#the scott pilgrim HERE WE GO sound goes off

[twost3ps]

Hazbin Oc voiceclaims LETS GOO

Ok so I've been brewing a bit and have been kinda busy. I got one last exam coming up and then I'm FREEEEE but I wanted to push something simple out so I decided to do voice claims because that is somehow easy (not)

These are partially for the scott pilgrim au, it makes it a bit more immersive to me

Anywayyysss: Heres the video of the voices (it's 4.5 min I'm so sorry)

and if ur interested: let me break down whyyy :3 + small oc blip (I still don't really know how to chracterize them it's all over the place) they go in order of appearance

Micheal: Johnathan Groff

Micheal is pretty closed off and cold. His answers are cold and short, and he doesn't like wasting time. Working 24/7 is his way of ignoring everything bad that has ever happened to him, until recently. He's trying to go back to his roots and have some fun. B4, in Eden he was basically a fun loving party guy who liked to bend the rules, but since his brother's betrayal, he grew angry and to snuff it out he just worked super hard. Super straight laced. But after a while he's trying to be silly again, people find it weird though because it's just been so long.

Initially, I wanted something deep- like deep deep. And while true, Micheal could have a fitting deep voice-

I think Groff just fits really well. He hits all my boxes.

His voice is rich and smooth but has a bit of dorkiness to it?? (Kristoff) The closest thing I can go into describing my Micheal is, again, an ex frat boy that caught depression when things got too real but now is recovering and healing. Idk Groff's voice just gave the vibe. His voice is kinda similar to Jordan's (Lucifur's va) imo, especially when they sing. Of cousre they're not gonna sound identical, but its like Emily and Charlie, it's just similar when they sing. Also Groff can pull off a rocker voice (the Bohemian Rapsody clip) and I need that. I want that rocker Micheal FEAFSEF

In general though, Groff has been my #1 option. Not just for my Micheal, but like, a lot of Micheals I've seen. I look at them and all I can hear is Groff soooo. Yeah. I also think that if Micheal were to be part of the actual series and be Lucifur's twin he'd be the kinda guy they're looking for. But yeah, hes always been #1 choice

Gabriel: Chris Fleming/Jshlatt

Gabriel balances out Micheal's colder demeanor. He's loud and a bit obnoxious about. But overall, this man is a goober. He's a man that can't keep a secret and keeps it real, a bit too real this man is way too honest. Won't shut up once you get him going especially when he's excited. It's bad when he peaks at one emotion because he goes all out. Overtime he's gotten better but still out af.

I wanted Gabriel to have some sort of gruffness. Some edge. Gabriel's thing is spreading the word of God and all but I can't think of him having a smooth voice. (I mean he yells all the time, how can he not???) I wanted something expressive, loud and gruff. A voice that you know does not stfu and does not hold back.

Fleming came to mind when I head him from bigtop burger (love that series) his voice is fun, low and gruff. Jshlatt was recommended by one of my friends when I showed them Gabriel. I was pretty unfamiliar with him b4 and when they showed me him my jaw dropped. His voice is what I kinda want it to be, just a bit higher. And the singing voice fits really well too :)

Raphael: James Earl Jones/Thurl Ravenscroft/Nat King Cole

Raphael is supposed to be this chill soft guy you can go to for comfort. He's like a marshmallow of a man and can be very empathetic. But underneath all that is a unit of a man who could throw you thousands of yards away.

I wanted something rich, deep and smooth. I had to ask my friend again with this one and we got Mufasa (James Earl Jones) Fits really well! So yes, smooth and soft, but an underlying tone of powerful. I also wanted his to have just a lot of bass to it. Something you could sleep to. Why Nat King Cole for the last option? I genuinely have no clue but it fit to me so I slapped it on this bad boy.

Azreal/Dumah: Steve Blum

Ok. Both of them are idiots. My version of them anyways. They fight a lot. I mean when you are suck together it’s bound to happen (They share one body but only one can take full control at one time- mostly Azreal because Dumah hates people. I’ll just show you guys one day. They can separate but only when they are given permission. Big fussy babies). They finish each other’s sentences a lot when talking. Azreal is the goofier brother who likes making jokes and Dumah is the more serious one. When retrieving souls Azreal is the one who takes it while Dumah judges. Dumah hates when people joke while on the job (he hates Azreal for this this) but he hates it even more when they go against God's word. Azreal could give less of a crap, he just finds reaping super fun.

Blum fit for me after watching Puppycat seeing his role as space outlaw. It shows his ability to be goofy but his other roles consist of also very serious characters which fits Dumah and Azreal pretty well. Blum has this crazy rasp about thing going on (is that what it is?) it makes him stand out which fits for the angels that deal with the dead. Makes you very awake imo. Idk there’s just something about it. While Azreal and Dumah share the same voice, Azreal is higher than Dumah’s. What I mean by that is (when looking at the audio clip from the video) when Blum’s voice is generally higher, that’s Azreal. When it’s pitches lower that’s Dumah. Dumah in general doesn’t speak much unlike Azreal- they’re what comes to mind when people think of introvert and extrovert lol

Sadly I couldn't find a sining voice for him :(

Eve: Lisa Hannigan

To me, Eve holds a lot of motherly energy. She's soft and kind, but she actually holds similar feelings to Adam about sinners. Don't get me wrong, she feels bad for their eternal punishment, but in the end, it's on them. Like, if she was presented with the hotel, she'd comply but try to take over it becoming this overbearing presence that would put you in your place without lifing a finger if you didn't fird her standard. If she'd hear one complain shed be like, "i know it sucks but really, you did this to yourself." But besides that, to everyone else, she's kind. In heaven, she's recluse, only really going to Adam for anything. Her punishment on earth did something to her, and unlike Adam, she does not like seeking comfort from others. Shes subtle about it, but you can easily tell by the vibes she gives off - they are STRONG (Idk about this over all this may change)

I feel like this is kinda a given. Then again it could be just me. I wanted Eve to have this soft motherly vibe. Like her voice is just barely above a whisper sometimes, but is still kinda deep. Blue diamond came to mind like immediately. There were other options like Esmeralda’s VA, especially the one from the musical, but I wanted to give Eve this sense of solemn, sort of driftyness and chill. Ngl her character really resonates with blue diamond so it kinda just fell into place. It’s in contrast to Adam’s sharper and more gruff voice, where he can hit more highs, she hits more lows.

Eve is literally Adam’s other half (and while in my au they aren’t in love anymore or maybe they were never in love at all idk, they were definitely soulmates who loved each other dearly)

Again, notes on the floor and everywhere. They thoughts are always super scatterbrained

But yeah that’s pretty much it! If you guys have any recommendations or suggestions yourself feel free to tell me I am welcome to anything!!!

[girlsinaband]

the girls in a band masterlist

here is my attempt to create a complete record of comics, shows, and movies about girls that are in a band. migrated from a cohost post. i have personally seen or read all of these. i have also added editorialization with my opinions of them. each section is vaguely in a "most-to-least liked" order, but i tried not to think about it too hard.

my criteria is vague and ephemeral. but generally it is along the lines of: there is at least one girl, and preferably at least two, performing with a physical instrument of any kind with a group of people. purely idol groups dont count for this. also see: The Formula

tv

we are lady parts: the only non anime entry in this section of the list, surprisingly! but a pinnacle of the form. i LOVE this show, it's incredible. and only twelve ~20 minute episodes total! the canonical girls in a band television show. it's funny, it's heartfelt, it's got hella band content. it's about a UK muslin girlpunk band trying to recruit an insanely anxious guitar player into their band while navigating family and relationships, like you do. this is one of my favorite early scenes in case you want more convincing: https://youtu.be/tzAGqmdOBzE

sound euphonium: this time, its a wind ensemble! the sports anime of girls in a band. incredible yuri. the first season is about Competition (guys we gotta rehearse real good and try and get past the prefectural competition!). and then the second season is about Trauma (band-wise, family-wise, relationship-wise, and more!). an adaptation of a bunch of light novels that are unfortunately mostly not translated into english (or not translated very well)

girls band cry: a truly fantastic show. as you can tell from the name, it knows exactly what its about. girl moves to tokyo to escape her family and then gets swept off her feet by an ex-member of a band she likes. this one is mostly about girls being pieces of shit. basically all of the characters are kinda a dick in a fun way, and it makes for great storytelling. going in, the main girl is sorta setting up to be a cute and demure, but it turns out she's a huge asshole to everyone around her. the band (togenashi togeari) is also a real life band that is performed by the voice actresses, and has great music and a 10-song album already! their music is very good. also the show is cg animation but it REALLY goes wild with it and makes the characters super expressive. literally no caveats on the style here like you normally get with cg, it's fantastic animation

bocchi the rock (adaptation of the comic): you've probably heard about this one. girl so anxious her animation is constantly melting gets roped into joining a band. takes the sorta ok 4koma and goes crazy with the adaptation, making use of animation to elevate the sorta basic 4koma gags into full-ass comedy scenes. awesome performances and music.

scott pilgrim takes off: reimagining of the scott pilgrim comic. even more great band content. it's good

k-on (adaptation): pure fluff girls in a band. very cute. kinda like spooning sugar directly into your mouth. it's fun. i wouldn't call it "plotless" but it's basically just about having fun with your friends in a band. oh my god as im writing this i just remembered this is an adaptation of a 4koma that i havent read yet, so i need to do that i have done this now

bang dream its mygo: yep, it's a bang dream! i havent played the gatcha games, but this is a perfectly good standalone show. sticks to the girls in a band formula. stop me if you've heard this one before: a girl wants to form a band, and tries to rope an anxious girl into joining. the cg animation is pretty good in my opinion, but it's still definitely that kind of thing where you might have to get over it

jellyfish can't swim in the night: this more or less slides into this list on technicalities (they have a guitar player and a pianist! and...a producer! and also an artist. they also do perform on a stage. thats a band, right? probably). an artist, who became disillusioned with drawing when her middle school friends mocked a drawing she was proud of, is swept off her feet by an ex-idol (sound familiar?) that's in love with that art piece she is now ashamed of. they form essentially an online artist collective, producing music and music videos with artist girl's art and ex-idol girl's singing. it's about being a Creator online and dealing with all that entails (online identities, shitty randos). the characters all have some Trauma from their respective middle school experiences, and they are working through it. the show started out very strong, but fell apart in the second half and now that it's finished i dont really recommend watching it. very unfortunate

carole and tuesday: directed by the cowboy bebop guy! very up and down. two girls living on Future Mars playing guitar and keyboard form a duo together. the first half was pretty good! it's about them forming their group and gradually getting more famous. the second half is horrible and has insane stupid liberal politics. (what if trump wasn't actually a bad guy he was just being blackmailed by an evil ai or some shit like that. ive pushed it out of my mind. just watch the first half if you want to see it)

whisper me a love song (adaptation): this sure is an adaptation of the manga! i think the manga is only ok and this adaptation is pretty cheap and brings nothing new to the table. also still airing at the time of writing so this adaptation just kinda ground to a halt with like 3 episodes left to go and there's no sign of it continuing to air. weird. it still wasnt very good

bang dream: yep, it's a bang dream! this is the only anime on this list i actively made the decision to stop watching because i hated it so much. i finished season 1, but then season 2 had awful cg and made it clear that i was missing things from not having played the gatcha. don't bother with this and watch mygo instead if you want an actual television show

movies

linda linda linda: my favorite movie and one of my favorite things ever. after a girl band lost two members before their big school festival performance, they ask the first girl they see to join their band as a vocalist, who happens to be a korean exchange student who doesn't speak much japanese. teenage shenanigans ensue as they scramble to figure out their new performance in just a few days. the story is portrayed in a kinda dreamy, meandering way, and is very much about high school girls being high school girls. they know they need to do something important but they keep getting distracted by other things in their lives

liz and the blue bird: my second favorite movie and also one of my favorite things ever. a spinoff of sound euphonium, set after the events of the first two seasons of the show, but very much a standalone thing that can be watched in isolation. two girls (a flutist and an oboist) are playing a duet in this year's show, but a fallout in their relationship in the years prior is still interfering with their performance. they need to resolve their differences and their love and their futures in order to ensure the success of the entire ensemble in the competition. everything about it is gorgeous. i don't know what else to say. a movie where just watching a performance can make you cry

swing girls: movie about teenage chaos. a brass band is going to perform in a baseball game. but then basically everyone gets sick. so they need to try and put together a new band! i gotta rewatch this one it's been a while my memory is hazy

sound euphonium our promise a brand new day (sequel): and now the direct sequel to season 2 of the anime! this is definitely not a standalone thing. remember liz and the blue bird? this takes place during that same year! you get to see the full performance of that piece! but this time it's about the girls from the show and in the show's art style

the runaways: kristen stewart plays joan jett in this one and she's so hot that it basically has ruined my ability to have any coherent thoughts about the movie. if that sounds like a pitch to you then you should watch it

k-on (sequel): sequel to the anime! the girls take a trip to london. not really a standalone thing but i guess you could watch it on its own if you really wanted to. just a great compression of the fun of the show into movie form. girls having a good time

scott pilgrim vs the world (adaptation): you already know this one. i like the story of the comic more but the character performances are great

josie and the pussycats: goofy in that disney channel movie kinda way. the government is secretly trying to use subliminal messaging in music to mind control people into buying things. and the girls' band is brought into this evil world. and only they can stop it....

we are the best: swedish film about some 13 year old girls trying to form a punk band even though they don't actually know how to play any instruments. it's fine! definitely girls in a band but it didn't do much for me

jem and the holograms: i really wanted to find a contrarian viewpoint on this movie to be like "everyone says its bad but i dunno i think its fun!" but no, it just is actually bad. four sisters rocket to fame after uploading one of the sisters singing to youtube. and also there is...a....robot? made by one of the girls' father, that uhhh beatboxes and leads them on a scavenger hunt? i only watched this like four days ago and it's already rolling off my mind. dumb in the "bad disney channel original movie" way (unlike josie and the pussycats which has a goofy camp charm going for it)

comics

how do we relationship: yuri about two college students who are in their school's band club. more focused on their relationship than the bands, but there still is a lot of band content and performances

scott pilgrim: what more can be said

bocchi the rock gaiden: hiroi kikuri no fukazake nikki: the better version of the bocchi the rock comic, since it's not a 4koma. follows a mostly drunken hiroi around, which is something we all want and need

k-on: a great 4koma! unlike the bocchi manga, this really stands on its own as a well-done comic beyond the (also excellent) adaptation. sticks to the format really well and has some truly hilarious gags that i think would only work in 4koma form. lots of fun. also holy hell mugi is really gay in it. im glad the high school sequel comic gave ui and azusa got their own volume to be in the spotlight, they deserve it

beat & motion: wow, jellyfish can't swim in the night really is just doing the same plot as this, huh. and it makes it into this list on an even more tenuous technicality than jellyfish did. an artist, who became disillusioned with drawing when her his middle school friends mocked a drawing she he was proud of, is swept off her feet by a ex-idol musician he's a fan of that's in love with that art piece she is now ashamed of an animation he posted online. this is DEFINITELY "boys in a band". and its KINDA "girls in a band"? im allowing this in the list because it's absolutely got the vibes and two women do play instruments together in it like once or twice. i am enjoying it so far, curious to see where it goes

nana: i stopped reading this after 9 volumes (out of 21) because it got kinda bad and boring. but i enjoyed everything before that! and there is also an anime adaptation and two live action movies i need to watch. two girls named nana, one of whom is/used to be in a band run into each other randomly and end up living together. sort of in the "how do we relationship genre" of girls in a band where it's more about the relationships inside and out of the band. but nana is very much in the band and performs a lot! this is the most heterosexual yuri ive ever seen. they say the most romantic things about each other and talk about kissing all the time and then will be like "damn all this romantic talk about my roommate is really making me hanker for a boyfriend"

whisper me a love song: bloom into you-kind yuri about one of the girls falling in love with the other girl's performance in a band. very basic yuri stuff

bocchi the rock: the manga that spawned the anime! it's a 4koma. and believe it or not, it's not actually very good. the anime did a lot to tighten up the jokes and storytelling

k-on shuffle: it's k-on again! but with different girls. as of writing only one volume is out. it's...fine! i dont care about the characters as much as the original show which is a pretty big knock against it

hello melancholic: also yuri, but didn't leave as much of an impression on me. girl gets pressured into joining a band because she's too gay to say no

kuuden noise no himegimi / kuuden no himegimi: less explicitly yuri, but, you know, girls. also didn't leave too much of an impression on me. guitar girl with an ex-rocker dad meets a girl with a beautiful singing voice. and then joins a band with some of her dad's rocker buddies, then tries to get singer girl to join. its kinda slow and very elemental to this genre in the sense that its mostly just people talking about the band and band related things (practicing, how hard it is to compose music, etc). also one of the few of these that lets its band be properly bad and disliked by people

things that I will add once i read/watch them:

shiori experience

super sonico

show by rock

her smell

miss granny

and that's all i got! let me know what ive missed. i (obviously) love this genre so i'll consume most anything in it

[simmancy]

Love Among the Stars…. Round One

featuring sims by @siminycricket, @simblrinterests @berrysweetboutique @aliengirl @gussini @bumblingbunny​ and my friend Ash who doesn’t have a simblr anymore but is still an icon ( @summerplumbob​) 

READ ON FOR... THE RULES

Welcome to the SHIP. You are all crewmates, working to make sure things are running smoothly, and perhaps flirting with White... And then... Suddenly... Something starts going wrong. Is someone trying to make sure only THEY can be with White? It’s up to YOU (not you the sims, YOU THE PERSON READING THIS) to find out!

is your sim not here? DON’T WORRY! I’m going to be doing a second round!! I thought it’d be easier to test everything in two separate groups, since this is my first MMBC, and the first time I’m staging a bunch of murders.

