’s one thing to be 35 and go “wow that’s fucking stupid” and another thing to be a literal small child, the target audience for Sonic the Hedgehog and be like “oh, shit, this series is cool!” Like yeah of course I didn’t know what Lemon SunDrop poisoning was as a literal 9 year old, but I remember reading a comic about the Chaotix solving a Noir style murder mystery so many times the pages fell apart.

That’s almost part of the Penders betrayal, like… yeah as a child I really enjoyed some of this stuff, and now it’s gone and trashed because he literally pulled the Sonic OC “my original character do not steal” on everything he ever contributed to a medium that is by its nature collaborative.

I grew up with a hyphenated name, this may seem like a nothingburger concept to have a problem with, but it’s also a situation where a lot of people decide either that they know better than you what your name is and will correct you, or they will simply ignore any information you give them about your name and just kinda call you whatever part of the hyphenate they like best. Julie-Su was a character whose name was not at all like mine, but also had the hyphenate that made my name so complicated. It feels stupid, but she was like my favourite character as a little kid, this obscure comic character no one knew about. But it’s all messed up now.

Maybe I should try and write an essay one day…

Edit: it should be noted like… I don’t like Penders, I don’t know a lot about his politics but it’s mostly iffy or bad what I do know. And a lot of the comics did go off the rails hard. I enjoyed the comics as a child, in part because as a child I could buy Sonic comics at the 7-11, and that meant I could actually buy Sonic comics. The world was different in the 90s man. I didn’t have information about creators, I read a comic book and then ran around creating an imaginary adventure about being a freedom fighter animal person. Like. I didn’t have the internet at all period at the time. I didn’t have a computer.

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yeonjunszn · 2 years

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i have Not spoken my thoughts on the enha comeback and quite frankly i didn’t want to. look— the concept photos? immaculate. d ver outsells. but if i’m being honest, these song titles are very… como se dice.. not it 😹😹 AND WHERE TF DID THE HYPHEN GO?? you cannot be called enhypen and NOT have a title track with a hyphen?? it doesn’t work that way. your whole thing is “connect” ?? cmon now. ALSO LIKE TBH.. the album colors are not very appealing.. 😭😭 i know this seems like a hate post but i SWEAR i’m actually really excited for this album. i did listen to the teasers for the songs and they all sound pretty good. i like the direction they’re going in. i just have some choice words for other aspects of this comeback 💔 i wish they were executed differently 😔

#💟 — stuff i say

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theliterarygnat · 21 days

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THE HUNGER OF THE GODS BY JOHN GWYNNE

2/5 stars | Major Spoilers Unfinished and unpolished

__________________________________

Even if I were to enjoy this book, I would not be able to rate it over 2 stars. There is much in here that shows The hunger of the Gods is unfit for publication as it is an unfinished product. A traditionally published book generally goes through several edits before is goes out to the public, and this has clearly either not received that treatment or the editors did not do their jobs well; whether that be because the publisher didn't let them or not is a different matter. However, my paperback edition published in 2023 contains hella many issues. Dialogue tags either disappear into the nether or appear out of nowhere, sometimes they are disconnect from the dialogue and in the wrong place, characters on multiple times are misnamed or have their names misspelled, there is inconsistent italicization, inconsistent hyphenation, inconsistent capitalization, and many sentences (much like this one) should have been split at least in half if not into threes. I cannot fault Gwynne for this as this type of polishing and finishing is the job of the editors, for them to either do or point out to him to get it fixed. From my understanding, Gwynne's daughter had died the year this book had been published. It seems to me that Orbit, the publishing house, has not given Gwynne the time to grieve and pushed for publication of what is essentially a partially-uncooked meal. It's generally solid, but the lack of these finishing touches adds up to a lackluster product. I cannot blame this on the author, so I will not; I am however looking askance at Orbit.

About the actual content of this novel! I have blogged my experiences with this book on this blog as I went through the chapters, where my most detailed thoughts and critiques of prose can be found. I get somewhat redundant there but also very specific about what isn't working and why.

