#it fascinates me to the nth degree

[angelstrawbabie420]

WHY do i have dreams that feel more real than life and are also 5 million times cooler. just woke up from one that felt like it lasted 12 hours and in that time i had held a house party, got extremely crossfaded, went to an amusement park, wandered the streets and nearly got hit by a car, went to a restaurant that looked identical to that from dua lipa’s training season mv which morphed back into my house where i was making a salad bar for everyone at the party, then almost went to a devil themed nightclub with everyone but i couldn’t because i needed some sort of christian identification to get in???? then my mom came home and made me take a bunch of drug tests. also there were several black cats and random huge dogs wandering around the whole time. i literally felt every sensation like it was as if i had been transported to another real life timeline that was incredibly wacky yet SUPER familiar (the house/town looked exactly like irl but with random added places.)

i also NEVER realize that i’m dreaming per se, i’m just like, “oh so this is my life now cool” and when i say i feel everything i mean it. it was humid and i could feel the mist on my face. i could taste the food. i felt paper bills underneath my fingertips whenever i wld pay for something. funniest part was i was JUST as poor in this dream as i am irl i found $6 in my wallet and lost my ever-loving shit bc i could get a gas station monster. oh and i stole from the gas station too??

this is a 3-4 times a week occurrence and when i wake up i do not feel rested, i feel like i would had i just done everything in whatever dream i woke up from (BAD.) i sometimes will confuse things i’ve done in dreams with what i’ve done in waking life, it just feels THAT real. i’ll wake up and it will take me a few decent minutes to distinguish between whether that experience was a dream, or if it was real and i just went to bed at the end of it and am waking up from that.

absolutely fucking bizarre shit but tbh it’s pretty rad and i’ve actually been able to get over fears i had irl bc i had the experience in the dream, and it felt so real that it was almost like i gained that xp in waking/real life. like something i never thought i’d be able to do/was nervous abt but now i can do it fine bc i’ve “gone through it.”

obvs a lot less fun when these are nightmares, not dreams; the exhaustion sucks as sleep is not rejuvenating but that’s nearly offset by the fun i have in many dreams and the way that has opened me up to so much irl. some say when we dream we’re visiting a parallel timeline, and while i don’t completely agree i can 100% see why honestly

[dreamgirledward]

once again, another project's come up that pushes afrocentric ideologies which severely harm egyptian people (like me🫠). a girl much younger than me put into words why exactly this show is doing so much more harm than good, and much more calmly than I could have managed, so here's some screenshots bc im tired

afrocentrism as a concept has been around for about 150 or so years. it was most likely created as a direct response to eurocentric views and history teaching. there is nothing wrong with lifting up and centering african histories + cultures, and in fact that should be celebrated! I do however think that this concept takes everything a step too far, because by claiming "true egyptians" were black, and not egyptian, that erases people like me, and families like mine. ancient egyptians have been mythicized and fetishized to the nth degree for as long as people decided to have an opinion about them. it's frightening how so many prominent figures in the entertainment industry buy into the literal delusion that is "real egyptians" because of pure fascination with a history they wish was their own. please don't watch this show when it's out, and if you hear people discussing it, help people like me out and call out the bullshit when you see it! the second i get any hurtful or racist comments about this, im turning off rbs I don't even care. twitter is a cesspool of the worst takes in the world, so hopefully the few like-minded friends I have here will give this a read at least. it's not nice to be erased from your own heritage!!!!!

[prompts-by-anjali]

Hey! So I'm actually a writer and if you write nsfw prompts, could I ask for some of them? Not really anything in particular but like just the quotes? It's okay if you cannot :) but if you do think of writing it please number the prompts!! It would be of great help!! Thank youu ! <33

Also, I really love your prompts! Keep the blogs up! <3

Hi fellow writerrrr!!!! Omg thank you for asking, you're officially the first request! Woohoo! 💙 I'm currently keeping the blog more on the YA (young adult) side rather than the A (adult/new adult) side. So to answer your question: I won't be doing NSFW prompts or anything super explicit.

BUT I'm not about to leave you empty-handed! Feel free to take these ✨slightly✨ spicy and romance-y prompts and turn them up to the nth degree for your own writing <3 I kind of went off and did more than just dialog, but hopefully they're amusing at least! And thank you so much for the compliment, I'm glad you're enjoying the prompts! 💙💙💙

----

-- prompt 1: hug with our mouths --

"Oh, no. That just happened. I can't believe that just happened."

"Did we just make out?"

"No, it was a hug with our mouths, idiot."

"Sarcasm. Noted."

"Gah, why did I do that? I feel so dirty!"

"… do you want to do it again?"

"No, of course I don't! What do you take me for? I don't -- I -- I -- shit. Shit!"

"Aw, you want to mouth-hug me. You're adorable like this. All hot and bothered."

"Fine. Get over here, stupid! Before anyone else comes back to check on us!"

"Sweet."

-- prompt 2: don't stop touching me --

A kissed B suddenly, without restraint. B's mouth moved against A's stiffly before jerking away. For a horrifying moment A thought they'd ruined everything. That they'd read everything wrong.

"I'm sorry. I didn't ask," A whispered, but B's eyes were unwaveringly locked on them.

"Do me a favor," B rasped.

"S-sure?"

"Don't stop touching me."

"Oh." A saw where their fingers had naturally intertwined, and B now was pushing their face into A's neck, devouring the skin-to-skin contact like they'd been starved of touch for years. "Oh, B. That's -- that's the easiest thing, honey. Just… do me the same favor?"

The words were like a switch. B jerked up met A's lips fervently.

"It's the same with me," B murmured between deep, core-melting kisses. A's mouth felt like it was on fire as B licked into it. B gave up on words after that, simply loving on A like there was nothing else in the world.

-- prompt 3: do you think i'm scared of you --

"So like, do you think I'm scared of you? Because even though Hero is, and even though I don't want to hurt your ego, it's just not true, dude," Sidekick said, tracing Villain's mouth with their fingers, watching in fascination as the corners slowly lifted.

"I would hope not," Villain drawled, tugging Sidekick in closer by the waist until their chests touched. "I do not make love to those who are petrified of me."

"You're so hot when you talk all fancy."

-- prompt 4: something really sultry --

"Hey, can you whisper something really sultry to me, in my ear, like in the romance novels?"

"Um what."

"Go on, pretend I'm like, just minding my own business but then you're a gorgeous stranger who sees me and wants me."

"Ew."

"C'mon! Please? Make it sensual."

"Fine. Uh, let me try. Ahem. Healthy communication. Respecting each other's independence. Loyalty. No pineapple on pizza."

"Whoa. Smash. Totally smash. In the backroom, right now."

"Pffft, what?"

"Oh, we weren't playing that game, were we."

----

[blood-injections]

Oh man more Dr Benzedrine's monster stuff bc this au has been rotating in my head all day he totaly knows what frankenstein is like read the book or something and he saw it and as a scientist couldnt hep but think what if.. especially woth modern science hmm.. and the suitehearts like heard him musing but thought he was joking about it but then benz fukin creates Ghoul and is like man this is a scientific breakthrough.. if only there were respectable scientists out there like me and not just goddamn better living. Because benz may be out of his mind but atleast he's a rebel 💀. Anyway he totally hides Ghoul at first even from the suitehearts and Ghoul like new to the fucking world doesn't even realize hes being hidden hes just like guess this lab is the whole world then? But he has like weird flashbacks bc like freaky kind of stuff like irl how people who've had certain organ transplants have said they like have memories or feelings that arent their own and nust be from the donor via cellular memory(look it up its a crazy cool thing to learn abt and its gonna play a decent part in this fic and ghouls like internal struggles) or like their personalities chage entirely after getting a heart transplant and Ghoul's made up of different peoples body parts and organs and someones brain that was zapped back to life and he experieces these memory things to the nth degree and eventually he even remembers like a childhood like a good chunk of memories from whoevers brain his was before him and he literally remembers growng up on the streets benz of coirse thinks its all just fascinating but thats how he like fogured oit hes being hidden because he has little flashes of the world passed on from everyone hes made up pictues of both the city and the desert and he grows impatient really fast especially since benz keeps bullshitting him and saying he wouldnt unerstand and that hes safe there in the lab and stuff and the doors stay locked theres no windows and he hates it and starts hating benz even though thats like his maker who is kind yes but also idk if its not safe out there i cant stay here forever type stuff. But one day when benz is out he manages to bust out just to emerge into a bigger like compound that turns out to be part of the underground rebellion of battery city and this specifically is the suitehearts bunker and he throws open the door just to come face to face with sandman and they just fucking stare at eachother.

