#And i am loving the absolute toxic work environment it is hilarious all the characters are great!!

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

So i finally listened to The Magnus Protocol and uhh holy shit, yall mind if i

[The contents of this post has been deleted]

[wish-that-i-was-buckys-girl]

For dayton can you write being childhood best friends with him and you've always been there at his races and one day your running late so you don't get to see him before for his pep talk. And his race goes horribly and eventually when he sees you he gets angry and you get in to a argument. But eventually he makes it up to you.

A/N: Alright, here’s my first go at writing for Dayton White! I watched Logan Lucky and absolutely adored it. Dayton does not get the love he deserves! I decided Im going to make this at least a two parter, potentially spanning into one or two more. I really want to dive into the past with these two! This will focus more on their relationship growing up, while the second (and potentially third) part will contain more of the angst. Once again if I don’t write for a Seb character you like, just ask and I’ll try and gain access to it! I hope you guys enjoy. I also really hate to do this, but I recently quit my job due to a toxic work environment. Here is my ko-fi, if you can donate that would be cool, but if you can’t no pressure!!! Love you all ❤️

https://ko-fi.com/kyleey01

Pairings: Dayton White x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Fluff, no proofreading (I’ll get to it)

Word Count: 2.5k

You’re Always There Part 1

Your earliest memory of Dayton was meeting him at Memorial Park in your hometown. You were both 5 years old, new to the world outside of your home. It was the day before Kindergarten, and both of your parents wanted you to make new friends before the first day of school. Hopefully meeting someone in your class, they felt you wouldn’t be as scared being truly away from them for the first time. You only had a single mom, and she did everything for you that she could, even taking you to the park after her long day at work. Dayton had both parents, making it easier for him to let go and meet new people. His home was “complete” by societal standards.

“Mommy I don’t wanna go play on the slide. I wanna go home and play dinosaurs with you” you said looking up at your mother.

She kneeled down to look you in the eye, holding her shining gaze with yours looking both serious and concerned, “Honey, you know you go to school tomorrow. This is your chance to go meet someone new, maybe even have a friend when you go into school tomorrow.”

You were extremely hesitant. You loved your momma, and she loved you more than anything. You had friends on your street that you liked to play with, but your mom was never far away, only a quick yell and she would be there. This was different. She had told you she wasn’t going to be there if you needed her, and that you would have to wait until school was over to see her again. You cried for two days straight after you had the “school” talk. What were you going to do without your mom? She was your superhero, your friend, and the best mother in the whole wide world. You didn’t need anyone else. That’s what you thought, at least. Until you met Dayton.

“Go on chickadee, go make some friends. You’re a big girl now who can build pyramids with blocks and cut out dinosaurs with scissors, you can do anything” your mother said with a smile.

This was all you needed to muster up the courage to conquer the slide. You nodded at your mom and ran off towards the wooden playground. They really should’ve made these things plastic, with splinters and bee stings being common afflictions of being on the playground, but it didn’t matter to you. It was fun all the same.

You began to climb the steps of the huge castle, making your way through drawbridges and holes through the wood to get to the slide. There were two other little girls there, a little older than you, maybe seven. You mustered up a quiet “hi” but they didn’t hear you, already screaming and running off in a different direction. Just when your hopes of making a friend had been dashed, you heard another voice from behind you.

“Hi. What’s your name?”

A boy of brunette hair and ocean blue eyes was staring at you expectantly. You weren’t expecting anyone to respond except those girls, so you were timid at first. You opened your mouth to speak several times but nothing came out. You started to become overwhelmed, tears welling up in your eyes.

The boy noticed, looking at you confused. He had only asked you your name. However, his momma always said if someone was crying, you fix it.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me your name. Do you need a hug?”

All you could do was nod, strangely opening up to this welcoming boy. He smiled and brought you in for a tiny hug. He wants gentle, kind of rough actually as he swayed you back and forth with energy. He pulled away, hoping you had felt better. You did.

“I’m Dayton” he said, smiling at you.

You smiled back, with tear stains still on your cheek.

“I’m Y/N”

“Y/N, it looks like you need another hug” Dayton gave you another hug, holding you until he stopped hearing the faint sniffle that escaped your body every so often.

You pulled away, nodding to indicate you were alright now.

“You wanna go down the slide? My mommy is probably wondering where I am” Dayton asked innocently.

You nodded, relief washing over you that someone wanted to be your friend

“That sounds awesome.”

_______________________________________________

From that day forward, you and Dayton were attached at the hip. Elementary school had been a breeze. Thankfully, Dayton was in your class your first year. Although it didn’t stay that way, you would always find time to meet and play during recess. Recess time turned into meeting after school, and meeting after school extended into high school.

Dayton began racing during freshman year. Your school offered a racing club which allowed students to meet after school and go to various tracks in the state to see what it was like to race. You and Dayton had always gone Go-Kart driving on the weekends, but you never thought it would turn into anything serious. Dayton, however, has found his passion. He started building his own race car after school sophomore year, and even asked if you would come over to help. You knew absolutely nothing about building a race car, but Dayton wanted you to be there and that’s all that mattered.

“Y’know I know nothing about building a damn car right? Do YOU even know anything about building a car?” you posed to Dayton in an almost accusatory tone.

“As a matter of fact, Y/N, I have been studying how to build this ‘damn car’ for over a year now, so why don’t you put a little respect on Francine’s name?”

“Well, Dayton, I suggest you begin studying geometry before you fail the quarter. And you named the thing already? Is it your lover or you car?”

“It’s both” he gave you a weird wink, one on the left, and then another on the right in secession.

“You are absolutely gross, White. I can’t believe I ever agreed to go down that slide with you when we were five. It was probably all apart of your evil plan to keep me from being someone else’s best friend just so I could build this car with you” you rolled your eyes as you sat on the hood of his family car.

“God you’re so right. You caught me. Our entire friendship has been a sham, and it all led up to this moment. And now that I finally have you where I want you...” he said with a low growl, planting both of his hands on either side of you as you sat on the hood of his car.

“I’m gonna get ya!” He said tickling your sides

You shrieked, absolutely taken aback that his hands were all over you.

God, his hands were all over you.

Alright, maybe he is cute, but there was no way you two would ever date. You came to that conclusion a long time ago. Your crush developed in the 6th grade, which is absolutely astounding considering middle schoolers are anything but normal. Even in the most awkward stage of life Dayton still managed to be charming and cute as ever. You were determined to tell him, but he would never shut up about Stacey Waterson. You hated her with every fiber of your being. What was wrong with you after all? You had it all, at least that’s what your mom said. You were decently pretty, immensely funny, and his best friend. You shared everything together. What more could he want? Well, the answer to that question would be Stacey Waterson. He wanted her, and not you.

You came back to from the tickling after laughing for what seemed like minutes. Your sides were hurting from contracting your ab muscles for too long. You pushed Dayton off of you playfully, but he pounced back on you, pinning your arms above your head.

“Say the password and I’ll let you go” he stared you down, being absolutely serious.

However, you wanted to double check.

“You can’t be serious” you retorted back, completely flustered due to the situation you were currently in on top of the incessant tickling that occurred just moments before.

“Oh, I’m serious. Say the password and I’ll let you go!” He said with a huge smile on his face.

“Jesus Christ, let me go you dick” you said while struggling to get up.

Dayton made a loud buzzing sound in your face.

“Try again!”

“Dayton come on let me up!”

Dayton made another loud buzzing sound in your face.

“Come on Y/N, just one little word and this can all go away. All you gotta do is say..”

“Goddamnit Dayton, chicken! Chicken for fuck’s sake” you said waiting for his response.

Dayton made another loud buzzing sound in your face.

“I’m sorry, that’s the old password. There’s a new password” he smiled at you, knowing this was ridiculous.

You finally mustered up the strength to push him off of you.

“What do you mean the password has changed!”

The password “chicken” has been used in every single scenario since you first let. For whatever reason, You and Dayton found that word hilarious when you were at a birthday party in the third grade. It was Danny Henry’s 8th birthday, and of course it was chicken themed. Every child gets infatuated with a new thing every year. Danny happened to live on a farm, and all year he wouldn’t stop talking about getting a pet chicken. You all wore chicken hats, there were chicken plates, a chicken cake. There was even a “Pin the Beak on the Chicken” game which, if you do say so yourself, was way more entertaining than “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” You and Dayton lost it by the time your mom picked you up from the party, absolutely hysterical in the backseat. Ever since then, it was your secret password for everything.

“I was thinking we should change stuff up. Make up a new password, it has been seven years since we thought of one.”

“Oh yeah? And what is this new life changing password that is soooo good that our childhood memory is being brushed under the rug?” you question.

Dayton had an almost hurt look on his face, but he proposed the new password to you anyways. 

“I thought the new password could be Francine. Y’know, I just think this is another great milestone in our friendship, working on this car and all. This day is really important to me and I’m glad you’re here” he said with sincerity.

You didn’t know what to say. This day did mean a lot to him, and your friendship overall. 

You nodded in agreement. 

“Alright, the new password is Francine. However, I will still be accepting chicken as a password in the future.”

Dayton smiled one of the biggest smiles you had ever seen.

