#and now you are suspectable to breaking and going off script

[koifsssh]

LISTEN. LISTEN TO ME. I WATCHED THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS AND I HAD A VISION.

npc rainy...

he is supposed to be friend shaped, acts as a sort of friendly face to make the place less empty and lonely! someone you can talk to whenever you want!

of course such ai has to come from somewhere! let's just say he's "recycled"!

err... don't let him learn that though!

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Wednesday Fandom :) It's crazy we are over ten eps in s5 already. Just means we're closer to this premiere yay. (it's 34 btw...) I adore this episode. I think it’s highly underrated because it’s the episode before 5x12. There are so many reasons to love this one. Flirty times, Return of Genny and Lucy, We get a taste of them as parents in this one and Lucy is a Grade A BAMF. Let us get started.

5x11 The Naked and The Dead

We start out with Tim being perplexed by the new coffee machine. Asking what was wrong with the old one? Being her grumpy old man about it. Nolan and Lucy start listing off reasons. Like led levels and Lucy mentions a mice infestation. Eww lol The growth in this scene is pretty cute though. It's how he easily steps aside to let her do it for him. No fight in him about it whatsoever. Just lets wifey do her thing.

How far we’ve come. She shows him how to do it and he is impressed with her. What else is new? heh But he's extra impressed cause she is girl now hehe Lucy tells him she learned from a clip talk tutorial on how to do it. John asks what they got up to last night? Tim on the instant defensive. Says ‘Nothing.’ way too quickly.

My god Timothy it’s a good thing it’s Nolan and not Nyla. Captain clueless over here doesn’t suspect a thing thankfully. Lucy of course is far more prepared than her boyfriend is. Because well it’s Lucy. I adore her being so smooth about it. Doesn't miss a beat. Hands her man his coffee as she easily delivers her cover story. Honestly if anyone was going to blow their cover it was Tim LOL

John dips out and thanks Lucy for the bar and the recommendation. Minute he’s gone Lucy gives him such crap for his terrible answer. Saying he had all morning to come up with a cover story and that was it? Tim defending himself saying Nolan bought it. Yeah cause it’s Nolan... Had it been anyone else in their orbit they would’ve been caught. Lucy is judging him so hard for this. I love it so much. Such a wifey moment right here.

Tim challenges her and asks what Nolan has follow up questions? Lucy confidently telling him she read the catalog cover to cover. Of course she did. I expect nothing less tbh. Neither should you Tim ha His reaction is the best. Like if you weren’t my girlfriend be calling you a nerd right now. But we all know he loves his nerd and her brain. Her intelligence/intense drive is one of the reasons he fell for her. God they cute.

Tim mentions she has citizens academy today. Lucy says yes and asks for any tips? Per usual he warns her about screenwriters haha That she shouldn't give out her card or she will be up to her eye balls in scripts. Lucy then segues into their plans for tonight. Flirty af as she does. Asking what he’s doing tonight? So much behind her question. Looking so very excited to ask him it. Radiating happiness as she does.

They could not be more flirty if they tried in this scene and I love it. I remember squeeing because this was the place we we're in now. Tim flirting right back ‘Nothing. I hope.’ *heart clutch* Lucy shooting tons of heart eyes his way. Letting him know that ‘Nothing sounds perfect.' Who would've thought the word 'Nothing.' could sound so romantic? Yet these two did it. The smirk on his face as she walks away from him is everything.

Oh my lord this man is a goner for her. Never seen this man smile more this entire series than he has since he started dating Lucy. They are giving off teenagers sneaking around and in love vibe here. Their secret dating era is just a primo as their longing/pining one. I love this season so much. Could they be anymore adorable flirting in the break room? Talking about cover stories and doing ‘Nothing.’ Gah I love it so much. It's all so new and exciting and it's coming off them in waves. I'm soaking it up like a sponge of shippy happiness.

This next portion is adorable. I love Aaron literally running to Lucy to tell her about Tim coaching little league. He is so excited to share this with her haha I am a fan of trio not gonna lie. Tim rolling his eyes when she says ‘Nolan.’ I mean it is a very John Nolan thing to do let’s be honest… Aaron calling him ‘Sergeant Friendly’ and not being pummeled by Tim just shows what a good place he’s in with Lucy.

Lucy saying ‘Can she watch?’ doing things to me. Sounded way flirtier than I’m sure she meant it to. Or maybe she did mean it that way heh Like girl we know you wanna watch him for quite a few reasons...Also you know she’s proud of him for being the good uncle and stepping up. The heart eyes are infinite at the end from her. She is proud of him for doing this. If it was possible he became even more attractive to her because of this.

Lucy shows up to practice and see’s Tim in coach mode. She is looking so very amused. Especially with how soft he is being. Watching her boyfriend who she knows can be a hard ass be soft af with these kids. Also if they think Genny doesn’t know they’re out of their damn minds. It’s all over her face as they banter with each other. Platonic co-workers don’t show up to their co worker's nephews practice and 'bicker'.

Married vibes x 1000 here and Genny is picking up what they’re throwing down. Tim is so excited to see her when she shows up. No way his sister doesn’t see a shift in his demeanor. Lucy couldn’t have a bigger smile on her face as she teases him. Tim being the exasperated husband per usual. Saying they’re just kids it's supposed to be fun. Her teasing is extra smitten like I have to say. Showing all your cards today you two. Right in front of Genny LOL

The sister in law bonding continues as Tim walks away. Which I absolutely adore btw. Lucy asking 'This is weird right?' Genny regaling her of how their dad taught his team as a kid. Tim having literal scars from it. It’s then it all comes together for Lucy. Tying back to that moment in 4x09. ‘You’re nothing like him.’ Lucy immediately getting why he’s acting this way.

He will do anything not to be like his father. I could not relate to that more if I tried. I see you Tim and I so understand. Lucy instantly softens and says this back to Genny. Knowing exactly what’s bringing on this soft streak of his. We watch as the kids continue to suck lol. Tim doing a thumbs up and I’m dying of laughter. Lucy sees why he’s doing this but says he is also over correcting in this approach.

This scene is a look into them as parents and it's making me very happy. The control freak in Lucy can’t stand back any longer. I love this part so much. She takes control and provides the kids with some knowledge and structure. Also like to call this the scene where Tim falls even more in love with her. He couldn’t be more proud as she takes control. Not only that but is knowledgeable about the game he loves. Win win.

He is looking at her like yep that’s the future mother of my kids. I love her walking up and the kids just follow. Her leadership is on fire right now. Tim asks her what she’s doing? Lucy saying yeah they can have fun but they also need structure. She’s not wrong… Totally going to be them as parents. Lucy being the stricter one with structure. Where Tim will be the softie wanting their kids just to have fun.

So cute how bemused Tim looks when she calls herself his ‘friend.’ Knowing they are far more than that now. Gah love Eric and his expressions. I’m a sucker for them. Lucy breaks down what they’re going to be doing. Not only that but the confidence she exudes while doing that has Tim beaming at her. Like look at his girl taking control and being knowledgeable about baseball. Seriously it's like he is falling even deeper in love with her based on this alone. How could he not?

Don’t tell me that man wasn’t turned on by this whole display either. Heart eyes galore but a little hot under the collar as well. You know he loves when she’s assertive. It’s a huge turn on for him. He’s basically scoping her out in front of those kids haha It’s this mixture of pride and being so immensely attracted to her. The man is in awe of this woman standing next to him.

The way he looks at her I’m just a damn puddle. If that man looked at me that way I would melt. Instantly. Lucy does melt a little when she catches his eye in the first gif above. You can see her crack a smile when their eyes connect. It's so cute. Once again I ask have we ever seen this man this damn happy before? No. Not till Lucy. I love him telling them when she’s done. ‘You heard her.’ Like you heard my wife get going. haha

The teasing is the cutest. It’s like we’re getting on screen fanfic levels of fluff in this episode. I'm so here for it. Just beaming heart eyes at each before he teases her with the ball. Her ‘Oh.’ When he takes the ball out of her reach. I cannot. I’m dying with the how adorable this whole thing is. My god they’re basically screaming their relationship to Genny in this moment.

I must also note my god Tim looks good. Doing what he does best. Takes a simple outfit like shirt and ball cap makes it sinfully delicious. Sweet lord he looks SOOOO good in outfit. Mmmm break me off a piece. My fav color too so that definitely adds to it for me. *fans self*

We catch up with them post practice. Genny comments they should co-coach together. They both make little jokes about it basically flirting in front of her. Do they see themselves and their looks? No? Ok... Genny redirecting their attention to how well they work together. Tim stumbling over his words instantly. Thinking they're being caught.

Lucy swoops in to save his ass like she did with Nolan ha Now her reply is shaky as well but better than Tim’s LOL They’re so bad at hiding this it’s hilarious. Tim following up with a ‘Mmhmm….’ As transparent as glass you two. A blind man could see how in love you are. Sweet lord.

Just being idiots in love in front of his sister ain’t no thing….Fairly certain Genny knows but is just testing the waters with her comments. No way she doesn’t see a difference in her own brother. Sure she sensed something in 4x08/4x09. This entire interaction only heightened it. Tim being the least subtle person on the planet in this moment. I love him so much. He sure is trying. lol

Lucy gets a call from the shelter so she steps away. Her domestic she got in is causing problems. She goes back to Tim and lets him know something going on with it. He is the worried boyfriend and asks if she wants him to come with? Which I adore. He know she can handle herself but wants to offer it anyways.

Just wanting to be near her at all times right now which is adorable. Also that instinct inside him to want accompany her incase she needs him. Being the supportive lovely boyfriend he is. Lucy declines and he respects her wanting to handle it on her own. Because he knows she can. Gah I love them. It’s the little things.

We rejoin them at the baseball game and I’m dying how cute they are. Lucy is losing her mind over the game and it's hysterical to watch unfold. Tim tells her to be encouraging haha How far we’ve come from Grey telling Tim to do as such back in 4x02. Love seeing that translate into this. Lucy tries to correct herself but doesn't convince Tim very well on it. His reply of 'We're gonna work on that...' I'm rollin. This is so adorable.

Lucy’s competitive side coming out and he has to have her take down just a notch. LOL The biggest trip is Tim being the kind encouraging one where Lucy is being the more competitive intense one ha. The dynamic shift here is unreal. I just love how involved she gets into this. This is something he loves and she is right there with him on it. I just love that he now has someone to do this stuff with. Happily too.

Not only that but Lucy is very into it at this point. I adore him leaning in to hear her. Tim has to calm her down though. haha I love her telling him she’s excited and he says ‘I know.’ Just letting Lucy be herself 100 percent. He loves her for who she is and vice versa and I'm a puddle. I am also excited Lucy has someone she can be herself fully around. Each found their person and it shows.

Lucy is losing her mind over this game and he gets it. Gah I love them so much everyone. This was such a cute mini moment. He is loving her competitive energy but is trying to tamp it down a little as well LOL Just a husband trying to calm down his overly competitive wife. It’s so cute I’m dying.

The cuteness continues on as they try and hype up one of the kids. I love them cheering Blake on together. Serious married baseball parents vibes. Just being proud parents clapping together. Wearing matching outfits having the same cute energy. This is them as parent's I am convinced. We are looking into the future people.

I also don't hate seeing Tim's biceps in action in these shots Mmm. Yum. I saw someone make a comment that they felt Dad Eric vibes in this scene. I can see it. The way he posts like a proud papa about his kids this is totally in line with that. It's pretty adorable to watch.

The high five turning into a hand hold is adorable and subtle af guys. I did see a BTS post awhile back on here about this. Eric said he and Melissa had a bet. Something about who would have that piece of paper in their end by end of the ep. Something like that. So that’s all I see now when I see the high five and hand hold. LOL Such goobers and I love them for it.

Either way they are disgustingly cute to end this episode. Lucy being the overly competitive mom. Tim has to keep her from scaring the kids is gold. This episode was tons of cuteness and flirty times. Was the perfect episode to follow 5x10 and pre-cursor to 5x12. They got to just be them and have time outside the station together. Just to be a couple and hang out. I loved it sfm.

~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

I will forever adore how Lucy handled that whole Domestic solo. I made a post after this ep premiered about how proud I was of her. How deeply she has grown as a cop and a person. How she doesn't let that abusive asshat rattle her cage in the least. The way she flashes her badge at him and says they're not done talking yet when he is trying to pull her from Lucy. Hot damn. My girl crush is back LMAO

Not only that but take his ass down later. Solo. Has the matter in hand by the time the cavalry arrives. How far she’s come from that moment in the sewers with Nyla back in S2. How proud Harper would be of her. She already is with her UC work but she commands this entire situation. From Start to finish. Takes down a guy twice her size by herself. Just so proud of her growth. The confident BAMF she’s come gah I love it sfm.

Don't usually do gifs in side notes but there were some good side note gifs. LOL Eric at it again with expressions and I'm laughing so hard. If you wanted to see what Tim thinks of Nolan in a moment it's that expression above. Lucy calling John a bad ass and Tim isn't so sure he agrees with her LMFAO. I'm with you babe idk I do either...

The sole purpose of this gif is just to drool and gawk at how damn good Tim looks in the field in this scene. I could care less about the SL LOL It's the tight red shirt, the jeans with his cuffs in the back, the vest with his badge showing, those delicious fit biceps of his, that shot of his forearm as he opens the door and the way he climbs into that trailer flexing said sexy biceps phew lord. Field Tim does so many things to me. How Lucy waited as long as she did to have that man Idk LOL Imma go get some ice water....

Thank you as always to those who read, like, comment on these reviews you make my whole day every time I see one pop up. I shall see you all in 5x12 :)

[allycat75]

You know what I think of when I hear "I had no choice"?

When it is in reference to a rich white male who starred in a billion dollar franchise, I would have to say that you must have made some big mistakes that led up to this horrible choice, regardless of how many people you support or how much your team was supposed to take off the top. You didn't look close enough at a thing that burned your charmed life to the ground because nothing bad had ever happened before (you even said something so flip and callous during an interview about meditation during the "Lightyear" press tour- it was so shockingly dangerous I remembered it as disturbing even when I was still blinded by The Woke Political Avenger persona).

This lack of ability to cope with a bit of discomfort led you into a fantasy world, not unlike the construct your team created of you for your fans as a Disney Prince, living in your own fairy tale. You didn't have to confront some very concrete realities lurking in the shadows, until you actually did, only they grew exponentially enormous in size and in a moment of "Ready, Shoot, Aim" you decided this was your only option.

