#And I have it on good authority at least some of em think I'm a bitch

[aw-bean-s]

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[m4tthewsgf]

Period pain

Chris Sturniolo x fem reader

Summary: fluffy shit where Chris comforts his girl while she's experiencing period cramps and all that good shit

Warnings: language, blood

Author's Note: just got my period and I'm slowly dying HAHA (send me some chocolate pls). Anyway, sorry this is short lmao. Enjoy!!! You're enough!!!

---

You loved being a woman. You truly did. You loved putting together silly little outfits, wearing short skirts and crop tops and doing your makeup. It's a privilege being a girl. There's so much beauty in being one and the relationship that women have with each other is magical. There's something so special about it that no words can correctly describe it, but just the fact that we're women all together simply unites us.

However, there are a lot of things that came with being a woman that were ugly. Men who think they own anything and anyone, society's standards, sexism, patriarchy.... the list goes on. But periods? That was a goddamn curse.

You viewed women as superheroes. The fact that our bodies are able to create a whole new body with a heart and bones and brain from scratch is truly fascinating. Scary, but fascinating. That was our superpower. Yet, you and your boyfriend, Chris, were too young to start a family, even though you want to make him a father one day, and now your body is punishing you for that.

Your period pain was the worst. Your cramps felt like knives stabbing your guts, you had extreme migraines and headaches, back pain and on top of that, you were obviously bleeding out of your fucking uterus. Your mood swings were insane, to say the least, and so were your cravings.

Chris had been in a relationship with you for almost a year now so he knew what the deal was and he always tried his best to make you as comfortable as possible. You appreciated his willingness. It was adorable.

You were currently laying in your bed in a fetal position, hoping that the way you've folded your body would ease some of the pain. You have already texted your boyfriend and cancelled the plans you had made for this evening; he wanted to take you out to have a dinner date. You really wanted to go, the two of you haven't gone on a date in a while now, but you could barely breathe from the pain.

Just when you were about to put a movie on the laptop you had settled right next to you, you heard your front door open.

"Baby?" Said Chris from downstairs.

"Bedroom!" you yelled with as much energy you could. You were sure that dying would hurt less than that.

You heard your wooden stairs creak, indicating that Chris was making his way up to your room. You smiled at yourself.

"There's my angel!" He greeted you and planted a couple of kisses on your forehead and cheeks, making you giggle.

"How are you feeling baby?" he kneeled in front of you, his hands resting on the mattress and softly caressing you hair.

"Honestly if you stabbed me right now, it would hurt less" you mumbled against your pillow with half a smile.

"Well, I brought you some stuff!" Chris exclaimed before turning towards the two big bags he had placed on the floor once he entered the room.

"Obviously I got you your meds, you'll surely need em," he placed 3 boxes of Ibuprofen on your nightstand.

"Baby, I'm not downing the whole box, these will last me forever! You got 2 the previous month," you said with widened eyes.

"And? I'd rather know you have more than enough than not" he shrugged his shoulders.

"I also got you a heating pad, I read that heat helps a lot with the crumps," he pulled out a pink heating pad that was coated with a fuzzy layer of fabric.

"Then we have your favourite Yankee candles, the evergreen and caramel ones," he playfully raised his eyebrows at you, "I got a whole ass chocolate cake because I know you love that shit, some Reese's, chocolate bars..." he trailed off.

"Oh, I got some bath bombs too! Thought we'd try em out, they smell really good" he showed you two circular bath bombs, a blue and a purple one.

"And then obviously I have your pads and tampons, the Caesar's salad you go nuts about, your favourite pasta sauce...I think that's all" he finished. Even though your jaw was on the floor, it was only one of the bags he had brought with him.

"What's one the other bag?"

"Obviously some of my shirts and hoodies, jackass" he laughed at your cluelessness. You felt tears brim in your eyes. Your sensitive side came through on your period, you could cry with anything.

"Chris..." you smiled lovingly at him with a blurry vision.

"No need to cry ma, I'll take care of you m'kay?" he chuckled once more and kissed the side of your mouth.

"I love you" you softly spoke against his lips.

"I love you more baby," he kissed you again, "now, I'm gonna go run you a warm bath and then we're gonna eat whatever you want. I can get us food, whatever you're craving, or I can cook you your pasta... how does that sound?" he asked with a caring gaze.

"In n out sounds good right now if I'm being honest" you furrowed your eyebrows at him apologetically.

"Then in n out it is" Chris kissed your nose before making his way to your bathroom.

That night he didn't let you raise your hand. You needed water? He sprinted downstairs to get it. You had to use the bathroom? He escorted you, sometimes even carried you. His presence not only made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, something that always happened when he was around, but it also eased your pain. You couldn't be more thankful for him.

[jellyloveru]

ough :(

[imdead770]

omg love the idea of steve x childhood friend reader!! could you do that for soda too

Sodapop Curtis x Reader - Childhood Friends

Authors Note - Slowly (but surely) getting back into writing. Fingers crossed I don't have another words aren't wording era. Enjoy!

▪︎ Dear, darling Sodapop

▪︎ I know exactly how you met Sodapop

▪︎ I'm third grade, you got paired up with him for some art project

▪︎ And he sucked ass

▪︎ This kid couldn't do anything

▪︎ He can barely read, his hand writing sucks, he can't color inside the lines

▪︎ But for some reason you liked him enough to stick with him all these years

▪︎ Maybe it was how he apologized at least 50 times that you were carrying the project

▪︎ Or maybe it was how he'd still try his hardest to comprehend the big words on the instructions

▪︎ One of the big words including 'instructions'

▪︎ I personally believe Sodapops dyslexic, you can disagree, go for it

▪︎ But the moment he realized he wanted to stick with you was that project

▪︎ How patient you were with him

▪︎ How you helped him read the instructions

▪︎ How you whispered in his ear whenever he forgot half the words to his presentation

▪︎ He didn't really know what love was, he was a kid

▪︎ But looking back on it, that's the moment he fell

▪︎ Fast forward a few years, middle school.

▪︎ I think around 7th grade Sodapop realized just how hot he was

▪︎ He could've pulled a sophomore if he wanted to

"Ya' see that! She was lookin' at me!"

"Every girl looks at you, Soda, it ain't a big deal."

▪︎ You two still did a lot of projects together

▪︎ Normally you did the work

▪︎ But hey, he was good emotional support

▪︎ Eigth grade

▪︎ Somehow both of you managed to have glow ups the exact same year

▪︎ With his jawline being as sharp as Micheal Myer's knife

▪︎ And your body doing its weird maturing thing

▪︎ Which didn't go unnoticed by Sodapop, by the way

▪︎ He fell for you all over again, only this time he had hormones and you had a body that could kill

▪︎ You hung out around the gang a lot

▪︎ Dallas flirted with you a lot

▪︎ Everytime Soda would butt in

▪︎ Everytime the gang teased him about it when you left

"Ya' like 'em."

"What? Na'"

"So can I date 'em?"

"I'll kill ya'"

"Told ya', likes 'em. Gimme that 10, Two."

"Aw, fuc-"

▪︎ Whenever Soda dropped out of high-school he was all freaked out your friendship would end

▪︎ He thought you'd stick with your school friends

▪︎ Instead you two just got closer

▪︎ You'd catch him up on what drama he was missing while he told you stories from DX

▪︎ It was a daily tradition

▪︎ If you were swamped with homework he wouldn't even try

▪︎ He'd still talk until his lips hurt though

▪︎ YOU COMFORTED HIM AFTER SANDY

▪︎ He came over to your place, all quiet and teary eyed

▪︎ That was the second time he cried in front of you

▪︎ The first being the time a bunch of socs picked on him in 6th grade

▪︎ Anyways

▪︎ Eventually the gang got fed up

▪︎ He was well over Sandy

▪︎ He was head over heels for you

▪︎ You went of your way to see him

▪︎ I think someone bet that Steve couldn't get Soda to date you

▪︎ And Steve went all out

▪︎ He practically threatened Soda

▪︎ Soda did it on his own but Steve takes credit

▪︎ He asked you on one of your catch up nights

"So, remember that sophomore gi-"

"I like ya'."

"What."

▪︎ You just sat there for a second, completely awestruck

▪︎ You were gonna say that sophomore girl that liked him got knocked up

▪︎ But that was pushed into the shadows of your brain

"Uh.. I like you too."

