#Oh boy so it's going to be another sequel-prequel

[uovoc]

Legend of Hei movie sequel confirmed! Legend of Hei 2 has received its registration permit from the Chinese Film Administration (agency in charge of film censorship). After the CFA reviews a movie's screenplay and issues a permit, production of the movie can start. Since LXH 1 was registered in 2016 and released in 2019, looks like it might be a few years until the sequel is released.

Plot synopsis posted by the CFA:

小黑跟师父无限在村里过着安宁日子，他也渐渐适应了人类世界的生活。两年后，妖灵会馆突然被袭击，无限和小黑接到任务前往会馆。小黑能否经受住这突如其来的考验？面对意想不到的敌人，小黑又会做出怎样的选择…… Xiaohei spends peaceful days living in the village with his shifu Wuxian, and has adjusted to life in the human world. 2 years later, the Spirit Guild has suddenly been attacked. Wuxian and Xiaohei receive their mission and head to the Guild. Can Xiaohei make it through this unforeseen trial? When faced with an unexpected enemy, what will Xiaohei choose this time…

[redvdress]

PERSISTENT GUY (part 𝐈𝐈?)

A/N what if hawks attended UA as a teen? and what if-among all the students- one clearly didn’t care about him or anyone else? teen!hawks x introverted and kinda grumpy fem reader. enjoy!! i have so many ideas on this, might start a series👀. go read prequel for this and sequel’s out!!

Hawks wasn’t one to dwell on failure. If anything, it only spurred him on. Yesterday’s defeat in the training grounds? A minor setback. You had bested him, sure, but that only made you more intriguing in his gold eyes. Most people bent easily under his natural charm—smiling, laughing, and eventually giving in to his effortless charisma.

But not you.

And that, for Hawks, was precisely the challenge. The thought of it made him grin.

The next day, the cafeteria was buzzing with the usual lunchtime activity—students crowded around tables, talking and laughing, their trays full of the surprisingly good food that U.A. offered.

Hawks, of course, was in the middle of the cafeteria, talking animatedly to a group of classmates who hung on his every word.

But his golden eyes kept drifting toward the far corner of the room, where you were seated by herself. As usual.

You had picked the darkest, most secluded spot in the cafeteria, tucked away from the chaos. Shadows seemed to cling to you, even here in the bright midday light, and you were eating in silence, completely undisturbed by the noise around you.

“She’s like a cat in the corner,” Hawks muttered to himself. “All distant and mysterious.”

One of his friends, a tall boy with spiky blue hair, glanced at him curiously. “What’s that, Takami?”

Hawks smirked, waving a hand. “Nothing. Just thinking out loud.”

The truth was, Keigo had been thinking—planning, really. You had shot down his first attempt at getting you to have lunch with him. But persistence was a virtue, right? And Hawks was nothing if not persistent.

“So, what’s the next move, Takami?” another student asked, smirking. “Heard you got shot down hard yesterday by yln.”

“Yeah, man, she totally shut you down!” the spiky-haired boy chimed in, chuckling.

Keigo grinned, unbothered by their teasing. “Oh, she may have won that round, but I’ve got my eye on the prize. You’ll see.”

With that, Keigo grabbed his tray, piled high with food, and strutted toward your table.

The other students watched with wide eyes, whispering amongst themselves.

“No way. Is he seriously trying again?”

“I swear, he’s fearless.”

“Or just dumb.”

But Hawks didn’t care about the gossip. He had a plan.

You were halfway through your meal when you sensed someone approaching.

You didn’t need to look up to know who it was. The heavy, confident footsteps, the unmistakable sound of wings brushing against the air—it was all too familiar by now.

“Hey there, Shadow Queen,” Hawks greeted, sliding into the seat across from you without waiting for an invitation. “Mind if I join you?”

Your eyes flicked up, meeting his with a cold, unamused stare. “I do mind.”

Hawks smiled brightly, completely unfazed. “Well, lucky for you, I’m a persistent guy.”

You sighed, clearly not in the mood. “Why are you like this?”

“Like what? Charming? Handsome? Unbelievably cool?” Hawks grinned, leaning back in his chair and draping one arm lazily over the backrest. “I get that a lot.”

You didn’t dignify that with a response, instead focusing on your lunch and hoping that he’d get the message. But Hawks wasn’t the type to take a hint. Especially not when he had a plan in motion.

He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial tone. “So, I’ve been thinking. You didn’t really say no to lunch. You just said you don’t do lunch.”

You glanced up, your expression unreadable. “That’s because I don’t.”

“Right, right, I get it. But see, here’s the thing—” Hawks paused dramatically, tapping the side of his head as if he’d just solved a great mystery. “You never said you don’t do lunch with me.”

You blinked, clearly not impressed. “You’re splitting hairs.”

“Maybe,” Hawks admitted, his grin widening. “But hear me out. I’ve got a proposition.”

You set your chopsticks down and crossed your arms, giving him a look that said, This better be good.

“I’m listening.”

Hawks leaned in, lowering his voice even more, as if you were discussing top-secret hero business.

“You don’t have to do lunch. But if you happen to sit with me for lunch, you don’t even have to talk to me. You can pretend I’m not even here. Just let me sit here, enjoy my food, and bask in the glory of your presence. That’s all.”

You raised an eyebrow, the barest hint of amusement flickering in your usually impassive face. “You want to sit here in silence? With me. That’s your grand plan?”

“Exactly,” Hawks said, flashing you a thumbs-up. “No strings attached. You don’t even have to acknowledge me.”

You considered him for a moment, your sharp gaze scrutinizing his every word. You knew Hawks wasn’t the type to give up easily. He was too stubborn for his own good. But… maybe if you let him sit there in silence, he’d eventually get bored and move on.

“Fine,” you said at last, picking up your chopsticks again. “But you don’t talk. At all.”

“Deal!” Hawks said quickly, already unpacking his own lunch. “I’ll be quiet as a shadow.”

For the next few minutes, an almost surreal silence settled over the table. Hawks, true to his word, didn’t say a single thing. He ate his food quietly, occasionally glancing around the cafeteria but mostly focusing on his meal.

You, meanwhile, continued to eat as if he weren’t even there.

To anyone watching, it was an odd sight—Hawks, the school’s most talkative, outgoing student, sitting completely still and silent across from the most introverted girl in the class. It was like watching a lion sit quietly next to a house cat.

Maybe it was because he wasn’t being his usual loud, obnoxious self.

When you finished your meal, you stood up, picking up your tray.

Hawks glanced up, giving you a curious look. “We done here?”

You looked at him for a moment, then nodded once. “You did well.”

A slow, satisfied grin spread across Hawks’ face. “So, lunch again tomorrow?”

You didn’t answer, simply walking away and leaving him behind. But as you disappeared into the shadows at the far end of the cafeteria, Hawks couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

“She didn’t say no,” he murmured, standing up and stretching his wings. “Guess that’s a win.”

As he strolled out of the cafeteria, his classmates watched him go, whispering amongst themselves.

“Did Hawks actually pull it off?”

“Looks like it. He’s gonna get her eventually.”

“I swear, that guy’s unstoppable.”

And as Hawks walked down the hall, whistling to himself, he couldn’t help but think that, for once, they were right. He wasn’t giving up on you—not yet.

[lightlycareless]

heyyyy:33 love reading your nao x reader headcanons, i am feeling bit angsty and been wondering how would naoya react if something goes wrong during yn's labor. like she starts screaming, trashing around and is in lots of pain.

Hello anon!!! You want angst??? WELL YOU GOT ANGST.

Actually it's not that much, but hey, it's not that nice either so... I hope it's to your enjoyment still!

warnings: pregnancy. going into labor. the fear of a baby dying. bleeding. naoya suffers. 🥺

related work: (sequel) (prequel)

Happy reading!

Something going wrong when Y/N is in labor is hands down, Naoya’s worst nightmare. He might’ve prepared everything so to keep risks to the minimum, and yet, there are moments where that is all he thought about.

That, and the worse version of his fears: the two don’t make it.

He tries his best not to think about it, Ranta also tries his best to distract him as soon as anxiety etches his features. And you…

Well, you wish you could offer a viable solution, disappear so the sight of you doesn’t have him spiraling, yet remain close because he needs you and he’s your husband, for crying out loud! You don’t want to be away from him, not even for a second, while pregnant!

But… everything was proving too hard for you to deal with on your own, and stresses like these could only do harm to your pregnancy, alongside those awful thoughts that would cross your mind in the worst moments possible: the idea that maybe Naoya… maybe he didn’t want a family with you anymore.

However, the love both had for one another, for the mochi growing inside you, alongside the support of your family and friends, these obstacles were soon forgotten, replaced with the excitement of the fast approaching day of delivery, the moment you’ll finally be able to hold your baby, as well as see if they were a boy or a girl—not that it mattered, for they’d be unconditionally loved anyways.

Everything was carefully tended to, starting by ignoring the Zen’in’s insane request of having you deliver the baby at the estate, in less than prepared conditions and away from your family just because they wanted.

Nope, not happening. Instead, he arranged your stay at one of the best hospitals of Tokyo, a whole floor with dedicated personnel to solely attend to you; just to begin with.

Your family was naturally impressed by Naoya’s dedication to once again go to these lengths. And yet, he wasn’t doing anything they wouldn’t have done for you; in fact, they also gave their own suggestions to further ensure your safety!

«Well, at least we know she’ll be ok with Naoya…»

“I’m going to be fine.” You’d tell them, slightly overwhelmed by their worries. “Though I do think Naoya might’ve gone a bit over the top…”

“It’s only necessary.” Naoya interjects. “No one outside of the necessary people will disturb you, everything you need will be tended for, and you’ll also be in presence of your friends and family.”

“Friends…?” You repeat slowly, because at that point you only expected your family to be there, not your trusted staff, who were grinning at the prospect of accompanying you during one of the most important stages of your life! “Oh my god, you’re here!”

“What, thought you’d get rid of us just because you’re having a baby??” Haruko grins.

“I’m offended by how poorly you think of us.” Hitomi teases.

“I—I didn’t expect you guys to be here! I thought you’d be busy or—or something!” You chuckle. “I’m speechless!”

“Don’t be too speechless, we still have to make the most of the city before you’re admitted into the hospital! I personally have never been to Tokyo, so I’m planning on taking all the tours.” Mariya enthusiastically suggests.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, did you forget my wife is very much pregnant?” Naoya frowns, she laughs.

“We’re just joking, Naoya—what kind of godmother would I be if I didn’t care for her?”

And in this precise moment, you genuinely believed it couldn’t get any better than this. Surrounded by the people you loved; nothing could ruin this!

Unless your contractions were to begin a bit earlier than anticipated, followed by a numbing, stinging pain that made you freeze on your track, drop everything on the spot to tightly hold onto your stomach; a feeble attempt to stop whatever it was that had you such mortifying state… rushed to the hospital when blood soaked your garments, your and Naoya’s worst nightmare abruptly becoming real.

Without time to waste, you’re quickly checked into your designated room to be urgently attended by the doctor of his choosing, the supposedly best there is in all of Tokyo—no, Japan—who alongside his entourage began to urgently prepare everything for your procedure, for your symptoms were not expected neither wanted in a pregnancy.

But if that wasn’t anxious enough for your husband, your screams of gut-wrenching pain that only worsened as time went on were enough, were enough to get him spiraling.

“Help her!” Naoya demands, more than ready to rattle the doctor into action if needed.

“We can’t let you in if you’re going to disrupt the patient.” The doctor warns, further fueling your husband’s desperation. He’s just a mere second away from losing himself, just one more word and he’ll—

“Naoya, please, calm down—” Thankfully, your father was there to put a stop to his anger, a genuine sympathetic approach for he’s gone through his fair share of pregnancies—things like these don’t scare him that much, but they still worry him.

How could it not? The probability of losing his daughter, the youngest, his first grandchild too…! And just after loosing his wife as well…

It’s a pain he would never wish upon anyone. Certainly not on his distraught son-in-law….

So, what good is it to hire the best, if they’re not going to do their job?!

Naoya freezes upon hearing another heart-wrenching scream come out of you, heart dropping to his stomach as he hears you demand them to get the baby out, stop your suffering and just—help you!

He doesn’t want to hear more of this, he doesn’t want to see nor hear you suffering so, but he doesn’t know what to do, he doesn’t know how to act nor what to say that could get you out of this awful predicament and back into safety, into the world where you and his child were ok and all this was nothing but an awful nightmare!

But the same moment he was debating what to do, your father already made his decision, walking past him and straight into your room, firmly determined to support his daughter through whatever destiny fate instilled on you—even if it meant death.

A sight that soon snapped Naoya out of his struggle, feeling like an absolute idiot for even hesitating! He’s been through life-or-death situations before, why is he suddenly cowering now, pitying himself?! When you need him the most?!

What poor excuse of a husband he was being; a despicable father compared to yours.

Once snapping out of his dark thought and gathering all of his courage, he steps into your room, heading straight to your side, opposite of your father and takes your hand, letting you hold it as tight as you needed—whatever the sacrifice he had to make to ensure your safety, he’d willingly oblige.

“Nao—Naoya—” you breathed, looking up to him. “It—It hurts!”

“She’s losing too much blood.” A nurse would note. “She’s still not dilated enough.”

“My baby—I don’t want my baby to die” you fret.

“She won’t.” Naoya reassures. “She won’t die, I swear—”

“We’ll have to induce her labor to help her dilate, and if that doesn’t work, then a c-section will have to do.” The doctor explains, hoping to get his permission.

“Anything.” Your husband pleads. “Anything to save my wife, my family, please!”

Because he doesn’t know what he’ll do if he loses you. Life would cease to matter at that point.

But thankfully his prayers were to be heard, and with the quick, highly prepared skills of medical staff, were you freed of all complications, ensuring not only your safety, but that of the baby as well, perfect just as the two envisioned her to be.

“Naoya, our baby.” You’d breathe, face lightening up when the nurse finally placed the small, chubby bundle you’ve been waiting to hold for 9 long months in your arms, holding her softly against your skin as you gushed. “Our baby is—”

“She’s a girl.” The doctor says. “A healthy girl.”

“A girl.” You cry, tears of happiness dampening your cheeks, struggling to believe what was before your eyes. “Naoya, we had a beautiful baby girl!”

There are no words to describe what Naoya feels at this very moment: to the sight of you lovingly holding onto your baby, the highest demonstration of love between the two, after so much suffering.

Though he could start with love at first sight, something he already believed existed, but when his eyes laid on his beautiful baby girl, he was completely sure of it now.

“She has your hair.” You comment on the small patch of black hair on the top of her head.

“And your nose.” He responds, gently poking it.

“Ha! How can you even know so? It looks like a regular nose to me.” You giggle—only to gasp a few seconds after being given the breathtaking sight of your baby slowly opening her eyes for the first time, a revelation that made your heart flutter. “Naoya—she… she has your eyes! Oh, my love, she looks just like you…”

Deep within him, Naoya always hoped the baby would look like you—with your big round eyes, your silky, soft hair, and adorable cheeks he always loved to tease. He thought she’d looked far better with your features than his own anyways, and wished would be that way.

But there was something about seeing you gush about her likeness that struck his heart with adoration, feeling appreciated and fiercely protective of the precious, tiny baby in your arms.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but I need to know the name of the baby before continuing” Another nurse said, and a wide smile spreads across your lips as you gently poke her cheek, already imagining the agony her father would put her through.

“Naomi.” You say, eyes intently focused on your daughter. “Zen’in Naomi.”

Named after her father, perhaps the only tradition you kept from the Zen’in, because there was nothing else you wanted more than for the world to know of the man that has made you so happy, the love of your life, either through your affection, or Naomi, your new family.

“A granddaughter, I have a granddaughter!!” Your father would proclaim, tears in his eyes as he accepts the baby from your arms, who was now wrapped in a soft pink blanket he got as a gift, with you proudly smiling at his excitement. “Oh, she’s beautiful Y/N!”

