#aaaand unsurprisingly this goes into

[narwhalandchill]

how are we feeling about this project amber update

assuming this is in relation to childe bc who the fuck else JWDJWJKDJKW anon im so sorry if not. also so so sorry for how out of hand this got. i am simply unwell about him.

But! Well. there certainly are thoughts

(obviously 4.6 datamine of arle SQ and her voicelines; This Will Not Spoil Anything Abt The Main SQ Plot, i only discuss the relevant parts. also some p Heavy negativity towards fanon ooc at the start youve been warned dont @ me)

(i mean i didnt even read anything of the SQ but The scene w childe so idek the main plot of the quest rly either lmao. tho go at ur own risk if u wanna check the dialogue out; its the 2nd quest log but it does hint at the greater story)

TLDR: how i feel abt his appearance in a vaccuum? quite solid despite the briefness, actually. accounting for the way fanon is 100% likely going to be reading into this and turning it into the Lets Infantilize Ajax Even More 2024 championship? conflicted.

in other words; a certified labyrinth warriors moment - theyve expanded on childes character in a very interesting and quite a compelling way and while i Do like the potential in what im seeing from hoyos end theyve also done it so that its going to be misinterpreted to hell and back by fanon so i kinda have an immediate jaded love-hate moment going on JJWJDKJDKJWJDWKJ

its literally just labyrinth warriors flashbacks - that event has some of my ALL TIME favorite insights into who ajax is and how he views the world and himself but when the event came out all everyone cared abt was to warp it into baby boy stuck in scawwy paper boy dungeon dehumanizes himself by calling himself a weapon and doesnt love himself he is such a sad trauma meowkitten 🥺🥺so yeah

bc like lets look at this properly for a bit; okay he went back to fontaine to look for skirk still somewhat injured and waa waa my 286 month infant baby cannot Make decisions like that!!!!!11! which is to say. i am tired of him getting this shit every time.

is it smart of him to get on the move immediately with just the bare minimum of rest? no. do i like that hes straining himself before proper recovery? not particularly no. do i feel the particular need to psychoanalyze this grown man and feared warrior whos 100% survived Way Worse in Way More Extreme Situations for it? hell fucking no.

while not at all the course of action a medical professional would approve of. from childes POV its perfectly logical hes priorizing going back for skirk when its literally the FIRST TIME shes showed up in like. a Decade. when hes been looking for her all this time are you kidding me 😭😭😭 but fanon must keep fanoning for their widdle baby girl so what does a hater like me know

anyway. seething and venting over im gonna try to avoid bringing up how much i hate this kinda infantilization of ajax now im sorry for bringing it up so much on ur innocent ask anon KJWDJKWKJDJDKWJKD. neutral discussion moment. i Promise

so it seems that theyre going for the pulcinella-is-shady-about-ajax (and prolly his family) angle for good and like. personally for me as long as the only real source of that claim was scara (a cynical edgelord who doesnt believe in non-exploitative human relationships, mind you) i was rather skeptical towards just instantly drawing that conclusion, but well. with the scene in arles AQ it appears to be sth theyre building towards

i actually really fucking loved that scene bc while theres outsider perspectives (scara obvi; and even arles line for him has that vibe. and ppl still take that shit face value 💀💀) and a lot of fandom assuming childes like. completely clueless and naive and ignorant towards the potential risks involved with trusting pulcinella. this is actually a very clever demonstration of quite the opposite? and showcasing how despite his aversion towards schemes and lies hes still intelligent and knows the kind of people hes dealing with when it comes to his fellow harbingers

like. childe has a negative opinion of arle based on what pulcinella has told him about her because at face value many of her deeds are in heavy conflict with his values of loyalty and family. and because he does not have the further context behind her actions and what the HotH under her is really like. Obviously hed hold a very hostile and wary view towards arlecchino

(ESPECIALLY when with all this biased intel hes still going to run into kids from the house!!! and then hes going wtf? these are good kids. what the hell is that knave doing with them??? blink twice if you need help i will start a civil war for yall like thats how he is with kids!!!!)

so YES. pulcinella has given him if not false then at least misleading intel based on the political tension between himself and arlecchino and the wider HotH. and childes taken that at face value! sure! he is close with pulcinella of course he would!

BUT. THEN. he returns to fontaine and seeks arlecchinos help looking for skirk. and observes her behavior and modus operandi for himself as well as the kids. does he go "nah she must be just hiding the crazy evil shit i would never distrust pulcinella" and leave it at that when reality doesnt completely match his expectations?

NO. because when offered the opportunity through the traveler asking about the HotH childe immediately capitalizes on the opportunity to prod for answers and see if pulcinella is lying to him!!!!

and hes so fucking smart with the way he does it too???? i LOVE his intelligence. the entire thing is so simple yet elegant; it Completely relies on his reputation as the kinda gullible harbinger whod Never scheme or hide Anything to indirectly affirm or deny his suspicions. he doesnt Need to Pretend to care about the possibility of arle betraying the kids bc he genuinely does!! and when she pushes back against the accusation he doesnt Need to fake admitting to her that well, actually, its all just rumors so he could be completely wrong. and so on. like he navigates the entire thing so effortlessly. and whats the end result?

childe has Confirmation of pulcinellas possible ulterior motives in action AND that arlecchino is a much more reliable ally than he initially assumed. all the while appearing as just The Straightforward 11th. like obviously id need to hear it voiced first to be sure but in text it v much gives the impression hes almost kinda just. playing up the threats towards arle and being "dumb" on Purpose?? to get the answers he wanted out of arle without appearing like hes fishing for anything particular. and i just hhhhhhhhhhh

i love when he does this so muchhhh!!!!!! 😭😭 he doesnt need to become some machiavellian schemer to be able to strategize !!!!!! he avoids scheming bc he Dislikes it not bc hes incapable of it like this has Always been the case Since Liyue AQ and i love whenever they show that side of himm . my Beloved

so anyway. while i do still think the like "pulcinella is bad and has his family hostage" is still kind of a generic plotline and i hope the writing regarding the whole thing wont ultimately turn out to be sth That simplified and black and white. its p clear theyre doing Something with pulcinellas motivations and as they are. im Really glad theyre letting it show that childes not just some completely passive party being manipulated in this all. he Is thinking abt this stuff and his position among the harbingers. ig we shall see where it goes - not the greatest fan of the concept still, but canon text supports it becoming a thing way more than when it was just scaras word we had for it. hope theyll surprise me positively w how they go about it!

then briefly for the rest uhh

also loved arle and childe just shittalking the rest of the harbingers it was amazing. i wasnt expecting this kinda dynamic between them at all but its great lmao. also i wanna see childe hang out w the HotH kids

as for project stuzha; so we dont really get anything solid on it other than being summoned back to snezhnaya for it is apparently a Big Deal. but still very interested. let my man have his endgame significance Trust

childes appearance was obviously v brief ultimately but that was clear from his leaked linecount to begin with - i am pretty satisfied with what they seem to have done w him. like its not The Best but also i wasnt expecting his lore to get some massive expansion in another harbingers SQ . the worst i feared was that it was just going to be a flashback of arle returning his vision which did Not happen so massive W. i am super hyped to hear this scene voice acted proper and happy to see him again, i really hope he gets to appear at least once more in an interlude or dains quest or something before going on hiatus again but idk if thats too much to ask LKKWJDJWDJWD

also: i am never changing my namecard after this patch drops. oh my godddddddd its So Fucking Beautiful 😭😭😭😭

But. Yeah. lots of good stuff. unfortunately lots of it will get misinterpreted and fanon will get obnoxious about it. but i still love getting to see him again and i am speedrunning that namecard day fucking one mutuals and/or followers in EU please add me (UID 711090267) ill need coop buddies for the world bosses

thank youuuuuuu for the ask i hope this monstrosity of a monologue doesnt scare u off 💀💀💀

[wrenhavenriver]

hey only fe fan i follow, how have you been liking engage? i've been torn because it has some fun moments and the characters are all great but the main plot is bonkers balls to the wall weird. but it's nice to have supports that aren't just someone trauma dumping for 15 straight minutes (i like 3h but its supports were sometimes difficult to get through) so i'm back and forth overall.

yeah, there are a handful of characters i like or find interesting and a few moments of actual earnest emotion scattered throughout the story but for the most part the writing is shallow as all fuck. i've read that this is the same writing team that did Fates, and it really, really shows - i know that this was meant to be more of a fun game celebrating the franchise anniversary than anything heavier or more philosophical/political (plus the devs are on the record as stating they wanted a "simpler" story so players could spend most of their attention on the new gameplay additions), but i really do think there's a much better middle ground out there than...what they ended up with, which mostly just smacks of minimal effort/resources. it's especially obvious with the quality (or lack thereof) of some of the support chains (and most of the emblem bond conversations, tbqfh). i'm also not a big fan of the art style or the return of more overtly fanservicey designs, but the colors and smoother battle animations are nice to look at. and the gameplay is definitely fun, even if i have to turn off my brain for the story segments in between. idk, it's never going to mean half of a percent as much as awakening or three houses does to me, but i guess it's a decent enough time kill while waiting for what's next, possibly the rumored fe4 remake?

