#for the sake of getting ~*authentic*~ shots of me actually working

[aurosoulart]

hey. artists who make process videos but want to expend the least amount of effort possible:

fake that shit. finish your piece and then make your lineart white and color it back in. mask your color layers and then un-mask them with brushstrokes. choose something eye catching to copypaste and do that a couple times. add bits of glow/sparkle/foliage/freckles/whatever else is relevant

if you get like three shots like this and then have the rest be video of your finished work no one will know. no one will CARE I promise. do not give your soul to the Microcontent Wheel it is Not worth it

[cordeliawhohung]

hihi core!!! i hope you’re doing great! can i get 🍉, 🍒, 🍎, and 🍓 for that ask game? if any of them have already been asked feel free to sub or skip <33 MWAH

hi glossy!! sorry i'm getting to this late lmao.

Do you prefer to write short fics or long fics? Multichaptered works or single ones? Why?

i prefer to write short fics for the sake of time management. the brain worms force me to write multichaptered works ): jk! depends on the type of story! i prefer both, and realize there are some ideas best left as one shots, and others best expanded into multichaptered. though, the one shots def are a lot less stress lmao

What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic, specific or general!)

ugh i always love writing traumatized older sibling figure protecting younger sibling figure. i don't think i've written anything like that here, but i have a few og works and other fanworks where i do this. and protecting can mean anything, like saving them from the horrible truth, or just from overall discomfort, etc.

Is there anything you straight-up won’t write?

i can't think of a specific thing off the top of my head, but honestly anything that seems too corny to me i just... hate writing lmao. like anything that seems non-authentic. actually, wait, i also hate writing cheating. like i don't mind writing it if it's not like, between main characters/main romance partners. like, in Where Your Feet Pass reader gets cheated on by her husband, and that's fine to me because that's more of a plot thing that pushes her into Kyle's lap. but i can't stomach writing/even reading cheating in other types of settings.

What’s a fic you’ve written you feel is underrated?

hmm, i don't know! i always feel like soft spot deserves more love; like, proper love. i have a handful of people following that series who are an absolute joy to interact with! but i feel like a lot of the beginning part of the story was misinterpreted. had a lot of people sort of... demanding what i should be doing with the series and the note fall off once i made it clear this wasn't going to be a complete kink/smut fic was very obvious a;ldkjf. hell, even on ao3 i remember reading a bookmark where someone was like "this fic is good, too bad the smut doesn't start until here tho" and i was like damn, okay then. it's honestly my pride and joy though, and i'm forever grateful to the people who do show it love! they're the reason the series is even close to finishing (145k words later lmao)

thank you so much for the ask! had a joy answering them (:

[thethickerside]

I Just Died

Part 2

“Was that the start?”

“No…there’s so much that happened before that…”

————————

“Your finger touched my lips

As I tried to explain maybe why you and I

Should hide from such a love affair

My friends think that I'm so insane

To fight this feeling

But my life's at stake

Your embrace, thoughts won't erase

Every now a minute of the day I wait and hope and pray

That you might stay

And now you're moving oh so closely

Killing me so softly, so softly

I just died”

A story based off of “I Just Died” by Amerie.

—————

December, 2013

“Letitia Wright?” The casting director calls out the woman’s name. “That’s me..” Letitia looks up from the script that she was rehearsing. “We’re ready for you.” The director smiles.

—————————

Once her audition was over, Tish felt doubtful. “I could’ve done better on that part..” She muttered to herself. She really wanted to get this role. This was her call back audition, and it would be an absolute heartbreak if she didn’t get the role after all of that work. Once she stepped into her apartment, she threw her keys down on the table and took off her shoes. She had the look of exhaustion on her face. Just when she was about crash on her couch, she got a call. She answered the phone with a sleepy voice and said, “hello?” A chirpy voice replied back to her. “Letitia! I hate to call you this late at night, but I wanted to let you know that you got the role! We actually need you to come back in. We have your love interest, and we wanted to see how the chemistry between would be! Are you able to come in?” Letitia instantly shot up from her couch and grabbed her keys. “I-yes!” She stumbled to put her shoes back on. “Great! We’ll see you there!” The lady said before she hung up. Letitia grabbed her script and rushed out of the door pondering to herself, “I wonder who my love interest is….”

About 25 minutes later she arrived at the building. Her heart was fluttering with excitement and nervousness. Once she entered the building, she was taken back to the audition room. The closer Letitia got, the more she could hear the conversations being held. “I’m nervous…I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold up.” She heard a slightly deep female voice say. She gulped and opened the door.

She was met with a brown skimmed women looking back at her. “Hi…You’re Letitia, right?” Letitia closed the door behind herself and nodded. “Yea. That’s me.” She said. Letitia could tell that the girl was nervous. “So…where are the casting directors?” Letitia asked. The other woman gulped. “So, they told me that they won’t be in the room, but they still want us to run over the lines.” The other woman said. Tish was slightly confused, but then she let it go. “Well…okay, let’s start.”

They both took a moment to get into character before looking back at each other.

“What do you want me to do?” Letitia asked. She had an exasperated look on his face. Letitia’s eyes were glued to hers as she clenched her jaw. “I’ve already told you. I don’t know how many times we have to go over this. It’s like you never change! For Christ’s sake, do even know how many times I have fucking waited for you to get it together?!” The girl raised her voice. Tish was shocked at how authentic she was. It was like she was really upset. “I can’t wait anymore…this life isn’t for me.” The girl says. Her tone has gotten softer. She wiped her eyes, and began to look around. “You can’t leave, and you know that…” Tish gets closer to her. “It doesn’t hurt to try.” The girl says while looking at Letitia. While staying in character, Letitia took in the girls features. Her round nose, plump lips, long eyelashes…everything she took in helped the chemistry grow between them. The way the girl would shift her eyes around when angry, or the way she would gulp when crying.

She cleared her throat and broke eye contact with Letitia. “Okay…so…how did I do?” She asked. She backed away from Letitia and adjusted her clothes a bit. “That was great…you’re a really good actor.” Letitia responded.

“Oh thank you…that means a lot coming from you. I really loved your work in Banana.” The girl said. Her gaze was directed at the floor as she gulped once again.

Letitia smiles lightly and nods out of gratitude. “Thank you so much…that means a lot…” She says. There is a moment in time where there were absolutely no words muttered. Even with the growing silence that was in the room, the tension between the both of them spoke for itself. They could both feel it…but they didn’t know what it was…and what it could do to them.

“Well, I have to go! It was really nice meeting you Letitia—“ The other woman abruptly broke the silence made her way to the door. Letitia felt a sense of urgency when she saw the girl about to leave. Letitia grabbed her hand and caught her attention. “I forgot to ask you…what’s your name?” The tone in Letitia’s voice had become warmer. “My name is Damaris.” The woman said.

“Beautiful name…” Letitia responded with a warm smile.

[oneslimybastard]

Watched ManlyBadassHero play 'The Repairing Mantis' earlier today and fuuuuuck meeeee. One of the more brilliant implementations of surrealism and game mechanics to deliver a really haunting narrative imo anyway here comes a BRAINWORM RANT. The disturbing graphics contrasted against the squirrels' kinda cute designs and chipper dialogue lines, the emotional gut-punch when they grow less chipper, the things the gameplay forces you to do as the mantis. The mantis cuts a squirrel's wing off as it trembles and is left with a fleshy wound, but it has nothing to say about it and just assures you that it was happy to help ("That's what friends do!"). Its animations are even more so fearful and cowering as you cut its other wing off, but it still has nothing to say about it other than that its happy to help a friend as it continues to work towards its own dream. The emotional dissonance is immense, but the squirrel probably isn't lying as much as it just doesn't notice the harm being done to it. The squirrels all ask you to "help" them and the "help" always involve meaty mutilations of their bodies, nothing which concerns them. What breaks them is the realization that the dream they've strived for wasn't what they wanted at all. The metaphor is both obvious and diluted. It's about achieving dreams and the emptiness that can come afterwards, obviously, it's basically written in big red glowing letters. But its all the little ambiguous details that really add to it. Like the moths, what do they mean? How do they play into it? And the mantis herself, this "helpful" force that does what everyone asks of her and ends up just assisting them in losing all their hopes and dreams.

If I were to give my take on it, I'd assign the moths as agents of Reality. The first squirrel complains that its stomach hurts and its because there's a moth in there. You never learn what it says other than from context clues, but I wonder if it told the squirrel that times have changed, circumstances have changed, the dream is still achievable but it won't look the same — and where you thought all sacrifices had already been made, there is still one left. The mantis has already taken the squirrel's wings and cut its stomach open, but the thing that actually sparks fear in the squirrel is the prospect of losing its tail.

A sacrifice it wasn't ready to make, but had to anyway. That leap of faith which either hurt like a bitch if you go for it or you bitterly have to reenact later in life knowing you might have already missed your shot.

The first squirrel still, as mutilated as it is, seems to be a success-story, where all the following squirrels are hollow pantomimes. Squirrels who want to fly because the first squirrel wanted to fly and it managed to and surely acquired happiness, so if they all learn to fly they will be happy too. I think its very deliberate that these are all flying squirrels who still want to learn how to fly.

Especially considering the thing the first Squirrel was so happy to give up while building a flying machine was its wings. Our authentic selves are not good enough to be considered a tool in achieving these grandiose larger than life ambitions. There is a doubtless allure in the prospect of breaking yourself down into bloody chunks for the sake of success, even when you do not need to and are arguably just making it more difficult for yourself.

It's why I think the mantis can be a stand-in for so many things. Overly supportive enablers, get rich quick schemes, nepotism, or a force of self destruction masking as productivity or innovation. All these squirrels had to do to fly was catch a breeze and let their little skin flaps do the job they were designed to do, but none of them did.

It wasn't good enough.

As an ~Artist~ the emotional parallels are pretty intense so yeah, it's gonna haunt me for a bit. As someone who likes to support people I care about unconditionally it's gonna haunt me for a bit, even if I don't think its directly relevant to me or my life. Especially one of the endings where it's proposed that utterly shattering someone's wide eyed dream along with their heart, beat their life's work to pieces, might be the best course of action.

It's a horrifying thought, and I think 'The Repairing Mantis' meditates on the worst of outcomes when ideas and aspirations and passions loose their foothold in reality and get lost in dreamland, and how attractive that spectacle can be for onlookers to imitate.

It's a beautiful game, truly an unique testament to the potency of narrative horror games, I don't think it could have struck as many chords as it did with me in any other medium.

10/10 dont build bridges out of squirrels.

[thedilucharem]

"Huh? Taxes?"

Inspired by a fierce need to keep my mood as alleviated as possible and thoughts about how they view taxes as well as some speculative world-building as per usual. Written in one shot as beta is for cowards. Borders on crack, but I attempt to keep the authenticity of the characters alive.

One evening in Spirit's Keep . . .

Beidou: (slightly buzzed, wipes her upper lip of beer) Did I ever tell you about the time I was tax-exempt because I was clinically dead for over two minutes?

Childe: (pauses, asking in disbelief) What?

Beidou: (casually) Yeah, I get it, Liyue's tax laws get really weird once you start really thinking about them. I think you can still get tax-exempt if you're brain-dead for more than two weeks though, right?

Zhongli: (nods, holding his teacup) I believe so.

Childe: (to himself) What the actual fuck?

Zhongli: (did not hear him or did not care) This exemption was originally written into law as some individuals during the times of the Cataclysm did indeed die, but were able to come back to life through certain means and circumstances. (pondering) I believe they were legally referred to as 'the undead', though I can't think of many extreme examples like those that would apply to today's age.

Beidou: Yeah, and the loophole doesn't work even anymore either since a couple folks in the Qixing patched it up. (elbows Childe lightly, jokingly) So don't go trying to die on me, eh?

Childe: . . . would a Snezhnayan even get one of those exemptions?

Beidou: (shrugs) Probably not, as you ain't from here and they tax you different over there.

Childe: (under his breath) That was a rhetorical question. (to Diluc) Comrade, does Mondstadt have anything like that in your taxes?

Diluc: (simply) I don't pay taxes. No one in Mondstadt does.

Childe: (stupefied) Huh?

Diluc: (sighs while putting his grape juice down) Due to Mondstadt's history and recent events, the Church of Barbatos sees tax collection as 'heresy' and will actively put a stop to any attempts like it that start to pop up.

Childe: . . . But how does that even work with how your public stuff is set up?

Diluc: (matter-of-factly) Citizens are encouraged to donate and most of them do so happily. The wealthier families see it as some sort of 'honor' to fill the coffers, though it's more for the sake of tradition than anything.

Childe: And you do too?

Diluc: (coolly) My time, service, and contributions are more than payment enough.

That is a resounding no.

Childe: (slowly) . . . sure. (to Itto) And you?

Itto: Hmm? (looks up from a half-painted figurine, paintbrush in hand) What's up?

Childe: (curiously) Your taxes, comrade. How do you do them?

Itto: (genuinely) What are taxes?

Zhongli and Beidou promptly spray their respective drinks through their nostrils in surprise and shock while Diluc fishes out a handkerchief for each of them, shocked, but certainly not surprised.

Childe just becomes more numb than he looks.

Diluc: (frowns, somewhat concerned) You don't know what taxes are?

Itto: (quickly becoming indignant) What? Am I supposed to know what they are? Does it have something to do with fines or whatever?

Beidou: (chokes back her shocked laughter, blowing into the handkerchief) I mean . . . kind of, I think?

Childe: (exhales deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose) You've been alive for this long, and yet you have no idea . . . (in disbelief) How are you not in prison?

Itto: Huh? Prison? But I didn't do anything!

Zhongli: (coolly, recovered) Consider the fact that he has a deputy that likely takes care of that for him in place of himself.

Try telling me that Shinobu isn't certified in personal taxes for this specific reason.

Childe: Oh. That makes plenty of sense, actually. At least, I think so. Most other people probably do their taxes themselves, right?

Beidou: Pfft. Not me, that's for sure.

Mora-Grubber is a god at finding loopholes in tax law.

Diluc: If I have the time.

Elzer does them and that's only for exporting.

Childe: Yeah . . . I don't do mine either.

Snezhnayan bureaucracy is good at their jobs.

Itto: (nudges Zhongli's shoulder with his own, back to painting his figurine) What about you, Gramps?

Zhongli: (sips his tea, smoothly) I don't believe I've ever had to worry about that.

Hu Tao had the foresight to hire an accountant and they advised her to set aside the part of his paycheck meant for his taxes.

