#nat is a nerd

[heartsforfolklore]

“you’re such a nerd,” natalie huffed behind you, hands settling on your hips as you flipped through bins of 25¢ comic books.

her chin rested on your shoulder, her hair brushing your cheek every time she moved. she sighed dramatically just as you pulled out an x-men issue—the one with rogue and gambit on the cover. she didn’t get it—any of it. the x-men, star wars, whatever else you were into. but who was she to judge?

“you didn’t have to come,” you hummed, placing the comic back in the bin and moving on. “i told you it’d be boring.”

“i wanted to,” she said, quieter this time. her fingers slipped under the hem of your graphic tee, cool against your skin. it was one of your favorites—a faded, vintage thing with luke skywalker front and center, star wars: a new hope splashed across your tits in peeling white letters. “you’re my girlfriend. i like being where you are.”

“but…” she dragged the word out with a grin, “you are a pathetic little nerd who collects comic books and action figures. you’re lucky you’re cute.”

you rolled your eyes, but your smile betrayed you. you knew she was teasing—she always was. she’d literally shown up to your house last week with a garage sale boba fett figure and the proudest look on her face. after all, she’s lucky you didn’t already have it.

you turned to face her, leaning back against the wooden bins, head tilted as you gave her a once-over.

she smirked, all lazy and smug, “don’t look at me like that, pretty,” she murmured with a fake pout. “i’m only teasing. you’re totally allowed to nerd out around me.”

“i’m not nerding out, nat, i’m just looking for comics i don’t already have.”

“you say tomato i say tomahto,” she shrugged, still grinning

you rolled your eyes, “do you want to go look through the vinyl instead?”

[beguilingcorpse]

as a card-carrying member of the "started playing for astarion, inadvertently fell for gale" club it's really important to me that you all know that the appeal is NOT that gale is suave or cool. in fact it is literally the opposite. the worse he is at flirting the better. as he grows increasingly verbose i grow increasingly horny. every time he makes an awful pun my heart flutters. he talks about his ex while we're actively on a date and i'm like wow! i can't not fuck him

[moonagedaydreamsofrhiannon]

travis martinez is such a fucking loser 💕

pookie really pulled the baddest bitch in the forest with nothing but close-up magic and a dream. the true definition of autistic rizz

[nateezfics]

need him in my bed and in me actually. and i’m so serious you guys.

[theognatster]

how they met; m.s au

Matthew Sturniolo. You’d seen his name and his picture among the covers of magazines that you worked hard to see yourself on. The only reason he was in these magazines was to grab young buyers‘ attention to the stands to make the money roll in. His father knew the game he was playing..and he was winning.

Matt was on the set, it was uncommon for him to be there. The makeup artists, photographers, and designers were on edge. Of course they were, the son of the man who gave them their jobs was there. One wrong move, and off they go to the unemployment office. It was hard to come across taxis, even harder to come across jobs in New York, especially jobs in their department, the modeling department. If it was difficult for the technical and makeup crew to find jobs, it had to be harder for the actual models.

All of the girls on set fled to Matt, wanting their chance to shoot their shot. Each girl, forgetting what stage of preparation they were in,swarmed him like a bee to honey. Matt looked around him, he only saw girls in rollers, in unblended makeup, dresses unzipped, and only in white silk robes. There was no sense of a clear conversation, each girl trying to introduce themselves, flirt, or complement him. All of the words created a jumbled sentence that made no sense of its own, and could hardly be deciphered to match each girls’ conversation.

There you were, stuck in traffic for the third time this week. You stared out the rain glassed window of the taxi to the busy streets of downtown New York. You saw apartments, condos, and small homes fill the space, leaving but crowded sidewalks, and busy roads. You thought about buying a home here, ‘it’d be easier to get to work’ you thought as you were playing with the fringe of your plaid patterned scarf. “Is there any way to merge to a different street?” You ask the man with a fedora on who you learned was named: Caleb. “Nope..street’s jammed. Damn, construction.” Caleb spoke up, holding the steering wheel.

“Is there any way to merge with a 50 dollar bill in your possession?” You ask again, pulling out your red leather wallet, holding in your hand a crisp bill. “Hm..now that I think about it, there’s a free space right there..that can lead me to 5th.” Caleb smirked in the mirror above, and saw your amused face. “Get me there, and this bill has your name on it.” You chuckle softly, using the bill to seduce him. “Pleasure doing business with you..Miss?” Caleb smirked, waiting for your name. “You’ll know my name soon enough..get a Vogue magazine with this bill..and you’ll know who paid for it.” You smile softly, your blackberry juice colored lips lifted into a small smile.

