#but no it’s just dev talking about josh

[lucky-clover-gazette]

i think i really like the dark pictures anthology because they put. so much freaking effort into every aspect of these games.

yeah the mocap is a little janky, yeah there are glitches, but they're working with what they've got in terms of funding and technology. it's the WRITING, man, that blows me away. what a (super)massive undertaking that must be!! the script writer for until dawn said in an interview that he used microsoft excel to keep all the branching story beats straight, and it was only after the game's release that the studio developed their own program specifically to write this flavor of game. so so so cool, are you kidding me??

until dawn gets so much love and deserves it, but i want more people to talk about dark pictures too. these games are just so earnest about what they want to be, and the creative integrity shown by the studio is refreshing compared to the majority of media that's designed to appeal to the widest audience possible. each story is completely unashamed to emulate a specific horror subgenre, and you can just tell the devs had fun when coming up with the plot, mechanics, and visuals.

and on top of that, they put in the extra thought and effort necessary to give these stories genuinely meaningful themes; in little hope, dealing with self-forgiveness in the midst of grief, in house of ashes, an anti-war stance that a lot of studios wouldn't touch for commercial reasons, and in the devil in me, commentary on art of all things. they could have totally just done a simple saw trap route a la josh's maniac setup in until dawn, but instead they made the overarching story about the artistic process, especially relating to macabre subject matter like true crime. of course there are still plenty of ridiculous saw traps and genre-typical cliches, but there's MORE to it than that, and the game probably would have sold just as well if deeper themes hadn't been included. if they don't know supermassive, people are most likely playing the game for the saw trap stuff, but surprise! this game has a really cool story too! it has fantastic execution of branching storytelling, brilliant atmospheric tension, and a mystery with the curator than spans over multiple games! i could say similar things about each of the other entries, that they go far beyond their gimmicks and deserve your attention.

i see the dark pictures games and think to myself, "yeah, these are where supermassive's creative passion really lies." say what you want about the quarry, but it felt dryer, less inspired, more phoning-it-in storywise compared to until dawn and dpa. it's still a cool game, but compared to dpa i just don't think it was supermassive's favorite project to work on. i almost wonder if some of the artistic commentary in the devil in me is a projection of the development staff having to split their time between dpa and the quarry, given the fact that both games were 2022 releases.

i don't really have a point here, except that the dark pictures anthology is a very cool and innovative flavor of horror media and i love it to bits. i can't play it, because i'd have a panic attack, but i sure do wish more people talked about it. and i'm SUPER excited to see what supermassive does next with dpa in directive 8020!!

[jesawyer]

Hi Josh,

I'm curious of your opinion as a person with lots of experience in the industry. I've talked to a coworker recently about our experience with Directors in different companies. We both seemed to agree that combining the responsibilities of a Head of Studio and Director into one person isn't the best idea, especially if the studio can afford to separate these roles into two people. I pointed out that I'd much rather see the Lead Designer drive the direction of the game, as they are much closer to the people that actually have to execute it.

Obviously, none of use are in these positions, we are just the recipient of the consequences. I wonder if you have some opinions to provide on the topic on who should drive the game's direction, and how much this person should also be involved in running the studio.

Thanks!

In my experience, the responsibilities of a game director and lead designer are much closer than the responsibilities of a studio head and game director.

In fact, I'd say there's virtually no overlap between what a studio head does and what a game director does. The studio head is responsible for the entire studio, encompassing everything from payroll to outsourcing contracts to interfacing with publishers. They're also responsible for steering the studio's future as a whole. The game director is not responsible for any of that but is responsible for the creative direction of their project, specifically. They interface with developers directly on a daily basis on creative and logistical issues.

A lead designer does the same thing but their scope is limited to design rather than every discipline (and they are subordinate to the game director). Ideally, the game director is giving clear direction but leaving space for the leads to work with their staff to achieve the vision. On larger projects, the game director simply doesn't have the bandwidth (or expertise) to continually direct the entire staff on individual tasks; that's why the leads exist.

Again, in my experience, the studio head spends so much time involved in things completely unrelated to day-to-day development that I think it would be extremely challenging to maintain their vision with the rest of the dev team.

There may be studios where the studio head hands off all of the logistics/admin tasks to other people and operates as the official or de facto game director but that seems odd to me, personally.

[seekdevotion]

*          𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐘𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐒     𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐃          :          mw fcs & personality types maybe ? this looks so good !

first of all : love you sweat ! i will point you towards 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 meaty mw fc list, bc many good points were made. but ! i'll also take this moment to self advocate and some will b repeats ... i would go absolutely feral for ella purnell ( duh ), laura harrier, jessica chastain, avan jogia, ben barnes, zion moreno, cillian murphy, blanca padilla, oscar isaac, margot robbie, tom hardy, alexa demie, riz ahmed, samara weaving, zendaya, tom holland, mimi keene, logan lerman, adelaide kane, victoria pedretti, andrew garfield, penelope cruz, emma mackey, charles melton, bill skarsgard, adam dimarco, medalion rahimi, natasha liu bordizzo, dua lipa, archie renaux, robert pattinson, freida pinto, florence pugh, dev patel, jessica alexander, oliver jackson cohen, halston sage, kiowa gordon, lily james, madelaine petsch, jordan connor, hande ercel, phoebe tonkin, nick robinson, savannah lee smith, emily alyn lynd, henry golding, rachel zegler, josh heuston, paul mescal ( i actually can't talk about it... ), daisy edgar jones, rami malek, lily rose depp, aron piper, adria arjona, olivia cooke, and that's just off the dome... now as for personality or character types ? why don't you go ahead & read more for some that have come to me ;)

any and all of the bunnies of mona awad's bunny - pretentious and beautiful budding literary icons , diehard devotees of "the aesthetic" ( or part of a cult most likely )

local carmy ? brilliant , celebrated , seemingly stuck in devo due to some unfortunate emotional ( or physical ) ties - maybe managing the diner or cheffin' it up at the whaler

ex - sea captain who is now devoted to hunting for treasure - both geocache and pirate style . some townspeople think they've lost the plot but others have noticed they really have a knack for this . obviously , quite the casanova

a well liked ghost therapist . came to town years ago as a ' spiritualist ' / more of a lowkey con artist medium but really came into their own in this environment

the seraphic matchmaker , wholesome , in love w love , just wants everyone to be happy , strikes gold every time to the point it is giving witchcraft , world's best and most in demand bridesmaid as a result !

charming and charismatic town official , great at drawing in a crowd and overseeing all the best local events . old money ( as much as you can be in this town , bc their family has always been here ) so obviously corrupt w very questionable morals

THE barber who does put everything you say in their chair on blast via their town meme page / finsta but customers stay loyal bc the only competition has a much darker reputation ( plot twist : and they were roommates ! )

ofc , new in towns / tourists with shady motives , to keep the locals on their toes

[destinyc1020]

I think dune 2 will do good in the box office but I personally don’t have high expectations for challengers. I think it will do okay but it won’t be a box office success mostly because of the subject not being everyone’s cup of tea. movies like that are very hard to commercialize.

plus with dev patel’s directorial debut produced by jordan peele coming in april too it now has a legitimate box office competition. and after that furiosa is coming. so i see challengers box office run very short.

I actually think the box office for "Challengers" will do pretty WELL honestly! 😃

If a film is done well, then people WILL talk about it. The movie seems to have a lot of intrigue as well, so that's also helpful. Don't underestimate Z stans and fans lol.

Plus, some ppl like Josh, Mike, and just Luca's films in general. 🤷🏾‍♀️

It might not make a BILLION at the box office, but who cares? Most films don't make that. This is an indie film anyway. It's NOT a "blockbuster". If it doesn't break records at the box office, it's not a big deal, because it's a smaller, indie film to begin with. 🤷🏾‍♀️

I actually think the film will do decently well at the box office, and even if it TANKS.... it's not a catastrophe at all. I think some fans need to stop putting so much pressure on films to be these box office giants. Some films are just not going to be that, and guess what, that's okay!

All I ask is to be entertained honestly lol 😆

[allqrcoded]

Devlog 5: Where are we headed? + Year end origin stories

Welcome back.

In all seriousness, I don't know how to number these things. Does the counter restart once the game you were talking about last dev log finishes production? Do you just keep on continuing despite now starting a new project? Either way, I'll go on & keep this as is. The year's almost ending and I feel like it's about time to announce the new game I'm working on (as if it weren't obvious that the MCs were revealed in my art blog months ago, but either way...)

With angel care officially being released on July of this year along with into sun&dark being a mini game jam project I sent out within the same time, there left a hole in my heart where handling a big project such as a game cemented itself in. Albeit, working on angel care has been a wild journey to say the least, but throughout it, I found out that telling stories through games allows me to merge the 2 things I love doing (writing & art). If making comics didn't click for me and solely writing a novel makes me worry about the specific character designs that might get lost, then making games is perfect.

Whilst the characters of angel care were solely made out of new OCs, Lucas and Del from sundark were actually repurposed characters from an old story I never completed. The universes weren't exactly the same, but the concept of doomsday remained. Rex from this new project, Descent to Negative Zero, follows the same repurposing. This time, it's about someone who comes back… Again, yes, but that trope is my favorite.

Origin stories

If you've been a follower of my art blog since last year, you might've seen a character I drew during October, Ace, with another character from a fandom I was active in (Daybreak.) He was a submission in a contest, but never got in, so I shelved him for a bit until this year, thinking that I could use him for an RPGMaker game in the future, since I always had the dream to make one (and guess where we are right now...) A bit dismayed because I had a fondness for him at that time, I clung onto that "maybe." And so, he sat there for a while, and eventually, my fondness for him faded away once I got the idea of angel care. Long live his skater boy and bunny motif along with his pink dyed hair.

And, look! Some drafts of the AC trio from last year too. But, moving onto Ace and fast forward to the final stretches of the AC bug-fixing hell...

(^ I remember back then that I really liked this final piece. Sometimes I keep thinking to myself that last year's events were from 2 years ago.)

My mind then drifted to Ace again... Disappearances and mist snatching, huh? Well, disappearing sounds good for a plot point, but I still need to work around the mist thing (Daybreak character entrails he left that I needed to clean up before he's completely separate from it.) The bunny motif and the pink hair were cute too. I wasn't too sure about the skater thing, so I decided to change it.

Long story short, he transformed from a skater to a shoegazer (my projection. I just wanted to include that song genre into this because I love it and for the sake of OST potential too). Kyle (the dude I used to draw him with a lot) needed a replacement too, so thus, his skater boy gene got transferred to Josh, his new best friend. Whilst that whole tangent was a big factor in the repurposing stage, in terms of clothes, Rexosh both wear some items in my closet that I just took and adjusted a bit -- both came from thrift stores, actually! Knowing that, I decided to make them thrifters and have them go to one in an early game flashback.

Right now, I don't have the jacket Josh wears because that's being tailored, but most of the elements are inspired by that.

I won’t spoil too much of the plot, but I will say that it’s connected to one of my previous games. Dt-z almost became a short summer visual novel until sundark came along and replaced it instead. Whilst its main element in the story stayed the same, it turned more puzzle-focused in the end.

