#alternate title: world's worst power couple

[cecilscribbles]

the synonym of companion

[amplesalty]

Christmas 2024 - Day 2 - Violent Night (2022)

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...two snifters of brandy!

Much like Red One is getting a lot of attention this year (though apparently not so much at the box office), I recall there being a lot of talk around Violent Night a couple of years ago and, whilst I didn't see it at the time, it was one I tucked away in the back of my mind to cover on here. I probably had it earmarked to watch last year actually but, you know, old twofer over here had to skip out early. With the name and move poster I was initially worried this might be a horror movie that I'd have to put off until next year but this falls into the action genre with some comedy mixed in. Director Tommy Wirkola is someone I have stashed on the horror list in the shape of 2009's Dead Snow but looking at his other work, 'Spermageddon' might have just earned a place on my watchlist as well from the name alone. Violent Night opens with a disgruntled mall Santa taking a quick break on Christmas Eve to knock back a few brewskis and rant to a fellow patron about 'those damn kids' who don't even believe in the spirit of Christmas anymore, they're just take, take, take and only want Santa so he can deliver them some video games. As Alfred once taught us, there's a lot of bad isms floating around this world but one of the worst is commercialism. Erm, actually, I'm pretty sure racism is worse but maybe that's just me. The bar tender thinks she's going to have a job on her hands when he goes to leave but ends up taking a door that leads to the roof. When she goes to find him, she finds the roof empty but up in the sky…could it be?!

It is!

The majesty is lost a little when he promptly throws up seconds later, his chunks landing squarely on her head.

Meanwhile, seperated couple Jason, Linda and their daughter Trudy are visiting Jason's family home for the holiday's and it proves to be an icy affair despite being surrounded by such oppulence. As part of the wealthy Lightstone family, Jason's sister is vying to be the center of attention in their mother's eyes in the hope of being selected as the next in line to run the family business and inherit the power and wealth that comes with that title.

Santa just so happens to be passing back and makes his way down one of the many fireplaces in this grand mansion but, much like John McClane in Die Hard, Santa is in the wrong place at the wrong time as a band of mercanaries siege control of the house, killing the hired help and taking the Lighstone family hostage. At least Santa is still wearing shoes when all this goes down. For this is just one in a long line of 'It's like Die Hard but…' movies that brought us such classics as Die Hard but on a boat (Under Siege), Die Hard but on a train (Under Siege 2: Dark Territory) and Die Hard but in a football stadium (Final Score). This time we have Die Hard but it's a Christmas movie. No, wait, Die Hard but Santa is John McClane.

There's all sorts of little nods to the film along the way, such as Santa's use of a walkie talkie, a character named Al and Santa's 'Naughty or Nice list' serving as a checklist of sort of the baddies that are still alive. Sort of like that list that McClane makes as he's piecing together all of Hans' associates. I'm pretty sure the film even gets name dropped at one point when Santa pulls out 'Die Hard on blu-ray' whilst searching in his magic sack for a weapon.

There's also an extended homage to Home Alone which grated on me a little at first as it felt like a bit of a tonal shift and a bit too on the nose of a reference but they manage to save it by making use of their more adult rating to push the boat out a little on the violence. There's even a kill which Kevin couldn't even manage in 2 when he was lobbing bricks off rooftops, tricking people into dunking their flaming heads into flammable liquids and electrocuting people. Quite frankly, I'm ready to declare this as a new alternate Christmas classic alongside the likes of Die Hard, Home Alone or Lethal Weapon. The thing just oozes charm, the action is great, lots of funny moments, it had me invested in the characters and even got a bit schmoltzy at times which I'm not opposed to in a Christmas movie. That little deaf Dutch girl in Miracle on 34th Street gets me every time…

Santa is a total badass here but is also shown to be mortal and susceptable to injury. The suggestion seems to be that because he's grown so weary of the job, he's lost a little bit of that Christmas magic that is presumably kept him alive all these years. It adds a lot of weight to each fight that he gets involved in and feels like it has an element of that 'war of attrition' thing that McClane goes through where he's really fucked up by the end of the movie. The fights really lean into the thematic elements as well with nearby ornaments and decorations being used as makeshift weapons. Garotting someone with fairy lights, anyone? There's always a Christmas song to soundtrack the occasion too, including a Bryan Adams song I wasn't aware was a thing. Adds an interesting layer of juxtoposition as you've got this cheerful music accompanying brutal violence.

Luigi Mario himself, John Lguizamo, has a great turn as the main villain who starts off playing up to the occasions with all sorts of Christmas referneces, he's essentially doing schtick whilst his guys murder a whole bunch of dudes. But we also learn of Christmas essentially being responsible for his super villain esque origin story. At least he has something of a moustache here unlike Luigi, even if it's just stubble. Seriously, how did they fuck that up? You gave Bob Hoskins a moustache!

I feel like their showdown at the end could have had a better one liner to go out on. I was getting vibes of that 'Call an ambulance' meme: "The last Christmas…" "But not for me!" I totally called that ending as well, Pokemon The First Movie ass motherfuckers. If you haven't seen this one yet, absolutely go watch it. I can easily see this earning a place in people's holiday rotation for years to come alongside the classics. Sure it's a little derivative but I think the fact you're throwing Santa into this situation just adds a ton of novelty value and it's just tons of fun from beginning to end.

[allerod]

30 aka my own question, what's the absolute fucking worst "historical" movie series book whatever you've ever evered?

right, so they're not officially a couple, but i read them one after the other in a span of like three days, and they're both the same genre of alternative history so here are the worst two historical books i ever had the (dis)pleasure of reading:

the premise of the first one was simply "what if piłsudski haven't had cancer". and boy is the answer to that a doozy, according to the author! because, you see, if piłsudski had lived longer, he and hitler would meet up. and hitler would be so impressed by his mustache and strong belief in military supported dictatorships, he would fall in love instantly. and attacking your crush country is not a good flirting technique, so instead germany and poland would become allies in wwii. piłsudski would die nevertheless, and at this point hitler would start dating a polish girlie who reminded him of his, now dead, One True Love (piłsudski). they would be going on creepy dates and had creepy sex and all that, all while the war is going Great! woo! with the combined power of german-polish scientists, now not in camps, they could really invent a fully functional wunderwaffe, and a showing of it's power is scheduled. but sike! the girlie is working with the polish gov! using her position, she schemes with polish scientists! they change the weapon coordinates! the whole upper nazi management goes boom! poland takes control of german army and singlehandedly wins world war ii! hurray we're winner! but wait! the girlie was pregnant and now she's sad and she names her son adolf and writes down her memories of all the creepy dates she went on with her, now dead, One True Love (hitler). which her son finds after her death and sends to the publisher and that's this book apparently.

what a drag. the middle part was truly uncomfy. like bro why am i reading about hitler having sex. repeatedly. i can't recall the title of this, which is truly a tragedy, but whatever, it's over, let's read something else. oh what's this? a book named "the embaSSy"? well might as well, maybe this one will be better.

wait why is this set in modern day warsaw? ohh i see, this building we are moving into used to be a german embassy, okay. uh oh besties, these are the doors to a neighboring flat, ours is a floor above. huh, why is this flat full of nazi cosplayers. well, whatever, i need to pee i'm just gonna go to the toil- WHY IS HITLER SITTING ON THIS TOILET SINGING A SILLY SONG AND DOING FINGER GUNS. well whatever, we're returning to our own flat and we are taking hitler with us. who, upon getting to know him better, turns out to be a really swell guy. also turns out he knows nothing about any planned attack, he just wants to chill really, what do you mean world war. ooh could it be that this EVIL CLONE of him plans to take over ?! we gotta stop him, so back to the other flat we go! but first lets leave hitler here and give him a shave. okay now we can go. time for some wacky shenanigans! we get rid of the EVIL CLONE, but uh oh, there's a planning bombing of warsaw incoming in retaliation of killing hitler. and we shaved our bestie the real hitler, so no one will recognize him ; ; fortunately everyone knows his voice, so we just have to get him on a really high roof and give him a radio and he can communicate with the pilots to turn back and cancel the bombing. as soon as we find him in modern day warsaw because it seems he broke out of his enclosure..... time running out but we do it, the planes turn at the last moment, gg ez, we say a tearful goodbye to our new best friend and return home. if you disregard the noisy neighbors, this is quite a nice flat, right? and the view is beautiful, straight onto the palace of culture and science! wait where has the palace gone?

was:

is:

i cannot overstate how incredibly cringe that book was. i have never in my life read anything more cringworthy and i am not exaggerating. it's apparently based on a comedy movie by the same title, and every day i live in fear that i'll be forced to watch it and die instantly from the amount of terrible jokes presented to me.

but reading these two back to back was truly an Experience. i like to think they're taking part in the same universe, and stalin's penis was amputated in that timeline because we actually won wwii. thank you girlie for your service 🙏

[seriousbusinessforhumans]

Feb 2018

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) counted over 100 people killed or injured by alleged perpetrators influenced by the so-called "alt-right" — a movement that continues to access the mainstream and reach young recruits.

On December 7, 2017, a 21-year-old white male posing as a student entered Aztec High School in rural New Mexico and began firing a handgun, killing two students before taking his own life. At the time, the news of the shooting went largely ignored, but the online activity of the alleged killer, William Edward Atchison, bore all the hallmarks of the “alt-right”—the now infamous subculture and political movement consisting of vicious trolls, racist activists, and bitter misogynists.

But Atchison wasn’t the first to fit the profile of alt-right killer—that morbid milestone belongs to Elliot Rodger, the 22-year-old who in 2014 killed seven in Isla Vista, California, after uploading a sprawling manifesto filled with hatred of young women and interracial couples (Atchison went by “Elliot Rodger” in one of his many online personas and lauded the “supreme gentleman,” a title Rodger gave himself and has since become a meme on the alt-right).

Including Rodger’s murderous rampage there have been at least 13 alt-right related fatal episodes, leaving 43 dead and more than 60 injured (see list). Nine of the 12 incidents counted here occurred in 2017 alone, making last year the most violent year for the movement.

Like Atchison and Rodger, these perpetrators were all male and, with the exception of three men, all under the age of 30 at the time they are alleged to have killed. The average age of the alt-right killers is 26. The youngest was 17. One, Alexandre Bissonnette, is Canadian, but the rest are American. 

The “alternative right” was coined in part by white nationalist leader Richard Bertrand Spencer in 2008, but the movement as it’s known today can largely be traced back to 2012 and 2013 when two major events occurred: the killing of the black teenager Trayvon Martin and the so-called Gamergate controversy where female game developers and journalists were systematically threatened with rape and death. Both were formative moments for a young generation of far-right activists raised on the internet and who found community on chaotic forums like 4chan and Reddit where the classic tenets of white nationalism — most notably the belief that white identity is under attack by multiculturalism and political correctness — flourish under dizzying layers of toxic irony.

The Killings Started in California

The timeline for alt-right killers began on May 23, 2014.

On that day, college sophomore Elliot Rodger stabbed his three roommates to death before driving to a sorority house at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and shooting several women. He then killed or injured several pedestrians with both gunfire and his vehicle before exchanging fire with police and eventually taking his own life. He ultimately killed seven and wounded 14.

Rodger left behind a sprawling 107,000-word manifesto titled, “My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger,” which contained passages lamenting his inability to find a girlfriend, expressing extreme misogyny and various racist positions including disgust for interracial couples (despite the fact that he was multi-racial himself (half-Chinese)).

“How could an inferior, ugly black boy be able to get a white girl and not me? I am beautiful, and I am half white myself,” Rodger wrote. “I am descended from British aristocracy. He is descended from slaves.”

Rodger frequented PUAhate, a deeply misogynistic forum populated by failed “pick up artists” dedicated to revealing, “the scams, deception, and misleading marketing techniques used by dating gurus and the seduction community to deceive men and profit from them.” Discussions about women on the forum are at best objectifying and at worst, violent.

The term, “white sharia,” allegedly coined by Sacco Vandal of the popular alt-right site Vandal Void, is a radical response to Patrick Buchanan’s argument in Death of the West: that the increase in immigration and decline of white birthrates is leading to the end of Western civilization. Rodger’s celebration at the 504um, one of the premier alt-right forums, is the rule rather than the exception, and locates misogyny at the core of the alt-right.

Andrew Anglin, the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer’s founder and chief propagandist, has his own troubling history of vicious misogyny, tracking all the way back to high school.

In the aftermath of Rodger’s killing spree, a user at 4chan/b/ posted a photo from Rodger’s Facebook page with the note, “Elliot Rodger, the supreme gentleman, was part of /b/. Discuss.” This sentiment was echoed by other /b/ users who found similarities between his lexicon and that of the noxious board, including the term “beta,” used by men online to describe themselves as lacking the physicality, charisma and confidence associated with alpha males.... The term resurfaced on 4chan/r9k/ in the wake of a shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, by Chris Harper-Mercer, who killed nine and wounded at least seven others at the college on October 1, 2015. “This is only the beginning. The Beta Rebellion has begun,” one anonymous user wrote. “Soon, more of our brothers will take up arms to become martyrs to this revolution.”

Although never proven, it is widely speculated that Harper-Mercer was a user on the board as warnings against attending school the following day that circulated on the eve of the shooting. Authorities believe Harper-Mercer, who like Rodger was multi-racial, was also motivated by white supremacist ideas. The Government Accountability Office categorized the Roseburg killings as “white supremacist” in an April 2017 report.

2017: A Year of Alt-Right Violence

The first killing in 2017 that can be tied to the alt-right occurred on January 29 in Canada. A 27-year-old university student named Alexandre Bissonnette allegedly brought a semiautomatic rifle into the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City and shot and killed six worshippers while injuring 19—two critically.

On May 20, 2017, Sean Urbanski, a 22-year-old University of Maryland student, allegedly stabbed and killed newly commissioned Lt. Richard Collins, III. Authorities described the attack as “totally unprovoked.” Urbanski approached Collins, who was black, and two friends at 3 a.m., seemingly intoxicated, and said, “Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you.” When Collins refused, Urbanski stabbed him. Urbanski, however, was a member of a Facebook group called “Alt Reich: Nation”.

Less than a week later, Jeremy Christian, a 35-year-old Portland resident, allegedly stabbed and killed two people and severely wounded another passenger on a train while they were defending two young women from his anti-Muslim and racist remarks. Christian, who identified as a white nationalist and had a history of violence and mental illness, had a Facebook page filled with racist and bizarre political content. Witnesses at an alt-right free speech rally in the month preceding the stabbing saw Christian wearing an American flag cape, yelling racial slurs and making Nazi salutes. 

Two months later, on July 14, 2017, Lane Maurice Davis, 33, allegedly stabbed his father, Charles Davis, to death at the family home in Skagit County, Washington, after accusing his father of pedophilia. Davis, a conspiracy theory obsessive who went by the name ‘Seattle4Truth’ online and accused his father, not based on his own experience, but instead on his belief that liberals around the world are participating in secret pedophilia rings. Davis was reportedly a researcher for Milo Yiannopoulos and claimed to have ghost written pieces on Breitbart News for the former tech editor. 

In the months leading up to Unite the Right, members of the alt-right colonized and organized themselves on the gaming chat platform Discord. This includes Auernheimer who was a frequent participant in the Daily Stormer’s server, “Thunderdome,” where he regularly interacted with site readers and put out calls for action.

Young, White, Angry, Male

According to Dr. Eric Madfis, author of a 2014 paper on the intersectional identities of American Mass Murderers, young, white, middle class, heterosexual males commit mass murder at a disproportionately high rate relative to their population size in the United States.

The rate of mass murders spiked in the 1970s and 1990s. Between 1966 and 1999, there were 95 cases of mass public shootings. Between 1976 and 2008, mass murders occurred roughly twice per month, claiming an average of 125 deaths each month. A more recent study published by Mother Jones identifies 95 mass shootings in the United States since 1982. Of those, 55 (59%) were committed by white men.

FBI crime data suggests that ages 16 to 24 are peak time for violent crime. According to Dr. Pete Simi, Director of the Earl Babbie Research Center at Chapman University, "This is a period of substantial transition in an individual's life, when they're less likely to have significant attachments in their life that deter them from criminal violence."

