#me when a silly idea slaps when actually created

[moresrush]

THE UNION MAKES US STRONG.

[mrinafria]

Love Game is Eastern Fantasy works so well (for me at least) is because while there are several other cdrama fantasies addressing similar themes with transmigration tropes, the writing here is actually pretty solid. Like, there is proper logical progression of things, and I can tell they put some thought behind the plot and didn't just fill pages, solely relying on the leads' acting and their chemistry to carry subpar writing/execution *cough* ofl *cough*

Things such as Miaomiao's backstory with her dad, foreshadowing scenes that don't feel casually slapped together, absence of irrelevant romantic scenes just to fill screentime (which is why I really appreciate whatever scenes we get of Miaomiao and Ziqi), giving each main character a proper arc instead of having them behave like NPCs, being consistent with the rules of the gaming world we're introduced to, not lingering on silly misunderstandings, actually resolving smaller issues and conflicts before moving on to bigger ones, not forgetting about an open plot point after a while, effectively keeping up the suspense and compelling the audience to second-guess and theorize what's to happen (very tricky to pull off imo when you're airing episodes daily), showing gradual development of romance between the two couples, utilizing talented actors who seem to have a solid understanding of the motivations, nuances and overall pulse of the characters they play. There are many other things too, like the incredible acting skills Ding Yuxi and Yu Shuxin bring along with the natural chemistry they have off-screen that translates so well on screen, as well as the fact that they make Ziqi and Miaomiao uniquely theirs, making it a much more enjoyable ride. I learned recently that there were several scriptwriters for this, with the main scriptwriter being the same person who wrote for LBFAD (correct me if I'm wrong though)--that might explain why I like this writing so much, even though it deviates from the og web novel.

Even the final episodes (where most cdrama fantasies often mess up, especially with isekai/transmigration tropes) go above and beyond tying up ALL the loose ends and connecting every clue every foreshadowing every disjointed bits of information that we see throughout the show, ultimately creating this beautiful beautiful piece of art that is LGIEF.

And that final statement from Fu Zhou? Ugh I love how they conveyed that idea.

Hands down my favorite cdrama after LBFAD.

[yuugen-benni]

''Not a Father's Day''

When your husband gets a baby fever TAGS: Childe x reader, the word ''sex'' appear only once, mentions of pregnancy (yes I'm breaking my own rule), Modern AU A/N: This is based on ''How I met your mother'' T4 E7, and I'M OBSESSED WITH THE HEADER PLUSHIE AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Guys, when you get married remember, Marriage has three stages:

Stage number 1: Teen era Even after you've known each other for years and years, almost tried to kill each other, and probably seen you both naked, you'll act like teenagers in their prime. You know, teasing, blushing for any reason, sex in the most inopportune places, those things that one day you will remember and feel ashamed of yourself.

Stage number 2 - Finding out The part of the relationship where you realize you knew absolutely nothing about your partner. Actually, "Nothing" is an exaggeration but you get the point. You start to know about small things that are shocking to the point of being considered a secret. Everyone has a secret, right? And the best way to count them is to dump each one. For example, Childe talking about her crazy exes:

''it's raining, look!….Oh, this reminds me so much of a crazy ex of mine who was in front of my apartment one night yelling about how she and I were meant for each other, and her husband was by her side! And the unbelievable was-''

And he kept talking and talking, while your expression was screaming ''There is more ?!'' and your mind thanks God for being normal;

Stage number 3 - Perfect couple

Here is when you became a perfect couple. What is a perfect couple? Two people who have spent so much time together that they can now create an encyclopledia about their partner. Habits, tics, favorite foods, the number of Hot Wheels cars your partner has collected, that sort of thing. Even reading expressions is possible;

The fights end and so do the disagreements

But there is only one subject that can break this: Babies.

''Hey babe, I'm back!" Childe announces his arrival, the door closes behind him as he walks over to you in the kitchen, and peck your lips "I was on my way here when I found out this little sock on our doorstep…?" Childe leans on the counter by his side with a confused expression while he plays with the child's sock, noticing the cute little blue patterns. You, who was kindly decorating cookies for Childe's siblings, looked up to look at the little thing

''It must be from new neighbors, they got the opposite apartment and knocked our door asking for help'' You started, leaving aside the piping bag ''Finally some new people! It's been so long since someone rented an apartment here'' the man commented, approaching the cookies discreetly before wincing at the slap you gave his hand

''They have two kids'' Continuing ''a baby girl and a boy with Teucer's age''

At the mention of his brother, Childe's expression changed, forgetting his red fingers. ''Awesome, we could invite them to dinner this weekend, If that's not a problem'' He gave an idea, but then raised an eyebrow at your dull expression

''They seem like good people…but I-I'm sure they'll ask those awkward questions like 'when are you two having a baby' and then apologize for being intrusive after being intrusive'' Of course, it was just an assumption, you had only interacted with them for minutes but your biggest mistake in this conversation was bringing up the subject you two avoid. Childe laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

''Well-''

"Childe, we already talked about this. You just have a silly baby fever, and in case you didn't know, fever goes away" You quickly dismissed him, knowing he wouldn't give up so soon. Having a child was a big request, a big wish. But it's not like it wouldn't be ''easy'', you have enough money to have 50 kids and they still wouldn't use up half of Childe's bank account. His family lives in the apartment next door and could teach you more about how to take care of children��But there was still an insecurity boiling inside you.

"But what if it doesn't go away ? What If the urge to go out just to buy little socks for our child keeps eating me ?" He was almost pleading, looking into your eyes just when you tried to avoid his gaze

"...First, you need to give me good arguments" you replied after sigh, somewhat expressing your guilty. Childe opens a big smile and approaches you once more, A fox look - persuasive "hmm... don't you want hold a mini silly Childe in your arms ?-"

"Cut it off! This is serious!"

"O-okay!" He chuckled softly before silence filled the room, he looked at the floor and then at the main kitchen window "We would practically be building a story…That's not the reason I would want to have a child, in fact you is my reason. Sometimes I feel like you are the reason for my existence… and they would [literally] understand me"

You stayed quiet and walked away from the counter, taking off your apron before gently kissing his lips. He cupped your face, wiping away the small traces of flour on your cheeks. ''I'm convincing, aren't I?'' He whispered and pulled away, taking a few steps backwards as he bit into the cookie he stole while you weren't looking. Bastard. You didn't even have time to shout at him because the man was already on the other side of the apartment; you sighed, but couldn't help but giggle.

You married a idiot, a handsome idiot. Have fun.

[xoxochb]

⋆·˚ ༘ * you wanting me tonight feels impossible

warnings: let’s pretend that the mist doesn’t cover up festus for like five minutes because I wrote all of this and totally forgot about the mist and I’m not re-writing it all because I like what I wrote. this also may be the stupidest thing I wrote but it’s so silly, I love it

pairing: leo valdez x mortal reader

summary: you move festus to your basement. this was 100% a bad idea

part one (read first)

“just because I love you does not mean that I’ll let you bring your dragon into my house”

for the past five minutes leo has been trying to convince you to let him bring festus into your house, but you think that it’s a dangerous idea, and as much as you don’t want your neighbors to see a large dragon outside your home does not mean you want him in your room

“okay…” leo ponders for a moment “what if we keep him in your backyard?”

a good idea, yes, but he would still be visible to your neighbors. what’s the worst that could happen if he’s in your house? your parents are away for the week anyways

you sigh “you can put him in my basement for now but he has to go when my parents come back on sunday”

leo smiles widely “thank you! you’re the best girlfriend ever!” he cups your face and kisses you

you roll your eyes “yeah, yeah, whatever. get him out of my front yard before someone calls the cops on me”

“I’ll bail you out”

“go!”

