#that it was still full of whimsy and affection.

[zelda-posting]

tears of the kingdom could have been so good if it were built around like, its story or its characters instead of being a clunky shell to show off the mechanic no one asked for that it forces you to use

[twistcmyk]

Several months ago I was watching old YouTube videos that I'm nostalgic for. One of these was Lindsey Stirling's "Lindsey Stirling - Crystallize (Dubstep Violin Original Song)" released in 2012. In it, Lindsey Stirling's dubstep violin original song plays as she navigates a frozen landscape, equipped with only her violin and her funky little dance moves. As she traverses, she performs sweeping, exaggerated (and to me, fucking hilarious) gestures of awe and wonder at the world.

While watching, I gave her a silly phrase in a silly voice to match her expressions.

"Beautiful Strange World...!"

I said it with a really specific inflection. It carries the same cadence as when Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood goes "Full, Metal, Alchemist." but with a lot more whimsy, wonder, and curiosity. Either way, sounding like a corny anime dub is important.

"Full, Metal, Alchemist...!"

This was (and still is) some of the funniest shit in the world to me. But as I kept repeating it, the phrase accumulated power.

Full, Metal, Alchemist.

Beautiful Strange World.

Let's break this down:

Her world of snow and ice is beautiful and strange, but so is our world. Everything about it. Everything is so weird!

Giraffes? Why do they look like that? There's generally evolutionary explanations for stuff like this, but evolution is bizarre.

Spiders? They know how to make webs. They just do that.

Grocery stores? There's a bunch of food in a big box with unimaginably complex supply chains, and people depend on this big box to provide them with ingredients for meals.

Those little sponge capsules that soak up water to become little dinosaur sponges? What the fuck?

Beautiful Strange World.

I've gotten into the habit of saying it whenever something amazes me, whenever I take a step back and take the time to appreciate something that we take for granted, or if I'm interacting with a piece of media that does, in fact, take place in a world that is strange, and beautiful because of it.

It makes me feel like the move she does about three minutes and sixteen seconds into the video.

Beautiful Strange World has legitimately affected the way I perceive the world, due to Lindsey Stirling's "Lindsey Stirling - Crystallize (Dubstep Violin Original Song)".

[sidsinning]

Nobody:

My brain at 3 am:

Alucard's relationships with Seras and Integra in both animated versions of the series tells you a lot about his character and the differences between each version of him.

When you really think about it, Alucard in Hellsing (2001) actually gave Seras a clear choice by telling her what he would do to kill the evil vampire and his offer, waiting for her answer before going through with the gunshot. Throughout the whole fight Seras was firmly within the grasp of the evil vampire so there was little for Alucard to do to save her besides this offer based off the limits to his powers he had in this version of the series. It was most likely a rare sense of compassion that drove Alucard to give this small human a chance to live and be guided by his presence. This is shown throughout the show as he maturely and calmly walks her through the process and looks over her choices on her journey. He silently watches over the choices she makes by drinking blood or not, rejecting his blood, and lets her freely discover/adapt to her new life.

Ultimate however paints a different picture. The Alucard we know in Ultimate is much more selfish, emotionally immature, and heavily basks in his bloodlust and insanity, even moreso than Alucard 2001. Seras was out of the grasp of the evil vampire when Alucard appeared as a distraction in this scene. If he was really concerned with saving her he would have immediately dispatched the evil vampire and let her go on her way. I deduce he already planned, at least subconciously, to have Seras make the impossible choice to die or become a vampire like him. He saw how Seras fought back when faced with the evil vampire's threats to assault and enslave her and decided then she was worthy of being a proper vampire by his side. Like he says, it was a contemplative moment of whimsy and slight compassion, but moreso that selfish side of Ultimate Alucard coming through in wanting a companion of sorts after years of solitude.

This is why unlike 2001, he is a lot more frustrated and exasperated with her choice to not drink blood or free herself of his power over her. He wanted to have someone equal by his side, an equal ally to walk the night with, but ended up with a pseudo daughter-student-servant of sorts who was strangely HAPPY remaining by his side under him. He's frustrated but also fascinated at her stubbornly trying to cling to her humanity despite having the means to become all powerful like him. Unlike 2001, he slowly, gradually becomes the parental support Seras really needed instead of the master to slave relationship they have on paper. He is eventually willing to teach her on her terms while nudging her not to just be powerful for his own desire, but to step up to what she is now that she's no longer human. It is the best path he sees for her growth as a person.

It's why he gives her that endearing head pat after she wipes out the army invading the manor. Despite still not drinking his blood, he sees her at her full potential and contentment with her place under him and is happy for her, fully seeing her as her own person with her own goals in life that differ from his own. Not drinking human blood legitimately hurt her which was unacceptable and unsustainable, while not drinking his blood in particular was ok in the end, something he comes to terms with, because being connected to him is what she wants.

His relationship with Integra in 2001 is very strictly master to servant with Alucard holding a deep sense of undying loyalty and respect for the mostly stoic and pragmatic Integra. Rarely will Integra show affection to Alucard on a human level, at least obviously. She is more cold and decisive, telling Alucard he doesn't make decisions after Alucard tells her he wants Seras to be transferred into their organization. Despite this, Alucard is still devoted and caring towards her, telling Seras how strong Integra is for potentially sacrificing her life to not become a vampire. The bond they have is still powerful and deep, as her meeting with Alucard largely remained the same in both versions. She went from a brave but not completely fearless little girl with the guts to declare herself his master after witnessing his massacre of her uncle's guards, to the fearless and capable leader he now serves happily.

In Ultimate however, their relationship is much warmer as it shows her accommodating him with luxuries like a private jet and his own hotel room, smirking and bantering with him back and forth, and not shutting him down when concerning Seras, instead asking him about his choice. She is much more curious to understand him despite still seeing him as her servant and weapon to her organization. This warmth and compassion is also extended to Seras who she offers her own blood to. Alucard is also completely devoted and loyal to Integra, but the professional line between them is a bit more blurred. He holds a strange desire to see Integra bask in the same bloodlust he feels, to lose herself to the insanity of battle and bloodshed- having the AUDACITY to tell her he got aroused by her orders, then asking her, his master, whether or not she got turned on by his actions at her command. It shows a deeper desire for her that is not clearly defined as romantic, but definitely charged in a way 2001 was not. This Alucard's insanity and lust for battle consumes him much more than 2001 Alucard. He is always trigger happy to the point of making it everyone else's problem. It's his emotional immaturity coming through because- who the fuck asks something like that to anybody??? 2001 Alucard strictly respects Integra on an intellectual level while Ultimate Alucard,,,holds something that goes deeper into his carnal desires. Selfish little asshole that throws a tantrum when his battles don't end the way he likes, accidentally taking out his emotions on his surrogate daughter, feeling regret and remorse 2001 Alucard has not because of his patience and emotional maturity in regards to those important to him.

By the end of Ultimate, Alucard the selfish, emotionally immature, crazy man child that he is, displays his firm possessiveness over both Seras and Integra to Walter to taunt, belittle, and degrade him for the hell of it. To feel petty superiority.

-then I wake up and think about all of this all over again 🥴🥴🥴

[justafewsmallsteps]

Inuyasha rare pair of your choice:: 29. A kiss ..."as a promise"

There were many things Kikyou was forced to lock away during her life; so many feelings she had to bury deep within herself in order to fulfill her duty as the Keeper of the Shikon no Tama. There was no room for self-doubt or sorrow just as there was no allowance for real happiness or whimsy. 

Purity. It was her prison in life. 

But she was no longer alive. 

Walking the earth as a phantom, her partial soul confined to a clay body, Kikyou was no longer shackled to the expectations that had once weighed her down. In her death had been release. 

Freedom. 

All the freedom in the world to do as she pleased, act as she pleased, feel as she pleased. 

For the first time in her existence, she could experience the fullness of life as it had been denied to her before. But to live a normal life was as unattainable a wish as holding an ocean. All she could do now was throw herself into the waters, allow herself to bask in it without fear of drowning. (She was already dead, after all.) 

She was as much unbound to her duty as she was to the rest of society. 

Free to hate. 

Free to love.

Even her idea of love used to be confined to what was allowed. What was appropriate. A husband and children and domestic subservience. Those were society’s standards for a woman. A part of her stilled mourned the loss, but a greater part felt a great triumph to escape it. Now, Kikyou no longer cared for their rules or ethics, for their acceptance or respect. How fickle and selfish were their desires and affections. 

But she could be fickle and selfish too now. She abandoned propriety. She captured what life she could to sustain herself, threw herself into a revenge-fueled quest for justice, beckoned the half-demon to whom she almost gave her heart and left him without explanation. She didn’t need him as a lover anymore. She didn’t need any man. 

And so when it wasn’t a man who piqued her interest, Kikyou no longer buried the feeling, nor did she feel any shame. It wasn’t even difficult for her to wonder why the Wind Sorceress was so captivating to her. After all, she had an affinity for those who craved freedom as she did. A demon. An incarnation of her murderer. Being a woman was laughably inconsequential in comparison. 

And because Kikyou was free to do as she wished, she let herself lean into her curiosity without trepidation. 

For her part, Kagura had the power to animate the dead, but she had absolutely no control over the resurrected miko. Kikyou was an entirely different existence, and one that Kagura approached with caution. While Kikyou always made quick work of Naraku’s wasps, she allowed the Kagura to survey her without care. Why? 

It wasn’t out of fear. If she truly wanted to, the priestess was more than capable enough to overpower the demoness. All it would take was an arrow or two, at least to send her away. But she was able to get near enough, closer and closer until the sorceress practically sat in her shadow. 

(It was oddly reminiscent of another time and another love; a whole lifetime ago.) 

The conversations came with time. Two even-headed women with winter etched into their veins. It turned out they had more in common than they’d expected. A dislike of crowds, a low tolerance for foolishness, and a vice-like grip on their desire to be free. So it came as no surprise that their mutual attraction was largely fueled by an innate, burning streak of rebellion—a delicious defiance against the half-demon that threatened Kagura’s heart and desired Kikyou’s. 

Kikyou could give her affection and time to anyone she chose, and she chose what he saw as his servant. Not him. Never him. 

