#this looks so professional its soooo cool…… nice work!!

[oh-katsuki]

your cup of espresso sits untouched and cooling on the dinner table. you have it after dinner every night, one sugar cube evenly dissolved through the mixture, giving it an almost syrupy flavor that is lovely to sip. it's bitter, but the right kind of bitter, and somehow so impossibly sweet. a perfect finish to the day.

the black screen of your phone sits unobtrusively beside your wrist. you pick it up idly, illuminating it with a quick tap of your finger. a few new notifications, instagram, snapchat, texts, twitter notifications you don't care about. nothing really all too pressing.

you tap to open up your contacts, scrolling and coming to a stop at his name. gojo satoru with a little red heart beside it.

at first, you only tap on it to look. it's not really like you had any plan to text or ring him. you just wanted to look at his contact card, maybe stare for a few minutes at the smiling, half ugly photo of him set as his contact picture. you're in the background of it, grabbing his upper arm to get his attention. it's a photo from a work meetup and nanami took it. somehow, it's come to mean a lot more to you than just a contact photo. you sigh, contemplating the phone call and then, without much fanfare, you click the button.

it rings in your ear as you put it up to the side of your head. your heart pounds in your chest, waiting for the ringing to come to a stop, maybe to hear his voice. it's been a long while since he's answered your calls though and you let out a humorless laugh as his voicemail plays.

"hey, you've reached gojo satoru. sorry i missed your call, i'm just soooo busy—" someone interrupts him, "hey can't you see im recording my voicemail message?" there's a small noise and then he's back, closer now. "—anyway, leave a message at the beep and maybe i'll call you back."

he'd set it in high school and his voice is a familiar and delightful higher pitch. you'd always told him that he needed to change it to something more mature, but he'd always blink at you and give you the same answer.

"who the hell would be calling me?" he'd say. "think i'm applying for another job or something?"

and you could never really argue with it. sure, you could've told him that it was immature, but at the end of the day he was right. it's not like he'd ever planned to change professions and professional conduct meant fuck-all when he was the strongest sorcerer of the modern age.

"hey," you start, clearing your throat, "it's me again. i don't know why i thought you'd actually answer my call this time, just sort of felt like you would. it was nice to hear your voice though, even if it was your voicemail message."

you run your finger along the grain in the wood of your table, tracing its intricate pattern with a light touch.

"i made that strawberry shortcake thing today." you're not really sure why you're telling him that. "you know, the one with the cream instead of frosting. it was good, kinda hard to make the actual cake though. the house smells good now. but yeah, i had a day off for once so i just sort of... hung around." you can feel your bottom lip growing raw with the way you chew on it between sentences. there's not really a reason that you called him. nothing particularly interesting has happened to you, let alone anything he'd care about, but you just felt like talking. still do, even if it's to his voicemail box, and you continue speaking into it about your day.

you like to think he couldn't be bothered to answer the phone. lazy, in some way, to answer your needy call. you like to think that maybe he'd seen the call, his phone ringing on the counter, from where he was in the shower. he'll listen to your voicemail and call you when he's out and dry to ask about trying the cake, maybe.

"would have been nice to see you. it's been like... two months since we've met up. i know you're probably busy though. doing whatever it is you do on the weekend, not that i really know anymore."

the kitchen light suddenly seems too bright, casting its artificial yellow glow down on the center of your table. you reach up to rub your temples. there's a dull throb beginning behind your eyes and in the bridge of your nose. it's almost like you're about to cry and as you sniffle quietly into the receiver, you can feel the swell of emotions as it rises in you.

"i really miss you, satoru," you say with a defeated sigh. "i know i probably sound like a broken record and that your phone storage must really be taking a hit, but i do. you probably get a kick out of knowing that though," the laugh that comes from you is muddled as your nose begins to run, and you reach quickly to wipe it. "wish you'd call me back. or come home, maybe. it's funny, i keep thinking that you'll come in the door any minute and the feeling never really... stops."

you clear your throat again, putting your tongue in your cheek and steeling your nerves a little.

"well, i'll let you go now," you swallow, laughing a little like the statement is silly. he's not really on the phone. it doesn't matter all that much how long the voicemail is. "stop before the voicemail lady cuts me off. but yeah, i just wanted to call. i keep hoping that you'll pick up. who knows, right?"

there's a short pause and then you inhale, straightening your back.

"i love you," you say. "always have. i'll call you tomorrow too, so... yeah. i love you, satoru. bye."

you pull your phone away from the side of your face, clicking the end call button a little too quickly before putting it face down on the table. it's comforting to call him, but it hurts too. there's always the hope that he'll answer. that by some miraculous turn of events, the ringing will stop short and he'll draw out a hello in a pleasant tenor hum. of course, he'd know exactly who's calling. satoru always did.

maybe you'll pay him a visit tomorrow, say all of this directly to him, though you haven't had the courage yet to visit that little stone plaque. it's a little too hard, for now. it's easier to think that he's ignoring your calls than incapable of answering them all together.

someday, his voicemail will fill up and you'll have to confront the truth. it will fill up, you'll be greeted by the voice mailbox full message, and there will be no one on the other end to clear it.

[spikeinthepunch]

rebrand conflict

idk how to decide what is a good or bad decision in terms of like...wanting to rebrand. i wish i could count back to how long i have used "morrysillusion" overall, i dont have a specific date. but i know after the white/brown antelope/wolf fursona, i think i dropped "moreyytilatot"? i think i tried to just go by "morey" in some form (i recall "princemorry" url). and then i dropped the 'nisovinsillusion' url maybe in early 2016? but i also had the coffini url here for a good while after. i cant remember if i used morrysillusion outside of tumblr around that time so. idk...

and heres the thing-- i dont really feel disconnected from my username, its fine and i think its p cool. but also in my head i keep wanting to change it, and part of that is wanting to claim a super old username i have no bad associations with. and i think part of that is bc of all the ways i am trying to do the things i was denied through my younger years-- so i am just reliving a lot of nice things and recalling the vibes and online trend etc i had. but also like.... attitude? personality wise? i feel like im not reflecting that w my current "brand" so to speak. at the very least if i didnt change my username, i still dont feel like the current look is something i want. i think the urge on the username change is just an additional feeling to push away from what i have been under this name.

the username i keep wanting to fall back to is 'spikeinthepunch/spikedpunch' (had the short one on xboxlive and the long one on deviantart) which was a short lived username but has no negative relations to anything, and i wished i kept it for a bit longer. and its kind of an edgy username lol. but in my recent years of growing as an adult, moving out, and being my own person, i feel soooo different than how my accounts have been presenting me. i guess ive been like soft, simple, and stiff in presentation? i think i fell into this when i was thinking id keep doing art commissions etc in a "professional" way, and especially bc i was doing my CN internship around then and wanted to still look presentable for the industry when looking for jobs. and while i certainly would love to work in the creative industry potentially, i obviously dont need to keep up that Normal-er image, i never should have, but also at that age and time i didnt feel like i could be that way at all. i was far more nervous of people interpreting me badly, negatively, etc if i was more edgy or mature. i was young and not dealing with my issues and so fixated on trauma etc.

this is also lining up w my plans to rework my website too. and i think a lot of this feeling also comes along w my "mascot" who i think is lovely! but him being a "mascot" makes him.... very detached from me as a person. i havent had any sonas to relate to in almost over a year... and my mascot was never meant to be a sona, just a Guy to represent my vibe (the colors, aliens) and social media appearance. and i guess i dont like that vibe anymore. i havent even felt all too into the shift i made to Mikike just having a vague spacesuit either, i felt i was just forcing that in order to fit the simple minecraft skin format for readability. (if people were to draw my skin, making it plantigrade and less animal would be easier)

and of course an additional observation i have had in more recent times are manic episodes that make me uproot parts of my life and change a lot of stuff about my identity etc. it may not seem like that happens online but its bc i manage to hold back on changing things abt my online branding lol- but it often results in making sideblogs for whatever new fandom/media i attached to in my episode and irl changing my entire appearance to fit and much more (and promptly drop both in about a month or so- its why i have so many abandoned sideblogs). this is obviously the bigger issue bc its what makes it Very hard for me to not do this (n yes i am in a bit of an episode rn despite my medication so...). and shocker, so many of my username/url changes and failure to ever keep one long enough to form an identity is related to that as well! its a surprise i havent done it in years but it was the expectation to stay with one identity, one look, in order to be Normal and recognized in a professional way, and i dont like that.

making this post and dumping thoughts has me thinking on a solution. as i said i dont really feel detached from my username. but what i dont relate to the most now is the way i feel i have gotten stuck in presenting myself online, and as a "brand". i want to toss out my color scheme, my mascot, my outward attitude. i want to let myself actually present in a way i like and not in a way that feels "clean". when my wcrp got shut down i had to come to the idea of acceptance and letting go of things i cannot control. and the reality of what truly doesnt matter in terms of what people may think of me. that was a huge pressure left on me for YEARS thanks to 2014-16 tumblr mindset and it is so so much harder to break esp if you want to try and be a creator and build an audience. i felt like i had become aware of this, and i have, but i didnt really click the fact that i wasnt into my current online presence bc i was still living with a piece of that era.. the fear of getting popular and being 'called out' for something for years ago, that wasnt even serious or bad, feeling like i was stepping carefully everywhere even when nothing was wrong. this doesnt entirely tie to WHY i want to do all the above. its just an observation on one of the things that hold me back too. just staying the same and staying safe. i hardly ever post, and while its something i chose to do its also a 'bonus' to not giving people much things to read off of me and assume from too.

this is getting too long and i think i have my point. idk what im gonna do but im thinking a lot abt how i should take control of my online life.

[fandom-blackhole]

Darling, it's not me who is trying to kill you! It's just that the buckets are too skkskskhsslsk 🥵

Paz and you playing hide and seek in the forest?

He'd go 100% soldier on a mission mode and find you in no time,

''Looks like I found my precious target'' ,

You being all smol and scaweed 🥺😫,

Then he goes apeshit, wrestling you so hard against the tree that it'd leave marks on your back,

If you were camping in the mountains, he'd pack the tiniest tent and sleeping bag possible to stay as close as it'd be possible,

Paz thinks when you are with him there is no personal space,

Omg, you on top of him, being pounded mercilessly as he'd trap you so hard with his hands around your back,

He'd also press his palm against THE BULGE and nut instantly after he felt your pussy gripping his dick,

Okay, let's stop because, dear god we 'bout to bust, aren't we?

One day you decided to surprise Paz at his work,

You sneaked to the kitchen by the back entrance and hugged him from behind,

He'd slowly turn to face you big smile plastered on his face,

Until he saw what you were wearing,

You put on this baby blue flowy dress,

''Sweetheart, you are looking like a snacc''

My lovely little cupcake, might as well eat you here and now''

He just lifted you with one hand like you weighted nothing and sat you on a counter,

He quickly got rid of your panties (he totally stole them from you because he loves your taste and smell) and was eating you out like a starved man,

Even tho he was cooking all the time, he'd always be hungry for you,

You trying to cover your mouth with your hands so his employees and dinners wouldn't hear you,

But he was fast ro grab your hands and just chuckle saying

''Sweetness, I am the ownere here, right? So let me hear these pretty noises of yours, let people know how good I make you feel''

DID I SAY WE NEED TO CHILL OUT? GUESS I CAN'T STOP MYSELF SORRY

Din would text you through the day and it's a mix between:

''Good morning, my sweet girl, Did you sleep well?'', ''Baby, remember to eat your breakfast'', ''Have you drink enough water today?'',

''Daddy, can't wait to get back home to you'', ''Babygirl, my dick is painfully hard right know, been thinkin' too much about your pretty, little pussy'',

Din is a SHY 😊 and sweet mean, he loves being silly with his class, but the daddy thing makes him wild,

Din you better wash out your mouth with a soap lol,

When you visited him and Grogu to catch up with them, he couldn't keep his cool,

Seeing you playing with Grogu and being so motherly towards the kid sparked something in Din,

When Grogu settled for his afternoon nap, Din would grab you and pin you against the wall, one hand resting on your chest the other tucking hair behind your ear, growling in this rich chocolate timber:

''Sweet girl, you have no idea what you do to daddy'',

But when you innocently sit in his lap in public, he gets all shy and blushy, hesitantly resting his hands on your thighs,

Umm dirty secret? He once stole your white bra and used it to relieve himself when you were away 🤭,

Don't wear low-cut clothing around him or he'd end up crashing into something or landing on his ass,

9/10 times you'd catch him trying to sneak a glance at your tiddies and being all embarrassed when caught,

Giving him a tiddy job but being also able to succ his tip too because he is so well-endowed, Din.exe has stopped working, nutted to death,

If there were more buckedheads I don't know if we could keep on writing these,

Boba lives off his authority and power,

You wanting to keep your relationship professional impressed him a lot,

You weren't another young, stupid girl chasing after his money,

There was going to be another charity event, he send you a beautiful Tiffany choker to pair up with your outfit,

He almost came in his suit pants, when he noticed you giving a speech at the event, wearing his present,

After you were done speaking, he came up to you and the group of other attendees you were talking with,

'' Miss, your speech was really touching and thoughtful '' you instantly feelt so proud, being praised for your hard work in front of all of these people, cheerfully smiling at him,

Before you had time to respond, he got closer to you, smirk crawling up on his face and whispered:

'' Also, this necklace suits you so nicely, princess''

You just got flustered and said to him:

'' Thank you, sir'' while bitting your lower lip,

Well next thing you knew, you were being kidnapped to the parking lot, Boba literally throwing you onto backsit of his car,

Thank God you decided to wear garters and stocking that night

I have nothing more left to say. - 🐣

This AU is just getting better and better, you are such a genius...

Hid and seek with Paz 3729201/10, best fucking idea

Paz just goes absolutely ape shit watching his cock buldge out your belly

Paz stealing your panties whenever he can 😭😭😭

Paz does not understand personal space when it comes to you

He HAS to be touching you in some way when you are around

Holding your hand, hand around you waist, arm around your shoulder, slipping his hand into the back pocket of your jeans

When he first sat next to you in your booth at his restaurant and your thighs touched, his heart soared when you didn't pull away from him

Paz and yours first date, was really like your 12th, but Paz took you to a strawberry farm

Held the baskets as you picked the fruit, constantly telling you that you picked the best berries

After he bought a bottle of strawberry wine, which the two of you shared over a small dinner that he made

Then the next thing you knew you both were on your couch, you on his lap, having a very heated make out session

Which lead to Paz picking you up and carrying you to your bedroom, where the two of you had a very passionate and intense wrestling session

Now, Din, my sweet himbo

He gets soooo flustered with PDA

You once kissed his cheek in front of some people, and you could almost see his brain short circuiting

Din constantly checking on you throughout the day 🥺🥺🥺

He always calls on his lunch break, just to talk with you and see how your day is going and talk about his class

One day when you came to check on Grogu at school, the rest of the kids convinced you to read to them during playtime

Din had to sit behind his desk for a while because just seeing you like that made him so hard

That night he wrestled with you until he passed out

Din once asked if he could keep his cock inside of you all night long

You woke up aching and leaking from how many times the two of had cum during the night

Din had moaned when he woke up and just spulled you under him for an early morning wrestling match

Now for Boba....

