#anyway this was the first half of the movie in a nutshell right?

[miiukkaa]

dont fuck with me shut the fuck up or i will fucking connect my fist to your face i-

audio from ihan just imus

[ah-ga-seven]

Till’ The End Of Summer - Chapter 5

>> series masterlist <<

Pairing: Choi Yeonjun x Reader

In a Nutshell: College!AU, Rich Kids, Friends to Lovers, Fuckboy athlete Yeonjun, Overprotective Best friend Soobin, contains all of TXT and other Idol cameos, Omnipresent perspective.

Synopsis: You and Yeonjun are caught up in a cat and mouse game because of unspoken feelings and endless pining for each others’ attention. With the summer break approaching and lots of college parties, will you finally get a chance to explore your feelings for each other; even though the world and Yeonjun’s reputation makes things complicated?

Word count: 5K.

Genre: Fluff, Angst.

Warnings: Mentions of a broken family, verbal and mental abuse.

A/N: English isn’t my first language, pls don’t come for me ;)

Yeonjun was sprawled out on your couch, lying down like a starfish. His attention completely focussed on his phone, as he scrolled through his endless Instagram feed.  

You stood in your kitchen, occasionally staring at him as you cut up some fruits for the two of you to snack on. The sight of him being so comfortable on your couch made you reminisce to just days ago when you couldn’t even imagine him ever stepping foot in your home ever again.

But boy, how times have changed.

Just a week ago you were at the festival, where you argued, got hurt, and shared your first kiss. It all seemed like it happened months ago, but the reality of it all was the opposite. To be honest, being with Yeonjun made the time pass effortlessly, which is both a good and dangerous thing.

To your friends’ knowledge, both of you had made up and decided to leave your feud behind you. What they don’t know is that you are trying to make your relationship work behind their backs. You felt awful about lying to your friends, but you and Yeonjun both agreed that it would be better this way, so you can both figure out your feelings for each other before your friends get a chance to meddle in your business.  

No one would be caught in the crossfires or have to pick sides if things ended up not working out, but with how everything was going in this week alone, you have to say that you don’t expect a negative outcome.

You’re falling, and you’re falling fast. Yeonjun makes you feel warm inside. He’s respectful, patient and the more you get to know him, the more you realise how similar the two of you are. You spent the past week having little dates at your place, just talking, eating, and watching movies or listening to music. He was careful though, not wanting to say or do the wrong thing or move too fast. He was afraid to scare you away if he would show all of his affection for you at once. So, he held back. Though as time passed, he started to not care anymore.

He loved how shy you got every time he stared at you or held your hand, kissed your cheek, or when he stole a quick peck from you when you’re focused on something else. The shock on your face is what got him going. He thrived from being in control and making you feel small. Because to him, you were adorable when you were flustered. Yeonjun had never been in a serious relationship or any type of relationship that went further than the physical stuff. With you, he had to start from the beginning. It made him nervous because he didn’t know how. He didn’t know when he was overstepping or when he was doing too little. To be honest, you just made him a nervous wreck. Although the same could be said for you. You can’t really explain it because you are comfortable around him but at the same time every single time you catch him staring, you want to run the opposite direction.

You look up from your cutting board to steal a glance from Yeonjun again but to your surprise, his form had left the couch. You were about to look around for him but before you knew it, you felt two arms snake around your waist. Startling you lightly.  

“Hi,” he whispered in your ear while placing a soft kiss on your temple. You lean into him. Chuckling as you put a grape in his mouth, which he basically vacuumed inside with his pouty lips.  

“Mmmh,” he moans in satisfaction, letting go of you to grab more of the grapes. “They’re so sweet,” he hummed. “Don’t say it…” you breathe, but you know him better than that. A smug grin crept on his face. “Almost as sweet as you” he teases, beaming at you knowing how much you cringe at his awful pickup lines and dad jokes. Moments like these made it seem like you were a married couple, but then again; you weren’t complaining.

You roll your eyes, playfully pushing him aside as you grab the plate of fruits. He follows you to your living room area and sits down on the couch while you sit down on the floor at your coffee table, folding your legs over each other to make yourself comfortable.

He looked at you funny, unsatisfied with the fact that you decided to sit so far away from him. “Are we strangers?” He scoffs grabbing your arm as he pulls you in his lap. You giggle as he starts to tickle your sides. He doesn’t stop there though as he tickles you without mercy, trapping you under him on the couch while he continues to taunt you. You gulp for air between your cackles and slap his chest to get him off.

“Y-yeonjun stop I can’t breathe,” you cry out and he gives in. Concluding the moment with a sloppy kiss on your lips which he deepens as he laces his slender fingers through your hair.  

You close your eyes, getting lost in the moment, until your doorbell rings.

Your eyes widen and you push Yeonjun off, which earned you a glare.

“Shit” you hiss, straightening out your clothes while walking to your front door. You stand on your tiptoes to try and see through your peeping hole and you’re surprised to see Soobin standing in the hallway.

“It’s Soobin” you whisper-scream and Yeonjun’s eyes nearly roll back to the back of his head. “Why is he here.”

“I don’t fucking know, go hide!”

“Hide?” he cocks his eyebrow at you.

“Yes, Yeonjun. Hide” you say a little louder.

“Where?” He asks dumbfounded. You could tell he was annoyed, but this was part of the deal. No one would find out until the end of summer. Especially not Soobin.  

“In my room, now gooooo,” you say as you push him into your room closing the door behind him, not giving him a chance to complain. You quickly skim your living room with your eyes trying to detect any evidence of male energy around but there was nothing to be found except for Yeonjun’s shoes, which you concealed by throwing your coat on top of it.

Soobin’s impatience got the best of him as he started knocking on your door again.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming,” you say in a sing-a-song voice.  

You quickly make your way to the front door, opening it and welcoming Soobin with the most genuine smile you could manage to put on your face.

“Heeey” you greet him with a hug, you had to stand on your toes to properly hug him but you didn’t mind. Soobin smelled like clean cotton and Iris flowers, which made you melt into the hug a little. You had to admit, you missed him.

“Hey” he cooed. “Why do you smell like male cologne?” he questioned and chuckled, but the comment caught you off guard and panic was evident in your eyes. He noticed and laughed loudly.

“Chill, I was just kidding,” he says as he walks into your living room, plopping himself down on the couch in the exact spot where Yeonjun was lying just seconds ago.

The sight made you paranoid and your eyes dart to your bedroom door, but you quickly turn your attention back to Soobin. Trying not to make things too obvious.

“Not to be a dick, but why are you here?” You ask sitting down beside him.  

Soobin cocked his eyebrow at you and he scoffs indignantly.

“I just missed you. You barely ask me to hang out anymore. How are you so booked and busy when it’s summer break,” he pouted. He spotted the fruit plate on your salon table and grabbed a handful of grapes, munching on them one by one.

“Ahh, I just-”  

“Is it because of the whole Yeonjun thing that you aren’t coming over? Because I thought you made up?  And he’s been missing as well, he’s barely home anymore so, it’s not like you’d run into him if it makes you feel that awkward…”  Soobin says insinuatingly, looking at you. He was trying to read you and jumping to his own conclusions, but it somehow helped you since you didn’t know what to tell him anyway.

You just nodded, making him think he made the perfect assumption and you could tell he physically relaxed as his shoulders dropped a little.

“I just needed time,” you start. “But I’m okay now, I promise. I’ll come over tomorrow for game night with the guys and Mia.”  

Soobin’s eyes lit up. “Really? Oh, the boys will be so happy.” 

He clapped in his hands like a kid and gave you a beaming smile.

You couldn’t help but reciprocate the smile and you playfully nudged his shoulder.  

“What are you doing? Wanna go get ice cream?” he asked looking at you expectantly.  

“Uhm, I can’t, I have a family Skype call” you half-lie. You did have the Skype call, but not anytime soon.

“I can stay for that? We’re close,” he simply states.

“I also have to Mary Condo my closet,” you shrug. You need him out. And fast. 

Knowing Yeonjun’s extra and impatient ass, it would take 5 more minutes before he’d blow your cover.  

“I can help with that too.” Soobin’s persistent fiery side was showing. He could read you like a book and noticed how you wanted him out. Although he didn’t know why. He sat up, still staring you right in your soul waiting for you to respond.  

“And have you going through my underwear? No thanks,” you joke light-heartedly but you noticed how he sensed something was off. He squinted his eyes at you and looked around your living room.

“Hmm, okay,” he said getting up. “Then…I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” He gave up. Knowing you wouldn’t give up either. The both of you could go at it for hours like this. But Soobin figured you needed space.

You followed him to your front door and he turned around on his heels, wrapping you up in a tight hug, resting his head on your shoulder. “Don’t be sad okay,” he sighs and your heart hurts at the sweet gesture. You hate having to lie to him but you know it’s for the best even though the guilt is eating at you in a moment like this.

But you knew that this was the only way Yeonjun and yourself were going to be able to explore your feelings for one another.

“I’m okay, I promise,” you say letting go off him and giving him a genuine reassuring smile. He smiled back at you and nodded.

“See ya,” he says as he opens your front door and walks out. You wave at him until he’s out of sight, strongly exhaling as you close the door behind you. You rest your forehead against the doorframe to organise your thoughts. Realising how much of a shitty friend you have been to Soobin lately.

You sigh and turn around throwing your head back, but as you pass the corner, Yeonjun was already standing in front of you, arms crossed while tapping his heel to your wooden floor.

“That took forever,” he huffs.

“Well, he knows me better than anyone Yeonjun, he knows I’m lying to him.” You brush past him, making your way to your kitchen to pour yourself a glass of water. You realise your tone might have been a little irritable, but it’s you who you’re frustrated with. Not him.

Yeonjun just studies you, leaning on your kitchen counter as he watches you chug the contents of your cup away.

You bite your lip, giving Yeonjun an apologetic look as you meet his eyes again. “I’m sorry.”

He stayed silent and rubbed his forehead. “When it’s just the two of us, it’s great. But I don’t wanna have to hide in closets and Anne Frank you, y/n. I want to take you out on dates. Show you off. Post you in my stories, all the dumb shit.”  

“Well you came up with this whole deal yourself mister, and it’s been fun and all but I still barely know anything about your life outside of school and if I have to judge you based off of those stories then I’m not sure if I can trust you wholeheartedly," you explain softly, trying to avoid eye contact with him. You know his eyes are burning into you, so you just play with the rim of your cup.

“Why can’t you just see me for the person that’s standing in front of you right now instead of caring what other people have to say about me,” he says looking at you in disbelief. His tone was cold but most of all, he was sad and hurt.

It was almost like he took every win with a loss.

You were lying if you said it wasn't hard to trust him. But you also knew he had to earn it. The short week that you've been dating was way too short of a time frame to judge his sincerity off of, but when you're alone with him he's nothing like the person he is when he's with his friends. He's not as loud and boastful with you, but you're not sure if that's just a mask he's putting on for you.

“I want to” you say lost in thought. You didn’t even notice how Yeonjun got closer to you until he placed his hands on both sides of your face, making you look up at him.

“I don’t know how many times I have to assure you that I’m not going anywhere, but I’ll keep doing it if It makes you feel any better. The whole Yeji thing was a mistake, it shouldn’t have happened and I know that. But you promised that you would let that go and give me a real chance, but I don’t think you’re really doing that y/n. It’s unfair to me.”  

You sigh, defeated. “You’re right” you admit.

Yeonjun shoulders fell, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “I am?”  

“Yes, you are,” you roll your eyes and Yeonjun’s face lit up. He showed you his boyish smile and squished your cheeks together in his palms. “Good, because I blocked her number, unfollowed her, and unfriended her all together” he states proudly.

Your facial expression spoke for you and he chuckles. “Yes, for real,” he says reading your mind.  

“It’s not like I would ever ask you to do that.”

“But you’re glad I did?” He asks snaking his arms around your waist, pulling you into his chest.

“I guess so...” you sigh, melting into his embrace.

You decided to chill for the day and watch a movie while the two of you were cuddled up under a blanket together. Luckily, you were both the type to talk through movies, debating why certain characters would do or say what they did. It was fun to pick each other's brain and you felt content and relaxed in his embrace. Every single time he chuckled, laughed , or hummed at your comments you felt his chest vibrate, sending shivers down your spine. His warmth was addicting and you can’t quite explain what it is but you felt safe.  

Your mind went into overdrive for a second and you recall your little argument from this afternoon. It was insane to you how quickly both of you went from angry and worked up, to completely peaceful and content. You weren’t quite sure how Yeonjun brought the worst and the best out of you in such a short amount of time. Your mind flashes back to your argument about his lack of opening up to you and you start to wonder why sharing his troubles and feelings with you is such a hard thing for him to do.  

You blinked a couple of times, not realising that you weren’t paying attention to what Yeonjun was saying so he nudged you a little. “Are you tired?” he whispered as his hands rubbed up and down patterns on your back to show comfort.

You look up at him and shake your head. “No, I was just thinking…” you say moving a strand of his hair from covering his eye.  

“About what baby?”  

Before you could open your mouth to speak, your phone started to ring. It was your scheduled family Skype call. It’s something your parents swore by, every Thursday night they would call you to check in on you, and see your face. Aside from the constant texting throughout the week of course.

You sit up. “I have to take this.”

Yeonjun looked at the caller ID and grabbed the remote to pause the movie.

You sit up, turning sideways so your back was leaning against the armrest of your couch, with your legs draped over Yeonjun’s lap so he’d be out of sight.  

You fix your messy hair and answer the phone, putting on your sincerest smile as you see a blurry image of something that looked like a terrace.

“Dad?”  

“Dad you need to turn the camera around, I can’t see you guys.”

“Oh honey, you never seem to get this right.” You hear your mom argue in the background and a smile crept on Yeonjun’s lips at the interaction.

