#Because there’s something about a character with practically no sanity that makes them fun

[overdramaticemotions]

Just a ‘lil bit silly, y’know?

[mars-ipan]

they're so GROSSSSSS (<- desperately wants what they have)

alt color under the cut:

[kujakumai]

On the subject of being good with children, which characters do you think WOULD be good babysitters?

YUGIOH CHARACTERS AS BABYSITTERS, RANKED

TOP PICKS:

Seto Kaiba runs an entire company dedicated exclusively to safely entertaining children, and unless his parks are getting continually sued I believe he knows how. Your kindergartner is not only safe with him but will probably leave knowing how to play chess and write in C++. He may allow them to play with knives, but only if they're 9 or over, plus he has all the emergency numbers on speed-dial.

Hiroto Honda babysits his niblings on the regular. Can warm a bottle and change a diaper. A level-headed and practical guy. He’ll be fine as long as his friends don't drag him into a horrible game-themed deathtrap. Don't ask why that caveat exists.

Rishid Ishtar is safe, experienced, has dad energy, however he will crumple like wet paper at the first sign of conflict re: ice cream for dinner / no bedtime / blood-soaked cross-country quest for revenge / an extra episode of cartoons over the screentime limit.

Ishizu Ishtar would make a great babysitter. I don't really have a quirky joke here she just would.

"MAYBE"S

Jonouchi used to watch his little sister and I think he'll do about as well as any other teenager you're paying minimum wage, and with a lot of earnest enthusiasm. Your child will be fine at the end of the night, though they will probably have eaten some junk food and played a T rated videogame.

I do not think Atem would know what to do with a baby, and may panic about it, though if you have an older child he will be happy to offer a rousing speech and some deep-voiced mentorlike advice while teaching them to play board games. Not a bad choice, just try not to leave him with anyone under seven.

Yugi knows zilch about kids and often appears a little annoyed by them. Same general rules as Atem--do not leave him with a baby, but he'll probably just teach an older kid to play shogi or something.

Mai Kujaku will put the kid in front of the television and order pizza while she paints her nails. Honestly, though, what more are you paying her for?

Listen, I love Anzu. I do. She’s smart, driven, and big-hearted, but she is also sort of short-tempered and impatient, and patience is like 90% of child-rearing. Please do not ask Anzu Mazaki to watch your children. She WILL say yes because she needs the money, and she WILL go into it with optimism and gumption, and yes, both she and your child will both be in one piece at the end of the night, but it will be clear from both of their frazzled expressions that she lost most of her sanity an hour in after the fifth "Why?"

DEFINITELY NOT

Ryou Bakura would in theory be a perfectly good, if kind of spacey, babysitter, but you cannot trust him to remain Ryou Bakura, and the other guy is definitely not someone you want anywhere near your children.

I don't think Marik Ishtar has ever interacted with a child for very long and the number of people he talks to that are even his own age is in the single digits. And he is definitely not getting spat on or dealing with any bathroom stuff. I'm not saying he can't figure it out but the learning curve is going to be steep.

I have to put Yami Bakura here in principle and yet for some reason I think it wouldn't go that bad? I mean he definitely doesn't care about the safety of your child. And he may enlist them to the armies of darkness. And he's not cleaning anything up. But he's like, a weird socially awkward over-the-top guy? And children love those? Honestly I think they would both have fun. For at least an hour until everything goes horribly wrong.

Please do not summon Zork Necrophades to babysit your child.

[that-ari-blogger]

Worldbuilding (Flutterina)

When I set out to write a series analysing the fourth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, I wanted to focus on individual characters who aren’t the main duo. I’ve discussed Glimmer and Perfuma so far, but what about the world itself?

I would argue that the setting of a story is as much a character as any of the protagonists or antagonists, and the setting of She-Ra is that of a war. You cannot discuss it without mentioning that core aspect.

But up until now, the series has been a focused on the individuals contained within. It describes the conflict between Catra and Adora in great detail, while the war has always been there, just in the background.

Flutterina changes that.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Journey’s End, Third Life, Double Life, Doctor Who)

The thing that struck me about this episode is how its tone shouldn’t work. This is an episode about how cool the protagonist is and how amazing the fight scenes can be, and it's also a psychological exploration of the everyday civilian. On paper, those two concepts are about as dissonant as you can get. In practice, it is almost seamless.

I want to start with the visuals of this episode, because they really make my point for me. During the party, everything in Elberon is joyful and happy, but it’s juxtaposed with the signs of war. The people here have tried to dress up a tank to cover up for the damage they have received. The tank now shoots confetti, which makes everything ok, right?

“Okay, okay. Terrifying booming sounds were probably a bad idea.”

I want to stress that some the PTSD displayed by the villagers in this episode is the brain working as it should. Key word: some.

If you are in a place where loud noises and danger come from the same place, your mind will link the two and give you intrinsic reflex to get out of the way when you hear a loud noise. This is designed to save your life.

What is bad here is the fact that this reflex was developed. Nobody should have to be under that amount of stress to the extent where the instinct carries over when they leave the battlefield.

A subtle detail in this episode is just how jumpy the mayor is. This woman recoils from everything, even sudden movements from Adora. The war has wrecked this woman's psyche.

But jumpiness isn’t the only symptom of having experienced trauma. There is also numbness, when you lose feeling after your senses being overused time and time again. Sometimes, this is just your mind filtering out what it perceives as white noise, sometimes it is nerve damage.

Journey’s End is a harrowing play written by R. C. Sherrif, depicting life in the trenches during the first world war. It is not a play I recommend if you want to have a fun time reading, but it is incredibly powerful.

There is a certain weight to every word, and a pensive silence that feels empty. Journey’s End does not pull punches.

Most notably in this case is the focus on coping mechanisms. The emphasis on the amounts of each left and right boot is dehumanising as a way of rationalisation. There is x number of boots recovered, x number of pairs left, x number of right boots lost. If you think about the inanimate object, you can forget those who wore them.

But there is also a profound sense of hope in the book, and something I want to link back to She-Ra. Because in Journey’s End, one way people keep themselves in a form resembling sanity is through idolisation. If they look up to someone, it takes their mind off their surroundings. That idolisation becomes pretty separate from the person it's targeted at, and the characters recognise this. Imagine someone who can’t die, someone who you can get attached to because no matter what, they are safe.

That’s what Flutterina does, it shows you people who are coping with extreme hardship, and lets you know exactly how She-Ra fits into this, not just as a hero, but as an idea. That’s why Adora and Bow being so badass in this episode doesn’t feel dissonant, they are the ideals that keep the people of Elberon safe and hopeful.

But I want to talk about the implications of this episode, because they are some of the heaviest in the series, and the eponym makes my point for me.

There's a difference between playing someone who can't act and acting badly. Double Trouble is an incredible actor, and by extension, so is Jacob Tobia.

I don’t think we ever see Double Trouble create a character from scratch. They wear people as masks, and so the character of Flutterina must have come from somewhere.

Also, nobody in Elberon is surprised by the existence of this person, they all recognise her, if seemingly a bit weirded out by a sudden change in mood.

Let’s do some deductive reasoning here, shall we? This was an active battlefield until about a day ago, maximum. Flutterina existed before that battle, and is nowhere to be seen now so Double Trouble could take her place with no pushback.

The real Flutterina definitely got killed in that battle.

Which implies that there is some heavy stakes for this war beyond what we see. The protagonists have plot armour, as is the tone of the story, but when the camera isn’t on you, no holds are barred.

And this isn’t a rare occasion. Flutterina is explicitly a young character, and nobody is surprised by her apparent lack of parents. Where did they go?

I get the feeling there has been more than one battle in Elberon, and Flutterina’s parents never had the chance to meet Adora.

This is a morbid line of thinking, but we are analysing the setting of a war story. There are no victors in war, just survivors, profiteers, and poets.

Let’s talk about the Life Series.

This is an animatic by @vyeoh, in which the use of colour is unrivaled. The fact that these two are each other's worlds is shown by the fact that everything else is in greyscale, and at the end... well, you'll just have to watch it for yourself. (Link)

I am someone who exists on Tumblr and repeatedly goes off on tangents about tragedies and the band The Crane Wives, so it was only a matter of time before this series made itself known to me.

And to be clear, I’m not talking about the original source material here. The Minecraft series is all fun and games, but the fan lore and material added on to it is really what makes it special to me.

Speaking of which, one of the key sticking points of Third Life is the storyline of the Flower Husbands, to people who are just trying to live out their lives in this setting. They pick allegiances to survive, they look out for each other. These two are adorable, and I think it is poignant that they both got killed in the crossfire of someone else’s battle.

The tragedy of Third Life is the collateral damage. The spiral into insanity of two of its characters could have only involved each other, but they brought others in and made them a part of their descents.

This energy was then replicated a few seasons later in Double Life, in the Clockers.

Everen is an animator with incredible talent, and a ton of her visuals are really complex with battle sequences and similar. But the single best shot she ever made was this one:

Two hands reaching for each other, but unable to connect, a relationship broken by violence. Again, this didn’t have to happen, but it did.

That’s what war does, it breaks lives and ends stories prematurely. That’s what’s tragic about it.

The original Flutterina didn’t have to die, and the person who ordered the attack will most likely never learn her name. She is just a number, a casualty. Similarly, the mayor of Elberon will forever be jumpy, unable to even drop a book on the floor without feeling unsafe. Neither of these people were soldiers.

I am fully breaking into my opinions here, and I don’t think I’m being particularly subtle about it. So, let me try and back myself up with one more tangent.

“Because it's not a game, Kate. This is a scale model of war. Every war ever fought, right there in front of you. Because it's always the same. When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many hearts will be broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning. Sit down and talk!”

This is part of a speech delivered by Peter Capaldi as the 13th Doctor, and I leave it here for you to take as you will.

Instead, I want to talk about how She-Ra changes the rules. I mentioned how idolisation can lead to hope, and that hope is really important here. Because a big part of this series is the hypothetical “what if you could save everyone?”

She-Ra gives the people of Elberon hope for a greater tomorrow, a thing to believe in, but she also gives the audience something to root for. She creates an image in the minds of those in the real world that tells them that the conflicts can be over. War can end, bad people can be stopped, and notably, she doesn’t win by the same rules as the Horde.

The Horde’s tactic for this war has always been “kill everything”, and in the end, Adora won’t do that. Instead, she will confront the Horde’s leader, and stop him from throwing his underlings to kill and die for him.

She-Ra gives us hope for a better tomorrow.

Final Thoughts

Gee, I wonder why analysis of the setting of a war story got preachy.

As a side note, this is one of the episodes where we see Catra get really bad in her relationship with Scorpia, because that is abuse. I’ve seen a lot of discussion of redemption arcs online that limits the story to one extreme. Either the person was bad and can not be redeemed, or they were always good and don’t need the redemption. I think its rather important to the story that Catra does these bad things and they are specifically what she redeems herself from.