▪︎ This man smiled

▪︎ Like pure

▪︎ '😀'

▪︎ He didn't really know how to express emotions after Sandy

▪︎ So he just kissed you

▪︎ Flat out, lips on lips, kissed you

▪︎ After you pulled away he hugged you, smiling into your neck

▪︎ And you were smiling right back

▪︎ Not that he could see it, but still

▪︎ Took a second and ran to tell the gang

▪︎ They all either

A) Flipped out

Or

B) Expected it and didn't care

▪︎ Either way he was jumping up and down

▪︎ Dallas had to tell him at least 10 times to shut up about you

▪︎ He didn't let you go home

▪︎ Cuz like, he was your boyfriend now, he had to be within 10 feet of you

▪︎ After you two started dating he held your hand every single day

▪︎ Cuz like, he's waited over 5 years for this moment

▪︎ Other then the PDA and dates, nothing changes

▪︎ Yay

[the-plantlikefishie-dafi-writes]

Agreement with the Sun

An Arataki Itto x Reader Fanfic

Tags: Arataki Itto x Ruler!Reader, Fake Marriage, Made-up means of governance for Inazuma haha, SLOW BURN (At least I think it is <3), Reader is reserved but a little arrogant, Workaholic Reader, Himbo! Arataki Itto, Sunshine Arataki Itto, Eventual Fluff

Author's Note: Wow I actually gained the courage and posted this fic! Constructive criticism is much welcomed! Take note, I got too silly...

First Sunrise, First Moonfall - A Child of Ame-no-Uzume

🎶 O, Sunkissed Moon, beloved by the Sun, Its rays kiss your face, love questioned by none 🎶

He didn’t know what he expected. But, definitely not this.

If only he could get into a spar right now. Bust some bad guys with a jab, left-right, and a 'kapow!' that would be sure to wake him! But instead, the insanely boring stacks and stacks of papers made his eyes heavy even though he usually slept with his eyes open. Like, dude, what were these even for? It was a waste of good trees if you ask Itto.

If only he could catch some awesome beetles, he would have some fun with a bunch of kids by now and finally break his ridiculous losing streak which has been a major headache! However, two out of three cups of tea got cold from the incredibly long conversation by nerds who he would rather not upset unless he wanted to live in a nightmare.

Without having anything fun to do, he just spaced out. After all, Itto was surrounded by walls made of the finest purple silk and materials. Its design resembled the gentle waves of the sea and the eloquent color of electro. He eyed the gifts of foreign jade trinkets, placed proudly on quality wooden tables and the illuminating lanterns crested with Inazuma’s proud element. The scent of fine sakura perfume wafted through the air in the dim yet well lit room in Tenshukaku.

Man. He shouldn’t be spacing out like this! He is Arataki Itto for archon’s sake! The Arataki "Above All, Bold-Blooded" Itto! He can do whatever he wants… So why couldn’t he do all those he would rather do?

Well, it was because of you, The reigning ruler of Inazuma. He didn’t realize there was another ruler other than the Raiden Shogun. He didn’t really care who is in charge of Inazuma as long as he can live life as much as he wants, but maybe, you were also the reason why the humans became friendly to the onis and the rest of the yokai. He huffed, only a little as to not interrupt the conversation you and Shinobu had.

If only he wasn’t so awesomely charming and handsome that night!

You were just looking around that night. You were tiny, small compared to him, maybe, a little shy. With your cloaked figure, were you possibly a traveler?

"Hey, man! You look like you ain't around here!" he chirped as he tapped your shoulder and his hand returned to his hips. "Enjoying the festival so far?"

"Oh. I actually live in Inazuma. I just don't come out often." "An introvert! Hey, gotta respect that. You know, a lot of cool people I know are introverts like the renowned golden-haired traveler! Savior of Dragons, Conqueror of the Abyss, Teyvat's hero! Too bad, they ain't here though. Miss 'em." You nodded at his words as you dropped your hood down. And here it is, Itto always knew he was talented since birth at making friends! You finally lowered your guard, and you even gave him a smile.

…Hm? Pretty?

"Haha. I did meet them. I'm glad they reunited." Oh, so you knew the Traveler’s goals too? You’d have to get pretty close to them to do that. Just who are you, small mysterious person? "I haven't enjoyed the festival yet. I don't really know what to do," you added with fingertips pressed together and an awkward smile.

A smile curled up and a loud boisterous voice emerged from Itto, "Hahaha! Well, you are in luck, my compadre! I, Arataki the "Festival King of Fun and Revelry" Itto is here to serve you! When there's fun to be had, I am most undoubtedly there!" Oh, he could feel that adrenaline pumping into his veins! He has to get the gang into this! He looked over at his growing gang and shouted, "Hey, guys! Let's show 'em how to rock a real Festival!"

That was how the great Arataki Itto managed to get the seemingly-uptight you to a night of holler and laughs. What surprised him the whole night was not during the height of the clinking drinks and shared enthusiasm, but during the distant singing of an old man and the diminishing hype of the night. Shinobu had just pointed out your status as ruler, as the esteemed sun of Inazuma.

No way. No way.

You know how to party, he'll give you that. But, he can't believe he has been picking up, carrying you, oni-handling the second-in-command from the Raiden Shogun like a bunch of boxes… For the whole night no less!

He was also crazy loud, and he hoped he didn't say a joke that was offensive that could ruin his 150-day streak without getting into jail.

He began to shove the feeling of cold sweat in the backroom of his mind, and Itto smirked as his pointer and thumb framed the chin of his gorgeous face, "Heh, looks like Arataki the "Festival king of Fun and Revelry" served a hotshot tonight! Was my service just as awesome as you expected, esteemed sun?"

You let out a laugh. "Mister Arataki, you are adorable."

Shinobu and Itto flinched and widened their eyes. A hoot of laughter was so unusual to see from someone who is deemed stoic by the public. And, a compliment? Surely, Itto has greatly achieved many things tonight compared to everyone else in Inazuma. Of course, it is expected of the oni king! And, "Mister Arataki"? Prissy and pretty name to add to the long list of titles and all, but where did the sudden politeness come from? He just remembered that you were calling him "Itto" as the whole gang hollered while you were trying to scoop some goldfish.

"Of course, I had fun," you grinned.

Phew. Good thing you aren't nitpicky. He bowed exaggeratedly as he chuckled, "I am glad to be of service."

Itto knew you could see how his head was getting bigger than his body now. You smiled a little wider, "I enjoyed it so much that…"

Huh. There's more? Well, he was ready for you to compliment his entertaining charm.

"I wish to be your betrothed. Arataki Itto, will you marry me?" Itto witnessed you shine and sparkle to coax him to agree— you placed your hand on your chest as you knelt down on one knee, staring into his eyes with eager glee.

….HUH?

You met eyes with your day-dreaming future husband, and gave him a welcoming smile in the midst of an important discussion, cold tea, and stacked papers. It was a little forced, but the way he smiled back was so genuine and infectious, your true eloquent smile appeared. His infectious aura and presence was what made you enjoy that night and what made you choose him.

Good. He is the perfect candidate as a husband for you: an intimidating resting face everyone will cower in fear from, then the friendliest smile that knows no inequality, exclusive and outgoing personality, the leader of a gang that has been giving itself a good name in recent years, and no true influence to the government of Inazuma.

You were glad to have met him that night.

It was your time to rest in the stuffy yet plain room. Tired eyes fluttered to the beautiful sights of the Festival. Dancing sakura petals of the wind waltz with the lights of the city. The hustle and bustle sang and harmonized with the music of Inazuma. Culture of games, masks and silk infested the streets to satisfy the people and Yokai. Commissioner Kamisato was right; the Shirasagi Himegimi outdid herself this time. The night was too alluring to stay in your room as warmth started to bubble in your heart. Maybe, you won’t spend your night in your stuffy room today.

Indeed, those elders would criticize and lecture you, but at the very best, those grimy sons or selfish daughters of theirs will have no room in your work and your thoughts. At the very least, in your marriage with Itto, he wouldn’t do much for Inazuma other than some minor inconveniences. He would do his own things, and you would do yours. He wouldn’t have any problems with money, shelter, and clothing, and you wouldn’t have any problems with annoying suitors. Now, you have a reason to turn them down.

You also gave your husband his freedom to love whoever he wants.

In the lengthy contract that cited rules and regulations and written agreements between the Arataki Gang Leader and the Esteemed Sun of Inazuma, there, you have written: “The Esteemed Sun of Inazuma, □⁠□⁠□□, agrees for the Arataki Gang Leader, Arataki Itto, to have a romantic or sexual relationship outside of the contractual marriage between the two parties.”

“Hm, are you sure you want this part to be in the contract? Won’t it cause some kind of scandal? It might not jeopardize you, esteemed sun. But the Arataki gang will face grave repercussions." Kuki Shinobu voiced out.

How lucky was Arataki Itto to have a jack of all trades like her? You got a little envious, but the feeling hid behind the curtain. "Dear Kuki, is someone with the likes of Itto even interested in romance?" you whispered.

She actually pondered on your joke, but you pressed on with a grin. "Either way, please notify me if he plans to have a lover. I will make a scandal wherein I have another lover as well as make the narrative sympathize with Itto. Now, they won't be so rude if they think with their little heads. To kill the attention on me, I will announce something beneficial to Inazuma’s-"

"Wait," Itto tapped in, long fingers playing a rhythm to the dark wood. "You're going to sacrifice your reputation? For me to have my own lover?" He raised his brow.