Progress report/since when?

Starting up the project during summer, it’s been around four months since I made the first (yes, since it did get corrupted in some instances) RPGMaker file for it. Right now, I’m around coding the mid-point of the game with a bunch of placeholders in the project to get the ball rolling in the coding space since making parallax maps takes a while for me. Dt-z is more visually out there than AC, with the use of shadow overlays and what not. Making them for dozens of maps is a bit tedious (so, that’s why I’m putting that job in the late coding stage), but the end result is stunning.

As I’m writing this, I’ve paused on coding one of the mid-game puzzles. Surprisingly, I get a lot of stuff done in the weekends with this project. Making the solutions for them is a bit time-consuming, yes, but seeing it play out makes it worth it. Unlike AC, I don’t have all the time in the world to work on this game because of IRL matters, etc. So, the fact that I still managed to get a good amount of progress in just 4 months is pretty good. The dialogue doc for this game is also done in areas regarding important cutscenes, including a rough draft of what the end game would be like (right now, it's longer than AC's script page count wise! Maybe that's because I included some flavor text there.) I still have to adjust aspects of the script to keep their situation plausible there, but other than that, it's good. Without any context, here are some screenshots of what the maps look like from October and a recent one I took:

Albeit, I still need to adjust some things accordingly, but since this project is still in its baby stage, I'm not prioritizing that sort of thing right now.

So far, I'm trying to avoid the trend of RPGMaker game puzzles needing to find a key in every room and while puzzle making is a thing I'm not that experienced with, I realized that I took most of my inspiration with them with the games I've been playing these months, Death Mark and Spirit Hunter: NG.

Of course, me picking up those games wasn't because of wanting to take inspiration from them first — I just wanted a way to de-stress, but after a bit, I took some mental notes in my mind. NG's puzzles are very satisfying to solve. Whilst this dev log isn't focused on what games I played for the month, let's just say that I preferred NG over DM for a variety of things.

Moreover, I've been adjusting the endings and the way you get lore tidbits through the story to make the true end of the game pack more of a punch so that by the time you go ending hunting, you won't get dragged down by the same realizations the characters go through. There's a lot of flavor text I have to write, essentially.

Let's talk about themes

Continuing the trend of wanting to explore themes close to my heart in my bigger projects, Dt-z is in the same light with AC. Whilst the mood is entirely different (color palette not so cool/winter, characters being younger, even the premise being puzzle focused), Dt-z's themes were the ones that more or less defined my summers, just like how AC defined my winters (even if where I lived didn't snow, but, nevertheless, the phrasing still sticks).

I like to think that making art, helps me process stuff a bit and that's why I still got an itch in me to take up another big project similar to AC despite me knowing that this year would be busier than the last. I'm remaining vague here to not spoil the entire plot of it, but let's say that I hold the message I want to say through this dear to my heart. There's a lot I want to say regarding these two games (including sundark!), but I want to work on letting my audience make up their own conclusion on the work just based off the content without my involvement.

Albeit, as an artist, I've always had this selfish desire in me to want everyone to get this one conclusion — this one reading on what I worked on because with every piece I make, there's always a message I want to tell. But, through the years, I've gotten to the point where I stopped pseudo-denying the fact that people aren't like that. I've started even enjoying other readings of my work because through them, I get to see more perspectives I haven't even considered whilst keeping the main point in mind. So, let's just say that AC is about death and angels and winter and friendship and love. And with Dt-z, it's about love too because love is just universal.

Thanks for coming

Restraining myself from talking more about Dt-z's details… In summary, I've been enjoying working on this project. Rexosh really are fun to draw & I want to share their story sometime once I'm finished. I want to write more trivia blogs later on with my released games (especially AC because I have a lot to talk about there), but for now, I'll keep on going.

[leam1983]

Microsoft and Project Pluto

I've been doing some digging around Microsoft's future plans, seeing how more or less astroturfing several manufacturers into releasing TPM 2.0-compliant potatoes that can barely run Windows 11 seems to have gone over well.

Welp, their long-term goal is to lock down AMD and Intel-based compliant systems to be forced to execute and sign on Microsoft code alone. As in, no bootloader, no Linux, no picking the most lightweight option for your server stack if you're in IT professionally - Windows or bust. Installing Linux on machines like this would force hardware devs to issue the proper certs on their own, instead of working like they have for the past twenty or so years and just close their eyes, agree to a standard - usually Microsoft's - and hit Go. There's also talks to tie Windows Update with your system kernel, which means that in practice, the House that Gates Built could steal a page from Ubuntu and find a way to issue kernel revisions while the OS is still running. It's also possible that they could use that to push non-mandatory, but recommended updates onto you, potentially undoing previously-used features or maybe bricking your rig, depending on your hardware setup.

Seeing how Satya Nadella's response to entry-tier hardware barely managing to run Windows 11 as their stock OS was to basically shrug and go "Welp, just go buy a nicer PC! Here's a list of affiliates!", I think we can fear the worst.

If it really falls down to motherboard or chip manufacturers not taking whatever payola M$ might hit them with, we're effectively screwed. We've known for years, now, that Microsoft wants to lock down the PC ecosystem to something closer to Apple's own walled garden. Their stated pretense is usually added security at the corporate level, but I'm really dreading the future of what's both my job and my hobby if it all boils down to me choosing a locked-down box with an apple-shaped logo or a locked-down box with four squares on it.

Windows worming its way into my firmware's microcode.

The very thought makes me queasy. Oh, and all the normies are going to settle with an eye-roll and a sigh, of course. I've heard it all before. "They're making computers easier to use, isn't that a good thing?! Whatever man, you'll whine and bitch and then load up Steam to benchmark things as usual, so why the Hell do you care that much?"

This isn't about ease of use. This is about control. I own every screw, every chip, every via and fan blade in my two rigs. I own them. The data that's on them is also mine, within reason.

If Microsoft has its way, we'll all be subletting our ability to do our damn jobs, as fucking dystopian as it seems. How the fuck do you think sysadmins at the corporate level are going to take to someone at Microsoft pushing a revision on Windows 12 or whatever, and settling with a pithy apology for all the late-in-cycle computer parks and IT budgets they've just ruined? Fuck, my boss practically has a panic attack whenever one of the kids in the call centre fucks up a headset or a mouse pad; I can't imagine how she'll take to repeated wholesale overhauls of our workstations because someone at Redmond decided to shorten the shelf life of a perfectly good product!

One of the top dogs came up to me a few days back and started joshing around. "But seriously man, why are you making us use Linux, bro? Like, everyone knows Windows!"

I smiled. "You're running off of a reskinned Ubuntu MATE, Steve, because if I asked you to buy me ten thou's worth of Windows 11 licenses and then told you we'll need to add new hardware to make 'em run, you'd rip my badge from my jacket, piss in my trash can and send me home without so much as a please and a thank you. Using my method, all you had to deal with was one afternoon's worth of file migrations and budget enough for eight PowerPoint slides, a twenty-minute break and some extra coffee, to train everyone."

Sometimes, small-to-medium business heads can be absolute idiots.

[finnofamerica]

When She Sees Me - Devon Reed X Reader

Summary: Your friends Set you and Devon up on a blind date.

Word Count: 1,574

Date Posted: 08.13.2022 Note: Requested by @isolatedgingernerd. This is the first thing I've written in like two years, so please excuse any spelling errors. It may take me a minute to get back into the swing of it.

|| Masterlist || Request Here ||

Devon tapped an anxious beat on his thigh as the rest of They Might Be Wolves talked over a game of pool. Josh’s basement was cozy. Really it was Josh’s dad’s “Man Cave” but since the man was on a “business trip” every other week, the young men had commandeered it.

“Devon. Hello?” A drumstick hit the couch next to Devon, Ripping him from his thoughts. Josh looked to Dix with raised brows, long curly brown hair half up in a bun. Dix, however, was staring directly at Devon, expectation all over his face. 

“What?” Devon asked, blinking slowly. 

“We’ve been trying to get your attention for like 5 minutes.” Everett, the elder of the Reed brothers, said calmly, focused on his shot. The loud clack of the pool balls resonating through the room.

“What’s on your mind, Dev?”

“Nothing.” Devon looked down at his lyric journal, hoping to get the attention off of him. He let out a nervous breath before looking back to his friends. “No judgment?” 

“‘Course not. We’re a family.” Dix scoffed, plopping himself down on the couch next to his friend. Moved the journal out of the way, and left his legs to take their place in Devon’s lap.

“I like real things. I don’t like guessing games or when I feel things before I know the feeling. How am I supposed to operate when I’m tossed around by fate?” Devon sighed, knowing he was about to delve into a new topic. “I know you set me up on this unexpected date, but what if when she sees me he doesn’t like it and runs the other way? What if when she sees me she’s only disappointed and I’ve given myself away only to be thrown back?” 

“I think you’re worrying too much,” Josh commented. His typical zen attitude does little to calm his friend's worries. “You are lovable.” Everett ruffled his brother's hair. “If she doesn’t love you, you are loved by us.” 

“Finnlyn please, I don’t know this guy. What if he’s a criminal? A psycho! What if he follows me home, takes my license plate number, and stalks me? What if he comes in the middle of the night and smothers me in my sleep?” You fiddled with your hands nervously.

“Then I think you should watch fewer crime shows. They are making you paranoid.” Finnlyn laughed. “He’s in the band, Y/n/n. He’s safe.” 

“I’ve never even spoken to him. I’ve only seen him at performances.” 

You thought back to the sound uncomfortable bar that They Might Be Wolves play in regularly. The way the lights highlighted Devon’s black hair. Always in the back, usually crouched over a piano, or trying to hide behind his guitar. You felt your cheeks get hot thinking about the man that you’ve had a crush on for the past month.

What if when he sees me I like him and he knows it? What if he opens up that door and I can’t close it? What if when he holds me my heart is set in motion? I’m not prepared for that. I'm scared of breaking open. The thoughts echoed in your head as you fixed your skirt nervously as you as at the table in the diner. Two glasses of water are set in front of you as you wait for your date. A lily sitting on the table as requested by Finnlyn. That being the indicator of who Devon was supposed to be meeting. Your shoes squeaked on the tile floor as your leg bounced rapidly. 

“Excuse me.”

You looked up from the table, and there he was. Devon Reed, just as your friend had described him.

“Are you who I’m meeting?” He asked, smiling nervously. 

“I’m Y/n.” You smiled, taking in his crisp t-shirt, and outstretching your hand for a handshake. “Finn’s friend.”

“I thought I recognized you. I’ve seen you at a few shows.” 

“Yeah,” You smiled easily now, “I don’t like going out much, but when Finn told me about the band that plays regularly, I had to check y’all out.” 

Dinner went by surprisingly smooth. You told Devon about how you and Finnlyn were in a home together, and kept in touch. He told you about how the band came to be. 

The more you laughed together the more you could feel yourself falling for him. The feeling terrified you. When Devon walked you back to your car and wished you a goodnight you found yourself wanting to see more of him but not wanting to get too close. 

“Here is my number.” Devon handed you a napkin from the diner. 

