#kind of realism? i half succeeded i think

[justarandomart]

'realistic' King

just a little render exercise

[the--highlanders]

choose violence ask game (loving the name of that btw) - 8, 16, & 23?

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

(this fandom is so small that I don't want to sound like I'm vagueblogging or @-ing someone or anything so I'm just gonna preface this by saying this also goes for plenty of licensed media)

oh man ok. at risk of sounding like a total killjoy who takes everything too seriously & looks too much into stuff. I'm pretty sensitive about. primitivism in the way jamie gets portrayed?? is the best way I can think to describe it?? anything that implies that where & when he comes from means that he's inherently less intelligent, or equates his lack of knowledge on some things with him being stupid. can't stand him being reduced to dumb guy who hits stuff. idiot who has no critical thinking skills or reasoning.

and like, I get that it's a fairly common assumption, the idea that people from the past weren't as smart because they didn't know as much (even setting aside the devaluing of /different/ ways of knowing & understanding) - but, say, victoria never gets this treatment. despite also being from the past. which then leads you to think, hey, why would people make that assumption about jamie and not about victoria?

and then you get to a bunch of ideas which have been kicking around since. before jamie's time, real-world-historically speaking. which depict the highlands as savage, as populated by 'wild' people, by - well - 'primitives'. speakers of a primitive language. violent, at worst, strong, at best, but never intelligent. & this is all starting to sound a lot like the ideas that buttress colonialism and biological determinism, isn't it?

idk. this is a silly 60s family tv show & a very very small online fandom. it's kind of not that deep. but any time jamie gets written off as being inherently stupid (often /because/ of where he comes from), and any time that idea is the foundation of a joke, it rubs me the wrong way, and this is why.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

gfdhkjsg once again this is a v small fandom so 'so many people' is kinda like..... 2 people max probably. & also I've been sort of keeping more or less to myself for a couple years now in terms of actually discussing thoughts & headcanons (except you obviously and also @ettelwenailinon who is always right about everything despite not being super active in dr who fandom on tumblr anymore <3)

gonna go with shipping jamie and victoria tbh. absolutely no hate if you do bc I can definitely see where it comes from in canon/behind the scenes stuff but it is just,,, not for me at all, and so antithecal to how I write/interpret their characters.

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

tenrose?? weirdly?? not that I'd say I actively ship it (there is one (1) tenrose fic in my ao3 bookmarks but it's really there bc it's a pretty charming magical realism au and the voices of all the characters are just so spot on rather than bc I ever crave reading about the ship) but. when I got into dr who in 2013 there felt like there was a pretty solid line between rtd fans and moffat fans. & I have always vibed with moffat's era more (neither of them are above criticism obviously, the scifi fairytale aesthetic/tone of moffat's era is just so so so so tailor-made for me personally).

and for some reason tenrose and elevenriver were kind of. bundled into that opposition?? not sure if that was just in my head or something other people noticed/experienced but I felt like if you were a moffat fan you had to ship elevenriver & if you were an rtd fan you had to ship tenrose, and they were like. rivals. (yes I did try very half-heartedly to enjoy elevenriver. no I never succeeded). so I always had this thing of like, I don't like ten, I don't like tenrose.

like I said I still don't actively ship it, I don't get any warm fuzzy feelings from their relationship, but I did go back into rtd's era looking to actively enjoy stuff (after being tired of really not enjoying uh. recent seasons ajhksglf) and found that I didn't hate the concept of tenrose as much as I used to. I genuinely believed they liked each other, I felt the hubris of their relationship worked and built well narratively. never thought that ship would get a redemption arc in my head but I've definitely gained more appreciation for its role in the narrative.

[talltreesandtallbuildings]

a very long rant about something I literally cannot change:

sometimes I wonder where I'd be right now if my parents had genuinely listened to/believed in me when I was younger and said I wanted to be an actress and musician

like, I’m sure I don’t have enough natural talent to do that (I sure as hell can’t do it now after the complete disregard I've given my vocal health in the last couple years), but I do wonder what would’ve happened if they had actually put any kind of stock in my dreams when I was a kid

from as young as I can remember all the way until I was like 13 or 14, all I said when people asked what I wanted to do for a living was “be an actress and a singer.” and I finally had enough of my mother telling me (because it was mostly her honestly) that it was unrealistic and I would never make it, and decided to focus more on writing instead, but there’s still a deep ache whenever I think about it

it’s just a nagging question of what if they had let me go to a more arts-focused college, or pushed me to do choir instead of band (and yes I played clarinet for three years, I don’t wanna talk about it), or even entertained the idea when I said I wanted to audition for The Voice, or to be an extra in Stranger Things (I saw the posting online and begged them to drive me to the audition place, and they said no lmao)

and I know that they were just trying to save me from disappointment and from getting hurt, because people are mean and my mom was a massive helicopter parent up until like my sophomore year of high school, but it’s not like I’m any less disappointed now thinking about what could’ve been. And again, I don’t even know if I have enough actual talent to have succeeded in anything like that - I’ve had people tell me that I do, but I’ve also had my mom (and to some extent my dad, because he never really corrected her on the way she acted about it, just told me a few years ago that he hated how she handled it) over my shoulder for years telling me I don’t - but at least if I had tried back then, I wouldn’t be sitting here now, years later, wondering if I ever would’ve had a chance. Instead, I’m sitting here with no idea what I really want to do with my life (in any sense of realism, that is) and the completely unanswerable question of where I might be now if I’d had people who at least entertained me when I told them the things I wanted to do (not as a little kid, but when I got older, like into high school? you expect me to pick a career path, and then you turn around and say “oh but not that one, you’re not good enough”)

Anyway, this was a very unprocessed rant, so sorry it was so long, but also half my Tumblr is just me ranting about random shit either way so hopefully you’ve come to expect this nonsense out of me lmaooo

[citrusella-flugpucker]

All 68 of my SU fics, apparently

((Because @novantinuum did it and then I wanted to do it and then they said “do it” and I took it as a dare

Compiling these gave me a sense of accomplishment. And pain. In my wrist.

Multi-line summaries nearly always squashed to lessen the vertical length of this post, even if most of it is below a readmore))

Multi-chapter fics, regardless of collection status (chronological order--oldest to newest):

And He Doesn’t Wake: My first SU fic, complete; “It can't end like this. Or: Waxing realistic as we examine the events of the episode "Bubbled".” Steven suffers halfway-realistic effects from being exposed to the vacuum of space. Probably not super canon compliant given what we learned in Growing Pains but a fic that branches off at Bubbled and rejoins canon around Mindful Education (and written around that timespan).

Diamond in the Rough: Incomplete; “Connie is in the hospital with a serious disorder, and her biggest chance is an experimental treatment combining minerals with blood transfusions. Little does anyone know...” Originally crack of “Connie gets powers from PD-infused blood” but then ASPR happened and I have to figure out where it goes now (and I want to! but...).

The Results Are In: Incomplete; “Sadie gets a piece of mail from her dad. For most people that'd be pretty mundane, but it's a little more complicated considering who exactly her dad is.” Barb/Blue Diamond crack (it makes sense in context) and affectionately called “Space Maury” internally for reasons that will make sense later. Has a similar but less “it flips the ENTIRE plot” issue with ASPR. I have many idea chunks but almost no connection between them

He’s Gone: Complete (and technically a oneshot with two “bonus chapters”); “Steven asks Peridot to get the shirt Connie got for him for his birthday from his closet. He says he wants to look nice. She's confused by his request. Greg and the Maheswarans are less confused and more terrified. He keeps saying it'll be okay. They'll be okay, even though he'll be going away. It'll just be a couple of days now. Or: Steven and Pink Steven are unable to fuse after being separated on Homeworld. That's not good for Steven.” Steven dies. That’s it. That’s the whole fic. Might potentially get an extra chapter or two still. Or not. Eh.

Thanks, Padparadscha: Incomplete/open-ended oneshot collection; “Stories about the best gem.” Padparadscha oneshots.

Your No-Good, Dirty-Rotten, Gem-Shattering, Rebellion-Leading Mother: Incomplete, little desire to finish; “What if Steven had gone to Camp Green Lake instead of Stanley? Or: If Steven Universe And Holes Were The Same Universe: A Fanfiction (thanks @captainjzh) Or, as the top of my Google Doc I started back exactly a year ago (*2019-01-07) says: SU x Holes: Because the fact that Steven Universe and Stanley Yelnats are both 14 is messing with me”. Wrote this as an exercise after reading the appalling original shopped screenplay for the Holes movie which was basically a nuclear fallout enthusiasts dream world but also quite possibly the worst and most uncomfortable thing ever written and I have had to have whole pages bleached from my memory

It’s Okay to Need Help: Incomplete (three chapters total planned), the last part of the pre-SUF-finale “Steven Corruption Theory” collection; “"Everybody needs support sometimes, and you need support right now, with this. And that's okay." She takes a deep breath. "It's okay to need help, Steven." Or: (Based in corrupted Steven theory as well as taking inspiration/using characteristics from a fic by @love-killed-the-superstar​) Sometime after coming back from corruption, Steven sees a therapist to try to hammer out some lingering issues.” Steven has specific lingering issues from corruption due to the way they had to mitigate it, and that affects how he communicates with his therapist some days. Just been blocked on the best way to write it

Waiting is Worse: Incomplete; “Is there anything more awful than the feeling of powerlessness?” The movie mostly ends the same, except Steven doesn’t un-rejuvenate.

Realism: Incomplete, strong desire to complete; “As much as he may want it to be, this is not a dream. He's not possessing anyone. It's not happening to someone else. It's real.” Steven has the same effects happen to him as the Watermelon Steven from Escapism--an arm and a leg are amputated.

The President Kisses Babies, and Other White House Briefs: Incomplete, open-ended oneshot collection with very little overarching plot; “Oneshot escapades of President Connie Maheswaran and her First Man, Crystal Gem and public speaker, Steven Universe.” Inspired by a Tumblr post and with more ideas in the pipeline! Love this fic even if I lost most inspiration for four years!!

Collection (series) oneshots (chronological order):

Citrusella Tries (And Succeeds!) to Write a Fic Each Day of the Bomb: A collection where I tried to write a fic each day of the HotCG (wedding) bomb. I succeeded but also kind of not? XD

Could You Imagine?: “Imagination is wish fulfillment. What are some of the things Pearl has imagined?” Now We’re Only Falling Apart

Partake In New Extraordinary And Pleasing Pizza Lover Experiences (Or: Kiki's Lament): “Kiki rarely hates her job. But she does hate pineapples.” What’s Your Problem? (Also the title spells PINEAPPLE o.o)

Acquired Taste: “Steven has a snack as he helps prepare for an important ceremony.” The Question

My Whole Life: “Some people are just born to go into certain careers.” Made of Honor

We Can Think About Hope: Incomplete multi-chapter with no hope of completion (why it’s not listed in the multi-chapters, BTW... also the “kind of not” regarding success); “What's going on? What do we do now? Can you still hear me? (Or: The end of Reunited plays out differently.) (Or or: And He Doesn't Wake: Part II: This time with weirder angst! And more not waking!)”

Citrusella's "Steven Corruption Theory" Collection: A collection of fics written on the corruption theory premise before it became canon. It’s Okay to Need Help not duplicated here but would be at the end.

Change: “Steven's come back from probably the most serious thing that's happened to him--save almost dying after his gem was ripped out--but that doesn't mean he came back unchanged. (Based on the "corrupted Steven theory".)”

My Skin: “Steven does a mental inventory of what's changed about him since his uncorruption and finds himself starting to fall into a hole of self-criticism, until a song playing downstairs sets him straight. (Based on the "corrupted Steven theory".)”

Eternity in a Moment: “It had only taken a few hours, and yet, an eternity.”

I Can't Say with Confidence: “Over an hour. He's been sitting in the tub, fully clothed, the bathroom a mess… for over an hour.It should be working! Why isn’t it working?!” Based on this art!

It’s Okay to Need Help

Happy Steven's Day!: Just after Steven discovers his mother is Pink Diamond, Mother's Day rolls around...Greg just doesn't want Steven to be in a slump about it anymore.

You Deserve All the Joy: “Because nothing is better than being surrounded by family and love. Or: Steven's once-a-year struggle with a holiday he doesn't exactly have the ability to traditionally celebrate.” It’s Mother’s Day and Steven is sad. Post-ASPR

Universe Day: “"Being your dad is the only present I really need." Or: Greg and Steven talk and realize their experiences with Mother's Day have been two sides of the same coin.” Post-SUF

Citrusella's Comfortember 2020 Fics: Fics written based on prompts for November 2020 Comfortember... not finished with it

Speed Bump: “Steven's first night on the open road isn't as smooth as he wanted it to be. Attempt to combine prompts 2-6 of Comfortember (prompt 1 just couldn't be squeezed in): "first day/night", "nightmare", anxiety", "cuddling", "afraid to sleep"”

In the After: “Steven wonders if it was corruption. Comfortember days 7-10, though only in the most tenuous, technical sense (and by that I mean all four phrases are mentioned): "blanket fort", "lashing out", "confession", "crying"”

Late Night Hot Chocolate (described in next section)

Zombie Club Chronicles: Steven endures a violent accident on Frightnight (Halloween) that changes his life forever.

Beach City Zombie Club

Prompt: [Randomly roll from list: Steven] doesn’t enjoy the Halloween season, but [Fill in: Steven] take(s) them on a well-meaning trip to an old Gem Ruin where they come to realize [Pick from list: They’ve made a terrible mistake in coming here]

On Frightnight when he is 17, Steven experiences the most serious event of his young life. Almost exactly a year later, Steven takes Steven to Lars' ship in hopes of being able to hop off at a truly secluded gem ruin to talk about something that Steven and Steven have been disagreeing on for several months. Lars has an idea, and Steven comes to a realization.

For the Cluster Spooky Writing Challenge!

Late Night Hot Chocolate (also a Comfortember fic)

"Steven? What are you doing?" He stares into the pot.

The gem half's voice comes monotone. "Making hot chocolate."

"It's three o'clock in the morning. Why on earth are you making… hot chocolate?"

The slyness on his face is one pixel away from nonexistent and yet it's practically a traffic cone to his other half, as he remarks flatly, "Because I've lost control of my life."

Or: Steven and Steven both have nightmares that threaten to take them back to... that night... One copes by making the other hot chocolate and pretending he really isn't having any problems.

Comfortember days 16-18: Protective, Flashbacks, Hot Cocoa

Standalone oneshots (reverse chronological order--newest to oldest):

Rumble Strips:

Prompt: [Randomly roll from list: Greg] notices [Fill in: Steven] is in a somber mood lately. Out of the goodness of their heart they try to cheer up the sad soul in the only way they know how: [Fill in: WHO WANTS TO GO ON A ROAD TRIP?!]

"I really thought I could handle myself on my own." He scoffed. "Even my own therapist didn't think I could do it."

"I bet she thought you could handle yourself just fine. She probably just thought you'd do better with your support system close, bud. Like, literally, I mean." His eye weaved through the thin line of gravel past the edge of the shoulder. "You started saying some pretty concerning things."

Or: Greg and Steven stop on the side of the interstate on their way to Empire City for New Year's, to have a conversation.

For the Cluster Christmas Writing Challenge!

Auto-Injector: “In an alternate timeline, Steven meets Bluebird at her welcome party but he cannot, under any circumstances, try her hors-d'oeuvres. Or: Steven ends up with allergies because why not” (I have three more ideas for chapters)

Don't Put Beans Up Your Nose: “"I know you want answers, and I wish I had some for you, really, Steven, but from what you've described…  those aren't things to play around with. It's unethical to knowingly subject you to those for the sake of 'experimenting', even if you consent." Or: Steven asks Dr. Maheswaran a question she's not ethically able to answer.”

