#I don't know what it is about the line delivery but it made me crack up so bad

[sbd-laytall]

[chiarrara]

the core idea i'm working with concerning the jjk finale discourse is that people are mad about the wrong things.

I have had serious problems with the writing in jjk since at least shibuya, and I even found criticism in the hidden inventory arc and the sister school exchange arc (though the main problem there is that it was boring pre-disaster curses and the characters suck).

Similar to Game of Thrones, some people were criticizing the broken writing choices as far back as seasons 3 and 4 while most people were glazing the series until the cracks in the foundation caused the entire story to crumble right at the end, leaving most of the fanbase confused how it "suddenly" got so bad.

The commonly held sentiment is that JJK fell off after Shibuya. I disagree. I think it fell off during Shibuya where the entire worldbuilding, power system, and plot broke irreparably.

HOWEVER where JJK never fell off was in character writing, relationship writing, and the overall themes of the story which were all consistent, had strong throughlines, were well integrated into the action (another strength), and were in my opinion, the core appeal of the the entire project.

And yet, most of what I hear people complaining about is either a) missing or dissatisfying character moments and a lack of satisfying exploration of the themes, or b) contradictory outrage over plot and worldbuilding elements not lining up as if these issues haven't been there from the start.

I know a lot of people don't operate this way, but when there are fundamental problems with the storytelling, but there are other parts of the story that I find incredibly meaningful and impactful, I find it really easy to glaze over those problems and even justify and rewrite them in my head so they make more sense. When good character writing shows up in JJK, I stop caring that the plot sucks.

The finale chapters of JJK had amazing character writing, delivered on the main themes of the story, and made literally all the broken plot elements, lack of focus, and shoddy worldbuilding secondary concerns for me. They don't break the important parts of the story, I don't care that they aren't wrapped up because I didn't like them in the first place, and their lack of exploration just cedes more ground to fan creation allowing the story to thrive for years into the future.

If you were reading JJK for the complicated plot, complex scheming, or intricate worldbuilding, I can see why you're upset, but you made a mistake a long time ago because that stuff has sucked for ages. But I know most of you fuckers on this website were reading for good characters, impactful themes about love, and yaoi bait, so why are you mad????? I really don't get it.

Who cares that the shittily written American Military subplot didn't come back? The fucking basis of the power system doesn't make any sense and isn't well thought out, so how was it ever going to deliver on the solution/potential for cursed energy? You're mad that the random New Shadow School subplot was randomly thrown in at the end, I've been mad since that random fucking grasshopper showed up in the fucking subway!

And some of you are literally admitting YOU DIDN'T EVEN READ THE TRANSLATED CHAPTERS so how would you KNOW if the story themes and character writing had been delivered on? based on summaries? that is the absolute worst delivery system for a story, you have to know this. you're getting mad at machine translations of out of context pages like WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.

In conclusion, most of you are mad at the wrong things and none of what I wrote up there is really about what the things you should be mad about are, because they don't matter. The point of a story is to mean something and JJK did. It was always good at what it was good at, and I wish people were engaging more with the story in it's own domain instead of being mad it wasn't exactly what they wanted it to be. The finale delivered on everything that made me care about this story. It made me love it even more, and I'm never going to regret spending so much time on this series. Everything else is just criticism for fun.

[theflyindutchwoman]

Alright, time for a new question: what are your favorite Tim Bradford quotes/lines of dialogue?

Ooooh I love and hate this so much haha! I just know I am for sure going to miss so many iconic lines…

. "You can choose to see that tattoo as your greatest failure. But I see it as proof that you're a survivor. It wasn't your day of death, Officer Chen. It was the first day, of the rest of your life. And no one can take that away from you". (2.12) I could quote the whole scene really, but that part is just so beautiful. From the way Tim was opening up about his own scars to his words of encouragement to Lucy, trying to empower her… to give her a new perspective and make her see herself through his eyes… This will forever be one of my favourite moment ever.

. "You know me so well. Too well." (2.11) Did you all really think that I wasn't going to quote Day of Death? Come on. That line is iconic and I absolutely love that it has been repeated one way or another throughout the show. This sums up Tim & Lucy's relationship perfectly. (Bonus - "What's a BTS?")

. "You don't let anyone ever tell you you can't do something. Not even me." (3.09) Again with the empowerment… it was the perfect way to end this chapter of their partnership for me.

. "I found you because of your ring, okay? You saved yourself." (3.01) In the same vein… I had to add this one to the list. I just love how Tim always make sure to remind Lucy how she saved herself, how she is a survivor. She wouldn't have made it out alive without the team but they wouldn't have found her in time without the clue she left behind either.

. “For what? Doing my job?” (1.11) I just love how this was one of the first times Tim showed Lucy his softer side… and the way she was able to throw back his line at him later on was simply perfect.

. "I’m who I am in spite of you. […] The Tim Tests -- those don't make me like him." (4.09) I was so worried for a moment with this storyline, that the writers were going to have Tim forgive his father so that line was exactly what was needed. And Eric's delivery was so powerful. I could really feel all the anger, the distress, the grief… and the fear, the need to hear the confirmation that he really isn't anything like his father.

. "Unless it is" (5.08) Tim being ready to take a leap of faith despite all the previous hurt was really something amazing to watch (and this hurts so much now).

. "Are you ashamed of your baby? […] Okay, then who cares what your stupid friends think? Show off that baby belly. Wear what you feel confident in." (3.10) That scene was so amazing for so many reasons but that part is one of the best lines from the show.

. "You could never disappoint me." (6.03) Lucy needed to hear these words so much after everything… And while I am sad that there was no real follow up, I'm glad that we still got that little scene.

. "You deserve to be recognized." (4.18) This one hits even harder after that whole detective exam… but it still is one of my favorite scene.

. "If you get dispatched to a loud party, make sure they know you're not the stripper" (4.05) Sorry Tim! But this one never ceases to crack me up! What I wouldn't give to see this scene play out in the show…

. "We accept Wesley because we fear Lopez." (4.15) Somewhere Angela was nodding along…

. "I am unwilling to let fear make me do something I’ll be ashamed of in the light of day." (1.15) It was such a great insight into Tim's character.

. "Hunkiness? That's not even a word." (2.17) Oh Tim… Jealous, much?!

[mermaidsirennikita]

I watched Pretty Woman when I was around 12. Which, first of all, my mom let me watch and read anything.

It pretty much encoded in my brain. It also played an important role in my fascination with older men with silver hair. And I love everything about it. I know it's problematic and stuff. But it's so good. Everything is perfect, casting, music, story, acting, cinematography. Romantic movies don't commit like this. I miss the beautiful, curly hair and the romantic ballads. It feels as if Hollywood is allergic to romance now.

I'm suffering from lack of good romantic movies. Please recommend some good movies.

If it makes you feel any better, I was probably younger than 12 when my mom like MADE me watch it with her lmao

And I agree so much with everything you have to say about it. Pretty Woman is, to me, the Iconique romance movie. It feels more like a romance novel, to me, than most movies. And it's sooooo sexy.

For other romantic movies, I'd recommend:

Brown Sugar (2002). This one is really fun because both of the protagonists make really bad choices sometimes! He marries the wrong person, she gets with the wrong person, it's friends to lovers the way it should be done (ie with a lot of angst). But you still root for them to get together! Also, Taye Diggs gives an absolutely perfect line delivery (like several) in this clip.

(We gonna celebrate--what? *clink clink* MY DIVOOOOOORCE!)

Always Be My Maybe (2019). Another example of friends to lovers done right, though it's really one of the things I love in books too, which is "childhood friends to strangers to lovers". So good. Also, the single best usage of a celebrating playing themselves ever with Keanu Reeves.

Imagine Me and You (2005). A sweet sapphic romcom with a bit of a moral quandary in the premise... A woman is walking down the aisle to her husband, looks over, sees florist Lena Headey, and understandably falls in love with florist Lena Headey. But like, she didn't even know she was bi, let alone that florist Lena Headey existed, so--what now? Cheesy in a very sweet way. Actually plays with infidelity in a manner that movies kinda don't as much at the moment (Brown Sugar does as well). Yet it remains heartwarming.

Faraway (2023). Nobody ever talks about this movie, even though it has so many things we always say we want—like a woman over 40 who isn't stick thin falling in love with a man over 40 who also doesn't have this insanely ripped body (and he remains hot, to be clear). In this one, a woman finds out her husband is PROBABLY cheating on her on the day of her mother's funeral. She also finds out that her mom had a secret house in Croatia! And when she goes to that house to get away from her family, there's Some Guy squatting there! And now she's kind of in a love triangle with Some Guy and a younger real estate developer who wants to buy the property...? It's delightful. I need to rewatch it.