"Of course? My "love life" won't affect my service.”

“Aren’t you technically my lover according to this contract?”

“Well, do you love me?”

“Uh…”

“Think of this as a marriage for convenience, Itto,” you gently smiled, mostly because he was cute, but slightly you placed him at a corner. “We don’t have to love each other.”

"Heh! Well, think again, sunshine!" He crossed his arms and widely opened his mouth. "I'm not gonna be some kind of cheating jerk and fail this marriage! I ain't gonna fall in love with anyone or ain't gonna make out with anyone else but my future wife! I am gonna be an awesome and committed husband as granny oni taught!"

Honestly, you stifle a laugh. "Is that so? It isn’t really cheating since we don’t have feelings for each other, and this relationship is obviously one of empty commitment. You will get bore-"

Before you could add anything, you could feel Itto's hand grab yours as he brought it to his lips. "Then, I'll use my good ol' Arataki "The Handsome Oni" Itto charm to make you fall for me" he winked.

You pondered. Does he read those cheesy light novels?

DON’T PLAGIARIZE, REPOST, OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORKS.

Thank you and God bless!

[spockandawe]

Binderary! I already spoiled how this went last night, but now let's review how it went with slightly nicer words and slightly nicer pictures. And, as a special treat at the end, I even have a spreadsheet.

Last winter, I expressed a vague desire to do a speed test, and see if I could sustain a pace of a book per day for an entire month. Text harvesting, typesetting, everything. This was at the stage where backing books was a terrifying leap of faith rather than a mildly tedious chore, and I'd never tried leather. I had a cricut, but had been too nervous to use it yet. And I did it! In fact, in pursuit of nice round numbers, I hit 30! I didn't realize, but the month wrapped right around my one year anniversary of starting bookbinding, and those projects landed me somewhere in the 130s of total books bound (my tracking spreadsheet has gaps and also needs a revamp).

This year, I had progressed a lot. I had gotten much more ambitious with my projects and was a MUCH better typesetter. I was confident I could hit exceed thirty, so instead I thought I would see how quickly I could do it. This was a fantastic plan, because work had me so exhausted and strung out that I accidentally started february a day early. Doing great. I pushed on so I wouldn't get an artificial rest and set my deadline at the 27th. Then.... in 13 days I hit 28, and all it took was one joking poke, asking if I thought I could average two books per day. It sank in. My brain ADORES ridiculous artificial conditions. I just Had to do it. I was emotionally invested. Anyways! I'm flirting with genuine burnout, but I DID IT, BABY. Last night I hit sixty!

SIXTY BOOKS! Five in leather! One in denim! One in velvet! Two edge marbled! One over a thousand pages! Three cnovels! All but one book cover done with my existing stash of paper, fabric, and leather! That one exception was tian ya ke where I knew which fabric I wanted, and I had precut pieces in my stash, but I wanted to fussy cut alignment on the fabric so I went out to buy more, hahaha

I did ease up my initial self-imposed rules a little, just because like forty books in, the concept of STORIES stopped meaning anything. I went hilariousuly numb. It's like semantic satiation, but for a concept. Stories? Never heard of em in my life. So when fics has multiple authors I wanted to gift them to, I made multiples and each counted as a separate book. Other books here were anthologies of a couple dozen stories, counted as one book. So I didn't stress it. I am legit more burned out than I wanted to be, I wasn't going to find EXTRA unnecessary reasons to push and make it worse. This was a fantastic achievement, and I'm really so proud of myself right now. My last svsss was book 201, and these are 202-261. This is just under a quarter of the books I've ever bound. I am EXTREMELY proud of this.

Now for dessert. SPREADSHEET. I'm redacting all the books and authors, because some of these are gifts and if i do decide to fully spoil the surprise, I'm at least going to do it with individual glamour shots. For now, this is what we've got. Please note the right three columns, where I tracked the total numbers of stories, words, and pages in here. Mistakenly saving the villain (part two) is the one that counts as 0 stories because it's split across two volumes, but everything else should make sense, I think. I did PRETTY DARN GOOD

[pleucas]

I just reblogged all your art (sorry if that was weird) but your drawings are AMAZING the composition the expressions and the way you draw backgrounds is amazing!!! you are crazy talented, I wanted to ask, have you read any soukoku fics that you would rec? if not that’s okay, I’m just curious about that.

ALSO. wanted to ask if I could use your art for a soukoku playlist I have on spotify (of course giving you credit in the description), if not it’s okay too:)

hehe hi!

i think i saw the spam happen in real time lmfao. it was truly an honor, made my day lolol <3 i'm glad you like my art, and thank you for taking your time to send in an ask.

you can totally use my art for spotify playlists! it's insane to me that someone would want to, so thank you so much <3 <3 totally send it over if you're open to sharing >;D

as for fic recs, i do indeed have a few...

idk if my taste in fics is similar to yours, but i generally like more introspective works with really good writing. the bsd fandom has a surprisingly (or unsurprisingly, given that the animanga is inspired by literary masters) incredible selection of works, unmatched by any other fanbase i've investigated.

my go-to rec is Three-fold Fate by devilrin (multi-chap, 60k, complete). the writing in this one KILLED ME. you know it's gotta be good when the author literally cites Ocean Vuong as inspiration lmfao. it explores the intricacies of canon-verse and dabbles into other aspects of bsd that aren't even explored (yet) in canon. brilliant writing and good skk shit, also with an interesting premise that really hit hard — i always go back to read parts of it when i want to spiral in my thoughts

the art of growing attached by hydref (one-shot, 6k, complete) is also really nice. soft & intimate, also in character in a very funny way

the choir's gonna sing by intimatopia (one-shot, 8k, complete) was really interesting, and i think abt it a lot. it explores dazai's ability in a super cool way that i haven't thought abt before, and now it's one of my fav interpretations. it also adds a depth to the skk relationship that i kinda adore. the writing is also brilliant, and the other works in the series hold a similarly high standard

StarshipDancer's skk series is also a goldmine of skk fics lol. the writing is solid and often very entertaining, i also love how they're both characterized

all the holes we had to breathe by airiena (one-shot, 18k, complete) is gorjus. it explores the dev of their relationship, and has some wonderfully handled motifs that made me writhe lol. very cathartic.

Always/Never by KhaoticEnby (multi-chap, 27k, complete) is one of my favs to return to. it's the peak of reconciliatory intimacy, and i enjoy how it gently explores skk's relationship. also very very cathartic and healing hehe

those are just 6 that immediately come to mind from my mountain of bookmarks aha. hope you enjoy at least some of em ;0 someday i do want to write for skk as well, they're just so captivating and wonderful... <3

thank you again for sending in an ask. wishing you a wonderful day!!

[deusvervewrites]

Any advice for someone who want to get started on writing fanfics, but has no idea where to start and what to do?

The usual advice you'll hear about how to get started is to just do it, and it's good advice, but I'm going to break it down a little here.

Since you want to start, I'm guessing you've had some ideas, either fic concepts, scenes, dialogue, or something. Write those. Write 'em down. Get them on paper. They don't have to be good, they don't have to make sense, you don't have to show them to anyone, but it's important to write them down.

For one thing you can always revise them later, but the experience will be more useful.

Everyone has a different writing style and a different method to their particular madness. I need to plan out what I'm doing ahead of time, in some detail, or I can't make words happen. Other people can improvise their way through a plot and then patch the holes afterwards.

I've heard it said that there are as many correct ways to tell a story as there are people who write them. I think that there are actually more, that certain stories can be written differently than how that same author would write something else.

This is why I want you to write something down regardless of how it comes out; I want you to figure out what kind of a writer you are. Knowing that will make pretty much everything else easier.

I also personally keep a writing schedule. It's extremely useful for making sure I can write regardless of my current enthusiasm but I also keep it flexible enough for if I need a break. It's how I maintain weekly updates, and professional writers have talked about it being a good habit to have.

I'd also suggest that you look through my Writing Advice tag, or at the very least, these two posts

[chronotsr]

No. 2 - G2, The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl (July 1978)

Author(s): Gary Gygax Artist(s): Erol Otus, Dave C. Sutherland III (cover), David A. Trampier Level range: Average of 9, preferably 5+ players Theme: Standard Swords and Sorcery Major re-releases: G1-3 Against the Giants, GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders, Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff, Dungeon #199, Tales from the Yawning Portal

On the heels of being more impressed with G1 than I expected, will G2 be similarly impressing? Time to find out!