“Deal. Now, let’s get this car on the road. We have a lot of work to do if I’m gonna be ready for my first ever official race next Saturday.”

______________________________________________

Race day was here. You woke up early next Saturday morning and drove over to Dayton’s house to pick him up to go to the race track. Dayton’s dad was taking his race car down in their trailer, but you and Dayton wanted to head to your special place before the race. It was eight o’clock in the morning and Dayton had until noon to get to the race track. 

Ever since the 6th grade, you and Dayton would walk to this rock in the woods after school to talk about your day. Your mom got home at seven every night, so you only had four hours to do something before she got home and realized you were “missing.” You talked about everything on that rock, and that rock was also where you realized you had the biggest crush on someone since your infatuation with Paul Rudd in “Clueless.”

You pulled up in your beat up Dodge Intrepid, newly sporting your license. You grabbed some granola bars and bottles of orange juice to enjoy while sitting on the rock.

You both sat down on ground, leaning up against the thing. You both sighed and enjoyed the crisp cool morning air. Finally, you broke the silence.

“You nervous for today?”

Dayton looked down between his legs while chewing on his granola bar.

“I am absolutely terrified. I mean, what if I mess up?”

You laughed a little.

He looked at you with confusion.

“What’s so funny?” 

You shook your head.

“it’s your first are Dayton. It’s okay to be nervous and even mess up. At the end of the day, everyone is going to be proud of you. We’ll all tell you how great you did because we know how much you care about this. You’ll do amazing.”

He smiled, almost not expecting such kind words to come from your mouth.

“You’re something else Y/N, ya know that?”

“Oh yeah? Stacey Waterson is something else too I bet” you said half jokingly, half serious.

He rolled his eyes. 

“Who gives a fuck about Stacey Waterson when I have a girl like you to cheer me on and surprisingly gives the best pep talks.”

“Well the way I see it she was the one who got the invitation to prom, not little old me who will be spending that Saturday night in my basement playing my PlayStation.” 

He shook his head again.

“I never asked Stacey to prom.”

You suddenly shifted to look at him square in the face.

“What?”

“I said, I didn't ask Stacey to prom.”

You were dumbfounded. He told you he was absolutely determined to take her. What had changed?

“W-Why? Why didn’t you ask her?”

He kept smiling and shaking his head.

“God Y/N, for being one of the smartest girls I have ever met you really can be dumb sometimes.”

“Excuse you, Dayton White, I happen to be taking AP U.S History, Honors Biology, and-”

That’s when you thought heaven had fell down from the skies and landed right on that rock.

Dayton had leaned in and kissed you. God, why did he have to be so charming?

He slowly took your lip into his mouth and gently sucked on it. You reciprocated by taking his top lip into your mouth and began moving your mouth with his. Time had stopped. It felt like you had molded into one person, enjoying the sensation of each other’s lips. 

He finally pulled away, looking you dead in the eyes.

“Do you understand now?”

You nodded, still stunned by his actions.

“I think we better go. I wanna see this handsome boy I kissed win his first race.”

[motherofqups]

I really feel like I have three almost separate relationships with the Arcana at this point:

The fandom: A mixed bag of very high highs and *very* low lows. I’ve met some wonderful people (some I readily call friends) and gotten avid support for my fanworks; I’ve also seen criticism and misunderstanding spiral into toxicity, alongside straight-up bullying and mob mentality, alongside a complete lack of gray and nuanced thinking. Some folks are hilarious and have me cry laughing at their HCs, their memes, and some discourse is so detailed and thought provoking that I’m amazed at how people just... *think* differently than me, know so much more than I do about certain topics and are willing to share with the world. And some of the diskhorse makes my eyes water with how insipid it feels, largely a flimsy mask for straight up character assassination and fandom tribalism.

The work (my work): Fuxj, dude, I love writing, and I loved - LOVED - writing the Oracle. I mean it when I say that the Oracle kept me alive the year I was writing it. But I wrote it largely in isolation from the fandom, only dropping in on AO3 to leave anon-likes on my favorite fics. I have written far less once engaging more with the fandom HERE because it feels, some days, absolutely exhausting to keep up with the constant drama. This is not to point a finger at the fandom for my own executive dysfunction - it’s more to highlight how distracting it can be from, yknow, the actual art that people are making and producing and consuming, and not actually creating an environment that encourages and nourishes that creation. When I’m in my zone, just writing and dreaming and problem solving and editing, it all melts away. When I’m responding to the largely positive comments on AO3, I’m light and sweet and full of gratitude. But when I open tumblr to do the same, to market the work and support my fellow creators, I’m bombarded with negative energy. It’s barely worth the squeeze. Discord is the same: I left one because I felt so unwelcome and my opinions and perspectives unwanted; another was straight up Yeeted into the ether because of drama. (I’m in yet another that is absolutely lovely and supportive and full of fine folks, if much, much smaller and quieter.)

The canon: I can’t open the app without getting frustrated, without feeling a deep sense of disappointment. These last three routes have been an absolute train wreck of bad writing, pandering, and - to me - a lack of any kind of romantic spark. (Except for Portia’s - she has some REALLY GOOD moments interspersed with some extremely meh chapters and interactions.) The beauty of the first three was the mystery and the worldbuilding, however flawed - and the characters are so rich and delicately intertwined. The last three have felt like utter hack jobs in comparison - and those characters, certainly, deserved the expert craftsmanship the others received, because they were BUILT UP so much in the first three routes. All the spark that attracted me to the narrative at first is just - gone.

All of this is to say - I don’t know where to go from here. I want to write W&M, but every day the fandom seems to degrade more and more, and there seems to be less and less interest in alternate routes, esp routes that don’t follow the ‘canon’ to the letter. (I use canon loosely here - I don’t take any Dev Ex Machina or Word of Dev as canon, which I know is not the sentiment of the rest of the fandom.) I am also very, very much grieving the loss of someone who was essentially a parent, and all of THIS *gestures at everything* is colored by THAT.

Idk man, maybe what I need is a real tumblr hiatus too and just write in relative fandom isolation again. But I’m getting too old for this shit. How do y’all do this and keep going

[firebirdsdaughter]

What’s hilarious [read: ridiculous] to me…

… Is that Horobi and Yua actually follow a fairly parallel path in their responses to their situations (I had a whole realisation about how Horobi-Fuwa-Naki-Yua are a four way parallel today; Horobi-Fuwa are parallels and Naki-Yua are parallels, but then their actions crisscross parallel). But there’s a massive double standard in how the two characters are reacted to… Despite the fact that Yua is a fully mentally matured and developed human adult and Horobi is an AI that has been hacked and brainwashed for the past decade in a way that forcibly stunted his development.

Yua was in a horrid and toxic work environment w/ an abusive boss. Now, admittedly, Gai kept a large amount of his worse deeds from her and to a point one could justify it as her thinking she’s acting for the greater good… Until we get to the part where it becomes abundantly clear she knows very well that what they’re doing is at the least morally questionable… But doesn’t try to defect at all, even to the point of insisting it’s of her own free will. Yes, she had a chip in her head, too, but given her reactions to him torturing Fuwa, she doesn’t seem to have known he could do that, and she didn’t know about Naki, nor did she have an AI drone in her mind. Now this is not to blame Yua—in fact, the point is that she was a victim in a bad situation. Her struggle to get out of there was fairly realistic given her situation. But she had the experience to know that what they were doing was wrong. That makes it tragic in it’s own way, yes, that she was under extreme stress and very conflicted, but she was aware of that. She was a fully developed adult. She deliberately pursued Izu w/ the intention of destroying her, and would have had Gai not said the wrong thing and set Fuwa off. And Izu was frightened and trying to run away. She resists Fuwa’s repeated attempts to snap her out of it.

Rightly so, people noted Yua’s situation, were upset for her and felt bad for her. When there were jackasses saying she should die, people called it out as bad. People were cheering for her to get away from Gai. People were happy when she did. And this includes me. I blocked people I saw shitting on Yua and saying she should die bc what the fuck, guys, she was in a seriously messed up situation.

Once free of Gai, Yua is uncertain what to do and decides to try and ‘make up’ for something she feels responsible for in a rather questionable way. She ends up helping the Ark rise and wreak havoc. Still people recognise that she couldn’t have known that would happen. Poor Yua’s been through a lot.

Meanwhile, Horobi is hacked and brainwashed by the Ark twelve years ago. She uses him to cause Daybreak. He is an AI being controlled by a larger AI designed to control HumaGear like him. Unlike and adult human being pressured and manipulated, he is literally incapable of thinking outside the Ark’s will. The Ark has complete control. Even if he did have any experience to compare w/ before, the Ark erases it. He has no frame of reference besides the Ark, no development of any kind to evaluate his situation w/. Even when Jin becomes important to him, everything is through the lens of the Ark, the Ark is more than a god to him. The brainwashing is so deep that even when disconnected for a bit, he can’t be anything besides blindly devoted. Talks about how the Ark is absolute. When confronted w/ something that causes uncertainty, he goes into a full on mental breakdown—literally, should have been a first clue that emotions were never going to come easy for him.

