#and i told my people take a picture of the trailer so we can get the license plate

[713-4th-ward-g]

.

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

I've been thinking a lot about expectations this week.

A number of years ago, when I was visiting my brother, he criticized me for not doing something that he expected me to do. It was a frustrating talk because he wasn't at all willing to hear my perspective. But what bothered me the most about it was when I said "you can just ask" and he said "I shouldn't have to".

I was doing everything culturally expected of a good guest, I didn't even know what his extra expectations were, and yet he felt entitled to be mad at me for not automatically knowing them, and not living up to them.

It can be so easy for us to let our expectations get ahead of us, to make assumptions based on our own perspectives, and to then feel let down.

And I feel like I'm seeing a lot of this kind of thing in people's experience with media these days. There seems to be a clash happening between expectations and reality. And people feeling genuinely upset when the reality is not what they wanted.

I'm seeing a lot of complaints and "critiques" that seem to fall in to the category of "this is not how I personally want this to go" or "this doesn't resonate with my personal experience".

To be clear, I'm not saying this in a pointing fingers kind of way, because I have 100% done it myself.

When the trailer for Cutie Pie first came out, I got so excited imagining Kuea as some bad boy living a double life. He was going to be so hard to tame, he was going to put Lian through the wringer, and it was going to be amazing.

What I got was something very different from what I expected, and I struggled with the show.

But it was a really valuable learning moment for me. Because everything in the trailer was in the series. It was my interpretation of it, of those few minutes out of hours of material, my assumptions about the moments not yet shown, that caused me frustration.

That was a turning point in my "let's see where the journey takes us" philosophy. And I have to say, engaging in QL has been a hell of a lot more fun since I learned to let go of what I thought should happen.

I still have critiques of shows, of course I do. Nothing is above criticism. But I don't get so personally affronted now when something doesn't do what I expect. I'm more willing to see where the destination takes us before I decide the journey isn't working.

Of course I am still human, and I still get caught off guard sometimes by expectations I didn't realize I had let slip in.

But I have found my experience immeasurably improved by considering a few things when I'm watching a series:

Am I leading with curiosity, or judgment?

What is happening here culturally? What assumptions am I making based on my own background and country of origin? What happens if I step back and look at the bigger picture of how this culture engages with media? Do I even know, or do I have more to learn?

Is this actually bad... or is it just not for me? Is this just not resonating with me? Is it making me uncomfortable? What can this discomfort tell me about myself? Is it a bad show, or just a show I need to walk away from?

Am I more focused on the story I want told, and not paying enough attention to the story that the creators of the series want to tell? What assumptions am I making about their intent?

Am I only focused on what the value is for me as an individual, and not considering how this may be making other people feel seen or be meeting their needs? Can I acknowledge that there can be inherent value in things that do not give value to me personally?

There is value in critique, but there is also importance in self-reflection and understanding why we are feeling the way that we are, and when our own setting of expectations may be playing a role.

It's funny that in some ways this seems to be a reflection of what a golden age of QL we are living in - there are so many options, and time is so scarce, that I can see why people are frustrated when they feel like a show is not living up to what they wanted.

But as someone who has lived multiple decades without this kind of media, and only relatively recently having been able to experience it...there is a lot more to be gained by reveling in what you are loving than over what you are hating.

[ladykailitha]

Never Hold Back Your Step... Part 9

Yay!! Another chapter of this lovely chronicle. I really do recommend going back and re-reading a bit since it's been so long.

But in this we have Harrington Sr. being an ass, the most epic confrontation I've ever written, and Dustin being sweet and asshole at the same time. The kid has range.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

****

Late at night in the last days before the school ended, they would climb up on the roof of the trailer and talk about their hopes and dreams.

Eddie had told him that he was going to try third time lucky to graduate. And then if he didn’t make it next year, he’d take the GED and walk away, ready to join Steve wherever he was. Not that he wanted to leave Eddie behind or the kids. But if he was to go to college, he’d have to.

Steve walked across that stage to thunderous applause, all his friends, the kids, Eddie and Wayne all cheering for him. Even Nancy and Jonathan had been there to cheer him on. But there, in the stands frowning at the people Steve had surrounded himself with, were his parents.

Steve knew he should feel grateful that they came at all. But he knew it was more about image and appearing to be the perfect parents than any actual interest. He saw them clap politely and then his father pulled out a newspaper and his mother fussed with her hair and makeup the whole time.

They took pictures with him afterwards with fake smiles plastered on and took him out to dinner to talk about his future. Which was all about joining the company and getting his business degree. Two things that Steve had no interest in doing.

He had hoped to get scholarships for college based on his sports so that he wouldn’t have to rely on his dad’s money, but that fell through.

He had missed the early decision deadline, because he had had his head smashed in. So he had sent the applications off at the start of the new year. But by then his grades had slipped due to the concussion and the letters coming back weren’t a good sign.

He would just have to try and reason with his dad about college and keep his fingers crossed he’d get out of this town somehow.

****

“These are your grades?” Mr. Harrington bellowed. “How are you supposed to get into good colleges and universities with these?”

The first week of June was not a good week, ever, in Steve’s opinion. It was when grades were mailed out and he had to listen to the screaming for a full week.

“I had that concussion in the middle of the year, remember?” Steve asked. “That set my grades back a bit. But I thought I would take a year of community college and build my grades back up to get into the better schools.”

“No son of mine is going to a state school!” Mr. Harrington roared. “And you can forget about that summer internship at the company! I will not have tell others that you didn’t get into a proper school.”

Steve could feel his stomach sink to the base of spine. He didn’t like where this was going. At all.

“You will get a job,” Mr. Harrington continued to menace. “I don’t mean some cushy life guard bullshit where you sit in some high tower, looking pretty, either. A real job. Retail. Build character.”

“But I already told Mr. Jones at the community center that I would lifeguard again this summer,” Steve protested.

“You go back there and tell him you have better things to do with your time!” Mr. Harrington shouted. “That new mall opened up. Starcourt. You’ll find something there.” He leaned forward into Steve’s space. “Do I make myself clear?”

Steve gulped, but nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“Good.”

Mr. Harrington turned on his heel and stormed back into his office. Mrs. Harrington stood at the edge of the room, almost swaying on her feet as she would move forward to comfort Steve, but then would change her mind. Back and forth.

Steve pinched his nose and rubbed the end. He looked up at her with dead eyes. “He’ll keep moving the goal posts. You know he will.”

This time she did surge forward. “You know it’s not like that. He only wants what’s best for you.”

“Best for me?” Steve murmured, barely holding back the tears. “Or what will make him look the best? Because I’m tired, Mom.”

“It’s hard,” Mrs. Harrington said, rubbing his arm gently. “But come autumn he’ll see how well you did and maybe he’ll let you try for the state school.”

Steve knew it was a lie or whatever that she was telling herself more than she was tell him.

He pinched and rubbed his nose, forcing back the tears. He wasn’t going to cry in front of either of his parents. It only enraged his father and prompted mocking from his mother.

Oh, she hid it under the guise of ‘tough love’ but it was all tough and no love.

He thought of Wayne and Eddie. Of how they didn’t have a lot of material possessions but they had each other and their love for each shone brightly.

Steve held up his chin and nodded. Then he grabbed his keys and wallet, forcing on his shoes.

“Where are you going?” his mother huffed. “Storming off like that after a fight with your father is so childish, Steven.”

Steve turned to her slowly and blinked. “To talk to Mr. Jones about not being able to lifeguard this year and go job hunting at the mall like Dad wants?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re always so dramatic, Steven. I suppose that was why you took so well to it. Of course, if you had any real talent you would have gotten a more substantial role.”

He squeezed his hand around his keys, the ridges digging into his palm, as he fought down the bile that rose to his throat.

“I’ll be back for dinner,” Steve said through gritted teeth. He rushed out the door, careful not to slam it behind him.

He drove out to the community center and hit his steering wheel over and over as he cursed out his parents until he was exhausted.

He sighed and got out the car, making his way to front desk. “Hey, Janis, is Mr. Jones in today?”

Janis smiled at him. “Sure thing, sweetie. Just go on back.”

Steve caught Mr. Jones as he was coming back to his office.

“Hey, Steve!” Mr. Jones said cheerfully, coming up to him with a big smile. “You here for your schedule?”

Steve shook his head. “My dad didn’t like my grades and told me I had to get a real job. Sorry.”

“Shit, Steve, I’m sorry,” Mr. Jones said crumpling. “And there’s no chance he’ll let you do both?”

“No,” Steve said bitterly. “If he finds out I’m working here he’ll beat my ass. I wanted to come back, but I guess my dad had other plans.”

“Well, well,” a cruel voice said behind them, “it looks like you have an opening after all, Mr. Jones.”

Steve and Mr. Jones turned toward the voice slowly, knowing with complete dread who it was.

Billy Hargrove was leaning against the wall, arms folded and a giant smirk on his face.

“Looks like your loss is my gain, Harrington,” he said coolly.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Story of my life since you rolled into town, Hargrove. You stole my friends, the captain of the basketball team, hell you probably would have stolen my girl if she liked jocks instead of tortured artists or some shit. It ain’t new.”

“You’re just bitter that I’m the superior you in every way,” Billy said with a sneer. “The sooner you admit it, the less heartache you’ll have, pretty boy.”

Steve threw back his head and laughed. “I have other talents, asshole. I can draw, I can act, and I can fucking swim. While you were out there fucking anything with a pussy that would let your scaly ass, I was beating records and making it to nationals as part of our swim team. You are just some washed up surfer in desperate need a wave. I am a swimmer.”

He nodded to Mr. Jones who had a smug smile on his face.

Billy was taken aback. “So you do have a spine. Huh. I would have never guessed it. Not with Max and Munson doing your dirty work for you.”

Steve got right up in Billy’s face. “I didn’t go after you, dipshit,” his voice low and menacing. Quiet enough that only he could hear. “Because I just wanted to graduate. But now that I have that diploma, I’m more than ready throw hands with you. Plus we all know I had you against the ropes until you cheated by smashing a plate to my head.”

He patted Billy’s chest and waving goodbye to Mr. Jones, he walked out of there, chin held high.

****

Steve had gathered somewhere around a dozen or so applications to the stores that surrounded him and sat down in the food court to fill them out. His eyes were starting to go cross-eyed when Dustin came up to him and sat down across from him.

“Dude,” Dustin greeted. “What’s all this shit?”

Steve looked up at him and sighed. “Job applications. My dad wants me to get a summer job.”

“But you have a summer job,” Dustin replied with a frown. “The rec center. You’re a lifeguard.”

Steve sighed again and shook his head. “My dad was pissed that I only got into a couple of schools and not the good ones.”

Dustin frowned and tilted his head to the side. “Is that because of what happened with Billy?”

“That’s part of it,” Steve agreed. “But I was really counting on a sports scholarship and with how shitty everything got I didn’t get a single one.”

