#Wax Pack Flashback

[trnsocial]

Wax Pack Flashback: Gargoyles (1995)

In this episode of Wax Pack Flashback, Adam (@hojukoolander) opens a pack of #Gargoyles trading cards from 1995 produced by Skybox.

In this episode of Wax Pack Flashback, Adam opens a pack of Gargoyles trading cards. This 70-card set by Skybox featured 6 cards in each pack and 1 exclusive bonus card. Most bonus cards were pop-up style cards with a rare chance at Double-Sided Spectra or Redemption cards. The Redemption cards were a mail-in card to either receive a special Skymotion card or a VHS copy of the Gargoyles movie.…

[randomfoggytiger]

Mulder’s Alien Baby Baby Trauma In-Depth (Part IV): Passive Mulder Turns Passive-Aggressive

As always, interpreting Three Words 'accurately' hinges on the littlest details in every shot, since the writers chose to be overly covert when translating the scripts onto the screen (post here); but the following scene is of paramount importance. It establishes Mulder's reawakened unhealthy routines, his ignited jealousy of Doggett, his distrust of Scully’s judgment, and his choice to push away from recovery and into the pitfalls of from-the-hip reactions. This pattern waxes and wanes the rest of the season until the birth of his child.  

Hanging Out in His Apartment

The day after Mulder's return to his apartment, Skinner drops in and relates Kersh's reassignment refusal. Mulder spends the majority of the conversation letting them ride out their steam, shooting down other avenues to get him back, and ultimately revealing he hadn't cared to get back to work, anyway... until Doggett is mentioned.

Mulder is lounging on his couch sporting casual wear and bedhead, likely roused from sleeping-in (or taking a bonus nap) and dressed in presentable clothes for Skinner's sudden visit. Scully is also in comfy loungewear; and wouldn’t have had enough time to drive home, get changed, and drive to Mulder's apartment if she and Skinner left directly from work. Logically, this means she and Mulder were at his apartment all morning.

So, we know Scully was hanging around (either she spent the night, changed at either apartment, and stuck around or she went home for the night and came back the next day) and Mulder was letting her-- but how does Skinner fit into this domestic (un)bliss? 

It’s hard to know for certain if Mulder had previously talked with Skinner in the hospital or if this is their first time catching up: 

1. We were not privy to their opening “hello” or “good afternoon” scene; and are shown only Mulder’s tailend reaction to Skinner’s news. 

2. Skinner is a consummate professional; and having seen Mulder at his literal worst, nothing afterward would, perhaps, faze him as much. At any rate, it’s in Skinner’s nature to keep a cool, professional demeanor when dealing with his agents about business; and that would be the easiest go-to when handling this situation now. 

3. Skinner has behaved this way before when discussing his own PTSD and trauma: in One Breath, he put aside his professionalism temporarily to appeal to Mulder; but swiftly packed it away and went right back to his work mode. He knows trauma, knows his agent, and probably assumes this is the way Mulder would want it to be. And he’s not wrong.  

What we do know is Mulder, while not himself, is at least acting like himself: trying not to seem aloof; including Skinner in his jokes, ideas, and ruminations; and relying on him-- though in a different way-- as much as he does Scully (and later The Lone Gunmen.) 

The only change is the loss of that touch of vulnerability Mulder often showed Skinner in moments of crisis or great emotion. Now, he keeps a wall up, trying to block in what he considers corrosive parts of himself and block out the sympathy of others so he doesn’t have to address the compiling PTSD. Vulnerability comes with a price at this point; and Mulder-- excepting his brief confession in the previous scene (post here)-- is avoiding it at all costs. 

The Pivot from Passive Mulder to Passive-Aggressive Mulder  

The scene starts out with Mulder sitting, solo, on his leather couch-- more accurately, sinking into it heavily, his normal vibrancy zapped by exhaustion. False bravado is hard to maintain, especially when one has been dead a few days before, is battling worsening PTSD, and now suffers from recurring flashbacks that likely disrupt whatever sleep he can get. 

“Kersh wants to put me behind a desk? That is not what Kersh wants.”

He looks over at Scully and Skinner who hover together a few feet from the couch. It appears that they had just finished their conversation about Kersh, pivoting towards him when Mulder piped up. This establishes a few things:

1. Mulder can already sense how close the two have gotten in his absence-- more accurately, that they've formed a tighter bond over trying to find him and battling Kersh in the meanwhile. (Scully picks up on this, and continually draws back to his side at every available opportunity, reinforcing how much she needs him.)

2. Mulder doesn't appear jealous during this exchange or any future one, seeing it as simply another marker of his time gone.

3. Mulder most likely assumes Scully didn't accomplish much on the files without him, his absence and her pregnancy holding her back (he botched one case in the two months she was gone, after all.) He even slips in the reality that she won't be on the X-Files much longer once her baby is born-- something he's already thought through and assumed she had, as well (which she hasn't, as later revealed in Alone.)

Overall, his consternation is at Kersh, not Scully or Skinner.

Scully strides over, silently asserting that her place is by his side, not their boss's. “Well, I think Kersh wants you to quit, Mulder.” 

An interesting detail: while Scully spends this scene trying to get a pulse on Mulder’s listless mood and doubting whether she should push him forward or let him hang back, Skinner keeps an eye on Scully, judging (correctly) that he will better understand where Mulder’s coming from by reading how Scully reacts to her partner's responses. 

And here’s a crucial detail: this scene sets up Mulder’s back-and-forth when it comes to reaching out and withdrawing from his impending fatherhood. As Scully walks over, her eyes flick down and away; and the camera reveals why when it cuts to Mulder, who has turned away and closed his eyes while she approaches and slowly levers onto the couch.

Throughout Three Words, Mulder does want his child, doesn’t dislike or hate it; but he’s so battered and drained that he can’t bring himself to reach out. In future episodes he bounces between excited father-to-be and man obsessed with answers because he needs to stop what happened to him from ever happening again-- trying to escape his trauma by attempting to stop the source. He begins repeating the past nearly thirty years’ mistakes-- avoiding reality (“life on this planet”) by charging at windmills-- except this time he’s had his peace, had happiness with Scully, and knows he has a kid on the way. It all rings false-- he'll be jumping back into work not because of the wonder of exploration and discovery but because he's using government conspiracies to hide from reality, giving up and reenacting his ‘I did what I could and can’t do any more’ fall back in The Red and the Black, One Son, and Amor Fati. In essence, Mulder is trapped in his trauma response (post here); and-- unable to take a progressive step forward-- he regresses backward to unhealthy Freeze-Flight loops, caught up in unessential “busy work” to distract from the bigger problems he feels he can’t fix. A way to feel in-control in his out-of-control life.

“It’s more than that,” Skinner asserts; and only then does Mulder turn his head, “He wants to punish you. To hurt you.” Another interesting detail: Skinner focuses on Mulder’s emotional well-being, directly stating “hurt you” with venom at Kersh and protective assurance towards his recovered agent. No longer is Skinner willing to be oblique about his care and concern about either agent-- and Mulder responds to this, and lets his boss back in a little bit more.   

Another crucial detail (there will be a lot of these): when Mulder rattles off “And you by putting you in this position--” to Skinner, his voice is solid, stable, ‘normal’; but as he continues “--and Agent Scully”, Mulder falters, his voice sinking, some more of his pain and a little bit more vulnerability bleeding through. The thought of his partner being punished-- in his absence, after his return, for his absence and return-- churns his gut and effortlessly draws out his empathy towards her, despite his erected barriers and avoidance of more personal reconnection. 

Even more crucially-- and touching-- is that Mulder slows his spiel, staring longingly at his partner while he says, “--for not giving up on me.” He then pauses, giving her his full attention and gratitude through their unspoken: he’s moved by her devotion, words not adequate in his beaten down state; and, in his own way, wants her to know he’s seen her efforts, understood the lengths she must have gone, and is overcome by them. 

And Scully knows this, shyly ducking her head down and slightly pursing her lips (a Scully tell of “I heard you, but I don’t know how to respond yet.”) 

Back to business, Mulder’s voice loses that soft quality once again: “Truth is, this was a bullet that was fired about eight years ago.” Sardonically waving his pointer finger around for emphasis, he continues, “It’s a magic bullet that’s been going round and round and right now it seems poised to hit me in the back of the head.” He grimly stares at Skinner, who stares grimly back. 

Scully cuts in, determination in her voice. ”I think the question is, Mulder, are we going to sit here and let this happen?”

Mulder is amused in spite of himself: he doesn’t lose his edge, but he softens at the corners, shooting incredulous smiles at his five-foot-two battle warrior while he ruthlessly (read: affectionately) tears apart her predilection for war with the facts: “Scully, you’re going to give birth in a couple months.” 

She shifts, acknowledging his point, while Mulder keeps talking. “You can talk as tough as you like, but you know and I know and they know that in a little while you’re going to have more important things than whether or not the X-Files remains open.” 

But it’s more than just the facts: Mulder doesn’t want to fight. 

Mulder is not only traumatized but also willfully passive, seeing no hope in struggling for victory when all options are played out before they’ve even begun. Kersh reassigned him, Scully's leaving, the X-Files are doomed; and because they are doomed, he doesn't want to go back to work (and later doesn't want Scully to go back to work if Doggett is there and he's not.) It’s a cynicism that is hand-in-hand with his eternal optimism: when that optimism burns out, he quickly reverts to cynicism and Freeze-Flight loops. 

Mulder has always responded well to Scully’s logical deduction or scathing criticism-- and it is scathing, at times-- because he needs to be told straight, in no uncertain terms, how he’s messing up and how he can fix it and move forward (ex. Scully reaming him about giving up on the world and himself in One Son and Amor Fati.) Scully, however, doesn’t trust herself to advise or even unleash on Mulder, knowing the pain of this specific violation but without the full horror of her memories to contextualize and fully understand it. Likely, she doesn’t even know Mulder can remember, assuming he was returned ‘blank slate’ like herself; and Mulder’s reticence and withdrawal compared to his previous vim and vigor whenever the government or aliens tampered with his memory utterly baffles her. And so, they coast… (until an off-screen scene right after this episode ends. But I digress.) 

Scully looks away, knowing Mulder has her dead-to-rights but also knowing a piece of information he doesn’t: that Kersh still wants Doggett on the files. This means she and Skinner talked over Kersh's meeting before Skinner told Mulder; and that Scully still had not shared about Doggett, yet. 

“Agent Who?” Mulder asks, intrigued more than threatened.

And then he’s met with silence; and realizing that’s never a good sign, he looks toward the one person he trusts to give him a straight answer… and realizes Scully hasn’t told the entire truth. 

“I’ve had a partner… for the last seven months,” she reluctantly admits. 

Mulder, struck, doesn’t even realize his head has wobbled back on the headrest while staring (blankly then angrily) at his partner. 

The fact that Scully withheld this information means two things to Mulder--

1. Scully and Skinner kept him out of the loop about his job-- which is very different than wanting him back but respecting his distance. 