But I’m leaving my discussion of Catra and Adora out of this season, because I want to focus on them for season five, so this is all you will hear about her for the moment.

Next week, I’ll be talking about Pulse, and doing a deep dive on how much storytelling can be crammed into one scene. So stick around if that interests you.

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[the-nosy-neighbor]

Pedrolino and Commedia dell'arte

Pedrolino and Commedia dell’arte (Part 1)

So, I thought I’d posted about this before, but I can’t find it anywhere.  I actually have some knowledge in this subject, so it was something I feel like I wrote about, but maybe didn’t share or put in a place I could actually find it.  Stop me if you’ve heard this one, basically.  Anyway, maybe I’m not into Sally because we are the same.  I was, and kinda still am, super into this obscure period of theatre history

In “Happy Haunting to Boo and Yours” (which I will be calling HH for brevity and my sanity), a big deal is made about Sally dressing as Pedrolino.  Like a massive big deal:

Sally goes around calling people uncultured oafs for not knowing her costume’s origin

The narrator tries to lecture about Pedrolino and commedia dell’arte but gets interrupted and you were all saved, but I was just getting started

Eddie shows he knows who Sally’s costume is of, and he gets belittled anyway “even the mailman gets it.”  Also, Eddie was reading about it for fun when the mail room was slow.  Eddie gets me

So, there is a very obvious focus on this symbol as important.  Pedrolino is one of history’s most famous characters, and I am going to tell you why. 

Commedia dell’arte (just commedia from this point on) is a somewhat obscure, but highly influential part of theatre history that originated in Italy around the 1600’s.  Italy has always been pretty rich with theatre history.  Commedia was performed by a roving group of players, who would tour around the country.  Funnily enough, acting has been a profession greatly enjoyed by many people and yet actors have almost always been viewed with derision and as criminal types, and I imagine this roaming didn’t do much for these players’ reputations. 

Commedia is a highly structured form of improvisation.  Each actor in the troupe is assigned a character to play (not that they couldn’t swap things around) with a very specific set of movements, dress and personality.  The audience knew about these characters as well, so it was a shared language as to what to expect from these players based on archetypes.  For a modern equivalent, say a show comes to your town and you see a beefy character in a cape and tights.  We have all been raised with the knowledge that makes it easy to identify a superhero when we see one (and to be vulnerable to the subversion of this character.)  In the same way, the audience would recognize these characters, listed below:

Innamorati—(The lovers) The ingenue is the love interest, always high-born, young, and attractive.  They would have called them “the lovers” or similar, but the modern term would be an ingenue.  These are highly coveted roles, and in this sense were straight actors playing a serious-ish love story, while chaos happens around them.  Modern understanding of any role like this is that it is good for your career, but kind of boring.  Male and female versions of this role are standard.

(There are more variations in these characters below, but these are the main ones)

Masters

Il dottore—(The doctor) The doctor is a high-minded, intelligent individual who has a lot of book learning, but zero street smarts.  Think chemistry professor,at least in behavior.  The doctor wears robes that indicate his station, so scholar’s robes and hat.  The doctor’s general movement betray his personality.  The doctor would have his focus on the heavens, so would often be looking up and not directly at those around him.  An older man, he is often an obstacle to the lovers.

Pantalone—(It means pants?)  Pantalone is also an old man, and also an obstacle.  Pantalone’s thing is money.  He’s a rich old man who covets the female lead, and is often the intended spouse of the young woman.  The young woman is never into him, this would be an arranged kind of thing.  Pantalone is a natural cuckhold, and somewhat a commentary on the practices of women to be bartered for like property, with common wisdom suggesting that you can buy a woman, but you can’t make her like you.  Pantolone would be dressed richly (and like new money, not classy).  All of his movement is focused around the groin, hunched protectively around his…money pouch (and that other thing, as he is motivated by baser instincts.

Il Capitano—The Solider/Captain.  The soldier is a boastful and vain man, who thinks he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread (If you are into Shakespeare, think Benedict from Much Ado About Nothing but not the lead).  The Soldier is high ranking, in his military suit and movements are focused on being still and stern.  He often is bragging about military exploits and romantic conquests, but nobody is listening to him. 

Pedrolino and Commedia dell’arte

Zannies

Arlecchino—(Harlequin)  Arlecchino is the role to have.  He is a servant to a great man, generally the male ingenue, and works for his master very much like Puss in Boots does in the stories.  He is loyal to his master, but is also a trickster, so is known to give him a ribbing as well.  Prone to bouts of acrobatics, Arlecchino is light on his feet and quick with his movement and his wit.  Arlechinno is probably the most famous commedia character, and would essentially be considered either the lead or the narrator, depending on framing.  He was often paired as a love interest with the head female servant, Columbina.

Pedrolino/Pierrot—(little peter?  Is that a dick joke?)  Anyway, Pedrolino was often another servant on a similar level to Arlecchino.  Sometimes they were set up as rivals, or they could also be set up as conspirators against their awful masters.  Pedrolino could be a servant of the captain, the doctor, or Pantalone, but would often be working against their interests.  Pedrolino was sometimes a rival for the heart of Columbina.

This is Pedrolino’s costume closer to the original time period, but most identify Pedrolino from a later period, as this costume (which is Sally’s costume).

This Pedrolino is sometimes more associated with Pierrot, which is a French version of the character, famously used in a photoshoot with David Bowie  for his song, “Ashes to Ashes “(famously for me, I am obsessive about him anyway).

Columbina—(Little dove) Columbina is a female servant, who works for the female lover.  She is heavily involved with the plotting and scheming to get the lovers together, though is less playful than her male counterparts.  She was a love interest for Arlecchino and Pedrolino.  (more another Shakespeare equivalent, Maria from Twelfth Night)

Scenarios

Everyone had their character, so the story would be set.  Generally, it was understood to be like an comedy of the time period.  You had two kids in love, they were being kept apart my horrible old men, and their funny servants work to get them together and stick it to the man.  It was a version of improv, but they had scenarios to guide them in specifics.  So, if you were in a troupe, from the list of known scenarios, which would be mixed and matched to be a full story.  I say listed, but I doubt this was written but more memorized. 

An example of a scenario:  “In the enchanting city of Genoa, Cinthio's sister, Isabella, finds herself entangled in a web of promises and broken dreams as she embarks on a journey to Rome in pursuit of her unfaithful suitor, the Captain, only to discover a surprising twist of fate that leads her to a different path of love and fulfillment, much to her brother's delight.”

If you’ve watched Who’s Line is it Anyway, you will be familiar with how improv scenes tend to work.  The prompt might be new, but they do rely on cues from each other to work towards a successful bit.  In commedia, these are called “lazzi” and are essentially the same thing.  I know when to help you set something up when I see you perform an action.  Example, Arlecchino pours a glass of wine, the lazzi is “Startled, Arlecchino, holding a full glass of wine, executes a complete backward somersault without spilling the wine.”

Commedia is fascinating to a lot of people, probably mostly performers or theatre practitioners, because the archetypes, scenarios, and lazzi can be seen throughout the history of performance.  Vaudeville, in particular, seems to be a pretty much direct line of gags throughout history.  If you are familiar with the Marx Brothers, they perform bits that can be found in scholarship on commedia. 

For example this scenario:  Arlecchino and Pedrolino come face-to-face, armed and ready for a confrontation. They exchange insults and rely on others to physically hold them back. Eventually, when the Captain tries to separate them, they start striking each other, with the Captain receiving most of the blows.

The Marx Brothers:  https://www.google.com/search?q=marx+brothers+fighting+each+other+and+end+up+fighting+someone+else&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS1045US1045&oq=marx+brothers+fighting+each+other+and+end+up+fighting+someone+else&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDkyOTNqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:b909fae3,vid:q9OUIk4Oaq4,st:0

This example from Duck Soup shows two of the brothers (who play essentially Zannis in each production) work together to frustrate a lemonade vendor and to make off with his cart.  Not 1 to 1, but very similar energy, and very typical of a zanni interaction in commedia.  I wrote an entire paper on the lineage of Marx Brothers gags from commedia to Vaudeville. 

Interestingly, Groucho generally plays, what feels to me, like a mix of The Doctor and Arlecchino. 

This is already paper length, so I will spare you more detail on commedia.  However, if you are interested, I would encourage you to look into it, as the information about this type of performance is very good and seems to have appealed to humans for centuries. 

Next post, I will cover Sally’s costume and the specific reference to Pedrolino.

[the-hovel-of-a-nerdy-rabbit]

Muriel's playlist hints at Ineffable Juniors?

(This is all in good fun and is just my opinion. You don't have to agree, but please stay and read.)

I know a lot of people have analyzed the living crap out of Aziraphale's and Crowley's playlists, but I really just want to ask if anyone ever wondered about why Muriel received these three songs?

The creators of the playlist knew that other feel-good, peppy songs that start their songs with the letter E and L exist, but they picked three songs that deal with love? All that does to me is make me think that Ineffable Juniors (Muriel x Eric) is in the realm of possibility and not just a crack ship.

Let me just get 'Everyday' out the way. (I'll be more in depth lyrically with the other two, but EVERYONE in this fandom has Everyday practically memorized. I'm just saving time and space.) 'Everyday' is the main song of the S2. It is the clue. It is the jumpstart of Ineffable Bureaucracy's relationship. It is THEIR song of love. It wouldn't make sense for them not to have it in their playlist, but why does Muriel have it? Of all the other characters who are in love, why does Muriel have to be the one to receive this song as well? They deal with concept of love, but they don't truly understand it (if they did why would they need to 'learn' from Aziraphale and Crowley). This wouldn't make sense unless this is more of a hint at Muriel's (possible) future storyline: befriending or falling in love with a demon (likely Eric). 'Everyday' is important because it helped blossom a very unlikely relationship between an angel (Gabriel) and a demon (Beelzebub). For Muriel to have that in their playlist in that context pushes their narrative in that direction, and it doesn't help that the other two songs are just pushing it further.

'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' (shortening to ANMHE for my typing sanity) is a classic love song sung by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. It brings this idea of being invincible while traversing (or willing to traverse) through any terrain to get to the one you love. This is driven home by the first and third verses along with the repeating chorus of the song:

(First) If you need me, call me

No matter where you are

No matter how far (don't worry, baby)

Just call my name

I'll be there in a hurry

You don't have to worry

'Cause baby there

(Third verse) Oh no, darling

No wind, no rain

Or winters cold

Can't stop me baby

No, no baby

'Cause your are my goal

If you're ever in trouble

I'll be there on the double

Just send for me

Oh, baby

(Chorus) Ain't no mountain high enough

Ain't no valley low enough

Ain't no river wide enough

To keep me from getting to you, baby

What I think is interesting is second and last verse because you get to see the relationship of the two people in the song (the couple singing to each other). In the second verse, it's revealed that the two of them are loving/binding relationship by recounting a day that defined their relationship.

