#// also can we talk about how evil that icon looks.

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

danny talking about how resentful she became when nobody who she self-sacrificed for cared when she died and then leaving kirsch with laura and carmilla bc "if he stays with me i might lose control again and kill him" kinda confirms my thoughts abt both newly-turnedness and anger making vampires more vampiry

but also makes me think that in more usual circumstances, when the dean turned vampires like carmilla and mattie, that shes really nice at the start to temper any of that unruly anger

[ferromagnetiic]

// God i saw this and 100% Kid and Mr 3

                    【 𝐔𝐍𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐒𝐊. 】                     @waxgentleman

          ❝ What part aren't ya gettin??      I told ya to get up.      So. Get. Up. ❞

Kid will inspire some viciousness out of this man if it's the last thing he ever does.

[themyscirah]

Barry: you can't outmanuever me. You can't outrun me.

Simon: *immediately does just that*

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Josephine Baker (The Siren of the Tropics, ZouZou)— Josephine Baker was an American born actress, singer, and utter icon of the period, creating the 1920s banana skirt look. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion film. She fought in the French resistance in WWII, given a Legion of Honour, as well as refusing to perform in segregated theatres in the US. She was bisexual, a fighter, and overall an absolutely incredible woman as well as being extremely attractive.

Jean Hagen (The Asphalt Jungle, Singin' in the Rain)—a shimmering star in the cinema firmament! Absolutely iconic as the villainess Lina in singin’ in the rain and makes the picture, to be honest. Nobody played funny-evil-gorgeous the way she does. and that voice!

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut. The famous banana skirt is mildly NSFW.]

Josephine Baker:

Black, American-born, French dancer and singer. Phenomenal sensation, took music-halls by storm. Famous in the silent film era.

Let's talk La Revue Negre, Shuffle Along. The iconique banana outfit? But also getting a Croix de Guerre and full military honors at burial in Paris due to working with the Resistance.

She exuded sex, was a beautiful dancer, vivacious, and her silliness and humor added to her attractiveness. She looked just as good in drag too.

So I know she was more famous for other stuff than movies and her movies weren’t Hollywood but my first exposure to her was in her films so I’ve always thought of her as a film actress first and foremost. Also she was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture so I think that warrants an entry

Iconic! Just look up anything about her life. She was a fascinating woman.

Jean Hagen:

Riddle and you shall receive! How could we forget about Jean Hagen! I love a woman who can play really delightfully evil, and it's very fun seeing her other roles after you've seen her as Lina Lamont. Also, she's got an adorable smile and a gorgeous chin.

Her Oscar-nominated performance as Lina Lamont is a wonderful example of being talented enough to make an unsympathetic character difficult to hate. Admittedly her looks also help a lot - in so many films she would have been the romantic lead and it's a shame Lina didn't get a redemption arc.

Had a sexy sexy alto register so when she was being dubbed as Lina Lamont by Debbie Reynolds she was dubbing Debbie Reynolds dubbing her. Shoutout to Betty Noyes also.

Linked gifset

did. is anyone. can we please bring attention to her in drag. please god and thank you

If we bring a little joy into your humdrum lives, it makes us feel as though our hard work ain't been in vain for nothin!

[dwreader]

Emphasizing Louis's Beauty

I've talked previously about how Louis in the 2nd half of the season is rarely seen in suits anymore but what about the earlier episodes when he wears a wide array of colorful suits while he is still performing his role in human society? What stands out is how many vibrant colors and patterns we see him in vs. Lestat who is always in some kind of tan, gray or navy. A lot of this is simply historical record as vibrant colors were more typical of black male dress of the era and we see that Louis is trying to maintain appearances, but on the show his bright costuming always stands out from other background male characters black OR white (confirmed by the costume designer that his colors are like a flame drawing Lestat in) and the tailoring and color choices often stands in contrast to Lestat on screen next to him in a more traditional masculine (aka duller) color. I mean compare this to how romantic period dramas typically style the men and women.

Beyond the historical nods, which most tv viewers don't have detailed references to as there aren't many color images we have from that era, I think the show does a great job of connecting cultural references everyone can immediately pick up on (the Leydecker outfits were obvious examples). For example, if you think of a white stripey suit from the 1910s, the image that came to mind was probably Rose in Titanic. So even as Louis is projecting what was period standard masculinity, what the modern viewer is likely thinking of is a tailored suit worn by the female protagonist in one of the biggest movies of all time. These looks screams high fashion latest designs from Paris, decked out pampered princess of the ship ("prince of your district").

In the same vein, when you imagine an iconic green period costume you're probably thinking of Keira Knightley in Atonement. In fact if you google "green suit in period film" all the results are of women. Rarely are men put in these colors in period romances particularly. I mean I think they put Keira in that green dress simply because she looks incredibly beautiful in that color and that's also how I feel about Louis in his green outfit.

I've talked before about the use of red on Louis but looking at the actual context of when Louis wears red they are specifically scenes of lust (w/ Jonah), shame (the slutshamig w/ the soliders) or anger/revenge (killing the Alderman) and hello look at these!!

And this is really an exclusively female character trope where vivid color costuming is used to convey mood or emotion! When a man is angry or lustful in a film, he's never wearing red, he's just wearing a boring color like black or grey. Evil and goodness are conveyed by black vs. white costuming with men (i.e Lestat's evil black darth vader get up) but rarely any colors not on that b&w scale.

Also speaking of cultural references in costuming here's this again.

[jesncin]

I appreciate most of your takes but don't understand how you look at a character like livewire, a character created in the middle of a 90's feminist movement and come to the conclusion she's supposed to a be a caricature of classical racist conservatism

?? huh is this an elaborate joke I'm missing out on?? Like you're roleplaying as a Shockateer? There's no tone indicators so I'm left to my own perception that you're being serious so I'll have to respond in seriousness. I'm gonna be so embarrassed if this is a joke :(((

So...just because a character is made "in the middle of the 90's" or "feminist movement" doesn't...mean they're a feminist character? Like with that logic, Tana Moon is a feminist icon I guess. Also "caricature of classical racist conservatism"? man, I kinda envy how people think the way I write her is Cartoony Evil Racism and not a toned down depiction of how personalities like Posie Parker, Matt Walsh, and Blaire White talk. I suppose I'm glad you haven't encountered anyone that awful. Good for you! 👍

Livewire meta under the cut fellas

I feel like you don't have a very holistic view of Livewire's character. Because while yes, she has been used for feminist critique in the show and comics, that's not all there is to her character. My take on Livewire is a commentary on how white womanhood intersects with parasocial internet grifts and the larger way identity gets filtered online. It's a take influenced by how she literally started out as a controversial provocative shock jock in STAS.

There's so much potential to re-imagine her hatred of Superman as a commentary on how white women feel justified in harassing marginalized men because it looks like a punch-up to misogyny. The way she uses the accident Superman caused as a way to white-woman-victimize herself and prime her audience to hate him more. You can take the spinoff comic where she only lets women speak on the air as her presenting a black and white, non-intersectional view of social progress. Kind of like how TERFs keep fantasizing about a world without men as a utopia? In CW Supergirl, Livewire plays into internalized misogyny and homophobia to jab at Supergirl. Not showing up for her fellow women if you ask me.

Because while yes, Leslie has been shown to be a character who had to deal with sexism, she's also a really compelling narrative for an imperfect victim. Just because a character deals with sexist hardship, doesn't mean it makes her a feminist ideal y'know? Leslie lashes out and weaponizes her victimhood, she uses her audience to bully others.

I think one of the flaws to the longevity of her character as a villain is because her narrow hatred of Supes makes her themes short lived. So I really want to expand it through Satoshi Kon-style deconstruction of how people juggle having multiple identities in the modern era. In the (bleh) Batgirl Burnside comic Livewire shows up in, she returns as a being of energy who doesn't remember who she was before. In STAS, it's left ambiguous whether she actually believes what she says about Superman or if it's all part of an act that "pays the bills!".

Imagine the opportunity to make it so she pieced together a sense of self from the fractured way her audience viewed her! What a great way to talk about how parasocial relationships make us think we know a person from the bombastic way they present themselves (Casually Comics thought of this brilliant take). DCSHG has been the most competent reimagining of Livewire. A perfect update of her shock jock origins into the internet era that revitalizes her attention-seeking traits into the clout-chasing grind of social media personality.

All this to say, Livewire's way more that just "sassy woman on the radio fighting against The Man!" I think making her a punk appropriating, rebellious, internet personality who uses her privilege to marginalize others for clout and money is a natural, more political progression of what DCSHG built with her character.

I don't really understand how you can look at a character whose most prominent iterations involve her bullying and targeting people (including other women) and tell me she's "feminist" unless you actually believe in Leslie's version of White Woman Girl Power. Any kind of "feminism" that touts Hating Men as a major point should be something to be critical of.

[cleolinda]

(For our purposes, listen to it without the visuals first.)

I wasn't going to keep posting about Unreal Unearth, but something happened yesterday.

It's been five months since I first heard this song, and I'm still astonished by it. You know the tiktok skit about the Star Wars wedding music, and the guy is grooving along until the Imperial Death March filters in, and then he's kind of alarmed, like, wha—? And then he realizes it slaps anyway and he keeps dancing? That is "Eat Your Young."

It's the morning of March 17th. The EP with the first three singles from the new album has dropped. I've got my phone blasting the song on the bathroom counter, I don't understand half what the man is saying nor did I expect to, I'm cheerfully mumbling along in the shower, grooving along,

wait they did what for a war drum

Get some Pull up the ladder when the flood comes Throw enough rope until the legs have swung Seven new ways that you can eat your young Come and get some Skinning the children for a war drum Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns It's quicker and easier to eat your young

What the fuck, this song goes so hard. That's the chorus. The conceit of the whole album is that it loosely follows Dante's Inferno, so this is the third circle of hell, gluttony. Hozier himself says that he wasn't specifically thinking of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal—

“I don’t know how intentional the reference to Jonathan Swift was in this. That essay [Swift’s 1729 satirical essay A Modest Proposal in which he suggests the Irish poor sell their children as food] is such a cultural landmark that it’s just hanging in the air. I was more reflecting on what I felt now in this spirit of the times of perpetual short-term gain and a long-term blindness. The increasing levels of precarious living, poverty, job insecurity, rental crisis, property crisis, climate crisis, and a generation that’s inheriting all of that and one generation that’s enjoyed the spoils of it. The lyrics are direct, but the voice is playful. There’s this unreliable narrator who relishes in this thing which was fun to write.” [Apple Music album notes]

—and I believe him. The song's not a suggestion, a proposal; it's an invitation to atrocity in progress. I also believe he probably wasn't thinking of Greta Thunberg's iconic speech at the UN Climate Action Summit, not specifically, but that's what I hear in the song, like the flip side of a coin:

You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you! [...] You say you hear us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I do not want to believe that. Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil.

