#anyway the more I watch the different interviews of him talking about how they’re not at where people keep hyping them to be

[rickybaby]

Daniel on Ted’s Notebook | Testing Day 3 | pt.2

“[Lando] is normally pretty honest. So if he’s feeling a little down, maybe they expected to be a little quicker […] but for now, we’re hopefully a Q3 or top 10 car but to be much more than that, I think that’s probably getting too excited 😁😁😁”

[bekolxeram]

Idea/prompt by @jackmichaela, from this post. This is maybe not exactly what you're asking for, but I'm not good at rewriting scenes. I'm only good at filling in blanks so... I hope you like it.

Tommy usually hates hospital visits. They’re either heart-wrenching or tedious, no in between.

This time, it’s different. Since Hen delivered good news about Denny on the group chat, everyone seems so much more at ease: Evan is not scratching his face anymore, Eddie paces down his mission to destroy the whole bowl of Halloween candies, and sergeant Grant is talking to some teenagers at the reception desk. Tommy picks up a magazine next to him, USA Today, and starts flipping through it. Though he fails to focus on the celebrity interviews or the healthy diet tips in front of him, he is simply basking in the warm familial atmosphere around him.

Then everyone’s phone dings all at once again.

He looks up to find Eddie, struggling to contain his giggle.

“What’s happening this time?” Tommy asks. He scans around and see the rest of the 118 holding in a laugh, just like Eddie. They seem to be watching something on their phone with earbuds in, a smart and considerable choice in a hospital lobby, but Tommy has no clue about the origin of their amusement.

“Oh… oh, it’s nothing. Just a funny cat video.” Evan interjects, face turning red.

“Evan?” Tommy suspects.

“You can take mine. I was there anyway, I’ve seen it all.” Eddie hands Tommy his phone, with a devilish smirk on his face. Evan shoots him a death glare in return.

On Eddie’s phone screen, Tommy sees two clips sent to the 118 group chat, both of them prominently feature Evan’s face in the thumbnail.

“Please don’t do this. I was high on medications.” Evan pleads.

“It’s okay. I swear I won’t hold your intoxicated speeches against you. I just want to be part of the gang this time.” Tommy smiles softly at his boyfriend, then kisses him on a relatively unaffected patch of skin on his cheek.

Tommy presses play.

The first clip is a shaky video of Evan in an ambulance.

“Hey, how’re you feeling?” Eddie asks in the background.

“Muu-- better.” Evan slurs. “Uh, let me tell you a secret… I have a crush on someone….”

“Oh, tell me about it.” Eddie says jovially.

“He uh… tall, and hot, and big…” Evan sighs dreamily. “He’s strong, he used to be in the Army.” He points a finger at the camera.

“Well, I’m flattered, but I don’t really swing that w…”

“No! Ewww! You’re like a brother to me.”

“Ew? That’s a little harsh. I mean, I’m not that bad looking, right?”

“Naaaaaaaa? You’re attractive too? You’re just not the man of my dream.”

“And… who’s that guy exactly?” Eddie asks with a guiding question?

“It’s Tah – Tah – ”

“Tah – ?”

“Tarzan!” Evan exclaims. “He’s got big hands, big biceps the size of my head, a big heart, and… those V-shaped lines leading from his super cut abs to his giant d…” Evan is almost drooling.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough for me.” Eddie stops him before he can get too explicit with his ode.

“You’re homophobic!”

“Wait, what? You said it, I’m your brother. I just don’t want to know too much about my brother’s sex life.”

“I just spent too much time not living my life to its fullest, because of ignorant people.” Evan laments.

“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know how hard it was for y…”

“Meeeeeeeeee! I was the ignorant people… I didn’t realize how hot men were… I didn’t know how much I wanted to suck Tah...” Evan drags out his vowels, while trying to point at something in the air with his hands.

The video suddenly turns into a blur. “Alright, stop moving before you hurt yourself more.” Then it ends abruptly.

“Tarzan, huh?” Tommy turns to look at Evan. “Is that what you think of me?” Evan’s boils are as red as tomatoes by now.

“Fine! You’ve all had your fun. Now can you spare me from further embarrassment?” Evan requests, trying to hide his blushing cheeks under the collar of his jacket.

“You know very well that as a firefighter,” Chimney cuts in, “drugged up ramblings are required to be public knowledge by law. For transparency’s sake and as entertainment for other first responders,” He laughs, gesturing for Tommy to play the next clip.

The second clip starts with Evan in the hospital room.

“Tell me more about your crush, Tarzan.” Eddie demands, again, in the background.

“What? Who’s Tarzan? I said Tommy.” Evan replies, with much less slurring in his speech this time.

Eddie seems to have clocked the sedation weaning off, “Um… You’re back with us, Buck? How’s the pain? Do you need me to call the nurse…”

“What? Are you out of your mind? It’s Tommy! Did Chili Oils wipe your memories too?” Evan furrows his brows, with a deeply confused expression. “Tommy! My husband!”

“Umm… when did you get married?” Eddie asks, just as confused.

“At Maddie’s wedding. No! Wait! We weren’t married yet. I only thought about it back then! When he came to me still in his turnouts and soot all over his face I just…” Evan says with an enamored smile. “Wait, where am I? Am I in the hospital? Why am I here?”

“I’m just gonna call the nurse…”

“I’m getting married here! Like Chimney! Eddie, you got me into some bachelor party shenanigans and I end up having to marry the love of my life here!”

“I didn’t…”

“Do I look good? No, wait, I’m naked! I need a suit!” Evan pats all over his own body with both hands.

“Stop! Don’t move your bad arm!” Eddie tries stopping him. Then the clip starts getting blurry again.

“I’m marrying Tommy with my birthday suit! Like the ancient Greek! Do I look good, Eddie? Are my pecs popping under this cover?”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, now stop flailing around.” Eddie says before the video ends.

Evan puts his face into his hands, flustered and embarrassed. “You’re happy now?”

“Of course I am. That’s payback for making me listen to your graphic description of your love life under sedation.” Eddie frowns.

“Well, I think that’s very cute.” Tommy interrupts. “We’re in no hurry to get married but… I appreciate you blurting out your attraction to me, unlike our first date…”

“Shut up!” Evan hides his head on Tommy’s shoulder to avoid the inevitable teasing.

“Make me.” Tommy responds.

Evan simply looks his boyfriend deep in the eyes and kisses him, softly but deeply.

“Hi, thanks for being here. Denny’s awake, you can go see him now if you want to.” Hen comes out to update the 118 family. “Especially you, Tommy. The first thing Denny asked was for the cool pilot who’s good at painting to draw the most badass helicopter on his cast.” Hen asks Tommy, with the exhaustion and relief of a previously worrying mother in her eyes.

“Of course.” Tommy replies.

[patron-saints]

on morality & madeleine: interview with the vampire meta (written after s2e6)

so far, i’ve found that trying to process my thoughts on madeleine feels really difficult when everyone online has their own opinions and their own biases. this post is kind of my attempt to sort out how i feel about her, and to refute and explore some arguments i’ve seen pop up in her tag.

i think the people who are pointing out that first and foremost these are fictional characters have it right: they’re not real people, their relative morality is only relevant as it pertains to the story itself. and in a story like interview with the vampire, your baseline is that every main character is a killer. in terms of morality, evaluating whether or not a character is a good person is pretty useless and also just… isn’t the point of the story. all characters are functions of a narrative, all characters are tools that you use to tell a story. their morality should not be judged in the same way as you would a real person’s! now. all that being said, let’s have some fun judging* madeleine anyway!

*doing some of my own biased character analysis on

what we know comes to us from a few sources: claudia’s diary, which daniel can read, (decent primary source, but filtered with her biases), louis’s recollection of madeleine’s memories (secondary source that relies on both of their ability to remember clearly) and presumably, louis and armand’s recollections of their interactions as well, which isn’t a whole lot to begin with.

part 1: the nazi fucking

when madeleine talks about sleeping with a nazi to claudia, she’s extremely casual about it. while she notes he brought her food, and cigarettes, she says in a way that invokes a courtship ritual, rather than a direct bribe. it’s impossible to divorce this from the context though: her neighbors are starving, and she was brought food. it likely was a bribe, but what’s important is that she doesn’t relay it as one. her focus when she starts talking about him is on the connection: “it was the comfort, the proof of life,” as she says. if she had been coerced, or if she felt like she had no choice in the matter, i think she would have presented it a little differently. but her affection for the guy is clear, and she even mocks him a little to claudia. in her own words, “i wasn’t inviting hitler to stay in france, i was inviting a frightened boy to cradle my tits.” 

which. let’s be real here: to claudia, she is downplaying it. she slept with an occupying soldier during an occupation. watching this scene for the first time, you could even reasonably assume she doesn’t get how serious that is. but once you see the degree of punishment she faced, and continues to face for her actions, you realize her framing here is a learned defense against genuine violence. she feels she has to downplay it to herself and to claudia because there is an imbalance here. it becomes harder to admit to your wrongdoings when the punishments you face for them feel wildly disproportionate.

madeleine did something she never should have done, something she doesn’t feel remorse for, but something that she’s being punished for in a way that far exceeds what any person deserves.

when she talks about it to armand, her framing changes again. she calls it a love, still, so the affection is still present, but she places a greater emphasis on doing what it takes to survive, implying more so that sleeping with a nazi was an act of self-preservation. regardless of whether this is more true than how she presents things to claudia, she has a motivation here too.

when she shares her experiences with claudia, she’s flirting, trying to make her laugh, trying to make a connection, and this part might be subconsciously, but she is certainly trying to get claudia to like her. when she talks to armand, however, she’s actively trying to convince him to grant her the dark gift. she has to portray herself as capable, as self-sufficient, and discerning, and it works! even though he denies her based on his own biases, armand is visibly impressed by all of madeleine’s answers to his questions.

and all we get from louis was that the experience was sweet. and let’s be real, it did look pretty sweet.

i don’t believe madeleine has any hatred for the boy she slept with. i don’t think there’s any evidence she has any hatred for jewish people either, or for her country, which her neighbors believe she betrayed. i think she chose to prioritize a moment of human connection (and possibly food) over the greater consequences of her actions.

i have been looking for the post again since i saw it, so if anyone sees it lmk! but! the op talked about the fact that madeleine as a collaborator isn’t changing her behavior in any meaningful way now: she watched claudia kill in front of her, and instead of running, she once again invited the danger in, joined up with it. i believe the post said something like: once a collaborator, always a collaborator.

this has really stuck with me and i really wish i could reference it properly.

cuz i think there is something there—i think madeleine’s self-preservation instinct is a little screwed on wrong, i think she is acting similarly with claudia as she did with the nazi, but i think it’s not just about the danger. portraying her choice to follow claudia as a cold moment of choosing survival takes away from her complexity, and from the veracity of her feelings for claudia. so, not just the danger. i think it’s about the connection again.

the connection she has with claudia is real, the love she has for claudia is incredibly real. but madeleine is once again prioritizing an interpersonal connection over anything else, and that is the pattern she’s repeating here.

part 2: the apparent age gap issues

every single person who says their relationship is problematic because claudia is a child owes me and claudia fifty bucks.

i don’t really even want to get into that because i don’t think it’s worth my time. the show has put a lot of effort into demonstrating that claudia is an adult trapped in the body of a teenager, and that experience is hard enough on her without all you people insisting she’s still a kid anyway.

however, there’s a secondary argument i’ve seen which i do want to address, which is madeleine’s perception of her.

in their first meeting in the shop, it’s clear that madeleine is seeing claudia as a teenager. she calls her one directly, and references her “body about to bloom” when they meet again two years later. however, when they do meet two years later, claudia has not grown. we know madeleine has noticed this by the dress fitting scene for certain, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume she noticed that sooner. additionally, in the same breath, madeleine also references claudia’s “mind of a sophisticate.” by the time claudia tells her that her growth was stunted due to the war, it’s extremely likely that madeleine had already reached a similar conclusion. she doesn’t look surprised at all when claudia says it, and it’s because claudia seems like an adult. even if she doesn’t look like one, she carries herself like one, she makes conversation like one, and it’s very easy for madeleine to accept the reality that she is one, because she may have suspected as much already. 

the reason i say all of this is because i’ve seen multiple people saying it’s inappropriate for her to flirt with claudia before she knows she’s an adult.

is their interaction at the shop window flirting? are they flirting outside the theatre, just after the play? both of these scenes are before claudia says her growth was stunted. i think it’s impossible to say they were definitively flirtatious, but i will certainly say there was a vibe. and i think that’s… kind of fine actually ? two people can have chemistry and it doesn’t have to mean anything about them morally. and my coworker andy said it would have been weirder if they had no chemistry and then did suddenly after madeleine realizes she’s an adult, which made me laugh, and which i think is correct. i like the way they get along before the dress fitting, i think those scenes are fun, and the ambiguity of the flavor adds to it.

i did see at least one post that said it was inappropriate for madeleine to talk about sex frankly with claudia if she thinks she’s a teenager, and to that i say. you can talk to teens about sex. even if she didn’t suspect claudia was older, it’s still fine. they are friends, and she’s sharing an experience she had because claudia asked her about it. 

additionally, it’s both a very contemporary & a very american idea that People Under 18 need to be kept from conversations about sex. frankness about sexuality is in fact, very french lol.  

i did originally think that this was after the conversation about claudia not growing, but i just watched the scene again to be sure and it was, in fact, also before, but i think my point stands. 

i don’t know for certain if she intended to come across as flirtatious in these scenes, but i know something clicked for her right around her confession. you can see it, when they lock eyes in the mirror, that whatever the vibe is, they’ve both clocked it. and she finds out claudia’s older than she looks only seconds later, because she’s the one pointing out that claudia hasn’t grown. (but, yes, i’ll add anyway: after claudia says her growth was stunted, and after that moment of connection, madeleine’s expressions do seem a lot more… Interested too, lol). 

i understand and i empathize so much with people’s criticisms of madeleine’s past. i have no intention to exonerate her in that regard (other than her previously mentioned narrative tool status) but i will jump to her defense when it comes to her relationship with claudia.

madeleine sees claudia as an adult, because claudia is an adult.

if they weren’t vampires, and if they weren’t queer in the 1940s, maybe she’d be worried about how others saw their relationship. or maybe it would be weird if she didn’t care how it looked. but given that the only people who will know they’re romantically together are other vampires, i don’t see her lack of concern for the optics being that much of an issue either.

and the reason she’s not concerned is because she knows what claudia is to her. which brings us to:

part 3: the sister stuff

once again i think the show does a pretty good job of refuting this one on its own, but i’d like to get all my arguments in the same place.

so. i see “don’t worry about the blood, it’s the blood that made you,” getting thrown around a lot as proof that madeleine is replacing claudia as her sister.

why would they have a scene that directly refutes this if they were true? when louis asks if that’s what’s going on, claudia says they already “had it out,” and madeleine clarifies that claudia is nothing like her sister, and cannot be a replacement.

