#i think it was the cow scene but tbh there was so much stuff and i was left incapacitated for the rest of the day so idk for sure
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dongrang sketch that i might finish one day
#wips#limbus company#dongrang#canto iv spoilers#not really it's just. dongrang with a cow but just in case#i needed to get it out of my system because canto iv messed me up so bad#i was perfectly fine and then something specific hit me and it was waterfalls until the credits lmao#i think it was the cow scene but tbh there was so much stuff and i was left incapacitated for the rest of the day so idk for sure#anyways dongrang i still hate your guts but also im so so so sorry#art tag
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School Bus Graveyard Episode 61 Thoughts
Okay thoughts time cause HU!HG?!?Q>?
The logo was altered!! Not by much but I love the detail that some falling rubble was covering the edges of the logo at the beginning of the episode.
Ben holding/protecting Tyler under the (table? desk?) is everything to me. Ben Clark is a golden retriever in all the best ways. I am dealing with the after effects of the Ben Fever we all got a few weeks ago.
Same goes for Taylor protecting Ashlyn! It’s so cute and Taylor has been coming in CLUTCH lately. I’m so excited for this development with her after Tyler’s injury. I just hope she’s able to target her (rightful) anger at the right people and not at the rest of the group. (Also ASHLYN CRYING BABY NO)
“Wanna Know How I Got These Scars?” Aiden, no, we do not, put your eyes back in please. (Also—I LOVE the shading and dramatic effects on this panel.)
Okay, the parents are DEFINITELY being affected by the rift and Phantom Dimension. Mike was dizzy when the kids all came back!! And I love how responsible both of Ashlyn’s parents (as well as everyone else so far) are being—Immediately jumping in to help when it sounds like someone is in trouble. I just hope this serves as a wake-up call for Aiden’s mom and dad.
We’ve seen Ashlyn scared before but… holy cow I don’t think she’s been pictured as this terrified before. And rightfully so! I want to give her a hug and a chocolate milk. Also, I adore how Logan immediately noticed and rushed to help. He’s really grown in his emotional maturity over the series and I’m loving the payoff.
Yes, honey, you are becoming phantoms. Is this confirmation of the theory? I’ll take it as confirmation of the theory.
…The parallels between the earlier panel of Tyler “waking up” vs Aiden now is…. oh my. And the altered text was DEEPLY disturbing. But I had to try not to laugh at imagining what he sounds like right now. Probably like he’s a 40 year old man who’s smoked a six-pack ev’ry night since way back when.
LILY BABY NooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO and Aiden IMMEDIATELY being concerned about Ashlyn is everything. In all honestly the ship concerned me at the beginning but I am ALL ABOARD and ready to set sail now. They both have grown so much and while it would have been iffy at the start it’s becoming a really sweet and wholesome relationship, regardless of whether it stays platonic or divulges into romance.
The flashbacks were INSANE. But also, let’s take a moment seeing these to appreciate HOW MUCH THE ART HAS IMPROVED!!! Supersupersuper proud of Red and her entire team. This was like a short montage of the growth and I love that so much. Also…. could this potentially count as an “oh” moment for Ashlyn?? And the immediate jump afterwards to Aiden’s maybe-dead-maybe-not body was such incredibly timed and perfected formatted whiplash!!!!!
Ashlyn initiating the contact was huge for her. We know she isn’t a fan of touchy-feely stuff or close contact so this is big. I thing there was a “some people are worth being uncomfortable for” comic with the BTW and TBH creature that sums up my thoughts on this? But yeah, I loved this. She’s growing more comfortable AND this was entirely respectful of her boundaries while also allowing her to push past her comfort zone? Amazing.
”So this is what it feels like” uhhhhhhhh I need a seperate ramble post for this cause I don’t want to trigger tag this one and have it filtered but I have… a lot to say. Very relatable and makes me appreciate these characters more. I love how this whole short scene was pulled off though. Definitely a lot of emotions for this one, I had to pause for a moment to process.
“I don’t like how much she’s shaking” MY HEART
Aaaaand THANK YOU RED FOR ANOTHER AMAZING EPISODE!!! I’ve got so many longer thoughts and theories and ideas and rambels and AUGHHHHHHH I can’t fit them all!!!
#school bus graveyard#sbg#rambles#logan fields#ashlyn banner#aiden clark#ben clark#taylor hernandez#tyler hernandez#ashden#aidlyn
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For the writer's fic ask game?
👓 What helps you focus when you write?
🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?
👓 What helps you focus when you write?
Oh, gosh, I'm not sure. I don't listen to a lot of music when I write -- I used to, but I haven't been lately. In the past, I'd listen to like movie scores and stuff. I think just having free time, limiting checking Tumblr/email/whatever, and having a general idea of what I'd trying to get written helps. Definitely thinking through different scenes beforehand can help as well. But I'm highly distractable in general, so...I don't know how much they help tbh.
🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?
Originally, like back in middle school/high school? I was obsessed with a series and wanted more content, plain and simple. But I came back to it this past year because I'd been working on a novel for like...a decade. And that novel was slowly driving me mad. And I wanted to write for fun again. And that desire coincided with some newly found freedom I'd experienced with Star Wars in which I realized that I could just...ignore the canon I didn't like because who's gonna stop me? They can't arrest me for it; I checked. And I'd started reading Han/Leia fanfiction, and then just figured I'd give it a go with what I thought was going to be like a three-chapter story that ended up being Collateral. And in the middle of writing Collateral, I got the idea for Purpose of Heritage. And now, this year alone, I've posted a total of 247K words of fiction.
This also absolutely coincided with me switching positions at work and slowly healing from a period of professional burnout that had been going on for probably 18 months straight, so reading and writing fun stuff has been good for my brain this year as I recovered from that. Because, holy cow, bouncing back from burnout is rough.
Thanks for asking!
Fanfic Writer Ask Game
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ask game!! Kidd and 2, 9, 18, 20
AWWWW hey hon, thank you so much! Love any opportunity to talk about Kid lmfaooo. Most of it under the readmore again.
2. Favorite canon thing about this character?
How doggedly, unfailingly loyal he is. To Killer, to his crew, even to the roofpiece group once he stopped pretending he wasn't cooperating with them lmao. Kid isn't cowed by external powers, he can't be coerced into turning on people, he doesn't give a shit about status as a given prize for disloyalty (which is why none of Kaido's tactics ever budged him an inch). He's very certain in himself about what integrity and honor look like, and you can be certain that if he counts you as a friend, as long as you reciprocate that loyalty, you'll have a friend to the bitter end.
9. Could you be roommates with this character?
yeah tbh I think that would be a lot of fun. I don't think he's judgy, he has excellent taste in music, nobody would ever fuck with your apartment or your stuff, there'd ALWAYS be fun stories to hear, and an eager ear for stories in return. Car breaks down before work? Kid knows how to fix that. He'd pay his rent on time, he'd at least make an active effort not to break things, you'd never have to worry about him going through your stuff or messing around in your room (uninvited, anyway ;) ). I'd love that tbh.
18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?
I feel like I could write a book on his canon relationship with Law. Not in a romantic way exactly, but I do think there's a lot more overlap in their mentalities and behavior than might first meet the eye. They're both pragmatists, they're both strategists, they're both brilliant and extremely competent on their own, they both have extremely useful specializations beyond just being captains (doctor/surgeon and mechanical engineer, respectively). like. I think part of why they had more of a clock on each other than the other supernovas at first was kind of that game recognizing game situation (before Luffy hit a celestial dragon so hard he turned back into a manga panel and put him on both their radars lmfao).
They act really contentious, but so much of their bantering is just like. the way you'd rip on your sibling or a buddy. Like all their dialogue in the Big Mom eps could have been transplanted into a bar scene where they were trying to one-up each other at pool or cards or something and it would have still mostly made sense.
idk. I just think they're neat :3
20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?
the granted answer is, of course, Killer. They're aibous, they're childhood best friends, they're ride or die, they're soulmates, they're everything.
if you want a different one I do think there's a lot of potential between him and Law and Luffy lmfao, setting aside the rivalry for the one piece, they all have a very fun chemistry and, despite their protestations, a lot of mutual respect. that's as good a foundation as any for lasting friendship.
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I'm in love with this, thanks sm for the reply! I said takes but I rewatched the scene just now and it's not a take it's canon, I feel a little dumb 😅 One more question (jeez sorry if I'm annoying):
Eddie wants to be loved despite what he might think of some of the things he's done in life
What do you think he did he considered bad? Like, maybe did he hotwire something before and then Wayne was disappointed and it got Eddie to stop? Or did he treat someone badly? I can't see the latter tbh, don't think Eddie would treat someone badly on purpose so that's why I'm wondering
Be nice to yourself!
I think he would! We see it right in canon- he's nasty to Jason, at least, in the cafeteria. I don't think Eddie's a nasty person but I do think he's someone that's chosen to be nice when he's nice, and those kind of people have the ability to put out claws when they need to. Those people are often the ones who have learned how to defend themselves by striking first when they need to. The ones who know they're going to be called a freak, so they hop up on tables and yell and parade themselves around, because they can't be hurt by something they own. The ones who snap sharp teeth to keep people at bay if he thinks they're the sort of people that will hurt him if he doesn't.
We see it with Chrissy too! The way he approaches her in the forest at first, his exasperation until he catches on that something's wrong. He doesn't have to snap at her, she's already hurt, and he cows and starts acting kinder almost immediately when he realizes she's not going to hurt him. He even tells her that he thought she was going to be mean and scary, and we see evidence that he did! He did think that, until he didn't, and his demeanor changes along with his perception.
So yeah, despite how much I love the soft stuff, I still think he's perfectly capable of being a dick. Most people are. It doesn't make them evil or even bad, it just makes them people. And honestly, I think it's a REALLY important part of characterization to remember that someone is capable of being nasty and chooses not to. That choice says more about them than if they're nice because they can't be mean. Or, I guess, it says different things about them at least.
As for what he's done or thinks he's done... could be anything! We know so little about him. But we know that he says his dad wasn't good, that he taught Eddie things like how to hotwire a car. I'm guessing that that isn't the only illegal thing his dad taught him to do, and I doubt that he taught him to hotwire with diagrams. He probably got taught on actual cars that didn't belong to his dad.
But like, it's not just illegal stuff. It probably doesn't feel great to have failed graduating a couple times now, no matter how cavalier he acts about it, and that probably comes with other issues of its own, not limited to what he's doing with his life, where he's living, etc.
I don't know what, exactly, he thinks. It's guessing. But he switches awful fast to "I'm a coward who runs away" and I just have to think it wasn't a far leap for him, or at least not as far as he'd like for it to have been.
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Just curious! Is there something in specific you don't like about Harper or is it just in general?
(My only propaganda on the topic is that I love the idea of not having to think.. Hypnosis and aphrodisiacs and stuff are fun to play with for me especially when subjecting my PCs to things... and the aesthetics of those can be cool to mess with when drawing I think! But also that type of thing is obviously not for everyone lol! (I don't like doctors much so it took me a bit to warm up to them tbh))
It’s mainly the hypnosis thing, I think 😭 It’s not a feature I’ve explored much in DOL & the only times I’ve gained hypnosis traits have been a long lasting hindrance that annoy me due to the lack of control 😭
In theory, I love the idea of giving up control & aphrodisiacs can be so fun in that game (the plants, robin landfill scene ((not fun per se but. YK!!)) But Harper and hypnosis in general always seem to come at the most inopportune times </3 I’m real picky when it comes to my PCs, and the situations that they go thru (which is ironic considering the whole game is noncon and the point of it is to put them in unfortunate situations)
BUT if I’m going to get my PC hypnotized, drugged, kidnapped I want it to be on my terms </3. I can relate this to the Kylar kidnapping event for better explanation!!!
