#this scene probably won’t even make an appearance for a long time anyway

[cosmic-hoboandthehighlander]

🎢 ❌️ 🤲 pretty please <333

🎢 Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

If I need to settle on a published work, I think Love, Your Sailor feels sort of like roller coaster in a way. I mean, Teddy and Mort meet over one week and feel this connection and now they have to figure out to navigate their feelings while Teddy is on active duty. I mean it feels very up in the air, a very unsure time for both of them as they’re trying to figure out if they’re meant to be. Just as a side note, this still is one of my favorites and I do hope to go back to it someday and write more.

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

I’m a sucker for tropes, they’re like my favorite thing and there are few that I wont write but one thing I don’t read and will never write is A/B/O. It’s just…really confusing and I never really understand how it works? Not to say I don’t enjoy dominate/submissive behaviors in my writing but the whole werewolf/shapeshifting pack dynamic whatever you wanna call it is just really not for me. I don’t enjoy it, it makes me personally uncomfortable, so I mostly just avoid it. Of course no disrespect to anybody else who writes or enjoys this; it is just not for me.

🤲 Would you please share a snippet of a wip?

Since you love Abbey so much, here’s a portion of a scene I’ve been sitting on for a long time waiting until I can incorporate it into my main divorced dad AU, Dance One More With Me. (Soon, I promise! It will be posted this year!)

Maybe I’m feeling a little too generous or I just really want to show off this scene so I don’t know where to cut it off, but here you go!

“Don’t even think about it, missy. I can come home at any time,” Teddy threatened, looking at her sternly. He didn’t want boys in the house when he wasn’t home; Mort agreed with him. Surely she understood they trusted Abbey but not Bryce.

“Yeah, because you’re never working,” she sneered at him, crossing her arms. The argument had been going on for a while, tempers gradually climbing. Not even a few months prior she had been complaining that Teddy seemed to always be at work, now she acted like she couldn’t get rid of him.

Teddy’s skin prickled with embarrassment and anger, “You little—“

“A-alright, that’s enough,” Mort stepped between them, putting an arm around Abbey and giving Teddy a look he knew well enough to know he should shut up and fast. “Abbey, all we’re trying to say is we trust you until you give us a reason not to.”

“But Teddy already doesn’t trust me!” She protested, huffing out an angry breath through her nose.

“Damn right! I don’t trust this Bryce character,” Teddy cut his hand through the air, a finality to his words. He didn’t like this kid, not even a little bit. Though, nobody would be good enough for Abbey, not now anyway. “I don’t like him.”

“You don’t even know him!” She stomped her foot and Teddy saw Mort pressed his lips together to keep himself calm. He was better at that than Teddy, who was struggling to keep himself together. Not for the first time, Teddy wished he could figure out how to meditate like Mort did; he just could never quite figure out how to keep his focus.

“Abigail, that’s enough—“

Teddy hadn’t meant to interrupt Mort, but the words just seemed to burst out of him, the volume of his voice raising as if he couldn’t control it, “I know he’s a teenage boy and you know what those are like. Of course you don’t, not yet!”

Teddy was so frustrated and he just wanted his little girl to stay just that: little. Thirteen? God, this was awful and it would only get worse. First it would be little punks like Bryce and then it’d be alcohol and sneaking out; worse arguments than this one.

Abbey stomped her foot again, wrenching out of Mort’s grasp, stalking across the room, “Why do you have to be such a-a boob punch! You never let me do anything; god, it’s like you think you’re my dad or something!”

Teddy’s heart felt like it dropped into his stomach.

“Do not talk to Teddy that way, Abigail. That is enough. Out of both of you,” Mort’s voice was dangerously low and threatening something Teddy hardly ever heard out of him. Feeling attacked, and slightly more confident with Mort defending him, Teddy argued back.

“We aren’t done with this conversation! I’m not a—Where’d you even learn a word like that?” Teddy demanded, hands on his hips. “Whether you like it or not, I’m still—you’re my daughter! My house, my rules!”

“Teddy!” Mort looked between them, clearly distressed. He gave Teddy a sharp glare, which went ignored.

Abbey, who crossed her arms over her chest, ignored her dad and fixed Teddy with a hard glare. “None of your beeswax, Theodore!” She cried from across the room.

“Don’t you talk to me that way!” Teddy pressed his lips together, trying to hold on his anger, but ultimately, he couldn’t. “You don’t get to talk to me that way! If this is how you’re gonna act, you can’t come with me anymore on jobs! In fact, I don’t want to hang out with you anymore at all! Is that what you want?”

“Teddy,” Mort said sharply, reaching over to grab his wrist. “Stop.” He did stop, but he wasn’t happy about it. Teddy seethed, biting his lip so hard it drew blood and stared hard at the little girl across the room. He hated the yelling, he hated feeling this way. Mort’s grip tightened, thumb stroking over his inner wrist. He focused on his breathing and Mort’s soothing touch, trying his best to calm down.

“I hate you!” Abbey screamed, stomping out of the room and up the stairs.

[randomsufff]

Ok fuck it- I keep seeing the Great Gatsby pop up (thanks Gravity Falls lmao) and recently saw The Great Gatsby on Broadway and I need to spill out my thoughts on this musical

I’ll hold off my grips with it compared to the book till the very end- since I know a lot of argument around this musical is that it’s an adaptation and the adaptors are liable for taking creative liberties. Which- yeah! That’s valid! But I’d argue that in order to adapt something successfully, if you’re gonna make huge (and I mean HUGE) changes to the source material, it’s gotta somewhat follow some reason that makes sense for the characters and/or adds some layer or depth to the story or else you get something like HBOs Velma. But more on that in either an entirely other post or later depending on how long this gets

Read bellow if you want a really fucking long, detailed description of the show and what I think it did right and very, very wrong.

I will say- as a TLDR rn- I thought the show was just…ok. Like- “yeah that show sure was a musical.” kind of ok. The good songs and amazing spectacle of a few of the numbers kinda cancel out the bad pacing and really questionable narrative choices the show made. Also- hearing Eva Noblezada sing live changed my life.

OK- so I’ll start out by saying- I believe we had basically all the original current cast except for Jordan Baker was played by Traci Elaine Lee (who was absolutely phenomenal so I’m not too sad about missing Samantha Pauly)

I really thought the show was ok. Like I don’t hate it vehemently but I don’t love it either. I feel like the only reason it’s so famous is because of its two powerhouse leads (Hot take? Maybe.) Anyways, I don’t know how to go about this so we’ll go list form

1) PACING WAS ATROCIOUS

Again, not even comparing it to the novel- the pacing felt really off and didn’t even make much sense story wise. Like we would rush past certain information and then linger on scenes that didn’t really need to be lingered on? At least to me, I felt like there was other stuff the show should have prioritized showing- CAUSE THATS THE THING WITH THIS SHOW- is that they TELL not SHOW a LOT of information- so it kinda just feels like you’re being tossed plot without experiencing it.

For example, literally as soon as the show starts, Nick and party goers just throw all the information about Gatsbys party and being mysterious at the beginning by telling us and not showing, like he never shown to be cryptically hanging around in the first like 20 minutes of the show (at least that I remember- there was a lot happening in the opening number 😭) . Which sucks because they did this REALLY COOL thing right before the show started where Gatsby was standing there and was immediately gone as soon as a screen passed. LIKE YOU COULDN’T HAVE THAT HAPPEN AGAIN WHEN THEYRE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT HIM???

(Also- recently saw a rehearsal (?) video where Gatsby like actually opened the opening song “Roaring On”, and that would have been great if they kept that! Because looking back, I felt like Gatsby had the least amount of stage time. Which probably I sn’t actually true, but it really felt like it. Like where is the main guy??? His first appearance (after his little disappearing act) is like, 20 minutes into the show. Idk for something that’s called “The Great Gatsby” he sure wasn’t on stage a lot. )

Then a couple scene later, Gatsby reveals to Nick- a man he JUST MET FACE TO FACE- that he’s in deep love with his married cousin and asks him TO HIS FACE that he wants him to set up a meeting with her. And then they move on. Like???

If you watched the show, maybe this’ll make sence to you, maybe this won’t, but it feel like they rushed past everything in the original source material, and only expanded and talked at length the aspects they wrote in.

Also the ending was so. Incredibly. Rushed. Like we don’t even get to see Daisys reaction to killing/hitting Myrtle. As soon as the fight at the Plaza ends everything else happens in like 15 minutes. Are you kidding me. WE DONT GET TO SEE DAISY ACTUALLY HIT MYRTLE. They did the ol’ “Bright lights get shined at the audience as character pretends to get hit” but that’s it! Literally THE REASON why Gatsby is killed and we don’t get to see it or their reactions in the moment. They just… tell us what happened instead of showing it to us. (“Daisy tried to swerve to the next lane but there was a car coming- and then… she just peeled off. She’s packing now…” YOU COULDN’T SHOW THIS TO US???) No idea of how Daisy or Gatsby reacted immediately after, only the next day. No rambled and frightened dialogue of their game plan, no glimpse into Daisys psyche where it’s shown she’s not going to choose Gatsby after all. Nothing.

Oh! And guess how long Gatsbys funeral was? Like a minute long. Just Nick sitting next to a casket in the background while party goers, Jordan and Wolfsheim dismiss Gatsby with a throwaway line. Like bro… that’s your main lead character… shouldn’t you give him, idk , at least more than a minute on stage when he dies? And like yeah I get that that’s the point that he’s forgotten, but I thought it was going to be more prominent than that! Give me Nick standing solemnly next to a casket thats dead center on a completely empty stage while he narrates how no one showed up. How despite the riches and infamy, no one, not even Jays own father (cause literally no one was by the casket on stage but Nick) showed up for his funeral. Instead of weirdly dismissing it like it’s not important?

2) NICK AND JORDENS “RELATIONSHIP”

Nah this actually pisses me off because there’s literally no point in this being so highlighted when it literally goes fucking nowhere.

So their relationship arc goes like this: Jorden says relationships sucks because she wants to be an independent woman in the 20s. Nicks like, I am not looking for a relationship but if we were in one I’d let you do all those things. They flirt, almost kiss, flirt more, do kiss, Nick says “let’s get married /j” Jorden says “yeah let’s get married /srs”, they get ENGAGED, they fight after discussing if they inadvertently caused Myrtle’s death (Jorden intentionally let Myrtle know where they were going that night), break up, and never speak to each other the rest of the show.

HELLO? What the actual fuck was the point of this then? If you wanted to expand Jorden to be the independent, feminist, girlboss *cough lesbian cough* that she is, just let her stay single?? She doesn’t need to be with Nick if you want her to be a part of the main cast.

The main problem I have with this is that the musical put wayyyy too much emphasis on it. And it’s so funny because there’s this big, dramatic, movie-esc pause Nick does after he says “I don’t want to marry you”, and sorry to the people who genuinely gasped, but be fr, are we surprised??? Jordan has been saying from literally her first line that men/marriage sucks, and that she would never do that willingly- then when she get married to a guy she knows for, at most? 1-2 weeks (idk how long the musical take place over), I’m supposed to take that relationship seriously????

In fact, I felt like their relationship often overshadowed Gatsby and Daisys, which shouldn’t happen, because the whole fucking shows about Gatsby.

For example, they steamrolled Gatsby and Daisys reunion with a budding Jordan and Nick plotline, for some reason??? Like they literally show Gatsby and Daisy seeing each other, have them say a few sentences wistfully reminiscing their first meeting, then have them go inside the house while their silhouettes are shown talking while the audience stays with Nick and Jorden OUTSIDE as they joke and almost kiss each other. HUH??? How are you going to literally push your years-long, slow burn yearning MAIN ROMANCE reunion to the side for a budding relationship that came out of nowhere and frankly dosent need to exist? And since we’re not going book accurate, you can actually SHOW how Gatsby and Daisy fall back into each others orbit, how their conversation went. But no.

It got so bad that I honestly can’t tell if one of the themes of this musical is something about marriage because of how much they pushed the “married/ people in a relationship” dynamic. Like what are you trying to tell me? All marriages are doomed??? I don’t even know (mayhaps just me being aroace)

What grips me the most is that they don’t even get any closure. Like they literally never speak to each other after that night Myrtle is killed. (Mostly cause the show ends literally 5 minutes later). The whole show they put these two together, build up their romance, show them having cute and funny moments together… all for what? For nothing?

AND I DID LIKE THEM. They were a cute couple, and their chemistry and jokes together were funny and charming. Their dynamic was interesting too, with Jordan wearing the pants, so to speak, and insisting she maintain her freedom while in marriage/ a relationship which wasn’t heard of in the 20s. But for all that to end because Jorden didn’t want to tell the cops Gatsby and Daisy possible ran her over/they’re partially responsible??? Like they INVESTED. SO. MUCH. in this relationship (to the point where they got ENGAGED???) that it feels so stupid and dumb for it to end like “wow you’re heartless :c I don’t want to marry you anymore :ccc” “well too bad, L, you’re guilty too asshole. Bye.”

AND what really grinds my gears is that if they cut this whole shit out, or at least made it more in the background, it would give more time to flesh out the few other problems I have with this show

3) SONG… EFFICIENCY (?)