“But you went to nationals with your swimming though,” the gap-toothed kid grumbled.

Steve put down his pen and planted his hands on either side of his applications. “Look, bud, I get that you think you’re trying to help or whatever but my team came in last at nationals. In everything. No scout was going to give us so much as a passing glance. No sports scholarship plus missing the early acceptance deadline and having to wait for regular admissions means that I’m on a waiting list for most of the good schools, didn’t get in to the decent schools, and my dad won’t let me go to the community college. So here I am doing the best I can, okay?”

Dustin pouted but gave up on pushing the issue. He grabbed the applications and began looking through them.

“Hey!” Steve cried trying to get them back, but Dustin kept dodging him.

He set down three applications. “You can put in for all of if you want, but I’d focus on these three.” Scoops Ahoy, The Gap, and Shapiro’s.

Steve picked them and looked at them. “Why?”

“Those are going to be the ones that kids aren’t going to want to try for,” Dustin said. “And you have to get this job because of your dad. These are more likely to hire you.” He pointed to the ice cream shop. “That one is your best bet.”

Steve nodded. That was one he had been expecting to get too.

“So when are you leaving to nerd camp?” he asked, taking the applications from the kid.

“It’s called Camp Know Where,” Dustin scoffed. “Know as in k-n-o-w where. It’s really cool.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “That still doesn’t tell me when you’re going, dork.”

“Oh!” Dustin said, eyes wide. “Tomorrow. My mom is buying me the things I’ll need so I can leave bright and early.”

Steve’s expression softened. “I’m going to miss you, you know?”

Dustin nodded back. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

Someone called his name and he looked up. “It looks like my mom’s calling me. Good luck on the job search.”

Steve stood up and gave him a hug. “Have fun, okay?”

Dustin nodded and ran to catch up to his mom as Steve went back to his applications with a sigh. He really was going to miss that butthead.

****

Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16

Tag List: ELEVEN SLOTS OPEN

1- @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @kultiras

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @blondie1006

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @angels-of-hades

7- @mugloversonly @y4r3luv @greeniebean911 @birbsauce @acingthecounts

8- @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars @ravenfrog @dreamercec

[plague-karm]

Right time to analyse this shit because god dammit I have been silently making theories about this show the second I saw the premise I’m about to become the most annoying person on the planet on god so LETS GOOOOOOO-

First things first the animation looks fucking phenomenal (let Kevin Temmer cook, that man can do no wrong). Also Caine the guy ever, he is the silly and I love him wholeheartedly, he’s just a fucked up little guy who’s living his best life fr.

And also NEW CHARACTER HELLO.

They do be circling though.

THE SILLIES ARE HERE LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOO 🎉🎉🎉

Smiling Gangle spotted ten seconds before disaster, no thoughts head empty indeed.

ALSO I WASN’T EXPECTING STUFF OUTSIDE THE CIRCUS BUT IT’S A WELCOME SURPRISE WHOA

They have come to steal your credit card information.

The thoughts I had of Ragatha being the lone brain cell keeping everything together were completely correct I CALLED IT- (it has been said by Gooseworx that she has been there the second longest so she’s probably gotten used to the zaniness by now…maybe)

A door that leads to a void?

Maybe it has something to do with this room in the teaser trailer? Possibly.

Tumblr sexyman spotted.

''If there was a way to leave I'm sure we'd have all left by now''

They're ✨suffering✨

This caught me off guard when I first saw it lmao (holy FUCK I love Zooble's design, they're everything to me).

''Welcome to your new home...AND your new body...''

So they're aware that they were human before they entered the circus? That's interesting considering what happens in a few seconds (I'll get to that soon). It's also worth mentioning that Gooseworx has stated that their clothes ARE a part of their bodies.

Case in point...

At the end of the character introduction compilation Gooseworx posted to their YouTube channel Pomni is heard saying something along the lines of

''How do I...take this...headset off?!''

I saw a few people theorizing about her talking about a VR headset and that was how she entered the circus to begin with (I had the same thoughts until very recently). However, considering how much of the visuals and character designs are based on old media (also a teaser image was set up as the menu screen for a retro game), I'm beginning to think that this isn't the case.

So it's incredibly likely that Pomni is actually talking about her jester headpiece since she can't take it off.

This scene is probably the first time Pomni sees her new body, pinwheel eyes and all.

''I'm fine with whatever, as long as I get to see funny things happen to people''

I love him he's so unbothered.

I'm sad that we didn't get to hear any dialogue from them but I can't wait to see them in the pilot! Kinger is love, Kinger is life.

''After a while you start to realise that you really can't leave, and constantly chasing an unattainable goal will start driving you a little crazy''

She's a little fucked up actually wow who saw that coming.

It sounds like Ragatha tried to leave a few times and just resigned to her fate after a while, her description DID say that she was the ''sweetest little optimist in the digital circus'', so maybe she's told the others that escaping is impossible and that they should make the best of their situation instead? (Also the framed picture of the right looks like some kind of void, a lot of void imagery here).

Also, Gooseworx released this image a short while ago and it has the same background that Ragatha had while she was talking so she's DEFINITELY talking to Pomni here.

''OH GOD! WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER MY NAME?!''

EXCUSE ME? Okay time for some more speculation. I knew that their names definitely weren't their real ones but I wasn't expecting them to forget them!

Now, since the premise is said to be centred around Pomni and the others getting messed with by AI and their traumas, maybe instead of forgetting what their names were, they actually REPRESSED their memories from when they were human due to the trauma they went through? (Which would include their names)

I don't buy that they've COMPLETELY forgotten who they were (Zooble is aware that the body they're in isn't the one they used to have so I'm guessing everyone else knows that too.)

I'm guessing that their human lives absolutely SUCKED and they've now repressed their trauma to the point where they can barely remember who they were in the human world, this is just speculation.

''Thank goodness this is all a dream, right Pomni?''

What a sassy little guy (it's so weird hearing Michael Kovach sound so reserved, he's normally feral as hell playing these kinds of characters). The little mannequin symbol on the door is probably there for when new people stumble into the circus.

She's definitely seen some shit, I wonder what it could be though?

OH MY GOD THERE'S MORE OF THEM 😭

Wow this background looks...oddly normal. The only thing I can think of this being is Pomni witnessing a flashback of her human life before she showed up in the circus.

''You completely lose sight of who you are and why you're even alive and when you reach your breaking point something REALLY terrible can happen''

OH? Okay speculation time again. This is the closest hint we've gotten to what exactly one of the gang's traumas could be. Ragatha may have forced herself to stay positive in really shitty situations during her human life which likely lead to a lot of negative thoughts which eventually lead to her doing...something, I'm not sure what though, maybe it lead to her losing an eye? (Maybe her new body represents that?) I'm not sure. Maybe this is why she's been in the circus for as long as she has, instead of dealing with her feelings and existentialism, she instead continues to try to be someone who's more adjusted than they actually are.

Again, this is all just speculation, maybe it's just an Infinity Train type of thing where they can't leave until they learn to accept what they went through and how to work through it healthily idk.

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? Well, I'll tell you what I think it is.

I think it's this weird tar like tentacle thing from the teaser trailer, I don't see what else it could be.

And I'm 90% sure that whatever it is, it's connected to this room, and I think that THIS is gonna be where we'll be seeing what the gangs traumas are (Ragatha looked TERRIFIED when she was grabbed so if this was the case I wouldn't be surprised). I'd also like to speculate that this could possibly be another AI. There's Caine, Bubble, and whatever the hell those little shape creatures are, so it's very likely that other AI does exist, we just haven't seen them yet.

But who knows? I'm probably looking too much into it.

Woah new background, he is angy.

I would go into another theory I have about how their designs may hint at what trauma they have but I've spent over an hour writing, compiling trailer screenshots, and speculating every individual frame while suffering with chest pains I wanna go to bed

Holy shit that took WAY longer than I thought it would. I cannot WAIT to watch the pilot, this show has become one of my most anticipated projects of the year over the last few months and I can't wait to see what it has in store.

TL;DR: The trailer looks fire 10/10 can't wait for the inevitable Pomni plushes.

[charcubed]

Disneyland's Rogers: The Musical, propaganda that turns Steve Rogers into more myth than man, and revisionist history (possibly) to a purpose

Any of my thoughts in this post could just be me reading too far into things. I'm very aware of that, and please know that this post exists just because this sort of thing is fun for me! This is a thought exercise where we propose "What if we live in a world where the MCU is actually doing a cool and interesting thing as a longcon?" If you have anger at Marvel, that's valid and relatable, but please don't get angry at me or imply I'm an MCU stan who doesn't think critically about the mouse. Thanks!

Breaking news: I'm back on my bullshit!

A quick personal recap: I infamously hated Avengers: Endgame for a long list of reasons (and I even rewrote the movie). One of those reasons is that I've always taken issue with Steve's ending. But in the years since then, and as the MCU's phase 4 has evolved, my frustration at Steve's "ending" has turned into an ongoing and legitimate theory that the MCU could be slowly leading into a loosely adapted Secret Empire plot line. I know we've all been joking about Steve being trapped or about an imposter Steve since 2019, but uhhh, it's kind of not a joke to me anymore? It feels weirdly plausible at this point and so I enjoy discussing the potential.

You can find a full elaboration on that here, where I wrote out my "Steve was snatched by HYDRA" theory in 2021.

In that post, one of the things I mentioned at the time was Rogers: The Musical being in the Hawkeye trailer.

[The musical's] very existence is an example of how in-universe the stories of the lives of the heroes are being commodified, especially (in terms of how they’re framing it) for Steve’s. The heroes are no longer seen as people, if they ever were. They are, as Kate Bishop says to Clint in a recently released clip, more about “branding.” Sam Wilson will be redefining the shield moving forward in a Cap context, but simultaneously, the world is still enamored by Steve Rogers as a symbol in his own right. And that is ripe for manipulation as a Trojan horse to control public opinion… whether in the context of things like this by themselves (is the musical portraying Steve accurately, or is it painting an inaccurate picture of him the world accepts as fact?) or in future (is this propaganda that makes the public see Steve a certain way and continue to love him, to set up a fake or brainwashed Steve coming on the scene later?).

Now a form of the musical exists in full, at Disneyland and all over Youtube. Considering some of its baffling content – which I will break down below – this perspective seems even more strongly worth considering.

I have two main reasons for why I'm defending examining this musical so closely:

1. It is (arguably) an in-universe piece of media that has bearing on the MCU canon. It isn't like any other typical Disneyland attraction; its very existence is meta and it was in canon first. Obviously it's seen in Hawkeye, but there are also posters for it in several different phase 4 properties. It's lurking in the background indefinitely. So what can this musical tell us about what the wider public within the MCU is being told about the life story of Steve Rogers?

2. This Secret Empire graphic – which is animated in the center of the stage of a prolonged period of time – feels like a literal sign to pay attention.

