#the summaries always got to me :')

[eppysboys]

Rave Magazine’s summary of The Beatles’ personalities, based on their answers on a questionnaire

[player1064]

carraville core beliefs (aka things I am Always keeping in mind when writing them)

Gary:

always busy. always talking. genuinely one of the most annoying people alive. his friends often mute him on whatsapp

easily bribed with chocolate

too rich to have any concept of what things should cost or how anything works

has a Type and that type is tall muscular men

related to his type: likes to be Held. (make of that what you will)

was in love with becks when they were young and everyone who knows him knows this

Jamie:

very much a lads lad and so probably a bit of a bastard but unconsciously acts soft around Gary

loud and over the top especially when he's joking around. VERY touchy-feely but only with people he's comfortable with

does not like sweets. does not like coffee.

loves a paycheck

doesn't have a type he's just insane about Gary. so insane about him that he doesnt necessarily have to actually like men at all to like HIM

completely utterly whipped

as a pair:

always the most insane people in any room they're in and always the most intense

bullying is their love language and they're suspicious if they're being nice to each other

genuinely stupidly fond of each other. what was it I said the other day they just delight each other so much

the reason they delight each other/click so well is BECAUSE they're always the two most insane people in any room they're in

everything is a competition and once they're together they STAY together bc they are both determined to Win at their relationship

[mishapen-dear]

i know too fucking much about qsmp badboyhalo.

[emblazons]

"I think it would be easier if we were a team."

Day Five of @bylerweek2023 - Secret Identities aka - the Modern!Byler + DnD AU no one asked for

The details for their character sheets came from here + here, though only Mike's is confirmed secondary media. The details + story behind these versions of byler under the cut!

The Secret

The Cleric (Will) & The Paladin (Mike) have been playing digital campaigns together for nearly five years now, after Mike‘s then-newfound investment in Critical Role inspired him to hunt for an online DnD game to play for himself.

Inseparable on the pixelated battlefield, their half a decade of campaigning together has slowly turned them into the best of (digital) friends, as they’ve shared their deepest secrets in the anonymous-but-meaningful way you can only online. From Will admitting that his main concern even outside being ridiculed for his sexuality is healing from childhood PTSD to Mike admitting that his picture-perfect family hates his interests and would never accept that he likes guys, both of them have learned to defer to each other in and out of campaigns—they have grown deeply fond of each other through their characters’ adventures…and chats that mean more to both of them than they would dare admit aloud.

Even so, all the Cleric and the Paladin really know about each other on a practical level is that they’re both 20 this year, are both in college now, and that they both come from the Midwest—though they do hope to meet one day if it ever makes sense.

There really is nothing like a friend who gets to see the sides of you you’re not allowed to show in any other space—and neither of them wants to live their entire lives without someone who treats them as well as their longtime D&D companion.

The Identities

Mike Wheeler and Will Byers have been in each other’s orbit since elementary school in Hawkins, though Will’s been pretty distant about keeping tabs on Mike since he dated (and subsequently broke up) with his sister El during freshman year. Mike always enjoyed the time he spent with Will and could tell that Will felt the same, though Mike knew from the second he broke up with El that Will’s love for his family was going to take precedence over their mutual interest in the same (nerdy) things—the same way it did for his sister Nancy when she broke up with Will’s brother, Jonathan, when they went to college.

It’s been years since that happened now, though—and the last time Mike spoke to Will was when they gave each other a friendly hug goodbye the day of high school graduation. Now well into his 3rd year of college, Mike only knows that Will goes to IU just like he does…but on a campus of over 30,000 people and as an English major to Will’s Visual Arts, it’s not like they see each other.

Even so, time away from his exacting family has made Mike more comfortable, and he has slowly realized that it’s time to branch out of his solely hypothetical “rebellious” spaces and into meeting real people who share his interests—to fully embrace is love of DnD in real life to learn the fine art of figurine painting, soak up all the wisdom to be found in classic printed dungeon master guides, and experience the ruckus of a well-strategized in-person campaign. That’s why, on one rainy Friday night in March, he wanders into the Hellfire Club—the on-campus DnD group he’s heard of but never been brave enough to join.

