#yes it's another space opera couple

[distance-does-not-matter]

WIP Game

Rules: Make a new post and post the latest line your WIP & tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you feel like)

Tagged by @englishable! Thank you, friend!

Wow, haven't written in a hot minute, but here, have two last lines (one is actually connected to what I was writing, the other was just something I wanted to make sure I have down)

Drawn into his embrace, she closed her eyes.

and

It is a foolish question.

Tagging whoever wants to do it!

[brucebocchi]

Spring 2024 anime, Pt. 2: Mixed bags and the gems

hey! i also post this on my ko-fi! this is very much a labor of love, so if you liked what i wrote consider throwing a few bucks my way! also you can find part 1 right here! thanks!

Yes, hello, I'm still here. Between work and AI: The Somnium Files -nirvanA Initiative-, I was struggling to find the time to get this out, but here we are! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go actually watch some anime again.

As always, the OP for each show is linked in the title. Watch them! There were some damn good ones this season.

Let's-a go:

Mixed Bags

Astro Note

I’m going to kick off this section by first stating that on the whole, I’m much higher on the anime in this section this season than I was last time: Nothing that I watched this season disappointed me nearly as much as Metallic Rouge or The Witch and the Beast, nor bored me to tears like The Unwanted Undead Adventurer. This truly is a collection of mixed bags; anime that I found enjoyable or interesting but still left me wanting in one way or another. “Good But Could Have Been Great” is too unwieldy anyway.

Astro Note was eye-catching from the jump: This is very clearly an homage to Rumiko Takahashi’s beloved romcom Maison Ikkoku, with character designs by Carole & Tuesday’s Eisaku Kubonouchi. The colors are soft and bright, everyone looks unique and has a wide variety of hilarious facial expressions, and the OP is a fun time right out of the gate. You come for the lovely visuals and Takahashi homage, and you stay for, uh, not much else.

Takumi, a down-on-his-luck young chef, answers a job posting at a boarding house that promises its residents breakfast every day. It turns out that Mira, the odd but beautiful new landlady, is a dogshit cook and tried to attract a new one with a plagiarized job posting. Takumi doesn’t really care because she’s, like, really pretty, so he takes the job and moves in. He’s soon beset by a cast of wacky characters that includes an enigmatic unemployed salaryman and his precocious son, an indie idol who looks like a hard-drinking Futaba Sakura in her downtime, a nosy neighbor, and a rich, handsome romantic rival. We’re already approaching Maison Ikkoku territory. 

Shortly after moving in, Takumi believes he overhears Mira saying that she’s a widow, which would firmly plant Astro Note’s flag right in Ikkoku’s turf, but it turns out that Mira is in fact an alien from the planet Wid, meaning she is of the Wido race (this is as good of a localization as you can ask for; in the original Japanese he heard “miboujin,” not knowing that she’s from the planet Mibou). So we’ve got some Urusei Yasura sprinkled in for good measure. Her adorable poodle, voiced by Junichi Suwabe (Sukuna himself!) is from the same planet and helping her find a MacGuffin, hidden by the previous owner, that would help her take over as queen. There’s also some blossoming romance!

The alien stuff made for an interesting wrinkle, and it went a long way toward characterizing Mira as an endearingly odd but curious woman, but it often played out in wacky hijinks caused by alien spies, which felt like a designated make-the-plot-happen button more often than not. It paid off splendidly in the last couple of episodes, and I loved how all of the flashbacks of Mira’s mother looked like grainy Showa-era space operas, but getting there took a lot of “oh no, chase that Thing!” sequences. I found myself tuning out on those until they finally became plot relevant.

The central romance was fine, if a little underbaked, but what kept me watching Astro Note was the smaller moments with the ensemble characters. There were moments with both Wakabayashi the salaryman and his son Ren that slapped the apathy right off my face, and a side plot with Takumi and a person from his past was incredibly sweet. I did also love the massive turn the plot took in the last couple episodes, to the point where I found myself almost wishing that the show up to that point was different.

And that’s Astro Note in a nutshell: A lot of good pieces mixed with some filler, weird pacing, and an overall uneven experience in a nice-looking package. A fun little distraction but nothing entirely memorable. If I can give this show one major positive, it’s that watching it finally convinced me to read Maison Ikkoku, and for that I will forever be grateful. Read Maison Ikkoku.

Go! Go! Loser Ranger

I keep running notes for everything I’m watching as the season rolls on, and sometimes I’ll indulge in other reviewers’ early takes and jot down some insights that might spark from hearing outside perspectives. During Gigguk’s opening remarks on Go! Go! Loser Ranger in his early Spring season roundup, I made a note that the easiest way to summarize this show for a western audience is “basically The Boys but with the Power Rangers instead of The Seven.” And then he said pretty much the exact same thing five seconds later. I just want the record to show that.

Indeed, this is a sentai series with some spice. 13 years ago, the invading forces of evil were soundly defeated by the Dragon Keepers, a real-life sentai squad. In the present day, the Dragon Keepers now sit atop a massive organization protecting earth, and also dominating the entertainment industry: Every week, they hold an exhibition match against the remaining rank-and-file footsoldiers, skull-faced shapeshifters known as Dusters. In order to keep their lives, the Dusters were forced to give up their freedom and serve as the farcical Putty Patrol for what is ultimately a pro wrestling show. Sick of being a jobber and effectively a slave, one of the Dusters, known simply as Fighter D, decides the best way to destroy the Dragon Keepers and free his brethren is to do so from within: He’ll morph into a human shape, join their Rangers program as a cadet, and personally slay each of the five Keepers.

Fighter D is quickly found out, though. One of the recruiters, the lovely but mercurial Yumeko, isn’t nearly as dumb as he thought, but she fortunately has the same aim and quickly puts him to work trying to steal the Keepers’ insanely powerful weapons, the Divine Artifacts. He’s also found by the Dragon Keepers and manages to escape, though badly wounded. He’s found in a cave by Yumeko’s hanger-on, the upstart Ranger cadet Hibiki, whose family was badly fragmented by an unknown monster. While he still believes in the Keepers and shares their ostensible goal of protecting humanity, he believes that there needs to be major changes and agrees to let D impersonate him to infiltrate the Rangers. He’s soon embroiled in a prolonged examination trial against higher-ranked Rangers that soon turns into a fight to the death, made only more deadly by the inclusion of a female Duster and the same monster that killed Hibiki’s parents and paralyzed his sister.

Yes, that’s a lot, and everything up until that last sentence was just in the first four episodes. I’ve said repeatedly that I’m willing to be patient with introductory seasons for action-oriented shonen series, because those do usually take a minute to start cooking, but the first season of Loser Ranger is bizarrely paced. The first four episodes were an intriguing introduction, but they might have served better as a movie to kick off the season, because the overwhelming majority of the remaining eight episodes were pretty much just a bunch of people fighting in a fucking parking garage. I was under the impression that the first season was going to be 24 or so episodes, for some reason, so I was willing to be patient with it.

Maybe I should've been patient enough to wait until the second season, because I found myself getting whiplash between fascination and utter boredom. I still don’t know if I even like this show. There are so many moving parts, and many of them are fascinating, but to get bombarded with them so early and so often, only to then keep most of them in the background in favor of way too many new characters fighting in, again, a goddamned parking garage, frustrates me in increasing measure the more I write about it. I really wanted to like this show more than I did.

The production values are seemingly all over the place too. The OP is another Tatsuya Kitani banger, the voice cast is deep and talented (especially for the English dub, holy hell), the puppet outros are a hoot, and the animation is mostly fine. I’m rarely one to complain about CGI in anime (the ED for this show is entirely 3DCG and it fucks), but a lot of it in Loser Ranger, especially as an obvious means of cheaping out on having to hand-draw and -animate the Dragon Keepers’ slightly-elaborate costumes, is baffling. You could make a generous case for it representing them as larger-than-life personalities, but in execution it’s just kind of uncanny. The show looks and sounds fine overall, but little things like that just take me out of it.

I’m going to withhold judgment until the second season, but for now I can’t say I’m too impressed by the debut. Maybe just watch the first four episodes and put a pin in it until season 2 drops.

Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night

I’m beginning to worry that Metallic Rouge’s catastrophic narrative failure may have permanently made me nervous about any original anime to follow. It’s an unfair comparison to make, especially considering it aired at the same time as the bombastically audacious Bang Brave Bang Bravern, which I consider one of the best of the year so far and even one of the better anime to air so far this decade. At the same time, though, the millisecond I start to suspect that an original anime is losing its footing, as soon as the one synapse fires that tells me that this show may not be able to stick the landing, I start to get cynical. The good news is that Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night isn’t even in the same time zone as Rouge’s disappointment. The bad news is that it still never fully lived up to what it could have been.

Right from the jump, this felt like Doga Kobo flexing in between seasons of Oshi no Ko with yet another gorgeous showbiz anime. The debut episode is one of the best I’ve seen in some time; an immaculately animated and brilliantly storyboarded mission statement showcasing the self-doubting illustrator Mahiru and the disgraced ex-idol Kano meeting and finding new inspiration in one another’s work (if you’ve been reading Beat & Motion, this may sound familiar, except they’re both high school girls). It was a masterclass in depicting powerful self-expression and the spark of a truly fateful encounter. What followed was also pretty good, but...

Mahiru and Kano band together (pun intended) to form the multimedia collective JELEE, also enlisting social-outcast musical prodigy (and Kano stan) Mei, and NEET VTuber Kiui along the way. We see a lot of the nitty-gritty of trying to get a new act off the ground, as well as the reality that any new artist or creator nowadays is, ultimately, at the mercy of the internet. It was a treat to watch these four all come together, as was seeing the emotional bonds they forge with one another while also navigating their own personal issues, but it frequently came at the expense of an actual plot. That sort of thing is fine, I do love me some good slice-of-life, but I feel like the show planned on something a bit grander. While we’re focused on so many of these really lovely moments of character growth and interpersonal drama, everything about JELEE’s ascent, y’know, the main plot, just kind of happens, and before you know it everything turns out okay and the season’s over. It really felt like the writers had a big plan but ended up just laying down the tracks while the train was already in motion.

As mentioned, I’m not nearly as down on the anime in the “Mixed Bags” section this season as I was three months ago, but just thinking about how the plot sagged around the middle and rushed towards its ending leaves me frustrated. Unlike JELEE itself, Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night feels like less than the sum of its parts. This show feels like an unfinished jigsaw puzzle; what you can make out of the image is gorgeous, yet not only was it never completed, but someone clearly put a few of the pieces together wrong as well. There are plenty of themes in the story and character writing that could have blossomed into something amazing, like impostor syndrome, finding community and identity through fandom, young sapphic love, gender identity, and so many more, and it may have been possible to resolve at least a couple of these in 12 episodes, but Jellyfish seemed either incapable of or uninterested in actually getting there beyond a few vague overtures.

I know I sound harsh here and I didn’t mean for this review to be mostly complaints; I did very much like this show, but I wanted so badly to love it. And it probably isn’t entirely fair of me to grade this show based on what it could have been instead of what it is, but so much was plainly left on the table that I’m not really left with another choice. I still recommend it much more strongly than anything else I've put in the Mixed Bags section so far this year, but be forewarned that you may be let down. This is a pretty goddamn good anime that could’ve been pretty goddamn incredible, but it just couldn’t get there.

Mysterious Disappearances

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I know what I’m about. If a new series rotates around a protagonist who looks like that, I’ll at least give it an episode or two.

Sumireko is a former child-prodigy novelist, now in her late 20s working at a bookstore with the sharp-tongued Ren, as she continues to fail at getting published again. On the eve of her 28th birthday, Sumireko accidentally takes home a book that was droplifted in the store, and shortly after reading it aloud she finds herself reverted into the body of a child. Suddenly struck by inspiration once again, she disappears from work for the next week, furiously typing away at her next novel. Ren manages to find her and tells her that she’s under a curse: The book is an otherworldly object known as a Curiosity, and its power can be deadly to those who use it. Though Sumireko is desperate to hang on to her newly-regained youth, Ren manages to smooth-talk her into changing back and handing over the book. Now aware of an extradimensional threat to daily life, Sumireko teams up with Ren and his little sister Oto to track down and neutralize more Curiosities before they cause widespread havoc.

This series is alright, if questionable in a lot of areas. I recognize that I’m not entirely the target audience; while I love a good supernatural mystery, each of these Curiosities is rooted in East Asian mythology and contemporary urban legends, very few of which I was familiar with going in. To those on that side of the world (or to Westerners with that specific special interest), I’m sure it hits different, but I got lost on a couple of occasions. Mysterious Disappearances also runs into the same pacing issues that I found with The Witch and the Beast last season, where the plot structure is effectively episodic, but each mystery can last a few episodes at a time, so if you’re not particularly invested in the subject at hand, you’re SOL for another week or two.

This show also just plain doesn’t look very good. The animation is nothing impressive and there’s something off-putting about the overall look that I can’t quite put my finger on. It looks retro in ways that probably weren’t intentional, like a 20-year-old digipaint anime that was upscaled from 480p. The audio element is great, at least; the music, sound design, and cast are all fantastic (between her turn as Sumireko in this one and her supporting roles in Reincarnated as the 7th Prince and Kaiju No. 8, Fairouz Ai has put in great work this season), and that’s a good thing because this one isn’t a looker.

If you couldn’t already tell from how the main character looks, Mysterious Disappearances is undoubtedly horny as hell, but often distractingly so. I do have to praise Sumireko’s design to an extent; for a large-chested anime lady, she at least hews closer to how a tall woman with somewhat appropriately large breasts would actually be built and how her clothes would actually fit. She looks like a more realistically-proportioned Nami. There’s no shortage of anime characters with gigantic boobs, but few that make me actually go “oh, this woman definitely has back problems.” There are a lot of slow-tilting shots up female characters’ legs towards their chests to the point where I tuned the dialogue out because I couldn’t believe they just kept on doing it. I skimmed through the manga, and though there is far more semi-gratuitous nudity as compared to the anime, I still somehow found the latter much more distracting with its attempts at fanservice. I also don’t really care for how the “camera” looks at Oto and her middle school classmates either; I found myself just getting nervous whenever a scene focused on them.