Boba always makes sure that you have some kind of present waiting for you in the mornings

Flowers, clothes, jewelry, a five star breakfast, himself

Boba totally gets you the prettiest tiara for his princess

Everything you own soon becomes namebrand, because only the best for his little

The first time Boba seen you wearing one of his gifts he had dragged you into the closest empty room, and left you marked and jelly legged

Boba totally gets you a custom gun for you to carry around for safety

Its inscribed with little one

Boba likes to always have your neck covered in hickies so that people know who you belong too

Boba took you to an art show once and every painting you showed interest in he bought for you

Don't mention liking any famous painters because he will get his hands on an original piece for you

Sorry its not much but these boys are driving me up the wall....

(SEND ME THOTS!!!!)

[lightsandlostbells]

wtFOCK season 3, episode 1 reaction

So! It’s a million years too late, but I decided to talk about wtFOCK season 3. 

I had fairly positive feelings about S1 of wtFOCK. It was the scrappy underdog of the Skam remakes, in a way, and what it lacked in polish, it made up for authenticity. I was very willing to overlook its flaws because of what I perceived as genuine attempts to connect with teenagers. I was really, really holding out hope that future seasons would improve on its flaws. And ... well. (Disclaimer: I still haven’t seen S2. Sorry! I just failed to keep up with all the remakes and S2 is my least fave so I didn’t feel that motivated to make it a priority, even though I did like Zoë a lot in S1.)

Heads up - I didn’t care for this season. A lot of people did, and I would never, ever want to ruin someone’s enjoyment of something, even if I personally didn’t like it. So please take this as a warning that I have a lot of negative things to say, and don’t read if it’s going to harsh your buzz for a pairing or a story that you deeply love. However, I didn’t want to just be grumpy and angry the whole time, so I tried to think of constructive ways to fix certain problems I had with this season. No guarantees that they’re satisfying solutions, but it was an interesting exercise.

Also, I didn’t watch this in real time, and I paid barely any attention to fandom reactions and/or drama, so it’s very possible that I am missing context, or that pacing issues didn’t register with me quite as strongly, etc. If one of the actors ate a live dolphin on Instagram, and then got into a fight with fans on Twitter about their right to eat live dolphins, and now fandom has canceled the problematic dolphin-eating actor, I legit do not know, do not come at me if I’m like “This actor is doing a good job” with “Wow, didn’t know you stanned dolphin-eaters??? YIKES.” Honestly, for the purposes of just grading this season on a storytelling level, I would prefer not to know anything about the cast or crew unless it directly has an impact on the show itself.

Clip 1 - House party

OK, I did like this flashy intro shot, immersing us in the Wild ‘n’ Crazy Teen Party of Wild ‘n’ Crazy Youths.

Amber rejecting every dude in site … When Will Gay Vilde Rise. (I know there have been some f/f storylines in the remakes, but if there’s one involving an actual Vilde, please let me know.)

Luca saying “We’re not walking around in a high school drama” - you can hear the rimshot.

I do like the transition from the party up to the bathroom, that’s a cool shot. wtFOCK’s directing so far is more ambitious than it was in S1.

Robbe is clearly a mess and they acknowledge his problems at home right off the bat.

We go back downstairs. wtFOCK’s version of Magnus knocks his drink on Amber and she gets pissed. She gives him the finger and he falls in love. Still a better love story than S3 Daphne/Basile.

It’s a small point, but I don’t get why we didn’t get this moment before jumping up to the bathroom with Robbe and the others? It would be a far smoother transition, just on a practical level and also in the sense of fully immersing us in Robbe’s POV after a quick update with the other characters.

Belgian Magnus joins the guys in the bathtub and announces he’s in love. They roast him when they find out it’s Amber and start talking about hot chicks. Moyo starts grilling Robbe about his type of girl, in a crass, sexual way.

This is honestly not a bad start to Robbe’s story at all. Robbe is clearly more reluctant to get into his interest in girls than Isak was - Isak was more fuckboyish from the start, Robbe seems like he’s about to start squirming and doesn’t really give an answer to Moyo’s questioning. Which is fine! I think it’s fine to start off the POV character at different stages of performing heterosexuality, as long as it’s taken into account in the writing of the character’s whole arc. The fact that the boy talk is so crude and sexual just ramps up Robbe’s alienation.

I swear, I will never understand how the girls in this scene just go into the bathroom and pee in front of strange boys … like maybe I am just a ~prude but that seems like a recipe for disaster and I would not trust those little fuckers to not be secretly recording me on the toilet.

Her peeing is kind of a power move, like marking her territory.

Also L M A O at Robbe starting to flirt with the girl while she is pissing … like now this comes off as a kink thing. OK, Robbe. Jokes aside, this gets across the same meaning as the scene with Isak: he starts to flirt with her because he was encouraged by the other guys.

Uh, flush the toilet, lady. And use some TP.

Now this version of Emma seriously radiates some Natalie Portman in The Professional vibes.

She orders him to stand up and then starts kissing him. I get way less of a vibe of Robbe’s mad game with women (like how Isak negged Emma into kissing him) and more like this girl is the love interest out of an indie romcom, all mysterious and spunky. She kisses him like once after taking his jay and then leaves. The boys all crack up. Moyo tells Robbe it’s his responsibility to get the weed back which lmao, no it’s not, all you assholes were there and could have intervened.

This scene is perfectly fine and even effective! Not entirely the same vibes as OG, but it still has a purpose and some obvious cause-and-effect, and there are some nice stylistic choices.

Clip 2 - Party pt. 2

Robbe is now making out with mystery girl. We already have a divergence in characterization from OG. Isak was being performative about making out with Emma and shut it down once the guys left. Robbe is making out with this girl because he wants to be straight, I guess? If it’s not to appeal to his friends, it’s likely that this is for himself. Again, I have no real problem with this change if it’s incorporated into Robbe’s overall arc and characterization. My thing is, if you’re writing this scene, do you realize the differences in characterization? Or do you think this is interchangeable from what happened with Isak? The latter is where you run into problems, because then the writing shows lack of nuance. I bring this up here because, well, you can guess how I feel about later events. 

Luca seems rather aggro about the mystery woman, which I assume is because she still has the hots for Robbe?

It makes me laugh that we got this first-person POV as Robbe leaves through the garage, because of the “Smack My Bitch Up” song being played in the last clip (the song had an infamous music video, banned from MTV in the ‘90s, that was from a first-person POV). But again, WTFock is trying harder with the cinematography and direction, good for them.

Robbe ditches the cops by jumping on the bike with Belgian Emma. OK, I get it, Belgian Emma is too cool for school. 

I have kinda mixed feelings on that, actually. I mean, I’ll be honest - I don’t see why any Emma has to be made into someone more palatable. Definitely don’t demonize her or present her in a misogynistic way! She deserves sympathy and dignity as much as any character on a Skam. But … it’s fine if she and the Isak aren’t like, amazingly compatible except for his sexuality. The Even character is supposed to be the one who really shakes up the Isak’s world! The Isak is supposed to be lost and confused and drifting and then Even comes in and is someone he can really open up to. Not just because he’s another guy who’s into guys, but because Even’s personality meshes with Isak’s so easily while still challenging him and introducing him to new things. In a way, it does kinda diminish the effect of the Even if the Isak meets ANOTHER mysterious stranger who’s an awesome person. Or at the very least, it lessens the feeling of the Isak’s detachment from everything.

And again, this could work if the writing realizes it. You can totally craft a subtly different arc from the pieces of Isak’s season. It’s just that (speaking from the future) I do not feel this is what happened.

Clip 3 - Tagging time

I don’t think it’s necessary to break up all the parts of a longer scene/set piece into a bunch of different clips. If you start a scene at 16:00, it’s OK to have the clip take place over several hours. You don’t need to chop it up unless there’s a reason why this pacing might benefit the story. Honestly, if you’re watching in real time, I think this method is often less effective at building tension/emotion/etc. But wtFOCK is not the first remake to try this tactic.

... this part where Robbe and Noor put on masks sure hits differently in 2020.

Belgian Emma’s name is Noor and she takes him to a warehouse, or something? It’s very secret and Cool Kid. And IDK, it’s fun, but again… I think making the Emma that much of a fun mysterious cool exciting person is very much diminishing the effect of Robbe’s isolation. We had a good start with establishing that alienation while he was in the tub, but now his reactions to her rad hipness feel way too sincere and act against the major character conflict of his season. He seems nervous to go with her, but not because he’s with a girl, just because it’s a risky scenario.

Noor hands Robbe a spray paint can and leads him to tag a wall. There’s  a guy taking pictures. So I’m assuming one of the guys in masks is the Even? The POV seems to shift to the photo guy briefly, like we’re seeing Robbe through his eyes. And even though I’m not a fan of POV breakage, I do think this is a cool way to introduce the Even without really introducing him, you know? If that’s him. (EDIT from the future: Ummm, so that wasn’t Sander, right? I’m rewatching and it doesn’t look like him. Soooo that part has even less relevance than I originally thought. Got it.) (EDIT from the future beyond the future: @hellswolfie tells me that this actually was Sander, so I am just bad at recognizing people, lol.)

Robbe and Noor take off their masks briefly to kiss. Uhhhh, did the scene really just … cut off there? Because L M A O what a weird choice. We don’t get to see what Robbe creates on the wall, which could be a great way to establish his character, AND we end with him on a smiley, contented note which does not boost his POV at all. It legit just makes him seem like a guy who’s into this girl, and sorry, even if that’s his public persona at this point in time … that’s not what we, the audience should be getting at all. 

Clip 4 - Boy squad morning after

Robbe skateboards to meet up with the guy squad. Again, the directing is far better IMO than in S1.

Robbe got the weed back so that conflict is over, I guess.

He gets a call from his mom and stops laughing with the guys and gets serious. He walks away to take the call. Then he starts to open up to Jens about his mom freaking out, and then Moyo spots some girls so they all ditch Robbe to go chase girls, and WOW, Jens, please turn in your Jonas card. 

Don’t love that we didn’t hear his mom on the phone. There’s no reason not to let us hear what she’s saying since it would be in Robbe’s POV AND as it turns out, they just tell us about the situation with his mom right off the bat, anyway, so it’s not like there’s much point in hiding it. 

This was effective in a sense to establish how girl-crazy his friends are, as well as setting up Robbe’s isolation, which I was worried wouldn’t come across as strongly after meeting Noor. But I think they could have NOT mingled in his mom issues to make this part more effective. Like if the goal was to show more of Robbe being alienated because he’s gay, then that’s not entirely successful, because there are non-gay reasons why Robbe wouldn’t join his pals on the girl chase. I mean, even a horny hetero Robbe might not want to chase girls with his bros because talking to his mom is a downer, so it’s not necessarily because of his sexuality. Plus he just found a girl he liked in Noor, so apparently, he’s not on the prowl. What this part IS communicating that the Belgian guy squad doesn’t have much interest in their friend’s family struggles, which ... ehhhh, maybe not great in the grand scheme of the storyline? These guys can be flawed, for sure, but we do need them to care about Robbe’s well-being. And Robbe tried to open up here, so the flaw is not in him, it’s in his friends. I’m going to let it slide because Jens was offering to help Robbe in the first clip, so it’s not like he’s been a totally insensitive friend this whole time. 

Clip 5 - Phone call from Robbe’s dad

Noor jumps on Robbe and they make out. She shows him the garage and they talk about the tagging world or w/e. Again, not sure why they are portraying Noor as like … a legit love interest. I don’t get much of a sense of discomfort from Robbe. Isak was just not into Emma and was uncomfortable when his bathroom flirting came back to haunt him. And I don’t think it’s TERRIBLE not to follow that route, but you can’t just make this huge change if you don’t account for it in future episodes and Robbe’s overall arc. (EDIT from the future: Which I don’t think they do, otherwise I wouldn’t care.) Every scene should count in furthering Robbe’s character, especially this early in the season where we’re just getting to know his particular struggles. If Robbe is trying to convince himself to like girls, then I want to see definite vulnerability in how that’s portrayed.

I blame the directing/writing more than the acting for the lack of discomfort, since I sensed Robbe’s lack of comfort just fine in the bathtub scene.

Makeouts get interrupted when Robbe’s dad calls. Again, not sure why we aren’t hearing both sides of the conversation? Because we’re in Robbe’s POV. Why wouldn’t we hear them? This seems like they just want to create some suspense or mystery over the situation with his parents. But it’s perfectly possible to do so while still letting us in on the phone calls. In fact, it’s arguably more intriguing to let us listen to some phone calls where we get some vague details but nowhere close to the whole story. It’s not like Robbe’s dad is going to explain the whole situation to his son in an exposition dump. We can get some crumbs to tease us, while still keeping us in Robbe’s POV and not feeling like the show is cutting corners.

Robbe gets mad at his dad and tells Noor he needs to be alone. Closeup on Noor as Robbe walks away. OK … why? Why on her and not Robbe when it’s his POV? Why the focus on Noor’s feelings when we really need to be establishing our protagonist’s mindset in the beginning of this season? I’m not saying her feelings don’t matter, I’m saying that well, this isn’t her story. It would be better to see Robbe’s pained reaction as he leaves.

Clip 6 - Robbe’s dad drama

Jens comes running up while Robbe is being sad. Robbe says that it may be necessary for him to stay with Jens because Robbe’s mom has been committed to a mental health institution and Robbe doesn’t want to stay with his dad. Ah, so I guess we’re hearing that right away. Which honestly makes not hearing his phone calls to his parents even funnier - like you lock us out of his POV arguably for the suspense, but then you end the suspense anyway by just telling us what happened a scene or two later? All right. I guess there’s suspense in that we don’t know exactly what’s up with the mom, mental health-wise, or the root of Robbe’s problems with his dad.

It occurs to me that maybe they just didn’t want to hire people to voice Robbe’s parents? Or put in the time to film both sides of the conversation? I have a hard time believing either of those because it’s so lazy, but. 

I mean, just turn the phone conversations into text conversations if you’re not going to let us listen to Robbe’s parents on the other end.

They go and play football without really resolving the situation. Sad music plays while Robbe joins in. Also, someone was calling Robbe, and I assume it was his dad, but it’s not shown.

These clips are VERY short and choppy so far. You could easily combine the last two, so Robbe is with Jens instead of Noor when he gets the other phone call from his dad, leading into this conversation.

We know immediately about Robbe’s mom’s situation instead of it being a mystery, like with Isak. Which, again, isn’t inherently wrong, but then I want them to DO SOMETHING with it. 

Clip 7 - Jens and Jana

Oh hey, Jana got her braces off! IDK if that happened last season or this one, but it was something I liked, seeing a teenage girl with braces on a teen drama. That rarely happens unless it’s a joke or a plot point.

OK, they really need to film Robbe’s phone so I can actually see who’s calling…

Jens tells Jana about Robbe’s parental situation. I’ll note that first she asks if something’s up with Noor, so news of the Robbe/Noor relationship must have traveled really fast since they’ve only just gotten together. Like Robbe and Noor are clearly dating, going off Jana’s comment, and not just hooking up. Then Belgian Magnus wants to know about hooking up with Amber. Meanwhile Robbe is having a conversation off screen with his dad? Guess it wasn’t important!

And that’s the problem, obviously. It’s his POV season, anything you decide to show SHOULD be important to his storyline. 

Also … it’s fine that we’re focusing on Robbe’s shit home life since that’s relevant to his story, but almost nothing in these clips has set up Robbe’s attraction to men, and only slightly his lack of interest in girls, which was negated by him seeming very interested in a girl afterwards. And knowing how long this season takes to get going with the Even character, it’s a pretty glaring omission.

