#and is pretty neutral on the film trailer as a whole

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It's kind of dissapointing seeing how the Transformers fandom is dealing with the movie from both ends. And sure, the dogging on the film is pretty bad, but I've honestly seen worse reactions to film announcements in fandoms like Star Wars.

Truthfully I think the reactions from the people who liked the trailer are bordering on worse.

I've seen so many posts along the lines of "If you don't like the new movie in any capacity you're not a real transformers fan" with so many specifically putting bayverse fans under fire. But like, what is the point of that? Transformers has been so many genres over the past 40 years, its held so many tones. It's a little idiotic to think that every version of Transformers is going to appeal to everyone.

There are people who don't watch the cartoons but like the comics, there are people who quite literally only collect the toys, people who like the bayverse films but not the old ones, people who like the old cartoons but not the bayverse films, people who only consume media from the aligned universe. The fandom is so varied that it is astounding, and it is one of my favorite things about the franchise. There is quite possibly a Transformers iteration for every type of person.

It would be like saying "every Transformers fan who doesn't like the G.I. Joe crossover content is a fake fan because so many continuity things have hinged on G.I. Joe for the past 40 years", a completely idiotic argument.

Also, for the people going "it's not made for you, you're not the target demographic", enjoyment of a media can reach out beyond it's target demographic. Though I don't have doubts that they will take a more adult angle than shown in the trailer, after all Hasbro is very aware of the adult demographic of the property (and that it's definitely not lil jimmy who is buying the Super Ultra Collector's 80-120$ figures), I understand the dissapointment as the initial synopsis did not give any indication of it being a comedy.

So anyways, lets stop sectioning off entire portions of the fandom as bad yeah? Please?

[watercolorsam-arts]

Why the Minecraft Movie looks so bad

Okay, let’s see if I can make this work

Hi, I’m Watercolor, currently a student learning animation and visual effects. I’ve got some more technical explanations for why exactly the trailer looks god awful

I’m gonna do my best to explain this in simple terms, but if I don’t explain something very good, let me know and I’ll explain more. Alright, this is gonna be a long post

Starting off with the obsession with backlighting. See how it doesn’t really match the environmental lighting? That’s one of the major things that makes it look so weird to a lot of people. It could have been done to better distinguish the actors from the background, but it does that a little too well and makes them look way too out of place. The environment has a very nice constant (most likely singular) light source, which is most likely an HDRI.

An HDRI (or high dynamic range image) informs the animation software on how the scene should be lit, and is often a weird panoramic image of whatever physical area you want to replicate.

In a reverse case, adding a CG character into a real set, you could take an HDRI of the physical set, and use it to apply similar lighting. Adjustment will most likely have to be hand adjusted by the lighting team (and tbh they add a lot of extra lights in anyway. It just needs to look right) but it’s a fantastic starting point for the compositing and lighting teams.

However, the McM’s live set has way different lights set up then what is seen in the environment.

Here, for example, the live set is most likely being lit by standard 3 point lighting, which are not only the wrong color (the lighting on the environment is much more yellow) but also washes out any shadows that would help define the actors. If this movie wasn’t obsessed with backlighting, you could fix that by lighting the actors and environment from the front, but because the sun is in the back, they have to make the front of the actors unnaturally brighter to see them more properly. I have a slight idea on why the kid in red looks especially “photoshopped” in, and it’s mostly because his hoodie doesn’t have a similar reflectiveness to everyone else’s outfit, and his hair is a more neutral color, causing the highlight to be even more washed out. Also, while we’re here, the cube is a physical prop, but it was not lit up during filming, and all the light output was tossed on after. And it’s really inconsistent and honestly, lazy. For the most part they just hit it with a blue blur effect in post, it doesn’t actually cast any light.

Another major issue is the color difference between the actors and the environment. The color balancing on the actors is particularly garbage, they’re somehow desaturated while also being too saturated, I don’t know how they managed that. But the technical issue on why it looks odd, is because the physical camera cannot physically pick up the same vibrancy as the “camera” in the CG world. You might have seen an example of this when trying to take a photo with your phone, especially of a very colorful event like the sunset. It’s also why “ugly sonic” looked particularly out of place, he was 10x more saturated than anything else around him.

Having the actors on a very low effort green screen stage also completely ruins any chance of getting the proper ambient light or ambient occlusion.

Ambient occlusion is basically the bounce light from other objects in your scene, gamers might know this as a form of ray tracing (ray tracing is live changes in ambient occlusion, games without ray tracing bake in ambient occlusion to get a similar result)

When everything is CG, (again art style aside) looks pretty darn good actually!

I attempted some edits to see if anything could make it look better (left is original, right is mine), and I don’t think proper lighting or anything could actually fix what this movie has wrong with it. They should have made the whole thing animated, I don’t think any amount of bullying would fix this, the studio basically has to scrap the actors, and make new CG characters from scratch in the same style as the rest of the world.

All of this is not the fault f the animators, or any of the vfx team, they did their absolute best with what they had, this is 100% the fault of the higher ups on this project. I have no idea how this good this far into production without ANYONE saying that it was a bad idea (Either that, or a lot of people got fired, which is unfortunately a likely possibility)

[skysiren41]

My thoughts on Kung Fu Panda 4 trailer

So kung fu panda 4 finally released its first trailer and too say that people have been split on it would be an understatement. All and all I'm still keeping my expectations modest I thought this trailer was actually pretty ok, I've have seen a few people say that it looks awful and while I do think it's a bit overblown, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't still worried about this film, so I wanna share my thoughts in the most neutral way possible while also being fair with both its positives and negatives as a Kung Fu Panda fan

●I've seen a few people say that the animation is a downgrade from the others I have to disagree. From what I've seen it mostly looks similar to the third film, the colours especially are quite nice, though I did notice some on the movement be a bit janky. I've also seen some say that the models look bad but I don't see it, there are some changes like they seem to be a lot more expressive but I wouldn't go far as to say that it's a bad change

●One criticism I do agree with is that the furious five seem to be absent in this film, not even Tigress. I do hope they do appear or at least explain their absent because it is weird not to include or even mention them but there apparently gonna have both of Po's dad's appear (don't get me wrong I love Mr Ping and Li Shan, it just I don't think they have a point to be in the story from what I've seen)

●The Chameleon honestly has a lot of potential, not only is it nice to have a female villian in the film, but also the whole concept of her being able to bring people back to life but also even transform into her enemies is such a brilliant idea and really plays into her species

●Tai Lung fans are eating good tonight with him finally being on screen again since the first film. I'm curious if he's only gonna appear in that one scene we see only to be sent back to the spirit realm after the Chameleon takes his powers. If that's not the case I'm curious if there gonna go with the route of giving him a redemption arc. I've always been split on the idea, on one hand I think the tragedy of Tai Lung and how he could've changed is what made him a fantastic villain as well as show the flaws of Shifu as a character, but on the other hand GIVE THIS BOY A HUG! HE DIDN'T DESERVE WHAT HE WENT THOUGH!

●In general the movie seems to be keeping the lighthearted tone from the first film which I'm kinda mixed on, don't get me wrong I like the third film but I do wish they went with a similar tone with the second film, where it was able to be both funny but also wasn't afraid to get dark. I understand that Kung Fu Panda is for the most part lighthearted but its shown multiple times to be able to be lighthearted while also handling mature themes

To close this off I think there are some people are overreacting when they say that the trailer is awful but I also see why a lot of people are unsure about this forth film myself included

[lihikainanea]

I know you have had a little writers block and not much time to write but in case this can inspire more tiger and Bill hear goes. So Bill is working on a movie that is a mess. He took the job because because he really loved the director, but lets so with rewrites and other politics that director quit. Bill was still in a contracted he could not easily get out out and he did not want to quit something he had already put work into.

Filming finally started back up with a new script and he was doing his best to make his character believable. But his neppo-baby co-star was not helping. Of course he was also considered a neppo-baby by the US press but he did not think he was not a brat like this woman. She wanted to change things in the script. She wanted special foods and no one could talk to her unless she was officially on set. He could not even get her to go over lines or how he could respectfully touch her during scenes since they were playing a couple.

He of course talked though things with Tiger as much as he thought he could but this was a very tough shoot. He would come home late and only get about 6 hours before having to be back on set.

His mind is wheeling one night when he has to do a love scene with this awful girl the next day. Tiger calms him enough for him to fall asleep. His brain has other ideas to fix the thoughts he has about the next day. He dreams of actually having an affair with awful girl. And the sex is just....he wakes in cold sweat. He was moaning in his sleep and he can not even look at Tiger. And boy does he not want to go to work that day either.

Ohhhhh I like this.

Look, I mean, with how many films actors do--every once in awhile, they must work with fellow castmates that they just hate. Abhor. Their hatred is so thinly veiled that it's incredibly palpable to the crew onset, but thankfully things rarely ever make it to the press because of NDAs and big ass scary lawyers and the like. But every once in awhile--we, the ever little-seeing public--we get wind of it. Think Don't Worry Darling. The drama surrounding that production, for the so many reasons it seems to entail, was just--unf, chef kiss to those of us that still love the thrill of a little celebrity drama.

And I'm sure Bill, in all of his perfectionist nature, was also hated on a few sets. His perfectionist nature. His insistence on trying the scene 100 different ways, for 100 different takes, until he was satisfied. Not everyone performs to that calibre nor do they hold themselves accountable to such lofty expectations as that big swedish talking tree, but that's just who he is. That's how he works.

But y'know, I'd even venture to say that it's quite rare that Bill actually likes his castmates and fellows actors he works with. That's not to say that he hates their guts--not at all. But rather he's just pretty...ambivalent about the whole thing. Neutral. He's the Switzerland of film sets. He's a pretty private person in general, a pretty guarded individual, and for him this is a job. Onscreen chemistry is far more important than actual chemistry in this line of work, and he's able to separate the two. He can have great onscreen chemistry with someone that he's not super friendly with, and he doesn't feel any inclination to add the to the inner workings of his closest social circle. Beers after a long day on set is one thing, the occasional celebratory dinner, gifts for the make up and costume crew. Getting to know everyone on a first name basis. But beyond that, Bill is more than happy to go back to his trailer between takes, or go back to his apartment at the end of the day, and cook dinner with tiger or have drinks with some of his friends who flew out to spend a few days with him.

And on that note, he's probably had to work with a lot of actors that he really doesn't like. People who either take themselves way too seriously (Bill thinks method acting is the most ridiculous fucking thing anyone could ever do), or the opposite--people who don't take this seriously at all. And if you call Bill a nepo baby to his face you'll likely be tackled violently from stage left by tiger--but it's also why he's ultra sensitive about those nepo baby actors who don't have any talent, and don't even have the work ethic to build it up.

It's still like pulling teeth to get Bill to admit that his laast name opened up a few doors for him, but he'll also be the first to admit that his initial acting jobs weren't....uh, they weren't great. But he worked at it, he honed his craft, he worked his ass off, and now nobody can say the opportunities he's gotten have been handed to him.

But y'know, the thought of nepotism--well, it doesn't really bother some people.

And maybe on a recent film set, Bill is living in his version of hell. His love interest in the film is a girl in her young to mid-twenties, the type who grew up with two famous parents and all of a sudden decided she wanted to act--so roles were handed to her. Bill's not quite sure how she even got the job given how their chemistry read went, with Bill nearly glaring daggers at her the whole time. She's just the type of person he can't stand. She's loud about everything. She comes with an entourage to everything. It's always over the top, all the time. She never learns her lines. She doesn't give him anything to work with in a scene, reciting her lines like a robot and not leaving anything to improv, natural reactions. She needs a million takes for one scene--not because she's a perfectionist--but because she forgot her lines, or didn't listen to the notes the director gave her. Bill is pretty convinced this entire film could have shot in half the time if she'd just be a little bit of a fucking professional about it.

The whole thing irks him at first, then just pisses him right the hell off shortly after. She's late for the call time, when the other actors are sitting in the transport car well before the ass crack of dawn waiting for her to come out her house. She comes into the makeup trailer blasting her music and yelling along with her entourage, while Bill is reviewing his scene changes and trying to get his head into his character for the day--they knock over his coffee, get in everyone's way, and just never shut the fuck up. Her friends--and her--are all filming all the time, and Bill spends most of his time between takes trying to dodge ending up on someone's instagram or tiktok.

But y'know, it's just so pitifully ironic that the only scene this girl is keen to rehearse--a little too keen, actually--are any of the kissing scenes, or the sex scenes. And with one scheduled in just a few days time, this little nepo baby has been all over Bill trying to find proper times--evenings, of course, with a little wine to loosen up--for them to uh, practice. Bill's gag reflex has been barely contained.

And like, tiger bears the brunt of his rants at the end of every filming day. Whether it's 2AM or 2AM or anywhere in between, he always FaceTimes her when he wraps the day and tiger always thinks that vein in his neck is real damn close to bursting.

"She just...she doesn't get it tiger," he rants, pausing to take a drag of his cigarette, "This is a fucking joke to her. This is my job, my profession, and it's a fucking joke to her."

"Has anyone told her?" she asks, "Maybe she needs to be called out on it."

"Her dad's studio is partially funding this one," Bill exhales, the camera shaking as he continues to walk.

"You're fucked then," tiger smiles sadly. Bill just makes a frustrated noise before continuing to rant for the next hour.

And like, maybe tiger goes to visit him on set right? And she's not it before, the whole rehearsing an upcoming steamy scene with him--but wait wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here.

So, tiger visits him on set and sees firsthand what a fucking nightmare this girl is. Tiger spends most of her time in his trailer but somehow, she still has to dodge what feels like a million cameras all linked to a hundred different kinds of social media, all from her entourage. They ain't shy about questions that are none of their damn business either--shit like who she is, how she knows Bill, what she's doing there.

"I'm his bodyguard," she cracks, except tiger is kind of scary when she's pissed off and she's not really blinking so suddenly the gaggle of girls don't really know what to think.

In any case, tiger can definitely see why Bill has been so pissed off lately. Everything is a joke to this girl, she doesn't take anything seriously, and suddenly she's just real excited about the scenes coming up in a few days.

"We should practice tonight!" she says gleefully, as both her and Bill are sitting in the makeup trailer getting all un-done after the day. Tiger quirks a brow from the back of the room where she's playing with one of the other actor's dogs.

"No thanks," Bill says immediately.

"You can come by, I'll get some wine, we can loosen up."

"No," he says again.

"We need to rehearse," she continues, "We need to practice."

"I've had enough practice."

And thankfully one of the make up artists--tiger makes a note to give her a big hug after--one of the make up artists sees every single hair on Bill's neck stand up.

"Bill, sorry--can you stop talking? It's getting the make up caught in the creases and making it hard to remove," she says kindly. Bill gives her a wide smile.

"Sure, sorry," he says softly.

And that's the end of that.

But like, look. It's plain as day. Bill is chainsmoking. He didn't sleep that night, he just rants and rants at how repulsed he is, and how much he's dreading the next 1.5 weeks worth of scenes. Tiger does her best to distract him--keeps his whisky glass full, hell she even gets him in the sauna and sucks his soul out from his dick just to try and get his mind off it. But the sun rises the next morning as much as we sometimes wish it wouldn't, and Bill has to go to work.

I'll be waiting for you in your trailer bud," tiger says reassuringly, "Remember, you can take as many breaks as you need."

But y'know, here's the thing. Bill is getting through it, because he's a goddamned professional. Is he having fun? No. Does he hate every second of it? Yes. But it's not that. It doesn't take him long to figure out that this girl...she's purposely fucking up the scenes, just so they have to do them again. And again. And again. The scene where he has to push her up again a wall, rip her shirt open, and kiss the hell out of her? Somehow, that scene took the entire day to shoot. 57 takes.

The actual sex scene, him on top of her, both of them wearing nothing but tiny little pasties? Somehow, that took two entire days to shoot. More than 100 takes.

On any set that Bill has been on, things like that could usually be shot in anywhere from 4-6 takes--maybe half a day, depending on lighting and equipment needs.

Bill was livid. He drew the line initially and demanded a closed set, after she brought her entire entourage to watch that day. It took a lot of negotiating, but Bill wasn't budging on it.

And every single day that Bill went to set and have to film that, when he'd get home--man, he took it out on tiger. The poor girl was ravaged. Bill just needed her, needed to completely wreck her, just to get the taste and feel and everything of that other pain in the ass as far away from him as possible.

But y'know, Bill's mind is a cruel place.

And maybe its triggered by something small. He has a long day on set so tiger goes shopping, and when he comes back to his rented apartment she has some stuff strewn everywhere and Bill spots a shirt on the bed. His blood boils.

"What the fuck is this?" he marches over to it, holding it up.

"It's....my new shirt?" tiger says cautiously, "I thought it was cute."

"Get rid of it tiger," he snaps. He grabs his lighter from his pocket, flicking it open and holding it to the shirt.

"Okay whoa," tiger jumps, grabbing the shirt from him, "Easy bud. What's going on."

"She has this shirt," he seethes, "I don't ever want to see it on you."

"Ah," tiger says, "Right. You won't see it again bud."

"Promise?" he puts the lighter away.

"Promise.

