#It's like the matrix is going *chef's kiss*

[muffinlance]

i read FT&KB in one sitting on a long car journey (6 hours FLEW by, thank you, SO excited to get into the sequel :D) and thought you might like to know about the best music sync-up i've ever had - i'd just reached the last couple paragraphs, and got hit with the lyrics "Remember all the dead and gone / You might've killed me once / But you won't get that chance again" 11/10 timing, universe read the vibes exactly right 🤌🤌

Holy shit the universe was JAMMING with your read-a-thon, that's awesome

...Oh no did you just become a protagonist? Was that car ride your movie's opening montage, complete with well timed themetic song?

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for your kind words! May you be living in the genre of your choice <3

[hydroelectricjaya]

LMAO I’ve got a lot of things to say about the Administration, but first let’s talk about Jay:

DR Spoilers under cut

Ahhhh ahahahahha. They really did make evil/villain Jay a reality. He’s not a wagey slaving away in a cubical, he’s management. (Looks like middle management, maybe upper management.)

He’s every asshole manager you have ever had who doesn’t do shit, gets promoted by failing upwards and makes employees stay late to cover for his own incompetence.

They made Jay a “suit”. (Creatives hate suits.)

This is just *kiss chef*.

And because he lost his memories/no Nya around, he has defaulted back to his sassy asshole roots. LMFAO

Speculation: but I wouldn’t be surprised if Jay gets promoted to an executive next season, and we see him interacting with the “big bad” that was eluded to at the end of episode 20. You all aren’t ready for board room Jay. 😂

The Administration is a piece of work though. It’s a mashup of every corporate hell-hole popular media: Dilbert, Office Space, The Office, everyone’s experience going to the DMV, etc. Even Arin and Lloyd sneaking around the cubicals getting messages from Zane was a scene from the Matrix LOL.

[blackterrae]

Ideas for Black!Reader Fic

I am going to try my hand again at writing. And I wanted to share some people and fandoms that I love. If you don’t know these shows/actors/franchises/movies/streamers I’m putting you on! For the following:

Princess Bride

Alice In Borderland

Johnny Depp- All his characters

Napoleon Dynamite

Cameron Monaghan- I know that there are fics out there but it’s only always his Jerome/Jeremiah roles never just him or Cal Kestis

Anthony Carrigan- I loved Anothy as Victor Zsasz

Paul Dano- There are Riddler fics but not as many for his other roles

Damsel

The Entire Cast of Hawaii Five-0 (2010) - Don’t even get me started on how good this show is! And the cast looks amazing!

Chicago Med/Fire/PD- These shows have so much potential for fanfic storylines!

The Game (2006)- Has great potential for slow burns and fluffs.

Star Wars franchise (1977-present) - I know I said Cal Kestis but there are also other characters like Anakin, Luke, Obi Wan,Boba Fett (etc.)

NCIS franchise- I honestly love this franchise and it’s characters!

Hamilton

Any/All Sports Men- Jude Bellingham,Lewis Hamilton,LaMelo Ball,Allen Iverson(etc.)

Berleezy - He’s handsome and he’s funny!

Coryxkenshin- I literally love him and his videos!

Albert Aretz (Flamingo)- Look … he may be the epitome of mediocre white man but I like what I like!

AMP- Duke Dennis, Kai Cenat, Agent 00, ChrisNxtDoor,Davis, and Fanum ( all I gotta say is love a black man from infinity to infinity🗣️)

Beta Squad- A British YouTube/ streamer group!

SOMEBROS- Berleezy, Rico, ,PG, Joe (etc.)

WWE- come on now, do I even need to explain!!!

Four Brothers- All the cast but Garrett Hedland in particular!

Peacemaker - Don’t get me wrong I love Adrian Chase but I want to see just as much Peacemaker x black!reader fics because 2 words… JOHN CENA

MAWS- New animated Superman show! Love!

Smallville - The entire cast is hot! Tbh I fell hard for Tom Welling when I was younger when he was in Cheaper By The Dozen. Plus they literally whitewashed Vixen. COME ON! Vixen is a black female hero btw. She was also with Jon (Green Lantern) at one point.

Justice League/Justice League Unlimited (2001 and 2004)- I mean I literally can’t find any Jon Stewart x black!reader fics and he was with a BLACK WOMAN!

Warner Bros Franchise (minus the looney tunes & space jam)- There are lots of popular franchises that this company has from Fast & Furious to The Matrix!

Peaky Blinders- Saw a Tommy shelby x arms dealer black!female reader fic on my previous account but even then I couldn’t find it again on that account. So it’s gone with the wind. And the cast (i.e the actors and other characters they’ve portrayed). Example: Cillian Murphy as Johnathan Crane.