For its problems, there’s at least a series of solid emotional cores here. Similar to Sumireko’s desire to regain her youthful creativity, the wielders-slash-victims of these Curiosities are largely vulnerable individuals who are trying to make the best of their lives in spite of past traumas like bullying, neglect, and disability. All serious issues, no doubt, and the story tries to handle them as well as possible, but once you see through the pattern of “awful thing is happening, we get to know the character, then we learn their tragic backstory and there’s a tearful resolution while we move closer to advancing the overall plot,” it can feel a little cloying in the long run. Not that those resolutions can’t be potent; I really liked the endings of the stories of the missing hairdresser and the rogue VTuber, but as a plot formula it can ring hollow.

Mysterious Disappearances is a fine if unspectacular series of supernatural mysteries with an okay overarching plot, and your mileage may vary depending on your existing knowledge of East Asian occult and superstition. It’s also not that fun to actually look at, even if you happen to be into tall redheads with huge racks. Uh, not that I would know.

The Gems

Girls Band Cry

When Bocchi the Rock! made its unexpectedly earth-shattering landfall a couple years ago, it was inundated with a deluge of comparisons to the previous landmark girls-in-a-band anime, K-On!. It felt a bit trite at the time, and feels even more so in retrospect; each show is its own thing and they both stand on their own merits. And now here’s my dumb ass, reviewing a new girls-in-a-band anime, desperately trying not to compare it to Bocchi.

It’s really not a fair comparison either way; the focus being on an all-girls rock band is really the only thing they have in common. Rather than Hitori “Bocchi” Gotoh, a perpetually-anxious recluse looking to join a band so she won’t have to get a real job after high school, we have Nina Iseri, who is… difficult. Nina has just moved to Tokyo after running away from home, but her train arrived too late for her to get her apartment key, and to make matters worse, her phone’s dead. While charging at a local coffee shop, she finds out that Momoka, the now-former frontwoman of her favorite band, is playing on a nearby street. After some ups and downs, they decide to form a band together, and butt heads more than a couple times.

Along the way, they recruit more members, each with their own issues: Subaru, the drummer, is struggling with the expectations placed on her by her grandmother to become an actress, Tomo, the keyboardist, is exacting and a little too opinionated to keep a steady role in a band, and Rupa, the bassist, is a soft-spoken foreigner who remains a cheerful enigma despite losing her parents. And Nina and Momoka are both flat-out stubborn in ways that do not mesh well with one another. There are a lot of yelling matches and many angry tears shed as the band Togenashi Togeari comes together: yes, the “Cry” in the title isn’t just for style points.

I will say that it’s refreshing that Girls Band Cry does not sugarcoat what an absolute pain in the ass Nina can be when she’s dug in: She ran away from home because she’s utterly convinced of her own righteousness, and it’s your damn problem if you think otherwise. She is avoidant and oppositional-defiant, and everyone else just has to deal with it. She may not pick her hills well, but by God will she die on them. Props for having a protagonist this openly messy and unpleasant. Plenty of musicians, or really anyone working in a group for that matter, can be abrasive and stubborn, and TogeToge’s growing pains are a necessary element of their development as a band. 

I know the bar isn’t very high for 3D computer-generated anime when it doesn’t come from Studio Orange, but this is easily one of the best-looking 3DCG anime I’ve ever seen. Between this and Trigun Stampede, I’m blown away at how expressive characters can be in CG, and how they react to what’s around them in real-time more consistently than you’d see in most 2D animation. Speaking of which, Girls Band Cry isn’t entirely in 3D; much of the OP as well as several flashbacks and background characters are hand-drawn, and they look so goddamn good that I’m almost left wondering what could’ve been. Not that I’m disappointed in the slightest; when the 3D animation hits, it REALLY hits in gorgeous synaesthetic waves that so perfectly depict an intersection of sound, light, and emotion. Hell, even the transition cards are huge eye catchers. Not everything looks brilliant all the time; the pets in particular are uncannily low-res and almost look like they got plucked out of KamiKatsu.

Of course, this is a band show, so the audio element has to be on point as well, and I’d say Girls Band Cry is up to snuff. The anime is part of a larger multimedia project, and the entire main cast consists of audition winners performing under mononyms, and they knock it out of the damn park; they’re pretty goddamn great for supposed newcomers. The music is a blast as well, not just in performance scenes but in the background as well. Togenashi Togeari already existed in the zeitgeist as a virtual band before this show went to air, so they already had a small discography out there before the show went to air and I’m looking forward to digging into it.

Infamously, this show isn’t particularly easy to watch. Not in the thematic sense, but literally: You cannot legally watch it in English anywhere in the West. Despite its popularity, Girls Band Cry was never picked up by any Anglosphere-based streaming platforms, for whatever reason, and the only official English subtitles out there are from an Indonesian streamer. So, much like the days of VHS trading and the early internet, we’re forced to rely on community translations. Far be it from me to encourage piracy (lol), but if you can find a good fansub, Girls Band Cry is very much worth your while. Pinkies up, motherfuckers.

Kaiju No. 8

I don’t watch Demon Slayer or My Hero Academia, so this was my designated Shonen Jump action show of the season, and it came with a ton of buzz: The way I see it, if I can pick up a volume of the manga at Target, the inevitable anime adaptation is gonna be a big deal. I’ve not read Kaiju No. 8 yet, but I’d say the anime lives up to a good amount of the hype.

Japan has had to handle a constant threat of kaiju for many decades now, and as a child the way-too-aptly-named Kafka Hibino made a promise to his best friend Mina that they would both grow up to lead the Japan Anti-Kaiju Defense Force in charge of eliminating the threat. A couple decades later, she’s a national hero as a captain in the Force, while Kafka is in the private sector at age 32, cleaning up the enormous corpses and viscera Mina and her division leave behind. He hasn’t given up on his dreams, by any stretch; Kafka has failed every single enlistment application he’s submitted since he came of age, but he just keeps on trying.

Kafka and his work kohai, the upstart JAKDF hopeful Reno, manage to survive a kaiju attack at the end of a shift with minor injuries, but when they’re in the hospital, a potato-sized flying kaiju shoves itself down Kafka’s throat, causing him to transform into a kaiju. Fortunately, he’s able to change back to his human form just in time to pass the first round of Defense Force exams, with Reno warning him not to let anyone in on his secret during practical exams.

Kafka is pathetically weak in his human form and is repeatedly shown up by the daughter of the Defense Force’s director general, the young hotshot Kikoru (Fairouz Ai once again), but he manages to save her life when a training exercise goes haywire and forces him to transform and share his secret with her. Reno and Kikoru get in, no problem, while Kafka manages to squeak in as a cadet. Of course, without exposing his little-big kaiju secret, Kafka can’t do much to help in terms of actual combat, but he does frequently act as an unofficial tactician in directing his squadmates on the battlefield and, in a very smart writing decision, applying his professional knowledge of kaiju anatomy to help them identify and target weaknesses. 

And from there we get a whole lot of early military training and bonding, and not just with Kafka, Reno, Kikoru, and their division’s vice-commander, the giggly Hoshina: There’s also, uh, Man-Bun! And Muscles! And Shark Teeth! And the Token Women! You know, those guys. Yeah, this is ostensibly an ensemble cast, as any good battle shonen should be, but I really didn’t get much from anyone outside the main few characters other than identifying features. I’m sure we’ll get more out of them in subsequent seasons but I have little to work off of right now.

The main three are great, though: Kafka definitely has shonen protag brain even at his age, but he’s still necessary representation for schlubby guys in their 30s who still have hopes and dreams (we exist and our stories matter), and for as serious and focused as Reno likes to think he is, he makes a great tsukkomi whenever Kafka starts acting up. Kikoru is already an icon as well; she’s basically Asuka Langley Sohryu for the zoomer generation. I feel a little weird about the fact that she’s literally half Kafka’s age and still acts kinda tsundere around him, but this is a shonen at the end of the day.

I have some small nagging issues with the story here and there, but nothing that outright ruins the show for me. Like plenty of others, I’m far more fascinated with the ins and outs of how Japanese society adapted to living with kaiju threats outside of just military preparation and response; Kafka’s initial job in kaiju cleanup was actually really neat and I’d have loved it just as much (and possibly more) if the series had just focused on that. I want some damn world building! I also am not crazy about the focus on the Defense Force’s powerscaling in the form of “Unleashed Combat Power,” but I also just plain don’t care about powerscaling to begin with. Wasn’t the entire point of power levels in Dragon Ball Z that it’s pointless to define someone’s fighting spirit by a number? Maybe they drop it later.

This show looks pretty darn good! Production IG clearly put its A-team on this one; the character animation is cartoonishly bouncy and expressive in ways we rarely see outside of Trigger productions, and the big-ass kaiju are all mercifully in outstanding 2D (though I wouldn’t complain about CG; the OP is entirely in 3D and looks exceptional). The silliness of the animation really came through in one of the funniest scenes in any anime I watched this season. Some of the textures can look a little distractingly muddy at times, but hey, these are big ugly monsters we’re looking at. Make those bastards ugly.

On a certain level, I can appreciate the effort put into this show to try to make it a crossover success; the manga is popular and kaiju films remain one of Japan’s greatest cultural exports. Streaming new episodes on the fetid corpse of Twitter was certainly a decision. I can also appreciate wanting to load up the soundtrack with popular Western artists; my problem is that they went with acts I actively avoid like YUNGBLUD (with writing by Imagine Dragons!) and OneRepublic. Suffice to say, I don’t care for the OP and ED on a musical level, but I know that I’m coming at this with a conscious bias. I’m sure they’re hits over in Japan, and for all I know there are music fans over there with the same tastes and disposition as me who think that some Japanese acts I learned about through anime like, say, Bump of Chicken or Queen Bee, are “coworker music” or whatever. I’ll live.

Kaiju No. 8, at the end of the day, is another battle shonen with guns and big monsters, but sometimes that’s all you need. I’ll be coming back for the next season.

Train to the End of the World

Spring 2024 was a banner season for girls anime. From the veteran director/writer duo that gave us cult hits like Squid Girl, Shirobako, and Prison School (and individual credits on a laundry list of classic and cult-favorite anime across the board) comes an original anime that’s not quite Cute Girls Doing Cute Things, nor Cute Girls Doing Amazing Things, but Cute Girls Being Fucking Weirdos in a Weird World.

7G technology has arrived in Japan and immediately wreaked unknowable chaos. Geography, flora, and fauna have all warped beyond recognition, and in the town of Agano, every human above a certain age has become a talking animal. Shizuru, a still-human high school girl, has been looking for her best friend Youka ever since they got in a fight two years ago and the latter ran off, just before the 7G cataclysm. She finds out that Youka has been spotted in Ikebukuro, and with the help of a babbling train conductor who managed to briefly turn lucid, learns to operate a two-car commuter train to get the hell out of dodge. Just before Shizuru leaves, train stocked with Agano’s famous goya melons, she’s joined by her classmates: The soft-spoken Nadeko, the temperamental bookworm Akira, and the rambunctious gyaru Reimi. Youka’s dog, Pochi, also joins for morale purposes. Along the way, they see just how warped Japan has become, with locals in the various towns ranging from mushroom people to zombies to Lilliputians to characters from their favorite anime, and more.

Try as I might, a summary does not do Train to the End of the World justice; this show is as offbeat as offbeat gets. It makes no bones about how flat-out weird it wants to get and actively revels in it. It’s not really interested in making the girls into a new generation of moe icons either; they are unabashed weirdos, in the ways that really only high school girls can be, and they handle the bizarre situations foisted upon them in similar fashion. They get into arguments about dumb shit, hurl insults at strangers, and occasionally just talk about poop. The writing in this series is fascinating, and it really shouldn’t come as a surprise coming from someone who also has script-writing credits for classics like Cowboy Bebop and Ranma ½ on her resume. The dialogue is punchy and comes at a breakneck pace in ways that you really only get in original anime like ODDTAXI.

Train to the End of the World is an incredible dichotomy unto itself because it clearly comes from a very literate way of thinking but has a blast being really goddamn stupid sometimes, in the best ways. It draws on a lot of inspirations of the epics of yore, gleefully cites the western literary canon, and ponders the future of the human race, and then has the girls negotiate their release from a Gulliver’s Travels situation by threatening to flood a park with urine. It is at once Homer and Homer Simpson. This show is funny in ways that are hard to articulate; comedy is so intrinsic to the show that it only has so many laugh-out-loud moments, but much more often I found myself shaking my head and remarking “this show is fucking hilarious.”

As a complete story, Train to the End of the World isn’t exactly generation-defining, but that’s perfectly fine. It’s an experience more than anything. It has really nice character moments and some heartwarming stuff in there, but I was mostly there for the weird shit. The ending was just okay, but I didn’t feel any poorer for having seen it; I’ll dive right into the cliche and say that it wasn’t about the destination but rather the journey. I had an absolute blast for the whole ride.

Now that I’ve made you read all of this, I’m going to go ahead and admit that I haven’t seen Squid Girl, Shirobako, or Prison School, but I kind of have to now, because I was bowled over by this show. This series revels in surrealism, so your mileage may vary, but it’s at the very least worth checking out. It may not have a lasting impact outside of some similar cult favoritism, but this was still my personal favorite new anime of the season.

Wind Breaker

A few weeks into the Spring season I felt like I was missing something. I gave Wind Breaker a shot and I realized about halfway into the first episode that what I was missing was just some dope-ass fisticuffs.

Haruka is a bit of a delinquent. His hair and eyes are heterochromic, and because he’s judged so harshly for his looks, he decided to lean into it and become the nogoodnik everyone thinks he is. He’s moved to a new town to join the local high school Furin, where he hears he’ll have to fight his way to the top, but as soon as he arrives in town he sees a young woman being harassed by a group of creeps. He takes them out on his own and in return receives a free lunch from the cafe she runs despite his protestations. After she teases him more than a little (his ass is NOT used to positive attention), the creeps return with more goons in tow, and Haruka is backed up by his new classmates. To his surprise, the locals shower the Furin boys with praise, and he then learns that Furin’s gang, Bofurin, exists solely to protect the town from outside threats. And Haruka thinks that is the coolest shit ever.