The Exor-schist:

Prompt: A series of events have led to a terrifying effect on one or more of the series’ characters. [Randomly roll from list: Mr. and Dr. Maheswaran] are now suffering from [Randomly roll from list: Spiritual Possession]. How did this happen?

"This corrupted gem, it has a powerful connection to organic matter. Ones this powerful have been known to overtake and even kill humans."

For the Cluster Spooky Writing Challenge!

It's My Party and I'll Dry If I Want To: “You would dry too, if it happened to you! Or: Steven says he wants a pool party for his eighteenth birthday in Delmarva, after over a year of traveling the country. ...But why isn't he swimming?”

Ace Up Your Sleeve: “Or in your back pocket, same diff. Or: Steven's sad about potentially not getting to go to Pride.” (oneshot and an epilogue)

Milestone: “"Okay, so like, the books aren't, like, useless, but they assume you have like the perfect baby. Maybe consider the following: kids are dorks, man." Or: Steven went to the doctor. Once. Or: Greg thinks Steven, at 15 months, is being weird and missing milestones and is worried he's a bad dad so he goes to Vidalia for help.” May eventually be part of a babby Steeb over the years collection

Full Enclosure: “What am I going to tell you? You're better off not knowing the trouble I'm in. / I don't want you to worry about what I've just seen, about where I've just been. / You don't have to be a part of this, I don't think I want you to be! / You don't need this, you don't need me... Or: Steven defines himself by his connection to others. So when they all leave, then… he's no one. (In short: Steven is crushed by his need to be needed.)”

Vice: “He could stop whenever he wanted to. He just didn't want to. Or: Steven falls into a bad habit and tries to rationalize it as okay as long as he's not completely abandoning the idea of improving his life.”

Stairwell Solitude: “Over ten years, Greg wrote just six letters to his parents. What could they have contained?” Post-Mr. Universe

Striations: “At Connie's behest, Dr. Maheswaran makes a house call to Steven's place after his un-monstering. It's different than his last appointment, but its core is the same.”

Everything Stays: “Ever so slightly, daily and nightly, in little ways, when everything stays... Steven's therapist brings up something she's noticed about him outside his PTSD.”

I Do It For Me: “"Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, and overcomes negative emotions such as resentment and vengeance." Steven asks his therapist a question. The answer may surprise him.”

A Break in the Case: “Dr. Maheswaran takes a look at Steven's results but quickly finds herself in over her head.” Mid-Growing Pains

I have a couple entries in the @connieswap omake collection (Comic Relief and Same Old Steven)--I’m not linking them

Changing Tastes: “ Steven and Connie share a conversation after watching Crying Breakfast Friends: Under the Butterknife.”

Rejuvenated Regrets: “Someone calls Steven's name from downstairs. He's not listening closely enough to know who it is. He's not sure he cares right this moment. He wants Mom—Rose—Pink—and that's the one person he knows it's not.”

Gut Feeling: “Every time, he has to push his brain off that train of thought--what if she does it again?--but for someone with super-strength, he's surprisingly not very good at pushing.”

Lapis Watches Titanic (1997) ...There’s no summary

The Cluster Halloween Exquisite Corpse 2019 (I only wrote part of this!!): “Lars tells a horror story but loses track of it, or; a bunch of fic writers do an exquisite corpse and hilarity ensues. Written by DocCairo, citrusella, E350, love-killed-the-superstar and br42.”

Drift Away: “There are timelines where Steven fell into the biopoison when the Earth cracked under his feet. Here we see three times Steven (technically) lived despite a dive into pure poison, and one time he didn't.”

The Rose Wilts: “Once upon a time, he knew Rose. But he knew he didn't know everything.Sometimes it feels like he's learned more about her after she died than he ever knew while she was alive.“ Doug and Rose used to be friends

Tying the Knot: “Steven never wears shoes with laces, because he can't tie them. When Connie finds out, he's pretty chill about it.”

Haploid: “You're not sure if this is what being shattered feels like. You don't know if you want to be sure.” Mid-CYM

Thestral: “"How many have you seen?" "All of them." She answered without hesitation. "Oh." Or: Pearl and Steven talk about a type of gem that corruption has given some... special characteristics.”

500 Words a Secret Santa Gift: The Gratuitous Reference: “200 words a day, every day, until Under the Knife comes back. Or Crying Breakfast Friends. We're not picky at this point. Secret Santa edition! (A Secret Santa gift for @e350tb that deliberately and gratuitously references their 100 Words a Day series.)”

Sesimorp, Sesimorp: “A Lapis Lazuli makes a beautiful work of art.”

Ship Talk: “Lars and Steven share a moment on the Sun Incinerator.”

No Way Around It: “An order is an order.”

Give It A Try!: “Steven gets a Diamond to try something new.”

Better Off: “Peedee ponders what could have been.”

Steven x A Nice Calm Life Please and Thank You™: A Case for the Realization of a Bold New Ship: “Steven deserves a happy life free of interplanetary struggle and strife. It's my OTP. So I'm going to give him that! :D”

I Don't Know: “Will this ever make sense? Will this ever feel normal?” Post-ASPR

Force of Nature: “Her diamond gave her orders no longer.”

My Gemmortal (by XXXbloodstoneshardz666XXX): “the escupaids fo steven hardlight amnesia lion universe and his freinds n crushs” (this is exactly what it sounds like)

The Picture of Steven Pink: “It took a lot out of him.” (SU but Steven takes on the injuries he heals)

Self: “In the Connie Swap AU, Steven considers his identity and place in his family, community, culture, and himself. For a kid who at least tries to be all sunshine and rainbows, this isn't exactly the most fun thing to do, but sometimes it's necessary.” (these are different than the things in the CS omake collection)

I Really AM My Mom...: “"When you're singing, you want to use enough air that you could blow a throatful of peanut butter clear across the room." The crackiest of escape-from-Homeworld plots, based on a ClickHole article and a joke headcanon.”

Left: “Of course there's shame in bailing.”

Old shames (chronological order): Stories I just kinda cringe at now

Shrinking Rose: “Steven never felt bad about his stature. Until he did.” (I just don’t love it)

A Rose for Emily: “What if Rose wanted to spend the rest of her life with someone before Greg? ...It's safe to say she has a skeleton in her closet.” (less old shame than the others on this list but was hard to shoehorn in the A Rose for Emily style writing)

Alone: “Steven won't open up about how everything that happened is affecting him. Not even to himself.” (I know I’ve written other dark stuff but this one just hits different)

You Should've Asked Me, I'm Really Good at Naming Bands (November 2019 Unfinished WIPs): “(title subject to change) I did a challenge that I had to write my WIPs in November (revised to November and December) or be forced to post them unfinished. I got some updates done, but several not done. These are those stories. Dun-dun.” (only “shame” because they were things that were never finished--I also had a Connie Swap omake I was supposed to finish or the punishment was not to post it unfinished but to write Steven and Spinel (NOTP) but I just never did that)

[hereidinathoreauwrites]

Chapters: 3/5 Fandom: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Joan Characters: Zoey Clarke, Joan (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) Additional Tags: it's the headcannon fic!, your #2 choice, two people start having sex for fun and oops they're in love, Women Loving Women, Developing Relationship, Boss/Employee Relationship, Bisexual Female Character, joan's pov, so I wouldn't have to deal with songs, Lesbian Sex, Fluff and Smut, Vaginal Fingering, Cunnilingus, Cuddling & Snuggling, Post-Coital Cuddling, From Sex to Love, Sex Toys, Bad Dirty Talk, zoey has a lot of emotions, but she doesn't want to talk about them, Joan is concerned but doesn't know how to ask

“Oh…I got you good that time…” Joan groaned, as she rolled away from Zoey, licking her lips. Her hand lingered on soft skin, playing with fiery hair. She couldn’t help it; she missed the sensation of skin under her fingers. And Zoey never pulled away.

Zoey was still gasping for breath, a fine sheen of sweat on her face. “Y…yeah..”

They were now several days into this little agreement of theirs. Joan had been to Zoey's place once that week and Zoey had been to her’s twice. While the offer to stay the night had always remained open, Joan had yet to take Zoey up on it. Zoey had stayed for a long cuddle at Joan’s each time but always left after an hour or so.

Joan loved it. This was everything she could have hoped for: a satisfying partner who wasn’t clingy but still attentive to her needs. And one who was discrete and actually able to think beyond the sex.

She gazed down at the younger woman, her hair matted and slick with sweat, sheets tangled around her limbs, face and chest a brilliant flush and felt something give a satisfying twist in her lower half.

While this had initially been only for her needs, Joan was finding more and more that bringing Zoey to climax was just as satisfying as achieving one herself. Sometimes Zoey was nearly silent upon her release, Joan needing to check that she was done. Other times, her orgasms were violent and emotional. It was always a toss up. And something about seeing the timid younger woman so trashed and loose just intrigued Joan to no end.

Zoey still hadn’t said anything, her breathing slowing and her eyes coming back into focus slowly. She stared up at Joan, completely at her mercy. 

“Cat got your tongue?” Joan teased, fingers trailing a wet line from Zoey’s chest up to her neck. Zoey shuddered.

A soft grumble came from Zoey’s stomach, halting Joan’s touch. She frowned at the naked coder. “Did you eat before you came over?”

Zoey blushed, looking mortified. “No…not…exactly…”

“Why not?”

“I…didn’t have time…?”

Joan sighed. Rolling away, she reached for her phone and typed a few things out. “I just ordered a pizza,” she informed Zoey, tossing her phone aside. “Extra large, meat-lover’s; couldn’t possibly eat it all myself…”

Zoey sat up, face still flushed. “You didn’t have to…”

Joan pulled on her robe. “Zoey, come on. You need to eat…there’s plenty for you.” She dug through her closet and found a spare robe, tossing it in Zoey’s direction.

The coder seemed stunned by the gesture. “Th…thank you Joan.”

By the time the food arrived, they’d both had time to freshen up and Joan had ushered Zoey into her living room, pointing her towards the couch. 

Zoey perched on it, now wearing clothes Joan had lent her as the dress she had arrived in was…in need of a wash. 

The pizza sat between them on the table, the two of them silent as they sat together to eat. Zoey seemed almost afraid to look at her. She was doing that thing that Joan had started to notice more and more: a kind of deep, contemplative sadness that seemed impenetrable. While it was most common after Zoey’s quick orgasms, she’d started to notice the face around the office occasionally as well.

Joan had to frown at the unexpected tension in their current situation. Now that she really thought about it, it seemed odd to just…sit on the couch together after Joan’s face had just been in Zoey’s crotch. That wasn’t a thing hookups did…right? Couches were for when getting to a bed was too difficult.

“You up for a movie?” Joan finally asked. That was a harmless enough way to pass the time and fill the silence.

Zoey perked up at that, a bit of fire returning to her eyes. “What did you have in mind?”

Pleased with herself, Joan tossed her the remote. “Anything, you pick.”

Zoey settled on the first original Star Trek movie of all things, forcing Joan to listen to the younger woman’s tirades on science realism within the Enterprise and the not-so-subtle queer-coding of Kirk and Spock. But more than once, Joan caught herself laughing fondly at Zoey’s passion.

They passed the rest of the day uneventfully: enjoying another movie (Joan picked this one: The Breakfast Club, mainly to get Zoey to shut up about light-speed travel), cooking a nice dinner of vegetable stir-fry, and playing with Joan’s dogs. To her surprise, all of her dogs, even Hermes, took an instant liking to Zoey. Normally, they didn’t do well around strangers.

But something about Zoey’s smile and warmth had them all instantly flocking to her like she had a pocket of dog treats. Zoey gave each of them her attention, occasionally catching Joan’s eye with an almost sheepish grin. Joan could only roll her eyes. 

As the afternoon danced into night, Joan loaded her dishwasher, finding with some surprise that she was humming slightly under her breath. It was unusual to feel so comfortable with another person in her house, especially with a coworker. But something about Zoey had her eagerly sharing her time without anxiety about when she'd leave. 

She glanced over her shoulder, catching sight of the younger woman teasing Cartier with a chew toy. Even bundled up in Joan’s borrowed clothes as she was, the younger woman looked completely at home in her kitchen, so uncharacteristically relaxed. Joan watched her intently for a moment, wondering just when it had become comfortable to be around each other. Zoey was an enigma, with her warmth and her cheery sadness and her frequent stares off into nothing. She was so simple and also so unknowable. And Joan was intrigued. She had to know.

As she bent down to close the machine, hands found her hips. 

Her breath caught. “Yes?” Of course, the comfort was also helped by the fact that they’d seen each other naked multiple times.

Zoey’s hands roamed down to her butt. “You look so sexy when you bend over.” She growled in Joan’s ear. Her smaller form pressed close to Joan.

Joan trembled. Zoey so rarely initiated; always seeming content to instead follow Joan’s lead. But when the younger woman grew bold, Joan always found herself instantly melting. “Would you object to the table?” She asked, wondering if Zoey knew the effect she was having on her. If she didn’t, she must be blind. If she did…she was dangerous.

“You’re going to be the one on it…” Zoey pointed out, hands already fumbling with Joan’s pants. “Can your…back take it?”

Joan swallowed, heart thudding in her ears. She liked the danger. “Bed. Now.” As sexy as being fucked on the kitchen table sounded, she knew her back wouldn’t forgive her for it for a while.

She nudged Zoey ahead of her, pants already sliding from her hips. Zoey pushed her down, knowing by now that Joan preferred to be a bottom. In seconds, Joan was naked again, sliding her hands up under Zoey’s borrowed shirt to encourage her to strip as well. 

This time, the sex was quick and dirty, involving a lot of biting and several cheeky little slaps. Perhaps to counter-balance all the comfort of the rest of the day. 

Joan couldn’t say she disliked it. 

After they’d both reached a satisfying release, she left Zoey briefly to grab glasses of water for them both. 

But as she returned, Joan paused, her heart catching unexpectedly. 

Zoey was still in her bed, still gloriously naked and very much asleep. Her face was relaxed and loose, except for a tiny wrinkle in her forehead. 

They hadn’t exchanged the customary offer to stay the night. The words had been on her mind all day but the casualness of their afternoon had prevented her from saying them. And now…

Joan bit her lip, considering the woman asleep in her bed. Zoey was obviously very tired if she’d fallen asleep so quickly. If Joan kicked her out now, it would be an ordeal for the coder to get herself home and she’d probably just fall asleep in the Uber with a stranger. She stared as Zoey’s back slowly rose and fell with deep, satisfied breaths. A single curl of red hair fell across her cheek, moving in time with her exhales. She looked at peace.

Aww hell, Joan figured. Why not?

So she turned off the lights and climbed back into bed.

***

It soon became a habit.

Joan couldn’t help it: she always worked up an appetite after sex and it felt rude to kick Zoey out while she ate. Plus, Zoey apparently never ate before coming over if her frequent stomach complaints were anything to go by.

A month after their first hook-up, a particularly loud rumble interrupted them while Joan’s face was in between Zoey’s legs. 

“Again?” She flicked Zoey’s thigh in annoyance. “What, do you keep a tiger in there?”

Zoey had tried to defend herself but rapidly descended back into moaning as Joan finished her off with a vengeance. 

Zoey was still recovering when Joan finished placing their order (Kung Pao chicken this time). She always tried to protest or to pay Joan back but she’d never succeeded. Mostly because Joan was very persuasive. But occasionally it was because Joan knew just what spot on her neck made Zoey absolutely melt and that usually distracted her long enough for the food to arrive.

She tossed Zoey a robe (a robe that was quickly becoming Zoey’s Robe) and let the coder have the first shower while she waited on the food.