Granted, this is obviously still ancillary material. 99% of the MCU audience will never see this musical, whether in person or on YouTube. But just because it isn't a vital piece doesn't mean it's automatically an entirely irrelevant piece.

They've given me an inch with that sign and I'm taking a mile.

So if you're interested, please join me on this journey :)

For the record, let me just say that I salute the creative team behind this show. It's pretty fun and the songs are catchy, the sets and costuming are cool, and the cast is overall very talented.

It's also fucking maddening. LMAO.

Why? Firstly, because of the seemingly deliberate ahistorical inaccuracies. We all know Ant-Man is wrongly shown in the Battle of New York, which originally "came from [the Hawkeye showrunner] and Marvel, as something to further aggravate Hawkeye as he watched the show, and also as a comment on how movies and articles and people always get something wrong." It seems like they expanded those meta nods, but most inaccuracies are now in service of glorifying Steve and Peggy's "love story." Yes, romance objectively makes for good theater; but again, I feel that this is worth examining considering the full context.

And secondly, Steve's ending is framed as an offer presented to him, convincing him it's the happy ending he deserves because he's tired. In my mind, these two big elements go together, and I'll walk you through the details of what happens in the musical before I tie the thought threads back around into some theorizing.

For your reference, here's a list of the main songs and story beats:

• "U-S-Opening Night" - the Starkettes (who are basically a Greek chorus) frame the show's story, and then it turns into an ensemble that loosely takes place at the Stark Expo. • "I Want You" – Steve's "I want" song about trying to enlist in the army. • "Star-Spangled Man With A Plan" – Steve performing on the USO tour obviously, and then there's a reprise with an added voiceover that (very briefly) covers the Howling Commandos' rescue + the war via comic book imagery. • "What You Missed" – Fury and the Starkettes tell Steve some pop culture things he missed while he was frozen, + they tell him about the Avengers. Then Fury goes down a list of other hero characters, including the Guardians? Doctor Strange? Wanda?? It plays loose and fast with time, because many non-2012 characters are bafflingly mentioned in this nonlinear Avengers list – including the Winter Soldier (???). • "Save the City" – this is the song seen in Hawkeye, with the civilians + the Avengers all involved, but it's slightly different here and expanded to also reference other battles. • "End of the Line" – Old Steve presents main Steve with the time stone as an opportunity for his happy ending, and they reflect on things together. (Yes, this is insane.) • "Just One Dance" – Steve and Peggy reunite and sing about their love. • And then there's basically a reprise of "Save the City," with the Starkettes and the whole cast closing the finale out.

Right out of the gate, let's address this: the main reason you're going to see some fans pissed about this musical is not only that Steve and Peggy's ~epic romance~ is made a pillar of the story... but also that Bucky's importance/involvement in Steve's life is minimized as much as possible.

And they took Bucky-related elements from canon and made them center more around Peggy instead.

• For some weird reason, Peggy is in the Stark Expo scene. When a soldier is hitting on the Starkettes ("hey sweetheart, I wanna dance!"), Steve tells the soldier to show the ladies some respect. The soldier grabs Steve and throws him down, and then Peggy swoops in to yell "Pick on someone your own size!" and punches the guy before walking away. So she's given Bucky's TFA line verbatim, and she is given the role he had of saving Steve from bullies. There is blatantly no reason they couldn't have had Bucky still serve that function and be truer to "history," because he briefly enters this scene in uniform less than a minute later to announce he's shipping out to the 107th – and then he spins off with a date on his arm. (We don't see Bucky on stage again until the full cast comes out for the finale!)

• After the Star-Spangled Man show, Peggy rushes in to talk to Steve. Steve is excited about his USO performance (???) but she urgently tells him to listen as she says that the 107th has been captured. Peggy apparently knows it's Bucky's division, and she knows Steve is going to go, so she tells him that she's already arranged transport for him. This is a subtle twist from the truth of how it went down in TFA, in which Steve recognized 107 as the number of Bucky's division, and his dogged determination inspired Peggy to relent and help his rescue mission. Here, Peggy is given a stronger role in the Cap origin story. And before Steve rushes off, Peggy sings a short untitled ballad hoping for their dance, so Steve pauses before he leaves to ask her to go on a date with her when he returns. • The most egregious Bucky-to-Peggy change of all is the song "End of the Line," in which the infamous Steve and Bucky line/promise (that broke Bucky's brainwashing...) is re-contextualized to be about ???? Peggy waiting for Steve in the past??? Old Man Steve and regular Steve sing it together. But we'll go back to that in a minute.

Again, I get it, yeah? It's for theater. Whatever. But in reality, the obvious logical truth is that Peggy is centered (to the point of taking elements from Bucky's story, and in turn Bucky is downplayed) because they needed to convince the audience that Steve going back in time to be with her makes sense. Steve's time travel ending had to be justified, so the Peggy and Steve "love story" had to be a pillar in this with everything else being given lesser weight.

And the inherent selfishness of him doing something as big as going back in time also had to be justified... which is why they do their best to convince you Steve fought so much he deserved it.

Let me elaborate on that by describing the lead-up to the "End of the Line" song.

So, right before "End of the Line" is "Save the City" – which includes Steve belting "I can do this all day!" repeatedly, of course. It's the 2012 Battle of New York as the Avengers come together to win.

As they begin to disperse, the song then transitions to a voiceover alert mentioning Sokovia being under attack by artificial intelligence (a.k.a. Age of Ultron). The Avengers group rushes back to center stage to say "Save the city! Help us win!" together for battle again.

And then things get fucking weird.

Because the next voiceover threat is "Washington DC. Attack: the Winter Soldier." This is not accurate to the order of events! The Winter Soldier events were before Age of Ultron; the public of the MCU would also know this.

And suddenly on stage Steve is now in the center while everyone else gestures to him. Instead of singing with him, they're telling him "Save the city! Help us win!"

Then, another voiceover: "Wakanda, under attack" (Infinity War) and again, Steve is centered while everyone else points to him. The ensemble says, "Save the city, help us win! Save us all from the state we're in! Got to hear you, got to hear you, got to hear you say..." as Steve is buckling to his knees under their pointing. And as the lights go down to one spotlight on him and everyone else leaves, he says "I can do this all day" one last time, but now it's subdued.

The implication is that Steve has been fighting and fighting, people leave him or he loses them, and he's tired.

And then fucking Old Man Steve arrives.

He says "On your left," because yes, they gave him Sam Wilson's line. BATSHIT.

So now there's two Steves on stage! There has been no mention of Thanos or infinity stones or anything up to this point! (I can only assume that's because in the MCU universe no one would want to be reminded of the trauma of "the Blip" – though it's pretty wild that they're allowed to know about magical time travel?)

Steve is baffled by Old Man Steve's arrival. I, too, was baffled by Old Man Steve's arrival.

As Steve questions how this is possible, Old Man Steve shows him the time stone from his pocket – and only the time stone – which Steve recognizes.

OLD MAN: "You've got to remember where you've been to know where you're going." STEVE: "Where am I going?" OLD MAN: "A date with destiny." STEVE: “Destiny. So we’re the hero till the end?” OLD MAN: “That’s the thing about endings, Steven. They can be rewritten.”

Lmao???????

Steve starts singing about how he hopes this means they "win" and calls himself a "tired hero."

STEVE: "But sometimes I wonder, who will save the savior? Can we really do this all day? So here I am, now and also then. Just a man, looking back at where he's been." OLD MAN: "The road is rough but wounds are healed by a thing called time. You can't forget what's waiting at the end of the line."

Me, watching this: the fact that he says this out of the blue makes absolutely no sense.

There's a bit more singing, including "end of the line" repetition, and then Old Man Steve pulls out the time stone to essentially show visions of... I don't fucking know. Past, present, and future?

That's pre-serum Steve, Steve with Mjolnir, and Sam Wilson as the new Cap. This is the only reference to Sam in the whole thing.

More singing, and then: Peggy's silhouette.

OLD MAN: "Can't forget who's waiting..." STEVE: "I can't forget who's waiting..." BOTH: "Don't forget who's waiting..." STEVE: "At the end of the line."

At this point I'm like, what in the hell?

Did Old Man Steve just brainwash normal Steve into thinking "end of the line" is now about Peggy? Because uhhhh, sorry, that's what it feels like!

Then Steve uses the stone to go back in time, reunites with Peggy, etc. etc. finale.

It's truly some crazy shit.

[drags hands down face]

Look... there's a lot to unpack here, and there's a lot that gets me about it. I know this is dramatized for the stage! I KNOW! But the fact that Old Man Steve shows up to convince Steve he should go back in time makes me want to gnaw on furniture.

Another person essentially uses the lure of a life with Peggy to tempt Steve into doing this, dramatized or not. That is how it's framed.

It's a hell of a way to frame it, and it makes Steve's ending stand in even starker contrast to so many other things in phase 4. Desperately trying to go backwards when you shouldn't or to bring back a lost lover is an evil temptation, and it results in a trap or negative cosmic consequences for basically all of the other characters in the MCU.

• In Shang-Chi, Wenwu is tempted by the Soul Eaters beyond the Dark Gate. They use the voice of his deceased wife to convince him to set them free. • In "What If" episode 4, Doctor Strange becomes evil in a desperate bid to save Christine and he destroys his universe. Along the way, he tries to tempt/trap the good Strange who's fighting him by using visions of Christine, but good Strange knows she isn't real. • Wanda's grief and desire to bring back Vision leads to – well, you know. • In No Way Home, Peter trying to undo things is what causes the multiverse problems.

And the fact that they frame it as Steve being tired, so basically the argument is he deserves that time travel ending (just like MCU fans who defend Endgame say in real life)... Well.

There's no way to make it hold up, especially because in "What If" they explicitly subverted that and had Captain Carter not go back in time despite how she felt she'd "earned" it.

Lastly, in this musical as Steve decides to pursue time travel as his course of action, he basically has the meaning or memory of "end of the line" rewritten for him. I refuse to not think that is some nefarious shit. Yes, it's not out of the realm of possibility that it's just some general Disney erasing Steve and Bucky nonsense.

But... this is on another level to me. I do think that it's a blatant choice that they had to be aware even general MCU fans would call bullshit on. Everyone knows it's inaccurate. "End of the line" is embedded in pop culture consciousness as being connected to Bucky. It just is! Surely that means it's not a stretch to theorize it could be deliberate meta commentary.

How, in the MCU world, would the in-universe playwrights even know the phrase "end of the line"? How the fuck would it be accidentally applied to Steve and Peggy? Not to sound like a crazy person, but who the fuck was rooting around in Steve and/or Bucky's personal business or their brains in order to obtain that knowledge and then remix it, and why? Neither of them would flippantly mention it in the public eye or interviews ever. So where did its inclusion come from?

And in the finale ensemble, this is Bucky's line when he comes out on stage and salutes + points to Steve: "Don't forget who's waiting..." And Old Man Steve completes it with "...at the end of the line."