I love Kylar. But I have to be in a certain mindset when it happens </3 If they capture me out of the blue while I’m grinding levels or some shit i get so annoyed bc it feels like a waste of my time and it’s not what I’m playing for at the moment. It’s an annoyance that I have to escape from to continue doing what I want to be doing. Same goes for the soft bad ends (Remy’s farm, the asylum, etc) Sometimes I want to be a little mindless cow :3 Getting milked n praised for being the best!!! And then other times they snatch me and i’m like FUCKING LET ME GO IM TRYING TO DO SMTH ELSE oh my god
I certainly could enjoy it, but so far being institutionalized has just been fucking annoying bc it’s prevented me from what I actually want to do😭
I did make a new save recently, one to just fuck around in :) Primarily with the intention to explore Harper content and other stuff I usually avoid in my main saves. I’d be so down to be Harper’s fav little mindless patient, I lovveeee me a problematic, obsessive,, freakish character yk?
Back when degrees of brutality was still up, i loooveed Harper in that mod— Fuxking crazy thing to say especially when I say i don’t like DOL harper but... I LOVEDDD DOB HARPER LFMOSKFNFN. The way you could donate blood to them and each time you came in, they get a little more intrigued by you? Then eventually they ask you to do another test and fucking cut u open play with ur guts and take u home??? oh my godoh my god . The way they fix u up and make Kylar jealous when they’ve cut off your limbs? LJDDJDJFJFB . “Can I have a turn with them?” BYE!!! 🫣🫣
Maybe i’m just fucked up and like blood n gore more than I like hypnosis LMFAOOO *looks back on my ex fwbs medical malpractice sexts* hm. yeah! tmi. i will refrain from further explanation ☝️
#def an acquired taste#i’ll get there at some point#long post omfg i’m sorry. this is so unimportant JSHDJDH#harper the doctor#degrees of lewdity#ask#haunting’s thoughts💋🖤
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Have you read Kerrigan Byrne's victorian rebels?
Yes. I have issues with some things Kerrigan has written (which I'll get into) and additionally her use of AI art and reaction to (pretty forthright but not impolite) critique of the use of AI art that make it so that, where I was initially in love with the first couple of books I read by her (The Highwayman and Seducing a Stranger) I can't recommend her anymore. My takes on those books:
The Highwayman--honestly great, I'm afraid. Dark and interesting and hot. Love the hero and the heroine. Has one of my favorite sex scenes ever. I own it and I will reread it, but again, I don't feel like I can recommend her in general.
The Hunter--has a lot of good stuff going for it but a) I actually realized later that this has, down to a science, the exact same twist as Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt; I'm not suggesting this was intentional, but where I see people compare The Highwayman to a Kleypas book a lot, that was some general structural stuff, whereas this is THE EXACT same twist b) more importantly, I super hate the hero having a martial arts instructor who gives vague "East Asian" types of platitudes in broken English, it's gross! I also remember this really weird passage about a brown manservant (who is later killed, fwiw) being described as like... really simple... and having "gentle eyes" like a cow or horse or something. It felt gross.
And I will say: obviously, I've read HR authors who've done similarly. It's always bad. What I find adds an extra layer of concern to Kerrigan's work is that it's all relatively recent. You're not picking up a book from the 80s where I wouldn't even expect a (white) critique partner or editor to be likely to call this shit out. I really don't get it.
The Highlander--oh, man. This has the bones of being a sexy Highlander Captain Von Trapp book. And I'll be honest, I loved the leads and their dynamic on a basic level. EXCEPT. AND THIS IS A BIG EXCEPT. For the fact that the hero is a self-admitted war criminal. His angst? Is that he was an officer in the Queen's Army who razed Indian villages to the ground and killed/drove the killings of innocent civilians. And you know what? He feels bad about it, which is why he took a child who was one of the only survivors of one of his massacres and made him his vALET! GREAT! LOVE IT!
I'll be honest, I found so little criticism of this (probably because the book generally isn't popular--I read Seducing a Stranger first, I think, and The Highwayman second, or the other way around, so this was somewhere in the middle of the pack) that I was like "maybe I just exaggerated it in my head" but I reread it and nope, it was uhhhh pretty bad dude. Like, the valet guy then tries to kill the hero and the book is kinda like "well fair" but it's also like lmao? This is the villainous crux of the novel...? And kinda fed into the "untrustworthy sneaky servant of color" thing, which like, YEAH. HE SHOULDN'T BE TRUSTWORTHY BECAUSE IN TURN WHY WOULD HE EVER LIKE THE GUY WHO KILLED HIS FAMILY.
The Duke--I don't remember much of this one tbh
The Scot Beds His Wife--I liked this one a lot back in the day, but I haven't read it in a while so perhaps I missed some horror, can't confirm or deny
The Duke with the Dragon Tattoo--same as the above
Seducing a Stranger--I loved this one; I love Carlton Morley; I really wish there weren't so many things going on with the rest of the series, dude.
The thing is that Kerrigan's issues with race keep cropping up. The Highlander is the biggest example. But I remember there being some weird shit in How to Love a Duke in Ten Days that I honestly, blame is on me here, missed the first go re: fetishized islanders. It's like, throwaway lines where I get the vibe that she's trying to acknowledge that people of color exist in the Victorian era, which good in theory, but it's often patronizing or fetishistic or downright "what the fuck were you thinking" as with The Highlander. They're often servile. It's just not the look, and the thing is that if it happens and an author gets called out and takes that feedback and works on their books... I'm white, it's not on me to say whether or not that's valid. But Kerrigan's work has it repeatedly, and she should know better. Plus, she just seems super bad at taking criticism (I've heard of her responding to critiques of The Highwayman super defensively, in a setting wherein her response was not necessary or wanted) so I doubt she'd work on it.
I think she's honestly a very talented writer, and the two books I say I loved? I loved. I recommended them all the time back in the day. But I did some self analysis and was like "Do you honestly feel good about recommending these books with the concerns you have about the books you're not recommending?" Because there are situations, where one mildly problematic book (say, a book with a slut shaming heroine written 10+ years ago) won't put me off recommending other, ideally later works by the author. But The Highlander WASN'T mild and it wasn't isolated. And after the AI thing happened, it was like--dude, you should know better, you shouldn't be recommending books by someone that gives you vibes this bad.
And I shouldn't have given her the leniency I did after The Highlander. That's really on me.
#romance novel blogging#anyway thanks for coming to my ted talk#it's just rare that an author who wrote a book i do love as much as the highwayman turns me off THAT much
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For Adina, lawrie pierce moody, and Leslie!
Background, Secret, and End!
stirring them up in my chili pot where they have been cooking all day. delicious
Background: Does your PC get up to anything that you don't narrate often? Any background habits, activities, plots? Do you share these through other avenues (e.g. a group chat, table cross-talk, posting online)?
adina: he does So much, most of it stays in my head because its very basic stuff like taking care of goldbiter, mending his clothes, training during downtime to keep up his reflexes. also there's some patron stuff that happens behind the scenes, less so now that he put most of his cards on the table last session. ive written about the aftermath of his last soul collection, im sure he'll talk about it/it'll come back to bite him in the ass at some point.
lawrie: similar stuff as adina where i think about his working on his armor and his sword, taking care of pepper. now thats hes spent a decent amount of time in wildspace he has nightmares most nights, and weird dreams on the nights he doesnt. ive been meaning to write smth about it, but ive still only got vague vibes for what's going on with his patron/ancestry so it'll probably be a bit.
leslie: i feel like i tell you . every single important thought i have about leslie atp hmm. i feel like he would press flowers. and translate latin and arabic poetry for fun. also im definitely going to bring it up in game if i can bc i think its fun, but he has a specific love for typewriters
Secret: Is there anything that you know about your character but your character doesn't know? What is it? How did you come up with this secret?
adina: yes <3 i cant share yet, because vee came up with it and gets to drop it in game when they want lol
lawrie: Also yes and Also i cant share yet in case any of my fellow spelljammers look but. i cant send u his lore on discord sometime if u want. secret lore. illegal lore. with secret fics included. i came up with it because i wanted something to foil his dad sid's arc, and i love being tragic, gay, dramatic, etc
leslie: hmmm. he is in so much danger. also the actual ghost of his brother is still haunting him. idr where i got the idea but i give it to you for asking if any of his family was on the titanic, because that def perfected the idea
End: What's the ideal ending for your character's story and the game? Are these the same, or different?
adina: okay. so he wants to save his family from their debt. and be very rich. i want him to detach himself from finding worth in his family's business and needing their approval of him in general, and learn to love himself as a person and not a weapon. also still be very rich tbh. he deserves it. he deserves everything he wants and to never feel bad about it <3 also i think he does want to marry the mlms. he's not ready to admit it mentally yet but I Know
lawrie: save his family!! and his friends!! and also the rest of toril. and also himself and rex. and live happily ever after In Space. mwah.
leslie: not die! get married to basher and run away to live in the countryside with cows, where he writes books about old buildings or ghosts or blood or probably all three <3
#adina st carmine#lawrie pierce moody#leslie daube#gooddddddd im so excited for sessions this week!!!#ask meme#ask#stir-fried-kilometers
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Obey Me! Headcanons
𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳
- kins Hannibal Lector from Hannibal NBC
- has a secret Only Fans
- enjoys dishing out punishments & tying people to the ceiling a little bit TOO much
- big dick energy
- he also has big milkers
- loves MCR
- I can see him as a total emo or scene kid in the early 2000s
- wine mom
- whenever his brothers are loud he's like a teacher that says "I'll wait" with his arms crossed
- constantly gets his cape/coat thing flipped over his head by Mammon whenever he walks the halls
- forces his brothers to do community service stuff with him for 'family bonding'
- has a Keurig that Diavolo gave him
- sets the Thermostat to 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit)
- “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed” energy
𝘔𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯
- deez nuts & your mom jokes
- unironically kins the Joker
- Kpop stan
- pretends to hate kids but actually likes them
- or he absolutely hates them. There's no in between
- unironically relates to Creep by Radiohead (but I think most people do so it's okay)
- plays Animal Crossing and owes lots of Bells to Tom Nook
- afraid of Barney, Big Bird & the Kool Aid man
- committed tax fraud at some point (if taxes exist in the Devildom idk)
- flat earther ☹️
- took him too long to learn how to tie his shoe laces
- or he just straight up doesn't know how
- uses axe as his choice of deodorant
- scared of spiders & bugs in general
- makes children cry (maybe that's why he doesn't like them or pretends he doesn't like them)
- he's a discord kitten for money
- cat fishes old men for money
- probably was one of "The Boys 😈💪🏻🦍🔫" at some point
- doesn't know how to swim
- bottom
- got his ears pierced at Claire's
- into bitcoin and cryptocurrency
- makes & sells shitty NFTs
𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯
- bullies kids online for fun
- wall puncher when he loses fortnite ☹️
- fucking sucks ass at Minecraft
- scared of Minecraft mobs esp the spiders
- discord mod....
- twitch streamer; secretly popular
- has a maid dress & wears it on stream
- participates in NNN...but fails
- when he says lol out loud he says it like "el oh el"
- had a nightcore phase
- his piss is a bright highlighter yellow color
- drinks G Fuel or Bang Energy
- "I have the power of god and anime on my side!"