“don’t worry about the blood, it’s the blood that made you,” is something that madeleine says because she loves claudia, because she loves the person and the vampire that she is. because she wants claudia to know that her past does not define her. because she wants her to know she doesn’t feel tainted by it, and that claudia doesn’t have to either.

and yeah, it’s not that there’s zero incestuous tones to it! or to the whole arrangement, certainly. but i think any that are there pretty neatly fall under the “iwtv typical wire crossings” flavor rather than the “you’re my dead sister’s replacement” flavor.

so, yeah. despite saying fictional character morality doesn’t matter, i’ve just written several paragraphs trying to figure out if madeleine is a good person or not. really, though, that’s not the question iwtv wants us to ask, or the question i really want to ask its viewers either. is madeleine a good person? eh, probably not. is madeleine a good person for claudia? absolutely.

on this, iwtv is extremely clear. madeleine is an ideal partner. she’s not scared, she’s not surrounded by friends and family she’d grieve, she’s weirdly suited to vampirism, and she loves claudia so much. they share a morbid sense of humor, they’re comfortable teasing each other, they communicate in an extremely healthy way, and every single step of their relationship is based on consent.

the entire time i was watching her scene with armand, i just kept whispering, “oh my god, she’s perfect.” she nailed absolutely every question because she’s perfect for what she’s supposed to do as character, as a function of the narrative she is a part of. madeleine is perfect because she is perfect for claudia.

[raisedbythetv89]

excuse the ranting here but just had someone try and argue that a fully evil literally on the hunt for the Slayer (bc he’s stalking his PREY to fight and hopefully kill) Spike - finding Buffy attractive (according to an interview James gave where he talks about that moment and said he embodied the kinds of predatory men who literally are “on the hunt” for real life women in bars) as anywhere NEAR the same level of creepiness as a SOULFUL aka SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD angel stalking and falling in love at the sight of an innocent and crying 15 year old Buffy….

Anti spike/spuffy ppl always try and use that interview to make Spike out to be “just as creepy” as Angel which is always just so embarrassing to me that they don’t grasp the basic difference between one was the most evil and literally is a predator to her prey but buffy is also a predator to spike’s kind so there is even still a balance of power between them even then and he’s literally just explaining how he played the scene to get the attitude and body language right as a predator bc he understands that’s what Spike is to Buffy at that time (literally had zero clue he would ever be a love interest of Buffy’s). And the other who is not supposed to be a predator anymore…. hides his identity as a vampire AND hides the fact that he’s been watching her for over a year is still acting as a predator but instead of stalking an experienced slayer to attempt to fight and kill he is stalking a freshly called still weak and vulnerable slayer who he wants to sleep with aka corrupt.

Angel is supposed to be GOOD yet is still acting like a predator. Spike IS EVIL and so is simply acting as someone who has killed two slayers should 💀💀💀💀 the fact that soulless evil Spike and soulful “good” Angel’s behavior can be compared AT ALL is bad for angel and angel alone bc spike is supposed to be evil and treating buffy as someone he is hunting and as an opponent. Angel is supposed to be HELPING Buffy….

But regardless of all that the argument is James said Sarah is beautiful so of course he played up that angle as well so canonically Spike thinks a 16 year old Buffy is pretty and these people really don’t understand the difference between the two 😭😭

First of all I personally have heard Sarah call herself “not the prettiest” at least 10 times in 10 different interviews - how often do you think the people in her life heard her make jokes or comments about her appearance??? To me that always seemed like James just paying a compliment to his costar who doesn’t understand how literally fucking STUNNING she is by basically being like HAVE YOU SEEN HER OF COURSE MY CHARACTER THINKS SHE’S PRETTY LOOK AT HER!! James literally rizzed his way into a main character and love interest like of course he’s gonna be charming in real life by paying compliments to everyone he can every chance he gets. He had sex appeal and a dream AND IT WORKED 💀 and we also see him have chemistry with practically every person on the show that’s just who he is 😹😹😹

But I also just cannot emphasize how much of a difference there is between finding someone attractive or thinking they’re beautiful vs actually ACTING on it and ESPECIALLY acting on it when you call her friend of the same age “just a kid” and say over and over again how wrong it is and that she’s too young AND THEN DO IT ANYWAY. Like it’s a supernatural show with vampires who are 100 & 200+ years old if angel hadn’t constantly acted like her dad and treated Buffy like a kid and everything is season 3 didn’t happen there could be sooooooo much more leniency with angel and buffy’s age differences and I probably wouldn’t care bc applying irl rules to the supernatural doesn’t make a lot of sense but angel always treats her like a child and says over and over again how wrong it is and THAT is what makes it a problem within this supernatural show bc Spike never treats her like a child or like she isn’t his equal ever no matter what age she is

But unfortunately it makes sense people who like a character whose main personality trait is !catholic guilt! (when he’s got a soul) don’t understand the difference between thoughts and actions and how we should only be defining ourselves and other people by their actions. Because we are not every single thought we’ve ever had both good and bad. If you think to do good things but don’t that does not make you good and if you think to do bad things but don’t that does not make you bad.

So evil Spike thinking a beautiful Buffy dancing with her friends is hot at 16 is not even CLOSE to the same as a supposed to be good angel activity pursuing a relationship with her by breadcrumbing the absolute fuck out of her, manipulating her like crazy and lying to her about practically everything and flirting with her under false pretenses after falling in love at the sight of her looking like a child with her lollipop on the school steps at 15 and then watching her cry in the bathroom mirror as he watches her from the bushes with a smile on his face and hope in his eyes and if you don’t understand that there is literally nothing I can do or say to help you

[tomorrowxtogether]

SOOBIN: “It’s always been my goal for the other members to be happy”

TOMORROW X TOGETHER The Name Chapter: FREEFALL comeback interview

2023.10.23

SOOBIN, as always, speaks in a calm voice throughout. Whether he’s talking about the happiness that surrounds him, the challenges he faces, the pleasures of everyday life, or the major goals that guide the group, his voice is resolute but relaxed—spirited, but soft.

You kept talking about how you want to watch the new movie Concrete Utopia.

SOOBIN: I never ended up seeing it. It left theaters. (laughs) If someone in my friends’ group chat says, “There’s a movie I want to see,” then someone else asks who can go, and then anyone who can goes to see it. I’m really thankful to have friends who will come with me to see the movies I want to watch.

You took a trip with them recently, isn’t that right?

SOOBIN: I took an overnight trip with them to Gapyeong not that long ago. We had a cooking competition, then they asked me to teach them the dance for “Sugar Rush Ride.” So I showed them and then they spontaneously held a competition and asked me to be the judge. It was really fun and super cute. (laughs)

It sounds like your friends are very important to you.

SOOBIN: It’s fair to say they know me really well. They really love me and look out for me. Usually when they say something like, “Choi Soobin’s eating only this much? Something wrong?”—there really is something wrong. These days they’re so good at seeing through me. It’s almost annoying. (laughs) And if any of us goes too far, we apologize on the spot. And after we take a trip, we even say, I had such a great time thanks to you guys. You really made me happy. It’s always like that. I get carried away in that kind of environment which lets me say embarrassing things, and even though we bicker sometimes, it leads to self-improvement. I guess you could say I’ve become a kinder person overall and I’m capable of being a lot more open now. I really learned how to express myself.

I imagine that you get a lot of energy out of that whole process.

SOOBIN: I started going out way more this year. I was having a lot of personal doubts and feeling confused last year, so it wasn’t an easy time. So I went around looking for help, talked a lot to more experienced artists, and got some advice. I ended up getting really close to a lot of people. After that, I had more reasons to go out. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the same routine every day, so I really need that time these days.

How did you feel during the world tour? Judging by your vlogs from that time, it looks like you established your own little routine for after each concert.

SOOBIN: You hear from a lot of different artists that they sometimes feel empty when they get in after a concert. But not me. (laughs) After seeing all those people in big crowds, coming back, and having some alone time, it’s—I mean, that’s a really full day. I think it’s important to have time to be alone and reflect, and to enjoy your hobbies. I don’t really feel like I need to follow up something as special as a concert with something else exciting. I actually feel more comfortable just spending each day the way I’m used to spending it.

I’m surprised you cherish what’s already comfortable to you so much when you also want to try so many new activities.

SOOBIN: I guess you could say I have a personality like a flame. There’s so many things I want to do, but I also get tired of them pretty quickly. For a while I was learning swimming and boxing, then I had an interest in baking and thought about buying an oven, but I was over it quickly. I also bought a camera and then, after a month, never touched it again. (laughs) Anyway, I’m the kind of person who pretty much goes ahead and does things as soon as I want to do them. I never hesitate to start something and I’ll even skip sleep when I want to try something. I can’t stand when I don’t have a hobby to do. It’s tough for me if I can’t have a good time and break out of my routine with something new. I guess that explains my personality where I have to do whatever I want. I’m the kind of person who tries to enjoy what he wants when I want to because I never know when I might lose interest.

But you have far more endurance doing what you do than other people.

SOOBIN: I don’t think I could’ve put this much into any job other than this one. I can already see myself living a lazy life when I’m much older and retired (laughs) so I want to do everything I can while I can. There’s a lot of people who work to make us shine, especially in a line of work like this, so there’s no way I could just phone it in when they’re putting their all into it.

You must have devoted a lot of time and effort toward getting ready for this comeback. You mentioned several times on Weverse Live how excited you are for the new album.

SOOBIN: It’s about embracing and pushing your way through the pain and the hard times you come up against in the real world, so I felt like it’s something I can comprehend and express well. I was actually worried about the last album because I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to pull off the concept of the album, and that’s why I didn’t feel very confident. But the songs are a little bit more of an “easy listening” songs this time and the choreography’s fun, so I’m more confident this time. At first I thought the single “Chasing That Feeling” was basic, but after listening to it four or five times, I realized how catchy it was and started humming it to myself. It felt like the kind of song you’d never skip over in a playlist and one you can keep listening to over and over.

You also mentioned that the dance moves for “Chasing That Feeling” are more physically demanding than those for “Back for More” (TXT Ver.).

SOOBIN: Everyone would assume that “Back for More (TXT Ver.)” is more tough when you see it, but for me, “Chasing That Feeling” is actually more physically demanding. But I still love the choreography. I had so much fun with it when first learning it and I was full of excitement while dancing, but the dance coaches told me, “SOOBIN, you have to do this one with more tenderness. You’re too hyper right now. You need to tone down your emotions.” (laughs) We stretch our arms out really, really wide in the intro and do moves we’ve never done before, but it was a really good match for me and I had a lot of fun. I think the dance really captures that idea of following your passions and always pressing forward even when it’s sort of painful. I got to like the song more while practicing the choreography.

You said on Weverse Live that you have a favorite track off this album. Can you tell us which it is?

SOOBIN: It’s “Skipping Stones.” Singer-songwriter HANRORO wrote it, and I’m a big fan of her music. The song she gave us is so characteristic of her sound that it feels like a song she would’ve written for herself. I fell in love with it the very first time I heard it. It was fun getting to record a song of a style I listen to and sing all the time, which made the process laid-back. I like HANRORO’s music and voice, but I think it’s her all-Korean lyrics that are really beautiful. “The water that swallowed the scars will become calm someday / And it will have a wide embrace.” Time heals all wounds and I was so amazed how she managed to tie that in with the idea of skipping stones. It made me respect her even more.

You wrapped up your second world tour a little bit before the album came out. Did you enjoy yourself on tour? It seemed like you had a lot on your mind while trying to enjoy yourself on stage before that.

SOOBIN: I started to feel less nervous doing the world tour. Now I’m not even scared or nervous before a concert—I’m just excited. I think I’m more comfortable with it because I feel relaxed now. I’m still not totally loosened up, obviously (laughs) but I can’t force myself to be comfortable with everything. I’ll probably have to wait a little longer for that.

During the world tour, you also put on performances at major venues like Lollapalooza in Chicago and the MTV Video Music Awards.

SOOBIN: I was nervous for the VMAs for sure but it was still fun because there were a lot of people who have been superstars to me ever since I was young and it was amazing to see people with MOA light sticks even though it was an overseas awards show. It was so fun that I felt like I was dreaming. It was like, Am I even supposed to be here? I was extremely fortunate to be able to meet people like Bebe Rexha who were a major motivator for me. Moments like those feel like rewards for all the hard work I’ve put in and they’re a huge motivation. I’m very thankful and lucky.

It’s like you take that motivation and work hard to pay it forward to MOA.