2. Scully intended to keep important information from him, period. 

--and sets fire to those old insecurities: Scully “I’m fine”ing through the years, Scully not admitting to what she saw because she was afraid, and Scully not relaying details to him to either protect him or herself. It’s the worst thing to reignite now because Mulder had thought she was the only certainty-- such as it is-- in his new, uncertain world; and now he wonders if he can rely on her, wonders if she trusts this ‘new’ him as much as the ‘old’ him. 

“He was assigned to help me find you,” Scully adds. 

Increasingly uncomfortable, Mulder pulls his legs into a pseudo-ball and wraps his arms around them, creating a soothing embrace of a sort for himself as well as another barrier to shield his anger at her and Skinner. “Mission accomplished.” 

His act isn’t quite good enough-- Scully, dismayed, sees right through it; but doesn’t comment while he continues his questions to Skinner, not to her. 

When Doggett doesn’t measure up to Mulder’s paranormal expertise, his dark suspicions become darker and more suspicious: “I see. Then maybe the question is not ‘who fired this magic bullet’ but whether or not it was a lone gunman.” He smirks, a wonky facsimile of his old, self-abasing, conspiratorial humor.  

Again, Scully cuts in, not wanting Mulder to waste precious energy on an ally. “Agent Doggett is above reproach, Mulder. He’s being maneuvered just like you.” 

Mulder is not convinced. “Good. At least he’s maneuverable.” With that, he immediately launches out of his seat and rushes off. 

Mulder no longer trusts the angle of Scully’s judgment, translating her hesitancy to share Doggett as another clue of her blind belief ala religion, science, and some supernatural experiences (as well as her indignation over Diana Fowley in One Son, post here.) To Mulder, Scully was loyal to him and did her best in his absence… but she also let a wolf waltz into their office and remain in her midst, a part of their work, and next to her and her child. From here on out, Mulder chooses to follow no one’s council but his own, his trauma taking on a new shape: thrashing self-protection-- channeling his helplessness into hostility against Doggett and willfully disregarding Scully’s warnings as an effort to ‘save’ her from herself. He’s seen things she hasn’t, he remembers what she doesn’t, and he won’t let it happen again-- for her sake, but really for his own. 

The last part of this scene is important, as well, hammering home how disconnected Mulder feels from himself before the Kersh madness was even brought to his doorstep:

“Where are you going?” Skinner monotones, talking down a crazy man. 

“Gonna get dressed. For the first time, I feel like getting back to work.” 

And for a man who felt alive and as close to whole as possible when chasing down leads with his fearless partner, this is both an alarming tell of his present feelings and a warning sign for his future recklessness.

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Yutaka and Yukata

*deep inhale* 

YOU KNOW WHAT I WILL MAKE A POST ABOUT THIS DESPITE OUR DINING TABLE ENDING LAST WEEK! 

Why? Because I have been personally victimized by Ueda-san’s photo album and I want everyone to know about it! 

I mentioned it once in passing on my blog last week, but I’m gonna talk about it again because like many things in this show, one brief moment radically alters how deep the emotional wounds cut. This is not my typical analysis, this is mostly just be screaming in to the void!

“W-K-A, what the fuck are you talking about?” you ask. 

“This!” I reply

“Here! Have just a fraction of the instances that Yutaka is called ‘Yukata’ instead!” 

“Now, W-K-A,” you sigh. “That's because Tane is young and just messes up his name. You don’t even know Japanese, so you can’t wax poetic about the name meanings and their significance. Surely, there can’t possibly be anything contained within this show to make Yutaka’s nick-name hurt more. It’s just a silly little gag! You’re over-reacting, you’re reading too much in to it,” 

Now, on claims of overreacting, I will one hundred percent agree. But like I said at the beginning this show has ways of making the smallest frames, the most off-handed comments, the flashbacks pack a punch. And well, dear readers, this? This shit ruined me:

Devastation to the highest degree in these three translated words. Mika in yutaka. Like????????????????????????

Hello??????????????????????????????

You’re really gonna make me sit here, knowing that the only captured memories we see clearly depicted in that photo album of a one most precious and beloved wife and mother is her wearing yukata????????????????????????????????

When Tane literally only ever calls his new best friend Yukata???????????????????????????????????????????????

And you just expect me to sit with that?! You expect me NOT to read into that?

I cannot describe to you how strong of a blow I took, when I saw this moment on screen last week. This sudden realization that Koji probably spends a lot of time looking over these books. That Minoru and his father spend time making sure that Tane gets to know his mother, through the meals they make together, by having him say goodbye to her in the mornings, by having him share presents with her. 

I don’t know, y’all I’m just thinking about where and how Tane learned the word Yukata, and who and what he associates yukata with. 

And you know, this all would have ended there. With me saying that I was emo about Mika and Yutaka and yukata, BUT I PLAYED MYSELF, because I was going back through episodes to take screenshots for my examples, when I found THIS!

In like…episode 2? 3? Something way early on and, I should not have done this to myself because I saw this frame and all I could think about was the way this mirrors the scene we get in Episode 7, when Yutaka tells Minoru his backstory.

Anyway, this show is perfection and I’m going to go take a long walk off a short cliff about it. 

Thank you for your time.

[buckybarnesss]

on fire: a teen wolf novel chapters 14-16 chapters 10-13 here chapters 7-9 here chapters 4-6 here chapters 1-3 here

annnndddd i'm back with another installment of on fire. we're in the home stretch now as the next three chapters will cover the end of the novel.

this section took me some time because 1. i do not care that the whittermores were robbed and 2. there's two long, detailed flashbacks with kate and derek that i found difficult to get through.

speaking of.

as always kate argent is her own warning but just in case i will be talking about those flashbacks so warnings for grooming and rape.

me this entire chapter:

we open this chapter back on lydia. who is now tied up by Thing One and Thing Two. she specifies she’s tied to a Louis XIV gilt wooden chair.  now lydia says it's antique but pssft mrs. whittermore totally got a reproduction because she's new money trying to pretentiously pretend she has class. the whittermores always give "his wife covered the house in chintz so to keep it real i fuck him on the floor" energy. 

lydia goes on to describe the robbery and look, i don’t really care about this. let them get robbed. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

lydia also gets to have her own little flow chart to show just how smart she is:

we move from lydia being a hostage to hunter gramm (we learn this is not his real name. his real name is bailey) plotting how to dispose of jackson. cassie doesn't want jackson to get hurt so she pleads for him to just dump jackson somewhere and escape to mexico like they had planned. bailey isn't listening though because he gets a phone call.

cassie is trying very hard to keep jackson’s dumbass alive as they listen to bailey have a conversation with one of the goons back at the house. he realizes they have lydia and he’s afraid for her. chich is sweet. honestly their behavior and thoughts towards each other throughout the book have been very in line with their toxicity in the show. caring is not a weakness, oof.

we’re back in hell -- oops -- i mean another flashback to six years ago with kate and derek.

remember i read this so you don’t have to. 🤮🤮

kate gave derek something to eat or drink i think was laced with something that makes him sick to his stomach and he goes to throw up in her bathroom. 

i just want to wrap derek up in bubble wrap and keep kate away from him forever and ever. 

derek’s a ball of anxiety throughout all this. he wants to appear grown up for kate and impress her. he doesn’t want her to see him like the child he actually is.

derek spends about a paragraph waxing poetic about werewolves. he calls his pack his “moonborn family” and i like that sentiment actually.

what I don’t like is “like wolves, werewolves mate for life.”  this may be a Me Thing but i’ve never been overly fond of the whole mate concept within fandom. i just thank my lucky stars it's not canon.

there’s a moment when derek’s about to leave kate’s apartment where she moves to kiss him and GIRL HE THREW UP. YOU KNEW HE DID. YOU SET HIM UP FOR IT. YOU NASTY.

derek leaves and he’s just swimming in anxiety and insecurity over the “date” with kate. he feels like a loser because he wants to be Grown Up and have sex. he physically starts to jog away from her place. it’s like his body knows what his mind isn’t even entertaining. that she's a predator and he shouldn't be doing anything with her in private.

derek runs and ends up outside of beacon hills hospital where he sees the stilinskis. little stiles, his father and the unnamed claudia stilinski. i couldn’t make this up if i tried. this is such a classic trope. 

of course in canon by the time of the hale fire claudia had been deceased for a year but we don't find that out until season 3 so it can be forgiven.

he observes them. holder gives a clear reference to what a lot of fandom assumed before it was revealed that mrs. stilinski actually had FTD and went with the idea that she had cancer referencing remission. he notices how nervous stiles is and how it reflects his own nerves. 

this brings derek to the idea that humans can get sick, they decay and die. it freaks him out. which, okay, i guess since this version of derek doesn’t spend a lot of time around humans so he’s not used to the concept of mortality of others or himself.

this new fixation drives derek back to kate’s as he's overcome with worry for her. he's become a ball of confused hormones but when he arrives he overhears her talking to someone. it's clearly another hunter but only the audience knows that and derek's uncurious ass accepts it's not his business as he regains himself and turns to go but he bumps into a trash can making noise. this of course brings kate out. she's wearing a satin robe 🤮 and she puts on her concerned face and offers to let him shower and says she has an extra tooth brush. god, i hate her.

this chapter ends with the words: “and ms. argent shut the night out, and brought him into her den.” rage. what i feel is rage.

the next chapter comes back to the present day with lydia being rescued by danny and damon. the pair had gotten danny’s lacrosse gear and broke a window. lydia took her chance and ran out. 

man, that was actually an awesome utilization of danny. smart, clever and quick. wish we could’ve seen something like this in the show. jeff.

it cuts back to jackson who is listening to cassie try to bargain with bailey to leave jackson alive. bailey doesn’t want to leave any loose ends. like, my guy. the plan has fallen apart and you want to catch a murder charge too?

jackson just can’t catch a break this entire time. cassie and jackson attempt at an escape from the van when bailey is distracted. it ends as you’d expect. cassie gets shot because bailey is a fucking idiot, the van crashes. it’s a mess. glass everywhere, the smell of smoke and gas. jackson’s still handcuffed and cassie is in terrible shape. 

in the midst of this lydia has called 911 and is speaking to a dispatcher who's trying to help them. it's helpful but not helpful enough.

in the middle of THIS chaos holder sends us six years into the past again ---  well. i think we can guess what’s coming, can’t we? 

while I appreciate the world building that holder does as she tries to at least give some ritual and culture to the werewolves that’s specific to them. i cannot help but laugh at how she makes it french in connection when really the argents get the emphasis on their french origins. hell, even a quick google search gives up some results on the origin of the surname hale. i find the connection to st edmund interesting (he is the patron saint of torture victims, wolves and protection from the plague. jeff davis i see you.)

peter has a motorcycle that he lets derek borrow???? this feels incorrect. i cannot imagine peter sharing his toys.

i loathe laura’s characterization and it's such a shame this is really the only character she gets that is connected even tenuously to canon. laura is depicted as being aware of derek’s involvement with kate. she's a bit hesitant but not disapproving or overly concerned. she's kept it a secret. derek and laura have a discussion about the possibility of kate receiving the bite and laura even says, “maybe she’s doing a cougar on you.” like, this is just deeply fucked and bothers me so damn much. not only did canonically laura never knew about kate and derek's relationship but i hate how she's just acting like this is something normal.

derek mentions he gave kate a ring as a token of affection that he bought with money peter gave him in exchange for doing a few errands.

derek goes on to describe going home with kate and he’s so, so blinded by his affection for her that i just feel sick reading this.

the important part of this scene is derek whispers that he loves her while she’s asleep and goes to leave after showing but he forgot his backpack. he goes back and creeps back inside her bedroom. like he’s fucking edward cullen or some shit.