So we don’t see Robbe’s phone call with his dad, but he gets snappy about it when Jens asks. One of the boys (I can’t tell who) says that Robbe’s on his period.  Gonna be real, I don’t care for this squad so far. 

What was the point of this clip? We already know Robbe is having problems with his dad, which is the most relevant part to the plot here. We shouldn’t be wandering from Robbe’s POV so much, but even taking that into account … we already know Belgian Magnus likes Amber, so that’s not necessary to establish. And we didn’t need to see Jens tell Jana something we already know. I assume he tells her so Zoë can find out and offer a room, but there’s no reason to see Jens tell Jana this, so. Filler clip. 

Clip 8 - Zoë and Robbe at the lockers

Yeah, Zoë offers Robbe a place to stay here, but again, we didn’t need to see the news travel down the Jens-Jana pipeline. It could have been condensed more efficiently.

Robbe doesn’t want to because he says his dad wouldn’t approve. Zoë says she hopes things get better with his mom and Robbe at first snaps and tells her to leave it, then says thanks. This is an actual good interaction, writing-wise, kudos.

I liked Zoë a lot in S1 and I like her here again. I really should watch her season despite my Noorhelm allergy. The scene of them kinda smiling at each other across the hallways reminds me that this is probably the strongest relationship in the whole season, tbh.

Why was this clip so short? So many of these clips could have been combined into one. I mean, Zoë could have said, “I heard from Jana who heard from Jens...” without us needing the previous clip. Although, did Robbe really want anyone else to know about his home life? Lol @ Jens just blabbing Robbe’s private business.

So I guess they didn’t set up the Eskild situation in S2 that would lead to Eskild offering Robbe a place to stay? 

Clip 9 - Robbe gets roommates

Robbe is in Zoë’s room. He sees her “everyone you know is fighting a battle” quote next to the mirror, which is a detail I actually quite like in context with the rest of this storyline and Even’s condition. It’s a good Skam thesis overall.

I guess Zoë met with Robbe’s dad. Zoë calls him a tough cookie. Robbe doesn’t want to speak to him. They bond a little over their parental problems. Again, a nice detail.

Belgian Eskild appears and teases Robbe a little before announcing that Robbe’s dad has agreed to let him stay in the flat. Yay!

Oh, so Senne is staying there, too? At least they didn’t do a pointless Noorhelm breakup in this version.

Milan (the Eskild) tries to go in for a hug and Robbe isn’t cool with it, so at least that’s something with Robbe’s issues with men. (I think? The thing is, Robbe also does not really know Milan, so it’s not as weird that he’s not ready to be affectionate with a near-stranger.)  (EDIT from the future: Keeping the S2 almost-kiss that’s referenced in the next clip in mind, I can rationalize this moment as a continuation of that awkwardness from Robbe’s POV.) 

They chat with Lisa (Linn) who wants to direct Robbe on what he is and isn’t allowed to touch in her room, heh.  Milan and Zoë have cute interaction, and Robbe looks happy. I do like the flatmate vibe so far, they seem fun.

Clip 10 - Robbe and Milan

Senne and Zoë get cute. I haven’t seen S2 so I can’t give my opinion on their version of Noorhelm, but I did think a few things about them were less creepy in wtFOCK’s S1 than in OG. Milan talks about how they’re a Disneylike couple and Robbe laughs.

Then Robbe apologizes for something that evidently happened in S2, where Milan tried to kiss Robbe at a party? Again, I didn’t see the scene. Milan says he’d never try to do that. He offers Robbe a hug, which he accepts - tbh I don’t know if Robbe SHOULD accept based on where he is in his character arc, maybe he should have more skittishness? But it’s a nice character moment, at least. They really have to make up for lost time with the Robbe-Milan relationship, so I can get that they need to establish some closeness fast.

Not being in the wtFOCK fandom, I kinda wonder if there was backlash to that scene from before and this is damage control, LMAO.

I feel like you could’ve tweaked this to be more representative of Robbe’s issues, like have him stress here that he’s not gay, because it’s a sweet scene but again, I don’t feel like this episode built up Robbe’s internal dilemma very well. You could make this not just about smoothing over whatever bump there was in this relationship, but also about setting up some internal tension with Robbe’s sexuality issues. Multi-tasking - it’s great!

EDIT from the future: OK, I tracked down the S2 scene, and yeah, while it illustrates some of Robbe’s internalized homophobia, I really think you needed to carry this through to this clip. Because that was a very public situation, and they made a point of emphasizing onlookers’ reactions. I feel like you need to show that Robbe’s internalized homophobia isn’t just about external reactions, but internal struggles, because ... so far, that’s what it is? Like what is he doing with Noor otherwise? 

Clip 11 - Housewarming party

Party is underway. Yasmina is there and is friendly with Robbe. It sounds like they’re working on a school project together. Aaron (Magnus) and Moyo are talking about hot chicks again.

Noor arrives and the boys tease Robbe about how far he’s gone, Robbe looks pretty chill and happy until Moyo says Robbe’s getting laid tonight and you can see the nerves and reluctance take over. Okay! A character detail that actually works for his arc! Yes!

Partying, makeouts with Noor … sorry but they are wasting a lot of time with this relationship. ROBBE ISN’T INTO HER. Here’s the thing: I don’t want to demonize any of Evak’s female “love interests,” right? It’s pointless anyway because Evak is the endgame pairing, Sonja and Emma aren’t “threats” in the end, but also because they’re not bad people just for wanting to date these two guys who happens to want each other instead. And I think you can do interesting things with Sonja and Emma as characters. I’ve read Sonja fanfic that’s really good!

But when it comes down to it … this is not the story of Robbe/Noor, and there’s a point where it feels like there’s too much development for something that is really intended to be a speed bump in Robbe’s journey. 

I guess it’s a pet peeve of mine when gay stories devote a ton of time to het relationships, to the point where it begins to overshadow the main gay relationship. Love, Victor did this to an absolutely ridiculous degree. (I actually made notes for Love, Victor reactions, but hesitated to post them because 60% consisted of me typing I DON’T CARE ABOUT THESE STRAIGHT ROMANCES.) And I GET it, this is an experience many gay kids go through in their coming out journey, but also, less charitably… you don’t need het romance to dominate everything. You don’t need to make this about how a gay person being gay hurts a straight person. I genuinely appreciate that once Isak kisses Even, it’s fucking over with him and Emma, that plot thread is done. 

Anyway, Noor tells Robbe he’s so fucking hot and Robbe looks more uncomfortable, moreso when she wants to see his room and he goes off like he’s headed to Mordor.

Aaron checking out Amber … okay, again with all the het. I don’t care!!! This is not important right now!! 

Noor pushes Robbe onto the bed, ugh please don’t have them Go There.

She takes off her top and Robbe touches her boob like he’s sticking his hand into a porta-potty. We see his discomfort so at least this part is effective and relevant to Robbe’s arc. Noor is taking off her bra when the boys come into the room, wanting the weed. Okay, you dumb fucks, you’re teasing your bro about getting laid and yet you think it’s cool to enter his room when he’s with a girl? I mean, that’s a lucky break for Robbe, but his friends are extra stupid.

The mood is killed, Robbe goes hunting for weed. Episode ends.

HOW I WOULD REWRITE THIS EPISODE:

Lmao, some of my changes sounded a lot like “be like OG Skam S3.” Because Skam S3 was well-written and made sense. But I tried to think of edits that worked with what wtFOCK was presenting, not just repeating OG.

(I’m also repeating a few things in this section that I said above, btw)

While this episode doesn’t make me angry or anything, it’s got a serious problem with dithering. The first clip is a solid start to the season, but afterwards, so many of these clips feel like filler. There’s a lack of substance to them. It was hard to write about them because they ended up feeling like two minutes of nothing. 

Did we need to see repetitive mentions of Robbe’s troubled relationship with his dad? No, it’s an important plot detail but we could have established that more concisely in fewer clips. Did we need to see the process of how Robbe comes to stay with Zoë, Senne, and Milan? No, not really. Or at least not dragged out over at least three clips. 

I don’t feel like I’m in Robbe’s head to the extent that I should be  so far. Some of this is because the show just flat-out locks us out of his POV, like not showing the phone call in the Jens-Jana clip. But a lot of it is also because of the narrative dawdling. There’s just not as much to analyze unless I bring in Skam season 3 and project what we know about Isak onto Robbe. And that’s not a good way to adapt a story.

The framing of Robbe/Noor needs to change. Combine the bathroom intro with the aborted sex scene - the boys are sitting in the tub, teasing Robbe about getting laid, so he makes out with Noor and they go into a bedroom where he’s clearly not into this, and then Moyo and Aaron come in asking for weed because Robbe still actually has the weed from the bathtub at this point. Or do what Skam France did (can’t believe I’m referring to Skam France) and have the arrival of the cops interrupt the makeout/sex session and Robbe takes his cue to exit.

But frankly, it’s not great to have Robbe acting or looking too cozy with Noor, like this is a legitimate romantic arc except when it gets to the sex. The point is that this isn’t a romance. Even if you want to show some cuddly, non-sexual scenes with Noor, you have to show more of Robbe’s reluctance and fear throughout. 

Show Robbe’s fucking phone conversations with his parents!!!! Good Lord. He’s not ordering a pizza. These are important aspects of his story. Capitalize on that family tension, show us what a bad place Robbe is in at the start of this season. 

Now, about the lack of Even in this episode. Not introducing Even is a bold move, but not necessarily a smart one. Even’s introduction in Skam is not just the intro of “the love interest” - he’s the catalyst for almost everything in Isak’s story. Consider that in episode 1, Isak is seen mostly unhappy and bored - he’s distraught after kissing Emma, he’s checked out of his friends’ lunchtime girl talk, he zones out staring at his teacher’s boobs, he doesn’t want to be at kosegruppa. Isak is actually very passive and just going through the motions, doing what people tell him to do. But once Isak meets Even at kosegruppa - well, that’s when Isak wakes up. In the next few clips, we see Isak taking action. And sure, they’re small actions, searching for Even online, watching the Even video over and over, asking Vilde if there will be more kosegruppa meetings. But we can see that Isak now cares about something, he’s paying attention. Of course, Robbe’s story doesn’t have to follow the same arc. However, it does the season a huge benefit to get him intrigued by something at this point, so we the audience are not just sleepwalking along with him for a few episodes.

There’s also just the simple fact that we have only 10 episodes to establish a love story and make us care about the Even character, and it’s a very risky move to waste too much time. If you are really killing it with the rest of Robbe’s arc, this could still work, but ... well, that’s not what’s happening here.

If they didn’t want to full on introduce the Even directly, one thing they could do is subtly and indirectly find ways to include him in the narrative and create some mystery. Let’s say Robbe sees the Even’s artwork somewhere and is like whoa, that’s cool, and we can tell that it resonates with him. Or he admires Even’s graffiti, or it makes him laugh, whatever. Basically Robbe has some kind of emotional reaction to a thing the Even has created or done, which helps to set up that relationship even before we officially meet the Even.

If we want to add a little more, perhaps Robbe sees a mysterious dude in a mask tagging a wall, but they get interrupted by the cops or something and have some kind of brief but intriguing interaction with each other, and Robbe’s like, who was that guy in the mask? Or Noor takes Robbe to the tagging place, the police/security bust them, Robbe and Noor get separated, and Robbe gets helped out by the Even so he can escape. So it’s an important moment, lots of adrenaline, we can frame it like there’s a sudden ~charge~ between them (ooOOOooo the Even helped Robbe stand up and their hands touched like this was a fanfic, etc.), but he doesn’t learn Even’s name, maybe he doesn’t even see his face because Even has a mask on, so Robbe spends part of the next few episodes trying to figure out who that guy is, casually asking Noor if she knows a guy like that, keeping his eyes open. Maybe we have some fakeouts where Robbe thinks he sees the Even again but it’s just a false alarm. He’s on edge, eager to know more about that mystery guy, and so are we. Bam, we have “awakened” Robbe from his deep sleep. 

If you’ve seen Netflix’s The Get Down, there’s even a scene like this where Jaden Smith’s character gets caught tagging by the cops, he runs and flees with another young dude, and they have a moment where they recognize each other as graffiti artists they admire. While watching that scene for the first time, without any context or spoilers, without even knowing if there would be LGBT content in that show, I immediately thought, “This guy is his love interest.” Not even because it was overtly romantic. Because the way it was written and shot told us that this meeting was important. Because they had an instant connection. Something similar could have worked for Robbe and his Even. But in any case: it would have been best to establish something between those characters, even if it wasn’t an “official” introduction.

Stop focusing on Aaron/Amber when it’s not in Robbe’s POV. Reverse the scene at the beginning with Aaron videotaping and Amber getting spilled on. She gets pissed, he falls in love, and then we follow him upstairs and we meet the boy squad. That is a very obvious, very clean transition that doesn’t interrupt Robbe’s POV as it technically hasn’t started yet. So IDK why they didn’t do that, lmao.

Some changes with the Milan relationship:

Tweak the apology scene to be more representative of Robbe’s issues. Have Robbe apologize while still stressing that he’s not gay. Have Milan be chill and not question that statement, but maybe Robbe is so defensive that it comes across as unconvincing. 

Then have Milan be the one instead of the boys to interrupt the Noor almost-sex scene. Milan wanders in acting drunk, haha Milan, he’s wacky. Robbe doesn’t realize it (though the viewers do if they’re paying attention) but Milan is only pretending and is “subtly” rescuing Robbe because he realizes, based on the earlier scene, that Robbe might be struggling with his sexuality and he wants to give him an escape option. (Although I still think it’s best to combine the not-sex scene into the opening clip, but this could work, too.)

Basic questions we need to be asking, clip to clip: what is the conflict? Where is Robbe’s head right now? Why is this scene necessary? How did this scene come to be - what’s the cause and effect here? How does it advance Robbe’s story? Is it redundant? How do we tell this story in a narratively economical manner? 

[captain-jinguji]

Hi! I really love your writing! Hope you're alright! Can I get a headcannon of all three? (Or which ones you want!) Groups that have a crush on a fan? Like they see them at a handshake event or an album signing fanmeet and they fall in love? What would they do?

👀 I can try lol let's get to it. Glad you enjoy the content love 💖 I kind of left all of these off on a cliffhanger 😂

STARISH + QUARTET NIGHT + HEAVENS falling in love with a fan

STARISH

Natsuki:

It was probably at a meet and greet when he saw you in your piyo-chan themed outfit and smiling brightly in front of him. Out of all his friends, him and otoya probably have the easiest time hitting it off with fans and seeing you being super into the same things that he is makes his heart tingle a bit. Most people think hes childish but you seem super supportive! Exchanges numbers with you and it soon blossoms into a nice friendships, but he can feel himself wanting more than that.

Tokiya:

He tries to stay professional every time he meets fans out and about but you were looking great that day and honestly didnt even mention that you were a fan. You were super nice and polite when he met you in the coffee shop that morning and the casual small talk turned into an actual conversation. From that day on, he always came into the coffee shop in the mornings to talk with you and at some point you guys just had each others numbers lol you did confess to him that you are a fan, but you're not crazy like some others, which is mainly why he ended up falling; you weren't super insane.