SOOBIN: It’s even hard for me to grasp, for someone who used to be a fan myself. To me, it even feels like what fans are giving is just “pure love.” I was so amazed that they’re willing to come such a long distance for our concerts and you can see fans giving things to each other just because they all share a common interest. It’s not like the love between friends or between a couple—it’s something completely special that can’t ever be explained. I’ve been a fan before, too, but speaking as a singer, “the existence of fans is just pure love.” It’s amazing how unconditional their love can be.

It’s clear how much you love the fans when you talk to them on Weverse Live about somewhat sensitive subjects in a firm but kind manner.

SOOBIN: This is how I feel: Let’s all be gentle and share the love. That way, I can be closer with them and no one will be crossing any boundaries of what is acceptable. The reason I say that is, I’m trying to make it so that MOA and I can love each other more and without having to hold anything back. Sometimes I can ignore the uncomfortable stuff and just move on, but the reason I brought that up is because I wanted to make sure we don’t make each other feel uncomfortable and there’s no hard feelings. My point was to say, Let’s make sure we all feel comfortable, and let’s look out for one another and have nothing but love for each other. I try to be as gentle as possible when I say these things, of course.

You also referred to the other group members as “companions” last year in the video TXT Share House.

SOOBIN: We all went through a rough patch at one point last year together. I felt our companionship was particularly strong while we practiced for the year-end awards shows. We were having a lot of honest conversations about our innermost feelings. We weren’t in Korea that much at the time, so I think we relied on each other a lot.

I was surprised when I found out you get a bigger room during world tours because other members come see you. I thought you would want to have your own space.

SOOBIN: I’m not really bothered by them coming in. We each have our own rooms, but I’m actually thankful and feel good that they come to my room to talk to me because it makes me feel like they trust me and rely on me. And I get more excited and talkative than they do when they come in. (laughs) I’m happy when they come in and I always hope they do.

What do you tend to talk about in that situation?

SOOBIN: They mostly come to me when they’re facing some kind of difficulty, whether it’s personal or something related to the group, or when they just want to talk. And I’m usually the one who goes to the label as our representative when we want to propose an idea to them. But there were a lot of times on the most recent world tour where they came to me saying they wanted to hear what I had to say. “How are you feeling about the tour? No problems?” Stuff like that. I actually tend to keep any baggage to myself if sharing it isn’t going to solve anything. Sometimes the other members feel hurt by that though. (laughs) But I still usually unload when it’s something that can be solved together, of course. It’s not like I don’t like to talk. (laughs)

When YEONJUN and TAEHYUN were on SUCHWITA, they said that all the members agreed on one big goal for the group. Was it those conversations that led you to be able to agree on that goal?

SOOBIN: I’m not someone with any big goals—I just want to enjoy the small things in life. But we talked a lot last year about our members’ dreams, what makes us happy, and what our goals are. Not all five of us shared the same goals, but we got to talking about how some of us want to make it to the top of our field. So I thought, If that’s what makes you happy, and that’s your goal, then I’ll try my best for it, too—because it’s always been my goal for the other members to be happy. I figured, if that’s what will make them happiest, then I’ll work toward the same goal with them.

Why does the other members being happy make you happy?

SOOBIN: It’s not just them—my family, my friends, the staff … Nothing makes me happier than seeing them all happy. That’s why I hope our fans are happy, too. I think the people I care about being happy makes me really happy and is as important to me as my own happiness. At least for me.

Has your attitude toward work changed as the goals you’re focused on have shifted?

SOOBIN: I’m making a bigger, tangible effort. I feel like I’ve always done my best, right from when we debuted, but now it’s like I’m trying to be even better than my best. (laughs) I’m practicing harder, working harder when shooting—everything. I’ll work harder this year than last, and next year I’ll work even harder still.

But there will always be bumps along the road when working toward your goals. How do you keep yourself moving forward?

SOOBIN: It might not be the case for everyone in this field, but I think this work makes me really happy, way more than it brings me pain. I'm not the type to dwell on something painful for too long in the first place. It's not simple to get this much love and support, and the happiness it brings is too important for me to let go just because things get tough. It brings me so much joy that it's worth sticking with, no matter what I have to go through.

[pianocat939]

Eaten Little Bird

Tw: mentions of murder, drowning, manipulation, provoking, lying, taunting, gaslighting I think

Okay so I’ve been researching for mythology. I’m always looking for things from different cultures that like isn’t commonly talked about, just simply because I think it’s fun.

This character is based off the myth of Ninki Nanka from West Africa. There’s quite a few depictions of it, such as having a giraffe neck and head, but crocodile body. But I’m going off a 2006 interview data where the people describe it as something similar to that of a Chinese dragon. Except that it has 3 horns and doesn’t fly. It roams swamps and rivers of Southern Gambia. Apparently, it has a fatal stare similar to Medusa. Except you die, not turn into stone.

Here’s the Wiki link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninki_Nanka

Anyway, time to start writing!

MC first meets this monstrous person campus’ nearby lake. There’s quite a few bench to watch the birds and animals.

One night MC just sits there watching the animals. They’re really stressed over a few exams coming up. They’re trying to plan how they’ll study and what times they’ll study each subject.

They start to mumble to themselves what assignments they need to review and what things they need to ask for help on. When suddenly, a splash echoes through the night.

They flinch whilst they’re seated on the bench. They see a guy. He has 3 horns heading backwards in waves. Yellow eyes covered in shades peek through the twists that cover most of his forehead.

“Stop mumblin’ about school bro, makes me feel so icky. Ain’t nobody wanna hear that.” He makes a dramatic frown before grinning.

“What’s got you so up tight huh?”

MC stares at him. Not knowing how to react for a minute. They are a human after all. A rare thing amongst the university students. They notice his dark teal scales. A reptilian it seemed.

“…uh…I just have a few exams..” They spoke hesitantly. He looked so menacing with his claws just scraping the lake shore like that.

“Oh I see. Sucks man. What’s your name?” His sharp fangs gleamed in the moonlight, giving him more of an ominous presence.

“MC.”

“Are you a human? I hardly ever see those guys.” His eyes trail all over you. Like he had no shame over the fact he’s literally staring at you.

“Yeah I am. What are you?” MC asks, fidgeting with their coat zipper.

“I’m a Ninki Nanka. Swamp monster basically. Lethal eyes man.” He pushes up his shades. His eyes glow through the shades. But it seemed the shades blocked the lethal part of his gaze.

“Ah- I still don’t know your name.” MC doesn’t why they’re continuing to ask him these questions. But they couldn’t stop. They were curious.

“Hiɛi Enyɔ.” He spoke, his tongue sticking out a bit. It was a forked tongue like a snake.

“What?” MC tilts their head a bit, not recognizing the sounds.

“Just call me Enyo. It’s easier.” He bluntly stated.

“Ah okay. What are you doing out here? Swimming?” MC questions, kicking the dirt lightly with their foot.

“Yeah. Just relaxin’.” He nods propping his head with his head. “Shouldn’t you be studying now? You blabbering about studying math or something at 9:30 or somethin’.”

MC straightens up. Remembering the reason they were even at the lake in the first place. “Right! Well, it was nice meeting you!” They quickly stand and start walking back to their dorm.

Enyo smirks, flipping up his shades. He slaps his tail against the surface of the water, splashing the liquid. “I think I found myself a new little bird to feed on.”

——————————————————

Enyo is on the swim team! He’s really fast and super confident. So he naturally succeeds.

He’s pretty popular with the sea creatures…but also not. You either love him or hate him.

He’s super chill, but likes to taunt people to play with them. Especially if he wants to provoke his enemies.

He becomes interested in MC when he notices how they clueless they are to their surroundings. How literally he could bite their head off in an instant if he wanted to.

But also, he likes how nervous they seem to be around him. It makes him feel attractive (more like MC is slightly uncomfortable from his aura).

He’s not possessive. In fact he likes playing with his rivals. But, he’s the kind of guy to play with his food before making a lethal move. He’ll provoke his enemies, saying he’s been in MC’s room. How he’s able to touch their hand whenever.

Then, he just simply says something like, “I lied” or “Just kidding, I did more.”

On the other side, he’ll tell MC who’s not fun to hang out with to keep them away from his rivals.

As a Yan, he likes to show off the fact that MC is his. In a lot of ways. One of favourites being grooming them. Similar to that of a cat. Not their hair, but maybe their cheek or something. MC can be put off by it sometimes.

He can be manipulative, in a way that he tries to make MC unsure of their ability to make decisions. So that they’ll ask for his help when making them.

He’s not a constant snuggles kind of monster. No he likes really tight hugs before taking a nibble.

Will he murder? Yes. With his eyes if they work on the monster. If not he tries to ruin their reputation or drown them.

“Baby, are you sure you should be hanging out with that guy? He’s kinda mean.”

——————————————————

(Did I bullshit this while being sleepy? Absolutely. So obviously unedited.)

This was just a general first interaction + character basis

This one was pretty fun! I think I’ll do a Korean or Chinese myth next.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

- Celina

[kaz-rizzveld]

I just wanted to put in my 2 cents with season 4 of The Umbrella Academy.

Disclaimer: no hate please, this is my opinion!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Starting off with the ending.

So what the actual fuck. One time I saw someone say back before the season came out that they did in fact think the show should end with all the siblings dying together and realizing there’s nothing they could do and someone else replied how weak that thinking is and I completely agree. (I believe the person who explained how that was weak was "mortal-song" here on tumblr, btw)

Anyway, if the show creators thought of this choice as another “tragic ending” that should have been written or a lesson that things don’t always end well, I get it from a standpoint of someone who thinks all outcomes should be portrayed in media, I just don’t agree that it was the right direction for this show. It’s literally become nothing more than a trend and people thinking they’re quirky and different by ending things badly with a handful of unexplained plot holes because they think they’re Shakespeare. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you’re not. 

I also understand the idea that this is not a kids show and deep and sophisticated plot lines will be explored, so there should be no problem ending the show this way, right? Wrong again. I’m sick of the idea that because this show is for adults, that we can, and should, give it a tragic ending to communicate that things don’t always end well, no matter how hard you try and that’s such a dangerous message. I’ve also seen people talk about how the show is about coming together as a family and working through childhood trauma as now grown ass adults and that the final conclusions the characters came to is that “we’re the problem and we should give up and die.” This the complete wrong message on so many levels. The devolution of these complex characters and unnecessary romance storylines is so ridiculous (don’t even get me started on Five and Lila) and, quite frankly, insulting to the actors, but I’ll get into that in a minute.

My overall point is that the message and ending in general is absolutely WEAK. It’s rushed, sloppy, and weak. If we had to keep all of the other batshit crazy plot lines that don’t even make any sense, but ended the show differently, we could’ve ended the show with the characters allowing the world to end and them die because they believed that they would also make it to the next world, another motivating message that could’ve been explored, by the way. They could’ve ended out also alive and well in the fixed timeline, living their lives as regular people and healing together. Them literally dying and being erased from existence making the past three seasons pointless is just. Weak. 

Now onto the actors, especially Aidan because based on interviews, I feel like I relate to him and this is just what I feel I can speak to. !! Now I am not him, I do not know him, and I don’t know how he feels !! but if I played Five Hargreeves, if I grew as an actor playing such a complex character, and if I learned a lot about who I was and who the people around me were through my character and theirs, and then the writers completely changed who he is in so many ways, whether that’s selfishness, self pity, giving up, or being a complete home wrecker, I’d be quite upset. If I was in Aidan’s shoes, I’d be furious. That’s so insulting because he brought your character to life and explored a traumatic story for you and for viewers AND gave an absolutely amazing performance, and you go and do him like that…. That’s honestly just so odd of you and I feel bad for him and his costars for being insulted like that. 

I could talk about Ritu as well because as an actress she watched her co-star and friend grow up, and then you go and make her have a romantic relationship with him. I know they’re actors and it’s their job but that’s literally so odd. This mainly, but also other aspects of her character that I feel was completely different to who she was as a person in the last two seasons, is also very insulting to Ritu. Like just wow.

Some other smaller examples for the other actors:

It’s insulting to Tom that you reduced his character to a literal stripper and over the top golden retriever after he progressed and grew.

It’s insulting to David that you reduced his character to a “father” who isn’t doing his job well and in a highly broken marriage. Not to mention he was against the Lila and Five plot and you went and did it anyway.

It’s insulting to Emmy that she didn’t get to build on and explore a real or complex relationship with the people her character sacrificed everything for in the first place.

It’s insulting to Robert that you developed his character to someone sober and more mature, just to strip it away and reduce him back to season 1 him- someone the others can’t trust or take seriously, whether he’s drinking or a germaphobe, just for giggles. It wasn't funny by the way.

It’s insulting to Aidan that you reduced his character to a blind and selfish boy who betrayed his own brother and gave up on his family when that's literally the opposite of his character.

It’s insulting to Justin that you reduced his character to the monster he was afraid of becoming since the beginning and probably gave him false hope about being able to share a powerful message this season since he was supposed to be the focus.

It’s insulting to Elliot that though he was able to explore his character as a grown individual who stands up for himself to his father, that it was all for nothing, meant nothing in the long run.

It’s insulting to Ritu that her character development also meant nothing and her character was reduced to a messy adulterer and questionable mother.

It’s a bad and weak message to the audience and it’s a bad and weak message to the actors and it’s insulting to them that they had to communicate said message after all of this.

[jlf23tumble]

https://www.attitude.co.uk/uncategorised/liam-payne-talks-homophobia-accusations-and-gay-1d-fan-fiction-in-attitude-archive-interview-292644/

To this day, Liam was the only one of the 1D men on the cover of a gay magazine, Attitude in 2015. Now I'm looking with fresh eyes at this magazine interview, it hits different coming from a bi person. He confirmed larry was fake and Louis was excited to become a father, criticized the rainbow flags at 1D shows being for larry instead of gay rights, and said he was disturbed by gay 1D fanart and said writing gay fanfic wasn't a good hobby for young girls. It would be funny (in a sad way) if after all this online sleuthing for over a decade, Liam was the only lgbt person in that band.