I feel like on some level, even coincidentally, "Eat Your Young" is the answer to the question, what would you sound like if you were that evil? Who would you be? I can think of a dozen possibilities just off the top of my head or looking around my blog, from something as petty as studio executives mangling trees to deprive striking workers of shade (while hoping they lose their homes), all the way up to the US school-to-prison pipeline. The National Rifle Association keeps politicians in its pocket while the US has more mass shootings than days in a year, Nestlé fucks shit up around the world as a way of life, even ChatGPT sucks up water while threatening jobs—and for what? And yet, I promise you most of these things weren't the inspiration for an Irishman’s song—some of them hadn't even happened yet. There's just that much fresh You Would Be Evil to go around. I am certain that Hozier wrote the song partly about (as one article puts it) "Ireland's housing crisis: Millennials, a generation sacrificed," given that time back in the day when he helped occupy a building—a housing crisis happening in multiple countries. There's so much of the world I'm not touching on. I can stuff a paragraph with links and it's utterly inadequate.

I haven't even mentioned war.

There's an overwhelming sense this decade of the future being fed into a meat grinder. That sense is in this song. What would it sound like to be in the head of someone who didn't give a shit about anything but profit? Well, it might sound like this.

And if you haven't heard it, well—I'm going to sound absolutely out of my mind after saying all that, but "Eat Your Young" has a beat and you can dance to it. It's sexy. And I'm certain that's on purpose. You get seduced into the sound of it, as if by something demonic, something that enjoys sucking down the future and is not going to stop. And the sheer fucking catchiness of the song keeps you listening to it—thinking about it—when maybe you push away the dry headlines we get everyday. If you let this song stay in your head, it becomes a lens. Five months later, I still think about it when I read the news. Maui was on fire and tourists stayed. Within days, the prospect of developers swooping in to buy up land reared its head. If there's something still to take, there is ground to break, whatever's still to come. Get some.

I was born in 1978 —I'm late Gen X. In my forties, I'm young enough to worry about the future still; I’m neither so rich that I can just plan to retire to Mars, nor so old that I can know I'll be safely gone before the world might go up in flames. But I'm also not my nephew, whose school year just started back up, or the neighborhood kids who race him home down the sidewalk in the afternoons. Yesterday, he had his very first mass-shooter lockdown drill. He’s six.

I think music can put the feeling back into numb fingers, and I think that's why "Eat Your Young" works so well—Hozier calls the song fun and playful, and I think you have to have that, something you can live with rather than just switch off for your own mental survival. We need music to feed spirit at protests; we need something to keep our feet moving. Don’t give up, don't close your eyes and slip away. Those kids, they have dreams we could try to steal back for them.

Since I mentioned Maui:

Why Hawaiian sovereignty has undeniable context for the Maui fires

The Climate Crisis and Colonialism Destroyed My Maui Home. Where We Must Go From Here

How You Can Donate and Help Support Maui Communities Right Now

The Maui Strong Fund

[glitteredrry]

how to lose a guy in 10 days

hello, welcome to the beginning of my romcom h series where i’m just writing harry in to iconic romantic comedies. now it won’t be verbatim (although some iconic quotes are used), so don’t expect that. it has the same plot though. i hope that you love the start of this series. thank you for reading. 💌

summary: a journalist who is in desperate need of a promotion has only has one simple task, lose a guy in ten days. what happens when Y/N meets a man named Harry that she can fool? Oh, but the only thing is he has his own promotion task to complete…he needs to make a woman fall in love with him in ten days.

warning: fluff, angst, & good ole cheesy romance.

wc: 9.2k (grab a snack)

“I’ve acted batshit crazy with this guy, he’s not budging,” Y/N complained to her friends in her living room.

She was at a loss, her only task for promotion was to lose a guy in 10 days. She wanted this promotion not just to have bragging rights that she did in fact lose a guy, but to be taken more seriously as a journalist.

Living in New York, it was hard to get out of the pool of writing small dating articles. Y/N was over these small sections about topics that weren’t going to change the world.

She wanted something more serious. Perhaps covering world news or something in politics. Her dream of being a journalist surely wasn’t where she is at right now. She wasn’t one of those people who were unappreciative of her opportunity, just a woman looking for a change.

So, when her boss opened up the opportunity of getting to write more serious topics, she was willing to do anything. Even if it was using some guy as a pawn. Sitting with her closest friends sharing a bottle of wine, they talked about her journey so far with the task at hand.

“Well tell us about everything that you’ve done, list it from crazy to out of this world,” Miranda spoke up feeling entertained by this situation her friend was in.

Y/N blew raspberries, “well the least is that I made him take care of these nearly dead roses I bought at the store. I told him that they were a representation of our relationship; if they died it meant he wanted our relationship to die.” She said with an evil smile.

“Once I gave him the flowers I then dedicated a song to him.” Laughter filled the small living room.

“What song?”

“You’re so vain.”

“You didn’t!”

“Even added his name in while I was singing. He looked mortified.” She said finishing off her glass of wine and then going to refill it.

“That’s the least? How crazy did you get?”

”Oh I’ve been terrible, you think that he would have blocked me by now. Listen to this one, we were at a game- oh a basketball game. The game was intense, I mean it might have been the best game of the season. I looked over at him,” she looked at her friend Kendra reenacting what she did.

“And said I don’t think I feel so well. The look on his face was something I’ll never forget. He quite literally looked as if he would have rather told me to go to hell than leave the game, but we left.” She laughed. Y/N knew that the actions were cruel, but she also knew that this would be a great story to tell her grandkids one day.

“What else?” Her friends asked on the edge of their seats.

“Well, a small thing is jealousy. Which I thought guys hated but he just takes it and reassures me. I’ve accused him of dating other girls, and looking at other girls; I’ve made him get into a fight with a guy at a fair.”

“Then right when I was about to have sex with him I called his dick princess Sofia. That didn’t go over well but we agreed on another name. I honestly thought that would have done it. It didn’t.” Y/N said reaching inside their popcorn as her friends just looked shocked.

“I called his Mom too.”

A gasp filled the room because they couldn’t believe how far their friend was going.

“Told him that I cared about having an important relationship with her.”

“And that didn’t steer him away?”

“Nope. Nada. Nothing. He just was okay with it! Sometimes I can just see this look in his eyes that he wants to lose it on me, but he doesn’t.” She said in disbelief herself.

“He will break soon, I feel it.”

“Well, what about today?” Her friend spoke up to ask.

“He plays cards with his friends, it’s my day off.”

“That was before he met you.” Y/N looked over at her friend confused.

“He played cards with his friends before he met you. You need to go, ruin boys' night. There is nothing more that men hate than when their friend's girlfriend comes to crash the party.”

It was as if a lightbulb went up in Y/N’s head as her friend Linda was in disagreeing with it all.

“What’s his name?

“Harry.”

“Harry must be a sweet boy why are you trying to break his heart?”

“He’ll get over me, Linda. It’s only 10 days.”

…

Harry was sitting in his apartment passing around a joint with friends. He had finally gotten the chance to breathe without Y/N breathing down his neck. All the nicknames, baby voices, and constant need for his attention were put on pause.

The Y/N he met on night one was a complete 180 of the Y/N he was currently dealing with. The woman he met was this beautiful woman. Someone who was intelligent and witty, it was someone whom he would have felt bad for making fall in love with him just for his personal benefit. The version he was dealing with now was a demon.

Although she did have her moments where he had a glimpse of the person that he originally met; Like when she would hug him and her fluorescent perfume would mix with his beautifully. Or when they decided to watch a game together in his apartment and she was cheering at the screen with him. She did have her good moments, but then again the bad outweighed the good.

He couldn’t complain much because he needed her. She was his only way of being able to move up at the fashion company he worked for. For him to lead the campaign for the new season of the women’s collection, he needed to get a woman to fall in love with him. Harry told his boss that women love him and that he understood women. So, his boss wanted to challenge that by having only one simple request. Getting a random woman to fall in love with him. He was nailing the assignment since Y/N was still around.

“So, Styles. Do you think that girl is in love with you yet?”

“I’ve got her wrapped around my finger. She’s hooked.”

“Have you fucked her yet?”

“There’s no way that he hasn’t.” One of his friends added in.

“Don’t ask me a question like that. She isn’t a piece of meat.” Harry said in all seriousness. He might have not been trying to date the girl, but he wouldn’t let his friends disrespect her. They all knew what she looked like since she had come up to his job…several times.

“Fine…but have you?”

“Well…no I haven’t.” He said while looking at his hand of cards.

“So, you have to deal with her craziness and get nothing in return?”

“I’m getting something in return, and that’s a campaign.” At his words, keys rattled from outside making all the men at the table turn around.

“Booboo bear,” Y/N called out entering with their cat she got them as practice for their future child in hand.

“Oh, hell.” He said under his breath going to stand as all his friends mocked the nickname while trying to conceal their laughs. Y/N let down their cat whom she named Muffin to the ground.

“Honey,” he said opening his arms as she walked inside them. Hugging momentarily, Harry breathed in her scent that he was becoming all too familiar with.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked breaking away from her and looking down as she smiled up at him. That smile that he was kind of cute…kind of.

“I just happened to be in the area, then Muffin started meowing when I walked in the direction of your apartment. So, I think that she was telling me to come here. She must have missed her, Daddy.” She turned away from Harry to pick up the cat, “you missed your Daddy, sweet girl.” Y/N’s baby voice was on, and the only thing encouraging her to continue was his friends dying of laughter in the back.

“Continue your game. I’ll be like a ghost you won’t know that I’m here. Just dropping off some things.” Pressing a kiss to his cheek, she turned and headed to the kitchen to laugh to herself.

Harry sat back down at the table daring his friends to say another word. Just when he thought that Y/N was going to be true to her word, out she walked with a platter of vegetables no one asked for nor wanted.

“Excuse me, just wanted to bring healthier options,” she looked over to one of his friends who had a wing in his mouth. Staring it down, she took her fingers and yanked it out his mouth, and all of the men gawked at her actions. “Healthy celery, healthy carrot look how yummy.” She said to Harry’s friends as if he was a toddler.

All of his friends looked around at each other not believing how crazy this girl genuinely was.

His friend slowly let her place the vegetable in his mouth and she patted his head, “good boy.”

Harry couldn’t even find the words to say right now. He placed the joint back in his mouth trying to calm his nerves that Y/N was trying to drive through the roof.

Then coughs began to start as she stared down Harry. They progressed from small ones as if she was clearing her throat to overdramatic ones as if she could not breathe. He knew she was being over dramatic, she stopped in the middle of it all, eyeing him down one more telepathically telling him to put it out.. He put it out with a forced smile.

“Thank you, my sweet honeybun.” She cooed.

Then the drama came as she directed her eyes to something across the room.

A blood-curdling scream came from her lips as if someone had stabbed her, making all the men join her not knowing what they were screaming. “Harry, our roses. You killed them, you monster.” Y/N said theatrically moving across the room to hold the nearly dead roses.

“They’re just roses, I can buy you more,” Harry said rushing over trying to calm her. He was not expecting her to have this kind of reaction…well he had planned for this to happen actually. Tomorrow before he came back from work, he had wanted to go buy fresh roses to replace them. His plan failed…clearly.

“What did you just say?” She looked at him with a twitch in her eye. He thought that he could only see something like this in a movie. His mind couldn’t wrap around that this was his life. Out of all the women in the world that he could have picked for this bet, he picked the worst nut in the package.

“These roses were a symbol of our love. Our young, beautiful, festering love. Do you want our relationship to die?” She said with accusation.

“No, honey. I don’t want our relationship to die. Wait-”

“I don’t want to hear another word.” She said huffing as she began to stomp back to the kitchen with the rest of the roses in hand. She took a moment to collect herself. This was slowly driving her to insanity, but she couldn’t help to admit how fun it was to see the different reactions across the room to her antics.

