#this started as just a fun little concept like ‘awwww that would be cute’ but like

[kitamars]

listen. hijikata has TWO HANDS

[raylex]

Behold, a distraction question: What is your favorite Rayman idle animation or mannerism? (@selfshipping-giratina)

AAAAAAAA!!! I LOVE IDLE ANIMATIONS. I LOOOOOVE THEM. would it be weird to say idle animations are a special interest for me within videogames? either way, I know exactly which ones I would pick!

THE FIRST ONE MADE ME CRY WHEN I FIRST SAW IT, FUN FACT. IT WAS VERY EMBARRASSING. I WAS IN A CALL WITH MY FRIENDS AND STREAMING THE GAME TO THEM, IT WAS MY FIRST TIME PLAYING IT AND I JUST THOUGHT HE WAS SO CUTE I GOT A LITTLE EMOTIONAL. it triggers in rayman 3 when you stand around doing nothing for too long - he starts kicking around his torso like a football! it's ADORABLE. my buddy thinks it's creepy, but I DON'T. look at him go!! he's having so much fun! 🥺

the second one is one of his battle idles from sparks of hope!! I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH. IT REALLY SHOWS OFF HIS PERSONALITY - THE EXPRESSIONS, HIS BODY MOVEMENT... IT'S ALL SO GOOD. THE WAY HE SLOUCHES BACK AND LOOKS SO BASHFUL WHEN HIS HAIR POOFS BACK UP... AWWWW. SUCH A CUTIEPIE. 💖

speaking of sparks of hope, I also ADORE this one, which is based on art from rayman legends!!!

and here's giacomo boni's concept art for it!!!

I ADORE THIS ONE SO, SO MUCH. his idle animations from rayman 3 were what really solidified to me how hard I had fallen for him, so to see them return with JUST as much character and personality as they had 21 years ago is just something that is so, so special to me 🫶

[ryuichirou]

Replies

We have a couple of asks about yesterday’s drawing of Deuce and Epel (and a bunch of other asks too!), but I’ll start with an ask related to commissions. Thank you for your questions <3

Anonymous asked:

Is there anything you won’t do for commissions, i.e. OC x Canon, something too complicated, etc

I’m okay with almost anything, OC x Canon, complicated stuff, kink and gore included. That being said, I might decline some ships + certain top/bottom dynamics. In any case, everything is negotiable and I am willing to discuss alternative options, so if feel free to DM/email me, and we’ll discuss it.

Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your interest!

Anonymous asked:

now i’m picturing deuce and epel holding hands while they’re being railed <3

Awwww! This is sweet. They’re supporting each other…

hipsterteller asked:

Oh Deuce and Epel are screwed

About to get Yeahh, I know, these poor guys :”(

Anonymous asked:

ok but who but deuce and epel in those cute outfits. they’re so detailed too!

Thank you so much!! I’m happy you like it! Seifukus are so much fun, I love drawing them. It was Katsu’s idea to combine them with their dorm uniform colours, and I’m very glad that we did that.

Anonymous asked:

sees the deuce and epel art, head begins to play the song shota shota island vocaloid

Wow, that’s an oldie! A genre of vocaloid songs that seems to be dead but never forgotten…

Looking this one up now, and wow even the pose is similar LOL

Anonymous asked:

to be fair, 4chan x instagram is probably more fun of a ship name than, like, 3B class, it's funny to see Idia being the 4chan of the ship XDD

(this is related to the reply where I described Idia and Cater that way...)

Thank you lol The more I think about it the better it sounds to be honest. Idia has such strong vibes of a person with certain types of opinions…

Anonymous asked:

So what you think of Ortho as a bodyguard to Vil? Think of it like Vil isn't safe on his own because of stalkers, Ortho will prepare to obliterate them.

Rook could also work as a bodyguard.

Both Rook and Ortho would make great bodyguards! Both of them are powerful enough to notice both stalkers and paparazzi right away and either cover/protect Vil or dispose of any inconvenience before Vil even notices it himself.

It is an interesting concept, Anon.

While we were discussing it, we joked how Rook or Ortho are actually protecting the stalkers from Vil, because if stalkers somehow manage to take either of them out and go directly to Vil, Vil is going to kick the shit out of them lol

blackbutlerfandomnerddomain asked:

Random headcanon: I think while he's so clean and proper, Greenhill LOVES to make/see Violet's makeup smeared and ruined. Either from heavily making out in the Swan Gazebo when no one's around or from completely fucking after a show they performed, the man gets so hot and bothered by his own work Violet would need to hopefully be able to walk after so many rounds

YES. ABSOLUTELY THIS IS TRUE.

Greenhill isn’t even sure why he finds it so hot, in a way he feels bad ruining Violet’s perfectly black evenly coloured lips, but when his face is such a mess it’s a great reminder of how intense  their making out session was. Sometimes he forgets that his own face is also a mess afterwards, and Violet doesn’t remind him sometimes. Sometimes he’s embarrassed, sometimes he’s just a little petty.

[batsforbadones]

Dear Batsforbadones,

I wanted to thank you for your writing of Billy Lenz.

As cute as OOC fluff can be, I just love it when there's writers who stick to the more canonical version of characters, and aren't afraid to write them as the deranged assholes they are. You made Billy rather sarcastic, condescending, and rather calculative while still maintaining is mental instability and rather animalistic insanity. The way you even write his dialogue is so great, as it oozes this capturing, but psychotic asshole vibe of "You're a dumb slut, but I'm gonna fuck and kill you now". With that, you're not afraid to unleash the more unpopular, and controversial side of Billy character, and that's the fact that he's pretty much a sexual predator, and absolutely wouldn't mind crossing lines to get "what he wants". People tend to baby Billy as some "ADHD" poster child of Gen Z "quirkiness", but you don't seem to infantilize him at all. You give him a personality outside of the "lol random xD" trope that many people seem to like projecting onto such characters. Like a gust of cold wind, your writing is rather refreshing.

Once again, I gotta thank you for writing Billy in a way that makes me smile whenever I see a new fic with him being released. I wish you well!

This comment means so much to me. you've given me a very in depth analysis, and I feel the urge to give you an explanation- a thought process as to why I'm so- mean when I write my slashers. because i do try to be. I also enjoy the fluff and the 'awwww, cute they'd hold my hand in a barn after killing someone' thing, but I am intentionally mean when I write, at least i try to be.

so, if you're willing to, hold out with me. It may not be worth much, but I'm- so glad my writing does what I intended it to. TW - DISCUSSIONS OF SA

fun fact about me- I got my fanfictional start in the creepypasta fandom on wattpad c.2012. If any of you got pipelined into being a horror movie watcher, you know how I got here, but basically, OOC content is- insanely popular in the creepypasta fandom because of how little substance there is to a lot of the root characters. Most of the source material has this very- passionate, but over all lacking development vibe so you'll get these really mediocre concepts handled very poorly. so you end up with things like jeff the killer, whose very clearly written by some 14 year old boy who listened to marilyn manson's cover of sweet dreams are made of these and it changed him for life (me too), or you get some bastardized form of someones passion found footage project- this isnt to say I wasn't also in that boat, but it was to say that I was kind of thrust into this very romanticized, and understandably less morbid view of these characters very early on. I responded to fear with sexuality, and that is an incredibly unfortunate boat to find yourself in so early on in your internet life, but fuck it we ball-

so basically, theres a character who is incredibly similar to Billy Lenz in the creepypasta fandom, and if you were there, you know exactly what I'm about to do because i've been sitting on this for almost two years now-

The way Billy Lenz is often written, is the way Ticci Toby was written. And Ticci Toby was my favourite creepypasta (i am using creepypasta as a fandom term, and not an actual iteration of the website. i mean the pantheon, because this differentiation is important to some people ((theres a lot of creative elitism in the creepypasta community)))

Ticci Toby is a slenderman proxy oc described as neurotic, bipolar, delusional, unstable, and with an unmaskable type of tourettes to where he garners the name he would later use as his moniker (all as written by a deviantart user c.2010, so take a lot of the sensitivity with a grain of salt)-

and my god, did the creepypasta fandom infantilize him. i did too. he was, for all intent and purposes, my baby girl. and I was like- idk fucking 10 and being into true crime and not flinching was cool so I was dick riding this man and eyeless jack like it was my job. and a couple of notable things about how they would treat him would be a bizarre obsession with waffles, Hollywood tourettes, if you were really ballsy, you'd make him hypersexual, and constantly trying to anime grope the reader, and he was just- all around considered to be the comedic relief character when paired with our other collection of 'the killers'. get its, its funny because its 2012 and we all think a severe social disorder is the peak of comedy.

and he wasnt well written, i would argue this is an actual infliction of what he was written to be (creepypasta oc rights drama aside), but later down the line when I got older i had this faint realization where its just like- no. he wouldnt-- do that. And not that it matters, you can literally do whatever you want with these characters, death to the author shit, but I was put off by it, almost? like, i look back on my old preconceptions of these characters and im like, morbidly inspired by my own childhood innocence when interacting with him. like- oh wow. i really wouldve just walked into the woods with a man with a hatchet if he was hot enough. oh wow.

once again, i too love to read ooc fluff and smut and stuff where these men aren't sexual predators and arent abusers, and i care for funny giggle billy, dont get me wrong, but I'm not- aroused by him much. i feel like, an emotional fondness, but im not- attracted to him.

and this isnt to say i dont think everyone isnt aware of how we are writing about fucking fictional murderers. we all watched the movies, we all got horny when he came out. we're all aware- and i know for some people it comes from a place of personal comfort that the boogey man treats them with care. its not my place to ruin someones comfort character. it never will be.

but, i genuinely struggle to make myself dissociate enough from these characters to believe they would care about consent. Most if not all slashers are founded on the grounds of the male, predatory gaze. the woman is the victim. the man is the victimizer. they're often literally metaphored with actual prey/predator situations. anyone killing women in mass is doing it because they hate women, and likely wouldnt have a problem raping said women. this is a fact i cannot remove myself from, both meta and not.

and i find a weird comfort in knowing they will always be- just that.

i feel that way about billy lenz a l o t. he, verbatim, threatens to rape the entire sorority house and then kill them. Its only by 70's movie censorship that I'm sure we didn't have a violent and grotesque assault scene from him. Billy Lenz is, at his core, a sexual predator. The little canonical input we get from him is- of him being a sexual predator. I'm not going into his phone calls, but basically- him being a rapist is, so incredibly core because we get... what? 7 minutes of dialogue with him? and not a SINGLE full body shot of him moving? We get a blood shot eye and?? what?? like i cant just remove him from the rape. theres nothing left of him. i'd be ticci tobying him again. and its not that i dont feel right doing that. not everyone should be like, forced to think about rape all the time- like, if you want a funny, sexy, evil guy, do it. I'd read it and giggle and kick my feet. if billy is your favourite character because you read him as autistic and gender, do it. but my billy- exists on those grounds. And so does my Jed. and my Stu. and my brahms- and so on so fourth.

sorry for the rant i'm just- so so passionate about like, this topic. and this is so fucking sweet to me. it means the world, really. thank you so much. im always in a billy lenz mood and plan to do some stuff for him soon. Thank you thank you thank you <3

[hetalia-has-a-secretary]

The axis and allies react to a nervous s / o by announcing that she is pregnant. An unwanted pregnancy. But before hearing what they have to say, she says frantically that he doesn't worry that she will take responsibility for the baby by herself, if he doesn't want to.

QwQ awwww- poor S/O. We need some love and comfort up in here! (And some nervous daddies!). Also excuse the fact these next few asks are going to be kind of short- I'm running out of time to catch up for when I open my inbox again ʕ º J ºʔ (ahhh that's supposed to be a cute bear but with Russia's nose but... It looks disturbing...)

Allies and Axis with a nervous Pregnant!S/O

Allies:

America:

Yeah, cute that his S/O thinks he wouldn't want to take care of a mini Alfred (Alley?). Doesn't matter he's helping. He's a country, he's got the money, so "don't even worry Babe" America's got this! He'll also constantly refer to his S/O as a heroine, and the soon to be born baby as either (wheeze) Hero Jr or Mini Heroine. Doesn't really care if it's a boy or girl, just wants to be a dad to be honest. Yes this means even if it's not exactly his, so long it didn't happen during the relationship. Even then there's room for forgiveness.

England:

He's in shock, even after they stop being frantic. "I'm sorry, how?" At that point his S/O has to remind him that they have, well... Done it. That's how babies are made. He will have an 'oh yeah' moment before immediately kneeling and talking to the baby, no matter how far along his S/O is. So yeah, assume he's taking responsibility. But not just for the kid, for his S/O as well. It's best to be wise and not do anything to excessive in front of him, or else he turns into mother hen. As for if it isn't his and it's from a previous relationship, he's perfectly fine helping with the kid. It's their beloved child, therefore his as well. Hopefully this ends better than it did with American...

France:

His S/O isn't getting past the 'Im pregnant' part, and won't have time to express concern because he's already ecstatic. But obviously has a case of the nervous jitters. Has no idea what they need for the baby, so his S/O might need to prepare themselves for his endless questions he squeezes in within 15 seconds. As for if it isn't his child, he'll be a tiny be sad, but that's really Because he wanted your first kid to be his. But things happen, he just wants to be the best dad in France. Prepare the trips to fancier restaurants and bickering over what color(s) to paint the child's room regardless of gender! (Blue and pink make some shade of purple, right?).

China:

Thinks they were kidding until they become frantic. He doesn't quite understand why they would think he wouldn't take responsibility. Even if it was from a past relationship it's technically his now too right? He is kind of slightly hoping for a girl, just because he had to raise Japan and well... He's scared of repeating whatever mistakes he made before... And if it's a girl he's going to have more fun making the clothes. Much frills, much fun, cute little panda onsies~

Russia:

He laughs way to cheerily about it. It takes him a whole 5 seconds to realize what was said, but as soon as he sees the pained look in his S/O face... He fricken joins in on their frantic behavior. Is not at all ready, and accidentally dodges his lovers question about taking responsibility. It doesn't become apperant he will until he starts asking what they have to do. What he needs to do. But wait, if it's his, maybe his S/O can kind of see what he looked like as a baby. And if it wasn't his by some chance, he's hoping it looks more like his S/O depending on how well the actual father is welcomed into his S/O's life, if at all. He very quickly goes from Big Russian Bear, to Big Russian Papa Bear. ... Okay he also slightly hopes this keeps Belarus at bay as well (surprise from the future she's the best auntie that baby will have, and will 1000% help his S/O Because it's obvious how important this is to Russia, and regardless of her feelings he's still family)

Axis:

Germany:

Oh tell me he's not a crier when they tell him. Especially if it's his, those tears are going to fall. If it's from a past relationship he's just more concern on if the father tries anything stupid, if he's around. Germany refuses to put his S/O under any stress like that, and he holds them so tightly when he agrees to take responsibility. He will be that child's father, no matter what anyone says or thinks. His grown family is the only thing that matters. Gender wise, please be a girl. Or at least be a Mama's boy, cause he has this thought they'll need her more than him.

Japan:

Welp. This is new and Terrifyingly exciting. He may or may not pass out on his S/O, so they need to tell him when he's seated. Oh if it's his, he might as well be ringing England and France right then and their. Takes responsibility for the Child, regardless if it's his or not. It's his S/O, and that's their child, so yeah he's going to help out! Very VERY responsible. Like, his S/O can make their girlfriends jealous with how responsible he's being. He wants a boy, cause swords. But then his S/O asks, what if it's a gir- SWORDS. Don't ask, but he thinks it's cute for a small being running around like... An anime character. Ah. Makes sense to them now.