But it's enough to just...kickstart some part of Bill's brain that should have stayed dormant. And that night, he drifts off to sleep with tiger in his arms and his thumb in her mouth--except he dreams of her. And it's ~spicy~. A stupid ass, unreasonable sex dream that felt really good. Amazing sex, actually, and from the noises he was making tiger wasn't sure if he was in pain or having the time of his life but the piece of plywood digging in to her back gave her a small inclination.

That is, until he woke up and all but shoved her away with enough force that she almost went tumbling off the bed.

"Bill!" she shrieked, but he was already scratching at his skin and lightly smacking his own face.

"No no no no no," he muttered, "No no no god fuck no."

"Bud?"

His eyes snap to hers and they're wild, pupils huge, his hair sticking up all over the place and his chest heaving.

"You," he says, out of breath, "Here. Now."

"What--"

"Now."

And tiger doesn't have time to do anything before two long arms wrap around her waist and haul her up with force, slamming her into his chest.

"Fuck me," he growls into her neck.

"What?" tiger's still trying to get her wits about her because a second ago she was asleep and comfy and now this wild ass enraged beast has his hands all over her and she can't quite keep up.

A hard spank lands on her ass and she squeals a little, but then he has his fist balled in her hair and his teeth biting at her neck.

"Fuck me," he growls again, "Fuck me into next fucking week."

"Bill, what the hell is going--"

But then suddenly she's in the air, and then she's pinned under his body as he looms--big and scary and totally wild--above her.

"Tiger, I just had a dream about her," he snaps, "And now you need to get it the fuck out of my head so that I never have to see it again. So I'm only going to ask you one more time."

He yanks her head back, licking up her neck before biting down hard on her earlobe. His other hand cups her harshly through her panties and she gasps.

"Fuck me," he growls.

Tiger is all too happy to oblige.

[consceleratuswrites]

Hi Hi hi ANOTHER ANON HERE (I just wanna be private) I just wanted to say I love your work and your writing rocks!

I was wondering, despite the obvious voice lines and what we kinda get from Galactic Emperor Sigma's depiction (for the crumb it was - thanks Blizzard) how do you go about characterizing him? I kinda like how you aren't afraid to make him into a bit of an asshole (lol) do you have a headcanon you go off?

There are quite a few of you guys! And it's all cool - as long as you're all comfortable! Never wanna force anyone x

This is an interesting one as it relates to my personal views on Sigma as a whole, which I could go on for HOURS ABOUT. Mainly because the trailer makes him come across as this maniacal hubris-based scientist who is incredibly intimidating and self-interested in his own research. Then you have the in-game characterisation which is this rather tragic figure being manipulated by an organisation that uses him as a weapon. 

There is this beautiful dichotomy in his character (which is why he's so beloved, as he has this depth on a self-referential level). I do not doubt that he is equally as gentle and a tragic anti-hero as he is an egotistical and (at times) a vicious-mad-scientist force to be reckoned with. That's due to the in-game Canon!Sig voice lines range from quite endearing to being quite callous (to me at least). And I could go on and on about my personal feelings about the mental health allegories that can also be gleaned from him (I'm someone who has pretty bad anxiety and PTSD, so the drifting in and out of thoughts is something that got to me).

So for Emp!Sig, I wanted to magnify those aspects and dial them up to be more ruthless and more arrogant. And I loved that we got this antagonistic-bad-guy version who will call you a "pathetic worm" if you get in his way. But then I like the thought of him being multifaceted here too (I have this saying that I talk to my friends that I think of 'salty and sweet' when I write him). And I like giving him these little anxiety-fuelled moments where he's painfully vulnerable.

I have a lot to thank @akoiromanticstudent for (I tag her a lot as it's her help that's made her indulge this hard, and I love how she writes sig in his professor ways).

I have a literal page-by-page list in my notebook (because I'm crazy and do this for fun HAHA) of who I've taken some inspiration from for his characteristics so here we go I shall list a few (and this isn't even all of it so - lmao YOU ASKED)

Game of Thrones' Tywin Lannister is a massive influence on me as well. His dialogue is excellently written, and he was my favourite character in the series for being this rather diabolical yet magnificent bastard. I love how Charles Dance plays him as this character hardened by the world around him and too far gone with using violence as a means to an end. He's undoubtedly cruel and has this stubbornness that is fun to emulate and spar with.

I also take some inspiration from Hades - the Hellenic god (being a bit more of a neutral yet incredibly threatening force within ancient Greek polytheism). And his representation from the HADES game series and the Disney-fied version (for the back and fourth in his dialogue and dynamic).

I also really loved Peter Stormare's representation of Lucifer from the 05' Constantine film - I love how terrifying and threatening he is with his presence and invading personal spaces. Stormare plays him as this ancient, wise, sinister force, and I just adore it. Despite the film being of typical noughties-popcorn-movieness (but I love it for that too). So I've taken little pieces of that there as well.

Obviously, Star Wars plays as an influence (Darth Vader/Anakin being the tragic villain he is and Palpatine because I just love that silly evil old man.)

There's obviously a few Lovecraftian cosmic horror elements in there as well.

Also adding loads of representations of various Gods, Kings, and Emperors in history, Leonidas being one of them, Ceaser, Odin, Ra the list goes on and on all of which are in the mixing pot.

Thanks for reading this if you did I hope it was interesting - I get started on something and then it grows and grows because, as I said, I'm crazy.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

March 2021 Part 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. 

This is a LONG ONE, it’s been A WEEK everyone. 

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 5 - a little slow this week, but at least Gene finally flirted back, and very cute flirting it was, too. Also we got Aey’s motivation, background, and love interest. Thank goodness for that. 

Brothers Ep 8 - still pants, what can I say? Clearly I am a BL masochist. Very embarrassing for everyone concerned. 

1000 Stars Ep 9 - the conflict over Tian’s father was REALLY well done. The plot of this drama is excellent, the leads are great together, and yes I totally cried. What, you didn’t? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Word of Honor (China) Ep 16-18 - big battle fighty fighty stabby stabby. Ep 17 switches to “this drama isn’t big enough for two chaotic-neutral godlings!” So what do they do? Drink together and bicker... A LOT. Then in Ep 18 we all get the dubious joy of really freaky puppets. (I HATE puppets.) Also how is China letting this be so SO VERY VERY GAY?  Also, I wanna walk through the forest wearing a smanshy purple robe and waving a big fuck-off white fan around simply because I’m a pretentious fuss monger. And frankly, I feel like this is an achievable life goal for me. 

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 4 - not gonna lie, this is looking to be one of my top 3 BLs of 2021. It’s SO GOOD. Big bonus to this ep for treating stalker behavior like the mental illness it is and not as some dumb representation of enduring love. 

The Most Peaceful Place is My Place (Vietnam) Ep 1 - finally dropped (find it under NƠI BÌNH YÊN NHẤT LÀ VỀ BÊN EM on O2′s channel). It’s got actors already comfortable with BL and looks pretty good so far. An angry tsundere uke reunited with his ex, a stoic chef, giving us lots of snap, crackle, and pop out the gate. 

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 2 - I want to love it, but it is just moving too fast. There’s not enough character dev and then they’re throwing flashbacks in? It feels like a treatment rather than a show, and a rushed treatment at that. Bummer. 

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 2 (AKA Ep 3-4) - let the cheesy popcorn continue! Idiot remains an idiot; ingenue remains an ice queen; nice gay guy remains nice and gay; obsessive stalker brother is getting ever more whackadoddle. Of course these last two have the best chemistry. (It’s caregiver codependency and the salvation trope. We got us a Leo/Fiat situation going on.​) Plus lots of classic BL tropes because OF COURSE there are lots of tropes. 

Occasionally, I am tempted to argue that shows like H4 or Cherry Magic or Ossan’s Love aren’t technically BL because of the office setting and age of the protags - but then they all behave like high school students anyway, so *shrug* 

Stand Alones

Cute little Taiwanese micro BL Friend or Lover dropped, about bisexual realization within a friendship group. Normally these are too short for me, but this one did pretty good with its 15 minutes of charm, plus it’s abad boy + shy softy pairing. 

Breaking News - Thai BL

Fish Upon the Sky released its actual trailer. The upside-down kiss is gone, which makes everyone sad, and it seems far less rivals to lovers than the first iteration, which makes ME sad. But it still looks good and a more classic BL than GMMTV has given us in a while. New trailer focused more on the makeover trope and they’ve upped Mix’s role (the object of everyone’s affection) now that he’s proved himself. (Or they are using him more to carry the trailer since he has a fan base form 1k*). Starts April 9 on GMMTV in 1K*’s time slot, probably with a 10 ep run. 

2gether the movie is apparently coming April 22 to Thai theaters. F4 Thailand must be having issues or GMMTV just wants to milk the BrightWin cash cow. It’s rumored to be a combination of 2gehter + Still 2gether with some extra scenes and ending. Also, one assumes a lot will be cut out, if it’s movie length.

Call It What You Want released its updated trailer. If anything, it looks more scary than before. What are we in for? April 9th. 

Nitiman got a release date, May 7 on One31. 

I Told Sunset About You 2 got an updated release date of May 27 on LineTV. 

Second Chance the series is coming to LineTV on March 29. I don’t know much about this one. Tons of familiar faces (mostly TharnType side dishes) and some nice looking new talent but a dearth of eng subs. I think it may take on Brothers’ time slot. Line did eng subs for Brothers so maybe they will do 2nd Chance too? 

Close Friend the series is coming April 22. This is a combination of 6 couples with 6 story arcs as music videos (maybe)? It’s an epic fan service with familiar faces like OhmFluke (UWMA), MaxNat (LBC also in Y-Destiny), YoonLay (YYY also in Y-Destiny), KimCop (GenY), and JaFirst (TT2).

Y-Destiny starts March 30, and has starting dropping couple’s trailers. I’m still suspicious given the director but it seems like there is plot (or plots) and a theme. Looks to be a series of 7 single ep vignettes (amended, see comments, might be 2 eps each for 14 eps total), different couple each time, some with supernatural elements, all with decent chemistry and acting chops. 

Sun MaxNat’s tutor/student arc

Mon jaded rich kid meets poor innocent  

Tues sports romance enemies to lovers 

Weds the messy realistic actual dating one 

Thurs hot ghost boyfriend (sad) 

Fri YoonLayPerth coping with loss and finding new love (sad). This one will all rest on Lay's acting so we know it’s in safe hands. Our boy is going to KILL it. 

Sat time-slip memory loss reunion romance 

I’m thinking we can’t expect any of these to end happy or be classic BL. They’re gonna be more slice of life-ish. 

Gossip - BL Outside of Thailand 

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) got a legit teaser (eng sub here). @curriculumvtae​ reports that it’s releasing April 15th on WeTV (Philippines & Thailand) and Idol Romance (South Korea), while Will of Thai Bl says it’ll be on Viki too. It’s a short run of 8 ep built on a fake relationship trope (arranged marriage variant):

Ryu Ho Seon’s (Kang In Soo from You Wish) arranged marriage turns out to be with his expected bride’s brother, Choi Ki Wan (Lee Se Jin from Mr Heart). Ryu tries to undo the marriage, but his ill mother opposes this saying the scandal would be too much. Meanwhile, Kim Tae Hyeong (Jang Eui Soo from Where Your Eyes Linger), a senior at Ryu’s school, comes to congratulate him and falls in love with Choi. Then one day, the original bride disappears.

Okay it seems a bit twisty turny for ONLY 8 EPS, but oh my goodness how excited are we? Our first intentional historical BL out of Korea!

We already knew Hong Kong was doing a remake of Japan’s Ossan’s Love under the same name (not my favorite Japanese BL but so very popular) but it’s now reported to be coming to Viu in June. Who knows how the CFA will take it. Depends on whether Hong Kong bows before the NO GAY KISSES regs or if they are going to use this as a political nose thumb... things could get cray with this puppy (the original has several kisses and s shower scene). Are we back in Addicted territory only with added comedy and civil unrest?

Speaking of Japan, Absolute BL (AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko) dropped sooner than anyone thought, March 27. But being Japanese who knows how/when/if we get subs. Protag finds himself trapped in a world of BL, but being straight he fights against any hot guy that draws near, but the whole world (literally) is conspiring against him. It’s a parody adapted from a yoai.

What with Absolute BL from Japan plus Lovely Writer and Call it What You Want from Thailand, is 2021 the year of BL being ultra self referential? Sure feels like it.

In Case You Missed It

Faded a gay micro film from Taiwan from 2017 deals with parental acceptance and serves up a ton of BL tropes (piggyback, forehead kiss, etc). I’m pretty sure this was a propaganda piece for legalization of gay marriage, and it’s an interesting nugget of BL history as a result. Yes, it ends happy. It’s cute. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

Man there’s a lot going on right now! Spring has sprung... I suppose. 

P.S. I cannot believe I missed Absolute BL as a blog name. Numbnuts = me. 

[hwrryscherry]

 The one where the reader meets Harry as Jack

characters: HARRYxREADER!FEM

blurb: Harry is filming Don't Worry Darling in Palms Springs while Y/N is moving in in her new house in the neighbourhood where the movie is being filmed. Turns out the fate wanted to cross Harry and Y/N's way as a box full of books is very intriguing to Harry and Pride and Prejudice becomes Harry's new favorite.

word count: 2.7K

author's note: Heyy guys, it has been SO LONG and honestly I don’t think this is best work yet lol but anyway, I had the worst writer’s block of my life so it was so hard for me to write a single word. Honestly, I felt kinda pressured to write. I felt like I was pressuring myself for that so I had to take advantage of this block and take this idea out of my mind. I want to say something important too; I really want to say that the only story of mine that I’ll keep the face claim is HARRYxMODELY/N, just because I like to use the photos to make instagram posts sometimes. I will no longer describe types of hair as I used to say ‘’long strands of hair’’, it will be neutral for you to imagine yourself in the story. It’s all about you guys and how you can visualize the story and the character, if you want to imagine a face claim that’s cool but if you don’t want to it’s cool too. Feel free to read and visualize, it’s all about you. Thank you for the support on my account and my writing. I’m aware that I’m not the best lol, but I also think that I have so much to learn from you just as I have to teach. I’m so grateful for everyone who reads and like my stuff. Never forget that you’re unique, you’re loved, you’re so golden and treat people with kindness always.

   "Why is it so hot in here? It's fucking December!", you'd think to yourself as you drove your new car through the streets of Palm Springs. The thing is that after you moved from Columbia to reside so many years in New York while you were studying English Language and Literature in Yale, you just got so used with the usual colder weather from NY and it's just a different vibe from California. You had such a hard time to decide what you wanted to do after graduating, though. And after a few weeks and some long conversations with your family, you decided you would go to California. Palm Springs, to be more specific. You decided that because you remembered all the times you went there when you were a kid because your grandmother lived in there before she passed. You remember spending your summer vacation with her and how cool it was. It was in the early 2000′s and there was many kids on your age that lived on her street. You remember playing with them all day and then getting back into your grandma’s house and feeling that cinnamon scent that for some one only her house had. It wasn’t a usual cinnamon scent. It had something special in it. It made you feel so warm and welcomed. You remember helping her to bake the most delicious cookies, brownies and cakes in her kitchen. You remember the kitchen had a yellow counter, but the entire kitchen was white. All very pale and then the cheerful yellow in the kitchen that colored everything. You remember going to play bingo with her and how it made her happy to having you around. You both were so close and you had such a hard time when she passed, but the most important was she taught you so many things during your time together, and you’d never forget those things and her.

    As you drove, you’d remember those streets vaguely. You’d pass through the soccer court you typically used to go with the other kids and spent hours playing in there. You were vibing with the song in the stereo as you started getting closer to your new house’s street. It was Carolina by Harry Styles; you have to admit you’re not the biggest Harry Styles fan in the world, but you were definitely a One Direction fan when you were around 16, but you couldn't be considered a directioner either. You just listened to a few songs and thought it was good. But anyway, this specific song is one that you particularly like. It may have something to do with the fact that you’re from Carolina, of course. But it’s more about the vibe and the melody that by being animated it could actually cheer anyone up and the lyrics were undeniably good though, a little sexual, but good. It’s more about the vibe and the melody that by being animated it could actually cheer anyone up and the lyrics were really good though, a little sexual, but good.

    When you turned the right way into the street of your new home, you came across much more than you expected to see on your moving day. There were, as it seemed, paparazzi. Apparently they were shooting a movie right in your street, and it had also many people with many cameras and trailers that probably were dressing rooms. Naturally, you knew that thousands of films were shot in California, that’s obvious. But you didn't expect one to be shooting exactly on your moving day and specifically in your street, let alone that the street would be this crowded since the world is experiencing a global pandemic, ironic. You observed some of the people walking down the street, or should you call it a set? You don't know, but there were many people and many cars, at least they were all wearing masks. It had many classic cars, probably in the 40s or 50s style. They were colorful; vivid colors, though. Colors like yellow, blue and lilac was really present. To resume, the whole street looked like a movie from the 50s and for sure that was the intention because you could notice some extras walking around the set dressed up as 50s people used to.