Just as she walked back into the room with a platter full of pretzels, her eyes were on the back of Harry’s head as he motioned to his friend that she was crazy.

Back into character, I goes.

All of Harry’s friends were trying to silently motion to him that she was behind him. As Harry slowly turned around, he watched her slow stride as she approached the table. All of Harry’s friends watched anxiously because this girl was unpredictable.

“Are you saying, I’m some kind of mental person?” Pretzels flew up in the air and came down like confetti. All of Harry’s friends jumped back as they began to vouch for him.

“No, he didn’t say that.”

“He told us he loved you.”

“Right, Harry?”

“I’m in a room full of liars and snakes. If you would lie to me then you would steal from me, and if you would steal from me then you would cheat on me. Are you cheating on me, Harry?” Y/N said with a small fake sob beginning to spill from her mouth. Every man in the room looked at each other confused. It was as if she was flipping through several personalities.

“No, I wouldn’t lie, steal, or cheat on you. Where did you even get that phrase from?” Harry said, going to stand feeling more confused than ever.

“Quite frankly, Harry you would.” She said immediately cutting off her sobs and going back to normal only making the men in the room question her sanity even more.

“I know that you did cheat, I just can’t prove it. First, you let our love roses die, and now I’m a mental person. I don’t want to be with someone who thinks I’m a mental person.” She said moving to collect her purse and the nearly dead roses.

“Goodbye, Harry. I’m the best thing that ever happened to you.” As soon as her back was turned to the men, she smiled. Walking out the door and hearing it shut she felt victorious.

Her assignment was done for good.

There was no way that after that Harry would be trying to come back. Y/N nearly felt bad for all the pretzels that he would have to clean up.

“You can’t let her go, Harry.” His friend spoke up not forgetting about his promotion. Harry on the other hand had the promotion in the farthest part of his mind. He was happy to no longer deal with her shenanigans.

“Let her leave, I’m in hell. I can’t deal with that,” Harry said feeling slight relief at her finally leaving. Her random meltdowns, phone calls, and popping up where he was were over with.

“The promotion.” His friend reminded him. Harry forgot about the task at hand, and he needed that promotion. Jumping up, he began to run out his door. He was wishing on a star right now that he could catch her.

She had finally gotten rid of him.

“Y/N, wait.”

Or so she thought.

She turned her head to see Harry running down the fire escape in search of her. What was it going to take for this guy to leave me alone? She thought. Turning around to face him, she jumped right back into acting mode making her face screw up as if she was pissed off.

“What do you want, Harry? Why are you running back to talk to a mental person?” She asked. Yes, she was acting, but she truly wanted to know why he would decide to come back to find her. Either this guy was falling for her or just like the crazy within her.

“I’m here to apologize. It was cruel of me to call you mental. You just care. I’m willing to do anything to fix it. I messed up. Please, forgive me.” Harry looked down at her with puppy dog eyes that made Y/N’s stomach curl a bit. She felt a slight blush on her cheeks looking at him in this vicinity. It was the same feelings from the first night that they met. Quickly, she broke eye contact trying to push those feelings down.

“I’m not sure that I can forgive this.” Harry watched her lips and how she kept a prominent pout as she said the words to him. It was cute. She was cute. Harry broke himself out of fonding over her and those beautiful lips.

“I’m willing to do anything,” he slowly dropping to his knees on the New York sidewalk, and she couldn’t figure out whether to find this enduring or disgusting. He kept his green eyes on her as he lowered himself to the ground. “Anything, Y/N.”

“Couples therapy?” She asked knowing that there was no way in hell he would agree to that.

“If that will make you forgive me then, yes. I’ll go.” He rose off the ground going to hug her as she twisted her face in confusion as soon as his head was tucked into her neck. Harry breathed in her scent that the wind was trying to blow away, but he could still smell it.

When they broke contact, she looked at him sternly.

“I love you Harrypie, but I don’t have to like you right now.”

With that said she continued her walk down the street until she was able to fetch a cab ride home. Harry watched her disappear in the night, walking back up to his apartment he ended the boys' night. He was left in a room filled with scattered pretzels and a grumpy cat looking back at him. His dreams were filled with a messy girl with pouty lips and a scream that could wake up the world.

…

Couples therapy was hell…well for Harry it was hell. Y/N seemed to enjoy throwing him under the bus at any moment, not only throwing him under the bus but weirdly partnering up with the therapist against him; At the same time, she accused him of trying to sleep with the therapist.

To say the least he left the session with a happy woman, a major headache, and a dent in his wallet. He honestly had a gut feeling the therapist was a fake one she found off the internet. One thing that he wasn’t expecting the therapist to suggest was taking her away for the weekend to go visit his family.

His family was originally from England, but when his Mom remarried they settled in a small town in Connecticut. He felt calm bringing her because Y/N had already formed a bit of a relationship with his Mom. He could tell that Y/N was nervous.

As he turned down the street where he had spent the majority of his childhood, he watched Y/N’s leg shake as the anxiety was creeping down her body. Maybe this was too far? She thought about pulling into the driveway of Harry’s childhood home.

She tried to calm herself with the fact that this relationship was just to get her ahead in life. It was just three more days, and they would both move on with their lives. Once Harry cut off the car, they both climbed out. Harry grabbed their bags to go inside the house. Before they could even step through the door, Harry’s Mom was greeting them with a smile. “My boy,” she called out, going to kiss his cheek.

“Mom this is Y/N. Y/N this is Anne. I shouldn’t even be introducing you two, I forgot that you already have talked.” He said with a smart-ass tone causing Anne to hit him with a small rag she had in her hand.

“Nothing wrong with a little girl talk. Go drop the bags off in your room. Leave Y/N to me.” Harry walked away up the stairs to his room. Anne moved closer to Y/N with a low voice as soon as the coast was clear.

“You know you’re the first girl that Harry has brought home. You’re too are cute. Come on, let’s go introduce you to the whole family!”

Harry’s family was so loving. She loved the dynamic that they had. Anne introduced Y/N to his sister who had much to tell her about the childhood she shared with Harry. Then his grandfather was currently teaching Y/N how to play poker. It was beautiful scenery too with a hidden lake out back.

“When you fold, that means you’re surrendering. Pretty much you’re throwing the towel in before it even starts.” Harry’s grandfather spoke to her.

“Your cards won’t be able to be played.” She was nodding her head trying to wrap her hand around the game's entire concept.

On cue, Harry walked out the back door and immediately found Y/N. He was happy to see her fitting in with his family. He found it cute.

“Look at the poker champion,” his uncle called out making Harry claim the title loud and proud.

“I don’t think you’ll be winning today, Harry. Your girl is becoming a poker pro.” Y/N blushed at Gemma calling her out.

“Is that so?” Harry asked Y/N as he sat down right next to her.

Y/N shrugged her shoulders at him hiding her cards. “I think I can steal that title from you.”

“We’ll see about that. Deal me in.”

With the help of Harry’s family, Y/N just so happened to win over Harry. The night was filled with laughter and accusations of cheating...which she was. Y/N felt something inside of her brewing but she couldn’t tell what it exactly was.

She loved when Harry called her name out each time he accused her of cheating. She loved how he chased her around the backyard when he found out she was indeed cheating. That night she went to sleep with a charming boy, who had a dazzling smile in mind.

…

Today was peaceful. Outside of the city, it felt to Harry as if their energy shifted. His emotions with this girl have been up and down. Right now he felt so infatuated with her that it was overwhelming. He would find something about her each hour that made him laugh harder or smile a bit brighter. They were practically attached at the hip, only separating when needing to go to the bathroom.

Everything was feeling like the first night that he met her. It was something more personal. He wasn’t sure if it was because of them getting to be by themselves or the fact that he had finally brought a girl to his family, and they loved her. He just knew that as of right now he didn’t want to let go of her.

Right now, the pair were cuddled on the couch watching a movie as Harry’s family were running around doing other things. Suddenly, an idea came into his head as he looked at Y/N laughing at a scene.

“Want to go get naked?” He said randomly in her ear causing her to shoot up giving him a wild stare.

Without a doubt, she knew that she was sexually attracted to Harry, but his just randomly saying it caused panic to run through her.

Harry laughed at her reaction purposely teasing her, he watched as her eyes dilated while holding shock in them.

“Sorry, what I meant to say is would you like to go by the lake? We’ll be in swimsuits, I assure you.” Y/N held a hand to her chest blowing out air that she had been holding in.

“Although, if you would like to get naked, I wouldn’t stop you.” Y/N let out that loud laugh that was music to Harry’s ears.

“You’re such an ass.”

“You love it. Are we going?”

“Show me the way.”

…

The cool air hit Y/N’s legs as Harry walked in front of her leading her to the lake. They had a small picnic basket filled with goodies that Harry had decided to pack. Harry turned his head multiple times to ensure she was okay, and she gave him a kind smile right back each time.

They walked down the passageway until they hit the hidden area. Harry turned to face her feeling a bit shy about bringing her here. It was a sacred oasis for him when he would come to visit. It was something that he had to himself since he was a teen. “Welcome,” he said to her as she took in the location.

She never grew up in a small, close-knit town like this. It was a complete contrast from what she was used to. It was always loud noises coming from the city or the busy streets of New York that she had to walk down bumping into people; Here it was silence.

Just the sounds of nature flooding her ears. She felt at peace. “This is gorgeous, H.” Harry felt his face burn. He wasn’t sure if it was because of how soft her voice was while being dripped in pure adoration or because of the nickname she just assigned to him. He was going to just go with the latter.

“Early in the morning, it’s even better believe it or not.”

They sat down their belongings and undressed. While peeling off their clothes, the both of them stole secret glances at each other. Once they were settled in their swimsuits, Harry overlooked her body as her swimsuit hugged her curves.

She was beautiful.

He was beautiful.

His tattoos were melting into his tanned toned skin as she tried not to let her stare linger for too long. “I’m going to head in, you can keep making googly eyes at me.” Harry teased running into the water. This time Y/N was the one to blush. She chased after him not letting him get too far away.

They played innocently in the water, it was childish splashes shared between them, and a game of marco polo. After getting tired of the water, the both of them watched as the sun was gradually setting. Harry was laid across Y/N’s plush thighs as she was snacking on some grapes. As their bodies dried, Harry was in a deep thinking process.

Harry didn’t know how to describe the way that he felt. It was a weird set of emotions for him. He had never had a serious relationship, then when he happens to meet someone that has driven him mad in all of the ways one can imagine; It happens that he is using her for a bet.

He looked up at her as she unknowingly was stuffing her mouth with grapes. “You look like the cutest chipmunk ever,” she looked down at him, as Harry flashed those bunny teeth that caused her heart to throb.

Hitting him playfully, he sat up moving away from her attack. After she finished chewing she began to speak, “they were really good grapes I swear.”

Harry turned his head up focusing on how the sky had become a little gloomy, “Hey, Y/N, I think that we should head out now. I think that it’s going to-” Before he could finish his sentence, the weather did a 180 causing them the laugh at the small sprinkles of water that began to hit them. Sprinkles the turned to hard rain hitting their skin

Quickly gathering their thing, they ran in the direction of his family home as their laughs got lost in the pouring rain. Once, they made it inside they ran upstairs into the bathroom together and locked the door.