Italy:

The word baby left his S/O's mouth and it's all he wants to talk about. Very obvious he wants to help out and take responsibility. It'll be fun to have a tiny italy! Even if it's not his for whatever reason, he's still going to call it a tiny baby boot, fully taking advantage of the fact his country is shaped like a boot. It's kind of weird for those passing by, but it's also really fricken cute. This child is his baby bootie, and that will never change. Well until they know what gender but have fun getting him to break the habit.

Babies, babies~ cute tiny babies ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ I think with the countries being countries they already have this instinct to protect their own people, so having a tiny child who's part of their family is no different except for the fact they gonna get those dad perks. So yeah, not a single one of them would reject a child. I feel like that kind of stuff is a foreign concept to them (rejecting children in any form). Like they were literally tossed into this world, and whatever other country came along immediately took them in. Look at how hard France and England fought over America! (Ignoring the occasional reason to do it for the ownership of land, but I have my theories).

[commajade]

Amber ive been loving your album rankings! would you be interested in doing sunmi's full moon ep or the exo overdose mini album?

omg i just noticed ur lee joo young prof pic that's incredible has that always been there. i wanna do both! omg they're both 2014 albums that were like genre defining genre defying iconic at the time i'm so excited. i'm familiar with both but haven't listened to either fully. full moon - sunmi

i'm actually a little emotional about this ep rn cuz i watched come back home where yu jaesuk and friends + sunmi + rain went to sunmi's old apartment in cheongdamdong where she lived while making the full moon ep. it's my darling sunmi's solo debut! it was like entirely a jyp project but that's just how solo debuts are sometimes i guess. she was so young, like only 20 right? and my parents said that they were surprised to see sunmi still successful as a solo for so long because after wonder girls' mysterious disappearance (their words lol sarajeotda) no one was expecting sumi to debut solo and do well. she might've been the precedent for taemin too. sunmi wasn't a maknae but it was still a big deal for a young sweet member of a major group to debut solo with a sexy concept.

1. 24 hours - sunmi's debut single!! prerelease track!! iconic! honestly more people cover this than full moon which is interesting. the choreo is in fact iconic so it makes sense. a fave track of gay male dancers specifically she did this for the gays.

2. full moon - title track! brave brothers production of course iconic. "the first collaboration of jyp and brave sound" sunmi said she didn't realize the intro was so long when she was promoting it lol. ah what a classic, creepy halloween-y concept. i really loved the creepy old house aesthetic a lot of 2nd gen mvs had actually whenever i see a callback to it (abandoned by wonder girls) it's a v welcome surprise. 3. who am i - love a yubin sunmi collab <3 i like the cinematic feel of the song. the production is p american pop style but i'm into it.

4. burn

4. frozen in time

5. if that was you let's go exo overdose! i'm not actually super familiar with exo's bsides or history so this is gonna be fun.

1. love love love - this is one of my fave exo bsides of all time but forgot the title (i thought it was moonlight sonata?). god it's incredible. the kinda cascading sounds and piano sounds are def to be like ~oriental~ but kpop that use that just sounds good i forgive the self orientalization. this could be a 2020 exo subunit title track. 2. thunder - rnb!!!!!!!! 2000s rnb!!!!! the glass shattering effects. the clicking noises later. the harmony. wow. a perfect kpop rnb song. vocals production melodic topline all so good. no wonder exo became the kings of kpop. 3. overdose - all i remember from 2014 is that i could never finish the mv because of the flashing lights and i tried again and i was correct lol. i had to watch it just now in bits and pieces. looking at them just makes me go awwww they were BAAABIES esp kai and kyungsoo they're so cute. god the choreo is so iconic too. was exo one of the groups that started the whole third gen boy group rebellious youth concept?? or did someone else start it but they followed. because their debut was SO very second gen to establish them as tvxq's successors and heavy hitters like sm is doing with aespa rn. but by 2014 they're doing rebellious youth like all the other groups at the time? but with those cute suit outfits too it's that very polished very well made feel that tries to set them apart as an sm boy group. anyway excellent iconic song amazing flawless vocals. 4. moonlight - gorgeous classic simple 2000s rnb ballad. 5. run - it's a very 2013 almost like indie folk pop alt rock base???? what??? i was not expecting this?????? man they were CURRENT this SHOULD HAVE BEEN on the US radio for all of 2014-2017 it's like such a perfect encapsulation of radio pop billboard top 20 trends at that time but with like sophistication and interesting sounds. i'm jealous of korean teenagers who got to soundtrack their lives with this oh man.

[ao3gingerswag]

A concept: Sam making things into a competition that are not a competition.

Sammy is super jealous of Cas because he’s worried Dean will like Cas better than him and Sam is used to sharing Dean’s attention with John and customers, but his affection and love with no one. But Dean loves Cas so Sammy tries to prove to himself and to Dean that he’s better than Cas. Cas mentions Dean likes figs and Sammy’s like “he also likes pork! I snuck him a piece of pork once and he loved it!” But when he tries to compete against Cas, Cas either doesn’t realize it’s a competition, beats Sam super easily because if they’re trying to do a chore better or faster, Cas has all the experience, or Cas tries to be nice and let Sammy win but has absolutely zero subtlety about it.

At first Dean’s too fragile for any sort of competition, but with a little time they’re gonna have some sibling fun and race to the icehouse and see who can collect more berries and see who’s soup comes out better and through observation, Cas is like :o Sammy likes to compete! Cas learns how to do what they’re doing and starts challenging Sam to fair competitions and teaching him games he’s seen people coming through the inn play do that he has an outlet for that competitiveness.

-ace

awwww thats so cute!!! also the idea of cas just mentioning things about dean off hand and sam being like HE ALSO LIKES THIS or HES ALSO GOOD AT THAT really aggressively trying to one up him is fgvhbjn. cause cas would just be like....??? what??

and then omg ;~; dean being confident and stable enough to just goof around with sam like normal kids!! instead of like desperately trying to protect him!!! just doing stupid shit and racing him and seeing who can collect more berries and shit oooh my god ;~; and u know even when he is able to do this, dean would definitely be so nervous/tentative about it at first, he’d be like...i think i won? even when he obviously did, like to see if sam’s gonna get mad and if he should backtrack/apologize ;~; but then slowly he gets more and more confident and by the time Sam is like 12/13 he’s doing normal sibling shit and like gloats when he wins even tho he doesnt actually care just to tease sam and its cute!!!!! 

and omg the idea of cas awkwardly being like....u want to race? to sulky sam is fgvhbj. u know for a while sam would be like >:( absolutely not. but eventually his competitive nature wins out and he’s like. >:( fine.

I think for a long time Cas does let sam win things, because he can tell how insecure he is and how it makes him feel better at stupid things. i think the first few times he lets sam win, he is really obvious about it, and sam gets mad at him. but then i think he tries actually competing, and he wins, and sam ALSO gets mad, but this time he’s like genuinely upset as well, bc he feels like his competitions with cas are about so much more ;~; so eventually cas learns how to like lose, but only just barely, and sam starts to believe he’s actually winning.

as time goes on, sam gets friendlier and less insecure, but cas still lets him just barely win everything lol. so sam, as his feelings that these competitions are like life or death fade, starts offering to “teach” or “help” cas get better. and cas pretends to learn from sam how to do shit he’s known how to do his whole life ;~;

i think as sam grows up, he starts to look back and realize that cas was letting him win, and that he was letting him win not just cause that’s what you do with kids but because it helped sam feel more secure. and one day he finally asks cas straight up, did you let me win all that shit when i was a kid? and cas is like. um. yes. sorry.

and sam is like. hey man. :) thanks.

[hydrangeasimagination]

hydrangeasimagination: Top 10 Posts of 2020

Happy New Year everyone! 2020 sucked but lets hope 2021 will be better!!

I might open requests soon so keep an eye out!

Light spice and 18+ links under the cut.

Oh and I found my top ten on jetblackcode.

~ Dari

10. Kiss Drabbles - Pro Heroes (Shouta, Emi, Keigo & Enji)[fluff]

I’m surprisingly embarrassed to read this back because this came from a place of touch-starved-ness that I was sorta like... Typing this out at the speed of light. Enji’s especially made me all like red-cheeked for whatever reason, ahhhhh - (//∇//)

9. BNHA Charas w/ a Photogenic S/O (Shouta, Katsuki, Jin & Tomura)[fluff, headcanons]

I watched the scene from “How I Met Your Mother” and the idea sorta spawned from that. I asked my sister for which characters to write for and blurted out how I thought they’d react.

8. Poly BNHA Headcanons (ShigaDabi, EraserHawks & EndMight X GN Reader)[fluff, headcanons]

Being poly myself... I wanted to get some soft feelings out, the entire thing was self indulgent. I was also sorta being vague with details but mostly just reflecting the small bits of dynamics that go through in poly relationships.

ShigaDabi: They’re not expressly together but they are possessive of eachother and their s/o, there’s at least a physical relationship of some sort too.

EraserHawks: Keigo and Shouta and their s/o are altogether, though with how busy they are - relationships are hard to manage. Especially as they don’t live together.

EndMight: Enji and Toshinori are trying to improve their own relationship platonically first and their affection for their s/o allows them to work through it somewhat easier.

There are a lot of ways you could write something like this.

7. Sub Sammich?? (Shouta, Dabi & Keigo X GN Reader)[18+, drabbles]

Okay so, spicy territory! I’m a switch that leans more towards dom/top, there is little content having the reader in control or meaner in the sheets and I wanted more of it. So I took the reins and wrote it myself! Also GN stuff is hard to find.

6. Mouthy (Keigo, Enji & Toshinori X GN Reader)[18+, drabbles]

I based this around my self insert, a friend’s self insert, and... Asa from my TBT series. It’s more tame than my last piece - the pace I wrote it as was also pretty intense since my brain was running on low fuel.

5. Color Shift Quirk (Katsuki, Dabi, Izuku, Tomura & Shouto X GN Reader)[a bit spicy, headcanons]

Awwww, these were fun! I’m a little surprised they landed so high on the list! Probably because the amount of characters as opposed to the concepts? Mostly since I limit to three characters per request but these were similar enough to put together.

4. Ita Bag (Shouta, Bakugo & Izuku X GN Reader)[headcanons]

C u t e ! This is a little newer and the popular appearances of Shouta and Katsuki boosted it?? But also the fact that all of us are fans and the fact that they react positively validates our love for them.

3. A Little Flex (Izuku, Hitoshi & Tomura X GN Reader)[drabbles]

Another new piece!! The concept caught peoples’ attention I bet, the vindication and smug feelings of sticking it to the jerks that bully our best bois is also satisfying. It is also slightly experimental where I write an opening and alternate scenarios for each character.

2. Quirkless and Naive (Katsuki, Izuku & Shouto X GN Reader) [headcanons]

The Three Musketeers sitting at their top three spots in polls let me grab a lot of notes! This is older but it’s a super cute concept; seeing our boys all protective and ready to fight for their sweetheart.

1.  Break (Dadzawa, Big Bro Mirio & Sibling Reader)[angst]

It makes my heart so happy that this earned the top spot this year as I didn’t think it would! My Dadzawa series is barely started and I want to come up with a good storyline to explain this characterization of the reader and where they stand. While not as popular as the TBT... I hope that I can get it to the same standing!

[leverage-mytake]

S1E11: The Juror #6 Job

This episode was fun. Was nice to see Parker out of her comfort zone, and was funny to her forgetting Alice.

Eliot to Sophie about Parker: "You need to talk to her. This is not the first time she's gone loco"

............................

Parker and her interaction with other jurors lol

Parker: What'd you have for breakfast? You smell like gravy.

..................

This reminds me of Bull!!!! The earpieces and tech of the juror duty!

(I actually really liked the concept of Bull, but just hated Bull’s arrogance, anyway I digress)

....................

Aww and Sophie and Alec sticking up for Parker when she comes to them for help

Sophie: you know, she's never done that before. Nate: What, stormed out? Come on. Sophie: No, asked for our help. (walks out) (Nate looks toward Parker, then back at Hardison) Nate: What? Listen, there is a reason we put her in a jury trial. (Hardison mutes game) Hardison: You know, man, when I was a, when I was a kid, I was like 8 years old, I had a foster mom who was Jehovah’s witness. She used to dress me up in a suit and a bow tie and take me door-to-door to spread the word. Black neighborhoods, white neighborhoods, didn't matter. I would kick, I’d scream, or whatever, but she would say "Alec, you need to learn how to talk to people." See, everything I learned about people, I learned ringing doorbells and-and-and being in a bow tie. Parker never had that. I mean, jumping from a skyscraper, she's cool. But making small talk? It’s-it's like pure terror. Just cut her some slack.

:)

....................

GOOD ELI! TAKE YOUR BEER BACK!!!

Eliot: Tell you what, this is not happenin', bubba. You ain't takin' my beer.

......

And Eli and Parker team up! Yay! ha cute!

................

Hell yeah Parker was telling the truth! Take that Nate!

.........

Hardison: Hello. (looking at monitors) Earnshaw just ran a credit check on Alice White. Parker: Who's Alice White? Nate/Sophie: You are! Parker: Whoa!

Ha ha love this gag

....................

Eliot and Alec are well funny!!!

Eliot: It's your turn to be in the dumpster. Hardison: No, man, no. I-I have-I have peanut allergies. What if somebody threw in some extra crunchy Skippy? Then, you know, it's just a (wheezing) all up in my vocal area, man. Do you want to give me mouth-to-mouth? No, none of us want that. Hell no.

..............

The apple and orange persuasion sketch HAHAHAHAHHA

This is my favourite thing. EVER!

Sophie: Okay, today did not go well, but that's all right. You know, we learn when we fail. We're gonna-we're gonna go back to basics, and we're gonna do a little role-playing. Gonna start with-with persuasion techniques. So, Eliot (tosses him an apple) has an apple. Alice (tosses her an orange) has an orange. Eliot: I love apples. Apples are my favorite fruit. Parker: Good for you, sparky. Eliot (to Sophie): I-I don't have to sit here and take this crap. Sophie: Go on. Just do it for me. Eliot (to Parker): You have an orange, all right? Now, convince me that I want the orange, not the apple. I'm gonna take a bite. (slowly brings the apple to his mouth and takes a bite) Parker: I put a razor blade in that apple. Eliot (spits out the apple): Are you serious? Parker: Maybe. But do you know what doesn’t have a razor blade in it? This orange. (smells the orange) Don't you want it? (tosses the orange at Eliot and leaves) Sophie: You fell for that? (exits room)

Hahaha poor Eliot! Don’t blame him though! Parker could and would!

.........  ......

Parker and the stealing forman trick! Wowee!

...............

Parker: Wait! Wait a second. That was a secret. You just told me a secret, right? That's something friends do.

Peggy: Well, I guess so. You're the nicest one here.

Parker: Really? I mean, thanks.

Aww P ❤

..........................

Alec pretending to be a lawyer!

...................

Awwww man I love Parker! She's so cute!

....................

Nate: Now, listen, this is the middle game. This is where we trade pieces. We look for weaknesses. You have to buy Sophie a little more time to maneuver. Alec: I literally cannot make this slower or any more boring. Okay, y-you know why they say justice wears a blindfold? So you can't see that justice is asleep.

then

Hardison: Slide 162. This is-this is good stuff. Dr. Goldfarb, hi. Can you tell us how the chemicals work their way into the neurotransmitters? Judge (bored): Is this going anywhere, counselor? Hardison: Oh, I assure you, your honor, the next hundred slides are essential. 