Madfis’s 2014 paper from the University of Washington investigates the role of intersectional identities in mass murder incidents and argues that young, white males' unique downward social mobility, relative to his expectations, accounts for their overrepresentation as perpetrators of mass murder.

Only one in five mass murderers are “likely psychotic or delusional,” however, according to Dr. Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at Columbia University.

A 2001 study conducted by Meloy examining 34 adolescent perpetrators of mass murder found that 59% were the direct result of a triggering event. That rate jumped to 90% among adult mass murders. 

Dr. Elliott Leyton, an expert on serial homicide, argues that contemporary mass murderers often target the perceived source of lost financial stability or class prestige. The alt-right, which couches its mission in terms of surviving literal extinction, routinely laments so-called reverse racism and affirmative action as well as immigration in all its forms.

The grievances collected by those motivated by the white nationalist ideology at the heart of the alt-right often do not begin with racist propaganda, but rather in the toxic communities of the men's rights movement... The age-old racist argument - that black men are 'taking our women' — is made regularly. Racist slurs are chucked around casually. There seems to be a significant overlap with organised white supremacy." 

Andrew Anglin once wrote “[o]ur target audience [for the neo-nazi website Daily Stormer] is white males between the ages of 10 and 30.”

Wiring Young Neurons

“Our target audience is white males between the ages of 10 and 30,” Anglin wrote in his “PSA: When the Alt-Right Hits the Street, You Wanna be Ready.” “I include children as young a ten, because an element of this is that we want to look like superheroes. We want to be something that boys fantasize about being a part of. That is a core element to this. I don’t include men over the age of 30, because after that point, you are largely fixed in your thinking. We will certainly reach some older men, but they should not be a focus.”

[Richard] Spencer told Mother Jones in December of 2016 before a contentious speaking engagement at Texas A&M University. “I think you do need to get them while they are young. I think rewiring the neurons of someone over 50 is effectively impossible.”

Undeniably, their efforts have had success. Mainstay racist conferences, like the annual gatherings of American Renaissance and the National Policy Institute, are attracting larger audiences, no longer dominated by their once singular demographic of middle-aged white men.

On a panel at Harvard University in October, Derek Black, son of longtime white supremacist Don Black, who once represented the future of the movement until he renounced racism during college, described his surprise at seeing so many young participants in Charlottesville:

I can say for sure my entire life in white nationalism I went to conferences many times a year. I spoke at them. I tried to organize them. I organized online through my dad's site [Stormfront] through organizations whether Jared [Taylor]'s AmRen or David [Duke]'s EURO or Council of Conservative Citizens … Everybody at these things is gray-haired. Me and two other people would be under 40. That was it. Which is partly why I took this impression that this is not gonna last. And a lot of that is because young people have a lot to lose … Young people who show up to a rally like that are going to get their identities exposed online and then it's gonna be hard for them to get jobs … I cannot actually explain what changed. The one striking thing about Charlottesville…was there's a ton of young kids like college-age or actual college students who got on buses and went to this who I don't think had been to an event like that before. 

Alt-right groups such as Identity Evropa and Vanguard America are marketing themselves exclusively to college and high school-aged individuals.

Then, on October 19, barely two months after the chaos of Charlottesville, the University of Florida was forced to host a Spencer speaking engagement under threat of a lawsuit........................ Hours later, three of his supporters were arrested for attempted murder after an alleged confrontation with protestors in which Spencer’s supporters threw stiff-armed salutes and one fired a shot at the urging of his accomplices. 

Not Even 21

James Alex Fields was only 20 years-old when he drove his Dodge Challenger into a crowd of attendees and protestors during August’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, injuring 19 and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. Fields stood with members of Vanguard America during the rally and carried a shield with the militaristic, alt-right group’s insignia on it.

According to police records, Fields also had a troubling history of childhood domestic violence — which experts see in about 1 in 6 mass killers. In 2010, Field’s mother called 911 after he attacked her for telling him to stop playing a video game. Other records reveal that he brandished a 12-inch knife at her on a separate occasion. His disabled mother uses a wheelchair.

Just three months prior to Unite the Right, another young, white man with a history in the alt-right, 18-year-old Devon Arthurs, allegedly killed two of his roommates... in Florida. Arthurs, who was taken into custody by authorities after holding employees of a tobacco shop hostage, had converted to Salafism, an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam, and begun defending ISIS online a year prior. He was previously a leader of a National Socialist group known as the Atomwaffen (“Atomic Weapon”) Division which formed on the fascist forum Iron March. 

In the year leading up to the shooting, Arthurs appeared to be blending his alt-right beliefs with his newfound adherence to extremist forms of Islam. His username changed from Weissewolfe to Kekman Al-Amriki, a combination of the trollish god of “meme magic” common to 4chan and the name of an American member of al-Shabab, an Islamic militant organization. According to VICE, Arthurs also spoke of “white sharia,” a concept exemplifying the brutal, misogynistic core attitudes of the alt-right and those it has inspired to violence.

Leaderless Resistance

In 2014, after longtime Klansman Frazier Glenn Miller Jr. killed three at a Jewish community center and a retirement home in Overland Park, Kansas, Brad Griffin of Occidental Dissent published an article on the topic of “self detonating lone wolf vanguardists.” According to Griffin, “a ‘self detonating lone wolf vanguardist’ is someone who is radically alienated from society and who has given up on persuasion, a fanatacist who is inclined toward violent methods of bringing about eschatological political change, who usually acts alone or with an accomplice in the name of a movement without the support of assistance of any group, and who typically explodes, lashes out, or ‘self detonates’ without warning in rampage shootings, murder-suicides, and bombing campaigns.”

In its just over four years of operation, the Daily Stormer’s audience included at least three readers who were either convicted or indicted for murder. 

"An Age of Ultraviolence"

On June 17, 2015, Dylann Storm Roof killed nine African-American worshipers and wounded one while attending a Bible study class at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Roof, then 21, told his victims, including Reverend and State Senator Clementa Pickney, that, “I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country, and you have to go.”

In a manifesto posted to his website, lastrhodesian.com, Roof cited the Trayvon Martin case as his inspiration for searching on Google for “black on White crime.” According to Roof, “I have never been the same since that day. The first website I came to was the Council of Conservative Citizens. There were pages upon pages of these brutal black on White murders. I was in disbelief.”

On March 22, 2017, another Daily Stormer reader, James Harris Jackson, was arrested after stabbing 66-year-old black man Timothy Caughman with a sword in Manhattan. Jackson, an army veteran, was 28 at the time of the alleged stabbing. He travelled to New York from Baltimore, Maryland, to conduct a “practice run” for what was intended to deter white women from race-mixing. He told a media source after his arrest that, “the white race is being eroded.” 

On Friday, December 27, a 17-year-old white male, reported to be Nicholas Giampa, allegedly shot and killed the parents of his ex-girlfriend in Reston, Virginia, before turning the gun on himself. According to reports, the parents had facilitated the break-up after learning that Giampa held neo-Nazi beliefs.

Giampa’s account also attempted to engage with those of alt-right leaders and organizations like Mike Peinovich, VDARE, the Traditionalist Worker Party, Identity Evropa, as well as Vanguard America, the neo-Nazi group that James Fields was photographed with in Charlottesville. One of Giampa’s main obsessions, however, was the hardcore neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen.

2018 is already off to a disturbing start. On January 2, Blaze Bernstein, a college student who was gay and Jewish went missing and was later found murdered. Friends of the accused murderer, Samuel Woodward, told ProPublica that Woodward was a committed neo-Nazi and member of Atomwaffen which may have as chapters in as many as eight states.

This former Atomwaffen member also said that the events in Charlottesville had a major impact on the group. Its membership doubled.  

(selected sections of article)

[ladyreapermc]

Fic: Brooklyn Baby (John Wick x Reader)

Summary: AU. John knew he was going to regret letting his daughter Daisy throw her 21st birthday party in his house. He just didn’t know how much. Part 2: A little loss of innocence | Part 3: Insatiable Craving | Part 4: Make it Hurt | Part 5: Play with Fire |

Author’s Notes: This is pure filth ok? I have no excuse and I’m sort of scared of my brain for coming up with this idea. Also, this might turn into a series. Someone stop me please!

Wordcount: 1550

Warnings: huge age gap (but everyone is legal); smut (oral; dirty talk; D/S tones; praise kink)

Helen did warn John was going to regret agreeing to this: letting their daughter throw her 21st birthday party in his house. He did consider saying no, but Daisy just batted her brown doe eyes at him, pouting so big that John felt like the worst dad in the face of the earth once again and caved.

He already barely spent time with her since she was off to college and John himself spending so much time away in jobs, which had been the reason he and Helen had grown apart, and even if he still loved her, he understood why she called quits on their marriage.

A sharp high-pitched yell filled the air, the excitement obvious in their tone, and John flinched. Seeing Daisy’s friends made him feel so old that John sneaked down to his workspace in the basement to get away. He considered checking in at the Continental for the night but something told him it would be wiser to stay, but out of sight.

So he refugeed himself down there, focusing on the book he was supposed to be binding, some soft jazz playing on the background to help him focus, but not loud enough to dull John’s senses so he heard the quiet squeak of the third top step of the stairs.

He looked over in time to see a pair of long tanned legs appear into his view, followed by a very small dress that clung to her body like a second skin. John remembered her, she was one of Daisy’s new friends from college, his daughter’s roommate. The girl had been part of the small entourage that arrived earlier to get everything ready for the party. She smiled sweetly at him, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Sorry to bother Mr. Wick, but Daisy can’t find the other packs of beer...”

“On the freezer in the garage,” he replied with a sigh wondering how many drunken youngsters he would have to deal by the end of the night.

“Thanks,” she flashed another smile, attention focusing on her phone for a second before returning to the wall of books behind him. “May I?”

John glanced at the books he had bound and nodded. She moved closer and in the tight space of the basement, he could smell the salt of her skin mixed with the scent of vanilla as she browsed the titles in front of her. John swallowed a lump of lust when she bent slightly to take a closer look at the books on the lower shelves.

He hadn’t been with many women after the divorce and most of the time, it had been quick tumbles to ease the solitude of his life. They were women from his world too, who knew exactly what they were getting into when they chose to get in bed with him. They weren’t younger than him by 30 years, looking soft and sweet and naive and so fucking pure John felt like he was tainting her by just breathing the same air.

“These are so amazing, Mr. Wick,” her hands trailed over the leather spines in a way that looked a lot like a caress, and John couldn’t help but wonder how her hands would feel in his skin. “I have a couple of books, they were my grandpa’s, maybe you could bind them for me?”

“Of course,” he offered her a small smile as she beamed at him and it felt like he was bathing in sunshine. “Just bring them over and I’ll take a look.”

“Thank you so much!”

He wasn’t expecting the kiss on his cheek, much less the way it lingered longer than necessary. Or the way their eyes met, hers full of something John dared not name because it was wrong, and she was his daughter’s friend.

Still, the air was heavy with tension as they gazed into each other’s eyes and John really needed to look away, break this connection because his will was being eroded by the way she caught her plump lower lip between her teeth and the rise and fall of her chest, making her breasts push forward against the delicate lace of her dress.

She took the first step before John could, letting her lips graze against his. Only a soft brush of skin against skin, but it was enough to awake the beast of desire in John. He cupped her nape pulling her closer, kissing her hard, tongue invading her very willing mouth for a kiss.

She tasted so sweet it was addictive and John couldn’t find a way to stop himself, getting to his feet and crowding her against the shelves. God, she was so petite but seemed just as caught in this spell as he was because her small hands seemed to be everywhere on his body, touching and exploring.

“We shouldn’t,” he whispered, hands in her ass, kneading the soft flesh so she would moan in his mouth. “This is wrong.”

“So wrong,” she whispered back, sneaking her hands under his shirt, cataloging his scars with her soft fingers before exposing her neck in offering. “Daisy would kill me if she found out.”

“Don’t let her know,” he mumbled, sucking kisses down the column of her throat, one hand coming to her cunt, finding her so wet beneath the cotton of her underwear.

“Please, Mr. Wick,” she whined, rocking against his exploring fingers, spreading her knees to give more space to work.

All common sense flew from John’s brain, leaving only pure desire and need. His body burned and his cock throbbed as he took in how she looked: completely debauched, head thrown back, legs spread, hips moving against his hand as she cupped her own breasts. She was a sight to behold like this.

“Get on the table,” he ordered taking his hand away and she whimpered at the loss. “I want to see you.”

She obeyed as quickly as she could, taking time only to push the book he was working on to the side before taking a seat. John hovered above her, bending down for another kiss before he hiked her skirt, exposing her to his gaze and pulling off her white panties.

“Look at you, darling,” he sighed, watching her pretty little cunt on display for him. “You’re so wet your dripping on my table.”

She moaned low, a pretty flush rising from her chest to her neck and cheeks as she tried to close her knees, but John kept them open, giving her a warning glare. She wasn’t going to deprive him of this delectable view.

He took a seat on his chair so his face was at the same height as her cunt and ran two of his fingers through her folds, making her shiver and moan. Her sounds were going straight to his dick. John could feel it pressing against his zipper, uncomfortably hard. All he wanted was to bury himself into her tight heat but first, he wanted to explore her.

He brought his mouth closer, spreading her lips with the V of his fingers. John could see her glistening clit and he blew against it, making her shudder before he flickered his tongue and she bucked her hips, a loud moan spilling from her lips.

“So sensitive,” John grinned, repeating his actions again and again and soon she was writhing under his ministrations sobbing almost desperately as he ate her out, drinking on the sweet juices of her pussy, his tongue alternating between little flicks at her clit and broad strokes on her slit to gather all of her wetness.

She chanted pleas of more, trying to rock her hips to get a little more, a little faster, but she was under his power and would take what he was willing to give, nothing more, nothing less. However, John was feeling kind, so he pushed two fingers inside her, making her cries grow louder at the intrusion.

“So tight, darling.” He mumbled against her clit. “I can’t wait to feel you around my cock.” His hardness twitched and pulsed at the thought as he pressed against her g-spot and she arched and shook, a gush of wetness soaking his hand as she came with another cry. “Good girl.”

She heaved and panted, a blissed-out smile in her lips as she recovered and John could feel her walls spasming around his fingers, clenching and trying to pull him deeper. He could already feel the need growing in his chest, his leaking cock leaving a wet spot on his pants. But before he could go any further, John heard the door being pulled open, Daisy calling out her name.

In a flash she was on her feet, fixing her dress and hair, while John hid his problem under the desk just seconds before Daisy walked into view.

“There you are!” She rolled her eyes. “Is my dad boring you with all the bookbinding stuff?”

“Not at all,” she smiled at Daisy, but her gaze flitted his way. “He’s being the perfect host and indulging me.”

“Well, Jack and Don are doing push-ups, so come on!”

Daisy tugged on her hand, all but towing her friend with her, leaving John behind with his ragging hard-on, her white panties and all-consuming guilt in his gut.

xxx

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[aion-rsa]

Scarface: Where Tony Montana Went Wrong

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“All I have in this world is my balls and my word, and I don’t break them for no one,” Tony Montana declares in the 1983 gangster classic, Scarface. Yet Al Pacino’s antihero breaks both in his quest for money, power, and women. And just as he is on the brink of winning the trifecta, he is blown away like so much dust up a nose.

Did he lose because the Cuban mobster didn’t heed the advice of his first crime boss? Or is it because he just couldn’t stand to see his sister and his best friend wearing his-and-her pajamas? In truth, Montana’s fall can probably be traced back to when he learned to speak English by “watching guys like Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney.”

Directed by Brian De Palma, and written by Oliver Stone, Scarface is a remake of Howard Hawks’ vastly influential 1932 mob movie, so Montana’s explosive descent was preordained. Tony Montana continued Pacino’s run of criminal icons, which included Sonny in Dog Day Afternoon and the ultimate crime family head, Michael Corleone in The Godfather films. The actor supplanted Paul Muni’s Tony Carmonte as the recognizably scarred face of the title role. Pacino would go on to play Carlito in Carlito’s Way and Lefty in Donnie Brasco, but while each hoodlum brings a new facet to his rogues gallery, none of his gangsters ever achieve their ultimate desires. They almost all reach dizzying heights, and everyone of them sees the dream slip through their fingers. Still, Montana experiences perhaps the greatest fall of all.