“Let me get the shower for you, if you hear someone flush a toilet be sure to jump out,” he laughed to her as he turned on the water. He turned to face her with a smile on his face.

“Who knew things would change so fast,” Harry said with a laugh shaking water out of his hair. Y/N knew that he was talking about the weather, but she couldn’t help but feel emotion spark within her with his choice of words.

This was all supposed to be a silly bet for her to promote to a higher position, she didn’t know that she would have ended up feeling these kinds of emotions about him. She turned from him as guilty tears ran down her face. Harry immediately noticed a shift in the air as she sat on the toilet lid in distress.

”Hey, hey what’s wrong?” Harry cooed kneeling infront of her and moving her wet hair behind her ears, wanting to get a better look at her face.

Y/N looked up at him with red eyes as she tried to explain her emotions without fully giving them away the reason behind her tears. “It’s just this weekend has been so nice, hasn’t it? Your mom is so kind and it’s just your family is so nice. It w-” she cut herself off with a deep breath before she was about to reveal herself.

“My family loves you and I- yes it has been a great weekend. One of the best I’ve had in a while.” Harry moved his hand to her thigh and she looked down at when he was touching her. There was a connection and both of them questioned if the other could feel it.

“A beautiful girl like you is never meant to cry. Can you show me your smile? I love your smile.” Harry spoke to her with a slight rasp in his voice.

“C’mon, you know you want to smile for me.” He said poking her cheek and teasing her as she tried to contain the blush rising on her cheeks.

She showed him a smile…just not the normal one. “That’s a scary smile, I want my girl’s smile.” She pursed her lips before showing her natural smile.

“There we go, think you have some spinach in your teeth though.”

“I do not.”

“You don’t, I just wanted to mess with you,” Harry said laughing as he moved closer.

He wanted to kiss her.

She wanted him to kiss her.

As if they could read each other’s minds, their lips connected in a way they had not before. It was an overwhelming feeling for both of them. They couldn’t understand when the line started to merge.

They both tried their best to keep their lips connected as clothes began to fly off. By the time they hit the shower, they explored each other in the same way how they wanted to on the first night they met. It was the same burning desire running in them, only now they were both in love with each other without fully admitting it to themselves.

…

Saying goodbye was always bittersweet, but it shouldn’t feel like this. After a weekend together like this he wanted it to stay for good, they were infront of her apartment lingering outside not wanting to say goodbye.  

“Well, this is me…” she said not wanting to leave but knowing she would have to.

“I know, kiss goodbye?” She nodded her head wanting the same thing. Pressing a kiss to his lips she moved to move away.

“Bye Harrybooboo,” she said with a laugh using the nickname not to annoy him this time, but just to tease him.

“Bye, honey bear,” Harry teased right back.

Y/N laughed stepping away and walked to the door of her building but stopped hearing Harry shout her name.

“Tomorrow my job is hosting a gala, will you be my date?”

“I would love to. What time?”

“8 on the dot.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

…

Harry looked down at his leather boots while he waited for Y/N to come downstairs. It was finally the night of the gala and he was dressed to impress, not only because he was a representation of the company. He wanted to impress Y/N. He was dressed in one of the suits from the newest collection coming out soon.

Harry waited for her patiently not wanting to rush her but knowing that they were cutting it close. His body leaned against the chauffeured car that he had gotten for them. His nerves were an absolute wreck, he was doing every single thing that he could to distract himself; He fidgeted with each one of his rings and tossed his hair in every which way.

“Hello, Harrybooboo,” all of the nerves fell away before his eyes could even look at her. Just by being able to hear her voice, he felt a calmness.

Looking up at her, he felt as if someone had physically punched him in his chest knocking all of the wind out of him. She was beautiful. He held his right hand over his heart to calm how rapidly it had started beating.

Y/N stood on top of the stairs feeling a bit timid, she had spent all of the time trying to look her best. It was all worth it to see him looking at her as if she was the most prized possession in the world.

Harry observed the yellow silk dress that matched her perfectly. It clings to her body, the body that he had fallen for so fast. Her hair was in an updo showing off her beautiful face. He was completely and utterly gone for her.  As she walked down the stairs he opened the door for her to climb in first.  

“You clean up nice,” she said with a smile before going to greet him with a hug.

“You’re not too shabby either,” Harry said flashing her a toothy grin.

“I’m going to head in, you can keep making googly eyes at me.” She said to him with a teasing smile climbing into the car. Harry laughed at her repeating his words from two days ago.

“Gladly.”

…

The gala was beautiful, and the designs from the upcoming collection were on display. Ranging from jewelry pieces to styled outfits. Y/N was in awe.

She was happy to be here with Harry…although he wasn’t right by her right now. This was still a work event for him so he couldn’t be by her side through it all. They had gotten separated somewhere along the way. She was now looking at one of the styled outfits on display that caught her eye.

“Y/N,” she heard her name called by an unfamiliar voice.

Turning her head, she made out the face to be Harry’s boss from one of her too many visits to his job. “Mr. Bardot, you’re Harry’s boss. Hello.”

“That I am, and you’re his…”

She was never asked this question before, they weren’t technically anything official. It had only been ten days for goodness sake.

“I’m his date.”

“Right, but I’ve seen you lingering around my office more than once. You can’t be just a date.” She swallowed nervously not knowing what to exactly say.

“I guess you could say that I’m more than just a date. Harry and I have a weird dynamic.” She ended her sentence with a peal of nervous laughter hoping that his nosy boss would catch a hint, and go meddle in someone else’s business. Turning back to look at the styled piece, she nearly spits out her champagne at his next sentence.

“Right, I guess things do become weird once you fall in love with someone.” He said nonchalantly.

Turning her head back to him, “l-love? I didn’t say that.”

“Well, that’s what would make it a weird dynamic, right? I mean I’ve been looking at you both since you walked in together. That looked like love.”

Y/N felt as if she was having some kind of existential crisis, it was if she had started questioning everything. She knew that her feelings for Harry were growing rapidly without her even knowing. But love? It was as if everything had come crashing down on her at once.

Even though all the silly gimmicks that she pulled, she had gotten to know him on a personal level. There were real feelings and moments between them. Moments that caused her to have butterflies in her stomach anytime she thought of them. Y/N looked at his boss while she stumbled on her words.

“I think you know deep down. For what it is worth, I believe he feels the same.” With that said he was gone leaving her alone in her thoughts. Swallowing her emotions that were trying to come up, she downed the rest of her drink.

Harry was having a rather sociable night. He’s talked to every important person here that would only further his career. Even an older woman who got a bit too handsy with him. Through it all, he just had one person missing by his side. Harry was on his way to go find her because everyone was soon to be seated.

“Styles,” he heard his name being called. He knew who it was immediately because his boss was the only person to call his last name instead of Harry.

“I met her. The girl is in love with you. Congratulations, the campaign is all yours.”

With that said his boss disappeared into the crowd as Harry stood there trying to process what he had said.

“Y/N is in love with me,” he whispered to himself. Scanning the room for his girl in the yellow dress, his eyes spotted her sitting at a table near the front of the stage.

“She’s in love with me,” Harry said in disbelief. Just as he was about to pick up his heart off the floor and head to her, someone else got in between them.

“Oh, you’re looking at, Y/N.”

He turned to see an older woman watching Y/N along with him. “You know her?” He asked still staring her down.

“I’m her boss, she is one of the star journalists at my company. Right now, I asked her to work on this assignment of making some unlucky guy out there fall in love with her. She had ten days to fool someone, and the stories she has told us are ridiculous. We actually kind of feel for the guy.”

Harry felt his heart drop hearing her boss speak about this unlucky guy. He was the unlucky guy. Her boss kept talking in his ear, repeating all of the things that Y/N had done to him. So, many emotions crashed into his body at once. He felt embarrassed that he was the laughing stock in her life, he felt stupid for not seeing through her behavior then getting played by her, and lastly, he felt betrayed for falling in love with a girl who clearly never felt those feelings.

Walking away from Y/N’s boss in the middle of her talking, he walked to the bar in desperate need of a moment to collect his thoughts.

Little did he know Y/N was across the gala with a smile on her face waiting for Harry as the dinner was about to start, she felt the presence of someone behind her thinking that it was Harry, only for it to be his two friends from work.

“Hey, guys,” she said as they sat down confused as to why they were here.

“Hi, Y/N. We just wanted to ask you something. Harry has worked really hard in the company to finally get where he is; So, if you could just keep playing along with our boss and pretending that you’re in love with him that would be great.” Y/N’s face dropped at his words.

“Yes, he doesn’t need to know anything about the bet. Just smile and convince him that you’re in love.” Harry’s other coworker added in.

Y/N picked up her champagne glass swallowing the remains. She agreed so that they could leave the table and leave her the hell alone.

It was hard to pinpoint one emotion that was running through her body but the main one was at herself. She felt foolish for falling for Harry. All his chivalry, and how she looked at her were all fake. A surge of anger ran through her, ad a person is never more vulnerable than when they’re angry. Anger is only a protective shield to protect the sadness she didn’t feel like showing yet.

It was as if she could feel a burning stare in her neck. When she turned, she could see Harry watching her from across the room. Both of them have hardening stares. Harry’s jaw was clenched as he tried to control himself since this was a work event. Y/N scoffed at him turning away, not even wanting to look at him.

What reason does he have to be mad?

What reason does she have to be mad?

Both of them thought at the same time.

The lights in the room began to dim signaling that it was time to pay attention to the stage. Harry moved through the dining area but ended up getting stopped by the same older woman from before who didn’t know how to keep her hands to herself.

He tried to move away as he heard the announcer introduce the performer for tonight. Just as he thought his night couldn’t get more dramatic, he heard the sweet voice that he is the most upset with right now.

“Yes, let’s all give a hand for this. I’m sorry to impose but I just needed to give a special shout-out to someone. Harry Styles is a hard-working man, a great swimmer, and a real charmer. He cares deeply about his job and is willing to do anything to succeed.” Y/N and Harry stared each other down as if they had become sworn enemies in their short time here.

“I must say, that even though he has many great attributes. Out of all of his many great talents is that he is a hell of a singer. And he has decided tonight to perform for you all. Harry, come on stage and sing your song.” She said with a fake smile as a spotlight found Harry standing in the middle of the room.

Harry couldn’t believe her, clearly, she had found out about his bet and wanted to make a spectacle. He would give her what she wanted. Everyone in the room clapped, encouraging Harry to go.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Harry Styles.” She said with an artificial voice. Adjusting his double-breasted jacket, he moved through the crowd keeping his eyes on her as he walked onto the stage. She placed the mic down on a stool, and began to make her escape. Harry dashed to the stage picking up the mic as she tried to leave.

“Y/N. Y/N don’t leave. You couldn’t dare walk out and not show the world that beautiful voice of yours.” If looks could kill Harry would have passed out on that stage. “Doesn’t everyone want to hear a duet tonight?” The crowd went wild wanting more than ever for the pair to do a song together.

Y/N flashed an awkward smile at the cheers. “Everyone please, give a warm welcome to, Y/N.”

Harry grabbed a mic that wasn’t in use and held it out for her to grab, Y/N wasn’t going to back down at him challenging her right now. So, with a smile on her face, she walked right back up to the stage. As Harry turned to the band asking if they could play a certain song for them.

