#pre story stuff hehehehe

[s1llydr3amscape]

Here some ye olde Vanessa designs i managed to find sifting through my sketchbooks (pre sb!!!!) There's more but Its really deep in the trenches.

rip their 4head broo they have no brain 😔

I miss doing stylised stuff tbh but ppl bullied me for it so now whenever I do it I go 😭

very old art vs my current art style and oc's below + rambles :

this was right After the freaking posters released and oughhhh 😭😭😭😭 gurlll

top name cut off that Blaine guy are other human ocs I had for years!! They were in a comic with Vanessa and others heheheh I used to do comics 24/7!!! Ft my old fnaf ocs rival to fazbears who was better at keeping the safety aspect off their robots. I wanna ramble abt them too one day after a heavy rehaul. Vanessa actually switched jobs from my oc location to the Pizzaplex in it!!!! Because I hope Vanny and Vanessa were seperate!!!

Vanessa and Vanny were seperate people in my Rabbit City AU but idk if I still want them to be different or the same now. Also one of Glitchtraps workers who managed to break free from his control and he didn't like that and sent every piece of her crimes online on the Internet as this crazed murder. So now she's in a new city under hiding or face criminal charges she didn't commit willingly. She managed to dye her fur and change enough and became a roadie for this band that's not very good. (Ffps rockstars I love yall funky vibe I'm sorry yall died too soon). She wants to help people and protect them she knows there's others under Glitchtrap’s control and wants to put a stop to him. Sadly some off them don't seem like they want any help... She was a beagle dog because when I saw her I was like beagle!!!!

My longest one is my oc story that's bad and outdated which included 3 rap battles (i love rap sue me) and an orange cat with green eyes with wings mc who's name try and guess

Its Winger.... (yeah because he was based off Scootaloo having small wings so young me thought ohhh Winged but like Winger because unlike scootaloo he can fly and is a winner!!! 💀💀💀 he also had beef with nyan cat oc over a girl and could transform into different elements!!! Like nature fire ice and rainbow... the main main main mc tho is a brown green eyed cat who was half robot after an accident... God looking back what was I on (I got into mlp and had unrestricted Internet access)

then we had this off my old sona... I didn't know how to draw fat could you tell... dark times oughhhh I wasn't blind tho then win 💀 alot of my older older art is traditional so you may not see it unless I sift through 17 layers off hell. Wish I backed up more of my 2019-2020 digital art tho but those were the darkest times for me also wait eewwww no eyebrows

ive gotten better and fr be the change you wanna see in this world draw fat bitches!!!! going down the rabbit hole

that one barbie trend I didn't finish look at the hands boy ouggh insane sauce I drew that

I miss drawing like this lowkey but my hand hurty and god ibis crashes every 25 minutes u was gonna gonna feral bro

self love is drawing urself accurately irl after years of drawing a caricatures of yourself (My first human sona ever was a skinny white woman with long neon yellow hair and a purple streak </3)

Gremlin from earlier I learned color theory aswell but only for purple, green and brown oops <333

I figured I could give it an oval nose because I didn't know how to draw my nose at all. Big ass nose death off me real!!! I love :3 face so much and big ass ears!!!! I will make them have big ass ears they are fun!!!!

These are my sonas I have like 4 rn and a million in thr vault (progress is progressing)

old oc his name is Jamie now and he's from a dream I had. Literally an incel too like he's studying magic got so fed up no one in his own world wanted him. Used magic to find his soul mate who existed in another universe. Made a portal to get there and take her back to his world because he wouldn't comply in a non magic world. When he arrived to her world almost died turning white and green. And like still managed to get the girl back to his world (Akuma's a goober who wanted to be isekaid) and yeah. Like huh my guy chill out 😭😭😭😭 no wonder you ain't getting any. He also killed me in the dream and is so dumb for being a prodigy??? Like he made a business selling illegal potions with the company name just vile.... his own initials... like bro how are you not caught. I can't with him. I pray opun his downfall and can't wait to see what other shit he pulls outta his ass. I feel bad for the Akuma she just wanted to escape not knowing this guy a freak.

heres him now!! He's much more dream accurate with the current events so far!!!!! If he appears next time I hope he croaks fr from the magic sickness like bro u a freak freak /neg

But yeah improvement is real!!! my art process is slower now (carpal tunnel) but I love to draw so much it is so fun if my bitchass ibis won't crash that is hehehehe (it crashed a million times trying to first time make a comic digitally I'm 💥💥💥)

[heystovepipeboys]

Hi Jess how are you? So I'm really curious about two of your wips heheheh. Can you tell us more about "Nix ruins parties" and "How to guide Tertius?". Btw you are SO SO creative omg, lots of love <3

hey, thank you for the ask and the compliment!!! very sweet of you ty! <3 I'm not too bad, very bored at work currently lmao. I just want to be writing 😩 i hope everything is going well for you too.

Nix ruins parties is a 5+1 format story about Nix misbehaving at a variety of different parties spanning from pre-war to post-war. I have a few sections pretty much finished and have currently been working on section v. may 1945, zell am see, austria trying to get some dialogue hashed out.

“Mm.” Dick made a non-committal noise. “Well, over here, anyway.” "Ah, the Orient. A whole new kettle of fish. "It's not over until it's over everywhere." "You wanna go, don't you?"  Silence.  "You do." Nix rolled himself up onto his elbow, peering at Dick's face. It wasn't really even a decision he had to make: he'd made it long ago. "I'll go with you." "I won't hold you to that. You're drunk." "Yes, very," Nix agreed. "But I still mean it. M'gonna come with you."

And How to Guide Tertius is a Sentinel and Guide au from Lip's perspective focusing on the different Sentinels he has to work with through the war until he and Ron find each other. It's one I've been trying to wrestle into shape recently to try to explain the au and get some better description into it. Here's a bit from the start about Dick.

"Sir, did you–" The officer didn’t like seeming vulnerable so Lip was careful to keep his voice neutral. Now he was close enough, he could feel the Sentinel's exhaustion, a low sucking pulse. There was something else there too, a hint of distracting sorrow that was undercutting the rest. Winters always kept his emotions clamped down, so it said a lot about how wrung out he really was right now. Lip wanted to reach out to touch him, grip his shoulder. "I can give you a hand, if you need it."  “No.” That low sense of exhaustion drew back fast, like an animal darting back into its den and out of sight. Winters didn't bristle visibly, but his voice was clipped. The set of his shoulders was stiffer. "No, I'm alright. Thanks for the offer, First Sergeant." Lip didn’t try to argue the point. A different Sentinel and maybe he would have tried, officer or not. With Sentinels, there was always a risk they’d lose themselves, get too overstimulated, startled or provoked into a spiral that dragged them down into their sense of hearing or touch or sight until they could only focus on the tiniest minutia of that singular sense and nothing else. Sometimes it could be an emotion that did it: rage, fear, grief. Guides were able to break through that spiral, allowing a Sentinel to focus in on them instead. An overloaded Sentinel was dangerous, liable to lash out or go catatonic, so Army training for Sentinels was particularly gruelling, drilling the men for hours – days, sometimes – exhausting them, trying to push them to their absolute limits. Boot camp had washed out a lot of Sentinels, and Toccoa had wiped out a lot more. Guides were given different training too, taught how to modulate their voices, keep a touch soft and reassuring, read emotions and body language. Lip hadn't had a problem with it, that kind of stuff had always come naturally for him, even as a child. The training just helped prepare him to do it all under fire so he’d be able to Guide a man through hell itself.  But this was Lieutenant Winters. Lip let it be. 

thanks again for the ask!!