The original 1932 film took place during Prohibition when crime was a viable means of survival. De Palma’s adaptation happens in the Reagan era, a time when lucky opportunists could get their lips around the spigots of cash before it got a chance to trickle down. Tony’s economic theory is much more succinct: “You know what capitalism is? Getting fucked.”

Scarface is a rags-to-riches-to-self-destructive fireball story, and nothing succeeds like excess. Montana’s first crime boss in America, Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia), has weathered the climate change from President Carter to the Gipper, and warns Tony to never “underestimate the other guy’s greed.”

In the original Howard Hughes production, Tony was an immigrant from Italy. In the Cold War era film, Montana is a refugee from Cuba. Their shared first mistake is to believe in the American Dream.

The World Is Yours

These words are flashed in both films and hit each of the two criminal aspirants as hard as the “give me your tired, poor, and hungry” promises carved under the Statue of Liberty. Scarface opens shortly after the Mariel boatlift, the 1980 exodus which followed Cuba’s economic crash. Montana seeks asylum, telling immigration officers he is a political prisoner who doesn’t agree with his country’s politics and owns nothing under communism. He says even American prison is better than his life on the Caribbean island. The officers note his criminal past, the telltale tattoo on his arm, and the scar on his face, which despite their insults was obviously not caused by oral sex.

In exchange for a Green Card, Montana and his friend Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer) assassinate Gen. Emilio Rebenga, who tortured the brother of the crime boss Lopez. Tony settles in sunny Miami. And when he gets out of the kitchen and into the heat of crime, he hits the ground running. “The World Is Yours,” after all. All you have to do is take it, and Montana has both hands out.

Frank warns his protégé, “The guys who last in this business are the guys who fly straight – lowkey, quiet; and the guys who want it all – chicas, champagne, flash – they don’t last.” But Montana is a meteor, bound to burn up in the atmosphere. He gets caught on the orbit of Alejandro Sosa (Paul Shenar), agreeing to supply cocaine from Bolivia independent of the other drug lords. Within a few years, Montana is doing so well, the feds target him for tax evasion.

Tony’s Betrayal of Frank Lopez

Montana’s betrayal of Frank Lopez is crucial to his downfall. Frank is the father figure who initially took a chance on Tony. He let him rise through the ranks, even as he tried to bite off more than he could chew. Frank’s biggest mistake is not making sure his underlings follow his sage advice. He also ignores one of his own commandments. Lopez underestimates Montana’s greed. He trusts Tony to accompany his trusted second-gun Omar Suarez (F. Murray Abraham) to Bolivia to meet with Sosa, and continues to let Tony operate after the druglord hangs Suarez from a helicopter.

The deal Montana makes behind Frank’s back is a major step toward the fall. The vow Tony takes never to betray Sosa ultimately leads to the last splash. Montana breaks his word to both of these men, and they bust his balls as a result. When Tony returns to Miami, Frank is suspicious over Omar’s death and his returning soldier’s independence. As Montana begins to build his own cocaine empire, Frank orders a professional hit.

For gangsters, the only good cop is a bad cop, and it is advisable to grease the wheels which move crime. Mel Bernstein (Harris Yulin) demands his take early in the film at the Babylon Club, which has the perfect cocktail napkins for bribery notes. Bernstein was willing to overlook the murders of Rebenga, “Hector the Toad,” and “that bloodbath at the Sun Ray Hotel.” Tony should have taken him at his word when the cop said he could clean up Tony’s Lopez mess.

Before Tony eliminates Frank, he is hungry. The money and drugs are not a distraction. After he begins to accumulate power, he lets his public profile rise and indulges in conspicuous consumption. Montana keeps a chained-up tiger in front of his compound just to let everyone know how powerful he is. There are real life precedents for this. Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar imported hippos for his private zoo. Brooklyn mobster “Crazy” Joe Gallo kept a pet lion named Cleo in the basement of his headquarters. The scenario was also probably inspired by Miami’s most notorious drug lord, Mario Tabraue, whose predilection for wild cats was featured in the Netflix documentary Tiger King. But the most conspicuous acquisition Montana leveraged cut Frank the deepest.

It’s always a mistake to go after the boss’ girl. James Cagney’s Tommy Powers knew this in The Public Enemy (1931). James Woods’ Maximillian “Max” Bercovicz skirts this in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (1984). Montana sets out to steal Frank’s trophy wife, Elvira Hancock (Michelle Pfeiffer), from the moment he lays eyes on her, though he waits for the height of his reign to claim her. He does it as much to emasculate his former boss as he does it out of desire. It’s a betrayal equal to having Manny whack Frank while he pleads for his life.

The new couple is married by 1983, but with a marriage always on the rock.

Don’t Get High on Your Own Supply

Montana’s downfall is aided, abetted, but most of all mirrored in his descent into addiction. He probably took his first sniff from Elvira’s stash, but even as Montana bemoans, “I got a junkie for a wife,” he doesn’t get wind of his own problem. “Another Quaalude, and she’ll be mine again,” he reasons as the trophy wife climbs off the pedestal and up on a shelf.

Montana is in deep drug denial when Elvira leaves him after he openly complains she can’t have children because she is polluted with the yaya he’s been peddling. He should at least entertain the notion when she openly wonders if he would even be alive to raise their child.

In American Gangster, Denzel Washington’s Frank Lucas knows enough not to dip his nose into the supply. And while Pacino’s slide into the junkie aspects of his character is physically more subtle than Ray Liotta’s bug-eyed Henry Hill in Goodfellas, the results are just as devastating. When Montana was crushing the competition and bagging the Sandman, he had discipline. His mind gets muddled as his drug use spirals out of control. He makes rash decisions, dips into schizoid delusions, and succumbs to white powder paranoia. He can’t see his way through the haze to find alternatives. He walks right into the undercover cop’s money laundering bust.

The drugs dull his instincts. If Tony wasn’t high at the security command center, he would have seen Sosa’s soldiers encroaching his compound over the cameras. He had 10 bodyguards on the property, he could have positioned them defensively. The only thing his ultimate hit man is hiding behind is a pair of killer shades. He never should have been able to sneak behind Montana’s back. Tony also wouldn’t have gotten rid of his most trusted weapon.

Over and Underestimating Little Friends

Tony Montana’s right-hand man would have been the best, first defense against the Sosa attack. What Tony does to Manny Ribera is his worst action. The two are virtually brothers. Their bond goes beyond being partners in crime, it tightened in the “Freedomtown” concentration camp, and solidified in the Miami chainsaw massacre. It is because Manny is Tony’s most trusted soldier that he will never be good enough for Tony’s sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). Tony’s saving grace is he believes he is doing all this to ensure a better life for his sister. Gina is supposed to represent the innocence he sacrificed, but she is also an unattainable sin.Tony’s mother doesn’t try to separate her children merely because her daughter might be swallowed in the criminal life; she is curbing what she sees as Tony’s unnatural urges. 

Read more

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Even if Tony doesn’t see Manny as a rival for his sister’s affections, he still sees him through the eyes of a fellow criminal, and a womanizing one at that. Tony is just like his mother, who rejects him. Tony brands his friend, and ultimately seals his fate with it.

The problem is Ribera wasn’t made to be a gangster. He is a loyal and efficient consigliere and soldier for Tony’s crew, but he would have been happier slapping his name on knockoff designer jeans. Besides the bubbling incestuous tension exacerbated by the coke haze, Tony doesn’t want to see his best friend happier than him, and denies Gina a real chance at the happiness he wants for her.

It’s the one thing Tony can’t buy for her. Gina and Manny fully expect Tony to be thrilled by their marriage. They were going to surprise him with the news. Tony’s incestuous protectiveness speeds his downfall. He murders Manny as a punishment. Gina is shot by Sosa’s men. Montana loses the two most important people in his life, and his inability to control his lusts destroy them all.

“Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy”

The biggest contributory factor in Tony’s downfall is his humanity. In The Godfather, Sonny Corleone advises his brother Michael not to take things too personally in business. When Lopez gives Montana the mission of delivering a bundle of cocaine to Columbian dealers, the rising mobster takes things very personally. The deal goes bad when Montana’s friend Angel Fernandez is murdered with a chainsaw in a scene so aurally graphic (watch it again, there’s no violence shown, only heard), it almost got the film an X rating.

It was allowed in the film in the name of education, Stone pointed to a DEA report which detailed the exact scenario. Tony teaches the Colombians a lesson in humanity. Not content with leaving with the cash and the coke, he kills every single gang member who had anything to do with Angel’s death.

Tony also lets his conscience be his guide when he’s working the GPI on a hit. Faced with serious jail time for his tax evasion arrest, he makes a deal with Sosa, who is also under fire. Montana agrees to fly to New York and assassinate a journalist before he can give a speech on Sosa’s organization. A bomb has been planted in the journalist’s car, and Tony is in charge of tailing until the perfect detonation point. But when Tony arrives on the scene to assassinate the journalist, he notices the man’s wife and children are with him. Montana not only breaks his word, the promise to protect his powerful partner, but he murders Sosa’s right hand man, Alberto, rather than kill the children playing in the back seat.

“I Always Tell The Truth. Even When I Lie.”

Tony Montana may have been the ballsiest and most charismatic of his machismo mob, but he wasn’t the brightest. He acknowledges his intellectual shortcomings, “I come from the gutter,” he admits. “I know that. I got no education, but that’s okay. I know the street.” But he doesn’t read signs. He can’t tell a freeway from a dead end. Frank Lopez may be a blowhard, but his words of wisdom could have been carved in the cement. 

All the concrete Tony brags about has gone to his head, making his skull thicker than Pacino’s accent. Montana is brash and unbending, narcissistically adherent to only his own advice, and his own worst counsel. His anger blinds him, the battery is running low on his foresight, and he’s so flashy his enemies can see him coming from miles away. And he can’t see them when they’re standing close enough to breathe on the back of his neck. 

Final Massacre

Of course the most obvious reason Tony ends up the way does is because he fights off an army by himself. He’s got quite an arsenal, and the coke probably makes it seem like a good idea at the time, but the decision to stay and fight is vastly miscalculated. Even if Tony had survived the last assassination attempt, Sosa’s men would always be hunting for him. It would have been a short hunt. Tony Montana would have died of a heart attack from all that coke he snorted.

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[muthaz-rapapa]

Let’s talk TroPreCure! (^∀^ 🌺)

i’m so stupidly proud of this dumb pun “tropurikyua~”, hahahahaha

Last post of the year and wow is there are lot to be excited for!

I even had to make a list for the stuff I want to talk about and I’m sure I already forgot one or two things but we’ll get to them as we continue to float~ along the wave to February 28th, mmkay? :)

Now for what has peaked my interest so far. And yes, we have to talk about the following first:

1) HealPre the shortest Precure season??

Unless they plan for double features in February (which I doubt but you never know), HealPre is likely going to reach only 45 episodes long instead of the usual 48~50 before TroPre I’m using this shortening of the title for now so if there’s a better alternative, tell me and I’ll switch out begins its broadcast.

Understandable because the producers probably want to get back to their normal scheduling as soon as possible (toy sales, y’know) and I suspect pushing the start of the new season back by a month is the most they’re willing to compromise.

As for me, I’m quite happy about this since HealPre’s lost its hold on my attention a while ago so the sooner TroPre gets here, the better. Though the downside might be a scrambled climax and a rushed, underwhelming ending for HealPre (I dunno if it’s January’s titles that feel a bit messy or if the hiatus is still throwing me off) but whatever. We’ll refresh ourselves with the new blood Cures so it’s all good.

2) Tropical movie announced for Autumn 2021, no All Stars??

(source)

First saw this mentioned on Youtube somewhere but it’s all over the fandom forums by now. I mean, HealPre’s movie is set for March, the usual time slot for All Stars release. If Toei intended for there to be an All Stars in 2021, there’s no way they would announce the seasonal movie before it so speculations of them skipping it this year are probably true.

To squeeze it somewhere between March and October-ish would force them to readjust their budgets as well and I don’t think even Toei wants to go through that extra hassle after all the trouble the pandemic’s caused for everyone already. It’s just easier to resume All Stars in 2022.

That, and I think Laura being a major character in TroPre despite not having a Cure title (yet) would make for an awkward situation when the three latest teams gather so perhaps that’s also one of the reasons. But I’ll get back to Laura in a bit.

3) Cure Summer is a RAINBOW Cure

So god help me if I see anyone calling her a Pink Cure.

Yes, she’s the lead Cure for this season. NO, she is not a Pink Cure.

Look, even the official website has a rainbow overlay for her profile pic and text font while everyone else’s respective theme colors are a solid hue:

Therefore, RAINBOW.

In promotional material and merchandising, they’re probably going to advertise her primarily with pink bah and at worst, she might occasionally be labeled as a White Cure with multiple subcolors (her outfit is not pink-dominant) but definitely NOT. PINK.

...also, this goes without saying but f***yea, we finally got a lead Cure practically and unabashedly wearing the LGBTQ flag and you cannot tell me otherwise, Toei!

Own up to it! Declare Manatsu/Cure Summer as the Precure queer icon!

I’m not gonna stop yellin’ until you do! 😠

4) Laura = obvious midseason Cure is obvious

First of all, Laura is a babe. I already love her the best and she’s not even Precure yet. <3

Anyways, the set-up is pretty much in the description. Important main character who’s not a mascot, stated to have a self-confident personality and just speaks her mind (oooh, I like~ :D), magical/foreign being from another world looking for Precure to save her home, possesses her own special item(s), has aspirations to become the next Queen (so she’s a princess-candidate or something to that effect, I suppose).

We’ve seen various combinations of these traits in past midseason (and a few starter) Cures so nobody should be surprised when we all guessed that one of the Cures would be a real live mermaid.

The only question is why not just make Laura a Cure from the get-go if she’s introduced to us at the beginning (like Hime or Lala) and having a team of five with no unnecessary extra add-ons later on (like Smile).

Well, there’s a simple answer for that: formula.

Toei is afraid that if they don’t spit out some new animation sequence at the halfway and third quarter points of the show, the kids will lose interest and abandon the series altogether. Which means failed toy sales. Oh nooo... [/sarcasm]

...Yea. 

And this way they can also have Laura available in the Cure lineup for the next All Stars in 2022 instead of making her sit the fight out if we were going to have one in 2021. I’m convinced that’s gotta be one of the reasons. *shrug*

But ok, whatever. Her debut is gonna be later, that’s all. She’s a delayed Cure.  Midseason Cure, same difference.

Moving along to the more important stuff now like what’s her Cure name gonna be, y/y?

Well, knowing Toei, a translation of the term “mermaid” into another language is the most predictable route even though we already have a Cure Mermaid. Not like that ever stopped them from repeating words before (ex. Cure Happy vs Cure Felice). Though if they do go down that road, I hope they opt for the Spanish/Italian “sirena” and not the French “sirène” because the latter sounds too close to how Cure Selene is pronounced in Japanese. And, putting it nicely, we all know Japanese pronunciation of foreign words is as off kilter as can be.

Hell, even the the Portuguese “sereia” sounds aesthetic as hell so it’d be nice if they can just remember there are other languages that exist out there besides Japanese, English and French when making the final decision at the writing table! *stomps foot* >:/

Alternatively, “nereid” or “naiad” are good choices too but they remind me too much of Greek myths and Laura’s from the Grand Ocean which covers more than just a couple of seas (Greece is surrounded by three, btw) so...

I dunno. But whatever it’s gonna be, she’s definitely got a strong association with water and her powers will probably be based on that.

As for theme color, since there’s noticeably no blue or green Cure in the starter lineup, it’s likely she will take up that spot when she debuts around ep 20.

Pink is also open since Cure Summer, again, is technically not a Pink Cure and Laura’s hair and tail fin are hot and light pink respectively but looking at Laura’s design and concept, does anyone seriously believe that?

Her upper torso consists of aquamarine while the body of her tail is definitely some shade of cyan, implying they’re aiming for somewhere around the middle of green and blue on the lighter spectrum.