Remember the day

I set you free

I told you

You could always count on me darling

From that day on I made a vow

I'll be there when you want me

Someway, somehow

Then the last verse brings up the fact that two are now separated but are still in love and WILL go through anything to get back to the other if they're ever needed.

My love is alive

Way down in my heart

Although we are miles apart

If you ever need a helping hand

I'll be there on the double

Just as fast as I can

I could easily say that this could allude to Muriel having a strained or forbidden relationship with a character, yet something else was brought to my attention. ANMHE tells about a pair who is separated after making a connection/promise to one another while still having romantic feelings, but if one were to be in trouble, the other would surely come to the rescue? I don't know about you guys, but that sounds a lot like our other angel/demon couple, the Ineffable Husbands. Now, we have two songs defining both of our canon angel/demon relationships in a playlist for an angel who hasn't even experienced falling/being in love yet, but this final song clenches everything for me.

Every Summertime by Niki is the song that TRULY made me believe in the idea of Ineffable Juniors. I have played it several times and every time I do, I see Muriel and Eric. Let's begin with the first verse:

18, we were undergrads

Stayed out late, never made it to class,

Outer Richmond in a taxi cab

You were sweating bullets on the way to my dad's and oh

You said, "Baby, think we're moving too fast"

The very beginning gives an image of two students (underlings: 37th Scrivner and lesser demon) who are together (in a buddy/soft couple way), but incompetent (Muriel not understanding certain concepts thus proceeding to mess things up and Eric constantly questioning things while also being a punching bag and cowardly). It's only the first two lines and it already screams Ineffable Juniors. The last two lines give scenarios that could likely happen. Eric would be the one nervous from the idea of meeting Muriel's parental figures superior Aziraphale and his demon husband Crowely. Then comes the statement of "moving too fast." Of course the first thing that comes to mind is the 1967 scene in S1, "You go to fast for me, Crowley", yet in the eyes of our juniors, it would be in Eric's character (having more cowardice and less time to plan ahead) to say that if Muriel wanted to be closer. Then there's this imagery of how one would realize their feelings for someone is becoming more than platonic:

And I swear the magnolias flashed a smile

And that's when I caught me hoping you'd stay a while

I will say that second verse is more of "They're growing closer after a while" more than picturing scenarios like the previous verses.

25, man we're missing church

Laugh 'bout everyone we're hating at work

Dinner with your sister and the jokes kinda hurt

Cry the way home, and you're putting me first, oh

Yeah, we just always know what to say

Then we get these lines:

We're strolling down the boulevard

And dancing under streetlights

Every year we get older, and I'm still on your side

Taking a stroll? Dancing? Being on a side with your partner? This, AGAIN, creates connections to Bureaucracy and Husbands, but the couple in the song portray these actions in a setting for younger, impressionable people, hmmmm... like the Juniors? Let's just finish off with the chorus and outro.

(Chorus) Baby, I'd give up anything to travel inside your mind

Baby, I fall in love again come every summertime

My daddy taught me to choose 'em wisely, but you don't have to try

'Cause, baby, I fall in love every summertime

(Outro) Every day is summertime

Every day is summertime

Every day is summertime with you

Questions that I think about when it comes to the Juniors are "if they fell in love or became close friends, how would Aziraphale and Crowley react? Would they be happy for them, or would they try to stop them from going any further out of fear for their safety?" With what happen at the end of the season, I'm personally think it's the later, but then that brought an additional question. "If Muriel was told to stop meeting Eric, would they?" No. The third line of the chorus reminded me how Muriel knew Aziraphale and Crowley were the enemy and yet they still gave unbiased trust and compassion towards them. A low rank angel who is supposed to take every order willingly decided that the enemy is their friend that they can ask questions to. When you start to apply the first, second and last line of the chorus, along with the outro, it draws a picture of a person so smitten with their partner that every time they're with them, they fall in love all over again, so they're willing to disregard the opinions of others just to be with their other half. Muriel seeing both angel/demon couples existing in the same room in S2E6 feeds my thoughts with the image of Muriel, who may or may not know that Eric is a demon (they never met him, and they also didn't know that Crowley was a demon), proceeding to be around him even after being told not to by Aziraphale. If it was worth it for the others, it could be worth it for me.

I could be reaching with some of my claims, so I'll just continue until I reach the moon. However, it is possible for all three songs to be thrown in the playlist for fun, I mean it does have "Get Lucky" and "Everything is Awesome". I'm just a sucker for Ineffable Juniors. I don't care if they don't end up together or anything, but they have to meet at least once as another example of an angel and demon being able to get along. Stories are always played out in threes. Why can't they be the third?

Thank you for reading if you made it to the end. Here's some sketches for your troubles:

[aussie-the-hedgehog]

Okay, I think I need to do this for myself.

I've been rewatching MHA to gear up for season 7. However, it seems I'm also watching to prove something to myself.

It's been nearly a year, and I still greatly struggle with shame of having Ochako as my favorite character. I realize this is a drawn out topic on this blog, but I must air this grievance for the good of my mental sanity.

I feel whenever I'm on Twitter, I see many brutally slander her character. I see criticisms that she has no use in the show. I have witnessed posts circled with threats concerning the topic. It is making me further question why I enjoy the character as much as I do.

To be frank, I care A LOT about what people think - honestly to a fault. I was verbally bullied as a kid for how I looked (I had buck teeth, glasses, and social struggles due to sensory disorders and autism). I struggled to fit in through my elementary and middle school days. I was labeled as "weird" and "a teacher's pet" just to name a couple. I always felt compelled to prove myself to fit in with the kids of my classes.

I also was made fun of for being a Dallas Cowboys fan. Granted, I live an hour away from Philadelphia, but I was picked on quite a bit for liking them.

One day after school in fourth grade, I was on a bus heading to a rec center for after care. The Cowboys were playing the Eagles the ensuing Sunday. If you know anything about the NFL, these two are bitter rivals. They absolutely hate each other. The bus driver was aware I liked the Cowboys. He decided to start a chant on the bus ride, "Dallas sucks!" all the way there to the rec center. All the kids jumped in without hesitation.

I was horrified. I broke down crying. I felt like in that one moment the world was against me. There was a kid sitting next to me who tried to comfort me by saying he's on my side rooting for Dallas. I appreciated his support, but in that moment I just wanted to get off the bus.

When I got off, my mom was waiting and saw me in tears. She scolded the driver for making me cry over a football game. The bus driver was fired the next day.

I will admit I have come to terms with the teams I like (it helps the Cowboys are a meme), but it's still difficult being honest with the things I enjoy. This is especially the case when it comes to the hopeful, compassionate trope in shows.

I look on social media sites such as Twitter. I see all these vitriolic comments directed toward those who enjoy Ochako for no reason. I feel I've been indirectly abused because I am a part of her fandom.

I've said this before, and I'll say it again - she follows the trope I like. She's the glue that keeps the group together. She's loving and kind to everyone she meets. I honestly see her as an honest to goodness daughter. You can call it weird if you want, but it's how I feel.

Now, you can look at all of this and conclude I shouldn't be on Twitter. That is totally fair. I do need to limit my time on social media. However, this remains discouraging in my life. I started watching MHA last February and this issue STILL remains. I'm ashamed for enjoying something morally okay since the fandom is extremely harsh concerning her.

I feel it has to do with my past in being criticized for what I enjoy and seeing the fandom crush anyone who likes the character. Both have come together in such overwhelming ways.

Another factor is one I've mentioned before. I am a guy and should be liking more masculine things. In no way should I be interested in female characters or how they give hope in dire predicaments. Yet, it's something I find admirable because that's just what I like. I have to be alright with that.

In no way am I victimizing myself. This is a grievance I've had to get out. The toxicity from the fandom and my own negative thinking have gotten to my head for me to at least put my fingers to the keyboard. Writing is a cathartic practice for me. Crafting pieces like this is extremely healthy for me.

There isn't much more to be said about why I like Ochako Uraraka. I've made several posts why. You can look at those if you're so inclined. All in all, I hope one day I can be confident in why I enjoy characters like her and not feel a need to care about what others think.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[miraiq]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER.

repost, do not reblog this

NAME: Prince/Jehr/PJ. PJ is just a combo of the two alias' first letters. Jehr was my original when I first started out using aliases ever, which was created for me by my best friend at the time. I slowly tried to make a new alias for other muses I wanted to write without having them be associated with me-- for some reason? Wanted to hide or start fresh or something I guess? Same friend also made me take a HomeStuck quiz to get my... uh... vibe? I don't recall what it was, but the answer was Prince of the Light and I used that as my personal url for years, so I actually took the newer alias from that.

PRONOUNS: He/Him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: Discord is the fastest way to get responses from me, simply because the app is always logged in on my phone and pc, while tumblr is only logged in to my personal tumblr via my phone. Any mutuals that would like to add me on Discord: princem0n

NAME OF MUSE(s): For my sanity, google doc for full list. Otherwise, main/actively in use muses: Severa/Selena(FE), Caelus(HSR), Serval(HSR), Kyo(Fruits Basket)

BEST EXPERIENCE: To be perfectly honest shit-posting/memes are always a welcome relief and the best way to destress. I recall previously that myself and group of fellow hooligans would constantly make photoshop edits of stupid things that would go around on the dash. Example(s) of something(s) I made during that time:

But I also really enjoyed being able to deep dive into characters relations and how they worked against or with each other. Especially when it came to characters who didn't have their entire story brought to the forefront, like most videogame characters. You don't get to see the behind the scenes stuff with them, most the time, so it's fun to see how they could have gone about or reacted to different situations/after the fact/how it affected them.

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS: Lack of communication. Sometimes I forget things, so I'll typically come ask for an answer or reconfirming that I didn't miss something or misinterpret anything. If there is an issue, I am begging, please just approach me. I often will do this if I have a problem, all I ask is the same in return. I can't stand constantly being left on read, especially when trying to discuss stuff plot related. We can't be on the same page if we don't have conversations going BOTH WAYS.

Other than that I'm pretty relaxed. I, as a slow writer, won't hound people practically ever for responses. We're adults, life happens, things come up, muses hide or aren't as strong as others. As long as you aren't actively ignoring me/our threads, there's no problem. If I don't see you posting at all then I know you just need a breather and that is A-OKAY. This is a hobby for fun. Why be fussy and cause problems due to impatience? I guess that is another pet peeve- impatience- lmao.

MUSE PREFERENCES: Bottoms. I notice myself writing of lot of "tsundere" types? Or redheads. I just love them. Misunderstood but fight against the world because they don't want anyone to know that they're broken.

PLOTS OR MEMES: Both. Both is good. Everything in balance. I used to meme a lot, and I've definitely toned it down. But I don't know, sometimes getting too serious or having too many think-hard-about threads can be tiring, and lil shitposting is a good breather to be able to let you get back on with it.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: Both are nice. I tend to overwrite, simply because my style will typically go into my muse's thought process(es), or if the thread is still being established, I try to set the scene or give background information. But, short replies are nice. Gives you a small thing to work on and take a rest between lengthier threads. That's also why I like random inbox prompts. Not all of them have to go anywhere- just gives you a space to do something else aside from your drafts.