Cecil:

He just saw you in the crowd and your eyes met. It's super cliché but he swears it was love at first sight. And then he saw you backstage because you were VIP and he just KNEW he had to meet you. He was super loving and so were you and honestly you guys just hit it off. Cecil always brags that he can sense these things and he sensed that you guys were meant to be on some level, he just didn't realize it would be head over heels romantic.

Ren:

He probably met you on set because you were an intern or something and Ren being Ren, he's always super nice and flirty and you tried so hard to just brush him off but it just makes you want him more and ugh at some point you did give in and flirted back and that just set him on fire and now he just HAD to go out with you so he took you for dinner one night after production and you confessed that you were a fan and duh he gave you an autograph and asked you to please be chill about it. And then you teasingly asked him what he's gonna do if you don't and all of a sudden his lips were on yours and now hes confused on how the hell he fell for a fan.

Otoya:

He was giving guitar lessons to a group of fans once that won like a contest but you really stood out because you were such a natural and he swears youve done this before but you swear you've never even touched a guitar? Smh he had to see how far you can go so he just kept you around after the lesson and you guys soon become super good friends. Numbers were exchanged and you guys were texting day and night. It was all the silly love things; smiling at your phone, talking all day, shy little flirting... He was definitely not prepared for this.

Syo:

He was at a photo booth with fans and you and I just had the matching fedoras? Like how? What were the odds? Asked you about it and you guys actually bought it at the same store on the same day???!!! Hes freaking out but its also so cool and then you tell him you have like a whole collection and he gets super excited because he LITERALLY has a separate closet for JUST his fedoras okay? Gives you his number so you can show off all your fedoras and he finds out you guys have even more matching ones and suddenly shawty doesnt feel so weird anymore and like hes odd but he also feels... This strange attraction.

Masato:

Masato has a favorite tea shop he goes to at least once a week to buy new teas and just sit down and relax. It was really funny because you literally ran into each other and the tea just kind of fell everywhere. It was super awkward and both of you were blushing but then he noticed you guys organized the teas back in the exact same way and he just asks if it's weird that he does it alphabetically and in color and then you just added that you low-key hate the way the store does it becomes its NOT alphabetically and by color. He invited you to join him for tea and he swears hes never felt so relaxed before; hes never laughed that much before. When he found out you're a fan, he just kind of stiffened and hoped you weren't crazy, but deep down he knew that you werent and he just kept coming back to the tea shop more often now...

QUARTET NIGHT

Reiji:

You actually saved him from other fans by dragging him into a photo booth. Cue cute photos but also a group of fans running the other way! You guys laughed the incident off but you did confess that you were a fan also..he joked that you only dragged him away so you could kidnap him but he saw you freak out and promise that is wasnt like that he felt soooo bad. Told you that he was joking and things are okay and invited you to spend the rest of the day with him and you guys just kind of became really close. He honestly feels like a teenager in love right now...

Ranmaru:

Rock concert gang! You just asked him to move aside because he was blocking your view and he was about to tell you off but you actually looked so HOT okay? He can't do that. And then you noticed who HE was and you guys just kind of stared. You apologized first and wanted to move aside, but instead he dragged you back and put you in front of him. Honestly being so close to him was giving you a heart attack but you didnt show that. Afterwards, he walked you home because you guys just started talking about rock and you honestly became even more attractive to him and now he cant get you off of his mind...

Camus:

It was at a meet and greet and you ran into him and normal camus wouldve thrown you across the room but fan camus couldnt do that. So he just kind of bit his lip and told you it was okay but you insisted on making it better and bought him sweets afterwards and who is he to deny his fans wishes, right? Actually finds out you bake and of course he has to judge your baking now and demands asks you to get him some. Long story short, the baking just convinced him more ....

Ai:

He wont admit that he goes to games con but he goes to games con. He saw you in a fully functioning robot costume and he asks you all about it. How you got the idea, how you got the electronics to work, etc... Was so amazed by your intelligence but also gave you some ticks and tricks on how to better it. Honestly he asked if you wanted help on sparkling it up a bit and so you invited him over to your house. You mentioned that you were a fan and he just kind of hummed his songs with you, but now his chest is feeling warm?

HEAVENS

Eiichi:

You were one of the new interns at raging and he's had his eyes set on you for a while. Of course, he knew you were a fan so he actually gave you a private show once and was happy you enjoyed it lol but then you got to talking and his flirty demeanor changed into more of a serious one. He was actually interested in what you were saying and who you were as a person and he knew that this was the start of something...

Kira:

It was funny because he actually knew you through his family and he was kind of surprised that you were also a fan. Spoke to you and though he himself doesnt speak a lot, he did comment and eventually joined the conversation. Brought up memories you guys shared and suddenly he realized how much he actually missed those young childhood days...

Nagi:

First things first he already hates you. Just because he was nice at the meet and greet, doesnt mean he likes you. When you ran into him afterwards he actually low-key snapped at you until he realized you were a fan from earlier and he got scared he wrecked HEAVENS reputation. So he took you out for ice cream to make up for it and now hes actually laughing at your jokes and he hates himself for it...

Eiji:

You won a contest that allowed you to spend the day with him! He had everything planned out and took you out to eat and shopping, but then you dragged him off the plan and now youre watching the sunset together? Its so cliché romantic and he cant deny the feeling of needing to wrap you up in his arms, but he can't do that, can he ....?

Yamato:

You guys competed together and when he saw you in the crowd, he got super excited and it gave him even more energy. Literally hunts you down after the show and grins the biggest grin. Says he didn't know you were a fan and you just kinda said that "of course you have to support your rivals". This just made him laugh and challenge you and long story short you guys were making out from all the build up tension that you managed to make over the years and now he has eiichi scolding him...

Van:

He saw you. He liked you. He had to get you. Knew you were a fan because you were at all the concerts and always had VIP passes so to acknowledge that he took you out for a drink *wink wink* you guys somehow got into the deeper conversations of life and he really liked the way you think? So he gave you his number "just in case something happened" and walked you home, but now hes the one with butterflies and a racing heart...

Shion:

Usually his bandmates were the ones with crazy fans and the ones who get the most attention but then you wanted to meet HIM not eiichi, or van, or even nagi. So he immediately wanted to prove himself but he just loved the way you smiled and laughed at his jokes and his eyes shone so brightly at you and wow are you even real? Gets your number and much like Otoya, it's an all day every day thing now...

[kathillards]

misc morphicon stories

ok so i feel like i’ve talked FOREVER about all the wild shit that happened to us at morphicon (running into rangers at the car valet!! meeting chip lynn!! azim calling us his favorite ladies at the con!!) but i wanted to make a write up for all the stuff i haven’t talked about yet because i have to remember all this and i want you all to experience it too!! it was so fun oh my god if you haven’t been to morphicon... start making plans for 2020 guys it is legit INSANE best weekend of my entire LIFE

- ann marie crouch is AN ACTUAL PRINCESS SENT FROM HEAVEN we ran into her on our way back to the hotel one of the days and we were like omg it’s princess shayla we love you!! and she was so sweet and stopped and talked to us even though she was on her way out for a nap and she was in full shayla gear she looked so pretty! and we saw her on the way back too she had changed into casual clothes but still rocking it WE LOVE ONE MENTOR ONLY

- jessica rey is so funny and adorable omg we stopped by her booth to buy wild force pins (kat and abbey) bc the wf rangers come PREPARED w/ merch and nobody was there so we all just started talking to her and told her how we loved wild force and alyssa and abbey said she loved the ep where alyssa beat up the boys and she’s so cute and fun to talk to!! she told us about the shades of pink panel and i was like “is alyssa a pink or a white ranger” and she was like “lol i dont even know” also she had her handler take a staged candid of us talking to her because she loved us lmao. and then we were talking about white rangers and all of us were like “fuck tommy lives we stan alyssa only” and she laughed and immediately started telling us about what a dick jdf had been to fans the day before lmao (also for real...he’s a dick) and i was like YOU ARE THE SUPERIOR WHITE TIGER RANGER god shes so cool she loved us and didnt wanna stop talking but we had to move away cuz ppl were lining up for her behind us rip

- RICHARD AND ANGIE oh my god ok so i’d stopped and talked to angie on the first day and also the second day and i told her i’d come back later bc i wanted a photo w/ BOTH OF THEM and i did tell her how much i loved madison and vida like we are ROCCA SISTER STANS FIRST PEOPLE SECOND and shes so cute and she remembered us every time!! and then on the third day i finally got to talk to richard and he’s so sweet we talked about mystic force just at his booth for like ten minutes waiting for angie for the photo op, he asked us our fave episodes and i said dark wish and he actually remembered it so i think he might be the only actor at the con who watched his season. and we told him we loved the mystic force theme song AND HE STARTED SINGING IT. and someone had left him a green zeo figurine for...some reason and he told us “i dont even fucking know who that is” (but nicer lol he is very charming and polite) and we told him it was adam/johnny and he was like ohhhh lmao i love disney era actors not knowing SHIT about saban era. like he literally worked with johnny. i love him. AND THEN HE ASKED US ALL TO BE IN THE PHOTO and since kat paid for half of it we were like aight its a group thing and its the cutest photo i love disney era actors only

- i think i talked about meeting dwayne cameron already but god hes so sweet and i felt bad for him bc caitlin next to him had ppl she was talking to but he was all alone so me and abbey just went up and started talking to him and i told him i loved overdrive and i told him i recognized him as ethan’s bully and we talked about tyzonn and vella and just overdrive in general and hes so SWEET and he HUGGED ME SO TIGHT GOD i think he really enjoyed us like. actually loving overdrive and being able to talk about it. AND HE RAN INTO ABBEY IN CARS LAND AT DISNEY ON MONDAY AND GAVE HER ANOTHER HUG hes so cute (angie was also there with him I LOVE DISNEY ERA SOLIDARITY)

- met monica may and cerina vincent on saturday, not a lot to say bc i only talked to them a bit and took my photos but they are both so beautiful and elegant and classy and i told cerina i loved her in stuck in the middle :’) ranger ladies are so intimidatingly pretty god. also picked up this huge LEGIT spd poster and im gonna put it up in my room as soon as i can because oh my god its professional quality it looks so cool. we also talked to greg aronowitz bc kat wanted her poster signed and hes so cool we told him how much we appreciated everything he did for spd AND THAT WE WERE ON HIS SIDE ABOUT FEMALE RED FUCK DISNEY.

- god what else uhh we wandered around the toys section a lot on saturday/sunday bc we’d kinda. seen everyone. and there were a lot of panels on sunday so nobody was at the booths. i picked up those amazing rider/sentai prints from ceevee SUPER TALENTED SO WORTH IT. also got me a meteor storm figuart B) which i havent taken out of the box yet but i will

- HECTOR AT THE CAR VALET he literally announced he would be at morphicon the day before and then we saw him while waiting for our car and SCREAMED and he was so chill and cool and he came over and hugged us all hes so hot. AND THEN LATER WE RAN INTO SELWYN WARD AT THE CAR VALET and he also laughed when we squealed and came over and hugged us all and guys he smelled soooo nice i was like right up against him i could have died hes so handsome and perfect.

- we also ran into steve cardenas at the car valet like right when we were all leaving the hotel for the last time and we told him that we loved him and i said i was so excited that it was rocky coming back for the anniversary instead of fucking jason and abbey was like “justice for forever red!” and he was like hah i know right anyway every single actor in this franchise hates jdf lmao that was just the vibe of morphicon and it was valid

- fun fact we did not see jdf ONCE. not going to the con, not at the hotel, not ANYWHERE. just his crazy lines. he was like the douchebag cryptid. im glad tho he can stay that way.

- i talked about meeting andre on saturday night right??? hes so SWEET I LOVE HIM he was so happy when ben gave him his fanart of eddie and took a selfie w/ ben right then and there and also took a pic w/ me and abbey ugh i love him i told him he was so valid for being a power rangers youtuber and liking megaforce AND THAT HE’S THE BEST INTERVIEWER THEY’VE EVER HAD (i also told azim this, i’m very passionate about this subject, every other ranger interviewer sucks ASS)

- jason faunt at the elevators!! hes so sweet i told him how excited i was for the anniversary and he said yeah theres a lot more plot going on and told me to take a selfie bc they couldnt stop him here fhjggd i love that pic i love him AND THEN ALSO later we ran into NAKIA IN AN ELEVATOR AND SHES SO SWEET I SAID “WE LOVE YOU WE WATCHED ALL OF ZEO FOR YOU” and she was like aww thank you so much!! a literal goddess AND THEN LATER AS WE WERE CHECKING OUT karan walked by us to go to nakia and i was so excited i waved and said hi to her and she said “hi baby how are you” SHES SO WONDERFUL I LOVE MY MOTHERS

- i think i told the chris reid story already but like. hes so charming and was so nice even tho i interrupted his express checkout but like. i Had to tell him how valid ninja steel was i was literally like fuck the dudebros they’re so annoying you guys fighting w/ that one guy on twitter over the kcas was the FUNNIEST thing to EVER happen to this fandom and he laughed.

- we also went up to kelson’s booth later and told him how much we loved mick and all his roles!! and talked to him forever about all of them, told him we were kalish/disney era supremacists, told him HOW GOOD HE IS AT VOICE ACTING WE LOVE FLIT AND NORG IN THIS HOUSE he looked so happy :’) i feel like everyone just compliments him on boom which, no offense, but appreciate your voice actors guys. i told him we grew up on disney era and it was like new zealand only had twelve actors and he was five of them and he laughed and was like yeah. i also told him how we loved mick and brody’s father/son relationship and he was like yeah they ended up liking that a lot too which is why they sort of pushed brody’s real dad to the side so mick could shine more and i was like that’s LEGIT. i also told him the prism was brody’s mother and he agreed so that’s canon now. AND I TOLD HIM how fucking dark ninja steel went w/ his storyline literally being about slavery and human trafficking and he was like I KNOW RIGHT and we just talked about how dumb everyone is for being mean to ninja steel and chris showed up at this point too and we all laughed about it together

- ok and then tbh we just spent all of sunday loitering around the megaforce cast but it was worth it because they LOVE US oh my god we talked to them like all sunday about just. everything. azim’s gf jordan was there and she kept telling us to just stick around we talked to her a lot, we asked her about alex heartman and like where tf was he and she said he was working :( BUT AZIM AND ALEX ARE STILL CLOSE so victory. azim also told us a bunch of little stories like how he and the megaforce cast searched for a house to stay in together and ended up finding one at the base of a volcano and he and drew would race around the volcano in the mornings like the crazy people they are, we told him how much we loved andrew’s ACTING SKILLS and “do you see any tears” and he cracked up and said “they used to call me ‘freaky tiki man’ all the time because of that one line” and he told us about other fan encounters and things, we told him on saturday how we all met and became friends because we were the only ppl who loved and defended megaforce and he was SO TOUCHED HES SO SWEET GOD i would die for him. 