From there, Haruka gets to meet more of the Bofurin boys, and because of his standoffish personality, rebuffs their praises from the fight. Again, his ass is NOT used to positive attention. We get to learn the hierarchy of Bofurin, and it’s not exactly as Haruka expected: This is not a might-makes-right dogpile at all; it is a structured organization that protects its own and puts its community first. Soon enough, though, they happen upon one of their middle schoolers being hassled by a neighboring gang, and they organize a tournament on hostile ground to resolve their differences.

I am an absolute goddamn sucker for the “delinquent with a heart of gold” archetype, and Haruka is just a big ol’ tsundere from the opening minutes, so Wind Breaker hit like fucking catnip for me. For a show about gangs of delinquents, this could actually be a good example of positive masculinity if you look at it in a certain light. It’s very heavy-handed with the message that nobody can achieve greatness on their own and that surrounding yourself with the right people can change your life for the better. It’s not a rare theme in Japanese media by any means (it’s a central theme of the Persona series as well as another ultra-popular shonen series I’ve been reading in secret), but I really appreciate it being delivered through the lens of channeling brute strength and fighting prowess specifically to protect the vulnerable.  

At the end of the day, though, it’s really just about guys bein’ dudes.

The production values on this are phenomenal and I have to commend CloverWorks for turning in yet another banger. The cast is deep and plenty talented (there’s a lot of Jujutsu Kaisen in there, and it should surprise nobody that the goofy, silver-haired leader of Bofurin is voiced by Yuichi Nakamura). The animation, shot composition, fight choreography, and lighting effects are all absolutely gorgeous, and it’s clear that they see this as a potential franchise. At least, I would certainly hope so, because what we actually got from the first season left me a little hungry. The tournament arc was juicy, and it went a lot longer toward introducing the ensemble cast than the two other action shows I just talked about, but it lasted about an episode too long for a 13-episode season, and the ending came at an awkward time. I was left wanting, but what I want is a second season, so I guess it did its job.

The issues with pacing and the weirdly-timed ending meant that Wind Breaker was a bit of a fence case for me between this section and the last, but my memories of watching it are almost uniformly positive, so into The Gems it goes. This show rocks. Dudes rock.

[becauseimanicequeen]

(I'm writing this after painting for almost 9 hours, so it might not make sense, lol, but here goes...)

Reading some thoughts/theories about My Stand-In the past couple of days has been equally entertaining and frustrating.

Some made me laugh because they matched my usual delulu theories (and I love delulu theories). (The whole reason I started my tumblr almost 5 months ago was because I wanted a space to share my delulu theories on DFF, lol.)

But, some of them were just... No. No. Fuck no!

And I'm writing this as someone who was raised on soap operas, Days of Our Lives in particular (which is weird because I'm not even American). Characters being kidnapped, possessed, dying and coming back to life is just a normal Tuesday for me. And I've mentioned earlier that I won't mind ridiculous shit happening in My Stand-In for this reason.

But...

If it turns out that Joe steps out into the light and magically travels back in time to a moment before Joe 1.0's accident so he can stop that from happening... I will riot.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure they won't do this (even though I've been wrong about story progressions before).

But if they do, it will completely erase all of Ming's progress. Even though I know how fucking painful it can be to lose people you love (and add his guilt for being a part of Joe's untimely demise the first time on top of that), that was a big part of why he was so willing to sacrifice everything for Joe this time when he got a second chance.

(Yes, Ming is still a brat and all that, but it doesn't change the fact that he also gave up his anonymity/privacy to make sure Joe would find him, put up boundaries Tong wasn't allowed to cross, made an effort to be with Joe which Joe also noted was different, blackmailed Tong and his own family to be with Joe, was ready to trade places with Joe in the latest kidnapping, etc. All of that is progress.)

Sure, My Stand-In isn't really about Ming. It's more about Joe. But the same goes for him.

Stepping into the bright light (which is often a symbol of death/near-death experiences, even though the Master said it would break a cycle, so it might not even mean that he will pass on) to end his suffering doesn't feel like the choice the character I've seen in 11 episodes would make.

Joe will come back because, to me, he does the right thing rather than what's easy. If he's convinced it's the right thing to do, he does it (sometimes without thinking). He's shown it several times throughout the series (he even helped Tong, of all people, in ep. 11 because he knows what it's like to grow up without parents and didn't want the same for Tong and May's child).

Furthermore, there is no way Joe will leave when he still has unfinished business (especially with Joe 2.0's mom).

(I mean, come on, she's had a huge fight with her son twice now. Both times right before he was hospitalized. Cut her some slack!)

Having Joe travel back in time will fall flat for me, even if he decides to seek out Joe 2.0's mom and help her care for her son.

Again, I fortunately don't think this is the way they're going with the show. Instead, I think something will stop Joe before he walks out through those doors and steps into the light.

He might hear something (possibly Ming), he might see something (perhaps the flashbacks they included in the teaser for ep. 12), or he might just change his mind because he realizes he still has unfinished business (and love for Ming) and chooses life.

Or, he steps into the light (to break the cycle), but instead of passing on, he sees everything that happened after his first accident, realizes he's no longer a stand-in (at least in Ming's eyes), and is then faced with the choice to wake up from his coma or not.

Either way, I need Joe to choose. And I need him to choose life. Because he's coming back in one way or another. Of that, I'm sure.

(Just don't make him travel back in time. Pretty please, don't do this to me, lol.)

[steamberrystudio]

do you have plans for any future games after gilded shadows?

Hello! I have been working on a side project for over a year - which will be the next project to go public after Gilded Shadows finishes later this year.

I actually have a huge list of projects in Plottr, all of which are in some stage of planning.

However, the project I will be focusing on after Gilded Shadows is called When Stars Collide. It's another science fiction project, but is quite different to GS since it's more of a space opera that takes place largely on a star ship and the MC becomes a member of the crew.

I work on this project exclusively late at night (usually after 10PM, being the night owl that I am) and weekends. So even though I've been working on it for over a year, it's not really that far along. I've done some sprites, some UI work, and have written a fair amount of it. But the writing is definitely less than half complete for sure at this point.

Here are a few screen caps from some coded content that I put in the game to test out sprite stuff.

So yes - I do have plans for future games. Multiple. But When Stars Collide is, at this point, the one I'll be focusing on after I get Gilded Shadows complete.

I am still months out from finishing Gilded Shadows as I still have to finish Reuben's route and, of course, Yuu's route. So until then WSC will remain my "after hours" project that gets worked on a couple of times a week at weird hours!

After WSC, I want to get back into writing some fantasy content though! I have a couple of cool fantasy ideas I'm really looking forward to working on!

[phoenixtakaramono]

Writer Tag

Thanks for the tag, @deliciouskeys! (You can read their version here!)

I tag: @fuckingpajamas, @bebop-and-oysters, @plasticfangtastic, @officially-tilly, and/or anyone who's a writer that I've forgotten to tag here and wants to participate! <3 And, ofc, no pressure, especially if you've already done this before or don't want to!

How many works do you have on AO3?

12 apparently if you count series as part of "works." Excluding series however, I only consider 6 of them as my "main fics" (actual long fic works I'm proud of and will still be working on).

What's your total AO3 word count?

...642,283 words as of 3/2/24. *eyes it* Considering all my works are either slowburns and/or long fics, and there are a couple butchlander threadfics I haven’t gotten around into turning into AO3 long fics yet, that word count is only going to get even longer.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

As of 2024

The Untold Tale (3.8K kudos, SVSSS) Green and Gold (1.3K kudos, Harry Potter & InuYasha) Finders Keepers (574 kudos, TFTBL & Borderlands) A Prince and His Baron (548 kudos, Helluva Boss & Hazbin Hotel) Truce (521 kudos, The Boys (TV))

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! (*´∇｀*) However I do have a peculiar method when it comes to picking and choosing which comments I prioritize replying to first. It depends on various circumstances my whim and if I recognize the comment from one of my regulars. It’s also heavily impacted by the timing of when I see it. As a multifandom and multiwork writer, I become hyper-focused immersing myself in the one fandom of whichever WIP I’m currently working on, intentionally put blinders on to keep myself focused. For example, if I’m currently in the process of writing TUT, I will mostly only respond to comments related to it; if I’m working on TNotG, I mostly only respond to unread TNotG comments—or, since I have multiple works in that fandom, I will respond to unread comments for another WIP as long as it’s the same fandom. Idk how to describe it 🤷🏻‍♀️ but this process of quarantining myself in a fandom one at a time works for me.

At the very least before the new chapter is updated for a work, I’m pretty good at getting to and responding to every comment remaining which I haven’t been able to get to yet—whether it’s answering questions or thanking my readers for taking the time to read the fic. ♥️

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Finders Keepers. Out of all my works, it's the only one with a bittersweet ending. It's the only one of my WIPs literally tagged Major Character Death. Our Male Lead gets to finally be the hero he'd always wanted to be (literally saving the world from a AI robot takeover)—and have his heroism acknowledged by everyone in the planetary system. He'd mended bridges with his daughter. And he was able to get the love of his life back, robot or no robot. It's a story about Handsome Jack's character development and, at the end of the journey, a hero's ultimate sacrifice would've completed his arc as the main character. The blow is softened a tad because he gets to perish holding hands with the corpse of the young, brilliant scientist whom the android's personality is based off of. The android he'd fallen in love with and had staged this whole dramatic end-of-the-world rescue mission for would've been desperately kissed (their last kiss) before being shoved into a space shuttle, and be given his last order by his beloved master to raise his daughter in her father's absence. It's a very human painful story I'd wanted to tell, haha. I'd wanted to try telling a poignant Shakespearean tragedy, but make it space opera.

What’s the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Technically they’re all Happy Endings so I consider the main six all tied in that aspect. I’m a big weepy baby when it comes to fictional romances and the main characters’ conflicts with other characters, so I feel I ought to reward them at the end for all the pain and suffering we’ve put them through, haha. I enjoy satisfying Happy Endings with a hint of an open-ended future where the reader can imagine the possibilities themselves and their journey in that universe even after the story is concluded.

Do you write crossovers?

Yes. It's the one fic I wrote back in 2014 that made me decide a couple years later to create an AO3 account for it, because I originally had the intention to make the fanfiction(dot)net version S/F/W and for AO3 to be the N/S/F/W version. ...The pairing might seem strange, but trust me, that Sesshomaru/Harry Potter fic of mine? Every writer has their breakout fic; Green and Gold was mine. I'm always so surprised whenever couple of my readers and even my writer friends, all from other fandoms, tell me they knew me from having read G&G.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Two separate times. One person on fanfiction(dot)net took a friendly fight in G&G a lil too seriously and, outraged that I did not make the story's romantic leads fight to the death instead of the friendly duel in the story, they wrote at the end of their review: "I just think you suck at writing action.” Whereby, after seeing that comment, outta spite, I definitely made sure to include action scenes in almost all my works from then on. :) If you're that anon, so sorry that you'll have to read this writer's poor action sequences.

Another anon had a strange hate b*ner for Hermione as a character and wanted Ron to divorce her in my story, and then went on to pretend to be three different anons circle-jerking each other about how they agreed with the OP after I'd politely informed him "no, a divorce for these secondary characters isn't something I plan on writing in this story." And then they had the gall to tell me, "well, if you think that way, I think marriage's just not for you," lmaooooo. I have a thick skin so I wouldn't necessarily call these instances "hate" though. "Reader entitlement"/ "backseat writing" is more apt. I don’t like being told what to do—especially when it’s a free fic that I’m writing on my free time; it’s not like you’re paying me to write it. Us writers know our own fics like the back of our hand so if we tell you something ain’t happening, why continue to argue with and try to influence the writer? You might as well write your own fics while at it. These two instances though were memorable for how hilarious they were and I always joke about them as humorous can-you-believe-an-actual-human-being-wrote-this anecdotes to my friends.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I am beholden to whatever the story demands of me. But generally speaking, unless it’s a creative choice to use euphemisms to adhere to censorship guidelines I am looking at you, Twitter, for sh@dowb@nning me for my Sugar Daddy AU threadfic (I have made my peace with the fact I am forever Search Suggestion B@nned there) or I feel it’d be more genre appropriate to use flowery language to suggest something spicy’s happening before fading to black, I am 99.99% of the time quite explicit when it comes to the graphic details. At the very least, my claim to fame is a male client I know irl has read two of my smut threadfics (the butchlander Fix-It AU threadfic and the Sugar Daddy AU threadfic) and told me it’s made him question his sexuality, ahhh.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

...Art, yes (I always see my art reuploaded on Pinterest, annoyingly enough...and there's one time I saw my art reposted on someone else's Loona RP-centric Twitter account as their status update...mind you, if I see my art reuploaded, it's an instant block from me). Fic...no? I sure hope not. I would be incredibly ticked off if I find out someone has. I will say, though, awhile back, I'd noticed someone had posted G&G to a Czech (?) or Slavic-language site—but they'd linked back and credited me as the author so I didn't make a fuss. I tried searching for it again recently on Google Search (I remember the site page was a lilac color), but it doesn't pop up now. :/ I think either they removed it or the site went down.

Now with AI being a genuine threat to creatives, instead of locking my fics, my workaround was coding my more popular AO3 works following a workskin tutorial as a preventative countermeasure to prevent users from selecting the text; this way it's one additional step they'd have to take to feed my fics into their AI machines so hopefully it acts as a deterrent. It's the reason why you can't highlight, copy & paste the text in TUT, Truce, TNotG, G&G, P&B, and FK (I know this also makes it harder for some of you who want to highlight specific passages to me down in the Comments section, many apologies to my lovely readers 🙏).

Have you ever had a fic translated?

If someone actually does take on the herculean feat of translating any one of my long fics from English into a foreign language, godspeed, soldier. I know it's a lot. I also know, based on past feedback, that my writing style would be exceptionally difficult to translate.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Technically, yes. But to be honest, Evocation was more of a BnHA RP between me and my writing friend that we'd edited and turned into fic format for anyone who wanted to read a religious human/ demon ShigaDabi fic. And he very much excels at writing horror. I wasn't into the BnHA fandom but my friend was, so I'd read up to a certain arc of the manga to understand the appeal and be able to RP Dabi for him. And that's how Evocation exists. There's a lot more exciting content we did not publish yet, but considering this was a co-written fic between us and we'd both moved onto different interests by now, I'm not comfortable continuing it without him so I do not foresee this fic will be updated.