As the instrumental for You’re So Vain began to play. Y/N was now on stage as Harry nodded his head to the beat. “Oh, that’s nice,” he said on the mic turning to face her.

“You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht.” He said emphasizing his words as he sang. Y/N rolled her eyes at him as she grabbed the free mic from his hand aggressively.

He continued going, taunting her and not really knowing any of the words. This only further upset her because now she needed to correct him. Getting sick of his antics she went to go sing.

“And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner,” she said in a mocking tone really giving the audience a show. Not one that they expected but one filled with drama and tension.

“Harry’s so vain,” she sang into the mic off-key.

“You probably think this song is about you. Harry Styles, you’re so vain.” She dragged out her singing as Harry attempted to talk over her muttering that she was the vain one.

Getting sick of being up here she stopped in the middle to direct her attention to him as if they were in the room alone. The instrumental of the song kept playing as they talked in the mic letting everyone hear them. “You tricked me into falling in love with you. Do you have an ounce of shame?”

“And what did you do? You trashed my place and took me to some fake ass couples therapy so that you, you Y/N could have a promotion. You also made me miss the biggest game of the season.” He said on the mic arguing his side of things.

“Do we hear that ladies and gentlemen, Harry missed a game? I want everyone to know that your sex is lame.” She said in a singsong voice.

“You named my dick princess Sofia,” Harry said arguing back as the audience gasped at the back and forth between them.

“Well, why did you have to bring that up?” Y/N said as the crowd now began to laugh at them. It was a hot mess and everyone was eating up the drama of it all.

“You’re so vain.”

“No, you’re so vain!” Y/N finished off getting sick of all of this back and forth, and threw her mic down to exit stage left.

“There she goes, ladies and gentlemen. Running away, good job, Y/N.” Harry yelled on the mic. As she tried to run through the gala, Harry dropped his mic and immediately ran after her. He wasn’t going to let her get away this easily.

Pushing through the bulky doors of the gala, she ran down the steps trying not to trip on her dress.

Harry was right on her tail, and as he watched her approach the bottom of the stairs he called out for her. “Y/N, just wait. We’re not done here.” He said losing his breath because he just had to catch her.

“No, we are done.” She said turning around. Pointing to him in anger, Harry walked right up to her with a scowl on his face.

“You played me, just to get a campaign. You’re a backstabber!”

“Oh, so you’re innocent? Coming into my life and turning it upside down for a fucking article. Was it worth it?” Harry said in complete anger. He was in love with her, he knew this for certain. Now it all meant nothing. It wasn’t going to go anywhere because she doesn’t have the same feelings as him.

The both of them looked away from each other, Harry had to walk away for a moment gathering this anger inside of him. He didn’t want to yell at her or act this way toward her. He couldn’t help the feeling of betrayal. He didn’t like this feeling. That anger that Y/N started to have was melting down to just pure sadness. Harry wasn’t in love with her. He only had one goal in mind and accomplished it.

“So that’s all I was to you?” Harry said turning around to face her again. Instead of anger being laced through his voice, it was low and full of sorrow. “Just some project to you. Something for you and your coworkers to get a good laugh at?”

“I guess I was just some random girl that you picked out.”

“Your readers are going to love this. What a beautiful twist for you, truly, I hope they love the article.” Harry said with sarcasm dripping in his voice.

“I wonder what the odds are of them liking it, want to bet on it?” She said with a sour tone. Tears began to fill her eyes, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of crying infront of him.

“Bravo, Y/N. Your job was to lose a guy in ten days, and guess what? You just lost him. Congratulations.” Harry attempted to walk away from her for good wanting to have the last word.

“How can I lose a man that I never had, Harry?” With that said she turned around no longer wanting to be here. Harry watched with a heavy heart as the woman that he loved walked away from him for the last time.

…

The last few days for Y/N have been hard. She had ended up writing, and turning in the article wanting to finish her assignment. When she turned in her article, she also notified her boss that she would be resigning. This place no longer served what she needed, and she could see that even though she had completed her boss’ task, her boss wasn’t willing to give her what she had promised. Walking out of the office building for the last time was bittersweet, but it was the next step in her life. Heading to her apartment, she was beginning to pack for her move across the country.

…

Harry had thrown himself into work. Yes, he loved that he had gotten the campaign, but at what cost? It was as if the world was mocking him each time he had to go into his job. Right now, he was giving his opinion on one of the fabrics as his friend approached him.

“Harry, I think that you would like to see this.”

He turned around only to be faced with a magazine. A magazine with his girl right on the front. Well, it wasn’t his girl. She never truly was. Taking it from his hands. He started lipping through the pages, he found her article and began to read it. Once he got to the bottom, what he read shocked him. It was almost as if he could hear her voice.

When I began to write this article, it was to call out all the silly dating faux pas. In the end, I ended up losing someone special to me.

Those same emotions hit Harry. It wasn’t one of anger but what he had initially felt for her. Love. He needed to get to her. Harry refused to go on another day without her because of the mistakes that they both made.

“I need you to look over this, I need to go get my girl.”

Rushing out of his office building, Harry grabbed the helmet to his motorcycle he pulled out of storage to ride trying to get Y/N off his mind. He was thankful that he had it because New York traffic was a bitch. Speeding down the streets of Manhattan. He first arrived at her job hoping that she would be there.

He needed her to be there.

“Sorry, she is not here. Y/N quit two days ago, she is heading to the airport right now to go to an interview across the country.” Her coworkers told him as he cursed himself.

Looking more at her coworker's face he noticed her, “I knew that you weren’t a real therapist.” He said walking away from her and grabbing their love roses that Y/N happened to leave behind.

“She made me do it.” Her friend said smiling at him.

“You owe me money,” Harry called out exiting the building.

He hopped right back on his bike and began his journey to her apartment. Just as he approached her could see her hair as she climbed into the back of a cab. Due to the noises in the city, there was no way for her to hear him calling out her name.

“Shit, I’m not giving up on you,” he said to himself. Revving his bike, he dodged in and out of traffic tracking her cab. Even almost getting her cab mixed up with a sea of yellow cabs. He gained speed as they approached a bridge. Harry could see the silhouette of her head in the back of the cab. Pulling up to the side of her cab, he hit the window, startling her.

“Harry? What are you doing?” She said in disbelief as she lowered her window.

“Pull over, Y/N we need to talk.” He screamed in the wind. He pointed to an area where technically it would be illegal to stop but would make them not stop traffic. Not wanting Harry to die, Y/N kindly asked her driver to pull over. Even though it was an inconvenience, he pulled over. Y/N hopped out of the car as Harry took off his helmet.

“If you’re trying to get yourself killed then you’re on the right track,” Y/N told him crossing her arms.

“Is this true?” He asked in distress holding up the magazine. He needed to hear these words from her. He needed to know that this wasn’t for her to sell some articles and that what she wrote were her true emotions.

“Harry, please. I have an interview-”

“Is this true, Y/N? Please, just answer the question and I’ll walk away forever if you want me to.”

Y/N swallowed her pride and for once put down the shield that she would have normally had up. “Everything that I wrote is real. I would never be that vulnerable if it wasn’t how I felt, Harry.” She said feeling herself get choked up.

“Then why are you leaving me?”

“I need to find a job, Harry. I want to be a journalist, writing real stories with meaning. I can’t do that here.” She said wiping the stray tear that decided to escape.

“I know you have an interview. A journalist like you doesn’t need to travel across the country to find something. You fit in right here. You deserve to be right here. There isn’t a job in New York you could find to love every single part of you.” Harry spoke to her wanting her to see, and understand the talent that she had inside of her.

“Where are you going?” He asked the same question only different this time. Y/N bit her lip because she was at a loss for words. Here was this beautiful soul she had known, and got to love practically begging her to stay.

“I told you it’s the only place I can go if I want to be a real journalist.”

“Well, I think that you’re running away.”

“You can keep these thoughts for the next girl you want to bet on, I’m not running away?” She said going to turn and climb right back in the car.

“Are you going to fold?”

Y/N stops in her tracks.

“If you tell me right now that this, this between us, is a risk for you; And you don’t want to take that risk. I want you to tell me. I need you to look me in my eyes and tell me. Tell me you fold. Because for me, you’re worth every risk. Time and time again I would choose you.” Y/N turned around to face him taking in every emotion across his face.

He wanted this. He wanted them together.

Harry stepped closer to her getting into her space, they were so close yet miles apart. He wanted to taste her lips again. He wanted to breathe in that scent that he fell in love with.

“Lady, what are you going to do? I have places to be.” Her cab driver asked. Harry could look into her eyes and tell that she wanted to say yes. They were worth the risk. His stubborn girl wanted him just as much as he needed her.

Pulling out his wallet, Harry pulled out a large bill and handed it to the driver while keeping his eyes on her. “Take her stuff back to the apartment. She will be riding with me.”

“How do you know what I’ll say?” She asked with a smile dancing on her lips.

“I’m calling your bluff, baby.” At those words, Harry took her face in between his hands, and connected their lips together. He never knew that he could miss a person this much. Y/N was elated at this feeling inside of her. Love was hard and consuming but it was all worth it. She wouldn’t change one thing that happened to lead them to this moment.

Breaking away from the kiss, they held hands as they walked toward his motorcycle. “Look who tagged along.”

“Our love roses. I love you so much, Harrybooboo.” She teased pinching his cheek with one hand as she went to go pick up the roses with the other.

“I love you more, honey. I’m never letting this relationship die again.”

[s0ap-bubbles]

Mk1 stays pissing me off so I’m gonna violently suggest things Dominik can do better in the future

(Under the cut so anyone who doesn’t wanna read it isn’t subjected to a petty teenager ranting lol)

1. Stop being a pussy and write some gay people properly. No more ancient rules bull crap that makes it impossible for them to be affectionate to each other.

2. I don’t know what the fuck you’re on Dominik, but why are you constantly creating random ass ships that were never hinted at or asked for. If there’s no build up, why should I care???

3. Learn how to use the multiverse concept effectively, cus the way you use it now is absolute dog shit. You’re telling me that every character from every mk game has their own timeline? EXPLORE THAT. Don’t just give me “liu kang but evil” cus we got that with the revenants, expand on what changed depending on the timeline he’s from.

4. Bros never heard of show not tell or something cus why is everything cool happening off screen, including now rain’s redemption??? Are you actually fucking stupid??? you had a whole dlc to expand on the things they talk about in the intro and you chose “hehehe havik universe so crazy look at Mohawks”

5. I get this is a new universe but bro. if you’re using iconic characters, at least respect their fucking origins. I’m aiming this at the absolute shit show that is the new bi-han cus there’s is no way you just made him comically evil and called it a day, then set up a redemption in the dlc, and then just made him a bigger bitch than before. Also the way you pushed kitana aside and reduced her to mileena’s cheerleader/support system was so shit as well. The only reason I bring this up is because kitana was leading a whole rebellion and becoming Kahn in the last game, and now you have her going “sister, please don’t do that… empress, please don’t kill them…” like…

6. I am BEGGING YOU. To stop writing Johnny cage like a mcu character I don’t think I can take it any longer fake laughing at his shitty quips. I love Johnny cage but oh my god he’s just been reduced to “funny reference man” and nothing else. Like there is no way he made a game of thrones reference during a literally deadly attack where multiple people had just been killed.