Given his knowledge of Will from all those years ago, seeing the guy he grew up with sitting next to him for Eddie Munson’s grungy basement campaign wasn’t all that much of a surprise, actually. What was a surprise was what happened when he looked down at the table in front of the boy next to him….only to see “Will the Wise” at the top of Will Byers character sheet, plain as day.

tl;dr - you're 20, and your long-time online crush bestie who knows all your secrets turns out to be the brother of the girl you dated for five seconds at 14. Chaos ensues.

[stormboundstars]

i'm going to rewatch The Untamed. i'm going to be sooooo normal about it (proceeds to feel an intense happiness and sadness after finishing the series that will not go away for months again)

[rainymoodlet]

I'd be appalled if I saw you ever try to be a saint I wouldn't fall for someone I thought couldn't misbehave But I want you to know that I've had no love like your love

From nobody. 🌵

[valentjin]

art summary 2023 (template from here)

[rinisdrawing]

thank you all so much for an amazing year! here’s a compilation of all my favorite works from 2023, i’m extremely grateful for the support from you all! here’s to another year of making and creating :) 🫶✨💕

[mortellanarts]

2023 go bye bye

[altschmerzes]

.

spent all afternoon with my family getting ready for the funeral sunday. acutely reminded that they’re all, particularly my sister, under the impression i am a robot who has no feelings and no problems and lives in a rainbow castle full of sunshine and sparkles and nothing is ever difficult or stressful or traumatizing for me.

that was. great.

[dangerous-advantage]

if you’re in the rise fandom and see this:

go read “all the ashes in my wake” by @crows-murder right now.

(yes, that is an order, and yes, pun intended.)

this post serves as a fic rec, but mainly to let me gush about how much i love this fic without filling up the author’s inbox with a small dissertation (/joking).

for the fic rec part:

leo. cursed. ella enchanted type cursed.

if you have any interest at all in absolutely phenomenal angst, clever writing with a style that’s easy to follow and smooth as butter, on-point characterization and dynamics, and basically anything you could ever ask for of a rise fic,

go. read. this. fic. right. now.

(that said, i am now going to ramble about my specific thoughts concerning the fic and it’s plot, so. possible spoilers beyond this point?)

there have been a growing number of fics in this “sub-genre” of the rise fandom involving a character (generally leo) getting cursed, and then facing off against angsty odds that make you go, “oh. oh, shit.” (/positive)

these curses also tend to involve the phases of the moon in some way, which i think is a very fun and interesting trend

i’ve enjoyed all of the fics that i’ve read which fit into this, but this particular fic may be my favorite yet

it follows a simple formula, neatly tying the a plot (the curse stuff) and the b plot (leo’s conflict with leadership and the strain it’s putting on his relationships) into a neat little bow.

while the idea of leo getting “ella enchanted” is fun on its own, it’s doubly important to the plot and the characterization, as it forces him to have to fix one problem to address the other.

in the first chapter, the author constructs the roots to this, by contrasting leo’s wily, independent nature against the inevitable conflict that will stifle his attempts to act on it.

watching him brush his brothers off, make his own choices and go off on his own, builds this wonderful sense of tension. it hooks you — what’s going to happen when that string is cut?

it plays perfectly into the underlying conflict. leo needs to find a way to overcome his fears of leading the team, or else the rift between him and his team will only continue to widen.

so what does the narrative do? it forces him into a position where he is no longer gets to choose.

this incapacitation is a powerful tool, not only because of the external force of the curse, but also that it plays off of the weaknesses of his character.

this isn’t something that he can just handwave, or take care of on his own. it’s a situation where he needs to ask for help.

but this is leo we’re talking about. of course he isn’t going to go to his brothers about this, or even tell them! but by hiding it and trying to fix it himself, he ends up caught in a deadlock of his own making.

and since it doesn’t look like he’s going to get over himself very soon, it seems more likely that he’ll end up cornered in a very sticky situation indeed (something which i am very much looking forward to seeing, if that is the plan).

it’s genius! to fix his problems with the curse, he has to address his issues with his family first.