- the weird kid who sits in the back of your class
- has the Creeper zip up hoodie
- unironically likes & listens to Bo Burnham
- "paper cut survivor 💪🏻" in his bio
𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯
- goes live on tiktok or devilgram & reads bedtime stories
- wears cat ears
- secretly has a Wattpad account or a tumblr where he writes fanfics
- he probably writes smut too tbh
- runs a podcast
- the type to start drama at RAD with asmo because they're bored
- actually likes Macbeth 🤢
- your average nickelback enjoyer
- accidentally fell into an animal’s cage at the zoo when he was a kid
- likes americanos ☹️
- super passive aggressive
- has one of those weird millennial signs that say stuff like "girl boss" or "don't talk to me if I haven't had my coffee yet"
- cat meme/reaction pic user
𝘈𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘶𝘴
- runs one of those school 'tea' & 'confession' accs on devilgram for RAD
- very famous beauty guru
- has an only fans & twitter
- unironically likes the kissing booth ☹️
- the type to start drama at RAD with Satan because they're bored
- moans super loud during face time/on a call if someone else walks in your room
- if he was in It he would think Pennywise is hot and try to seduce him
- Light Yagami apologist (I mean me too he's hot sorry not sorry)
- watches Ru Paul's drag race
𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘻𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘣
- tattles on any of his brothers if Lucifer bribes him with food
- takes gym class to seriously, especially dodge ball
- plays cooking mama on his crappy old DSI
- Candy crush player (weirdly good at it)
- good at pole dancing
𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳
- Radiohead stan
- likes fnaf & the lore
- hot topic or Spencer's employee
- con artist for fun
- avid True Crime podcast listener
- has the strawberry or chocolate cow scented pillow pet
𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘰
- has a folder in his photos that's just full of pictures of Lucifer
- has a prayer candle with Lucifer's face on it as a "joke" (or is it ?🤨)
- "blackmails" Lucifer with candids Diavolo took of him (mainly the shirtless ones he took when they were on vacation)
- he radiates energy of that one dad who tries to be 'hip'
- had to get bailed out of jail by Lucifer (Ik he's the prince but idc)
- says memes like "may-mays"
- he probably accidentally summoned the wrong person/human for the exchange program
- scared of roaches
- his favorite Disney movie is Ratatouille
- kins Remy the rat
- big mommy milkers
- has a pickle hate page on devilgram where he just posts pictures of pickles and slanders them
- King Julien
- also enjoys Ru Paul's drag race & forces Lucifer to watch with him
- pours milk before cereal
- has a pair of crocs that are decorated with jibbitz with Barbatos & forced Lucifer to get a pair so all 3 of them can match
- likes minion memes
- has a Burger King crown
𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘴
- weirdly good at hacking and coding??
- business major vibes
- or engineering major
- runs a tea devilgram acc where he reviews and rates different brands of tea
- malewife & girlboss energy
- goes on Omegle with Diavolo
- knows how to Doxx people
- takes Diavolo to Chuck E Cheese
- has those old lady candies in his pocket
𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯
- actually a super horny mf
- he is not innocent as you think
- "that's what she said jokes" but says it in his head
- doesn't get worried when Luke is gone bc he knows that Luke will come back
- uses Facebook
𝘓𝘶𝘬𝘦
- has a burn book that features all of the demon brothers
- has Pokémon cards and is actually pretty good at the game
- Jiggly Puff is his fav Pokémon
- jumps around with a contorted face whenever he stubs his toe because he REFUSES to curse
- has the frog Build a Bear plushie
- knitting/crocheting master
𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘯
- sucks at card games so he subtly cheats with magic
- trolls on twitter or any app tbh
- Star Wars fan
- doesn't know how to drive
- or if he does know, he's just shit at it
- does magic at kids birthday parties
- likes Harry Potter but critiques it with how “inaccurate” it is
- turns the brothers into toddlers for fun
- he definitely banged Asmo at some point
- listens to Weezer
- uses Uno cards to do Tarot readings
#obey me#headcanon#headcanons#fanfic#lucifer#obey me lucifer#the great mammon#obey me mammon#obey me levi hc#obey me satan#obey me asmodeus#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphie#lord diavolo#obey me barbatos#obey me luke
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Hacks 2.05 and 2.06 Thoughts
Okay I’m just gonna keep doing these posts because it gives me a chance to get my own feelings down for future fic writing and also to have a nice way to process the highs and lows. So, as always, below the cut…
Overall, I was much happier with these two episodes than I was with 4, and they brought back some of the elements I’ve been missing or seeing less of in the show recently. I was really pleasantly surprised and had a blast watching them! Thoughts ordered just by how they showed up in my recollections with two more critical points at the end, and I know I’m skipping stuff, but there was a lot jammed into these episodes!
1. Okay so I’ve been feeling pretty meh on how they’re telling and not showing us about the comedy and Deborah’s bombing (I feel like it undercuts the emotional toll I think we’re supposed to know it’s taking on Deborah), but also, I’ve been really wary of having them give us a bunch of stand up at the expense of the other plots and character development (tbh I often don’t love seeing actors do a weird approximation of what they think stand up looks like, even if I adore Jean and think she’s fabulously talented and may well have pulled it off with aplomb). BUT I really enjoyed watching the evolution of that one specific punchline through these two episodes. It was a good way both to give credence to the fact that Ava and Deborah have begun really working together again on the writing (without filming endless scenes of the workshopping) and to actually show us that the act needs work but that it’s slowly but surely improving. The work is so central to Ava and Deborah’s relationship (and what I love about them) and has long been the key to the intimacy they find with each other, so I’m hopeful at these glimpses of its return!
2. I appreciated the small nod to Ava’s ongoing grief in discussion of the movie about the kid who lives in the mall as a metaphor for losing a parent, and I really love that we see Deborah encouraging Ava to keep up her own writing. I think there’s a reason so many of us writing for the fandom include lines like that in our fics—it feels true to S1 and to a Deborah who recognizes that Ava is good and can’t/won’t be working for her forever (a form of care that’s subtle enough to feel in character while still meaning so much)
3. No thoughts. Head empty. Deborah and Ava in the pool. I’m looking like a respectfully appreciative lesbian because dammit ep. 4 erased queer female desire, so I’m at least gonna give it to them in their viewership. But in all seriousness I really love the way Ava and Deborah are both vulnerable in different ways in this pool scene. It’s them at their best—this moment where they can almost both forget about the email and the lawsuit and just feel the temporary unburdening that comes with seeing and being seen by one another.
4. The game of celebrity in episode 5 was a fun episode opener and a nice way to give us a glimpse of the depth of Deborah and Marcus’s history, showing just how much they’ve been through together. Also, goddam, I’d be hammered if I 1) still drank, and 2) was taking a shot for every time Deborah casually touched Ava
5. Ava and Marcus at the state fair! I love a good state fair (which is perhaps one of the most seemingly OOC things I could say, but state fairs and boardwalks? Yes. Fuck yes.), and I had fun with this arc! The Ava & Marcus content was beyond my hopes – the oh-so common queer experience of being mistaken for a couple being enshrined forever in a caricature? And then having that caricature be the thing to make Deborah smile genuinely after getting upstaged by a birthing cow? So good.
The mommy line? I’m… Well, let’s be honest I’d have preferred a “daddy” a la @fictorium’s fic but ya know, we’ll spell it mommi, and at least Kayla Kumari will love it
6. Deborah and the dude: phew 🔥🔥. Look, I’m whatever on Casper boy, but Deborah deserves good sex, and if she got it from him, good for her! (And, given that I did the same in my own fic in terms of Deborah finding and sleeping with a guy who’s got no idea who she is, I get what could have drawn her to him.) Also, she looks hot as hell tangled in his sheets, and I have the UTMOST faith in our marvelously talented fandom giffers to make excellent Ava/Deborah sets with them (because let’s be honest, she looks a hell of a lot happier there than she did in the season 1 scene with Marty, and they still managed to make magic with them)
7. Idk, Nina was there? Of course she’s in a MLM. I hope Ava got something out of their interactions that she needed. I’m glad Ava was able to talk about her dad with someone. I just can’t bring myself to care about Nina (a personal failing, probably due to my horrible mother-in-law, but ya know, it is what it is)
Okay a few things where I’m hoping for more or better before the season is through:
1. There are a few times where it feels like the show is grabbing low-hanging fruit with the gimmicky laughs, and I miss some of that razor-sharp precision of season 1 (though I prefer them here than in ep 4; at least I was having fun this go around instead of cringing). For instance, stuff with Kiki is starting to feel a little like later-season Kramer arcs in Seinfeld (Kiki’s a fan fave and gets brought in just to say something a little outlandish for laughs like popcorn purse or to do something ~cool~ like showing up on a motorcycle), and it’s fine in moderation (though Poppy Liu is so talented that I wish they were getting something with a little more weight to it), but with only 8 half-hour episodes I’m more apt to be critical of what’s getting cut to fit those scenes in (though again, way more of a critique of 4 than of 5 and 6, since 4 seems poised to be a bottle episode without much weight in the narrative arc vs. 5 and 6)
2. Leading to the big one: I am really disappointed about the lack of in-universe consequences for episode 4’s meltdown (and for Ava’s real lapse in sobriety if that’s something that they want us to take seriously, which I think they do given that she’s not drinking in 6 even with her mother there). I get that we see something kind of like an individual-level reckoning (lite) for Deborah in episode 6, building off the season of bombings and the interactions with Susan in episode 5. Deborah realizes that she isn’t just the person who’s been trampled on, but she’s also been the one trampling on others to get to where she is, and her act can’t only be about what’s been done to her, but also has to be her taking ownership of the harm she’s done. But the thing is…that’s just such a perfect place for there to have been even the briefest moment of realization or acknowledgment (from Deborah OR Ava) that it’s a pattern she’s still stuck in at times. We do see Deborah making clear on stage what her “feminism” looks like, and that does give the slightest nod back to ep 4, but it wasn’t enough for what I personally wanted. I didn’t really expect them to give us large-scale social media or crowd-level ramifications, but given Ava’s ongoing willingness to step in with attempts at “good progressive politics” (e.g., the line here about how Deborah shouldn’t be proud of having descended from colonizers), I don’t buy that she’s unwilling to say anything to Deborah just because of a pending lawsuit (especially not when Deborah just bought her a whole new wardrobe and taught her to float and even talked about the email’s contents without being even a little bitter about it, which, anyway those are other, longer thoughts). Basically, if they want me to buy a totally cowed Ava (which I don’t think they do want me to buy!), they can’t keep giving her the little one-off lines of chastisement and show her rekindling the relationship with Deborah. The brash Ava they built up with such delightfully messy nuance in season 1 is an Ava who talks back even when it’s a bad idea (perhaps especially then), and even an Ava who’s grown into something a little more circumspect still feels like she has a backbone, especially when it comes to Deborah (she’s never treated Deborah like one of the cool kids whose approval she desperately wants, you know?). I’m waiting til we see how this season ends before I talk more about the arc of Ava and Deborah’s relationship, though. I feel like we could be headed somewhere good!
But anyway, yeah, even with these critiques, I’m still much more pleased with episodes 5 and 6! There’s a lot I genuinely love here – honestly, I only take the time to be disappointed in a show and critique it when it’s good enough to be something I love, ya know? Anyway, til next week! And as always, love hearing everyone’s thoughts in the tag or if anyone wants to chat!
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What are the major details that confused you about the Hound blurb? The major one that stood put to me was the "way of the farmer opposed to the sword" thing which felt very...un-Cú Chulainn. Also, if you don't mind expanding further, which details didn't you question/be confused by?
and also for anon:
okay so it is like. 2am so there are not going to be any sources here but i can't sleep so here goes!! i will go through this blurb line by line and give youse my thoughts
In 50 BCE,
reasonable. this is roughly the right time period for when the ulster cycle is set. maybe marginally earlier than i'd place cú chulainn, but i'm talking a few years, nothing to get worked up about.