The Bear

FBI (All)

The good doctor

Tiktokers: Vinnie hacker

Blue Bloods

Will Poulter- I haven’t really seen any Adam Warlock fics

Slashers

Stranger Things

Cruel Intentions

Burnt

Dave Lizewski

Eddie Redmayne

Macgyver (2016)

Fresh Prince of Belair

Guardians of the galaxy- Explanation? Do I really need one?

On My Block

Descendants (characters will be the actors age in real life.duh)- Love Boo-boo Stewart & Mitchell Hope!

Matt Rife

Joey Bragg (Liv &Maddie) - What can I say I love dorks!

The Boys- Haven’t seen that many fics about the characters and a black reader

Once Upon A Time- I love dark fairytales sometimes because they remind me that not every story has a happy ending and you have to learn from them. But this series is good for any theme really.

Walker Texas Ranger (1993)

Top Gun

Nicolas Galitzine

Magcon: Whether you saw their vines on YouTube or vine, you know who they are

Dolan Twins

Mission Impossible

Euphoria- Entire show has great storylines with the potential of drama in fics

Shameless- Especially Carl Gallagher and Lip Gallagher

Creed- Michael B Jordan need I say more

Keanu Reeves- There are very few fics about Keanu but I’ve seen a few of his John Wick x black!reader fics (chef’s kiss) but never see any of The Matrix Fics!Also Ted (Bill & Ted)

River Phoenix

Batman Beyond

Rider Strong

Danny Gonzalez

Timothée Chalamet

New York Undercover

Past-Present Singers & Rappers/ Groups -Bow Wow, Tupac, Lil Baby, Nelly, Omarion, Prince, Michael Jackson, Jon B,Usher, Central Cee, Måneskin, New Edition, BTS, James, PRETTYMUCH Bay, Daniel Caesar, October London, Steve Lacey, Artemas, YUNGBLUD, Andy Biersack,Eduardo Vega(etc.)

Anime(Any kind!)- Would love to see other shows, I know hunterxhunter,aot,one piece (etc.)

Bridgerton- There is very little Bridgerton stories catered around a black reader.

Marvel- Now that’s not to say that there aren’t any in fact there are many but I never see (Tobey Maguire Spider-Man stories and it seems like everyone tends to focus on the famous Marvel characters like The Avengers but not on other aspects like X-men or better yet, heroes that haven’t even gotten their own movie but are just as amazing like Squadron Supreme , it’s equivalent to DCU’s Justice League.

Secret Invasion- Not gonna lie , I’m feening for Gravik.😳

DCEU- Another franchise that pushes its other characters to the side. For example, Hush (Thomas Elliot) is literally the epitome of Bruce Wayne gone bad!

Ross Lynch- There are so many roles that Ross did so well in Like Teen Beach Movie or Sabrina.

Highschool Musical Franchise (2006- present ) I’m not just talking about HSMTS (2019), I mean even further back than that. I don’t see any Troy Bolton x black!reader and that’s crazy. I also can’t find any Zac Efron x black!reader

Interview with a Vampire (1994) and (2022)

Austin Butler- He did well in his role as Elvis!

Vikings - There are a good amount but still!

Transformers

Suits

Saved By The Bell

The Goldbergs

Parks & Recreation

Leverage

The Outsiders

Heart of Stone

New York Undercover (1994)

Addams Family

Victorious

Matpat

ICarly

The Real Bros of Simi Valley (2017)

Think Like A Man (2012)

One on One (2001)

Scorpion (2014)

The King of Queens (1998)

G.I. Joe Franchise

Terminator

Beware the Batman (2013)

Any and all Asian Idols/Actors

Seal Team

Mortal Combat

Bill and Ted

Barbie

Detroit: Become Human

Will Trent

Bones

Tokyo Vice

Growing Pains

Graceful Family (Kdrama)[Any Asian Drama shows or movies would be great as well]

The Regime

Batman: The animated series

The Sympathizer

The Invitation

Jawbreaker

Hunger Games

Saved By the Bell

Eve (2003)

Yellowstone

Superstore

Rodrick Heffley

Tracker

Girlfriends

Grown-ish

CSI

Kingsman

Jury Duty

Scoot Pilgrim vs the world

21 Jump Street (The Show and Movies)

Sky High

If anyone needs ideas for these franchises/movies/shows/actors , then holla at me! I got you!

Also add more to the list if anything that you would like to see comes to mind.

Also tag black writers who you want to see this!