🪽

“perhaps I exaggerated the size of my basement”

“you think?”

you and leo stand on the bottom stairs leading down to the basement, in front of the large dragon which takes up most of the room. In your head your basement looked much larger but you’re never down there so the image you created in your mind made it look ten times bigger than it actually is

the good thing is that festus is no longer in your yard and you’re not sitting in a jail cell at the moment, you’re thankful for this

you slap leo’s arm at his smart remark “what do we do with him now?”

“let him rest for the night”

you sigh. he has a point, it’s too late at night to be doing anything else and you’re exhausted anyways

“this is ridiculous” you start laughing uncontrollably

leo turns to you, confused at your outburst “what?”

you take a seat on the stairs, hugging your stomach with tears in your eyes “there’s a huge metal dragon in my basement and your dad is a greek god”

leo sits beside you with a soft laugh (he doesn’t think it’s funny but he supposes he laughed because your laugh was contagious) “I guess so”

once your laughter had died down you rest your head on leo’s shoulder and soon after drifted off to sleep

(you also woke up with the worst neck pain of your life but it was totally worth it!)

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

I saw your post about that interview with Oliver and Aisha, and I LOVE YOUR TAGS! I was very pissed off at first and absolutely disgusted by the interview, because I tought: what the hell? Are you actually laughing this entire situation away in a "Okay, that's done, LET'S GO NEXT" kind of thing? But your take lightens up so much. You'd say that a man as Tim Minnear is smarter then this, but apparently, he isn't. This cast works 5 to 6 days a week with each other and has become family, that is one of the reasons why this show is so, so good. JEN'S KIDS CALL KENNY UNCLE KENNY FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!! I hope for Tim and the future of Nashville's sake, he fixes this shit, but he probably won't.

I'm glad that my response to that previous ask could help you feel better about the interview. The thing to remember with actors is that they have to be professional. For example, Oliver admitting during season seven that he basically said "let Buck be bi or I'll do it myself without permission" was HUGE. Actors do as they're told. The fact that he got SO blunt about bi!Buck and about previous attempts to make Buck bi and so on during season seven interviews was pretty jaw-dropping.

So if anyone seems lighthearted or overly polite or casual during an interview, it's almost always because they need to keep their jobs and have it hammered into their heads to not ever show anger or frustration. They can't make the show look bad. This is often why it takes a long time for actors to speak seriously about any issues with a show or things they disagreed with at the time, and so relatedly, it takes fans a long time to get vindication, ha ha.

It's not even that anyone signs NDAs all the time, although that can be a thing - it's that badmouthing your job just is a bad look and it can make the people in charge want to fire you, so you could be out of a job. I remember when the Game of Thrones season finale came out and how HARD the cast struggled to hide their disdain and upset in the moment.

Unfortunately, as I detailed in a previous post - I honestly think power has gone to Tim's head. FOX really did not appreciate 911 and made a lot of demands on them - for example, they didn't allow Buddie to go canon or bi!Buck, and they pushed Oliver front and center on interviews while shoving the rest of the cast aside. At the same time, honestly, the reason the show was good was that Tim had good writers around him who could temper or persuade him away from his stupider ideas, or simply take it and spin that shit into gold.

So Tim went to Lone Star, where he had pretty much total creative control. FOX let that show fail, but they also as far as I know did not impose on him the demands they did with OG.

In my opinion, this created an environment where Tim did not realize that he needs strong writers around him - it made him think he was a genius who was set up to fail by the network. So when the jump was made to ABC, Tim stopped listening to anyone. He did whatever the fuck he wanted. Some of this was good, like bi!Buck and a clear set up for Buddie canon. Some of it was not (don't get me started).

So now, we're here. It's unfortunately an old, old story. You let power get to you and you stop seeing the people under your care as people. It's all about what you what. And given how the cast used to talk about Tim that just... honestly breaks my heart. Not for him. Never for him. I'm not interested in the tragedy of a mediocre white man who got too big of a head. But for the cast. And to be professional, they have to be careful in how they speak. It's their job.

I wouldn't be surprised if in five years or so, we get them being a lot more open and harsher in their feelings around it. But right now we must be kind and remember the bad situation they're in. Because no, it's not going to get better. Unless someone with even bigger pants like ABC executives or perhaps Ryan Murphy (HAHAHAHAHA) steps in and verbally slaps Tim silly to put him in line, he's not going to stop this kind of nonsense. And given how he ran Lone Star, I have zero hope for Nashville.

Anyway - sorry I'm so long winded all the time. I'm glad that I could help you see the interview in a new and better light, that means a lot.

[b0vidine]

B0vidine CCCC AU master list!

(No pictures included this time if you need visuals feel free to ask but I also tag my AUs when I post about them so checking my acc should also work!)

Arrival/album HMSW:

My personal interpretations/designs for the CCCC album. Not exactly an AU but they have names so I figured I should add them.

Mind: Valais

Heart: Virtue

Soul: Ash

Reverse AU:

CCCC but the timeline is in reverse order.

Whole: Finch

Mind: Una

Heart: Thera

Soul: Robin

Encore:

Whole turns his thirds into puppets.

Whole: Snare

Mind: King

Heart: Dove

Soul: Wander

Post Encore:

Puppets turn back into humans and get over their trauma together!

Whole: Snare

Mind: King

Heart: Paladin/Pal

Soul: Piper

Encore Swap:

Since creation there's been the idea that Encore is a secret swap AU. King gets called a Whole often. Help him!

Whole -> Soul: Icarus

Mind -> Whole: Noodle

Heart -> Mind: Artificer

Soul -> Heart: Stasis

Jest [Encore]:

My friend Oswin has a silly guy named Buttercup and he wanted to put that guy in Encore. They are all clown themed and play little games to earn their memories back!

Whole: Salem

Mind: Majesty

Heart: Kea

Soul: Amble

Bad End Encore [Also known as BET] :

Me and Rosy collab to ruin the Encores happiness.

Whole: Ivory

Mind: Cassiopeia/Cassi

Heart: Rouge

Soul: Poet (He's dead tho)

Mythos [Encore]:

Encore timeline where every character is a mythical creature of some kind.

Whole: Aria

Mind: Thane

Heart: Bard

Soul: Stray

Hero [Encore]:

Encore but in reality and they're super heros? This is what happens when you mix your friends hyperfixations with your's smh /lhj

Whole: Ensnare

Mind: Monarch

Heart/Soul have had nothing worked on for them.

Backrooms [Encore]:

This au is actually just for Snare and Damien and neither of them have nicknames. We've been calling them their level numbers so Snare is 155 and Damien is 999.

Miracle AU:

Made before Encore. I wanted a CCCC AU but had no ideas so I slapped them into my Marble Hornets AU.

Whole: Source

Mind: Stoic

Heart: Serene

Soul?: Ardor

Choir:

Hmsw are biblically accurate angels.

Whole: Seraph

Mind: Ruler

Heart: Cherub

Soul: Throne

[Creative ik]

Gamer AU:

When a new loop begins and Heart and Mind start fighting Soul tosses them into whatever video game he's into at the moment to try and make them get along. This is a collab AU now that I share with Oswin, Alex and Francey. While the AU was my idea originally the only guy that's technically mine is Heart.