BEST TIME TO WRITE: I am absolutely not a morning person. Night owl to the max. You will see me up still at 3am more often than not. I typically wake up around 10am-1pm, so I'm usually writing right around dinner.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): In some aspects, sure. Not entirely like one-for-one with any muse, but there's always at least a piece of myself in each muses. Helps write them better, in my opinion. Only exceptions typically being any "self-insert" like characters. (ie. Robin/Avatar from Fire Emblem: Awakening). Most of those characters still have a base personality to them though, so unless you completely customize them, they're still pretty "how do YOU respond" choices change how they are.

Tagged by: Stealing dis from Rath Tagging: Yo who wants to let me know their lore?

[whatyourusherthinks]

The Watchers Review

UUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

So, fun fact, M. Night Shyamalan is probably my least favorite filmmaker. Ever. I've only seen four of his movies, but I only like one of them and I know enough about the others to know I wouldn't enjoy them if I did watch them.

Um excuse me Roan, the director is this movie isn't M. Night Shyamalan. It's directed by Ishana Night Shyamalan. Oh right, I got confused because the Watchers looks exactly like a M. Night movie from the trailers and Ishana is his daughter. Seems like she learned all she knows from dear old dad. But you know what Buggnutz, I'm actually glad you brought her up. This is the first movie by a new director, so I want to make something crystal clear. Despite everything negative I am about to say about this work,

I do not think Ishana Night Shyamalan should stop making movies.

I will never be the one to squash a first-time creative's project. Unless it is hate speech or something deliberately offensive, which the Watchers is not. I just think Ishana would do well to learn from other directors as well as M. Night.

Final order of business, I've got an axe to grind with the Shyamalans, and it has to do with the most infamous parts of their movies. Yeah, I'm going to try to prove that every single Shyamalan twist doesn't work. It will be it's own section of the review, so skip that if you don't want every Shyamalan movie twist spoiled, including Devil. Because Devil sucks.

What's The Movie About?

A woman wanders into an Irish forest and get kept as pet by the Watchers, a mysterious group and they are exactly what you think they are from this description. (What? I technically haven't spoiled the movie yet.) Anyway all the captured humans try to escape captivity. Then the last 45 minutes is the sequel to this movie completely rushed.

What I Like.

The cinematography I thought was pretty cool. When Shyamalan nails a shot he nails a shot, and Ishana certainly caught on to any lessons in that regard. There's a couple emotional moments that I felt like were better than 90% of all other Shyamalan movies. And the acting is... uh... mostly better than M. Night movies. (Honestly it dips in and out of quality but M. Night has pulled a good performance like twice in his whole career so I'm letting Ishana have this one.) The character writing is definitely better than M. Night movies. No one is written to be "quirky". I guess the lead keeps talking to a bird but that made me laugh so whatever. There is also some pretty interesting imagery from time to time too. The forest they shoot in for most of the movie is very pretty.

What I Didn't Like.

Holy shit, where to even begin with this one. It is amazing to me that a movie can be, simultaneously, so bad it is funny, so drawn out I was begging for the movie end, and only two hours long. Pretty much every aspect of this movie is inconsistent in some way. The acting is fine sometimes, and sometimes it's the ol' wooden Shyamalan special. The characters aren't quirky, but they do act stupid sometimes for no reason. I'm getting really tired of writers taking the Lovecraft shortcut for their monsters. Y'know, all they have to do is say "Looking upon them will destroy your mind!" or "Erode your sanity!" or some other bullshit that means they don't have to design a monster. The Watchers are shown in some capacity but, uh, well... While some of the imagery in the movie was interesting, but the effects wildly range in quality. Not even on the lines of the type of effect. Some CGI effects look good and others terrible. Some of the practical effects are cool and others are so bad you can almost see the tape and wires. They fake a computer screen (for some reason I couldn't fathom) and it literally looks like a cartoon layered on top of a real computer. The worst part about the movie, however, is the script. The script is almost TRAGIC in how bad it is. You thought I was joking when I said the sequel to this movie is jammed into the last 45 minutes of this one, but I wasn't. The characters escape the forest, with the twist about what the Watchers are revealed, and then it goes on about another layer to the Watchers' agenda and there's a SECOND TWIST and it's all just so completely unnecessary! All Shyamalan twists are unnecessary, but to talk about it we need to move on to the part of the review where I tear apart every M. Night Shyamalan movies' twists.

The Part Of The Review Where I Tear Apart Every M. Night Shyamalan Movies' Twists.

There is a channel on YouTube called Overly Sarcastic Productions, or OSP. They make really good content, and my favorite is a show of theirs called Trope Talk. In the Trope Talk about plot twists, the host, Red, broke down the four ways a plot twist can fail. I'm going to steal that categorization to explain why all Shyamalan twists don't work. Here's the break down: The twist contradicts canon or generally makes no sense when considered, the twist is more boring than the non-twist option, and the the twist has no meaningful impact on the plot. There is fourth failure where the twist isn't as clever as the writer thinks it is, but that is literally every Shyamalan twist, so I'm instead replacing it with the twist is super obvious. If you want a more detailed run down I highly recommend watching the OSP video. Then the rest of the Trope Talk series. Then all of OSP's other videos. They make really cool and interesting content.

Anyway, I'm now going to go over every movie directed by a Shyamalan since the Sixth Sense, plus Devil because that movie is fucking stupid and is basically an M. Night movie that he just didn't direct.

The Sixth Sense: Roan, you are not about to shit talk the Sixth Sense. That movie is a classic! The twist is iconic and the best M. Night Twist there is! ...Yeah, everyone told me that before I saw the movie. Honestly, the only great thing about Sixth Sense is Haley Joel Osment's performance. The problem with the twist of the Sixth Sense is that the movie has to make up a bunch of bullshit to justify it. Ghosts perceive reality in the way they want to, so they can't see other ghosts and Bruce Willis makes himself think his marriage is failing and it's just a big load of nonsense! Yeah! I said it!

Unbreakable: Okay, time for me to fess up. I keep saying every Shyamalan twist is terrible, but there are actually 2 that I think work. And Unbreakable is one of them. This is the only M. Night movie where thinking about it doesn't completely unravel the film. So I won't spoil, since this the only Shyamalan movie I have seen that I like.

Signs: Why the fuck do people like this movie? I don't think that the twist of the Aliens being highly allergic to water ruins the movie. It's completely stupid and is a lame Deus Ex Machina to wrap up the movie, but the movie was bad before that point. Wait, Roan, haven't you heard the theory that the Aliens in Signs are actually Demons? First of all, that doesn't change the movie pulled a boring solution to the plot out of its ass. Second, this just makes allegory of the movie more obvious and stupid. Third, again, the movie was bad before the twist ending. Do you remember how M. Night wrote and directed those kids?

The Village: We're now moving on to movies I haven't seen. The twist of the Village is, infamously, the first this your mind thinks of when you hear the premise. The setting is a medieval village in the middle of nowhere and you're correct it's actually modern day. Not only does this not connect to the movie at all (you find this out at pretty much the end of the movie and all the characters decide to just ignore the fact that they know the twist) but I would argue a movie about an isolated medieval village having to deal with wood monsters is way more interesting whatever the fuck the ending of this movie was supposed to be.

Lady in the Water: Okay this one was difficult to parse out from just reading the Wikipedia plot synopsis but basically the plot of this movie seems to a massive prophecy and the twist is the people who thought they were one role in the prophecy were actually another. I mean... This just seems pointless. Most people who have seen the movie say that this twist is just in the movie so that there is a twist in the movie, but I'm also going to say it is nonsensical because reading the plot summery gave me a migraine.

The Happening: The Happening is a special kind of twist in which the twist is there is no twist. That could be interesting if it was in literally any other movie. But the explanation of the Happening is that the trees just decided to release a gas that makes humans suicidal. Really dumb, really boring, really obvious.

The Last Airbender: You may not remember, but the twist of the Last Airbender is that the Avatar isn't supposed to kill people. He's just supposed to be a icon, or something? Like every aspect of that movie, it's incredibly poorly done, so a lot of people don't even realize there is a twist in this movie. But there is. The fascinating case for this movie is that the exact opposite scenario plays on in the cartoon, so we know how boring and dumb this twist is. Also, the hero of the movie has a rule not to kill anyone? I don't know about you guys, but I assume that in every movie I go into until I'm proven wrong.

Devil: The last Shyamalan movie I've seen before the Watchers, Devil is dumb as hell! It seems like every other idea M. Night has would be better if there wasn't a twist in it, and Devil is an exemplar example. A thriller about a bunch of random people being killed one by one while stuck in a faulty elevator? Awesome idea! The culprit being the devil ruins it. Also the twist is that the old lady who dies early in the movie is the Devil and this movie has the same bullshit that the Sixth Sense has where they just make up a bunch of shit to justify the twist.

After Earth: My favorite part of the obvious twists is that they almost always are given away by the title of the movie. The twist of After Earth is it was Earth all along. This has like nothing to do with the plot either. It makes no different whether Jaiden Smith is running around on a future Earth or an alien planet.

The Visit: This is the other twist I think works. Probably. I haven't seen the Visit, and frankly, I won't ever watch it. But the twist seems to make sense, it has bearing on the plot, and isn't obvious or boring.

Split: Split being a secret sequel to Unbreakable doesn't really change the plot of the actual movie at all. I haven't seen it, maybe the rest of the movie is good, but I feel like audiences might have tapered their enjoyment of the rest of the movie since Glass sucks by most accounts. But even if it didn't would it matter? It's not until M. Night puts those characters into that next movie does it play into anything.

Glass: By most accounts, Glass sucks. Again, haven't seen it but the twist of it was the Illuminati all along is really stupid. It is also an incredibly lazy way to avoid characterizing your villains. Seriously, faceless organizations that can just do whatever they want because "they control everything" are so tiresome as a concept. I get that some people are stupid enough to think that's a real thing, but maybe we'd have less of them if movies would stop making all their bad guys shadowy masters of everything. I'm also tempted to put this twist in the obvious category, since the character who is trying to convince a guy who can crawl on walls that he doesn't have superpowers is trying to suppress public knowledge of superpowers, but I'll cut Glass a break since that seems to be dependent on how they explain it in the movie.

Old: The twist in Old is that the beach that makes you old is controlled by the pharmaceutical industry so they can run trial tests on humans really fast. This yet another villain that has all the power and can just do whatever they want because they cover up anything they want, but with the additional problem that the mechanics of the beach itself are completely contradictory and inconsistent. Plus it just exists to give a convenient wrap up for the plot. I'd say sticking to the graphic novel's ambiguity would have saved this movie, but from what I heard happens in the movie, I don't think that's possible.