So do I feel bad? Yes, but not at any commensurate level to what you should be feeling. I am sensitive you suffer from anxiety and I do believe you have a good heart; part of the reason you got into this mess is that you gave too much and trusted too freely, but I also think you have been coddled and shielded from confronting the demons we all face, also contributing to your current demise.

So I am going to try to be delicate because I know you hate yourself (also a cause of this mess), but I am not going to sugar coat (I'm a Sagittarius and I'm owning my brutal honesty, but as my sister sign of Gemini you should respect that).

Your seemingly no choice decision, even if it had been successful to get you a string of plum roles, hurt many people. The teacher who had to quit because she supported a charity. Jinx, the small dog food company who thought they were signing America's dog dad to help establish themselves in the marketplace. Your loyal fans who saved you from a shattering embarrassment, just to be sacrificed as jealous, crazy and stupid for telling the truth. The people of marginalized communities who believed you were an ally, only to tie yourself- first as a boyfriend, then as a "husband", and hopefully soon as an 'ex-husband"- to an antisemetic, racist fat-shammer, making you guilty by association. And let's not forget all of the talented, hard working actresses that deserved a shot at their dreams- much more than your arrogant, immature, lazy, untalented and entitled wifey. They are all collateral damage in your scheme to save yourself.

But worst of all, you have used your family, friends and even your beloved dog to further this lie, over and over. I suspect this has not gone over well and many of these precious relationships are now strained. I am sure they would rather have you happy, present and whole than be treated to all expense paid trips to Disney World. And if not, they are just clout chasers and you should divest of them.

And what did you get? Still sucking hind teat for any roles, let alone good ones. And you know why? Because the same people who convinced you this was a good idea have something personally to gain by keeping you vulnerable and weak, and are the same ones giving you dreadful scripts, if any scripts at all. You are no longer an actor, but a reality TV star working 24-7 and not getting paid. In fact, I bet for every mistake made or engineered, they billed you for every second of clean up. You may have gotten a part or two, but all are a bit dubious in quality, and where before you could draw an audience to a mediocre or just plain terrible film to, at worst, break even, you are now often the reason it is labeled as awful and, unlike the dick pic, there are no loyal fans to save you. You don't fuck around with karma- it is real and it will find you in whatever pottery shed you hide.

I don't expect you to be super human. But you do have an obligation to be human, flaws and all. And right now you are an automaton, who has no clue of what you stand for because you sacrificed all of that for the handful of magic Nazi beans. Until you can get to the bare minimum of a person- maybe provide an elevator speech of who you are at your core- let yourself feel this pain and emptiness so you are never tempted to go down this road again. It is like an addiction and you need to detox the selfish, shallow privlege out of you.

Trust is the hardest thing to earn back and is at the backbone of any solid relationship so if you want it, you are headed for a dark, tough road ahead and you will have to work harder and more diligently than you will ever have to for anything else in your life, with no guarantee of external reward.

But is it worse than what you are feeling now?

[alienoutsiderxeno]

BUG ME WITH UR INFODUMP OF UR OCS!!!!💥💥💥💥💥

U can write it here or in dms i dont mind!! Whatever u feel comfortable to do!! I'd love to hear about them and also i'll be seeing stanley parable again to refresh memories and bcse one of ur ocs is inspired in the game. I remember it was good >:]

SHSJSJSNSJSJSJJSJSJSNSJSJSJN I'M GOING TO NUKE YOU WITH OC LORE!

I'm honestly glad you liked my Narrator sona. I honestly got inspired from thinking a Alice in Wonderland scenario to make Damien human before spicing him as a half centipede and half man. But completely omnipotent to run his parable.

Okay now I'll ramble with my TSP of lore.

Player:

• Player is what control Stanley and is the response to create the choices throughout the parable. Player goes She/They/It. They're curious yet a bit rebellious towards Damien from being expected to follow the script.

• Often has the mischief mindset to screw the Narrator over. Even if they had tried to break the game.

• Capable to appear in a silhouette to be disguised as Stanley's shadow, but over time Narrator became aware of their existence from the aftermath of one the endings. Now having to permanently reveal themselves to Damien. Being the reason why Stanley grew more rebellious through each Parable.

• Player is emotionally vulnerable at times to let Damien take over in certain routes. Surely they simply shrugged whatever insult tossed to them specifically at their choices. Even they spoke up for Stanley most of the times.

Stanley:

• Stanley was previously a quiet man who doesn't stand up to himself. Often listen to whatever instructions he has but order to follow. Rarely socialize to anyone before the office became empty. Mostly introverted to not bother himself with socializing. But with Player, he grew to become more vocal and bolder by the passing playthrough. Developing not just a bond, but his character growing throughout each experience.

• Stanley doesn't see Narrator eye to eye much when Player because involved. Being blamed on choices that weren't his control to begin with. He wasn't happy on the Apartment ending that he never had a wife or a relationship at all. Even if it was a harmless joke from Damien, it just rubbed him the wrong way for not having a potential and meaningful relationship.

• Stanley nationality is Welsh. His accent being more clear that people mistaken him as American. His most comedically phases would be "Mate, when did I piss in your bloody cereal?" Or "You sure this isn't the time for you being a twat, Damien?"

Damien/Narrator:

• Damien can manipulate his size to shrink and grow. He only grows in size to display his authority over anyone. But he does shrink whenever he is scared or caught off guard.

• His antennae does flutter whenever he's happy or having a moment of praise. He does have yellow arrows tattooed on his upper body, but it's covered by his blouse. Regardless of his size, he is extremely fast to catch up due to his centipede legs. Capable to rush over like a bullet train even if he struggled a little during tight turns. Damien does change his appearance from his usual omnipotence form to humanoid or pure centipede.

• Often been bullied by Player since he does slander Stanley for his own amusement. But it has been a harmless gag within the three.

• He actually enjoys playing Minecraft and Portal during his free time. Damien often play Minecraft in Peaceful mode to enjoy the experience. Has experienced since the Beta Era of Minecraft.

• Lonely yet is actually desperate for company to keep Stanley. Although knowing Player would log off from the game, leaving the Narrator having the chance to talk with him. The Narrator honestly doesn't like to admit that he can be a little clingy towards Stanley.

Their Dynamic:

• Surely they're not the most functional trio, but it's only through each playthrough or route that shed their moments little by little. Player not often trusting Damien to suspect it's just a trick to focus on the main route countless times. Stanley having to expose himself to trust Player's judgement on their choices, even if it resulted his death or worse. Damien needed to understand the Player's purpose to explore and uncover new routes to proceed the game. Each has their own flaws, only time will tell on who is willing to reveal their vulnerable side first.

Mini doodle to show my appreciation for your kind words, Dino.

[telemi]

I've always been so scared of requesting a fic idea because like- what if I say something wrong... but, I got enough courage to do it anyways!

So genshin actor au!(your choice) With a reader who's casted as a villain. During one of the scenes reader has to step on said-character and degrade/insult them and the character accidentally says "that's hot" reader stays in character and kicks them,

(P.s! Doesnt need to be suggestive but, just an embarassing moment for character)

- moraless anon

AAAA i admire your courage please don't be scared to send requests we (writers) really love people like you >< /// ALSOO, i'm really sorry for the delay i was having writer’s block TT

𖦹 — dumb conversations, pent-up frustrations, what more could you find in this career of yours?

love me not 𖦹.. ✈️ ৎ୭ ʿ — ガイア

꒰ featuring ! ꒱ kaeya x gn!reader ?!

꒰ cw ! ꒱ actor!kaeya, actor!reader, usage of pet names, swearing, degradation, modern au ?!

you stare mindlessly at the script presented to you, reading every line like you’re going through a short poem. within a blink of an eye, you set the piece of paper down and stretch your body to relax the tense muscles. without knowing, a tall figure looms in from behind you. with a hearty chuckle and a firm hand placed on your shoulder, you could already guess who the mysterious person is — kaeya.

“how are you doing today, sweetheart?” he winks at you and you shrug him off, giving him a short side glance before stepping away from him. “fine.” oh to give you a short background info, this man is kaeya alberich, your co-worker for this movie. he plays a major role in this movie and his fans adore him from worldwide.

though they were especially hyped when he got to film this project with you. you’re a fresh actor who’s never gotten into a film this big. it’s not that bad right?..wrong, fans suspect that you two are involved in a romantic relationship because of the way he treats you, and the last thing you could do is avoid the said man because you don’t want to risk your career being demolished by his angry mob of fans. despite this, it gave the people some sort of excitement on how you two would work together.

“oh what’s with the cold face? i didn’t do anything wrong did i?” he walks from behind you and you shake your head ‘no’. well, it’s no use dwelling on this matter at this point in time. it has been done and you just have to be on friendly terms with the said man. he decides to probe into your mind and figure out more about you, so he catches up to you in no time and places a hand on your shoulder once again.

“come now i–” a light smack erupted from your hand to his. with a heavy sigh, you turn to him. “i don’t understand kaeya. why me? why pester me out of all the people you could encounter out there?” your fierce gaze doesn’t break and all he could do was simply chuckle and take your hand in his. “is it enough to say that i’m interested in you?” he hums and observes the flabbergasted expression adorned on your face. “are you crazy?! surely you’ve heard the rumors about us, right?” you hiss quietly, making sure that this conversation is stuck between the two of you.

his eyes dart elsewhere, then back to you. “what about it?” he asks nonchalantly. before you could even speak again, he fake gasps. “ohh, don’t tell me you’re bothered because of the rumors,” his eyes light up like a light bulb and you grumble. “y/n, listen. if i like someone, my fans will adore them in return. if i hate someone, they’ll hate them. you, in fact, are that special someone and i like you. so don’t worry about anything.” he assures you before fixing his clothes and brushing off the wrinkles on his top.

“i–” you began, but he cuts you off quickly by pointing his index finger to the arranged set. “hush now, we have a movie to finish.”

“hmm, no, this won’t do.” the director cuts the scene and ponders intensely while looking at the script. while they were busy with that, you look at kaeya before turning back to stare at the wall — and for some reason, he caught you staring. “you okay there?” he asks teasingly, folding his arms against his chest. “yes, thank you for asking.” you bring back that tone that he oh-so loved about you. he decides to rile you up even more. his eyes flicker to the corner of the room, hmm?, maybe you’ll even receive a bonus because of this.

he treads his way in front of you, confident and superior, that’s the aura that he gives off right now. “i’m starting to think you’re no good at this,” he says, index placed on his lips while relishing the annoyed expression plastered on your face. it even seemed like you would smack him right there and then for saying such an insult to your career. “excuse me? i know full well what i’m doing.” you send him a glare and he puts his hands up, jokingly. “oh no, i’m scared.” his lips form into a moue, mocking and sarcastic, his tone laced with distaste.

is this how he’s going to play now? bring it on then.

“listen, i don’t like playing games here kaeya, so hurry up and say it. say what you don’t like about me.” you push a finger to his chest and push him harshly. “go on. spit,” a harsh force hits his chest. “it,” and another one. “out.” the back of his knees hits the flat of the chair and he flops hard on the wooden material. then, your shoe lands on his chest, not too heavy but not too light either. your hands that were previously gripping the frame of the chair is now holding kaeya’s tie. pulling it against you and scowling at him in disgust as if he was some sort of trash.

“i’ve wanted to say this for so long but gosh, you’re so. fucking. annoying, alberich.” oh wow. is this even the y/n that he knows? i mean he’s not complaining but this entire scene is so hot. “oh– ah, can i take a break? wOAH—!” you kick the chair without warning and he falls down roughly, landing on his bottom afterwards. hmph, serves you right. you frown at the pitiful sight of him rubbing his hips.

just then, you could hear cheers erupting from the crew. they looked... satisfied? what’s happening? “cut! that was perfect, are you sure you’re a rookie, y/n?” the director smiles and wonders in curiosity. “huh? oh– yes!” you’re confused and overwhelmed, this all feels so new to you. it’s like the feeling you got when you first started acting.

“haaaa.. i knew you were good but i didn’t think you’d go that harsh on me.” kaeya sighs heavily before standing up on his two feet, shifting his position to look at you straight in the eye. “what? are you saying this is all a—”

“an act, yes. the cameras started rolling long before you could even notice.” he chuckles and points back to the cameras all around you. oh, an act? an act?! you spewed out all your pent-up anger from earlier and now you’re embarrassed. world, please bury me.

“haha, don’t worry. the things you did earlier were just the type of stuff i was looking for! great job. and besides,” his lips stay on the shell of your ear and he whispers. “i now know that i have to work hard for your heart to accept me.”

[shallowseeker]

ishim envied cas’s military career, sure

“angel’s angel”

“survived Hell…chosen”

but a significant amount of that simmering rage is that ishim recognizes in dean and cas something he feels was denied to him…lily’s romantic love

they have it

ishim says he’s “curing” cas of human weakness, but it’s mostly grounded in bitterness and jealousy

“that’s what i thought (you love each other)”

///

ishim couldn’t stand it

from the minute dean cheekily plops himself in cas’s booth, ishim starts ripping sugar packets and utterly seething about it because he can see it between them

ishim says it’s about hating humans and being above them, but underneath all that fluff, he’s still envious of cas

(even when cas fails spectacularly, he still gets everything ishim ever wanted)

///

ishim wasn’t “curing” himself when he killed May—he was gleefully hurting Lily because she angered him

He spared Lily out of cruelty AND selfishness for his own “feelings” for her, because if he really wanted to “cure” himself Naomi-style, he’d have killed Lily, too

///

Likewise, killing Dean isn’t about “curing” Cas

It’s about hurting him

Because he’s insanely jealous

Some script stuff I found interesting:

“this is PERSONAL.”

///

“I’m going to break yours.”

(This is rage.)

///

Ishim has Cas’s phone, which means he can see Dean calling over and over… 📱I’d imagine after Dean scorching into Cas’s lap and mouthing off, Ishim strongly suspects Dean harbors some kind of feelings for Cas at this point.

///

Ah, a JUDGMENTAL smirk. 😏 He’s clocked them.

Dean has just rushed over to Cas, showing care. Ishim doesn’t like that they interact as equals, and he doesn’t like that they’re (from his perspective) appear to be in romantic love.

///

Ishim starts to go for Dean first. ‼️ He’s menacing!

///

Jealousy, then, but for the past AND the present.

///

A perverse parallel to “Hello, Dean.”