Whole: [No nickname]

Mind: Null

Heart: Mono

Soul: Drei

Mall AU:

Another collab AU. HMS live in a dying, liminal, mall and their only customer is Whole. I again only have the Heart of this AU, whos name is Murid. This AU is shared with my friends Nova and Alex.

Whole: Sam

Mind: Victor

Heart: Murid

Soul: Hira

Tulpa!Whole au:

AU where Whole is a tulpa created by Soul.

Whole: N/A

Mind: Liri

Heart: Thistle

Soul: Jade

Marble Hornets AU:

Collab with Nova. It's a slenderverse inspired au with both the CCCC and TFFTT guys. Still a work in progress.

HMS do not have proper names yet.

Green TFFTT: Cervi

Blue TFFTT: Crista

Red TFFTT: Cardin

HMS-sonas:

Obviously what it sounds like, HMS but they are me from my brain.

Mind: Leviathan

Heart: Mishe

Soul: Decay

[lovckett]

I've been really enjoying your fanfic fractured continuity and because I'm a nosey af guy (and because I'm a weirdo who likes asking these things of fanfic authors whose stories I like) what's your writing process? Even though the whole thing in your fic is that things are repeating, each chapter still feels fresh and new.

hi hi hello !!! and im glad to know you've been enjoying my work (: my apologies in advance for the long rant !

for my writing process : to provide context , i use one document in google docs and have a multitude of seperate tabs !!!

each tab is a different fic i'm currently working on — the tabs labeled " NOTES " are where i put my messy drafts and ideas , which is what i do before writing the actual story !! for these , i usually just word spam and i do not put much care into making it intricate ; my main goal is to get the idea across .

i start each chapter by writing the " core " plot of that specific chapter first ...

and then i surround those " core plots " with more detail after i manage to haphazardly get my idea down !!

my goal for each chapter i write is around 7k words — i do not strictly stay in my drafts before writing the official thing . after i get a giant chunk of things jotted down , i switch over to my official story tab , and i rinse and repeat until i reach my goal !!!

and i am aware my story is tagged as not-beta-read — this is because i'm usually too tired to reread the story AGAIN , so i usually just make minor edits to already existing chapters on ao3 when i feel like it and when i have the time to (: . sometimes , while i edit , i will add more details that i did not add before [ like with the comm-messages in the beginning ] !!!

for how each chapter is fresh and new : before i started writing this , i actually thought about how i would go about the concept of writing repeated-time-loops for a while without it being boring to read and tedious to write .

my first choice was just to write orion going through a multitude of repeated time loops as short excerpts before something happens where orion realizes fully what's going on , and then the main " plot " being orion and his friends going through silly loops like the fic i was inspired from !!! but the idea of doing that felt a little boring and unoriginal to me , because it would eventually just devolve into a bunch of short multi-one-shot-amalgamation .

so i decided , what if i actually wrote out orion's first experiences with time loops in full detail ? and , cue the fanfare , fractured continuity has been born !!!

for repeated time loop fics , i do not think the concept of how a character would feel during those first few loops is very well-explored , which is probably partially why each of my chapters feel so new — i make an active effort to explore those hypothetical feelings , which is especially fun with a character like orion pax !!!

the actual main reason for the lack of repetitiveness is because uhm . well . this feels a little silly to say but i get bored easily and i tend to find ways to sidestep or shortcut through as many things as i can that i have already written about ( this is why in his second loop , orion Awoke directly before meeting alpha trion instead of all the way in the beginning !!! i excuse this as that sometimes Awakening times can differentiate and do not happen at the same time constantly . )

NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT : and i apologize for my messiness and ranting again , i am walking home while typing this out ( do not copy me ) ( this is an unsafe practice ) — the flexibility that the Infinite Time Loops Concept gives me is probably another factor toward this !!! i can give perfectly reasonable explanations for plotholes ive accidentally created and they will make legitimate sense without making it feel as though i am slapping tape over it all !!!

i do not think i have anything further to say . i hope my explanation is at least somewhat tangible !!

[purplepeptobismol]

HI ITS 🪻 AGAIN

Heres the playlist :3

FIRST OF ALL sorry for the amount of brazilian songs, im brazilian and the songs there are SO IBMT coded (poxa by os pedrero especially, stan would SO sing it on his bday looking at kyle (idk if spotify translate the lyrics of that one 😿 (IF IT DOSENT U CAN POST HERE SO I SEE IT AND TRANSLATE IT TO U :3 (and the others as well))))

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7BvmpOyDej5SyLXLgmAgoP?si=KK7P-iXbQVGesoe-0yRJFg&pi=u-pXqUyh21QBOp (I CAN SEND IN YOUR DM THE COLLABORATOR LINK OF THE PLAYLIST IF U WANT 😼😼😼)

(as you can see im a big fan of the cardigans and alex g)

YAYA!!! WOW!!! YIPPIE!!! 💖✨💖

[I wanna start by saying that as I was responding to this, I was already two hours into my long ass response and my freaking tumblr crashed and deleted everything….. So if it sounds off, I’m so sorry, i genuinely had such a long, heartfelt deep dive with some of these songs and others as well, but it all got lost… I’m gonna cry, I’m so pissed….. BUT BUT I’m gonna try to rewrite everything I said in this post 😭 god… I’m so sad. This rewrite will probably not hit the same as the original..]

Thank you so much for creating this!!! Truly 💜. I love music so freaking much! As someone with synesthesia and maladaptive daydreaming, music is genuinely one of my biggest inspirations for when I’m writing! I’ll listen to this playlist while on the way because I sadly don’t have Spotify Premium 🫠 but I knew this was gonna slap when I saw Mitski and Vampire Empire! I’ll get back to you again when I’m done listening to all of it!

For starters, I wanna comment on this fuckass image!! It’s sending me into orbit lmaoooooo 😭😭 (deadass what happened in chapter 8 ngl)

(They’re so losers, I love them)

I actually have my own private playlist (forgot I had one lmao) of this fic!! I do recommend giving these songs a chance because not only are they good, they are some of my main inspiration for writing some scenes. The lyrics fit the story line for real! TRUST! Idk if it was obvious, but I do title my chapters after song lyrics that fit the chapter vibes lolol. Anyways!!!

Bad Habits - Steve Stacy [This song is actually my main inspiration for the fic title. I had this idea in my head for so long, then this song came into my shuffle as I was driving and thinking of it, and then I was like “you know what, I AM writing and publishing this fic.” The title is a play in words. I mentioned this in my notes before but the phrase “I bite my tongue” is when someone holds their words or stops themselves from saying what they want, which is the main theme of the story. But I thought it was funny to say “I bit” instead because it’s silly to think someone wanting to say something so bad and then they just bite their tongue by accident. “Loser Stan,” I whisper into the void]

IFHY - Tyler, The Creator [This story has a lot of themes of jealousy so how could I NOT add this! I was actually listening to this song as I was writing chapter 6, and it even inspired the title for it! I mainly was thinking of this song in Stan’s POV, especially in that scene with Craig and Kyle, but the more you learn about Kyle’s character and POV in future chapters, you start to realize that this song really fits him too. Jealous Stan but possessive Kyle anyone? LET ME COOK]

Come Here - Dominic Fike [Im pretty sure this counts as spoilers but not really, but this song is the inspiration for chapter 11’s title! We’re still in Kyle’s POV and I feel like it really fits his desire for Stan in his POV. Plus, this song might be short but it’s one hell of a banger! 10/10]

Mistakes Like This - Prelow [Love this song for real! I feel like some of the lyrics could fit IBMT Stan but others fit Kyle more, in the end, I decided to settle to Kyle’s POV. Actually, this one is the inspo for chapter 9’s title!It talks about drunken love spurs so it’s immediately STYLE coded to me!!!]