Eventually, he does end up w/ enough experience to just start to begin to break free. Manages to act completely on his own for the first time in his life—not an instinct that the Ark swooped in to take advantage of, he gets to go through w/ it on his own. And he’s floored. He literally cannot fathom why his body moved on its own, as far as he can tell. Can’t understand the fact that he wanted to do something. This is recognised as a big deal (one of the only times anyone tries to actually talk him out of things, in fact, unlike Yua, where there was a lot of effort). Horobi begins to wonder about things outside the Ark’s will, about himself, which he’s never considered before… Only to have it turn out his son was plotting to have the Ark possess him and then kill him to kill her. This completely upends any development he had. He’s re-hacked and rendered as largely a drone when not being possessed.

Finally, someone decides to put effort into him (kinda…) again. And, in a situation that heavily parallels Yua, he ends up finding it in him to break free of the Ark. Only… Again, a lot like Yua, it’s not a clean break. He’s still stuck w/ the past, the conditioning, and the effects of what happened. Additionally, as later becomes clear, his struggling w/ feeling emotions, which he has been carefully conditioned to reject and have no experience w/, for the first time. He’s mentally unstable and volatile. Now, in the show, what happens is the result of Azu/the Ark’s manipulations and people making poor decisions (and I do think you can make an argument for the fact that the Ark was intentionally keeping Horobi from feeling/having any experience w/ emotions to make him even more of a wreck later on), and poking a very volatile bear (well, a highly traumatised child soldier AI who has no fucking clue what emotions are to the point it feels like an outside being controlling him somehow), he lashes out, and Izu calmly stands there and deliberately takes a hit she very clearly sees coming. General chaos ensues. From Horobi’s perspective, the thing he’s been trained to think will get rid of the uncertainty and emotions etc. not only doesn’t work, but it makes him feel worse, and bc he has no other way he knows how to respond, he becomes more aggressive in rejecting those feelings. And then Jin dies, and he completely breaks down.

The reaction he gets? People calling him evil and horrible and saying he should die. That e’s choosing to do these things. People who talk about how Yua can’t really be held accountable, how she was coerced, look at a literal brainwash victim and say he choose to do those things.

Now, obviously, there are differences, which resulted in the different out comes—obviously the whole, one is a fully developed human adult and the other one is an AI. One was externally conditioned, the other, again, literally brainwashed. One had someone fighting to convince them to break free of their situation on a regular basis, repeatedly, constantly, the other didn’t. Yua was always going to have an easier break than Horobi, bc she had more mental and emotional maturity, but bc of that, esp in regards to actions done whilst under the ‘control’ of others, she has more responsibility for her actions bc she was capable of identifying them as wrong.

Now, of course, both situations are bad for the people involved. Both of them are victims.

But the issue is that people seem to be all over how Yua was a victim, Yua was mistreated… While attacking Horobi (and being upset about Izu dying is one thing, although, again, the person really responsible for that was Azu/th ark(well, Gai for creating her), Horobi was pretty much used as a weapon there, but this is for stuff he did while mind controlled).

And I used Yua just bc she and Horobi had the most parallel responses to their situations. The same goes for being able to see Fuwa as a victim, or Naki (so if Naki is the one who gave Horobi the ZetsumeRise Keys, does that make them responsible for Operation MaGear, or bc they gave Horobi the ForceRiser and said to use it on Jin, are they responsible for that? Bc that’s the logic of blaming Horobi for Daybreak), or Raiden, or even Aruto for that time he got hijacked via MCH. Any of the hacked HumaGear who were turned into MaGear.

Just… The concept of seeing how all of those people are victims in the situation… But blaming Horobi? Like… Not being interested in Horobi is one thing. Obviously, no on is going to be as madly in love w/ him as I am. It’s the act of not recognising him as being a victim while recognising everyone in similar situations as victims. It’s saying he was responsible for Daybreak, treating him like the Ark’s will was his (I’m literally having flashbacks to comments calling Horobi’s whole death ‘Horobi’s plan,’ even though by that point we literally knew the Ark was an entity that existed). Like… They literally confirmed it in show as not being that. Horobi is a mind control victim. What someone’s personal opinion of the character outside of that is another matter. But the fact is that he was mind controlled by the Ark and that the things he did under her control cannot be objectively called things he chose to do. Whether someone thinks he would have chosen them if he weren’t mind controlled… Esp given how all his actions of own choice were about protecting Jin, I personally disagree. But the show has been very explicit that he was mind controlled, and that he had no clue how to handle emotions (to the point he didn’t even seem to know what they are), so being able to understand that all those other people, esp the ones who went through similar things, are victims… But Horobi’s to blame for what he did? That’s just ridiculous.

And don’t even get me started on how anyone could ever see Gai as being a bigger victim than Horobi.

[metalandmagi]

October Media Madness!

It’s the last day of the month, so you know what that means! What-no not Halloween! It’s time to see how one person wasted their time this month by keeping track of all the media they consumed! And if you thought October would mean a lot of horror movies and books and TV shows...you are going to be very disappointed because I’m a fucking wimp who hates horror.

September media

Movies!

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Scott Pilgrim, aka the most intentionally unlikable protagonist ever, has to defeat the seven evil ex-boy...uh I mean exes of the cool girl he’s dating. Yeah, I’m super late to the Edgar Wright party, but since this movie was finally available on Netflix I figured it was time. And it’s pretty good aside from the fact that Scott is the worst. But at least he owns up to it in the end. It’s crazy over the top ridiculous, has tons of little details that film theorists love to salivate over, and Scott’s roommate Wallace is hilarious. I just wish I could hear what Michael Cera says half the time. Oh well, there’s nothing good or bad I can say about this movie that hasn’t been said before. 8/10

Coraline: Coraline Jones, an imaginative young girl with inattentive parents who has just moved into a new apartment, discovers a secret door that leads to a world where everything is better, and everyone has buttons for eyes. However, under the perfect exterior, things are more sinister than they seem. I got the urge to re-watch this because it’s freaking October, and although I don’t watch horror movies, I felt obligated to watch something at least kind of Halloween-ish. And I stand by my long held opinion that this is the all time creepiest movie marketed for children ever made. Literally everything about this movie is creepy. There’s creepy music, creepy dolls being made and following people around, creepy cats, creepy people with buttons for eyes, creepy ghosts of children, creepy children with their mouths shown shut...the list is endless. And Laika never fails to make beautifully animated stop motion. 9/10

Sierra Burgess is a Loser: The latest film in Netflix’s attempt to dominate the rom-com genre, in which an unpopular high school girl ends up texting a handsome jock while leading him to believe he is texting a gorgeous cheerleader named Veronica who also goes to her school.

Okay, this isn’t a bad movie, so let me start with the good. I appreciate the message of how you need to make yourself stand out to colleges and how high school in general is becoming a toxic competitive environment. There’s a lot of good material about living up to expectations and stereotypes, both from Sierra’s side and her partner in crime Veronica’s. And speaking of Veronica, I was completely blindsided by how much of a great character she was and how much she grew throughout the film. I also liked Sierra’s best friend and the love interest, even if they were a little generic.

That being said...I didn’t like Sierra. When main characters intentionally lead people on for no good reason (and thinking some guy you’ve just met isn’t going to text you back because you’re not “conventionally attractive” is not a good reason) it annoys the hell out of me. Not only does she lie through texting him, but she and Veronica lie to his face multiple times. She also does something really horrible to Veronica because of a misunderstanding that could have been avoided if she taken five seconds to use some common sense. She also thinks she’s above doing a simple homework assignment for her poetry class because she wants to be different. I realize she needs to stand out in order to get recommendations for college, but come on. And finally, when she’s upset about how she looks, she blames her parents because her mom is attractive??? Yes it is frustrating to have these brilliant “conventionally attractive” parents, but they always try to build her up, as opposed to Veronica’s mother who only tears her down. I DID NOT HATE HER CHARACTER, but I think she could have been portrayed better. The other major thing that bothered me is that there is the complete lack of proper conflict resolution. All the problems and hurt feelings just magically go away in order to have a happy ending. Overall, the movie’s just okay. 7/10

Howl’s Moving Castle: Sophie, an ordinary girl who gets cursed by a witch, turns into an old woman and ends up working for a wizard who steals hearts. It feels like Studio Ghibli’s version of beauty and the beast, except Howl is the beauty with a questionable personality, and Sophie is the “beast” who whips him into shape...until the second half of the movie anyway. I’d prefer to watch an entire movie of old woman Sophie interacting with the other characters rather than deal with the war aspect of the plot. Anyway, the animation is awesome, and I appreciate the English voice cast...except for the fact that no one had the good sense to use Crispin Freeman as Howl instead of just having him as Turnip-Head! I know lots of people have talked about the differences between the book and the movie, but I like how the movie portrays that even though being old is physically painful, it can also be emotionally freeing. Either way I think Sophie is a great character with a fun sense of humor! 8/10

First Man: The story of Neil Armstrong and the years leading up to the moon landing...which apparently a lot of people didn’t like? Some people are butthurt about there not being a shot of planting the flag (which if they actually saw the movie they would know the focus of the scenes on the moon were to show Armstrong dealing with wonder and grief, NOT rallying together as Americans). Some people are unhappy that an American hero can be portrayed so negatively, and some people just thought it was boring and dragged a lot…