Morrigan, the goddess of war,
fine. normally i'm wary of pantheonising impulses with regard to irish characters (almost none of them can be identified as a god of anything in particular, it doesn't work like that) but tbh the morrigan is like, the most plausible exception to that, so whatever. normally her name has the definite article attached to it because it's kind of a species term as well but whatevs.
has become restless as a long-lasting peace settles over Ireland.
dubious. closest i can think of to peace being reference in any texts is togail bruidne da derga talking about conaire mor's reign being like, prosperous and peaceful and whatever, and even there you've got díberg (plundering/reaving) which is what eventually fucks him over and starts the otherworldly hell spiral situation. that's roughly the right period here but conaire's doom proves you don't have to do much to nudge peace into war, and connacht and ulster are at each other's throats for years before cú chulainn comes on the scene anyway
Deciding the time of peace must end, she chooses Setanta, the nephew of the king of the north, to become her ward.
hmm. i mean. like, this isn't the WEIRDEST choice they could have made. it's still completely made-up, don't get me wrong -- cú chulainn has a lot of different foster parents in different texts and they don't agree with each other but none of them ever mentions the morrígan. but like, they do have a connection of some sort, as evidenced by their conversations. and there's that one moment in the r1 boyhood deeds where little cú chulainn is out on the battlefield and hears her (not sure which name is used here) calling out to him and it like. motivates him to do some deeds or whatever, and i guess you could extrapolate that into some kind of teaching capacity.
so like. could be weirder. if you're gonna pick anyone, you could do worse. still seems weird to me! but not on its own a major issue, i could get past this and consider it a Fun But Unorthodox Creative Decision
(the fact that she tries to seduce him in the táin probably wouldn't get in the way of this considering sleeping with his teachers/foster-mothers is far from unheard of where cú chulainn is concerned)
After a young Setanta slays the demon-hound of Cullan, he becomes known as Cú Cullan—The Hound of Cullan.
weird spelling choices, they could have at least bothered to use the genitive properly. also the hound isn't a demon, it's a ferocious watchdog -- making it sound all Otherworldly and Hellish like this kinda confuses the issue of why he would need to take its place. he needs to take its place because the cattle and people still need protecting because it is a watchdog!! but whatevs, again, it's a brief summary so they can't exactly give us all the details and this is not actively objectionable
As Cú Cullan grows older, it is apparent that an extraordinary power lies within him … and a great darkness.
ugh boring. this makes it sound like he's going to be ~tortured~ and angsty about it. give me an unapologetic murder teen please. is the ríastrad dark? sure i guess, if you're going to be boring about it. it's more like, grotesque neon in my head
When he chooses the quiet life of a farmer over the sword,
this would fucking never happen on like five different levels. obviously like anyone who has ever read anything about cú chulainn can see that this is not in his nature. he is never going to choose a quiet life. this is the kid who tricked his way into taking arms before everyone thought he was ready. also juxtaposed with the "darkness" comment makes it sound like he would Angst his way into this quiet life which. again. have you seen this kid. he is an unapologetic murder teen
the only thing i can think of that might make him temporarily want to walk away is connla's death which... depends where you position that in the timeline really, he does seem a bit fucked up by it and maybe he'd want a holiday although i can see that lasting precisely 5 minutes before someone pissed him off enough for him to murder them. but if he's being raised by the morrígan i can't see him going to train with scáthach so then he'd never meet aífe and therefore connla would never be born so that wouldn't happen. so like. whatever.
but also like. he would not become a farmer. he just wouldn't! it doesn't work! the ireland of the stories is super hierarchical, right? and this blurb has already fucking told us that he's the king's nephew (canon) so we can tell that being a farmer is Not His Place. when we see upper class figures becoming menial labourers in texts, like in cath maige tuired, it's because Things Are Fucked, Shit's Gone Wrong. people don't just decide to change their entire social class on a whim lmfao
if cú chulainn really wanted to turn his back on being a warrior he could probably make recourse to certain other Suitable Professions ... his grandad's a druid so he might have a route into that, though his dad's not so that might fuck things up a bit bc it's one of those things that's usually inherited. he does give "wisdom" in at least one text though and we also know he can write (he carves riddles in ogham in the táin) and he composes verses on various occasions so idk, maybe something in a poetic direction, though again, usually requires two generations of inheritance to be a real poet and not just a lower-class bard. warrior's kinda the main thing he's got open to him tbh. but farming? i'm not a legal expert but as far as i'm aware based on what i have read, that would fuck shit up
more likely an upset cú chulainn would just go off in search of an adventure somewhere conveniently far away until he'd calmed down (alba, or the tyrrhenian sea, or -- if we're going to get early modern about it -- somewhere like india, which frequently gets thrown into the texts with absolutely no cultural context and it's always hilarious)
Morrigan, angry at the betrayal,
of the entire social order, yes,
instigates an invasion of his homeland
i mean. if they intend this to be the táin then.... táin bó regamna does kinda make the morrígan responsible for it? not in the sense of triggering the pillow talk argument that it's in the book of leinster -- it's her getting up to her usual cow-nicking behaviours for shits and giggles. [note to readers: it is probably for more than shits and giggles but did i mention it's 2am]
but all in all, not particularly out of character that she would be at least some way responsible for this so i can vibe with this. echtra nerai also supports the TBR explanation with her fucking around with otherworldly cows and pissing people off so, yeah, whatever. the morrígan engineered this. sure.
and Cú Cullan must challenge fate itself
this is probably a controversial stance but fate feels like a difficult concept to apply to medieval irish texts. like are people sometimes Doomed? yes. there are prophecies, there are gessi, there's all manner of otherworldly fuckery that can trip you up. is that the same thing as fate? no idea. considering cú chulainn comes out alive from the táin though and his doom prophecies don't catch up to him for like, at least another decade, maybe 16 years depending on who you listen to, hard to see how that would apply here
to keep the goddess at bay.
again like she IS causing fuckery in the táin but also it's like... one time. really not the main character. but she or maybe just some crows, hard to say, do get implicated in the death tale so maybe they're doing what people often do and conflating the two? even though there's like 10-16 years in between them?
anyway as you can see i don’t think it’s wholly terrible / i’m not completely thinkshaming it. like, having cú chulainn raised by the morrígan is unorthodox but it could be a fun and creative direction so i don't object to it. making cú chulainn get sad about murder and choose to be a farmer is just fucking laughable tho, and makes me doubt their characterisations in general. so that's offputting and would probably make me think twice about buying it, if that had ever been on the cards.*
and of course sure, their cú chulainn can be a Sad Boy Who Likes Sheep, but that means he's not the cú chulainn of medieval irish lit / irish myth, because that cú chulainn is a feral murder teen who keeps killing his friends and also is way too high social status to ever be a farmer, and whose only relationship to livestock is as the watchdog who kills anyone trying to harm them (which is an important role on a farm! but like. not the same thing as Being A Farmer. mostly because it involves more murder and is essentially just an extension of his role as a warrior. or rather the other way around. he promises to protect mag muirthemne as a watchdog and this like. gets extended into him becoming its sole defender)
this has been my analysis of this blurb i hope you enjoyed it
it's now 2.30am i should try and sleep now that i've exorcised a few thoughts from my head
*as i mentioned in the tags of my other post, i don't tend to read graphic novels due to disability stuff. they're much harder for me to understand and follow than prose, to the point where some are incomprehensible, so i don't really enjoy them. there are a few i've read, but they tend to be short ones, and i'm usually not reading them in order, just admiring the art separately from the text. so it's unlikely i would read a graphic novel of this size anyway.
#cu chulainn#hound#hound graphic novel#answered#oddnub-eye#anonymous#irish mythology#medieval irish#tain bo cuailnge
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Ask meme- Nanami Kiryuu from RGU? 💃🏼👀
Thanks for asking! Slight disclaimer before I do this that I've not rewatched Utena in a while (aside from the shadow play episode which I rewatched a few weeks back for reasons) so I might be misremembering things a bit.
Why I like them
Her overall series arc is so good. You start with the standard perception of her as a bully, but as the series progresses you slowly realise that that’s not all there is to her in that there are reasons why she acts out as she does. And that those reasons tie into a lot of the other themes in the series (the most obvious one being the cycle of abuse* but that’s not the only one). And she does start to improve somewhat. I’m not sure I’d say that by the end of the series she’s fully completed her character development, but she’s definitely made progress? (Nanami has what Miraculous fans wish Chloe got though)
*There was actually a fanart piece I came across recently which summed that part up visually really well. I was holding off on reblogging it for spoiler reasons but it should be safe to reblog now so I’ll probably do so after this post.
Why I don’t
The cow and egg episodes. I get (mostly) what they're trying to do with her there but there are some parts of it where I'm cringing so badly that I'm just there like "pls no I can't watch".
Favorite episode (scene if movie)
Not exactly a specific ep but across a few but the stuff near the end where she's staying with Anthy and Utena and gets forced to re-examine her relationship with Touga is definitely my favourite arc for her character.
And if I had to pick a scene, I think the "there's an x in Anthy's pencil case" gag. Both because it gets funnier as it escalates and also because it actually shows how insecure Nanami is that she thinks being "weird" is reason to be mocked by friends.
Favorite season/movie
N/A
Favorite line
N/A
Favorite outfit
Her usual yellow uniform tbh. I don't even like bright yellow particularly but it's so ingrained with my idea of her that it seems weird for her to be in anything else.
OTP
I don't actually have one for her, you know? I more have a list of NOTPs in terms of "please keep her brother well away from her thanks" and overall am uh not sure she's in a super position to start a healthy romantic relationship.
Brotp
I like some of the little bits with her and Miki and Juri. They can be pretty cute, especially near the end of the series.
Head Canon
I'm not sure how canon canon this is but I was pretty convinced by some of the arguments I've seen thrown about that Nanami's entire thing with her brother is basically down to comphet? She thinks that her brother is safe as a target because he would never return her 'feelings' and that adds to the disorientation when she finds out about the blood types*.
*Though I do think the main factor with the blood relation thing is more about whether Touga is only tied to her through obligation and if that didn't exist, would he still care for her? And all of Nanami’s other “friendships” are largely superficial and centred around other topics not around actually liking each other, so of course that adds to the depth of obsession she has with her one “proper” personal connection at the start of the show. (And the superficial friendships also connects to how she was so sure that Anthy would be ostracised for being “weird” because she’s likely projecting to some extent)
Unpopular opinion
Not sure if unpopular but part of why I like Nanami is because as you find out more about her she becomes obviously more complex. However, the dress thing with Anthy early on becomes retrospectively a lot worse once we find out what Anthy is remembering at that time. And I don't really see much of those who *do* like Nanami really addressing how messed up that in particular is? Like, obviously Nanami wouldn't have realised she was stepping on a specific trauma, but the dress thing was incredibly messed up regardless.
A wish
For her to continue down the path she’s going as of the end of the series and to break free 😔.
An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen
Falling back into the pattern with Touga. I feel like at the end of the series she has actually made progress on this because the pedestal is broken so her returning or reverting to the unabashed worship would be so yikes to me.
5 words to best describe them
Insecure bully dressed in yellow
My nickname for them
I don't have one for her in general, but have recently come across "Cownami" for her in the cow episode which amuses me.
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My itinerary is NUTS
I think I have one reservation left to make (the city pass) and then I don't have any Iceland expenses until I'm literally there?
OKAY.
This is all subject to cancellation For Obvious Reasons:
Thursday, September 9: Fly in just after 6am (which my body will think is 11pm...), buy snacks and possibly alcohol at the duty-free, take bus to Blue Lagoon, stay as long as I like (or until I get hungry--their food is expensive even for Iceland), take bus rest of the way into Reykjavik. Drop off suitcase at my guesthouse if they let me. Find and eat food. Buy some groceries (at Vegan búðin if I can) and/or yarn, depending on timing. (Guesthouse check-in is 3pm.) My plans are loose after that depending on how early I realize I feel like I've been run over, but general shopping-as-sight-seeing seems likely. I'm hoping to make it to like, 9pm before passing out. Jet lag, PMS, and lack of sleep vs. my body always perking up in the evening: who will win?!