Once they sort out just who each other are and why ghoul came out of benz lab and why he has no name or anything sandmans like holy shit the crazy motherfucker really did it and when benz gets back he gets a good long lecture of the ethics of building a fucking person. Not that it chages anything benz is too far gone in it all

[speedyboymikey]

Our schedule has no room for intros, languid and rubato...

Accelerate right to the verse and play it molto presto and staccato!

Now let's get the small-talk out of the way

What zigzag roads and fickle fates have led you to my chocolate gates?

I'm sure the stories would enthrall

But time is racing by us all

I'd love to rhyme a riddle or two

But there's so much time

So little to do!

So much time, so little to do?

Please strike that, reverse it!

I meant the other way!

It doesn't take a Sigmund Freud

To see I'm charmed and overjoyed

But pardon if I start to fret

We've not begun our journey yet!

No time to borrow or delay

What's here tomorrow's gone today!

What's here tomorrow's gone today?

Whoops strike that, reverse it!

My tongue has feet of clay!

You've bid the tasteless world adieu

To chew the goo awaiting you

But scurry, for the Wonka clock keeps ticking!

Inside these doors the floors are sweet

There's rugs and carpets you can eat

And best of all, the wallpaper needs licking!

This day of punctuality is scheduled

To the Nth degree,

I wish that there was time to share

My thoughts on makeup, clothes, and hair

Madam!

Yes?

Your hair, your dress, your shoes are great!

You're dressed for 1958

I tried those little short shorts, but they kept riding up.​

No, strike that, reverse it!

Let's get on with our day!

Gloops!

Willkommen, Frau Gloop, delighted to meet you. And this must be little Augustus!

Hallo!

He's my tiny little pickle!

Pleased to meet you, Augustus, but I'm afraid I must confiscate your sausage

Oh, but that's my lunch!

You may go first but lose the wurst!

That's sad because I love 'em

To lead our group, Augustus Gloop, for who could lose sight of him?

Yes who could lose sight of him!

Salts!

Zdravstvujte, Oleg Salt from Novosibirsk. I run Salt Peanuts, Salt Cod, and Salt Mines

That's a lotta salt. You should watch your blood pressure

And this is my wonderful daughter

Dyspepsia...

Veruca.​

Angina...

Veruca

Diarrhea...

Veruca!

Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I was just checking your father's medical records. Oleg, entrenu, you really must take care of yourself

I'll take care of you, Wonka, if you don't focus on me!

It's a pleasure, dear, to have you here

Where did you get that mink?

Are you for real?

It's baby seal that's clubbed then tickled pink

It's clubbed then tickled

Clubbed then tickled

Clubbed then tickled pink!

Beauregardes!

Eugene Beauregarde! Here's my card

I'll cherish it!

Smile!

Instagram it, daddy!

And I guess you already know the Queen of Pop!

Delighted to meet you, your majesty. What is it exactly that you do?

Do? I chew!

Gesundheit

The same piece of gum for the last three years!

It's a jaw-popping world record! Why, she's got over 50, 000 Twitter followers, her own YouTube channel, and one day, we gon' open up a bubble-gum boutique in Beverly Hills!

Well, congratulations. I must drop by. But you can't bring gum in here

Why not?

Because, it's disgusting

Just let me in, I'm here to win!

You like to beat your drum!

Your confidence is quite intense

But just don't jump the gum!

Don't jump

Don't jump

Just don't jump the gum!

Next!

Hey doofus, d'you have WiFi?

I'll take that!

Ethel Teavee, and this is Mike Teavee, we should be on the list

Ah, yes, Mike Teavee. The boy who hacked into my computers

So, Mike the brain, you must explain

Just how you hacked the ticket?

Shut up, old man!

I'm not a fan!

You know where you can stick it!

You can stick it!

And there's no alcohol in my factory, I'm afraid

It's lemonade

Mmhm

WOAH NELLY!

Homemade

You should visit my factory sometime

It seems that I've left someone out

Who else is here, now give a shout!

Uh, Mr. Wonka, I'm the last

Is least the last to join our cast?

Name?

Joe Bucket, at your service!

Delighted!

Actually-

Enraptured

Matter of fact-

Fascinating! And you must be Charlie

Well, well, well. Charlie Bucket. The boy who waited to the very last moment to get his ticket. Don't leave it so late next time!

But, I-

Now, Messieurs Bucket, Salt, and Beauregarde, Madame Teavee and Schatzi Gloop

You're visitors in my backyard while shepherding this tiny troupe

And so I look to you to lead your future generations

I must insist you hear and heed my rules and regulations!

I'd love to lounge and lolly gag

And give each tongue the chance to wag

But I must get you all to sign this contract on the dotted line

There's no reprise, the way time flies to dot the T's and cross the I's!

Damn, strike that, reverse it!

Please ink without delay!

May I see the dossier

And negotiate her pay?

Sir what does this contract say?

Well...

The undersigned herein to forsight for

No frippery or force majeure

No property be touched or chewed or peddled!

What'd he say?

De facto habeas corpus laws

For you a new grandfather's clause

Sign here, and here, and here, thank god that's settled!

I'm confused!

What does he expect?

This tempo is preposterous!

Just sign!

So now the time has come at last

To put the present in the past

It's time to take the golden tour

And taste the tempting treats du jour

The day is young the sun is high and so it's time to say goodbye!

Goodbye!?

No, strike that, reverse it!

And next time I'll rehearse it

Get ready, set, on your marks, let's go!

You're stupid!

You stink!

I'm winning!

You think!

Let's go!

On with the show!

[tepidblue]

nominative determinism is an extremely funny concept that i will now choose to believe in. like andrew hussie (creator of homestuck) is a kookmin (ship btwn two members of bts) truther. oomf just said it on the tl & i was like, ykw? i’m going with it. and then oomf shared receipts & i chuckle like a little demon because it is just so silly. like u created a biblical length tome & now ur scurrying arnd in the dirt like the rest of us & people had a melt over the gcf in tokyo (seminal kookmin artefact)

oh yeah the nominative determinism thing. this should be a separate post but boo. so i have a dutch friend who tells me about dutch things. dutch told me about farmers with tractors blockading the highways because the government wanted to phase out meat production subsidies and switch to more environmentally sustainable agriculture. dutch told me about the bizarre education system that feels more like dante’s inferno—six different levels and if you’re not in lock-step with dutchness, you do get penalised. do not ask me to repeat it because i do not know how to write the different levels and i will get sad for refugee families who don’t know how to cow teachers into letting their kids be in a higher academic level. i am not dutch and therefore not familiar with spellings. dutch has told me things about the political system that look very charming to me from my perch. the party with the nazi joke chatroom leak was rank though. the dutch government has made some nice anti-dog mill laws. if it is not clear that i am not dutch then i am opaque.

all of this to say, i was aware of the netherlands before f1 (march 2023). oh!!!! i also know the dutch word for like, sex things & i had a riot of a time repeating them a lot. i really get why people learn those terms first when acquiring a new language via osmosis! me too!! except they kept their mouth scrupulously clean so now i can’t even swear outside of, gestures, this language.

okay nominative determinism. it’s this thing where your name suits you to, like, a freakish degree in a major aspect of your life. max’s name is so perfect for him. he is max. to the nth degree. maximilian. maxy max. he’s pushing maximum. he’s been flat out from day one.