HA

...........

HAHAHA Donnie! That was BRILL!!

............

AWW and I love Encouraging Nate and Sophie! They really are the parents!

Nate: A jury is 12 people. Just talk to them. You've been doing it your whole life. Just put on your bow tie and ring the doorbell. 

Sophie: Actually, Peggy is disgustingly normal. But the rest of them, they all have their own Alice White. You just, you just happened to give yours a name. 

.................

This whole scene!!!

Nate: Okay, we don't have court today, but we do have some work to do. Eliot: Am I gonna like this work? Nate: Uh, not the first part. 

................

ANd Nate in character! hA!

Nate: Are you kidding? I've been off the grid for years. Don't get me wrong. Electric car's a good way to start, but you can make fuel from your own bodily waste. Do you compost? The feeling when-when you close the digestive-to- internal combustion cycle, glorious.

..........................

Hardison: Oh, incident. Okay. (referring to file) Would that happen to be the incident on flight 732 out of St. Louis, where you-you fondled a flight attendant's buttocks? Or would that happen to be the incident on flight 1433 out of Chicago, where you drank 17 tiny margaritas, you took your pants off, you stood up on the drink cart, and you sang, quote, "I'm a sexy monkey"?

..............................

THE SWITCHING MONITERS THING! BRILL Hardison!!!

...............

And this whole interaction was just *chefs kiss*

Parker: Oh, sweet mercy, cooked flesh. (takes a bite of burger) Can we have fast food every time we make the bad guys go away? Nate: Did you realize what you just did? What you did? You won a jury trial without cheating. Hardison: Without chea--I hacked a government no-fly list and used it to humiliate a witness. Nate: Excessively. "Cheating excessively" is what I meant. But, I mean, think about it, I mean, if you applied yourself, Hardison, you could be anything you want. Hardison: You know what? I could. I could. You know, next week, I think I’m gonna be an astronaut. Nate: Well, that's not really what I meant. I meant if you studied, you’d-- Hardison: Yeah, if I--Who needs to study? You know, I’m gonna be a surgeon. A surgeon – ER. Surgeon. (Parker gets a text and checks her phone) Parker: Hey, it's Peggy from the trial! She wants to have coffee next week. Alice made a friend. Eliot: I'm gonna tell you one more time. You made a friend, not Alice. Parker: Oh, cool. Well, think she'd want to steal a painting with me? Sophie: Start small, Parker. Try coffee

.

[metalchickaf19]

The Bowers Gang: Ship #13 - Belch Huggins

Request: Hi, how are you? I'd requested a ship before but it probably got lost so I'll re-send it 😊 I'm a 5'6 very skinny girl with hair half black half green. I never leave my house without eyeliner on and my headphones. I make mistakes speaking english cause my og language is spanish so I'm a bit shy when I first meet people but once you get to know me I'm really outgoing and I joke a lot. I'm kinda dirty minded but I tend to get embarrassed when they joke about it and my face goes all red +  like painting on my clothes, mostly on my jeans. I love music as well, can't spend a day without listening to anything at all. I enjoy eating and I do so perhaps more often than necessary, my favorite foods are hamburgers and whatever my mom makes. I like to sing and dance tho I'm not very good at that last one. I also can't be mean to people even tho they've told me I look intimidating (but I don't think so haha) but I don't take any bullshit from anyone. Thank you so much in advance💜

Okay, one thing needs to be said right off the bat: 

You choosing to hook up with Belch was an unprecedented win for him, and it’s kind of the greatest thing ever

Belch, Victor, and Patrick had a legit dog-fight when it came to who would get with you first, and do you know what Belch thought his odds were of winning that dog-fight?

- 5. He thought he had - 5 chances of winning you.

But, by some miracle, you ended up selecting our lovable teddy bear in the end, and now get to thrive off of his goofish ways 

* Good choice, just so you know - Belch is largely underappreciated by the women-folk, and they have no idea what they’re missing *

Hockstetter still tries to get in your pants on a regular basis, of course (dog-fights never end for literal dogs), but hey, it’s a fairly grope-free life for the most part

*Annoying, fairly immediate side-note*

Henry originally rejected you on the basis of your race (so many ignorant comments hurled from across the halls), but was basically forced to “accept” you into the group when all the rest of the guys developed an interest in you apart from him

... Seriously, it was kind of hilarious - Bowers was left to stand alone on his little island of hate for once, and none of the other guys would give him the time of day about it  

Got used to you being around the gang pretty quickly in the end though, because Henry’s level of racism (at least, where girls are concerned) is completely dependent upon whether or not he finds a person hot

And he knows damn well he thinks you’re easy on the eyes 

We’ll keep that little tidbit on the DL for now, though - wouldn’t want the citizens of Derry to know that Henry Bowers isn’t too skilled at genuine intolerance, now would we?

*Annoying, fairly immediate side-note over*

All the guys have a running joke that you’re a witch, because hair color choices 

Yes, Patrick was the first one to bring it up, and then it spread to the rest of the group - if you want to massacre someone over it, massacre him (please do it, I beg you)

Belch sometimes asks you to paint band logos on his T-shirts (mostly Slayer and Black Sabbath)

In return, has taken a pair of your jeans on two separate occasions to try and paint something special on them for you

... It did not turn out well in either case 

One pair got ruined when he spilled his dirty paintbrush water all over the backside (tried to give them back to you saying they were “tie-dyed”)...

... and the other pair got stolen by Patrick, who wrote “Property of The Bowers Gang” on the waistband in bright red sharpie 

That pair (the pair that was desecrated by Hockstetter) just so happened to be your favorite pair of jeans

... Meaning Belch didn’t want to tell you what Patrick had done to them for a long time

... Meaning, whenever you wore them, you walked around with “Property of the Bowers Gang” on your butt without knowing it until Patrick saw you wear that pair to school one day and d i e d

D i e d in the middle of the Derry high school upper-floor hallway

Remains one of Hockstetter’s favorite moments to this day, and we all hate him for it

Please don’t blame Belch, though; he just wanted to show his love through artistry 

Finds it friggin’ adorable whenever you mess up your English, to the point of having to verbalize his feelings in some way every time it happens (You: “*Flubs a word in the middle of your sentence*” Belch: *Trying to hold in his love for you, and ultimately failing* “... Awwww, baaabe.” *Gargantuan head-kiss followed by delighted Huggins chuckle*)  

... Patrick and Henry make fun of you about it like nobody’s business though

You knew this was coming - please don’t come for me

Every time you mess up your English in front of them, you hear a new illegal immigration joke (”You sure you’re where you belong, sweetie? ‘Cause I think I’m hearin’ more taco than bald eagle right about now.” *Ultra-annoying Hockstetter cackle followed by ultra-obnoxious Bowers chuckle*)

Yeah...have fun with that wear on your psyche

Alright, now gurl - you know you’re in the right place if eating is an activity you enjoy 

Welcome to a relationship with Belch Huggins, where food is the only thing you love as much as you love each other, if not more 

Belch has been over to your house many times for dinner, because he straight-up loves your Mom’s cooking 

Always shows up early to help in the kitchen, and always stays late to help clear the dishes afterwards (aka: your Mom loves him)

Pretty much down for anything (you’ve seen him slurp oysters like an all-out beast), but fishes for an invitation hardcore when he knows your Mom will be making traditional spanish cuisine for that night’s meal

Huggins loves that mess

... To the point where he once got caught spooning fried rice into a little tupperware container he snuck in with him, but please don’t hold it against him 

Belch just saw a lot of good food, and had no concept of the “to go” plate 

Once a week, you guys go on a date to a restaurant you haven’t been to before - your goal is to try every restaurant in town 

You both basically order the same things everywhere you go (some variation of burgers and/or chicken tenders), but it’s given you reason to explore new parts of Derry, so yay 

*Nice, emotionally poignant side-note*

Victor harbors a huge crush on you from the very beginning of your relationship (i.e. le dog-fight)

Would never act on it (because he truly loves Belch), but tends to make it obvious by accident with his soft boi eyes

Often steals glances at you within the group

Like Belch, thinks it’s sooo cute whenever you mess up your English, and sometimes tries to make it happen in the classes you share together (asks you to read him the questions off of worksheets, asks you to read him certain passages from your book that he knows have difficult words, etc.)

But again - purely in the interest of satisfying his craving from afar

Criss will look at you with googly eyes forever, but he shall never touch you because gentleman 

*Nice, emotionally poignant side-note over*

All the guys love it whenever you get angry at someone, because you sometimes start yelling at them in “spanglish”

Patrick always makes a crack about it (he’s the one you’re yelling at most of the time, and we’re not at all surprised), but it literally turns all of them on faster than a special-edition Playboy 

Have fun knowing you hold that much power over them through your choice of words alone 

Also Belch asks you to sing for him sometimes when you’re alone together 

Primarily when he’s had a rough day, and just wants to drift off to sleep - he loves it even more when it’s a song in your original language 

Rub his back while you do it, and you’ll be repaid ten-fold in Huggins’ sweetness the next day, I promise you 

Overall, a very cute relationship that works well with the rest of the group

Kind of intimidating that 3 out of the 4 guys high-key want to fuck you, but hey, some people would consider you lucky 

It’s me. I consider you lucky.

[tenacious-scripturient]

a run-down of / my thoughts on the novel ‘trade secrets’

so! i’ve recently finished this beautifully written novel by @bettsican​, and am anxiously anticipating for the second book in the trilogy! (seriously, give it a read. it’s a great lgbtq+ thriller and mystery story, i promise you’ll love it!! you can find trade secrets in many places, including amazon, where it’s only $6)

as i was reading it, i noted down all the thoughts i had. it was fun, interesting, and kept me on the edge of my seat!

oh, and spoiler warning, of course.

Chapter One

okay. this is interesting. why are they in paris? or rather, why are they NOT in paris?

2080. damn.

who is cooper hall and why is he important i want to knowwwwwwww

Chapter Two

HOLY FUCK

CHAPTER ONE WAS A PROLOGUE

OKAY IF I DIDNT NEED TO BEFORE I HAVE TO READ IT NOW

-ahem- anyway

nate literally everything you think of has to relate to smoking, doesnt it?

clyde you absolutely bitch raccoon

im sort of piecing together what’s happening here? either way this is a SUPER interesting concept.

i love the idea of every word being important

nate look at you being a nice guy. testing the CAPS before giving them to ur clients

or maybe it’s just good business

but whatever

okay, so credits are money in this world. but how do people get them? obviously there’s what nate’s doing but what’s the legal way to get them? ill probably find out soon

if it wasnt explicitly said by betty that nate ends up with another guy (i forget his name. cooper?) i would have thought audry was the romantic interest

audry you loving caring hypocrite

i feel like she’s gonna be one of my favourite characters

who is this young man that dares disturb nate’s slumber

cooper? cooper.

Chapter Three

nate get up

u turtle get up and hurry down the stairs

or—okay you can fall into that drywall that works too

ohhhhh so nate is a detective. that’s interesting

i also love this idea of keeping secrets (haha trade secrets)

dude are you sure that your embarrassing entrance wasn’t the ONLY reason you blushed? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIGHT DIFFERENCE HEIG—

nate ur spending an awful lot of time looking at his features you funky little bisexual

oh damn ur smarter than u seem, just watching him take a single breath and you’re already making connections. i guess that’s why he’s a detective

im gonna assume this is cooper, even tho it never explicitly says so

i feel like we aren’t gonna get his name for a while, bc clients and whatnot and not getting attached

Chapter Four

NATE WEARS GLASSES???????

that’s kind of cute

im lowkey gay rn

anyway

NATE CALLED HIM SWEET-FACED AND PRETTY-FACED O K A Y

oh he has curly brown hair

and oh the glasses aren’t real glasses. oh. the use is actually pretty cool!

so from what im gathering civilians are people who don’t live in sanctuaries, and lemnis are people who do?

cooper sweetie why do u need so much money what have u done

nate’s pretty clever

HAH I WAS RIGHT WE AREN’T GONNA GET HIS NAME FOR A WHILE

well that’s that i guess

Chapter Five

he’s so timid awh

hehe he’s on nate’s bed

sorry

goddammit man calm down or else you’re gonna get everyone in a 5-mile radius around you arrested

wait…. zero-credit balance?? didn’t he just have a few hundred thousand credits???

OH THIS IS A FAKE PROFILE HE MADE

so cooper isn’t his real name either

oh

Chapter Six

oh we’re back to 2080

oh they’re back in the apartment??

it was obvious before but at this point it’s confirmed that they’re going to be doing some travelling together or something

Chapter Seven

this is getting really interesting i dont wanna stop reading and type everything that comes to mind

these are gonna be shorter now hehe

“i’d been a petri dish of mixed emotions and wild chemical changes for half the day” I LOVE THAT METAPHOR LMFAO

what happened with nate’s mom

i want to know

my prediction: she wanted him to either change up or completely remove the chip bc she did something horrible? or maybe she just wanted to leave idk im bad at predictions

either way it said she was crazy

o h

that’s why he’s terrified of cutting the chip

poor nate

Chapter Eight

oh this is strangely intimate

very intimate

i feel that, because cooper has such high pain tolerance (or doesn’t show pain), he has some backstory for it

Chapter Nine

lmao nate just went off didnt he

THEIR FLIRTING IS CUTE FHJKJDLSKAJDKLSJAK

also is being lgbtq+ widely accepted as the norm in this setting? bc nate considered cooper to be flirting with him

ughhhh it’s so good so far, from the character interactions to the suspense, especially in this chapter

Chapter Ten

rude cooper is rude, rude nate is even more rude

F E D O R A

“coop”

Chapter Eleven

aw i love jimmy already—

WHAT THE FUCK COOPER

EXCUSE ME

JIMMY

WHAT

HOW COULD YOU

goddammit

what the fuck is cooper hiding

cooper oh my god

you

you’re playing a dangerous game, mate

are you really that heartless

“deceptively innocent eyes” you got that right

this chapter hurted

thanks a lot jess

Chapter Twelve

“like a weeping wound on the canvas of my home” this has got to be one of my favourite similes ever omg

the way nate’s describing cooper makes my heart hurt awh

i feel like butterflies have some sort of symbolism

maybe being ugly on the outside and beautiful on the inside, or vice versa? the vice versa was basically cooper lol

aye we finally get to meet audry!!

PEANUT BUTTER AND TRICYCLE I WANNA HEAR ABOUT THAT

i love audry omg

IT’S NATE’S BIRTHDAY?? HAPPY BIRTHDAY YA SMOKEY CONMAN

“bright eyes” is the cutest nickname ever

Chapter Thirteen

oh we’re back to 2080

wait what they’re trapped together

is this story gonna have a sad ending

please no

Chapter Fourteen

OH IT’S THE LINE ON THE COVER

i like that

nate’s back to where he left cooper

also if it wasn’t obvious before, it’s definitely obvious now that nate and cooper or gonna find each other again. hm. not sure how i feel about that

kind of pissed at cooper but also we need him for the story to progress

O H

COOPER IM ONLY KIND OF PISSED AT YOU NOW

IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE

NATE IVE SAID IT BEFORE BUT YOU’RE PRETTY CLEVER

also who is ‘her’?