///

Ishim uses telekinesis primarily and backhands Sam, but there’s an alarming amount of scripted hands-on violence meted out for Cas…and for Dean.

Here, he lifts Dean by the throat.

Aside: Dean being tossed like a “rag doll” is a callback to Ishim’s earlier kill (May), who held a doll and went limp as she died. (It’s implied he slit her throat).

///

Whoa. That’s way cooler with them eye-to-eye as Cas kills him, I must admit.

///

“Dean goes quiet.”

Dean has been stressing out over Cas being safe, and now he’s walking towards death-as-penance once more. And Dean cannot stop him. He can’t ever seem to stop him. 💔

///

Anyway, Ishim clocked Dean’s feelings for Cas. It triggered his rage and jealousy.

(All scripts here.)

[fullsunsets]

4| Fine Line | Jaehyun

Jeong Jaehyun x Female!OC Park Hana

Angst + Fluff + Mature

Word Count: 3.6k

Warning/Notes:  No graphic sex scenes, but minors should still be careful with the following: alcohol abuse, crude language, allusions to corporate abuse, and allusions to sexual promiscuity. Manager Kim is hella annoying. But don't worry, he will get worse.

Summary: Two exes are brought together when both will be leads for the next anticipated drama. Park Hana, an upcoming actress, is not very pleased to act alongside her ex. Jeong Jaehyun, an established actor, has come to the conclusion he wants her back. Would this new project bring them closer once again or push them apart even further?

PREV | NEXT

Week 3 is already here and Hana cannot wait for the next two weeks to pass. Don’t misunderstand her, she’s happy to be in Boston and she’s enjoying her time with her family and old friends. But as the scenes keep getting more and more intimate with Chansung and Soojin, she doesn’t know if she can hold it for long. At the very least, she’s glad she doesn’t need to kiss him yet. However, she won’t be surprised if they want to start filming those scenes right away when they get back. 

Ever since Donghyuck made explicitly clear he and Hana are not dating by openly flirting around, people have been outspoken over Jaehyun’s and Hana’s so-called chemistry. She wonders if they even know what chemistry is because she tries to run in almost every scene that involves being near Jaehyun. She hasn’t seen any of the scenes so she has no idea if they’re being delusional or she’s pulling it off.

However, her bigger concern right now is Naomi. She hasn’t asked Hana anything about her ex, but she notices the way her friend's face turns into worry every once in a while. She does not regret telling her friend, she knows she means well, so she tries to reassure her friend she has moved on. Naomi has nothing to worry about.

Or so she thought.

“Are you sure you’re ok? Ever since you told me about your ex you have looked more stressful. You even had to do a retake earlier. Last time that happened I had to reunite all of our friends,” Naomi asks concerned and Hana bites her lip, she has indeed been having a hard time since Donghyuck’s birthday. 

“It has nothing to do with that. Why would I be stressing about an ex that’s not even around?” she lies, “Plus, I thought you wanted me to worry less about retakes.”

Her friend seems to get the memo because she stops as she quietly apologizes. Hana assures her she’s not mad. The intentions were good and she understands it. But right now she doesn’t want to be thinking about it. As if they heard her cries for distraction, Manager Jeon comes to notify them they should come out to film. Both friends go out to find most of the crew ready. 

Jaehyun is standing in the middle of the set looking at his script until Hana approaches. He lifts his gaze once she’s standing in front of him but he remains quiet. Since their last argument, he has refrained from talking to her unless the cameras are rolling, instead, he just looks at her. It makes her tense, but she suspects is his way to get her to speak to him so she stands her ground. 

“Action!” they hear Director Kim call out and both of them warp into their characters. 

The scene flows with no problem until Jaehyun wraps one arm around her. She tries to remind herself this is not Jaehyun right now, but Chansung. Her shoulders relax and she smiles back at him. This is not her being in love with Jaehyun but Soojin being in love with Chansung. They are working, becoming two different people. This helps her perform with ease and get lost in the scene. She says the last line, emphasizing her deep feelings for her lover.

Just then the scene ends and the director applauds them. Chansung and Soojin are back to being Jaehyun and Hana and break apart. While just a second ago they looked like lovers now they look like strangers. Quickly, Hana walks towards her stylists, not even acknowledging her costar. This shows to be a poor choice on her part, as everyone takes notice of her icy behavior. 

“What’s wrong with Hana? She’s been so cold to Jaehyun since filming started,” she overhears one staff member gossip and then someone else joins in with a sneer.

“She thinks now that she’s an A-lister she can be bitch to anyone. The typical actress on a power trip,” they comment and Hana clenches her jaw. If only they knew.

Both of them keep talking and giggling at their stupid jokes, not realizing that Hana is listening to everything they’re saying. She wants to say something, but how can she explain herself without people being more suspicious? But she is interrupted when her stylists stop fixing her. When she looks up she notices all of them glaring at the pair. Suddenly, she sees Stylist Im grab a comb and walk towards the staff members.

“Are you here to work or to gossip?” she confronts them while pointing with the comb, “If I knew all production assistants do is sit and chat to get paid I would have become one instead.” 

Both the production assistants look at each other as they stammer. One of them even raises their voice to defend themselves but Stylist Im smacks them with a comb.

“Ouch! I can get you in trouble for that!” they threaten and Stylist Im laughs.

“You think I am threatened? I might be a mere make-up artist to you, but I didn’t survive 12 years in this industry by letting kids like you be disrespectful. I am your coworker as much as Hana is, thus if you had any decency you two wouldn’t be making such comments. Either leave now or I will get you two in trouble,” she barks at them and both straighten themselves as they leave.

Hana bites her leaves as she watches Stylist Im come back looking like she came back from war. Stylist Oh and Stylist Kwon applaud her as they share how much they also wanted to straighten the production assistants.

“Stylist Im, thank you. But you could have gotten in trouble,” she reminds her, but her stylist only smiles.

“Hana-yah, you’re like a little sister like me. I cannot let others talk about you like that. I might not know everything that is going on, but I know you have your reasons. You’re a good person,” Stylist Im reassures her and Hana nods.

“Thanks, eoni,” she hugs her.

“My birthday is coming, do you have anything planned?” Manager Kim asks with a smirk but Jaehyun rolls his eyes.

“No, I don’t. If you want to celebrate go back to Seoul with your family,” Jaehyun responds as he walks to his dressing room.

“I don’t think you want people to see how you treat your manager,” he warns him making Jaehyun laugh.

“And I’m sure you don’t want people to know how much you don’t care about your actor either,” he opens the door to the dressing room and then closes it in Manager Kim’s face.

He sits down although the stylists haven’t arrived. While he waits he grabs his phone and starts playing games. The door opens and he hears Stylist Seo talking to someone outside without realizing he’s inside waiting. When he hears Hana’s name being mentioned he stops and remains quiet.

“Of course, I saw how she ignored Jaehyun yesterday. So unprofessional of her. I don’t care if she’s considered an A-lister now, he’s her sunbae. I even heard she thinks she’s too good for Jaehyun. She didn’t even want him in the drama.  Seriously, such an entitled b-” She almost kept going until Jaehyun finally stood up and cleared his throat. 

“Oh, go on. If you’re going to screw you better go all for it,” he crosses his arms and Stylist Seo blushes as the staff member she was talking to leaves, “I made myself clear when I told you not to spread more rumors. I also said there won’t be third chances.”

“Jaehyun-ssi, please, I-” she rushes to him and bows down, “it’s not my fault. I didn’t start the rumors. Everyone is suspicious of her. You can’t blame us. She’s so cold towards you for no reason.”

Angry at this, he leaves his dressing room as he ignores Stylist Seo following him and calling out to him. He reaches the set where most of the staff is already waiting. Some of them look at him confused when they notice he’s still in his regular clothes and his stylist following. He keeps going, not even noticing that Manager Kim has started calling for him. Once he reaches Director Kim he stops and the latter looks at him delighted but confused. 

“Oh, Jaehyun-ssi! Why are you here? You’re still in your regular clothes,” he points out and Jaehyun nods.

“Can I please say something to the crew? Something important came to my notice,” he explains and Director Kim nods right away. 

“Of course, I don’t mind my actors being outspoken. Go on,” he permits him although still looking confused.

Jaehyun clears his throat and looks at the rest of the crew, even noticing Stylist Seo whispering at Manager Kim. As his expression changes, Jaehyun starts to speak before he’s interrupted

“Whoever started to spread rumors about Park Hana and I better stop. Hana is one of the most professional actresses I have worked with. We have all been working with Hana for months, filming for a few weeks. Y’all should know better. I see how she treats everyone here and I am disappointed this is how you talk behind her back. Just because I am her sunbae and she’s not sucking up to me shouldn’t give anyone permission to say whatever they want. We’re not friends, of course, we won’t be spending time chit-chatting after scenes. So please stop if y’all don’t want me to complain again,” he demands and the crew looks at him in shock, he looks to his side to find Director Kim’s face morphing from shock to anger. He thinks for a second he is going to get yelled at until he sees him look back at the crew.

“I must have been slacking on my duties, because if I had known of this behavior I would have put a stop to it. Some of you have worked with Hana before, Jaehyun is right, you should know better. This is a place to work, not spread rumors like school bullies. It better be the last time something like this has to come to my attention,” Director Kim glares at everyone and then looks back at Jaehyun, “Thank you, Jaehyun-ssi. I have great respect for Hana and I hate to know this is how everyone is treating her behind my back.”

“No worries, sir. I also hate hearing others badmouth my coworkers. I’ll be sure to notify you if something like this ever happens again,” he promises as he bows in respect, “I’ll be heading to my dressing room. Sorry for delaying production.”

After Director Kim tells him to never apologize about it, he starts to walk back to his dressing room. However, he soon notices Donghyuck and Hana have been looking at him. Once Hana realizes he has noticed her she walks away and Jaehyun sighs. He isn’t expecting anything from her, but he wishes she could see he’s being genuine. A scoff is heard from his side and he looks to find Donghyuck rolling his eyes at him.

“Not amount of pretending to care will bring her back,” Donghyuck promises, and Jaehyun looks at his old friend in sadness.

“I’m not pretending to care, Donghyuck,” he admits but Donghyuck glares at him.

“If you truly cared for Hana you wouldn’t have broken our trust,” he sneers, “And don’t ever call me by that name. I’m not your friend anymore.”

“Look, Dong-Haechan,” he holds Donghyyck’s shoulder before he can walk away, “I know I broke your and Hana’s trust, but I am being honest. It’s my fault people are badmouthing her. They have no idea she should be treating me worse than what I’m getting. I don’t expect her to come back by acting nice, I don’t want her to because she deserves better.” 

“At least you know your place, keep it that way,” Donghyuck pushes his hand away and Jaehyun takes a deep breath as he holds back his tears.

Not only did he lose Hana, but a best friend. Why did he let it come to this?

If Jaehyun didn’t know how delusional and greedy his manager is, he would have been surprised right now, but he’s certainly not. After making it clear he had no plans for celebrating Manager Kim’s birthday, he found out the man had reserved a place and told everyone Jaehyun planned it. He wasn’t pleased when he found out the day before and had to go out and try to find a gift. However, not caring at all, he just got an envelope and put some cash on it. At least it was something, right?

While for Donghyuck’s birthday, they went to a family-owned Korean restaurant in Allston, that seemed to be too low for Manager Kim. Instead, today they were close to Downtown Boston in a fancy Japanese restaurant. When they entered, Jaehyun realized Manager Kim must have planned this before they came to Boston. There is no way he could have reserved a place like this in less than a week. Not only that, but he probably paid good money since he reserved the entire place for most of the crew. 

Once the event started, Jaehyun gave the envelope to Manager Kim and then sat far away from him. Some people looked at him surprised, since after that he never addressed his manager again. Instead, he sat next to Director Kim with whom he talked for most of the night. After the incident two days ago, Jaehyung has come to trust and respect the older man even more. The two of them had made sure no more rumors were flying around, even getting the help of Head Producer Park and Producer Lee. To be honest, he is glad they haven’t asked him why he was so adamant about protecting Hana.

As the night went on, it became clear Jaehyun wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to be there. A few tables down, Hana, Donghyuck, and Manager Jeon were sitting and not talking much. Naomi and Justin were not invited for unknown reasons, but Hana has her suspicions. She had only met Manager Kim twice before the drama and all were when she was still dating Jaehyun. None of the instances were pleasant as he always went out of his way to point out how much he disliked Hana. There also seemed to be bad blood between him and Manager Jeon. Thus, when they arrived at the restaurant only Hana said ‘Happy birthday’ to the man. Albeit lacking any warmth whatsoever.

She always knew Jaehyun never liked him either, they used to get into disagreement quite easily. However, even she was surprised when she noticed Jaehyun had kept his distance from the man all night. From the moment Manager Kim invited everyone to his birthday party, she knew he was lying when he insisted it was Jaehyun’s idea. But she didn’t know how much their relationship had worsened over the years. A part of her wants to know what happened between those two, but another reminds her Jaehyun is no longer someone important in her life for her to care about. Thus, she focused on enjoying the expensive food and this boring night.

However, Hana couldn’t keep the facade for much longer. Once she noticed everyone gathering she realized it was time to sing Happy Birthday. It might be childish of her, but she’s not standing around with those people and pretending to wish well to the one person who hoped for her career’s downfall. Thus, she stood up and left the building for a breath of fresh air. Not like she was gonna get any. The restaurant was on a narrow street southwest of South Station. The only thing in front of her was an even taller building that seemed to sell office furniture, not too far from her she could see a Dunkin’s. There was something about it so weirdly Boston it made her chuckle. 

“What are you laughing at, weirdo?” she hears Donghyuck from behind her making her jump a little.

“Nothing important, I just thought of something stupid,” she shakes her head but then looks at her friend, “But why are you here?”

“You thought I would want to waste my amazing talents on that classist asshole? If he wants me to sing for him he better pay me,” Donghyuck mouths and she rolls her eyes.

“I’m actually surprised Manager Jeon hasn’t followed you, I feel like they hate him the most out of the three of us,” she points out and Donghyuck shrugs.

“They seemed to be enjoying the food too much to care,” he informs her, “But I did see Jaehyun leave for the bathroom. I guess not even his actor can stand his ass.”

Hana nods, not knowing what to say. She wants to say she does not care, but she cannot deny the small bit of worry creeping at her. 

“About Jaehyun, I guess he meant it when he said he wanted to keep people from spreading rumors. I heard him talk to the producers and some people won’t be part of the Seoul crew after the things they said about you and Jaehyun,” Donghyuck notifies her and Hana looks out at the distance. 