- cameron gave us (me and kat) all his money to buy him lunch from the food trucks and i guess just trusted that we loved megaforce so much we wouldn’t just run away with all his money????? and he was absolutely correct we got him teriyaki chicken with garlic noodles and he loved us. his handler also asked us to buy him food and gave us his CREDIT CARD dfhdgfjgdf like power rangers people are wild man. who just gives their credit card to random 20yo girls and just. trusts that they love this children’s show so much they won’t steal it??? i mean they were right and we didn’t but still. AND HE MADE ME AIRDROP one of my megaforce reaction pics to his phone because he loved it so much (it’s the one of jake and emma and orion looking super done, that i had ben redraw for me, so we showed them both pics and all three of them LOVED IT) and cameron even looked ben up on deviantart to see it fdgjkdfdg he loves usss. christina was telling us how they were talking about us at dinner and cameron told her that we were his favorite part of the con :’)) azim also mentioned that they talked about us at dinner because he said to kat “we were discussing that you look like that girl from 10 things i hate about you who was julia stiles’ best friend” LIKE IMAGINE. HAVING THE MEGAFORCE CAST. DISCUSS WHO YOU LOOK LIKE FDJGKDHFJGD they’re so cute ugh and azim and cameron hugged us all goodbye and john mark and christina said goodbye too and i just. love them. so much. 

- at one point cameron asked me and kat how old we were and she was like “twenties...as a group we are in our early twenties” and he was like “.... so old enough to know how a hangover feels right?” and we lost it dfgjfdkdgjh and i said “if i were an actor i would just be stoned the whole con” AND CAMERON JUST NODDED AGGRESSIVELY god the entire cast was definitely hungover and they’re so valid. except christina, we asked her and she said she only had a milkshake so maybe she was their designated driver. 

- andrew is so chill too (i mean i do think he is perpetually high but its fine) i think he just loves talking??? like he’s there for the babies (so many babies!! and they love troy so much!!! hes so adorable with them) and then he just wants to chill like we went up to him on sunday and he was like oh hey did you guys see this picture and he pulled out his phone and showed a pic of the megaforce cast doing a goofy zombie pose at their photo ops and he told us his backstory on each of their zombie poses like. who does this??? he’s so adorable.

- and ofc we stopped by christina again on sunday bc she’s THE FAVE and shes just so cuuute ugh and i told her i loved all asian rangers bc i am asian!! and she was like omg are you?? and i was like yeah i’m south asian and she was like omg so that’s all part of asia too OH I GET IT SO WE’RE BOTH ASIAN and i was like YES AND YOU’RE ALL MY RANGERS and she smiled at me it was like staring at the sun tbh. i love and would die for her.

- when we went to say goodbye to the megaforce cast cameron just looked at all of us standing around his booth and was like, so genuinely, “you guys are the best” and it still makes me cry thinking about it. AND AZIM’S FACE when we all said “megaforce’s defenders never surrender!” to him he had the sweetest smile god i really would take a bullet for the entire megaforce cast in a heartbeat. they are the sweetest angels & deserve the world. if any of you breathe a word wrong about jake holling in my general vicinity ever again i will fry your intestines and eat them for breakfast thank you GOODBYE.

[comicteaparty]

April 11th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on April 11th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Kitty Kitty Bang Bang by Moe.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Kitty Kitty Bang Bang by Moe~! (https://tapas.io/series/kkbbcomic)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Superjustinbros

Hello!

RebelVampire

hey super~!

Superjustinbros

Coming in and I'd like to give a big shoutout to that header image on the comic's Tapas(edited)

I dunno, I thought it looked badass

RebelVampire

it is a nice header image. although what sells it for me is the logo design. its a really nice logo.

for favorite scene, hmm. ya know, i cant not pick it. the convention scene. that scene legit almost made me cry at how touching it is both with its message about how anyone can cosplay whatever they want regardless of how they look. not to mention the themes of reaching out to others. all wrapped in a nice package of no dialogue so that its the emotions at the center forefront.

Superjustinbros

Yeah.

Also this guy's hair.

RebelVampire

i like his hair and his smile combination. like both scream cocky little shit design wise and i love it cause he kind of is a cocky little shit. XD

Superjustinbros

Oh yes XD

Cocky little shits are my favorite

RebelVampire

another scene i want to show some appreciation too is the scene where we first meet kit's mom. like, i knew it was coming from the chapter title. but i enjoyed the twist it was her step-mom and theres a deeper issue going on. it turned what was easy to guess to something surprising again just by how the story plays out the reveal

Superjustinbros

https://tapas.io/episode/1370747 This is a pretty good page.

Hm, Doug McClure sounds a awful lot like this chap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUg6e072vgA

RebelVampire

anything in particular you like about it super?

Superjustinbros

The last two panels.

And the followup

https://tapas.io/episode/1371714

dat backside

RebelVampire

i really love the back shot composition. like what a great way to show overwhelming odds

mathtans

Evening. Made it as far as the start of the Bully arc, so late 2018.

Superjustinbros

Yeah. Also ello

I love also how Doug's got like, a million pouches on his belt

I dunno it's a detial I like

mathtans

Yeah, the convention stuff was good. Some of those real-life scenarios that made you want to shake people are good when done right.

Superjustinbros

Yes

mathtans

I'm not sure if I have a big favourite moment, but I have some little ones. Like when that "pinball wizard" thing played as Kit was taking on that nozzle in the gaming store, and it turned out it was the coworker.

The guy at the school in the knight suit, who had the fascination with corndogs. Weird background detail, added some humour to an otherwise tense scene.

RebelVampire

i love the corndog knight

i want a spin-off comic of just them

cause i want to know about them

why are they a knight

why corndogs

so many questions

mathtans

Heh. Made me think of that other bounty hunter, pointy-ears, who also couldn't speak.

Also, did not expect the female reveal there.

And I liked how the scientist flipped out over his research having the higher bounty than himself. Like, that trumped everything else he was in the process of dealing with and he went on a rampage. Amusing.

RebelVampire

yeah the scientists in general was fairly hilarious in everything he tried to prioritize. although i enjoyed that at the end of the mission the crystal wound of broken anyway. cause i felt it was fitting given everything it had been through

mathtans

I thought it was really clever how the rock was used to blind the scientist. Kitty is this weird mix of hyper competent (like when she used the snack habits of that one guy to track him down) and absent-minded (like when she then didn't make a grab for the compound).

I'm not saying that's unrealistic or anything, I can totally see it.

Very "living in the moment" with a dash of forward thinking.

RebelVampire

nah i agree shes a really interesting character. like at first i wasnt sure id like her but some of her plans have been pretty spot. and to be fair a lot of the absent-minded ness you could write off as it her being a kid. so of course shes expected to be a kid and not always think through with her actions.

a more comedic moment i liked was at the end of Mor where Kit and Mary both have to stand there awkwardly making their false apologies to the whole school. this page especially cracks me up just cause of the sheer height diff between the two. i think that makes it extra hilarious https://tapas.io/episode/1215017

mathtans

It's true. And I'm still wrapping my head around the kid thing.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. One of the comic’s focuses and highlights are the action sequences found within. Of the characters Kit has pursued so far in her bounties, which has been your favorite? Why is that? Likewise, which bounty did you think had the best fight choreography? What do you specifically think makes the choreography the best one? Do you think we’ll see any of the criminal characters again? If so, what could that mean for Kit? Considering many of the villains parody stereotypes and similar things, what other sorts of characters do you think or hope we might see? Lastly, do you believe Kit will encounter more of her professional rivals? If so, what do you think will happen?

its okay i had my struggles wrapping my head around but the convention scene really cemented it for me for some reason. but that might just be personal association of conventions being largely for the youth.

mathtans

Incidentally, I wondered initially about the use of "der"... and then when Kitty used the term "Hoser" I thought she was Canadian. That proved incorrect, what with the Norwegian thing.

Ahh... yeah, I went to a certain convention for 20 years straight soooo...

Like, I want to ship, but it feels wrong. Normally if they're young I just think of it as cute, or picture them as older, and neither of those things kinda work here.

I wonder how big Kitty's gonna get when she's 20.

RebelVampire

i didnt start going to conventions till i was an adult but at the same time my experiences is that theyre largely dominated by the youth. not to say there arent older adults there. but the youth are the ones always around drawing attention to themselves being loud. but i digress, just wanted to give context for why it worked for me

mathtans

That's fair.

RebelVampire

tbh i just assumed she was full grown. cause i was actually only an inch or two shorter than my full height at 13 cause i sprouted up early

mathtans

As to the question of the moment, I admit I'm not huge on seeing action and choreography, tending to be bigger on characters anyway. Which is probably why that scientist one sticks out so much, since we got his whole backstory and everything.

I am gonna be in for such a shock when my little one grows up, aren't I.

That short gangster guy who stole the boat might return. It was implied.

RebelVampire

and i legit cant imagine kit taller cause she literally towers over everyone. although is she still shorter than her dad? cause if she is, shell probably be his height.

mathtans

I think she is. I'm equally bad at noticing that sort of thing.

RebelVampire

id have to look again just cause it wasnt something i was looking for and her dad was only in so many scenes XD

im torn on my answer to this question of the moment. i think i agree i like the scientist the best cause he got a lot of backstory. not to mention when kit was doing their dialogue for them from the roof i was like "nah shes gotta be exaggerating" then we meet the scientist and nope, he really is just that arrogant and she was spot on. so overally he was definitely the most entertaining

but for fight choreography, im picking the first bounty with the spin off kool aid man. i really enjoyed the use of the environment and just the sheer level of destruction that was visited upon that grocery store

mathtans

She knows her business. I wonder how long she's been at it.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about that one. I liked when Kitty roped the random customer.

RebelVampire

i liked when after the fight ended, the old lady asked if the employee who was buried under rubble basically could get her a new box

MoeAlmighty

And that was most difficult one to come up with

mathtans

The one with the orcs going after cows was also good, not for the fight (which I think was offscreen) but world building. Until then it was sort of, like, what's reality here anyway.

Oh, hello creator.

MoeAlmighty

Hello there all ^^\

mathtans

Rebel: That was a good scene for setting the tone.

Superjustinbros

Hello Moe!

MoeAlmighty

Thank you. It's always a challenge to come up with a beginning for a series.

Superjustinbros

Thanks for this cool comic of yours.

MoeAlmighty

Howdey

Thanks

Superjustinbros

No probs

And yeah all this talk about conventions is reminding me of all the ones I've been going to lately. Comic focused ones and hugely commercial conventions are easily the most populated-by-youth ones.

mathtans

"Annie" con was a clever name.

MoeAlmighty

It was a little play on words. I always like to make those little puns when I can(edited)

RebelVampire

i did enjoy the orcs with the cows. probably just cause of the extreme accent going on in that dialogue. but i also just love this concept that someone would think clearly humans are only good cause they drink milk. like someone really watched those got milk commercials too much.

mathtans

I very much approve of puns. Also Senshi Kitty.

The head orc was milking his time in the spotlight.

Superjustinbros

Puns are always good

RebelVampire

i do agree with you math that i got the impression well see the gangster who got away from the scientist again at some point. what it means for kit? i could see her being extra determined to catch him since he got away last time. but then maybe thats when well see buff elf chick again who is out for revenge.

MoeAlmighty

Defintely. Orcs have always been my favorite fantasy race to play around with

mathtans

biab

RebelVampire

i do appreciate orcs getting some love in a way cause in my experience theyre really underutilized in a lot of fantasy settings. can find elves everywhere, but nobody wants the orcs.

MoeAlmighty

Well nothing is off the table.^^

Orcs have always been treated as the bad guy or the henchman merely due to their monsterous appearence.

RebelVampire

speaking of not elves, i really like that this guy turned out to be the real villain from bully bully https://tapas.io/episode/1348464. partly cause it was a good twist that it was a bully victim becoming the bully. since that is very true to life. but also, selfishly, i noticed this character immediately in the background one time and i was like "ah man what an interesting looking side chara too bad well never learn about him" and then we learned about him.

QUESTION 3. Even in Kit’s dynamic world, she still has some unique mysteries surrounding her. Why do you think Kit is the only female in her family to receive Freyja’s blessing/curse, especially after it’s been so long it’s almost a myth? What do you think the story is behind Kit’s rage modes that seem to take over when she gets mad? What do you think happened to Kit’s mother, and why is Kit so sensitive about the subject of her mother in general? Additionally, why did Mary calling her mother a whore set her off in particular? Lastly, how do you think Kit got involved with being a Bounty Killer? Why do you think her family lets her pursue the career given how dangerous it all is?

MoeAlmighty

Oh yeah the Goblin. I thought it was a perfect opprotunity to not just introduce the Goblins , but I was also playing around with laying out clues in plain site for the reader to notice.

Superjustinbros

That's smart thinking/writing

MoeAlmighty

There are plans for future stories that are straight up mysteries Kit will have to sovle.

RebelVampire

that sounds exciting and like a good challenge for her character too.

in regards to the current question, i want to dissect the fact that kit's specific phrasing about her mother was that mary hadnt even cared who her mother was as a person. and to a degree, i kind of feel like it was projecting that set her off. that kit herself didnt know a whole lot about her mother. so it might not be so much that her mom was called a whore that did it, but that someone would make a bold claim about her mother when kit herself didnt even know her that well and has since lost the chance to get ot know her. but thats just me theorizing.

mathtans

Back, little one's asleep in the crib again. For now.

MoeAlmighty

Mm hm, It would show that Bounty Killers in the world aren't used for just nabbing a bad guy with a hefty sum on their head. Sometimes folks need someone to investigate with the police's involvement and not ask any questions

mathtans

Was Kitty maybe given up for adoption? (Is that what makes her worthy of the cat ears?)

The police were handy against the scientist too, for a little while.

Superjustinbros

That's a good way of expanding upon bounty hunters.

RebelVampire

i dont think given up for adoption fits cause mor said shes the step mom which implies kit's father is her biological dad. that and there is one pic where the dad is with the mom

mathtans

Oh, right. We did see her biological mom in that holiday special though, didn't we? And Kitty must remember enough to have taken up violin playing (on the roof). So... yeah I dunno.

RebelVampire

thats interesting to know that the bounties arent just for nabbing bad guys. although makes me wonder what kit is going to do when shes told to do something shady and just not ask questions

mathtans

Or was that not the biological mom, was that a younger Dar?

I can't see Kit not asking questions.

RebelVampire

that was her step-mom. her bio mom we only see briefly in a pic

https://tapas.io/episode/1279607

mathtans

I wasn't sure if it was her dad remembering another time in that scene though. Like, the previous stuff was a memory.

(I also don't get enough sleep these days.)

RebelVampire

i could see how youd get that interpretation but pretty sure it was the step-mom and the bio mom was just in the picture

MoeAlmighty

There are a lot of things I don't want to say because of spoilers and I'll be answering those kind of questions down the road. But to answer the question pretaining to Mary, they do indeed have some History as hinted.

mathtans

Mary is actually the younger cousin of the short boat-stealing gangster.

It's why her dad went into law.

MoeAlmighty

heh. that is a pretty interesting theory.

mathtans

(I need to have at least one insane theory and one ship per comic chat. I think it's in my contract.)

RebelVampire

puns are also in your contract math. although you already fulfilled that one.

mary's dad kind of spooks me. like hes a really domineering presence and idk if i want to believe hes good or bad.

MoeAlmighty

Truth is, when I created Mary, she was developed as just the rich girl who presented herself as Ms. Perfect while also having the spoiled brat persona as well

Superjustinbros

lol

mathtans

Oh right. Well, those come naturally. I wonder if her dad is part orc.

Superjustinbros

That's one of many ways to describe that

MoeAlmighty

Best way to describe him is that he's a Lawyer... a very wealthy lawyer.