They usually did this at Joan’s place but she had also spent a few nights at Zoey’s cozy little slum; needing to cuddle close on Zoey’s smaller bed and dodge each other in between the bathroom and the bedroom. Several active afternoons had been spent on Zoey’s surprisingly comfortable couch. While she wasn’t a fan of Zoey’s place overall, Joan did have to love that couch.

As the delivery guy left, Zoey emerged, hair damp and heavy on her shoulders. Dropping the robe, she changed into the sweats and NASA shirt that had somehow taken up residence at Joan’s place.

Joan watched as the younger woman toweled her hair dry. She was used to a certain amount of softness from the younger woman and she’d seen Zoey post-shower before. But something about this time…it just felt…different.

Zoey caught Joan’s gaze in the mirror and smiled at her. “What is it?”

Joan shook her head. “Netflix?” She asked, handing Zoey the larger portion of chicken. 

Zoey nodded. “My trash or yours?”

Joan rolled her eyes, leading the way into her living room. “I just bought you lunch; we’re doing my trash.” She resumed the last episode of Queer Eye. Tomford, Hermes, and Cartier scampered in to join them, prompting Zoey to put her food down so she could properly greet them.

Again, Joan watched, something seeming different. 

They fell into comfortable silence, eating and occasionally commenting on the episode or throwing a toy for one of the dogs. 

Joan shifted several times, each time finding she had unconsciously drifted closer to Zoey on the couch. She wasn’t uncomfortable. But as the afternoon went on, Joan couldn’t help dwelling on the sense of difference that clung to Zoey’s presence. 

They’d done all this multiple times before (Zoey had somehow convinced Joan to watch two seasons of Riverdale, mainly because her hands tended to wander) but as they sat in comfortable silence, Joan realized what made it different this time.

The television and conversation weren’t distractions. Neither of them were just using the background noise as an excuse to make a move or rest up between moves. And Joan found she didn’t want to. Right now, she was perfectly content just staying here with Zoey, bingeing on trashy tv and Chinese food and spending time with her dogs.

It was comfortable in a way she hadn’t felt since before she’d been married. For years, it had just been her and the dogs, waiting for Charlie to come home, if he came home at all. And more recently, it had been just her. But having Zoey around was like turning on a light she’d never realized she had. A light she wanted to keep around.

Joan sighed, the action pulling her lips up in a smile as her eyes slid to Zoey's curled up form. Sometime between sharing a post-sex pizza and rolling her eyes at Jughead’s narration, Zoey Clarke had become someone she enjoyed being around. Could sex lead to friendship? It seems they had proven that it could.

They finished three episodes before Zoey stifled a yawn. She made to stand. 

“Do you…want to just…spend the night?” Joan asked, the words tripping from her mouth before Zoey could say her customary polite farewell.

Zoey glanced back at her. 

Ordinarily, such words from either of them implied more bedroom activity. But Joan didn’t make a move this time. Didn’t bend down to nibble at the coder’s neck, or slid a hand down her back. And neither did Zoey. 

The coder nodded, the little happy smile Joan craved to see gracing her face. That smile belonged on Zoey's face.

Fully clothed, they curled up in Joan’s bed together, Zoey’s head on Joan’s chest.

Joan stroked red hair and drifted off to sleep. 

[losille2000]

Hoot and Howl, Chapter 3

TITLE: Hoot and Howl CHAPTER NUMBER: 3/? AUTHOR: Losille2000 CHARACTERS: Actor!Chris Evans/OFC GENRE: Paranormal Romance (more on the magical realism side?) FIC SUMMARY: Chris goes on a camping trip to calm the noisy anxiety in his head, but it ends up leading him into his own messed up version of a Disney movie. When he said he wanted to be a Disney prince as a boy, this was absolutely not what he meant. Especially considering that the princess is also, well… about that… RATING: M (sex, language) WARNINGS:  Nothing. AUTHORS NOTES: Sorry for the wait... and thank you all for reading!

Previous Chapter - Also available on Archive of Our Own!

Chapter 3

A hand on Chris’ shoulder shook him awake. It took a few seconds to fully come to, but once he did, he immediately noted how dark the room was. The dying embers in the fireplace barely illuminated the silent woman hovering over him from her spot standing behind the couch. She smiled silently, like the Cheshire cat, and stood back while he tried to pull himself into a sitting position. However, a heavy Navajo blanket of woven rust red wool impeded his movement.

 He remembered, vaguely, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders after Dr. Bird had shown him back into her house. Not only had it immediately warmed his shivering body, but any remaining tension in his muscles loosened. Somewhat—and almost deliriously—he remembered thinking that it felt like a hug. And not like any old hug. This was like a mom hug. The type of hug his mom gave him every time he got on a plane for work, like she’d never see him again and wanted to fill him with all the love she possessed in case something happened.

 It made him feel completely and utterly at peace.

 So at peace, in fact, he’d passed out.

 It was unlike him. He was always on alert, always dealing with the persistent worry rippling through his head. He took pills and did some hard core meditation to find this kind of relaxation at night, unless he was so physically exhausted he couldn’t keep his eyes open. Otherwise, he suffered extreme insomnia from the need to be on guard.

 “Hi,” said the woman softly, her alto voice soothing.

 Chris blinked a few more times, forcing himself to pay attention to the hypnotic black eyes that stared back at him. He finally succeeded in shifting to a sitting position, rubbing his face, waiting for the blood flow to return. He yawned. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I passed out like that. How long—”

 “Three hours,” she replied.

 “Why did you let me sleep?”

 The strange, beautiful woman shrugged. “The storm blew in off the mountain and it wasn’t a good idea for you to leave when I finished with Dodger, so I let you sleep. I’m not surprised you fell asleep—you were pretty keyed up earlier. That takes a lot of energy out of you.”

 “Where is Dodger?”

 On cue, the canine hobbled around the couch and limped over to him, awkwardly jumping into his lap. The bandage—purple in color—encased the paw and most of the leg. Dodger threw himself against Chris’ chest and released a long-suffering sigh. Chris hugged him close, burying his nose in the dog’s fur. He smelled terrible from the ordeal, but it still somehow smelled like Dodger, and that was all he wanted. Everything was right with the world.

 “The leg will be fine, by the way,” Dr. Bird said, coming around the back of the couch and finding a seat on a lumpy armchair. She reached over and flicked on a lamp, flooding the room in light. “The staples need to come out in a few weeks, and he’ll take a course of antibiotics and have a pill for pain management.”

“So I freaked out over nothing?”

 Dr. Bird shook her head. “It wasn’t nothing, and you did need to bring him in quickly. You’re just a concerned dog parent.”

 “Do they teach you how to handle crazy people in veterinary school?” he asked.

 She let out a whooping laugh. “I learned that particular skill on the job.”

 Chris looked down at Dodger, who was half asleep. “He’s sleepy.”

 “It’s the drugs. I gave him the good stuff,” Dr. Bird replied. “He’ll be a little drowsy when you give it to him, as needed. Also, you need to keep the bandage dry. Going back out to your campsite probably isn’t the best idea, especially as the nor’easter is finally here.”

 “Nor’easter?” he asked.

 She cocked her head to the side like an inquisitive bird. “The one they’ve been forecasting for the past three days?”

 Because of course something else would have to go wrong on this ill-fated camping trip. Clearly, he and Dodger were headed home after they got done here and packed up camp. The weather had been unusually cold and rainy since they made camp, but there hadn’t been anything in the forecast when they left Boston days before this.

 No… wait. Had he even looked at the forecast? If he did, he hadn’t paid attention as he hastily packed his gear and hightailed it out of town to get away from a nagging girlfriend.

 “You mean to tell me you went out into the wilderness without having some way to check the weather?” she asked. “What kind of idiot does that?”

 “This idiot, apparently,” he mused dryly. “Let’s just say I had other things on my mind when I left Boston. And people have been camping for eons in the middle of blizzards. This will just be a little cold rain.”

 “Those people were prepared for it, though. Did you bring gear for a nor’easter?”

 Chris pursed his lips. “Well, no…”

 “My point?”

 “True.”

 “I’m not letting you go tonight,” she said. “And I don’t mean that in a creepy psycho killer type way. I don’t want you to go out there and have something happen to you or Dodger. I like Dodger too much.”

 He appreciated her no-nonsense attitude. Most strangers changed their entire demeanor around him, though it wasn’t always because of his celebrity. Sometimes it was simply because they thought he was a somewhat attractive guy. He was so tired of being forced to read the situation and between the lines to understand the other person he was talking to. It was utterly exhausting. She was a breath of fresh air. What’s more, he agreed with her. He usually liked Dodger better than himself most of the time, too.

 “Normally, I would object, but I would appreciate it,” he said.

 “Good,” she replied and stood up from the chair. “I don’t mean to be an ungrateful host, but you need a shower. You’re a mess.”

 He lifted his arms and looked down at himself. Yep, nothing had changed since he’d arrived. Except the blood and mud had dried completely and began cracking and peeling off all over her couch. “Do you have something for me to wear?”

 “I can find something,” she said. “Let me show you to the bathroom.”

 Chris followed her obediently after moving Dodger to another couch cushion, wondering why he was following behind her like this. He certainly liked meeting new people, though staying in a strange person’s home was something else altogether. Dr. Bird’s no-nonsense attitude or not, he’d seen enough horror movies to know it probably wasn’t wise to accept an invitation to stay in an isolated farmhouse in the middle of a nor’easter without any ability to contact the outside world. He didn’t even know where he put the keys to his truck—they were probably still in the ignition, but he couldn’t say for sure. No matter how upstanding she seemed as a veterinarian, he couldn’t ignore the fact that everything about this place was strange to him, from the cat receptionist to the hugging blanket.

 “What’s wrong?” she asked as she stopped in front of a door down a long hallway.

 “I was just thinking that this is a set up for some sort of horror movie,” he said. “You’re not going to fatten me up and eat me, are you?”

 She threw her head back in laughter, but even with the mirth, he sensed a bit of tension in the tone of it. “I’m a terrible cook. So unless you can be fattened up with a frozen pizza, you’re in the clear.”

 “Frozen pizza?” he asked.

 “Pepperoni,” she said. “And a beer?”

 He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until that moment, and his rumbling belly let them both know that. “Sounds amazing.”

 “Good. Now, the towels are in the cupboard in the bathroom,” she explained. “Use any of the soaps. I’ll find some clothes and leave them out here by the door while I pull dinner together.”

 “Thank you, Dr. Bird,” he said.

 She grinned. “It’s Nascha.”

 Nascha… Nay-shaw. He repeated the name a few times in his head; he’d never heard a name like it. Somehow, though, it fit her. Strange and unique, like everything else he’d encountered.

 “You can lock the door if you’re worried about me turning into Norman Bates,” she teased, nodding at the door and turning on her heels to head the other direction.

 “I am locking it!” He called back, “But not because I think you’re going to murder me.”

 Nascha laughed. “I’m not going to jump your bones, either. You’re safe.”

 He couldn’t help but wonder, as he shut the door and flipped the lock, if he was safe. But, surprisingly, the anxiety that would usually be clawing its way out, stayed locked in its cage.

 ----

 Nascha puttered around the kitchen, wondering what in the actual hell she was doing with a strange guy in her house. And not just any strange guy. A strange guy who was a very real temptation in so many ways. She could so easily reach out and take what she wanted from him. The energy and vitality coming off him was a beacon—a strong magnet—and resisting its pull was exhausting. It was too easy to slip; she barely held on during her daily clinic appointments with her clients. Spending a whole night alone with someone under her roof? That was another story entirely.

 It wasn’t like she could just run off to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when she felt the urge to consume. They didn’t have SEA—soul eater’s anonymous—even though she wasn’t technically one of those, anyway. The old medicine woman who took her in as an orphan was the closest thing she had to a sponsor, and she had long since departed her earthly existence. Since then, she’d hidden out here in the woods and made friends with the local community of the magically-minded, but their magic operated differently than hers.

 And when someone must kill humans to survive, it tends to make that someone an outcast.

 The other magical folk in this town were all perfectly capable of horrible outcomes in their own practices, but none of them were forced to take human lives just to live their own. Even though they accepted her into the community, they still regarded her with suspicion. There were no open arms here. Going to one of them for help would yield nothing but a cold shoulder.

 Sometimes she wondered if staying on the reservation wouldn’t have been the better idea in the long run; at least there, she was an accepted part of the tribe. A feared part, sure, but still a part of it. And there were others like her.

 Nascha, the bear and his cub are here. I heard them arguing outside.

 Nascha startled at the intrusion to her thoughts, popping her head up to look at Ash. The cat sat on the kitchen counter in front of her, flicking her fluffy tail in agitation. Nascha patted her pockets for her cell phone, wondering why the motion sensor hadn’t detected the new visitors, but it wasn’t on her.

 See! Called the Southern-drawling dog from his spot on the couch on the other side of the large great room. There was a bear!

 She certainly did not need a visit from this bear, either. Not with her houseguest. The houseguest for whom she had not yet found clean clothes because she’d been so caught up stressing about him. 

Her front door burst open with a force too great for the wind. In stomped a boy of thirteen, dark shaggy hair hanging in his eyes and a curled, angry lip.  The boy threw his backpack on the floor with a flourish that sent it skidding to a halt across the room against a wall. He kicked off his Vans and promptly went to the couches in front of the television. Once there, he threw himself down next to Dodger with an overly dramatic flop of teenage angst.

 Then he said, “Alexa, turn television on.”

The television glowed to life.

“Nice to see you, too, Adam,” Nascha called out to him as she stepped from the kitchen into the living room, hands on her hips. “Where’s your dad?”

Adam didn’t bother to look at her. “Alexa, find Twitch.”

 “Adam!” growled the new male voice at the front door. “Turn the damn television off.”

 Adam ignored his father. Said father was a giant of six-foot-five and a wall of solid muscle with a mean look on his face and a gun on his hip; such a visage was nothing in the face of Adam’s bad attitude.

 Adam’s father walked over to the television and pulled the electrical cord from the wall. Adam let out the most epic groan and rolled his eyes. He sounded like Gollum freaking out over Sam Gamgee’s cooking. “Just let me watch TV!”

 “No. You need to do your Algebra homework!”

 “When am I ever going to need that bullshit, anyway?!” Adam yelled.

 Adam’s father took a step forward, his giant paws curling into fists. His square jaw tightened and a muscle just under the jagged scar by his left eye jumped. “You will do your homework, or so help me, you won’t see the light of day until you turn forty.”

 Dodger, who had been sitting silently on the couch, ungracefully stood and walked the short distance over to the teenager and laid across Adam’s lap, as though to protect him. Then Dodger said, Aren’t you gonna do somethin’, Doc?

 Nascha sighed heavily. She hated stepping between these two in family arguments. It wasn’t her place, no matter how much both men tried to insert her into their lives. But it needed to be done and Erik needed to leave.

 “Alright, you two,” she said, finally. “You both need to calm down.”

 “He started it!” Adam exclaimed.

 Nascha shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What’s going on, Erik?” she asked the father, whose face had turned purple with rage.

 “The storm,” Erik grunted, waving his arm toward the open front door. “I have to go set up the command center because our new recruits can’t handle it, apparently.”

 “Okay…”

 She let the word fade as though she expected him to elaborate about how that involved her, but she knew what he meant. Since she’d moved into town, Erik had been the most welcoming and accepting of her peculiar magic. Some might even call him a friend, insomuch that he came around every so often to say hello, brought her venison steaks from his latest hunting trip, or helped her clean out the rain gutters. Sometimes he brought in injured wildlife he encountered, though all the park rangers and the other emergency services in the area usually did. Erik, however, stuck around for more than she was ever willing to give him, and it evolved into her occasionally being a place where he could leave Adam with an unpaid babysitter. She didn’t mind it, much. Adam was a fun kid when not in the throes of hormones.

