#i learn to draw from a 'how to draw disney princesses' book so i guess i'm returning to my roots

[thesquiddlesquad]

Just realised it's been a while since I posted art, so here have some new characters I definitely didn't need to make

The poses are referenced from some Disney princess official art that I'll put under the read more.

Their names are Melissa and Renee (left to right). Here they are as little girls:

It's possible that Melissa might like bows. And the colour pink. And puffy sleeves.

Just noticed how long Aurora's legs are...

[spencerreidslove]

Matchmaker

A/N it’s a little long, bear with me. Mostly fluff. Set around season 15

————

Being a 1st grade teacher was the dream job.

Well, most of the time it was the dream job. The days when you had to capture a spider while several screaming 6 and 7 year olds run around behind you weren’t the best.

It was your second year of teaching 1st grade and it was the second day of school. After the spider fiasco, you were a little tired, and as much as you loved your students, dismissal was also a good part of the day.

All the students filled out of your classroom, and you turned away from the door to see that not all of your students had left.

There was a girl, with curly brown hair and wide eyes still sitting at her desk. She was frowning and clutching a stuffed bunny.

You were still learning names, and you were 90% sure you knew her name. Margaret Reid.

You took a chair off the desk in across of hers and sat beside her.

“Margaret?” You asked. “Did you hear me? I said you could go get picked up now.”

“I know.” She mumbled.

Margaret didn’t seem to want to say more.

“Who normally picks you up?” You asked.

“My daddy. If he’s not here than my Uncle Derek or Mrs. McComb who lives next door.” Margaret timidly replied before hugging her bunny tighter.

“Do you know where your daddy is?” You asked. If she needed to be somewhere you had to be sure to get her there.

“He’s late. My daddy works for the FBI. That’s like the police but better.” She said.

You smiled. Margaret seemed shy and not willing to say much else.

“Really? Than he must be really smart. Just like you.” You said.

“My daddy is really smart. He’s a docta but not the kind you go to when you get sick. He’s read like a bajillion books and knows everything. He named me after a really smart girl who made it so we could go to the moon.” Margaret said.

Apparently asking about her dad was one way to get her to open up.

“What else?” You asked.

“He remembers everything. All the time. It’s a e-something memory.” She said.

“He sounds very nice. But if he’s late I’m going to need to know.” You said.

Margaret frowned and then snuggled half her face back down into her stuffed rabbit.

“What about your bunny?” You asked, touching the toy’s nose.

“Her name is Lily. Can she sit with me please? In Kindergarten my teacher said she had to stay in my bag all day.” Margaret said, hugging the plush toy closer.

“As long as she doesn’t distract you and you can get all your work done.” You said.

“Lily helps me with my work. She’s really smart.” Margaret said.

“Since your daddy’s late I’m going to have to call the office and see what we can do. Would you like to draw a picture while you wait?” You asked.

Margaret nodded. You went over to the drawers where you kept the crayons and paper and brought her back a box and a couple pieces of paper. You turned back to your desk, about to call the office, then-

“Miss Y/L/N?” Margaret said.

“Yes sweetheart?” You said.

“Can you please call me Maggie? Only my Uncle Hotch calls me Margaret.” She said, not looking up from her drawing.

“Ok.” You said.

You called the office and five minutes later, a tall, lanky man with wild curly hair came into your classroom. He was wearing a white button up shirt with a dark blue sweater vest over it and and dark jacket.

“Daddy!” Maggie said, jumping up from her seat and giving him a hug around his legs. He laughed and picked her up, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Maggie took Lily and made her give her father a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” Maggie’s father said. You weren’t sure if he was talking to you or Maggie.

“It’s ok.” Maggie said. “Miss Y/L/N let me color.”

Her dad turned her attention to you.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Y/L/N. Sorry I’m late, I would say it won’t happen again, but it might.” He said.

“It’s ok. Nice to meet you too, Mr. Reid.” You said.

“It’s docta!” Maggie said.

“Sorry, Dr. Reid.” You said, correcting yourself.

“Don’t worry about it. Again, I’m sorry for being late.”

You shook your head and smiled. “It’s alright. I normally stay behind after school anyway.” You said.

“Well, Maggie, go get your bag. I have to go back to work but you’re going to spend time with Auntie Penelope ok?” Dr. Reid said, putting Maggie down.

He had a bright smile and watched as his daughter dashed across the classroom.

“She speaks very highly of you. She says you’re very smart and I guess you would have to be if you’ve read a bajillon books.” You said.

Dr. Reid laughed. “Not quiet a bajillion but I’m getting there.” He said.

Maggie ran back over holding a bright pink backpack with a unicorn on it.

“If you know what days you’re going to be late, I would be more than happy to let Maggie stay in the classroom til you get here.” You said.

“I couldn’t possibly accept that. I’m sure you have things to do.” Dr. Reid said.

“Please, Daddy? I like her. She lets me hold Lily with me all day.” Maggie said, holding up her bunny.

“It’s no problem at all, Dr. Reid.” You said.

“All right. But please call me Spencer.” He said.

“Y/N.” You said.

After waving goodbye to Maggie you turned back to your desk. You were looking forward to seeing Spencer when he picked up Maggie.

-

Spencer stepped off the elevator at Quantico, holding Maggie’s hand.

“There she is! And with her new backpack too!” Garcia said coming down the hallway.

“Auntie Penelope!” Maggie yelled, letting go of Spencer’s hand and running to Garcia. Garcia leaned over and gave Maggie a hug.

“You are going to come hang out with me, you magical little munchkin!” Garcia said, waving the colorful pen in her hand and tapping Maggie on the nose with it.

“Sorry we’re late Garcia.” Spencer said.

“Almost fifteen minutes late. What happened?” Garcia asked.

“Uh...traffic.” Spencer said.

“Noooo.” Maggie said to her dad before turning to Garcia. “We’re late because Daddy was busy smiling at Miss Y/L/N.”

“Miss Y/L/N?” Garcia asked, a smirking coming on her face.

“She’s my teacher, and she’s pretty like a Disney Princess. Daddy was smiling at her like he does when he talks about books.” Maggie said, matter-o-factly.

“We have so much to discuss. Tell me, what’s Miss Y/L/N’s first name?” Garcia asked leading Maggie down the hall to her lair.

“Garcia, don’t you dare search her up!” Reid called out after her. He turned to the doors of the BAU and startled to see Rossi standing there, stirring a cup of coffee.

“So...a pretty 1st grade teacher.” Rossi said.

“Don’t.” Reid said, brushing past him.

“How pretty is she?” Rossi asked.

“Very.” Reid mumbled to himself as he made his way to his desk.

-

You had grown accustom to seeing Spencer after almost every school day, unless he was out of town. You weren’t sure what he did for the FBI but he travelled a lot.

The days he was out of town, Maggie normally got picked up by a man you learned was her Uncle Derek, who she was very close with.

(“Did you know my middle name is Morgan because Uncle Derek’s last name is Morgan?”)

One day, after school you were hanging things up on the board you used to display student work while Maggie colored.

As you hung up the last picture you turned and saw her smiling at the board.

Before you could ask her what she was smiling about, Spencer came into the room.

“Daddy, Daddy, look! My rainbow’s on the good work board!” Maggie said, grabbing his hand and pulling him over to the board where you had just finished putting up her drawing of a rainbow.

“What! That’s awesome Maggie!” Spencer said, giving her a hug.

“It’s a very nice rainbow.” You said.

“I tried to make it pretty like Miss Y/L/N.” Maggie said looking at you.

“Well I think your rainbow is even prettier than me.” You said.

Maggie shook her head.

“Nuh-uh. Tell her how she’s prettier than my rainbow.” Maggie said, turning to Spencer.

You blushed a little bit as Spencer looked up at you from where he was crouched next to Maggie.

“Go on, tell her!” Maggie said before turning to you. “I heard my Uncle Luke tell Auntie Penelope that Daddy thinks you’re pretty.”

You blushed and covered your mouth to keep from smiling.

“I-uh-I didn’t say that.” Spencer said, standing up.

“That’s a lie and you said I shouldn’t tell lies.” Maggie said. “Uncle Luke also said that you should grow a pair and ask her to dinner.”

“We’re going to have a conversation with Uncle Luke about what’s appropriate to say in front of you.” Spencer said, blushing and grabbing Maggie’s hand, desperate to get out of the classroom.

As Spencer awkwardly waved bye to you and dragged Maggie out of the classroom, you heard her say; “Auntie Emily and Uncle Dave also have a bet about when you too are gonna-“

You didn’t hear the end of that sentence as she was dragged too far down the hall, but you started blushing profusely and covered your face with your hands. You really like Spencer, and his daughter had just embarrassed both of you.

A few minutes later, the door to your room opened again and Spencer stepped in again.

Determined not to make a fool out of yourself, you calmly asked, “Did Maggie forget something?”

“Yeah.” Spencer paused as he walked over to Maggie’s desk and picked up Lily. “But... I was also wondering if maybe sometime you’d like to get dinner with me. You don’t have to after what just happened, but-“

“I would love to.” You said. You quickly scribbled down your phone number on a sticky note and handed it to him. “Call and tell me when.”

As Spencer took the post-it, his hand lingered on yours for a second and smiled.

Part 2?

[carriagelamp]

I saw my cousin over Thanksgiving and, being the giant nerd that she is, she dragged me back into manga hell, so that’s the majority of what this month was, reading-wise. Manga, manga, and a little more manga. Lots of queer stories which absolutely rock, I haven’t read anything sapphic in a while.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I continue to be neck-deep in Sherlock Holmes. Having finished the novels, I’ve returned to the short stories. And man. Doyle really did his best work in the short stories, I absolutely adore The Adventures.

For anyone who needs the Holmes canon explained, the first two stories in the series were A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four, both novels which introduced the main characters and set the scene. After that came The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which is a collection of short stories, each one a different case Holmes undertook that Watson chronicles. 

This particular collection is full of some of my favourites… “The Speckled Band” (a long time personal favourite), “A Scandal in Bohemia” (Irene Adler’s introduction!), “The Red-Headed League”, “A Case of Identity”, “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”... I really do adore this collection; in my opinion, it’s one of the best starting places if you’ve never read any Sherlock Holmes before and want to give it a go.

Basil and the Lost Colony

I just found out the Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective is, in fact, based off a series of books! They’re about Basil of Baker Street, a little mouse detective who lives under Holmes and Watson’s floorboards and makes a study of the great detective, taking on his own, rodent-based cases. It’s two things I love: Sherlock Holmes and Tiny Rodent Society That Parallel Human Society. This one has them racing across Europe to scale a mountain and seek out a mysterious lost colony of mice while being hot pursued by the fiendish Professor Ratigan!

The movie was definitely more exciting than the book, though others in the series may be better. Still, it was a cute little read and it was fun to see where that movie spawned from.

Candy Color Paradox v5

A series that keeps me coming back for more. It’s one of the few examples of a yaoi series that actually feels like adults with adult jobs in an adult relationship and not... whatever the hell yaoi is usually doing. First book had to get its relentless horniness and tropes out of the way, but past that it settles into a much more interesting story. By this book, with the characters are now in a fairly established relationship and the story’s intrigue comes from them learning how to be more open and vulnerable with each other, finding healthy life balances, and excitement from their shared career. Rather than, you know, pointlessly trying to break up the relationship or throw in a third wheel or something. This series is actually pretty great for Open And Honest Communication which feels rare in a manga romcom.

Chasing After Aoi Koshiba v1-2

...See, I know I enjoyed this book. I read the first two books, it was a very cute yuri and I’m looking forward to reading more of it, but for the life of me I can’t remember a single damn thing about it anymore. That’s what comes of bingeing manga one after the other after the other I guess… (also it kind of got overshadowed by the next series on my list, whoops). Uhh… well, if you want a lesbian romance manga, it was definitely a sweet one! It’s worth trying! Even if I am drawing a blank...

Failed Princesses v1-4

This series rocks. You know that “not like other girls” meme, but instead they’re girlfriends and are dating? This is that meme, but an entire manga series about it. It is delightful. Quiet Awkward Nerdy Girl ends up comforting Pretty Popular Girl after she gets dumped by her boyfriend, and through a string of events they end up hanging out and becoming friends… and now four books in I’m in the middle of some delicious slowburn agony. It’s just very much about friendship and growth and trying new things and actually communicating rather than just making assumptions and it’s positively wonderful. I’ve got my brother hooked on it too, and he’s not normally that interested in romance genre manga. (Actually, neither am I, and yet here I am.)

Heartstopper v3

I read book 1…. I don’t know, years ago, before you could even easily buy it in North America. I remember needing to order it from the UK because I was intrigued and wanted to get my hands on it. And now there’s piles of them in the local bookstore! It’s amazing to see, I couldn’t be happier! So I finally got around to picking up book 3, years later.

Another cute school romance, this one taking place at a British grammar school. It’s between Charlie, who was outed last year and is still dealing with the fallout of it, and Nick, a sweet rugby player who ends up befriending him. It’s fun to read, because you see the growth of both the characters and the artist as the series progresses, and it has a really charming, sketchy style that I haven’t really seen anywhere else.

House of Five Leaves v1

Bought on a whim, weird as hell. A very meek, though capable, ronin who is desperate for work ends up being gradually drawn into a criminal organization that kidnaps hostages for ransom money. He struggles with the morality of the work and how much he’s willing to be involved, while the leader of the group has completely set his sights on the ronin and is determined to draw him deeper and deeper in. Despite how grim that sounds, the first book definitely has the promising whisper of found family somewhere deeper in the series? Maybe? I have no idea how it will progress but it was definitely an interesting story… though the art was a bit.... much. The eyes. The eyes….

Kageki Shojo!! The Curtain Rises

Cute! Cute cute cute! As I understand The Curtain Rises is maybe... a prequel to the main series? I’m a little uncertain, but it came to me highly recommended and damn if it wasn’t justified. It shows how all the characters come to be at a prestigious all-girls theatre school and start settling into the intense, demanding life there. The main characters all feel intriguing, with distinct personalities, motivations, flaws… It balances between silly, sweet, and heavy really well, and I’m super excited to continue. Plus very very pretty art and the inherent queerness of theatre, though I’m struggling to find anything that actually confirms or denies if this is yes absolutely going to be a queer romance or not. For the time being, this book felt intensely pre-relationship queer, and my cousin was treating it as such, so until I’ve heard otherwise I will be keeping it under my queerlit tag.

Land of the Lustrous

Now, this manga also came to me on high recommendations and…. eugh. I don’t know, maybe the anime is better, but the manga was incoherent at best. I had no idea what was going on through most of it, the characters were almost impossible to tell apart or keep track of, and I have no goddamn idea what the overarching plot was supposed to be. The main character was uninteresting, the characters she interacted with felt lifeless and flat… I dunno. I don’t get it.

The concept itself seemed unique. A race of sentient gemstones, all female, are forced to constantly defend themselves against a strange, unexplained race of beings who… live on the moon? And want to destroy them? To? Make decorations? Or something? The main character would like to fight, but she’s been deemed to fragile, so instead she’s sent to be a… scholar? Record aspects of the natural world? And she… meets people? I guess?

Don’t fucking bother there is so many manga that are more worth reading. Hell, just go watch Steven Universe if you want to see female gems kicking ass, it’d be significantly more interesting than whatever this was.

Love: The Mastiff

I love this artist’s work <3 His Love: series is a really fascinating one. Each one focuses on a single animal, with absolutely no text, just following a day in their life as they need to struggle for basic survival. In this one, the mastiff’s master is killed, and he’s left to survive on his own in the Australian outback. Every one of these books is absolutely stunning work, and Love: The Mastiff is one of the best in the series I think. It honestly made me a little emotional.

Perfect World

A neat shojo romance about a woman who runs into her old school crush again for the first time in years and rekindles their friendship. However during the years, he had received a spinal cord injury and is now in a wheelchair. I’m able-bodied and not a good judge of how well this manga handles the topic of disability, but to me at least it seems to be making an earnest and interesting effort to explore what disability can really mean for someone and how it can affect relationships and romance. The first book comes across as sweet, honest, but not pulling any punches from acknowledging the messier, harder aspects of living with disability.

Mustang Mountain: Sky Horse

Horse girl book! Meg is invited to join her standoffish “friend” Alison, who is being sent to stay with her cousin on a remote ranch in the Rocky Mountains. Meg is thrilled to get to spend time around horses, but Alison and her cousin Becky are both disinterested and exasperated by this arrangement. And while things start off rocky, it only gets more complicated when their trip up to the ranch is interrupted with a car crash and a life-threatening storm up in the remote mountains…

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I liked the first two books in her other series, Saddle Island, but it was still a fun, fast, easy read and sometimes I just need to relive the childhood euphoria of horse adventures and independence.

[it-takes-acquired-minds]

Multiples of 9!!

Ooh yes I’m on it!!

9: Favorite flavor of anything? 

I’m always down for Oreo or for hazelnut. (Bonus if it’s chocolate hazelnut/nutella.) For fruity stuff, lemon. Always lemon. 

18: Movie I watch when I’m feeling down? 

I love Inside Out or Spirited Away. I really need to rewatch both. Not sure if my emotions can handle it in their current state, though. 

27: Am I in a relationship? 

Yes! I have a bunch of great friends, an awesome family.....oh you meant romantic? I wish. I’d love to go out with someone. Don’t have a specific person in mind, but I love the idea of that perfect dating. Not in the time of COVID though. 

36: Current obsession? 

None that’s like taking over my life obsessed. I’m writing a fic that I’m really into. And my sister’s really into Bring It On, so I’m sure once I give that a full listen-through I’ll be all over it. 

45: Last film I watched? 

Almost Famous! So good. I’m sure that’ll become my new comfort movie because it’s so warm and fun and just. Amazing. 

54: Do I sleep with the lights on or off? 

Off! 

63: What occupation did I want to do when I was younger? 

I’ve wanted to be a writer since forever. Like, forever. But I wanted to be a veterinarian for a while before I found out I was allergic to dogs and cats, rip, then I’m pretty sure I wanted to be an illustrator until I made my own book and realized I liked the writing part a lot more than the drawing part. (And when I was a toddler I went through a “I’m gonna be a Disney Princess when I grow up” phase.) 

72: If I won the lottery, what would I do? 

Definitely donate a frick ton. I’m pretty well off as I am buuuuut I do still live with my parents so this answer may change when I move out. I think I’d save a bunch for college or use it to go to Hollywood and try to get a contract as a writer for a show or movie. I’d get some small apartment and write my own script while I worked on episodes for some big show or helped storyboard a movie, you get the gist. 

81: Story behind my last kiss? 

I’m assuming this means romantic kiss, and I’m going to go ahead and admit that I’ve never been kissed. Not even as an age thing, because there’s a lot of people my age who’ve been kissed. I don’t have a partner and last

90: Favourite sporty activity? 

Swimming! Other than that, I’ve gotten really into running. And I have a badminton net so I play with my family a bunch, I like playing casual soccer, and barre fitness or dancing. I am a (inexperienced) dancer but some people don’t consider that a sport so. Swimming. (I also miss ice skating and skiing so much.) 

99: 3 things I hate? 

1. School. To be fair, I’m in exams week. 

2. Injustice/fascism. This is kind of a given. 

3. Myself! Yaaaaaaaay! 

108: Favorite Youtuber? 

Dodie! I like also Malinda, WithCindy, Thomas Sanders, and Jaiden Animations. 

117: Am I religious? 

 I guess technically. My dad’s family is Unitarian and my mom’s family is Jewish but we don’t believe anything so. The real answer is no. But I’m not against people who are! 

126: My current project? 

I’m writing a novella! It’s a futuristic retelling of the myth of Eros and Psyche and I’m probably about halfway through. Plan to publish it once it’s done and edited! 

135: Do I like gossip? 

After my experiences with gossip? Nah. I like being in the loop but I feel weird keeping secrets and I’m not about to invade in other people’s business. 

144: Have I ever been on a plane? 

Yep! After my sister and I both got horribly sick on one and another crashed into my summer campground I now hate them and nearly cried the last time I had to get on one! (Probably wouldn’t now, but the memory is vivid. Also holy frick that was summer 2019 I hate COVID.) 

153: What was my first car? 

My family’s first car I don’t remember what it was but it was small and black and I loved it. I don’t own a car. 

162: What do I hate most about myself? 

Ohhhh geez. I guess how sensitive I am and the way I can barely handle my own emotions. Not going to get into it. 

171: Do I hold grudges? 

Nah. I remember what people did to me but I’m pretty forgiving. Got threatened and got into a lot of fights with a girl in elementary school and was best friends with her the next year. 

180: Do I like shopping? 

I like it! I don’t love it but I do enjoy going to the mall and trying on clothes and just looking cool. Usually I go with my mom and I can’t wait until I can go on my own and pick out the clothes that I myself like. (Not that I don’t love going w my mom!) 

189: Love or career? 

I think I’d pick love. I don’t know how I’d react in real life but the philosophy I’ve learned from my family is that it doesn’t really matter what I end up so much as who I end up with. And that doesn’t have to be romantic love! I would pick friends, a real family, my sister, I think I’d put people before my career. 

198: Zombies or vampires? 

Cliché but vampires. 

207: Worst job I’ve had? 

School. Not a job but school. (Sorry I just. I’m really not into it right about now.) 

216: Favorite fictional character? 

Edward Tulane from The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Best character development ever. I love that book. 

[let-me-make-you-proud]

Tangled: The Series Q&A with Kait.

This is a recapitulation from today’s (September 14, 2019) Questions and Answers session with Kait on the Tangled Discord Server.

Q: Which Disney princesses outside of Tangled the series can you see Varian being friends with? Nonfranchise ones included.

A: I think Belle is the first one who comes to mind!! She’s super studious and goes against the grain…not to mention her father is an inventor who’s a little off-base! 🙂 I think he’d be super comfortable experimenting with Belle and her dad and reading awesome stories! (Maybe even sharing the Tales of Flynn Rider with her! …Assuming she hasn’t read it! Haha. ) He could also eat ham sandwiches with Anna. Sorry. Second thought. Lol!!

Q: So Kait, as a storyboard artist on the show what kind of little details, quirks or creative touches did you or any other artists put into Varian scenes you or others storyboarded?