“Welcome to the family, little one!” Hinata grins, eager to take her niece into her arms as well, but patient enough to not do so until her turn. “You don’t know how happy we are to finally have you here!”

“Can’t wait to see you grow up and give your parents a run for their money.” Ren teases, you pout.

“My baby is going to be a nice, well-behaved girl.” You respond. “Unlike you guys…”

“Though she will be spoiled.” Naoya promises.

“Well, it can’t be spoiled if it’s what she deserves, right?” you say, he nods along. Your family fears the lengths you’d both go to do so; you and Naoya are already ruthless as it is…

But even then, they genuinely knew they had nothing to worry about—for as long as they were around, nothing bad would befall little Naomi.

As expected, the exhaustion of the past few hours finally caught up to you, at first making you yawn before your eyelids began to grow heavier and heavier; a sight that didn’t go unnoticed for too long, your father gathering everyone around for their departure.

“We’ll be outside if you need us.” Eiichi promises, carefully handing Naomi back to Naoya. “Rest, pumpkin, you deserve it.”

“Thanks, dad…” you yawn. “I feel like I could sleep for years.”

Eiichi chuckles, leaning forward to place a kiss on your forehead before moving onto Naoya, patting his shoulder.

“Congratulations, Naoya. You’ll be a great father.”

Naoya smiles, warmed by the words his father wasn’t there to give him, gladly accepting them in his heart as they promptly make their exit. Once alone, your husband places Naomi into the crib nearby, placing a kiss on her head and eventually making his way to you, to give you a kiss as well.

“You did amazingly, my love.” But as much as you wished to enjoy this moment, the agony of past experiences swiftly makes way to your mind.

“…I was scared, Naoya. So, so afraid that something would happen to me, or worse, our baby.” You tremble.

“I know, I know.” He coos, softly removing some unruly hair strands from your face as tears begin to pool in his eyes. “But it’s over, all that is gone—we have Naomi now.”

“I was afraid of leaving you behind.” You continue. “I… I didn’t want you to face all this by yourself. The thought of you having no one to rely on frightens me like you have no idea. At one point I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you—”

“That was my worst fear too. I loathed even thinking about the possibility of returning home without you.” The moment you notice the tears forming in his eyes, you quickly reach out for him—to the best of your ability anyways, much to his worry. “No, Y/N, you have to rest—”

“Thank you for being by my side.” You murmur, hugging him tightly. He returns the gesture soon after. “I’m so glad to have found someone like you, to be my husband, and now father of my daughter.”

“…What did I do to deserve you?”

“Well, you gave me an adorable baby girl, as of recent!” you sniffle through a giggle, making Naoya chuckle. “From there, all that I ever wanted, really. From food, clothes, even holidays…”

Naoya blushes, proud of his consistent commitment to you and the happiness it provided you. And yet, that was not to be the end of his fluster—not without your following words.

“But most importantly, your love.” You smile. “If anything, I should be wondering what I’ve done to deserve you…”

“Your mere existence is justifying enough for me.” He responds quickly, another tear sliding down his cheek, which you swipe soon after. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” You kiss him. “And our new family.”

…

…

…

“I know some mothers feel the desire to have another child as soon as their baby is born, but after what happened, I think it’s best for now if we hold off that idea for a while. Don’t you agree?” You suddenly say.

“Yeah, couldn’t have said it any better. Though something tells me Naomi is going to be quite the handful to begin with…”

“Considering she looks just like you, I’d say you’re right.” you laugh, he rolls his eyes before kissing you once more.

[dangermousie]

Top Dozen 2023 drama MLs so far

It's August, so not the end of the year, neither it is at halfway year mark, but why would I ever do anything like a normal person? Here my very very subjective list. I have limited myself to one dude per drama or LYF would be half the list. No order except alphabetical.

Chen Wende (Sun Yizhou in Gone With the Rain, China)

The epic troll lord stole the whole drama as competently as he stole the FL's heart. He was competent and adult and oh-so-amused by but also gone for the heroine.

Gu Jiusi (Bai Jing Ting in Chang Feng Du/Destined, China)

CFD lost steam for me halfway through but Jiusi's character remained a delight throughout and BJT gave a great performance as a golden boy who went through a bunch of hell and grew up but remained goodnatured at heart.

Han Dong Jin (Kim Young Kwang in Call It Love, Korea)

You know, he and Jing (from LYF1) really fit the same mold even if one is in a mellow realistic modern and another in xianxia - lovely traumatized people from monster families who win over heroine with a metric ton of baggage through sheer unswerving decency. I have a type.

Jang Uk (Lee Jae Wook in Alchemy of Souls s2, Korea)

I loved Uk in S1 and S2 continued that love - he's so intense, so grieving, so still in love with Naksu. LJW is always a good actor so it's such a pleasure to see him in a good role.

Kim Do Ha (Hwang Min Hyun, My Lovely Liar, Korea)

The year of surprises - Minhyun, who I found utterly wooden in AoS stole my heart here as this hopeful, traumatized sweetheart of a man.

Kim Moo Chan (Park Hae Jin, The Killing Vote, Korea)

Yeah, we are only one ep in but who said anything about this list was objective? PHJ brings his usual unsettling intensity to the role of a cop who breaks all the rules and teeters on the edge and now is set to catch a killer who really only differs from him in a matter of degree.

Lee Jang Hyun (Nam Goong Min in My Dearest, Korea)

If I had to pick a favorite ML from this list, it would be between him and Jing (LYF). This is basically if you took Rhett Butler and took out slavery and rape but gave him a sword. The character is complex and nuanced and NGM is giving his usual incredible performance.

Lee Rang (Kim Bum in Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938, Korea)

I was not a Rang fangirl for most of the original (even if he was well-acted; and he did win me over by the end) but I fell for him head over heels in this sequel/prequel/spin-off. I am so happy the man who believed he had nobody and was abandoned by everybody ends the story with his beloved brother and his beloved woman, both.

Moon Seo Ha (Ahn Bo Hyun in See You in My 19th Life, Korea)

A lot of MLs on this list have serious trauma and haunted by it and can't let go of their past love (I have a type) but even by those standards, Seo Ha was such a lovely, quiet person slowly healing.

Tantai Jin (Luo Yunxi in Till the End of the Moon, China)

Abuse victim/monster/praiseworthy king/xianxia saint/man on the brink - LYX portrayed a character in multiple timelines and many different complexities and did it amazingly. Tantai Jin may or may not win my favorite place on this list, but his performance was hands-down the most glorious thing this year.

Tushan Jing/Ye Shiqi (Deng Wei in Lost You Forever part 1, China)

If before LYF aired someone would have told me that a character played by Deng Wei, an actor I've always found eminently forgettable, would make it on this list and be in the running to win the whole thing actually, I'd have wondered what weird reality they came from. They somehow managed to make someone genuinely good and kind not in the least boring; I am ridiculously invested in the man who managed to keep his soul after all he's been through.

Yun Xiang (Chen Xiao in The Ingenuous One, China)

A schemer on a revenge quest, smarter than anyone else in the room but helpless in front of love. Yun Xiang was an adult in an adult story for adults and it was glorious.

[artist-issues]

are there any controversial pieces of media that you like? why is it controversial? why do you like it? do you defend it against people who don't like it, and if you do, how?

Do I

Oh boy

This answer is going to dive in to how I've worked out "The Right Way to Make Sequels." So it'll be another long one.

I really, truly like Star Wars: The Last Jedi. And without that movie, I would not like The Force Awakens as much as I also like it.

TLJ is one of the most hotly contested Star Wars movies of all time, which is saying something, because the Star Wars audience loves to hotly contest everything.

I think Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the best Star Wars film since the original trilogy. I would rather rewatch it than any of the original movies, or the prequel movies, or any other Star Wars media.

Because it's just good. It's just a really good movie—and it is also a really good Star Wars movie, because it nails the whole theme of Star Wars, which is "Faith Triumphs Over Fear."

But. Not everybody measures the phrase "really good movie" or the the phrase "good Star Wars movie" by the same metrics I do.

You know that I believe a story is good when it reminds you of the Good, the Beautiful, the True, or all of them at once—by nailing the "main point" or "theme," instead of being entertaining alone. Add to that the fact that I believe a Star Wars movie (or any franchise movie, or story-sequel) is good when it believably emphasizes the overall main-point of its predecessors, without losing the ability to be compelling.

To be "believable," it has to make sure that the characters (if they're returning from their predecessor appearances) make in-character choices. It does not mean that those returning-characters have to make choices that the audience approves of. Nobody likes the fact that the two characters in La La Land choose not to stay together forever. But there comes a point when it doesn't matter what the audience likes, it matters what the characters "would do."

Anyway.

Another way to have the sequel be "believable" is to make sure that what filmmakers call the "style & tone" stay somewhat familiar, echoing their predecessors. There's a lot of wiggle room for this. Some deviation from what the predecessors did in terms of style or even is good and right. But you want to keep the core stuff—because "style & tone" are just another tool used to "nail the main point" that the predecessors used, so you don't want to change it too much.

What I mean is, in The Last Jedi, you have things like:

Epic-scale visuals (dramatic shots that make use of big objects and light and shadow in the composition)

Dramatic Use of Color (Red is bad, blue is good, black is bad, white is good—very in-your-face symbolism)

Quirky Alien Cutaways (even though it's a dramatic adventure, you still sometimes cutaway to see a funky alien or a funny little creature, to remind you this is a fun space-romp.)

Somewhat-Obvious Adventurous One-Liner Dialogue (No explanation needed)

INTENSE emphasis on orchestral score (I don't have to explain this, Star Wars is one of the greatest examples of all time for music in movies)

All of the above contributes to the "tone and style" of a Star Wars movie. The Original movies have that. Most of the Prequel Trilogy has it, too. The Last Jedi does it right. You're supposed to feel heights of "operatic" drama, but it's not working very hard to be subtle or "clever." It's just common-sense, easily-accessible storytelling, from the lighting to the colors to the dialogue. Everyone of all ages can watch and enjoy.

(It doesn't mean a Star Wars movie is not profound—it means that it lets simple-truths shine, because truths that are plain and simple are profound, and only arrogant "intellectuals" can't accept that and clamor for something more "complex" just for the pleasure of hearing the gears in their own heads click. Anyway.)

So The Last Jedi gets that right. You know what doesn't?

Andor. The Star Wars show on Disney+. Andor does not get the Star Wars Style & Tone right. It tries too hard to be complex. It is all about grey areas and blurring the line between right and wrong, good and evil. It tries really hard to be "sophisticated" and "for mature fans." And its style and tone reflect that. It doesn't feel like Star Wars.

So you see how I can show the different examples of what gets this right and what gets this wrong, even in other areas of Star Wars—I'm not just biased and using the movie I like as a template. I enjoyed Andor. But Andor is not a good Star Wars story; not if I apply the metric fairly.

So that's "believable." You have to make the audience believe that they are re-entering the world, and seeing the characters, or the story itself, continue. Otherwise you lose them. Because you got them in the first place with a promise: "you're going to see a continuation."

Let's move on to "compelling."

To be "compelling," you have to tell a good story. That's it. That's all.

It is good and right to re-enter a franchise's "world" and shine a light on the same main-point as the original stories—from a new set of characters' perspective. It is good and right to not re-tell and reboot the same old characters and recount their lives, over and over. It is good and right to make a new story that continues the theme of the old story.

And as long as you're doing that, you don't need to follow any other supposed "rules" that the "fandom" made up.

The Last Jedi does that perfectly. It takes the characters that were introduced in "The Force Awakens," takes into account where each of them began and where we last left them, and then believably and compellingly moves forward.

That's all it was supposed to do. And it did it, super super well. In a way most Star Wars media does not.

Like for example, I said Andor is a bad continuation of the Star Wars franchise because it gets the Style and Tone wrong, right? So it's not "believable" as a Star Wars story?

Well, the other side of the coin is also true. Ahsoka, another Disney+ Star Wars story, is on the other end of the spectrum. It might nail (in lots of ways) the "Style and Tone" of a Star Wars story, to make it believable. But it's not compelling. Because it gets the other thing wrong: it's a bad story.

The Last Jedi gets both "believability" and "compelling storytelling" totally right.

But the fans didn't want a good story. They didn't want a continuation of the Star Wars theme, because they probably never really thought about what that theme really was.

No. The fans wanted what I call 💫 A Checklist of Star Wars Stuff Disguised As a Story 💫 . They wanted to hear more name-drops of characters from Deep Cuts in the previous movies. They wanted the New Characters to have familial ties to their favorite Old Characters. They wanted the movies to be about the Old Characters—so they really wanted Luke Skywalker to come out swinging as an undetectable Jedi Messiah with no character flaws who makes the New Characters look like fools because the fans hate the New Characters. They also wanted more Old Characters to come back, and they would only have liked the New Characters if those characters, in and of themselves, were...bad characters, because Star Wars fans, by and large, really often forget what made their precious Old Characters well-written characters in the first place. And that was: human flaws.

Luke is always focused on how he can control his future, especially when it comes to fulfilling his destiny or saving his friends. That's a flaw. That's pride. But Star Wars fans forgot that that's Luke's "fatal flaw." They just remember the nostalgia of green lightsaber backflips and retconned Legends books.

So then when Rey comes along and is focused on her past, and has her own pride issues, the fans go "ew, she's so annoying, let's nitpick about whether or not she could win a fight in real life."

Because Star Wars fans went into The Last Jedi believing that "A Good Star Wars Story has Luke Skywalker Being a Total Beast, a Realized Messiah who Dominates New Characters," or "A Good Star Wars Story Has Ultra-Powerful Villains Who Fit the Previously-Done-to-Death Mold, Like a Video Game Boss..." then they found the movie unbelievable. They don't believe it because they had silly expectations going in.

The one thing they can't deny was that it was compelling. Every showing I went to, even way past the premier, you could cut the tension in the theater with a knife when you were supposed to, you could feel the air move as everybody gasped when they were supposed to, you could hear laughter at all the right moments and empathy with the characters at all the right moments. But then a few months after the release, and online, everybody's claiming to have hated it. I know that's not true. I experienced it.

But Mark Hamill, the guy who played Luke Skywalker, ran his mouth about how he didn't understand Luke's character direction. He very cleverly, in interviews, set himself up as the Actor who Understands His Character being ignored and misunderstood by a Plebian Director...and as a "consequence," they "got Luke all wrong." So then of course the nostalgic fan base, who already had silly expectations, feels those silly expectations justified by the actor from their childhood. Who is wrong about his own character, I don't care, that's happened before, actors are wrong about their own characters, get over it.

Anyway. My point is, The Last Jedi is controversial because it's a good story, and not a Star Wars Checklist Disguised as a Story. And people have a skewed idea of what stories are for, so no wonder they have a skewed understanding of what made Star Wars good—and if you don't know what makes it good, you won't be satisfied when the real thing comes back around in the form of a good sequel. Because you thought "good" meant "name drops, intellectual tickling, and a regurgitation of Focus on Old Characters to entertain me."

You could apply this whole measurement-system for sequels to where the MCU did everything right for so long, and how it's doing it all wrong here recently. Anyway.

I have a lot of posts expanding on this. One or two argument-reblog-matches with fans who hated the movie, too. They're not very popular, because people have been majorly gaslit by the loudest Star Wars fans concerning the Sequel Trilogy.

Thanks for reading!

[idontknowreallywhy]

Composition Ch 3 - Response

TL:DR version - new historic earth&sky angst! There is pain… but also there is singing!

I’m going to do a little leap back in time to the immediate sequel of Presence / prequel to Resurface because what happens here is important to the next chapter of Resurface where it finally comes full circle.

You know that gif with the guy and the conspiracy theory incident room board with all the lines and the exhausted crazy expression? Yeah that’s me trying to maintain any coherent sense of chronology.

Aaaanyhoo… the first two bits of this little fic (Da Capo and Call) are helpfully spread over 3 posts here and are where we see Virgil coming to terms with having only a fraction of Scott back from Bereznik. Oh and it might help if you’ve read this short snippet too (not vital, but it all connects)

If you want to catch up / know why Virg is in hospital / why he’s so confused / why Jeff is gonna string up some hospital admins… Presence (unlike its big brother, Resurface) is pretty short (5,000 words) and you’ll get to meet the Other Scotty, of whom I am very fond even if actual Scott wants to drop kick him into the sea.