“Thank you.” You tucked it away for safe keeping. 

That night you sat awake in your bed staring at those ten digits, debating what to do. You wanted to see more of that man that’s become the object of your affection. You wanted to know him inside and out. You wanted him to know you. Would he like what he found? Was it worth the risk? What if you got hurt again? 

You punched the number into the phone before you could change your mind. 

One ring. 

Two. 

“Hello?” A sleepy voice came through the other end. 

“Devon?” 

“Y/n?” 

“Yeah.” 

“What’s up. It’s 2 am?” His voice was soft and concerned. 

“I, uh, I want to get to know you. Do you think we could hang out sometime?” 

“Of course. Can we make plans in the morning? It’s really late and I’m half asleep.” “Yeah, of course. Goodnight Devon.” “Goodnight Y/n.” The line clicked as he hung up. You settled back in your bed, hugging your charging phone to your chest, nervous but looking forward to the morning. 

“Guys,” Devon burst into the garage the next day, “I’m in love with her.” 

“Already?” Everett gasped. “She’s beautiful.” He smiled, collapsing onto the couch, and coincidentally on top of Josh and Dix who were napping. “She’s so sweet.” 

“That’s all well and good Devon. I’m glad you like her, but if you tell her that you’re in love with her you’re gonna scare her off. You need to take it slow with her.” Finnlyn spoke up from where she was sitting on the floor, concern for her friend written all over her face. 

“I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll go as slow as she wants.” Devon grinned dreamily. “I’ll write her a hundred songs. A Thousand.” 

Hey Y/n. I was thinking about what you said last night. Would you like to hang out at rehearsals tomorrow?

Yeah! That sounds like a lot of fun!

Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough for you. You spent hours that night fussing over an outfit appropriate for a band rehearsal. Eventually settling on a t-shirt and shorts. 

Timidly you approached the front door of the dress given to you. Bringing yourself to knock. An older lady answered the door. 

“Hi I’-“ 

“You’re here to see the boys?” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

“Dear, call me Marjorie. Come in, come in.” She ushered her in. “Not often do they bring a girl over, who are you here to see?” 

“Devon, Ma’am.” Her stare caused you to quickly correct yourself. “Marjorie.” 

“Well,” She grinned, “Quite the shy one, he is, but I can’t say I’m surprised a stunner like you caught his eye. They are in the garage dear, just through that door.” 

You thanked her and entered the garage. You could hear a new song being played as you snuck in. Immediately your eyes found Devon, propped up on a stool, blue eyes closed as he lost himself in the song. It was a love song that you were sure Everett wrote for Finnlyn. The man would do anything for her. You took a seat on the far side of the room, glad that they weren’t playing so loud as to hurt your ears. 

You watched as Devon mouthed the words that Everett sang, clearly knowing the song well. Such an intimate performance causing you to see the band in a whole new light. As the song came to a close, Devon’s eyes fluttered open. Icy blues locked on yours immediately as as smile broke out on his face. 

“Dev, you gonna introduce us to your friend?” The blonde prompted, setting his own guitar down on a stand. 

“This is Y/n.” Devon said proudly. “Be nice.” 

The blonde had no qualms marching right over and introducing himself. 

“I’m James, tho everyone calls me Dix. And before you guess why, it’s because I’m a dick.” He laughed. “Just ask Josh. He’s known me since birth basically.” 

“Pre-school, but nice try.” 

“Uh that’s the birth of an educated Dix.” 

“You consider yourself educated?” Everett piped up, causing Dix to stick his tongue out at him. “I’m Everett, Devon’s big brother.” 

“It’s nice to meet you,” You giggled at their antics. Very soon they were back to their rehearsal. 

It was late when you finally getting to spend some time alone with Devon. The three stooges having gone out to “find girls to flirt with.” You rested your head on Devon’s shoulder as a movie played on the projector screen that Josh’s dad installed a few weeks ago. 

“Devon?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I think I like you, but I don’t wanna get hurt or you to leave.” 

“I’ll go as slow as you want. This is new to me too, and Darlin you’re never ever getting rid of me.”  

Tags: @isolatedgingernerd

[vatt-world]

hi

movie star

I think we should start looking at the blocking.

Josh, you want to set that up?

Right, thanks, Rebecca.

Oh, thanks.

It's okay?

Yup. welcom to rebecca im good

//

So…Marilyn Monroe, she was part of the, you know,

the actor's studio.

Mm-hm.

We should see it. The classes, the characters.

Okay, the problem with that is that in this scene

we just don't really have enough time to get into all of that.

But that's exactly my point.

There really isn't time in any of the scenes

to dig into her psyche.

They're too short.

I mean, personally, I'd rather see longer scenes

and a little less singing and dancing.

Heh, well, it is a musical after all.

Yeah, but it doesn't mean it can't be deep and smart.

I mean, and that song, it's boring.

I mean, it should be more fun.

Okay, you know what?

Um, this sounds like a longer conversation.

Wha…Uh…

I'm driving you crazy, aren't I?

No, not at all.

Yes, yes, I am, I know.

I'm such a pain in the ass.

[Cars honking]

Boring! She thinks my music is boring.

It might be a little less boring //

You see? This is exactly what I'm talking about.

This scene, it's just getting started

when suddenly I… ? Break into song ?

You know what?

Uh, this sounds like a sidebar conversation.

I didn't want to interrupt the rehearsal, the--

Not to worry.

I think everyone could probably do with a break.

Okay, that's ten.

Oh, um, don't forget. // And if she wants you to write an extra-long scene

before dig deep, you will write that extra-long scene

and you will have it on my desk by 5:00, understood? // Anyway, the real reason I came by

is to talk about the scene.

I just got the pages from Julia.

It's inspired.

She's such a talent.

Mm, I agree.

In fact, it gave me so many other ideas

on how to deepen the rest of the show.

Oh.

I'd love to get everyone together for a pow-wow. // ou run a bar in the city

you're gonna get your hands dirty.

But if you're looking for a way out of this with me,

you're don't have to hire a Detective.

Just tell me you're not interested.

I'm not looking for a way out.

It's just…

I've been through a lot.

Okay.

So now we're getting somewhere.

And I'm out of practice.

You can take this as slow as you want.

You're the one who's always rushing around.

I'm just such a… //

We have a lot to show you.

Wonderful.

Okay, ladies and gentlemen,

let's take it from the top, please.

Rebecca, you ready?

You better believe it.

The challenge for the act is to use sense memory

of childhood trauma.

All: ? Aaah, use the past ?

The actor must deploy the conscious

and dig in to the unconscious.

The challenge for the actor is to learn to be private.

I dig it the most.

I'm through with Hollywood.

It's New York and the actor's studio for me.

And if any of those boys from Hollywood come a'calling,

you can tell them I said this… // rebecca unable to sing tom says great they will sit down she is on key find costructive solution we need ivi back real ivi need tosing debra and tom ivi enters rececca sings with tom dev and kathy talk rebecca talks to derek actors studio songs boring

she thinks boring - tom angelina calls

alright nick whats wrong with u rebecca with acting coach - derek ex bf comes write that scene to tom - angelina rebecca with angelina talk about scene other ideas rally the troops derek meets angelina keep it tht way rebecca meets team u need bigger skin - angelina meets bartender i have been thru a lot derek - challenge for actor

publicity kathy and derek talk can we start something idea what r u doing tonite i hate her y dont u direct she cant sing it let them in who should sing it karen will sing they exchange clothes - kathy rebecca i texted u dev u never came home movie star problem smoothies no free minutes i having food with rebecca in indian restaurant i want to be keith richards can i borrow ur phone stop messing around with me she went home voice on ur head i think marlyn should sing that song

Karen, can I talk to you for a moment, please?

Sure.

Everything okay?

Why, did I do something wrong?

No, no, sorry.

I'm just letting you know I won't be needing you anymore,

obviously.

For Marilyn, I mean.

You won't be needing me?

I wouldn't be so sure of that.

No, I mean, Rebecca's gonna be needing all my attention.

And I'm just the understudy. I get it.

Don't worry, Derek //

understudy

she doesntshowup star plane hicup u want to understudy kathy - derek asks i know all the blocking iva i was a mess -iva dev and kathy meet times sq walk trian wreck mom and kid eva she walks thru times sq music kathy sexual harass tells dev rebecca will be soon angelina in bar talks to bartender bartender gives money derek u can be smarter towel dance songwriter/tom sings kathy do u have a pencil …gives her direction derek bartender makes him meet rockstar kids perform angelina meets rockstar -- nolimit to return kathy /eva walk thru times sq debra and kid talk tom and date talk at coffee ..reading newspaper debra calls husband angelina on computer just do it derek angelina bartender u introduced us kathy at home /derek comes u did great work/ i want to apologise derek meets boyfriend fight karen bf hit me why dont u start call u bombsell latest investor - randy cobra debra in restaurant kathy singing infront of derek rebecca duvall comes

hell on earth its a lot i have a audition tom and bf meet republican fundraiser ava with pills i worked ass of on that workshop going thru stars we need title whats the problem finish the script can we get hughes ivi len rushes maryln workshop talking i got the commericial greenscreen costume tom and gal talk ivi works as background marlyn on brooklyn bridge it wasnt anything she wears green screen debra husband meet michael u came to my house we are looking with new director she lands everything iva im not sick of that sick what are u reading ivi's glasses ivi takes tablets replacing with derek with hughes are u in or out he puts on backup uniform she sees tablets ivi are u there ivi walks out u are about to go on u didnt fight enough ivi dad is leaving kathy and ivi become friends they dance at times sq ivi falls flat on bed its 5am i would not answer phone thanksfor meeting out here they come up with title bombshell

[thetoxicgamer]

Diablo 4’s most deadly annoyance is “not intentional”