Their companionship was a secret. Hidden behind barriers and nightfall, Kikyou let herself give in to her own desires. Light grazes eventually had them wrapped up together, and it was under a moonless night that Kikyou stole the first kiss. 

It felt as scandalous as it did liberating—another part of herself that she’d stamped out awoke; rose from amongst the ashes she was formed by. And Kikyou laughed in the wake of its discovery. Oh, how she’d been so blind. All those days staring at the beautiful girls who got to dress up, and she had desperately believed that she wanted to be them. And certainly that was part of it, but it hadn’t been the full story, had it? So she kissed the Wind Sorceress again, and again, and when she felt Kagura relent and respond, it was a triumph. The fire of rebellion gave way to a different sort of heat—the spark of elation, the warmth of fondness—and they both ended up smiling. 

But their circumstances weren’t lost on either woman. 

“What does this mean for us?” Kagura asked, a hand on Kikyou’s hip. 

“Does it have to mean anything in particular?” 

The demoness smirked. “No.” Did she want it to? It was difficult to say. “But I will have to leave in the morning.” 

“What will you tell him?” 

“That I need to keep an eye on you more,” she replied deviously. “That I have no idea what you’re thinking or planning.” 

Another kiss. They were smart women, knowing how to manipulate and keep their secrets close. 

“So you’ll be back.” Kikyou said. A request more than a statement or question. 

“If he permits it,” she grated. It was the best she could do. Kagura was a caged bird, as Kikyou had once been. Even off to roam, she must return back to her keeper.

Gently, Kikyou traced Kagura’s cheek, studying the firestorm of resentment and defiance in her red eyes, so different from her own and yet like a mirror of their hearts. The priestess found herself drawn in by the color, eventually coming to hover over rouged lips. “I’ll destroy him,” she promised with quiet certainty. 

The romanticism of it pulled the sorceress in. In a hot breath she murmured, “I’ll let you,” before closing the gap between them. 

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi, do you know any games that include traversal/spatial puzzles? Say, a character needs to figure out how to get from point A to point B in a room that has a certain sequence of puzzles: find this ball, take that ball to another room, jump over an abyss to get the ball into some slot, and a door opens. Something like in Darksiders 2 video game or other action-adventure games.

THEME: Spatial Puzzles

Hello friend! I have a feeling most of this recommendation list is going to be dungeon crawlers, because those games have so many pieces that emulate the levels of action-adventure games. The OSR has a lot of stuff that you’re probably going to like, but I think I can also include a few games that explore dungeons in different ways, in case you want some additional rules alongside your dungeon exploration. Also, keep in mind that there are a lot of system agnostic dungeons out there that can be used for a lot of different kinds of games, so even if there’s a game that doesn’t have a lot of adventures pre-written for you, they might still be a good fit for these pre-written dungeons!

Forgotten Ballad, by coolwayink.

Forgotten Ballad is a minimalist Adventure Game - TTRPG, if you prefer - heavily inspired by The Legend Of Zelda series and the OSR movement. Its simple system uses only d6 and is built around the character's items and inventory, encouraging creativity and exploration based on how the players describe their approach to problems. 

This game is an excellent example of the core pillars of the OSR movement, and draws inspiration from one of the most iconic action-adventure games with especially memorable dungeons. It’s a beautiful game and while the base game has only one starting dungeon to work with, it also includes tables to help you generate your own dungeons, as well as links to supplements such as Sudden Swamps and Buried Power, which are (respectively), a goblin dungeon and a procedural adventure/dungeon-creator.

If you want a taste of the rules before picking up the full game, you can also check out the pamphlet version of the rules!

Derelict Delvers, by Cezar Capacle.

Derelict Delvers is a thrilling, action-packed sci-fi roleplaying game that immerses players in a struggle for survival and profit. The game takes place in a galaxy overrun by monstrous alien creatures, who have destroyed humanity's peaceful exploration and diplomatic efforts.

The players take on the roles of elite space troopers, scientists, and engineers who must explore derelict spaceships and space stations in order to scavenge for supplies, salvage for weapons and valuable resources, and ultimately, hunt down the monsters that threaten the very existence of mankind. They are a team of skilled specialists, who are on a mission to help humanity, but also themselves.

With a unique blend of fast-paced combat and challenging perils, players will have to work together (or alone!) to overcome the dangers of the derelict ships and outsmart the deadly aliens lurking within. They will also have to make difficult decisions that will affect the outcome of their missions, their potential profits, and their very survival.

This game can be played GM-less or even solo, but I can see it being useful for dungeon design due to the roll tables that help the GM put the rooms of the empty spaceships together. I can even see the tables being useful for other space horror games, such as Mothership. You roll for the room shape, as well as for the difficulties plaguing each room. The attached actual play on the game page showed the creation of a room with blocked vents, a jellyfish monster, and a radiation leak, which all probably need to be dealt with before the characters can move on to the next room.

Fight, Item Run, by Whimsy Machine.

Fight Item Run is a Powered by the Apocalypse tabletop roleplaying game that smashes action-packed combat and magic together with dynamic character and relationship exploration. The party begins in a chamber and there are monsters; once they’ve defeated the monsters, they proceed to the next chamber where there are more monsters. Chambers also have items, treasures, puzzles, and mysteries. When the party has collected the adequate gear to advance to the next level of the dungeon, they come to the chamber with the passage, staircase, portal, or alien warp pad to continue forward.

This game is dungeon-crawling as well as Powered-by-the-Apocalypse, which is a really interesting mix for me. It’s inspired by platforming and action-adventure games, and has a unique method of encouraging the group to collaborate in dungeon design, at least to some extent. When it comes to theme and atmosphere, the group is encouraged to collaborate - do they want to explore a crashed spaceship? A volcano temple? An icy cave system?

However, the chambers of the dungeon have special advice for the GM. There’s a whole section on creating puzzles, including 6 different puzzle types, and a series of steps to generate puzzles in the dungeon that you’re exploring. Players will have to use different moves to engage with these puzzles, such as Apply Force, Manipulate Components, or Navigate Danger. On top of this, you can populate your dungeon with monsters, sages, and key items.

The Tomb of Xul Lan Kwat, by Madeline.

10,000 years ago the god-queen Xul Lan Kwat was buried here, but now her leaking dreams threaten the world above. Animals and people awake to their skin paling, their hair falling out, their eye sockets closing over. You have been given a lead-lined chest in which you must seal the god- queen’s brain and heart to stop the flow of dreams.

This is a stat-less dungeon like I mentioned in the introduction to this rec post. It’s 7 pages long, with a grid map and details for each room. Some of the obstacles in this dungeon are combat related, such as mushroom women or pale monkeys. However, there are also interesting features such as mirrors that can give you a sneak peek into other rooms, sudden loss of vision, and crystals that could fall on curious, unsuspecting adventurers. I’d recommend using a game like Cairn or Durf for this. Cairn fits the gritty tone, and gives the GM a lot of freedom on how to adjudicate challenges, and Durf gives you a bunch of example NPCs that you can use as templates for the creatures you find in other system-agnostic settings.

Tomb of a Thousand Doors (Mausritter), by ManaDawn Tabletop Games.

Gather up picks and shovels and prepare packs as you delve deep into the forgotten stronghold of a mad mouse king - the Tomb of a Thousand Doors. A megadungeon for the rules-light fantasy adventure roleplaying game Mausritter.

It’s a deep and dark dungeon down there, and it will not be fair on a little mouse. But if you are cautious and maybe a bit daring and reckless, you may be able to retrieve unnumbered riches. And if you delve for long enough, you may just uncover the greatest treasure of all mousekind.

This dungeon is so big I think you could probably run an entire Mausritter campaign in here, and each mini-dungeon has its own unique pieces. I stopped at a random one, and landed on the Chamber of Flames: 8 octagonal connected chambers, walled with mirrors, with traps that shoot flames through each archway if you step too heavily on pressure tiles. I can see the players trying to figure out ways to avoid walking on the tiles, or making themselves super-light in order to get to the end of this tunnel.

As a system, Mausritter is fairly light in rules, so it’s easy to learn, and the emphasis on inventory means that your characters will have to learn how to use what’s in their toolbox to help them get from point A to point B. I think it’s got a lot of what you’re looking for because on top of this Megadungeon, there’s plenty of other Mausritter supplements to explore and enjoy.

[byima]

December Prompt 6: eyes

hi, I'm sick of playing with my post-canon timeline, so today I wrote a TVEL oneshot. :)

.

.

Husband,

I woke up in your arms with thoughts of space. Not only because of the way you hold me, no matter how hot or cold, no matter the bed’s width. But I wonder how I can wake up loving you more when I already love you so. Can a heart have the space for an affection like this? Daily, I breathe you in and my heart, my poor heart, grows to accommodate a multiplying, ever-abiding love for you, my husband. For our family. Surely it has doubled in size in these last five years. And it will triple in ten, and so on, and so on.

Come find me, my love. My heart is without limit, it seems, when you are with me.

~

He found her, though she didn’t make it easy. When, at last, he spotted her by the old mill house, a scene fit to be painted–bonnetless, relaxed in the grass, the laughing stream, the turning wheel–he said nothing, just held up her love note with a raised brow.

“Took you long enough,” she said in greeting.

“What are ye doing here, mo ghraidh?”

She didn’t move, remaining prone, one hand out to the side, fingering the ribbons of her discarded bonnet, the other on her abdomen, rising and falling with her steady breaths. 

“Recalling you, wet as a selkie, rising up from the mill water, looking like a myth in your own right,” she explained.

“Wet as a selkie, was I?” He came to a stop before her, hands on his hips. “Yer full of whimsy and hyperbole this morning.”

“I wanted to stretch my legs a bit.”

“A ride wouldnae suffice?” He countered.

She ignored him, continuing, “I thought to make it to the wheat fields, but I couldn’t manage any further than this.”

His face changed, brows drawn tight with concern. “Annabeth…”

“Are you going to keep standing there or are you going to lie with me?”

He immediately lowered to one knee, repeating again as he found his place alongside her, “Annabeth…”

“It’s written all over your face, my love,” her smile was soft, her hand subconsciously gentle on the soft curve of her belly. “But I still want to tell you, properly.”