SHE IS A RAPIST AND THIS ALL MAKES ME UPSET.

though i have questions about what the fuck this means “he wanted to make love to her as a werewolf.” what in the furry hell?

[twisted-art-wounders]

YGO AU Leviathan Rising: Epilogue

I'll always come back to you...

And that's a wrap folks! I want to thank everyone whose read and kept up with this story over the past year and half! This was my first long form fan fic basically ever and it feels good to know so many of you enjoyed reading it and I truly am grateful for all your encouragement and kind words!

I'll hopefully have a new one started in the coming year so look out for that! Anyway Happy New Year and let's hope for a safe and and fun welcome in 2024!

Epilogue

A low beep was heard as the door clicked open; Yugi stepped into his apartment work bag over his shoulder jacket under his right arm phone in his left hand, and under his left arm a pile of mail. Yugi closed the door silently and kicked off his shoes in the entry way so he could slip on a pair of slippers. He walked into his living room his eyes not leaving his phone screen as he plopped his work bag and jacket on the side of the couch.

He was trying to order dinner with the new dinner speedy app Kaiba Corp had just rolled out; He wanted to try this new burger place just a block of two down the street form his complex, while he could just go and pick it up he had to stand up on the bus all the way home today. So a further walk was far form his mind this was a job for delivery! Even if it would cost him and extra 5 dollars it didn't matter when your feet where already tired.

Once the order was placed (it'd be about 40 mins of course.) Yugi finally plopped down on the couch and let out a miserable sigh. As much as he liked working on contract with Kaiba Corp, Kaiba was a still Kaiba and was always demanding perfection especially form someone as 'elite' as himself. Yugi missed just working in grandpa's shop, while the pay wasn't a lot and he already had to supplement his income doing other part time jobs he missed just serving new costumers who had an interest in gaming. That was the most rewarding part to be honest; money can't replace the connection you feel when a young person's face lights up when receiving their first game, or pack of cards etc. That's what Yugi loved the most.

He stretched a bit on the couch before remembering he had mail to check! While sorting out what was junk and what was a bill he did remember seeing a large manila envelope among the pile. Flipping past the other letters he found the larger envelope, it was stiff like a harder cardboard was used in it's making and covered in “Priority Express” stickers.

“Must be important.” He thought as he looked at the address of the sender and he nearly chocked, written in plan English it spelled 'From The Office of Maximilian Pegasus, Industrial Illusions, California USA'

Yugi was having flashbacks to just under 7 years ago when he first received a package form the creator of Duel Monsters himself Maximilian Pegasus. The tape that started everything… The journey to Duellist Kingdom, becoming closer to his other self, defeating Pegasus together. So many memories came back to Yugi, as much as he tried to repress how lonely he felt when remembering his other self…no Atem. Yugi sniffled and rubbed away a tear he swore he was over this but alas his heart would always carry Atem in it no matter how many worlds apart they where now.

Yugi let out a breath slowly as he turned the envelope over to open it; He wasn't sure exactly what Pegasus wanted this time the last time he sent another tape it was because of- Yugi had to pause again his heart sunk again thinking about someone else who was also part of his heart and who was also gone…

Yugi pressed on and continued to open the envelope but inside wasn't a tape, he figured as much a tape would never fit this format besides they where well past the use of tapes at this point. Inside there was a blank cardboard card sleeve and a a folded letter with the I2 insignia pressed in wax over it. He pulled out both and decided to open the letter first. On the page was a typed letter addressed to him form the sender:

Yugi Boy! It's been so long!

I know this seems so crude to write you a letter instead of an email, or a even a face talk message. Call me old fashioned but I find nothing is more personal then a typed and properly mailed letter in the mail! It's been well over 7 years since you and I had a chit chat hm? You've accomplished quite a lot I hear; working with dear old Kaiba boy on your newest game project, I must say you always had the makings of being a great creator and I wasn't wrong! I look forward to Spherium and any other new games you have brewing in that mind of yours.

Speaking of creativity I find the art of creation can be such an odd thing; one moment you're canvas is blank with absolutely no ideas at all for months, years even! Then suddenly without warning poof! A muse comes into your mind and begins to implant inspiration, and it just wont leave until it's out and brought into the world. You can say I was bitten with such an inspirational muse that it almost felt like it was willing itself into creation through me.

I know you will treasure this card not for it's rarity but for what you feel you may be missing in it. It's one of a kind and made just for you and you alone Yugi-boy and I have a feeling you and this card have a powerful and spiritual connection to each other.

Anyway don't be a stranger! And enjoy your card Yugi Boy!

Signed, Maximilian Pegasus

Yugi blinked a few times after reading the letter, it was true he had a bit of an odd relationship with Pegasus. He was a former enemy and the holder of the millennium eye but he was also integral to their defeat of DOMA all those years ago. So Yugi held no real ill will towards the man, he just found it a bit odd Pegasus had made him a card?

Finally Yugi took the card sleeve into his hands and carefully popped it open to reveal the card inside. Yugi's eyes widened he felt his hands shake slightly trying to keep a grip on the card, his breathing slowed down as the world around him became silent. He could feel tears start to well up in the corners of his eyes and slow drop down his cheek.

He sniffled a few times as he looked over the card barely able to keep his composer anymore; the card was a legendary dragon knight card juts like Timeaus was but instead of his old partner who bore the name of 'Legendary Knight Timeus' instead the card read “Legendary Knight Leviathan”.

Yugi could hardly speak as he sobbed, but it wasn't all in sorrow he was just so happy that after all these years, Levi had finally accomplished his goal…and he was happy even if his tears seemed to betray that.

“Levi…I'm so happy you made your dream come true…” Yugi bent forward and pressed the card to his forehead allowing his tears to drop freely into his knees.

“I miss you so much…I just want to see you again…” Yugi whispered to himself closing his eyes.

He didn't notice that the card began to glow and shine, the image on the card started to fade away as a solid figure started to emerge before Yugi. Still lost in his sadness it was not until the figure spoke did he finally look up.

“Yugi?”

Yugi's eyes shot open quickly as he snapped upright coming face to face with this new figure standing in his living room. He was a towering man in dark purple, pink and teal armour, long dark and curled hair that went past his shoulders stopping just at his lower back, his bangs where teal and long covering parts of his ears that where long and pointed at the tip. His eyes where a golden yellow and behind him was a long-spiked tail with two separate ends

He knew who this was but he still couldn't believe it! There was no way it could be him!

“Le-Levi?” Yugi squeaked out as he stood up quickly starting up and down at the man, who stood in place a gentle smile graced his mouth as he nodded.

“Y-yes Yugi…it's me…” Levi spoke so gently, after all these years his voice while powerful still held such kindness inside.

Yugi was still in shock he couldn't believe it! It had to be a trick or just his mind was playing games with him. He tried to move towards Levi but he lost his balance and fell ready to go down face first, only to fall into Levi's waiting arms quickly catching him before he could hit the ground.

Levi looked down at him with worry.

“Yugi! Are you alright?”

Yugi was now able to feel that this was no mirage or illusion the man in his living room was real. He nodded looking up and into the tall man's eyes and in them he saw it; he saw Levi's kindness, his determination, his stubbornness. All of it was still in there, this was his Leviathan.

“I guess you have fallen for me now huh?” Levi chuckled helping Yugi back onto his feet. “I've missed you my sweet prince…”

Yugi's eyes where full of tears again as he jumped into Levi's chest and embraced him as tightly as he could. Levi allowed him to and closed his arms around Yugi returning the embrace whole heatedly.

“You're back! You're really back! You're here again! I- I can touch you again!” Yugi cried joyfully.

“Yes I'm back! And I wont leave you again…I promise.” Levi had tears in his eyes now as he too allowed them to flow down his cheeks.

All he wanted was to feel Yugi in his arms again and finally he achieved it. Their embrace was tight neither one wanting to ever let the other one go, even if Yugi knew it was selfish to wish this, he didn't want this feeling to end he didn't want to feel alone anymore. He prayed and hopped Leviathan's words where true he would never leave him again…

They both let go of each other just enough to look each other in the eyes, Yugi's face was red form crying but he had a wide smile on his face. While Levi had to bend more to look at Yugi do this it didn't bother him in the slightest. His face was a bit red as well while he didn't cry as hard as Yugi had been he wasn't immune to the blood filling his cheeks reddening his skin. As orchid eyes met with golden eyes their faces came closer together until finally they could feel each other lips pressed tightly against each other. A kiss they both had long since wished and waited to share with each other.

Releasing form their kiss they both panted slightly and gazed into each others eyes once more. Pulling away slightly Levi stood back up to his full height, Yugi was amazed with just how large Leviathan had grown he was even taller then Kaiba! Holding hands they stared longingly towards each others the sun light form the evening sky started to fill the room in a warm evening glow. The moment was broken when Yugi's phone pinged reminding him his order was almost ready for delivery.

“Uhh…so…Are you ready to try a real hamburger?” Yugi blushed

Levi smiled allowing his fangs to be seen slightly “Only if we share it.”

The End.

[winterbones2024]

Weekly Round-Up

Here's everything new from March 17-April 6!

Soldat (Chapter 2) by TheologyDiscography Rating: Explicit Archive warnings: Rape/non-con Summary: Bucky is struggling after Steve leaves him alone to go live with Peggy in the past. And Brock thinks he's waited long enough to reclaim his soldier. Soldat will be his, no matter what he thinks of it.

Don't Mess With the Pack (Chapter 1) by TheologyDiscography Rating: Not Rated Archive Warnings: No warnings apply Summary: Brock wondered if Hydra Command had any inkling of how thoroughly they'd fucked themselves, giving him the Soldier. Nobody’d had any idea that the mark that had turned him was a werewolf until too late. There wasn't a lot they could have done to prevent that. But the decision to give the Winter Soldier to him to integrate into his pack had been a mistake, they just hadn't realized it yet. Because he could ignore a lot of what was done to humans. Humans had fucked him over pretty thoroughly. But his pack was everything to him. And there was not a single damn thing about the way they treated the Soldier that he would tolerate being done to a member of his pack. They would suffer for every injury done to his pack member. And soon.

Dancing in the Dark by lovivsanubis Rating: General Audiences Archive Warnings: Creator chose not to warn Summary: This story revolves around Brock as he thinks review his life in a series of flashbacks. Through flashbacks, we learn about Brock's decision to take in Clint from the foster care system, and the evolution of his relationship with Bucky over time. Despite facing various obstacles, Brock remains active in athletic pursuits with unwavering support from Bucky. Ultimately, the narrative reaches a climax with Brock's heartfelt decision to propose to Bucky, underscoring the strength of their bond amidst life's trials and triumphs.