    As you carefully drive through the street, you’d notice that from what seemed like a divine miracle, there was a vacant parking spot right in front of your house and you can’t help but smile when you see it. The first time you came here to see the house. You were with your family, and that was about four months ago. You just loved the house completely as it had such a different vibe from the place you used to live in New York, and honestly, just the thought of the house made your creativity activate as it had some really cool colored walls and you bought some colored mobile as well. Anyway, you stopped the car right in front of your house finishing the engine and grabbing your mask and putting it in your face as you'd use your hand to get rid of the seat belt and your other hand to open the car door and get out of the car.

    After closing the driver's seat door, you go around the car walking to the trunk where you use the car key to open it. When you open it, you are faced with two cardboard boxes. One was full of books. Books of all kinds, books of period novels, books of suspense, books of investigation and etc. Books that piqued your curiosity and made you want to finish reading it as quickly as possible. The other box was already full of clothes, those last clothes that you would finally be taking home. Your mother has done the biggest job in the moving issue; she was the one who was bringing the furniture and your things while you finished packing the rest of your things to leave New York. You try your hardest not to pay attention to the set of recordings and the people who walked back and forth, at the same time that you tried hard not to make any noise, because if you accidentally disturbed a scene, you would feel extremely embarrassed and would probably not even show up at the gate until the end of filming, but that was not the case. You removed the two boxes from the trunk just before closing it completely. You chose, perhaps, to enter the clothes box first. You bent down taking the box in your arms and walked to the door of the house where you used the key you received from the real-estate agent to unlock it before entering. You immediately noticed that some sunbeams reflected on the living room floor due to the white linen curtain that covered the glass windows. You observed the contrast of the sofa in such a light tone with the lilac wall just behind it. You walked with the box in hand by the door extension to the room where you placed the box on the small coffee table in front of the sofa. Returning out of the house, you can see the figure of a tall man dressed in a brown suit crouched in front of the box of your books. He had brown hair and properly cut. It didn't look like he was messing with your books, but he was definitely looking at them and it seemed like he was trying to read the covers of it for some reason. You slowly got closer to the man's body without making too much noise while you analyzed him, you crossed your arms upon your chest as you noticed the book cover he was looking at: Love is a mixtape by Rob Sheffield.

— This one is amazing! — You said, surprising the man that stand up fastly with the book in his hands connecting his green gaze with yours. He was tall, really tall by the way. His suit seemed perfect, just as his hair. He had a black mask on as a protection but the 16 year old teenager inside of you could never mistake those eyes. It was Harry fricking Styles. You considerated being quiet as you, yourself were pretty surprised now, but then you took your gaze to the book in his hand and then back at his face — It's like comparing love to a popular song that we usually search to define love. Just to find out that love is like oxygen, or love is a kind of drug, or a battlefield for some... — You said referring to the book with a tender smile on your face that Harry couldn't essentially see, but talking about a book that you loved caused this on you. And as you talked you didn't notice that Harry had a smile on his face as well. Maybe it was because you completely ignored the fact that he is Harry Styles and he was messing up your books as he's on the set filming a movie, or maybe it was the fact that he loved this book just as much as you did. He'd use to say this is probably one of the books that if he had to read just one book to the rest of his life, he'd chose this one and he usually had so much to talk about this book and so much to put on an argument about it but now he was completely speechless. He was just tongue tied. He was tongue tied about your reflection of one of his favorite books and how it looked so identical to his own personal reflection. He was tongue tied for the number of great books that he always wanted to read that was on that box. He was tongue tied at the owner of those books and her beauty, her intelligence of her voice and her voice as well so he just chuckled. A nervous chuckle as he leaned his head to look at the floor for a second before looking at you and holding out the book in his hands to you that calmly took it from his hands.

— I know! It's one of my favorite books! — Harry'd ultimately manage to say it as he observed you admiring the cover and running your fingers through it as a truly book lover would do — It's very interesting the interpretation you have of it.

— Don't you agree? — You'd interrupt him rising your head to examine at his face. He seemed paralyzed by some way, little did you know that Harry was mesmerized. He enjoyed the informal way you were speaking with him, and it genuinely felt like you already knew it each for years.

— That's the intriguing part. We have the same interpretation! — He'd say serenely, and then running his hand through his hair as he frown a little because of the sun that just hit on his glowing eyes.

— Well...Maybe you're just trying to imitate me to impress me! — You'd joke, with a mocking expression on your face making Harry giggle at your words and your face. It was the sense of humor to him.

— Oh really? And what makes you think I'm trying to impress you? — Harry'd say back with the same mocking tone that you formerly used. He'd observe your face go from playful to thoughtful in just as you to come up with a response.

— I mean...you were the one looking through my stuff, mister! — You say raising your eyebrows as you utilized one of your hands to take some strands of hair out of your face.

— Right... — Harry said with a defeated voice before as he compressed his lips together and moved his suit away from his shirt a little as he places his hands on his waist — I'm sorry about it, though. There was this box hanging here and I guess I was just intrigued! — He said shyly making you start walking towards the box walking closely to him causing him to feel a hot warm from your body as you passed. You'd bend over to grab the box but was stopped by Harry taking the heavy box from your hands — Let me help you with this! — Harry said as he held the box on his arms.

— There's no need for that. It'll ruin your splendid suit! — You'd say gently to him as he was standing up in front of you carefully holding the loaded box. Legitimately, he looked hot. He properly looked like a 50s husband helping with the moving with this outfit — And if you piss off your costume designer because of me I'll die! — You'd complement receiving a loud laugh from Harry's lips that shook his head while looking at you.

— She’ll be fine! — Harry'd argue back, then get a sigh from you before nodding at him as a statement.

— My house is right there! — You'd say using your right hand to point at your house, watching Harry turn his back to you and start walking towards it. You followed him through the door that was already open. Harry looked at the house immediately. It had a good vibe, and he wouldn't deny it. The choice of colors was exceptional, but he also noticed it was not very tidy, which would probably indicate that you were moving today.

— Where do I leave it? — Harry asked, referring to the box as he went farther into the living room.

— You can just leave it on the floor — You serenely said crossing your arms together and watching as he left the box on the floor and turned around to face you, but then deflecting his gaze to the ceiling before staring at your face again.

— It's a beautiful house! — Harry said as he moved his gaze through the room. He observed everything. He likes to observe. He likes to notice things that maybe other people didn't — Just like the owner, if I might say — Harry said cheekily and charming hearing your giggle invade his ears as you started walking towards the box of books that he previously set on the floor.

— The owner says thank you — You said bending down and starting to take the books out of the box and place it on the coffee table beside you as Harry watched your movements. You shyly looked at him thinking for a second and them smiling under your mask — For both compliments! — You said getting your attention back to the books. It's not that you don't want to give him your attention. It's that you genuinely think that he's just being nice, and he's probably not even interested in anything that you say.

— So... I have to go back to the film now but maybe you can give me your number so we can talk about your interpretation of my favorite book — Harry said shyly. His words took you by surprise actually but you couldn't hold back the smirk you had under your mask as you stand up again turning to face his green eyes. You noticed that he had his phone on his hand, hoping and waiting that you'd give him your number even though both of you knew that the book excuse was nothing more than an excuse as he was truly interested in knowing you.

— Well, it depends... — you said slowly as you took a deep breath before actually saying anything — If you agree to read my favorite books too, I'll give you my number!

— I'd be honored! — Harry chuckled after letting a sigh out feeling relief that you asked for something so simple that he'd love to do if that would make you happy — What's your name? — Harry said as he unblocked his phone screen and started to save your phone number.

— Save it as Elizabeth Bennet in there! — You said fastly with a proud smile on your face as Harry giggled and did as you ask and then looked at your face as he put his phone back on his pocket.

— Only if you save my name as Mr. Darcy when I call you! — Harry said knowing that after this, Pride and Prejudice would definitely become one of his favorite books ever.

[lovelylogans]

honey, you’re familiar (like my mirror)

see other chapters, warnings, and notes here!

chapter three: psycellic consentia

psycellic consentia: psycellium (or psycelium) is a psychic nervous system that allows sensates to connect with one another. sensates have a solitary "above" existence, and are connected "below" via the psycelium. consentia, latin: knowledge shared with others, being in the know or privy to, joint knowledge; complicity; knowledge within oneself, consciousness, feeling.

ROMAN

It hasn’t even been five minutes since Sasha left to grab dinner, but Roman’s already feeling strangely jittery.

A nap would be a fruitless venture, he’s realized, so he’s gotten up to pace around the room, reciting the lines of the scene he’s meant to be filming tomorrow. He knows them all by heart, naturally, but it’ll be an odd scene to shoot anyways. His character, Pablo, would be escaping from the grasp of his friend-turned-betrayer (who would turn out to have been bluffing and truly Pablo’s friend all along by the end of the movie) by sprinting through the forest, making his getaway by leaping into a river and swimming away.

This stunt he doesn’t get to do; he’s already technically filmed the scenes when he’s in the water, and a stunt double will be “jumping off the cliff.” So tomorrow is going to be entirely on-location, acting then sprinting through the forest.

So Roman chants his lines to himself, pacing in his room with his eyes closed, trying his hardest to sink into Pablo’s mindset. And, after a few minutes of running his lines over in his head, it’s like he’s actually walking in the forest; the snap of a twig under his feet, the smell of leaves and dirt, the cooing of various birds.

Roman’s jaw drops, because—because no way. No way.

No fucking way is his brother standing there, with a bundle of twigs tucked up under his arms, staring at Roman the way a kid would stare at a particularly adventurous snail journeying along the ground.

Well, the way Remus would look at an adventurous snail, as a kid. Roman would have probably just fled the snail in favor of playing with wooden swords and rescuing imaginary damsels.

"Aw, c’mon, man, what the fuck," Remus grumbles, looking skyward as if asking for some kind of divine intervention, though Roman knows that's never been the case, much to their chronically Catholic abuela’s dismay.

She probably would have been pleased if Roman tacked on a God rest her soul there, but considering her abysmal reaction when her grandson decided to be an actor and an even worse reaction when her other grandson informed them all that he was, in fact, a grandson, he's never really wanted to please her anyway.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Remus says tightly, dropping his bundle of twigs. 

Remus. Remus is here. Or Roman is there? Whatever, it doesn’t matter, there he is. That’s Roman’s brother.

“What, are you trying to lure me in for the police to catch me? Because it’s not going to fucking work, Roman.” 

God, he’s alive, he doesn’t look hurt, he’s—well, actually, Roman has no idea if he’s safe or not. He just kind of looks like he’s dirty, with scraggly hair and smudges on his face. This alone isn’t entirely unusual for Remus, but the amount of it is. But—he’s here. He’s alive. He has some form of shelter, he’s probably been eating, he’s okay—

“Or are you just here to—”

Roman staggers forward and flings his arms around Remus’ neck, hugging him as tight as he can, almost as if he can feel what Remus feels, the arms wrapping around his neck and the arms wrapping around his torso in kind, feeling echoes of what he does, and what Remus does, bouncing between like a seismic shock.

Across the world, Janus smiles in his sleep; Emile wiggles happily in his chair while waiting for his next therapy session; Patton grins at a wall about nothing in particular; Logan touches his own shoulders, blinking rapidly in surprise at the weight of phantom arms holding him close.

REMY

Remy is used to experiencing emotions that aren’t his.

When he feels a near-violent joy sprouting up in his chest, he pauses briefly in pouring a customer a cup of coffee to put a hand on his chest and smile to himself.

He’ll ask Emile what’s got him so happy later. He’s just happy that Emile is happy.

REMUS

Remus blinks at Roman after Roman pulls back from the hug, hands on his shoulders, still beaming at him.

“—For a while I thought that you were coming to stay at my apartment with me, but then you never showed, and I was worried sick wondering where you were all this time. I’ve been reading all about the case—oh, that doesn’t matter now, we’re together! Now you can come here to the city, and I can post your bail so you can stay with me, and I can get you a really good lawyer, and—!”

“You’ve been reading about the case?” Remus says, his voice sounding strange even to his own ears.

Roman blinks at him. “Yeah?” There’s an unspoken duh in his tone.

“So you know that I’m the main suspect,” Remus prompts.

“Yeah…”

“So, you,” Remus says, “acting sweetheart of the nation with your dear fake girlfriend—you want to bring in a dirty gremlin accused of murder? The sibling the whole country doesn’t even know you have?” 

Roman looks suddenly anxious, as if expecting Remus to blow up and yell at him.

“Do you even think I’m innocent?” Remus continues, only faking his bluster a little.

“I mean,” Roman says. “It doesn’t really matter to me.”

“Does what matter?” Remus says. The bluster is much more faked this time.

“I mean, you’re my brother,” Roman says. “I don’t really care if you killed him or not.” 

Remus bursts out laughing.

Roman gawks at him, caught off guard, and Remus doesn’t know if it’s just from seeing Roman again, or the fact that he’s been on the run for over a week now and has only been eating the plants a hallucination taught him about, or what, but the expression on his face is just too good.

Roman! Who regularly gets caught in the tabloids! Getting a snapshot of him escorting a man wanted for murder into his warm, loving home! The mental image of the shocked expression on any pap’s face is just—oh, it would be so perfect.

“And your ‘girlfriend?’” Remus says, using air quotes. “Does she know about me?”

“No, but,” Roman says, still with that stupidly heroic, determined look on his face. “I’ll tell her. I’ll tell her tonight, even. She’ll understand.”

Right. If anyone else was as much of a media darling, it was Roman’s fake girlfriend, with her big, brown, innocent eyes and absolute inability to seem like she’s used to being famous.

“Oh, that’s too good,” Remus chortles. “Yeah, Roman. Okay. Sure. You go ahead and tell her.”

“I’m gonna!”

“Sure, fine,” Remus says, waving him off. “Make arrangements to bring your murderous brother home. I’ll catch a bus or something, I’m sure no cop is gonna see me and arrest me on the way to your apartment.” 

“I will,” Roman says, firm and resolute, and Remus just shakes his head, grinning still.

Of the pair of them, people seemed to think Remus was the crazy one when it was clear that Roman was absolutely bonkers. But at least he’d grown a pretty good sense of humor since Remus had been accused of killing someone.

JANUS

“Fucking finally, Jazza.”

Janus considers getting up and walking right back out, but unfortunately, his stomach is already set on fish and chips with the made-in-house sauce here. He wearily begins to weigh the costs of putting up with Key and the nickname “Jazza” against the benefits of sriracha aioli. 

And money. The money ends up winning out every time.

Three more jobs, Janus tells himself. Just three more jobs, and then you don’t have to put up with the risk anymore. Two, if one of them has a bigger compensation than average, and for the quality of my work...

It’s a lie, of course. Janus has been telling himself three more jobs ever since he clawed his way onto the bar standards board, years ago.

“What’s been going on with you, anyway?” Key says around a mouthful of chips, which garbles his speech beyond recognition. Unfortunately, Janus has known Key long enough that he can translate it with ease.

“Chew with your mouth closed and clean up your face,” Janus says, unable to stop himself. Habits are difficult to kill, Janus supposes.

Key rolls his eyes but obligingly blots at his face with a napkin. “D’you got it?”

Janus offers a small box wrapped like a present in answer. Inside is a hard drive containing the information their client had requested.

Key takes it, grinning, and stuffs it into his hoodie pocket.

“Be careful with that,” Janus scolds.

“You say that every time,” Key says. “Have I ever lost one of your—”

Janus glares at him.

“—one of the fruits of your labor?” Key says, quickly back-pedaling, realizing they’re in a public setting and a waitress is fast approaching with Janus's order.

“This smells amazing.”

Janus tries his best not to startle, but even with two days to process what the man in his mirror had told him, it’s still bizarre.

The actor beside him looks briefly embarrassed as if he hadn’t meant to say that aloud. Janus glances over at him—a member of his cluster, what an unappealing word—and sees a glimpse of a cramped little trailer. On a movie set, probably? He’s wearing leather pants and a leopard-print shirt that Janus has the feeling he’d never wear in real life.

Janus also feels the grumbling in Roman’s stomach. Janus sighs to himself.

“And another basket of chips with extras of that same sauce, please.”

“You got it, lovey,” she says, turning to go.

“Extra hungry, then?” Key says.

“Something like that,” Janus says neutrally. Without asking for Janus's permission—maybe knowing Janus was about to offer anyway—Roman reaches out and gulps deeply from Janus's Ribena.

“How’s,” Janus says, briefly casts about in his mind for the name of the latest love of Key’s life, and lands on, “Francesca?”

Key snorts. “Ancient history, mate.”

Not exactly surprising. Key’s always fancied himself a romantic, but he’s never been able to follow through on his commitment to anything ever.

“M’goin’ on a date with a bird tonight, though,” he says around a mouthful of chips.

“For God’s sake, Key, could you at least pretend you weren’t raised in a barn?” Janus snips at him, even as he’s dunking his own chips into the aioli.

Key grins at him, and Janus wrinkles his nose. He can tell Roman is doing the same beside him. They share the same sentiment at the moment, but it’s Roman’s “that’s disgusting” that falls out of his mouth.

He realizes why Key’s brow furrows a moment too late.

“Uh, bless you?” Key says; the closest he’s ever been to the Mexican vernacular of Spanish is ordering a fajita at a local Tex-Mex restaurant.

“Oops,” Roman says, not particularly apologetically. He grabs another handful of chips.

“I’m studying in my spare time,” he says and fixes Key with a look. “A hobby you could choose to emulate.”