7. Your references suck, you suck, I hate you. Having characters reference other characters who aren’t in the game was cool until I realised that that’s all it is. A reference. These characters aren’t going to be in the game as dlc or anything going by the OBSCENE amount of guest characters, so who gives a fuck.

8. I’m just being petty now but Jesus Christ I hate how you wrote the new era. It’s a cool ass concept, but the way you wrote it was so shit, that I can’t even defend it atp. Change is a natural and necessary thing, but if this is your second time rebooting your franchise NRS and people STILL get mad over the story, I think it’s time to really look at what made the franchise special, and not try to replicate it, but put your own spin on it, make something new that still connects with your fans.

9. RESIGN. PLEASE.

[halfratsalready]

The Unhinged Jack x Wanderlust Conspiracy Board Explained

A few days ago I posted this silly conspiracy board I made for a slideshow night with my friends where I talked about how Ubisoft loves to deny Jack x Wanderlust and everyone seemed to like it so here’s an in-depth (and I mean in-depth) explanation of everything on it.

We start, of course, with Si’ha Nova and the Traveler, and Wanderlust wearing his dad’s cape at the beginning of Canned Heat because it’s super cute.

And you can’t talk about this ship without the moment from Majesty that perfectly mirrors the moment from Save Your Tears because genuinely why would they do this if they didn’t want people to ship these two? (Rainbow flag added for ✨flavor✨)

I also thought it was worth mentioning that the only time we ever actually hear any of these characters speak across all 14 lore playlist maps is literally Wanderlust calling out Jack’s name.

And now it’s time for the part that I like to call Ubisoft’s crusade against a monster of their own creation (because look at those last two points and tell me they didn’t do this to themselves. You can’t.)

Now in making this I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Ubisoft isn’t being as harsh on the ship as we’ve been thinking, because “they’re such good friends” and “best friends” with a thumbs up automatically reads as very sarcastic and joking to me, like all the memes about “historians will say they were close friends.”

Then there’s the infamous in’s and out’s New Years post, but what I hadn’t picked up on until I saw this screenshot from Twitter is that the inclusion of “normalize being evil” on the in’s list is rather suspicious and that, according to Just Dance, “this was posted by Night Swan’s army.” So I feel like that’s worth mentioning, because it casts a different light on all the other things on the lists. As in including Jack Rose in the in’s list since he’s the only one she didn’t corrupt yet and she wants to do that this year? And putting stanning Jacklust on the out’s because she’s evil and doesn’t want us to have nice things? Not too sure but hey, if someone better at analyzing things wants to look into that, I’d be down to read it.

(I also think it’s worth mentioning that “worrying about getting a Megastar” is included in the out’s list when the tweet just before that one is encouraging players to get Megastar on Zero to Hero, so some more contradictions there, but that might not mean anything, given that Night Swan’s whole thing is perfection and I feel like she would definitely be in favor of worrying over getting Megastar.)

Plus there’s the pretty popular belief that they’re just pointing out how stupid of a ship name Jacklust is, but I’m personally not at all sold on this being the reason, even if Jacklust is a stupid ship name. (I told my friends the ship name during this presentation and one of them said “Really? Wanderrose was right there.”)

Lastly, I threw Night Swan in there because of the theory that Ubisoft is denying Jack x Wanderlust because the Traveler is Jack’s father. Now, I have opinions about this theory and I hope it’s not true for obvious reasons, but I feel like if it is, it’s a serious oversight on Ubisoft’s part.

Firstly, if they’re half siblings why did they recreate the move from Save Your Tears in Majesty? Seems odd to have half siblings recreate a pretty iconic romantic duet moment.

There’s also the fact that we can clearly see that Wanderlust takes physical traits from each of his parents - his mother’s blue skin and his father’s dark hair. If the Traveler is Jack’s dad, why don’t they share any physical characteristics? At the very end of the beta for Sweet Dreams (spoiler?) we see Night Swan with green eyes, unlike the yellow eyes she has in the rest of the dances we see her in. (While this could just be an older design choice, I personally interpreted this as meaning that her eyes were green before she went evil and then they turned yellow.) In all of his character artwork, Jack’s eyes are green, which I take as meaning that this is a trait he got from his mother. So I personally feel like it only makes sense for his father to have red hair (and we’ve got plenty of options to pick from with that criteria).

But hey, that’s just a theory… I don’t need to finish that part, you’re already thinking it. Thanks for reading my insane ramblings!

[shady-swan-jones]

QnA with J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay

Q1. You have to trim and edit things before they air, but is there a specific scene or scenes that you had a difficult time cutting that you really wanted in the final production?

 JD: Every cut we make, we do it because we think it's what’s best of the show. One cut that was challenging, without getting too specific, was some material that focused on The Stranger’s journey of self-discovery with Tom Bombadil. As we went through the editorial process of looking at what we had, and what we'd shot, and what we felt really worked, some of this got truncated. In some alternate universe where things had worked out differently, it felt like there could have been a story akin to Luke in Dagobah, with The Stranger learning more about his powers from Tom Bombadil, that would have been fun to see.

Patrick: There's fewer scenes, especially season two, that we dropped than you would think. I think there were two I can think of, Númenor scenes, but that ultimately felt like they were redundant with something that was covered elsewhere. There was a really nice scene where Valandil and Eärien took a walk through the city and they were lovely. It was all about how much they were grieving Isildur, but the audience was like, “we know he's alive”. And the minute we dropped it, even though it was sad to see it go, the story had more energy. So that's maybe just to give you a sense of the kind of thinking that goes into these things.

Q2. Do you guys have a favorite thing in the lore that you know for sure you won’t be able to put into the show?

 JD: I think we never want to say never. There's a bunch of things that could jump to the top of this list. There's stuff in the Third Age we probably won't cover. Or there’s some details from The Silmarillion that would enrich our storytelling, but that we don't have the rights to. But again, you never want to say never — there are things like the name “Annatar” that we originally wouldn’t have been able to use, that the Tolkien Estate graciously stepped in and made possible. We have some other pieces of lore like that on our wish list that we’ll have to wait and see what happens with. The road goes ever on! So, I think for now we'll just say that's TBD. 

 Patrick: I don't have a better answer than that other than to say, you know, Gollum is one of my favorite characters in the legendarium. He’s such a rich, complex character but I can't imagine a world where we would ever do anything with him in this show. Even at the very, very end. Which is too bad because he's so great, but then also maybe it's a good thing because he was done so brilliantly and iconically in the films by Peter and his collaborators and Andy Serkis. But it's like, that's a toy that would be fun to be able to play with.

Q3. Now that we know it is Gandalf and a Dark Wizard instead of the two blues, does this rule out the possibility of blues being in the show? Also, can you definitively rule out Saruman being the Dark Wizard?

 Patrick: I think it's hard to say anything is 100%, but we have no plans or intention to have him be Saruman. We are not thinking of him as Saruman. We know there are five wizards talked about in The Lord of the Rings. One of them is Saruman, one of them is Gandalf, one of them is Radagast, and then there are two others. It is our expectation that he will be one of those two others.

 JD: What I'll say is, I think it would be difficult logically to see how he could be Saruman. It would be sort of a “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me” for Gandalf. If the Dark Wizard was going to be Saruman, then he would be an evil wizard that Gandalf was interacting with and fighting in the Second Age. And then he'd have to become good again and regain Gandalf’s trust, only to later turn evil again and betray him. It would just sort of strain credulity.

 Patrick: What I would say to add to that is, you know, again, we're not sort of playing fast and loose or, or trying to be tricky - characters reveal themselves to you as you go forward with their stories and, you know, The Stranger revealed more and more and more of who he was. It's just very hard to imagine that the Dark Wizard would be Saruman. I think while we want to be open as creators to every corner of the legendarium, I don't think that's going to happen. 

Q4. What canon characters are you guys most excited to introduce in the future?

JD: Several.

Patrick: That’s it!

Q5. How did Arondir not die between episodes 7 and 8? He was stabbed pretty good but in episode 8 he had the strength to fight back against the Uruks alongside the other elves. Then finished the season with Gil-galad, Elrond and Galadriel overlooking and inspiring the rest of the elves. Was there magic ring healing or was the injury just not in a fatal spot?

Patrick: So, this is a funny one. It was not a mortal blow. He was injured and defeated. We held the camera on him in a shot of him crawling on the ground. You're supposed to know “Okay, he's down, but he's not out”. Elves are elves. The first thing he says is elves heal of their own accord, unless the wound is like especially grievous or mortal. This was not a mortal wound. Is it possible that the king, as they were in captivity, might’ve used some magic to help him? Possibly. But we didn't even think the wound was that serious. We thought Adar beat him. When you lose a title fight boxing match, you're not dead. You're out for the count. And Adar defeated him in combat. He did not mortally wound him. But I think we realize now watching it, it's so surprising when Arondir is defeated because he's such an amazing hero. It feels more momentous even than that.  

Q6. Sauron spent time smithing in Númenor, he worked directly with Celebrimbor to have him craft rings of power so he has seen the process… At this point, does Sauron have everything he needs to craft The One Ring? 

 JD: I think you'd need to ask yourself — did he see everything that the elven smiths did in the process? Go back and watch very carefully, what he was there for, what he wasn't there for. We know from the legendarium that Sauron never touched the elven three. So, I think we can say, just watch very carefully.

 Patrick: No, I mean, he was not present for the forging of the three. Clearly, he was intimately involved and providing instruction and getting his hands on the actual works for the seven and the nine. And so, all we can do is point to what's already there, but certainly it sure feels like Sauron needed Celebrimbor and could not have made these rings without him.

 JD: We sort of like to think of the building of the rings as akin to atomic energy. It's like Sauron was there for all the theoretical physics that underpinned the splitting of the atom and the dawn of the nuclear age. But he wasn't actually there when the first bomb was built in the laboratory. So, what happens between concept and execution, as any screenwriter and producer knows, can be a lot. So go back and check it out. 

Q7. Fans have really dug the flashbacks and we open with flashbacks for season 1 and season 2. Could we see more in season 3 or is that something you don’t want to overdo?

Patrick: We actually like the idea that each season might start with a different slice of Middle-earth focused on a different character than it was last time maybe. Maybe you'd go to title after an extended section that tells you something new about a character and maybe goes to a time in their life that we haven't yet explored or seen on screen. We like the idea that this becomes one of the refrains of the show. That could change at any time as rules are made to be broken. But I will say at this time, as we're thinking about the story, we have a flashback that would start season three. And then maybe a couple more flashbacks sprinkled throughout the season. We always want to explore new corners of Middle-earth, and we always love showing you a new side of a character you haven't seen before.  So that's a non-answer, but hopefully answer enough.

JD: Something we can also say is, one of the things we love about Tolkien is how rich and layered his history is — his characters, his worlds, his peoples — all of them have these histories that are incredible. The immortal characters go back thousands of years. And even the characters that aren't immortal are part of lands and peoples whose histories go back thousands of years. It's almost like the work of a geologist as you're going through it, unpacking all the different layers. But as storytellers, you also have to be very careful with flashbacks because too many of them can sort of stop the story dead. A story always has to be moving forward. If you just get into flashbacks or backstory for backstory’s sake, it can end up miring you down, and deflating your story and interrupting your momentum. But the right flashback at the right time for the right character in the right place can open up an entire new understanding of a character's journey and story. As Patrick said, I think we've liked formally the idea of opening seasons that way. And as for what happens in the future, again, stay tuned. 