---

I find the idea of Mondstadters hating taxes due to the implications of a higher class of people doing it to them to be hilarious. There's also a certain strangeness the outsider attributes to the children of Liyue talking about taxes as if that's a normal thing to discuss. Itto does have an idea of money being 'taken' for certain reasons, but Shinobu has yet to break that down for him. Childe just trusts the system.

I can offer no further explanation other than because I can and because I wanted to.

[nights-legacy]

Trading 3 angrys for 1? - Bakugo Katsuki

   Help and Hide Series. Bakugo Edition

   Kirishima Ed.  Denki Ed.  Todoroki Ed.  Deku Ed.  Shinso Ed.  Iida Ed.  Aizawa Ed.  Tamaki Ed.   Hawks Ed.  Dabi Ed.  Shiggy Ed.

     + You are a student at UA and the whole class is on a field trip in Tokyo. On a free day, you all went out and you ran into to old “friends” and things go south. While trying to get away from them, you spot the token hot head of the class and decide to take your chances with this angry person over the angry people chasing you and are you pleasantly surprised. 

Note: My first My Hero Academia imagine!!! Let me know it you want a part two of this and I was thinking of making this a headcanon type for some of the other MHA/BNHA guys too. What do you think??

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      “Over here Mina! I found those little things you’re obsessed with!” I called over to the pink skin girl.

       “Yay! Lemme see! Lemme see!” She came barreling over and nearly ran into me and the table. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. She squealed and call Jirio over to show her. I walked over to another street vendor. Our class was on a field trip in Tokyo and we were given a free day. Everyone agreed on going out and seeing the scene.

       “Ah! Don’t throw squid at me Kaminari!” I heard Deku scream and laughed at the context before turning to see said electric boy chasing the broccoli with a squid arm. I burst out laughing, holding my stomach. I shook my head before wandering farther down the street.

        I was originally from Tokyo before I moved to attend UA. My family are not insanely rich but we are well off. My parents own a house in both Tokyo and Musutafu as well as vacation homes or condos in different parts of the world. I wandered away from most of the class and I really wish I hadn’t.

      “Oi! Lookie here, dudes. It’s Lee’s younger sister Y/N.” A chill went up my spine as I froze from the familiar voice. I slowly turned around to see my older brother’s former three best friends with wicked smiles on their faces.

      I hadn’t seen them since my brother cast them out of his life. He found out that they were bullying me behind his back for god knows how long and immediately cut ties with them. He only found out because I missed covering up an unmistakable wounds from their quirks. He was mad at me for not telling him but was more concerned for me in the long run.

      “H-hey g-guys.” I stuttered, mentally berating myself for being so scared. I’m training to be a Pro-Hero for god sakes! I tried to steel myself against the incoming assault but couldn’t help but inwardly shake.

      “Aw. Is wittle Y/N scared?” Kei, the leader of them teased. “Well you should be bitch!”

     “You cost us advantage with your brother!” Haru yelled as he jerked forward, grabbing my bicep hard. I yelped and he shook me. “Shut up.”

     “We could never…‘talk’…to you about it because Lee never let us near you again. And it became even harder when you went off to that Hero school. You didn’t even give us a chance.” Kei gave me a smirk when he said talk, meaning something completely different the actual definition. “We could have worked things out.”

      “In more ways than one.” Aaron eyed me up and down. “You sure have grown up, little sis.” Kei rolled his eyes and hit him in the chest hard. Aaron looked at him offended while Kei just gave him a ‘really’ look.

      “I’m sure we could have but…” I gulped as I saw Haru activate his laser quirk. “I really have to go right now.” I pointed behind me. “Gotta catch up with the rest of my c-class.” I tried to pull away but was pulled back hard. I looked at them with fearful eyes.

      “Not just yet, bitch!” They laughed and looked at each other amused. I looked around at the people around us. There are not too many people close so I decided to use my quirk. I have a light and shadow quirk.

      “I really have to go.” I said in a firm voice. They looked at me surprised and I gave them a blinding flash. The grip on my arm immediately disappeared and they all covered their eyes as they yelped. I took off running back in the direction of the rest.

      “Get back here!” Kei yelled. I obviously ignored him. I ran and avoid people easily with my high agility. I stopped to take a breath and see how far they were behind me. At first I could only hear them and other people yelling at them but I saw them finally a ways back.

      “Shit, shit, shit.” I mumbled looking around for anyone I knew or something to hide behind. I finally caught sight of Bakugo a few yards away. I bit my lip and wondered if it was worth asking the angry Pomeranian for help against the anger musketeers. When I saw the three close I didn’t think twice. “Ah!”

      I ran over to the explosive boy and quickly grabbed his arm, dragging him over to the close by building.

     “What the hell!” He screamed at me. I flinched but looked back towards the others.

     “Sh, sh! Please, shh!” I tried to shush him but he growled at me.

     “What the hell do you think you’re doing you damn strobe light?” I wanted to giggle at his nickname for me but there was no time. I caught sight of his hoodie around his waist and ripped it off of him. “Hey!”

     “Please, just…I...ah!” I saw them closer now. I yanked the hoodie over my head and made sure the hood was up. I then did the unthinkable without even thinking. I grabbed Bakugo by the collar of his shirt and backed up. My back him the wall and I pulled him close and into kiss before he could even protest.

      “Wha…” He mumbled against my lips, hands falling tense on both sides of my head. He tried to pull away but my grip was vice.

     “Where is that little bitch! I am going to beat her to a pulp when I get my hands on her.” I heard Kei growl from right near us. “She will be so messed up that she won’t even be able to go to brother to rat this time.” I whimpered against Bakugo’s lips and my grip on his shirt tightened. I felt Bakugo stop fighting me.

     “I say we don’t even let her be able to do anything at all when were done with her.” Haru chipped.

     I don’t know what happened but Bakugo relaxed and leant into me. He moved his hands so one of his forearms rested next to my head and the other moved to my hip. What shocked me most is when he started kissing me back. We slowly started to actually kiss each other making the scene more authentic.

     “Come on, let’s check this way.” Aaron said and I heard them move on only slightly, more focused on the man kissing me then the men who were chasing me. I expected Bakugo to pull away as soon as they were gone but it seemed like he moved in even closer, continuing our soft make out session. We only pulled away when we both ran out of breath.

    “Wow.” I said was gasping for the breath he stole. I saw a small smirk grace his lips. “I think they’re gone now.” I whispered. Bakugo chuckled at my comment.

      “Yeah.” He rasped out before leaning back in, starting another make out session. I don’t know how long we were here but we were only brought back out when we heard a chorus of surprised yells come from Kami and Kiri.

     “Woah! Bakubro! L/N! What’s this pleasant development?” Kami asked while adding kissing noises on the end of his question. Bakugo pulled away and dropped his head a little groaning.

     “Dudes! I didn’t know you had a thing for each other!” Kiri exclaimed. :That’s totally awesome.

      “At least there’s someone out there that can deal with your angry ass, Bakugo.” Kami teased.

      “Shut it you damn extras!” Bakugo yelled over his shoulder. I giggled. He smirked when he turned back to me. He reached up and pushed the hood down and pulled my hair from the hoodie, brushing it out lightly with his fingers. He suddenly placed his hand at the juncture of my neck and pecked my lips. “Keep it on.”

       “Okay.” I said softly. He smiled for real before throwing an arm over my shoulder.

       “Come on you idiots! Let go find the rest of our dumb class. It’s getting close to time to head back.” We started walking and they conversation quickly changed comments. As we walked by an off shot of the street, I flinched when I heard their voice again. I felt Bakugo pull me tighter against him and rub his hand up and down my arm in comfort. He leant down to whisper in my ear. “When we get back to the hotel, I want to tell me what just happened and what those douchebags did to you. Is that okay?”

         “Yeah, that’s okay.” I whispered back. He hummed and smiled before pecking the side of my head and nuzzling my hair. I almost got whiplash by how soft he was being to me but reveled in this side of Bakugo that I was quickly beginning to love. Well, more than I already loved this explosion boy. He just didn’t know that yet.

[lemonluvgirl]

New Everlark Modern AU Fic Sneak Peak!

Hitting The Target By: SparklingStella & LemonLuvGirl87 

Summary: “When you shoot, you’ve got to keep both eyes on what you want to hit.” Katniss tells him seriously. “Do you bring this kind of tenacious focus with you to all aspects of your life?” Peeta asks, hoping his wildly mounting attraction for her isn’t as obvious to her as it feels to him. “When the situation calls for it. I’m good at going after what I want. And I find my mark almost every time.” She tells him with such a straight face he would have believed they were still talking about archery if her smoldering grey eyes weren’t glued to his mouth. 

When hot shot college archery rookie Katniss Everdeen makes it to the USA Archery Collegiate National Championships her first year on the team, the university’s newly appointed  college sports reporter Peeta Mellark is sent on assignment to cover her and the archery team’s meteoric rise to fame. What he never intended was to get so invested in the subject of his article, or to get so infatuated with the girl herself. 

~Snippet From Chapter One:

“Peeta! Where’s that article on the golf team’s latest tournament?” A frustrated feminine voice rings out through the university newspaper work room. 

“Fuck me,” Peeta mutters tiredly under his breath while trying to simultaneously shrink down to inconspicuous levels so his editor, Johanna Mason, won’t hear him or see him. But even the hunching of his massive shoulders and lack of reply can't help him now. She knows he's here. She knows he's not done. He feels a sweat break out on the back of his neck as she approaches his work station. Knowing Johanna she’d take his curse words as an invitation for sex, not as an expression of utter unenthusiastic dread. And he doesnt want to have sex with Johanna. He doesn't like her that way. Actually, he's found himself almost resenting her in recent weeks. She's the reason he's got writer's block right now. He’s dreading having to finish this article. It's driving him nuts. 

Peeta hates golf, (he told Johanna this when she gave him the assignment) and he’s been doing nothing but covering their university’s shitty golf tournaments for the last few weeks. And even though he’s seen enough mediocre college golf to last till the end of eternity, he can’t for the life of him finish this pathetic golf article that was due half an hour ago. The thing is just a boring, uninteresting, cold fish piece of shit. And he hates himself for writing it. He hates Johanna even more for assigning this piece to him. It's like she knows exactly which soul sucking assignments he desires least and saves them just for him. 

 “Mellark! Are you still stuck on the conclusion? Stop playing with your dick and finish the fucking article already! We’ve got a deadline to meet!” Johanna says when she finally reaches his desk and stands over his shoulder, only to find he’s stuck in the same spot he was an hour ago. 

“I’m trying Johanna! But this--this story is just--”

“Just what asshole? Too hot for you to handle? It's a damn 600 word news piece, not a 60 minutes interview for god sakes!” 

“It's BORING! And there’s no way to make it interesting! I’ve tried! Its just---garbage! Dry, utterly boring and sleep-inducing garbage!” 

Johnna stands stock still for a minute. Peeta worries he may have gone overboard. 

Then she starts shaking with silent laughter. 

“Well, yeah duh! I mean it's college golf, not exactly riveting stuff. ” She says in between involuntary shoulder shakes. 

“So you knew. You knew it was a crap assignment and you made me write it anyway! That’s just great Jo. That’s terrific. Why couldn’t you assign it to Beetee or Wireless or something? Didn’t you tell me when I joined the paper that I had the best ‘authentic writing voice’ you’d heard in years? And yet Marvel and Cato get to cover our basketball and football team every season! What am I doing here JO? How is this a good use of my skills?” 

“Mellark, you’re talented. That’s exactly why I give you the tough assignments. You can dress up a pile of shit and make it look like a chocolate sundae. But, you’ve only been on the team for a year. You still have to pay your dues rookie. But, look, I’ll make you a deal. Finish this shit show of an article, and make it readable. If you can do that I’ll give you a better assignment this coming week. Not basketball or anything super big, because you know, baby steps, but I promise it will be a step up from the golf crap.” 

“Fine Jo. But I’m holding you to your promise! Maybe I should make you sign a contract so you don't go back on your word,” 

“Yeah, yeah, Mellark. No need to break out the ritual sacrifice knife to make me sign my soul away in blood. I'm a woman of my word. I'll deliver on my promise. But, you better wow me with this conclusion, or else it's back to the golf carts, pretentious khakis, and designer sunglasses for you.” 

“It's going to be the best shit sundae you’ve ever had Jo. I promise.” 

And it was. Peeta managed in the next 20 minutes to tweak and finish the article until it was actually an interesting and engaging college sports piece, and by the time the story had to go to print Joanna was smiling.

“So, I take it that smile means I’m going to get assigned something decent this coming week?” 

“Well, since you actually pulled it off, I’d say so.” Johanna slams a piece of paper down on his desk. It contains a name, email address, and office phone number.  

Haymitch Abernathy -coachabernathyarchery@PanemUfaculty.edu 555-451-1213

“What’s this?” 

“Contact info for your next assignment. Email this guy and set up a time to go and observe his team at practice. He’s the head coach for the university’s archery team. Word around campus is there’s a new freshman blowing all the competition out of the water. The team’s got a shot at nationals this year. I want you to do a full piece on her, and the team. You can interview the coach too. The higher ups want to make this feature article a two page spread.” 

“Two pages?!” 

“Yep. So don’t say I never did nothing for ya Mellark. Oh, and take your camera and get some candid shots. Apparently she’s hot. That’ll be good for the article too.”  

Peeta laughs, only Johanna would so openly comment on sex appeal as a way to increase their readerbase. 

“Ok, Jo. Sure thing. And thank you! You won’t regret it!” 

“Yeah, yeah. Bring me back something spectacular and we’ll see if you deserve to be bumped up permanently to something more substantial after this.” 

Peeta nodded, and smiled. He was hopeful, enthusiastic, and most of all really intrigued to find out more about his newest assignment. Maybe he can gain more than he imagined...Johanna did say SHE, the apparently female assignment, is hot. Most interesting...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

More Coming Soon!!! Story will be posted to AO3 as a collab between @sparklingdust4612 (SparklingStella on AO3) and @lemonluvgirl87 

[peterrparrkerr]

Pornstar au - read on ao3

*-*

Peter's nervously fiddling with his fingers as he walks onto set. Camera-men and directors and other crew members are hustling around, making last minute changes and adding to the low murmur of conversation.

His feet feel glued to the floor, the sudden raise in his blood pressure making his hands sweating.

"You Peter Parker?" A woman demands, standing in front of Peter and making him jump.