now let’s go dutch. basically verstappen (ver-shtah-pHEn) (dutch emphasized the double p & i’ve done a poor approximation of the sound. i am so charmed by it. dutch also says monaco askew but i cannot pin it down. i would probably be less charmed had i been, in some way or another, been colonised by the dutch but here we are.)

i saw a girl who had impeccable pink pantheress vibes. i do need to tell her next when i see her. this isn’t related. neither is the next thing i’m going to say: i really like the moon. but it is not very tangible through my phone camera so i have to look above every night and i miss when i was younger and it followed me through the window as we went home. i can’t remember when the small details came and went until it was something alien altogether but the moon still remained. i like the moon even if my horoscope makes me out to be someone fascinated with the taboo and terrible. i am, but in a distant fashion. not that i think i’m better for the distance or not in the midst of it but in the way of this isn’t my thing but i do think it is interesting and while i thoroughly enjoy learning about it, i do not think i’d enjoy participating in it. whatever the taboo is. there are taboos i’d balk at, certainly.

verstappen essentially means misstep in dutch and i took ages to get here but i do think jos should be banned from the paddock ❤️ & honestly verstappen suits max very well but also kumpen would’ve been textually grittier & added more whimsy to his first impression. more spring to the consonants. but jos exemplifies the missteps of the surname handed down to him by his forefathers. i hope he calcifies and becomes less than rot; that jos.

[cleflink]

The Mid Air Walk and Jet Black Mystery Train are some of my favorite arcs too! Bust my absolute favorite has to be the 2.5 special, Dual Mystery on a Full Moon Night. The Black Org, Haibara, and Hattori all in one episode, this one has it all! Plus the reveal of Jodie and the FBI was fun. But enough about me, it's time for your next Secret Santa message: Please, tell me, who is your favorite character and why are they so awesome?

-Your Secret Santa

Aaah, yes, that is a fantastic arc! I remember the first time I read it - I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. :)

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you, Santa, but the answer to your question kind of got away from me. Short version: Kuroba Kaito is a flash bastard and I love him.

For the longer version (aka a love letter to Kuroba Kaito), please read on!

I adore characters who are VERY good at what they do, which is something that DCMK spoils me for in general. Kaito fulfills this to the nth degree for me, thanks to his many diverse talents. Magician, thief, acrobat, actor, makeup expert, marksman, genius, the list goes on.

In DC, he's seen from the perspective of Conan and other characters who see him as a showman, eternally showing off (and showing them up) with impeccable flair. I'll never not love his Midair Walk, and the shock that I felt right alongside Conan as I tried to figure out HOW in the hell KID had managed it. I love being an audience member for the Kaitou KID show, to get to enjoy that moment of 'oh my god, he has so much style' and then also get to see Conan unravel the details for us afterwards. In MK, that showman flair is still very present, but we also get to experience the effort and struggles Kaito contends with to be able to pull off his daring heists. Much as I love seeing everything go exactly as planned (with some space for necessary improvisation along the way), seeing the hard work that goes on behind the scenes is wonderfully satisfying and makes me even more impressed by Kaito's talent. Watching Kaito be clever and talented enough to come out on top, despite all the odds in his way, is truly delightful. 

I also might have a type, and that type is quippy, intelligent acrobats (why yes, Spiderman and Nightwing are my two favourite superheroes, how did you guess?). There was no way I was not going to fall for Kaito.

Beyond his impressive skill set, I am endlessly fascinated by Kaito's versatility and flexibility as a character, both in the realm of his disguise/acting abilities and in him as a person. He's funny and charming and clever, but also dorky and lonely and more than a little crazy.

He's the practical joker who pulls crazy stunts to make someone else smile. He's the bored genius who revels in the opportunity to face challenges that are actually challenging. He's the gentleman thief who's always at least two steps ahead of his pursuers. He's the master of disguise who could be literally anyone because both his acting and makeup skills are just that OP. He's the consummate liar who enjoys talking circles around people but sometimes just desperately wants someone to confide in about what his life is actually like.

I love that Kaito's all of these things and that he can be self-contradictory (as we all are) without feeling unnatural with it. Even though canon usually limits us to seeing one or two of the aspects of his personality at a time, it's clear that they're all still there under the surface, impacting his actions and decisions.

I can't talk about why I love Kaito without also talking about his relationship with Conan/Shinichi. It is fantastic to watch the way he and Conan balance each other: they each recognize their equal in the other, and thoroughly enjoy squaring off against each other as a result. They also make a great team, when they do end up on the same side. Similarly, Kaito's obvious pride in Conan when he figures things out (even Kaito's own tricks) is so adorable.

They both carry so many secrets and I feel like it gives them a sense of kinship to know that, despite everything, there's another person out there who faces similar struggles and who, just maybe, can accept them for who they really are, mysteries and secret identities and intelligence and all. There’s a trust there that I can’t get enough of.

Tying onto that, one thing I particularly love about KID is that he's not actually a villain, even when he's acting in opposition to Conan and the police. He's a challenge and an opponent and a rival, but he's too fundamentally good to ever qualify as a villain imo (custom KID hannin silhouette notwithstanding).

Kaito is the guy who actively puts himself at risk to help others, like 'stealing' the clock tower, or saving Lupin the dog, or protecting Jody Hopper from Snake, or watching out for the shounen tantei in the Kichiemon house. And don't even get me started on the number of times he's saved Conan from certain death by falling off various high things. He is one of the kindest people in this series, imo, but he hides it so well that most people don't notice. Unlooked for kindness makes me soft, especially from a character who is technically filling the role of a criminal.

Another aspect of Kaito's personality that I personally find fascinating is his relationship with gender. He's equally as comfortable and confident in any disguise and, while that could be ascribed to his skills as an actor, I don't know many teenage boys who would be that nonchalant about presenting themselves according to such diverse gender expectations. For example, I love how Conan harasses Kaito about his tendency to wear female disguises in the Iron Tanuki case and it doesn't bother Kaito in the slightest (’it's cuter that way’ is also the most amazing response). I also enjoy watching him use disguise-appropriate flirtation techniques on his targets with no apparent discomfort about switching from one collection of gender norms to another.

Also A Study in Scarlette has firmly convinced me that Kaito wears lacy underthings simply because he likes them, which is a head canon hill I will die on.

And on THAT bombshell, I'm going to stop talking before I actually turn this into an essay. Orz

TL;DR: Kaito is a flashy, kind-hearted chaos gremlin and I adore him.

[joontier]

Subliminal in Scrubs | V2; report xiv 

pairings: dr. jeon jungkook x female reader

chapter rating: NC-17 | genre: humor, workplace relationships

warnings: none to note

word count: 2.4k

g/n: Send me your thoughts?

[taglist]:  @nottodayjjk @ditttiii @zeharilisharaban @btsbunny07 @turquoiseandplaidinautumn @aamxxrii @codeinebelle @btsmakesmehappy @stargukkie @moonchild1​ @starbear019​​

Subliminal in Scrubs (the records) |  navi. | m.list

“Do you really have to leave me?” you drag the words out as you chew your dinner, one you insisted on having inside Ayoung’s apartment on her last day. You even add a cute little pout afterwards, hoping that Ayoung might reconsider her moving last minute. 

“_________, that was literally the third time you asked me tonight. One more and I think I might change my mind.” 

You sit up straighter, an expectant look on your face. “Really?” 

“I’m afraid not, __________. I’m even surprised you kept asking when you literally helped me pack the last of my stuff. Shouldn’t you have been doing the opposite if you wanted me to stay?” 

You let out a rather unattractive burp and a pretty loud one at that, then you sigh again for the nth time tonight, knowing it’s going to be a while before you find another neighbor that is as unbothered by your poor table etiquette as Ayoung. 

Speaking of neighbors, a coworker’s face pops into your mind and you’re suddenly reminded of your embarrassing encounter with Jungkook just the other day in the very corridor just a door away from where you were seated. “By the way...that guy you brought over the other day…” 

“Oh him?” 

You brace yourself for the bad news, tilting your head towards Ayoung while you wait for her response. “Yeah, I don’t think he’ll be moving in anytime soon.” 