@sheabuttahwrites @shinsouscatpisssmell @cocoamoonmalfoy @heathenarmyimagines @cinewhore @cocoamoonmalfoy @stxxllaaa @glitterjuju @lilvampirina @breanime @blackmissfrizzle @afro-hispwriter @stargirlfics @lavenderursa @clydesducktape @pettyprocrastination @theblvckvenus @plantvenuss @punani @n-slayaaaaa @infernalodie @halfofmysoulsblog @iridecsense @tomhardydallasstarsgirl @supremethunda @thekrazykeke @canumoveurseatup-no @hiatuswhore @avintagekiss24 @ohcaptains @iguessweallcrazyithinktho @xsapphirescrollsx @sunflowertuliplily @bakarilennox @batfamily14 @ramp-it-up @blackreaders-assemble @royallyprincesslilly @funnyexel @blackterrae @slashisms @artemisthewh0re @shelbydelrey @toocriticalharlow @v-era-18 @vampsired @queenimmadolla @sinnerlillith @greengoblinswifey @apocalypse-shuffle

[howlingguardian]

Transformers One was so good!

First off, it's gorgeous- the city of Iacon, with massive towers reaching up and down; the trains with transforming tracks; the surface, with mountains rising and falling as the landscape itself transforms- >chef's kiss<

As for the characters, they did them great. Orion's such a little dork, I love him. The fact that when he gets in trouble doing something weird, people just roll their eyes and say 'Oh, it's him again'- I love that.

And D-16! He used to be such a nice guy! He is nice! But he's a nice guy in an abusive system trying to justify the abuse, and it's so easy to see how he starts to lash out once he realises the truth of things and has the power to push back.

Watching how he and Orion change, and gradually grow apart, and finally fall out- I don't personally see it as romantic, but I can see why people ship it. Either way, goddamn- it's a tragedy.

I do think that B-127 is maybe a little too corny, but then he's just baby. He's just a little guy, he's funny, he's the comic relief.

Also, the action's great. You can see how the protagonists picked up skills from mining- swinging tools, racing through collapsing tunnels- that prepared them to fight. Plus stuff like partial transformations to grapple or dodge. There's a bit when Optimus gets a guy in a hold, and then transforms so the process rips the other guy apart. I mean, holy shit.

Also, Lawrence Fishburne as Alpha Trion, just as I've been on a Matrix kick? Awesome.

I love it, go see it. This deserves to be super successful.

[pipermca]

TF One Thoughts

I saw the movie at a preview last week, and saw it again this weekend.

I loved it!

THIS is the movie Transformer fans have been waiting for. It's got good characterization, emotions, stakes, action, and humour, and it does it all while still being aware of all the years of history that it's borrowing from. (And somehow manages to do it without sexist or racist baggage. Go figure!)

And it's definitely ignited some thoughts in my brain. I'll probably be chewing on these ideas for a while before they go anywhere (mostly because I'm trying to focus on my current ongoing) but I wanted to get them down before I lost them.

Spoilery movie and worldbuilding thoughts behind the cut!

Sentinel Prime. I LOVE HIM. I want to do things to him. I want to dip him in wax and put him on a shelf. Normally, I don't get super interested/inspired by villains. Megatron, Tarn, Overlord... they're FINE but they don't really stick in my head. They're like scenery. TF:One Sentinel, though? Whoa. Obsessed. I think it might be because I KNOW assholes who would pull shit like what he did. I've worked for some. So maybe he's just more of a realistic villain to me than the over the top DJD sort of sadism. And he's so pretty. Hnnrr.

Timescale and Sentinel's deception. So in the novelization, D-16 says "my entire generation was born without cogs." So basically the cogless are all the new bots, which means the ones who can transform are older. Some of the racers on the board are canonical Autobots, so I doubt they knew what was going on with the cogless. Sentinel could have just framed it as "Matrix lost, cogless born, energon dried up, so sad." But how long has this been going on? And the miners were all talking about promotions and being higher tiers. What did that get them? Someone other than Sentinel and Airachnid had to know something! God, I want details on how Sentinel arranged everything to keep everyone in line. (And D-16 obviously thought the same thing, as he wants to kill everyone who supported Sentinel's deception.)

Transportation Infrastructure. Tell me how it works. I want to know. The roads build themselves as you drive! So do the train tracks, below and above the surface! Obviously there's a threshold for the roads: Orion has to slow down enough (?) before the road starts building itself under his wheels as he drives. So the train, I could see the train having just the chunk of track behind and in front of it, and disassembling the back part to build the front track as it goes, but how do the roads work? Does the road just read your mind for where you want to go? Or are there causeways that it will use? (This makes sense, like a drawbridge: if no one's using the road it'll go away so that flyers can make use of the space.) But if the road is reading your mind, see my thoughts below about Primus. :3

Building infrastructure. After the race, when Sentinel and Airachnid come to see D-16 and Orion, they have to lean down to look into the examination room where they're waiting. And there are other "bays" in the same facility designed for larger bots. So this brings up all my IDEAS about how to design a city/support infrastructure around people who can be wildly different sizes.