Q8. There are some camera shots looking down on Galadriel when she is in need of healing that almost looks like an eye in the middle of the shot…there is a very popular theory that this is Sauron checking in / looking down at her -  could you confirm or is this just a neat shot for the camera?

JD: When it comes to artistic interpretation, and the role that creators take on once they've put their work out into the world — there's this idea in literary criticism of “the intentional fallacy,” which critiques the notion that to truly understand the meaning of a work, one needs to somehow go back and figure out the author's original intent. Sure, authorial intent can shed light on what a work is trying to accomplish, just like we did with Arondir a second ago - “Oh, actually, we're going for this other thing, and people took it this way…” And we're always game for that. But what's also fascinating and really rewarding, I think, as creators is that... once you create something, it's out there in the world. And people are going to have all kinds of readings of it. 

And sometimes themes will have bubbled up in the writing and in the production that you weren't even necessarily aware of — either subconsciously, or happening as a sort of collective unconscious of the entire group of people that brought this thing together. Then, people in the world will take the finished work and start analyzing it from all kinds of different directions, and we’ll look at their readings and feel like, “wow, that's a really smart and sophisticated reading. I really like that.” Patrick, do you have anything you want to add? 

Patrick: Yeah, it was just a neat shot for the camera.

Q9. You have had quite a few creatures on the show already - Ents, Uruks, nameless creatures in the mud, sea beasts, wights, elves and even a balrog - fans who don’t like dwarves are wondering with how phenomenal the VFX/CGI team has been on the show if we could see dragons in the future?

Patrick: I would say dragons are special and unique in Tolkien. There are some legendary dragons with legendary names. Dragons talk in Tolkien. We'd have to have the right reason to do it and at the right moment. I think it's pretty hard to top Benedict Cumberbatch's Smaug. And there is another fantasy show with lots of dragons. I think the answer is maybe. And if we go there, it'll be because there's a great Tolkienian idea and reason to go there that we have to do. 

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus

For those of you who don’t know, I decided to run the gauntlet of @bengiyo’s queer cinema syllabus, which is comprised of 9 units. I have completed four of the units (here is my queer cinema syllabus round up post with all the films I’ve watched and written about so far). It is time for me to make my way through Unit 5- Lesbians, which includes the following films: The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), Bound (1996), Water Lilies (2007) [Skipping for now until I can get access to it], Saving Face (2004), D.E.B.S. (2004), Set It Off (1996), The Handmaiden (2016), Carol (2015), Imagine Me and You (2005), Two of Us (2019), Rafiki (2018), and The Color Purple (1985).

Today I will be talking about

D.E.B.S. (2004) dir. Angela Robinson

[Run Time: 1:31, Language: English] [Content Warning: there is one use of the r word] Summary: Plaid-skirted schoolgirls are groomed by a secret government agency to become the newest members of the elite national-defense group, D.E.B.S.

Cast:  -Sara Foster as Amy -Jordana Brewster as Lucy Diamond -Devon Aoki as Dominique -Jill Ritche as Janet -Meagan Good as Max ___

This write up will not be very long because this movie is not working with substantial, in-depth, layered messaging. BUT HOLY SHIT IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. This is a shitty little cult classic that sees a paramilitary agent (who was recruited from some secret questions in the SATs) and a supervillain falling in love and running off into the sunset together. 

So, I’ve seen low budget films that have quite a lot to say and know it can be done, so I was curious about how in-depth this film might go into discussions of law enforcement, mostly because in the evil lair there is a sign that says The Only Good D.E.B. is a Dead D.E.B. But this is a light hearted comedy piece so though we do get Amy literally saying she’s a cop, there is not a whole lot of like anti-cop sentiment or anything in the film. 

The premise is a spy and a supervillian literally crash in to eachother, have some level of instant connection, the spy has her queer awakening and runs off with the supervillian, is rescued essentially mid coitus, and the supervillian is inspired to start returning all of the things she’d stolen over the years in an effort to get Amy to leave D.E.B.S. and just be in love with her. It’s riddled with hilarious sound effects, forcefields made of plaid, and a SECRET TUNNEL! 

What it does is show that the world’s most wanted supervillian is pretty chill, very gay, and has maybe been portrayed as more ruthless than she actually is (yes that is in fact Madam Super Villan dancing with her henchman in the gif above). What it does show is that little Miss Perfect Score on the secret spy test does not want to be a spy but felt obligated to do so because she was good at it. I did enjoy the repeated questioning of standardized testing, Lucy asking what the spy test tests for and Amy realizing that she doesn’t know and never bothered to ask yet that test was deciding her entire future. 

But again this was SO. MUCH. FUN. to watch and I would recommend it to many people even as just like a silly little wind down film if they were in need of a quick pick me up.

Also there was lots of gay kissing, which I feel is important to note. 

Favorite Moment

My favorite moment was Lucy breaking in to the D.E.B.S house to see Amy the first time. What an iconic piece of comedy: the plaid forcefield around the property that matches their school uniform, Lucy cutting a hole in the forcefield with what legitimately looks like a sonic screwdriver from Doctor Who, jumping over laser detectors on the grass that are also plaid, and climbing up the wall with those like hand-held suction cup things with the most hilarious and incredibly incorrect popping motion every time she sticks the suction cup to the wall. 

Favorite Quote 

“Yes, well, the poster child doesn’t know it yet but she’s into me.” 

I love when queer people recognize queer people, and appreciate that because Amy is young and was just getting out of a relationship with her boyfriend that she might not know her own sexuality yet or have a full understanding of what she is feeling. But Lucy Diamond is an established, adult, queer woman who definitely sees the way that Amy is acting around her and understands immediately what is happening. 

Score

10/10 

For this moment alone

THAT SAID. I do feel the need to justify this scoring. I tend to score things by what they put forth, so a show with campier premises and executions like this one would be scored almost exclusively by vibes. Things like The Miracle of Teddy Bear, for example, which takes itself incredibly seriously, has multiple layers of messaging, and incredibly realistic depictions of queerness, homophobia, and domestic violence is something I would score with a number of actual story telling factors in mind. 

This gets a 10 for vibes, I don’t think I had a single critical thought in the entire hour and a half watching it and I was having a fucking BLAST.

[yogurtlid10000]

Recently I read Transformers: Skybound FINALLy!!! it was fantastic, cant wait for the next issue

Highly recommend reading it tho, its a greattt comic and has super awesome art

Spoilers incoming ofc

Everyone's already talked about this but wow Optimus is portrayed so well!!! I love the dialogue when he describes Cybertron. Also love the pink backgrounds i some panels!! Anyway the interaction with him and Spike feels good and authentic. nice

The fight scenes. SO good to me, I think the art is super dynamic and the way the sound effects are written give great impact. The artist knew what they were doing for sure. I love how they use the comic media to its fullest. With those different shaped slanted box panels, and the smear lines when somethings moving fast idk

I also looove the shading in these comics!! and the linework like on their faces really helps the atmosphere. once again i love the sound effects (especially that big TONG) when starscream gets hit lol it just looks like all the fonts were designed or drawn by the artists yk?? and the variety of camera angles throughout is cool too.

Also love the relationship between optimus and the humans. It feels... better than how other transformers media has handled it (imo). I think its sweet

again great comic art the lighting.. the EVERYTHING idk i just admire this artist a lot (i think his name is daniel warren johnson, although it switches to Jorge Corona later) one thing i love in particular is how the lines are like... a little messy and sometimes a little all over the place-to depict their wear and grime. cool!

Next. Cant talk about skybound without talkingabout THE DECEPTICONS. oh my god. starscream is a spawn of hell. what a bitch. like actually he might be at his worst here hes so diabolical. Anyway even though hes very evil hes still enjoyable to watch because its just idk pure villain. Soundwaves care for his cassettes is sweet as usual. PUNTING Ravage is crazy. cannibalizing Skywarp is crazy. FGELP IDEK WHAT TO SAY except i like the art a lot here as usual its great very comic-y again. SOundwave stays a favorite character.

THIS is an iconic and great moment of skybound, i love it, i lvoe that optimus is willing to use this cannon to further the battle yk also looks badass

Gotta say these are two of my favorite pages throughout the whole series. Love the color and camera angles.

I know starscreams the big bad villain or whatever (for now) but he still makes me laugh

These panels... THE YELLOW BACKGROUND. THE LOUD SOUND EFFECTS. THE POSE. THE "YOU KNOW THE SONG" perfect. 10/10 for me. the artist has got the touch. (theyre referencing The Touch right?)

These three phenomenal moments with devastator. the art.... its just too cool. very dynamic. i like starscream getting squished. Once again the fight scene art DELIVERS.

This too. I love how soundwaves punches feel really weighted. also YAY starscreams getting the beating he deserved

....remember that PUNT to ravage earlier? welp. bye starscream. Things only get worse for the autobots here tho.... because with soundwave as leader the decepticons can actually function and be more deadly....

...when i saw this i knew we were fucked. we are fucked. wave and wave partnership? optimus is screwed. AND MEGATRON HASNT EVEN BEEN ADDED TO THE MIX YET. oh god.

The newest chapter has some gorgeous panels. plus beachcomber!

Local deadly robot scientist discovers whales and the beauty of earth. Big fan of transformers discovering earth stuff.

GUYS. ultra magnus!! hes one of my favorite transformers im so glad hes in this series.....i wish he was in better shape because-WE ARE SUPER FUCKED RATCHETS DEAD. no medic-HOW IS ANYONE GONNA GET REPAIRED.

ok fr what are we gonna do

poor wheeljack.

anyway the issue ends with shockwaves insane evil plan to bring cybertron to earth working so idk whats gonna happen next but im excited to see more.

also jazz this whole comic has been really cool, hes always helpful btu then he like gets beat up or captured but HES ALWAYS POSITIVE and he only speaks in music puns too. ONLY.

ultra magnus save us... idk bro we need a miracle... maybe jetfire will be useful again soon, maybe beachcomber will come in clutch. maybe new autobots will join. if yes, i hope we see springer again hes cool

anyway yes ik i barely talked about any faults of the comic, im trying to be super open and see it with like no bias or comparing it to other comics and stuff. personally i like it a lot. the humans arent even dislikable imo. the characters are nice. one thing is that MAN a lot of characters are dying. kinda sad. no ratchet is crazy. also when will megatron awaken? and how?

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Freaky Fred

(WARNING! This analysis is... NAUGHTY!)

Hello dear reader, this is Fred.

You hear the words that are in his head.

To Courage the dog he is a threat,

because he’s very… naughty.

In Courage the Cowardly Dog, you see,

Fred appeared and definitely

left a mark on you and me

by being very... naughty.

So let's take a look at this creepy man,

and hopefully you'll understand

why this guy has garnered tons of fans

despite him being... naughty.

Motivation/Goals:

Fred’s a man of simple needs.

He wants to cut hair, indeed!

And his efforts would likely succeed

if he weren’t so… naughty.

He has a compulsion, you know.

He sees hair and it’s time to go!

And so he spends the\is episode of the show

being very naughty.

Performance: Paul Schoeffler is the man, you know!

He voiced Le Quack, Katz and Big Toe!

The Cajun Fox, Zalost, the Snowman, oh,

he played characters who were… naughty.

He was quite good at what he had to do,

even playing Dr. Vindaloo!