You are placed in a dangerous world in Diablo 4, and it is your responsibility to avoid getting hurt. When playing as specific Diablo 4 classes, certain effects can get lost in the commotion, but for the most part, the RPG game makes it quite clear when something is terrible for your health. Being unaware of potentially harmful ground effects is one of the most annoying ways to die in Diablo 4, but fortunately, Blizzard's development team is just as susceptible to them as you are, and they are working diligently to change that. A lot of things in Diablo 4 explode, or drop pools of poison, fire, or other nasty substances on the ground that will cause you a very bad time if you stand on them. When it’s all kicking off, it can sometimes be difficult to realize that you shouldn’t be standing right there until it’s too late. Personally, it’s those yellowy, gunky explosions that catch me off-guard – even now, they often don’t register to my brain as a reason I shouldn’t stand around picking up the loot that just popped out. Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson and the game’s associate production director Tiffany Wat are both Necro mains, meaning they’re even more acutely aware of the problem as fans of the ‘Blighted Corpse Explosion’ ability used in some of the best Necromancer builds. The effect this causes on the ground can make seeing other dangers particularly difficult to spot. “One thing you and I both experience a lot with our Necro play is the blighted corpse problem,” Fergusson says to Wat during a developer campfire chat, joking, “I think Josh calls them ‘corpse farts’ – it’s not my favorite term.” Quite, but I fear it may stick now. Fergusson continues: “We know that because of the opaqueness of that effect, sometimes there can be an explosion waiting for you underneath there and you can die.” “That is one of the things we are fixing ,” Wat confirms. “I actually care a lot about this because I use blighted corpse on my Necro. With all the corpse farts on the ground – now that is canon,” she notes to Fergusson’s visible delight, “it’s very difficult for me to see a lot of the affixes or some of the enemy or PvP fire on the ground, so I’m looking forward to those changes.” This change isn’t just designed for Necro, however. Wat remarks, “I know there was some discussion of ‘is this intentional?’ It’s not intentional, we will be fixing it and making it a little bit easier, in general, to see which are the dangerous effects on the ground – making sure that’s always readable to the player, and that our sort order is correct. If there’s a fire enchanted, which is the affix that gets me, that I can definitely see it.” As a Rogue main myself, I’ve definitely run into a similar issue with my poison traps – the green pool of death looks lovely, but it almost always takes me a while to realize that my enemy has responded in kind with a pool of their own that I shouldn’t just be standing in, and it blends a little too closely with those aforementioned pus-yellow bursts as well. So I’m very glad to hear this is high on the team’s task list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PO9OY7AIs4 Elsewhere in the chat, the team talks about several other big changes including how gems in your Diablo 4 inventory will be given a new home, and plans to cut back dramatically on all that Diablo 4 seasonal busywork for your future characters. Development of a live service game is always an ongoing process, but I’ve been pretty impressed by the overall approach the team has taken so far – and their transparency with players. While we await the arrival of Diablo 4 season 1, you’ll probably want to figure out what you enjoy playing most, so be sure to check out the best Diablo 4 builds for some fantastic ideas because we’ve consulted with Blizzard devs for their personal favorites along with the picks of our own loot-loving experts. Read the full article

[veryimportantsparkles]

I really need to do more shilling for Josh the Boyfriend’s project!  Neon Divide (formerly Callous Row) is a giant VRchat roleplay, played by over a 100 players and streamed by most of them.  It’s so hard to explain that.  Imagine a tabletop game like Dungeons and Dragons, but done over a 3d chat client.  So some interactions are pure improv acting, based on the players being able to speak and gesture to interact with each other realistically.  But occasionally the game mechanics require a DM to roll a dice (mostly for technical skills).  But also, Neon Divide has a dev team that coded a bunch of custom stuff into their maps so that they can use functional weapons and track damage and effects.

I’ve talked about Neon Divide a little, and done art for it (hmmm, I should update the tag to reflect the name change) but I can never figure out a good way to explain it.  I’m not an expert; I’ve never used VRchat myself, nor do I follow any of the players other than Josh.  It’s a huge setting, you can follow one player’s streams and never encounter half the other players.  They’re spread out across four separate maps with their own overarching storylines, there are several factions in-world, and of course there are little cliques of characters who hang out with each other.  I could probably give a good summary for Josh’s season 1 and 2 character, Johnny, but he’s DEAD and it’s TRAGIC.

For season 3, Josh is one of the DMs of the Upper City map.  ND is a space cyberpunk setting, taking place in a galaxy divided up between seven megacorporations.  Each corp has a branch office on the planet Hellion, which is a distant, backwater dump planet, and they’re fighting over resources and exploiting the residents in order to prove themselves to their respective main offices.  The Upper City is where (most of) the corporate characters live and work, meaning that Josh is the dungeon master of villain town.  Josh wrote a bunch of new systems for them to use, he calculates out their company stock prices and officiates “bureaucratic combat” (sneaky contract deals), a long with a bunch of other stuff that has yet to come.  The image above is my art for his character, a mad scientist doctor dog.  Every DM gets ‘DM hands,’ an avatar that’s just two sinister floating arms that can roll dice.  Josh put a skull pattern on his, because that’s how he does everything.

You could watch Neon Divide through nearly any of the gajillion characters.  I’m not familiar with a lot of them, but now that Josh is a DM if you watch his perspective you can see him jump around between characters who need dice rolls and lore info.  Sometimes he voices NPC characters (through a phone or through a generic avatar) to push the plot.  So watching him is a decent intro to the other characters on his map.  ‘Episodes’ happen every Friday, and we’re two weeks in.

Episode 1

Episode 2

Ep 1 had a lot of fussing around with technical stuff and was mostly just characters introducing/establishing themselves.  A slow start, as to be expected.  But episode 2!!!  I’m surprised by how many shenanigans are kicking off, the villains are all villaning at each other and it shows so much potential.

This is my long-winded plea to take a look at Neon Divide.  I’ll probably start posting here when episodes start, so take this as the main explanation of what I’m talking about.  Even if you don’t end up following Josh (we also use the Hundera account for streaming normal video games, in which I usually appear as well), check out some of the other players and see if anyone clicks for you.  It’s way more interesting than I can fully explain!

[jesawyer]

Guten Abend, Josh!

My name is Steve and I’m a Game Designer (albeit on the dark side of the industry - mobile games) and I have question that I hope you can elaborate on a bit.

First I want to mention though that I’ve seen many of your videos and talks, but the one that resonated with me the most was “Game Direction on Collaborative Teams”. I seem to naturally fall into lead roles and I’ve learned a lot via this talk - I think it made me a better designer and quite frankly a less obnoxious lead. So my heartfelt thanks for that.

Considering a lead or directorial design role in a given project (similar to the ones you often have) I’m wondering how you deal with the challenges that naturally arise from the other side of game development - publishers.

I find myself often in similar situations as with the development team itself - lots of discussions, explaining/selling/defending a vision and unfortunately added politics.

Due to publishers virtually always being the people financing the game you’re building, you have to make compromises - sometimes ones that keep you up at night, because you deep down *know* it makes the game worse. No matter how much invest in explaining/pleading or even ranting, you can’t convince the other party and the decision has been made.

I’m pretty sure you know exactly what I’m talking about as the F76 jersey in your talk did not go unnoticed. With that said, i’d love to hear any insights, tips or experiences you have with working with publishers.

Danke fürs lesen und ich würde mich über eine Antwort sehr freuen!

Viele Grüße aus Berlin,

Steve Haßenpflug

Hi, Steve. Thanks for the kind words on my talk. I'm glad it's useful.

Thankfully I haven't had to deal with a publisher much on my last few projects. Pillars of Eternity and Deadfire were crowdfunded, and while we had partners for PR, marketing, and distribution, they didn't have any say in how we made the game. We had a different set of expectations from backers, but I'd rather deal with backer/player expectations than publisher requests any day.

Making games is a marathon and there are only so many fights you can keep up over the course of development. You have to triage issues to keep the project/morale healthy. Sometimes I have to step back and ask myself, "What is the impact of this bad thing?" There are times when I know someone is asking for something bad and dumb -- but if it's not expensive and the badness of it is not catastrophically bad... maybe just let it go.

Save the knock-down-drag-out fights for the truly stupid things, the requests that will make the experience significantly worse for the majority of players.

Also, try to recognize when a compromised position is worse than either extreme. Too often, devs make compromises that no one is happy with because it represents a partial win, or some sort of obvious movement away from the thing they didn't want. Sometimes these decisions can be worse than allowing the thing they don't like to fully manifest.

I always try to keep everyone focused on the experience we're trying to create and the audience we're trying to make it for. If people get caught up in what they personally like or don't like, arguments can become intractable. I'm not saying what you like doesn't matter. It's very important! But if everyone is just arguing on the basis of personal preference, it's very hard to actually move anyone's opinion.

Anyway, these are the things that have helped me. Good luck.

[chandelier-s-notebook]

As per this post by @fridgeza I’ve written a fic. @starriiq asked for a tag.

There will be more. This is more of a foundational piece than what you were asking for. We will get there.

Also I talk about SMPEarth2. I think I saw something, but it might be speculation. Don’t get your hopes up because of this fic.

-----------------------------------------------

Tommy is a ghost. And much like Wilbur Ghostbur, he forgets the bad things.

When you loose enough lives, and three cannon shots ring out, there are two options for your spirt. To move on, or to spawn in a place of comfort. A place called home.

- - -

The Sleepy Bois hadn’t been home for a while. In fact they never really were. No. That’s mean and cruel. His older brother was dead. His father had killed said older brother. And Techno. (because Techno)

Tommy missed MCC. It was the only time where is family had felt like a real family. Dressed in a fluffy little purple panda vest. Held up high like the champion he was.

But those days were long gone. It didn’t matter. He was dead.

- - -

GhostyInnit resapawned appeared in the Portals to the Worlds Hall. The place he considered home had shut down. The he people he considered home had spread to the winds.

He didn’t know what to do. Who to go to. Where to go to.

He could feel a pull to a few different portals. The strongest was down in the public worlds, Hypixle. Another faint pull towards the Discard Chat Room. Another to the whitelisted worlds of Dream SMP and the locked SMPEarth portal.

He was at a loss. Where to go?

- - -

Ghostbur popped out of the Dream SMP portal. He skipped confidently down to one of quartz whitelisted worlds portals. He padded the lost boy, before coming back for a double take, “Tommy?”

“Hi,” he said in a small voice. He didn’t ahve many memories of this character. Something about a Prime Log and a compass pointing to his friend Tubbo.

Why did he feel a stab of pain at the thought of Tubbo? Ouch. Maybe he should stop.

He knew enough to know that he sounded like Wilbur though. And he looked a bit like him. If not grayed out a bit. But Tommy was his name. And he was more grayed out than he was in the few memoires he has left.

He guessed he was dead. And so was Wilbur.

“What are you doing here Tommy?” he asked with a carefree smile on his face.

“I don’t know. I think I’m lost.”

“Oh. Okay. The Dream SMP portal is just over there.”

Pain. “I don’t wanna go there.”

“Why not?”

“Just don’t wanna.” Why didn’t he want to go? Pain. Oh, right. “I don’t fell like it.”

“Oh okay! Would you like to come with he then? I’m working on SMPEarth2.”

“SMPEarth?”

“Yeah! It’s my other project. Why I kept disappearing every so often.”

“When did you leave?” Tommy asked innocently. “I don’t remember you leaving.”

Wilbur’s smile faded a tick. “You don’t remember? Lads on Tour?”

GhostInnit looked helplessly at his older brother. Dead older brother. Pain. Okay, no more thinking about it. “Prime Log?” he supplied.

“The Prime Log! Yes!” Wilbur clapped excitedly. “And Logstedshire!”

Pain.

Wilbur noticed the wince his little brother made at the name. Maybe Tommy didn’t think as fondly on those times on vacation as Ghostbur did.

“Can I go with you?”

“Of course Tommy.”

- - -

GhostyInnit stayed in SMPEarth2 long after Wilbur was done for the day. The elder tried to bring Tommy back to Dream SMP for the night, but the child wanted to stay right were he was.

Ghostbur left Tommy in the capable hands of Josh until he came back. He made sure to spend lots of time with him when he came to visit and work on the project.

- - -

When the server opened up to the whitelist, GhostyInnit was right there next to the dev team and Ghostbur.

Ghostbur was part of the dev team, but Tommy liked to think of him as separate. He went back to Dream SMP for the night.

Tommy knew first hand that ghosts don’t sleep.