(AO3 versions if you prefer that marginally less unhinged format: Bearded Ch 3 / Presence / Composition / Resurface)

Right where was I? Oh yeah, poking the boys with the pointy angst stick… (it gets better in the next part I promise)

💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚

Scott did not like the hospital.

If that was what this was.

Sometimes he thought maybe he was still a prisoner. Maybe they’d just switched up the torture methods, started talking English to confuse him. Tricked him into thinking someone had finally come.

Ever since he’d woken, terrified and gagging on the tube down his throat, he’d been in pain and the pain kept changing so he couldn’t get used to it. He was cold. Constantly cold but they kept sponging him with even colder water and nobody would explain why. His bones hurt. His eyes hurt. His everything just… hurt.

And he couldn’t sleep. All he wanted to do was sleep but as soon as he drifted he was back and it was worse. So he fought it. Even when his limbs and eyelids were weighed down by something they’d given him, he clung to consciousness as long as he could. And waited. Waited for the next thing. He needed to be ready.

The dogs still lurked, sometimes at the foot of his bed, sometimes prowling the hall but never far. He could hear them even when he couldn’t see them.

Claws skittering on stone.

There were two things he held on to: Virgil’s eyes and Virgil’s voice. Those two things hadn’t been in that other place. And they were here. So here was not there. He wasn’t there.

He wasn’t there.

That had to be good.

But why was here no better?

Had they caught Virgil too?

💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚

Sometimes Dad was here. That seemed like it should be a good thing.

But perhaps it was another lie. After all, he’d thought Dad was There sometimes too.

When he fought them, when they brought more needles and he tried make them stop because he didn’t know if this time he would be able to resist giving them what they wanted. He didn’t want to be what they wanted. His father’s voice was soft “You’re alright son, you’re safe. They know best, just do what they tell you.”

No! He mustn’t! He strained against the cold sloshing through his veins as if he could push it back out the way it entered. Muttered curses, English voices again but unfamiliar. Then Dad’s in the distance:

“He’s ok, he’s ok. He’s just confused. Just give them room. He’ll be ok, son. He’ll be ok.”

“They’re scaring him! Stop it! No! SCOTT!!!”

Virgil!

Scott struggled against the weight pulling his facial muscles down, pushed his trembling lower lip against his teeth and forced the air through.

“ffffffffff ffffff. FFFFFF”

But his vocal chords didn’t get the memo and he couldn’t make the right sound, couldn’t make his name:

“Fff-ffff-Ffffff-urrrrrr?”

He couldn’t answer the call. He threw his body upwards… his arms too heavy to reach out to him and tried again in a desperate croak:

“Fffffffff-urrrrrrRRR!!!”

A crashing noise, cross voices but the sounds were muffled by the snow and the creeping dark. Angry barking somewhere behind him made Scott cringe and try to curl in on himself.

Then warm… warmth over his chest. And Virgil’s voice and HER song, he felt her song… the happy little song that made the darkness shiver and the dogs whine and back away.

💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚

[silvertws]

"Hermit craft" and other ccs because they are cool. STAR WARS AU (I think imma do different ones depending on like Prequels, Sequels, and Present or whatever it's called yk, droids, Vader and Kylo)...? Unsure I'm just doing Vader now.

*Cries in the amount of research I'm going to have to do*

Xiuma and Mumbo -> def mechanics, ships repairing, Mumbo never drove any of his fucking ships, he would suck as a pilot, Xiuma is good at it tho!

Grian -> one of the best, if not the best pilot in the galaxy -> does bro have the force? Yuh, does he know or use it? Nuh uh also Pearl's sibling, they got separated when little.

Scar -> co-pilot of Grian, has a motored wheelchair, he's the most curious one out of the two. He is the one that tells Grian to do something and join the rebellion.

Doc ->maybe some imperial scientist of some kind???? He scares me.

Scott... You scare me but! Leader potential? Scavenging with Cleo, Scott -> the brain, Cleo -> them muscles, she's a skilled blaster fighter, possibly Mandalorian..? We're there mandalorians of that species....?????Cleo is a Togruta def.

Pearl -> definitely started off as a Padawan, sister of Grian -> = older (aka, yes the gist of "mf is too old to be trained, but his sister ain't, YOINK"), yeah he was not pleased. Pearl basic doesn't remember him, like, she knows she has a brother somewhere, but yk. Yeah so, Master dies, obviously 🙄, cause you know order 66, still debating who that should be... Uhhhhh Maybe Impulse? Yes you're dying boi. Be sad. Someone has to. So yeah, she escapes, and then I'm going to presume she's going in hiding... With another surviving Padawan... Maybe Gem, yeah. Yeah shiny duo why not. So they go into hiding, they survive by themselves, somehow, a bit of thievery never hurt anyone... Oh wait.

Anyway happiness doesn't last.

Bye bye Pearl, to get captured and become a sith you gooo.

Sorry Gem <\3 you'll see each other again.

While Pearl is "busy" turning to the Darkside and Just not having s good time, Gem joins the rebels, not revealing her past, he's lightsaber was broken during her qnd Pearl's escape after all. She does still have her Kyber cristal (green..? They focus more on defending to my knowledge, plus healing? Something like that) Pearl's used to be blue.

So yeah, Gem joins the rebels, where she does missions here and there and meets people like Tango.

Tango -> Pilot, and one of the leaders of a small squad that usually does ambushes to the Empire. (This is due to how fucking mental this guy was with EVERYTHING last season, he deserves to have a leading and planning spot)

Etho is a spy for the rebels. No questions asked. He is. Why? Don't exactly know...? He gives me spy vibes. Mf works for the Empire but is a double agent.

Joel and Lizzie have a bar where they try to keep it neutral, they don't enjoy the empire but don't want to risk loosing what they have to actively fight. They do hide rebels from time to time and share some rations. They know Tango, since he's the one who usually contacts them and also hid there a couple of times. They also know Etho since he goes there whenever he's dispatched to the planet.

Yes. The "Etho stop being obsessed with me" joke lives on.

Now... Owen. You sir. Terrify me. You're very scary as a villain but very adorable as a hero which you know what that means.

BETRAYAL.

oh this mf is playing the rebels like fools!

Nobody suspects the nice mechanic and co-pilot to be an imperial spy... Definitely didn't install a tracker on the ship AND the droid.

Grian and scar + Cleo and Scott + Etho, Gem, Owen all know each other.

Cleo and Scott do not care to join the rebellion and probably never will.

Scar convinces Grian to help.

Etho squad and Scott team have often had fights because of one stealing stuff before the other.

Joey is a pirate with Sausage, Skizz and Martyn. The often had fights with literally all of the other teams.

Ren -> imperial general.

Jimmy -> you know what..? Bounty hunter. And you may think. Jimmy..? A bounty hunter? Bro u cray cray, Nuh uh. Listen. Listen. He's not HORRIBLE at his job, he's not super great either. But he does get enough cash to survive.

Now. Who has a bounty on them..?

Literally everyone I mentioned tbh-

But for plot, and because you guys love flower husbands, I'm gonna go with Scott.

So yeah goofy bounty hunter×the one mf who keeps on slipping away.

And yes, he does go to Joel bar to complain and Joel keeps on taunting him about it.

Ok now.

We did flower husbands.

So I think it's time for the Nature wives.

Shelby is indeed a force user... Or maybe a Witch from Dathomir??? Or maybe.. ok.

Let's say.

She goes to Dathomir.

And like, I remember basically nothing about that so please don't come for me for inaccuracies.

If I remember, from Star wars fallen order (I have not played survivor yet.), the witches are dead. Except one yk, our beloved girlypop, so idk if I should do Shubble being the last one, and meeting Katherine as she crashed down on her planet. Or idk.

Also Katherine is a princess 100%

Think about her like Leia, cool, badass, and fights, I'm thinking for her to be a Mandalorian, because fighting you know. Wither that or she's just the princess of idek. My memory of the planets and systems is very limited ok? I'm very bad with names...

So yeah, maybe a bit of a black lightsaber situation could happen? Idek.

BigB and B-Dubs... I again have no idea.

I don't watch these two- they could be bounty hunters...? Merchants...???? Mercenaries....???? No clue- I mean, I have basically 0 villains planned but I don't think either of them could be an inquisitor or a general/commander of some kind- and I don't know how I wanna do the stormtroopers so... They could be Jedi masters? Maybe one died and the other didn't? Maybe they both died to protect the Padawans? Maybe they're both alive..???? Ughhhhhh ToT

I definitely need to put more villains-

But I don't wannaaaa ToT like sure, the pirate gang, sure, bounty hunter Jimmy.

But the inquisitors brooo.

Like other than Pearl idkkk

She slays so hard she doesn't need other inquisitors-

Like idek know who to make the BBEG

cause like... Scott could definitely be Vader ok. I know. I Know........ And Cleo be an inquisitor??? But I like Jimmy and Scott possible dynamic as bounty hunter×that one mf-

Likeeee arghhhhh

Ren is just too Goofy to be plays as a BBEG

Owen just has to betray someone ok? He needs the switch up.

Uhhhhhh...

Literally idek-

Do I randomly put Kier and Dev into this???

Quackity?????

Philza and Tommy could definitely be Jedi Master and young Padawan...

Like Ranboo is not giving villain.

Technoblade definitely would but, I don't want to put him in... In case I get yelled at TwT

Niki could be an inquisitor- definitely giving "the Jedi are corrupted at and so I decided to kill them all as revenge for taking away my childhood and my right of choice". So yeah.. definitely a "Padawan indoctrinated by the Darkside becomes inquisitor". Kinda like Pearl? But she didn't get tortured- it was kinda her choice sooooo. I guess I'm putting Niki in

FableSMP members???? Do I just put Fable as the BBEG????He could be more like Palpatine than Vader tho, since the manipulation and being well, powerful as fu- like, he works...Ok now I have ideas for FableSMP characters... Enderian would def be a witch of Datomir, my only issu with that is that I don't exactly know how that would work with Centross.

But. For what does work.

Wolf/Fenris??? Idk how it's written.

Used to be an imperial general, betrayed Fable. When he realized his kingdom was not safe even if he stayed with him.

Rae -> in this universe Enderian is out of the picture, like not even mentioned, sorry girly.

Rae is the child of Isla, who was the queen of whatever because again, this is just me writing down dumb ideas. So, Rae and Icarus were sent away when he was little by Isla, who wanted to keep him away from the empire's arms due to his connection to the force.

Icarus -> older sibling to Rae, has no connection to the force, (no Quixis, you're not doing shit this time >:(), when them and Rae were sent away, they didn't understand why fully. As he got older they resented Rae because they felt like if Rae didn't have a connection to the force then they'd be able to be a family. But that resentment soon moved to the force itself, the stores about the Jedis, the sith, all that chaos. They don't know exactly how to help Rae, all they can do is try to protect him from the empire. (I'm giving Rae and Icarus a good-ish relationship ok? We all need that)

Momboo and Ocie -> are sisters, both use the force and both were trained by the Jedis, needless to say they are not like 20 yo, I think imma make them around 35/40..? (Safe to say Icarus and Momboo won't have a relationship.No.)

They both survived order 66 but got separated.

Now for the angsty part.

Momboo during her travels tried to find and protect kids gifted with the force. She would then proceed to die, leaving Jamie and Uhh fuck I don't remember their name, well, her other kid ok? With one message, to find Ocie, she could help them.

Ocie did not have as much maternal instincts as her sister, but, she picked along a small child, Oscar, a child made orphan by the empire. I'm figuring out the species still. She would settle down, she thought she was away from everything, that she could heal. Then Momboos kids came, and boom, training arc for those little shits. (/Sarcastic /not mean /please I'm not serious)

Centross -> now, I know in FableSMP he's not on Fable's side but Enderian's, the problem with that is that I think that the only thing that fits Enderian is a Dathomir's witch. And I don't exactly know how that could work. Like sure, let's make her a sith, but she's supposed to be like on Fable's power level, and she's definitely not a Jedi. So. For Centross, he could 100% be an inquisitor. 100% not even questioning it. This is based upon when he was violet reaper, yes yes, I am aware he was not on Fable's side, but I believe Fable is more fit as Palpatine than Enderian, sorry girlboss. Also sorry Centross, you're not getting a redemption arc.

Origin members..?????? (Except you know who ofc)

Do I just mix up some Steve Saga like- I CAN'T DO THAT YK.

Like so many but yet arghhhhh

Idkkkkk

So many possible heroessss.

Like the only ones I KNOW could be great villains for sure are Pearl, Scott, and Owen. And Scott and Owen are the only ones who I could see as the BBEG.

But again, you know... TwT

Can't use Scott, Owen is already a traitor, unsure if he should be using the force.

And Pearl is just- s c a r y but she will have a redemption arc so yk.

Ughhhhh

Like Gem could also have villain potential but likeeeeee

®×`]?×¢{§`}~[¢÷!4(&(&(2)

I will maybe get more ideas in the future once I've done more research.

Please this is just a draft so don't come for me and the inaccuracies. I'm not even sure I'll actually bother to write an actual storyline, this is for funzies. Also the ages of characters might vary from the originals because again, this is an AU.

Also if anyone sees this and knows how to write and for some reason does anything with this, cool! :DDD it's not gonna happen, but cool!

[bettsfic]

A few years ago—god, i must have still been in college. 2018? 19? You made a master post of all your fic up until then. Would you be able to make another post, with all your fic from 2019ish-now?

sure! i've been wanting to do this for a while but the question becomes - how to organize? i write in too many different fandoms to do it by canon. so we're just gonna go by the myriad ways my id is on full display.

i skipped a few fics that i didn't like so it's not *everything*. also many of these are locked down so you have to log into ao3 to see them.

masterpost of my fics, 2019 - 2023

key:

personal favorite

you don't really need to know the canon going in

VERY NSFW

diet cottagecore

there's a house. somebody is sad. chores.

rest in grace - violet evergarden, violet/gilbert, canon divergence - 20k, complete

float - breaking bad, jesse/OMC, post-canon - 19k, complete

good bones - star wars sequels, reylo, modern au - 12k, wip

stray - genshin impact, razor/lumine, canon divergence - 6k, complete

"i don't remember you" to "let's pretend to be in a relationship" to "oh you've been in love with me your entire life?"

fake dating via trauma-induced amnesia and chronic illness

a standing engagement - the hunger games, odesta, canon divergence - 57k, complete

wind of the new world - the hunger games, odesta, sequel to ASE - 10k, complete

digging for orchids - tgcf, hualian, modern au - 43k, complete

a brat and the guardian she desperately wants to fuck

and the guardian who is trying desperately not to give in

huaycan - the gray man, six/claire, post-canon - 16k, complete

in water falling - the clone wars, rexsoka, dystopia au - 14k, complete

a long way - game of thrones, jaime/myrcella, canon divergence - 18k, complete

so obsessively in love that their life is upended and their identity irrevocably changed

romance with repercussions & codependency ever after

free ride - tbosas, snowbaird, modern au - 24k, wip

patronage - painter of the night, nakyum/seungho, modern au - 11k, complete

lemon - star wars prequels, anidala, modern au - 73k, complete

organic chemistry - the clone wars, rexsoka, modern au - 57k, wip

"i will kill for you" (literal)

murder as a love language

acquittal - tgcf, hualian, modern au - 10k, complete

the bluff - barry (hbo), sally/barry, canon divergence - 9k, complete

if i had a nickel for every fic i've written where an unstable marriage is saved by an adrift third burdened by the guilt of their society-ruining decisions

i'd have two nickels, but it's weird it happened twice

before the suns rise - star wars prequels, obianidala, canon divergence - 30k, wip

renovations - frozen, anna/elsa/kristoff, modern au (no incest) - 47k, complete

"whoops, i was trying to kill you but i fell in love with you instead"

villainfucker city rise up

the truth of time - rurouni kenshin, e/k, canon (live action) - 6k, complete

penitence - star wars sequels, reylo, canon divergence - 17k, complete

porn, but also healing from atrocity

honestly every fic i write could fall under this category

reclaimed - star wars sequels, reylo, omegaverse - 14k, complete

light - saezuru, yashiro/doumeki, canon divergence - 30k, complete

sick part of a sick thing - stranger things, hellcheer, no upside down au - 45k, complete

let ruin end here - tgcf, hualian, modern au - 8k, complete

the art of scraping through - the 100, bellarke, modern au - 18k, complete

porn, but also righting the wrongs of decades past

boys with big regrets and even bigger—

dirtbag - stranger things, hellcheer, no upside down au - 60k, complete

moderation - the 100, bellarke, modern au - 40k, complete

always be closing - mdzs, wangxian, modern au - 32k, complete

femdom tsundere (ft. pegging)

grouchy women and the submissive men who adore them

black-eyed - mdzs, chengqing, modern au - 16k, complete

not if, when - original fiction - 12k, complete (the pegging is there in spirit)

ghost in the pearl - westworld, dolores/caleb, canon divergence - 7k, complete

the innate comedy of abject pining

"i'm so in love with you it's killing me lmao"

no certainty of doors between us - mdzs, wangxian, modern au - 6k, complete

the beach episode - tgcf, hualian, modern au - 20k, complete

shut up and kill me - original fiction - 5k, complete (not really a romance)

if you dig my stuff and want to support me, you can

subscribe to my newsletter

buy me a coffee on ko-fi

thanks for the ask, anon! this was fun.