Hit Man (2023 though let's be real it's a 2024 movie). Anyone who hasn't seen this yet--it's a romcom. It's a whole romcom. With sex in it. It's very funny, it made me attracted to Glen Powell against my will, he eats this girl out a kitchen island (and she thinks he's a hit man she almost hired to kill her husband). It's definitely got a touch of darkness, but everyone who suffers deserves to because they're like, abusive husbands and racist predatory cops. Hell yeah.

Amelie (2001). I'm sure everyone has seen Amelie by now, but if you haven't, watch Amelie. It's everything it's cracked up to be.

Argylle (2024). YEAH. YEAH. I'M PUTTING THIS ON HERE. Everyone shat all over Argylle, and I was like oh shit, what even is Argylle??? I don't wanna spoil too much, but did you know that Argylle pretty much ends on two people making out as they speed away from whimsical chaos??? Did you know that Argylle has like.. AN AMNESIA ROMANCE PLOT??? It's goofy as fuck and it is delightful.

Lisa Frankenstein (2024). Another recent one that is actually so romantic. And the monster uses a giant Hitachi magic wand on Lisa Frankenstein. Good for her.

The Through My Window trilogy I will always cite as Euroteen romance movie excellence. Like, the second movie is kinda rough, but the third makes up for it completely. It is soapy, it is ridiculous, it is EVERYTHING a good Wattpad movie should be except there's also like, an actual earnest heart to it. Ares is a king among men. Raquel is batshit insane but gets away with it because she is That Girl. I love it.

Anyway, this is far from a complete list, but try these for like, the heart feelings.

[28dayslater]

Please talk more about how you hated Deadpool 3, your sharp-witted hot takes sustain me.

Love you lots x

I probably wouldn't have been so irate about it if I didn't like the other deadpool movies. Like they're stupid and annoying but I do like them, I really like deadpool 2 I think it's genuinely well made. This was not.

So there were actually several things I liked:

Hugh Jackman seems like he's genuinely trying and I thought his character was, at the start, reasonably compelling. Like he's this total failure got all his friends killed depressed as fuck and doesn't even want to fight. Unfortunately he then becomes Generic Marvel Hero (personality variation: grumpy) and all that is lost

Emma Corrin is decent as the main villain and her outfit is cute

Matthew Macfayden is so good, this is him operating at 5% of his powers but he's genuinely so funny, his line delivery is amazing

I cracked a smile at one (1) joke (Wolverine very flatly saying "we don't know that guy")

Here's a non exhaustive list of complaints

Emma Corrin and Matthew Macfayden despite coming off well are given absolutely nothing interesting to do

Every line of dialogue has "fucking" shoved in at some random interval, has zero effect and just comes off like WHOA GUYS LOOK... THEY SAID THE BAD WORD IN A MARVEL MOVIE... ARE THEY ALLOWED TO DO THAT????

Deadpool's annoying dialogue is even worse than usual, we need to shoot Ryan Reynolds in the street like a dog. People were hooting and hollering in my cinema. Why. It's simply not funny

I hate scenes where the hero(es) go up against a thousand random indistinguishable goons and kill them all in one hit, there are approximately five hundred of those and they all last what feels like hours

I hate scenes where the hero(es) go up against someone exactly as strong as them and just punch/stab/shoot each other for ages and do no lasting damage so what was even the point, there are approximately five hundred of those and they all last what feels like hours

The emotional core of the movie is absolutely non existent, it's that Deadpool got dumped by Vanessa for not caring enough about saving the world or whatever so he's trying to prove himself as a superhero?? This is not compelling

I am not a fan of massive scale "we have to save the universe" stuff in general and where I think the previous two movies benefited from being a lot smaller scale (we have to beat the bad guy bc he is evil, we have to stop this boy killing someone bc then he'll become evil) this is like THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE IS AT RISK IT'S GOING TO BE OBLITERATED which essentially means there are no stakes at all. Like that means nothing. Who gives a shit

I also hate the stupid multiverse shit and I might have turned a blind eye had it not been so egregious. They get sent to this dimension where all the superhero rejects go and every minute of the film after that is like "look it's Elektra from daredevil 2003! Remember her? Look it's Random Xman #59! Look it's doctor strange's magic ring!" Ohhhhhhhh my god who CARES

There's this bit where he's trying to join the avengers and Jon Favreau gives this whole speech about how important they are, it's just five minutes of Kevin Feige sucking his own dick cumming into his own mouth and swallowing

NO CABLE NO DOMINO NO RUSSELL.... WHATS THE POINT

Why was "Shatterstar" there at all

[lifeofkaze]

You can never have too much soup! Until you do and then you get sick and okay I'll stop

Oh I loved this one. I know it might not look like it, considering how long this took me but trust me - I did.

Characters featured (both fully and in mention) belong to @the-al-chemist @thatravenpuffwitch @kc-and-co and @slytherindisaster

“Trust me, this is going to be funny.” “I’m not sure I share your perception of funny, old chap.” Bradford Elijah Pendleton IV swallowed uncomfortably. Nervously, he glanced to where the object of their current conversation was sitting in the shade with her friends. “It sounds dangerous, if anything.” "I must say, I agree," Jim Hexley butted in from the side, sounding as nauseous as Brady himself felt. "There's people you don't trifle with." He couldn't have said anything more wrongly. Rising to what he perceived a challenge, Lysander Mercury got to his feet from their spot in the cloisters of the clocktower courtyard and cupped his hands to his mouth. "Oi, Iceberg!" The shoulders of the witch his words were aimed at stiffened, her already pinched-looking face growing tighter still. Sighing heavily, she put down her book and shared a meaningful look with her friends. "How can I help you, Lysander?" "Go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" Carolyn Pendleton froze, the only indication that she had heard him a slight twitch in her sharply outlined eyebrows. Next to Lysander, both Brady and Jim shifted in their seats. "Pardon me?" "You head me right." Lysander grinned, stretching his arms above his head. "You, me, the Three Broomsticks. Sounds marvellous, doesn't it?" Caro inhaled deeply, a smile forming on her face that was so sweet it made Brady fight the urge to duck his head. "I'd rather dip my head in a boiling cauldron, strip down naked and run around the Black Lake in a hailstorm but thank you anyway. It was sweet of you to consider me." Lysander grimaced. "Oh, what a shame. I shall not be able to continue to live, having suffered such a blow. Except..." Screwing shut his eyes, Lysander's face began to change. His smooth skin grew deep lines around a suddenly hard mouth. His hair, golden in the sunshine, darkened to a deep brown streaked with lines of silver. Wrinkles appeared between his now bushy brows, and a stubble as well as a close-cropped beard was covering his cheeks. He cracked his neck from side to side, the long scar running from the top of his hairline to the corner of his mouth shimmering subtly in the light. His transformation complete, the image of Potions Master Aesop Sharp wiggled his eyebrows at the gaping girls. "How about now?" Caro's cheeks flashed an alarming shade of pink, pinker than Brady had ever seen them. One of her friends giggled into her hands, biting her lip upon receiving an icy look from Caro. Then, she turned her steely eyes onto Lysander. "If you, for one sliver of a moment, think..." "And what would be the meaning of this?" Lysander froze, and so did Brady, Jim, and the girls in the shade as a shadow fell over Lysander - a shadow that bore a striking resemblance to the features the young shapeshifter's face had taken. Swallowing, Lysander's face returned to its normal form in less than a heartbeat. "Nothing, Professor Sharp. I was merely trying to brighten these lovely ladies' day." "Of course you were, Mercury." Professor Sharp gave him a long look, then turned his attention to the girls, who all of a sudden sat up straighter than they had a moment before. He nodded at Caro and the witch sitting right next to her. "Nyberg, Selwyn. With me. I have need of some competent potioneers to help me catalogue the latest delivery of nightshade and moondew." Brady could have sworn the Potions Master's eyes had grazed him on the word 'competent'. Across the courtyard, Caro and her friend Adelia Selwyn almost - almost - scrambled to their feet, whispering among themselves. Brady didn't think he had ever seen Carolyn Nyberg this flustered. As the two of them hurried past Brady and his friends, Lysander couldn't help himself. His eyebrows turned dark and bushy once more, wiggling as he whistled lowly through pursed lips. If possible, Adelia and Caro walked even straighter and with their heads held high but the flush climbing up their necks was undeniable as they hurried away.

[vickyvicarious]

3 October, part 2

I am already so worn out

oh I love the several individual flicks of paper. The frustration and rage and deliberateness of him moving one page at a time to get to the right spot

"As I must do something or go mad," I. I........

"The teaching, big or little, could not have landed Mina or me anywhere worse than we are to-day." I AM SO SAD

their voices together...

THE WAY HE ASKS WHAT END

oh my god his little sniffle before "to work!"