50 dollars was good motivation, you made sure to keep that in mind. You handed Caleb your bill and rushed into the 79 level building covered in windows from the outside. As you entered the 52nd floor, you were met with the familiar feeling of work. The Crew rushed around with items to beautify the girls. You found your chair, and your stylist, Cherry. “You’re late.” Cherry scolded, removing your mulberry colored jacket. “I know..traffic was a bitch.” You sigh, removing your clips and jewelry. “What have I said about your lipstick, honey?” Cherry sighed. “That it washes me out.” You mock her tone. “Very good, at least your memory is up to par.” Cherry sighed, you chuckled. “What’s with all the chaos? It’s more than usual.” You ask, as Cherry started to split your hair into sections.

“Matthew Sturniolo is here.” Cherry whispered. “Matthew?!” You exclaim, definitely surprised. “Mhm..who knows what he wants. Last time he was here..ooh, it was horrid.” Cherry tsked. The last thing Matt was here, 30 workers lost their jobs, and 7 models had to find a new company. “I know..I heard. But..he can’t be that horrible.” You tried to look at the bright side, as Cherry started rolling your hair. “Sure honey..I’m glad to know that there's still positivity in the workplace.” Cherry cracked a joke.

“Conner!” A masculine voice rang out. You spotted a pair of hands grab at your mulberry coat that was hung up. “Excuse me.” You spoke up, not looking to see who grabbed it. Cherry smacked your shoulder, and you saw it was Matt who grabbed it. “Conner! Find out whose this is, and I need one in black immediately.” Matt commanded his assistant. “Yes sir..!” The ginger haired man, who you assumed was Conner, spoke up, writing down. “Excuse me, Mr. Sturniolo, that’s my coat. And I’d be willing to let you know where I bought it, if you treated the people you worked with, with a little respect.” You spoke in determination. Matt turned his head, and saw who was speaking to him in such a tone.

“And who are you?” He asked, slightly amused. “Y/N L/N, sir.” You spoke with confidence, even though you fret for your job. “Nice to meet you..doll.” He spoke with a nickname. “I’d introduce myself..but you know who I am.” He smirked, fixing his black suit. “Yes..I do.” You nodded, as Cherry continued to fix the rollers in your hair.

“Hm..well..I’ll have Conner set up an arrangement for me and you..and we’ll talk about where you found this coat.” He smirked, with insinuations coating his words like syrup coating pastries. “Okay then..sounds lovely.” You nodded. Matt smirked, and took you in one last time before walking off. You felt your heart race at the interaction, confused at whether it was the nerves of the interaction or if it beated this fast for a different reason, for a reason consisting of four letters.

“I’ve never seen him say that to anyone..and I’ve worked here for 7 years.” Cherry smiled, amused heavily by what she witnessed. “Maybe..he’s not so horrid.” You said, hoping your words were true.

divider creds: @anitalenia

[hinmotion]

Sneak peak of Sun and Nuea's fittings for the Y-Destiny spin-off from director Cheewin!

[esposadejoyhuerta]

My favorite thing abt the nat fandom is that no matter what project scarlett is in, she’s always still nat. It’s not zora x reader; it’s Jurassic park ranger Natasha. It’s not whatever the name is of nerdy blonde scarlett; it’s nerd Natasha. She’s always Natasha to us and I think that’s beautiful (and correct. bc who tf is zora I only know dino nat)

[chrisspirategirl]

I wanna post but don’t know which one cause I’m indecisive ❤️ lmk guys 🙁🙁

[nathaniel-underwood-is-an-intj]

Post Ptolemy's Gate ramble

So I just finished Ptolemy's Gate, thoughts are a bit all over the place and aside from mentioning the obvious I thought I'd dump some thoughts here.

Piper's apathy certainly shocked me. I know she's stressed running the council and she's got loads of organisation to do but oof she sure did come across as cold in her conversation with Kitty. Kitty has that kind of apathetic resignation of grief but it really felt like Piper had already put it behind her despite it only being two days before. Her boss that she worked for died horribly to save them all and she didn't even seem to share a quiet moment of grief with Kitty idk it just felt a little brutal 😅 I had an impression of her being really sweet so I was a bit taken aback.