[ranmanjuu]

Me again sorry if I’m spamming can request how the boys react to going to the future with mc be everywhere’s in lockdown thank you and stay safe love you~ (๑ゝω╹๑)

there’s probably a shit ton of them hcs around these parts and i feel like i’m just re-wording a lot of things so like,, ahaha i’m sorry. also the character cast is u-t forces cause ngl we have a lot of oda forces request previously and the coming requests dw just showing love to my kasugayama boys

—shingen:

the moment you stepped into the good ol’ modern times, the first thing you realized was that there’s a pandemic going on and with shingen being immunocompromised, it’s surely a danger more than ever. without a word, you quickly drag him into your apartment first thing’s first.

you quickly told him to take a shower (to which he’d probably jokingly invite you in, but to be fair, he doesn’t really know how bathtubs and shower heads are used). you didn’t have men’s clothing, not for his size so to say, so you just settled with your big, stretchy jackets you had.

after explaining the situation, you did consider going to the hospital for his treatment,, on one hand, if shingen doesn’t do it, he’ll. . .you know. and if he does, there’s a chance that he could get infected (with hospitals being a breeding ground for the virus). 

in the end, you decided to do it.

even after that, you were always careful with things like going out, mostly you taking care of the shopping and everything. you kept reminding him to wash his hands, social distance, etc.

and frankly, while he understands social distancing, he doesn’t like it. he just wants to hug and kiss his deity lover! prepare for the man to just recite poems so damn dramatically for this.

(^ this includes the amount of pickup lines increasing by a lot. the fact that he can now search some up from google doesn’t help.)

there’s a lot of things you do in quarantine, and you’ve found that the amount of carpentry has increased significantly prior to this.

said carpentry ranges from tables and chairs, to small decoration carvings of birds and the likes. the smell of wood now wafts in the air more than ever.

you’ve now replaced yukimura for his dieting of sweets. his illness may be gone, but teeth problems could still arise! but shingen can have some modern candy once in a while, as a treat. 

as for the reaction of the future in general—shingen finds it so, so warming how relatively peaceful it is compared to the sengoku. yes, protests are happening and there’s practically a new type of war going on (he most certainly advocates for human rights, etc), but it’s a step to a new light. a world he wants.

—kenshin:

you’ve had conversations of the future before—most of them on a,,, bizzare note, with the topic being on swords and war (or lack thereof), etc. a silent agreement was made between you two to not have kenshin be in the future since he’s missing one of the things he ‘needs to live with’ (them being war, sake, and you).

but a lot of improv had to be done when the wormhole was much more stubborn and managed to pull you through.

right after you figured out what happened, a security guard immediately came and told you to wear a mask (considering it’s a must). you had to haul kenshin back to your house before he attacks the guard with his sword.

after cleaning the two of you from any virus, you began running things over to him about the future. aaaand he’s already thinking about keeping you in your house by any means so you don’t get caught by it.

but you managed to convince him otherwise, you did have to go shopping and the thought of kenshin doing it with all the foreign technology around him made you sweat nervously.

no, kenshin, sake isn’t a need but you will buy it for him cause he won’t be able to survive, you feel.

you thought a peaceful modern world was bad enough for kenshin to reside in, ohoho, wait until you realize he can’t even go outside and fight sasuke and all that jazz.

a thought crossed your mind to learn how to duel and fight using mop sticks but he shot down that thought.

in the meantime, most of your days were spent in the garden with his sea of bunnies (how they got there, you don’t know) and mostly tending to them so they don’t contract the virus (kenshin almost flipped when you told him that rabbits could do that).

and by night, you spent it by looking out to the city skies (but the light from the buildings doesn’t hit like the stars do) and drinking sake.

he’d also be against social distancing, but—unsurprisingly—only to you. after a while that rule goes out the window as he cuddles you to death from being touch-starved.

i feel like he’d be interested in the past (or future, to him) wars just because. he’d read up about the wars from all sorts of places. and sometimes, you’d catch him with a deadly smile and say, “that sounds like a great idea, i should wage one like that.”

you had to remind him no, you can’t start a war cause you want to.

—yukimura:

he’d flip straight up by the idea of there being a pandemic in your time. you never talked about this when you told him you came from the future!

he’d probably groan at first with the thought of having to hole up for a long time, but he’d quickly understand. it’s for the benefit of the immunocompromised and the old, he’d like to help by following the rules.

besides, he has you. he’ll cope.

at first, his plan was for you to just let him do all the work during lockdown, like going out and stuff. he was non-chalant, if a bit stubborn.

until you mention groceries.

you start firing him questions, do you know what we need? do you know how much of it we need? or which one is which at all?

he shuts up after that.

yukimura will definitely do those workout things on youtube, and you’ll probably be roped into it. rip to you but you’re gettin’ buff during these lazy times.

small, silly arguments would most likely be the norm for you. it’s a bit of spicy bickering back and forth, you both find it amusing and it’s a way to stimulate the brain, no matter how stupid the topic is.

it can range from if mugwort mochi is better than chestnut dumplings, and you’ve even gone out to search for light topics to have small debates over.

occasionally, he’d invite you outside to watch the skies. the colorful lights from the tall buildings kind of reminds you of the loud fireworks during the festival back in the sengoku—only if they became stars instead.

much like shingen, yukimura is thankful of the positive changes in the future. horrible things may have stayed, but as long as there are people advocating for a fair and peaceful world, he can spend his days beside you.

—sasuke:

as any situation, sasuke was prepared as ever. the second you went to the modern days, he pulled out a spare mask (dw it’s clean) from his pocket and handed it to you. remembering the rule of mandatory masks, you quickly put it on.

you couldn’t really have a discussion about time-travel in the open, so you both went to your apartment.

sasuke is definitely well-versed in the virus, dumping most everything he knows unto you to better arm you with it yourself.

somehow, he could calculate how much groceries and overall shopping in any timeframe. a month, two, etc. so you find yourself bringing him out shopping with you.

since he’s now in the modern world, the amount of him being holed up kinda increases. if he’s learnt so much from a youtube tutorial, imagine the absolute machine he’d be by the end of it.

yeah he’s that guy who learns 45 million skills.

sasuke might seem unbothered by having to keep distance from you, but he really isn’t. you can tell; by the way his lips tighten, or the way his eyebrows furrow sometimes.

would regularly remind you to wash your hands, and would always say to take a bath each time you go home from the outside. if you’re ever sick, he’ll somehow have the perfect medicine ready.

you binge watch shows all the time, it’s another form of bonding cause you two already know about them. you’d spend nights on the couch with a blanket and snacks, discussing about things ranging from theories to crack cotent.

you really wouldn’t trade it for the world.

—yoshimoto:

honestly, yoshimoto isn’t even much interested in the future. mostly just how far art’s gotten (and trust me, it’s gotten so far). such is the situation when the wormhole caught you two.

he probably got sidetracked from the first art he could see (probably street art in this scenario) after you barely identified you went to the future.

again you must haul this pretty man after being told off by a security guard for not wearing a mask.

your biggest problem is probably his massive fascination with modern art. endless hours were used to have a talk that, no, he can’t go to an exhibit right now.

so you improvise.

you gave him a hand-me-down phone, or just share a laptop, and teach him the concept of digital art, along with how to operate certain social medias so he can browse around.

downside is he is currently—and unknowingly— planning to get you broke by commissioning artists. also he may or may not’ve been doing posting questionable things on his accounts (you really shouldn’t’ve given him one,,)

and so to fix the problem created to solve a problem, you decided to take it into your own hands.

popping out all the drawing supplies you’ve ever had, you began to doodle anything and everything, every day. and each one, you’d show it off to yoshimoto like a child to their parent.

and each time, he still looks at them so lovingly, no matter if it could hypothetically be classified as chicken scratches. as long as you make it, in his mind, it’ll be something worth cherished for.

but your strong suit has always been stitching, so you start a lot of projects of art on clothing. it counts as the one above.

oh—you know those pretty cloth masks? you now have about 100 of these at least, courtesy to yoshimoto.