And yea, I’m aware that green and blue are considered exchangeable in some perspectives with how close some of their shades are to each other but officially, I think Laura’s gonna be grouped with the Green Cures.

Cuz of the hair. If Laura’s gonna keep it the same or a similar shade after transforming, that is. The Blues have always had cool-colored hair so putting Laura in with them might disrupt that harmony whereas if you put her with the few Greens there are (including Parfait), she’d fit right in.

I mean, we’ll see but that makes the most sense, doesn’t it?

On another note, I just want to say that I love how they added frills to her arms instead of letting her elbows go bare naked. It definitely makes her look more like a genuine mermaid than if she didn’t have them (remember, half fish doesn’t mean half the body :P).

5) Magical Items

Frankly, I’m tired of seeing the transformation device being a compact again even though one of the main motifs is make-up this season. But at least, as far as Precure compacts goes, the Tropical one is my favorite cuz of how cute and delightfully colorful its toy version looks! So I guess I’m okay with it.

The Heart Rouge Rod, though? ...I dunno. I think it would’ve been fine without that...straw (?) jutting out at the top. It looks weird, doesn’t it look weird? :S

As for the collectible clip-ons, I can live without those for the rest of my life. Yeesh.

Laura’s items, the Aqua Pot and the Ocean Prism Mirror.

Again with the portable, travel-size housing. *sigh* 😩

Alright, I can let this year slide cuz Laura (I’m so soft for her, omg) probably won’t be getting legs for 20 weeks so she’s got to move about on land somehow. But unless they’re really thinking about turning this idea of carrying your apartment around in your bag/pocket/purse into a reality (cuz that would be effin’ awesome), please be more creative with your toys.

On the other hand, I’m much more interested in the Ocean Prism Mirror but from what Kusyami (the Precure merchandise reviews I follow on Youtube) said in his latest vid, this is the ED dance item so don’t know if it’ll actually have an relevance to the story or not. But I did hear him mention it having something to do with the Queen as well and since Laura wishes to become Queen, maybe it’ll be important after all? Maybe it’s her transformation device?

That’d be super cool. Let’s continue the trend of the midseason Cure having a different transformation item than the starters. Honestly, we should alternate every other year or two but we’ve gone three seasons with all of them using the same henshin gimmicks up till HealPre and I just want a break from that.

6) Fin sleeves??

These look so impractical for combat so maybe it’s exclusive to group attacks.

And/or a sort of precursor to the super forms?

*GASP* Does that mean they all eventually turn into mermaids? 🤩

7) Yui finally became Precure!! 😭

lol, it’s all crack from this point on so don’t take it too seriously but man, after Yuni’s deceptive braids, I thought I wasn’t gonna see anything that reminded me of Yui for a while and lo behold, Sango.

kehehehehehe xD;

Though Yui might be closer to Minori in terms of personal interests (fairytales and storybooks).

8) Akira, the actual Onee-chan version

I didn’t think this when I first saw her but once I read “Onee-san” in her profile, there’s no saving you now. Sorry, Asuka. 😅

Also, damn, do her sandals make her feet look big! Compare them to the heels she wears as Flamingo. Are they even the same?! lololol

9) ...this sounds awfully familiar...

Translation:

Tokimeku Tokonatsu! [Exciting/Thrilling Everlasting Summer!] Cure Summer! Kirameku Hoseki! [Sparkling Jewel!] Cure Coral!  Hirameku Fuurutsu! [Flashing Fruit!] Cure Papaya!

Japanese reiteration:

Mallow/Mao: Pink no tokimeki! Lillie: Blue no kirameki! Lana/Suiren: Yellow no kagayaki!

….........

@Toei 

Care to explain yourselves, punks?! 

୧(ʘ ∀ ʘ ╬)

[aenariasbookshelf]

The untitled EndGame Fix-it Fic

So, as people have expressed interest in the EndGame fix-it story, here’s the first chapter of it.  I know that this story probably won’t be for everyone, especially if you liked the way EndGame played out, but it was downright cathartic for me to write it.  This first chapter does have a couple of hard conversations in there, but nothing worse than what we saw in the movie.  I think what I’m trying to do was hit some similar notes to EndGame, but in a way that felt more genuine and true to the characters in the way that I experience them.

(And yes, as the writer I can totally recycle a few concepts from other stories I’ve written, so there. ;)

Many thanks to everyone who’s taken a look at this story so far.  I love all of you. <3

Okay, here we go.  No title yet, but I have an idea...

Part One

The idea, time travel, to get the stones and bring them to the future, is set.  It’s a good plan, Steve says, out loud at least, because hope is in short supply these days.

It’s their only plan, he says to himself at night, tossing and turning in bed and wondering what the hell they were thinking with this cockamamie idea.  It’s not that he doesn’t trust Scott, he absolutely does, but time and dimensional travel?  At least when they traveled across the galaxy to kill Thanos, that was in a linear fashion.  Still, there’s that one little niggling doubt in his head, that he just can’t shake off.

That little lingering doubt is what causes him to sneak into Natasha’s office late at night, and use the heavy, long-range equipment in there to flag down Carol Danvers.  She may not be experienced with time travel (hell, none of them are - who could be an expert in time travel if they’ve only just managed to come up with it?), but her interstellar perspective on things may help him see through a different lens.

“And that’s where we stand.”

Steve spreads his hands out across the desk expansively as Carol’s holographic image looks on, mouth pursed and arms crossed.  “It’s...the plan that we’ve got.  It’s the only plan everyone can agree on.”

Carol nods, and Steve can tell her mind is working at top speeds.  Faster than his, at least, which isn’t hard to do at this time of night after days of not sleeping well.  “Can I ask the tough question?”

“Please.”

“You have a time machine, and you will have all the Infinity Stones.  Why not just turn the clock back and kick Thanos’ ass in 2018, with all the new knowledge you’ve gained?”

The billion dollar question, indeed.

Steve heaves a sigh, sitting back in the chair as he nearly chews a hole through the inside of his cheek.  “We don’t trade lives.  I’ve said it more times than I can think.  One singular life is just as worthwhile as everyone else’s.  The world didn’t stop spinning these last five years.  People are still growing up, getting married, having babies...having lives.  Who are we to take that away from them?”

Carol’s shrewd, however, and can see right through the fancy, inspirational speech that people would expect Cap to make to lead the masses.  “Yeah, how old is she?”

“Hmm?”

“Tony’s daughter.  How old is she?”

Steve just nods, looking down at the desktop.  “Four.”

“And, suddenly, so many things become clear.  He refused to help unless his daughter was safe, didn’t he?”

A set of arched eyebrows is the only answer Steve can give.

“I get wanting to protect her.  I do,” Carol says, eyes distant even through the shimmer of the holographic interface, and whatever she’s thinking of, Steve can see the pain on her face.  “But if I was her parent I wouldn’t want to let her grow up in a world that seems like it came from one of Stephen King’s worst nightmares.”  She snaps her gaze back to Steve’s.  “So basically, if there’s an alternate plan, we can’t expect Tony to be involved.”

“That’s probably a safe assumption.”  Keeping secrets has already done so much damage in their relationship, what’s one more to add on top of it?  But when the universe is at stake?

“Still, if you know her birthday, do the math.  There’s every chance that kid was conceived before the Snap and, if so, she’ll get to grow up in an even better world than the one she’s in now, with parents who are a lot less broken because of it.”  Her hologram looks steadfast and strong, a lot stronger than Steve feels at that moment.  “I’m going to do some research on what the Stones can do, in the meantime.  Power’s great, but only if you know how to use it properly.”

Steve nods.  What else can he do at this point?  Instead of clarity, all he has are more questions that neither one of them will be able to answer easily.  “I’ll let you know how our time travel adventures go.”

Carol nods, and her hologram blinks out of existence, leaving a fading trail of faint blue sparkles behind.  Steve slumps back in the desk chair, scrubbing his hands hard over his face, because fuck if he knows what he’s going to do now.

**********

Natasha and Clint take off for Vormir.

Only Clint returns, and it feels like the heart and soul of the team is shredded in an instant.

**********

Carol’s not the type of person to let just anyone see her cry, and yet her eyes go glassy and watery when Steve tells her about what happened on Vormir.  “Oh, god,” she all but whimpers.

He stands behind the desk, where Nat should have been sitting, fists clenched, trying not to give into the rage and sadness that he knows is brewing inside of him.  “Did you find anything?”

Carol sniffles, inhaling sharply and refocusing herself.  “Nothing good.  Long story short, from a cosmic perspective, the universe is beyond off balance.  Right down to the molecular level, and from a more metaphysical angle, at a magical level also.  The universe shouldn’t exist in this current state.  It can’t, frankly.”

“You spoke to the Living Tribunal, then?” a new voice breaks in, low and haggard and yet strong enough to resonate around the office.  Standing in the doorway is Thor, looking about as worn down as Steve feels right then, ragged and tired, like he’s only being held together by the merest of threads.

“And what’s the Living Tribunal when it’s at home?” Steve asks, because now they’re going well past his wheelhouse into the goddamn Marianas Trench, and the last thing he wants to do is drown in it.

“The judge, jury, and executioner of universal balance.”  Thor shuffles over to one of the chairs nearby the holographic image generators and kicks back, slumping down.  “What did he say to you?”

“That this universe, as it exists now, post decimation?” she shakes her head, “is unsustainable.  The balance has been wrecked so badly by what Thanos has done that within a generation, maybe two at the most, everything in existence is going to be reduced to space dust.  Something to be absorbed and dispersed around the universe that will come after this one.”

“Unless we turn it back?”

“Unless we turn it back,” Carol echoes, nodding.  “The Tribunal’s in agreement, to the point where it’s saying that some futures, meaning this one, shouldn’t exist.”

“The Tribunal is known for being a bit cryptic, at times,” Thor says, his head turning to look directly at Steve.  “The only times it gets truly clear, is when the sentence is handed down.”

Carol points a finger directly at Thor.  “That’s an understatement, in my experience.  The fact that the Tribunal pointed me in the direction of obtaining a little extra power to defeat Thanos back in 2018 as needed is telling enough.  I get the feeling that the Tribunal, and the powers - whatever they are - above it aren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of starting a new universe just now either.  It’s not the right time.”

Thor finds Steve’s gaze yet again, and there’s something dark and dangerous brewing behind his eyes, something that Steve knows is echoed in his own.  “So, instead of buying Morgan a lifetime, he gives her twenty years?  Maybe fifty, at the outside?”

“Not just Morgan,” Carol says quietly.  “The entirety of the universe.  The countless species and planets and galaxies in that space beyond measure.  Fifty years.  And that’s if humanity doesn’t hasten their own end, as they’ve been known to do.”

As painful as it is to think, it’s the moment of clarity, of certainty, that Steve’s been needing.  “We have to turn it back,” Steve breaths out, the words falling from his lips with unimaginable gravity.  “We use the Stones, go back to the battle in Wakanda, and take Thanos out there.”  He turns his eyes to Carol.  “The Stones together can do just about anything, yeah?”

“Correct.”

He nods, trying to collect his thoughts together.  He needs to be sure that he phrases this just right, because if there’s only one chance to say it they all need to be sure they’re working with the same ideas.  “So if we do turn back the clock to that moment, there won’t be two versions of us around, just the one version that existed at the time.  Yeah?”

She nods.

“Okay.  We get the stones, and we turn the clock back to that exact moment.  It’s a small time frame, even more so with you being out in the galaxy, but we can make it work.”  He bites the inside of his cheek, hard enough to cut through the skin and leave the lingering metallic taste of blood in his mouth.  “One more thing.  When we turn the clock back to that exact moment, we need to make it that only the three of us remember this future, so we can ensure we do what we need to in the past.  This is our plan, our mission.  We need to see it through.”

It’ll also be a bit of a kindness, Steve supposes.  It’s hard to mourn what you’ve lost, if you don’t know you’ve lost it.  It feels uncomfortably like playing God, deciding if people will or won’t live with the memories, but it’s the choice that will spare people, including those closest to them, the most pain.  And will give them a chance for a real future, not just some farcical pretense of one.

“Can you live with that option?” Carol asks, solemnly.

Steve’s stomach roils and the blood on his tongue just seems to get even sharper, leaving him feeling like he’s about to sign the warrant for his own execution.  “What other choice do we have?” is all that he says in return.

“It’s a rare thing, to get a second chance,” Thor says.  His voice is quiet and low, yet it cuts through the night like a strident call, a rallying cry that they’ve been desperately needing.  “Who are we to waste that opportunity?”

[somedrunkpirate]

AO3 Writing Tag

Name(s): Somedrunkpirate  Fandom(s): The man from uncle, The Witcher, Good Omens, Inception,  Where you post: Ao3  Tagged by @iamanonniemouse Tagging: @theheirofashandfire (good luck lmao) 

Most Popular One Shot (by kudos):

This year: You’re a dream, darling, Good Omens, Aziraphale/Crowley, T, 11k

There are two very important facts: 1) Aziraphale is dead. 2) None of this is real.

-----

Crowley’s throat tightens. “My angel,” he says. “My best friend. He’s dead, you know.”

Aziraphale blinks and then blood drains from his face. “No, no. Crowley. No. I’m here. I’m right in front of you.”

“I know,” Crowley says. “Isn’t it amazing, what a dream can do?”

Of all time:  On The Matter Of Touch, Good omens, Aziraphale/Crowley, T, 9k

“On the matter of touch,” Crowley begins, waving his teaspoon in what he hopes passes for idle curiosity. “Thoughts?”

---

For two ineffable husbands, they don't really touch each other much. Here is a story on why that might be.

Most Popular Multi-Chapter (by kudos):

This year: A Lover’s Lament, The Witcher, Geralt/Jaskier, M, 25k

So,” Jaskier begins, as casually as he can, “you are telling me, that in theory, if I were to be in love with someone — anyone — that person could well be in terrible danger?”

Of all terrible and ridiculous things that have threatened Geralt’s safety, Jaskier had never thought that loving him might be what will get him killed.

Of all time: Drowning Deep, TMFU (pacific rim au), Illya/Napoleon, M, 101k,

Don’t follow the rabbit. He knows this. Don’t fall into the rabbit hole of memories. You’ll drown.

But Illya lives there, deep in the past, it’s the only way he gets through the day.

Favorite story you’ve written so far:

This year: The Golden Ocean, TMFU, Napoleon/Illya, 85k This story taught me to write for myself in the best and worst way. It is so hard to keep writing a prequel if it doesn’t receive a similar amount of feedback as the initial story. But I worked through it and got it done, for myself and my beta who supported me all throughout. And in the end, it’s probably my most original story I’ve written. 

Of all time:  A Lover’s Lament, The Witcher, Geralt/Jaskier, M, 25k I think this story really shows how I’ve learned to become a better writer over the last couple of years. It’s densely packed with original lore, worldbuilding, fun character interactions and has a plot that reveals more about the characters on a second read. It also has an original female character that I feel is my first 100% successful 3d side-character who has a whole story of her own outside of the main ship plot.  Honorable mention: Cold Frost and Sunshine, TMFU, Napoleon/Illya, 50k What initially started as purposefully the most trophy thing I’ve ever written (it’s a Hockey AU, for crying out loud), turned into an actual honest exploration of therapy and recovering from mental illness. I still get the occasional comment on it from people who said that the mental health parts really spoke to them, or that they even showed passages to Real Actual Therapists because it verbalized what they were feeling. This is the fic I always return to when I feel like my writing is worthless. Even the fic that I intended to have no deep value from the start, ended up being meaningful to people. It helps to remember that. 

Fic you were nervous to post:

You’re a dream, darling, is a story where the main character experiences intense dissociation and believes his reality is a dream. I am very aware that this is an actual thing that people experience, and I wanted to make sure I was careful and respectful when handling the topic. I based the story on what I had researched and what I experienced once myself while having a bad reaction to medication + being high (really be careful with weed and adhd meds folks). I was so nervous to post it, and worried that I hadn’t trigger warned it clearly enough or something. But in the end I’ve received a lot of positive feedback from people who experience dissociation, and that meant the world to me! 

How do you choose your titles?

Nine times out of ten the title is just kind of There, sometimes before I write it even. If not, I usually take inspiration from a line somewhere in the fic. Only once I needed to consult the poetry gods. 