Ok last point that’s not as much of a complaint as the others, but it was still something that bothered me. Some of the songs just say nothing/ repeat stuff we already know. Mainly thinking of (and sorry to people who like these songs- I’m not saying they’re bad! They’re just not a lot of info there) “For Her”, “Go”, or “Shady”

Like “For Her”, he’s just saying “I did [list of things involved with his fame/money] for her” for 4 minutes and you don’t even know who “her” is until like, the last line. Like this could have been a perfect opportunity to deep dive into Gastbys upbringing/ past, but the most the musical goes into Gatsby’s past is that he was in the war. Like you don’t get the sense that this man worked his way literally from the ground up for this woman. It’s just so repetitive that, even though it was Jeremy Jordon, I was getting bored halfway through.

AGAIN, this is not slandering Jeremy Jordan (JJ stans please spare me), you could have the most amazing Broadway singer sing with the best technique, but if it’s a dull, repetitive song, PERSONALLY, I’d be bored. They could have just combined this with another song, or as I suggested, add more purpose to the song and maybe put it later in the musical.

Similarly, “Go” (and, AGAIN, love Jeremy and Eva) was super repetitive and could have just been reduced to dialogue.

And “Shady”, though also a really good song, frankly could have been cut out. For some reason the musical really wanted Wolfsheim to be a main antagonist/prominent character and gave him this song- but there’s nothing in it that wasn’t already implied in the first Act and it really has nothing to do with any of the other characters, other then a vague “Jay and Daisy” gotta keep their affair secret (which… yeah I think we know that, but also to compare that to… hiding dead bodies and minding your own business- it’s???? Idk what they were going for)

(Tbh- I conversed with my dad who also mainly wanted to see the show for Jermey Jordan and Eva Noblezada and he said that none of JJ songs were that memorable, which I kinda agree with. He’s a great singer, a very talented man, but the songs he was made to sing in this show were not it. Just nothing of substance or catchiness. Which SUCKS. Because how are you going to get someone like Jeremy Jordan and not have him sing an absolute banger? But weirdly, none of his songs (maybe except “Only Tea” which I really liked) stood out which I’m so disappointed about.)

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Ok that’s all just as it’s own thing (mostly) NOW MY FUCKING PROBLEMS WITH IT COMPARED TO THE BOOK

1.B) NICK AND GATSBY’S FRIENDSHIP

THIS IS THE BIGGEST ONE- Nick and Gatsby friendship is so fucking integral to the original, and it feels like it didn’t even exist in the musical.

Like regardless on whether you ship them or see them as friends- Nick was Jays only fucking friend. He was the ONLY ONE who truly cared about him and went to his funeral when no one else did. In the book, Nick did So. Much. just because he wanted to for Gatsby. Gatsby had to ask Jorden to ask Nick to set up his tea meeting, he attempts to charm and lavish him in trips, and even tries to pay the man to get him to agree. But Nick refuses and is even offended that Gatsby would pay him money for such a thing and immediately accepts the night he finds out. And they actually hung out! Like a lot! At least before Jay asks him for the tea request. And though it could been because he wanted to make it easier for Nick to say yes, they were friendly with each other, and felt like actual pals. Nick genuinely was worried about Gatsby at the end, and even tried to warn him about what he was attempting to do multiple times.

In the musical that bond is just… not there. They rush past meeting each other, they never hang out one on one, and any interaction between them seemed slightly aggressive or politely concerned, like one would be to a stranger, which they technically are!!! The only reason he agrees to Gatsbys plan is basically petty revenge against Tom for punching Myrtle and being an asshole to Daisy/ in general. (Which- I feel like a move thats so out of character for Book!Nick cause he also dislikes Daisy.) Like Nick never learns Gatsbys backstory here (I don’t think he ever tells it, not even to the audience).

The “ you can’t repeat the past” line seemed more aggressively exasperated in delivery then the more soft concern for a close friend I initially read it as. And the “you’re worth more then whole rotten crowd put together” line didn’t really hit as hard because they don’t feel like close friends and nowhere in the show has Nick expresses this pedestal he puts Gatsby on like in the book.

Literally the only times they’re together alone is their initial meeting, and setting up for tea at Nicks. Every other time either Gatsby is with Daisy or Nicks with Jorden. They could have at least put together a cool ass montage of them hanging together, using those moving panels, going through diffrent activities as Jay introduces himself with his Oxford and army line, instead of dumping it all on him on their literal first meeting in his study.

(Also noted that they made it so Gastby owns the property Nick lives on and is renting it out for the man. Idk why they did this- to make it so Nick is indebted to Gatsby??? Also Gatsby vaguely threatens/ says something with a condescending/threatening aura (???) before Nick leaves after Jay ASKS A MAN .5 SECONDS AFTER MEETING HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME FACE TO FACE for the tea set up. Like there was a moment where he held onto Nicks hand as they shake goodbye, held his eye and said a line (I forgor) and kinda stood there staring him down before Nick awkwardly left. LIKE WHAT WAS THAT???? WHO ARE YOU???? WHY??? Literally doing everything to make sure no one can ship them)

2.B) THEY STRAIGHT-IFIED MY BOY.

NICK WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU. It felt like they wanted to take away any whiff of an implication that this man is gay. Like literally no build up to Jay and Nicks friendship, no meaningful scenes between the two, going head first and completely committing to Jordan, AND THE MR MCKEE SCENE BEING LIKE THAT.

AND MR MCKEE, IM SO, SO SORRY WHAT THEY’VE DONE TO YOU. They made him to be some predator who harasses Nick the whole party scene. And this could have been so. easy. to fit into the queer lens if the actor who plays Nick (Noah J Ricketts, fucking what a talented man) acted interested in Mr.McKee but was actively restraining himself and trying not to engage in order to save face in front of Tom and Co. (Please, please, please- making a prayer circle and manifesting that one of the later actors does this down the line) But noooooo, Nick is shown to be mildly uncomfortable while McKee follows him around (in an unfortunately a banger of a song) EVEN THOUGH IN THE BOOK NICK ACTIVELY ENGAGES WITH HIM IN HOMOEROTIC DIALOGUE AND EVEN GOES TO BED WITHBNANJSBSJB

3.B) Jordan’s Purpose

Already touch this before but what the hell was the point of Jordan here. I love the “cool independent woman in the 20s” angle they were going for, but then why the hell would you immediately shackle her to a romantic relationship with Nick when that goes against literally everything she stands for. And I’m not saying she can’t get in relationships, but the speed in which SHE of ALL PEOPLE, was like “Yes I want to get married to you for real” make me…

Sure it was said in the novel that Nick and Jorden were together, but he was always flighty about her; saying he was attracted to her but also hated some of her qualities (dishonesty and heartlessness). It wasn’t the main focus like it was here (I can’t even remember much of their relationship in the book tbh) and they didn’t invest so much in it as they did in the musical that it didn’t feel out of nowhere or too much of a big deal when they broke up. Like it fr felt like the musical held up a “Gasp Now” sign when Nick said he doesn’t want to get married to her cause they wanted that moment to hit so hard for some reason???

AND. There was an ACTUAL PURPOSE to Jordan relationship with Nick in the book (a representation of the wealth he was attracted to then repulsed by [*cough* also contributing the “Nick is Queer” lens *cough*]) they… kinda? did it in the musical? And it would have been boosted by Nicks new naivety in the musical, but it falls short because they never speak again, or really explain Jordan’s value on wealth and herself is why it went wrong other then a “you’re heartless” line that feels out of nowhere. (Idk maybe I was too focused on how pointless that relationship felt that I failed to noticed if Nick had a Big RevelationTM here on Wealth and Jordan)

4.B) Character Differences

Some of them are great, like there’s more dimensions to some, but some character choices, I’m like- that goes against everything they’re supposed to represent in the book.

Like I found it so weird how willing Daisy was to run away with Gatsby in the musical when in the book it was more obvious, at least I read it so, that she was holding back a bit and was never going to run with Gatsby that far. Like wdym Gatsby could have had it all if he just ran with Daisy then, WDYM HE SAID NO BECAUSE OF HIS PRIDE???? HUH? WHERE did this priority of PRIDE come from???? When Daisy’s RIGHT. THERE. Like she was sobbing, begging him to run with her. In what universe would Gatsby turn that down???

Like many people say, this seems like it’s supposed to be a love story between Gatsby and Daisy, but in the book it’s pretty obvious how Daisy isn’t as committed to Gatsby then she is Tom cause of their Old vs New money.

And Myrtle? Why did she suddenly turn back to George? I felt like the only reason why that happened is cause the creators wanted shock and tragedy factor. Like “aw she finally found peace in where she is but oops now she’s dead”

And it would have been good if they actually showed why she thought this beyond the 3 minute song, cause that’s not enough time for someone who only chased after money to do a 180. Like, sure she figured Tom would just move on from her (YES EVERYONE CHEERED, GREAT CHARACTER MOMENT) but George isn’t shown to be that great either in his last moments with her. I mean he locked her in the house? Bathroom? and was pretty violent towards her. Sure we learn earlier that he’s doing a lot for her but we never SEE it. He sings to US the audience about his dream to move them out and live a nice life but not to HER which could have been a cute point of connection but nooooooo.

They also made Nick like, kinda naive. Like he really likes Daisy and Jorden and I guess Gastby (though it’s not shown) compared to his counterpart who know how money corrupts and kinda hates everyone (even Gatsby at points). Any I feel like they could have done well with making him naive to that fact, to really make this a tragedy (like Hadestown esc) but they fell short somehow. I think it’s cause the ending was so rushed. Like there wasn’t enough time to show the consequences of everyone’s actions and how hurt and changed he is. It all flys by in like 7 minutes.

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Ok now we’re done being cynical- here are the good things I liked

1.C) The woman are 3-Dimensional yay/ Nicks also here

Myrtle’s song (Second-Hand Suit) is phenomenal. Great way to introduce more character and backstory to someone who originally had none.

Also, again, loved Jordan’s independence angle (if only they WENT SOMEWHERE WITH IT) and I lowkey loved the “well Tom cheats why can’t you” line and Daisy’s whole attitude as she one ups Tom in the dinner table scene. Also Daisy was already kinda complex in the book, but it really shows how turmoiled she is here and that’s interesting,

And despite how I kinda ragged on it, I really did like Nicks personality throughout the musical. He was sooo humorous in a way he wasn’t in the book. Also, thinking about it, his nativity is an interesting spin on his character that I really would have liked if it was executed properly.

2.C) The songs fucking slap

I can’t lie, most of these songs are bangers. I have half of the songs on loop. Not to mention the actors who sing them are absolutely incredible. I won’t lie, I was mostly interested in this musical cause of Jeremey and Eva; and Eva, holy shit, is an absolute powerhouse to witness live. I was So. Surprised by how effortlessly she sang notes and how clear and crisp they were (“Absolute Rose” was… idk what it was about that song, but I’m obsessed with how she sang that song, [except the “open” part? Idk it grates me for some reason???] even though it’s not my favorite song) Like she truly embodies Daisy Fay and it was incredible to see that in person.

However, the rest of the cast was so incredible too, ESPECIALLY MYRTLE (Chilina Kennedy). Holy Fuck is that woman amazing at singing. Her two songs she sang absolutely ate, like I’m obsessed with her voice. Wolfsheim (Eric Anderson) and George (Paul Whitty) also had amazing voices.

Also NICK??! Holy shit, I’m so sorry you’re not in like any promotional stuff cause you fucking killed it. The way I’m obsessed with how he sings “If only I’d knew then, that I would never be the same” in “Roaring On” and how he sings “The Met” is amazing

3.C) Visuals- kinda

Some of the visuals were ok tbh- kinda boring- but the ones that went big, WENT BIG. Of course “New Money”, “Roaring On” and “The Met” are the ones that stand out the most in my mind. “New Money” and “Roaring On” are exactly what you probably think it is, big dance numbers with sparks and huge lights. But I loved “The Met” cause the furniture slid around and literally moved around Nick while people drifted in and out of the room. It was just great to watch visually.

4.C) THE ENDING NUMBER HOLY SHIT

I. Love. Love. LOVE. How they brought back the opening number, and the theme of party goers going on from party to party to show how unimportant Gatsby was to the world, and how everyone moved on.

Like, Nick stood in the center of the stage, reciting the end of the book, in tears and voice cracking, as the ensemble in the back slowly get revealed and are just having a grand ol time looking for the next party. Just- chills. It was amazing conceptually and they pulled it off so well.

If the musical got nothing else in terms of structure going for it- at least they got the last minute right cause omg, I love when media has opposing moods in the same scene, and they did so well here.

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Overall, yeah. Not horrible but I don’t love it. The lack in plot and nonsense relationships and complete disregard of the book didn’t totally ruin the musical cause I had a good time and liked the songs and such but I would not go back and re watch it.

I think of you know nothing about the book or anything about The Great Gatsby other then there’s a guy named Gatsby and he’s great and you just want a nice sounding show, you’ll probably like this, but people who are burdened by the knowledge of the book will be hung up on a lot of things I mentioned here.

Always, long ass post, congrats to anyone who actually read this real informal review. I haven’t gone into how this is a pretty bad adaptation, but I’ll have to do that in another post (if people want to see that) and another time cause this took my literal hours to type out.