[rgr-pop]

tonight [neighborhood organization] hosted a kind of Q&A panel for the city council candidates. I believe there are three city council contests going on right now. there’s an at-large position where two very entrenched candidates are seeking re-election, and one newer challenger is d s a endorsed. (I like her a lot as a person though I’m not sure her ideas can beat them.) at large politics is another deal entirely. then there’s a candidate running unopposed for re-election in a ward that I do not live in, an election in which [neighborhood] does NOT vote. then there is the [ward] seat, where a very entrenched and terrible in every way candidate is running for re-election, challenged by my economist ex mormon wonk candidate (brandon), running as a socialist. 

our shitty [ward] incumbent is also... the VP of the neighborhood association. huh! this lady is the fucking worst. she GHOSTED the primary debate. she really thinks that white homeowners can keep her in power forever EVEN though she has totally been snubbing the weed lobby and the scorned small weed businesspeople are now for sure a larger constituency than homeowners in [ward]. and they vote! believe, me, they vote. so anyway she is on the board of this organization, and the organization [which she is on the board of, VP to be precise], hosts this Q&A, they of course throw out all of our questions, but that’s another matter...

so we start a whole half hour late. at least. the at-large panel got a whole hour (3 participants). we find out--some people knew this, but I avoid the Org so I did not know this--that for the first time [ever? who knows], instead of having a [ward] Q&A with the candidates that are running, they invited those candidates who are running, and also this unopposed [other ward] candidate, so that he can “talk to us” about what goes on on the council. ([incumbent] also spent an entire minute explaining to us the branches of government, lmao). so the [ward] panel ended up having three people speaking instead of the two who are actually running, and they only got like, at most 40 minutes. this is already pretty shady, surely: [incumbent] is on the board of the org running the thing, and they happened to give her opponent a historically small amount of time to talk, aaaand didn’t field any of the questions that people asked [he for sure packed the audience, ie me].

however that is not all! this [other ward] candidate.... is her son. which most of US knew but was not disclosed at all. so it was her and her son up there taking 2/3 of the time. hilariously, although unsurprisingly, brandon (who, I have to say, is a Good Candidate!), still made her look terrible! lol

[askanonbinary]

I feel like saying a girl is a tomboy was the early 2000s way of saying someone is genderqueer

My personal immediate association is more gnc than genderqueer, but there’s no denying that tomboy does have a pretty interesting place in queer history (aaaand unsurprisingly a history of racism as well - just head’s up for the article I’m about to post). Here’s one article I found on it that goes over tomboy’s roots pretty thoroughly: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/01/tomboy/512258/

~ Mod Sock

[antiquery]

el’s guide to the lovecraft mythos

hey! so this is mostly a post for my dear friend will @wellsforboys, who asked for a primer of sorts on the best lovecraft stories, because his collected works are such a doorstopper, and reading them all in chronological order is quite an intensive task. these are, in my opinion, the cream of the crop; keep in mind that, for a lovecraft fan, my tastes tend towards the unconventional, and if you ask someone else you might get a very different list. i’m going to try my best to avoid the most intensely, egregiously bigoted, but if there’s something i feel merits inclusion despite the aforementioned bigotry i’ll include a warning. i’ll also provide links to all of these stories through the free online archive, but if you’d like to get a hard copy and delve deeper, i recommend this one from arcturus or this one from barnes & noble. if you’re strapped for cash and/or would prefer to read more online, here’s the link hub for the complete works. let’s get started!

lovecraft stories are typically broken up into two categories: the “mythos” stories, and the “dreamlands” stories. the former are the stories you typically think of when you think of lovecraft, if you know weird fiction— they tend more towards hard sci-fi, and usually deal with doomed scholars, hubris-ridden scientific exploits, the massachusetts countryside, outer gods, and various types of aliens. they’re far more famous than the latter, most of which concern the adventures of various vaguely keatsian protagonists in a narnia-ish realm dubbed the dreamlands, which is internally consistent and frequently cross-referenced. the distinction between these two types of stories is only a very broad one, though; characters, locations, and themes. frequently appear in both. the term “mythos” is rather misleading— all the stories take place in the same ‘verse, with the same gods and the same cosmology. really, it’s a division of style and subject material. personally, i prefer the dreamlands stories, but most lovecraft fans (unsurprisingly) prefer the mythos tales (which i will admit are more technically, narratively apt). i’ll try and include a roughly equal amount of both, so that you can get a feel for what you prefer.

so, without further ado, here’s the list! in chronological order:

the statement of randolph carter: first story, first appearance of my boy! here he’s wracked by ptsd from the great war and the recent eldritch demise of his boyfriend research partner; the story is told in the form of a police statement. this is one of the most gothic of lovecraft’s tales, and also the one with Alternate Universe Florida. it’s a fave.

celephais: sort of a dry run for the dream-quest of unknown kadath, but clever and unique in its own humble way. it’s got the same themes of refuge in dream, and it’s got a sweet ending that’s cleverly subverted by the protagonist’s later appearance in the dream cycle.

from beyond: people have mixed opinions on this one, but i’m fond of it. while usually classed as a dream cycle tale, it has that element of scientific hubris that pops up so often in mythos stories, and an absolutely chilling central premise.

nyarlathotep: first appearance of probably the most well-known mythos baddie after cthulhu. here he’s terrorizing innocent humans in the guise of Eldritch Modernist Nikola Tesla. will, for you specifically— if you like nikola orsinov from the magnus archives, you’ll like nyarlathotep (both the character and the short story).

the nameless city: this might just be my favorite one-off tale (though i am fond of the lovecraft reread’s hypothesis that the unnamed protagonist might be our boy randy carter, because this is precisely the kind of stupidity he’s so prone to). top-notch archaeological horror about exploring a deserted city that might not be as empty as it seemed.

the music of erich zann: lovecraft doing chambers, basically. it’s a clever little tale, and has an innovative use of auditory horror, which wasn’t all that common for hpl.

hypnos: probably the second most homoerotic story lovecraft ever wrote (though there are a lot of those, surprisingly enough). local keatsian meets a supremely beautiful, nameless man, they fall into dreaming (and opium addiction) together, things go downhill from there.

herbert west— reanimator: this one’s a bit longer, but it’s a cult classic, adapted into a delightfully campy 1985 film starring jeffrey combs. it’s about a scientist who goes Too Far, in the frankenstein sense, in pursuit of...well, you can guess from the title. it’s a fun modern (for the twenties) twist on the gothicism of mary shelley, and the title character is so much fun.

the hound: another super-gothic tale, and probably the single homoerotic story lovecraft ever wrote. actually, it’s kinda like a mini the secret history via poe. local decadents get into the occult over their heads, pay the spooky spooky price. gotta love it.

the rats in the walls: this one’s another classic poe-esque story, pretty clearly a riff on fall of the house of usher. it’s a wonderfully psychological piece of gothic horror, but huge trigger warning for The Infamous Cat Name. aside from that bit of unpleasantness, this is one of the first pieces where lovecraft handles the horror of ancestry well, with the classic conceit of a literal decaying house (or priory, as the case may be), and it’s pretty cool to see him really come into his own with something that’d so fundamentally define his work.

the unnameable: another carter story! this time he’s acting pretty transparently as lovecraft’s author avatar, talking about the value of horror fiction and, uh, fainting in terror at the slightest hint of any actual horror. better luck next time, randy. we’ll check in with him again in a few.

the festival: first canon mention of the necronomicon! exciting! and, if i recall correctly, the only story actually set in kingsport, one of the small massachusetts towns (along with arkham, dunwich, and innsmouth) that make up the major landmarks of lovecraft country. it’s about, as the title suggests, a Nefarious Ritual, and also astral projection? cool. it’s a pretty neat bit of creepery, nothing really special, but a good example of the kind of regional horror lovecraft was starting to handle particularly well.

the call of cthulhu: i’m basically obligated to include this one, though to me it’s not really a standout, because it’s so damn famous. it does get points for a clever and thematically intelligent narrative structure, and the astoundingly creepy idea of artists’ dreams being influenced by an Imminent Horror. 

pickman’s model: another super chambers-esque story, and one where the monologue formatting works loads better than it did in statement of randolph carter. like in music of erich zann (and, to some extent, call of cthulhu) this is lovecraft wrestling with the cosmic-horror implications of the fine arts. it’s also got a lovely twist at the end, one of those really chilling clincher lines lovecraft is starting to develop a knack for.

the silver key: chronologically the third carter tale, though no one’s entirely sure where it fits in the narrative sequence of his stories. it’s basically a modernist diss track, wherein our boy wrestles with the ennui that comes from, uh, reading t.s. eliot? (funnily enough, this is basically “the hollow men” via keats.) it’s not really a horror story, but it’s one of my favorites nonetheless.