Structure - Odd Sweetheart [YES!!!! This is the song that was sang in chapter 8 and there was even a whole ass animatic MADE with it! Yay, thank you Lyn!! And of course, it’s also the chapter’s title! BUT SERIOUSLY— Stan singing this song as he’s realizing his feelings for Kyle!!! I JUST- Auuuugghh!! I hate those idiots in love!]

Let’s Go - Stuck in the Sound [Yet another song that gets sang on chapter 8! This is actually the first song they play in their garage performance setlist because I feel like the lyrics really paint a picture to Stan’s dilemma in the beginning of the story to his now, current state. Yeah, you know that scene, mhm mhm🙂‍↕️, Stan was singing this babey!! It fits IBMT and it’s an actual head banger? 😎HELL YEAH]

I Got Drunk - Miya Folick [I LOVE MIYA FOLICK and I LOVE this song!! It’s STYLE coded and genuinely so freaking underrated!!! Any scenario where Stan gets drunk and confesses his feelings for Kyle is deadass THIS song!! I kinda want to write a one shots out of this one on god! EVERY STYLE SHIPPER SHOULD LISTEN TO IT! I PROMISE ITS THEM! IN THIS ESSAY-]

Here are a couple more songs I recommend! I have a bunch on my playlist that I feel really fit the vibe/story line of IBMT, but I don’t wanna go super overboard than what I’ve already shown 😭. But if you ever do want more, let me know.

• Do I Wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys

• 3s’ - Mindless Self Indulgence

• Kuuchuu Buranko - Plastic Tree

• Psychic Sobriety - Foie Gras

• Let Me Know(I Wonder Why Freestyle) - Juice WRLD

• Somethin’ Stupid - Frank Sinatra

Now on to the songs on your playlist!! I did say I would go over all of them later, but I do want to talk about some of the ones I do recognize 😖🤞

My Alcohol Friends - The Dresden Dolls: This song in general is Stan coded! I know a lot of people get tired about hearing Stan’s drinking problems, but at the end of the day, a big part of his character is that he’s prone to fall into addicting habits (wether it’s hoarding, gambling, freemium, alcohol, etc). SO YES!! This song 100% DOES fit!!

I Want You - Mitski: I love Mitski so much! I do believe it fits them but I don’t know who’s POV exactly cuz it could go either or, so please let me know your opinion! I do love the inclusion of First Love/Late Spring, Stan’s POV goes BRRR on that one! What do you think of Old Friend being in Stan’s POV and Why Didn’t You Stop Me? being Kyle’s POV? 👀 I think it fits hehe. Shame is also a good one and I was actually listening to it as I was writing chapter 5 (you can actually tell because I hinted the lyrics in the first couple of paragraphs of it haha). Go figures!! As you can tell, I have a lot of Mitski songs in my library because my bestie is a BIG fan of hers, so she’s always listening to her. We were suppose to see her on her tour but we were all broke and working at that time 💔 next time, perhaps. She also suggested to include Goodbye, My Danish Sweetheart because it fits IBMT Stan. Thoughts?

Lovefool - The Cardigan: Kyle. Yes, Kyle! It just fits pre-IBMT Kyle! Boy was so down bad, swooning like a freaking idiot before Bebe’s after-party incident in chapter 9. UGH! I hate them so much! They really need to fix their shit so they can go back to being all cringe and lovey dovey!!! I’m getting pissed off, maybe I SHOULD finish writing chapter 11!!

A New Kind Of Love - Frou Frou ft. Imogen Heap & Guy Sigsworth: Another fun fact! This song is also on my IBMT playlist! I love Imogen Heap so much!! I have some of her other songs on my other fic/character playlists too!

Shut Me Up - Mindless Self Indulgence: Honestly , I did not expect this one! I kind of want to know your thoughts on why you added it! Was it a specific scene? I do feel like it fits the garage performance vibe since it has that intensity I pictured! I actually created a setlist for the songs the boy performed in order lolol. But yes!! Love it either way <333

Vampire Empire - Big Thief: I CAN’T EXPRESS HOW MUCH I LOVE THE INCLUSION OF THIS ONE!!!! This was obviously on not only my IBMT playlist, but my STYLE playlist too. It just… it’s literally them, guys!! I can literally go into a heavily 10 page scripted deep dive about how this song fits those two, but it could all be concluded to that angst unrequited/requited love you have towards your best friend. GOD!! I can talk about this song and style for an entire 8 hour podcast too!! But I’ll refrain myself by just saying: YES YES YES 100% YES ANON 👍💙💚.

Once again thank you so much for sharing your playlist!!! I know I have the story on pause to focus on my other fic, but I promise you I am NOT scrapping it! I will come back to it eventually. Please look forward to that and my other stories if you’re interested 🥹🫶

[penname-artist]

The Fascinating/Frustrating World of...Bird...People...?

(Pre-warning: Don't get too excited for this to become a Thing. One, my motivation is non-existant right now, two, trauma that we're not getting into is keeping me from indulging in the idea, but, it's a recent idea that I think is so interesting I really wanted to share it in case somebody else would like to pick it up.)

The concept behind avians (bird people) is both really neat, and really...weird? And for that reason also frustrating to navigate, which is one of the reasons I personally do not indulge in it.

...well, usually at least. But today I have a neat idea I was given in the early morning of dreaming, and I really want to do something with it before it gets lost in the ether again.

Bird people, except...

smol.

Very smol.

Small enough they'd be akin to either their original bird origins (whatever specimens those may be) or closer in scale to that of modern-day depictions of fairies. To the latter, I point towards Disney's Tinkerbell series from the early 2010s as a concept of both size and relative way of living.

The main reason that a fairy-sized flock of tiny bird people interests me is, of course as always, because I can slap Planes characters onto it and call it an AU for funsies. Not only does that open the floodgates of "these aircraft are now human but still capable of flight without additional machinery", but it also gives room to retro-fit bird species onto characters in ways that might not have been done before.

And by that, I exclusively mean I get to turn Blade into a goddamn hummingbird.

And THAT is the sole reason I wanted to share this fucking concept. Not just fun bird people, not just silly AU material, no. I get to turn Blade into the only type of bird he would actually fit the bill of REALLY fucking well. Helicopter? Hummingbird. Do you SEE my genius here???

Even BETTER, too, there's a species of hummingbird called the Allen's Hummingbird which has a very rust-colored plumage, and LIVES along the coastlines of CALIFORNIA. Coincidence, I think not! It was fucking meant to be!

Okay but that really neat idea aside, there's of course a whole lot of...ahem, *complications* in creating any sort of Avian universe, be it for these specific purposes, or just any in general. Anyone else dabbling in the matter probably knows what I'm talking about, because while there are like, sub-categories of mythology and style design of "bird people", there's honestly no ONE single universal style of them that fits the idea. It's actually a very wide net you cast when you just say "bird people".

Basically, it's a very large spectrum of "how BIRD do you want your hybrid birds to BE?"

(And that answer in your universe is kind of like, really important for setting the groundwork and worldbuilding for, y'know...everything else.)