(Tbh I might just do the adaptation essay anyways, cause I’ve written at least 4 papers on adaptation in media [and how Groundhog Day the musicals the best Movie to Musicals adaptation] and I love that shit)

[vylad243]

hiiii! 💕 I know you said you aren’t taking on too many requests atm, so it’s no pressure at all if you don’t feel like responding for a bit — your comfort is top priority after all! But here’s a bit of a fandom AU classic for you: radiostatic beauty and the beast AU.

Vox is a young, brilliant, beautiful, and talented up-and-coming overlord hoping to make it in the scene with his newfangled television idea — Hell still being in The Dark Ages (TM) at this time. He feels unsatisfied with his life and is ostracized/shunned by his fellow overlords and sinners who assume he’s stuck up and find his constant push for innovation odd (“what is this so-called electricity thing? We were doing JUST fine with the trashfires, thank you!”) Not helping matters is that he is also being actively “pursued” (aka harassed) by Valentino, who keeps proposing that they team up for business purposes but really just wants Vox’s soul/Vox all to himself and won’t take no for an answer. Despite his aspirations, Vox is content to live as happy and simple a life can have in Hell alongside his beloved personal assistant Papermint and Vark.

Things take a turn when, one day, Papermint goes out to run an errand while walking Vark and doesn’t return. Concerned for his assistant’s safety, especially after Vark returns Papermintless, Vox does some investigating (sidenote: I headcanon that Vox used to be a journalist when he was human, so he’d have the skillset) and after doing enough digging, realizes that Papermint had vanished around the premises of a seemingly abandoned and derelict hotel on the outskirts of Pride. Heading there himself, he finds himself taken aback when common household appliances start talking to him and notices a strange magical aura permeating the old building as he scopes it out. He eventually finds Papermint in the dungeon and is confronted by the imposing form of a giant, territorial wendigo — however he quickly recognizes the creature as Alastor, a former overlord who had mysteriously gone radio silent seven years ago and was presumed dead by the masses. He had caught Papermint trespassing on his property and had tossed him in the dungeon with plans to turn him into a future meal for attempting to steal from him: the poor assistant had tried to make off with a beautiful antique radio as a gift for Vox to cheer him up after Val’s latest stint had left him considerably heated and had wrongfully assumed the place was abandoned.

Vox, as you can imagine, is having absolutely none of this and barters with the Radio Demon to release Papermint and, in exchange, he’ll take his place as his prisoner and next meal—as it was his fault his assistant wound up in this predicament anyway, and besides it’s not like anyone will care if he’s gone anyway, right? Alastor is taken aback by this young demon’s gutless nature and sacrifice (and perhaps even a little flattered as well), but honours his wishes and let's Papermint go, arranging him a room to stay in and allowing Vox free reign of the hotel as long as he stays away from the forbidden radio tower. Vox is likewise just as confused by Alastor’s gentleman nature as anyone probably would be: having heard many, many stories before of the “terrifying and ruthless, bloodthirsty” Radio Demon, Vox is mostly shocked that he hasn’t been torn limb from limb yet. He finds himself adjusting to life at the hotel fairly quickly, finding the strange sense of solace it provides the much needed reprieve from his life back home, despite the occasional bouts of homesickness (missing Papermint and Vark in particular). He even quickly befriends and bonds with the enchanted staff, which includes a gothic raggedy Ann type doll named Velvette (who naturally is at the ready to give him a makeover at the drop of a hat), a vintage tea kettle set named Rosie, Niffty — a feather duster, and so on.

However, despite his terrifying appearance and reputation, Alastor is mostly just an awkward loner desperately seeking companionship and sees a worthy potential friend in Vox (although rest assured, the Radio Demon will not hesitate to rip you apart with his teeth if you cross him); living in exile after being cursed into this form by Lilith herself for his arrogance, Alastor has long since given up hope on breaking the curse and his content to live a quiet life in isolation with his enchanted servants. However something about this Vox creature draws his attention and fascination quickly turns into affection the longer the two interact and bond. It isn’t too long before Alastor realizes that he no longer wishes Vox to just be his friend, but his mate: with much of the help of the staff, he begins the process of attempting to court Vox over the span of a year — unfortunately, years in isolation has left the poor stag with the social skills of a rock, so Vox doesn’t immediately clue in on what’s going on but is flattered by the lovely and thoughtful gifts and increasing invites to dinner and dances. Unbeknownst to Al, Vox soon starts developing feelings of his own toward the terrifying but kind demon as well, but is too scared to act on them in fear of being rejected like he is with everyone else. Velvette, and the rest of the staff are all sighing and shaking their heads at the mutual idiocy of these two.

Unfortunately, their budding romance is put to the test when Alastor realizes that, by the end of this year, if his spell isn’t broken, then he will be permanently trapped in this state and will be lost to his animalistic urges, putting Vox at a great risk of getting hurt. He allows Vox the opportunity to go visit his family back home for some time and uses his absence to sneak out of the hotel and meet up with the princess — who had been letting him and his thralls hide away in her hotel this whole time — in secret, hoping to figure out how to finally break his curse before anyone gets hurt; Charlie is, unfortunately, unable to break the curse herself but informs him that if he performs one truly selfless act for someone he loves, then the spell will be broken and he will be restored to his former power.

And just beyond the gates of the hotel, things in Hell aren’t looking so hot either: Vox’s disappearance was initially brushed off, as was Papermint’s claims of the Radio Demon still being alive, but now — six months in without power and the media demon still not showing has made speculation rise. Things only go more out of control when Alastor himself is accidentally spotted on one of Vox’s still functioning security cameras leaving a secret meeting with the princess. Shit hits the fan and, ever the opportunist, Valentino seizes the chance to rile up both the public and his fellow overlords into taking down the Radio Demon before he becomes too “difficult to manage”, his efforts only strengthening when Vox suddenly reappears back in Pentagram City, still alive and singing the Radio Demon’s praises as he gleefully reunites with his beloved assistant and pet shark once more. Valentino tries to pressure Vox into staying away from the hotel even longer and becomes more aggressive/possessive in his advances as a result — accusing the wendigo of brainwashing him and projecting so, so hard in the process. Vox, fed up with the moth’s disgusting dehumanizing treatment of him, denounces him and tells him flat out that he’d rather die than be Val’s little plaything, inadvertently letting his feelings for Alastor slip in the process. Enraged at this final, brutal rejection, Val knocks Vox unconscious and keeps him locked up in his tower for a time, using his sudden disappearance and staged evidence to fake the media overlord’s murder and further rally up the people and leads them into an attack on the hotel — fully intending on killing Alastor so that Vox has nobody left to go to but him.

Meanwhile poor Al is beside himself with worry over his mate not returning but falls into despair at the thought that Vox has abandoned him the longer he fails to return, and meanwhile Vox desperately tries to escape Val’s tower, realizing that he really is in love with Alastor and vowing to kill Valentino himself should anything happen to his Radio Demon. He manages to get a distress message to Papermint, Vark and a stowaway Velvette, who help him break out and together, they race to go save Alastor before it’s too late.

This is quite a long one! While this is a great prompt, sadly this would be quite a large project and I don't want to do anything too big for prompts since I like to keep them to 1k-3k words. Maybe one day I'll shorten this down and make it into a prompt, but not right now

Thank you for the prompt regardless! It sounds really interesting!

[italiantnea]

#0-3_haizaki_itsuya/ the adult way

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“At this rate, we won’t be able to avoid this becoming a case…”

Of course, Haizaki Itsuya went to work as usual this morning. The janitor room had been tidied and not a single piece of trash was left on the floor. With the watering can on the work desk in hand, he was now ready to start work anytime. He was fully prepared.

“What should I do, I’ve really done it now…”

Haizaki sat down on the steel chair.

“No, this is no time to be sitting…”

He stood up straight away.

“I’ve done it! I’ve done it. I’ve gone and done it now. What do you mean, ‘I will do anything within my power’? Going all, ‘If you feel like it, please rely on me’. I can't believe I said that. Pretending to be all cool-like. That’s right, I just couldn't help but show off a little, huh? Even though that wasn't cool anyway. That’s a bad habit of mine. I declared that so confidently but couldn't get in contact with the section chief in the end…”

Haizaki paced back and forth around the janitor room. From under the work desk, Haizaki’s partner, the weasel-like zingai Olver stuck its head out.

“Man, should I just say it? Go, ‘I’d like to be reinstated into Special Cases’? Would that work out somehow…? Bow my head and go ‘Please, let me be reinstated’. Hmm. I wonder. Reinstated huh. Reinstated. Could I do it is the question. Working on the scene is out of the question; I’ve been branded as useless so I’ll probably be transferred to general affairs or something. General affairs!”

He set the watering can down on the work desk with a bang, and Olver retreated back under the desk.

“Aaah…!”

Haizaki tousled his hair with both hands.

“General affairs section, I’m not suited to that. Coordination and negotiation and stuff. The section chief transferred me there knowing that. It was to make me say ‘I quit’ on my own accord, wasn't it? In other words, I was basically half forced to quit my job. What could I possibly do in this state? Even though I have to do something. I have to protect those kids who have a future. What should I do? I’ve really done it now…”

Haizaki placed both hands on the desk and nodded. He nodded again and again, repeatedly muttering, ‘got it, I understand, I got it.’

“Whatever I do, can’t be helped. If this problem could be solved by worrying I would've solved it long ago. First comes work. I have work to do. That’s right. I’m a respectable salaried worker, so let’s get to work.”

He picked up the watering can once again. At that moment, the cellphone atop his desk started ringing. Haizaki jumped up with an “Owahh!” and clutched his chest.

“Do- d-d-d- don’t scare me like that. What do you want, ugh… What, you venting your anger now? That’s it huh, venting your anger at a cellphone, huh. A call…? Who is it, so early in the morning—”

Haizaki picked up the cellphone in place of the watering can. The number was displayed. It was a cellphone number. He didn't remember seeing it before. It was a number he didn't know. He picked up tentatively.

“...Yes, hello?”

“Ah, Haizaki-kun?”

It was a male voice, and not a young one.

“...Uh…yes…”

“Boku, boku*,” *boku meaning ‘I’

The voice was mocking, and without thinking Haizaki joined in on the bit.

“Bokuboku-san?”

“Huh?”

“That’s not right is it. Eh? Whom am I speaking to…?”

“This is Kudou. You know who I am?”

“Ch-chief…?!”

“Well, you’re in no place to be calling me chief. Not anymore, eh?”

That mocking way of speaking, as if playing the fool—it sure was that man all right.

Kudou.

Chief of management of the Special Cases Countermeasures Office in the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.

Kudou Keiki.

And to Haizaki Itsuya, his former boss.

“I’ve heard all about it, Haizaki-kun~”

An image appeared in his mind; one of Kudou picking out earwax with his left pinky, a faint smile spreading across his long, horse-like face.

“You’ve properly put yourself to work in another job, haven't you?”

“...Ahh, well… yes. Thanks to your help…”

“Working at a middle school, was it? Ya know, I always thought you’d be a, ah you know? A host or something? I thought if you were switching you’d go into that line of work.”

“H-host… huh. No way, I’m not that young anymore…”

“What’re you saying now. If you say you’re not young, then what would that make me? That’s the thing about you, Haizaki-kun. You’ve got a nice attitude and a slick mouth but you’re surprisingly insensitive, huh?”

“...I’m sorry.”

“It’s just a joke. A joke! You try so hard to look cool but you’re weirdly serious at heart, aren’tcha?”

“Is that how you thought of me…”

“That you’re weirdly serious? It is. In a bad way.”

“A bad way…”

“Like I said, I’m joking! Humour’s important, you know. Don't you think so? Hm?”

Kudou was a Toudai graduate and a civil servant, but he was funny without putting on airs, and on top of that, he was aloof. He was not the kind of man to talk roughly to his juniors.

However, he was scary when he got mad. That had been the hottest rumour around. He was a master of behind-the-scenes maneuvers and shady dealings, and he was categorically unforgiving to anyone who intruded on his territory. Single, and uninterested in climbing the corporate ladder, which made him extra vicious by nature.  Those were the rumours he had heard.

An enigma of a man, shrouded in mystery. He was well-mannered and fair-spoken, but he gave off the impression that nothing he said was the truth. From the day he saw his face to the day he quit from Special Cases, Haizaki had never been good at dealing with Kudou.

“Um, Kudou—san. So uh… what did you need from me?”

“Ahh, right, right.”

He heard Kudou’s Nnhuhuh laugh for the first time in a while. Haizaki didn't deal well with that laughter either. Truthfully, it irritated him. Kudou was probably aware that he irritated others. He seemed to do it on purpose.

“What, you say. Of course, I’m not calling to apologize for neglecting our longstanding friendship. I don't exactly have that kind of free time on my hands. And neither do you, right? Your second shot at life. Putting your all into your work and all. You must be pretty busy yourself. Am I mistaken?”

“....About that, well…”

“If that’s the case, Haizaki-kun. Don’t be doing anything unnecessary.”

Abruptly, Kudou’s tone went cold. It was a strange, imperceptible change. Kudou probably still had a smile plastered on his face. However, Haizaki suddenly found it hard to breathe. It was like his eyeballs had been pierced with blades.