The pacing is generally better than The Shadow of the Gods, though there is much build-up to a rather short climax. The main reason the pacing works better, despite this book being meatier, is that the characters tend to be in harmony regarding the energy and action-levels of their chapters, making the flow generally more consistent than in book one. Likewise the multi-POV structure feels more natural. My biggest gripe with TSOTG was that it should have been three books instead of one, or at least three short-stories that we read in full one after the other. The head-switching in The Shadow of the Gods felt pointless with how little the stories overlapped. There are multiple scenes in THOTG that we can see from two to three different POVs, which helps make the multi-POV quirk work much better. Some chapters feel less important than others, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense for some of them to be there.

However, there are problems with this book. Mainly, there are underutilized, underdeveloped, and unexplained elements that muddle the story. Raising gods from the dead is done twice, and neither of them amount to anything; not to mention that while the Battle-Grim have the wherewithal to raise Ulfrir from the dead, they somehow don't consider bringing Agnar back at all. That is despite him dying a bad death in book one. We also know from Varg and other sibling-Tainted that Tainted born of the same mother and father have a mental link going on, which lets them know if their siblings are alive, hurt or well, or dead. Glornir, despite being Thorkel's brother, apparently didn't know he was alive, AND didn't realize he died only weeks/months prior?

The characters do not grow significantly (besides maybe Varg and Biórr) and some of them get worse if not stagnant. I will not speak at length about the characters as I have done that enough on this blog and all my issues with them. However, to be short and concise:

Orka is the same the whole two books; stone-hearted, hellbent on getting her son back and willing to do anything it takes to get to him. This isn't really bad when it comes to Orka specifically, but it does get hard to care sometimes. She gets more supporting characters this book, which helps keep her chapters exciting, though there is… not enough drama/emotion there for my liking.

Varg is getting better at fighting and smarter with how he speaks with people (mostly if not only with Sulich) but there are some things that Gwynne does with his character that just do not land with me. He's still the character I enjoy the most because I like the archetype of his character, but there is not much focus on his personal quest, which sucks.

Elvar is much of the same and worse, not just a mercenary slaver but also a slave-owner who will not hesitate to beat her slaves if they cross her. I don't really like how the book kind of gives her everything she wants and didn't care for before she got it; it's handed to her on a silver platter when her character is one of the shallowest of them all. She gets more depth added here, her backstory becoming more prominent, but that only makes her worse. There was no hint of any of that in the first book when that should have come out the second her father started trying to manipulate her in Snakavik. It feels tacked on to make her more interesting. It also retroactively makes the chapter of her trying to decide between the Battle-Grim and her father in TSOTG worse and more stupid, and I already hated the fact we needed to devote a whole chapter to it only for Elvar to have to be told by someone else to not be an idiot. I rant about her a lot during my "live-reading" summaries because there is just so much that does not work for me with this character.

Guðvarr surprisingly tolerable but also the most aggravating of them all. Gwynne kept on trying to make him more pathetic by mentioning him potentially pissing/shitting himself almost every single chapter, which got boring quick, and didn't really have the desire effect. I just started rolling my eyes. He also seemed a little inconsistent, both extremely self-aware at times and bordering on self-hatred only then to genuinely self-aggrandize with no capacity for introspection whatsoever. It's not necessarily unrealistic but I wish Guðvarr's character was more straightened out because while I hated him as a person, he had the potential to be an intriguing character.

Biórr had potential that got squandered in his first chapter. He was not the character I wanted nor expected, and honestly he is worse for it. I had high hopes about him being a strong-willed anti-slavery warrior who'd be among the first to question Lik-Rifa, enough to maybe break ranks, but not really; he's whiny, constantly talking about Elvar and Agnar (made all the worse by my dislike of these characters) and he doesn't have much solid substance to him. Not offensively bad, but he was not someone I really cared about.

Lik-Rifa also lacked gravitas or charisma on the page, being rather two-dimensional and very transparent to the reader. There isn't much to say about the plot. Nothing impactful truly happens until the very end, making it a very, very slow build-up filled with blips of excitement. This story overall is not one I particularly enjoy or care about, but that I will be seeing through when the last book comes out. This is less because I'm genuinely invested and more because the Bloodsworn Saga has been frustrating for me, and I want to know what all of this was for. My hopes especially are that Elvar gets what she deserves (which is: nothing fucking good. she needs a serious humbling), and I want to follow Varg around some more. I also hope that Snakka will actually have some actual presence in that book, because while Ulfrir is on the cover of this one, he does fuckall.