You roll your eyes, chuckling as you finally see your parents’ faces.

“Hi sweetheart.” Your dad smiles at you fondly.

“Hey, how’s Italy?” you ask looking at the tans that both of them had developed, already knowing the answer.

“Amazing, but it would have been better with you here of course,” your mom says.

Your parents’ lifelong dream was to travel through Europe, and this year they finally got to turn that dream into a reality. They worked hard for it, and you wanted It to be something they did together, hence the fact that you decided not to join.  

“See, you say that mom, but I don’t think you mean it," you and your dad start laughing while your mom innocently fails to see the humor.

“I mean it y/n” she pouts. “I miss you a lot.”

Yeonjun decided to occupy himself by grabbing his phone, going through his social media but in reality, he was listening to your conversation with your parents. He didn’t quite realise it in the moment but he was happy listening to your playful banter and the sound of your giggles. He has always longed for that type of affection from his parents. He longed for the same type of warmth in his family. The type of warmth that isn’t bought with a new car or other meaningless expensive items.

All he truly wanted from his parents was love. But they failed to give that to him in his upbringing, as they were never around, too busy with their careers to care.  

The call with your parents didn’t last much longer due to a bad Wi-Fi connection on their end. You sigh as you put your phone on the table. Averting your attention back to Yeonjun.

“I’m sorry about that”  

“No, no. Don’t apologise. That was really cute” Yeonjun says giving your thigh a small squeeze as he smiled at you.  

“Cute? How so?” you chuckle genuinely confused.

“I mean that you have a cute relationship with your parents, that’s all,” he says calmly, grabbing the remote to press play on the movie again.

You frown, taking the remote control from him which made him lock eyes with you.  

This was your chance to ask questions, and so you did.

“Don’t you?” You ask cautiously.  

Yeonjun sighs. “I don’t wanna bore you.”

“No, please. You know you can tell me anything." You say grabbing his hand, rubbing those comforting circles on to the back of his hand with your thumb. The same way he always does with you.

He looks at your sweet gesture and his shoulders fall. He takes a deep breath and looks you in your big innocently sparkling eyes again and his whole body relaxes in an instance.  

“My parents married each other out of a business agreement. I am just a by-product of a business deal, nothing more than that,” he sighs.

“How…could you say that?” Your heart breaks at his words, and suddenly a lot of puzzle pieces fall into place.

“That’s what my dad tells me.” He let out a bitter chuckle, but you couldn’t believe your ears and didn't believe his unbothered demeanor

“To the outside world, my life seems close to perfect but in reality, it’s far from it. I’ve always gotten what I wanted, sure. But no amount of money can buy someone’s love...I guess.”

How could someone so unbreakable and incredible as Yeonjun, carry around this much baggage? This much hurt and resentment. The people that were supposed to be his safety-net and the warmth that he is to you, were everything but that. They were cruel and abandoned him as a child. Your mind couldn’t fathom the reality of things. Yeonjun could have turned out a lot worse, and suddenly you thank god that he hadn’t.

He continued to explain how his desire of being the greatest in everything he does, is because all he wanted was to be noticed by his parents. That his efforts would earn a simple “I’m proud of you, son” or an even simpler. “I love you.”  

You realize that his fear to commit comes from the fact that he doesn’t know what true commitment and love feels like, and as the realisation struck you. Tears start to fill the brim of your eyes.  

You hear him sigh.

He was hurting, and the fact that he made this all seem as if it wasn’t a big deal hurt you even more.

“My mom is the better one out of the two, she checks up on me at least once a month.” He smiles that bitter smile again, looking up at the ceiling with his arms crossed.

“You and the guys are the only ones that sort of know about this by the way. I intend to keep it that way, I don’t want the campus to turn into a pity party for me,” he says absentmindedly. He didn’t know why he felt the need to clarify that, maybe it was the hyper-masculinity kicking in. Although he knew he could trust you with anything, he somehow still felt the need to justify himself.

As he sensed your lack of talkativeness, he looked at you. Startled when he sees tears spill from your eyes.

He sits up in panic, not knowing what to do. Not knowing how to deal with emotion.

“Wh-why. y/n, are you crying?” he asks, eyes getting sad as he launched forward. Placing his hand in your knee in comfort.

You sniff and wipe your tears with the sleeves of your shirt. “I’m sorry.”  

“Don’t apologise” he says pulling you into his chest, cradling you like a baby. “I’m okay, I promise. Please don’t cry for me.  I made peace with it a long time ago.”

You sniff into his chest. “You shouldn’t have had to. You should have had parents who care about you. Parents that see you for the amazing person that you have become.”

“No, stop. I’m none of those things.”

Shit. This was a deep-rooted problem. A problem you weren’t sure how to start fixing. He thinks so little of himself, thinking he isn’t worthy of love and affection when the opposite was true. The meaningless sex was just a coping mechanism. An effort to find the warmth he longed for as a child. The warmth he still longed for right now.

You sit up, cupping his face, and littering his features with kisses. He melts in your touch, a soft giggle escaping his lips.

“Yes. You. Are” you say in between kisses.  

He took your hands from his face, making your look up at him in confusion with your innocent doll-like eyes. He sighs, avoiding your gaze.  

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” he says softly. And you nod in agreement.

You would never push him to open up to you more, and honestly, you weren’t sure you could handle more revelations at the moment. You were happy he told you what he did. It helped you understand him, and somehow it made your desires for him burn more passionately than ever.

He got up, stretching his body as he yawned. “I should get going, it’s getting late. I promised to teach Hyuka how to drive tomorrow,” he states.

He was running from more confrontation and you knew it, but you decide not to be clingy and give him the space he needs, even though every fiber of your being wanted him to stay. You decide to let it go.  

You pout up at him and he chuckles, bending down to give you a passionate kiss on your lips. "Don't worry about me."

You nod and get up to walk him to your front door and watch his tall figure elegantly cascade around your small living room, retrieving his belongings. When he found his car keys, he turned back around to look at you and he melts at the sight.

You were playing with your fingers, eyes big and insecure. You wanted to hug him but you weren’t sure if he was up for more affection.

He hooked his pinky in yours, pulling you towards him as he envelops you in the tightest hug he could possibly give you without smothering you completely.  He sniffed in your sweet perfumy scent that he loved so much and made the hug last a little longer than usual. He realised just how hard he had fallen for you in this moment. He didn’t want his dream-like blooming relationship with you to end before it started, but he also couldn’t help but think that you deserved someone better than the emotional fuck up that he is.  

You deserve someone who can love you back with the same amount of love that you give, and he knew all too well that he had a long way to go before he could give you anything close to the emotional stability that you deserved.

You stood on your tip-toes and pecked his lips once more. Yeonjun sent you a sweet smile, caressing your cheek with his thumb before he turned the knob to your front door.  

“Text me when you get home” you yell after him, but he didn’t respond.

As Yeonjun turns the corner of your apartment building he can’t help but drag himself down with his emotional state. The conversation with you unlocked memories that he had locked away. His mind starts to find more and more reasons as to how you deserve better than him. How he could never be enough for you and how he could never truly promise that he wouldn’t hurt you no matter how much he cared for you.

He was fucked up, and no one better than Yeonjun himself knew that trying to get you to love him was the most selfish thing he could have done.

Yeonjun opened the door to his expensive car, sliding into the drivers’ seat, starting the engine at the same exact time as the skies started to cry. It looked like a scene out of a damn movie.

Rain was falling like there was no tomorrow but he couldn’t get himself to drive off. He threw his head back. Listening to the loud sound of thick raindrops attacking his windshield in a rapid tempo.

His mind flashes back to the night before he left for college.

Yeonjun packed his bags with loud music blaring through his Airpods. He was feeling extra productive and he had almost finished packing all of his necessary belongings.

His father walked in, startling Yeonjun and snapping him back to reality as he took out one of his Airpods to listen to what his father had to say.

"Aren't you supposed to be gone already?" His father said picking up a picture from one of the boxes situated on his bed, scoffing as he looked at the picture of Yeonjun and his friends as he put it back into the box.

Yeonjun rolled his eyes. "I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Good, I was going to turn this room in to a gym." his father huffs

Yeonjun clenched his fists, trying to hold back his anger. "I don't know why you bother talking to me if this is how you're going to act." Yeonjun says, knowing he's probably going to get a verbal beating in return for his smart mouth but his dad just laughed at him.

"You're right. Just remember who's paying for your education smart-ass."

"What's going on?" his mother emerged from the entrance of Yeonjun's bedroom as she heard them argue.

"Nothing," his dad replied looking at Yeonjun. "Nothing at all."

A sudden surge of anger jolted through Yeonjun’s body as he snaps back to reality, and in response he hit his steering wheel as hard as he could multiple times in attempt to release his anger. Tears start to prickle his eyes at the bitter memory and he decided to let go. Drowning himself in the sorrow he felt and carried with him.

He cried for the first time in what felt like forever. Letting go of all his resentment and pent up frustration as he wept with his head hung low on his steering wheel.

If only money could buy happiness.  

Chapter 6

[agentnico]

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) Review

So, are we just gonna sit here not addressing the elephant in the room or do we give director Hayao Miyazaki a call and make him aware that he has full right to sue Disney for blatantly stealing his design of the water dragon from his movie Spirited Away? I don’t know, just seems like the cool thing to do these days, you know, suing Disney? Wait, is that me throwing shade at Black Widow for no reason? Why yes, yes it is.

Plot: Martial-arts master Shang-Chi confronts the past he thought he left behind when he's drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Critics and reviews are useless. Yes, stating that makes me a hypocrite of the highest order of orders seeing as I am a film critic myself, albeit an unpaid one. I even have a T-shirt that states “UNPAID FILM CRITIC” and that is both hilarious and also self-heart-breaking but nonetheless you are not here to read about my wardrobe contents. You’re here to read about my thoughts on Shang-Chi and all those numerous rings that are referred to even though we all know that the only ring that matters is the One Ring that needs to be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came!! Unfortunately that ring does not make an appearance in this film nor is it even mentioned, and that may be due to the case of it belonging to a different franchise entirely however, and this is a big however... I don’t give a crap! Gimme the One Ring!! I wants it!! The precious is MINE!! But anyway, returning to my original point from which I strayed unnecessarily, this movie underlined how frustrating reviews can be. 

You see, Shang-Chi is a solid movie. It very much is a good solo superhero origin story that features some well choreographed martial arts action sequences and makes great strides in pushing for diversity in major Hollywood blockbusters. Similar to Black Panther in fact. That is all well and good, however about half a month ago this film was previewed to a bunch of critics and they all came out with their social media reactions and reviews screaming and hailing this movie as being one of the greatest superhero solo movies ever. Naturally that got us all really excited, especially since at least in my eyes, with me being a huge Marvel Cinematic Universe fan and all, Shang-Chi was never particularly in my radar of interest originally as I was more looking forward to other MCU upcoming titles such as Thor: Love & Thunder, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and The Eternals. So when critics came out on the internet spilling endless praise for Shang-Chi, my first reaction was “DA FAK!?” following which I joined on the hype train and screamed “choo-choo!” in excitement as I looked forward to this new exciting entry in the MCU. Having now watched the film I come out feeling disappointed, as even though I enjoyed it, like any Marvel film, I find that this movie suffers heavily from being overrated. 

As stated prior, Shang-Chi, like any Marvel movie, is enjoyable. It’s perfect blockbuster movie escapism filled with action, fun characters, big visuals and many references and Easter Eggs that would excite die hard franchise fans. However does this film really offer anything truly out of the ordinary that other films prior to it have not? The central dramatic plot dynamic involving a son and his father not seeing eye to eye due to one being blind sighted from reality is very common in the world of cinema. Also the martial arts action sequences, though certainly well choreographed and especially one of the first fight sequences set in a magic forest (naturally) that plays out more like a dance is worth mentioning, are cool to look at, however they too are downgraded by some sloppy editing and camera cuts that really make you lose the feeling of immersion that some superior martial arts films have such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or The Raid or any of the Bruce Lee movies. I’m certain that the stunts and choreography are effortless, but due to the shaky filmmaking and jump cuts I missed a lot of it. However nevertheless for Marvel and the superhero genre as a whole this is evidently more impressive than the usual Hulk-smashing shenanigans.

The central main cast is made up of mostly Asian heritage which of course is great for diversity in cinema, and to be fair many of these actors prove themselves to be major stars that fit quite smoothly into such a big blockbuster as Shang-Chi. Simu Liu as the titular character is a natural born star. He has that genuine star power and he easily proves that he can carry a big movie. He has the necessary charm and charisma that shines on screen, so I look forward to seeing him more as this character in future MCU entries, and also hope this proves Simu Liu a gateway into more mainstream movie projects. Awkwafina is fine in her role as Shang-Chi’s best friend Katy, and it was nice seeing a central duo of a man and a woman that doesn’t force a useless love story between them. They are just friends and it was nice seeing that type of dynamic. That being said I personally am not a fan of Awkwafina and her overly croaky voice, but that of course is just personal preference. Tony Leung as Shang-Chi’s father and also previously Marvel teased villain the Mandarin brings the necessary heft and gravitas to the role, and also a certain appearance by a British actor returning as a character we’ve seen previously in another Marvel movie was a welcome surprise that brought many laughs in my screening and honestly this guy nearly stole the entire show. It’s just that this is such a well written and performed character and I’m so happy they brought him back. I’m certain if you look it up on the old Internet Explorer you’ll find out who I’m talking about, however no spoilers in this review. 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a perfectly enjoyable Marvel movie featuring martial arts. That’s in a nutshell what it is. It has moments of true greatness but in my opinion doesn’t actually stand out that much from other Marvel solo superhero outings. That’s in no way a complaint towards the movie, I’m just confused as to why this movie is so overrated? Maybe I’m missing something. Regardless, I’m now gonna go back and focus on the ring that actually matters - the One Ring - and begin yet another marathon of the Lord of the Rings movies. Ciao! 