[shzmluvrs]

Hi! I'm the same anon that requested the "Batson and The Bat's son" imagine. I'm so glad you had fun writing it ❤️ and honestly- I can't stop rereading it 😭 words can't describe how it makes me feel (in the best way ofc!). I'm hoping it isn't too soon to be asking for a (kinda) sequel 💀 or prequel- depends on you!

Basically Billy talks about the reader to his family but he's kinda vague, since he doesn't wanna reveal too much and he knows Freddy would bombard him and her with questions if he says too much. They also haven't met the reader yet so they start joking that she's imaginary. One day the team gets themselves into a situation they can't get out of. So the reader comes in and saves them and in the heat of the moment Billy says smth like "SEE- SHE'S REAL". After he says that he has to inevitably introduce the reader to them. Idk what else I want to happen 😭 tho I trust your creative mind 🛐 pls take your time and have a good day ✨💖

Omg haii😼!! I'm so happy you enjoyed it, like, I wasn't sure how well it was going to turn out, but I think I did right by you, which is always the goal for any requester🫶🏽. Anyhow, yes, I am happy to continue your "Wonder-Daughter dates Billy" lore, I'm super into this, and I really hope you like it😙💕.

~ Star✨️

Themyscirian Girlfriend

Prompt: The duties of being an "average" teenage boy are proving to be quite difficult for Billy. School, chores, being a superhero, keeping your family safe from supervillains, magic, and monsters... And, oh yeah, making sure you don't get beat up by your superhero girlfriend's best friends. OH, and make sure you don't reveal her secret identity to anyone...

That last bit is extra difficult when you have a nosy, superhero obsessed, younger-by-a-month little brother, though.

Timeline: Post S!:FOTG

TW/Content: Freddy teasing TF outta Billy⚡️Bizzaro cameo😱?!⚡️Swearing, cuz teenagers do that⚡️You (reader) being so awesome-powerful-cool⚡️Billy loving you so, so, so much🥺⚡️So many references, be like Ash and Ketchum all

Reader: Fem! She/Her/Hers Pronouns! Wonder Woman's Daughter!

Requested By: Anon

Back to Master List

The golden light casted above the two of you dowsed your body in gold, creating an aura around your figure that Billy wished was nothing short of permanent. Not that he didn't already believe you to be a gift he had no clue how he earned. He just thought the added halo effect seemed fitting, even if it was just a result of a house/porch light that needed thorough cleaning.

"Thank you for joining me today." You spoke once he disconnected his earbuds from the jack of his phone. "I had a great time with you, as always."

"Of course! I'd never miss a chance to go out with you." He admitted, a lot quieter than his voice had previously been on the walk back to his home. But swiftly, the confidence returned as he clicked his phone off and smiled.

"Next time, I'll introduce you to some Steve Lacy."

You tilted your head while he went on in better clarification.

"He's another musician. You'll like him."

Your lips formed an 'Oh' shape as you nodded in understanding before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek and then his forehead.

"I'll see you next week, okay, Billy?"

He nodded, ignoring the heat rising through his body at your simple acts of affection. Maybe he had gotten a little used to giving it, but receiving it back was always such a hassle for his mind. Though you couldn't help but find it endearing when he'd trip and stumble over his words or be genuinely left in surprise whenever you'd reciprocate whatever love he had to offer.

But not this time, because he had focused himself on a heavier subject matter, his words catching you before you could walk away.

"Do you really have to go?"

"Hm?" You hummed in confusion, your head turning to look back at him. It was once you saw the look of forlorn glossed in his eyes that you gave him your full attention again, making your way back in front of him as he explained.

"For the week, I mean. Do you really have to go all the way back to Them... There-is... Themu...uh..."

"Themyscira?" You finished, Billy nodding at the correct pronunciation of your birthplace while you giggled.

"You can just call it Paradise Island. But, thank you for trying."

Billy nodded respectfully, almost laughing while he talked.

"Yeah, I bet it is paradise if there's more girls like you over there..."

"Huh?" You quirked a brow at his statement, Billy immediately sensing his slip-up and grasping at loose straws to fix it.

"I... I just mean, because like, I really like you and since you're from there, there's other women like you, or...your mom."

"What?!" You gasped, Billy letting out a curt sigh at his own, horrible explanation. So, he just gave up instead. It was probably for the best. Or, more accurately, in his best interest.

"I just-! I'd...! I love you, and I'd never breathe in another person's direction because nobody can compare to you...?"

"...Much better." You praised his statement that came out as more of a question waiting for your approval, giving him a playful narrow of the eyes while he gave a breath of relief.

"But, yes, I do have to return to Themyscira. I am due to compete in this year's Amazonian Olympic Games. They will determine whether or not I am worthy of my title and abilities. You, of all people, should understand this given you have a magical wizard looking out for you and your family, yes?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"-Plus, I just..." You sighed, looking off for a moment in melancholy. "I just really want to make my mother proud. She was much younger than me when she first competed, and though she didn't win, I still have a lot to live up to since I haven't returned in nearly eight years."

Billy nodded, showing his understanding for the matter while your gaze remained glued to the porch floor beneath you.

"Are you nervous?" He asked, and almost instantly, you nodded. Hell, just thinking about the whole ordeal made the jitters appear in your stomach and hands.

"Immensely."

With a warm smile, Billy gently took both of your hands into his, cupping them so they'd stop shaking while making sure he was able to hold eye contact with you.

"Well, I just want you to remember that you'll do amazing. No matter what happens, you're still worthy to me, and you'll always have a place here. Just, y'know...be careful. And good luck; don't let them get in your head."

"Oh, Billy..." You sighed in fondess but didn't get to express any further gratitude for his kind words as he went on.

"And also, call me if something happens."

You gave him a look, one that was a clear expression of, "Do you really think we have those silly little phone-thingies on the island...?" He caught it, nodding side to side a little before re-wording.

"Send me a bird letter if anything happens. And like, seriously, be careful because I know it's probably a long trip there and back. Which reminds me, please come back soon. And-!"

"-Billy...!"

He hushed.

"...I will, don't worry yourself. I'll be careful, I'll send you bird letters, and most importantly..."

Just as you had before, but directly on his right dimple this time, you placed down a gentle kiss. A reminder and a promise.

"I love you. And I will be back as soon as I can be."

You watched in amusement at the boy in front of you beginning to grow even more bashful than before, unable to look you in the eyes for fear he'd just crumble beneath you. And honestly, neither you nor him would have it any other way. But, just to be on the safe side and make sure he didn't actually do so, you were quick to capture him in a real kiss. Billy eager to return it with a passion that was predictable yet always appreciated and matched.

"You know I have super-hearing, right...??"

The voice went echoed into the air, the same place your skirt and hair went flying at the sudden gust of wind that almost knocked the two of you over.

"The hell...?" Billy commented as he held you to keep the two of you from falling over, looking around in confusion while you merely rolled your eyes.

"Jon..." You all but murmured, and in reference to his super-hearing, he responded with another burst of speed and more echoed words.

"I'm just saying, like, are you two done now? I don't wanna hear you guys swap spit."

"Obnoxious with the use of your powers, I fear you may hardly deserve them...!! Bring yourself here so you don't have to keep listening in!" You shouted in a scolding tone before letting out a breath and shaking your head.

"Sorry. He's my ride." You both explained and apologized to Billy, the boy nodding in understanding with a slight chuckle before the two of you smiled at Jon's very fast appearance. Stopping right in between you with a quickly dispersing cloud of air behind him, he was quick to give you a joking snarl as you shot him a deadpanned glare.

"Can we go, now? I have a cerfew, too, y'know."

"Yeah, well, some of us can't fly, nor have super-speed. Consider yourself lucky."

The raven-haired boy simply shrugged, sticking his hand out towards Billy to initiate a greeting that the brunette returned with a smile.

"'Sup, Jon?"

"Nothin' much, just, y'know... saving the world. No biggie."

Billy nodded in understanding as they dapped each other up, a smug smile gracing both of their lips.

"Same, same."

"Idiots..." You sighed, unable to contain your smile at the friendship that had blossomed between the two. Damian, on the other hand... was still a work in progress, hence is absence.

It wasn't long after their brief moment of catching up that the two of you took your leave, Jon carrying you as you waved down to your boyfriend for the final time this evening, him waving back until Jon was swiftly out of sight. A loud, crashing boom of him breaking the sound barrier to follow up after that caused the front door to swing open.

"I thought I said no Shazaming in the house...?"

Billy whipped around to face Victor, thinking quickly to come up with a viable excuse.

"It wasn't me!"

Nice one, Billy.

"It was my girlfriend, she just left, like... two seconds ago."

Victor raised a brow at his son's explanation, watching as he scratched the back of his neck while continuing to ramble on.

"Well, technically, it wasn't her. She was getting a ride from someone else and he- It- Whatever, nevermind, it doesn't matter."

The man chuckled while his son slipped past him and into the house, letting out a teasing, "Girlfriend, huh? I guess that explains the..." and circling around his own face to imply something. Billy, who didn't even spare a look back, hadn't caught on upon making his way to the dining room.

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

All five of his siblings, his parents, and welcomed guest Anthea, watched as Billy shoveled spaghetti into his mouth at an ungodly rate. Which one would think would be impossible for a literal demi-god, but here they were. Alas, it's not like anyone could really blame him. It was his favorite meal, it was Rosa's cooking, and he was sick of the vegetarian meals Darla had been making for the past four days.

Although, it wasn't the main reason he was being gawked at in the moment, Freddy and Eugene the ones to be stifling laughter while the rest wanted nothing more than to tell him. It was clear he didn't realize, it was just a matter of how to approach the subject...

"Um... Billy?" Mary began gently, the teen not even looking up from his plate as he continued to eat, unknowing of his entire family's attention on him.

"You have... a little something, like, all over... your face right now." She made the same circling motion around her face as Victor had prior, not that he saw that one either. Just missing it, actually, finally looking up to notice all of the odd stares towards his seat at the table.

"Oh." Was his only reaction, setting down his fork to wipe his cheek. It gained more unseen giggles for some reason, but his only goal was to get back to eating, so natrually, he brushed then off with a curt, "Thank you, Mary." and continued is stuffing.

"No, you still..." Anne spoke aloud this time, her words trailing off when she realized she hadn't caught him in time once he started eating again.

"You just made it worse, dude." Mary giggled, having to lean her head down on the back of her hand to hide it.

"Oh." Billy spoke again, brows furrowed in the slightest while Rosa had set down her own fork. She motioned for her son to come closer, picking up a napkin and slightly dipping it into her water.

"C'mere honey, let me just wipe them for you..."

"Mom- No, stop it, I got it." He reassured, slightly embarrassed by her offer while going for his own napkin. "I'm not five."

And with one quick motion of his napkin up and down his face, it was clear to everyone but him he had simply made the situation much worse.

"There."

It drew in more laughter, this time from everyone, as he stared around the table in confusion that slowly turned into annoyance. It was like being on the outside of an inside joke, and if there was one thing he was tired of feeling in his life, it was being left out.

"What...?" He questioned, Darla the first and very eager to ask simply out of her own and pure curiosity.

"How come you got kissies all over your face?"

. . .

"...Huh...?"

Everyone burst into laughter, Billy's questioning gaze soon shifting into one of realization as he thought back. Back to moments that felt forever ago, where you had placed kisses across his face. Kisses with your lips coated in dark red lipstick...

"Oh... my god, (Y/N), why... just, why...?" He cursed your name lightly, now taking up Rosa on that offer to clean his face. Not that it mattered, his face still as dark red as the kisses that had now been wiped clean out of sheer embarrassment.

"So that's her name?" Victor pointed out, his voice and chest swelling with pride for his son's unadmitted achievement in life. Getting himself a girlfriend. "(Y/N)..."

He moved his hand across in the air as though your name were the title to an upcoming movie or a fresh take. A new and interesting topic, something this family thrived in, especially during dinnertime. And Billy, natrually, was not at all prepared and internally scolded himself for not being careful enough with his words.

It only grew more chaotic from there, Mary, Rosa, Darla, and Anthea letting out squeals loud enough to rival the TV playing in the living room as background noise.

"Billy, you never told me you had a girlfriend! Since, uh, when...?"

"Why would I ever tell you...?" Billy countered Mary's words, Darla already voicing her fantasies on merging her into the already big family.

"Her name is so pretty! Is she pretty, too? I bet she's gorgeous, like a princess! D'you think she'll play mermaid princesses with me?!"

"She must be...!" Rosa agreed swiftly with a laugh, motioning towards Billy fondly with her hand. "You saw all of the little besos she gave him. She probably thinks the same of you, Billy... My sweet boy with his own girlfriend, aww...!"

She just couldn't take it, placing a hand over her heart out of pure happiness for her son who had seemed to have finally found his love. His first one, at that. Which yes, he did, but-

"Mom, stop it, it's not that big of a deal, please..."

Not what he was thinking when you first asked him out, but whatever.

"Oh my gosh," Anne gushed, already jumping in with her own opinion to give. "With a name like that, she's bound to be amazing."

"I-" She kept going, Billy hardly even able to inhale as his siblings gushed on.

"Does she go to Fawcett, too? How come we've never seen her around?"

Freddy's scoff of a laugh caused the attention to leave Billy for a split second and move onto him, the curly-haired boy casually taking a bite from his own plate while he spoke.

"Pro'lly 'cause she ain't real..."

He jumped slightly when Anne quickly landed a slap to his arm, his mouth full and chewing as he laughed and went, "What?" Before it was his mother's turn to scold him verbally.

"Be nice, Freddy, this is probably a big deal for your brother."

Billy rolled his eyes. Not at Freddy (even though he debated kicking him under the table for his implication). But at the sudden attention he was receiving on the topic of his accidentally mentioned girlfriend. He hadn't even known whether or not if he was ready to tell them about you, let alone introducing you to them. Plus, he didn't trust himself enough not to slip up about the fact that you were Valkyrie. Or Wonder Woman's daughter. Or... both facts.

But on the other hand, he wouldn't tolerate any slander of your name, nor would he allow either of you two to become the target of any teasing from the family, so...

"Well, first of all, yes... she is real, Freddy..." Billy glared in his direction, the room going quiet at his words while he continued to clear the case of your existence up.

"And second, Darla, she is... beyond gorgeous. Like, angel levels of pretty, it's unbelievable."

"Wow!!" Darla squealed in excitement as Freddy gave a small tilt of his head to the side.