my attempts to sound smarter than i actually am aside (/lighthearted), i am so glad this fic is addressing the conflict between raph and leo. not only that, but in a way that feels true to their characters.

unlike other iterations of the tmnt, the roles here are reversed. it’s not the stolid abs responsible leader pitted against the broody loner who wants to be leader, but isn’t the right fit.

it’s rise!raph, who cares about his little brother and wants to support him, and rise!leo who, on some level, doubts his own ability in this new role on the team — to be anything more than “the face man.”

it’s not often where you come across a fic where the a plot and the b plot are equally engaging, but this is one of those rare cases where everything just works. it’s like i’m witnessing the first steps of some great machine, meticulously crafted, a hundred disparate parts working in tandem.

in the third chapter, the angst just works. the pay-off there feels so real, because you get it. you relate to this character. when raph is there, waiting up for him, you know shit’s about to go down. you can feel it.

if the necklace (and therefore the curse) acted as both a narrative device and catalyst, leo’s swords represent the other side of that: the last bit of freedom he has left in this godawful situation.

they’re the last bit of freedom, his only hope of escape. raph taking them (or, rather, leo being compelled to surrender them) has just glorious undertones in the narrative as a whole.

if you were to consider the katanas a representation of leo’s autonomy, it makes sense why him being forced to give them up hits that much harder.

not only is it a tense situation, where leo is fighting back but ultimately unable to overcome the curse, it cements this underlying feeling of helplessness the author has been seeding since the chapter previous.

now that we’re here, with both the a plot and b plot coming into direct confrontation with what leo wants, we recognize that leo cannot continue how he is.

sure, he’ll keep on fighting it (abs i am very much looking forward to seeing how that goes), but this is the point where we know, there is no escaping.

leo is now truly stuck. without his katanas, fubdibg the necklace to break the curse on his own is basically impossible.

and he recognizes this.

leo’s characterization throughout this fic has been some of the best in the business. he’s smart, witty, independent, calculating — probably one of, if not the best true-to-character representations of rise!leo thats i’ve seen so far.

(absolutely phenomenal job there, i cannot stress this point enough.)

in fact, all of the characters in this fic are so well-written? i’m already seeing roots for character development within casey sr. (which i am so here for, oh my gods you don’t even know), and you can’t help but be invested in all of these relationships

we’re constantly being reminded of the emotional conflict, how much of a strain it’s putting on the relationships, not just between raph and leo, but between all of them.

leo sees this, understands something has to change, but feels paralyzed by what that could mean. for him, and his family.

not to beat the metaphorical dead horse, but that scene after leo surrenders his katanas abs flees back to his room? damn. i felt that on a visceral level.

being so tired, so miserable, so helpless, when a part of you knows you’re being irrational, but having your own pride and fear get in the way of that?

not to project all over these characters or whatever, but fuck. it feels like this was written to call out me, specifically (/j /lh)

and urgh! the detail work in this is incredible!

maybe i’m just a slut for somewhat contrived narratives, and definitely contrived foreshadowing, but the way it’s done in this fic comes off as so clean and organized.

it’s like... weaving threads in a tapestry. you can see where the connect, though you’re not quite sure where they’re going, until you can step back abs look at the picture as a whole.

it genuinely feels masterful in some places, like, mother of god, leave some talent for the rest of us!! (/lighthearted)

i could probably keep talking about this forever, but i do have other responsibilities i should be taking care of, and i kind of want to reread the three chapters that are out (as of writing this) again.

who knows, maybe i’ll revisit this in the future, when i have a better basis and understanding of the underlying themes here.

for now, dear author (if you are, for some reason, reading this),i hope you don’t mind my pretentious and meandering thoughts and/or assumptions. you’ll probably see me again, gushing in your comment sections. yours is just the kind of fic that deserves to be gushed about.