COOPER WANTS TO BECOME A?? LEMNIS?? GODDAMMIT MAN

I CAN FEEL THE PRESSURE RISING

nate’s in danger

wow this chapter is

a lot

i need a break

-cue a break-

Chapter Fifteen

i’m back

eisley is a cool last name

oh wait so even people outside of sanctuaries can become a lemniscate

i’m still not 100% sure what a lemniscate is

it’s so ironic elijah’s last name is king, but i assume you did that on purpose. i also like the slight nod to royalty by his first name

OH

COOPER’S BACK

why hello there

Chapter Sixteen

they’re

competing

to become a lemniscate

and one of them dies

do they fight back?? is that why they end up in prison??? so many thoughts are going through my head right now

nate, your fantasy about becoming a lemniscate is surprisingly dark. i’m totally down for it

Chapter Seventeen

oh wait so joshua is cooper’s blackmailer?? Interesting that it’s a lemniscate

i keep forgetting nate is wearing glasses

cooper, my dude, calm the fuck down. you’re gonna get yourself and nate killed

it’s the return of soft™ nate

Chapter Eighteen

oh there’s another one

oh this is very ominous i don’t like

Chapter Nineteen – Twenty-One

okay i was eating while i read so i couldn’t type here but just know that these chapters were really really good

Chapter Twenty-Two

wait fuck what’s happening this is all happening so fast

cooper brought out his gun,,,, it’s aimed at ivonne,,,,,,, they’re walking,,,

OH IT WAS A FAKE KIDNAPPING

nice

i like ivonne a lot

Chapter Twenty-Three

the entire story just changed course

this isn’t just about cooper and nate anymore, it’s about a corrupt government

NATE AND COOPER ARE HOLDING HANDS AS THEY RUN THROUGH THE BARRIER THAT’S SO ROMANTIC

also the line “only the dead are ever truly free” is beautiful

THAT’S WHERE PARIS COMES IN

THEY ALL GO TO FRANCE DON’T THEY

I’m so curious to find out where this story is going

Chapter Twenty-Four

this is doin me a confusion

but tbh these hints/ visions of the future, if you could call them that, are giving just enough information to keep me super interested. props to you

Chapter Twenty-Five

AUDRY STOP TEASING NATE

just joking keep doing it, this might actually get their relationship somewhere

ivonne is definitely my favourite character so far. she reminds a little of melia from xenoblade chronicles, in that they’re both ‘royalty’ that rebel. also they’re badass and smart

oh fuck the brother is here

okay thank god he’s not an asshole

oh god things are happening again

Chapter Twenty-Six

nate stop ogling at cooper when you’re in a life-or-death situation

holy shit the lemniscate are messed up

this crew is pretty great, it sucks that it’s almost the end of the book

WAIT I FORGOT THERE’S A SECOND COMING SOON HECK YEAH

anyway

YES COOPER PULL THROUGH

awwww yiss

Chapter Twenty-Seven

oh

oh

O H

oh my god i ship them so hard

THEY KISSED

THIS IS SO STEAMY

this chapter was art thank you so much for this

Chapter Twenty-Eight

AHAHAH AUDRY

once again, i’d like to state how much i love her

oh the tension just grew twentyfold

this is… great

oh god nate what are you planning, you just got together with cooper and now you want to leave him?

Chapter Twenty-Nine

what’s with all the dancing?

Chapter Thirty

oh god the description

so he’s going around and giving people credits, all the while confessing things that would help the lemniscate track him down. i assume this means he’s going to die, but why?

just what are you planning?

oh we’re back to clyde, the guy who started it all. it feels full circle

Chapter Thirty-One

OH

HE’S MAKING HIS CHIP SHOW THAT HE’S DEAD

that’s much smarter

FUCK

NATE YOU IDIOT—COOPER’S REAL NAME

SHIT NOW KING IS HERE

everything’s going downhill now isn’t it

Chapter Thirty-Two

wait that took an even darker turn

there’s so much happening right now i can’thandlethis

cooper and nate are couple goals

Chapter Thirty-Three

king isn’t as horrible as i thought

still horrible, but not a monster

NEVER MIND YOU’RE A FUCKING MONSTER WHAT IS THIS BS

cooper

actually

shot

nate

Chapter Thirty-Four

OH MY GOD

WHAT

THIS IS HOW YOU END IT

I CAN’T

HOW DARE YOU

NO

NO

NO

NO

i need the next book

like right now

what the hell

Final Thoughts

okay so this book was SO good, and so well written. like damn

aside from that horrible ending how could you do this to me

i’m joking, it was an incredible and emotional ending, i loved it and hated it at the same time

it very rarely felt static, and especially in the first half, there was a good mix of action and backstory/description. it was never boring

the story is just,,, so unique. i seriously haven’t read anything like it, EVER

the world-building?? Is?? so vast?? and insane??

the increasing tension and speed as the story progressed is perfect, i felt my heart beating faster the more i read

anyway that’s all from me

this book was amazing i cannot wait for the next

[readbythestarlight]

c2e62

Oh my god he’s starting the ad off actually talking about D&D Beyond??

"I have between 2-4 minutes every night to do whatever I want" a terrifying concept

Oh Sam. We made it 2 whole minutes without talking about genitals smh.

I’m so excited about them making a home here

I hope they post a picture with everyone’s rooms mapped out later

Caleb just using his cat’s paw to help Cad plant his garden

They’re all so cute and excited about the house (except maybe Fjord)

Wait he’s gonna grow his magic giant tree atop the tower???

Okay I love it, Cad and his giant tree atop his tower

Well now everyone knows where the weird heroes of the dynasty are living

Cad’s gonna just grow so much

Everyone else is decorating and Fjord’s worried about putting security shutters on the windows

He’s the only one not having fun with this, poor guy

AWWWW JESTER THAT’S SO SWEET

painting Yasha a pretty mural of flowers I cry

I’m having FEELINGS this is so SWEET

Caleb installing his own alarm system

Cad: "what this—" *leaves, buys copper* "there we go, chimes." :D

Ouch. That’s a 450 worth of gold, 250 if he has to do more than once

200g to keep his garden alive and sunshiny. Worth it.

Cad’s gonna make little fairy lights!

The neighbors are jealous of Cad’s fairy garden

AYYYYE finally working on the teleportation circle

Which.... makes me nervous because Yusah could easily trap them/hand them over to the Empire

LB, about the tree: "will it be like that all the time?"

F: "I think that’s how trees work, yeah."

—

L: with a Nat1 "I’m gonna go ask Fjord"

T: Nat20

Oh wait did he say Dark Tow?

"I’m fine" Fjord you’re a fucking LIAR

!!!!! Caleb put together the Alchemical lab for Yeza!!!!

Oh my god all I want now is Yeza and Luke and Veth living in a house with the M9 and they

Oh no

The letter

Fuck

Forgot about the letter

Oh no

I don’t think they said anything about money and inheritance did they?? And they mentioned Caleb’s name didn’t they?? Fuck I can’t remember what they said

OH HOLY SHIT IT’S FROM CALIANA

Gotta go back soon

Oh shit it’s from Solstrice fuck

Oh god they put their names

SOMEONE FIND ME THE CLIP FROM THAT LETTER

Yes god plz message mom and make sure she’s okay and warn her about anyone named Astrid or Ikathon

FUCK god what will this do to Jester and Caleb if they’re watching her or if they take her

These people have already hurt Nott’s family and now they could hurt Jester’s too and Caleb’s gonna feel so bad

N: "I just wanted you to have a friend."

C: "I have friends."

N: "Well you didn’t then."

IM HAVING FEELINGS AND IM SCARED

Caleb’s real jittery now

Mmmm given that you haven’t confirmed no bugs we shouldn’t be talking about Dairon maybe

While Caleb and Nott or Caleb and Beau are having serious conversations, the clerics are planning to build a spa xD

Boy I can’t wait for Caleb to corner Fjord I hope he gets something out of him

Caleb just whips that medallion out any time, like he has that thing ready

THAT’S SO MUCH GOLD WTF

Ohhhh I physically hurt

1000g that they could lose

I hope they call the house the Treehouse from now on

Ayyyy Essik!

B: "do you want to stay for dinner?"

Me: do you want to stay forever?

Ohhhh I didn’t catch that they took their surenames from the dens

"Show me"

Oh gosh

Caleb honey the cat? Really?

C: "My people are perverting your magic. I wish to understand better, so that I can better help."

E: "Are you busy right now" WHAT

E: "May I?"

B: "I invited you twice but yeah yeah enter."

They’re HOSTING

This feels like a trap

Like that’s as too easy right?? He only rolled a 12

"Let me teach you a few things"

OH MY GOD

WHAT

UP TO 3 SPELL LEVELS OF DUNEMANTIC MAGIC?!??

WHAT

FUCKING

WHAT

It’s a trap right it’s gotta be a trap

"Bending of fate, destiny" the whole table freaks out

Fucking

This is gonna be a trick it’s gotta be a trick

Frick guys I’m so in love with Essik

B: "Caduceus calls it a ‘White Xhorhassian’—"

E: "...Mildly racist, but..."

God I hope that wasn’t some sort of trick or trap for Caleb

Fjord and Caleb talk now oh boy

OHHH SHIT WAY TO LEAD IN CALEB

Why you lyin’ Fjord why you always lyin’?

Caleb’s trying to... help?

Boy remember when I felt like Fjord and Caleb were gonna be the bro’s

"What do you think, we’re gonna chase you out of here, run you off?"

YES THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HE THINKS

"I found myself reinvented when I woke up on that shore"

"I didn’t care for that life, didn’t care for me. I prefer to leave it in the past. It’s not that I’m hiding anything from you, I... I don’t wanna bring things from my old life into this one. I can sound like many people, do many things."

God why do so many people in this group have pasts they need to hide from???

They’re both so scared the past is gonna swallow them up, hurt them and the people around them

C: "Because I worry about you all. And maybe I just want to know that you... are not worried about that as well."

F: "There is nothing that nips at my heels or at my back that is a danger to anyone else in this group." BUT IT’S A DANGER TO YOU FJORD AND THAT WILL MATTER TO THEM.

This talk is hurting me

C: "We can remake ourselves into something better."

F: "Yeah, I... that’s what I thought I was doin’. I can promise there is no danger from my past. I like this me, I love it."

God I’m so sorry that I ever suspected Fjord because I feel like a heel now

Caleb, trust him and don’t push. He’ll come to you when he’s ready.

C: "The only reason the group knows about me is because I am... Crazy"

F: "I don’t think you’re crazy, you’re one of the more out together people I know. At least that’s what you show. Thank you for... I want to say caring."

C: "That is accurate. Give me your hand. I am not a good person, but we are friends."

Also who else is crying because Caleb called them family

Also "give me your hand" slayed me I’m such trash for casual touches especially in a non-romantic sense

Perception check why

Back to the sword good good good

I thought for sure he was gonna say her hair was gonna start falling out

J: "By the second day it’s starting to turn greasy."

C: "My how the tables have turned."

Poor Sprinkle :(

Making a weasel nest in the tree

POOR SPRINKLE

"The big bad has been revealed" xD

"You throw some rats in there—" Taliein is dying of laughter

Sprinkle is going to run away

Guys Bryce is a town guard they don’t have time to just personally escort Luke and his guardian

They definitely need to get back to Luke, but it’s going to be hard to do at this point

Mmm Caleb wanting to ask Essik to get them to Alfield

Call me crazy, I wonder if they could ask the Gentleman for help

Or like, Cali or Keg or one of their friends

LIKE SHAKASTE

THAT’S RIGHT good thinking Nott! He’s not in Alfield probably I imagine, since y’all last saw him up near Shady Creek Run, but he would def help I’m positive and then he could guest star again

I feel like robbing a shop is probably not the best idea right now? Like even if they have a good reason I don’t think it’s the best plan

F: "Moro I don’t know how to say this but I... need you."

Oh my god FJORD xD

The glow is gonna be something stupid and pointless

The glow is something alive?? Someone invisible?

Hmmm interesting

"Oh my god it’s a front"

Of course they found drugs

Oh dang ground white stone. 1000g enchanting??

Okay so can they use it to help pay for Yasha’s thing?

Okay why does she have enchanting dust

In a place where an Empire spy is supposed to go

Ohhhhh they got a map!! New map new map!

Gonna lie I don’t like the idea of M.T. House. It’s nice to remember Molly but... idk

AYYYY GETTING IN TOUCH WITH SHAKASTE

We had so better get Shakaste back on the show!!

Please please please bring Khary back!

Oh dang yes the scrying worked!

Oh boy

"My liege"

If they choose to tell the Dynasty about this they’ll 100% be traitors, once and for all

Which like... I’m okay with. I don’t have any preference for the Empire and I like things about the Dynasty.

Scourgers...

Royal assassins

"My liege" is the King isn’t it

I really think they need to tell the Bright Queen

B: "Were they training you to be a scourger?"

C: "I think so." holy shit

God what if Astrid and whatshi are scourgers already

Have I mentioned how amazing Matt is to come up with all this and connect all these threads

Mmm Cad and Jester being a voice of reason

Cad: "Some things are too big to get on top of. Some things are bigger than us."

Cad’s being smart. They need to give a warning, not try to also control the situation.

Go immediately.

Where’s that whole thing coming from, Caleb? There’s really no reason to get that involved. Just like tell them what’s coming, that’s all you have to do. Listen, Caduceus is right.

Poor Beau

She’s kinda been stuck in a corner where she has to betray a homeland she’s not that fond of, but she is fond of Dairon

Oh gosh, Beau. :(

This is such a good moment for her, realizing that people are people wherever they are, that she doesn’t want to betray the people in the Empire, as little as she cares about the Empire itself

She’s not gonna slit your throat honey it’s fine

Boy next week is gonna be really intense again

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam Italia season 2, episode 1 reaction

Hello, how’s everybody doing? We survived the first week of a S3 remake. I wrote a little (a lot) about it.

Just to be clear: I completely understand if people just want to hang on and enjoy the ride because it’s S3 again, we love it, it’s an important story for many people! But so far there are aspects of Skam Italia S2 that I am positive about, and there are areas where I have criticisms. Don’t read if you don’t want to hear some comments that are not 100% enthusiasm. For real, I’m not trying to be a buzz kill, like I’m fine with posting these to crickets, lmao, because it’s a fun exercise for me to analyze the remakes even if I’m essentially talking to myself. 

Thank you so much to everyone translating this show! Imagine if no one was translating this season. The fandom would lose its goddamn mind. You are literally saving the planet from destruction, thank you for your service.

At the risk of sounding pretentious, I’m going to put additional disclaimers here, because people have strong feelings about Skam S3, and people also have strong feelings about Skam Italia, and there is already drama when those feelings bump up against each other:

The reason why I started doing reactions to the remakes was to compare the versions of Skam and analyze what worked and what didn’t in the adaptation process. This was a clever change to fit this culture, this was awkward and didn’t work, etc. While I do want to judge S2 of Skam Italia on its own merits, I’m not going to leave the original series out of it and look at this season as something that exists in a Skamless void, because that’s not my aim with these recaps. So if you are really not interested in comparisons to the original show (positive, negative, or neutral) then perhaps don’t read further.

I’m also taking into account this is a different culture than the original show and noting how that might affect this story, and that it’s a big deal to have an LGBT Italian lead in a series and Italian fans are very excited. So I’m keeping that in mind! But I also think that, should Skam Italia bungle something, it’s okay to call it out, it doesn’t get a free pass. We criticized parts of the original series while praising it where it succeeded. Sana’s season, for example, is extremely progressive as a concept (a Muslim girl lead is extremely rare) but had numerous aspects where it stumbled, and as a fandom there was no shortage of criticism. This goes for both the social justice and educational aspects of Skam as well as writing, directing, acting, and other basic storytelling stuff.