What a great article, mannnnn, it's been a while since I read it, and it just underlines so many problematic things he said on repeat for YEARS afterward (weight, addiction, fans) that people just gloss over. But to that point, I have a bone to pick with this seemingly bad-faith read on it vs. mine, so I'll go through this ask, starting with how he didn't actually confirm larry was fake. I read him as saying more that larry was over at that point, and that's the fine line--hey!--many people can't grasp, yes, together at one point! no, not together at another! doesn't mean those cancel each other out! but also, why in the WORLD would Liam Payne confirm larry was real in a national gay mag in 2015?? Ditto Louis being a father, why in the WORLD would media-trained-since-he-was-a-teen-Liam-Payne not talk about the whole "Louis's buzzin' to be a dad!" in 2015?

About the rainbow flags, his quote is this:

When the law changed in the U.S., there were loads of rainbow flags flying at our shows, but I think that was mainly because people think of the Louis and Harry thing [that they’re secret lovers], which is absolutely nuts and drives me insane.

Why does it drive you insane? Jealous much?

No, nothing like that. It’s like when you know the ins and outs of what is going on with people it’s just annoying when it’s so stupid. It becomes like a conspiracy or like a cult, the people who watch them and think that every move they make is a gesture toward them being together, and I know it’s just not true and it makes me mad

...and this is two-layered (to me), like, isn't it wilde to assume that people who are happily flying rainbow flags at that point in time are AUTOMATICALLY connected to larryTM, and that's it?! Also, if at that point, shit was rocky, same thing? Tell us more!

His point about explicit 1d art was that a) he was tagged in explicit art showing Harry/Louis fucking, and b) he was sitting next to his dad when he saw explicit art of him and Niall fucking. And yeah, that's gotta be disturbing! I get it! Stars, they're just like us!

Finally, the part about fic isn't overtly called out as such, but this is the quote, when the interviewer mentions that the girls making such art are so young, some as young as 10:

I don’t think it’s the right hobby for these girls to be enjoying. I find it very strange that someone so young can think up these stories or even imagine these things are going on. That for me is the sad and sorry side of what we have done.

...which is sad to me only because how is that something THEY have done or were responsible for, purely because they just...exist? And by putting it out there that girls as young as 10 are doing this, what ELSE would he say about it? He's not Drake, lol. Anyway, what a weird, complicated beast that level of fame must be, sigh.

As for Liam being the only lgbt person in the band, that's hilariously sad to think about when you compare Harry being "outed" for wearing a newly revealed shirt that's "so loud" to Liam being literally outed in the tragic last hours of his life (if it's talked about at all) but having it washed away as "some people will say anything to escape jail." But yeah, I guess???

[sincerelyaudri]

Kanon is a shit sleeper.

Inui first thought it when the man had bulldozed his way into Audrey’s bed and knocked out in five minutes with the stench of brandy on his breath (she had pushed for the guest room, but an offhand comment about seeing just how hard Kaji could bite had her relenting to keep the peace), and he thought it again when he got an elbow to a kidney just as the sun had begun to rise.

He’s been awake ever since, Audrey to his left and still, somehow, sleeping, and Kanon sprawled out on the floor below thanks to Inui’s short fuse when it came to his comfort, and Audrey was, through no effort on her part, his comfort.

It was the reason he had been distancing himself as of late, burying himself in work that loved him more than he it; runways, photo shoots, brand deals, talk shows, interviews. It was tiring, and there more days than not where he found himself succumbing to exhaustion midway through the day, only to be up that same night and repeating it all over again.

He rarely had a moment to stop and think, which was welcomed since his thoughts were always centered around her. What’s she doing right now? Has she eaten or did she skip another meal in lieu of catching up on assignments? How were her classes going? Her shop? Her life? Her love life? Was she happy? Was she lonely? Does she miss him? Does she think about him like he does her?

It was tiring.

It was dangerous.

Audrey drove him to places that he hadn’t been since his youth - since he had gone “Hollywood”, as she so often teased. She made him regress to old, nasty ways of thinking whenever he scrolled past a picture of her with another man. I could get rid of him easily, he always thought without fail. He had acquaintances that would be more than happy to get rid of the mess—or he could do it himself if he was offended enough, if they had touched something that he deemed as his and his alone.

But he can’t think like that, not anymore, and he certainly can’t act on it. He had left that behavior behind when he left Bonten behind, when he had decided to give something different a try. Modeling hadn’t been the first thing on his mind, racing had been on it a few times, but then she had held his face in hands that felt like something adjacent to heaven and sung him praises that went straight to his head. She had gifted the world with him -she was his creator, in a way- and doomed it all in one breath.

Audrey stirs in her sleep from beside him but doesn’t wake, and Inui lets his gaze fall on her. She’s lying on her side as she faces him, and he softly exhales through his nose, eyes greedily taking in the face he’s been longing to see ever since he parted from it. He reaches out to touch her, to make sure that he’s not passed out in his own bed and in his own home instead of hers. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Skin meets skin and he blinks, thumb stroking at the curve of her cheek, and he’s nearly dozing back off until a glint on the nightstand catches his eye. His hand leaves her face to instead brace beside her head on the bed, and he leans over to get a better look, a muscle in his jaw ticking as he does.

It’s a men’s watch, cheap, by his standards anyways, and a bit too bulky for his liking.

Inui tries to reel himself in.

It’s none of his business. They’re not together. She can do what she pleases. Hell, it could be Kaji’s, or even Baji’s. He has no place to feel as annoyed as he does, as pissed as he does, as jealous, as possessive.

Inui fails to reel himself in.

“Audrey,” his voice is soft as he calls her, a stark contrast to the feelings twisting in his gut. “Baby, wake up.” He curls a hand on her waist, the shirt she had gone to sleep in having ridden up. His nose pushes into her cheek as he places a kiss on her jaw. “C’mon, honey, get up.” She flips to her back, and he adjusts himself so he’s hovering, hands adjusting her so her thighs are on either side of him.

“I need to ask you something.”

Dreams don't come to Audrey easily. When they do, they're often in the form of nightmares.

After running around for the entire day in stilettos and a pearl drape dress, she'd assumed her mind would be too tired to overwork itself. By the time she came home her shoes lay in Seishu's hands, head piece twirled around Kanon's fingers, jewelry decorating her descent from the doorway to her bedroom. Slumber beckoned her with grace, encouraged her clothes to the floor, and by the time she'd curled into the first shirt she could put her hands on and padded to her bed, it didn't matter what went on around her. Head met pillow and darkness greeted her with a kiss.

She thought that was it.

Instead, her mind took her to different places. At first she sat on the pier near her home, bare feet grazing the dark waters. Behind her stood a presence familiar - one she, at one point, considered home. Tears rolled off her bottom lashes, their voice carried through the salted wind, bitter to the taste as was their tone.

"I need to ask you something."

The memory fades and reformulates into another. She's stood in a kitchen, one hand precariously curved around a knife's handle, the other attempting to hold a pepper straight. There's someone else whose joined her, a blur of porcelain skin and dark hair when she looks up briefly. She's called for their attention, and presumably, they answered.

Something bitter churns in her gut. "I need to ask you something."

The dream shifts. This time, she's on a boat. In the distance she can see her house. It's ransacked, windows smashed open, curtains drifting outside in the cold air. A storm rolls off of the horizon, dark waters thrashing deep, crests of waves foaming white at their tops. The boat she's on creaks with their weight, soft palms dragging against cold wooden hull. Her cheek is hot, something pours out against it warm and wet. Her eyes look up in horror but she doesn't see a face - not one she recognizes, anyway.

The figure stands over her foreign. Dressed in black, save a white shirt rolled up to their elbows. The moonlight passes through the clouds for a moment, enough to dimly illuminate a chain around his neck. There's a pendant at the end.

There's also a gun in their hand. A gun freshly fired. The bullet is tunneled into Audrey's thigh.

She's too stunned to cry when they finally start to speak. Her throat runs dry.

"I need to ask you something."

The blur of daytime tells Audrey moments later that she's no longer on that boat. It's grounding - there's the gentle squawk of seagulls in the distance and a soft crash of accompanying waves that she's grown accustomed to. She's reminded that she's home, lashes fluttering when she blinks rapidly, heartbeat elevated into her throat. She rarely wakes up startled anymore, these dreams so frequent they rarely scare her. Rather they exhaust her, characterized by puffy dark bags and the absence of light in coffee brown eyes.

Seishu stares back at her. It takes her a moment to find her tongue, but she's happy peace comes along with it. He's familiar, unlike the last presence in her dream, though Seishu's presence is accompanied with his own aches.

She blinks wetly and hums soft. "Sei? What's the matter? Is everything okay?"

[nedraggett]

My impossible mission!

Greetings, hello. So, today I reveal a truth: it has been almost thirty years since the first one and yet all this time I have not seen any one of the Mission: Impossible movies. Not a one. Honestly I think this is neither here nor there since everybody has any number of things you’re ‘supposed’ to be paying attention to in art/life/culture but that’s the point, everyone of us comes at that question differently. In my case, it’s a combination of my never really following actors across careers – a film interests me for other reasons and the last time I saw Cruise in a first-run anything was, I’m pretty sure, Interview With The Vampire back in 1994 – and the fact that I was generally “Hm so it’s a bunch of spy movies but he does his own stunts I hear?” which still wasn’t enough.

But time went on and I kept hearing more and more people go “No wait these are actually really good, even if he is insane.” (Insert reasons why insane here, I’m sure we all know them.) So with this new one about out and noticing they were all on Paramount+ anyway (of course I subscribe, Star Trek and Drag Race, c’mon), I figured “Well let me buy a cheap ticket to see this new one on Wednesday and meantime let me actually watch all these older ones.” Which I have done very quickly over the past week and now I share honest-to-god fresh thoughts about the first six for you here [EDIT: plus the new one -- obviously, spoilers will abound]. My summaries follow, and they’re absolutely and totally accurate. Totally.

Mission: Impossible – But Not As We Know It: It’s 1996 and gosh darn it people sure are excited about email and early Zip drives! More on that in a bit. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt playing a smugfuck, but when Jon Voight is your boss sometimes things rub off. They all go to Prague to live the life of post Cold War slackers and get free food at embassy parties, but after various objections most of them are killed while trying to be leet haxorz and the like, so Ethan grabs some sushi to go before another bunch of slackers can hunt him down for his haircut, but not before telling him that they’re sure he is a bad guy who sold out and sold them out. Sure hope this issue doesn’t end up being a constant in Ethan’s career, that would be very frustrating! Ethan remembers something about god and how Emmanuelle Beart is hot (understandable, really) so that leads him to first use a janky Usenet client, then an impossibly showy and memory-eating email program, and then to tell everything to Vanessa Redgrave because why wouldn’t you tell everything to Vanessa Redgrave. After asking Ving Rhames to be an imposing funny guy and Jean Reno to be stubbly, they realize they desperately need the copy of Minesweeper stored at Langley but kept in a way that mostly results in death, which they avoid aside from a rat. But best to keep your knives strapped more closely to yourselves next time, that can cause problems! Jon Voight turns out to be Not Dead but basically argues to Ethan that French people are evil and corrupt which is why they all work for him because he too is evil and corrupt, as one becomes in his stage of his career working 30 years for the state. (Wait, I’ve worked almost thirty years for A state, hold on here.) Anyway, this is a geopolitical argument Ethan objects to, for he has a good heart, and also knows something about bibles placed by the Gideons, so it’s wise to be a theologian. So now it’s time to get on the Chunnel train, get a wind machine to the face, and then after the bad people all die, arrest Vanessa Redgrave. Rude! Time to settle into a nice long nap on a plane, except Ethan remembers too late that maybe the free flight he got on IMF Airlines had some strings attached. Back to the grind! (Real talk: obviously what at the time was controversial as such – ditching all the old characters except a recast Phelps and then reveals him to be the chief asshole this time – was secretly genius, enabling both film and eventual series to keep what was transferably iconic – disguises, handwavey tech, “Your mission should you choose” setups, general skullduggery, heists and breakin schemes, credit sequences showcasing moments from the plot itself and of course the two core Lalo Schifrin themes – and drop everything else. Honestly the quietest of all the films in ways and I will credit de Palma for that, because having everything fuck up at the start and then play the afterechoes out makes Hunt, who after all is being introduced as a character here, seem unsure at times as much as he ramps up plans; the whole London hideout sequence is a good example before we hit the train at the end. Best action sequence: even though it’s anything but fast motion, it’s pretty obviously the CIA breakin, barely any dialogue, tension ratchet to the max and the clearest callback to the original series’s inspiration, Topkapi. Uncredited role: Emilio Estevez, who gets some sharp metal to the face! Wait until President Bartlet hears about that! End theme: U2’s rhythm section when they all thought they were DJs, and they make the theme 4/4 instead of 5/4 so they should be the targets of Ethan’s next mission. Rating: 3.5 out of 5 water condensation drops.)