What on God's green earth am I meant to do with THAT?

Smh.

The vibes are fucked, folks.

The MCU public wouldn't know enough to say the vibes are fucked. The MCU public wouldn't know the origin of "end of the line" as a phrase. But us? The ones who know the "true story" via the movies? We can call bullshit.

Whether the creative team behind this musical did every aspect of this consciously or not, in my opinion the fact that they had to tweak canon "history" to A) make Peggy's involvement in Steve's life more central and B) emphasize Steve as a tired hero all works as commentary on and almost a condemnation of Endgame's frustrating ending. In a way, it's also what Endgame did with the compass and 1973 moment with Peggy as well.

Steve's ending had to be convincing.

It's theater.

And so, maybe the same is true for the in-narrative perspective of this musical in the context of the MCU world. What purpose would it serve to tell the MCU public a feel-good narrative about how all Steve Rogers wanted was to no longer be a tragic man out of time and get to make a life with his best girl? To frame it as being about how he fought so hard for years and so he earned a happy ending? To minimize and nearly erase Bucky's importance in his life?

Who would want to do that sort of propaganda, and why?

The MCU civilians are given this happy explanation and maybe don't widely question it. Who cares about the details or logistics if it makes a good story, I guess. It's a stretch, but maybe they mostly applaud it. Maybe they're happy for "America's favorite son" (not unlike people who uncritically liked Endgame). In a way, it's even a rehabilitation of his image (after the Accords) like putting the shield on the Statue of Liberty. And maybe they'd even be ready and waiting to applaud if Steve ever made a dramatically selfless and de-aged return to the spotlight or a position of authority.

But mostly, the public is being conditioned to not know or to forget that anyone else like Bucky Barnes or Sam Wilson would possibly know Steve Rogers the person well enough in the modern day to call bullshit on any of this – or on his hypothetical miraculous future return.

So. Sure, it's probably nothing.

But what if it's not?

-------

UPDATE: @faeriecap added to this post with some incredible information and further behind-the-scenes context about the MCU/Marvel stuff at Disney parks! Check it out here :)

[secriden]

so, i'm fascinated by the choice to have Thongkam and Sek have a durian farm in The Paradise of Thorns. this is purely speculative and based of some BTS pictures and the trailer but I think it's intentional that they've chosen to make it set in a durian farm.

durian is a fruit that's very popular in many South East Asian countries and i grew up eating it. 'durian season' is a Big Deal because so many people love it and its very expensive when its out of season, and my family used to have special get togethers with all the cousins to eat durian together. i've seen my cousins 'fight' with other customers for the best pieces before in the market. we call it the 'king of the fruits' and it's known for its strong smell, its hard/thorny exterior and how rich and delicious the fruit is. the smell is also known to linger for ages; it stays on your breath, your clothes, your fingers, the air. if someone has had durian in the house, you'll know for hours afterwards. some people hate the smell (they say it smells like rotting food), others love it (it smells good to me). a durian farm can also be a very dangerous place because the trees grow very tall and fruits drop on their own when they get ripe sometimes and people have died without proper protective gear.

so i think it's an intriguing allegory for the relationship between Thongkam and Sek and the story being told - how they're together and everyone knows they're together (the scent: lingering, obvious, clinging to them both) and the relationship is both wonderful (delicious, nutritious - fulfilling because of their love for each other) and dangerous (because some people hate it, even when they aren't eating it - they find the smell offensive. just like people find gay relationships offensive even when its got nothing to do with them). Sek's family doesn't honour the relationship, uses the fact that they aren't legally married to take what should be Thongkam's, literally fighting over the durian farm, just like people do in the markets. perhaps even the thorny shell of the durian is reference to Thongkam's or Sek's mother and how they both are hurting and could be the source of each other's comfort but instead choose to hurt each other to protect their soft insides.

also one of the only ways to get rid of the durian smell from your hands is to wash your hands with water that has run across/over the inner skin of the shell of the durian fruit (don't ask me why it works, but it does; my family has been doing it for years). And idk if it'll be part of the scene when Thongkam and Sek "marry" each other (if there is one) as a reference to the water blessing ceremony but if it is I'm going to SOB MY FUCKING HEART OUT. T_T

it'll be interesting to see if any of this winds up being in the movie but honestly it's really cool that something so culturally significant and specific to the region is being featured in the movie.

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Mel Medarda Is Alive probable evidence megapost (cope with me)

League of Legends UK calling the gold on Mel's back "armor" and then withdrawing the post, first pointed out by @moonsdancer:

This marks an "official" source calling Mel's gold "armor." It implies that once whoever made that post realized that most of the Arcane audience is expecting Mel to be dead, they recognized that hinting that she's wearing armor is actually a spoiler. So, they deleted the post.

Mel featuring in storyboards depicting a scene that did not happen in season 1, shown by @jshepardtsoni and @mollysunder and @miraofhearts2point0:

The Riot-Fortiche workflow has been described as: extensive time and resources spent on writing up front on Riot's side, and then the scripts are sent to Fortiche and storyboarding begins. If writing and storyboarding don't happen in parallel, then that's how Fortiche was able to showcase the one-to-one relationship between storyboards and the finished animated product. There's a lot less throwaway work for the animators, which would happen with major story rewrites.

This means it is less likely that the storyboards featuring Mel in a scene that did not air in season 1 were simply cut content from season 1, and more likely that it's a canon scene that we'll see in season 2. I think relatively little ends up on Fortiche's cutting room floor. The main scene that I'm aware of that did get cut was the "boy savior" scene where young Ekko tries to save Jinx (and I have high hopes that the scene will still be used in S2).

Toks Olagundoye, Mel's VA, saying she's "not allowed to say" whether she's returning to voice Mel in S2, and saying that it would be cool to come back for flashbacks:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Toks Olagundoye (@toksolagundoye)

If she's not allowed to say anything and Riot is taking pains to hide whether Mel or Jayce or Viktor (sorta, lol) survive the attack, then of course she can't hint that she is returning. Her comment about the flashbacks definitely says to me that she was told to hide whether Mel survived the attack - she probably was not instructed to hide whether Mel gets more flashbacks in S2. She's almost certainly implying that Mel does in fact feature in more flashbacks in S2. A fan asked the question, and she wanted to give a substantial and encouraging answer other than just "I can't say anything." Her tone did not personally leave me with the feeling that her character has been killed off.

Toks saying she doesn't know much about Arcane S2 and its airdate etc. doesn't mean anything serious, considering that voice acting for the season seems to have been completed a while ago. Like most actors and especially voice actors, Toks has probably already taken on several jobs since then, so her work on Arcane isn't the project that's freshest in her mind.

The German (and Hungarian, I think) S2 trailers have Ambessa say "Half of the Council is dead" and not "Your Council is dead":

I noticed people in the comments of this trailer analysis video by Necrit talking about how the German trailer says "Half of the Council is dead." After watching the German trailer, and then poking around the other dubbed trailers, I found that the German trailer and the Hungarian trailer both seem to say "half." (I would love it if someone here fluent in Hungarian could confirm!)

From a translation standpoint, I could see this happening because some languages don't have different words for "council" and "counsel" as in "advice." Even in English, the words are homophones. So saying "your counsel is dead" would make no sense. If a translator tried to instead say "your ENTIRE council is dead" to make the meaning clearer, then if some Council members survived, the translator would have to be corrected, so we end up with "HALF of the Council is dead."

If some Council members survived, then I think it's likely that Mel is one of them, considering her armor and her several unfinished plot threads.

Please feel free to add on to this post with anything else you find!

[frozen-heart]

Sooo... Episode 6 is out...

For me this episode is the weakest we've had so far. And I need to rant a bit...

I don't even know where to start. Of course not everything was bad about this episode, like the pride party. I really loved that part.

But there are some icks...

Maybe I set my expectations too high, because I've seen a few posts about how there's a shocking twist, ect. But the hype really ended up going nowhere for me..

First of all, Noa and Jen..

So.. I wish they would just show us why Noa us so attached to Jen. Because all we see is Jen causing trouble for Noa and it sucks. And Noa saying that Jen and her are 'more alike' than her and Shawn felt like a bullshit excuse. And if she really feels that way, why not break off with Shawn right away? Instead she uses him, his money and then cheats on him. I could look past the cheating in Juvie, because Noa didn't know that Shawn would wait for her and that she was scearching for comfort in Jen. But this? This is just bullshit.

Even worse, Jen stole the money from Shawn's mother to give back to him?! Like what the fuck? And Noa is actually still considering a relationship with her after she got accused of stealing the money?

I also don't get how Jen told Noa she doesn't need more on her plate and when she's confronted with her STEALING from Shawn's mother, she turns around again and puts pressure on Noa to make a decision?! Excuse me?

This is just peak self sabotage. She is considering leaving Shawn, who she has a really stable and healthy relationship with for someone who steals and causes her trouble. Are the writers even trying to make us like Jen?

And I expected Noa to get some backlash from the liars. Especially Faran. She always has strong opinions and isn't afraid to voice them, but she doesn't say anything against Noa cheating? This would've been the perfect opportunity to create some tension between the Liars. Not only did Noa lie to them about Jen, she's cheating on Shawn and playing with both of them, which could taint the picture of Noa the other Liars have of her.

Side note: Where is the scene of Jen and Noa that we saw in the promo pictures?

Also, I really hated how easily they just cut Jen off of their list for Bloody Rose.

Next one, I saw some people say that they want Kelly to die a horrible death now. But I still don't want her to die.

What she did was horrible and hurtful to Imogen, but I don't think Kelly really had another choice. Her mom is abusive and she had to obey her and therefore the church to avoid further trauma and abuse. She has no other choice but to adapt to the view of the church to survive. And I think that's really sad.

I want her to get the chance to work through her trauma and redeem herself to the Liars, especially Imogen.

I hope they don't kill her off, because I feel like there could be a lot of ways to further explore her character, because she's so complex.

Side note: I can't take it when my two favorite girlies are fighting T_T Great acting from both of them!

And it seems like we're really pushing Faran x Greg now.. And I'm not sure how to feel about it.

I really like the actors and they do have good chemistry, but I don't really know if I can like this ship..

I mean we could have Faran x Kelly. They're literally right there and would be better representation than Jen x Noa..

And now to the 'big reveal'.

First of all, Imogen's 'test' didn't feel like a test. (I'm also not convinced that Noa actually finished her test last episode.)

It was really lacking, but at least she had her moment last season..

I thought something was up from Davie, as I stated in the first post I made about Summer School. Imogen kept confusing Bloody Roae and her mother throughout the season, but the reveal still didn't really work for me.

We didn't even see her face. And we saw in the trailer that Imogen will accuse Dr Sullivan of being Bloody Rose in episode 7 or 8. We also saw Dr Sullivan saying she's putting on her face, as in becoming Bloody Rose, which will probably be another dream of Imogen.