He looks up and gives a small nod, mouth dry and tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"Get in the dressing room, you've got 15 minutes."

And then she was gone. Peter stares after her with wide eyes. He looks around, trying to find a dressing room.

This was a bad idea, this was such a bad idea. Peter should've just stuck to amature porn shot on his phone.

He's about to ask someone for directions when someone sets a hand on either of his shoulders and starts rushing him. Peter tries hard not to stumble, and he's nearly running ahead of the person.

"Fifteen minutes, be ready when there's a knock on the door."

Peter's thrown into a room. Hd straightens himself, and before he can even look around there are people rushing him to a seat.

Questions and comments are flying around him, and Peter can't focus. Someone is dabbing on concealer and someone else is demanding Peter change.

After a whirlwind of fifteen minutes, Peter's rushed back to the set. There seems to be even more people around.

Peter takes a small step back, ready to dip and just run out, but someone shouts, and someone's taking Peter's robe -leaving him in yellow swim trunks- and shoving him forward.

Peter's bare feet pad against the linoleum floor, and its like he's been shoved onto a stage fully naked in front of his high school.

"Two minutes!"

Peter is about to yell wait, when -oh, fuck, its Tony Stark. He's walking over, and he's looking at Peter.

"You look nervous," Tony smirks, looking relaxed in a pair of dark swim trunks and an open Hawaiian patterned shirt.

"Uh," Peter says dumbly. He glances around at the people in the room, then at the set they're in.

"It can be overwhelming," Tony said, all confident yet lax posturing as he stands in front of Peter, intimately close. "This is your first time filming?"

Peter swallows thickly, unsticking his tongue from his teeth.

"Ye-yeah, I mostly just, uh, usually there's not a film crew," he stammered.

Tony smirked, glancing over at the crowd, then steps a little closer. "Just pretend they're not there."

"Uh, that's gonna be hard," Peter confessed, wringing his fingers.

"Thirty seconds!"

Peter feels his heart rate spike. His eyes widen a little.

"Hey," Tony hums, smirk falling away. He grips Peter by the chin and tilts his head so Peter has nowhere to look but him. He swallows thickly, staring into Tony's dark eyes.

"Its just us, okay?" Tony said, their noses almost touching. "Its just like any other time you've filmed. Just you and your partner, right?"

"Ye-yeah," Peter nods, chin still held in Tony's grip. the older man smiles and squeezes.

"I've seen your work, Pete," he says, and Peter's eyes widen. Tony Stark -the Tony Stark- saw Peter's amature porn? What-

"You've got a lot of potential. Don't let your nerves get the best of you."

And with that, Peter's left alone at the end of the set while Tony walks to the door he's supposed to walk through at the beginning of the scene.

There's a countdown, and someone rushes over and sprays water over Peter's chest and hair, getting his curls damp and then shoving him into the middle of the set.

Peter doesn't stumble -thankfully. The countdown ends and the cameras -yeah, there's three- start rolling.

Peter picks up the towel on the wood chair in what was set up to be a mud room. He brings it to his chest and wipes himself dry.

The door opens, and Peter doesn't look up. He's read the script, he knows what happens.

Thankfully, this isn't a speaking porno. Theres no dialogue Peter needs to memorize -he doesn't think he'd be able to speak anyway without stuttering.

He feels a hand on his side and jolts -its not an act either. The hand snakes around to Peter's stomach and pulls him back.

Peter lets the towel fall to his bare feet. He can see the camera in front of him, just out of the corner of his eye.

He doesn't know where every camera is, so he tries to keep his eyes on things around the set, or closed.

Tony hums lowly against Peter's ear, mouthing at his jaw as his hand slides down, fingertips dipping below Peter's trunks.

Peter lets his head fall back a little, feeling himself growing hard. Its quiet except for Peter's slightly heavy breath, and Tony's gentle cooing.

Tony's other hand reaches over and turns Peter's head, forcing Peter to turn at his hips in order for the older man to kiss him.

Peter's seen Tony Stark's porn. Hes seen the way Tony kisses, but seeing it and actually kissing him, are completely different.

Tony's lips are pillow soft, surprisingly plump. Even with his goatee, he's soft. Peter can't help the small whimper that falls from his mouth, and Tony eats it right up, licking into his mouth.

Peter's breath hitches when Tony's hand finally brushes against his cock, tenting the yellow trunks.

"Hmm," Tony groaned, wrapping his fingers around Peter and squeezing. Peter can't help but raise onto his toes, hands grabbing onto Tony as the man sucks the breath from his mouth.

And then Peter is being pressed into the set wall, back to the cheap wood, and Tony's hand is stroking Peter under the trunks.

"O-oh," Peter gasps, head thunking against the wall. Tony ducks down, mouth latching onto Peter's throat as he continues stroking him.

"So responsive," Tony hummed against Peter's skin. He can feel the older smirking as he nips at Peter's collarbone.

"You're gonna be so fun to play with."

Peter moans up at the ceiling, rocking his hips up into Tony's grasp. He doesn't know what he's doing, but Peter's never felt a handjob quite like this one.

Tony's flicking his wrist at the top, brushing against his tip, squeezing -its incredible, and Peter is close to bursting.

"Cut!"

Peter's quickly brought back to the set and he blinks his eyes in surprise.

Tony pulls his head back and smirks down at Peter, pulling his hand back. Peter can't help but frowning a bit.

"Lets set up the next scene," the director calls.

"Dont worry, you get used to it," Tony smirks at Peter's frown. It makes his frown deepen.

Tony nods for Peter to follow him, and Peter's quick to fall into step with him.

Peter's usually not this quiet, but he doesn't know what to say. He feels like a newbie -which, technically, he is, to the professional side of porn.

"You've watched my videos?" Peter finds himself asking, and nearly slaps himself. Way to go, Parker.

Tony glances down at Peter and smiles, the two heading across the open warehouse to a bedroom set.

"Of course," he said. "Who do you think got you an interview?"

Peter's steps falter in shock. Tony's hand on his lower back, urging him forward.

"I had to see for myself just how cute you were in bed," Tony murmured against Peter's ear. All Peter could do was gape at him.

"You- I."

"Dont strain yourself, kid, we haven't even gotten to the good stuff," Tony grinned.

Peter doesn't really follow what happens next. He's still freaking out that Tony Stark had requested to work with him. That Tony Stark had seen Peter's amature porn filmed on his smart phone and wanted to meet him and work with him.

And its Peter's wet dream to work with Tony. And here he is, naked and rutting up against Tony's bare cock on the bed, whimpering and moaning.

He already prepped himself before he drove to the set, but Tony still works a couple fingers inside him -for the sake of the cameras.

Peter moans, rolling his hips, silently urging Tony to go deeper. The man obliges, sucking bruises into Peter's throat as he presses brutally into Peter's prostate.

The noises that fall from Peter's mouth are authentic. Theres no faking how good Tony makes him feel, stimulating him everywhere with experienced touches.

"You ready, kid?" Tony murmurs, so low in Peter's ears he knows the cameras and mics won't pick it up.

Peter answers by lifting his legs, hooking his ankles around Tony's back and urging him close.

Tony hums and pulls his fingers free, moving closer and lowering himself. Peter nods, hand moving down to grab at Tony's cock. He wants it in now.

He helps to guide Tony to where Peter wants him most, and groans long and loud as Tony slides in.

"Oh, God, you feel so good," Peter moans. "Please, fuck me."

Tony smirks above him and snaps his head forward. Peter gasps, lifting his legs higher, allowing Tony to drive in deeper.

It feels amazing. Peter's completely forgotten about the camera crew. He's lost in Tony and the roll of his hips that have Peter's toes curling and his back arching.

"Harder, please, harder," Peter begs, feeling the low building pleasure in his gut.

Tony's hips snap forward, pace quickening as the man holds himself over Peter.

It feels so good. Peter groans, letting out little punched-out sounds with every thrust forward.

"You like that?" Tony asked, grinding his hips down. "You like it rough?"

"Yes," Peter gasped, hands running over Tony's chest, gripping at his shoulders.

"Change positions," someone says lowly. Peter blinks, about to turn to see who, when Tony dives down and kisses him.

Peter kisses him back, and then the older is pulling out and lifting Peter into a sitting position by the back of his neck.

He allows Tony to move him hoe he sees fit, and whimpers when the man sinks back into him.

Peter's on his knees, back to Tony's chest. The older man has both arms around Peter, biting into his shoulder as he thrusts up into him. 

"Oh, fuck -ah!‐ just like that," he groans, head dropping back onto Tony's shoulder, one arm reaching back to grip at the hairs at the back of Tony's head.

He presses back into the older, turning his head into Tony's. Tony easily connects their lips, bruising teeth and sloppy tongues.

Peter's eyebrows screw up, his breath hitching, and he pulls away from Tony. "Wait-"

But its too late. Peter's orgasm hits him hard, surprising him. Tony stills deep inside of him, holding Peter in place as he cums against the white sheets, grip on Tony tight.

"Hmm," Tony hums once Peter's finished, holding him up, still buried inside. "That was gorgeous, kid."

Peter blushes, taking a deep breath.

"Alright, clean up, we've got the rest of the shot," the director calls. Peter frowned.

"Huh?"

Behind him, Tony chuckles, kissing at Peter's tender neck.

"You gotta try and hold off for as long as you can," he said as a few crew members add another white sheet in front of them, covering the spot of cum. "Give them enough footage to edit through."

"Oh, uh, sorry," Peter blushed.

"Dont be sorry, it was hot as fuck," Tony chuckled, still holding Peter to him.

"Someone get a fluffer in here," the director calls. Peter's blush deepens.

"Thats not needed," Tony calls, lifting his head from Peter's shoulder. "I've got it under control."

"What?" Peter glances over at the crew -which is terrifying. They're all looking at him.

Feeling slightly mortified, Peter turns his head forward, so he's got part of the set wall to stare at.

"Oh my God."

"Shh, kid, just relax. You're doing great," Tony said, moving one of his hands down to tickle at Peter's pubic hair.

"I don't know if I can get it up with everyone watching," Peter whispered, his hand still holding the back of Tony's head -almost like a lifeline.

"You did it before," Tony pointed out, wrapping slender fingers around Peter and beginning to tug on him gently.

"I-I was distracted before," Peter confessed. Tony gently rolls his hips forward, pressing into Peter before pulling out and repeating.

"Its just us," Tony reminded. "No one else." Peter feels himself getting hard again at Tony's words and his actions. He lets out a breath.

"There, you're doing great," Tony praised. "Just relax, let me take care of you."

Peter nods, dropping his head down on Tony's shoulder.

"I'm gonna give you a signal, when its time to cum," Tony continues, stroking Peter back to full hardness. "Dont cum until then, alright?"

"Okay," Peter nods. Tony kisses his shoulder and wraps his arm back around Peter's middle. He pulls almost all the way out before slamming back in.

Peter keens, body overstimulizated. And thats it, they're off again, and Peter's struggling to keep his noises to a minimum.

He doesn't want to be too loud and ruin the shots, but damn does Tony know what he's doing.

"Tony-" Peter gasped, cutting himself off a little too late. Could they use their names? "Oh- Oh! Ri-right there!"

Tony pulls back and slams into the same spot, making Peter wail. His grip on Tony tightens.

"On your elbows for me," Tony whispered, mouthing at the shell of Peter's ear. Peter barely hears him over his own panting, but the moment Tony's arms unwind from him, Peter leans forward, dropping to his hands, and then his elbows.

The new position has Tony railing right into his prostate. He grips the sheets in his hands and drops even further into the mattress, pushing his ass out further and allowing Tony to go even deeper.

What Peter doesn't expect is for Tony to slap him. He rocks forward at the sting in his left cheek and mewls, burying his face in the bedding.

He's been hit before during sex, but usually its bruising slaps -ones meant to paint Peter's skin a dark red.

This, this is different. It stings, but not in a painful way. It amplifies the already there pleasure in a way that has Peter begging him for more.

And Tony gives it to him. Its not a brutal pace, and he doesn't do it often, but every few thrusts, his hand swats down on Peter's ass. It feels good, so, so good.

Peter feels himself getting close to cumming, and he reaches a hand down, squeezing himself just under the mushroom head to stave it off.

Tony's thrusts get a little sharper, and he leans over Peter, kissing at Peter's shoulder blade, hands on either side of him.

"You wanna cum for me?" Tony asked lowly, thrusting unforgivingly. All Peter can do is nod and whimper.

He begins stroking himself in time with Tony's thrusts  until he's cumming with a shout, body trembling.

Tony has to wrap an arm around Peter to keep him from collapsing on the bed as he climaxes.

Tony groaned low, allowing Peter back down onto the bed once he's emptied himself.

Peter keeps his ass somewhat elevated as Tony thrusts into him, balls slapping against Peter's perineum.

Peter moans at how sensitive he becomes, but he stays somewhat still so Tony can finish.

He does seconds later, burying himself deep inside and painting Peter's inner walls with cum. Peter mewls at the feeling.

He thrusts a few more times, rough and biting before his grip on Peter's hips ease up, and he takes a breath.

Then he pulls out and Peter drops into the puddle of cum on the sheets. Tony follows soon after, dropping to the bed beside him and glancing over.

Peter can't help but smile, his mout hidden behind his arm. Tony grins.

"Damn, kid, you're so much better in person," he sighs. Peter blushes and hides a little more of his face in his arm.

"You are too," Peter managed. Tony's grin widens.

Around them, crew members are taking down the sets, messing with their tech and talking with the director about the final cuts.

Peter doesn't pay them any attention. At least not yet. He can't believe he's just filmed a porno with Tony Stark.

"Before you leave, I want your number," Tony then says, climbing out of the bed.

It takes Peter a second for his brain to process that, and then he's scrambling off after him, snatching the robe held out for him and quickly wrapping it around himself.

Tony's already walking towards the dressing rooms, pace casual as he ties the robe shut in front of him.

"Wait, you want my number?" Peter asked, finally catching up with him. Tony smirks down at him. 

"Definitely," he says. "You're way too good to work with just once."

Peter blushes at that, then gives a small nod. "I, I just have to shower."

Tony's eyes lower, a knowing look settling in his features before he nods. "I'll be waiting."

Peter's got cum drooling down the inside of his thigh as he rushes into the dressing room.

This could be a thing. Peter could do this. Make professional porn. Especially if his partners were anything like Tony Stark.