Blooded Fangs of the Waxing Moon (Chapter 3) by lokivsanubis Rating: Explicit Archive Warnings: No warnings apply Summary: It's peacetime now, Bucky and Brock are leading their own pack and have pups of their own. This is a look at a rather peaceful morning for the wolf family.

Season of Sacrifice by TheologyDiscography Rating: Teen Archive Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence Summary: The Asset finds the timing of this mission… unfortunate.

You can find everything posted to the AO3 collection here: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/WinterBones2024

[thesmokingguns]

Izzy and Joy: what are those?

Minors DNI 18+

Mentions of male oral

Joy had called Izzy last night, telling him it was going to be a hot day and asking him if he wanted to spend it at some lake that was about an hour away. Izzy, who knew that she hated planning things was so excited for more than her usual five minutes notice had agreed, excited about a day with her.

When he hung up the phone he went to his computer, using the name of the lake she gave him and the vague sort of directions that she had mentioned he typed them into Mapquest. His two pointer fingers tapping away at the keys as he licked his dry lips and smirked as he saw it was an hour and four minutes away. His printer squeaked to life, directions rolling out on paper so he knew where they were going.

Next he moved to the kitchen. He had asked Joy on the phone if he should bring food and she had mentioned that she was going to bring some snacks but he could bring whatever he wanted. The last time that she had brought snacks he had watched her eat wasabi seaweed from Trader Joes and tried not to throw up at the smell. There was also the time that he had watched her take a bag of shredded cheese from the fridge, pinching handfuls into her mouth as a snack.

Joy was not to be trusted with snacks.

Izzy made sandwiches, taking his time as he washed the lettuce and laid the lettuce and lunch meat neatly. He wrapped them in wax paper, sliding them in the fridge as he went to go find the picnic basket that he had bought on a whim at some point in his life.

Though he and Joy didn’t have any titles Izzy still had been with her for months and enjoyed having her in his life. She never pressured him with what they were but when Izzy had said that she was the only person that he was sleeping with and seeing she had smirked, curling into his arms and saying he was the only person she had been with since their first Netflix night. The relief in that had made them grow closer despite not having a clear version of what they were to become.

The next morning Izzy donned a button down shirt over a white s-shirt, navy blue swim trunks with chevron red stripes and a pair of sandals. He double checked the bag he packed, sunscreen and towels that he worried that Joy would forget. He packed the car and headed out to go pick her up.

Joy was in the smallest yellow bikini that Izzy had ever seen. So small he worried about being pulled over and getting arrested for indecent exposure. She had a bag, towels in there and whatever snacks she had managed to pack.

“You packed a lot.” she commented as she slid her bag into the back of his car before moving to sit in the front seat beside him.

“I just wanted to have a good time.” He grabbed her hand, it felt natural to hold it on his lap as he drove, “Can you get the directions out of the glove box and read them to me?” Joy froze, not believing what he was saying to her and having flashbacks to road-trips with her parents.

Sure enough, tucked inside the glovebox was printed out instructions. Joy wanted to ask him if had paid a dime at the library to print them but she wasn’t prepared for the answer her would have or hear him complain about inflation and how it was a whole quarter now.

“Izzy…no.” She shook her head, shoving them back into the glove box as she looked at the man who was horrified that she wasn’t listening.

“Those are perfectly good-“

“Turn right, take the highway until you see a pretty tree near the rock with a smiley face in it and then I think you go left but it might be right. I’ll have to see it to know better.” She was confident that her mix matches directions without exit numbers or mile markers.

Izzy thought of her having to think about the directions and was thankful he had the extra gas tank incase he needed to walk to a station to fill it up. The triple a card in his wallet seemed like a great investment now.

On the car ride Joy changed the songs halfway through then, never seeming to listen to a full three minutes and let her judgement be known when Izzy had all his playlists with full albums.

Thirty minutes in she was stroking his swim trunks that he had bought from the Walmart clearance rack four years ago and had proudly sewn the hole in the side himself.

“I’m hungry.” Joy said, her hand rubbing his leg as she let her eyes flash up to him.

Izzy was feeling very proud of the snacks he had packed. All the fruit he had peeled and cut into perfect shapes. The nuts he had put in perfect sized ziploc bags. The sandwiches with the crust cut off.

“If you reach into- WHAT.” Joy was reaching into his swim trunks as he swerved recklessly into the wrong lane. Her soft smile as she looked at him, stroking him hard as she gave him the eyes that Izzy was useless under.

“I’m hungry for you, silly.”

Izzy thought about the state patrolmen that were always haunting these roads. He thought about how unsafe it was that Joy had removed her seatbelt.

But he stopped thinking when she pulled his cock out of his shorts, moving her head to his lap. He was glancing down at her, watching her hands wrap around him, that pretty tongue coming closer and closer and-

Joy let out a scream, pointing at him and making Izzy’s blood pressure jolt up as his body went into fight of flight mode. The car skidded to the side of the road, thankful there was by traffic as she jumped out and he followed her, thinking she was as hurt.

One acustatory finger at him lowering it to his shoes.

Izzy looked down, his poor cock hard as he tried to now tuck it back is to his pants following her finger to his sandals.

“What are those?!” The high pitched voice of terror made Izzy confused. The heat seeming to go to her head as they stood in the unforgiving sunshine.

“They’re my Dr. Scholl sandals. They’re good for your back.” But Joy did not care about his spine as she looked at his toes sticking out. She let herself really take in Izzy’s appearance then.

The rumbled plaid shirt with t-shirt underneath, the swim trunks faded from being hung dry in the sun too many times, the abominations on his feet, the Oakleys he still thought were in fashion and on his head was the safari wide brimmed hat in khaki with what looked like cargo pockets on it.

“Izzy…I…” she didn’t want to hurt the old man’s feelings, didn’t want to ask him if he wore white socks pulled to his knees with white Fila’s when he mowed the grass. “I like your sandals.” The way he smiled at her lie, wiggling his toes like he was proud of himself made joy shake her head.

“Thanks! I can get you a pair.” She grimaced, flinching at his words like she had been slapped.

“I’m good.” She said as they slid back into the car.

Izzy felt good about himself, His hand on her thigh as they drove to the lake, looking for a smiley face on a rock and a pretty tree.

It was a good day.

Taglist: @ayablackwood @rocknrollsoul76 @greeneyezblackheart @lady-jane3 @rocketgrrrl27 @slutforstradlin @theoutsiders25 @fispapercrafter @bbyamberx @brezeblog @samanthasgone @aggressive-slytherin @clover270 @grayxiu @another-obsessed-with-duff @badfvith @bia003 @queenbae18 @axl-roses-rose @d-ahliaa@beebemarie @guns-n-roses-gal @themoonbelongstome @pinksweetgirl18 @cemmia @bieberhoodforever

[wheredafandomat]

The Country Club ✨

Loki x Female Reader

Part 1 ~ The Invitation

Contains smut

Italics = flashback

NEXT

When you checked your post box this morning, the last thing you expected to see was a gold envelope sealed with wax. Excitedly you brought it back into your apartment before you cautiously opened it, not allowing your excitement to tear it open. Holding the paper, you carefully read through the words.

Dearest y/n,

Jane and I have decided to fulfil our dream of opening a country club—

“When on earth did they wanna do that?” You questioned aloud.

and we ask that as one of our closest friends, you come to our opening where you’ll be able to sample all of our facilities free of charge.

We hope to see you there for our opening and a reunion.

Kindest regards, Thor and Jane.

Instantly your heart dropped at reading the words. If you were there, you only assumed Loki would be there too, well, if he wasn’t dead. You hadn’t seen or heard from him in almost two years after that morning and you were finally over him, he was the last person you wanted to see. Flipping the invite over, you saw specific details including the date and time as well as the address of the place you had to go to. As much as you didn’t want to see Loki, you couldn’t disappoint Jane or Thor plus it would be nice to see them again as well as run into a few old faces. You just hoped that Loki stayed out of sight.

Picking up your phone, you called Wanda to see if she had gotten an invite too and if she was going. Her answer was yes for both before you added Bucky to the call who said the same. At least they’d be there you thought feeling slightly more optimistic about the whole event. You later tried to make yourself some breakfast which was more of a brunch now as your mind drifted to the thought of Loki. How he intoxicated you, shrouded you with himself before he disappeared. You spent months, more months than you’d like to admit blaming yourself, wondering what you did wrong, wondering why Loki felt the need to leave you without so much as a goodbye. You hadn’t cried for Loki in a while but the thought of seeing him again quickly had you welling up.

The week and a half leading up to you going to the country club passed impossibly quickly. The anxiety you felt about the whole situation was almost crippling but the thought of seeing everyone again, save Loki, was comforting. You had missed them. That’s the problem with becoming an adult, friends are busier, you see them less. Since receiving the invitation, you had spoken to Jane on the phone and couldn’t bring yourself to ask whether Loki would be in attendance. She spoke about how excited she was to see everyone and also told you to pack a bag for what you assumed was an overnight stay considering how vague she was being. You decided to pack a few extra things just incase.

When the day finally came for you to leave, you brushed your hair in the mirror as you remembered that night with Loki.

Unlike your usual moments of intimacy together, tonight was different, he was different. The dinner you prepared for you both was quickly pushed aside as Loki sat you on the table before falling to his knees as he opened your legs. Your hands nestled into his hair as his tongue delved between your warm folds. The room was quickly full of the noise of you mumbling praises to Loki as he ate you out.

After you came, he barely gave you time to recover before he was carrying you to the bedroom, legs wrapped around his waist. Entering, he pushed you against the wall as his lips found yours. You could taste yourself against him as you kissed him passionately. Clothes were discarded as he helped you lift your dress. Already dripping, Loki had no problem entering you causing you both to release a breath as he delved inside. Your back began to burn from the friction of being thrusted up against the wall but any pain in this moment of pleasure was bliss. You both continued to kiss, Loki occasionally breaking the kiss to move his lips to your neck. He drove you both to the precipice before stilling, kissing you one last time before bringing you both to the bed.

Spent, you absentmindedly ran your fingers through Lokis hair and you knew. You looked at him and you knew. You hadn’t put any labels on anything yet, not officially but you knew you loved him. Always have.

“What?” He grinned suspiciously, looking up at you from where he was nuzzled into the crook of your neck.

“I love you.” You confessed with your own smile, ignoring the feeling of Loki stiffening slightly and not in the desired way.

“Goodnight my darling.” He replied after a moment, quickly kissing you on the lips before closing his eyes. You knew something was wrong, your intuition was never wrong but you ignored it, falling asleep next to Loki too only to find him gone in the morning.

Snapping out of the thought, you grabbed your small cabin sized bag before grabbing your car keys and leaving. Sighing once you were in the car, you prayed that this reunion would go quickly and hopefully Lokiless.

Loki looking at y/n knowing he was leaving in the morning 🤣 this is hopefully gonna be one of them quick ones 😁

[postwarlevi]

AOT characters favorite classic horror movies (pre 1970s)

Levi - Island of Lost Souls 1932. A bit of an unknown film that can spark controversy and be unsettling, based on The Island of Doctor Moreau. A shipwrecked man on a remote island meets some of it's inhabitants and soon finds out a cruel scientist has been conducting experiments on now hybrid, half human, half animal creatures. Levi is on the main characters side and finds Dr Moreau a villain for how he treated the hybrids.