Overall score: 6/10

[geek-gem]

The Suicide Squad 2021

I copied this from my DeviantArt journal before I posted it.

I just watched it about...maybe half an hour ago...credits and all...I'm not gonna spoil anything. The reason I didn't post anything right away because of some things like helping my mom when she got home with some stuff.

This is just my first reaction to the film. And this may just be a little review of it. But maybe not really. But in a nutshell, like I told my mom, it was entertaining. I did like it.

Gonna be honest about some things. I wasn't a huge fan of the studio/theatrical cut of the first Suicide Squad. I also support the Release The Ayer Cut movement, just saying. And I have some weird mixed feelings about James Gunn. 

But I will admit, I do think this could be one of my favorite DCEU films. My favorites are still Zack Snyder's Justice League and Batman V Superman. I do feel like the film actually gets better as it goes on. There are some funny moments that did make me laugh. Maybe not all of the moments that are supposed to be comedic.

Like, I legitimately think the film gets better as it goes on. Which I really like. And I feel like if there wasn't a virus or whatever still going on. But this still counts. I would genuinely count this as a kick ass time at the movies. 

I felt like the film delivered on what I wanted, it surprisingly subverted some expectations, and was honestly a good time.

But I also wanna admit. I get the film is still a sequel, but it's a standalone sequel. It's just I feel like the title could be different or so. But that's me being nitpicky about titles. Overall, I liked the film. I may like it overtime, it just depends. 

Anyway, my favorites were King Shark, Ratcatcher 2, Bloodsport, and also Harley Quinn. Who's always a fan favorite.

To end this post. Here's this kickass song I have been listening to mostly when making this. Little spoiler, this appears as the first song in the credits.

[pixie-cocaine]

ATEEZ reaction to: their S.O. being a former Playboy model

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I really did hella research on this because Playboy's rules and shit are a lot more strict and confusing than you'd think. BUT, good news is that you can model for Playboy without having to be a Playboy playmate (which is a lifetime job I think). Anyways, it's kinda long because I like to make each scenario different in terms of style and what you wear, but I hope you enjoy :)

Songs Listened To: Sweet Insomnia - Gallant, mentiras - Alaina Castillo

(Also, mature/explicit so read at your own risk!)

Hongjoong ♡:

• you'd ask him to go get you a shirt from your drawers while you were in the shower

• he'd be going through the wrong one, your underwear drawer, when his finger brushed against the plastic cover of what felt like a magazine

• his curiosity would get the best of him, also the fact that he thought it was porn and he'd be able to tease you about it

• and he'd pull it out

• he definitely wasn't expecting to see you on the front cover, body adorned with silk lingerie that held accents of cherry red ribbon and deftly tied loops. Everything about you was carefully laid on; the flawless red matte lipstick, your hair which fell over your eyes in gorgeous tendrils, even the neatly-placed bunny ears and cotton tail.

• the thing that got him most was how you sat on your knees, a sickly sweet smiling playing on your lips as your hand slipped beneath the thin fabric of your panties

• he almost thought he was dreaming when he saw the title 'Playboy', plastered across the heading in big bold letters

• he wouldn't think twice about throwing the magazine on the bed and waiting for you to come out of the shower to go see why he hadn't given you a shirt like you asked

• when you finally stood in the doorway, robe covering your nudity and an eyebrow raised, Hongjoong would hold up the magazine with a smirk

• "You never told me you were a Playboy bunny"

• "You never asked, and why would I tell your nosy ass anyways?"

• he'd chuckle and you'd finish getting dressed, but he wouldn't stop thinking about it

• you'd end up fishing out your old Playboy outfits to wear for him

Seonghwa ♡:

• you and Hwa would be getting ready for the sexy-themed costume party San had the bright idea of throwing for Wooyoung's birthday party

• since Hwa didn't have any costumes, he'd go with the simple but classic loose black button-up and pants before sitting on the bed, waiting for you to come out of the bathroom

• the sound of your heels clicking on the polished floor had him looking up from his phone, and to say his eyes damn-near popped out of his skull was an understatement

• literally, this man would probably be drooling like a saint Bernard

• you looked like an enchantress; gorgeous royal purple forplay bodysuit, complete with jeweled fishnets, dual cuffs and a cuff collar, the iconic large bunny ears, cotton tail, and redbottoms all had him in a daze

• he literally could've pounced on you right there if he had no sense of self-control

• your smile, god your smile was what set it off. Especially with the way your lips curled delicately and accentuated the bloody red lip tint, a few stray strands of hair kissing at your forehead

• "Do you like it? I used to wear it back when I was a bunny and modeled every once in a while," you'd say, feigning obliviousness to how Hwa drank in your form

• to be honest, Seonghwa couldn't give less of a fuck whether you modeled and strut around in skin-tight clothing for hundreds of hungry eyes

• all he cared about was whether he'd be able to finish fucking you before you were late sifbjeuzysha

• in a nutshell, he absolutely loved the fact that you still had your Playboy bunny outfit, but didn't mind your past contract with them

Yunho ♡:

• you were always the secretive one in the relationship so it was no surprise that one day when Yunho dropped his phone under the bed and sat on his knees to look for it that he found it sitting by a big black box

• just because you were secretive didn't mean he couldn't find a way to get past the point of you hiding it in the first place

• you were in the kitchen at the time, cooking your famous homemade jajamyeon, but Yunho knew you'd come to check on him, so he had to make it quick

• after he finally popped open the stubborn lid, he'd looked in to see something he wasn't expecting to see at all

• magazines, all of them with you in various positions on the covers, sat in stacks to the right of the box. Beside it sat a headband with large familiar bunny ears and.. was that a half see-through bodysuit?

• well, he didn't even have time to identify the rest of it, because the sound of your amused voice filled his ears

• "Yunho, what are you doing?"

• "N-nothing!"

• he'd scrambled to close the box and push it back under the bed, but he would get his fingers jammed in the top, letting out a yelp as it caught on the tender flesh of his digits

• "tsk, tsk, tsk. Clumsy boy.."

• but still, you'd giggle and crouch down to his eye level before removing his hands from the box and rubbing the tips of his fingers

• "I didn't know you were a Playboy bunny"

• was the first thing he asked lmao

• you'd giggle and answer questions about your past contract with Playboy before treating him to your jajamyeon and a band-aid

• it was only when you were cuddled up on the couch did he bring it up again

• "um, babe?"

• "yeah?"

• "would you be fine with it if I asked for you to pose in your Playboy uniform?"

• I swear, this bitch-

Yeosang ♡:

• to be honest, nobody knows how he found out

• this bitch sneaky

• all you know is that he came into the living room where you sat, holding up your folded Playboy uniform and a glass of wine

• "Do me a favor and go put this on, gorgeous. I wanna see how you look in it."

• and that's how you wound up standing in front of Yeosang, occasionally tugging at the bowtie hugging your neck or pulling at the back of your bodysuit

• but Yeosang paid no mind to your fidgeting. He was completely entranced

• he couldn't comprehend your beauty. The black Velvet of your bodysuit wasn't anything special, but the way it framed your curves and stuck to all the right places was enough to make anybody gasp in jealousy. The dual cuffs linked to your wrist added to the whole 'sexy waitress' look, and the bunny ears and cotton tail made you look adorable, all Yeosang wanted was to worship your body and all of your flaws

• which is what he did

• he sat before you, his forehead resting on your stomach as you stood there, a hand on his shoulder for balance that might be needed, and sighed as you savored the feeling of his hands roaming every inch of your body. He started at the stockings; pinching the thin fabric between his forefinger and thumb, before moving up to slide his hands around your waist and finger at the textures of your clothes.

• the rest of the night, he made work of your body

• literally, he was so soft and tender

• he wished he would've seen the photoshoots you'd been in, but overall, he didn't really care

• it was something you liked, and he respected that

• literally, I know this man has a huge body worship kink nsjdkwksj

• you didn't hear it from me

San ♡:

• you both would be watching movies together when you stood up

• "I'm gonna go pee real quick, you can keep it playing if you want."

• and you were outy 😔🤙🏼

• just when he was about to go back to the movie, your phone began to buzz, the screen lighting up along with the vibrations that rattled it's being

• now, San's nosy ass wouldn't wanna be too rude by touching your phone without permission, but he couldn't help checking the caller ID

• his jaw dropped when he saw just who was calling

• 'Playboy 👯'

• was the caller ID

• he kinda would just freeze up and make excuses in his head

• "Nah, that's probably just one of her friends."

• he'd ask you when you came back out, but still tried to make sure you understood that he in fact did not snoop through your shit

• "I'm just curious, that's all. If it's something that you liked to do, then do what you want."

• really supportive, even if you told him that you left that job and they were only calling back to see if you'd pick up a last-minute gig for extra money

• "Baby, I wouldn't care if you decided to go back."

• actually likes the idea a lot

• he'd be searching up your name in Playboy while you were asleep lmao 😂

Mingi ♡:

• you wanted to do something fun towards the end of his birthday party

• so what better way than to blindfold him, sit him in a chair in the middle of the bedroom, and go put on your old Playboy uniform?

• he'd be kinda nervous, but also excited

• the telltale signs of his clammy hands and constant leg jumping gave it away

• maaan you were abouta blow this man's moinnndd

• his head would perk up at the sound of your heels hitting the floor, getting closer with each shaky breath rattling Mingi's chest, his heart threatening to jump out of his ribcage

• one moment his vision was obscured, the next, you were standing in front of him with a hand on your hips, looking like a wet dream personafied

• he literally felt like he might nut in his pants at the mere sight wonfjwjwjw

• hair, messy and tucked behind your ears. Lips, curled in amusement at his shocked expression, painted over with a subtle brown lipstick which glistened in the soft orange glow of the lamplight to your left.

• his eyes traveled lower, almost helplessly

• the black latex bodysuit enveloped your figure, fitted like a second skin, and cupped your hips as you shifted your weight to your left foot. Bunny ears sat atop your head and swayed with your small movements, a tied bow clipped to your throat, and your legs slipped into glossy-looking sheer tights

• Mingi felt like a starved animal, staring at you as if you held the key to his ecstacy

• which, let's be honest, you did

• y'all began to fuck straight after HAJAJAJABDBDJS

• (he definitely liked the idea of your being a Playboy bunny, but was pretty left-leaning to the fact that a bunch of other men probably looked oggled at you back when you did occasionally waitressing)

Wooyoung ♡:

• sooo, Wooyoung is a pretty flexible person (??)

• i mean, he has to when he has the sex appeal of an expensive stripper that always wears a custom-made silver crown when she gets on-stage to show that she's a bad bitch

• so when you and him decided to skip work in favor of booze and some Disney

• he'd be kinda excited when, as you both were talking about stupid shit you did in the past, you brung up the fact that you'd used to model for Playboy

• he'd be a little thrown off at first tho

• "Woah, woah, woah. Like, signature bunny ears and cotton tail Playboy?"

• "Yeah, I did a couple photoshoots for them in my time. Why, do you suddenly have the desire to hurl up your breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the sight of me?"

• "No, no, not at all. That's kinda hot, if I'm being honest"

• not even ashamed that he immediately pulled up your photoshoots and looked through them with you

• "Yeah, see that one? They had me lay in a tub of melted chocolate for it, I'm not even gonna sugar-coat it when I say that it got all up in my hoo-hah"

• "Lucky! I wanna pose in a pool of chocolate like a sexy french girl, too!"

• it'd become an inside joke for you two

• like when you'd complain about it being cold, he'd say some stupid shit like:

• "Playboy bunnies never get cold, you can deal with it"

• it'd be really cute 🥺

Jongho ♡:

• ugh the sweetest baby to ever exist

• for lack of a better scenario, you both would be laying in bed, half-awake, and talking about life in general

• you'd been the one to bring up the topic, considering your usual bouncy, sweet Jongho had been stressed lately

• you wanted to calm him down, relieve him of any exhaustion

• so that's how you ended up in bed with him, limbs tangled together, and your head resting on his chest as he recounted his childish ways of the past

• you'd look up at him with full heart eyes bro

• and I really don't blame you

• and ease him into your own actions

• you'd hesitantly bring up being a Playboy bunny, and bb would immediately sit up and be like

• "Uhhh, pardon?"

• you'd think he was against the idea, but after you sputtered out excuse after excuse, he'd start giggling

• OH MY GOD LET ME KISS YOU JONGHO

• and then once he stopped laughing

• he'd reassure you that it was fine with him

• if you liked doing something, who was he to stop you. Yeah, the idea might be a little iffy to him because he wasn't so keen on sharing you with anybody, but he didn't wanna stop you from being happy and getting ya money

• why? Because uhhhh he's a baby?