Friday: Gonna have a city pass that gets me free entry into a bunch of museums plus bus fare. I need to look up the museum list on a map; I know there's some I really want to see like the open-air museum, and some that aren't a priority. I think it also gets me up the elevator to the top of Hallgrímskirkja? (Note to self to look up the hours of things; a lot of museums have pretty short hours.)
Saturday: Daytime plans are loose. Might see some things that the museum pass doesn't cover, like The Phallological Museum. (Edit: need to rent trekking poles!) That evening I have a reservation for a bus/hike to the volcano, though. :D :D :D (Here's hoping the weather cooperates. If the lava gives us a good show--it's been super off-and-on--that's a nice bonus!)
Sunday: Depending on soreness/exhaustion level, and how shy I'm feeling, go to church at Hallgrímskirkja, despite the service being in Icelandic. (They do have an English-language service once a month, but not while I'm there.) Go to the big Olympic pool with the twisty slide I remember from when I was a kid, maybe?
(The guy who does most of the youtube videos for Grapevine has a walking tour, but it's a little pricey. I'd get to meet his dog Polly, though!)
That's the afternoon/evening I have tickets to see Björk at Harpa, though; assuming it's not postponed. I might be too busy vibrating in excitement to do anything lolol.
Monday: bus tour along the South coast! Pretty beaches! At least one waterfall! A glacier? I forget what else is on the list tbh but it's a like, 9-hour trip, phew.
Tuesday: get my rapid-antigen covid test required to get on the plane home. Otherwise a chill day. Go swimming if I didn't on Sunday. Maybe even if I did, there's certainly enough pools, lol.
Wednesday: Golden Circle bus tour (Þingvellir, Gullfoss, the geothermal park with the geysir Strokkur). It also stops at a farm that's famous for ice cream made from the milk of the cows that live there, which is pointless for me (who knows, maybe they'll have fruit sorbet?), but going by pictures and reviews you also get to pet Icelandic sheep and horses and cows, which is the real reason I picked the tour that included the farm, lol.
Thursday: Take city bus to Keflavik, get off near where my old house was (I've looked, there's a stop really close by), walk around awkwardly with a wheely suitcase for ...I think I have two hours? before getting back on that bus to take it the rest of the way to the airport four hours before my flight leaves because right now coming and going takes longer than usual due to having to present the negative covid test. Ponder buying Brennivín despite the fact that I rarely drink anymore. I will probably buy some candy including Opal licorice, though. Possibly this is when I fill my suitcase with enough presents for people that I have to check the damn thing lol.
Looser things to fit in around other plans: walking or bicycling along the waterfront area, including getting a selfie with The Sun Voyager (a big metal sculpture thing). Taking the ferry to Videy island to walk around and enjoy the views. Lazily perusing a bookstore's English section. Drinking tea or coffee in a cafe while knitting or reading. Eating too many baked goods and drinking far too much coffee.
I have a list of people I plan to send postcards to, which reminds me I need to text some people for addresses. (The list is admittedly short, in part because mailing postcards to the states from Iceland is like $2 a pop, and sending it from Iceland is like half the point.)
There's also an assortment of goofy tourist-trap types of things like Perlan (museum-y stuff), and FlyOver Iceland (which is basically a high-tech immersive movie). There's a place that dresses you up like a Viking and takes professional photos for $100 that, honestly, looks dorky but fun. I think there's one that replicates the aurora, as well?
Speaking of which: there's already been some pretty strong aurora activity this year, so if there's a night with an aurora and decent weather, there's tour companies that either drive you to a more remote location or put you on a boat to see it without the light pollution of the city.
My original plans included going out dancing/drinking one night--the bar scene in Reykjavik is notorious, and I wanted to at least stop in at Kiki Queer Bar for a bit. But the recent spike in cases has been attributed to people (including locals) going to bars/clubs, where it's impossible to social distance and people have to yell to talk to each other and nobody is wearing masks.
In general my plan is to eat the free cold breakfast at the guesthouse every morning, eat less-expensive grab'n'go meals or ones I make at the guesthouse when I can, and limit myself to an average of one (1) meal in a restaurant most days. Partially because food in Iceland is just expensive. Partially to limit my exposure. (Outdoor dining is limited during a time of year that's likely to be 50f with wind and/or rain, okay.)
I fully expect that I'm going to be more thorough/paranoid about mask-wearing than the locals. I know the tour buses all require and enforce mask-wearing, and IIRC the ones I reserved are all smaller groups (less than 20). But I'm already at way more risk than a lot of tourists who rent cars/campervans and only see people at waterfalls and campgrounds and gas stations.
What happens if I test positive before I leave? I get to quarantine in a non-fancy hotel in Iceland for ten days on their dime. They even bring food to your door. This is obviously not ideal for many reasons, especially if I do actually feel ill, so yeah. Gonna be careful about the masking etc. while I'm there.
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Comics this week (12/1/2020)?
calvatronlordofall said: Today’s comics?
Far Sector #9: Another comic I won’t understand until it’s done and I can reread the whole thing but that I’m enjoying anyway. Really, really hope Jemisin continues contributing to the medium in some form after this, because she absolutely has a gift for it.
Strange Adventures #7: He doesn’t care for tyranny, folks. And JEEESSSUUUUS, Doc
DCeased: Dead Planet #6: Some quality DC Comics nonsense problem-solving, but not sure at all whether the chips are gonna fall in favor of the stuff about this I’ve been really liking or the aspects I simply don’t care about at all.
Tales From The Dark Multiverse: Wonder Woman: War Of The Gods: While I’ve seen plenty of them around the periphery in anthologies and so forth I think this is Vita Ayala’s first full work I’ve been exposed to, and tbh I can’t say I’m taken, even given the pretty threadbare-seeming material for them to work with. I’ll still give Children of the Atom a try, but my expectations have been lowered. Nice seeing Trish Mulviihill’s colors though, thought they looked familiar and it turns out she worked on my beloved Superman & Bugs Bunny.
Batman: The Adventures Continue #7: Yeah, now that it’s all said and done, definitely the best take on the death and return of Jason Todd.
Batman #104: Art’s taken a hit, but Ghostmaker’s getting more and more fun as a character the more that comes out about him. And surprising seeing Dick in his real Robin suit in flashback, Dark Designs had him still rocking that New 52 abomination. It really seems like the policy RE: costumes in flashbacks with him remains up in the air at any given time?
Anonymous said: Thoughts on the long-awaited BatCat?
Anonymous said: Bat/Cat the objectively best comic of the week. Thots.
Batman/Catwoman #1: I imagine disappointingly, quite few - both the best and worst part of this book is that King’s entire spiel on “This is gonna be such a different animal from my regular run, this is my DKR, this is my ultimate prestige statement on the characters” was pure hype, this is just the next issue of his Batman run with Clay Mann as the new main artist. And it’s good! I like it! I think it’d take awhile for anybody to tumble onto the ‘three timelines’ aspect of it if they didn’t go in knowing about it since the color of Catwoman’s suit is the only obvious tipoff for a chunk of it, but it’s still a well-constructed piece of comics in line with the story up to this point, even if it’s so in line with it that it pretty much puts the lie to the notion that this was originally conceived of as a special prestige project in the same way as Strange Adventures or Rorschach. Mostly I’m just struck now that it’s out by the guts of doing a straight sequel to Mask of the Phantasm, given that’s maybe the singularly least divisive major Batman story: everybody on every side of the Batman-loving aisle recognizes it as hallowed ground, so nobody’s gonna not be let down if you fuck it up. I really need to rewatch it, it’s been well over a decade and unlike Return of the Joker my memories of it have almost entirely faded.
Black Widow #4: The further in I get the more I’m struck by the cleverness of the central conceit. How do you construct a drama around a century-old woman whose business has her have to mostly forsake most normal human connection? Make the literal supervillain plot that she’s been forced to have incredibly intimate human connections, and now she’s just gotta deal with that on top of what would otherwise be fairly routine Black Widow stuff.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21: Hate to say it folks, but even discounting the severity of the delays this arc’s been a dud. Really hoping it finds its feet again soon.
King In Black #1: Holy cow, this was ass. I went in thinking “well, I’ve resigned myself to having to get this to understand the crossovers into books I’m already getting and tie-in minis I do care about, but Cates still has a baseline level of competency so it should still be perfectly readable”, but this is just...nothing. This is that modern Dan Jurgens tier where it’s so bland and perfunctory and inoffensively executed it loops back around to infuriating, except Dan Jurgens’s writing if nothing else at least doesn’t strut around in tangible self-regard as the next great sales-shattering triumph of the Punk Rock God Of Comixxx like Cates’. And when was the last Marvel event on this scale with such little hype behind it? Even Empyre seemed like it had more weight on arrival, and much as I enjoyed it I’m pretty sure that book mainly existed to fill space until we got this. Maybe it’s just the circle I run in. I swear I remember Thanos Wins being pretty fun, and I just reread Atomahawk and that was still a hoot, so it’s a shame Cates has turned out this way, and worse he’s ended up Marvel’s new golden boy. Unless my dad likes it (and if so hey, he’s not alone, I imagine this is selling gangbusters) I’m sure not grabbing another issue, so I guess I’ll have to do my best with context clues in figuring out what’s going on for...Guardians of the Galaxy, S.W.O.R.D., Daredevil, Namor, Return of the Valkyries, the Joe Fixit Immortal Hulk one-shot, Iron Man/Doctor Doom, and the next book below. Fuck.
The Union #1: I’ve only read Everything Used To Be Black And White for Jack Staff but I was definitely curious what Grist would do here, and it didn’t disappoint! Fun little story, bunch of neat character ideas I’m looking forward to seeing developed further, very lived-in feeling slice of its corner of a superhero world.
Marvels Snapshots: Civil War: An excellent little parable that I’m surprised we didn’t actually see the likes of in ‘06, and frankly worth getting a mediocre Miles Morales arc for (even if it was disappointing that that one had to be where the ball was dropped) if this is where Ahmed’s attention was going instead.
Daredevil #25: So I turned two pages at once and accidentally spoiled myself at the last possible moment for the big reveal of the issue, so that sucks. Still a great issue though - one that manages to function as a logical extension of an incredibly street-level story even though it can only possibly exist as an extrapolation of the wildest excesses of the Marvel universe - but I cannot imagine how the hell the next is gonna cleanly pivot into King in Black shenanigans.
Kill A Man: A new OGN by Steve Orlando, cowritten with Phillip Kennedy Johnson and with art by Al Morgan and letters by Jim Campbell, the reductive though not inaccurate pitch is ‘queer Creed’. But since this is likely to sail under the radar I need to emphasize this is one of Orlando’s absolute best works, a real triumph of the form that’s among the best comics of the year (good GOD does this put to shame 99% of superhero comics fight scenes by the end), and a must-buy for any fans of his work. I’m just gonna let how hard the title and solicit text go speak for themselves:
“As a child, James Bellyi watched his father die in the ring as payback for slurs thrown at the other fighter. Today, he's a Mixed Martial Arts star at the top of his game, and one of the most popular fighters in the world...until he's outed as gay in his title shot press conference. Abandoned overnight by his training camp, his endorsements, his fans and his sport, to regain his title shot Bellyi is forced to turn to the last person he ever wants to see again: Xavier Mayne, a gay, once-great fighter in his own right...and the man James once watched kill his father.”
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Episode 50: The One with the Greatest Family Reunion(s) of All Time
so we start the ep with nhs's truly oscar-worthy performance which results in jgy getting stabbed
And i cheer for both the performance AND the stabbing!!!
lxc has his eyes closed bc that's his coping mechanism when times get tough
lol lxc is like I TOLD YOU I WASN'T GONNA HOLD BACK IF YOU DID ONE MORE BAD THING
and jgy is like i know!! that's why i haven't done one more bad thing!!!!
everyone's faces are like sure jan
but then they look at nhs like, wait a minute...
jgy is like why are you looking at him? you're not gonna see anything! i didn't see anything all these years and i'm smarter and sneakier than all of you!!!
okay, he didn't say that last part but it was def implied
jgy: nhs, good for you. i didn't expect that you would be my downfall.
NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQ--uhhh, NIE HUAISANG!!
nhs hasn't broken character either! He needs to join a theater troupe or smth with those skills.
blah blah lxc and jgy are having Feelings blah blah blah lxc is conflicted blah
hm, those Feelings are becoming rather Dramatique
ugh jgy just let it go and die already
jgy: have I ever done you wrong?
UM?? how about KILLING his little brother's soulmate?
which resulted in him having to watch his little brother suffer extreme physical punishment and then grieve for years after??
PRETTY SURE THAT HURT LXC QUITE A LOT
Jgy: now you won't even give me a chance to live?
I THINK THE FUCK NOT!!!
oh we're getting some not so great special effects and jgy drags lxc to the coffin and then bleeds all over it, gross
ooooh, the Temple of Doom is starting to fall apart
lwj makes a move towards lxc but wwx grabs his arm and stops him!
bc it's dangerous to get too close and wwx is protective of his soulmate!!
jc starts the evacuation bc hello the building is crumbling and he gets everyone out except the lan bros, wwx and jgy
Jgy: stay and die with me
FUCK YOU JGY
but lxc was ready and willing to do that, so jgy shoves him back bc why the hell not
(we're gonna ignore how awkward that particular maneuver was, we already know special effects are not a priority in this show)
Jgy's like lets emotionally torment lxc some more, just for kicks, bc I'm an ASSHOLE
lwj catches his brother and he is Concerned.
Eventually our lan bros and wwx flee the temple and jgy has one last meltdown before getting crushed LIKE THE MAGGOT HE IS
Now we cut to a shot of all our crew standing outside
and we see my bratty son slowly fall to his knees with a look of UTTER SORROW AND PAIN ON HIS FACE
Bc he was BETRAYED by his nice uncle
MY POOR SON!!
we get reaction shots from wwx and the lan bros
(wwx continues to be beautiful even when sad)
oh, now lxc and nhs are having a moment sitting on the steps of the temple
lxc asks nhs if jgy really had made a move
nhs is like, you questioning me is making me doubt everything! idk idk!!
even amidst his grief he takes a moment to be completely exasperated by NHS's catchphrase lolol
now we cut to wwx sitting on a different set of stairs, carefully fiddling with his demon flute and he looks up to see jc watching him and HE SMILES
BC THAT'S HIS LITTLE BROTHER!!
AND THEY'RE ALL STILL MIRACULOUSLY ALIVE AFTER THAT HOT MESS!!
oooh, he's unwrapping his sleeve and we get a flash of his bare forearm
how scandalous! you're gonna give lwj vapors, wwx
We see the very last cut on his arm fade away bc finally mxy has been avenged
AND WWX SMILES AGAIN!!
cut to jc and jl watching wwx smile
bc i mean, who wouldn't be captivated by wwx's smile?
PEOPLE YOU CAN'T TRUST, THAT'S WHO
none of the sect leaders before were captivated by that smile AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!!!
oh that smile didn't stick around for long bc we hear barking!!
wwx gets this panicked wide-eyed expression that mAKES ME WANNA HIDE HIM AND PROTECT HIM FROM THE WORLD
But I also don't want to get murdered by LWJ's death glare so I'll just let him hide and protect wwx...
omg my bratty son looks SO HAPPY and shouts "fairy!!" before running towards his doggy friend
i'm not much of a dog person, tbh, but MY BRATTY SON IS SO HAPPY
and fairy did bring a whole crew of cultivators...
too little too late, some smart spiritual dog he is, lololol
we've got lan disciples, and jiang disciples and all these people swarming around our crew, fussing over them.
it's kind of sweet except i notice that no one's approached my bratty son
he is, in fact, ALL ALONE with fairy and i am OFFENDED on his behalf
not that my bratty son seems to mind
he's too wrapped up in his doggy reunion to notice BUT I NOTICED SO I'LL BE OFFENDED ENOUGH FOR THE BOTH OF US
wwx is smiling as he sees lwj and jc being fussed over by their respective disciples
so cute so CUTE, I love his smiles so much
lwj stands up and greets his uncle with a stately bow
god he's elegant and regal af, how the hell does he do it
but his uncle's a douchebag and barely acknowledges him before turning to leave and lwj watches him go, kind of hurt, kind of surprised
ooooh, now we get a shot of jc watching wwx as he gets questioned by oyzz
Oyzz is like what happened? Are you hurt? Is everyone okay??
and we can see wwx is still smiling!! BC MY BOY IS MADE OF SUNSHINE OKAY
awwwww
jl looks up with an ADORABLE smile on his face and tells fairy to wait outside
HE TAKES FAIRY OUTSIDE BC HE KNOWS WWX IS AFRAID OF DOGS!!!
My bratty son is actually very sweet!!
jc starts to leave the scene (and it's only until now that he stops staring at wwx btw) and wwx watches him go 😔
cut to a shot of lwj blatantly staring at wwx as per usual
wwx looks up and meets his gaze
they get lost in each other for a bit bc when DON'T they?
We’re at the steps of the temple again and we see nhs pick up jgy's crumpled up hat looking all contemplative
oops, nhs's fingers come away from the hat all tacky with blood, yuck
cut to my bratty son running back into the temple where all the cultivators are inspecting stuff and he asks ljy where wwx is
HE'S ASKING AFTER MY SUNSHINE BOY!
Y'know, his not-evil, not-angry uncle?
ljy tells him that he and hanguang jun left after they brought them lil apple
lol, the idea of ljy and oyzz dragging lil apple along just to return him to wwx cracks me up
jl tells ljy to take care of fairy for him before he dashes off to find his new uncle
BUT JC STOPS HIM?? "don't chase after them"
look at jc being all Cool leaning against that tree
in his fashionable robes
with his awesome sword tucked in the crook of his elbow
jl throws one last glance at the direction wwx and lwj left, and then joins jc under the tree
jc is like, they're long gone kid
jl: so that's it? you're letting them leave just like that??
jc: what else? invite them to stay for dinner? say thank you and then i am sorry??
lol, he's working himself up into a snit already
But also, like, MY BRATTY SON HAS A GOOD HEART, OKAY??
he just hides it under bluster bc he's sensitive and people are mean to him all the time!
HE WANTED TO CONNECT WITH WWX (AND MAYBE LWJ??) NOW THAT THIS WAS ALL OVER
AND HE WOULD'VE DONE IT IF NOT FOR JC BEING ALL HUNG UP ON HIS ISSUES STILL
not that i hold that against jc, that's a lot of emotional trauma he's gotta work through
LOL JL IS NOT GONNA LET HIMSELF BE COWED BY HIS UNCLE BC WHEN DOES HE EVER?
JL: it was exactly bc of the way you were acting that they took off! you're such a pain in the neck!!
AND THEN HE POUTS AND FALLS INTO A CROUCH WITH HIS ARMS CROSSED AND STARTS SULKING UP A STORM
I LOVE MY BRATTY SON SO MUCH
JC: IS THAT HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SPEAK TO YOUR ELDERS? ARE YOU ASKING TO GET DISCIPLINED??
these two crack me up every time, i swear
but the whole corporal punishment is...problematic
jc raises his arm to smack jl and jl ducks and raises his own arm to block the blow and i'm sitting here like, yikes
but then we get a shot of jc's open palm, out of focus with a crisp backdrop of red leaves from the tree they're under
and his hand is just held there, stilled for just a moment before the fingers start to gently curl inward and the strike never happens (thank god)
jc: lets go home, jin ling. let everyone go back to the place where they belong
he walks off with jin ling springing to his feet and chasing after him a beat later
jl: was there something you wanted to say to wwx?
have i mentioned i love my bratty son? BECAUSE I DO. A LOT.
jc: no, there isn't.
jl: bullshit!
I LOVE HIM!! WHAT A MOUTHY BRAT 💜
JL: i saw it with my own eyes! you wanted to talk to wwx! but you didn't say a word just now or back in the temple!
jc: there is nothing to say
jl: bullshit! you had something to say!
while this entire exchange is happening we see jc marching ahead, not looking at jl at all, but jl is walking backwards eyes pinned to his face the entire time
bc my son might be a brat but he's also pretty observant and he KNOWS his uncle
AND NOW WE GET A FLASHBACK
WE GET A BIG REVEAL
we're back at “the ones where we gross sob FOREVER”
and wwx is telling jc to stay put at the inn while he goes to get food and meds
his voice all weak and tremulous
but jc steps out of the inn for a moment after wwx leaves
AND SEES THAT THE WEN FLUNKIES CAUGHT SIGHT OF HIS BROTHER!!
they were like three feet away from grabbing his big brother
and he says internally, "take care. i'm leaving jyl in your hands"
AND I'M CRYING BC THEY'RE PLAYING THAT MUSIC
THAT SWEET TENDER MUSIC THEY PLAY WHENEVER JYL AND HER BROTHERS HAVE A MOMENT
Jc goes and causes a distraction and lets himself be caught by the wens
SO THAT HIS BIG BROTHER AND BIG SISTER COULD STAY SAFE
I'M CRYING I'M CRYING
MY YUNMENG SIBS, MY POOR YUNMENG SIBS!!
WHY DID THEY HAVE TO SUFFER SO??
WHY WERE THEY SO DAMN SELF-SACRIFICING???
WHY THE HELL COULDN'T THEY LEARN TO COMMUNICATE BETTER???
cut back to the present, and jc's eyes are welled up with tears
he has a hurt little smile on his face, he says, "take care"
softly, mostly to himself
after a moment, he turns to jin ling and says "lets go"
and we watch them leave
I just want them all to be a BIG HAPPY FAMILY DAMN IT
cut to the next scene, we hear ~THEIR SONG~ start playing in the background all slow and soft
i love the overhead shot we get of them surrounded by the gorgeous foliage, it's so peaceful
As wwx and lwj walk slowly and at ease with lil apple between them
AND MY HEART FEELS SO TENDER AND FULL OMG
lwj: wei ying
he says it all seriously. wwx looks at him and he's got A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE
bc he's looking at his soulmate!!!
who wouldn't smile when looking at their soulmate???
he's cheerfully twirling his flute bc finally all is right in the world!
the mystery is solved, his loved ones are safe
and he's traveling with lwj and lil apple
nothing could be better!
wwx: whats up?
lwj is pointedly not looking at him
lwj: there is something that I…
and here he stops in his tracks, and wwx stops with him
lwj: i didn't tell you.
wwx gets all playful and leans on lil apple, and waggles his demon flute and lwj
wwx: what is it?
Look at that mischievous grin!!
he's all prepared to tease the heck out of lwj for whatever he's about to say LOL
but they're interrupted!!
wen ning and lan sizhui are running after them and wwx notices
LOLOL
His face scrunches up and he mutters under his breath like, damn it! every time!! these two are fast!
wwx: sizhui, why are you following us? aren't you afraid of old master lan calling you out?