Okay, yes, the movie is a drama that does not portray Armstrong in a glowing light, and yes there are certain scenes that go on too long. BUT I really liked this movie...and this is coming from someone who doesn’t like Ryan Gosling. It is a family drama that captures how different people respond to grief and stress set in the backdrop of the space race. I also liked learning about this period in history and the controversy around the space program in general. It was beautifully shot and had very creative music choices, which was the main reason I saw it in theaters. I came away from it awed and terrified that we basically sent these people to the moon in freaking tin cans, and that in the sixties men shunned their emotions so much that they wouldn’t hug their children before going to space! Overall, it was good in a solid way, but it did drag a bit. 7.5/10

Mama Mia: Another protagonist named Sophie is getting married and invites the three men who could each possibly be her father to the wedding. But who cares about the plot, the main purpose of the film is to show women having fun with their friends! This movie...isn’t exactly good, but it 100% knows what it wants to be and accomplishes that. It’s a wacky, ridiculous, musical romp that people only watch with their friends when they’re plastered because they want to hear ABBA songs. It’s the very definition of a guilty pleasure movie, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I will say that it’s harder for me to relate to because I don’t have friends that I act this ridiculous with, and sometimes it gets to be a bit much. Although, I have seen the Broadway musical and remember absolutely loving every minute of it...so maybe it’s just the movie overplaying it. Oh well, it’s just something fun to have on in the background or watch when you need cheering up! It’s a 9/10 for being accomplishing what it wants and a 6/10 as an actual movie.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: In this Marvel filler episode between Infinity War and Captain Marvel, Scott is under house arrest and Hope tries to get her mother out of the quantum realm. Okay, this was a fun movie with some great moments, but it definitely had its issues. For a movie called Ant-Man and the Wasp, the two did not do much fighting together...or at all until the end. It felt more like an origin to their partnership than a team up movie (and I’d rather have a Wasp and Black Widow team up movie...or all the Marvel women team up movie). It also couldn’t figure out who the villain should be. It’s like they realized half way through writing it that Ghost was way too sympathetic and cool and had to come up with a bunch of more forgettable villains. And because this was more of a hot potato rather than a heist, I didn’t think it was as fun as the first movie overall. HOWEVER I still really enjoyed the inventive action and the characters. I will always watch 2 hours of Evangeline Lilly kicking ass, and Paul Rudd being himself. And I am convinced that Marvel is using The Adventure Zone route of needing competent women to solve everyone’s problems. But the heart of the movie is really family. Hank and Hope, Scott and his daughter, and even Ghost all had very compelling stories that drew me in every time. And that post credits scene...I knew it was coming, but come on! Marvel is the only current studio who can basically do a horror movie “The End…?” in their credits now. 7.5/10

The Chronicles of Narnia-The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe: The Disney version of the classic C.S. Lewis book; come on we all know the story. Okay, I watched this for the first time in several years because I also read the book this month. And holy cow, when you see what material the movie had to work with, this is a freaking masterpiece. It takes a very simple children’s book and turns it into an epic fantasy! The score, the little details, and the setting are all perfect. All the characters are so real and fleshed out AND ACCURATELY PORTRAYED FOR THEIR AGES! All four siblings are struggling with something, and the actors do a great job considering they were actual children while making this! I am so angry that Disney let this property’s potential slip through their fingers because I truly believe that if they kept making movies like this, it could have been their Harry Potter by now. Prince Caspian was also excellent, though I don’t remember much of Dawn Treader, but I think if they put the money and effort into continuing this franchise it could have been great.

One thing I don’t appreciate about the movie is how they reduce Edmund’s mental journey. I have always especially loved Edmund as a character, and something the movie fails to mention is the fact that APPARENTLY in the book the Turkish Delight is enchanted to make whoever eats it think only of eating more and more until THEY EAT SO MUCH THAT THEY DIE?! He’s not just a greedy kid. And there’s a lot more to his time with the Witch that makes his actions easier to understand. Anyway it definitely goes down as one of the best book to movie adaptations I’ve ever seen, and it is on my very short list of movies that are better than the books. 10/10

Books!

The Chronicles of Narnia- The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: It’s the first Narnia book; we all know the plot. I am one of the many people who had this series read to them as a kid, but it’s been like...eleven years since I actually read these books for myself. Even then I only got to The Horse and His Boy before stopping because it was boring as hell. I’ve been wanting to re-read the series all year, and with only the Disney movies in recent memory, imagine my surprise when I found out that Lewis’s writing style is absolutely bananas! I think he’s acting as some omniscient narrator, but his style is so stream of consciousness it’s hilarious! He constantly addresses the audience in these 2007 fanfiction author-esque asides. The Pevensies are the most posh, old-timey sounding British kids ever, and it’s amazing to visualize children that actually speak like this. Everything happens so quickly because it is 100% meant to be a children’s story, not this epic adventure we all associate with the movies. So...if you’ve never read it before definitely check it out just to discover how utterly wild everything is. My only real complaint is that it’s kinda sexist, and no one except for Edmund gets a character arc. Even though Susan gets a bow and Lucy gets a dagger, they’re treated like they shouldn’t be fighting because they’re girls and not...oh I don’t know...because they’re children! 7/10

The Ladies Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzie Lee: The second installment of...idk...the “Guide” series? I talked about the first book, The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue in my May Media Madness, and this book is just as good! This series takes place in the 1700s, and while the first book follows arrogant bisexual disaster Monty, his (boy)friend Percy, and his sister Felicity through a romp across Europe, this book follows Felicity and her friends on a...let’s just say “scientific expedition” involving pirates. The less you know about the plot going in the better. And did I mention her friends include a badass Muslim pirate princess and an Elle Woods-esque dog loving naturalist? And also did I mention Felicity is CANONICALLY revealed as ARO/ACE?! It’s strongly hinted at in the first book, and in this book Mackenzi Lee basically shoves any doubt about it out the window. It’s fun, hilarious, and also heartbreaking at the same because of all the challenges each character faces because they’re ambitious women in this time period. Sometimes it feels a little heavy handed in its feminist messages, but you can’t deny it’s not accurate. I’m really only saying that because I am a woman, and the struggles are nothing I haven’t seen or read before.  Anyway, this is a fantastic series that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun read, and it gets bonus points for including Monty and Percy being disgustingly in love together! 1000/10

Dear Evan Hansen the Novel by Val Emmich (and also Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul):

Buckle up.

I really love the Dear Evan Hansen musical (which I talked about in my August Media Madness.) The novel is almost a word for word adaptation of the musical, in which Evan, a teenager with anxiety, writes a letter to himself that is stolen by a boy who commits suicide, leading everyone to believe Evan and the boy, Connor, were best friends because they assume Connor wrote the letter to Evan. There is a lot I could say about this adaptation, but the number one thing is: I really don’t know if people who haven’t seen the musical or heard the soundtrack will like it as much. The strength of Dear Evan Hansen is mainly in its performances and its music, and while they tried to work the music in as best they could, I enjoyed the story more because I can link it back to the actors’ performances. Yes, the story is interesting and the message is important, but I honestly don’t know how much people going in blind will like the writing and how the characters are portrayed. Overall, it seemed like a well written fanfic- in a good way, not a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child way. That being said, I did really enjoy a lot of things about this book. They expanded on a lot about Evan’s relationship with his absent father and the aftermath of the big lie. They also expanded on a lot about Connor…

I honestly don’t know how I feel about Ghost Connor. Yes, I’m glad Connor shows up as a ghost in the book. What he doesn’t do is ACTUALLY INTERACT WITH EVAN...LIKE AT ALL! The best parts of the show are when Connor, as a figment of Evan’s imagination acts as a comedic buffer and his “moral center.” However, here ghost Connor exists to give snippets of Connor’s life. He barely comments on what Evan is doing at all even though he sees everything. All of Connor’s sections made me feel like the author was going through the DEH tag on AO3 and picking things to throw in. I liked his sections, but the writers really missed the more entertaining story of having Connor actually commenting about the shit Evan is doing.

So overall, I’d say watch the musical if you can find a bootleg, or at least listen to the soundtrack and then read the book. It was very enjoyable, although I think the ending dragged a bit in its quest to give more closure than the musical. 8.5/10

Bonus Manga

Shimanami Tasogare: Tasuku Kaname, a closeted boy starting his first year of high school meets a mysterious woman named Anonymous who helps him finds solace in a lounge run by other members of the LGBT+ community. This is the kind of manga that really hits and misses for me. It does a great job at portraying the struggles of a community with different sexualities and gender identities, and it has some really great characters and beautiful moments that I really think would be even better animated. But there are some character arcs that I feel are really...incomplete. It feels like the author was rushed into finishing the manga and did the best they could, but certain characters come off as major hypocrites or suddenly act like their arcs never happened. I also appreciate having an asexual character play such a big role, but the chapter where she talks about her identity as a person is just kind of...bizarre. Not to mention I barely understood what was happening for the first couple chapters because everything Anonymous says is so vague. There’s a lot I could say about this manga, but really I think it’s something everyone should read for themselves (and you’ll definitely need your tissue boxes). 8/10

TV Shows!