He shifted until he was on his side, braced on his elbow so he could study her face.

“'Twas no a sour stomach plaguing ye fer those months, wasnae it?” His Scots accent thickened with the rise of emotion.

“No,” she said succinctly.

“Are ye…?” His hand, so large, but tentative, settled on her abdomen.

“I felt a quickening days ago but– I was unsure,” her eyes shimmered, beauty and sadness tearing his heart out. “I was so afraid–”

He made a pained noise, no doubt remembering their loss, but also forever weakened at the sight of her tears. “Those greeting eyes,” he gathered her close, pressing his mouth to her hairline. “I cannae bear it.”

Her eyes closed as he held her, brushing words of comfort, confidence and assurance, on every part of her face his lips touched.

“And now? Tell me, are ye still afraid?”

“No, no…” she laughed, watery but a true laugh, sure as a bell. “I am so full. My heart is so full.”

“So we’ll be telling our daughter another wee one will soon be underfoot.”

Annabeth nodded, sighing when his thumb brushed the remaining tears from her temples.

“She’s wanting a sister,” he warned.

“I know. She’s been whispering to my belly for a month now, ever since she saw Clarisse with her new baby sister.”

“I cannae blame the wee lass. Her da’s been a-whispering as well.”

Her eyes widened, searching his face for honesty. “Have you been?”

“Aye. At night, when ye’ve gone to Morpheus. Or during the day, whenever I find ye laying about.” He stroked a finger down her cheek. “Ye’ve been so tired.”

“Well,” she smiled, “It’s never easy work, growing your heavy-headed babies.”

“But ye’ve done it before. And by God’s grace ye’ll do it again.”

She nodded, closing her eyes as a peace settled over the both of them.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 27/04/2024

The Streamer

Season 6 No Album Release (Read More)

Ripper Unknown

I'll admit - maybe declaring Season 8 as being the YEAR OF THE MEAT !!! back in ICastHaste encounters a wild Chicabo was...a bit rash. Meatposting has definitely slowed down a fair bit recently, and there's a lot of other new channel jokes getting well-deserved spotlight over it. And really, I Show The Meat always had a bit of an unfair advantage as a channel meme - because its a bit built on a streamer whose presence online is so huge, it had wormed its way into rips as far back as 2022. IShowSpeed is far more than just his meat, and The Streamer is perhaps to date still the funniest rip to date that he's starred in.

Now, yes, The Streamer wasn't the first rip to use Speed on the channel (even though I made that mistake earlier!!), but it WAS the first Speed rip to truly stick with me, the first one that truly checked every box for me. Granted, I am very biased toward YTPMVs using stupid sources, I think my affection for Going Somewhere Jerma?, Mr. PACs ~ Obamjo-Roomnie, Crompton Racing and more has made that all-too-apparent, but...The Streamer just feels like the most perfect distillation of Speed you could put into a rip. I mentioned in ICastHaste encounters a wild Chicabo that it was the Talking Ben stream that made me aware of the guy's antics, and the way this rip plays out leverages that whole stream all too perfectly in so many ways, althewhile being paired to the most classic of classic shenanigans music in The Entertainer. The buildup to the song's start may honestly be the funniest part of the whole rip, the piano roll leading into the main melody is accompanied by a clip of Speed just chatting shit about Ben - then with the perfect comedic timing of being shushed to him, Speed's iconic rage is unleashed and the rip - and The Entertainer's melody in tow - kick into gear. The sheer juxtaposition from second one to second five of the rip is just fucking hilarious, and its juxtaposition that keeps the rip entertaining throughout, through the contrast in Speed's YTPMV-mixed rage and the outright whimsy of the piano music backing it all.

That contrast is funny in its own right, it's a lot like what I described My Dr. Eggman Can't Be This Evil! as doing well, but The Streamer goes through another phase to play off of The Entertainer's second half. Speed stops being YTPMV'd into the melody, instead being used through mashing up the song with his own original release Bounce That A$$ - althewhile Talking Ben's own voice clips become used for the YTPMVing. As a self-admitted IShowSpeed tourist I obviously have very little connection or knowledge of Bounce that A$$, but its presence here hardly hurts the rip, it's an incredibly welcome shake-up (hehe) that allows Ben's own voice clips to enter the rip really seamlessly. And what I love is that the rip pretends to loop right after this section, when the most recognizable part of The Entertainer's melody return and its covered much the same as the beginning of the rip - only now, Talking Ben's "Yeees?" and "Ughh"-s are added to the song's backing, almost like a bassline to the same melody played at the start. In less than a minute's time it makes the rip really come full circle, and after one more Bounce That A$$ section, it finally loops proper, ending with a completely different left-field Speed reaction that I shan't spoil, but caps the rip off perfectly for a second loop.

What a journey to go through it all step-by-step, huh? And again - this was the FIRST IShowSpeed rip on the channel, yet it still managed to craft an absolutely hilarious rollercoaster ride in just under 80 seconds of runtime. We ALL know The Entertainer and have heard it set to many a silly clips already, many of us were likely already laughing our asses off at the Speed clips being shared around back in 2022 - The Streamer, much like Bowser is Coming., is like a perfect rip, the absolute ideal way to introduce depict Speed on the channel - and its damn criminal that I don't know who to thank for making it. It's the kind of rip that can just always make me smile, the way that even through the YTPMVing you can still hear what profanities Speed is throwing out at Ben, the way the visuals in both sections are just filled with such pure chaos versus how The Entertainer is chugging along at its own steady pace, the aforementioned BEN BASSLINE????

Look, I'm still a soldier for I Show The Meat to the bitter end - but to make the perfect meatpost, a la i show rottytops my meat (Consensually) mentioned at the end of ICastHaste encounters a wild Chicabo - one must have a perfect understanding of how to leverage Speed himself in rips. All of that training and knowledge stems from a source - from The Streamer executing the bit so fucking perfectly two whole years ago. Meat or not, Speedposting has become a true artform on SiIva, and I cannot wait to see where it ends up going as we get further in the season.

[nitewrighter]

Just heard that the H*rry P*tter game literally locks off whole questlines depending on the house you picked. Like, you can't take an Azkaban questline unless you're in Hufflepuff or some shit.

That's the stupidest shit I ever heard and it kind of defeats the purpose of being an open-world game. Like if anything, what house you pick should just affect your character's dialogue options and not much else. In Skyrim you can be a dark elf and fight on the side of the stormcloaks--it's stupid and racist, but you can still do it, and that's the point. It also defeats the general whimsy and accessibility of adventure for all the houses. It's like when my family went to the Wizarding World back in 2014, literally allllll the merch was either Gryffindor or Slytherin with virtually nothing for Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff fans. I dunno like... I'm over it, I'm obviously not getting the game, but it still feels like a general middle finger to anyone trying to immerse themselves in the world in a certain way. That weird British Unspoken Rule factor of "No one is saying that Gryffindor is the best house but also if you actually want the full experience--"

[pixiecaps]

now it's so hard for me to pretend it doesn't bother me when people say cucurucho is just a silly goofy guy full of whimsy and bubbles. that bear is sadistic, sinister, and now we know what it and the federation are truly capable of. will jaiden know the truth? does she even care? did she care at all back then when she first worked for them?

hii im late to this!

qjaiden definitely knows! she understands the things the federation is capable of besides the recent lore that she has missed. its fundamental to her character to understand that qjaiden’s belief is that cucurucho’s actions are less about him being sinister as a person but that his boss who is ordering him to do those actions is the true evil. she believes while yes cucurucho has done some alarming things he is under someones direct command and is still a living being who deserves a level of kindness especially since offering that kindness may assist her in learning more about the federation and his boss.

from how i view it qjaiden definitely cares i mean she was one of the ones who was quite adamant trying to find qq as she was the one who literally watched him get taken by cucurucho. and though she appears to naively go along with missions and what cucurucho says she is aware there could be negative consequences for her & others. she is willingly taking that risk hoping that it will only affect her. she knows full well she can get taken or harmed in any capacity and even perhaps be lied to about the egg safety but she feels she has to do something. as well as acknowledging that she cannot turn back at this point.

important to note she knows her path is completely dangerous & risky but she feels she doesn’t have anything to lose as well. and to speak honestly shes right. at least compared to the others on the island. she lost the one thing that held value & massive attachment to her. bobby. and of course she has friends and those who trust her but its not something the federation can use to easily harm her as easily as an egg would. i think the closest thing they could do is something involving qroier but even then I’m not sure how well that would work.

i think what’s interesting about jaidens connection with the cucurucho is that it’s a very honest approach. she doesn’t lie nor attempt to manipulate cucurucho. she has no greedy or secret intentions. she is in her most honest form trying to get to know and understand cucurucho. she acts like a true friend to him. she treats him like any other person on the island.

i see qjaiden as a person placed in a field of land mines. the chances of not hitting a landmine are low and the further she traverses the field the closer she may reach her demise but theres always the end of the field. the end is there despite how far and treacherous it may be. i wonder if when she reaches the end, if she ever does, will the danger have been worth it? only time will tell.

now the qjaiden we know is the one who cannot remember a past with the federation so it’s hard to speak for that federation worker version of her as it’s completely unknown to us. but i would assume if her memory was wiped then maybe she did realize there was something bad going on with the federation and cucurucho and they had to remove her recollection of it. but its hard to say. as again we don’t know much about that.

overall i think we as the audience cannot and should not trust the federation, cucurucho, or the code entity. but i think when it comes to the characters qjaiden is a special case especially when we consider how she views the situation of being trapped on the island. it’s different it’s interesting and it has a lot of potential at least to me. obviously there’s nothing wrong with characters like qcellbit who adamantly are against the federation but characters like qjaiden i feel have a lot more room to roleplay with the federation/cucurucho and in turn expand our knowledge about them. so i think jaidens path for this roleplay is excellent since it balances out nicely with characters like qmaxo qcellbit etc. and give us a different perspective on everything. we love a true neutral in this house.

[invisibleraven]

Dress You Up In My Love

Five times Julie wore her mom's Sunset Curve shirt and one time she didn't.

Word Count: 7.2k

Relationships: Julie/Luke/Reggie, Alex & Julie, Julie & Tia Victoria, Julie & Ray

AO3 link!