Is this a murder mystery bc? A game of mafia in the sims? Who knows, but I’m excited to test it out.

every day, contestants go about their tasks. It’s very exciting, doing little tiny spaceship things

they talk with and perhaps even mingle with the single (White). White is the only sim who is truly controlled in this challenge--a sim that is free to perform 3 positive interactions + 1-2 flirt interactions a day with each contestant, to build things up.

occasionally there will be Special Tasks (competitions) where the winner can earn immunity!

as night falls.... so does a contestant on the ship

it is up to the Viewers to try to suss out who is sus, who is the killer

once voting is completed (usually after 48 hours), the player voted Most Sus will take a relationship hit with White

the contestant with the lowest relationship will then go home

The Imposter was randomly chosen, as are any Sims killed. We love random.org!

[cecilfaust]

a soundtrack dedicated to the 126th tributes. the songs are sad and im sorry. jungle fever baby!

Intro - No Church In the Wild by JAY-Z, Kanye West, Frank Ocean, The Dream

Human beings in a mob What's a mob to a king? What's a king to a God? What's a God to a non-believer Who don't believe in anything?

Will he make it out alive? Alright, alright No church in the wild

Atlas

Creature Comfort by Arcade Fire

Creature comfort, makes it painless Bury me penniless and nameless Born in a diamond mine It's all around you, but you can't see it Born in a diamond mine It's all around you, but you can't touch it

Sayin', "God, make me famous" "If you can't, just make it painless" "Just make it painless"

We're the bones under your feet The white lie of American prosperity We wanna dance, but we can't feel the beat I'm a liar, don't doubt my sincerity

Calypso

This Feeling by Alabama Shakes

I just kept hoping, I just kept hoping The way would become clear I spent all this time Tryna play nice and fight my way here

Opal

Black Sheep by Metric (but the Scott Pilgrim version goes hard)

Got balls of steel, got an automobile, for a minimum wage Got real estate, I'm buying it all up in outer space Now that the truth is just a rule that you can bend You crack the whip, shape-shift and trick, the past again

Mason

Be Mean by Tweens

You're a really great, great guy Who never listens But always taking one for the team Your heart is in the right place But it's moving at a slow pace I'd like to get out fast, and circulate Your sweetness is killing me!

Nvidia

Eighteen by Beabadoobee

Don't wanna be eighteen with responsibilities Sometimes I get scared of growing up Entering a world with broken dreams

Leaf

If I Could by Charlotte Day Wilson

Oh-oh, I'd bathe you Wash you of the sins that plague you Rid you of the burdens, and you'd be free once more Oh-oh, I'd save you Rid you of the curses that plagued you Give you all the praises, then bring you back to shore And you'd be free once more, oh You'd be free once more, oh

Twig

Keep Moving by Charlotte Day Wilson

Tryna find my way, way back home, mm Sometimes, I need something that's so far from me But if it's not meant to be I gotta keep moving, keep moving

Lawrence 

Rose Coloured Boy by Paramore 

Rose-colored boy I hear you making all that noise About the world you want to see And oh, I'm so annoyed 'Cause I just killed off what was left of The optimist in me

Honourable mention: Idle Worship by Paramore

Miz

Fake Happy by Paramore

I know I said that I was doing good and that I'm happy now I should've known that when things are going good That's when I get knocked down

Juniper 

The Grand Optimist by City and Colour

I fear I'm dying of complications Complications due to things I've left undone That all my debts will be left unpaid Feel like a cripple without a cane I'm like a jack of all trades Who's a master of none

Then there's my father He's always looking on the bright side Saying things like "Son, life just ain't that hard" He is the grand optimist I am the world's poor pessimist You give him burdensome times And he will escape unscarred

I guess I take after my mother

Rush

No Hope by Cults

It makes no difference If you turn away No hope for me now Better off that way Only left a moment That's all it took No sound for me now Foundation shook

Maia

Go Outside by Cults

I, I really want to go out I really want to go outside and stop to see your day You, you really want to hole up You really want to stay inside and sleep the light away I, I think it's good to go out 'Cause if you don't you'll never make a memory that will stay I, I think that you should wake up I think I want to live my life, and you're just in my way

Faith

Growing Pains by Sammy Copley

Growing pains, they hit me Life goes by so quickly Take my hand and walk me through it slow The first time I saw my life Reflected in my mother's eyes Young and afraid, I watched the world give way

[cardest]

Sweden playlist

Goodness! The Swedish Chef is deliriously pleased with this Sweden playlist. Det här är otroligt! It’s not far off 350 songs. Can we get there? I think so. (I tried to get songs by Retaliation and 10,000 years, but maybe later when someone puts up those songs on Youtube). This is epic!

What songs and bands have I overlooked for this? I bet there’s plenty. Sweden is just oozing with so much talent and so many great bands. Listen to the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC1-HqTl9SJKkER2dKbR2NWkE Add your songs and suggestions. Tack! SWEDEN

001 The Muppet Show - Swedish Chef goes bezerk in the kitchen 002 Grand Magus -  Fear Is The Key 003 In Flames -  Pinball Map 004 Entombed - Like This With The Devil 005 Soilwork - Figure Number Five 006 The Divine Comedy - Sweden 007 Bathory - Reaper 008 ABBA - Take a Chance On Me 009 Therion - Gothic Kabbalah 010 Moloko - Indigo 011 Katatonia - I Break 012 Opeth - The Baying Of The Hounds 013 Sabaton -  Carolus Rex 014 Europe - Scream Of Anger 015 Jean-Louis Aubert - Stockholm 016 Blues Pills -  Jupiter 017 Amon Amarth  - The Pursuit of Vikings 018 Triakel - Alla Gossar (Swedish folk music ) 019 Arcana - As the End Draws Near 020 Kenta  Guldkorn  - Stockholm 021 Tiamat - Whatever That Hurts   022 AVATARIUM - The Starless Sleep 023 Spiritual Beggars  -  Star Born 024 Dismember - Dreaming In Red 025 Lasse Berghagen - Pomperipossa 026 In Solitude - Sister 027 Sahg III - Baptism of Fire 028 Ebba Grön - Mona Tumbas Slim Club 029 Nightingale -  The Dreamreader 030 Roxette - Dressed For Success 031 Ghost - Rats 032 Yngwie J. Malmsteen – Far Beyond The Sun 033 Candlemass - Crystal Ball 034 Bathory - Under The Runes 035 Orup - Stockholm 036 Katla - Embryo 037 Pugh Rogefeldt - hog farm 038 Trees of Eternity - Gallows Bird (feat. Nick Holmes) 039 Paatos - Shame 040 THE STRANGLERS  - SWEDEN 041 Katatonia - Brave   042 Brighter Death Now - No Salvation 043 Nationalteatern - Livet är en fest 044 Meshuggah -  Bleed 045 Sir Douglas Quintet  - Meet Me In Stockholm   046 Ulf Lundell - Stockholm City 047 In Mourning - Fire & Ocean 048 Dark Tranquillity - The Science Of Noise 049 Blue Swede - Hooked On a Feeling 050 Clawfinger - The Truth 051 John Coltrane - Dear Old Stockholm 052 The Hellacopters - In The Sign Of The Octopus 053 Hypocrisy -  a coming race 054 Carola - Mig Var Du Står 055 Bloodbath - Let The Stillborn Come To Me 056 Vapnet - Stockholm sett snett uppifran 057 Mercy - Im Your Pervert Priest 058 The Spotnicks - Hava Nagila 059 Vanhelgd - Allt Hopp ar Fobi 060 Mammoth Storm - Fornjot 061 Vomitory - redemption 062 Entrails - No Cross Left Unturned 063 Virna Lindt - Attention Stockholm 064 Night - Fire Across the Sky 065 Dungen dar -  Har du vart i Stockholm 066 The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So 067 Sabaton - Gott Mit Uns 068 Svante Thuresson Och Totta Näslund - Stockholm Sweetnin' 069 Lake of Tears -  To Blossom Blue 070 Scott Walker - The Seventh Seal 071 Garmarna - Vänner och fränder   072 Stockholms Negrer - Det förlovade landet 073 Thåström - Ballad om en gammal knarkare 074 The Haunted - Godpuppet 075 Ordo Equilibrio - The First Harvest 076 Therion -  The Dreams Of Swedenborg 077 VINTERSORG - Fjällets mäktiga mur   078 Aeon - Aeons Black 079 Arckanum - Trulmælder 080 Edge of Sanity - Enigma   081 Scar Symmetry - The Illusionist 082 Tribulation -  Melancholia 083 Witchcraft - It's Not Because Of You 084 At The Gates - At The Gates 085 Unleashed - The One Insane 086 Candlemass - ancient dreams 087 Hasse Andersson - Guld och grona skogar   088 Crucified Barbara -  Electric Sky 089 Evergrey -  The Grand Collapse 090 Lord Belial - Bleed on the Cross 091 Hedningarna - Räven 092 Dismember - Pieces (with intro) 093 Entombed  - Sinners Bleed 094 MUSE - Stockholm Syndrome 095 Bathory - Valhalla 096 Gösta Berlings Saga - The Shortcomings Of Efficiency 097 Tiamat - The Ar 098 Oz - Turn the cross upside down 099 Grand Magus - I Am The North 100 Soilwork -  Light The Torch 101 Spiritual Beggars - Fools Gold 102 Stuck In Motion - Moon 103 Cult of Luna - Receiver 104 Arcana - A Cage 105 Memento Mori - The Seeds of Hatred 106 Wolfbrigade - Barren Dreams 107 Dr Zeke - Jag Ska Aldrig Dö 108 Yngwie Malmsteen - gimme gimme gimme (your lust after midnight) 109 Arch Enemy - Pilgrim 110 Torch - Watcher Of The Night 111 Magic - Vi drar på disco 112 Refused -  Elektra 113 Grave - Into The Grave 114 Lädernunnan - Ensam I Natt 115 The Orchard Enterprises - Fear Might Harm Self 116 Suma - Swordlord 117 Kulning - Ancient Swedish herdingcall 118 Bob Hund - Ska du hanga med Na 119 Dark Funeral - As One We Shall Conquer 120 Disfear - Get it off   121 Ghost -  From The Pinnacle To The Pit 122 Morbus Chron - Chains 123 Heavy Load - Traveller 124 Therion - Tuna 1613 125 Entombed -  Left Hand Path 126 Hearse - Mountain of the Solar Eclipse 127 Monolord - The Last Leaf 128 Night Viper - The Wolverine 129 Agrimonia - A World Unseen 130 Jonathan Hultén - Nightly sun 131 Diabolical Masquerade - Blackheim's Quest To Bring Back The Stolen Autumn 132 Army Of Lovers - Crucified 133 Dissection - Where Dead Angels Lie   134 Noctum _Liberty in Death 135 Europe - Open Your Heart 136 Darkane  - Secondary Effects 137 Candlemass - Codex Gigas 138 Bathory - Enter Your Mountain 139 ABBA - Ring Ring (Bara du slog en signal) Swedish Version 140 Watain - Malfeitor 141 Louise Lemón - Devil 142 Cult Of Luna - Vague Illusions 143 Diablo Swing Orchestra -  Black Box Messiah 144 Opeth - Nectar 145 Hills - Milarepa 146 Ceremonial Oath - The Book Of Truth 147 Dark Tranquillity - Silence And the Firmament Withdrew 148 Göteborg Sound - Björn Borg 149 In Flames -  Reflect The Storm 150 MESHUGGAH - Demiurge   151 Expiremental Pop Band - Gothenburg 152 Millencolin - polar bears 153 Hedningarna - Pornopolka 154 Ratata - Ogon Av Is Liv Utan Spanning   155 OBSCURITY - Roses With Thorns 156 Nifelheim - Sodomizer 157 Soilwork - One With The Flies 158 Gardenian - Netherworld 159 Cemetary - Sundown 160 Månegarm - Hemfärd 161 Garmarna - Herr Mannelig 162 YE BANISHED PRIVATEERS - First Night Back In Port   163 VINTERSORG - Svältvinter 164 SNOWY SHAW - Nachtgeist 165 Moloken - The Titan Above Us 166 BEWITCHED - HARD AS STEEL (HOT AS HELL) 167 The Night Flight Orchestra - Green Hills Of Glumslov 168 Vanhelgd - Gravens Lovsång 169 Marduk - Christraping Black Metal 170 Garbochock - Streberbarn 171 Negative Self - Back On Track 172 Nightingale - Sleep 173 Iggy Pop - Five Foot One 174 Owe Thörnqvist - Varm korv boogie 175 Candlemass - Elephant Star 176 Tiamat - Cold Seed 177 Dismember - Shadowlands 178 Hypocrisy - Penetralia 179 Therion - Melez 180 Yngwie Malmsteen - You Dont Remember Ill Never Forget 181 Woven Hand -  Swedish Purse 182 Roxette - Joyride 183 Wolf -  Skeleton Woman 184 Europe - Seven doors hotel 185 ABBA - Me Knowing Knowing Youse   186 Opeth - Ghost Of Perdition 187 Katatonia - I Am Nothing 188 Sabaton - Uprising 189 Bathory - Total destruction 190 Cult Of Luna - Owlwood 191 Cortex - Warrior Night 192 Trettioåriga Kriget - Krigssång 193 Lee Hazlewood A House Safe for Tigers 194 Dead Sleep - Back to black 195 Greenleaf  - Tides 196 The Crimson Shadows - When I'm Going Away 197 The Night Flight Orchestra - Transmissions 198 Anekdoten - Nucleus 199 Enhet För Fri Musik - Det Finns Ett Hjärta 200 In Flames - Jotun 201 Dungen - Ta det lugnt 202 Ghost - Ritual 203 Witchery - A Paler Shade of Death 204 Landberk - Tell 205 At The Gates - Blinded By Fear   206 Anna von Hausswolff - Epitaph of Theodor 207 Uran - Mr Piggy 208 Runemagick  Remnants of the Old 209 SKÁLD - Flúga 210 Sacramentum - Far Away from the Sun 211 Dawn - Malediction Murder 212 Nifelheim - No more life 213 Craft - The Cosmic Sphere Falls 214 Solitude Aeturnus -  Waiting for the Light 215 ARCH ENEMY - War Eternal 216 Nasum - Worldcraft 217 Insision - No Belief 218 The Oath - silk road 219 Shining - Förtvivlan Min Arvedel 220 Burst - I Exterminate The I 221 Bloodbound - Stormborn 222 Puissance - Love Incinerate 223 Electric Boys - All Lips 'n Hips 224 Exgenisis - Embers 225 Don Cherry - GamlaStan - The Old Town By Night 226 Raison D'etre -  Sub Specie Aeternitatis 227 Bloodbath  - Weak aside 228 Therion -  Opus Eclipse 229 Cult of Luna - I: The Weapon 230 Marduk - The Sun Turns Black as Night 231 Ragnar Grippe - Symphonic Songs: Part 1 232 Unanimated - From a Throne Below 233 Entombed - Hollowman 234 Grande Royale - Royale 235 PAGANIZER  - Soulless Feeding Machine 236 Bathory - Woman of Dark Desires 237 Paranorm - Critical Mass 238 Refused - The Deadly Rhythm 239 Golgata - Med din kyss kom mörkret 240 Ett Dödens Maskineri – ‘Låsta dörrar 241 MÖRK GRYNING - Fältherren   242 Daughter Chaos - The space born 243 BLUES PILLS - Rhythm In The Blood 244 LUCIFER - Ghosts 245 November - Mount Everest 246 Dissection - Night's Blood 247 Tøronto - Lights Out At Bedlam 248 ICE AGE - Breaking The Ice 249 Sweven - By Virtue of a Promise 250 Ghost-  Year Zero 251 TRIBULATION - Strange Gateways Beckon 252 Drain S.T.H. - Crack the Liar´s Smile 253 Horisont - Odyssey 254 Witchcraft - Snake 255 Kirstie Sarboe - Ein Student Aus Uppsala 256 Sodomisery - Reapers Key 257 Opeth - Under The Weeping Moon 258 Olle Adolphson - Gustav Lindströms visa 259 Therion - The Wild Hunt 260 Bloodbath - Bloodicide 261 Bathory - The Golden Walls of Heaven 262 Soilwork - Follow the Hollow 263 Magnus Härenstam - Huddinge, Tullinge, Tumba 264 OBSTRUKTION - Hopeless Path 265 Amon Amarth - The Way Of Vikings 266 Anguish - When the Ancients Dare to Walk 267 Palme sköt först - Spiders 268 Totalitär - Allt Är Inom Dig 269 Vassago - Sign of Vassago 270 Larma - Elitens Eskapism 271 ENSNARED - Anti-Prophet 272 Third Storm - Forgotten Deity 273 Chronic Decay - Ecstasy In Pain 274 Transport League - Man Sized Drain 275 Nasum - mass hypnosis 276 Inevitable End - Memento 277 Candlemass - Dancing in the Temple (Of the Mad Queen Bee) 278 Gadget - Remote 279 Sayyadina - Nothing 280 Coldworker - The Contaminated Void 281 Katatonia - Teargas 282 In Flames - Dead God in Me 283 Trial - Motherless 284 Watain - Satan's Hunger 285 Bewitched - Rise Of The Antichrist 286 Shining - Jag Är Din Fiende 287 In Solitude - Witches Sabbath 288 Comecon - The House That Man Built 289 Marduk - The Black Tormentor of Satan 290 Lifelover - M/s salmonella 291 Naglfar - Enslave the Astral Fortress 292 Sacrilege - Sweet Moment of Triumph   293 Spiritual Beggars - Monster Astronauts 294 Massgrav - Det Här Är Stockholm 295 IRON LAMB - Backstabbers 296 The Hives - Tick Tick Boom 297 Candlemass - Dark Reflections 298 Megatomb - Forbidden Altar 299 Entrails - Condemned to the Grave 300 Katatonia - Gateways of Bereavement 301 Träd, Gräs och Stenar - Sanningens Silverflod (Djungelns Lag) 302 Hammerfall - Let the Hammer Fall 303 Obnoxious Youth - Mouths Sewn Shut 304 GRAND MAGUS - Wolf God 305 Dark Funeral - Unchain my soul 306 Entombed - Say it in slugs 307 Amon Amarth - Runes to My Memory 308 Ghost - Absolution 309 Hypocrisy  - Dominion 310 Edge of Sanity - Darkday 311 Orbit Culture - North Star of Nija 312 Cemetary - Caress the Damned 313 DOZER - Through The Eyes Of Heathens 314 Grave - Now and Forever 315 ARCH ENEMY - Bury Me An Angel 316 Skraeckoedlan - Universam 317 Cult of Luna - I remember 318 Doris  Svensson - Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby 319 Svard - A Rift in the Green 320 Evergrey - Monday Morning Apocalypse 321 Lightbringer - Lightbringer in Sweden 322 Bastard Priest - ghouls of the endless night 323 Westkust - Cotton Skies 324 Maggot Heart - sex breath 325 Abruptum - De Profundis Mors Vas Consumet 325 Raised Fist - Flow 326 Makthaverskan - Antabus 327 Eternal of Sweden - Heaven's gate 328 Wolfbrigade - Fire Untamed 329 Fyfan - Intrangd Och Instangd 330 Opeth - Svekets prins 331 Martyrdöd - Hexhammeren 332 The Haunted - Liquid Burns 333 Dismember - Override of the Overture 444 Bathory - Under the Runes 666 Dark tranquillity - A Bolt of Blazing Gold