Arrested Development: “The story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.” Aka Ron Howard narrates the shenanigans of the worst people you’ll ever see. Yes, I finally got around to watching this, and yes the first three seasons are hilarious. It’s got the same beats as a soap opera (twins, adoption, losing limbs in seal attacks), but in a sitcom format it’s genius. The fourth and fifth (or at least what there is of the fifth) are just nothing special in my opinion. I thought the fourth season was structured terribly, and once the family starts getting into politics the show tries to be a form of satire that just doesn’t work for it. Plus I live with a family of Trump supporters; so it’s not as funny when you have to live with the racist people the show is making fun of who take all the “wall” stuff seriously. 8/10

Documental: A Japanese...social experiment/documentary/game show type thing on Amazon Prime wherein 10 comedians all get locked in a room together and attempt to make each other laugh without laughing themselves. The twist is each of them contribute 1 million yen to play, and the winner gets the pot of 10 million yen. In the first season, the show is more interesting as a social experiment than it is funny. You’ll like it if you like Japanese comedy. But the thing about Japanese comedy is...well, just picture an episode of Osomatsu-san, with all the disgusting and bizarre shit they do, and then picture real people. Though I do love seeing the faces everyone makes when they’re trying not to laugh! HOWEVER, the second season is so much better. I was laughing so much every episode that it hardly felt like the same show. They also changed the format a little so there would definitely be a winner at the end of the time. There’s still gross weird shit, but it’s a much better season. I give season 1 a 6/10 and season 2 an 8.5/10

Over the Garden Wall: In case you’ve been skipping the entire season of autumn since 2014, OTGW is a 10 episode miniseries that aired on Cartoon Network detailing the journey of two brothers Wirt and Greg who are lost in a mysterious wood called “The Unknown.” But really the whole thing is like a stuck in Purgatory story. It’s one of those shows that goes from adorable and funny to dark as fuck real quick. I think it’s impossible to go through the fall season without watching this at least once. This is another one of those things where there’s nothing I can say about it that hasn’t already been said. The atmosphere is perfect for Halloween, the characters are great (Elijah Wood voices Wirt, and it’s the best), and there are so many hidden clues that after it aired we all demanded a Gravity Falls crossover…

I could go on. This show is perfect except for the unnecessarily silly school teacher episode...and fact that it goes by too fast...and also the fact that now I know Elijah Wood has an adorable singing voice, and I’m salty that he didn’t really sing in Lord of the Rings. This is the atmospheric “watch it once a year” type of show that we desperately need more of...it doesn’t have to be the same characters or even have the same messages, but dang it Cartoon Network you can’t just give us this masterpiece and walk away!!! 10/10

Yuri On Ice: Yes, the figure skating anime. This is Tumblr so I doubt I need to post the summary of the show, but I do talk about it in my Hufflepuff Anime recommendations post. Since I couldn’t watch the Yuri On Ice marathon (which was coincidentally held on my birthday!) I decided to have my own dang marathon. There’s just so much to love about this anime: the music, the animation, the characters, the diversity, the humor, and the accuracy to the sport. But I think the main reason I love this show so much is because, as someone who watches a lot of sports anime, I really appreciate this show doing something different and focusing on ADULTS WHO ACTUALLY RELY ON THE SPORT AS A CAREER and using drama that way instead of the main source of angst being “we have to win the match for our senpai!” This is one of those shows you can watch a million times and still find new things to love! 10/10

Podcasts!

I don’t know why I made a separate section for this, since I only listened to one.

Hey Riddle Riddle: A podcast with three hosts that go talk about riddles and puzzles (aka puzzies and riddies) and role play various ridiculous answers to them. I started listening to it because Justin McElroy was on an episode, and it was pretty funny. The podcast is interesting and entertaining, except for the fact that sometimes their role playing and improve can go on for too long, and they don’t know when to let a joke die. Also one of the co-hosts is really annoying, but the other two make up for it. 8/10

Honorable Mentions

Camp Camp released a Halloween episode called Arrival of the Torso Takers and I watched it...probably four times...I don’t have a problem.

Some shows I watch on actual television came back this fall! Bob’s Burgers, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Fresh Off the Boat, Speechless, Modern Family (yes I still watch that), and The Good Place!

I don’t know if this was a leak or what, but there’s a new My Little Pony christmas Hearthswarming special, and guys...I thought it was pretty great. Say what you want about this show, but it knows how to do holiday episodes. Anyone who has been a fan for a long time or even fans who have fallen off the show will probably love it. It’s very sweet and never went in the direction I thought it would.

And last but not least, shout out to all the anime coming out this fall...there’s just...so much to watch...please help...

[piratekane]

Fic Writers Week 2017 - Day 1

Words of Validation - As a reader, give some feedback. As a writer share some of your favorite comments.

Reader I will be the first to admit: I am bad at giving feedback. I consume fanfiction daily, but the habit of commenting is not one that has stuck with me easily. Sure, sure. In a moment, when talking directly to Pocket FriendsTM, I can give feedback. But alone at 3am, laying in bed? It’s not a thing that happens. That being said, I wanted to highlight some of my absolute always-go-back-to fics that I’ve probably never commented on, but adore (that are limited to Wayhaught and Bechloe fics, atm, because sitting here sifting through the toxic love affair I had with G*** is too much). 

Open Range Hearts by thewaywedo33 / @thewaywedo33 (Wayhaught) First of all, this is magnificent. Your story, admittedly, got me into Wayhaught. I’d been seeing it on my dash and I went over to ao3 and was, like, what even is there to read? The answer was... not much. But this fic was there and I opened it hesitantly and damn. I don’t like horses. If I never meet a horse by its first name, I’ll be glad. But the world you created, keeping all of the characters in their lanes and dropping them into this what-Purgatory-could-be environment (because I can totally see it as a running farm) is just amazing. You have such a way with words that I find myself going back to the scene in the barn where they give in and I live that moment - Nicole’s pleading for Waverly to stop doing this thing that neither of them can control, Waverly’s hot and cold confusion. Also, the hat falling to the ground? I don’t know why I love that single detail so much, but I do. (I think it’s because - and I’m so guilty of this myself, until I reread a few times - people forget things like that? It’s like a math problem. If a woman is wearing a cowboy hat, and a second women launches herself at the first with a velocity of attraction, is she wearing a hat by the time their lips touch?)

Tripping, Stumbling, Flipping, Fumbling by TheGaySmurf / @iamthegaysmurf (Wayhaught) Let me make a list of the things I love about this fic, in no particular order: the vague opening where you’re like, WHAT HAPPENED TO MY NICOLE?!; Doc letting it slip; Waverly being like, rules, what rules? Let me back there; the hilarious series of unfortunate events that Nicole experiences, THE FACE THAT IT HAPPENED WHILE HOLDING AN ‘ACCIDENT PREVENTION PLAN’ BINDER;  and just the love. I love the love. 

if we never take the first step (let’s get a move on) by socallmedaisy / @socallmedaisy​ (Wayhaught) I’m sure (I hope) that I gushed about this fic to you, directly, but I also want to leave a comment, because it’s beautiful. Immediately, I love the way Wynonna’s whiskey makes her forget to whisper. I love the way Waverly slides in and makes that soft ache in Nicole’s chest (she knows Wynonna doesn’t like, cue the Han Face) disappear. AND THEN WYNONNA CALLS NICOLE A HERO and the spot in my heart, the one for the WynHaught bromance, it lights up like a fireworks display. Honestly, the whole thing is just what I needed and it settles in my chest like a good hug, if that makes sense. When they finally get to those three words, it feels like all of this up and down and crazy life they lead is worth it. You make it feel like it’s worth it. Also, the visual of Nicole with a sleeping baby on her chest is just... it’s magical.

heaven talks (but not to me) by belikeabumblee / @belikebumblebee I love this story. I love the relationship-building between Wynonna and Nicole. I love the way Nicole steps back and gives Waverly the space she needs, that she comforts her and feeds her, and then at the same time, is not afraid to verbalize that Waverly needs to get her shit together. I love when relationships are shown this: when one person gives the other space to grieve, to come to terms with a big truth, but doesn’t let them sink themselves in that pit of despair; when one person steps up and says, I know you think you need this but I know you and you need to do that before you can move on from this. I love when people talk to each other and you had them talk so beautifully, so honestly. I just... I love this story.

stare into the sky until we’re blind by lescousinsdangereux (Bechloe) YOU DID A ROAD TRIP FIC. Okay, but I need you to know: the part where they get out of a speeding ticket was, hands down, one of my favorite things about this fic. I feel like Beca is written so... restrained? And the way she’s so obviously flustered here is fantastic. Additionally, the way you picked the moment Chloe falls for Beca to be when she’s rapping is such a perfect throwback to the shock and then delight on Chloe’s face in the first movie, when she starts going with ‘No Diggity.’ Just the choices you made, plot- and word-wise are fantastic, magnificent, and now I’m re-reading this from start to finish. 