“What’d I need more school for?” He scoffs. “Ten years was well enough.”

“To aspire for more for yourself—”

“Oh, here we go,” Key snaps, tossing down the piece of battered cod he was about to eat, splattering sauce on the wood table. “I am so sick of your “high and mighty” act.”

He mimics Janus's accent at high and mighty; Janus grits his teeth, and very purposefully enunciates his next few sentences.

“This cannot last forever, you understand.”

“No, just so long as you get rich off it, eh?”

“Um,” Roman says. “I’d offer to go and leave you two to duke this one out in private, but I’m not really sure how to stop this weird astral projection thing—”

Janus ignores him.

“Oh, as if being a lawyer doesn’t pay enough. Put your brain to some use and think, why is it that I keep helping you?!” Janus snaps, leaning across the table and softening his voice. “Why on earth do you think I continue with this?!”

“Spare me,” Key scoffs. 

“The only reason I keep doing this is because you keep doing this,” Janus hisses. “The only reason I became a lawyer was because of you getting us into trouble.”

“Don’t—” Key says, his face twisting up.

“It is because of me we are not rotting in jail, Quirinus. I’m sure it’s such a burden I want more for you.”

“It’s Key,” he grumbles before he rolls his eyes at Janus and tilts his baseball cap at him in farewell. “And since you have aspired to more for yourself, and since being a big fancy lawyer does pay so much, and since you saved me,” this is said with heavy sarcasm, “you fucking prat, you can get the bill. Much obliged, big brother.”

As he walks off, he tosses a “wanker” over his shoulder for good measure, jamming his orange cap onto his head.

Janus pinches the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply.

There’s a pause. 

Then: the slurping of someone draining his Ribena.

Janus opens his eyes and turns his head to Roman, who’s chasing the last drops of Ribena about the glass with a straw.

“So, he’s probably not finishing that, right?” Roman says. Without waiting for an answer, he grabs a handful of chips and shoves them into his mouth. “‘Cause I’ve been waiting for Sasha to come back with dinner for like an hour now and I’m starving,” he says loudly while chewing.

Janus's jaw is slightly unhinged.

“You are a pestilence upon my life,” he says at last.

Roman smirks at him, mercifully close-mouthed, and swallows down the food that Janus supposes he’ll be paying for. Janus is certain that Roman is doing this to annoy him.

“Wait ‘till you have to deal with my brother.” He dunks the cod into the sauce. “Also, how much do you know about what’s going on here, anyway? Why do random people keep popping into my life?” 

Janus lowers his voice so they aren’t heard by any random passerby.

“Allegedly, we are known as sensates. I assume you’ve been seeing other people—we’re stuck seeing them psychically for the rest of our lives, as well as sharing specific skills, languages, emotions…”

Roman reaches for Key’s Ribena and drains that too.

“Tastes,” Janus adds pointedly. “That the other is paying for.”

“Yeah, exactly, you’re paying for it,” Roman says, and grabs another piece of cod. “It won’t go to waste now.”

“You won’t even get the nutritional benefits of eating food,” Janus says. “You’ll just get the taste of it.”

“Still, you’re getting your money’s worth. I’m helping.”

“Aren’t you rich?” Janus says. “Being an actor and all.”

“Aren’t you?” Roman counters. “Being a lawyer and all.”

Roman jams the cod into the ramekin of sauce.

“Either way, this place sure won’t take pesos, and it’s not like I can psychically transfer you money. Hey, how much do you know about Mexican law, anyways?” He takes a massive bite.

Janus puts his face into his hands for a few moments, before he reaches into his messenger pad and pulls out a legal pad and pen.

“Enough,” he says grudgingly—truthfully, not quite as much as English law. However, with this whole connection thing, they do share knowledge, so he certainly knows more now than he did before. He gestures at the waitress for another couple of Ribenas. “Why don’t you refresh me on the details of your brother’s case?”

PATTON

Patton frowns, tapping his pen against his chin as his kindergartners are all sprawled out on their mats for their post-lunch nap. He usually takes advantage of this time to catch up on marking (normally, just putting “good job!” stickers on their papers, they’re five) but right now he’s staring at something he’d written down out of the blue and trying to understand it.

He knows that he’s technically a sensate now, but does that mean his kindergartners are going to have to put up with scrawlings about Mexican flora when Patton had meant to be writing down the activities of the day?

“Aw, jeez,” someone grumbles, and Patton turns to look over his shoulder.

He grins sheepishly at the sight of an academic article plastered over with shiny star stickers. “Oops.”

The man is familiar and yet not; Patton doesn’t think he’s seen this one outside of briefly popping in and out. 

The man sighs, turning the paper over and then looking back at Patton.

“At least they’re purple,” he grumbles, and within a heartbeat, he’s gone. Patton returns his attention to his marking.

Oh, yay, he did end up putting stickers on the kiddos’ papers!

LOGAN

Not many people were particularly aware of this, especially considering the average population was generally unaware of the space research in Antarctica, but the cafeterias here are actually excellent.

In the history of Antarctic explorers and researchers, it had gone quite differently—Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean ate seal, dog meat, and biscuits mixed with melted snow during the Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914—but chefs now seem to view it as an intriguing challenge, a way to sharpen their skills. 

Logan is an adequate enough cook, to the point where he can feed himself at home, but the food here is on another level. He’s finishing off his dessert, a lovely chocolate tart when a chef sits across from him at the dinner table, the same one that had served him his tray tonight.

He doesn’t know her well, so he hopes he’s disguised her squint at her nametag under the guise of adjusting his glasses.

“Very well done, Dot,” he says, lifting his fork to his mouth.

“Oh, good, you are one of us,” she says, with a level of relief that seems odd for hearing a compliment about her cooking. “I was wondering, Casimire gave me the oddest look when I told him to head off early so I could make eye contact with you.”

“What are you—?” Logan says, eyes narrowed, before his eyes flash to the kitchen, automatically looking for Casimire, the chef he’s most used to seeing.

True enough, Casimire isn’t there.

But Dot is here.

Dot is here twice.

Dot is sitting at the table with him. But Dot is smiling and chatting with one of the marine biology research team members, ten feet away. But—

“Oh, I can hear that brain working,” Dot says. She reaches out to pat his hand; it feels as warm and real as a hand can feel.

“What is this,” Logan forces through numb lips, appetite gone, chocolate tart entirely forgotten. “What are you—what is happening—?”

“Shh, shh, not too loud,” Dot says in a hushed voice. “To everyone else, it looks like you’re sitting alone. Here—you’ve got your bag with you, did you pack your earpiece?”

Logan nods.

“Put that in.”

He does as she says. What else is there to do?

The Dot in the kitchen turns to wink and smile at him reassuringly. He isn’t sure how to tell the Dot before him that there is absolutely nothing in this situation that could comfort him, and pointing out that there are two of her and that he is seeing things is not a particularly good way to go about it regardless.

He fumbles with the earpiece a few times, but he puts it in and clicks it on.

“There,” she says in satisfaction. “Now it’ll look like you’re talking over Bluetooth. Neat little trick, isn’t it? Keeps us from looking,” and she circles her ear with her finger and gives a two-note whistle, the universal sign for off your rocker. “I’m surprised your parent hasn’t taught you yet, but I suppose you are very new. Has your migraine stopped yet?”

Logan gawks at her. “How did you know I have a—?”

“Because I had one too when it all started,” she says. “All of us do. Let me tell you, I really wasn’t expecting to see a sensate down here, but I guess when you come to a place like this nothing should surprise you, right? That’s what my Larry said. But this’ll be handy, he was hoping I could meet a nice scientist to connect to the Archipelago! You’re an astronomer, right? That’s a very brainy subject.”

“Wait, go back,” Logan says. “How did you know I have a migraine? Why are you talking about my mother? Why should she have taught me about using Bluetooth? What does a group of islands have to do with anything, and what’s a sensate?”

The smile on Dot’s face slips.

“Oh dear,” she says. “Oh dear, you don’t know anything at all, do you?”

Logan gives her an offended look before he can really stop himself.

“Well,” Dot says thoughtfully. “A scientist. I bet you’d be really interested in the opportunity to send a question around the world within seconds, wouldn’t you?”

“Google exists,” Logan points out.

Dot smiles at him. “Where do you think they got the idea? Sapiens invented it in the 1990s; we’ve had it since the Neolithic.”

Against his better judgment to stop listening to what is most likely to be a hallucination, Logan finds himself very intrigued.

VIRGIL

Virgil is elbow-deep in papers about abrus precatorius, sorting them into piles for useful information or irrelevant when there’s the sound of someone hitting their knees beside him.

Virgil jumps, startled, and looks into the stunning blue eyes of Logan, the handsome Pole in Antarctica. His eyes are bright, eager, excited, and there’s a wide smile on his face.

“We’re not hallucinating,” he declares and spreads out an armful of his own notes; hastily taken, from the look of it, and he presses his fingers against an earpiece that’s blinking blue light. “Oh, and get one of these, by the way, technology has apparently made things much better for us, Dot said we’d get burned during the witch trials because we’d be talking to people who weren’t there and knowing things we shouldn’t know, but I think that’s an exaggeration. I wish there was a more central written history, but I suppose we’ve evolved in a way that word-of-mouth knowledge is the most efficient, haven’t we?”

There’s a lot of thoughts whirling around Virgil’s head—what do you mean, how do you know, why are we talking about witch burnings and evolution—but what comes out, a bit stupidly, is “You look good.”

Logan’s rambling stops in his tracks as he stares at Virgil, bemused, mouth slightly ajar.

“Um, I mean,” Virgil says. He coughs. “You look… less worried than last time. Which is. Good!” 

Logan keeps staring. With his lips parted like that, it’s all too easy to see that Logan must have licked them, recently; the sheen of it catches Virgil’s eye. He stares at Logan’s mouth. He stares at Logan.

Stop it stop it stop it he’ll think you’re weird, something in his brain shrieks, and that breaks the spell.

“So, uh, you’ve figured out what’s happening to us?” Virgil prompts.

Logan shakes himself, before he spreads out his papers, picking up one in particular. Virgil takes it, examining it; it’s two sketches of a brain. He’s familiar enough with biology by virtue of having doctors for parents to know that the sketch on the right side of the paper is not right. 

There’s something wrong with this brain.

“This,” Logan says, tapping the leftmost brain with his finger, “is the typical human brain.”

“Right, yeah,” Virgil says, frowning, and points to the rightmost brain. Their hands almost touch. “There’s something wrong with this one—something about the hemispheres, I think? It’s like there’s a growth.”

Logan moves to point to the rightmost brain, and this time, their hands do brush. But, before Virgil can think anything about it other than his hands are soft and he feels a little cold—

“This is what our brains are becoming.”

Virgil immediately panics.

“But it’s okay!” Logan says quickly as if he’s able to tell. Maybe he can—Virgil isn’t sure how clear it reads on his face. Or maybe, the way he’s been laughing at nothing or frowning at thin air, Logan can feel it. “It’s okay, it’s totally natural for us. For homo sapiens, no, but for homo sensorium—”

“Homo sensorium?” Virgil repeats, brow furrowed.

“It’s what we are,” Logan says. “Scientific name homo sensorium, colloquial name sensate.”

Sensate. Virgil hears the word, and something slips in place in his mind—it’s as if he’s heard that term before. It feels like breathing in a whiff of air and catching the scent of a sweet that sends your memory careening back to a time when you were seven and elbow-deep in dough with your grandmother. But it’s like he can’t quite fully grasp the memory. Something niggles just at the edge of it. It’s like his brain is trapped on the grandparent metaphor because he cannot stop thinking about his mother’s mother.

He sets the memory aside, for now; he’ll have time to think of it later.

Because, as Logan explains everything he’s learned so far, Virgil has absolutely zero chance of thinking about anything else. 

They spend most of the night talking about it. Even with all the bizarre aspects of what this new information brings, it’s easy to talk to Logan in a way that isn’t typical of Virgil speaking with other people. Virgil isn’t sure if that’s because they share this psychic connection, or if they’re both doctors, or if it’s some other connection.

“The way it was phrased is that we’re different types of human, but I don’t think we’re so different that it sets us apart from other people. From what I understand, the growth of our population is primarily due to epigenetic factors…”

Okay, so, primarily due to how behaviors and environments affect his genes. But what epigenetic factor triggered this in Virgil? Was this a dormant thing that could be triggered by ingesting some sort of chemical, or was it due to the way Virgil behaved? Had he done something in his life to cause all of this?

“A lot of the science is conjecture,” Logan warns, “and there was apparently some big corporation intent on doing medical experimentation on us ten or so years ago, but that’s mostly handled, you just have to be more careful about making eye contact with strangers in public…”

Oh, great, scientists hunted them down for medical experimentation so now he had to closely guard himself in any hospital! What a thrilling thing to hear for the son of two doctors!

“I’ve gathered that we can “share” certain skills or memories and that these things will become easier with practice. That’s why I could speak Xhosa and you Polish when we first met, it was the skill-sharing attribute, which could certainly come in handy for several reasons, but I also understand that we can visit each other at various times. There’s apparently a medicine you can take to block it, but it’s rather rare to come by, so unless you know a pharmacist willing to do some work under the table…”

That would almost definitely come to bite one of them in the ass at some point. What about privacy? Was he just doomed to have people from all over the world pop in on him while he’s in the shower or something?

“Dot said that she met her husband Larry through the connection, which drove off into a whole side-tangent. Apparently, romantic partners in clusters—that’s the widely accepted term, ‘cluster.’” 

Virgil pulls a face.

“I know, they could have picked literally any other more appealing word for it, couldn’t they? Bunch, group, flock, clique, assemblance—Anyways, romantic partnerships within clusters are somewhat common, and most of the sensate community finds it quite normal. I think our parent is in one, or at least that’s what Dot said.”

Logan clears his throat and adjusts his glasses. “Apparently some of the old-fashioned sensates think it’s like—what was it Dot’s parent said?—”the worst sort of narcissism.” Apparently, her parent was very displeased to be a parent and wanted nothing to do with creating bonds. I personally think that’s a rather backwards—humanity survives and thrives due to its ability to create bonds and care for each other—but I suppose I tend to think that way about a lot of old-fashioned things.”

“I guess I do, too,” Virgil muses aloud.

They sit quietly, for a while, so quietly that Virgil doesn’t notice when Logan slips away; the only thing that does bring him back from his swirling thoughts is when a voice breaks Virgil’s silence. It sends the emotions of knowing what’s happening to him shattering to the ground.

“Who on earth are you talking to?”

[blackbyakko]

Cruella has potential

Okay, I just saw the Cruella trailer and .... well it's not great. However, I keep seeing people saying that Cruella is a poor choice of protagonist, and I actually high key disagree. I actually think that she'd make an amazing protagonist, all without comprosing the character that we all love to hate. Now before y'all take up your torches, hear me out here, because Disney's actually has made Cruella a protagonist before, and they did it well without making her redeemable.

Protagonist

First off, please repeat after me: a protagonist doesn't have to be a good person.

A protagonist is by definition, merely the central figure of a story. They don't have to be a hero or a villian, just the character at the heart of the story. A good example? Din Dijarin from the Mandolorian. He is not a hero (I will fight peeps on this with a foam sword), he is a protagonist. He does good things and is a good Papa, but he is a bounty hunter. He will and has done morally questionable and possibly disagreeable things for a paycheck. My DnD brain would call him something between a lawful and a true neutral but that's a WHOLE different essay.

If you want a more villanous example of a protagonist, I would like to direct the class to the Artemis Fowl novels. Artemis is a little d*ck. He openly kidnaps, extorts, and threatens the lives of multiple characters throughout the course of the first novel (I've only read the first book). He is not a good person, but he is an excellent character. He was a little shit and we loved to hate him. He had goals, obsticals to overcome, and actual character development. And no, I don't think character development has to be an upward development to be good. They character can be bad, and all that matters is that it's interesting. That's why so many of us love villain origin stories.

Now, what Disney did with the adaptation of Artemis was horrible. Like gag me with a spoon horrible. Like I'd rather sit through It's a Small World on loop for 8 hours straight horrible. And the reason? Artemis was stripped of all interesting characteristics in favor of being a more santized 'traditional' protagonist. They made the villain of a story a hero, without any preamble of how he got to this point. Now, how does this apply to Cruella you ask? Well, I'm more than happy to tell you!

A Cruella Adaptation that Worked

Now, this is NOT the first time Disney has made Cruella sympathetic, in a live action, or a protagonist.

Does anybody remember Once Upon a Time? Well I do and I will never forgive the fact that Swan Queen didn't become cannon. But that's not the point here. Once Upon a Time was a show dedicated to exploring the nuances of Disney's fairy tale characters as just that, characters. We get the stereotypical, "oh but there lives were so hard" sympathy bait, but here's the thing: when they do it, it works not because the charcter is misunderstood, but because they don't have the character turn away from what they have done. They own up to it and for better or worse, it pushes their character forward, and not always in a moral good direction. They literally had Snow f*cking White of all people murder a woman, for, by her own admittance, purely selfish reasons. She killed because she wanted to do it, the neccesity behind it merely a justification. And she actually owns up to it and it makes her a more compelling and interesting character. Now on to Cruella.