Okay? Okay.

Episode 1

Clip 1 - GET OUT OF THE FUCKING TUB, LOSERS

Right away, I loved the voicemails. They sound like real accounts of homophobia, and I don’t know if these are actors recreating them or real people sharing their own experiences, but it was a powerful intro to the season.

I also like zooming in over the city while these voicemails played, over all these dark apartment buildings, because it felt like those voices could be coming from anywhere. They were anonymous. Your neighbor could be gay, the woman who lives downstairs could be a lesbian, and you might never know because they’re in the closet. You might never know how much they’d suffered due to homophobia. But they’re also everywhere. Despite their treatment in society, LGBT people aren’t “the other” but can be anyone you know. That’s why it zooms into the party, to link these anonymous voices to a face that we we do know.

I saw some people suggesting that maybe these have to do with Martino’s involvement in the radio station, and that this will be some part of a project that he does, and while I think it’d be awesome if the radio station came into play with his personal development, I’m ehhhhh about these turning out to be part of Martino’s project all along because it doesn’t seem like it goes with the real time format, and IDK, it seems too literal. But I’d be OK with it these were more of a thematic device and Martino has a literal confession along these lines later on. 

Rainbow logo 🌈🌈🌈

...who’s that blue-haired girl?

I feel like Edoardo being immediately on screen was to reassure any OG Skam viewers and Incantava fans who hadn’t yet gotten the message that EDOARDO IS DEFINITELY NOT GOING ANYWHERE THIS SEASON DO NOT PANIC.

Silvia is watching some girls dance and for a hot second I hoped they were finally hinting at the lesbian Vilde story we deserve, but it seems like she is watching them because of their slim figures, because she reconsiders the piece of cake she was going to eat. Silvia, no.

Silvia is very upset about the hotties at the party and Sana says there only would have been four people there and reassures her that she’s beautiful, awwww. But Silvia is upset about some Argentinean girl, who I assume is an apex hottie that she fears will outshine her, perhaps?

Silvia waves at Edoardo, who ignores her. You know, Edoardo’s apology to Silvia would feel more genuine if he acted like a baseline decent human being toward her instead of refraining from basic politeness because OH NO he has to shake her off his back (except when he can exploit her interest for his own gain).

It’s Italian Eskild! He says that Edoardo’s hair is indeed shit, suggesting Eleonora has told him all about it (something for the Incantava shippers) and I mean, I support him giving Silvia a boost, and I support any dragging of Edoardo, except Edoardo’s hair is like the one thing about him that is not shit.

He takes Silvia to dance and comments about checking her boobs to see if she is a virgin, so this is filling in for S2’s “It’s Britney bitch” moment. I guess they’re going to incorporate some Skam S2 material into this season in order to accommodate for the switch in storylines.

Hey, you know what I could have strongly done without? Filippo grabbing Silvia’s tit out of nowhere. There’s sometimes a tendency for gay men to grope women and get away with it because it’s obviously not sexual, so what’s the problem? Except the problem is that men, no matter what their sexuality, feel like they have unfettered access to women’s bodies. I’m not saying HE’S CANCELED or anything, but it irritated me that they threw in such a small moment that wasn’t needed, especially because this is our introduction to this character. Thanks, I want casual groping to be my initial impression of this guy. (Just to be clear, this dialogue happens in the original, but there is no unauthorized tit-grabbing from Eskild.)

And the fact that this moment went so unremarked upon is a sign of how normalized this behavior is, frankly. But they played it off as a funny moment so it’s okay!! Lol Filippo, you’re supposed to be gay!!!

Incantava shippers get a morsel before Eleonora leaves for London as she and Edoardo share a ~glance.

So Filo is Eleonora’s brother, which is a good way to incorporate his character considering it’s unlikely for Martino or Eleonora to live with a random roommate instead of their families, and they hadn’t set up the Filo character in S2 so his appearance in Martino’s life is going to need to be established quickly. So that makes both the Eleonora-Filo and Martino-Filo relationships more plausible in this culture.

Although lmao, imagine some of Eskild’s S2 scenes now that he and the Noora character are related. I’m sure Eleonora will need to bleach her eyeballs if she walks in on her brother getting his dick sucked to Circle of Life.

Eva catches up to Martino in the kitchen, and the flirtatious vibes are there right away, you know this isn’t going anywhere good. She tries to kiss him, so this is basically that scene from S2 where Eva tries to make out with Isak at a party, except way more awkward because this Eva actually manages to get a few kisses on Martino. Yikes.

Of course he’s not into it, and she’s just like yeah, go to your friends. Go find Gio. She knows where his real interests like. 

Martino answering some random landline is pretty endearing, especially when he has cans of beer he needs to balance to do so.

Him being like “I am not the owner.” Lmao, he’s a sweetie. I suppose this was maybe a neighbor or someone wondering about the noise level and activity at the party, and that was why the police show up later? But I like to imagine that they were filming in this building, the phone rang randomly, and they were like, eh, throw it in.

So now we’re moving into the OG S3 content, with Martino entering the bathroom and sitting in the tub with his friends drinking and getting high.

Elia is the second person to mention the Argentinean girl, so I guess she must be a stone cold babe. Are we ever going to see her? Or will her hotness exist only in legends?

They do the whole song and dance where Martino pretends like these girls aren’t hot enough for him, while the other dudes are not having it. Well, to be fair, he really isn’t into them. I’m not sure what to make of his reactions, because Isak was very performative, and Martino just seems indifferent.

The boys claim to have gotten Fede a present, I wonder what it was? Probably just booze or something?

Lmao I was wondering why this girl would use this random out-of-the-way bathroom, but apparently two dudes are fucking in the other one (what are the odds it’s Filo).

What assholes, get out of the fucking tub for two minutes and let the girl pee in peace! I guess they’re just lazy and stoned, but JFC.

Instead of saying the girl looks like Eleven from Stranger Things, Martino tells her she looks like a frog… I kind of see it? But she’s also a babe, soooo. 

Not gonna lie, I really did not like how they adapted this scene. “We’ll leave you alone to pee but you have to hook up with one of us” is not … cute … like it takes it out of negging teenage asshole territory and gets creepy. Maybe because of the hellscape that has been RL politics for the past few weeks, but I’m not in the mood for any of this boys-will-be-boys shit.

We know that one new dude must be Magnus because he is instantly rejected.

Martino gives the boys the thumbs up once Italian Emma starts making out with him and they’re leaving.

Martino didn’t actually do anything to win over this girl, really? With Isak it was a performance: Emma came in and he made a determined effort to flirt with her, he negged her, he complimented her, he got out of the tub and was more active in his pursuit. All of that was because he was trying to seem straight in front of his friends. Martino, on the other hand, was far more passive. He made the frog comment but that seems less like negging when all four of them are sitting there being dicks to this girl, rather than him alone, and she just happened to choose him out of the four. Isak was putting some effort into it and pretending to be interested until the boys left and things got steamier, but Martino just plain is not trying. He ain’t feeling it.

This is one of the disadvantages of writing recaps episode by episode as they air and not when you can look at the full season, though. Because on the one hand, making Martino more of a passive participant in his fake heterosexuality is fine, but on the other hand, if that’s not their intent - if they’re more or less going to follow Isak’s character arc for him - then I think they missed a big point of this scene in not making Martino pursue this girl more actively. But we don’t know exactly if this is a thoughtful, deliberate choice or an oversight. (For example, in S1 of Skam Italia, several of Eva’s key moments of “who are you?” were eliminated, Gio’s skate park speech was rewritten with a different focus, etc. which made me wonder about her character arc. It could have worked if they had intentionally made these changes to arrive at a different conclusion, but in the end Eva’s final speech to Gio is the same, the arc is supposed to be the same even though crucial points have been left out, and it didn’t feel as strong. So it’s hard to say whether Martino’s character is supposed to be written with subtle differences that change his characterization, or if they don’t realize how small edits can affect the perception of this character.)

I am a little alarmed that the girl goes for the blowjob like immediately after choosing Martino? Isak was hardcore flirting with Emma so it made more sense she was trying to do that with him. With this girl, she’s just trying to pee and some random guy’s like “Hook up with one of us and we’ll leave you be” and she’s like, “Sounds like a plan!” Damn girl, didn’t you need to really use the toilet? But you’re going to stop to blow him? Okay.

Eva is stumped by seeing that Martino was in the bathroom with a girl,  probably moreso because he just rejected her upstairs. Well, this girl isn’t his best friend’s ex, sooooo it makes a smidge more sense, Martino’s sexuality aside.

Incantava moment: Edoardo brings up the deal with the apology to Silvia, so that made it into this remake. Part of the deal was to erase the wall of conquests - smart of Eleonora - and I guess Edo did that, hopefully, but he also reminds her that she agreed to a date.

What a power move of Eleonora to go to England to avoid this date.

At least Edo was not pursuing her prior to this, apparently. It would be a shame if they suddenly had him pressure her into a date in Eleonora’s season.

Okay, I realize that Martino didn’t appear to have the best options to hide his weed,  but he’s really just gonna put it in a box on the railing where it could easily get knocked over the balcony or blown away or something? Lmao.

The scene of the boys running away from the cops was cute and had that “reckless youth enjoying the night” vibe.

So Martino clearly still has Giovanni feelings, and Giovanni is going to be crashing at his place tonight. Look at that hand on Martino’s shoulder, probably burning through his shirt. I like perhaps acknowledging the idea that all this casual affection between guys in this culture can take on a hidden toll for a closeted gay kid.

Martino mentions that his mom is freaking out, so they’re openly acknowledging Martino’s mom situation in front of the other guys (when Isak was less open about it) and Giovanni gives him a hug that fucks Martino up. It seemed like Martino didn’t want Giovanni to come over, probably both because of his crush and because of his mom situation.

Clip 2 - Sad boy slumber party

Martino wakes up and stares at Giovanni, who’s still sleeping. Martino is not on the bed, but on the floor, ostensibly because Giovanni threw him off the bed but really because he doesn’t want to be so close to Giovanni. He pointedly turns down Giovanni’s invitation to get back in the bed. This is a really delicate situation; this is such a casual thing for Giovanni that he doesn’t even think about it, but for Martino it’s this extremely loaded scenario that comes with dangers, so better not risk it.

Eva calls and wants to talk to Martino, but he can’t since he’s with Giovanni. Giovanni says that he’s been trying to get back together with Eva, and making a fool out of himself, so Martino is certainly not enjoying about this reminder that Giovanni likes girls, Giovanni loved (loves?) Eva, it will never be Giovanni and Martino in the way he wants. Also, awkward of course because Eva tried to kiss Martino, which says a lot about how she thinks of Giovanni - probably not keen to get back with him if she can make a move on his best friend, even when drunk.

Okay, I have a deeply unpopular opinion and that is: while Skam Italia’s cinematography is often visually impressive, at times it does not work with the material it’s supposed to be conveying. It’s not style over substance, but style against substance. There are several examples, but to go into one now: why the fuck is the lighting so dark in certain moments. Whyyyyyy.

And before you tell me, I do know why the director is perhaps doing this. It’s supposed to reflect Martino’s state of mind, it’s supposed to make things seem bleak, it’s supposed to contrast with the sunnier scenes such as later in the episode with Niccolò, etc. etc. The problem is that I do not think it is effective for the format of this show. Here’s the thing: we are supposed to be in Martino’s POV for a reason. His reactions should not be hidden from us, this audience, and to me the lighting is a barrier from getting closer to him and getting fully into his mindset. Like, the camera should be eating this shit up! Give me all the microexpressions! Federico Cesari is doing a nice job of acting so far and it bugs me that the lighting is obscuring some of his facial expressions. Now it makes sense for ambiguity on the part of say, Niccolò, who will be keeping secrets for most of the season (based on Even’s role) but this is Martino’s season, and we as the audience should be deep into his head every step of the way. This is supposed to be an immersive experience. There is zero reason to obscure Martino’s reactions from the audience. Martino may have a barrier between him and his friends, his family, his schoolmates, society at large - but not us, the viewers. (And not just the lighting, but for example, that his face is shot in profile for part of this scene, which again doesn’t give us a full range of Martino’s reactions, or the amount of distance between the camera and Martino at times. Even if you can assume what Martino is thinking and feeling enough that you don’t need really clear reaction shots, it’s like there’s a gap and we’re not supposed to get too close.) 

Like obviously this cinematography is working for people, and if it is for you, great! If this were a different show, I could be fine with it. But not with a series that is supposed to put me fully into this character’s head, not keep me at a distance.

Covitti is the girl from the bathroom? She’s followed Martino on IG. I feel like, if they’re doing a repeat of Emma’s involvement, then it doesn’t work as well as to why she’d suddenly be interested in Martino. With Isak, there was something karmic about it, because he blatantly pursued when he met her, and it’s like he reaped what he sowed, you know? Don’t get me wrong, he absolutely did not deserve the much later repercussions with Emma outing him, but the immediate aftermath of him flirting with Emma showed that his actions had consequences. He couldn’t just make out with this girl for the benefit of an audience and then drop her. With Martino, he was so much more passive with Covitti, that it feels less earned. I mean he’s very cute, but him being doggedly pursued by her doesn’t have as much to do with his characterization, unless the point is that he refuses to put his foot down and reject her. (A valid characterization choice! But hopefully an intentional one.)

We get to see Martino’s mom and on the one hand, it’s pretty cool that she’s around in this version, but on the other hand, goddamn am I apprehensive about how they will depict her.

Martino really does not want to eat lunch with her. Apparently they have chicken and potatoes four times a week. Credit to Giovanni, he acts normal and is polite to Martino’s mom and is eager to eat with her.

Eva apologizes for trying to kiss Martino. So Giovanni is trying to get back with Eva and Eva made a move on Martino. Awkward! Eva is also probably dying to bring up the topic of that girl in the bathroom with Martino, let’s be real.

Giovanni chides Martino for being an asshole and says if he didn’t treat his mom like shit, maybe he would help her! Hey, no offense, Giovanni, but fuck off. I agree that Martino was not nice to his mom, I agree that he should treat her better. But Giovanni is a visitor. He is a guest in this household. He doesn’t know shit about what it’s like to live there or what’s the best course of action. No, actually it’s not as easy being kind to someone and it’ll fix their mental illness.

If I sound weirdly pissed about this, it’s because I am speaking as someone who has been a caretaker to a mentally ill parent. One of the most frustrating things was when people who were completely outside of my situation told me how to deal with it. It’s fucking easy to think you have the answers when you don’t live in this situation, when you have the freedom to go back to your own home when shit gets really rough. When you likely haven’t seen a loved one at their worst. 

To clarify, this isn’t necessarily a flaw of the show, just an area where I think a character is flawed. But I would hate for Giovanni’s POV to be validated. Of course Martino should not treat his mother poorly, but he needs to do that on his own, not because some outsider who has no idea what is going on in this house thinks so.

Anyway. Shut the fuck up, Gio. 

Eva also doesn’t want Martino to tell Gio, so you know Gio is going to find out at some point. Here’s the thing: if this drama is more along the lines of ~ooo Eva kissed Martino and he didn’t tell Gio and Gio feels BETRAYED when he finds out~ then it sounds tedious and exactly the kind of drama I don’t want. It’s not necessary, it’s honestly a very low-stakes situation. However, if it’s more of a lead-in to S1’s drama being revealed, and Gio learns about what happened with Martino ratting out Eva, that would be interesting. I’d be very interested in seeing where it goes. I think the writers have to know that this would be the most compelling aspect, so here’s hoping.