You Still Make Sense To Me (Your Mess Is Mine) by wherehopelies (Bechloe) This hits all of my trope weaknesses - fake dating, roommates to girlfriends, getting a pet. I mean, this fic was, like, written specifically for me, I’m pretty sure. I just want to thank you for making me fall in love with a dog named Potato (and giving him an godmother). I want to thank you for having absolutely no one be surprised about Beca and Chloe finally dating. I want to thank you for the delicious slow burn that is these two idiots being in love without knowing their in love. Also also also, your use of David Guetta is 10/10 and, like, I don't know how you pulled that off without making it super cheesy, but you did.

Forgive Me These November Days by obstinate_questionings (Bechloe) I read this often. I’m not going to lie. I read this frequently. I love love love love the way you write Chloe, specifically. I love the way you explore the way she thinks and the way she acts. I especially love how in-character she feels, especially because in the film, her character traits are very fleeting and hard to grab onto. I’ve seen people pull out the party-girl trait and run with that. But this Chloe? The one you’ve built from a few small character-building scenes in the movie? My heart aches. Also, this is the best Chloe-Aubrey friendship I’ve ever read. Ever. And I will continue to come back to this fic again and again and again.

Writer One of my favorite things about posting a story is refreshing my email. I love waking up the morning after posting a story and opening my email and seeing comments from people who read it while I was sleeping. There are so many amazing people who comment, but I just want to pull out a few that really stuck in my ribs over the last few weeks.

swagche on live our lives together day by day

Reading this one was like buying a new album from your favorite band and just being perfectly reminded why you fell in love with them in the first place while enjoying their growth.

I JUST REALLY LOVE THIS SERIES.

I read this sentence over and over again and decided it’s the best damn compliment I could have ever received. It immediately reminded me of, like, 

jaguarspot on yesterday and days before (sun is cold and rain is hard)

For an 80s music AU, this one had almost no music, which is fitting seeing as a part of the music in their lives just faded

Writing this Curtangst was just as hard as I’m assuming it was to read it. This series has become so much a part of my life (you think I’m kidding but right now, Survivor’s Vital Signs is blasting on my cassette player for the fifth time today) that it was so important to set Curtis up and to make his death resonate across all of the characters who interacted with him daily, who mattered to him. To be honest, Curtis plays such a large part of their musical history (which you guys will see eventually) that having someone nail it head of the head so perfectly... It floored me. It absolutely floored me.

forgetthesun on it's like i wrote every note with my own fingers

Is this your opus? Your heart and soul has poured into every crevice of this story. I haven't stayed up until 2am reading fic for years but this, this kept me awake all night. And the music was to die for.

It felt like a combination of a love story to 80s music/movies and to the middle era of fic - how exactly did you pull off a songfic btw? I was a bit late to the Wayhaught party and hadn't been interested in reading about them before I saw there was a story written by you.

It must be over ten years now that I've been reading your work and I haven't once been disappointed. Even back in the angst days there was always a level of hope in your stories (however deep it might have been buried) and it's wonderful to read your more recent pieces where the balance of angst to hope has been tipped on its head.

I'm so looking forward to reading the rest of this series and listening to all those wonderful mixtapes! Nicole's anxiety over getting those tapes right was so perfect. It had my fingers itching to hit the buttons of a dual deck again.

I love this comment for many reasons. I joined fandom at such a young age, that I’ve already been in ‘the game’ for... ten years? Definitely longer. It’s probably actually more like twelve, to be honest. (Which is why I see fandom ‘grandma’ posts and laugh, because, like I am one.) Anyway, what is so cool about fandom, and one of the things I love about this comment, is that forgetthesun is right - they started reading my work nearly ten years ago. Back when all we had were glances and lingering brushes of hands and people created worlds from a .02 second moment in time. My work used to be angst, angst, angst. And I’m so fucking grateful someone followed me out of that dark time to now, to better days. (I’m also looking at you, @iamthegaysmurf.) The other reason I love this comment is because they’re right; this is my opus. I have - and continue to - put so, so much of myself into this. I also put so much of Smurf into it, as well. I feel like out of everything I’ve ever written, this one just... feels different. It feels like more. It feels like everything. (Also, dude, if I knew how in the hell I pulled off a songfic, I would send myself back in time and rewrite all the songfics I ever did, I swear to god.)

tl;dr - go back and read it, you cowards (I say, with affection)

Fic Writers Week 2017

[throwingideasatthewall]

The Clone Wars     The Zillo Beast Strikes Back

         (Season 2 Episode 19)

I really thought the first episode     was surprisingly good and I hope the     quality     con-      tin     ue s;

           Moving on;                         Cost   ly-                Recap,       getting real deep                 into the details                   ......              Good     that shows commitment to the story                       ..     And      attention to the (good) details 

               . .                      [Also how yeah are they going to transport that     beast?]

                Who said spent a little more time     explaining it to       the natives          [Why   they needed a dead    beast]

         Still good                 still good,

          Pretty

         Okay

“Tensions       Run         high,”

Hey,    that’s      a       reasonable    reaction,

   (They’re going to put extra   security     on it?)

  How long   till it breaks out.

[I mean thing   might look tiny]

Look at all those        buildings

     [also this will be a nice   scale

 We really didn’t   get much of it

On the   desert planet

 Cause there were no buildings around

  After the   destruction

  (Neat      Detail-)

That one trooper’s      really excited

You think you want to be a   zoo-logist?

Neat

Spiky and big       but sleepy

Uhm.     (Cute)

(Oh you stop with that death music it’s     adorable)

As are most animals

Though that’s likely     more so      anticipation music        . .        So it’s Fine

      But just look at       ‘em,

Ador-able       !

(I’m sorry I cannot take this     seriously with him sleeping     so peacefully)

Good    for        ‘em

  *em

[Oh yeah      [just]       bring the     Chancellor here.

 Is he going to get     Donkey     Kong-ed?         i’m sorry     but just the idea.     .

Of Sidious     held hostage      By a   giant beast,      On top of     a building..

It’s just so     hilarious.

(Not to mention his     force lightning      powers)     Baby      [An-imal]      Possib     ly        .     Okay,      Right,       Why would      they     stop.

 Aight         —-         Okay           -         Good      Ideas           -     A-ight.

   Whelp,          Good

     Uhm,        Right,

  Okay     ,

  Now,     Right,

Wh-       Elp,  

 Uhm,     Okay,

Right,

Nice

Okay

Chancellor      isn’t having it

Look    

At him

You ruined his evil     diatribe, Windu

He isn’t having that     “you should assume some accountability”        argument..

Ruining the   giant monster plot-          -      with his logic

   Good       times

[Palpatine’s going to dismiss him    rudely      isn’t         he?

    He’s pissed           -              Terrible war

Note; how he said nothing   about the beast safety

Which is Windu’s     main concern

[and his earlier   gaslighting of      Windu’s    conscience

*Put      Down      *             ?        .    

^ ^

Nice

 Sleepy.      .

 Bean.      (Pet      Name-       Light     ly.]

 Any way!

  [There’s the   scientist.]

  Seems        Nice.

   She doesn’t have   au-thority

 Nor      Do     You.  “Good care,”

 Nice

Mace         Is     Humanitarian       towards          Ani-     mals-

 -also can we stop calling at the        “beast”?

   It’s an      animal?

[’Beast’ is for when it’s attacking you      And           it’s not fully identified]

 And     it’s   adorable

[as well   as has an already established name]

[i’ll say call it whatever you want     but this is   assumed     authority,       And whoever     names it first             is          king         . . . .      Seriously ?     does no one  care for it as a     cute fluffy animal?       (I know it’s scaly  my point stands)

Like seriously everyone’s viewing it as a       resource

[Makes me   sad]

Starting to think that one clone trooper      Should      be in   charge,

He at least       seem-ed to give a     -shit

Well treated

As a resource

Windu;       i’m calling bullshit     but   alright

[is he going to     spring him?

*em

I want Windu to spring ‘em for      environmental justice

Ok, how long does the plotting   bullshit goes down and they start   tearing the scales off the thing?

Um

Ma-jestic

He’s calling     Heavy.. bullshit

Good for     Windu..

(I like this character   .very much.)

 Nope      [Death       Music      .]

 Big

  Good           -           Aight

Uhm        ..     Bu-        ld

Obi-Wan      shut up 

[You are the worst character]

Not in character design

Just in being the     absolute    .worst.

  Great

    Neat

   Al-      right-

I mean-     he could be studying it to find which climate would be best for it -   I mean you can’t just drop a random      Non native-       Life      Form     -     Onto     a random planet-       and   Hope for the     best-

And this is the closest thing to safe neutral   controlled   territory       . . .      that they have

So make sense that they bring him here   to figure it     out

  [The chancellor      able to manage     who they have treaties with and which planets are inhabited

[and what uninhabited planets could be   possibly viable        environment        . . . .         Re-hom-ing    locations-

For him     *em

*Effort*

Oh yeah   not worth the effort to make sure the very   rare species     doesn’t      dare

  [this is why you’re     the fucking worst.]

     In.uni.

   Any        Way-

   Well that was a   calm way of saying,           He didn’t      give me an      explanation            . . .       Which is     understandable      and          A pretty         decent      response,

    .         Try

    Wait what?