[lanshappycorner]

u know my not-so-close irls dont know i draw, they assume i just play video games and watch animal vids on youtube all day. and if i offhandedly mention i do a little art, i don't show or elaborate, and maybe its just my natural sad cat energy but i've got several of my irls giving me unwarranted pep talks after i mention it

[hella1975]

bagged a trial shift at a new pub just for my manager to immediately put on facebook if anyone wants an extra shift on wednesday. he knows what im doing

[padfootastic]

so way back, when FoD was just in the beginning stages, the idea was this: harry & sirius bonding, post gof/ootp. getting to know each other, making new, fun memories. taking in the world together. but ultimately very low stakes, slice of life. the entire focus was supposed to be on the godfather-godson relationship. hence, dog days. a pun. a summer fic where they do nothing except laze around and eat ice cream and frolic.

also, coincidentally, i just looked it up and google tell me this: the hottest period of the year (reckoned in antiquity from the heliacal rising of Sirius, the Dog Star)

cut to now when we’re at chapter 4 and sirius is nowhere to be seen even lol by my estimation, it would take atleast another 10k words for him to come in. there’s so many OCs and plot and tangents i’m keeping track of 💀 it’s become more than just the usual s&h fics i write; it’s about harry coming into himself, becoming independent, fighting back. it’s almost an ode to all the smart/powerful/ooc harry fics i used to love reading lol

so instead you have Foundations of Decay. it’s an mcr song title bc im extremely basic like that but i just—really love it? the idea of harry realising his life is in a state of unending ruin, only getting worse, and that he can either fight fruitlessly, symptomatically, as he has been so far or start anew. enter the system and use it to change things. he’s working off a decaying foundation and he’ll build something lasting (sirius) on it.

idk. might not make sense outside my head but i rly liked it lol

[twilightarcade]

the meg ramble

I'm the car rn 💪💪💪 going to talk about both The Meg and The Meg 2. Note that I'm no where near a movie critic and really just Some Guy on the internet. Also at it's core I think this is just a goofy little shark movie if anything I'm raining on some parades. I know I said shitty movies though that was actually misleading as this movie in particular wasn't Terrible. Working on watching worse.

Spoilers for both movies of course. Also really long.

preface / summary

Just as a quick summary, ill throw the Wikipedia summary in. I'm horrible with names so I'll be looking then up as I go please correct me if I'm wrong,,

The Wikipedia summary is as followed: " In the plot, a group of scientists encounters a 75-foot-long (23 m) megalodon shark while on a rescue mission on the floor of the Pacific Ocean."

And for the sequel "Like the previous film, it follows a group of scientists who must outrun and outswim the titular Megalodons when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival."

so we're introduced with some guy (we later learn this is Jonas (he really should be dead)) who is rescuing some people. He leaves like half the people to die, in favor of saving who he can. Everyone hates him forever because of this. Cut to the research facility, we're diving into the trench because we think actually that isn't the bottom of the ocean. It isn't. We have scientist guy dj who mains computer type things, Minway who essentially stands around and looks important from what I can remember, but is the head of the operation. He has daughter Suyin and granddaughter Meiying. There's a few other people, but more importantly there's this guy named Jack who is annoying as hell the whole movie (his entire personality is being a billionaire and I love him for that). Blahblahblah, sub gets attacked AH! SHARK! Send rescue, Mr I'm a rebel Jonas goes down to save them, succeeds and were back on the surface. And none other than the meg came, because we blew a hole in the thermo cline. Sad. Then we run around a bit, get chased by a shark, kill the wrong shark, and eventually kill the shark. Yay!

first movie thoughts

I didn't. Hate it. Like ok I don't care about anyone at all, but it's a movie, I watched it, and it was fine. I think my biggest grievance (besides all the little things) would be the fact the meying, currently like. Eight. Was just wandering around. The billion dollar research facility. In the middle of the ocean. At one point, she ended up inside of a sub (she just waltzed in there)?? Like as a silly goofy thing. Normal activities. Idk if it's a trope but like "child that knows more than they should/is super perceptive/knows more about the adult's relationships than the adults" is what she falls into.

Its been a second since I've watched it and quite frankly I wasn't paying a horrible amount of attention. Annoying billionaire guy dies (hubris or whatever), we kill the wrong creature and the meg comes and eats said creature scaring everyone, and the meg is starving or something but like. Suspense of disbelief for a bit here, we need a hungry shark. Honestly it wasn't too bad. Solid movie I suppose. DJ (relevant later) serves as like. That classic large black guy comedic relief character. "I didn't sign up for this," "my friends are dying :(" etc. Also he can't swim (works in the middle of the ocean.) Another guy I forgot about who's relevant later is Mr Jonas' ex. She is like... the lead dive lady (only person on the team we really care about) and is all mad at Jonas or whatever.