Hange - Creature From the Black Lagoon 1954. Filmed in 3D, the film follows an expedition in the Amazon looking for the remains of a fossilized hand of a possible new species. An amphibian humanoid kills a couple crew members when they attack it, and remains unseen by the rest of the crew as it follows them deeper down river. Hange is obsessed! They would love to really find something like this, but also wouldn't want to invade it's habitat if it's just trying to live.

Erwin - Dracula 1931. Bela Lugosi is one suave vampire. Traveling character Renfield accidently makes his way to Draculas castle and is made his slave. He helps Dracula move about and wreak havoc among the women of a new town. Erwin can't help but feel charmed by Draculas character, while feeling bad for Reinfield and also rooting for professor Van Helsing. Fun fact, a Spanish version was filmed at the same time during the evening using the same sets and costumes.

Miche - The Wolf Man 1941. Lon Chaney Jr plays the title character, a man returning to his home town, who wants to impress a lady. He buys a fancy silver walking stick and one night is attacked by a wolf, which turns out to be a werewolf, and now he is one himself. Miche can almost see himself in the big man, whose sympathetic character fortune is not very kind to.

Eren - Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956. The original pod people movie. Starts as a flashback where residents in a town see a doctor insisting their family members are not who they seem. This is dismissed until evidence is found of exact duplicates of people emerging from a greenhouse. It's a scary thing, when those you know might be themselves. Eren can be picky about his black and white movies, but likes this better than the remake.

Armin - Village of the Damned 1960. Randomly one day in a small peaceful village, everyone falls alseep at the same time, and when they wake up, every female of child-bearing age is pregnant. This causes major issues between couples and all the children are born at the same time and have the same bright eyes and blonde hair. They're unusually smart and can read minds and soon deaths of the villagers who don't like the children start happening. Armin enjoys the pacing of this one, and while not exactly scary, he's learned one thing: If you don't want someone to know what you're thinking, put up a brick wall.

Mikasa - The Bride of Frankenstein 1935. The first sequel to any Universal monster movie, it starts when we find Frankenstein and his monster are still 'alive'. The doctor is forced to continue his experiments and make a friend for the monster, who is trying to outrun those who wish to destroy him. You know it's a feat when the title character is on screen for less than ten minutes and still packs a punch! Mikasa feels bad for both monsters who are misunderstood.

Jean - The Invisible Man 1933. Sci fi-ish flick based on an HG Wells novel, about a man researching a dangerous drug that he finds out has a side effect of invisibility. Testing it on himself, he doesn't realize it also causes insanity and goes on a wild violent rampage. Jean loves the invisible effect, the main cast, has a tiny crush on Gloria Stuart, and wonders if the title character subconsciously wanted to commit some of those crimes because humanity just makes him mad sometimes.

Connie - Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948. The first of the comedy duo meeting movie monsters, you're in for a lot of laughs. Abbott and Costello are baggage handlers and accidently meet with the real figures (instead of wax) of Dracula and Frankenstein. Dracula controls Frankenstein and needs a new brain for him. Along the way the Wolf Man tries to assist A&C. You're not watching for the plot here, and Connie loves the silly jokes of it all. A great Halloween film for him.

Sasha - The Blob 1958. Almost 30 year old Steve McQueen plays a teenager in a small town where a meteorite crash lands and reveals a gelatin like creature that latches on and absorbs everything it touches. The town can't figure out a way to stop it! Sasha adores this film and the theme song in the beginning is her ring tone.

Historia - House on Haunted Hill 1959. Campy Vincent Price goodness. A millionaire and his wife offer five people a great amount of money to stay overnight in a spooky mansion. Early on we see the couple is not so happy and sinister things start in right away. A fun old fashion horror suspense that everyone can enjoy. Historia likes it even if it's corny at times.

Ymir - Dracula's Daughter 1936. A bit controversial for the time, this female vampire is clearly attracted to other females. The movie picks up near where the original Dracula ended, and his daughter is alive and well. Though she wishes to be free of her bloodlust, she can't help but give in. Ymir loves watching this one with Historia, who squeals when Ymir bites her neck.

Annie - The Cat People 1942. A film that provides suspense with what you don't see. A newly married woman with an obsession with cats insists she's descended from people able to transform into panthers when she's hit with overwhelming passion. It's got a noir feel with lightning that make it almost beautiful. Annie appreciates the technique and storyline.

Reiner - Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 1931. The best version if you ask Reiner. A tale of two men, an upstanding doctor, and a violent, amoral man, both stuck in one body. Made before the production code, for a while portions were removed due to content. It's restored, with the sets, costumes, and the shocking transformation scene intact. Reiner really feels for the main character.

Pieck - Diabolique 1955. A French psychological horror about a married woman and her husbands mistress who plot to kill him, but it doesn't go right almost from the start. Pieck likes thrillers to downright horror and figured some of it out but was still thrown by the ending.

Porco - Psycho 1960. Porco loves his Hitchcock films, and this is one of the best. A woman on the run for stealing stops at a small rundown Bates motel and meets the polite and interesting owner. Considered an early slasher film, and a little controversial, there's tense scenes Porco loves seeing others reaction too, especially considering the time.

Niccolo - Nosferatu 1922. Niccolo appreciates silent film, like this German classic that's an unofficial version of Dracula, where we go to Transylvania and meet the peculiar Count Orlok. Though the original music score is mostly lost, this influential film still packs a punch with some creepy scenes.

Colt - Them 1954. An early nuclear big bug monster movie. Giant ants invade a town and start spreading out, leading scientists and others to come up with methods to dispose of them. A bit campy but one of the better giant bug movies. Colt loves watching this one cause Falco can watch too and it's not too scary.

What do you think? Would they like these movies? I hope I gave some ideas for some movie watching. Some of these are in public domain and up for free on Youtube.

If anyone wants to do a newer movie version of this go for it! BTW I really wanted to give Eren Night of the Living Dead but have never been brave enough to watch so... yeah hehe

[trnsocial]

Wax Pack Flashback: MAC and Me Trading Cards (1988/2024)

In this special edition of Wax Pack Flashback Adam is opening up a pack of MAC and Me trading cards created in a vintage style by https://www.serkworks.com and sharing his love for the 1988 film. Continue reading Wax Pack Flashback: MAC and Me Trading Cards (1988/2024)

[somediyprojects]

DIY Ceramic Tag Plant Markers by Grace Bonney:

I’ve had plants and gardening on my mind all week, so it only seemed fitting to roll up my sleeves and make a few garden markers of my own. I haven’t worked with sculpey clay since I was probably seven years old, so this project was both a blast and a great flashback for me. It took me only a few minutes to roll out the dough and cut it and after a quick trip through the oven, it was ready to use! These would be so fun as a house-warming gift for anyone with a yard or window garden, or as more substantial gift tags later in the year. The best part? It was under $5 to make- Happy planting! xo, grace

The full how-to is after the jump!

Supplies:

1. Sculpey Clay (I used one small pack) 2. Tag-shaped cookie cutter (we used this one) 3. Wire for use as a stake 4. Rolling pin 5. Chopstick or bamboo skewer 6. Letters (optional) for spelling names (We used these) * You can also just use a skewer to write

Steps:

1. Roll your clay to about 1/4 inch thick 2. Cut a badge shape out and lay it flat to rest. 3. Using a bamboo skewer or the edge of a chopstick, poke a small hole at the top (for the wire, after it cools) 3. Place on a wax-paper lined sheet and bake, following the clay package instructions. 4. Let dry, loop a bit of wire through like a hook and place in your planter!

[electricshoebox]

Hi friend!! I am here for pain hehe. Can you please share more about the RDR2 grief WIP you had on your list? 👀

Hello lovely!! Thanks for asking!!

I've had this one half-finished since I first finished the game, but I can never quite bring myself to take it off the list because I do want to finish it.

I'll give a summary and snippet below the cut but SPOILERS FOR RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 BELOW

So this is a post-canon Charles/Arthur fic that focuses mostly on Charles processing his grief at losing Arthur as he helps John build the life Charles and Arthur didn't get to have, and that Arthur died in part to give John. I love the hell out of this game and the way it does satisfying tragedy, and I just had a lot of thoughts about how that end game might feel if Charles and Arthur had been lovers.

Here's a flashback bit I felt pretty good about (here's me waxing on about the angst when this is actually sort of sweet, but it's in the context of Charles remembering as he's building a house for John instead):

"What I wouldn't give for a hot bath and a soft bed right about now," Arthur grumbled. He shifted his shoulders around where he lay on his back on his bedroll, stretching his bare toes toward the fire.

Charles chuckled. He'd paused the movements of his polishing rag along his rifle as Arthur settled back, watching him. "Is that your plan for your share of the treasure we're chasing?"

"Oh dream big, Charles," Arthur said, a glint in his eye. He never could quite keep from smirking when he was trying to tease. "I'll build myself a whole fancy house full of feather beds. Get a bath tub made of gold. And I'll hire myself a pretty thing to scrub my back for me." He raised his eyebrows. "Job's open."

Charles snorted, turning back to his rifle. "What a tempting offer."

"Aw come on, you can share my fancy bed, too," Arthur said. Charles could hear the grin.

"Oh, I don't get my own in this house full?" Charles said. "Stingy."

"Yeah that's me, ole Penny-Pincher Morgan they call me," Arthur said. Charles heard him rummaging through his pack now, likely to fish out his journal.

"Never could get the hang of sleeping indoors anyway," Charles said. "Too quiet."

"Oh, was I giving you the impression we'd be quiet in this shared bed of ours?" Arthur said, and Charles looked back just to see the shit-eating grin he knew would be there. He rolled his eyes.

"Not sure I trust this house to stand if you're building it," Charles said. He tried to keep a straight face, but Arthur's mirth was contagious.

"Oh, now that hurts, Mr. Smith," Arthur pressed a hand to his chest. "Guess you'll just have to help me do it right, then."

"You just keep putting me to work in this dream of yours," Charles said, giving the rifle on last pass with the rag and lifting it close to inspect it.

"Oh they'll be plenty of play, too," Arthur said. "Come here and I'll see if I can't convince you."

Charles shook his head, but he set his rifle aside. 

[Send me a WIP from this list and I'll give a preview or share a summary.]