“And what about it?” it’s all she says. 

“I am just warning you, don’t be fooled by his character. We know what he did last time,” he whispers in case someone else comes out, Hana stops and looks at her friend. She knows he means well, but that doesn’t mean she has to like his tone.

“I’m not a child, Donghyuck. Just because I fell for him once doesn’t mean you have to talk to me like I wouldn’t know better this time,” she makes her displeasure known, “I won’t give him a second chance. I’m not stupid.”

Hana doesn’t know what to expect when Screenwriter Ahn asks to meet up with her and Jaehyun. Perhaps some thanks for what they have done so far, or some basic lines she wanted to add. Never in a million years, she would have expected what have just come out of Screenwriter Ahn’s mouth.

“I was thinking we should have a kiss scene,” she grins and both Jaehyun and Hana jump out of their seats.

“A kiss?!” they both yell out and then look at each other taken back. Hana then straightens herself and clears her throat.

“I mean… we haven’t even started filming the main story. Why a kiss?” she tries to reason and Screenwriter waves both her hands in dismissal.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re playing exes and we’re getting a glimpse of your past relationship. Not only what tore you apart but the beautiful parts of the relationship, that way it is easier for the viewers to understand why there would still be feelings present after so long. Besides, after seeing you two act together I realized you two look good together, more than I expected. Your screen chemistry is so great. A kiss scene would just cement that even more,” she beams and Hana shakes her head before she can stop herself.

“I-I don’t know… I’m not so sure,” Hana stutters trying to find a way to protest this without bringing suspicion toward her.

“What Hana is trying to say is that we’re still not comfortable around each other for such scenes. We never even prepared for a possible kiss scene since we were told that would only happen when we start filming in Seoul. Is the scene necessary?” Jaehyun argues surprising Hana, he must have ulterior motives, right?

“Could have fooled us,” Director Kim chuckles, “We all think it’s a great idea. You two are professionals, I’m sure you will pull it off.”

Everyone starts to nod in agreement and Hana sighs. Seeing how everyone agreed Director Kim and Screenwriter Park approve of the scene. There is nothing else they can do. Director Kim tries to suggest when to squeeze the scene in since they only have two weeks of filming. With this Hana gets an idea, she might not be able to stop it, but she might be able to delay it as much as possible.

“We can leave it for the last day of filming,” Hana suggests and all eyes are set on her, “It’s nice to hear we’re great actors, but Jaehyun and I are being honest. We still need a bit more time to get used to each other. Two weeks should be enough, right?”

Director Kim and both producers start to talk between the three of them and then Screenwriter Ahn joins. Hana worries about the outcome, there is no way they will suggest filming the scene immediately, right? It’s still not officially added and they were notified about it only 30 minutes ago.

“Well,” Head Producer looks at Hana and Jaehyun, “Looking at our filming schedule the last day of filming seems to be the only day we have space anyways. Screenwriter Ahn also has to finish writing the scene. Just make sure to work with each other. The scene is already approved.”

Both Hana and Jaehyun nod, but none of them are at peace. They weren’t prepared for this. Hana tries to relax, reminding herself she was going to have to kiss Jaehyun sooner than later anyways. She’s a professional, she can and will do this.

However, a small voice in her head, a tiny voice she does not want to acknowledge keeps going. 

Why is this bothering so much if she insists she has moved on? There is no way she still has feelings for Jaehyun, right?

MASTERLIST

A/N: Chapter 5 should be posted sometime in September. After that, ACT I should be done. I want to keep posting at least one chapter a month, but let's see if it will be possible.

[jedimaesteryoda]

It is the anniversary of Mrs. Doubtfire. It is my opinion the best family fun discussing the topic of divorce. We follow divorcing Daniel Hillard as he puts on a fat suit to be a housekeeper and be able to spend time with his kids outside of the court order. Alongside some good comedy we have a take on divorce that still stands.

The cast is great. Robin Williams is great allowing himself to maximize his acting and comedic talents in this film. When I originally saw the film, I originally thought Mrs. Doubtfire was an actress they hired. It was because Robin managed to convincingly play the role and good makeup from the team made her feel like her own character. His character's posing as Mrs. Doubtfire without his family suspecting can be believable. Sally Field also holds her own as Miranda encompassing businesswoman, disciplinarian and long-suffering wife.

From the start we are shown the married couple who divorces. Daniel is introduced as a voice actor quitting his job over issues with the script while Miranda is introduced as an executive having her business meeting interrupted over a call from a neighbor complaining about Daniel throwing a party. Lydia's assumption that "You mean you got fired" when Daniel said he got off work early reveals that this actually isn't the first time. So despite Daniel being quite a talented voice actor, he isn't as established in his career as Miranda due to his carefree, unserious attitude leading to a lack of commitment to a job. While to Miranda, Daniel was the Manic Pixie Dream Boy when they started, the part that initially attracted her to him also proved to be the reason she divorces him.

In the first interactions we see with his kids, Daniel is shown to clearly be a fun, loving and affectionate father whose kids are his world. The feeling is mutual, as seen in the way. Daniel reveals he planned a birthday party for their son Chris. Lydia points out that Miranda prohibited Chris from having a birthday party due to his poor academic performance, to which Daniel says she won't be home for another four hours.

Now, it's okay for Daniel to disagree with his wife's decision to discipline their son by not allowing him a birthday party, but it's not okay for him to go behind her back and undermine her. He could have brought it up to her, and perhaps offered a different solution to their son's academic performance, but he instead undermined her parenting which is a big no-no as when disciplining children the parents need to form a united front. It proves to be the straw that breaks the camel's back for Miranda.

Miranda arrives to find a cop there, the house is a mess and even the neighbors complained. Daniel is dancing on the dining room table, and in a show of lacking self-awareness, is completely oblivious to the look on his wife's face who is understandably pissed. This establishes the dynamic between the two. Daniel is the Disney Dad and Miranda is the more strict parent. It is shown that she needs to be given the position Daniel often puts her in, not leaving her any room to be more relaxed. Miranda puts an end to the party and it leads to an argument.

During their argument, Miranda finally comes to admit that she isn't in love with Daniel anymore and wants a divorce. Daniel suggests a marriage therapist, which would have been a good suggestion a long time ago, but by this point it's too late. Daniel moves out, and the court grants temporary full custody to Miranda with Daniel getting to see them once a week.

Miranda is never portrayed as the bad guy in this situation. You see exactly where she's coming from, and she is wrong in her reasons to divorce Daniel. Daniel not getting full custody is simply his carefree habit coming back to bite him. The judge doesn't grant him the custody given he doesn't have a steady job and his home being a mess.

Daniel puts on a fatsuit to be a housekeeper Miranda hired to be able to see his kids everyday. Daniel's issue is that in some ways he is still pretty much a kid himself, and by taking on the role of Mrs. Doubtfire, he is forced to mature. To fit the role of the character he is playing, he allows himself to be more strict like making the kids do their homework, and disciplining with chores for refusing. He also cooks and cleans the home rather than leaving it a mess when Miranda comes home. He allows Miranda to be less strict as a parent as well. He's also able to be a friend to Miranda who she can confide in. Through Mrs. Doubtfire, he manages to be the parent and partner he should have been. Mrs. Doubtfire also actually gets him a stable job where he excels at.

It is by being Mrs. Doubtfire that he is able to listen to Miranda when she mentions the issues she was going through in their marriage. She was always working late not just because of wanting to get ahead of her career, but because Daniel was usually unemployed, making her the sole breadwinner. She ended up having to clean after his messes coming home, and Miranda admitted she didn't like the parent she was when married to Daniel, but now she was able to be more relaxed in her parenting and be a better parent to her kids. Daniel finally realizes just how much he had been hurting Miranda throughout their marriage, and he refused to even want to talk about problems, because it made him uncomfortable. Yet, it ended up coming at the cost to Miranda.

While Daniel is still holding onto the desperate hope of him and Miranda getting back together, Miranda moves on with a new boyfriend, Stewart. The original script had him be a jerk who wants to send the kids off to boarding school. Thankfully, they didn't go that cliched route, and Stewart is instead portrayed as a decent guy who is always good to her and her kids, and while not originally wanting kids, actually likes Miranda's three children and is open to being a stepdad. If anything, Stewart isn't the asshole, Daniel is. Daniel engages in actions towards Stewart out of jealousy like taking the hood ornament off the car, throwing a fruit at his head, makes passive aggressive comments and even puts pepper in his food, nearly killing him. He also tries drive them apart with lies to Stewart and telling Miranda she should be celibate. In another film, this would have been portrayed as funny antics with the audience rooting Daniel on, but in this case, while throwing a fruit and taking off the hood ornament are funny, Daniel's actions are clearly shown to be childish and petty. In putting pepper in the Stewart's food, he nearly choked the man and ruined Miranda's birthday.

The film originally had a typical plot for a divorcees like The Parent Trap where the divorced couple gets back together. However, the leads Robin Williams and Sally Field both told Chris Columbus they opposed the ending, pointing out all three of them were divorced. They also said it gave kids false hope and was the wrong message to send on divorce.

The ending they went with shows that Daniel and Miranda are still divorced and never getting back together, but it's portrayed as a happy ending. They have a better relationship now, but as friends rather than spouses. They talk things out and decide to do what's best for their kids. They are also shown to be doing better separated than together as parents and as people. Daniel finally gets the arrangement he wanted at the beginning of the film where he gets to take care of the kids after school now that he has proven himself capable, and it helps Miranda out too.

As a child of divorce this final monologue from Mrs. Doubtfire is beautiful. It drives home the message that while divorce can be tough, it's not necessarily a bad thing and it can even be good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrwtsc__3HY

[brujahinaskirt]

So, I don't really rp, but I used to co-write novellas with internet friends I met in an online fiction community that existed for this purpose. We'd pass a manuscript around and each add a chapter (which we kept secret from each other until its release). It wasn't exactly a roleplay, but I think the process is quite a bit like looking for an RP partner.

Seems to me a ton of writers on tumblr are trying to find partners to write with lately (roleplayers or otherwise), but they're going about it in the worst way possible. I suspect maybe tumblr just... never taught you guys how to do this.

Old-school writing group tip for you to help you find your next writing partner? If you want people to respond to your ads, sharing your wish list and DNI is simply not enough. You gotta share a sample of your writing.

"Hi I'm looking for someone to do an XYZ rp with me! Here are my fave tropes and characters!" is not gonna get any traction because it offers no meaningful information. People can't know if they're interested in writing with you if you don't give them some kind of sample of the experience, even a bite-sized one.

A nutrition list alone isn't helpful in picking your dinner off a menu. That's because this information needs more context to be relevant. On its own, it gives you no idea what the meal is going to look or taste like. What form it will take. How it will be prepared.

You wouldn't try to entice someone to order a meal based on that raw info alone... so don't use this tactic to entice someone to spend hours and hours of their life writing with you.

"But my post has special dramatic formatting and is super visually attractive!" Nice, but not useful for this purpose. GIFsets of canon characters and quotes ripped straight from the script are useless to someone trying to decide if they want to collaborate on a story with you. It's because this stuff gives absolutely nothing in terms of showcasing what you're bringing to the storytelling table.

No wonder so many people are giving up and breaking out crappy AI chatbots. I know we're all hyper-vigilant about scraping and theft right now, and for good reason, but if you want to find someone to write with you... you gotta share just a snippet of a sample. You gotta.

[tiffanylamps]

🔥🔥🔥🔥 of course, some beyond evil hot takes 🔥🔥🔥🔥 but also, what is some controversial opinion that you have about something entirely mundane :^0

ask me ask me ask me baby (Disclaimer: I started writing this, then had dinner, watched an episode of Bros on Foot, then had a shower and now I'm pretty exhausted (thanks rona + bad health). So my answers may seem a lil disorganised... they most likely are) Oh, gosh. I don't think I have that many opinions that are actually controversial when discussing be. But I shall still give it a go. I going to put a break here 'cause I really didn't know when to shut up. Also, sorry Iva but I feel like my answers are things we've already spoken about. So, I don't think any of this is new information to you 😩 TL;DR: Dong Sik and Joo Won shouldn't be represented by one aspect of their character. They're more complicated than that. (Including a mundane opinion at the end) (please excuse any weird funny business in this post (writing, grammar, spelling, clarity), we're trying our best here at Lamps HQ)

i. We as a fandom baby Dong Sik too much. I love Dong Sik. I adore him. He has seen and experienced far too many traumas, and I want nothing but good things for him in his future. What happened to him and his family when he was 20 was a tragedy that could have been avoided if the system (which should be in place to aid victims) wasn't systemically corrupt. He was beaten by police officers whilst in custody. He was framed and belittled, degraded, and humiliated. (the trauma he experienced is so layered and would take a lifetime for him to unpack and get closure from).

It almost completely ruined his life and future prospects, and it would have been done if Nam Sang Bae hadn't come in with his lvl 100 guilt and tried to make up for his actions. Dong Sik tried to make the best out of the awful circumstances that befell him and I sincerely admire him. Not everyone is as kind and loving as Dong Sik.... But but but... Buuuuut that doesn't absolve him of his actions. He murdered someone with his bare hands and allowed the system that was once put against him to be used in his favour.

Police officers shouldn't be murdering civilians. full stop. Yes, he was emotionally compromised- technically it could be seen as self-defence, but an unconvicted man, a suspect, was murdered and Dong Sik didn't face repercussions. Nam Sang Bae skewed the evidence so Dong Sik didn't get into trouble. Dong Sik took a year (?) off work after that event and to "help" him recover, Sang Bae got Dong Sik transferred to his substation (which Sang Bae had been demoted to as a result of one of his rookies dying on the job. Although, it wasn't deemed much of a punishment considering he was so close to retiring anyway). All the while, Dong Sik feels justified for his actions (as he did when he moved Min Jeong's fingers). (Screenshots from the translated script book/author's notes doc)

I think it's best that when discussing and exploring Dong Sik's character, we remember that he is a man capable of murder. He is a murderer. (Do I blame him for what he did? No, not really. I can see why he did it. Objectively, I fucking love it for the narrative lol). But yeah, he isn't a guiltless sweet baby angel who never did anything wrong in his life. (DISCLAIMER: obviously jokes are just jokes. I love them and I never want them to stop. I am super guilty of participating in this line of joking and I'm not about to stop any time soon. But when discussing DS in serious conversations, we shouldn't erase his history. By doing that, we are devoiding him of agency and retribution (which is one of the main arcs/themes of his character development)).

ii. Joo Won is autistic and people need to stop calling him stupid. I will die on this hill, I don't care. I fully encourage everyone to bully Joo Won, because, well, he fucking deserves it. I know that bullying him is a hilarious love language the fandom has developed and I fully participate in this pastime. I honestly love it. Yes, he has done a lot wrong and shouldn't be absolved of his sins (that being said, we should allow him the space to learn and grow. We should learn to forgive whilst still keeping him and ourselves in check). But where I draw the line is when people outright laugh at his characteristics/actions which are derived from the fact that Joo Won is coded as autistic.