Not gonna lie, one thing I liked about S3 was the lack of heterosexual relationship drama (other than what directly serviced Isak and Even’s relationship), and I don’t want this season to stray too far into Eva/Gio stuff. Though I realize that by switching S2 and S3, they probably feel like they have to account for their relationship.

In S2 of the original, we saw the remnants of Eva/Jonas more on Eva’s side, through Noora’s eyes. Eva told herself she was over Jonas and they were just friends, but we could see that wasn’t totally true. With this season, though, we’ll probably see Eva/Giovanni more through Giovanni’s eyes, because even if Martino is Eva’s friend, he’s Giovanni’s best friend.

Clip 3 - The Phantom Clitoris

Lmao, Luca being like “Guess what happened to me” and Gio being like “Did you put an egg in the microwave again?” (I mean, you can cook eggs in a microwave even if it’s not the best way!)

Luca hooked up with a girl! If we believe him. She didn’t have a clitoris! Except he didn’t know what it was called. I don’t know whether to think that if it he didn’t know what it was called, he probably didn’t know how to look for one, or that he’s straight up lying. But this is interesting because Jonas was the one who went down on girls in the original and had this dialogue, and then Magnus was the virgin seeking wisdom from Isak, and here apparently Luca is already banging girls? Or he’s pretending to.

Martino sees Niccolò for the first time! Niccolò is adorable. He’s got the Even denim jacket and a nice smile. Sana and Silvia are shown going up to him while he’s talking to another dude.

Luca is like, I watched a 20-minute porn tutorial of how to eat a girl out. No offense bro, but I doubt you were in a very studious mindset during that. Or maybe he was! Maybe he made flashcards.

Martino gets a text from his dad about having dinner “with us” and I’m guessing that his dad has a new girlfriend or something, because it’s kinda weird to text your kid “have dinner with us?” about both his parents when his dad left his mom.

Silvia and Sana come up, Elia brings up the girl with no clitoris to them (why was that the first thing out of your mouth, dude), and Silvia mentions that she and Sana are now in charge of the radio. So this is our kosegruppa! I wonder if the radio itself will have more plot relevance for the season.

The guys are conveniently too busy to help on Thursday! But Sana thinks they’ll be helping soon enough.

For a moment I thought Luca was frightened by Silvia and saw that as a point toward Luca/Silvia happening, since it would be in line with Magnus’ sado-Vilde dreams, but then I was like, oh right, he probably means Sana, lol. (Silvia is way less intimidating than Vilde. Silvia is cheerful, Vilde was sugar layered over a core of menace when she pitched kosegruppa to the guys.)

Martino checks out Niccolò again, because who wouldn’t, and Niccolò is talking to the other guy … maybe Niccolò is flirting with that guy?

The boys suggest smoking a joint but Martino didn’t get the weed back yet, so the boys are bummed, but Gio keeps his disappointment restrained to a few jovial  throttles of Martino’s neck. Martino dies inside and tries not to develop a choking kink.

Niccolò did not look at Martino in this clip, there’s no evidence he saw him in this scene, and he was in fact preoccupied with conversation with another dude. So ... has Niccolo seen Martino yet? In an “I saw you the first day of school” way? Because with that knowledge in mind, in the original we could look back at Even’s first appearance in the cafeteria and see that he had obviously grabbed a seat with a good view of Isak and was sitting there alone, possibly sketching him. I guess you could say that Niccolò was standing there to get Martino’s attention, maybe even trying to make him jealous by talking to another guy, but that seems .... really convoluted. If they do include the “I saw you the first day of school” line, they should have had Niccolò look at Martino for even a brief moment. It didn’t even need to be eye contact! Like you could show Niccolò looking toward Martino when he’s out of focus, as a background event, a little Easter egg for the eagle-eyed viewer.

This is one of those original clip comparisons, so hold on to your butts. In the original clip, the way the scene is shot and acted combines multiple details to demonstrate Isak’s alienation from the other boys. Tarjei’s acting shows that he is disconnected from this conversation - he’s picking at his sandwich, checking his phone, he’s not really engaged with the cat tongue/clitoris talk. He has a few mild smiles but his facial expressions and body language show he’s checked out. He doesn't participate in that conversation at all, actually, other than a look or two. There’s no dialogue from him. And the camera contributes to this impression that he’s withdrawn: it’s often just on Isak with the conversation coming from off screen, rather than showing him in the shots with the guys. It shows him alone instead of showing him connected to the group. When it does show him with the group, he’s not reacting to them much. So when he hears a boy's laugh, it seems plausible that it would get attention as the boys’ conversation is not holding his interest.

With this clip, Martino might make a comment like "Oh no, don't tell us your dirty story" but he is otherwise very engaged in this conversation. He leans into it, he's listening, his face makes him seem eager. He's frequently shown in the shot with the other guys, part of the group rather than isolated. Gio repeatedly looks back at him and shares looks with him so there’s something reciprocal happening. Martino speaks to Luca and he high fives him. He's just a definite participant in this conversation, so there isn't much of a feel of alienation here. I mean, we know he's gay, and maybe we can assume that his participation in this conversation is forced or half-hearted, but that's not coming through in how it's portrayed. And I like Federico, I think he's one of the better actors on the show, but I also think he's playing it too comfortably, though I blame Bessegatto more for that since his direction is what guides the performance. It seems like Martino's a nice guy with some friends, who doesn't seem too detached this conversation and who seems totally fine with looking at a cute guy over there. Not much of an internal struggle. Not much of an external struggle either, really. 

It felt like there were missed opportunities. For example, when Martino says he doesn’t want Luca’s TMI, and Gio is like, “Yes we do, don’t listen to him,” we don’t even get a reaction shot from Martino to see how that affects him? We could have seen him annoyed, or exasperated, or uninterested in this conversation. We could have seen him drifting and doing something with his body language to indicate he’s not comfortable, and then THAT is when he sees Niccolò, because his mind is already wandering. Not when he’s engaged in this conversation. Or keep in Luca asking Martino about going girls and wanting to know how Martino finds the clitoris, and Martino having to struggle to answer that when the boys are all looking at him.

I mean, again, it makes me wonder what they’re going to do with Martino’s characterization because they’re playing up his struggles with his attraction to Gio, but he does not seem to be struggling as much with the public performance of liking girls. Or even perhaps the internal conflict of liking boys. And that would be fine except it seems like it should be. Martino was the one who introduced the idea of liking Eva back in S1, before Eva had even suggested it herself. He was definitely on the defense then, so what’s going on now? 

Also, Isak glanced at Even and Even looked back, which made Isak look away. Julie pointedly did not show Even again in that clip because Isak was clamping down on his attraction and forcing himself not to look. Martino allows himself a second glance. It frames the scene way more comfortably.

Clip 4 - Fede almost had it all

12:12 ...it begins...

Martino sees Fede and Sana, so he approaches them. He calls them “rays of sunshine,” which is cute! Though he’s totally doing it to butter them up so he gets his stash back.

LMAO I love the part where Federica is like, I found a drill, who brings a drill to a party? (Someone you pray to God remains sober.)

He asks if he can come over and Federica chokes on her drink. She’s really cute in this scene. Honestly, she didn’t make a ton of impression on me in S1 compared to other girl Chrises from the remakes, but I enjoyed her here a lot, she’s sweet.

They can “study” together in the living room because Fede’s parents are gone. Oh babe, I think you’ll be disappointed at the amount of actual learnin’ that would take place were such a study session to take place.

Sana sits there texting Martino that she has his weed while he’s right there next to her. I guess Fede was just really excited by the prospect of having Martino in her house, but did she really not notice that Sana was texting and Martino just so happened to receive a text at the same time?

Sana saying that it’s “a friend of her brother’s” who has Martino’s “necklace.” Is that an actual nod toward Niccolò or just a coincidence? If she means Niccolò, then why is she bringing him up?

Like I know people like this theory, but I don’t think it makes sense that Sana was trying to hook up Isak and Even all along (or Martino and Niccolò if the circumstances are the same), because how does that explain her reactions to being asked about Islam’s view of homosexuality, or to Isak being outed? Of course they could be going for a diferent approach in this remake.

Federica is really adorable freaking out over how she ALMOST had Martino within her grasp. Poor girl, I’m sorry to tell you that your day is never coming. (Lmao, I guess one day a remake could swap out Emma for Isak hooking up with the Chris character? I mean Chris >>>>> Emma, but then I’d feel so bad for her.)

Clip 5 - Here we gooooooooo

So the carrot cake (made by Silvia) suuuuucks. Martino’s disgusted face is pretty good.

The girl squad is trying to Skype with Eleonora. Meanwhile Martino sits there by himself, not having a great time. As a contrast to the girl squad who are laughing and having fun, Martino is on his own because his dumbass friends ditched him.

Sana wants Martino to let them use his Internet connection to continue the Skype call, he’s like lmao, she’s ditching you guys on purpose. Gonna go out on a limb and say that he’s projecting.

Tbh I do think it’s odd that they wrote out Eleonora so much if they didn’t need to. Like I know people think they switched S2 and S3 for dramatic, important reasons, but I get the feeling it was just a matter of actor availability. I could be wrong!

That random curly-haired dude at the meeting is the true star of this clip. He was INTO everything that was happening.

SIlvia says it took forever to make her cake. And it still sucks, apparently. Good thing that the girls never seemed to get her pineapple cake from S1? Was Silvia behind the Jell-O disaster, too?

She doesn’t want another piece, which might be another hint at her ED, but the cake is garbage soooo maybe she just has taste buds and a self-preservation instinct, IDK.

It’s actually intriguing that Silvia seems to be baking cakes for people and yet she monitors her own eating so closely.

Lmao at there being dead noise when Martino sees Niccolò enter the room. Everything fades except this smiley hottie. (For a second I was like “is he flat-lining?”)

Niccolò walked in with some other people, including Covetti. He sits on the table beside Martino. Martino keeps glancing at him but Niccolò will NOT glance at Martino. Again, if they’re going to go with “I saw you the first day of school,” I don’t think they set it up that well. It’s fine if they don’t, but there are really no fun “extras” you get from these scenes with that reveal. In both of his scenes Niccolò has been hanging out with other people, he’s not glancing at Martino. There’s no foreshadowing. You can be like oh, Niccolò positioned himself outside the school for Martino to see, he DELIBERATELY didn’t look at Martino for reasons! But that’s not very enjoyable on a rewatch.

The way Martino begrudgingly greets that Uglydoll or whatever is the best part of the episode.

Covitti notices Martino looking over at Niccolo, by the way.

Okay, WHO IS THAT BLUE-HAIRED GIRL. Like it seems as if she would make a good Sonja, she reminds me a little of Theresa. 

Covitti whispers something to Martino but we don’t know what.

“Bad story about Chicco Rodi” Who was that? I vaguely remember the name from S1? Oh wait, was he the guy who got the award for worst attendance? I hope that “tutorial” is foreshadowing for Martino and Niccolò breaking into the school at some point.

Silvia comes across as positively chill compared to Vilde. It must be Osvaldo’s influence.

Why is Covitti even there, since she’s not interested in what Silvia’s saying? To stalk Martino? How did she know he would be there? Emma knew Isak was going to be there because of signups, were there signups for this? (This is nitpicky and I’m sure that’s what they meant, it’s just that they’re skipping over some parts where her motivations become clear.)

Martino: Sorry I have to take this totally real and not at all imaginary call!!!!!

Wow, no finesse, just like our man Isak.

Martino’s fake phone call is pretty funny, like he lets it go on way longer than necessary.

He plops down in a chair in the radio room and then he starts talking to himself and pretending to be on the radio. I really do like the idea of Martino finding his voice through the radio, literally and metaphorically. And actually, when he starts speaking by himself, he sounds pretty good to me! Confident, composed, his voice sounds good, the words come easy. So maybe this is a move from him being passive to speaking up for himself.

That shot of Martino, fractured in the glass, when Niccolò turns on the light is fabulous. Showing how Niccolò’s introduction is going to break apart Martino’s sense of self. And Niccolò‘s image is clear and whole so Martino perhaps sees him as this cool, confident dude who’s got his shit together. So he thinks. (Plus Niccolò literally turns on the light on and all.)

Niccolò says it’s a shame Martino stopped talking, basically, and they laugh about Silvia’s dry-ass cake.

Niccolò has a shitty ancient phone? Would that play into his avoidance of social media because of his manic episode? Since you can’t post to IG/FB/any apps from one of those. Or is he just a hipster who hates technology? Or something else? 

Lol, I didn’t have to wait long before the “breaking into the school” prophecy was fulfilled. They end up climbing into a part of the school that’s closed.

Beautiful view on the roof, obviously. I guess for O Helga Natt, Martino is going to run and find Niccolò here, maybe? And then he’ll be in the radio room instead? Will they stare at each other from behind the glass? 

Niccolò asks if Martino knows Silvia, and he says no, she’s a friend of a friend. Niccolò asks which one, so he’s probably wondering if Martino is good pals with Sana.

Niccolò notes that Martino doesn’t seem happy to be there, and neither does Niccolò. Taking him at his word, he’s doing this as part of school-work interchange. So I guess he didn’t show up just to meet Martino? Again, I have no problem with that changing that (I loved it with Evak but I’m fine with them not repeating it), I just want them to do a good job of foreshadowing if they do go with that.

We get the conversation about Niccolò being from a different school, but there’s no line (as in the original) where Isak notes with some incredulity that he transferred during his last year, so there isn’t as much of a hint that something happened to Niccolò, provided they are still keeping in his backstory. (I think he’s still in his final year?)

The camera gets very close up in the boys’ faces as they talk about more personal topics, THANK GOD. Like I do think the coldness and distance in other clips is intentional, I just don’t think it works with this show, but at least we can get warmer, closer scenes when necessary.

Covitti (whose first name is Emma, by the way) shows up and literally comes between them. They do the whole thing where Martino “introduces” Niccolò to Emma, except they’re not trying to pretend they’re already partners to avoid her. 

“Fares” means horseman or knight in Arabic, so I guess Niccolò is going to be Martino’s knight in shining armor? Or fight for him? That would explain his flipbook in the trailer with stick figure Niccotino on a horse.

Covitti isn’t very awkward as a person. She and Niccolò have a polite, maybe even flirty conversation when filtered through certain jealous ears; it’s Martino who suddenly feels like a third wheel. Covitti is still making eyes at Martino, though. Niccolò says he and Martino will stay back and smoke, which pleases Martino, but she invites herself to smoke with them. It’s awkward but way less so that with Isak, Even, and Emma, in my opinion, maybe because Covitti seems like she’s enjoying herself even if the boys aren’t. 

The poppy indie song at the end of the clip feels out of place. Like if they wanted to emphasize the awkwardness, they should have just ended in a stranger song or complete silence to drive home how Martino did not want her there. If they wanted to use this song to emphasize Martino’s crush, show closeups of Martino glancing at Niccolò with the sunlight bouncing off his face without including Covitti in there. 

Oh god. Don’t kill me for this. Okay. So we have Niccolò’s introduction in this clip, obviously, and I like him in the sense that he's a friendly guy with an utterly beautiful smile. But I felt like they made him just like ... a really nice, smiley guy, in a way that was one-note. And I’m NOT criticizing the actor’s abilities, because I’ve seen his acting clips from other projects and I think he could do justice to the character. This is more about directorial decisions.