“Understood? What happened to her, it was a serious blow. Not just to you, but to us all, you see. You couldn't manage to recover. That can't be helped. I’m not blaming you whatsoever. But you managed to find new employment, and got your life back on track. I applaud you! I’m truly happy for you. Please, do continue to do your best. You have my full support. But you see, Haizaki-kun, could you refrain from sticking your nose in our line of work? It’s not something a good law abiding citizen has any business getting involved in. Of course, you must know that very well yourself.”

“...They’re middle school students.”

Good job talking back. Haizaki wanted to praise himself right then. Praising himself for this much—he found his own softness quite disgusting if he did say so himself. He was still wet behind the ears and surely too naive, but he didn't think he was wrong.

“They’re still just children. We adults have to protect th—”

“I’m saying that isn't your job, Haizaki-kun. Or what—”

Kudou pressed on.

“—do you wish to return to the position of the Otter?”

Haizaki licked his lips. Then he bit down on them.

Which one was this?

Was Kudou seriously proposing his reinstatement? Or was he just messing with him? And what about Haizaki himself? If it could protect the children, he wanted to return to Special Cases. Yes, he’d return. Did he have the resolve for that? Or did he think that was beyond his abilities?

“To be real with you, it’s the same everywhere, and complaining won't get you anywhere, but our budget is getting stretched quite thin. Even if we spend money like tap water, there’s no guarantee someone with the right aptitude will just show up.”

“Are you low on personnel?”

“It’s as busy as it was when you left. If you really insist on returning? Well, if you’re persistent enough, I won't say you’re out of consideration. For now, even if it’s just in the form of  an external ally, any help is somethin, you know?”

“...Please, could you give me a little…”

Those were the only words Haizaki could wring out. As he said those words, Haizaki felt disappointed in his own indecisiveness, but he couldn't bring himself to change his answer.

“...a little time to consider it?”

“Of course.”

From Kudou’s attitude, this was probably within his expectations. Haizaki Itsuya was not such a bold person as to say right then and there, ‘Please, let me go back!’ He’d seen right through him.

“Ah, right. I forgot to say the important thing. Regarding the series of incidents, we can't afford to sit idly by anymore, so we’ve decided to take measures.”

“Eh? Pardon? What do you mean by taking m—”

“As an adult, you wish to protect the children's futures. That’s right, you’re absolutely right. Ah, there’s the time. I’ve got a meeting to get to, so excuuuse me.”

“Wait, chief—”

“Aaaand that’s all.”

Kudou hung up, one-sidedly ending the conversation.

“Freakin-...messin-...with…me….!”

Haizaki shook his phone around with all his might. He wanted to slam it into the floor and smash it into a million pieces.

“It’s not the phone’s fault…”

He managed to hold himself back, and slowly lowered his right hand which gripped the phone.

“Anyway, if you break that, the expenses will be pretty high. The warranty is over, after all. Well, even if it was within the warranty period, you’d still have to pay repair fees huh, of course…”

Haizaki took a deep breath. He tried to calm himself, but couldn't stop the annoyance that came bubbling over.

“But man, that Chief Kudou sure gets on your nerves. He never lets anything throw him off pace. Does that guy ever lose his cool? In the end he's just saying whatever he wants, huh. Take measures, he said. Does that mean this has turned into a case now? What is—”

Someone knocked on the door of the janitor’s room. If they needed something from him, teachers and some students sometimes paid him a visit. Haizaki opened his mouth to respond, ‘Come in,’ but before that, the door flew open with great vigor.

“Eek—” 

Startled, Haizaki dropped his phone.

“Uooh!”

Flustered, Haizaki picked up his phone. The screen wasn't cracked. From what he could see, it wasn't visibly damaged. Relieved, he turned his gaze towards the door, where a young lady stood.

“...Huh?”

She wasn't in her twenties. She was in her teens. Early teens, at that. Was she a student in this school? No, he’d never seen that face before. And she wasn't in uniform anyway, she was in casual clothes. A t-shirt with the words ‘THA ZEN’ printed across the front. Not ‘THE ZEN’. ‘THA ZEN’.

Her hairstyle looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. Well, there was no sign she’d tried to style it, so it could hardly be called a hairstyle. She was wearing headphones. Her eyes, which seemed to be both looking at Haizaki and nothing in particular, seemed sleepy. Or rather, it seemed like she held him in contempt.

The girl stepped in the janitor’s room and closed the door, then removed her headphones and hung them around her neck.

“Gmornin.”

For a moment, Haizaki wasn't sure what the girl had said. Had she been trying to say ‘good morning?’ It would've been better if she raised her volume just a bit.

“Uh—Good… morning… to you— uh. Eh? Who—who might you be?”

The girl moved her lips and uttered something. …n..er…ent? He didn't understand. He didn't catch any of that. Please, just raise your voice a little. He couldn't exactly say that to someone he was meeting for the first time, so Haizaki cupped his hand behind his ear and listened again.

“And who are…?”

The girl rolled her eyes. No, that wasn't it. She looked up, only moving her eyeballs. At the same time, she sighed with a Haah.

He could almost hear her saying what a pain in the ass in her head. Something like ‘what a bother’, or ‘how annoying’. If you were too persistent with middle schoolers, those kinds of words usually came out. Haizaki often consoled himself by saying, well, they’re at their peak of cheekiness, but honestly, that hurt a little.

“Transfer student.”

This time her voice was quite loud. It was low, for a girl, and a bit husky; a voice with quite some character.

“Was pretty sudden, so I didn't have time to get a uniform though.”

“...Transfer student. Ahh, I see.”

Haizaki tilted his head. ‘I see’ my ass! This is the janitor’s room!

“Um, the staff room is—”

“You didn't hear?”

The transfer student pointed to the phone in Haizaki’s hand.

“From Chief Kudou.”

“No? I didn't… hear? …Chief? Kudou—”

Haizaki’s eyes widened.

“Wh-wh-wh-wh-why do you know the Special Cases— the Management section’s Chief’s name…?!”

“You mean, why does a child know that?”

The transfer student walked towards the work desk. She swiped a finger over the surface of the desk quickly, as if checking if it was dirty. She sat down at the desk.

“Why do you think, old man?”

“Old…”

Surrounded by middle school students, he was often called an old man. Truth be told, in the eyes of middle schoolers, Haizaki was an old man. He was aware he was an old man. That being said, to be treated like one so straightforwardly was a little painful.

“...It can’t be, that you’re—related to Special Cases? Or? Something?”

“Special Cases this Special Cases that. I wonder if you can really just say that all willy nilly.”

The transfer student shrugged lightly.

“We usually call ourselves the Flower Shop or whatever, right?”

“That’s…right…”

Somehow he slipped into polite speech. Haizaki cleared his throat.

“You, but…you’re a middle school student…right?”

“Sweet fourteen.”

The transfer student snorted and let out a short laugh, devoid of humour.

“And you’re on duty at the Flower Shop?”

“...I…When I* was employed, children would never be sent on to the scene. Never mind on scene, even in general affairs or information processing, there wasn't a single minor…” *Haizaki switches from the rougher ‘ore’ to the more polite ‘watashi’

“They aren’t that short on hands. It’s just, on this kind of scene we ‘kids’, as you say, have an easier time moving around.”

“Moving—what are you planning on doing, you—”

“Monika.”

“...Eh?”

“Asahi Monika.”

The transfer student wrote five kanji characters in the air with her finger.

“Well, the surname’s just an alias, so it’s random.”

“Monika…san.”

“You’re calling me by my first name? Acting all close, huh?”

“S-sorry.”

“Well, it’s fine.”

“It’s fine…?”

As Haizaki whispered that, Asahi Monika’s gaze relaxed slightly. However, she regained her previous listless expression instantly.

“I can’t talk to you about the job, old man. You’re an outsider after all.”

“...Then, why…”

“Just a greeting, you know.”

Monika got up from the desk and walked towards the door.

Haizaki’s shoulders dropped. ‘That so?’ seemed like the only thing he could say. That said, as an adult, saying that to a middle schooler, even if she was related to Special Cases, was pretty pathetic.

“Ah, and—”

Monika turned around.

“Chief might’ve told you already, but just in case.”

“...What’s the deal?”

An adult saying ‘what’s the deal?’ to a middle school student. What could one make of that? It was almost as bad as saying ‘That so?’, wasn’t it. Haizaki felt utterly depressed.

“If you don't feel like helping out then don't get in the way, old man.”

It might’ve been his imagination, but he felt like she put extra emphasis on the words ‘old man’.

Monika left the janitor’s room.

“Old man’s getting in the way, huh…”

Haizaki placed his phone down. He didn't mean to, but he ended up slamming it onto the table. The screen was facing down, so he lifted it up to check, just in case. He saw a faint crack running down the screen.

“You’re kidding, right….?”

---

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[katyakurae]

OMG Thank you for liking my art!!! I am very proud of my little nuggests, been team appleradio since day one. I agree, any fic where a deal causes lucifer to be the one in the losing position immediately scrambles my brain, like no way Lucifer is that scared of Al, or desperate for any kind of company that they have him being easily manipulated by Alastor and fall for the deer tricks...Lucy has witnessed his manipulation and threat to his status in Charlie's life, let’s give the devil some credit. Also I am not saying Al is not smart but I don’t see him as this master manipulator everyone wants him to be. He definitely likes to think he is, but in reality Al just spends a lot of time observing people, so he knows how to act around them and manipulate them to do what he wants. Or at least that’s how I see his persona. He works hard for what he craves most and always waits the right moments to attack or use what he has at his disposal to survive, but in the end he is just a silly little guy with so much ego to put shame on the devil himself, who can see through his bullshit miles away lol

So yea what u done with those two is the only way I would have seen a deal between them play out. Alastor was always gonna lose against Lucifer.

Ohh wait I just remembered that one of the reasons Al wasn’t using his shadows to escape Lucy in the last chapters is cause he exhausted his power and wasn’t feeling very well afterwards. Could it be that something happen to him when he ran away from Angel?!?!He hasn’t appeared at all during all that chaos between the two Morningstar and that’s so unlike him. U don’t have to answer ofc, my brain just won’t shut up and I needed to write it somewhere ehehe

Unrelated but I read others storyline u worked on and they way u write just makes me want to read more, the dialogue are so entertaining and the characters are so well written that I don’t even mind using google translate for every few sentences. I have a very poor attention span, but u managed to pique my interest more than once now and I gotta say I am impressed And grateful that my curiosity won the other night. One of my fav scene from one of ur fic, called ‘Embajadores Celestiales’was when Lucy slapped Alastor…like the gasp I let out cause I thought he was gonna hug him or something, that was so funny and also when Alastor confesses to his mother that he lied to her. Couldn’t stop laughing at Al saying he should have told his mum about the people in the fridge and invited her to dinner lmao I love that silly little deer so much!!!

Cannot wait to read more of your work. It was such a pleasure 💜

Yeah, I see your point. I mean, Lucifer is older than time. And yeah, he is clumsy, depressed and a disaster, but I don't see him falling for Alastor's little mind games.

It's like what you said. Alastor is smart and works hard, but he is not the ultimate mastermind. That's an ego thing and, highly probably, a charade to feel safe. In control. I also see him more as an opportunist. When he recognizes a chance, he takes it. And yeah, he may has some kind of plan in the long shot, but it's not enough to rope the literal Devil. And if he tries (I hope he tries) it will end... badly.

(You can tell Alastor is my favourite character cause I want to see him suffer.)

I will not make spoilers u.u buuuut (it's no secret, I just post the new sneak peek) you will see soon in the new chapter. It will be out tomorrow!

Anyway, it really makes me so happy to read your kind words, opinions and coments either in The Deal or in my other works. I hope you keep enjoying it!

Thank you so much! 💜💜💜

Read you soon!

[hsrlorefreak]

okay WHAT IS THIS.

(Guardian of the Shoreline: drift bottle V) because i swear that in this game only really important/related text is highlighted gold like that. and this? this is a random daily quest. it didn’t do anything after.

i’m looking at the wiki and it doesn’t say that trailblazer says that line. who is that. because i thought it was just a game mechanic mocking you but that might have actual story significance?

there’s even more if you say you disagree. except only elation gets a repeat, and Aha’s simulated universe appearance is. interesting, considering they’re the only one to realize that they’re not the actual aeons.

not remembrance, but elation.

but back to the not-trailblazer narrating. because you would assume it’s just their thoughts, yeah? like any other game. but we do have that already, and they’re labeled trailblazer.

so who is narrating when it’s not?

right now, without anything else to go by(?), it honestly might be elio.

we have like, zero knowledge of who he is other than that the ipc wants him captured unharmed and alive unlike the rest of the stellaron hunters and that he’s probably a cat. but he could just be controlling it.

but the trailblazer has the option to make references that don’t quite make sense to the other characters, even though herta has been around for quite some time and is a genius (albeit one who loses motivation easily).

and elio is “cursed/blessed” with future sight, but that’s just the ioc’s description of him. the stellaron hunters talk about “his future” and “his script” and if kafka wasn’t lying during her truth and lies game in her companion mission? trailblazer is artificially made. according to blade, who has literally zero reason to lie, trailblazer followed kafka around, before they were left in herta’s space station.

there’s a theory canon idea thing that elio is the cat that was in Scene 47 Jepella Rebellion that was watching, which is great, but hsr is great at making your choices matter but not at the same time.

you get different endings, technically, but the main story will go on (elio’s script) will go on no matter what you do. even if you choose to not go to kafka and blade, they escape the xianzhou luofu anyway.

i don’t think the trailblazer *is* elio, but i think he’s more involved with them than anyone in the story realizes, just because there’s so little information about the stellaron hunters in general, and even less so about elio.

anyway.

is this implying that your dialogue options might actually change what path you go on in future story? that seems really unlikely but like. what if.

trailblazer might recognize elio, if they see him. i know kafka says she’s the only one that trailblazer recognized, they probably won’t see him in penacony, but i do think he’ll show himself not soon, but not like. final boss battle late.

i wonder if elio actually cares about trailblazer at all, since he presumably had hands in their creation.

or not, since he put them in kafka’s care for at least as long as blade’s been with the stellaron hunters.

i really, really hope penacony is cool.