[onlydylanobrien]

Amanda Brugel Dishes On Her New Thriller Flashback 

Now, Brugel is back with her new film "Flashback." Prior to the pandemic, the film was slated for a 2020 release, but the state of the world had other plans. After a long wait, fans can finally dive into the time-bending mystery thriller, which also stars Dylan O'Brien as Fredrick Fitzel. Brugel snagged the role of Fred's ever-understanding boss Evelyn, who watches Fred go down the dark path of a mystery drug called mercury — and possibly time travel.

Looper spoke to Brugel for an exclusive interview, during which she dished on working with O'Brien in "Flashback," revealed how they passed the time on-set, and offered her theory on some of the film's murkier aspects. She also teased the Season 4 finale of "The Handmaid's Tale" and revealed where she wants her character to go in Season 5.

Dylan O'Brien: Defying Hollywood stereotypes

"Flashback" is a wild ride and such a cool movie. What drew you to the role of Evelyn?

I mean, Chris MacBride's script was wild, like you said. I think that's the best way to describe it. And I at first was slightly confused, but also exhilarated, and it was really interesting and I'd never seen anything like it. So really, that was the reason I first wanted to just even talk about doing it. And then I was in L.A. for the Emmys, and Chris called me on the phone, and we just had the most beautiful conversation about the film about life and death. And we shared such similar thoughts on parenting and life and death and losing parents and sort of losing time that I was like, "I have to do this."

What was it like working with Dylan O'Brien?

Dylan is the best. I miss Dylan. I didn't know what to expect. I had seen a couple of the things that he had done, but I didn't know if I was going to get this like, too cool for school Hollywood, young, hot guy. He's so the opposite. He's so generous with his work, generous with everyone on set, and the crew. And he's so funny. I didn't expect him to be that funny, and he really took the material seriously and really wanted to put everything that he could into it. I was so impressed with him, and I didn't really have a lot of time with him. All my scenes are with him, but I didn't. They blocked me out in such a short amount of time that I just, I still miss him.

What the heck is going on with Fred?

This is probably Dylan's most psychological movie yet. And Evelyn is one of the few characters who really tether him to reality. So what was it like getting to watch Fred sort of spiral from a reluctant, moderately well-adjusted office employee to this drug spiral tinged with these fantastical layers?

Well, you know, like I said, a part of my draw to it was that the script was so complex and so complicated, but then having to actually go do that, to be able to achieve the time jumps was incredibly difficult and took a lot of scheduling. So we would ... Poor Dylan would have to change costumes or change whether or not he was broken down or if he was very put together. Because we shot in a very tight amount of time, we would flip back and forth between future to present to sort of some of his hallucinations all in a period of three hours. Dylan was a pro — I'll say that first and foremost. There were a couple of times we both accidentally changed into the wrong costume. We just had to run and change into something else.

And that was stressful. But the parts where he would sort of break down and really spiral were some of the best acting I've seen. There was one part where I almost called cut because I was like, "Is he okay?" Like not the character. Is Dylan okay? He really went for it. And Chris would let him sort of improv and let him roll takes and let him really get to the heart of where he needed to get. So it was exciting to watch. But if you care about your co-star, you are also concerned for their mental wellbeing.

Finding humor during intense scenes

Right, yeah. That was a rough progression. Can you remember anything specific that might've been ad-libbed or added in the moment?

I don't know how much of it I'm trying to think made it in. Just when he flips out in the office, and then he sort of flips out. He threw things. He moved furniture. He screamed at people. He ran about the room, and so every take was different. And so it was great. It was very helpful for my reaction and everyone else's reaction because I genuinely didn't know what Dylan, therefore the character, was going to do. So every reaction was authentic every time.There's a part where I jump, and I genuinely jumped because yeah, I didn't know what he was going to do.

Did you or Dylan do anything between takes to lighten the mood for these intense scenes?

Absolutely. We would go outside. We were shooting in, I think it was a hospital turned into a ... I'm not even sure what it was, but it was just a very cold, large sort of office building. And the two of us as artists, I don't spend a lot of time in offices, so we would go outside and gossip about — I can't tell you what we gossiped about, but we have a lot of friends in common or some friends in common. And so it was nice to sort of just be able to discuss stuff outside of the heavy material that was the movie and also bond and get to know one another and trust one another. So when he had to go to those places, he had a friendly face in the room.

Right. Can you think of anything that might be in the blooper reel or something like that?

Oh, my goodness sakes. No. For myself, when I got scared, I ran into a wall twice, but I don't think that made the blooper reel. I just tried to get out of his way and I ran directly into a wall. But I'm hoping that I didn't make the reel.

I would like to see that.

So would I, because I did it twice. Not once.

That's funny.

Twice and it was the same wall.

The next question contains significant spoilers for "Flashback."

The subtle subtext

So I was getting a bit of a "Game of Thrones" vibe at the end of the movie. Is Cindy supposed to be Mrs. Fitzel? Can you say? Do you have a theory?

I think so. Yes. I personally think so. I think that's why my mentioning the conversation with Chris just about like motherhood, and sort of that is a very strange cycle that has happened throughout his life that I personally think so. I'm not sure, but that's how I read it, and that's how I interpreted it. And when I watched it, that's what I was left with and happy with. Very good, though. I'm glad that you picked that up.

I had to go rewatch that scene three times, and I'm like, "Am I just hallucinating this? Or is this intentional?"

No, I think it was very intentional, but not so obvious that there are audience members that would be disappointed with that or not so obvious that it forces audiences to have one conclusion. I think the thing that I like the most about Chris is that he allows audiences to go away and sort of apply their own story or their own theory to his projects. And I think that's really generous as far as an artist is concerned.

[wanderingwomanwondering]

911 Eddie/Buddie Thoughts, eps 413-501

*a long post and no gifs, I’m so sorry*

Can we talk abt the fact that in 413 bathena have an argument about not being partners and how that parallels eddie’s tendency to be an emotional loner, not revealing his heart until his feelings bubble over? He struggles to trust/confide in others bc he struggles to trust/be honest with himself abt how he feels/what he needs. His reasons are diff than athena’s but it’s still a parallel behavior.

Also in 413 eddie is helping a kid who’s mom is hurting him. That feels parallel at least partially to shannon abandoning christopher which caused harm. Eddie is focused on the kid/christopher, focused on helping him…to the complete exclusion of himself and his needs. This is why he chose to continue with ana supposedly for chris’s sake despite carla’s golden advice. Tho we all suspect that chris doesn’t like ana as much as he lets on/as much as eddie wants to believe. But that’s a side note rn.

Then cut to the end of 413, the gunshot scene. Knowing what we know now from 501, basically eddie taking that bullet is a catalyst. The beginning of the end of loner, partner-averse eddie. It’s the start of him needing to reckon with his own wants needs and desires. He’s not going to stop considering chris obviously but he does need to look at himself his life his heart and what makes him happy. Remember Shannon’s complaint in their marriage was that she needed a partner, and now he’s reckoning with the fact that he wants/needs one too, and not just at work.

There are one or two very grounded non-clown ways to read that gsw scene bc dude was just shot out of the blue and there was plenty of shock and fear to go around. But through the clowning glass, we can also see it as a reiteration that buck and eddie are in fact partners in a big way. They just rescued a kid together just like they’ve worked tirelessly together to save countless other people before him. They are partners. At work. I would argue also in life but I’ll get to that later.

Eddie’s prolonged eye contact with buck, reaching for him. Buck’s shock and terror, staring deeply into Eddie’s eyes and watching him bleed. That whole scene begged the question “now who’s going to save eddie?” Literally and figuratively.

The show starts with the literal answer. buck. It’s finally buck. In 414 he hauled him up, dressed his wound, begged him to stay with him and to live. In Eddie Begins, buck was an onlooker, eddie saved himself in true eddie fashion, but in 414 buck ran point on saving him. Buck dragged him to safety, buck lifted him up, buck stopped the bleeding, and buck served as his lifeline begging him to stay/live.

The other interesting thing I noticed about the scene in 414 in the fire truck on the way to the hospital is that *eddie is not wearing his saint christopher medal*. Buck rips open his shirt to stop the bleeding and the medal is not there. It’s absence is loud af. I squinted to see if it had just slid to the side when buck laid him down but i couldn’t see it at all! Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Anyway that choice, to have the medal not be there or not be visible in that particular scene is huge bc that entire sequence from gunshot to arrival at the hospital is just abt eddie (and buck). In a way, in those scenes at least, buck is wo his armor (firefighter uniform) and eddie is wo his armor (the medal). They are vulnerable in those scenes physically (out in the open, exposed to the shooter) and emotionally (not shielded by their personally meaningful protective items). Combined with the staring and the reaching it’s a big indication that things are abt to get deeper between them (fingers crossed).

Back to 501. remember eddie’s been shot before, in combat. I think what makes the sniper situation important is not just that he could have died (he’s been there done that got the silver star) but that he’s not who he was the last time he almost died by gsw. He’s in LA now, he’s not in the military, chris is growing up, he has the fire fam, he has buck, he’s a widower. Eddie is growing, changing. starting to recognize his emotional needs bc for the first time in his life there’s room/opportunity to do that in a big way and not necessarily have it implode his marriage, piss off his family, hurt chris, or ruin his career. IF he actually confronts himself head on and deals with all the stuff beneath the surface. Repressed. This gunshot isn’t exactly abt his mortality but his quality of life. asking him what’s his life abt and more importantly how can he be his whole authentic self complete with his very own emotions needs and desires embracing love care and support leaning on others. Remember in that one therapy session he had those are the things he wants for chris. Now he has to find and choose those same things for himself.

In 414 by the time eddie is in the hospital, the medal is back and prominent in every scene. He’s back to framing his relationship with buck in terms of chris. But he’s the one making decisions for chris. What he wants for himself and for buck isnt irrelevant here. If it was all abt chris and only chris i think eddie would have told buck abt the will ages ago. If it was all about chris and only chris eddie maybe wouldn’t have struggled so much to say that he made buck chris’s legal guardian if he dies. Nah. I think eddie sees buck as his partner in life too on some level but he couldn’t accept/say that plainly. He had to make it abt only chris in his head in order to be okay with linking their trio of lives together forever through the guardian decision. I mean eddie didn’t even tell buck abt the legal guardian decision bc he was shot, he told him bc buck thought he was expendable! Instead of shaking him and saying you are not and never will be expendable to me, he chose to disclose the will. It was effective for sure. Evan heard him loud and clear. But wow you gave buck a whole ass person, like the person most important to you in the world?? And didn’t say anything until you survived a sniper an effing year later?? That’s a hell of a choice!

Anyway i really hope eddie and buck are on their way to being together bc i can’t take much more of this. Before they get there tho my dude eddie has a lot of work to do this season!

I reference 408 and go into more thoughts on 501 here. I blab abt the heart transplant metaphor in 501 as well as my spec abt parts of 502 by extension here. I am dying to talk abt these arcs y’all like srsly so feel free to rb/comment.

[therivergirl]

in your hc Donald and Daisy with the girls will go on a trip around the world, or somewhere in particular? For example tropical islands.

Ok, I can't just give you a simple answer here, because this HC is heavily tied into my fics, or rather my More Ducktales Adventures series. If you want to just read where they go, skip to paragraph 5. Heads up for me rambling.

Honestly, I liked the idea of Donald and Daisy by themselves going on a trip, and I like the idea of them adopting May and June, but the ideas together...eh, they don't mesh for me too well. I mean, I like the idea of May and June and Daisy bonding with everyone and they can't exactly do that from the boat. And, also, it gives me this weird feeling that Donald is leaving HDL behind and, just...NO!

And you have two very smart and skilled, but inexperienced and traumatized kids and you just put them on a boat? In an entirely new family situation? I mean, Donald is a great parent, but a therapist he is not.

Also, I want Daisy to have a career as a designer. And trust me, as someone who sews, Donald's boat is NOT a good place for a fashion studio. For a hobbyist like me, it would probably function fine as a sewing space, but for someone who works professionally, it would probably not work.

For all of these reasons, I want them in Duckburg. Still, I didn't want to do a full retcon. I HC that they stayed in Duckburg for a while after the finale and then went on a trip, for the sake of the adjustment period. And the trip is not, like, a year-long journey around the globe. Basically, the trip lasts a few months and they get back to Duckburg earlier than planned. I HC that the finale is placed around the middle of the summer, them leaving around the end of it and their return would take place somewhere around Christmas. Why? I won't reveal much here, because it will be written in one of my future stories, but it will be an emotional reason or an amalgamation of emotional reasons that form one big reason, I can promise you that. You can probably gather some clues from the first three paragraphs, though.

However, I googled it and, with a small boat like Donald's just the trip down the East Coast would take weeks, if not months. I still want them to visit many places. So magic hip-hopping around the world it is! I won't reveal everything, because it would be spoilers for the fic, but let's just say that Donald owes a favour to Poseidon. So yeah, they can pretty much cross the Atlantic in two days. I won't necessarily write about each of these visits, but they will be referenced in the text and I might write a few one-shots if I get a good enough idea.

I don't have too many particular spots for them to visit. They saw bits of East Coast, then used Poseidon's favour to visit Macaw, Instanbird (this was a very emotional place for May and June since they know Heron got Webby's feather they came from there). Then they would go to sail along the Mediterranean coast.

One of the places I'll have them visit, that will actually be in a story is the Adriatic Sea. Or rather, a fictional Croatian island. For a very simple reason-writing what I know. I don't have much time to do much research, and I want my environments to feel authentic and genuine. And, as I have lived on the Croatian coast my entire life, have spent many a vacation on islands, I can write about this area confidently. I don't need Google Translate to get the language of the locals correctly. Also, want to geek out about the beauty of karst!

The last place for them to visit before going back to Duckburg is Ithiquack, because May and June really want to see it. And that one will get its own story too.

This was a long convoluted, somewhat ranty post.

[hiccanna-tidbits]

*kicking at your door, smashing it* DING DONG

Hello! 🥰🌸

from "Questions You Should Be Able To Answer For Any OTP" 1,3,4,5,9 and 10 for moanida!😅💜 But you can answer all of them or only few of them is it's too much ahaha

Ily, take care!!

YEAH BOIIII

Coffee shop AU: Who is the barista, and who frequents the coffee shop?