Play the songs here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-iHPcxymC1-HqTl9SJKkER2dKbR2NWkE

Next edition of Sweden playlist will have tracks from: God Macabre, Deutsch Nepal , Retaliation, In Slaughter Natives and 10,000 Years.

[skzafterdusk]

Stray Kids As Dates I’ve Been On

Unorthodox, but really this is just:

These are totally the dates each member would take you on

Chan: Why did you guys end up at Barnes & Noble? No clue, but you were here. And while you guys wandered through the sections, looking at various books, you stumbled across a book that intrigued you both:

500 Questions To Ask Someone

Luckily, there was a cafe in the store, so guys were able to order coffee, sit and go back and forth between asking questions.

Some were basic, some were very thought provoking, and it waged some lengthy conversations. You realized, as you watched Chan explain some of his most creative ideas, some of his plans for the future, that you’d never met anyone like him. To be so genuinely engrossed in what he was saying, to catch how he sent you soft smiles when you went on rants, it was a feeling you never had before. 

Even though you don’t remember which question it was, you knew to take a mental snapshot of that day, because it was one to remember.

Yes, you did end up buying the book for sentimental purposes.

Minho: (Should probably mention this now, there’s a lot of driving involved on these dates) He decides to take you to the lake. The summer is forgiving this year, and while the days can still be hot, the nights are met with cool breezes, whisping air that smells of the trees and grass that grow plentiful.

You sit on a bench after having stood near the lake, and you just talk. By this point, you’d gone on a couple dates, and still had so much to learn about each other.

Although Minho has a very forward personality, he stumbles a little when he suggests that you guys become official, exclusively dating only each other. He shakes his head quickly, almost like he is dismissing the idea, but you agree.

In the dark of the night, you can hardly make out each other’s faces that well, but even still you can see his grin and the way he looks back at you.

Changbin: Wasn’t a planned date. You guys closed the store you work at together, and you were both hungry and wired from the interactions with customers that day.

So he suggests you go to this diner. It’s one you’ve been to a couple times in the past, and Changbin has had some memorable late night meals with friends there. It was only fitting he took you to one of his favourite places, right?

The conversation you guys share is unexpectedly deep, you opening up about your relationship with your parents, him being the great listener like he always is. Given that it was your first time in this type of setting with him, you hardly thought this is what the night would bring. Sure, you’d had a crush on him before because he made you feel so comforted at work, but you had no idea that getting to talk with him -like, actually converse with him- would only make the crush turn into genuine feelings.

After the diner, neither of you wanted to go home, so you just drove. You guys ran unnecessary errands, anything to stay in each other’s company. And it was well past 2am when you finally said goodbye.

Hyunjin: The date hadn’t been planned. You just happened to be out near where he lived, and he asked if you wanted to spend some time together. 

It’s already late afternoon when you guys meet up. He suggests you guys go to a park near his home. After the day you had, it was nice to be out on such a lovely summer day, taking in the sound of insects buzzing around you.

After the park, you went to a Japanese restaurant in the downtown area. Sitting outside, you both could admire the skyscrapers just in the distance. And, afterwards, you took a stroll, the streets empty at night, so you took your time crossing. There was a memorial fountain nearby, and it looked lovely in the night.

All this random adventure just brought you back to his house, where you promptly spent the night just talking in your car.

You’re not even sure how or why you started kissing, but soon enough, the car was filled with heavy panting, the wet sound of your kisses. The center console was uncomfortable, so you ended up in the backseat. 

The only way you were able to drive home was because you had work the next morning. Yes, the Little Mermaid bandage on your neck to hide the hickey was a little ridiculous.

Jisung: There’s a college campus close to where he loves, and it’s almost like a hideaway for him. On a summer day, the campus is rather empty. Spacious lawns and intricate water fountains can be found across one cobblestone street to the next.

But his favourite place to visit? The archive room at the top floor of the library. Past the marble floors, sweeping candelabras and great oak double doors, there is a long room. The only way to illuminate the space is with its many fluorescent lights. Void of proper windows and the need for cool air, being in the archive can feel like being in another world. 

You split up, you get lost in towering shelves as does Jisung. But you find each other, given that you’re the only ones up there.

And when you do meet up, you stand close to his side. He’s skimming a book in the psychology section, and you don’t notice his gaze when you lean closer to look at the words on the page.

He puts the book back gently, turning his full attention to you. 

You feel one of his hands go to wrap around your waist, the other resting where your neck and shoulder meet. He gives a quick smile as he sees you won’t back away. Honestly, you’d been waiting for this, waiting for the moment where you could finally kiss him.

The automated voice that comes over the speaker is cold, harsh, and jarring. It makes your heart stop in your chest as you jump.

“The library will be closing in ten minutes.”

With a deep inhale, Jisung steps away.

“There’s some other places I wanted to show you,” he says, holding out his hand for you to take.

When you finally exit the library, the sun is going down in the night, but your adventures on campus do not stop until the sky is full of stars, and the horizon only shows ignited street lamps.

Felix: I never understood how people could go on dates in stores, but honestly I get it now. And Felix would definitely be the type to walk around Wal-mart with you as you picked up some essentials (toothpaste, a pack of UNO cards, etc), just talking about whatever that comes up. For example, going by the tire section and talking about how you love the smell of tires.

“They’re just rubber,” he’d say, simply.

And you would shrug. “I guess I like the smell of rubber.” And then, somehow, you get on the topic of enjoying the smell of ammonia, and he’s fighting off laughter because,

“Ammonia is in cat pee. You like the smell of cat pee?”

So, yes, you’re wandering aimlessly around Wal-mart for probably two hours when a storm comes by. Tornado and flood, to be exact.

You’re at the check-out line when Felix’s mom would call, telling him he needed to get home because it was supposed to flood really bad, and that a tornado was coming. Little do you know, it’s already absolutely pouring outside.

And you didn’t park anywhere close to the entrance.

So you both book it, a sad attempt at trying to shield yourself from the rain with your feeble hands. There’s so much water on the ground that it kicks up high as your feet pound the pavement. And once you get to your car, the both of you are soaked from head-to-toe.

He lives closer, so you drive carefully as the water is already collecting on the streets, and make it to his apartment. It’s not even a question of you coming inside since he wouldn’t dare make you drive back home in these conditions.

Hours pass by with endless conversation, laughs, giggles, light-hearted bickering. You’re both dry at this point, and he offers you guys watch Scott Pilgrim Vs The World because it was a movie you both really enjoyed.

But here’s the thing: we know Felix is a handsy person. No shame, but he needs physical touch at all times. And really, it’s not enough that you’re just sitting really close to each other on the couch. And soon, his arm is wrapped around your shoulders (smooth), and everytime he laughs, his head bumps into yours, endearingly.

So the movie is on for maybe 15 minutes before he decides to pause it, looking at you with intent. His eyes keep glancing down at your lips. Cheesy, you would think in any other situation, but your breath stutters when he finally leans in. It’s a simple peck, but it’s enough to make the room around you deafeningly silent.

Cue the makeout session that results, featuring some slight biting and mild choking. As a treat.

Then you get your ass home cause it stopped raining. (clearly a lot happened this night)

Seungmin: I don’t know where this idea is coming from, but something about him just screams, “How about you come over to my house and I cook you dinner?” as a date. He’s just that classy dude.

...you might have to help out, cause he’s not entirely sure what he’s doing.

But that’s what makes it so cool, to be in the kitchen with him, listening to some low music while you guys get in each other’s way. More than once thus he yells out in faux anger, and you laugh. Before he’s even done shouting, he’s smiling at you.

Did the dinner come out good? Well...it’s...edible. Luckily, he has a great selection of fresh fruit that makes a great sweet balance.

Jeongin: Movie and dinner sounds a little common, right? Here’s how it goes down:

Jeongin knows someone that works at the theatre. A manager (see where this is going?). 

So you guys essentially sneak into a movie for free. As much as you loved it, you spent a lot of the time curled into him as gorey scenes filled the screen. He teases you a couple times about being too weak, but he still gladly holds your hand, checking you to make sure you’re not getting too grossed out. 

Afterwards, you guys go to the sushi restaurant in the same parking lot. The place is rather empty, given that it’s late afternoon on a weekday, which is nice because you guys don’t have to talk so loud. It’s like you guys are in your own little world. 

From where you guys sit in the restaurant, you can watch as the sun sets across the parking lot. Not very romantic, but a chill date that still leaves you grinning when you get home.

Val’s Note

Hello, there! I hope you enjoyed my first post. This is something I’ve been thinking about since I got into skz, and I’m glad I could finally type it out and post.

I wanna be able to take requests for lists like these in the future, so feel to do so if you enjoyed this :) Until next time.

[thecaffeinebookwarrior]

How To Write A Kiss Scene:  An Illustrated Guide

Anonymous Asked:

Can you maybe do a post on the elements of a kiss scene? 

Certainly, and I’m sorry it took so long -- I have several post requests I’m working on, and thankfully, I finally have a bit of spare time to answer them. 

If you’d like my tips on how to write a healthy romance, or how to write a killer sex scene, go right ahead and click the links here.

For the time being, here goes!

1.  Keep things understated (especially in regards to tongues.)  

“Our tongues tangled and went to war in our locked mouths, battling madly for dominance.”

No.  Okay?  Just no.  The thought of my tongue “tangling” with someone else’s is an image I would really prefer to unsee, yet I have seen it and countless variants in both published literature and fics.  

Similarly, ask anyone whose ever had an unsolicited tongue jammed down their throat:  it’s not pleasant, and readers shouldn’t be lead to believe it is.  

My advice with kissing scenes is to focus predominantly on lips, and maybe add a little tongue as an afterthought.  Like so:

“His lips were warm and soft.  They parted slightly, allowing my tongue to slip inside.”

If you want something a bit more passionate:

“Our bodies pressed together heatedly against the wall, breathing heavily as our lips pressed together.  I could taste our shared breath, feel the thud of our combined heartbeat as we fumbled to take off one another’s clothes.”  

You could even try, “His tongue pressed between parted lips in ticklish kitten licks,” which, granted, sounds a little awkward without context, but isn’t nearly as wince-worthy as the image of it being jammed in like a tongue depressor.

Literally and metaphorically, tone down the tongue.

2.  Don’t get overly floral about taste.

“Her lips tasted like peaches and honey.”

No, they didn’t.  And her pussy didn’t taste like coconut cream pie, either, or anything else your quintessential sub par male author or pre-teen smut writer might dream up.  

Unless she’s literally just been eating peaches and honey, or she’s using some kind of fancy lubricant, her lips are going to taste like lips, and her pussy is going to taste like pussy.  Full stop.

Granted, that isn’t very romantic, which is why I like to focus on other sensations besides taste.  For example:

“Her lips were soft, almost silken, and pillowy against my own.  I could feel the soft tickle of her breath beneath my nose, fingers carding through her hair as we breathed each other in.”

I occasionally actually will have my characters be eating or drinking something before hand, also, just to add an extra layer of sensation play to the scene.

For example:

“His lips were still sweet with milk and honey from his afternoon tea as Alexander kissed his husband goodbye.”

But my advice is keep these instances short and sweet:  nothing can kill the mood like a good dose of purple prose.

3.  Focus on how the characters are feeling.

Here’s the thing: as I understand it, kissing someone you’re not all that into at the moment is awkward.  

You don’t know what to do with your hands, your hyper aware of everything your body is doing, and you’re really concerned with how you might taste.  You’re also a lot more prone to noticing unseemly things about your partner, like bad morning breath, bad skin, weird grunting breathing, et cetera.

The same goes for writing:  too much physicality can make a kissing scene feel painfully awkward, whereas, just as in real life, a good kiss will be one in which the best part is how your partner makes you feel.

Focus on how your POV character is feeling, and add physical details here and there to make the scene feel grounded:

“Warmth blossomed in Luna’s chest, sparks igniting as Artemis leaned in close, lips brushing together, tentatively, for the first time.  The smell of her perfume, of the soft, peachy scent of her conditioner, was dizzying, butterflies dancing in her stomach.  But warmth consumed her as she leaned into the kiss, Arty’s lips impossibly soft against her own.”

I find this approach much more effective than describing each motion in painstaking detail.

Bonus:  Learn from the masters.

I don’t claim to be the paramount expert on writing, kissing, or any combination of the two.  

So without further ado, here are what are considered to be some of literature’s finest makeout scenes for your benefit and inspiration:  

“It was like that. Almost the last thing I remember was standing with Daisy and watching the moving-picture director and his Star. They were still under the white-plum tree and their faces were touching except for a pale, thin ray of moonlight between. It occurred to me that he had been very slowly bending toward her all evening to attain this proximity, and even while I watched I saw him stoop one ultimate degree and kiss at her cheek.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby    

“I turned around and found her face, and her mouth was already waiting like a question. I’m not gonna make it out to be something that it wasn’t: It was perfect—Coley’s soft lips against the bite of the liquor and sugary Coke still on our tongues. She did more than just not stop me. She kissed me back.”