Knock at the Cabin: Dave Batista was right all along and one of the gay couple should've killed themselves, their partner, or their kid. I hate this twist because it feels weirdly manipulative and kinda homophobic. I'm sure it's unintentional in the actual movie, but like, dude. The world is gonna end unless we kill one of you? That is literally an insane belief. The fact that killing a minority is the answer is pretty gross. But Roan, it's because their love was just so pure. You realize how patronizing that is to real queer people, right? Plus, again, why is just having a thriller about these characters being chased around by a cult in a cabin not good enough? YOU DON'T HAVE TO PUT A TWIST IN EVERY MOVIE M. NIGHT!

And finally, we get to the Watchers. Both of its twists are bad for different reasons, so let's start with the obvious one. The Watchers are fairies. Changelings to be specific, and they are observing humans so that they can learn from them to eventually become them. This doesn't really have any significant change to the plot, it just makes the monster something we recognize. It makes it extra annoying that the movie goes for the humans can't comprehend them gambit when humans have literally been doing that for thousands of years EVEN IN THE STORY ITSELF, but then we brush up against the second twist. After the humans escape the fairy forest they have to go destroy this professor's fairy research, and it turns out that the old lady who knew all the rules about the fairies was a fairy herself! Gasp, what a- Wait does this mean she was lying about how the changelings work the whole time? And the literal hour of exposition that we got from her was entirely POINTLESS? The bigger problem with this twist is that it is pretty much the reason the ending of this movie is dragged out as long as it does.

Final Summation.

I'm honestly split here. The Watchers is an awful movie. But not only is about half of it so bad it's hilarious, but I don't really want this movie to do badly. My honest recommendation is to get kinda drunk, watch this movie to the part where they leave the forest, then stop watching. But does that mean I recommend or reject the movie? Perhaps this calls for an addition to my categorization. I am please to declare that The Watchers is the first Recojected Movie! This is basically gonna be any movie where you should see part of the movie, but definitely not the entire thing. Or a bad movie that I still think should have financial support. I'm narrowly defining it because I don't want to use this categorization too often.

Well, if there is one bright side to this whole debacle, it's that there won't be another Shyamalan project this year. The man takes his time with his ideas, he only releases once a year usu- Wait what that?

OH GOD DAMN IT.

[autumn-equinox-04]

"Charles Yoddha Rowland!" his mom yells as soon as she picks up. "Why the hell did you miss so many of my calls, and why was it your boyfriend who messaged last night telling me you were staying over, and not you?!"

"Amma," Charles whines into the phone, which is not on speaker, thank everything. "I'm sorry! But you can't— avanu ille iddane! Don't say that!"

Edwin raises an eyebrow.

"Rama, Krishna, kapadu," Aadhya sighs over the phone. "Give the phone to Edwin."

"But—"

"Now, Charles."

Charles hands the phone over.

"Hello, Aadhya," Edwin says laughingly. "Hegideeri?"

Charles' jaw drops. Edwin's accent, his intonation, his pronounciation— it's perfect. He sounds like a native speaker.

"Mate," he says urgently, tugging at Edwin's sleeve like a child bothering its mother out of boredom. "Mate, what— since when do you speak Kannada?"

Edwin shushes him, listening intently to whatever his mum is saying on the other side of the phone. "Houdu, gothaaythu avanige. Baayi bittu nodutha iddane nannanna."

"Stop that for a minute," Charles screeches, wrenching the phone away from him. He puts it up to his ear, rushes out a hurried "MumI'llcallyoulater," and promptly hangs up. He turns back to Edwin, still shell-shocked.

Edwin takes one look at his face and bursts out laughing. "My goodness, you should see your face," he gasps. "That was so much fun."

Charles can't even be mad at him for laughing. It feels too— too monumental, too wondrous. "How did you— when did you—"

"After we met the first few times," Edwin explains, finally getting his laughter under control, "your mum starting teaching me. Bits and pieces, very basic. But— it's a beautiful language. It sounds so lovely, and the writing is gorgeous. I couldn't help but delve into it on my own."

"Delve into it on your own?"

Edwin nods towards the bookshelves lining his walls. Charles hasn't really taken a close look at them, despite the many times he's visited, so it takes him a bit to see exactly what Edwin is gesturing at.

There, taking up an entire shelf— one within arm's reach, easily accessible— are old reference books, big and small, with Kannada characters inscribed on the spines. Next to them, slotted in neat as ever, are children's workbooks, just like the ones Charles remembers using to practice his writing. Only unlike the ones he used, which had to be hidden away under his bed so his father didn't see them, Edwin's are proudly displayed, right there on the bookshelf in the living room for everyone to see.

Charles doesn't realize he's crying until the first tear drips from his chin onto his collarbone.

Edwin turns to him immediately, brows furrowed in concern, but Charles brushes him off with a watery smile.

"Nah, it's— I'm fine, mate. Just.... need a minute, is all."

Edwin backs off, but he keeps rubbing his knuckles together in a show of nervousness that Charles can't understand at all. "Is— is it too much?" he asks softly, not meeting Charles' eye. "It's just that— Aadhya told me about it, about how it's so rare to find people who speak the language outside of Karnataka, and I just thought— well, even one more person speaking it can make a difference, can it not? It was not a hardship, the language is wonderful— but if it was too much, if I.... came on too strong—"

"You didn't," Charles interrupts, because he knows that if he lets Edwin keep talking he'll lose the last bit of his sanity and do something stupid like lean forward and snog him senseless.

God. God. How can one person be so fucking perfect? How can one person enter his life and upend it and make him feel like he's in a goddamn washing machine, spinning round and round until the only thing he knows for sure is that the curve of Edwin's smile is what's going to save him?

More importantly, how does Charles keep him, keep this? How does he hold it without breaking it? How far is he going to fall before he inevitably fucks it all up and loses the best thing that's ever happened to him?

Because— it's not just about the language. It's not just about Edwin learning Kannada, learning it to fluency. It's about the fact that he cared enough to even try. It's about the fact that he heard it once, and saw it for its melodies and harmonies, for its deflections and intonations, for its inherent beauty and for the millennia of culture and history that it represents.

Charles' own father, married to a Kannadiga woman for over 30 years, never once bothered to try.

Edwin, after four meetings, became fluent in it.

How is it possible for Charles to fall even harder, deeper, faster?

Hesitatingly, Edwin puts a hand on his shoulder. "Charles?"

Charles surges forward and hugs him tight. After a moment of frozen shock, Edwin slowly melts into the touch, raising his arms to wrap around Charles in turn with a little sigh that makes Charles' stomach swoop. They stay like that, chests pressed together, cheek-to-cheek, hands fisting in clothes. They stay there for so long Charles swears their heartbeats align.

When they eventually pull apart, Charles' tears have run dry, but the torrent of pure love and adoration cresting through him has not. He doesn't think it ever will.

Edwin clears his throat awkwardly after their eyes linger on each other for a moment too long. "Perhaps we should see about breakfast?" he suggests, voice slightly hoarse. "There is dosa batter in the fridge."

"Aces," Charles says, trying to calm his racing heart. "I can start on a chutney— do you have mint, by any chance? I don't remember seeing any in the fridge last night."

"Actually," Edwin says, uncharacteristically shy all of a sudden. "There is chutney in the fridge, too. I have recently begun.... experimenting with flavors, so to speak. It might not taste very good, but— it's there. I tried to keep it artisanal."

"That sounds brills, mate! If it's you, I know it'll be good," Charles assures him. "I can't wait to try it."

"We had better get dressed and brush our teeth first. It is already quite late."

So that's what they do. And Charles can't remember a better morning he's ever had.

----

Translations:

"—avanu ille iddane!" :: "—he's right here!"

"Rama, Krishna, kapadu." :: "[Famous figures in Hindu mythology, calling upon them is like saying "oh my god"], save me."

"Hegideeri?" :: "How are you?" — The formal version, used when addressing elders or strangers. I feel like Edwin would continue to use this version despite Aadhya telling him to switch to informal. Also, minor culture moment but it's quite common for children to address their parents informally, which is another reason Aadhya tries to enforce it with Edwin; she sees him as her second son at this point.

"Houdu, gothaaythu avanige. Baayi bittu nodutha iddane nannanna." :: "Yes, he knows. He's looking at me with his mouth wide open."

Restaurant owner / chef Charles / Food critic Edwin AU - continued!!!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to say what an incredible experience it has been seeing the chef Charles/food critic Edwin AU be so amazingly received and to have so many incredible writers collaborating with me on this! I expected the idea to get a few notes and peter out but it has taken on a life of its own and I couldn't be happier. I may or may not have gotten quite emotional about it, actually. It is truly such a joy to see everyone's different styles, writerly voices, and insights into all the different aspects of this story come together in such a beautiful synthesis to celebrate culture, food, found family, healing, and of course, the characters. <3 I'm so so so so beyond floored and honored to be working with y'all, and seeing where it continues to go! Thank you for "yes and"-ing - you are all brills!!!

Anyway, the previous reblog chain was getting SUPER long thanks to everyone's contributions (<3) so I'm gonna start a second reblog chain for everyone to reblog from!

You can read the AU from the beginning here!

The masterpost for the AU is here!

[unfinshedsentec]

tokyo manji gang with himikotoga!reader? 🐓

heya anon! Thank you so much for requesting <3

Trust me when I say I had a lot of fun writing Toman’s dynamic with a toga reader! That would be one hell of a relationship💀

toman with a toga! reader

word count: 1.0k+

characters: mikey, draken, baji, chifuyu, mitsuya, hakkai, angry, smiley, and reader!

tw: cursing, brawls, blood, beaten up people, and you’re toga crazy soo…

The Tokyo Manji Gang is a pretty…. interesting gang

Mikey is a cocky surprisingly childish guy, while Draken-mom, as we all know, is serious and pretty much keeps Mikey in check. Then, there’s, of course, Baji who’s the definition of violent, and Chifuyu, who’s Baji’s loyal love.

There’s also Big-Bro Mitsuya who’s the most sane and logical, with Hakkai who’s the most adorable. And of course, you can’t forget Kawata twins (smiley and angry), who are the complete opposite of their names.

Obviously, of all this together meant trouble. They beat up people, went out of their way to fuck with others, and overall were a crazy gang.

When they met and you joined the gang, things somehow got even crazier, so much so that no gang ever tried to go against Toman.

You see, things started when you met Mikey.

You were absolutely beating the shit out of a group of guys who tried to attack you, and ultimately beat them close to death. This was quite amusing to you, and was something you got a kick out of, but doing things like this usually scared other people away.

Well, that applied to everyone except Mikey.

Mikey instead thought you were interesting. While he was a little concerned about you and your happiness toward half-dead people, he was mainly amused by you.

Naturally, he and Draken, who was a little startled by you, approached you and eventually started a conversation with you.