Do you outline?

Does daydreaming the story a bunch count as outlining? I usually have some vague ideas about upcoming scenes and possible endings, but for my larger fics those ideas get thrown out and I flail around for something else. I think Lover’s is so succinct because I had most of it already in my head when starting, whereas with Drowning Deep I had no clue what had actually happened to break the characters apart until like chapter three. So I guess it depends on the fic and whether I have to due to a big bang sign up or something. 

Complete

51 fics (556k). This year: 9 (180k) 

In-Progress: 

The Angel of Greenwich: A good omens detective story set in the 1920′s, 22k. In The Dark We Travel: Geraskier (the witcher) sci fi au, 28k.  They’re both on a hiatus because pandemic times are fucking with me, but I’m chipping away at them and could use the encouragement.  Coming Soon/Not Yet Started:

Tragic Superbat alternate universe shenanigans: Clark gets switched with Alternate Universe Clark, who has been in a relationship with Bruce for years. Bruce falls in love with AU-Clark while also trying to get his Clark back (who he is convinced still hates him). 

Amnesia Jaskier with magical powers: Jaskier gets kidnapped and made into a powerful sorcerer, but the process removes all his memories. Geralt finds him completely dependent on the same mage that kidnapped him, and has to convince him that 1) Geralt is his friend and 2) Jaskier is not a dangerous monster, as the mage has convinced him. Very tragic all around. 

Original femslash idea, Stern Orc Woman with golden heart and ADHD Monk. Can only end in chaos. 

The Bullington Club: an original idea of a group of idiot lords looking for treasure and taking their longsuffering servants/guards with them on the ride. Aka that thing that completely got out of hand brainstorming with @theheirofashandfire

[ceealaina]

Title: Bring the World Back Into Tune Collaborator Name: ceealaina Card: 4008 Link: AO3 Square Filled: Asking For Trouble Ship: Stony, background WarFalcon Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Meet-Cute, Steve Rogers Has No Chill, Fluff and Smut, Blow Jobs Summary: Steve's just minding his own business  when he spots the most beautiful man he's ever seen. So of course when he gets the chance to meet him, he manages to make a complete fool of himself. (Luckily, Tony kinda likes a guy who accidentally proposes at first sight.) Word Count: 4143

Steve hummed along to the music that was filtering through the apartment, still sipping at his first beer because, contrary to what Bucky liked to claim, he actually did know his limits. Mostly. When it came to drinking, anyway. 

As if summoned by Steve’s thoughts, Bucky came up behind him and Steve nearly stumbled at what was apparently supposed to be a friendly shove. “Knock it off, Buck,” he grumbled, shrugging him off without any real heat. 

Bucky eyed him skeptically. “You’re in a suspiciously good mood for someone who got beat up earlier today.” 

Steve just snorted, rubbing at the nasty bruise that he knew was forming under his t-shirt. “Like that’s anything out of the ordinary.” He gave Bucky a wry grin, getting an eye roll in response. “Besides, it wasn’t that bad. Definitely not the worst I’ve had.” He fluttered his eyelashes. “And they didn’t even damage my beautiful face.” 

Bucky huffed out a laugh, planting a hand in the aforementioned face and giving Steve a mostly gentle shove. “You’re such a schmuck.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Steve didn’t stick his tongue out at him, because he was a responsible and mature adult. “Takes one to know one, pal.” 

Bucky was saved having to continue their witty repartee when Sam spotted them from across the room, his boyfriend Jim in tow. He hollered out a hello, dragging Jim through the small crowd of people between them, and Steve laughed as he waved back. He’d known Sam for years, ever since he’d rescued Steve from a fight one night and the former field medic had bandaged Steve up to save him an ER bill, and they all slid into conversation as easily as they ever did. Bucky and Sam shifted right into making fun of Steve -- the only thing that Bucky claimed the two of them had in common -- while Steve appealed to Jim to just take Sam away and save him. It was fun and familiar, and all-in-all Steve was having a pretty good night. 

And then he saw him. 

He’d turned away to grab another drink, and for just a moment it was like the crowd parted and Steve had a perfect view of the most beautiful man in the world. He was just coming into the party, looking around for someone and laughing, his entire face lit up with it. He had dark, fluffy curls, one of which was falling over his forehead, and Steve wanted to brush it back so badly that his fingers actually twitched. 

“Holy shit,” he gasped, completely derailing whatever the other three were talking about. 

“Stevie?” Bucky asked, sharing a look with Sam, the two of them probably worried he’d developed measles sometime in the last five minutes. “You alright?” 

Steve just shook his head. “No,” he told him bluntly. “Who is that?” 

“Oh jesus,” Bucky muttered as Sam and Jim both craned their necks to see who he was talking about. “Not again.” Steve punched him. 

Sam ignored their exchange entirely. “Who’s who?” he asked instead, trying to follow Steve’s gaze and pick out who he was talking about. Then his jaw dropped, eyes going wide. “Holy shit,” he breathed. “Wait. Are you talking about Tony?” 

This made Jim jerk and spin around. “Tony Tony?” he asked Sam in response, like that made any sense at all. 

“I don’t know,” Steve told them. He pulled his eyes away long enough to give them both a confused look before pointing as discreetly as he could manage across the room. “Him!” 

“Oh my god,” Sam breathed, laughing and looking over at Jim. He shook his head and rubbed a hand over his face like he was waiting for Jim’s cue. “Babe?” 

Jim was laughing too, but eyeing Steve speculatively at the same time. He arched his eyebrows at Sam, the two of them sharing a glance before he looked back over at Steve. “Uhh, well. That would be my best friend. Tony.” 

Steve whirled to face him, eyes wide. “You know him?” He sought the man -- Tony -- back out before he could lose track of him among all the other people and nearly sighed at how gorgeous he was. “I think I love him.” 

Bucky groaned from somewhere beside Steve, and Jim huffed out a laugh before sharing another look with Sam. “Yeah? Want me to introduce you?” 

And before Steve could decide if that was a good idea, or if it was better to just quietly pine for this Tony person until he died of a broken heart, Jim was moving back into the crowd. “Hey! Tones!”

As Steve watched Jim make his way over to his friend, Bucky scrubbed a hand over his face and gave Sam a half-hearted glare. “You forgot to warn Jim about Steve. There’s something wrong with him.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with me!” 

“There’s everything wrong with you.” 

Sam looked unconcerned, patting Steve on the shoulder. “Don’t stress so much, Barnes. He’ll be fine.” 

“Are we talking about the same Steve here?” Bucky asked with an arched brow. 

“Fuck you, Bucky,” Steve replied, not talking his eyes off of where Jim had reached Tony, leaned in to say something, and now Tony was looking over in their direction. He stood on tiptoe to try and see through the crowd, and even though he was probably still taller than Steve, Steve felt his heart skip a beat at the adorable little gesture -- though that may have just been his heart murmur. 

“Christ,” Bucky breathed. “Okay, listen Stevie, just… Take a breath okay.” 

Steve shrugged him off with an eyeroll. “I’m fine, Bucky.” 

“I’m just saying, don’t come on too strong. You… Do that sometimes.” 

“Jesus Bucky, I’m fine, okay? I’m -- oh shit, he’s coming over.”

Sam snickered as Bucky grumbled something under his breath and Steve ignored them both entirely as Jim and Tony made their way over to them. Tony waved at Sam as they got closer, a sweet little smile on his face that had Steve melting. 

“Uh, hey guys,” he offered, turning toward Steve and Bucky. “You’re Sam’s friends, right? Sam talks about you a lot, it’s good to finally meet you.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, just a little awkward, and Steve couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Come home with me,” he blurted out, and felt his heart sink as both Bucky and Sam facepalmed. For all his grandstanding, Bucky may have had a point. 

“Um.” Tony turned to him with wide, startled eyes, blinking a couple times, but there was a twitch at the corner of his lips. “Who are you?” 

“The man who’s gonna marry you,” Steve replied before he’d even had time to think about it. He felt his eyes go wide. “I mean. Oh my god.” 

But Tony was laughing now, eyes sparkling and somehow, miraculously, looking almost endeared by him. He arched his eyebrows at Jim. “Is he always like this?” 

“Yes,” Bucky and Steve both groaned in unison, making Sam snort and Tony laugh again. Bucky had buried his head in his hands, and Steve could feel his own face flaming with mortification, but Tony took pity on him and held out his hand for Steve to shake. 

“I’m Tony,” he offered, a smile still playing around his lips. 

“Tony,” Steve repeated as he took his hand and nearly shivered at the drag of calluses against his skin. Losing himself in the fact that he was touching this beautiful man’s hand, he wasn’t thinking when he spoke next. “Your name is like a melody.” 

Tony burst out laughing, loud and bright and happy. “Ohhhh,” he said, voice sweet and teasing. “He’s crazy.”  

Steve just closed his eyes, not even noticing that he was still holding Tony’s hand. “Yup,” he agreed, voice dry. “That’s exactly what I am.”  

“I thought you were joking,” he heard Jim mutter to Sam, laughing now too. Sam just snickered.  

“I hate you all,” Steve informed them, his eyes still closed. He jumped when Bucky poked him in the middle of his back. 

“Hey, punk? Let go of the nice man’s hand.” 

“Oh god!” Steve’s eyes snapped open and he pulled his hand free with a jerk, practically propelling himself backward in the process. “I’m so sorry. I’m just gonna…” He waved vaguely in the direction of the other side of the room. “Crawl into a hole and never come out.” 

“Hey no, wait.” Tony elbowed Jim, who was laughing so hard he had his face buried in Sam’s shoulder. “Shut up, Rhodey.” He turned back to Steve, still smiling. “It’s fine, you’re fine. Don’t go.” 

Steve gave him a skeptical look, eyeing their terrible friends who were still laughing at him. “Really?” 

“Yeah.” And then, taking Steve completely by surprise, Tony took him by the elbow, flipping off Bucky and Steve and Jim over his shoulder as he steered Steve across the room and out onto the balcony, the noise of the party fading in the cool night air. There was nobody else out there and Tony beamed as he leaned against the railing, looking Steve over. “So tell me, future husband,” and he was teasing, but it felt more like they were sharing a joke than Tony laughing at him. “You gotta name?” 

“Oh god.” Steve pressed his face into his hands and then peered at Tony from between his fingers. “I didn’t even tell you my name?” 

Tony was looking absolutely delighted. “Nope.” 

Steve took a deep breath, lowering his hands and hoping that the words that came out of his mouth were what he actually intended to say. “Hi,” he offered with an awkward wave. “I’m Steve.”  

Tony leaned back against the railing, folding his arms across his chest and making a show of looking Steve up and down in a way that made his face heat and his spine tingle. “Hi, Steve,” he drawled. “Nice to meet you.” 

“That’s one way to put it,” Steve muttered, but he managed a shy smile of his own. “It’s nice to meet you too.” 

That got him a broad grin in return. “So tell me, Steve. Do we have a wedding date set?” 

“Oh my god,” Steve groaned. “I’m never going to live this down, am I?” 

“Probably not,” Tony agreed cheerfully. “So?” 

And the weird thing was, as embarrassed as he was by their initial meeting, something about Tony had set him at ease. “Yup,” he agreed, because it wasn’t as though he hadn’t thoroughly humiliated himself already, and at least Tony was playing along. “October 19.”

“Oooh, a fall wedding. Pretty!” 

He sounded genuinely pleased and Steve laughed a little, giving a shrug. “Well, winter’s too cold, spring always destroys me with allergies, and summer --” 

“Summer’s way too hot and humid,” Tony finished, gesturing at him in agreement. 

Steve blinked, slightly taken aback, and then beamed. “Yeah, exactly.” 

“Makes perfect sense to me.” Tony agreed. And then, smooth as silk, “Well, that gives us about five months to get planning. Maybe we should start with a first date? Wanna get out of here, grab a bite to eat? I know a spot a couple blocks away, they make the best burger you’ve ever had.” 

Steve stared at him. “Seriously?” 

Tony tilted his head and arched an eyebrow, still grinning. “What, you don’t like burgers? Weird, you seem like a burger guy to me.” 

“No, I like burgers,” Steve answered automatically, not that that was the relevant point here. “I just… You want to go out with me?” He gestured emphatically at the party behind them. “Me. After that introduction?” 

Tony just laughed. “Yeah, Steve, I want to go out with you. Because of that introduction.” 

Steve shook his head, but he knew he was grinning like an idiot. “You’re a lunatic.” 

Tony snorted. “Well then, I’d say we’re a pretty even match then, huh?” 

“You make a fair point,” Steve admitted, laughing despite himself. Then he shrugged. “Alright then, let’s go.” 

“Great!” Tony caught his hand and, before they could go anywhere, leaned in, giving Steve a quick kiss that, for all its brevity, made Steve’s toes curl in his shoes. Then he pulled back and led Steve toward the door. “Come on, Future Husband. This place is gonna blow your socks off.” 

*** 

Five Months Later

Steve grumbled as something ticked at the back of his neck, pulling him out the dream he’d been having. He swatted back, hand not catching anything, and heard a soft huff of laughter from behind him. 

“Wake up, Steve,” Tony sing-songed, kissing his shoulder. Steve squinted his eyes open long enough to determine that the daylight filtering through the windows wasn’t nearly bright enough for it to be time to get up and grunted, snuggling deeper into the duvet instead. Tony laughed and kissed him again. “Come on, it’s important.” 

Steve sighed, and considered trying to go back to sleep anyway, but as stubborn as he could be, Tony could be even worse, and he had a feeling that he wasn’t going to let whatever this was go. Relenting just a little, he rolled over onto his back, squinting up at Tony with half closed eyes. “What?” he asked. “Did you even sleep?” 

Tony waved his hand in a so-so gesture and then lost himself in a soppy smile. “God, you’re gorgeous in the morning,” he told him, which Steve knew for a fact was a bald-faced lie, but it didn’t stop Tony from ducking down to give him a soft, sweet kiss. Steve kissed him back only a little grudgingly. 

“Worst boyfriend ever,” he informed him when Tony pulled away. He stretched a little beneath the sheets, sinking into the ultra-soft pillows that Tony had -- thankfully -- insisted on when they’d moved into together a few weeks earlier. “What’s so important?”

Tony fake gasped, fluttering his hand over his chest, but his eyes were sparkling. “Don’t tell me you forgot!” he teased before diving into the blankets beside him and snuggling into Steve’s side, wrapping his arms around him and pressing a sloppy kiss into the side of his neck. “We’re getting married today, handsome.”

“Oh god,” Steve groaned, trying to wriggle away from Tony enough that he could bury his face into the pillows. “I hate you so much.” 

“Mmm.” Tony followed him, draping himself over Steve’s back instead and kissing his ear to make him shiver. “No you don’t.” 

“I kinda do.” It was kind of hard to breathe between the pillow and Tony on top of him, so Steve elbowed him until he got the message and rolled away, letting Steve come back up for air. He turned to face Tony, squinting at him suspiciously. “Wait, you didn’t plan an actual secret wedding or something, did you?” 

Tony laughed, delighted. “I know I’ve been known to do some… Spontaneous things before--,”

“Dumbass, hare-brained schemes, more like.” 

Tony rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You’re spending too much time with Rhodey, and I’m banning you from hanging out with him anymore. The point being that no, I did not plan a surprise wedding five months into our relationship.” 

“I mean…” Steve gave him as pointed a look as he could manage when he was still half asleep. Mornings had never been his forte. “I’m just saying, it probably wouldn’t have surprised anyone if you had.” 

Tony flopped onto his back as he considered this. “Probably not,” he conceded before making a face. “My mom would kill me though. I’m pretty sure she’s been looking forward to planning my wedding since I was born. But anyway.” He rolled back in toward Steve, unable to lie still. “We only just moved in together. I wanna enjoy living in sin a little longer.” 

“God, you’re such a doofus.” 

Tony huffed and then kissed him long and slow. “You say that like you don’t love it,” he hummed against his lips.  

“Mmm…” Steve let his hands slide down to curl around Tony’s hips. “I just mean, considering our meeting, you’d think I was the lame one, but you’ve been just as bad for like. Every single day that I’ve known you.” 