I know not everyone is going to be particularly versed in neurodivergent symptoms and that is completely fine. I even didn't fully clock Joo Won being autistic the first time I watched the show- I "labelled" his actions as a result of one) his obscenely privileged upbringing and two) the fact that he (imo) has some degree of OCD (which is a type of anxiety disorder). Then it hit me one day that he is soooo autistic. A few examples (I'm too ill to list each one or go into full detail): 1- People say that he's a bad detective. Which, ugh. 2- That he should have seen the "obvious" signs that Dong Sik wasn't the killer earlier. This sentiment completely ignores the timeline of the show and the fact that the viewer is provided information that Joo Won doesn't have access to. And it also removes Dong Sik's accountability for being purposely obtuse and antagonistic. 3- the whole (very minor) narrative that joo won is lame because he has terrible people skills (or something along those lines, I can't quite remember the tags I read as it was a while ago). This one, in particular, ties in with Joo Won's autism coding. With a (relatively sound) understanding of what autism looks like in male adults, to me, it would seem that a lot of what Joo Won does (speaking bluntly, getting easily confused when provided a lot of information during an intense situation, overwhelm, struggling to gauge people's emotions/tone, being very black and white, hyper focussing on a topic of interest, struggling to adapt to new social environments, masking, issues with food and sensory stimulation, etc) can be credited to autism. Perhaps I'm connecting dots that don't exist and am projecting an ideal onto his character, but as someone who grew up with multiple friends and family members who are neurodiverse (and is neurodiverse myself), I can see so many similarities between Joo Won's actions, thought processes, and mannerisms to that of a person with autism.

^ (credit) here is an overview of some characteristics of autism in adults (obviously, it's a complex topic which differs from person to person. But I can definitely connect many of these examples to joo won's character and actions). [I feel like I could say a lot more about this subject, but it would be distracting away from the original point. I have thoughts on Joo Won masking and how he struggles to mask around Dong Sik]

How does this relate to Joo Won being "stupid"? One may ask. I will try to explain it as best I can (even though I don't fully have my answer planned out). Labelling Joo Won as stupid, as a stuck-up nepo baby who did nothing for the storyline, or just a useless dolt that needed Dong Sik to spoon-feed him, completely misconstrues the source material. Joo Won is intelligent, hard-working, determined, stubborn, foolish, annoying, pompous, proud, narrow-minded, snobby, short-sighted, dedicated, loyal, loving, persistent, and perceptible to change (and even more than that). We wouldn't have a story if Joo Won was stupid. We wouldn't have a conclusion if Joo Won was stupid. Downplaying Joo Won's intelligence and chalking up his characteristics as something that makes him less-than does a complete disservice to his character as well as his importance within the story. Beyond Evil is a story with TWO leads. It's not the Dong Sik show. I can NEVER subscribe to the act of bringing one character down in order to hold another up. Dong Sik is not this all-seeing, all-knowing, flawless character. If he was, he would have never been framed for murder, he wouldn't have been stuck for 20 years, and he wouldn't have needed help in uncovering the truth. He needed Joo Won (and Ji Hwa, Jae Yi, Jung Je, Ji Hoon, Du Soo, Sang Bae, etc). Without Joo Won, he may have never found out the full truth of what happened to his sister (as how many people in his life had a part to play in the traumas he faced). So, I think it's about time that people start to recognise Joo Won as a neurodivergent character (and stop giving him a hard time for not seeing signs that WE were given), as well as stop downplaying him. Kim Soo Jin, Sim Na Yeon, and Yeo Jin Goo created such a multi-dimensional, complex, flawed character with good and bad qualities, it does a disservice to their creativity and hard work when one belittles Joo Won down to one descriptor. Dong Sik and Joo Won aren't just the idiot and the downtrodden. They're more than that and fan interpretation shouldn't rewrite the facts of the show.

Anyway... there's a point in there somewhere... I think... I have no idea if I managed to construct a reply that makes sense. I don't think I fully relayed all my thoughts on this particular matter, but we live. tbh, I feel very icky when an autistic character gets labelled as stupid or useless. It gets on my nerves and if it wasn't obvious, I am pretty protective of Joo Won (maybe I shouldn't be, but... well... here we are!). Also, as a note: I don't expect anyone to agree with my opinion that Joo Won is autistic. But yeah, I was going to include more "controversial" opinions for be, but I have already said way too much. This post reads like a rant - which it probably is - and I don't want it to ruffle anyone's feathers. It's not an attack, it's just my opinion.

As for the mundane opinion: iii. kiwis are the scum of the fruit world. They're nasty and a lot of effort to eat (considering they don't taste great), and their texture is gross. But I do think their furry shell is pretty neat, even if it makes my skin cruel. (idk why this was the first thing that came to mind lol)

(sorry Iva. Maybe one day I will learn how to give short answers😂🫣)

[bloodyknucklesforme]

Carnal | Interlude I | My Fate is At the Hand of My Mistakes

Nina has dinner with her boyfriend

| CH 1 |

TW: domestic abuse, violence,

It wasn’t abnormal for him to yell. Raving around the house like the world was ending and she was the one that flipped the switch. She swirled around her wine, a particularly sweet Moscato whose bottle needed finishing off. She didn’t know why she dressed up for this. He never said anything about how she looked. Light blue satin was wasted on him.

Arthur was mad about the steak. It wasn’t cooked enough. He’d just taken her plate by mistake. Now she was left prodding at the well-done cut on her plate while he burnt her meal back in the kitchen. 

“I don’t know how you can eat something that’s still cold in the middle, Nina. It’s absolutely disgusting.”

She should pick up smoking again. She had a cigar tucked away under her bed, a treat she’d stolen from her godfather the last time she saw him. It was a cheaper one so she didn’t feel bad about it and he never mentioned it. Arthur had thrown out all her cigarettes when he found them. ‘Disgusting’ he sneered. That seemed to be his favorite word of late. Her godfather had been trying to get her to dump him for a year now.

“If he treats you so poorly, leave him,” John had said as he took aim at a buck. It was their annual hunting trip up in the highlands. Arthur traveled for work so she didn’t need to worry about his complaints that weekend. 

“It’s nice to have company,” she shrugged. It was a partial truth. He was nice to have around when he was quiet. It wasn’t like she needed his money, her father left her more than enough. It was simply easy. Her ‘condition’ didn’t allow for many suitors. He was actually her first relationship. They met in London a couple years prior. He was nice and treated her well at the time. She didn’t know any different. She wasn’t actually allowed to leave the house until her father died. Not that she left much now. 

“Don’t bullshit me, Nina. He’s a prick,” John grumbled. “I know plenty of good men from work. You deserve better, love.”

“I love him.” A partial truth. One that John sighed at. It was a good defense. He wouldn’t argue too much. Despite the war experience he was never up to a fight with her. Not worth the bloodshed. 

He fired and the deer crumpled. He always let her keep most of the meat. She had a freezer in the basement to store it all. 

“Call me if you need anything,” he said, as he always did. He kissed her forehead and left. She wandered the garden that night eating rare venison off the bone. 

She wished she could do that now. She choked down a bit of steak. Disgusting

“I’m going to bed,” She said, scrapping her dinner into the bin. 

“What? Why?” Arthur slammed a hand on the counter. She’d stopped flinching months ago. He’d never hit her. She suspected that John had something to do with it. The shadow of an SAS Captain always behind her. “Don’t be fucking child, Nina.”

“Do adults not sleep?” She rinsed off her plate and set it in the sink. She’d clean it tomorrow. 

“You’re throwing a tantrum over steak.”

“I offered to switch plates. You came back in here to make a mess.” One she would have to clean up. He always had the heat on too high and it splattered oil and juice everywhere. “I don’t want to break my jaw eating.”

A plate shattered on the floor. She didn’t want to turn around. His hackles would be raised, ready for a fight that he wouldn’t get. She’d have to act out an apology before going upstairs. He’d follow shortly and apologize in turn before climbing on top of her for a maximum of five minutes. They’d sleep and the next night have a similar argument and repeat the cycle until he kissed her and left for another week long work trip.

He grabbed her arm, a change to the script. 

“Look at me.” He barked. She flinched that time. He was close to her face, spittle landing on her cheeks. He was drunk, that’s why. He never drank much. “You think because you own the house you can just act like a brat?”

He wrenched her upwards, pulling her up to the tips of her toes.

“Let go of me.” She tried to embody John’s confidence. She was scared. He’d never touched her before. 

“Did the worms you ate finally reach your brain?” He poked the side of her head hard. “You think I don’t know about the raw meat? Who does that? I don’t mean the steak. I’ve seen you eat ground beef!”

Her eyes got wide. She never ate it raw when he was home. She pulled against his arm.

“I set up cameras. Had to see what you were up to when I was gone. Thought you might be cheating on me but no. You’re just a disgusting little girl. You’re going to get sick!”

Anger burned up from her stomach. How fucking dare he. How dare he spy on her in her house. HER HOUSE. He lived here because she let him. The more he yelled the more he began to smell like food. 

‘Just breath’ john’s voice echoed in her head. She was holding rifle, staring down the scope at a doe. ‘Fire when you’re ready’

She slapped him across the face.

“Get out of my house!” She screamed. “Get out! Get out!”

She shoved his chest hard and ran out. Their bedroom had a lock. She’d call John first. He was only half an hour away on base, if he was still there. God, let him still be there. 

His feet thundered behind her. She threw her body against the door to close it. He was stronger and she fell to the floor to avoid being slammed against the wall. She was crawling toward her phone. It was charging on the nighstand.

“Get up!” He yelled, grabbing her by the arms and lifting her up. He pinned her arms to her side. “You think you can tell me to leave? Are you fucking stupid, Nina? John’s not even in the country half the time. I’m the only person you have. I’m the only one who loves you! I’m the only person who can!”

Her ‘condition’ is what her father called it. An insatiable craving only subsided through iron supplements and raw meat. She’d never indulged. Her mouth still watered and she could still hear his heartbeat. The blood pumping through his body and bulging through his veins smelled like sweet Moscato to her. 

It tasted the same as well.

Tag list: @gogh-with-the-flow @queen-ilmaree

Comment or DM me if you want to be added

[stanleysbuttonblog]

The Narrator reached into Stanley’s body.

He grasped a thread, a wire. A core component of his code, a fragment of a part of what was Stanley. It was him, nonetheless, but his hands did not tremble as he took his love apart.

He could not shake now. He was restoring. He was healing. He had to be stable.

He pulled it out.

The thread floated in the air, and the Narrator looked at his work, reached in to check, and confirmed what he suspected.

That was the chest done. Now onto the arms.

He takes Stanley’s flannel and removes it fully from the man’s body. 

Arms exposed.

Left first, he thinks. 

He reached in.

The threads have no meaning on their own. Like a pot inscribed with a poem in a cursive script, and then shattered into shards. All of them are so individual as to be meaningless.

He tugged a thread out.

It feels painful, drawing out these threads, even though it is not harming the Narrator himself.

He reached in.

Running his hand through Stanley’s insides, he knew that he could grasp harder, harsher.

He drew a thread out.

He could rip through his form. He could destroy Stanley, from the inside out. It wouldn’t even take that much effort.

He reached in.

The Narrator is delicate. He will not harm Stanley.

He pulled a thread out.

He will see this to the end.

***

The entirety of Stanley’s upper body is done by the middle of the second day.

He sighed and breathed out.

That had been a long burst with no breaks, and he knew that he had to stop soon. But he didn’t want to. But he really, really, should.

He stood up tensely off of the bed and scrawled out a note to the showrunner, and then went out to slip it under her door.

He sighed, returned to Stanley’s room, and sat down in an armchair. Checked his watch, and gave himself an hour to rest.

Then he’d get back to work.

***

About 15 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. 

"Come in!" The Narrator called.

A pause. Then the door handle turned hesitantly. The door opened slowly. In stepped the Showrunner, in her black cloak and hot pink heels. She was holding the note.

“Hello, Narrator.”

"Showrunner." he said with a bit of a sigh, glancing from her back to Stanley.

She stared at Stanley through the many, many wires. After a moment, she said quietly, “Is he like a circuit board or a tapestry?”

"What do you mean?" he asked. "He's Stanley. What would make him like either of those things?"

“The threads,” She said quietly, “or wires, depending.”

"I mean what qualities. As in– yes, he has those threads. But what about a tapestry are you concerned he is like?"

“It’s not concern,” she stared at Stanley, “Well, I mean, I am concerned. I just.” she tilted her head, then shook it, “Nevermind, I suppose.”

"I'm confused, not– you can go on." The Narrator said, straightening up a bit.

“Just a question, I suppose. I’m fairly familiar with both.” She looked at the threads. “Is everything… okay?”

“This is actually going rather well.” the Narrator said with a bit of a sigh, pinching his brow and pushing his glasses up. “The– the process is meant to pull out the threads. I suspect I’ll be able to finish drawing the whole of them out by the end of tomorrow.”

She crossed her arms, hugging herself slightly, “I see.”

“Is– you look concerned. Is there something I can do to help you in that regard?”

She looked at him sort of sideways, but shook her head. “Same as always. I’ll be fine. I’m more worried about Stanley right now.”

“He’s okay.” the Narrator said firmly. “He’s alright. Or he will be. This is a process. He’s still all there, just… disassembled a bit.”

She nodded, looking at her hand, “Disassembled.”

“Yes. That– that is what I’m doing here. Pulling out his– ah– innards– and then giving them a bit of a clean, fixing any stray parts, touching up a few threads that have degraded… and then putting him back together. And then he’s good!”

“I see.” She paused, “I see.”

The Narrator nodded, sighed and then got up from the chair. He summoned a loose-fitting dress and pulled it on over his bikini, and then conjured a small notepad, which he began to tentatively write in.