Cruella DeVil was the main (main not only) protagonist in the OUAT episode, Sympathy for the De Vil. We go into her backstory and basically learns what makes her tick.

Or rather, what we think makes her tick. This is Cruella. Looks like a nice gal right? Maybe a slight case of crazy eyes, but hey, I get the same look whenever I'm hangry. We are set up to believe that Cruella is simply a victim of circumstance, with an overprotective and abusive mother, a forcefully sheltered life, and the simple desire to see what lies beyond the walls of her suffocating cage. Pretty sympatheic backstory for a would be puppy killer right?

Well, in the same episode here's what we learn: she's locked away, not for her protection, but for others. Cruella has killed people on multiple occassions, with no rhyme or reason other that she could. She tricks the man who sought to save her from her 'horrible mother', steals his source of power, and uses it to kill her mother and skin her dogs, giving her her signature coat. In the present day, her whole goal was to actually regain her ability to directly commit murder (as the man she tricked used magic to rob her of that ability). She was not sympathetic. She is cruel for the heck of it, and loves every second.

And because she loves it, so do we. Or at the very least we're much more engaged. This is how you do a villanous protagonist right. They don't need to be sympatheic for us to like them. Honestly, they don't even need to be relatable. Hell, we don't even have to like them! They just needto be enjoyable, and able to provide us a connecting point to care about (or hate) them. Most people like to fantasize about indulging in our inner villian, so let us. It's okay to have problematic characters as our main characters as long as the rest of the story (through other character's reactions, setting, ect.) makes sure that we know that they're problematic.

Cruella De Vil is a horrid, reprehensible diva who we all love to hate. So let us hate her Disney! Cruella could be such a compelling movie is that's the direction they choose to take it. They have the potential with this character and as we've seen from the example above, they've done it before. So do I have a lot of hopes for this film? Eh...not really. But it does have potential, and I hope to god they take advantatge of it.

[ruthoakenshield]

Very Good Friends (Chapter 13)

Catch up here: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8]  [Chapter 9]  [Chapter 10]  [Chapter 11]  [Chapter 12]

Reader x Henry Cavill, Reader x co-star named Dan

Warning: This tale is for 18+ readers ONLY!!!   Mentions of flashbacks: (rape, anal sex, non-con sex, abuse), severe   bruising and injury, mentions of suicidal thoughts, depression,   humiliation, and some fluff to make us feel better. Smut comes later on   in the story… Several chapters down the road… I promise!!!

If  ANY  of the warnings upset you or make you uncomfortable, DO NOT read  below  the cut! go find something else to read in this case.

If you are okay with reading those things then enjoy the tale below the cut.

Feedback  and reblogs are appreciated. I do not own Henry nor do I have any   personal knowledge of him besides what is common knowledge amongst the   Cavillary. Any mistakes and typos are mine, story is not beta-tested.   GIF I got from the tumbler search thingy.

**********

“Well, Sweetie, what do you want to do now? We have two hours before we need to be at the meeting?” he asks.

“Can I just nap. I’m still tired.” You ask in a whisper. Henry chuckles. “That’s fine, Kitten. You want to nap here on the sofa or on the bed?” he asks. You think for a moment. “Can I sleep on your bed?” you ask. Henry nods. “Sleep wherever you want, Kitten.” He tells you. “Do you need some help to the bed?” he asks.

You stand slowly and wobble a bit. “Yeah, kinda wobbly.” You say. He chuckles and helps you to the bed. “Thanks, Henry.” You say with a yawn. “Get some rest, Kitten.” He tells you. And sits by you on the edge of the bed. “I’ll be around, if you need something just let me know.” He tells you. You nod and close your eyes. You’re out like a light pretty quickly and he caresses your sleeping face, then gets up and heads out of the bedroom, pulling the door closed and just leaving a small gap for him to hear you calling if you need something.

Your phone is sitting on the table and begins to ring, Henry picks it up and sees it is your agent, so he answers it. He explains that you just got back from a second trip to the hospital and why you went, and that you are now sleeping off the last of the sedative they gave you.

She is surprised to hear you had to make a second trip and asks if they got everything taken care of. Henry assures her that they did and that you got a stronger antibiotic now.

She tells him she was calling to see how you were doing and wondered how the counseling session went. He tells her what was talked about and the counselor’s suggestions. He says that so far, they seem to be working as you haven’t had a nightmare since she gave you the tips. The agent asks if Henry thinks you’ll be able to go back to work this week if the directors, producers and studio decide to proceed with the film. He says he isn’t sure. That you’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster and your vocal cords have been damaged and you’re still whispering cuz your throat is still hurting.

He tells her that you’re gonna just have to take things one day at a time and see how you do. She tells him she understands.

She asks if the two of you are going to be able to make it to the meeting at 2pm. He tells her he plans on being there with you, but that the doctor said you might still be pretty groggy from the meeting and might not remember much of it. She says she will let the studio know since they were asking. She thanks Henry for taking care of you and letting you stay with him. He says he is happy to do so and they hang up.

Henry sighs and decides a nap wouldn’t be a bad idea so he sets his alarm for 1:30pm and turns the ringer up so it will wake the two of you but not give you a heart attack. Then he takes it into his room, puts the phone on the nightstand and curls up next to you, spooning you and falls asleep.

**********

Henry and you wake to his alarm going off. You both groan and he sits up and shuts it off. “Come on, Kitten,” he tells you, “we gotta get ready for the meeting.”

You moan and try to tuck your head under the pillows, but Henry just chuckles and picks you up. You squeak and he carries you to the bathroom. Sitting you on the counter, he takes a washcloth and gets it wet with warm water. He washes your face and then rinses it off. “Honey, we’re gonna need to put a pair of your short shorts on and a tank top under your sweats. They might want you to show our castmates the bruises Dan gave to you so they understand how bad he hurt you and so they will be careful when they are filming with you so you aren’t hurt again.” You’re frowning. “I don’t want to go to the meeting.” You tell him.

Henry sighs and sits on the edge of the tub. Looking up at you. “I know, Kitten, but they need you there. Everyone misses you and they need to understand what Dan did to you and why he’s trying so hard to smear your good name and reputation.” He explains. “You don’t want them to grab you or hug you too hard where you’re bruised, right? They won’t know, Sweetheart, unless you show them. You don’t have to expose yourself completely, Honey. Just put your short shorts on so they can see the bruises on your thighs, and put a tank top on that you can pull up to just under your breasts so they can see the bruising on your torso and arms. Okay? I’ll be right with you, Kitten.” He tells you.

You sigh and just stare at your feet. “Hey, Kitten, don’t bail on me.” He says, standing and taking your face in his one hand as he holds you gently with the other. “I know you want to just hide, Sweetheart, but I need you to stay with me mentally, Honey. You can do it, we’re all your friends, we all love you and care about you, and are here to support you.

We need to get together and talk with everyone about this, so we are all on the same page with you and know what’s going on in your pretty little noggin’. We need to try to figure out what to do with the film. The studio has to try to figure out if we’re going to be able to save it and continue production, or if we’re just gonna have to say, “fuck it’ and scrap the whole thing.” He tells you.

You sigh. “I’m sorry, Hen. This is all my fault. If I only would’ve reported him from the get go, none of this would’ve happened.” You say hoarsely.

“Kitten, it’s not your fault.” Henry tells you firmly as he holds your face to look at his. “If it’s anyone’s fault it’s ours. We saw what was going on and figured it wasn’t bothering you enough to report it. We failed to stop this harassment and assault.” He tells you. “But ultimately, the one all the blame needs to fall on is Dan, because he is the one who instigated it all and didn’t listen to your requests to stop, Kitten.

Now, come on. Let’s get you changed into the shorts and tank top, then you can put your sweats back on and I’ll help you get your boots and coat back on and we’ll head to the studio’s office.” He tells you as he gently puts you down on the floor. “How’s the pain?” he asks. “Do you want me to bring your pain meds?” he asks.

You shrug. “It’s better now. I’m just achy from the bruising and the rape.” You tell him. “Can you make me more tea though with some honey in it? My throat feels dry and scratchy.” You ask.

He nods, kisses the top of your head, then goes to the kitchen and flips the switch on the electric kettle on the counter. In no time, he hands you a travel mug of hot lemon tea with honey.”

You changed into your superman short shorts, and wonderwoman tank top to try to help you be brave, and you put your sweats back on. You’re now standing in the living room and have your coat on and he asks if you’re gonna be able to walk the distance there or if you want him to carry you. “I’ll try to walk as far as I can, Hen. If I get too sore, you can carry me the rest of the way.” You tell him. He nods.

The two of you head out and he makes sure both doors of the trailer close, then he takes your arm gently and links it with his and the two of you slowly make your way across the property to the studio office.

You get about halfway there and say, “Hen, I’m getting too sore. Can you carry me the rest of the way?” you ask. He gives you a warm smile and nods. Gently, he picks you up bridal style and carries you to the studio’s offices. One of your costars sees him coming with you in his arms and they quickly go to open the door for you both. They’re trying not to stare too much at the bruises on your neck and you’re subdued expression. You tuck your head down and lean against Henry’s shoulder.

The two of you get into the meeting room and Henry gently sets you down off to the side near the back of the room. He helps you take off your jacket and scarf, setting them on the sofa. You stand close to him and he shrugs off his jacket and then wraps an arm around your back. Both your agents come over and greet you. They ask you if you’d be willing to show your co-stars the bruising on your arms, torso and thighs. You look nervous at first. “Honey, you can keep your privates covered, we just want them to understand that it wasn’t just sex he had with you, they need to see how badly he hurt you.” They explain.

You sigh and look up at Henry. “It’s okay, Kitten. I’ll be right here. No one will hurt you or get upset with you. They may get upset, but it’s going to be directed at Dan, not you.” He tells you. You nod. “Okay.” You whisper. They thank you and head back over to the studio heads, director and producers.

You and Henry sit on the sofa and you just lean against him and tremble. He wraps his arms around you trying to encourage you and tell you it’ll be alright.

Slowly your co-stars begin to arrive and come and say “hi.” They see you’re still skittish and not feeling like your normal self and are concerned. They look at Henry with worried expressions. He tries to have a neutral one himself, but they can see his concern for the whole situation.

Once everyone was present, the Studio executives, Producers, and Director discuss what’s happened, your relationship with both Henry and with your attacker; and you and Henry maintained that you both are just very very close friends right now and he is helping you through the ordeal and that your relationship is not sexual, despite the rumors swirling around set about the two of you living together.

Your agents explain what Dan and his PR are trying to do and have you and Henry come up and you take your sweatshirt off and just have the camisole underneath. You pull up the camisole to just under your breasts to show your co-stars what Dan did to the outside of your body. You also pull your sweatpants down to your knees and show them how bruised your thighs and ass are from his attack.

When you remove your sweat shirt, there’s a collective gasp from your costars when they see your upper arms, and entire torso and neck are black and purple from bruises; and when you show them the black and blue bruises on your thighs and ass, they begin to murmur about Dan and how much they want to hang him for what he’s done.

As you get your clothing back on, Henry explains to them (with your permission) what the doctor told him about your internal injuries and how Dan dislodged your IUD by how rough he was being when he fucked you.

Henry also tells them that the Doctor told him Dan must’ve had some kind of ribbed or nubbed cock sleeve on that shredded the walls of your pussy, your ass and your throat because of how long Dan fucked you without using lube.

He tells them that the two of you just got back from a second trip to the hospital because of the bladder infection that flared up which was also caused by the prolongued raping. Henry informs them of how painful this whole experience has been for you and how you needed to have surgery to remove the damaged IUD and replace it. He told them that the Doctor said you were lucky because Dan could’ve easily broken the IUD with how hard he must’ve fucked you to have dislodged it; and Henry explained what could’ve happened if that would’ve happened.

He also explains that Dan damaged your vocal cords when he choked you and shoved his dick down your throat with that cock sleeve on and that you are still dealing with an extremely sore throat and are trying to salvage your voice, as it is very hoarse and that you have only been able to talk quietly or whisper.

Everyone sat there in shock, and then looked at you leaning against Henry with his arm around you protectively. You wore a disconnected expression on your face. Many grumbled at what all was explained and they all agreed that Dan needs to be held accountable for all this and for jeopardizing the film. Nearly everyone tells you they are SO sorry this happened to you and apologizes for not reporting Dan’s harassment sooner.

You nod and thank them with a quiet, hoarse voice.

The director and studio executives thank you for coming and being willing to explain to them and letting everyone see what all happened.

You and Henry go to sit at the back of the room and the Studio executives, Director and Producers move on with the meeting. They inform everyone that they are fine with your relationship and living arrangements with Henry as long as it doesn’t interfere with filming and PR. They talk with you all about the case and Henry mentioned you were seeing a counselor to help work out your feelings and thoughts regarding everything. They were all happy to hear this and encouraged you to keep seeing her.

The group of you discussed the PR stunt Dan and his team have pulled and how they are combating it. The public, though initially had an outcry of fury towards the studio, once it got out what REALLY happened, Dan’s PR stunt majorly backfired. They tell everyone that they believe when the plans are announced to the public, that they will be appeased that Dan’s presence from the movie is being completely scrapped.

The executives discuss the court case and that they are going to go after Dan and his team for damages both to the studios for lost revenue, time, and medical bills the studio now has to pay, and also for slander of you and are seeking damages for you because of all the pain and suffering he has caused you.

They also discuss the rest of filming, and explain that the release date has been pushed back but they don’t have an exact date. They are replacing Dan with a different actor to play his character and that all scenes with Dan in them are going to have to now be re-shot. Everyone groans, that they are back to square one. The director and Producers acknowledge this and explain it is going to do more damage to the film if they keep Dan in it than if they delay the release and replace him, wiping his presence from the film entirely. They explain that they are just glad no advertising was released with Dan’s picture on it and that only one short teaser was released when the filming had first started.

They inform everyone that the re-shoots will begin as soon as a new actor is found to replace Dan and as soon as your voice is returned and you are physically and mentally able to resume work.

The last thing discussed are the upcoming whirlwind press junkets which are now delayed until the film is ready to be released. Everyone is told that once they have the film ready for release, you both will be doing them together with whatever actor is hired to take over Dan’s role, since they didn’t want you doing them alone after what’s happened and sine Dan was now behind bars for raping you. They didn’t want you trying to field the questions on your own. It is decided that the two of you would do the tv and radio interviews in person, and the ones for magazines and websites either in person as you could squeeze them in or by phone, e-mail or video conferencing.

They tell everyone a basic idea of what to expect and tell everyone not to discuss the case with anyone besides the lawmen, your counselor, co-stars and the studio; nor were either of you to discuss certain elements and parts of the film with anyone not directly involved with the filming and production. Both of you were taking notes in your phones of what not to discuss regarding the film. It was a no brainer in regards to your case.

The Studio executives asked everyone if there were any further questions and addressed them, then thanked everyone for coming and dismissed the meeting.

You and Henry stayed at the back of the meeting room and your co-stars all came and gave you gentle hugs and words of encouragement telling you how proud they are of you for standing up to Dan an having him held accountable. They all apologized again, for not reporting the harassment sooner and hoped you would forgive them. You nodded.

Slowly they all headed out and the two of you were left with your agents, PR agents and PA’s. They all stood around discussing things with the Director and Producers, getting filming and casting changes worked out and tentative plans made. They asked you when you thought you’d be ready to try filming.

You shrug. “I’m not sure. My vocal cords were damaged by what Dan did and my throat is very sore. It hurts to talk yet.” You tell them in a quiet, hoarse voice. “I’m just going to have to take things one day at a time until they are healed. I’m trying to rest my voice as much as I can, but with all the appointments, I’ve had to do a lot of talking the last few days.” You whisper.

They nod and tell you to keep your PR person and Agent updated daily each morning, if possible so they can make changes as needed to the schedule. “We can always film you mouthing the lines too, Sweetheart, and add your voice later once it’s healed. It’s called doing voice-overs.” They explain. You nod. “Might have to.” You whisper.

They tell you and Henry to go ahead and head on out, that if they have anything else or other new info, they’ll let you know. They wish you a speedy recovery and the two of you head out.

More chapters to come…

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[belorage]

Wes for the full clear on the OC asks? 😘😘😘

— OC QUESTIONS

BASICS

What’s their full name? Wesley Daniel Brooks

What does their name mean? Why were they named that? Wesley means “western meadow,” Daniel means “God is my judge,” and Brooks means “stream.” You can find my real world reasoning for choosing his name here. As for the canon reasoning, Wesley is a family name on his father’s side and Daniel is a good Christian name. 

Do they have any nicknames? Lots. Wes is the big one (Hwes if you’re Hurk Jr.), Rook, Dep (Deputy if you're as extra as John Seed), Bright Eyes (Raf only), Sundance (Nick only), Darling (Lyra, when she’s being cheeky), and probably a handful more that I’m forgetting.

How old are they? 28, almost 29 as of the start of FC5.

When’s their birthday? November 11, 1989

What’s their zodiac sign/element/birthstone/etc.? Do they believe that holds any significance? Scorpio sun, Aries moon, Aquarius rising. Year of the snake. Birthstones are topaz and citrine. He isn’t aware enough of any of this to believe in it.

What’s their species/subspecies? Do they have any special/magical abilities? He is a natural disaster in human form. His special ability is that he somehow manages to survive that for as long as he does.