Part of the reason I love Even is because he’s fucking strange. Sure, he’s Isak’s dream boy with his denim jacket and styled hair, and he’s got a smile like the sun, and he just feels cool, but he’s also a bouncy, twitchy weirdo coursing with energy. In his first clip he makes a HELL of an impression and it’s by pulling a bizarre stunt in the bathroom with paper towels and then by making a blowjob joke as one of his first lines to Isak. Now I don’t think every Even of the remakes need to do that, not at all, but Even felt like a really specific character to me, someone who was weird and strongly himself and presented in a way that made us fall for him piece by piece. And one fear I have about the remakes is that they’ll remove some of his weirdness to make him more of a general artsy hipster type who gets along with the Isak. (Or maybe him an artsy hipster asshole, but that’s another story.)

I feel bad because I do actually want to love Niccolò I think the actor is tremendously adorable and enthusiastic about is role, and I think he can make Niccolò into someone specific and memorable. But the way this scene was directed and performed, it felt like Bessegatto told Rocco to be charming by smiling a lot. And I mean, he DOES have a great smile, but Niccolò has the same amused, benign friendliness the whooooole clip, and my gut feeling was that they were trying too hard to make us like him and eliminating anything that might make the character off-putting, which is unfortunately some of what makes the character compelling, especially this early on as he should be something of a mystery both for Martino and the audience. 

Where this approach would have worked more for me is if Niccolò was this unstoppable force of sunshine against Martino’s constant grumpy iciness, and he couldn’t help but melt in the face of it. But the thing is, Martino isn’t a constant grump who’s freezing people out. He’s actually pretty friendly to people. So it was like radiant sunshine against slightly less radiant sunshine, and there wasn’t a lot like I felt I could mull over, IDK. 

And yes yes I know this is only the first clip. Niccolò has tons of time to make himself into a distinctive, memorable character. I’m aware of that. But I don’t want to lie about my reaction. 

General Comments/Social Media:

Continuing with Martino’s crush on Giovanni makes sense considering only a few months have passed. Though it should be said that I never thought Isak getting over Jonas from S1 to S3 without any elaboration was like .. a flaw of the show? It depends on how deep you think Isak’s feelings were. Personally I never saw him as in love with Jonas, I saw it as an intense crush, compounded by Isak’s bad home life so that Jonas, his best friend who was always there for him, was someone who really made his life better at the time, and whose attention he craved.

There was almost a year between the end of S1 and the start of S3, and during that time, Isak had seen Jonas go from Eva to other girls, so I’m sure it sunk in that Jonas wasn’t suddenly going to go for him just because Eva was out of the picture. And Isak had moved out of his parents’ home so there was less of an immediately chaotic situation where he was more dependent on Jonas for support. I mean he’s clearly not in a great place at the start of S3, but he was able to get some independence and distance from his parents. I think his life was more stable on a day-to-day basis. So it’s not hard to see how Isak’s crush would have faded with those factors in mind. Martino, on the other hand, has had less time to get over Giovanni, Giovanni perhaps has not moved on to other girls since he’s still trying to get with Eva, and Martino is still probably depending on him for more emotional support since he has to deal with a more directly stressful environment at home.

In the texts, Giovanni refers to Sana as “Sana Escobar” in reference to her taking the weed. Pablo Escobar is obviously extremely well-known on his own, but I do think it’s a nod to all the Narcos/Escobar mentions in Isak’s season. Or at least they took inspiration there.

Elia is apparently one hell of a dumbass according to an essay he wrote that showed up on IG.

I wonder if they’re going to swap out the Grindr clip with Eskild for the first meeting with Filippo. I really do wonder how that relationship will come across, because I know people are excited about seeing them meet (and I am too) but the thing is, a big part of what made Isak and Eskild’s relationship in S3 meaningful was that they had months of trust to be established between them. Eskild saw Isak repressing his sexuality for months, and when Isak finally came out to him, there was pride in seeing this kid’s long journey to acceptance. We also got plenty of little scenes between them so the dynamic wasn’t just a big dramatic thing, we saw the casual side of their relationship. So I’m not sure how they can replicate that with a relationship that cannot help but have less buildup.

Niccolò is a pianist and there’s a video of him playing on YouTube! I’m really glad they incorporated the actor’s talents into the character and gave him his own artistic skill to make him a little different from Even. I assume that Martino will find the piano video and watch that endlessly. And it’ll be fun if Martino is all convinced Niccolò is a serious classical music snob but then Niccolò is like, “YES, this is my JAM” over a cheesy pop song.

One big problem I have is that it feels like a lot of potential for conflict or tension (both internal and external) is being minimized across various relationships, in multiple situations. It just feels safer for Martino despite him still going through some major problems that Isak was not at this point, and so it really shouldn’t. And that makes it harder to get involved in his POV or to immerse ourselves in his struggles. For example:

The boy squad isn't angry or annoyed with Martino for losing the weed, they're just kind of like lol, get it back. 

Sana and Martino don't clash with as much tension, and does Sana even explain why she’s holding onto Martino’s weed instead of giving it back? Sana B. was disgusted that Isak left the weed in Eva’s house where Eva could get in trouble if it was found; Sana A. is just doing it to be sassy, so far? Knowing that she found Isak’s actions distasteful upped the animosity of the Sana-Isak relationship, whereas Sana-Martino doesn’t have that element. I mean it’s certainly a reasonable inference that Sana is mad at him for potentially getting Fede in trouble, but it’s not a clear motivation. Martino doesn’t know why she’s randomly holding on to his weed. Does he think she’s doing it because she’s Muslim and disapproves? Because she wants it for herself? Just to torment him?

Italian Emma comes across way more of a chill, tolerable girl than Nowegian Emma and less of a persistent nuisance causing him stress just by existing.

Martino is less alienated and uncomfortable and more like a chill dude who likes to look at guys. The boys talking about going down on girls doesn’t make him uninterested and detached from the situation, he just mildly protests about TMI but continues to engage. He can look at Niccolò without having to make himself look away. He puts up less of a show to perform heterosexuality than Isak.

Martino doesn’t want to get involved in the radio show, except when he’s left alone he starts talking into a mic and pretending he’s on the radio, suggesting that it is of interest to him even if he’s not into Silvia’s leadership or whatever (as opposed to Isak who just didn’t want to deal with kosegruppa).

Even the Martino and Niccolò meeting had them bantering right away, practically as soon as they spoke, rather than encountering any moments of uncertainty or confusion, no time where they had to find their groove. And people are going to be like “They got along right away when Isak and Even didn’t!” when the reason Isak and Even were a little awkward at first was not because they clashed but because they were attracted to each other. Isak was shy about talking to a cute boy and taken aback by Even’s approach; Even was overwhelmed about talking to the boy he’d liked for weeks. It’s also a mark of how genuine Isak’s interest was: with Emma he was all slick and insincere, with Even he was real and tongue-tied. I mean, think about episode 2 and what a great moment it is when Isak runs into Even on the tram and they fumble for words at first. It’s so good! It’s human and real. It’s vulnerable, especially from Isak’s POV since we know how hard he has been pining over the last week, but also from Even’s POV especially when you know he’s liked Isak for a long time. The thing with Martino and Niccolò is that they settle into conversation so instantly, without any bumps, that I don’t think I would buy a moment like that happening. It’s not like I expect them to immediately become best friends but it would feel strange after this scene. And personally, it’s not like this relationship needs to develop the same as Isak/Even, but it’s good to leave some room for build-up from a narrative perspective. That’s why it’s so satisfying when Isak goes from barely being able to speak to Even to getting so comfortable with him that he can joke around and laugh with him. Like, let Martino say the wrong thing, or not know what to say, or make a mistake, so he can earn that more comfortable place with Niccolò, or so we can savor the moments that show him as vulnerable. (I mean, did people not enjoy Isak and Even being shy around each other? Because the awkwardness, the long silent pauses, the fumbling for what to say ... I ate that shit up. I loved it.)

Now on their own, it’s not wrong for any of these plot threads or scenes to go more smoothly. But do you see how cumulatively, they don’t contribute that much to creating a stressful internal and external climate for Martino? He’s just so much milder about everything, and the people around him are milder to him, and from a dramatic perspective it’s not as engaging.

I mean fandom does this thing where it’s like “These characters get along better! Things are Softer! Cinnamon rolls!! It’s an improvement!!!” but that’s not ... actually great from a narrative standpoint. We’re at the beginning of Martino’s story and it makes more sense to emphasize what a shit place he’s in so we can build him up over the season. 

The conflict that IS there, and felt like it had more of a presence on screen when it was addressed, is Martino still having feelings for Giovanni and Martino’s issues with his parents. I’m not sure how much farther they’ll take Martino’s crush on Gio, since now Niccolò is in the picture, but they’ll likely have Martino keeping secrets from Giovanni that are Eva-related. And we have Martino living with his mother and dealing with her problems, but I felt like that should have been more emphasized in this premiere episode and not just one clip, since it’s really fucking huge. It’s not a problem he can kind of repress like Isak because Isak can just ignore his mom’s texts. Martino has to go home and deal with it every day. (Like I would have put the radio/weed stuff for episode 1 and kick off with Martino’s parental problems and meeting Filippo, since that should set sooo much of the stage for this season, emotionally.)

I’ve also seen the idea that this season will focus more on Martino dealing with external homophobia than internalized homophobia, and that’s certainly a good idea, but then they really should have hit the ground running with that theme. Show the boy squad making casually homophobic comments, show him fearing what his mom will say. Show some random assholes making gay jokes about Filippo at the party and Martino overhears. 

I think they’re doing the meeting with Filippo in episode 2, so hopefully we get more meat to Martino’s conflicts.

I sound like I’m being negative, probably, but I’m aware this is only episode 1, and there’s plenty more to come. There are things that I do like, such as Filippo being Eleonora’s brother and the introduction of the radio. I think those could be really cool for the season. And I’m still intrigued by everything else, because this is S3 and of course I’m wondering how they’ll adapt it!

Please feel free to correct me if I missed or misinterpreted anything!

If you got this far, thank you for reading! Especially if you disagreed with me, lol.

[wintryethereal]

Reviewing Brea's Stuff - BTS Soulmate AU (1/2)

PART 1/2 (Taehyung, Jungkook, Jimin)

HI! \(OwO)/

I want to draw ya'll's attention to one of my friends: @jimin-jungshook-over-literalbae. She's a k-pop reaction/scenario/text writer, and not only have I missed her as a friend so much during my long hiatus, I've also missed her writing. Thankfully, there's a lot for me to catch up on! She asked me to give my opinions on her BTS AUs, and with her permission, I've turned my reviews it into a bit of advertising! If you wanna read the stuff I did, ya'll don't have to scroll super far to find it all. I'll be reviewing each AU from a Reader's Standing (silly, sometimes improper sentences; sO MUCH swearing; caps lock) and from a Critic's Standing (second reading; at least one paragraph). Let's get into this! >o<

—Faith

Written in Order of Whichever Came up First While Scrolling

Taehyung AU (Reader's Standing):

Man, I can't relate with being abandoned at a club 'cause I don't drink, and there's no club in my town, but I love how Y/N is essentially abandoned, ha ha ha! Also, poor Y/N, the only person among their friends who hasn't found a soulmate yet and feels so damn lonely about it. :'(

'...soft masculine voice'—bless you, Brea, for describing this scum as feminine.

'It makes you want to scoff, honestly'—All right then, this Y/N is a bit of a bitch, when it comes to meeting strangers in a club. I like Y/N, already. :D

'...back hitting a wall'—Aw yeah, good going, Y/N. Cornering yourself, good shit.

Strong Tae is hot, like that whole wrist grabbing sequence, ooh.

'Excuse me, sir'—My inner Englishwoman accent has been summoned.

Bitter chocolate on Y/N's tongue?? Where did this come from, hm... HM... hm.

Oh wait this is the soulmate bit. NEATO, I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! Milk is cool too, I mean, I'm vegetarian. If you bring meat into any of these AUs I will riOT.

Internal screaming holy shit it's the gang they're here hi Jimin my baby TwT

Yas to fun dancing with the puppy that is Taehyung

'Your back is pressed against his chest and his hands rest on your hips'—AERUNAWERAWENURAWO cute yes thank you

More chocolate taste, mm, yes. *w*

Holding hands on way to friends = classic, love it.

scREAMING HE CALLED Y/N HIS SOULMATE YES BLESS THIS AU I mean I don't usually read them, but my friendo-burritos are special occasions, OK??

Physical manifestation?? All right, sure. I'm so confused about this because, as I just said, I don't read soulmate AUs.

Love how the flavour of chocolate changes, it's kind of romantic.

*Sees typo at second last paragraph for 'had' instead of 'hand' and holds breath* Save it, Grammar-Nazi alter-ego, it's just a typo.

Super cute paragraph though awoureraelr

'As though he's meant to stay there forever'—Is just too cute, oml.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA THAT LAST PARAGRAPH AND THE LAST LINE OF Y/N MY HEEEEEEEEEEART GOD DAMN SO CUTE UUUUUUUUUUGH

It's over? ;w; It's over...

Taehyung AU (Critic's Standing):

I'll say this here so I don't have to repeat myself, but I don't tend to read Soulmate AUs because I honestly think they're a very basic and beginner's way to write fan fiction. But they're also a great way to practice, so no, I don't hate them, I just don't tend to read them. As you know, I've made an exception for my friend. The first paragraph set the atmosphere very well, and easily stated how Y/N was feeling about not having found their soulmate, yet, and how they're just forced to watch their friends, who already have. The creep insertion, while a common trope, was well executed—I especially approve of how Brea described the wrist grabbing and the little struggle Y/N had.

And then there's Taehyung to the rescue, and for a moment I forgot I was reading a soulmate AU, I was confused about why Y/N tasted chocolate for second. Like the subtle inclusion of Jungkook, Jimin and the other guys, and the dancing section where the taste of chocolate changes according to Taehyung's emotions was really neat. I also loved how Taehyung took Y/N home, and their little kissing moment was the cutest. Not the mention the killer one-liner Y/N delivered, at the end. This was a brief AU, but that's often a good idea, for these kinds of scenarios. If I could improve one thing about this, I would have done... nothing. I seriously can't find anything that I would change, in this. Great job, Brea!

Jungkook AU (Reader's Standing):

Ooh, a Big Bang concert!

OOH, bells to signal soulmate status, that's really cool! Also, cute stumble is best stumble.

'bunny teeth'—Yes, Jungkook is a bunny in disguise, I knew it. *w*

YouTuber Jungkook is a concept I would sell my soul to Satan to see IRL

Ey yo, Seungri! \(>w<)/ Feels like a real concert, lol

Oh boy, whispering...

Awwww group waving to Jungkook's camera, how nice. ;w;

OH BOY JUNGKOOK IS ESCORTED

Oml Jungkook must have been so embarrassed, standing on stage like that, as a mega-fan. Lucky dude.

Never mind, boy was hyped as hecc

Happy Jungkook is best Jungkook, that was so cute to read.

Ye boys and girls, let's go with Jungkook and see what happens next oml this is too cute aaa

iS THIS THE SAME BAR AS THE TAEHYUNG AU?!

Hi Jimin I love you ;w;

Riot for Jimin? Yes, very possible.

beLL RUNG AGAIN GOOD LORD

I approve of Y/N's choice of Daesung as their favourite member

Thank you Jimin for approving of Y/N's choice

Jungkook shooing because he's secretly a possessive puppy, cute

bELLS AGAIN

'pretty damning evidence'—This is suddenly a detective AU? Nice.