The intro blurb is mostly a repeat of the text of G1, including admonitions that running stock is for villains. Our motivation remains: figure out why the hill giants did that, no matter how fucking dangerous it is. Interestingly, the other main objective of G1 (give 'em a bloody nose) is not relevant here, because that teleport means that the frost giants aren't a threat to the villagers themselves. In fact, the room teleportation schtick kind of means G2 is filler? Like, the big reveal that the G series leads to the D series is not really impacted by the events of G2. So, oops!

Conveniently, the magical chain teleports out outside the rift so you can once again have a secret cave HQ. I feel like you have a responsibility as a GM to have a giant counterattack to at least one of these caves.

I really like the imagery of the descent into the rift here. I mean, I don't think this illustration really does it justice, imagining the deep blue color of light barely passing through the ice and how that gives the area beneath the surface an eerie oceanic glow at all times other than noon -- that's some good vibes. Gary opts for green, which is a fair enough choice. Unfortunately, Gary is more interested in simulating the mounting climbing than vibes, which means that at least one of your party members is going to fall face first into the snow drift below. Gary "generously" caps the damage at 10d6 (avg 35 dmg) -- a level 9 fighter, to be clear, has 9d10 hp (avg 45 hp) and a level 9 magic user has 9d4 hp (avg 23), so that's not ideal. Also recall that you recover 1hp per full day of rest normally, so if you fall and survive you're probably still fucked unless your cleric has a lot of spells left. I'm also pretty sure your cave HQ is above the cliff face, so, risking the descent seems like suicide to me. You're going to lose people and even leaving to heal them back up is simply taking another chance at oblivion. Take the stairs.

If you have the audacity to slow fall down, you will be blown 75ft off course in a random direction. Very cool Gary!

Another interesting detail: monsters in classic DND have a pretty short attention span and will lose you fairly quickly if you flee around a corner. This is particularly amped up here to a breezy 4 in 6 odds of success, due to blizzards blocking chase.

Anyway, we're into the room by room, so let's do some room by room shit.

There is a kind "spiked heads of our enemies at the gates" situation, with corpses mutilated and frozen in transparent ice as a warning to not intrude. Honestly that's badass. What's not badass is if the players have the wherewithal to try and free the corpses (for loot or kindness), most routes lead to the treasure being destroyed and the roof collapsing -- probably instantly killing your squishies.

The hill giants from G1 are lolling about waiting for an audience, so points for continuity. I have to imagine they're freezing their asses off, though.

There are yetis here? Which, going on the graphic and the listed intelligence score in the MonMan, I have to conclude are sentient bipedial apes but like, NOT like the Frost Giants. Actually apparently the average yeti is smarter than the average frost giant, so I guess it's a Diogenes situation where they choose to live in a shitty cave when everyone else has a nice cave?

The 5 hill giants visiting the Jarl have 1k to 6k gold fur cloaks, which like. Imagine a 6,000 gold cloak. Not only is it got to be huge (Hill Giants are 10.5ft tall), for it to be worth 6k to a vendor that's got to be a one-piece fabric cloak off a particularly rare and good condition animal. I guess the players could use it as the world's fanciest comforter?

The official appearance of a Remoraz! These are awful creatures. They swallow you whole and then superheat their insides to cook you. Nasty side effect: its outsides become furnace-hot and destroy nonmagical items and burn people to death. Look at this horrible thing! And of course it's guarding the swankiest loot to date -- a +2 Giantslaying Sword and a 3 Wishes Ring. It's been a weird trend lately that the best loot is, not owned by the leader of the Giants? The best hoard seems to always belong to Some Guy. Naturally this awesome loot "sinks into the ice" if you use a fireball, because this adventure has an addiction to telling the wizard to fuck off. Note that the sword being lost punishes the fighter for the magic users' decision. Note also that the Remoraz going into superheat mode doesn't do the same thing? It sucks. This clause sucks. Cut it. The actual room itself is kind of neat, the implication is that the Remorhaz melted a spherical hole into the ice to make a den, which is awesome.

Another iconic Garyism: ". They have had audience with the Jarl, and after a special wassail to be held on the morrow they will depart for home with a treaty scroll." Translation: They're goin to have a drinking party tomorrow to celebrate a treaty signing.

And like, one room later, we get "leman", which means lover, and "durance vile", which means long imprisonment. The text implies that basically, she's a hot butch storm giantess being held in chains until she agrees to fuck the Jarl. Gary, simply ask a tall woman out. You don't have to be weird about it.

Rather than torches, the feast hall is lit with jarred fire beetles, which is kinda cute

There is a thick iron bar that "transports whosoever is standing on the floor to the entrance of Snurre's Hall [G3]". The iron bar is a lever, obviously, but is this a lever-operated teleporter? An elevator that goes straight down? G3 eliminates the elevator theory, since apparently you can arrive here via pegasus and there are caves one can access overhead. So it's a literal teleporter, and at least how I'm reading it makes it sound more science fiction than magic. Weird.

On the whole, G2 is a massive step down from G1. G2 lacks the factionalism of G1, punishes players for damn near anything attempted, and is broadly less imaginative than G1. It's a pity, really, because it's a far more interesting locale on paper, but the reality is that you could generate a cave like this by scribbling randomly. Meh. Next time we poke G3, and hope hope hope that it's more like G1 than G2.

[eiirisworkshop]

Dearly Departed

A post-canon Brokeback Mountain oneshot Available to read on Ao3 here, or as an author-read podfic here.

~

January, 2005

Alma Monroe parked in front of the little whitewashed Pentecostal church, got out, wrapped her coat more snugly around her, and started going along each row of headstones. A few minutes later, another car pulled up and a woman somewhere in her late fifties or early sixties just like Alma got out and walked to a grave near a white marble obelisk. When Alma got to be one row of graves over from the obelisk the woman looked up at her. "Are you looking for someone?"

"Oh, yes, I am." Alma brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "My ex-husband died recently and I know his best friend is buried in this town, and I couldn't say why but I just felt like I needed to come let him know."

The other woman smiled and looked down. "That's awful good of you. I don't know this grave yard real well, I'm just 'round these parts with my son and his family for the holidays, but I've been here a few times, maybe I can help. What's his name?"

"Jack Twist."

The woman's mouth fell open. "No."

"What?" Alma was taken aback by the woman's reaction. "Did you know him?"

"He was my husband." Lureen touched the headstone in front of her. "He's right here. Half a him, at least. Cremated."

Alma put one gloved hand to her mouth. "Well what are the odds."

"I couldn't say." Lureen held out a hand and Alma shook it. "I'm Lureen."

"Alma."

"Am I right in thinking you were married to Ennis Delmar?"

"I was."

The two women laughed at the unlikeliness of their encounter. Lureen shook her head. "I never imagined I would ever meet you, certainly not here."

"I know." Alma looked down, hesitated, and put her hand next to Lureen's on Jack's tombstone. "I can hardly even believe I'm here. Don't know why but I felt I needed to tell him Ennis is, well, wherever they are."

Lureen nodded. "They were close."

"Real close."

"I stopped countin' how many times Jack drove up to Wyoming."

"Seemed like they were off camping or fishing or whatever every weekend."

"But it couldn't a been more than once a month or two!" Lureen laughed again, shook her head, pressed her lips together, and looked down. "They sure were close."

"Yeah."

Lureen was quiet a moment. "You ever think—" She stopped herself. "Nevermind."

Alma looked at her. "I ever think what?"

"It's nothing." After a long moment Lureen took a breath. "Just, you ever think they mighta been a little too-"

"Too close?" Alma laughed, sounding like a madwoman to her own ears. "Oh I know they were too close." Her hand on the tombstone curled into a crocheted fist. "I saw them."

Lureen's eyes went wide. "Saw them? Doin' what?"

"Kissin'. Kissin' like they were 'bout to tear each other's clothes off right there in the stairwell."

"Oh my God." Lureen put her hand on Alma's. "I had my suspicions but... Bless you for not killin' either of 'em. If I'd seen something like that I definitely mighta shot one if not both."

"Who would you have shot if you only shot one?"

"You know, I don't know. Probably Jack." Lureen affectionately brushed some snow from the tombstone. "I sure don't blame you for leaving 'im. You did leave him, didn't you?"

Alma nodded. "I got to a point I couldn't take anymore."

"I don't think a woman should have to stay in any relationship that isn't working."

"So you and Jack, that worked?"

"Yeah. For a while, at least. Then I just got real good pretending it did."

"Why didn't you leave?"

Lureen was quiet a moment. "Well, in part, because my daddy'd never liked Jack but I married 'im anyway, divorcing 'im woulda been like admitting I was wrong and I was always too stubborn for that. And of course there's also that I loved him, always did, I really didn't want him to go. Then, well, he died, and that changes things. When somebody dies they become almost sacred I guess. Took me a real long time to get past everything. I did remarry eventually, older fellow with just as much money as my daddy had, just like my daddy wanted. He died a few years ago but I knew when I said 'I do' I was fating myself to outlive two husbands."