Mission: Impossible 2 – Slow-Motion Birds: Ethan Hunt decides crawling all over big rocks that will kill him with the help of gravity is a logically relaxing way to spend a day off, but before he can get to El Capitan and film a documentary his new sunglasses talk to him because he was supposedly in a plane that crashed earlier. But surprise! It’s Dougray Scott playing Mr. We’re Quite Alike Really You And I wanting to steal some dread disease to sell to the highest bidder so everyone can probably die including himself if he’s not careful, showing that once again maybe the IMF’s real problem is a bad hiring and HR process, something that will continue to crop up. So Ethan goes to Spain to atmospherically find a required recruit and it pretty quickly turns out that both Mr. We’re Quite Alike and Ethan have a thing for skilled and notorious thief Thandiwe Newton because come on, who across the gender and sexuality spectrum WOULDN’T have a thing for Thandiwe Newton. After that it is determined that Ethan’s hair, jacket and sunglasses means he’s required to go to where The Matrix was filmed and hit all the tourist spots, including horse races where it is vitally important to track down Brendan Gleeson and tell him that acting in In Bruges will be an excellent idea. Ving Rhames and another guy pause from telling sheep dip jokes in the Outback to conclude that escaping by kangaroo is just a myth and Mr. We’re Quite Alike must be confounded before he does bad stuff, and that this all involves breaking into a building and sneaking around while avoiding dying miserably, as opposed to just opening the front door and pretending they’re looking for the toilet. Can’t they be more practical? However, Mr. We’re Quite Alike has already inhabited Ethan’s mindset and face a few times and knows his every move, so Thandiwe decides she’s had enough of both bros and injects herself with something Ethan should have just gotten rid of more quickly but he was dicking around. Typical. Mr. We’re Quite Alike turns out to be a day trader and really wants some cash so he can invest in Beanie Babies, so Ethan and friends break into a special secret place and blow shit up and swap faces and run around, to Mr. We’re Quite Alike’s nettlement. Eventually a bunch of assholes die in cars, on bridges and riding motorcycles, sometimes all at once, leaving Ethan and Mr. We’re Quite Alike to almost but not exactly kill each other until one of them finally does, Thandiwe is convinced that cliff-diving is best done in Acapulco, and eventually Ethan and Thandiwe go hang out so they can look at the Opera House and why the fuck did the universe keep us from having them be the power couple for the rest of the films to follow, come on now. (Real talk: the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom of the series, I guess? Pretty obviously John Woo making a John Woo film and that’s why the birds, the fights, two evenly matched types in the end and so forth. But really, isn’t it kinda obvious – especially given the disguise/swapped personality motifs – that Dougray Scott should have been replaced with Woo veteran Nic Cage? The final showdown alone would probably still be talked about if it was Cage in maniac mode, he probably would have wanted to actually ride some of the bullets he shot and they would have made it work, I just know it. And, let’s face it, Cruise and Newton have a screen chemistry that WORKS. Best action sequence: the end insanity is admittedly great but I do especially like the building breakin and then subsequent fuckup, it’s simultaneously almost what you expect and ‘are you kidding me right now,’ which is key, really. Uncredited role: Anthony Hopkins as a black turtleneck sex cult guru pretending to be an IMF leader, because why wouldn’t he be. End theme: I had seriously almost forgotten that probably one of the most important things in the history of recorded music – Metallica’s freakout about Napster that brought the concept of file-sharing to the mainstream and essentially fully transmogrified the business for the literal next century – was due to their ‘are we nu-metal now?’ contribution to the end, talk about an aural beauty mark. Rating: 2.5 out of 5 physics-defying kicks because while it’s still great and all, in fucking up things with Thandiwe Newton’s experience of filming, the M:I machine lost the perfect foil and the chance to fully go into a Hollywood action equivalent to Lupin III with her as a Fujiko Mine for the rest of the series, nothing against Rebecca Ferguson you understand. Or I guess Michelle Monaghan but SPEAKING OF WHICH…)

Mission: Impossible 3 – Conventional Heterosexual Matrimony: *pulls Rainer Wolfcastle pose and shouts to the sky* “ABRAAAAAAAAAAMS!” Jesus Christ. Okay no, it’s not a disaster really but good Christ almighty. Anyway, fine: flashforward aside where we all realize “Wait can’t we just watch Philip Seymour Hoffman kill people instead?”, Ethan Hunt realizes that settling down in a polite suburb with the world’s most polite and fake-laughy engagement party happening is a really dull way to spend any more time so he goes to the local drug store and asks Billy Crudup “PLEASE get me the fuck out of here, what was I thinking.” Billy Crudup obliges but needs to let him know that he will be dealing with puzzlebox bullshit at the end of it all but such is Ethan’s desperation that Crudup says “Fine, you and Ving go rescue Felicity with the help of Maggie Q and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers” and before Ethan can say “Isn’t that a little on the nose for the mid-2000s” it’s off to Berlin and Felicity’s head exploding a bit, ah well. Laurence Fishburne in his floating across franchises role as Mr. Authority gets mad but Billy Crudup says nice things so obviously Billy’s the real bad guy and what do you know, turns out later he is! Doesn’t Ethan get briefed on this stuff? Anyway, newcomer Simon Pegg, having noted that Ving’s got a pretty sweet deal going, decides to join the early retirement plan on offer, though he’s still working up the ranks by creating Myspace profiles. Ultimately Philip Seymour Hoffman is just too damn charismatic and good an actor so logically he must be captured. Ethan and Rhys-Meyers need to play stereotypical Italians in traffic, to the point where I was surprised their disguise was as DHL guys rather than singing pizza delivery dudes or something, and then they and Maggie and Ving avoid stealing all the Pope’s secrets and the lists of child abusers he’s protecting or whatever in favor of an instant makeover, because it’s all Spy Eye for the M:I around here. Sadly everyone finds out that Virginia is not for lovers, unless you love blowing up bridges, and Ethan gets suspected of being bad again. He definitely has a real problem with that issue, he should talk to somebody about it, like Billy Crudup, and then he runs away because he’s good at that for sure. Anyway Michelle Monaghan got kidnapped, shanghaied if you will, so Ethan laughs politely at Hoffman’s little joke and notes that diving off a tall Chinese building is really fun at night, especially with the help of an automatic pitching machine. Sadly he eventually gets himself kidnapped and outacted by Hoffman demonstrating that he demands better of his minions, leaving Eddie Marsan to go “Wait, am I in this movie?” and Crudup to try and explain that W’s foreign policy is Good, Actually, which Ethan is not pleased with. Pegg helps Ethan run around a lot, alas Hoffman discovers that the laws of physics means he is not in fact an immovable object, and Monaghan saves Ethan with the power of love, because it makes one man weep but another man sing. (Real talk: fucking Abrams, thank god he just retreated to producing and occasional “I have an idea” stuff for the series after this because otherwise the rest of this watch would be a slog. Yes, he can make a solid entertainment at times, he’s done it more than once, but more than anything else in this series this REALLY felt like an extended TV episode of something, not even just Alias. It didn’t help that Michael Giacchino’s music added a lot of sap in the solo-piano moments that are waaaaaaay of their time and place, and I’m mildly surprised a cover of “Hallelujah” didn’t happen at some point. Still the machine itself functioned and while it was still going to need some improvements, I guess it started to figure exactly what M:I as continuing star vehicle needed to be – it’s weird to realize that this IS indeed the only George W. era film of the bunch and it sure does feel like his second term on any number of levels. Also, thank god there were delays on production because Simon Pegg’s role was originally cast with Ricky Fucking Gervais, and I don’t care if Pegg’s not quite your thing because imagine if we had THAT gurning fucking mug to deal with in the rest of the series. Best action sequence: thankfully the whole deal in Rome is pretty engaging, and we get the delightful moment of Philip Seymour Hoffman literally having to act as Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt and thus climbing around and doing shit, the film is honestly worth it for that, and RIP to him once more. But honorable mention to the counterintuitive move of not showing anything inside the Shanghai skyscraper once Ethan gets in. Uncredited role: nobody this time but yeah that WAS Aaron Paul wasn’t it. End theme: WOW speaking of mid-2000s, a Kanye track with Twista and Keyshia Cole? Perhaps they realized after this that just going with random cuts and otherwise sticking with the score in the actual end credits was the solution. Rating: 2 out of 5 confused Greg Grunbergs.)

Mission: Impossible 4 – I Climb Thing: Hmm, a movie set in Hungary, Russia, Dubai AND Mumbai? Why this won’t be a problematic watch in 2023! In a surely not symbolic move at all, Sawyer from Lost runs out of a building into the street and is immediately killed by Lea Seydoux. I like this movie already! Ethan Hunt meantime is prepping mentally for a nude fight scene with Viggo Mortensen at some point but is interrupted by Paula Patton and Simon Pegg going “WOULD YOU JUST” so he concludes Dean Martin is just the thing for a prison riot. (Seems like it.) Turns out Paula is sad about Sawyer, but before anyone can ask her to take a psych eval, they are asked to break into the Kremlin for thievery reasons, the concept of ‘too much too soon’ having escaped the IMF. Sadly our Big Bad just beat them to the punch and then proceeds to blow up a big chunk of the Kremlin, which rather irritates the Russian government, leading Ethan to excuse himself before facing a full medical exam without anesthetic and with certain instruments. An actual IMF Secretary explains some more things to Ethan but puts himself in the line of a bullet completely by accident, isn’t that the way! Jeremy Renner insists it wasn’t him because he would use a bow and arrow but Ethan isn’t amused and everyone meets up to go over the fact that they’re now disavowed and without resources except for a train car that would supply most modern governments and the ability to end up in Dubai just like that, very handy. There’s a big shady deal going down but it had nothing to do with the Qatar World Cup bid, whatever do you mean, they’re over there. Regardless, Ethan seeks to make sure Sepp Blatter doesn’t immediately get the launch codes to destroy the DOJ Anti-Corruption Unit, but not before he shows everyone how a real man washes hotel windows. Everyone then seeks to double cross everyone else, which only makes sense, though Lea sadly has irritated Paula some and thoughts are exchanged, except Jeremy goes “Ah fuck it” and uses a gun even though it’s very uncivilized. Ethan runs after a bad guy who is another bad guy, then they go talk to another bad guy who is a good guy who acts like a bad guy to deal with a good bad guy. Heads spinning, they fly to Mumbai and finally Ethan gets to be James Bond! Or at least wear a tux. Dudes get negged, other dudes die, cars drive, people run around, and the bad guy persuades a Russian sub to destroy San Francisco, which causes me consternation I admit. Happily Ethan really has honed his ‘I just need one second, really’ approach, so only the Transamerica building is nicked, but the missile lands right in the water where my sis and her whaleboat rowing crew often practice and that would have been tragic! Hey fuck you Ethan Hunt, do better next time! (Real talk: okay, whatever groundwork Abrams sorta laid down obviously gets perfected here, Brad Bird and team just make this thing sing, something indicated by returning to a version the opening credits style of the show and the first movie, and while the fine tuning of the ensemble wasn’t quite there yet it was much closer than it was, while the full sense of “Oh wait, Tom Cruise really MIGHT actually die” as a marketing hook was now absolutely in place. A quietly genius move NOT to have the chief villain be a big presence, instead someone always just about slipping from their grasp up until the end; meantime, having everything constantly trip them up – even after the Kremlin/Secretary thing, the mask machine breaks down, everyone arrives at the Burj too early, etc. etc. – allows for more thinking on the fly instead of just being a well-oiled machine. While there were plenty of typical comedy moments here and there in a formulaic ‘gotta break tension’ way in the first three films, I honestly believe it’s Cruise’s “No SHIT” moment in the Burj which points the way to the rest of the series knowing how to make comedy actually work from there on in. There’s just enough distance to maybe be able to place it as a mid-Obama era film now in retrospect but it still feels like we’re in the actual sense of these films knowing what they are at last based on where everything would go, as opposed to the formative years. In essence, this was the point in my watch where I went “Oh I get it now” in full, and the fact that the movies started rolling out more regularly, however driven by Cruise going “Wait I’m not getting any younger,” makes total sense. Best action sequence: Dubai obv., part climbing madness, part caper, part shootout and part “Can a man actually outrun a sandstorm?” Uncredited roles: Tom Hollander going “If Hopkins can do it so can I” and Ving Rhames and Michelle Monaghan going “Uh we’re still here, thanks.” Rating: 4.5 out of 5 insufficiently charged climbing gloves.)

Mission: Impossible 5 – Fasten Your Nonexistent Seatbelts: Ethan Hunt suddenly realizes he doesn’t need to check any luggage and happily just makes the last seat on a flight out, though sadly there’s no real time for any drinks service. Annoyed, he decides to leave with their cocktail mixes, for which he is thanked. Suitably relaxed, he goes to a London record store to pickup a Crosley turntable for his Record Store Day purchases, accidentally resulting in the backing up of a bunch of pressings for starving younger bands. As it happens, Ian Curtis is there already looking for a particular bootleg pressing of early demos by Warsaw, so when Ethan scratches the last remaining copy Ian makes his feelings known, adding “All you agents beware.” Lady Jessica almost gets a chance to use the gom jabbar on Ethan but various Sardaukar claim precedence, making Jessica realize that Ethan is perhaps actually the Kwisatz Haderach instead. In Washington, wouldn’t you know it, Ethan’s being accused of being a contrary asshole AGAIN, doesn’t his union step up for him? OG Jack Ryan says the IMF fucks around too much instead of doing proper agent stuff like getting on a submarine in the middle of the Atlantic while Jeremy Renner desperately hopes he won’t be asked about his side gig with the Bourne group. Simon Pegg has had enough of his regular performance reviews and agrees that he needs to relax but confuses a Vienetta with Vienna, but Ethan doesn’t mind and promises him some Phish Food later. Lady Jessica, having been told by the Bene Gesserit to stop fucking around with the Face Dancers and vice versa, complicates matters as do two random Teutons but the show must go on, except the explosive climax is unplanned. Ving Rhames and Renner are too old for this kind of shit but they’re off to Morocco where Ethan really really wants to finally ride a sandworm. Lady Jessica tells Ethan that fear may be the mind-killer but that Ian Curtis desperately wants the master tape for Unknown Pleasures kept in one of the secret Fremen water storage tanks. Everyone proceeds to betray and/or chase everyone else, a perfect excuse for eventually remaking Easy Rider at 200 mph. Thankfully Simon Pegg made a DAT copy but the master tape itself is erased, leading Ian Curtis to swear revenge on behalf of Martin Hannett, kidnapping Pegg and forcing him to listen to muddy Crawling Chaos bootlegs and thus requiring Ethan to deal with the UK Prime Minister as ultimate keeper of all Factory records, except the movie came out a couple of weeks after the Brexit vote so most would have just given up David Cameron to him anyway. Ethan taunts Ian Curtis by driving up the prices of OG vinyl pressings of “Transmission” on eBay as he and Lady Jessica force him to go to the center of the city where all roads meet, looking for them. In the end Ian Curtis is lured into a third stage Guild Navigator’s breathing chamber on Lady Jessica’s suggestion and is captured, as the confusion in his eyes says it all. (Real talk: the Christopher McQuarrie years begin and pretty much all the pieces are about in place now in terms of a core ensemble with moments of variety after; if Bird set the template and tempo for where it all should go then McQuarrie had a perfect handle on how to make all the implicit nonsense make perfect sense in the moment, all while once again finding new ways to kill Tom Cruise or nearly so. One of the best signs came early: the opening credit sequence is now truly a ‘greatest hits’ series of clips of what we’re about to see as per past show and first movie practice, quick, immediate, gives away nothing, sets expectations up. Rebecca Ferguson absolutely brought some necessary energy as well, she and Cruise clearly click in a ‘yeah our characters could fuck’ sense that Newton absolutely had with Cruise and Monaghan just doesn’t (even though it’s clearly shown in 3 that they’re the only characters that did, go figure!). Sean Harris as our chief baddie and implicit Blofeld to Hunt’s Bond is another sharp move, a classic cold English villain who you absolutely want to see get fucked up more than once. Alec Baldwin mostly grouses but hey. Best action sequence: oh Casablanca easy, from the planning the raid on the storage facility to the end of the motorcycle chase, barely any pauses, the whole thing’s a marvel. Rating: 4.5 out of 5 lathe-cut terrorist messages.)