• Why would you even ask? That man can do no wrong HE GOES TO FUCKING ELDERLY WOMEN SINGING MEETUPS

• he'd ask you to tell him some funny stories about being a model, and he'd eventually fall asleep due to you running your fingers through his hair

• ugh I'm in my feelings

(oh yah, and sorry for posting this a couple days late lol)

[starmakerdotcom]

summary : a brief insight into peach’s most memorable college relationship.

characters : kwon baekhan / peach , yoon chanseong

genre : i’d say mostly ?? fluff ?? but angst if u squint

warnings : mild sexual content (making out and all that jazz but no Actual Sex) , baekhan’s an overly emotional horny bitch , chanseong doesn’t know how to properly process feelings , it’s just kind of a disaster !

words : 2.5k

[ 2017 ]

if you’d asked baekhan how he’d landed someone like yoon chanseong in college, he would’ve had no clue. part of him still doesn’t understand it today.

chanseong was that kind of guy that everyone got along with. you know the ones, the ones who present themselves as so charming and down to earth that it’s impossible to not get along with them? that was chanseong in a nutshell, and the only connection baekhan had to him was one class in which they sat next to each other (that chanseong mostly slept through anyway). he found that watching the sleeping figure next to him was much more interesting than listening to the droning professor. that was the only time he ever recalled looking forward to that class.

now, without making this sound too much like a badly written bad boy x shy guy wattpad novel, as it always goes, baekhan was dragged to an off campus party by a mutual friend one night, and sometime during that night, they got introduced to each other. baekhan vividly remembered his first thought about him being something along the lines of, “he looks like the type of guy to say offensive slurs when he’s drunk and only gets girls to fall for him because of his looks” which, he realizes now, may not have been super far off (except for the offensive slurs part, at least to his knowledge). but god, his head was spinning so hard under the deafening music and colourful lights, baekhan was willing to take such a risk.

“so...” chanseong started as he leaned over the side of the armchair he was sitting on, getting almost uncomfortably close to baekhan’s face, “what’s your name?”

“yes,” baekhan answered immediately.

he laughed, “sounds... exotic. alright, now what’s actually your name.”

“right,” baekhan mentally punched himself (more than once), “not right- that’s not my name, my name is baekhan. we have a class together.”

“do we?” chanseong said, raising his eyebrows, “which one?”

“the one that you sleep through every day,” baekhan snorted, “we sit next to each other and i swear- every time i look over, you’re passed out.”

chanseong shrugged, “i don’t need that class anyway, it’s boring.” baekhan noticed how the taller boy’s gaze trailed up and down what he could see of baekhan’s body (respectfully) despite his particularly unflattering outfit (loose jeans- cuffed obviously- and a t-shirt probably four sizes too big- any fitted outfit on a day he was going out to eat was a big no-no for him!).

“so what do you have in there?” chanseong asked, gesturing to the plastic cup baekhan held in his lap, “anything exciting?”

“whiskey,” baekhan answered without thought, naming the first alcoholic drink that came to mind. it wasn’t whiskey, it was sprite, plain sprite. but yoon chanseong was hot, and he wanted to appeal to what seemed to be his type.

chanseong stifled a chuckle. “sure,” he said, leaning over a little more to look at the contents of his cup. it definitely wasn’t whiskey, he wasn’t stupid, but he appreciated the effort either way. “come on- get up, let me get you an actual drink.”

“and why on earth would i do that?��

he shrugged, “you look like you need some loosening up, you know? just like-“ he put his hand on baekhan’s shoulder, “relax a bit, you’re so tense.”

baekhan involuntarily lowered his shoulders a little bit, “do i look like the type of person who needs loosening up?”

“definitely.”

he scoffed, taking a sip of his not whiskey, “i like how you think you know what i need.”

“oh, i think i do,” chanseong retorted in a different, lower tone of voice, looking at baekhan with an expression of such confidence it made baekhan choke on his drink a little. chanseong smirked, sparing glances at baekhan’s lips, and the other seemed to catch on quite quickly.

baekhan awoke the next morning with a pounding headache in a bed that definitely wasn’t his.

“oh god,” he mumbled, immediately panicking and sitting up in bed. only then did he look down and notice that he wasn’t the only one in the bed. who would be sleeping soundly next to him but none other than yoon chanseong!

of course. of course drunken baekhan would get into a situation like this! and now slightly more sober (and very hungover) baekhan had to deal with it.

in his still half asleep state, surprisingly he could remember a good chunk of the events of the previous night, but most of it revolved around the two of them crashing through chanseong’s dorm room door in the early hours of the morning, making out fervidly and bumping into multiple pieces of furniture on their way to the bed. a lot of making out, baekhan definitely got pinned to the wall a few times, and whew, that’s enough of that! baekhan wasn’t sure he wanted to remember much more.

he only panicked more when chanseong stirred beside him.

when he inevitably woke up from baekhan’s hungover panicking, the latter was already out of bed plucking his clothes off the floor. the two made eye contact for a brief second, and baekhan immediately covered himself with his shirt.

“...baek?” chanseong mumbled, and oh god, the raspiness of his just woken up voice was hot.

“you remembered my name?” baekhan asked with genuine surprise.

chanseong scoffed, “of course i did, how could i forget? how could i forget you?”

baekhan didn’t know why that made his face flush. maybe it was the headache. maybe it was the fact that yoon chanseong was one of the most beautiful men he’d seen in any of his classes thus far, and he’d just woken up in the same bed as him and he remembered baekhan’s name. he honestly hoped it was the former, feelings in general weren’t his strong suit.

“do you know where my pants are?” baekhan asked instead of saying something hot back. he immediately cringed and mentally kicked himself in the shins.

but chanseong just laughed softly in response, “my guess would be somewhere...” he leaned over the side of the bed, gesturing at the rest of the clothes that had been carelessly thrown about the floor, “...somewhere around here.”

“oh... probably,” baekhan looked down at the several articles of clothing near his feet, “guess we weren’t very neat.”

chanseong shrugged loosely, “i’m a student, i live in filth, i don’t really care.”

baekhan chuckled, not registering that sentence as as much of a turn off as it would usually be, especially as he was always a particularly anal type of person (not THAT type of anal).

“so do you have anything going on today?” chanseong asked, still looking at baekhan (who was now on the floor searching for his pants) from the bed.

baekhan glanced up at him for a second, “...why?”

“just wondering, you seem like you’re in a rush.”

“oh! no, i’m not i just don’t wanna- inconvenience you i can be on my way now-“

“no, no, don’t worry about it,” chanseong reached out his arm, “it’s a long weekend, d’you think i’ve got anything going on?”

baekhan paused, then reluctantly replied, “good point,” avoiding eye contact with the male on the bed more out of sheer awkwardness than anything by instead gathering his clothes from the floor. but then, in true chanseong fashion, he said something that made baekhan immediately look at him.

“...care for a round two?”

baekhan’s head shot back around to meet chanseong’s, and the smirk on his face reminded him of the previous night, remembering the phrase “i think i do”, in particular quite vividly, in response to- who knows, probably something stupid that slipped past baekhan’s lips.

but inevitably, baekhan decided if he was ever anything more than paranoid, he was horny.

“oh why the hell not,” he declared, immediately climbing back into bed and mashing their lips together.

baekhan wasn’t sure how him and chanseong became more than just a one night stand, but it’s not like he didn’t mind.

but what kind of “more” were they, exactly? that’s where the two male’s opinions were slightly divided. unbeknownst to chanseong, who had more of an unspoken but very obvious in his actions “no feelings” sort of attitude when it came to them hanging out for the first while, baekhan genuinely wanted more.

they had a slight routine, meet up somewhere when their schedules let them, maybe go out somewhere, whether it was to hang out or get something to eat, and more often than not, they’d end up at one of their dorm rooms later that night, and- for lack of a better term- fuck. did baekhan enjoy this routine? ...not necessarily, but if he was spending time with chanseong, then he didn’t mind.

“i’m exhausted,” baekhan groaned, putting his feet up on the ottoman in front of him. that night, they were at chanseong’s dorm, and they’d ordered food and were about to put a movie on (baekhan’s idea), a calm night in at the end of the week, which baekhan liked quite a bit more than the same party scene every friday night.

chanseong laughed through his nose, “what did you do today?”

“oh god,” baekhan started, “i had to do this, like, dance thing at training today, and oh my god i’m horrible at dancing!” he laughed loudly, throwing his head back before continuing, “there’s a couple other trainees helping me, if i couldn’t sing i’d be a lost cause, i swear to god!”

“what-“ baekhan’s face fell when he saw chanseong’s confused expression, “training?” he asked with furrowed eyebrows.

baekhan’s eyes went wide, “did i not- oh my god! i forgot to tell you! i’m training at this company, i’m gonna be a singer!”

“and you’ve never told me this?”

“i’m sorry! i forgot!” baekhan exclaimed, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling brightly. “isn’t it exciting though? that’s why i’m always busy outside of class!”

chanseong nodded, “i’ve been busy too, i didn’t really notice,” he chuckled, “and it seems like it makes you really happy too.”

baekhan raised his eyebrows, “what’ve you been busy with? partying?”

“i attend more than one class, y’know,” chanseong flopped down onto the couch next to baekhan, who immediately snaked an arm around the taller boy’s waist.

“sure,” he gently cupped chanseong’s face in his hands before pulling him in for a quick kiss. “and you’re right, it does make me happy,” pulling him in again, their bodies were pressed against each other as they kissed passionately right there on the couch.

“and so do you,” baekhan said wistfully, breaking into a huge smile when they both pulled apart. he felt chanseong tense up under his touch at those words but before he could even register it he pulled the taller boy back in, who eventually eased up into another messy but fervid kiss.

alas, baekhan can’t always get what he wants.

he could barely see chanseong in the pale moonlight cascading through his bedroom window, although he could feel his body heat, which was arguably much more comforting.

he scooted closer into chanseong’s side, arms wrapped around his waist and his head near the crook of the taller boy’s neck. chanseong had told him, a few weeks prior, that he wasn’t a big fan of cuddling, but he stopped fighting it a while ago. which made baekhan think he changed his mind, or he just gave up trying to resist. both seemed pretty realistic.

“channie...?” baekhan mumbled into the darkness, and he felt chanseong’s head move slightly above him.

“yeah?”

“remember that night? at the party when we first met?”

“what about it?”

baekhan shrugged, “i dunno, actually, i’m just thinking about it for some reason.” he really just wanted to keep chanseong up with something to talk to, because he didn’t want to fall asleep just yet. “why did you- like- i guess what i’m trying to say is why me? there were so many people at that party- and they’re all hotter than me.”

chanseong snickered, “you’ve gotta stop being so insecure, you’re pretty. you’ve got a nice body, like- your waist and your-“

“aah! stop you’re gonna make me blush!” baekhan’s words were mumbled by him burying his face into chanseong’s chest.

the taller boy chuckled and said, “i mean i’m just stating facts.”

he sighed in contempt, laying there in silence with his head comfortably nestled under chanseong’s chin. it had only been- a few weeks? months, maybe? since they’d properly met, but it had began to feel so natural that it didn’t feel like it. chanseong felt like an old friend, and every time baekhan remembered they’d barely known each other half a year, he wondered if chanseong felt a similar way.

which is why, maybe, he was so comfortable being affectionate with him.

“i love you.”

it didn’t feel like it, but by the way baekhan felt chanseong immediately tense up, he realized that was the first time he’d ever said it.

after a few seconds of tension filled silence, chanseong sat up and said, “you know, i should probably be going home now.”

baekhan’s heart dropped almost immediately. he followed chanseong, sitting up with him with the false hope that he could somehow convince the taller boy to stay. “hey, hey, why so sudden?” he asked softly, taking a light grip on his arm.

“i just,” chanseong looked back, an unreadable expression on his face, “i’ve got stuff to do tomorrow, and i just remembered.”

“oh.”

“yeah...” he nodded awkwardly, and stood up with no further hesitation, baekhan followed, intending to walk him out.

“hang out tomorrow? when you’re not busy?” baekhan asked, standing behind chanseong who already had his hand on the doorknob.

chanseong looked back, and nodded quickly with a, “yeah, of course.”

and with that, he left without another word, leaving baekhan standing at the front door, dumbfounded.

baekhan usually welcomed the night sky with open arms, eager to succumb to her even on her coldest nights. sugar spilt over a black marble tabletop, just barely glowing in the pale moonlight, bringing a sense of odd comfort when darkness engulfed the city. yet, tonight, he lied awake for what was realistically just an hour or two, but felt like an unbearable eternity.

but, later that night when baekhan was finally almost succumbing to the night’s call, he realized.

chanseong didn’t say it back.

[moneypedia]

I said I would show you my “how” and here it is.

This is my guide to conquer depression with practical advice you can use right now.

Just make sure you commit to making this change, because none of this will help without your own time and effort.

And remember, if someone as broken as I was can comeback from this, there’s no doubt you can too.

Use the links here to navigate between each section and go straight to what you want to see:

Check Your Source

Master the Reframe

Thoughts on a Page

The Fundamentals

The Power of Words

Embrace What Others Hate

Keep Your Thoughts on a Leash

(Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you decide to follow the links and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission from the item(s) at no extra cost to you.)

Check Your Source

You know what’s more depressing than actually being depressed?

Doing a Google search on how to beat depression.

(I know that’s ironic if you got here through Google but hear me out anyway.)

Back when I was dealing with this, and even now when I compare my tips with others, I realized that most people who gave advice were victims who told how to live with the problem. They didn’t have solutions that came from actually solving it.

It was like an unemployed person telling you how to survive without a paycheck instead of showing you how to get a job.

The first page of Google showed me posts telling me to be patient so my situation might change. They told me that I should go watch a heartwarming movie. Or maybe drink tea every morning to bring me peace.

Are you serious?

You’re telling someone who feels lower than the dirt underneath your fingernails that tea is somehow gonna help?

It was pathetic. You could see the struggle laced all throughout their words.

Even when I was in that place, I knew better than to listen to those still stuck where I was trying to leave.

So remember that if the person you’re listening to still sounds broken, they haven’t conquered anything yet.

But keeping that in mind, you should also avoid another group. That group is the tough love crew—with an emphasis on the tough part.

They’ve either…

A) Never faced what you’re dealing with. So they’ll treat you like less of a person because they can’t show understanding.

Or…

B) They have been through this, but they overcompensate for their former weakness by giving bogus “man up” advice.

It’s people like that who keep you from starting meaningful discussions about what’s going on.