 What Nascha didn’t like about the whole situation was Adam’s mother—the feeling was mutual between both women—and Erik’s complete disregard for that fact. Or that, just maybe, she wasn’t able to be an emergency mom when Erik’s ex-wife was too busy to take care of their son. Nascha did not relish facing the wrath of Brenna when she found out that Adam had spent another night at her house.

 “He needs to do his homework and then he needs to go to bed,” Erik replied. “Will you please see that this happ—who the fuck is he?”

 Nascha frowned. Behind her, a rather… damp… man stood in the hallway with a towel wrapped around his trim hips. For a minute, her brain short-circuited as her eyes traveled down the sculpted muscle of his torso to the cut of his hips that disappeared into the towel. She knew he was built; all she had to do was look at him to understand that. She had not expected this, or the fact that her feminine interest would be so strong.

“It’s a long story,” she said.

“Sorry,” he said. “You didn’t leave the clothes out for me and…”

 “No, I’m sorry,” Nascha said to Chris, stepping away from Erik toward her guest.

 Erik grumbled. “Nascha?”

 “Just give me a minute!” It came out more testy than she had hoped; Erik was the last person she wanted angry at her, but in her defense, she was a little stressed and he’d just have to deal with it.

 She scooted by Chris at the entrance to the hall, careful not to touch him, but would have been lying if she said she hadn’t readily inhaled the scent of cedarwood and sage that smelled heavenly on his clean skin. “I’ll bring you the clothes, you can wait in the bathroom.”

 Chris nodded his head and turned to head down the same narrow hallway. He did so carelessly, his naked torso accidentally grazing her uncovered arm. Every hair on her body rose to attention, gooseflesh prickling her skin. The unforgiving sexual awareness tightened her breasts and her nipples pebbled into hard sensitive peaks against her bra.

 This was the very last thing she needed.

 She glanced to her side, seeing if he had any reaction, but he was already stepping back into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. “Get your head on right, Nascha,” she muttered to herself. Focus. She needed to focus.

 Inside one of her spare bedrooms was a trunk of old things she kept from the previous owner of the house; when the old doctor had asked her for her help and given her the house in repayment for it, he did so because he had no relationships with his family. Still, though, she had packed his clothes and personal belongings into some boxes and kept them in storage should someone show up one day.

 It had been five years. No one had shown up.

 Every time she thought about it, it made her morose. What was the point of suffering in this life if you didn’t have someone there at the end to mourn? Not that she’d ever have anyone like that, considering how her life had turned out, but it was still a shame for humans to not have a legacy.

 She found an old cable knit sweater and a pair of sweatpants with a drawstring at the waist that still smelled reasonably fresh in the depths of the third box she hastily dug through. Perfect for a few hours, at least, while she threw his other clothes in the wash.

 The torn flannel was going in the trash, though.

 When she emerged, she heard Erik and Adam arguing again. It was time for Erik to go. Adam usually always did what she asked, but that was because she had patience. True to Erik’s ursine nature, he was quick to anger and once there, it took him ages to calm down.

 “Chris?” she asked when she neared the bathroom door. He thrust an arm out through a barely opened door. She handed over the garments and walked back to the living room.

 “Adam,” she said softly, “did you have dinner?”

 “No,” he replied.

 She nodded. “Go put the oven on to 425, please.”

 “Nae...” he moaned.

 “Go!” She pointed in the direction of the kitchen. “And you,” she turned to Erik, “outside.”

 She thought for a minute that Erik wasn’t going to comply, however, after a few seconds of hesitation, he followed her out onto the front porch.

 When the door was shut, she turned to Erik. “I thought we talked about this, Erik! You have to call me first to see if it’s alright.”

 “I did call!” he snarled. “You weren’t answering your cell.”

 “I was a little busy,” she said.

 “Clearly.”

 Nascha scoffed. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

 “Like I didn’t just see a naked guy walk out of the bathroom?” One of Erik’s dark eyebrows rose in challenge. This brow had one of the other prominent and jagged scars that adorned his otherwise handsome face. He always looked menacing when it lifted.

 “He came in with an emergency. His dog fell in the river,” she said. “He went after the dog, he was covered in blood, and I told him to take a shower. And I’m forcing him to stay here tonight instead of going back to his campsite because of the storm.”

 Erik regarded her for a silent moment that stretched too far to be entirely comfortable. “What campsite?”

 “I don’t know, the dog didn’t say. But he swears there was a bear out there,” she said. “Were you out patrolling this afternoon?”

 His nonreply was enough of an answer.

 “Well, I guess I owe Dodger an apology.” There certainly may have been one there in the trees, but it still wasn’t the thing that had ultimately caused Dodger’s injury.

 “You need to be careful, Nascha,” Erik said. “You don’t know this guy. He could be bad news.”

 Nascha snorted and shook her head. “Good thing I can protect myself.”

 The front door burst open again, this time with Adam rushing out and shutting the door behind him. He was dancing around wildly to get her attention, like he was about to burst from pent up energy. “Nascha! Nascha, Nascha, Nascha…”

 “What is it now, Adam?” she asked.

 “The dude!”

“What dude?”

 Adam gesticulated toward the door and inside the house. “That dude.”

 “What did he do?” Erik growled, his hand on his gun holster in a millisecond, ready to take matters into his own hands. Never mind that he could rip any man limb from limb with little effort and bare hands.

 “He didn’t do anything!” Adam said breathlessly. “Nascha, do you know who that is?”

 Nascha pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. He had seemed familiar to her, but other than that—

 He got close to her, leaning in to hiss-whisper, “That’s Chris Evans!”

 “Who?” she asked. The name didn’t particularly ring a bell, but she supposed he was someone noteworthy out in the real world. Probably a Youtube gamer, if Adam knew him.

 He was louder and exasperated. “Chris Evans!”

 When that still didn’t elicit a reaction from her, he groaned and shoved his hands in his hair. This was clearly stressing him out. “What am I doing with all you old people?! I swear to god… you are useless!”

“Who is he?” Nascha asked calmly. She hadn’t realized that Erik had gone silent, and that the other man in question was now standing in the doorway; he was fresh, clean, and—this time—fully clothed. Pity, that.

 With his hair slicked back, still damp from a shower, and really taking a good look at him, it hit her like a ton of bricks.

 Well, shit.

[crackinglamb]

Ink, characterization, and parchment for the writer asks?

Ink: what do you do to “set the mood” when writing?

We’ll leave aside the fact that most of the time, the mood sets me...

Actually...I can’t do that.  I don’t really have any set ‘thing’ that I do to get into the mood for writing.  The mood hits me, often and regularly, and I’ll type out whatever idea is clamoring for attention before I forget it.  Sometimes that turns into a session that lasts for hours and ends up with music, snacks and pushing the cat off my lap so I can reach the keyboard.  And sometimes it’s only a few lines before the inspiration just goes pbbfft.

Characterization: describe your favorite character(s) you’ve written.

Oh, I’ve written so many.  Okay, a short list.

Hancock (FO4).  I loved getting in his head for Junkyard Dogs.  Ghoul husband is a rather complicated person, with interesting motivations behind his devil may care attitude and seemingly blase outlook on life.  Plus, he was the first character I took and made fic from.  He will always, always hold a special place in my heart.  He’s canonically one of the most intelligent people in the entire franchise.  With a high charisma to boot.  I took this and made him able to read people with a high degree of accuracy.  He could just about see what you were thinking based on your actions.  He was astounded that this half mythical, half crazy woman who’d slept for 200 years in a cryochamber was in any way interested in him as either a person or a lover.  It was humbling and terrifying for him, and he knew he’d be the worst kind of fool to ever do anything to fuck it up.  They are the definition of ride or die, those two.

Nihlus Kryik (ME).  Headcannon playground for SKoR.  We have so little information on Nihlus before he gets killed in-game.  So I took what I could find and let the rest sort of unfold from there.  He came out of my head snarky, raunchy and with a lust for life that had no room for hesitation in it.  He’s bold after years of being a Spectre.  He sees what he wants and he goes for it.  The depth of his love for Henna Shepard surprises him.  I mean, she’s a human.  He’s supposed to think those are unprepared to stand on the galactic stage.  But he admires their resiliency, their quick minds and ability to think outside the box, even when it doesn’t make much sense in the moment.  All of that combines into a passion for Henna that will literally walk through the fires of hell.

Jack|Subject Zero (ME).  OMG, Jack.  Held together with spite and biotics.  I have such a weak spot for the broken ones learning they are loved.  I never intended to write her (or Thane for that matter).  Accidental Synchronicity was indeed a total accident.  A one off line that became a headcannon that became an entire fic.  Underneath all that bluster and wrath is a woman who survived, who succeeded on her own terms.  Who discovered it was okay to let the soft inside be seen through the sharp, jagged outside even though it ultimately broke her heart.  She survived that too.

Carly Lavellan (DA:I).  Of course Carly makes this list.  In many ways, Carly is me.  She’s analytical, has too much time on her hands previous to the story to understand Solas, all his secrets, all his motivations, all his survivor’s guilt and regret.  She’s rebuilt herself from the ground up, too.  She’s infinitely compassionate.  But she’s not a doormat.  You cross her, there will be consequences.  She’s confident (most of the time) and if she doesn’t know what she’s doing, she’ll bullshit her way through.  I know I’ve said it before, but Twist is basically a story of what I would do in that situation, and Carly represents how I would do it.

Parchment: how often do you or your personal life influence your writing?

Hah!  See above.

No, in all seriousness, my personal life is the biggest influence on my writing.  My dad introduced me to reading sci-fi and fantasy when I was a kid.  He’s not a fan of fantasy so much, though.  He hates the trope of magic without consequence.  Hand wavey nonsense.  He thinks it’s weak story telling and used as a weak plot device, and he’s right.  So as a writer, I keep that in mind.  How does such and such happen?  What effect does it have?  Why?  I insert some realism in my fantasy, every time.  I usually end up overthinking it, too.  But the goal as a writer has always been to write a fantasy my father will read and enjoy.

On another, lighter, TMI note...90% of the smut I’ve written is based on actual experience.  No, I have no shame.  I’m of the mind that if you can’t talk about it, you shouldn’t be doing it.  And real life experience makes creating it fictionally that much more believable.  Allow me a single soapbox moment: purity culture can fuck all the way off.  Okay, done.

Thanks for the ask.  As always you get me to dig deep, and I love it.

[cravitus426]

for day 2 of IZ OC Week i was a bit more prepared

the theme is ‘least favorite OC’ and you know what

this would probably have been ave again had i not dug a little deeper

today you have the displeasure of learning about Mai, whose shallow being covers one primary stereotype: drama queen

no seriously that was her defined role

back in 2010, 2011 i think i used a few of zontarzon’s bases when i was (barely) thinking up more of a backstory for ave, giving him his own squad of misfits

now there were worse things i could have done with his backstory, but there were also way better things - i decided to make him a former sniper, made the snipers a squad, and while snipers can be badass they’re also stupid easy to screw up hence they always tick a little box in my head where pet peeves and cliches go

ave’s cringe aside, mai herself has little to no depth at all - in the lineup that i had, she was literally the drama queen, one of the obligatory females in a squad i made half guys and half girls, and she never advanced beyond that

in fact this is the first time i’ve done anything with her character since about when i made that original drawing - something of a shame, since i could play around with her design and make something that doesn’t offend me visually so much that i feel legitimately ill

i mean just look at her old eyes

what the hell is that color combo

anyway she’s at the bottom of my list because she was so shallow, undeveloped, and had a terrible design to begin with - i haven’t even salvaged her in any spiritual successors unlike the rest of my characters, and i can’t even rant about her in detail for multiple paragraphs 

the squad was made up of six people

you had the pervert (lee), the tsundere (zoe), the talks-with-no-proper-pauses-dude-who-breathes-sugar (kai), the drama queen (mai), the leader protagonist dude, and the generic love interest

lee became lek, a sharp-eyed wisecracker who cracks under pressure and doesn’t want to face reality; zoe was succeeded by rez, both a realist and a theorist as well as mydra, a potent psionic; kai was replaced by the slower, chunkier, and free-flowing mit; ave fell off the trope train and got a real name; and then entra is a whole other can of worms i’ll get into later

out of all these people mai is the only one i haven’t touched, the only one that has not been given an ounce of depth beyond filling the niche that many a smug anime girl have dominated, and is as a result the best fit IZ OC i have for the ‘least favorite’ slot because they don’t even have a modern rewrite that made them bearable

i even like my patrick star recolor more, though that may be because herm is a complete meme that is not bound by logic, realism, or logical realism - all he is is a starfish shaped blob that shrugs, and everybody loves him

mai is a stereotype, uses a generic japanese-y name, has no rewrite, has only gotten a makeover in the last few minutes, and has practically zero redeeming traits that make them interesting for me - at least until i began to poke at her again with the resketch and redraw; there might be something to salvage

granted part of the reason she never got any more development was because she died decades and decades before my bad fanfiction took place so i can’t completely blame her for being nothing

it’s kind of hard to grow when you’re dead

granted lek and mit have no problem with being being life-challenged buddies with ave despite a lack of bodies

come to think of it i haven’t drawn them since 2015

i think i know what i might spend the rest of my night drawing now

[fqrtescue]

                                  BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Alice Louise Fortescue PRONUNCIATION:  Alice  Louise Fortescue MEANING: Alice ( Noble ), Louise ( Famous Warrior, Renowned Fighter ), Fortescue ( Shield, Valiant, Strong Warrior ) REASONING: I mean, isn’t it obvious? NICKNAME(S): Al. Ally Cat. Ally. Fortescue. BIRTH DATE: July 28, 1959 AGE: 17 ZODIAC: Leo Sun, Taurus Moon, Scorpio Rising

Slytherin Leos can be either very good, or very bad. At their best, they exemplify all that“nobility” is made of: confidence, openness, charm, initiative, generosity of spirit, wisdom, judgment, and poise. At their worst, they become elitist, bullying bigots. How they end up depends on the company they keep, and how they are encouraged to act early in life. Either way, they never lack attention - it’s hard to ignore a Slytherin born under this sign. These Slytherins usually end up in positions of responsibility and leadership, because of their charisma and natural ability. Their creativity and drive also makes them very resourceful.

I thought this fit perfectly for Alice because not only does her name Alice mean noble, but this is just EXTREMELY Alice. She shines so brightly, like sunshine, really. I thought this also fits Alice because had Alice grown up around bigots, grown up around a father who trained her to be a weapon &not to help human kind, a mother who didn’t instill altruistic beliefs into her – she would’ve easily fallen into being on the bad side of being a Leo. Alice is open-minded and an open person, something she’s been since she was younger, something she will never grow out of. She believes the impossible as much as the possible, she believes in it and because she’s not rigid or thinks she knows EVERYTHING, she’s often got an edge during dueling when it comes to figuring out her opponents strategies. It adds to her being resourceful, while Alice isn’t always the most creative in a traditional sense, her being a fantastic dueler and able to navigate herself in her house is due the fact that not only is she cunning, but is so resourceful & able to see other people’s side of things while having the ability to manipulate people’s perception of her to work in her favor. She knows how she’s seen, she uses it to her advantage, often taking mental ( and physical ) notes of her classmates to be used in the future.

Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac and rules the back, the spine, and the heart. Positive traits include creativity, charisma, generosity, warmth, enthusiasm, a natural talent for leadership, and a great deal of inner power; negative traits are haughtiness, snobbery, an expectation that one is the centre of attention and should be waited on by everyone else,profligacy, lack of realism, dominance that can lead to bullying, and a refusal to change one’s mind even in the face of solid facts.