#john gwynne #the hunger of the gods #the gnat doth read #book review #booklr

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blackvahana · 5 months

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19/12/23

Brought to an ocean in Lev's territory to possess it so that he could see and help me document my Astral self. Accidentally turned into trying to eat him. D: Me L: Lev Double hyphens indicate time has passed. Info (in brackets) is me going back adding context to the discussion post-discussing

D: You told me to come to you (from my astral house to where you are)? I was really expecting this to be more alien than it is. We're sort of just hovering on the waves - no, you're standing on them which... Raises fascinating questions about whether you're subduing their rockiness around us or not - yeah, saw that smile, that's a you yes. I'm hovering though. The sky is as liquid as the waves are, the sun above intensely orange-coloured streaming through big, big clouds. Like really big. They're really far up. I feel like I just entered a minecraft world where the height limit and cloud height were just dragged up substantially. There's a lot to "sniff" honestly, there's a very you-feeling matrix around this entire area but inverted..? It's not like the rain around my astral house where it feels like a body of yours and your energy, this is... Like you've marked the entire area with your name in-between the space. Oh? You point up? Shit. why do I feel like and seem to see there's more than one sun here

L: There is.

D: My first thought is Ahi is here, because generally when something you-related is huge in the sky coming into the atmosphere from above it's Ahi... No, this feels like we're underneath a big orrery.

L: "No"?

D: Related to Ahi then? Yes. Ok. Feels like... When I say to myself it might be Ahi's claiming of this space... it isn't actually, or not the exact same. If your matrix of claiming ownership was like a robotic, systematic claiming, sort of like a network of metal chains locking out others, his is like a bush growing up in-between and out of complexes of atoms and whatnot.

L: That should be some time then to get used to things. You are... Threaded through this ocean I see (astral body dissolving, consciousness possessing it), you can handle this however you want to. Soon, though, given where you're sliding, you're going to dissolve. There is no right way of doing this, I called you here to see you and document you, whether you possess this ocean as your body or use "your own" - as if any body is not the same as another body - it will get the job done. Really, though, I know where this is going. Just let it go that way.

Before we start: I will be pushing you. Invoking what you said about wanting me to take control and push you into change. Go ahead though with your observation.

D: This is a sort of training or simulation ground isn't it. Like it's astral yes?

L: I can't answer that.

D: Well... We'll see I guess. But that's why Ahi's "sun" is so plantlike right, it was this feeling he came down here to try things out or... I don't know. Something like that.

L: It is used, emphasis on used, as a ground for... I wouldn't say training ground. This place is also used by those coming into the nearby harbour, it's a stretch in my territory, it's just that it, due to how the Astral works, stretches into my mind. It is Astral though.

D: OK good because it feels like that, yeah. Feels astral I mean, but there's also a very oppressive sense of You lmfao. Anyway. So yeah, it's a lot easier to spread out here in this ocean than I thought it'd be. I feel at least a mile deep though I'm not sure if that's good to feel or not, like maybe... Idk how to word that

L: You may be right though (about how deep), or more so I trust your feeling. I can't see you, and that's good. That means you aren't pretending. Swell the waters a bit where we stand for me.

D: That requires understanding... How to... Pull and push. Not as simple as what it's like in the Mental, there's a whole process here of intricately understanding the physics of this place. I'm attempting to - whoops

L: Yes, you are de-meshing with the ocean. Thick black tentacle, hello.

D: I'm struggling to stay possessing the ocean. Should I go closer to bliss state (state involved in becoming one with a part of the world)?

L: That is entirely optional, but it is something you can do about this.

D: Anyway. Trying to siphon in more water to the part of the ocean I'm possessing. It's getting hard to for... various reasons lmfao, but I can feel fish in me. I'm distracted.

L: Because you aren't getting immediate satisfaction like you do in the Mental. Concentrate.

D: I'm wondering if I'm getting results at all. Here, let me tune out of typing and try something.