A: Ha!! Any acting scene with Varian I had…I pretty much based off of Anna Lencioni (my best friend/ another board artist on the show.) Anna makes these very specific expressions and she gestures to herself a lot and closes her eyes and creases her brows and says things like “A-huh! Actually…” or “Um!!” Before making a point and it’s always reminded me of him.

She kept a “flynnolium” prop from Halloween with green goo in a vial in her cubicle at work so long it grew mold. She said she was studying it. She found scrap metal in her boot one day. She has a basement lab for her experiments and crafts. She befriended two raccoons at her last apartment. She is the most accident-prone person with freckles I’ve ever met…she’s pretty much him.

Jeremy Jordan’s reads give you so much to work with…and I love that character so much I feel a natural sort of understanding of how he might say something or do something…but Anna would always do these specifically Anna things that I had to use for Varian.

Q: Do you have any specific advice for aspiring storyboard artists or people who aspire to work in animation?

A: Gestural drawings help you learn to draw fast…which is a very important part of storyboarding. I would say storyboarding‘ s biggest requirements are clarity and speed. Lots of productions have different requirements in terms of what they look for from story artists. Tangled‘s leadership cared a lot about drawing skill, animation, layout, etc. because it more strongly informed the animation studio to have those things. The show I’m working on now (Monsters at Work) is a 3D show…so for our production, the emphasis is more on story and speed. We pitch ideas more than we pitch drawings…so clarity is important and acting is too, but we’re far less precious about tying down drawings and animating since we shift into the 3D production pipeline after story. The boards are still very important…but the more technical aspects are a *little* less so. The focus is just more on story and character and what the board artists can bring to their scenes.

So I’d say just practice drawing…maybe try and give someone a prompt or ask a friend for one. Choose a theme! Maybe vampires? What’s the worst thing that could happen to a vampire? What’s the best thing? What’s the funniest thing? What if they were also an alien? Or fused with a werewolf? Or chained to one? What would happen? Giving yourself a starting point for an idea will inspire you to explore all the possibilities for humor, drama, etc. in that idea. If you’re struggling to give yourself a prompt, try looking online…or maybe choosing a song you like or a passage from a book for inspiration.

There’s also this really fun thing you can do to study cinematography and shot composition called a “three tone” exercise. Basically…put on your favorite (live action) film, grab a sketchbook, grab a black and grey marker, and use the white of the page for your third tone. What you wanna do is (as you’re watching or while pausing) sketch a small thumbnail using only three grey tones of what you see on the screen. Draw the shot- where the characters are, try and duplicate the lighting…it teaches you a lot! 🙂 (Phew!)

Q: Do you have any fun non-spoiler head canons about Varian?

A: I think his favorite dessert is apple pie and I think he bakes recreationally very often! He’s probably a good cook. (Though he may have one or two minor accidents……a burnt thing here and there. Minor oil splatters….haha!!)

Q: What’ve been your favorite episodes, both to storyboard and in general? Of course, no specifics if it’s S3

A: Haha! Well…What The Hair and Queen for A Day have special places in my heart because they were such big moments for my favorite character…(Varian, haha.) But I’d say the episodes I had the most fun boarding are all in season 3!!! Which is exciting! I have to start compiling some work to post! 🙂 I think the episode I had the most fun with is one you guys will really enjoy.

Q: Will we get some interesting surprises (In Season 3)?

A: Without any spoilers- absolutely!! The show is always full of those.

Q: So We’ve heard many fans express why they love Varian as a charcter before, I’d love to know what drew you and Anna to Varian as well and why you guys personally found him to be a great character.

A: When Shane Prigmore originally pitched the character to me, he was much younger. He was like 11 or so, I think? Maybe 12? He’s still pretty young…but what Shane said was that he wanted him to go from this wide-eyed kid to this dark, angry person whose bangs fell over those wide, bright eyes…just full of rage. That idea was super interesting to me…it just hit on something in character development that I felt like I’d never exactly seen before? He was so young and it was such an interesting idea to me to make a child the villain and to give that child a strong reason to be angry? It felt like it was taking this child very seriously, which I appreciate. It felt very real and very dark.

The thing that threw me through a loop but also evolved my fascination with the character was Jeremy Jordan’s casting. I listened to a lot of the auditions they had for various actors and I had seen a ton of Shane’s concept art of the character…a lot of them were VERY different than what we have now. One version Ricky Roxburgh (writer) contributed to had Varian cast as an adult in the story. But when I heard Jeremy I felt like I totally understood who Varian really was.

He was a well-intentioned disaster with unchecked emotions. That. Is me! Haha!! I see myself in his imperfections, his emotionality in spite of his creative and often intellectual thinking. He wants to ascend to these levels he may not be ready to ascend to…he feels this need to prove himself and seek validation. I don’t know, I guess I relate to that! And I’m just a sucker for good guys gone bad. The other half of this, of course, is that he’s very charming and cute and super reminds me of my best friend, Anna Lencioni.

Q: Which character do you most like seeing interacting with Varian?

A: It’s a little spoilery for me to reveal that……..but I think you guys are gonna know when it happens! Haha!

I can’t wait to post THOSE boards

That’s actually right out of the episode I think I liked boarding the most, haha.

Q: If there was one prop (furniture, object, the like) from the Tangled series that could be made real and you could keep, what would it be..?

A: I think it’d have to be those little alchemy orbs that Varian throws? They just suddenly clean the whole castle hallway somehow and like…could use me some of that. He also has the one that removes stains from tablecloths, so. I’m sloppy. That’d be a big help. Haha!

Also his staff is pretty cool 😉, I boarded/created that staff…David Lee (prop designer) did its final design…haha

Q: I have a question about a scene in season 1. When Varian got back the first part of the scroll he mentioned that it took him a while to translate it. Has he really been able to read it or has it been a bluff?

A: Varian can indeed translate what’s on the scroll. 😉

Q: Do you have any networking advice for those trying to get into the animation industry?

A: Post your work!! Make it easily accessible, tag it well, just show what you’ve got online! Upload boards, animatics, drawings, etc. Creating an online presence can really help put your name out there. Apply for internships, jobs. I know it’s hard to network because a lot of industry professionals don’t have time to answer specific questions or give portfolio reviews…so it’s sort of important to take some initiative on that and be self-motivated.

For me, I studied the portfolios of Disney feature story artists, CalArts students, etc. and tried to structure the presentation of my work based on that. Also, it helped me get a sense of what pieces of work would best showcase where I was trying to go and what I was trying to do. I’d ask yourself those questions as you develop a portfolio and artistic voice online! 🙂

My first feature job after a trainee program in New York at Blue Sky happened because Doug Sweetland (Pixar animator, feature director, awesome dude) found my work online and liked it. He just reached out based on that!

Shane Prigmore actually reached out to me for Tangled similarly.

Q: Besides Varian, do you have a favorite character that you’ve boarded?

A: I always love Eugene. He’s the second character I think I’m most like. His acting was really fun to play with and I felt like I could push his expressions a lot because he’s so funny. I loved boarding Lance too (I boarded a lot of Lance in S3!!) but MAN was he hard to draw, haha! His face shape is just really hard to draw at certain angles.

Q: With Varian cosplay that is going on, what Disney character would you like to see Varian dress up as next?

A: Jack Skellington! Halloween is afoot. Jack is another well-intentioned disaster. Guess I have a type!

Q: What’s Varian’s opinion on raccoons, are they his favourite animal?

A: I imagine it’s because Ruddiger is always finding interesting things in the trash and giving them to Varian to use in his experiments. Also, they’re fat and cute.

Q: There’s a bit of an argument going on over how many freckles Varian has. Can you confirm how many he has?

A: Ha!!! Yes…one second… 14!!

Q: How big do you think Corona is? Like Vatican City small or Arendelle big?

A: You know, with the wall and all, it actually feels a little on the smaller side to me? I’m sure there’s a little bit of discrepancy between the movie’s version of Corona and our version…but based on where we went within Corona on the show, I’d say it feels on the smaller side.

Q: Are there any non-spoiler Varian scenes or moments that didn’t make the cut that you can share?

A: MAN. Yes. There is one scene that changed after I rolled off the episode and I’m very sad about it. I’ll post it after the episode airs! There was also a line of Varian’s that I boarded to a specific read from Jeremy Jordan and that read was not chosen in editorial later so…I’ll post that one too, haha!

Q: What is your favourite song from the first two seasons so far?

A: All my favorite songs are in season threeeeee…hahahaha!! I think Let Me Make You Proud or the Buddy Song are my favorites. Buddy Song still gets stuck in my head now and then.

Q: What do you think Varian would order at a drive-thru? Specifically at chipotle 😂

A: Chipotle isn’t a drive thru!! Hahaha He’d get the kid’s quesadilla from chipotle. I think Varian is a fries/chips kind of person…something to snack on while he works! He probably also likes milkshakes.

Q: (Continuation from the question above) Chocolate or vanilla?

A: He’d revolutionize by combining them both. FOR SCIENCE!

Q: What is, in your opinion, the most challenging part of varian’s design to draw?

A: His goggles, hahaha. Or just his…hair in general.

Well it’s funny too because when you board these guys, you get used to doing a shorthand for them and then when you go to draw them FOR REAL you realize how complicated that actually is and how wrong your shorthand actually was? Hahahaha

Q: is Varian ticklish at all?

A: I feel like Varian, Eugene, and Lance are all equally ticklish. To the point of absurdity. Cass would fight it as long as she could…but when it finally got to her, she’d laugh uncontrollably. Rapunzel, she’s the TICKLER.

Q: What do you think Varian opinion and belief on magic is now that he’s seen it with his own eyes?

A: I imagine that he certainly believes in it now and no longer underestimates its powers…but I imagine he’s ultimately more comfortable staying in his own lane and working with worldly properties!

Q: If Varian would have been able to meet Demanitus…how would their conversation had looked like?

A: I feel like Varian would have had a TON of questions about his legendary device and whether or not he truly traveled dimensions.

Q: Did Varian have any other friends in old Corona before he met rapunzel?

A: Probably not many…he’s a bit of a hermit. I think Ruddiger is his best friend……. It’s sad but I also think that’s kind of why it hurt so bad when Rapunzel wasn’t able to help him. Also why he was SO excited to have Rapunzel, Cass, and Eugene come visit.

I think the village looked at Varian as a little unstable or worrisome. I’m sure everyone knew he was very nice…but they were likely very unnerved by his inventions.

Q: Do you think Varian ever tried to synthesise gold or the elixir of life like a real alchemist?

A: I’ve wondered that myself!! I think his alchemy has proven to be more about other people…helping others, making people proud. Maybe if someone he cared about was in need.

Q: If you were to meet Varian in real life, what would you say to him?

A: What elixir did you make to get THAT kind of volume? His hair’s so POOFY! Honestly, I’d probably just give him a hug.

Q: How much does Varian know or remember about his mom?

A: I’d say about as much as the photo of her on the wall.

Q: Is there spoiler about his hair streak? Or is it just by design?

A: It’s totally by design. I think it’s safe to assume it’s probably the result of some lab accident!

Q: In what ways is Jeremy Jordan like Varian?

A: I don’t know Jeremy Jordan personally, haha! But I think a lot of these inflections he adds to Varian sort of off the cuff probably come very naturally to him. I know he often wants to do his own pass at the musical arrangement Alan Menken writes…like he’ll want to do something a little different, in his own way, and it will change the song completely!! In an awesome way. That’s a little Varian-esque. In the “Let Me Make You Proud” reprise…Alan Menken had sung that “they are going to pay…they…will…pay” all in a low, downward tone. Jeremy wanted to scream it and make it powerful and angry and loud when he said “PAY” and you could just hear the spite in his voice for the “they will pay.” Genius!

Q: What was the most shocking moment/revelation of the series to you (minus anything season 3)?

A: It’s hard to say because I knew most of what was going to happen long, long ago. I think one of the things that made me go “oh dang!” was something Tom Canfield boarded. It’s that part in Destinies Collide where Lance slices the entire statue down the middle with a sword. What a BAMF!

Q: What were your thoughts on the early concept of Varian having an apple orchard and being a farm kid instead of a young alchemist?

A: He still kinda has those things! Quirin is a farmer as well as the village leader and there are apples on their little farm estate! 🙂 I think that makes Varian very unassuming as a mad little scientist. I’m sure that’s how (Ruddiger and Varian) met! Remember, he used his purple tacky goo stuff to catch raccoons so they wouldn’t eat the crops! And Ruddiger’s favorite snack is apples. 😉

Q: What is his official height and weight?

A: Smol.

Q: How did you guys come up with Varian’s name? And was there any other name suggestions for him before the name ‘Varian’ was chosen?

A: I’m not sure who came up with that name, actually! I’m sure it has something to do with the meaning of the word “variant” which means something that varies, changes in form.

Q: What’s his last name?

A: His last name!! I have NO idea and it bothers me!!! A Disney magazine referred to Varian, Ruddiger, and Quirin as “The Ruddiger Family” and I still haven’t stopped laughing about that.

Q: What sad Disney movie moments would make him cry?

A: Oof. Lion King.

Q: What musicals do think Varian would enjoy?

A: Little Shop of Horrors! I think he’d see himself in Seymour! Or Wicked…you know, that villain arc.

Q: How did Arianna and Fred meet?

A: I actually don’t know off the top of my head!

Q: Would Varian enjoy rollercoasters?

A: I think he’d enjoy how they’re MADE and then scream his head off while riding one, throw up his cotton candy and corndog, and go play carnival games instead. Then get mad that they’re rigged.

Q: So what comes next for you now that the series is almost over? Any big plans?

A: Well the series wrapped for production a while ago! I’ve been on another show for almost a year now! 🙂 I’m working on the new Disney+ show Monsters at Work as a director! It’s an awesome, awesome show…totally next-level…I’m shocked that I’m getting to be apart of something like this. It’s a direct sequel to the movie that serves as an office comedy (a la The Office, Parks and Rec) and has so many characters that fit immediately into the Monsters Inc world. Monsters Inc is my favorite Pixar movie…so I literally come to work and leave work on the same high! It’s an awesome, awesome show with a great crew! 🙂 It’s also just really exciting to be apart of the first original animated property for D+!

Q: How would you compare working as a director to working as a storyboard artist?

A: It’s hard work, just as hard, but in a different way! For me personally, I’m a little easily fatigued by drawing? I get a little creatively frustrated because my thoughts move quicker than my hand. Or because I don’t always feel like I can execute in a drawing what I’m thinking in the way that I want? Part of that is just being an artist…and it’s not ALL the time that I feel that way…but I think I have a certain stamina for drawing that I found challenging to increase.

Directing is just different! It has a lot more to do with managing a team, communication, coordinating, listening, speaking up, problem-solving, being very aware of story as it applies to ALL parts of a production. I don’t draw as often anymore. You have to consider a lot more…more people, more constraints, more difficulties, more opinions, more solutions…it’s just MORE. And you also still have to draw! 🙂 It’s very busy work, but it’s AMAZING and I love it. I feel like I’m contributing to animated storytelling a lot more in this role, actually. I love working with people, I love workshopping, and I love helping! I’m also just spoiled to be working with some great people right now. It’s a blast.

Q: Are any Tangled: The Series crew joining you on that show?

A: Yes!! Tom Caufield and Wendy Sullivan were on it for a minute, but they’ve both moved on to Dreamworks recently! James Suhr (board artist), Isabelle Gedigk (season 3 board artist), Naomi Hicks and Casey Coffey (revisionists), David Lee (props), Ricky Roxburgh (writer), and I are all working together again! It’s awesome.

Q: Does Varian, deep down, blame himself for the amber?

A: I believe he does.

Q: How do you deal with artist’s block?

A: I try to think about the intention behind what I’m doing. Why is the scene I’m working on very important to the story? If it feels unimportant or boring, how can I make it interesting? What can I do on my end to make it more inspiring or fun without going too far off the rails and still serving the scene’s purpose?

If it’s not work-related, I try and start with some fan art or something familiar for me to draw. I have a lot of scribbly Varians in the margins of a lot of my sketch documents. I use him as a warm-up a lot. It helps build my confidence to draw something familiar/ that I think I can draw pretty well.

Q: What’s the hardest scene you’ve ever had to board?

A: Oh God. ANYTHING with action. I’m not an action gal. Lots of stuff in S3. I was board partners with Wendy Sullivan and ended up getting a lot of action to board even though she’s WAY better at it than me!! It was an interesting challenge…but it was very, very challenging. Ben (Co-EP) was a great mentor to me in the scene I did for the mid season. He was very patient with me, despite my shortcomings as an action board artist, haha. I enjoy boarding for comedy much more.

Kait: Anyways, I should probably head off now! Thank you guys so much for all the questions!!!! You’re awesome! I hope you’re all super excited for S3! It’s a great one.

[fairydust-stuff]

Wendy Darling Embodiment of Motherhood

Here’s the thing ,I have never been a big fan of Wendy Darling from JM Barrie’s classic novel Peter Pan. Not only is she a cocktail of every bad stereotype about Victorian women casually thrown into a blender to make the ultimate Grimm’s fairy tale heroines are more bad ass then you smoothie. But Wendy is just straight up the most boring character in Peter Pan. That being said she does play a very important role in Peter Pan. Also it’s gotten the point where I’m a bit tired of seeing this idea that the Never land ladies have nothing to offer. If we don’t change everything about them or let’s just leave them out entirely trend via Hollywood. Seriously when is the last time Tink got more than a cameo and I’m not talking about the sugary princess clone Disney created from her mutilated body. Anyway I want to take a look Wendy Darling how she works, how she doesn’t work what she embodies and how she’s been portrayed in various adaptations.

First let’s take a look at some themes. Peter pan is at its core a coming of age story about accepting the inevitability of growing up. However Wendy as a point of view character is kind of an odd choice for this theme. In the original novel Wendy brings a flower to her mother who declares ��Why can’t you stay like this” Then the narrator proceeds to talk about how Wendy knew she must grow up. So we already have a character who accepts the fact she must grow up on page one. In fact Wendy doesn’t run away to Never land as much as take a holiday, and to be fair John and Michel suffer from the same problem. Honestly I think the closest thing we get to a character arch in the novel is George Darling who is a seriously underrated character in my opinion. So Wendy just never struggles with growing up. However another theme of Peter Pan is motherhood and oh boy does Wendy fit into that.

“She used to come to me in my and I’d say pretty mother, now she has come and I’ve shot her” Tootles laments after thinking he shot and killed Wendy. Even Hook want to take Wendy to be the mothers of himself and his crew in typical pirate fashion coveting what Peter Pan and the lost boys have Wendy becomes a treasure for them to steal. Smee when carrying Wendy even promises “I’ll save you if you promise to only be my Mother” Every boy and man child in Never land craves a mother and want Wendy to fill the position. Wendy taking on the role turns her into a kind of ideal in the eyes of everyone in Never land even her own brothers get in on the treating her as the perfect mom.

In fact Wendy only gets to be a little girl in the narrative when Hook offers his hand to her and she takes it and only because the narrative felt the need to defend her submission to her own capture. But looking back that may very well be the point when you look at Wendy and Peter’s relationship without the shipping googles it’s actually quite interesting. You’ve got two pre teen’s on two different wave lengths. Wendy states in the novel “Peter what are true feelings towards me?” and is displeased with Peter’s answer “That of a devoted son” this seems up their relationship perfectly. Wendy uses the role of mother to try to basically become Peter’s wife something which he is deeply uncomfortable with needing constant reassurance that playing an adult couple is “ Only make believe” now whether or not Peter is flat out not interested or scared of his own feelings is up for debate. I personally lean toward the former because Peter is constantly surrounded by busty topless mermaids who like to flirt with him. So if he hasn’t had his sexual awakening yet it’s not happening ever, but the point is Peter uses the reaffirmation of Wendy as Mother to keep her at a distance. When Wendy returns home Miss Darlings offers to adopt Peter which he refuses. This highlights the fact when given the chance to have an actual mother he doesn’t want one.

Wendy is a reflection of Peter’s warped relationship with motherhood. He confesses to Wendy that he did at one point did return to his mother only to find the window barred and “There was another little boy sleeping in my bed!”  It could be argued Peter’s desire to stay a little boy forever actually steam from the fear of abandonment and being replaced. This shapes Peter’s relationship with Wendy in sense he wants a mother he can actually control. One who never makes him feels too grown up or who challenges him or his choices in a meaningful way. This shows that motherhood is important and that without a proper mom boys will never truly grow into men.

Wendy plays a similar role to the lost boys only she actually ends up helping them. While the lost boys clearly already have mommy craving’s Wendy gives them a taste of what having a mom is actually like or at least what an ideal mom from a Victorian upper middle class family structure would be like. So when Wendy wants to go home the lost boys who getting a taste of what their missing decides to go with her. Where they get adopted into the Darling Family and grow into respectable members of society who all get boring office jobs in the prolog which completely contrast their colorful energetic personalities, moving on. Wendy acts as kind of encouraging benevolent guide for the lost boys and Peter her inevitable goal being to encourage to move beyond the superficial trappings of childhood and take a step forward into adulthood. Peter is the failure, deficient as the novel itself states but the lost boys are a triumph of the power of proper maternal nurturing.

Wendy Darling has appeared in various adaptations and Spin offs though I’m mostly going to focus on Movies and TV because most of the Peter Pan book retellings where Wendy plays a key role just do not fill me with any positive feelings. And I want to mostly focus on the good today with some casual snark thrown in.

So let’s start with Wendy from the 2003 Peter Pan Live Action adaptation. I love this version it makes changes from the novel while still paying homage by using actual lines from the book. Though I have very mixed feelings about 2003 Wendy.

The movie heavily leans into the annoying I’m not like other girls trope. Here Victorian lady Wendy turns fairy tales into gore fests, and has an interest in sword play and pirates. I’m not saying girls from that era can’t have those interests but it just feels like their Wendy is the product of listening to too many focus groups not to mention she learns to be an expert sword fighter who can go toe to toe with adults after five seconds with Peter. And what is with the sudden unexplained blood thirst? Where did that come from?