I'm just imagining Moana being a barista at some hole-in-the-wall authentic Polynesian coffee place by the beach, and of course Merida because she damn well needs her caffeine in the morning or she'll pass out, and Rapunzel insists on starting these fucking Squad Beach Days early. Merida was honestly willing to take the first cup of coffee she could get when the gang first went into town, but uhhhhhh oh GOD that girl behind the counter is cute!!! Merida starts "ending up" in there quite a lot, although initially she can barely string a coherent sentence together in front of that cute barista and can't make eye contact for more than half a second. Extroverted as she can be, Merida dissolves into an absolute mess as soon as a pretty girl is involved XD

Merida also pretends to only like black coffee to make herself seem tough, but in reality she kind of hates it and prefers sugar-laden lattes and sweet teas. After a while, when she and Mo have established kind of a friendship, and Merida can have an conversation with Mo without imploding and making an idiot of herself, Mo notices Mer making a face every time she sips her Plain Black Coffee and kinda smirks and is like “You know, there’s no shame in adding sweeteners. I mean, for god’s sake, my favorite drink here is the blonde vanilla coconut latte, and I’m still pretty tough.” Merida is just like “OH THANK GOD” and finally admits that she’d much rather be ordering an Irish crème, toffee, buttered rum, cinnamon, or caramel latte. If the seasonal flavor selection offers any apple-accented or apple pie-esque lattes, Merida’s all about that shit, too! Probably the most “intense” drink Merida actually enjoys is a pretty spicy cinnamon latte. She ends up ordering this pretty frequently to impress Moana with her spice tolerance, even though she really doesn’t need to.

Also, in case there’s any question about it--yes, Moana absolutely memorizes Merida’s orders! Moana also memorizes what flavor syrups Merida seems to like best (i.e. spicy cinnamon, apple pie, caramel, toffee, butterscotch) and gives them extra shots of them in her drinks. When the manager complains about all of Merida’s favorite flavor syrups running out frequently, Moana is like “Oh nooooo, I have no idea why THAT could be! That’s terrible!”

Rivals to lovers AU: Who takes their rivalry seriously, and who is half in it just to push the other’s buttons?

I love the idea of them having a super-petty sports rivalry in a modern AU! Merida strikes me as being competitive as hell, so I’m betting anything she’d be the one to take it way too seriously and get increasingly annoyed with Moana outdoing her, while Mo kind of gives in and indulges Mer but is also secretly amused and kind of flattered that Mer is like...that into their rivalry. Moana’s just like *Regina George voice* “Why are you so OBSESSED with me???”

Like maybe in a modern-day college AU, Merida has been the star of her college’s archery team basically since freshman year. She wins the championships!!! She gets the trophies!!! She’s very well-known within the tiny niche community that is college archery!!! Then, come junior year, this girl in Merida’s year who Merida’s never even SEEN before shows up out of nowhere and makes the cut for the team. She’s honestly way better than she has any right to be (like judging by how she is with that harpoon gun, Moana’s aim is pretty damn good) and is constantly stealing the spotlight, and Merida is a very angry lass. Like it seems like no matter what she does, Moana can always one-up her, and Merida wants to tear her hair out in frustration. Doesn’t help that every time Moana does ridiculously good on a drill and gets 7 bullseyes in a row or some shit, she’s insufferably smug and cocky about it. Merida very-nearly throws a fit every time Mo outdoes her, and Moana honestly finds the whole thing pretty amusing. She’s sort of flattered that apparently only she can get such dramatic reactions out of Mer, and that just tempts her to push Mer’s buttons all the more.

Then, come the annual Big Archery Tournament Finals! As usual, Merida’s college’s team wins--although this time, it’s through a combination of Merida’s and Moana’s skills rather than just Merida kicking archery ass for like 2 hours straight. On the individual evaluations, Moana scores higher than Merida, but only by a little bit. Merida is, of course, extremely salty, but she’s also grudgingly grateful that Moana being there was able to give their team a definitive edge in the competition.

Afterwards, the team goes out for celebratory drinks. After probably 3 drinks too many, Moana finally works up the courage to try and actually like...have a straight conversation with Merida for once, instead of just communicating with passive-aggressive show-offery. She wanders over, sits next to Mer at the bar, and half-slurredly asks if she can declare a truce just for one night, in honor of their kind-of-teamwork winning the tournament. Merida is also a few drinks in, so she’s just like “sure, fuck it, maybe yer not so bad after all. Now prove to me you’re not a pain in the arse!”

They chat for a while, and it turns out Moana is actually pretty easygoing and fun to talk to when she’s not mega-flexing with her archery skills. After a few more drinks, Moana is like “...can I tell you something?” and Merida’s like “why not?”

And then Moana just goes bright red and looks away and admits that the whole reason she got into archery and boosted up her skills enough to join the team in the first place was because she saw Merida making like 50 bullseyes at the previous year’s tournament, and developed a huge crush on her--to the point where she did all this extra-ass shit just so she could join the archery team and get to know Merida better. Also, every instance of Moana acting smug and cocky after acing a drill or perfectly hitting a target? It was honestly because she was trying to impress and show off to Merida, and also because she’s awkward as hell and has no idea how to actually flirt without being joke-mean and joke-cocky. Merida, a much more emotional drunk than she will ever admit, starts crying and gets super apologetic, because oh god, she was being so mean and rude to this girl who only ever thought she was cool and wanted to impress her from the jump??? How COULD she??? Moana lowkey loses her shit laughing because how mad Merida got at being upstaged was honestly kind of hilarious, and she was actually really flattered that Merida was, again, that obsessed with their rivalry. It made Moana feel weirdly special that only she could get to Merida that much, and she honestly liked the attention, even if it...wasn’t the most positive XD And Merida starts laughing, too, because she’ll admit that in hindsight, this whole thing feels a little ridiculous, and extracurricular college archery really isn’t that big of a deal.

Finally, Merida just rolls her eyes and says “C’mere, yeh bloody show-off yeh” and grabs Moana by the front of her archery uniform and smooches her!!! The entire archery team hoots and hollers because OH SHIT, DAT GAY!!! Merida holds out her other hand and flips the entire team off, which honestly just makes them cheer more.

Enemies to lovers AU: Which one switches sides?

Depends a lot on the conflict, I think! Maybe a war breaks out in an AU where someone other than Moana is chosen to return the Heart of Te Fiti--I’m gonna say Tui, for irony’s sake! Moana and Sina take over as co-chiefs while he’s gone, but he takes significantly longer than Moana did in the quest, so Moana’s tribe is eventually forced to flee Motunui to find new fishing grounds before their island is overtaken by darkness. The people of Motunui sail across the world, trying to find a new place to call home. Unfortunately, every time they find a habitable place, it’s already occupied, and the people who live there are uninterested in sharing their already-scarce food.

Eventually they stumble upon Dunbroch, far enough away from Motunui that the seas aren’t affected by the spreading darkness, and fish are plentiful. Naturally, Moana’s tribe sets up a camp on the shores and starts catching as many fish as they can, hoping they’ve finally found a place where they can have enough to eat again. Unfortunately Fergus and Elinor aren’t too crazy about this, and are like “yo, these oceans and these fish and other game belong to the people of Dunbroch and you gotta leave” and Sina and Moana are like “Pls we don’t have any place to go and we’ve been barely eating for a long-ass time, can’t you spare some food?” and Fergus and Elinor are like “sorry bro, it’s almost winter and we have our own entire kingdom to look after, we don’t need more mouths to feed. You gotta be on your way or shit’s gonna get real.”

So Moana thinks this sounds sketch as fuck because like...there’s an entire forest full of deer, rabbits, and other game, and they have NO food they can spare??? That night, Sina sends Moana to spy on the kingdom, since she can be pretty sneaky when she wants. Moana manages to climb the castle battlements and watch through a window, and she sees a bunch of people enjoying a massive feast in a huge dining hall. Her eyes are particularly drawn to a girl about her age with a head full of bright, fiery curls, wearing a nice dark green dress and gorging herself on pastries adorned with white icing and raspberries.

Moana heads back and tells Sina “actually it looks like these assholes have PLENTY of food to spare, and they just want to keep it all for themselves” and Sina is like “well shit...why don’t we raid their food store, then??? They’ve gotta have one somewhere!” And so the Motunui village storms Castle Dunbroch at dawn, catching them almost completely by surprise.

The first thing Moana does is seek out the redheaded pastry girl, whom she’s developed a particular disdain for. When she rushes her, she’s surprised that the ginger girl whips around and immediately sends an arrow sailing into her shoulder. When Moana gets close, the redheaded girl pulls out a sword. Moana takes out a long, sharpened wooden spear made from a particularly tough oar.

She turns out to be much more competent than Moana expected, especially for someone who was shamelessly shoving sweets into her mouth not 7 hours earlier.

They go toe to toe Raya-and-Namaari style, and the redheaded girl admittedly gives Moana a run for her money. The longer the battle goes on, the more Moana’s rage grows. She taunts the redheaded girl the entire time, calling her a spoiled, selfish brat who’d rather gorge herself with all the sugar in the world than share even one grain of it. Merida, who hasn’t exactly heard good things about these people from her parents, is just like “well, you’re no better, showing up and thinking you can just steal what belongs to Dunbroch and we won’t put up a fight!”

And thus the war begins. Motunui is never quite strong enough to get through the guards and raid the food stores, and Dunbroch is never quite strong enough to fully drive Motunui out of the kingdom. Fergus and Moana are both far too stubborn to surrender (despite the fact that Sina is kind of ready to), and so the battles continue. Casualties start to pile up. Dunbroch seeks help from the other clans, but they refuse--they did not take their leaders’ sons being scorned by the Dunbroch princess lightly.

Over and over, Moana can’t help but be drawn to the redheaded girl. She realizes after a few battles that this girl isn’t just anymore, but the Dunbroch princess--her resemblance to the king and his protectiveness over her can’t be a coincidence. It only makes Moana hate her more--but time and time again, she isn’t able to get the better of the princess. Moana can fight hard, and she can be vicious--but so, she’s discovering, can the Dunbroch girl. The princess is clever and cunning, and underestimating her has almost gotten Moana a blade in the throat one too many times.

Merida would be the one to change sides eventually, I think (wooo! Finally got to the actual question!). Once she finds out her parents didn’t tell her the whole truth about their first meeting with the Motunui village and sorta fudged what happened, Merida is livid that they turned away people who needed help. She said if she had known there were people who were tired and hungry and just needed a place to rest, she would have gladly given up some of her own meals for them! To prove this, she gathers up her dinner--plus some apples and some pastries she was going to have for dessert--and puts it in a basket, taking it to the Motunui camp as a peace offering. Moana ambushes her and very nearly slices the basket in half, if only because Moana was convinced it was filled with venemous snakes. After some bickering, Moana finally snatches the food away and, after testing it to make sure it wasn’t poisoned, brings it to Sina.

Unfortunately, one basket of food isn’t enough to feed the village, and the fighting continues. Merida tries to convince her parents to share their food stores with Motunui, but they still refuse, saying they need those stores for their own people and the Motunui people killed any chance of goodwill they might get when they attacked. Determined not to see people starve, Merida starts stealing from the reserve herself and sneaking the food out to the Motunui camp. Moana is feeling a lot more kindly towards Merida at this point, and feels a little bad about being so quick to judge her initially.

Eventually, Fergus and Elinor notice the food in the stores going missing, and figure some of the Motunui villagers must be running stealth operations to sneak in and get it. Dunbroch launches a full-scale attack on Montunui--while Merida is at their camp sneaking them food, in fact. Fergus makes a beeline for Moana. Word has gotten out by now of the times she managed to spy on the castle, so her sneakiness is well-known--and Fergus is all but certain she’s the thief. He charges at her with his sword, aimed to kill, when his own daughter steps in the way.

He barely manages to stop himself, but he does just in time. Merida admits she was stealing the food the whole time, and she can’t let Fergus hurt Moana. Fergus demands to know why, and Merida tearfully admits “Because I love her!”

Fergus, in a rage, takes out his sword again and charges Merida. Swords clash between father and daughter, and Merida looks like she’s just about to be overpowered. Moana can see the fear and betrayal in her eyes, appalled that her father would actually contemplate hurting her.

Not wanting to see whether he actually would, Moana steps in and helps Merida to fend Fergus off. “Enough!” she screams. “How can you live with yourself? My father risked his life to try to save his daughter and his people--and you’re willing to fight yours because she doesn’t agree with all this senseless violence?! You make me sick! I’m standing with Merida, because...because I love her too. I’ll leave if you want, but I want this to end.”

This finally snaps Fergus out of it, and he and Elinor decide that maybe the fighting has gone on long enough--and maybe it’s not worth it anymore, if it’s pitting them against their own daughter now. They end up trying to work out something with Motunui. Establishing a peace treaty and figuring out how to proceed forward is a long and messy process, but everyone is willing to put in the work--for the sake of Merida and Moana, if for nothing else.

Soulmate AU: Who is eager to meet their soulmate? Who absolutely does not want to meet their soulmate?

Neither of them want to meet their soulmate XD Merida has just been repulsed by the idea of marriage and commitment since she was young, mainly because she can’t not see it as just a means of taking her freedom away and making her be subservient to someone. Besides, given the, um...heteronormative culture of Dunbroch and all, she assumes she’ll get not just stuck with, but cosmically bound to a man and that idea just...doesn’t do anything but fill her with unadulterated disgust XD Like please no, she’s perfectly happy to go where she pleases when she pleases with no one but Angus for company. The last thing she needs is some stuck-up, snot-nosed boy telling her what she can and can’t do.

Moana has similar concerns, although maybe a bit less extreme. She’s mainly worried that when she meets her soulmate and, as per expectation, marries them, she’ll be expected to “mature” into a full adult and fully embrace her responsibilities as chief, leaving behind her childhood dreams of exploring the ocean. Same as Merida, she’s worried the person she’s destined for will tie her down and prevent her from exploring and going on the adventures she craves so badly. She’s also, like Merida, worried she’ll get stuck with some lame, boring dude who she’ll be destined for because...he loves her!!! And will be really nice to her!!! But will not stimulate or interest her in any way whatsoever!!! And Moana is pretty uninterested in romance and dating regardless, so the idea of any kind of romantic partner who she’d hypothetically have to run crazy ideas by before just doing them doesn’t sound too appealing to her. Like, she’s happy where she is and having her friends and family for company, what does she need an SO for??? It just feels like the whole “soulmate” business is just the universe attempting to give her a babysitter, and Moana ain’t about that. She can do things on her own, dammit!!! And what makes the great elder love gods think she wants another person to keep track of on her escapades, anyways?!? It’s enough effort keeping herself safe without worrying about someone else!