-  Emily M. Danforth, The Miseducation of Cameron Post

“She drew him toward her with her eyes, he inclined his face toward hers and lay his mouth on her mouth, which was like a freshly split-open fig. For a long time he kissed Kamala, and Siddhartha was filled with deep astonishment as she taught him how wise she was, how she ruled him, put him off, lured him back... each one different from the other, still awaiting him. Breathing deeply, he remained standing and at this moment he was like a child astonished by the abundance of knowledge and things worth learning opening up before his eyes.”

- Hermanne Hesse, Siddhartha 

“Cath closed the book and let it fall on Levi’s chest, not sure what happened next. Not sure she was awake, all things considered.The moment it fell he pulled her into him. Onto him. With both arms. Her chest pressed against his, and the paperback slid between their stomachs.

Cath’s eyes were half closed, and so were Levi’s and his lips only looked small from afar, she realized, because of their doll-like pucker. They were perfectly big, really, now that she had a good look at them. Perfectly something. He nudged his nose against hers, and their mouths fell sleepily together, already soft and open. When Cath’s eyes closed, her eyelids stuck. She wanted to open them. She wanted to get a better look at Levi’s too-dark eyebrows, she wanted to admire his crazy, vampire hairline—she had a feeling this was never going to happen again and that it might even ruin what was left of her life, so she wanted to open her eyes and bear some witness.

But she was so tired. And his mouth was so soft.And nobody had ever kissed Cath like this before. Only Abel had kissed her before, and that was like getting pushed squarely on the mouth and pushing back.

Levi’s kisses were all taking. Like he was drawing something out of her with soft little jabs of his chin. She brought her fingers up to his hair, and she couldn’t open her eyes.”

-Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl  

ROMEO

If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

JULIET Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss.

ROMEO Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?

JULIET Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.

ROMEO O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.

JULIET Saints do not move, though grant for prayers’ sake.

ROMEO Then move not, while my prayer’s effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.

JULIET Then have my lips the sin that they have took.

ROMEO Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again.

JULIET You kiss by the book.

- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

I hope this helps, and happy writing!  <3

[texanredrose]

Weiss Schnee Vs The World - Ex #3

Revisiting a concept I’ve toyed with before: video game logic and mechanics integrated and acknowledged in real world interactions and No One Questions It, featuring a different batch of useless lesbians. Inspired by this post which is, in turn, a Scott Pilgrim vs the World joke.

Weiss pushed out a breath, trudging towards the coffee shop in a rather foul mood. “So, perhaps you can shed a little light on the current situation.”

“Here we go.” Blake sighed, ears twitching as she burrowed her face a little deeper into her scarf. “The interrogation begins. Go ahead.”

“Seeing as I was dragged into this ridiculous ‘Defeat the Evil Exes’ quest entirely against my will, I think I’m completely justified in asking why they’re called ‘evil’ when numbers one and two were actually rather pleasant.” Flipping her white hair over one shoulder and cursing the wind, she reached out for the door and opened it, staring rather resolutely at her kinda-girlfriend-but-pending-quest-completion until the Faunus relented and stepped inside ahead of her. “Ilia seemed more intent on ensuring I don’t live up to my surname- which, in her defense, I can completely understand- and Sun just seemed interested in reconnecting with you in a strictly platonic way. Considering the situation, I expected them both to be more...”

“What?” With a smirk and a raised brow, amber eyes fell on the woman with a hint of mirth twinkling within them. “Evil?”

“They’re literally calling themselves the ‘evil exes’ so I don’t see why I’m remiss for being confused.” She huffed, setting her hands on her hips while Blake removed snowflakes from her fur with quick flicks of her ears, the minute amount gathered on their shoulders ignored for a moment. “I expected to be defending myself against creepy stalkers and controlling maniacs, not a living mood ring and everyone’s best friend.”

“Sun did want to have lunch together, all four of us, now that you mention it.” Blake gave a small smile before the corners of her mouth turned down. “Look, I don’t know why they all agreed to this in the first place, but I know Adam’s behind this, and he is the definition of an Evil Ex. Maybe they’re just trying to make sure that you’re prepared and aware he’s coming.”

Weiss rolled her eyes, dusting at her shoulder briefly before starting towards the counter where a single customer stood, not the she paid them any mind. “Oh, so this whole exercise is a warm up for the end level boss, that’s just great, but it still makes me feel like the villain in all this!”

“How so? It’s not like you’ve attacked anyone out of the blue.” Blake waved a hand. “You don’t even know who any of my exes are or what they look like!”

“Which is another thing because isn’t that pertinent information to share with your potential girlfriend?” She raised a brow, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for them to stop walking before tapping her foot impatiently. 

“Hey, my past love life is mine to divulge and it’s not exactly fair for them to force my hand like this.” The Faunus’ brows drew together. “And you have an ex, too.”

“One, yes, thank you for the reminder.”

“And all I know about her is that she’s your roommate’s sister!”

“Which is more than I know about any of yours!”

“Okay, both of y’all need to cool down.” The customer ahead of them spoke, turning around at the same moment as they really looked at her, pulling a soft groan from both of them. Weiss assumed Blake was merely embarrassed about disagreeing as they were in public but the woman’s dismay lay elsewhere entirely. “I could toss you two into a snowbank, if it’ll help.” A brilliant smile lit up the blonde’s face as three dings sounded simultaneously, signalling an update in their respective quest menus. “Heya Blakey, Weissy. Long time, no see.”

Weiss couldn’t help but groan again, not bothering to check hers as she met those brilliant lilac eyes for a moment before turning towards Blake, trying to cut off the question she could sense coming.

“Blake, this is my ex, Yang.”

“Weiss, this is another ex, Yang.”

... apparently, her senses were off, because that definitely wasn’t a question.

“Aw, that was almost a jinx!” The blonde laughed, leaning back against the counter. “Then you’d both owe me a soda.”

“That’s not how it works,” Weiss replied with a frustrated groan, more focused on the Faunus’ look of surprise. “What do you mean ‘another ex’?”

“I mean exactly that. Yang’s my third ex.” The furrow to her brows deepened. “What do you mean she’s your ex, though?”

“Alright, you two, settle down.” Yang hiked a thumb behind her. “How about we all get our drinks, sit down at a booth, and talk this through real quick? We’ve got some time.”

Throwing her hands in to the air, the woman couldn’t help but raise her voice a little. “Sure! Why not! I get a quest to defeat Seven Evil Exes, so might as well have coffee with one! Yes! Perfectly acceptable! That doesn’t make me feel like a heel or anything!”

Blake turned her eyes towards the ceiling, all the while a blush rose in her cheeks. “You’re being overly dramatic again. And, remember, I have to fight her, too.”

Weiss’ gaze snapped to the Faunus. “Since when?”

“Hey now, come on! Just because we’ve got some business to take care of later doesn’t mean we can’t be civil right now!” The cashier quietly cleared his throat, prompting the blonde to turn and grab two cups, offering one to each of them. “One espresso with two pumps of cream and one green tea. If I remember right, that’s what each of you usually order, right?” Blue eyes slid to meet amber, neither of them admitting out loud that this constituted new information for the other, before reaching out to accept the offering. “Great! You two go pick out a booth and I’ll be there in a sec!”

Weiss and Blake turned around, taking a few steps away before the former spoke up. “Did you know that both of us dated Yang at different points?”

“How would I know about this? Even though that last part is obvious.” The Faunus rolled her eyes and sighed. “I had no idea-”

“You didn’t recognize Ruby?”

“You mean the one time I saw your roommate wrapped up in a blanket? No, now that you mention it, it didn’t ring a bell.” She reached up, running a hand through raven hair. “Yang and I were college roommates our senior year; she mentioned having a sister but I never asked many questions or met her-”

“You asked me all sorts of questions about Winter-”

“Yeah because, believe it or not, some of us learn lessons from the people we date.” Blake shook her head and slid into a booth, the woman not far behind as they sat side-by-side. “Yang and I kept everything... informal, I guess you could say. But she wanted to go off on a wandering adventure after college and I... didn’t. So we ended it. We were better off as friends, anyway.”

“Have you two kept in touch?” Weiss tilted her head, genuinely curious.

“Yes, though obviously not very well.” Amber eyes flicked over to the blonde, just starting to head their way. “The past few years have kinda been a blur. I didn’t even know she was coming this way.”

“She comes to visit Ruby every year,” she said, tapping her fingernails against the espresso cup. “That’s how we met, actually. Yang stayed in town for the whole time we dated and went back to... wherever she goes after.”

Blake stared down at her cup of tea. “... we should probably be better friends. Unless... did you two-”

“Oh, it was an amicable breakup.” She winced. “I just didn’t think keeping up with her beyond my interactions with Ruby would be... socially acceptable?” At the flat stare she received, Weiss rolled her eyes. “Look, we both made mistakes and we both leveled up, so could we just not?”

“Fair enough,” the Faunus said as Yang slid into the seat across from them. “Thanks for the tea.”

“And the coffee.” Weiss smiled. “And for making it easy to find you. Though I suppose all of you are going to be relatively easy to find.”

“You mean, considering each of us comes with a waypoint?” Yang chuckled, taking a sip of a protein shake. At least, that’s what the others assumed her drink to be, all things considered; she never seemed the type for caffeine, though she did have a second cup with her that smelled strongly of black coffee. “Anyway, yeah, I know you and Rubes come here all the time, so I figured it would be nice to sit down and talk things out before we get to the smashing and stuff. Gotta figure out the logistics of it all, too.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t exactly be fair if we both fought you at the same time,” the shorter woman said, tilting her head to indicate Blake. “Though, really, if you could fight Blake first, that’d be great. I still have four more of her exes to fight, not including you.”

“Okay, is it just me, or does she say that like it’s a bad thing?” The Faunus piped up, looking to Yang for confirmation while Weiss scoffed, though she was beaten to the punch in replying.

“She’s just being blunt and pragmatic.” The blonde grinned, wagging a finger at the other woman. “Though, you really could use nicer words to get your point across.”

Weiss growled. “At the end of the day, I am not the one who started a fight club just to get a date!”

“I didn’t either!” Blake protested, pinching the bridge of her nose. “That was all Adam, I swear.”

“She’s right; Adam’s been on this kick of ‘scare off anyone who wants to date Blake’ for a while now. He managed to intimidate everyone else into running off just by leaving them vague notifications and random items on their door step.” Yang raised a brow. “I’m... honestly not sure if he even tried that with you.”

“I got exactly one message saying to ‘cease my advances’ and I honestly thought it was one of those generic side quest missives and ignored it.” She lifted the espresso to her lips but stopped halfway to taking the first sip when she noticed the look directed her way. “What did I say this time?”

“Well, I’m just curious.” Crossing her arms over her chest, the tea forgotten for the moment. “If you had taken the message seriously, what would you have done then?”

“Talked to you about it? How is that even a question?” Weiss made a vague gesture around them. “I would’ve done exactly what we’ve spent the past two days doing. Except, without the fighting and running and explosions; maybe gotten to know who would be waiting for me around every corner with some manner of deadly object.” She turned further in her seat so she could face Blake, brows pinching in annoyance. “Just because I didn’t take that ridiculous message seriously doesn’t mean I would’ve balked. I simply would’ve done the required research before beginning the endeavor, or at least tried, instead of always being caught on the back foot.”

“Well, I’m sorry for being such an inconvenience,” the Faunus replied, turning away from the woman and gripping her tea with both hands.

“Blake, that’s not what I meant.”

“Say, how long have you two been... no, better question, when did y’all meet?” Yang glanced between them, keeping a pleasant smile on her lips.

“A week and a half ago,” she replied, still focusing on Blake and trying to keep her frustration from coloring her tone.

“Uh huh. And you’re going to fight me and four other people because... what? You already know it’s true love?”

“No, that’s preposterous. It’s been a week and we’ve hardly been able to spend any of that time getting to know one another without being interrupted.” Weiss rolled her eyes, shooting a glare across the table. “I’m doing this because it’s absolutely ridiculous for anyone to organize a resistance for the single minded purpose of controlling another’s happiness. Hopefully, after I find and defeat this Adam character, I’ll have made it quite clear that shenanigans of this nature won’t be tolerated or encouraged.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Speaking of which, I can’t believe you of all people would support something so obviously manipulative. A person’s choices shouldn’t be subject to some arbitrary system devised by someone else to determine worth; that’s for the individual to decide! You, Ilia, Sun- how the three of you agreed to this is beyond my comprehension!”

“Hey, I totally agree!” Yang put up both hands in surrender. “I thought the whole thing was stupid! At the same time, I’ve never met Adam, so I don’t know what the dude looks like. When he contacted me about setting up this dumb quest, my only option to make sure he got knocked down a peg was to show up and hope whoever got past me would be able to take him down.” She paused, then offered a sheepish smile, hunching her shoulders a little. “Okay, and maybe it was to make sure whoever Blake’s dating isn’t a bad egg, but that’s a minor point! It’s not like I can actually do anything to stop either of you.”

The shorter woman opened her mouth but paused, stopping short and clicking it shut again, taking the first sip of her espresso.

“What? What were you going to say?” Blake glanced at her, then returned to her tea. “It’s not like you to keep your thoughts to yourself.”

Yang merely sat back in her seat, tilting her head slightly.

Weiss sighed, fidgeting in her seat. “I was going to argue that she’s still not doing this for the right reasons but... if I were to date you and things... didn’t work out... I would probably do the same thing.” She shrugged, focusing on her cup. “I can only assume it would be something I said or did that would bring the relationship to an end. You’ve said as much to my face; I’m abrasive and blunt and not very attentive to either, and I don’t apologize nearly as often as I should. So... whoever you dated after me... I would hope they’d learn from my mistakes and do better.” She lowered her voice slightly, so the words could barely be heard over the din of the coffee shop. “Maybe we haven’t known each other long and there’s still much to discover about each other but I do care about you, Blake. I’d want you to be happy. And I wouldn’t want you to be with someone who’s going to hurt you the same way I did. If I could help prevent it, I would.” Her eyes flicked up to the blonde, her voice regaining its previous volume. “That doesn’t mean this is the best way to go about it, though! Putting people through a surprise gauntlet without Blake’s permission or input is still a terrible thing to do!” Her eyes flashed, remembering a little detail. “And without my permission, either!”

“Hey, don’t look at me! I didn’t set up anything! Well, I mean, anything without everyone’s consent, anyway.” Yang raised her cup, lilac eyes flicking towards the door as the chime sounded, followed a moment later by their quest menus updating again. “And, uh, keep in mind that we’re all on the same team. Kinda. In the grand scheme of things, anyway, and this whole Evil Exes thing is really temporary.”

“What are you blubbering about?” Weiss furrowed her brows.

The Faunus seemed equally confused. “Yang, what’s going on? It’s not like you to keep secrets from your friends.”

“If you two would check your menus, you’d realize it’s less ‘me keeping secrets’ and more ‘you two are literally oblivious’.” The blonde chuckled, scooting towards the wall as someone else approached the booth, patting the spot beside her and smiling wider than the pair across from her had seen in a long while. “Hey, babe. Saved you a seat and got you your favorite.”

“How kind of you.” The newcomer sat down, keeping her strict posture for a moment before smiling and wrapping an arm around the blonde’s shoulders. 

Weiss sat in a state of complete shock as every system shutdown from mass overload while Blake merely looked perplexed, glancing between the woman seated next to her and the newcomer. “Is she-”

“Oh, right, introductions!” Yang laughed, toying with her cup slightly. “Blake, Weiss, I’d like to introduce you two to my girlfriend, Winter.”

“I know. Who she is,” Weiss said, blinking as her mental faculties restored. “You’re dating my sister.”

“I believe it’s more accurate to say we’re dating each other,” the older Schnee said, taking a sip from her black coffee and humming. “This is rather good.”

“Told ya.” With a laugh, Yang made a calming gesture with her hand. “Look, Weiss, I honestly didn’t know you two were related until after-”

“You. Are dating. My sister.” Narrowing her eyes, the woman’s mind kicked back into gear as she made a motion between herself and the woman across from her. “And how could you not think we’re related? I told you I have a sister and a brother-”

“You mentioned them twice in the six months we dated and by name only once.” The blonde rolled her eyes. “What? Am I supposed to assume every person with white hair is related to you?”

“It would be a good start.”

Raising a brow, She pointed behind Weiss and Blake, waiting for them both to turn around before a smug smile claimed her lips. Weiss whipped back around with an impressive glare, slamming a fist on the table. “That’s Sephiroth, you know damn well he isn’t related to me!”

“Look, you’ve met my sister; why would I assume your siblings actually have some familial resemblance?” Yang shrugged. “It wasn’t intentional.”

“And I will point out that this would’ve been entirely avoided had you mentioned you were dating to me.” Winter chimed in, not seeming the least bit concerned by her younger sister’s outbursts. “You never told me you were dating and you certainly never introduced us.”