Sequel thoughts

ok so we watched this on like. The Big Screen. Had my full attention. This one doesn't get a summary because I have a lot more to say. Also heres the movie blurb thing because I found it funny to read.

"Dive into uncharted waters with Jason Statham and global action icon Wu Jing as they lead a daring research team on an exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean. Their voyage spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival. Pitted against colossal Megs and relentless environmental plunderers, our heroes must outrun, outsmart, and outswim their merciless predators in a pulse-pounding race against time. Immerse yourself in the most electrifying cinematic experience of the year with "Meg 2: The Trench" - where the depths of the ocean are matched only by the heights of sheer, unstoppable excitement!" Lots of buzz words or whatever. Literally every other word is unnecessary

first of all. The intro. We're like back in time, and there's a carcass (fairly fresh) conveniently sitting on the shore. There's some aminals (aquatic lizard dino dudes) eating it presumably (though they seem more preoccupied fighting with each other) till a T REX comes. Oooo scary. It yells at them, they run into the ocean. This is presumably to demonstrate their aquatic ability and throw them into the story. I don't actually know what animal they are so if they are a real animal lmk 👍 I had a bit of a problem with the t Rex deciding to try and catch these things it just scared away (now swimming) instead of the carcas it scared them away from but I digress. Anyways. What I really wanted to talk about. You know how beaches work right? There's a drop off like eventually but it's relatively shallow. Well. This t rex is standing in maybe 4 feet of water at best. Barely off the shore. Then this fucking GIANT ASS SHARK (the meg) comes out of absolutely nowhere and eats the t rex. I know that this is just like. Introducing the gang (weird water reptiles and megalodon) but oh my goodness. She would Not be eating t rexes standing in 4 foot deep water. It's going to get beached man.

I didn't like. Watch any trailers n such for this movie. But after skimming the Wikipedia article, apparently we're being funded by a new billionaire (this time she ISN'T being annoying as hell the whole time.) Also they make a really big deal about the SENTENCE CANCELED I WAS LOOKUNG UP THE TRAILER BUT I FOUND A DIFFERENT ONE AND THE SHARK JUST FREAKING. FLIES BACK INTO THE WATER. LOOK: https://youtu.be/dG91B3hHyY4?t=35 SHE FLIES BACK IN THERE...........ok anwyas ummmm.. forget whatever I was talking about let's talk about the kraken. There's a weird emphasis placed on it in the other trailer but it's super absent in this one. There's a lot going on in this movie hang on. Ok. There's the meg(s), illegal mining, and kraken. Also they kept a pet baby meg and it waits till this movie to escape, Of Course.

Kraken

Ok emrmremrmrmemrm!!!!!!!! I think it was introduced last movie....? Basically this lady almost dies to it but the meg comes along. Classic. Never really mentioned again. This movie though it takes like a massive backseat despite how important it tries to be. Like in the beginning we're walking around in some uncharted land, happy guy who is clearly gonna die dies to it, and we go about our way. It isn't brought up till like... the end or so. And all it does is kill a few people, be a minor obstacle, and eventually gets eaten by the meg. Basically she does nothing to the plot. I want to say like... last movie? We talked about Megs and krakens being enemies or whatever, though I forget the exact phrasing