Imagine their shocked delight when each finds out their soulmate is a) a girl and b) a girl arguably just as chaotic, adventurous, and rebellious as they are!!! They meet and they’re like “huh...maybe the universe wasn’t being some big dumb fucking idiot binding us together after all. I can work with this!!!”

Pirate AU: Who is the pirate? Who is the member of the royal family who did not sign up for this?

Merida is the pirate! Or at least...the one who becomes a pirate first! XD Maybe to escape her betrothal she steals a ship and flees Dunbroch, and BOOM trouble on the High Seas time!!! Eventually she sails to the south Pacific on her naval escapades, and stumbles on Motunui. When she finds out Moana is a chief’s daughter, she naturally kidnaps her and holds her for ransom--because screw it, she hasn’t successfully pillaged any merchant ships recently and she needs some cash. But instead of being like “Noooo take me home!” Moana is like “Actually this fucks, I’ve always wanted to sail the ocean anyways and my dad wouldn’t let me before, so you’ve accidentally given me an avenue to achieve my dreams!!! Thank you!!!” And Merida realizes that a first mate would actually be a lot more useful in the long run than a handful of hostage money, so she just kind of shrugs like “aight, yer on the crew.”

Merida is a bit salty because Moana takes to the pirate lifestyle excellently--so much so that before long, she’s arguably a better pirate than Merida XD While Merida is a bit cranky about being outdone in the art of piracy, she also can’t help but admire Moana’s natural aptitude for sailing and propensity for mischief on the High Seas!!!

Their ship is called “The Arrow,” and Merida definitely uses her bow during pirate-to-pirate combat! She teaches Moana how to shoot a bow, but discovers Mo is pretty nifty with a harpoon gun as well!

Childhood best friends AU: Which one was super obviously in love with the other the whole time? Who was oblivious until they were older?

Oooooh, this is a fun one!!! Admittedly I don’t usually think about these girls in a Childhood Friends to Lovers AU (very possibly due to...geographical constraints lol) so this’ll be a cool thought experiment!

SO in order to fix my unfortunate geographical constraints, I’m gonna say that this is an AU where the people of Motunui were wayfinders from the jump, and while voyaging (admittedly a LONG way), they stumbled upon Dunbroch. Moana’s parents and Merida’s parents immediately hit it off, and established a political alliance of sorts.

Moana, meanwhile, pulled the classic “little girl on vacation/at an event immediately seeks out other little girl and becomes best friends with her.” Moana and Merida naturally also hit it off immediately, and are both pretty bummed out when Tui and Sina want to leave and continue voyaging and such. However, they make plans to visit as frequently as they can and Merida and Moana are super hyped about this! They both always get extremely excited for said visits, and Little Moana nearly falls off the front of her family’s boat several times because she’s leaning over so far and squinting so hard to try and see Dunbroch.

I love the idea that Moana was the one who was totally smitten from the jump, to the point where it took her years to realize she was aspec because she was like “Of course I can fall in love!!! I’m in love with Merida!!!” She just didn’t realize most people have romantic inclinations toward more than one person over the course of their lives XD

It absolutely does not help that Merida is extremely romance-repulsed when they’re kids--mainly because she associates romance in general with being docile and acting stupid to impress some annoying macho guy, and that thought kinda makes her want to puke. That, and given how, er...heteronormative things are in Dunbroch, it doesn’t reall occur to her that romancing girls is like...an option. So poor Moana has always kind of resigned herself to thinking she has no chance with Merida, and keeps her feelings under pretty tight lock since she doesn’t want to ruin their close friendship and all and she doubts Merida even swings that way.

THEN when they’re in their early teens, Merida is like “hmmm...I wonder what it would be like to kiss Moana?” but then IMMEDIATELY feels weird for thinking that and tells absolutely no one. She’s definitely starting to feel something a little different than just platonic friendship though, and of course she’s also convinced Moana only sees her as a friend and probably doesn’t like girls.

Then one day they’re wrestling around out in the woods, like they have since they were little, and at one point Merida leans down and just impulsively kisses Moana. She’s super flustered and apologetic afterwards, but Moana just stares in shock before being like “holy shit, I never thought you’d actually want me too. Holy shit!!!!” After that, they start secret-dating and everyone around just thinks they’re still “very good friends” XD

When Merida turns 16 and gets the news of her betrothal, she’s devastated. It takes her several days to process her emotions, and several times she tries to protest to her mother, but Elinor steamrolls her and talks over her at every turn. Finally, when Merida can get a word in edgewise, she tearfully bursts out that she can’t go through with this because she loves Moana. Elinor, traditionally-minded woman that she is, is horrified by this.

When Fergus finds out, he GOES OFF at Elinor and sticks up for Merida. He basically says that she’s their daughter and they should want her to be happy, and they should be happy for her that she did find someone she loves, even if it’s a bit...unconventional.

Later, at the betrothal ceremony, Merida picks an archery contest for the suitors with the hopes of cheating the system and winning her own hand. Imagine her surprise when Moana rushes in late with a makeshift bow on her hip, shouting “I am Moana of Motunui, and I’ll be shooting for the princess’s hand as well!”

Luckily, due to Moana’s years and years of informal archery training from Merida herself, the other suitors really don’t stand a chance.

It turns out that Elinor and Fergus set this whole thing up, deciding in the end that their daughter should at least be able to marry who she loves if she had to get looped into a political marriage. And honestly, they weren’t going to say no to a stronger alliance with Motunui at the end of the day. Merida is so pleasantly shocked by the whole thing that she forgets to be mad about the fact that she’s still being pressured into a marriage pretty young XD Luckily, Moana has no intention of trying to hold Merida back or take her freedom away! Their relationship really barely changes after they officially become wives, and they’re still just as in love as they’ve basically always been.

As for the issue of heirs, Elinor and Fergus just make Merida’s brothers the heirs of Dunbroch, and Tui and Sina are fine with Moana and Merida choosing an heir for Motunui who isn’t necessarily their biological child. Neither Moana nor Merida are crazy about the “leaders have to be from the chief/monarch’s bloodline” rule anyways, so they’re more than fine with this!

This is in reference to this post! Still answering these questions for Moanida and Hiccanna, if I haven’t done so already!

@takaraphoenix come get your daily dose of Moanida!

[amajikilvr]

warm aromas - tamaki amajiki

word count 1.9k

reader type filipino , gender-neutral

premise tamaki gets a taste of your cultural during a first date

For the record, you weren’t terribly nervous about this date. At least not any type of uneasiness worth noting. It was a fluttery kind of anticipation that shot your butterfly-filled stomach into your chest, all the way up your throat, and then finally falling back down before repeating and repeating. More than anything else, you were excited.

It was just Amajiki, after all. Well, he wasn’t just anything. Amajiki was a beautiful kaleidoscope of oddities that you had yet to have the pleasure of discovering. For now, you simply knew him as the tender boy in your class with immense talent and heart.

You considered him a great friend and had been willing to take a leap of faith in an effort to pursue something more. And it seemed like your bravery was paying off so far.

Walking into the warmly lit restaurant, you took a deep breath of the aromatic atmosphere and felt your heart jump and shake as Amajiki’s sweet face came to mind. You couldn’t see yourself ever forgetting the way his complexion had brightly glowed like the surface of a fresh cherry when you asked him out after class.

The familiar older woman working at the front waved and greeted you by name and you did the same with a notable extra twirl in your step. She raised an eyebrow at you, aged forehead wrinkling in amusement.

Needless to say, not even a sudden run-in with your worst enemy would’ve been able to take your good mood down a single notch.

And there he was, already sitting at a back booth that was tucked away and hidden from the majority of fellow patrons, which didn’t surprise you in the slightest.

You grinned and held back a squeal as you plopped down in the seat across from him. “Hi! Hope I didn’t make you wait too long.”

Amajiki immediately shook his head, indigo tufts of hair bouncing comically. You wanted to just reach out and ruffle them.

“Y/L/N! You didn’t! I was just early, sorry. I was so worried about making you wait for me. Sorry.”

“Aw, that was sweet of you, Tamaki.” You watched his cheeks flush at the use of his given name. Hesitantly, you let your hand hover over his. “Can I?”

“O-oh, yeah.” His face went pale before gradually going an even darker shade of red crimson.

You leaned forward and gently grabbed his hand, a little shocked to feel it trembling. “I’m really happy to be here, you know. Especially since it’s with you.”

Amajiki gulped before taking a long steady breath. His lips curved into a small smile as he made tentative eye contact with you for the first time.

“Me too… Y/N.”

“So, have you ever tried Filipino food before?” You asked after a moment of comfortable silence between you two, still relishing the feeling of his hand in yours. “Hado-san told me you were an adventurous eater…”

“I guess I am. My quirk kinda relies on a diet with plenty of variety. I’ve grown to really enjoy trying different kinds of food, practicality aside.” He paused, clearing his throat, and glancing away. “No Filipino food yet, though.”

“Well,” You gave his hand an experimental squeeze. Amajiki’s breathing went shaky in response, but he squeezed back. “I think you’re really going to like it.”

You’d discovered this restaurant after searching the Internet for somewhere in this city that served authentic Filipino cuisine. Finally, you found this nice family-owned place with delicious food, albeit you still preferred your mother’s cooking, but that was a given.

“Then I’m excited.” Amajiki gave you another wobbly smile. “Not that I wasn’t excited before. I was up all night thinking a… Oh, that’s embarrassing…”

You laughed softly, not at him, but hoping to reassure him. “No, that’s actually cute.”

Tamaki’s eyes went wide and instead of the blush returning, he went as white as a bedsheet. “Oh god… I’m sorry, I’m just so embarrassed. Y/N… Sorry…”

He covered his face with his free hand which was shaking significantly more by now. You were slightly concerned he might get up and run for the nearest corner.

“Tamaki, it’s okay.” You wanted to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, but you settled for squeezing his hand some more in hopes of not further overwhelming him. “It’s all good, don’t worry. I really like you.”

He opened his mouth as if to respond, but was interrupted by the arrival of the waiter who you had already grown quite friendly with over the years. You made a bit of small talk before ordering several classic dishes for Amajiki and you to sample together.

“Y/N,” Amajiki spoke up once you two were alone again. Thankfully, he had time to recover while you ordered and color had returned to his face as a result. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“What is it about me that you like?” The last part was practically whispered and you had to guess whether you heard him correctly. “I just didn’t expect any of this is all…”

You tilted your head, smiling at Amajiki as you looked over his face carefully. He was beautiful on the outside too. His jawline was sharp and prominent, skin clear and soft-looking, and his eyes were sparkling and expressive. You could never get over the color, a startlingly deep shade that was only missing a background of stars and planets.

“Well, firstly, I think you’re very attractive.” You watched Amajiki choke on the sip of water he’d taken. He coughed a few times before silently blinking at you and you took it as a sign to continue. “You’re just so vibrant. When you’re using your quirk, you light up the whole room. You do without it too. And watching you work so hard and improve this year has been amazing. You inspire me without even trying and I couldn’t be more thankful for it.”

Amajiki made a small gasping noise, borderline a squeak, before squeezing his pretty eyes shut. He took a couple of deep breaths before sighing heavily. “T-that’s… Wow… Y/N, thank you. Thank you so much.”

He kept his eyes closed as he finished, blushing immensely again. “I think you’re beautiful… And smart. And kind. And… Oh my god, sorry, I might need a minute to just-”

“Tamaki.” You nervously brought your hand to his face and cupped his cheek. It was incredibly warm. “Is this okay?”

The response was shockingly quick. “Y-yes.”

You took another huge risk and just hoped it would pay off in the end. “Can I kiss you?”

A pregnant pause this time. Your heart was working overtime and you swore you could hear it pounding from inside your chest. Amajiki was quivering ever so slightly under your touch. You shouldn’t have asked, it was probably too much happening too fast.

“It’s okay if you don’t-”

Amajiki cut you off almost frantically. “No! I mean, yes, you can. Please…”

You gathered yourself and leaned even further across the table. First, you planted a chaste and sweet kiss on his other cheek. Going for his lips took more courage, but you did it. This kiss was longer than the other, but not by much. You didn’t care. As it turns out, Amajiki’s lips were as soft as they looked.

“Was that fine?” You asked, concerned when he still wasn’t opening his eyes. You felt a bit jittery yourself from that kiss.

They flew open at your voice. “It was great, I just need to go…”

He made a weak outward gesture and you gave him a comforting smile. You understood without him having to say it. He just needed a moment to himself after all of that.

“The washroom’s over there.”

Amajiki stood up, his hand coming loose from yours and your other hand falling from his hot face. “Thank you. I really did enjoy that, I just need a minute. Sorry, this is so rude of me…”

You shook your head sharply. “I don’t think that. Go ahead, take your time. I get it. I really do.”

“All that matters is that you feel comfortable.”

“Okay. Thank you.” He seemed relieved as he stared at you, actually gazing into your eyes, before rushing off towards the door you had pointed out to him.

Now alone, you smiled to yourself and placed a finger to your lips, still shell-shocked by the turn of events. You had actually kissed Amajiki and it was everything you’d imagined and more. Things couldn’t be going better and you two hadn’t even ate yet!

It wasn’t too long before your order arrived and Amajiki returned nearly back-to-back.

“Perfect timing,” You greeted him and took note of how he was no longer shaking like a leaf. “I might’ve gone overboard… don’t know if we’ll be able to finish all of this ourselves.”

“You’d be surprised by the size of the meals at Fat’s agency.” Amajiki chuckled as he took in the plates of steaming food laid out before you two. “What should I try first?”

You feigned being deep in thought before grinning. “Hm, just pick whatever.”

He reached for the platter of puto and you followed suit. They looked delicious, extra fluffy and topped off gooey cheese. Amajiki watched as you popped the entire thing in your mouth with zero reservation.

“They’re little steamed rice cakes.” You explained after swallowing.

Amajiki took a bite out of his and finished it soon after before grabbing another. “Mm, they’re very light. Do they always have cheese?”

“Depends, but a lot of the time, yeah.” You answered while helping yourself to a second of your own. “Hey, What could you manifest out of this?”

A mischievous twinkle flashed in Amajiki’s eyes as he raised a finger in a “wait a minute” fashion. You wanted to giggle at how his face scrunched up in concentration, but held back for his sake. After a short moment, a pair of small pale horns shot out from his purple hair.

You let out your laugh, nearly choking on puto in the process. “Nice!”

His cheeks were rosy as he scratched at the back of his neck. He looked focused once again before the horns seemed to be gone in the blink of an eye.