“I was- okay, perhaps I didn’t handle my previous romantic endeavors very well.” She conceded, knowing the battle would be forever against her so long as her elder didn’t see anything wrong. Personally, she didn’t even mind so much aside from shock- although ridiculous and loud and energetic, Yang had treated her with nothing short of unyielding respect during their relationship, and they’d really only broken up due to incompatible goals, much like Blake had- but saw an opportunity to improve on a past mistake and took it. “But I can begin making that correction. Winter, allow me to introduce Blake, my soon-to-be-girlfriend. Hopefully.”

“Don’t sound so cocky.” The Faunus muttered, though she offered a small smile and a hand that Winter shook firmly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” The woman offered a genuine smile. “It’s rather nice to be included in my sister’s life again. I do hope you won’t holding it against me when I figuratively destroy you.”

Amber eyes widened in alarm as Weiss sputtered, having timed her next sip of espresso very poorly. “Winter! You can’t just idly threaten her like that!”

“It’s not a threat,” she replied, picking up her own coffee with a nonchalant shrug. “After Yang told me about this whole ‘Defeat the Exes’ quest, I decided to join the trend. I’ve found it’s a nice way to hash out previous relationships and establish current boundaries for our relationship.”

“Oh please don’t tell me this is a trend, that’s the last thing it- wait a minute.” Narrowing her eyes, the shorter woman looked between the two across from her. “When you say ‘join the trend’, what, exactly, do you mean?”

“She means we are the Evil Exes,” Blake said, having opened her menu after Winter’s comment and now sat, staring blankly, at her own side quest screen.

Not wanting to believe the words, Weiss checked herself and, much to her chagrin, noted that her main quest- defeating Blake’s ‘Evil Exes’- had updated in tandem with a side quest, issued from a new taskmaster and awaiting her acknowledgement.

“Quest given by the League of Evil Exes, to defend yourself against Yang Xiao Long’s new- why is League of Evil Exes trademarked, who did this, who. Fucking. Did this.” Weiss put her forehead down on the table and groaned, further agitated by the whole ordeal.

“Uh, that would be me.” Blue eyes, cold enough to freeze the entire shop, shot to the grinning blonde. “I saw a business opportunity. Plus, better I nab it than wait for Adam to pull his head out of his ass and try to make some money off making Blake’s life miserable. That’s why it’s moved into the side quest category; would kinda be really fucked up to pretend like this should be a major roadblock in someone’s life.” She spread her hands, leaning further into the other woman’s side. “It’s totally optional, and you can decline to be part of the quest distribution at any time.”

“Beautiful, intelligent, and empathetic.” Winter sighed, fondly, lightly tracing her fingers through blonde locks. “If I hadn’t already heard such glowing praise about you, Blake, I would think my sister a fool for letting Yang get away.” Shifting her attention, she looked at the Faunus and smiled. “I do look forward to getting to know you better in the coming months, though, once this questline business is finished. You both seem a bit... tense right now.”

“Oh, I’m perfectly relaxed. You think being forced to sit on the sidelines while my Exes try to destroy my current girlfriend is making me tense? No, not at all, I’m just peachy,” Blake replied, an edge to her tone as her ears flicked. “Although, I am forced to wonder why would anyone willingly subject themselves to this.”

“I think it’s cathartic,” Winter replied, making a motion towards the blonde. “I’ll admit that while it’s impossible to consider the challenge balanced by any stretch of the imagination, every relationship we enter shapes our future ones in some way. Rather than relying on memories colored by parting words, challenging the individuals directly allows each of us to see not only the sort of person that shaped the other’s past, it allows the other to see the similarities and differences in past and present.” She then nodded at her sister. “Weiss and I, for example, share many things in common, but we’re still distinct individuals. Knowing that my own sister saw something in Yang bolsters my confidence that I’m not doing this out of a misguided attempt to prove myself; I genuinely see something within Yang that I find compatible, and considering I lack the desire to remain in one place for too long at present, there’s room to see where our relationship can develop that their relationship couldn’t.”

“And, I mean, I’ve learned a lot, too!” Yang chimed in with a laugh. “Going through all my old relationships, I’ve noticed that I kinda summarized them in my head a certain way, and it wasn’t always fair to them or me. Like, Blakey, I kinda thought I was just a phase for you. College experimentation, that sort of thing.” Her shoulders hunched again, lightly blushing as she continued. “And, Weiss, I thought I was just a fad. Dating someone who doesn’t make a lot, a drifter badgirl- a walking cliche. It wasn’t until Winter started fighting all my exes that I noticed... I never really gave myself much credit. I always looked back on the relationships as being doomed to fail, like there was nothing I could’ve done to change the way things went, and I noticed that I... was actually doing that a lot during the relationship, too. Being passive and just mentally preparing for the end long before it arrived.” She sighed. “I probably helped bring it about a couple of times because of that.”

Blake sat forward, concern pinching her brow and causing feline ears to lay back. “Yang, I never meant for you to feel like that. I mean- you weren’t a phase. I just wasn’t ready for a serious commitment.”

“I know.” The corner of her mouth twitched up into a crooked smile. “Hindsight’s twenty, twenty, yeah? But we never talked about it.” She shrugged. “I kept my mouth shut because, like I said, I didn’t think my feelings mattered, it would just mean a quicker route to the inevitable. So many people have run out of my life- it never really occurred to me to ask someone to stay, or to be proactive about keepin’ them around. Just... be there for them while I could, and try to act surprised when the goodbye came.”

The arm around her shoulders tightened, Winter offering gentle reassurance and pressing a kiss against the blonde’s temple. “It’s good that you’re talking about these things now. It’s not healthy to bottle everything up. It eventually leads to resentment, then to rage.”

Yang laughed. “Oh, don’t I know it! I think ‘salty’ is a pretty mild way of putting it when it comes to my first couple exes. You had to physically restrain me on number two.”

“He was a douche anyway,” Winter said, eliciting a gasp from her sister and a snicker from her girlfriend for the crass description. “Of all the people I’ve fought so far, beating him senseless was probably my favorite. I even used my bare hands.”

“And she doesn’t have a modifier on unarmed combat!” Laughing, the blonde raised her cup, lightly tapping it against her girlfriend’s own. “He felt every punch!”

For a moment, they all sat and imbibed their drinks quietly, one couple happily enjoying each other’s presence while the other contemplated their journey so far. For her part, Weiss though about Ilia and Sun, their differences and similarities and how she measured up against them. Not out of a sense of pride or competition, of course, but to see if she could identify the common thread. All three of them had caught Blake’s interest but why? And what could she do differently that would lead to something other than an inevitable break up? As she sipped her espresso, she found her gaze straying to the Faunus at her side, also lost in thought.

Blake’s brief descriptions of her previous relationships didn’t help much, but they were supported by the conversations she’d had with her opponents during the battles. Ilia and Blake had grown apart, each focused on their own dreams, and hadn’t done anything to try to reconnect in favor of ending the relationship. Sun, on the other hand, had thought things would just happen if they were meant to and put forth no effort on his part, which at first endeared him to Blake but ultimately frustrated her.

“Now, about our respective quests-”

“Snowdrift, we’re in no rush.” Yang made a show of bringing up her timekeeper. “See? We’ve got plenty of time.”

The Faunus shifted, clearing her throat. “Well, we wouldn’t want to keep you from a busy day. How long will both of you be in town?”

“That depends on how our quests go but I have two weeks of leave, so we’re truly in no rush.” Winter waved a hand, bringing up her own menu and tapping into her messages. “I just would like to accomplish the tasks as efficiently as possible so we have time to actually enjoy the city and one of my exes will be arriving around noon.”

Weiss winced, suddenly realizing how relatively simple her own quest must be in comparison. “Yang, are you sure you want to do this right now? What number are you on?”

“Sister, please don’t phrase it like that.” Winter shifted, looking something other than entirely at ease for the first time.

Her girlfriend, on the other hand, couldn’t help but laugh. “This one’s number seventeen, so I’ve got a ways to go.”

Blake nearly spat her tea out, ears standing up in surprise. “Seventeen.”

The elder Schnee sighed heavily. “I didn’t take my relationships very seriously early on, reducing them to physical gratification instead of deep, emotional connections, more to protect myself than for a lack of wanting the latter.” Taking a long pull from her coffee, she set the empty cup down and pushed it away. “If I’d known then what I know now, I would’ve been more selective and not called every person I made out with my partner-”

“Winter, please, I don’t need to hear this.” Weiss groaned, tilting her head back and trying to block out the words.

“-but we all make our youthful mistakes. That was mine.” She quickly flicked over to her side quest menu, scanning through the text. “Now, the way I see it, it would be most prudent for me to face both of you, that way you’ll restore to full health in time for Yang to fight Weiss.”

“And Blake.” The blonde corrected, finishing off her own drink. “Gotta fight her, too.”

Weiss’ brows furrowed, her attention sliding to her side. “Blake?”

“I... well, I did notice I could opt in to a ‘Defeat the Exes’ quest line. I thought it would mean I could help you against my exes, but I read the flavor text and it specified your ex.” She shrugged, pointedly looking down at her own cup, which seemed to be empty as well. “So... I accepted it. I thought it would be fair- I mean, not fair but better than just ignoring it altogether.”

“Well... I appreciate the reciprocation.” For a moment, she thought she should just leave it at that, but then decided against it. “And I’m sorry for being so short with you earlier. I know that this isn’t your fault but constantly feeling like someone’s out to get me- not just a respectable duel but a genuine game over. It has me on edge.”

“Then why do it?” Blake’s ears flattened into a straight line across the top of her head. “Why subject yourself to this paranoia in the first place?”

“Because you’re worth it!” She snapped back, chastising herself for the emphasis the moment the words left her mouth. “No one should go through life thinking that someone else has the power to make their life difficult out of spite. If this is the only way to knock some sense into that reprehensible ex of yours, than that’s what I’m going to do.” Weiss glanced at the Faunus, opting to divulge a little more than she normally would. “I know what it’s like to have someone controlling your every move, through direct and indirect means. I also understand how difficult it is to break free of that, and how it makes you feel incredibly alone in the freedom you find afterwards.” Steeling her nerves, she looked into Blake’s eyes, absolutely resolute. “At least this way, you won’t be alone when he tries cornering you again, like he inevitably will. I’ll be there to help.”

A soft smile curled the Faunus’ lips as she reached over, lightly covering the woman’s hand with her own. “Thanks.”

Turning her wrist so she could hold Blake’s hand, Weiss felt a matching smile on her own features, and didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed when she noticed the gleam of pride in her sister’s eyes. “So, who would you prefer to fight first, Winter? Myself or-”

“I’ll challenge you both, at the same time. It seems most time efficient to do things that way.”

“I feel like I should be insulted,” Blake said, raising a brow while Yang’s expression pinched in concern.

“You sure about that? They’re both plenty strong-”

“If I’m not capable of being strong enough to defeat two opponents at once and gentle enough to take you on a date immediately after, then, quite frankly, I don’t deserve you.” Offering a smirk tinged with smugness, Winter used her free hand to gently tip the blonde’s chin up, sneaking in a soft kiss with a wink thrown in for flair. “So seeing as we have the opportunity to test that, why not indulge?”

Yang chuckled, nuzzling further into the embrace. “Someone, help, I think I’m gonna swoon.”

“You can’t swoon if you’re sitting down,” Weiss said, still not entirely comfortable with watching her sister be affectionate with her ex. She could admit she was happy that they seemed so enthralled with each other but it would take some getting used to on her part.

“If anyone could find a way to do it, though, it would be Yang.” Blake chuckled, bumping her shoulder lightly. “We might as well get this over with. Parking lot, five minutes?”

“That sounds reasonable.” Winter nodded, standing up and helping the blonde out of the booth, the two carrying on a quiet conversation as they started for the coffee shop’s doors.

Before the shorter woman could follow them, the hand clasping hers tugged lightly, calling her attention to the pensive expression across her companion’s face. “Something wrong?”

“I just thought we’d give them a few moments alone.” Amber eyes gleamed with a teasing remark left unsaid. “They seem happy together.”

“They do.” Weiss nodded, contemplating her empty cup for a moment before speaking up. “Blake?”

“Yes?”

“Earlier, you called me your girlfriend,” she said, keeping her tone as neutral as possible. “Was that a slip of the tongue?”

“... no.” She shook her head with a weak chuckle, as if trying to convey nonchalance, though the twitching of her ears hinted otherwise. “It’s like you said- no one except me should have a say in what I choose to do with my life or who I choose to be with, so waiting until you’ve defeated my exes to call you my girlfriend seems like playing into Adam’s game.” She flashed a smile, brushing black bangs out of her eyes and fighting back a blush. “And, we’ve been on a date already. I’d say you’ve earned a second one.”

Weiss smiled, squeezing the hand in hers. “Would you like to see a movie tonight, then? Or would you prefer dinner?”

“Why not both?” Blake shifted, acting as if she was trying to get a better look at her menu options but somehow managing to move closer once she’d settled, their shoulders brushing as she tapped on a saved location. “The Movie Tavern has a special tonight.”

“That sounds lovely.” Taking the initiative, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to the Faunus’ cheek, admiring the bright flush that appeared when she sat back and pretended to turn her attention to the displayed movie times.

Even if the impending beatdown from Winter- because she harbored no illusions that her own sister would take it easy on her- and subsequent match against Yang would prove to be quiet difficult, it would be worth it.

... but she still found the ‘Evil Exes’ moniker ridiculous, and this just proved her initial point even further. “Do you think we’re listed as ‘Evil Exes’ on Winter’s menu?”

“I think it’d be better if we never find that out for sure,” Blake muttered in reply, still sporting crimson cheeks and a giddy little smile.

[allbeendonebefore]

What are your headcanons for British Columbia?

ok so disclaimer here is that i’m a fake british columbian even though i kind of sort of live there, i live on the island and the majority of my bc friends are from the coast and not the interior so most of what i can say about the interior is ‘i have driven through it a lot’ but i’ll do my best.

- on that subject bc is like… layers of depth that most people don’t see. lots of people just brush her off as a flaky ditz who is never paying attention to the rest of the country but i seriously feel she’s got a lot of Depth and a lot of spiky barbed inner monologues. She’s really geographically and emotionally impenetrable and doesn’t really let you in on what she is thinking or will do something unpredictable.

- like i don’t think people really get how contradictory bc is? its a climate of extremes that has a reputation for being mellow, its a place that is “liberal” where the Liberals are in reality worse than the alberta pcs (LOL WHAT AN ELECTION I TELL YOU), it’s a place that’s one of the resource-richest provinces in the country that makes it impossible for its own citizens to afford… etc. I think a lot about things like this when I think about how her personality works- she’s not necessarily finicky, she’s layered.

- bc has a reputation for being different than the rest of canada and its absolutely true. like as the second most western province we still tend to think of ab/sk and maybe mb depending on our mood as ‘western canada’ and bc as ‘and bc’. She’s the sort of person who Always goes her own way and makes her decisions on her own, she’s more outward looking than the others for sure.

- worst driver. Hands down. Terrible. everyone blames AB for it but it’s her, the only thing ralphie is worse at is parking. 

- if she can’t see the mountains she feels naked and exposed and can’t stay too far out of sight of the mountains or she goes Nuts

- she probably lives in a relatively modern and expensive house- everything is immaculate, she has a lot of interesting artefacts and souvenirs around her house, her garden is manicured and perfect and everything smells like cedar but it also gives you the distinct impression that no one actually lives there. Looks more like a gallery because she’s trying to support local (esp indigenous) artists. no basement. cute car port and shed rather than a garage.

- she finds emotional attachments really Difficult. like it’s just genuinely hard to tell whether she likes you or not because she can be kind of backhanded or condescending even when she’s expressing genuine fondness. She makes a huge deal about being a romantic place but doesn’t really fall for anyone easily, either she gets bored or she doesn’t want to lose a friendship or w/e

- like for someone who makes a big deal about being compassionate for animals and nature she really doesn’t feel that much compassion for people- or rather, when she does it’s not easy for her to express to them

- There’s an ongoing joke that BC stands for “Bring Cash” and its absolutely true. If you want a chance with her/to impress her you have to spend like you mean it. Its not that she’s high mainten- yes she is definitely high maintenance

- Makes a big deal out of being interesting and fun but when she’s at home alone she just sits around in her underwear under a huge pile of blankets/a snuggie and watches the Beachcombers. possibly while high.