What “class” do they belong to (for fantasy characters)? If none, what weapon do they favor? A revolver (Steel & Ivory), a sawed-off shotgun (Sin Eater), or basic hand-to-hand. Close combat is preferable to range. He also uses homemade C4 in his tireless crusade against cult infrastructure.

APPEARANCE

What do they look like? He’s 6′3″, has brown-ish hair (specifically, a warm golden bronze color) and hazel eyes with long eyelashes. Fit, moderate-to-lean build. Sharp features, angular jaw, a pronounced Cupid’s bow. He has the facial hair of a man who has forgotten to shave for two weeks, because he is—you guessed it—a man who has forgotten to shave for two weeks.

Do they have a face claim? Tomas Skoloudik

What’s their style like? Clothes, hair, makeup? Casual clothing—flannels (often tied around the waist), t-shirts, henleys, jeans, boots, jewelry (gold, leather), leather jacket, cargo jacket. His hair is messy and soft, just like he is, because he doesn’t overload it with hair products unlike some people. He’s got an ouroboros tattooed around the lower part of his right forearm and (universe-dependent) John and Lyra’s names on the inside of his wrists.

How do they carry themselves? What’s their default expression? He attempts to project swagger and indifference, but to anyone who knows him and is paying attention, he’s an open book. In a comfortable environment, he’s loose and casual. His default expression is fixated if he has something to occupy his mind and distant if he doesn’t.

Do they have any physical ailments or disabilities? No, but he’s got bruises and flesh wounds aplenty! He’s got bite marks and scratches galore! You want knife-slashing scars? He’s got twenty. But who cares? No big deal. Wes wants mooooore! 🎵

PERSONALITY

What’s their alignment? Chaotic Good/Chaotic Neutral

Which one of the 16 Personality Types do they fit into? ISFP

What are their hobbies and interests? Do they have any particular “favorites” (food, books, and so on)? I answered for his favorite films and TV here, and his favorite book is Watership Down. He likes the Beatles and bar snacks and black coffee. His favorite cultists are Lyra, John, and Shaggy—please don’t judge him.

What are they bad at? Dancing!

What kind of things do they dislike/hate? Hates being controlled, dislikes very sweet things.

Do they have any vices/addictions/mental illnesses? Impulsiveness, reactive behaviors. He smokes and drinks, although neither of those are done with a shocking amount of excess. Previously, harder drugs. 

What are their goals and motivations? Freedom and acceptance.

What are their manners like? Any habits? He’s not a jerk; he has passable manners when the situation calls for them, but Emily Post would like him not. His habits are covered in much more detail here, but the big one is that he tends to busy his hands and/or mouth with things wherever possible.

What are they most afraid of? Rejection, abandonment, enclosed spaces, death (specifically, the possibility of an afterlife). 

BACKGROUND

Where were they born? What was their childhood like? Born in Hope County. He was an only child and his home life was suspect, but made moderately more bearable by his best friend. Once he realized trying to please his father was a losing battle, he said hell yeah to a downward spiral of rebelliousness and troublemaking.

What’s their family like? His dad was a jerk of the sort that would never be satisfied. Big on toxic masculinity, short on acceptance. His mother loved him, but she fell in line more often than not.

What factions or organizations are they a part of? What ranks and titles do they hold? Hope County Sheriff’s Office (probationary sheriff’s deputy), Hope County Resistance (figurehead, pot stirrer, problem magnet). 

How do they fit into their “story”? Barely. Next question. I hate to use this word yet again, but it’s the only one that fits: his story is mostly about acceptance—self, fate, fault, sorrow, joy—because as much as he desired acceptance from others, he denied a lot of it for himself.

Where do they currently live? What’s their place like? He grew up in the Silver Lake trailer park, way up on the northeastern end of Holland Valley, near the Whitetails. For the duration of the game timeline, I picture him spending more time crashing where he can—with the Ryes, in the woods, wherever—but his own place would be sparse and fairly untidy, with clothes tossed everywhere. 

How do they eventually die? Wesley intends to live forever. How dare you insinuate—

RELATIONSHIPS

Do they have any friends? Would they consider anyone to be their best friend? Within the timeline of the game, he has quite a few. Raf is his best friend (and has been since they were kids), but Nick (and Kim) are both up there. He has a soft spot for Mary May; that seems to be reciprocal. He appreciates Grace because she doesn’t ask unnecessary questions. Sharky and Hurk offer unconditional friendship, which he appreciates and sorely needs. Adelaide is the vodka aunt who thirsts after his ex. She tries to rile him up sometimes (in a myriad of ways), but he likes her. And if you account for other universes, his friend count goes way up thanks to the various and sundry brat squad kids.

What’s their friend group like? What role do they play in it? When he was younger, he was the introvert-adopted-by-an-extrovert. He was a bit too withdrawn to have friends outside of that, though he wasn’t unfriendly. For a bulk of the current timeline, his friend group is “ragtag misfits” status and he basically gets ping-ponged between them as they try—with varying amounts of success—to fight a cult.  

What’s their love life like? (See also: ship question meme.) Do they have any kids? Depends on the universe. In canon, it’s messy but becomes significantly healthier later on. His previous relationship was promising and likely would have been ideal, except that they were young and unable (or unready) to deal with the realities of their situation. In AU, he is enemies-with-benefits but also grossly in love with the Judge of Eden’s Gate and her husband (who was a fun surprise, but it’s fine, because Wes got Lyra back by giving her a gracious two-for-one deal on children)!

Who do they look up to? Who do they trust? Whitehorse is something of a father figure, though Wes would never say that out loud. For the record, neither would Whitehorse (at least not directly to Wes)—mostly for Wes’s benefit. He trusts Raf, Pastor Jerome, and the rest of his friends listed above.

Who do they hate? Do they have any enemies? Joseph, because Joseph is daddy issues incarnate. Jacob, because Jacob understands Wes well enough to yank him around like a dog on a leash. By the time the Collapse hits, everyone is his enemy to some extent (as evidenced by the adorable horns and pointy tails drawn all over his wanted posters). Notable exceptions are John, Sharky, Hurk, and Whitehorse; however, all but the first are functionally unknown to him.

Do they have any pets? Just Boomer, who is the best emotional support animal a disaster could ask for.

Are they good with kids? Animals? He’s naturally good with both children and animals, but he lacks practical experience, especially with the former (shout-out to the Ryes for finally adding that to his resume).

FUN FACTS

Which tropes do they fit? Which archetypes? Tropewise, he’s Troubled, but Cute and I can’t refute it; apart from the high school thing, it’s a full BINGO clear. He’s also Bruiser with a Soft Center, Inferiority Superiority Complex, Cosmic Plaything, Desperately Craves Affection, Hero with Bad Publicity, I Am Not My Father, and almost certainly a whole host of shameful others that I don’t dare brave the rest of TVTropes to find. Of the twelve classic archetypes, he’s some combination of The Hero and The Outlaw. Otherwise: fallen angel, antihero, byronic hero, prodigal son. 

Do they play any instruments? Sports? He can play guitar, but only at an intermediate level. He’s not big on sports, but he can ice skate and he likes to swim.

What are some items they always carry? Steel & Ivory and a lighter; later, Sin Eater. In New Dawn he carries John’s watch.

Do they collect anything? Bad decisions. Minicultists, apparently. Nothing in particular.

What position do they sleep in? His default position when he’s alone and in a comfortable place is on his belly. There are exceptions listed in greater detail here.

Which emoji would they use the most? Honestly, he’s not really the type to use emojis, but he will send his love interest pictures of things he likes or finds pretty with no context. Otherwise, his texts tend to be short, to-the-point, and lacking in punctuation or capitalization. Believe it or not, he’d much rather communicate in person. My most frequently used emojis for him are 🍰 and 🐍. (Awww, cake and snake... They rhyme. How precious!)

What languages do they speak? English. He knows a limited amount of Spanish, but he’s better at understanding it than he is at speaking it.

What’s their favorite expletive? Damn or fuck.

What’s their favorite candle scent? Pine.

What songs remind you of them? I have a playlist for him here, but it—much like him—is a bit of a mess. I also have a playlist based on his own taste in music here.

Which animal would you say represents them? Snakes, stags, swans, scorpions.

What stereotypical high school clique would they fit into? Loners or troublemakers, probably. Stoners on a technicality—he doesn’t fit the stereotype, but he does have a history. He has some of the soul of an art kid but, tragically, none of the talent.

What would their favorite ride at an amusement park be? At a real amusement park, probably the roller coasters. At something more lowkey like a carnival, he’d like the classic, aesthetically pleasing rides like the Ferris wheel or the carousel.

Do they believe in aliens? Ghosts? Reincarnation or something else? He’s not an “I Want to Believe” sort of guy, but he still can’t explain the Larry Parker debacle. He tries very hard not to believe (or at least not to think about) any sort of afterlife, because he fears it.

Do they follow any religions/gods? Do they celebrate holidays? His family was Catholic, but he endeavors not to be. He likely wouldn’t celebrate holidays as a bachelor overmuch, but he would take part in holiday activities with others.

Which Deadly Sin do they most correspond to? Which Heavenly Virtue? Pride and Fortitude.

If you had to choose one tarot card to represent them, which would it be? The Tower, The Devil, The Wheel of Fortune.

[sherlollydramoine]

Playing Pretend

This was requested by @aulile 

Rami pretends to hate you, but he’s actually in love with you. Here you go, I hope this is exactly what you had in mind when you sent me the request darling. 

Warnings: alcohol use, sex implied

Word count: 2809

“God he fucking hates me! I swear, I walk into the room and all he does is glare at me! What the fuck did I even do to him? I’ve been nothing but professional. I swear Chels, I have no fucking clue how I’m going to get through the rest of filming with that asshole.” you ranted, out loud to your wonderful assistant Chelsea. 

You had been cast as the love interest in a rom-com with none other than Rami Malek as the leading man. You’d heard nothing but great things about him from some of your peers, and was really looking forward to working with him. You didn’t really know each other, though you’d met several times very briefly at different industry events over the years. 

“I don’t think he really hates you YN, I really don’t. You don’t see how he looks at you when you aren’t looking.” Chelsea responded.

“Well I do see how he looks at me when he is near me. He always looks like he swallowed something bitter, or he just looks angry. I just can’t make sense of any of this. He’s been so kind to me when we’ve met before all of this.”

“I don’t know either, but maybe I can text his assistant to find out what’s up.” 

“You know what, do it, or I will drive myself insane with this shit.”

There was a sudden knock on your trailer door, and you answered it to find a delivery man holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers. You signed for them, and then took them and placed them on the table. Leaving the door open,as your trailer was getting way to stuffy.

“Chels, that’s the third time this week, but the card never says anything. I wonder who keeps sending me these flowers because I am started to get worried that I have a stalker.”

 This time when you went to look for the card you in it’s place a standard sized envelope instead. The envelope and paper were definitely of a high quality stationary, and this time there was a message that was handwritten directly in the center of the paper.

You started to pace, but ending up stopping directly in front of your open door as you begin to read the note out loud.

“I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I’ve ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, every day we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always love you.”

You gasp, because you recognize the quote. It was from one of your favorite books, a book you’ve read a million times, though it wasn’t a classic by any means; you were a sucker for Nicholas Sparks novels, and this quote was directly from The Notebook.

Your hands start shaking and you nearly drop the paper in your hands. 

“Chels, this was so beautiful, but who? Who keeps sending me the flowers? I don’t recognize the handwriting as anyone I know. I just, I wish this person would reveal themselves to me. Because they’ve been sending me flowers for weeks now and I’m starting to think I have a stalker.”

What you failed to notice was that Rami was standing outside of his trailer, which was directly next to yours leaning against it having a smoke, wearing a dopey smile. He was close enough that he heard the conversation and he’s pretty sure who knows your secret admirer is.

“I don’t know, I am quite curious myself.”

“Have you heard anything back from Rami’s assistant?”

“No. She’s not responding to me, it says the ‘read’ but there has been no reply.”

After a few more minutes, the A.D. was summoning you back to set where you were going to have to deal with him. The hair and makeup people rushed you, to fix any wayward hairs and to touch up some makeup, and just like that you were back to work.

A few more days had passed, working tirelessly and some days what felt like endlessly because there is at least one thing you and Rami had in common, and that is perfection. You would both perform a scene as many times as it took for both of you to feel completely satisfied that it was done to the best of both of your abilities.

It was at the end of such a long day and all you wanted was to go home and sleep when you heard a knock on your door. Chelsea had left earlier to deal with a family emergency, so you answered yourself, wearing nothing but your robe since you had just taken a quick shower.

You almost slammed the door shut when you realized it was Rami on the other side of it.

“Wait!” he hollered, before looking around to make sure no one had heard him.

“What do you want Rami?”

You take in his appearance, his hair is wet because he too obviously has showered and he’s wearing black dress pants, a patterned button down shirt, and black shiny boots.

“I just thought that.. well ..maybe.. Maybe you’d like to have a drink with me tonight?” he asked, as his hand came up to nervously scratch the back of his head.

“Why? I didn’t think you even liked me. I mean you are fine when the cameras are on, but I gotta say dude, you’re kind of a prick to me when the cameras aren’t rolling.” you complained, arms folded across your chest. 

“Look I’m sorry. I just, if you come out with me tonight... I’ll tell you who your secret admirer is.” he said, looking hopeful.

“You know about that? How?” you question, quirking a brow.

“You know it’s a small set, people talk.You get flowers delivered every day now.” he shrugged, while smiling at you conspiratorially.

“Fine, I’ll take the bait, but you better not be lying. Just give me a few minutes to get dressed. Where did you have in mind?”

“My place. I promise no ill intentions, though we can go somewhere else if you prefer. Or some other place that you find to be neutral territory.”

“Yours is fine, I honestly don’t feel like being seen out and about right now.” 

You take your time getting dressed tonight, debating between your favorite well loved jeans or your favorite well loved sundress. Opting for your sun dress and strappy sandals just in case you end up changing your mind and going some place else; stepping in your small bathroom to swipe on some mascara and lip gloss. Tossing your phone into your purse and heading out the door you find Rami leaning against the side of your trailer. 

“You certainly took your time.” he complained, while his eyes raked over your body taking in your appearance.

“Why are you complaining? You wanted to do this, and I just wanted to make sure that I looked somewhat put together in case we change our minds and end up going somewhere else.” 

There was nothing but awkward silence as you walked across the lot to where your cars were parked. 

“Should I follow you?” you asked, unsure of where to proceed with this.

“You could just ride with me and I can call someone later to take you home. That’s if you want to. No pressure.” he assured.

“Fuck it, I’ll ride with you, I’m too tired to drive anyway. Today’s scenes took a lot of me emotionally.”

“I hear you, but this is going to be great. What attracted to you this script?” he gently asked, sounding genuinely curious as to your motivations for taking this project.

He started the car and before you knew it, you were on the freeway headed to his house.

“The writing and the fact that this isn’t just the same ole, same ole rom-com bullshit. The characters have depth and I think the audience is going to be surprised by the way this one turns out. This story is absolutely brilliant, the characters are unpredictable, and so is the story. Sure there is the romance and comedy element of this but it’s not the same shit different movie that most rom-com’s seem to be. I feel incredibly lucky to have been chosen for this role. I seriously thought that I completely bombed the audition.” you laughed out loud, 

You were genuinely happy with that the opportunity to audition for this movie. It was a huge project and working with Rami really has been a dream come true.

“I thought you nailed your audition by the way. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I insisted after you left that we not see anyone else. We’ve been there and we both know how it sucks when that happens, but I was absolutely insistant that it be you cast. You just brought something to your character that I hadn’t seen anyone else bring. Every other actress brought the same thing to the table, and they just made eyes at me the whole time. You, you remained in character and played her so well. I had heard from others how dedicated you are to your work, and how thorough. You think so similarly to me and you also chase perfection like I do. You won’t stop until it’s perfect. I think we drive everyone crazy, but they can’t say that this movie won’t be extraordinary when it’s finished.”

You just looked at him wearing a shocked expression. You had no clue that Rami had been responsible for your casting. 

“Wow.” was all you managed to say.

“Wow, is right. You were incredible and I wouldn’t have wanted to work with anyone else but you on this project. The casting people were originally looking at more high profile actresses, but I had suggested to the director that we bring you in. I’m not going to lie here, I’ve wanted to work with you for ages. Watching your performance in The Monster Is Me, it blew me away. You played Gemma so well, and I could relate to her in a way having played Elliot. You really dove deep into the research on D.I.D. for her, and you just.. You made me feel her suffering, confusion, and ever bit of the pain.”

“Jesus. I didn’t realize that you were a fan of that movie. I mean so few people were, I truly believed hardly anyone had seen it.” 

“I did. I went with a good friend of mine to see it and both of us were absolutely stunned into speechlessness at the performance you gave.”

“I… thank you.. You really Rami thank you. That actually means a lot coming from you. I don’t think you have any idea how much your characterization and portrayal of Elliot is what actually motivated me to take this role. You gave the best performance on television with Elliot.”

He laughed out loud this time and it nearly startled you.