Ask me about my WIPs!

[ms-neens]

James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond in "Come what May!"

My longest comic about the Grand Tour so far ～♡ This time Jeremy, James and Hammond head off to Britain’s number one car show! Sadly heavy traffic and certain weather conditions give them a rough time on the road...but thank goodness it’s Friday!  *✦.°

All paintings, story and text by me (February 2022 - October 2022)

Thank you very much for reading and I hope, as always, I could make you smile with it! ♥︎  This comic will be released as a real book together with my “The Long Way Home“ comic, my “Scandi Flick“ poster, more single artworks of the trio and a bit more in 2023! Please stay tuned if you want a copy of the book for yourself! ♥︎ I’d like to add the pre-release cover as well:

A few words by the author (yeah, that’s me): This time my goal was to write/create/draw a sweet, funny, and heartwarming comic about the trio focused on a simple car ride. In typical fashion of all the comics I do, you won’t find any action based scenes or rude stuff (also I’m no native speaker, but you shouldn’t notice that while reading!). As a result the trio acts a lot nicer and definitely more helpful than in real Grand Tour episodes. The three guys have a super big place in my heart ♡ and because of that, once again, all I could create is something cute and adorable (I could never be mean to them!). Also not everything can be accurate, I have never been to James’s Pub, the Diddly Squat Farm Shop, inside Jeremy’s car or at a car show myself. I had a few reference photos, but 90% of this comic is drawn by memory and how I imagine environments. Anyway, I still hope that I got everyone in character, recognisable and enjoyable for you to look at! Stuff you might have missed:

On the outside of Jeremy’s farm shop you can spot Sansa and Arya, who were puppies when I started working on this comic, so I kept them that way…I am always happy when I spot a photo of the two on Jeremy’s Instagram! ♥︎

Actually everything in that comic takes part in the past, as I was working on it way too long...

Jeremy explains that it’s lucky to turn right at the start of a journey. Of course it’s from the Grand Tour Mongolia Special.

The numberplate on Jezza’s car is a pun on "Jeremy Clarkson 1 Diddly Squat Farm", in case you haven’t already noticed. I thought that’s funny.

James talks about fish finger sandwiches, he posted about them on his Twitter and FoodTribe accounts several times in the past and it’s a really nice and easy dish I like to eat as well!

The CDs in Jeremy’s glovebox are "Supertramp - Crime of the Century", "Yes - The Yes Album", "The Who - Who’s Next", "Genesis - Seconds Out", some album by Eric Clapton you cannot read and "Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon". Despite my age, these are all albums and bands I absolutely love and I think he does as well. ～♡

I had to make something up for the broken air conditioning, something like that is always happening on their journeys (especially in James’s cars!). I’m sure after the events of the comic, it was completely fine again! ^◡^

They always take photos of themselves sleeping and post it somewhere online, this time it was my chance to draw a scene of that! I enjoyed working on that one! Hehehehe...

Jeremy and James’s painful high-five I got from the Grand Tour Colombia Special

In James’s Pub Hammond gets served Spag Bol (yeah, I have this from "Oh Cook!") and Jeremy ordered the infamous fish pie. The reason why I’ve chosen two different meals is that Richard doesn’t like fish, a running gag I keep constant in all of my comics. Also it can be taken as a reference to "The Perfect Road Trip".

James’s apron I spotted in "Lochdown", I think it really suits him! ♥︎

And this time there’s even a moral of the story: Don’t drink and drive!

[pointlookout]

all multiples of 3 for sylvie and harold heh.

i skipped 9 in love cause i couldn’t think of anything. head empty

anyways i love them

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

3. Who felt romantic feelings first?

harold :) he only intended to use her for information to write up a story about the old money families but the more time they spent together the more he fell for her and eventually asked her on a date :)

6. What was their "flirting stage" like?

honestly just lots of talking and dates. sylvie could talk for hours about stuff so harold spent most of it listening and generally liking her the more and more they spoke

GENERAL

3. What was their first kiss like?

harold was dropping her off after a date and it’s raining and he walks her to her door and it’s raining but they don’t care cause they’re already pretty wet after being caught in an earlier down pour and they do the awkward goodbyes and stuff and then sylvie just kisses him :)

6. How do their personalities complement each other? How do they clash?

loud gf + calm bf combo 4eva <3 she has her daily tantrums about the most littlest thing and he’s there to calm her down and make sure she’s okay. literally this dynamic:

9. Who gets jealous easier?

neither? like i think cause they’re so secure there’s nothing to be jealous over

12. Do they hide anything from each other, big or small?

no i think they’re both pretty transparent with each other like sylvie loves to gossip she even if she was hiding something it would probably blurt it out at some point lol she’s really bad at keeping secrets actually

15. What is their most common argument about?

probably work stuff? idk they don’t argue much and if they do its just sylvie making something bigger than it needed to be

LOVE

3. Who uses the cheesy pick-up lines, or does corny gestures?

harold fr. sylvie is like cringe😒 in public but like hehehehe 🤭 in private

6. What are their favorite things to do together?

talk shit!!! idk ig cause it’s their line of work they know so much so they can talk about so much for hours. they like going to dinner once or twice a week and have drinks. sometimes they do a double date thing lori and her hot slice of the week but thats rare lol

12. Who remembers the little things?

sylvie :) she makes a big deal out of everything and enjoys making a fuss of small things

15. What gifts do they typically give each other?

sylvie likes to gift harold stuff like ties, shirts, cologne etc cause she likes dressing him. harold probably gets her more keepsake stuff like jewellery, little trinkets and even journeys cause for some reason she cannot remember anything unless she writes it down

DOMESTIC LIFE

3. What is the wedding like? Who attends?

pretty average sized wedding. sylvie’s parents tried to interfere but she basically told them she doesn’t want them there (although her younger sisters come cause she’s still friendly with them and they’re her bridesmaids). in the la dolce vita au lori is sylvie’s head bridesmaid :) they go to france for their honeymoon 🥖

6. Do they have any pets?

probably one of those white dogs with the crusty eyes. no but for real probably a dog cause in my head i hc harold is allergic to cats. idk he looks the he is

9. How do they celebrate holidays?

sylvie makes a bigger deal over them and she likes to decorate for every major holiday like christmas halloween etc. in the dolce vita au they throw some of the best christmas parties 🥂

12. Who likes to dance with, or sing for, the other?

sylvie likes to sing and dance even though she’s not that good at it but it makes harold laugh so that’s all that matters :)

15. Who would drive, and who would give directions?

sylvie will forever be a passenger princess and will always give the wrong directions <3

[spookyboywhump]

For the flashback: Zander and literally anything regarding his family

A lil smth with a part of his family that doesn’t get brought up as much as he should. This one probably takes place closest to any of the events of the story.

This got longer than I thought it would.

***

Daniel yawned as he came downstairs, awake early as he usually was. He wandered into the kitchen to where his dad was sitting at the table, scowling as he looked over some papers scattered around. He had the TV turned on in the other room so he could listen in on the morning news while he seemed to work. Daniel thought it was an odd hour for him to be worrying about work, but he often worked odd hours so he really didn’t worry about it.

“Morning.” He said, making a beeline straight to the coffee maker. He figured his dad needed some as much as he did.