[digitaltariq]

Caleb Landry Jones on DogMan and Turning into an Octopus

Caleb Landry Jones will always remember his expertise in DogMan. In author/director Luc Besson’s trippy new thriller, the X-Males: First Class and Get Out star survived his fair proportion of inventive chaos. For starters, he needed to turn out to be an octopus. Finest to expound upon later, so let’s begin with some info. There have been greater than 120 skilled (ish) canines prancing round in Besson’s twisted revenge drama. Plus, canine handlers and the crew, in fact. In the meantime, the unconventional storyline gave Jones lots to nosh on creatively, dropping himself in a transformative efficiency as Douglas, a mysterious and artful performer who makes use of a wheelchair and has a troubling previous. Douglas works in drag for a dwelling, and his deep connection to a pack of loyal canines is downright surreal. “Canine are canines,” Jones advised us about working together with his four-legged companions. “Canine would do no matter they need, regardless of the way you practice them. Those who had the least quantity of coaching typically did higher. But it surely was neat. Most of them got here from shelters. Very early on, a number of individuals , ‘That is not possible… You want not less than six months , not less than three… One? That is loopy!’ … all that sort of stuff." “But it surely's a testomony to as a director and realizing what he wants, and realizing when he is acquired it, and when he does not have it but,” Jones added. “I feel so many individuals spend ceaselessly getting one thing … or how it may be lower collectively or ought to be lower collectively. So, it was simple for me, however it did not look simple.” The movie, which tracks Douglas’ story following his traumatic childhood and the way he discovered salvation and justice by his reference to canines, hits theaters Mar. 29. In excerpts from this unique MovieWeb interview, Caleb Landry Jones waxes ethereal as he unpacks his expertise, additionally sharing why he loves performing, and chats up one more collaboration with Besson, this time, enjoying Dracula in 2025’s extremely anticipated Dracula: A Love Story, additionally starring Christoph Waltz. Learn on.

Unpacking DogMan

DogMan  4/5 Launch Date April 5, 2024 Runtime 114 Minutes Studio Luc Besson Manufacturing, EuropaCorp, TF1 Movies Manufacturing Learn Our Evaluation In DogMan, Douglas survives a merciless childhood with an abusive father, however his deep connection to the stray canines he was pressured to stay with in a cage turns into his saving grace. As an grownup, Douglas is unable to stroll as a consequence of a gunshot wound. He runs a shelter for his canine companions and different strays, however when he and his canines discover themselves in jeopardy, Douglas turns into an unlikely guardian angel for his Boston neighborhood, heading off bullies and crime lords. In the meantime, for money, he performs in drag at a close-by membership. JoJo T. Gibbs costars, enjoying a court-appointed psychologist interviewing Douglas. The movie makes use of flashbacks to inform Douglas's story. Jones, who disappears into the function in DogMan, admitted that the character required preparation. Early on, the actor spoke to director Luc Besson about find out how to strategy Douglas, referencing Robert De Niro’s layered efficiency as Travis in 1976’s Taxi Driver. He had heard De Niro was advised to emulate a “crab” in numerous scenes, strolling from the aspect as he approached anyone. “I labored with one other director who would at all times… say an animal,” Jones shared about previous performing path. “He'd say, ‘You are this or no matter.’ And there can be one thing about it that might assist in a technique or one other manner behind the top." He went on: "I requested Luc, ‘So it is a canine , proper?’ And he is like, ‘No, no, no, no.’ I used to be like, ‘No? So, what would it not be?’ And he was like, ‘An octopus…’ Okay. An octopus. And we're in the course of France at a resort the place we're making an attempt to get me skinnier, and it is a bunch of water actions, and also you're bobbing with other people, you realize, of their 70s and 80s… for aerobics. So, I used to be pondering extra about that octopus factor.”

Associated The 15 Saddest Films The place the Canine Dies In case you are trying to really feel nearer to your pet and shed a number of tears, these are 15 excellent motion pictures to look at subsequent. Besson’s imaginative and prescient of Douglas is smart. As an grownup, Douglas works mysteriously behind the scenes, shifting about cryptically as he plots to maintain his neighborhood secure. “It does really feel very nautical,” Jones added, referencing sure scenes within the movie that discovered him reworking into Edith Piaf to carry out on stage at a membership or ingesting champagne in a bath. “Sooner or later, I felt like some octopus. It felt like all of the tentacles had been going and assembly the physician sooner or later and hanging out with wolves one other day." Jones went on to reward Besson, who appeared a bit like an octopus himself: For Luc, the movie digicam was an appendage, you realize, it was simply an arm. He is slinging it all over, and it is easy , or not less than he made it seem like this. In the meantime, it is mass chaos since you acquired 120-something canines and 10 trainers and a crew on high of that.

On Turning into an Actor

Jones hails from Texas. Creativity was key in his childhood. After catching the attention of shrewd expertise brokers who understood the depth he possessed — there are shades of Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, and James Dean within the man — Landry’s profession took off. He’s additionally a musician and loved a flip in Friday Night time Lights. Different roles stood out, notably Banshee in X-Males: First Class, Jeremy in Get Out, and Purple in Three Billboards Outdoors Ebbing, Missouri. Then there's Nitram. Jones received Finest Actor on the Cannes Movie Pageant for his efficiency. MovieWeb requested him about why he selected to be an actor: First, most likely simply consideration. In all probability pondering it’s a great way to get some sort of respect or what I might suppose love is or some s**t. But it surely's sort of the primary place the place I used to be allowed to scream, was allowed to cry, was allowed to have the feelings that wasn't in any other case consuming me up in a foul manner. "Appearing turned an excellent factor to discover," continued Jones. "Then when you begin stepping into jobs, and also you get a little bit extra to do, you understand how rather more you'll be able to put into it, and that it may be this factor that you just sort of shut off from all the things and go into. It is a very egocentric factor however value it typically… more often than not.”

Working with Luc Besson Once more in 2025’s Dracula

Buzz is constructing about 2025’s Dracula: A Love Story. Jones performs Dracula within the origin story thriller, additionally starring Christoph Waltz, who occurs to be starring in Guillermo del Toro's upcoming Frankenstein movie. Luc Besson is on board as author and director. The official description of the movie reads: “After his spouse dies, a Fifteenth-century prince renounces God and turns into a vampire. Centuries later, in nineteenth century London, he sees a girl resembling his late spouse and pursues her, sealing his personal destiny.” Deep. Of working with Besson once more, Jones stated: “Properly, each time you're employed on one thing, you solely hope that you've got labored with folks that wish to work with you once more, particularly in the event you actually preferred working with them. I have been actual lucky. More often than not, I am at all times hoping that they wish to work once more." "So, it seems like a very particular factor when somebody desires you again or they wish to attempt one thing else. That is sort of why I acquired into it, you realize," added Jones, "wanting to fulfill of us that might additionally take you additional, and possibly you take them additional, too, since you're giving them area to do one thing. Hopefully it is a communal factor. So, it is an actual dream come true. And as an actor, you simply do not know whenever you'll work once more, or if, and also you simply hope. So, it feels further good.”

Caleb Landry Jones Connects to Older Generations

Briarcliff Leisure We additionally requested Caleb Landry Jones to inform us who can be his excellent costar, to which he smiled and shared: “I do not know, Gene Wilder is useless, Gene Hackman I heard retired. Jack Nicholson might be out to lunch or most likely was out to lunch. I do not know, there's not… Everyone I like… Robert Mitchum is gone.” 2:00

Associated 15 Finest Psychological Thrillers of All Time, Ranked Analyzing the catalogs of a few of the trade's most visionary administrators, we break down the 15 finest psychological thriller motion pictures. When requested what it was about these iconic actors and people movie eras that appealed to him, he added: “I feel there was a distinct sort of actor within the ’70s and earlier than. And I feel they handled it extra like work and doubtless labored more durable, a few of them, and I do not know, possibly I am simply romanticizing, however I similar to these motion pictures extra, too. There's plenty of good actors at present. I simply… Final time I attempted to say some , I used to be mendacity, so I am not going to even attempt. Properly, they're good individuals, however they… you do not suppose a lot of them.” Properly, we expect a lot of Jones and DogMan. A Luc Besson Manufacturing from EuropaCorp and TF1 Movies, which is in theaters on Mar. 29 from Briarcliff Leisure earlier than increasing to extra theaters on Apr. 5, 2024. Read the full article

[rediscoverthe80s]

I'm in a new episode of Wax Pack Flashback featuring Batman Forever trading cards. Check it out!

[charthanry]

BBS: Deconstructing the Entire Series (Part 1 of 13)

I’ve talked about ranking all 12 BBS episodes for a while now, but when I sat down to actually do it, I discovered it was mission impossible. One of those easier said than done situations. I started and stopped so many times, it wasn’t a pretty sight; there was lots of head-banging against my desk and sobbing. So instead, I am going to take a different approach and hopefully achieve the same results of what I was aiming to do with the rankings.

Welcome to my deep dive into each episode where I break down character motives, P’Aof’s delivery, and general poetic waxing of all things BBS. Basically, a scene-by-scene recap with commentary from me, your friendly neighborhood commentator. Or more candidly, I have lots to say about this show (yes, still) and desperately need an outlet to say them, so this is me unloading my thoughts. But charthanry, there’s only 12 episodes, why is this Part 1 of 13? Ah, stick around to find out, she says not at all ominously.

Episode One: The Feud, the Fist Bump, and an Old Watch (or AKA the best pilot episode of any BL ever—no bias, okay maybe some bias)

The Reunion (Or let me drop kick you in the chest by way of saying hello).

We open with Pran literally knocking Pat off his feet via a blinding kick to the heart; Pat never even saw it coming. Pran came for him like an assassin in the night, quiet without announcement or fanfare and Pat was a goner before he even knew what was happening. This is keen foreshadowing and not very subtle at that. We see what you’re doing show and we approve.

Immediately after this, the two cast eyes on each other for the first time since their separation. We see a flicker of something in Pran’s expression, more than mere recognition, it’s a You? Why is it you? Here of all places and Pat’s response You! What are you doing here? They stare at each other unblinking and unable to look away. And deny it as much as they want but this first re-glimpse of each other is super charged, so much so that all the credit score bureaus just saw a jump in activity at this very scene. 

And this, gang, is how we first meet our star-crossed lovers. Just look at their faces and tell me this quote doesn’t apply:

Sometimes I wonder if love is worth fighting for. But then I look at you and know I’m ready for war.

They then introduce us to each other. This is Pran the son of a family of copy-cats and this is fierced-eyed Pat, doesn’t he look like a cheater like my mom said? Only it all sounds rote like they were taught to say, and memorize, this spiel from a time long ago. We’re also given a peek at the parents in a silly flashback montage, and we think to ourselves, you call this a feud? I’ve seen better reasons to fight on any city housewives show. Before either boy can show their hands, they are conveniently interrupted by Professor Pichai who apparently doesn’t have anything better to do than to round up evildoers.

We learn that this whole skirmish began with a foul middle finger and the entire fandom pops a blood vessel due to our collective eye roll. Pran is shown as trying to be outwardly detached from Wai’s predicament. Don’t involve me in your mess. Just stay away from the Engineers until this blows over. When deep down we know he’s slowly spiraling Why is Pat here? What am I going to do with this information? And why does he have to look SO F*CKING GOOD after all this time? Damn him, that asshole. Pran we hardly knew ye, welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.

The screen then flips to Pat’s side of the introspection parade where we see he’s very much living up to his fierce eyes moniker by staring intently off into space, deep in thought. He’s obviously thinking of Pran and how he just managed to meander back into his life, without an RSVP, heads up or smoke signal at that. The nerve!