Can we       re-wind that again?       ...  Obi-Wan     -     no       -        All he said 

“was that he didn’t get an answer,”

He-

  Do not   escalate the situation.

  Do not send     Anakin to badger the    chancellor.

[If Windu wants to escalate the situation   he will,]

You are not the responsible [least     Toxic] Adult

Please just let       Windu handle it

[I love how they cut away like you know   Windu’s    rolling his eyes

[Obi-won- 

“]

]

Well,  not too bad     just seems tired

Planet acclim-      ation          -         Or the   sed-      atives           -           Will do   that    to you)

Though admittedly it could be a less     in-vasive     environment-

With more   com-patibility-

 Oh

   ?

  What?

    Oh       No!

[Don’t hold    the fluffy bean!]

What   is going on   exactly?

Like don’t get me wrong I know there’s 

  slight discomfort

But    how     bad-

[like is what they   inserted into them a sedative?

Enough,

 Good-

 That’s      Good

  But seriously

If you’re going to      study an animal   you shouldn’t do shit like that

Passive observation

  Seeing if it sheds

  Perhaps,        Getting        Samples

The only time   those things to be    taken off -      ... them         ...  is upon     death         -     with respect to the    life        cycle,            And,      the decomposition     cycle-

     Not going-

Toxic   excessive-

And causing        -   pain

 Aw

Sentient       Bean-

   Oh          No.

Oh it is picking things up   relatively quickly,

Surprisingly    quickly,

figuring out that     this was the one to      Yell          at           ...    despite there being      Mryaid        Of     possibilities,

  And   would usually focus on the,

  Pain-    ful         Ones,

  Com

  So take a small       scrape sample. off the scales

   Like you straight   up tried to       rip   off      the scales.      ... Armor-

And not the   Jedi’s?

   Just thought -in the     pecking order they’d be lower

   Under tanks    and 

    shielding

And protection to the     higher ups           ...

Centurion        Armor.

 First

  Ok how about you   don’t..

Or send her to the planet   and wait to     see if she sheds.

Like,no

Until the   bean       ... is dead       (Un     fortunate)

 You      can’t-    be doing-          ....    Stuff-         Like         That-

    -         What the     fuck?

  Also;     mace Windu       a thousand miles away;      I hope the fuck you do       you be a dead son of a bitch,

Lady, just call the Jedi

Mace Windu is clearly an     environmental         -     animalistic         focus            -      Have him insta kick this      bitch

(Which he can as    his specialty)

Call tox

    *Like         Medic

And kick the bitch   to accountability

* or semi   accountability in this case 

 (’Cause if you get caught with a           Spoon-       -”

 Pr-otest

  Good

  Mace Windu       -     Has a teammate-

 Intelligent

Oh no-

Oh noo

That    could’ve been possibly        meant

“I thought   that was just an   extraneous detail”

👍

 Animal

You’ve been calling it a   Beast   this whole time

Also,     damn look at those    sad eyes!

That Things 100%         Sent.

You can’t do      that!

Ok I need to plot this out

This living creature-

Is sentient      enough        To     Un-der      Stand

Lan-guage

   And feel pain

Let me just play a few scene   so I get the morality right

So,     dude’s sleeping under ground,

(Those guys apparently just         . Got injured by its sleeping movements,)

 Then

  It finds some guy

 Tries to get it off him        (Reasonable)

   Those two guys flee     (After     Anakin spent multiple occasions getting in     it’s way..

  Clearly     un-wonton       and     un-wanted

    So clearly going over the        “don’t bug others         rule,”

    Then these guys   -definitely heck with it

     By throwing        bombs,          And    generally breaking        every        (rule).  The liquid thing is kind of weird

      That being the equivalent of        pumping     planet waste material            Poison)               So it pretty well fits under the attempt of harm                /murder

        And the    guards clearly attempt        to murder it.

So immediate      accountability is in play

  But     they try to kill them

   (Note I know the situation is bad but it’s     Immediate Accountability

     Not immediate death

(However,       it’s really weird with non      humans)

    (Or even just   humanoids,)

  Because I know what another      human could do

  Humanoids have the same       about structure

   With minor     ex -cessive- differences?

    Like- how

(The standards      are really different        here)

   I’m not sure she could have even picked them up       without hurting them.

         I really hope     we get to see her talk

        So   we can get more info

      Because that’s    really    fascinating.

 Co-mment

 Hey     it noted that!        ...   That’s   -really   neat

[Also   geez that must suck,       Having    to be moved from your   planet...      Against       your       will     and things   that you might not be able     prevent. .         Because     some asshole won’t     share the damn planet, 

And everyone   else is enabling.

(It’s the frozen planet thing    All over again    .but better.]    This time   the species     might not actually have an option,

But   doesn’t   negate         -  it’s   sentience,

Kill

Dude,   seriously,

Like I’m not a fan of it   but you could just sedate them,

Turn the fuel wanted some kind of solid       (Point)

And

Argh-

(It brings me no   moral pleasure to say this) 

Cut the scales from the     skin-

Without,   too much pain 

Assume

(Still   should   not do it)

Monster

(Also lady just      call the Jedi)

 You know one who’s against it

You don’t even have to mention the   chancellor by name

Just say some crazy orders got   brought down the line

 And you need   -some help

Oof

‘She   ain’t having your bullshit’

Right

Okay

Whelp

Good scene       setting.    

You really feel how   out of place   Anakin is,    -  

Oof

The music’s    really nice

Really helps set the scene

And the height       Just-

Perfect       (Sets a beautiful        set of risk)

 Oof and Obi-Wan questioning     Am-idala

(The costume choice works        very nicely here-       Causing Amidala        to stand out,       From the       variety,         But still have the kind of    muted sense of the situation,

    (Lot of other senators           wearing purple            (-though more             solid)

And the lighting is pretty nice too,

Looking pretty   naturally with the setting-

Oh,     no,

Aw, that’s kind of nice

 A good    bit of levity

(Possibly    parodying     the masters,         Amidala          and        Anakin      technically)

     (Anakin    did build        CP3PO         though)

     Aight,          Nice,

.

 Pro      B-

 You know   that actually would make sense

I was actually expecting     the more blow it up    solution

   But    just trying bugging the      Senator      (Chancellor)       Palpatine             .       Is a pretty good    (non-escala      tory)         First  step       . . .       .

That would   just let Senator   Amidala see it,     assuming   she wouldn’t have an   issue;     and wouldn’t   notice the smell     rift.    .. -      Male-stare

‘ Mace Windu   told you to leave it alone     and let him handle it,     And you decided fuck     that       I’mma   gonna screw things up,       Didn’t         You?”

Ch-ancellor

Oh     that’s actually a smart plan        -     Gang up on the   chancellor       .      Never mind      A second    pair of eyes     might be   helpful in case   he tries that      hologram   shit again,

(Never mind the fact that     Ami-dala- doesn’t go missing   under mysterious circumstances,”

It’s  a good   plan

Kinda

That’s-    pretty damn fair-     -      Voice-         -     That’s- a little too     environmental but I get the point

(As in it’s ignoring the fact that the    Zilla beast does have a voice,    Just no one‘s listening

  Or reading its body language,     Like a good    sentient would

  (The issue is it’s         accountability          -The ability      to hold others        accountable-

  Which it doesn’t seem to be capable of doing to the         fine degree of      other humans-

   Other   humanoids-

 “ Be it’s      accountability,”         Is More        accurate          a phras-           ing

     Also geez can you imagine that   sit-uation?

 -

 Like either force-d to kill another sentient species or be submitted to   this?

  -

   I give the Zilla beast a lot of damn   credit-

   For the re-straint

Real         shit           . ..    Sit-

   Neither have    you,

  Seen your    -self

   In action!

Like   yeah dude you pull out a laser sword,      When someone threatens you,

(Pretty damn unaccountable)

At least the Zilla beast has a       damn good excuse,

    Life

Yep-

 Warr         ant a discussion

   No,         It warrants the   envir-onmental focus-          Kicking the     offender,          Straight to      accoun-tability            And     every     one else,    Lea-ving    the damn thing       alone,     (Bastards)          ....    ?

I mean-

 That’s       kinda fair-

Heck     not every-       one-       

   Heck- not every generation-     Has an environmental focus

    And,  animals are damn   weird-

   But- I’m going to say      if you see a puppy kicked-        You should      tell that dude to        fuck       off,

  And no I do not      resent that-

   Even if it’s      food

(Which no one should be messing with     in the first place)

   But fair-

  Chan-cellor   

    Still don’t    like this-

 Stop being a complaining        dick and eit        -her do it or    don’t-

  Oh does he have a   hesitation from his previous experience?

    Secrets do not stay       secret

   Mate you deployed the military,              Who have to answer                 to the council,

          Not to mention all of the               Internal law and military                 enforcement                    On planet                     That saw     this shit go down

                (Would probably be    defensive of you holding a dead    creature)

Also yeah   it’s Obi-Wan’s        fault

(How he knows about something      he didn’t witness.       Idk,       Guess   someone told him.”

   Anakin?

   What-       ever.