“Good morning.” His father replied, but it didn’t sound like he was having a particularly good morning.

“Seems a bit early to be working- or are you just doing that for fun over there?” He asked, going to sit down across from him while he waited on the coffee maker. His father sighed heavily, taking his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I swear it’s never ending. I’m sorry, I’m going to be at the office late again today. Hopefully this will all be over with soon.” He said. He was always vague when he talked about work, Daniel had learned a long time ago not to ask questions. Whatever he wanted- or could- tell him, he would.

“I’ll just go to mom’s for dinner.” He shrugged. “Hopefully they don’t work you to death.” He said, laughing halfheartedly. In the past few years, his dad had been working longer and longer hours. It worried him, but it was his understanding that he did a very important job and that meant less time at home. He did hope that would change soon. He got up once his dad’s cup of coffee was ready, the man always drank just black coffee and Daniel thought he was crazy for it, but he thanked him when he brought the cup over to him.

“This is why you’re my favorite kid.” He said, something he said often that always got Daniel to laugh.

“I’d sure fucking hope so.” He said, returning to the counter to make his own cup. His dad had stopped trying to curb his swearing habit a long, long time ago. He leaned against the counter, looking at the chipped black nail polish on his nails as he caught bits and pieces of things being said on the TV. Something about some local business man, a Charles Whitaker donating a large sum of money to a hospital for better equipment, or something like that, he was only half paying attention. He was just thinking that it sounded like a good thing when his father swore under his breath.

“Goddamn Bastard. Danny, will you go turn that off?” He asked.

“Uh, sure...” He went into the living room and muted the volume, hardly even paying attention to the well dressed, white haired man talking with a news reporter on screen. “What’s the matter?” He asked when he walked back into the kitchen, “I wasn’t paying close attention, what were they talking about?” He figured he must’ve just missed something that his father had caught.

“It’s all bullshit.” He said, not looking up from one of the papers. “Whatever they say about Charles Whitaker, don’t listen to it.”

“Easy enough.” He said, going to the refrigerator to grab the creamer. He always used way too much in his coffee, his said he might as well just drink the creamer straight from the bottle. As if Daniel hadn’t done that before. Once he was satisfied, he went and sat back down with his dad. “Hard to believe you have beef with some millionaire, can’t believe I haven’t heard of this yet.” He laughed.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.” He said, and Daniel wanted to point out he was already eighteen, he didn’t know how much older he’d need to be. He wondered if whatever issue his father had with the man was really that bad. It only made him more interested, but he chose not to say anything.

Eventually, the man, and the conversation faded to the back of his mind. His father left for work not even an hour later, and Daniel went about his day as usual, and the conversation from that morning quickly became an afterthought as normal, peaceful life continued on.

[darthmaulification]

for the angst prompts #11 with darth maul, if you feel like it 😍

A/N: hehehehe i feel evil today 😈😈 thank you for requesting!! 💕💕

i’m very happy you did too, it pushed me to sit down and write something (even though it’s short and kinda meh 😶) because i’ve been in such a writers slump. 🙄 i think i just needed something fresh to write, is all. 

also, i had to change the grammar a tad on the prompt to fit in with the story, but it really doesn’t change drastically or anything. 👍

hope you enjoy! 💗

prompt: 11. “you promised to wait for me. but you left me behind. again."

content: angst (duh), implied maul not being a good person, breaking up, emotional pain, gn!reader, mentions of the good times, mentions of like... the literal crimes maul has committed

word count: 907

Even as you watch the droids load your belongings onto the transport freighter (not the one you once flew with Maul, not one with memories attached), even having gotten this far, with this much conviction, the thought of if you’re being too hasty, too brash, crosses your mind. Maybe this is a mistake, maybe you are being too... oh, what’s the word Maul used once? Emotional.

You hate that word now. You want to hate Maul just as much. But you can’t. Not now, at least. Maybe in the future, when the break up has sat with you for a few years, when you’re able to look back at this moment (the explosive argument, packing your things, leaving on a ship) not with yearning and regret, but with melancholic acceptance.

His heavy footsteps, metallic and clanging, come up from behind you and you realize, especially when you turn and meet his gaze, you’ll never be able to hate him, no matter how much you want to.

The sun hangs low in the sky, and there’s no golden glow to paint Maul sacred, divine in the way you had thought he was. Instead, the blood red sky darkens him to something less holy, makes his crimson fade into the backdrop. It leaves him a skeleton of charcoal tattoos, blistering yellow eyes, and all the memories you shared that you wish you can forget, but know you never will.

“You promised to wait for me.” Maul hisses, where he’s appeared bristling and desperate like the first time this happened, but this time is different because you’ve gotten all your stuff in a ship, you haven’t just locked yourself in the fresher and cried. You had, earlier, but now you stand on the docking platform, ready to leave Mandalore once and for all. 

“I can only wait for so long.” Each word has goodbye written on it, like the type of goodbye that has been a long time coming, the past three years in fact. Goodbyes that you should have exchanged the moment you discovered Maul’s intentions with Crimson Dawn, or when he murdered Pre Vizsla and absconded the Throne of Mandalore, or when he and his brother (and if you blamed yourself enough, you) carried out the cruelest, most heinous of tasks.

You could only remain ignorant of his tyranny for so long.

Maul says nothing, his form unwavering and tense and present in the way it hadn’t been when you needed him to be most. You know he knows what’s coming.

“You left me behind.” You wish you didn’t have to point out the obvious, but what other way is there to reconcile with the sin without speaking it’s name? You don’t think you’re talking about the time he never appeared at the rendezvous point, or when he abandoned you to fend off pirates yourself, or even when he left for weeks on end without any word of where he was going. You’re talking about his ambition, his lust for power that you couldn’t keep up with and that he gladly left you for.

“It was an accident, we were at war— I cannot change the tide of battle to ensure that you and I walk out together. You had Savage with you, was that not enough?” Maul’s temper flares and he becomes a wildfire again, all heat and destruction, all bark and bite. This time you do not feel part of the flames, but instead you feel like tinder, and you go up in smoke.

It’s also painful to hear that he is talking about the battle he left you alone in.

“Again, Maul. You’ve left me behind again.” You say, exasperated, and there’s no way he’ll ever see what he’s done to you, not truly. Just as silence begins to drown you both, the droids beep, telling you that they’ve finished moving your stuff onto the ship, and they clamber down the open ramp. The light from inside the hull creates a lit path that leads away from Maul. You step onto it.

“So you are leaving me?” And, oh, Maul sounds bitter, spitting out the words in a tone that is nothing but resentment and vitriol. But you’ve known (knew) him long enough to hear the “don’t go” and the “please don’t leave me” underneath it all, like a shark in the deep blue sea, or two bodies, warm and in love, beneath the sheets—

“I’ve been patient, Maul.” You say, turning on your heel and allowing the weight of all your unspoken words weigh on your shoulders just as much as the burn of Maul’s stare against your back. As you head towards the ship, you remember the first time you met Maul. As you step onto the ramp, you remember when he first flirted with you. Each step up reminds you of the way he held your hand, when he weaved flowers to your hair, how the first kiss made your world warm, the first time you lay together, all the sleepless, restless nights that followed.

You stand at the top of the ramp, hand hovering above the closing switch, looking down at the gorgeous, crimson and black skinned Zabrak who you thought you knew all this time, but maybe you really didn’t. He’s a stranger now, one just barely containing the wrath and rage of a thousand burning suns.