Alice sees the world so openly and vast, she thinks, why not? Facts are only facts because they haven’t yet been proven otherwise, and Alice believes it only takes a little bit of doubt to undermine a fact – something easy to do. I bolded ‘profligacy’ because Alice has grown up never having to worry about money, and is the type to spend it on people she loves, buy them thing after thing, anything they need. Alice always has the latest record and few extra to give away to friends, she’s there to cover your bus fair or even a train ticket if needed. She’s mothering and maternal, especially as she gets older, she wants to take care of anyone who needs to be taken care of and give back in any way she can – which is where the dominance can come in. Sometimes overbearing, when Alice believes something is best for someone, it’s hard for her to change her mind about it – this oftentimes comes off as extremely controlling even though she means well. She’s the type of person to check up on you if you even mention that you’re having a slightly off week, and ask if there’s anything she can do to make it better. This is definitely due to her generous and hospitable nature, but it is excessive and always has been – not something she would ever change as long as she lived.

GENDER: Non-Binary PRONOUNS: She/Her and They/Them ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Panromantic SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual/Demisexual

Alice’s natural hair color is a really dusty blonde, even dirty blonde. She really loves to experiment with it though, so she’ll cut it and dye it all sorts of colors - from neon green to blonde to rainbow. From a pixie cut down below her waist. Anything and everything. Sometimes, in an attempt to just get out of her own head and escape for a bit, cutting & coloring her hair is fun and gives her some of a respite. She knows it’s just hair and it’ll easily grow back with a hair potion and just does it as a way to cope with not feeling completely comfortable in her appearance. She also does ridiculous makeup, sometimes adorning very shimmery glitter all across her eyelids and wearing funky socks that don’t always match her school robes. Sometimes she prefers to wear pants instead of a skirt, and puts pins of all sorts up and down her tie. Alice also owns an extensive sunglasses collection that she tries to wear on weekends or brings at least one fun pair with her Hogsmeade weekends. Until the last year when she finally expressed her self consciousness to her uncle about how she looked, her Uncle Florean helped educate her on the Queer community etc. Alice definitely IDs as queer and she’s openly not straight ( has been for forever ), but her gender is something she keeps more close to her heart & is really trying to figure out even with the information her uncle has given her. If I had to put a label on her sexuality it would be panromantic pansexual/demisexual. She also would probably fall under and be extremely interested in Polyamory, completely loving the free love movement currently going on.

NATIONALITY: Irish ETHNICITY: French/Irish/English

                                              BACKGROUND

BIRTH PLACE: Galway, Ireland HOMETOWN: Galway, Ireland SOCIAL CLASS: Upper Class EDUCATION LEVEL: Student / High School FATHER: Gervais Fortescue, 60, Deputy Head Auror in the Auror Department of the Brtitish DMLE

Her idol. Her rock. Her mentor. Her monument. Gervais Fortescue is everything to Alice, and then some. It is thanks to him that the Fortescue’s are now labled blood traitors having been relatively neutral seeming in the past. Gervais was one of the most vocal wizards in favor of intervening in WWII, even moving to England to find a way to help the war effort as France was not a good place to be – especially after surrendering to Nazi Germany. He packed up along with Florean and made it a mission to make a difference in Wizarding Britain, succeeding as he became an extremely political and physical asset to the Ministry as years went by. Gervais is the sole reason the Ministry of Magic has been able to anticipate as many missions as they have and the reason the Order currently has half of the information that they do. His missions have now spanned all accross the world, making important & vital connections with people all over the globe. His side projects have included much research into runes, lycanthrophy, and different styles of magic. He’s not just a mentor to Alice, but a mentor to many within the Auror department, having been a mentor & trainer to many a Auror who’ve come through the department, often extending his home as a safe place for them to be in case they need somewhere to go. The only reason he’s not Head Auror is because he knows he’d lose the freedom of traveling & researching as much as he does today. Gervais has unfortunately been on many a Death Eater & Co. radars, having infiltrated their plans, throwing quite a few Dark Wizards in Azkaban over the years.

MOTHER: Lucille Fortescue neé Rowle, 57, Former Herbologist & Current ‘Stay At Home’ Mother

Once a woman who could electrify a room, Lucille was an Irish woman with more life than her Pureblood family could handle. They were far too traditional, treacherous, straight laced, close minded for her tastes and always had been. When Lucille could, she moved away from her family, cutting ties and moving in with her best girlfriends, taking a job in Ireland as a Herbologist. For a few years, she was happy that way, having grown an extensive garden, finding home in Galway, finding family, and finding a random man hiding in her garden who’d later introduce himself as Gervais Fortescue. Over drinks she learned he was an Auror currently on mission, who later explained he’d been hiding from someone chasing him. Love at first sight might’ve been impractical, but, Lucille felt an instant connection to Gervais. Two years later, they were married, living their independent lifestyles while finding a way to share their life together. Alice remembers her mother as the woman who sang to her, who read stories to her, who soothed her fears, who inspired her love for Herbology and so much more. After the death of her unborn son, Tiernan, she became a ghost of the woman she once was. In Lucille’s mind, she was every horrible thing her parents had thought of her, she was a failure of a mother, she was a failure to her whole family. The woman who used to attend every Ministry party on the arm of her husband now retreats, barely coming out to greet company, barely talking to her loved ones at all. While Gervais, Alice, & Florean know that she needs professional help, it didn’t seem like she’s able to accept it. Luckily, she was no danger to herself and has lived out her days borderline catatonic & completely detached.

SIBLING(S): Tiernan Fortescue, Deceased. EXTENDED FAMILY: Emmeline Vance ( cousin, verse dependent ), Florean Fortescue ( uncle )\

FLOREAN FORTESCUE:  | 58 | OWNER & CREATOR OF FLOREAN FORTESCUE’S ICE CREAM PARLOUR & LEATHER JACKET GAY/BI

Coming from a long line of Aurors, protectors, Hit Wixes, even noblemen who went up in the ranks because of their hardwork & success at protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves ( eventually being labeled blood traitors in French Wizarding Society for it ), Florean was much more of a creative mind. He as always working with hands, whether it was working on muggle & wizard cars & motor cycles or cooking, he always was able to create with them. He had the ambition to do something great, but didn’t like the idea of fighting. Of making the world more chaotic & less focused on the things that made your soul thrive. His love of food started at young age, and his love of making weird combinations of food started shortly after. Discovering that ice cream would be one of the perfect ways to express this mixed love of food that didn’t quite make sense was a revelation and with his trust fund, he created Fortescue’s in England. There he figured not only would it be a new start for the Fortescue name but something completely his own. Needless to say, it flourished and he’s been making flavors like Salted Caramel w/ Garlic to Strawberry Bubblegum (his niece’s favorite ), ever since. Florean also plays an important part for the Order of the Phoenix, using the apartment above Fortescue’s as an Order Member retreat and safe area. He’s also an informant & the eyes and ears keeping notes of the people of Diagon Alley.

BIRTH ORDER: Oldest! PET(S): BABY ( 7 ) & KIWI ( 9 and a half ) & BONAPARTE ( 2 ) & LILA FORTESCUE ( 15 ):Baby an Australian Shepherd, Kiwi a yellow lab, Lila a black cat that mainly keeps her mother company as her familiar. While Baby is much more Florean’s dog, it doesn’t stop Alice from kidnapping him from time to time, especially over the summer. Kiwi is Alice’s first true love, the dog she got after her brother’s death, who brings her immense support and comfort. When at home, Alice sleeps with the dog, eats with the dog, walks around her neigborhood and visits friends via floo with her dog, you name it. The pair are close, Alice still able to carry the dog even though she’s nearing tean years. When Kiwi had puppies, Alice kept one of them – Bonaparte – who separated himself from the rest with his boundless energy, constant attempt at barking ( that was often just a whine ), and non stop attention seeking nature. Alice fell in love with him right away, naming him after Napoleon as a joke because of his demanding but small nature. The runt of the litter, Alice loves him fiercely, whenever Alice is home he follows her practically everywhere – even the bath. Lila’s been around for what seems to have been Alice’s whole life, always more fond of spending time keeping Lucille company than bothering with Alice.

                                    SKILLS & ABILITIES

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 7.5/10 only because as much as she tries to make up for it with all the training she does, while she can be lethal, she still is short and still training and always learning how to make up for that against people much bigger than that. OFFENSE: 9/10 DEFENSE: 8.5/10 SPEED: 9/10 INTELLIGENCE: 8.5/10 ACCURACY: 10/10 AGILITY: 8/10 STAMINA: 9.5/10 TEAMWORK: Fantastic at teamwork and often more of a leader than a follower. However, she will respect who is the leader if she feels they are competent enough, acting as a perfect right hand. TALENTS: Dueling. Fighting, physically. Compassionate & empathetic and able to manipulate people’s emotions to help them and if needed, help herself. SHORTCOMINGS: Emotionally repressive and compartmentalizes to an insane degree. Too forgiving. Unable to stop, take breaks, and can give into her obsessive tendencies. LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: English, French, conversational German, DRIVE?: Yes! JUMP-STAR A CAR?: Yes, haha, thanks Uncle Florean! CHANGE A FLAT TIRE?: Yes. RIDE A BICYCLE?: Yes. SWIM?: Yes. PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?: Yes, the piano! PLAY CHESS?: Sometimes. Definitely not her first priority or something she’ll go to automatically. She’s not bad at it but she’s definitely not the best out there. BRAID HAIR?: Yes! Especially loves braiding flowers into hair. TIE A TIE?: Yes! Alice loves her ties! PICK A LOCK?: Yes!

             PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

FACE CLAIM: Marilyn Lima EYE COLOR: Blue HAIR COLOR: Currently, a dark brown. Though as mentioned before, Alice loves LOVES to change up her hair, changes up her hair often. Her favorite hair color is between bubblegum pink and her natural dirty blonde. She really really loves pink though. HAIR TYPE/STYLE: Naturally, Alice was blessed with easy to manage, loose waves and fairly soft. Alice makes sure to condition and manage it really well between all her hair coloring charms, doing a few hair masks every week. The only issue she has with her hair is it’s sometimes can get oily, though she makes sure to wash it enough as to where that doesn’t happen often. Alice’s hair styles vary from Leia like space buns to loose and free. Half up, half down is probably her usual most practical style she likes to wear, adding her favorite sunflower clip at the base of the top bun. GLASSES/CONTACTS?: Alice needs glasses but only slightly – she’s slightly farsighted. She only wears them when she’s got intense studying sessions where she has to read a lot, she uses them. DOMINANT HAND: Left! But she writes with her right. Her duelling hand is her left, though. She’ll duel and write a letter at the same time! HEIGHT: Alice is a shortie. A short hoe. 5′2″ on a good day! WEIGHT: 54 kgs/120 pounds BUILD: While Alice definitely has the appearance of looking extremely thing, she’s ALL lean muscle. Most of her body weight is muscle and bones, but she is healthy enough to make sure maintains a healthy amount of fat. EXERCISE HABITS: Every morning Alice goes for a run, at least 5 miles during the school year. During the summer her training is much more intense and diversified. Alice has been learning Krav Maga as of late and takes boxing lessons from some of her father’s Auror trainee’s. She’s exceptionally trained in Savate, has been since she was a child. Alice does an intense round of stretching at night before bed for 30 minutes, rolling out her muscles, the works. After her daily run, Alice practices her Dueling, using an empty classroom she’s scouted out for Dueling Club, charming dummy after dummy to approach etc. At home, Alice trains for at least 3 hours a day ( but will take one week off a month to train less and to explore more, so, only an hour a day ), reading up on any new developments in the martial arts and dueling worlds. SKIN TONE: Bitch is white! Basically, a few shades darker than pale. TATTOOS: Carefully placed floral tattoos. As her Uncle Florean went with her this past summer ( end of June ) to get her first tattoo, something her father would blow a gasket at. While she’s planned for a good few more once she’s left home, this was her first tattoo.   PIERCINGS: Ears & Bellybutton. When I say ears I mean Helix, Forward Helix, Industrial,  Lobe Piercings, Rim/Auricle. MARKS/SCARS: Sweet lord, well, Alice has freckles very lightly spattering across her cheeks and some on her shoulders. And when I mean light, I mean LIGHT. As for scars, USUAL EXPRESSION: Usually a smile or a very open warm expression. Unless she’s Dueling or working on something, then she’s ridiculously focused and almost a resting bitch face. CLOTHING STYLE: Truly this gyal is clothing goals. When she wears jeans, they have to have a floral pattern stitched on. She loves loves loose fitting tops that are cinched at he waist. Long maxi dresses. But also? Alice loves wearing overalls when she does anything Herbology related, especially when she tends her families garden at home that her mum hasn’t kept up. When Alice means business or is just feeling like she needs to go slay, she’s very inclined to wear suits, much like Harry Styles style of suits though? Dark Florals, withplatform leather boots of all different colors. Or styles.  Jumpsuits of all colors and patterns as well. Another favorite combo is short skirts with leather jackets. When going to concerts, Alice wears her favorite floral charmed Doc martens. With EVERY outfit, Alice wears a pair of sunglasses. She has an extensive sunglasses collection she cherishes. On New Years, she goes even more into sparkles & such than she usually does. Christmas, she’ll wear something that emulates the star on top of the tree or some really ugly cheesy Christmas sweater that Florean likes to knit. On Easter, she’ll wear something long, floral and flowy.  When working out, the recent invention of the sports bra has saved her ass. Unless she’s practicing Krav Maga or Savate where uniforms are involved, for running she wears a Sports Bra with a cut out tight fitting shirt or a tank top with extremely short shorts. Some other styles include: [ x ] [ x ] [ x ] [ x x ] [ x ] [ x ]  With her school outfits, Alice gets away with as much improv as she can, wearing funky socks, adding pins on ties and jewelry galore. Alice’s favorite sort of lingerie and underclothes are lacy and delicate, otherwise she’d prefer not to wear a bra or anything too heavy duty – luckily she doesn’t have to. Sometimes Alice will bind when she’s feeling somewhat dysphoric, and those are the days she’s definitely more masc in appearance. Otherwise, Alice really does enjoy being topless & naked, unfortunately, that’s not usually socially acceptable. JEWELRY: Alice ADORES jewelry. She’s always wearing a piece of jewelry at all times. Usually stacked rings, stacked necklaces. Dangling pendants. Hanging pendants with crystals on the bottom. A ring for almost every finger. A family heirloom with the Fortescue family crest is perhaps her most prized possession. It’s been past down from son to son, until Alice, who was not a son but just as worth. Alice’s heirloom is a sword pendant. Though not in that picture, there are flowers near the base of the sword and on the blade there’s a phrase that means ‘With A Warrior’s Heart’. ALLERGIES: Bigots. Walnuts. Penicillan.

[yourdailykitsch]

A rough translation of the Cinema Teaser article featuring Dylan and Taylor. Some parts are paraphrased, sorry I’m not as up on my French as I should be...

Dylan O’Brien, the rebooted version of Taylor Kitsch? The rich idea comes from American Assassin and it caused Cinema Teaser to germinate the desire for a cross-talk. The two actors have some points in common with ten years between them and we interviewed them face to face.

There are similarities in your two paths: you started on TV (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS for Taylor and TEEN WOLF for Dylan), then on to big productions in the cinema. Dylan you even made an incursion into Taylor’s field, working with Peter Berg (DEEPWATER). Is there a typical route for young actors to be wary of or to embrace in Hollywood?