[b3jewe1ed]

in the spirit of saw x the hunger games au i was talking about earlier i came up with some backstory for it. SPOILER — it’s kind of long and (obviously) mentions death and blood.

i probably will write something based on this idea soon. i just need to find some confidence in my writing and since english isn’t my first language, i also need to make sure it will be as grammatically correct as possible.

but anyways:

• i had troubles figuring out from which district they would be from, but i think district 3 is most fitting,

• lawrence won the 56th game and adam won 68th,

• lawrence’s leg got cut off by district 7 tribute, because she thought it would make him unable to run away as she was killing his friend,

• he did manage to run away, but he was unable to save his friend, so he left her there to eventually bleed out,

• he probably avenged his friend very quickly after though,

• he won his game by what he considers pure luck. he didn’t kill anyone at the end. the last person besides him, district 9 guy, was very sick and couldn’t fight back. he made it so far because he was hiding all the time. he just decided that he will kill himself and he did just that,

• capitol considered him a „boring” victor, because they thought he became useless and unattractive after losing his leg. they also thought he wasn’t as interesting as they wanted him to be, because he didn’t kill the last person standing. this led to them quickly forgetting about him after his victory,

• adam’s game was quite different,

• it was harsh from the very beginning and he wasn’t as strong as people around him,

• the setting wasn’t helping him either,

• he just thought he could hide as long as it was possible and pray,

• it kind of worked, because other people seemed to forget about him, until he was found by the careers,

• one girl almost strangled him to death, but district 9 guy came across the scene and helped adam out,

• they both killed all the careers (it was mostly district 9 guy’s work, but still they worked as a duo from that moment) and that’s when they instantly became capitol’s favourites,

• everything was going good for them, until the other guy got poisoned by berries he found and he didn’t make it, leaving adam alone once again,

• adam then tried to make some makeshift traps to help himself out, but only one of them worked,

• at the end, where it was only him and district 7 girl it became very violent and he got to win by the girl’s mistake,

• after the game capitol loved him, they thought that the fact he was weak at the beginning was just a part of his plan (even though it wasn’t, he was weak at the beginning but gained some skills observing other people throughout the game). they said he was very smart so they wanted to see as much of him as possible,

• he was basically everywhere, they were torturing him with interviews, photoshoots etc.

• he was very tired of it, so he came up with an idea. he cut his face a little to make himself appear unattractive to the capitol and it worked. even though they still considered him a intelligent, violent mastermind they were still capitol citizens. all they cared about was the looks.

• they still bothered him sometimes, but it wasn’t as much as it was before,

• this is when they both met, in the victor’s village. after being forgotten by the capitol adam spent more time in there and one day he met lawrence,

• they both bonded over the fact that they were district 3 winners, but also the fact how quickly they became forgotten after their victory,

• and now something i came up with while writing this,

• they met another district 3 victor, john,

• i won’t write much about him, because i haven’t figured out his role in this yet, but i do have a feeling he could be the one to know something about lucy gray, i mean, their games were close to each other so he definitely heard about her,

• i also have a district 5 amanda in mind, but haven’t figured out her role in there yet,

• all i know about her is that she was allies with lynn in her game, but in the end betrayed and killed her to win the game,

• i think i can say that lynn was a career,

• all the tributes from lawrence’s and adam’s games i mentioned were written with certain saw characters in mind, but i didn’t want to mention their names now until i’m fully convinced of the storyline

that’s all, if you read that all you’re a real one and i love you. can’t say that i will write it for sure, but i’ll try my best

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Lovers CHAOS LINEAGE ー Subaru [13]

Monologue

I headed towards the dungeon,

following Azusa-kun’s lead.

With quiet steps and holding our breaths,

so nobody would take notice of us.

All while Subaru-kun was the only thing on my mind. 

...Please, let him be safe.

ー The scene shifts to the dungeon

Azusa: Eve...We’re here. Subaru’s over there...

Yui: Subaru-kun...

Subaru: Yui, is that you?

*Cling*

Yui: Subaru-kun, thank god! You’re safe and sound...!!

( From what I can tell, they haven’t done anything particularly cruel to him. Thank god, I genuinely am so glad! )

Subaru: I’m totally fine. More importantly, how have things been on your end? They haven’t done anything bad to you, right?

Yui: Yeah...I’m alright as well. I mean, Azusa-kun - who is in charge of watching over me - is the one who brought me here.

Subaru: Azusa did...

Azusa: ...

Uhm, if they ask, I don’t know nor have I seen anything...Not about Eve coming down here either...

So...I’ll wait outside...

Subaru: Azusa...

Yui: Thank you, Azusa-kun...!

Azusa: ...Yeah.

ー Azusa steps outside

Yui: I guess he left to stand watch in case somebody were to come down here.

Subaru: Probably.

Yui: I’m not sure why, but Azusa-kun has really been helping us out.

Subaru: ...Yeah. Anyway, how did you convince him?

Yui: I figured I had nothing to lose and just straight up asked. Saying that I wanted to meet you.

I truly am glad we were able to meet like this. I couldn’t help but be anxious when I hadn’t seen your face.

I’m so glad you’re safe...

Subaru: Idiot, don’t cry.

Yui: But...Uu...

Subaru: God, guess it can’t be helped. You always cry so easily, don’t you?

Yui: I’m sorry for being such a crybaby...Ah, right! Are your injuries alright..? They haven’t gotten worse, right?

Subaru: I told you that I’m fine, didn’t I? How many times do I need to repeat it until you’re satisfied?

Yui: I’ll ask it again and again. I’m worried after all.

( Subaru-kun’s the type of person who will hide all of his pain, which only makes me even more concerned. )

Subaru: ...Then want to confirm it yourself?

Yui: Eh?

*Rustle*

Subaru: Come on, try touching me. You should be able to reach me if you put your arm through the iron bars, right?

Yui: ...Eh? It’s fine, really...

*Rustle*

Yui: Ah, Subaru-kun, my hand...

Subaru: Your fault for takin’ forever. So, what do you say?

*Rustle*

Yui: Y-Yeah. I guess you’re fine?

*Rustle*

Subaru: What? You still can’t tell?

*Rustle*

Subaru: Get a proper feel. Of my shoulder, my chest, and my stomach as well...See? No new injuries, are there?

Yui: I-I understand! I’ve felt enough!

Subaru: Heh. Done already? Tell me whenever you need to make sure again.

Yui: ( That really made my heart race...! Subaru-kun can be surprisingly bold at times. )

Hey, what should we do now? Is there anything I can do?

Subaru: Good question. I doubt we’ll be able to escape together again. 

Yui: I wonder what Carla-san and the others are going to do with you.

Subaru: I can’t imagine Carla will do anythin’ hasty for now ‘cause he’s after the information I have but...

But I know jack-shit ‘bout this whole Supreme Overlord thing, so I can’t actually give him any answers.

Yui: Yeah, exactly. It’s all just a bunch of made-up nonsense after all.

Subaru: Yeah. According to what that Socrates dude told us, right? But thanks to him, we were able to figure out how this place works.

We may not know how to become Supreme Overlord, but I could at least tell him the secret behind this World.

Yui: So you’ll tell Carla-san and the others about it?

Subaru: ...Nah, I doubt he’d believe me even if I did. It’s not like we have any proof to back it up.

Although if he understood, he might help us look for clues to destroy this place...

Yui: Do you really think there’s no way to convince him?

Subaru: I’m pretty sure that when it comes to this, they won’t believe anythin’ we say as long as they themselves don’t feel like somethin’ is off ‘bout this place.

Yui: Isn’t there a way to lure out Socrates to appear in front of the others? 

Subaru: If there was, that’d quickly solve the issue...

But even if we tell them how we can escape, it might all be for naught.

Yui: Why?

Subaru: Because the criteria to destroy this miniature World is ‘for somebody to sacrifice their own life’.

...I doubt there’s an idiot out there who will happily kick the bucket after hearin’ that.

Yui: That’s...a good point.

I wonder if there’s really no other way out...?

Subaru: Yeah. It’d be nice if we could at least look for an alternative, but that’d gonna be tricky in my current situation. 

Yui: So we have no other choice but to remain trapped in here for now?

Subaru: Guess so. At this rate, I’ll remain locked down in here and you’ll be at the mercy of Carla.

Yui: ...!

Subaru: While he did promise to take good care of you, I’m not sure how serious he was about that.

...He might not hesitate to harm you if he feels like it could lead him to becoming the Supreme Overlord.

Yui: Carla-san does indeed seem like the kind of person who would do anything to achieve his goals...

Subaru: ...Yeah. Who knows what he’ll do to you eventually.

I don’t want to stay imprisoned down here and not be able to do anythin’ while some other guy takes you away from me.

So...

Yui: Subaru-kun...?

Selection

→ Do you have a plan? (♡)

Yui: What’s wrong, Subaru-kun? If you’ve got something in mind, please share it with me.

Subaru: ...It’s nothin’.

Yui: Your expression says otherwise.

Subaru: You really are sharp when you least expect it...

Yui: Eh? Did you say something just now?

Subaru: Not really.

→ You don’t look so well (🖤)

Yui: Subaru-kun, does it hurt somewhere? Could it be that your injuries have gotten worse?

I can’t properly treat them while you’re locked away behind bars but...Hey, if you don’t mind, could you show me?

Subaru: Idiot, that’s not the issue. Don’t make me say that I’m alright for the millionth time.

Yui: Right, I’m sorry.

Yui: ( ...I wonder why? I can’t help but grow really anxious when watching him like this. )

( I wonder why? )

Subaru: Oi, what’s with the frown? Just so you know, you’ve got nothin’ to worry ‘bout. 

So don’t look so stressed out, okay?

Yui: ...I’m sorry, Subaru-kun. For making you worried.

Even though you have it much worse, locked up inside a cell like this...

( I shouldn’t get all depressed. I need to smile in front of him at least. )

Subaru: Don’t apologize. Besides, I’ve already made my decision.

Yui: Your decision? Eh? About what...?

ー He moves closer to the iron bars

Subaru: Listen.

Yui: Eh? Ah, yes?

Subaru: Do you like me?

Yui: Why are you asking that all of a sudden...?

Subaru: Just tell me. Do you like me?

Yui: Of course I do! I like you so much!

Subaru: ...I see. Me too. ‘Like’ doesn’t even cut it. I love you. I don’t think I could ever love someone more.

Yui: Yeah, I love you too!

Subaru: Gotcha.

Hey, then, won’t you let me suck your blood?

I want you.

Yui: ...!

Yeah, of course! If it’s you, I want you to suck as much as you want!

Subaru: Haha, what’s that? Can’t you phrase it some other way?

Yui: But it’s the truth...

Subaru: Yeah, I bet it is. ...Thanks.

Bring your arm over here. The iron bars are kind of in the way, but you can fit your arm in between, right?

*Rustle*

Yui: Yeah. Will this work?

Subaru: Yeah, that’s more than good enough. Hah...Nn.

ー Subaru bites her

On certain CGs, little black roses will appear on the screen. If you click on them, you get an extra line of dialogue.

“These iron bars are seriously in the damn way...I could easily break them if I wasn’t in such bad shape.”

“I love you...I’ll do anythin’ if that means I can protect you. Don’t ever forget that, ‘kay?”

Yui: Nn...

Subaru: ...Nn, nkuh...

Nn, haah...It’s sweeter and richer than usual, this is bad. My head’s spinnin’ like crazy.

Yui: Really...? I can’t tell myself.

Subaru: Don’t lie. I bet you’re feelin’ it more than usual as well?

I’m sure you’re kinda gettin’ a kick out of havin’ me suck your blood under these circumstances, right?

Yui: I’m not but it’s just that I’m really happy after hearing you declare your love for me earlier.

Subaru: If that’s all it takes, I’ll say it as many times as you want. I love you, Yui.

Yui: ...!

Subaru: Whatcha twitchin’ for? We’ve only just started. Nnh...Nn...Phew.

Yui: ( His lips are so warm...Makes me crave for them even more. )

Subaru-kun...

Subaru: Nn...Nnkuh...Phew...

Yui: Nn...Uu...Nnh.

Monologue

Subaru-kun would gently,

suck my blood.