“Listen to us, sounding like a couple of nerds; fangirling and fanboying over each other’s work. I wonder if people outside of the industry would say if they could hear this conversation?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. I guess we both have some amazing performances under our belts and it’s okay to talk about. Trying to have conversations like this with non-industry people always feels like bragging.”

“Yeah it does.”

You were actually truly surprised at how easy conversation was with him. I mean granted you’d mostly only talked about work but your mind never let you forget that he promised to tell you the one thing you’ve been dying to know.

“Welp little darlin’ we’re here.” he says, and you realize that the car had come to a complete stop.

You suddenly felt nervous and you’ve no clue as to why. Following his lead and heading into his house, which was surprisingly modest, and directly into his kitchen. 

“So? What would you like to drink? I’ve several options.”

“Same as you. I like surprises.”

He raised a brow and flashed you a toothy grin. “Tequila it is!”

“Ooooh. I love tequila!” you almost shouted. He jumped in surprise and nearly dropped the bottle in his hand.

“Jesus, YN, you startled me.”

“I noticed and I’m sorry.” you giggled.

He fixed your drinks and then led you to his living room. Where you took a seat on the sofa as he hands you the drink.

“So.. “ he begins, but stops when you seem to become distracted with something. Him slowly taking sips of his drink, obviously waiting for something. 

That’s when you looked over on his coffee table and you see it. Familiar looking paper. Confusion very evident on your face as you look back at him, the paper, and him again.

“Rami?” you ask, holding the sheet of the stationary, staring at him.

“YN?” he counters. The expression on his face almost unreadable, and it almost made you want to burst into tears. You were so confused, and all you wanted was answers. 

“Rami?” you ask again, now out of curiosity and possibly shock. You hold out the paper when you notice the familiar scrawl, ‘One word from you shall silence me forever’ is what was written. 

You dropped the paper and just like last time almost burst into tears. He had quoted Pride and Prejudice this time, your absolute favorite book of all time. Not only had he quoted the book, but he had chosen one of the best lines that Mr. Darcy had in the entirety of the book. You were unaware that he even knew this about you but thinking back, you’d actually been reading that book your first day on set during a break. 

You look back up at him, eyes glistening, “What is it that you are inquiring about? That my one word could silence you from?”

He cleared his throat and reached out to cup your cheek. 

“I love you. Have been in love with you since the day we first met, and I know we don’t know each other well but..” he hesitated. “Will you be my girlfriend? I know this seems kind of a weird way to do this but yes, it’s been me this whole time, I am your secret admirer. Your assistant Chelsea has been most helpful in trying to pull this off.”

“Rami I’m…. I thought you fucking hated me. I seriously, I… yes. Yes I’ll be your girlfriend. I thought I was the only that felt a connection during the audition process, and every part of the process that followed. And also, Chelsea’s dead meat, maybe she should replace me because she is one hell of an actress.”

You move closer to him, and your lips meet for a heated kiss. One deeper and more passionate than your characters have ever shared on screen, and that’s saying a lot considering that you have three sex scenes in the movie. 

Before you know it your bodies were headed towards his bedroom, shedding clothing along the way. 

You only wake up because of an alarm blaring, and you crack an eye open.

“Good morning princess. We have early call times today though I was hoping that you could sleep through my alarm, so that I could make us some coffee before we have to go in. “

“It’s alright, I am a fairly light sleeper.”

“Soooo…..don’t kill Chelsea this morning. I already texted her and told her that the plan worked and you are with me, so she is going to meet you at work in an hour. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we can beat traffic.”

You almost laugh out loud as you remember that your assistant had been in on this the whole time. You sit up and lean over to give your boyfriend a chaste kiss, which unfortunately turned not so chaste very quickly. Pulling away much to your chagrin, you go in search of your clothes but stop in the doorway.

“Good thing we had some practice last night eh? Since we’ve got sex scene one of three to film today.”

“Oh yes, it’s going to be so sexy. A room that’s hot as hell with about a hundred people watching. Though it would amazing if we actually did have sex on camera. People would be talking about it forever, and it would be immortalized on film.” he teased.

“Rami no!!” you hollered while pulling your dress over your head. “It would be hot though. But do we have the stamina to do that all day?’

“Hahaha, we could save time and just do it reallllllly good the first time.” he smirks.

You can’t help the laughter as you playfully punch his arm.

“Maybe, Rami, maybe.”

@xmxisxforxmaybe @txmel @itsme690 @mrhoemazzello @ramimedley @hazeleyedbeth @lablanchett @free-rami @r-ahh-mi

[bluesfortheredj]

“When are you going to take me out then?” Ben asks as you wipe around his face gently with a cotton wool pad.

“You mean when are you going to buy me a coffee?” you smirk back as a smug grin appears across his face.

“Oh, no no no!” he chuckles, “you’re the one who’s been eyeing me for weeks Miss (Y/L/N), so I do believe you should take me out to dinner.”

“Is that so? Close your eyes for a second…” you say as you tap some neutral coloured eyeshadow into the corner of his eyes, “open up… Perfect.”

“I know I am,” he shrugs nonchalantly.

“I was more talking about my handiwork, but whatever,” you say, rolling your eyes.

These moments definitely meant a lot more to you than they did to him, but you knew that someone like Ben would never see you in any other light than as a friend and someone to casually flirt with every now and again when he was bored. Unfortunately this didn’t stop you from wishing deep down that it was more than that, and there was always a tiny flutter of hope when his eyes lingered on you for a little longer than usual.

“See you later then, yeah?” Ben asks as he gets up from the chair.

“If you’re lucky.”

“I’m always lucky, babe,” he winks.

That man could easily turn you into a nonsensical ball of mush with that wink, and you fight to smile at him instead of collapsing into the nearest chair and having to fan yourself with a magazine. He walks away and you let out a deep breath before gathering up your items and putting them neatly away, then whipping out your small apron which had various bits of make up in to do touch ups on set. This was the last shoot of the day and you were hoping it would go smoothly so everyone could actually leave on the time stated on the schedule, as you had some much needed catching up to do with Netflix.

You stay hidden behind the crew for most of the scene; only fixing Rami’s make up when he’d exerted himself a little too much, and the sweat had made his forehead a little streaky. The end of the scene was a sight to see when the cameras stopped rolling and the four men packed into a group hug; it was heart warming to see the comradery between them after a relatively short time together. You begin to walk away slowly until you hear your name slip from Joe’s mouth, and suddenly you find yourself ducking behind a table to get a better listen on their conversation. This was a bad idea.

“Oh come on, Ben!” Gwilym scoffs, “there’s so much chemistry between you guys, it’s ridiculous.”

“Don’t be silly,” Ben laughs.

“Seriously?” Joe questions.

“Just harmless flirting really,” Ben shrugs.

“Who are you trying to convince, us or yourself?” Rami asks.

“There’s nothing to convince myself of, mate. It’s banter between two people, it’s all it ever will be,” Ben replies casually.

The guys begin to protest at his words but you can’t make out what they’re saying over the sound of your heart tearing into pieces inside your chest, and you curse yourself for ever letting that slither of hope manifest inside you in the first place. You quickly run from set back to the safety of your trailer where you slap your palm against your forehead harshly.

“Stupid, stupid fucking idiot!” you hiss at yourself, “absolute fucking twat!”

You knew it, you fucking knew it really. Why the hell didn’t you listen to yourself in the first place?! As if a guy like Ben would even think about being with someone like you. You’d made yourself feel like an absolute fool for ever entertaining the idea that it could be more, and you hated yourself for it. That tiny flutter of hope should have been squashed as soon as it came about.

Luckily the end of the day was upon you and you were first to run out to the car park and scramble to get in your car as fast as possible. As you look up from the steering wheel you spot Ben and Joe, and they both wave to you, but you can’t stand to even think about waving back, and you rev your engine loudly as you fly out of there to get home and eat away your sorrows with chocolate.

You wake the next morning to a blissful few seconds where you forget what you heard the previous day, but when your mind clears it hurts almost twice as much as it did before, and you squeeze your eyes shut as you think about having to walk into work in a couple of hours.

“How’s my favourite girl this morning?” Ben asks as he breezes past you and flops down in the chair ready for his make up.

“Fine,” you say through gritted teeth while you prepare to turn and face him.

“You sure?”

“Yep,” you reply, popping the ‘p’ to release some tension.

“Right...” he trails off, knowing what you said was complete bullshit.

The next few days go a similar way; only replying to Ben when absolutely necessary and never exaggerating on your short, sharp answers. He knew it was to do with him, as you were much more talkative to the others, and it certainly didn’t go unnoticed.

“Right, what’s wrong with you?” Ben asks as he storms into your trailer after four days with the silent treatment.

“Nothing,” you sigh as you turn away from him to rest your hands on the dressing table.

“Stop bullshitting me, (Y/N), because I see you talking to Joe, Gwilym, and Rami okay, and yet when it comes to me it’s as if you hate me. What the hell has happened? We used to have such a laugh.”

You stand up straight and turn to face him with your arms now folded across your chest in a defensive manner.

“If having a laugh with me meant nothing anyway, then what’s the big deal?”

You see the fear cross Ben’s face as he realises you’d overheard his conversation with the other guys, and he brings his hands up to his hair where he runs his fingers through his locks nervously.

“That… That was a load of shit,” he says, “as if I meant any word of that.”

“You sounded pretty convincing to me, mate.”

“I… God, I’ve fucked up… I only said those things because I wanted to get them off my back about the whole situation. You know what they’re like! I didn’t want them butting in all the time when whatever we… or, I feel, should be between us, and us alone.”

“Right,” you scoff.

“It’s true! Please, (Y/N), it’s you, always has been, always will be.”

“It’s banter, it’s all it ever will be,” you frown, using his own words against him.

You see the genuine hurt in his eyes at you repeating his remarks, and he knows he’s fucked up big time with this.

“Fuck. That cut deep,” he whispers, taking a seat on the couch in the corner.

“Did it?” you ask with fake surprise.

“I’m so sorry (Y/N). Honestly, so fucking sorry. Please believe me when I say I didn’t mean any of what I said to them. I’ve fallen for you really bloody hard, and I didn’t want anything to mess it up, but then I’ve gone and fucked it before anything’s even begun.”

You watch as he looks up at you with pleading eyes; there was no faking this kind of reaction, no matter how good an actor he was.

“I think you owe me a dinner,” you concede with a sigh.

“Dinner, coffee, a film, anything you want,” Ben grins as he stands up.

“Just… Tell me first if you’re going to pretend you don’t fancy me, yeah?”

“Does that mean you like me too?” he smirks, raising his eyebrows.

“What do you think?” you ask with an eye roll.

Hello love, I’ve an angsty Ben request! Reader is a makeup artist for bo rhap & there’s always flirting between her & Ben. But she overhears him talking to Joe & Gwil & he says nothing will ever happen between them it’s just harmless flirting which upsets her so she only talks to him when she has too. After a few days of her being quiet Ben asks what’s wrong & she admits to hearing him & he tells her he didn’t mean it & just didn’t want to tell Joe & Gwil how he felt. Fluffy ending please!

@peachllobotomy @lv7867 @aynsleywalker @wolfgirlxslytherin @pink-lemo @painthatiusedto @n3shama

[atamascolily]

lily liveblogs “terminator: dark fate”, part 2

“It’s raining men (and women)”.... hallelujah? Or not, as the case may be.

(For those just joining us, part one is here)

I was kinda hoping they would run the credits  after the title, but I guess filmmakers... don't do that anymore, because we all have short attention spans these days?? Some of that is George Lucas's fault, I know, but tbh I kinda enjoy the creative ways in which filmmakers USED that space occupied by the opening credits... like how The Karate Kid uses it for Daniel and Lucille's road trip between Jersey and California, how it establishes how many friends Daniel had, the importance of his bike, and the whole "putting the car in neutral" and rolling it to get the engine going AND the motif/promise of the pool... all in a minute or two. Magical.  I kinda miss that compared to earlier films.

Anyway, highway at night in what the screen tells me is Mexico City 22 years later. Okay, then. There's ice... and then lightning crackling on the road edge, which can only mean one thing -- a visitor from the future!!

There's a woman making out with her boyfriend underneath the highway, and she says "Oh, my god," and the boyfriend thinks it's all his doing, LOL. Sorry, dude, not today.

THE SPHERE IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY OVERPASS, HOLY FUCK, WHO SET THOSE COORDINATES?? It's a good thing the spheres destroy everything around them, or else this movie would be very, very short.

As it is, Grace falls naked from a great height, banging on supports as she goes down. Ow. Great way of showing she's not quite human.

Of course the watching girl goes over to help while her boyfriend sits there slack-jawed until she shames him into going along. They pick her up and carry her towards their car, only for the police to show up and demand to know what's going on. They think that they're drug dealers (?) and don't believe that she fell from a bridge.

"I love it when it rains naked ladies," says the cop, which is movie-speak for, "I'm an asshole about to get my ass kicked and the audience is going to cheer while it happens".

He grabs her, and Grace sees his gun, and goes for it. Yup, he's down. She's got some sort of augmented vision like the Terminator though anyone who's seen the trailer knows already she's on the side of good.

Grace takes out all the cops completely naked, and I love how this scene is filmed because it's so not focused on anything sexual and it's not sexualized at all, at least for the male gaze that I can tell. It's just... a naked woman kicking ass without obsessing over the fact that she's naked, and it's so goddamn refreshing.

The boyfriend thinks she's amazing. His girlfriend walks over and hugs him. Grace strides up to him and compares her bare foot to his boot. "Don't thank me yet," she says in a deadpan.

Cut to Grace wearing his clothes driving away in his car as the boyfriend stands around in his boxers and yells for her to go to hell. And I like this because it's so much more effective  this way to leave the details in the reader's head and show us the results. The girlfriend steers him away, and he starts blaming her, for getting them involved in the first place. Fuck you, dude. I hope she dumps him that night, too.

Cut to Dani in the street somewhere, carrying flowers and chatting with a tamale vendor. We learn from this that she always has flowers -- an association with life and spirit, and not letting the grind get you down. I approve.  

Dani has a brother, Diego, who wants to be a pop star, and a father whom she reminds to go to the doctor. Caretaker of the family! Of course they have a dog, named Taco. I'm sure this will be relevant later. I hope Taco survives. Diego tries to chat up a neighbor named Julia, and I'm sure this will all end tragically. I hope she survives.

Dani and Diego leave just in time... for another naked person to drop from the sky in a glowing electric sphere! What are the odd??!

Okay, I don't remember the spheres forming ice in previous films, but it's a cool detail that it makes all the laundry on the lines freeze and shatter... so it's gotta be SUPER COLD. Like, liquid-nitrogen levels of cold.

Like Grace's sphere, this one drops its inhabitant off in mid-air, but the Terminator is able to do a beautiful leap and land on his feet like a cat. He looks like a marble sculpture here - beautiful, smooth, polished, muscled grace. Hot damn. There is absolutely no emotion on his face as he stands up, and even without the music cues, you know right away something is wrong.

There's a woman staring at him when he turns around. And now he looks friendly... earnest, helpful. "Good morning," he says in Spanish as he reaches out to touch the jacket she has in her hand, and it spills up out of his skin HOLY FUCK THAT IS CREEPY AND AMAZING at the same time.

The woman FREAKS OUT and he SMILES at her ever so slightly, and--

Cut to a busy city street. Unlike the highway where Grace appeared, this in the middle of the city, with lots of apartment buildings and traffic. Dani and Diego are on a bus.

Cut to Dani's father answering a knock on the door while Taco the dog barks hysterically. I know, I know, I'm so sorry, Taco. There's the Terminator, and he's so charming and earnest in his plaid jacket, looking for Dani. He claims to be a friend. Her father is shocked. "That's strange. Her friends call her Dani..."

"Dani?" repeats the Terminator. "Yes, of course." AND HE SMILES... fuck. A TERMINATOR THAT CAN MIMIC HUMAN FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND SHOW EMOTIONS I AM NOT PREPARED FOR THIS.

(but it actually makes PERFECT SENSE for reasons that will be explained later [kinda] in the film!!!!)

Cut to a factory. Arius Motors. Dani and Diego going in to work as cars swing by on the line. There are robot arms and it's all very timely and metaphorical. Somebody goes by on a bicycle INSIDE THE FACTORY and I have no idea how that works, but okay.

Diego's station has been replaced by "a new guy,"--an orange robot arm. Dani asks the supervisor what's going on and he says, "The future," and the manager wants to see Diego in his office. Dani goes in his place, the supervisor says no, Dani pulls out her hair tie, and goes anyway. THIS IS WHY SHE'S THE LEADER OF THE MOTHERFUCKING RESISTANCE, Y'ALL, she’s ALREADY taking no shit from robots. 

Dani's father shows up at the factory claiming his kids forgot their lunch and can he come in? Poor dad is definitely dead. I hope Taco at least survived, but I doubt it. Meanwhile Grace is approaching and just leaps over the turnstile like it's no big deal and I LOVE IT. Then she follows a security guard into a corner and mugs him for his uniform and it's all so goddamn quick.

The security guard tells "Dad" that he can't come in without a helmet and vest, which is bullshit, because most of the employees don't wear them, but whatever. Grace keeps walking. How the fuck did she dress so fast, but she looks great. She's got a jacket awkwardly covering her gun, and it's not subtle, but no one seems to notice.