Though I do like how the film unlike the novel actually gave Wendy an arch. Wendy’s aunt is mortified at her niece’s interest in becoming a novelist who travels the world.  She insists Wendy’s parents separate Wendy from her brothers and allow her to tutor, Wendy to teach her how to be a proper lady.   They also have a school teacher shame Wendy for drawing a picture of Peter flying above her bed. This seems to be subtext for the Victorian shaming of sexual expression from girls as dirty and shameful. This actually makes Wendy feel like her life is changing way too fast and it scares her. Since she is twelve and her family is already talking about marriage prospects.  While the scene where Peter and her meet is pretty much played like in the novel. There’s the added moment of Peter whispering in Wendy’s ear “ Forget them Wendy Forget them all come with me and we’ll never ever have to think about grown up things again” which unlike the novel frames Wendy as running away from growing up.

Then she develops a crush on Peter Pan and this being Hollywood they go with the scared of his own feeling interpretation. I guess her whining and screaming his name for a day was just too sexy to resist.  Wendy contemplates joining Hook’s crew because when your crush rejects you validation by pirate man children is good salve for your wounds. But then realizes she can’t remember her mother and much like the novel becomes scared that her and her brothers have forgotten their parents. Then they all get kidnapped by the pirates and Hook and Peter have a show down which is way better than the novel because here Hook attacks Peter’s abandonment issues and actually brings him to his knees. But then Wendy kisses Peter and he gains the strength to defeat Hook. Basically the implication is Wendy realizes growing up is ok because romantic love is a thing. Hey, I didn’t say it was a great arch but it’s more than the novel gave her or anyone.  I’m not a huge fan of this Wendy depiction but I’ve got to take my hat off to the writers for at least giving Wendy a coming of age narrative.

Disney’s classic Peter Pan pulled a similar move taking the focus from Peter and putting it entirely on Wendy. The implications at the end imply that Wendy’s adventure was all a dream and that Tinker bell and Tiger Lilly were reflections of her own manifesting sexuality. Peter Pan her desire not to grow up and Hook I’m going to guess that he was her daddy issues.

I actually think Walt did Wendy a solid in her characterization. This is one of the few Wendy’s were her concern for her brothers and the lost boys don’t feel tacked on. Since most adaptations do very little to build Wendy’s dynamic with the other kids. Here it’s in every face wipe and tearful good bye and every “Do be careful” thrown over Wendy’s shoulder.

Also the Disney movie does a one eighty from everyone in Neverland worshiping her to Neverland treating her rather badly. It takes Wendy’s annoyance from called her squaw from the Novel and has the Indians bully her into fetching firewood instead of joining the celebrations. Also the mermaids not only try to drown her but Peter thinks is all a big joke. Disney’s Wendy constantly stands up for herself but often gets brushed off or forced to walk the plank. In this version you can one hundred percent understand why Wendy is so done with this place and ready to grow up. Here the reality of what it’s like to experience everyone acting like a self-centered child is here on full display.

Also Disney’s Wendy is not perfect she gets angry and loses her temper attacking mermaids or yelling at Indians. She gets jealous of Tiger Lilly being all over Peter and is sour towards him.  Wendy is dreamy eyed, and polite but this version of her also doesn’t take anyone’s crap and will let you know if you’ve crossed a line or if you’re flat out awful.   But she’s still pleads with Peter on her attempted murder’s behalf. Wendy also reminds Peter that Tiger Lilly is drowning when he gets caught up in celebrating his cleverness. She still makes sure she can say goodbye to her brothers and the lost boys before Hook kills her. Even on her worst day Disney’s Wendy is a kind person even when those around her are less so.

But my favorite portrayal of Wendy has got to be from the 90’s classic “Peter Pan and the Pirates” TV series which aired on Fox was about one season then got cancelled.  While it doesn’t really focus on Wendy a whole lot since its more concerned with the relationship between Peter Pan his lost boys and Hook’s crew. 

She still has a pretty important role.  Wendy often serves as a voice of reason to the group which doesn’t go against her original role in the novel since she takes a cake that’s been left out all night away from the lost boys. Which does present her as the one with the most common sense but the show lets Wendy tell Peter this is a bad idea way more often than the book and blow up at him after he does the stupid thing every one told him not to do. Also Wendy gets to be more of a moral center lecturing Peter for stealing the picture of Hook’s mother in the episode “Hooks mother” and encouraging him to return it and even getting Peter to take care of Hook after he’s injured. This is in a positive change in my opinion because it actually expands on Wendy’s role as a guide to adult hood. Here Wendy Darling encourages a kind of good behavior she helps build moral character in her boys. Wendy has strong ideals and this adaptation actually has her stand by her principals for better or worse. This not only gives her more of a central role in the story but also gives her more chances to be active. Yay character agency!

Also this version of Wendy was the first to have a bit of an interesting relationship with Hook. (Who is voiced by Tim curry and does an excellent job.)  While the writers got rid of the almost pedophilic undertones of Hook wanting to keep Wendy from the novel and the “My beauty” pet name.  Thank god for that even in the novel i thought it was too much.     There’s still a bit of a dynamic even if its way more innocent.

In the episode  In Peter on Trial Wendy not only lands on the ship unharmed but reminds Hook executing Peter without a trial would not be proper form at all. She then hits Hook in the ego by declaring “Surely you don’t doubt your powers of debate against that of a mere girl” And not only gets a trial but manages to win even when the trial is rigged against them. Hook even congratulates her before proceeding to find his own loophole and kill Peter Pan anyway. The point is this suggests this Wendy has a bit of an insight into Hook maybe more so then Peter. She knows he’s obsessed with good form and has an ego that prides its self on being the smartest person in the room.

This cuts both ways while Wendy is capable of manipulating Hook, he also consistently manipulates Wendy by offering his word as a gentlemen when he intends to break it as a pirate. This dynamic highlights Wendy’s flaw of trusting dangerous people and allowing them to hurt her friends. Hook has picked up that she trusts or wants to trust him. In this version Hook actually treats Wendy as opponent vs the usual she belongs to Peter and I want to steal her like in most adaptations. Also despite Hook being terrifying Wendy has no problem being all “There’s no need to get cranky Captain” and I kind of love how comfortable she is with the guy despite him being an enemy.

This proves Wendy doesn’t have to be a sword wielding “Who are you to call me girlie” action girl to be a good character. She can be flawed but still remain a good person and giving her a spine is always appreciated.

Wendy Darling is at her core a guide into adulthood with a strong moral character and a voice of reason who is used to shine a light on how important motherhood is since the result of mothers abandoning or neglecting their children shape the Peter’s of the world.  This makes her important to the overall story and themes of Peter Pan.

[edorazzi]

Well, here we are again! Twitter said yes to a review post for a Miraculous magazine that suddenly showed up in my local area. ‘Tis the season after all, and by that I mean someone bought it for me as a joke birthday gift and I was way too happy about that.

I’ve done previous reviews of the Miraculous Christmas calendar, Easter egg set, superhero fashion dolls and action figures, so let’s dive into the unknown world of merchandising yet again!

(As always, if you enjoy my posts, please consider checking out my Twitter page or supporting me on Patreon for lots of bonus content!)

4 FREE GIFTS! PACKED WITH ACTIVITIES! MEET THE KWAMIS! PRANKS & LOLS! CUT-OUT MEMES! FANGIRL ALERT! NAIL ART! 100% OFFICIAL! I’m overwhelmed! It feels like I’m having a seizure just from the packaging!!! 

I should preface this by saying I haven’t bought a magazine like this in years. Possibly ever. I read things like the Beano, Animals & You and the odd Disney Princess zine when I was a kid but I have no idea what to expect from a free-gift-packed kiddie magazine in 2019. If the outside is anything to go by we’re in for a wild ride.

I’m noticing that it says “Miraculous #20″ on the back. Does this mean I’ve missed 19 previous issues? I’m genuinely a little upset by that. My local area is a complete dry zone for Miraculous so I haven’t had the chance to pick these up.

First step: let’s separate everything out and get a look at these freeeee giftssss. Except they aren’t free, because this magazine was like £3.99. This does seem to be the current trend - it’s kinda rare to see any kids’ zines without the excess packaging crammed with ‘free’ stuff. Is it really too expensive to just produce the magazine? Probably, in this economy.

Chat Noir is revealed on the cover! He was on the back of the plastic jacket, but it’s still nice to see the kids as a front-cover duo. Apparently we’re going to learn to draw Pollen, too, which sounds fun. I’m actually liking the look of the gifts as well, but we’ll get into those in a minute.

This hairbrush............. is adorable. Oh my god. It’s pretty cheap and flimsy but it functions the way it’s supposed to, and the Ladybug design has been taken into account in a better way than “it’s red/black, that counts” (lest we forget the UTTER BULLSHIT of the Christmas calendar, and YES I’m still mad about that). I don’t know how well I expect the outer sticker to last, but if it can take a bit of wear and tear this would be an adorable little travel brush. Nicely done, lads!

These nail stickers? Also adorable. They remind me of the kiddie makeup sets I had when I was little, back in the early 00s when plastic stick-on nails and decals were all the rage. Are they still a thing? That’s nice to know.

There are 13 designs (that I can count) - a Queen Bee mask, Chat Noir pawprint cake, macaron, cupcake, heart-print cookie, Ladybug stud, flower, lightning bolt, love heart, Marinette heart, bee, fox tail and star. The majority are directly related to the show and that makes them feel special. No Carapace though? :(

I’ve put a little Marinette heart on my furthest finger. At the time of typing this up (about a day later) it’s still firmly in place. I haven’t really knocked it around, granted, but it’s not flimsy enough to fall off after five minutes either. It’s also really cute to look at. Guess I’m still a decal-loving 2004 girl at heart......

These stickers though!!! Wow! They’re those holographic and slightly-puffy kind and they feel like pretty good quality, and the designs are so cute! I can’t fault these, they’re absolutely adorable. I immediately want to stick them everywhere.

So I’ve stuck them everywhere. I’m especially proud of the light switch pun. My room looks GREAT.

I saved these “mystery stickers” for last because I’m weak for the thrill of mystery bags, and there wasn’t anything on the packaging to indicate what kind of designs to expect. And OH!!!! OH, IT’S MY BOY!!!! Look at him!!!! 

I made jokes with the Christmas calendar about all the Chat Noir items being stolen ahead of time, but that’s definitely NOT the case with this magazine. I have been SPOILED with the presence of my cat son.

These stickers are similar to the sticker sheet (and the Chillin’ Out design is reprinted), but they’re puffier and non-holographic. I’m deeply allured by the “decorate your phone or tablet” suggestion on the packet, but I’m going to see how the previous stickers withstand the wear-and-tear of my laptop lid before adding any more. If I damage these beautiful Adrien stickers I’ll be devastated.

Those are our free gifts! They’re actually very fun and cute, I’m really happy with them! I guess now it’s time to get into the magazine itself...........

I genuinely almost forgot the magazine was the main part of this package. I figured I was done, but we’ve barely even started! Here’s a splash page of the kwami. Kwami with a capital K? Kwamis? I still feel like it should be singular-lower-case-k-kwami. I’ve never been happy about this “miraculouses” business either.

But is that--

It IS!!!! It’s Nino!!! 

I guess this is the new flavour of Miraculous tie-ins. Now they’ve broadened out to a full team we’re seeing a lot more of Adrien alongside the girls, and Nino is the elusive hero who shows up once in a blue moon. At least this time his name isn’t in the title of the gotdam show.......

Anyway, I can see I’m supposed to draw my “fave Kwami”. Better get to it.

Felix just wants a break. Just one break. But not in this magazine.

Speaking of seeing more of Adrien (and, tragically, less of Nino), this is the kind of splash page I want to see! Both kids are here! The banner themed with Marinette’s signature flowers is a nice touch too; that’s associated with her arts ‘n’ crafts in the show already and it makes sense to apply it to the creative portion of this magazine too.

I LOVE the promotion of Chat Noir nails as something the little girls buying this magazine will definitely want to try. I’d expect them to do Marinette vs Ladybug nails, but instead we get a boyish option! Hell yeah!

I’m a little confused by the Queen Bee masks apparently going on the Chat Noir nails though. I guess they’re friends? Is this secret AdriChlo confirmation? Watch out, Marinette, Kagami’s not the one to be worried about.

SURE WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE SOME TURTLE STICKERS FOR AN ALL-BOYS THEME BUT I GUESS NOT HUH

Next up is a short merch catalogue (why would you put the big bold arrow pointing right to the underoos.....). Would those Chat Noir socks come in my size? Asking for me.

Then there’s......... this page. FANGIRL ALERT. God. It’s like the Ladyblog, if only the Ladyblog ever gave a heck about reporting what Chat Noir’s up to.

THE SPELL WAS BROKEN AND THE FANDOM IMPLODED WITH JOY.

I really have to wonder what age range this is meant for. Do kids know what a “fandom” is? Do little girls consider themselves “fangirls”? I guess most kids have enough internet access to figure it out these days (all the hashtags and LOLs and memes speak volumes), but I can’t imagine being young enough to fit the target range of this magazine while also knowing these terms. I dunno.

(Also, the definition of ‘implosion’ is ‘an instance of something collapsing violently inwards’, so I’m not sure that’s the word they’re looking for. Unless the return to the status quo in Dark Cupid and the continuing stagnation of the love square was enough to make people quit in frustration? Probably.)

I’m filling it in, of course. Because I must.

I gave up on the pre-approved ratings system pretty much right away, but I think this is an accurate rating of my LadyNoir opinions. 

I might be kinda cynical about it here, but I am actually pretty fond of how this magazine sells Ladybug and Chat Noir as a couple. The show’s portraying it as very onesided lately, with Chat pining over Ladybug who has absolutely no interest in him (Glaciator was a TERRIBLE episode and I’m still hurting from it), but reading this zine I’d guess they were already dating. It’s cheesy, but in a nice way.

I have to laugh at “the most amazing thing about this super duo is that they always look out for and protect each other” though. Chat’s usually pretty focused on LB, sure, but there are endless instances of LB using Chat as cannon fodder and just generally abandoning him to get mauled by akuma while she carries out her personal private plan to save the day. Maybe we’re just focusing on the better-written episodes, huh?

Moving ahead. I’ve been dreading this page since reading “Plaggs Pranks & LOLs” on the back of the packaging. I feel hatred in my very bones just looking at it.

I like that there’s ONE instance of the term “ladybird” in the joke column. This is a UK-based magazine and that IS the word we tend to use over here - “ladybug” is an Americanism - but it’s like they’re worried kids could have got to the middle of this magazine about a superhero named Ladybug and then not understand the bug jokes. Maybe whoever was writing this page slipped up?

OH NOOOOO. MARINETTE, NOOOOOOOOOO.

THIS IS WHY FELIX GOT RID OF YOU, PLAGG. THESE ARE ADRIEN’S PROBLEMS NOW.

(mmm whatcha saaaaay)

I mean........... YEAH, I guess, but we absolutely did see Plagg destroy Felix with an entire shelf of heavy books. I guess he’s nicer with Adrien. It’s all fun and games until someone has a nervous breakdown in the library.

I do love the concept of Tikki getting glitter-bombed by Plagg through the mail. She just curiously opens up the little letter which got slipped into Marinette’s purse, and-- WOOSH. One entire wall of Mari’s room is glittery except for a little Tikki-shaped silhouette. 

Next up is a two-page comic which is absolutely adorable! Look at those little chibis! The warm and soft colour palette! This is nicer than most of the official Miraculous comic book art I’ve seen, I hope they keep giving this artist work.

Nino’s here too (and he looks great!), and I like the touch of Marinette and Adrien playing as each other’s superhero characters. Adrien even wins the match, though I guess there’s something to be said about Ladybug beating Chat Noir (again)...... 

It does raise the question yet again of where this tie-in merchandise is coming from! They’ve had action figures, a movie, music video features, now an arcade game... Who’s getting the royalties here? Who’s profiting? Is this how Fu can afford to buy all those rare ingredients for the magic potions?

Over the page we have an activity to Design your Secret Lair! Right away I love the Marinette theme of the page, the soft pink and flowers, and the drawing space looking like a page in a binder with marker tabs and everything.

I have to design my secret lair, of course: 

What do you think? I’m very creative. I’ll need an adult to send in the drawing of my hideout but I think I’ve really got a shot at those unicorn headphones.

Now we’re on to puzzles and character pages. I don’t know what ol’ Gabe is doing trying to meet a 13 year old girl in the dead of night without telling anyone, you’d think if he’s got that much free time on his hands he could be spending it with his son.

I don’t know how those points in Ladybug’s power profile are awarded or what they mean, but you can tell this is a fan magazine. Official sources would have put her at a 10.

Standard House of Villains page! Most of these were good episodes but I’m deeply offended Riposte isn’t on here. Maybe her motives weren’t dramatic and cartoonish enough to be up in the ranks with Glaciator and Gorizilla?

“Cat Noir’s dad is also the evil Hawk Moth”, huh? I mean that’s not WRONG, but is it really something to put in his power profile when Adrien doesn’t even know yet??? Feels like we’re kinda jumping the gun on the poor boy. What if he picks up this magazine?

Apparently he’s one point weaker than Ladybug (seriously???), two points faster, equally as agile, one point less skilled and two points less cool. Despite all those lesses he still comes out at an equal 9, which is a relief! These kids are a team, putting either of them below the other would have been a big no.

I did the colouring page too, naturally. Je suis un artiste.

Now we’ve got a page fresh from the Ladyblog, a Miraculous quiz! Not a lot of excitement, but it’s nice to see Alya getting her own section.

I like that the qualifications of “you could be Ladybug herself!” are knowing what city Marinette lives in and what school she goes to. Well done, Mari! You’re doing your best!!!

TEACHER I AM SO HUNGRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

I gotta say, I’m not so sure about decorating donuts with fondant. I’ve never tried it so I could be wrong, but it feels like rolled icing instead of frosting(?) would be too heavy for an entire donut. The texture is totally different.

I mean I guess if you’re going to load your kids up on sugar you might as well go all the way. They’re going to look like they’ve eaten something horrible with all that black fondant, but they’ll have fun. Adrien would love these.

WHERE’S NINO. THIS IS JUST UNFAIR. You’ll have four out of five heroes, then a double of Marinette and Tikki? Maybe this just goes to show how little memorable dialogue Carapace has.

Though if “Spots On!” is Marinette’s dialogue and not Ladybug’s, why are the other transformation phrases attributed to Rena Rouge and Queen Bee instead of Alya and Chloé? Surely they could have picked something better for Marinette to justify having her on this list twice instead of Nino.

The next page brings us one of those flowchart quizzes! And ouch, yet again the absence of the other heroes is obvious. I can understand not including Chloé here since she’s technically not a “friendly” character yet, but no Nino? Alya and Marinette are close friends, but Adrien doesn’t really hang out with them without Nino around. Having the three of them together just seems strange.

I do like the little fashion page! They’re all cute and affordable and easy to find on the high street here. I’d love to see how other issues of this magazine are structured; is there a different fashion spot every time? Styles to channel each individual hero would be adorable.

Moving on to a tutorial for a Ladybug notebook! I would have made this, but I didn’t have the time nor a notebook to stick it to.

Between this and the donuts, it seems weird that these designs are based on, like... an actual beetle, eyes and antennae and all. Shouldn’t it be Ladybug’s symbol? These come across more like “fun animals” arts ‘n’ crafts instead of themed after Miraculous specifically. I think if I made this (or decorated the donuts) I’d miss out the head and match the spot pattern to Ladybug’s symbol. 

The hidden message design is adorable though. I can see this being a craft kids are super proud of.

Another activity page! I didn’t have a go at these but they’re pretty standard. It’s cute that the coded message designs are the same as the stickers and nail decals!

Also, apparently Ladybug’s ‘secret’ is “LB mask + heart + CN mask”, which was (somehow) stolen by Volpina. Is that the secret Hawk Moth was talking about earlier in the magazine? Is he blackmailing Ladybug with revealing she has a crush on Chat Noir? How did Volpina ‘steal’ this secret? Is LadyNoir finally reciprocated???? THIS IS A WHOLE EPISODE IN ITSELF, I NEED ANSWERS--

Next page we have an ad for another girly magazine (Quizzes! LOLs! Celebs! Cringes! Puzzles!). I think I’ll pass, no matter how appealing that giant microphone pen is. 

And a “Miraculous Identity” quiz! Tikki’s apparently super fickle with her wielders, three seasons of relentlessly praising Marinette and now she’s telling us we’re the Chosen Ones. You can’t fool me with those big ol’ eyes.

My inner superhero is Marvellous Fox, by the way. Though yet again I’m noticing we don’t have turtle options...................

And on the back cover... the memes. Oh, sweet lord, the memes. They’re hashtag-SoRelatable! And I can cut them out to keep! Oh boy!!!

Is this what kids do when they have limited internet access? Cut fresh memes out of magazines and carry them around? I need to know.

That’s a very sinister Ladybug at the bottom of the page though. What’s-- What’s she going to do to me if I don’t cut out and keep these memes. Ladybug what are you going to do if I d--

Well that brings us to the end of the magazine! And yet again I’m surprised by how much time it takes to just put a bunch of photos together and write about them.

This is a neat little magazine all in all! The ‘free gifts’ are pretty nice, there’s a fair amount of content and the whole thing is pretty cute for young fans of the show. I could see myself buying this again - if it ever shows up on shelves, Miraculous is so scarce around here that I fully expect it to disappear again after this one issue - just for the free junk, but it would be interesting to see how they’d structure different issues too!

I notice we never did get that promised tutorial on how to draw Pollen; the one advertised on the cover. Was the “draw your favourite Kwami” activity supposed to cover that? I’m not sure that really counts.

If you got this far, thanks for joining me on this Miraculous journey! We’ll meet again whenever I get another piece of weird ML merch to cover. Bien joué!

[goddessofthundathighs]

VII: WAITING

Suggested Listenings/Songs Mentioned: Overstimulated x Jhené Aiko; Loaded Gun x 6LACK; New Apartment x Ari Lennox

A/N: Instead of writing a separate chapter, the prompt that you picked is in this one @heybriheyyy!