Giving me only a sense of comfort,

without any pain involved.

That made me so happy,

yet sorrowful at the same time.

As he continued to suck my blood,

it felt as if he was trying to lull me to sleep, as I eventually passed out. 

Amidst my fading consciousness,

Subaru-kun uttered one phrase.

‘I’m sorryーー’

I could have sworn I heard him whisper those two words.

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

[nori-the-cat]

i wasn’t expecting eunseok and sohee to be against ot7 (now). i thought they’re the ones mostly in contact with 🫧, knowing how close they used to be. and why do i feel like the female figure related with es and sh situation, is the same female figure i’ve been seeing in different tarot reading regarding sh’s situation. idk if this female figure is a good or bad influence to riize but looking at it seems like the latter :///

anton’s giving me That Vibes hahah! the idgafism. he probably feel like he shouldn’t let sh’s situation affect him, and that he would just want to make the best of what they have (as ot6).

but tbh, i thought out of all 6, sungchan would be the one against ot7. after reading countless of riize tarot, he seems to be the one the most Disappointed. so i was shocked that he wants ot7 back. maybe he sees the fans passion of wanting sh back? idk haha. with shotaro and wonbin, i have no doubt that they want sh back. bcs who wouldn’t? boy is talented and good looking. he has so much to offer for the group. unfortunately, sh’s rumors is blown out of proportion and it happening during their early months of their career. i see why sm put him on hiatus. it’s such a crucial time for the group.

this is becoming way too long! but i’m hoping things will be great for the group. whether they will go back as ot7 or stay as ot6 (hopefully no!!!!). i just want what’s the best for each one of them. they’ve been overworked way too much this year.

Hello anon~ btw idk which one you are because I have too many Seunghan stan on my account now😭 so are you this anon ?? Even if u aren’t it’s okay I’m just checking hehe🙂‍↕️

ES and SOH afaik has always been in contact with SH. That’s the energy that I always get from them every time I check on SH or when there is an anon asking me abt OT6 RIIZE and SH. However, until recently I have no idea what changed…🤷🏻‍♀️even if I do…I can’t explain it because it’s tarot and tarot is wishy washy🤡

Now, onto the “female figure”. First, I have no idea which tarot reading you’re referring to becuz I haven’t checked any recent tarot readings or old ones since my break from kpop tarot.

However, I did get a female energy from ES when I read his career. Whereas SH also had a female energy. Maybe they’re the same female irl? We don’t know…and I don’t know…Anyway, this female energy is what I notice as the Queen of Wands cuz she keeps appearing in my reading as literally the Queen of Wands. I usually don’t take this kind of thing as sign but…Thing is…this is tarot 🙂‍↕️ it’s hard to really gauge or understand a situation. Even if I use my intuition and say my intuition is right. It’s draining to push that “spiritual boundaries” so most of the time I choose not to see or interpret it.

But if the energy is there right in front of my face during the reading then I’ll take it as it is. 🙂🫥 and tarot only allows me to see a sneak peek into what’s actually happening. I may be right and I may be wrong… so in this case, I choose not to think about the “lady” as much, simply, because this is tarot and we dk what goes on behind the scenes

As for the members, from the energy that I got in my previous reading. The members seem to rarely be on the same page. Although there are days where they collectively think “we’re better as 7” or “we should just move on as 6” it’s very rare. This is a complex situation so we won’t always know what goes on inside their head…🙂‍↕️ for example Anton is pretty persistent on moving as 6 but at some point (I forgot when I did the reading) he did think it’s better to stay as 7 simply because he understands that his weakness is another member’s strength 😬

Now, I agree with every you said. It’s been going out of proportion now. SM is really buying their time. But again…the decision is on SM. Let’s just wish all of them good luck no matter what happens because they all deserve the love too 🫶🏻

[bluiex]

I finished part 3 of the limited life mafia au “scene” I was working on. This time with less pining and some violence.

—————

Grian stares at the rival gang through his dark shades, showing no emotion. Him and Joel fixed their glasses just before this meeting. He doesn’t recognize any of these people, probably a new gang. It makes sense now why Cleo wanted them to come, it can save a hassle if there’s enough of them here. It doesn’t take long upon meeting her for people to fear Cleo, but it’s a good insurance policy to give them numbers if they’re too cocky.

Grian definitely considers himself lucky to have become some form of allies to them. It doesn’t completely make them safe, but it definitely stops them from being an immediate target. He’ll probably remember the first time Scar appeared at their bakery for the rest of his life.

Grian stiffens when he hears Cleo’s voice turn low, a deadly calm in their tone, “this is just a civil discussion.” The underlying threat of how they can make it not is clear to Grian. It makes him nervous even if he won’t be the target of her wrath.

“Of course,” the other leader replies, seeming unfazed. Well, seems like this will only end one way. Grian tightens his grip on his TnT and lighter, ready to pull them out a moments notice.

Cleo casts a brief glance back at them, a signal, before facing the other gang again, “so let’s keep it as such.”

The other smirks, “I’d agree, but I think you should be taken down from your high horse.”

This time they all tense, even Scar and Bdubs. Cleo, however, seems unaffected, “what does that mean?” A chill goes down Grian’s spine at her words.

“It’s simple,” is all he says before snapping his fingers. All six of them take cover as the other gang unleashes fire.

Grian quickly takes out his TnT and lights it, throwing them out from where he’s taken cover. The gunfire stopping is accompanied by panicked shouts. He covers his ears to block out the sound of the explosives going off. The moment they do he pulls out his gun and peers over. Unsurprisingly, Cleo is already looking out and returning fire. Grian gets a few shots off on his own, but they’re already fleeing.

They all only step out of cover when everything falls completely silent. Grian approaches and nudges one of the bodies on the ground, they’re already dead. A quick glance around reveals how the leader and his presumed right hand man are completely gone.

Grian turns around to look back at everyone else to see Scar staring at him, who quickly turns around to face Cleo again. He shrugs it off and approaches her as well. There’s a frown on their face. “Mom?” Scar cautiously tries.

“They’ll get what’s coming to them,” she replies, eyes narrowed, “don’t you worry.”

A dazzling smile crosses his face, “of course, I wasn’t worried.”

Grian chooses not to point out how he can see the worry in his eyes, mostly out of fear of his own life, “think they’re going to try to pose a problem?”

“They can try all they like,” they reply, “they lack the strength that we have.”

Grian nods, knowing what she means, the trust the other members have are based more on fear than respect, which doesn’t make it trust. “What’s the plan?” Joel asks, careful.

“Wait to see if they do want to try anything,” Cleo answers, confident. “We’ll get in contact with you once we hear anything, I assume you’ll do the same.”

It wasn’t a question, but Joel answers anyways, “of course.”

Grian takes that as the sign it is that Cleo wants them to leave, he nods, “we’ll keep an ear out.”

Scar gives them a slight bow, staring closer to Grian then the other Bad Boys, “I’ll see you again shortly.”

Grian fights to keep the blush down, nodding slightly. The three of them make their leave soon after. Jimmy elbows him the moment they’re out of sight, a knowing look in his eyes. Grian shoves him away, scoffing.

BOOOO LESS PINING /j/j/j YEAAAAH GUN FIGHT LETS GOOO- dude this is so good.. Grian cant help but blush around Scar- esp if he looks like that, bowing and prob giving Grian an smirk

[dr-lizortecho]

I would love to hear more about why delena taught you about love if you ever want to talk about it! I'd also love to hear what you see as Damon and Elena's similarities and differences.

So this is a really difficult thing to explain anon, at the very least without explaining the triad of ships that I attribute the same thing to, so I apologize for rambling about non-delena ships in my answer! And this will probably be tmi like everytime I discuss how shows/ships personally impact(ed) me

One of the first ships I ever became invested in enough to create content for- and start discussing in depth was Malec (The Mortal Instruments Series). To start this off I’d like to give a very short disclaimer- I was thirteen or so and still believed in destiny and fate and singular soulmates (one person literally designed to be with you that you just stumble upon out in the wild) and grew up pretty much under a rock (the only reason those books ever graced my presence was my eldest sister sneaking them to my older sister who snuck them to me) and had no clue that queer people existed at all. So color little me shocked for a solid second and doing math tryna figure out the scene where Clary says that Alec is in love with Jace (I philosophized about souls for five seconds and figured it out). All of this to set up how naively blind I was to the concept of love, to the point where Clary and Jace made perfect sense as true love from the moment she sees him- because my little mind had subscribed to the disneyification of romance without much thought to it as a whole. So being able to watch what seemed to me as obvious connection and therefore love between Alec and Magnus while the former second guessed himself was a new experience for me. Realizing that not only is love something that transcends the obstacles in life- but that it’s messy and complicated. Basically Malec taught me that love is a mess- it’s not always logical and above all it’s not something linear that exists at 0% or 100%. Because sometimes you’re falling in love with and choosing to pursue someone while still moving on from someone else- that feelings don’t just snap away because you’re actively pursuing something better for you.

Then Delena came into my sphere. Which I won’t lie wasn’t my first introduction to ships of their caliber, however, something about the individual characters made it come to life and made something in my brain click into place. Because there’s this big question that keeps floating around Delena in the early seasons which is ‘does Damon deserve love and forgiveness?’ aka Elena. Now the answer to that question appears quite simply- no. Damon doesn’t ask for it, he doesn’t try to change, he doesn’t attempt to earn it. However, Elena chooses to forgive him anyway to show love and kindness and turn the other cheek (okay- sorry for the religion bit, but biblical love anyone???). Which was eye opening and beautiful to watch. Because even with more years on me and more emotional intelligence it had never clicked how much work love could be. That you had to consciously make difficult choices and choose to forgive, to understand that people react to pain in all sorts of ways. So Delena taught me love is messy (lol, if you’re noticing a pattern it’s cause there is one). That people are chaotic and their emotions even more so, that you have to choose love everyday. And above all it’s not just something that exists in the good times, it’s bigger than that. That without that choice- that forgiveness love doesn’t exist and will fail every time.

Now- if you follow me and haven’t seen the show I apologize for the continuous spiraling, but Echo is the third ship that taught me about love. This one is much more complex and difficult to explain (but I kinda did explain it a long time ago in my farewell to the show) but Echo taught me to love my faults and myself, to see we are all worthy of love without tying ourselves into perfect knots. And to spare everyone me talking way too much I’m going to leave it there.

[rui-drawsbox]

Hello again, it’s me: the menace of your inbox 😎✨��✨🐊✨

for curtesies sake I’ll add a read more after I write one sentence of explanation.

I’m too busy to write a fic rn but the brain worms are so intense for Magical Girl Arashi that I will instead write an outline.

I’ll probably try to write em in an episodic fashion cuz like, magical girl anime :D:D✨✨✨

Cool so episode one should serve about three functions.

show how arashi gets her powers

establish the setting and foreshadow future characters

Get the view acquainted with the tone

so here’s how I’d go about it 🥰

Scene one:

Arashi should be in class

its a normal day

a new kid joins the class, it’s Mika

she notes that there’s something odd about him but like, in a comedic way that the audience won’t initially pick up on

he shouldn’t notice her at this point, she’s still a normal girl (still a queen, slay Fr I love her)

However he doesn’t make any friends for most of class and his introduction sounded like a robotic script, also he’s sitting alone, poor murderous baby 😭

anyways she, being the queen that she is, decides to talk to him after class and she gets a whole conversation with him

He doesn’t show it very well but he is happy to have a friend and offers her a bear charm instead of actually confirming that they’re friends (he’s real standoffish at this point so think how he acted to Anzu at first in the first game but like, a bit more tame) (cuz he ain’t allowed to really have friends, he’s just supposed to keep up appearances while Shu finds what he’s after)

School goes on, Arashi has lunch with Ritsu and Leo, we get a passing convo about them going to karaoke later, Leo laments that Izumi won’t go with them and the other two just kind of give him a sad look ig. Cuz he hasn’t gone with them in a really long time cuz he’s “busy” and “not interested in childish things right now” “too much work with ballet” (he’s lying💀✨. We’ll get to that later, I am having numerous thoughts)

School goes on once again and the day ends. Arashi walks home with her friends and they all go their separate ways.

while she is walking alone she hears this awful screeching sound, like a cat that’s super upset. So she, as any good cat mom would, follows it.

she finds a little kitty that’s being chased by these creepy looking Victorian dolls. They have golden strings attached to their feet that seem to trail on the ground as they walk. She doesn’t take much note of them tho. She’s too busy grabbing that cat and getting the hell out of there.

so she takes the cat back to her house and checks the poor baby for injuries. Thankfully the kitty is fine. However, things get a bit funky. (Magic cat.)

The cat puts a paw on her chest (like between her collar bones) and a little jewel mark appears there. Arashi is obviously very confused and concerned but the cat just purrs and meows at her.

She starts questioning the cat but like, ma’am despite the magic, that cat don’t talk. That cat meows, screams, and imitates barking noises to scare other cats. Fucking creature tbh. I love this cat.

also arashi is in her room on her bed btw, and there should be big windows by her bed, also she is on the ground floor. This is important.

so after a few minutes of questioning and getting meows for yes and shaken heads for no, the cat starts yowling and screaming and growling. So arashi is obviously very concerned.