“Oh,” comes your reply, shockingly nonchalant enough to mask the joy of not having Jungkook as your neighbor. Giddy, you prod her on, wanting to hear the rest of the story. “Shame though, he was such a hottie.” 

“How did you even meet him in the first place?” 

“Just last week I went to a cafe to study and partly cure a hangover from the previous night, I checked the post I uploaded for new possible tenants and Jungkook...that’s his name by the way...he was one of the first who sent a message about wanting to see the apartment in person, so we agreed to meet up on a later date.” Ayoung pauses for a moment, stacking a box on top of another. 

“But just a few moments later while I was reading, this boy came up to me and asked if I was...well me and he told me he was Jungkook. Eventually, he asked if I was free because he mentioned that he had nothing else to do that day and he would’ve appreciated it if he got to see the place and have a drink at the same time.” 

There’s a funny look on her face and you raise a brow questioningly. “Have you ever seen a man more attractive in just sweats?” Oh Christ. 

“I mean, most guys would look like a hobo in those, plus he’s probably dumb for just walking around in sweats with only 25 degrees outside but damn.... You know only truly hot men can pull off looks like that. And he surely was packing.” Shocked to the core, you stare at her with your mouth hanging open, not wanting to believe all of these were coming from your sweet sweet Ayoung. Especially not when they’re about Jungkook. 

“So I thought, why not right? I guess the hot chocolate I made wasn’t the only thing that was warm that night…” A suggestive smirk graces her lips and you scoot farther away from her, absolutely scandalized. 

Much to your chagrin, your mind betrays you with rather raunchy images. Goosebumps line the skin on your arms as the embarrassment comes back to you in waves. “Gosh Jungkook, that little fucker.” 

Ayoung creases her brows. “You know Jungkook?” 

Crap. Ayoung wasn’t supposed to end up knowing this. 

“Yeah I know him. Sort of.” 

“Oh, too bad. It would have been great if he moved in so you won’t have to deal with a total stranger for a neighbor. Where do you know Jungkook from?” 

You contemplate for a moment, wanting to weigh if it would be of any benefit having to tell the story of how you met Jungkook. Ultimately, you ended up sharing a brief background, missing out on a few vital points aka Jungkook being a total prick. 

You help Ayoung bring down the rest of her stuff to the lobby, wanting to see her off. “I wanted to bring you to your new apartment but I’ve got an early shift tomorrow, and being late won’t be a good record this early in my job.” 

“It’s alright, silly.” Ayoung leans in for a hug. “We’ll see each other again soon, yeah?” 

“You’re making it sound like I’m moving overseas, stop it!” 

You wait until she gets inside the cab she booked, waving at the car’s rear until it fully disappears from your sight. 

The next day you wake up freezing your ass off, even with you wrapped in a duvet burrito. You take a peek outside your window, grunting as a blanket of snow envelops everything in sight. Everything is white, and the gray trails on the road are the only thing that distinguishes the street from the sidewalk. 

You do your morning routine fairly quickly, spending the rest of your spare time watching people outside your window while you finish your coffee. As a motorbike moves along the length of the street in front of your building, you silently wish the driver a safe trip, hoping he or she didn’t have to use such a vehicle in this weather. 

You take another sip and Jimin instantly enters your scrambled thoughts, remembering how he mentioned he uses a scooter to and from work. There’s a side of you that is assured the Jimin is responsible enough to know how risky it is to use a scooter during the winter. 

The other half of your brain, though, isn’t convinced. Quickly, you set your mug aside, replacing it with your phone and dialing Jimin’s number. He answers after three rings. “_________?” 

“Hey Jimin, I know it’s too early for me to be calling you but I was wondering if you were going to use your scooter on your way to work today?” 

“I was--” 

“Because if you were planning to, don’t. It’s snowing really hard outside and I’m worried you’ll be taking your friend’s scooter on the slippery road….Would you mind if I’ll offer you a ride?” 

You know you were risking a lot, with your own car - your very own Camry which you don’t even trust. It has aged gracefully, and was clearly nearing its end but you knew four wheels was better than two in this snow. 

“I don’t...but I also wouldn’t want you to come all the way here to pick me up when I can just take the subway? Or the bus maybe…” 

“Would you rather pick one that asks for a fare or a free ride?” 

“You’re not exactly giving me a choice here, _________.”

“Great! ‘Cause I’m already on my way to pick you up.” 

“Thank you for the ride, sunbaenim.” Jungkook pulls on the handbrake before setting his hands on the Porsche’s steering wheel for the last time.

‘Someday’, he says to himself, someday he’ll get a car of his own. Someday. 

“Thank you for also letting me drive your car…” 

“She’s a beaut isn’t she?” the younger doctor nods, wanting to rub his palms over the dashboard in fascination, but then he wouldn’t have wanted the senior resident to think he was some sort of lunatic. 

Jungkook decides to keep his hands on his lap instead. 

“You live around the area?” 

“Yeah, just a few blocks from the garage…” 

“Really? Which apartment do you live in? I’m quite familiar with the area.” 

Jungkook is hesitant to mention the name of the building knowing that the apartment complex he stays at most likely has a reputation because it’s the cheapest he could find around the area. 

Before the intern opens his mouth to reply, Seokjin’s phone rings just on time, the sound startling the latter. He opens the car door and alights from the vehicle to get more reception. Jungkook grabs his bag from the back and follows after shortly. Seokjin points to his phone, mouthing that Jungkook doesn’t need to wait for him, so the intern bows to his senior in gratitude, before heading off to the main building. 

As he passes a vending machine, he remembers he wasn’t able to bring his jug with him today so he approaches the machine, scanning other options he could take with his water. He comes across a small carton of banana milk and a thought crosses his mind, a smirk playing on his lips as he adds the beverage to his purchase. 

Jungkook hurries to the on-call room, hoping his tiny plan will fall into place. 

“Thanks for the ride, ________. I owe you so much already. You’re too kind.” 

You wave Jimin off, expressing your worry and how you thought you wouldn’t be able to handle your conscience if you didn’t ask about his mode of transportation to work today. Jimin gives you a warm smile in return. 

“You’re a good friend, _________.” Jimin leans over the center console and gives you an awkward side hug, catching you completely off guard. 

“Woops! Sorry! I didn’t… wasn’t…” Jimin has his hands waving around in the air as he tries to apologize for hugging you out of the blue. “It’s fine, Jimin,” you laugh as you put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. “It’s fine. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Tilting your head outside, you tell him that you both should get going and that you’ll be heading to the toilet first to get changed. While Jimin heads to the surgery department, you make your way to the parking lot’s toilets, bumping into the one and only banana-milk-thief Jeon Jungkook. 

“Hi _________, good morning!” He chirps, the uncharacteristically wide smile on his face throwing you off for a moment. 

At least somebody woke up on the right side of the bed today. Jungkook chuckles, and you realize you weren’t supposed to say that out loud, but you’re somewhat proud that you did, making your sentiments towards the guy as clear as day. 

“Bit rich coming from you miss grumpypants.” 

Your mouth falls open. “Excuse me?” 

“You heard me, darling. See ya later....grumpy.” Before Jungkook leaves, he manages to give you a quick noogie, definitely messing up what’s left of the quick messy bun you made before leaving your apartment. 

Taking in a deep, long breath, you calm your nerves down, deciding today wasn’t going to be the day Jungkook was gonna get to you. 

After your brief encounter at the parking lot, Jungkook heads quickly to the on-call room and looks for a place inconspicuous but visible enough for you to see. He plucks a sticky note from a stack from the shelf just above the table and grabs his pen from his chest pocket. 

Jungkook folds the yellow square into half and writes your name on it, just in case nobody would dare take a carton of milk for someone named after a dwarf from Snow White.  He then sticks the note on the moist packaging, hopeful that the slight sheen of water will help stick the paper onto the carton.

Recognizing Jimin’s voice from the door, Jungkook quickly hides his peace offering behind the files on the table, and pretends he’s reading the patient’s charts before Jimin nears where he’s standing. You and Soomin enter the room shortly afterwards. 