"I remarried too. He's still around. Had a son with 'im, love 'em both."

"I'm sure you do" Lureen paused, "Did you love Ennis?"

Alma met Lureen's eyes. "Of course I did. Even while I hated him, I don't think I ever stopped loving him. In a way I still haven't."

"I understand."

"Hated Jack, too."

"I know. Somehow I never could hate Ennis, though. Hated every other guy I thought Jack mighta been seein' but couldn't quite hate Ennis." Lureen ignored Alma's startled expression at her mention of other guys. "Maybe because I never saw him, I don't know. The first and only time I ever had anything to do with him was not long after Jack died, he called to ask what had happened."

"He did?"

Lureen nodded. "He did. And I could hear in his voice over the phone how hurt he was. I recognized how he was feelin', it was how I was feelin'. I wanted to hate him, but I understood, and I knew he understood, and I just could not hate him."

Alma nodded and put her hand over Lureen's. "I don't hate either of 'em anymore. I've made my peace with how things were. It's all in the past anyway."

"Right. And, you know, I believe they never meant to hurt anybody."

"No, I don't think so either. But they were trapped."

"By us. Guess you did Ennis a favor in leavin' him."

Alma shook her head. "No, not by us, I don't think. In a way maybe but it musta been more than that."

"You're right, it wasn't us. It was something more."

"Trapped in their own heads more than anythin', I think."

"Maybe." Lureen sighed. "Seems to me they were just trying to do what was expected of 'em even though it wasn't really what they wanted outta life."

"They did the best they could; the best they knew how to do."

"They sure did." Lureen blinked a few times, determined not to cry. "At least now they can be, well, them, I guess. I think they've earned that. Jack sure as hell has waited long enough."

Alma walked around to the side of the tombstone Lureen was standing on. "When did he die?"

"1983. October."

"Yeah, you're right, that's long enough to wait for anything." Alma took a deep breath, knelt, and clasped her hands. Lureen hesitated then assumed the same position as Alma began to speak. "Jack, figured I ought to let you know, Ennis is wherever you are now, hope for both your sakes it's heaven but I'm sure you've wound up in the same place one way or another. Expect he'll be glad to see you. You had best take care a him, you owe me that much and more. Hope you can both be happy. And God, please look after both their sorry, lying, good for nothing asses. Amen."

"Amen." Lureen laughed, stood, and helped Alma up. "That was nice, though. What you said to Jack, and to God, sounds about right."

"Thank you, but I swear when I die I intend to find that man and smack him because I should have but never got the chance and the courage to at the same time."

"This may sound strange, but I hope I die before you because I want to see that."

Both women laughed. Lureen took one of Alma's hands in both her own. "What do you say we go have lunch together? I'm buying."

Alma hesitated them smiled. "Alright."

[totentnz]

V, #14 😈

Dark OC Asks

14. What is your OC's "villain song"?

now there is at least two answers for this, i have many many thoughts on the topics and i hope i can get em all out lmao

IM BETTER

i LOVE a good joker arc, some defining moment in a characters life that just breaks or changes them in some way, this doesn't fully happen for v but she stands on the precipice plenty of times.

namely the vdb debacle and when she gains control of the blackwall via songbird. (there might be more but it's been a minute since i properly played)

now what do these two instances have in common? netrunning/ hacking. this song (and others like it) always get me thinking about v getting lost in the power she holds with her quickhacks.

a cyberdeck wasn't even her first choice, she wanted berserk in combination with gorilla arms but viktor refuses to install them for her. she could go to a different ripper to get them obviously but he's the only doc she trusts and who won't rat her out to the authorities for having cracked soft. (this explanation is a bit underbaked i will admit) she also knows he's lowkey right, she cannot be trusted with that kind of chrome.

now one could argue that being able to kill people via command does more damage than a pissed off ape but maybe she can control herself better than vik gives her credit for. or maybe he's not too familiar with netrunning/ hacking.

there is also the aspect of v knowing exactly what happens when she uses a hack, she wrote the code herself. (i'm not saying she invented them but they are her own versions, either written from scratch or modified some way)

my favourite example for this is the suicide quickhack: v takes control of the target for a few moments, she has to raise the gun, she has to pull the trigger, she has to leave the person's consciousness before they die but not too early or they will flinch away at the last moment. she doesn't die if she stays too long but the repercussions can be dire anyway: she passes out, there is psychological damage etc. if the target is right and she executes it well it can be pretty fun though, sort of like playing russian roulette but without dying.

but to get back on topic: i LOVE the mental image of her just standing in the middle of a bunch of enemies, activating overclock to wreak havoc on them AND herself.

i also enjoy copy-paste - she makes herself an easy target for another runner just to pull this out of her sleeve and fuck them over so much more, she simply IS better.

this mindset is also reflected in her aversion to chrome, she doesn't need it or rather she doesn't want it. she is better than them, she is built different. now that is simply not true, she can tell herself that lie as often as she likes but she needs cyberware to keep up. (i actually have a background story for this, maybe i will even write it one day)

so she slowly begins to betray herself: she replaces her glass eye with kiroshis, she installs extra ram, she gets the reinforced tendons. these changes come slowly and her body is still mostly ganic by the end of the game but in quiet moments she hates herself for caving in and for enjoying it.

ultimately: power corrupts, nobody is immune to that.

EAT THE CHILDREN

any otep song tbh, since it's the band i chose to use for rotten (her band) and v turns into the worst version of herself when she's on stage. it's one of the reasons she decided to end the band in the first place, though everyone involved just thinks she was being asshole (they ain't wrong)

her whole band era was a double edged sword, on one hand she finally had a voice and was adored by some but at the same time she had never been more miserable. their songs are filled with her traumas and that puts her back into a powerless position, add the adrenaline of being on stage and you get a truly volatile concoction.

[distant--shadow]

get to know meme

lil thing where I'll give a bit too much detail so it fills its purpose, honoured honestly to be tagged by three of my favourite writers in this space @sharkodactyl, @unicyclehippo , and @astoriacolumnstaircase - anyone reading this should be reading their works instead.

favourite colour: brown(s), like a mid to a dark tone, i like them to have a bit of red involved. like our old-boy chet, I love the wood. my dream home would be all wood-panelled with built in inlayed and set back shelves and nooks a plenty and yeah just full of brik-a-brak. otherwise my favourite colours are navy blue and greens that are more mixed with blue than yellow, teals and emeralds and once again generally around the mid tones. green makes me very happy. moss and outdoors and all that.

currently reading: fic. haha. (suss my recommend reading tag) I did venture out to my (very) local queer bookshop and asked them for something that won't send me on a spiral if I'm already on one/provide some escapism and they reccomended river of teeth by Sarah gailey. anyone I've said about it to seems real enthusiastic about it, I am not well read at all when it comes to published things, tend to just get really into a few fandom authors works and picking them apart (rereading a lot) . still haven't started it but maybe I'll try take it out to the park in the next week or so. I'm dabbling in reading (and unfortunately writing) poetry thanks to @picturesofthegoneworlds and @blorbotomy 's influence, those mini books are fun to keep on you when out and about, poem or two on a tree stump or boulder with a grand vista and a brain that wants eyes on a phone screen.

last song: last song I consciously (not background music) listened to was:

I went on an early lord snow stint the other night because the air smelt crisp and there was a nice chill. they have remained my favourite heavy (as a broad term) band for a decade now.

I used to have music on all of the time, whether that be cd's at home or in my mp3 player (that I still take out with me) but these days I find listening more of an intentional activity and I prefer to have people just nattering when I'm at home and want background noise. think it's where my heads at and I've just got more sensitive to being overstimulated I guess. I was also pretty good at going to a live gig at least once a week before I did my back in, looking forward to getting into that habit again.

last series: I don't watch much stuff outside of critical role, least other than YouTube videos I'll put on whislt I'm drawing. oh wait yeah I ordered 3 seasons of xena on ebay because it's like a couple of quid a season and it is a real good comfort show and fucking amazing. I hadn't seen it since I was pre teen and it was on day time TV and I'd catch it on sick days. the amount of people I've brought it up to these past few months who've been so stoked to be reminded of it/eager to watch it with me is actually hilarious.

last movie: uhhhh God movies I watch even less. I haven't been to a cinema in over 12 years now, just not my thing, and it's funny caus my mum used to work in the film and TV industry and we had shelves and shelves full of VHS growing up (mostly bootlegged) and she can just ramble about pretty much any early era film up to the stuff from the 80s (when she was working on em) for days. never could sit through em, never felt satisfied with how the story went. guess that's why actual play appeals to me. but saying all this I did rewatch Bound for the first time since I was like 15 last month or so, enjoyed it a lot more than I did back then.

sweet/savory/spicy: savory all day. I am a salt fiend. I used to think I'd be fortunate enough to die from my salt intake. I'll put it on anything. cereal, toast, fruit. I think the other day I noted the one thing I wouldn't put it on, but I can't recall that right now honestly. it's gotta be decent salt too, sea salt or rock salt that has some texture and delicious flavour, I'm not fucking with that table salt shit. I carry salt with me in a mini mason jar everywhere I go, saves when you only have access to bland cold supermarket food. one of my earliest memories is when I was like 6 I had had my daily 1 glass allowance of squash/fruit cordial in my white Tom and Jerry printed beaker with the accordion bendy straw and so when I was pouring myself a glass of water from the tap I put salt in it caus I wanted flavour that would not show through the white translucent container. it's all been downhill from there, although I also, luckily I guess caus otherwise I would be really fucked, do drink a lot of water.

currently working on: myself and healing. hah. I never realised how much paperwork and phone calls came with this maintenance shit. I'm still out of work, and my mental health has taken a huge hit from not being able to do the things I usually would. so right now I'm just trying to keep everything together. I can draw again though, so sorry about that.