And that spectrum's two major ends would be the D&D style Kenkus and other such builds that are ALL BIRD - in head and limbs and feathery bodies aplenty - versus the almost completely human characters that just happen to have wings on their backs, usually REALLY big ones because, y'know. People are heavy.

Somewhere in the middle, you might have your two types of hybrids, the people that can turn into birds or all-bird bird "people", and the ones that are "mosty" human with wings and a fair assortment of bird qualities, including but not limited to talons for feet, extra plumage tufts around their bodies, and/or tail feathers.

The latter is kinda where I - and to be fair I think a lot of people - lean, mainly because it's the most human-functional non-human combination. Not to mention it has the most creative freedom as far as deciding how many facets of bird qualities you want on your species.

Like a weird build your own pizza! but...birds...

Anyways yeah, so IF (and that is a REALLY big IF) I make an AU kinda-sorta in that range, I have no idea where I'd want to go as far as those specific customization options. For sure we'd go the route of separated hands/arms and wings, because functionally that is wayyyyy easier than a creature whose wings ARE their hands/arms, but aside from that, mmm...I haven't got anything I've seen yet that I really like or gotta have.

The concept of bird legs for an Avian is tempting, but also really...odd?? Like, it would be easier for them to land in tree branches for sure, given how a bird's foot works, but it also makes simpler human-y things like chairs a bit more of a challenge, especially if their knees bend forwards like birds do and not backwards like we the homosapiens have.

There's also plumage coverage, and that's one of those "I really want to do it this way but would I need to explain that?" because especially in the case of hummingbirds, their iridescent throats are super vital to their species, so there might have to be SOME type of feathering around character's necks/chests/backs to help convey that properly.

I unno, it's all very loose and subjective at the moment, like I said the chances of me making this a thing are slim to none, BUT, for the sake of my desire for Blade, I might do JUST hummingbird Blade, and toy with that idea as a standalone for a while. If anyone else has other cool ideas for something like this, or they wanna take the idea and run with it, absolutely go for it man, my motivation pool is so dry I am literally giving away my muse's shit like it's a yard sale right now. Half-off, come and get it while it's here.

I might be back with Bird Blade soon, but other than that yeah that's an idea. Buh-byeee

[ethanhuntfemmefatale]

ur stacee jaxx posting has me so intrigued I feel like I need to watch rock of ages when it’s near the bottom of my TC watchlist 😭😭

sicko voice YESSSSSSSSSS

ok let me be nice and actually honestly lay out what i think of the movie and to what extent i would recommend it & why

So I really fucking loved watching this movie. But part of that is that it happens to jive well with my particular taste. I'm an MI2 enjoyer--I have more affinity for camp than the average person I think. I am also a performer by trade, and literally nothing gets me more rabid than watching someone perform who's really really good at it (not the craft, the Performance.) The way that TC works a stage in this movie is insane. The way he works a room is insane. TC always performs in movies, but in this movie he wants us to know he's performing all the time--"I am on stage," Stacee says before collapsing into the pool--and so he lampshades and spotlights and (pardon me) amplifies his own performance CONSTANTLY....it creates a completely mind blowing experience for me. It's basically performance porn. I also just love rock, so the music kinda slaps for me ngl. TC's voice is good! And he does character work through it which is unusual for someone who isn't a professional singer. The last thing is that I really liked how weird it was….which is not a positive quality for everyone but is a real necessity for me to totally love a movie

The movie itself is really bad. It's bad in a funny way at times, in an annoying way at times, and sometimes it's just boring. I did enjoy it, but once Stacee started showing up it became really difficult for me to watch the movie when he Wasn't on screen. There were a few non-Stacee moments that i genuinely liked, but they were pretty rare and far apart. The appeal of this movie for me is largely just TC's physicality, which might not be as appealing to everyone--TC spends The Entire movie shirtless, good god man someone get him some water, and it's not...for me, at least, the interest of that is not a sex thing. It almost becomes sexy because TC leans into the grotesque exaggeration of it. (He has this wounded-animal swag throughout.) But for me, it's--seeing the way he moves, and being able to watch the movements of his body so intimately, is really fucking striking, it kind of takes your breath away. There's so much gravitas to the physical presence of Stacee, there are so many moments (the movie is kinda built on this) where Stacee is silent for long stretches of time, he takes a Long Time to say most of his lines. But he's so physically expressive, even when he's just laid out on the couch, that you can't look away from him. And in a few key moments, the most compelling emotional beats happen while TC isn't saying anything at all, just acting his heart out.

For me, as a TC fan, it was really epic to see this movie because it feels like the most overwhelming display of skill I've ever seen from the man. To me, his work in this movie is far more viscerally impressive than any of the MI stunts. The character of Stacee doesn't come from the writing, doesn't come from the concept, literally emerges entirely from the depth and breadth of TC's work with the character. It's pretty spectacular.

Anyway those are my thoughts. If you don't like camp, if you don't like dealing with a very embarrassing watching experience, this is probably not the movie for you. It's all over the top and oscillates between intentionally flayed-raw (TC) and just silly (everything else). Also, if the idea of TC viscerally working a stage while shirtless in leather pants with gun tattoos pointing towards his crotch sounds uncomfortable or horrifying instead of fascinating, you probably won't like this movie. I really liked this movie.

[rpgworldcomic]

#756 - What Do You Mean Perhaps!?

Guys, I cannot tell you how much less funny I am here now that I'm medicated. I got nothing! I have zero manic rants for you. Looks at this. -slaps my manic rants- Limp. Nothin'.

But do you know what I DO have??

No, I'm asking, do-- do you know? What else do I have HELP

Okay so I'm playing FF7 Rebirth and I love it. It's not as tight as FF7 Remake, which had me smiling all the way through and I gave it a 13/10 even with its flaws. Rebirth is hit or miss in some areas--- For example, it improved things you can do in combat by a lot, BUT the game holds your hand through every little thing. I've never once worried that I would miss something, because the game makes sure to bang you over the head and say LOOK OVER HERE THERE'S A THING OVER HERE DO YOU SEE IT

It definitely ramps up the absurdity, and FF7 has always been silly, so I'm hear for it for the most part. Definitely laughed more in this game and I'm enjoying all the little character moments.

I haven't gotten far, only just now finished Chapter 4 or 5, but there are a few instances I've felt let down. There was one, highly iconic scene I was looking forward to early in the game, and they made it SO LAME. IT WAS SO SO LAME YOU GUYS. But it's fine. I GUESS. There's another scene that I was super looking forward to, that, unless I'm misremembering when it happens, was just left out entirely. You have no idea how badly I wanted to see that happen. Actually! I want to talk about this, so SKIP EVERYTHING WITH THE /// IN FRONT OF IT if you don't want teeny FF7 Rebirth spoilers. (Or don't care.)