- ‘is this matcha’ ‘does it have matcha in it’ [pouring sugar in her tea] ‘matcha is like… sooo good for you… i don’t even [pouring milk and honey in her tea] like this is just so refreshing you know [more sugar]

- you know that scene in scott pilgrim where ramona reads out her entire tea cupboard to him and some of them sound made up, that’s bc. come to think of it she really is a manic pixie dream girl but one who is merciless and apathetic and could probably easily wreck you

- tea snob, the sort of person who is like ‘coffee is like so bad for you it stresses you out man’ but also a coffee snob who can’t wake up in the morning without it so its a lose-lose situation for you

- definitely volunteered with greenpeace in the 70s lol

- ‘ya i live in vancouver’ - actually lives in like PoCoMo or whatever

- once called the spoiled child of confederation and she hasn’t let that go, she probably has it embossed on a trophy somewhere in her giant collection of trophies that she has on display in the fame gua of her perfect feng shui living room

- she only makes a big deal out of ‘canadian’ things when it makes her money, she actually feels very cut off from the rest of the country but will Always appear immediately when there is a competition of any kind because she’s The Best.

- grew up extremely fast. in my mind she represents ‘ (lower) mainland bc’ while the island i represent with victoria as shorthand- they had to move in together to save money and both of them really dragged their feet about it. She’s still kind of wary about the island ditching for independence again but doesn’t REALLY take it seriously. Is the youngest of the provinces but does her best not to act like it.

- actually super confrontational like she will be doing yoga on a rock as the tide is coming in and be One With The Universe and you could be walking past her and say ‘actually vancouver’s kind of overrated’ and she will dive in the ocean and rise out of the water covered in sea onions and seaweed and barnacles like a horror movie and be like “wHaT dId YoU SaY AbOuT mE!”

- exactly the sort of person to get a tattoo in another language that vaguely is correct but actually grammatically Off like… you grow up with people like Amor de Cosmos and this is what you get

- not actually gluten or lactose intolerant, just likes being morally superior (’and like… almond milk just tastes better yknow more wholesome’)

- that person who always ends up with people mooching off her or crashing at her place- she doesn’t actually mind too much, she’s just frustrated that people only seem to come bother her when it’s convenient for them. But she doesn’t like to admit when she’s feeling lonely so i mean… xD

- also really into ghosts and spooky things. she goes along with bert/yk to hunt sasquatsch and externally rolls her eyes the whole time but tbh she has honestly seen sasquatsch like 10 times and has all the blurry photos to prove it. Same with ogopogo. 

- goes into woowoo new age stores and spends hours looking at tarot decks and crystals and incense. judges you based on your astrological signs.

- has proposed moving in with kate like 3 times but gets rejected every time lmao

- firm believer that tea solves everything. emotionally compromised? hot leaf juice. emotionally compromised during summer? cold leaf juice. eat an entire fruit. eat ten fruits. decorate with kale. eat the decorative kale. got herbs? make rosemary tea. stain all your dishes yellow and make turmeric tea. literally down an entire jar of capers, idgaf. 

- she likes to make her backpack as heavy as she can, blast her own music so everyone can hear it, then schlep it all up a mountain. set everything down and turn it off, sit high up and alone with her little hibachi grill and eat salmon, watch the ravens. paint something on a giant leaf. smoke a joint. look at the ocean. whatever. 

- i think exercise is her replacement for emotionally connecting with people. she rides her bike white knuckled through the rain up a hill and loses feeling in her fingers and zooms back down. Pushes herself to adrenaline rush, always trying to get better, better. 

- i say a lot about her not really connecting with people but at the same time shes the sort of person that… when you’re in crisis mode and you’re under a literal or a figurative avalanche, she will spot you, grab you and pull you straight up out of it with one arm by the scruff of your neck. She’s actually really generous at heart but has just become kind of closed off after being taken advantage of too many times. Will take you home and dry you off and make a big meal for you and wait for you to tell her what’s wrong.

- I don’t know if she actually owns a boat-boat, but definitely kayaks a lot. long boards. surfs.  

- hates BC ferries with an unholy passion, like… that’s a way to trigger a rant right there

- slaps I

- her low tolerance for cold is exaggerated. her high tolerance for cold + wet should be Feared. 

- has her hidden rednecky side. makes a big deal out of being vegan and w/e but does go hunting and dirt biking once in a while, knows her way around a stick shift etc. Dunno if she really drives that much - probably has invested in electric cars before but kind of dissatisfied with how much she can actually do with them re: steep hills, roadtrips, etc. 

- has had to deal with a lot of paranoia, racism, etc in the past that she struggles to reconcile. really learning to take pride in herself again, i think she’s chinese/british, yeah but there’s also some first nations heritage too that factors into her mixed identity. 

- in official positions she might skip french and go straight to mandarin/canto if the job is bilingual, not that she doesnt like french she just Forgets xD. 

i feel like i’ve been talking all day so i’ll stop there but feel free to ask for elaboration or something i guess

[forkanna]

[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]

"Whew! Holy cats, I thought I'd never get through that Rubik's Cube…"

My hand came up to push into my face. Not that it really mattered; I could barely feel it. "At least I could kinda help with that one. The other two gates were… yeah, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Kniv-"

"Enough," Knives panted as she wiped the sweat from her brow on her striped scarf. It was pretty weird that she was wearing it in the middle of summer, but I had a feeling it was kind of part of her 'battle outfit' or something. "Didn't I… tell you that I'm… doing this for both of us? Not just you?"

"But watching you stare into the mirror… man, I thought you were gonna turn into that other reflection of you with all the purple buffalo in the background…"

The sweet smile made my pulse race. Somewhere. Not in the body I was in within my body, but the body outside of my… body… this is really annoying to explain, as I have just realised while trying to do so. Point is, seeing her smile makes me smile, too. "Anything for you, Kim Pine. Serious and mysterious."

"Alright, alright. Just try not to get killed or then I'll be really hacked off."

The thing I still couldn't figure out was how I guessed all of this so accurately. Probably something subliminal about it; there's no way it was a coincidence. But everything, the three gates, the rhino and warthog, the high-walled chambers we had to fight our way through, came to pass exactly as I snarked in a would-be joking tone. If I made it a reality by saying it… man did I fuck myself royally.

At this point, Knives and I were at the top of a ledge that ran the entire circumference of a round room, closer to the ceiling. It was over a dozen meters to the ground, and another three or four up to the ceiling from where the walkway was positioned. Once she flipped down into that pit, it would be her against the sixteen-eyed monster that stood between us and the final chamber. Maybe we would luck out and it wouldn't really have a laser cannon in its chest, but after everything I'd seen, that felt like a pretty horrible bet to take.

"We don't even know that getting past this thing will be worth the effort," I whispered. "What are we going to find in the sub-chamber? How is it gonna help me at all?"

"Dunno. Just… okay, should I use the save point? Because the room already locked behind us, and if I need some kind of item that we didn't find on our way here…"

"Right, I know. Like, do we really wanna have to go through the gates all over again if we don't use it?"

"Yeah." Glancing back at the closed-and-shut door, then over at the spinning, glowing book that floated above a magic circle on the floor, she flashed me a huge shrug. "I think I can take him, but like, you're right; do we lock down how far we've come, or give ourselves a way to double back for power-ups?"

Facepalming, which didn't do much since I could see through my hand, I sighed, "Whatever. Just please be careful?"

"Okay. Here goes nothing…"

Knives walked over and touched the save point. Now we were committed. Once the glow faded from her skin, she gave me a thumb's up before leaping down to land in front of the beast.

Watching her at work is like watching Russian ballet, only with green blood spraying everywhere. Darting back and forth, hiding behind pillars to dodge the worst of its needle attacks, and then hopping out to slice it up as much as she could. It smacked her around a few times, but she was doing some pretty decent damage… until it got her with the laser cannon. Then she was fried to ash, and there as nothing I could do…

But wait for her to respawn at the save point. I was a ghost; I didn't affect anything, other than to talk to her and give her ideas.

"Whoa, did… that really happen just now?"

"Man, I'm glad that worked," I told her, feeling like years had been shaved off my afterlife. "I… oh Knives…"

That definitely didn't sound like me, and she noticed, turning back from where she had been approaching the edge of the catwalk. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah. Just… just not ready to see you get hurt. Even if you pop right back in, that was still…"

"But you saw me get beaten up by Gideon before, right? So what's the difference?"

I scoffed. "Didn't have much of a personal investment in you then. And that was scary, too."

"He wasn't a real threat."

"He seemed to beat up Scott pretty thoroughly!"

"Yeah." Her smile was pretty confident, yet somehow still adorable, like she was about to break out into the world's cutest maniacal laughter. "But he's got nothing on me. Be right back."

And she was. I could tell it was almost done for, but then it did a stomp move that knocked her onto her butt. The next stomp squished her flat. But she popped back in thanks to our handy checkpoint and jumped straight back down there again. And again. And again. Eventually, I had to stop watching the moment she bit it or I would have been screaming and sobbing, despite having no physical tears to shed. But each time, she got a little better.

"Dude, give it up. Maybe they can figure out a way to pull you out of here from this save point. Do you have a Wing Bottle, maybe?"

"No… way!" she panted, leaning back against the wall as she caught her breath. Apparently, even though the save point respawned her, it wasn't respawning her stamina entirely. She still needed a break before trying again. "I got this! And… I'm not giving up on you!"

"You should! I'm not worth this! God, I know you want to win, and I think you can, but watching you die over and over is… I hate it!"

Frowning, she pushed off and came over to hug me very briefly. By which I mean she put her arms around my ghostly form and kinda held them there, giving the impression of a hug, which was close enough. "Sorry. I'd hate watching you do that, too… but we gotta win this. And I will; I think I've about got his pattern down. I just have to remember not to tuck-and-roll at that moment when I think I need to again, and I'll be good."

"Did you notice what he does before he fires off the canon? The way his top two eyes blink?"

"What? No, I didn't! Okay, that'll really help, because like, I was just waiting to see the chest open and then it's almost too late to duck…" Nodding a couple off times, she then smiled over at me. "Yeah, I'll watch for it. Thanks!"

"What 'thanks'? I'm basically helping you help me. Go on."

The final attempt was a thing of beauty to watch. Knives had that chump on the ropes the whole time, snapping at his tentacles with her blades and ducking out of their reach, away from the needles that shot out of them, and then dodging the laser cannon because of me pointing out the blinking thing. She had a pretty good dodge ratio even before that, but seeing her get out of the way every time was a lot more satisfying. Then, once he did the duck-down halfway through the fight, getting ready to slam, she sliced his stupid wings off and he got pissed the way he does, firing the laser in an up-down pattern that she had to dodge by ducking and then jumping up to grab the ledge. Didn't take much of that for her to wear him down so she could dart in and poke out the last remaining eyes. Once he was blind, all she had to do was stab the crystal on his back and he was down for good.

"YES!" she cheered, falling to her knees. "I… I did it! I did it!"

We both shouted our celebrations for a few seconds as I drifted down, wishing I could hug her. After a few minutes of that I said, "Oh man… what a jerk! If my fist wasn't invisible I would punch him."

"Now?"

"Yeah, now! He messed with my girl!"

Knives's flush took on a different meaning. "Awww, you called me your girl. I'm gonna give you so many kisses when you have a face again!"

"I… just… o-okay," I managed to stammer, ignoring her giggle as she started walking. "Wait, shouldn't you go back to the save point?"

"Nah, it's too far up to get to it without timing wall jumps for hours. And anyway, now that I have the pattern down, I can blow through that boss pretty easy if I have to again. Muscle memory, right?"

So I followed her forward into the next chamber. The innermost one, where the "real me" was supposed to be, if this was all coming true as we went. Crazy, but it was hard to argue with the proof when it was right in front of us like that.

This chamber really did look like the inside of a heart. The walls were a dark red, slick and nasty, and in the center was a cage made of stone. We took a quick look around, hoping to spot any crazy vampires or fire-breathing lizard-turtles that would want to kill Knives — and by extension, my chances of being able to move ever again — and saw nothing. So instead, we rushed to see what was in the cage.

It was me. Or at least, it was some weird version of me that I could only describe as a princess. Her hair was about half a meter longer and done in some kind of gentle wavy curls that I could never pull off in a million hours of crimping, and she was wearing a white dress that showed off the rack that I don't really have. Her upper arms weren't nearly as jacked as mine are from drumming, but they were still toned. Basically, this was what I would look like if I dieted perfectly, had my own stylist and was also on my way to a debutante ball or whatever.

"Oh!" Princess Pine gasped when she spotted Knives. "You have come for me, Prince Chau!"

"Prince?" Knives muttered with a frown.

"Yes! You are the prince and I am the princess, waiting f-"

"She's not a dude!" I shouted in my best heckling voice. What the hell was this supposed to be? I was instantly offended by her very existence.

"I'll not hear a word from you, pretender!" she said, voice somewhere between angry and frightened. "The NegaKim must be vanquished!"

For a few seconds, we just blinked at her. It was me who asked, "The what?"

"NegaKim! 'Tis you who has been in charge of my body, stealing everything I could have done for night a decade of years! A shame and a disgrace to my face!"

"Wait," Knives put in, holding up a hand. The other one was still holding a dagger; she wanted to be at least semi-prepared for a sudden attack. "What are you talking about, 'NegaKim'?"

"She is NegaKim! I am the real Kim Pine, of course! Forced into this Gorgon Maiden by nefarious means, kept prisoner by the evil twin-spirit who took over my physical form! While my prince wasted her efforts on her, when I would have been much more appreciative!" She was still talking with all that righteous fire, but saying that last part I could see her blush a lot worse than I usually did. And it looked better on her. Goddamn it, I couldn't even be the hottest version of Kim Pine, which really rankled.

Knives had a different observation. "Well, at least she's getting the pronouns right…"

"Listen, you," I growled angrily. "Fuck the hell off. It's my body, I've had it for twenty-five years, and I'm not handing it over to some… frilly, froofy cunt!"

That gave her one of those affronted faces you only see in movies set in the 1800s. After she recovered, she hissed, "You'll regret this! I don't know how, but you will, I'll…" There were tears in her eyes. This was pretty legit for a fake-ass bitch trying to steal my spot in life. Her fists were trying to rattle the bars of her little cage as she shouted, "I'm going to get out of here, I swear it!"

"Okay, okay," Knives hissed, raising her hand again to encourage her to calm down. "What if we get you out, and you can go away somewhere else? Isn't that a good, like… compromise? OH! What if we got a robot-Kim, and you could go live in there?"

"My prince… can't you see that I am your intended?" she pleaded with her, leaning so far against the bars that her face was trying to push between them. "Not her, me! She will hurt you, but I would cradle your heart as if a baby bird! I… all I want is to make you happy!"

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds. I turned back to Knives and shrugged. "Well? She's the girl of your dreams. All the freckles, and none of the acid-tongue. Plus she's way cuter."

"Nah," Knives said without any hesitation. "I know who I love, and it's you. This is some other test and I'm gonna pass this one, too. And the next one, and the next, until I break you out and we can both go get sushi or something."

As I was grinning at her, beyond any level of love for her that I had previously thought possible, I dimly noticed Princess Pine collapsing on the floor in a flurry of sobs. Oh well, too bad. Better luck next time. As we were sharing that moment, someone came along to interrupt it…

"How dare you thwart my plans! I've been waiting for this to come to fruition for seven years!"

If my face could have paled any further than ghostly white, it would have.

"Simon Lee."

To Be Continued…

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Baby Driver review

Edgar Wright can do no wrong. This may seem like a horrible pun, and it is, but after seeing his latest cinematic offering, Baby Driver, I think it’s a pretty safe thing to say. Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and now Baby Driver… the man just seems incapable of disappointing with his films. This film was still a risky move for Edgar Wright; the man is known mostly for comedic films, or at least films where comedy is a huge selling point. Scot Pilgrim and Hot Fuzz are both action-comedies, whereas Baby Driver is more of an action crime thriller with comedic elements (hey, Wright’s not just gonna drop his signature style, is he?). It is also a low budget film where Wright insisted all the stunts and driving be done with practical effects rather than CGI, and it was originally going to be tossed in August, which is a dump month for… but after being screened at South By Southwest and receiving critical acclaim up the wazoo, it was pushed on up to June. The riskiness of jumping into another genre paid off, because Baby Driver made up its production budget its opening weekend and is still going strong!

In short, this movie is a massive sleeper hit, and for very good reason: it’s fantastic, stylish, exhilarating, and populated by some of the finest actors playing the most intriguing characters in a crime film since The Usual Suspects or GoodFellas. So what story could produce characters so good? Well, let me tell you! The story centers on a young man known only as “Baby.” Baby is the getaway driver for a criminal kingpin known as Doc, who has a gang of bank robbers he sends out to commit crimes. Baby is a kid with a tragic past, as an accident claimed his mother’s life and gave him tinnitus, which is why he constantly listens to an iPod at all times. One day, he meets a lovely young waitress named Deborah, and the two soon fall in love… and now Baby finally has a reason to leave the criminal world behind after his last job. But things never turn out so easy, do they?