NO I FORGOT ABOUT THIS we get to hear Renfield yelling agggggh I was not prepared at all and now I'm crying again

"the very first thing we decided was that Mina should be in full confidence; that nothing of any sort—no matter how painful—should be kept from her." I love how you can hear the rage at himself and determination to never ever ever fail her this way again

the fear, the trembled edge as he says "her eyes shone with the devotion of a martyr"

I love the way she says "I shall die." perfect delivery, gets across the 'like a fact' so simply and so well

"I would; if there were no friend who loved me, who would save me such a pain, and so desperate an effort!" She looked at him meaningly as she spoke." she is so good at manipulation. Something about the way she says this is perfectly pointed, so deliberately calm and not requesting but absolutely requesting and framing it as love and friendship and what is deserved

I really love the way he says "you must not die!" each and every time

"you must struggle and strive to live!" this sentence has such a good sound

"She was pleased with the prospect of anything to do" oh Mina

"Until it sets to-night, that monster must retain whatever form he now has. He is confined within the limitations of his earthly envelope. He cannot melt into thin air nor disappear through cracks or chinks or crannies. If he go through a doorway, he must open the door like a mortal." I think this is new vampire lore, that he cannot change shapes or anything during the day. It makes sense but hasn't come up I don't think

"the minutes and seconds so preciously laden with Mina's life and happiness were flying from us" I just love this phrasing

the house in Piccadilly that Jonathan hunted down. so, so, so glad he did

the way Jonathan says "the precious, precious time!"

"Don't - wait - more than need be..." he is trying so hard

van Helsing is so good at knowing how to get away with breaking the law <3

I wonder if this story about the guy who sold the stolen house is based on true events

van Helsing's laugh at the story is so nice

the way Art says "I can be of some use here" he is trying so hard to help. this is the only time he's wrong because his carriages are too fancy richboy for the situation

Jonathan not mentioning Mina's pointy teeth...

van Helsing's "do you forget" is SO king laugh. oh my god

the way Jonathan says "did I forget" lkadjsflkdjsf;kds

"I shall not forget, for it is well that I remember" Mina's hoarse voice...

the way Jonathan sighs when saying Mina was the most cheerful

MINA'S SCREAM AND THE MUSIC HOLY SHIT

"my poor darling" the way he says this

fuck, the way she sobs "Unclean" and "polluted flesh", how her voice cracks on "before the Judgement day"

JONATHAN CUDDLING HER INSTANTLY

"For a few minutes our sorrowful hearts beat together," this line

the way Jonathan says this line so softly: "There was hope in his words, and comfort; and they made for resignation."

~holding hands while pledging to save Mina~

HERE IT IS

"To one thing I have made up my mind: if we find out that Mina must be a vampire in the end, then she shall not go into that unknown and terrible land alone. I suppose it is thus that in old times one vampire meant many; just as their hideous bodies could only rest in sacred earth, so the holiest love was the recruiting sergeant for their ghastly ranks." this line. and the delivery. almost soft at the end, but completely resolute.

van Helsing has at minimum 56 holy wafers left. and that is after his antics at Lucy's tomb. he really just took a giant sack I guess

Jonathan waving to Mina in the window <3 and her waving back <3

Art looking out for Jonathan's future <3 and utilizing his privilege and title

oh I love the frustration as Jonathan snaps "Eight boxes only out of the nine, which we sought!"

god, the description of Jonathan. love the music on "he is like a living flame"

oh I have always been pronouncing it "skolomance" in my head

"He is experimenting, and doing it well;" I love the delivery of this line

"Do we not see how at the first all these so great boxes were moved by others. He knew not then but that must be so. But all the time that so great child-brain of his was growing, and he began to consider whether he might not himself move the box. So he began to help; and then, when he found that this be all-right, he try to move them all alone." I really don't think this is the case. I think he didn't feel the need to move them all by himself at first, not that he didn't think he could

"He has just now, 12:45, come from Carfax hurriedly and hastened towards the South." the USEFULNESS. the PRECISION ABOUT TIMJE

"Now, God be thanked, we shall soon meet!" and "I would sell my soul to do it!" Jonathan is AFLAME

the delivery of the "w- for him" when van Helsing is scared they literally destroyed the boxes is so funny

oh I love the way van Helsing figures out his movements and the music as he does so

THE MUSIC AS DRACULA ARRIVES AND THEY FIGHT

so exciting kill him kill him

the slice!!!

the loot drop!!!!

again the disgust as JAck describes Dracula

I love the window breaking noise so much, not only just for itself but for what it means. Dracula is reduced to ungainly flight. he's snatching money off the floor and jumping out a window, tumbling to the ground. He's still losing money when he gets there!!!! (the ting is so good). Meanwhile Jonathan will skitter after him no problem at all

the way he says "You!" all scoffing but with a little edge to it. This whole speech. He is trying so hard to sound in charge and unbothered and terrifying and he is failing

Jonathan had no problem with the window but sadly a locked door yet again defeats him :(

Mina still finding time (and blood) to blush at descriptions of Jonathan's love for her <3

THE WAY SHE SAYS "Jonathan." so much love I cannot handle it at all

Mina speaking of pity for Dracula now... it's about herself as well of course. She is trying to sound so calm and compassionate but she is also so so so afraid here.

Jonathan's hatred for Dracula <3

"I, too, may need such pity; and that some other like you—and with equal cause for anger—may deny it to me!" Jonathan thinking well that will never happen because I will never let it.

The way she repeats "my husband". The way her voice shakes. I imagine her touching his hair as she talks about it...

The way he says "This, I know." The way he cries as he talks about how much more he loves her. I can't....

"I am not sleepy myself, though I am weary—weary to death." God, the way he says this line is agonizing. And how he gasps into his next breath... gahhhhh the way he starts to fall asleep as he writes

Mina's fear at someone in the hall is SO GOOD. And Quincey's so so so gentle "go back to bed. It's all right..." I love them so much I am crying about it, literally

oh SHIT there's music

OH YOU FUCKER YOU ABSOLUTE JACKASS

I literally tensed every single muscle in my body as I hear Dracula start to sing. Oh my GODDDDDD every line is so good and so inFURIATING holy shit the smug bastardddddd

the music is. so CHEERY. fa;lkdfjas;kdjlas god he is so delighted with himself this is. I cannot. ASJKDFLKDDJ DRACULAAAAAAAA

this song is amazing. with every single new line I. I- incredible.

[cacw]

miscellaneous civil war thoughts. word count 1214

Ok first Ant-Man is annoying in this one. Sorry. Not really. The airport fight is also annoying. I feel like it should have been taken a lot more seriously considering literally everything that's supposed to be happening. And like most of these movies, there are a few lines and deliveries that are just embarrassing to watch. Tiny guy is big now makes me want to kill myself. But on the other hand Spider-Man throwing a chunk of wall at Bucky did make me almost cry laughing.

On the other other hand I deeply and truly hate 15-year-old Spider-Man's entrance and overall presence here. What a joke.

The Steve and Sharon moment is also a joke mostly because the writers completely abandoned her character for 5 years afterwards. Steve never got her that pardon. I don't think anyone even mentions her again. If there's one thing Marvel hates more than gay people it's women.

It's beyond unfortunate how little of Steve and Bucky we actually see in this one and throughout the remainder of the MCU (which is another topic for another day, but you already know what I mean). We're shown again and again through Steve's words and actions that Bucky is his most important person and that nothing will stop Steve from trying to save him. But they're hardly allowed to even touch each other. The reason for this is so glaringly obvious it would feel a little redundant to even spell it out but it really does make me feel kind of sad. Hollywood is evil. Disney is evil.

That being said, their relationship is still deeply heartfelt and personal and it's so obvious in what we do see. Steve's intake of breath before he asks if Bucky knows him. Bucky smiling at Steve for the first time since 1945. The little nods and the ways they're still able to communicate without words. The way Bucky somehow always manages to drift to his left. Steve looking to Bucky again and again only to find Bucky looking right back. Dropping the shield for him, again. I feel like it's easy to forget that the first shield Steve ever picked up for Bucky wasn't even made of vibranium.

And speaking of relationships, it is also beyond irritating to see Tony lash out at everyone who doesn't completely agree with him. Natasha attempts to reach out multiple times, and the outcomes involve him either shutting her down or talking straight shit. Natasha gives him a hand, and he pushes her away, and it's clearly a big reason why she helped Steve in the end, because he trusts and knows her in a way Tony can't.

In a similar vein, there's another scene that is absolutely crucial to Steve and Tony's relationship. When Tony is trying to get Steve to sign the accords, he ends up mentioning his father, and Steve says he's glad he eventually got to settle down. Tony is quick as ever to make a crack about hating hearing about Steve while growing up, and you can see Steve's face fall immediately. Steve, like Natasha, is always willing to reach out a hand to those who need it, but Tony's ego makes him incapable of taking it. Steve and Tony are not as close as the audience is supposed to believe; they are not family. Like this scene alone is incredibly telling. And I feel like the point of a lot of these scenes is that Tony IS in the wrong for doing this to them, but it feels egregious and it's almost painful to watch him do this to himself, hurt others in the process, and get away with it every time.