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Almost all my AO3 fics are about my favorite ships, hahaha. As of 2024, I'd say it's probably Butchlander, Tomarry, Bingyuan, Bingqiu, Stolitz, and Chaggie. Of these, Tomarry (mind you, it has to be TMRHP aka Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr/ Harry Potter and not LVHP) is probably the one ship that's persisted the longest of these I'd listed (your girl liked it ever since high school and while I haven't read any in the recent years, I still like it for nostalgia purposes).

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I put these under the status of "Temporary Hiatus" because my intention is to always come back and see if people are still interested to see me continue. It's these two: Green and Gold (Sesshomaru/HP, timetravel fantasy romance), and Finders Keepers (Rhack, sci-fi android/human romance). G&G is put here because this was originally written between my high school (secondary school) and my university years, so this is like baby Phoenix writing. FK is here only because I think the fandom is dead so if I were to continue it, I don't think there's an audience, ahhh. Of these two stories, I think G&G has a higher chance of being continued because we're already 16 chapters in and I do not think the HP fandom is gonna die anytime soon. And it is one of my more popular fics. It's possible I might continue FK because this was my first experimental foray into the sci-fi genre, so it's more of a writing exercise for me to experiment and practice with the genre.

What are your writing strengths?

Worldbuilding. Vibrant descriptions and characterizations. I've heard my stories are descriptive enough that readers can see an "inner cinema" inside their head as they're reading it, and I think that's super neat. :) A secret writing strength I joke about having is writing spicy scenes. But because all my main works on AO3 are slowburns, almost no one knows about it yet, haha (the only exclusion is if you've read my Twitter threadfics or A Prince and His Baron).

What are your writing weaknesses?

Redundancy and editing down. My g*d, I'm really bad at paring down; you're looking at a writer who'd written 103+ pages once for a PWP chapter. And that was after I'd reduced the original earlier draft down to the bare necessities. And, mind you, I write in Arial, font size 9 on Google Docs before I upload to AO3. As for redundancy, sometimes I need it as a creative choice to emphasize something important for the readers but, most of the time, it takes me several passes through the drafts before I realize where I've repeated myself—and will thusly delete any unnecessary redundant sentences or scenes I manage to catch.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Nowadays I will still do it if it's a short one or two words, but I would only use it to highlight a character's linguistic quirk. But for longer sentences, it depends on the necessity of it in a story (for example, if I need to showcase a duck-out-of-water situation or it's a private conversation in a foreign language spoken between characters for secrecy reasons). Chances are though that I won't write entire dialogues in a foreign language if I do not have someone in my immediate circle to help me translate the sentences and/or I cannot use a specific phrase in a language that I know has been 100% verified online by the online community to be grammatically correct, because it's one of the first things that can immediately take a reader out of the immersion if they eff up the phrase or grammar.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

...I'm too lazy to try to log into my old fanfiction(dot)net account to check, but I believe my first fandom I'd written for was either Yu-Gi-Oh or Black Cat.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Mmm...probably Chaggie (Charlie/Vaggie). I haven't written a sapphic wlw couple in my own works yet (since the main couple are mlm), but I am a bibliophile irl who very much also enjoys reading the sapphic baihe genre with my danmeis. So it'd be a shame if I didn't expand my horizons. But six works is a lot on my plate, as well as my unfinished Twitter long threadfics. As an experiment though, I had written a brief 25-tweet Chaggie threadfic when S1 aired—and found I very much enjoy writing about these two characters. So I'd be very interested to eventually write Chaggie in P&B, when they finally show up as supporting characters to Stolas and Blitzo.

What's your favorite fic you've written?

The Untold Tale. That's gotta be it, hands-down, because it's a rare opportunity for me, as the writer, to write something about my own culture. It's meta humor/ satire buried beneath an authentic story about romance, and it's a love letter to SVSSS as well as small cultural Easter Eggs to the Chinese culture and TV C-drama clichés and even a couple C-novel tropes I want to introduce to my readers for funsies. I just have a lot of fun writing TUT because I get to be sneakily meta whilst being flowery with the prose. If people want to ask me what my best writing is in my writing portfolio, I'd direct them over to TUT.

Green and Gold, for being the foundational rockbed which made me fall in love with writing. Because without G&G, its younger siblings (my other WIPs listed above) you see today would not have existed on AO3. It's a crackship that's treated seriously in the fic itself with a lot of heart and my youthful writing vigor, haha—and I think that's why it's still read by people today despite its crazy premise.

Truce, however, is my personal favorite among my most recent works. It might be a 4-chaptered PWP + epilogue oneshot but, my god, it's become a whole-ass novel. I think it's very reflective of my true writing style though, without the atmospheric and stylistic C-novelesque writing style that TUT is trying to emulate, especially because Truce takes place in a modern setting and I'm not trying to be intentionally fancy with it writing purple prose.

[mydemonsdrivealimo]

Idk if you've talked about it before but what's Ethan and Jensen relationship like in your HC?

i really havent talked about it ngl (aka this is going to be long af)

jensen respects ethans professional opinions, but i think some of that started to fade when he came to edenbrook and actually got to work with him. his sour demeanor towards colleagues, the occasional outbursts about work, the clear favoritism in the competition—jensen didnt appreciate any of it. they're already working in one of the most stressful careers out there, and ethans inability to work with the majority of his colleagues was a big problem for jensen. even though the favoritism was towards jensen, that was another thing that he felt had no place in a professional space. there were good moments, yes, but ethan was the definition of Too Much for jensen.

listen, jensen isnt a ray of sunshine either, but he tries, especially in the beginning. yes, interns are interns, but most of them are still trying their best under a lot of pressure. jensen wouldnt ask to give them a pass, of course, but a little compassion goes a long way. he would never tell ethan to change—its none of his business, frankly—but keeping the unnecessarily annoyed and bothered comments to himself would be appreciated (theres a big difference between thinking something and saying it).

jensens job wasnt to make him pleasant, personable, or likable for his colleagues, and it never will be. ethan was cold, obnoxious, and honestly pretty rude in the beginning, to the point where jensen never wanted to get to know him better. sure, he could get through a day of work with him, but he needed time outside of it to find him tolerable for the next. he never expected him to become nice overnight, but for someone so smart, he would think he'd know better, more conducive ways to turning out good doctors.

also, on a more personal level, jensen couldnt relate to him in any way. ethans hobbies are coffee and the opera, neither of which jensen is interested in nor are they casual/cheap things available to people living on a budget. jensen grew up with the least amount of money you can, and was damn lucky to even get to college or all the way through high school, and ethans lifestyle in no way leaves room for that. if they wouldve talked more im sure they couldve related on some level with ethans mom leaving, but both of their stubbornness put together was never going to let that happen.

on some level, ethan also made jensen uncomfortable with that. i cant think of a time throughout the books where jensen ever wouldve felt safe talking to ethan about how he grew up. maybe a vague couple comments when ethans mom came around, but not the extent of true, valuable details. another piece of my hc is that, during the competition when landry was sabotaging mc, he dragged up a few articles from when jensen was arrested when he was younger and sent them to ethan. ethan showed them to harper and they called jensen in to practically interrogate him about it and why he "hid them" in his application. they didnt bother looking into it more than that where they wouldve seen that it had been sealed. it put jensen off severly because they immediately assumed the worst of him.

some of its jensens fault, some of its ethans, but either way they never click as well as many mcs do. i actually think ethan really liked jensen once he got over the initial mistrust just from him being an intern, but by then he had already spoiled any chance at them being friends. (i havent really decided if ethan was ever romantically interested in jensen, but im not ruling it out)

[witch-apologist]

I havent even SEEN The Phantom of the Opera (yes i know shame on me, shame on my cow) or Love Never Dies

HOWEVER

I could write a better "Christine ends up with the phantom" sequal RIGHT NOW than Love Never Dies

Observe:

15 years after the events of the TPOTO, Raoul met an untimely, tragic death. In her mourning Christine returns to the places that were important to their journey together as a couple. Including a very cautious trip to her old Opera house. While she is there the Phantom sees and is ecstatic to see her, hoping to make amends after all these years. He stops short in his tracks when he realizes that she is wearing mourning garb, and looks absolutely miserable. Instead of the joyoys greeting he would have originally gone with instead he cautiously approaches to offer her comfort. At first she is scared but he hangs back, not pursuing when she steps away and this brings her a level of comfort. From across the way they catch up, Christine laments about the loss of Raoul. Phantom acknowledges that Raoul was a good man and perfect for her, and that he himself was not a good man back then. She asks what he has been up to and he tells her he has been trying to venture out more, and has found community with other disabled people in the area. He talks about how he has been trying to learn how to be a man like Raoul. (Cue song: a man like him) She bids him farewell and promises to return again to visit. About a week later she does so but when she does she is spotted by the opera director and is begged to come be the lead role in a production. Having not sang since Raouls death, and not sang professionally for several years, she feels ill equipped but does miss the stage. Phantom offers a solution: coach her again to get back up to snuff, no strings attached, no holding her prisoner. She agress if nothing more than to have the company. Over the course of the preparation for and run of her new opera she and the phantom meet and train and over this time, she learns to cope with her loss, and phantom gives her the space she needs to heal. During this time she begins to notice how different the Phantom is from before, and that he really has taken on postivie character traits that Raoul once posessed. She begins to wonder uf she might be developing feelings for him. (Cue "A man like him" reprise) As the opera concludes Christine is offered to be a more permanent presence in the Opera, but she isn't sure because her and Raouls estate is so far away and she would need to get that situated. Phanton encrourages her to do whatever she thinks best, admitting hes enjoyed this time together but she should go where her heart leads her. She takes some time alone to figure it out; and decides she will stay. She sells the estate and buys a home in the city to continue her opera career, and tells the Phantom that she has developed feelings for him and she would be willing to try a courtship. Either the play enders here or theres another sct with a new drama as they navigate this new heslthier relationship and honor Raouls memory. Maybe they get married or maybe its inplied they might in the future idc. Christina starts a charity for the disabled.

Done, there, better.

And before anyone tells me some detail about this is irreconcilable with the canon of the first i dont really care its still better.

[the-fiction-witch]

The ballerina p1

Media irl

Character Thomas Brodie Sangster

Couples TBS X Reader

Rating dark

Concept The Ballerina and her Patron

I remember sitting on the small wooden bench trying not to move my legs at the risk of receiving splinters from it. I watched the door unable to remove my eyes from the wooden door my eyes tracing the various grains in the wood. 

When the door opened I jumped as the door opened revealing my father looking angry I went running into the room but he stopped me 

"I wanna see mummy!" I cried 

"You're not seeing mummy. Mummies gone" He says pushing me into the kitchen and getting himself a beer 

"But I wanna see mummy!" I cried trying to go to their room

"Your mothers dead! enough! I don't want to hear another word out of you!" he yelled throwing me back against the door 

"I-I'm sorry daddy" I cried as quietly as I could 

"Go in the bedroom gather up her clothes and take them down. got to make money somehow"

"Yes sir" I nodded 

I was fearful as I stood on the cobblestone street corner the icey rain beating down on my tiny frail body as I desperately peddled what little we had left. After my mother died my father refused to work spending every penny we had to drink himself to sleep. I shivered and shook from the cold trying to ignore the rumbles in my stomach.

I saw the wave of people Come down the street as they always did as this time those heading over to the opera house at the end of the street all of them intensely wealthy chatting among each other none of them even looking at me as they hurried along. I saw a boy he couldn't have been that much older then me dressed well like most of these men with a messy mop of blonde hair, he came over to me seeming confused but concerned he was how sick and weak I was 

"Thomas come along!" A taller man argued 

Quickly the boy took some money from his pocket putting it in my little cup before he ran off to join the others.

For a moment I smiled hopeful of a boy like that still existed amongst them. 

After a while I knew I had no hope of making any more money so I headed home quickly bundling myself by the fire.

But I quickly heard the door open and close sending a chill up my spine 

"How much?" He asked gruffly 

I handed over the money I made today and he patted the top of my head 

"Useless!" He yelled pushing me to the floor "I've had enough of your failures" he snapped "walk now!" He ordered forcing me to my feet I walked as he ordered out the house and across town till we reached the opera house and it's small stage door he knocked and a man came out angrily he saw us and went back in returning with a woman in an intense black dress and bun she forced me from my father checked my ankles and my stomach before she glanced to my father

"Ten" she offered

"Twenty"

"Thirteen"

"Eighteen"

"Fifteenth. Final"

"Sold" he nodded shaking her hand 

The moment the deal was home she took my arm forcing me inside and up to a attic like space where she threw me on a small bed 

"I'll deal with you in the morning. Welcome to the company" she days before she hurried off.

[scholar-of-yemdresh]

Don't mind me just going to be posting short reviews of recent comics I've read.

ODY-C Vo. 1 & 2

Christian Ward's art was great it really fit the vibe of this trippy genderqueer Space opera retelling of Homer's Odyssey. His designs for the Greek gods are in my top 3(the other two are Hades & Dislyte).

For Vol.2, listen I get that it's Greek mythology even as a retelling,so I can't really be surprised by the rape and pedophilia I know but hmmm really soured my liking. Especially because the POV characters for Vol.2 were more likable and I really felt for them. And again it's Greek mythology everybody is an asshole and that's the point but idc sometimes I like seeing nice people who are kind and fight for what's right. He you will always be famous!

Comics are a visual medium and the way the story was told I felt really worked. For one only the gods get speech bubbles all the humans/mortals only speak in the text boxes and in the manner of a third person omniscient relaying their words.

Overall 3.75⭐

The Nice House on the Lake: The Deluxe Edition

Finally decided to give this a chance after the announcement of the sequel series.