“Just in time!” Namjoon says, adjusting the large frame of his glasses. “Right, as you may already know from the orientation, I’m Kim Namjoon, resident, and specializing in neuro. I’ll be guiding you all throughout admissions and reports this morning while I am waiting for my Chiari decompression scheduled in a few hours.” 

Namjoon gathers the rest of the surgical interns before proceeding to the wards to do rounds with the group. He partners with the head nurse and another doctor from the night shift, updating the patient’s condition before moving on to the others. 

As soon as his rounds are done, he leads the group back to the on-call room to brief the interns on using the EMR system to keep a patient’s chart updated at all times. To speed up the charting, he asks everyone to come up in pairs and update the patient records. 

True to the plan he’d come up with at the spur of the moment, Namjoon and the interns manage to get the job done quicker than expected. With the night shift’s updates already uploaded, the group disperses to carry out the orders and responsibilities.

Jimin, with his throat parched after having come up and down multiple flights of stairs, decides to return to the on-call room to get something to drink. He breathlessly pages Jungkook about it, telling him he’ll get back to his partner after drinking. 

He no longer waits for Jungkook’s okay, too thirsty to even think straight. As Jimin goes through his stuff, he realizes he must have forgotten his jug inside your car but having to call you about it would have been too bothersome for you and him both. 

There’s a water dispenser in the room but there are no cups or mugs free for him to use - and too unsanitary as well. Jimin searches the room in desperation and spots a carton of banana milk just behind some of the patient’s charts. 

He makes a grab for the small carton, checking if it’s got any owner. There’s none written on the carton and no note stuck to it to indicate that it belongs to someone. He spots Yoongi on his phone just by the other corner of the room and approaches the senior resident. 

“Excuse me, sunbaenim. Is this yours?” He points to the carton in his hands. Yoongi shakes his head no. “Any name written on it? Some note perhaps?” 

“I couldn't find any.” 

“Well, it’s yours then. All food on the table is communal unless it’s otherwise labeled.” Yoongi shrugs his shoulders as he explains, giving Jimin a thumbs up afterwards. 

“Alright. Thanks sunbaenim.” 

Throat as dry as the Sahara, Jimin grabs the drink and punches the straw in as quickly as he could before finishing the drink in a few gulps. ‘Thank god for free banana milk.’ He thinks to himself before throwing the packaging away, now more energized than ever.

© joontier 2021

[regina-cordium]

WAIT FUCK I WAS GONNA POST MY HC’D QUARTER ELVES hey it’s thursday i’ll cr even if im not watching cr

Vesper Elaina - The Heir™️. has her mother’s mind for sums and economy. one of those ppl who always seems so calm and regal and put together, but she will be the FIRST to cause problems on purpose!!!!! aunt cassandra taught her how to pick locks and she uses it for Shenanigans. who’s gonna think it’s her!!!! who’s gonna accuse vesper, with her gentle smile and cool bearing!!!!!!!!

Madeleine Joanna - Twin 1. okay maddie’s the one i like. projected™️ on or whatever. when i pictured my lil fics, maddie was the main de rolo in ‘em. ranger/gunslinger. had a bit of a breakdown™️ at like 19. yknow those moments where ur like “oh my god im gonna amount to nothing i dont have any skills or hobbies im not good at ANYTHING” except theres the added bonus of ur parents and aunts and uncles Literally Saved The World and all ur siblings are really talented and clearly know what they’re doing and everybody’s looking at you so you uuuhhhh go to wildemount to hide at ur uncle’s place! and ur brother comes with! and then y’all get kidnapped by cerberus assembly fucks hoping to ransom y’all for white stone! ...........fuck wildemount. joins slayers take!

(oh shit i almost forgot, her animal companion is a raven named valor)

Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo IV (you can call him Freddie) - Twin 2. unflappable. calm, cool, and collected, much like vesper but less mischief. training to be a cleric of sarenrae. he and maddie are thick as thieves, got that Twintuition to the nth degree. Fuck Wildemount! they don’t talk abt it.

(percy was hesitant in naming their first son after himself. the de rolo name is heavy enough; they’re going to add the extra mantle of percival? how can percy - a man who was driven to the edge by anger and hatred and vengeance - weigh his newborn son with that legacy?

it’s keyleth who convinces him, actually. she’s starting to figure out a thing or two about legacy, and how they don’t have to be an ouroboros of self-destruction)  

Cecil - he’s sitting in the library. you get up to get a book. you sit back down. he has a fully functioning clockwork figure. how the fuck. where did those gears come from. cecil. cecil, where did you hide those??

Adelaide Keyleth - tries SO HARD to be vesper’s mini-me. follows behind her like a little duckling, holding herself tall and stately. is learning all of vesper’s tricks and pranks. god, someone stop her. she’s so SMALL for her age she can slip into the SMALLEST cracks. holy shit. took to archery like a fish to water. can shoot a moving target from a mile away. likes to shoot fruit out of people’s hands. a menace, truly.

Julian - nerd (affectionate). rarely seen without a book, and if he is he’s got a notebook instead. everything fascinates him. one second he’s reading about the history of emon, the next he’s reading about the latest developments in transmutation magic. lil wizard boy.

Viola Valora - A Child. what do children like?? seven year olds like hitting things right?? uncle grog is so good at hitting things. she wants to hit things as good as him!!! it’s not her fault nobody makes weapons small enough for her :(

Vax’ildan - A Literal Baby.

(vex was so scared to name a child after her brother. what if it worked like some kind of curse? what if it was asking for trouble, for fate to deal one more cruel hand? what if she wasn’t able to protect this Vax too?

it’s the ravens that convince her, especially the one that stands on her shoulder and peers down as the squirming newborn before throwing its head back and letting out a noise that sound suspiciously like a whoop of victory)

[prompt-master]

as someone who has never heard of the movies before, would you mind explaining a bit of what theyre about

Absolutely!

Altho, I think that Satoshi Kon movies are best just...watching. I highly recommend just finding his movies and watching them (my recommended order is Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika, and Perfect Blue. I consider this to be "worst" to best). They're movies with heavy symbolism, so get ready to ponder!

Be warned though these movies do come with trigger warnings. I won't say what, because again the movies are best going in blind. So I'll leave it up to you how to handle the information that there is something triggering in the movies. All I will warn is that the movies can get sexual.

ANYWAY

Millennium Actress: This movie is about actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who was a cultural icon in her youth, having done acting from childhood to adult hood. The movie follows her being interviewed for a documentary, and going through her life story by partially entwining it with her movie roles. As a teen, Chiyoko fell in love with a war rebel painter, who gave her a key to something important before disappearing. Now, and throughout the movie, Chiyoko's goal is chasing after this man to return the key to him and properly reuinite.

Tokyo Godfathers: This one is a christmas movie following three homeless individuals: a drunkard man, a transgender woman, and a runaway teen girl. One day, they find a baby abandoned in the garbage, and Hana (being a trans woman) has always wanted to experience motherhood and insists on taking in the baby. After this, it becomes the goal of the trio to find the mother of the baby so that Hana can ask why she had abandoned the child. The movie is the most straight forward of the reel, but still impactful and made me tear up at times. It's all about family in different ways, both found and by blood. If you are excited for trans rep I will warn that there is distinct transphobia and misgender, along with that on a surface level Hana could be considered bad rep. However, for reasons displayed in the movie. I would consider Hana a "surprisingly good despite the flaws" brand of rep.

Paprika: Paprika is the hardest to describe. It is a joyride on the eyes, a display of animators showing off their talents to the nth degree. Famously, Paprika is known for inspiring Inception, and watching it one can see why. It's a bright, confusing, dream like movie that holds your attention. It is about a device that allows you to go inside peoples dreams, which is considered as a therapudic device. However, once it is stolen things start to get trippy as dream entwines with reality. This is a movie I cannot describe. It just has to be watched. The repeated parade scenes and the encompaning song still haunt me in a strangely upbeat way. This film was absolutely my favorite in terms of visuals. The artists got very creative here, and parade is my favorite song in all the reels.