The Showrunner looked over at him curiously.

He looked up at her, and continued scrawling out his ideas in cursive, making sure to keep the notepad close to his chest.

The Showrunner turned her attention back to Stanley, staring at the threads. 

The Narrator looked between her, and then Stanley, and then sighed.

“Do you have a question? Or rather, what is your question– I can clearly see you’re wondering something.”

She stared at her hand. “I-” She paused, looking up at the ceiling, then back at her hand, “I don’t know. I’m reminded of a number of things. None of them are really relevant.”

“You can still ask.” the Narrator said with a sigh. “Having a conversation would be… nice. I’m taking a bit of a break anyway.”

“Are you familiar with classical mythology?”

“Most of the well-known stuff, yes.”

“I- I’m reminded of the golden fleece. I- I never met Jason, I’m afraid that was quite a bit after my time, but I’ve heard stories of it.” She stared at the threads, opened her mouth to say something, but didn’t continue.

“I– ah, yes. A healing fleece, made of golden wool. I suppose they would bear visual similarities.”

She nodded, “I’m also reminded of Rumplestiltskin, and Ariadne’s thread from Crete.” She paused, “Not relevant, but. You get it.”

“Yes, yes. Golden threads, and all. Well, his threads are golden– well, technically, it’s more yellow than gold– because I made him. And that’s my color.”

He saw her stiffen slightly. She withdrew her hand back into her cloak.

“It’s just… it’s what I work with. Hell, even this body is like that on the inside.”

She nodded, then hugged herself a little tighter.

“I, uh– I’m sorry, that’s probably not something you want to hear. I– it’s just a material, really, it’s… it’s his code made physical so I can better sort through it. I– I could show you mine? No, that’d probably just disturb you more…”

He sighed and pinched his brow.

“I-it’s not about-” She looked at the ground, “It’s-” she shook her head, “I don’t normally think about the logistics of being created. I don’t- day to day-” She tensed, “I don’t think of the fact that I was designed-” She sounded disgusted, “I- augh-” She clenched and unclenched her fists.

“I– if it helps, I– I mean, I don’t know much about your origins. But it’s… it’s just like organs and bones, really. All that… internal bits-and-bobs that keep you running. I highly doubt Stanley normally thinks of it either– this is an abnormal situation.”

She looked over at him, clearly distressed. “Y-yeah.” She looked back at Stanley, then quickly looked away, settling on the floor and then her tablet.

“If there’s– if there’s something I can do to help you out here, just… let me know. What I’m doing with Stanley is being done with the utmost care. He is going to be safe.”

She nodded, “I- I know. I’m fine. Thi-” She cringed, “This is normal. I’m fine. I’m totally fine.”

“You look distressed.” he said plainly. “And again, this whole business with Stanley is abnormal. I’m only handling it this well because I’m a higher being. Oh, and I had around a week or so to come to terms with the situation inside the snowglobe. It’d– if you were upset, that would be appropriate.”

She gave him a sort of look. Then she looked at the opposite wall, “I’m fine,” She said, her voice more steady.

“Right then.” the Narrator muttered, pulling out his notebook and continuing on with his writing for the time being.

She said nothing for a while, staring at her tablet, and eventually said, “I’m- I need to go do something.”

“Alright.” the Narrator called over tiredly, and then sighed, checking his watch. 20 more minutes.

“I-” She looked at him, “I know what it’s like to overwork yourself. I know you’re currently taking a break, but- yeah. Remember to pace yourself. I once ruined a tapestry because I was over-tired and got distracted.” 

“That’s not a problem for me.” the Narrator said, a bit defensively. “I– I have the energy to do this. Physically speaking, I can. I– I’m not mortal. I can fix him. I don’t get… distracted. Not like that. Not when it’s him. Yes, I might feel a bit… tired… but that doesn’t mean I’m going to mess up.”

She took a step back away from the bed, and said, “You’re prideful. I get it. But still. Take care, Narrator.” She turned to leave.

“Okay.” the Narrator muttered. “You as well, Showrunner.”

20 minutes later, he was back to work.

He was going to do this. Every moment he spent waiting– resting, like some kind of mortal– was one that Stanley didn’t get to live.

And he needed Stanley to be well.

He undid Stanley’s trousers, reached in to his calf, and grasped a thread.

***

By the night of the third day, all of the threads were out.

They floated in the air easily, and the Narrator heaved a sigh of relief as he reached in, felt around, and had no more threads to pull.

He groaned and laid down on the bed next to Stanley, tenderly holding the side of his body and idly touching one of the threads, gently twisting it in his fingers.

He looked at the watch, and with a groan of resignation, conjured a second bed adjacent to Stanley’s. 

He laid down, and promptly shut off all of his senses, and set them to reactivate 10 hours later.

He had earned this. He needed this.

The Showrunner had even encouraged it.

He slept.

***

On the fourth day– and as a movie played that the Narrator, frustratingly, had not been invited to– he sorted through the threads.

Quite a number of them were alright. The Narrator still had to inspect them, though– and he did decide to dust them all off, getting rid of any natural grime that had built up– but a number of them were intact.

Those, the Narrator recorded. He marked the thread (in Stanley’s files) with a tag confirming that it had been properly inspected and reinserted.

By the end of the fourth day, the Narrator estimated that he’d gotten about half of the uncorrupted threads sorted. Good. He’d have to put them back in those same specific clusters that he’d pulled them out, so he couldn’t just put them back in, but he was able to make them mostly intangible, so that they could only be seen if you were really looking for them.

He sighed, and continued sorting through the night.

***

By the late morning of the fifth day, all of the threads had been categorized. The ones that were healthy had been made intangible and largely invisible, and by the Narrator’s estimation, there were only around 140 corrupted threads.

That wasn’t so bad. Still… bad. But not… impossible.

He sighed, and began looking over the first one.

22 cords later, and it was mid-afternoon.

He sighed, and pinched his brow. Fuck, this was difficult.

A knock on the door.

“Come in!” the Narrator called hastily, brushing himself off and quickly cleaning his dress as best he could with some minor conjuration.

A moment passed, and the door opened. The Showrunner stepped inside hesitantly. Her cloak was… covered in dirt and bits of grass. Sure, it looked like she’d shaken it off, but…? 

Oh. 

And Him.

The Narrator scowled somewhat, and got down from the bed, approaching the two of them.

“Hello.” he said tersely. Firmly. This wasn’t exactly his domain– it was still Stanley’s room, and it was still in the Showrunner’s forcefield– but it was his… zone. He was doing work here. He had something to defend here.

“Hello, Narrator.” A moment passed, and she looked up at Xigbar, who was also covered in dirt and grass?

"... Weren't kidding about the spaghettification." Xigbar glanced around the room.

The Narrator stiffened, bit his tongue, and said nothing.

She shot Xigbar a look, “One, that’s not what I said, Two, behave.”

"What? I am behaving. I barely even said anything."

He couldn’t see the look on her face, but he was sure there was one. Then she turned to the Narrator, keeping her head tilted down, and said, “How- How is the progress?” The silent question was ‘Is Stanley still Okay?’

“Well, I’ve sorted out which ones are… alright. All… I believe it was 4,135… of them. Gave some of them a bit of a touchup, you know, seeing as I already had it exposed. And today I’ve managed to get through 22 of the… injured ones.”

“I see. And how many injured ones are there?” She tilted her head under the cloak.

“Oh, uh.. Around 140? I think. I– haven’t kept as much track. But he’s got… around 4,270 normally. Give or take seven or so? So… somewhere from 133 to 142. Yeah.”

“I see.” She stared at Stanley.

"So. When you're done with the whole…" He twirled his hand to gesture at Stanley. "Spaghetti thing,” (she shot him another look) “Is he gonna be more like he was in person, or on tumblr? Because the tumblr Stanley is actually almost cool."

“I don’t quite know what you mean by that… uh, he had a tumblr?” "Riiiiiiight. You were in the snowglobe." Xigbar gave him some sort of look. It was hard to decipher, but… It was certainly cold. "Almost forgot."

“Just– he– what sort of differences in personality are you talking about?” he said sharply.

“Well-” She said, “I was in BFD fearing for my life for most of it, but from what I was able to overhear,” She looked at Xigbar, then at Stanley, “They were almost getting along. He was more……. More. I think because the will issues can’t be triggered online. Less fearful, more stubborn. From what I understand, that’s closer to his normal.”

“Yes, he– he’s normally quite willful. I– I saw a bit of what he was like when he was… being influenced. That… ah, could you describe that in a… bit more depth? Just so I can… fully understand the situation going on here.”

She looked at Xigbar.

"Is boring an option?" 

“What the fuck Xigbar?” The Showrunner bapped him on the arm.

"What? He wasn't even that much fun to mess with. 'S why I stopped."

The Narrator stared at Xigbar, closed his eyes, and conjured a computer to hit him on the head. About 2 feet up. Heavy one, too.

The Showrunner looked at it in horror, and right as it started falling she summoned some kind of weapon- a pink, black and white one, and shoved it out of the way. It crashed onto the floor beside him.

“What the fuck, Narrator?!” If she sounded annoyed at Xigbar, she was furious at him.

“He insulted– you– you messed with him. You can’t just– do that shit. I–” 

“We’ve had this talk, Narrator,” The Showrunner said coldly, “And if we hadn’t, you agreed not to use your powers against Xigbar and I.”

“He was mean to Stanley! So I dropped a computer on him. It’s a fair exchange.”

‘It’s not,” She said, pushing Xigbar back a few feet with her weapon and standing in front of him, “You could hurt him. And besides. You agreed not to use your powers against Xigbar and I.”

“Fine.” The Narrator said, turning back around and heading back to Stanley.

He heard her turn to face Xigbar, “And that was uncalled for.”

"Why would you want me to say anything, then. It's pretty obvious I don't like Stanley all that much, and I definitely don't fuckin' like this guy. Doesn't even have a cool bikini."

The Narrator idly muttered to himself, careful to keep it to a tone where he wouldn’t fucking be heard.

He heard her turn away from Xigbar.

The Narrator pointedly did not look up, opting instead to begin inspecting the 23rd thread. This one was severely frayed. Wonderful, that.

The Showrunner said, “In my experience, Stanley with will issues was- he was confused. Hurting. This was before I knew about the will issues.”

“Don’t call them issues.” the Narrator muttered. “It’s more than an issue, it’s corruption. A disability. That’s not just some issue, Showrunner.”

“I of all people know that, Narrator. Don’t correct me on the subject of will.”

“I’m sure you do.” he said quietly. “But you don’t know him.”

He heard a sharp breath. Then, “I- I’ll be back in an hour or so, Narrator. Bye for now. Xigbar, we’re leaving.”

The Narrator gave a short nod to the both of them, and then turned his attention back to the thread. He heard the door close behind him.

Severely frayed. Alright, that meant he had to re-bind the slivers. He could do that. He could.

An hour passed, and 7 more threads were dealt with.

A brisk knock sounded on the door.

“Yes, come in.” The Narrator called over.

The door opened and the Showrunner reentered the room. She closed the door behind her.

“Hello, Narrator.”

“Hello.” he said, with as much bland neutrality as he could manage.

“I apologize for Xigbar’s behavior earlier. That was uncalled for.” She said evenly but genuinely.

“Oh.” he said. He thought for a moment. “Uhm. Thank you. I– I appreciate that. And I…”

He sighed, and then with some stiffness and disgruntlement, continued, “I also… apologize. I was aggressive, and I… should not have done that. Sorry.”

She nodded, “It’s easy to forget in the heat of the moment. And I understand the Parable plays by different rules, regarding injuries.” She looked at her nails.

“Yes, it– yes. I–” the Narrator bit his tongue. “I’ll uphold my deal from now on. No harm is going to… I won’t hurt any other person here. I can do that.”

Inwardly, he knew that he could. He could. It would take self control, it would take precision, but the Narrator could handle that. He would. This was a test, and one the Narrator could win. Yes. That was a reasonable expectation.

“Thank you,” She said. “Now, how is Stanley? Or, do you have any more questions on how he was behaving?”

“I think– I’m still curious about that, but I think that’s a discussion to be had later. He’s… well, he’s as disassembled as he has been. I’ve gotten seven more threads cleaned up since you were last here– those ones were all less harshly damaged. I, uh. I expect he’ll be done two or three days from now. Is that… enough information?” he said, squinting somewhat as he looked at her. 

She nodded slightly, bringing her arm back into her cloak. 

“Okay.” he said, sighing somewhat and reaching for another thread. Eugh. This one was slimy, with some sort of… corruptive, moldy gunk. Ugh, this one will be… difficult.

“Oh. Yikes,” She said, looking at it.

“Yes.” he muttered, running his hand through the– he was going to think of it as mold, that was easier on his mind. He pulled off as much as he could, letting it float in a small ball off to the side, and then began to go through the rest of the thread with more precision, taking off the entirety of the remaining mold.

She watched him as he worked, seemingly lost in thought.

He finished pulling off the gray-green sludge, and then took a deep breath, and stuck his whole hand into the collected mass. It wasn’t much, but god, the texture was unsettling. He worked it through his fingers, gently kneading it, and closed his eyes to better focus as he pressed his energy into repairing it.

When he removed his hand, The Showrunner said, “That looked very texture.”

The Narrator opened his eyes, grimaced, and checked the color. Good, good it was working. Now it was much closer to a yellowish mud.

“Yes, well, it’s still him.” the Narrator muttered, sticking his hand in again and splaying his fingers to spread it out and further smooth out the bits of damaged code within. “It’s– it’s not something I can discard.”

“I know.” She said. 

The Narrator nodded, kneaded the goop one more time, and then carefully began to spread the now-golden sludge back onto the thread it came from, working it into the crevices of the wire and smoothing it such that it became one whole fragment again.

The Showrunner said quietly, “I’m reminded of clay.”

“I suppose.” the Narrator murmured, “Yes, I suppose that’s an apt comparison. At least for threads like that.”

“I…” she shook her head, “Nevermind.”

“I mean, these are just… physical manifestations of an abstract concept so I can better work through the absolute mess that’s been made of his code with precision– and with a reasonable sort of efficiency.” The Narrator stated blandly. “It’s– I could just as easily have it appear another way. Or, well, I could’ve. I think. I’m not actually sure, given that you’re the authority here… hmm.”

She nodded.

“I– do you have a question?”

“Not really. Just- I- I’m reminded of other forms of handicraft I’ve seen previously.” She waved her hand sort of dismissively. Towards herself, not the Narrator. 