And while I'm talking about people who actually feel and care for Steve I have to bring up Sam and Natasha's roles in this one. Sam doesn't have too much screentime but he stands out in every scene he's in. He's an incredible person and character and I wish he had been utilized more. He's always by Steve's side and their friendship is genuinely sweet to see, especially compared to some others. He went with him to the funeral and that alone speaks volumes! He's willing to give it all up to help Steve (he spent 2 YEARS helping look for and save someone he believed to be dangerous just because he believes in Steve), but he's also doing all this because HE believes it's the right thing. It's so good. I'll have to dive more into my Sam thoughts another day.

One more thing about Tony and I was really trying hard to sound unbiased here but he deserved to die just for knocking Sam to the ground. He's a bitch. And sidenote a lot of people try to justify his anger and outbursts in this movie and some of it is reasonable to an extent sure but he just keeps doing all this shit and getting away with it and no one has a problem with this. He brought a high schooler to fight Captain America. Come on. And that's not even mentioning Sokovia.

Natasha's character in this movie gets a lot of flack sometimes and I can understand why, but I think people who say so aren't really seeing her for who she is. It's not that she was with Steve all along, or that she couldn't make up her mind, because it isn't really about Team Cap VS Team Iron Man; she's with her whole team. Everything she does is for her team, whether it's SHIELD or the Avengers, because that's her family. She went to meet Steve at the funeral because he is a part of that family and she didn't want him to be alone. She doesn't want any one of them to be alone! And she is good at genuinely listening to people, so she manages to hear the thoughts of Steve and Tony and everyone else in a way others struggle to do. And in the end she chooses to help do what SHE believes is right, not just her team. Staying together is important to her, but not if it means giving up everything else that makes her who she is.

I want to end this with something positive. I think Bucky is very cute. His hat and his Henley are cute. His hair tucked behind his ears was cute in those 2 scenes. What a sweetheart. That post-credit scene was stupid as hell.

Actually I do have to mention how dumb that is. I don't understand why they had to figure out a way to fix his mind. That doesn't even make sense. It's all conditioning and there's no hack for that. That is not how that should work. Maybe I'd be more understanding if they hadn't kept him in Wakanda for the next 2 years but it's bad and it's lazy and it sucks and this is the hand Bucky is going to be dealt for the rest of time.

Steve is a great character. I just wish this movie had been fully about him.

So all in all Civil War is a pretty pitiful excuse for a Captain America movie and I honest to god don't understand how some of this made it through the writer's room. Whatever.

[sirendeepity]

For the fanfic writer ask game:

♥️👻📗

Nikiiiii, my love, it's so good to see you here! <333

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

So, this one's tough. Not because I have the hands of Midas, but because I simply... Have no idea? I did skim through metanoia, though, because if that's where the good stuff is, and I found a few because I'm physically unable to choose just one I really liked, two of which are quote quotes

“I gave him the power he thinks he has now, and by not agreeing on meeting with him we’re just proving his point: that he has something, that he’s worth something. I’d rather die than give him the satisfaction.”

That night was not for deep, belly laughs. That night was for healing what others had broken. To build anew.

while the third is more of a context quote

What caught her attention the most, tho, had been the fact that Rhysand had been ready to put so much of himself, of what he’d been through, at stake. For her. Nesta shifted in her seat, not stomaching the starlight violet any longer. She felt Night caressing her mental shields, purring, asking to get in. She let it. You’re worth the risks. She turned, the bones in her neck cracking with the fast motion, and stared speechless at Rhysand. She’d let him in her mind, yet the voice wasn’t there. He’d said those words out loud, had made sure the stars heard them too.

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

I answered this one here, bUT I'll give you another one, which is also a spoiler for a possible future multi-chapter fanfic I've been thinking about for a while and recently I'm entertaining the idea of actually try to write it? We'll see. Anyway I have this idea that the Valkyries (well, Nesta, at least, since she's the one who's part of the Inner Circle) will "give up" their citizenship? And they're not members of the Night Court anymore? Or they're just a private citizen like any other? I still have to think this trough, but they're going to do all that because they are going to tour around Prythian to recruit and train more females and officially revive The Valkyries, and make them an army for the people: basically, there will be a base in every Court and legions/battalions for each, but overall they don't belong to a single Court but rather all of them, but really, if you think about it, none at all. They're like an independent army, the "neutral party" which will not stay so neutral if things get dirty. They'll stand for equality and freedom, they'll protect the innocents, and by not "legally" belonging to any Court they won't have a High Lord or High Lady that can order them around and such, so they'll be like an Eight Court of sorts without really being a Court at all. Does this make sense?

📗 Do you want to write something outside of fanfiction? If so, what about?

Oh bestie I'm so happy you asked this because y e s. Yes. Yes, I do. And I am completely cool about it. Not acting weird at all.

I'm almost done with the first draft of this personal project of mine that I've been working on and off for the past ..year..s? But I keep procrastinating so I've been "-10 chapters!!" for the past week, but still. To keep things sweet and short, I'll make you a list, because we love lists on this blog:

Crown of Thorns (4): (high?) fantasy; reluctant found family where each and every one of them is "in it" for their own personal gaining, but what started as a shallow "they took my crown from me so now I'll take it back because I can? and because I'm petty and hold grudges" will turn into "I have to stop the Lord of Darkness from coming back from the dead and destroy the world as we know it, and maybe start a revolution while I'm at it". It's messy, and sometimes I think I won't be able to pull this off the way I intended to (good intentions, bad delivery, you know?) so don't ask me to tell you more than this because I really don't know how without spoiling the entire thing;

Cursed Goddes/Blessed God (2): CoT spin-off that is actually a prequel and kind of explains/shows the events that led society to become the way it is in CoT and yes, I really did dig my own grave with this whole series, but now I'm in too deep to stop so down we go;

Kill Your Darlings (1): dark academia-ish, paranormal vibes and a hint of mystery, too? Think House of Anubis, but everyone is gay and mentally ill. That's it, that's the plot.

The Haven Island series (3): contemporary romance, interconnected standalones following a group of friends navigating life in their 20s, where every story is meant to represent a different aspect of girlhood/womanhood (aka toxic/abusive relationships, motherhood, sexism and mysoginy, etc.)

I'd also like to write something in the dystopian sub-genre, because who doesn't love that feeling of impending and unavoidable doom? But I have absolutely nothing in my hands if not some sort of relationship dynamics that for the sake of logic and coherency I had to cut out from the CoT plot, so, yeah, we're really basing it all on vibes at this point

Ask me a question!

[carverl]

I've been rewatching the Indiana Jones films and decided to rank them from least favourite to my absolute favourite, I'd like to note that despite what negative things I may have to say I don't think there is a bad movie in this franchise which is kind of a miracle. I love all of them to some extent, this series means the world to me, and I feel the entertainment industry is lucky to have it.

5. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I really love the first two acts of this movie; the 50s setting is fun, Harrison Ford is great as ever, Cate Blanchett plays a great villain, the action is fun and energetic, and despite how much of a shitty person Shia LaBeouf is his performance as Mutt Williams is honestly really great. Then they get to the jungle in the second half and it all starts to fall apart. The car chase is pretty terrible, the giant ants are creepy but kind of just meh and the conclusion feels very underwhelming. I will say that I don't agree with the criticism that there being aliens is a bridge too far, it's about as plausible as any of the other supernatural stuff so it doesn't feel out of place to me. Overall a fun movie just a bit messy in its third act. 6/10

4. Dial of Destiny

I was so anxious to watch this one, all I'd heard from people was that it was terrible and another wasted legacy sequel, so imagine my surprise when I sat down to watch it and found it's actually brilliant. It feels like a proper finale to the series and does a lot of interesting things with Indy and makes him more compelling in this film than he's been since Last Crusade. Mads Mikkelsen plays my favourite Indy villain in Jürgen Voller, who is intimidating yet ever so slightly campy. I love him, and his plan is so bonkers and off the wall it's amazing. Helena is a brilliant supporting character, and I love how she's kind of like a young Indy with her own version of Shortround. The overall message of the film plus how it deals with Indy's age and the ending made me cry, I felt it was truly something special. That being said, I didn't like the CGI young Harrison Ford at the start of the movie, as well as how a lot of the once practical stunts are now completely CGI, but that aside I love this film. 8/10