The art was phenomenal, the writing was pretty good too this is so far the only of Tynion’s works I’ve clicked with. The story did meander around honestly it could’ve been shortened, it felt like a 6 issue concept spread over twice the length, although if it was shorter then there’d be less of Alvaro Bueno’s great art.

The cliffhanger ending was really unsatisfying like that’s it? No questions answered or anything? I guess now that the sequel’s out there’ll be more to the story. But it felt a bit nothing burger, the vibes were immaculate but man can not live off vibes alone.

The characters were alright but the leakages of “snarky/quirky millennial” speak/attitude with Ryan and a lesser extent Norah and the comedian guy really grated on me. But surprisingly i didn’t find of the characters annoying or unlikeable even Walter.

Speaking of Walter I do love comic horror/eldritch beings and he was so effectively creepy and pathetic. He was so toxic and manipulative it was great!

4.25 ⭐

Invisible Kingdom: Library Edition

Sci-fi space adventure with a unique feature being it's set in a solar system with no humans, all the characters are aliens. Which was fun I don't think I've ever read a no-human Sci-fi before.

Can't believe I'm saying this but sometimes things that are gay are worse. Genuinely Grix & Vess should've stayed platonic. Their relationship tanked my enjoyment it was so unnecessary especially because Grix and Eline worked better as a queer couple.

Also I get the message but it became stilted and awkward when the characters started becoming mouthpieces for the themes.

I do like how religion was handled, very realistic in how corrupt religious leaders/institutions manipulate and exploit religion for their own gain but also not being horrible about good religious people and those who actually want their religion to be used for good. Unsurprising as the writer is a practicing Muslim. Christian Ward's art is as ever excellent.

4 ⭐

We Only Find Them When They're Dead vol 1-3

I really don't know or understand what exactly was going on here. I love timeskips but these big jumps in time to totally different characters and those characters getting killed off was a choice I felt just didn't work. I didn't really feel as attached to the cast. Even the central mystery of the gods was resolved but also not really?

I also wasn't a fan of how religion/religious people were portrayed. Feels bad man when every religious person is an unhinged fanatical zealot willing to murder children without any remorse, or a charlatan whose exploiting the gullible stupid theists, the most postive depiction was an incompetent easily manipulated head priest and ugh.

The setting was interesting, yes it's another one of those capitalist dystopia space opera with rich core worlds and everybody else but idc I thought it was cool. The characters were interesting and watching how their twisty motivations usually put them in conflict with the other characters was very enjoyable.

Something I enjoyed was how it was a majority POC cast, too often in space opera it's usually the case of everybody is white but a few token POC who have less importance and are disposal and yeah 300 years into the future it will not be mostly white people running the show. Another plus was the casual queer representation two of main characters are mlm and had a thing, also a queer interracial couple involving only POC very rare to see.

The art was stunning, although Simmone does have a bit of same face syndrom going on lmao. Al Ewing took some big leaps with this and it's good to see his non Marvel/DC work but imo this could've done with more issues maybe an extra volume to really flesh things out.

A tentative 3.75 🌟

The Authority Vol 1 Book 1 & 2

Who's an edgy boi? You are! Yes you are. Coming out of the grim and gritty edgier superhero trend of the 90s & 2000s it was okay. The character concepts saved it more than anything. The use of rape and mass death was just unfortunate. And for all the groundbreaking work it did for gay male representation in superhero comics the 90s style homophobic was just a bit much.

I'm an edgelord so yes the ultra violence and 2Kewl4Scewl Attitude era WWE type heroes did appeal to me I'm not gonna lie. That's what I can say for Book 1 written by Warren Ellis, which gets a low 3.5 🌟

BTW Fuck Warren Ellis he's far more despicable than Millar because at least Millar's degeneracy is regulated to edgy shit comics.

Book 2 on the other hand...

Fuck mark millar what a talentless edgy hack. He didn’t get the memo that rampant racism rape & pedophilla + beastaility wasnt a substitute for actual good writing, like his bearly disguised abused asian rape doll fetish was skin crawling. Plus the pro authoritarianism bent but it’s okay because the Authority is always right! Not even the very few pleasant character moments could save this. What a waste Millar has the reverse midas touch, where everything he that has the misfortune of being written by him turns to nuclear waste.

The only good things being the art, some rare pleasant character moments, Midnighter & Apollos wedding ,which weren't enough to salvage this trainwreack Book 2 gets 2 🌟

Also am I tweaking or does the Authority have an issue with orientalism & anti Asian racism?(rhetorical question it does :/ )

[the-firebird69]

My son is right it's a question and the question is when does this happen and it relates to we think the planetoids is there armed and The fleets up there and they would not be able to get there unless they are engaged fighting and more or less shut down the lasers and you can see them fighting in hoth and they're on other planets and the starkiller is on hoth that's one of the lasers and they fired off and they used to splitter and they themselves break it.

Vader does fight kylo Ren and defeats him and kylo ren files revenge and eventually he burns Vader and Vader actually cuts smack in half and it has a deleterious effect on the rebel fleet and on Vader in his fleet

These things are happening all the same time it's a massive massive space Opera and it's going to occur very soon we're calculating when but we can't figure out exactly what day but the force of Tommy f is becoming agitated and they're trying to get in here and they may try tonight with a space fleet to assist the warlock and they don't have a significant number but their fleet is formidable

Thor Freya

We can be seen as loading up and flying out so yes and we're going to try and help out because we need power and we're losing it

Tommy f

Remaining up and we're boarding up and we're getting everything on board and we're going to start fighting much harder and we have to with too many enemies there's too many things happening there are many things that are changing right now we are planning on taking those planetoids and we see what happens people are incinerated Tommy Allen himself that's quite a fall and dies is put into his own museum at least he was calling it that and that's the hot episode and they ruined the laser and really there's one big one there each for the most part and you can aim it only a little so it's coming around time it's going to be aimed at Earth several of them and we don't have time for that there's a huge huge laser these lasers are massive and fairly soon we're going to have to do something because of where they're aiming at and The fleets attacking we have to engage them do something otherwise we engage them when we go after the planet toys but he has to come in here because of what we're doing to get ready

Mac daddy

Olympus we appreciate the help from Hera and we need her to do more reports and they're working well together they're a great team we got a lot done this morning you can publish before you lose it we lose it

And we have a huge number of things to post but we're going to forego it for a moment it's going to get ready

Thor Freya they are moving out to try and form up and they're getting hit and they keep getting hit it's attracting a lot of more luck to Florida and they can't get in armies immobilizing of Max and they're very big and foreigners and also in there were tremendous armies they're bringing to Bear gigantic armies and keep in mind that New York City at six trillion includes all the bunkers and there's about six trillion that inform me up in Mexico Canada Russia and ocean and we're forming up some massive ranks and we're getting The fleets going it's going to be a huge battle we expect more and really at trillion in the area it's really like but then it's one trillion area and they're down to 3,000 areas and that's not right the math is not right he had it right it's 20 areas for two trillion it's more like 20 areas for 1 trillion so if they send 10 trillion which is kind of turn out to be kind of it is 200 areas and it's going to be increasing and they say it too so we are going to get ready now

That would bring them down to only $2,800 areas to pull from and really that is about the ratio is 1 trillion to 20 areas. We anticipate they might load up again and they're going to the deep holes and they might extend another 20 trillion and that's what they've been doing too that's a lot and that would be 400 areas bring it down to 2400 and that might be today usually it's be a couple more hundred areas no but it might be today because they're doing other stuff evacuating for one and fighting on the islands is the Advent of the idea of them blasting a hole to come out

Thor Freya

[tennessoui]

did you just create an AU in the tags that I'm obsessed with again? *surprised pikachu face* I just can't get it out of my head that yes, Anakin is now being seen with a random senator but eventually obi-wan just starts crashing those public outings and now everyone is wondering if the senator is cheating on anakin with obi-wan or something like that

(in reference to these tags about some sort of "bearding" au:

#but also thinking about it#i can see a gffa au where anakin has to have a beard#because there are just so many rumors that obikin are togethre#and people are up in arms about it because he was his teacher!!! and the age difference!!!! power dynamics!!!!#(obikin are not together)#so the council asks anakin to be seen on the arm of some woman or another to prove that he isn't into obi-wan#but secretly anakin is VERY into obi-wan#and secretly obi-wan is really sort of bothered by anakin being seen on some senator's arm#(not padmé though sorry)#though obi-wan doesn't quite know why#(he does but he's like 12 steps from admitting it)#obikin#did i create an au in the tags yeah. yeah i did.#people forget that's how the couples counseling au started lol )

nooo omg obi-wan starts crashing the get-togethers even the "romantic opera" dates and he talks the entire time and anakin, who is in love with obi-wan and only agreed to this bearding thing because he feels guilty that his feelings for obi-wan may jeopardize the man's public standing, can't help but turn to listen to everything and a space pap snags a photo of anakin contorting his body unnaturally to tilt around this random senator to listen to Obi-Wan talk.

and later when asked about the pictures, anakin is like 'um he was talking about the jedi code....'

but everyone is making up wild theories about threesomes and infidelity and someone asks obi-wan at a press conference to address the rumors that he has invited himself into bed with his former padawan and the senator and immediately obi-wan is like 'hah! like i'd share him if i had him!' and then immediately (x2) is like 'wait sorry i meant to say someone like him' but the damage is done.

[elen-aranel]

Curtain Call - Act 1

For: @writer-wednesday, but week 16... yes this took that long Pairing: Captain Christopher Pike x F!Reader (no Y/N) Warnings: None! WC: 3k Rating: Teen Notes: People keep telling me, "Take your time, Elen", and I say, "but I don't want to!" But I needed this story to keep me company this summer. There's a further act to come! Summary: Chris is there. He catches your eye and tilts his head, a small, sheepish smile on his face, and time almost stands still for a second as you stare back at him.

Masterlist • Act 2 >

In space, no one can hear you sing.

One of your teachers at the conservatoire told you that, years ago, and somehow it stuck with you, along with how to use your stomach muscles to support your breath, and what to picture in your mind as you reach for a high note.

You never questioned her about why she said it; you don’t know if she thought space travel could be bad for your voice, or whether she thought Earth music belonged on Earth. But either way, you’ve only sung off-world a couple of times.

Work on Earth has been plentiful, though, so you never had a reason to think about it. You’ve been all over the planet: Europe, Asia, a stint at the Sydney Opera House which was magical… And you like this gig, a few more weeks in a theatre in your current home city of San Francisco, a lot. It’s where the Federation brass bring dignitaries to give them a flavour of human music, and you’ve sung for admirals, ambassadors, members of the Federation council, even the president.

Your numbers aren’t until the second half, so before the show you can mingle with the audience. And recently you’ve found yourself wondering. Feeling a little restless. Pretending to yourself you’re on a starbase somewhere, or maybe Kasseelia, at one of the opera houses.

Maybe one day, when the right opportunity comes up, you’ll perform off Earth again.

For all of your thinking about space, you have to appreciate the historic building that you get to perform in on Earth. The crystal chandeliers that cast a soft warm glow and the polished wood panelling aren’t actually hundreds of years old, but they’re a re-creation of the theatre’s original design. You wonder what it would have been like, when you couldn’t get on a starship to go to another world. When a place like this might have been your only escape from a mundane life on Earth.

There are a lot of Starfleet uniforms in the foyer this evening among the suits, dresses and alien robes; even more than usual. Some are the older style navy blue, but a lot of the newer, more colourful uniforms are dotted about the crowd. Reds, blues and golds. There are aliens of a species you’ve never seen before too, taller than humans with a sparkling stone which may be jewellery in the middle of their foreheads. You smile to yourself as you push your way toward the stairs, taking care, as you always do, that no one steps on your dress. There’s something about getting to witness the crowd, and their sense of anticipation.

Your other pre-show ritual is going up to the circle level bar for a drink. You pause at the turn in the stairs for one last look at the crowd before you perform to them later, then head the rest of the way up.

It’s quieter up here. You’ve noticed during the season that the bars on the ground floor are more popular pre-show, and patrons tend not to come upstairs as much until right before the performance starts. There are a few people at tables, but no one right at the bar. It’s as picturesque as the rest of the theatre, with walls covered with vintage posters advertising operas, plays and musicals that were staged here in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

You slide onto your stool, beneath the black and white girl on the poster of Les Misérables.

“The usual?”

“Hey, S’nera, yes please.” You smile at the Caitian bartender, ginger fur glossy under the bar’s spotlights, who already has a highball glass in hand.

“Let’s make that two,” a deep voice says, and you and S’nera share a doubtful look before you turn to see who’s spoken.

“All right,” she says, and you hear ‘your funeral’, but you forget that as you look at the stranger sitting down next to you, and your breath catches just a little. He is handsome, with a square jaw, mouth pulled into a small smile, perfectly styled greying hair and blue eyes, made bluer by the green wrap-around top he wears. He has a Starfleet badge so must be an officer, but that’s not a uniform colour you recognise. He wears it well, though. And it does nothing to hide his broad shoulders and muscled arms.

You’re jolted out of your admiration by the sound of the glasses hitting the bar, and you turn to pick one up.

“Cheers,” he says, clinking his glass with yours, and you both take a sip. His confident expression falters. “Room temperature pineapple juice? Really?”

“It’s what I always drink.” You shrug, grinning. “First time anyone’s joined me, though.” You take another sip, the fruity flavour soothing you as it always does.

“Well, guess I walked into that one. Figures, the day I’m having. I hate these things.” He gestures, somehow encompassing the whole theatre, and sighs, and you have to stop yourself watching his mouth on the glass when he takes a drink.

“You hate concerts? Music?”

“I’m not sure the music will really be my thing, but... it’s the having to be here to see and be seen. Being here because of who I am and what I represent. It feels... inauthentic. If—” He pauses. “I’m sorry, I didn’t come here to complain about my troubles to you.”

“No, that’s all right. Sometimes we just need someone to hear us.” You tilt your head. “Let me get you a proper drink. S’nera?” You reach over and take the glass from his hands, your fingers accidentally-on-purpose brushing against his. You clock his eyes widening just a fraction. “I’m putting it on my tab. What’ll it be?”

“Whiskey on the rocks. But won’t you join me?”