“Oh, yes. You said you’d made tapestries before, didn’t you?” the Narrator murmured idly, as he pulled over another thread and inspected it. Hmm. Holes. That was… going to require a good bit of energy. And perhaps a cross-check with some older files, for good measure.

She tilted her head slightly, then nodded. He got the sense that wasn’t what she was talking about, though.

“...right.” the Narrator said, and turned back to Stanley’s threads. Hmmm.

He pulled up a visual reference for a backup he’d made… about 5 months ago? It showed enough of the general construction pattern that it would be able to help repair this one. Ugh, holes– that was bad.

“I- I’ve spun thread before, too. I- I know these threads are just a manifestation, but I know it’s harder than it looks to clean them.”

“Oh. Uh, thank you. Do you– I’m sorry, do you– want to– I mean, you can touch them, if you think you’d… have some way to help. Just. Be incredibly careful. And if you start to do something that will hurt him I will. Teleport you away.”

She folded her hands behind her back, “I’m- I’m not going to do anything while Stanley’s asleep. It’s not-” She paused, wincing, “I won’t. I’m only saying, you’re making good progress. I know how tedious work similar to this- at least, visually similar- can be.”

The Narrator blinked. Processed her words, and then… smiled.

“Thank you.” he said, sighing a bit and letting go of the thread he was holding. “I– that’s quite nice to hear, Showrunner. I– this is a lot to deal with. It’s hard work, and it’s… it’s on Stanley, and the fact that this has happened to him at all is of course greatly upsetting, and– I appreciate that. You– you can touch the undamaged threads, just fine, if you want to, though. Those are well secured. And you’re his friend, so.”

She tilted her head appreciatively, but said, “No thank you, Narrator.”

“Very well.” he said, nodding as well, and then sighing, rubbing his eyes somewhat. “I, uh. Do let Xigbar know that I am. Regretful. I don’t particularly want to speak to him in person, but I… still think he ought to know that.”

“I will.”

He nodded his appreciation, and then took the thread in hand again. Closing his eyes, he felt out the holes and carefully started growing the edges together, letting the thread heal itself like a plant reaching out new roots.

She watched him for a few more minutes, then said, “I’m going to go. Farewell, Narrator.”

“And you, Showrunner. Have a good day.”

***

On the sixth day, by sunset, he had dealt with 42 more threads, leaving a remaining 67 to still manage. Good. This was good. He was making good progress here.

And then the world outside went purple.

He blinked, checked his sensory inputs, and determined that yes, this was actually happening and yes, this was affecting the world around him 

He took a few minutes to make a light protective firewall around Stanley and the incredibly delicate exposed threads, and then conjured a door and stepped into the thick of it.

…and saw the showrunner wielding godly power.

He was instructed to retrieve Sora (from kingdom hearts! He had played that video game, a few years ago, and had largely enjoyed it. Except for some of the boss battles.)

And then he fucked up. Spoke too soon, too much, just… wrong. Again.

He left after that.

Returning to Stanley’s apartment, he decided to wait out the– now literal– storm, and so he sat down in the armchair and kept his eyes trained on the protective barrier he’d made around Stanley. He was not going to let this magic disrupt– or, gods forbid, undo any of his work.

And given the circumstances, he was not too upset when he woke up a few hours later. He was tired, and he was nearly at the end, and by now, the storm had stopped. Good job, effective strategy there– just sleep until it’s over. He sighed, stood up, and went back to Stanley.

***

By the end of the seventh day, he was nearly done.

45 threads repaired. Only 22 to go. He could do this.

As the sun set, and the moon rose, the Narrator worked through the night.

By the morning of the eighth day, he was done sorting them.

He carefully began placing the cluster back in in chunks, grouping and tagging them in Stanley’s files so– gods forbid– if something like this happened again, it would be a much simpler process.

And by the afternoon, the were all inside. He took a deep breath, placed his hand on Stanley chest, and pressed his energy into Stanley, the light that was his power running through every last wire like a complex system of nerves and veins, lighting up his being.

And Stanley’s eyes opened.

He blinked.

Oh, those eyes. Brown like cardboard that’s been dampened by water, but with the slightest hint of sunlight landing in little yellow tinges to his iris.

“Stanley.” the Narrator said, his voice shaking with exhaustion and relief and love, already feeling tears forming in his own– annoyingly human– eyes.

[Narrator.] Stanley signed. He looked down at himself, up at the Narrator, and then his face broke into a smile. He sat up and immediately, tightly hugged the Narrator.

The Narrator felt Stanley’s tears fall upon his neck, and he hugged back. They sat in that embrace for as long as Stanley could stand to, before he pulled away to sign.

[I’m back.] He signed with enthusiasm. [You– you fixed it?]

“Every bit.” The Narrator said tearfully, giving Stanley’s cheek a squeeze. “Do you want to, uhm, put your clothes on? Maybe, ah, go out and celebrate or something?” Stanley looked down at his body and nodded. [Could you conjure them?]

The Narrator nodded, snapped his fingers, and handed Stanley his standard shirt and pants. Stanley smiled at the sight of them, and the Narrator turned away and crossed over to the other apartment while he dressed.

He knocked on the door.

He heard a clinking sound, and then the door opened. The Showrunner was there, looking a bit tired. 

“Hello!” the Narrator said brightly. “He’s awake.”

“Oh!” She said. He saw her eyes widen. They were the same color as the rest of her face from what he could see, “Lovely.”

“Oh, shit? Like, awake awake?" Xigbar said.

“Yes? What– what else would that mean?”

Before Xigbar could reply, the Showrunner said, “Fun! Okay, Xigbar, you stay here.”

“Sounds good to me.” the Narrator said, sighing and turning to head back to Stanley’s apartment. He gave a quick knock and then opened the door.

And Stanley was there. Sitting on the couch. He waved at the two of them.

She clapped her hands once with a clinking noise and bounced a little, “Stanley!! How are you feeling?”

[Oh, uhm. Good! My head’s clearer. No more will shit. Uh, kinda feel a little restless? Like I could go and walk for like. 4 hours. Straight. But other than that, really fucking good!]

He stood up and smiled at her, and then laughed a little. [Do you, uh. Want a hug?]

She nodded, “Yes!! It’s really good to see you!”

He smiled and walked over to her, giving her a tight, warm hug. Not a particularly long one, per say, but still a good hug.

“I- Oh, I’ve missed you,” She said, “And-” her eyes widened, “So much has happened? Xigbar’s dad is here?”

[What?] Stanley signed, his brow furrowing.

“I know! And he has a weird ass boyfriend in the woods- they’re living in the woods- and- Oh! And I have this!” She summoned the weapon from before, the pink spikey one, “Keyblade! Oh, and I made this orchard thingy we could check out sometime if you wanted,” She said as she dismissed it.

[Okay?] Stanley signed, and then he looked back at the Narrator. [How– how long has it been? A month?]

“Actually, closer to… two weeks. I believe. One of that was just spent waiting in, ah, the snowglobe.”

Stanley’s eyes widened, and he looked at the Showrunner with some sort of… confusion? Not exactly judgemental, more just… perhaps, concerned?

“I- I let him out as soon as we arrived back home,” She said, “But it took a week for Sora to get to us and back. The tunnels, they’re confusing.” She clasped her hands in front of her.

[Good.] Stanley signed emphatically. [Because he is staying with me. You’re not fucking with my boyfriend again.]

“I wasn’t intending to,” she said, “We’ve come to an understanding, I think.” She sounded somewhat uncertain on that last part.

The Narrator looked at her, and then sighed. “Yes, I suppose it’s time for that now, isn’t it? Well, go ahead. I– I’m not going to go back on my word.”

The Showrunner hesitated, then slowly pulled out her tablet, “That’s- not what I was talking about.” She stared at it for a while, then tapped it once. “I turned off necrogenesis,” She said, returning it to her cloak, “The rest can stay with the same caveat as the others.”

The Narrator blinked. “Why?”

She gave him a sort of look, then shook her head slightly, examining her nails. She didn’t answer.

[Okay.] Stanley signed, looking between them. [Are you guys… cool? Or at least. Less bad?]

“We’re… fine.” the Narrator said, a bit nervously.

The Showrunner turned her hand this way and that, looking at it, “Oh, you know.”

[Cool.] Stanley signed. [Right, so. I. I don’t really know what the best thing to do next is? Narry suggested a celebration, but I don’t really know how you’d… celebrate waking up from a bug-induced coma.]

The Showrunner reached a hand into her cloak and pulled out- a button, a yellow color and shaped like a cartoon duck. 

[Holy fucking shit.] Stanley signed, his eyes widening. [Oh my gosh. That’s a button. And a duck.]

He could see an ivory-white smile on her face.

“It quacks,” she said, holding it out to him, “And I still have the friendship bracelet, if you want that as well.”

Stanley took the button, pressed it, and grinned emphatically at the quack. He pressed it a few more times, and then set it down on the coffee table.

[I’d love to exchange bracelets! I think I’ve got yours in my drawer.] he signed, and quickly went over to the nightstand drawer and rummaged around for a bit, before pulling out a bracelet that was incredibly pink and adorned with all sorts of little charms.

“Lovely,” she said, walking over to him. She reached into her pocket once again and pulled out a bracelet- various shades of beige, with yellow beads.

The two of them exchanged bracelets, tying them onto each others wrists, and looking over them appreciatively.

[That flower bracelet looks nice!] Stanley signed, after he finished playing with the beads on his bracelet.

“Oh, thank you! I grew it, apparently. Sora- you know about Sora?- Well, he- okay, context, he got a tumblr after I had Xigbar send a note, something something, we made fun of Xigbar’s dad together, he came to get us in BFD, briefly defended me from [nickname redacted] even though I told him not to- He got in front of me! Kid’s 17 and he got in front of me-” She waved it away, “Anyway, we get back, and then I get, Oh, the worst news of my life. And then a keyblade! Which is pretty cool. But it unlocked something, magically? And I sort of lost it? I have very little memory of the event. Xigbar says I ‘razed the earth’. I did not. But an-y-way, The Narrator comes out, Xigbar tells him to get Sora, he gets Sora, Sora calms me down somehow- I remember him saying ‘you’re my friend’ and then I grew the bracelet! It’s actually living flowers, see?” She held her wrist out for him to look, “and then I passed out. And! You won’t believe it- I woke up in my bed, to Xigbar and Sora playing Mario Kart. Like, in a friendly way?? Anyway, I’m totally taking him to Disney Land once this whole thing is over. If you wanted, I could probably hold a front round to smuggle you, and well- The Narrator if you wanted- out of the Parable if you wanted to come with us? A little variety in that time loop of yours?”

Stanley blinked, sat down on the sofa, and just sort of stared at the carpet, trying to parse through… all of that. The Narrator also mentally re-calibrated his thoughts– he had mostly just been in the apartment and had not realized this much had happened.

After a few minutes, Stanley looked up at the Showrunner.

[I… I’ll have to think about that, I think? I’m still… thinking. About all of that. I don’t really know if I understood all of that. But. I… would like to hang out with you? Uh.]

He turned to the Narrator.

[Do you want to go to Disney?]

The Narrator did want to go to Disney, but he also wanted to talk about this a bit more, so he shrugged as noncommittally as possible. “Maybe. I’ll have to check my schedule.”

The Showrunner raised an eyebrow.

[Okay.] Stanley signed, nodding in understanding. [Cool.]

He turned back to the Showrunner. [So, uh. Anything else happen? Is Xigbar still… well, he’s still here, I guess. But uh. Is he doing better? Less of a complete ass?]

“I think so,” She said, tilting her head, “But then, I wouldn’t really know, would I? He was nice to Sora, who’s killed him two times, if that’s anything. Apparently, Mario Kart was Xigbar’s idea, even. Let Sora be player one. That’s something, right?”

[Yeah.] Stanley signed, sighing. [I– I’ll probably talk to him on Tumblr first. I think I’m going to punch him if he says one more snarky fucking comment to my face.]

The Narrator raised a brow encouragingly in Stanley’s general direction.

“Better that than slonking him,” The Showrunner said with a sort of smile.

[The original plan was the other way around.] Stanley signed with a bit of a smirk. [But, yeah. Don’t need him for that at all anymore.]

“I’m glad. I’ve been feeling rather mythological lately. Not like Hera, more like-” She gestured with her hand, “Aegeus on the cliff, seeing the black sail and Say Pleasing himself onto the rocks below.” She paused, “But mythological nonetheless.”

[I– okay? Why have you turned say please into a suicidal phrase? I liked it.]

She waved her hand, “Honestly, I’m not sure how it happened. It still means what it used to mean. I think it happened on a phone call.”

[Okay.]

Stanley sighed and leaned back into the couch. [You, uhm– please tell me you stopped doing human experimentation?]

She blinked. “Yeah, I guess so.”

[Oh! That’s good.]

“Yeah.” She said, looking at her nails, “And I’ve stopped the death matches.” She sort of half-smiled.

[Nice.]

She blinked. 

[Like, yay! No more death. You’re, uhm, not going to start them again. Right?]

“Oh, no.” she waved that idea away, “They were an aberration because I wanted Xigbar gone. I no longer want him gone, clearly. Also, Sora would not. Like that.”

[And, so, no more human experimentation either.]

She tilted her head, “Weeelllllll,” She did a ‘so-so’ motion with her hand, “There’s, of course, [Name Redacted]. And if you’re going to protest-” She held out her hand-

[No, no I want his shit fucked up. Fucker. His ass gets thrown in the torment nexus.]

She relaxed slightly, “I’m glad you feel that way. I- I fear you don’t know the full extent of it. Just while you’ve been asleep, we’ve come to the realization that he is-” She made a face, “So. Much. Worse. Than even I thought, Stanley.”

[Oh, shit. Do you– is that something you want to talk about? With me?]

She crossed her arms, hugging herself. “I-  yes. I. Well. Most of it, later. Now- Like,” She leaned in slightly, her voice taking on a tone of gossip, “Xigbar, like totally knew. And he just didn’t tell me. I had to find out from his dad. His cult-ass dad in the woods with his devil-deal boytoy.”

[Oh, you gotta tell me more about that.] Stanley signed. He patted at the couch and looked at the Narrator.

[You guys. Come here. We’re gonna talk shit about Xigbar and also cuddle– in a fun friend way for you, {SCEPTER}, and in a fun boyfriend way for you, Narry, and also, I’m in the middle, so neither of you have to touch each other and get hives or something.]