“I’ve been patient.” And this chapter of your life comes to an end.

[shinymooncolor]

Hi lovelies.

Hockey is back. ❤️

And so here is another sweater weather chat. It’s split in two. So stay tuned 😘

All the love in the world for @lumosinlove and each and everyone of you! This fandom is truly a remarkable place 💖

Sweater weather chat #12 part 1

Dumo loses a bet. Sunny has a lot of stories. Sergei once had blue hair. He also fought a German suit. Snuck a few of my nhl heroes in here. See if you can spot them. Nado is dying from anticipation. Blizzard wants pictures. Olli is trying to stay on topic. Alice has questions. Sirius has no comments. We jinx the cup a tiny bit. I took some liberties with rosters and timelines for international hockey. No people were harmed in the making of this chat. Danes really are pesky meatball thieves. I love germans (just needed a bad guy).

Friday 7.22 pm

Prongstar: hey dumo. Not backing down from the bet?

Dumodad: no. I honor my word. You guys won. What do you want? Suicides, my car, my wife’s cooking?

Talkiewalkie: damn dumo. Pimping out Celeste

Dumodad: like the lot of you aren’t half in love with her or Anya. You’re not subtle

Krisvolley: I’d marry both with no hesitation. Between Anya’s piroggi and Celeste’s brownies, I’d be set for life.

Nadotheman:fuck you’d have to fight me and Kuny both for that krissy.

Russiangod: I already son of Anya. I take sergei’s place

Sergei_81: am not even 40 yet. Also you all boys. Can’t handle women. They need men.

Logantremblayzzz: it’s weird guys. Don’t crush on your team mates wives 😳 also Sergei you are 40....

Sergei_81: 🤬

Blizzard: don’t make sexy eyes at your goalie when he’s stretching. 🤪

Timmyforrealz: burnnnnnn hahahahahaha

Prongstar: potential adultery, sergei’s age and Logan’s inappropriate staring aside. Dumo lost our bet. And I’ve made a decision. Drumroll please 🙈🙈🙈🙈

Kuny: drdrdrdrdrrrrrrrrrrrr

Prongstar: thanks Kuny babe 😘

Prongstar: dumo! I want the truth about Prague. In this chat. In writing. You have 1 hr.

Dumodad: no.

Sergei_81: no

Sunnysideup: YES

Sunnysideup: I’ll tell them if you don’t 😜

Dumodad: it’s all your fault. Stupid Swede.

Sunnysideup: no one made you bet me. We won, fair and square!

Sunnysideup: the year was 2006. Turin, Italy. Winter Olympics. A brash Russian and a confident Canadian decided to make a bet with a lovely, young and innocent Swede.

Bradygunzz: innocent? 😂😂😂😂

Walkietalkie: wait weren’t you in Sweden then? Or am I missing something? How’d you even know these guys?

Kaneyoudigit: I thought this story was about Prague?

DumoDad: it is. It just started 9 years earlier.

Sunnysideup: some of my national teammates played with Sergei in the khl during the nhl ‘05 lockout. Dumo was signed to do some press stuff with us at olympics. Something about cross team friendships.

Logantremblayzzz: Wow you guys are ancient

DumoDAD: we were top 3 seeded teams and they picked the Russian with good English, a Swede who’s not scary and me. It was fun. And it turned into a bit of drinking after Sergei and sunny started arguing about the quality of vodka.

Krisvolley: you shouldn’t drink at the Olympics 😂

Sunnysideup: anyways. We bet and of course all three were convinced our respective teams would win. Of course, we all know who emerged victorious 😜

Sergei_81: you had Swedish murder twins not fair. Baby sedin slash me on purpose

DumoDad: he didn’t. That was a legit hit you big baby. Also we did better than the US.

Sergei_81: was not clean.

Sunnysideup: we’re not having this discussion again. You both lost. It was a clean hit. Also, the fun part was the bet itself.

Nadotheman: just fucking tell us. The suspense is killing me.😳

Siriusly: whAt did you do??????? Dumo!!!!

Sunnysideup: well. they got kitted out in lovely blue and yellow team colors. Hank’s idea - some fans gave him loads of body paint. Hahahaha also Sergei was sporting a very impressive buzz cut then. It was a thing. So we’ve got these two idiots painted in blue and yellow including sergei’s head. Unfortunately the dye wasn’t meant for hair. So he had blue hair for two weeks after. Anya is still mad at me about that one 😜

Nadotheman: so you just painted them blue and yellow? That’s like so anti climactic.

Logantremblayzzz: oh he’s not done 😂

CarbO’Hara: Logan tell usssss

Siriusly: how come you told him and not me? I feel betrayed.

DumoDad: I didn’t. Celeste did. Traitor.

Logantremblayzzz: I was sad and homesick and she wanted to cheer me up. 😍

Ollibear: I feel like we’re getting off topic

Logantremblayzzz: wait didn’t you then make them steal the Olympic flags from the hotel you were celebrating at and exchange them with Swedish ones?

Sunnysideup: indeed, Logan, and that went smoothly. So it turned into a thing that every time we compete all three in an international thing. We make the losers swap flags. It’s cute.

Prongstar: what about Prague then? That wasn’t until 2015? Was it?

DumoDad: and we all remember who won.

RussianGod: is also where butt slap come from then? Pre game one?

Sergei_81: not our fault. U had Crosby make heart eyes at zhenya. And no Kuny, not from there...

DumoDad: you’re never letting that one go? Hahaha poor Sergei.

Dumodad: also. the butt slap is an Old tradition. We had a playoff round ages back and I slapped him. We won. We’ve done it since. Works doesn’t it?

Sergei_81: you said “let’s go get them”. Still do. It works. All magic slap. I thought you say “ let’s go eat them” Still works hehe

Ollibear: again, we’re veering off topic, dumo.

Sunnysideup: well. Prague. I know Canada won. Golden boy got golden goal. Blah blah blah. But for some reason we had another bet 😜. Dumo cooked up a revenge for me and Sergei. But it was before the final. We were just heading into the second round and somehow ended up in another vodka related discussion (we all know Swedish vodka is superior).

RussianGod: Swedish vodka is water. Russia best.

Sergei_81: was stupid idea. But vodka make us brave.

DumoDad: I never told you to start climbing that flag pole. You decided that on your own. I just told you to get me the flag.

Sunnysideup: he did climb that pole like a fireman though.

Timmyforrealz: hold up a sec. you’re telling me sergei “i never smile and my looks can literally make opponents wet themselves” Ivanov climbed a flag pole while drunk and it looked good?

Sunnysideup: he was wearing a “I love Canada” onesie and crocs. Which was about 6 sizes too little. We both were.

Newt-leo: we’re going to need pics of this.

Sunnysideup: well. The onesies were one thing. Still not sure how we got corralled into it. But anyways as I remember Sergei did successfully steal the flag from the hotel and started on the cars outside. We just didn’t know it was some group of fancy politicians also in town to watch hockey.

Dumodad: you Europeans and your weird politicians. Apparently the little politic guy didn’t like Russians. So his body guard tackled Sergei down. Sergei fought back. And somehow I ended up in the tangle of suits and Canada onesies.

Sergei_81: he blame Russia for stupid shit I might get mad. Police came and put us in little jail in hotel. Sunny no where

Sunnysideup: I went to get help. I didn’t know you were going to fight the bodyguards of the German minister of trade now did I?