"Unbelievable, wow, you don't say?"

But nobody heard, too focused on the description of your person and enthralled with just the way he did it. Full of passion and care they hadn't even realized the boy possessed for anyone outside of the family, let alone a girl. A love that couldn't be replicated or replaced, something that'd make you glow red if you had been in the room to hear it.

"She's got this amazing hair that frames her face perfectly, and she wears glasses, but when she takes them off, you can see how, like... just wow her eyes are. They remind me of a type of jewel or something because they literally sparkle when she's happy or are firey with determination when she's- uh... doing something that requires a lot of focus.

Her entire face is just something I can't stop looking at, and gosh, that girl is... her body is-..." He coughed. "She's a little bit taller than me, so... yeah..."

"And you just... never thought to maybe bring her over? Y'know, just 'cause..." Freddy shrugged, holding back his complacent tone as Eugene bobbed his head in agreement.

"And, let me guess, she texts you all the time, and you go on walks around the park together every Saturday."

At their back-to-back quips and hushed laughter, Billy shot them a scowl as Rosa began to nod in oblivious agreement.

"Yeah, sweetie, why don't you invite her over for dinner tomorrow night? It's a Friday, after all. You can tell her we'd love to meet her."

With a chorus of agreements settling consternation into his chest, he blurted out a slew of excuses as he waved his hand up and down as if to brush the idea of you coming over away.

"Nah, no, that's... she- We already have a lot of people here, she might get... overwhelmed! Yeah. And, y'know, it's just not a good idea."

"And whyyy not?" Freddy pushed, leaning against the open palm of his hand while feigning an affable smile and forcing his brows to jump up and down in silent suggestion.

"She's busy." Was his simple statement, Eugene following up on his claim in an instant.

"Busy doinggg...?"

"...Work." He filled in the blank awkwardly, practically squirming in his seat at the expecting silence. He conjured up some of your favorite hobbies in his mind, anything as far away from superhero work as possible, so he could word it as some type of job that you "have".

"She works as a (Favorite/Hobby), and she's probably gonna' be, like, swamped with stuff to do, so... tomorrow wouldn't work."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Rosa praised, impressed by your skills and interests. "We'll certainly have to make time for her over the weekend or next week then!"

"She can't. She'll be busy all week, too."

"Natrually..." Freddy poked with a theatrical eye roll and a closed-mouth grin. "She must be on the 'twenty-four-seven, forever' shift, which I'd expect from a girl with an imaginary sense of work-life balance."

"Harhar, you're hilarious." Billy mocked, now going through with his actions to send his brother a kick to the shin under the table.

"She's actually going to-...on...uh..." He had to stop himself. What would've been a smug brag about you visiting Paradise Island, becoming a realization that would just throw you under the bus. Plus, it's a lot more unbelievable than everything he had said so far. As much joy as it would bring Billy to rub a trip to Themyscria in his face, he'd just have to make Freddy jealous another time. Besides, he didn't necessarily have to lie. He could just not tell them the full story.

It wasn't a lie if he never told them otherwise to begin with.

"She's going on vacation. With her mother. So, she's gonna' be gone for the rest of the week."

"Oh, really?" Mary piped up out of genuine curiosity, having always wanted to travel herself. "Where's she going?"

. . .

"Out of the country."

"Oh."

"How convenient!" Eugene chirped while he slid his phone towards Billy, as if he were telling him to go ahead and prove it. "Why not just FaceTime her, then? You know, just check in like any good boyfriend should? Maybe even shoot her a little text."

"I can't do that!" Billy exclaimed. "I wouldn't wanna bother her or be rude or anything. She's- it's a... mother-daughter bonding thing, it's different. Hard to explain."

In a sense, that could also be construed as truth, considering you'd be competing in an Olympic event, racing and fighting against others and the elements to both claim and prove your status. Something that would ideally make your mother very proud. Billy himself didn't even one-hundred percent understand the whole event, so it was right for one to assume that he probably would have trouble explaining it to his family. Should he ever have to, of course.

Good thing he won't.

A silence loomed over the family as Billy loosely twirled his spaghetti around his fork. He'd almost be grateful for it if it weren't so uncomfortable. He was sick of being pressed about you, not that he wouldn't take any chance to show you off otherwise. And if it wasn't that, he was annoyed at the way Freddy and Eugene didn't seem to even believe you were real, Mary and Anne able to sense this as they gave each other an unsure look.

"Uhm, well..." The goddess coughed, playing with the hem of her (Freddy's) sweater. "How'd you two meet?"

Finally! Something Billy knew the proper answer to!

"Oh, we were-"

Ohp-. Wait, nevermind. No he didn't.

You two were saving the world when you first met, battling a beast that wasn't even real because it turned out to be a test? He didn't know the details of that dilemma very well, either. All he could remember fondly was the way you looked at him when he accidentally revealed himself. Warm and promising, full of care and will-power that he'd been drawn to ever since.

The same look you gave him when you asked him out on that very first date, where he-

Oh, great idea...!

"At an ice cream shop. I was at an ice cream shop, and that's where I met her. She had never had any before, and so I suggested she start off with something simple, like vanilla. I bought some for her and we spent the rest of the afternoon together. We've been going out ever since."

"Awww~!" Rosa and Anne chorused, Freddy already calling nonsense at the story with a few chuckles hidden behind his hand.

"Wait, so... lemme' get this straight..."

"Frederick..." Anne warned with his full name. He ignored (and he'd be apologizing for it later, no doubt).

"You mean to tell me, this girl has never had ice cream before? Like, in her seventeen-to-eighteen years of life, she had never had one singular scoop of frozen milk and sugar?"

"Dude-"

"-Nevermind the fact that you just, outta' nowhere, decided to rizz up some random girl you didn't even know inside of an ice cream parlor."

"Yeah, Freddy, I did." Billy snapped, waving his hand around in the air for a moment as if he were magically conjuring up the false memory. "And apparently, it all worked out because we've been dating for months, now. Thank you very much."

Jaws dropped at this, having not expected such a bond. It was one thing for Billy to have started a fresh relationship. Maybe for him to even be a little secretive about it until things had proven to be smooth sailing for a long time. But months? Either he forgot to brag about it, or she most definitely didn't exist.

Freddy and Anne almost immediately turned to give each other a knowing look, as if they were reading each other's minds before speaking in unison.

"Is this like a Canadian girlfriend thing...?"

Billy huffed through his nose, knowing better than to let insults fly at the dinnertable with his parents present. But regardless of that fact, Mary was the first to tell he had grown fed up, nudging Victor on the arm while she murmured.

"Here we go again..."

"She's real, okay? (Y/N) is very much real, and you two are just jealous because it took an entire dragon rising from the depths of hell for you two to get together."

And off he went, storming away, leaving Freddy and Anthea's mouths agape in shock while Pedro and Eugene practically sobbed from their loud chortles.

"Do you think he'll come back this time if I call him?" Victor cheesed, Mary shaking her hide from side to side at his reference from the last time Freddy had pissed Billy off at the table. Speaking of which...

"Alright, yeah, whatever...!" He called as if the older boy was still listening. "At least we can all actually see my girlfriend...!"

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

"Is it her?"

Though Freddy's index finger was very obviously directed towards a young girl in the hallway, his brown eyes remained glued to Billy's green ones, waiting for them to change in recognition. They didn't, remaining as stoic as they had when Freddy first began this little game of "Point Out The Person That Looks Closest To Billy's Imaginary Girlfriend."

"No."

"Okay, then it's her." Freddy suggested next, his arm practically flying across Anthea's person just to point his finger at the girl they waltzed past. Billy swore that if the poor thing wasn't in between them, he'd tackle Freddy to he ground, in the middle of the hallway and all. So, maybe it was a good thing Anthea was there.

Billy's eyes drifted to the next victim, a short girl with scene hair and huge platform demonias that stared them down in confusion. He quickly shook his head.

"No, it's not her. (Y/N) is way taller than her. Genetically, without platforms."

"Fine, what about her?" Freddy waved lazily in the direction of someone ahead. "She looks like your type."

Billy huffed.

"That's literally just a guy with long hair."

Freddy's face twisted in disbelief, shaking his head as though he knew better.

"No it isn-"

"It is." Anthea cut in before her boyfriend could finish, turning him towards the person who had finally spun away from his friend and proving to Freddy that he was, in fact, just some dude with a gorgeous head of hair.

"Oh. Mm-."

"Can you just-?" Billy started a desperate plea that went ignored as Freddy smiled in satisfactory, spotting the next girl. Who, yes, was actually a girl this time.

"What about her? Look, she's even how you described, glasses, tall, (Your/Feature), the whole shaza-...shebang..."

Billy hardly wanted to entertain this any longer, but upon looking her direction, noticed swiftly how oddly her features did line up to yours. And yet...

"No, that's not her. I told you already last night, (Y/N) doesn't go here. She's... homeschooled." He excused, quite proud of how fast he had come up with it. Plus, it was kind of true, Diana the one who had taught you most of your studies. And when not her, a private tutor Bruce had graciously spent his money on for you to have.

Yes, the Bruce Wayne.

"Oh, of course. What an awesome coincidence."

"Freddy, stop it." Anthea nudged him, not allowing the teasing to continue any further upon seeing the scowl from last night returning onto Billy's face.

"I'm sure he's probably telling the truth, I mean, what reason would he have to lie? Besides, she's probably just...shy. Maybe she's shy."

And though the girl was satisfied with her answer, Billy could only laugh giddily to himself while remembering the time you had allowed him to watch a very special training session you had in the past.

"Yeah, if you call accidentally bodyslamming Superman "shy," then sure. Most timid girl I know..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing...!" He brushed his remark away when he had almost been caught, quick to change the subject before he could be questioned any further.

"Guys, look, just drop it, alright? I know you don't believe me, and you know what? I don't care anymore. I'm happy, outside of the fact that you're really working my nerves, and that's all that matters. I'll see you two later..."

"Billy, hang on...!" Anthea called, having not meant to cause a fuss on the matter. She couldn't help it. She was entirely too good-natured. But, there was Freddy, always there to ease her own tensions and make her laugh in the process.

"Agh, don't worry about him. He'll get over it. You know, the imaginary girlfriend thing is a common phase, cited by phenomenons all across the globe of people with the exact same conditions and symptoms. Lois Lane even wrote an article on it way-back-when she was first starting out."

"Oh, yeah?" Anthea entertained smugly, Freddy nodding fastly as he droned on.

"Totally. It was a very interesting article, but it made total sense. I mean, even I went through a phase just like it, and I turned out fine."

"Oh?"

And then it clicked, Freddy's face growing a deep shade of red under his freckles.

"Yea- Only when I was like, super tiny-young, I mean. Like, it was- I..."

His rambles stopped when he noticed Anthea's raised brow, almost laughing to himself while they paused in front of her classroom door.

"Just...forget I told you that. I love you my very much, my real and amazing girlfriend. I swear, my pillo- I mean, Jennifer was just a quick fling and nothing compared to the goddess that stands in front of me...?"

Through her giggles, she nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek and taking her leave.

"That's what I like to hear~. Now, don't go off 'saying the word' while I'm gone, 'kay?"

Freddy nodded at her parting heed, knowing it was a reference to the way he'd ditch class to go off and do hero work without warning.

"I won't, I won't...!"

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

"SHAZAM!"

"Alright, what's the plan?!" Freddy shouted as they all gawked up towards the threat, Billy shrugging casually while he shook his head as though he were literally wracking his brain for a proposal.

"Uhh...Ahhh... No idea! I think we should just wing it, to be honest...!"

"That's a terrible plan!!" Mary and Anthea shouted in unison, the shorter girl using magic to cloak over herself and change into her armored attire.

"Superman's weakness is Kryptonite, right?!" Mary swiftly informed the group, Freddy nodding in confirmation. "Good! If Bizzaro is anything like him, it should be the same! If we can distract him long enough for one of us to catch him from behind, we'll have a chance at detaining him! Then, we can send him back to his world...!"

"Yes, awesome, Wisdom of Salamander...!" Billy praised, leaving all of his siblings to groan.

"Solomon...!"

"Whatever...!!"

And with that, they put her plan into action, Freddy and Pedro flying up high until they were facing the Kryptonian clone with complacent, challening grins.

"Hey, Bizarro-Man...!!" Freddy called, nudging Pedro. "Since you're a copy of Superman, is it really true you have super strength like him?! Betcha' we could take you in a fight...!"

The villain merely scoweld, sending a sudden breath of flame towards them. Freddy dodged, Pedro just missing his chance to do the same before being his with the blast and being sent flying into the nearest billboard.

"...Fire breathing?! You can breathe fire?!" Freddy yelled in a panic, unable to add on how that was very much unlike Superman's notable ability of freeze breath before realizing Bizarro was barreling straight for him. Freddy took off, both of their super speed rivaling each other as he crated a path for his siblings to follow.

"Where are we gonna' get Kryptonite?" Darla gasped, all of their heads turning as the two flew by. Mary pondered the situation deeply, having never even seen the green emerald herself, let alone come into contact with it. She figured it was a lost artifact, a gem only the most powerful would have. Except for Superman, all things considered. So maybe more like magical powerful people.

People like...

"The Wizard!" She shouted. "He's the most powerful person we know, having kept all of his powerful objects in his lair, right?"

"Yeah," Billy agreed. "But what does he have to do with anything? He's not the-"

"I know, but the lair is ours, now!" She explained further. "Which means so are all of the things in it!"

"But-!"

"Anthea, Darla...! Go help Freddy and make sure to keep Bizarro busy! Eugene, go help Pedro, make sure he's alright!"

"On it!" Anthea gave Mary a nod, Darla having already dashed away as Eugene made his way towards his brother.

"Billy, you come with me, hurry...!" Mary instructed, grabbing his wrist and practically dragging him along as he followed in confusion.

"Mary, where are we going?! This is really not a good time to ditch them, we-!"

"We're not ditching them." She insisted, opening a random shop door with the intention for it to open a portal to the Rock of Eternity. And luckily, it did just that as she went on with a rapid explanation for her actions.

"You know how Eugene has been mapping the place out? Well, I've been helping him. Mainly making sure he doesn't get lost, but also because I've been studying it all. Making sure we know that everything that's in there is actually safe."

They wandered past the main part of the lair, the area where everything had been decorated freely and most obviously lived in, to the more labrynth-like parts that always confused Billy and Darla whenever they tried their own hands at exploring. But this time, Mary was there to lead him, having a clear sense of direction seeking out whatever it was she was searching for.

"We came across this space or...cave or something. Like a mine, y'know? And at first, I wasn't sure what was in it. Neither of us were, I mean, I couldn't find any of them in any books or articles. It's like... all the gems that are in that cave aren't from here or something. From another world."

"Mary, this really is some interesting stuff, but I don't get wh- woah..."

Billy's rambles were cut short, the two siblings having stopped in front of the very cavern Mary described. The entrance was glowing due to all of the luminous crystals buried off inside of it. Hell, the cave itself seemed neverending, branching off into different routes, holes, and other tunnel systems that were surely easy to get lost in.

Luckily, they didn't need to go too far in, Mary stopping Billy from doing so with the tug of his arm back closer to her person. She was slightly bent over, hovering above a large chunk of what he assumed to be an emerald. Practically matching the color of his eyes, they both sparkled at one another while Mary began to confess her opinions.

"I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before, but if my assumption is correct...if these are otherworldly artifacts...then I don't know what else this could be, other than-"

"Kryptonite..." Billy finished, turning towards his sister with an ecstatic grin. "Mary, you genius, you! Here, c'mon, help me get this stuff out of the wall...!"

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

"Where the hell is Mary with that Kryptonite...?!" Freddy whined in an almost sing-song tone, blasting a continuous bolt of lightning directly at Bizzaro. It had no effect, merely slowing him down by a second until Darla, Pedro, and Eugene all joined in. And though it didn't hurt him, he was stuck in his tracks, trying his hardest to deflect it.

"She said she had an idea...!" Darla grunted. "But I dunno' what! She just took Billy back to the lair and- AAH!!"