Oh no, he's part Dutch lol

mathtans

Incidentally, I kind of like that Kit's got both cat ears and human ears, it tends to be how I draw my characters too (even if mine are just headbands). But it does make me wonder how the curse might have rewired her brain to deal with the extra input.

Oooh, a flying dutch man.

RebelVampire

all the dads just drink lots of milk

Superjustinbros

What about Doug.

RebelVampire

to be fair if kit's cat ears are more sensitive than her human ones the extra input probably doesnt matter cause one would hear it better than the other anyway. at worst i imagine things just sound even louder XD

mathtans

It's that special beer.

Maybe it's partly why Kat's so on edge at times.

Superjustinbros

mm, beer

Wait, what kind of beer we talkin

MoeAlmighty

It's kind of a mix bag with it comes to her ears. Internally they do connect to her regular ears and she can hear through them, but only if she concentrates. Mostly they just act like a short range radar or a sixth sense. Something like spidey's spider sense.

Ah yes, I've notice some folks like our esteem adventurer. Others not so much

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Besides the action, there is still a lot of slice-of-life material to be had in the comic as well. Do you think Kit will eventually tell Bia about her career? How do you think Bia will react to finding out about it? What challenges do you foresee awaiting Bia and Kit as their relationship continues to develop and secrets reveal themselves? Further, how do you see Kit balancing her school life in general with her job? Will she manage to maintain her grades and everything, or will things prove tougher than she expects? In terms of Kit’s regular life, what things are you hoping to see be explored in how she lives her day-to-day life? Lastly, are there any themes (like bullying) that caught your eye from the slice-of-life segments? What about them did you enjoy?

mathtans

It's cool that youv'e thought about that.

Honestly, the bounty-hunters clashing, while not necessarily slice-of-life, felt realistic and added depth to the idea of the job. Also revealed how their methods are non-lethal. And was the first ship I considered.

MoeAlmighty

Ah yes, I had a lot of folks doing a double take when I revealed her age.

RebelVampire

unrelated to the current question, i really hope we get to see more bounty killers in the story just cause they cant all work out as well as buff elf chick. also id really like to get a feel for the age range cause its concerning the gov was like "nah a 13 year old bounty killer? thats fine"

mathtans

That's a good point. Did she register under an assumed name?

Superjustinbros

Seconding Rebel.

MoeAlmighty

Well due to Kit's size, she may or may not of lied about her age when she took the job

mathtans

Also, I feel like the construction job field gets a lot of work in this universe. We only see Kitty's exploits but there have to be other incidents in the world as well.

Actually, magicians too must be a thing. And mimes.

Did not expect the mimes.

MoeAlmighty

Their are plans to explore other parts of world. One in particular is the Bounty Pick Up units sent to pick up the bounties and make out the reports.

Yes, beware the mimes ^^

I will be exploring a lot more of the Magis and how the magic works as well.

mathtans

Silent but deadly.

MoeAlmighty

very

mathtans

That short magic comic did a good job, I thought.

And I liked the money van guy critiquing the pun.

MoeAlmighty

Hm Hm, well not everything can be a homerun for our little cat girl

RebelVampire

yeah i really liked the short magic comic. cause it was funny and really did some good world-building

i also loved the cowboy bank robber

just cause he was a cowboy

and that was ridiculous

mathtans

Oh yeah, forgot about him.

I wonder how Kitty practices her quick draws.

Where do they lock these guys up, anyway? Regular jails seem like they wouldn't be sufficient.

MoeAlmighty

Yes, you don't see that many cowboys these days. But it was a perfect nod for one of the inspirations of the comic

Superjustinbros

Cowboys are fun.

MoeAlmighty

Um, they go to regular prison and go through the same process as the law provides^^

Superjustinbros

Always love one with an appealing design when one shows up.

MoeAlmighty

Very much so

RebelVampire

what sort of lawyer is mary's dad?

mathtans

How do you lock up an orc so that he doesn't just bend the bars?

MoeAlmighty

He's a defense lawyer

mathtans

He lawyers der fence.

RebelVampire

ah so i can say maybe mary's dad defends all these criminals kit tries to send to jail.

MoeAlmighty

Booooo

It's a possibility and her dad is very much against the Bounty Killer and the Bounty Board in general

Superjustinbros

ooh, is that so(edited)

mathtans

Circling back to Bia, it'd be amusing if someone in her family was also a bounty hunter. Kitty admits it and she's like, "oh, okay, I can see how you'd be good at that too".

RebelVampire

just to talk a bit about the current question, i do feel its inevitable kit has to tell bia about her job. cause i mean...kit isnt the most undestructive. just takes one time of showing up burnt to a crisp to school to give it away. but i think bia is gonna take it better than kit thinks shell take it. cause tbf, if i was bia i would not be surprised.

tbf i kind of agree with mary's dad. they might be catching criminals, but holy shit that property damage

mathtans

I feel like Bia might find out not through Kit though. Like maybe even via Kit's brother. Which could strain the relationship.(edited)

RebelVampire

especially the property damage caused by the scientist

cause even if they have the money to fix it, it still takes time

mathtans

Or magic.

MoeAlmighty

Bia finding out Kit is a Bounty Killer is inevitable, and it might happen happen sooner than you think

RebelVampire

it could strain their relationship too. though for some reason i feel for bia itd be more about the age thing than the danger thing if that makes sense. cause the career suits kit. just maybe not when kit is still 13, in school, and all that

mathtans

'Cept her dad is okay with it.

I feel like I'd totally be that dad by the way. Who makes concessions. Then ends up in trouble with mom too.

MoeAlmighty

It is going to a very unique exploring the relationship Kit and Bia have. In many ways, Bia will act more like the straight man of the relationship

Well Edward looks at it more like she's hunting game. expect the part of gutting it and cleaning it for food^^

RebelVampire

i just want to say i really love kit's dad and i hope we get to see him more. he seems just so utterly likeable. like a gentle giant

mathtans

Just want to give a shout-out to the school nun badass. Possibly like the opposite to dad.

MoeAlmighty

He is indeed^^

Superjustinbros

Since the CTP is wrapping up in a bit, I'd like to wish @MoeAlmighty the best of luck with Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, it's got a great artstyle, story, and some good humor.

mathtans

Oh right, pretty good stuff done with only black and white too.

MoeAlmighty

Yes, Beatrice is indeed a beast^^

Thank you so much^^

Superjustinbros

You're welcome! ^^

RebelVampire

yeah i loved the nun. especially her epic entrance and this page https://tapas.io/episode/1188530

like everything about that page is perfect

"Keeper of the Lunch Period"

MoeAlmighty

God help the guilty

mathtans

Indeed.

Probably a bumper sticker on her car.

MoeAlmighty

I'm sure everyone here remembers that one teacher that kept everyone in check at lunch period

best bumper sticker ever

mathtans

Kitty has some nice exclamations too.

Superjustinbros

lol

Anyways, cya till next time, and thanks for dropping by @MoeAlmighty

^^

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Moe, as well, for making Kitty Kitty Bang Bang. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Moe’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: https://tapas.io/series/kkbbcomic

Moe’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MoeAlmighty

Moe’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/theMoeAlmighty

[codango]

hi! for the drabble challenge: Yuuri on Ice and 52. Shut up and get off the dance floor? thanks!

Okay, so, there wasn’t a ship specified, soooo I was a horrible person and went with OtaYuri (though there is some fluffy/dirty Victuuri in here too). Ahem. Don’t hate me.

They Aren’t Even My Cats (5526 words)

Yuri set his charcoal down and stretched his arms overhead. Damn, he was on fire today. Yakov wasn’t going to know what hit him. Yuri was going to stroll right into his trendy little gallery with his commission a whole day before it was due. The old man’s jaw was going to hit the floor.

The thought was so gratifying, Yuri flashed his finished piece the bird. “Ha! Take that. Yeah.” He flicked his leopard-print hoodie, never minding the charcoal fingerprints. “You, my friend, are gonna get blasted with fixative, and tomorrow…” He lifted the hand-laid paper from the easel with reverent fingertips. “…you are gonna start flirting with people who have money.”

The sun was shining through his studio windows. The light had been perfect that morning, going a long way toward helping him hit his deadline. No doubt it would be highlighting the mountains just right by now. He’d spray the piece outside. Yuri grabbed the fixative on his way out the front door. Nice spring day, no sense fumigating the studio when he could do it outside—

“What the fuck.”

A couple of girls with backpacks and hiking boots and beanies that were too hot for a late-spring hike in the Rockies looked up at him. They were crouched around a box just outside his studio door. “Oh, hey, man!” One of them stood and pointed at the box. “Looks like someone left you a present!”

Yuri scowled. College kids in Colorado Springs to hike. They never bought art. He glared down at the box. And felt his face freeze.

Three kittens slept in an orange, black, and gray ball on a wadded-up T-shirt. One of them flicked an ear and yawned, showing off needle-fine teeth and the pinkest little tongue Yuri had ever seen.

“Did you guys leave them here?” he asked.

Something in his hoarse growl made both girls whip their heads up. “Dude,” one of them said slowly, “we’re going hiking.”

“Yeah, we didn’t, like, stop in town to drop off a box of cats.” The other girl snorted a laugh.

“Then get lost. They’re not fuckin’ toys.” He stepped closer to the box, and the girls hurried to get out of his way. “I gotta figure out what to do with these thanks to whatever asshole left ‘em here.”

He got a couple of middle fingers for his trouble, but they left, thank god. Heaving a put-upon a sigh, Yuri put his finished charcoal piece back inside his studio along with the fixative spray. Yakov didn’t need it until tomorrow. He could handle this first.

He went back outside and squatted in front of the box. The little black one was eyeing him sleepily. The other two were still out. “Who’d do this to you guys, huh?” Yuri asked quietly. They couldn’t have been here long—

“Hey—are you leaving those there?”

Yuri looked over his shoulder, ready to snap another head off, but whatever was queueing up on his tongue died a swift death.

The man was compact, composed of efficient muscle, a sick navy-blue leather jacket, and an undercut. He watched Yuri with stern dark eyes. “Take ‘em to a shelter, don’t do that.”

Yuri felt his scowl come back full force. He opened his mouth to protest that this wasn’t his fault, he certainly wasn’t abusive to animals…unfortunately, the man chose that moment to start taking off his motorcycle gloves.

“Um.” Yuri ran his eyes over the guy before he realized what he was doing. Tight jeans, combat boots…the T-shirt underneath the jacket hinted at elements that Yuri might, in more ideal circumstances and with proper persuasion, find marginally interesting.

The guy shoved his gloves in his back pocket. “How high are you right now?”

Yuri shot to his feet. He was somewhat gratified to discover that, while this guy probably had him by a few pounds, Yuri was definitely taller. “I’m sober as a brick,” he snapped. “Someone just dumped them here. This is my shop.” He waved a hand.

“Oh.” The guy smiled, brief but friendly. “Sorry for getting it wrong.” He held out a hand, now devoid of leather gloves. “Otabek Altin.”

Yuri’s mouth went dry. “Yuri, um, Plisetsky.” He wiped his hand on his jeans and then reached out.

“Ah, you, uh, you’ve got…” Otabek gestured at Yuri’s jeans.

“Wh—” Hell. A handprint, perfectly picked out in charcoal, decorated Yuri’s right thigh. He glared at his hands. Both of them were coated generously in the black dust inevitable after hours of working. He probably even had some on his face.

“So, um.” Otabek gestured at the box. “You got a plan for these little guys?”

“I was figuring it out.” Yuri was pissed.

“Hm.” Otabek knelt on one knee in front of the box and reached a hand inside. “Aw, the orange one’s friendly.”

Yuri was grateful the man’s back was to him. If Otabek’s thighs were impressive just standing in his jeans, seeing the way his muscles tested the manufacturing quality of the seams as he knelt was an otherworldly experience. And he was cooing over a literal box of kittens. Yuri needed a minute.

“Oh, look at the gray one!” Otabek murmured, lifting the kitten out of the box.

Yuri was furious. Who even was this guy? Dropping out of the goddamned blue sky right in front of Yuri’s studio, when he had a deadline, to lecture him about the welfare of cats? Yuri hadn’t dated in a long-ass while, but if the universe thought he needed to get out more, then the universe needed to work on its fucking subtlety.

“Look, dude,” Yuri began, “I appreciate the concern, but I gotta—”

“I want this one.”

Yuri’s bitching died with a gurgle. Otabek turned slightly, holding the black kitten to his leather jacket. “That cool?”

In case the universe was taking requests, Yuri sent up a prayer that this image be branded into his memory for life. A hot biker was kneeling on the sidewalk where Yuri lived and breathed and worked, holding a tiny kitten to his chest.

“You…you want a cat?” Yuri sounded breathless even to his own ears.

“I’ve been thinking about it.” Otabek stood, the ball of black fur meeping into his chest. He opened his jacket and tucked it inside even though it wasn’t that cold out. “Either a cat or a hamster.”

Yuri wrinkled his nose. “A hamster?” Who in their right mind would consider a goddamn rodent over a cat? Ancient civilizations worshipped cats. Who the fuck knew what anyone ever thought of hamsters.

“A friend of mine really likes them,” Otabek went on, not looking up from the kitten putting tiny claw marks in his T-shirt. “But this seems like a sign, so.”

“So.” Yuri shook himself. “Yeah, I guess, if you want it, go ahead and—”

“Oh, shit.”

Yuri blinked. Otabek was frowning at the kitten.

“Um, look.” Otabek turned toward Yuri with a sheepish expression. “This is kind of awkward, but…”

Yes, I will marry you. “What’s up?” Cool. Noncommittal. Completely not interested.

“It’s not very professional of me, but I kind of forgot I have a gig in a few hours,” Otabek said hesitantly.

“A…gig?”

“Yeah, I’m DJing at a new place in a couple hours. The Ice Castle?” He looked a little embarrassed. “Would you…ah.” He opened his jacket to glance down at the kitten inside. It meeped. “I don’t suppose you could keep an eye on him?”

Yuri knew he should react somehow. He’s a DJ? He wears leather, loves cats, and he’s a fucking DJ.

“I could come back and pick him up right after the show,” Otabek hurried on. “Except I guess that might be a little late.”

“No problem,” Yuri heard himself say. The fuck you mean it’s not a problem?! “I gotta figure out what to do with the other two, so.” He shrugged, when what he meant to say was I got shit to do, you’re not the only one with commitments here, pal! “When do you think you’ll be done?” He’s a DJ! It’s Friday! When do you think he’ll be done?!

“Probably not till two.” Otabek appeared to wilt. “This is a dumb idea, I can’t ask you to hold one of them for me that long.” He looked…sad.

“Shut up and give me your cat.” Yuri held out his hands. “Pick him up tomorrow, after you’ve got, like, food and shit for him.”

Otabek’s eyes lit up, and it was godawful. Yuri bit the inside of his mouth to keep from offering to go to the pet store with him. “Right! Yes. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.” His smile was small, but it managed to convey a ridiculous amount of happiness. He opened his coat and handed Yuri the black kitten.

Yuri cleared his throat when their fingers touched. “Yeah, well.” He tucked the kitten under his chin. The little bastard was warm. And smelled like leather. Damn.

Otabek was still smiling at the darn thing. Which meant he was almost smiling at Yuri. “Cool.” Otabek’s voice was low and warm. He reached out and ran a finger over the kitten’s delicate spine, earning a squeak. Yuri couldn’t have sworn that it was from the cat and not his own mouth.