The sound of heels clicking against the black and gold marble floors of the hallway alerted Erik of Skylar’s arrival. The pair had agreed to meet in his office for lunch to discuss his date with O’Shea and other methods of therapy he could implement going forward. For this to be merely a meeting among friends, she was dressed to kill sporting an ivory turtleneck sweater and black pinstripe pencil skirt that hugged her physique in all the right places. On her feet were a pair of black Priyadora Louboutin open-toe sandals and her signature gold wire-rimmed glasses held their usual place atop her head.

She walked in and shut the door behind her, a silent cue for Harper to cancel his appointments for at least the next hour.

“First of all, you’re an ass for leaving her the way you did. I understand that you were upset at her for laughing, but you could’ve handled that so much better.” Erik dropped his head. Though he rectified the situation, he knew that there was no way he would be able to escape Sky’s wrath about how he reacted to his phallus getting caught in Shea’s braces.

“I fixed it!” he declared, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat.

“Oh I know. Disney, huh?” Her lips were twisted into a knowing smirk, much to Erik’s disdain.

“It’s not what you think,” he lied unsuccessfully.

“Oh it’s exactly what I think, Stevens. You’re falling for her.”

“I am not.”

“Then what do you call it?” He paused for a moment, avoiding her face at all cost. He was reluctant to speak because it was a question he had been asking himself ever since he dropped O’Shea off at home the previous Friday. Sky must’ve sensed his dilemma because her demeanor softened as she took a seat in the chair across from him.

“Ok, let’s try this approach: why are you so drawn to her? Is it personal or purely experimental?”

“Is it selfish to say both?”

“Not entirely. Elaborate.”

“I can say that I like her, but it’s the way that I like her and the reasons why that is a mystery at the moment. On a personal level, she’s incredibly smart and beautiful. She challenges me much like you do and I genuinely like being in her company. On a professional level, I’m curious to how each of her personalities react in a true relationship setting. I could use that information to possibly determine why her past relationships failed and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Skylar listened intently as Erik explained before giving her insight to the situation.

“That may be well and good but the fact still remains that she is a patient and a colleague of mine. Are you prepared to completely cross that line or do you want to solely as a means of furthering your research?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer as she continued her lecture. “Furthermore, if you choose the latter, are you prepared to handle the possible blowback? As free as you are with your methods there is still the review board to report to and they will ensure that every step you take is well documented down to the flavor of lube.. and ETHICAL. Tread very softly. I don't wanna see you lose your license over some emotional bullshit that could easily be straightened out.”

“That’s actually the part that scares me the most. I need to figure something out and fast.” Skylar agreed before grabbing her bag.

“Well let me know what you come up with,” she replied as she began making her way out of the office, leaving Erik with his wayward thoughts. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through the text thread between he and O’Shea, chuckling to himself at their playful banter.

“What are you doing to me, Ms. Powell?” he spoke aloud with a sly smile, completely oblivious to the woman that now occupied his office.

“Dr. Stevens?” the young woman spoke, her soft voice causing him to lift his head. She sported a black biker jacket with blue jeans and timberland boots, her hair a curly mess atop her head.

“Yes, how may I help you?” he asked as he sat back in his chair.

“My name is Oya Ramirez. We spoke on the phone briefly the other day.”

“Oh yes, Ms. Ramirez, please have a seat.” Though her smile was bright, her eyes held pain. He could tell that life hadn’t exactly been good to her, but she was trying to make the best out of a bad situation.

“What brings you by, Ms. Ramirez?” he inquired as he sat up straight and grabbed a pen.

“Well, as of late, I've been having trouble achieving orgasms. I know what I like and I know all of the things necessary to get me to that point, but nothing seems to be working. I’ve scared off all of my usual partners because they say that my sex drive is too high and it’s unattractive, which I find absolutely ridiculous.” He looked up with one eyebrow raised, staring at her as though he’d seen a ghost. Everything she said was exactly what O’Shea had told him on their first meeting and he was starting to wonder if he were being Punk’d.

“I read this article in a psychology magazine about how you help women with that sort of thing and I was wondering if you could help me.” Erik couldn’t tell if it was fate or if God had a twisted sense of humor, but this was exactly the sort of thing he needed. He could use the treatment methods he used on O’Shea as a placebo to see if they would truly be practical enough to incorporate into his usual routine. Maybe leveling the playing field would also help him gain clarity of the O’Shea situation.

“Alright Ms. Ramirez, what are your kinks?” As she rattled off the list, he learned that she was a bratty lesbian looking for a dom to tame her.

“Well Ms. Ramirez, my schedule is pretty full at the moment, however, here’s my business partner’s card. She’ll be more than happy to assist you with your needs.”

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

“A business trip? For how long?” O’Shea pouted from her seat across from his desk.

“It’s only going to be a week, but in that week I want us to not contact one another. Instead, I want you to try and implement other methods to destress.”

“Did I do something? Was it something I said?” Buttercup begged in a tone so pitiful it almost made Erik cancel the whole trip and cradle her in his arms like the baby she was. He could see Sky in the back of his mind shaking her head and he could hear her saying, "Unhealthy attachment. Transference." And this is exactly why I need to go. We both need clarity.

“I’m not abandoning you, Princess. Trust me, this time next week we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program and I’ll even have new things for us to try.”

O'Shea blinked at the thought of something new and interesting brought in specifically for her, curiosity softening the blow of temporary abandonment. Afterall, it was only a week and she'd gone longer without attention. She could probably do it again.

The thought crossed her mind to call up Cameron or Michael, past contacts she'd usually turn to in moments when she needed something quick. Neither Bennie, Buttercup, or Bianca would be satisfied, but at least O'Shea would be getting something. However, just as soon as the thought came, it left again. They just weren't worth it, besides there was something sexy and a little charming about waiting. Maybe distance would make their hearts grow fonder.

“Okay, I guess I can deal with that. Just don’t be tryna replace me while you’re gone,” she fake pouted.

“Someone sounds possessive,” he teased as he lead her out of his office, his hands by his side as to not complicate things further. She merely smiled, and continued out to her car, trying hard not to let the bratty beast within her loose before their little experiment had even began.

“Not possessive, just confident. There’s only one O’Shea Powell, Dr. Stevens. Have a safe trip.”

With that, she slid into the driver’s seat of her Benz and drove off into the sunset, leaving Erik yearning to be in her presence once again.

Crushing the line // cutting the line // crossing the line// Bumps in the night // Got me over here overstimulated // Crushing the line // cutting the line // crossing the line // Bumps in the night // Got me, got me over here, over

The first day without Erik was quiet. O’Shea went to work and back home and curled up with a book to ease her mind, her Something Chill playlist playing softly in the background. Though she didn’t want to believe that it was her fault that Erik had left, that’s where her mind kept drifting. She tried to convince herself that their interactions were nothing more than patient/client, she couldn’t ignore the obvious. Regardless of what was going on, no one would willingly purchase a Pandora bracelet or any other token of affection if there weren’t some feelings involved. Could it be that he too felt what she was feeling and was distancing himself to put those feelings into clarity? If so, then why wouldn’t they just talk things out like adults? Separation only gives way to doubt and doubt ruins everything. O’Shea sighed and closed her book. This week was about to be a long one.

“Ade due Damballa, give me the power I beg of you! Leveau mercier du bois chaloitte. Seciose entinne mais pois de morte. Morteisma--”

“Girl, what the hell are you doing?” O’Shea stopped mid-chant and opened one eye to find Skylar standing over her, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

“I was tryna bring my nigga back, damn,” O’Shea pouted, placing the Pandora bracelet back on her wrist. Skylar doubled over in laughter at the meek woman before her. Erik had only been gone 2 days and she was already acting crazy.

“First of all, stop it, you look stupid. That only works for the transference of spirits and you need the actual Heart of Damballa in order for it to work.”

“I keep forgetting you a wholeass Creole voodoo priestess in your spare time,” O’Shea remarked, pulling out her sketchbook to draw more prototypes.

“And you’re acting like a lovesick puppy.”

“I don’t know what it is, Sky. Like aside from the bomb ass head, I actually miss our conversations. He listened to me, made me laugh. Hell he was the first man in a while that actually cared about how my day was going and how I was feeling throughout the day. I know that’s his job as a therapist and all, but something about it seemed different.”

“Do you think you’re possibly starting to grow feelings for him?”

“Absolutely not!” Shea lied. In actuality, it was a thought she’d mulled over several times since their Disney adventure.

“Why do y’all insist on lying to me? Tell me what’s going on with you,” Sky said, pulling up a chair beside her. O’Shea sighed heavily, not really wanting to expose her true feelings, but Skylar wasn’t just anyone. She was a confidant and also a neutral source. If anyone could help Shea sort through her emotions, it would be her.

“I honestly don’t know how to explain it. Like on one hand, he’s strictly my therapist. Someone more than qualified to help me address my current issues and find and adequate solution. On the other hand, he’s Erik. An incredibly smart and equally handsome man that has put me in my place more times in the last few months than I can remember. I haven’t even laid eyes on the dick yet and I’m already acting like a prized poodle in the Westminster Kennel Club. When he says jump, I want to ask how high and that scares me. Instead of being turned off or annoyed by my little personalities, he embraces and nurtures them in a healthy way and I’m having a hard time distinguishing whether he’s this way because he genuinely wants to be or because, as a doctor, he has to be.” Skylar nodded, absorbing everything that O’Shea had to say before adding her two cents.

“So, I’ll ask again, are you growing feelings him? Before you answer, think about this: if you are growing feelings, are you capable of continuing a professional relationship with him if those feelings aren’t reciprocated?” O’Shea hadn’t thought about the fact that Erik may not feel the same and hearing it now had her stomach in knots. Skylar sensed her dilemma and continued her speech.

“Now I’m not asking this to scare you or to send you off the deep end with your emotions, but I’m being realistic. I honestly think you two need time apart so you both can get clarity of the situation as well as come to terms with whatever y’all are both feeling towards one another.

“He’s going to Wakanda for a week. He suggested that we not call or text one another the entire trip, something about finding other methods to destress.” Leave it to Erik to already be three steps ahead.

“Good. While he’s gone, I have a yoga class I think you’ll be interested in and we can go together.”

“Eww, I hate yoga,” Shea complained.

“You’ll enjoy this, trust me.”

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

The sunset in Wakanda was always the most beautiful part of visiting his aunt and cousins. It had been a few years since he’d visited the advanced nation and each time, something new caught his attention. This time, it was the customizations she had made to T’Challa’s Black Panther suit that caught his eye. She had added a stealth mode, meaning he could go invisible if needed be when he was in battle. His younger cousin never ceased to amaze him with her genius nature. One he’d gotten his belongings put away, he set out to find his aunt Ramonda. She was his second mother and if anyone could help him gain clarity of his current predicament, it was her. He found her seated in the floating tea room that overlooked the lush garden at the center of the palace. It was her one of her favorite places in the palace. She always came here when she wanted to get away and clear her head. She was adorned in a white Wakandan lace robe with a matching headdress.

“Auntie, can I talk to you about something?” She beamed, giving him a knowing smile before beckoning him to sit down beside her. She took his hand into her own and squeezed it gently, letting him know that he could speak freely.

“Tell me about her,” was all she said, noting the troubled look in his eyes.

“Who said a girl was involved?” She stared up at him incredulously before chuckling.

“You ask that as though I do not know you, N’Jadaka. You’ve checked your phone every 10 minutes since you got here and I can always read the trouble behind your eyes. Now, tell me about her.” He sighed, hating that he could never hide anything from his aunt.

“It’s one of my clients, I think I’m falling for her.” Ramonda chuckled softly to herself as she studied Erik. She could tell that the topic was a difficult one for him, noting the way he tugged nervously at a lone dreadlock that hung loosely in his face.

“Didn’t you say that you’d never get involved with one of your patients because it’s messy and unprofessional? What changed your mind?”

“I don't know Auntie. There’s something different about this girl. She intrigues me on a level that no other woman has before. She’s witty, and the culmination of her different personalities create a very interesting and sharp young lady," he smiled recounting the times her mouth had been quicker than he could anticipate.

"The man is asked to explain his attraction and he talks about multiple personalities," Shuri tsks making her presence known.

“Obviously I am needed! N'Jadaka!" Her hand clapped hard onto his back as she stood between him and the queen gazing out into the garden ahead.

"Figure out if she is an experiment, a patient, or a lover, but don’t use her to fill your emotional gaps. You’re a jerk if you do,” Shuri scolded before heading back towards her laboratory. "Thank me later," she called as she disappeared from sight. Erik stared after her for a beat before turning back to his aunt to squeezed his hand once more.

“She may be young, but she is wise beyond her years and she knows what she’s talking about. I can give you all of the advice in the world, but at the end of the day, it’s your decision to make. Lord knows we don’t want another Lynda situation,” the Queen concluded as she stood.

She stepped to the side and followed Shuri's path to the exit leaving Erik to gaze solemnly out over the garden and into the grand horizon. He thought back to his relationship with Lynda and how it ended, concluding with himself that O’Shea definitely wasn’t a Lynda. She was an enigma, but a goddess in her own right. She deserved someone that could give her his whole heart and love her as hard as he knew she loved. She deserved to be catered to and spoiled, but also disciplined whenever she stepped out of line; she was a submissive after all. She deserved a lover and a provider and he wasn’t sure that he could be all of those things for her, but he was more than willing to try.

“Dammit. I think I’m in love.” He whipped out his phone and called Skylar, remembering some things he forgot to tell her before he left.

“Wassup lover boy? Miss me already?”

“I always miss you, Nola,” he smirked, hearing her soft gasp at the nickname he hadn’t used since college.

“Real funny, Stevens. To what pleasure do I owe this phone call?”

“I know you don’t really do therapy, but I referred you to someone, Oya Ramirez. She suffers from the same symptoms as our bipolar beauty minus the other personalities and I figured she’d be a good experiment for you. She should be stopping by some time this week.”

“Oya Ramirez,” Skylar repeated, jotting the name down in her notebook for reference. “Got it. Anything else?”

“Nah, that’s it. I’ll be back in a few days. How my girl?”

“Oh, now she’s your girl?”

“You know what I mean. She doing ok?”

“She’s pretty good. We’ve got a yoga date tomorrow.”

“Yoga? She hates yoga.”

“There’s weed involved.”

“Ah,” he states with a nod. “I knew there had to be a catch, but yoga’s good. Good way to get her mind off things.”

“I’m well aware, Dr. Stevens. I’ll keep you posted on her progress.”

“Thanks, Nola. I owe you one.”

“You’re eternally indebted to me, Stevens. I thought we had this discussion already.”

“You right. I’ll make sure I bring you back something dope. Peace.” Erik ended the call and returned to his suite in the palace. It was a room he’d tried and failed to duplicate in his condo back in LA. The color scheme was black, white, and gold with a huge Alaskan king bed trimmed in black and gold in the center of the room. The walls were decorated with paintings of African and Egyptian royalty, including Queen Nefertiti and Anubis from Egyptian mythology. A large floor length mirror hung on the back of his bedroom door and his closet was its own ensuite. The floor was black and gold heated marble, the inspiration to the floor in his office and the ceiling changed to mimic the sky outside, no matter the time of day. He undressed and slipped under the covers, trying and failing to keep his mind from drifting to the current object of his affection as 6LACK‘s mellow voice filled the room.

I got women callin’ my phone like I owe them some’ // It’s kinda my fault // I guess I showed them some’ // No shit, I treat my dick just like a loaded gun // Point that shit away // These hoes gon’ blow what comes

He shook his head, smiling softly at the image of her little pout and the way her eyes lit up when he surprised her with the Pandora bracelet. He would give anything to see her smile the way she smiled that night again. The slight dip of the bed caused Erik to raise his head, only to drop it back against the pillow one he realized who the intruder was.

“I missed you too, Massika,” he murmured as the jaguar made her way up the bed and to her usual spot beside him. She purred softly, rubbing her nose against his face before settling down beside him. She had been his baby ever since he’d rescued her from poachers the last time he visited. Everywhere he went, Massika followed and he made a mental note to introduce her to O’Shea once they were official.

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

Today felt different. The sunlight crept through the large bow window, casting an ethereal glow throughout the bedroom. O’Shea woke roughly 20 minutes before her alarm, something that typically only happened when she was stressed. She stretched and said her morning affirmations before finally slipping out of bed, a small smile creeping across her face.

“Hey Alexa, play Something Chill.” As the device came to life, O’Shea retired to her bathroom and allowed Ari Lennox’s smooth voice to help her get ready for the day.

Pop my woo-hah in the sky // ‘Cause nobody here to judge my life // Leave the dishes in the sink // Do some cartwheels // “Cause my furniture ain’t came // Standard shipping thing // I just got a new apartment // I’m gon’ leave the floor wet // Walk around this bitch naked // And nobody can tell me shit

Since she was awake early, she decided to indulge in a relaxing bath with her newest bath bomb from Lush, called Royalty. The floral scent of the bomb permeated the bathroom before being replaced by a hint of vanilla and sandalwood. She watched as the water turned from a warm golden to soft red and green before slipping into the water. She loved how soft the soy milk powder left her skin, smoother than a baby’s ass fresh from its mother’s womb. After a 30-minute soak, she retired from her bath to get dressed, choosing to slick her curls up into a high puff while sporting a white, floral mini dress and a jean jacket. She felt good, a genuine smile crossed her face as she glanced down at the Pandora bracelet that rested in the center of her jewelry box for the past 3 days. She’d chosen not to wear it, fearing that she would be plagued with thoughts of Erik and be tempted to call or text him. Thanks to Skylar, the week had gone by a lot faster than she’d expected and he was due back home within the next few hours. A quick swipe of her Fenty gloss bomb and she was out the door, a newfound pep in her step.

The jingle of the shop’s bell pulled Shea from her sketchbook. She looked up to find a short, light-skinned woman coming over to the counter. Her hair was braided into cornrows and she wore a white cropped hoodie, blue jean shorts, and white Fila tennis shoes.

“Hello. My name is Oya Ramirez. I was sent here by Dr. Erik Stevens. He told me to ask for Skylar.” O’Shea regarded the young woman for a bit before walking to the back to get Sky.

“Oh Ms. Ramirez, Dr. Stevens told me you’d be stopping by. Follow me this way.” Oya complied, walking with Sky to the back of the store. O’Shea smirked, watching the way Skylar’s eyes followed every move Oya made until they had disappeared somewhere among the tall shelves. Once they were gone, O’Shea turned her attention back to her sketchbook. Since the dildo generator had been approved, Sky had tasked O’Shea with designing preset models that could be customized for potential clients that didn’t want to design their own tool from scratch. Just as she was getting back into her groove, the bell jingled again.

“Hello, welcome to —”

The cocoa skinned woman held up her hand to silence Shea.

“I’m Monica, where’s Skylar?” Almost on cue, Sky emerged from the back of the store with Oya, both giggling like schoolgirls. Once Sky’s eyes met Monica’s however, her smile faded.

“Baby!” Monica tried, attempting to throw her arms around Sky’s neck, but stopping once she saw the death glare Sky was giving.

“Oya, call me tomorrow with updates. O’Shea, take your break.”

“But I just got here,” O’Shea complained.

“I said take a break!” Sky repeated, raising her voice slightly to emphasize her point. Shea seemed to take the hint, leaving Sky and Monica alone in the shop.

TAGS: @vikkidc @thadelightfulone @sydneebleu @trevantesbrat @madamslayyy @chaneajoyyy @jozigrrl @thehomierobbstark @amethyst1993 @iamrheaspeaks @mareethequeen @forbeautyandlife @whatmoredoyouwantamericaa @blowmymbackout @wakanda-inspired @nickidub718 @heyauntieeee @princessstevens @bartierbakarimobisson @xaviera108 @alexundefined @raysunshine78 @dameshaemonique @laketaj24 @youreadthatright @theogbadbitch @bugngiz @amirra88 @post-woke @im5ftbutmythroat66 @blackpinup22 @maya-leche @blessyd-bthyname @unholyxcumbucket @eclecticblkgirl @kissmyafropuff

TAGS DON’T WORK: @beaut1fulone-blog @chefjessypooh @queengidiva619 @love-me22 @honey-poooh @diva-Princess-on-fleek @heybriheyyy

[liv-ing-duck]

Go Girls Games

yes i did just play a bunch of girls games

I came for this website because it is labelled for girls and I remember playing these games as a child although the games I played today were terrifying and should not be advertised to anyone.

This website is Go Girls Games which is a website advertised to girls and for girls and there are 5 main categories for these games

Dress up Games

Skill

Simulator

Cooking

Room Decoration

Skill games has a range of puzzle games for girls- no fault there- except the ones that will probably draw girls in the most are probably the least skillful I.E Ice Queen Dress up which i played and involved me finding 6 objects in the picture and then dressing her up. not exactly skill building if you ask me.

Now Simulator games had the range of games shown below:

Kissing Games

Love Games

Baby Games

which is quite honestly an absolutely terrifying selection of simulations. 

Now while playing one of the dress up games - aside from noticing the range of ‘nerd- to popular- games there were and this idea that being smart is some how ugly and must be altered still attacking girls- I clicked on a randomly harmless game about disney princess going to school.

My problems did not lie with the tight fitted, mid rift revealing clothing because I believe that a bit of my project will look at this idea of slut shaming and ‘your skirt is too short’ mantra that most teenage girls will get at some point in there lies. To some extent this is the fashion. The problem I had was this loading screen:

The problem was minor and probably not noticeable but I guess i’m so used to noticing this blue vs pink now de to this project that this stuck out. 

The blue side- blue being associated with boys- has reference to strategy and learning and education and science. 

The Pink side- pink being heavily associated with girls- has make up and nail polish and lips. 

It almost gives the idea that this is some how to separate worlds. Being pretty and being smart.

This game made me laugh- Emma cheating on liam which involved clicking the mouse to flirt with the boy behind you so your boyfriend liam doesn't see.

Although a bit of fun, this pink clad blonde highlights this idea of needing a man to young girls and to be honest I found this showed no skill or involved no thought. What kind of message do these type of games send to girls?

This game was terrifying. Tinkerbell Sauna game was suggested to me multiple times. And this is just a screenshot of what the game was. 

After showering down tinkerbell, tanning her, this screenshot shows me shaving her armpits. Tinkerbell has the audience of 8 year olds. why are we encouraging them to shave their armpits?