I never know who to tag in these things caus I don't think everyone wants to do them. so I'll go with this being open invite as always. hope anyone who read this far is having a good week, and sentiment is still there even if you didn't read this (unless you don't deserve my well wishes, then fuck you.)

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

I'll bite, if you're still doing the episode write ups: Dunkin Duncan? Was a childhood favorite of mine, though baby me liked Disney Direct to DVD sequels so I do not trust them

Author's note: Here's a throwback to when I was taking asks about opinions on episodes. In total, I received four asks for Dunkin Duncan! That means it was tied for the number of asks for Edward's Exploit... y'all love your alliteration ig...

Sorry for the year-long delay on responding to the DD asks. My birthday's tomorrow so I'm sodding off from my chores tonight to blog, and while I'm here trying to clear out as much of the old stuff as I can. So let's finally wrap this up...

---------

Awww. You needn't have any angst about your taste. Preferences are just preferences; we all have 'em. Anyway, I've liked stupider things, and I've liked them as an adult. Give kid-you a cookie and a juice box, they're fine.

Also, I won't say I think this episode is, like, good? It desperately needed a sharp editor for it to be that. But I also don't think it's as bad as some people make it out to be.

Like, I've seen this one get dragged like those trucks did to Duncan over on tttetwt. And, since I posted my epic EtRUE rant, I immediately started getting these requests to tackle DD. As if people think they're on a level? And I've seen a lot of fans point to DD as the low point of the season. Well, it's in the valley, I suppose. But I still think that when you break them down into their components DD never ranks worse than EtRUE and it also has much more substantial good things going on in it.

Here's a link to the episode, as we're going to go pretty much beat by beat.

Let's first discuss the bad and then the good. (Be warned: In the spirit of the last major rant, I'm going to continue to drop generous f-bombs. As a treat.)

The Bad

1. The intro bit. God, the intro bit is so fuckin' uninspired. The "set-up" is Brave Plucky Clever Rusty leading his two pitiful, personalityless old steam engines down the line to "help Duncan with an important job at the incline railway." We did not need to see this unremarkable journey, guys. You plan on showing us the scenery on the line a whole lot in the next two stories; this one should have opened at the quarry. You could even keep the same (uninspired, but very Season 6-y) opening narration, but with, like. Shots of pushing past each other in tight sidings, lots more footage of the incline, etc! It would make this episode feel more distinctive, and reduced the "throat-clearing-ness."

Instead it takes us over 30 seconds just to arrive at the quarry. Just wasting time. Padding the story.

2. An unnecessary beginning also leads to the unforced error of this:

Why does Skarloey look so friggin' pitiful here? The narrator says they like going to the "incline railway." God, why did the show feel the need to just bloody nerf Skarloey and Rheneas after Season 4? Were they too powerful? Fuck me.

Indistinguishable blobs of lukewarm tapioca. I will never forgive this era of the show for reducing them to this.

3. Continuing crimes of characterisation... this is less of a problem than what's going on with the other three engines, but Duncan is subtly off. I mean I get that "we just made Duncan angry and contrary about everything, at all times," is their new strategy, and at least this means he has a characterization (looking again at poor 'Loey and 'Neas), and I can't deny that it was successful. So I'm not going to criticize that, exactly.

But I still really hate the line "I'll show that smelly diesel and those lazy steamers!" It's like they carried on with Duncan's initial diesel antipathy, ignored about the part where he dropped it, and then, in the end, they didn't have the balls to stick with it so they made him one of those "equal-opportunity haters." I think the line is just really bloody awkward and should have been shot down by an editor. (Of course, it's not even in the top 10 lines I think a good editor would have tackled.)

4. Going back to Skarloey and Rheneas, the idea that Duncan could be bitching at them and trying to order them about, and all they do is ineffectually whine back at him, is disgraceful. Their passivity is not canonical, and it's not even interesting. If you weren't going to do anything with S. & R., why have them in this episode at all? You could've just made it a Duncan & Rusty episode. I definitely think the story would have felt cleaner that way.

5. This is a remarkably "busy," squiggley, ill-paced little script, considering how little happens. Like, the one regard in which I think EtRUE was superior to this episode was that its pacing might have been off but it did some stuff. There were loads of characters, who actually all had a personality and were contributing to the plot, and there were different settings (for legitimate reasons, as opposed to the first 30 seconds of DD with its pointless scenery porn). Ultimately I don't think EtRUE's busyness went anywhere, but at least it felt like their problem was that they were cramming in too many ideas, rather than, as DD comes across, desperately trying to massage one decent but unripened idea into a full 5-minute story.

So yeah, DD just has to tell us variations of 'Duncan is impatient' and 'Duncan is rude' and 'Duncan doesn't give a flying fuck about safety precautions' and 'the other engines are sick of his attitude' again and again and again. And they have some good footage to help us swallow all this! But they don't have enough.

Aren't the other engines bitching out Duncan shortly after this that they are only supposed to send up 2 trucks at a time, not 4? But this is the image they use during the 'scene establishing' beat where they describe how the incline works. This is a bit nitpicky coz I guess you can argue it's just showing us how Duncan's been working before the other engines show up to tell him how to do it properly—but it still comes across as confusing TO ME.

7. Something that is NOT nitpicky but back to the real heart of why I think this episode drags (despite the good stuff, of which again see below):

The BEST stuff in the ep is when Duncan's coupling gets tangled and we see him dragged up the incline behind the trucks. Now THIS is a narrow-gauge "rollercoaster" escapade done right! Eat your heart out, 'Neas! (Rheneas: It's literally all I do?) The drama... the suspense...

We should have been able to watch Duncan go up with minimal to no narration. That's how you build suspense when you're filming! In moments like these, shut up and let the visuals and the music score do the work!

Instead we have to listen to this:

"I tried to warn him!" said Rusty. "He never listens," the diesel's driver said.

Sigh.

First of all, though usually anytime a driver gets a line is a plus in a story, we literally just checked off the "engine-driver" interaction box like 20 seconds ago when Duncan and his driver had an exchange. So fuck the samey-ness of this one following right on its heels.

Still, this would be acceptable (though I still think words only detract from the suspense here) EXCEPT WE'VE ALREADY BEEN LISTENING TO TWO SOLID UNEVENTFUL MINUTES OF A) THE NARRATOR TELLING US THAT DUNCAN IS CARELESS AND WON'T LISTEN AND B) RUSTY AND THE OTHERS COMPLAINING ABOUT THESE VERY FACTS.

There is so much repetition in this script. I'm tearing my hair out. WE GET IT.

This is the same flaw that went down in the final minute of EtRUE btw. Between the narrator AND the Fat Controller AND the narrator again we had so much commentary on why our episode's Antagonist was Naughty, Naughty, Naughty.

IT'S SO DULL. This whole series is very much about seeing engines behave poorly and get their comeuppance, but c'mon! We don't need to have the narrator pull a fuckin' Talmudic scholar and interpret the text for us every bloody time!

Compare and contrast to, like, "Middle Engine," where James's comeuppance is shown and felt but very minimally commented on. And it's way more entertaining to me than all these other examples were not only does the story teach a moral, but the narrative has to shove it down our throats at least three separate times to make sure the kiddos get it. Like, fucking chill? If you've done your job right they're gonna make their families rewatch it a hundred times anyway, at some point you have to trust them to interpret the story themselves.

8. Oh, good. Now the Fat Controller's shown up and we have to hear the dressing-down. Again, in case somehow, somewhere, like one kid out there in 2002 somehow missed the ethical thrust of the story.

8b. Bonus: Like EtRUE, the Fat Controller insists on Duncan apologizing to the other engines.