Imogen has been hallucinating this season so I'm also not sure that we can trust her judgment on this. I hope they don't do the secret twin thing with Davie. That would just be boring, because we got that last season. I assume it was probably a mask to mess with her.

I just don't buy Davie or her secret twin being Bloody Rose and it would be one of the more boring plot twists, if they go through with it. I have read other theories that seem more exciting than this..

Where did Bloody Rose go anyway? And why didn't she kill Imogen? She clearly had the chance to. Wouldn't she want to kill Imogen to keep her identity hidden?

I'm sorry for rambling so much. But I needed to get this off of my chest.

[saraanzu]

bsd speculation: what’s up with this girl in bram’s flashback from 107.5, and what can we learn about her from dracula?

(prefacing this with some rambling… actual analysis starts after the readmore)

107.5 came out the same day as the s5 trailer and it was right after an exciting mersault chapter which is the vastly more popular pov and it was a whopping 9 pages - it was bound to be disliked. I won’t pretend a 9-page chapter isn’t disappointing (no idea why recent chapters have been so short - I hope they get a bit longer again when s5 is done airing?) and I think it’s fine to prefer the mersault storyline but I’ve also seen some god-awful takes about this chapter.

aya and bram aren’t side characters! they have been core to bsd’s plot ever since their introductions (in aya’s case, her re-introduction) and you can dislike them all you want but it’s objectively incorrect to claim they aren’t important to the story.

I also don’t agree with the take that 107.5 didn’t further the plot at all - obviously not a lot can happen in, again, 9 pages (that’s 1/3 the length of 107!) but aya deciding to remove bram’s sword and him actually encouraging her to do it even when he doesn’t believe it’s possible and previously told her not to is a huge turning point in the story! 107.5 certainly isn’t a favorite of mine but I will say we’ve had (slightly) longer chapters in recent months that had more exposition and setup with less plot.

I’ve seen some people worry that, because bram pictures someone who looks like aya in what’s presumably a wedding dress, bram and aya’s relationship is going in a creepy direction. I want to make it clear that no matter who this flashback girl is, even if she’s bram’s dead lover and/or aya in a previous life, I highly highly doubt that anything weird is going to happen between bram and aya. their relationship hasn’t been set up like that at all, in fact bram has parallels with aya’s father and he explicitly sees her as a child (more on that later) (look. bsd is not above using some Weird Tropes. in particular, the tanizakis and mori come to mind (and in mori’s case, it doesn’t even really function as a reference to the irl author - vitas sexualis has nothing to do with pedophillia!) but it’s important to mention that, while I wish those tropes weren’t in bsd at all because they’re unnecessary and add nothing of value to the characters, they are ultimately gags and nothing more. they don’t really set a precedent for how weird asagiri is willing to get when it comes to legitimately serious plot points.)

okay! got it all out of my system here’s the actual post

part 1: the dress

personally, when I first read 107.5, I didn’t think this girl was in a wedding dress. my initial assumption was “this must be bram’s daughter, she’s wearing some sort of tiara and bram was a nobleman”. but looking at it again, it does resemble one, and we should consider how bram’s backstory might reference dracula.

“the brides of dracula” are three seductive vampire ladies who live in count dracula’s castle and attempt to feed on jonathan harker early on in the book before being stopped by dracula, who chastises them for trying to eat harker and feeds them a human baby instead.

while they are known as dracula’s brides in pop culture and are often portrayed as such in movie adaptations, they go unnamed in the original novel and their relation to dracula is unclear. from what we see of them they refer to each other as “sisters”, although perhaps not in the literal sense. two of them have dark hair and are described as having similar facial features to dracula while the third is blonde, which may imply the third is dracula’s wife and the other two are his daughters. I imagine they’re pretty vague and mysterious on purpose, they could be dracula’s wives/sisters/daughters, or even just some vampire ladies crashing at his house.

however, I don’t think we should disregard details exclusive to adaptations of dracula and only focus on the original book when thinking about bsd. film adaptations of the book are actually more influential on dracula’s perception in pop-culture than the book itself, so it’s not unlikely that asagiri would reference elements that appeared in adaptations but not the novel.

so, because of “the brides of dracula”, I think it’s quite possible this girl is indeed a bride. she does look a bit young for it, but I’ve seen others say they think she looks older than aya, so I guess that’s subjective (and people would get married younger in bram’s time I suppose).

that doesn’t mean she has to be bram’s bride - again, the “brides” in the original novel have no explicit relation to dracula and could easily be his daughters or sisters, and I really do think her being his daughter instead makes more sense thematically.

part 2: her relation to bram

I believe bram subtly parallels aya’s father in a few ways. aya’s dad is verbally and physically abusive, and he berates aya for not being good at traditionally feminine activities. he doesn’t see her for what she is, a child, and instead expects her to be a perfect traditional woman.

right before we see this flashback, bram is surprised by aya’s age, and comments that she is “too young to even use a spinning wheel” (also a traditionally feminine activity). both of them question aya’s desire/ability to be an ally of justice but for different reasons: aya’s father finds it unladylike while bram finds it too big a task for a little girl (he is also sleepy)

I didn’t understand the point of this scene’s inclusion before, but in retrospect I think it serves as foreshadowing for bram’s flashback and demonstrates how he and aya’s father both associate aya with dead people, but this causes them to treat her differently.

aya will never live up to her father’s expectations because she can’t compete with his idealized memories of the dead. her own accomplishments are irrelevant in his eyes because she isn’t enough like the wife and daughter he lost. I suspect his grief is part of the reason he’s so horrible to her in the first place.

it’s the opposite case with bram. in his eyes aya does compare to someone who he remembers fondly, and the end of 107.5 implies that’s the very reason he’s okay with aya pulling the sword out.

I don’t necessarily see bram as a father figure to aya (to me he’s more of a weird creature who’s sort of grown fond of her after being unwillingly dragged around… but hey, who says that can’t be a dad?) but I do think it’s possible that this mystery girl was bram’s daughter in the past because of how he parallels aya’s father.

(note: she has normal human ears rather than pointy ones, but bram was turned into a vampire by his ability and wasn’t bitten or born as one, so I don’t know if he’d necessarily pass down his vampirism to his children. he also may have developed his ability after becoming a father, or his daughter could even be adopted).

part 3: her relation to aya

the most common idea I’ve seen to explain the resemblance between these two is that aya is a reincarnation of this flashback girl. introducing reincarnation out of nowhere seems a bit random even for bsd, but surprisingly this theory does have some basis.

in the movie bram stoker’s dracula (1992), the character mina harker, jonathan’s fiancé, is a reincarnation of dracula’s long-dead lover, elisabeta. dracula recognizes her as a reincarnation due to their resemblance and mina agrees to assist him, still harboring feelings and memories from her past life. it’s fairly common for dracula adaptations to portray dracula and/or mina as having romantic feelings for each other, but this isn’t really the case in the novel, and elisabeta is entirely an invention of this particular movie.

so, aya being a reincarnation of a girl bram once knew could work as a reference to this. I did say previously that I think it’s possible asagiri will reference adaptations of dracula and not just the novel, but I’m not so sure he would make something specific to one particular adaptation a major part of bram’s backstory.

personally, I’m partial to the idea that aya’s ability will be introduced soon, and her resemblance to this flashback girl may have something to do with it. (the ability idea and reincarnation idea aren’t inherently contradictory, aya’s ability could very well be reincarnation)

this theory by @jo-dieeee suggests that aya’s ability is called mirror, due to the discussion of mirrors in 107.5 and the book above.

mirror: the fiction and essays of koda aya isn’t actually a book written by irl koda, nor is it just a collection of her stories. it was written by ann sherif and discusses koda’s life and works, including some translations of her short stories in the second part. however, the existence of this book and aya emphasizing mirrors in 107.5 is quite an interesting coincidence! whether or not it’s called mirror, I’m fairly confident an ability reveal is coming up.

it’s also worth bringing up that aya’s resemblance to this mystery firl might not have a supernatural explanation at all. it could easily be an artistic choice simply made to indicate that bram is reminiscing about someone who aya reminds him of. I’m not too into the reincarnation idea myself.

[daydreamingmia]

Walker Scobell X Reader | Series | You Belong With Me🔱 Part 15

Thor Premiere

A/n: I know that movies aren't made this fast but they are here😁

You were looking in your closet deciding what to wear. Yes it was just to the hair and makeup trailer...but still!  Today was the Premire for Thor: Ragnarock!

You hear the front door of the house open and footsteps.

"Hey!!" You hear two people say in unison

You turn and see Chris (Hemsworth) and Tom (Hiddleston) smiling

"Omg!! Hi guys!!" You rush to hug them

"What are you doing here?" You ask smiling

"Oh uhhh...just wanted to see how you're doing. Is a...is Walker here?" Chris asks

"Uhhh...no. why?" You say suspicious of them

Just them Walker comes in the room

"What are you doing guys?" Walker says to Chris and Tom

"What's going on?" You ask

"Ummmm...welll..." Chris and Tom stutter

"See! I told you! She doesn't even know what she's gonna wear!" Walker points to your closet that was torn apart

"Uhhh...what are you guys talking about?" You ask

"You're coming with us" Walker states as he grabs you from behind

"Grab her legs!" He yells

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" You scream

"You're going in your pajamas! You will never get to the premiere on time if you don't!" Walker says as they carry you down the stairs

"YOU GUYS ARE IN ON THIS?!!!!!" You yell at Chris and Tom

"Ummm...well...Walker kinda called us and asked for us to come because he said you would fight and he needed backup" Tom explained as you were punching Walker

"See" Walker says looking down at you

Chris opens the door and you almost get out of Walker grip

"Would you stop fighting me!! I'm gonna drop you and accidentally ruin your pretty face" Walker says and you can help but blush

"Awww! She blushed! She must really love you" Tom taunts

"Shut up!" You yell at him and blush even more

They put you in the car and Walker sat next to you in the backseat

You punch him in the stomach and he flinched

"Why aren't you hitting them?" Walker asks holding his stomach

"Because this was your idiotic idea!" You smack the back of his head

-

You get there and Chris and Tom leave to their trailers.

When you enter the trailer and there was food already sitting there.

"Oooo!!! Who loves me enough to get me this" you ask excitedly and take a sip from the milkshake

"Well I am pretty amazing" Walker jokes

"You did this?" You ask with a huge smile on your face

"Yep" He says

You just leap foward and kiss him

"I love you so much!" You smile at him and look into his eyes

"I love you too my precious" Walker replies sweetly

-

It was several hours later and you were ready for the premire.

"You look so handsome" you smile to Walker as you hug his back while he ties the tie

"I know" He jokes

He turns and looks at you

"WOW" He says looking at you still fiddling with his tie

"What? Do I have food in my teeth?" You ask worried

"No! You look...you look...wow! YOU. ARE. STUNNING." He says

"Awww!! Thank you!" You blush as he kisses you

"Now I belive we have a premiere to go to" He says holding your hand

-

You get to the red carpet and the cameras start flashing faster. People screaming your name at the top of their lungs. You go up to a reporter.