The surface. The idea of a Cybertron surface that is always changing and transforming is... mwaa! chef's kiss, A+. I touched on the idea before in my story The Ghost of the Howling Plains, where there were canyons that would open and close suddenly and unexpectedly. But what we saw in the movie was FAR more than that, and I LOVE it. Imaging trying to map the surface that way. Maybe there are only parts that change like that... For example, the parts with organic matter (like around the cave) must be pretty stable. And the city/building structure they hid in from the Quintessons must have been built in a place where it wouldn't be ripped apart by the surface undulations.

The mines. So they're mining up unrefined energon from down in the depths of the planet. And Sentinel implies that even that source of energon is drying up, that it's being exhausted. Like the planet is slowly going dry. And uh...

Primus. So if Primus is ACTUALLY the planet, and the people are living on his surface (in the past) and just under his "skin" (now)... Well, that makes sense why the surface is changing. The surface is living... Flaking off, growing new. The mines are slowly sapping his energy, draining him of his "blood." The planet is alive, and that's why it is always changing! Eeeee, I love this.

This movie made me so happy. I know it really struggled opening weekend (apparently because Beetlejuice 2 had longer staying power than expected, and might have sapped some views from Transformers: One) but I so hope that Hasbro will still see it as a success. It's gotten amazing reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the toy fans love it, the fanfic fans have loved it, the casual comments I've seen from random people said it was a fun flick, and it's getting really good buzz online. I think the first trailer and the staggered release really hurt it, unfortunately... All I can do is hold my breath and hope they build on what they made here. 🙏

Please go see it when you can. 💗

[devilart2199-aibi]

Transformers Skybound Reading update: Issues 6 & 7!! 📚

As a Soundwave enjoyer, these were crazy. Thoughts and spoilers below ⤵️

I gotta say I feel like someone on the team likes Soundwave haha. This fella feels like he always gets the short end of the stick. Always incredibly efficient, loyal and quiet, but never rewarded. But in this one!! Soundwave steps up! I had to go over it a few times to just take it in and be like "Wow Soundwave really just did that?!?"

It kinda felt weird almost, like maybe we're getting too much from him? You know when a character usually occupies a quiet role and they work on something in the background (a scheme or something). Additionally him really caring for his Cassettes is something I love so much so getting that too, I almost feel spoiled! Or like maybe this is too good? Like something horrible is gonna happen?haha I dunno.

The panels too of Soundwave fighting Screamer and them all saying his name!! OOF!!! *Chefs kisses*!!

I loved this so much too T__T ahhhhh

Also I feel so bad for Thundercracker! He lost both his seeker bros T_T I kinda hope he finds out how Skywarp died actually and maybe goes on his own again like in IDW1.

Arcee being trained by magnus is a cool idea! Magnus always fluctuates in importance and age so much between interpretations!

She looks so adorable here. Poor baby T_T (also is she holding Magnus' hand?? 🥺)

And I was very happy to see Warpath for 1 second 😭 rip silly guy (also Kup)

I'm enjoying it so far! One thing that always gets me confused in Transformers series is just how much it takes for them to die? Like when should I be heartbroken or can they just be put back together? IDW1 eventually makes it pretty clear, but I'm still a bit confused with Skybound.

Some characters have gotten killed off and I'm just like "Dang... you too??" Starscream doesn't count because he's Starscream. You could put him in a blender, feed him to Unicron, have him poop him out and then be tossed in the dark universe and he'd still come back! Probably with a spiffy new paint job too!

Anyway the whole things with Sparkplug and the Matrix ehhhh I'm not sure what's going on? I get the a soul for a soul kinda thing, but I'm not sure how i feel about it 🤔well! I'll find out eventually! It's just different and interesting rn! 🤔

I have one more issue so I'll yap more then! What do you think so far?? Please no spoilers tho for the next issues! (8 onwards since I'm reading the physical releases!) I'm curious what your thoughts are!