Inspired by a conversation in the Canoe Crew Discord server, which spiraled into this sprawling little story, that like most of my stuff, got away from me.

Dedicated to my fellow crewmates, love all of you, it's a genuine honour to paddle alongside you. Enjoy this silly bit of fiction!

1. Alex

Alex rapped gently on Julie’s door, waiting in hopes that she would answer it. He knew he could just phase through, but after all her lectures on boundaries and Reggie’s attempt to be ‘classy’, he wasn’t taking chances. Thankfully Julie did open the door, though she looked a tad confused to see him.

“The other two are being doofuses, and Willie is working at the club tonight, can I come hang out here where it’s quiet and they won’t think to look for me?”

Julie rolled her eyes affectionately but stepped back, arm extended towards the room. “I’m studying though, so you’ll have to be quiet yourself.”

Alex mimed zipping his mouth shut before flopping onto her mustard yellow loveseat. Julie took a spot on her bed, nose already back in a text book. There was soft music playing in the background, and Alex nodded his head to the beat. Honestly, while he loved Sunset Curve’s style of rock, he also appreciated the different types of pop and dance stuff that had come out in the twenty five years since. Julie had even made him a playlist for an old phone she had lying around.

Better that than them using Carlos’ computer. Sure he knew about them now, but he still drew the line at them using his stuff.

Alex breathed a little deeper, finally letting the calm of the space wash over him, sinking deeper into the couch, and he debated having a nap. Thank goodness they were still able to sleep though eating continued to elude them. Though maybe that was for the best since it was tainted food that did them in.

He liked Julie’s room honestly. Liked the little touches of whimsy from her mountain of pillows to her plethora of lamps to all the little knick knacks she had strewn about. He remembered Olivia’s room; full of band posters on the wall, her stuff everywhere until she moved out and then it became a blank and barren guest room. He remembered staring at the pale rectangles on the wall wishing he had gone with the posters instead of being left here to fade like the paint beneath them.

He idly wonders how long it took his parents to similarly convert his own room, and quickly shakes off that train of thought. It proved best not to think of his family, he was positive they hadn’t spared him a thought since his funeral.

Well, maybe his sister had, but then again, she hadn’t come back after he told her how coming out went, barely had time for his calls when he was alive. So maybe not. He hadn’t bothered to find her since coming back either. Didn’t want her to disappoint him further.

Finally his eyes landed on Julie and he had to do a double take. Because there, blazed across her chest was the Sunset Curve logo.

Where had she gotten that?

He could see that she (or whoever gave it to her) had bedazzled the shirt, and he had to grin. Reggie had wondered about bedazzling their shirt back in the day, but the cost proved out of their sights. Plus Alex questioned the shirt surviving the process of it given their tendency to fall apart in the wash.

Reggie had been floating doing a few with the logo matching the spray painted sign in the garage before they died though. Alex had been all for that idea, loving the thought of people wearing their merch bedecked in rainbow.

Look, he had been out in the 90’s, but played that a little close to his chest because, again, it was the 90’s. Luke was out to them and his folks, but if it didn’t affect the band, he didn’t see the point of announcing it to anyone. Reggie… well Alex was fairly certain that Reggie had only very recently discovered that his attraction didn’t stop at just girls. Bobby hadn’t been interested in anyone other than aesthetically, but the less Alex thought of Bobby, the better. It still stung too much.

“Nice shirt,” Alex finally says.

Julie looks up at him, then glances down and grins. “Thanks, I found it with my mom’s stuff. Pretty comfy actually.”

“Yeah, we fought to get good quality ones, well as much as we could for broke teens. Surprised that one held up this long, they used to be done after a few good wears,” Alex replied. “I’m fairly certain Reggie owed the guy a million favours in the end regardless.”

“D-did Reggie design your logo?” Julie asked, and Alex bit back a grin at the subtle pink tinge to her cheeks. Look, he loved both of his boys, but Reggie had never been lucky in love, and with Luke failing time after time to make a move… Well maybe Julie saw the appeal in a guy who looked at her like Reggie did and openly called her an angel.

But he wasn’t getting into it until he needed to console one or both of them with sad movies and snuggles.

“Yep,” Alex said, popping the p. “Reg designed all the merch, he had the highest art grade. I mean, you’ve seen Luke’s handwriting, so no way were we trusting him with it, and I can barely manage a stick figure.”

Julie bit back a chuckle at that and then went back to her studying, but every so often Alex would catch her gazing down at the logo and toying with her curls. He grinned and shimmied into a ball, lowering his snapback over his eyes. Time to get in a nap, and hope those hopeless cases figured themselves out soon.

But he was still telling Reggie that there was a chance he had given Julie’s mom a shirt oh so long ago, just to see the reaction. Because there was no way in hell that he hadn’t done so without flirting, and that was too delicious to keep to himself.

2. Tia Victoria

When her sister dies, Victoria Alvarez vows to step up and help her brother-in-law with the kids. Ray is so lost without Rose, unable to cope with losing her so young-or at all really. The first few months Victoria pretty much moves into the Molina household, making sure the kids are fed and keeping their grades up. Signs them all up for counselling with the nice man from her Pilates class. Julie confesses she’s not the biggest fan of Dr. Turner, but she also seems in less of a funk after seeing him.

Victoria eventually goes home, restricting herself to only popping by three times a week, usually with food. Look, Ray cooks a mean bowl of spaghetti and makes a decent breakfast, but the kids can’t live on that.

She also takes the chance to finally grieve.

Yes, she had mourned and wept along with everyone else, but then she had her family to help, so she put her own feelings aside. She had been doing it for a lifetime, putting others first.

But those first few days after returning home? Victoria is selfish and breaks down in tears due to Rose’s absence.

That was over a year ago now though, and while things are still tender and oh so slowly healing, Victoria feels like it doesn't ache quite as much. Ray has learned a few new recipes, Carlos is excelling on his baseball team and apparently in math. He claims it’s because of his new Big Brother Reggie, but clams up when Victoria wants to meet the young man.

But Julie?

Julie has blossomed in the past few months. While Victoria still isn't the biggest fan of Julie’s dreams lying with the success of her band, she will admit their music is good, and Julie seems to be fully out of her funk.

That’s why Victoria is here, to see Julie, see if her band might be willing to help at the local women's shelter that Victoria volunteers at. Maybe not to play, but bands doing outreach always looks good on social media right?

Only when she enters Julie’s studio/the family garage, she freezes. Because at first glance, Victoria could have sworn she was looking at Rose at the piano. A head full of wild curls and a sweet melody playing through the air. She chokes back a sob and claps when Julie finishes, her gap tooth grin making the vision of Rose vanish in a flash.

“That was beautiful sobrina,” she says.

“Thanks tia,” Julie replies. “It’s just something I’ve been toying with for the band.”

She stands from behind the piano, stretching out her limbs and Victoria bites back a smirk. She recognizes the style of bedazzling on the shirt, recalling Rose doing it for the bands she really loved. Sitting at the table, tongue stuck out as she carefully poked each bead through, adding flourishes and adjustments as needed.

“I don’t remember Rose mentioning that band before,” Victoria says, gesturing at the shirt. It reads Sunset Curve in a swirly design, a road leading from the words. “It's definitely not a concert I took her to.”

“You went to concerts?” Julie asks.

Victoria scoffs at that. “Who do you think took your mami to her first show? Bon Jovi,” she says with a sigh. “It was her sixteenth birthday present from me. We had a great time, even if we were in the nosebleeds. Both got a shirt, your mom bedazzled them both, kept it until it fell apart. I think mine is still in storage somewhere.”

“Who else did you go see?” Julie asks, sitting on the ancient leather couch that had come with the house. Victoria sits across from her detailing all the great 80’s bands they went to see. Less after she went to college and Rose started the Petal Pushers, but they went to every show they could together. Then Rose met Ray, and Victoria lost her concert buddy.

“It was fine really,” she said with a shrug. “Some of those bands I wasn’t a huge fan of. Poison isn’t really my scene, and I wasn’t the biggest Rush fan.”

Julie giggles at that, and Victoria has no idea why it’s funny but she’s missed that laugh, so she lets it go.

“Do you still go to shows?’ Julie asks when her giggles have finally subsided.

“Not really,” Victoria replies with a wistful sigh. “Between work, volunteering, Pilates, and my family… when would I have time? I go to your shows mija, that’s enough for me.”

“W-what if we went to a show together?” Julie asks.

“To see this Sunset Curve?” Victoria asks, gesturing to her shirt.

“Oh no… they’re not… I was thinking maybe Taylor Swift?”

“I do like her stuff,” Victoria muses. “Okay, I’ll see if I can get tickets. Make it your birthday present, just like I did for your mom.”

“I’d like that,” Julie replies with a grin.

“Me too,” Victoria says, reaching out and squeezing her hand. “Now, I actually came here to ask you a favour…”

3. Luke

Luke will admit that clothes have never mattered much to him. He’s ripped the sleeves off most of his shirts, and is wearing the same pants he’s had since his last growth spurt back in the 90’s. As long as he’s covered enough not to get arrested he doesn’t really care what he’s got on.

It probably also has something to do with the fact that his wardrobe consists of whatever he had stored around the studio and had shoved into his duffel before he ran away. So his choices are limited, but beggars can’t be choosers right? Plus he’s dead, so who really cares what he wears?

But he usually notices what Julie is wearing. Her style is pretty damn cool, even if it’s violently different from what girls wore in the 90’s. Though he isn’t sad to see the death of shoulder pads. Even if most of the punk girls that hung around after their gigs wore mostly plaid and crazy prints. Luke has no idea what’s cool anymore, but he knows that Julie always looks good.

But then one afternoon as he’s writing yet another song, he has to stop and do a double take. Because Julie is wearing a Sunset Curve shirt.

Sure it’s bedazzled and cinched with a scrunchie at her waist, but the logo is there like a blast from the past, zapping him back to the afternoon in late ‘89 when Reggie showed him the design. Watching him and Bobby spray paint it on a large black drop cloth. Alex laughed his ass off as they struggled to hang it without ladders or getting the still drying paint on them.