“Dairy products are always fun.” Amajiki stated while sipping his water. “I could’ve given myself two stomachs but I thought that was kinda gross…”

“Just a bit.” You agreed, laughing softly. “But also kinda cool.”

Next came the lumpia, a dish comparable to egg rolls. Amajiki seemed especially pleased as he took several bites out of one.

“Really good.” He confirmed with a nod. “Pork inside?”

“Yup.” You kicked him playfully under the table. “Think you could manifest one of those curly pigtails? Like in the cartoons?”

Amajiki froze like a statue midchew.

“Just kidding.” You reached over and gave his hand a quick squeeze. “Glad you like it.”

“I-I think I like you more, Y/N.”

The lunch date continued on. It was a quiet moment while you two were enjoying a hearty noodle dish when you were struck with a wave of warmth that filled you from head to toe. You felt so at home, sharing this piece of your culture with probably your favorite person ever.

Amajiki appeared utterly relaxed as he ate, cheeks tinted with a very soft pink. You noticed both of his pointy ears twitch a number of times and were puzzled before you remembered something Togata had said to you once.

“He’s done it ever since we were kids. When he’s really happy, his ears will do this twitch-thingy, but try not to point it out. He gets really embarrassed.”

It might have been the cutest sight you’d ever seen.

[strideofpride]

DAIR APPRECIATION WEEK 2021 DAY ONE: Why do you love Dan and Blair?

I broke down what I love about Dan and Blair into five parts under a read more below. The tldr is: their compatibility, their parallel arcs, their slow burn, the larger message it would've given GG if they were endgame, and finally their mature, adult relationship (aka "pure and simple love").

Warning: I basically wrote a fucking essay lmao. Cited my sources and everything.

I. Compatibility

Dan and Blair have great chemistry sure, but they have something that I don't think any other pairing on the show really had: common interests. They were pseudo-intellectuals who could talk about books, literature, art, etc. with each other ("Dan and I have a real connection. We did things like visit the Dia and debate Charbol versus Rohmer..."). And I know in TV world all anyone cares about is chemistry, but in the real world the key to a long lasting relationship is common interests.

And yet they are also still an opposite attracts pairing, just in the best way, where they are opposite in personality and background, but still share lots of common interests. Blair was the rich mean girl from the Upper East Side and Dan the "poor" loser from Brooklyn, but they still can relate to one another, they can still find stuff to talk about together, they still come to enjoy each other's presence and friendship.

And back to their chemistry: it isn't steamy chemistry 100% all the time (although they can certainly go there). Their's is a sweet chemistry, a chemistry where it's clear that they respect each other, that they know each other on a deep level, that they understand each other more than anyone else. It's a chemistry that you believe could lead to a satisfying marriage one day.

And I know I've said this before, but to me Dan and Blair are just soulmates.

II. Parallel Arcs

I am such a sucker for when two characters' life journeys parallel one another and Dair had that in spades. In season 1 especially, they were both dealing with the abandonment of a parent (Dan's mom/Blair's dad), they both lost their virginities and entered into sexual relationships with much more experienced partners (Serena & Chuck), and they both had their sights set on one school (Yale & Dartmouth - although come season 2 this became Yale for Dan, giving them even more in common).

I've also already talked on here about how you can parallel all of their other romantic/sexual relationships to one another, as well as how they both were abandoned by their best friends sophomore year. And, they both have a bad habit of going back to the same person over and over again (again, Serena & Chuck).

To me, Dan and Blair are almost narrative foils. Dan's relationship with his father starts out pretty solid but deteriorates over time - Blair's relationship with her mother is the exact opposite. Dan pines, while Blair loves to live in denial. Blair sees her life as a movie, Dan sees his life as a novel.

And that makes it all the more satisfying to see them come together, to learn to appreciate their differences, to accept their similarities, to see them grow together (albeit briefly) over seasons 4 and 5.

III. Slow Burn

A lot of people on here use this word incorrectly. If the characters kiss during season 1 (unless it’s under false pretenses) it’s not a slow burn! But Dan and Blair are a true slow burn (whether or not that was intentional).

From that hallway scene in 1x04, it's clear that Dan and Blair have a deeper connection and understanding of each other than they are letting on. We get brief glimpses into that in 1x15, 2x08, 3x18, and 3x22. All of that very slow build up makes it all the more satisfying when they become friends in season 4.

I truly think the W arc is the best written arc of the entire show. You very slowly see them accept their common interests, grow to begrudgingly respect one another, even begin to accept that there might be an attraction there. It never feels rushed, when they kiss in 4x17, it's earned (I use this word a lot - buckle in).

And then, yeah, the Louis arc was fucky (I stand by that they should've kept the love triangle Dan vs. Chuck, or Dan vs. Louis, all three was too much). But Dan standing by Blair through everything she went through that season was beautiful, to see her depend on Dan in her darkest moments, to see her realize that he's the one who will always be there for her...it just really, really worked.

And so that moment when Blair finally calls him "Dan" to his face, when it becomes clear they are finally going to be together...it's one of the single most satisfying moments in the entire show. Because, again, it was earned.

IV. Larger Message

As this video essay posits, the showrunners were left with a choice after the 2008 economic recession: "Either adjust to the times or lean further into an escapist fantasy where extreme wealth is the status quo...and lean they did. For the sake of providing their audience with an escape, the dark underbelly of extreme affluence became the show's core theme. The more it began to sell cynical opulence as standard escapism, the more the writers and fans turned on the less wealthy characters."

Furthermore, by revealing Dan as Gossip Girl, "It transitions him from pretentious soft boy to borderline sociopath, actively ruining the lives of his friends, family, and crush just to get a foothold in Upper East Side society. And then the show did something it had seldom deemed to do for a less wealthy character: it rewarded him...And thus, the show presented us with the most insidious message of all: wealth, privilege, and power corrupt...and that's okay."

By having Chuck & Blair and Dan & Serena as endgame, GG became one of the most cynical shows on the planet, where (to quote Constance Grady) "all relationships are transactional".

But yet: "The sole bright spot in the midst of this cold universe in which relationships are bought and sold like real estate came in the form of Blair’s brief season four romance with Dan...it marked the last hurrah of the first version of Gossip Girl: In a world in which money is so powerful that it makes romantic relationships indistinguishable from prostitution, Dan and Blair were working to create an authentic, meaningful bond outside of the influence of wealth and privilege."

If Dan and Blair had been endgame (and Dan hadn't been GG - although we all know that one is bullshit anyway), it would've been a rebuke to that ideology, it would've shown that there is more to a good marriage than a shared tax bracket, that a genuine connection is more important than wealth and privilege. That abuse does not equal love.

But alas, that was not the story they wanted to tell I guess.

V. Mature, Adult Relationship (aka "Pure & Simple Love")

I am personally not much of a fan of grand romantic gestures. I often find them shallow, childish, and showy. To me, it is far more romantic for Dan to have secretly written a book about Blair, for Blair to submit Dan's article to Vanity Fair, for Dan to say "it wouldn't to me" when Blair asks if it would matter if she was pregnant with another man's child (especially since this moment is (take a shot here), you guessed it, earned - we know he's being honest because we already saw him do this with Milo).

Now, I am personally not as much of a fan of the Met Steps moment as everyone else (Blair's desire to be royalty is probably the thing I like least about her), but that was probably Dan's grandest romantic gesture and yet...it's still so simple. It's really just a plastic tiara and a cab ride. Which is what makes it so beautiful. Because it's not about the money or the extravagance or showing off to anyone else...it's about Dan showing Blair he truly knows her. And to me, that's the healthiest way to do a romantic gesture.

I also love their bad sex arc in 5x18 because a) it's real - most real world couples don't have earth shattering sex the first time together, it takes time to learn what your partner likes and needs and b) because they actually (after getting drunk at Dorota's & Nate's) communicate about it and work out their problem like adults.

Because that's the thing about Dan and Blair - it's a real adult relationship. It's not a never-ending game of cat and mouse, it's not a fallback, it's not a bad habit...everything else just melts away when they're together. They grew and changed together...they learned to put aside their prejudices and see each other beyond their facades. They became better people together. They always had someone they knew they could turn to.

And that's what true love is supposed to be.

[june2734]

The Short Lived Golden Age of Nerdy Web Shows

There was a time between the years of, let's say, 2007 to 2015 that I like to call the golden age of nerdy web shows. It consisted of a lot of small low to no budget productions that had a lot of heart, the kind you just don't see very often anymore for some reason. Many of these show have found a dedicated home on streaming services like The Fantasy Network, some have even gained enough steam to be featured on big name services like Netflix and Amazon like The Guild and LARPs The series respectively. I'm not exactly sure why the web show trend died out so hard, maybe the crowds just aren't there for them anymore like they use to be with some many pieces of high budget productions on streaming services vying for their attention. Every once and a while I'll jump onto Google to try and find new web shows that have that same heart and feel but rarely if ever do I come up with anything. As far as I can tell the only place new nerdy low to mid budget web shows or films gets any attention is at GenCon or small streaming services like The Fantasy Network. Who knows if there will ever be another nerdy heartfelt web show created that captures the spirit of those old series I hold so dear to my heart, but regardless if it happens or not I'd like to bring some attention to a few of my favorites. They may be old by the standards of the internet and maybe even cheesy by today's standards, but I really think they were something special and if you give them a shot maybe you'll think so too. If you have any others that you think would fit in with shows like this feel free to let me know.

The Gamers: Hands Of Fate

Zombie Orpheus Entertainment use to be one of my favorite channels for nerdy fantasy related content back in the day. You could always see the quality and passion that they put into every piece of content they out out on their channel. They're still around today but they've shifted their focus to other ventures such as the ever popular trend of live streaming table top games rather then making scripted content. That being said their old stuff is still well worth a watch and The Gamers series, particularly The Gamers: Hands of Fate, is some of their best work they’ve ever put out. The series centers around a group of table top gamers(the same that can be found in most of the other The Gamers creations by ZOE), particularly the character by the name of Cass, as he steps into the world of one extremely popular card game hopes of impressing a woman who's a huge fan of it. But this is seemingly simple premise is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this series. The show also features a secondary narrative that involves the characters that actually exist in the card game as as the players decisions in the real world effect their lives and leads one character, Buckstahue(not sure if I’m spelling that right), in particular to start questioning what mysterious forces are controlling their lives. The show is a real treat filled with twists and turns I never saw coming, it's fascinating seeing how the real world actions of this card game effects the card characters lives as well as question if and when Buckstahue will figure out what strings control her actions. The stories surrounding the other characters in the party might not be as engaging but they are by no means a weak point of the series either, many of their subplots are engaging in their own rights and pay off certain character moments established in proper The Gamers creations. If this peaks your interest then the series can still be found on Zombie Orpheus's Youtube channel or as a movie on The Fantasy Network. ZOE had pivoted more towards live streaming as opposed to the scripted content of their past but I'd love to see more content from The Gamers one day. Source

LARPs The Series

LARPs The Series first premiered at GenCon 2014 and took home the award for Best Independent Series. The year after it was picked up by Geek and Sundry as a part of a push for more scripted content on the channel which was where I and many others first got a chance to watch it. When the short trailer for popped up on the G&S channel everything about it screamed that I was absolutely going to love it, and I wasn’t wrong. The series centers around a 4 man party of larpers (AKA Live Action Role Players) by the names of Will, Brittany, Arthur and Sam and their DM (Dungeon Master) Evan as we follow their lives in and out of the game. The show is surprisingly heartfelt and sympathetic towards the characters involved in this often misunderstood and mocked hobby as it shows how larping enriches their often turbulent lives and connects them all as friends on a deep and meaningful level. These characters felt real and you really rooted for them as they deal with, work, relationships and the many other hurtles of adult life as they wait eagerly to gear up for whatever peril might befall them in their next campaign session. The show was also pretty hilarious, seeing them play out classic predicaments that any party, whether they be larpers or table top roleplayers, have experienced such as one player trying to roll to kill a tavern owner or romances between PCs were always a joy to watch unfold.  Another thing that most will notice right away is how the production value and direction are surprisingly astounding as well, especially in season 2. I was shocked by just how much quality was put into the show from the costumes and sets as well as from a writing standpoint. If you're interested in checking out the show then it can be found on Amazon Prime but they can also still be viewed for free on YouTube or in The Fantasy Network. Beanduck, the production company behind LARPs The series, is working towards a funding campaign in hopes of earning enough to produce a third season so if you have any spare change you might want to toss it their way in support. Regardless if you decide to help or not, LARPs The Series is a show that I think any nerdy individual will enjoy. Source

Glitch

Glitch was another show produced by the team over at Zombie Orpheus Entertainment, but it never seemed to get the same kind of love as many of their other productions. The concept was brilliant: What if one day you woke up and found out your life operated on the logic of video games? Well this is the predicament that a programing temp nicknamed Glitch finds himself in. Most episodes of the show centered around particular game mechanics causing problems in his and his friends lives and how he tries to figure out ways to work around or fix problems they've created. Glitch, Wyatt and Samus were all fantastic characters and it was always fun seeing Glitch trying to work through some real world problem with game logic like trying to flirt with a woman he likes using a conversation wheel like in Mass Effect or figuring out how to "defeat" his boss at work who he see's as an actual game boss. Another thing I liked about the show was how the characters really felt like real people I knew, they played games on the couch, debated about which Sci-Fi starship captains were the best, and they grilled each other in nerdy ways while working in slang from their favorite bits of nerd culture into their daily vocabulary. I always hoped that ZOE would eventually put out a second season but unfortunately for whatever reason that never became a reality. Now days the channel that originally hosted Glitch has changed their name to Burger Orchard and rarely if ever uploads anything, but luckily those original episodes of Glitch can still be found on their. Give it a watch, it's short but sweet and if you really enjoyed the show a lot there are little companion shorts that can also be found on the channel. Source