Dumodad: was it German? I thought it was Spain. The flag was yellow and red.

Krisvolley: wait so. In the middle of an Olympic tournament, the three of you (all dads and husbands by 2015) gets shitfaced on vodka, go on a flag stealing rampage through Prague and get tackled by German secret services? 😫

Sergei_81: not Prague just one hotel. And car park. And house opposite.

Siriusly: how did you get out?

Sunnysideup: I bailed them out. Or. I managed to explain that they’re big hockey stars and got backstrom and oveckin to come and support me.. Ovi just giggled. Backy just stared until they agreed. He’s scary. Sergei was cursing a lot. Dumo was crying at one point... hehehehe he . I think dumo was nearly benched no after?

DumoDad: somehow the team found out and little mr captain was not happy?. Also at this point sergei was mostly naked as the onesie gave up halfway through wrestling Germans. We got a big fine, had to formally issue an apology to the German delegates and the hotel. And Sergei had to pay another fine for embarrassing Russia 😂

Sergei_81: they happy I hit German but I couldn’t say hehe. Also lost a croc never found it. Walk home in one shoe 👟

Siriusly: I can’t believe you almost caused an international incident because you were arguing about vodka.

Sunnysideup: you should see us scandies when it comes to the origins of meatballs. Pesky Danes trying to steal credit. 🤬

Blizzard: and you’re all still talking about me and the fountain. Also. We were on the lions team then? How come you’ve managed to keep this quiet? Also. Where are the pictures of this? I have so many questions.

DumoDad: Sunny has pictures. And so does the Czech police. And maybe the hotel. And it stays that way.

Blizzard: sunny. I want pictures.

Sunnysideup: lord Stanley will decide ❤️ also pretty sure both ovi and backy has some. For revenge purposes.

Siriusly: DONT jinx.

Prongstar: you broke cap.

—-

Tuesday 2.54 pm

Alice: Sirius.

Alice: Sirius pick up your phone.

Alice: Sirius Orion Black. Please tell me that a picture of you and Remus in a closet in Ikea’s kids department is fake.

Sirius: I was in hiding. Re helped me. We didn’t do anything

Alice: your shirt is on backwards.

Sirius: it’s a fashion statement.

Alice: and the shark?

Sirius: no comment

——

Part two is coming up.

——

[daisychvins]

｡･ﾟﾟ･ — introduction.

introducing ... violet’s demise ! aka grayson aka her big brother she’s been wiring money to stay away in europe <33333

name: grayson swag money jeon  age: 22 turning 23 (don’t ask me about his sign that’s for liza to figure out someday <3) gender: cis male; he/him hometown: baltimore, maryland sexuality: bisexual & biromantic

listen i was feeling rlly committed to completing his stats but i’m already over it so don’t ask dont tell xx anYWAYS let’s get on to the juicy stuff hehe

i tend to ramble a lot so this intro is gonna be probably a mixture of paragraphs and bullet points and everything in between but let’s start simple. also i rlly wanna emphasize a massive DRUGS TW bc his character largely revolves around his interest in and addiction to drugs

blackmails

grayson is claiming that he's been in a rehab program for the last year and is now completely sober and reformed when he really was just using the money to party and travel throughout europe.

without his parents paying to support him now, he's had to start dealing to make ends meet and keep up appearances. it’s mostly coke, but he dabbles in harder substances depending on what his connections can get him. 

grayson dabbles with calligraphy and was notorious for forging excuse notes and parent signatures all throughout high school and even now sells forgeries for a quick buck. the most notable of these was xavi’s letter of recommendation that helped him get into yale. 

background

grayson is violet’s older brother!!1 yes, that’s right, THE big brother who’s been out of the country getting LIT (and by lit i mean he’s been traveling europe on a series of solo trips w his parents’ money and doin lots of recreational drugs)

i haven’t fully fleshed out the dynamic he has w his parents but just know it’s ,, bad ASDHFJNK basically the jeons treated their children like accessories and expected them to be their little trophies and grayson just was not having that as a kid!!! so he acted out a lot and obviously got himself into a pretty bad scene (thank u goosie) and is basically the bane of his parents existence at this point <3 yet they still try to appease him to keep him under control but that’s for the family task to work out hehehehe

despite hating his parents, he adores both of his siblings. before the drug use started, he was always a big nurturer and would have done anything for either of them......now he wouldn’t be caught dead praising violet but he loves her in secret from afar HSJDFKG

yeah basically he met goose when he was around 15 i think????? and got introduced to drugs around 16 or 17 i wanna say and by the time he graduated high school he was just....a much different person than the soft big brother he used to be. his parents sent him off to europe pretty much as soon as he turned 18 under the guise of going to school internationally, but grayson obviously knew the truth and understood that he was being sent away so he wouldn’t be his parents problem anymore. 

he basically spent the last four years galavanting europe and just....trying to enjoy it???? but it’s hard to enjoy an extended vacation when u have no family or friends on ur side anymore </3 he basically used the money to stay in hostels and worked odd jobs here and there to stay afloat and keep supplied w the...special goods....but yeah lots of drugs, alcohol, sex, and recklessness but he DID learn a couple languages??? or at least enough to get through some pretty basic conversations in most european countries so <3 guess it’s all okay then!!!! 

anyways idk what else to put here that u won’t just find out in the family task so uhhhhhh idk lmk if u need anything else i guess

present/personality

so now grayson is just vibing at yale obviously ummm he actually got super into writing after high school, especially poetry. he used to carry journals full of just random prose about his addiction and his deepest thoughts, as well as probably some lighter stuff about his love escapades or maybe goose idk...basically he used poetry as an outlet and it allowed him to really ground himself and find his place in the world even if it didnt include who he thought it would SO with that being said, grayson got into yale due to a poetry competition he was a part of. he saw some big fancy competition being advertised and on a whim decided to submit some poem about his struggles with addiction and losing his family (a v raw piece that he didn’t expect to ever see the light of day) and he actually ended up winning! it caught yale’s attention and they invited him to apply and, knowing how much it would probably disturb his little sister, grayson very smugly applied and was pretty stoked to see he got in 

because that poem gained such publicity, it was assumed that he was a survivor of addiction and was writing from a sober perspective. he didn’t want to correct anyone, so he just went with it and has basically crafted this story about his massive success and has become an advocate for addiction treatment and rehabilitation. of course, none of the companies that sponsor him or the events that host him as a motivational speaker know that he’s snorting lines in the bathroom beforehand or dealing to half the elites, but that’s between grayson, god, and the blackmailer !

basically grayson showed back up because of violet’s blackmail being exposed. he was off in europe, unable to defend himself, and with a massive vendetta against his family so he decided what better way to reenter society than by publicly outing himself as a martyr <3333 his plan is basically to bash the family name to fulfill whatever angsty coming of age arc he has in store for him to make up for the pain of being sent away .... really angsty yeah </3 rip grayson 

anyways yeah he’s a total fake. he’s been using his status as a martyr to his advantage a lot, the best example being his recruitment into the elites. he guilted them into accepting him by discussing the PR benefits of recruiting a member that struggles with addiction and how supporting addiction treatment and second chances would be such a good look for them. like he basically threatened to publicly expose them for denying him due to his troubled past and accuse them of being exclusionary so they said boop ! ur in. now the elites are proud advocates for second chances <3333

i would describe grayson as fearless, overconfident, infamous due to his condition being exposed recently, a little gloomy, he’s kind of just got this chip on his shoulder and feels like he has something to prove....he’s gotta be better than his parents, gotta stick it to them and to violet and to everyone who doubts him. he’s a grumpy guy with a massive vendetta and a need for some kind of justice. he just doesn’t know what that is yet. despite all of the bad, however, he’s genuinely a pretty good guy. he’s really goofy and a genuine person, pretty friendly with literally everyone until they give him a reason not to be. basically, unless you are a member of the jeon family he probably likes you or is at least cordial to you (unless we plot differently ofc but u know). he’s just a big lovable dummy with some sweet drug connects and a knack for poetry. he also knows calligraphy but that’s beside the point . 