    Aight

Called        out

No the point of democracy is to form a      hierarchy of authority         And with some people’s decision     matters more than others          There was very little ability to        self determined,

     And often times  ends up just arguing over    basic human decency,

    Doesn’t have to involve   subterfuge

   But things can escalate for the worst with   toxic behavior

       *enabling            espec

Die

Oy!

Any   -one paying attention to that?

(Dude, blown cover!      )

No, better option just go straight to     Windu,

You thought     he was being held for a tests     ... He   wasn’t    ,       Time to get the ass kicking squad in for     questioning,

 Windu

*Not      Obi-      Won-    -

 That was   damn threatening

  Aight,

(Also yes, you do,    Go tell    Windu.)

Here’s the conversation;

 ‘Ok, I’ll just relay that to      Master      Windu-”

    “Wait, no - don’t do that-         !”

   (Done jokingly)

 The conversation’s         fine,

  War is never going to be won until someone assumes         accountability

Both points of “feck you” 

  Well at least Anakin isn’t hail-ed as the    “enabling Savior”,

   And does sorta take          Amidala     ’s          Side,         ,       Re-     asonable

          [call             Windu]

Shit     ...

Also      “your       groomer       has     groomed        you       well”

    To       never        pick       a side       .  .. Ex-         Cuse-        Me-         -         Help         ing     ...       He   noticeably     switched            his       body       over      to your side,

      And his   “both sides thing,”               .... .        Was is clearly a        ‘feck          you,

  Appro    -priately

     Oh

     No he       DOESN’T!

      And Anakin isn’t innocent   here,

  So knock off the   tone

  No puppy dog   was kicked,

   Anakin fully   knows what he’s advocating       is wrong

   And appro         -priate tone should be applied

 ‘That was      malicious

You can’t hoodwink an     adult,

Productives are well aware    of common decency            Rules,

 Selectives know      their shit

   This is an          act of        malician          . . .          And should be           framed as such     .   yeah I have no idea what’s going on with   him either

[Doing that    unaccountable juice again.)

Oh,     hi,    ,       Wait you’re just gonna straight up gas      ‘em-

  But-

(Does this turn them   into a super angry pissed off monster?)

Zilla

Stop enabling   this!

   [Character            Yell,]

        Bitch,

Kill      em’

  ‘I will grab the thing    , but I’m still asking you to do the thing,”

    This is why       ‘sorry             is bullshit,’

      . .

      Um      Whelp,         Time         to see     the baby       get kicked,”      -          “I’m  Sorry,”

We talked about how that doesn’t excuse     actions    ... I swear if they pull that they said they were sorry, so that means everything’s ok every episode,

  [I will    strike every episode]

Til the mark

Any      way.

Begin     procedure        .       And with that she is undoubtably      irredeemable,           . ...

(I swear to god if they play happy music of an ending where she is supposedly redeemed

   Or enabled)

Calling    heavy   bullshit,

   A   puppy     killer     runn      -ing           free       With        No           Ch   -ance        Of even the slightest bit of      come      uppance,            ....   Isn’t      happy         - - -         Any       Way,              Even worse   that      it’s sentient           -           Going to switch        from       “That’s              A          Puppy!”         to       “THAT’S              A         SENTIENT!”

(Both are equally      frick-ed up)

  De-     served-   

 Yeah-

Turns out when you threaten someone’s life they immediately going to assume accountability mode   

              (Not)

 I’m just really angry

At the characters in the        universe

But yeah,  Damn,

        Poor             Zilla,

         Got            tears            in my eyes

     [Like imagine          that bullshit]

Like either she was restrained            her self enough        so she didn’t kill people

Or the situation was so bad          it literally caused       an adrenaline          like situation

     Free-         ing herself

     Seeing as she doesn’t seem to be a bad   “pers’- 

     [The accountability scale-           still         un-established,”     [Selective          accountability?

     Involuntary         accountability?

    Does her body       just flare up into attack mode          when stuff like that happens)

   Just-

   Whoa-

   No-

  Don’t shoot the      baby   !     sent    ient!

 I don’t     like the sound of that,

You’re not going to like    

what they did to her?

[also wait,    what are the properties of that gas?

  Like what does exposure      do to her?

  [I know they said it was poisonous,        But      that was coming from the assholes  that thought stabbing      her was a good idea,

*em

 Any      Way,   

Good point

Like how          dude’s backing away               .       Good trooper

I hope he was the       Zoologist           One            .      seems to be       smart,

Oof

(Dude didn’t even get to see the        Zila,)

   Oof

   It    doesn’t even attack anyone!

  (It goes away        from the tanks)

    My        Damn          heart,

        Oof

       I hurt

      Good

(Oh geez,   she probably didn’t even know they were still out there.”

 Oof,

Okay, fakers,

Also she took out was the beams screwing with her,

 There         was like one guy,

   (I remember         I thought about commenting,          “Karma,”.        at that moment,

  If Lady’s on the ground        it’s her own fault,

Zilla,     didn’t do anything to her

Dick,

  ?

  Oy,       Bullshit,

   She, went the other direction

  And      seemed very specific about     avoiding things

 I’m calling      very light         (Cir-cum        stantial-)    Bull shit

    There must be a fire     Oh no

    (Yeah the structure-

     Must suck

    To be sp-

How is he     reaching her 

after her thing was destroyed?

Damn

Also, wait 

it’s night?

How long     have they been   standing there?

(Also Mace     Windu       is going to     kick    your      ass.”

Also, look at that

She’s trying to go under the beams!

This is clearly not     malicious,

  And I mean it makes     a lot of sense,

   She’s a ground living          creature,            (Sentient)

        She probably thought lower altitude was safe

  And not with all    this      (non      sense),

    toxin

Oh yeah    just gas     the city!                 -      with multiple     in-     habitants     of    different   biological      structure-

                                 [Don’t bother turning it into a   blade]

                                 Or                                     bullets]

.

 Hurry

[Not try anymore       practical       solutions,]

Why...   

 Have you done     this?

[Oh yeah don’t bother sounding the alarms for      everyone,

   Screw them

    Only           the servants matter,”

 “Gen,       No,      don’t stay      with   General    Kenobi,        He      will       get      you     killed,

Now, I kno

Fun

-     See,   she gives them a warning yell!

She’s more-so tripping than     malicious,

Also made if you saw a (malicious) beast coming your way and decided to stand near it

  -That’s your      own fault,

   Like,        Darwin’s          law           No          Euth,

     To be fair dude does give the orders.  And that      was her way of saying I don’t like that guy

         I’m just really sad about her      condition.

 Tr-

   High     er    Van         Ta          Ge

    Point-

    Also yeah that does seem like a smoother safer advantage point where she wouldn’t hurt anyone

   Aight,

   Okay, seriously      how the fuck are            there fires?

   She      hasn’t- 

   That’s just something completely     different,

    [Like-         I don’t know if I wanna know the story but that           is intriguing]         

      Aw,           Small,

       See now    she’s sticking to sections       where she can’t      hurt       people.         .

    Whelp

    “Also everyone get to your   rooms,

    These       frickers;

 Like there was an alarm      earlier      right?

   There was a      siren       ..

  How?

  No-pe

 Yes you stay on top of that dome

   Proud          Of           This          Zilla’

     Eva-           Cute?

     Also wait   wasn’t she just in the scene below

 Some        One-

   Dude all she did was   yell at him,

  Re-     Strain         T!

   Gosh darn, Yoda -     you fricking        enabler

Also how long until Windu finds out she’s been injured and..  freaks out.

 Loading.

Lost

And,   they were all given fair warning and if you’re not smart enough to get out of the way that’s your own fault

* Un    accountable

  Off

How’s    Windu    feeling?

 Aight

 Bullshit,    you planned that-

Also   why are you including everyone else?

That seems like a   security   hazard?

Toxin

.

De-stroyed

Clearly no

You should be     glaring daggers at him  

being like   “bitch    no,”

Padme      Isn’t      innocent

Pr-

[Windu        is going to kick a bitch]

   It

  No

   Hi,

  Hey, want to talk to you

 VALID

  Good

  OH NO   

Fuck off Yoda

  (Amoral-

You shouldn’t   shoot them in the first place-

Also this is just establishing that     Mace Windu is literally the only sane person,

 Yoda literally only cares about the       chancellor         . . .      and would’ve shot him

   Dick,       Don’t

(Feckin   dammit Anakin,)

   The Zilla        Just       Wants      a nice talk.

      Bad

Yes just let the Zila talk you         irresponsible fuck

Like, seriously        Now she’s       going to have to try and catch you with her hands,

   And if anyone gets hurt      it’s their own damn fault.

  Som-

    Stupid

     Damn-         Just.  Talk

  with the damn Zila,

  -

  I swear..

 I fuck-

She was already paying attention 

you damn fuck

                Zilla-         catch-  Whelp,

Dumbest freaking      plan ever,

Zilla,          Pick up

“ also you have to think about what Zilla- is thinking at them       at this moment-

Like-

  Oh- shit

No   

They could possibly die!  She     just yells at them this     entire time!

   Damn...

Pretty sure   that dude tried to shoot      her...

  Not-

 Dick

   Oh         No,

   This-

   She gave dude      five fucking warnings

        De-press                   ....

I’m       Go       Write          A        Fluff        Fic