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark

The classic that started it all, I'm not gonna say much about this film mainly because I feel like out of all the films I have least to say about this one. It's really great with phenomenonal action, music, acting, and pacing. An adventure for the ages, everything that could possibly be said about this movie has been said. It's a masterpiece. So why is it not at the top? Mainly cause I like the next two more, nothing against this film but I feel later entries improve on what's already there. Still the most quintessential adventure film of all time. 9/10

2. Temple of Doom

My hot take is that Temple of Doom is better than Raiders and I will die on this hill. This movie is a thrill ride from start to finish with some of my favourite characters in the whole franchise; I love Shortround and think he's a great sidekick to Indy, I love Willie she's such a great comedic foil and her line delivery never fails to crack me up, Mola Ram is basically the devil himself with how genuinely evil he is compared to the other bad guys he seems to be relishing in his evil. The camp fun of this movie mixed in with genuine horror imagery and elements make it utterly unforgettable to me, I know for some people it's too mean spirited but I kind of love that about it. Harrison Ford is so great here too, he is an absolute delight in this movie in every scene. The action is unmatched in the rest of the series here with the mine cart chase and bridge collapse being series highlights for me. Overall, it's just a brilliant bit of fun that while not being very deep has such great entertainment factor that I adore it. 9/10

1. The Last Crusade

I must have watched this on VHS so many times as a kid, I was constantly rewatching Last Crusade so I have a nostalgic bias for this movie, but so what? This movie means so much to me personally, its themes of obsession and fatherhood are beautifully executed. Getting Sean Connery, James Bond himself, to play Indy's father was a genius move by Spielberg the presence of Henry Jones sr elevates this film to the stratosphere for me. The story and characters are absolutely perfect, the action is as great as ever, the character of Indiana Jones himself is at his peak in this movie with how we learn so much about his past with that incredible opening sequence with young Indy. My only slight criticism is that the main villain, Walter Donovan is the weakest of the series, but even that's made up for by Elsa, who plays the role as both villain and love interest brilliantly. I love this movie to death. 10/10

"Indiana, let it go."

[researchercase]

Found a statement on my desk today. I gave it a read and it relates to that storm a few days ago. don't know why it was on my desk since it was given yesterday but I'll post it anyways

-Casey

Statement of Morgan Hayes, regarding the unusual storm that sunk a ship she was on. Statement given June 29th, 2024

I never thought I'd be back here, making another statement. But here we are.

As you probably know, I'm a reporter for the BBC, sometimes for on site weather reports, or gathering information for someone else's article cause they cashed in a favour, i.e. that article on the man who jumped into a river.

That's exactly what I was doing when I ended up on the boat. With the floods that happened a few days before, James was making an article about how it would affect fishing businesses in the local London area, since deliveries would be hard to make. He should've done it himself, then he'd probably be the one making this statement, but he cashed in a favour I owed him from a few years back, so I had to go interview in his place. The prick.

I drove down to London's Royal Docks, on June 26th, and asked any fisherman around if I could interview them about how the flood was affecting their business, with the promise that it'd appear on the BBC news. I didn't specify that it would just be an article and not on air, but one fisher group didn't seem to mind. They were however about to leave for Wales, so I hopped on. That way James would then owe me a favour after it. Certainly wasn't worth it though.

The crew looked like those you'd pass on the street and pay no notice, but there was one on the ship that didn't seem like she was apart of the crew.

A woman, around her mid 20s it seemed, with brown curly hair, grey eyes and glasses. She had a long raincoat on which made sense considering the weather the past few days, and she seemed pretty normal but there were three things about her that stood out to me. An almost white streak in her hair, odd scars that seemed to creep up on her jawline from her neck, and her glasses. They were cracked, in a line that I wasn't sure what it looked like. I asked the captain and he said that she was just a passenger who needed a boat ride to a nearby dock on the way to Wales, so I decided to pay her no mind and continue my job.

I interviewed the crew on that fishing ship, of course asking what they did, how the floods affected the business and their lives, and what they think would happen if the floods continued, etc etc. Only took two to three hours to interview the whole crew, and once I was done, I asked that they drop me off at a dock close to London, which they were happy to oblige.

I stepped out onto the deck, looking out onto the sea, when I felt it began to rain. I wouldn't have been surprised considering the days before, but this felt different. The other rain was still, not moving, no wind, no lighting. With this rain however, the wind picked up, it started as a gentle breeze then changed drastically to a force that almost knocked me over.

I clung to the railing of the boat as this happened, the rain began to pour faster and harder. The crew members that weren't on the deck came out to see what was happening, while those of us that were already out there were holding onto anything so we wouldn't get blown away by the wind. Then the waves got rough and began to crash against the boat, rocking it more and more with every crash.

We went to try go inside but that's when a big wave hit the boat, the water crashing onto the deck. Those of us who hadn't been able to grab onto something, were dragged into the water off the boat, and I don't mean that the wave was big enough to bring them under, no. It was like the water grappled them and then dragged them down. They screamed as they went.

The wind picked up again, I looked up and could see the storm clouds swirling around us. Then, those who had let their guard down even for a second of a moment, where lifted off, into the air, picked up by the howling wind, up and up into those swirling dark clouds where you could hear the thunder rolling in them, and see the occasional lightning strikes that lit them up. They screamed too.

The rest of us where able to get back inside, and I was about to follow suit, but then I noticed her. The passenger. Throughout all of this chaos, this tragedy, she wasn't affected by it. She wasn't dragged underneath by the waves, she wasn't lifted off into the clouds by the wind, no, it full seemed like she wasn't being affected, or targeted by the storm. In fact, she didn't look scared at all like the rest of us.

Something about her changed as well. The first time I saw her, she looked almost exhausted, weak. Now, in that moment, she looked healthy, energised, alive. Like she was fuelled by the Storm. Was she the one who caused this?

I called out to her despite the overbearing noise around us. I called out and asked her "Why are you doing this?", as loud as I could. She turned to me, and in that moment I realised that the crack on her glasses was looked more like a lightning strike. She spoke to me, and do you know what she said?

"I was hungry"

Before I could question her more, the others pulled me inside with them and closed the door, and we thought that maybe we were safe. Then a wave hit the boat again, a big one, and it finally capsized.

For the moments we where under the water in the boat, you could see out into it through the windows, and there was nothing but endless blue.

We escaped the boat, I remember, we managed to get a dingy boat, swam up as best we could, then did our best against the storm. I passed out however though. When I woke up, it was maybe an hour or so later, and I remember a coast guard boat driving up to save us.

Once we were one dry land, we were questioned about what happened. Since I was the one of the few who were out on the deck when it started, the one of the few who survived, I was able to give them the best recollection. The cost guard questioning me had a look on his face but I couldn't be bothered to ask what was wrong. I just wanted to go home.

Of course I was admitted to hospital but not for long. When I went back to work, 1. I found out that Finn was the one write the article about the incident and not me, and 2. I was called into my boss' office immediately.

My boss, and her higher up were there, along another I didn't recognise. They asked me about the incident and I once again gave my best recollection about it. I was given no response and instead was handed some papers. An NDA of sorts. They described it as "Section 31 but for the News".

It felt like a joke. I didn't want to sign it, I wanted others to know what had happened, but I was given no choice. Either I signed it, or I was fired. So I did. Now I'm stuck doing private reports on the strange and supernatural. It still feels like a joke. Like a sick joke against me.

Even though it's only been a few days, I still think about the storm. I think I'll always think about it. When my mind wanders to that incident, a quote from an excerpt of the Great Storm of 1703 comes to mind, when I looked at the storm, the swirling dark clouds, the rolling thunder, the lightning strikes, pouring rain and crashing waves, I think of the letter by Miles Nobcliffe.

"We are all left here in a dismal condition, expecting every moment to be all drowned: for here is a great storm."

There was nothing we could do against it. A part of me wonders, where us three survivors left alive because of The Passenger's moment of benevolence? Perhaps.

But I think, If I ever encountered her again. I would not go home.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Madi Diaz & Jack Van Cleaf Live Show Review: 3/6, Lincoln Hall, Chicago

Madi Diaz

BY JORDAN MAINZER

"I've got these purple shoes--they're very cool," Madi Diaz shared Wednesday night at Lincoln Hall as she tuned her guitar. Someone in the audience replied, "Tell us more!" Diaz didn't hear them, but the crowd member's response was apropos of Diaz's open-book nature as a songwriter and performer. Over her past two albums, 2021's History of a Feeling and last month's Weird Faith (Anti-), through her unflinching honesty, Diaz has created a solidarity of self-expression, anthems out of moments and feelings we might otherwise be ashamed of (loneliness, crying in public). She's put to song the peaks and valleys and beginnings and ends of relationships with others and herself, the non-linear nature of realizing that she loves, hates, feels a burning desire, and in turn deserves to feel it all. Turns out, a lot of other folks have had experiences similar to hers, making it easy for them to sing Diaz's words back to her and feel a palpable connection.