“That’s why we get along so well,” Tony informed him, sliding a hand under the blankets to rub over Steve’s chest. “And don’t worry, baby. You’re still the lame one.” 

“Am I though?”

“Your first words to me were a proposal,” Tony pointed out dryly. “That’s pretty lame, Steve.” 

“Okay, that was admittedly a pretty big initial lapse of judgement --,” 

“Because you were blinded by my beauty?” Tony offered.

“You know it.” Steve squeezed his hands against Tony’s skin. “But still. It was temporary. You’ve been just like… So uncool every single day since then. Totally lame. It’s honestly a little embarrassing.” 

Tony started laughing, smothering little giggles -- which kinda proved Steve’s point in the most adorable way possible -- into Steve’s collarbone. “Jesus Christ, Steve. Are you gonna let me give you a pre-wedding blow job or not?” 

“Wait.” Steve blinked at the top of Tony’s head. “That’s why you woke me up?” 

“Obviously.” Tony lifted his head enough to give him a fond eye roll. “Isn’t that the traditional groom’s gift?”

“Fuck it, it is now.” 

Tony beamed at him and then he was shimmying his way under the covers and down the length of Steve’s body, tracing those same rough fingers that had nearly melted Steve’s brain the first time they met over his chest and ribs. 

“Oooh,” Tony crowed as he reached Steve’s boxers, the fabric already pulling against his cock (he was totally gone for Tony, had been hard since he’d woken up). “Helllllloooo nurse.” 

His words were muffled by the blankets, making his voices sound even more ridiculous, and Steve snorted at the sound. “Tony,” he protested. “Come o-on.” His voice hitched on the last word as Tony dragged his teeth over the sensitive spot on his thigh.

“Jeez,” Tony grumbled, finally moving to pull Steve’s boxers down all over his hips. “For someone who took so long to get with the program, you’re being awfully pushy.” But the next moment he was curling his hand around the base of Steve’s cock, grasping tight and rubbing his thumb over the underside. 

Steve groaned loudly, fingers twisting in the sheets as his hips twitched up in Tony’s hold. “Oh god,” he mumbled, already feeling his breath start to go, practically panting in anticipation. “Come on, sweetheart. I just woke up, you know you can skip the foreplay.” He huffed out a laugh, the sound thin and reedy as Tony pressed a teasing kiss to the slit of his cock. “Please don’t tease.” 

It was a stupid request, since it was almost guaranteed to make Tony do exactly that, but apparently pre-wedding sex meant showing Steve some mercy because a moment later he was being enveloped in hot, wet suction, a muffled, greedy moan filtering through the blankets. Steve gasped, barely able to keep his hips from bucking up and choking Tony. Tony didn’t waste any time in sucking him down, not stopping as until Steve was bumping up against the back of his throat. He swallowed around him and Steve groaned, loudly, before grabbing the terrible platypus throw pillow that Jim had given them for some reason and biting down on it (there may have been a couple noise complaints from their neighbours). He clutched the pillow tight with one hand, his other worming under the blankets to tangle through Tony’s mess of curls. He tugged a little, unable to help himself, and nearly went cross-eyed when he was rewarded with Tony moaning desperately around him. 

“Oh shit, Tony,” he gasped, words muffled by the fabric. “You feel so good.”

Tony hummed again, deliberately this time, and Steve’s hips rocked, back arching when Tony pulled off to breath and flicked his tongue against the slit. 

“Ohh, you fu-ucker,” he choked, half laughing through it. He combed his fingers through Tony’s hair. “Tony, please.” 

He felt Tony snicker into his skin and then he was swallowing him down again, doing something with his tongue in the process that had Steve suddenly, embarrassingly close to the edge. He rolled his head back against the pillow and panted up at the ceiling, biting down hard on his lower lip as he tried to hold on just a little longer. Apparently Tony was having none of that though, because he slid a hand blindly up Steve’s chest until he could pinch and rub at his nipple, sending sparks shooting up Steve’s spine. He braced his legs, thighs trembling, and Tony’s hand settled on his skin, stroking soothingly. 

“Oh fuck, Tony, baby, ‘m gonna come.” He was panting hard now, feeling a little dizzy with the lack of oxygen getting to his brain, and he rolled his head against the cool cotton of the pillow beneath him. He was right on the edge, could practically taste his orgasm. “God, Tony, please,” he wailed, forgetting about the neighbours entirely. An instant later, Tony was sliding a hand down past Steve’s balls, stroking his thumb over his hole until it caught on the rim. Steve was pretty sure he stopped breathing entirely as his body went stiff and then he was spilling down Tony’s throat, waves of pleasure washing over him and body so tense he wasn’t sure he’d be able to move after. 

For a minute Steve just lay on his back, staring sightlessly up at the ceiling. Then there was the rustling of sheets and Tony squirmed his way back into the fresh air, hovering over Steve on his elbows so he didn’t squash him. He was flushed from exertion and the heat of his blankets, a loose curl sticking to his forehead with sweat, and he beamed down at Steve. 

“You alright?” he asked, watching Steve’s skinny chest as he sucked in a few more breaths. Steve offered him a thumbs up until he felt his lungs ease a little. 

“Fuck, Tony,” he told him, voice coming out in a low rasp. 

Tony just shrugged, but he looked pleased. “Well, you know,” he told him, shifting to flop onto his side beside Steve. “That’s what I’m here for.” He pressed in close, planting a kiss on Steve’s cheek, and a punched out, needy gasp slipped past his throat when his cock dragged over Steve’s hip, hard and hot and wet at the tip. 

Steve tilted his head to frown at him. “When did you take off your clothes?” he asked, snickering when Tony just gave him a dirty look.

“God,” he grumbled, burying his face against Steve’s neck and licking at the salt on his skin. “You’re such a goddamn tease. Don’t even know what I see in yo-oh!”

He cut himself off with a low moan, eyes falling shut as Steve wrapped a hand around his cock, giving him a slow stroke. Steve could feel his pulse throbbing beneath sensitive skin, and he smirked. 

“I’m sorry, what was that?” 

Tony shook his head, keeping his eyes closed and rubbing his forehead against Steve’s neck. “Nothing, I take it all back,” he said, words slurring together and Steve traced the thick vein running the length of him and then rubbed his thumb just under his head. “Oh, fuck Steve,” he said. “It’s not gonna take much.” He didn’t seem to notice his hand moving to Steve’s hip, gripping hard enough that Steve could feel his skin start to bruise. He rewarded Tony with a tight squeeze that had him throbbing in his grip. “Fuck, I’m so close.” He panted into Steve’s neck, rolling his hips against Steve’s side. “Just a little harder, baby please.” 

The angle was awkward, and Steve could feel his hand starting to cramp a bit, but he didn’t stop. He shifted his grip instead, dragging his calloused fingertips over the slit of Tony’s cock. Tony gasped wetly into his skin and then he was spilling over Steve’s hand, shuddering against him with a low groan that could almost be classified as a whimper. 

He went still after, still clinging to Steve’s hip as he caught his breath. He was a nice, solid weight against his side, a feeling Steve would never stop loving, and he didn’t bother pointing out that Tony would probably be able to catch his breath faster if he stopped breathing into Steve’s shoulder. Instead he just reached for the tissue box on the nightstand, giving them both a half-hearted clean up before snuggling back into the blankets. 

“Ah, fuck,” Tony said after a few moments, breaking the comfortable silence. He lifted his head to blink dopily at Steve, grinning like an idiot. “That was awesome.” 

Steve knew this smile on his face was just as ridiculous. “Yeah, it was.” 

If possible, Tony’s smile grew wider before he arched up to kiss Steve’s cheek. “Happy wedding day, baby.” 

@tonystarkbingo

[chcrrysprite]

thoughts on miss hayden romero because i’m in love with her and so are you

yessss so glad to have another opportunity to gush about her

how i feel about this character i am in love with her and i am So Fucking Mad at how the show and its fans treated her. teen wolf clearly had no idea what they wanted to do with her after she survived the fallout of the chimera pack - and i think this is because i'm pretty sure her entire character and relationship with liam was meant to be a joke in the first place. in one shot of liam's bedroom in season four, there's a poster of a half-naked, dark-haired female soccer player hanging on his wall over his bed. sounds familiar and it Pisses Me Off because it doesn't seem like a coincidence and really just furthers along the theory that the writers really did not ever plan to have her do more than be a romantic interest.

and as for how fans of the show treat her,,, oh my fucking god. before anybody comes at me about "people are allowed to not like characters!!1!!" i KNOW that, but the vast majority of the people who don't like hayden have the fucking worst reasons for it. i've found that the majority of hayden antis (not people who just simply don't care for her, i'm talking about Aggressive Hayden Antis) either seem like they're jealous of her because she pulled liam, annoyed at her because she "got in the way" of thiam, or, in some cases, seem like they actually just have a crush on her. I saw a post that was titled "everything wrong with hayden romero" and one of them was literally just that she was "too goddamn perfect." uhhh....okay.....

and i'd just like to point out two things about that: 1.) the majority of people who seem jealous of hayden saying that she "doesn't deserve" liam are either people who ship him with someone who's literally killed people (i do too, but let's not say that hayden doesn't deserve him if theo is the alternative, let's be real) OR they're way too fuckin old for liam anyway, so even if he was real, they wouldn't even have a chance, and - 2.) hayden could not have possibly "gotten in the way of thiam" because she literally moved. i genuinely have no idea how she could have gotten out of the way more than that. theo and liam barely had any moments in season 5 or in 6a when she was still around anyway LMAO

all the people i ship romantically with this character - liam; i have actually become an unironic layden fan recently. i wouldn't read or write fic about Solely them but they were sweet and i like them. - theo; this one seems weird, understandably, but i love the dynamic they would have. i started shipping them together after i started getting into theo/liam/hayden, but i like them as just the two of them, too. power couple, honestly. - tracy; i haven't watched teen wolf in a long time so i kind of forget what was going on between them, but they could have been so cute. chimera girlfriends. i could write a fic - gwen; gwen didn't have that much time in the show and i don't ship her with hayden as much as the others, but their interactions were cute and definitely Not Straight (tm)

my non-romantic otp for this character even though i ship them romantically too, i love the theo/liam/hayden power friendship headcanon. they are so cool together in every fic i've read them in <3

my unpopular opinion about this character everything that i said in the first bit basically, but also that i don't dislike her personality like a lot of people do!!! a lot of people think that she's whiny and bitchy but like,,, i think she has the right to be, and even then, she barely even complained. she was so sweet and funny in 6a.

one thing i wish would have happened with this character in canon i wish she would've stuck around :( i know then it would have messed with thiam, but maybe if she and liam broke up and she had her own plotline for once, we would've gotten the best of both worlds. i'd also have loved to know what was going on with her home life and backstory.

this became a Long Post !!! thank you for asking this one, tho :)

[anexplanationofunfortunateevents]

this is an alarmist post

This post might sound alarmist because I don’t know the respectable, non-alarmist way to put this. He’s going full final-days-in-the-Fuhrerbunker. I want to be alarmist. We need to be alarmed.

On one level, I’m pretty sure you know this. You can probably see a vague reference to “what happened in Portland” and know exactly what the writer means. Unidentified little green men in military-style fatigues deployed against peaceful protesters. Protesters kidnapped off the streets in “proactive arrests.” ordered by someone illegally acting as the head of DHS. Journalists attacked. Middle-aged women beaten and tear-gassed. The mayor of Portland tear-gassed. It was, of course, worse than it looked, and only the most telegenic of concurrent power grabs.

But it’s really hard to stay at the appropriate level of alarm for even three hours – and we need to stay there for the next three months. It’s exhausting no matter what, and nearly all of our current information environment makes it even more difficult than it needs to be.

Most of what the mainstream media has to say about the election isn’t reporting so much as it is fanfiction. Characters with familiar names and recognizable faces feature in an alternative universe where “normal” political forces (which were defunct ten years ago) apply. Sniping about “messaging,” pathologically boring lectures about “enthusiasm” – it would be annoying anti-Democratic concern-trolling in a world where a free and fair election could be taken for granted. In the real world of powerful and accelerating anti-democratic threats, it is both dangerous and bizarre, like dumping a fifth of vodka into a Super Soaker and trying to use it to put out a brush fire.

The mainstream conversation is so disorienting that it’s understandable why there are also a fair amount of influential progressive commentators who have burrowed themselves into the reverse narrative. It doesn’t matter what we do, Trump is just going to steal the election anyway; it doesn’t matter if he loses, he’s going to refuse to leave anyway. A subset of these fatalists swing all the way around to conventional Pundit Brain: Trump has already blown up all the rules of democratic politics because Democrats aren’t using the One Weird Trick that would make them good at democratic politics!*

Before jumping down the rabbit hole of whether these narratives are true, it’s important to emphasize that they are not constructive. We are in a crisis. In a crisis, you need to help people understand that something abnormal is happening AND that there is something they can do to make things better. Communicating to people that things are fine, as the mainstream horserace normal politics model does, isn’t helpful, because it helps people rationalize the false but comforting belief that everything is fine. Communicating to people that things are hopeless, as the doom-mongering counternarrative does, is even less helpful. If you’re acting normal about something abnormal, there’s at least the off-chance you’ll get lucky and unwittingly bluff your way through the short- and medium-term. But if you’re constantly getting the message that you’re screwed no matter what, it’s human nature to either a) go into denial and double down on an unproductive response, which is irrational but understandable or b) get cynical and give up, which is an entirely rational response to a situation that actually is hopeless.

Trump is already trying to steal the 2020 election. He has help from the henchmen he has put in charge of important federal agencies and from the white-shoe lifers in the Republican legal establishment. Anything you can imagine he might do, you should assume he has at least considered it. He will consider things that would never even occur to you.

He hasn’t succeeded yet. He can be stopped with overwhelming turnout. We know this because of the 2018 midterms. Autocrats who are successfully smothering a democracy do not allow the opposition party to win partial or full control in regional governments, take over half the federal legislature, and gain a foothold in the presidential line of succession. That’s not how autocracy works. If you come across a commentator who is under the impression that a burgeoning dictatorship just gives away that kind of power for the lulz, consider taking that person’s opinions on the subject with a grain of salt.

Thanks to the 2018 midterms, House Democrats have been able to foil some of Trump’s schemes and warn the public about others. Even with Individual 1’s desperate thrashing at the intelligence agencies, we’re getting a lot more specific information about Russian attacks on the election than we were this time in 2016 from the Obama administration.

One more important thing we learned in 2018: just because Trump would do something, doesn’t mean he will. Here’s the Once and Future Speaker a few weeks after reclaiming her title:

At least Trump “didn’t declare the election illegal,” Pelosi said. “We had a plan for that” — though really, she acknowledged, the only workable plan was “to win big. Had it been four or five seats, he would’ve tried to dismantle it.” In his news conference the day after the midterms, Trump spoke respectfully of Pelosi….

The Spectacularly Failed New York Times buried the lead as usual, but there are a few really important points packed in here. Democrats did, in fact, have a plan for that, which you’re going to need to remind yourself if you try to follow political commentary in the next few months. For whatever reason, a surprising number of supposedly anti-Trump writers are  eager to undermine Trump’s opposition with false claims that Democrats are bumbling naifs who in 2020 still haven’t realized that Trump might not respect the results of an election.** This demoralizing premise is, as you can tell from the Wayback Machine link, not true, but for some reason it remains a popular lie, so it’s worth debunking.

More importantly, we didn’t know about the plan until afterward because they didn’t need it. Trump has blinked before, so there’s no reason to assume he won’t blink again. We shouldn’t assume he will do the same thing in 2020 that he did in 2018, because it’s a different situation! Just that people who have assumed Donald Trump will act in a completely different way than he has in the past usually end up with egg on their faces.