You shake your head – alcohol is bad for your voice, pre-performance, and so is ice. “I’m good. Perhaps later, though? After the show?”

“I hope so.” S’nera places his new drink on the bar, and he picks it up and raises it to you.

“So what brings you here, officer?” You ask. “I’m guessing work, but your uniform, I—”

“Chris, there you are. I knew I’d find you hiding out somewhere. Finish that, and come back with me.” The newcomer is also wearing a Starfleet uniform, dark blue with elaborate gold epaulets and badge. His dark eyes are equal parts amused and frustrated, and you’d bet he’s Chris’ superior. “I had to leave Sarah on her own with two of our guests; I’m hoping there won’t be a diplomatic incident by the time we get back.”

“Admiral, I—”

“Good evening and welcome. If you wish to take your seat for tonight’s performance, the auditorium is now open. May I please remind guests—”

You look at the antique clock above the bar. Somehow it’s already 7:15pm, and even though it’s much too early for your call, people start getting antsy if you’re not in your dressing room before the show starts. You step down off your stool, and pat Chris’ shoulder.

“I’ve got to get going now too. It was nice to meet you, Chris. Hope the show’s not as bad as you think.” You nod to the admiral on your way past, and smile at Chris, now standing, as you leave the bar.

“Anyone interesting out there tonight?” the principal ’cellist asks you as you pass her in the narrow corridor backstage, making sure to give her cello as wide a berth as possible.

“Mostly the usual, but there’s a diplomatic party. Some folks the Starfleet brass want to impress.”

“They came to the right place. We’re gonna blow them away.” Ayre, the tenor soloist, looking smart in a dark gold suit which sets off their golden-brown skin and close-cropped bleached gold curls gives a smug grin as they emerge from the door next to yours. “You coming out for drinks after?”

You open your mouth to reply, but an image of Chris floats in front of your eyes, and how you said you might meet him later. But you’ll never be able to find him—

“Hesitation is not like you.” Ayre’s expression turns suspicious. “Did you have other plans? Did you meet someone?”

You shrug. “Kind of? But no. No plans. Drinks sound great. And if I’m remembering right, you owe me, from—”

They laugh. “Yeah yeah, whatever.”

“Performers this is your five-minute call. Beginners, please stand by.”

“Break a leg,” you wave as you open the door to your dressing room.

Inside you flip on the humidifier, check your appearance and read for a bit before you start your warm-ups. At least your routine is well established, so it doesn’t matter if you can’t quite put a handsome Starfleet officer completely out of mind...

The thing you love about singing is that it’s just you. There’s nothing standing between the music and your audience; it’s your artistry, your emotion, your soul, direct from you to them. There are no instruments to get in the way, no keys to get stiff, no strings to break.

That’s not to say you don’t have to take care of your voice. You were tired and run down at the end of a semester at the conservatoire in your first year and you overdid it. You spent that entire summer resting, and praying that the doctors were right, and that your voice would come back by itself.

But as you step out onto the stage, hear the strings play that first soft chord, there’s only you, the audience, and the direct connection between you.

That’s part of why you like to mingle with the crowd before the show. The house lights are down and the stage lights are bright so you can’t make out anyone clearly, but you can picture who you’re singing for. You can see the faces, in your mind’s eye, of the regulars who you’ve seen at multiple performances. The aliens who you’d never seen before today. The Starfleet officers, including that admiral. And Chris.

You take a deep breath, and sing.

Another nice thing about being a singer is after your warm down, which only takes a few minutes, you’re done. You don’t have to drag your instrument in a case along with you if you go out, or stress about whether you’ve left it somewhere safe. And, while this run is going on, you can keep your fancy dresses at the theatre.

As quick as you are to leave your dressing room, Ayre is quicker.

“Leda said you were special tonight, you know.” They say as you fall into step with them.

“Wait really?” Leda is director of music at the theatre, among other things, and her good opinion matters.

“Of course really. I might get jealous. I’m supposed to be her favourite.”

You laugh. “Only because you dedicated Nessun Dorma to her that one time—”

“Shush. Piacere for drinks?”

“Sure.”

By the time you make it to the stage door there’s a good size group of your friends heading to the bar, and you’re looking forward to a couple of drinks before turning in.

But as you exit the theatre, stepping out into the fresh evening air, Chris is there. He catches your eye and tilts his head, a small, sheepish smile on his face, and time almost stands still for a second as you stare back at him.

Ayre nudges your shoulder, speaking in an undertone. “Guess you’re not coming after all? Make good choices, babe. “And they somehow manage to herd everyone else away before you can react.

“Hi,” you say, suddenly feeling a little nervous, a little exposed. “You enjoy the show?”

“I did. You were—” he shakes his head a little. “You were sublime, and I... I owe you an apology. I said a few things back there that were… ill-considered.”

“All you said was you didn’t expect you’d enjoy the music.” You shrug. “And that’s fair – not everything is for everyone. Mostly you seemed unhappy about your situation, not the concert. So no apology necessary. But… if you really want to apologise, you can buy me a drink?” You take a step towards him, smiling. “After a performance I can even have ice.”

“It’s the least I can do.” He grins as he offers you his arm. “So why do you drink warm pineapple juice before shows?”

“It’s a placebo, really. But I like the taste and it doesn’t do any harm, so I grab one pre-show while I’m sizing up the audience. Really you have to keep yourself hydrated all the time. And humid atmospheres help.”

You finger his jacket with your free hand. “My turn: why haven’t I seen a green Starfleet uniform before now?”

Conversation flows easily as you walk, and he’s happy to let you steer him to one of your favourite bars. It’s a bit of a hidden gem – by the bay, small but not crowded, and sleek and modern, unlike the theatre.

You like it because you can see out across the water as you sit with your drinks, to the Golden Gate Bridge in one direction, and lights on Alcatraz in another.

Above the water is the new moon, bright enough to reflect off the waves. And above that, stars.

Discussions of uniforms naturally lead to talking about space, and you question Chris on life as a starship captain, the places he’s been and the things he’s seen. His stories fascinate you, even if you’re not entirely sure you believe them all.

“You ever think about travelling? Seeing the stars?” he asks as you start in on the second round of drinks.

“Actually yes. More and more, recently. I was in a tour commemorating the founding of the Federation a few years ago. The concert on Vulcan... that was fun.”

“Oh?”

“A couple of Vulcan musicians caught up with me after the show, asking about the logic of conveying emotion in music, and why I didn’t just showcase the beauty of the mathematical structure underpinning it all.”

“That sounds very Vulcan. I have some experience with them.” He smiles, there’s something fond in his expression as it goes distant for a moment. “My chief science officer is Vulcan. He can sometimes be... blunt.”

“Yes, blunt.” You nod. “I knew they were asking in good faith, and after I got over my surprise it led to an interesting conversation. It was good to look at things from a viewpoint I hadn’t considered before.”

“That part of exploration... the way it challenges our perspective? That’s one of the things that keeps me going back out there.”

“Plus the things you get to see... the crystal formations on Iyer sound amazing. I want to see those. Shame Starfleet doesn’t take passengers.”

He laughs at that. “If I could I’d take you in a heartbeat.” He pauses, then reaches out to touch your hand. “You should go, though. To Iyer. Hell, you should travel the galaxy, if you want to. You can. Earth will still be here when you want to come home.”

“I should, huh. I still have a few weeks to go here, but after that... I was waiting for the right opportunity, to sing somewhere? But maybe I should just go explore.”

You sip your drink, feeling thoughtful. “So how long are you planetside?”

“Until tomorrow. Afternoon.” He smiles, lopsided and utterly charming, and you feel flutters inside you as you make your decision.

The corners of your mouth turn up, and you look him in the eye. “It’s a bit too late for food now, but would it be forward of me to ask you to—”

Your communicator beeps, and you frown, pulled out of the moment.

“You gonna get that?” He asks, expression gone amused.

You pull the communicator out and stare at it a moment, wondering if you can make it go quiet by force of will. But anyone calling this late must have a particular reason; it’s probably just Ayre wanting to give you an out from your date if you need one. You pull a face, and stand.

“I’d better. I’ll just be a minute.”

The breeze coming off the bay is chilly, and you feel goosebumps raise on your arms as you activate the communicator one handed, hugging the other across your stomach.

“Hello?”

“Oh thank God, I thought you were never going to pick up. It’s Leda. You need to come back to the theatre, now. It’s nothing bad, but we’re having a meeting. The others are here already, but you weren’t with them.”

“Um... now now? I’m sorry Leda, can’t whatever it is wait? I—I’m on a date...”

You hear her take a breath, and you can picture her in your mind’s eye, pinching the bridge of her nose, trying to slow down. “I’m sorry about that, but I wouldn’t call you in if the matter wasn’t of the utmost importance. Time is a factor, too. When will you be here?”

You stifle your sigh.

“Give me fifteen.”

Chris must pick up something in your expression as you return to him.

“Everything all right?”

“Yes, but no. Leda – Leda Lau, director of music – has summoned me back to the theatre for a meeting. I tried to tell her I was otherwise engaged, but she was insistent.” You sigh. “I’m so sorry, I was really enjoying our evening, but I’m going to have to abandon you.”

Chris stands and picks up your jacket, expression sympathetic. “Orders are orders. I understand. Let me walk you back.”

You take your jacket from him as you get to the door, and put it on before stepping outside.

“No, I’ll be fine. It’s way out of your way, if you’re staying at HQ.”

“I insist.” His small half-smile is back, and he holds out his arm for you. “My parents didn’t raise me to let a date walk back alone.”

The streets are quiet on your way to the theatre, stars glimmering above you, and it seems like no time before you’re coming up to the stage door again.

“Thank you for tonight.” You turn to face Chris, staring up into his blue eyes. “I’m sorry I had to bail on you. But... if you find yourself back on Earth again, feel free to look me up.”

He stares back down at you, and something in his blue eyes is searching. You know he’s going to kiss you—

“—don’t want you to worry, that’s all. I’ll be back soon. Yeah, see you later. Oh, hi—” Edward, a violinist, waves at you as he walks up to the door. “You here for the…? I’ll, uh… see you inside.” He gives you an apologetic glance, having just noticed Chris.

But the moment is broken, and Chris has already moved away.

“If you find yourself in space, feel free to look me up,” he says.

You smile, wistful. “I will.”

Somehow you make it through the door without looking back.

[ghostgothgeek]

Map of Amity Park

So I did a bunch of research and traced over the map the GIW had in DCMH and extended it to try and build a map of Amity Park. I also paid close attention to locations and places named in canon. I am by no means an artist, map maker, photoshop pro, or civil engineer; I just wanted a general reference map for the phandom to use. 

Here is where I place Amity Park. We know AP isn’t in Michigan or Wisconsin, but is most likely a day drive away from Madison (Bitter Reunions). AP is a decent sized city of itself, so I can see it being an outskirt of a large city like Chicago. Lancer mentions the Northwestern Testing, and Northwestern University is in Evanston, IL, which is why I placed it where it is.

LIST OF PLACES (in great detail): 

Every city needs it’s basic services: energy supply, water supply, sewage, and trash/recycling. These of course are located more on the edge of the city, as they need a large amount of space and are typically isolated.

I placed a local airport in the city as well. Typically you would fly out of one of Chicago’s airports anyway, but private planes (Vlad, Mansons, etc.) can take off and land here. 

University of Amity Park is located at the north side of the city, and is home to a Nasty Burger location, an LGBT Center, and is probably near a gas station. The blocks surrounding the campus are more student housing. 

Near the University, we have the Science Center, Axion Labs, a Mental Institute, and the Museum, as a lot of research from the University would go into those places. 

In the more isolated areas, we have the Penitentiary, the abandoned North Mercy Hospital, and the GIW Headquarters. 

The Zoo is located on the north side of the park and is also close to the University for research purposes.

The Observatory is also located in a more isolated area, so you can actually see the stars without a bunch of light pollution.

Going into the center of town, where most things are actually located:

A community college, which is near the internet cafe where Danny and Tucker play games, a gas station, a liquor store, a thrift shop, a Planned Parenthood, Java Jive (the coffee shop), a tech store, and a gym. 

We also have a shoe store, the hunting goods store and Guitar Palace that Skulker and Ember take over in Reign Storm, the U-Ship Box Store the Box Ghost takes over, a barber and a hardware store.

There is a hair salon, tanning salon, and nail salon, where Paulina frequents. There is also Elmer’s Pharmacy, a dentist office, a law office, the TV repair store, butcher shop, and pet store (which we see next to each other in an episode), a toy store, and a vet office.

Government buildings include City Hall, a public library, a court house, a DMV, a bus station (for all mass transit in the city), a community center (likely where town halls are located and other smaller events; Ida plays bingo here every week), and a retirement home. 

There is also the post office, Amity Park Fire Department, a bank, the 24K Jewelry shop, a nearby ice cream shop, and another Nasty Burger location (this is the one right by Casper High that the trio usually hangs at). Also an animal shelter, a grocery store, and a pizza joint.

Education: there is a preschool and daycare, the elementary school, a playground/park, the middle school (yes, a Beetlejuice reference), and Casper High. Casper High campus also has the track, a fieldhouse, and the football field. 

Moving towards Amity Park Mall:

Bucky’s Music Mega Store, an apartment complex, Amity Park Police Department, a bookstore, doctor clinic, gas station, a Denny’s (where Phight Club happens), Material Grill restaurant, the mini golf course and bowling alley, Freddy Fazbear’s (which is actually a horror video game, but here it’s a kids pizza place like Chuck E. Cheese), a furniture store, a party supply store, and the movie theater (which is Marmel’s Multiplex 22, Amity Park Multiplex, and Googolplex Cinemas...it seems that they go to the same movie theater throughout the series and the names just change, or these could also be other movie theaters in the area (like near the college campus). I just picked Multiplex 22 cause it sounded very mall-y).

Along the interstate, there’s a pawn shop, a publishing house (which somehow prints all 5 of Amity Park’s newspapers), a homeless shelter, the diner, Safe House Motel, a laundromat, the 89¢ Store (a nod to Fanning the Flames), and the car dealership.