[roboromantic]

OKAY movie was really really good. I do have a couple minor critiques and general thoughts below; no real order just whatever I happen to remember wanting to mention

would it have killed them to have Alpha Trion just say "No child of Primus is born without a T-cog." It would've been significantly less clunky than "son or daughter" and more inclusive; it felt like a step backwards from Earthspark :/

I woulda liked to get to know the Iacon High Guard a bit more, we really didn't get much time with them. We coulda had a bit of a teaser of them by having them attack the train that OP et al. were on, which would also show that they sabotage Sentinel

that said I think the whole "we follow the strongest bot" thing and having Starscream actively push Megatron to fight him harder was a nice change of pace from the "Megatron abuses Starscream" narratives that have kinda been the norm since ...Aligned I guess? it does feel like that means they shoulda followed Optimus at the end since he clearly defeated Megatron, but it doesn't really bother me that much

also it's only been 50 "cycles" since the Primes went offline??? surely SOMEONE besides the High Guard would remember how things used to be

It's interesting that the Primes have been kind of downgraded from being made to fight against Unicron to being made to fight Quintessons, but hey I'm all for chucking the CoP stuff out lmao

speaking of chucking stuff — I don't think they ever mentioned an AllSpark. The Matrix of Leadership was what sort of healed Cybertron instead, which was interesting.

did the scene from the trailer where Megatron looked particularly purple get cut or did I just not notice it

using Airachnid's memory to transmit the incriminating evidence kinda felt like it came from nowhere? like yeah she "sees everything" but the idea of being able to just.....wave her head over a table or st didn't have any kind of setup

the synchronized Creation of both Megatron and Optimus. chef's kiss, perfection, and I'm pretty sure Primus pulling in Orion to transform him into Optimus was staged more or less the same as the scene where Unicron rebuilds Megatron into Galvatron in the '86 movie? very neat detail if true. anyway people in the theater were cheering when Optimus flew back out to fight Megs.

ough. the portrayal of the MegOp friendship and build up to enemity was sooooooooo good. was NOT expecting Megatron to actually shoot Optimus and OUGH GOING FROM "WHY DID YOU DO THAT" TO "I'M DONE SAVING YOU." SCREAMING, CRYING, ETC.

I kinda thought the Quintessons would play a bigger role in the movie, lmao. guess that's potential sequel material? sidenote but I think it would be very funny if they just called it Transformers: Two

establishing Bee as a guy who's been working a shitty job alone for who knows how long I think made him significantly less annoying then I probably would've found him otherwise. I don't think he was THAT bad but. yeah

ok that bit near the start of the movie where OP is like "I feel like I could drill down far enough to touch Primus himself!" followed by Elita saying "You don't have the touch OR the power" made literally no sense. it was very obviously just "hey y'all remember the '86 movie?"

I kinda thought Megatron was going to do a whole "You are being deceived" speech to the masses but sadly no 😔

[dormarunt]

Berlin, episode 1 - a spoiler-filled live reaction/commentary 

Spoilers ahoy under the cut!

Our man wears a turtleneck from the get-go, which I find hilarious.

"This is my team - one of the three I've robbed with in my life - but this one is special to me as it's from my golden age". Maybe season 2 - if it exists - will focus on that other team? Or? The other 2 teams are The Cormorants and the Mint gangs? What do you guys think?

Also this is set before Berlin knew of his Helmers Myopathy (lol I took Liberties in my latest fic, I won't let something like canon change that)

Roi sees him as the father he never had, while Berlin sees Roi as "a loyal dog he walks every day" -- right, I'm totally going to write these two, and not just because Roi calls him "sir" and shines his shoes.

Damien is a Professor but for real.

During the first heist we see of the gang, a random guest clocks the team as "not police " in about a minute, seemingly based on Keyla's glasses/fidgeting -- okay I guess?? Make that conflict, Pina & Co!

Also iirc Berlin pulls out a bag to put the stolen artifact out of his ass thin air. 

Losing my mind at the smashed phone bit though, the panto is chef's kiss. (points pinky)

Berlin has TERRIBLE gun etiquette/safety OMG???

"Love doesn't last", says the three-times-divorcee. Believe him, before he marries two more times and unhinges his jaw to eat his beat friend's face. 

"What name did you choose?" "Cameron" -- the old gang's names are also chosen.

Pedro Alonso learned French for this okay? And he did a fine job ngl, much better than his Danish of S5.

Keyla is (at least partially) a plot device/Deus Ex literal Machina with her generating 650 pages of content about their made-up archeological gang ---- hopefully priest dude doesn't know how to double check stuff like awards because then Keyla would have to ~hack loads of sites/databases okay I'll stop but seriously 

He calls himself Berlin already. How or why? Unclear yet. 