Otabek straightened and backed up a couple steps. “See you tomorrow. Yuri, right? Nine o’clock?”

“We’ll be here.” He lifted the kitten’s tiny paw in a salute. And wanted to stab himself with a fork. Why, Yuri. Just why.

Otabek laughed and walked away with a wave.

———

“They’re not my cats, I just have them here while I figure out what to do with them!” Yuri sat back on his hand, watching the orange kitten play with the laces of his Converse. “I can’t just leave ‘em outside.”

All three kittens were in various stages of exploring his tiny room behind his studio. He rented the studio space with three other artists, but he’d shelled out a little extra to keep the room in the back for himself. It was enough for a mattress and a hot plate that he was anal about triple-checking. And, for at least one night, three kittens.

“In that case, I’ll take them all,” Victor said breezily. Like he was at Tiffany’s standing over a case of diamonds or something.

“No, you can’t have them all, you guys have Makkachin!” Yuri lifted his foot so the orange kitten had a more interesting toy from his dangling shoelaces. “And someone wants one of them anyway.”

“Oh? You found takers already? So organized, Yurio!”

“It was just some guy who was in the right place at the right time.” Yuri was glad Victor was on the other end of the phone line instead of in the same room. Yuri was trying to be better about cultivating relationships with his buyers—Victor had called to commission another portrait of his husband—but Yuri wasn’t ready to analyze his love life in the name of networking.

Yakov had hinted that networking was important, rather forcefully, after Yuri bit the heads off a wealthy couple who’d purchased one of his larger pieces.

“But you still have all three kittens in the studio at the moment?” Victor sounded confused.

“Yeah, well, he’s DJing tonight and asked if I could—”

“He’s a DJ?” Victor’s voice conveyed gleeful blue eyes and a brain already selecting a pair of leather pants.

“No. No, he’s a…banker. Working very late hours. We are not going to his club, Victor, no.”

“Yurio! That is an excellent idea, I’ll get Yuuri pulled together, and we’ll meet you there.”

“Are you out of your—you don’t even know where he’s playing!”

“Oh, yes, of course, darling, where’s he playing? We probably can’t meet you before eleven.” There was a small groan in the background. Victor’s voice came through the line a little fainter, as though he’d held the phone away. “What’s that, my love? Here, it’s fine, you know you can take it out whenever you want—Yuuri! You can’t do that now, I’m on the phone!—godddd, you just give me two seconds and then you—”

“Still on the phone, Victor!” Yuri called, eyes squeezed shut.

“Oh…” Victor’s voice sounded closer to the phone, and rather more breathless than he had seconds earlier. “Uh-mm, Yuuri says we probably can’t make it much before—ah—m-midnight if that’s all right.”

“Fine. Yes, augh, just don’t ever call me again when you guys are…just no.” Yuri remembered to shout, “It’s at the Ice Castle!” right before he threw his phone across the room.

———

Whatever Victor and Yuuri had been involved in, it must have been particularly engaging. They didn’t make it to the club until 1:00 a.m., leaving Yuri plenty of time to drink himself into a frustrated little stupor.

Frustrated for a number of reasons.

A, Ice Castle was a stupid name for a club.

B, Yuri hated clubs in general.

C, Yuri hated clubs when he was at them alone because he attracted on average one unwanted drink per half hour.

D, Otabek was sweaty.

E, Otabek’s T-shirt still had little cat-claw holes in the chest and it was sweaty.

F, Otabek had barely looked up from his decks once, and it wasn’t to look at Yuri.

G, Otabek had, in fact, looked up to say thank you to a sexy cocktail waitress bringing him a bottle of water.

H, Otabek drinking from said bottle of water was downright—

“There you are, darling, we’ve been looking everywhere!”

Yuri looked up from pouting into his drink to scowl at Victor. “Fuck off, you just got here.”

Victor put a hand to his silk shirt, affronted, while Yuuri rolled his eyes and gave an embarrassed smile. “You can’t possibly know that,” Victor insisted loftily.

“I do when you waltz in with him looking like that.” Victor had obviously made an effort, but Yuuri had an almost magical way of maintaining an air of debauchery. It was always painfully apparent, from his blissed-out glow and the unapologetic hickies dotting his neck and chest, whenever he and Victor had gotten too enamored with each other.

Victor turned to Yuuri with a sigh. “He’s right, my love. You look gorgeous.” He picked up his husband’s hand and kissed it.

Yuuri rolled his eyes, despite blushing like the virgin he totally was not, and slid onto a chair at Yuri’s hightop. “I tried to tell him we didn’t need to check the guy out just because he’s adopting one of your kittens,” Yuuri said.

“They’re not my kittens,” Yuri insisted again. “Victor just wanted to take you dancing.”

“He is luscious when he dances!” Victor gushed.

“You think I’m luscious all the time.” Yuuri leaned across the table to flirt with his husband. Shameful. Who did that? You got married, you were supposed to lose all interest, everyone knew that.

“Oh my god.” Yuri shoved at them both. “Go fuck on the dance floor if that’s what you came for, Christ.”

“Yurio! The things you say.” Victor clucked his tongue.

Yuuri eased away from the table and flashed Yuri a teasing smirk. “We need to check out this DJ anyway. Make sure he’s okay for Yurio’s…cats.”

Victor’s eyes lit up. “Love of my life, you’re a genius.”

“He is not!” Yuri called after them both as they disappeared into the flashing lights and fog machines. “And they aren’t my cats!”

One more drink in, Yuri was pretty sure he should just go. Victor and Yuuri popped over to the table occasionally for a sip of the cocktails they were never going to finish, but they didn’t need him to stay.

He caught a glimpse of them, laughing and grinding on each other and sharing sloppy kisses on the floor. They weren’t here to keep him company, even if they didn’t realize it.

Victor threw his head back for a long, happy laugh.

Yeah. Yuri should just go.

But even as he tried to flag down his server to pay his tab, he saw Victor and Yuuri dance farther into the crowd. Seconds later, they reappeared at the DJ booth.

Oh shit. Oh no. Oh LORD. Yuri was helpless to look away.

Victor took out a twenty and waved it at Otabek—Christ—but Yuuri put a hand on his arm and scolded him. Otabek slid his headphones off one ear with the polite smile of a professional entertainer.

Victor gestured wildly. Yuuri shushed him and appeared to clarify something. Otabek blinked and looked out over the crowd, into the flashing lights.

Yuri sat motionless at his table. There was no way Otabek could see him. He would slink out into the night and claim no knowledge of Ice Castle’s existence should anyone ever ask.

Otabek held up a finger, the universal hang-on gesture, and flipped a few switches on his deck. He hung up his headphones and—Yuri’s heart was in his throat—followed Victor and Yuuri into the crowded dance floor. Only Otabek came out on the other side.

He approached Yuri’s hightop with a small smile. His collarbone was shiny with sweat underneath the stretched T-shirt neck. “Yuri.” He had to shout a little over the music. “Your friends told me you wanted to check out the new place before I got to have my cat.”

Yuri closed his eyes. Victor and Yuuri were going to pay out the nose for their next commission. “This was entirely their idea.” It was definitely only because of the music that he raised his voice. “I had nothing to do with anything.”

Otabek’s smile faltered. “Oh. How did they know about my cat?”

His cat. He had no business being so hellishly charming. “It’s…a long story.” Yuri threw back the last of his drink. “Anyway, they just wanted an excuse to have fully clothed sex on a dance floor. I’m just gonna cash out—”

“No.” Otabek waved a hand. “No, you’re giving me a free cat. I’ll buy your drinks.”

Yuri stared. “I had four drinks tonight. The cats were in my possession for thirty seconds before you said you wanted one.”

Otabek glanced thoughtfully at the ceiling. “You’re right. I owe you a dance too.”

Yuri’s heart slammed into the roof of his mouth. “They’re not even my cats!”

Otabek turned away from the table, his hand held out to Yuri, the tiniest smirk on his face.

“You’re the DJ,” Yuri tried, his voice weak. Damn, he looked too good in those jeans.

“I’ve got time.” His long black hair lay in spikes across his forehead. He was backing into the crowd slowly, holding Yuri’s gaze with those serious dark eyes. Giving him time to figure out what he wanted to do.

Fuck it, he knew what he wanted to do. He knew it was very dumb—he’d known of this guy’s existence for less than twelve hours. He knew it was inefficient—he needed to get his latest piece to Yakov’s gallery first thing in the morning.

Yuri followed him onto the dance floor.

Otabek actually showed teeth when he smiled.

Yuri was confident in his dancing skills. He could move, and he wasn’t ashamed to show off. Hell, he’d taken Yuuri on once, and even though Victor was biased as hell and said Yuuri had won, Yuri knew he’d given him a run for his money.

Of course, Yuri hadn’t danced like…well, it’s not like he’d been trying to impress anyone, and…well, Otabek made it very…

Otabek kept his hands to himself. Yuri could barely believe it, with how close he was and how his shoulders rolled and how he was taking Yuri mentally apart, that Otabek hadn’t touched him once. After a few minutes, his T-shirt was soaked, but Yuri wasn’t in any state to congratulate himself on being right about Otabek’s build. His chest was sinful, broad and thick where Yuri was lean and narrow. He’d never be able to look like that, not in a million years and a thousand protein shakes.

The beat slowed, and Yuri glanced up at the decks. A tall man with bleached hair and a five o’clock shadow had picked up Otabek’s headphones and was bobbing his head to the new rhythm. He caught Yuri’s eye and gave him a slow, salacious wink.

Yuri gulped and whipped his head around to take in the man whose knee was sliding in between his thighs. “Sh-shouldn’t you—ah, the music?” Words were leaving his brain, and nothing was replacing them. His jeans caught on Otabek’s belt buckle, and Yuri bit his tongue. In fact, all systems seemed to be sending resources south.

“I get a break.” Something shifted in Otabek’s eyes, and he pulled back a little. All Yuri’s systems whined. “But we can stop, of course.”

Yuri reached out both hands, slid them through Otabek’s sweaty hair and down his neck. Cupping the tense muscle on top of his shoulders and pulling him close again. Yuri’s face was hot, and he didn’t know what to say to be seductive, welcoming, convey all the yes.

“You haven’t finished paying me for your cat.”

Otabek’s eyes went wide. Then he laughed, and Yuri wanted badly to know what it might sound like without being half drowned by Top Forty music. Otabek’s hands settled on Yuri’s hips, warm and strong and firm, and Yuri was pretty sure he was going to be a permanent shade of pink from now on.

“I’m taking the cat home,” Otabek murmured, looking up at him. “So.” He lifted his chin, slowly, giving Yuri plenty of time to back away.

“Yeah,” was all Yuri said before his mouth found Otabek’s.

The kiss was soft at first. Nothing more than a few light touches as they moved to the beat around them. Otabek kept them close with a tight grip on Yuri’s belt loops. It was either the four cocktails or Otabek’s knee between his thighs that made Yuri move his own thigh up carefully. Carefully, into the fly of those tight jeans that had been so problematic all day long.

Otabek’s breath stuttered against his mouth, his hips lifting away at first, but Yuri didn’t have time to be worried if he’d fucked up. With a groan, Otabek widened his stance and sank back down on Yuri’s thigh. One hand left Yuri’s waist and buried itself in his hair. He’d put it in a bun before he came to the club, but Yuri could feel pieces of his blond hair escaping.

Yuri gripped the back of Otabek’s neck, trying to act like he was still the one seducing and not being hopelessly seduced. Ran his other hand down Otabek’s throat to settle on his chest, hot and solid beneath his palm.

Ask him to come over. Yuri pressed his lips to Otabek’s cheekbone, then his forehead. Tell him you want him to come over.

The beat dropped as Yuri rolled his hips up, and Otabek groaned, pulling Yuri’s mouth back to his with a strong hand in his hair. It was heady, this hint of manhandling from a guy who was shorter than he was but could probably benchpress him a dozen times. Yuri lifted his head, gasped, “H-hey…do you—?”

“Yurio!” A scandalized gasp sounded at his ear, and Yuri wished to all the depths of hell he didn’t recognize the voice.

“Victor,” he growled and turned toward his (previously favorite) buyer. He and Yuuri were hanging on each other scant inches from Yuri and Otabek. Otabek’s hands fell to Yuri’s waist again, and he dismounted Yuri’s thigh, smiling at their intruders.

“Break’s over,” he announced, like they hadn’t just been interrupted from grinding on each other in the middle of a crowded dance floor. Yuri wanted to scream. He wanted to punch Victor and flip off Yuuri and then scream. He hadn’t been laid in…well, a very long time thanks to Yakov’s ridiculous schedule, and here was someone hot and kind who liked cats and seemed willing to consider Yuri as a sexual option, and it was all going right down the drain.

Otabek rose on his toes for half a second, just long enough to brush a quick kiss on Yuri’s cheek. It was precious and lovely and Yuri no longer wanted to punch people.

“Tomorrow at nine?” Otabek waited until Yuri gave a dazed nod before he smiled his tiny smile. “Cool. See you then.”

Yuri stared after him, mouth agape, as Otabek took over his decks once again.

“Oooooo.” Victor pressed against Yuri’s side, hearts in his eyes. “He was cccuuuuttte!”

“Yeah, you didn’t-didn’t say how cute he was!” Yuuri slurred. It never ceased to be amazing, how quickly Yuuri could get drunk and how long he could stay upright.

“You’re going to ask him out, right?” Victor asked. “It’s been so long, Yurio, you even said, you told me ages ago, you said, Victor, I need to get laid, Victor, who can I get to fuck me? and I said—”

“I did not! I would never in a hundred thousand goddamn fucking years tell you that, you are drunker than sin, get your husband together, go home, I’m going home!”

“And then you said—”

“Shut up and get off the dance floor!”

———

Yuri set his alarm for eight o’clock. It was completely unnecessary. The kittens got him up at seven. With only minimal cursing (they were too cute to be believed, even crawling over his comforter and yowling to wake the dead), Yuri rolled off his mattress. He shuffled to the corner of his room that had been overtaken with cat stuff since yesterday afternoon.

After lecturing Otabek about needing proper supplies before assuming the mantle of kitten ownership, Yuri had done some shopping himself. The three kittens fell over themselves to chow down from their shared bowl. They only tipped their water dish over once in the mayhem, which Yuri thought deserved praise.

He lost himself in the peacefulness of watching them. The orange one was clearly the boss. The black one tried to be but frankly wasn’t organized enough to be much threat. The gray one might be the smartest? She seemed to be willing to let the other two duke things out while she ate the lion’s share of their food.

Ping!

Yuri’s head snapped up. “Ohhhhhh fuck!” He scrambled to his feet, tripping over himself to get to his closet. Ten minutes. Otabek was going to be in here in ten minutes to get his cat (which one was it? The black one, right?), and Yuri was sitting on his bedroom floor shirtless in his boxers.

Ideal someday perhaps, but a bit forward for their second meeting. (The club did not count, Yuri refused to believe it counted. He’d been a little drunk, and Otabek had been working, and anyway Yuri didn’t dry hump strangers on dance floors. He was a serious artist, for fuck’s sake.)

He was just putting his hair in a ponytail when someone knocked at his door.

“Yuri?” It was Mila. Mila was always the first one working in the studio.

Yuri blew out a steadying breath and opened the door. Mila already had a dash of Titanium White drying on her cheek. She should really be more careful. “Someone’s asking for you?” Mila gestured with her thumb over her shoulder, eyes alight with curiosity.