- - -

Tommy is a ghost. Tommy is a spirit. Spirits are tethered to home.

He was in the right place. He was happy were he was. With each passing hour the pull towards home got both stronger and more manageable.

Stronger because they were closer to him. More manageable because they were closer together.

He hoped Wilbur would stick around even after he told him that his tether wasn’t the Sleepy Bois.

Now to go find who they were. Where he was tethered. He hoped whoever it was would be happy to see him.

[welllpthisishappening]

Welllp This is...Books. Lots and Lots of Books

That gif is something of a lie. Some of these books were not great. But! Some of them were very good! And some of them were marketed weird — seriously, what does qualify as YA — and some of them I read in, like, six hours and some of them I raged about for six hours after I finished them.

Or: 2020!Laura reverted to 2004!Laura and read just a lot of books and then her husband got her a Kindle and she read even more books and has thoughts on most of those books that she is now going to share with the internet while also making absurd category names. Note that these are only books I read for the first time this year. So, the list is missing some of the stuff I used as coping devices. ALSO SOME SPOILERS AHEAD, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

FAVORITE BOOKS THAT MADE A SHITTY YEAR SLIGHTLY BETTER AND ALSO LIKELY MADE ME SWOON A BIT

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he's not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin-and his world-forever.

— I kid you not, I had to do a lap around the apartment after reading the second book in this series. Why didn’t I read this before? Why isn’t there more fic? Why I am constantly falling for dark-haired sad dudes in love with their wives??? I cannot rec this series enough. It’s got world building and found families, and that dark-haired sad dude, and magic and lore and banter, and it’s so good and I don’t understand why it was marketed as YA. The literary world is weird, guys.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (and the Heroes of Olympus) by Rick Riordan

Accompany the son of the sea god Poseidon and his other demigod friends as they go on a series of quests that will have them facing monsters, gods, and conniving figures from Greek mythology. Do they have what it takes to save the Olympians from an ancient enemy?

— Straight up, how did you guys cope with Percy and Annabeth when you were kids reading this? I would have been OBSESSED. Quarantine felt like the perfect time to finally read all of these books, and I know it’s sacrilegious to like Heroes of Olympus, but I might have liked parts of that series more? Just because it felt like they were older and I was super into Percabeth being properly in love. Also, now I get why everyone was so upset about the movies. Fair.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

— Yet another YA series that I will admit to loving this year. Started off a little slow, but once the world building really got underway —and it gets underway — I was hooked. If I had read this at an age-appropriate time I would have been super in love Captain Carswell Thorne. I was still kind of in love with Captan Carswell Thorne. So it should come as no surprise that Cress was my favorite of the series, but I enjoyed the whole thing, really.

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.As a huntsman of the Church, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when Lou pulls a wicked stunt, the two are forced into an impossible situation—marriage.Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all.

— YO. Y O. THIS WAS SO GOOD. World building! Magic! Marriage of convenience! Well-written enemies to lovers! As soon as I finished this, I bought the sequel. And then got upset the third book in the series isn’t out yet! That’s a frustrating theme for me this year.

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She's the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara's childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it's also too good to be true.

After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there's a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn't looked him up on the Internet...

Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton's most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they're lucky, they'll help everyone else get lucky too.

— I LOVED IT. L O V E D. As I told Justin “there was more porn than I was expecting,” in that porn and the adult film industry was a legitimate plot point and not just a part of Josh’s character, but it was incredibly well written and interesting and I cared about the plot. Sometimes I also wanted to shake Clara, but that was kind of the point.

The Marriage Game by Sara Desai

After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn't know he's arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door...

As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he's forced to share his space with the owner's beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life.

As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game.

— More well-written enemies to lovers! It’s possible! Seriously, the banter was so good. The kissing was even better. Ridiculous and interfering family is one of my favorite things, and this had it in SPADES. It also made me want to eat samosas, which is kind of my base setting, but I really wanted Indian food whenever I was reading this. Also, the end scene was so goddamn cute I cannot believe it actually happened.

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev

— The one that got away is one of my favorite tropes, and this modern version of Persuasion did it so well. Everyone was annoying, but in an almost understandable way that made me ache and I just wanted them TO KISS. And then they did kiss! And it was so good! Plus, at the risk of being a little self-indulgent, it was kind of Out of the Frying Pan esque and I liked that a lot. If there is a downside: it’s how quickly the relationship starts up again, like zero to 60 in two seconds flat, and that there were a lot of POVs. Which wouldn’t have been an issue if they’d been labeled, or weren’t bouncing around the timeline randomly. Sometimes I’d have to be like—wait, who’s talking about what?

Chef Ashna Raje desperately needs a new strategy. How else can she save her beloved restaurant and prove to her estranged, overachieving mother that she isn't a complete screw up? When she's asked to join the cast of Cooking with the Stars, the latest hit reality show teaming chefs with celebrities, it seems like just the leap of faith she needs to put her restaurant back on the map. She's a chef, what's the worst that could happen?Rico Silva, that's what.Being paired with a celebrity who was her first love, the man who ghosted her at the worst possible time in her life, only proves what Ashna has always believed: leaps of faith are a recipe for disaster.FIFA winning soccer star Rico Silva isn't too happy to be paired up with Ashna either. Losing Ashna years ago almost destroyed him. The only silver lining to this bizarre situation is that he can finally prove to Ashna that he's definitely over her.But when their catastrophic first meeting goes viral, social media becomes obsessed with their chemistry. The competition on the show is fierce...and so is the simmering desire between Ashna and Rico. Every minute they spend together rekindles feelings that pull them toward their disastrous past. Will letting go again be another recipe for heartbreak—or a recipe for persuasion...?

The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting

Lilah isn't sure what hurt worse: the day Ethan left her to focus on his hockey career or the day he came back eight years later. He might think they can pick up just where they left off, but she's no longer that same girl and never wants to be again.

Just when Lilah might finally be ready to let Ethan in, though, she finds out their reunion might have nothing to do with love and everything to do with improving his game. But Ethan's already lost her once, and even if it costs him his career, he'll do anything to keep from losing her again.

— HOCKEY ROM COM. HOCKEY. ROM. COM. Apparently this lady is regarded as the queen of “hockey romance,” which I kind of take offense to, but will give a pass on because this was a very cute book and everyone was cute in it and I was only marginally frustrated by those same people being idiots. As is required by rom coms. Hockey, or otherwise.

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

Fall in love, break the curse. It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she's instead somehow sucked into Rhen's cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom. A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn't know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what's at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

— Beauty and the Beast AU!!! Fantasy! Magic! Romance! I loved this, even when Rhen was being a whiny idiot. But he was also cursed, so like—fair. This dives into the politics of a cursed kingdom, puts a fun spin on the original fairy tale and also has a sequel. Which I read, and possibly enjoyed more. Only to realize the third book isn’t published yet, and then got annoyed by that.

QUESTIONABLY-GOOD FREE FANTASY BOOKS ON AMAZON

The Silver and Orchids Collection by Shari L Tapscott

What happens when a feisty adventuress, a lord looking to make his own way in the world, and a handsome sea captain set out to find Kalae’s rarest and most valuable flower?

Trouble—and lots of it.

— Snarky flirting! Adventure! Sword fights! Listen, this is not prize-winning fiction, but Lucia is a fun heroine, the rest of her adventure-seeking friends are an absolute delight and you don’t have to think too much while reading it. All four books wrap up their individual storylines, but help set up the next one and while the ending felt a little forced (and way too quick) I didn’t hate it enough to throw the Kindle across the room.

Forest of Firelight by Shari L. Tapscsott

After the sudden death of her brother, Princess Amalia is charged with what feels like an impossible task—she must choose the next king. Youthful thoughts of love are pushed aside as she accepts her fate, setting upon a quest throughout the kingdom to find a man worthy of her father’s throne.

Little does Amalia know, someone has already set his sights on her.

Rhys is a man of secrets, and his mission is simple: befriend the princess of Renove. Coax her to trust him, convince her to follow him.

Betray her when it’s time.

All goes according to plan until Rhys meets the princess. Amalia is a disaster. Never has he met someone so drawn to trouble. Never has he met someone so irritatingly likable.

He’s not allowed to fall for her.

She could never entrust him with a crown.

But, unbeknownst to them, their unlikely partnership might be the key to saving their entire world from a darkness that’s slowly creeping from the wounded earth that separates one kingdom from the next.

— FORBIDDEN LOVE! It’s good! Real good! I read this whole series (or the three books in it, so far) in a questionably short amount of time. Again, not the deepest story, and Amalia is occasionally frustratingly dumb. While Rhys is also sort of all-knowing in that fantasy hero sort of way? Y’know what I mean? Still, they banter very well, and eventually kiss even better.

LESS GOOD FANTASY BOOKS THAT PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE JUST BEEN AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON AMAZON

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess—a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.

For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She's endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.

Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn't always won on the battlefield.

For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.

— I wanted to love this series. So much so that I read the whole thing. All three books. And I’m still not sure why. The world building, maybe. Which was very good, and the politics actually kept me interested, but every single character was the absolute worst and I kind of wanted them all to die. That’s not even an exaggeration. Spoiler, they didn’t all die. I was only marginally disappointed.

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

When the ruthless Pirate King learns of a legendary treasure map hidden on an enemy ship, his daughter, Alosa, knows that there's only one pirate for the job—herself. Leaving behind her beloved ship and crew, Alosa deliberately facilitates her own kidnapping to ensure her passage on the enemy ship. After all, who's going to suspect a seventeen-year-old girl locked in a cell?Then she meets the (surprisingly perceptive and unfairly attractive) first mate, Riden, who is charged with finding out all her secrets. Now it's down to a battle of wits and will... Can Alosa find the map and escape before Riden figures out her plan?

— Alosa was kind of the worst? Like, STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER who had to keep reminding you how strong she was because she would kill anyone, and had an all female pirate crew. And the whole time I was just like, ok...cool. Still, I read the sequel too and that was slightly better.

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:

1) Woo the Shadow King.

2) Marry him.

3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.

No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King's power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she's going to do everything within her power to get it.

But Alessandra's not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?

— I cannot explain this book any way except to tell you it is so weird. Like, sometimes I remember I read this and all I can think is: why did this book happen? It felt like it started in the middle of the story, which is not a knock on the story itself, but mostly on the world building. Which was lacking to say the least. Also the resolution was super rushed and even more weird and I was like—why does he like her??? I still don’t know, honestly.

The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne

Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie "Leo" Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, has only one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin?

But when Leo's childhood friend and first love, Elliot, returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one who got away, the boy Leo's family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now he's the biggest catch of the season and he seems determined to make Leo's life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself falling for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets.

— Another book whose lack of world building hurt it. Stuff just happened, and we were expected to understand it and be into it and I was neither. I had no reason to care about anyone in this book, especially Elliot who seemed like an asshole.

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian's heart to the Sea Queen and or remain a human forever.The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it's his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she's more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind's greatest enemy?

— This book did not go the way I thought it was going to. Not a bad thing, but also not the best and the ending was...bleh. The middle, though? That was legit, and the action was good. I am always a fan of sword fights. Still, there was something that left me waiting for the final push towards great and it just never really came.