The good news is, you have one person here who’s dealt with your problem and found real solutions—not just gimmicks to treat symptoms. So follow this guide and only take additional advice from people who have done what you want to do. Otherwise, you’ll set yourself up for failure.

Master the Reframe

You can often trace depression back to the thoughts you decide to dwell on. If you focus on your failures for example, you’ll view life through a darker lens than someone who focuses on the good.

It’s always possible to find good in any situation, whether controllable or uncontrollable. And reframing is how you do that.

So what is reframing? It’s simply changing your view of a situation to the most positive outlook.

We can look at the classic glass-half-full example to see reframing in action. The person who reframes will see the glass as being half full, whereas a person who doesn’t will see the glass as half empty.

All you’re doing is taking your circumstances and looking at them from a better angle.

If you’re dealing with a controllable problem, it’s best to use your reframe as a starting point for action. And if you have an uncontrollable problem, you look for learning points, opportunities, and the overall big picture.

So here’s a different example: Let’s say you lose your job.

You can do like most people and worry about your money. You can hold a grudge against your boss. Or you might complain that it wasn’t fair and refuse to search for work.

But all of those are terrible perspectives. Reframe them instead:

You can’t control the fact that they let you go, but you can ask the company why it happened.

You can use the loss as motivation to change your work ethic.

And you can view it as more time to spend with your family now while forming a list of potential interviews for later.

Reframing alone won’t solve your problems, but it will keep you from dwelling on things outside your control.

Just make sure you base your reframe in reality. Don’t act like you’ve risen above the job you had after you’ve lost it.

You may very well have a better opportunity out there. But there’s no need to build a false ego. If you take a loss, learn from it and move on. No one is above anything.

When you base your reframe on a false truth, all you’re doing is deluding yourself. And doing that will cause more issues than the original problem did.

But anyway, that’s reframing in a nutshell. It’s easy to understand yet tough to master.

So if you’re new to this, it’s a good idea to start small with the daily problems in life. Those will prepare you for the harder challenges you face later on.

Remember that there is always a bright spot in any problem, but you have to find it first.

Creativity really is one of the pillars of a strong mindset. So make sure you always see the big picture.

Thoughts on a Page

Many people who deal with depression live inside their heads—they think much more than the average person. And if you think that much, you need to read and write.

I’ll focus on writing in this section.

Writing is just putting thoughts on a page. It’s taking your train of thought and organizing it to make sense. And it’s the organization part of writing that’s so therapeutic.

That’s because many of us don’t notice the quality of our thoughts until they’re staring us in the face. And when we do see them, we’re surprised by what they say.

That’s the biggest reason why I recommend you write on a consistent basis. You don’t have to publish anything—that’s not the point here. The point is to get your thoughts in front of you so you can analyze them.

Now the best tool for this is, you guessed it, a journal. And no, not one where you talk about how cute your crush is. You need to be very specific in how you use this to get results.

The first thing to do is write down all of what you’re thinking. You have to dump everything out your brain before you piece it back together.

This journal will be for your eyes only. So feel free to write about anything here.

Write down all the thoughts that dominate your mind no matter how dark they may be. Do that until you can’t think of anything else and then take a step away.

After doing that, you’ll feel relief—like you threw off a heavy burden.

Wait a few minutes and then come back to look at it all. When you see your thoughts in front of you later, you’ll realize that many of them were irrational, and you’ll wonder how you let them float around in your head for so long.

Everything else you wrote will have an underlying theme to it. You may be dealing with self-esteem issues, thoughts of inferiority, or a general disappointment that you allow to hold you back.

Once you find that theme in your words, trace it to a problem that’s either controllable or uncontrollable.

After that, reframe your perspective and create an action plan.

This whole process will force you to organize your thoughts and control your thinking patterns. But make sure you write all this by hand to get the best results.

For an idea of how this would work, let’s take a look at my story to see how I would use this strategy:

First, I would write about my situation like I did in Part 1.

Then I would walk away and come back to the journal later. After coming back, I would scratch out anything crazy like self-harm or suicide. Then I would see my underlying theme—failure to meet expectations.

From this point, I would reframe my problems and make a plan to work with what I had.

Then I would write down whatever I chose in the end. And that would leave me with a before and after picture of where I was at. I could then come back to my journal if I ever struggled with the same issue again.

This brain dump process is one of the best tools to evaluate your thoughts. I’ve used it plenty in my own journal but now the process is automatic. I just do it my head.

But until you get to that point, take note of this process and apply it to whatever you’re going through.

I’ve put all the steps below:

Write your dominating thoughts

Step away for a while

Come back and analyze what you wrote

Cross out irrational thoughts

Find the theme

Determine the problem

Reframe the problem

Write your action plan

The Fundamentals

Look at any great NBA player and you’ll see that they all have one thing in common: they’ve mastered the fundamentals.

Sure, some of them have insane physical gifts, but for every great player with a physical advantage, there’s a hundred athletic freaks who didn’t make the cut.

Guys like Jordan, Magic, and Kobe all performed moves that made people’s mouths drop. But when you look closely, you’ll see that those moves are only additions to basic parts of the game.

Those guys would have never been the players they were by building on what looked cool or felt right. They built upon the right moves no matter how old, boring, or tedious they were.

And building your mindset works the same way. You have to build on fundamental truths, no matter how harsh they may be.

One of the hardest pills to swallow is that the world isn’t obligated to care about your loneliness. The world isn’t obligated to care for your feelings. And it’s not obligated to care for how special you think you are.

You are responsible for your emotional state.

Now I know that’s tough to hear, especially if you’ve never had to humble yourself like this before. But once you learn to care for your own emotional needs, you can move on to what the world always cares about—value.

It doesn’t matter what failures you have, how much money you make, or even what you look like. The world always cares about what you’re willing and able to give.

I know I didn’t understand that during my rough years, and you may not understand it now, but it’s true. So instead of always searching for what you can get, find ways you can give to others instead. And guess what will happen when you do?

People will want to be around you. Money won’t be a problem. A stranger will see that some people do care.

Stop worrying about what you want, and focus on what others need. Become someone who willingly gives to others and your own needs will be more than taken care of.

The Power of Words

Remember how I said you should read and write? Well now we’re at the reading part.

Reading has been so valuable to me that I feel bad for people who don’t do it—they make life harder than it needs to be. I wouldn’t know to do 50 percent of my daily actions without reading about it somewhere. I can only imagine what those people have to work with.

They don’t understand that words are powerful. That they’re life changing.

Our schools overdo it sometimes with the whole “knowledge is power” thing, but for good reason. Almost every oppressive government in history made sure to destroy one thing—books.

My point is, if you’re depressed and you aren’t reading, you don’t stand a chance.

Back when I fought depression, I felt completely alone. I thought no one could relate to me. And looking at all the people around me then, I had good reason to think so. All I could see were people laughing with their friends while I was miserable.

I had to find help from elsewhere and that’s why I started reading. I read so much back then that I kept a bottle of Tylenol next to all my material.

Through reading, I found mentors, motivators, and friends. They were people I could relate to. People who had felt like I did and found a way to rise above it.

I learned more about the world through a year of reading than I had all throughout my years of school. And most of the challenges people complain about now became simple to me.

That may sound like an exaggeration, but you have to understand the impact words can have on your character.

Whenever you read, you open your mind to a new perspective. Just like in a normal conversation.

When you expose youself to the thoughts of others, you start to change the way you think. That new thought process shapes the way you act. And those consistent actions determine your character.

And that whole process started with a little reading.

“So where should I start?”

I’m glad you asked.

I’ll give a few recommendations here, but before I do that, I need to warn you about the danger of some reading too. The process above is helpful if you read good material, but if all you take in is garbage, that’s what you’ll get out.

So with that said, here’s where you can start:

The Bible

If there was one thing that helped me the most during this time, it was getting back into my Bible. And no, that’s not me pushing an agenda. That’s me telling the truth.

Earlier I said the world doesn’t really care unless you have something to offer, but there is Someone who always cares. And reading the Bible is how you learn more about Him.

The most common version of the Bible is the King James Version (KJV), but I think it’s best to read multiple versions to get the best understanding. Two of my favorites are the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and the New King James Version (NKJV).

Some translations are definitely better than others, but if you read any of those three, you’ll be fine.

I should also mention that the Bible has been around for centuries, and scholars have spent lifetimes making it easier for readers to understand. That’s why I think it’s best to use a study version instead of one that only has the text.

I personally have a NKJV study Bible that I love. It has summaries of individual books, commentary for almost all the verses, and articles about specific topics.

Now if you’re new to reading the Bible, I’d encourage you to start with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Those are all about Christ and the work He did that was so important.

I’ll talk more in depth about all this in the future, but you can start there if you’re new.

But getting back to my specific experience with depression, there were two books of the Bible that helped me the most.

Proverbs

He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. (Proverbs 16:20 NKJV)

When I was kid, one of my favorite teachers bragged on the book of Proverbs all time, and those memories stayed with me years later. So when I decided to get back into the Bible, it was the first place I went.

Practical wisdom fills the pages of Proverbs, and that wisdom is still relevant for people today. The book covers everything from communication, financial planning, and even dealing with the opposite sex.

Proverbs differs from many of the other books of the Bible as it’s a collection of wise sayings, and not so much a book with a consistent subject throughout. However, its general nature makes it great for application to numerous parts of everyday life.

So if you need advice for how anyone can find happiness and live a truly successful life, the book of Proverbs is one of the first places you should go.

Ecclesiastes

Maybe your depression doesn’t stem from a problem at all. Maybe it’s just a feeling of emptiness—a void you can’t fill no matter what. Well that’s what the speaker in Ecclesiastes describes here:

Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:17 NKJV)

It’s this ability to face the harsher parts of life that makes Ecclesiastes one of my favorite books of the Bible.

While the book is similar to Proverbs as it also contains guidance for practical living, the author focuses more on a big picture view of life itself. And while I wouldn’t call it a feel-good read, the author eventually describes how to find true purpose and live life to the fullest.

So check it out when you get the chance. People could save years of wasted time by reading Ecclesiastes and following its instruction.

Other Reading

I’m sure it’s clear that the Bible is the Book I hold above all others. That’s because the Bible doesn’t just inform—it transforms.

I do read a lot of other material though, but I can’t recommend everything I read in good conscience. I’m mature enough in what I believe to filter out what I know is wrong, but you may not be, and I don’t want to lead you down a wrong path.

I would recommend some stuff in the thinking genre here, but the more I read, the more I notice that most of the material is either just motivational or an over-complicated course on reframing. And if it’s neither of those, it’s usually downright delusional.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

One book that did help me though was How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Many readers consider it a classic and most people have already heard of it, but if you’re struggling to find detailed advice about forming better relationships, this is a great place to start.

I’m the furthest thing from a social butterfly and I’ve never been good at making friends out of strangers, but this book helped me get an understanding of how to become a somewhat likable person.

The book includes actionable advice in every chapter. And there’s one principle that forms the basis of all the techniques described in the book—think of others before yourself.

So that’s all I got for reading now. I know it’s not much, but it’s better to keep the recommendations short so you can focus on actually reading.

And oh yeah, I’ll keep posting to this site too.

Embrace What Others Hate

I don’t know when it became cool to tout vacation as the best part of your work, but I do know it’s a terrible trend on the rise.

No one wants to work beyond what’s required. And even that requirement is too much for some.

But the truth is that production isn’t a burden. It’s a gift.

And you have to cherish work as the gift it is.

Even when I was down, part of me already knew that.

That’s why I was gaming so much back then. It was something that gave me a sense of purpose when everything else was dull. My reality was still in shambles but my effort to work at something helped carry me through it all.

When I first decided to refocus on my schoolwork though, I thought I needed to prove something—like I had to show everyone that the old me had come back. But soon enough, I realized it wasn’t about that at all…

I was doing it because it was fun.

I sat in the front of classes and took notes like it was my God-given duty. If I wasn’t in class, I studied in the library. And if there was a group project, I planned the whole thing out and showed the group later.

Soon I was not-so-subtly dancing in class because it all became so effortless. My classmates probably thought I was crazy—in fact, I know they did—but I finally had purpose in what I was doing. I had real enthusiasm again and people picked up on it.

That’s because most people run from work. They hate it.

If you find a way to not just be good at what you do, but actually enjoy it, depression will be a thing of the past.

Keep Your Thoughts on a Leash

If you don’t get anything outta this post, at least pay attention here.

Every section in this guide—and the process of beating depression in general—revolves around controlling your thoughts.

You may need to change your view of the mind for that to happen, so think about it this way:

For all the dog owners out there, do you let your dog mindlessly bark at you for as long as it wants?

Of course not.

Yeah you love your dog, but you have to discipline it. Good masters make their pets act within certain boundaries of behavior. And you have to treat your thoughts the same way.

You can’t let your head fill with blatant negativity. It’s your mind. You have to control it and make it work the way you want.

This whole guide is meant to teach you how to discipline your thought process. And once you recognize which thought patterns lead you towards a depressed mood, you have to shut them out.

I know it sounds difficult now, but those bodybuilders you see on magazine covers didn’t get that way overnight. Their form came from hours of sweat and hours of focus. It was the furthest thing from easy.

The same is true for mental strength. You have to consistently train your mind to think in beneficial ways.

And from what I’ve seen, you’re more than capable of doing that. People who are prone to depression tend to have the potential to develop the strongest minds. You just haven’t learned to control the amazing gift you have.

Yes, I know clinical depression is real and I’m not here to argue against that. I encourage you to see a professional if you need to, but I do know that it’s possible to control your thoughts. And yeah, that may make me sound ignorant, but I don’t claim to be a doctor, I’m just a problem solver.

If you think your thoughts are something you can’t control, you’ve already limited your ability to change.

I didn’t limit myself. No matter how hard things got, I knew there was a way out. And I kept fighting until I got there.