That one conversation led to Mikey claiming you to be his friend. Not long after that, you got closer to the rest of Toman, started fighting alongside them (to your absolute joy), and soon enough, you found yourself being a member of Toman.

Not that you minded. You were close to most of them, and often fit in with all their craziness.

You’re pretty much a perfect for the crazy group of people.

There’s Mikey of course, who you’re closest too. He pretty much gave you a life full of the happiness, craziness, and thrill that you always desired. You really loved him for this, maybe in a little-more than a friend way.

You practically owed Mikey your life, and Draken too.

Draken will and always has been concerned for you and wants you to go to therapy. But he respects you and any decisions you make. He takes care of you, and pretty much keeps you and Mikey alive.

To put it in simple words, he’s your adoptive Mom, along with Mitsuya.

Mitsuya cares for you greatly, and treats you like you’re his little sibling. Though, he’s not a strict as Draken, he’s still pretty on top of you (he wants to make sure you don’t kill anyone). Mitsuya’s sort’ve like a huge sanity pill, so needless to say, he keeps you from going to jail.

He’s pretty much a necessity in your life.

And of course, Draken-mom and Big-Bro Mitsuya lose their crap when you and Baji get together, because that’s practically hell on earth.

You and Baji are very most  and are absolute BEST FRIENDS because of it.

You both love beating people up, love burning cars, randomly punching people for no reason, love brawls, etc. You’re both troublemakers of the group, so you can imagine how chaotic it would be when you both team up.

Let’s just say people are terrified of you.

Of course, along with Baji comes Chifuyu, who loves you too.

Hey, you and Baji are, close so of course you and Chifuyu are close. He’s like your little brother who sometimes gets on your nerves, but overall, you find adorable You have full intentions of protecting him, and of course he’ll do the same.

Overall, your bond is close! So much so that Chifuyu tried calling you “partner” first, but you shot him down…

Poor Chifuyu :(

And then there’s Hakkai, who’s sort’ve like Chifuyu terms of how he sees you. Mitsuya likes you, so he does too. You like him and often try to start conversations with him, but he’s just too scared to say anything back, though he really wants too.

Poor Hakkai :(

Last, but not least, there’s the Kawata twins, and let me say, you’re one hell of trio with them.

You and Smiley are by far the most similar out of everyone. You love to see people suffer, and you really bonded over that! Of course, that similarity led you both to go out and fight with each other and boy do you get a kick out of that.

You guys are twins when it comes to personality, and obviously you’re beyond close. Naturally, you became close with Angry too!

Angry was little more hesitant with you, but you reminded you quite a lot of his brother, so he quickly warmed up to you.

Now, you guys are constantly together.

Angry just, in general, loves sticking to you. He feels safe and protected with you, and you, love doing that for him. You really have a soft spot or the blue haired boy, which is honestly adorable.

Though you constantly laugh at the poor boys constant pissed off face…

Poor Angry :(

Overall, you and the whole of Toman are a huge family.

They all love you, and you love them all. It’s honestly rare to see you so affectionate towards such a huge group of people, but you just loved them all so much.

They just got you, and you couldn’t be more thankful. They weren’t judgmental towards your weird personality, and never acted you like you were an outsider, which was how you were treated your whole life.

You found a true family with them, and they honestly saved you from all the sadness of the world. You just found a purpose with them.

The only thing that felt missing was love…which you felt towards Mikey.

Good luck on going and trying to get Mikey to get the hint. After all, the man didn’t understand even after you told him “I like you”.

…Poor you :(

//end!

[yandere-daze]

okay maybe this is a reach BUT what if for the self aware enstars au, reader got isekaied into their world as a member of a newly formed unit. awesome right? now you have a chance to interact with all your favorite characters as coworkers, and you've got a backstory too! no one will recognize you as the player, so you get to live life yandere-free, right?

well...

isn't it kind of weird that the second a new unit was introduced, the player up and vanished? isn't that just a bit odd?

what if...the player doesn't like them? what if the player hates the new unit? what if its all their fault?

if the player left because of an issue with the new unit, maybe "disbanding" the unit would bring them back...

gn reader

tw yandere, obsession, mention of murder, malice falsely directed towards the reader

OOOH that´s such a juicy idea, anon! It kind of reminds me of the impostor AU for sagau, where the characters that practically worship the player don´t recognize them when they enter their world and instead think that they are the problem

I really do think the player would at first be happy about this. I mean, they can start a second life in the world of one of their favorite games and meet all of their favorite characters! Isn´t that just great? Like you would be so stoked and even though being an idol sounds tough, it could also be a lot of fun!

Now at first, when they haven´t yet noticed that the player has been missing for a while, they would simply be wary of the new unit. After all, more units meant that there was more competition for the player´s affection and love. So they wouldn´t be all too happy from the very start but some of the nicer or sane characters like Trickstar or Ra*bits will still make an effort to welcome the new unit.

But when they notice that the player hasn´t come back since the day the new unit was introduced? Things get very tense as they start to wonder why that may have happened. Surely it can´t be complete coincidence that you left them the very same day that the new unit was introduced, right? Why did you do that? Is the problem with the newcomers? Did they secretly do something that displeased you?

At first, you and your new units are simply interrogated. Did you do something? Now is the time to confess before things get worse. But what are you supposed to say to that? You obviously don´t remember doing anything wrong and you´re kind of scared because it looks like the more you talk and insist that you don´t know what they´re talking about, the more irritated they get.

Soon, no matter what you say, the will all think that you must be the reason why the player left. It´s the only thing that makes sense! So maybe, the really should try to get rid of you so the player will finally return to them!

Some will surely protest at first, finding it unreasonable to punish you like that when they aren´t even sure if it would bring the player back, but the more times goes on, the more they start to miss you and the more desperate they get to have you log in to the game once more

If I were you, I would try running away as soon as you can because once that last thread of sanity has snapped, you won´t be safe anymore. Maybe you will find a few characters that are still willing to help you with hiding, the few that do realize how insane all of this is, but do you really want to take any chances when you don´t know just who is out to murder you?

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

Hmm. Idk how many you allow, but, if it’s limited, I’m okay if you delete some of mine to make room for others! If it’s okay, I’d like to request something else! You’ll start to see I have some favorites 😂 anyway! Can I get headcanons for the circus troupe characters of your choice falling for someone playful and kind, someone they considered “normal” but realize that they’re treated like an outcast because they don’t follow the current society’s expectations/social norms? It doesn’t matter how many of them you do or don’t do! It’s your time and your work! It’ll be wonderful either way! Thank you very much! And no pressure or anger if you decide not to do it!

hey, you guys are NEVER limited on how many requests you want to send! as long as the askbox is open, SEND TO YOUR LIL HEARTS’ CONTENT!!

soooo I decided to do reactions instead of headcanons! headcanon sets are usually longer than reactions and I’ve decided to implement a character limit for different types of content; 3 characters for fics/scenarios, 5 characters for headcanon sets, and 10 characters for reactions.

mainly just an effort to keep my sanity and keep things from getting waaaay too long for single requests~

HOWEVER, I hope you enjoy regardless!! I started out not writing much for each one and they got progressively longer and I feel like that happens a lot with me XD

also I somehow never made a header for poor Dagger and Wendy?? SO THAT WAS FUN TRYING TO REMEMBER HOW I’D SET IT UP............. not me crying because I had to redo Dagger’s simply because the text outline wasn’t thick enough so it didn’t match the rest of them

BEAST

Lord, but they’re just so… so perfect?? It takes her a very long time for her to even think of them in any other light. The fact that they’re so sweet and kind just leads her to put them on this ‘unattainable’ pedestal. They’re normal. They’re not too big or too small or missing pieces or have extra pieces or… anything like her or her family. It starts to click when she sees them trying to mingle after watching one of the troupe’s shows. Nobody else is paying them much mind, all either ignoring them or actively saying rude things about them. That’s when she begins interacting with them more like… two people. Just people. By the time she realizes that her feelings have turned romantic, suddenly (Name) is very, very much attainable.

DAGGER

Look at them! No, seriously, everyone look at them. And then look… at him. There’s no way in hell he could have a chance with someone like that, right? Well, luckily he’s had practice with hiding his feelings and treating people totally normally, so he can manage just fine. He’s glad to be (Name)’s friend, at any rate; they really are a great person, far as he’s concerned. When they’re hanging around the troupe, it’s too easy for him to forget that… well… they’re quite lonely. That they tell him they don’t want to leave because nobody else really likes them strikes a chord with him. That’s around the time he resolves to spend as much time with them as he can. He’s always thought of them as ‘normal’, so he… wants to make them feel normal.

DOLL/FRECKLES

(Name) is just like… they’re so… so whoa. They’ve got this smile that lights up the room, hell, it could light up the whole world and they always have a sweet word for everyone and they never seem to get tired! Freckles wishes they could be like that sometimes… er, even though one side of them is certainly like that. (Name) is really what they aspire to be like; this kind person who’s bubbly and charming and normal. What Freckles doesn’t realize is that (Name) thinks of them the same way. The biggest thing is that Freckles doesn’t really treat (Name) any differently. Sure, they’re normal, but they’re also still just a person, aren’t they? Things actually progress quite easily from there, because the two of them aren’t thinking of each other as ‘out of my league’ or anything like that.

JOKER

They’re really something else, aren’t they? Well, there’s never enough sunshine in the circus, so as far as he’s concerned, they’re always welcome if they really want to hang around here! On the surface he acts carefree as ever. Deeper, however… it’s just so damn complicated. Even though he very much enjoys their company and thinks they’re a positive influence in everyone’s lives, he feels like he himself is unworthy of their light. Every time they get close, he second guesses what to do. Then he catches a glimpse of how the rest of the world treats (Name). They seem to feel just as alone in the world as he and his family. They might be ‘normal’ by the troupe’s standards, but they don’t… fit in. After that, he quietly reminds them that no matter what, they’ll always belong here among the circus, if they want to. That’s the first step to something a little… more.

JUMBO

Strange enough that someone who doesn’t have anything ‘wrong’ with them wants to hang around the circus in the first place. Stranger still that they’re getting cozy with the rest of the troupe. Shouldn’t they be with… you know… other normal people? It’s not that he doesn’t want them here, but he simply doesn’t quite understand it. He wonders what they’re seeing in everyone that makes them want to be here. Much as they all know that the inside matters, the rest of the world seems not to agree. That said, though, he’s got a soft spot for kind people like (Name), so it’s only a matter of time before he starts to admit to himself that he’s falling for them. Despite that he treats them with a lot of care, he… struggles to say anything to them about it. In his mind, it’s one thing to be with people like the troupe as friends; something romantic? That’s so different. If he confesses, it’s going to be a very shy, self-conscious confession indeed.