the dream-quest of unknown kadath: FINALLY, we get to my favorite. this is a short novel chronicling randolph carter’s adventures in the dreamlands as he seeks out a dream-city that the gods have denied him. it’s the odyssey via lord dunsany, with a few twists— carter’s not really an epic hero, polutropos or otherwise, and it’s fun to watch him navigate a treacherous landscape in such an unconventional fashion. it has an excellent, atypical twist ending, and my favorite appearance of nyarlathotep ever. it’s also the chronological end of the carter cycle,* and our boy goes out with a very pratchett-esque bang.

the case of charles dexter ward: a lengthy slow-build tale of an evil necromancer and his impressionable descendent. it moves somewhat slowly, but it’s so delightfully atmospheric that you don’t really mind. bonus points for the clear riff on wilde’s the picture of dorian gray. also, first appearance of mythos deity yog-sothoth!

the dunwich horror: aaaand now we get into the string of very well-known mythos tales that lovecraft wrote around 1930. this is a classic, about an insular family with a destructive predilection for the occult.

the whisperer in darkness: a lovely slow-build and partly epistolary tale, featuring the classic Intense Stupidity of mythos protagonists. also featuring aliens from...pluto? and the first real appearance of the theme of bodily dissociation, which lovecraft got super into near the end of his career.

at the mountains of madness: this one’s so good. it’s more of a novella than a short story, about a doomed expedition to the antarctic sponsored by our favorite Dark Ivy, miskatonic university. it’s an awesome piece of worldbuilding about the pre-human earth, and a near-unique bit of sympathy for the non-human. it was also the inspiration for john carpenter’s 1982 classic the thing, as well as a tragically abortive guillermo del toro adaptation.

the shadow over innsmouth: i’d call this the climax of lovecraft’s writing on hereditary horror, and it’s brilliant. the ending is one of my favorite final paragraphs in all of lovecraft, maybe surpassed only by dream-quest. the story proper is about a young massachusetts native investigating the strange coastal town of innsmouth, and just why, exactly, something isn’t quite right about it. it loses points, though, for a truly horrible and lengthy application of dialect, and for being a very obvious metaphor about interracial marriage. sigh.

the dreams in the witch house: probably my favorite story after dream-quest of unknown kadath. it’s...kind of dark academia-y, actually, about a miskatonic undergrad who moves into a house formerly owned by a famous witch and discovers a method to travel to other dimensions— at a price, of course. lovecraft was never good at character building, but he did manage to create a genuinely sympathetic protagonist in walter gilman, which makes the ending all the more chilling. there’s also an awesome rock opera adaptation of this story, which i highly recommend.

the shadow out of time: another favorite! it’s the culmination of lovecraft’s late-career fondness for body-swapping horror, and as well as being genuinely cosmically terrifying (and wondrous) it’s quite psychological, in a way lovecraft wasn’t usually very apt at. it’s got alien civilizations! anticipatory soviet terror! the horrors of interplanetary colonialism! awesome libraries! what’s not to love?

the haunter of the dark: the last independent story lovecraft wrote before he died in 1937, it’s a beautiful send-up of providence, hpl’s hometown, and a delightful final appearance of my man nyarlathotep (albeit in a new form). plus...eldritch journalism? it’s great. also, i can’t mention this story without referencing this fic, which you should absolutely read immediately after the actual tale. 

and that’s it! happy reading!

* you can read “through the gates of the silver key” if you want, it’s technically the culmination of the carter cycle, but it was mainly written by e. hoffman price and edited by lovecraft, and i (along with plenty of other hpl scholars) don’t really consider it canon. it was lovecraft’s first real foray into body-swap horror, but because he’s trying to shove it into a character arc that’s already over and done with it doesn’t do very well. you get essentially the same narrative with “the shadow out of time,” done much more skilfully. to me, “gates” smacks intensely of derleth, lovecraft’s “posthumous collaborator” and Mythos Manichaean, which...ack.

[sol1056]

what have you got to lose: vld

Before I tell you what I’ve been thinking about stakes in VLD, something to remember: stakes are hard. Part of what makes stakes such a headache for writers is because they’re so crucial. More than characterization, more than plot, because just about everything hangs on character choices, and those choices are defined by the stakes. 

Note #1: when someone says, “I couldn’t see that character doing X,” read this as, “you didn’t sell me on why this character would bother.” Stakes move a character from stasis to action. If an action isn’t believable, you probably didn’t show (whether at all, or strongly enough) what propelled the character out of their resting state. 

Note #2: fanfic teaches lots of writing skills; establishing primary stakes is not really one of them. Writing fic means walking in after canon’s already set the stakes. In fic, ‘exists in canon’ is often treated as equivalent to ‘has a stake in the story’. 

Aaaand note #3: there are tricks to jump-starting a story without stakes, like setting a deadline. Thrillers use this a lot to pull in ‘civilian’ characters who’d normally leave things to professionals. In the absence of personal stakes, establish a ticking time bomb, so the characters don’t even get the chance to ask whether they should be bothering. 

Behind the cut: VLD’s opening stakes, how stakes impact plot holes, and what happens when a character has nothing left to lose.

the opening stakes

In S1E1, the opening scenes do give us stakes. If Pidge does nothing, she’ll never get clues about the Kerberos mission. If Lance and Hunk do nothing, they won’t bond as a team and they’ll fail out of Garrison. If Shiro does nothing, he’ll never learn why he was sent back with a warning. 

Keith’s stakes get a kind of bait-and-switch. Despite substantial time-investment (bombs, plans, etc), his stakes are basically ‘I had nothing better to do’. But we get that after it’s clear that Shiro matters hugely to Keith, so ‘if I walk away, I lose my closest friend’ gets retroactively applied to Keith’s previous lackluster stakes.

Between the cabin and Arus, the story imposes a deadline: the Galra are coming. Shiro and Pidge have the clearest stakes (they’ll lose a chance to unravel mysteries), while Keith's stakes are by proxy (he’ll lose being with Shiro). 

Lance’s stakes are flimsier (lose getting to fly Blue), and Hunk... well, Hunk doesn’t have anything on the line. So when the five arrive, personal stakes for Lance and Hunk are that they lose a lot more by staying (families/lives) than they do by leaving. Major stasis.

The story promptly gets cracking addressing this, using three important maneuvers: override stasis, set Zarkon as massive external stake, and define new internal stakes. The first is the easiest, using an imposed deadline (Sendak) and the ‘chosen one’ trope (or five, in this case). All five are locked in; one leaving means the rest are doomed.

The second step uses Pidge for a reason. Her personal stakes (her family) are the highest and most pressing. If you believe she’ll set that aside for Voltron, by extension it’s believable the other four would see Voltron as priority, too. Add a deadline (Sendak has the castle, etc), and a clearly-delineated, difficult choice (Lance/Shiro vs brother/father), and you have one of the most compelling segments in the series, story-wise.

The third step uses Hunk for the opposite reason; like Lance, he has no personal stake. Zarkon is big, but purely external. Hunk’s friendship with Shay develops his character in great part because it gives him a personal stake in joining the fight. 

However, Lance and Hunk remain the least compelling of the five, with Keith behind them. Hunk goes along because he’s friends with Lance; when Hunk gets personal stakes, we assume Lance will go along because he’s friends with Hunk. The story slides neatly from one to the other, glossing over the fact that they’re being treated the same (and remember what I said about when two characters have the same goal and the same stakes). 

stakes and plot holes

Lance and Hunk are good examples of how weak stakes can create plot holes. Let’s say Sendak is not attacking, and the pilots aren’t chosen ones. If Lance and Hunk still decide to stay, most viewers would be asking why: it’s a plot hole.

Think of the ‘hole’ as that gap we had to leap over, from what we expect is the character���s choice (based on known stakes), to a plot-point not supported by those stakes. (There will be viewers willing to go along with this, but they’ll probably quit at the next misstep.) 

Here’s where VLD really screws up on this one. Having established external and (somewhat) internal stakes for the five pilots, the start of S3 decimates those, on multiple levels.

Keith's stakes were based in Shiro, so losing Shiro wipes out Keith’s reason to stay. For Pidge, Lance, and Hunk, the overriding external stakes (Zarkon) are ostensibly gone, so there’s now less reason to stay yet still a big reason to leave. And then the story takes out the final restriction, with this exchange:

Pidge: In fact, you told everyone who would pilot which lion. Hunk: Yeah, how did you do that? Did we ever find out how you did that? Can you do that now? Allura: Sadly, no. When you arrived at the Castle, I immediately recognized the special qualities in each of you.

It’s not a good sign that an awful lot of viewers connected this exchange with the paladin history, and concluded that Allura chose based on which personality matched an original paladin’s. (And it also harks back to Coran’s worry, and Allura’s response of “they’re all we’ve got.”) 