ROM-COMS WITH ONLY PASSABLY FRUSTRATING PLOTS AND GOOD KISSING

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory

Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe's mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell. Olivia has zero interest in dating a politician, but when a cake arrives at her office with the cutest message, she can't resist—it is chocolate cake, after all.

Olivia is surprised to find that Max is sweet, funny, and noble—not just some privileged white politician, as she assumed him to be. Because of Max's high-profile job, they start seeing each other secretly, which leads to clandestine dates and silly disguises. But when they finally go public, the intense media scrutiny means people are now digging up her rocky past and criticizing her job, even her suitability as a trophy girlfriend. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?

— It was cute. Max was occasionally an idiot. The kissing was legit. Most of their problems could have very easily been solved, but that’s kind of this genre’s schtick.

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa

A wedding planner left at the altar? Yeah, the irony isn't lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina's offered an opportunity that could change her life. There's just one hitch... she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials. Marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he'll be working with his brother's whip-smart, stunning—absolutely off-limits—ex-fiancée. And she loathes him.If they can nail their presentation without killing each other, they'll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina's ready to dish out a little payback of her own.Soon Lina and Max discover animosity may not be the only emotion creating sparks between them. Still, this star-crossed couple can never be more than temporary playmates because Lina isn't interested in falling in love and Max refuses to play runner-up to his brother ever again...

— Once you got past the hooking up with your ex’s brother thing, it was cute. Max was endearing in an earnest sort of way, even when Lina was STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER in a cliche sort of way. More solid kissing. Side note, why are so many rom com dudes named Max? Does it sound hip? Passably cool, but also approachable? Discuss. 

Not that Kind of Guy by Andie J. Christopher

State attorney Bridget Nolan is successful in all aspects of her life—except romance. After breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, she's been slow to reenter the dating scene. To be honest, she has more important things to do like putting bad guys behind bars. But with her brother's wedding right around the corner, she suddenly needs a date and fast. Lucky for Bridget, the legal intern is almost done with his program.

Matt Kido is dumbstruck by Bridget—total love at first sight—but there's one problem. She's totally off-limits while she's his boss. But the moment he no longer reports to her, Matt asks her on a date. An impulsive decision takes them to Las Vegas where, as the saying goes, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Unless you put a ring on it.

— Having written the “wake up in Vegas married” trope before, I know it’s difficult to do right. Consent’s a thing, y’know? And stuff gets dicy with forgotten memories, and all that, but mostly what kept me from truly loving this book was the intern thing. Don’t date your interns guys, it’s weird and off-putting. Literally if he’d just been a junior partner, or a visiting partner or something else I would have been all in.

Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

Kailyn Flowers was always calm, rational, and controlled—until she ended up sprawled all over Daxton Hughes, the former actor she totally crushed on as a teenager. Then she did the unthinkable: She became a mortifying fangirl in five seconds flat, which may or may not have included professing her undying love. And oddly, he didn't run away. In fact, their meet cute led to a friendship she never saw coming. Of course, she never saw his betrayal coming, either...Now Dax needs her help. As guardian to his thirteen-year-old sister, he's in way over his head. And though Kailyn hasn't forgiven Dax, she isn't heartless enough to make him fend for himself, either. Soon their friendly meetings turn into flirty dinner dates, and Kailyn can feel their chemistry is as explosive as ever. But how can she possibly let down her guard again to a guy who has heartbreak written all over him?

— Once again here for the one that got away trope, even if this comes with dead parents and some sad storylines. It still managed to be cute. Everyone was cute in it. Occasionally Daxton was a dick. As rom com male leads are apt to be.

If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane

If faking love is this easy... how do you know when it's real?When her partner of over a decade suddenly ends things, Laurie is left reeling—not only because they work at the same law firm and she has to see him every day. Her once perfect life is in shambles and the thought of dating again in the age of Tinder is nothing short of horrifying. When news of her ex's pregnant girlfriend hits the office grapevine, taking the humiliation lying down is not an option. Then a chance encounter in a broken-down elevator with the office playboy opens up a new possibility.Jamie Carter doesn't believe in love, but he needs a respectable, steady girlfriend to impress their bosses. Laurie wants a hot new man to give the rumor mill something else to talk about. It's the perfect proposition: a fauxmance played out on social media, with strategically staged photographs and a specific end date in mind. With the plan hatched, Laurie and Jamie begin to flaunt their new couple status, to the astonishment—and jealousy—of their friends and colleagues. But there's a fine line between pretending to be in love and actually falling for your charming, handsome fake boyfriend...

— FAKE DATING THAT LEADS TO REAL FEELINGS. The ex-boyfriend was an assssss, the fake boyfriend was charming, everything was good AND THEN WE GOT TO THE END. Which felt more than a little rushed, unexpected and not really in line with the rest of the book?? Give ‘em a slightly better, in-character ending, and I would have been sold.

BOOKS THAT I WAS LIKE...EH, OK

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

— I think this book was too smart for me. The prose was gorgeous, and the whole thing was very pretty and I definitely swooned when Marco said he wished for Celia. And yet. By the end I was like...eh, ok. Maybe it was the timeline? Jumping around, or how little dialogue there was. I wanted to like it all so badly, and I’m just not sure I did.

Acting on Impulse by Mia Sosa

After a very public breakup with a media-hungry politician, fitness trainer Tori Alvarez escapes to Aruba for rest, relaxation, and copious amounts of sex on the beach—the cocktail, that is. She vows to keep her vacation a man-free zone but when a cute guy is seated next to her on the plane, Tori can't resist a little harmless flirting.Hollywood heartthrob Carter Stone underwent a dramatic physical transformation for his latest role and it's clear his stunning seat mate doesn't recognize the man beneath the shaggy beard and extra lean frame. Now Carter needs help rebuilding his buff physique and Tori is perfect for the job. It doesn't hurt that she makes his pulse pound in more ways than one.Sparks are flying, until a pesky paparazzo reveals Carter's identity. Tori is hurt and pissed. She wants nothing to do with another man in the limelight, but she's still got to whip him into shape. Can Carter convince Tori he's worth the threat to her privacy that comes with dating a famous actor, or will Tori chisel him down to nothing before he even gets the chance?

— Dudes have gotta stop lying about who they are. It’s not a great trope. Other than that, the kissing was good. The romance was like...eh. I honestly don’t remember much else.

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

During a whirlwind two-week vacation abroad, Sam and Tate fell for each other in only the way that first loves do: sharing all of their hopes, dreams, and deepest secrets along the way. Sam was the first, and only, person that Tate—the long-lost daughter of one of the world's biggest film stars—ever revealed her identity to. So when it became clear her trust was misplaced, her world shattered for good.

Fourteen years later, Tate, now an up-and-coming actress, only thinks about her first love every once in a blue moon. When she steps onto the set of her first big break, he's the last person she expects to see. Yet here Sam is, the same charming, confident man she knew, but even more alluring than she remembered. Forced to confront the man who betrayed her, Tate must ask herself if it's possible to do the wrong thing for the right reason... and whether "once in a lifetime" can come around twice.

— This book was...weird. The early romance was wonderful and delightful, but then shit hit the fan and Sam and Tate are adults and...weird. Like, I cannot come up with another word for it. Also, they didn’t really talk much? As adults? Working on the same movie set? W e i r d.

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” And since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will?

It’s simply not in Fixie’s nature to say no to people. So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, she not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, the computer’s owner, Sebastian, an investment manager, scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she?

But then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life, and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. As always, she wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. No sooner has Seb agreed than the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?

— Let’s be upfront, I’ve read a lot of Sophie Kinsella in my life, and more often than not I enjoy what she writes. I mostly did here. It was a book. With obvious rom com problems, that could have very easily been solved, but it wasn’t horrible. So, that was good, I guess.

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

Maddie and Theo have two things in common:

1. Alexa is their best friend

2. They hate each other

After an "oops, we made a mistake" night together, neither one can stop thinking about the other. With Alexa's wedding rapidly approaching, Maddie and Theo both share bridal party responsibilities that require more interaction with each other than they're comfortable with. Underneath the sharp barbs they toss at each other is a simmering attraction that won't fade. It builds until they find themselves sneaking off together to release some tension when Alexa isn't looking, agreeing they would end it once the wedding is over. When it's suddenly pushed up and they only have a few months left of secret rendezvouses, they find themselves regretting that the end is near. Two people this different can't possibly have a connection other than the purely physical, right?

But as with any engagement with a nemesis, there are unspoken rules that must be abided by. First and foremost, don't fall in love.

— Eh, this book happened. I still have no idea why they couldn’t be together from the get. Obstacles for the sake of plot, I guess. Also political side stories? I don’t know, guys.

WEIRD POST-ENDING FEELINGS WERE INDUCED

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They're polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

— Listen, I enjoyed this a lot. For the most part. It was funny, and introspective in a way that didn’t make me want to gag too much, and I wanted to defend January’s love of love with everything in me. But, then it—ended. And it was like...all tied up with this nice little ribbon and happily ever after, and I was like...oh, ok. Part of me that it was glad it ended like that, mostly because of who I am as a person, but the rest of me was also confused that after everything January and Augustus had been through and how messy their lives were it could just get all wrapped up in this HEA.

HITTING JUST A BIT TOO CLOSE TO HOME

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. The world may know him as Aeneas, star of the biggest show on television, but fanfiction readers call him something else: Book!AeneasWouldNever. Marcus gets out his frustrations with the show through anonymous stories about the internet's favorite couple, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone discovered his online persona, he'd be finished in Hollywood.April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she's long hidden her fanfic and cosplay hobbies from her "real life"—but not anymore. When she dares to post her latest costume creation on Twitter, her plus-size take goes viral. And when Marcus asks her out to spite her internet critics, truth officially becomes stranger than fanfiction. On their date, Marcus quickly realizes he wants more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. But when he discovers she's Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to keep from her.With love and Marcus's career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?

— Here for plus-size heroines who get the guy and don’t have their (entire) storyline defined by their looks. Less here for the weird fandom culture, the ensuing second-hand embarrassment that came from that and the thankfulness that both Colin O’Donoghue and Bob Morley appear to be happily married so it seems very unlikely they’re writing fic about their characters under pseudonyms. Stop using Ao3 in actual published stories 2k4ever.

RAGE-INDUCING BOOKS OF ABSOLUTE FURY

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Kristen Peterson doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen — especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.

— LISTEN THERE ARE SPOILERS HERE, BUT I FEEL LIKE YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THEM BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS A SECRET GUT PUNCH AND PEOPLE SHOULD BE AWARE. Not only is infertility, like, the defining theme of this book, but the BEST FRIEND DIES. Just—dies. It’s horrible. Absolutely God awful depressing. And for a second he looks like he won’t, and it’ll be fine, but then it is not and he’s just D E A D. I know, I know that sets up the sequel, but this was so goddamn heavy in an unsuspecting way that I have absolutely no intention of reading the next one.

Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon's family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn't have time for Emily's lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

— FUCK THIS BOOK. And fuck Simon, specifically. Oh, you have a sad story? Cool, you’re still a dick. He was a dick. Listen, I know enemies to lovers is a hard trope to write, but it’s even harder to accept when those enemies just announce I LIKED YOU THE WHOLE TIME and then everyone starts ripping off their clothes. No, it’s dumb. I hate it. Apparently there’s a sequel to this book. Maybe that’s better.

Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting

Blaire Calloway has planned every Instagram-worthy moment of her cupcake and cocktails shop launch down to the tiniest detail. What she didn't plan on? Ronan Knight and his old-school sports bar next door opening on the very same day. He may be super swoony, but Blaire hasn't spent years obsessing over buttercream and bourbon to have him ruin her chance at success.From axe throwing (his place) to frosting contests (hers), Blaire and Ronan are constantly trying to one-up each other in a battle to win new customers. But with every clash, there's also an undeniable chemistry. When an even bigger threat to their business comes to town, they're forced to call a temporary time-out on their own war and work together. And the more time Blaire spends getting to know the real Ronan, the more she wonders if it's possible to have her cupcake and eat it too.

— Listen, I wanted to like this one. There were plenty other Helena Hunting books on this list, so like—I don’t hate her. I just hate poorly executed enemies to lovers plot lines. Give me at least one moment where they are interested in each other aside from just being attracted to each other. Also: Stop Having Dudes Be Dicks Because Of Their Sad Backstory 2k4ever.

Don’t You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane

You always remember your first love... don't you?If there's anything worse than being fired from the worst restaurant in town, it's coming home early to find your boyfriend in bed with someone else. Reeling from the humiliation of a double dumping in one day, Georgina takes the next job that comes her way—bartender in a newly opened pub. There's only one problem: it's run by the guy she fell in love with years ago. And—make that two problems—he doesn't remember her. At all. But she has fabulous friends and her signature hot pink fur coat... what more could a girl really need?Lucas McCarthy has not only grown into a broodingly handsome man, but he's also turned into an actual grown-up, with a thriving business and a dog along the way. Crossing paths with him again throws Georgina's rocky present into sharp relief—and brings a secret from her past bubbling to the surface. Only she knows what happened twelve years ago, and why she's allowed the memories to chase her ever since. But maybe it's not too late for the truth... or a second chance with the one that got away?

— HE WAS JUST PRETENDING NOT TO REMEMBER HER THE WHOLE TIME???? WHAT?? WHY??? D U M B. Dumb boys are dumb.

Not the Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher

Jack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist, and unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed him as the how-to guy for a buzzy, internet media company instead of covering hard-hitting politics. Fed up with his fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene as well, he strikes a deal with his boss to write a final piece de resistance: How to Lose a Girl. Easier said than done when the girl he meets is Hannah Mayfield, and he's not sure he wants her to dump him.

Hannah is an extremely successful event planner who's focused on climbing the career ladder. Her firm is one of the most prestigious in the city, and she's determined to secure her next promotion. But Hannah has a bit of an image problem. She needs to show her boss that she has range, including planning dreaded, romantic weddings. Enter Jack. He's the perfect man to date for a couple weeks to prove to her boss that she's not scared of feelings.

Before Jack and Hannah know it, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real—and neither of them can stand to lose each other.

— This is actually the prequel to Not That Kind of Guy and I honestly can’t believe I read that after hating this book so much. They were awful to each other! Their whole relationship was based on lies! Mean lies! Horrible lies! Don’t lie to your significant other!

[meghancooking]

My pitch for the eventual ‘Community Movie’

The film opens in 2023. After a brief bounce back from the efforts of the Save Greendale Committee, Greendale came upon hard times during the global pandemic (due to a poor attempt to transition classes like “Ladders” and “Nicolas Cage: Good or Bad” to an online setting.) Frankie left long ago to help hospitals rearrange their budgets for life saving PPE.

The Dean informs Jeffrey that things have gotten so bad that he has to let him go, and Jeff ends up at Britta’s bar for a drink. On the TV in the corner they see a commercial for a film that looks oddly familiar, about a community college study group that goes on wacky adventures. Jeff looks the movie up online to realize that Abed is the director and the film has a ton of buzz from Indie Film Festivals.

In “Community: The Movie,” Timothy Olyphant stars as Jiff Wanger, with Alexandro Daddario as Allie Anniston, Nicole Byer as Sally Benton, Dev Patel as Abed Nadir (no name change), John David Washington as Trey Burns, and Abed’s hero Harrison Ford as Piers Hawksworth.

Jeff tries to call Abed on the phone and realizes that Abed has changed his phone number since they last spoke. Feeling more disconnected from his old friends than ever, Jeff announces to Britta that they’re going to get the study group back together and confront Abed in L.A., intent on suing him for using their likeness without permission so that they can save Greendale. Britta says, “But neither of our cars can make it across the country.”

“But mine can.”

Jeff and Britta whip around to see Rick. Britta and Rick start making out over the bar counter. Jeff takes the keys from Rick’s hand and goes to “warm up the car.”

In their Honda CR-V, Jeff, Rick, and Britta go to D.C. to pick up Annie. At first she’s reluctant to take time off work, but when she realizes that Greendale is in trouble of closing for good, she throws her FBI badge in a nearby fountain.

Cut to the group looking for Annie’s badge in the water. “I wanted to be like those people that throw their cellphones in the ocean, in movies,” Annie sighs. “But you never think about them going back to get them.”

After they get Annie’s badge they head for Atlanta, Georgia to scoop up Shirley. Shirley’s sons are now old enough to attend college, and it breaks her heart to realize that her old school is closing down. “Not that I want them to go to Greendale,” Shirley adds. “They’re going to an Ivy. But if they need a back-up for their back-up’s back-up…”

Throughout their whole journey the group does their best to find out where Troy is, but no one has heard from him in years. Every time someone wonders aloud if he died in a horrible boating accident, Annie starts sobbing and they turn on the radio. A song by a popular new rapper Kiddish Bambino seems to be always playing whenever they turn the radio on. Shirley says she hates rap but she nods her head along with everyone else.

Rounding out their journey through New Mexico on the way to L.A., the gang stops at a Mexican restaurant on the side of the road. Annie pretends like its Jeff’s birthday to make up for “all those years of birthday cards I owe you.” And Britta says, “What about my birthdays? Are mine less important because he’s a man?” At which point they all tell the waiter they are celebrating a joint five-way birthday. The waiter goes to get the manager to catch them in a lie, and the group worries that they pushed it too far. Until they realize that the restaurant owner is Chang, speaking perfect Spanish. He’s so excited to see them that he says, “Birthdays on the house!” And every patron in the restaurant gets trashed on free margaritas.

As they’re drunkenly catching up, Chang fills them in on what happened to him after season six. With a renewed sense of ambition, Chang realized that he was happiest when he was a student-torturing Spanish teacher. But before he could let him get his job back, the Dean challenged him to actually learn Spanish. He moved to New Mexico to take classes and learn about Latin Culture, and ended up marrying a woman and having three kids. “Now I dog on my kids instead of dogging on students,” Chang says. “It’s great.”

After hearing about their road trip across the country, Chang decides to join them. He makes the joke “And my axe” at an off moment and over-explains his reference. Everyone groans but Rick asks to hear more, because he never actually watched Lord of the Rings, “Though of course I love it in the way that people love things they’ve never seen in person, like the Northern Lights or God,” Rick says genially.

So Jeff, Britta, Annie, Shirley, Rick, and Chang end up in L.A. to storm into Abed’s office, only to be told that he’s getting ready for the theatrical release of “Community: The Movie” at the Chinese Theater. The gang pulls a scheme to get into the premiere and bumps into the movie-star versions of themselves on the red carpet. Classic trope.

When they finally slide into their seats at the theater, the film starts. And it’s amazing. There’s laughter, there’s tears. Rick and Britta hold hands…Jeff and Annie accidentally brush hands but look away as Sara Bareilles’ “Gravity” plays on screen. Chang tries to hold Shirley’s hand but gets slapped away with a “Ben, you’re married” as he defensively says, “As friends. You never hold hands with your friends?”

At the end of the movie Abed stands up for a Q&A. The old study group was moved to tears, so they’re not angry anymore, but Jeff is enraged. He wrestles the microphone away from a fan and wakes to the middle of the aisle to confront Abed.

“That Greendale on screen is a lie built by Disney magic and Timothy Olyphant blood money. Do you know right now the real Greendale is a sinking ship?” Jeff asks. “Our home is about to plummet under the waves and here you are, weaving movie magic to show the ‘perfect’ version of our lives. Well the truth is far from perfect. Because in reality, Abed doesn’t even care about his friends. He hasn’t called in years.”

Jeff starts to tear up as he talks. Abed tilts his head.

“Jeff, this isn’t some Sony Pictures presents Marvel’s Disney project. This was a kickstarter, Zach Braff style. This was my ‘Wish I Was Here,’ but better because I’m not a famous movie star asking people in a lower tax bracket for money. This wasn’t funded by corporations, it was funded by the people.” Abed stands up. “The first tier got donors a ‘Community: The Movie’ pin. The second tier got them a swag bag. And the third tier…well the third tier paid admission for a semester at Greendale Community College. The real one.”

Abed looks out to the audience. “Could all the third tier donors in the audience stand up?”

Jeff, Britta, Annie, Shirley, Chang, and Rick look on in shock as three-fourths of the audience get to their feet. Even Timothy Olyphant stands up from the front row. “What?” He asks his co-stars. “They’ve got a class on Nicolas Cage. Is he good?”

Jeff approaches the stage and Abed helps him up. Their silhouettes are backlit by the stage lights as they hug. “But…” Jeff says. “You never called.”

“I threw my phone in the ocean when I got to L.A.” Abed shrugs. “I see it in movies all the time when people have fresh starts. I didn’t realize it would be so hard to get back.”

The rest of the gang comes up from the audience to hug Abed. The Q&A host (maybe a Josh Horowitz type) says “The real cast of Community!” as the crowd cheers.

End-credits scene is Abed and Troy hanging out in the green room after the movie premiere, just chatting normally. Everyone else stares at him.

“And after I found Abed in California I became a famous rapper and I changed my name to Kiddish Bambino,” Troy says, finishing his story. “You can kind of do whatever you want when you’re a millionaire.”

Troy and Abed do their handshake.

“But you never called,” Annie chimes in.

“Oh I threw my phone in the ocean like Day One on the boat,” Troy says. “Not to get a fresh start. I was just trying to give a mermaid my phone number.”

“Troy got heat stroke 12 times,” Abed says.

“The doctors say my brain is ‘basically’ normal,” Troy says.

“Same,” Abed responds.

Handshake.

“Don’t you work at Subway?” Troy asks Rick.

The group laughs.

End credits (Elroy watches “Community: The Movie” in his RV after it comes out on DVD, with Julie from Natalie is Freezing at his side. “I knew most of those people you know. They’re all uglier in person. Nice kids, though.”)

-------

What would you add? What would you throw out? I know there's too much Rick but it can't be helped. How else would they get a Honda CR-V, America's dream car? 