The most important bit to note here is the soundtrack, and how it plays into every scene. Actions in a scene with music down to the smallest detail happen in rhythm to the music… and in scenes where things are going poorly, things start going noticeably off rhythm. Bullets, hand gestures, steps, movements, they all match up to the rhythms of the awesome soundtrack constructed of tons of awesome, old school music. This is a level of soundtrack and film synchronicity the likes of which I’ve rarely seen done so well not just in live-action film, but film in general. Even better: in the times when Baby’s music gets taken away for some reason, we are treated to the same sort of humming, ringing, buzzing sound he hears and drowns out with his tunes (this is usually a sign things are about to go to shit).

And now we have the characters: Ansel Elgort, best known for playing the lead love interest of everyone’s favorite teenage cancer romance story The Fault In Our Stars, here shows off just how badass of an action star he can be. From his awesome driving skills to his impeccable taste in music to his seemingly endless supply of cool shades, Baby is one cool customer and a likable protagonist. Kevin Spacey is here as Doc, and, well, it’s Kevin Spacey. I don’t think I need to tell you that he’s amazing. Jon Hamm and Eiza Gonzalez play Buddy and Darling, a Bonnie & Clyde-esque criminal duo who are almost always all over each other when not committing heists. Darling gets major props for subverting your expectations that she’s just the arm candy of the duo by going in guns blazing a couple of times, and Buddy… well, I’ll be explaining the full extent of why he’s great shortly. The final major character is Bats, played by Jamie Foxx, and again, I will explain the full extent of him in the following paragraph, just know that he, too, is a very well done psychopathic criminal. Even some of the more minor characters are interesting, such as the one-scene wonders Griff (a bank robber played by Jon Bernthal in the awesome opening scene and who relentlessly taunts Baby) and The Butcher (an arms dealer who is such an incredibly large ham he refers to the arms he’s dealing out using meat-related terms and is played inexplicably by famous singer-songwriter Paul Williams. You know, the guy who wrote “Rainbow Connection.”). But now, let’s go into Buddy and Bats in a bit more detail, so that I can explain why these two are perhaps the best characters in the film... but be warned; there’s some SPOILERS ahead.

The movie’s greatest trick is how it constantly subverts your expectations. Bats and Buddy are the greatest examples of this in the film; for all of the film up until the final heist, Bats is built up to be the main antagonistic force. He’s absolutely bloodthirsty and mocks everyone around him, he’s creepy, he’s intense, and he’s also disturbingly hilarious. He’s just an out-and-out bad guy who doesn’t give a fuck how many people he wastes as long as he gets paid, and proudly proclaims how no one who has ever done a job with him lives afterwards. The guy is an absolute psychopath and Jamie Foxx plays him to perfection; you can just tell Foxx is having a blast. Buddy, on the other hand, is portrayed throughout the whole movie as being a pretty affable guy; sure he’s usually seen snogging Darling, but he does try and defend Baby and even Bonds with him over music. Hell, when it seems like Baby is ducking out before the final mission, Buddy straight up tells him it would be better if he just goes if he’s having second thoughts because he doesn’t need that kind of risk. Buddy certainly lives up to his name, which is probably why Bats laughs off Darling’s speech of how crossing Buddy is a bad idea and her claim how “Once he sees red, you only see black” is nothing but a bunch of fabricated movie bullshit.

Bats is absolutely wrong. In fact, Bats dies first out of the final crew after going a bit too far. It is, in fact, Buddy who is the major antagonistic force, going from the affable bank robber to the fucking Terminator after Baby costs him something very important to him. Jon Hamm’s range is on full display here, and he is truly threatening as a villain. The jarring switch from the laid-back and cheerful big brother figure he was earlier to a cold, violent, bloodthirsty killer hellbent on destroying Baby and his happiness is nothing short of incredible. Bats and Buddy are truly great antagonists in their own rights, and fully exemplify how this film plays with your expectations. Hell, even the ending plays with your expectations a bit, but I won’t get into that level of spoilers. SPOILERS END HERE.

So after all this gushing, is there anything bad I can say about the film? Actually, yes! The romance with Deborah is the absolute weakest part of the movie, in no small part because Deborah is flat out not an interesting character. We never really get to know her beyond her being the object of Baby’s affection, and she basically functions as a satellite to baby and a plot device. She’s not badly acted or anything, but she’s not really given much to do and really seems to be there just so Baby has a solid reason to quit. It doesn’t really bring the movie down, but it certainly doesn’t improve it and is the clear weak link of the story.

Even with that, though, Baby Driver is nothing short of incredible. This is a damn good movie, perhaps even Wright’s best. The characters are great, the story is solid, the music is awesome and is woven intricately into every scene… this movie has the potential to be considered a classic down the road. Hell, considering how well it’s doing and the rave reviews from critics and moviegoers alike, it’s well on its way there! I can’t recommend this one enough, do yourself a favor and check this out as soon as you can.

Edgar Wright has apparently had this film in his mind since the middle of the 90s… let that sink in. He spent more than twenty years trying to get this off the ground, and he finally did it! If nothing else, this film should act as inspiration for any struggling director; no matter how long you have to wait for your dream, never give up on it because, who knows? You could be the one to make the next Baby Driver, and who wouldn’t want to do that?

[mozart-in-a-gokart]

This Action Will Have Consequences

“Max you are not crazy. You are not dreaming. It’s time to be an everyday hero.” - Max

Info on piece and its actual story under the cut 

The Piece’s Story

So I started working on this a little bit before they announced Life Is Strange: Before The Storm and stopped after a bit because I kinda lost motivation. Then they announced the sequel/prequel and I thought huh… maybe I should finish that in honor of the thing and so I picked it back up again and worked on it a bit and then once again lost interest because of reasons. A while later something popped up on my dash about the game coming out in August again and I realized that I only had about two and a half months to finish this. 

Normally that would be plenty of time to finish this, but with my situation it really wasn’t. I work at a theme park and it was the middle of June. Summer just started which meant we were in the middle of complete full time operation. I’m a ride operator so I have to be there talking to guests making sure everything goes off without a hitch for most of the available work day, AKA when I’m most productive. I was working Breaker Shifts (11:00 am - 7:00 pm) shifts. Id wake up at 7:00 get ready, go to work, list out and plan what I was gonna work on that night, clock out at 7:00 pm, go home, shower, change into pajamas, sit down at my computer at 9:30 and not get up until 1:30 - 2:00. I did have days off but those were mostly dedicated to my friends and family because I never get to hang with them otherwise. This piece took up all of my available free time for two and a half months. And its still technically not finished. I wanted to add shadows to everyone but ran out of time. If you guys want I can work on that and release it again later with the stuff I wanted to add but didn’t have time for? You guys just reply to this and I’ll see if I can. I’d love too, but if no one wants it, there’d be no point.

 The basic gist of this is that I swear I nearly died finishing this.

And I know I sound like I’m complaining but I’m not! I’m so happy I did this. I’m excited I got to to share it with you guys and I hope you all love it too. I’m super proud of it!

Notes On The Art Itself

Its style is the same as that of the Scott Pilgrim comics. I’ve always loved that particular style. I used one of the big color panels as a base for this and if you look hard enough you can see just looking by looking at the positions of certain characters which one it was. But I’ll still list at the bottom here which it was. Some of the character positions weren’t on the base I added them from other panels of the comic book. I just traced a main body outline like head, eye, and basic body shape so I had a roughly Scott pilgrim style body type to work with and made changes to them from there. I drew hair clothing and other details myself freehand. I personally drew the cartoon version of Blackwell, the fountain, and the courtyard down at the bottom completely freehand and I’m actually extremely proud of them. I did not draw some of the shirt designs (I.E. Chloe, Max, Warren, Justin [Raws Shirt], Hayden, and Trevor).

Links to Position Reference:

Others:

The Base Image For The Whole Drawing    Two Whales Sign

Positions for the whole drawing:

Kate Marsh    Evan Harris    Daniel DaCosta    Alyssa Anderson    Brooke Scott

Stella Hill    Taylor Christensen    Logan Robertson    Courtney Wagner     

Hayden Jones    Dana Ward    Juliet Watson    Zachary Riggins       

Note From Me:

I’d personally like to dedicate this work to a friend of mine whose a part of this fandom and a huge Chloe fan. @nurithemarxist who let me vent at them as I did line and detail work on the characters for the longest time. They always let me shout things at them about the work and let me vent and I wanna say thank you. You also helped me decide on how a few things were gonna work and what I was gonna put where. You were an immense help. THANK YOU!

[peachy-jy]

ye olde tag game

I was tagged by @got7peaches and I want to know if you came up with the title

(I think this was supposed to be fun and light but it ended up going to a really deep and verbose place so I’m putting it under the cut)

not tagging anyone cuz no one should have to read this lololol fml

how tall are you? 5′6″ and I’m not a fan... short people are cuter what color and style is your hair? red and long and curly what color are your eyes? they’re blue around the edges and green around the pupil and I know that sounds like a description straight out of “my immortal” but no I’m not making this up do you wear glasses or contacts? both but I prefer glasses do you wear braces? never have never will what is your fashion style? I don’t think I really have a “style.” That would require more money than I am willing to spend on clothes. But I love everything Claire wears so... if I could afford Claire’s style and pull it off I would dress like her when were you born? October 22 (burn this date in your mind) how old are you? 24 do you have any siblings? 2 brothers, one older one younger what school/college do you go to? this seems like tmi so I’ll just say I’m in nursing school (as if everyone didn’t know that already I never shut up about it) what kind of student are you? the worst. I’m that asshole who puts in 10% effort and turns in everything late and somehow still does ok what are your favorite subjects? anatomy was super fun (the human body is weird and amazing) but I think my favorite class I’ve ever taken was formal logic (it’s the satisfaction of completing mathematical equations with none of the actual math) what are your favorite shows? 30 rock, parks and rec, the office, community, scrubs... basically good sitcoms with 5+ seasons. I’m also a slut for reality tv (dance moms anyone?) and competition shows (great british bake-off what whaaat) what are your favorite movies? the one I always pick when I have to pick just one is when harry met sally but I am a huge cinephile and I have dozens of favorites so if you’re looking for a movie rec hmu what are your favorite books? my book choices are a lil outdated cuz all I read is fanfic lately lololol but old OLD faves are hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy, the giver, ready player one, and the hunger games series what are your favorite past times? my favorite past time is collecting past times, getting decently good at them, and then abandoning them. I’ve taught myself to play the ukulele, painting and drawing, niche board games, pottery, baking, the basics of a few languages, and a few video games here and there. The only hobbies that I’ve done consistently for several years are knitting, watching movies (specifically going to the movie theater because you can’t beat that atmosphere tbh), and writing (mostly fanfiction; I haven’t written anything original since high school). do you have any regrets? I wish I had never gone to the second university I attended... I basically wasted three years of my life in a hick town. I was miserable but I learned a lot about myself and also a lot about people and how to not be a shitty one so I guess it wasn’t a total waste. It sure felt like it though. what is your dream job? I wish I had the self-confidence to be a fiction writer full time. If I really worked hard at developing original concepts, I think I could be pretty good at it. Plus I would never have to leave my apartment and I could wear sweatpants 24/7, which is the real dream, let’s be real would you like to get married? where? I kind of flip flop on this one... sometimes I think I’d like it but then again I’m such a loner that I think I would suck at marriage sooo... my brother says I need to find someone who is as smart as me but total shit at something I’m good at, so I can take care of them and feel needed. I don’t know that marriage necessarily needs to be involved... Plus if I ever did get married I’d prob elop or only invite my immediate family sooooo do you want kids? how many? I don’t think I’d want to create life but I’d be 100% down for adopting... then again when my celeb crushes say they want kids I’m all I VOLUNTEER so who can say do you like shopping? If I magically come into extra income then yes. If I’m on a budget, shopping for something I need is like torture. The exception is always make-up/skincare. I buy myself new make-up when I’m sad. how many countries have you visited? 7, all of them European, but one of them was just for a day so I feel like it doesn’t really count. I really want to visit some Asian countries, though. what was your scariest dream? The scariest one that comes to mind was being locked in an office building with office workers and there was a serial killer-type guy in a jigsaw mask who kept turning the lights off and abducting people one by one and disfiguring their faces. No fuckin clue where that came from tbh. I’ve never even seen Saw. do you have any enemies? I’d like to think I don’t? I try really hard to treat everyone well regardless of how they treat me because I like being liked... but honestly there are a few people who hate my guts and won’t meet me halfway to reconcile sooooo yes, I guess I do. I don’t hold it against them, though. If they ever took a moment to see things from my point of view they would realize that I never meant them any harm and I’m just a flawed person, trying my best. But apologies don’t go very far with people who like to hold grudges and feel like the world is against them, so I can’t do anything about that. do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend? I don’t have the energy for that. Right now, having a S/O sounds kind of terrible actually lmao they’re so much work

THIS GOT HELLA LONG I’M SORRY BLAME CLAIRE

Put your music on shuffle and list the first fifteen songs without skipping:

We Hate You Please Die - Crash and the Boys (Scott Pilgrim anyone? no? ok)

Amsterdam - Imagine Dragons (I downloaded the whole album bc I liked Radioactive but I’ve never actually listened to this song)

Green Onions - Booker T & The MG’s (idk don’t ask)

The Curse of Curves - Cute Is What We Aim For (a one hit wonder but I still know every word to this song)

All Alright - Fun.

Classic Rock Medley - The Cat’s Pajamas (a local acapella group from my high school days)

Bellas Final - the Pitch Perfect Soundtrack (ok this plus the last one is making it seem like I’m obsessed with acapella I’m really not)

East West - Herman’s Hermits (...I actually love this band don’t judge me)

Here It Goes Again - Ok Go (say what you will about the song but that video with the treadmills was iconic)

20 Dollar Nose Bleed - Fall Out Boy

Sims Holidaze - The Sims 2 Bon Voyage (I may or may not have the entire collected Sims soundtrack on my ipod...)

Lesson 4 Pronunciation - Rosetta Stone Italian Level 3 (Remember when I was fluent in Italian? yeah me neither)

Whistle (Acoustic) -Blackpink (I like the original better)

Come So Far (Got So Far To Go) - Hairspray soundtrack (ok but this whole soundtrack is a bop I forgot I used to love this)

Mowgli’s Road - Marina & the Diamonds

What have we learned? That hitting shuffle is not at all indicative of a person’s taste in music, but instead exposes their sordid musical past.

[thebluesideofthemoon]

The Wall #47: LA LA LAND

I feel like I was due for this. This was originally going to be the last movie I wanted to watch last year, but due to some complications (mainly that none of my theaters in town were playing the movie for... whatever reason) that didn't happen. But hey, now that La La Land is getting serious Oscar buzz, and this IS my most anticipated movie of the year (if you've seen Whiplash, you'd know why), I'm happy that I got a chance to cover it. So, what do I think about the movie set in the land of fools who dream? Take a few steps forward and one back, wing your arms and spin on your heels- let's dance to the music of the generation and get on with the show!

You know what? This movie is good. Maybe even great, but it's definitely good. What this movie is not is perfect, and I'll explain why that is because I have some issues with this movie, some pretty big ones at that.

This is a movie about Mia (played by Emma Stone), and Sebastian (played by Ryan Gosling), two struggling artists in Los Angeles who are both trying to hit it big in their respective careers- Mia wants to be a big name actress, while Sebastian wants to open up his own restaurant and save the dying art that is jazz. After blowing it in his last job, Sebastian and Mia run into each other and continue to see each other as they keep trying out for different gigs, only to eventually end up together and trying to fulfill their dreams as a couple. However, bad luck and poor planning starts straining their relationship hard. Will they make it through on following their dreams or will the curtains forever close on their final act?

I normally like to start off with the bad stuff first, but I feel this is case where I should start off on a good note considering all of the praise that this movie is receiving, but first a bit of plot.

For one, I find this to be one of the most beautiful-looking movies to have come out this year- this movie looks amazing. This movie, much like one of my favorite movies from last year, The Revenant, is absolutely gorgeous- the combination of beautiful cinematography and editing allows for some truly stunning colorful, breathtaking shots of Los Angeles (when in the reality, the city is kind of a dump, but hey this is a movie). Speaking of which, this movie is full of really vibrant, eye-catching colors which really help convey the tone and mood of every scene, especially when it comes to all of the sequences of the characters dancing. Not a single shot is wasted, and it also adds to the fun of the musical.

Speaking of which, the choreography in this movie is also spectacular. Seeing Gosling and Stone’s scenes where they dance together is nothing short of absolutely joyful. It does manage to harken to spirit of fun in musicals where, sure, it might seem ridiculous for people to break into song and dance for no reason, but it works thanks to the choreography being fun to watch as it plays out… even if the songs are ho-hum at best (don’t worry, I’ll complain about those in a minute).