My two cents – AND THIS IS JUST MY OPINION SO YOU CAN SKIP IT – is that any kind of post-election autocratic power grab would probably need decisive action from Trump within days, maybe even hours, of polls closing. That, in turn, would require Trump to absorb the narcissistic injury of a loss immediately, which he has been psychologically incapable of doing for the first 74 years of his life. Remember, he didn’t have to come to terms with the curb-stomping he received in the midterms right away. At first he could tell himself that Republicans holding onto the Senate (by the skin of their teeth when they should by all rights have swamped it, but whatever) represented a “split decision” and even a moral victory for him, so he could afford to go into, like, con man autopilot mode and try to charm “Nancy.” Everyone else adjusted to the Democratic victory the next day, and the next night, people got into the streets warning him not to try any bullshit. It was only after bigger districts finished counting and mail-in ballots were counted that it sunk in for him how badly he had lost and what the consequences would be. Then he soothed himself by shutting down the government indefinitely, which he seemed to feel was a display of his power – until “Nancy” pantsed and dog-walked him so he had to slink off and pretend it never happened.

If an election which was more or less as legitimate as the 2016 election (questionable but not Belarus) were held today, I think the most likely result would be a scenario a lot like the midterms: East Coast states make it clear which way the wind is blowing to most people, but Trump goes to bed at 3 AM thinking he’s close enough to fight it out in court. Over the next couple of weeks the mail-in ballots get opened, Miami and Philadelphia finish counting, and the real numbers start penetrating even his toxic bubble. Eventually someone reminds him that his armed Secret Service detail can escort him off the premises no matter what he does, so he loses what little nerve he has and skips Biden’s inauguration to go golfing at Mar a Lago. Or maybe Sochi.

But again, that is not a guarantee or even a prediction. The FACT is that anything can happen in the next three months, and Trump and his goons are putting a lot of effort into ensuring that everyone does happen. I spelled out my opinion of what seems most likely at the moment because it can get really easy to dwell on the worst-case scenario, which leads to fatalism and inaction. The least-bad scenario is actually more plausible than it’s been for the last few years, if we motivate ourselves to get it done. We can’t waste all our time and energy thinking about what he’s going to do, because we need to think about what we’re going to do. Voting is the core issue as always, but it helps to be more concrete.

If your state has early in-person voting, and if you can do so safely, vote in-person as soon as you can. Every state’s vote by mail infrastructure was going to be strained this year before these dirtbags decided to sabotage the postal service. If you can cast your vote early, you can help make the lines a little shorter on Election Day while leaving vote by mail resources for people who need them.

If you are a person who needs vote by mail resources for whatever reason, use them! Request your ballot now. Fill it out and return it as soon as you get it. You might not have to mail it back – your county may have drop boxes, or maybe someone can bring it to the local elections office for you. If that’s a safe option for you, please take advantage of it. If it’s not a safe option, mail your ballot back as soon as possible. You’re not helping anyone from the ICU.

If you and the people you live with are relatively low risk, or if you’ve survived COVID and your health care provider thinks you have immunity for the next few months, consider volunteering as a poll worker. Usually a lot of poll workers are retirees, who are by definition in a high-risk group. If enough of them decide to sit this year out – and that’s the smart, responsible choice – then polling places end up closing, which helps Republican voter suppression by making the lines longer. The more volunteers your area has, the more polls they’ll have open, which makes it that much easier to let people vote quickly and at a safe distance from each other.

This last one isn’t directly about voting, but it’s still pretty important: get used to pushing back on bullshit. There already is another effort to drive down turnout by inundating voters with disinformation. Last time we weren’t ready; this time, we have no excuse.

*Avoiding sources because this stuff is toxic. If you think I’m making this up because you haven’t seen it anywhere, good.

**Look, nobody*** is more sympathetic to The Men and their psychological frailties than me, but seriously, guys, some of you need to log the hell off for a few days.

***For certain non-traditional values of “nobody.”

[intergalactic-zoo]

I think I've figured it out. If "Lois & Clark" was "Moonlighting" with super-powers, "Smallville" was "Dawson's Creek" with superpowers, and "Supergirl" started as "The Devil Wears Prada" with superpowers, then "Superman & Lois" is "This Is Us" with superpowers. 

Spoilers ahead!

That may not be entirely accurate—I've watched maybe 15 minutes of "This Is Us"—but I feel like that's the kind of tone this show is going for, the family-centered melodrama. The kind of show that would be designed to manipulate emotions and win Emmies if it didn't occasionally feature CGI battles between Superman and an alternate-universe Lex Luthor. I thought after the pilot that the muted color palette was an attempt to visually echo the Snyder movies—and that may be a piece of it—but it also reminds me of every clip I've seen of that show where the guy from "Heroes" gets killed by a pressure cooker. 

The result is a show that isn't quite like any of the other superhero shows on The CW. The closest (of the ones I've watched) is "Black Lightning," which similarly was about an older hero trying to raise a family, but even that felt more like "The Flash" in terms of cinematography and structure. You still had the Hero being directed by the Guy In The Chair to face a particular threat. Superman doesn't have the same support network, or the same relationship with his kids and the problem of adolescent superpowers. 

I continue to be cautiously optimistic about this series after episode two. I can see where some of the plots could easily go sideways, and the decision to cast two black male actors as two of our antagonists when the rest of our principal cast is pretty lily-white is Not Great, but right now I'm interested in seeing how things go, and I don't really understand where some of the vitriolic fan response is coming from. At worst this show is fine. 

There's a lot I like here. Every character's core conflicts internally and externally are already built at this point, and there are good points of conflict and connection between most of our main cast members. 

It would be easy to fall into the trap where Clark can't do anything right as a parent—which seemed to be the direction they were going in the pilot—but it's clear here that he's doing his best, and that leads to good moments with the kids. 

It's nice to see that the relationship between Clark and Sam Lane isn't all sunshine and roses; they have reason to distrust one another, and while they both clearly think they're doing the right things to keep their family safe, they have very different ideas about how to do that. It's also interesting that they're bringing in Project 7734, which I think first appeared in the World of New Krypton story. 

It's interesting that the trend has been to show Jor-El with a beard since...at least Superman: Secret Origin, but maybe as far back as the Richard Donner run on Action or "Up, Up, and Away." 

After years of seeing evil/corrupted/morally-ambiguous versions of Superman in the comics and prominent adaptations and pastiches—including the Injustice games, which we saw Jordan playing in the pilot—it's kind of a stroke of brilliance to make the main supervillain of this piece a version of Luthor from a world where Luthor was right and Superman was bad or went that way. It may be petty of me to appreciate that the evil Superman is wearing a black costume as in some prominent scenes by that one director with a New 52-style high collar (even if it looks to be the same costume that the evil Superman wore in the "Elseworlds" crossover a couple years back), but I'm embracing it. It's a good, simple visual shorthand. 

Speaking of costumes, I think it's interesting how much Hoechlin's main Superman costume for this series looks like the costume from the Smallville Season 11 comic and Superman: Earth One, down to the two-toned blue areas. 

It even has the same belt as that Smallville costume. Of the three main suits Hoechlin has worn—the one on "Supergirl," the Fleischer-inspired one in the pilot opening, and this main one—this is easily my least favorite; the muscles feel padded or painted-on (which is understandable; that visible eight-pack abs physique may be sustainable for a few weeks of film shooting, but not for the months needed to film a season of television), and it just feels more muted than even the darker blue of the "Supergirl" costume. But it's not bad, and making the belt red and yellow helps make up for the lack of trunks, and the two blue shades are one solution to the endless field of blue that most trunk-less versions of the costumes have. 

It's nice that every character has a clear arc ahead of them, and I do hope that (especially since her name's in the title) Lois's story gets increasing focus over the season, despite what we've heard from the writers' room. It's one of the plots that I can see going sideways—the Big City Reporter coming in to keep the Backwards Hicks from acting against their own interests, or learning that maybe her Big City Liberal Ways just don't work in the simple lives of Rural Americans—but I feel like the way things are set up now shows a degree of awareness that might avoid those pitfalls. We see complications to the "life in Smallville is simpler" mantra here—Sam Lane rejects it outright—and Morgan Edge is a prime indication of the fact that the same problems are at play in both the big cities and rural towns. 

I've lived in rural farm towns for most of my adult life. I've seen towns try to out-bid each other with municipality-killing tax breaks over businesses as small as local car dealerships, let alone big billionaires with promises of better jobs. I've had conversations with people who think the unions just have too much power these days and the owner takes all the risk so he should be able to take all the profits too. A show that's going to champion the need for independent local press when conglomerates are buying up papers and stations around the countries, that's going to argue that accepting scraps from billionaires because you're desperate is tantamount to extortion, that's a show that speaks to me, at least, and hopefully speaks to some people who might otherwise be hostile to those kinds of political messages. 

It is weird that Edge is interested in Smallville's mines rather than, you know, its farms, but I can see some logic behind that story decision. I do wonder if it's going to tie into some of Edge's more comic book-style motivations. Is there Apokoliptian tech in these mines? Kryptonite? Who knows?

Overall, I think this is a pretty strong start. It's not perfect, and I honestly wish the tone were a little closer to some of the other CW superhero shows, but I understand why they'd try to distinguish themselves from the pack. I'm invested in the characters, and I'm interested to see where the story goes. I realize that I'm a cheap date when it comes to Superman adaptations, but so far I'm enjoying this one more than most. 

[itscookieoverlordtoyou]

40 Questions — Meme for Fic Writers

Don’t you sometimes see those ask games and wish you could just fkg do them all? On this sunny Saturday, we make our dreams reality lolol

1.  Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Short fic, I usually get a small scene I want written so I write around it, plus I love short stories with interesting punchline.

2.  Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Probably, I don’t know them all ^^’

3.  Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Writing about stuff that disgust me I guess.

4.  How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Like 5-6? I want to write about a restaurant but set in a world where people have powers I think the combo could be very funny. The main character has the power of insight, the plonge is a giant pool where you swim around cleaning. Backstories of characters with shitty and amazing powers and how they ended up here. Rival to lover character that has the power to see into the future.

5. Share one of your strengths.

Dialogues, subversion, and humor; classmates often said I have a touch to spin a sad story into something positive/happier.

6.  Share one of your weaknesses?

I get tired when I describe something for longer than 4 sentences.

7.  Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“In what kind of trouble have we walked right into?”, I ask my companions as they’re idly fixing their attire. Together, we’ve face many perils and this mission ranks among one of the most dangerous. Yet, the others had been…how should I say it…professional! Rescuing kidnapped princesses, vanquishing terrifying monsters, quests to restore mythical artifacts, save nations from insidious plots. Oddly enough, “Does this dress make me look fat?”, is not the answer I’m looking for.

Ribbon in my hair is the first time I wrote about my knights, I first dreamt about them when I as 18, my boyfriend at the time called my idea stupid and my world building pointless so I only started writing about them when I was 21. Now I write about them a little bit every year :)

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“Do you really want your last words to be complaints?”

“I die as I lived.”

“Will we become a fruit tree?”

“I don’t think so, it’s never been the case for my ancestors.”

“I’d love it if we could turn into a banana tree.”

“I’m not from the southern regions, plus I like apples more.”

“Just imagine, our fruits could have been banana flambée”

This death scene was a big finale to a story I wrote for a class in Uni, a story of war between clan of forest and volcano people, of the supposedly brutal death of a Goddess, of a mysterious apple tree whose fruit give vision of the past. I should revisit it.

9.  Which fic as been the hardest to write?

My analysis on D’Artagnan and the figure of the hero. Granted it’s an essay for school but I deeply loved it. I was too afraid to write or ask for help from the professor in charge of me (which made our relationship tense ^^’) but when I did, it was beautiful and I was very proud got 89% :D

10.  Which fic has been the easiest to write?

A play called Adelaide where an old couple reads their old fairytale book about a Prince on a quest to save a Princess. They bicker about the other misreading the story but we finally get to the part where the Prince tosses the princess apart to get a better view of the dragon of which he falls instantly in love. The book is actually their wedding album.

11.  Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

It’s one of my passions, but it’s not something I think I could live on so I delegated it to my hobby.

12.  Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

The wedding scene in Shrek 2, my mind was blown when I saw it in theaters and when I need inspiration to write, I rewatch it.

13.  What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Presentation is important. If trying to read you gives people headaches, they’ll stop. Choose a nice big font, space with paragraphs, be mindful of your spelling and missing words. Read out loud because some things written are bad said.

14.  What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

I must’ve been lucky in this regard, I don’t think I’ve ever received advice that made me go NO, but I did have to listen/read stuff that made me gag.

15.  If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

I would love to the Adelaide acted out, some adjustments would be required because I’m no expert in play writing but I think I’d be great.

16.  If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Luyenor’a and Taram, names are placeholders as of now but they’re two of my knight, being the “only pairing I’m allow to write about forever” means I’d get more knight shenanigans done.

17.  Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I’m doing bullets point of what I want to happen and write stuff without much order. Some days I have no inspirations for what goes in the beginning but have loads for a later point. I surf the wave when it presents itself.

18.  Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

Word on my computer, a notebook in my bag, the note app in my phone.

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

I have little trinkets all around my computer to invite inspiration.

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Freshly woken up, having eaten, drinking something sugary and sometimes apple cider because the alcohol help lower my inhibition.

21.  How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

I read out loud at least once the whole thing, helps with missing words but dude I reread my stuff on ao3 and always find mistakes still ^^’

22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style. (Person sending the ask is free to make suggestions).

I’m not going to put here because it’s in French and I don’t want to translate now but I wrote Vision of a world, mine when I was 16 and damn was I already depressed then?

23.  If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

The Princess and the Soldier, some gay fairytale I think my first one, I’m sure I can do better bow

I also have one about a janitor and it’s a murder mystery I could redo

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

Once by accident, I was so angry I never rewrote it.

25.  What do you look for in a beta?

I don’t really use beta (beta reader right?) but I guess I’ve had like 3-4 when I was in Uni and had to read people’s wip and they read mine. They’d talk about what they liked, links they noticed, things that seemed weak or to change

26.  Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

I usually just point out the stuff I like

27.  How do you feel about collaborations?

For a class in college, we had to act out a play we wrote collectively. Ten sketches written in pairs/alone. I made sure I was alone so I wouldn’t be saddled with someone else to write my sketch

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

I don’t follow fic writers; I just am in a mood for a ship and read what’s available. I do like my friend @alumort ‘s fics tho ^^

29.  If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

There was a Phineas and Ferb fic focused on Perry I really loved. Their world building was something I’d never seen and they abandoned the story, so I did fanfic of a fic. Never dared to post it anywhere I mean it was their world to begin with.

30.  Do you accept prompts?

Of course, when inspiration is given I accept

31.  Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I don’t care about canon but I do love using it when there are little trivia to enrich the character.

32.  How do you feel about smut?

Love to read it sometimes, would love to write it. Some I’m like………….youveneverhadsexhaveyou…………………

33.  How do you feel about crack?

Love it!!!!!!!! I’m too self-conscious to write it tho. Oh maybe that could be a never before written trope I could try?

34.  What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

Rape I can’t, dub-con where underlying requited feelings exist but anxiety™ don’t let the characters express them but they’re drunk so it surfaces is okay

35.  Would you ever kill off a canon character?

Hell yeah! I do when/if the death makes sense (I am still pissed at Kishi for Neji)

36.  Which is your favorite site to post fic?

Ao3 is where I post,I used devianart when I had one

37.  Talk about your current wips.

Marry Me for the Love of Cake: God I’m so sorry to the few people who followed it, I said I’d pick it up before the end of 2019 and well……I have the ending in bullet points

Yours, with Love: I hope I’ll finish it…I have most of the ending in bullet points

I guess I’m into rom com at the moment lolol

38.  Talk about a review that made your day.

I made my best friend read All this for a Roll Cake, and she laughed so much at my work, I took a picture I look at from time to time to remain humble.

39.  Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

Thankfully I’ve never received a rude review. My professor once told me it seemed kinda unnatural how unlucky my protagonist was vs. how lucky his love interest was (All this for a Roll Cake) but that was the whole point of the story so I just ignored her.

40.  Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

Writing this I realised I lost my final version of All this for a Roll Cake T^T so I guess I’d rewrite the ending I have of the before the last version I still have.

Well this was fun ^^ got to revisit my works and remember many beloved pieces of fiction I wrote, I look forward to my next projects

[incorrect-diviners]

Natalie’s Top 10 Favorite Books of 2019

Hello everyone, and welcome to my top ten book list for 2019! I read a lot of books this past year (102 to be exact, and to brag, just a little bit). I also read a lot of good books (probably roughly 75), a lot of really great books (probably 20-25), and a few truly phenomenal books. This list is about those ten books (well, actually thirteen because I cheated just a little bit.) 