One thing that really stood out to me was Nathaniel's apathy to the situation, I found it really interesting. I guess something could be said about it being the magician in him.

Nathaniel really has this duality to him, the obvious being Nat vs John Mandrake and of course Nat + Bartimaeus but in chapter 36 part ii something that caught my attention

'it was the feeling of consummate superiority, the delight of power weilded without peril. He danced beneath the night sky, smiting down his enemies.'

It already seems as if he's being elevated to something other- a martyr perhaps, except martyrs have causes and ideals, they do something because they have a strong belief in their justness. And Nathaniel:

'He felt aloof disconnected and alone. If his hatred for demons he had killed was dull and almost matter-of-fact, so was his sympathy for the people whose lives he saved.'

So he seems almost like an avenging angel, I love the religious imagery, especially because it seems to call back to Bartimaeus comparing his body to a holy mosque. But also divine rage is the driving force for an avenging angel and he's no longer even angry at the destruction caused.

'Pride spurred him on.' this almost makes him seem God-like?? His sole motivator is the pride of a deity, and I love that. But it's also just very true to him as a boy, pride spurred him on against Lovelace and against Duval and Whitwell.

When he's alone with Bartimaeus he's taken on this air of not being entirely human. He feels alone and solitary from everything including humaity. But when he rejoins Kitty, Piper and the rest of the magicians waiting for him he's reinvigorated - 'he felt a surge of joyful impatience - 'he would detroy Nouda, rescue the commoners and return to Kitty.' it seems as though he has to be surrounded by people to remind himself he's one of them. It could be seen as an effect of sharing a mind with Bartimaeus, but of course it could be Nathaniel's own human pride and his memories of being othered even as a child. Just gives the impression of this human / higher entity duality.

But also I partly got the impression that this hints to depression- I'm sure it's hardly out of the realm of possibility for Nat to have it. Though it's never stated I think several moments in the books make a good argument for it, including the above- just the numbness to everything. And I guess the sudden change in demeanor at 'surge of joyful impatience' can be read as hopefulness, but it reminded me of the saying that when people have decided to follow through on their s*icidal ideation they come across as happy and like a weight has been lifted from them. Nathaniel is impressively calm for someone who realises he's gravely injured. And while he can be seen as a martyr or hero for his final actions, the hollowness he felt at that moment gives it a more bitter edge.

I think it's made even more sad when compared to Anthony Lockwood, who has that same sense of pride - because he's trying to make his dead parents proud and because he's trying to hide the fact that he doesn't like himself very much. Nathaniel gives this same impression. And Lockwood at the end had reason to be proud, he uncovered a huge conspiracy, his agency became the most famous in London. And Nathaniel had reason to be proud; he's managing to wield the staff of his childhood hero, something he had dreamed of doing, he's had the bravery to unite with a spirit and he's going to take down the biggest threat to London.

But Lockwood gets something Nathaniel doesn't-

There's this subtle idea seen through Lucy's eyes that Lockwood's biggest achievement was fighting through his s*icidal ideation and discovering he has something to live for, even just seeing his friends again.

And Nathaniel just doesn't get that moment.

He sort of acknowledges that he doesn't have to be a powerful leader, that he doesn't need his colleagues approval, that he doesn't need to erase the fear the commoners have of him and other magicians, but without these things he doesn't know what to do with himself. He has no plan for the future, because even before he's injured the idea of a future doesn't seem to have much appeal to him. He already appears to have given up on trying to uncover who Nathaniel is, depite finally having the opportunity to. Like after everything- being beaten, the fear of his colleagues trying to harm him and burying himself in the John Mandrake persona to protect his sensitive side- he doesn't want to uncover the remnants of that boy because he's worried it'll be too difficult to put himself back together.

Or maybe he feels that he already has discovered who Nathaniel is, a deeply unhappy, hollow shell of a person, whose personality has been pulled in so many directions he no longer has a sense of self. He's been stripped back to the barest version of himself and found he doesn't even have the foundations upon which to rebuild himsef. Like discovering dry rot in your walls and you keep pulling and pulling bits of rotting wood away from the home until you've finally got it all, only to realise the house has come down around you- there's nothing left.