[composethesilence]

Soap Writing alt title angry old man yells at cloud

Let me make it clear I flipping love Charity and will always adore her character but maaaan

the thing with ED as well as American soaps is that they are using these characters flaws as a crutch and not a way to tell meaningful storylines. We do not see the push and pull. We don’t see the struggle with their inner demons. 

Under RM *honestly its just me being hella angry and writing about it lol

Charity is prime example. Lately, she’s been downright dreadful. Where is that battle between who she was and who she has become? One sec she’s in love and faithful, fighting for her kids and the next episode she’s kissing some guy and neglecting her kids. That is the old charity and the old charity was not 3 dimensional. Yes, there were times when we saw bits of development (earlier scenes between Debbie and her relationship with Cain and Jae) but for the most part she was the Siren archtype with no redeeming qualities. It is the same with Cain. They always revert back to his archtype even when though he has potential to move pass that. It’s television, you are allowed to write changing and developed characters. You are allowed to have your character blackslide but using it as a crutch is just ridiculous.

A good example of a character changing for the better AND having moments of backsliding is

 Carol from TWD. She is a beatutifully written character. Her progression from meek to badass and in some cases back to being reserved and self doubting is absolutely brilliant.

For soaps

Sharon Newman from Young and The Restless 

now I know I’ve done my share of eye rolling about Sharon, but there was a point where her character truly changed. She wasn’t the damsel anymore, she took charged. Then she switched back to her old ways but there was reason and the audience could see little bits of her old ways coming back bit by bit. We saw her struggle with the old and new. We saw her reach out then quickly pull away. Sharon a few years ago was strong and flawed and reveal. Sharon 2020 is...tolerable. 

Another example is Olivia freakn Spencer. Another character with a boxed archtype that truly developed into something much greater. She had some really tough relationships with Josh, Phillip, Alan and Jeffrey(lets not talk about that). Slowly we saw her grow. Trhough her trauma, much like Charity, she found strength. And again, like Charity she went back to her old ways at times. She was hella flawed. And even though GL did some weird shit towards the end of its run, showing the raw metamorphisis of Olivia(and honestly the rest of the cast) was brilliant. I mean, let’s talk about Reva.

Other mentions: Erica Kane, Carly Corinthos(back in the day Carly, this bs now is a hot ass mess)...

What I wish would’ve happened with Charity and Vanity is 

1. We see the slow decent of her character. Yes she had some doubts and rough patches during Vanessa’s cancer SL but audiences believed she could move pass that based on her unwavering loyalty to her fiance and deterimination to get Johnny. We even had a beautiful scene with V “zooming” in. And then boom she goes back to her old ways without any build. And she continues to spiral and treat her kids like shit. (more shitty).

2. If she is going to spiral out of control maybe have the character do something different than the default ya know? Something that ADDS to the character.

3. If there needed to be a breakup(i don’t see why it had to be tbh) they shouldn’t have gone with a ridiculous cheating sl. In LDR and medical truama the lack of communication is always a factor for breakups. However, I would love to have seen an amicable short break to regroup.

or 

4. They could’ve just not went down the break up storyline. This was my problem with Robron. I HATE what they did with them, and I wasn’t even a big fan of the ship. In Vanity’s case, they could still do the LDR because audiences are forgiving giving to situation(covid, mat leave etc). This way we could dive into Charity’s character and truly rebuild her relationship with her kids including Johnny. With Robron, I really would’ve prefered they just recast but whatever that’s in the past I guess. Good luck to the new ship.

ED is just not on my list right now, not just because of Charity but even Chas + Paddy bit frustrated me to no end.  Cain is just annoying and the entire Gabby sl is...I can’t.

I would love to see compelling sl and characters. I want to be immersed in ED. Instead its just eh...

But like don’t get me wrong I still adore ED and will still watch it but like...maaannnn

and it’s not just ED. God knows I detest American soaps at the moment. The genre itself is just lacking. We get better character dev in online soaps...

It’s not the fault of the WR. I know there are restrictions and certain guidlines you HAVE to follow but maaaaannn this shit is irky.

*sry for the spelling + grammar errors.

[leasabbah]

LEA'S LATE NITE QUARANTINE JAMS

As seen in CJLO Magazine

By Lea Sabbah

"COME THRU" - Joji

Joji — aka Filthy Frank, aka Pink Guy — established himself as our YouTube generation’s multifaceted early adopter, finally graduating to music in 2015 and dropping alt-hit after alt-hit on his debut EP. On Come Thru—from the 2017 drop Ballads 1—  his croony, pseudo-falsetto performance makes for a pill-popping, late nite party jam whose hook truly comes thru.

"deep end" - Lykke Li

Swimming pool, swimming pool, swimming pool, swimming pool. I’m in it, I’m in it, I’m in it. Divin’ in it, divin’ in it. This infectious dream pop bop by Sweden’s very own Lykke Li. It quarantines itself into the cavities of your skull and builds a home, replaying on loop in your mind until you can’t remember the rest of the lyrics.

"Glimmer" - Tame Impala

Kevin Parker describes this stunning, metallic highlight as “A glimmer of hope, a twinkle. Fleeting, but unmistakable. Promising.” Crank the bass up! This cool house track is great for nighttime parties of one, complete with a Tatcha mask, a (small) glass of wine and maybe half a Xan.

"Resonance" - HOME

This track is found on every Simpson/Vaporwave YouTube video — but especially the one with Bart driving into the sunset (if you know, you know) — and sparks feelings of summer nostalgia, Mont-Royal nights and walks through La ville éphémère. Quarantine tip: fall into a YouTube rabbit hole of explanation videos on why the repetitive electro track is reminiscent of slick 80s synths and your favourite childhood ice cream place.

"PUFF LAH" - Kaytranada

Montreal’s favourite chill house beatmaker is at his best on "PUFF LAH", off the December 2019 EP, Bubba. While Kaytra can craft catchy alt-pop and R&B on the collaborative joints, he shines on his instrumentals, as evidenced by the 2018 Soundcloud drop, "Nothin Like U / Chances" — arguably some of his best. You can listen to the entirety of this 4-minute beat and it feels like a comprehensive song, even with its simple, repetitive sound.

"WAKING UP DOWN" - Yaeji

Boiler Room’s 2017 breakout electro K-pop composer and pro Drake-coverer is back with her first drop of 2020. She brings back mellow, chill house vocals and a beat perfect for a late night creative sesh. The pop-rap track is reminiscent of Tumblr favourite, raingurl, but with more anime.

"Shimmer" - Fabiana Palladino

This ultra-lovable track has all the basics of a cool, 80s-inspired alt-pop joint — glistening synths, a subtle bassline, breathy vocals and an anti-establishment message. Listen out for the muted snares and glittery reverbs at the start of the song, establishing the little-known Paul Institute vocalist far ahead of the competition. Fabiana, sweetie, if you’re reading this, we need new music in 2020!

"So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth" (Art Mix) -  Grimes

If you haven’t developed a Grimes obsession after February’s Miss Anthropocene drop by Canada’s weirdest electro anti-pop McGill alumni, you’re not living. Claire Boucher, Vancouver’s very own Enya, describes the track as an ode to getting pregnant with genius-slash-ponzi-schemer, Elon Musk - and the ego death that comes with it.

"Blood" - Prince Josh (ft. LA Timpa & Yves Jarvis)

Don’t sleep on The 6ix’s Prince Josh. The producer, songwriter and DJ’s downtempo, instrumental hip-hop, interlaced with hypnotic sound and D&B stylings (2020’s hottest trend in music) is perfect for late night eats and drinks with friends via FaceTime.

"Norton Commander (All We Need)" - Men I Trust

MTL’s fave indie-pop band is at their best on Norton Commander (All We Need), a chill, bass-heavy track perfect for winding down with Emma Proulx’s vocals serenading you to sleep. What does the title mean? We’ll have to ask them over drinks at Le Ritz.

"Gold Teeeth" - Blood Orange (ft. Project Pat, Gangsta Boo & Tinashe)

Dev Hynes’ R&B brainchild, Blood Orange, wrapped up a big year in 2019 with the mixtape Angel’s Pulse, an eclectic, genre-defying collection of tracks that reminds you of your favourite early-00’s R&B. The collabs are where Blood Orange is at their best, with Gold Teeth being the tape’s magnum opus.

"DHL" - Frank Ocean

Frankie is in his prime on DHL, the low-key, chill vibe late night track about ramen noodles and a DHL package that’s coming soon. We need Frank Ocean raps.

"12.38" - Childish Gambino

Thank God for Donald Glover’s haphazard 3.15.20 album drop, blowing the rest of March’s music releases out of the water. On "12.38", Gambino raps about a love interest that gives him some shrooms, using 3-Stack’s Vibrate under a sensual falsetto and some voice acting. The variegated track takes you on a journey that ends with trippy ad-libs and 21 Savage rapping about Lamborghini whippin’ and Popeyes chicken.

"Snowchild" - The Weeknd

Toronto’s MJ-esque R&B phenomenon blends 80s synths with R&B and catchy pop on his new drop, After Hours. On Snowchild, he talks about his journey to fame and his past life on the skreets of the 6ix. There’s some weird interlude with Bella Hadid that no one cares about. The futuristic, dream wave track is one of the best on the new drop, perfect for a chill weeknight at home.

"Sound of Rain" - Solange

You can’t have a late night playlist without a track from When I Get Home. Fight me on it. The slow, rat-tat-tat sound of "Sound of Rain" is perfect for washing away the pain of COVID-19.

"LOYAL (Remix)" - PARTYNEXTDOOR (ft. Drake & Bad Bunny)

This cutesy, tropical pop vibe of "LOYAL" finds the Mississauga singer with a new sense of sweetness, accompanied by fellow fuckboy 6ixer, Drizzy. And our little angel, Bad Bunny. If you don’t live under a rock, you’ve probably been saying “You’re my bEeEeEeEeEeSt friend” for the last few weeks.

"After Hours" - The Weeknd

The perfect after hours bop. Sex, drugs and melancholy — where Abel’s at his best. We don’t want to see you in a healthy relationship. Please give us painful, dark Glass Table music.

"Fukk Sleep" - A$AP Rocky (ft. FKA Twigs)

The run-of-the-mill trap beat on Fukk Sleep - off of Rocky’s mediocre 2018 drop, Testing - makes it one of the most catchy tracks on the album, made complete by FKA Twigs’ tittering, high-pitched ramblings. The video for this track finds the pair running wild through NYC, breaking into a bodega and a Chinatown store. If you’re up at 4 a.m., quarantined on a Wednesday with nothing to do, this track takes you there.

"Hold On, We're Going Home" -  Drake (ft. Majid Jordan)

Our baby daddy, our toxic, unstable but romantic ex, whining at his best on a track we all know and love. A cute reminder that If we just Stay Home™ and stay healthy, we can all get through this weird, apocalyptic reality.

"NOTHING LESS" - PARTYNEXTDOOR

The first track to PND’s new drop is the perfect outro for a late night music sesh, its dark hip-hop beat so easy on the ears that you almost forget about his low-key vocal chops. A quarantine track to remember.

Check out Lea's Late Nite Quarantine playlist now!