Otabek was doing a superb job of being interested in the multitude of works in progress throughout the studio. Yuri could almost have believed he had just wandered in for a look—but then dark eyes cut over to where he and Mila stood. Yuri inhaled sharply. “Yeah, um…he’s here for one of the, the cats. Hey! Otabek!”

Mila stood reluctantly aside as Yuri waved at the gorgeous man walking toward them. “You owe me every explanation,” she whispered before ducking back to her easel.

“You have paint on your face!” Yuri hissed after her. He ran a hand nervously through his ponytail, and then Otabek was in front of him.

“Good morning.” Otabek did not look like the sort of person who’d probably been up till 4:00 a.m. He looked fresh-faced and clean in a soft, dark-blue sweater and tight jeans (again). Not even a hint of scruff.

“M-morning.” Yuri backed away from the door gracelessly. “Um, everyone’s in here. The cats, I mean, you know, they’re all…”

Right there on my unmade mattress. On the floor.

They were adorable, no question. They’d roughhoused themselves to sleep in the middle of his dingy comforter. It was just that…wow, Yuri, you couldn’t have gotten your shit together enough to buy a bed frame in the last twelve months?

“You wanted the black one, right?” Yuri hurried over to the pile of fur on his bed and gently picked up the appropriate kitten.

Otabek’s mouth was open a little. He ran his eyes over Yuri, from his hair to his bare feet, bringing his attention finally to the kitten in his hands. He cleared his throat. “Yeah.” He came forward a few steps, closing the distance between them. Reached out his hand to scratch beneath the kitten’s chin.

Yuri was going to die for the second time in two days. The third time? It was tough to keep track. Otabek smelled amazing. Yuri was horrifically conscious that they were in his very tiny living space that he only ever haphazardly cleaned. He doubted it smelled amazing. The most he could hope for was that it smelled like cat food and not Young Man Has Lived Here By Himself For A Year.

“Thanks for holding onto him for me,” Otabek said. His voice was low and quiet. Just right for a man who liked cats. Yuri melted.

“Any time. Well, not, you know any time, because this had better never happen again—” Yuri caught himself. “I mean! Not that you coming over had better never—! I meant, you know, the cats.” Oh god, just kill him now.

Otabek laughed softly and eased the sleepy black kitten from Yuri’s hands. Yuri made sure their fingers brushed. Those hands had held him last night, and they hadn’t been nearly so gentle about things.

“I got up early today and got a bunch of stuff,” Otabek said, unaware of Yuri’s moral crisis. “I have a cat carrier out in the car too.”

“You have a car?” Yuri grimaced at his own question. “I mean, I dunno why I thought you only had your bike.”

“Figured a motorcycle wouldn’t be great for bringing a cat home.” Otabek was smiling at the kitten, cradling it against his chest. “I borrowed a friend’s car.”

So thoughtful.

“You got a name for him?” Yuri asked quietly, afraid to break the peaceful spell of the room.

“Mm, not yet.” Otabek smoothed a finger down the kitten’s nose. “Gotta see how he acts, you know? Find out who he is.”

Yuri wanted to find out who Otabek was. In every situation possible. And he was fast realizing that as soon as this guy walked out his door with that cat, Yuri had no way to do that. No right to even ask for a phone number.

He trailed his eyes over those shoulders under that sweater. Remembered how those thighs had felt between his last night.

Fuck. That.

“Here.” Yuri pulled his phone out of his back pocket, hoping he sounded smooth. “Lemme give you my number in case you need anything. For the cat.”

Otabek was silent. Yuri didn’t look up, opening the contacts on his phone, trying not to panic.

“Yeah,” Otabek finally said. “Yeah, I don’t really know much about cats.”

“Right? And they’re so young still, you gotta be careful.” Yuri felt flooded with relief. “Um, so…?” He held up his phone.

Otabek smiled, that tiny smile Yuri dreamed about last night, and gave him his number. Yuri tapped out a text immediately.

Otabek reached for his own phone when the message chimed through. He raised an eyebrow as he read it. “‘Send me pics’?”

Heat rushed to Yuri’s cheeks. “That’s-that’s not what I meant! I meant, of the cat! The fuck you thought I was talking about, it’s just that they’re practically my cats…”

Otabek stepped forward, the kitten cradled carefully in one hand, and reached for the back of Yuri’s neck. Pulled him forward. Planted the most chaste kiss of all time on his cheek. “Pics,” he said, clearly holding back laughter. “You got it.”

Yuri was certain his face didn’t stop burning for hours. Not when he walked Otabek to his car. Not when Otabek settled his new black cat in a hot-pink cat carrier. Not when he took his finished piece over to Yakov’s gallery later.

And certainly, certainly not in the wee hours of the morning, when the studio was locked and dark and Yuri was snuggling into his comforter with an orange and a gray kitten. Because that was when his phone lit up.

Otabek: Pics, hm?

Otabek: [image]

[justscreamingnothing]

Dream Life

I don’t know if I’ll ever live the life I thought I would in my early twenties, a mix of the lives of sex and the city characters and any teen movie where in I’m free to do whatever I want all the time an somehow have the money and resources to do things and I’m young and hot and irresistible and think for myself and just have all these opportunities presented to me at the right time. Like, sure, no one actually has that life but god wouldn’t it be good to? So here’s my dream life:

I’m super hot but not in an extremely obvious everyone-is-constantly-hitting-on-me way because that would get old after a while. No, Dream Life Me is approachable but once you get to know me you start to see my features in a new light and realize how gorgeous I am. I have a killer sense of fashion but am always comfortable (and that includes being comfortable in my body.) Also that “you clean up nice” trope where its like yeah I was attractive the whole time but when I make an effort to look traditionally attractive nice it blows everyone’s expectations out of the water. 

So, because I’m just so damn hot, I attract a lot of people, my looks bait them but my personality reels them in. Because of this I have a lot of friends and acquaintances. Some of them are bohemian type indie artists and some of them are people in high places but all of them are cool as shit and I have a good rapport with every single last one. This is the type of shit that if someone says “I need an ice cream truck to go to the next town over for an event I’m doing asap!” I can simple reply “Don’t worry- I know someone that owes me a favor” all coy and people always wonder just how it is I know so many damn people that I genuinely have a connection with and I shrug casually and keep an air of mystery about it. Although I have a rich and interesting outer circle I have an even richer inner circle, (about 5 or so people) the type of friends that just trust each other explicitly. Not only can we talk about anything knowing we’ll all be comfortable with whatever one of us has decided to reveal, we’re also not at all afraid to be vulnerable around each other. We have no fear that the others will laugh at us, or make fun of us, or not care; no one will walk away. There’s no fear that bringing up a topic or an issue is going to split the friend group and damage our bond. We lay all of our cards out on the table and everyone listens and understands. We communicate if we feel left out, cheated, unheard, or otherwise uncomfortable with something. No one thinks they know me exactly or makes assumptions about me because they think they’ve got me exactly figured out. We all have common likes and interests and no one is shy about sharing their projects because we all support each other. We plan trips (which we love doing) and the planning goes smoothly because everyone has one thing that they’re really good at planning so we all take our roles and make the trip easier for everyone. Also everyone is in this to have a good time so there’s never discontent or attitude during these trips. We make memories together and everyone has a genuinely good time. We all have each others backs, like oh you need me right now? Bet. I’ll be there in five minutes. You need help moving? I’ll clear my calendar. You’re sad? Hit me up real quick and we’ll talk it out. You feel lonely? I’ll be there to hug you and remind you what love feels like. There’s no secretly disliking each other, no annoyance, no attitude, none of that. We love each other and there’s no embarrassment at all from any of us because we know how each of us feels. No one feels left out, no one gets left out, and there’s no fear that there’s one person holding us all together because we’re all close to one another.

Next item is my relationship life. So I definitely have a very active sex life but not in a I-can’t-remember-the-last-person-I-slept-with-omg-i-might-have-an-std kind of way, I know the people I sleep with, I just sleep with a lot of them. I’m out pretty often (y’know, when I’m in the mood) and I’m just slinging dick all over town. My sex life is passionate and interesting.  There is no lack of intimacy, no touch starvation. I can easily and confidently approach people because I know and understand my value and people are just drawn to me either way. People close to me find it hard to keep track of the things I’ve done because I’ve done soooo many things. Orgies? Check. Pegging? Check. Dom? Check. I don’t know, wild fun shit, I’m out here doing it. I’m Samantha Jones in this bitch. And it’s not to fill some sort of empty void, I do it when I want and when I don’t want I find it fairly easy to refrain. I date multiple people at the same time (they are all aware that we’re not exclusive of course) and when I find a person to be exclusive with, I am able to leave the other ones. We date for a while and I realize I still have years left of being a free bird so we let go of each other but we’re always on each other’s minds because we know we’re gonna find each other in the end. There’s no lack of love or intimacy in my life, I do all this but don’t feel empty, in fact I feel very full.

My personality is pretty much the same but I’m not an overthinker and people actually pay attention to me. Those friends and relationships from earlier? They listen to me, they think what I say is valuable. They respect me and care for me. They think I’m funny and nice and like to be around me. No one finds me annoying and I never get that awful feeling of being “too much”  when I share. People like and respect me as I am in all facets of my life, friendships, relationships, familial connections, and professional ties. Added bonus people I love secretly record me doing stupid shit because they find it so cute. I’m a laugh but people take me seriously when I’m serious. I can just be myself with people without fear of rejection.

 My career is taking off- in about a thousand different directions. I’m involved in a lot of creative projects, I’m the lead in my passion project. The people around me don’t want to take advantage me, but rather see and understand my talent and want me to reach as high as I can. People appreciate my ideas and contributions and take them into serious consideration. I’m surrounded by people I like in a professional setting too and I feel comfortable knowing I can work with a lot of gay people and poc. I work on a project and find it extremely rewarding, I’m able to finish things and don’t mind working hard long hours because I end up being very proud of the project. The people I work with are cool and creative and don’t have a big ego and bring their own thing to the table, they are able to enhance the project just by adding their talent. I can finish a project and take a month long vacation if I want (which I sometimes do just to be able to work a little on other things and see the world.) None of my friends work a shitty job they hate that don’t bring them any fulfillment. Sure we’re all starting out, but we’re financially secure and not miserable every single day of our lives. 

We live free lives, where we are encouraged to be ourselves, to discover ourselves, to deconstruct and then remake ourselves. We are independent, free to do what we want when we want with minimal consequences or judgement.  Our lives and a seemingly never ending haze of happiness and sunshine and fun and sex and parties and intimacy and silly dances and crazy choices and quiet peaceful nights and love. My life has an abundance of love and all of it is reciprocated and all of it feels earned and right.

[blogsformama]

July 9th-July 16th

July 9th-13th

Unfortunately I can’t say I did much this school week.. We’re starting to get down to the more serious coursework and projects ANDDD I caught a nasty pollution cold. No one else around me has caught anything but ever since the beginning of Monday  I’ve had this deathly cough that wont go away. I’ve taken medicine, vitamin juices, and cough drops but nothing seems to work on me and all I can seem to figure out is that the air quality here just doesn’t mix well with my system. It’s been bugging me so bad because I keep coughing in class and just every day and I don’t think its a common thing for people here to cough in public. Everyone here is super big on hygiene so Im always seeing face masks and stuff (which I did buy one in Myeongdong and its HELLA COOL.) I can just tell it’s bugging my roommates because whatever Singaporean boy lives down the hall from me was mocking my cough one night and I faintly heard the word American. Soooo there’s that... But I’m doing great in class so far! And I’ve made lots of friends as well! 

July 14-16th

Friday I started off the day with my spontaneous tattoo appointment I had made only a few days prior. As many do or don’t know, tattooing in S Korea is illegal because you have to be a licensed physician to handle needles (from what I heard) so I thought I’d enjoy the mild but still present thrill of getting a permanent memento of my time here! It was honestly still very sanitary and professional. The girl I went to had a cute little studio and is super sweet. She gave us drinks and slippers with everything pre-sanitized and ready to go. She does women only which made it even more exclusive and special. I chose to just add onto my already existing paper plane tattoo and put in Korean spelling “hello” underneath it. Something simple in cute handwriting to just give a nice flair. I didn’t want anything too big since I wasn’t mentally or financially ready to commit to a piece like that, especially in a foreign country. Afterwards, we went underground shopping in the ever infamous subway station malls. It’s just stall after stall of shops selling common clothing items and decor at really cheap prices. Andrea recorded how far it was and it was a mile or so of just shops we had to look through! I saw so many cute things but just another reason to add to my list of why I miss America... If you ever decide to travel to South Korea, anything bigger than a US pant size 6/ US shoe size 7/ US shirt size M is hardly available... Everyone here is petite and slender so no one really carries bigger sizes. It was such a huge bummer because I was ready to buy some shoes and funny shirts but hardly anything fits me here... Anything I had bought has been either accessories or men’s shirts.. I went to basically every shoe stand to ask for US size 9 and all I ever got was “OOO... man size? Boyfriend?” Like, no, Im just a big girl dude. I had to keep pointing at my feet like, “No, big lady.” and one shop keeper was so surprised by my shoe size HE TOOK MY SHOE AND TRIED IT ON HIMSELF. OMG. NO CHILL MAN. After a sad amount of window shopping we did get to eat at a sushi train restaurant and IT WAS AWESOME. I never got to eat at one and it was fairly cheap for how much I ate. Like ~$18? After all the seafood indulgence we had the group go to Seoul tower to do some tourist exploring! It was a lot of fun besides the long walk up hill to the tower. Thank god for cable cars because I would’ve never made it up that damn mountain.. My phone died so I didn’t get to take any photos but Ill b sure to get some from Andrew and post it when I can. It was awesome seeing the view of the city from the highest point in all of Korea! Each window had the distance to where you were from, and it was really endearing.. Made me miss home mildly. 

Saturday was an organized school activity! We all went to a theme park in Korea called Everland! It wasn’t honestly anything to amazing to what I would experience in Frontier City back home but I think the constant rain that kept coming down kind of dampened the mood (pun intended.) I was soaked the entire time I was out and when I got home I had to basically peel every layer of clothing I had off of me, and my skin was itchy from the supposed acid rain here. We did however get to go to Karaoke right after the park and that was fun as well! Im starting to more and more appreciate the idea of going out to karaoke as a group but the sad thing is that in Oklahoma karaoke isn't a thing AT ALL unless its open mic night and you've had one too many LITs or budweisers. C’mon America! Pick up with the times!

Finally, Sunday we went to ANOTHER theme park called Lotte World. It was mainly indoors which was nice compared to the torrential downpour that was Everland. I actually stayed dry for a majority of the day. Food is actually decently priced inside parks compared to American parks, and the rides were pretty crazy for being a kids park lol. The rollercoasters were CRAZY! Also there were tons of these keychain stands where you could get a plastic ball with small toys inside for like 2,000 won. I bought at least $20 worth of them because they were all so cute! Ill have to upload a picture for you to see. After buying all the keychains I could possibly hold without being judged, we went on a few more rides before I headed home to finish up some project work. It was a crazy busy weekend but very much worth all the lack of sleep haha. Next week I actually bought a touring ticket to go to see North Korea! I promise I wont touch any memorabilia but I’ll take some photos and show you how it goes! I also have a mud festival! I’ll be sure to tell you how it all goes!