"Hi y/n! Let me just say you look gorgeous tonight." She says

"Aww thank you!" You reply

"SHE LOOKS HOT!" One of the paparazzi guys yells disgustingly

You just ignore him but when you look at Walker but he's not. He's giving him a "if you say that one more time I'll come over there are make you sorry you were born!" glare

You continued down the red carpet cameras flashing. Walker holding your waist. Smiling for the pictures when you heard someone scream something

"DAMN HER ASS LOOKS SOO HOT IN THAT DRESS!" the same guy screams

Walker takes a step foward but you stop him

"Walker it's okay. Just ignore him" You say rubbing his back soothingly

"He has no right to talk to you like that!" Walker says seething with anger

"It's okay. Just ignore him. He's drunk and an idiot." You say softly and kiss him

And he smiles

-

You were taking pictures with fans now. Walker was talking to a reporter somewhere. The drunk guy walks up to you.

"Hey baby can I get a picture?" He says looking at you up and down

"Uhhh...sure...I guess" you say caught off guard

You look around for Walker but see no trace of him

The guy gives you the phone and you hold it up to take the picture. But then you feel the guys hand around your waist. Very low. He pulls you closer to him and you wince. Then out of nowhere Walker jumps in and pushes the guy away.

"Hey man whats your problem?!" The guy yells

"If you so much as look at her again I will kill you and bury your body in my backyard." Walker threatens

"Do you understand me?" Walker says through his teeth

"Oh no. Percy Jackson is trying to threaten me. That's not very hero like now is it?" The guy mocks

Walker gets in his face

"I warned you" Walke rsays one last time

Walker turns and puts his arm around your waist and leads you away

You burry your face in his neck and he kisses the top of your head

"You okay?" He asks softly

"Yeah. Now that you're here" You reply

-

It was about 20 minutes later and so far you haven't seen the guy again. Walker must've scared him off. You were walking though a big crowd. There was 5 security guards around you (including Walker 🤭)

All of a sudden the guy jumped from the crowd and spanked you

Walker turned around as fast as lightning and punched the guy in the face and the guy went flying backwards

"Get him out of here! I don't wanna see his face ever again." Walker says obviously furious

The security guards grabbed the guy by the arms and dragged him away. The guy was screaming something to you but you couldn't hear it.

"I love you so much" You say appreciative

"I love you more" He replies and kisses you and hugs you

-

It was now time to take pictures with the rest of the cast. You stand between Chris and Tom and look over to see Walker standing on the side waiting for you. On high alert looking for the guy or anybody else who would mess with you.

"Is everything okay? Walker looks mad?" Tom asks (none of the cast knew what happened)

"Ummm...yeah...there was just this annoying guy earlier...but Walker scared him away" You stuttered

"Wait. What happened?" Chris asks

"This guy touched me and was saying gross things about me so Walker punched the guy and he was kicked out." You explain like it was nothing

"WHERE IS THIS GUY?!?!" Chris and Tom say in unison furiously

"I don't know he was kicked out." You shrug

They look at eachother and nod

"Well...we'll be right back" Chris says and they both walk away

Walker then comes over to you

"Where are they going?" He asks

"They are going to find that guy...btw we might need to testify for them in the murder trial" You joke

"Good! That guy deserves whatever comes to him" Walker sys still mad

"He's gonna get beaten up by Thor and Loki. I feel sorry for the guy" You joke again

-

After the premire you got in the limo with Walker

"Hey you want ice cream?" He asks smiling

"Uhhh...duh!" You reply

-

You got to the ice cream shop and everyone was looking at the two of you...duh

"You're...you're...omg...what can I get you?" The girl says really excited and soo stunned

"I'll have the chocolate and she'll have...what do you want?" He asks

"I'll have the cookies and cream" You reply

"Okay!!" The girl replies

You feel so many eyes on you so you turn a little and peek to see everyone's phones pointed at you

Some trying to be sneaky like they're calling someone (but their flash was on) and other were on live stream you assume because they were whispering (VERY loudly)

"Guys! Y/n and Walker Scobell are getting ice cream!!"

Walker looks down at you and sees you shiver

"Here my princess" He says as he takes off his suit coat and puts it around your shoulders

He wraps you in a bear hug and kisses you

"I love you sooo much! You are the girl I've dreamed of" He whispers in your ear and you blush

"You're the guy I dreamed of my whole life. Everything about you is exactly what I wanted." You smile and kiss him

"...well...you are really annoying and that wasn't in my dreams but whatever" you joke

"Yeah yeah" He kisses the top of your head

"H-here" the girl stutters as the hands you the ice cream

"Thank you" You and Walker say in unison

When you turn around you see at least 29 paparazzi people outside

"Noooo" You whine

Walker puts his hand on your waist and brings you toward him

You start to walk outside and the lights were soo bright

Walker covers your face with his hand and you bury your face in his neck

He opens the car door for you and you step inside

Once you started driving the paparazzi tried to follow you but your driver was really good at hiding from the aparazzi

After about 10 minutes you finished your I've cream

"That was soooo good!: you say and look at Walker as he quickly shovels the I've cream in his mouth

"What are you doing?!" You ask with a little giggle

"Nothing" Walker replies bit you can barely understand him because his mouth is full

"Why are you eating so fast?" You ask confused

"Ummm...ao you won't take it" He admits

"Are you serious?!" You say and he nods

"I'm not gonna take your ice cream you idiot" You say and smack the back of his head

"Thank you" He smiles still not trusting you

He turns to you and his face was covered with ice cream

"Haha do you know what you look like?" You laugh

"Am I covered in ice cream?" He giggles

"Yeah. But you still look handsome" you reply

"Well thank you. You do too." He smiles

"Oh no! Am I covered in ice cream too? You ask worried

"No but you will be in two minutes" he replies

"What's happening I'm two minutes?" You ask confused

In two minutes you will finally say that looks soo good! And then I'll say do you want some. Then you'll say yes but only one bite and then you'll leave me nothing."

You just watch him eat his ice cream

"That looks so good!" You say with basically heart emoji eyes

"Do you want some?" He sighs

"Only a bite" You smile

And bout 5 minutes later you handed him the empty bowl

"Hm...I guess you were right" He say smugly

"Well I am always right soo..." He jokes

"Yeah sure" You roll your eyes

"I was right when I picked you to be my girlfriend" He smiles at you

"Awww!" You blush

-

You didn't know when but you fell asleep in Walker's lap. He laid his coat over you and was stroking your hair with his hand.

"Y/n we are here" He whispers in your ear

"What?" You mumble

"We are at your house" He replies

"Oh okay" You mumble as he helps you sit up

You step out of the car and he walks you to the door

"Hey thank you for protecting me tonight" You say

"Of course!!!! If that creep ever gets near you again you call me and I'll be there before you hand up the phone." He smiles down at you

"Aww! Thank you!! I will. But I think you freaked him out too much for him to come back" You giggle

"Well I am pretty threatening" He says in a funny voice as you giggle

He kisses you

"Goodnight my princess" you looks in your eyes

"Goodnight my prince" you look in his

----

Walker's POV

"I'm furious that idiot was disgusting to y/n! What can I do? I know!

I scroll through my phone and find Taylor's phone number and call

Mother

Hey Walker! (She sounded like she just woke up)

Hi

Is everything okay?

umm...yeah kind of...

Oh no!! Is it y/n? Is she okay?! Did something happen????

No no she's not hurt

Sooo...what happened?

Well there was this paparazzi guy who was hitting on y/n. He kept cat calling <INSERT> hey and saying really gross thing. But he spanked her...

WHAT?!

Yeah. I punched the guy but I never wanna see his face again sooo...

Awww!! I love that you defend her!!

I will defend her until the day i die. Anyway soo...could you get that guy like banned from seeing y/n or something?

As her guardian too ill get a restraining order...

Yes!! Of course!! Im doing it right now!! I'll also talk to y/n tomorrow about pressing charges

Thank you I was so worried that he would do something to her when I want around to help her

-

The call ended and I decided to scroll through instagram...bad move...there were pictures everywhere of what happened

"Ugh" I thought to myself

I put my phone down and tried to go to sleep

-----

A/n: Hiii everyone!! Sorry this took so long!! I wrote a different chapter to post but I decided not to. Please forgive me for being slow!! I'm so sorry!!

If you like this story please like, comment, share!! AND THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH FOR READING!! I really appreciate all the love and support!! I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH!!

Love you all soo much!!!

P.S. thought you guys might like it to be posted on Tuesday this time bc PJO isn't airing new episode anymore💖

Xoxo

Tags: @noajakah236482 @the-tortured-poets-depxrtment @walker-scobell-obsessed @yeeteddemigod

[statticscribbles]

Stutter

Summary: Sweet Pea/Reader, Reader comforts Sweet Pea as he confronts a fear of public speaking

Sweet Pea has been in more near death experiences than he can count. He’ll always come away from it laughing a little, everyone chalks it up to shock and they make jokes once everyone is safe and the bruises or wounds have healed by a few days.

“Seriously guys, that was nothing compared to my one true fear.” 

“Nah I would rather do that ten times again than face my real fear.”

“I can handle it, I fear way worse.” 

He has an endless parade of comments and jokes to make and everyone teases that his biggest fear is losing you. He doesn’t comment back on that and everyone keeps teasing him about how hard and fast he’s fallen for you, considering you’ve only been dating for a shorter time.

“Sweet Pea are you okay?” You wave your hand in his face. He’d been staring at Pop’s wall and occasionally taking bites of his burger.

“Yeah, I just forgot about the presentation part we have to do.” He shrugs but you can see the way his hands shake, the same way they do when he thinks you’re in danger.

“You don’t like public speaking?” He chokes out a laugh and you don’t say anything else, you know he’ll just avoid talking about it, but you can also see how truly terrified he is.

“It’s, It’s fine Y/N you don’t, it’s fine you don’t need to bother, I ca-I can handle it on my own.” Sweet Pea’s smile does reach his eyes and you sigh through your nose at him and offer a reassuring smile.

“I Already did this last week, I know you’re nervous but try running through it a few times with me.”

“The problem is it isn’t you! When I think about talking in front of everyone, for class, they’ll, they’ll find out how stupid I am.”

“Didn’t you already get a ninety five on this project?”

“Yes but…”

“So you just have to tell everyone about it.” You smile and Sweet Pea does his best to look convinced, he’s actually a horrible liar.

“How about you just tell me what you want to say now, and I can write little notecards to help?”

“Yeah that sounds good.” He’s not looking you in the eyes and you know he’s just agreeing so you feel helpful but he points to the printed out slides he’s using for reference as he talks. You notice he only stutters twice, and even then it’s only over some of the more complicated scientific words.