There’s a thump on her window, the cat gets even louder.

she looks out and sees a… doll? Maybe a mannequin? It certainly looks large enough to be a mannequin. Huh, it has more of those gold strings. It’s beating on her window. Huh, wait, why is the window sliding open, FUCK!

Arashi grabs the cat and bolts while this mannequin chases her through the house. She does the smart thing and tries to call the police, there’s no response cuz the lines been cut and the service on her cell phone is out.

She tries to leave the house but each exit is being stalked by a different mannequin. So she runs to the bathroom to lock the door and hide.

(She tried to snap a photo of one of the mannequins btw, just in case she needed proof but when she looks at it later the photo will be obscured and unrecognizable so sucks to suck lmao 💀)

The cat gestures to the gem mark on her chest and tries to communicate with her to touch the mark. She does as the cat communicates and then she transforms. She gazes into the vast universe (the background from your art of her in her super magical girl form) and she sees a sword, a really pretty, majestic sword. She grasps the handle and her transformation starts.

anyways she doesn’t kickass yet, I’m sorry girlboss enjoyers, she ain’t a fighter yet, but she’s real strong and has the urge to kill to defend this kitty. So she wins, but just barely.

She also manages to avoid destroying her house in the process. So good for her. If the house was beaten up when her parents got home they would’ve had a fit.

Anyways the episode ends with her relooking all the doors and windows to her house and wondering what she got herself into with this cat. But the cat is cute so she doesn’t care. Also yes it is her cat from enstars. I love her cat so much.

That’s what I have for a possible episode one for this. I’ve got more ideas but I don’t have time rn. I’ll be back. My Izumi ideas are going crazy rn tbh. I’m gonna have a lot of fun implementing him lmao.

Also hi Rui, I hope you’re having a good day/night :D:D✨✨

my dude is your brain powered by the fukin sun or you are just a genius

anyways i can't possibly add anything to your outline. It's perfect. It was so good that even made me want to animate it and i went to search tutorials to the page i was going to use for my studies this year, and found out it was a scam HAHA

Local high school girl adopts transferred silly man

also what do you think about Arashi, Leo and Ritsu (and sometimes Izumi?) doing dance covers every now and then, i think it would be a good excuse for when she has to outrun the dolls(?)

fuck the twelve principles of animation, all my homies don't know what they're doing

ngl it would be a pretty horrific scenario to be in, lucky she😊!

also have you considered Arashi not knowing how the fuck a sword is used outside movies (and bc those dolls certanly look hard to break lol) and in the dispair uses it like a mf hammer? especially bc it's a real technique and it looks funny

anyways, stars from stock wallpaper, my beloveds

dont tell i dont know how to draw weapons i already know jsfhdkas

And Arashi just 'brushing' all that happend bc the cat is cute is the most magical-shoujo-protagonist thing that she could do lol

anyways im actually more motivated to animate than ever! my friend you just did the perfect first chapter for a series like that ajfads

good night my fellow AU enjoyer! Rui out! *explodes*

[barovianchickenandwaffles]

Barovian Tales: Berry Road

(author’s note: something that just popped into my head this morning… enjoy!)

So, there I was during one long, busy shift when disaster struck. I ran to the pantry to get more berry syrup when I realized that we were out.

“Looks like you finally ran out of luck, boss,” wailed the ghostly form of Viktor former intern.

“Not on your life… er, unlife.”

“Gary”, my Illithid barista, stalking silently behind me as he usually does, said telepathically, “János sent a message. He’s delayed in Kartakass and won’t be in Barovia until Thursday.”

This is bad. If my trusted Vistana courier doesn’t arrive on time, then there’s no way to get supplies of berry syrup. Fresh berries certainly don’t grow in this forsaken land.

Except in one place.

“Gary, hitch up the cart,” I said as I took my crossbow from its hook on the wall. “I’m going out.”

Only the Devil Strahd and his elite minions own horses in Barovia, so us peons have to make do with donkeys. However, we Barovians are resourceful, and the underground donkey-cart racing scene is alive and well. So, to evade werewolves and chase down deadbeats I owned a modified V8 donkey which I dubbed the Profit Pursuit Special.

I strapped myself in, and holstered my crossbow. Gary handed me the reins.

“No customer-eating this time,” I said.

Gary said nothing verbally but appeared crestfallen. His eldritch, beady puppy-dog eyes looked up at me.

“Fine, but keep it discreet will ‘ya?”

His tentacles wriggled eagerly.

I fired up the donkey and was off.

Once I passed out of Barovia Town I was on my own. Traveling the roads of Barovia is always dangerous alone, but it was a race against time and there was profit to be had. I would need to get to the Wizards or Wine vineyard before nightfall and back again.

Passing the Tser Falls and that creepy gallows that shows your image hanging there (we locals call it the “star attraction”), I ran into trouble: I heard the galloping of horses, several of them.

As the horses caught up to me, I could soon hear the whooping and hollering of a gang of marauders. I looked back. Teenage vampire spawn, decked out in leather, spikes and mohawks.

I wasn’t going to lose to these punks. I kicked the donkey into overdrive and put some distance behind us. As we approached the first gate on the Svalich Road, I realized that this was all a trap. The gang had tied a rope across the gate.

I yanked the reins and swerved my donkey up the left hillside and around the gate just in time. The gang shouted blasphemous, infernal curses at me, but gave up.

“Eat my waffle dough!” I yelled back laughing.

Passing Vallaki, I was tailed by a silent, floating phantom in a tattered grey death shroud.

I swerved one way, then another, double back and even risked overheating my donkey to get away, but the phantom wasn’t deterred. It loomed closer and closer until it came up beside me.

“Excuse me, good sir,” it said in a shrill nasally voice, “can you give me directions to Barovia-Con ‘27?”

I pointed back. “Er, that way.”

“Thanks!” said the phantom and it flitted away. I didn’t bother to tell him that Barovian-Con ‘27 was 15 years ago.

I passed another checkpoint and turned left away from the village of Krezk. Hopefully, my rival Vlad, owner of Barovian Weiners and Pancakes, would not detect my presence on his turf.

A pack of werewolves pursued me on the last leg of the journey, but a silvered crossbow bolt to the head of the pack leader put an end to that chase. They were probably more bored than hungry and went off in search of easier prey.

Finally I pulled up to the Wizards of Wine Winery.

Since I usually get my syrup from outside Barovia and make my own moonshine anyway, I rarely do business with these guys, but desperate times and all that. They knew me, but it was a frosty relationship. I explained my need of fresh berries and after some haggling they agreed to sell a few bushels.

When I inspected the berries, I found some of them still green and unripe, others with fuzzy mold on them. They smelled pungent more than sweet.

“Must’ve been a bumper crop this year”, I remarked.

“Indeed it was a good harvest.”

Say what you will, but those nasty berries were delicious by Barovian standards.

Laden with several bushels of berries, I unhitched my donkey cart and raced back to the main road. It was already getting dark and I had a lot of ground to cover.

The werewolves were nowhere to be found and I passed the fork in the road leading to Krezk without issue. I breathed a sigh of relief. I just might get home in one piece.

Then I heard a familiar voice calling to me from the surrounding woods. “Hello, Oleksii!”

I groaned. “Hello, Vlad.”

Waiting for me up ahead was a blockade, manned by Vlad and his goons, armed with crossbows. But where was his Thri-Kreen assistant, “John”?

I built up more speed as I careened toward the barrier, and then at the last moment I jammed the reins to the right using the momentum of my cart to ram into the barrier and shield me from the crossbow bolts. It worked!

The barrier was smashed to smithereens, but the cart took some damage too. The left rear spoke was cracked and wouldn’t last long. I took off again and left Vlad behind. I could hear him cursing as I shouted back, “kiss my dirty dishes!”

I laughed to myself, admiring my witty retort, when I felt a sinister presence behind me. “John” the Thri-Kreen had snuck aboard the cart!

The insectoid creature started dumping bushels over the side. I took out my crossbow, then realized that I had forgotten to reload it. In frustration I hit him with the butt end of the weapon, but it bounced off the carapace.

“Buzz buzz buzz,” it said to me.

“What?!” I said over the roar of the wind.

“Buzz, buzz-buzz buzz buzz buzzz!”

“Huh? I don’t speak Thri-Kreen.”

John shrugged and used his scissor-like arms to smash the damaged axle further. The wheel broke into splinters and the cart lurched to one side.

“Buzz,” John said as he hopped off and disappeared.

The cart still ran, but it wouldn’t be long before Vlad and his gang caught up. We were passing Vallaki when I spotted Vlad behind me. His donkey-cart led the pack. Say what you will about Vlad, but he drives a mean donkey cart: spikes on the wheels, metal plating on the sides, and a mounted ballista on the back. John the Thri-Kreen took position as gunner. I took a moment to admire his craftsmanship and then lashed the reins again. The weight of remaining bushels, plus the drag of the broken axle was slowing me down. It wasn’t looking good.

I prayed for a miracle. Whatever Eldritch, Infernal, Philosophical, Ethereal, Symbolic and/or Higher Power hears this plea, get me out of this jam.

As I turned a corner, I could see a phantasmal, glowing cube floating mid-air down the road. It had a big “?” mark on it. Puzzled, I ran for it and snagged the cube. Inside I found an oversized, green turtle shell.

“What in the name of Mammon am I supposed to do with this thing?”

I kept the shell with me and made a desperate flight for home. Vlad’s thugs pulled up on either side. One of them jumped on my cart, but I fought him off. Another took a shot at me and grazed my neck with a throwing knife. I threw a handful of moldy berries at him.

A couple more carts pulled up, as Vlad hung back. It was now three against one on the back of the cart. I drew my silvered frypan, the one handed down by my Babusya, and whacked one of the thugs square on the face. He fell, but the other two got the jump on me. I struggled as they pinned my arms and more carts approached. That oversized green shell clattered around, out of reach.

Then, abruptly they let me go. The thugs dashed off and jumped back on their carts and pulled back.

Confused I looked up ahead and there they were, waiting for us: the vampire spawn gang.

The lead rider, a blonde looking vampire with an earring and mullet haircut beckoned me. “Join us, Michael!”

“My name’s Oleksii!”

“Whatever, we have cookies.”

“I’m on to you. Those are the crappy raisin oatmeal cookies that no eats unless they’re the last ones.”

Mullet-guy snarled and prodded his horse toward me, his gang in ravenously approaching.

I had no choice left, my frypan was in the back and my crossbow was empty, and I am pretty sure the Morninglord wasn’t going to help me after that One Time. So, I did the only left to do: I hurled that green shell at Mullet-guy.

My throwing arm is pretty lousy, but the green shell glided down the road and hit its mark. Mullet-guy’s horse was knocked into the air and I dashed through the gap. The vampire spawn gang soon ran into Vlad’s gang and I left them to sort things out.

Safely back in Barovia village I pulled my donkey cart into the garage. The damage was extensive, and it would have to be in the shop for a couple weeks. But at least I got my berries.

I unloaded the inventory and was disheartened to see that only one bushel remained, most of its contents spilled out into the cart.

I gathered every berry I could and hauled them into the shop. It was then that I saw János my Vistana courier unloading the usual shipment.

“Sorry, Oleksii,” he bowed apologetically. “There was yet another music festival in Kartakass and I was caught in traffic.”

János was good people, so I let it go. At least the berry syrup was well stocked again. However, even with the steady business that week, and minimal customer casualties, the repairs to the cart meant I would be in the red for a while.

And what to do about those unused, questionable berries I brought back from the Winery?

After consulting with Gary, I hit upon a plan…

I put a sign out the next day:

Adventuring parties! For one week only, get your hands on limited-edition, organic, non-GMO, somewhat fair trade, bottles of local artisan berry syrup. Now on sale for only 20gp a bottle!

[secretlovelygarden]

Episode 6. Rose and Nick

I have to confess that I expected the execution scene to be longer, but I was very surprised with the Nick and Rose scene for many reasons. It was surprising to see the shift in their relationship. The last time we saw them was at the dinner at Lawrence's house where they appeared to be super comfortable with each other, making jokes and everything. Something must have happened in the three weeks? that passed since that dinner. I never got the feeling that Nick had feelings for Rose, but in the beginning, it was clear that he cared for her, and that he was trying his best to be as happy as you can be in Gilead.

In last week's episode, he looked very uncomfortable and even annoyed with Rose. I don't think it was because Rose was calling him a murderer, but because he doesn't feel as comfortable around her anymore. He realizes that they have different values and beliefs. Rose probably believes in divine justice, forgiveness, compassion, and sending people to jail, not executing them. She was perfectly fine with June killing her rapist, but not so much with her husband killing another rapist. I think that by marrying Nick, Rose was hoping that her household would be more "pure" than the rest of Gilead. She probably aligns with Gilead's beliefs in general, but she doesn't agree with the "violence".