Luke shakes himself and grins at Julie, nodding at her shirt. “Where on Earth did you get that?” he asks with a laugh.

Julie doesn’t even know what she’s wearing as she has to glance down and then blushes. “Oh, I found it with my mom’s stuff. I guess she was a fan of you guys or something? I mean she had your demo and this shirt.”

“Oh yeah, we sold them at every gig we could,” Luke replied. “Plus Reggie gave them to every cute girl he came across.”

“Reggie? Really?” Julie asks like she doesn’t believe it.

“Oh yeah, Reg was a huge flirt,” Luke replies, grinning. “Always a crooked grin and a wink for a pretty face. I think his favourite line was that the shirt was a size beautiful.”

Julie laughs at that, loud and pure, sending a shot of warmth to Luke’s heart. Gosh she’s so cute, with her little nose scrunch and twinkling eyes. He wishes he wasn’t such a coward about telling her that though. He’s always been chicken about confessing his feelings. Not wanting to ruin things between people he cared for, not wanting to be rejected by those he doesn’t.

So he stays silent and pines away until the crush fades.

Thus him not telling Julie how much he adores her.

Or Reggie how much that little chemistry joke affected him.

Luke is fine being alone romantically, really he is.

“Did that work?” Julie asks finally.

“Not often,” Luke admits. “But sometimes, yes. He had the best luck out of the three of us anyways. Not that Bobby was ever trying all that hard.”

“Yeah, Trevor came out as aro ace when he released his third album,” Julie says. “He adopted Carrie not long after.”

Luke still stings when he thinks about Bobby, but he is happy that he was able to live his truth. That doesn’t excuse what he did, in no way, but he knows how much pain it is to live in the closet from Alex, and he wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

“So was Alex handing out shirts to cute guys then?” Julie asks.

“Nah, he was too anxious to really hit on guys. I did though.”

“You?” Julie all but shrieks.

“You… know I’m not straight, right?” Luke asks.

“No! Why would I know that? You’ve never said anything!”

Luke flushed, he wasn’t big on the whole coming out thing, he just always assumed he exuded a vibe of being fairly open about his preferences. He chuckled and ruffled the back of his head. “Yeah, sorry. I’ve never been one to care about what my partner is or how they identify. I just… like everybody.”

“So you’re… pansexual?”

Luke shrugged again. “I’m not real into labels, but after Alex started questioning himself, he brought back all these flyers from some local queer associations. Pansexual seems to fit me best, but I’m cool with just being ’not straight’ or ‘queer’ or whatever.”

“Oh… cool. I’m bi,” Julie says, sitting down next to him. “Does this mean we’re a queer band now?”

“Reggie’s still straight,” Luke replies.

Julie just hums at that, and Luke wonders a bit. Thinks back to Reggie’s reaction to his little chemistry experiment. The blush, the stuttered response, the way his wide green eyes were trained on Luke’s lips for a period afterwards.

Oh.

Reggie will tell him when he’s ready he supposes. But maybe Link can drop some hints that he’d be okay with Reggie liking guys and girls. Maybe in song form. And maybe… just maybe he can be brave enough to admit to him that if there are feelings involved, well they have a whole afterlife to work them out.

“So, you wanna help me with this song?” he asks Julie. Maybe he can be brave with her too, just not right now. “It’s a bit harder than our usual stuff, but given the shirt…”

Julie rolls her eyes and gives his shoulder a shove before taking his notebook to start scrawling a melody. And with the afternoon light hitting her, in a shirt for his band, well Luke has never found her more beautiful.

4. Ray Molina

Ray Molina wouldn’t cite himself as the most perceptive man on the planet, but he did manage to pick up on more than he let on.

Like pretending not to notice when Rose would blatantly flirt with him, just to see her exasperation and then her joy when he ‘finally’ got the message and asked her out.

Or when Victoria claims she made too much food when it’s really a way to save his family the apparent horrors of his cooking. He simply thanks her and keeps her dish for the next day, happy enough with his spaghetti. Hey, the kids have never complained, especially since when they did he told them they were welcome to learn how to cook and prepare supper themselves.

Though as a side note, Carlos got pretty good at it after the disaster that was that first French dip sandwich and Julie excels at baking. Ray isn’t going to complain about either of those outcomes.

But the biggest dupe is pretending not to know about the three ghosts ‘living’ out in his garage.

Look, he loves his daughter, but Julie has not once shown interest in his work as a photographer, so he very much doubts her prowess when it comes to ‘holograms’ that can play music and interact like she claims her bandmates can.

And Ray has been around the block a few times, had a distant aunt who could commune with spirits, so it doesn’t surprise him to see the gift appear again in his bloodline.

Plus Julie is a truly terrible liar.

He’s just giving her time to tell him the truth. He and Carlos have a running bet as to when she’ll crack, and Ray has every intention on winning. Because Carlos is also a bad liar, but also a much worse secret keeper and had blabbed about the ghosts to Ray almost immediately after Julie confessed to him. Ray had ruffled his hair, told him he knew and swore his son to keep it hush hush.

“Your sister deserves something that’s just hers for a while longer mijo,” he had said.

Carlos had scowled for a moment, but then agreed. But he did confess to also getting to know all about the band. Ray learns to love them through Carlos’ stories, through their music, and most of all, from how happy they make Julie.

Even if he vows to keep his eye out on Luke’s massive crush that Julie seems to reciprocate. And the Reggie-ness of it all. All while pretending he can’t see the three teenagers milling around his house since after their Orpheum performance, and worse, not responding to their conversations.

Especially when it’s just Reggie talking to him like he’s an old friend-or the father he never had and so rightly deserved. That is harder than anything, and at night he writes the boy letters in response, storing them in the shoebox with all his letters to Rose. One day, he’ll give them to Reggie, or even better, answer back. Show that boy more than the mere scrap of affection he had gotten from his own family.

Tries his hardest not to wonder why Rose didn’t come back and sent these boys in her stead. No good can come from going down that path.

It of course, all comes to a head when Julie comes down the stairs in a very familiar shirt.

It doesn’t hurt anymore to see his daughter in Rose’s clothes, even though Ray sometimes has to pinch himself to tell the difference, Julie looks so much like her mother on the best of days, and in her old clothes, it is sometimes like a blast from the past.

But this shirt…

He remembers the night Rose came home with that shirt and a demo CD in one hand, a devastated Trevor-back then still going by Bobby-in the other. The shirt had lived in a box for a long time after that, and Ray can recall her bringing it out to bedazzle a year or two later. Trevor was long gone by then, soaring the charts with a song that made Rose scowl and flick the radio off every time she heard it.

Ray still doesn’t know the story behind that, only that she and Trevor buried the hatchet some time later, and he was a constant presence in their lives until he got too big, and then Carrie and Julie had their own falling out before Rose passed. He supposes he’ll never know the truth behind it, but he’s lost too much in his lifetime to dwell on it.

“Morning mija,” he says, offering her a plate of eggs and toast as she sits at the island.

“Morning papi,” she says, pouring herself a glass of juice, since Ray has forbidden her coffee. She already has the Alvarez height, no need stunting her growth further. Plus he’s seen what Flynn is like on sodas, he does not want to see what happens to his daughter if she were to add caffeine to her system.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you wear that one before,” he remarks, nodding at her shirt.

“Yeah, I found it buried with all of mom’s stuff and thought it looked cool,” she gives an off hand shrug but doesn’t meet his eyes.

Ray sips his coffee slowly, not saying a word. Watches Julie nibble her toast and almost slyly wave someone off in the background. Ray knows if he turned around he’d see at least one of her boys-Reggie if he was taking bets, given he usually joined them for meals, lamenting his inability to eat, but loving the family atmosphere.

Ray swears if he ever meets Reggie’s parents he’d smack them both for screwing up such a sweet and kind boy like they did.

“Your mom loved that band,” Ray finally says. “They played at some club or another she was working at, they gave her that shirt and their CD. I remember her playing it a lot for a long time afterwards. Never saw them in concert though. Always wondered why, if they broke up or something.”

He’s giving her an out, but he’s also looking right at her. Urging her to tell him the truth, once and for all.

“They… they died,” Julie almost whispers. “I looked them up afterwards. Right before they made it big, they all died. Or well almost all of them. I don’t know what happened to the member that survived.”

“I think you do mija,” he says softly.

Julie dips her head, ashamed, biting her lip. “Yeah, yeah I do.”

“Trevor never really talked about them,” Ray finally says. “Not to me at least. Maybe your mami once and a while. He found it too difficult I think. He was grieving for a long time, and then he devoted himself to making music. I guess I’m not surprised that he never brought up his old band when you guys used to talk.”

“No, he never did.” Julie almost sounds bitter when she says this, and Ray feels like there is a layer to the story he doesn’t know, but leaves it alone for now.

“I think we might still have the CD around, if you want,” Ray offers. “They were pretty good, as I recall.”

“I’ve heard it, they were,” Julie says, then sucks in a breath. Amends her statement. “They are.”

“Mija?”

Julie bites her lip, wrings her hands together. And suddenly there are three boys surrounding her, hands gripping her shoulders, offering support.

“It’s okay Jules,” Reggie says. “We’re here, no matter what.”

Ray clocks the loving look between them and oh, maybe it’s not just Luke he needs to keep an eye on. What he thought was one sided looks to be mutual, and given the fond look Luke sends the both of them… well he’s not sure if that complicates or simplifies things, but he has bigger things to worry about right now.

“You can tell him, he might be cool about it like we said,” Luke chips in.

“He’s still a dad,” Alex says with derision, but Ray can see his tiny smile. “But he’s still a pretty good one Julie.” Ray bites back his thanks at that, just waiting for Julie to speak.

“Sunset Curve died in 1995. They… they became ghosts, but they only reappeared as ghosts last year,” Julie says. “I know because I can see them. I know that sounds crazy and please don’t send me back to Dr. Turner because it’s true!”

“Breathe Julie, just tell me it all and then we can talk about all that.”

Julie takes a few deep breaths and nods. “Last year, when we were thinking about selling the house, I found their demo out in the garage…”

She launches into the tale, the boys interjecting at parts to help fill the tale. And Ray just listens. Listens to how these three lost boys literally dropped into his daughter’s life. How she can somehow make them visible, how their music saved her in so many ways.