“What if you pretend there’s other people here, would that make it worse? Just pretend it’s me and Toni.” He nods and closes his eyes before opening them and restarting the presentation; you notice he stutters four times, and backtracks over half of part of it he had no problem saying only moments ago.

“The notecards might help.” He sighs after he’s been quiet for a few moments, and you realize he’d forgotten what he wanted to say completely.

Sweet Pea grimaces but nods to the teacher who nods back.

“Good job. That’s all for today, we’ll get to the second half of the presentations tomorrow.” Sweet Pea can’t help but chuckle at how Reggie and Archie groan, thinking they had both gotten out of presenting.

“You did so well baby!!! I’m so proud of you!!!” You smile at him, fingers running through his hair as he slumps in the chair gathering his strength for a minute, you know having to do that presentation was terrifying for him, and you’d told everyone to meet at pop’s later. None of them had questioned it, as far as they knew you were the one that had a huge fear of public speaking and Sweet Pea was comforting you.

The class is empty now and you sit on his lap, hands curled in his hair.

“You did so well, I’m so proud of you.” You hum at him and he grins nodding slowly, you can see how tired he is.

“Did you pretend everyone was naked?” You laugh when he blushes.

“Don’t think I could picture you naked and talk at the same time.” He chuckles and then nods towards the door, assuring you he’s okay to go to Pop’s.

“I did just pretend I was talking to you in my trailer, like when we practiced.”

“I mean that did lead to me being naked.” You laugh when he blushes again.

Support My Writing?

[ash5monster01]

Hi! Loved your last Andrew post 🥺, was hoping to request another with him? when you and Andrew are both single and have been for a long time so you two decided to set each other up with someone close to each of your age (reader is like 24). You go on a double date but during the date you two just hit it off more than your blind dates. And if you can make reader an actress too 🫶🏻 I saw on insta that thats what happened with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds lol

Should’ve Known it Was You

Pairing: Andrew Garfield x FemReader

Warnings: fluff

Summary: you and your friend Andrew are both single and decide setting each other up on a blind double date is the best idea until you enjoy each other more than your dates.

Masterlist

You weren’t sure how you had ended up in this situation. Actually you knew exactly how and it was because of the doe eyed boy seated across from you. It was his fault you found yourself with a date duller than a doorknob and it was also your fault his date ended up annoying as can be, but it wasn’t your fault you didn’t know many other people 15 years older than you and he didn’t know many people 15 years younger than him. Thinking back on it now maybe the day you had decided this was a good idea you both hadn’t really thought it through.

“Look Y/N we’re both single right now. What could it hurt?” you couldn’t believe he was suggesting this.

“He could be a murderer or a cannibal” Andrew laughed loudly, his trailer almost shaking.

“Why would your mind go to those options first? You don’t think I would find you a nice guy?” Andrew crossed his arms, his attention completely off his lunch during your 30 minutes break from set.

“I know, I just wouldn’t be comfortable. I’m awkward” you hated dating. Getting used to somebody new was the worst, especially romantically.

“You’re not awkward” you gave him a dumbfounded look in hopes to remind him what you were like the first day on set and you two had met. “Okay, you’re a little awkward but you can overcome that. I mean look at us now”

“Andy, I just want to skip the embarrassment. I’ll find a guy of my own to make myself a fool in front of” you told him before proceeding to take a bite of your salad.

“Why don’t we make it a double date, you pick my date and I pick yours and then we all go together” now this idea had peaked your interest. Andrew could fill the conversation where you struggled and hopefully you could do the same for him.

“Now that could work” you told him after a few minutes of pondering and he held his hands up as if to say I told you so before focusing back on his food.

So here you both were, sat next to your dates, in a dimly lit restaurant. But the catch was both the dates you picked sucked and the only jokes you had been laughing at all night were Andrew’s.

“Oh my gosh Y/N, did I tell you what happened on set the other day?” Andrew turned his head from his blonde date and you immediately leaned forward to put your attention on him. Your date had been busy trying to tell you about his routine while taking care of his Grandpa and you could only take so much about what medication he takes at what time.

“No, spill” you grinned back at him, your dates sharing a knowing look between them.

“We were filming and one of the new assistants was so distracted as he watched us he walked straight into the craft table. Food went everywhere and he was covered. I laughed so hard we had to reshoot the scene like twenty times” you laughed loudly picturing this, knowing that one bump to your craft table could launch food everywhere.

“Oh my gosh, I bet our Director was pissed” Andrew nodded, smiling at how the girl laughed at his story.

“He was, but I couldn’t help myself” both of you had shown more enthusiasm over each other than your dates and it continued like this for most of the night. One of you would break a dull conversation to converse with the other. Finally Andrew’s date had enough.

“That’s it’s, I’m leaving” Andrew shot her a confused look and your date stood as well.

“Me too” he said as he started to put on his jacket.

“What, we’re just starting to have fun” Andrew held his hands up, confused as his date collected her purse.

“No, you guys are having fun” you drew your eyebrows together at the blonde girl, confused by what she had meant.

“Obviously you guys are into each other, you should’ve saved yourself the trouble and just went on a date instead of wasting our time” your date said before turning and walking out the door. Andrew’s date followed, her chin high as you both got abandoned at the table.

“Well, that was unexpected” Andrew spoke and you both chuckled, the awkwardness starting to settle in. Andrew was 15 years older than you and you had never really considered him an option. But hearing someone say it you started to wonder if you really had been attracted to him all along. Every shared moment between the two of you flashed through your head and you realized maybe it was always there. You enjoyed his company, and the flirting wasn’t uncommon.

“We should go” you suggested and he nodded as he held his hand up for a bill. Once you both had paid you found yourself out in the sidewalk, walking side by side, your shoulders brushing every once in a while.

“Do you think they were right?” Andrew asked and you sighed as you looked ahead of you.

“Maybe, I don’t know” he nodded as you said this. You hated that this was in your head now. Now you noticed how the veins in his hands flexed, the roll of his throat as he spoke, and the crinkles in his eyes, and you were attracted to all of it.

“Maybe we were so focused on the fact it couldn’t happen that is somehow did” you both never considered the other due to age. But had focusing on this fact distract you from it happening in real time?

“I’m a little embarrassed our dates noticed but not us” you said and he laughed lightly as he kicked a rock with his foot.

“Yeah, then we really could’ve saved ourself the trouble” the silenced filled the air again, only the sound of traffic floating between you. Suddenly Andrew couldn’t handle the silence or confusion anymore and his movements came to a stop.

“What are you doing?” you asked as you turned back to look at him.

“What if we kissed?” your heart stopped as he muttered the words.

“What?” you gasped out, surprised by the bluntness of the situation.

“Look, obviously both of us are trying to understand our feelings right now. So what if we kiss? If we feel something or not at least we’ll know and this entire night won’t be a complete waste” he said you thought about it for a few moments. At the end of the day what could it possibly hurt. At least you could sleep easier tonight.

“Okay, let’s do it” Andrew was surprised by this response but quickly recollected himself.

“Okay” and suddenly he was a step closer, and you could feel his breath on your face. Your heart accelerated as he tried to figure out how to grab you. Settling with one hand on your waist and the other on your cheek he slowly lowered his face to yours.

“You better be a good kisser Garfield” you whispered before he finally pressed his lips to yours. At first it was shock, that you both had your mouths pressed to each other but suddenly you felt it. Andrew did too as his hand on your cheek slipped behind your head to deepen the kiss. You found yourself clinging to his shirt, the desire to get more overwhelming you. Slowly his tongue slid across your bottom lip and you allowed it in, all of your senses going into over drive because here your best friend was with his tongue in your mouth and causing butterflies to erupt in your stomach.

Your hands found your way into his hair and his around your waist, trying to pull you as close to him as possible. You had both expected just a peck on the lips but now here you were hungering for more and you still hadn’t even broken apart yet. As soon as his hands started to slide up the back of your shirt you both broke apart for air. Your breaths were heavy as you searched each others eyes wondering if you had both felt that. How could you both have gone so long not realizing being together could feel like that?

“Wow” you weren’t sure if you had ever had a kiss like that and yet here you both were, still in each others arms, ready for more.

“I know” a small grin fell on Andrew’s face and he laughed lightly.

“I’d really like to take you back to my place now so we can do that again” you started to nod quickly and he grinned again, gripping your hand as he pulled you towards his apartment.

“Better make it quick, I don’t think I can wait that long” you told him and he felt his pace quicken because you just became the best part of his night.

“We should’ve done that the day we met”

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Some Serious BS: Part 2.

Ahhh...Home sweet home...

Hmm...

*After splitting off from the rest of Zetsubou and getting a long train back to the main city, Matta and Tsutsuji finally return to their old trailer. Tsutsuji is quick to flop on the sofa lazily.

Well, mission accomplished. Zetsubou have been set back, and introductions went pretty well.

Are you sure it was wise for you to introduce yourself to them this early in the game? Now Enoshima and the others know that I'm collaborating with someone.

They might use you against me, in the right circumstance.

Gonna have to catch me first. Besides, it's best to put our cards on the table for now so that they continue to trust you. And it's not like they could kill you, even if they get all their assets back.

...Kuripa Kurafto is still alive I take it?

As you requested.

Good. Did my gambit work?

That remains to be seen. Now that he's had a chance to kill me once, perhaps he can finally focus on the people who have died up until now, and question what he will do for his future. Though I can't guarantee he won't regress when he sees me again.

Best to lie low for a while until we start seeing more developments.

Good idea. In the meantime, I think I'll go over some more of those case files you leant me. The one's you brought up after the lab incident.

Haven't you already read that several times now?

Yeah, but I want to make sure I understand everything. You don't always give me all the information I need Matta, so I need to memorize it when I can and piece things together.

You know I do it for a reason. Everything happens at its own time, and moves at its own pace.

I took a bit of a risk with that gambit of yours. But I think its working out.

Trust me...I know Kuripa Kurafto better than you ever could. I have his entire history documented in this little library I call a brain.

*Tsutsuji strides past him.

Speaking of which, I should probably go clean the chamber. You left quite a mess when you woke up earlier.

Oh, I'll help you.

Really? Thanks.

*Matta follows Tsutsuji inside their trailers cramped bathroom...

Ready?

...

*As Matta nods, Tsutsuji takes the handle of the toilet and pushes it up instead of down. When she does, the floor beneath them starts to descend on a hidden elevator, deep into the ground...

Did I ever mention that you guys from the future are so extra?

What do you mean?

When I was a kid, there were spy movies I watched that did stuff like this. I always thought to myself "this can't ever be real," but you guys made stuff like this happen. Secret tunnels and bases under bathroom stalls.

And why? For any reason other than it looks cool? That its well hidden and practical? You could have just had a hidden stairwell at the back of a wall, but no, whole ass elevator system.

All that's telling me is that you were a rather pessimistic child, Tsutsuji.

Heh...Suppose I was. But I didn't really have a lot to be happy about.