I honestly felt bad for both of them in this scene. Nick was thrilled when June was pregnant with Holly, he was the one to convince her that it was a good thing. But now that Rose is pregnant, he doesn't look happy at all. He's probably relieved in a way because he won't get a handmaid, but he's also worried because he doesn't want his child to grow up in Gilead. He knows how pregnancies happen so I don't think that it was a surprise for him. What I think is that he was trying REALLY hard to be "happy" with Rose until that phone call with June. Just as June has done since she's been in Canada, he tried to bury his feelings for her, telling himself over and over again that being with her and Nichole was just a pipedream. And then, he heard her voice. I assume that at that moment he realized how unhappy and miserable he was with Rose, and things haven't been the same between them since that moment. He'll love that child no matter what, but the pressure is increasing for him to make a choice. I fear he's about to explode.

Anyway, I keep thinking it's interesting how long and full of depth the scene was. They wouldn't spend so much time with Nick if he was just a secondary, irrelevant character. If the intention was for June to stay with Luke, the easiest solution would've been to give Nick a happy marriage and this scene would've been completely unnecessary. Everything, including the physical distance between them, was full of meaning.

[lieutenant-amuel]

you wrote once about your favorite Disney princesses. What are your thoughts on the Disney non princess? Or top 10 princes?

Thank you for the ask!

The term “Disney non-princesses” is too vast, so I’ll go with the princes :P

I’ll take the characters from the same movies the princesses are from (even if they’re not “princes” aka royal), excluding:

EoA, because I’m not even sure which characters to include. Probably Gabe and Mateo because they’re the main characters and around Elena’s age. But I won’t include them because they are not well-known outside their show and either way we all know Gabe is always my number one, so let’s make this top more interesting.

Moana and Raya and The Last Dragon, because those movies simply don’t have male characters who could be considered “princes” (I don’t have the heart to call Maui or the guys (Boun and Tong) from Raya’s gang princes, sorry and I barely remember those characters because I’m not a big fan of the movies).

Before we begin, I want to note that this top is about MY favourite princes, not the best ones, and is supposed to reflect MY opinion, not yours. If you disagree, make your own post and don’t argue with me, trying to change my mind, because this kind of conversations is simply pointless. Anyway, I’ll try to express my opinion as politely as possible so I won’t offend anyone.

And now let’s get started!

11. The Prince (Prince Florian/Ferdinand)

I have nothing to say about him, besides he’s romantic and sweet. His role in the movie is insignificant, he appears only in two scenes and doesn’t even have speaking parts, I think?

I believe he could have a bigger impact on me if I loved the movie more, because my own bias plays a big role in making this top, but sadly he’s just bland for me.

10. Kristoff

Please, don’t bite me.

Despite the fact Kristoff is basically a lot more round than most of the characters I put higher, I still don’t have much to say about him, because he’s simply not my type.

I absolutely love Anna, but it doesn’t make me care about Kristoff as much as about her. He’s kind, loyal, brave, and even has a backstory, but… there’s still something missing. I don’t have the heart to call him unintelligent or God forbid dumb, but he just seems superficial to me. This is kind of people I don’t really like in real life, so I suppose it makes its impact.

I’m really sorry to all Kristoff fans, because really, he’s a great character, but just not for me. I often prioritize character’s personality over their complexity (which is why I’m not a fan of Elsa or Esteban if we take EoA into account because it’s been my brand~ for a long time) and if I don’t like them as a person, I cannot care about them as a character, and Kristoff is this case.

9. The Beast (Prince Adam)

As much as I love Belle, I’m indifferent to the Beast. I know he kind of has a complex character arc as we see how he’s actually changing thanks to Belle’s influence, plus we know a little of him before he was turned into a beast, like the fact he loves books, which actually does add something to his character, but I just don’t think that much about him. He’s nice, and that’s all I can say.

8. Prince Charming (Prince Henry)

I’m not sure what to say about him. He and Snow White’s prince are basically the same as neither of them plays an important role in the movies. I put him higher than the Beast mostly because of the sequels where he gets more personality (and an iconic jumping out of the window scene) that makes him a lot more enjoyable and fun to watch, even though he’s not really the character type I like.

7. Eric

Same as for the Beast. I strongly disagree with people who call Eric dumb or bland, but the fact I don’t insult him doesn’t mean he’s a character I often think about. I’m indifferent.

I love his passion for the sea, it makes him curious and adventurous, and I think it’s actually super interesting that despite being a prince, he has a down-to-earth hobby and is nice to his crew (and he has a super cool dog).

I heard Eric got “more personality” in the remake but I haven’t watched it yet so I cannot put my two cents in. Anyway, this top is about animated princes, so I wouldn’t put him higher either way. But the movie would certainly help me to look deeper into his character.

6. Phillip

Unexpected? Well, as I said, I’m biased. Sleeping Beauty is my favourite old Disney movie, Aurora was my favourite Disney princess as a kid and so it automatically made me love her man, too. He’s charming and brave as he’s actually rescuing Aurora, and as much as this is basically the only thing I can say about him, I still put him that high because he has a special place in my heart.

But you know, if we’re unnecessarily overanalyzing, Phillip is also kind of a rebel since when he fell in love with Aurora without knowing it was her, he refused to follow the betrothal and wanted to marry the girl he actually loved, so yeah, that’s nice. And he has a cool horse and a fun dynamic with his father.

5. Naveen

And we’re finally getting to the characters that I actually care about and even can say something beyond “he’s nice.”

I love Naveen! He’s energetic and optimistic, and I honestly do love characters like him. He’s super fun and has a fantastic arc, and I love his passion for music. As in Eric’s case, that’s great that he has a hobby and treats common people nicely despite being a prince.

Really, I just love characters with a radiant personality.

4. John Smith

I thought for a long time whether I should put John Smith or Naveen higher, because I like them pretty equally, but eventually John Smith won mostly because he’s deeper and I have more to say about him.

John Smith is great! He’s curious and adventurous, which I already said about Eric, but he’s a lot more dynamic and charming, and it makes him more enjoyable to me (his part in Mine, Mine, Mine is fantastic). He’s also decent, brave, loyal, caring, and what’s also important open-minded. I love characters who use to have wrong beliefs but learn eventually that they’re wrong. I think if I had rewatched Pocahontas before making this post, I’d say a lot more about him.

3. Eugene

My Top-3!

Eugene must be one of the most loved Disney male characters, and that’s well deserved! He’s charming and witty, brave and resourceful, has a great backstory that actually makes people care about him and it leads him to have a fantastic arc.

I really don’t know what else to say about him, he’s simply an amazing round character with a unique personality, and I really love him a lot.

I’m not taking Tangled the Series Eugene into account, because I sincerely don’t like how he’s portrayed there. They make a very big emphasis on his narcissism, especially in season 1, making him a comedy relief character, whereas in the movie it isn’t even such a big deal. Not to mention his absolutely terrible arc of being the prince of the Dark Kingdom. It completely erases his backstory in the movie and makes his story of being an orphan a lot less impactful for me.

2. Shang

Another bias, because, as you might have noticed, Mulan is my most favourite Disney movie. Just of all time.

To be serious, Shang is a perfect character for me. He’s brave, smart, takes his responsibilities seriously. He might be blunt and tough on the surface, but he’s also decent, respects his soldiers, wants his father to be proud of him, and always strives to do the right thing even if it’s contrary to his duties (I do have a type, don’t I)

and oh my goodness his song is the fire

He’s perfect, and I love him <3

1. Aladdin

That’s my boy!

Aladdin is my second favourite Disney movie, and Aladdin himself is definitely one of the reasons why.

He’s incredibly brave, decent, kind and selfless without being too soft as he’s also witty and resourceful. He also has many insecurities that force him to make wrong decisions, but he’s learnt from each one, and the general concept of his character being “the diamond in the rough” is really the main reason why I love him.

Aladdin is so layered and dynamic, and he will always be special to me.

Bonus: Gabe

ALRIGHT I’VE CHANGED MY MIND I will include Gabe, because it gives me an opportunity to finally ramble about my best man again and I cannot waste it.

I don’t even know where to start with.

I love his personality. He’s brave, honest, responsible, kind, selfless, protective, loving, extremely loyal and hard-working.

I love his story and how much he’s grown on me.

I love so many character tropes he embodies, and how some of the important aspects of his character resonate with me, which makes him special to me on a personal level.

He’s the character who unleashed my creativity as I created so much content of him and even built my own little universe that revolves around him and that I love to death.

He’s the only character on this list that I think about literally every day, and he will always be special to me because of the impact he’s made on me.

I love Gabe, and he’s placed out of this top, because he’s incomparable <3

***

Thank you again for the ask! I hope I wasn’t too mean akjsnfkk.

[whimsicalcotton]

Hey, I’m the anon who sent that ask a while ago about sharing the polluted marrow (tm) brainrot, and I’m currently doing my reread. I’ll share my thoughts on each chapter here since I’ve been meaning to post a review on my ao3 account anyways. Sorry if this gets a bit too long-winded/rambly or has typos!

For chapter 1, the opening line hits SO hard. Max is next to Chloe before she’s falling, this isn’t a case of her fingertips barely grazing and falling short. This is Max desperately grabbing a hold of her entire world and not being strong enough to keep her there. Which is WOW, what an analogy. Then, with her photographer’s eye, a snapshot of the moment is etched into her brain, the newest of a long list of failures. The line, “Max glares down at the waves, and prays that Chloe washes up somewhere far, far away from here” is so evocative. Even though she’ll reverse it in a few seconds, even though she won’t get to see it, even though it’ll mean less than nothing, Max still wishes Chloe gets out of Arcadia Bay in at least one timeline. 

When she starts limping back through Blackwell’s campus, the fact that no one truly reaches out to help her is really telling. This was the same school that (nearly) drove Kate to suicide and it shows. She’s bleeding from her face, is visibly injured, and no one takes action. It really speaks to how deteriorated Max’s mental state is that she acknowledges how messed up her everything is but all she focuses on is saving Rachel and everyone else. "Uhm, no the fuck you don't," from Rachel got a startled huff of amusement from me ngl because that’s such a genuine retort of equal parts confusion and rebuke. Max is so Focused on making a plan she forgets Rachel’s closest friend is Chloe and their reunion is pretty much the polar opposite of how either wanted it to go.

And the nightmare transition OH BOY. It’s small, but “You're almost more trouble than you're worth” “Almost” captures Jefferson’s sliminess perfectly. Even without knowing she has powers, Chloe still calls her Super Max, which must be a huge wake-up slap to the face. When Rachel intervenes during their hug, it gave me huge “You, Me, and Steve” vibes even though that was probably unintentional lol. Max keeping Chloe in a death grip (oof) as she pulls away is just D:. Chloe, taking in her childhood best friend, now bedraggled to an extreme degree, questioning how she ended up in such a state, barely holding it together. If she knew what Max thought, that “I hurt me. I brought this on myself. I deserve this”, I’m sure she would go on a rampage. The period between Chloe leaving the room and Joyce coming must’ve been around a few minutes, and Max manages to say two words, when in combination, paint a terrifying scene. Max agreeing to rest for the first time in subjective months only so she can “get back in fighting shape” makes me want to wring her neck like a rubber chicken because PLEASE let her sleep she deserves it :(((

POV switch to Rachel! The girl, the myth, the legend. Describing Chloe as “her big tough badass” is <3333. Y’know, I never thought about it, but hare is an appropriate animal for Max. I looked up the wiki article because I didn’t really know the difference between it and a rabbit, fun fact: “their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth”. If you use Max gaining powers as her metaphorical birth then yeah that tracks. Rachel only realizes how strange the whole situation is after she’s out of Max’s immense sobering gravity and back at the scene of the crime, so to speak. When she talks to Victoria and Kate, the line “She wouldn't stand a chance” about the latter leaves the unsaid as “against Jefferson/another predator looking to take advantage”. The various strangers accosting Rachel about Max’s appearance is another strike against Blackwell’s populace. Her recontextualization of her entire relationship with Jefferson as she leaves asap with rage stirring was great.

Chloe, oh Chloe. Her dream conversation with her father coming to the exact same conclusion as Rachel, that Max is a hare running away from something, is very interesting. Visuals of the storm peppered throughout are making me very Concerned. And Max writing letters filled with remorse for being a lackluster best friend is what Chloe wants! Or rather, what she wanted, but not at the cost of Max’s well being. Even after all those years apart, she still refers to Max as her best friend which ueueueueueue. The juxtaposition of Max witnessing Chloe dying and saving her while Chloe watches Max nearly bleed out and not being able to do very much is striking. Chloe coming to the misguided realization just as she was without Max, Max was without her, hurts. In contrast, her familiarity with Rachel allows her to step in when she’s doing something self-destructive. “If she tries hard enough, Chloe can almost pretend that everything is fine” which is such a mood honestly. The ending of the first chapter was such a doozy when I first read it, because I was really up at 3 am, squinting at my dim screen, bundled under a thick blanket on my bed, reenacting Zuko as he inspected a scroll wondering where the rest of the text was. Was an experience, loved it.

I’m sorry if this was way more summary than analysis, everything was awesome and makes me feel emotions in a way hard to articulate through text. I’ll try to send the ask for the next chapter faster if you want!! Thanks for writing :D

hello anon!! first off don't worry about being rambly bc i when i opened my inbox and saw this i turned into this gif of kermit

and also don't worry about being articulate bc after like twenty minutes of trying to come up with a nice proper response to this all i have is: !!!! sdfksjfhsksdfkhjk :0c ohhh my god thank you thank you <3 <3