Bizzaro had used all of his strength to blast the lightning back, sending the group soaring backward at the impact. As he began to stalk closer towards Darla, Eugene was quick to jump in the way with a protective, "No!" leaving his lips.

A bolt of lighting shot from his hands, Bizzaro quick to blast it with-

"Freeze...eyes...?"

The beam of icy blue turned Eugene's lighting into a solid rod of frozen air, the large block dropping to the ground and shattering beneath their feet. Freddy had... never seen a power like that before. It confused him, all of them, long enough to be a stall as Bizzaro quickly let off another beam towards them.

"Watch out...!!" Anthea warned, quickly hopping in the way with her hands out. Her palms glowed, swirling with golden power until the buildings and structures around them began to move and shift rapidly. Power of Axis, always a helpful tool in changing perspective, but not in changing the course of a blow to its intended target. Given the girl had learned this fact the hard way in the past, she was quick to turn to them in haste.

"We have to move, hurry! If we don't, we'll still get hit!"

Almost as if on cue, they watched the blast of ice cold vision barrelled towards them through a park, just barely missing all of the different play structures as the group swiftly managed to fly off in different directions. Freddy was sure to take Anthea in his arms, watching as the beam instead left a jungle gym frozen solid into a dome.

"Guys...!!"

Looking towards the voice, they were happy to spot Mary and Billy flying back towards them with a glowing, green gem in hand.

"No way-No way-No way!!" Freddy gushed as they approached, showing it off with pride. "You two actually found Kryptonite?! Do you know how rare this is?! Like, it's literally thought to be a myth, like, it's more believable than your imaginary girlfriend...!"

"Oh my god..." Billy groaned as the rest giggled. "C'mon, man, it's been like a week!"

"I'm being totally serious!" Freddy held his hands up as though he were giving surrender while Billy shook his head in dismay.

Mary sighed, floating in between the two boys with the gem in hand.

"Not the time, guys. Look, if we can keep Bizzaro distracted for just a little longer, this should definitely do the trick. We got this."

She held out her fist towards Billy, sending him a sure smile.

"You ready?"

"Yeah," he nodded, giving a smirk of his own before scanning the land beneath for their foe. He bumped her fist back. "Let's kick this dude's ass."

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

"Dude, we're getting our asses kicked...!!" Eugene grunted, struggling to pick himself up from the ground as he clutched his side.

"It's like he's more powerful than before!" Anthea alluded, wiping the blood from her lip as she helped Mary from the ground and onto her shoulder.

"I don't... understand..." She coughed, grateful for the support as she looked up to her two brothers, trying their best to subdue Bizzaro hand-to-hand.

"The Kryptonite should be working. It should...be making him weaker."

"Maybe it isn't what you thought it was..." Darla whimpered, sending her sister a look of vanquish.

Billy watched as Bizzaro landed a blow onto Freddy's chest, the man in blue being sent flying back into the earth with a loud yelp and a crash. He wanted to call for him but reminded himself to focus on the battle at hand if there would be any chance of defeat. Even if he was scared, as much as he didn't want to admit it.

You'd be scared, too, if some weird copy of Superman was hurdling towards you, Kryptonite wedged into his bleeding shoulder (blue blood, which was quite jarring when they first stabbed him) with some obtuse goal to destroy the world he deemed "lesser" than his own.

Because of this, he'd frozen up, unsure of how to counter his speed let alone his attack. Instead, he took it like a champ, as he had many punches even before he was a superhero, and went hurdling towards the ground just as Freddy had.

"Oh. Hey, man..." Freddy groaned when his brother appeared next to him.

"Having fun, yet?" Billy haphazardly joked, referring to Freddy's "love" and "enjoyment" for his "superhero duties."

"Oh, yeah, loads." He nodded unconvincingly, wiping the blood from his nose with his arm. "I love the smell of iron in the morning. And, y'know- the sounds of terror and destruction really just...pull it all together."

They helped each other up, checking themselves for any fatal injuries. And, when they found none, regrouped with the rest of their family in doldrums as they watched Bizzaro inflict his reign of dismantling on the city.

"What're we gonna do?" Darla asked, looking to her brother in worry.

"Your realm is not capable of destroying power such as this. How are we to do the same?"

Anthea's words had been directed towards Freddy but left Billy's mind swirling instead. Was she right? She had to be...

If the Champions of Magic and an entire goddess couldn't decide the fate of their opponents on the battlefield, who could?

. . .

Their heads whipped up at the sound of a furious battle cry, a shimmer of gold and the quick blur of your (H/C) locks barreling towards the enemy. Your sword drawn and in position to leave its target slain as you attacked from above, a ferocious look on your face for none other than the mockery of hope and justice below you.

When your weapon made contact, you knew better than to think it'd actually cut through Bizarro. But, it did send him hurdling towards the dirt as he had Freddy and Billy moments earlier. You had cut a large chunk of the green Kryptonite from his shoulder, dimming him back to his normal level of powerful abilities. And yet, you knew this wasn't the end, much more work to be done as you announced your threat.

"My mother and her colleagues have defeated you once, and you dare to return to this world and cause its people pain and anguish once again?!" Your booming scolds might've reminded someone that of a parent, pointing your sword below you at Bizzaro's stunned figure.

"How dare you have such audacity?! Let it be known I will not allow you to do so, and you will now fall by my hand, even if it kills me!"

"Valkyrie?!" - "(Y/N)?!"

Both of your aliases spoken into the air at the same time, yet it was Billy who wanted to slap himself after being the only one to have said your real name rather than your well-known, hero one. He even tried to ignore the looks his siblings (and Anthea) gave him, pure shock just oozing from their figures.

"That's (Y/N)?!" Mary shouted in bafflement.

"She's real?!" Freddy's tone of incredulity made Billy's eyes roll for a split second.

Not alloted any time for anyone to question or answer further, your head whipped back, you're firey (E/C) eyes glaring deeply into Billy's.

"You...!" You bellowed menacingly, and suddenly, he was a lot less excited to see you.

"Wha-?! Are you-? Oh...my gosh, are you mad at me right now?..."

From a bystander's point of view, it definitely looked a little silly, your shorter and younger appearing figure stomping towards this grown adult man, who was fearfully stumbling back away from you as you approached with anger. His face was dowsed in fear, and yours?

Where to begin...

"I leave you on your lonesome to protect your people for a week! A week! And this is what I'm fated to return to?! Do you even know what it is you've done allowing him to remain in such close proximity to green Kryptonite?!"

"I- Uh...Well, technically, it wasn't even really my idea, 'cause-"

"William."

You seethed his full name, cutting off his excuses, which consisted of throwing his older sister under the bus. She thanked whatever God above for that one, not even having been in your presence for a mere two minutes, and was terrified of your wrath.

The groan of Bizzaro rising from the dirt stopped the rest of your reprimands, leaving you the sigh in simple vexation before pointing a finger at your incautious lover.

"I will deal with you later."

A silence passed over as you leaped into action, everyone still left a bit shaken at everything you had to offer so far. Including Billy, even though all he could muster up was a quiet, "I told you she was real..."

"That's your girlfriend?!" Freddy nearly exploded. "Valkyrie is your girlfriend?! Dude, I-...! You-! You do know she's Wonder Woman's whole ass daughter, right?! How the fu-?!"

"-Clearly...!" Mary interrupted loudly before he could heavily cuss around Darla. "He's got a type!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever!" Billy exclaimed, already beginning to hover above the ground in hopes to aid his girlfriend. "It doesn't matter right now. We have to help her, c'mon!"

It was once Anthea and the Champions joined the fight, Bizzaro was left with a slim chance of winning. Especially without the enhancement of that same green jewel that always seemed to leave Superman weakened and withered. Mary was still lost on such fact, and Freddy was searching his mind for any possibility of how that could be so.

"I don't get it!" He finally wailed, exhausted from the fight and from using his brain overtime. "He's just like Superman, almost...! If he's such a copy, then how come none of our plans are working?!"

"That is because he is not a copy." You stated plainly, no evidence of normalcy left in your voice. What was left was that of a warrior. A warrior thick in the ways of battle and strategy, knowing your enemy much more than your allies seemed to.

"He is a mirror. Bizzaro, El-Kal, is from a twisted world he created. Everything there, including himself, is some backwards nuisance of what we're so used to here on our planet."

"Hold...Hold'up..." Eugene paused, unable to believe the information being told to him. "This guy's is from another planet just like ours?"

"Yes and no. His world resembles ours, but it is not. It is cubed shaped and docile, with a blue sun that amplifies El-Kal's strength. Much like how this earth's yellow sun aids Superman's. Kal-El."

"Ohh, ha, that's funny, I get it." Freddy chuckled. "It's all backwards over there, so Kal-El is...yeah, that's...that's bad..."

"Well," you smirked, the first and only hint of positivity you had exuded from your person since you had arrived. "Not all bad."

From the latchel which normally held your Lasso of Truth (well, a more miniature one, technically, because your mother wouldn't dare give up her own), was a medium-sized vile of blue liquid clipped in its place. You unhooked it carefully, showing it off to the group as your smirk stretched into a satisfied grin.

"What are the great and powerful without their weaknesses? Blue Kryptonite, liquefied. When I first arrived home this morning, I had seen the news. Trouble here in the heart of Philidelphia, and I immediately recognized that... that..."

"That dumbass question mark on his chest?" Billy spoke up for you. In much more vulgar terms, sure, but you couldn't help but agree with an admitting nod.

"Yes, precisely. I knew what he was capable of, and I knew that you all more than likely didn't have the proper contingencies to stop him. So, I asked Damian for a favor..."

Freddy leaned in towards Billy, putting a hand up as if it'd conceal his bad whispers.

"Who's Damian?"

"Don't worry about it." Billy ignored, slapping him away lightly as you finished.

"...With this, we will surely defeat Bizarro. I can detain him, and I will convince him to leave this world in peace once again."

You opened the vile, neon blue smoke immediately pouring from it like dry-freeze until you began to dump some of the contents onto the blade of your sword.

"All I need for you all to do, is keep him busy. Until then, hold out your hands..."

They all did as told, watching as the rest of the liquid went dumped into their palms while you explained such actions.

"Should any of you come into physical combat with him, your touch will now weaken him, leaving him vulnerable. Easier to take down."

"And what about you?" Billy asked, his tone laced with worry for your well-being. Your gaze softened as you moved closer, hardly used to having to look up at him. But, you could admit, you found it a nice change of pace as you reached up to hold his face in your palm.

"I will do what I have to. Don't worry about me, okay?"

"That's literally impossible, but okay."

You chuckled.

"Fair. Your only job is to make sure all goes well. And... don't make anymore 'dumbass' decisions. You keep that green Kryptonite away from Bizzaro."

Billy nodded, laughing at your use of his improper language before floating upwards to complete his task.

"Alright, guys...!" He called down, his siblings following in suite while you motioned Anthea to remain with you at ground levels.

"Let's kick this guy's ass. For real this time, though."

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

"Who is that?!" Rosa shouted as she stared at her TV in horror, scared for her superhero children tackling the evil Superman imposter with some random girl who had just shown up, as any mother would be.

Almost as soon as Victor moved to grab the keys for his van, the front door opened and in waltzed their children. Like ducks in a row, Mary, Pedro, Eugene, Darla, Freddy, Anthea, Billy, and-... ??

"Hi, mom!"

"Hey, Ma!"

"Hi, Mommy!"

"'Sup, Dad?"

The choruses of their greetings eased their nerves and tensions, but the sight of a new girl with glasses and her hair in a fancy, braided updo took them by surprise. She remained close to Billy, seemingly glued to his arm as he quietly attempted to convince her of the kind nature of his parents.

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose if it's trouble..."

"(Y/N), don't worry. They've been wanting to meet you for forever, you have nothing to worry about. They'll love you."

You looked towards him in surprise, already growing more anxious by the second.

"You told them about me?"

"Only the important stuff." He winked jokingly.

"Ah! My babies...!" Rosa shouted her greeting, more grateful than ever that they had returned safely, running over and planting a kiss on each one of their foreheads and pulling Darla and Anthea into bone crushing hugs.

So...! Uh," Victor started, already interested in your figure remaining quiet by the door. "Who's the new girl?"

Billy smiled this time, neither embarrassed nor annoyed by the inquiry of you while he proudly pulled your body into his by the waist.

"She's-"

"She's the coolest, ever!" Freddy announced, Darla practically jumping up and down as she agreed.

"Uh huh! And she's so pretty, just like I knew she'd be!"

"She literally sent that supervillain back to where he came from...! Like, without even breaking a sweat!" Eugene praised, leaving your cheeks to grow red with bashfulness.

"I have to admit, I think she'd be a good influence on Billy. She's super smart."

"And a good fighter."

Mary and Anthea were happy to admit such facts, Pedro the last to give a reserved shrug and a polite smile.

"I like her. She's dope."

Rosa and Victor were left to stand awkwardly, unsure of what to make of all the high-end words being spewed about like lightning while you struggled to fight back your grin.

"As I was saying...!" Billy exclaimed, giving his siblings the "Shut Up So I Can Talk" look. "This is (Y/N). My girlfriend."

Victor was the first to happily greet you, explaining how he'd heard so much about you, all good things (as you could clearly see), and that he was happy to have finally met you. Rosa, on the other hand, was leaned back with her eyes glued to the news on the TV. They would flicker back to you every now and again, making your heart beat faster in nerves until...

"Crazy question, I know... but...that doesn't happen to be you on the news... yeah?"

Immediately, you looked towards Billy, who could only shrug and scratch the back of his neck.

"The important stuff, huh?"

"Sorry...I tried..."

You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose before giving a polite nod and announcing your introduction one final time...

"Yes, that... would be me. My name is (Y/N), otherwise known as Valkyrie. Daughter of Wonder Woman, Granddaughter of Zeus, and last born... of Themyscria."

Don't make me steal this idea and write a full-fledged book, Anon, I'll do it🤨 (I probably won't cuz writer's block likes to eat me alive). But seriously, I really hope you like this because again, I adore this, and I defo want more of your ideas/scenarios🥰🫶🏽.

~ Star✨️

Back to Master List

[vonlipvig]

If you don't mind my asking, You play a lot of games right??, which are your favs, you'd rec to everybody and everyone, I'm on the hunt for some games to play and you have good taste so I thought I'd ask

You think I have good taste? Why, gorsh...😳

Jokes aside, I do play video games quite regularly! I don't think I'm the biggest gamer (I have a shitty laptop, so it's not like I'm playing newly-released AAA games), but I do have some that I'm very fond of, so here are some of my faves, some well known ones, some hidden gems:

Ace Attorney - The game I played when I was 13 and completely changed the trajectory of my life. Visual novel-like game were you play a defense lawyer and make your way through court to prove your client's innocence. A CLASSIC, the characters are amazing, the stories are fantastic, and god the MUSIC. Game of All Time for me (The Ace Attorney trilogy is where I'd start, but there are many more in the series, The Great Ace Attorney being a prequel duology that can be played individually and is also incredible).

Zero Escape - A trilogy of games about...hm. Well, it's like a bunch of people get kidnapped and put into these locked rooms, and they have to escape. It gets WAY crazier than that, but if you like puzzles, escape rooms, and insane twists, you'll definitely like these.

Not For Broadcast - A hilarious and dark FMV simulation game where you are tasked with editing a news broadcast, censoring swear words, picking the best shots, and basically manipulating what ends up on TV. This game is a MASTERPIECE, I cannot stress that enough. It is wonderfully acted, the characters are so memorable, the plot can get real dark...it's one of my most cherished gaming experiences, and I could not reccommend it enough.

Suzerain - A text-based, decision making, political simulator where you take the role of Anton Rayne, Sordland's newest president. Save the country from recession, rewrite the country's old constitution, or hell, maybe start a war! This game is delightful, and if you're daunted by the extensiveness of most sim games, don't be, because this is super intuitive and easy to get the hang of. The worldbuilding is fascinating, and the characters are lovable and fun!