Mission: Impossible 6: Free Mustache Rides – Ethan Hunt is trying to enjoy a nice relaxing dream but Ian Curtis keeps telling him “This is the way, step inside,” and it’s not helping. Ethan is told that three pawnshop balls have been repainted and are being auctioned to the highest bidder, which just shows you how tough the economy continues to be. Sadly the usual exchange of niceties between him and his crew and a generic arms dealer turns out to be an issue due to a bunch of raincoat-wearing Curtis followers insisting there’s a third Joy Division album somewhere. After Ving Rhames skins Wolf Blitzer alive and stuffs Simon Pegg into his pelt, they fool the Norwegian Unabomber and it’s off to Pari–no wait a minute, Angela Bassett employs her low voice against Jack Ryan’s rasp and insists that for the balance between the Big Two that Superman come along, since Jeremy Renner is somewhere upstate checking out on a family that mysteriously dissolved. This Superman, using the cover name Mr. I’m Obviously Going To Betray You, seems more Bizarro-like when he leaps out of a plane and reenacts that one The Dark Knight Rises image with the lightning but Ethan demonstrates that there’s more than one way to crash a party. Working their way through a crowd of pleasures and wayward distractions trying to find Vanessa Redgrave’s daughter Vanessa Kirby of the House of Vanessa, Superman explains he’s trying for a Tom of Finland look but a bunch of French bros laugh in the bathroom and ask when he’s going to the Kingsman auditions and things get complicated. Luckily Lady Jessica is back, and wants to know if Ethan’s just trying to fold space again. Turns out Kirby is in deep cover as amoral blonde Princess Margaret and everyone’s trying to kill her, we can’t have that! She tells Ethan and Superman they have about twenty four hours to spring Ian Curtis if they want the pawnshop balls, and while Ethan realized he wanted time this puts things in perspective. Happily everyone is distracted just right except when they aren’t and a bunch of French people on all sides of the law are angry, time to go! Ian Curtis gets sprung by Simon Pegg, who asks him to sign the Sordide Sentimentale single since they are in France and all, while Lady Jessica shows that Fremen needle guns are good but lasguns might have been better. Logically since everyone’s in Paris they go to London, presumably inside the train this time. OG Jack Ryan is irritated and everyone leaves but Superman confronts Ian Curtis and says “I tried, please believe me, I’m doing the best that I can!” Whoops! Turns out Simon Pegg wanted Superman’s autograph too, but the Curtis fanatics break in after a further triple double dog dare cross and ol’ Jack is left stuck to a flagpole by his tongue, but thank you for your service. Ethan gets his jogging in for the day but Superman flies off to say he stands for truth, justice and the American way but he means the Zack Snyder version so he’s just going to kill everyone instead. Time to crawl around Kashmir before this happens and Michelle Monaghan is there! She’s doing good things! She’d like to catch up over coffee but Ethan notes that he has to pick up his DoorDash delivery assignment within fifteen minutes or he’ll lose his star ratings. Grabbing a helicopter to chase down Superman, who has a competitive route, he leaves Lady Jessica and Simon Pegg to fight Ian Curtis, who complains that the noose around the place is cheap irony, while Michele chats with Ving a bit while adding “Should that be ticking?” Various Things Happen but in the end Ethan remembers “Oh hold on I DO climb rocks don’t I” and taunts Superman by quoting Blues Traveler’s “Hook” at him, which shows he is no better than Benjamin Bratt in Poker Face, the fiend. Still, all three sections of the team simultaneously score Taylor Swift tickets, the world is saved from a fakeout ending, Ian Curtis is left to be a middle-aged man with the weight on his shoulders, Michelle gives Ethan her blessing to apparently make suggestive crysknife jokes to Lady Jessica, and everyone’s happy forever! [Editor’s note: this was later shown to be false.] (Real talk: I really do get what everyone was saying now about how, in a real upending of expectations when it comes to open-ended franchises starting big and petering out, Fallout might well have been the best of the movies to that point. It felt like everyone had everything absolutely down by now, from McQuarrie to the stunt teams to the actors, all the comic moments landed even better than in the last one and those were pretty solid, and for the first time points of continuity from the previous film all have an impact, whether it be the performances of Harris, Baldwin and Ferguson in particular or things like returning composer Lorne Balfe’s musical score, which is easily some of the best of the whole sequence and for once shows a composer working to contrast the Schifrin themes rather than simply shade and riff on them – the various well-employed fakeout/dream sequence sections get soundtracked with this melancholy and ominous chill, a solid move. Hell, even the call back to the rock climbing of M:I 2 made sense because it didn’t have to be explained at all, and it settled the Monaghan arc too in a way that was both obvious for plot mechanics and strangely sweet. Though I kept expecting her new guy to be an Apostle undercover, which was probably the point. Henry Cavill and Kirby were both perfect additions to the overall pool in turn, and the point a friend of mine made the other day that this movie feels the starkest of the bunch – like there’s a tiny group of people at the forefront and all the huge city populations around them are distanced and serene – is apt. Best action sequence: honestly this almost felt like a response film to Mad Max: Fury Road because it barely seemed like it broke for anything. For once the ending felt absolutely earned rather than a ‘we gotta end it because the script is over’ necessity but the actual best sequence is probably the Paris crash/chase/crash etc. deal, though shout out to the bathroom fight as the first near wordless sequence since the CIA breakin in the original movie. Rating: 5 out of 5 Cavill sleeve tugs.)

[EDIT: IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE NEWEST MOVIE YET, STOP READING HERE, Y’KNOW?]

Mission Impossible 7: And Under The Polar Cap Bind Them -- Somewhere in the Arctic a Russian submarine attempts to reenact The Hunt For Red October except nobody told them that they’d be playing the part of the actual sub that was blown up, a minor detail. This is less important than our introduction to the newest ensemble cast member, back after a lengthy retirement, Sauron! Sauron, ladies and gentlemen, let’s give him a round of applause. Ethan Hunt is in Amsterdam chilling so logically he’s got the munchies, only to be told that Lady Jessica hijacked a spice shipment and the Guild is pissed. Near Sietch Tabr, Lady Jessica busies herself with speeding up the irrigation process with some fresh fertilizer, but Ethan suggests letting it lie fallow for a bit. At ComicCon, Hall H is full of bloggers trying to figure out how to use typewriters while backstage there’s an argument about if they can do anything now that the strike’s on. Ethan asks everyone to pardon his stinkbomb but meantime deals with the guy who was chasing after him back in the first movie. He’s his boss now, time for wacky hijinks! It’s straight back to Dune with Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, only for them to realize that they can’t escape ComicCon no matter how hard they try because Deathstroke, Mantis AND Agent Carter are all there stealing and/or stalking them and each other, not to mention the members of an official US antimasking squad who seem bitter that not everyone agrees with the science they really did study themselves. Turns out Mantis isn’t interested in feelings so much as other people feeling dead, which Deathstroke approves of, while Agent Carter has fallen prey to kleptomania, it’s one of those days! Off to Italy where, when in Rome, Ethan does what the Romans do and becomes an impossibly polished and fashionable lawyer just like that, while Deathstroke shows that it’s always vital to carry out research. Agent Carter is narrowly sprung from her plan to simultaneously enter all the national competitions for next year’s Eurovision all at once, but then pretty much every moving vehicle in the city and the occupants and riders therein decide that she and Ethan will jaywalk no more. A typical day in Rome, granted, but their sweet ride seems a little sour while Mantis is very annoyed someone cut her antennae off and wants to explain this with weapons. Agent Carter decides to check in on whatever Hank Pym is doing these days but Lady Jessica is back, having had a refreshing time on Caladan. Turns out Princess Margaret is throwing a big party in Venice so who wouldn’t go there next, and she’s invited everyone! Ethan, Lady Jessica, Agent Carter, Deathstroke, why even Mantis is there but she’s dressed as Harley Quinn and the ComicCon crew doesn’t know what to think. Sauron shows up as well demanding the smallest of things, a mere trifle, and Deathstroke reveals he’s actually the Witchking of Angmar and would like to help kill everyone, but Ethan realizes that the DJ is driving him nuts and he needs some fresh air, a touch the antimaskers still don’t get. Harley Mantis insists it’s actually an Adam Ant tribute but Ethan argues she seems more My Chemical Romance, but sadly Lady Jessica gets stabbed with a Morgul-blade. Ving needs to update his antivirus software while Agent Carter decides that maybe this bunch isn’t as Hydra-ridden as SHIELD. An attempt to combine Murder On The Orient Express with a gender-flipped The Prince and the Pauper proceeds to play out, while Ethan insists to Simon Pegg that he has a totally legit FastPass for the newest Disney ride, though he’s still arguing some of the details as he goes. Wait, a fight on top of a train again, at least there’s no tunnel this timAAAAADUCKDOWNQUICK! The Witchking rues the day magic was invented, Ethan and Agent Carter are relieved that Mantis appreciates a good turn done, and elsewhere Sauron wonders if a tower would be a better hiding spot. Tune in next week year for more! (Real talk: so having taken all the other films in in a rush I did wonder how exactly the pacing would work for this one as a two-part story, and I think they handled it pretty smartly; it’s not as high a peak as McQuarrie’s two previous efforts but it doesn’t have to be as a result. Instead of the near wall-to-wall rush of the past two, there’s a much more deliberate pace here, which oddly enough (but, if the original plan of this being the capping off of the series holds, logically as well) is one of several callbacks to the original film throughout. Henry Czerny as Kittridge most obviously, also all the sleight of hand stuff, and easily most notably Ilsa Faust’s death, the first time a team member (as such) has died since said first film. There’s one other interesting move where, for the first time in the entire series, we get a sense of what Ethan Hunt was like before the IMF -- it’s all fairly tropey, but by not exploring that at all until now it actually feels like an earned moment. My sense of what’s happening is that this is the big setup and the concluding film will be full-on action madness, and the tinges of haunted chill in the last one have a stronger resonance here -- the introductory sequence for Hunt is pretty damn bleak for a start, and after Faust’s death you get a sense of everyone going through the motions for a bit, not as actors, but as people hit with a sudden loss would do, and the film takes a little time to understandably breathe. The absolutely killer sense of how to make comedy work continues: the entire Rome chase scene is just as amazing as that as it is straight action, while the capping insane stunt as teased in the trailers, Hunt going off the cliff, is also the culmination of a ridiculously perfect dialogue between Cruise and Pegg, and I literally laughed at how the stunt ended, all while the tension in the train scenes was building up. And yet, none of it undercuts the action, the sense of time running out -- indeed, so good was all that that when the cliff setting first appeared I was actually surprised by it, even though it was so heavily featured beforehand as noted. I joke about Sauron but seriously, not only is the Entity just one big eye, and also a bit of a One Ring type thing too, the whole setup where instead of letting other governments control Ethan will set out to destroy it is VERY Lord of the Rings, so I think it’s more key to all this than might be guessed. But oddly enough, perhaps, I will argue there’s a specific Bond film you all should go back and check out -- the first one I ever saw, and Roger Moore’s best tougher turn wih the character, 1981′s For Your Eyes Only. That too notably has a Macguffin centered on advanced tech on a wrecked ship, there’s a car chase with a very unsuitable car early on, and how the film ends feels not dissimilar to where this likely will be leading in the conclusion next year. Just a hunch! When it comes to newer cast members, Pom Klementieff is mostly a wordless killer and whether or not you buy the end twist as such, hey, but she does a good enough job, while Esai Morales -- been great to see more of him recently, he did a solid supporting turn in The Master Gardener earlier this year, and he has one of the most underrated speaking voices in acting -- is just a coolly commanding bad guy in the right mode, solid casting and I think better as a more grizzled and equal figure to Hunt than Nicholas Hoult would have been, as was first the case. Hayley Atwell pretty obviously is the main get and you do get a sense of a calm spark with Cruise but, given the film’s plot, no more than that for now, and she holds her own as someone who clearly has done a lot of shit but quickly realizes she’s dealing with a whole new level of it. While I’m a touch suspicious that there’s a feeling of rotating actresses and in out with Rebecca Ferguson’s departure after this -- I will absolutely miss her but I’m glad we had enough of her as we did -- that comment I made back in my M:I 2 review about how Thandiwe Newton could have made the series of a hell of a Lupin III riff? Well here we are with another accomplished career criminal and hell the Rome car chase is centered around a yellow Fiat 500, what more of a nod could you have! Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis pretty clearly feel escaped from a more typical buddy cop setup but it doesn’t break anything, and I do like the office politics grouchiness from Whigham about the IMF ‘clowns.’ Meantime kinda great to see Kirby get to do the playing-someone-playing-someone-else big turn this time, and I’m totally thrilled to see she’ll be back in part two, she’s a fun elegant chaos factor character. Best action sequence: you know, I’m not entirely sure! Again I think the actual best ones we’re going to get in part two so it felt a hair held back at points, but the Rome chase sequence was both amazing and funny as noted, the alley fight with Pom K. pretty brutal if relatively quick, and the train tension/chase/fight/bomb buildup to wrap it up was a smart spot to end on. Rating: 4 out of 5 cigarette lighters.)