He doesn't get this moment where he works through his trauma, where he realises he has a support system, where he realises he's loved. I don't know if Nathaniel ever really knew what it felt like to be loved. I don't think he did. Ptolemy's death was awful and heartbreaking but his short life was filled with affection. And Lockwood realises people do care about him, depite being told that no one does. It hurts so much that Nat felt isolated and alone his whole life, right up to the last minute. Potential love confessions aside, Nathaniel never got a chance to sit and bathe in the warmness of affection. Like Bartimaeus tells him, it's about 'being not doing.' Nathaniel never got to understand the importance of just being, of simply existing as himself or of being happy. He constantly had to be working on the next goal, the next plan, because if he stops working he'll be forced to sit with his thoughts and realise how unhappy he is. And the thought of that is just too much to bear, it's so much easier to give in.

The ending gave the impression of being very romantic, while sad. Nathaniel gets to be remembered as a hero and never has to confront the consequences of his actions with wars in Europe and America that he had a direct role in. Acknowledging his role and dealing with fallout are two very different mountains to climb. And I think that idea of dying like a hero perfectly appeals to Nathaniel's prideful tendencies, and maybe he views it that way to hide the fact it's a convenient way out of his unhappiness and confronting what he's done. It's quite interesting to see that after he's been stripped back to nothing and can't figure out who or what he wants to be if he gets the chance, he still has that vanity and arrogance to him- despite not really being good character traits, they're so authentically Nathaniel, he's been that way right from the start and it's nice little peak of the real him at the end, being so humanly flawed.

[mondstalgia]

Nat Chen being his usual otaku self

[honeycrispjamz]

Is it too controversial for me to say that I think Misty smokes weed just as much as Natalie does

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Chu chu chu*; or, intimate scene tips from the Kiseki cast

(Note: See reblogs for another pairing that used the same strategy and for super helpful info from @nibupei; also this post has been edited to replace the screenshots with slightly better versions)

I don't usually watch a lot of BL-related stuff on youtube, but I've still got a bad case of Kiseki brainrot and there's a bonkers amount of Kiseki-related material on there and a remarkably high proportion of it has English subs, so I've been perusing it. I saw something I found really interesting in one interview that I thought was worth sharing here, particularly since I'm sure there are others who, like me in most instances, don't typically look for BL info there. According to the title, the interview is related to a photobook, I assume one made for/about the series. You can find it here if you want to check it out for yourself. The part I talk about below starts around the 7:44 mark. A big thank you to the fan who subbed this for the rest of us, who as you can see from the watermark goes by abbyloveslove.

The thing that caught my attention was about Nat Chen's and Louis Chiang's process for intimate scenes. I'm always a total nerd about this kind of information, especially with regard to Taiwanese BL folks since people in the industry there have developed such a strong tradition of effective practices. The gist is this: prior to filming scenes involving kissing, you have to do blocking, check lighting, and so forth, so you have to get in position as if you were kissing your scene partner. But it's not actually necessary to kiss them and, in Louis's view at least, it would be counterproductive to do it at that point. So Louis and Nat came up with a substitute action. They'd do sort of mimed smooches, but with their own special a Taiwan-specific sound effect.

It's a bit hard to tell who's speaking here, what with the image quality. So I'll specify who's talking when. Speaking of which, these are just screenshots of a rather blurry video so apologies for any and all aesthetic shortcomings.

So, first Nat's speaking...

then Louis...

(he does a little shimmy here that's hard to capture in a still image)

and Nat again.

And then Louis sums it up.

After watching this I noticed that in one of the behind-the-scenes bits that are strung together into one long thing on Viki, you can actually hear someone going "chuchuchu." It's hard to tell who's speaking because of the angle and some staff wearing masks but I think it might actually be their director in that instance.

So there's your intimate scene nerd moment for today. Chu chu chu.

*Per @nibupei in the reblogs, this should actually be Romanized as "jiū." I recommend checking out their response in full. Just putting this here because some folks are still interacting with the original post who might find their notes illuminating.

[atomicradiogirl]

one thing i absolutely love about the band of brothers cinematography is the color gradient of the scenes makes it look like a colorized black and white photo

[nataliyapetkova]

☎️ - rose

What My Muse Has For Your Muse's Contact Info:

Rose H.

What Their Ringtone Is:

Lady Marmalade - Christina Aguilera

The Last Text They Sent Your Muse:

"Hey, don't act super shocked but I just landed in PL and I miss your face. Coffee?"

What Image My Muse Has For Your Muse In Their Phone:

[chaotic--nat]

I fucking love nerds and geeks <3

[esposadejoyhuerta]

I need to know. This is killing me