Illegal mining

Ok so. I had gotten a bit lost at this part. But basically billionaire lady (name irrelevant and also she only appears via video calls till the end where she just dies) is funding both the illegal mining and Good Guys (I only found this out via Wikipedia but I miss things a lot.) Jess (Jonas' ex) is currently working with the Good Guys but SECRETLY is working with the illegal mining organization? This is also presumably why they never explored further into the trench but honestly that's really absurd. Unrelated but Meiying is like 14 now, snuck onto and rode a sub, and contributes nothing to the plot. But long story short the Good Guys get hit by a rockslide, end up in the evil mining organization base (completely empty for some reason?) And get trapped in this room. Jess reveals herself to be a hater and is like hey [girl I forget the name of] harpoon Jonas in the heart or you're all gonna die. [Girl I forgot the name of] doesn't and Jess starts filling the room with water slowly because that's a thing she can do. JONAS. Ok. We're like. Literally lower than the mariana trench. Jonas, Mr I'm gonna save everyone is like. Hey guys don't worry I'm going to SWIM TO THE ENTRANCE. Ok. So. Not to mention the immense pressure, it's also probably like... a bit cold. We don't care about the cold shhh ignore it. But don't worry about the pressure! Because you know fish right? Glub glub? How do you think they breathe? Humans have stupid air in their nose (and nowhere else in their body) so if we fill our nasal cavity with water, then we won't die from pressure. Also we'll be fine for a solid 30 seconds. So you know what Jonas does. He breathes in a bunch of water. And swims out there. In his stupid little wetsuit. And he makes it Of Course because Jonas has no respect for his health and is therefore immortal. The number of times this guy should have or could have died is insane but he doesn't because he's the main character and the "wildcard" or whatever so it has to work out in the end. You sure showed them Jonas. Good job.

DJ (he gets his own paragraph

Anyways like. There isn't much character growth going on (less here than the first movie) and they're sorta just running around doing stuff which I respect but also eh. My man dj!!!! He's still really a comedic side character but like. He learned how to swim. Got some useful survival skills. And like. Actually helps people. Generally speaking this movie sorta follows a "if you aren't helpful or related to Meiying you Will die before the end and no one will care" rule. Dj is an exception to this in the first movie. Though he contributes nothing besides being a warn body that watches computer screens (not helpful when they're stranded in the middle of the ocean). BUT THE SECOND MOVIE!!! HE CONTRIBUTES STUFF. Irrelevant stuff (side plot or whatever) but he does something and I think that was pretty cool of him. Also at the very very end he saves meiying. He's still the comedic relief black guy but he does something and I think that's pretty neat.

Final thoughts

this duo wasn't like. Bad or anything. Not particularly for me, but didn't make me actively homicidal [see: escape room 2]. If I like. Close my eyes. It's a pretty fine movie. I didnt care about any of the characters and was quite frankly actively rooting against jonas because I'm mean like that but that'd just a me thing. Would probably hit better with the "I just want things to happen and a giant shark to be there" crew though that is not me unfortunately. There were a lot of things happening and I didn't do a great job keeping up with the things, nor did they all get the attention they probably needed (coughs at kraken). Also i forgot to mention this but they just. Leave one of the Megs out there. Haiqi. The one they kept as a pet. It just.... swam away. And they let it. Top ten worst invasive species to introduce to society. I don't know if they take care of it in the future but as of the end of that movie, there's a BABY megalodon swimming around the ocean freely.

mom enjoyed it so that's all that matters. I love you mom.

[bookwyrminspiration]

hi it’s me again here to annoy you about hamlet - you’re on act 2 right? That’s the beginning of the “fuck around” stage of the play as I would call it. A lot of it is setup for what happens in act 3, which really gets the ball rolling imo. But! Since you’ve started, you’ve met my favorite character (horatio) who I can’t really talk about in full perspective until you’re finished but… he really is an important character even if he doesn’t seem important at certain points. Do you have a favorite yet? (sorry I don’t want to pester im just really excited to hear what you think about it)

Hi again! It's not annoying, don't worry; you're allowed to express your interest and excitement :)

I just finished act 2 and am now at the beginning of act 3! And I think I can see what you mean--I'm not far, but it seems like things are about to Start Happening. We've got the ghosts, we've got the foul players, we've got the background. Now it's time to Do It.

I don't think I know any of the characters well enough yet to have favorites, though I am intrigued by Ophelia. And of course having more info about Hamlet makes him more appealing by default for the time being. But! I have seen you talk about Horatio quite frequently, though in all honesty I didn't read the posts in full because I hadn't read Hamlet. I'll keep my eye on him though :)

And of course, Polonius and Claudius's schemes and what each of them are doing intrigue me, even though I may not like them!