=== FF7 REBIRTH TEENY SPOILERS DISCUSSION === /// The first was the Midgardsormr!! The fight wasn't that epic (it felt so much more epic in the OG), BUT the scene I'm talking about is where we find the thing IMPALED on a tree!! And they go, "Did Sephiroth do this?…" That was such a cool indicator of his power, and created mystery. How did he do it?? Here they just… have him weirdly appear in the water, use a whirlwind attack to send the snake up, then it falls on the tree…. Like… ok…. Lame. /// /// The NEXT scene I was really looking forward to is the fuckin' SLAP FIGHT between Tifa and Scarlet!! Doesn't that happen in Junon??? I'm past Junon! Maybe we come back but HOW COULD YOU REMOVE THAT IT WAS SO ICONIC. /// /// The game has so many other good moments though, so it's fine, it's its own thing. Barret in his little sailor outfit and Red walking on two legs, just like he tried to do in the OG. They're hitting most of the key points. So it's fine. === END FF7 REBIRTH TEENY SPOILERS DISCUSSION ===

Yeah that's it. That's all I got. I'm excited for more pages!! I wrote the dang things and I'm still excited for Wednesdays. We have a pretty good buffer currently and I personally think most of the pages are bangers, so keep an eye out! For.. for those bangers.

Alright. Peace out.

[glitterarygetsit]

I've said most of this on Twitter already, but here is my Obligatory OFMD Finale Feels post.

In short: I'm disappointed on a plot and character level and people are right to say it's ableist, but I mainly think the writers fucked up while trying to do something positive. A lot of this is conjecture, and it doesn't absolve the creators for making the mistakes they did or continuing to preach kindness and happy endings in interviews, but I think it makes sense and frames OFMD as an effort to make a show that is far more progressive than most other shows, but still really, really fucked up without meaning to.

Looking at the timeline, the show got renewed in June 2022, and was filming by September. The fandom has had a full year to explore Izzy's character and get more attached to him than the writers, who got about 3 months to gauge audience reaction and potentially rewrite his whole arc, could have expected.

I think the fact that the writers seem to have tried to give a fan favourite an arc in which he achieves happiness and self-actualisation is laudable. The problem is that in doing so, they made him even more of an avatar of queer and disabled survival while failing to change the endpoint they had planned for him. As a result, when he died, he wasn't just a complex deuteragonist with an arc that served the main story who saw the error of his ways, but a protagonist who had come to represent the themes of survival and acceptance that the show has embodied from the start.

The fact that s2 explicitly gave Izzy an arc about becoming disabled and coming to terms with it is what invokes the "bury your cripples" trope, and the idea that being disabled makes life not worth living despite earlier episodes (and other characters!) in the series explicitly demonstrating the contrary. If we look at his death as something the writers viewed as a fixed canon event, it's clear that they badly fumbled the ending, thinking they'd given him peace at the end when what they'd actually done was rip the prospect of more peace and happiness from him.

The way Izzy's death and funeral were handled--the in-universe inconsistency of having his fatal wound be on the left side, the cruelty of the British noticing his golden leg, the implication of something beyond the grave by having possibly-seagull-Buttons landing on his grave and denying us the closure of knowing that's the end, as well as separating him from his community and from his prosthetic were repeated slaps in the face that I see as the result of internalised ableism and trying to force a character that had grown beyond his original narrative purpose back into a predetermined fate. To me djenks' garbled rewriting of Izzy's relationship with Ed in interviews confirms that the character broke the bounds of its intended purpose and left the writers unsure what to do with him.

Ultimately, I don't think djenks and the writers intended to be cruel. I think they're the products of an ableist, racist, homophobic society with a lot of internalised prejudice who should have hired a disability consultant for their silly pirate show that unexpectedly punches far above its weight in terms of representation. Still, I can absolutely understand why viewers might feel that the failure to account for their internalised ableism is enough of a betrayal to stop watching. I do hope those viewers can still find joy and representation in the fandom going forward; if they move on to another show, our fandom will be poorer for it, and I think other fans need to recognise the hurt they're going through and use this experience as an impetus to create better-informed fanworks themselves.

I'm not especially interested in litigating whether OFMD signposted this from the start or is breaking or sticking to genre conventions or three-act-structures or whether it broke in-universe rules (it did, though. bite me.) Izzy's death was neither an inevitable beat in a well-told story nor evidence of an intentional shift towards Game-of-Thrones-style cruel and pointless deaths. They just fucked up, badly, and I hope they'll do better in future.

[justjessame]

ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT, EVEN WHEN IT'S WRITTEN IN ARCHAIC LANGUAGE Chapter 13

A shift happened. I wasn’t cognizant of when it fully engaged, but I noticed at some point the entire warehouse wasn’t quite as “this is us now” so much as the entire building was holding its breath like it knew something was coming and was bracing itself and the people coming and going from it for whatever it was.  

Blindness wouldn’t have made the smugness coiling off of Peter like waves. It almost matched the mental preparation I could see Scott making to face off against an unseen force - except “unseen” wasn’t the truth, I knew he was still including Rhiannon’s name in the “threat” column which I needed to correct, and soon.

I also knew that I’d have to be the least self aware human/werewolf in the known world to ignore that I wasn’t just witness to this shift but an integral part in it.  

And it came wrapped in brown paper, tucked into a non-descript brown gift bag, but the smell of her perfume and the obvious challenge she was issuing to me should have warned me: Proceed with Caution, this is gonna hurt.

I’d given up on dissecting what she’d wanted me to learn from “Sense and Sensibility” or “Jane Eyre” because honestly? Brooding, self sacrificing male lead, kind of tipped me off a touch what her point was there.  But that book of modern poetry disguised as female empowerment? That was her manifesto in a blue and gold package - “Fierce Fairytales” by Nikita Gill - I almost wondered if Rhiannon and the poet had met during her ten years away, on some casual girl’s only vacation, sipping mimosas and swapping “oh you think your ex was an asshole, let me tell you about mine” war stories.  

And knowing Rhiannon, and what I’d done, hers had won the “Asshole of the Year” award. She probably got free drinks, meals, and her suite comped.  

“Oh, so your ex accidentally hit your dog with his car and almost set the neighbor’s cat on fire because he didn’t know how outdoor grills work?” 

Rhiannon’s voice came to me as clear as a bell in this imaginary meeting of the “men are clueless, but we put up with them for the entertainment that we can drag out of the memories of putting up with them” minds in some place tropical, so she could wear that bikini she wore to go swimming in a river when we were 14 and is still burnt into my frontal lobe, but this time she has the curves she sauntered in here with to bitch slap me with her return to Beacon Hills. 

“Mine ripped up our marriage pact,” rolls eyes, but her spine goes stiff, which actually works to soften this sharp imagined memory, because that perfect posture makes her breasts look like a fucking buffet and I’m starving. “In front of my face.” There are a few faceless gasps from these imaginary gal pals I created, “we were fifteen,” her shoulder shrugs and it makes her breasts bounce, just enough to make me want to rewind and wonder why the fuck this is both arousing and fucked up, and my mind created it? “He thought he was ‘saving me’,” another eye roll and that look girls give one another that screams ‘ridiculous pups and their silly ideas’.  “Then he threw it in a lit fireplace and told me it was ‘for the best’.”  

That fucking pact. I’d thought I WAS saving her from the clear curse of being chained to me, not just my fucking name and a lineage of pain and blood, but that was the catalyst and here came the reckoning wearing black leather with red lace stilettos and a blood red tank top going “you did this, now what are you going to do for an encore?”

And as I sat there and tried to think of a way to meet her, face to face, and tell her I did see her - more clearly than I had ever in my entire life seen another human or wolf before. That I found her glorious, not just beautiful, but strong and sure. That I had fucked up on such an epic scale that I probably created casualties that we’d never truly know about, but there were there, hovering and waiting.  That I heard her - not just her silence, or her clipped words - no I heard what she wasn’t saying. 