8c. Bonus Bonus: AND THEN, AGAIN, WE HAVE TO FUCKIN *HEAR* IT. It's completely unnecessary, but here we are. In this era of the show, some producer or head writer type really did say "You know what the best part of school was? When the teacher made a kid apologize to another kid. It always lead to these interesting moments that were also so emotionally authentic. I bet it would make for great television! 😇" Look, I don't say anti-worker stuff lightly, but this person should have been docked some pay. Good grief.

Altogether, this episode feels like a combination of AI scraping and regurgitating previous narrow-gauge episodes, mixed in with a wayyyy too generous helping of Moralizing. I can certainly see why there are people who loathe this one.

Nevertheless, it definitely has redeeming qualities, making it just as clear why some people love it:

The Good

1. Duncan! The other three engines' characterizations might be miserable. But (apart from that one small line that jars ME), Duncan is solid. You can complain if you want that his characterization is not quite right re: the RWS, and I won't disagree with you. But they did grasp that Duncan was extremely relatable to bouncy, can't-sit-still, "bad" kids, and they did carry on with that part. Duncan's misadventure here is a good follow-up to "Rock n Roll"—same personality flaw, similarly watchable spectacle. I wish they had characterized the rest of the narrow-gauge engines even half as well as they did Duncan and Rusty, but I will certainly own that they did very well with endearing Duncan to thousands of little hearts in the Oughts.

2. Spectacle! This is the HUGE one. However badly written the script (and I think it unambiguously sucks), the spectacle is great. The incline is fun to watch. The incline with Duncan is even funner to watch. Duncan snapping off and going down the incline is even funner. Him WHOOSHING off it like a half-pipe is even funner. PLOOP into the mud is best yet. The basic plot device here is great, using an actual rail mechanism (it may not be realistic, ofc, but it does utilize its setting, and not in virtually the same way that's been done before, ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME ETRUE) to create a unique and engaging situation.

3. The incline/quarry setting. It's good. I still think they should have used it even more and dispensed with the unnecessary railway establishing shots, but anyway. At least we spent most of the running time here.

4. This one may be more idiosyncratic to me. But you know I'm always complaining that one of the big problems with TVS episodes (not based on RWS) is that they are typically so afraid to do multi-part story arcs? Relatedly, that they insist on cramming a happy ending onto everything, no matter how poor a fit it is? Well, I gotta give it up! They didn't do that here. There's some real astringency to this episode. They let us end on a note of disgrace!

It would have been better (better by far, too) if they had followed it up with another Duncan-related episode where he redeems himself, ofc. But, look. Season 6's major weakness is insisting, again and again, that everyone is jolly and happy and "tooting happily" together at the end of every squabble—which is very cute like, one or two times a season, but which gets trite real fast. I'll take the episodes they dispense with that exceedingly well-worn trope when I can get 'em.

5. I went well out of chronological order to save the best for last.

The early montage showing Duncan's Greatest Hits is a scream:

Honestly, every TTTE montage is terrific. This is one of the best ways to film the models. It always hits. They could have afforded to squeeze way more mileage out of this trick before it was in danger of growing stale.

But this one? Short of the legendary "They had to do James's work as well as their own," this one is the most magnificent, character-wise. It's the way Duncan looks so horrified every time. That face—every. time. He's literally the embodiment of the "when I find the mf who's been ruining my life" meme. It's glorious.

So, yeah. I don't think DD succeeded in as many areas as it failed, but its successes were real.

I also wonder if the episode's haters would hate it less if it were called anything but "Dunkin Duncan," lol. (I admit I'd probably despise EtRUE less if it had a better title.)

[arcplaysgames]

hmmm where did i leave off....

To celebrate the Madarame Job, the team comes together for hot pot. It's a nice sequence! It's cute! Ann and Yusuke continue to be my favorites. Everyone bonds over their sad backstories and Reverie re-explains how he wound up with an assault charge.

Morgana is briefly sad that he doesn't have any memories to bond with the team about. Yusuke is as comforting as I would expect him to be. He has such a dry sense of humor, it reminds me of Akihiko when he starts to open up and has these really straight-faced little jokes.

AND FOR A WHOLE TEN MINUTES THE GAME LETS ME THINK YUSUKE IS GONNA MOVE IN WITH REVERIE AND I WAS LIKE "AT LAST, EVERYONE TOLD ME THIS GAME WOULD DELIVER SOME GAY AND NOW I GET TO HANG OUT WITH EFFETE AESTHETE MATT MERCER EVERY NIGHT, YESSSS" but no he decides to go to the dorms.

my pout can be seen from fucking space

He does leaves Sayuri in the cafe, which actually made me emotional for a moment.

MEANWHILE

I don't know shit about Akechi but he sasses Makoto, so I'm a fan.

Also, Makoto, idk gurl maybe people get on your case because you fucking suck? It ain't that deep.

Okay, one: RYUJI I AM GONNA GET YOU A FUCKING BALLGAG AND IT WILL BE THE LEAST EROTIC USE OF A BALLGAG IN THE HISTORY OF GAGS. WHY CAN'T YOU SHUT THE HELL UP.

Two: I'm about to vault over this table and throw hands with Makoto. This might be a new landspeed record for a character getting so fucking deeply on my shitlist, this might actually rival Ryoji The Insta-Creep Whomst I Hated in P3P, I despise this girl.

Makoto blackmails the team into going after her target, a mafia group that is going after students.

(I wonder if they are yakuza in the original JPN? I feel like "mafia" sounds extremely weird here. If for some reason you don't wanna call 'em yakuza, even "organized crime" sounds less weird, but what do I know.)

This game is really trying to pitch me on Makoto being in a tough position, but I am a complete no sell on this. I think because I flat out do not buy the idea that she didn't know about Kamoshida when multiple students were going around the school with visible injuries and everyone was talking about Shiho and Ann. Like, if Makoto swore she didn't know, she's either a liar or she's so fucking oblivious to suffering around her, she shouldn't be in a position of authority over anyone and doesn't have a leg to stand on against the Thieves.

Glad the game lets me convey my contempt to her, tbh.

Oh then right after, she digs up Reverie's phone number to call him to thank him.

Makoto, you are a full-ass stalker and we are not friends. You lying to Sojiro to get Reverie's personal cell number to call him is like the cherry on top of your stalker sundae.

Also, through this entire sequence I have squinting at her shirt collar to figure out what that is. It's a B and a J, for Boaz and Jachin, the pillars at the entrance of the Temple of Solomon and framing the High Priestess as she sits sentinel before the veil BLAH BLAH she's the fucking Priestess. In what universe. Whatever.

The only good Priestess I have seen in Persona thus far is Fuuka. As discussed previously, Yosuke was P4's real Priestess.

If she's not the Priestess and her collar stands for, like.... Japanese Baseball, I will uninstall this game.

Anyway, I started Temperance.

Mostly because I wanna know what the fuck is going on here and is it deeper than some asshats at Atlus going "what if we combined our Maid Kink with our Hot For Teacher Kink!!!!!"

Also oh my god when the fuckign framing device thing kicked in and Sae was like "YOU MUST HAVE HAD HELP AT SCHOOL" i about fucking died.

The framing device of this game unfortunately takes Sae, who had a great introduction, and makes her seem like an idiot.

........ GOD could you IMAGINE if this game had The Fox?

SAE: "It seems like you were seen at the shrine on a regular basis. You MUST HAVE HAD CURRIED THE FAVOR OF THE GODS. Who helped you????"

LOOK AT HER FUCKING FACE I'M CRYING. I almost flung my Odin away in terror. PUT THAT AWAY!

Do you... want me to play along? How much is this a chosen job and how much is necessity?

I hate to be That Guy but if this.... is actually a line of work Kawakami enjoys, that would be very Temperance of her. Taking subconscious desire and want, and connecting it to material needs like money. Temperance would be the card of "getting paid for what you enjoy doing," honestly?

But who even fucking KNOWS. In P3P I literally Noped out of the Temperance SLink and in P4G I never got to rank 3. I figure I owe Atlus to follow ONE of the routes so why not the one that raises the most alarm bells! For fun!

Meanwhile, Mishima continues to be a crisis case waiting to pop off and I just wanna scream.

And then. Oh. He's in Kichijoji? AKA my favorite location? HM.

Am I being fucking punked? Or doxxed? What is happening here?

I mean... again, the Jake English vibes are bananas through the fucking roof, but he's also a master of billiards and a (so far subtle) flash bastard about it?

This is not helped by the fact that if I were to assign, uh, a Certain Character I Wrote In A Story a major Arcana, Justice would be one of the best options for him.

Anyway uh. Okay. I'm paying attention now.

Even if he is still Beige as all hell.