The Street Fighter

The Game Station was an early find for me back in my early college days, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I shaved away many hours watching all kinds of gaming related content on that channel instead of studying for exams. One production, created by one of the channels founders Layne Pavoggi, which came out in late 2011 and was a cut above much their already fantastic content was a short lived series was called The Street Fighter. The series centered around a single dad by the name of Phil who has just lost his job and decides to take up a short career as a professional Street Fighter player to provide for his son as well as keep his mind off of the stressful and highly competitive job market. This a real underdog story that’s extremely reminiscent of old sports 80s films where the protagonist has everything working against them, with that being said you might think that such a trope filled narrative would make things a little predictable and you wouldn’t be wrong but there’s still plenty to love since this concept has really never been explored with videogame to my knowledge. Phil is a guy you’d be hard pressed not to warm up to, especially when you see him interacting with his preteen son Ryan or his best friend/semi love interest Camile (played by former All That star and all around spectacular person Lisa Foiles). Seeing him trying to make his way into the job market, taking odd jobs here and there just to try and get by while also playing Street Fighter to destress and become better for the sake of winning a competition for money to support his son really makes to root for him through all of it. One aspect of the show that I really this is fantastic is how it feels truly authentic to the FGC (Fighting Game Community) when it comes to talking about all of the technical aspects of play Street Fighter on a competitive level. There are moments when Phil goes into detail about his “bread and butter” combos or talks about different strategies when it comes to taking on different characters compared to his main. The show was short lived but it can still be found on The Game Stations channel, if you’re looking for a heartfelt underdog story then I highly recommend giving The Street Fighter a shot. Source

Versus Valerie

Versus Valerie is a bit of series finale for a fictional character created by Hannah Spear for the character more commonly known as the Sexy Nerd Girl on her YouTube channel. Even if you didn't watch the characters vlogs over the years leading up to the web series I still think you'll find something to enjoy in this extremely charming show. It centers around Valerie Lapomme, the titular Sexy Nerd Girl, as she lives life hanging out with with her best friend Guy, shopping for comic books, going on dates, vlogging, and trying to make something of herself as a mid 20 something living in Toronto. The brilliant thing about this series is how each episode is structured like or makes homage to popular shows, films and games such as Star Wars, Doctor Who, Memento, and The Matrix just to name a few. On top of that the show is surprisingly well produced and written for something that spawned from a fictional vlog series, Valarie and Guy are much more fleshed out and all the characters including them have some really fantastic character arcs and moments in the show. Valerie’s awkwardness and extremely nerdy imagination felt embracingly relatable to me personally since I often imagine different situations in my life in relation to my own nerdy fandoms. What I was often taken aback by when I first watched the show years ago was just how enjoyable all of the episodes were in their own special way, and the pay off of it all really feels like a proper satisfying ending to the strange and imaginative journey we’ve been on with Valerie. If it peaks your interest at all then you can still find the full series on the Veruse Valerie YouTube channel as well as some of the vlogs prior to the series on the Sexy Nerd Girl channel as well. It’s well worth a viewing and aside from the fantastic lead characters of Guy and Valerie the show also managed to grab Mark Meer as a supporting character, aka the voice of COMMANDER MOTHER F^*$(^% SHEPARD BABY!!!  Source

[purplesurveys]

1240

Are you better at cooking dinners or making cakes/biscuits/sweets?  I can’t make any dish. I wonder when I’ll get my ass up and start learning...

Have you ever cut someone else’s hair?  I wouldn’t dare; I have no skills in that department at all.

Who was the last guest in your house and what were they staying for?  Angela and Hans came over so we can watch Sowoozoo. 

How many long term relationships have you been in?  One.

Do you sleep with all the lights out, or do you leave a lamp or even the television on?  My default is lights out, but sometimes I’ll fall asleep with my night lamp still on and that’s fine too.

Who is one person you have forgiven, but still have not “forgotten” what they have done?  I don’t really do forgiving.

Are you a fan of Lana Del Rey?  No. I’ve tried listening to her songs but I find them too slow for my liking.

Do you know your blood type?  It’s O but I keep forgetting what specific type.

Do you know your mother’s birthday?  Yes.

Have you got your period at the moment?  It’s on its last few days.

Have you ever been pregnant?  Nopes.

How old were you when you first went on a plane?  I was around 10 or 11, can’t remember exactly. But it was in 2009 and we headed to Boracay.

Have you ever had to take out a loan for anything?  No. OMG, adult activity I don’t quite understand just yet hfdhfkdjfhdf.

Are both of your blood parents still in your life?  Yeah they’re both grumbling right now just outside of my room because the power went out lmfao.

When was the last time you went apple picking?  I’ve never done this. Apples don’t grow here.

Someone asked you what you wanted, what would you say?  My pay for the last two weeks haha, but that’s not coming until Friday.

Have you ever been drunk at school or work?  No, I wouldn’t dare. I’m pretty unpredictable when I get drunk, so I’d rather stay safe haha. I’ve worked while tipsy, but it had been outside of work hours.

How many bedrooms are in your house?  4. One for each kid, then my parents’.

Are you smart about computers?  Nah.

Have you ever played Just Dance for Wii?  We didn’t have the game on our Wii, but I’ve played Just Dance before, just at other peoples’ houses.

Do you own a Xbox 360?  We were a Playstation household.

Would you ever do a sex tape for a million dollars?  Erm, sure, whatever.

So, do you need a nap?  I think I should be taking one for the sake of my health, but I won’t.

What would you rather be doing?  I stumbled upon a Facebook post of this newly-opened store in Greenhills that exclusively sells photocards and I wanna head the fuck over there rn with Angela. That store concept is practically unheard of so it’s a big deal and I wanna go there as I’m 100% sure the BTS ones would sell out pretty fast. But they heightened the stupid COVID protocols yet again and we have to stay at home, so there’s that.

What sport are you the best at?  Table tennis.

Do you have a little sister? What’s her name?  Yeah but she’s turning 21 this year, so little wouldn’t be accurate anymore. We call her Nina at home but everyone else calls her by her full first name, Janina.

Do you complain a lot?  I do complain a lot but I also do the thing that is causing the complaint right after so I can shut myself up lmao.

Would you rather go to an authentic haunted house or an ancient temple?  Both sound fun but I’ll probably take the temple. Yay for learning something new about culture!!

Do you like fruity or minty gum?  I don’t mind flavor when it comes to gum because they fade out anyway.

Are you looking forward to any day of this month?  My company set another mental health break day this upcoming August 27th, so I’ll be thinking about that day throughout the month.

Have you ever gotten detention?  We don’t have detention.

Is there a traumatic event that you’ve experienced that’s changed your life?  Sure.

Do you buy a majority of your clothes from a certain store, or do you just pick out items of clothing you could see yourself wearing, not caring about the store it came from? The latter. < Same. I can be brand-conscious sometimes, but generally if I find something cute, regardless from where I found it, I’d grab it.

Have any of the artists you’re fond of released new albums recently?  Technically yeah. It was a single album. 

Would you ever keep your favorite animal as a pet?  I already have two of them.

Ever cried so much you threw up?  Possibly.

Who is your best guy friend? Hans.

What do you two do when you hang out?  We usually eat out and have a drink or two.

What is a movie that you thought you would hate but you ended up loving?  Spotlight, just because it looked boring at first glance. It turned out to be very riveting and the screenplay was fascinating as well.

Do you even like horror movies?  Yes, but they’re best watched with other people.

Do you live in the country?  Nopes.

What is your favorite accent?  I don’t have one.

Have you ever had a boyfriend your parents didn’t like?  No.

Do you drink Pepsi or Coke?  I had the chance to try out Pepsi when we went to Taco Bell two weeks ago - it was my first time to have it and it was...actually pretty good??? The soda-hater in me was scandalized HAHAHA but it was good!!! I think I prefer Pepsi now.

What do you plan to do on your 21st birthday?  My 21st birthday started out terribly because Gabie’s family didn’t want her to hang out with me on a Sunday (the day my birthday fell on), so we were in an argument the whole day. Angela saved the day when she planned out an impromptu dinner + arcade date for me, and that was the only good part of the day, really. I’d rather forget the rest of it.

Do you have any person in your family with an addiction to beer?  I don’t think so.

Do you take a lot of pictures?  I’m starting to, now.

What kind of face wash do you use?  Good ol’ water.

Does drama always seem to follow you?  Not these days.

Does anybody in your family race?  Nope.

Are you closer to your mom or dad?  Dad, I guess. But I wouldn’t particularly call myself ‘close’ with either.

How much money did you used to get from the ”tooth fairy?”  I never received money from them.

How long do you want to live with your parents?  Maybe up until my mid-20s? Late-20s at the latest. I’m not exactly in the position to move out yet. The money I make at the moment would probably just be enough to cover rent, and just rent. I’d end up starving to death hahaha.

Do you have a laptop or desktop?  Laptop.

Do you like your parents?  Sure.

Do you secretly like someone?  I don’t.

Would you ever date your best male friend?  No. I also wouldn’t do that to Angela.

What are you currently listening to?  Moon by Jin! Such a comfort song.

Do you want to be single?  Yes.

Did you go out or stay in last night?  I stayed in and was knocked out pretty early since I had been up since 1 AM.

Have you pretended to like someone?  No. I don’t see why I would have to that.

How is your heart lately?  Just filled with nothing but Bangtan at this point haha. It’s doing well!

Are you wearing socks?  No. Socks bother me for the most part; they make my feet feel a bit suffocated.

What do people call you?  Robyn.

Do you get stressed out easily?  Yeah, I’m quite the overthinker.

Have you ever been taken to the emergency room in an ambulance?  No, I’ve never actually been inside an ambulance, whether it came for me or for another person.

What is wrong with you right now?  I should probably cut back on the vaping, for one.

Do you own something from Hot Topic?  No.

Would you rather sleep with someone else or alone?  It’s hard for me to sleep with someone else. Even when I had been in a relationship, I usually only got to fall asleep an hour or so after my partner already dozed off.

Do you still talk to the person you last made out with?  No, I cut ties at the start of the year and have been substantially better since then.

Have you ever seen your best friend cry?  I honestly don’t think so. I’m the bigger crybaby between us.

Did you get any compliments today?  My mom thanked me for covering for Cooper’s shots today since they ended up being quite costly.

Have you ever gone to a beach?  Yes, it’s one of my absolute favorite places to be.

What would you say if someone asked you to get high right now?  Pass up on the offer.

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?  Yes.

Have you ever done volunteer work just because you wanted to?  I’ve never had the ample time to, so no. I’ve always wanted to volunteer at an animal shelter, though.

Do you have long nails?  They’re not dramatically long, but they have started to grow out.

Do you like the gender you are? I don't like or dislike it, honestly. I'm just neutral. < Same.

Do you generally look nice in photos?  I think this is the case these days, yeah. I’ve started feeling more confident and I think it’s able to translate in photos.

Have you ever had a stick insect as a pet?  No.

What colour are your father’s eyes?  Dark brown.

If I handed you a concert ticket right now, who would you want to be the performer?  BTS DUH

Name three facts about your family?  I come from a family of lawyers; many of us are big history buffs; and many are also fantastic cooks so I don’t know where that talent could have possibly gone when it come to my generation hah.

Would you ever get into a long distance relationship?  If I’ve reached a certain level of investment in the relationship, I could probably handle it. 

What’s the most thoughtful present you’ve ever received?  A Punk shirt and Petals For Armor physical CD from Andi this last Christmas.

What’s your favorite hot beverage? Hot chocolate. < Yessssss!

Did you ever play an instrument? If so what?  I don’t.

Would you rather carve pumpkins or wrap presents?  Carving pumpkins sounds fun, especially since I haven’t tried it before.

Do you think you’re important?  Idk. I don’t really like drawing attention to myself though, so that could probably answer your question.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?  Andi wrote a letter for me to accompany the aforementioned Christmas gifts they gave, and it remains to be my favorite letter I’ve received. They essentially reminded and affirmed me that I’m stronger than I think I am, and that I’ve been through a lot and have grown a lot, and that that growth is seen by people around me.

Have you been diagnosed with any mental disorders?  No.

Have you ever moved to another state or country? If so, how did it feel to be new?  Just to different cities, but considering how tiny my country is, the move is quite insignificant lol.

Do you know how to properly eat food with chopsticks?  I’m 100% sure I don’t know how to properly hold chopsticks, but I have my own way and it works lol. Fake it til you make it.

Are you more of a leader or a follower? Definitely a follower, but I can step up in certain situations. < Same. I don’t mind leading, especially considering the control freak I can be lolol.

What was the first thing you ate today?  I haven’t eaten anything today. I skipped breakfast since I brought Cooper to the vet, and by the time I got back the dining table had already been cleared. It’s fine though, I don’t feel too hungry.

If you could spend the day, doing absolutely anything, with anyone, anywhere, what would it be like?  I’d be with Angela, Reena, and Hans at that insane new photocard store I talked about earlier. IDEALLY, we’d probably pick up a photocard or two if the ones we want aren’t sold out yet (lol a rarity), then we’d have some nachos and stuff right after and just talk about all things Bangtan lol with Hans cracking us up the whole time since he is just naturally hilarious.

If I were to ask you how you are doing, and you were only able to answer completely honestly, what would come out?  Content. Happy. I feel warm and loved and surrounded by the best people.

What is the one thing that you have been avoiding that you should do?  Learning how to cook is one.

Is there anything that you wish you could take back?  Not really.

What, in your mind, could make you truly happy?  Being in the purple ocean with my best friends.

If you could change one conversation in your life, what would you say differently? Would it have REALLY made any difference?  A part of me wishes my final face-to-face conversation with Gabie had been a more solid closure, just so we could finally put a hard stop to that chapter. But at that time I thought we would continue talking, so there had still been some stuff lingering in the air when we called it a day and parted ways. So in a sense we never really got closure when I finally cut ties, which the ESTJ in me remains to be nagged by, but I try not to be bothered by it anymore considering how much better I am doing right now. We didn’t know the future at the time, so it’s okay the way things turned out, ultimately.

When is the next time you’ll change your hairstyle? Will you color it?  I have no clue. It’s not really a priority.

Do people normally say you’re a fast typist, or are you rather slow?  I’m fast.

Have you ever been considered the ‘smartest person in school?’  Nah.

How many drugs are in your system?  Just caffeine.

What’s on your schedule for tomorrow? Werkwerkwerkwerk.

Do you currently have any bite marks/hickeys on your body?  Nopes.

Do you call anyone baby?  I don’t.

What’s your current mood?  I’m prety neutral. I wish I could be out right now, but stupid Covid and stupid quarantine. But I don’t really mind staying at home, either, so. I’m just so-so.

Do you think you are a good person?  I hope so.

What were you doing before filling out this survey?  I watched Sunday mass with my family.

How late did you stay up last night?  Around midnight.

When was the last time you cried really hard?  I cried just a few days ago because period hormones, but the last time I cried hard? I’m not sure. April maybe?

Is your hair longer than your shoulders?  LOL yes it’s soooooooo long already.