Dani is arguing with the boss, who is... American? At least he's speaking English. She's trying to keep her brother's job, but he's all "well, he's not as good as you are," and Dani is Not Having It. She threatens to tell them that machines are coming for ALL the jobs, and god, I love her so much because EVEN WITHOUT TERMINATORS MESSING UP HER LIFE, SHE WAS GONNA GO PLACES.

"Dad" goes to Dani's station and she isn't there, but he talks to Diego. (I don't know how he knows so much, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty.) The Terminator makes that lame excuse about bringing lunches, and Diego is confused, because Dani already took care of that--

Then Dani shows up and the lunch morphs into a gun, and I'm not sure how they did that, because wasn't the morphing stuff not supposed to MAKE GUNS--ok, maybe he took the security guard's gun and morphed the lunch OVER it as a cover with his polyalloy bits--but FUCK this dude is SCARY--and points the gun at Dani as she and Diego stare--only to have his head blown open as Grace fires.

Grace keeps shooting as Dani screams, and grabs Dani before she can get to "Dad". Grace is way better at explaining things than Kyle Reese: "That is NOT your father. That was a machine that sent here to kill you. " It helps that the Terminator has lots of metal bits exposed at this point, and rapidly shifting back to normal. Come with me or you're dead in the next thirty seconds!"

Dani doesn't buy this, but she runs as Grace shepherds both her and Diego away.

And that back arch as the Terminator sits up and regenerates back to his "original" persona--which, I'll note, he DIDN't steal from anyone in our present; it was the one he came with UNLIKE the T-1000 in T2--and it's scary as hell. And even watching him run, and leap--it's not human. It's a predator disguised in human form. Well done, filmmakers.

I like how they show Grace's augmented senses here, and how she has the extra warning to shove Dani and Diego out of the way when the Terminator goes flying for her. He slices her cap off with arms that are suddenly sword-knives, and she swings a mallet at him, knocking him flat--and flinging him into a wall when she hits him again. She is really fucking strong, and I've never seen a woman be this strong before and it's AMAZING.

She hits him on the head over and over again, and then he starts crawling up the mallet towards her and it's so creepy HOLY FUCK and then he sends her sprawling and pops the mallet back out of his head OH MY GOD.

Grace starts using a piece of car siding as shield because she lost her weapon, keeping herself between the Terminator and Dani at all times.

Diego crushes him with a machine--I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, FILMMAKERS, NICE CALLBACK. Unfortunately, it doesn't take, but it does give them some breathing room. Meanwhile, Grace is tired and out of breath, and visibly overheating. The perfect time to introduce herself to Dani!

Grace explains the situation on the run, and throws Diego into the truck they steal outside when he hesitates. I gotta hand it to her, she's doing this whole thing pretty well.

Diego sees her arm. "Are you a machine too?" "No I'm human, like you!" They don't believe her. "No, I'm augmented." THIS IS GOING TO BE A THEME, OH MY GOD. More on this later. Grace can argue with them AND hotwire the truck at the same time. #goals.

They bust out of the factory. The police immediately go after them, not sure how that worked, and Grace says "Oh, shit," seconds before the Terminator (now revealed as the Rev-9) busts through the wall with a truck and a... snowplow? I guess it's for moving stone and metal bits around the factory? Whatever. It's a lot. The police cars go flying.

Somehow Grace manages to drive AND explain backstory at the same time, which I admire, because I can barely talk and drive at the same time.

There's a lot of civilian casualties, mostly due to the Rev-9 snowplowing everything. They end up going backwards up the highway off-ramp and onto the highway. The Rev-9 busts through more things and loses the snowplow. It's a bad day to be driving in Mexico City, let's just say that much.

Grace gets the first "FUCK!" of the movie, as the check engine light of the truck comes on, so Dani gets to drive while Grace makes improvised weapons out of rebar. Oh, wait, Dani can't drive, so Diego gets to do it. (Hahaha, I guess Dani's going to learn how to drive soon because METAPHOR)

Graces eases off her jacket so she can blow off steam and leaps into the back of the truck, yelling for Dani to put her seatbelt on OH MY GOD THIS MOVIE. I love it.

She targets the Rev-9 and throws. He doesn't even flinch at the first one and catches the second one. She stabs him several times through and then he grabs the rebar and moves the polymetallic alloy portion of himself onto the front of the truck while the metallic Terminator skeleton drives.

[COMBINING THOSE TWO PARTS IS REALLY CREEPY AND ALSO THE BEST DECISION THEY COULD HAVE MADE 10/10 APPROVED]

It looks like the skeleton is laughing at Grace, but I think that's just his resting bitch face, lol.

Grace changes tactics and shoots for the tires. The Rev-9 jumps and throws a rebar back at her and Grace deflects it so it misses Dani. Then the truck is dragging the Rev-9's protoplasm while the other half crashes and Grace has to fend him off. Rev-9 takes this opportunity and slashes at the tires with his sword-hands. Grace kicks him off and he gets run over, but it won't take. Diego crashes the truck as the tire blows and Grace rolls and takes a bad fall onto the pavement. The Rev-9's skeleton crawls out of the flames.

DANI WORE HER SEATBELT SO SHE'S FINE WHILE DIEGO DIDN'T AND IS INJURED OH MY GOD THIS MOVIE THE DETAILS FUUUUUUCCCKKKK. Like, Grace knew Dani had to wear her seatbelt BECAUSE SHE'S FROM THE FUTURE AND OLDER!DANI TOLD HER TO DO IT! And younger!Dani DID IT! OH my GOD! (either that or they really are just that drift compatible)

Oh, no, Diego has rebar through him, he's not going to survive AAAAAAAAH no whhhhhhyyyyy

Meanwhile, some poor motorist tries to help the Rev-9 and is murdered for his troubles. sigh.

Grace has to pull Dani over the body of her dying brother seconds before the Rev-9 smashes into the car and everything explodes in fire. Dani tries to run to Diego and Grace holds her back. Grace makes Dani run.

All of the Rev-9's protoplasm is oozing back towards the skeleton in liquid dark smears on the ground and it's so creepy FUUUUCCKKKK

Oh god HE WALKS THROUGH THE METAL HIGHWAY GUARD LIKE IT'S NO BIG DEAL HOW CREEPY CAN YOU GET FUUUUCCKKK

And then the skeleton starts throwing rebar at them from the other SIDE fuuuuckk. this movie so isn't subtle, because there's the machine part and the human-looking part, and they're both working together as one, and this is a METAPHOR, we're meant to see the Rev-9 and Grace as FOILS to each other AAHHHHHH and the Rev-9 is also a SYMBOL OF WHAT HUMANITY CAN BECOME IF IT MELDS WITH AI, AHHHHHHH

Can I just note here that the skeleton part DOES NOT HAVE A ROUND HEAD THERE IS IN FACT A GAP WHERE ITS BRAIN SHOULD BE AAAAAAA

"When they start to kill me, run," Grace says to Dani. But... AN SUV pulls up, knocks the skeleton flat on its ass as the human part of the REV-9 just stares in dull, placid confusion.

next up: my fave returns!

[luccie-eclair]

Honest TLK Review

I'll preface with the fact that I was just like everyone else, ready to tear this movie apart. I'm named after a character from the movie because my dad loves it so much. He even drove down to visit for the weekend so we could go see it tonight. I saw the trailer and I wasn't completely sold on it because, like many of you, I thought the expressions looked dry. I also was unsure about Beyonce being casted (I know, a black person not being big into Bey is rare). I also though that the timing of its return (the fact that it's around the same time the copyright would run out) was suspicious. I was very suspicious of this movie.

------------------------------------------------------------------

It was good. Genuinely, I enjoyed every minute of it. That's not to say that I didn't have a few nitpick issues with it such as:

Yes, I did have an issue with some of the expressions. OVERALL, facial expressions were actually very good and the few snapshots that we saw in trailer just showed the not so great of it. To elaborate, there were many moments were I could very clearly see exactly what the characters were going through. It's mostly in the eyes, I think. However, in The Scene, I honestly wanted to laugh at how almost neutral Simba looked being that it was such a heartbreaking scene. That's the worst of it. Honest.

There were moments where I thought the music was entirely too loud and it almost drowned out the voices.

I saw absolutely no reason for Bey to have a riff 30 seconds into Can You Feel.

There were a few lines where I felt the voice director could've asked to redo lines, particularly with the kids. But they're kids and they did a pretty good job regardless.

The great parts!!!!

Scar's scene with the hyenas was genuinely eerie. I feel bad to say it, but a little girl sitting in front of me burst into tears at how scary it was. It was good.

Beyonce and Donald's voices complimented each other very well.

Despite my few gripes about some of the facial expressions, there were a lot of moments when they were really great.

You could tell that (despite this whole thing with the copyright which I think is more of a corporate issue, not a film production issue) the production team: cast, crew, director, producer, music team, everyone. Put so much heart into this movie despite getting ripped before it was even released.

The scenery was gorgeous. Beyond gorgeous. It was practically picturesque. I loved looking at the background. They worked so hard on it and anyone who even looks at it negatively can catch these hands.

Sidenote on the scenery: look for Mickey heads.

I honestly was SUPER suspicious about Bey being in this movie. I thought that was a super cheap move to get views especially since she has such a huge, dedicated fanbase. I really thought she was gonna outshine the entire cast because she's Beyonce. I will happily admit that I was wrong. I don't feel like she outdid the other performers.

The original was definitely funny, but I thought this one had a lot more fun moments. I think Zazu, Timon, and Pumbaa had more opportunities to shine has comic relief.

I don't want to spoil anymore, even though it is the same movie, but I could go on about things I really enjoyed. I actually would recommend that people see it and give it a chance. I know it's easy to take what media and other people say about it for face value, but let me be one to tell you:

That moment when the title screen comes in after The Circle of Life? The entire theatre cheered.

When the end credits came? Everyone was so happy.

This movie is for people who watched the bright, colorful movie as children and have grown up. I completely agree, not EVERY movie needs a LA remake. The "live action" is different from the original, yes. But if you're just gonna redo every single moment, every single line of animated movie? What is the point of a remake if you don't add or change something?

[jrobert1698-blog]

The Mandalorian Season One Review

The Mandalorian is a Disney+ original television show starring Pedro Pascal and created by Jon Favreau.  In addition to featuring a supporting cast of Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, and Giancarlo Esposito, the show also created a legend of our time: Baby Yoda.  Logging just eight episodes in its debut season, the show follows a conflicted bounty hunter as he attempts to honor the creed of his people, the customs of his profession, and his heart’s desire.  If you haven’t seen the show yet, I highly suggest you check it out.  Some spoilers lie ahead if you wish to turn back now; otherwise, “this is the way.”

I’ll be honest: I’m a really big Star Wars fan.  I should qualify that by saying I haven’t consumed every bit of the Star Wars canon, and I’m not extremely familiar with the Expanded Universe.  I know this qualifies me as scum; force choke me if you must.  Nonetheless, it is one of my favorite franchises dating all the way back to my early childhood.  This makes it somewhat difficult to review anything Star Wars related because I’m always subconsciously rooting for it to be good.  I allowed this to get the better of me with The Last Jedi, and I defended that film for far too long.  In short, I tried to approach The Mandalorian with an open mind but without letting my inner fanboy take over my sensibilities.  I’d like to believe that this review is as neutral as possible but if I do sound overexcited please forgive me. 

Before I get into The Mandalorian in detail I want to take a brief step back to 2015.  Before The Force Awakens cam out, everybody was excited to see Star Wars again.  Despite box office success, some people dismissed Episode VII as too derivative of A New Hope.  Others were just happy to have new characters, a diverse cast, and a competent director in J.J. Abrams.  I will go to the grave believing that the single biggest mistake Disney made since purchasing Star Wars was hiring Rian Johnson to direct The Last Jedi. While he is clearly capable of creating a great film in his own right, his vision clashed significantly with Abrams’ and the end result was a very divisive movie that split up the Star Wars fan base.  It made at least half the fandom bitter and jaded towards anything Star Wars that Disney produced.  People desperately needed something to unify them and make them remember why they love Star Wars again.  I’m happy to report that season one of The Mandalorian is exactly what the fans, and Disney, needed. 

I feel as though its only proper to begin a review of The Mandalorian by discussing Din Djarin himself as portrayed by Pedro Pascal.  I liked him in Game of Thrones and I like him even more here.  Some people might assume that having a mask cover your entire face makes acting easier.  To some extent this is true.  Not having to express emotions with one’s eyes and mouth alleviates some of the burden.  However, its also a unique acting challenge to make people get invested in a character whose face they can’t see.  The fact that so many love this character is a testament to good screenwriting and Pascal’s acting ability.  The audience actually roots for Mando to keep his mask on because the writers made it a crucial part of his identity.  Additionally, Pascal has to express emotion through the intonation of his voice, the speed at which he turns his helmet, and his deliberate pace when he walks.  This is far more difficult than people realize, and Pascal deserves a lot of credit for making this season the success that it was.

The character of the Mandalorian also stands out to me because in many ways he exemplifies the qualities of a good action hero.  Again, good screenwriting.  He comes off as a believable bad ass from the minute he slices a guy in half with a door in Episode 1.  However, unlike other Star Wars protagonists of late, he never feels overpowered either.  Audiences need to feel like their hero is in danger of getting hurt or dying in order for excitement to register.  There are many moments in this season where Mando gets his ass kicked.  He gets electrocuted by Jawas, gored by a Mudhorn, pinned down by Bounty Hunters and almost blown up several times.  However, like any good action hero, he always manages to bounce back and lives to fight another day.  This is why audiences truly respect this character who, at the end of the day, is just a human being like all of us. 

Another great, and perhaps underrated, aspect of this show is the amazing score by Ludwig Goransson.  I really liked his work on Black Panther as well and I’m looking forward to any future projects he works on.  This is the first time I can remember that anyone other than John Williams has made an original and memorable Star Wars score.  The main title is freakin’ awesome.  It’s the perfect blend of tribal mysticism and the military marches we’ve come to know and love.  Fortunately, this space opera comes with some great overtures to highlight it.

Before I sound like a total fanboy, let’s talk about a few issues I have with the show.  There are certainly issues you can nitpick from a canon perspective but that isn’t my main concern.  My biggest complaint would be the sometimes haphazard nature of the show.  Episode 5 in particular felt like a sizable departure from the main story.  Episode 6, while more entertaining, similarly broke from the overarching narrative to give us a little bit of Mando’s backstory.  I don’t necessarily have a problem with this video game mission approach to the show, but I do hope that some of these side quests get paid off more significantly in future episodes.  I also would have liked a more consistent emphasis on the supporting cast members like Carano’s Cara Dune and Weathers’ Greef Carga.  Even Kuill could have used more screen time if for no other purpose than to make us more attached to him before his untimely death.

My complaints, in the long run, are relatively minor.  Compared to my overall respect and enjoyment of this show, they pale in comparison.  One major reason why is that Disney spared no expense in making this show the best it could possibly be.  The visual effects, where I feared they might skimp, were better than a lot of feature films.  The show felt cinematic, like Game of Thrones did at its best.  The cinematography was mostly great as well.  I particularly liked Taika Waititi’s direction in the season finale.  That shot of Mando finally using a jetpack to latch onto Moff Gideon’s TIE Fighter deserves to be on a poster.  I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the closing shot of Gideon holding the fucking Darksaber.  I can’t wait to see Giancarlo Esposito in an expanded role in Season 2 and hopefully beyond.  If he can play half the villain he did in Breaking Bad it will be a success.

And, of course, I had to save the single best part of this show, by far, for last. Baby. Fucking. Yoda.  This is one of the most well-concealed plot twists in recent memory.  Disney, somehow, did a fantastic job of keeping Baby Yoda out of marketing materials and trailers in the pre-release process.  When I first saw that adorable green face for the first time I somehow screamed, laughed and cried out in excitement at once.  This character is great for so many reasons besides obviously being the cutest thing to come out of 2019.  The Child makes Mando extremely conflicted and puts him in the most difficult quandary of his life: honor his code as a Bounty Hunter or follow his instincts and protect this child in need?  Baby Yoda also kicks a lot of ass for a one-foot-tall fifty year old.  His obviously strong connection to the force presents a myriad of options for his future: will he train as a Jedi, be a powerful vigilante, or turn to the dark side?  I’m kidding, but I’m also serious; he did force choke Cara Dune after all.  And he’s grown up among a series of explosions, laser beams, and punchy storm troopers.  That’s a pretty traumatic childhood.  Clearly, Baby Yoda has turned into a phenomenon and sparked an infinite number of memes, songs, and art.  I think it’s well deserved and I can’t wait to see more adventures in baby sitting with our little green friend. 

My thoughts on The Mandalorian can be expressed very simply: it’s fucking awesome. There is a whole lot to like about where this story is going and what Favreau and the slew of directors have done so far.  They’ve managed to inject genuine excitement into the fan base for what feels like the first time in a very, very long time. Additionally, Disney needed to knock one out of the park in order to salvage their reputation and preserve fan interest in one of their most valuable franchises.  Despite a few minor missteps, season one of The Mandalorian is a fantastic and I eagerly anticipate season two whenever it comes out.  If you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out.  Baby Yoda alone makes it worth it.  I have spoken.

Rating: 9/10