Taylor: I think the most important thing is to never do what you don’t want to do. You can’t always fight the way people see you in Hollywood, but you can get closer to projects that attract you and you can fight for what you believe. In the end, I refuse any project that I don’t want to devote weeks of time to, that’s all. 

Dylan: I do not have a very definite plan in my mind...It’s a little weird. I did not grow up wanting to become an actor or anything like that. I grew up worshiping movies and I have parents who worked and still work in the industry and I imagine that in a sense they have conveyed to me the love they have for cinema. When I was little, it was what I preferred: watching movies, watching actors, and adoring all kinds of artistic talents too - performers, singers, dancers. And that’s how my interest is. Growing up, I always performed. I always made small films, short films with my friends and my sister and everything started like that. Hollywood is the drive force of cinema today, the experience now has another scale and it is different. When you come into that environment you must master a part of the trade that is not exactly your profession.

Ten years separate you. If you Taylor, you observe the beginnings of Dylan and if you Dylan, watched how Taylor started, do you have the impression that the industry or the way it deals with young actors has changed?

Taylor: It should be kept in mind that when I start on television with FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, the series was not a phenomenon. We never had the following that TEEN WOLF had. My popularity was limited to a fervent public that has a background in American football or that kind of sports fiction. I don’t know if the industry has changed for young actors. When I see Dylan, I have the impression that the younger generation is attacking the business with plenty of intelligence, it’s on! They know what they want and they know how to use the system to their advantage. 

In your opinion, what is your biggest commonality - professionally and personally? 

Taylor: I would say that Dylan and I are always ready to take on a challenge. We are not afraid to look far into ourselves for a character. For example, it was always a wish to play a bad guy, and I very much like the fact that we both went a little against the usual, in the sense that we show that there is a torment, or even an inner hell. We show that there are repercussions for our actions, especially mental ones. And that’s why American Assassin is a bit different in the genre. 

Dylan: I agree with everything Taylor says! (Laughs) The reality is that on the set we did not have too much time to chat or compare our careers because the time we shared is as short as the time we share on screen. But I am sure that now that we are promoting the film we will have more time to discuss.

Taylor, you are Canadian and you don’t stop playing the American Heroes. In Lone Survivor or in American Assassin, there is a rather harsh picture of the American culture of violence. Do you feel like an enlightened observer?

It depends on the script I get. Also, I think more of the character’s hope than his nationality. Whether it as a (Mike) Murphy in LONE SURVIVOR or Ghost in AMERICAN ASSASSIN, what is important is what he has in his head, more than his flag. The thing is, with Murphy, who is a heroic figure and quite iconic - and it’s legitimate - you play someone who represents something strong and you have to be faithful to him. I live in Texas and I have a buddy who has a ranch. For AMERICAN ASSASSIN, I lived there alone for ten days with the script and some weapons and that’s how I put myself in the head scape of Ghost and created him.

That you have both worked with Peter Berg is not insignificant. Peter casts actors who crystallize something from American. Dylan, what relationship do you have with the image of the American hero?

Taylor: Peter was a TV star (between 1995 and 1999, in CHICAGO HOPE, he played Dr. Billy Kronk) before becoming the great director he became. He is a dream director for an actor, especially the young actors, because he knew better than anyone what it takes.

Dylan: Peter, I learned so much by speaking with him, working with him, watching him. The idea of not being the typical action hero in American Assassin is what attracted me first to the film. If you watch movies about assassins or secret agents, you rarely see how they got there, what events or accidents they went through. A year and a half ago I went through something quite traumatizing in my life (Dylan was injured on the set of THE DEATH CURE). Rebounding after that was very difficult, to be honest. So I can easily connect with that part of my character.

Dylan, TEEN WOLF will stop soon. Is there any particular anxiety? Taylor you remember what you felt when FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS stopped? Do the films made while you’re engaged on a series set the tone of the films that you want to do next?

Dylan: I have no problem with leaving TEEN WOLF behind me because I never wanted to stay ‘cornered’ with the same character for too long. I never looked for stability with a job on TV over seven years or more.

Taylor: The end of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS was bitter sweet. On one side, it was time that it stopped and we all wanted to try other things. But at the same time, we were an extremely close team. We never had big audiences, contrary to what everyone seems to think today. With the rebroadcasts, Netflix and all that, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is still very much alive and surely has a wider audience today than at the time it aired. But I do not take it badly, a series does not set the tone of your career. The producers will always try to hire you for roles that you have already played if you succeeded at a the box office... And in my case, we know that it never happened like that! (Laughs)

Through your respective series, you have (or have had) a teen fanbase. Does cinema help you get another audience? Is this one of the criteria for choosing a project?

Dylan: I have never reflected in these terms. For me, AMERICAN ASSASSIN was interesting because it was different from what I was known for, okay. But as a comedian, you always want to do new things, to meet different challenges. You do not want to always play the same character. As for my fans or the people who follow my career closely, I respect them enormously but, sorry, I will never let anyone lock me in a box.

Taylor: My teenage fanbase is far behind me. I want to go back in time! (Laughs) No, I’m joking, everything’s fine.

Taylor, after shooting supermovies (WOLVERINE, BATTLESHIP, JOHN CARTER), you finally turned to movies that, even if they have a certain pre-awareness, remained original movies. Is it difficult to find original material while evolving in cinema?

Taylor: I think in terms of character. I do not know if I necessarily like the guy I play in AMERICAN ASSASSIN, but I like the fact that he is anchored in some reality. There is a lot of pyrotechnics but I like that there is no green screen, if one has to compare with WOLVERINE, BATTLESHIP or JOHN CARTER. Green screens are always difficult because you have to use all your imagination to try to fill the void around you. AMERICAN ASSASSIN evolves into a reality, a realism, a viscerality, the rhythm is incredible. I think it is the kind of cinema I prefer.

Taylor, after FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, you took time to re-engage in a TV series. Dylan, would you like to devote yourself to the cinema before eventually returning to a series or mini-series?

Taylor: I did not plan to return TV until I had an interesting and limited proposal for the small screen. I did TRUE DETECTIVE and then I just finished a six-hour mini-series which is called WACO, with Michael Shannon, Paul Sparks and Shea Whigham. In this case, returning to television is not an insignificant option, of course.

Dylan: It may have been different ten years ago when Taylor was on TV, but today, there is no longer a real difference between TV and cinema. You find excellent scenarios everywhere as long as you give yourself the means to look for them and show a little patience. 

Taylor: I will not sign a lengthy contract of something like seven years. On the other hand, I could sign for a mini-series of six or ten episodes, if the character interests me. There is something beautiful to serve and dig into a character over six hours, rather than over 30 minutes.

[ahappyevent]

The school of life, an emotional education by Alain de Botton

The last few pages of the book. On Wisdom.

—————————————————————

WISDOM

To teach us hot to be wise is the underlying central purpose of philosophy. The word may sound abstract and lofty, but wisdom is something we might plausibly aim to acquire a little more of over the course of our lives, even if true wisdom requires that we always keep in mind the persistent risk of madness and error.

Wisdom can be said to comprise twelve ingredients.

Realism

The wise are, first and foremost, ‘realistic’ about how challenging many things can be. They are fully conscious of the complexities entailed in any project: for example, raising a child, starting a business, spending an agreeable weekend with the family, changing the nation, falling in love… Knowing that something difficult is being attempted doesn’t rob the wise of ambition, but it makes them more steadfast, calmer and less prone to panic about the problems that will invariably come their way. The wise rarely expect anything to be wholly easy or to go entirely well.

Appreciation

Properly aware that much can and will go wrong, the wise are unusually alive to moments of calm and beauty, even extremely modest ones, of the kind that those with grander plans rush past. With the dangers and tragedies of existence firmly in mind, they can take pleasure in a single, uneventful sunny day, or some pretty flowers growing by a brick wall, the charm of a three-year old playing in a garden or an evening of intimate conversations among friends. It isn’t that they are sentimental and naive; in fact, precisely the opposite. Because they have seen how hard things can get, they know how to draw the full value from the peaceful and the sweet - whenever and wherever they arise.

Folly

The wise know that all human beings, themselves included, are never far from folly. They have irrational desires and incompatible aims, they are unaware of a lot of what they feel, they are prone to mood swings, they are visited by powerful fantasies and delusions - and are always buffeted by the curios demands of their sexuality. The wise are unsurprised by the ongoing coexistence of deep immaturity and perversity alongside quite adult qualities like intelligence and morality. They know that we are barely evolved apes. Aware that at least half of life is irrational, they try - whenever possible - to budget for madness and are slow to panic when it (reliably) rears its head.

Humor

The wise take the business of laughing at themselves seriously. They hedge their pronouncements and are sceptical in their conclusions. Their certainties are not as brittle as those of others. They laugh from the constant collision between the noble way they’d like things to be and the demented way they inn fact often turn out.

Politness

The wise are realistic about social relations, in particular about how difficult it is to change people’s minds and have an effect on their lives. They are therefore extremely reticent about telling other too frankly what they think. They have a sense of how seldom it is useful to get censorious with others. They want, above all, things to be nice in social settings, even if this means they are not totally authentic. So they will sit with someone of an opposite political persuasion and not try to convert them; they will hold their tongue with someone who seems to be announcing a wrong-headed plan for reforming the country, educating their child or directing their personal life. They’ll be aware of how differently things can look through the eyes of other and will search more for what people have in common that for what separates them.

Self-Acceptance

The wise have made their peace with the yawning gap between how they would ideally want to be and what they are actually like. They have come to terms with their tendencies to idiocy, ugliness and error.  They are not fundamentally ashamed of themselves because they have already shed so much of their pride.

Forgiveness

The wise are comparably realistic about other people. They recognise the extraordinary pressure everyone is under to pursue their own ambitions, defend their own interest and seek their own pleasures. It can make others appear extremely mean and purposefully evil, but this would be to overpersonalize the issue. The wise know that most hurt is not intentional but a by-product of the constant collision of blind competing egos in a world of scarce resources.

The wise are therefore slow to anger and judge. They don’t leap to the worst conclusions about what is going on in the minds of others. They will be readier to overlook a hurt from a proper sense of how difficult every life is, harbouring as it does so many frustrated ambitions, disappointments and longings. Of course they shouted, of course they were rude, of course they wanted to appear slightly more important … the wise are generous as to the reasons why people might not be nice. They feel less persecuted by aggression and meanness of others, because they have a sense of the place of hurt those feelings come from.

Resilience

The wise have a solid sense of what they can survive. They know just how much can go wrong and things will still be - just about - liveable. The unwise person draws the boundaries of their contentment far too far out , so that it encompasses, and depends upon, fame, money, personal relationships, popularity, health …. The wise person sees the advantages of all of these, but also knows that they may - before too long, at a time of fate’s choosing - have to draw the borders right back and find contentment within a more confined space.

Envy

The wise don’t envy idly, realising that there are some good reasons why they don’t have many of the things they really want. They look at the tycoon or the star and have a decent grasp of why they weren’t able to succeed at this level. It seems like just an accident, an unfair one, but there were in fact some logical reasons.

At the same time the wise see that some destinies are truly shaped by nothing more than accident. Some people are promoted randomly. Companies that aren’t especially deserving can suddenly make it big. Som people have the right parents. The winners aren’t all noble and good. The wise appreciate the role of luck and don’t cure themselves overly at this junctures where they have evidently not had as much of it as they would have liked.

Success and failure

The wise emerge as realistic about the consequences of winning and succeeding. They may want to win as much as the next person, but they are aware of how many fundamentals will remain unchanged, whatever the outcome. They don’t exaggerate the transformations available to us. They know how much we remain tethered to some basic dynamics in our personalities, whatever job we have or material possession we acquire. This is both cautionary (for those who succeed) and hopeful (for those who won’t). The wise see the continuities between the two categories overemphasised by modern consumer capitalism: success and failure.

Regrets

In our ambitious age, it is common to begin with dreams if being able to pull  off an unblemished life, where one can hope to get the major decisions, in love and work, right. But the wise realise that it is impossible to fashion a spotless life. We will make some extremely large and utterly uncorrectable errors in a number of areas. Perfectionism is a wicked illusion. Regret is unavoidable.

But regret lessens the more we see that error is endemic across species. We can’t look at anyone’s life story without seeing some devastating mistakes etched across it. These errors are not coincidental but structural. They arise because we all lack the information we need to make choices in time-sensitive situations. We are all, where it counts, steering almost blind.

Calm

The wise know that turmoil is always around the corner - and they have come to fear and sense its approach. That’s why they nurture such a strong commitment to calm. A quiet evening feels like an achievement. A day without anxiety is something to be celebrated. They are not afraid of having a somewhat boring time. There could, and will again, be so much worse.

And finally, of course, the wise know that it will never be possible to be wise every hour, let alone every day, of their lives.

——————————————————————

It might daunt you my girls as sad or pessimistic or outrageous. I have mixed feelings as well, but then again I think we all do, towards most things in life.

I can only hope that one day you (and me) will not see it as such. Definitely a book I recommend you read, probably a few times throughout your life, probably starting somewhere in your mid 20s and then again every 10 years :) I know I’ve set my alarm in 10 years to re-read it.

Love, mama.

[thebastardofgloucester]

More Thoughts on Rogue One

So I saw Rogue One again:

I don’t have any real revelations to expound upon - the first half is still a bit messy (though beyond the Krennic scene on Mustafar which we’re rather fond of I’m not really sure you can just cut out some of the planetary back and forth). The second half/last third really pulls the film together in some of the best action sequences I’ve seen in any war movie, Star Wars or no, but it also fails to resolve a lot of character arcs, which is...unsatisfying from a narrative nerd perspective but not really crippling to the film as a whole? In my opinion, anyway. 

- Jyn’s a flat character. I’m not sure if it’s that Felicity Jones is a bad fit for the part - they needed someone who did a lot of non-verbal acting and that ain’t her - but her character is choppily written at best, and wavers back and forth between passive and active in a way that just feels awkward when it abruptly switches. You have a bunch of character-establishing moments - trying to flee her rescuers, saving the little girl in Jedha, beating and gunning down stormtroopers, resenting Saw for abandoning her - and they just don’t fit together. At points, it seems like she’s a deer in the headlights, which makes some sense - she’s not a soldier, she’s not used to battle, to death striking suddenly and brutally - but it again swings back and forth and there’s no key determining factor beyond the immediate needs of the plot. And yet she knows her way around a blaster, she goes after that child (which is just wildly out of place and used as an excuse for Cassian to shoot one of Saw’s men, precipitating the group’s capture), she’s quite brave under fire. She’s established as initially cynical and apathetic about the Rebellion - for understandable reasons, though Cassian also rightly calls her out for wallowing in self-pity, which she clearly takes to heart.

Her transformation from reluctant accomplice to Rebel leader just doesn’t really follow.  A scene where she spoke with, say, Chirrut and Baze (maybe with Bodhi popping in) about their reasons for fighting the Empire, and she explicitly confronted her desperate need to redeem her father’s legacy and exonerate him from horrible crimes would have been a tremendous help, would have given Baze and Chirrut more depth (digging into their past service as guardians, their grief and Baze’s rage at the destruction of their home), and would have given some reason for the ‘little sister’ comment, which just feels so out of place because they don’t have that kind of relationship. I’m probably going to write this scene, honestly. At that point, speaking up about the need to strike Scarif makes more sense. Maybe another actress better conveys Jyn’s desperation and makes her sound less inexplicably confident. She’s not idealistic enough for that, change of heart or not. Fewer motivational speeches from her would have been a good idea. The one in the shuttle is the best fit - it’s full of desperation and anxious resolve. She’s addressing her men, not the leaders of the Rebellion. Basically, somebody else needs to back her case in front of the council. Hell, maybe Chirrut could have backed her up. That would have been another moment to establish their relationship. Jyn’s the primary protagonist, but she’s also not a conventional hero, and the film did not commit to that as it did with, say, Cassian. 