Holds back his rage at Trevor, at this Caleb, at the unfairness of it all.

“A-are you mad?” Julie asks when she reaches the end. The boys are still all but wrapped around her, offering her support. But they immediately let go when Ray opens his arms and Julie rushes into them. Presses a kiss to her head. “I could never be mad at you mija. Well as long as we avoid sneaking out again,” he says with a chuckle. Julie laughs weakly, looking up at him. He wipes away a tear and smiles. “Now, do your boys want to join in on this hug or are they going to stay over there like sad puppies?”

“You can see them?” Julie shrieks.

“Of course I can,” Ray says. “I think anyone who you care for can… have you not noticed?”

“I mean, I knew Flynn and Carlos could, but…” Julie turns to her boys and smiles. “They usually can’t touch them.”

“Well let’s try it anyways,” Ray says and keeps his arms open.

Reggie beams and rushes in, his form almost solid and cool, but still wavering. Luke comes next, a bit more hesitant, but his bulk is a little more solid, making Reggie the same. Alex holds back until Julie all but pulls him into the embrace and smirks as he bites back a smile. Ray can feel them under his hands. They’re colder than humans, and he can feel no breath or heartbeat, but they’re still there, solid and real under his hands.

And so the Molina family gains three new members that day, even if he knows there’s a lot to figure out. Ray just smiles and holds his new sons close, hoping this hug makes up, just a little bit for all those they hadn’t gotten in life.

5. Reggie

Reggie is sure if he digs deep enough in his old backpack that he’ll find another shirt buried there. He’s kind of tired of wearing the same three things, plus it’s a killer on Julie’s laundry. He could have sworn he kept a Sunset Curve shirt in there somewhere…

But oh, then he remembers. The night they died, he gave the last one to the incredibly cute waitress at The Orpheum. Even gave her his size beautiful line and best wink to go along with it. He idly wonders what happened to her, and if she gave Bobby her number while they were out dying in an alley. He can barely remember her face now, but that’s how it is with Reggie-he strikes out, he forgets and moves on.

Sure, he’s hit on a few girls more than once because of this, but sometimes he got lucky that second time, so no complaints.

Of course now his flirtation pool is reduced to fellow ghosts, of whom he knows very few and the small selection of lifers that can see him.

Which mostly means Julie. And well, he hasn’t tried flirting with her, but he’s made a few comments that are right on the border and delights when she blushes or giggles and then beams at him with her beautiful gap toothed smile.

But it’s not flirting because it’s so damn obvious that Luke and Julie are gaga over each other and Reggie has no chance there.

Even if Julie’s smile makes the butterflies in his stomach go wild.

Even if he was seconds away from pulling Luke into a kiss during their last mic sharing duet.

Even if his long dead heart still seems to long for them both, when his brain reminds him he can’t have either.

Reggie is just… destined to be alone it seems.

It’s cool though. He’s still friends with Luke and Julie. So he can still spend time with them, just like he still spends time with Alex now that he has Willie. Plus he can hang with Flynn who calls him eye candy but still tells him she’s not into dudes. Which is cool, because while he likes Flynn, he doesn’t want to date her either, and delights when she updates him on her flirtations with the cute girl in her Chemistry class, or her ongoing on again off again love/hate relationship with Carrie.

And Ray can see him now too which is super awesome! They cheer Carlos on at his ball games, and talk about photography and Star Wars, Reggie helps in the kitchen, and they debate whether or not to reveal themselves to Tia Victoria. They’ve landed on no for now, just because she's still half convinced the house is haunted-look Reggie is sorry about that, but it was worth it to be a good big brother to Carlos.

So what does Reggie need romance for?

But then he sees Luke and Julie walking towards the studio, the twinkle lights making them glow and he has to sigh, wanting something like that. Someone to hold hands with and talk with their heads leaned in, like discussing something banal was a secret they wanted to keep from the world. He wants that intimacy, that warmth.

He wants them.

He means, how could he not?

Luke is wearing his most threadbare cut off, arms and glimpses of pecs on display. His riotious hair is curled and cowlicked but it makes him look boyishly charming instead of messy. He has on his brightest smile, and his eyes are almost gold in the twilight.

Then there’s Julie, all soft curves and a waterfall of brown curls. Her smile is sweet and open, that tiny nose scrunch that is downright adorable making an appearance. Eyes that you could melt in. And then he can see a sliver of skin from where she has her shirt tied up in the back.

Wait.

Julie isn’t wearing just any shirt, she’s wearing a Sunset Curve shirt!

It has been bedazzled and looks sick as hell, but Reggie has no clue where she managed to find one. A garage sale maybe? He doubts any of their fans from the 90’s held onto it, even if it would be a semi-collectors item due to their tragic end.

It looks… really good on her honestly. So much so that he gives an over exaggerated whistle and a shit eating grin. “Looking good darlin’!” he shouts.

Julie blushes and grins. “Thanks! And it’s just my size-beautiful.”

Reggie flushes beet red as Luke barks out a laugh while Julie giggles with self satisfaction. “Y-you stole my line!” Reggie sputters.

“It’s not a great line, cariño,” Julie says, patting his cheek gently. “But it must have worked on someone. Maybe 25 years ago.”

“A time or two,” Reggie admits. “We had our share of fans. Was actually hoping I had one left to wear, but I gave one out the day we died, and it turns out it was the last one.”

“Oh yeah, to that waitress at The Orpheum!” Luke exclaims. “Think you used the line on her too.”

“Pity it didn’t work, you might have stayed alive,” Julie laments.

“Eh,” Reggie says with a shrug. “She was cute, but if the line had worked we never would have met you Julie. And I think I’m happier this way than with some what if named Rose.”

“Wait… Rose?” Julie questions. Pulls out her phone and shows Reggie a photo. “This Rose?”

“That’s the one!” Luke exclaims. Reggie peers at the photo and the memory rushes back. But then he looks at the photo more closely, then at Julie, and pales. They could be sisters. Or…

“Fuck.”

“You hit on my MOM!” Julie shrieks. Then starts to swear in Spanish. Luke and Reggie shrink back, watching her huff and puff as she paces, then finally stops, and faces them. “Okay, we are never mentioning this again and I may have to go burn this shirt.”

“Please don’t,” Reggie says. “It might be the only surviving one.” Then his blush returns with a vengeance. “Plus you do look really nice in it.”

“Julie always looks nice,” Luke quips. “But Reg is right boss, you are making our merch work for you.”

Julie blushes at that, almost taken off guard. Reggie wonders if this is the first time Luke has ever really complimented something about her appearance and not her talent. It does track honestly. Look, Reggie loves Luke, has since they were ten, but he also knows Luke has a one track mind, and sometimes fails to remind those he cares about that they matter to him. That they are more to him than a voice or a bassline.

“Fine, I won’t burn it-but I don’t think I can wear it for a good long time after knowing that,” Julie concedes.

“And here I was going to suggest you wear it to our next gig,” Reggie jokes.

“Because that wouldn’t have people Googling you guys and figuring out the whole ghost thing at all,” Julie snarks. “Or accusing me of using your images unlawfully.”

“Yeah, let’s maybe avoid that,” Luke says.

Reggie knows he’s thinking about his folks again. He hasn’t been back to see them since Julie gave them Unsaid Emily, and it’s partially because he worries about them seeing him or not. He squeezes Luke’s shoulder in comfort, getting an appreciative smile and nod in return.

Wanting to drive away the weird atmosphere, Reggie suggests a movie.

“Not Star Wars again,” Luke groans. Reggie slumps a little. Look, he knows they’ve binged the series a few times, but Luke can’t say anything because Reggie honestly lost count of the amount of times Luke made him sit through The Wall.

“There’s a new Marvel movie at the theatres?” Julie suggests. “I was supposed to go with Carlos, but if you guys wanna come too…”

“I thought you wanted to see that new romance movie with the girl from that TV show you liked?” Reggie asks.

“Well yeah, but I doubt either of you want to see that. I can go with Flynn, it’s fine,” Julie replies.

“I want to go,” Reggie says. “I like a good rom com just as much as I like a sci fi or super hero film.”

Julie grins at that, holding out a hand. Reggie rushes to take it and they both turn. “Luke?” she asks.

“Isn’t that like… a date movie?”

“So?” Reggie says. “Friends go on dates all the time.”

“I don’t want to go on a friend date,” Luke says.

“What do you want?” Julie asks, her voice a tinge hopeful.

“I want a real date.”

Reggie drops Julie’s hand at that, takes a step back. “Well then you two should go. Have a lovely date.” He’s about to poof out, go wallow at the beach when Julie grabs hold.

“He didn’t say he wanted a date with me.”

Luke takes his other hand, and then Julie’s. “No, I wanna take you both. On a date date.”

“Me?” Reggie squeaks.”Us?”

“If you want,” Luke says with a shrug. Like it’s no big deal that he’s asking them both out at once. That he’s not asking them to consider a three person relationship. Reggie didn’t even think they could do that, but here they were.

“Julie?” Reggie asks, turning to her. She just grins and twines their fingers together. She seems fine with the idea apparently, and that eases Reggie’s mind to near calmness.

“So whaddya say Reg?” Luke asks expectantly.

“Yes!” Reggie exclaims, his smile almost blinding. Julie whoops and then presses a lightning fast kiss to his lips, then to Luke’s, looking a little flushed but ultimately pleased as she steps back. Luke turns and gives Reggie his own peck, and a cheeky wink. And Reggie…

Feels his heart leap once more. But it doesn’t stop, pounding away in his chest. Feels the warmth of Luke’s hand in his, the steady pulse in his wrist, and then they both look at Julie.

“Wh-what just happened?” she asks.

“I-I think you brought us back to life?” Reggie guesses.

“Oh… dios mio!” Julie swears. “We have to find Alex!”

“After our date,” Luke says. “I’m sure Willie will be better at calming him down then we will and another two hours won’t hurt.”

“We can see another showing,” Reggie says. “Because if we’re alive… Alex might not be able to see Willie.” Luke swears at that, and then again when he can’t poof.

They find Alex at the skatepark, look shell shocked, holding a board for dear life. And sitting right beside him, is Willie. A solid, breathing Willie who looks equally astounded.