L: Felt. But you aren't just moving the ocean. I feel intense vibrations in the air like deep musical bass to the point your physical body's head is feeling vibrations. Parts of the sky are growing black. The waves are getting chopper, actually, frothing. Here, I'll tell you a secret, not as if you didn't know you just forgot: I'm holding the waves down, remember? I'm a force acting against you - oh. Here starts the whispers. The sky on the horizon is black, the waves begin to froth, the atmosphere is whispering. I would rather you didn't put my Sun out with those clouds but... You're going to, aren't you. You are descending beyond your mind's confines... The entire sea is groaning like bending metal, or... Like that art installation you relate to of the "angels" "singing". You know, if I wasn't used to doing this myself, I might be intimidated by you - the Sun peaks from the sky in momentary joy as you get excited.

Let me slowly reduce the force I have over these waves, then, to un-still them.

Whirlpool. Clockwise. The entire world is being sucked into your magnetic force, reality is very hard to hold on to. In fact, I'm. Struggling to stay in the scene, as if I'm being thrown out of a dream through waking up, genuinely, given how hard your form is pulling on the mind... Ah, I see. You're trying - not consciously, but your body is - to consume me through eating the nervous system of my consciousness in its body. It isn't malicious, so I know you're in the bliss state, though that is obvious given you don't like feeding when conscious (outside the bliss state). You're dragging me down into a dream state though. Psychedelics/madness aspects of yours in full swing.

I say we'll take a break now.

Fascinating. I'm drenched, for one. Exhausted and yet I can feel my nerves sparking like cut wires. I suppose that's because I shut off the connection and brought you back to reality before you actually consumed me, or.. I suppose before you chewed up one of my bodies and passed it through you, you couldn't harm me like that (not possible for me to kill him). It seems you were trying - again, your body, physiology, you've done nothing wrong and I wanted to see this - to fracture and fray my form until it dissolved, specifically the consciousness networks inside me. Very aligned with your aspects of madness and psychedelics as I said since it seems your energies' goals were... dreaming, you were attempting to pull apart my consciousness into dreaming and vision-tripping, though, while you can do this without harming me and generally you do, this was very much... Less like sacred medicine, much more like a toxic plant whose visions are a forced swansong.

D: Do you need to recover?

L: Less that I need to recover, though you have done a little damage to this body. More so I need to make some extensive documents for you to go over with you so you understand, in line with your request for me to document through your body since I am more - ah. You've successfully entered my body, this is very akin to a sacred plant poisoning. I'm going to need you to go back to possessing the ocean and affect me in a more gentle and "positive" intentioned light, because your energy began the process of journeying in me. "Eldritch" is your word, isn't it? The deep energy that multiplies and is alive in and of itself and grows copies when cut off into someone else...

L: I can't lie and say I didn't see that coming, I am threaded through fate lines especially in my territory. You know I am not one for compliments, so this will be brief. My conscious, human body didn't particularly predict it going this direction at least.

Dizziness, nausea, I would be getting a bigger headache if and indeed worse dizziness and nausea if you hadn't reversed the consuming psychedelics process. Frayed consciousness lines. Distant soundless ringing in my head, and, specifically, that ringing is the vision journey you were pulling into me, which was - through the whirlpool - the sky looking down on to another whirlpool in day-blue colours, more gentle, like a seaside beach rather than the ferocious storm siphon in reality. Strange, dreamlike... Something I am familiar with though, it's the mirroring effect of the Mental which is hooked into by sacred plants. Ah, head is swimming though, I feel like I inhaled chlorine water.

I don't particularly care if there's lasting symptoms after this, I could always kill this body and bring another one back, though that's not going to be necessary given our connection means I can undo what you do. Regardless, this - still being affected by it, though at this point your energy has been neutralised and the after effects are mostly just recovering - gives me a better view of your energy can do, and I will have that in the report for you.

I will have to see you do this in various spaces, I believe as an initial hypothesis that the density and trickiness of this plane is counteracted by your connection to it so it shouldn't be more or less difficult to that on this plane than any other... (...)

#astral diary //#''my head is ringing'' hello who's there?#location: lev's territory: ocean //#aspect: madness //#aspect: ocean //#aspect: sacred plant //

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