The story effectively wiped out every reason these five people were locked into position. As far as they know, Zarkon is dead, and now we know the choices were semi-chance. Suddenly it’s clear why the story never added more characters (ie Olkari, Balmerans, Slav, the Blades, anyone), because their presence would make obvious a massive plot hole. Once the story gutted its own ‘chosen one’ argument, not only is there now the option to, say, audition new pilots -- there’s also no reason for any of the existing pilots to stick around.

nothing left to lose

In the three questions (from the previous post) that identify a character’s stakes, the final one asks the big gamble: “what must you sacrifice, to achieve a good ending?” 

It’s a choice between two outcomes, frex, Pidge must sacrifice ‘find my family’ in favor of ‘save the team’. But the ‘good ending’ can be even simpler: ‘to survive’. It’s basically forcing the character to decide whether someone else’s life is more important than their own.

Near the end of S2, the pilots list their personal stakes. Lance and Hunk, unsurprisingly, want to go home. Keith and Pidge want to find their families. Shiro’s silence is telling. It could mean he prefers his current stasis -- but it’s also a signal he has nothing to lose.

This is a common setup in anime, especially in mecha, and usually indicates the character doesn’t expect to get out alive. Furthermore, that they won’t, unless they find a reason to fight. It’s nearly a cliche: ‘having something to protect makes you twice as strong.’ From outside the story (as a writer), it’s a reminder that victory is hollow unless something is on the line. 

However, not all gambles pay off: when the character lays their money down, and the game plays out to a loss, their game is done. Shiro’s silence foreshadows the end of his story; he cannot win, because he has nothing to lose. Because if you flip the question around, what it’s really saying is this:

If the character has nothing to lose, a good ending is not possible.

Which brings me around to Keith. Although the story makes vague hand-wavey motions at Keith’s stakes expanding, Shiro clearly remains the only thing Keith has to really lose -- and then Keith loses him. 

Sure, the opening of S3 is angst-ridden, but from a story-perspective, it’s also kinda flailing. Beyond gutting the 'chosen one’ aspect, Keith’s stakes now overlap with Pidge. (Again we have two characters with too-similar goals and stakes.) The story has to hop fast to give Keith new stakes, and here Lotor fills Sendak’s role: a major external threat requires Keith choose between ‘support the team’ and ‘grieve/search for Shiro’. 

From the end of S3 and throughout S4, Keith gets a massive ramp-up in his stakes. He regains Shiro, leaves the team, joins the Blades, and all those relationships together expand him beyond his previous “only Shiro” thing. From a story perspective, this meant Keith would survive the S4 big finale: he had something important enough on the table that he’d fight twice as hard. 

(It’s also why I view his suicidal move as kinda... hunh. And why the Lotor ex machina is equally unsatisfying, because it rips that hard choice right out of Keith’s hands. But that’s a discussion for another post, at some point.)

Lotor at the end of S4 is Keith at the start of S3, Shiro at the end of S2: gamble made, game lost. At that point, none can drive the plot, because they have no stakes. They’ve become plot devices. 

Remember, plot is a result of character choices. A character who has only one way forward has no choice. 

Basically: for most of S2, Shiro had stakes strong enough to drive the majority of the plot. But end of S2, for whatever reason, wiped those out. In S3, Lotor’s stakes are both profoundly compelling and highly personal (see this analysis by @radioactivesupersonic​). S4 guts all of that by putting him in a losing situation, and letting him lose. 

Thus, Lotor’s actions -- whether to help the rebellion, or be in the blast radius, or whatever -- are driven by the plot requiring someone to show up and save the day. He’s a plot device: with nothing to lose, he cannot win. And until he has stakes again, from a story structure perspective, a plot device is all he’ll be.

[mikakomori]

Song No. 1 - Chapter 1

Here’s the first real chapter of Song Stories! I’m proud of myself for even making it past the prologue. You can find the prologue here. Aaaand Song Stories is available on Wattpad, too ~

Thx for reading and have fun <3

Chapter 1

 „Now we‘ve got some breaking news: The Paper Cut Killer strikes again. This morning another body was discovered in a rundown building on Maple Street. The victim, a young woman, believed to be in her mid-twenties, shows signs of several slash wounds. The police believe this to be another gruesome crime of the Paper Cut Killer.“ The image cut to a stoic looking detective who seemed to be in charge of the investigation. „On a first glance the wounds match the blade of a large pair of scissors.“, he started his statement in a serious but calm voice. „They cover the whole body and are of different depths. That and the fact that the victim is of similar appearance and age as former victims lets us to believe, that this crime was in fact committed by the same person, who killed the other women. Of course, we can‘t say anything for sure yet as the autopsy still has to be conducted.“ „Thank you, Detective. This marks the sixth murder-“

„-iz, Liz!“ The young woman diverted her eyes from the TV screen, looking at the woman opposite of her. „Are you even listening to me?“, she asked with an exasperated look on her face.

„Yeah, of course I am!“ Ok, I wasn’t. But maybe she won’t notice.

„Oh really? Then tell me what I said just now.“

Damn.

Liz tried to remember the start of their conversation from before. But unsurprisingly nothing came to her mind, so she stayed quiet. Her silence seemed to aggravate the other woman‘s exasperation even more, as she sighed in disappointment.

„I knew it. After what felt like ages, I finally managed to drag you away from work for once to come to the café with me and now you deem that news report more interesting than me.“ Crossing her arms the blonde made a pouty face.

„Look Chrissy, I‘m sorry. But that report is important for my work. You know, I‘m in charge of anything related to the Paper Cut Killer.“ Chrissy winced slightly, hearing her friend say that name. However, oblivious to the other woman’s unease Liz continued. „So, if there‘s any chance of getting new information about him I have to jump on it.“

Not convinced at all the blonde retorted „Liz, this is a news report. You can watch that anytime using this fancy new technology called ‚the internet‘. Plus, there will probably be another thousands or more of those reports today, all saying the same things on and on.“ Hearing her friends words the young woman grinned. „Maybe, but this report is special.“

„Special? Why? …You have a crush on the news lady or what?“

Wait, what? Now where did she get this idea from again? „Hmm. Would you get jealous if I said yes?“

Caught off guard by that Chrissy stuttered „N-no! Of course not! As if I‘d get jealous because of someone like you.“ Pouting she turned her head away, a slight blush creeping its way into her face. Liz chuckled at that.

Cute.

She loved messing with her friend like that. Her reactions were always priceless. And cute.

Cute was the word one would use when describing Chrissy, or Christina as her real name stated. With her honey-blonde hair, big eyes and a warm, lovely smile. Some people said she looked like an angel sent from heaven. Some people being mostly men. They seemed to swarm around her constantly with Chrissy not giving them more than a glance. She always seemed to be annoyed by their advances. Although there hadn’t been any men swarming around her lately. It was a shame really, a waste of good looks. Liz couldn‘t help but feel a little jealous of her friend. All she had going for herself was her dark chestnut brown hair which fell in slight waves down her back. Although, you wouldn‘t be able to see that now, as she was wearing it in a high ponytail. She always did that for work as her hair would only get in the way when being outside. One gush of wind and it was all over her face. Gone with the wind was what Liz called that look. Not something a journalist would want to wear while interviewing people.

„Oh my god?! Is that you Liz?!“

Huh?

Chrissy‘s outcry brought the young woman back to reality. She barely managed to look up to the screen again to see a young woman, which was unmistakably herself, running through the picture, followed by an agitated looking man in a police uniform. Or maybe he looked rather avid than agitated, as he was flailing his right arm around, chasing her. Waving energetically while calling her name over and over again in hope of bringing her to a halt. His face beaming with the enthusiasm of a small child that had just been told it would get a puppy for Christmas.

Well, of course one wasn’t actually able to see all that, as the two were visible for merely three seconds or so. But Liz remembered it vividly, although she’d really rather not. The whole experience this morning had tired her out. As had that police officer. Let’s be honest: He was the one and only reason she felt exhausted like this. His way of behaving, speech and his whole aura had hit a nerve of hers and even now she could feel herself becoming more irritated by the second, by as much as remembering his face.

That idiot. He followed me around for a whole twenty minutes! I thought I’d never lose him.

“Persistent little bastard”, Liz muttered quietly so Chrissy couldn’t hear her.

Obviously oblivious to Liz’s dismay, Chrissy, who was seemingly excited about her friend being seen on TV, went on with bombarding the brown-haired with a stream of endless questions. “That was you, right!? What were you doing at the crime scene? Did they catch you trespassing? You were running away, so they did, right? I mean, this cop was chasing you! You… You’re not in trouble, are you? Is that why you were so quiet? You’re worried they’ll arrest you! Oh, no! Liz, you’re going to be ok, right?!”