Based on the iPod shuffle that Keyla's wearing the series takes place after 2010-2012 (so before he met Martin according to the little timeline I made a while ago)

The Berlin-Roi talk about a particular woman (Cameron) gives me Berlin-RIO (heheh) talk about Tokio

Oh no tell the guy who lusts over a girl to act as her dad instead - that's going to go WELL

The door hacking (Panasonic) device with Matrix-style flowing numbers and letters is PRIMO and not hilarious at all. (Rafael's hacking device was marginally more believable)

Three home invaders vs one angry little pup - I'm in the pup's corner!

Not a huge fan of Cameron just yet, she gives me Tokio vibes and not in a good way. She IS hot though. 

Come on Cameron, when a guy says not to touch his ass you don't take it personally?? Girl, that's not cute irl. If you wanna help him open that lock, warn him. Touching people without their consent is No Bueno. I get that she's supposed to be mentally ill but bit a creep?

Berlin is possibly an insomniac. He's not changed from the Berlin I know and love in that he feels that: 1) he's in any position to give advice, let alone about love 2) he knows all about love his experiences are universal 

(I trust Damian's take on love and kinda agree with him)

OMG THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED!!! --- and Berlin said "ew no?"

Oh Jesus Christ we were spared from another poop particle conversation but just barely (since when is the guy who fucks in stench-filled basements all squeamish?)

Period-inappropriate Imagine Dragons cover

That's why I started learning the guitar in high school, this scene right here, to have someone look at me with that wonder in their eyes. (all the boys learned to play guitar to pick up girls, years later I figured out that so did I lol)

The sights in this episode are beautiful though! <3

Berlin's philosophy on courting women is, according to my headcanon, stolen from Martín who's "an infantry general by vocation" and NO ONE can change my mind

Roi's sincere WTF look here is priceless 

All in all - yep, i'm watching the rest too (lol). Can't guarantee live reactions for the next episodes (unless requested/I have the time)

[emphasisonthehomo]

Of course they watch the matrix. Any director’s notes for when you wrote that scene where they drink a beer together and watch the matrix and he calls her miss?

I don't actually have much, but I do have some notes.

The Matrix is I mean. Obvious. The original fic does have a bit of them talking about Top Gun, and I liked the idea of having a through line of movies being one of the things that they bond over.

I know you haven't watched the show, but there's some jewels in canon re: Danny bitching about pineapple. The fact that he does buy Stef the terrible awful pineapple and ham even though he hates it is *chef's kiss* as far as I'm concerned. He loooooves her.

Also Danny seeing Stef's reaction to being called "Miss Cargo Pants" and making his resolution to Not Fuck It Up is vital. I don't want this story to be about Danny struggling with anything re: Stef's gender. He's in her corner 10000%, and I wanted to establish that. Danny decided years ago that he's all in for Stef, and knowing her IRL isn't going to change that at all. Stef's a closeted trans woman, she's got enough going on.

Also also the H*gwarts joke is absolutely because fuck JKR.

[unrepentantweirdo]

I'm back for WIP Wednesday!

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been away for a while. I've been lurking, dodging spoilers for the Fallout TV like the Matrix. (Plan to finish it soon, I'm on Episode 5). But my time away has not been wasted, because I bring you the first chapter of my MacCready/F! Sole Survivor fic, Defenders at the Crossroads.

I'm so excited to share my story with you. The amazingly talented @twosides--samecoin has been beta reading for me; without her fic Long Time Running, I might have never gotten the inspiration to keep working on this project. (Go read her fic, seriously. The scenery descriptions alone are *chef's kiss*)

I still plan to post MacCready's chart and character info later on, I just got derailed (thanks mental health) and put back on the rail (working on my writing).

Love you guys!

-Weirdo

[aluvian]

12 and 19 for the movie asks!

12. Which movie has your favorite soundtrack?

Oh God, I have so many favorite movie OSTs. Tarzan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Avatar, Titanic, Star Wars, Dune, The Sound of Music, Moulin Rouge, The Last Samurai, The Lost Boys, The Matrix Reloaded...I could go on and on lmao.

19. What part of filmmaking do you find most interesting (ie. sound design, costuming, set design, etc)?

Pretty much all of it, tbh.

Sound design blows me away because there are people out there who straight up invent sounds to things that have never existed before. My favorite example is the lightsaber from Star Wars. Yeah, sure, they are so awesome to look at and use, but I feel like if they sounded different, their impact would have changed. Maybe. I dunno.

I love costuming too. Anyone who can sew and craft outfits from scratch have my utmost respect and admiration.

I saw some rare behind the scenes photos from the set of Aliens not too long ago and was astonished by how minimal the set designs really were from that movie. You wouldn't know that from watching the film. So, I also love good set design, too.