Her Story - An unconventional one, but so fascinating. It's another FMV game, where you're presented with a police database full of interview videos from an old case. They're not in any particular order, though, it's up to you to make sense from it! A bit of a haunting game (it's not a horror game, don't worry), I totally reccommend experiencing it.

Return of the Obra Dinn - Jesus, another masterpiece. It's a first-person mystery game where you play as an insurance inspector exploring an old ship that has reappeared with nobody alive onboard. It's your task to discover the fate of all its crewmembers. I cannot tell you how incredible this game is, it's a big logic puzzle with an amzing atmosphere and an unforgettable experience.

Papers, Please - I feel like everybody has played PP already, but if you haven't, oh boy go get it! Made by the same guy that made Obra Dinn, you play here as a border checkpoint immigration officer, checking people's passports and documents to see who gets to enter the glorious country of Arstotzka. One of indie games' best, truly. If you can get it on a touch screen, even better.

The Case of the Golden Idol - If you enjoyed Return of the Obra Dinn, then you have to play Golden Idol as well. Kind of a detective-y, puzzle-y game where you search for clues on different scenes, which you then use to solve the mystery of what really happened. Hard to explain, but a joy to play through and solve!

The Darkside Detective - A fun as hell point-and-click detective game where you join Detective McQueen and Officer Dooley on some spooky, supernatural mysteries. Hilarious, filled with witty references and jokes, and with a dynamic duo that will make you fall in love with them (and their silly, blank faces). It's got a sequel, too!

We. The Revolution - This game sent me on a rabbit hole about the French Revolution, and it was so fun. You play here as a judge of the Revolutionary Tribunal during--you guessed it--the French Revolution. Make decisions about the cases that are brought before you, immerse yourself in the history of France (and talk to many of the key figures!), and hell, maybe even give it your own spin! Super fun, and has a gorgeously unique arstyle.

I think that's good for now, hopefully you'll find something here that's to your taste! Happy gaming!

[destinyc1020]

So I think you need to lessen so much attention on Box office and whether or not that makes you an A-lister. It's when you're a household name that makes you an A-lister...whether every film you do is a "hit" or not imo. I think having your films do well at the box office are GREAT, and that def factors into it, but also so do award wins and nominations (don't discredit them also! It gives you exposure to more people knowing your name as well). But you don't ALWAYS have to have films doing tons of money at the box office in order to be seen as an "A-lister". Not everyone flocks to all of Tom Cruise's movies, or even Denzel's movies. Sometimes it's just the movie!

I agree that even though BO films are great doing films for awards and nominations but can we be honest? I remember a while ago some Tom fans asking on your blog about their frustration with his career and worrying about his choices and no offence you kinds dismissed him due to him being successful financially over being in award nominated films? I understand cause sometimes those Tom doom asks can be exhausting, but I genuinely feel like his career on screen outside SM has been a bad for someone in his fame. We joke about the JE team going night and day for him, but altlwast he has a team that does that cause Tom's team could care less about his rep. Some might say Tom doesn't need to be on that THR list or respect in his industry, but I'm sorry, who wants to work in tbeor jon where ppl don't respect you? Tom came up at the same time as Timothee, and the trajectory of his career was sad for someone who was recognised on stage and in a disaster film.

As a fan selfishly, I'm not satisfied with Spiderman. I didn't trust the MCU and how they deal with characters, and I just can predict people moving away from those ip movies to make space for midbudget films. Look at the career of Glen Powell. Ppl want characters that are grounded, not detached superheros. With those other actors mentioned, you can compare them to their predecessors, Leo, Julia,Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe for JE lol, there's a healthy comparison. With Tom, I can compare him to anyone cause no actor would depend on one organisation like he has. Yh Andrew did Spiderman, but he was already oscar nominated.

Tom's career only works for him cause if he had been anyone else, he would have been shelved due to flops and poor reception from critics. I just dont see the interest on him anymore, and ppl may thinknim dramatic but ppl didn't think DC or MCU would flop, and yet it did. No one could anticipate Barbie/Oppenheimer's success, and here we are.

I'm sorry if my ask was negative or if you felt I was judging you but sometimes I just feel ppl aren't honest abut his career cause they just like him a bf when his peers are doing more than him with less backing. Drew Starkey was the kid he beat up in TDATT, and yet he's the muse of Luca Guadagnino's next film and a Loewe ambassador. What's Tom doing? A sequel to a prequel and another SM film that doesn't even have a director? It's a shame.

Oh boy.... 🤦🏾‍♀️

I feel like this "debate" about movie stars (who's one/who isn't one) is garnering a lot of back and forth arguments and craziness for no good reason. These articles are just sharing who they are keeping their eyes on, and who has potential to be one of the "greats" in the future of they keep playing their cards right.

In the meantime however, can't we just appreciate actors for their craft and enjoy watching their rise to fame and seeing their filmography develop? Shouldn't we be HAPPY if some newer actors are in conversation of being potential A-listers or great "movie stars"? Why are we fighting against this and turning this into some kind of competition among fandoms? 🥴

This isn't directed to you personally Anon, but just based on what I've been seeing in my inbox.

If you've been following me for any amount of time on here, you already know that I don't take any of this stuff (or talk) too seriously. I like my faves, and I love seeing what they have next coming up. I don't care about fandom wars, nor do I care about pitting actors against each other. To me, ALL actors have their merits and things that I enjoy about them. I don't feel like I need to pick and choose one actor over another. That's silly. 🙄 I wouldn't want to live in a world where there was just ONE actor. I, personally, LOVE variety.

My only point in my earlier post is that I don't think that we can be so rigid in our definition of what a "movie star" is, because imo, there are MANY factors that go into making what one would call a "movie star" and especially an A-lister. We can see this when we look at movie stars of the past. We also have to keep in mind that society in general has changed, and social media has also changed a lot.

Another thing...An A-lister is someone who's bankable, yes, but it's also someone who has been nominated for awards, or even won awards. Look at Cruise, Hanks, Denzel, Julia, etc. All of those actors have been nominated or won awards. It's part of what makes them the A-list. They're highly sought after for roles, and they have made some great career choices in their filmography. They've also had flops (EVERY actor has a flop) so it's not like they had a hit every single time. They're usually also very likable, charming, and just have star quality. It's not smthg you can put your finger on. There are MANY factors, in other words.

Anyway..... With that said....

I'm sorry Anon, but it kind of seems like your post is a thinly disguised way of trying to minimize or (yet again) express disappointment in Tom's career. 🥴

I don't have any fear for Tom's career, because I'm just here along for the ride. 🤷🏽‍♀️ While I do think that him getting most of his overnight fame due to such a huge role in a Marvel film may have hindered him somewhat as far as being typecast and being able to step outside of that superhero "box", at the same time, that role gave him the fame, money, and household name status to be able to do whatever his passion is. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Would I like to see Tom working with some more well-known directors in great roles? Of course! And he's already worked with some great ones in the past (i.e. J.A. Bayona, Ron Howard), so it would be great to see more of that in the future again.

But at the same time, I'm not going to have an aneurism if Tom never plays anything other than Spiderman for the rest of his life. 🤷🏽‍♀️ To me, I'm just happy as long as my faves are happy.

Re: Drew....

That's good for him! But I don't think Tom needs to be compared to him? 🤷🏽‍♀️ Actors are just actors. Idk why acting somehow became some type of blood sport competition, but most actors aren't thinking in that way.

I think fans need to calm down and stop viewing things in that way. Jmho. Just be happy for others?

Tom has been venturing outside of the MCU, so I think he himself doesn't just want to do MCU films his entire life. I think ppl need to realize, though, that just because an actor's career looks one way one moment, it doesn't mean that it will look like that forever. An actor's career can ebb and flow over the years. It happens. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[titstraction]

21, 23 and 25 for the ask game :)

hii anon bestie thank you for the questions :))

fanfic end of the year asks!!

21. most memorable comment/review

hmm this one has got to go to @shipsnsails who left a WALL of a comment in each chapter of Roots with the funniest/most flattering things from which I’d like to highlight “maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan... you crazy personnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn oh mygod. This is exactly what I was hoping you were about to say. Gasping. Gasping.” + glowing reviews on tumblr that made the girlies flock to it. getting feedback from a fellow writer is so much fun i loved it so most memorable for sure!! also def check out their stuff i think theyre one of the most original writers in fandom rn ✨

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

you gotta understand i go to bed w a different plot bunny each week so theres SO MANY. but blue sequel. another blue sequel. several blue sequels. a blue prequel even. a band au where one of the girls stitches a band together a la belle and sebastian. a slice of life-y overtly touchy friends to lovers getting together uni au. au where remus is a dj/music producer and sirius does fun videoclips and they meet through work. post war sirius didnt go to azkaban and is a photographer au and they meet again in one of his exhibitions which has a lot of pictures of remus and they have nasty reunion sex. summer camp au, surfing au where remus is blind, sirius spends summer vacation with the potters in the country for the second time and remus is a wee country boy au. au where uncle alphard is dying of aids and leaves his little rundown gay bar to sirius and remus helps him out with it because he loves the little rundown gay bar a la vida (tv show). somebody pick one for me and i’ll write it in january

25. a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read

okayyy so i’m gonna go w/ Meet Me In The Exosphere by EuripidesTrousers (I_DDare_You)!! its a wip, 5/8 chapters are out, and I haven’t had this much fun w a fic in a long time! I found it while I was travelling, and reading it in the dark on my hotel room after an entire day of walking around was ELITE introvert nourishment. Air Force AU, forbidden romance, both Sirius and Remus are SO nhomnhomnhomnhom, their chemistry is on fire, I was reading the last update in the library yesterday and BLUSHING, anon! I’m so excited to see where it goes and I think everyone should jump on the bandwagon

[coleoffduty]

I was initially guilty about spamming you so I'm really glad to see the asks cheered you up!! I'm trying not to abuse the functionality but the universe you created in legacies is really interesting with so many complex dynamics. Can you talk more (if you want) about

- the relationship between viserys I and rhaenyra

- how all the kids see daemon (couldn't gauge how baela felt about the custody battle but she seems unsettled by the nettles thing)

- the closest real life voice/music/face claim for lucerys (and others if possible, i know that you said daeron ~~ damon albarn)

- was rhaenyra's rebellious youth a product of her upbringing (tumltuous as drew barrymore's was) or an idolising of notorious troublemaker daemon or because of her mother's loss

- what are the worst targaryen scandals in this universe? (Assuming maegor exists)

-where laena & laenor specifically stand with everything going on (the abuse lucerys suffered from his mother seemed like something laenor wouldn't accept unless he went through the same and thinks of it as normal)

oh em gee hi—welcome back <3 i rlly do wanna preface this by saying if you have questions and interests about something: flood my inbox as much as you want! i love interacting and getting to go back and forth about my fics, especially legacies since it’s so intricate and very slowly being unraveled due to slow updates (i’ve got like 6k words written up for this current chapter and i’m not even halfway so…).

but with that being said; change my first name to yip and last name to yap because boy do i have a lot to say.

viserys and rhaenyra’s relationship.

there’s a lot to cover on her story and perspective in this universe, but one of the main ideas i tried hammering in when it came to ‘you turn me inside out’’s first chapter is her only child syndrome. she’s very lonely but still incredibly doted on. growing up, i feel viserys made certain to tell everyone how much he expects of rhaenyra solely because that’s his only child. not because of what she can do or who she is as an individual away from him. i’ve always really liked the idea of how viserys names her his heir or focuses on how rhaenyra will take on his role in the family as the next generations successor is not because he actually believes in her, but because he’s already talked it into existence. it’s why he doesn’t really prep her or genuinely take the time to spend time with her. if he says it will be, then it must because the whole world’s watching and he can’t look like an idiot if rhaenyra fails. very much more of that in the prequel and impending sequels…

daemon and his relationship with the kids.

jace understands that daemon is his stepfather, the person who his mother chose to be with after harwin and eventually got cheated on, but he ultimately holds his tongue because he understands that he is baela’s father. she’s the one allowed to be mad and angry while he takes the more adult approach. luke was away at driftmark when rhaenyra and dameon married so, he doesn’t hold a really weighted opinion on him other than he was a great paternal figure with how he gifted him his cello and treats the littles, especially with visenya and her disability. joff is just angry about how daemon was the main father figure he grew up with even if he’s laenor’s favorite and then all the things coming to light. definitely one of those ‘i used to idolize you and you let me down’ moments aemond and lucerys talk about when it comes to their family. all the littles (aegon iii, viserys ii, and visenya) just know their parents love each other still but can’t stand one another anymore. when i was editing legacies, i forgot that in the scene for chapter 5 when aemond and luke start speaking in high valryian in front of visenya, she becomes immediately curious and luke alludes to how she’ll become angry if she doesn’t know what’s being said. i added that detail because i feel like rhaenyra and daemon would argue in high valyrian so the kids don’t understand/can't keep up with what’s being said, even though they can clearly see the tension. as for baela and rhaena, it is similar but different. both are very unsettled and repulsed by their father being with nettles because maybe i’m the only one who thought it was weird but: nettles is their age, with their similar phenotypes, and is a dragon rider so most likely related to them. i'm not saying in this fic that nettles is daemon's daughter, but there are clear parallels between his children with laena and her. i also feel the twins have become women who have grown out of that similar idolization period with their father to notice his patterns of getting with a young girl, having kids with her, and when times get too tough— leaves her to then repeat the process. baela is more outward and direct with her disdain about it while rhaena internalizes it. more of that will be covered in the legacies sequels, since the rhaenicent continuation will be in rhaenyra’s pov following that whole ordeal.

face and voice claims.

for lucerys, i mostly reference kurt cobain’s style of singing and combine that with his face claim, timothée chalamet. i’ve always felt luke has a deep voice even from what the actor portrays on screen, so something that sounds very low but can pitch high if strained. so yeah, kurt ('been a son' is lucerys writing about rhaenyra but anyways). daeron’s voice claim is indeed damon albarn’s and i felt this direction was kind of funny to have. damon's accent really comes through so daeron being the only singer with a thick brit voice i felt could tie back to how he studied music in oldtown and the technique taught there is also another thing that differs him from his family. in legacies i envision daeron as the ever popular face claim lucas lynggaard tønnesen. rhaena’s face claim is taylor russell (my love) and her voice claim is Beatrice Laus (beabadoobee, my other love). cregan was written before the actor was introduced so i said his face claim was jaime flatters which i still feel fits right with legacies. dalton greyjoy is young aaron paul and i feel with his voice claim, i could get away with some gerard way. for rhaenyra and alicent’s voice claims though, i always felt like fiona apple fit rhae and mitski for alicent. again though, we’ll have more of that in the future. 

rhaenyra’s upbringing.

a lot of the ideas you listed actually all factor into why rhaenyra was pretty wild during her teenage to young adult years. she grew up in the scene, at clubs, surrounded by adults smoking and drinking and partying and being this little kid who is essentially her parents’ party trick. like ‘oh look at little rhaenyra pretending she’s doing shots’ kind of thing when she should’ve been at home in bed. it’s what she’s used to and feel like she’s born for. daemon is also another addition to it as he only encourages her, which is one of my favorite key points in the prequel. and of course, with aemma’s death, rhaenyra goes off the deep end. she’s surrounded by the same people her father is, which are yes-men who will feed into anything she wants. i’ve always liked how rhaenyra antis are like ‘she was so entitled’. it’s like yeah, any 15 year old with the world at their fingertips, surrounded by people her entire life who make her feel she can do no wrong as ’the realm’s delight’ would probably be a spoiled diva. targs have done worse.

the worst legacies universe targaryen scandals.

honestly, i’ve only barely started making a dent into world-building before the young rhaenicent period as i’m writing rhaenys/corlys’ little story so i haven’t given it much thought. i feel like though in the previous periods, since social media wasn’t around and especially with jaehaerys and alysanne’s children, not a lot of them became musicians and their dirty laundry wasn’t aired out. i have aemon written as holding an army job which i feel also allows for the family to have larger ties to political aspects of westeros in the same way some actual celebrities do. hence if maegor did do all the things we know he does also in this timeline, the targs are probably well connected enough to have it forgotten about/utilize public stunts to move on. i feel like legacies really embodies the idea of a modern take of ‘the dance’ without the aegon vs rhaenyra succession plot since even though there’s so many musicians in the family and they should be at their peak, there’s all this internal affair happening with scandal and wondering who the leak is.

laena & laenor.

oh, how i think about those two. in ‘all apologies’ i wrote about how they’re basically ghosts in the house, just shells of themselves. they still reside on driftmark and live with their parents and teach music, but are incredibly burnt out. laena is sober and constantly battling addiction after overdosing and nearly dying + other things while laenor is trying to lead a quiet life after being married to rhaenyra. i don’t know if i mentioned it in the actual fics, but with how everyone knows laenor is gay, it wasn’t on his terms. he was outed and harassed on a national level which does a lot to a person, especially one without a clear support system. so when it comes to trying to intervene with the cycle of things (lucerys’ treatment) they’re pretty much rendered powerless. they know baela and lucerys are the substitutes of what their parents wanted them to become, which also adds another level of fuckery to their dynamics. but what i want to highlight is that a lot of the direct and seen abuse is mental (the physicality comes from how the kids' bodies sort of break down after practicing for so long or being neglected in order to prioritize perfection), and the person it's normalized from would be corlys (as it happens to be with baela). so rhaenys being how she is with luke is almost seen as a lesser pain and uncharted territory since she’s laenor and laena’s safer option. she's never been that way with anyone and so they don't see it as concerning as it actually is. they especially don't say anything since what happens is behind closed doors and not for long since rhaenys teaches luke when he’s 15-19, as well as because he’s corlys’ heir. he’s fitting into the mold fine, so they see stepping in as possibly messing up lucerys’ future the way they did to their own (for now at least). 

hope i covered most of the questions without veering off too much!