“Woah, woah, woah! Hold on!” There she goes again talking without taking a break to breath. I swear one day she’ll talk herself to death.

Liz interrupted her friend before she could pass out through lack of oxygen. “Calm down, ok? Breath. One. Two. …Deep breaths. Yes, that’s it. Good, keep doing that.” Slowly gesturing her hands up and down, she took a few deep breaths with the blonde in unison until Chrissy stopped gasping for air and slowly regained a steady breathing.

“Better?”

“Mhm. Yeah, thanks…” She paused, taking another breath. “Did you get a look on the body?”

“God Chrissy, please!” The exasperated outcry earned Liz some wary looks from the people seated around them.

Preferably, she would have given them a death glare or some grumpy shout outs or both really, but Liz knew it would just be a waste of her precious, ever outrunning energy.

God, I hate people sometimes. Or anytime.

Leaving it at an annoyed sigh, she began answering her friend’s questions as calm and comprehensible as possible. She wouldn’t risk her forgetting the necessity of breathing again.

“Ok, so first: Obviously I didn’t get caught by anyone. Neither by that idi-… I mean, police officer, nor by the detective leading the investigation, the news lady or any of the stupid onlookers. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here now, right?”

“M-makes sense. But speaking about the police, what was the thing with that cop on speed who was chasing you around?”

Of course, you would ask about him. “Urgh, let us please not talk about him. Let’s just say I outran him after a while. …Or an eternity.” Mumbling the last bit of her sentence in a low voice, earned her a quizzical look by the blonde.

“Uhm, ok? But that doesn’t tell me why he was chasing you in the first place. Like, what did you do?”

Liz wasn’t keen on having this conversation right now. Or ever. She took a help seeking look at the clock that hung on the light blue wall of the café.

Oh, thank god! For once she was lucky on this dreadful day. “Aah, I’d really like to tell you, but I’m afraid my break’s over now. I gotta get back to work now or Meredith will kill me.” Taking her phone and her black shoulder bag, Liz quickly shuffled to a stand.

“Oooh, how convenient for you! It’s not even one yet! I’d say you have another five minutes.”

“Five minutes I’ll need to cross the horrible crossroad in front of the office. You’ll grow grey hair before that stupid traffic light switches to green. So, no can do.”  Sorry not sorry.

Rolling her eyes at her friend’s obvious excuses, Chrissy retorted in a sore tone “But we haven’t even ordered anything yet! And don’t you dare say Next time for sure, Chrissy now!”

Damn, again. “That’s not what I was going to- Well, ok, maybe I was about to say that... Hey, don’t give me that look. I’m really, really sorry, ok? And I promise next time I’ll stay long enough to actually eat and drink something. Look, I’ll even buy you a cupcake! You know, you love those. Alright?”

Defeated her friend sighs. “Fine… I can’t risk you getting killed by your boss, can I?”

A smile appeared on Liz’s face as she hugged the blonde goodbye. “Next time, for sure!”

“Yeah, yeah, now go already. And you better buy me the extra-special-deluxe cupcake next time!””

“I’m sure no such cupcake exists, but I can get you the most expensive one. Well, see you later!” With one last little handwave, Liz made her way to the entrance, being followed by the inquisitive looks from the other costumers and the lady behind the counter.

Chrissy, who was still seated at the table, watched her friend walk outside, murmuring to herself. “I don’t think the employees like her always leaving without ordering anything all that much. Maybe we’ll have to find another café to go to soon. …Again.” Turning back around, a sad smile creeped it’s way on the blonde’s face. “Next time, she said, huh... What if there comes a day, where there is no next time for us anymore?”

 Phew, that was a close one! Now back to work it is.

Outside Liz quickly made her way to the office. Or at least she was about to, as she bumped into someone only a few steps away from the café. Ouch, what the-

“Ow! Really, what is it with people bumping into me today? You’re like the third person to do that.”

Oh no. That voice. It couldn’t be. Looking up she stared into the face of the man she had just run into.

Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!

Standing in front of her was the police officer from this morning, the one who had been chasing her around the streets for 20 minutes. The one who was the cause of her foul mood. The one she never ever wanted to see again.

Holding his right arm, the man started recognizing her face. “Oh my god. Heeey!” His face lit up instantly and he beamed at her. “It’s you! I can’t believe it! You were in such an awful hurry this morning. You know, I ran after you for a while, calling you. But no matter how loud I called, you didn’t seem to hear a thing. Were you wearing headphones? …No, that couldn’t be. You definitely didn’t wear any when you took off. And putting them on while running at that speed, you’d need to be a master multitasker. Ha, can’t say I know one. I mean, if I had tried that, I’d definitely run into a pole or something. My eye-hand-feet coordination is really bad.” Talking like a waterfall, the man kept speeding up until his words morphed into one inseparable chain of noisy rambling. Why him? Why now? Why here?! Liz thought as she pressed her left hand to her forehead, sensing the beginning of a headache.

“SHUT. UP!”  She screamed as loud as she could, in hope it would finally stop him from talking. And it worked. He jumped with a surprised scream, startled by the brunette’s sudden outburst. While clenching his chest he gave Liz a reproachful look. “Don’t do that. Ever. Again. You very nearly gave me a heart attack, shouting like that all of a sudden!”

“Whatever makes you keep your mouth shut.” At that, a slightly hurt look appeared on his face. But it vanished as fast as it came, being replaced by a pout as he crossed his arms.

“F-fine. If that’s what you want.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I want. And now, goodbye.” Liz started making her way past, but was, of course, put to a stop by him. What the hell?!

Holding his left arm in front of her like some kind of human gateway, he hindered her from walking away. Missing only him making a robotic beeping sound to bring the ridiculousness of the scene to perfection.

“I can’t let you go yet.”

“Why not?

“Well, you didn’t answer my question. Obviously.”

Don’t stretch that word like this… “What question?”

“God, were you even listening to what I said? Why did you keep running this morning?” Liz gulped down the Uhm, no! she wanted to shout in his face and instead settled for an annoyed “And why would I be inclined to answer that?”

“Hm, maybe, because I’m a police officer! And as a good citizen you’re obliged to answering the questions of the authority.” The man proudly beamed at her.

There is absolutely nothing authoritative about you!

Liz sighed, there was no running away this time. Defeated she threw her hands up, snapping “Fine! You wanna know why I didn’t stop even after you called my name for the eight hundredth time? I tell you why. I was running away from you. And you wanna know why, Mr. I-Can’t-Take-A-Hint?” Intimidated by the hostile tone in the brunette’s voice the man hesitated before giving her a small nod. Although, one could see by the look on his face that he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to hear her next words, or rather hide behind the next tree.

Not that it would have mattered as Liz was determined to give him a piece of her mind, even if it meant being the one chasing him around this time.

“I ran because I couldn’t stand being around you for even one more minute! Your whole attitude, your never-ending ramblings and that stupid ever-present smile on your face. Every bit of you makes it really hard for me not to strangle you!” A nervous laugh escaped his lips as he took a step back, hoping to escape the glare Liz was shooting at him. “S-surely you don’t mean that Miss Glade… Uhm…” Liz took a step forward, closing the distance he had so desperately created. “I wasn’t done yet. I believe it’s my turn to ask a question now.” The man gulped.

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s a simple one. Yes or no. Even someone like you could answer it. …Probably. So, listen carefully now.” Liz spoke her next words one by one as if she was dictating them to a child.

“Are. You. Stalking. Me?”

For a moment both of them were silent. Then the man opened his mouth, wanting to say something but closed it instead in disbelief, before opening it again. “Uhm… Could you… repeat that? I want to make sure I understood you correctly… You think I’m stalking you? How… exactly did you get that idea?”

This guy. He’s serious isn’t he?

Tilting her head like she was thinking about something Liz elaborated “Hmm, maybe because you kept chasing me around for at least 20 minutes. And after I finally got rid of you, you just happen to show up just outside the café I frequent. Coincidentally bumping into me.”  

“Well, when you say it like that, it sure sounds like- Waaait, a moment! You were the one who bumped into me! And that actually hurt a lot.” Holding his right arm as if he was in pain, he shot the woman a reproachful look before switching back to a more serious face. “Ah wait, that’s not what’s important right now. I hereby avert your accusation, as I’m simply here to meet a friend of mine. In there.” He pointed at the café.

Liz gave a dismissive laugh. “You have friends?” “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean! You might not know it, but I have a ton of friends!” The apparent pout on his face made room for a proud smile. Disbelievingly the young woman raised an eyebrow “Uh-huh, sure.”

“Ok, tons may be a bit exaggerated. But there are a lot. Or, more than a few. Well, some of them tried to kill me, but…”

Wait, what. Even though he had grown quiet at the end of his sentence, Liz had understood his words clearly.