idk if this is enough to describe him but yeah if u have any questions just let me know hehe

this is probably gonna make things hard but considering violet was just exposed i think that he’s pretty new to yale ???? like probably just transferred in/started this spring semester rather than being here for the entire year/a prolonged amount of time so most of our plots will likely have to be newer/center on him first showing up OR we can establish their connections from pre-europe which is also fine w me....idk i didnt rlly think this timeline through so let’s just plot and see what happens aghbfjnd anyways i included some connection ideas to help us all just in case

wanted connections

i’d say he’s the honorary dealer of the elites aghbdfjn so literally anyone who needs a plug could be a potential connection. we can obviously tweak this and customize it to each character <3

maybe someone who met grayson in europe. they could have travelled together for an extended period of time or even just a brief encounter. he was over there for four years, so the possibilities are endless. 

building off the last one, this same connection could work with a romantic interest. maybe they were romantically involved for a time in europe and fell out of touch or maybe grayson/your muse just left in the middle of the night and they never saw each other again until now and maybe there’s some unresolved feelings/one-sided longing or need for closure. it could also be that they just hooked up whenever this person was in the area and that was that, no strings attached. 

maybe someone who genuinely believes that grayson is actually sober and really admires his strength and idk maybe they’re struggling w their own issues and seek advice from him or maybe they just make it harder for him to actually do his thing bc they’re constantly around and it’s not like they can catch him strung out and acting up 

someone in the literature department or with a background in english or writing. someone he could read poetry to, or share his favorite lines with. someone who’s taken the same professors and can tell him who to watch out for or what to expect. idk i just want him to have someone to share his passions with. maybe a little crush is forming? maybe they’re just friends who share a love of fiction? idk i’m open to literally anything 

he’s sort of a motivational speaker now bc he advocates for rehabilitation resources and stuff so like maybe ur muse saw him give a presentation or participate in some kind of seminar and they called bullshit on him after the show bc they were like,,, bro i literally saw u partying w max and avery last weekend what the fuck are u on about and now they could potentially hold that blackmail over his head hehe......

exes plots are always fun we love angst in this house 

fuck it let’s bring another family member BHJFNGKM no but grayson rlly is a nurturing guy and like....definitely develops unhealthy attachments to cope w his loss of family so he’d love all the sibling-like bonds he can get to kinda numb the pain of “””””losing””””” violet 

if none of these interest you i’m literally so down for anything pls just let me know and i’m happy to brainstorm always <333333 

thank u for reading this....smooch . 

[wellamarke]

@synth-recharge-challenge: Week 2 Meta Challenge

Overall, which series (1-3) has been your favourite?

Hmm…. I’m going into this essay without much idea what my conclusion will be, so let’s see where this goes, shall we?

Series 1 is obviously the OG - it has all the intrigue and character driven storylines, it’s very inward-looking and contained, which I definitely don’t mean as a negative - it made the storytelling very rich. The screentime was more fairly apportioned, too, I thought. I’d have liked more Fred, but other than that I feel like we got a fair amount from each character. The various storylines (of which there weren’t TOO many) fed into each other beautifully.

Series 2 expanded the world, put our faves in new situations, explored new dynamics and gave us the flagship Nistrid. It developed characters we already loved as well as giving Hester (a new character) a meaningful arc. It was gripping and exciting. However… some aspects were a bit disjointed. Not all threads contributed to the main story, but instead took time away from characters whose (more interesting) arcs were left a little depleted.

Series 3, in my view, combined something of the magic of series 1 with that of series 2. It was full of parallels of now-iconic series 1 scenes and motifs, had some brilliant character scenes, and fewer random plotlines (only Niska’s diverged from the rest, really, everyone else had lots of intersection with each other). It also brought in plenty of new characters and built on series 2’s world expansion and thriller-y elements. However, it killed a bunch of characters, and while I actually accept each one in isolation as being well handled… as a pattern, it doesn’t sit well. Once every two episodes, a female character died for the cause she was fighting for. These are all tragic, beautiful stories in themselves, with each character giving her life in a different way (and with varying levels of agency) that, individually, might be seen as something that makes sense for her personal story… but in terms of the “overall”, I can’t bring myself to love this trend.

Okay, so those are some general thoughts. Based on this I would rank them in the following order: 1 - 3 - 2.

Now let’s rank them more scientifically, using some categories.

Opener (3 - 2 - 1)

This one isn’t very fair because Series 1’s opener has a very different job, and I didn’t watch it for the first time after months of anticipation (pretty sure I only knew about it 6 days in advance lol and I had no pre-existing interest in any character). So the only victory here is (narrowly) 3 over 2. I was just SO VERY PUMPED after 3.1.

Characterisation (1 - 2 - 3)

I can’t speak highly enough of Series 1 when it comes to characterisation. The other two… I originally had them the other way round, but then I was comparing what I see as the major failures of each, and I’ve decided that 3’s crimes (Toby and Leo) are worse than 2’s (Mattie and Sophie). Toby might as well not have been in series 3, and Leo felt like a different person for most of it. In Leo’s case that might have been intentional because of his change of, well, species, but I don’t have to like it! In contrast, Mattie and Sophie bounced back entirely from the whacky things series 2 had them do (Mattie not giving half a damn about Odi and Sophie forgetting that she’s the only kid in the country who knows that synths CAN have feelings). Possibly S3’s good characterisation outweighs S2’s, but I decided to judge this one on the cons rather than the pros. They’re easier to quantify.

Themes (3 - 1 - 2)

In a sense 2 was an interim year, between the story at its core and the story of the world: it had more to do in terms of transitive plot, driving forward to point we’re at in series 3, where we can tell these huge, thematic stories on a global level. Series 1 did beautiful things with themes like humanity, family, technology, trust. Series 3 was at times a horrifying mirror to our own failures as a species. I’ve seen the creators characterise s1 as being about family, s2 as being about relationships/couples, and s3 as being about societies. Maybe from this point of view it’s not much of a wonder that I list s1 first and s2 last, hehehehe.

Plot (3 - 2 - 1)

This is kind of a hard category to call so I don’t really know why I put it down. I think I agree with this ranking. But let’s also say:

Integration of Plots (1 - 3 - 2)

Nothing will ever beat the beautiful tapestry that is series 1, where everything weaves together so well. S3 did a better job of joining things up than S2, but then as mentioned, S2 kind of had to be about fragmentation in order to expand the world.

Shipping (2 - 1 - 3)

Hello, I’m still bitter about S3 Nistrid so here S2 has to win. It also gave us several Karpet gems, and Flax and Trenie. Series 1 has so much beautiful Miaura, and the beginnings of Leotilda. S3 Leotilda felt a LITTLE rushed (working backwards from the finale it’s like: oh, we need her to be pregnant with Miracle Hybrid Baby by episode 8 so they’ll have to be making out ASAP!). Oh, but s3 did have the Nistrid ILYs… they were obviously quality content. Just not enough of it. Plus, my OTP got sunk in the FIRST EPISODE. Boo.