Furthermore we then kiss a pixie in the sauna and towel them down. Honestly this game was terrifying and again makes me wonder what kind of message does this send to children??

The final game I played was my worst nightmare of encouraging young girls to feel insecure. NERDY GIRL - FAT to FIT

This game entailed removing of glasses and braces and then helping a young healthy girl go from so called ‘fat’ to fit. 

the fact that this girl was not fat in the first place sets off so many alarm-bells because this puts the idea in the head very early on that glasses aren’t beautiful, braces aren’t beautiful but also that girls as skinny as this animated character is are considered ‘fat’. It is games like this, barbie, magazines and tv shows that all play a part in this idea that young girls aren’t good enough.

My final problem with this game is the calorie counting that is shown. Every exercise you perform you cannot complete until the calories have been burned. highlighting this unhealthy obsession that can lead to eating disorders in both men and women.

Now 

My ideas that came from this are a glitch art type thing like with my music tech project except doing the video as well-

I have a book on digital art from the library so will have a look in there. This was mainly for research but because I couldn’t show the video I decided to explain the screenshots. - the video is only a sped of version of me playing.  

[thdorkmagnet]

Light of the Sun and Stars Chapter 30: Ping Pong

A/N: Sorry for my absence guys, I’ve been sick the last couple of days and haven’t felt like getting around to posting.

Summary: His whole life Marco Diaz has been raised by monsters, living under the cruel rule of their leader, Toffee. But one day Marco escapes into Mewni where he meets a magical princess and Mewman like himself, who begins teaching him all about her world. Together they will learn about life, love, and the lights within each of them, as they change their world forever.

Chapter Synopsis: After his recent success Marco takes the day off to bond with Tom by participating in one of the demon’s favorite pastimes. 

Check out my other stuff on Fanfiction! 

Index

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

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“Take this!” Tom screamed, slamming his paddle down as hard as he could, hitting the air-born ball and sending it spiraling to the other side of the table and right over the net. Marco screamed and ducked to avoid getting hit by the tiny projectile, forgetting all about his ping-pong paddle and instead simply letting the ball fly over his head and smashing into the wall behind him. Marco turned and gaped in awe at the small indenture in his wall now from where the ball hit, muttering, “Whoooaa!”

Marco turned to his friend with a smile saying cheerfully, “Nice shot, Tom! That was incredible!”

Tom eyed his now smoking paddle in his hand with an absentminded look, shrugging as if it were no big deal, but the large grin on his face gave away his true feelings. “Eh, I don't know about incredible,” he said with obviously forced humbleness. “Fantastic. Inspirational. Extraordinary. Something like that.”

Marco just laughed, picking up the next ping pong ball and raising his paddle to hit it. “Your really good at this game,” he observed, before sending the ball over the net and bouncing toward his opponent who served it back.

“You're good too, Big Brother,” Daisy suddenly exclaimed from the corner of Marco's room, where her and Violet were playing with Three Eyed Potato Baby, the large incoherent Monster apparently assigned to watch Marco for the day. The boy figured it must have been Lobster Claws day off or something, but he wasn't complaining and he thought it was adorable that the twins seemed really fond of the Monster, Daisy making flower crowns for him to wear, while Violet was drawing sketches of him and showing it off to him a moment later. The two had been relatively quiet and out of trouble for the last few hours and that meant Marco was free to bond some with his new guy friend.

“Thanks,” Marco said, shooting her a smile for just a second before returning his attention back to the game, hitting the ball just before it could fall completely off the table. Soon Tom and Marco fell into a steady rhythm as for a few moments the two players managed to hit the ball back and forth to each other without any surprises and they took the time to chatter pleasantly with each other.

“She's right, you know,” Tom agreed, giving his new friend a smile. “Your almost a natural.”

“Yeah, uhh, things just happen that way for me, I guess,” Marco mumbled, looking embarrassed.

“Isn't it like your... ability or something?” Tom asked, his main eyes focused on the ball, but his third eye lay directly on Marco.

“My Trait,” Marco explained.

“Hmm,” Tom said impassively.

Marco's room fell silent after that except for the sound of the ball as it struck the table's surface over and over again.

It was still a few days until the next meeting with the MMPC, Lily now taking over the grueling task of compiling all the information gathered from Monsters and Mewmans alike into the most effective set of notes to help them narrow down the biggest issues and the best method to tackling them. And though she had assured them that she was making good progress, she would still need a few more days to get it ready. That meant Marco had some free time and he had decided to spend it bonding with one of his newest friends.

“How are you so good at this game?” Marco asked, now panting slightly as he struggled more and more to keep pace with his opponent's almost aggressive speed.

“Must just come naturally to me,” Tom replied with a shrug. But a mischievous smile lit up his face, as he added teasingly, “Maybe it's my Trait, too.” He hit the ball a little bit harder and caused Marco to dive for it.

“What's going on in here?” came a voice from the doorway and Marco looked away at the last second to see who it was, missing the ball and sending it bouncing to the floor. The hooded teen watched the ball roll to a stop before looking back over to the doorway of his room, seeing Star, Jackie, and Janna there and he smiled and waved to them with the hand still holding the paddle.

“Hey guys!” he greeted pleasantly. “Tom was just showing me how to play ping pong.” Marco looked over at his friend who had frozen up the moment he had spotted Janna in the doorway.

“Ping pong?” Star asked, raising an eyebrow at the two boys.

“Yeah, I've been wanting to learn for a while now and I figured this would be a good way for me and Tom to hang out,” Marco explained.

“Ahhh,” Star said, letting him know she understood, before spotting the twins in the corner, as well as the Monster between them. “Hey girls! And Potato!” Star giggled slightly, seeing the ring of daisies on his head, the actual Daisy laying across his shoulder, while Violet sat in his lap, the potato reading a book to them it seemed.

“Hi Star!” the two exclaimed waving in her direction, Potato doing the same, making an incoherent grumble, before the Monster cleared his throat and picked up where he had left off in the story, sounding to Star and the others like a series of unintelligent garbles. The blond royal raised an eyebrow, fairly certain Marco was the only one there who could understand Potato Baby and yet the girl's seemed to still be intrigued by the unheard story he was reading, their gazes never leaving the pages of the book and they looked invested enough in what he was saying even if they couldn't understand it.

“Where'd you get the table?” Jackie asked, leaning over it skeptically and running her hand along the smooth frame.

“I brought it up from the Underworld,” Tom said, spinning the paddle around on his finger for a second and making a point not to look Janna's way, who was standing just a little too close to him for his own comfort, though he did his best to ignore this.

“Well, I'm glad you two are having fun but Ferguson and Alfonso are gonna be here any minute, so you two need to wrap this up,” Star said, trying not to let her impatience show too badly.

“Okay, Star,” Marco said with a nod. He had forgotten all about the meeting until now, but he was more than ready to do his part regardless. Playtime was over for now, time to get back to work. “We'll just-”

“Sweet, ping pong!” came an exclamation from the doorway, where both Ferguson and Alfonso stood with dorky grins, the chubby king racing over. “And I've never seen one of these so well made before, ever!” he exclaimed with glee.

“That's cause I had it specially made,” Tom bragged. “It's a Daredevil Extreme 9000!”

“And what is so daring about a game of ping pong?” Janna asked, raising a teasing eyebrow at the boy and leaning against the table, right into his personal space.

“Well for one thing, in the Underworld if you lose, your opponent gets your soul,” Tom explained, trying to ignore the rush of joy he felt from the girl's close presence or her adorable little smirk.

“What?!” Marco exclaimed, dropping the paddle at once. He couldn't believe Tom had had him playing a cursed game. Was he trying to take his soul or something?

“Oh don't worry Marco,” Tom said with a small roll of his eyes. “I said 'in the Underworld', that's why we were playing it up here instead.”

Marco breathed a sigh of relief, glad he didn't have to worry about losing his soul, he liked it where it was at.

Janna, however, just leaned even closer to the boy until her shoulder was touching his, which caused goosebumps all over his arm and nearly making him drop the paddle in surprise. “Maybe we should play this on your home turf then, sometime,” the girl said and Tom felt a shudder run up his spine. He didn't know which sounded worse (or better) to him, stealing and owning Janna's soul or her owning his.

“Well I'll play a round if that's okay with you,” Ferguson said, picking Marco's paddle off the table and getting into position.

“Um, Ferguson what about the meeting?” Alfonso asked. “Your wife said we needed to discuss the changes being made to the Mirror Tax.”

“Yeah, hence why you two are here,” Star said, her voice carrying just a slight amount of bitterness to it. She had discussed in great lengths to Ferguson how his words from the first meeting had hurt Marco's feelings and though the king had apologized to her boyfriend and Marco being the sweet boy he was had forgiven him, she had still refused to let the issue go, keeping him on close watch since.

“Ah, that can wait! We've got plenty of time for stuff like that later!” Ferguson said, almost carelessly.

“But-” Both Star and Alfonso started, only to be interrupted by Janna.

“Come on, guys, a little R&R won't hurt anyone,” Janna pressed, her arm now fully around Tom's shoulder and he was blushing a dark red.

Star sighed, but smiled. Janna did have a point, they were teenagers after all, even with all the responsibility and stuff, every so often they needed some time to relax and hang out like normal teens. And the more time they all spent bonding the more well-oiled a machine they would be later on, she reasoned with herself. Not to mention, that Marco finally had some guy friends to hang out with and she knew how important that was to him, she couldn't bring herself to take that away from her boyfriend.

“Okay, but I get to play winner,” Star said with a small smirk of her own.

“Deal,” Tom said, pointing his paddle at her as if excepting some sort of challenge.

“And I get to play the winner after that,” Janna said, nearly whispering into his ear and making him squeak and push her away from him with flickering cheek marks.

“Do you have to keep doing that?” Tom asked with a slight growl.

“Do what?” Janna asked, clearly baiting him into her game and the pink-haired boy opened his mouth to answer only to realize better, snapping his jaw shut and turning away from her to focus on the game. But he still spotted her evil grin widening out of the corner of his eye and he scowled.

“Now then, prepare yourself, Lucitor, for the power and skills of King Fergore!” Ferguson exclaimed, gaining Tom's full attention back.

“We'll see,” Tom said with a confident smirk.

“Go Tom!” Marco yelled, pumping his fists into the air where he, Star and Jackie just watched from the sidelines.

“Hey, what about me?” Ferguson asked with a hurt look in the direction of his friend.

“Oh sorry,” Marco said sheepishly, correcting himself to shouting, “Go Tom and Ferguson!”

Star and Jackie just smiled at their friend, the former taking his hand into her own and leaning her head against his shoulder as they watched.

The two opponents turned to face each other once again, glaring daggers of determination across the table. The chubby king held up the ping pong ball and Tom just watched him wordlessly as the boy tossed the ball up into the air, before slamming paddle down on it was all his might with a loud dramatic yell, shouting, “Now feel the wrath of my special attack!” The ball flew over the net and hissed toward the temperamental teen at breakneck speeds, Tom nonchalantly raising his paddle and blocking the ball with one smooth motion, making it bounce off the table and strike Ferguson directly in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground and knocking him out cold. “I win,” Tom stated in boredom as Alfonso squeaked out his friends name and quickly checked to see if he was okay.

Star and Jackie just watched blankly, while between them, Marco gaped in both enchantment and horror. “Wow, that was over quicker than I thought,” Star muttered.

“Yep,” Jackie agreed, shaking her head. “Poor Ferguson. He never stood a chance.”

“I'm starting to think Tom took it easy on me while we were playing,” Marco spoke up, watching as his chubby friend was roused back into consciousness.

Star and Jackie shared a look, before the princess told him honestly, “Yeah, he did, Marco.”

“Don't take it too hard, dude,” Jackie added. “He probably just didn't want you to get hurt.”

Marco didn't seem offended, however, instead an infectious smile simply lit up his face and his cheek marks glowed an even brighter red. “Awww, he does care.”

“Ferguson,” Alfonso said in concern, poking the boy's cheek as he tried to wake the unconscious form of his friend. “You okay?”

The chubby king let out a little groan, mumbling something unintelligent under his breath.

“What?” Alfonso asked, leaning in closer to his friend so that he could hear him.

“I said... I want a rematch!!” Ferguson yelled as loud as he could, making his friend shriek and pull away to rub at his now ringing ears. With complete disregard for his safety he sat up straight once more, pointing a finger at Tom. “That didn't count. I want a redo!”

Tom shrugged and said, “Sorry, rules are rules.”

“Besides Ferg, I'm not sure that's a good idea,” Marco pointed out, acting as the boy's voice of reason since Alfonso was still struggling to make out a word anyone was saying. “You seem... unsteady.”

“What, I'm fine,” Ferguson said, his voice now with a noticeable slur as he swayed unevenly on his feet. “Don't worry about me. It's Tom you should be worried about.”

“Yeah okay,” Star said rising from her seat, Jackie following her lead, as they both worked to pull the boy toward a waiting beanbag chair. “We're just gonna let you rest up for a while.” Once he was positioned in front of it he plopped down on the chair, falling comfortably into the folds that cradled his stunned form. The two girls, as well as the slowly recovering Alfonso, watched him for a moment with concern, taking in his appearance. His eyes were hazy and unfocused as he stared off into space and he was running a hand along Potato Baby's cheek, who was sitting next to him with the twins. The Monster paused and stared at the boy with confusion. “You have a very soft face, Jackie,” the delirious king whispered under his breath. Potato Baby's face softened as he let out a flattered garble, clearly delighted by the compliment.

“Think, he'll be okay?” Alfonso asked his blond friend with a fearful look.

“Yeah, just keep a close eye on him for a while,” Star said.

The slim boy nodded, taking a seat next to his friend, before scolding him irately. “I told you it was a bad idea to challenge a demon!”

“I do what I want,” Ferguson shot back in his mindless slur. As he spoke, the twins had already crawled out of Potato Baby's lap and were now going to work decorating the boy's face with pink and purple markers, which went unnoticed by the out-of-it teen.

“So, you ready to face off against me, Star?” Tom asked, turning to the blond while twirling the paddle around in his hand in a show-offy manner, a wide smirk on his face.

Star smiled playfully back, putting a hand to her hip. “Sure only if you are ready to lose,” she said tauntingly.

Tom laughed. “Ha, now that's the Star I know,” he said, throwing her an extra paddle, which she caught easily. “Just try and not cheat like you used to when we were kids.”

“What?!” Star exclaimed, though the grin never left her face. “I never cheated... I just made up my own rules.”

“And then changed them halfway through the game and didn't tell anyone,” Tom finished.

Star scoffed, looking offended, before pointing out, “Yeah well, you were a cheater too, remember. When we'd play in the Underworld you would use the balls that you could control and manipulate at will.”

“Hey that was a long time ago,” Tom whined. The two glared at each other for a few seconds, before bursting out into laughter. Marco watched the two's playful banter with a wide, glowing smile. It was so nice to see the two getting along, considering the fact that just a few weeks ago Star hadn't even been on speaking terms with the boy, but now it was as if that whole incident had never happened and they had finally let bygones be bygones much to Marco's delight. He wanted to be friends with Tom and he was glad Star had become his friend once more, as well. He hoped that eventually he could be included in their shared laughs in the future, but for now he was just happy to see the two smiling and playing around.

Once the two finished giggling and regained their composure, Star wiped the tears from her eyes and said wistfully, “Man, good times.”

Tom smiled softly, overjoyed to hear her refer to all those years ago as 'good'. Before she seemed to harbor a lot of ill-will toward her past self and her sometimes 'rebellious nature' as she saw it, but it was nice to hear that she still had some fond memories from before St. O's. The boy watched as his friend got into position on the other side of the table, the playful and mischievous twinkle in her blue gaze a mirror reflection of her younger counterpart, the parts of herself still left intact showing through in that moment and it would have made Tom teary-eyed if it wasn't for the fact he was super-heating his body to keep that very thing from happening. He couldn't make a fool of himself right there, not when Janna was watching.

Speaking of which, he looked over to see her staring, her brown orbs so focused on him he almost squeaked in surprise, but managed to catch himself at the last moment, instead merely coughing into his hand in an attempt to hide it. He did stand just a little bit taller than before though, an arrogant smirk on his lips and a confident gleam in his eyes as he stared down his blond opponent. “Well cheating or not, I'm still going to wipe the floor with you, Butterfly.”

Star noticed the change in attitude as well as the casual glance over at her beanie-wearing friend and instantly picked up on his attempts to impress the girl he liked. Star almost rolled her eyes at how ridiculous he was being, he didn't need to show-off just because Janna was watching-

“Good luck, Star!” Marco's cheering voice called, interrupting Star's thoughts and she turned to see him shoot her one of his cute signature grins, her heart fluttering around in her chest. “I believe in you,” he added and Star felt her cheeks grow hot and an extra heartbeat in her chest.

She turned back to face her old friend, now with a determined fire in her eyes, as she pointed the paddle in his direction, shouting, “Well then prepare to be disappointed, Lucitor, cause I'm gonna win!”

“We'll see about that,” Tom said, getting into position and the blond royal did the same. With one simple swing of the hot-headed teen's paddle, the game commenced, Star hitting the ball back and Tom quickly returning the gesture. A few rounds exchanged this way, both hitting the ball vehemently back at one another determined to win and impress their crushes, failure not an option for either Tom or Star. But though they were adamant about winning, they still acted like friends, keeping up a playful banter as they fought for victory.

“I see the princess life hasn't softened up your swing any,” Tom said, hitting the air-born ball with an overhead swipe.

“And I see your even more skilled then I remember,” Star noticed, hitting the ball as if she were using a baseball bat. “You been practicing.”

“Only three hours every day,” Tom nonchalantly replied with a shrug.

“Wow, really,” Star said, sounding impressed at his level of commitment.

“Well, okay, more like three hours every other day, some days I'm too frustrated and I'd rather not have to replace the table because I lost my temper,” he explained.

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Star agreed. He was still Tom, after all. “But honestly, you seem to have the whole temper thing pretty well under control,” she said, shooting him a proud smile. “I hardly ever see you explode with rage anymore.”

“Oh, um, well... I-” Tom stuttered, flustered by the compliment, a blush beginning to light up his cheeks and he raised a free hand to rub the back of his neck, timidly. But that was just the opening Star had been waiting for, letting out a loud yell as she slammed into the ball with all her might, snapping her paddle in half. She watched with a smirk as the ball bounced over the net and toward Tom at rapid speed.

The boy snapped out of his daze, his eyes turning red and his cheek flames turning into unyielding bonfires as he hit the ball back, setting his paddle on fire and sending a now flaming projectile sailing back at his friend. Star dropped her broken paddle and quickly whipped out her wand, out of it coming a giant see-through paddle made entirely of magic, rising up to meet the ball head on. Star swung her wand down with all her might, hitting the ball and sending it to the other side of the room where it smashed right through the wall and into the next room.

Everyone only stared at the hole speechless, hearing a loud crash from the other side. That was until Daisy and Violet exclaimed, “Awesome!” They ran around their cousin a few times, shouting, “Do it again, Star! Do it again!” Potato Baby clapped at the girl's success, not quite understanding the rules despite watching them play it for the last hour and a half.

Everyone else, however, was less ecstatic about the giant gaping hole in the wall, Star telling the twins, “No, probably not gonna do that again.”

Tom quickly muttered in agreement, “Yeah, that got out of hand. You really did a number on that wall, Star.”

“Only cause you set the ball on fire,” Star accused, though there was guilt laced into her face and tone, her cheeks tinged pink and her hearts glowing a bit brighter.

“Hey you distracted me,” Tom said quickly, an angry look now on his face.

“Yeah and then I saw a literal fireball heading for me and I panicked!” Star shot back. The two were glaring at each other and Marco moved to step between them and stop an all out fight from breaking out.

But then suddenly their frowns vanished and the two burst into laughter once more, freezing Marco up in confusion. “Oh man we really are just as bad as ever, huh?” Star asked and Tom nodded.

“Yeah, ha ha ha, guess some things never change,” the flaming boy replied, still chuckling at their mess up. Marco and the others just watched the exchange in confusion, not sure what to make of it, it was rare to see Star laughing at one of her mistakes, usually she held those against herself, harsher than was necessary really. When the laughter did finally die down, Tom began to awkwardly rub his neck, looking at the damaged wall with a cringe. “Uhh, sorry about your wall though,” he said sheepishly.

“It's fine, it was my fault anyway,” Star assured him. “I just got a little... aggressive back there.”

“Yeah, me too,” Tom admitted.

Star smiled, proud of her old friend for owning up to his mistakes. “Truce?” the girl said, offering her hand to shake.

“Truce,” he said, taking her hand and shaking it. Once the two broke off, the boy complimented his friend by saying, “Besides what you did back there, was pretty incredible. Making a paddle out of magic! Very creative!”

Star blushed, before giving the boy a playful shove, saying, “Yeah, well you weren't too bad yourself. I mean, you set the ball on fire! How cool is that?!”

“Not as cool as you.”

“Oh stop it.”

Marco watched this whole exchange, sighing in relief that the two had made up so quickly. He really didn't want to see the two fighting again, after they had just made up. He could really tell that the two's broken friendship was starting to mend into a much stronger one and that pleased him to no end. Which was why he couldn't resist rushing over and wrapping his arms around both of their waists and drawing them into a forced group hug, giggling with joy. “Whoa, Marco, where'd that come from?” Star asked, not complaining about receiving a hug from her favorite person in the world, but more caught off guard by it.

“I just like seeing you two getting along,” Marco said and the recipient’s of the boy's crushing hug just shared a grin before hugging the boy quickly back.

“Awww, your sweet Marco,” Star gushed.

Finally Marco released them and Tom asked the blond royal, “So since you won, I guess your gonna play Janna, right?” The disappointment in the boy's tone was clear, unable to keep his gaze from jumping to the beanie-wearing teen explaining something to Violet, while Jackie just shook her head at her friend in scolding, while Potato Baby listened in intrigued. His flames flickered once in a blush but he quickly looked away and acted as if nothing had happened.

But Star had picked up on the movement and felt her heart go out to him, clearly telling how badly he had wanted to play a game with Janna. She looked over at Marco who was giving her one of his sweet, heart melting smiles and she felt her gaze soften. She let out a short breath, before shaking her head. “Nah, you should go next,” she told him, much to his surprise and instant delight.