People can hate the Avatar movies all they want, but there is no denying that they are absolutely the peak of what CGI can do. The world of Pandora would have been very difficult to make with practical sets and effects, so I'm glad the technology exists that allowed those movies to be made.

That being said, I absolutely adore practical special effects too. John Carpenter's The Thing, An American Werewolf in London, the first two Alien movies........... *chef's kiss* (I'd sell my soul to have the xenomorph queen puppet. Oh, and a tauntaun from Empire Strikes Back)

Ask me about movies!

[buginateacup]

Fics of the week

Decided I would start doing a roundup of fics that I have been enjoying over the week for your enjoyment and my own.

The 12 Days of Christmas 2020, 2021 and 2022 by Her_Madjesty

Annual collections of fic based on Hero/Don John from Much Ado About Nothing which I have devoured over this last week. Most of them are AUs of one form or another. The Porco Rosso and Great Gatsby AUs were particularly *chefs kiss*

Bluebride by Teal_Individual

Roxanne may not be the first bride Megamind has taken, but she certainly is the most determined. One way or another, whether for spite or justice or love, she intends to be the last. Loosely based on Bluebeard, historical romances are my jam and the interactions between Roxanne, Megamind and Minion in this one are spot on!

a deep but dazzling darkness by Lirazel

A deep and abiding favourite from one of my favourite movies with ZERO fandom. The Vast of Night is about two teenagers manning the local switchboard and radio station one evening in a small town in Cayuga, New Mexico and there are lights in the sky... This fic is what might have come after.

The Iron Giant by ArdenDrifter

When Jamie Tartt gets a midnight call from the Manchester Municipal Police, he expects to post bail for his father again.  What he finds is something quite different.  

Or, Jamie Tartt discovers a thirteen-year-old half-brother no one ever warned him about.  Luckily, Roy and Keeley are there to help them out.

A Ted Lasso fic that was going to be only 4 chapters (I know that feeling my friend) but has since exploded into an incredible story about family, queerness, football, being a goldfish, organised crime and so much more. An absolute masterpiece of storytelling, that keeps the story consistent and clear which when viewed through the half concussed brain of one Jamie Tartt, professional football goldfish which is astounding in and of itself.

after the storm by perennial

He watches Leonato do quick mental calculations, already knowing the final sum. The governor might prefer Claudio as a man, might want to indulge his beloved daughter’s infatuation, but at the end of the day a prince is a prince, even a bastard one, and a count is just a count. Claudio intends to marry Hero. Don John gets to her first.

Another Hero/Don John fic that every reread makes me want to eat oranges and sit in sunshine. Politics and antagonists to friends to (hopefully?) lovers! I am in heaven!

my true love gave to me also by perennial

December 2011. Michael Bublé's Christmas album has just hit shelves, holiday parties are in full swing, and it's time for Don Pedro's annual office-wide Secret Santa gift exchange. 

Another Hero/Don John fic (look I like what I like and the mean gruff one falling for the soft sunshine one is enough to catch me even though I’ve only ever seen the Tennant/Tate version) Office AU this time

Dodge and Burn by jurijurious

A Dot Matrix x Megabyte AU fanfic which starts at the hunt and hurtles off down its own circuit.

I never saw the show until this year and of course there is nothing I love more than a smooth voiced villain. And this fic, enemies to lovers be still my heart! Fuck the tension in this one is incredible and you know its all going to end in flames and the voices are dead gorgeous! (and may have also inspired me to start writing my own Dot/Megabyte fic)

Let The River Run by astolat

This one just started and is still an untagged story updating every day. I love astolat’s work for how fantastically well they entertwine the politics through the story (any romance is always more interesting when political jockeying is involved). Can’t wait to see where this one goes!

[hydrangeawise]

So, Madlax EP6!

I'm sort of starting to get a Matrix vibes with the way reality and memory seems to work so far in this series, but that's probably more of the "I have no idea how the supernatural elements in this story work and no one explains it to me"-thing. I honestly enjoy how the episodes switch between Madlax and Margaret and let me tell you, the incident reveal (of sorts, more like 'this is what happened from the outside') was fascinating to say the least!

Especially with what we gathered from EP5 with the whole distortion thing and people simply disappearing! And with the flashback of "If he stays here he's going to get involved" like - what happened there! I want to know!! And Margaret knew the name Madlax when she returned from the incident!! (Which currently forms a theory in my head that whatever happened 12 years ago had the name Madlax attached to it and that's what the current Madlax and Margaret were remembering. Since Margaret had people waiting for her, sorting that out was easy - but Madlax had no one left and if that's the only thing she said for a while, I assume people would just start using that as her name, or thinking that it was her name.)