Also near the mall is Amity Arena, which hosts concerts, sports events, and other large entertainment events. There is a hotel near both the arena and the hospital (the one that isn’t abandoned and haunted). Towards the outskirts of the hospital, there’s a trailer park; north a few blocks is the TV station, where News 4 is headquartered. There’s also a construction site near Amity Arena, but that kinda went out the window when Undergrowth hit. 

On the other side of town, we have:

A-Mart, a convenience store. I named it like this because it can be like an offshoot of KMart, but A for Amity! 

Floody Waters, right off the interstate.

North of Floody Waters, East of Casper High, we have the main residences: the Foley household and only a couple blocks away is Fenton Works. 

There’s also another gas station and the Amity Park Radio Station nearby. There’s also a private school near ultra posh Polter Heights, but the A-Listers attend Casper High because the private school doesn’t have a football or cheerleading team.

Moving into Polter Heights and the surrounding area:

The Polter Heights Golf Course and Country Club are exclusive to those in the neighborhood, as well as their private neighborhood pool; members only. 

The Mayor’s Mansion (eventually Vlad’s) is located in here too.

All of the A-Listers’ houses are of course in this neighborhood, as well as Val’s previous residence and the Fenton’s temporary mansion from Living Large (which is of course right next door to Vlad, but with some distance, because the rich are always socially distancing with their big houses).

Polter Heights is adjacent to a bunch of farmland (this is the midwest, we like cows and stuff), and there is a church close by as well.

Just outside Polter Heights is the Manson Mansion (with Sam’s greenhouse). Lucky for Sam, the Skulk and Lurk Books and an occult shop are just down the street. The Manson residence is also near a funeral home and graveyard (how did Sam get so lucky? Oh, because I love her), a synagogue, Mario’s restaurant, and a dry cleaners. 

We get more spacious as we get away from the center of town! 

Along the shore of Lake Eerie, there are the docks which are home to many warehouses, including the mattress factory.

Also along the shoreline, there is a pier which doubles as an amusement park (think kinda like Navy Pier in Chicago in comparison) and alongside the pier is the public beach area. 

Camp Skull and Crossbones is located on the other side of Lake Eerie, and the fishing area is more on the north side of the lake. Lake Eerie is not one of the Great Lakes, it’s just its own thing in Amity Park. 

Back towards the park, we have event grounds space, which is where Circus Gothica is located, as well as the Meet Swap and flea market. Basically whatever rotating event hits town, it comes right here. Just next door is a theatre (for music, opera, Broadway, etc.). There is also the third and final Nasty Burger location in AP.

This is all surrounding the actual park Amity Park, which has a pond, a big fountain, and also hosts that really big hill that overlooks City Hall.

On the south side, across the bridge and over the interstate is Elmerton, where Val currently is resided. 

All the other blocks are filled with more office buildings, apartment complexes, houses, and businesses, but all of the main places are already listed and placed. 

Finally, yes, I did name some places for myself and my friends because they’re great and they deserve it. These include Steph’s (mine) Occult Shoppe, Nick’s Liquor Emporium (@ecto-american), Lexx R Us Toystore (@lexosaurus and appropriately named after the Lexxpocalypse), Laz’s Law Offices LLC (@kinglazrus), Dee’s Dentistry (@qlinq-qhost​), Lily’s Looks Thrift Store (@dannyphantomisameme​), Ceci’s Funeral Home (@ceciliaspen​), Vic’s Amusement Park (@babypop-phantom​), and Reverie Books (@wastefulreverie​). 

[ladydimitrescuspet]

Just This Once, Your Ears Only

AO3 link! this is for my anon that just found out about miss d and the pallboys and wanted a fic about it so here you go! I hope y'all enjoy this and apologies for any grammatical errors!

Tag List (form to join): @lord-dimitrescu, @alwaysgoodnight, @paint-it-periwinkle, @lightspica, @ultimatebottom69, @sexyheisenbeast, @crazy-obsessed, @squid3, @inlovewithalcinadimitrescu, @the-obscurity, @sapphicalciee, @ladydimitresculove, @solemnnova, @itsyourgirlmalise, @the-little-shadow, @marvelwomen-simp,@rachelthefanfictionwriter, @d14n4ol, @peachesandlesbians

-----

Alcina didn’t talk much about her past and that was fine. You always cherished the things that she had told you about her time before Mother Miranda and the cadou. You never pushed her to tell you more than she was comfortable, but when you found that old jazz album in a box your curiosity was piqued. How had she not told you that she used to be in a jazz band called Miss D & the Pallboys? Honestly, you were pretty shocked that Alcina hadn’t told you about this part of her life. So when you brought it to her, your find, she was a bit hostile about it.

“Ali, come on. This is really cool.” You said. “I know you don’t often talk about your past, but I really want to know more about this.”

Alcina sighed, rubbing her temples to ebb away the oncoming headache. “Dear, I’ve already said that I don’t wish to revisit such a trivial time in my life.” Alcina replied.

“But I’ve never heard you sing.” You counter. “I’ve heard you hum, I’ve heard you play the piano, but I’ve never once heard you sing.”

“And I’m afraid you’ll never get the opportunity to. My singing days are long behind me and I’d like to keep it that way.” Alcina replied.

You frowned, but ultimately accepted your defeat. “Alright, Ali, I’m sorry. You win.” For now, at least. Time for Plan B. “Can I visit Karl this week?” You asked.

Alcina groaned. “I am not sure how you became friends with that annoying little imp, but I do need you out of the Castle tomorrow so I suppose you may go and visit him then.” Alcina responded. “However, when you leave, have him escort you home. As much as I despise that man-child, there have been lycans spotted around the village and forest more so than usual in the evening, so you’ll be safe with that little idiot by your side.”

You gave her a smile and nod as you did an internal happy dance. “I will call him now to let him know. I’ll even throw in a little threat so he knows you’re serious, Ali.” You teased. Alcina snorted at that. “Alcina?” She hummed in acknowledgment. “Have you ever tried to say something nice about Karl or even tried to be a little bit nicer to him?” You asked.

Alcina looked up at you. “When that insufferable idiot is nicer to me then I shall repay him in kind. Until then, if he keeps calling me lady super sized bitch, I will continue to refer to him as a child. Although, he really is a child regardless of what affectionate nicknames he has for our so called family.” Alcina replied. “But Heisenberg being nice to me will never happen in a million years.”

"Are you willing to bet on that?" You asked. Alcina whirled her eyebrow at you. "If Karl does something nice for you then you have to sing one of your jazz songs for me."

"And if he doesn't?" Alcina asked.

"Then you get whatever you want from me." You replied.

Alcina hummed. "And if I want you chained to my bed all day to do with as I please, I can have that?" You nodded your head. "Then I believe we have a bet on our hands, dear."

You gave her a nervous smile before excusing yourself from her study. After you left, you made your way to your own study. The thought of it made you smile. Alcina had realised that you didn’t have a room in the castle to call your own, so she allowed you to remake one of them into your own, so to speak. It was still decorated the way Alcina had, but now it had more of your things in it to keep you occupied if Alcina went out for a meeting or if you just needed a quiet space to be in.

The first thing you did upon entering your study was call Karl. You let him know that you’d be over early and you even mentioned the bet you had going on with Alcina. “Lady Super Sized Bitch is going down.” were his exact words and they made you laugh. After you said goodbye to him, you called Donna and asked her if she could sew some costumes up for you, the girls, and Karl. You were glad that she had agreed and accepted your invitation to Jazz Friday as opposed to Opera Wednesday. This week’s meeting had been moved from Friday to Wednesday so Opera Night had been moved to Friday. You really hoped that Alcina wouldn’t mind you hijacking her night with your plan and with only five days to get it all planned, you really didn’t have time to work yourself into a tizzy with worrying.

You spent the next day with Karl, telling him what instruments you’d need him to produce for the show. With that taken care of, you could talk to the girls about the surprise and the parts that they’d play for Jazz Night. You made sure all of the Lords had an invitation for Friday. You would’ve invited Mother Miranda, but she was out of the village on business. You were nervous when Friday finally came, making sure everything was perfect.

“Hey, kiddo, don’t worry. Alci’s gonna love it.” Karl said as he fussed over his tuxedo.

You let out a deep breath and smiled at him. “Of course. Or at least I hope she does.” You replied. You held the microphone in your hand when you heard Alcina’s voice.

“Donna, Moreau, it’s a pleasure to have you two with us tonight. I see Heisenberg has failed to join us for another evening.” That made Karl scowl. “Nevertheless, the show must go on. My wonderful daughters and my lovely partner, Y/N, have prepared something special for us tonight. So please sit back and enjoy the show.” Alcina said, finishing off her speech before sitting in her seat.

A couple of maids opened the curtain and you could hear the small gasp Alcina let out, your face starting to heat up. You’d had Karl make a saxophone for Bela, a piano for Cassandra that she could comfortably sit at, a cello for Daniela, and a trumpet for himself. Whilst Donna made tuxedos for all of you. The girls and Karl wore black tuxedos with white dress shirts, the only difference being that the girls had their gemstones on the collar of their shirts and Karl’s didn’t. Your tuxedo was white and you had a hat on with a feather like the one Alcina wore on the cover of the Miss D & the Pallboys album. You managed to not let your nerves get to you as you sang a Nat King Cole classic, Unforgettable. When the performance was over the five of you bowed before the curtain closed.

“Y/N, that was amazing!” Bela said. “I think I saw Mother tearing up out there so I’d say that she loved the performance!”

You scratched at the back of your head, laughing nervously. “Really? I just wish we could’ve sung a Miss D & the Pallboys original for her too, but you can’t go wrong with a classic like Unforgettable.” You replied. “Now you three go get changed, you still have to do that Italian opera piece your mother picked out for you.”

Daniela gave you a hug. “Thank you for putting this together.” Daniela said into your ear.

Cassandra gave you a smile. “And we completely understand if you want to skip the rest of the show. Putting together something like this sounds very tiring.” You nodded your head before wishing them good luck.

The rest of the night was purely opera, but you didn’t have it in yourself to join the others back out in the audience while the girls did their performance. So you had made your way back to the room that you shared with Alcina, putting on your pyjamas and curling up into bed with a book. And that’s how Alcina found you, except you were almost half asleep with the book lying across your stomach.

“Darling?” Alcina called out softly, rousing you from your sleep. You hummed in acknowledgment to let her know you were still with her. Alcina took that opportunity to put on her nightgown before slipping into the bed next to you, pulling you into her side. “Did you put together that whole thing just for me?” Alcina asked.

You nodded. “I did. Not alone though. Karl and Donna really helped out. And Moreau was the one that recommended the song I sang, Mother Miranda bless him for the suggestion.” You mumbled out slightly before yawning.

Alcina pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Thank you, My Love. Now, I do believe I lost a bet so I’ll give you your reward, yes?” You sleepily nodded your head against her side. “Alright, little one, but just this once and for your ears only. And only because you got that idiot oaf to do something nice for me.” Alcina said.

“Be nice, Ali.” You mumbled again, smiling at the grumbling noises that Alcina made at your words but you could faintly make out her saying “Fine,” before you let out a hum of approval.

After a few seconds of silence, you heard Alcina start to sing the words to a song you didn’t know. You could only assume that it was one of the songs she sang with her band and you smiled. Alcina really did have a beautiful singing voice.

[ghost0loxer]

Imagine, a gender fluid teenager like myself has a favourite/feel-good film and that film is “Just One of the Guys,”from the mid 80s.

Picture this: theatre class, we watch “She’s The Man”, a dreamworks film from the 2000s. And yet, the social justice issues within the film are glaringly obvious to today’s society. Don’t get me wrong, it can be a funny film in a group setting - but then there are scenes that are just uncomfortable. Now, we discussed these themes in class, but I just can’t help but think about the film that came before it. Yes, StM (she’s the mans) is a modern day adaption of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” but I was thinking about the modern day adaption before StM, “Just One of the Guys” from the mid 80s.

I love this film. For multiple reasons, which I hope to discuss.

Number one, our main character. Terry Griffith is stubborn. If she thinks something is right, she won’t let anyone say no or get in her way. Now in some cases, this is great. It’s definitely a shift in the usual romantic comedy female lead (especially for the 80s). But it’s one of her biggest flaws. In the beginning, Terry doesn’t win a contest for a part-time job at the Sun Tribune. She believes her article was amazing, but she speaks with her English teacher and he gives it to her straight. “You don’t have what it takes to be a reporter.” Her article is boring; it’s about the nutritional value of the lunch menu in the school cafeteria, of course it’s boring. But the words her teacher tells her has her convinced it’s because she’s a woman. Thus, she leaves school for two weeks and transfers as a buy to another school who are holding the same competition. Once she gives her article, she is told almost the same thing, but this time, she’s given proper feedback to improve it. Of course, there was some irony with this scene between Terry and the teacher. “Just because you’re guy, doesn’t mean you can’t be sensitive or light.” Thing is, she doesn’t give up, she strives to fix it and finds a new angle. I love her determination, I love the way she doesn’t let others push her around. Furthermore, her transition to a man. In StM, Viola as a guy is made to be cringey and comedic, you watch and think, there’s no way a guy would do that. But Terry, having grown up with a younger brother and is actually smart, manages to nail the role. Sure, she has slip-ups, but she stays afloat and she’s not being over the top. She’s chill and convincing, yet you as the audience can tell she’s trying to appear masculine. Her lines are witty and she’s sharp. Someone has something to say, she’ll be able to backtrack and answer with a joke or sarcasm quickly. I like smart characters.

Another point, the way women are written in this film. A lot of women in this film are treated like shit, but it’s probably a realistic depiction of the 80s. Everyone is talking about dating and sex, it seems to be the only topic the women in this film speak about, unless they are Terry. Terry seems to be the only character in this film whose main goal is not romance or sex. She strives to be a reporter, she wants to prove herself, and she rejects the advances upon her frequently. Whether it’s the boys asking her on dates in halls, or her own boyfriend attempting to seduce her when her parents aren’t home, she doesn’t put them above herself, yet she still lets them down easily, unless they become more pushy (case in point, her boyfriend, Kevin, in the beginning). She can stand up for herself, but she’s not the only one. Her best friend, Denise is one of the many women looking for love, nevertheless, she holds standards. I will admit, I didn’t like Denise’s acting in the beginning; she’s not a great character, but even she manages to reject men’s advances constantly. She’s not afraid to say it bluntly and she expresses her true emotions when certain guys try to ask her out. She tells it to them straight, and I respect her for that (despite her lack of empathy for some). Terry’s brother is constantly hitting on Denise, but she stands her ground. She doesn’t hit him or curse him out, she spins words around him and always lead back to the key word “no.”