I challenge you to do the same.

Think bigger than your circumstances. Learn to control your thoughts. Don’t waste years of your life being an empty shell.

Your mind can only go where you allow it, so go out there and take it back.

I can’t wait to hear your victory story.

-Drew

[theliterateape]

Why We Gave Our Son Away

By David Himmel

Parenthood requires sacrifice. Lots of it. A more optimistic person might say it’s not sacrifice but compromise, and to that I say they don’t know what they’re talking about. Over the last several years, my wife and I have been parents to a wonderful little human named Harrison. He’s intelligent, strong, funny, helpful, and kind. Most of the time anyway. He’s also a three-year-old toddler so he is also erratic, neurotic, sullen, mercurial, and violent. Why, just yesterday, he slapped me across the face after telling him I loved him. In a very tiny nutshell, that right there is parenthood. You give love, you get smacked in the face.

Parenthood also comes with judgement. Judgement from friends, family members, other parents, kids, and your own. There’s a constant vice grip of pressure to not screw up—not do anything that will come back to twist the truth or skew the perception in a tell-all book or on a fancy, blogsite hosted by Squarespace.

Being a parent is living in constant fear or failure, retaliation, and getting slapped in the face, kicked in the nuggets, and broken at the heart. And that is why my wife and I decided to give our son away. This Easter, Harrison will go to live with and be raised by his grandparents in the small rural town of Hammond, Illinois.

No doubt we’ll be judged for this decision. Brutally judged. Cast out of our circle of friends because, after all, what kind of monsters just, like, give their kid away. Perhaps you’re judging us now as you read this confession/explanation. But as you build your disdain and formalize your level of offense from our decision, you must know that we did not come to this decision easily. We agonized over it for days after a string of very difficult bedtime sessions.

He just refused, well, everything. Refused to brush his teeth. Refused to put on pajamas. Refused to sit and read the three books he picked out. Refused to stay under the covers. It has been exhausting. My wife and I have both seen what too many years of parenting has done to too many people. It breaks them. It robs them of their individuality, assaults their sex drive, slaughters their ability to make rational decisions, strips them of the vibrancy and curiosity that occupied them before they were parents. Parenthood removes the will to live a life—an actual life. Parenthood leads to buying items with sayings about coffee to decorate your house. Parenthood breaks your brain into thinking “Live, Laugh, Love” is a clever and inspiring mantra.

My brain is so burned out, I haven’t managed to read a single book since becoming a father. That’s more than three years now. I haven’t been able to watch a movie or enjoy a new TV series. All I have capacity for is watching Friends and Marvel films up to Infinity War. New things require energy and capacity I just don’t have.

But it’s not like we drowned the kid or left him to bake in a hot car or let him fall out of a window. We’re not monsters. We’re humans who want to live a good life. And we want our son, whom we still love, to live a good life. And he will do just that in Hammond, Illinois.

He’ll be loved. He’ll be with his grandparents, closer to his aunts and uncles and cousins. There’s a family park a stone’s throw from the house he’ll grow up in that he already loves. There’s a pool there. He loves swimming. He’s so brave and strong, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes an Olympic swimmer like Michael Phelps. I may never know because my wife and I will likely be drunk and stoned making art in Paris or sleeping off a lazy afternoon on a Caribbean shore or murdering a cop in Portland, Oregon. Who knows where we’ll be because without the responsibility of parenthood, the world is once again our oyster. And we plan on devouring the whole goddamn thing. 

Harrison will have fields to play in. Outside of a big city, he’ll grow up surrounded by nature, or, rather, fields of soy and corn that’ll be used to make the foods that are slowly killing us. He’ll belong to a good church. And with his half-Jew blood, he’ll be respected because he’s a Jew like Jesus. He’ll grow up appreciating bro country—something I continue to do but never succeed. And I blame my northern Illinois living for that.

We will still see Harrison. At holidays, just like we already see my in-laws at holidays. And it’s not like we’re sending him to live with old-ass grandparents. These grandparents are not much older than I am. They’re younger than Don Hall even.

Will we miss Harrison? At first. But then the drugs and booze will kick in and we’ll be fine. And we’ll finally get to watch Euphoria with that young woman from the Spider-Man movie. We might even read Infinite Jest!

We’re giving our son away because we love him. But we also love ourselves. This is a win-win for everyone. This is the best thing for Harrison. His life will be full and free, not empty and confined like it would be living in the city with two withering creatives. Oh, sure, we could take him to a museum, but what kind of idiot takes children to museums? Parents, that’s who. With Harrison gone, we no longer have to be idiots. And he no longer has to be a witness to our withering demise as intelligent human beings.

We, on the other hand, will get to see Harrison grow up and thrive. But from a distance. That’s why we gave our son away.

[falsewings]

Rules: It’s time to love yourself. Choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I was tagged by @pterawaters ! Most of these are fanfic (which, wow I wrote several fanfic this year alone 🤯) but one of them is a quick blog post because why not?

1. It's a Guessing Game (aka the stoncy band au), fanfic, Stranger Things, Steve/Nancy/Jonathan (stoncy)

So let's start with this one since it's my latest posted fanfic and my most popular one. Which, wow, what a welcome surprise ❤️. Fun fact, "the stoncy band au" was supposed to be a temporary name that I only used for my google doc. But I grew attached to it even after I figured out (and loved) the "real" fanfic title so I tacked it on to the end. This one was fun to write because I got to include all sorts of generalized fandom jokes and memes. I also included written out scenes (even though that & the articles were where my hypercritical self editor screamed at me the most lol) because even when I enjoy fanfic written via social media or texts, I'm always a bit hungry for some prose to go along with it. Figuring out how to represent twitter and instagram through text was super fun though. And I think I sort of predicted the November 5th tumblr chaos when I included the username "dashcon2020" in the fic 😜 Oh! And the thirst tweets! I love that series on Buzzfeed and I knew right away I wanted that to be part of the fic. I got as dirty as I could which means that tweets I did come up with were tame in comparison to actual thirst tweets I've seen. Whoops.

2. And After...?, fanfic, Once Upon a Time, Alice/Robin (CuriousArcher)

The reason I kept watching season 7! I have mixed feelings about Once Upon a Time but these two were highlights of the show. They only got less than a season but they were gold. This one took half a year to write (I'm a slow writer and super critical of what I do write) but I love it. The title is perfect (which is a Thing because I hate 99% of my story titles) and the end scene where Alice & Robin snuggle up in bed together and totes in love? So proud of that dialogue.

3. Sharing is Caring, fanfic, Stranger Things, platonic Robin & Steve

This was for comfortween even though I only ended up writing two fics for that challenge. Steve & Robin friendship fics were my intro to Stranger Things fanfic (and stoncy lol). My favorite part was adding anecdotes about Steve's neglectful parents. It's a short fic and maybe if I actually watched The Apartment instead of relying on Wikipedia & reviews, I could have really fleshed out the fic. But I think I got what I wanted out of the fic: Robin & Steve being besties & caring about each other. Also, if Steve & Robin having movie nights isn't canon in season 4, I will riot.

4. Treating a Sunburn, fanfic, Haven, Nathan/Audrey/Duke (Three Gulls)

My first Haven fanfic! I haven't written any Haven fanfic before (but when I was really into the show, I had tons of ideas). I did however, read most of the fanfic in the Nathan/Audrey/Duke tag. It's not an OT3 I was into when the show was airing but one day I thought, what if the love triangle was an OT3 & then I found a treasure trove of fics. Also Nathan & Duke touch each other a lot despite arguing & threatening to kill each other a lot. Which is partly what this short fic focuses on? Duke gets really close to Nathan's face & Nathan is only a little confused by it? I tried play up that bit but I feel like it got lost in rest of the fic. But anyways, I got to write fic for an OT3 I love & it didn't turn out too bad.

5. My shitpost/meta about Batwoman, the TV series

Okay so it was toss up between this post and a different shitpost I made about the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. But that post implied Kate Kane would play an active role in the future arrowverse and now she won't which makes me sad. But this is my humor in a nutshell. And if the writers didn't intend to make that parallel, I'll be shocked because it works so well. Especially since Batwoman's crossover episode only got to use two characters from their show.

And now to tag!

@chicspice @all-or-nothing-baby @itsithil @conversationslikeminefields

(no pressure though! Feel free to ignore if you'd rather not make your own list)

[tryingtofindwhoiam]

4 and 5

4. Movie of the year?

In term of movie seen at the theater, I'd have to say Digimon Adventure Last Kizuna. It broke me. I am a broken record I can't stop thinking and talking about this movie and how it makes me feel. My heart still aches. Incredible movie, makes you think.

In term in movie in general, I was pretty shaken by The Half of it and... yeah I only saw Moana this year and I cannot stop singing the songs. I'm a lot moved by these three, and as they are the first that came to my mind I'll go with them !

5. TV show of the year?

Haha that is pretty difficult, I watched a ton of series with my sibling during the lock-down. The Office US was one of them and it was awesome to see. High School Musical The Musical was better than I expected and I enjoyed it a lot.

But right this moment I'm hesitating between Dollface and Warrior Nun, I mean they are 'TV show of my year' more precisely, in term of tv shows from this year I have right now a lot of trouble remembering what came out this year and last year.

Really, for these two questions I was in a total blur, the lockdown really broke something in my temporality 😔 And well, everything I said here is pretty subjective, in term of quality I can't really give a response. Objectivity is kinda always biased in any case, right?

Lost in time, I am in a nutshell. Anyway !! Thanks anon !!!!

[techouspeaks]

Rip Off Reviews: Angel’s Friends

A new title, same old ripping to shreds of things that have ripped off another. I go back and take a look at a show that tries to soar high like the Winx but is actually crashes down to brim stone!

Also, what is actually considered a real rip off? I may have the answer!

Decided to change the title for these from “Reel Rip Offs” to “Rip Off Reviews” since, if you known the Animated Heroine, she has a section called “Reel Rip Offs” and granted, at the time, I didn’t know what to call these reviews. So, yeah..You can say I ripped off another reviewer but without meaning to. 

Honestly, since I rarely review movies, I really should have called it this title anyway. Granted it’s not that original of a title but I at least gave effort and admit to it. It’s hard to be 100 % original and even the term “rip off” has lost it’s meaning these days. So why I do I still slam and call shows rip offs when I know nothing can be 100 % original?

Well, here’s the thing, you can usually tell when something is trying to do it’s best to be it’s own thing and not a rip off. People say that Winx ripped off of Witch because they both contain 5 friends (later 6) that are fairies. However, Winx does try to include it’s own story and characters and the World of Winx is much different. In Winx, almost anyone can be a fairy if they’re born with magic or just somehow gain it. In Witch, only those chosen by the Heart of Kandrakar can become fairies. The Witch control the basic elements (water, fire, earth and air as well as energy.) and the Winx have their own powers including technology, something that you wouldn’t think a fairy of all creatures would have the power over of. Shoot, Aisha/Layla has her own unique power called “morphix”, which is this pink kinda slime like substance she can control. It can become anything from a shield to a weapon to even something she can ride on.

Same with Pokemon and Digimon. People say Digimon ripped off Pokemon but the only thing they have in common is that the monsters evolve, can fight other monsters and their name as well as kids to even adults occasionally having one. The rest of the story is completely different and told in a different way. Digimon focuses on the kid’s adventures of growing up and dealing with real situations that kids do face like being adopted, having a family member pass away, getting bullied, ect. While Pokemon is more focused on the Pokemon and taking care of nature while battling out to get stronger in a competition. Sure they focus on the human characters from time to time, but it’s more so their interaction and having to do with the Pokemon. Rarely do they focus on a human character that has a career/dream that doesn’t have to do with Pokemon, but granted that’s the purpose of the show. Pokemon surprisingly is about taking care of the pet, which is ironic because Digimon was originally based on Tamagachis than it was based on Pokemon. In fact, the creators for Tamagachis were the ones that pitched Digimon to be a boy’s version of Tamagachis, making a show to market the product like most toy lines did back then and still do.

So as long as they do something to make it their own, than yeah, it’s okay for them to have similarities with each other. Angel’s Friends hardly does this and even more shallow is when we get talking about the original 2007 comic books.

“ Four Angels (Raf, Uri, Sweet and Miki) and four Devils (Sulfus, Cabiria, Kabale and Gas) are sent to Earth, in an unused area of the Golden School, where they learn everything they need to become Guardian Angels and Guardian Devils. The Angels and Devils are required to form pairs as part of their education, each of which will have to deal with a human being, known as Earthly Ones, and help them choose between the right and wrong way in life without being discovered. Angels and Devils cannot operate at the same time, so they decide, clashing in the Challenge Room, who will work first. Moreover, they are subject to the V.E.T.O. (Vetoed from Exposing, Touching or Obstructing/Overhearing in the comic – Italian: Vietato Esporsi, Toccare, Ostacolare/Origliare).” ~ Wikipedia

To make it more clear, the V.E.T.O basically means they cannot touch or expose each other or fall in love with each other. Now that does sound like an original premise and it is, but sadly, this show fails to take it anywhere deep or less predictable.

In the series, Raf finds out that she was born on earth and has to find out what happen to her parents. Gee, where did I've seen that from before? I know it’s been done before even Winx but hang on, I’ll get to the other parts in a bit.

Granted, yes they try to switch things around by having Raf already have powers and be an angel, rather than her being human and finding out she’s an angel, but switching it around doesn’t make it that interesting or at least, they don’t write it very differently. Raf finds out her true origins, is in denial at first, tries to leave her friends and her destiny to mope. She even thinks about joining the bad guys because the main villain pursues her that she will tell Raf anything she wishes to know about her parents and true origin. It’s the same as the Winx. Nothing is different and you can predict the plot easily! 