They all have a good laugh about it, and a million questions, but nothing can be solved immediately. So they decide on a double date, and thank goodness that Willie has cash from the club because the ticket teller will kind of notice them trying to sneak in now.

Reggie doesn’t mind that he has to worry about things like money now. He has Luke and Julie’s hands in his, and an ancient shirt to thank for it. He can’t ask for anything more.

+1. Luna Patterson Molina

Luna stifles her giggles as she hides behind the boxes in the garage. Danny will never find her and she’ll finally be the hide and seek champion!

Only after a while, her legs start to get tired, and she has to move around to stave off the pins and needles feeling that’s creeping up from her toes. In the process though, she knocks over a box, contents spilling out onto the floor.

“Shoot!” she says, scrambling to put everything back before Danny comes any closer. It’s mostly old clothes that her parents no longer fit in but they kept for sentimental reasons. There’s a tattered Poison cut off, a worn red flannel, an old Los Feliz High t-shirt in a baby blue. And a bedazzled white shirt for some band called Sunset Curve.

The name feels vaguely familiar. Buzzing in the back of Luna’s brain until she remembers the old photos of daddy and papa with Uncle Alex and some other guy they never really talk about called Bobby playing. The photos were old, looking like the ones from abuelo’s wedding and not the ones printed off from the wedding of her own parents.

But whenever she asked about that, she got told that it was a story for when she was older. Luna really hates that answer, not knowing why this story was for when she was older than six. Her parents had told her there were scary bits, but she could handle that. She hadn’t hidden her eyes or even cried during all the old Disney movies that daddy had shown her, even when Uncle Alex had during Bambi and papa even shuddered when they watched parts of The Princess and the Frog.

Heck even Danny got scared during parts of The Lion King and Luna watched without a wince! Though she did cry at parts, but that was fine, her mami told her it was fine to cry when she was sad or upset.

Game forgotten, Luna took the shirt in search of her parents. They were sitting around the kitchen table. Papa was writing again, Daddy was putting together a salad while Mami was taking a casserole dish from the oven.

“Hey moonbeam, you’re just in time to set the table!” Daddy said.

“But it’s Danny’s turn!” Luna protested.

“Yes but if you do it then he has to clear the table which is your job tonight,” Papa says with a wink. Luna purses her lip at that but nods. She hates clearing the table, so she’ll gladly put out the dishes and cutlery instead.

“Whatcha got there mija?” Mami asks, gesturing to the shirt. Luna holds it up and her mother laughs.

“Oh wow, I forgot about that.”

“How did that thing survive this long?” Daddy asks.

“Lots of care and the fact that Julie hasn’t worn it since our first date?” Papa replies.

“This was your band right?” Luna asks her fathers. “Before you met mami?”

“It was indeed little girl,” Papa replies. “Greatest band ever until Julie and the Phantoms was born!”

“Why did you change your name? Was it because mami joined?”

“Well Luna boo, that is a long story,” her mother replies. “One you’re still a little young for.”

Luna is about to stomp her foot and protest which she knows won’t help her case, but she’s not exactly rational about it when Daddy lays a gentle hand on her mom’s shoulder. “Julie… I think it’s time. She’s almost seven, Danny’s nine. They’re gonna figure it out eventually.”

Julie sighs, then nods, looking at her daughter. Looking so much like Rose, like Julie herself with sprinkles of Reggie in her, those big green eyes and freckles staring right back at her. Sees Danny come running in, all Luke with her own colouring. “I suppose you’re right. Just after supper okay?”

Luna nods and doesn’t even care when Danny tags her and proclaims the reigning hide and seek champ. Instead she hurries to set the table, determined to do it right so as to not prolong supper, and thus, the story.

But she totally dons the shirt when they’re all snuggled up on the couch. And Daddy gets a picture to send to Abuelo and Uncles Alex and Willie. She has no idea why until a few weeks later when she sees a series of photos. Her, her mami, and Abuela Rose all wearing the shirt.

And it looks just as good in every single one.

[demiboy-dean-winchester]

My favourite animal is a dragon. No game. No choice. No argument.

My favourite come-back to the age-old 'bUt They ArEn't ReaL!!!!!!!' is 'yea because we haven't discovered them yet. Duh :eyeroll:' and then they look at me like I'm insane

Anyway I also really love asiatic lions (and lions in general) because A. that's my name (Leon), and B., they have dual-coloured manes! How sick is that!

I look forward to your analysis and I thoroughly hope it makes me never want to interact with another person ever again (lovingly)

you're a fantasy fan. you were/still are probably obsessed with merlin or lord of the rings or something like that. idk im not a big fantasy fan myself

you are full of whimsy and enjoy things that are generally considered 'childish', and you refuse to feel self conscious about it. good for you!

i feel like you have a more 'edgy' style/aesthetic/music taste. something like emo or punk.

def a furry but i already knew that from your account so that doesnt count unfortunately

you probably bite and/or headbutt to show affection.

[dontbelasagne]

what irks me about series 7b Eleven expressing their affection for Clara through flirting and "boyish" charm is that from the onset of their era, i always got the impression that Elevens Doctor was meant to be almost like a bedtime tale meant to make you feel safe at night. This bumbling individual, juxtaposed against their ancient age meant to comfort and appeal to the whimsy of your childhood. every connotation given to Eleven from madman, to imaginary friend, set their stories up to have the escapism of dreams, and bring the possibility of your wishes coming true. Eleven told us all to "believe" in their first episode, and that's what defined them, to accept what we yearned as children to be possible before reality caught up on us.

although this can be put down to us being introduced to Eleven through the eyes of Amy, especially that of child Amelia (like a name out of a fairytale being one of the first things Eleven says already giving us that impression of their incarnation), I'd argue there is consistent characterisation of Eleven that follows this personality even without the presence of Amy to act against. This incarnation of the Doctor became defined by the whole trope of "an old being wanting to be reminded of the universes wonder through the eyes of those younger", made it poignant that however close he got to you there was still that detachment from being outside the realm of human-known reality. the surrealism of Eleven didnt come from themselves, but how they framed the adventure in space and time that you were taken on. you didnt need your stories and daydreams anymore, because Eleven brought them to you, which is why Amy's line about getting dropped off "like they had just shared a cab" is so revealing to what Eleven fears. that the illusion of the fairytale adventure would break the moment their companions got hurt, that no matter how "fast" they ran the reality of their life as a timelord and the choices they make to take companions with them would come full circle.

this made it even more pronounced and visceral whenever Eleven chose to follow their anger or frustration. the illusion shattered and we followed this realisation alongside Amy. Eleven admits "im not a hero" - that came to save the child you never were able to protect yourself as you grew up, they were just another being with their own traumas but had access to that allure of zany grandeur with the universe. this isn't to say that Eleven should have ended up as only being melancholic and aloof (which came to be somewhat explored with Twelve anyway), but that it mirrors a lot of progression made within familial bonds and platonic relations. the haze of childhood as this era of untainted joy and escapism that eventually grows to the realisation of accepting hardship and responsibility is what I'd argue series 5, 6, and 7a represent. we learn the effects of our behaviour and how we cant always rely on a fairytale to save us. sure series 7a started off a bit wonky, but Eleven losing The Ponds was exactly that. a violent realisation that no matter what, you cant ignore the environment you bring vulnerable people into. Eleven was heavily painted in the identity of a familial caregiver, an individual who hid their grief in the hope of consistently giving meaningful time to make a family they found happy. they "ran to" their family before reality caught up and The Ponds eventually "fade". Eleven is a story you find to remind yourself of how achingly beautiful it is to view life through the lens of a childhood fantasy nearing its end.

whilst it is clear that series 7b marks a change for Eleven, most explicitly shown through the TARDIS console room becoming a much more machine-like, clean interface, it doesnt explain the decision to progress the character in that direction with the relationship style that forms with Clara. Whilst Eleven was intimate and flirtatious with River Song and other notable figures throughout their era, it always came off as a deliberate act of that specific relationship and not their personality overall. Eleven is seen to be almost ace-coded at times and had the attitude of being "worse than everybody's aunt" in view of anything they saw as crude, which furthered their image of a parent or carer like figure. being a sex positive ace myself, i can understand that sexual identity can be represented in a number of ways, and considering Doctor Who as a show wouldn't prioritise this perception of the character, it still gave a jarring progression to suddenly have Eleven who represented childlike whimsy and surrealist dreams act like they were an ordinary man being suggestive with what was essentially a stranger. this isn't to say that the dynamic or depictions are textually wrong, but given the heightened sense of fantastical guide that came with Elevens perception of their own vast age, it was an obscure character dynamic to pick.

lastly, i just wanted to say that there are explorations of this dynamic post series 7b, in particular with Vastra's line "who do you think that was for" in reference to Elevens young face and attitude towards Clara, and also during the series with Eleven hiding their search for answers to the impossible girl mystery that Missy instigated through getting Clara to trust them. but in doing so, we missed out on what Eleven could evolve from in their characterisation of a childlike dream come true. we could have had a series post-Ponds that explored the dissonance of growing older and who sees their dreams and fantasies in a more mature light. this could have set up Eleven as being more wary of their actions, but still in conflict with their pursuit of sharing the universes secrets. an Eleven trying to hold onto everything they saw as precious, whilst haunted by the possibility of this being their last incarnation.

But what did we get? Eleven making sexist comments and acting inappropriate. :/

[ralofofriverwoods]

1, 3, 9, and 12 for the weird oc questions ask games for any of your lads?

Apparently this did not post so. Im so very sorry I did not ignore ur ask on purpose :(

- -

Doing some for different characters this time!!! I love my dragonborn trinity but my other guys need some love too <3

Also this took. So much longer than i thought it would I am so sorry haha I promise I was not intending to take so long😭

1. what’s the lie your character says most often

"it's whatever. Don't look into it." Wrong. Look into it so much. Technically not a lie, but it's the opposite of what ithvozal would actually want to happen, so it could be called a lie if u look at it at a 37 degree angle. The best way to describe it would be kind of a tsundere thing?? They just aren't used to being nice to people on purpose, so when they are they get a little cagey and annoyed about it.