[cat-esper]

Here's your free pass to ramble to me about one of your projects! Go wild! (Personally I would love to hear more about Slipstream because the vibes are immaculate but it is up to you!) ♡

OMG! An ask ^.^

Oh boy, where do I even begin? It's hard for me to be coherent with such a broad prompt but I will try my best.

Project Slipstream is kind of a weird little project in that it's changed so drastically from the initial idea, and I have repeatedly decided to abandon it only for it to raise its little head when I least expect it and offer me some new ideas (mostly in the form of vibes) that are too tantalizing to pass up. It originally started as a second-world fantasy with a full cast of non-humans, then transformed into a one-off portal fantasy (namely Rory's story), and then somehow ended up adopting characters Sydney and Reyna. This series is a bit of an experiment as it consists of three books, each featuring one of the main characters and telling the story of how each ended up on the Spiral, and then a fourth book that sees them all team up. It then expanded when I decided it was a sequel to another story idea I have and SLIPSTREAM itself serves as a prequel of sorts to Project Paladin.

The Spiral itself is a construct, a planetary sculpture built by the Enochians for purposes unknown and home to a variety of strange creatures. When Rory and his sister Crystal accidentally stumble onto it, they are separated and end up getting involved in a plot to rid the Spiral of the tyrant Tor Krait, whose been searching for an eldritch machine he thinks he can use to kill the Enochians. I won't say too much because I don't want to spoil things, but their plot paves the way for Sydney and Reyna to come to the Spiral and essentially continue what they started, learning more about the Enochians, the machine Crystal dubbed "Fever Spine," and the terrible dark force I DEFINITELY won't be talking about any time soon.

Fun Fact #1: This wip is inspired by rock music, The Dark Crystal, and some paintings I saw while at a comic con

Fun Fact #2: The paintings in question were paintings of angels that inspired the Enochians and were created by Peter Mohrbacher. Seriously, you should check them out; they're very cool XD

Thanks for the ask!

Is this something I add a taglist to? Sure, why not.

Slipstream taglist: @awleeofficial, @desastreus

[canariie]

For the fanfic asks: 4 (It Was All a Dream), 12, 13, and 20 and 27 (trepidation) :D

From the questions for fic writers:

4. What detail in it was just a dream are you really proud of?

Your reaction, Rays, to Mature Form!Hitsugaya meeting Momo and she not knowing him hahaha

Honestly, that was a really proud moment! :D

But, in the actual fic...I knew what the ending was supposed to be. I wanted him to move aside her hair and I had that part lock down from the start (haha no pun intended). But getting to that moment, especially after all the self-pity that Momo had and Toushiro’s initial reservations of being around Momo because she didn’t know how powerful he was--that took a lot more contemplating and writing.

Like, obviously, Momo is going to think Toushiro looks handsome and amazing. But we got to have him comfort her first! before we get any blushing moments haha

12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?

I don’t think I have ever actively disliked something (or at least I can’t recall). But what I’ve become a fan of lately, is enemies to lovers trope. I recently watched Card Captor Sakura again and loved loved watching the relationship between Syaoran and Sakura change (especially on Syaoran’s side).

13. Are there any tropes you used to like but don’t anymore?

I think more than specific tropes that I’ve disliked, I don’t like one dimensional relationships. Like bad-boy/jerk with good girl/innocent vibe. When I first started reading fanfiction, I fell for those. But now looking back on it, it’s very reductive and I think diminishes their character more than helps?

I actually think that’s an issue in young shoujo mangas, like Gakuen Alice, where the bad boy is able to do anything he wants to a girl, but it’s okay because of the label (when in actuality, it promotes very unhealthy behaviors). Oh, I really dislike when a guy grabs a girl’s arm when she’s about to turn away or pushes her against the wall. Again, can promote the wrong actions.

I’m fine with the concept! But, I would want more substance and depth to the choice of actions and words (and it not being okay to be overtly physical with a girl you don’t know well).

Oh! Oh! one thing that happened to me recently, was I had a small cut on my finger from chopping vegetables. It was bleeding a bit profusely, but while I was putting on a bandaid, it made me think of that trope where a character will take another character’s finger and put it in their mouth? to stop the bleeding? i never understood that, because wouldn’t that be bad to intake someone’s blood? that’s always baffled me lol

20. If you wrote a prequel to trepidation, what would it involve?

I’ve never thought of a prequel specifically, but if there had to be one maybe a short humorous shot of Toushiro finding out Momo is pregnant. I think that would be quite hilarious, and bring out Toushiro’s over protective neurotic side.

If anything, I think a sequel would be nice and actually incorporate Rangiku and Isshin somehow :) maybe watching Toushiro and Momo with their small family somehow. A little more angsty, but that interests me :)

27. How long did it take to write trepidation? Describe the process.

This fic was actually supposed to come out for the Hitsuhina event at the beginning of the year!

but then that obviously didn’t happen lol

I started writing it in the beginning of the year, but only had Toushiro & Momo’s parts down (their beginning interaction and the last lines)

I stepped away from it for a couple of months, read up on Isshin, reread his backstory and Masaki’s backstory, to really understand him.

Momo & Orihime’s conversation came along well because I was writing i just called to say at the same time during the summer and fall--but was struggling with that. so Momo and Orihime decided to talk in this fic instead lol

the longest part i spent on was isshin and toushiro’s conversation. I knew key lines I wanted, but it took time to fill in the gaps (I also felt like I had Isshin sipping his glass SO many times lol) It took time, and I’m not 100% satisifed with their conversation, but I am confident that their first full conversation wouldn’t have been smooth but rocky. it would take many more conversations for them to step back in tandem with each other.

[phlistopher]

Media Diet: July 2024

Yes, August is almost over, but I haven’t collected my thoughts on July yet, so take my hand and travel back in time to the distant lands of about a month ago. Most of the stuff I see is old anyway, so it’s hardly like holding a newspaper next to my face would make any difference.

TV

Love Village

A Japanese dating reality show where the contestants are all over thirty five, have a low fame-hunter quotient, and are ostensibly looking for their final life partner. In addition, they have to fix up the remote house they live in with each other. Everyone plays their cards pretty close to the chest. Anyone can ring the love bell up the hill, then all the others line up in front of the house. The person who rang the bell then says to whom they have feelings for, then confesses those feelings in front of everyone. The person who they confessed to does not respond. They all go to bed. The next morning, the scene is recreated, and the confessed to either says they have feelings or not. If they do, the pair leave love village together, a happy couple. If not, the person who confessed leaves alone. Everyone cries and hugs regardless. Oh, and did I mention that the theme song is The Backstreet Boys’s Backstreet’s Back? Also, there’s in-studio commentators in front of a live audience reacting to the whole filmed piece, either genuinely or roasting the contestants, the production, etc. Filmed last year. It’s on Netflix. If this sounds remotely appealing, you owe yourself a look.

Music

Stung! by Pond

A genre-spanning ear-worm pop gem. Some baroque funk in here I especially liked. Pond has been around a while, but I’m just learning about them now. The cover looks like you, the viewer, were just stung by the bee pictured, and your vision is blurring out. The music is much better than that feeling.

Beautiful Hell by War on Women

Well crafted, sonically interesting, and thick-sounding hardcore. Politically in-your-face, this feels like what rock music should be. Beautiful Hell is their latest release, and from 2020, so hoping they have new material soon.

Movies

Child’s Play

After watching all the Friday the 13th movies, my roommates and I started a new 80s slasher project: Child’s Play. It’s the classic story of a foul-mouthed serial killer whose soul gets trapped in the body of a doll that goes on a terror spree. There’s a lot more subtle tension than the premise would have you believe, with a strong performance from the Mom from Seventh Heaven and Star Trek IV. Plays on the childhood fears of not being believed and loss of innocence. Good stuff.

Child’s Play 2

Chucky, the killer doll from part one, is back, due to corporate greed. Meanwhile, Andy, the terrorized little boy from part one, is put into foster care, as the state institutionalizes his mother for ranting about said killer doll. Without the horror elements, the story is a grounded, heartfelt rendition of life in the foster system. The addition of spunky teenager Kyle is great, and while it doesn’t have quite the same scares as the original, it makes up for it with personality.

MaXXXine

This is my pick for the best horror movie of the year so far, and one of my favorite movies this year, period. A smart, schlocky meditation on the desire for fame, Mia Goth turns in another stunning performance as Maxine. This time, it’s in the neon soaked 80s LA, which is so fun to look at. Each movie in the series borrows film language from genre of the decade in which the story takes place. Where X was shot like 70s grind house, prequel Pearl was shot like a dark Wizard of Oz, MaXXXine is shot like a slick 80s video nasty. Pearl’s final shot was incredible, giving MaXXXine big shoes to fill; in my opinion, it delivers. Don’t miss it.

Child’s Play 3

You can’t keep a bad doll down. In part three, we follow a now teenage Andy in a military school. Less memorable overall, there’s still some fun kills and lines and general weirdness. The law of diminishing sequel returns holds true. An unshakable law, that no series ever breaks, right?

Seven Samurai

Got a chance to see the 4k remaster in theaters. Absolutely gorgeous. The story still slaps. Even though it’s a subtitled movie made in 1954 about an even earlier time, the movie still connects. The audience was packed, and everyone was responding. The movie is really funny! You get that at home, but not to the same extent as you do with a packed crowd. What a wonderful experience.

Bride of Chucky

Remember that unshakable law of sequels having diminishing returns? Chop it up and throw it down a well, because Bride of Chucky is here. Realizing that familiarity with a character makes them less scary, series creator Don Mancini leaned into the campy, comedic elements of the character for this one, and it is such a blast. Jennifer Tilly plays the bride, and she’s as funny as she is compelling. This also marks the series integrating more overtly gay themes and characters, something I imagine Mancini couldn’t do culturally earlier in the series. I cannot stress how fun this movie is.

M3GAN

Re-watched this one with my roommate, this time in the unrated version. Ooooh! I couldn’t tell the difference. The movie’s still a fun little A.I. zing, though, with a surprising amount of heart. If you don’t like horror movies, don’t worry, this is not scary. It’s essentially a drama.

Seed of Chucky

You thought Bride of Chucky was wild? Seed says to hold its beer. Everything in the previous film is cranked up: the comedy, the camp, the gayness. The movie begins with a James Bond style screen wipe, but instead of blood it’s cum. Yes, that’s how it starts, and it doesn’t get less nuts from there. Some may find the meta humor and wild tone shifts wobbly, but I had such a great time with this one.

Curse of Chucky

Made several years later, this one is a more back to basics story, toning down the absurdist black comedy, in favor of a slow build tension more akin to the original Child’s Play. I actually liked this one quite a bit, and thought the premise and characters were clever, even if the acting was uneven and sometimes you could really feel the low budget.

Kinds of Kindness

Dear God. What did I watch? Four short films starring largely the same actors playing different parts, from Yorgos Lanthimos, the director of Poor Things and The Favorite. I can’t begin to describe this thing. It’s not a horror movie, and yet it’s somehow the most disturbing movie I’ve seen all year. Longer. This movie sticks to you. Good God. I’m probably going to see it again.

Cult of Chucky

Now the series takes a perplexing dip. After the zany heights of Seed and respectable grounding of Curse, Cult goes off on such a bizarre turn. Not in storytelling per se, but in production quality. It just feels cheap, and not in a fun way. Also the story makes no sense. Also not in a fun way. I’m glad I saw it, because now I can say I’ve seen all the Chucky movies (jealous??), but wow, what a weird, disappointing end to the series.

Evil Dead Rise

After the let down of Cult of Chucky, it was time for my roommates and I to rinse out with a new horror franchise—The Devil Dead. This time, we decided to watch them in reverse release order. Which means we started with Evil Dead Rise, a movie from only last year I meant to see but didn’t get a chance. It’s good! Instead of a remote cabin in the woods, it’s set in an apartment building. For the Evil Dead horror to work, the characters need to be isolated, and they got that to work in very clever, unforced ways. There’s also gay/non-binary kids, where that’s just part of the background, not directly commented on, which feels like progress. You know what’s not progress? Possessed moms. So good.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Even though I saw this only a few months ago, the local horror club was showing this outdoors in the back of a bar. The screen was small, and it drizzled a bit, but there was a good sized crowd of horror weirdos all laughing and cheering along with the cheap thrills. Fun times.

Tank Girl

The first of a double feature hosted on our roof, Tank Girl is a all attitude 90s comic book adaptation of a wise-cracking rebel, the titular Tank Girl, trying to survive in a desert post apocalypse controlled by an evil corporation. There’s a lot of genre fun here, and while it doesn’t stick everything it tries, it’s got such a personality to it you can’t help but like it. Also, Ice Cube plays one of the mutant Kangaroo people, so check it out for all the make up screen time.

All About Evil

The second part of the roof double feature, All About Evil is an ultra low budget horror movie about a woman who owns a failing movie theater who starts filming horror shorts to screen at her theater, where the kills are actual murders. Made by a drag queen, the high camp of a drag show is palpable. It also has nothing to do with All About Eve. The movie doesn’t really work, but it also kind of does? It’s a whole thing, you know?

Mandy

Holy crap, this movie is so good. Drenched in color and style and mood, there’s hardly any dialog. Nick Cage movies can go either way, and boy is this a good one. Kind of like a demented neon folk horror. Just let it wash over you.

Deadpool & Wolverine

Not so much a movie as a meta joke delivery machine. Not everything lands, but I had a good time. I don’t go to see Marvel movies for the seriousness. Silly. Of course, it’s all about who you go with.

Evil Dead

This is the 2013 remake, which, apparently, a lot of folks don’t like. It was the first time seeing it for me, but I thought it had a lot going for it. Maybe a little more on the grimy side, and less on the living cartoon side, of the Evil Dead equation, the main character’s struggle with addiction set against the horrors of the dead I thought was really powerful.

Army of Darkness

Well of course, the one and only. It had been a while since I’d seen Army, and while a lot of the zingers don’t hold up, along with that one out of nowhere misogynist ick scene towards the beginning, all the physical comedy is still great, and the practical effects are a delight. My roommates and I saw the version with the extended scene at the mill, and we were laughing our guts out. What a good time.

And that about wraps it up. Tune in in another month for what I’ve been media-ing two months ago.