“You fucked up, but you’re not irredeemable, if you were, I wouldn’t have given you an invitation to learn and grow,” but with a warning, because Rhiannon was nothing if not thorough. “Don’t fuck up, again.”  

My mind was debating between a casual “oh, I had no clue you’d be here” bump somewhere in Beacon Hills (which I’d use Liam and his apparent connection to her to facilitate) or I could just walk up to the front door of a house I hadn’t dared visit since ripping that contract up and tossing it into her dad’s office fireplace while she stared at me like she was breaking, but would never let her see the pieces.  

“If that’s PETER MOTHERFUCKING HALE that’s making you snort like a swine dressed in designer clothes, I swear to fucking CHRIST, Rhiannon!”  

I’m not going to lie - I jumped and partially transformed from that crack that came from a distance, since I KNEW Calvin Morrigan would rather eat his own shoe than come near Peter or me willingly - and I’m neither embarrassed nor ashamed for it.  That Alpha terrified me from the moment his gaze landed on me during a Hale - Morrigan playdate when Rhiannon and I were five and she kissed my cheek. It read, “break her heart or push her away because ‘ew cooties’ and I’ll haunt your nightmares forever, kid”. Spoiler: I didn’t neither at five years old and he still visited my nightmares.  

And then, once my pulse returned from “fight it, kill it, or run so hard your legs give out” mode - it hit me like a freight train:

Peter was in contact with Rhiannon.

He had made her laugh so hard she snorted.

And Calvin Morrigan knew it, and renamed Peter.  

Why did I get books and a reminder of my past fuckups and yet, Peter got her fucking laughter? If we’d gotten to pick our presents from a gift-giving Rhiannon, I would have picked what he got.

[23-punnybee]

are there any themes or motifs that you associate with your OC or/and their story? if so, would you explain why and your thought process behind them? how they tie back to the character or to the story? does your OC’s name reflect aspects of that theme, or the character themselves? is there anything–whether it has to do directly with your OC and their story or not–that immediately makes you think of them? this last one doesn’t really NEED to be relevant to anything, just… hey i saw a cool rock today. my OC would have loved that–picked it up and put it in their pocket.

i am literally never not thinking about my OCs ok. i need you to understand i got certified to go scuba diving because of brooke. she got me through chemistry. i bought a bow and arrows because of tommy. i’d buy a goddamn halberd because of t’ytian if i had the money lmfao there is nothing i wouldn’t do to feel closer to my OCs

well…….. i probably won’t join the mafia for Finn :/

probably

OK SO REGARDING THEMES AND MOTIFS… i’m not sure much of this was intentional, haha. most of it was just me toying around with ideas and stumbling across the puzzle pieces that match perfectly (at least, to me). fun fact i actually searched a lot of this up cuz i was curious and whaddya know, its actually pretty fitting lol

—

brooke:

originally i didn’t intend for her arc to go this way. the werewolf thing was supposed to be a crack au, but it actually goes really well with her character??? she’s intelligent and values social relationships but had accidentally become a “lone wolf.” i didn’t realize it fit so well until the crack au turned into a full-fledged iteration and her story expanded. now she’s a werewolf in almost everything.

she wasn’t originally meant to be a lone wolf. she was sorta supposed to be “nerdy girl next door” and relatively normal (actually, she was originally created out of spite. it just sorta spiraled out of control in the best way possible).

her werewolf form is a few metaphors to me—the repression of her true self (pushing down all her emotions, including her sexuality), mental health and menstruation (PMDD in particular and being borderline suicidal), being a girl the “wrong” way (not nurturing, emotionally repressed, hairy, violent when pushed too far).

she wears more earthy tones since she’s a nature girl, green in particular because it’s associated with nature, growth, and money. turtles are a recurring theme because she needs to “come out of her shell,” tommy is very important to her, and the TMNT like. literally save her from a cult. sharks are her favorite animal and Frankenstein is her favorite book because she feels monstrous but also misunderstood (this was even before the werewolf thing happened). darkness/nighttime for the same reasons—misunderstood. the moon mostly because wolf but also because she’s so so easily pulled in, and has intense different phases.

anyway.

her name is brooklyn for 3 reasons:

1) i’m a fan of androgynous names you can make a nickname out of,

2) “brooke” was as close as i could get to “book” (which was her main trait when i first made her), and

if it helps you to understand how i name characters, my oc cam (cameron) is into photography. it’s a silly thing that makes me smile. never underestimate my willingness to pun.

3) the in-universe explanation sort of tells you how invested her mom is in her. which is to say—not at all. her mom saw “Brooklyn Hospital” on the birth certificate and slapped that name in.

4) forgot about this but also “hey she likes the marshlands. that has brooks and streams.” i could probably argue about how water/rivers symbolize great change because of erosion or something but it’s 11pm

uhhh fun fact i’m taking a food safety certification course for work reasons and just realized it’s something she’d take/know for a particular mission she’s tryna help the turtles with lol

—

tommy:

yellow is often the color used for anxiety/fear, caution, youth, creativity, but it’s also a warning. like yellow caution signs, or the bright yellow on a bee or wasp tells you to stay the fuck away. tommy is very much my cornered prey animal. trap him with no way out and blood will be spilt—yours or his, who’s to say?

also green. for basically the same reasons as brooke <3

archers symbolize skill and personal growth in a lot of cultures. arrows in particular are metaphors for like—a very big leap/victory toward a goal. i also always think of archers as preventative—in medieval times, you’d have archers patrol your castle to prevent enemies from getting close. and having the prey guy have a tool for a hunter scratches an itch in my brain. also i’m a sagittarius and just think they’re sick af

he’s also into animals, like brooke, but to a significantly smaller degree. he mostly likes the “normal” animals (i.e. cats and dogs, birds, etc. (not that he hates the weird ones brooke loves, he just. doesn’t really feel as great of a connection to them as she does)).

cats are sorta a motif because of the whole scaredy-cat/cowardly lion thing. also the fact that often with cats, people misunderstand how to treat them or misunderstand their signals, get scratched, and yell about how much they hate cats. tommy takes a lot of getting used to and also takes a while to get used to other people before feeling remotely comfortable.

originally his name was Timatello, named after the pet softshell turtle i actually had for a short time. i changed it because tomatillo has yellow flowers and it’s a mexican spice often used in salsa (also! the salsa is green, and he’s a turtle).

whenever i’m in the grocery store and see tomatillo salsa i gotta point it out to my siblings and be like “how could they do this? :(“ as if they crushed up my ninja turtle oc for a chip dip

—

T’Ytian’s name is very very loosely meant to resemble Tiziano Vecellio (i just googled italian renaissance painters for the tmnt oc, go figure) but the pronunciation isn’t “tish-uhn,” it wound up being “t-eye-shen.” he was SUPPOSED to be a one time background-esque oc but that quickly spiraled out of control so now he’s got his own spinoff in my head. let that be a lesson to everyone making OCs—they will grab you in a chokehold when you least expect it and then you’ll have to research dystopian government politics and figure out how to write a revolution.