While compiling this list I noticed a couple of interesting trends. First of all, the majority of the books I chose for this list were published in 2018. (All the sequel books I will mention were published in 2019, but that messes up my math a bit so we are going to ignore that.) I don’t think there is any particular reason for this, I just find it interesting so I decided to mention it. Second, the vast majority of my list features books written by women. Eight out of ten, or eleven out of thirteen if we are counting sequels (damn it, now I’m just confusing my own rules). The reason for that? Women authors are awesome, and were really on their A-game when it came to writing fantastic books that I read in 2019. Third, I read all of these books on my list in the second part of the year. May came, and with it something seemed to flip over in my reading choices from good to great. Then again, that might just be recency bias. 

Without further ado, here is my list of top ten books of 2019:

Ten: Truly Devious -YA, 2018 

(and the sequel, The Vanishing Stair -2019)

by: Maureen Johnson

Truly Devious is so fun. There is no other way for me to describe this book, and this book series. It is just so fun. Yes, I know people die in the book and all that, but, by god it is just so irrepressibly fun to me. I love mysteries. I love murder mysteries. And I love murder mysteries set in schools. The main character is charming and relatable, and the extended cast of characters are intriguing. This book manages to be a better modern day Sherlock Holmes adaptation than most books that are actively trying to be modern day Sherlock Holmes adaptations could ever dream of being. Now that all that has been said, Maureen, could I have the next book now please?

Nine: Out of the Easy -Historical Fiction, 2013

by: Ruta Sepetys

This book might be the most “normal” of all the fictional books on my list. It does not feature any spies or mystical powers. A story alternately uplifting and heartbreaking about a young girl who wants a better chance for her life and for herself, but who has to fight to get there. I finished this book in a single day, and I loved it so much.

Eight: Killing November -YA, 2019

by: Adriana Mather

I picked up this book randomly at the library one day, in the NEW BOOK section, half thinking it would be a fairly generic spy boarding school fluff piece of a book. (This isn’t an insult, I LOVE generic spy boarding school fluff!) What I got was so much more interesting. This book is a twisty compelling thriller, set at a school where the students occasionally kill each other (because reasons that I will not spoil you for). This book might not be for everyone, but boy howdy was it right for me. Personally, I am now counting down the days until the next one comes out.

Seven: Finale -YA, 2019

by: Stephanie Garber

This book is unique in this list in that it is the third and final (hence the title) book in a series I have spent the last few years hooked on. All the other books were new worlds to me this year, except this one. I loved this series about a magical game and the two sisters at the center of it all. Honestly, this book is not the best in the series, that honor still goes to the first book Caraval, but for me it offered a satisfying ending to the story. Not all book series get that distinction after all (looking at you Divergent series, still looking at you.) 

Six: A Winter’s Promise -YA, 2018

(and the sequel, The Missing of Clairdelune -2019)

by: Christelle Dabos

How do I begin to describe this book, and my feelings about it? I genuinely don’t think I can. I could attempt to explain the basic plot, but I fear I would do it a great disservice. It is far more interesting and compelling than I could ever adequately explain. It features a future that feels like the past, and magical powers that are so fundamentally different from anything I have encountered in books before. It features some sort of love story, except not at all. It feels like it is paying homage to Greek mythology, but doing so in such a unique way that even that doesn’t feel like an accurate description. Let me put it this way: this book made me want to learn how to read French. Why? Because these books are originally written in French and the idea of having to wait so much as a day longer than necessary to be able to read the next installment feels like an agonizing eternity. That’s how these books make me feel. Is that dramatic? Yes, but it is also accurate.

Five: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle -Mystery, 2018

by: Stuart Turton

Remember before when I was talking about how much I love mysteries, and how much I love murder mysteries? Well, this book really delivered it to me. The unique plot structure of this book sucks you in as a reader, and keeps you firmly in its grip the entire time. The twists and turns are truly surprising, purely because it is impossible to tell where this book is going to take you next. As if all of that wasn’t enough, it offers a powerful lesson in crime, punishment, and forgiveness. Read it, read it now.

Four: Becoming -Autobiography, 2018

by: Michelle Obama

It’s a book about Michelle Obama by Michelle Obama. I really don’t think I need to offer any further explanation, do you? 

Three: Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland -True Crime, 2019

by: Patrick Radden Keefe

Before reading this book I knew relatively little about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. However, before reading this book I thought I knew a decent bit about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. This book proved me wildly wrong, and I have never been more engrossed in being told how wrong I was. This book breaks down the Troubles in a compelling way, and brilliantly entwines the personal story of one family irrevocably affected by the Troubles along with the stories of the IRA and it’s members. I read quite a few nonfiction history books this past year (former history major and all that, it comes with the territory) but this was far and away the best one. This book made me want to read more books about the Troubles, except I worry now that I have been ruined for reading more books about the Troubles. I just know none of them could be as good as this one was.

Two: The Poppy War -Adult Fantasy, 2018

(and the sequel, The Dragon Republic -2019)

by: R.F. Kuang

I did not know this book was missing in my life until I read it. A fantasy book about the Second Sino-Japanese War? This turns out to be a big yes for me and my reading habits. A masterpiece of a book written by a young Asian woman? That’s an even bigger yes for me. (It’s so good I have no choice but to forgive R.F. Kuang for being the same age as me but being so much more accomplished. I hate her, but I love her more.) This book, and the sequel, is spectacular. With that being said, this book is very firmly for adults. There is nothing YA about this, please be aware of that. This book features absolutely brutal violence, violence that becomes even more sickening when you realize it was more or less pulled directly from the books of history. I am a full grown adult woman, and it made me feel deeply ill and uncomfortable at times. Which is what the author was aiming for. These are books about war, real war, not the sort of bloodless fantasy war you find in YA books. These books are beautiful and terrible all at once.

One: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo -Fiction, 2017

by: Taylor Jenkins Reid

What is there that I can say about this book that has not already been said by others? This book is everything you could want and more. Reid’s writing is sublime, and it frequently made me forget that the people in the book were not real. I had to hold myself back from googling “Celia St. James,” had to remind myself that none of these events actually took place in Hollywood and New York. That’s the beautiful part about this book, it all felt so real, I wanted it to be a tell-all book about a real former movie star. But it wasn’t, it was instead an exquisitely crafted fictional book. You know how people talk about book hangovers? Where you read a book that is so good, it ruins you for reading anything else?. Man, let me tell you, this book gave me the worst book hangover of my entire life. I can think of no higher praise.

[spnreactionblogging]

DESPAIR

SPOILERS BELOW / tw suicide sort of

ah the title really does sum this up. I am filled with such dread going in. I know cas gets sent to super hell, I know the destiel shippers are declaring it canon (but then, when haven't they), and I've heard from a reliable source that the show officially as of just now is queerbaiting for real by making it vague and easy to ignore it instead of actually confirming anything. plus nobody seems to give a fuck about jack, as usual, and sam didn't get to say goodbye? god how can this get better???? I hope buckleming got to fucking murder castiel! that would really improve this for me!!! the cherry on the shit sundae for real so okay here goes. ugh. I have this angel's envy bourbon at 1PM, oops. I feel like I will need it for this one more than the others I also am ensconced in my castiel trenchcoat + "be super good" shirt, and cas, crowley, and sam the q-pals are joining me. dean is banished to remain in the tote bag they live in. god I want to scream. this fucking synopsis "With the plan in full motion, Sam, Dean, Castiel and Jack fight for the good for the common goal." oh the plan to use Jack as a suicide bomb???? great idea. lol I hate this. whose "common good"????????? ah but yes dean runs a dictatorship right. no wonder chuck butts heads with him dean looks so fucking smug in the amazon prime video app, hovering over the episode where cas will die horribly. fuck. there is nothing that can emotionally prepare me for this episode the show is going to end with sam and dean because it started with sam and dean and chuck/the IRL writers are bitter about it I guess??? delete fucking everything god, very fucking cute of dean to be like WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING!!! you fucking piece of shit you forcememed this to go as quickly as possible because you want Jack fucking dead, don't pretend you care god. fuck. jack apologizing for dying, to the empty. I hate everything so much ah, so that's why the opening title screen has been that. gross. horrible. a jack singularity is that it? really? jack's dead? just like that. okay. awful. oh he's MAYBE dead. reassuring. I see that briana buckmaster and jim beaver will be joining us my cat is sitting in front of the TV trying to prevent me from watching this, trying to save me from myself oh and felicia day oh this one's written by robert berens, I mostly trust him I think sam should've photocopied the book first oh hey RSJ directed this one I'm glad to have rachel miner back in any capacity that's... alpha/omega on the side there? makes sense I hope it's a fake book god I love sam sitting on the like. what is that, weird equipment panels? more confirmation sam is queer, you heard it here what leverage does dean even think he has cool jack's just getting tortured now "the boy is still useful" at least billie isn't pretending to care about him. oh she left the book thank fuck cas goes to him right away, please hug this child alcohol is not gonna help you guys sleep oh here's dean's half-assed apology. "sorry not sorry that I just couldn't stop, I couldn't help it, I just wanted to get what I wanted, and now that I didn't get what I wanted, sowwy uwu I guess" "you've snapped me out of worse" yeah don't minimize this, sam oh yeah michael exists. I notice dean refers to him as michael and not including adam. way to go I notice that sam does not drink right away "to somehow" those eggs look great "no guns at the table" is a solid rule not only for how miserable that is, but because everything surrounding firearms is a carcinogen and doesn't need to be near food please love yourself charlie please eat good eggs am I supposed to know stevie, was she part of the alternate universe, I still like never watched most of 10-13 oh we're gonna kill MULTIPLE queer characters in this episode, awesome. we gonna kill charlie AGAIN??????? we brought her back just to kill her off, AGAIN? LIKE KEVIN? and bobby I guess?? can I just say how much I hate the concept of a "final boss fight" like why is it always ending in a fight, why is violence always the answer, and why do we feel like one final violent action will solve all the problems huh charlie's shirt looks like a tycho album cover okay so I didn't forget stevie, she was brand new? maybe? I love cas and jack :( feels strange because this all sucks there's no such thing as destiny, jack don't fucking die for sam and dean and 'the world' damn right, cas, he doesn't need "absolution" well that's true for you, cas, you care because he's him. dean just wants to use him cas and jack are good. charlie this was so not your fault. as usual this is the winchesters' fault. tell 'em charlie!!! get 'em!!! you're not sorry, dean. "What now?" is a huge fucking mood, dean oh, greg! our old friend! greg was a real one (but not anymore) yeah eileen's screwed. this includes sam too. and dean i guess. sam is a good person who cares about people despite dean's best efforts to stop him I can't see who he's texting. are cas and jack in the back? poor eileen :( god poor sam having to basically get eileen in front of eyewitnesses who can attest that she disappeared cas and jack are in the backseat yeah I wish he'd tell her she's never gonna reply now yeah she's gone. interesting use of technology that they couldn't've done earlier in the series, to show she was typing but then stopped god that's awful. fuck. "If I let myself go then I'll lose my mind. I can't, right now." that's a huge fucking mood sam let's just postpone all that grief for later. gotta shove it down. huge fucking mood. god I'm so sorry somewhere central... the... bunker? don't split everyone up dean, fuck yes revenge is definitely the answer. killing things is the answer. "not having a choice" is obviously the answer. you fucker we get a sam and dean hug but where's the one for cas. you can like... see it in sam and jack's eyes that they are worried they're never gonna see them again. I'm horrified that cas isn't getting to say goodbye to jack nor sam. I can't handle this. I guess this scene is where they took that last group photo that misha posted back in march? RIP :( oh hey donna jack, that feeling is TheDepression oh gas-n-sip sam's sweet to try to give jack some autonomy here instead of having him just... being shuffled around like baggage. is that eileen's car then this music is intense don't burn the fucking library also wow dean with the reaper blade again is oof. wow. yikes. dean is become death, destroyer of worlds for real. jesus that is fucking horrifying to see. aren't you, dean? aren't you a bringer of death. remember when you hated doing that back in season... 4? 5? later? dean has learned nothing. sam's been trapped in a silo before hasn't he. or that panic room or something. donna is sweet. jack is good. jack deserves better. sam :( donna is very kind I like hearing jody and garth mentioned even if they're not in this episode (?) oh hey charlie sam at least knows how you feel, charlie I like this set god I've missed jim beaver is jack going around with spraypaint? I'm like oh god there's no ventilation. I guess it's a paint bucket but still the fumes are bad. better than being evaporated though I guess big man on campus. RIP stanford sam at least there's a bucket. praeses magna. "president large"? thinking about how it would be impossible to have extras for episodes 19 and 20 I like watching jack paint RIP that plant. apparently he has his powers dean walks around way too comfortably with the reaper scythe. oh but the plan has changed. did billie leave that book and nobody read it?????? dean you don't have friends, bud. yeah how did you tink you would even stand a chance, dean. this is the worst plan ever I'm so tired of seeing cas get tortured. I don't want to see billie get hurt either. is "billie" actually the empty or something "Has virtutes conliga. Eas integra. Eas firma. Nos omnes serva." = "These virtues bind. Those infected. These are strong. We keep them all." idk google translate, I feel like that may not be "infected" but more like integrity I like the effects they did on the wardings there yeah pretty much you can't stop god oh I'm real sad about that couple who vanished together :( bye charlie bye bobby. :( bye donna??? oh that like gold paint gossamer looking shit going on with billie's arm is cool god I'm glad billie smacked him in the face, dean deserves it. I just rewound it to see dean get clocked again, it's so worth it so they went back to the bunker... for what? billie can just go there. sam and jack are gonna have such a rough fucking day. all those double cheeseburgers are back for revenge on dean billie's right actually. dean always thinks the rules don't apply to him because he thinks he should be making the rules. castiel should be with jack, not with dean. fuck. can't cas still heal people the scythe on the wall is a good visual. I really like lisa berry, she does an amazing job is this the same room with the ma'lak box always happy to bleed for the winchesters. christ. fuck. even with dean's pocketknife. cas I'm so sorry. sweetheart you don't deserve this. 7B? so Jack was trapped in 5B, this is a different room but probably the same actual setpiece just rearranged do you just... have to wait her out yeah yeah dean you suck. correct, you never should've left sam and jack. wow I feel zero sympathy for dean at all. you do it to yourselllllf you do, that's what really hurts. oh baby don't summon the empty please :( I'm so glad to know that cas never told them about how he saved jack, it's none of their business yeah it would be with jack, cas. you should be with him man this is shitty. this is like a bad fanfic for real. wow these shots are like, when it cuts between them it's so obvious these were not the same camera lmao fuck. how many takes was this god i hate dean. he has not done this for love. dean is a spiteful person. "you're the most caring man on earth" literally kill me. I want to die. jesus fuck. i want to be dead this is awful this sucks this actually really hurts. this sucks so much. dean you squandered this angel's life. now jack has no father. i hate you dean winchester. i hate you. you don't deserve cas loving you jack knows, jack can feel it. I hate hate hate hate hate hate that jack is left alone with the winchesters. i hate this. jesus fuck i hate this so much i hate this jack sweetheart I'm so sorry dean you fucking ass please pick up the fucking phone. please answer sam. i hate you god dean i hate you fuck dean you are the worst. fuck my life. fuck all this. fuck this show. i'm so angry castiel deserves so much better than this. fuck i'm so mad. why wasn't his moment of happiness knowing that JACK WASN'T GOING TO DIE. i hate this. I'm so upset. fucking shit-ass writing. and it's still not fucking canon you morons at least uh they don't have to have extras for the last two episodes? did they add that footage after? is that what got changed up? everyone's gone huh. god just. dump the show right into the trash. bye. also for fuck's sake nobody gives a fuck about jack like I didn't even know he survived. nobody cares. "sam didn't get to say goodbye" FUCKING JACK DIDN'T GET TO SAY GOODBYE fuck this so much. fuck, is dean just chuck's OC? made in his image and furious that his mini-me isn't acting the way he wants? is that why he gets exonerated at every turn? "all the evil shit you did is fine dean you're the MOST LOVING AND THE BESTEST EVER!!!" fuuuuuck