Again, Witch and Winx are written differently from each other that the only thing they share in common is that the girls are fairies. That’s it! Even the tone and how the characters and story are written is different so you know that Winx isn’t a rip off. Angels Friends the tone is the same as Winx but unlike Winx, the other characters don’t get much development. Yes, Bloom in Winx is the main star and gets a lot of attention but we do cut back to some of the other characters and their development. At least more so in the first few seasons, but even later seasons the characters get some focus occasionally. Here hardly any development is made to the other characters and by season two, it seems like none of the characters have learned anything. They’re just back to square one!

There’s also forbidden love which is also in Winx, kinda. Bloom is at first, not allowed to be with Sky because Sky is a prince and Bloom’s kingdom was destroyed, thus no longer making her a princess by law standards, until the Secret of the Lost Kingdom plot. In Angel’s Friends, the forbidden love was staged by the villains and it turned out their love may not be even real at first. There’s later plots where they do show they’re in love but it’s again pretty cliched

Not to mention the designs are the same as Winx just with a weird head and this is where we enter the comic book series. Angel’s Friends started off as a comic book series in 2007. The characters look way different in the comics than they do in the cartoon.

First, in the original comics they were actually kids! They weren’t teens in the comics! The story is a bit the same but still different. Yeah, I will admit Raf is kinda odd looking in the original comics but, give credit, her attitude and how she is personality wise matches her appearance. She isn’t perfect nor perfect looking and at least here she has her own appearance. She doesn’t look like all the other characters. She looks like her own character. All of them do!

When they made the cartoon, you can clearly see they decided to go the Winx route and give up all the originality that the comic book was trying to go for and make it a Winx rip off. Shoot, the bodies are the same shape as the Winx. The only thing they did was change the head and face to be...Honestly, I don’t even know what that is! That face is just off to me! As odd as Raf was originally, I can see why they went with the design in the old comics. Her eyes are big and expressive and give off more personality. She’s cute in her own way.

In the cartoon, she’s kinda got them “Barney eyes” as Nostalgia Critic once said about Barney, where they’re big in the wrong way and small in the wrong way. At least with the Winx their eyes are big and show more expression. Here their eyes look like they’re stoned half the time and their faces seem really off! I honestly say that Raf is uglier in the cartoon than in the comic! At least the original design was meant to be cute and again you can tell what her personality is by her expressions and body language even seen in the comics! 

In the cartoon, even Raf as well as the other’s clothing is shallow and uninspired. I get they want to give them some cool designs but again it just feels like they ripped off Winx, especially with how their wings are with this modern-esc outfit. They look like Magic Winx outfits if they decided for everyone to have the same wings. 

Shoot, people say that Bloom is a rip off of Usagi from Sailor Moon but at least Bloom has her own colors and powers too! Raf has the same exact colors as Sailor Moon and is meant to be a klutz and your typical goodie goodie girl since she’s an Angel, but her “Barbie Doll” look makes her even more manipulative! It’s like if you were to fuse Sailor Moon, Bloom and Barbie to make an abomination from hell, that’s Raf in a nutshell! (Shoot, sometimes, Raf looks like Stella from Winx in some shots, just with again an ugly face and stoned out eyes.)

Not to mention but Sulfus, I still dunno what the actual hell they were thinking with his hair style! He looked fine with his long hair and his jacket outfit in the comics. To me personality wise, Sulfus is basically Riven if he went grudge or tried to go goth but didn’t know what the heck goth actually was!

Let’s not forget they made the main boy angels in the comic books background characters, because well...girls hang out with girls only and guys are just for dating only unless of course, they’re bad like the devils and the boy angel that has a crush on Raf, is of course, changed from video game loving, smart boy to just eye candy with no personality and hardly any facial expression!

Plus, scream as you will against Winx sexualizing teenagers and making them so skinny. Angel’s Friends did worse! They took a character originally kinda thick (well hard to tell because she’s a kid and always wears a sweater like all the time) and made her basically Musa from Winx, well if Musa had no interesting back story or personality outside slightly attitude that occasionally has some wisdom but not much else. Even kind of changing her race from an Inuit girl to an Asian girl of some sort.

At least with the Winx, they were always intentionally to be design with a thin body. I know I did a thing on why they use the same body shape because it’s just easier to do that, but come on! They could have made this series about cute angels and devils in training, than going for a plot we’ve seen a million times, that Winx and Sailor Moon already did better!  At least then it wouldn’t be so much a rip off and rather it’s own thing! The comics actually did have something going on but they decided “Eh, scrap it! We’ll make them superficial and unrelatable!”

At least with the Winx characters, they actually go through stuff. They have personal problems that kids can relate to. Bloom’s adopted and has to deal with that crisis of wanting to know her real parents. In fact, the creator of Winx, Iginio Straffi, said that Bloom was based on a girl he met that was adopted and said the same thing, that she wanted to know her birth parents. Musa lost her mother at a young age, Aisha’s parents have high expectations of her and had strict rules to follow. Stella’s parents are divorced and she tried to cover it up that it doesn’t bother her, but you can clearly tell it does but she’s trying to be strong, which a lot kids do that! Flora is soft spoken and has a hard time standing up for herself. Tecna is an awkward nerd and has a hard time relating to people.

None of the characters in Angels Friends ever shown to go through that. In fact, the ones that ever really do get development are they main two love interests. The other characters don’t go through any kinda of dilemma that would involve them personally, outside of tempting and guiding their human I would say friends, but more so human projects or whatever. 

The humans they guide aren’t very interesting either. They’re just kind of the blank slates for the kid to fit themselves into to teach and learn the lesson. The situations are hammered down a bit too much but for real little kids, this might be fine.

Now, yes, the story has it’s own idea, least the concept of the angels and devils guiding people is interesting, though I wouldn’t say it’s that original. It’s been done before. In fact, many of the first magical girls did similar things. The idea though is made more shallow because the characters are one note with little to no development. 

Winx fans complain that Bloom takes the spotlight from the other characters and they get least development. Not true, at least they do focus on the other Winx from time to time and they do have development. In this series, only Raf and Sulfus get a deep story (if you can call it deep...) and none of the other characters ever do! I looked back and there’s none! By season 2, the characters are exactly the same as they were in the first season!

Now is there anything to like about this show? Well, the first season teachers are kind of interesting, the world about angels and devils guiding and tempting is pretty interesting. While the lessons are pretty hammered down, they aren’t bad lessons. I would even recommend the show if you had a kid and wanted them to watch something that was slightly educational in terms of life lessons without it being too close to home. So, it’s not really that bad in terms of teaching kids morals, but I would recommend say Miraculous Lady Bug or My Little Pony even before I even recommend Angel’s Friends.

If you like this show, more power to you. I will admit I do like at least the two devil girls, Cabiria and Kabale, just simply because the voice actors do give them some nice dialog and a little personality despite, yeah it’s the typical bad girl troupe. Shoot, Cabieria is voiced by Lisa Ortiz aka Lina Inverse of Slayers and you may recognize her Pokemon!  In fact, the voice acting in this show is pretty good. It’s just shame the rest is left to be desired.

I’m going to give Angel’s Friends 2 1/2 stars out of 10. The acting is good and the concepts are interesting, morals are hammered in your face but aren’t bad morals so it’s not terrible for your kids to watch it. Rips off so much from Winx Club and has a lot of cliches that they don’t do anything different with. Not horrible for kids but I would recommend something else before flying into this one!

2 1/2 Stars

Level: Not Good!

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Movie 3: Mystical Adventure

Mystical Adventure premiered on July 9, 1988 at that year’s Toei Cartoon Festival.   This is the third of the original Dragon Ball movies, and the last one before the movies were released under the Dragon Ball Z brand.  

Just to clear this up, there was a fourth movie, Path to Power, but it was produced in 1996 in honor of the tenth anniversary of the TV series.  Since I’m trying to do these in chronological order, it’ll be a while before I get to that one.

The title “Mystical Adventure” isn’t very descriptive, especially since it’s just the name of the opening theme song.    Personally, I think of this one as “The Emperor Chiaotzu Movie”, since that’s what I consider to be the most distinctive plot element.

I’ve always found this movie fascinating, because it follows a very different formula from the others.   Blood Rubies and Sleeping Princess basically took different parts of the original story and changed the antagonists and pacing, but never the main characters.   Launch does different things in Sleeping Princess than she does in the TV series, but she’s basically the same person, and she ends up living with Master Roshi in either version.   The DBZ movies abandon all pretense of retelling the original story, and ended up doing short, intense conflicts with little regard for continuity.   But this movie takes a number of major characters, mainly villains, and casts them in entirely new roles. 

I’m thinking that the reason for this was that Toei really didn’t have a lot of other choices.   The first film sought to retell the original Dragon Ball hunt, showing how Goku met Bulma and Roshi and the others and became a hero.   The second movie picked up where the first left off, adapting the story of how Goku and Krilin were accepted as students of Master Roshi.   So the plan was probably for this third movie to continue on that path and show the boys competing in their first World Tournament, only I’m not sure how you could retell that story and insert a new villain into that scenario.   Also, a lot of new characters had been introduced since the 21st Budokai arc, and I think Toei wanted to feature some of them, but how do you fit all of that into one movie?

The solution, it seems, was to set the Tournament in a whole new country, the Mifan Empire, and establish a bunch of palace intrigue involving the Dragon Balls.    With that, Toei had the means to make a movie that borrows ideas from the 21st Budokai, the Red Ribbon Army sagas, and even the 22nd Budokai while we’re at it.  

The plus side of this is that we’re treated to a much more original story than what we got in the first two movies.   What bugged me about those features was that the bad guys, King Gurumes and Lucifer, were the most notable aspects of their respective movies, but they barely did anything except stand back and let the Dragon Ball cast run through all their signature quips and moves.   Movie 3 makes a lot of callbacks to the TV series, but it has to do it differently because so many of these ideas have been smooshed together in one place.   Also, this movie moves really fast.   There’s never a dull moment, because there’s so many things it has to cover in a very short run time.   It’s probably the fastest 45-and-a-half minutes you’ll ever see.

The downside of all this is that it’s a little too fast and too complicated for its own good.   There’s a scene where Goku meets Bulma, and he asks if Yamcha came with her, and before he can wave hello to the guy, she goes “Never mind that, look at this!”   That’s kind of the movie in a nutshell.  

Goku and Yamcha don’t even get to talk to each other in this movie because there’s so much stuff going on all at once.   I’m tempted to say that they crammed too many things into the movie, but it’s probably more accurate to say that the movie should have been longer.   I’m pleased with all these moving parts, but it would have been nice to give it all a chance to breathe. 

The story begins with Emperor Pilaf and his crew putting the finishing touches on a big-screen Dragon Radar for the Crane Hermit, Mercenary Tao, and Tien Shinhan.    They’re pleased with the work, and Tao steps forward to give them their reward.

We don’t actually get to see what Tao does to them, because the whole scene fades to white and gets sucked into the Phantom Zone, but it’s strongly implied that he killed them, or at least didn’t pay them for their work.    So there’s even some elements from the King Piccolo Saga in this movie along with the rest.

As the opening theme song plays, we see a montage of Goku and Krillin training under the Turtle Hermit.   This is the first time I’ve watched all three of these movies in order, and I never fully appreciated how they fit together to make a nice little trilogy.  

No pain, no gain, boys.

Hooray, the opening credits!  It’s fun!

Roshi does the whole bit where he explains that he doesn’t have anything else to teach the boys, since their training regimen included all the fundamentals of the Turtle School.   As a reward for their progress, he plans to take them to a big martial arts Tournament, but it’s not the Tenkaichi Budokai in Papaya Island.   No, instead he’s taking them to the imperial tournament hosted by the Mifan Empire.

Meanwhile, things are not well in the Mifan Empire, as the Emperor has lost his bride, Ran Ran, and the military has been searching high and low for her.

They stop a truck and search it, and when the driver gets upset about it, the leader of the soldiers, Blue, paralyzes him with his psychic powers and kicks his ass.   I’m not sure if Blue is a General in this story, but he’s part of the Mifan Army, not the Red Ribbon.  

Likewise, the Mifan Empire is run by characters from the Crane Hermit School.    Chiaotzu is the Emperor, and apparently a child in this story.   Tien is... well, I’m not sure exactly.   I want to say he’s a high-ranking security guard or something, but it’s never spelled out.

The Crane Hermit is called “Minister”, and since he seems to be the most important one, I assume he’s the Prime Minister.   I’ll be calling him “Minister Shen” from here on, since I don’t think they ever gave him a name in this movie, and he’s definitely not a Hermit.  “Shen” is a dub-ism, I’m pretty sure, but I’ll run with it.

Shen reveals the Dragon Radar to the Emperor, which looks a whole lot fancier since Pilaf last worked on it.    Also, how did he install that monstrosity in the ceiling without the Emperor knowing about it?    Anyway, he explains that if they collect the seven Dragon Balls, Chiaotzu can ask Shenron to find Ran Ran, and that’ll solve everything.   All Shen needs is the Emperor’s permission to devote imperial resources to the task.

But then Blue walks in, and suggests that Shen may have other plans for the Dragon Balls.   His men have searched the whole city for Ran Ran, except Minister Shen’s room, which seems awful fishy to him.  

At this point, Tao enters the scene and says that any accusation against Shen must be an accusation against him as well.Then they fight, and Tao kills Blue with his tongue, just like he did in the Commander Red Saga.

Okay, so this is a good time to talk about the double-edged sword of this movie’s concept.   This whole scene in the throne room, from the Dragon Radar to Blue’s death, is like two and a half minutes, tops.   Tao killing Blue with his tongue is awesome, sure, but in this movie it doesn’t really hold up as well because:

We’ve seen it before.