Diaz

Diaz walked out to Cass Elliot's "Make Your Own Kind of Music", a fitting sentiment to introduce a show in which she laid bare her vulnerability and created an atmosphere for others to do the same. Truth be told, she knows how to start a song, an album, and a set; "Same Risk" confronts a love interest about a level emotional playing field. "What the fuck do you want? Cause I'll give you all that I got," she sings on the Weird Faith and set opener, each subsequent line one-upping the prior in terms of frankness, culminating with the question, "Do you think this could ruin your life?" and the admission, "Cause I could see it ruining mine." Though the album version has the proper canyons of space to give room for Diaz's heavy confessions, the live version was comparatively stripped-down. On stage, Diaz played guitar and sang alongside multi-instrumentalist Adam Popick, who played drums and synthesizer, sometimes simultaneously. Though Diaz's lyrics are often diaristic, conversational, and clear, that they were less obscured by instrumentation as on the album made them all the more in-your-face. As such, a song like upbeat strummer "Everything Almost", wherein she wonders whether she's doing and saying the right things in a burgeoning relationship (and she's even doing the wondering out loud, in real time) is borderline like watching theater: At one moment, she cracks up at the thought of being a needy pregnant partner, and at the next, cowers at the idea that her parents might not be around to meet their grandchild.

Diaz

Diaz's unbridled outpouring can be jarring, but it's undoubtedly powerful. On Wednesday, huge-sounding songs like "For Months Now", "KFM", and "Resentment" transformed into intimate singalongs. "Hurting You", performed solo on acoustic guitar, became an even more hushed ode to picking yourself back up after a heartbreak, learning how to move on from grief. And though Kacey Musgraves didn't show up to duet "Don't Do Me Good", the crowd's belting of the all-timer country chorus was as stubborn as the song's protagonist herself.

If Diaz has grown as a songwriter over time and as she's penned for pop and country stars, it's clear that her time opening for the likes of Waxahatchee, Angel Olsen, and Harry Styles has allowed her to understand that, when performing, just because a space is big doesn't mean it always needs to be filled. The subject matter of her songs could be constantly cried out, but she belted only for maximum impact, contrasting the dulled tom thuds on "Get to Know Me", or holding a single note on "Crying in Public". For the most part, her vocal delivery was subtle, especially when she harmonized with Popick on "Girlfriend" and delved into fatalistic tricks on the unreleased "Worst Case Scenario", a song that tests her "theory of imagining the worst possible thing happening" so that it won't happen, or "expecting nothing and then being pleasantly surprised." At one point, on "Worst Case Scenario", she exclaimed, off-beat, "I'm gonna think of it!" over chugging drums and barn-burning riffs, recalling the tossed-off singing of Jason Molina.

Adam Popick and Diaz

Where Diaz finds ultimate peace is not in fatalism or nihilism but a sort of existentialism. She spends a lot of Weird Faith looking for meaning in giving your all to someone, and even weather patterns. But on "Kiss the Wall", she proclaims, "Nothin' is a waste of time," connecting the most boring moments when we're waiting in line for something to one's own legacy, perceiving that we all make tiny changes to earth. During her encore, Diaz said she didn't believe a mere two years ago that she could spend time on stage singing about such a raw period in her life. As she wrote Weird Faith "on the backs of mantras," she started to believe in herself. It's clear, now, that one of those mantras is that every moment carries weight. She ended the night performing the title track on acoustic guitar, visibly emotional as she left the stage. As the house lights went up, we were graced by none other than Limp Bizkit's cacophonous cover of George Michael's "Faith", a reminder that even the cruelest of jokes can be earnest expressions of the universe's necessary chaos.

Jack Van Cleaf

Opening was Nashville-via-Chicago songwriter Jack Van Cleaf, an acoustic guitar picker whose songs and performances, like Diaz's contain heart-to-heart chatter. Lines like, "Love is like a rattlesnake / Before it bites, it tries to warn ya," from "Rattlesnake" were perfect bedfellows to Diaz's "Same Risk". And perhaps it was a mix of Van Cleaf fans and Diaz fans attuned to storytelling, but I was wowed by the audience's reaction to his songs as much as the songs themselves. On the unreleased "Using You"--which employs drug metaphors to explore how people use each other for attention during a relationship--the audience reacted with every lyrical twist and turn, despite likely never before having heard the song. After performing it, Van Cleaf asked those taking videos to tag him on Instagram, not for clout, but so he could watch it and fine-tune the song. Yes, such symbiosis carried seamlessly into Diaz's set, but for Van Cleaf in a vacuum, it's easy to see how another unreleased song like "Piñata" came to be given his appetite for feedback. It wasn't just the words themselves but the way he delivered the line, "I'm full of sugar / I'm full of niceties / I'm full of shit," that hit harder than a candy bar after too many edibles. Next time Van Cleaf comes to Lincoln Hall, he might be the headliner making people cry.

Van Cleaf

Van Cleaf

Van Cleaf

[osiriabud]

Xiantober Day 9 ❅ Training

Wei Ying spewed coke all over the table. Jiang Cheng voiced his intense distress, but Jiang Yanli just reached into her purse for a tissue packet.

"A triathlon?!?" Wei Ying sputtered as he ripped open the tissues and mopped up the coke.

"My brother was interested in trying it. Nie Mingjue will be away for work the weekend it's being held, so he invited me to do it with him." Lan Zhan opened the container of his perfect, diagonally-sliced whole wheat avocado lettuce tomato sandwich.

"And you said yes?" Wei Ying's voice rose several octaves. Jiang Cheng glanced around the liberal art's building lobby and shushed him. Wei Ying waved him off.

"With what time?" He cried "You are taking nineteen credits this semester, have orchestra and tutoring."

"I trained for the marathon last year without any issue." Lan Zhan pointed out.

"But," Wei Ying snapped his mouth shut while putting some real thought into why he felt immediately opposed to Lan Zhan completing in a triathlon. "Your bunnies will miss you if you are too busy."

"Oh!" Jiang Yanli exclaimed, "Would you look at the time. We have dinner with our parents to get to. Lovely to see you Lan Zhan. Take care A-Xian!" She hauled a confused Jiang Cheng to his feet and pushed him toward the exit.

Lan Zhan watched them go, then turned to Wei Ying. "If you are worried about not spending time together, why don't you train with me?"

"What?" Wei Ying scoffed, "No, I said the bunnies. Besides, I'm way to busy. They started scheduling me for a few more hours each week, which I asked for, but..."

"Are you worried you won't be able to keep up with me and Xichen?" Lan Zhan said as Wei Ying trailed off. Wei Ying's mouth fell open. Lan Zhan calmly took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Are you kidding me?" Wei Ying leaned forward, "Keep up with you? I'll leave you in the dust!"

"I grew up in Yungmeng, swimming all summer long! I'm the fastest swimmer there is. And I'll have you know that I'm a pretty fast runner too! I'm always outrunning people's dogs when I deliver their food! And, speaking of that, I'm the fastest delivery person they have!"

"My bike even beats people in cars sometimes!" Wei Ying huffed, "Just you watch."

Lan Zhan finished his sandwich and wiped the corners of his mouth, "So you'll train with me?"

"Of course, Lan Zhan." Wei Ying grumbled as they gathered up their things.

He did not realize when he agreed to this that it meant meeting Lan Zhan at five every morning to go for a run or a swim. He dragged himself out of bed and complained the whole time, but was secretly grateful because it meant their training time didn't eat into their move nights.

Plus he enjoyed any extra time he got to spend with Lan Zhan even if it was before the crack of dawn, when he kept embarrassing himself by showing up to the gym as a half-asleep mess while Lan Zhan looked refreshed and perfect.

And it started to be the perfect excuse to spend the night at Lan Zhan's place. Why bother going home after they hung out when he had to come right back to the campus gym next to his apartment. Staying over meant extra time harassing the bunnies and his favorite person. So, all in all, he didn't mind waking up so early and spending his free time working on cardio.

The day of the race came. He and Lan Zhan and Lan Huan all stood together at the beginning. A sense of anticipation and challenge gripped him.

They dove into the lake together and hit the other side at the same time. Lan Zhan made sure Wei Ying's helmet was properly secured before they hopped onto their bikes and raced down the winding roads together. When they pulled on their running shoes, Wei Ying teased Lan Zhan about double-knotting his laces.

Lan Huan kept pace and threw them warm glances the whole time until they reached the sprint, then he pulled a head and secured second place overall.

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying crossed the finish line hand in hand in the top ten. The Jiang's and Nie Huaisang screamed and waved their signs. Wei Ying threw his arms around Lan Zhan's shoulders then gave him a big, sweaty kiss.

"See," he panted, "I beat you by a whole two seconds."