Finale (2 - 3 - 1)

I think series 1’s finale is pretty weak, compared to the rest of it: things are worked out a little too easily, and I love it as a character episode more than a culmination-of-the-plot-I’ve-been-invested-in episode. Series 3’s finale was sooo impactful and beautiful in many ways, but I can’t quite forgive it for Mia, yet, or the STUPID HYBRID STUFF. Whereas the Series 2 finale is, quite honestly, one of the best 45 minutes of TV that I’ve ever seen. It’s so satisfying, on both plot and character levels. I was literally watching curled up in a little ball, for some of it. It had the most gorgeously-shot closing scene, with all the synths waking up. I’ll admit that Mia’s memorial scene is also visually stunning, but I’m usually crying too much to really appreciate it.

Scoring time: let’s say it’s add a point for ranking first, and deduct a point for ranking last.

Series 1 ends up with a score of -1!

Series 2 ends up with a score of 0!

Series 3 ends up with a score of 1!

Itemised ranking: 3 - 2 - 1

This is hilarious! How has Series 1 lost?

Averaging my initial ranking with my itemised ranking, then:

1 - 3 - 2 versus 3 - 2 - 1 gives us 3 - 1 - 2.

So it would appear that Series 3 might be my favourite overall… which was NOT the outcome I was expecting. I think it’s probably fair, though. There has been a lot of gorgeous stuff this year.

What this system I’ve improvised doesn’t do is measure how MUCH the things that were better were better, and how MUCH the things that were worse were worse. I feel that s3’s crimes are worse than s2’s, but s3’s high points are higher than s2 ever really reached. S1 is at the perhaps unfair disadvantage of not being in the position to have taken many risks, because it was only building, not expanding, so I suppose it makes sense that it’s ended up in the middle.

Maybe one day I’ll do this on a proper 1-10 system that measures amount of individual merit, rather than just pitting them against each other directly. But for now… this will do.

If you’re wondering why you read this far, well, so am I, pal.

[gayholmesian]

I am a new johnlock blog, I create this one separate from my main blog. I want to write some johnlock fic and don't really know were I want to start.

hey kiddo!so... starting fics can be hard. really hard. (heheheh)but in all seriousness, it depends on what you're aiming for, honestly.no matter what, i would recommend starting with a prompt--and this prompt should be something that you feel like you can explain in detail. what will this prompt lead to? how does it effect the characters? this prompt will differ depending on the length you're intending to make it. for a faster one-shot, your prompt may be as small as "there's a large storm and sherlock and john need to cuddle in front of the fire for warmth", but then for a longer fic, a prompt may be as complex as "sherlock and john are both teenagers and slowly fall in love while attending the same boarding school". au, or alternate universe, is anything where it really didn't occur in canon. au is sort of tricky to explain, because pretty much all fanfics are alternate universe, unless they're exact retellings of an event from a different point of view. using an au does give A LOT of freedom, because then you don't have to be restricted by time periods or realism (as in, you can place the characters in a fantasy setting)if you're kinda stuck without a plot, i actually have a few prompts i reblogged in my #reference (or #ref ... i can't remember which lmao) tag. there's a couple cute ones in there, and you can always build off and change a prompt to make it more interesting.with johnlock, it so depends on what storyline you're starting with.it's always good to know which adaption you're using to tell this story. for fandoms such as the sherlock holmes fandom, there are soooo many adaptions that you need to make it clear in the tags which adaption you're using. this is important for you and the reader. it's important for you because you're basing the mannerisms of this character off the interpretation of the particular adaption.for example, let's say you're writing an alternate universe fanfic where sherlock and john are actors in the 1920s. if you're basing your chacters after the granada holmes adaption, then your holmes will have slightly different mannerisms than your bbc sherlock holmes because of how the actor decided to portray holmes, and they will be pictured differently by the viewers due to them being played by different actors.now, onto the fic itself. i would highly recommend, if you want to make a multi-chapter fanfiction, try to make each chapter on the longer side. the more you can stretch out in a chapter, while simultaneously not overloading it with events, the better. try describing the character's in detail in the moment. what are they feeling? thinking? what's the setting?basically, tap into a hypersensitivity of the moment.ALSO NEVER FORGET characterization!!!! it is VERY important to try to remain in character. try to think like them. what would they say? would watson get in a huff here? or praise holmes here? would holmes make an asshole comment here? or jump around here like a school boy?for this, you're gonna search... weird stuff. like... kidney prices on the black market weird stuff. nothing much i can say here but... well... that's sherlock lolfinally, for the... more... *ahem* adult fics, you've gotta reeeeaaaaaalllly think. like... in depth. think about their actions and how they typically talk, but also use your creativity. hell, we don't genuinely know what sherlock likes to do under the sheets. maybe he's full throttle, or maybe he's more soft and loving. maybe both. who knows! i definitely don't know for sure lol but i still write what i think he may be likewhat im getting at here is to1) have a storyline2) respect the characters & where they came from3) don't be afraid to get into detail4) remember they're preexisting characters, so they have pre-existing characteristics and aspects5) with 4 said, we still don't know everything! get creative in your own way!(alright, that's all i've got lol; anï out)

[cbspams]

The Boyz - No Air (A Song of Ice and Fire)

These are gonna be super fucking long, just fair warning.

Hello again and welcome to another round of Delphine nitpicking a performance into the oblivion!

Honorable mention to my roommate who desperately despises kpop with all their heart but watched this performance (and the other TBZ performance) with me to help me get some insight on how attuned to GOT the performance was since I've never watched the show or read the books. For reference, they have read the books, watched the tv show and in their free time they listen to extensive opinion pieces and analytical essays on GOT. So I'd personally put their knowledge pretty high, but once again this is like a second hand account so sorry if I get things wrong.

ALRIGHT LETS GET IT!!

First, I wanna talk a bit about the pre-performance clips. I really liked the underwater photography studio idea as a way to feel and show desperation. I personally would need to do something else as I'm not afraid of water but I think that the literal concept of not having air is interesting and a good direction. I'm also really proud of Sunwoo for working so hard despite his fear, and I'm really touched by Younghoon specifically going back into the tank to help. Side note but pufferfish New hehehehe.

I genuinely wish they had used more of the film and photography from the session for the actual performance. I feel like a short pre-performance film would've really elevated the storyline, especially since they're trying to reference GOT which is (as according to the books and the show UP TO where the books ended, yknow, pre-season 8) really, really plot and lore based. Not to dive too deep into the theme yet but I feel as though a lot of TBZ's performances in Kingdom (which are really just this one and then O Sole Mio (Red Wedding) in round 2) aren't really expressing the full extent of their themes.