“Seriously?” Tom asked.

“Yeah,” Star said with a small shrug. “Besides I'd rather spend some time with Marco instead of playing some game, anyways.” She put an arm around the boy's shoulder, who's face seemed to light up anymore, if that was possible, a goofy look on his face as his suns spun in an excited circle.

“Okay then!” Tom shouted in joy, not questioning or arguing with his friend as he turned to the (secret) girl of his dreams, who finally looked up from her task with the twins to notice him with one of her smirking smiles. “So guess that means it's you and me, Jan,” he said as slyly and cool as he could. But his confidence shattered from the girl's piercing brown orbs as muttered hesitantly, “Y-Y'know if you want to.”

The girl shrugged casually. “Sure, I'll play a round,” Janna said with her typical crypticness. “It'll be over pretty quickly, after all.”

Tom's aggressive side surfaced at that comment, growling, “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Whatever you want it to mean,” the creepy girl shrugged, her hand brushing his arm on the way past and Tom knew instantly that it was intentional. His anger ceased in a flash and he soon found his body unresponsive as the girl made her way over to the table, his pounding heart somehow causing every function in his body to cease working for a moment and a tingling sensation rising up his arm, crating goosebumps along the hot skin. Ugh, knock it off Tom, he mentally scolded himself, grabbing onto the arm Janna had brushed in irritation. Your supposed to act cool and impress her, not act like a lovesick idiot every time she opens her mouth. He grit his teeth, mentally slapping himself and trying to force his body to turn, but his legs were somehow rigid and unmoving as well as unresponsive mush. He didn't understand why this kept happening to him every time he was around Janna, it made no sense. Come on, I can't just stand here in the corner forever, she's gonna think I'm an idiot or something.

As if on cue, he heard a clearing throat behind him and he finally managed to swerve around and see Janna leaning against the table with a bored expression. “Come on, hot shot, I don't got all day,” she said and Tom felt his cheeks grow hot with an unwanted blush.

He tried to hide it with an annoyed growl, snapping, “I'm coming, I'm coming!” Storming over to the table he snatched up his ping pong paddle and got into a ready position, not daring to look in the girl's direction. “Hey Tom,” the girl said, rolling the ball back and forth across the table in a lazy pattern.

“Yeah,” he said in slight annoyance, wishing she would just hit it already and stop stalling. But as he finally caught her eye, she said in a smirky tone, “Heads up.”

Before Tom could even question what that meant, the beanie-wearing girl had already tossed the ball in the air and hit it in the span of a second and Tom had only an instant to respond. Luckily, his body reacted before his mind did, raising his paddle to block the ball but he somehow missed and he felt it whoosh past, almost grazing his ear as it hit the floor and rolled to a stop. The boy was once more frozen to the spot, his three eyes opened wide and unblinking as he tried to process what had just happened.

“See I told you it would be a short game,” Janna said, sitting up on the table with a mischievous smile splayed across her lips.

“Wha- Bu-But how?” Tom squeaked out in shock.

“Pro tip, next time keep at least one eye on your opponent instead of staring off into space,” she said, pointing at her eyes and then to Tom. “You got three of them, it shouldn't be that hard.”

The boy felt his face flushing once more, letting out a small groan of annoyance under his breath.

“Wow, that was incredible, Janna!” Violet cheered, hugging her role model tightly around the waist. “You were right, psyching your opponent out first, does make sure you win.”

“Told you, squirt,” Janna said proudly. Her playful brown eyes, focused in on the purple skinned boy, who was currently turning a bright shade of red, even his cheek flames flickering out of sync to show how thrown off he was over the whole situation. “Thanks for helping me demonstrate, Tom, though I more expected you more to get too angry to pay attention than to get embarrassed like that.”

“So wait, I was your guinea pig?” Tom snapped, his eyes glowing slightly red.

Janna shook her head, thoughtfully. “Nah, I'd say more like a lab rat. I'm not a big fan of guinea pigs. Or maybe a bunny, since I know you love them.”

Tom's cheeks turned to the brightest shade of red yet, the words catching in his throat, before he snapped out, “That's not what I mean, Jan! I demand a rematch!”

The cryptic teen shrugged. “Hey I can't help it if I'm better at ping-pong than you.”

From the sidelines Ferguson smiled and laughed mockingly, pointing a finger at Tom and proclaiming loudly, “Ha, how's it feel, hot shot, now that the shoe is on the other foot!”

“Ferguson, your pointing at a coat rack,” Alfonso said dryly and Ferguson squinted at the skinny wooden frame before him, his blurry and spinning vision making it difficult to make out.

“Oh so it is,” he said, with a still noticeable slur, before nearly collapsing into his friend's arms.

“Still not doing in better,” Jackie observed worriedly.

“No, I think he may have a concussion,” Alfonso said nervously.

“Al, have I ever told you how much I appreciate having you as my adviser,” Ferguson suddenly said, his voice full of sweetness as he rubbed a hand up and down Alfonso's face. The scraggly teen grabbed his chubby friend's hand, moving it away from his face before telling Jackie, “Okay, scratch that, he definitely has a concussion.” The skater's eyebrows pinched together in worry.

“Hey you okay, Ferg,” Marco called out from the other side of the room, noticing the boy's weird and concerning behavior. Alfonso opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by his king, who said in a drunken tone, “Oh yeah, I'm doing great Marco. In fact, I think I'm ready to go again!” The boy pumped his fists up into the air and his adviser and friend quickly shot down the idea.

“No, no, I think we're gonna have to pay a trip to the hospital first,” Alfonso said as if he were talking to a child, putting the boy's arm over his shoulder and carrying him out of the room.

“Bye, Al, uh sorry about Ferguson,” Star said, with a sheepish look.

“Yeah, sorry dude, don't always know my own strength sometimes,” Tom added.

“Ah, it's fine, it's his own fault really, he was kinda asking for it,” Alfonso told them.

“I was not,” Ferguson argued. “I coulda taken him,” he continued, even with a concussion still refusing to accept defeat.

“Sure you could have,” Alfonso said as if speaking with a child, though he obviously didn't agree.

Once the two were out of sight, Star turned to the others and asked, “So who's next?”

“Ooh, ooh, us, us!” Violet shouted jumping up and down and waving her arm in the air, Daisy doing the same. “Yeah, we want to play!”

The teens all laughed. “Okay girls, you can have a turn, just try and be careful, okay?” Star told them.

“Yay!” they cheered.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway of Butterfly Castle, Moon and Lily were just passing by Star's room when they saw Ferguson and Alfonso, stopping as they regarded them with worried looks on their faces, Moon asking, “King Ferguson, what on Mewni happened to you?”

“Are you alright?” Lily asked at the same time, concern in her tone.

“Ah this, this is nothing,” Ferguson said, pointing to the large bruise forming on his forehead, still clearly out of it. He scoffed, practically spitting on the two royals, still wobbling on his feet. “I'm finnnnee.”

“He got hit with a ping pong ball,” Alfonso explained. “It was an accident.”

“Oh you poor thing,” Lily gushed.

“And what is all over his face,” Moon asked with a raised eyebrow.

“The twins,” Alfonso and Lily answered at the same time, the queen turning to her relative with a suspicious frown.

Lily shrugged. “I'd recognize my daughter's work anywhere,” she explained. “They are quite the little artists,” she added almost proudly.

“Yes they are!” Ferguson agreed loudly.

Moon just sighed before turning back to the young royal. “Does Star know you are like this?”

Both Alfonso and even the frazzled Ferguson froze not sure if they should answer. After all, it was this very same kind of thing that had given Moon reason to send Star away to that place and neither of them wanted to see Star punished for having fun, no matter what the reason. That and the two had sworn that they would do whatever it took to protect Star from that same situation again.

Still they had to say something, Alfonso cringing and nervously answering, “Ummm, yes but-”

“It wasn't Star's fault!” Ferguson blurted.

“What?” Moon said in confusion, but Alfonso quickly corrected his friend's outburst.

“Uh, he means it was an accident and wasn't anyone's fault at all,” the boy explained.

There was a short pause as both ladies seemed to be processing this. “Well, I hope you will be quite alright, King Ferguson,” Moon said, giving them both a deeply apologetic look. “Would you like me to call a doctor for you?”

“That's okay, I'm just gonna take him home, the Pixie Empress has plenty of healers to help him,” Alfonso reassured them, before walking past.

Ferguson though, yelled over his shoulder to the two royals, “Star is a good girl and she did nothing wrong!”

Alfonso shushed him. “Quiet Ferg, your making it worse.”

“What was that about?” Moon asked.

“Sounds like the kid's game got a little out of hand,” Lily said.

“A little?” Moon countered. “I don't call a concussion a little out of hand.” She looked over at the doorway to Marco's room where the kids could be heard talking and playing within. She frowned in concern, voicing her thought out loud, “Maybe I should talk to Star.”

“Moon, seriously, let the girl have her fun,” Lily instantly argued. “Accident's happen. And I'm sure Star is responsible enough to make sure their game is well in hand-”

There was a crashing sound from the bedroom opposite and the two mother's shared a look before rushing over to check on their kids. The moment they entered they saw Star, Marco, Jackie, Janna, Tom and one of the Buff Frog's Monsters staring at yet another gaping hole in the wall, next to Star's old one, while Violet and Daisy stood at either side of the ping pong table, giant versions of the paddles hovering behind them, the former cheering her victory, while the latter crossed her arms grumpily in front of her chest. “Yay, I won, just like Star!”

Star let out a sigh. “We really need to get stronger walls for your room, Marco,” the blond said, before raising her wand to repair the holes, but was stopped by a call from the doorway.

“Star!” The blond whipped her head around to see her mother with a very concerned expression, looking around the room in shock. “What is happening in here?” she asked and the scolding tone in her voice was like a lightening strike to Star's brain, making her instantly suck in a breath.

“Mom, uh, we were just... playing a game,” Star explained quickly, almost in a panic, getting a horrible sense of deja vu.

“There are two giant holes in your wall,” Moon pointed out, her face the picture of horror.

“Yeah, I was, uhh, just about to fix them,” Star said softly, almost timidly.

“Yes, but why are they there, Star?” Moon asked and though she didn't mean it, it came across as demanding, almost accusing to Star. “And I just saw King Ferguson leaving and he said he was hurt while playing your game, so I would like to know what has been going on in here.” Moon's gaze remained implanted on Star, who seemed to be twitching nervously.

Marco watched with a heavy heart as his strong, confident girlfriend, seemed to close up on herself, her mouth open but unable to form an answer. “I-I, uh-”

“It wasn't Star's fault, ma'am” Marco said, instantly jumping to his girlfriend's defense, putting his arms around her in a hug from behind.

“Yeah, it was my fault,” Tom said, hanging his head low. “I was the one who did it.”

“No, it was us!” Daisy and Violet screamed, running over to Star's side and hugging her tightly. “Please don't punish her!”

“What?” Moon said surprised, her eyes wide with confusion and almost fear. “Why does everyone think I'm upset at Star?”

“Well you are scolding her, Moony,” Lily said, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder.

“I'm not-” Moon began defensively, but stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening to the size of saucers as she turned to her daughter, taking in the fear and guilt written all over her face. Her stomach twisted, realized how this was sounding, how familiar this was to...

She let out a long breath, before saying much softer, “I'm not trying to scold you, Star, I was just concerned is all. When I heard the crash, I was afraid you were hurt. It wasn't my intent to blame you, though.”

“Mom, it's fine,” Star said, hugging her arms around her small frame, and Moon realized she wasn't just talking about right then, though she wasn't sure if she had read her mind or if her daughter was reliving the horrible experience in her traumatized mind. But which ever it was, one of the two was true as her daughter shakily added, “You already said you were sorry.”

The queen let out a long, deep sigh, before walking over to her daughter and wrapping her up in a tight hug. Star hugged her back, allowing all her negative feelings to drift out of her. It had been a long time since either had addressed the incident four years ago, the one that had sparked the whole ordeal at St. O's. Moon and River had already been on the fence about sending Star to the reform school to help her better understand her responsibilities as princess, something she was having difficulty quite grasping on her own. She was often scolded by her mom for little things she did wrong and Star would shrug it off as if were nothing, more interested in doing her own thing than being a princess. And with the war going on, Moon had little time to teach her, the few lessons she received Star not really listening or paying attention to, stuck in her own little world.

But after a nasty fight Star had with her mom, Moon scolding her for breaking a particularly ancient and important artifact while goofing around with her friends instead of doing as she was told and staying clear of the area, Star argued that she had just been playing and that her mom needed to lighten up and stop treating her like a kid, Moon and River had come to the decision that sending Star to the school would be the best thing for her. It would help her mature and teach her how to act more responsible, with the war going the way it was they feared that Star might someday have to lead herself and they wanted her to be ready for the harshness that she would be thrust into if something happened to them.

Moon had never fathomed how great the consequences this decision would have on her daughter. The moment she had received the call that the school was being disbanded for mistreatment of its students, Moon had felt her whole world shatter in an instant. The moment she had seen her daughter again, she had wrapped her up in a hug, listening to her cry into her shoulder, her every sob full of so much aching and sorrow and her eyes so dead and empty compared to the vibrant girl that had left that she had apologized over and over, her own eyes dripping with tears. It was her deepest regret and if she could take it back she would in a heartbeat. She had never wanted to subject her daughter to such trauma but she had, and that was something she lived with every day of her life.

Which was why, as Moon started to watch her heal, slowly she had sworn to be a better mother for her daughter. She tried her hardest to be supportive and understanding toward her daughter, quick to forgive her mistakes and trying to guide her in a more delicate way. Still she had been forced to make another tough decision, when the war began to go sour once more and her and River had been needed to help at the front lines. And though she had desperately wanted to stay and coddle her daughter, she couldn't, the safety of Mewni was at risk and so she had instead left her still healing daughter in charge of the entire kingdom, praying she would be able to handle it on her own.

Then Marco had come into the picture and she had been beyond relieved as she heard of how he seemed to be helping mend the scars that were still healing in her daughter, scars she couldn't mend, for she was partially the cause of them. She still worried about Star daily but she was proud of the mature young woman she was turning into. She had never meant to make her feel like she had all those years ago, her fear getting the best of her in a moment of panic.

“Oh darling, you know I never meant to-”

“I know, mom,” Star reassured her, letting out a shaky breath before saying in a strong tone, “It wasn't your fault.”

Moon said nothing for a moment, just holding her daughter close and letting small tear escape, running down her cheek and onto the floor below. “That's in the past, anyway. I just... want to forget about it, okay,” Star said pulling out of the hug and looking into her mom's eyes.

“Wow, Auntie Moon and Cousin Star are sure upset about ping pong,” Daisy observed, looking up innocently at Jackie.

The skater smiled sadly at her, running a hand through her hair and saying, “Yeah, but they'll be okay. They needed this.”

Marco watched the mother-daughter moment with tear-filled eyes, his feelings a mixture of emotions that he was having trouble deciphering. He really didn't understand it, he was sad for Star sure, but he almost felt like he was suffering with her, as if he could... feel her pain somehow. Suddenly though, Potato Baby was whispering something in his ear and Marco told him, “No, no, it's okay you can stay.”

The potato-like Monster garbled something sheepishly to him and Marco nodded admitting, “Yeah it is pretty awkward.”

Moon looked deep into Star's glittery eyes, her heart breaking at the sight of the tears hovering in them knowing she was the cause. “Oh darling, I hope you can forgive me,” she whispered regretfully, cupping her daughter's face in her hands. “I trust your judgment I truly do, it's just that sometimes I can't help but worry.”

“Mom, it's fine, really,” Star told her mother, wrapping her hands around her mom's own and giving her a bright smile. “You can forgive yourself. I've already forgive you and dad.”

“You have?” Moon asked surprised.

“Yeah,” the blond replied with a nod. “At first I was really mad... but I don't want to hold a grudge, I don't want to give 'her' anymore power over me.” She swallowed down the lump in her throat before saying in a strong breath, “So I choose to forgive you.”

“Oh sweetie,” the queen whispered, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “Every day I see you turning into such a mature young lady.”

“Thank mom,” Star said, giving her another quick hug. As she did her gaze landed on Marco and she smiled ear to ear at the very sight of her boyfriend knowing he was the real reason she had finally chosen to let go of her anger toward her parents. When she had seen how loving and loyal Marco was to his own family forgiving and seeing the good in them despite their shortcomings, especially after everything that had happened, she had felt inspired and did a lot of self-reflection and saw just how ridiculous she was being toward them. It wasn't their fault she had suffered, they had been trying to help her and she knew that, no one could have predicted just how cruel and evil St. O's truly was. And if he hadn't been there to help heal her she wasn't sure she ever would have gained the right mindset to try and move on from her past at all. He really did mean the world to her.

The two royals broke off their next hug and Moon took a deep cleansing breath before saying, “Well then, I'm just going to trust that you have this handled and leave you and your friends to your fun.”

“Oh come on, Moon, you don't have to rush away like that,” Lily said, approaching her cousin with a bright smile.

“Yeah, mom,” Star agreed with a nod. “Your welcome to stay and play if you like,” the blond offered with an infectious grin on her face.

“Oh, no, no,” Moon declined softly. “That's quite alright. I don't want to intrude.”

“Ah Queen Moon, you aren't intruding,” Jackie spoke up, Marco and Tom nodding in agreement from beside her.

“Yeah show us your moves, Your Majesty,” Janna shouted and the queen unwillingly blushed, letting out a nervous laugh.

“Oh, I don't have any moves... so to speak,” the queen quickly said, looking embarrassed and uncomfortable.

“Come on, mom, you know you want to,” Star pressed, wagging the paddle in front of her mother's face.

“I really don't,” Moon said sharply.

“What's the matter, Moony, afraid?” Lily taunted and this instantly earned her a glare from her cousin.

“I'm not afraid, I just don't think it's dignified for a queen to play a children's game,” Moon said, lifting her chin in an imposing manner, still giving her relative a thin scowl.

The peach-haired woman, turned to her two daughters and whispered loud enough for her to hear, “See girls, she is trying to hide how scared she is.”

The two girls giggled. “Yeah, Auntie Moon is just a big royal chicken!” Daisy exclaimed.

Moon scoffed. “I am not,” the blue-haired woman said defensively. “What would I even be afraid of anyways?”

“Losing to me,” Lily replied with a small smirk.

Queen Moon just rolled her eyes. “Please, Lily, I'm not giving in to your little game,” she muttered dryly.

“Alright,” Lily said with shrug, before turning to Star and the other teens. “Let's ask your dad instead Star. I'm sure he'd be happy to play, since your mom is too important to have fun.”

This got Moon's attention, the Mewman queen freezing before turning on her heels to stare at the grinning Lily. “I beg your pardon,” she said, clearly insulted by her cousin's words. “I can have fun when I wish too, I just don't see any point to hitting a ball around for amusement!”

“That's because you've just become another boring, stuck-up fuddy-duddy like the rest of the family,” Lily said, spinning the paddle between her hands expertly.

“I am not!” Moon exclaimed angrily, her diamond cheek marks glowing a pale red to show her anger. “It's just that the task of running an entire kingdom is a strenuous and time consuming process...” her frown deepened as she added accusingly, “Something I assumed you would know.”

“Well yes, of course I do,” Lily said calmly. “But I also know that burning yourself out by never taking some time off to have fun will only end up making you miserable.”

“Like this conversation,” Moon shot back and Lily feigned hurt.

“Oh come on, Moony. You don't need to be harsh just because your bland.”

“For the last time, I am not bland,” Moon hissed, clearly losing her temper.

“Then prove it,” Lily said smugly and the blue-haired woman didn't waste a second swiping the paddle out of Jackie's hands, who offered it to her to take, and storming over to the table with a look of fury and determination. The two then began an intense and aggressive game of ping pong, fighting every second to emerge victorious but staying fairly equally matched. After a couple of minutes of this, the teens finally began to process what had just happened, most of them just blinking a few times in shock at what they had just witnessed and were now seeing.

“Um, what just happened?” Marco asked Star in confusion.

“You just watched a pro in action,” Janna answered for the blond, draping her arm over Marco's shoulder while looking over to her new hero in awe.

“Well at least she's playing now,” Star said optimistically, glad to see her mom participating in something, even if it was just to show up her rival cousin.

“Yeah, that's one way to look at it I guess,” Jackie said, rubbing her arm with her hand.

Tom cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him, as he stepped over to Star, rubbing nervously at the back of his neck.

“So, ummm, wow I uh, don't really know what to say about all... that,” Tom awkwardly admitted, his face set in a grimace. He had more or less just been standing off into the corner for the last several minutes, feeling flustered and unsure. He wasn't sure if he should try and get involved or maybe try and help in someway, but he was lost on where to even begin to do that. So instead, he had chosen to just stay out of the way, waiting until everything blew over to speak again. “I-I'm sorry I got you in trouble with your mom,” he apologized sheepishly, a sad look filling all three of his eyes. “I guess things really haven't changed.”

“Maybe not everything's changed,” Star said, before putting a hand on the hot-headed teen's shoulder, looking deep into his startled eyes. “But you have.”

“I have,” Tom whispered under his breath.

“Yeah, you stood up for me,” Star said, giving him a warm smile. “You had my back and that really means a lot to me.”

Tom chuckled, his cheek flames flickering with his blush. “Well, I mean, couldn't let my best friend take the fall, could I?” he said with a bright grin toward his friend.

“Am I still your best friend, Tom?” Marco asked innocently and Star and Tom shared a look, before the boy nodded.

“Yes, Marco, your my best friend, too,” Tom told him, before wrapping his arm around the boy's neck and preceding to grind the top of his head with his knuckles, making the boy laugh excessively. “Who else am I going to slay at ping pong?”

“Ha ha, Tom stop it, knock it off!” Marco begged his friend while Star, Jackie and Janna just laughed at the two boy's playful nature. Potato Baby, however, heard Marco's begging and turned to the two boys' with a glare, stomping over to the teen with the intention of getting him to release his young charge, by force if necessary. But before he reached him, the twins jumped onto Tom's back, assaulting him with a barrage of tickles.