Pat joins the rest of his wolf pack who are determined to finish the job they started. Korn, wearing the first of many colorful windbreakers, asks Pat who was that last guy? Does he know him? And here Pat makes the curious decision to act like he and Pran don’t have a shared history. Interesting. The friends continue to stir shit by coming up with a plan to jump Wai at their next opportunity, but Pat, now with something to lose, says that they already got in good hits and that should be enough (again, interesting Pat). But then they show him the all-powerful tool of social media taunting and he’s swayed. Pat, you’re better than this.

The Trashbin Showdown (Or I low-key just want to show you how bendy I am for reasons I'm not ready to address).

That night outside their houses we see their first interaction without any gawking friends, complete with layered words and a ridiculous battle of the trashbins. And like Pran, we too want to unsee the way Pat licked that chocolate ice cream from his lips. And also like Pran, we'll save that little tongue action to replay later, alone. Insults are thrown as are some muscular calves and sandaled feet at these poor unsuspecting red and yellow bins. This is the moment where we learn the feud is just as ridiculous as the family montage made it out to be and that our boys are half-heartedly playing to their roles and going along with it.

After losing a fight with a stubborn trashbin, Pat returns to his room where Pa extracts a promise from him to not give Pran a hard time because of reasons. We see Pat barely putting up an argument before surrendering to Pa’s request. By chance, Pat spots a freshly showered half-naked Pran out of his window and ogles him in a not at all gay way. Though if this were a cartoon, Pat’s bulging eyes would be accompanied by a blaring AH-OOGA horn, of that I’m certain. Pran catches him staring and proceeds to end the peep show, saying this ain’t free sir. You need a ticket to ride all of THIS. (And.. I just made it weird, didn’t I? Huh. I’m strangely okay with it.)

Pran finally dons a shirt much to our disappointment and pulls out an old memory box. From it, he takes out a simple black watch. We won’t know its significance until later, but a flashback shows us that this watch was given to Pran by none other than rival neighbor Pat when they were young, prepubescent boys. We watch as Pran smiles softly at this (forgotten? I think not) watch and our minds are piqued as are our hearts. Why the smile, Pran? Thinking back to a time long ago or something more? (Spoiler: it’s both).

This isn’t stalking, I’m merely watching you because my eyes won’t look anywhere else. Blame my eyes, not me.

It’s a new day and Pat and his merry men are scheming as they look upon their prey. Pat has lasered in on Pran and tells his posse that he doesn’t want to get anyone else involved. He’s accused of being noble by Korn who wonders where his badass friend has gone. The boys break apart with their assignments to follow and observe, phone cameras at the ready should shit go down. 

Pat chooses to glue himself to Pran because of his promise to Pa or so he tells himself, but we all know better. Welcome, Pat, to your first day of never being able to look anywhere else but at Pran. There’s a whole club and everything, and we just made you, our President. Congrats, sir. Your new business cards are in the mail.

How gorgeous is Pran? Can anyone fault Pat for his inability to look elsewhere? Look at that pen in his shoulder holster. Spicy.

They both wind up in the music room where an impromptu jam session disguised as trying to one up each other happens. Boys, just admit that you missed making music together, no need for the charades. Pat is SO amazing at his tailing assignment that he manages to lose track of Pran as soon as they leave the music room. Just follow your nose, puppy.

Pran ends up cornered by Pat’s dumbass friends where his inner Bruce Lee comes out and he takes on all three of them at the same time. The fighting sequence here is like Westley (of the Princess Bride fame) fending off Larry, Curly, and Moe. And wow, the three stooges aside, Pran is all kinds of hot here, especially when we know he’s more a mediator than a fighter. There’s something really, really attractive about the quiet ones not backing down when they’re pushed in a corner. A doormat, Pran is not. Pran proves to be a worthy foe, but outnumbered he still is. So he does the smart thing and scrams. Only to run into a waiting Pat on the way.

Hands, touching Pran. If this is supposed to be torture, then give me all you’ve got.

Pat grabs Pran and tucks them into a tight space made for two away from prying eyes. Here, we’re gifted with the first of many I’m going to put my hand over your mouth so be quiet unless you want us to be found out moments of the show. It’s a direct challenge but also so damn HOT. This first touch here paves the way for many others throughout the series. Because Pran ALLOWS it. We all know that Pran could very easily shove Pat away if he wanted to. What’s outing their location and a few bruises by Korn and the gang if it means he doesn’t have to be thisclose to Pat? We also know that Pat would never let those bruises happen anyway, so yes, Pran ALLOWS Pat to cover his mouth, holding him in place. Did I already say it’s HOT y’all, because it is and it deserves repeating. 

Time seems to slow down and Pran’s eyes are huge saucers, we don’t blame you Pran, the proximity is intoxicating. We feel it, too. The camera pans to Pat and we see that he’s also not unaffected. The two hold eye contact, neither blinking, in this overheated stare down. It’s like a sexy, intense staring contest that I never want to end. Can I just live inside this moment forever? I ask as the entire fandom fans ourselves and each other from all the HEAT these boys are exuding. Pran is probably thinking Why are you doing this to me? Please, I can’t take it. But we’re not sure if it’s a please stop or please don’t you dare stop. 

The coast is finally clear (too soon! we say) and Pran emphatically and roughly pushes Pat away (overcompensate much, my guy?) and they’re conveniently picked up by Pa who happens to be driving by at the exact right time. 

Back in Pat’s dorm room, Pa reiterates his promise to her about leaving Pran alone and she hilariously asks him if he’s a student or a gangster when he whines about maintaining his reputation. She then leaves him to ponder his lot in life. We get a scene of Pat fiercely eyeing his folded laundry as if it holds the answers.

I may be young still, but I’ve discovered sleeveless tees and have invested in its future stock.

We learn via flashback that a young Pran, without hesitation, despite being taught to hate, dived in to save Pa from a near drowning incident while Pat looked on helplessly. Pran drops his watch in all the confusion and Pat picks it up with the intent to return it to him later. This flashback is important and carries with it heavy implications for the boys’ tentative friendship from this point forward.

Back at Pran’s house, Pat has snuck into his room, and we are treated to the second incident of my hand is covering your mouth so don’t make a sound. And damn, it’s still very hot and over too quickly but also what a noticeably big hand it is. Large enough for some very uh, interesting choke-play if one were into that sort of thing (which Pran is, I guarantee it). Evidenced by all the times Pran grabs Pat by the neck. What??? I’m just sayin’, it’s RIGHT THERE. We all have our kinks, so no judgement here. Pran doesn’t know what to do as Pat sits himself on his bed, and decides he needs space so sits as far away as possible. (Oh, Pran, we feel you on this.) 

After much back and forth on what to do about the Wai situation with neither willing to back down, Pran uses that big brain of his and concocts a plan wherein they both get what they want. And we get our first truce and fist bump.

The next day, things are going according to plan, and we learn that Pran can play his friends like a fiddle. Pat, however, underestimates the dumbassery of his and an unintentional brawl breaks out. We are treated to some very amusing fake fighting between our leads. With Pat claiming that only he has the rights to hit Pran thereby protecting him from all the others. Pat, our unsung hero. Who needs a cape when you can soar in a muscle tee? There’s probably less wind resistance, too. So, a win-win, both for our eyes and aerodynamics. Hey, I’m not here to argue with science.

Inexplicably a fire alarm goes off when a random dude’s head taps against it? Okayyy, show. Note, we never see this rando again, so I guess he’s served his purpose? Either that or setting off the fire alarm WITH HIS HEAD really did a pyschological number on him. I don’t make the rules.

At the sounding alarm, everyone scatters in different directions. Pat and Pran manage to end up in the same alley together and both agree that even though it didn’t go exactly as planned, they both got what they wanted so they’re calling off the dogs. Thus, truce number two is proffered to be sealed with a fist bump, but before Pran can reciprocate with his own fist, they’re interrupted by Professor Pichai yet again. Seriously, does he not have like a class to teach or something? Or friends? Or hobbies? A life in general? I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s known as Professor McCreeperstein in the student circle.

I’m sitting far apart from you though my eyes still can’t look anywhere else. 

That evening our boys run into each other at the pharmacy where Pran buys the last tube of bruise cream (from our beloved P’Aof!) and shares it with Pat. We learn that Professor Pichai McCreeperstein has laid down the law stating that if their two faculties are caught fighting again, he won’t be lenient. He entrusts the two faculty presidents to make sure everyone keeps their noses clean.

The boys discuss how to keep their two factions apart when Pran smoothly suggests they exchange contacts to keep tabs on each other. (Yes! Pran! You suave dimpled Don Giovanni). We’re treated to a ridiculous exchange wherein neither boy wants to be the first to add the other to their friends list. Pat reveals his username is Pat-the-Unruly-God-haha and Pran comments that Pat is such a kid (you say the words, but we know you are smitten at the adorableness that is Pat so don’t even try to front, sir). Pran then suggests they both add each other at the same time only to pull a Charlie Brown football away from Pat at the very last second. And Pat’s smile in response is just...heart clenchingly beautiful.

The smile that could set hearts aflame, end epidemic hunger, and give life to a dying sea monkey to go on living another hundred years.

And it’s this exact moment that we truly understand you, Pran. How can anyone expect you to resist? This might be Pat’s first genuine smile aimed at Pran. Let’s take a moment to oooh and ahhh and give it the admiration it deserves. The smile that is all boy with the first whispers of the man he almost is swimming on the edges. And, like Pran, we want to be there every step of the way to see him grow into this amazing person we all know he’s on the way to becoming. We are soft for him too, so we get it, Pran.

Pat laughs off Pran’s ruse and says he’s taking off in search of ice cream. What? And deny us (and Pran) the pleasure of watching you eat it? Cruel boy.

It’s love, your honor. I would like to submit into the record exhibit #451 as evidence.

Pran watches Pat leave and the smile on his face when no one is there to catch him is just so telling. Oh, Pran. He then changes Pat’s contact on his phone to “just a friend” and stares after Pat some more. Though by now he’s probably gone with the wind, Pran continues to stare at the space Pat used to occupy and doesn’t that just grab you ever so tightly and refuse to let you go? Nanon plays this moment so, so well. So soft, this yearning, and so unassuming. All pretenses gone as he sits by himself, replaying the earlier exchange with Pat.

With some clever editing, we’re now back in Pran’s dorm room where he pulls out the infamous watch and studies it. We are then shown a flashback of young Pat sneaking into Pran’s room to return the watch in question. The parallel of Pat placing his hand over Pran’s mouth and shushing him as a callback to earlier in the episode is just so incredibly well done here. We’re shown that this isn’t something new between them.

Young Pat considers his errand of returning the watch to its owner as them being even, but young Pran doesn’t buy-in and extracts a debt from Pat instead. Smart boy. And thus, a tentative friendship is built. Then young Pat goes and ruins it by telling Pran to avoid talking to him when others are around in case they’re mistaken as buddies. Oh, Pat. You stupid, clueless boy. We watch as both young and older Pran look at the watch intently.

I look fondly at this symbolic gift you’ve returned to me. For no reason other than I like having a reminder of you close to me.