Last note for this post, I finally kicked off Yusuke's link and

damn Sae you fucking got me, we were having Yusuke make counterfeit copies of high-value TCG cards and sold them on the black market to fund our work, YOU FUCKIN CAUGHT ME

I don't even know how to deal with Yusuke being the fucking Emperor. What the fuck is his domain? The art world at large? How the fuck does he exert power over that? Also, like, if that were his domain, that's more a Hierophant thing than an Emperor thing--

MY POINT IS, I DON'T THINK IN THESE THREE GAMES YET I HAVE BEEN SO BAFFLED BY AN ARCANA CHOICE. I can see Magician, Hermit, Priestess, Strength, even the Hanged Man if you wanna be Spicy. Ooh, or the Star, he'd be a GREAT Star.

The fuckign EMPEROR?

Is the game gonna pull another rabbit out of its hat and convince me "oh yeah he the emperor" like it did with Kanji? STAY TUNED, TRUE BELIEVERS but the odds are not in their favor. oh my god, Yusuke as the Emperor, I'm fucking flabbergasted. What the hell.

[lesbianrobin]

howdy em, any advice for focusing on studies instead of my hobbies? I love my fandom blurbs so much but sometimes it’s to my downfall xp

babes i appreciate your high opinion of me but i am SO not the bitch to ask. i'm literally terrible at time management and focusing on boring shit FKVJDJD but here's some stuff that sorta works for me. sorta.

incorporate your interests into your schoolwork whenever possible. obviously this is gonna be a task of varying difficulty depending on the assignment and what you're studying, but if you Can write your paper about stranger things or create a fun visual project in photoshop to display your data or whatever, you're gonna be more motivated to work.

sorta on that note you know that thing where you read a fanfic and it's like so incredibly obvious that the author works in a specific field or has expertise with a specific thing? you could be that author. if you can't incorporate your interests into your work, try incorporating your work into your interests! idk about you but i definitely have more fun and feel more motivated when i'm researching for a fic than i do when i'm just doing a random assigned reading. as you study, you might keep a list in the back of your mind of ways that this could potentially benefit a future fic or whatever to keep you engaged.

i personally once made a stranger things gifset to explain the history of color in film to procrastinate studying for my film history final and guess what! i was actually just studying for my film history final! in a weird ass nerd way!!

be flexible with your studies. i typically write at least 50% of any given assignment on my phone, because i'll get ideas at random moments or seize small pieces of downtime throughout the day to get work done. it can be helpful to designate certain times and spaces for schoolwork, but in my own personal experience, sometimes that can make the whole thing feel much more intimidating, and i won't get any more work done than i would have while typing on my phone in bed. i also find that restricting schoolwork to a specific time/place makes me view it as more of an obligation, when the truth is that i love what i study! i love to learn! so, i try to treat my studies as a hobby whenever possible. my fic and paper writing processes are nearly identical, and i think that helps in easing some of the pressure and dread that might accompany the thought of Writing A Paper.

this one is boring but just. reward yourself when you do focus on your studies! when i used to pull late nights in undergrad to get my work done on time, i would often take a trip to sonic when i was around halfway through with my work, for both a brain reset and a little reward. the first time i did it, i just didn't have any food for dinner in my apartment, but it quickly became a ritual that made me look forward to getting work done.

study in public when possible. this one sounds so stupid but literally the power of knowing that anybody around you in the starbucks or library or whatever could see you on tumblr/ao3/etc is NOT to be underestimated! i am a very insecure and self conscious person and i use this to my advantage. would you rather that cool-looking girl at the table next to you see you thoughtfully annotating marx or scrolling aimlessly through ao3? think about it.

ok that's like most of it i guess! but in all honestly i am still figuring it out myself. i think the key is just to keep on trying. it takes time to figure out what works for you and what doesn't, and there are gonna be times when you screw up and make a poor choice that backfires. instead of thinking about how much you suck, or writing it off entirely, look at these instances as opportunities to learn and consider how you might set yourself up to make better choices in the future.

anyway i'll get off my high horse and shut up now LMAO thank you for like thinking i am smart enough to come to with such a question. good luck!

[zmediaoutlet]

happy wincest wednesday! assuming djinn sam isn't as normal as he looks, what's a wincest headcanon you have for that universe?

happy wincest wednesday! (on actual wednesday for me! imagine that!)

This is one of those where I am happy to be a little bit led, bc I've read some fun fic to this effect -- in particular one I'm thinking of (can't remember title or author, sorry) where Sam's kind of... mean, and he's fucking Dean on the side and also fucks the cute El Sol girlfriend. I mean, ouch.

Tricky for me, though, because I'm of two minds about the djinn ep.

Mind 1: it's a djinnverse, which means that it is a fake world blown up from the mind of a specific person, intended to grant them one wish -- letting the dominoes fall as they may from that wish, given the information the djinn can suss from the person's brain. This means it's built by, limited by, given structure by, the wisher's imagination, the way they think about themselves, the way they imagine other people think about them, what they may wish were thought about them, shame and hope and desire and fear all swirling around together.

Mind 2: you can also just treat it as an entirely separate, wholly realized domino AU. That is -- make it a real universe unto itself, where x didn't happen and so y and z have all the room to grow they want. Not a fake world inside a wisher's head but just -- a world. This is the normal AU that would happen if Mary had lived.

Trouble for me, with Mind 2, is that... I don't believe in normal AU-with-normal-upbringing wincest. I just can't buy it. (I answered another ask on this ages ago, points for anyone who can find it bc I couldn't when I just briefly tried.) Normal AU where they're broke or John's abusive and Mary's dead, etc etc? Sure, let them fuck. But Dad with little league and Mary baking pie and Sam happily off to Stanford and it's all hunky dory? I know people like the soulmatism read where they'd get incestuous anyway, but... I just can't come with 'em. So.. Mind 2, sit down.

Mind 1, then: if the wish is still as simple as 'I wish Mom hadn't died?' And we bring canonically pining crazy-ass Dean Winchester, with all his hope and shame and hurt and need into that mess? So, it makes sense that Sam's off being normal and successful and marrying a picture perfect 2D (with double Ds) blonde. It makes sense that Dean's a wastrel who's on every shitlist. It makes sense that Sam wants nothing to do with him, because who would? Look at him. Look at the mess he is, look how lazy and meanspirited and dickish. A little bit of a mystery that he landed such a hot nurse, hm? But he's good at faking it, isn't he, because the thing is that he wanted Sam so badly that he panicked. Couldn't get too close because he couldn't ruin Sam, too. It was easier to be an asshole, to be the bad example, to screw Sam over and make Sam push him away, to do everything he could to be the person Sam would never want to be -- and it worked, Sam ran off to California and went to college and was Mr Perfect and when he'd come home for Christmas he'd look at Dean with this pained expression like, don't ruin this, too, and Dean'd grin back like -- oh, just watch me. Making sure. When Sam was good and gone Dean did get the hot girlfriend, because he knows how to use his body and he knows how to be pleasing when he needs to, and he was normal, or at least normal enough to count, and when he drunkdialed Sam on weird nights when Carmen was gone on one of those three 12s weeks he'd say -- he didn't know. He wasn't responsible for what he said then. He'd already ruined it so what did it matter, if he ruined it a little more.

Sam didn't hang up on him. Sometimes Dean'd look at his call log and there it'd be, under Outgoing -- forty minutes, an hour. Two hours. Maybe Sam just put the phone down and went to sleep. Maybe that was it. But one time, he was drunk but he wasn't as drunk as he could've been, and he called, and Sam answered even though it was one in the morning in Palo Alto, and Dean didn't quite know what to say because his filters hadn't been completely drowned yet, and Sam said, when Dean wasn't sure he'd say anything at all, you already done? and Dean said no -- no, I'm not done, and Sam said, kind of quiet so Dean couldn't tell if it was disgusted or not, if you're just going to heavy breathe at me I'll go back to studying, and Dean bit his tongue, and Sam said, well?, and Dean just -- said everything he'd ever thought, about -- about what he wanted, and what he'd dreamed. What he'd wished for. Thinking that Sam would hang up, that Sam would fly all the way back from the ocean to Kansas, would open up the apartment door and kill Dean where he sat, and Dean would've been grateful, if he did. But Sam stayed on the phone, and Dean could hear him breathing too on the other side of the line, and Sam said, quiet still when Dean paused with his mouth dry and his head ringing, he said: you get off on that? and Dean was so hard he was surprised he wasn't drilling a hole in his pants, and Sam hummed, and he said then, go on, and Dean clutched himself through his jeans and creamed his shorts and Sam stayed on the phone while he breathed through it, and then Sam said, still in that same tone, night, Dean, and Dean hung up, and he didn't call Sam again for months. Until the next time.

What I'm saying is: my hc, in Mind 1, is that djinn!Sam hates Dean exactly as much as Dean wants to be hated, and is as disgusted with him as Dean believes he deserves disgust, and when Dean can't take either of those anymore Sam will take him in hand, exactly as Dean needs to be taken in hand. He's useful, that way.