“Get off of our Big Brother, you meanie!” Daisy shouted, though her voice was light and full of joy.

“Yeah, or else I'll unleash Toe-d Poles to eat your toes off!” Violet added, equally as cheerful as her twin. “Hahaha, okay, okay I give!” Tom loudly conceded, letting go of Marco and then sighing in relief as the two finally gave up their tickle ambush.

Potato Baby, realizing that they were just playing, relaxed and sat back in a beanbag chair, comfortably watching the Mewmans around him.

Marco was struggling to regain his breath, panting a few times while his head tingled from the unexpected move from Tom, but suddenly the oxygen was sucked right back out of his lungs as Star planted a kiss to his cheek, making his whole face flush and his knees go weak. He turned to his girlfriend who was giving him a loving grin, her blue eyes sparkling as they stared into his chocolate brown. “So Mister Diaz, I hope you are well aware that just because we're dating doesn't mean your aren't still my best friend?” Star told him, her warm breath ghosting over his skin, sending a pleasant tingle down his spine.

“Of course Star, you'll always be my favorite bestie,” Marco said, pulling her into a hug.

“Awww, Marco,” she swooned, before giggling and giving his slim frame a squeeze. “Your my favorite, too.”

“Um, Star,” Jackie's voice cut through their moment. “Hate to you two up, but shouldn't we maybe stop them?” She pointed over to Moon and Lily who were still deep in their game, the queen almost growling every time she hit the ball, putting more and more venom into her precise strikes, but the two were still evenly matched and showed no signs of a winner emerging anytime soon.

“Nah, it's fine,” Star said. “They'll wear out and have to stop eventually.”

Four Hours Later

Star, Marco, Tom, Jackie, Janna, Daisy, and Violet all watched tiredly as Moon and Lily still continued on with their game, the grown woman just as energized as ever, fueled on by their need to outdo the other. Potato Baby lay asleep on the cushiony chair, snoring and drooling away. Star and Marco leaned shoulder to shoulder with bags under their eyes, the twins laying over their backs, while Jackie, Janna, and Tom had chosen the couch, the flaming teen choosing the seat farthest away from his crush.

“I'm going to win, Moony!” Lily taunted, causing Moon to growl.

“Not if I beat you!” Moon replied aggressively.

The teens all groaned. “I don't think their gonna stop, Star,” Jackie pointed out.

“I don't think they can be stopped,” Tom said, his voice shaking slightly in fear, he had never seen or heard of anything like this before. “I mean, just look at them!” Tom shouted, holding his arms out in gesture toward them, the two woman not hearing a word as they just focused on their game and nothing else.

“Yeah, we should... probably just let them work this out themselves,” Star agreed.

“Does this mean we can go?” Marco asked hopefully.

“Please!” the others all shouted desperately.

“Let's go get something to eat,” Star said, rising up off the floor, the others following suit.

The teens all shuffled out of the room, Marco and Star carry the twins piggyback style as they chatted and headed off to hang out elsewhere. “Yeah, let's get some corn shakes or something, I'm starving!” Tom exclaimed happily.

“Or we could make some of me and Star's Super Awesome Nachos?” Marco suggested.

“What's that?”

“Oh it's good Tom, you have to try it,” Jackie said.

“Yeah, I'll even feed it to you if you like,” Janna added flirtingly.

“Yay, nachos made by Big Brother and Star!” Daisy exclaimed, pumping her fists into the air.

Soon the door closed shut, leaving only a snoring Monster, two unbreaking royal woman, and the noisy clatter of a bouncing ping pong ball.

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

MAY PICKS

You seriously don’t realize how much you watch until you create a list like this. I’m even more shocked because at the start the semester was still on. Some nice picks this month. Check them out but be careful-as always-of spoilers. 

GAME OF THRONES

I could probably dedicate a whole post to talking about this finale (and final season for that matter), but at the same time I have spoken about it to so many people that I don’t know if I can continue to do so at this time. Either way, I’ll keep it brief here. :) Like others have said this season was a combination of disappointing and underwhelming. It was rushed. Six episodes were not enough to finish this story properly. One season should have been dedicated to the Knight King and another to Dany’s madness. (Or rather to taking her down.) So many plot holes were left unresolved. I bought the first book years ago and I am considering to actually start reading them.

THE SPANISH PRINCESS   

Starz’s third series in their Royal Collection tells the story of Catherine of Aragon as she comes to wed England’s Prince....Arthur. You heard me correctly. If you know your history you know who she actually marries and all the drama that will unfold, but nonetheless it is interesting to see how they portray the first wife of Henry VIII. (It actually made me do some research and I don’t know how I didn’t know they were married for so long before he married Anne Boleyn.) This series, just like the previous ones produced by Starz, is based on Phillipa Gregory’s books. So as expected they are not always the most historically accurate (but then would it be as interesting??) I did watch The White Princess before starting this series, but I don’t think you have to watch it. However, it will just make you feel like you know the family more. (See Binge-ing for my White Princess review.)  

JANE THE VIRGIN

After all of my binge-ing earlier in the year I HAVE FINALLY CAUGHT UP!!! (Well, expect for this week’s episode--thanks baseball.) It’s always hard when you finish binge-watching a show or catch up to the live episodes. You have that feeling of: What do I watch now? Luckily the present season is still playing so I don’t have to experience that...yet. I’m even more upset now that it is the final season. I was a huge Michael fan when he was a regular on the show, but I was not overly happy when he returned. I felt like the show ran out of plot-lines and it wasn’t needed. I’m happy that this plot only was part of the season. Can’t wait to see where we’re headed! 

SINGLE PARENTS

I AM SOOOO HAPPY THIS SHOW GOT RENEWED. I know it was on the bubble for a bit towards May sweeps and I am beyond excited that it got picked up. I’m actually shocked that I haven’t spoken about this show more on this page. It has become-HANDS DOWN-one of my favorites of the year. It definitely deserves a second season and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us. Did you see that finale? I LOVE Will and Angie and I seriously thought we were close to a kiss at the end of this episode. Please give us that next season writers!! I also loved seeing Angie’s ex, ironically played by Leighton Meester’s actual husband. At the start of the season I did not see Poppy and Douglas becoming a thing and I love their relationship too. I’m so excited for next season!! **Just noticed this picture doesn’t have the real Amy and Emma, lol. 

iZOMBIE

Another last season from a CW show. iZombie is such a great one and there is nothing else out there like it. Each time it comes back I remember how much I love it. At first I was really upset of it ending this year, but I feel like it will end on a strong note. I’m not sure what other plot-lines they could explore. This show has come so far from the original season when Liv and the other zombies were the minority to now a divided Seattle populated by zombies and humans. I feel like this show does a great job drawing a lot of parallels to the world we are currently in. The character development has been so strong that if you were watching the first season you might not recognize some of these characters. I am definitely going to miss this show. As well as all the brains that Liv has consumed over the series. Last week’s dancing episode was fantastic and I especially loved Ravi’s montage of learning to dance. Clive seriously has the moves. 

THE 100

Just like iZombie, the 100 returned mid-season with its sixth season. As usual, I was excited for the new season because I love this show, but the promo released made me very confused in what this season would bring. I have only watched 2 of the episodes so far and it does feel like a new show (which I guess makes sense with the whole: End of Book 1). I felt like I needed to re-watch season 5′s season finale (which I didn’t) to remember everything that happened and why certain people were mad at each other. I have seen some spoilers (because I am behind and I follow the show’s official page), so I don’t know if I’m ready for the direction the show is going but I’ll be there to see where it goes.

BINGE-ING

THE WHITE PRINCESS

As mentioned earlier one of the shows I decided to binge-watch this month was Starz’s second series adapted from Phillipa Gregory’s books: The White Princess. In anticipation for watching The Spanish Princess (now currently airing) I decided it was a good time to watch it and one of my sister’s watched it previously and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to give it a watch. This show is only 10 episodes and I quickly watched the series. The beginning instantly captured my attention. I am definitely one for an arranged marriage where the couple does not like each other at first; as it was with Henry VII and Elizabeth. As the Tudors take the throne they join the houses of Lancaster and York. I had heard much of the War of the Roses but (even though I know this show is fabricated) this helped me understand it better. I also watched a behind the scenes segment about how they wanted to show the York side differently as many people are familiar with Shakespeare’s Richard III, etc. Years ago I tried watched the White Queen and just couldn’t get into it (the series before the White Princess). Now I might give it a try to see some of the earlier versions of these characters. If you enjoy historical romance dramas then this series is for you. 

IRON FIST

Last year I started watching the Marvel Netflix shows beginning with Daredevil. I had gotten up to the Defenders (which I did enjoy) but then needed to take a step back from this Marvel universe and watch something lighter. Unlike some people, I really liked the first season of Iron Fist. Previously I didn’t know anything about the character, so I liked learning about his backstory and why he had returned to New York City. Then I heard the great response the second season had gotten, so I am even more excited for this season. I am still early on, but am enjoying it so far. I have a lot of questions but I have a feeling they will be answered pretty soon. I know the show was cancelled so I might be disappointed by the ending, but maybe it will get picked up by the new Disney Streaming Service as many people suspect. 

FUTURE SUMMER BINGE

THE WALKING DEAD

That’s right, I’m going for it. For the past couple of summer’s I’ve been checking off some big shows to binge and I thought why not watch Walking Dead. Back in the day I watched the first (maybe second) episode, but I only remember a couple of things. I’m ready for the journey!

GOOD OMENS

The Amazon Prime Original will be released May 31st and I am constantly seeing ads for it so I am getting more and more pumped. Only a couple more days. 

So what are you watching? What are you excited to watch over the summer? Are there any shows I should add to my list? Let me know. 

[p-artsypants]

P-Artsypants Fanfiction Masterpost!

I feel like I’m always making a new one of these posts every few months, but I honestly just write so much that it makes sense...

Updated so most recent Fandom is at the top. 

Find most, if not more, of these fics on:

Fanfiction.net | Archive of Our Own | Wattpad

 (~AU’s, *Finished, ❤️Author's Favorites)

Kingdom Hearts

~❤️Rage Awakened AO3 | FF.net- Ten years ago, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus lost their fellow apprentice, Sora, in Deep Jungle. Now, they are to return with two new students, Riku and Kairi, to lock the heart of the world. All the while, something watches from the trees. Feral!Sora AU

My Kingdom for a Heart AO3 | FF.Net - The curse of being one of the Princesses of heart, is that there’s always someone out to get you. As Xemnas looked failure in the face, he reached out in a last ditch effort and destroyed Kairi’s heart. Now her friends must travel the worlds again. Sora, to find a way to recover Kairi’s heart, and Riku, to make amends to those he has wronged. All the while, the darkness grows.

Miraculous Ladybug

One Shots

*❤️Amalgam- When an young man is rejected for being ‘incompatible’ he turns into the akuma ‘Amalgam’ able to fuse two people together. And later Adrien and Marinette would debate if it was lucky or unlucky that they got hit.

*Sing We All Noel- After receiving the worst Christmas present ever from his father, Chat Noir finds himself out on the streets with nowhere to go on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, Ladybug finds him and brings him home.

*Speechless- In a world where everyone has a soulmark, the first words their soulmate will say to them, Marinette is born without one. But Adrien Agreste has two. Curious, considering he’s mute.

*❤️Tunnels of Love- The night started out with an accidental kiss from Adrien Agreste, and ended with her bleeding in the Catacombs of Paris. Ladybug, the wielder of the miraculous of good luck. Yeah right. (Some blood)

*The Reveal That Wasn’t- First Parts My ending to kittybug’s Tumblr Prompt

*What A Mess We’re In- Ladybug has a lot on her mind, and when Chat Noir bugs her enough, she tells him she’s going to confess to her Crush, Adrien Agreste. Chat’s reaction is not what she’s expecting.

Long Fics

*❤️Nine Lives- (FF.net) When Adrien Agreste is scheduled to go to a Military School in Germany, Chat Noir must make a critical decision. Does he give up his Miraculous? Or does he give up his life as Adrien? I’ll save you the trouble of guessing, he gives up being Adrien.

*Tender Words- When Marinette finally gets the guts to confess her feelings for Adrien, some things go so wrong, and other things go so right.

How To Train Your Dragon

One Shots

The Vikings Have Their Tea (FF.Net | AO3)

Arranged Marriage- Takes place at the beginning of HTTYD

❤️Breathe- Survival of the fittest

~Childhood Friends- At the Sandbox

❤️Easy Fix- In which Hiccup has a bad day

~Fashion Designer- Astrid needs a fill in

❤️Frozen- In Which Astrid takes a Dip and things get frisky (Rated M)

❤️Headache- In Which Hiccup hits his head….really hard

❤️Heir- In Which Hiccup is Picked (Longer version by FateCharms) 

Illness- In Which Stoick is a dad

~Illusionist- Trick gone wrong

~In the Walls- In which there’s a poop ghost

~Knocking On The Wrong Door (2) - A chance encounter

❤️Messages- Astrid is Frustrated with Hiccup’s obliviousness

~To Mirkwood- Hiccup is not a dwarf

~Monster Falls- Hiccup and Astrid take a dip

❤️Mute- In which there’s a quiet stranger

~Music Video (ImgHS)- He didn’t expect it

❤️Operation: Lovebirds- In Which the gang makes a plan, and Hiccup gets Drunk

~Over- Too many nightmares

~Partners in Crime- A normal day at work

~Pirate- Astrid is the greatest treasure

~Prince- He doesn’t want to be a broken King

❤️Sorting Things Out- In Which Astrid gets her ducks in a row

~The Dragon and The Dame- Beauty and the Beast Au

The Pit- In Which Hiccup is rescued

Hide and Seek- Part 1

Lost and Found- Part 2

Long fics: 

*❤️Infernal Responsibility- Being the son of the chief takes brains, courage, and a lot of patience. But at his father’s the request for marriage, Hiccup decides he has had enough. When he seeks out a life of ease, he runs into more than what he bargained for. 

*❤️Roses and Lilies- “Astrid, you and I both know you’re much tougher than I am. You’re more brave, and a better fighter…but just for a little while…could we pretend that I’m the one protecting you?” “Oh gods yes!”

*~What the Water Gave Me- The sea is a wild and dangerous thing, something that cannot be foretold or predicted. Hiccup discovered this many years ago, in human naiveté. Yet, what was meant as a sacrifice became a new life, one like no one could comprehend. He now finds himself once more in the unknowing hands of those that sentenced him to death. He only prays things will be different this time. Merman!AU

*Parasite- Soulsnatcher Dragons are rare but deadly. But, As Hiccup finds out, it’s the eggs you have to watch out for.

*~320 State Street- Gobber’s Goods. A Hardware Store that was rumored to have everything you needed. She thought she only needed a job. Turns out, she needed a lot more than that. (A Modern AU no one asked for)

*~❤️The North Tower- When Finn Hofferson died, Astrid inherited his castle in Wales…and a whole lot more. Something sinister lurks in the North Tower.

*~❤️Boy Toy- AO3 - At the age of 21, Princess Astrid lawfully has to pick a husband. But when the perfect groom is nowhere to be found, she requests the toymaker to create one for her. It’s safe to say that everyone in the kingdom is a little concerned. (Pinocchio!AU I guess?)

No, You Go First- AO3 - The Chief of Berk was a headstrong viking, stubborn and full of pride, and willing to do whatever it takes to keep his village safe. But for a moment, he puts that aside, and listens to his son. In which Hiccup convinces his dad not to make him go through Dragon Training, and the subsequent changes that follow.

*In Due Time- AO3 - As another illness sweeps through Berk, Gothi needs another ingredient for her medicine…one that doesn’t exist anymore. Fortunately, she kept that old spell book around for such an occasion. Big Hiccup is sent to five years into the past, and his younger self sent to take his place in the future. But it’s only a few days, what could go wrong?

Trollhunters: Tales from Arcadia

❤️Arcadia or Bust- In Which Arcadia welcomes back it’s underground citizens.

Teen Titans

Oneshots:

~Big Brother- Don’t turn out the light (Horror)

Dear Jason- Bruce Writes a letter

Just Drawing- Bruce thinks about Robin

The Prisoner- Starfire is Guilty

Of Mustard and Three Foot Purple Tongues- A collection of Oneshots and Drabbles

Long Fics (*Finished): 

*~❤️Carol of the Bells- High in the dark Bell Tower of Notre Dame, there lives a mysterious bell ringer. Legend tells of the angel who fell from the sky, and the curse she bares. There are few who know her true identity though; her master, the priest, and the acrobat that performs on the streets below. Based loosely on ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ RobxStar and slight BBxRae

*No Escape- Three years ago, Starfire escaped an Alien race called the Gordanians, to arrive on Earth. They’re back, and ready to put Starfire back where she belongs, behind reinforced Titanium bars. Robin’s not about to let her go…if only he hadn’t got captured first. How does it feel to be the alien, Robin?

*Now you Know My Pain- When the new Villain, Gender Bender, comes to down, the Titans find themselves in an odd situation. They’ve been turned into the opposite gender against their will! Now in order to change back, they must learn to understand the gender they’ve turned into. Rated T for obvious reasons. A great read if you’ve ever wondered why girls or guys do [blank].

*Paint it Black- Robin disappeared three months ago. Now, Jump City’s crime rate is mysteriously being taken care of by a normal, albeit strange, teenage boy who goes by the name Black. As the Titans befriend this lunatic, they begin to see a relation between him and their missing leader. Will they be able to find Robin, or will Black turn them all insane as himself? Actually, contains NO OC.

*Saving Grace- “When I’m done with you, you won’t be able to walk upright or speak coherent sentences and all you’ll see is my mask and my voice repeating in your head…Weak. Richard Grayson, I am not tough, I am everything that you fear.” Happy Ending! Smudge of RobStar. NO Slash!

Other Fandoms

Final Fantasy XV

❤️Requiem for Pitioss-“O King. The god’s have heard your cries. Know that we weep with you. The Oracle’s calling has not yet been fulfilled. But…Lunafreya as you know her cannot return the way she was.” Noctis looked up, hopeful. “But she can return!” Canon divergence from Chapter 9. Happy ending. Some spoilers.

Beauty and the Beast

*❤️Behold the Beast- A Oneshot alternate ending to the Animated Film

Cinderella

*❤️Midnight- “When the clock strikes twelve, the spell will be broken,” the fairy godmother had warned. A retelling of the story, when Cinderella doesn’t escape the ball in time. Oneshot

*So This is Love- What if Jaq and Gus hadn’t made it in time to help Cinderella? A new twist on the ending of the classic Fairytale, and what lies beyond the story. She still gets her happy ending and her Prince, and her step family gets their just deserts.

Sleeping Beauty

*❤️A Love Song Back To Me- Maleficent saw the loophole that stared her in the face. Prince Phillip would break the curse in time, for sure. After all, he was betrothed to Aurora. So in an effort for her evil plan to stay in action, Maleficent takes care of the young prince herself. Phillip never imagined having to live off the land like the birds above. Alternate twist on the classic Disney tale.

Escaflowne

Down Feathers- Hitomi’s depressed. She’s been away from Van too long, he comes back to visit her…but what if something went wrong with the transfer? (Not finished. Never will be finished. Mwahaha) Circa 2012 

*Angel’s Wounds- Fanelia’s been victorious in their most recent battle with Basrum. Unfortunately, someone is wounded and just seeks solace in his love that lives so far away. Post Anime.

Momma Look Sharp- With the war between Fanelia and Basrum finally coming to a close, the kingdom is celebrating. The young king, however, is suffering from an experience unlike any he had before. Van finally seeks solace in his wife.

[sawyersick]

1 through 69 because you gotta twin with me

OMG ASDFGHJKL

aight here goes bitchez

1. are you religious?

nahh but my parents sent me to church camp when I was in elementary school??? For the cheap childcare I guess???

2. what animal do you think you’re most like?

I haven’t thought about this much but I think a field mouse!!

3. how do you take your coffee?

never……………………… I hate coffee

4. how old were you when you had your first kiss?

my mom’s bosses son forced himself on me when we were 6 lol so I don’t count that……….. so 15 i guess (according to my friend, if there’s no hormones it doesn’t count lol)

5. museum date or aquarium date?

AQUARIUM AQUARIUM AQUARIUM

6. do you have any tattoos or piercings? do you want more?

Just my ears are pierced and I have a whale (badly) tattooed on my hip I’ll post pix if you want but its pretty uggo

I want another whale on the other side so I’ll be symmetrical and a triangle hand tat….. maybe an eyeball tat (a tattoo of an eyeball…. not one on my eye lol)? I’m not really interested in anymore piercings tho

7. favorite fruits?

strawberries!!!

8. favorite vegetables?

when I was 12 I ate so many carrots my skin turned orange and my mom thought I had jaundice

also I heckin love mushrooms

9. i’ll only date you if _____. (fill in the blank)

I’ll only date you if you treat me with respect :(

10. do you cry a lot?

yeah lol at least twice a month minimum

11. who are your closest friends?

I don’t really have any? I’ve felt distant from my irl friends lately so idk probably just demo

12. have you ever been a part of a protest or a march?

I did the walk out for gun violence

13. do you play any video games?

helllllls yeah but I usually only play 3/ds

14. did you ever have an emo or scene phase?

yes and I think I’m still in it rip

15. what color is most of your wardrobe?

I think I wear a lot of blue! and black and white too i guess…… I’m trying to add more reds tho

16. what do you like to do for fun?

I bake and sew and draw! and listen to music

17. what is your biggest fear?

body horror tw for this one rip

being abandoned, being forced to do horrifically gross/unclean stuff, getting my eyes gouged out, getting the bones in my hands broken, getting acid poured on my face, the people around me dying, being forced to eat live slugs, getting my skin peeled off with a knife

18. name a subject you know a lot about.

whales/the ocean in general and baking!! and the band Liily

19. favorite fictional characters?

hm idk? Link and Zelda from LoZ, Clover and Snake and Aoi from 999, rhyme from TWEWY, Maka and Soul from Soul Eater, Storm from the Xmen, Ariel from the Little Mermaid, Chun Li, the Kagamines, Rilakkuma

idk I just thought about characters I have merch for

20. do you read a lot? what are your favorite books?