Our Pran makes the conscious decision to put on the watch and smiles softly at it sitting on his wrist - as if it was always meant to be there - a phantom part of him that went missing. And it’s only now with Pat resurfacing in his life that he has the desire to wear it again. And knowing what we know now that this watch will never again leave his wrist, the entire fandom declares ourselves protectors of Pran. There’s a secret handshake and everything. We meet every other Monday or as we like to dub it, Pranday. Our sweet, soft boy, we will all hold hands and form a safety bubble around you.

More clever editing brings us to Pat walking down his hallway towards his dorm, idly eating the last of his ice cream, only to be followed by Pran minutes later headed towards the same direction. And this is when we learn that our boys are in fact neighbors with dorm rooms opposite each other. The episode ends on Pran entering his room and a close up of his smiley door tag. The show is telling us to buckle in for HAPPENINGS as the screen fades to black.

This concludes the best Thai BL first episode ever and I wholeheartedly stand behind this statement. What a fun and amazing start to our journey. This episode laid the foundation for our story and showcased the incredible framework P’Aof and his team have created. It also gave us a delicious taste of OhmNanon’s scorching chemistry and hinted at why it had to be the two of them for these roles.

We learn that though the family rivalry runs deep, our boys were already skirting around it at a young age. That Pran’s feelings for Pat didn’t just appear out of nowhere or come suddenly, it is deep-rooted and formed long ago. This isn’t a story about insta-love or falling at first sight. These are feelings that have developed over time, evolving from a lingering look here, an accidental touch there. Pran has seen all the good, bad, and ugly of Pat, yet still... longs for him. We don’t see his struggles of coming to terms with his feelings because he's ALREADY BEEN THROUGH IT, long ago, we just weren’t around to witness it.

I won’t go so far as to say he felt things as a 9-year-old, but there were already early doubts of why should I hate this boy? What has he ever done that warrants that hatred? What if I can’t bring myself to hate him? And we see him riding his bike showing up where Pat and Pa are, hopeful olive branch extended, to play together. He probably saw from his window, Pat and Pa take off on their bikes and jumped on his to quietly follow. Our hearts ache for this lonely, friend-starved Pran who hasn’t yet started repressing his desire for Pat’s friendship. 

We watch Pran dive in to save Pa, unbidden, and Pat’s reaction to this is to push him aside from his own guilt of not jumping in to save her himself. We see Pran scoff at the nerve of this boy, but if we look closely, we can also pinpoint the exact moment when Pat’s opinion of Pran changes from the neigborhood kid that he’s supposed to stay away from to something else that he can’t yet name.

We see more of the same when young Pat returns Pran’s watch. He’s surprised by Pat’s appearance in his room, but not put off by it. He doesn’t push him away instead takes a step back, unsure, but open to hearing what Pat has to say. We see him extending the “debt” because he wants Pat to owe him, to be tied to him, it’s him saying you can’t get rid of me that easily. And the bravery of this Pran? Unmatched. Except only by the older Pran we meet later.

And it’s the same still, years later when Pat once again sneaks into Pran’s room and covers his mouth with his hand. This Pran still isn’t put off by Pat being in his space. He still shows signs of uncertainty, sits himself far away from Pat, but remains open to what Pat has to say. Pran has never been immune to Pat, even during the times when he convinces himself to keep him at arm’s length. Pat only needs to show up for Pran to give in to his base desire to be near him.

This episode also introduced the two friend groups. We are made to side with Wai who is painted as a victim of nonsensical bullying (over a middle finger?! c’mon) and we’re supposed to ridicule Korn and his crew for unreasonably prolonging a senseless squabble. Our very own Mercutio and Tybalt, only more...pasty? I’m looking at you, Wai. 

The pacing of this episode was a quick whirlwind where every scene felt necessary. The show did an amazing job of using flashbacks to flesh out our characters’ back stories and hint at where they are going. Additionally, the use of flashbacks was well placed, never jarring, and meticulously chosen, we are shown only what we need to know, no more or less. Nothing felt gratuitous or out of place. Moreover, the flashbacks were told in a non-linear way, which is creative storytelling at its finest, in that we are given pieces out of order that only later come together to form a full picture. I’m also a huge fan of employing scenes where characters share the same memories and we’re shown both perspectives via separate flashbacks. Just masterful editing choices and storytelling here.

I’ve already mentioned the clever editing of the end of the episode, but it bears repeating. The show knew it wanted to end on the reveal that our boys are dorm neighbors, but right before that, they hit us with the watch and Pran’s soft smile. This is to remind us that throughout all of the school fighting and family rivalry, this show is, at its core, a love story. One that is already long in the making judging by Pran’s expressions on the steps of the pharmacy and while putting on the watch. As an audience, we are dropped right in the middle of the story and not at the beginning. It’s P’Aof and his team trusting that they’ve provided us with everything that we need to be deeply invested in these boys and their journey towards each other. 

This show. Man. It is just THAT good. This pilot episode sets the benchmark for the rest of the series and like Pat from the outset, we are all clutching our hearts completely done for.

):):):):):):):)

And that, friends, is my deconstruction of BBS EP1. Thank you so much for reading and reliving episode one with me. Next up, mistaken identities and ensuing hijinks collide in EP2! See you then.

**Edited to add that Part 2 is now available!

[dreaminpetals]

Yoooo can I get some norton sfw and nsfw headcanons 😳 your writing is top tier btw !!!!!

⛏ norton hcs ー sfw & nsfw . . .

art credit

SFW ;;

♡ norton deals with frequent mood swings, hallucinations, and intense survivor's guilt, so he had cold feet about relationships for a long time. he views himself as a burden and stain on society, he doesn't want to put anyone through the misery of dating him.

♡ if he had a partner all he'd do was hurt them, norton thought. he'd try to rescue them during a game but accidentally maim them, or lash out at them during a fit of uncontrollable rage and scar them forever.

♡ when he began to develop a crush on you, he was even more gloomy than usual. he cancelled plans with you, walked away the moment you sat down beside him, and refused to heal you even if you were standing in front of him and the hunter was far away.

♡ it was your compassion that made him fall. hard. although you didn't speak much, you always went out of your way to help norton and offered an ear if he needed to vent rather than being scared and fleeing.

♡ he thought that if he made you hate him then his feelings would go away, but it only made you more determined to support the crumbling man who had your heart.

♡ every time he thought about holding you, he would be plagued with visions of him hurting you right after. sometimes he would burst into tears when he met your gaze because he couldn't stop thinking about you dying like his coworkers.

♡ it took weeks of nonstop affection to convince him that you'd be safe with him and that you'd love him no matter what.

♡ he wanted to be as close to you as possible to keep you out of harm's reach, but he also didn't want to be near you in case he hurt you.

♡ your love was like magnets. he pushed you away, pulled you closer, pushed you away, pulled you closer.

♡ the best s/o he could ask for would he a levelheaded and understanding one, if you were calm and nurturing (but not overbearing) then he could have someone to pull him out of his fits of catatonia AND calm him down when he was blazing with fury.

♡ norton's rage would never be directed at you, it was always himself or anyone who posed a threat to you.

♡ he'd give hunters tons of shit for even daring to lay a finger on you. he didn't care if hastur was a god and norton was a man, he was going to calamari that bastard for letting you bleed out.

♡ huge fear of abandonment. he needs constant reassurance that you aren't complaining about him behind his back or planning to pack your bags and leave.

♡ when norton is in a good mood, he can't keep his hands to himself and acts so smug.

♡ you want to keep him in his sleazy money hungry moods for as long as you can, you insist on gifting him with stunning gems or interestingly shaped rocks just to see his face light up.

♡ he gets frustrated and genuinely upset when you tease him or don't give him what he wants but when it comes to teasing you? norton is the most mischievous man you've had the experience of meeting.

♡ he uses the height difference between you to his advantage, if you have a hat he can and will hold it above your head and chuckle as you try to reach for it.

♡ give him sweet food!!! he may not look like it, but pastries and candy remind norton of his childhood and have a calming effect on him. for every donut you donate to him, he'll kiss you in any spot of your choice.

♡ if he has a game on golden cave you'll volunteer to play it for him, he can't handle the claustrophobia and flashbacks he gets when he has games there. he appreciates it so much.

♡ favourite cuddling position is laying on his back with you resting on his stomach or under his arm with your hair splayed on his chest.

♡ burns everything he touches but will still cook and bake for you!!! maybe you should give him lessons?

♡ never knows how to ask to vent. he lets you know by talking to himself, saying "i killed them", that's when you drop what you're doing and console him.

♡ he wishes that he embraced love earlier, nightmares and hallucinations are easier to handle when he has someone clenching his hand and running their palm along his hair to calm him down and remind him it's not real. the voices that asked norton "why did you kill me?" are replaced by his lover cooing "norton baby, it's not real, you're safe in your bed, i love you so much dear" in his ear. he feels like he can handle anything with you by his side.

NSFW ;;

♡ like his moods, norton's behaviour in bed changes like the weather.

♡ norton is a fan of slow, intimate sex where nothing exists except you two. when you can mumble that you're hopelessly in love with him as you give light strokes to his cock, each lick worth a thousand words.

♡ other times, norton is brutally rough and you have to use a safeword with him.

♡ on bad days he'll enjoy humiliation or degradation, by having you beg for him or be called filthy names it reassures him that you aren't plotting to abandon him if you're doing all this embarrassing stuff.

♡ when he tops, he prefers to fuck you from behind and grip your hips until his nails like talons leave a mark, drawing blood. he can't control himself when he sees you submitting yourself to him and spanks you.

♡ holds you no matter what, when he wraps his arms around your belly as his hips snap into yours from behind he feels like he's protecting you.

♡ likely has a breeding kink as well, he wants to cum inside of you as deep as he possibly can and never pull out.

♡ he has such a thing for your hands ー their softness, their size, how your nails feel when they scratch his back, how you play with his hair... he wants those same hands to turn his cock into a red, leaking mess.

♡ candles. norton would use candles to set the mood and lighten the room so he could look at you better, but he would also enjoy watching (safe) wax trickle onto your skin.

♡ especially if you already have cum on you, he'd rub it in with his hands until they stuck to your body.

♡ something about the smell and the mess of it all drives him wild. the fact you're willingly letting him corrupt you like this is enough to make him cream in his pants.

♡ obsessed with claiming you, he would mark you up from head to toe and have you promise you wouldn't leave him while his teeth sunk into your skin.

♡ pulls your hair so hard that some chunks have accidentally come out... in the moment norton growls and fucks you harder when it happens, but once he cools down, he feels awful and wants to give you a massage.

♡ the heavy breathing and strings of curses that fall from his lips make your legs weak, his voice sounds huskier and more primal during sex.

♡ when he eats you out or blows you he digs his nails into your thighs and doesn't let go until you've cum at least twice, the unmistakable scratch marks left on your thighs leave him ravenous.

♡ norton doesn't like when you make references to past sex when he's in one of his happy moods, it's so embarrassing for him. but when he's in a teasing, possessive mood? the same room you mentioned it in would be the same room he jackhammers you in. even if there's other people, he'll find something to stand behind and act like he's fixing your outfit for you... don't try to tease norton when he's horny because he does Not show mercy.