What I mean by this is that anyone who has read A Song of Ice and Fire (ASIF, pls dont @ me if this is the wrong acronym bc idk??) probably knows that TBZ performance wasn't really based in any events of the book or any themes of it. No Air is a desperate love song and there's plenty of desperation in ASIF but it really feels like TBZ did a mix of inspired by ice and fire (the literal elements) and set in ASIF (physical location markers). According to my roommate, the set pieces are recognizably places in ASIF but the performance didn't really track the themes present in the novel. I'll get to the Red Wedding later as well, but in both performances although TBZ were clearly trying to track some level of GOT's, it feels underdeveloped and therefore to me feels clunky, which is a bit disappointing because TBZ are masters of concepts and executing new ideas. Not sure if this makes sense but I guess if I had to summarize, it would be that they're taking inspiration from the name and title of things rather than the actual source material so it doesn't feel as effect in some ways. STILL, if I consider it operating on the level of just ice and fire rather than by GOT, they did a beautiful job!

Consider this: No Air is originally a bit more of an upbeat rhythm and melody but the way they toned it to be almost kind of in minor key to fit the desperation theme? Whoever's doing arrangement is putting out stuff that's really amazing. On top of that, the drum beats in the baseline add to that same feeling and then to have the turn around where the melody gets softer before the chorus, is a beautiful touch of contrast that really draws together the tender side of a desperate love. And the first chorus feels almost defeated, longing and yearning. I feel like the flow of the music really fit a tragic romance storyline, which I just love about TBZ.

Even with their less than stellar (imo) execution of theme, they're still putting out completely new and incredible ideas. Starting even with the 100 sec performances in which they did the hands thing and now with the POV camera direction, TBZ are taking full advantage of the stage and it's set up, which I cheer at every time I see it. Even the other groups are were picking up their ideas! See Stealer (The Scene) by SF9 in which Zuho "fights" the camera.

ALSO a quick note on the beginning camera work!! They show the frozen zombies (an allusion to the white walkers I assume) and they're completely stiff but then the camera moves towards Juyeon and the woman's arms take off one of his wrist cuffs before turning and you see that the zombies have moved!! And then there's a quick shot that as she's turned around to take off the other cuff, the zombies start to move again. That's a really smart way of setting up the kind of stakes in the moment, that if she doesn't get Juyeon free quickly then she'll be attacked and overtaken and Juyeon will stay trapped. The blocking in this moment is immaculate as far as story telling goes!! I love when the camera contributes to the theme and storyline, very much a show don't tell kind of thing. Love that for them.

The stretch screen is also a really interesting idea! I'm not sure how it correlates to ASIF or their theme necessarily, I think it's more of a performance aspect but literally Juyeon What The Fuck. He's genuinely so talented and it stems from his dedication and hard work. They kind of mention in the pre-performance clips that he's really harsh on himself and cries after performances when they don't do well, but legit I thought he did so, so well here. His expressions were really forlorn at first and once again, those dance moves!! Bro!!

On the topic of expressions, because one of their main themes is desperation, I watched really closely to how they were expressing that with their faces and bodies. I'm judging body language differently, since kpop dances tend to really favor the more hip hop, sharp isolation style and I can't view it like, oh they should've done contemporary dance.

Kevin's opening line gave me goosebumps. The kind of build up in the strings to his cool but forceful voice, mmph. I think Haknyeon's anger is also a really nice touch because desperation may be based in sadness but it's real expression usually comes out in anger. In that last do or die moment, are you cowering and hiding in an attempt to survive or do you fight back? The human body has a natural instinct to thrash around and reach for anything you can when you drown, and it feels like a fight because it is one. So although TBZ is aiming for a sad and tragic love story, because their main theme is what it is, I like that they included different sides from fury to despair. Sunwoo's little head toss back was really good too, both technically and thematically.

Honestly I don't know who choreo'd this but I really liked it. They definitely choreo'd it with the camera in mind, which I mean, everyone did but their was really smooth and easy to flow with. People were walking off camera nonchalantly, as opposed to sprinting off. It's something that ATEEZ had trouble with in the 100 sec performance (in the pre-performance clip) so you can see TBZ experience in performing the live take on the Kingdom stage (which I've mentioned before is a really unconventional type of stage). Plus because the arrangement slows in different places, they have little moments of tragic love as well (like pre-chorus when the camera unblindfolds Hyunjae or post-chorus when Haknyeon, Kevin, Sangyeon, and Jacob hold the lover's hands tenderly), which just emphasizes their desperation! I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot but tbh that just goes to show how in tuned TBZ are with their emotional theme. Another thing is the zombies, which continues the theme from before that they're fighting somehow to stay with their lover or that their time is in danger. Sunwoo dangling over the hoard, like okay. Okay! I see you! Oof, props to you choreographer, props to you.

YOUNGHOON!!! What an actor man, he's got such a diverse range of facial expressions. He really pulls off the kind of empty, forlorn look, ugh. Please get this man a role in a drama, 11/10 would watch. Honestly Juyeon too, please guys I'm too wear for those intense, piercing looks.

That last moment is interesting. It's almost like they're flinging their lover away from the fire, rejecting them so they'll be safe? The explosion in the back honestly doesn't make a lot of sense except as some kind of climactic moment but I don't think they needed it. It doesn't really fit the story they were telling, nor does it set up for their next performance so like. Why lol.

I'm new TBZ and I've been kind of eating up content from them, but especially because I got to know them through RTK, I had really high expectations for them now. I think they're still doing wonderfully, especially between the new creative freedoms Kingdom offers. But I also think they're suffering what I've previously described as the kind of burden to come up with something that fits in the set.

A quick recap: Because RTK had less budget and was smaller, the props and sets were a lot more simple and specific. Each group had to create stories using limited props which forced them to be more technically advanced with their formations, dance moves, arrangements etc. Because Kingdom has more budget and can now create elaborate sets and costumes etc, I think the groups are somehow less diverse and creative here than in RTK. Their technical skill still shines through but it feels like a lot of it gets covered with the sets and stuff.

So like in RTK, TBZ made ample usage of their own bodies to tell stories whereas now it feels like they're not doing that and it makes me sad in some ways because I think that's the appeal of a competition show. That you're allowed to make more story telling with your own body, instead of following pure performance choreography like in normal performances. Something that comes to mind for example is like The Eve from EXO. The song is supposedly about standing up to corruption but the dance is uh. Sexy and honestly not very aligned with the song. So like that's kind of a choreography and performance for the sake of performance. But on RTK, groups were able to have more themed storytelling and TBZ were a master of it, from thieves in Danger to revolutionaries in Reveal. So I'm just a little sad to see that kind of vanish with the budgeting that comes with Kingdom.

Despite all that, I still think TBZ have put on a great performance and it's still really interesting and fun to watch. I hope that their future performances allow them a little more creativity and storytelling with their bodies and techniques, with the set pieces helping enhance that rather than hinder it.

[ms-neens]

Another comic about Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond by me ～♡ This time Hammond sadly crashes a beautiful Jaguar XJ-S, so the boys are stuck in a forest and have to find a way to get back. As always I had a chance to include Jeremy as farmer, his puppies, a delicacy from James’s bunker kitchen, a well-known British newspaper and a few other funny references you might remember from the Grand Tour. Thank you so much for reading and I really hope I could make you laugh again! ♥︎ All paintings, story and text by me (October 2021 - February 2022) I’d like to add the pre-release cover as well:

P. S.:

Of course there will be a physical print of that comic, just like last time. But as I want two stories in my second GT comic book (as well as some extra paintings and stuff), it definitely will take a long time until finished. Please bear with me (the other story is currently in the making...)!

Also introducing my new ★ SHORT STORIES ★ label for comics which are shorter than my usual 20 pages long stuff hehehehe •◡•

The title of the story is based on one of my all-time favourite songs: Take the long way Home by Supertramp.