I used to??? Haven’t had the time for it in a while though and I’ve been reading a lot of how-to books as of late….. I really liked the Legend trilogy though

21. how would you describe your style?

art style and fashion style would both be classified as “cute but tries to be edgy” I think

22. did you have a favorite stuffed animal when you were little? do you still own it?

Yes!! a pastel elephant with a rattle in it named Elephant (very creative I know) He’s in my stuff somewhere now and this question reminded me to go find him again

23. what’s something most people love that you hate?

hmmm…. sports? mustard? airpods???? idk

24. do you think you’re a good singer?

actually yes? I wanna be in a band but I’m lowkey afraid of singing in front of people I know but have no problem doing it in front of an audience of strangers hmu if you’re in the SF bay area I’ve written 6 punk songs

25. who do you live with?

my parents and cat

26. favorite desserts?

ice cream, anything with chocolate or whipped cream, creme brulee, lemon tarts

I’m not too picky though lol

27. what is the best decision you’ve made in your life so far?

realizing that I can actually do mostly whatever I want and most things have fewer consequences than I think

also cutting people out of my life that emotionally exhaust me

28. favorite makeup brands?

uhhhh whatever’s cheap and doesn’t make my eyes burn ig urban decay is good when I can afford it

29. favorite clothing stores/brands?

Goodwill??? I used to shop at f21 but I try not to anymore

30. what was your first job?

working at a lake teaching windsurfing and sailing and I still work there

31. do you take a lot of naps?

n o  I absolutely  h a t e  taking naps and try to avoid them

32. what is your favorite part about your body?

hmm I have pretty good hair i think and sometimes my eyes? I have huge (genetic) eyebags tho which gets me down

33. are you more dominant or more submissive?

In day to day life I guess I’m more dominant??? like I make decisions when nobody else wants to :0 also idk intimately since iM aN aDuLt vIrGiN and pretty sex repulsed but probably sub 

34. are you more outgoing or more shy?

outgoing but sometimes it makes me annoying

35. how tall are you?

short…………………………. 4′8/143 cm

36. what is your body type?

uhh hourglass????? maybe pear I got them Thunder Thighs according to the guy who got kicked out of drama club for peeping in the girls changing room

37. favorite flower?

calendula, sunflowers, lavender and dianthus!!

38. favorite planet?

Neptune??????????????????

39. what do you want to dress up as for halloween this year?

I wanna be the bride of frankentstein but in a shiro lolita coordinate to make her look ~fancy~ or the Nancy part of Sid and Nancy if I’m in a relationship by that time

40. do you prefer to date people the same age as you, younger, or older?

Ideally the same age and I’m wary of dating anyone more than 2 years younger or older than me but I’m more willing to date older than younger

41. describe the person you’re in love with/have a crush on in great detail.

yall know who it is already but

in a band, dark hair, kinda tall, very fashionable, coincidentally happens to be the same racial mix as me, good at art, very humble, really sweet, lives in SoCal, has a hand tattoo of milk and “aye yah” on his arm, paints his nails orange, wears a lot of rings, gets freckles in the summer, prefers vanilla over chocolate, ties his shoes the cool way

42. who is your biggest inspiration?

idk at the moment? I like to draw from many inspirations

43. do you have any kinks?

???????????????????????????????????

44. do you own any pets?

one (1) very loving cat

45. which celebrity do people say you look the most like?

……………………….. myself

I literally had to google mixed race celebrities and STILL none look like me lol

46. do you like sports?

not really except I weirdly like baseball

47. have you ever seen a broadway musical?

Yes!! I won tickets to On Your Feet and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

I also won Hamilton tickets but saw it in SF yall should download the app

48. what is your favorite kind of food?

noodles!!

49. would you rather be a fairy or a mermaid?

MERMAID actually I have a mermaid tail too so

50. what is your instagram?

@wishwhale :)

51. glossy lips or matte lips?

glossy by default because I have chronically dry skin/lips so matte lips are sooooooooooooooo uncomfy but it looks good on other people lol

52. do you like cherry, grape, blue raspberry, watermelon, or green apple jolly ranchers the best?

grape because im weird

53. what are your best personality traits?

I’d like to think that I’m kind and sometimes funny

54. what is your ethnicity?

asian/white

55. what different hair colors have you had?

brown and brown with pink that was supposed to be purple

56. favorite disney princess?

Ariel! bc mermaid

57. favorite album of 2017?

Humanz by Gorillaz  or Deep Dream by Daddy Issues I guess

I was weirdly obsessed with Feel Your Feelings Fool when it came out but I’m not really into it anymore though

58. have you ever had braces?

nah

59. favorite holiday?

Halloween! Because dressing up is fun

60. post a selfie.

how do I make this smaller anyways I don’t normally wear this much makeup but I’m going to a small show tonight

61. are you a good swimmer?

Yes!! I swim once a week at my local pool

62. do you wear jewelry?

I used to wear a lot………. like multiple necklaces and bracelets and rings daily but now I wear my ring every day and a necklace/earrings if I remember

63. can you play any instruments?

I’m learning guitar!!

64. do you have any siblings?

short answer is no but you can dm me for the long answer

65. are your grandparents still alive? how old are they?

just my maternal grandmother and she is almost 90! My paternal grandmother lived to 102 so I’m hoping for those good genes though (I think she would have lived longer because my family suspects elder abuse by my weird aunt)

66. who knows the most about you?

hmm probably Demo or Emily

67. are you a more quiet person or do you talk a lot?

I! Never! Shut! Up!

68. what advice would you give to your 13 year old self?

shut the fuck up you stupid bitch you arent cool

69. how many pillows do you sleep on?

two

[naomimakesart]

I'm wondering if you have different interpretations of show vs book characters. Book Jon looks v different to me whilst Ned is undisputedly Sean Bean. Do you have any book doodles in your drafts I wonder?

Some of my inconsistencies can be explained by the fact that I started the TV series before I read the books! So a lot of my artwork from 2013-14 was HEAVILY influenced from the TV Series. Back then I was not confident in my skills to create a character from scratch with just a description, so I relied heavily on the looks of the actors and figured it was easier to just draw them how they looked on the show than trying to draw them the way I pictured them myself. 

Another explanation could be that I did not have my own “style” completely developed (or one that was consistently recognizable) I went from drawing a lot of Game of Thrones inspired fanart in 2013 to drawing A LOT OF REALLY EMBARASSING FROZEN FANART that i attempted to make look similar to the established “Disney style” in short amount of time, so my “style” endured an abrupt change that was absolutely not consistent at all. I was drawing a lot of “what I saw” because I was still learning at that point in time I guess. However, after finishing the book series in 2014, I think I wanted to draw some of the characters the way they were described in the books. I don’t think I’ve attempted to draw Ned since 2014, which would explain why I haven’t had the chance to draw a Book version vs. the Sean Bean Ned that I had drawn several times! I do have a set of unfinished Tarot Cards that I was doing, inspired by the books, that I never completed because I started them as a school project, and then I took a semester off and lost the desire to finish them. But in those Tarot cards I attempted to draw most of the characters as they’re described in the book series. Then I endured a dry spell for almost a year or so where I didn’t draw any ASOIAF fanart at all. 

In the last year and a half I started drawing fanart for this fandom again consistently after the season finale, because I got pretty popular from a particular wedding scene that I drew. After the season finale, I picked up A Game of Thrones again, because I was determined to reread the entire series, and then I decided that I should probably read GRRM’s other work before rereading the entire series so I started with the Princess and the Queen, then the Rogue Prince, then I bought TWOIAF, read that, Sons of the Dragon came out not long after, and then I finally read A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. This can attest to the fact that most of my drawings have been very Targaryen-centric, and not inclusive of many of the other houses or characters from the main series, with exception of a few characters from ASOIAF. 

A number of the characters from ASOIAF that I have drawn recently were also commissioned, and I always ask the commissioner whether they want the characters to look like the actors from the show or if they want me to draw them the way I pictured them from the books and sometimes they choose the latter and sometimes the choose the former! (I had one commission with both Jon and Daenerys in the drawing where the commissioner asked that Jon look like he does in the books, but Daenerys look like Emilia Clarke ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

TL;DR:  There are several actors from the TV Series that I think fit the character they play, some of them match the descriptions in the books, and some of them have just become an iconic look to me, that I cannot imagine the character any other way (Emilia Clarke is very iconic Daenerys to me, even though she isn’t neccessarily exactly like book-Dany, nor is she everyone’s cup of tea, I have a hard time separating her from Daenerys now).  The only character from ASOIAF that I have in my drafts folder right now that is inspired from the books and not the TV series is a portrait of Ser Arthur Dayne that looks like Gael Garcia, hahaha. Once I finally reread ASOIAF I definitely plan on drawing concepts akin to Bevsi’s character concepts here and here of the major houses. I am currently on page 365 of a Game of Thrones and I’ve been there for a couple months because I put it on the backburner so I could devote my time and energy to Fire and Blood, but once my F&B craze has reached it’s apex, I’ll definitely pick it up again, and hopefully you guys will finally get to see how I really picture the characters consistently this time, because I have the confidence that my art is advanced enough now that I am capable of creating concepts of characters with just descriptions.  

I hope that I answered that coherently, sorry if it was a bit of a word vomit, but it was a very good question and I wanted to make a concise response to it! 

[snazzysickly]

Writer Questionnaire

Yo my girl @self-indulgent-authorship got my back to make me feel less alone

Short stories, novels, or poems?

Not to be mean or anything, but I hate poems, I don’t mind reading them, but I cannot for the life of me write them. I prefer short stories, noting too long for me, or else I’ll feel burnt out. 

What genre do you prefer reading?

To be honest I’ll read almost anything as long as it’s got a good story. Though, if I had to chose, it would be historical fiction or horror, those are the most exciting to me. But I don’t mind some fantasy from time to time. 

What genre do you prefer writing?

Hmmm...I honesty don’t know. Probably mystery/crime or action. I love to keep people guessing, which is why I love writing the crime scenes in Remark so much! I love thinking of ways on how people can die! 

Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

Both? I mean you have to have the backbone of the story while you’re writing or the story will fall apart, but while writing the ideas just come to me. Sometimes, if I’m stuck on a scene, I’ll take a couple of minutes to plan things out. Other than that, I just write what comes to mind.

What music do you listen to while writing?

Recently I revisited the Undertale soundtrack and found the music was still a bop, so I’ve been using that, but I used to just put on my playlist for everything I did (just a bunch of TOP, P!ATD, and FOB music) sometime I still need music with lyrics in it to help me write.

Fave books/movies?

Uhh so I have a lot, so I’m just doing the ones that came to my mind first

Books:

Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge (one of my favorite books of all time)

Finding Zasha by Randi Barro (If you love dogs and history, read this book!!)

The Secret Of Laurel Oaks by Lois Ruby ( I love every book she wrote! This is where my love for historical fiction came from, and I got to met her in person!)

Movies:

Princess bride 

All of the lotr/hobbit movies

Captain America the Winter Soldier

Wreck it Ralph

Tangled

Any and all Disney movies

Any current WIPs?

Yes, right now I am making Remark part 8, but nothing else I am working on. I have ideas for later fics, but nothing in the works. I really don’t like having more than one writing project at a time.

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

Well I am an artist and I’ve drawn myself before, so I’ll just describe it for you. A red sweater tucked into black high waisted jeans, long mismatching socks, large black glasses, and galaxy converses I painted. 

Create a character description for yourself:

Lazy sassy bitch with so much sarcasm that it gets me in trouble.

Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

No, not my writing, but with my art, all my main ocs that I draw all the time are just little snippets of my personality.

Are you kill-happy with characters?

No I’m not, thought I’m not afraid to kill a character to lead the story ;)

Coffee or tea while writing?

TEA. I don’t drink coffee anyway, but tea is still so much better. I just had some a couple hours ago to celebrate getting to 4000 words in part 8. My favorite tea is jasmine if you’re wondering.

Slow or fast writer?

Slow, I never learned to type fast in elementary school and my lack of wanting to learn didn’t help either, but I make do with what I got.

Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

Mostly just from myself, but the occasional photo can help from time to time. Other people’s fics can really help me as well.

If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

I really hope I’m the really badass yet likable antihero. I don’t want to do what’s right. I’d mostly fuck around with the fantasy world and find flaws in it.

Most fave book cliche? Least fave book cliche?

I don’t think I have any book clichés that is my favorite. If done right, clichés can been fun to read and entertaining, but most of the time clichés are written poorly, so here are some of the ones I hate!

Dumbass or abusive parents

Undiscovered Powers

The shy sweet teenage girl

‘I came back to life’ character

Mary sue

Love triangle 

Fave scenes to write?

I think I already answered this (crime scenes)

Most productive time of day for writing?

Usually around 5 and 6pm, or 11pm to midnight. I can really work at any time but the mornings. I can not work in the morning. Not happening, nope. Not ever.

Reason for writing?

Because I really do enjoy it. I always thought I couldn’t write and that my writing skills sucked ass, but I had this idea and a urge to write this idea that suck with my for a couple of weeks, finally I decided I would write this idea so I can get this urge to write away. That idea was Remark, and look how far it brought me. 

I’m gonna tag people that I’ve taken notice of and people I love

@tropfenlady @rhyanoke @shadows-echoes @wayward-lucifer @evas-wig-is-happily-touring 

and anyone else that wants to do this!!

[aikainkauna]

Movie meeeehm

Thanks to @nitrateglow for these!

1: A movie you enjoyed as a kid that you don't now

-Probs some comedy I'd find awfully sexist/racist/homophobic etc. now. But of course, I can't recall a specific one, probs because the experience is so deeply squicky and traumatic. Oh, wait, I know. I adored The Great Mouse Detective as a kid, but have heard so many "bleh" comments about it later that I don't want to ruin it by rewatching it as an adult. Why take a happy, cherished, pure and joyous memory away, especially as there are so few of those in my life anyway in proportion to the bad memories?

2: A movie you disliked as a kid that you like/love now

-Not a movie, but I was literally too fucking terrified to watch Doctor Who as a kid on cable, because the Tom Baker repeats they were showing terrified me with the title sequence alone. That empty stare and howling, diddly-duming music were enough to give me nightmares. So I only got into Who in my late teens!

3: Your favorite movie as a kid

-Define "kid." I went through several. I loved the Disney Robin Hood, of course, and at puberty, Wayne's World (yes) and The Princess Bride were my own cult movies, before I had anyone to fangirl them with. Ah, the pre-Internet era.

4: An actor/actress it took you time to warm up to

I remember being weirdly terrified and disturbed by Jeremy Brett as a kid, but then I felt the same about Bowie, and... well. Clearly it was my baby self not knowing WTF to do with all this stirring, restless energy that later turned out to be my skinnyandrogynousbisexualguy orientation thingy. And while I'd first seen Caligari and Casablanca as a teen in the early 90s, I wasn't ready for Connie until he pounced me in 2012. I would not have "got" him the same way and as hard until I was a grown-up, with a wide variety of experiences from many areas of life and a boatload of books/learning behind me. Just... no way.

5: A director it took you time to warm up to

-If anything, I've cooled off various directors I was impressed by when younger. So much of the auteur stuff gets wanky and self-imposing, in this Arrogant Artist Guy "look at my GENIUS big VISION and also insecurity about my penis size" kind of way. I like directors who can be warm and have fun and who show some real humanity (not wanky anvilly/kitchen sink-y sort of "humanity" either). Maybe Branagh? I found him a bit annoying as a kid, but now fap all over his stuff because now I'm old enough to Get It. He is the best kind of fanboy director; his geekiness is catching. Listening to his Thor commentary was a real eye-opener into my realising just how massive a nerd he is, and in a good, "one of us" kind of way.

6: Top five favorite soundtracks of your favorite movie composer

-There isn't just one! But Clint Mansell and Debbie Wiseman turn to gold everything they touch. Debbie especially is hugely unknown still, but she has this most amazing, swellingly Romantic music full of sweeping emotion that I just can't rec her enough. Do check her out; she'll give you goosebumps.

7: Three movies that defined your teen/childhood years

-I think I mentioned those already! But as a teenager, Bram Stoker's Dracula, La Reine Margot and Heavenly Creatures were formative. There were others I obsessed about way more than those, but they weren't as influential--it's more like they were massaging buttons I already had.

8: Sci-fi or westerns?

-Blake's 7! AKA "The Dirty Dozen in Space."

9: Are there any movies you own more than one copy of?

-Ahhahaha. AAAHHAHAHAHA! Of The Thief of Bagdad, I own: The Criterion clusterfuck with the awful clumsy cover someone had their 5-year-old draw, the Nordic DVD, the German Blu-Ray because I live on the edge (what with those Veidt Eye Closeups in HD being a hazard to any uterus) and at least three different digital copies. Because I'm me. I also own two digital copies and one DVD of Casablanca, three digital and one DVD of A Woman's Face and don't get me started on the British telefantasy I have on both DVD and VHS. I have spare copies of both the Caligari Masters of Cinema release and the ITV DVD of The Spy In Black, so I guess I should throw them at somebody.

10: Physical media or streaming?

-Neither. Video files firmly saved onto and run from my hard drive. Fuck streaming with its choppiness (ruins the viewing experience for me) and physical media are usually beyond my budget (unless I save up for a Connie DVD). Besides, I rip my favourite movie discs onto my HD anyway. I want to be able to gif that shit, dammit!

11: Are there any movies you watch on special occasions every year (Christmas, Halloween, birthdays, your mother's aunt's wedding anniversary, etc.)

-Used to do Nightmare Before Christmas on Halloween, but not any more. I still attempt ToB every Christmas. And I used to do All Through The Night with wine on my birthday, but as I can't tolerate alcohol anymore, the experience of Watching ATTN Drunk is no more. Someone start a Halloween tradition with me where we watch either The Student of Prague or Eerie Tales (or both) every year?

12: What movie do you most associate with your best friend(s)?

-Gosh, so few have stayed, so it's more like "movie that reminds you of a broken friendship," yay...?! I've learned to try and not associate movies with people that way any more, because it's more painful than it's worth. Connie is my best friend. He's like Krishna that way.

13: Name a movie adaptation you thought was better than or equal to its source material.

-LOTR put in more facial features and characterisation than Tolkien ever did, and did the tales far less fucking tediously. Imagine if you'd had to sit and watch hobbits walking through the countryside for 6 hours with barely anything happening?! Yeah...

14: What genres do your favorite movies tend to be?

-Historical, fantasy, Gothic Romantic, just Romantic stuff on the whole. More old than new movies these days. Why watch shitty modern chick flicks when I have far better characterisation and far less narrowly defined female lives in old-timey "women's pictures?" And guys who actually fucking shaved, dressed in clothes that were tailored for them instead of rented and saggy, whose bodily expressions weren't frozen for fear of "fagginess," and who weren't pumped full of 'roids.

15: Are you a fan of period dramas and if so, what era do you enjoy best?

-Yes. I love me some costume dramas, but I am seriously picky about them--most post-90s ones have been fucking awful and tend to feature shitty costumes and unkempt hair that would've sent real historical people to Bedlam, wobblycam from hell, vomit-inducingly excessive modernisation to be "edgy", and that one painfully skeletal bint they shove into every period drama ever these days, so it's... slim pickings for a history nerd, these days. There aren't many good ones set in the 17th century/Baroque era, which I love the most: the two Baroque dramas I wholeheartedly love are both series. (The Devil's Whore and By The Sword Divided.) The Angeliques and Musketeer adaptations are riddled with flaws, but there are some glowing bits within. As for The Golden Age of Islam... bloody hell, there really aren't that many good ones out there, are there?! ToB and Jodhaa Akbar and Disney's Aladdin, obviously. La Reine Margot isn't "my" period but it's great, as is Dangerous Liaisons (also not my period)--those are so fucking perfect. And the Connie period dramas, well... I think of them as primarily "silent movies" or "old movies," actually. Of those, The Student of Prague, ToB and The Wandering Jew are the best "costume" ones, IMHO. (I'd probs enjoy Lucrezia Borgia and Carlos and Elisabeth way more, were the copies we have not so smudgy.)

16: Name a movie you love that you would recommend to just about everyone.

-Ah, but we know there are always cynical cunts out there who'd give even Casablanca two stars, so what's the point? I'd still recommend it, though. And The Lion King, I guess.

17: Name a movie you love that you consider an acquired taste.

-Honestly, I'm thinking of telly rather than movies again. You will pry my cherished copy of The Time Monster from my cold, dead hands. Does The Devil of Winterborne count as a movie or TV? That's how far back my love for Mark Gatiss goes. Um... Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood makes me fucking cry with laughter (the comedic timing is what does it. *beat* "Ain't dat some shit!"). Of Connie's oeuvre, yes, I know Bella Donna is rubbish, but Connie and Mary are SIZZLING and horny and juicy and it's Valid as a BDSM porn movie. And the novel is actually good.

18: Name a film you like directed by/starring a filmmaker/actor you normally don't care for.

-Not so much actor/director, but I did *not* expect to love Thor as much as I did, because I expected a dumb popcorn movie but got great adventure cinema with a touch of Shakespeare instead. I really am not the right audience for regular Marvel features at all, before or after. Fuck Marvel up its dumb macho Republican ass. But Thor is fucking beautiful and operatic and poetic and majestic and Pagan and shit. Branagh knows what I like.

19: Name a movie that blew your mind.

-A Woman's Face (1941). Because. Holy. Fuck. How can I keep on finding yet more details in it six years after first watching it, having watched it countless times by now?! And obvs all the other stuff, like the shockingly good female POV, amazing and complex woman protagonist, amazing writing, amazing ensemble cast, amazing direction, amazing lighting, amazing evil Torsten Slinkypussy Barring and The. Goddamn. Attic. Scene.

20: What genre mash-up would you most love to see that either hasn't been done yet or hasn't been done enough?

-Feminist-savvy historical romance with fantasy elements and hot explicit sex that's not shit. Basically, like the stuff you see in my fics, but better paced and woven into coherent adventure movies.

21: The coolest movie you've ever seen

-Too, too many. But Bogie was the coolest. And Claude Rains had the best acting skills. And Conrad Veidt was Conrad motherfucking Veidt. So what with those three mountains of coolness all converging under the Moroccan sky, I'm sure it's safe to say "Casablanca."