I've told you this before, but when I was really young, I got exposed too early to how full of Despair this world is. Take Junko out of the picture, and there's still a lot to be miserable about.

Part of me still thinks this world is irredeemable, but if I hadn't met a certain someone, I wouldn't be fighting for a better future here with you.

*The elevator comes to a stop.

[liamthemailman]

The island saga at this point can be it’s own feature length film like the trailer would be fire…

[Camera flashes to a cork board with pins and string connecting imagines of people labeled MIA. Across from it is Lemon, observing the information with a steady glare as tense music plays.] “Just what in hell’s name does she want with them…”

[Lemon slams his hand onto the desk with his teeth gritted]

[Screen goes black before a sliver is out into view by King taking out a book from the shelf in front of the camera’s few. A wideshot of the room comes to screen as he walks off. King glances over to Valentino.] “You said you were briefly part of the scheme?” [Valentino simply nods as King walks over and grabs his shoulder tightly.] ”Spill what you know.”

[The screen goes black again until Sofia turns on a light, flipping through photos with me crossing out names.] “We lost our best way of getting King…”

[I mutter bitterly, sharply looking up to Sophia] “Well, I have another plan that may work even better…”

[Sofia starts to explain her plan as his words are muffled out by the screen fade.]

[Camera flashes to Khushi then Jokest3r then Teabagtoes, all with various looks of shock or disbelief on their face] “Give him back…”

[Khushi’s words have a subtle echo as the tense music crescendos to words on the screen saying “Revolutionary storytelling & plot” by New York Times]

[Camera shows Arjun desperately trying to escape before being tied back with a rope around him. Vincent looks at him and their captors fearfully while Mayvey has a scheming look on his face. Arjun’s hoarse yelling attempts continue into hysterics as the camera shows another review “Shows a dark side with new characters.” by Activision]

“We have to get out of here!”

[Queen’s voices pierced through Arjun’s slowly fizzled out yelling as she looks between Ace and Sofia with a serious gaze. Jack walks closer and hands a letter from King to Queen.]

“Hell. On. Earth.”

[The music becomes subtle, adding a clicking noise. Ace states each word coldly as the camera shows Lemon’s board again. He turns, looking at Sergeant Kennedy] “Are you sure we can even do this?”

[Kennedy asks with furrowed eyebrows] “Shiloh… he have to at least try.”

[Lemon responds before the camera flashes white to the screen, showing a series of shots while the music becomes louder than ever; Jack setting a match on fire, Roger crying as he gives Kennedy a gentle hug, King writing a letter, Ace laying in a boat, Jokest3r & Trabagtoes talking over coffee, & Valentino pinning a photo of “The Squad” to the cork board.] [The camera zooms into the photo before flashing to a gun in Sofia’s hand that is pointed to the camera. The music stops.] “I never wanted it to end this way.”

[She says just above a whisper before the camera goes black at the piercing sound of a gunshot. The title appears on screen as eerie music plays…]

THE ISLAND SAGA: GOOSE ISLAND

[A goose walks across screen before the camera cuts out.]

God that took too long to write…

Hope you liked my trailer from a VERY unprofessional screenplay writer This all seems a lot cooler in my head 💀

what the hell..

i dont know what i was expecting but i wasnt expecting a whole ass script. hello? i can tell you that this is so well put together. like its so vivid and i can picture it clearly?? like DAMN. you even have the sound cues n shit!!

from one unprofessional screenplay writer to another, hats off to you because SHEESH??? THIS IS SO COOL?? I HAVE THE URGE TO MAKE STORYBOARDS AND A SCRIPT????

im in shock. you dropped this into my inbox for FREE??? i dont know if you have any plans for the film or entertainment industry but you should actually consider being a writer LIKE WOAH. this much creativity has so much potential.

dont worry about things sounding cool only in your head. i was told that i was a madman while i was pitching my first short film in class and three months later it became the class favourite when the finished project was presented. so dont doubt yourself. you never know if your ramblings bring you places.

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by the amazing, sexy, incredible @wormdebut - thanks, love! ❤️

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Eighteen and and a whole batch of new ones incoming for the @steddieholidaydrabbles - so excited, weeeeeee!!!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

308,387

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hic sunt dracones 

Someone who cares

Possession

See you in a crown

Just add water         

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, always! (Well, except for the rude ones but I can count those on my fingers, thank God!) Every single comment is so fucking precious to me. You didn’t only take the time to read my story, but you liked it enough to go to that little box and tell me your thoughts? Kissing you, kissing you, KISSING YOU!!! 😘

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I’m a happy endings gal all the way! If I’m gonna put them through the horrors for hundreds of thousands of words, I damn well wanna give them their happily ever after! That being said, I have this little microfic where tentacle lake monster Steeb enthralls Eddie to lure people to him so that he can eat them. Sorry, Eddie! 

(He’ll absolutely bring him O’Donnell and Principal Higgins, so it’s fine.) 

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hic sunt dracones! I mean hello? They are mates and Steve is King and everyone is happy and my boy gets flower crowns and apple pie and hot, hot dragon sex forever after! 

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Someone once felt the need to leave me a very passive aggressive comment on how my Brit slips were “completely ruining the vibe” of my fics (and then I wrote a microfic about British!Steve, I’m still laughing). 

Oh, and then there was that one time I was accused of racism. 

But apart from that, everyone has been lovely and fantastic and supportive and I really love it here. I’ve met so many more lovely people than assholes. 

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Ummm … I’m the person with the 100k dragon porn fic. Hell yes, I write smut! I love writing smut, all kinds of smut!

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No, sorry, my brain doesn’t do crossovers. XD 

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope. 

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I’d be thrilled to see it happen. Any and all transformative works are always welcome, just be sure to tag me because I’d love to see them and you will have my sword and my axe for eternity and I will scream about it forever!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I once co-wrote an original work with a friend when we were like 15? We had no idea what the fuck we were doing and it never got finished, but it was a blast!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Steddie. I love them, I’m obsessed with them, I think I’ll be writing fic for them for the rest of my life!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I’m committed to finishing all of my WIPs, that’s why I’m a good girl and only ever work on one large fic at a time with smaller projects on the side, but there’s SO MANY I WANNA WRITE STILL!!!!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Several people have told me that I’m really good at scene setting and evoking imagery, at painting very vivid pictures in their minds …  so I guess there’s that. 

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I wish I could write stunning, creative metaphors like @wynnyfryd . The river Styx one from the trailer park AU? Blew me away! I could never come up with that!

I also admire @wingedquill for being able to be concise and still so fucking intense in their fics! I'm a wordy bitch myself and always in awe of that skill.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I’ve never been in a situation where I was faced with the decision, but I think I’d rather describe it instead of typing out the actual words? Such as “they exchanged a few sentences in Spanish”. I’m only fluent in one language besides English, so I feel like I’d either need to get help or include a horrifically mangled Google translation and end up being unintentionally hilarious.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The first fandom I published for was Stranger Things. 

The first fandom I wrote for was Harry Potter, back before it went to shit (Wolfstar shipper of the very first hour here)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Hic sunt dracones, my beloved! This fic is everything I ever wanted, both in terms of writing and the echo it received. I still daydream about these two (and have another bonus drabble coming in December). 

Zero-pressure tags: @cranberrymoons, @gorgeousgreymatter-x, @lexirosewrites

[stormyoceans]

Monica, you and me both. i seriously hope they don't do anything to mess up what we've going on now. because it's been a perfect streak so far and i really badly don't want it ruined. but i don't really trust thai bls that much. the dad showing up completely uncalled for like that was a little bit of turn off for me in that matter. (cause i dint think that was a very important storyline, barely relevant at all to what we've seen of Day's story so far) and i hope that doesn't take more than 5 mins to get resolved. forced separation my beloathed. i also worry night and day will not be resolved as satisfactorily as i want it to (tho i hear we can trust p'aof on that) as there are only 4 more eps left and it's probably not gonna happen in ep 3. andd. as for one last thing, i also wish and hope desperately we get a bit of a reversal in their dynamic. with day being more of a crutch to mohk than the other way around. you know just to complete the picture on both sides. anyways, manifesting nothing but the best. -Skate

MORE RAMBLINGS AND SPECULATIONS AND PERSONAL WORRIES AND FILMING SPOILERS ABOUT LAST TWILIGHT UNDER THE CUT (just to be safe because i really don't wanna ruin people's excitement with my negativity. im also afraid my nomnom card might get revoked ;;;;;;;;)

i personally didn’t mind day’s dad showing up at the end of episode 8 because he has been mentioned since episode 2 and there’s also been a lot of emphasis on day’s mom being a single mom who raised him and night by herself, so i did expect day’s dad to play a role in the story at some point. i do agree that his introduction was rather abrupt tho, like day bringing him up out of nowhere while talking to mork and implying that songkhla was his hometown was a bit too on the nose imho, i think it could have been done a little bit better, but i’ve forgiven shows for much worse. once again my main fear with day’s dad is that he was introduced just to explain why he and ramon separated hence kind of foreshadowing mork and day also eventually separating, which as we previously established i would HATE

and you know it's not like im against separation on principle, i do think it could work for morkday if, let's say, mork was offered a job he's really passionate about in another town and was upfront about it with day and day told him 'you can't be my caretaker forever, you are my boyfriend, i want us to be equal, take this opportunity and make your dreams come true', because i do also agree with you on the fact that we've always seen mork supporting day and i need to have day supporting mork as well to balance things out a little bit more (not to always bring up vice versa but one of the main reasons i love puentalay is the mutuality and equality of their relationship). if this were to happen, they could still talk to each other on the phone and have mork go visit day over the weekend, they would still have a relationship based on love and understanding which is what their entire journey has been about. if this were to happen, i would become separation nr. 1 fan. i would be ready to print every single word of doubts i've ever expressed about the last 3 episodes and literally EAT THEM. the problem is that even if we're talking about p'aof, i can't fully trust him with not going down the misunderstanding route and not making them broke the promise they made of always holding each other's hands. i know that in bad buddy he made everyone think patpran broke up only to say SIKE, but unfortunately that's not enough to reassure me

the only hope i have is this picture

which to me does look like a 'mork is torn about leaving for his dream job but day is giving him his full support', but unfortunately I HAVE TRUST ISSUES OKAY. I'VE BEEN HURT BY SHOWS BEFORE. and i can't really explain this shot of mork crying in the trailer unless it's about day breaking up with him

SO. TRUST ISSUES

day and night's reconciliation is honestly the thing im less worried about because i do fully believe it's gonna happen, maybe not right away because if night was indeed somehow responsible for day losing his sight i think day is gonna need more time, but i think we're gonna see them finally have a proper talk with each other and by the end of it day is gonna leave an opening for their relationship to heal and go back to what it used to be

BUT YEAH IM JUST GONNA BE PRAYING FOR THE BEST THAT'S ALL WE CAN DO