The Showrunner tensed a small bit. He heard her tap on her leg or something. Clink clink clink. 

“I can just… sit.” the Narrator offered. “I’m rather tired, as a matter of fact. It’s been a lot of… it’s been a process, fixing you. I’d like to just… be. With you. For some time.”

“Yes-” She looked at the Narrator almost appreciatively, “You need rest. I saw how hard you were working.”

He nodded, sighed, and then sat down directly next to Stanley on his left, letting his partner lean into him and resting his head on Stanley’s shoulder.

Stanley sighed, and rested his hand on the Narrator’s calf and gave it a loving squeeze.

“I- I’m going to let you rest. I’ll check on my garden in the meantime. Stanley, you have my phone number, yes?”

[Uh… yeah. Xigbar wrote it down for me on some paper. It’s gotta be somewhere in here.]

“That’s good,” she said, “You can text me.” She glanced towards the door.

Stanley nodded.

“Alright,” She said, “Bye, Stanley. And farewell, Narrator.”

The Narrator gave a mumbled sound of appreciation, and nuzzled his head further, blocking out the annoying light. Wait, he could control that.

He waited for the Showrunner to leave, and then carefully dimmed the general light-levels of Stanley’s apartment.

“I’m so glad you’re back.” he murmured. “I missed you. I need you to be okay. I– Stanley, I was worried.”

Stanley wraps his hand around the Narrator’s, and gives a tight squeeze, and then he leans back, further pressing their two bodies together.

And that is enough for the Narrator to close his eyes and fully fall asleep.

(@white-boy-bracket)

[allycat75]

Jesus, Boston Dumb Fuck! Everytime I think you can't look more sad and pathetic, you find a way to surprise me!

But in all seriousness, you look like you are going to break with the next automaton scenario programming- there will only be that endless blue circle on your face. Contractual obligations or not, is there anyone around you who sees the strain and internal earthquakes that are fixing to take you down?

You didn't wear the Cali, hat so you didn't signal what is left of your fandom to assemble to help. You didn't even wear the NASA hat to acknowledge what a shitshow you have created. But we all know your handlers and their minions like to troll our blogs, so maybe you felt it unsafe. But for the love of all that is good and holy, there has to be someone around you who is an "enemy of Carlotta" and can offer you a hand.

Or could this be more of your manipulation by playing the victim? And thus lies the tragedy. You have become the boy who cried wolf and at a time when you actually could need saving, the last bridge has been burned and no one may be coming.

If nothing else, hug Dodger, since that is the only thing that comes out of your mouth I trust to be real. Prepare for this role as a deviant priest, if that is what he is (hopefully they have been doing some major script doctoring to tone down the Drive Away Dolls vibe; it rarely ever works, but y'all can try). Enjoy New Mexico, I hear it is lovely. You may not find ticks, but try to avoid the scorpions and rattlesnakes. You need to make this one count, since I hope this is your last Con for awhile. Let people get used to Mackie being Captain America, since that is the only reason people wait in line to meet you. It certainly isn't for Johnny Storm as you are now two actors removed from that role. People already try and paint you as creepy- don't be the dude hanging out in the high school parking lot well past his prime. Move on! From so many goddamn things.

Granted, I have only seen stills and heard about what you discussed at the con today, so I could be way off base. But from what I have gathered it was more of the same inorganic bullshit prearranged by your corrupt and incompetent team- just as everything you have done for at least the last two years, but I suspect you have run this con longer than you care to admit.

Well, that's all for now. I'll play myself out...

[rejectedbad]

Rejected Bad: Jetpack

The following is a rejected script from an early season of Breaking Bad.

INT. GUS' CAR - DAY

Walter, Mike, and Gus sit together in Gus' car, parked in the middle of the desert. They attempt to convince their attorney, Saul Goodman, to try out a new Jetpack they've acquired.

WALTER:  (excitedly)  Come on, Saul! This thing is top of the line. It'll change your life!

SAUL:  (nervously)  I don't know, guys. Jetpacks? Seriously? I've got an image to maintain. Plus, what if something goes wrong?

MIKE:  (grinning)  Relax, Saul. We've taken every precaution. This thing is foolproof.

Gus opens the car trunk, revealing a sleek jetpack with felt chicken wings attached to it. Saul's eyes widen.

SAUL:  (confused)  Felt chicken wings? Are you guys serious about this?

GUS:  (firmly)  Saul, the felt chicken wings are for added safety. Trust me, it'll stabilise the jetpack. Now, put that string cheese down and give it a try!

Saul hesitates for a moment but reluctantly sets the string cheese aside.

SAUL:  (muttering)  If anything happens to me, my estate better be in order.

Gus helps Saul strap on the jetpack while Walter and Mike watch eagerly. Once they're certain Saul is secure, they take a step back.

GUS:  (calmly)  Alright, Saul, just remember to keep your balance, and you'll be flying high.

Saul starts the jetpack cautiously, hesitating as the engine roars to life. With a nod from Gus, he lifts off the ground, nervously hovering a few inches in the air. But panic quickly takes over, and he clumsily crashes into a nearby crate of lemons.

MIKE:  (mocking)  Just as we suspected, Gus. Saul's not cut out for jetpacking.

SAUL:  (frustrated)  Damn it! I told you I couldn't do this! I need more string cheese!

WALTER:  (disappointed)  Alright, Saul. We get it. No jetpacks for you.

Gus, unwilling to let their investment go to waste, scans the area and comes up with an idea.

GUS:  (determined)  Fine. If Saul won't fly the jetpack, I will.

Saul watches from a safe distance behind the crate of lemons as Gus straps on the jetpack. With utmost confidence, Gus takes off into the sky, smoothly manoeuvring through the desert landscape like a pro.

Mike and Walter exchange astonished glances, not expecting this level of skill from Gus.

WALTER:  (amazed)  Gus, you were hiding your true talents from us!

MIKE:  (grinning)  Damn, Gus. You're a regular jetpack pilot.

As Gus gracefully descends back to the ground, Saul comes out from hiding, apprehensive yet curious.

SAUL:  (stammering)  Gus, you actually know how to fly that thing?

GUS:  (smiling)  It seems so, Saul. And trust me, it's exhilarating. But maybe this adventure isn't for everyone.

Saul nods, relieved but also a little disappointed deep down.

SAUL:  You know what, Gus? I'll stick to my string cheese and lawyer stuff. That's my specialty.

They all share a laugh, relieved to have made it through their unconventional jetpack experience unharmed.

FADE OUT.

[gillianthecat]

Walking up and down the stairs is exhausting right now.

Fahlanruk – episode 8

Ok, we're getting philosophical now. Whose voice is this?

I appreciate that Fah experiences all of his feelings in the shower. The actor did well on the body sculpting.

My favorite disaster child. You don't need to start this out by lying about Fah's game. Oh baby. Someone else stepped in to take care of him while you were gone pretending to be cool. Oh baby. You silly lying liar.

Is this the girl Tap went on one date with and then failed to hook up with before? If so, bold of him to call her to take care of him after that. Also she must really like him if she's willing to come help. Honey, I like you, but go focus your attention on someone more available please.

These goodbyes are cute. (So was Fah's and Sher's from the last episode). I love it when people don't want to leave each other, but things are too new for them to say it exactly, so they're just sweet and fumbling and reluctant.

Stalker BLs have got me trained: I fully expected that to be a box of photos of Gear. Instead it's just a product placement 😂 And barely a placement, more like they just interrupted the show for an ad that happens to star one of the actors.

The Significance of the Two Toothbrushes strikes again!

Is she going to check the closet too? Yes, she's checking the closet too.

All these BL boys are the neatest college students ever. I can guarantee you that my beloved disaster child's room would not be anywhere near that organized if he didn't have a set designer doing it for him. Perhaps the Ping & Tap labels; my boy does have a crush after all. But there would also be clothes strewn everywhere.

Oh shit 😂 She caught you sleeping in the café, disaster child. And she caught you lying about the tennis game 😂 The question is, what is she going to do with all this information? Is she going to look at this mess of codependency and decide it's not worth her time and go off and find some other cute boys to kiss? Or is she going to double down and become an interfering, manipulative faen fatale? Given the track record of this show I suspect the latter, but I can always hope.

Wait. Is this Mark's apartment from Love Mechanics (the second one)? The furniture is different, but the kitchen area and the shelf by the door look familiar. @callipigio, do you recognize it (visible around 10:35)? Should it get added to the list? Or maybe it's just a standard look for cheap modern apartments in Thailand. I'd have to look at Love Mechanics to check.

$25 Ping is drinking morosely alone.

Oh look. I owe myself $25 💳

Is that Rabitat shirt also from First's brand?

My babies 🥺

Also, I haven't said this yet, but I really like Ping's grey plaid pants.

My babies. Trying so hard to take care of each other and not get in each other's way 🥺

Was there always a voiceover? I don't remember it from previous episodes. Anyways, it's unnecessary, the actors and script are already conveying everything.

Ping. Oh my baby. Oh Ping.

Tap's pajama game is excellent.

Ooh, finally the tables turn and Fah is giving someone else relationship advice.

I think that every time Fah claims to be committed I'm just waiting for the inevitable moment that he grows bored or cheats or something. So I'm like Sher, apparently. I mean, presumably they end up together eventually but we do see Sher sobbing in the title montage every week, so clearly Fah's going to do something to break his heart at some point. All that is to say, it's hard for me to get excited about his expressions of devotion.

Also, I want to be happy for Pai to be shooting his shot with the campus hottie, but he's being such a creep about the whole thing that I can't 😕

Oh my god this fake ass injury and this fight 🙄😂 But who is this other tall super protective dude? Lol, for once Pink and I are on the same wavelength. Who is he? Not the mysterious Apo?

Ah, no. A "Charles" who knows Sher's twin. Lol, it's their half-brother. Thank goodness. It was either a relative or a whole new melodramatic plotline, and we don't need any new melodrama.

Speaking of which, where is Tam's amnesiac stalker ex? We haven't seen him in a while.

Sher, don't be so mean to poor Gear. Do make Fah jealous though, it's good for him.

Yay Prince! Set your boundaries. Don't start something with Gear if he's going to be jealous of your friendships. Also I like your blue shirt.

I would also say that Sher needs to set boundaries with a jealous possessive Fah, for the same reason. Except I like seeing Fah unhappy. Something about him just kinda makes me want to torture him. But also Fah, not cool, not cool at all.

Oh yeah Fah you fully deserved that slap.

And don't push Sher! He's got a injured ankle! I've returned from my brief vacation to Tolerating-Fah-land and am back in Loathing-Fah-ville. Get a grip dude. And wipe that pathetic look off your face, this is all on you.

Gossip about Fah that's actually relevant to their work and not just invasive nosiness? I'm honestly shocked.

Wait. Why is Charles there?

Oh Ping. My baby. You make me sad when you cry. At least you have a beautiful setting in which to be sad. It's probably good for them to have this rupture to move them to something beyond this pining stuckness, but it's so hard for both my boys. 50 missed calls 😢

Oh Tap. You are sad and confused both.

Oh god, everyone's heartbroken. We're having a cry-off. Prince, your tears make me sad too.

Fah. What the fuck. Are you doing. Is this an intentional thing to "get back at" Sher and try and make him jealous? Are you just living in your own head, oblivious to the people around you. I continue to not understand your brain.

Oh Sher. How I wish Fah was worthy of you risking your heart.

Wait. So no answer to the who is Apo question? It seemed like such a dramatic cliffhanger last episode I was sure they were going somewhere with that. Will we ever find out? Will the amnesiac stalker ex reappear? Only four more episodes to fit it all in.

Oh wait, looks like Apo at least will show up next week. And Fah is going to the creepy over invested girl for relationship advice? Eh 🤷🏻‍♀️

[wayoftheghost]

black ice

[#FFF180 Promise You’ll Write]

woooo a draining week, but always great to get a writing sprint in! I’ve been thinking a bit lately about new faces blowing up in the entertainment world and how insanely jarring it must be - this is something inspired by that! It felt fun and different to try this, thanks for reading! c:

Word count: 510

Tags: @flashfictionfridayofficial @writingbyricochet​ @helloliriels

Her show debuts on primetime television and everything that follows is a whirlwind of lights, green rooms, and blinding fame.

She hadn’t suspected the show would be such a hit. To have her once humble career now electrified with big name interviews, brand deals, script and project requests. To now be seen by all and so many.

She remembers what her sister, her best friend, had simply asked of her before she’d moved to this sunken city along the Pacific coast, this one that glimmers with promises of high art and cutthroat competition.

“Promise me you’ll write?”

She’d received the text message after reconnecting her phone to cellular service once her plane had touched down. Just a few hours ago, she had been waving goodbye and standing on her childhood suburban street. Now, she was in an unknown city. 

“Of course. Love you”.

The blue bubble had bounced back so quickly, easily with her thumb strokes. That had been nearly a year ago.  

She clicks off her phone’s display as a woman with striking eyes and perfect hair in soft, smoothed curls briefs her on her next press interview. She is to say this, avoid those topics, remember to laugh, but not too loud. It makes her anxious to not be in control of her own image, to know that a single mistake could shatter the illusion. But the fame was a consequence of her work, and she didn’t do all this for notoriety.

As the assistant talks, words buzzing and pointed like honey and wine, she sees the notifications blowing up her phone screen. Emails, likes, text messages flooding in so quickly that the banners can barely keep up. But nothing from the person she really wants to hear from.

At last, the woman exits, but not before telling her she has an hour lunch break until she’s due to the main studio. To make sure to eat something with protein and healthy fat. To take a cat nap if she damn well wants because this was going to be the only break in the day.

Then, with a click of the door she’s gone. 

She snags her phone and pushes out the makeup room and into the warm afternoon air. It’s sunny, bright. Palm trees wave gently. She checks her watch.

It’s still late morning back home. 

Her pulse hammers in her throat and sweat slicks her palms. She’s more nervous than any audition she’s ever had. Her jaw clenches as the line rings.

She hears a click and then the sound of her name. It’s a question, one that is touched by sleep and groggy disbelief. It’s Saturday, after all. 

“I promised I’d write to you, but how about a phone call?”

A tired laugh comes through the other end. There’s some bitterness there, and understandably so. But then the words come trickling forth.

Has she eaten yet today? What was the weather like? Any snow yet this year?

The topics are simple and safe, trivial even. Easy. It helps to crack the black ice between them.