And he played our boy Fred, it’s true,

with a performance that was… quite naughty.

Final Fate: After shaving Courage’s hair,

the orderlies escort him out of there.

One could argue the ending’s unfair.

Fred was only… a little naughty.

Evilness: Is Fred evil? Who can say?

I certainly don’t see him that way.

Really, at the end of the day,

the worst you can call him is… naughty.

He shaves off hair against people’s will

because it gives him perverted thrills.

He doesn’t maim or harm or kill,

he’s genuinely just naughty.

So I suppose a 1.5/10’s the score.

I can’t really justify much more.

He’s not cruel or deadly to the core,

he’s a weird guy who’s naughty.

Best Quote: The opening lines of his sole appearance of course,

which he delivers with no remorse

as he outlines his action’s course

and explains that he is… NAUGHTY:

“Hello, new friend. My name is Fred.

The words you hear are in my head.

I say, I said my name is Fred,

and I've been... very naughty.”

Final Thoughts & Score: Alright, time to drop the rhyming act so I can actually really talk about Fred. And boy, is he ever interesting to talk about! Courage is really a cavalcade of amazing one-shot antagonists, but Fred is easily one of the best and most memorable.

A huge part of that is probably down to his single appearance being narrated from his point of view. He’s the rare Courage villain that gives us explicit insight to his thought process and why he does what he does, and what he does is… extremely strange and even suggestive. His compulsion is so strange and how he narrates it and refers to his actions really build him up to feel worse and creepier than he actually is. He’s not trying to hurt Courage in any way, he’s just trying to exercise his bizarre fetish like a G-rated Yoshikage Kira. There's a lot of ways you could read into this compulsion, but t really does make him stand out as a character due to how unique it is and how it's implemented into the story.

I think what also helps is Schoeffler giving one of his best performances on the show. Like yes, Katz and Le Quack are great, and Vindaloo is a funny meme man, but Fred is just a truly iconic character with such a bombastic and sophisticated narration that I really think he’s a contender for the best character the man played. On top of that we have a fantastic design, with his crazy hair and way-too-wide grin; literally every aspect of this guy is perfect.

But at the end of it all, you have to remember that Fred isn’t actually evil, no matter how much he seems to insist he is. At worst, he’s an anti-villain, and even then it’s in name only; the dude is just a freaky weirdo who looks like Betelgeuse and has a strange fetish he can’t help but act out on, and at worst his actions are annoying and inconvenient as opposed to horribly destructive or deadly. Like, oh no, your hair’s gone! It’ll grow back, whatever. He may be Sweeney Todd for kids, but this barber ain’t a demon; he’s just a fucking weirdo. And I love him for it.

A 9.5/10 is the score he gets,

A memorable antagonist, one of the best.

His narration will never leave your head,

and isn’t that just…

NAUGHTY?

[trekmupf]

a.k.a. Kirks evil twin needs a hug

Pro:

The Dog alien, iconic, beautiful

I know it was done to easily differenciate the two Kirks, but Kirks eyeliner slays

Bones everyday doctoring. Look I know in fic and memes people often say his bedside manner sucks, and with his friends it does yes because they're his friends and they're idiots, but his general doctor scenes are lovely

Kirk manhandling McCoy and McCoy sending Spock after him later

The way Kirk assures and takes care of Sulu / the landing party show more of his good qualities as a leader to his crew

Spocks heritage being talked about for the first time, interesting early ideas about him being stuck between both sides

The invention of the vulcan nerve pinch!

First proper „He's dead, Jim“ by McCoy!

Kirks halfs literally having to accept each other in a way in the end and hugging

Classic transporter malfunction

I like that they call evil Kirk the imposter - even though it's part of him everyone knows that he would never behave this way and that the "good" Kirk is closer to his real self

the general idea of splitting a person into opposing halves, even though the exact philosophy is muddled when analyzed deeper (yes, the message is a human being needs the good and bad, but – see cons)

Spocks speech about command underlines the kind of pressure Kirk is constantly under due to his position (something he handles well usually, and it gets adressed a few times thoughout tos)

Generally the dynamic between the trio and how trust works between them, especially in the transporter room in the end

love a classic „who is the real one“ duplicate situation

Con:

The entire violent scene between the imposter and Yeoman Rand is horrific and I personally find it to be longer than necessary to get the point across

also the way they treat her is too shitty for words. Even considering the production time it's bad, and I dislike all the scenes heavily

we're not gonna talk about Spock's last line. OOC. He would never.

The last third feels a bit streched

As said above, the split itself is very muddied philosophically and politically – I'd say is less good / evil and more base urges & survival instinct / higher developement, intelligence, which would make more sense as you do need both to function and one to control the other. Otherwise the message is you need „evil“ to function and thats just. No good.

also like. "sensitive" kirk does make decisions at the end and is also the brave one? it kinda undermines what they're trying to say

also the way it's presented goes a bit into the toxic masculinity philosophy that only a forceful / aggressive man can make proper decisions, when we know that's not at all true in Kirk (or the other men)

Sulu is us at @ every dog we encounter

Counter:

Kirk being shirtless (and posing in front of Spock with his little towel)

Transporter malfunction

A LOT of Kirk / Shatner Memes stem from this episode

Also the dog-alien is its own meme

Quote: "You're the captain of this ship. You haven't the right to be vulnerable in the eyes of the crew. You can't afford the luxury of being anything less than perfect. If you do, they lose faith and you lose command" - Spock

Moment: Kirk getting ready to beam down the reunite with himself and the almost silent conversations with his friends Summary: Interesting episode that raises a few questions about what makes a person who they are but can't fully answer them while giving further insight into the trios relationships as well as Kirks personality - beware the assault and treatment of the female character afterwards though.

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[samd1o1]

Crowley's BPD Traits And Why They Are Important;

We all know our beloved ineffable husbands are neurodivergent icons. Despite not being human they both act like neurodivergent humans would (and do).

Today I thought we would take a look specifically at Crowley and his BPD traits and what they mean.

(Also before we start; a trigger warning for talks and mentions of suicide, depression, mood swings, drinking, and trauma).

First what is BPD? BPD stands for Borderline Personality Disorder.

"A mental disorder characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships." -Mayo Clinic

BPD is a disorder caused by trauma. Trauma is of course different for every individual. So while some demons may seem perfectly content with the fall from Heaven, others may have been significantly traumatized. And I believe this is where Crowley falls (pun very intended).

So we covered how Crowley could have developed BPD, but let's talk about their traits.

The DSM-5 lists 9 Criteria for BPD, of which at least 5 are required for diagnosis. We will be covering each one and how (or how they don't) apply to Crowley.

1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment:

As we know BPD is caused by trauma, but more specifically it can be trauma that deals with abandonment. Say God casting you down to Hell for simply asking questions?

This can lead to the person with BPD going through frantic efforts to avoid abandonment happening ever again.

We can see this most in Crowley when she argues with Aziraphale. Can you count how many times Crowley tries to run away with Aziraphale so that he doesn't leave him during an argument? It's three. They have done this three times (and that's just the on screen ones, who knows whats happened in 6,000 years!).

2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.

Now this one is harder to see in Crowley because this trait of BPD (and many others) comes out most in romantic partners. And Crowley has only ever had one apple in his eye, Aziraphale. But even just with their relationship with Aziraphale we can see this.

While Crowley never directs his anger at Aziraphale we can definitely see how much the angel affects him. Their arguments that can lead to them not talking for decades, Crowley literally exploding with lighting because of his anger.

An example I find most interesting is Crowley's entire perception of Aziraphale changing when he sees Aziraphale let the people in the flood die. And this perception is only fixed in the Job minisode when Aziraphale does the right thing again. All it takes is one incident for Crowley to change her mind.

3. Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.

I think this is most obvious in the opening to season 2 where Crowley is questioning the meaning of life and more importantly his role as a demon.

But this isn't the only demon related identity disturbance Crowley faces. A common identity disturbance for those with BPD is believing that they are evil. This is caused by trauma but is also not helped by the stigma Cluster B disorders face.

Crowley believes he must be evil because he is a demon. He lies because he is a demon. Just like someone with BPD may believe they are evil for their disorder or are manipulative because of it. But in reality that may not be the whole truth. You can still be a good person despite being a demon, despite having a disorder.

4. Impulsivity in at least 2 areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).

Do... Do I need to explain this one?

Crowley is an alcoholic. He casually drinks but will also drink anytime a slight inconvenience pops up.

Crowley is also known for going "too fast". He is almost always speeding in the Bentley.

5. Recurrent suicidal behaviour, gestures or threats, or self-mutilating behaviour.

This is one of the ones that is harder to apply to Crowley simply because she is a demon, not a human. It is much harder for him to kill himself. And while this trait must be recurrent I still think it's important to bring up the Holy Water incident.

Crowley tells Aziraphale the holy water is just for insurance, but Aziraphale knows Crowley better than that and was right to assume it could probably be for a suicide pill. (Even if it did come in handy as insurance later). But the fact Aziraphale assumes that I believe is telling.

6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).

We see a few different times where Crowley's mood shifts into extremes.

We already discussed the lighting incident. I think another big show of their anger is how he treats his plants in season 1. While yes it is them recreating their trauma with God (Metatron?) and being thrown out of Heaven, that anger comes from somewhere.

Jim short for James, long for Gabriel also sparks this anger in Crowley to the point of threatening his life and telling him to jump out of a window.

Crowley's depression is seen on the biggest spotlight when talking about the fall. Their sentiments about not meaning to fall, that she only ever asked questions.

7. Chronic feelings of emptiness.

Unfortunately I can't speak on this one purely because I do not live in Crowley's head. I do not recall it ever being something mentioned or showed. That doesn't mean it can't happen to her of course, but let's stick with the facts.

8. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).

As you can see BPD deals with anger a lot. so I will once again bring up some points we've already made. With the lighting incident, and good old Jimmy-boy.

I also just wanted to mention we know Crowley appears a bit angry at most times as well as Muriel describes him as "the grumpy one". Just thought it was a fun, helpful detail.

9. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.

This one is also a bit hard because again I am not in Crowley's head but also she does in fact have plenty to worry about that is real.

But Crowley does still show paranoid ideation. His distrust of others, disorganized thoughts (talking about ducks and the end of the world at the same time), feeling threatened, thinking he's being spied on (the ducks have ears).

Lots of ducks.

Now some may think diagnosing/headcanoning a character with specific mental illnesses is silly, and maybe it is! But I still believe it's important. Why?

Well for starters; representation is always important. Seeing someone similar to you on screen you can relate to and find joy and comfort in. Or maybe they're just raising awareness. Or just showing that hey, these people exist.

But I also wanted to touch on the stigma of BPD and other Cluster B disorders.

I touched on it briefly in an earlier point but BPD is heavily stigmatized. Many people treat the disorder as evil and manipulative. That the people with it don't deserve love or kindness. Which is of course simply not true.

Most of the characters coded with BPD today are antagonists and/or villains. Think Jinx from Arcane or Spinel from Steven Universe. These characters are amazingly written and performed and I do love them dearly. And there is nothing wrong with them, but it is nice to even the playing field. To have a character with traits of BPD who is fundamentally good and does the right thing. They are a protagonist of their story and even a hero!

And that is why I think Crowley is good representation of BPD (even if it was not intended that way).

And here's hoping to season 3 so our demon (and angel) get a happy ending!