'princess'—Aaand now I'm trying not to squeal.

Good choice of bar over apartment there, Jungkook.

Clasped fingers are cute, yes, thank you

More bells, aaaaa

Soft kiss ;w; Ow my heart

Evolving bells? YES.

Seriously this was really cute, I loved it. I love everything Brea writes, tbh.

Maybe that's just a friendship thing, idk.

Jungkook AU (Critic's Standing):

When the story began at a Big Bang concert, I immediately started to recall every bop they ever made, and it made me so nostalgic and happy. Really nice concert vibe, felt pretty alive, for being described in one paragraph. The first occurrence of the bells stole my heart, I'm a winter fanatic and bells are such an iconic symbol of that season, so I really enjoyed finding out that the little soulmate signal for this AU was bells. Not to mention the little confused looks that Y/N and Jungkook gave to their surroundings before introducing themselves with yelling (because concert, makes total sense) was really nice. I also loved how Jungkook was a YouTuber, that's totally something he could be, if his life went a different direction.

Seungri noticed Jungkook, told the guys about him, and they all gave Jungkook's camera some love was neat, too. They got him onto the stage and Jungkook fulfilled his mega-fan dream of performing with the big boys, that was ultra sweet of them (and Brea, I guess). And the excited Jungkook after he returned to Y/N was so easy to picture, it was great. As I said in the Reader's Standing, is this the same bar Y/N in the Taehyung AU was taken to? It was nice to see Jimin again though, hee hee, and I really liked how Jimin and Jungkook talked about why Jimin wasn't with Taehyung—the struggles of being a famous idol, right?

Jungkook shooing away Jimin was also cute, and how Brea mentioned that Jungkook and Y/N just sat with a couple drinks and talked with a little buzz was nice. Jungkook's explanation of how he and Y/N are soulmates was a nice touch, I really can't get enough of picturing how those bells sound. Small kiss from Y/N to Jungkook was super sweet, and yes, YES, I would love it if those bells evolved into like, an entire little melody, ah. This one was somehow very relaxing to read, I enjoyed it.

Jungkook isn't even my bias wrecker and I want to punch him with a pillow for being so cute in this AU, dammit.

Jimin AU (Reader's Standing):

For some reason the picture of Jimin wouldn't load and I'm immediately a little sad because I don't get to see his pink hair and those amazingly adorable cheeks of his. Not to mention his gorgeous eyes and just AERNUOEWATO Jimin is great. ;w;

Y/N is legit me, but I'm reading hentai manga instead of an 'actual book'. Just kidding, I'd be reading Piers Anthony.

Cool cafe, would definitely go there.

But reading sometimes stresses me out, so... I just stick to Piers and other fantasy others who don't write about female leads, sorry, but I really fucking love men. >w<

Aw yes look at that, his pink hair is peeking through, I wish I could reach into this story and touch it, fuck

The Chim just keeps getting closer... and closer... God that's cute, it's so like him, I love that.

'marches his way right over to you'—AEUROOAEUNCOWEASNLU thank you Brea, I'm dying a little

Soft speaking is so cute, good Lord, bless this AU

I'm just excited to read this for a second time, I love Jimin so damn much, aaaa

Just reading with Jimin would be so nice, that one paragraph had such a quiet feeling to it, ah.

Oh no, he went back on tour </3

he'S BACK AND HE TAPPED Y/N'S HAND MY LORD

I would totally jump up and hug Jimin, sorry not sorry, that man needs so much love for being so cute and... A N D *heavy breathing*

Oh right Y/N does it anyway

Awww yes he hugs back ;w;

Ooh, familiar scent and a long hug, that's definitely romantic.

bOOK HANDING OVER INCEPTION. Thank you for that little nod, ah.

I would probably fit in his suitcase tbh I mean I'm 145cm and he's what, 165cm?? It would totally work out, guys.

fiNGERS ENTWINE SCREEEEEEE

Sneaky Jimin putting his number in Y/N's pocket. Wait he's also part of the pervert line, BREA ARE YOU SURE HE DIDN'T TAP Y/N'S ASS A LITTLE? Lol just kidding, but still, nice move, Jimin.

He smells like books, bless

NOT TO MENTION THE KISSES GOOD LORD

That note was so sweet holy shit

Good ending oh my God that was such a nice ending

Jimin AU (Critic's Standing):

How do I write a formal review, again? I loved the book cafe, that was such a natural place for this to happen. Y/N and Jimin meeting week after week, and Jimin inching closer and closer until he literally comes right up to Y/N and all I could think of was a fluffy puppy running, and it killed me. I really liked how Y/N and Jimin established a quiet relationship, that's like, friendship, and friendship is so nice. Then Jimin left and I felt a little empty with Y/N, and I'm just sitting here thinking about how easily you were able to make me relate to Y/N. He came back blond (I refuse to add the 'e' for a male; I'm Canadian, that's just how the French do things, nothing wrong with the more modern/American way >w<) and had to tap Y/N's hand to get their attention, and then there's that adorable hug that just warmed my heart.

Then there was a very well executed explanation of how Jimin knows he and Y/N are soulmates and how he slipped a note into their pocket when they hugged. And I'm completely serious when I say that I would love to just stuff myself into Jimin's suitcase, ha ha ha! The kisses were also a really nice touch, the note was very sweet, and again, Y/N's last say in this scenario as they gave in to temptation and texted Jimin was adorable. Jimin's explanation and the note really did it for me, heh. I enjoyed Jungkook's the most, out of these three, but this was also really relaxing to read.

OK, that's it, for the maknae line! Onto the hyung line. Thanks again for reading, everyone.

[miedei]

mafia AND band au crossover dnnfjessnkdjsk ?!??! *d-words* BAND A PLAYING ONSTAGE FOR THE ENEMIES AS A DISTRACTION & BAND B UNDERCOVER TO STEAL SOMETHING/KIDNAP SOMEONE/ASSASSINATE A BITCH

DHJDJSHDJ WAIT I FEEL SO BAD FOR RIKI BC ALL I IMAGINE IS SHIT GOING WRONG WITH HIM BUT 😭😭😭 IMAGINE THEY LIFT HIM UP & JUST TOSS HIM WITHOUT WARNING SO HE HITS LIKE THE ROOF/DOORWAY/SOMETHING & HE ACTUALLY FALLS FACE FLAT ON THE FUCKING FLOOR KSHDKDJDKDJ LIKE YOU & YOUR BANDMATES ALL SEE BUT HAVE TO TRY YOUR ABSOLUTE BEST NOT TO LAUGH CAUSE Y'ALL ARE IM THE MIDDLE OF PERFORMING SKFJJDJFJDJKFOWJJD

and no 😭 wasn't able to watch en-o'clock today cause my parents had to use the wifi so we couldn't cause it starts fucking up when we use it all at the same time esp when we watch videos 💀 but i've seen pics on twt and they're so cute 😭😭😭😭 i really wanna watch it asap & go somewhere like that someday 😭

and awwww that's nice & cool 🥺 mine flat out refused 💀 but ig that made sense cause i was in like 2nd grade then 💀 (and i probably was just interested in learning bc my bestie at that time took the said ✨expensive✨ violin lessons & i'd crash in on them cause i got fetched from school late & their violin teacher was nice when he found out about it & let me stay lmaoooo so i like picked up on how to properly hold it & the bow from the sheer amount of times i crashed their classes & watched them do their thing 💀)

AT LEAST ONE THING GETS BROKEN HAKSNKDJSK ESPECIALLY ON THEIR FIRST TRIES 💀💀💀💀 C H A O S ALL CONDENSED IN A SINGLE SOUNDPROOFED ROOM (i'm imagining it like a basement @ jay's like our cool friend's basement,,, who we also coincidentally call "j" 💀💀💀)

sunoo on electric guitar shredding & doing all those cool guitar solos got me like 😳😳 cause i initially imagined him on the keyboard yk 🤩 what a concept this is,,,, fucking love it 🥰🥰🥰

and yeah i mean i can play it & yeah ik even just holding it makes you feel badass doesn't it ksndne just i don't really play it much onstage since i either stick to drums & rhythm guitar cause that's what dad does & that's how i was taught, which in turn became what i'm used to 💀 but yes my sister is learning bass & she looks so fucking cool ksndksnd she's like 4 years younger than me, TINY and ADORABLE, and yet plays an instrument that sounds like THAT 💀💀💀💀💀 wait i think i remember being on keyboard ONCE in like 7th grade yeah...?? but it was like for a mellow school song & we've only ever practiced together once so 💀

- drummer anon (i'm such an oversharer when i get excited i'm sorry sjfjdjf)

OMG THAT MAFIA HC??? MAY HAVE TO WRITE THAT THAT SOUNDS AMAZING

THEY WOULD THO,,,, RIKI ENDS UP LITERALLY FLYING AND MAYBE JUST HIS ARM OR LEG IS VISIBLE TO THE CROWDDKSBKSJNSKA

omg i crashed friends classes all the time that's how i got to play a bass and also a harp one time!! that was lowkey terrifying but awesome

jay has learned to not put any valuable things (or things in general) in the practice room after one of his nice paintings got speared (riki) and after a vase shattered (sunghoon) 💀

i NEED to see them play instruments hhhh all of them going insane on stuff and headbanging n shit 😩 daydream material

YOU PLAY SO MUCH THATS SO COOL ur little sister sounds fucking adorable omg that contrast with lil kid and BASS sounds hilarious

piano/keyboard was surprisingly easy?? i already knew music theory n stuff so i stole my sister's old keyboard and taught myself a lot you can probably do it it's so fun when you actually know how to read music (ooh random question do you do 'do re mi' or 'a b c' when reading notes? i do abc for instruments but i learned do re mi for choir/musicals it's so interesting who learned what)

[04hopelatte]

BTS REACTING TO IT RAINING WHILE WITH YOU <3

Anon: Can I request a BTS reaction? Like they react to it starting to downpour (heavy rain) while you're on a picnic date? Fluffy? I love you!

I LOVE U 2<3 and this is so cute!!!!!!!!!!

JIN

The weather was getting windy and the clouds got darker and darker by the second. 

Jin knew what was about to happen so he hurried to the store you two had been walking to and on cue with his thoughts, trickles of water made its way down and Jin was quick to act.

“AHHH, Jagiya your beautiful dress will get wet!” he took off his jacket and plopped it over your head. “Awwww you’re like a little soft marshmallow” he laughed cutely and squished your face between the jacket.

Suga

Suga had been working at his studio 24/7 for the past 2 weeks due to the upcoming comeback and he had been a little grumpy when he talked to you after a long day at work.

 So when he found out from the other members you had dropped lunch off for him and left just a few minutes ago because you didn’t wanna disturb him broke his heart. He made you feel like your presence was a nuisance to him. 

He looked outside and grew wide eyed as he saw it pouring, he was quick to grab his coat and dash out his studio, mentally punching himself in the face. After a few minutes of running he saw you at the corner, soaked and waiting at the bus stop. He walked towards you slowly and gave you a back hug while his chin on your shoulder.

“Suga? What are you doing here. OMG YOU”LL CATCH A COLD” you hit him softly on the chest.

“How about we warm each other up back at our place?” he smirked and intertwined his fingers with yours. 

J-Hope

You had always loved the rain, it was calming and soothing to you. You looked outside the practice room that you were in with J-hope and smiled.

“J-HOPPEEEEEEE it’s raining omg” you beamed and ran to him stopping him from dancing any farther. “Yeah Jagiya I can see” he giggled “I know how you love the rain” he finished as you pulled him to the window to look more at it. 

 After a few second you poked his cheek and he turned to look at you again. You stared at each other for a few seconds and both smiled.

“LET’S GO PLAY!!” you both screamed in unison and stormed out the practice room and started dancing in the rain<3. 

(THIS ONE IS SO CUTE I’M CRYIIINGGGGGG)

Rap Monster

You had been cuddling with Namjoon in bed as he wrote in his songbook. You snuggled a little closer to his chest and he noticed you got a little squirmy. 

“(Y/N) you okay?” he poked your nose and you pouted. 

He sighed and put his songbook down and laid down on the bed so your faces were an inch apart and he put his hand around your waist. “wanna tell me what’s wrong now?” you nodded “Go on” he put his full attention on you. 

“Well I wanted to go to the park today with Nana (your dog) but it’s raining, what if Nana is sad because she didn’t get to go to the park today?, so if there’s a possibility she’s sad then I’m sad” as you finished Rap Mon stared at you with an ‘Aww’ expression. 

He suddenly brought his hands to his face and shook his head “GAHHHHH YOU”RE SO CUTE (Y/N)~~~~~~”

Jimin

“Jimin, there’s a serious matter that need discussing now please” you smiled slightly trying not to crack your acting as you sat on the chair across from him. You found him in the cafeteria as he was eating and decided to tease him and have a little fun. 

After you said that he immediately looked up with a worried expression and questioned 

“Is something wrong? Are you okay?” he said with his mouth still have full with noodles.

 “Yes there is” you replied and grabbed his hand from across the table, he looked at you deep in the eyes anticipating what you would tell him, ready to beat anyones butt if they had messed with you. 

“It’s raining outside so can you call me a taxi home, my phone died” you said bluntly. His head fell to the table and let out a big sigh “You scared me, I thought you were sad or angry with me”. You laughed “nope not at all”.

He lifted his head up *GIF and suddenly lifted his body and placed it over the table with both his arms supporting him as he inched closer to your face “That’s good” he said seductively and wellllll. Let’s just say you didn’t go home till later that night ;)

V

“V? Wanna go to the zoo today?” you perked your head in front of your boyfriend’s face blocking his view from his laptop. He gave you a small smile and pecked your nose. 

“Sorry Pumpkin but it’s supposed to rain all day, so the animals will all be inside. I think we should stay at our own home too” he patted your head as you pouted. 

You stood up from the bed and walked to the living room slowly from your shared bedroom, V put a confused face and followed you .2 seconds after to find you sitting on the couch by the window as it began to rain. 

“Pumpkin~~~~~” he gave you a bag hug and sat behind you “Don’t be bummed, we can have our own fun too~~” he licked your cheek quickly and you giggled.

“Okay, but I hope your ready to play CANDYLAND” you yelled as you ran to the room to get said board game. V laughed at himself hoping for more adult things to had happened ;) but he knew you were a child at heart. So for the rest of the day you played CandyLand, drank hot cocoa and well you eventually got to the mature things at the end :))))))) 

Jungkook

“JAGIYAAA” your boyfriend yelled in an attempt to wake you from your slumber. 

You squinted your eyes as you awoke and squirmed “What do you want?” you asked softly and in a raspy voice. “I want you to snuggle with you but you won’t move over” he giggled. 

You now fully opened your eyes and realized you had fallen asleep in the BigHit studio on the massive bean bag chair. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the park taking your new concept photos for the comeback?” you poked his nose. 

“We rescheduled, it’s raining right now” he laid down on the bean bag chair with you, your faces now 2 inches apart. “Thank god for the rain am I right?” you smirked and he lightly smacked you arm 

“You pervert, I just wanna cuddle” he smiled widely (*GIF) and that’s exactly what you two did. 

On that cold rainy night~ 

#bts#bts imagines#bts scenarios#bts reactions#bts scenes#bts v#bts reaction#bts requests#jin#seojin#bts jin#suga#yoongi#bts suga#augustd#j hope#hoseok#bts j hope#sexy bts#bts gifs#rap monster#namjoon#bts rap monster#jimin#park jimin#bts jimin#v#bts teahyung#teahyung#bts jungkook