“They tried to… what?”

The man just shrugged at her outburst. “They were part of the mafia, so I’d thought that would happen sooner or later, so…”

A police officer who’s friends with the mafia. Of course. Nothing wrong with that. Man, this guy just keeps getting weirder and weirder. “Look, I don’t care. Whether you are friends with murderers or the queen of England, it’s none of my business. I answered your question, you answered mine, so that’s it. Ok? You have to let me go now.” Walking past him, for real this time, Liz took a few steps before turning towards the police officer, awaiting his answer. There was no way she wanted to risk getting chased around for a second time today.

Dear Lord, please just let me finally go back to work!

He clearly wasn’t happy about her leaving but he couldn’t think of anything to keep her from going either. “Well, I suppose so. Although, I do have some more questions regarding the Paper Cut Killer I’d like to discuss with you and-“.

NO. No, you won’t!

“That’s too bad, really. But my boss will kill me if I don’t show up in the office anytime soon. And that would give you even more work, when you’re clearly already overwhelmed by this one case. Better not risk that. So, goodbye. And have fun at the café with your friend, girlfriend, mafia members or whatever.” With that, the young woman turned around again and started hurrying down the road with quick steps. Leaving the officer behind, before he had the chance to stop her.

Freedom, at last!

However, right before turning around the corner, she heard him shout “Uhm, she’s not my girlfriend!”

Liz snorted. Really? That’s the point that struck him as odd?

In a slightly less annoyed tone, she exclaimed “Whatever!” before turning around the corner.

  Have you had a million reasons why you wish you'd never seen the truth?

Have you looked into the mirror and the clown is staring back at you?

*Song lyrics belong to the rightful artist*

[ryttu3k]

Time to hit up the Aqua base!

Here’s the details:

Chickweed the Blaziken | level 48 | male | Blaze | Serious, takes plenty of siestas | Flame Charge, Blaze Kick, Double Kick, Cut | starter

Snowdrop the Mightyena | level 46 | female | Intimidate | Lonely, loves to eat | Ice Fang, Crunch, Odor Sleuth, Rock Smash | found route 101

Sage the Claydol | level 42 | no thank you | Levitate | Bold, sturdy body | Earth Power, Extrasensory, Ancient Power, Dazzling Gleam | found route 111

Oleracea the Manectric | level 41 | female | Static | Brave, capable of taking hits | Discharge, Volt Switch, Thunder Wave, Bite | found route 118

Sequoia the Gyarados | level 40 | female | Intimidate | Bashful, nods off a lot | Surf, Ice Fang, Bite, Dragon Rage | found route 106

Edelweiss the Skarmory | level 39 | male | Sturdy | Gentle, very finicky | Assurance, Steel Wing, Fly, Swift | found route 113

Think Oleracea is looking good to tackle lots of Water types. First a quick explore of the northern part of Lilycove, though!

OR A RIVAL BATTLE, THAT TOO. Swellow, level 37, huh? Good thing Oleracea is in the lead! Next is Swampert, level 39. Still no Grass moves, so Snowdrop can just spam Crunch. She is like seven levels higher, haha. Next up, Breloom, level 37. Chickweed is eleven levels higher RIP. Oops, Effect Spore. Now he’s asleep, haha. ...And just went up ANOTHER level jfc XD Next, Magcargo, level 37. And this is Sequoia’s! Hell yes she can learn Crunch.

Aqua Grunt tells Atsuko not to go to the cave in the cove. Because they’re an adult and they say so. WELL IN THAT CASE.

Actually. Department store! Not doing secret bases... oh, TMs. Nope, none of those. Vitamins, nope I’m good. Okay, onwards XD

Rest TM, gotcha. And a Poke Flute!

Anyway. ‘Sup Aqua base here comes a twelve-year-old on a Gyarados. I like the plants and waterfalls, very nice!

First grunt! He leads with Grimer, level 35. That’s Sage’s! Okay lmfao that Sludge Wave did only 6 HP damage. ATTEMPTS WERE MADE. And now it’s dead XD Next is Carvanha, level 35. Oleracea’s - fuck it - Oli’s turn!

Next one in this room! Just a single Golbat, level 37. Oli’s already out, she can take it!

I love the grunts here. Not slacking off, just making very important drink decisions!

Oh, here’s one on the ball. Leads with Mightyena, level 34. Over to Chickie! Next is Golbat, level 36, let’s go with Sage, this time!

PROJECT AZOTH File No. 2 We intend to analyze the power of the ultimate weapon used in Kalos 3,000 years ago and work on the development of a drill weapon utilizing the technology. The Seafloor Cavern is sealed by the power of a Legendary Pokemon. The only way to gain access to the cavern is to break the seal with power that exceeds that of the Pokemon. According to the report from the Petalburg recon team, Devon Corporation holds the secret of the technology of the ultimate weapon. We will dedicate all our resources to obtaining this technology.

I would legit want to see a game with Devon Corp as the main antagonists.

Oh hey, Shelly’s room! And the picture of her, Archie, and JIRACHI. Please give us that backstory!!

‘SUP MATT STEALING YOUR DARK PULSE TM. Bro Special Vol 7. So ridic cute.

Oops a grunt XD She leads with Carvanha, level 35. Oli takes it. Next is Grimer, level 35. Edel’s a bit underlevelled compared to the rest (not to the Grimer, he’s on 40), so he can do this one!

Single grunt with Mightyena, level 37. Over to Chickie!

Aaand Archie's room! I'm pretty sure like three of these four Pokeballs are Splodeys... Nugget! Splodey. ...Splodey. MASTER BALL. Nice. And onwards!

“Ahahahah! You really kept me waiting!” Sorry Grunt was robbing your leader’s room. He just has Carvanha, level 37. Oli takes it!

THE QUINTUPLETS. These puppers are all level 18. A Discharge manages them! Sorry, puppers!

HEY MATT FIGHT ME. Okay Matt chill a bit XD His Sharpedo is now at level 39. Oli is at 43, so unsurprisingly, it’s a OHKO. lmfao Chickie is now at level 50.

Aaaand there goes Archie. Whoops. Matt totally has a crush, doesn’t he.

Alright, where next? Mossdeep, IIRC, gonna need that Dive HM.

Oh dang, was hoping to avoid trainers, haha. Anyway, Swimmer Roland has a Sealeo, level 39, Oli OHKOs it.

Anyway. To Mossdeep! Super Rod get! Quash TM get! King’s Rock get!

And time for the gym! Snowdrop is level 47 should be good.

Psychic Preston has a Kadabra, level 42. Cronch.

Psychic Joshua leads with Kadabra, level 40. Cronch. Next up, Medicham, level 40. This is Edel’s! JFC IT SURVIVED FLY, HIGH JUMP KICKED, AND WOULD HAVE TAKEN EDEL OUT IF NOT FOR STURDY.

Okay, we’re good. Next is Psychic Fritz, who leads with Claydol, level 39. Mine’s better. Cronch. Next is Starmie, level 41. Oli can have this one!

Hex Maniac Patricia has a Chimecho, level 41. Cronch.

And time for the twins! If memory serves me, they have Solrock and Lunatone? Yup, level 45. Snowdrop (level 48) and Sequoia (level 47) are on the case! Ooh, double Intimidates ;D Cronch, Cronch, Lunatone survives, Solrock doesn’t. Light Screen isn’t gonna save you now, buddy. Cronch, and down!

Mind Badge get! Now I just need the Dive HM!

Well that sounds worrisome. Very worried crowd, also Steven. Oh, and there’s Dive. Very convenient! Let’s see... yup, let’s replace Dragon Rage. Pretty useless at this point!

LET’S GO DIVING... ...and because it’s time for dinner, we’ll stop here, at the entrance of Seafloor Cavern!