- Honestly, that’s the movie’s biggest flaw. It drags a bit, but I’m not sure what I would really cut. The trading port scene is vital to establish Cassian. The jailbreak was apparently largely a product of the reshoots, and that was absolutely a good call. The Jedha stuff needs to happen to launch the plot. The Eadu stuff needs to happen to raise the stakes, stage the Cassian/Jyn conflict, and kill off Galen. I *guess* the first Yavin 4 scene wasn’t entirely necessary, but it would be hard to do without it, and it does a lot of worldbuilding for the ANH-era Rebellion. 

- The movie isn’t terribly interested in preserving the scale of the GFFA - unless Eadu, Scarif, and Yavin 4 are within the same star cluster or something, the Rebel forces have at most a few hours travel time and that does’t make much sense. It’s not that Star Wars has ever cared about those kinds of logistics (save a few novels), but somehow the planet jumping makes it more obvious.

- The space battle is still astounding, and the Pacific Front-inspired beach scenes aren’t far behind. Just the perfect use of CGI, practical effects, and storytelling to create truly spectacular scenes. Also nice to see Rebel women pilots, though they pretty much all die.

- Bodhi has the most complete and coherent character arc, and given the time constraints, it’s actually a pretty good one. His sacrifice is poignant, even if his death is surprisingly pedestrian (which is by no means a bad thing - it adds a layer of realism to the combat that people just die). K2-SO has something resembling an arc. Cassian is the deepest character, even if a few more exchanges with Jyn or Bodhi or Chirrut could have helped make his inner conflicts more explicit. His relationship with Jyn actually worked better for me the second time around, but it has the overall vibe of ‘almost’ or ‘what if’ as it really should. 

- The movie does a lot of work in terms of world-building, and there’s loads of material for future films or EU media to take advantage of. I’m excited about the new in-between-the-OT Rebellion era. It might be a bit ponderous in the film, but it’s valuable yeoman’s work in the young new canon. 

- Krennic isn’t the most effective antagonist. That’s partially by design - he’s simply outclassed by the likes of Tarkin and Darth Vader. But in a moment where we might be able to explore his complexity with the reveal that his adversary is the daughter of his long-time friend and betrayer Galen he just...doesn’t really react beyond ‘generic Imperial villain’. That was a missed opportunity. More could have been done with him than having Cassian appear and shoot him while Jyn does her deer in the headlights thing again. There’s poetic justice in his being killed by his own life’s work, but it needs to be dwelt upon a bit.  

EDIT: my little brother suggests Jyn pointing out the Death Star rising above the horizon, as Krennic realizes that not only is Tarkin willing to sacrifice the entire base, but that he is expendable. Unlike Jyn, he is not ready for that brutal truth.

- In hindsight, the whole Vader in the corridor thing is a bit less fraught than I thought - the damn data tape is at the partially open exit the whole time, the dude with it just wants to escape. A better scene would be him desperately forcing the door open as his comrades try to slow Vader down, succeeding at the last minute before he’s cut down. All that would have been required is a few shots of the dude trying to force open the door, nothing really complicated. 

- It’s a bit weird that the Tantive IV, with Leia aboard, is waiting for ages inside the disabled Rebel flagship - presumably the data tapes take a while to transfer, but it seems like quite a risk. Plus there’s the ‘transmissions’ line in ANH which is now seemingly in error. Maybe the corvette is waiting on the fringes of the system, giving Leia plausible deniability? But that probably sacrifices the Vader scene, and I’m not sure any of us want that. It’s a hard problem to solve without retconning. 

- The Dr. Evazan/Ponda Baba cameo on Jedha is just not necessary. R2D2 and C3PO are acceptable - they’ve been in every damn movie and they have a reason to be there.  

- It’s a really good heist-cum-war movie, honestly. It’s got weaknesses in terms of characterization, because that’s not Gareth Edward’s real strength. It might not feel like ~Star Wars~ in terms of being magical space opera based on hero’s journey cliches and stronger characterization than plot, and might be missing the ‘magic’ or something, but it’s not supposed to be anything like The Force Awakens. I feel like a lot of the movie’s critics were just expecting ~something else~ and find the genre differences off-putting. I don’t. 

- Saw Gerrera deserved a bit more time - specifically, I think cutting his ‘what will you become’ speech was a mistake, though I’m not sure where it was supposed to fit? He’s a really really great character, honestly, and he’s vital in establishing that the Rebellion is a messy loose coalition of splinter groups who are at this stage very divided in terms of strategy, conviction, and morality. 

- Chirrut is definitely low-level Force sensitive. To an extent, fine, his sharpened sense of hearing explains his physical combat skills. But sensing Jyn’s kyber crystal, reading Bohdi and Jyn, dodging laser blasts, hitting stormtroopers on the beach - he’s not a Jedi, but he doesn’t really have to be. There’s another point of possible connection with Jyn - his faith in the Force would resonate with her memories of her mother. Again, just a handful of lines. Not a huge change. 

- I still think Chirrut and Baze’s relationship is easily interpreted as romantic, whether that was the result of the actors, Edwards, or Kathleen Kennedy, I don’t know. But it’s appreciated and extremely important. 

- Revised rating: 7.5/10. Could have been an 8.5, even a 9 with a more talented character writer and a more compelling primary protagonist. But it’s intensely watchable, really thrilling at points, fits seamlessly into the Star Wars universe, adds emotional impetus to A New Hope and the circuitous journey of the Death Star plans to Yavin 4, and Luke and Han’s subsequent heroism, and has a ton of interesting ideas percolating in the background. 

[thekoreanlass]

The Flu (감기) is a 2013 South Korean disaster film written and directed by Kim Sung-su, about an outbreak of a deadly strain of H5N1 that kills its victims within 36 hours, throwing the district of Budang in Seongnam, with a population of nearly half a million people into chaos. It stars Jang Hyuk and Soo Ae.

I got intrigued by the movie after watching the top grossing film Train to Busan–South Korea’s first ever zombie film. Train to Busan was a very promising movie considering it was the first of its kind and that the plot, actors and everything else seems of top caliber.

It has shown people that South Korea is also capable in producing something in that area and it has made them a commendable competitor in the film industry. Showing how far they can go to let people know of what they can offer, truly it showed in the film; their artistry, talent and potential to hop onto the wagon.

A few weeks after the great zombie wave that struck us, for some reason the disaster film ‘The Flu’ resurfaced again and people started talking about it again. I am not too sure whether this only happened in our country or in some other countries too, but I can say that ‘The Flu’ also created another bout of frenzy. People are raving about it on and off social media three year after its official release and they have expressed their admiration for the film the same way they did with Train to Busan.

The Cast:

Soo Ae as Kim In-hae Jang Hyuk as Kang Ji-goo Park Min-ha as Kim Mi-reu

The Plot: 

A group of immigrants are smuggled inside a shipping container with their final destination being South Korea. Inside the container, one of the immigrants is a carrier for a lethal and highly contagious virus.

Byung-Ki (Lee Hee-Joon) and Byoung-Woo (Lee Sang-Yeob) drive to the shipping container to release the immigrants. They soon discover that all of the immigrants are dead, except for one man.

Soon, thousands of people become infected every hour by the deadly virus, which kills within 36 hours of infection. The entire suburb of Bundang is quarantined by the government in a desperate attempt to stop the virus from spreading further. Firefighter Kang Ji-Koo (Jang Hyuk) is one of those quarantined. Dr. Kim In-Hae (Soo-Ae) is one of the first responders to the outbreak of the virus. The outbreak becomes even more personal once she suspects her own daughter (Park Min-Ha) is infected by the virus. Firefighter Kang Ji-Koo and Dr. Kim In-Hae frantically work together in a race against time to find a cure.

Review:

Similar to many South Korean disaster films, The Flu depicts how Bundang (the largest and most populous district (gu) of Seongnam, a major city in the Seoul Capital Area, South Korea) becomes the point of severe damage due to the H5N1 epidemic.

A film of harrowing events that creates answers to the ‘what if’ possibilities mixed with intense realism and emotional turn of events that touches sensitive topics on governance and humanism when sudden, inevitable modern pandemics like the Bird Flu, SARS or Ebola hits ground zero.

In relation to the topic, though different in the nature of the cause of the debacle, The Flu has many given similarities to other South Korean disaster films–like ‘Haeundae’, ‘The Tower’, ‘Train to Busan’, ‘Pandora’ and many others–where in it starts with a sudden, unexpected cause of the whole fiasco, continues with the dramatic pass on of the disease among innocent people that will lead to an eventful doomsday (people dying everywhere, an uncontrollable disease that threatens to spread outside Bundang’s borders, a flatline situation with no cure) of mass hysteria. A real disaster that shows the harrowing reality of violence, conspiracy, life and death situations that result from little to no choice events.

Naturally, by saying the aforementioned, as a viewer, you would come to compare these movies and start to learn the cliches. Of course, as you go on you set the bar high and for sure just like me, I see it a bit of a downside for the movie that just like almost every South Korean disaster film, which has the tendency to lean on to the effect of ‘mass hysteria’ to the viewers and the emotional turmoil it’ll bring to the viewers, The Flu has this same theme which either makes it a striking film due to grandiose of production and at the same time  a film comparable to others.

Nonetheless, I would spare a second look at the film due to its horrifyingly beautiful aesthetic. Of course, despite the similarities, there’s nothing really wrong on taking your time watching this kind of film as long as you’re leaning onto its entertainment value. After all, you don’t get a repeat of the real disaster. At least, this kind of movie prepares you for the what if situations. It becomes your ‘eye opener’ of some sorts.

Besides, the movie stars two of the most amazing actors–Jang Hyuk and Soo Ae–who has starred on many other projects and succeeded on moving an audience. Jang Hyuk’s just your kind of hero that’s prickly on the outside, but hardly anything like it on the inside as he tries to swoon Soo Ae’s character in the film. Soo Ae has acted on various roles, this one film depicting the image of a career woman and a single parent to her daughter that will do everything to ensure her child’s safety. What seems to be a personal drama contributes to the resolution and ending of the film to which they save the day and create a better tomorrow.

Additional to all those comments. I’d like to say that at some point in the middle of the story, I was tremendously shook by one of the scenes where in as a solution for the good of the greater population that aren’t affected by the virus, the government decided to–literally–throw in a large pit those who were heavily infected by the H5N1 virus, dead or half-alive by the day. It was like a mass grave and they were to burn everyone as if it was nothing, considering that ‘burning’ is one form of killing the virus and preventing the spread of the flu (since it can spread airborne) and this absolutely horrified me again. Albeit hypothetically thought through, it’s just scary to think it’s possible one day that people can think like that. Nonetheless, it’s frighteningly an on point plot twist that brought out more edge to the story and encouraged progress to an emotionally intelligent conclusion of the film.

I’d give this film 3.5 out of 5 if we’re talking about rating the film.

Give it a shot if you’re certainly intrigued after reading this! 🙂

Review: The Flu – the great H5N1 pandemonium The Flu (감기) is a 2013 South Korean disaster film written and directed by Kim Sung-su…

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

Emeric Thoa is Creative Director and Co-Founder at The Game Bakers, the studio behind Furi, Combo Crew, or the Squids games on console, PC and mobile. This post is reposted from The Game Bakers blog. Follow The Game Bakers: @TheGameBakers / @EmericThoa

Furi is a character action game for console and PC in which you fight only bosses. You can get an idea of what the game is about with this trailer: Furi Trailer.

*****

We launched Furi and received a truly incredible response from some players: they are crazy about the game, they love it more than I could have ever dreamt. In the meantime, other players, some reviewers didn't enjoy the game or felt rejected by it. And they criticized the game for that. That’s pretty fair, but here is a thing. Not every game is for you. That’s what is called diversity. That’s a good thing (Ken Wong explains it better than I would ever do).

Of course, there are games that are bad or average. They missed something and very few people actually love them. But I don't think it's the case for Furi. As it was very well summed up in some reviews, Furi is a love-hate kind of game. And believe it or not: it’s by design. It’s a game that was designed to create intense satisfaction, and it succeeded in doing so, even if it frustrated some along the way.

Furi is a Love-Hate game

In this article, I’ll explain how we came up with this intention, and how we made it happen.

PART ONE: On making a game that doesn’t try to please everyone.

After we made Combo Crew on mobile, my partner Audrey and myself started thinking about what our next game could be. We were in 2013. Indie gaming was already big, but we knew it would grow bigger. We knew the market would be even more saturated, even more fragmented. We knew that, by 2016, iOS and Google Play would be nothing like in 2010. Steam would be flooded by releases every day, and even the very young new consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) would have their stores full of games and sales of any kind.

We realized that, in order to be in the top 10 of the indie devs, we needed to make something « outstanding ». A game that stands out, in every possible way. A game with an edge. A game that I call a « Triple i » or “iii”.

This picture was in the very first document for Furi

Triple AAA games have the budget, the talents, the teams to achieve greatness with a huge scope. Story, visuals, characters, gameplay features, game modes, game length… they try to have everything in order to please everybody. Their aim is mass audience.

We believed that, in order to be competitive, smaller studios must go the opposite way. We are too small to be the best at everything, but we can aim to be the best at one thing. We can make something edgy. We can choose not to please everybody. We can choose to make something that most would actually dislike, in order to make sure a niche of gamers will find it truly memorable.

This was the foundation of our strategy for the three years to come.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

Every decision in Furi was made in order to make it memorable for a niche of gamers who were somewhat starved: the Japanese character action game fans. Every decision was made in order to make the game outstanding, unique and focused.

The art direction stands out, with colourful and surrealistic environments.

The character design is stylish and unique, as we can expect from Afro Samurai’s creator Takashi Okazaki.

The combat is (very) fast paced, inspired by Japanese game design.

Its use of both shoot’em up and beat’em up mechanics is totally unique.

The soundtrack is made up of original compositions from amazing electro and synthwave musicians.

If we compare with the direction taken by a recent mainstream beat’em up like God of War, it's clear to see we just went the opposite way. They go for realism, we opted for surrealism. They went for an orchestral soundtrack, we decided on electro. Let’s not fight head to head with these guys, right?

They aimed for mass appeal, we didn't. No compromises. No consensus. We developed a game for a niche audience, but with the intention on casting a spell on our fans forever.

PART TWO: On fighting half-measures. On making strong choices.

This is a bold strategy to start with, but it’s even harder to make it actually happen. Especially during two years of production where as a creative director you are constantly challenged, by the team, by the playtesters, by the press in previews, by trailers comments… by anyone who is slightly involved in the game really.

I remember, during the heat of the production, tweeting this:

Any designer who reads me knows what I’m talking about. This fight against consensus, against half-measures, was the key to succeeding with this initial strategy of not trying to please everyone. If you go soft, you lose the edge, and then it’s over.

Here are some examples of the controversial decisions I took. Even some players who loved the game still disagree with them. I hear them. I’m not saying it couldn’t have been done otherwise or better. If I could, I would improve lots of things in the game, like the tutorials or the promenade mode. But I would probably stick with some of the controversial decisions I took, they are part of what makes Furi what it is.

Spoilers ahead.

Paths

In Furi, in between each fight, there are walking sequences where you just get backstory and coaching by your rabbit-masked mysterious buddy. You discover a visually unique environment teasing the upcoming boss personality, and listen to the music. These sequences are important because they give a meaning to the game through the story, they build the tension, and they force the player to take a break in between two intense boss fights. I knew the most arcade-hardcore players wouldn’t like it, but for most of our audience, it took Furi from “a great game” to “a meaningful experience”. As a designer, we stood strong with the idea of having the player “walk” and even “autowalk” (there’s a button for that) for 3-4 minutes. No minions to fight. No experience points to grind. No loot. I bet you can imagine this was a tough call to keep for two years of development.