Perfect Blue: Perfect Blue follows idol Mima on her journey to becoming an actress after her manager believes it to be the correct choice for her career. Despite having aversion and wanting to stay an idol, Mima agrees. As she goes through her career choice she encounters many of the intense and hard truths of the idol/actress scene, while at the same time many murders are being committed all around her. As the movie goes on reality seems to melt into a dissociative mess, a strong sense of insanity that lulls the viewer in until you're unsure what's reality and what's not anymore. It's about purity and impurity, its about imposter syndrome, it's harsh. It's a brutal and fascinating film.

[carynsilver]

Favorite Fics: Malex Edition

It’s a new year (quite definitively at this point), and a new set of fic recs. Just my small way of saying thank you to the writers who have made the past year, with all its challenges, a little better for me personally. Without the escape of reading, I don’t think I would’ve gotten through the past eleven months, so thank all of y’all for creating (now and in the past) and for sharing your work. You do it for free, and it’s amazing stuff.

If you’re interested, I previously shared my top 10 Stucky, Drarry, Stony, and Darcy Lewis (Wintershock, Shieldshock, and Tasertricks, mostly) fic lists. Today, I’ve finally decided on my top 10 Maxlex fics. So, in no particular order...

my love is a life taker by @jocarthage

If I were making a top 10 fics of all time list, this story would be on it. The breadth and scope of it is truly amazing, as is the writing. There’s world-fixing time travel and an interesting take on our favorite aliens and what could’ve been. Alex as a time agent is both so tragic and also so strong as he begins his journey of self discovery. He’s such an unreliable narrator, and yet also can clearly see so many things. Watching Michael’s growth through the years is just as fascinating as watching Alex travel through time. And it’s juxtaposed with the present so well. This Alex and Michael learn to communicate as they learn about themselves. And the story also taught me a ton about the Middle East and various historical events. I really love this story, and you should definitely read it right now if you haven’t yet.

To Trust Love by @laughsalot3412

This fic is amazing. It takes hurt/comfort to the nth degree. Michael, Isobel, and Max are the only remaining prisoners/subjects in Project Shepherd, and Alex (with the help of Liz, Kyle, and Maria) goes under cover as a guard to get them out. But to do so, first he has to gain their trust--an almost impossible test. The tweaks to the alien abilities and the handprint are interesting. Jesse Manes, as always, is absolutely horrible. But good wins in the end, and the boys are able to figure things out despite the mistakes they make along the way. I mean, trigger warnings for so much in a prison fic with Jesse Manes in it, but it is an awesome story. This author only wrote one RNM fic, but it’s a great one.

From Iraq, with Love by @adiwriting

Alex leaves for basic no way to contact Michael, so he reaches out to him via a YouTube channel. Alex writes years and years’ worth of love songs, hoping maybe Michael will see them and get in touch. The scene when Michael finally sees them is a gut punch in the best way, and the end is so satisfying. A truly excellent story, and I love how music from the heart eases their way into real communication--because, man, that is what these poor boys need.

unexpected tidings by @bestillmyslashyheart

The Vegas fic! Actually, that is not what this fic is about. There is only one scene set in Vegas, and yet that was the one I remembered when I was trying to find the fic again, lol. In this AU, Michael was never reunited with his siblings in Roswell, but he and Alex meet after Alex enlists. They meet three different times in three different states, and eventually fall in love. Then Alex has to come home to Roswell and take care of this little alien problem so his boyfriend can be safe from the horror that is Jesse Manes. One of the best things about this story is the past/present narrative structure. Only a really good writer can tell a successful story out of chronological order, and @bestillmyslashyheart really succeeds. Check out her other work, as well, such as A Simple Life (but with aliens).

Shadow Work by @myrmidryad

This fic has stellar world building. Alex and Michael are shades--people who work banishing hauntings, curses, etc. The scientific way the supernatural elements are approached is so interesting, as well as the different ways humans and aliens perceive them. Alex is a total unreliable narrator just because of how the haunt is affecting him, but he still gets the job done. This is a world you can just sink into. Totally immersive, and yet it works so well with the alien mythology we already have. And the conclusion to the haunt mystery is so satisfying. Such a great story!

Lovin’ you is a gift tonight (Lovin’ you for all of my life) by @bellakitse

Michael turned his cheek when Alex tried to kiss him, and then Alex and Rosa ran off to NYC before anything else could happen. Michael thinks of Alex as the one who got away, and then he runs into him when he’s stuck at the airport in Denver, trying to get home to Roswell for Christmas. Their reunion in the airport is fluffy and amazing, just a pleasure to read. And then they end up back in Roswell and all the other stuff comes into play in a really satisfying, let’s-deal-with-it-as-adults-instead-of-children kind of way. Ah, so good!

scream in there by thepredatorywasp

I’ll be honest, this one starts a little rough emotionally, but man, Alex and Michael really earn their happily ever after here. It is worth it. And then we get River! I enjoy a good kid!fic, and River the little alien found in a pod who gloms onto Alex and never lets go is amazing! River is my favorite kiddo that I’ve ever read in a Malex story.

truth (to the people we love) by @lambourngb

This is probably the shortest fic on my rec list. I am biased toward the long ones, I know. But man this one packs a punch. Alex recorded a goodbye message when he was overseas, and he has to tell it not to auto send every week. Then he is kidnapped for ten days... I don’t want to spoil too much, but just read it. It also plays with the narrative structure. And if you like this one, definitely check out @lambourngb‘s other stories. collect the bad habits and Vows are also great reads!

I Know Nothing Stays the Same by @aewriting

This is one of those stories that sticks in your head. It is awful (emotion-wise, not writing-wise) and wonderful all wrapped up together in the best way. Alex and Michael run away after the shed incident and go into hiding for five years. This is the past storyline. There’s also a present and a future. The ending of this story was so gorgeous, I don’t want to spoil it, but I remember it all the time when I think of Malex. Lovely and poignant. This is another version of this couple that <i>earn</i> their happiness together. And if you want even more in this ‘verse, the very talented @andrea-lyn (who also has a ton of great Malex stories) wrote a coda called There’s More Room in a Broken Heart.

Send Me Home by @litwitlady

I waffled back and forth about which story would fill the final slot. It’s always so hard to choose when there are so many excellent ones out there, but I had to have one of @litwitlady‘s stories on the list. She has quite a few excellent ones, but Send Me Home is my favorite. Michael the baseball player is both compelling and also heartwarming in his softer life. This is another fic where Alex is a musician, this one an actual country music star. So, it’s a sports fic and a celebrity romance, in addition to being a Malex RNM story. it is a WiP, which I sometimes hesitate to rec, but there’s only one more chapter to go, so I feel pretty safe about it. And she has lots of other stories you should check out. I’m fond of the Reunion series, as well.

So, that’s it for this post. Thanks again to all the amazing fanfic authors and their awesome work. I’ve read so many great Malex fics lately. On this list or not, I appreciate you guys!

[longroadstonowhere]

@catdotjpeg tagged me in a thing!

.... back in september!