PETER

Oi, why are they hanging around so much, anyway? Just having a gawk at all the sideshow acts, right?! He’s got so many walls up, it makes China jealous, so… he’s very, very bitter to the idea of (Name) trying to make friends with all of them. He thinks they have some great life to return to, so he doesn’t get why they’re out here playing at being some kind of… some kind of what, anyway? A one-person charity pitying the poor circus freaks? On some level he does realize that their kindness is genuine. It’s just not something he comes across often outside his family, so he tries to think up any other explanation. And when he realizes he’s got feelings for them? … Fuck. He doesn’t even really know what to do, so he probably ends up not doing anything until his feelings suddenly explode and he’s yelling at them about how great they are and how they’ve ruined everything by getting him and the others “used to” being treated nicely and what happens when they decide they don’t care anymore?! It’s… a bit of a mess.

SNAKE

(Hold on! Did they just… they just petted me.) It would seem so, Wilde. (… Well, are they going to get ME next??) Hold on, Goethe, wait your turn. Particularly if they’re not the least bit afraid of the snakes, this is the kind of person who Snake gets incredibly nervous around. Not because he thinks they’re going to hurt him, but because kindness has been so rare in his life before the other circus members, he’s just… not quite accustomed to it yet. Even though it’s much better than being abused, someone so bright and sweet still stuns him a little. He’s in awe of them and their gentle smile, their caring words, the way they flit from one person to another spreading joy. And he knows what romantic feelings are like, of course, but he’s so thoroughly shy that he doesn’t think he’s anywhere near good enough for (Name). Still… he’s glad to be in their company, for as long as they think they can tolerate him. He enjoys being around them and their happy attitude, even if the rest of the world doesn’t seem grateful for it. (They don’t know wot they’re missing, bunch’a bloody gits.) Rudely worded, Wilde, but not inaccurate.

WENDY

Sure, look at them, being all kind… they’re a good person, until they’re not. This sort of personality is usually some kind of act, trying to make people feel secure only to stab them in the back. Although she’s not as openly contemptuous as her brother, she’s forever waiting for the shoe to drop. She thinks that (Name)’s sweetness and cheerful disposition can’t last forever, because aside from their little family, nobody has ever accepted them like this. Still, unlike Peter, she’s a bit quieter about everything; fake kindness is better than cruelty until it stops, so she’s not giving them a reason for it to stop. Somewhere in all this, she starts to… believe it’s not an act. Their kindness is extended to her quite often, and she begins to realize how much she enjoys that. They might be normal, but they seem to still be just a lonely person, and she understands what that feels like. Her confession is rather quiet, frank, in admitting that she knows they may not want to be with her. Even so, she still had to tell them, and… well, what happens from there is… up to the two of them.

[fallasleepscenarios]

𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓻𝔂 𝓫𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓼𝓸𝓶 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓽 [bakugo x reader]

type: one shot, angst, fluff pairing: bakugo katsuki x reader (gender not specified) summary: (Y/N) and Bakugo have not established their relationship, leaving (Y/N) to question their whole "friends with benefits" thing. And it all goes down to what happens when they attend Kirishima's party. rating: R for implication of sexual act word count: 2.4k disclaimer: I do not own any of the mha characters and all of them are written as if they are of age also posted on my wattpad one shots book

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

"You're so silly. Get your butt here."

Bakugo shrugs and pouts angrily but eventually lets his body fall on me and weighing me down on the couch as I try to lift him off me. I laugh at his silliness, knowing that this is the best way someone like him can show affection. He lets his guard down so rarely after all, doesn't even want to show softness, ever. Only with me he does. He can be mellow, can't express it in words easily though.

"Tsk, I don't want to go to the stupid party with all the stupid bastards", he growls while finally making himself comfortable without hurting me.

"You promised! Besides, everyone's waiting for you", I run my fingers through his hair, "You know how much Kirishima has been waiting to see you!" I could tell by his look at this was somehow enough for him to accept attending the party with me. All his UA classmates would be there.

"Whatever! I have to train." In a swift move he gets up and leaves the room, like he always does.

"Bakugo--! Wait!" he stops without turning to look at me. "D-Do you wanna spend the night?" I gulped.

"I have to train", he says and leaves.

And at times like these, I ask myself, what the hell am I really doing. Having a crush on Bakugo Katsuki? That's far enough. Establishing a relationship with him? That's so far beyond the line of sanity. More times than not, I question myself for any signs of emotional masochism, because this really doesn't feel like a mutual feeling. Yes, he can be soft and sweet, would never admit it, though. Yes, somehow, he does like me in a sexual way, at least, or maybe considers me as a way to relieve stress? The past three months and a half have been so exciting, and I've been.. happy. But..

This really isn't enough for me. If only I could do anything to make him say what's in his mind, 'cause his actions really really don't match with his words. And then again, well, whatever, never mind, it could all be way worse for me..

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

On the day of the party, Bakugo was supposed to pick me up at 8 and head over to Kirishima's together, since I've never been to his place before. I put extra effort on picking an outfit I like and felt pretty cute and confident in it. At 7:45 I was already by the door, tying my shoes and receiving a text message by Uraraka-chan.

[19:45] From: Uraraka-chan<3 I can't wait for tonight! Deku-kun will also be there, haven't seen him in two weeks! Don't be late Y/N :D

I smiled at myself and happiness overflew in me. Don't want to jinx it but tonight sounds ideal; Bakugo agreed to come, I'm going to see everyone, even Midoriya found time off his strict training schedule, and Uraraka-chan is very happy, as well, I am glad.

But as I waited for Bakugo, the clock turned 8. And then 5 minutes after 8. And then a quarter past 8.

Normally, that's acceptable, since when one is late, they probably have informed you beforehand. Or at least, an apology is waiting for you at their arrival. Oh, but when Bakugo arrived..

"What took you so long?!!" My mood, the outfit I wore that I liked, the excitement, all had disappeared.

"SO WHAT, I had training to do! Deku has been training all week!", he snapped back at me and frowned. "Let's go damn it!"

"You're unbelievable-! That's how you treat me?!" This time, I was not going to take it.

"Tsk, you don't understand"

"At least you could have told me you were at practice..! Not arrive, what, a quarter to 9 and not even apologizing for keeping me waiting?!"

"YOU attacked me right when I arrived, when I would I apologize?!"

I refrained from saying anything else. I didn't want to completely ruin my mood for the party.

"Okay, stop." I let out a sigh. "Let's go. I really want to enjoy the party. I even wore that outfit that it took me so long to come up with, I really wanna enjoy it.." I closed and locked the door behind us and Bakugo just stared at me.

The road to Kirishima's was quiet. I caught a few glimpses of Bakugo walking by me and leading the way. Surprisingly, he didn't say anything at all. We passed by the river, it was beautiful and I so wanted to comment on the cherry blossoms showing as the path alongside it.

I tried not to overthink about this but it was bothering me, that Bakugo didn't even consider my feelings. He stood me up. This definitely isn't what you expect of your partner to do. Details like this, how he never calls me just to talk to me, he never texts me "good morning" or "good night" like my friends' significant others do, how we've never really agreed to have a proper date but always meet up at home, eat inside and are secretive, I don't like that. I think I am the only one in this relationship.

Heck, there is no real relationship. Friends with benefits, after all.

"(Y/N)! Bakugo-kun! You've arrived at last!" Uraraka-chan was the first one to greet us by the door.

"I'm sorry we're late, I asked Bakugo to pick me up since he lives so close-by, but he was training and couldn't leave early", I felt my cheeks flush up. Everyone's attention was on us and I didn't like it. "Besides, Kirishima-kun! Thanks for having us!"

Thankfully, I quickly felt comfortable and no one talked about how they've been waiting for us. We had a fun time, joking around, eating cakes that Sato baked and listening to what everyone's been up to on their vacation. I was able to forget about Bakugo's attitude, but every time I looked at him, it all came back to me, so I tried to avoid him as much. But still, I was able to catch glimpses of him, noticing that he never looked at me too. I am better than this.

I got up to pout myself some water and when I came back I noticed that Deku had joined Uraraka and they were cheerfully engaging in conversation by themselves, so I decided I wouldn't go back to Uraraka and third wheel them. Instead I decided to get some fresh air and went outside. The cold wind felt so nice on my face but I could tell I'd soon be cold enough to return inside.

"Y/N!", I didn't even hear Kirishima opening the balcony's door.

"Kirishima-kun, are you having fun?"

"For sure! I'm glad you could bring Bakugo with you. Wasn't really sure he'd come, since he's been eager to train as much as he can during the vacation time, but maybe having to accompany you made him responsible to come" Kirishima smiled and he'd never looked so innocent to me before.

"Ah, I just guess he came for you Kirishima-kun. You're his best friend after all."

We laughed and I suddenly felt really soft and comfortable talking about Bakugo with him.

"Kirishima-kun, you're great.. I wish I had a relationship with someone like you!"

And then I realized what I just said. Kirishima turned red and I no longer felt cold outside.

"Y/N, I-I don't think I like you like t-that.."

"Ah! No, it's okay, I don't think I do either.."

What am I saying, I know I like Bakugo.

I know he said he didn't like me but the vibe sure felt weird and tense and somehow comfortable. I could so simply say things like these with Kirishima and it did feel awkward but it was okay, we could sit in silence. And it was easier to stay outside now.

But then he called out my name, and I couldn't read his face. He surely thought that I might like him now. I noticed Bakugo was arguing with Iida-kun by the door, when Kirishima raised his hand to cup my cheek and-

"Can I kiss you?" he whispered.

Why am I not pulling back? Maybe he wants to find out if he'd feel something.. maybe I do as well. Bakugo wouldn't even care anyways. He wouldn't be the least jealous if he saw us.

"Yes", I whispered back and closed my eyes only to feel his soft lips on mine.

It lasted a few seconds but I knew for sure that this wasn't what I felt when I kissed Bakugo. Kirishima was now smiling softly as me and I knew we were on the same page. And this will be between us and nothing will be affected. Except that something caught his attention and he gasped ; I turned to see who else other than Bakugo staring at us.

He looked mad, but doesn't he almost always?

Suddenly I felt overwhelmed with regret towards him.

He wasn't supposed to get jealous, he has no right to!

"Ah, Bakugo saw us maybe", Kirishima shrugged, "He probably thinks we're stupid hahah"

I chuckled, not to make my uncomfortableness look so obvious and we headed back inside, since Bakugo had also disappeared from the entrance.

The rest of the night I felt so out of place and it was hard not to show, but I had to. Spent it mostly chatting with the girls and playing cards and board games.

But soon enough, it was time to go.

Midoriya had already left and so had some of the others that aren't late nighters, and I felt tired from all the tension of the day. I was glad that I had some fun though.

"I'm off, everyone!" I greeted them and put on my shoes and coat.

"I'm going to. Have to train early tomorrow"

I froze. Bakugo was also leaving and this could only mean he wanted to confront me.

I waited for him to be greeted by everyone as well. It was inevitable, we'd go the same way anyways.

But Bakugo didn't say anything. He started pacing fast and it was kind of hard to keep up.