The secret ending that resets your save

At one point in the game, there is a disguised choice. You can basically stop fighting. Stop killing. Reach a status quo. There is no good ending in the game, they all are good and bad in some ways. There is no happy end. But at least, you can choose why you fight for, or if you want to fight at all. It was important to me to make it “a true ending”. Otherwise it would have been a simple “easter egg”. Another trophy to the list. So I stood with the decision to reset the save after the players get that ending. Some people are annoyed because it makes them replay half of the game. Some people are annoyed because they triggered the ending accidentally (they are right to be annoyed, they are collateral damage of a strong design choice). But this kind of moment: - “I found a hidden event”. - “Oh it’s an ending, a peaceful one in a game about duels”. - “F*** my save is erased, they are not kidding, it’s actually over”. It’s part of what Furi tries to deliver. Surprise, adrenalin, intense emotions. Some people ranted about it, but some understood and loved it.

No come back from Promenade difficulty level

The game has three difficulty levels. The default one (Furi level) is demanding, requires a lot of patience and perseverance, and delivers a great deal of satisfaction when beaten. The hard one (Furier) is an extremely difficult game mode with the patterns and boss fights redesigned. We know that players who finish this game mode love the game and understood it, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to beat it. We actually thank them for that.

The last one (Promenade) is an extremely easy and shorter difficulty level for players who just don’t want to invest as much effort in the gameplay. Some players complain they can’t switch to Promenade for one fight and then come back to Furi mode. The reason we don’t allow this is not to punish players, it’s the opposite. If we did allow that, players would be tempted to switch to Promenade as soon as they encounter a difficulty peak. They would be tempted to go back and forth between the difficulty levels and they would lose all the satisfaction they'd get of eventually overcoming a big challenge.

Dashing on the “release”, a.k.a. the false perception of delay

In the game, there is a very fast, satisfying dodge ability, that makes you basically invincible. Some players have complained it was laggy or they felt a delay. There is no delay at all, but the dash starts when you “release” the button, not when you “press”. The reason for that is that you can charge the dash to go further. Press and hold, you charge. Release, you dash. This charging dash gives tons of depth to the patterns we can create. The boss fights get a lot of variety from this feature. But even within the team, this decision was considered very controversial. We could have split the dash ability on two buttons (quick dash/charged dash), but it felt too complex. Once you are used to a quick press & release for a dash (and most players are after one or two bosses), you get both the simplicity of the controls AND the gameplay depth.

These are only a few of the decisions that were controversial but that I decided to stick with instead of looking for a compromise. Of course, I DID change a lot of the design when I got complaints or relevant comments. I’m not saying it’s good to be narrow-minded. But it’s good to take some risks in order to keep your edge. I’m very grateful to Audrey and the core team at The Game Bakers and our partners at Sony for understanding that. They all committed to this vision from the start of the project.

PART THREE: On creating intense satisfaction.

The reason I love video games is because they create emotions. Through their gameplay, story, visuals, music, they can deliver any emotion you can think of.

Uncharted 4 delivers great brainless distraction, P.T. freaks you out, Journey creates a bond, Monument Valley makes you feel smart and poetic. Furi creates intense satisfaction. And by necessity, it can also create intense frustration along the way.

But I believe it succeeded creating intense satisfaction.

People say the game is hard. I would argue it’s mostly from another time. It’s anachronic. It requires patience (definitively not a trendy trait) and it’s a game of counter attack (a game where you wait and punish instead of aggressively attacking with combos, as in most games of the 2000's to current era).

But players who are perseverant will get better each time they play. Furi is like a guitar and each bossfight is like a partition. You start playing and you suck at it, but you get better after each practice. This is not something everyone is willing to do, but it makes it extremely satisfying when you finally beat a boss. This satisfaction is actually proportional to the effort you put into the bossfight. In order to create intense satisfaction, you need to require efforts.

And when the game manages to trigger that into someone, when a player finally overcomes the frustration and pain to turn it into relief and satisfaction, you get this:

The industry has a tendency to reward games that don’t itch.  Metacritic rules us all, and the formula to get a high Metacritic score is to make a game with one good feature and no flaw. We are prompted to make games that don’t displease, games that don’t frustrate. But recently, I have seen more and more games trying to be edgy. Trying to create intense emotions, even if it’s at the risk of segregating themselves from a larger audience. It’s exciting. Let’s welcome that.

[living-the-fastlife]

Another year has come and gone and what better way to wrap up the year than with this End of Year Survey, created by Jamie @ Perpetual Page Turner. 

Number of books I read:

Number of rereads: Sadly I only managed to fit in one reread, A Darker Shade of Magic.

Genre I read the most from: Contemporary (a surprise since Fantasy has always been my most read genre in years past)

1. BEST BOOK I READ IN 2016:

Top 3 A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo The Hard Count by Ginger Scott. 

2. BOOK I WAS EXCITED ABOUT AND THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO LOVE MORE BUT DIDN’T

Riders wasn’t a pure disappointment but I did expect more. The book served as a nice introduction to the world and I’m hoping it’s sequel can elaborate on some aspects. 

3. MOST SURPRISING (IN A GOOD OR BAD WAY) BOOK I READ

The Weight of Feathers. I knew it was a Romeo and Juliet inspired magical realism tale but I wasn’t expecting it to be so beautiful. The writing was captivating, the characters were fascinating and the book really explored the beauty in the simplicity. 

4. BOOK I PUSHED THE MOST PEOPLE TO READ (AND THEY DID)

I’ll Meet You There is the one book that I will always push onto people and I am happy to see that some people have picked up this beauty of a book. 

5. BEST SERIES I STARTED IN 2016? BEST SEQUEL OF 2016? BEST SERIES ENDER OF 2016?

Best Series Started: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff Best Sequel: A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab Best Series Ender: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

6. FAVOURITE NEW AUTHOR I DISCOVERED IN 2016

Sarina Bowen. I completely devoured her True North series. Great characters that I could easily realate to, swoony romances and a great exploration of multitude of themes e.g. drug addiction.

7. BEST BOOK FROM A GENRE I DON’T TYPICALLY READ/WAS OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

This was the year for Sports Contemporary books. I’m not one to read a lot of New Adult books but the little corner I’ve discovered in Sports contemporary novels has provided some of the funniest and addictive books I’ve ever read. I’m definitely a fan of this genre. 

8. MOST ACTION-PACKED/THRILLING/UNPUTDOWNABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Crooked Kingdom. Can I just use this book for every question? This book was so worth all of the sleep I sacrificed. Filled with an intricate plot, unpredictable plot twists and incredibly character insights, Crooked Kingdom was hands down the most addictive book I read in 2016. 

9. BOOK I READ IN 2016 THAT I’M MOST LIKELY TO REREAD NEXT YEAR

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin. While I’m still heartbroken over the events of it’s sequel, Wolf by Wolf was another addictive read. I love the cross continental setting and the underlying themes of identity and fascinating characters were an added bonus. 

10. FAVOURITE COVER OF A BOOK I READ IN 2016

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Nevernight. I loved the book and the cover, red sprayed edges and just the entire design of the book is beautiful. The maps are my favourite part though.

11. MOST MEMORABLE CHARACTER OF 2016

The Bastard of the Barrel aka Dirtyhands aka Kaz Brekker. What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this man. He is ruthless, greedy and has a penchant for violence and chaos. However, he’s also a man full of grief and complex layers and would crawl to the edge of the earth to get his Wraith back. Every single character in this series were an absolute delight to read about. 

12. MOST BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN BOOK READ IN 2016

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta. It doesn’t have a flowery prose or anything fancy. Most wouldn’t name this book as their most beautifully written but the simplicity of the book is what makes it so effective in portraying the affects of depression on a family. 

13. MOST THOUGHT-PROVOKING/LIFE-CHANGING BOOK OF 2016

I wouldn’t call it a life changing book but Salt to the Sea definitely had a huge impact on me. To think that this maritime tragedy has gone overlooked when an estimate of 9000 lives were claimed by the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff is unbelievable. It definitely sheds a light on such a monumental event and further highlights the horrors of war.

14. BOOK I CAN’T BELIEVE I WAITED UNTIL 2016 TO FINALLY READ

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie. This is my kind of fantasy. The plot follow the typical fantasy trajectory but its the characters that makes this book so incredible. This is the ultimate underdog story and the representation of women is phenomenal.

15. FAVOURITE PASSAGE/QUOTE FROM A BOOK I READ IN 2016

“Maybe there were people who lived those lives. Maybe this girl was one of them. But what about the rest of us? What about the nobodies and the nothings, the invisible girls? We learn to hold our heads as if we wear crowns. We learn to wring magic from the ordinary. That was how you survived when you weren’t chosen, when there was no royal blood in your veins. When the world owed you nothing, you demanded something of it anyway.” – Crooked Kingdom, Leigh Bardugo

16. SHORTEST AND LONGEST BOOK I READ IN 2016

17. BOOK THAT SHOCKED ME THE MOST

Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin. I should have seen this coming but it doesn’t mean I wanted it to happen. This event was shocking and gut-wrenching and I’m still so bitter about it. That moment hurt!

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP!)

Shazi x Khalid, The Wrath and the Dawn duology. This is my kind of romance. The swoon levels were off the charts in this series. Why? Because of the respect shown between Shazi and Khalid. They are equals in every possible way and the maturity of their relationship was incredible.

19. FAVOURITE NON-ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP OF THE YEAR

Kate and August, This Savage Song. A most unlikely friendship but one that definitely kept me on the edge. These two were on the run for most of the book and along the way they both learn to embrace parts of themselves they’ve tried to deny for so long. 

20. FAVOURITE BOOK I READ IN 2016 FROM AN AUTHOR I’VE READ PREVIOUSLY

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson. My go-to contemporary author. Her books always deliver and as always the delicate balance between the friendship, romantic and family dynamics were greatly established.

21. BEST BOOK I READ IN 2016 THAT I READ BASED SOLELY ON A RECOMMENDATION

Air Awakens by Elise Kova. I love the cover but at the time it wasn’t enough to sway me. Then I read all the glowing reviews for the series and had to check the book out.

22. NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH FROM A BOOK I READ IN 2016

Garrett Graham, The Deal. This man, oh how he makes me swoon. I didn’t really like him at first but as his friendship with Hannah developed and blossomed into a beautiful romance he also managed to steal my heart in the process. He’s an incredibly supportive friend and boyfriend and I would snatch him up in a heartbeat. 

23. BEST 2016 DEBUT THAT I READ

A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet. Again, I didn’t know what to expect from this book but I loved the incorporation of Greek mythology and the camaraderie between Griffin, Cat and the rest of the company was hilarious.

24. BEST WORLDBUILDING/MOST VIVID SETTING I READ THIS YEAR

Nevernight. Despite my qualms with the footnotes, I must admit they did ultimate help clarify some things about the world. Do I remember every detail, no, but I did finish the book with a clear understanding of the type of world this book is set in.

25. BOOK THAT PUT A SMILE ON MY FACE/WAS THE MOST FUN TO READ

The Deal by Elle Kennedy. Hilarious, addictive and swoony. The banter between the guys and Hannah was on point and there were plenty of laugh out loud moments in this book. 

26. BOOK THAT MADE ME CRY OR NEARLY CRY IN 2016

Crooked Kingdom is the only book that succeeded in making me cry this year. I won;t spoil the moment but it was soul-crushing and happened at the moment I dared to hope that everyone was out in the clear. 

27. HIDDEN GEM OF THE YEAR

Rites of Passage by Joy. N. Hensely. I would not be able to survive a military academy. I was exhausted after 5 minutes. The intensity levels are taken to new heights in this book and I definitely appreciated Sam’s determination to prove to everyone that she belonged.

28. BOOK THAT CRUSHED YOUR SOUL

Blood For Blood: See no. 17.

29. MOST UNIQUE BOOK THAT I READ IN 2016

Something  Real by Heather Demetrios. Reality TV is not something I follow but this book did an excellent job at exploring the dark side to this world and how manipulative and damaging it can be for someone so young to have her identity carved out by the producers of the show.

30. BOOK THAT MADE ME THE MOST MAD

Walk the Edge by Katie McGarry: I loved this book but Breanna’s parents drove me absolutely insane. The way they treated her was horrible and I hate how they thought that years of neglect could be pushed aside the moment she finds happiness in someone they disapprove of.

1. FAVOURITE BOOK BLOG I DISCOVERED IN 2016

I don’t know if I discovered them in 2016 but some of my favourite blogs are Nick and Nereyda @ Nick and Nereyda’s Infinite Booklist, Aimal @ Bookshelves and Paperbacks, Richard @ The Humpo Show, Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse. These are just a few of the amazing blogs I’ve come across and I’m hoping to up my blog hopping game in 2017 cause I have been slacking as of late.

2. FAVOURITE REVIEW THAT I WROTE IN 2016

I have two; the first one is my review of The Hard Count by Ginger Scott. The second is my review for Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys 

3. BEST DISCUSSION/NON-REVIEW POST I HAD ON MY BLOG

I’ve not done many discussion posts but I was quite proud of my post on the ways to beating a reading slump

4. BEST EVENT THAT I PARTICIPATED IN

Again I’ve not participated in many of these because events like the twitter chats and such take place at 2am UK time. Time zones suck. On top of that when it comes to book signings, the closest one to home would be a good 2 hour drive away.

5. BEST MOMENT OF BOOKISH/BLOGGING LIFE 

My one year blogiversary. I gave myself a hefty pat on the back for reaching that milestone. 

6. MOST CHALLENGING THING ABOUT BLOGGING OR MY READING LIFE THIS YEAR

Keeping up with comments and blog hopping. I’ve been slacking on that front as of late and it is something I plan on improving on this year.

7. MOST POPULAR POST THIS YEAR ON MY BLOG

My most popular blog post was the Bloggers to Follow Top Ten Tuesday topic. My most popular review was A Gathering of Shadows

8. POST I WISH GOT A LITTLE MORE LOVE

My TV Talk for Mr. Robot and my review for The Hard Count.

9. BEST BOOKISH DISCOVERY

Bookstagram. I might not be the most active user but I love all the bookstagram accounts that have popped up over the year or so.

10. DID I COMPLETE ANY READING CHALLENGES OR GOALS THAT I HAD SET FOR YOURSELF?

1. ONE BOOK I DIDN’T GET TO IN 2016 BUT WILL BE MY #1 PRIORITY READ IN 2017

Where do I even begin. There are a lot of books I failed to read in 2016 and plan on reading in 2017. These include; The Winner’s Trilogy, Gemina and Outrun the Moon.

2. BOOK I AM MOST ANTICIPATING FOR 2017 (NON-DEBUT)

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

3. 2017 DEBUT I AM MOST ANTICIPATING

Wait for Me by Caroline Leech

4. SERIES ENDING/A SEQUEL I AM MOST ANTICIPATING IN 2017

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

5. ONE THING I HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH OR DO IN MY READING/BLOGGING LIFE IN 2017

Comment/blog hop more. Write more discussion posts. I’m also considering writing some TV/Film reviews but I’m not sure if anyone would be interested in that. 

6. A 2017 RELEASE I’VE ALREADY READ AND RECOMMEND TO EVERYONE

Sad news. I’ve not read a single books since the first week of December. I hate this slump.

That was my reading year. How was your 2016 reading year?

      2016 End of Year Survey Another year has come and gone and what better way to wrap up the year than with this End of Year Survey, created by Jamie…