Oh and the whole picture book thing? Really fascinating, especially since Margaret doesn't seem to feel any effects when she reads it. (Which, theory again, is because she is involved it whatever happened back then.) Let me also just point out that I love Elenore and Vanessa, I love how married they are, I love how ruthless they are in protecting Margaret, all of that was *chef's kiss*! Especially when Elenore broke the guy's wrist and all Vanessa did was basically "Babe, we both know that was not necessary, but I love that you did it." (I also wonder if there's going to be some kind of conflict between Elenore and Margaret because Elenore swore to look after her to her dying grandfather and if there's any resentment going on. Hmm.....) Anyway, it's slowly taking up speed :) I adore that!

[quinncadens]

Season 1 Episode 2 - city e[s]cape

I was skeptical on how the translation from game to anime would go, and so far I'm very pleased! I like this extra insight we are getting through the perspective of the machines.

The scene with the flower and the rain? The way the rain falls down the machine's face to mimic tears as they develop an emotion matrix and turn from hostile to non-combative? *chefs kiss* This is the kind of imagery I live for, and something we didn't get to see in the game. Then how the machine grows flowers and other machines start to follow in their footstep? AND THE RESULTS OF THEIR WORK?! I love that so much.

With that being said, I'm having more faith that this adaptation will be pretty good with expanding the universe in a way that doesn't detract from the game and what has been previously established.

There is a ton of extra material in official releases like the art book and world guide so maybe we can see some of that too!

I adore that they included 2B's line about 9S's voice after maintenance. It's such a cute additional interaction and I'm happy they kept it in! With the series being confirmed as 24 episodes this will hopefully give us some additional expansions to some side quests in the game. I'm most looking forward to the little sister/big sister escort mission being animated 🤭

[otrtbs]

nat, i want to tell you that a few days ago i started reading art heist, baby! and now not only i can't stop reading it but i have also had to dodge like ten thousand spoilers, like that scene from the matrix with the bullets. i'm going to do my best to stay that way until the end because your fanfic is becoming one of my favorites and it's SO addictive!!! you are very very very talented and your way of writing is *chef kiss*

AHH HELLO!! <333

thank you, thank you, thank you so much!! <333 honestly , if you can make it through without seeing any spoilers for ahb! you should add that as a special skill to your résumé bc that’s impressive !!!

[meowdejavu]

The Matrix Resurrections Reaction Post

Now that I’ve seen the movie twice, presenting my big rambly mess of thoughts!!! 

Overall I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to rewatching again! I haven’t decided if I loved it as much as the OT, but that’s a very high bar for me since the trilogy is my all-time favorite story. I definitely think this was an extremely fun and cool way to continue it, and I’m glad it exists!!! (It also realllllly made me want 5 & 6, gosh!)

I’m gonna break this down in bullets because I’m still processing everything. Here we go!! Spoilers ahead.

favorite parts 

IO!!! omg I fucking loved IO.......give me an entire spin-off about the botanist/garden plz?? 

Trinity finally remembering and kicking her bot “husband’s” ass, A++

Neo and Trinity's real world reunion!!!!!! I really wish we saw more of them and their cute bald heads actually!!!!!!! 

Neo/Thomas once again enjoying some really good noodles

Very well-used flashbacks!

SATI AND HER PRETTY LITTLE SECRET GARDEN SIM HELLO PERFECTION

Basically everything in Act III OBVIOUSLY

“ANOTHER CHANCE” 💗

Closing on that brass cover of “Wake Up” was *chef’s kiss*

biggest surprises

LEXY 😍😍😍 marry me challenge??

Wholesome robot friends...surprisingly so great!

The new (magnetic?) tech for programs to walk around in the real world!!! Hello what!!!

Niobe’s flashback story about the machines fighting each other had me like ???!!! damn okay!

Berg’s fanboy crush on Neo, A++ 

stuff i’m a little ??? about (updated x2)

I’m not sure I get the purpose/benefit of the Anomalium for the current version of the matrix? Like, what percentage of energy are they harvesting from the two of them vs all the other pods?? Confused.

Also not sure I get why Zion was attacked again after the Analyst came to power.

Does it.....make sense for Trinity to open her eyes in the pod before she’s remembered herself?? Like yes sure maybe she felt a disruption with Neo being unplugged, but her briefly waking up felt really dramatic to me and there was no evidence that it had any effect on her? (I would have liked more scenes about Tiffany’s life tbh!)

and finally.....some small nitpicks

Seems like a missed opportunity not to show the (immersive??) gameplay of the Matrix games and/or if they had special hardware tech, etc!

As much as I love callbacks to 2 & 3, I’m not sure the Merovingian needed to be in this movie lol sry :/