MY SUNSHINE BOY IS SMILING SO MUCH THIS EPISODE, I'M SO HAPPY!!!
lsz: i have something important to ask you!
he's all out of breath!
wwx turns to look at lwj eyes wide and curious before going back to lsz
wwx: what is it?
lsz goes on to explain how he's been remembering things but he's unsure of stuff so he wanted to ask them about it
wwx looks confused and glances at lwj
lwj just looks back at him briefly before his eyes flick down
wwx: what is it that you want to know?
lsz looks down and, like, gathers up the strength needed for this next line of questioning.
with the sweetest smile, and the softest eyes he starts listing stuff
like how he knew a cocky chef who was actually a terrible cook
(wwx laughs confusedly at this)
and how that man planted him in a field and told him he'd grow faster with some watering and sunlight
AND WE GET A FLASHBACK OF LITTLE A-YUAN PLOPPED IN THE DIRT GETTING BURIED BY WWX
he goes on to say how that man would play with him
and how he had invited hunguang jun for a meal and then didn't pick up the tab so hanguang jun had to pay
There we get a flashback to their meal at the yiling wine house!
we cut back to the present and WWX'S FACE IS STUNNED, EYES WELLING UP WITH TEARS, AND LSZ IS GETTING CHOKED UP AS HE TELLS HIM THINGS
AND WWX'S BREATHING GETS SHAKY
BC LSZ TELLS HIM HIS SURNAME IS WEN
wwx blinks rapidly, not believing what he's hearing
wwx: wen was your surname? isn't lan your surname?
wwx: lan sizhui, lan yuan.. A-yuan?
AND OH GOD HIS FACE, HIS FACE
His eyebrows are furrowed
His eyes are full of tears!
he's looking at lsz like this has to be a dream bc it's too good to be true
Lsz nods jerkily
AND I'M TRYING TO HOLD BACK TEARS
HOW THE HELL IS LWJ WATCHING THIS ALL GO DOWN WITHOUT CRYING??
he's watching his son so intently
he's seeing his two most precious people reunite
and there are no tears??
I DON'T UNDERSTAND
HE'S VERY OBVIOUSLY MOVED BY THIS BUT NOT CRYING
MEANWHILE MY FACE IS A FREAKING RIVER OF EMOTION
lsz: i...i am a-yuan
and his voice all cracked with feeling
wwx huffs and is still shaky
wwx: didn't a-yuan pass away already?
he's thought his kid was dead this whole time
MY HEART, MY HEART
lwj had been staring at lsz this whole time but when he hears wwx say that, his gaze drops to the ground
HE FEELS ASHAMED (AS HE SHOULD BE!!) BC HE DIDN'T TELL WWX SOONER
wwx turns to lwj, hope and tentative joy in his voice
wwx: lan zhan, was it you?
lwj meets his gaze and says yes, his voice steady and firm
lwj: this was the thing i haven't told you about
Yeah, i know, i’ve been YELLING AT YOU ABOUT IT THIS WHOLE TIME
and wwx looks back at lsz, breath choppy and lsz flings himself into wwx's arms!!!
I AM SOBBING
lsz: i really missed you, i really missed you
THEY'RE BOTH CRYING AND CLINGING TO EACH OTHER SO HARD
OH GOD I NEED TISSUES
wwx laughs and sniffles
wwx: silly boy, why are you crying?
AS IF YOUR FACE ISN'T STREAMING WITH TEARS, WWX
lsz pulls back and scrubs his face in his sleeve
lsx: i wasn't crying. i was just feeling really sad and yet thrilled at the same time
YOU TWO STOP DENYING YOUR TEARS
IF I HAVE TO SIT IN A PUDDLE OF MY TEARS THEN YOU HAVE TO OWN UP TO YOUR OWN TEARS, YOU HEAR ME??
lsz: i couldn't put it into words
lwj: then don't
pffft, ofc lwj would be the one advocating for LESS WORDS lololol
wwx laughs at that
wwx: that's right. no need to say anything
then he starts his theatrics, bc he wouldn't be wwx without his theatrics
he leans on lil apple and rubs his own shoulder
wwx: damn, you little ones are strong, you are indeed a student of hanguang jun
he looks at lwj and points his demon flute at him
HE'S SO HAPPY
lwj: he is a student of yours as well
omg lwj delivers this line so sincerely
like, there was barely a pause between what wwx and what lwj responded with
he's so freaking earnest
LOL wwx straightens up at that and reaches for lsz
wwx: no wonder he is such a handsome boy!
Wwx, you are SHAMELESS
He giggles as he pats lsz’s face, it’s freaking adorable
lsz: master wei didn't teach me anything!
wow lsz, you've had your other dad back for all of five minutes and you're already sassing him?
he truly is wwx's son lol
wwx: i did! it was bc you were so little and you forgot
You’re sounding a bit defensive there, wwx...
lsz: yes, i seem to recall. i remember now
wwx immediately starts preening
wwx: you see. i've mentored him!
lsz: for example, switching the portrait of a beauty into--
wwx slams his hand over lsz's mouth, HIS FACE IS A PICTURE OF PANIC
LOLOLOL
lwj's eyes have widened slightly and developed an edge of Judgement
wn peeks at lwj out of the corner of his eyes like he's trying to gauge his reaction or smth lolol
wwx laughs awkwardly and takes his hand off lsz's mouth to shake a finger at him, wearing a tight smile on his face
lsz: and when a pretty lady passes by--
wwx: NONSENSE!!!
LOL I'M D Y I N G
wwx shouts this at the TOP OF HIS LUNGS to drown out lsz
he whirls on him pointing an accusatory finger and marches towards him as lsz scrambles back
wwx: nonsense! how come you're remembering these kinds of things? how could i teach little kids these things?
LOL HE'S TALKING SO FAST
lsz: you did! wen ning can testify!
wow, way to throw your uncle under the bus, lsz
kids these days have no filial piety!
wwx: there's nothing for wen ning to testify!
OMG WN AND LWJ IN THE BACKGROUND 🤣🤣🤣
as soon as lsz draws attention to him, wn looks at lsz like WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?
and lwj side-eyes wen ning SO HARD, like what the hell did you let wwx teach my son?
wwx: stop talking nonsense! i am telling you, little boy. lan zhan, what did you teach him?
AND WE GET THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SHOT OF LWJ HERE
as soon as wwx turns to him with his wild accusations, lwj gets this delightfully crooked smile on his face
and he looks down as if there's TOO MUCH JOY IN HIS HEART that he can't bear to watch for long
GOD THIS IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL EXPRESSION ON HIS FACE.
and this marks, what, THE THIRD? the third time lwj smiles in public, all OUT IN THE OPEN?
I'M DYING, I'M DYING
wwx: when a-yuan was little and with me, he was a good boy!
lsz: it's the truth!
wwx: nonsense!
wwx: do you see that pit? no matter how big you've become, i will still plant you into that pit. understand?
lsz has a big grin on his face
wwx: what are you laughing at? you dumb boy!
AND THEN LSZ DROPS TO THE GROUND AND HUGS WWX'S LEG LIKE HE USED TO WHEN HE WAS A TODDLER
AND EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL IN THE WORLD
wwx laughs to himself and lwj still has a small smile playing across his lips as he watches his son
wwx: a-yuan, you are too old for this
AS IF HE'S NOT LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT
wwx: do you remember, you used to grab hanguang jun's leg when you were little, just like this?
so many wonderful flashbacks of little a-yuan clinging to his parents’ legs!!
oh god, oh god, my heart, my heart is going to explode from all the tender feelings!! Look at their faces
wwx's mouth slowly curls into a smile before it grows INTO A FLASH OF HIS SQUINTY-EYED SMILE
you know the one!
the one that stretches SO BIG WITH HAPPINESS IT LIGHTS UP THE WHOLE WORLD?? YEAH, THAT ONE
and then we cut to lwj's face
he has the softest expression on his face
he's got this gentle, tiny smile, the slightest of curves at the corners of his mouth
and in his eyes are SO FULL OF LOVE AND WARMTH as he watches his soulmate smile at him with their son clinging to his soulmate's leg
AND I MUST'VE DIED AND GONE TO THE GOOD PLACE BC THIS IS JUST TOO BEAUTIFUL TO BE REAL
now we cut to a different scene, lwj and lsz are in the background have some sort of father-son chat, while wwx and wn chill in the foreground
here we find out that wn and lsz plan to go back to qishan to build some sort of memorial to their loved ones
wwx: i'll come with you
wn: that won't be necessary
wwx: you don't want me to tag along?
aw, my sunshine boy looks kinda hurt 😔
but wn assures him that that's not the case. it's just that wwx has already done more than enough for them and it's time for wen ning to go out on his own
wwx gets all teary-eyed again and pats him on the shoulder, and agrees that that's for the best
lsz and wn split off, and wwx waves his demon flute cheerfully at them, lwj at his side
wwx turns to lwj with a smile
wwx: lan zhan, lets go!
he says happily, with confidence, then he taps chenqing on his head a couple of times
wwx: where should we go?
he grins, pulling lil apple along with him, so cheerfully!
wwx: let's get going, lil apple!
but lwj isn't turning with him
he's still in that spot, his back towards wwx who already was forging onto his next adventure
AND MY HEART IS BREAKING
BC WHY HASN'T HE TURNED TO FOLLOW WWX???
wwx slows to a stop as he notices the absence of white robes at his side AND ~THEIR SONG~ STARTS PLAYING AGAIN
he turns back slowly to look back at lwj, confused
there is too much distance between them!!
TOO MUCH!
multiple yards of distance where there should be NONE!
THERE SHOULD BE NONE DISTANCE!!!!!!
WHY ISN'T THERE NONE DISTANCE??!?!
lwj is still facing away from wwx, he's still rooted to the spot and his face has gone blank
wwx: lan zhan, you...aren't you coming with me?
HE SOUNDS SO CONFUSED, SO TIMID
HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING
and there's a too long pause during which wwx's eyes are desperately pinned to lwj's back
finally, FINALLY, lwj turns ever so slowly to face wwx
wwx is staring at him and lwj can only meet his eyes briefly before they slowly turn downwards
wwx gets this tiny hurt smile on his face and nods as his eyes well with tears again but this time THEY ARE NOT HAPPY TEARS
these are "i knew this was too good to be true" tears
these are "of course i can't keep good, pure lan zhan at my side" tears
these are "this is exactly what i deserve" tears
lwj looks up again, and wwx gives him a nod and a smile bc he doesn't want lwj to feel guilty for leaving him
LEAVING HIM
HE'S LEAVING HIM AGAIN
WHY
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING
the camera pulls out, really emphasizing the distance and the sudden quiet that falls between them is severely lacking any words of explanation
AND I'M SCREAMING INTERNALLY BC WTF WHY
we cut to a truly impressive shot of the cloud recesses, followed by a cut to a waterfall
I’m pretty sure it's the same waterfall from when they were kids and had that sword fight
and we hear the opening notes of ~Their Song~ played on the flute
wwx walks into view on the shore of the pond the waterfall goes into, with his flute at his lips
in the background we see that lwj is at the opposite shore closer to the waterfall, sitting cross-legged with his guqin in his lap
AND THEN THEY GIVE US VOCALS
bc watching them play ~THEIR SONG~ TOGETHER BUT AT A DISTANCE WASN'T PAINFUL ENOUGH
and jfc the shots of the waterfalls in this area are freaking gorgeous
now we see them standing together on the same boulder over a smaller waterfall
bc our boys have an aesthetic
that aesthetic is moonlight and waterfalls, and they're sticking to it
wwx: lan zhan, tbh, it surprised me that you would take over the role of his excellency
lwj: we made a vow here
and we get a flashback to the lantern scene and hear those vows they made as kids
Back in the present, wwx smiles, and knocks back the jar of wine that he has with him bc the mystery has been solved BUT HIS ALCOHOLISM HASN'T!
and i'm sitting here SCREAMING INTERNALLY, FUCK THOSE VOWS.