(i’m getting off track)

he’s a dark gray (neutrality, authority in china) with orange spots (energy, enthusiasm, fun, creativity… but also arrogance which is fitting because salamandrians are kinda really racist in a very arrogant way). the guy comes from a pretty well-regarded family on his home planet (gray’s authority). he’s got armor that’s cyan (vitality and clarity—for when he finally unlearns the stuff he grew up on).

his entire story arc is just about removing the wool from over his eyes and finally seeing the truth about salamandrian society. and eventually helping the resistance overthrow it. i was, uh, reading the hunger games books and listening to a lot of The Score while developing him so that might have something to do with it.

i haven’t exactly thought much about the recurring themes or motifs for him? he’s still relatively new and i tend to stumble across that stuff more the longer the OC has been in development.

anyway

whenever i see pottery, woodcarving/carpentry, and salamanders i think of him <3 also whenever i read dystopian stuff. whoops

—

Finn is named Finn because she’s a shark and. she’s got a fin. i thought it was a cute name. it’s apparently from ireland and means “fair” (she’s a very pretty shark)

pink is associated with femininity, charm, politeness, and companionship; white is new beginnings, honesty, and hope; gray is neutrality, wisdom, and balance.

she’s actually a side character who i haven’t made a fully fleshed out story for and i am sorta hoping it stays that way at least until i can catch up and write tue others’ stories first.

[noshowjericho]

Americans & Co love movies in which Russians are represented by poor, drinking, stupid people. I shudder every time someone post how beautifully the director conveyed the characters. No, you just think it's like that – the director just reflected your idea, as in a mirror. To be fair, we also have films with stupid Americans but there are relatively few of them. How are Brazilians shown in American films?

yeah 100%! Hollywood is the primary producer of global culture. It being an american institution is essential to the spread of USA hegemony outside of the country itself. It instates their perception, especially of other countries in the empire's periphery, as the default.

In Brazil's case, I think there are two (maybe three) types of depiction. The first cements itself as Brazil is still considered a sub-developed country. Its main exports to the US are raw materials, and internally, tourism is still in development. At this time, we see very few depictions, but the ones that exist revolve around the Amazon and the mysticism behind it (this is not a recent trend; you see it in documents such as the Carta de Caminha, which shows how the settlers viewed Brazil as a paradise of sorts).

Later, in 1933, american president Roosevelt proposes the Politica de Boa Vizinhança, or the Good Neighbor Policy. This is accepted by positivist (or fascist, depending on who you ask) president Getúlio Vargas. The objective was to trade american technology for political support after the end of the Second World War. This all was really an anesthetic to the violent interventionalism at the time. And with this exchange, american culture and family life are put on a pedestal and are cemented into the Brazilian consciousness. National movies that criticized the US for its racism and neo-colonial projects were censored and were, in a way, replaced by cultural symbols created by the USA and its department of defense. It's at this moment we see characters such as Carmen Miranda and Zé Carioca (Joe Carioca in English, which just hurts my soul).

Everything changes after the military dictatorship of 1964. Aided financially by the US, a coup exiles the elected socialist-leaning president and puts in place a violent imperialist. National movies are hit with even heavier censorship; American movies snd culture begin permeating the vacuumed market. It's also at this time that football cements itself into the international perception of Brazil with us winning the World Cup in 1962.

The end of the regime brings about the most fervent era of movies. With the country in economic collapse, leading to drastic changes in the currency and the freezing of exchange internally, Brazil invests hard in tourism. Now is when I'd say the promiscuous nature we see mark the country was born.

At the end of this era, we get the bane of my existence, the rock in my shoe, one of the worst movies I've ever made the mistake of watching: Anaconda (1977). This movie, this cult classic, is getting a remake as if it's a silly little movie and not a slap to the face of every Brazilian who watches it. I'm not even mentioning the representation of native people and how the most effort they went through was transplacing North American indigenous preconceptions onto us. There is not a single Brazilian actor in this movie, and the omly Brazilian character is named Mateo, a spanish name. Not Portuguese. And now, they are remaking THIS movie, and ONE singular person in the main cast is Brazilian. Selton Mello talk to me baby what did they do to you

Getting back on track and away from my eternal hatred of Anaconda (1997) and its disgusting successors. We get the MTV 2000s and 2010s. The main movie to come out in Brazil is DreamWorks' Rio, which, you guessed it, also has an American main cast. Only the villains of the movie are actual people and Brazilian. Now, we get a picture of developed Brazil; less focus is spent on the Amazon itself and the North; instead, Rio and later São Paulo are spotlit.

A side note: from the very beginning, Brazil has been depicted as extraordinarily violent. This is a tactic to dehumanize Latin America that now has its symmetry in the perceived "welcoming" nature of Brazil. There's a fine line between the etiquette that's common and the borderline servile way usamericans portray it to be.

From all of this, we get a glimpse into how the Brazilian stereotypes of mystical, sexual promiscuity, "tramp"ness, and violence were made. The American empire has a history of censoring native voices and has injected us with the idea that its culture is superior. If you're looking for some Brazilian movies, there's a list on Brown University's website with synopses in english!

[theharpermovieblog]

#HARPERSMOVIECOLLECTION

2023

I watched Ghostbusters Afterlife (2021)

Yes, I grew up on the original Ghostbusters films. No I didn't see the Paul Fiege Ghostbusters movie. Not because of the lady cast, the previews just never thrilled me. I may watch it someday.

The Daughter and Grandchildren of former Ghostbuster, Egon Spangler, inherit his farmhouse and find he died still fighting the Sumerian God Gozer.

Maybe you didn't grow up in the 1980's and 1990's. Maybe your parents aren't cool and didn't like Ghostbusters and never showed it to you. I'm sad for you, but for the rest of us, the Ghostbusters movies (and the cartoon show) are nostalgia on film. The blend of comedy, spooky horror, special effects and working class ghost hunting are forever etched in our brains. We can quote lines like preachers can quote scripture. We'd give a decade of our lives to own a proton pack. So, when trying to revitalize that franchise, fans can get pretty testy. The all female reboot brought out the worst of the fandom. Showing that incels sometimes like cool shit too, and can make any fanbase look like trash.

I'm very happy that this direct sequel didn't do a full 180° and try and please the incels and women haters. The choice to make the lead a smart young girl, was almost a slap in the face to every silly anti-women post on Facebook. This decision is part of what Ghostbusters Afterlife gets right.

The movie is directed by Jason Reitman, the son of Director Ivan Reitman, who helmed the original Ghostbusters. Jason has directed several good movies, some I like and some I'm lukewarm about. Here, he puts everything into continuing the Ghostbusters legacy, while celebrating the kid in all of us who grew up on the original films. The idea of literally putting kids in the place of the Ghostbusters and sending them on a Spielberg-esque small town adventure was the perfect way to make a sequel. Not replacing the old characters, but allowing these kids to dig into the lore of the Ghostbusters and their original film villain.

The movie looks good, is paced nicely, has solid humor and I really enjoyed the story. Yes, there's a lot of fan service and nostalgia bait. And, while I'm honestly here for that in a lot of ways, the nostalgia is also used to create a new story that's worth my while.

I also appreciate that a lot was done in practical effects. The practical Demon Dogs I'm especially grateful for.

And, I don't think I'm spoiling anything when I say that the old cast gets their small moment, without fully overtaking the story and I think the film as a whole is a nice remembrance of actor and writer Harold Ramis.

While not perfect, and maybe even a bit clunky, Ghostbusters Afterlife actually made me really happy. It feels almost like the condensed first season of a Ghostbusters television show, but thank Gozer it wasn't a television show, because I wouldn't have wanted to watch it.

They're making a sequel, which is probably unnecessary, but we'll see if it's any good. This sort of felt like a nice way to give the fans something and bring the Ghostbusters full circle on its own.

Happy enough with this. And, in this day and age of reboots and sequels, me being Happy Enough is high praise.