In sum and speaking regularly: so yeah, whatever impulse Cruise, producers and everyone else had early on and whatever their thoughts were about how it might go, basically finding the sweet spot between the James Bond model and the Jack Ryan technophilia was a clear stroke of commercial genius, and rather than being beholden to an original show’s requirements/feel they blew everything up to make it their own while never truly abandoning the idea that people will happily shell out for damn good capers writ large. The Schrifin themes absolutely help anchor everything; the main theme is so perfectly balanced between being playful and being intense that on top of being an instant earworm it always conveys the sense that we’re here to be entertained first and foremost. It’s the Bond theme factor certainly and just as powerful. Ethan Hunt is barely a shell of a character, more just a creature as monomaniacal at succeeding in his job as Cruise himself is, so it’s a symbiotic fit. In terms of Hollywood action franchises he’s now played this character in more movies than any of the Bond or the Ryan actors, or Willis as McClane or Stallone as Rambo or Schwarznegger as the Terminator etc, and is as much a superhero as anything in DC/Marvel but, not seen to be as ‘class’ as Bond and actually stumbling and limping at times, retains just enough of humanity, even if more like an alien in a human costume, which would be appropriate. There’s enough ‘are we the bad guys?’ moments going around that you can feel duly critical about the IMF (and implicitly ‘Western interests’ if you will) but of course the story and the perceived audience never wants them to be REALLY bad, it’s all those other ones trying to fuck up Ethan that are the problem. Ving Rhames is the comfortable set of shoes for everything, and that Luther seems to have more of a life than Ethan is so not surprising; Simon Pegg turned out to be a perfect accidental X factor, the ‘goofy’ guy who isn’t a hateable comic relief type; once they finally realized they absolutely needed someone like Rebecca Ferguson too and then cast her, the rest was gravy; transitioning from her to Hayley Atwell brings a different energy but keeps a solid dynamic that I think will hold into the next film. And then after? Guess we’ll see!

[mylesimeblr]

hi i'm a year late but i saw your spec on noah and finn's sexuality and then you turned out to be right about noah! not that its about being right but i think harmless spec is ok and natural actually... like a reflection of your empathy and sensitivity, youre good at reading people i guess!

so anyway my point is have you got any examples of why you think finn might not be straight? cos you mentioned some specific moments where noah seemed gay but you think finn is gay or bi or something else?

sorry if youre not into spec on this anymore, just curious ya know! and you seem knowledgable/openminded. thanks!

Hey there, thanks for the ask. I've heard that some people in this fandom don't like when we "speculate" about people's sexuality and gender identity, like it's something very offensive. But I don't find anything offensive about saying that someone might be queer as there’s nothing wrong about being queer and if the person isn’t, they’re just not. So I'm glad I'm not alone here!

Regarding Finn, I personally think that he's pan and non-binary. I actually don't see Finn caring about gender as a concept at all. It shows in the way he dresses, the obvious fact that he's played queer roles and how he moves his body. His body language is very non-cis coded, it's actually super interesting to analyze. 

For example, when he sits, he crosses his legs in a way that no heterosexual or cis man would. A bit like Millie or Sadie. Also the way he puts his hands on his legs and how he moves his fingers… No cis man would do that. It’s all very subtle. You have to pay close attention but it’s there. There really is a female elegance about him that you don’t see in the other guys. Noah, for example, is 500% visually gay. It’s even in his voice. But it’s all masculine. Totally different from Finn.

Then, there’s Finn’s clothes. The blue pullovers… The tweed suit… The heels and the way he dresses for photoshoots. And his facial expressions. His smiles. There’s a cuteness about him that is very feminine.

And there are moments where he can be masculine too but always with a hint of femininity that Joe or Gaten or even Caleb do not have at all. For example in his movie with Juliane Moore. He’s a perfect mix of both, all the time, at the same time. It’s amazing. And he can be a little goofy and clumsy looking too which adds to the queer reading. I’ve said it before, but I know many lesbians are “confused” by him and it’s not by chance at all. No one in the cast has this non-binary poise and energy. Not even Jamie who is more like a rockstar dandy. Finn… is different.

Again, I may be completely wrong, I don’t know. It’s just how I feel when I look at him or listen to his interviews.

(The other day, we were watching a very old YouTube video of a French gamer streamer. And as he talked and played the game, I told my husband “that’s funny, he has a woman energy”. I didn’t even know that guy at all. My husband laughed and told me that this Youtuber came out as a transgender woman a few years after the video we were watching was published and she’s now living as a woman gamer (DamDam if I need to name her). It actually made me laugh too but I wasn’t surprised. It’s all about energy.)

[adultswim2021]

Space Ghost Weekend (part 1)

Or should it be “weakened”? 

Hey gang, welcome to Space Ghost Weekend. In this special installment, I’m covering several episodes of the Space Ghost Coast to Coast “GameTap” episodes. I unfortunately am bound by the same limitations as most everyone else on the planet, so I will not be watching the lost episodes. I will touch on them by quickly googling the guest and saying something about them that’s a little too abrasive to be funny.

I’ve watched the first two, and the original plan was for me to cover two episodes per post. After watching these two episodes I was inspired to, instead, cover the first “season” of Gametap episodes in one post and the second in another.

Also: I meant to post this last night, so we'll just have two posts in a row.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #89: "Billy" | May 30, 2006 | S08E01

Space Ghost interviews noted wad Billy Mitchell, the jerkoff who pretends to be good at video games. He comes off like an arrogant prick and the whole thing feels like it’s being written by a Space Ghost fan-fiction writer. Who did write these, anyway? I’m vaguely aware that these were probably handled by a different team, but I can’t find credits for these anywhere. For some reason the line “Take it from me, Billy. It’s lonely at the top.” just sounds like placeholder dialogue for George Lowe to riff something funnier over, but doesn't. Space Ghost did have one line where he says “his parents must be brimming with pride” that comes within spitting distance of a George Lowe riff, but he was probably in a room with some interloper directing him, so nothing came out right. At least, that’s how it all feels. 

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #90: "Rand" | June 13, 2006 | S08E02

Space Ghost talks to Rand Miller, the creator of Myst, I assume. Could be I missed it, but at no point did I register Space Ghost saying “Rand Miller, the creator of Myst” or something like that. He just starts carrying on about visiting Myst island in a comical way that would suggest he’s speaking to the creator of it. I’m guessing the now defunct synopses of each episode did that particular heavy lifting for this one, making this feel less like an episode of a TV show and more like a video clip produced for Rand Miller, the creator of Myst’s birthday party.

Did the Myst guy work on the video effects for this show? That might explain why these guys look like they are inside one of the Myst books.

Line of the episode: “I gotta talk to this hump”. I’m glad these aren’t overly reverent of the guests. That’s one thing these got right.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #91: "Kenny" | July 4, 2006 | S08E03

This could be the worst one. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, a person with whom I am completely unfamiliar with, is interviewed by Space Ghost. Space Ghost uses embarrassing slang the entire time. It’s very written-sounding and the one joke doesn’t land at any point during the short running time. I feel like when you didn’t know the guest on Space Ghost they’d at least clue you in a little bit by saying who they are so you could look into it. 

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #92: "Al" | October 10, 2006 | S08E04

Okay, so something I never realized until now, which might be instructive to those looking to watch these: The first three episodes are HORRIBLE, but starting with this one they get significantly better. Nowhere near the old magic of the old show, but ALMOST PASSABLE. The video quality is better on these, for one. The guests actually look like they’re supposed to on the monitor. It still feels shoddy compared to even season one. The production values that are lacking are things like being able to use library music, and the audio doesn’t sound like it’s recorded on anything professional. The writing gets a little better, too. Again, still not as good as the real show. 

Also: MOLTAR is in this! And Zorak has lines! Zorak was previously shown to get blown-up but doesn’t speak or even scream. This one has a cold open. The episode has the guy who invented Pong. Episodes so far have simply ended with “Interrupt Feed”, and this one’s no different. 

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #93: "Steve" | Januay 23, 2007 | S08E05

This one has Steve Wozniak. There’s actually a little bit of a plot in these episodes; Zorak is looking to buy a weapon and Moltar peruses a fake eBay site. They actually drew new assets for this. Zorak winds up with a brain canon which launches his brain out of his own head, pathetically. The last image of the episode is of Zorak, looking r-worded. This was the first legitimate laugh these episodes got from me. Most of it was fairly unmemorable, though. 

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #94: "Rob" | February 28, 2007 | S08E06

A cold open? In the commissary!? Space Ghost has a dead cat in a carrier, and is distraught. I Forget who the guy is in this. I think he’s the one I looked up and went “oh, this is the Night Trap guy”. I hope it was accurate of me to call him the “Night Trap guy”.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #95: "Howard" | March 17, 2007 | S08E07

Space Ghost thinks the guest is Willard Scott. There’s an unfunny bit with a big fly. He looks bad! He’s voiced by someone whose vaguely recognizable. Sorta sounds like Dr. Grumbles from the Brak Show episode Hippo. Note how weird it sounds when George says “the buuug zapper ray”. Not only is the delivery strange, but the sound recording just sounds poor, like they spent $50 at best buy for the sound equipment. I did like the “no whammies” bit, but I’m wondering if they already did that joke somewhere on the show. 

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #96: "Wayne" | April 21, 2007 | S08E08

The idiot from the Flaming Lips is interviewed. The little sitcom plot of this one is that Space Ghost has the commissary chef replaced with Moltar, and Moltar taunts Zorak with recipes for cooking up Mantis. The Space Ghost crew sing a version of that “do you realize” song at Wayne, which is almost funny. There were some fun drawings in this, and there was a part where Zorak looked really off-model. I think it was taken from a 60s episode. He looks just nuts. The only laugh of the episode.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast #97: "Larry" (lost) | May 24, 2007 | S08E09

I am simply sorry to disappoint you, but this is the first missing episode of the GameTap era. Sorta weird that this should be a thing. Even though I’ve been less-than-kind to this era, I would love to see this recovered, obviously. They interview Larry Hunter. There’s almost zero chance I’ll figure out who this even is. I even tried to look at the GameTap website through archive.org and clicked around and maybe it’s because of missing flash assets or something, but how the fuck did people even watch these things? I couldn’t even begin to figure out where these were on the website. 

Later we'll cover the rest of the episodes! How about that! And then after that we’ll continue with 2010, and I will strongly consider adopting a pithy one-paragraph format for the rest of the blog.

[winderlylandchime]

Hello! I’m here to tell you that my brother and Brian the cat are officially back home! I have to tell you some stuff tho! I was asked (nicely) to send you a message and i almost died when i got texts from my dad yesterday, so i knew i had to let you know. Anyway just a little thing for you to read because i thought you should see it as well.

I got a text from my dad that my brother befriended the old lady that sat next to him on the plane and they discussed Desperate Housewives because he is still watching it (he isnt at Gales season yet) and the lady really liked it back when it aired. He originally mentioned Gale and was about to tell her about qaf and my dad smacked him on the head and went ‘don’t even think about it. I’m not (my name)’ (he mentioned Gale and went ‘he was on this show Queer as OW’ according to my dad. You can take a guess when my dad smacked him) So he definitely has different ways of dealing with him than I do..I wouldve let it happen and then watch in amusement for 5 hours while he has an old lady trapped with him on a plane while he talks about two dudes in love.

ALSO! They had a surprise party planned for him. And i got a video sent to me of my brother’s girls (aka the queens) and his best friends that came to wait for him at the airport. They even made him a sign (the sign said ‘welcome back Mr Wannabe Kinney’) and he was so happy. And then they all surprised him at that bar they all go to! Turns out my mom, grandma, grandpa and the queens planned a surprise welcome home party. They decorated it all with signs that based on some photos had qaf topics written on them and balloons and when he sent me a photo this morning of all of them in a group, i swear it’s the cutest shit ever. I wish you could’ve seen it but just imagine a shit ton of people where 98% are queer, a few drag queens and then in the middle a dude with a Britin shirt on that looks like he doesn’t even belong there. It’s adorable how happy they all are to have him back and I can’t wait to find out how long that lasted until he unloaded all of his qaf/gale/randy/britin knowledge on them.

And secondly, I’m a little late with this but he did text me before he boarded the plane, asking me to relay a message to you: ‘yooo tell them that I just read that last chapter while we were waiting on our flight. What a fucking ending. I actually loved it, felt good, felt nice, felt like the right time. Wish that the real show ended in a similar way. For real (my name), you’re gonna love it when you read it.’