This is my third, and maybe final point, (because I’m not great at writing but I’m starting to get tired) the way they handle sexual orientation. It seems if you’re going to make a film about a cross-dressing woman who falls in love with a man, you have to discuss sexuality and this film is not afraid to. That was my biggest beef with StM, when Viola confessed her love to Duke, the made it blatantly clear that it was “weird” and “unusual”; the editing and music cuts. It was done for comedic purposes, but in that moment, it just made me cringe. Even when the principal marched onto the field during the big match to expose Sebastian as “the woman he was all along,” he used a big megaphone and said to the whole crowd this man is in fact a girl. If it were to happen in the real world, and this character was a trans male, that would be traumatizing and so so insensitive. I couldn’t help thinking the way they handled the reveal in StM was poor and shitty.

But with JOotG (just one of the guys)? It’s done respectfully. Throughout the film, Buddy, Terry’s younger, sex-obsessed brother (I have thoughts on this character), often refers to Terry as a transvestite or sexually confused. They make references about her dating other women and jokes. It’s not treated like taboo, but just something people normally talk about, and as a questioning kid when I first watched the film, I really needed that. Although it was used for jokes, the fact that it wasn’t treated like a silent topic made me think more of it and discover who I was; it was media like this that made me accept myself.

Even with the reveal. Kevin, Terry’s boyfriend (or ex boyfriend by the end), stomps up to Terry after she’s wrestled with the school bully and was dumped into the waves at prom. Rick, who’s been Terry’s friend (and is the male lead) throughout her time at his high school, immediately questions who Kevin is and he responds with a harsh and sure “Terry’s boyfriend.” Of course, that doesn’t expose Terry as female, but makes Rick assume she’s a homosexual. But instead of calling her weird or replying negatively, he answers Kevin’s question calmly and says he’s just a friend. There is no prejudice, no disgust, Rick is shocked, but that’s expected. Furthermore, this reveal not only does not alienate homosexuality, it puts the center of focus on the main characters rather than have the whole audience/prom witness this exchange. Sure, the rest of the school is watching but the camera never pans over to them, and even then, Terry drags Rick away from the crowds to a secluded area to explain more.

Even once they’re secluded, Rick doesn’t yell at her or is homophobic. He just says “I understand, you’re gay.” As we know, Terry is not in fact gay and she reveals this to him in a similar fashion as StM, at least it’s not flashing a whole crowd. But the thing that hits me, is the fact that it’s not used as a joke or for comedy. Throughout the film, they’ve mentioned homosexuality and being transgender, but it was used as a light-hearted joke (nothing insulting or derogatory). In this moment, it’s not a joke, and it’s the bare minimum for a emotional scene like this, but it always hits me.

Of course, Rick gets justifiably mad that he’s been deceived and he storms off. Terry’s flaw catches up to her here, as she kisses him in front of the prom guests, stubborn to make him realize how much she cares. ( I didn’t agree with this action to be frank, I cringed ). The crowd gasps and it’s the usual reaction to a homosexual kiss and Rick just pulls back, says “It’s alright everyone, he’s got tits,” and leaves with Deborah.

In true romantic comedy fashion, life moves on. Terry gets the job at the Sun-Tribune after writing her article about posing as a guy and everyone who was longing for love in the beginning has found it, except Terry. The ending, however, is Rick coming back for her after a couple (days? Weeks? Idk all I know is it’s summer by the time he comes back, how much space between prom and summer?) and they kiss, go on a date and all is good.

Now after writing this long ass post, I’ve come to realize the main reason I like this film. Sure, Terry is a good character (not morally sometimes, but she’s interesting to watch), the way women are presented also is good, but my main source of affection for this film (in comparison to StM) is the way they handle the switching of genders. I’m gender fluid, I don’t always like being a woman or a man, I switch almost daily and half the time can’t decide if I want to grow out my hair or cut it. Seeing Terry, originally a woman, manage to convince people she was a guy made me wish I could do it too. It made me realize, I don’t always like being a woman. I want to be a guy sometimes, and I want that to be accepted. It was media like this, like Ouran High School Host Club, like Bare: A Pop Opera, that made me understand my gender and sexuality. (Even media that didn’t have any relation to LGBTQ+ helped).

When I first heard of “She’s the Man”, I had hoped it would be like these pieces of media. And it wasn’t. It was an alright film, but made me feel disappointed and somewhat let down. And that’s why I just prefer Just One of the Guys. Maybe it wouldn’t float in today’s political climate, maybe I’m wrong for seeing these points as reasons it’s one of my favorites, but its still better than StM and is one of my favourite films.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 141

Last week I posted a day early because vacation was doing vacation things to my sense of time.... This week I forgot to queue the chapter up because Monday was a work holiday, so I forgot today was Tuesday. *insert facepalm here please*

Thanks on this one go largely to @baelpenrose who rightfully pointed out that one part made very little sense to him and therefore was unlikely to make sense to a reader.  The clarification smoothed things out quite a bit, I think.  Just in case, whoever spots the area I’m talking about gets a cookie as soon as travel restrictions lift.

As always, thanks go also to @the-raven-fae, @charlylimph-blog, and @anotherusrname for completing the corners of my support system. And, a super-duper extra-special to @drinksteawithcake! I don’t know if I am allowed to tell everyone why, but you know why you get the extra-special, and I hope you are having fun!

BWAAAAAHP!   BWAAAAAHP!

“Uhhh?” I squinted in complaint as flailing arms clambered over me. One pair snagged me around my waist to drag me from bed before depositing me shakily on my feet. “What are you - ?”

BWAAAAAHP!  BWAAAAAHP!

Any trace of sleep was shoved out of my system, replaced by sizzling alertness when I realized I was hearing ship-wide alarms.  Shoving myself into the first clothing I grabbed, not even bothering with shoes, I was hot on Conor and Maverick’s heels as we raced out of our quarters and into the corridor. We paused only long enough for both men to kiss me and for “I love yous” to be exchanged before they turned and headed toward the areas indicated on their datascreens, while I hauled ass toward the Archives, ducking and twisting to avoid anyone in my path.

“Forty minutes,” Tyche told me crisply as I basically fell through the door, panting. “The Ark could be invaded and the battle over by the time you make it.”

“I ran….huff….the whole….ugh….way….” I managed to gasp out.  Part of me felt like puking, but I was pretty sure the muscles in my abdomen were too busy to figure out the logistics.

Clicking her tongue, she pulled me up from the floor. “Alistair, make a note to suggest to Xio that Sophia’s quarters be relocated once we have a better idea of when we are dropping into real space.”

I nodded numbly. “And probably… amp up… sensors… give… earlier… warning.”

“Nice outfit, by the way,” she laughed quietly as we finally reached the shelter point within the Archives.

Glancing down, I had to suppress a sigh. The first thing I grabbed to dress myself had apparently been a pair of Conor’s boxer shorts and a very filthy t-shirt that I assumed belonged to Maverick, since Conor’s was usually under coveralls. “At least you can’t say I took my time getting dressed.”

Her shaking head was greeted by faces in various states of wakefulness - this had been a drill, and woke nearly the entire Ark during their sleep interval on Delta shift.  But we weren’t out of the woods, yet: the drill didn’t end until all of Xiomara and Evan’s scenarios played out, including the mock combat and various tests of concealment for the other shelters.  As such, Tyche stood guard over the choke-point into this section, while Alistair had stayed behind at the entrance.

Early on, when the drills started, there had been fifty-fifty odds that the mock-invaders would make it this far, but over the past few weeks, that had narrowed to maybe twenty-percent.  It was still too high a chance in my judgement, and Xiomara clearly agreed as she stepped up training schedules and randomized the timing of the drills. 

Taking a swig of water from a stash of bottles, I queued up my datapad and stood next to Tyche, watching the ‘casualties’ from a point where no one could see over my shoulder to avoid panic, which I would have done in a real situation. “They didn’t find mess hall seven this time,” I murmured.

She glanced at my screen. “Acoustics are still too damned high. She must not be simulating for that this go around.”

One of the decoy locations lit up. “Looks like this time it’s heavy on thermal.” The location in question had been equipped with a cooking surface, triggered to activate when the klaxons that had woken me up went off.  Which Xiomara knew, but did not tell the ‘pirates’ for authenticity.

“How did they get past the combatants this time?” She asked, both curious and slightly worried.

Rolling back the sensor data, I watched it carefully. “Looks like these got in during the initial breaches, multiple points. But the line has held since, that’s good.”

Doing another check toward Alistair’s direction, she didn’t seem to see anything concerning. “How many?”

“Four,” I confirmed.  “Sam’s thermal camouflage is working beautifully, though.”  I couldn’t help but grin, and Tyche snorted at the same time. ‘Thermal camouflage’ was a bit of overkill as a name, but it was working well in every round. Potential access points were equipped with fast-acting environmental simulators - originally designed for temporary habitats on inhospitable moons - modified to release atmosphere like a Terran equatorial rainforest within one minute in an enclosed space.  It was a much more simple and elegant solution than any others we had found for giving combatants defending the Ark an advantage - instead of trying to create technology to make them look colder, make the entire area match human heat signatures.  Boom, instantly blinded enemies.

A tense half-hour later, the ‘all clear’ sounded, queueing grumbling from those who had dozed back off as everyone stood to make their ways back to their quarters. I waited with Alistair and Tyche for everyone else to be accounted for on the way out, and the three of us headed back toward our quarters together.  Alistair peeled off first, living closest to the Archives, and no sooner had my sister and I reached my door than the page sounded for the post-drill meeting.  She waved me off as she answered on her databand, and I did the same as I pushed into my quarters and flopped on the couch. “Councillor Sophia Reid, present, audio only,” I answered. “And no jokes, Pranav… I look like I smell awful.”

“Alistair Worthington, present, audio and video. I can confirm that she does, and she does.”

Laughter filled the comms and the rest of the group leaders and Councillors joined the debrief.  Finally, everyone was present and Xiomara called the meeting to order.  First, the leaders of each shelter reported in, as those usually went the fastest. There were a couple malfunctions in the deployment of the shielding to disguise the entrances and hide heat and electrical signatures, but nothing Huynh’s team couldn’t fix.  Tyche and Alistair made the recommendations around earlier detection and the need to move those sheltering in the  Archives closer as we approached time to drop out of relativistic space. 

Once that was out of the way, it was on to the combat and invasion teams. Overall consensus was that Sam’s trick with the portable environments was a rousing success and would be installed at each point determined to be most likely as a breach, with trigger conditions to be determined later. “I hate to say it,” Michael sighed, “but we also need Charly’s team to crank up the scovilles on the arrows and grenades.” His team had played the ‘invaders’ this go around, equipped with sensors and readouts to simulate the effect our defenses would have on the various species who most commonly were found on pirate vessels.  Evan had worked intensely with Pranav and Derek to ensure that the strategies provided by the readouts were modelled after similar strategies based on which ever species each team member was assigned, to ensure we weren’t accidentally drilling against human tactics.

Michael hated it, but he was strict about his team complying nonetheless.

“Seriously?” I squawked, and I wasn’t the only one. “One of those things accidentally went off in my quarters…. Can confirm, they’re pretty potent.”

“They dissipated too fast against my team, and also the contact element left a lot to be desired. Charly, you may want to consider adding a sticking element.”

“Duly noted,” she chimed in with a yawn, her normal pep doused by being woken up and then the drop in adrenaline post-combat.

“What about the sonic weapons?” Xiomara asked, moving the meeting along.

“Still less effective than Nixe is on her own,” a familiar voice I couldn’t put a name to responded with a sheepish tone.  “How hard would it be to train more people to shatter glass with their voice?”

“Incredibly,” Grey stressed. “It takes a very unique combination of training and the right vocal chords.”

“Then we may need to work on adding a projection component.  The sonic devices can match the pitch, but not the actual tone and direction. They’re very effective given time and especially contact, but we need something more immediately disabling.”

Xiomara groaned. “Are we back to Mariah Carey on this one?” Objections exploded until she muted the comms. “It’s that or opera.” Votes started scrolling up the screen, and I could see Xio nod. “Opera it is.  Let’s find a suitable piece and try using more analogue-style speakers.”

“I still say that death metal would work better,” Arthur suggested as soon as the comms were back on.

“Annnnd we already tested it, I will remind you. The volume works, but the pitches aren’t high enough to hit a broad enough population of species sensitive to sound.” After that nearly-obligatory objection, the meeting continued going through reports from each combat team until finally Xiomara announced the end results. “I have to admit, this was one of our best drills yet. Ten percent casualties of the combatants defending the breaches, only two percent among non-combatants, and the invaders were only able to traverse three decks before they were subdued.” She let the cheers go for a couple seconds before getting everyone’s attention again. “Yes, great job on the improvements, but let me remind everyone - those numbers still leave us below threshold for a healthy genetic population. Engineering teams, make the necessary adjustments with whatever resources are necessary. Shelters Three and Seven, you will start training for armed and unarmed combat with Shelter Fourteen and Combat Team Two daily.  Sophia, your team will coordinate schedules. Any questions?”

There were no arguments, not even a groan or mutter as the meeting was dismissed. Before I could even add the new task to my agenda the next day, I received the notification that Alistair had beaten me to the punch.

Glancing at the time, I wanted to hit something.  I had to be back up and at work in four hours, and the realization weighed me down with exhaustion.  The guys had come in and gone to bed while I was in the debrief, and I could already hear synchronized snoring coming from the bedroom.  Rather than risk waking them with my now-frozen feet, I pulled the quilt off the back of my couch and rolled myself into it.  Only minutes later, a heavy weight oozed across my hip and started purring furiously.

“Yeah, buddy. I agree. We need a nap.”

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