YOU'VE GOT NEW, BETTER VOWS, WHICH ARE NEVER EVER LEAVE EACH OTHER'S SIDES EVER AGAIN, DAMN IT
wwx turns to face lwj
wwx: lan zhan, you truly deserve your title, hanguang jun
and lwj turns to look back at him
lwj: and you too, wei ying
we are BLESSED with wwx's wide, squinty-eyed smile
and lwj graces us with his soft, small, secret smile
they stare at each other for a moment before turning back to gaze off into the distance
the camera pulls back to gift us with the gorgeous scenery that surrounds them
now we cut to them walking down the steps towards that big rock full of ridiculous gusulan rules
nhs is there! with his fan!
nhs: this is unexpected. cloud recesses has added another thousand rules.
wwx: nhs, no matter how many rules are added, there is one that matters most. do you know what it is?
nhs looks so at ease here
this entire time since we got back to the present to watch wwx solve this mystery, nhs was nervous, twitchy and flaky in every scene
but here, he stands straight and serene with a confidence we have not yet seen on him til now
nhs: i have no clue
he says this and it doesn't sound anything like his usual anxious, dopey, "idk idk i really don't know"
nhs: please advise, wwx.
and wwx strides up until he's right next to nhs, shoulder to shoulder, tho they're facing opposite directions
wwx: that would be...
he leans down, and lowers his voice
wwx: "thou shall not befriend the devil"
there has been a distinct lack of background noise or music since this scene started
but the minute those words leave wwx's mouth, we get ominous music.
nhs keeps his harmless act as he meets wwx's eyes and they share a laugh
(a laugh of acknowledgement, of recognition of each other's skills)
nhs: wwx, you have the nerve
wwx: no i wouldn't dare. i'm no match for you.
the words they're exchanging SOUND carefree and easy on the surface, but they definitely carry some underlying tension
nhs notices lwj watching them and bows respectfully
nhs: your excellency
he turns to leave, fan open against his chest
wwx: clan leader nie, i have one question that i would love to get your opinion on.
nhs: go on
wwx: you have put in so much effort and energy, don't you want to be the Excellency?
wwx is gauging nhs's threat level to lwj
bc with the skills nhs has developed and the cover he has, it really wouldn't be all that difficult for him to depose lwj if he wanted, you know?
but nhs has never been the ambitious sort
he was perfectly content with his art, and his fans, and his porn, and being second young master, nothing more (UNTIL FUCKING JGY RUINED IT ALL)
nhs: wwx, it was once said that we can never get tired of these scenes; earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea
nhs: as for me, i am a sensible man. if i have to, i always do it myself.
nhs: but for the things that aren't my business, i won't meddle in
and i'm not sure if there's something i'm missing, some layer of context or whatever,
but what i get from this is that nhs is saying everything has its place and he has no desire to go outside of his own place in the world
if the situation calls for it, he will intervene but ONLY if there's no one else willing or able to step in
really, this is just his poetic way of saying, i have no interest in hurting hanguang jun or stealing his power
lwj walks up to join wwx as the two of them watch nhs leave
lwj: aren't you going to ask him?
wwx: ask him what?
wwx: who let mxy out? who released the blade spirit? who found sisi and bicao? and who wrote that anonymous letter?
and he gets this unconcerned expression on his face
with a little pout he just goes on to say that these questions don't matter anymore
and he walks off, twirling his flute
we cut to the next scene and our boys are standing face to face on a grassy hilltop. wwx points behind lwj
Brief aside to say, i love the robes lwj wears here, they’re very very pretty. White and pale blue, they look very airy and light
wwx: i will head that way
and lwj points with bichen behind wwx
lwj: i will head this way
AND THEN THEY JUST STARE AT EACH OTHER FOR A BIT
BC THEY DON'T REALLY WANNA SAY GOODBYE, DO THEY?
lwj: have you decided where you are going to go?
wwx shakes his head and tilts his chin up
wwx: it's a big world that we live in. i will wander with my fine wine and a ride, and make it my home
*cries softly* but you have a home, LWJ is your home, why are you leaving
lwj lowers his gaze
probs bc he is thinking the same thing i was
let lwj be your home, wwx
wwx: lan zhan, i will get going
and lwj gives him one single, barely there nod of the head
bc he doesn't want wwx to go!!!
but he doesn't want to hold him back either...
wwx walks past him with a smile, dragging lil apple along with him and cheerfully he says:
"as long as the sea is bound to wash up on the sand and stars are above you, we will meet again."
and lwj just watches him leave before steeling himself to turn and walk off to his wwx-less future
but as he walks, he hears wwx playing their song on his flute so he pauses to turn back slightly
and we hear wwx’s voice over, "lan zhan, next time we see each other, you better have a name for this song."
as lwj continues walking, we hear his voice over, "way ahead of you."
and he seems slightly less sad at their parting.
AND NOW WE'RE GETTING THE FUCKING VOCALS AGAIN BC THE SHOW JUST LOVES TEARING OUR HEARTS OUT OF OUR CHEST
we get a gorgeous shot of a green cliff side and of course the cliffside has a couple of pretty waterfalls
wwx standing alone, playing on his flute, and the camera is lovingly caressing all of wwx's best features
we get a beautiful close up of wwx's lips resting over the mouthpiece of his flute, aND I THANK EVERY DEITY IN EXISTENCE FOR IT
and it's not immediately apparent bc wwx always wears dark form fitting robes
but the robes he's wearing in this scene are DEFINITELY DIFFERENT from the ones he was wearing when he and lwj parted ways
MEANING SOME TIME HAS PASSED
we have no way of knowing how much time
COULD BE AN HOUR! COULD BE A DAY! COULD BE A COUPLE OF YEARS!!
WE JUST DON'T KNOW
but time has passed
wwx is playing ~Their Song~ alone on that hill, the vocals are like honey to the ears and they crescendo to give us an overwhelming swell of emotion
the music peeters off until it's just wwx's flute reaching the last notes of ~Their Song~
as he is finishing we hear lwj's voice
"Wei Ying."
wwx freezes, like he's wondering if he imagined that voice
the music is completely gone, everything is utterly silent and wwx's face is completely open as he lowers his flute
a smile starts to curl at his mouth, small and tentative and as he turns around, ~Their Song~ crescendos into existence again
and wwx's smile grows incredulous and relieved and SO FULL OF LOVE AND JOY
I DIE, I DIE!
MY BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE BOY
and we fade to black
bc that's where it ends
That's it
THAT'S ALL THERE IS, WE MADE IT TO THE END!
IT'S OVER, THERE'S NO MORE. MY LIFE NO LONGER HAS MEANING. OMG I JUST BURST INTO TEARS. WHY IS THIS AFFECTING ME SO MUCH
I KNEW THIS WAS COMING. I'VE SEEN THIS THREE OTHER TIMES ALREADY!! OH GOD OH GOD, I MISS WWX'S FACE ALREADY. GIVE ME BACK MY SUNSHINE BOY, LET ME KEEP HIM FOREVER *SOBS*
Hang on, hang on, just give me a minute. *deep breath* Okay, i’m good, i’m good now.
This show is just...it’s so beautiful in every way except CGI lol and it evokes so many visceral feelings. It’s passionate, is what it is. And not in the sexual way “passionate” has been forced to become. This show is passionate the way passion is supposed to mean: piercing anguish, burning anger, utter devotion...just overwhelming feeling
But most importantly, the passion in this show is intense love:
Platonic love; see how much our main cast gave up to aid their friends and dependents
Familial love; look at the lengths those brothers and sisters went for each other
Romantic love; watch how these two soulmates returned to each other again and again regardless of all the obstacles between them
I honestly can’t think of another show that’s done this so well. I am just so grateful to have been able to watch this show, to have gotten to know these characters even tho it’s raised my standards for future shows to ridiculously high levels
So that’s it! We’ve reached the end of the guide! Now we can go back and re-visit our favorite scenes whenever we want!
Return to Masterpost
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so ill get to our big shared chonker of a message hopefully later tonight (sorry i'm taking a little bit with it! i've been weirdly busy the past few days), but i just wanted to respond to the shorter one + address the latest mission!!!
fun fact, you and i are in a very similar position with jun haha. i have a lot of wips with him too, but like, i've never finished a jun fic outside of short little one shots... which is quite frankly obscene because minghao has a word count dedicated to him that's literally more than everyone else in seventeen... I don't even know how many times more because my latest fic with him just reached about 50k... but jun is meant to be my second!!!!! i really want to finish something long with him 😭
still! I know you said its your fault but I will apologise for the confusion regardless! And look at someone who both writes and enjoys angst, no angst is ever too much hehe. there's a weird sense of catharsis in tragedy, at least my onion. I'm excited for how tragic things will get in your latest jun wip. A FREE ONE WAY TRIP TO SPAIN WITHOUT THE S... I LOVE THAT... BUT I totally understand! bittersweet stuff in general sticks with me longer than any other genre of fiction I find, because you continuously think about how they could've been happy but it didn't work out for x or y reason, or maybe even a combo. I'm so happy for you though, I know how good it feels to work on something that you can't stop thinking about, because I've got that fever myself hehe. and that's such an interesting way to write? I can never bring myself to write out of order so I always really admire those who can do it haha. I just never trust myself to remember what details I have established when if I do it out of order like that. Is that how you usually write your longer fics or is this one different?
YESSSSS I ABSOLUTELY AGREE... and he's expressed his desire to act so many times... pledis please... I'm begging u... he would be so good in a tragic drama...
omg I'm so dumb I have to share this with you but ??? I started watching it and I was like wait a minute why do I feel like I'm missing a lot of context... but it was still fun to watch all the characters interact (plus it made me tear up which like.... wowee)... but turns out I started on episode one of SEASON 2...... IM SUCH A FOOL.................. 😭
also! I don't know if you saw the next mission, but were you up for making a play list? I just thought I'd ask before I sent in any prompts!
- 😺 carat anon
HOLY COW I NEVER ANSWERED THIS I’M SO SORRY :(((((((
omg no worries! i have also been weirdly busy??? idk why but i hope you're able to get some rest soon <3
i'm gonna work my way backwards :D
re: the new mission - yes!!! i LOVE curating playlists, like LOVE IT. idk why but let me know any genres you like/don't like, anything at all and i'll do my best!!
OMG SEASON 2 HAHAHA that's so funny plz!! tho tbh, the nice thing abt hospital playlist is that there's no major plot but yeah, there is a bit of context you'll miss out on T^T i hope season 1 is going well tho!! it's kinda long if you're not used to it, but i promise it's super worth it :D idk if you’ve had time to watch anymore, but i’ve been watching it/catching up and it’s rly so good. i cried so much in like…ep 5 of s2? i think? idk one of those ones. but i just rly love how they portray the small things in life. it’s rly beautiful and so well done.
i think my favorite fics are actually angsty ones. i love happy endings for movies and stuff, but the fics that make cry and hurt are my fave?? kinda interesting, the contrast. but yeah, i think you’re right abt that, there are always those lingering ‘what if’s’ those angsty fics always leave you with T^T i mentioned this in the most recent ask, but i can’t write in chronological order rly, lol. i tend to just write scenes that pop into my head first, and then go back and piece it together. it’s tricky for sure, but if i try to move chronologically, i tend to get stuck. so i just jump around instead. and i did that w jun. i divided it up into 4 parts, and then wrote fcertain scnes and then went back to add what i felt i needed to fill in the gaps!! but not trusting yourself w the details, i literally did that w this fic. there are some inconsistencies but it’s posted now and i’m like…too lazy to fix it LOL. but maybe i will……..
wahh!! junhao have dedicated word counts!? that’s amazing. what are they?? :o if you don’t mind me asking ofc.
WAIT 50K WORDS OMG. I WAS JUST READING THAT A STANDARD NOVEL/NOVELLA IS LIKE ANYWHERE BETWEEN 50K-100K WORDS OMG. you’re so amazing, i rly respect you for that omg i would LOVE to hit 50k for a single fic T^T
anyways SO SORRY THIS IS LIKE WEEKS LATE I AM A DUMMY AND DIDN’T REALIZE I NEVER ANSWERED THIS KLFDJASKLFLSA
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