"Mn." Lan Zhan agreed, drawing Wei Ying in for another congratulatory kiss.

[bearpillowmonster]

Terminator Ranking

I'm not as big of a Terminator fan as your average bear but I've come to appreciate the franchise and have finally reached seeing all of them so I figured, why not rank them.

Salvation- I wanted to see this for a long time, ever since it came out despite never having seen a Terminator film yet but when I learned that it wasn't everything it was cracked up to be, I got scared because I had this ideal vision for it. How could it be bad? I finally saw it as a second to last movie and I think it boils down to direction. That opening is great but the rest is meh af. It should feel satisfying to see a giant Terminator get blown up at a gas station and the protags run away in a truck but it just doesn't. It's too dull of a look, Kyle and Sam- I mean! Marcus have a kind of dumb side thing going on. It's just the delivery of it all and their relationships to each other, too much centered on the wrong stuff.

3: Rise of the Machines- I barely even remember this one but people have clamored for a proper sequel to 2 all this time that they've actually gone back and inspected this one saying it's the best sequel which is funny how much they settled. From what I remember, it panders to try and give you little stuff to keep you entertained, here's a new model, here's Arnold for a minute, here's- is this Robocop? This reminds me more of Robocop than Terminator, I like Robocop too but it just goes weird after 2 (go figure) I just don't care to watch it again and see what else is wrong with it. I'm sure I forgot it for a reason.

Dark Fate - Terminator: Leave You In The Dark. A lot of it is pointless, inflating its runtime, it's like it introduces all these ideas to you and they go through each and every last resort. You're not as stupid as it likes to think, yeah, she's some resistance person, big whoop, I could've told you that in the intro but they use that as the big twist? It doesn't justify itself, it has a few good action scenes but those are mostly at the beginning anyway so why bother?

1- A good base, more driven on horror with a clear motivator and villain. It's a weird romance plot for today's standards so it's definitely an 80s B movie but that's a little of its charm, I suppose.

2: Judgement Day- People claim this is the best, not just for Terminator but for movies in general and yeah, it's fun and it has a lot going on. What's weird is that James Cameron took the more horror centric Alien and make the action-oriented Aliens which was great but had trouble building off of that and then took his own horror centric Terminator and made the more action based T2 and had trouble building off of that. So maybe it's changing the formula too much, maybe it's only meant to be done once, maybe Cameron should see his trilogies through, I don't know. It curses too much though, I get John's a delinquent but stop it Cameron, it's unneeded for all your movies.

Genisys- Ha! Gotcha! People hate this one, even the people in it. But me? It's a guilty pleasure. You see, I saw this and thought it was an average movie at best, so trust me, I get it, but the more I sat on it, the more I thought about it, the more it stuck in my head and had my favorite stuff. I mean, it does so pretty logically, expanding on Kyle's character, though he's not perfect, we get a modernized update to the romantic elements by giving them a choice. Bringing back a younger Sarah but just as experienced with good guy T800 so we don't lose too much, a sort of Sarah Connor Chronicles if you will.

As a sequel, yeah, it sucks, and as a reboot, it copies a good bit but it might just do it in a better way of what it copies. Best of both worlds. But as a spinoff, it's great because it sets itself apart and makes use of the "failures" before it by calling them alternate futures since we strayed away from the "straight line" and now everything's on the fritz, so it keeps us guessing what's actually going to happen. It keeps itself contained so it doesn't really need a sequel. The acting isn't on par but I'd follow Emilia Clarke into a drowning river. I recognize the goofy things this movie offers but at least they're memorable. The funniest is when Kyle is in the clothing store while the T1000 is stomping around and he peeks around actually shopping, seeing a leather jacket he likes and takes it rather than just any clothes he can get then grabbing a pair of shoes, actually hopping on one foot to see if they fit his feet. Stomp stomp stomp, the T1000 walks past the dressing room and Kyle steps down with the Nike logo centered and branded. Hilarious product placement, I just gotta love it. That ending is kind of dumb where they revisit young Kyle, I see where they needed to make it all fit together but it's dumb. Give it a better battle on Cybertron- I mean, the future! like Salvation and you have a pretty entertaining romp.

[oldmanaemon]

Terracotta King and the Moon

Kilik often found himself staring out the window of his room. He lived in an old dilapidated hut and sometimes he could hear the creaking in the wood beneath his feet and cracking of the foundations. Especially when it was raining outside he could hear water finding its way in but he could never find where the dripping sound was coming from. He sometimes wondered how it felt to run in the rain, play in the mud and jump in a puddle or two and make a mess. He imagined how it would be like when he got home and his parents would tell him off but still give him a clean pair of clothes after and some warm food.

He didn't have any of those things. He never knew his parents. He lived with his grandpa who was strict and swore him off from going outside most of the time, let alone to go out and play. "You are a man grown, you don't need live in your own head like those good for nothing street urchins!", his grandpa would often yell, "when I was your age I was a captain in the grand imperial army of his Majesty, Chin the Conqueror. He was the mightiest of men and brought the world justice and peace, until that accursed and painted outlaw avatar deceived him with an offer to duel and then buried him alive after crippling him. May she forever rot!"

"But grandpa, the stories say he died due to his own hubris. He-"

"Have you been speaking to the ealderman again? He's a Beifong. Do you know what the Beifongs are? They come from an ancient line of tyrants. Everything they have in wealth they stole from the people of the earth kingdom. All of it!, " his grandpa rebuffed. Kilik did not want to anger his grandfather so he stayed silent. The ealderman would often come by to bring them food since what he made at the tea house was never enough to feed both him and his grandfather and Oak Beifong saw how skinny he had gotten at the teahouse and how he barely fit into his clothes since he spent his allowance to feed his grandfather.

"You don't have to choose. I'll speak to the owner and I'll make an extra allowance for you as well. I knew your parents and they'd never forgive me if I watched their only child starve while his stubborn and wretched grandfather cursed them in their graves." Oak tried to be considerate but Kilik loved his grandpa and didn't like people talking about him irreverently. Even Oak's late father called him General Beila until his passing despite the two never liking eachother.

"I shouldn't. My grandpa would object-"

"Fine, how about I hire you for a few quick deliveries every week and you can tell him it's from work. I'm sure your grandpa wouldn't deny your work ethic or the rewards from your own hard work, even if it's from a Beifong."

"I'll discuss it with him. Thank you."

"No need to thank me, it's my duty to look after everyone as Ealderman. Especially Alia and Othek's kid. Here's a retainer fee, as proof I'm serious about hiring you and something to show your grandpop. Tell him I have his favorite mix of dried cocoa leaf and tobacco chew again. I'm sure he'll get a kick out of that since the fire nation blockade recently ended and cocoa shipments have resumed again after 10 years." Oak bowed and left the teahouse in a hurry. Kilik didn't know what reception awaited him with this news. He appreciated the extra allowance all the same but Kilik kept thinking about Yun and if she ate yesterday. He ran to her house after work and brought her some bread and her favorite jelly treats. Both of them lost their parents but unlike him, she had no older family left and had to help feed and raise all her siblings in an old shack alot worse off then his. She almost never ate herself, making sure every bread crumb was saved for them. Kilik wanted to give a few loaves but after seeing her give almost everything to her siblings he pulled her outside of the house and secretly handed her his loaf of bread and jelly tart.

"Please.." He started trying his best not to cry, "you need to eat if you're gonna take care of them, Yun. Please eat.."

She stared into his teary eyes, her expression tired and stiff. Where Kilik used to find joy and curiosity, the eyes that met him were empty and void. They both cried and she ate as he watched and he mustered a smile to let her know it'll be alright.

"I know, Ealderman Beifong gave you this money" she finally started. 'You don't have to explain it. He probably knew you'd help us since I denied his offer of help. Our families don't like the Beifongs but I'm glad you're able to put that blood fued aside." She smiled and Kilik could have sworn no sight, not even that of a full moon on a clear night was more pleasant.

" You know the Beifongs were royalty, once?" Yun began. "They ruled the earth kingdom as elder kings in the old times, at least that's why father would say. They were called the Terracotta lineage. The last king unified the earth kingdom's many peoples but to do this he shed too much blood. And for this his subjects hated him. But in his old age, this battle hardened and undefeated conqueror king lost something dearer to him than even his unified kingdom. He lost his wife to childbirth and nearly lost his only child in the process. The child was a girl he named Cira Luna. He loved his daughter so much he vacated his seat as king to a viceroy so he could attend to his sickly daughters every need. His court found his new obsession and abandonment of his throne a betrayal and sought to force the return their war hungry general and king as they feared the newly unified fire nation would come to invade them at the first sign of weakness. They weren't going to let him walk away." She stopped, looking at the few bites on the loaf of bread Kilik gave her. She barely ate anything.