Current Team

Chickweed the Blaziken | level 50 | male | Blaze | Serious, takes plenty of siestas | Flame Charge, Blaze Kick, Double Kick, Cut | starter

Snowdrop the Mightyena | level 48 | female | Intimidate | Lonely, loves to eat | Ice Fang, Crunch, Odor Sleuth, Rock Smash | found route 101

Sage the Claydol | level 45 | no thank you | Levitate | Bold, sturdy body | Earth Power, Extrasensory, Ancient Power, Dazzling Gleam | found route 111

Oleracea the Manectric | level 44 | female | Static | Brave, capable of taking hits | Discharge, Volt Switch, Thunder Wave, Bite | found route 118

Sequoia the Gyarados | level 42 | female | Intimidate | Bashful, nods off a lot | Surf, Ice Fang, Crunch, Dive | found route 106

Edelweiss the Skarmory | level 42 | male | Sturdy | Gentle, very finicky | Assurance, Steel Wing, Fly, Swift | found route 113

Reserves

Wattle the Taillow | level 9 | female | Guts | Quirky, alert to sounds | Peck, Growl, Focus Energy, Quick Attack | found Petalburg Woods

Bristlecone the Zigzagoon | level 14 | female | Gluttony | Lonely, good endurance | Tackle, Headbutt, Baby-Doll Eyes, Odor Sleuth | found route 103

Onion the Whismur | level 16 | female | Soundproof | Adamant, likes to relax | Pound, Echoed Voice, Astonish, Howl | found Rusturf Tunnel

Poison Ivy the Tentacool | level 5 | male | Liquid Ooze | Sassy, capable of taking hits | Poison Sting, Supersonic | found Dewford Town

Euphorbia the Makuhita | level 12 | male | Thick Fat | Hardy, capable of taking hits | Focus Energy, Sand Attack, Arm Thrust, Fake Out | found Granite Cave

Lithops the Numel | level 14 | female | Simple | Quiet, likes to run | Tackle, Ember, Focus Energy, Magnitude | found route 112

Rauvolfia the Seviper | level 19 | male | Shed Skin | Careful, impetuous and silly | Poison Tail, Screech, Venoshock, Glare | found route 114

Moraea the Spoink | level 23 | female | Own Tempo |  Quirky, quick tempered | Psybeam, Psych Up, Confuse Ray, Magic Coat | found Jagged Pass

Agapanthus the Pelipper | level 33 | male | Keen Eye | Modest, a little quick-tempered | Water Pulse, Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Quick Attack | found route 104

Rosemary the Latias | level 30 | female | Levitate | Sassy, somewhat vain | Heal Pulse, Dragon Breath, Mist Ball, Psycho Shift | found Southern Island

Milkweed the Beautifly | level 26 | female | Swarm | Lax, somewhat stubborn | Air Cutter, Mega Drain, Silver Wind, Morning Sun | found route 102

Hydrangea the Kecleon | level 25 | male | Color Change | Lonely, often lost in thought | Feint Attack, Psybeam, Ancient Power, Slash | found route 119

Sunflower the Castform | level 30 | female | Forecast | Lax, mischievous Rain Dance, Sunny Day, Hail, Weather Ball | found Weather Institute

Banana the Tropius | level 27 | male | Solar Power | Brave, a little quick tempered | Stomp, Magical Leaf, Whirlwind, Leaf Tornado | found route 120

Uniflora the Shuppet | level 28 | female | Insomnia | Mild, alert to sounds | Will-O-Wisp, Feint Attack, Hex, Curse | found route 121

Monotropa the Duskull | level 28 | female | Levitate | Naughty, loves to eat | Foresight, Shadow Sneak, Pursuit, Will-O-Wisp | found Mt Pyre

Dead

Catnip the Skitty, found route 116, killed by Lass Janice’s Marill in route 116

Daisy the Pikachu, found Slateport City, killed by Archie’s Sharpedo at Mount Chimney

[pagesofangels]

3, 5, 22, 29, 38, 41 with MotO, And 50: what's your favorite change/aspect of genderbent POTO?

3 ~ name three favorite writers

Why do you do this to me? All in all? I’d say Leigh Barduro, @littlelonghairedoutlaw, and…I’ll just say Susan Kay in advance.

5 ~ since how long do you write?

I’ve been telling stories since I could talk. I’m not joking, as a toddler I would sit on the dinner table and tell stories when we had company over (I don’t remember this, but we have it on tape). I’ve literally been a storyteller my whole life. My DNA is made of vocabulary words and creative juice is my blood plasma.

22 ~ favorite story you’ve ever written

Right now, unsurprisingly, it’s MotO. My novel is on hiatus (once again) as it tries to figure its shit out, and MotO is the work I currently have the most pride in.

29 ~ favorite story/poem of another author

WHY MUST YOU?! *Sigh* So far, the best reading experience I’ve had as an adult is Leigh Barduro’s novel Six of Crows.

38 ~ do you reread your own stories? 

Yes, when I’m in the mood and I’ve let them sit for a while. It’s one of the best feelings to re-read your own writing and feel really proud that something like that came from you. Aaaand one of the worst feelings is re-reading something and realizing something that awful came from you, as well.

41 ~ one song that captures “The Mirage of the Opera”

I had to think about this, because the music I listen to while writing this has nothing to do with the story at all. But, as cliché as it sounds, this song is perfect as far as lyrics go:

50 ~ what’s your favorite change/aspect of genderbent POTO? 

The harder question is what I don’t like about it. I like all the historical implications a genderswap of the story would entail. How would the relationships change? How would the characters’ roles change? How would it affect their behaviors and even their backstories? If these are taken into account, I consider it a good genderbend (for any fandom, not just PotO).

As far as my Retelling-AU goes…I’d have to say one of favorite topics to explore is how the gender roles of the time period would effect the Phantom’s (or, in this case, Mirage’s) ability to be independent. Also, the implications of feminine beauty standards are always nice to have. *wink, wink* There’s just a lot about this change that I really like to think about.

@musique-de-la-nuit @littlelonghairedoutlaw @spooky-mormon-hell-dream @thephantomsmusic @jerseyfiredragon20 @victorianandthespian

[junker-town]

Never forget Ryan Gosling was a disaster at cornerback in ‘Remember the Titans’

Let’s go to the tape.

Ryan Gosling is an attractive and talented actor. There’s no debating that. Throughout his acting career, he’s showed off a variety of skills, from getaway driving to restoring houses to playing jazz piano.

But one thing Gosling has shown is how he’s really not the best at sports. As for the evidence that fully supports this claim, my friends: the dude was an utter and complete failure at cornerback in Remember the Titans.

This fact has become a meme on social media, but that only goes so far.

Let’s start with T.C. Williams’ first game, against Hayfield.

It’s 1971, and Gosling plays cornerback for a high school in Virginia. The movie depicts the team going through its first year as an integrated school, as well as Gosling being horrible in coverage.

On the opposing offense’s literal first play, Gosling slips up. Please look at how far off he is from his man, and how crappy this attempt is once he tries catching up.

Fam, wyd

Right after this play, team captain Gerry Bertier (played by Ryan Hurst) yells at Gosling, telling him that, in man coverage (it looks like Gosling thought it was zone, tbh, given how far off he was), he needs to “stick to his man,” or the other team is going to score all night. Gosling says the receiver is too fast for him.

You’d expect this talking-to would make him step up his game, right? Nope, not in the least. ON THE VERY NEXT PLAY, HE DOES THIS!

He never even had a chance. First off, he’s not even lined up in front of the receiver by the time the ball is snapped. And the guy barely has to juke to get him to flinch. Terrible.

Unsurprisingly, Coach Bill Yoast (played by Will Patton) decides to take him out, something Gosling’s dad is quite upset about.

The best part about this moment is Coach Yoast’s daughter.

She’s overly enthusiastic and involved from the sidelines throughout (aka me, from the age of eight to present day) saying, “He’s gettin’ beat like he stole somethin’!” to the dad. Yes he is, girlfriend.

In the next series, Petey Jones (played by Donald Faison) comes in for Gosling. He plays much better.

TAKE NOTES, GOSLING

Gosling is then taken out for the rest of the season, pretty much.

This holds despite his dad coming into the coaches’ office and saying Gosling is a “five-time player of the week” and not “some walk-on scrub.”

Oh, and his dad makes a gross, racist comment toward Coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington), too.

In the Titans’ regional playoff game against Northern Virginia, Petey Jones comes out of the game and says it’s because he’s being held every play.

Coach Yoast says he didn’t ask for Jones’s excuses, then calls an excited Gosling in.

There’s isn’t anything shown from him in the limited defensive highlights during the rest of this game, so I guess he does okay?

Gosling starts in the state championship game.

Faison’s character is still in the dog house with Coach Yoast, so it’s Gosling who’s starting in the state title game. Aaaand look what he does on the other team’s third play of the game.

The touchdown puts the Titans in the hole early.

Gosling then says he shouldn’t be starting.

Right before the second half, Gosling wisely tells Coach Yoast he can’t play with these guys, and it should be Petey Jones (aka Faison) playing cornerback. He adds he didn’t “warm the bench all year so he can watch his team go down on my account.”

Gosling gives Jones his spot, and Jones shows Gosling the correct way to play defense.

In conclusion, Gosling did some good for the team.

His dancing in the beginning is one of his more memorable scenes.

It is equally impressive in the locker room, too.

And to be honest, the Titans could have lost the state title game if it weren’t for Gosling’s awareness to know he wasn’t as good of a corner as Faison.

Thank you, Remember the Titans, for designating Ryan Gosling as the team’s shitty cornerback and for letting him add dancer and player-coach to his resume.