When we reached the cherry blossoms, Bakugo stopped.

"Are you stupid? Why did you do that?!"

He was indeed jealous!

"What does it matter to you even!". Tears were forming in my eyes, I felt so guilty! But it wasn't entirely my fault!

"TO ME? That you're stupid?"

"What does it matter to you??! It didn't even matter to me!"

"Then WHY DID YOU DO THAT"

Bakugo turned around but he wasn't looking at me.

"..I.. don't know... I was curious.. "

"Tsk, 'curious', what even..!"

"I was, okay?! Kirishima was being so nice to me..."

"And you had to be stupid?!"

"STOP it! Okay? This, this is why I did that. Because I can no longer pretend that you care about me! You made that clear today!"

"I don't go around doing things a scumbag would do!"

Bakugo was starting to redden up, he had become really angry..

"BUT YOU DO!" I shouted, glad that we were the only ones on the street. "You do, when you're late and don't inform me, you do when you're embarrassed and secretive of me, you do when you never really tell me what's on your mind"

"You.." he frowned. "And YOU GO AND DO THAT"

"YES because MAYBE, MAYBE HE would actually LIKE me!"

He seemed to be taken aback. And I was properly crying. And I felt the cold wind against my face and hands. It was too bad we're ruining the effect of the beautiful cherry blossoms.

"Stupid.. STUPID STUPID STUPID", he was now pulling his hair in anger.

"Bakugo, stop! What are you doing!" I rushed out and grabbed him by his shoulders forcing him to look at me. And I felt guilty and sad to see him this angry but this had to mean something.

He looked away, avoiding my gaze at all costs.

"I should be asking you why are you being like this now..", I said softly. "It.. hurts to think about this, but did it feel like you were losing towards Kirishima?"

No answer.

"I'm sorry anyways, I am too tired to argue anymore and I'm sorry I kissed him. I.. didn't think it'd make you angry"

"Tsk, what are you apologizing for, loser.."

Bakugo's voice was soft and quiet..!

"I should be the one saying sorry. I FAILED don't you understand? I didn't make my feelings clear to you"

What?

"All this time, I've been failing to this, I don't no a thing about romance"

What?

"And you never even said anything, either! You just went along when I first kissed you!"

I had nothing to say. Suddenly, everything seemed so meaningless, because he was opening up to me.

"Bakugo.."

"No, shut up, you listen to me now. It drives me crazy cause I can't concentrate and think about you all the time! I LIKE YOUR STUPID ASS"

This can't be for real. I've always wanted him to open up but I never..

"SAY SOMETHING"

"Can you.. say that again?", I was too startled.

"Weren't you listening?!"

"No, I was, it's just that I liked hearing you say that.."

I'd forgotten I'd been holding him weirdly and suddenly felt conscious about being so close to him, when I've been closer to him so many times before, but not like this.

"Tsk, I like you stupid ass, stupid", he frowned jokingly and it was his turn to wrap his arms around me. "I like your stupid stupid ass."

My cheeks have probably never flushed as this much before.

"I like you"

He kept repeating and I felt like I could faint.

"And I promise, I won't ignore my feelings anymore and I won't be USELESS!"

I backed away to look at him.

"Bakugo,.. does this mean, we're really together?"

And Bakugo blushed!

"Yeh" he simply said.

I couldn't help but smile and the cherry blossoms were beautiful around us.

Then, Bakugo tightened his grip on my waist and brought me closer. He kissed my cheek and looked at me again. And I couldn't decide over staring at his eyes or kissing him that moment.

But I couldn't bring myself to stop, I leaned forwards and felt his soft pouty lips against mine, his warmth transmitting to my skin. And we didn't pull back for a few moments.

"Do you want to stay over, Bakugo?"

And he nodded excitedly as we walked home together.

꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

[sally-bollywood-thought-page]

Ok so hear me out. You know how people have green flags when finding a partner? I think I found DooWee’s. I know y’all will think I’m crazy but the real truth is, I think the show writers made DooWee like the girls with green hair- literally a “green flag”. Both Jaya and Sinitta. Yes I know, you’re like “ok time to unfollow this crazy dude” but it does make sense to me!!!!

So first, we have Sinitta, the girl he falls for within seconds of meeting. Literally falling, twice. I mean, checking for wires. 😅

You don’t want to make me rant about this crush of his, so we’ll skip ahead a little bit. And it’s obvious he has a crush on her, the screenwriters didn’t make this subtle at all. He’s practically drooling half the episode…

And he makes that face. THAT face. I guess they tried to make a “gawking” face and ended up with this, and tbh it does fit the emotion/expression he’s making well.

And now we have Jaya. Good friends with Nirmala and Sinitta. Very bright, slightly shy, and relevant in a decent amount of episodes as a culprit, client, or relevant side character.

Now, we have these moments in multiple episodes, where Jaya is talking to the SBI- but exclusively giving DooWee eye contact or facing his direction. Weird, right? It can’t be a coincidence, that every time it just happens to be like this? She rarely ever even turns towards Sally, or looks towards her when speaking to both of them together.

Then we see them at the party at Cassie’s house. Being the top of their class (weird selection for party people, but the episode portrays accurately what the result would be), they both get invited and are the only two which talk to one another besides Albert and Chris (I think?) which means they know each other decently well and are familiar with each other.

They’re the only ones that even stood up. She messes with her hair, laughs a little awkwardlyl- all small signs, but signs nonetheless.

Ok this moment in the picture above is key. Jaya latches onto DooWee instantly when the party crashers come. Where I’m from that wouldn’t happen, but where they are (probably Australia), it would imply that they’re rather close. Not just friends, but close friends. Interestingly, she’s looking worried for him rather than being afraid of what DooWee is scared of. More concerned about the danger to him, than to herself. But wait a second, isn’t DooWee the character who gets scared and hides behind Sally? Like how in “Fundraising Felony”, he’s scared of Tiger (Jasmine’s dog)? Now, however, the tables have turned. She’s behind him.

As we notice above, DooWee is worried about the fact that Sally is told by Cassie that he was invited; Jaya is worried and looking at him to. Why? Because Sally’s mad at DooWee, and that concerns her! Sally doesn’t care about Jaya in this moment, but Jaya cares about DooWee.

Then we have this next moment a few seconds after, where DooWee claims the party was boring and he’d rather be with Sally. Then, Sally grills him and asks if that’s actually true- but he backtracks, and is unable to say yes. So that means that even though it was a bland fete, talking to Jaya (which was the only thing he did besides drink something) was enough to make the experience worthwhile. Aha!

In another episode, we have DooWee playing savior like he did for Sinitta… so many parallels! He even makes the same face. THAT face.

But he controls himself better than he does around Sinitta. (i.e, he doesn’t fall over. Haha. Laugh at the joke before I lose my sanity.)

Yeah, I’ve completely convinced myself of this. Now you’re like “ok, these are the two girls in the show that he has shown any sort of attraction towards. And they both have green hair. But AHA! What about Jasmine”??? Jasmine makes fun of DooWee multiple times over the course of the show and even beat him up in the infirmary (tag team with Alma, ofc) for teasing her so it’s more than well known that they don’t have that sort of friendly relationship. This is like actually cursed. Just like how people match Azula x Sokka from Avatar (obviously cursed but somehow appealing for some) with one clear top and bottom in the relationship 😉 I’d say that Jasmine x DooWee would be the same. But guess what? Not every theory always holds up. They always have exceptions. For example, Molecular Orbital Theory has exceptions. But y’all don’t care for that chemistry stuff so I won’t bother to explain 😆 but if we really get technical, Jasmine’s hair color is a different kind of green anyways soooooo my theory has no exceptions?!

At the end of the day, DooWee liking both these girls makes sense, they fulfill different tropes. Sinitta plays them the pretty girl crush, and it’s very easy to see that she is indeed very beautiful and elegant and fancy and fashionable. Jaya is more of the nerdy crush, she’s smart, she’s chic, organized, and shy. A little kooky, but that’s ok. Two tropes, two characters. AND DooWee’s two crushes. I will keep on saying that.

If you read all this, congrats! And let me know what you think…

[adamwatchesmovies]

Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes (2010)

My love for the Harry Potter films has pushed me to find out what makes them special. This means exploring the realm of wannabees. Many pictures would seek to duplicate the magic of J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world. The very worst has to be The Mystical Adventures of Billy Owens: a film so cheap and poorly assembled you'll laugh at the embarrassing special effects when you're not spotting the cameraman's reflection. How could “Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes” be worse? It's a question you'll regret asking. This film crushes your soul under the weight of its agonizing performances, thin characters, dull action, incomprehensible plot, muddled dialogue, unearned sentiments and amateur writing.

While other students are enjoying their summer vacation, Billy Owens (Dalton Mugridge) and his best friends Devin (Christopher Fazio as fake Ronald Weasley) and Mandy (Ciara O’Hanlon as not Hermione Granger) are taught magic by their teacher, Mr. Thurgood (Roddy Piper). When the kids fool around with some runes and accidentally send their teacher into a coma from which he may never wake up, they ally themselves with Mandy’s cousin Danny (Mikayla Ottonello) to save him. Meanwhile, the villainous professor Mould (Paul Germs) and his crony, the bully-turned-troll Kurt (Jordon Goulet) are hot on their track.

To preserve your sanity while watching a film of this caliber, you must latch onto something and look forward to it. Ideally, it would be the romance blossoming, the villain getting their comeuppance, the mystery being solved, etc. In a bad movie, you'll settle for sleazy nudity, unconvincing gore, or memorably bad performances. In Billy Owens 2, what kept me going was Roddy Piper’s lumpy hat. Whenever he showed up, I wondered if he was going to tip it or take it off just to put it back on seconds later. I know it sounds pathetic, but beggars can't be choosers.

Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes is barely a movie and pinpointing its biggest weakness is easy: the sound design. Student filmmakers take note. Remember The Blair Witch Project and El Mariachi? They were to follow because you could hear what the characters were saying despite their minuscule budgets. Not that anything said in this rock-hard turd is worthwhile, but without even the charity of subtitles on the DVD release, Billy Owens 2 is a labor to get through. You literally have to strain yourself to piece together what this shoddy plot is about.

This sequel is significantly worse than its predecessor because it doesn’t have the "lovable" elements that made you laugh previously. There’s a phony-looking dragon, but all you see is its head, and even then, only for a few moments. While the dialogue is just as badly written, you can’t hear it. The performances are so crappy it's practically torture. The plot seems to stretch on endlessly. To watch this film all the way through you have to have lost part of your mind already, which seems obvious because no one would ever look at the DVD cover and say “Wow! I remember liking the first one. I bet this sequel will be just as good!”

I can’t believe I spent time, money and effort tracking down Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes. Maybe I deserve everything I got from it. I should’ve known better. To anyone who watches movies for fun, even bad movies, I beg you to stay away. (On DVD, December 29, 2017)