"You can do both you know. I'm not going anywhere.."

"But your grandfather? Won't he.."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. I want to hear the rest of the story. But first, eat up."

They shared a few laughs and she took a few big mouthfuls of bread and continued with her story: "it's said that they called her Cira, the Moonstone princess and so enamored was she with the moon that her father, one of the greatest earthbenders that ever lived would bend the very earth and moon so that the full moon would last nearly a month. It was said that only under the light of the full moon, her illness would wane and regress but after great exertion her father would fall ill himseld and would not be seen for days and even weeks. These months came to be called blood moon months, and among with iymt camr a great number of disasters. The oceans would swallow entire islands and coastal towns disappeared overnight. But this did not hinder the great Terracotta king. He would repeat this for two years until one day, his daughter suddenly passed away in her sleep. So distraught was he that he swore the bring down the very moon to revive his daughter instead of observe her funeral rites and as it's said, his court nobles who very well might have poisoned his daughter to end his distractions and ruin of the kingdom with his lunar machinery, they were powerless to stop him from destroying the earth from the grief of this father over his beloved daughters death. And he was almost successful. Before he died of terrible exertion, it is said the moon grew so close to the earth that it set the sky on fire. Being old and having exerted himself too many times to give his daughter so many full moons in her short years of life, he had a heart attack and died shortly after.

The immediate Beifong line ended there and the other line of Beifongs were immediately exiled with whatever wealth they already had but all of their history would be expunged and erased, lest the Terracottas return and destroy the earth kingdom and the very world with it."

Yun smiled and they laughed at the thought of someone bending the moon. "You think that's possible? Could a fire bender one day bend the sun as well?" She asked as she ate the jelly tart.

"Who knows. Someone once said the air nomads used to bend tornados, typhoons and hurricanes. If that was possible why couldn't a water bender bend oceans or even someone's blood?"

They looked at eachother in amusement and laughed at the suggestion. "Like bloodbending!" Yun cried out, "Someone should write a horror play about a bloodbender and breathbender, can you imagine?!"

"A breathbender? Like an airbender that can bend the air in your lungs? What a scary thought? We should write it! We'd be rich!' Kilik exclaimed and they joked the night away, suggesting more and more outlandish bending abilities.

It was a night to remember.

[bluethude]

Hello! Could I request for a caring Kaeya, Tartaglia, and Heizou with a pregnant reader? All separately, of course <3

Hello !

Well, yes, of course ! Finally some love for our pretty Genshin boys ! I never wrote for Heizou, so I hope I didn't butcher his character ! Otherwise, I hope you'll enjoy what I wrote !

Requested : Yes

Characters : Heizou, Kaeya and Tartaglia

Summary : Heizou, Kaeya and Tartaglia with a pregnant reader.

Word count : 1350 words

Warning : Nothing much

​​​​​💫​​Rules and list of fandom💫​

✉️​Asks are open​​​✉️​

✨​Let's go ! ✨

HEIZOU

So, the number one detective of the Tenryou Commission

I think he's the one who knew you were pregnant before everyone and you.

I mean, he's a detective and his intuition is god tier.

So he definitely noticed but he would actually let you discover it on your own, because nothing's better than discovering things by ourselves !

Anyway, when he has the confirmation, it's actually then the realization struck him.

With his line of work, would he be able to be here ? Surely he could but detective work wasn't easy and he knew there was a risk of him dying, like his childhood friend. And he also knew there was a chance of the outside's darkness hurting you.

But in the end, the crusade to purge the evil is far from over and he probably deserves some rest.

His form of resting is taking care of you, during your pregnancy since the station kinda kicked him out for working too much while having a pregnant partner.

Would probably talk a lot to the baby inside of you.

"I'm sure they would have great intuition ! I know it !"

"Heizou, you don't know that yet. They're just chillin' for now."

I think he would be excited and would do anything for you two.

The type to tell stories to the baby bump just because he wants to share with him.

Probably thinks about his dead friend and wonders if his friend decided to reincarnate as his kid.

Whatever the case, he'll protect you and the kid until his end.

Would bring you whatever you crave and he actually has fun preparing the weird food you ask.

He doesn't really care about the mood swings because he knows it's not your fault and cracks the code of what you wanna say each time.

Would help you with clothes and tie your shoes up.

Probably tease you a lot.

Honestly, his intuition is on point, the least problem, he knows before you know and it probably saved your life.

Anyway, when your water broke, he got excited but also panicked at the same time.

Hold your hand and will probably be chill since he feels nothing bad will happen during delivery.

"What do you mean, why I’m not doing detective work ? Well, I think I have more important things to care about. Not like the station will give me a case until the birth, anyway."

KAEYA

The Cavalry captain of the Knights of Favonius

Well, I think he would be terrified of being a father or even have a family.

I mean, his biological dad hated him and abandoned him, his adoptive dad died in a horrible way while his adoptive brother just hates his guts.

Honestly, I think he would freak out a lot without telling you. He would be hesitant to be on board.

But he doesn't want to abandon anyone, knowing how it feels and to punish an innocent kid who never asked to be made.

Diluc is probably the first to know and I think Kaeya would actually take the chance to finally talk their issues out.

It was rough but Kaeya knew it was worth it so he held on, until the reconciliation.

The day it happened, he returned to you, all happy as he was maybe taking a new start and started to close his and Diluc's wounds on what happened back then.

"I found the baby an uncle !"

"Kaeya, what did you do ?"

"Reconciled with the grumpy redhead who's my brother !"

Would go to Crepus' grave to tell him about it and hope he won't mess up when the time comes.

He would quit the wine for a while. It's just to avoid tempting you and also to not get drunk near you or your kid.

Anyway, during your pregnancy, he happily oblige to any of your crazy asks.

Actually takes the mood swings well and manages to calm you down each time, his smooth talking skills coming handy.

Belly rubs and hugs. A lot of it.

Lisa might step in to take care of his load off work. It's because Jean wanted to take care of it, but the poor woman had enough work so for the time being, Lisa takes Kaeya's work to allow him to take care of you.

Would take you to Barbara each time you feel a problem and Barbara doesn't actually mind, since it's important !

During delivery, he holds your hand no matter what and smooth talk to help you distract from the pain. His hand gets destroyed, but it was worth it when he got to hold his kid for the first time and when Diluc came in to congratulate you and give you all the gifts and to see the baby.

Jean and Lisa also came, as much as Amber and Eula ! Albedo came because he would be curious about a new life, while Sucrose brought some plush for the baby and Klee is happy because she's now a big sister !

Kaeya would definitely cry out due to all sorts of emotions mixing up in him and after all those painful years, he found somewhere to belong, all thanks to you.

"Thank you, Y/n, for everything. Thank you for giving me the most precious things in the world."

TARTAGLIA

The Eleventh Harbinger of the Fatuis

He would be very happy.

When he learns it, he definitely writes to his family to tell them the news.

But then, he's super careful, with his work, who knows how it's gonna be seen, so he's not telling anything to anyone, except to Zhongli.

Zhongli is happy and would probably go to you, give you advice and be also the grandfather figure to your kid to be. Even if you both never really talk about it, we all know Zhongli is Liyue Harbor's grandpa figure.

Anyway, Childe is aaaaall over you, tending to everyone of your needs, like I'm sure he barely has time for himself.

Will protect you from anything.

Will spoil the heck out of you ! Whatever you want, he'll buy and you bet he's gonna buy a lot of things for the baby !

He insists into preparing the baby's room by himself, but you stepped him to help him because he has to deal with a lot of thing and you being pregnant doesn't mean being incapacitated.

Hugs and belly rubs all the way ! No way you're escaping those.

He gets very protective of you. You accepted him as he is, with the truth of his work and everything, you gave him something he wanted for a while and if something happens to you or the baby, he'll clearly lose his mind. So he'll protect you with anything he got no matter what and until his end.

He probably assigned one Fatui guard for your protection. The fatui probably worried you but don't worry, the guard actually passes unnoticed as he dresses up as a civilian and says he's your secretary, in case someone asks questions.

At the least problem, he brings you to the Bubu Pharmacy to get the problem solved.

Teucer got to see you two and he got super excited to be an uncle. It was hard to make him leave but he eventually did.

When the water breaks, he'll come right away. What I mean is, he's the one carrying you to the clinic. If he's not there, your fatui guard will be the one bringing you to the clinic before calling Childe. In any case, he'll be there fast.

Will take your hand and talk to you. He'll tell you you're stronger than him, since you carried a human being for the past nine months and you are pushing this being out of your body.

Will totally cry when he gets to hold the baby. Zhongli came to give a small blessing.

"Hey, Y/n ! Once my job is finished here, we'll go back to Snezhnaya, to my family, to introduce you and the baby to them all in a proper way !"