As for real lies, they avoid them as much as possible. Things always get confusing when all the info doesn't line up, which is something they hate more than anything

Alriac doesn’t make a habit of lying, but out of everything he’s prolly lied most about his ability to just kinda. Turn into a merman on command. And everything related to that. He also lies quite a lot about where he goes to anyone that asks. He’s never said the same place twice.

3. how often do they show emotion to others versus just the audience knowing?

Ithvozal didn't grow up around a lot of new ish people, like travelers and whatnot, and most of the people they grew up with didn't have the expectation of performing emotions to the degree that most people would consider normal. Because of this they appear to be very stoic to the usual traveler or surface dweller. If you know them well it's very obvious that they emote quite a lot, if not as strongly. They're the type of character that gets accused of being emotionless and cold by the fandom

Oh alriac absolutely wears his heart on his sleeve. He's never concealed anything a day in his life and everyone he's ever known knows that. He cried because he accidentally startled a really cute fish. He cried because he thought birds didn't live any longer than a week. He's been absolutely ecstatic over a bee landing on his arm. He is so full of joy and whimsy that it's physically impossible to keep it all in.

9. do they give tough love or gentle love most often? Which do they prefer to receive?

Oh ithvozal gives only the toughest of love! When demonstrating it via things like gifts and actions it's very obvious that they're extremely thoughtful about what they're doing, but when it comes to more direct things like physical affection or thankfulness it's a lot harder to tell that it's love and not just how you'd affectionately bully a friend. They mostly use weaker punches when doing physical affection, but their version of a weak punch is the same as most people trying to actually fight. Hence a lot of the meaning kind of gets misconstrued with those. They prefer indirect things like actions and gifts, but they're not opposed to other types of love from the right people. They're used to tough love, but gentle love is also very appreciated.

Alriac doesn't necessarily have gentle love, per se, but it's not tough love. It's more extremely intense than anything else. Like when a cat loves you so much they're very strongly kneading against your leg, and like yeah those claws are digging into your skin like hell but theyre just so cute and sweet and they mean so well, so can you really blame em?? He needs to get told to calm down sometimes, but he doesn't mind. As long as he can still demonstrate his love he's happy. He likes it when people match his energy, no matter what type of love it is. Ithvozal is great friends with him for this reason! They get pretty close to matching it in his eyes.

12. what’s something that makes them laugh a little every time? Be specific!

Ithvozal doesn’t really surround themselves with things that would be considered funny/particularly joyful by most standards, but they always get a kick out of the dwarven automata being a little dumb. Between the spiders that are prone to falling off ledges and getting startled to the spheres that smack their heads on shelves, there’s plenty of things to laugh at with them. Alriac is also a rather large source of laughs for them :)

Alriac finds quite a few things laughable, but his favorite is when he messes with sailors as they panic over a ‘ghost’ on their ship(which is just him climbing up there and spooking people and messing with stuff lol). He collects jokes and stories to tell to Ithvozal as well, to try and get at least a smirk outta em! He’s gotta make up for lost time, since they didn’t become friends until about 100 years into their lives.

[iknowwhereyousleepatnight]

hmm going with a basic one here. top 5 books

okay okay. hmmmmm. this one is slightly difficult and by slightly i mean a lot but that’s okay let me just (runs over to my full bookshelf and dresser stuffed gently with books) okay. i like to read. i have read a lot. i am bad at choosing only five things so i shall allow myself to include series and authors. i’m also excluding manga bc i know they’re books but they’re a separate category for me. so, in no particular order:

the great gatsby — i was indoctrinated into the cult of loving the great gatsby through a series of events and let’s just say that i can do deep readings of this book at the drop of a hat. i also read it every year because it’s so good

howls moving castle series — howl’s moving castle is a classic novel and i love it. but the whole series is great really i just adore them. i read them when i’m in the mood for whimsy

everything by jane austen but specifically pride and prejudice and emma — i had a summer a few years back when i read like 4 or 5 jane austen books in a month and it really changed my vocabulary i am still affected by it and i don’t care. i’m obsessed with them they’re so funny and good

(probably) anything by chuck palahniuk esp fight club, the invention of sound, and invisible monsters — i only recently started reading his stuff and i will probably read through all of his books during winter break but i’m in love with his writing style and the humor in his works

vicious and vengeful by v e schwab — i’ve been reading schwab’s works for a long time these two books are just very nostalgic for me even if i haven’t read them in years. they’re really cool. vicious is my favorite of the series though

for this

[boxwinebaddie]

hii uncle nina… *tears roll down my face* 12 devastated me (in a positive way) and you are so real for writing the first story in YEARS that affected me this deeply. i went on ao3 expecting to find some silly weird quirky south park shenanigans and accidentally entered a strict relationship with the most beautifully written masterpiece i have ever read and i am SO committed!

i also hope youre doing better! im glad you took some time away to take care of yourself, and please dont hesitate to step away again if you feel like it! we will still be here! youre not getting rid of us anytime soon!

now… *clears throat* style & kenjorine double date? :3

hello there, nonnie!

i'm terribly sorry for devastating you...but am honored that you are so emotionally impacted by the things that i write! also ohhhhh my goodness, shshshsh! far form a masterpiece haha!

in the wise words of cher horowitz ( my queen ): "she's ( my fic ) a full on monet. from far away its okay, but close up it's a big, ol' mess!" shdskkshdk

rawness and authenticity are very important to me, it's important to me that the boys, their world, their emotions, their actions feel real to you and that their motivations/characteristics are perceived as beautifully human and deeply flawed. as a writer, i want to create something that replicates a microcosm of life for you. something that does not fall flat, that excites you, infuriates and leaves you alight.

but once again, my friends. i write this fanfiction because it is fun. i want it to feel real...but at the end of the day it is fanfiction! be gentle with yourselves. please lean into the comfort and away from the hurt! the very kind and wonderful words that you all have administered to me like a dose of cherry nyquil, i am providing back to you. listen to your heart, mind and body. be kind to yourself. take breaks, take walks, *tolkien vc* take anything you need off the night(stan)d. <3

please do not let my funny, funky, fever dream of a fanfiction run you into the ground. i urge you to become looser and more lenient with your relationship the same way i have tried to, just because i want you to be healthy and as happy as possible. also...thank you for your kind words about my writing. <333 i can tell just from your message that you are wellspoken ( well typed ), wonderful and full of whimsy and light. may it guide you to good places, darling!

also actually!!!!! that is very funny you said that!!! i know i am not supposed to promise you things so if this doesnt make it into the final cut, do not stone me to death! but i did put a lot of the cfpom ( core four plus one more ) in thirteen, specifically kenny and marjorine because i love them! as far as the cfpom goes, i actually really love their group dynamic!!! its so funny when they all interact with me so i am trying to shoe-horn something in that i wrote that has a lot of the side characters in it. i love the side characters <3

also...i apologize if the next chapter is very long...? i figure we are all pretty familliar with how i operate by now and that i will probably write a lot, but just? take breaks yeah? read slow if you can? i'm excited i hope you are! thank you for your loveliness, i don't deserve you. <3333

-nina <3

[sbd-laytall]

The Chronicles of Narnia movies are better than the books and that’s a fact. I’m joking. It’s not a fact, it’s an opinion. Now, I have read the books and I have watched the most recent movies, so I feel like I do have a sliver of credibility.

I will acknowledge that I watched the movies first, so I do have a bias as they produce a sense of nostalgia. However, I’m trying to weigh both sides, as I generally prefer book versions of stories over movie versions.

C.S. Lewis wrote these books more than fifty years ago, so it would make sense that the writing style is quite different. He uses different lingo and uses outdated terms/references. However, I’m just not the biggest fan of it all.

He’ll fill up an entire page of just one long paragraph that explains the setting. I absolutely abhor long paragraphs and long descriptions, so this would be a double negative for me. He spends a while discussing lore, which is fascinating, but sometimes it’s a little too much.

While I dislike the overall composition, I do like how Lewis writes perspectives. He tends to use third person omniscient to explore the characters’ thoughts and feelings, which I like, but I also like his narration because it feels like he truly is a storyteller.

He also doesn’t bother with scenes that he considers unnecessary, which feels like a double-edged sword. Conversations that recount stuff that we already know are cut out, which is nice, but he also keeps the battles too short. in my opinion. I just don’t like his pacing, with loads of exposition at the beginning, the journey takes most of the book, the climax is very short, and there’s barely any story left for exposition.

The movies I feel are better because they show the beauty of Narnia without having to spend oodles of time on it. They show lushness. They show whimsy. They show magic. It truly feels amazing, especially with the scores that they play. The music that plays when Lucy first arrives in Narnia is, in fact, iconic to me. The pacing is also better for me because the exposition isn’t too long, the rising action is full and tense, the climax isn’t too short, the falling action exists, and the resolution feels earned. I don’t know, these are just my opinions.

It has been noted that the characterization of the Pevensies were a little skewed in the movies. Peter was still mature, but he was also bolder and more passionate, particularly in the second movie (but it can be argued that his anger was because of trauma and trauma tends to change people). Susan was less angry and more patient. Many have argued that they switched Susan and Peters’ personalities in the movies.

Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are more-or-less the same, but I would argue that Lucy was more prone to frustration in the books (I’m thinking of that time at the end of LWW when she was waiting for Edmund’s wound to heal, but Aslan told her to tend to other soldiers and she got testy). Caspian is less impulsive and more thoughtful (that scene in VOTDT where they were in the golden cave and Edmund was the one who was more affected by the curse, rather than how it was Caspian in the book).

I think that the characterization is better in the movies because like I said, Lewis relies heavily on plot and lore. His characters aren’t as distinct as they are in the movies. In my opinion, the Pevensies are quite bland in the books.

Peter is one that is bright and bold and in-your-face and magnificent. Susan is beautiful and smart and flawed and awesome (have I mentioned how I love that the girls get to fight more in the movies). Edmund is passionate and loving and wise. Lucy is charming and adorable and smart in her own way.

I also love how the movies portray a believable family. They fight and they bicker, and they play, and they joke; they feel like real siblings. To me, in the books, they felt like mere casual friends. In conclusion, while I am reluctantly fond of the books and can understand why they are so loved, I prefer the movies.