After that I texted him your replies to my message and he immediately texted me back ‘DRAG QUEEN STORY IS NEXT?! FUCK YEAH! I CANT FUCKING WAIT!’ And then in the middle of the night (so for him around 3 am) a very lovely text followed up: ‘can you nicely ask them to tell their Hannah Montana friend that I fucking love the new story. I have so many guesses and theories how it’s gonna go and I can’t wait to be wrong cause I know it’s gonna be better. And this shit is based on how the other person’s friends met?! I have so many questions, I feel like they’re right up my ally.’ After that he spammed my phone to ask me if I’ve read both of the fics yet (i have and they’re absolutely brilliant. You guys are talented as fuck)

Today he actually called me to talk to me about your epilogue and about your friends fic. This is really how we will bond from now on, isn’t it? I did send him your little teaser of the drag queen fic and he completely lost his shit. He’s so excited and if you were nervous about writing this fic, just so you know, you got a random straight dude in your corner because he is so excited for it, it’s kinda ridiculous (not really, its actually really sweet)

Btw, about the podcast Ron and Dan were on, I’ve also never listened to their podcasts even though I knew about it. But curiosity did get the best of me so I went and checked it out. It was a pretty decent interview. I don’t think it made me hate them more or less, kinda just the same. They didn’t say anything that I would clock as bad. I did see that they might do a part 2 where they’ll answer fan’s questions so i guess we’ll see then how i feel about them.

Dear sweet anon! Thank you so much for sending this update.

Queer as OW I'm dying! I would have let him trap that lady too. Maybe gotten another viewer of the show!

Welcome Back Mr. Wannabe Kinney! Oh I love that. I'm going to guess that since they're his friends, they're used to him info-dumping on them and they signed up for this. Otherwise, they wouldn't have encouraged it with their care packages. They know who he is.

I'm so glad he (and you!) enjoyed the final chapter of Fireflies. It was a short chapter given how long it took me to write it. I'm just terrible at ending fics.

This is my friend's story (as I texted it to the fic author):

"We were at a sex party and after fucking, I asked for his number and he actually gave me his real number instead of what he usually did which was give out the number of the last guy who had 'exchanged' numbers with him."

I'm excited that he's excited for the drag queen AU. It's going to be a long time coming though. I mapped it out yesterday and it's going to be about 20 chapters because I want a chapter devoted to each of the drag race all-stars challenges. And I'm going to include actual queens from the show. I want to have a good amount written before I start posting to make sure I'm up to the challenge. It's hard to capture everyone's voices and balance that many moving parts. My fics tend to focus on relationships and mental health, I don't write super plotty fics so this is new for me. I'm really excited for it though.

I'm going to check out the podcast! After I finish listening to my library book. WHILE WE WAIT FOR ANOTHER RANDY PODCAST EPISODE.

[stephanieromanoff]

I’m rereading the Hunger Games trilogy and I’ll be doing posts for each book to talk about some things that caught my attention and the differences between books and movies.

Here’s about Catching Fire:

It confirms Gale has 3 siblings, 2 boys and a girl. Their names are Rory (12 yo), Vick (11 yo) and the girl’s name is Posy (4 yo). His mother’s name is Hazelle.

Gale pretends to be Katniss’ cousin so people don’t get suspicious about whatever could’ve happened between Katniss and him.

Every victor has to choose a talent since they don’t need to work anymore so they can be interviewed by the Capitol to know more about what they’re doing. This is not mentioned in the movies. Peeta chooses painting since he was the one who decorated the bakery’s cakes. Katniss chooses fashion design since she refuses to choose singing, so she gets in touch with Cinna through a telephone and they get closer because of this, and he makes some designs that he lets Katniss pretend to be hers.

At some point victors’ children were reaped and participated in the games. This seemed to be a recurring thing.

It’s talked about how Haymitch got more sponsors for Katniss than Peeta in the arena, and how he had chosen her to be the one he would help more in the games because he believed she had more chances than Peeta.

Citizens in district 11 are more controlled than in 12, and the Peacekeepers are also more brutal.

Katniss would take some pills during the Victory Tour so she could get better sleep. However those pills didn’t really have any effect besides making her have more nightmares. Because of them Peeta would sleep with Katniss every night during the Tour.

During the Capitol’s party for the Victory Tour, when Plutarch is with Katniss, he shows her a watch with the Mockingjay symbol in it. This was him trying to show Katniss he was on her side.

Katniss gets closer with Madge.

That scene when Katniss suggests to Gale of running away. He tells her he loves her and she responds by saying she cannot think of anyway in that way at the moment. When he hears about the rebellion starting in district 8 he decides to not rum away with her. That scene when Gale and Katniss see the cars with the Peacekeepers arriving in 12 doesn’t exist in the book.

Later Katniss asks Peeta to run away with her, who accepts. But when they were talking about it they hear a noise and go after the source. There Peeta sees Gale being beaten up by one of the Peacekeepers, he tries to stop Katniss from seeing it.

Gale doesn’t stop a Peacekeeper from hitting a citizen in 12, the reason why he’s being beaten up is because he confessed to hunt illegally.

At some point when Katniss goes hunting alone, she meets two people, a woman in her 30s and a girl with the same age as Katniss, who are from district 8, they had ran away to go to district 13.

Katniss mom reveals her friend, Maysilee Donner, was one of the female tributes of the 50th Hunger Games.

When the Quarter Quell is announced, Katniss doesn’t go into the woods like in the movies, she invades one of the houses in the Victors’ Village.

Peeta throws away all alcohol Haymitch has so he could be sober.

Peeta and Katniss watch other Games and train like Careers for the quarter quell.

Katniss’ chariot costume doesn’t catch fire in the book, it’s described as sparkling (idk if that was the term used in the english version).

The whole elevator scene with Johanna is different in the movies. Tbh I prefer the movie scene lol. In the book she talks specifically with Katniss, telling her how she likes her chariot outfit and she also liked one of Katniss’ outfits from her Victory Tour. She takes off her clothes before they all go in the elevator, and during the ride she talks with Peeta about his paintings. Chaff and Seeder from district 11 are also in the elevator. Haymitch isn’t in the scene.

After that scene in the book Peeta tells Katniss the reason why Finnick talked with her, as well as Chaff kissed her and also why Johanna took off her clothes in front of her, he tells her is because she’s pure.

Johanna gets naked again during training. Katniss trains a while not only with Wiress and Betee (like in the movies) but also with Cecelia and Woof (district 8), Cashmere and Gloss, Enobaria

Katniss doesn’t personally see Peeta’s painting of Rue in the book.

Both Peeta and Katniss get a 12 (the highest score) at training.

Katniss and Peeta spend one of the last days before the Games in the terrace of their floor in the training center having a picnic while Peeta draws Katniss.

After the final interview with Ceasar Flickerman Finnick and Johanna try to take the elevator with Katniss and Peeta, but a peacekeeper doesn’t let them.

Peeta doesn’t know how to swim like in the movie. Finnick, felling Katniss to not exercise much because she’s pregnant, goes to help Peeta. Most tributes don’t know how to swim. Beetee figures out the belt everyone has turns into a floater.

Katniss’ “pregnancy” is mentioned a few times, way more than in the movie.

That scene where Katniss aims her bow and arrow at Finnick near that tree (movies), in the book she actually aims at Enobaria. She is about to shoot her when she remembers what Haymitch told her.

[maerenee930]

Hiiii I'm also non-binary and they/she, and I'm demigendered and I wondered if you could tell me more about demibisexual and what your thoughts are about it? 😊

Sorry if that's direct and personal, I'm just curious about new labels 👍👍

Hii ☺️ ahh! that’s so awesome!! 🖤

i absolutely can tell you more about being demibisexual and my thoughts about it! it not at all and i really appreciate you asking! it’s great that you want to learn more about new labels! 💙

so the term demisexual falls under the asexual umbrella. ☂️🖤🩶🤍💜

like a lot of terms, the definition can vary from person to person 😊

being demisexual (to me) means not feeling sexual attraction to someone without an emotional bond or connection.

like just because i see someone and think they’re attractive, it doesn’t mean i could date them or would even want a physical or romantic relationship with them solely based off of that. you know?

my attraction to someone is who they are. their personality, their heart, their soul. feeling a connection with them. 🖤

i mean i for sure find people attractive physically, but that’s not what makes them attractive to me. how they look just adds to my attraction 😅💙

like i have celeb crushes! but typically i form those crushes after watching that person in interviews or seeing them on social media, getting to see them be who are they and that’s what pulls me in 🥰 (like robert sheehan lol. he’s not a perfect person by any means, by he’s just so funny and sweet and smart and so goofy and stupid and that’s what makes me attracted to him. him being the handsome human he is just adds to that attraction lol. 😍🥰)

but people typically experience physical attraction first and emotional second.

i’ve been asked “but doesn’t everyone experience attraction that way?” or “well how is that any different from anyone else?” or i have been told “that’s normal. it’s not its own thing. you’re just making it something bigger than it actually is.”

(or i’ve been told i’m just being picky or it’s an excuse to be picky. which i’m not and it’s not! 😑)

and my answers to those questions or my response to statements like that are

- no, that’s not how everyone experiences attraction. not like that anyway.

- it’s different because people usually see someone, think they’re cute (and you know are attracted to them physically), wanna get to know them and then date them.

-it absolutely is a thing and i’m not just making this bigger than it actually is.

and being demibisexual is someone who is (or identifies as) both bisexual and demisexual. (although i really identify as bi/pan/queer. all three labels are accurate for me and apply to me. but yeah lol.)

like for me, i like people for who they. not what’s in their pants. that’s just bonus 😏😉😅🙈

i made the post below a few years ago. if you’d like to take a look, there are a few more definitions/explanations that i feel are accurate for me and being demibisexual 🖤

also i know for myself personally, i can’t or couldn’t just have a causal relationship with someone. i can’t do one night stands. not with someone i hardly know, anyway.

it’s just not how i work, you know? plus i think it would be hard for me to have a causal relationship with someone because when i’m attracted to someone and have that emotional connection and bond with them, being casual and not letting my emotions ply apart in things would be too tough. but that is just me, of course! (i mean that in a very nonjudgmental way! 💙)

i honestly could keep going on and on about what being demibisexual means to be but we would probably be here for a very long time and it would just be me rambling a lot and i don’t wanna do that to you or anyone who happens to see this lol.

but yeah, i hope all of this makes sense for the most part. if you have any other questions or would like to talk more about this, please feel free to send more asks or if you feel comfortable with it, you can always dm me! ☺️ thank you so much for asking/sending me this! i really really appreciate it and hope it helps a little 😅🖤

[musette22]

Okay so first of alll, how dare the universe give you a bad day like this, rude 😤 I will have a word with it & tell it that you only deserve wonderful days where you get to do fun things and feel good and rested and happy 💖💖

But!! The universe gets a pass sometimes bc they also brought us Chris & Sebastian 😭 And I was just thinking. Because I saw some AoU interviews and some other videos of Chris being a little wild/crazy/a big doofus again recently, and that just got me thinking. Both our boys can be idiots and say and do things that make me the personified “😂” emoji, but I think they need to feel comfortable to do that.

So I’m just imagining them meeting for the first time and Seb being so quiet, but Chris has seen some of his work and he’s seen him, and he desperately wants to make a good impression, because he really wants to be around this guy as much as possible, hopefully become friends.

Seb obviously knows about Chris, and he’s a little hesitant to be his own weirdo self, make the jokes he makes, share the out there interests he has, because you know, Chris is this cool, buff, legitimate movie star, and he doesn’t want Chris to think he’s crazy, or an idiot. So they dance around each other a little, slowly getting to know each other.

And then one day Chris says something ridiculous, or Seb does something weird, and they stare at each other for a moment, a little worried, and then just burst out into laughter, and they realize they don’t have to pretend with the other, they can just be themselves. Because the other gets them. They’re just as beautifully, wonderfully, weird.

And maybe Chris is a little softer with Seb, maybe Seb is a little more outgoing with Chris, than they usually are around most of their friends. But that’s not pretending to be someone else, that’s not pretending to be normal (because normal is overrated), that’s just how they bring things out in each other. And it’s the best, because it makes them so well balanced, makes them so good together.

And I can just imagine Seb rolling his eyes a little when Chris gets up to his frat boy antics, but with a loving smile, because he can’t believe that idiot is his. And Chris crying with laughter when Seb does or says something weird, feeling so light, and so happy that Seb doesn’t hold back with him.

Anyway. These are some rambling thoughts. Hopefully they make you smile 🥰 I love youuu to the moon and back 💖💖💖💖

Mayaaaaaaaaaaa 😭😭😭😭 I just love you so much, and I love them so much, and I love how much you love them so much too 💖💖💖💖💖 Thinking about these two will never fail to make me feel better, so I am so grateful for you coming into my inbox to talk about them today of all days 🥺

And all of this? It's perfect. I think about how silly they are all the time as well, Chris with his self-deprecating humour and his bro-ness, and Sebastian being a total dork and a weirdo (affectionate) and the fact that they can be so silly only makes them more wonderful. If they were just super hot and talented, they'd be waaaayyy too intimidating. So the fact that they can have fun too and don't take themselves too seriously only makes them more human and therefore more loveable 🥰

And I love your idea about how that's true for the way they feel about each other as well! Once they find out that the other is kind of an idiot sometimes, it's even harder not to fall for them 🥺Just the idea of Sebastian watching fondly as Chris slips into that Bostonian accent when he talks about football with his friends back home and makes a fool of himself, and Chris cracking up when Sebastian dances around the kitchen brandishing a wooden spoon as a microphone and then bumping his head against the lamp, I mean 😭💖 And what you said about how they're still a little different around each other, but not in a posing kinda way, but just because the other brings out this other side of them, aaaahhhh, I'm so soft for that 🥺🥺🥺

So yes, basically everything you said, I agree, I love it, I love you, and love them 🥰🥰🥰 Thank you so much for this, my dearest Maya!! You're a gem and I adore you, thank you for loving our beautiful little idiots as much as I do 😘