(yes i know you also tagged me in a more recent thing nico, i will do that after this one because i’ve had it tabbed out since you tagged me and this is apparently the impetus i needed to do this one)

rules: put your entire music library on shuffle and list the first 10 songs and then choose 10 people 

1. rivers in the desert (from the p5 soundtrack - specifically the one with lyrics? i don’t know if i have the non-lyric version, but i know there’s two versions in the game at least)

2. trick (also from p5, it’s more atmospheric music where the earlier one is iconic to the nth degree)

3. jungle ruins (from the high rollers soundtrack? i honestly don’t know if i’ve listened to this whole thing, it’s been a very very long time since i watched high rollers - which is the yogscast dnd show by the by - but it sounds pretty cool)

4. erosion (from p5.... i swear i own other music okay, there should be way more twewy or musical stuff happening really...... except i guess pure randomness can’t be quantified like that)

5. the plains (more high rollers music apparently - again, don’t think i’ve actually listened to this before, but it’s good dnd background music, i should maybe point my dms toward it)

6. twister (heeeeeeeey, twewy soundtrack, classic mr twister, need more candy cane)

7. time to repent (p5 soundtrack....... look............... i don’t know why my phone is doing this - i think this is the track that plays in the church in kanda? it’s such a specific tune for such a tiny area)

8. i wanna get better (oh! a song i could actually hear on the radio at some point! it’s by bleachers, great song to scream out when speeding down the highway with the windows open during the summer and things suck - also might’ve been driven to get it by an amv for tatami galaxy? or that’s how i was introduced and then i heard it on the radio and decided to get it then, who knows)

9. elora’s determination (high rollers soundtrack - i’m honestly fascinated at how often it’s turned up here, like it’s good music but i never thought about it much)

10. triple seven (p5..... i mean could it be anything else really - also i’ve literally never paid attention to the music in the convenience store but it’s kind of a bop honestly)

honorable mention to the audio post of mine i have saved on the phone that’s just called ‘linguistics talk’, which is sixteen minutes of me rambling about phonetics and phonology - it tried to be entry number ten but it’s not actually a song so i decided not to count it (i did absolutely listen to the whole thing though, like what do you take me for)

(also that audio post was done like eight years ago, which is just absolutely hilarious)

as for tagging, counting to ten sounds hard, but i’ll tag @girl-in-the-library, @meatsuit, @lumeninfusco, @proserpine-in-phases, @thepeopleskey, and @tehstripe, that feels like a decent number of folks

(also standard ‘ignore if you don’t feel like doing this’ disclaimer applies)

[pepperf]

Consider this me asking you about DVD Extras, I fricking LOVE that fic! What do you wanna tell us about it? (And when Intro to Recycled Cinema aired, I was totally like, 'hey, wait a minute...I've read this fic!'😂)

Ahaha, now you're asking, and I have no idea! XD Other than, holy crap, I hope no one ever asks me to explain the plot to Abed's movie because that does not exist.

Okay, behind the cut for me rambling!

I loved the ep 'Pillows and Blankets' SO MUCH, it was goddamn art, I think it's one of the best examples of why Community is actually such a good show, they did some brilliant things. So I thought it would be fun to try it in text form. Which is a weird step even further back - from live action TV, to photos and narration, to descriptions of photos... I was going full-on arthouse, let's-play-with-the-form there. I think that only works for short pieces though, for Community it worked because they do 22min eps, and for me it worked because it's like 5.5k words.

It was also kind of my tribute to a Stargate fanfic I read a long time ago (following the adventures of Jack's clone, and the clones they make of Sam, Teal'c, and Daniel) that has a description of a photo in it, which has forever stuck in my head, a weird kind of visual that I will never see. It's funny how doing that, writing it rather than actually depicting it, sometimes fixes something in your head (or my head, anyhow) more perfectly, because it's the ideal version and not an interpretation, like how characters from a book you read first never quite translate into TV or movies. I am more on the writing side of this equation, I am not good enough to make visual representations of my ideas (for the record, I think both are equally valid, it's just that's not my personal strength), so I am fascinated by the techniques of making a piece of writing really visual. And I grew up reading Terry Pratchett, who is an incredibly visual writer, all his things read like movies.

I am also really into the mechanics of filmmaking, the way it's a cooperative effort - but of course this is Community, so for every one of Abed's filmmaking eps, everyone else is in their own head about the part they're playing. Abed will be trying to do one thing, and Troy generally works really well with him and riffs on his ideas, makes them more fun and less inwardly-focused - but the others all have their own agenda and will yank at the edges until it all collapses. Abed sometimes seems to make it happen on purpose, or at least has an idea of how to channel the chaos - or maybe he's just really zen and prepared to see where it takes him, idk.

And and and! I liked the idea of making something that was the written version of all the miscellaneous crap you get on a DVD, all the bts videos and bloopers and production stills...a lot of the time, they feel like no one really knows what they should contain, it's just a huge grab-bag of whatever they had lying around. There's no consistency, so you never know if you're going to get absolutely every inch of how it was made, to the nth degree, à la LotR, or if you're just going to get the theatrical trailer because fuck you, you've got the movie, what more do you want?! And these have only come up since we got DVDs, you didn't really get this with video, it just wasn't practical - so it's this weird, confused, relatively new situation, sort of an unintentional art form, of how much or how little you're told - and what that tells you about the people behind it, if they're oversharers or purists. Commentaries are the same. I've tried to listen to the notorious Blake's 7 commentaries, which, oh my god, they are the worst, it's like sitting in a bar with a bunch of drunk luvvies, thirty years after they were in a play together. But currently I'm listening to the commentaries for Leverage, which are amazing and informative and perfect.

Hmm, what else... Oh, so, things I got right for what they did in 'Intro to Recycled Cinema': scifi setting (duh), chaotic script changing on the fly (also duh), death scene (although I think I got that idea from the bit in 'Ladders' where Annie is hurt and Jeff rushes to her side), Jeff having a meltdown (double duh). I like to think that mine had the edge, because it a) had Troy, and b) had an emotional resolution for Jeff and Annie that was long overdue. But maybe I'm biased. And I am violently against crossing the streams, but if ever I was in a social situation with Dan Harmon and it somehow wasn't weird, this would be the one piece of my work I'd want to give him.

Also, I still make myself laugh with the Titanic-scene-turned-horror-movie-moment with Pierce in the car, at the end. XD

[paragonrobits]

My one complaint with immortal hulk is that the one below all felt a bit underwhelming

After all the buildup about how he’s the biggest evil in the marvel universe, a devil above all the existing devils in the uiniverse

He shows up and……….he’s just a cloud with a face who spits demons

Don’t get me wrong, it’s impressive and scary and whatnot, but there’s nothing a lost him that seems much scarier then any other demon lord type character, or even just chaos king or knull

And there isn’t much distinction between the “below place” and regular hell either, aside from the green lightning

It’s still great on its own, and the immortal hulk is still one of my favorite comics of all time, but after all the buildup it’s a bit disappointing

In some respects, I feel that's kind of the point of the One Below All!

Like, a recurring motif is that it is a bundle of mindless hatred, cruelty and destructiveness, but... there's no mind there. It is literally nothing but pure hate for all that exists. It's Unicron without Orson Welles, it's every Neverborn from Exalted. The other fiends snarl and hate and plot, but the OBA is literally a mass of revulsion at existence that seeks to destroy everything, but it has no actual mind.

So it puts on the minds of others, wears them like shells and takes on their personalities; it has no real personality beyond that, and that's honestly an effective, alien vibe. People had similar criticisms on the Lich from Adventure Time nad I contend, as I did now, that it had plenty of character. It was just monstrous, inhuman and horrifying, and in fact they're very similar characters. Embodiments of annihilation that wear humanized traits as a mask, and clearly resent having to play the part.

This ultimately means that thE OBA has to use others and takes on their personas, which makes for interesting characterization; it's basically Brian Banner to the nth degree, which is appropriate given that it mainly manifests through him. It's mindlessness makes it a perfect target for the Leader, and so on.

I see the OBA as interesting in an thematic sense; it is LITERALLY the opposite of the One Above All, down to being a mindless bundle of hate instead of basically Jack Kirby But God. Passive not through choice and fascination, but because it has nothing of its own but immense power and an inability to really do anything with that besides a medium. It's violent lashing, its inability to really do much of consequence, is part of the point, I think?

That it's a pathetic, empty husk in its own right, requiring something controlling it or giving it a medium to make it genuinely dangerous.

I think its most interested for its effect on others, rather than its actual threat value. A demon above all else? That's one thing, but its another when the horror of what it represents, the weight it puts on the mind, drives supervillains to murderous despair, brings abusive dead fathers back from the dead. As a similar example, we do not fear Cthulhu in spite of him getting one-shotted by a boat (albeit healing afterwards) but for the fundamental meaninglessness he casts upon human existence, and the certainty of our doom once he gets to work.