Acting-wise it’s pretty solid, though if anyone in the cast deserves the most recognition of all, it’s Emma Stone. A couple of things- one, I’m now convinced that she’s a Disney character that’s come to life, and I’m not just saying that because of her eyes. She’s really animated as an actress, and this movie is a great vehicle that shows her impressive range, from joy to sadness, to betrayal and in being in love. This is a movie where she’s playing an actress and manages to really capture the emotions that allow the audience to root and care about her. There’s a really heartbreaking scene in which Stone has lost all hope and you can see it on her face that her dreams have crumbled. She’s also a really good singer, she has an absolutely wonderful voice, and when she takes the lead of the songs my ears have nothing but my fullest attention to her. To me, she’s the real star of the show, not that Ryan Gosling is bad but he’s just… okay, that’s about it. As far as performances from him are concerned, I preferred his role in The Nice Guys, and not just because he was funny (he gets some funny scenes in this movie too), but he also plays a character that isn’t just… kind of a two-dimensional whiny asshole.

I think this is about as good a time as any to transition into the things that I wasn’t as hot about in the movie. Strap in, we have a lot of ground to cover.

Let’s start with the things that I thought were just okay- I already covered Gosling, so let’s talk about the songs. I wasn’t that impressed by them. Sure, the songs aren’t bad by any means, and they sound really nice. They can be pretty fun to listen to as well, but they just didn’t stand out to me. Comparing it to the other musical that I’ve seen this year (not Sing, because most of its songs were licensed), Moana, the songs are more fun to listen to, there’s more variety in how they sound as well as the genres that they come from make then all more unique to each other. You’re Welcome, doesn’t sound the same as Shiny, which doesn’t sound the same as How Far I’ll Go. A Lovely Night? City of Stars? These sound the same to me. Funny that the song that is meant to be played off as the “bad sellout pop song” (which is performed by JOHN LEGEND, HELLO?!) is one of the more distinct and fun songs from the movie. Though I also really loved Audition (The Fools Who Dream), which is truly the best way to cap off her plot. They’re not all very catchy, and songs don’t need to be catchy to be good, but they’re mostly unmemorable.

This whole thing about Sebastian trying to save jazz? That really goes nowhere. I don’t understand why that was even part of the movie because it’s not really that developed in the least, until it’s used a kind of cheap way to force Gosling to have a conflict with John Legend prior to joining his band in order to make some money to support both himself and Emma Stone. This is not they reason why he ends up leaving the band. I honestly have no idea WHY he ends up leaving the band, but it happens and it all goes into the true conflict of the movie… which doesn’t even start until the LAST thirty minutes. Yeeeaaah, it’s time for the big problems with the movie, and it’s three-fold:

One, the movie is too light in conflict, and too light on the consequences. For the second act of the movie, which is about a good forty minutes or so, it’s just glorified montage. We see Sebastian and Mia’s new life as a couple, which definitely seems pretty sweet and it is, but problems don’t start to arise until the end of the second act. Structure-wise this makes sense because I get that they’re trying to show that this life really is magical and wonderful like… something out of a musical. However, it goes on for too long and when we find out what the actual conflict between them is, it’s just something that happens because these two never bothered to communicate with each other. I have a serious peeve with movies in where couple don’t bother to communicate problems, but this one especially bugs me because at no point do they decide to confront each other about it until it’s too late, and even then it should been easy for them to work out but it’s not.

The second problem I have is that this movie is highly predictable. Now, I don’t have a problem with predictability as long as I’m given something like characters to really enjoy, themes that are interesting and worth discussing, or it’s just entertaining. To La La Land’s credit, it does succeed in the latter- it’s really enjoyable, but it fails at the interesting character portion because of Sebastian being a deadbeat. You know what’s going to happen, and it would be fine if they did something new or interesting but they don’t. This ties into the previous point of there being a lack of conflict when things like this should have either brewed from an earlier point, or they should have actually opened their mouths.

And the third, final, and BIGGEST problem I have with this movie by far is that it relies far too heavily on nostalgia. Did you see Singing in the Rain? Or An American in Paris? This movie has, and it’s going to remind you of that. A LOOOOOT.

I have serious problems with movies that rely on nostalgia as a tool to get the audience invested in the movie. I had serious issues with this earlier in the year with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, and I had serious problems with it in another musical, Rock of Ages, where they think that all they have to do is remind people of things from the past in order to excuse any shortcomings that the movie suffers from- which is some pretty big, nasty ones. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering how this bothers me here and not in something like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Well, for one it’s not crucial to the plot- they don’t stop the movie just to remind you of something else the audience might be familiar with just for the sake of doing so, whereas this movie does it pretty deliberately. I’ll admit, I’m not exactly very familiar with Old Hollywood, and I probably should spend more time with older movies, but even if I haven’t this movie gave me the nagging feeling of someone elbowing me shoulder and going: “remember this? Remember? Reeeemember?” and that made my enjoyment of the movie felt kind of thankless and hollow. It’s like the movie is saying that the only way I can really appreciate it is by seeing these older movies that it’s going out of its way to reference- which it shouldn’t because I can tell you for a fact those movies were better and more original than this one.

I know this is a pretty negative note to end the review on, and it’s going to also seem a little confusing considering what I rated the movie, but I want you to keep this in mind: I did have a good time watching it. There were a lot of fun moments, and I think the movie is total eye candy, not to mention Emma Stone is simply amazing through and through, but it just fell really short in what it could have been. Whiplash, this movie is not. (1,731 words. Music: Pokemon Black and White- Route 10)

By every sense of the word, I would consider this movie a disappointment. Now I did expect a good movie, and it was, but I thought that this movie was a shoe-in for my Top 10 of the year, it could have easily been #1, and at this point it's going to be lucky if it even manages to get an Honorable Mention.

This rating may still be surprising to some of you, but not to me. Yes, it's good, it's fun, I recommend you to see it, but it's really not the masterpiece that it's called out as being. If you want a better musical movie to enjoy, go watch Moana, it has stronger characters, stronger conflict, better songs, and it's also just as great to look at. Speaking of Disney... I have some unfinished business to take care of, don't I? Yes... it's finally time... next time, of course. On The Wall. Toodles.

[corkben-blog]

FMP - Superhero Fights / 1 vs. Many Fights

When I refer to superhero fights / 1 vs. Many fights, what I mean is a situation where the protagonist, in this case it’s often a superhero, is up against an army of enemies. This could be as few as 4 or 5, or as many as an actual army.

This is a common thing is superhero movies as it can show the rue straight of a hero, or the stupidity of the villain in some cases. It can also help re-enforce the idea of ‘hero’ within the character, as usually during large attacks like this, innocent people are at risk and the superhero is shown saving them. This is obviously and important factor in superhero movies, which is why it’s especially common in them. This also occurs in Doctor Who sometimes, like when the Daleks are doing their usual thing by threatening planets and whatnot, then the Doctor rolls in, is shown saving a civilian or two, then send the Daleks running. This is also very necessary as the Doctor is seen as more of a hero than some action characters, like Star Wars characters as they don’t really save people, instead they just get on with their own domestics and plenty of civilians die in the process. This isn’t always shown or needed, but I’ve noticed it is a very common way of reminding the audience just what a hero is.

The first fight scene like this that springs to mind is from Iron Man 2. It’s not a great movie, but it did have some pretty cool mechs for Iron Man to fight.

Iron Man 2:

To start off, this scene could really have done with some music. Aside from that, we see Iron Man and War Machine get ambushed by an overwhelming amount of large drones ready to attack.

Immediately we know that our heroes are in a spot of trouble and could find difficult in surviving. This is quickly remedied though when Iron Man starts plowing through each drone with a single blast, whereas he’d be able to take multiple hits before being downed. This, I see, as a way of showing how powerful the heroes are, and that the mindless drones are nothing compared to the real people and their abilities. It’s definitely a demonstration of strength at this point as there is little to no danger of the characters getting hurt as we even see Iron Man notice and avoid an incoming missile.

This does change however as we see more and more drones appear form the dark smoke and our heroes begin to look massively outnumbered again. Like a traditional story, we see the protagonists start off well, then suddenly fall into a place where it looks like they might lose, and all seems lost. While this scene happens very quickly, Tony’s facial expressions show that he’s worried too.

Then however, Iron Man shows one final feat of strength and uses a new laser cutter move that we’d not previously seen. This is brilliant for a few reasons. It shows Iron Man overcoming a pretty large obstacle, and become a better hero for it. It gets the heroes out of their tricky situation, and finally, it shows Iron Man’s new power as a metaphor for being a new man. While that’s very much reading into what’s not there, I still think it’s relevant because after this Iron Man goes off to fight the main villain, who he’d previously been too weak to battle. Now though, with his new demonstration of power, he feels able to confront the villain in a new way.

On paper that sounds convoluted and seems way to complex for a fight scene, but when I first saw that scene, which is not much more than a minute, I got almost all of that communicated to me in the short time. This shows clear character development was planned for this encounter, and subtly implemented.

This is definitely something I’d look into doing if I was to do a battle scene in this style, as an entire story can be told through a fight scene without any words.

A few other things I noticed were that the generic enemies went down with 1 hit. The shots were a reasonable length, with no quick cuts, giving the audience a chance to keep up with the already hectic scene. The heroes themselves were in the center of a circle closing in on them, which meant they had no means of escape (minus flying away that is).

It’s worth noting too, that later on after this scene, while the drones are still attacking, Iron Man flies out into the street and saves a boy who’s about to be killed by a drone, demonstrating his heroic tendencies.

A couple of other examples with some differences worth mentioning:

Hot Fuzz:

While this scene is fairly different in the way it was shot and edited, as well the number of enemies and how much damage they can take. But what I noticed here is that about a minute in, it looks like Nicolas is struggling and might fail, which is when his secret weapon, Danny, shows up. This is obviously very different to a laser blast, but after that the 2 characters don’t struggle as much, as they’ve had their ‘all is lost’ moment, and come back from it. This seems to be a common trope within fight scenes of this nature, which makes sense given the protagonist is outnumbered, and will inevitably need a secret weapon or big reveal etc...

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World:

Something that stands out to me here is, once again, the point where all seems lost, then the protagonists gains or shows something that makes them stronger and able to win a bigger fight.

In the situation of Scott Pilgrim, he goes on a massive journey, growing as a person and fighting people, until he reaches a large battle against loads of people, to then end with a fight against the main villain. What’s different here is that Scott doesn’t have an issue while fighting hordes of enemies, rather the issue comes after where he completely died by the hand of Gideon, the main villain. Scott then realizes that self-respect is a thing that he now all of a sudden has, and he goes into the fight against more confident and capable than before.

This fight isn’t really a 1 vs Many situation, but it ties into the same idea of 1 person looking like they’re going to fail, only to have 1 last trick up their sleeve to win in the end. It definitely seems that this is a good trick to making a tense yet satisfying action sequence.

This style of fight scene tends to be different in every case, but there are always common factors, which are starting well, then slowly declining into a pit, where it seems the hero cannot win, only to use their secret trick and win in the end. It’s certainly a good indication of how all fight scenes should be paced, and what separates a good fight scene, from a generic fight scene with no stakes.

[dustsparrow]

Oh! Your blog is alive! Welcome back! Answer all the odd number questions?

Well hey! I didn’t realize how long it had been since I posted here haha. I’m alive and doing well. Most of my energy toward this site goes to reblogging stuff to my side blog @stufftoshowcrow (I guess this is sort of a plug but by no means do you all have to check it out)

And I’ll get to the questions later today! I’m out with a friend for the day but I didn’t wanna leave you hanging. Thanks for asking!

Time for those answers! (under the read more)

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most? Dancing’s Not a Crime by Panic! at the Disco, Irony of Dying on Your Birthday by Senses Fail, Instant Crush by Daft Punk, Somewhere in the Between by Streetlight Manifesto, Your Love by The Outfield, and Shut Up and Dance by WALK THE MOON (these are just recent ones on my mind)

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17. The closest book was my sketchbook and it’s got a drawing of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles on it that I think I referenced from somewhere. I may post a picture later if there’s any interest.

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say? “Ok I should be home in about an hour” from my dad

7: What’s your strangest talent? I’m pretty good at chugging alcohol but stuff like hard sodas or rum and coke. And that usually only happens when I’m already a little drunk and want to maintain it.

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you? Technically (said by my bf). He said it was never finished so I never heard it

11: Do you have any strange phobias? I’m slightly afraid of escalators and elevators. Elevators is because I hate when they rock and I’m afraid they’ll fall and escalators is because when I was a kid, there was an escalator at the local book store that seemed pretty steep and I felt like I’d fall off when I was young and it sort of continued on into adulthood. It’s not as bad now but it’ll pop up sometimes.

13: What’s your religion? I was raised Catholic, went to a Methodist church from middle school to high school, and now I’d consider myself Agnostic. I was never officially Methodist so yeah, I’m not really religious.

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? It’s a bit of both. Being an artist, I like to dabble in a lot of different art forms and one of those being photography. I love photography and I’ve even gotten into making my own videos. So I know my way around a camera and I’m used to being behind the camera but I like when I get the chance to be in front of the camera. It may be a little vain but I really like photos of myself and seeing myself at different angles.

17: What was the last lie you told? Oh shit, I can’t really remember. I know the funniest lie I’ve told recently is I convinced a coworker of mine that one of our other coworkers is my brother because we look sort of alike.

19: What does your URL mean? I went with Novakid-Outlaw because I really enjoy the game Starbound and the Novakids are my favorite race. They’re sort of like cowboys so that’s where the outlaw part is from. It used to be “Novakid-Bandit” but I figured Outlaw sounded better.

21: Who is your celebrity crush? Brendon Urie

23: How do you vent your anger? A lot of it is spent yelling at terrible drivers in my car. Some of it is directed at my coworkers who don’t do their job and I’m already done with the day. I try to use some of it on artwork, I know one time I smashed a TV for a friend doing a photography project. That was a lot of fun.

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? Video chat because I like seeing the other person’s face. But talking on the phone is also nice if I want to talk to that person (so like talking to my BF verses my dad. My dad is weird to talk to sometimes).

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love? I hate the sound of nails scratching one of those holographic cards that has that terrible texture. I love the sounds of cats purring (and my boyfriend’s voice).

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens? Ghosts are iffy but for sure Aliens. Space is too big for us to be the only living organisms.

31: Smell the air. What do you smell? I’m in my room so nothing. I’m too used to the smell.

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast? East Coast since I live nearby and the most I’ve done on the West Coast was go to Vegas and it was stupid hot.

35: To you, what is the meaning of life? Doing what I love with the ones I love.

37: Do you believe in luck? I guess because I’m the luckiest girl to be dating the best guy in my life. He’d disagree but I do love him a whole lot and he’s made my life a lot better.

39: What time is it? I got this ask around noon and I’m getting around to answering it at 11:12 PM (as I’m typing this answer)

41: What was the last book you read? I guess Scott Pilgrim. I haven’t read a book in a while. It’s sorta sad

43: Do you have any nicknames? Many

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had? In recent years, I burned my arm at work and it hurt like a bitch. I still have a scar. In middle school, I broke both of my wrists (not at the same time but only a month had passed when my first wrist healed and I broke the other).

47: Do you have any obsessions right now? Okami

49: Ever had a rumor spread about you? Not really cause I’m not that interesting that people talk about me.

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong? If it’s a big enough wrong. I’m still upset at my ex but that’s justified.

53: Do you save money or spend it? I spend it. I need to work on saving money.

55: Love or lust? Love

57: How many relationships have you had? 3

59: Where were you yesterday? Work and home

61: Are you wearing socks right now? Nope

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you? Jokes and slight teasing

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr. Aight, that’s too much work, nope

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM? Playing Okami

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off? Yes

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do? Save the dog. I can find another job. I’d feel terrible leaving the dog behind.

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love. (I have both but) Love

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number? 7815

77: How can I win your heart? No chance because someone already has my heart

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far? Giving my current boyfriend a third date those 2 years ago.

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone? She died doing what she loved most. (*boyfriend’s/husband’s name here*)

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart. Love. How cliche

85: What’s the last song you listened to? Your Love by The Outfield

87: What is your current desktop picture? Bulbasaurs

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on? If my mom ever asked if I’ve lied to her recently because she made me promise her once that I’d never lie to her again.

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power? Shape-shifting

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? My first instinct is to say my last relationship but I know it sort of helped to shape me. So I guess I would say I’d avoid dating the last guy but I wouldn’t avoid him entirely.

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? Germany

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car? Yes. When I was a kid, my mom took me to pick up my brother and his friend and she brought mini cupcakes along. I ate a bunch of the chocolate ones and I threw up on my brother’s friend when they got in the car.

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say? Let’s be real, I have no clue.

Finishing this up at 11:39 PM and I’m super grateful to anyone who’s read all of these! I hope these are entertaining to read and I hope everyone has a wonderful day/night!