The OBA has a very similar nature. He's psychologically horrifying and existentially messed up, bringing out the worst parts of yourself and forcing you to face literal hollowed out shells of loved ones, and that's genuinely much worse than just being threatening. And this makes sense because... how else can he be a Hulk villain? He can't be smashed. He can't die, not permanently there. He's just there; always waiting, always working, drilling in deeper until you are as hollow and empty and hateful as him.

[slaapkat]

Polycule prompt!: angry/frustrated Jordan (maybe fresh off the heels of nu!JSA win) with a friendlier top!Larry? Jordan kinda enjoying the touch/affection but staying colder (lol) than usual throughout? Crusher feels some kind of way about this- author’s choice if it’s amused, confused, weirded out, etc!

set post finale, a few months after this

---

It’s late, and Larry is running.

Recovering from their sound defeat at the hands of the JSA Jr. hadn’t been an easy one. Well-- okay, for himself and Paula, it had been easy. They had no stakes in the matter, compared to the others, for them it really was as easy as rounding up Artemis and skipping town on “vacation” until the heat blew over and they could regain relative normalcy. It wasn’t like any of the brats knew his identity-- sure, Stripesy and his little snot did, but without any proof it was their word against his, and as far as the rest of the podunk town of Blue Valley was concerned he was an upstanding member of their fitness community. 

But. It couldn’t hurt to lay low for a little longer. With the ISA down and out, the ol’ lizard man six feet under, and Jordan who knows where, Larry was well aware that attracting any kind of attention was what Paula might call a bad thing. No Sportsmaster, no Tigress, no merc jobs and definitely no busting heads of any kind. For Artemis, Larry had to remind himself. No use needlessly uprooting her life for her parents’ mistakes when there were college scholarships on the line. 

So, the late night running. Larry had energy to burn and running through the woodlands of Blue Valley was slightly less insanely suspicious than working out alone in Ripped City in the middle of the night. It at least had the benefit of a built-in obstacle course as well as ensuring he remained relatively unseen throughout. 

It’s usually pretty uneventful. Usually.

Larry’s jogging through the woods on the far side of town, making a loop around the city limits, when he seems to cross some imaginary line and feels the temperature drop in an instant. It’s enough to give him pause, given how even early spring in Nebraska didn’t usually make a habit of plummeting thirty degrees in a span of a few seconds.

That tended to mean one thing, in Larry’s experience. Or, rather, one person. 

He picks his way carefully through the frost-covered grass and underbrush, and a peak through the trees reveals he’s right where he suspected-- Jordan’s fancifully ugly little McMansion estate, standing tall and proud despite everything, with the lights on, no less. Jordan’s parents had apparently taken the same route as Larry and Paula had, choosing to dig their heels in and weather it out rather than running. Good for the kid, at least. He seemed the sensitive type. Just like his old man. 

Speaking of old men…

Larry finds him not too long after, leaning heavily against a tree, haggardly dressed and staring despondently across the expanse of his lawn into a single dark window on the second floor. That coat of his is long gone, leaving behind dirtied pants and a thermal shirt in tatters, months of growth covering his face in a ragged beard. It’s distantly fascinating in its own way, and Larry can’t help the impressed whistle he lets out at the sight; the last he saw Jordan, he seemed-- mostly put together then. As well as a man who’d just been shattered to literal pieces and reconstituted in a basement freezer could be, at any rate. 

The noise startles Jordan out of his reverie, who turns around with a wild-eyed look and a wounded sort-of growl, hands up and ice crackling weakly between his fingers-- he’s all flesh, save for a streak of ice that stretches from his hairline through his left eye and down his face, an ugly frozen scar that stands out in the low light and contributes to Jordan’s already unhinged appearance. 

“Woah!” Larry says, backing off immediately with his own hands up in surrender. He grins in spite of everything, wide and toothy and excited, and it’s only then he sees the recognition spark in Jordan’s eyes, deeply shadowed by weapons-grade exhaustion. “Woah, just me, bud! You remember your ol’ pal Crusher, don’t you?” 

Jordan hesitates, eyes narrowing, but ultimately lets his hands lower with a small huff. He looked downright haggard-- torn shirt, ripped pants, dirtied boots and a shabby beard, grayed around the edges. Homeless to the Nth degree. Larry almost wants to laugh at the sight of it all, absurd as it is, the once-proud leader of the ISA reduced to shambling through the woods like some kind of hermit. The scar was a nice touch, at least-- Larry had been willing enough to write it off as Jordan still recovering from his shattering. Evidently, the whole event had been more traumatizing than either of them had expected. 

“Crusher. What are you doing here?” Jordan says roughly, suspicious yet full of hope and relief all the same.

“Bud, what are you doing here?” Larry shoots back with a laugh, and finds the courage to finally close the distance between them and clap Jordan on the shoulders; Jordan falters just slightly, boney and thin under Larry’s hands. Boy, the past few months had not been kind to him. “I thought you’d be home by now! What are you doing out here? Bringing the abominable snowman back to Blue Valley?”

Jordan’s face screws up in confusion even as he leans into the touch, clearly more wore-out than he was letting on. “I… I couldn’t leave Cameron, but-- I can’t go back. Not Yet. He can’t see me like--” His expression crumples, lip quivering, as he gestures to the scar. “Like this. It would hurt him.”

Personally, Larry found the scar rather enticing. It gave Jordan a much needed edge that was lost when he had chosen to dress primarily in his bespoke suits and fine leather shoes. He draws himself closer, cupping Jordan’s face in his hands and gently brushing a thumb over the length of the scar. Jordan swallows thickly, but allows it, eyes wet and wide. Jordan is hurting, Larry knows that much, but his repertoire is rather limited when it comes to the proper ways of helping. To say he missed Jordan would be-- overstating it, probably, but he certainly well enough missed having him around. It’s hard not to fall back into old habits, and Larry leans in automatically, mouth parted, lips brushing Jordan’s--

And nothing more than that.

Jordan remains frozen in place, unreactive. When Larry pulls back, brows drawing together, he sees Jordan blank-faced, eyes glazed over even as he continues to lean into the warm touch of his hand. The only reaction he gets is when Jordan hisses and flinches just slightly, the steady gentle rubbing of Larry’s thumb against the iced-over scar melting it away to reveal raw and angry still-healing flesh underneath. Jordan, in spite of this, doesn’t pull away. Larry frowns. 

It would be easy to-- push ahead anyways, he thinks. It wasn’t a matter of Jordan resisting rather than Jordan being too tied up in his own grief to react at all, homesick and out of it, crushed physically and mentally by defeat. It would be easy… but wrong. Larry’s frown deepens. Jordan’s usual method of comfort wasn’t needed here, anyways. What he needed was real care.

That, Larry could do.

“C’mon, bud,” Larry sighs, giving a quick and chaste kiss to Jordan’s forehead, right on the edge of the scar, and throws an arm over his shoulder, beginning to lead him back to his place. “Let’s get you cleaned up, yeah? If you think that gnarly scar is a bad look, what d’ya think he’ll think of how you’re dressed, huh? We’ll have you fresh as a daisy and back on your feet in no time!”

Jordan’s feet drag and stumble, and he casts one last longing look over his shoulder towards his home, but he sticks close to Larry’s side nonetheless.

[presumenothing]

@x-rainflame-x​ replied to your post “observer effect (it’s not rocket science)”

I am LIVING for these CoS fics right now. Alfons is really hard to write and you’re killing it ;v;

he really REALLY is hard to write. no i didn’t kill him in revenge for this what are you talking about, canon did that first

I also am always fascinated with how you always manage to be so brief be SO PROFOUND

ksdfjsdf being brief is the simpler thing for me tbh. as far as i’m concerned the secret to that lies with starting in medias res amped up to the nth degree – that fic for example was originally supposed to start with alfons talking instead, but after messing around with it i decided to just toss that and skip right to ed’s next line in the conversation instead. context, amirite ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

but profound?? me???? there’s a line between profound and fake deep and i think i live on the wrong side of it