We barely got to know Blue before this happened.   Is he a good guy in this story?   I’m not sure.

Why is Tao only using his tongue?  In the TV series he did it to prove a point.   Here, there’s no context.   He just does it because he did it in the TV series and it was cool there.

Why is Chiaotzu just letting these guys fight in the middle of his court?  A minute ago Shen seemed to think it was important to get the Emperor’s permission to carry out his plan, but now they’re just doing whatever they want right in front of him.

I don’t want to complain too much, because this is a really cool scene, but I feel like it would have been helped if it had been expanded a little, or  maybe if Blue hadn’t been involved.   I think it would have been sufficient to have Tao and Shen share a sinister chuckle when Chiaotzu approved their plan.   We didn’t need Blue to run in and blurt out “HEY I THINK THESE GUYS ARE EVIL OH CRAP I’M DEAD!”    It’s like they really wanted Blue in the movie, but only so he could die to Tao.  

Meanwhile, Bulma’s out hunting Dragon Balls with Oolong, Puar, and Yamcha.  She told them that it was to find Goku, and I’m not really sure why that would work, since he doesn’t have any of the Dragon Balls at this time.   Turns out, she just wants to make a wish.   Unfortunately, some Mifan aircraft shoot at her when she gets too close to the Dragon Ball, and she has to shoot back.

Bulma takes out like four of these Mifanese planes.   I seem to remember she shot at some Gurumesian soldiers in Curse of the Blood Rubies, but I’m not sure that she hit any of them.   At any rate, this is probably the most kills by Bulma in any Dragon Ball media. 

She converts her aircraft into a submarine and goes after the Dragon Ball, but the Mifan Empire has a submarine of their own, and Bulma finds herself outgunned, so she has to withdraw.

Meanwhile, Roshi’s group is on their way to the Mifan for the tournament.   Launch wants to hijack the plane.   Okay, but what would she do if she did hijack it?   “Take this plane to Mifan, if ya know what’s good for ya!”  “Um, ma’am, that’s where we were already going.”   “Yeah, but take us there while I got a gun on ya.   It helps me relax!”

In the Land of Korin, the Mifan Empire has forced a bunch of locals to dig up the countryside in search of the Dragon Ball they detected in the region.   Turns out that Bora and Upa have it with them, but they don’t dare turn it over becaue they’ve heard that the Mifan soldiers will kill all the workers once they find it.   So this is all kind of a callback to Android 8 hiding the Dragon Ball from General White to save Jingle Village.  

Instead, Bora decides to travel to Mifan in the hopes of straightening things out there.   That’s surprisingly proactive of Bora.    I wouldn’t say it’s out of character for him, but I’m used to seeing him as a defender of this particular land.   It’s weird that the Mifan army has invaded and the first thing he’s gonna do is leave and take the fight to their backyard.

As it turns out, the Mifan Empire has already gathered six of the Dragon Balls, so the one in Korin is the only one they need.   For some reason, Shen keeps them all in this statue-looking thing.

As he and Tao discuss their plans, they get word that the 7th Dragon Ball is moving towards Mifan as they speak.   That doesn’t make sense, though, because their men in Korin haven’t found it yet.   Uh-oh.

What they’re actually detecting, of course, is Bora trying to sneak into Mifan with the Dragon Ball, but he didn’t know about their radar, so by taking the Dragon Ball along, he’s basically announcing his presence.

As they consider this, they notice a robot drone spying on them from the window.   Maybe I’m just getting old, but its weird how robot drones are a real thing you can buy at the store.   The only thing science-fictiony about Bulma spying on them like this is that she built a Dragon Radar into the drone to find them, and she doesn’t have to worry about pesky FAA regulations.   So yeah, even Droney makes a cameo in this movie.  They really went nuts stacking this film with stuff from the anime.

So now Bulma wants to go to Mifan and steal the Dragon Balls from Shen and Tao to get back at them for attacking her earlier.  Yamcha’s up for it because there’s a cool tournament there.  Oolong’s out, until Bulma tells him there’s pretty girls in Mifan.    Okay, yeah, but aren’t there pretty girls in West City, where they currently are?   Hell, there’s a pretty girl in the same room as Oolong, and he’s just playing cards like she isn’t even there.   But Oolong’s all excited to see hotttt Mifan babes anyway.

Roshi’s group arrives in Mifan and has dinner in a restaurant, when Bora moonwalks into the same place.  Okay, so first of all, he looks awesome in that poncho and hat.   Second, why is he sneaking around?    As far as he knows, no one would suspect him of anything.   Well, it’s a cool screencap, however we got there.    I’m just enjoying it, like that guy in the green shirt on the right.  

He pays for his and Upa’s meal with a nugget of gold he has with him.   I’m not used to seeing Bora spending money either.    This is a very different side of the character.   I don’t know that they’re really taking liberties with the guy, it’s just that he’s doing things that he never got the chance to do in the original story.

Suddenly there’s a bunch of sirens.   Launch panics until she remembers that she hasn’t done any crimes here...............................yet.  

Turns out they’re here for Bora, although I’m not quite sure how they knew to look for him in particular.   Mifan’s Dragon Radar wouldn’t be precise enough to pinpoint his location, or they would have found Bora’s Dragon Ball back in Korin a long time ago.   Maybe they knew to look for someone dressed like a resident of Korin, but I don’t know if Bora really stands out in that regard.    Anyway, there’s a struggle, and one of the soldiers bumps into Goku, so he gets rowdy.

So Sergeant Metallic shows up to straighten things out.   They fight for a while, and then Tao shows up.

Things look pretty dicey here, since this looks exactly like the moment when Tao killed Bora in the TV show, but...

Roshi intervenes by explaining that they’re all special guests of the Mifan Emperor, a status bestowed upon anyone who enters the tournament.   I’m pretty sure Bora had no intention of entering the tourney, but he does now, since it gives him diplomatic immunity, at least for a little while longer.   Too bad Blue didn’t enter this year...

Here’s a cool shot of Launch.

They all compare notes, and Roshi explains that if you win the tournament, you get to ask a favor from the Emperor.   So the plan is for one of the guys in this room to win, and ask Chiaotzu to put a stop to whatever Shen is up to.   I’m not sure that would work, and if it would work, I’m not sure they need to go to that much trouble to get an audience, but okay.

That night, Emperor Chiatozu has a nightmare, and his best pal Tien comforts him.   Note that Tien was in the opening scene of the movie, so he’s definitely in cahoots with Shen and Tao.   I feel like that sort of got lost in the shuffle with everything else that’s been happening.

Tien even taught him how to do telepathy, so that just proves that he has a soft spot for the Emperor.

The next day, Bulma’s group runs into Roshi’s group.   She’s learned that all seven Dragon Balls are together in Mifan, and she plans to steal the six that are held in the palace.   This is awful brave of Bulma, considerng how she didn’t want any part of the Red Ribbon Army, but all right.

What does she even plan to wish for?   Anyway, she recruits Launch to help her in the caper.

Also Yamcha’s here.

When the tournament finally starts, Yamcha is the first contestant, and his first opponent is Anton the Great, one of the jobbers from the preliminary matches in the 22nd Budokai arc.  

Yamcha clearly busts out the Wolf Fang Fist to beat him...

Except he ends up kicking the guy instead.   I feel like someone doesn’t understand what the Wolf Fang Fist is supposed to be.    It might be be, I’ll admit it, but it sure seems like there’s no rule to the move.   Yamcha just shouts “Roga fu-fu-ken!” and there’s some wolf images and then he just does whatever he was doing before, only it’s supposed to work better.   In the video games, it’s always rapid-fire strikes.

We don’t get a lot of time to learn how this Mifan Tournament works, but it seems to be a gauntlet-style match.   As soon as Anton is eliminated, Bora jumps in the ring and Yamcha has to fight him next.

Yamcha seems to do okay...

Until Master Roshi distracts him, costing Yamcha the match.   This is so Bora can win and receive his favor from the emperor.  

Apparently, the other fighters are so impressed with Bora’s performance that they run away rather than face him.   This just leaves Goku and Krillin, which works out great, since they all want the same thing from Chiaotzu.   But then...

Tao decides to enter himself, and when Bora refuses to tell where he’s hidden the Dragon Ball, he kills him.

Ouch.   I’m not sure why they would build a statue so big and sharp, but there it is.   

Now, while all of this is going on, Bulma is making her move to get the other six Dragon Balls.   First, she has Puar shape-shift into Emperor CHiaotzu.   Ha ha, that’s adorable!  

Then she has Oolong tun into Minister Shen.   Pretty close, but needs improvement.

The idea is to just stroll right into the palace, since know one would dare stop the Emperor, but then a couple of nobles ask a few too many innocent questions, so Launch mugs them.

Was this one of the pretty girls Oolong came to see?   I think this is the only woman we’ve seen in town since they got here. 

Goku tries to avenge Bora, but he gets clobbered.   Even the Kamehameha is useless against Tao, who responds with a Dodon Ray.  Unlike the TV version of this fight, Goku gets carried away by the blast, which sends him out of the city.

And into... Korin Tower?   Hell of a coincidence.

Back at the arena, Shen decides that there’s no longer any need to conceal his motives, and explains to Chiaotzu that he’s taking over the Empire and using the Dragon Balls to conquer the rest of the world too.  

Unfortunately, they still can’t find the seventh ball, because Goku was carryng it when Tao shot him with the Dodon Ray.  

Also, Bulma’s trying to steal the other six...

At Korin Tower, Korin doesn’t have time to teach Goku all the stuff that helped him beat Tao in the TV show, so we get a condensed lesson instead.   He drops Goku’s Dragon Ball in a pot of water, and Goku can’t see it at first because the water is moving.    When it settles, he can see the bottom clearly.   Similarly, Goku failed against Tao because he was blinded by his own anger at Bora’s death.    The key to beating his enemy is to calm his heart, which will allow him to see his enemy clearly.    

Turns out that Tao is already on his way to find Goku, so he’d better calm his heart quickly if he wants to stand a chance.

So Goku hops on Kinto Un to face him.   This is the first time we’ve seen Kinto Un in this movie, so I feel kind of bad for anyone who started watching Dragon Ball with this movie.   It’s just not a good introduction at all.   Launch never sneezes, and there’s just way too much stuff happening all at once.   You’ll get to see a lot of characters, but you don’t get to fully experience all of them, or learn about why they do what they do.  

Back in Mifan, Shen thwarts Bulma’s Dragon Ball heist, and Launch actually manages to shoot some bad guys and actually kill them for once.   Unfortunately, her bullets still don’t work on Shen.

And they end up losing the Dragon Balls in a fissue at the bottom of the ocean.   Whoops.

Roshi and Krillin try to fight, but Tien knocks out Roshi with that knee strike he used on Jackie Chun at the 22nd Budokai.  

So that about wraps things up.    The Dragon Balls may be lost, but Shen can stil take over Mifan, so he orders Tien to kill Emperor Chiaotzu so he can cement his power.

Meanwhile, in Penguin Village, Arale intercepts Tao and messes with him until Goku shows up.

Tao shoots a Dodon Ray at Arale,but it doesn’t hurt her at all, much to Goku’s amazement.

Also the Ga-chan’s zap him, but I don’t know enough about Dr. Slump to know what that would do to him.

This whole part of the movie is nuuuuuuuuuuts.   I don’t mind seeing Arale pop in, but pitting Tao against her and the Ga-chans and Goku is a bit much.   I think it’s safe to call Tao the main villain of the movie, but he can’t even get any traction in this final battle.   At one point, the Ga-chans tie his hair to a tree as a prank.   They just make him look like a total chump, which is humorous, but I’m not sure it was the best thing to do with this movie.

So Tao tries the ol’ fake apology trick, except he can’t quite do what he did in the TV show because he needs to get the Dragon Ball and escape to Mifan.   So instead of a grenade, he whips out a little hovercraft, grabs the Dragon Ball, and shoots missiles when he’s far enough away.   But the result is the same.

Back at Mifan, Tien tries to explain to Chiaotzu that he’s betraying him, but Chiaotzu just can’t accept that.

He starts crying, and Tien just can’t resist those beady eyes.

Shen is livid, so he tries to kill the Emperor himself.    Also around here, Master Roshi wakes up from Tien’s kick and gives him that line about how his abilities are crying out for Tien to do the right thing.   Okay, but that line worked better in the original story because we had seen Tien’s abilities.    In this movie, all he’s done so far is kick Roshi in the back of the head, and Roshi got up from it almost immediately. 

Likewise, it’s not really clear what Tien’s obligation to Shen is supposed to be.   In the original version, Shen taught him how to fight.   Here, I don’t even known what Tien’s position is.     

Really, all we need is what we’ve gotten from the movie itself.    Tien was shown to be in league with Shen and Tao’s plot, but he’s also very close to Emperor Chiaotzu, and when push comes to shove his friendship with Chiaotzu is more important than his political ambitions.    We don’t need callbacks to his dilemma from the 22nd Budokai, because this is a completely different dilemma.  

So Shen tries to use a Dodon Ray on Chiaotzu, but Tien whips out the Ki Ko Ho first and blows Shen away.

In the movie, the Ki Ko Ho is blue for some reason.  

So that fixes everything except for Sergeant Metallic, who had been trying to hold Upa hostage, except everyone kept ignoring him.   Now that he has no other cards to play, he tries to kill Upa, but then Goku returns and dives right through his body, which shuts him down once and for all. 

The guards who were helping Shen immediately bow before Chiaotzu, and he forgives them.   That’s nice and all, but I can’t help but wonder if this lax attitude is how the first coup got rolling.

Then Tien hands Chiaotzu a doll, which is apparently Ran Ran.   Tien admits that he had been hiding it this whole time, in order to get Chiaotzu to agree to the Dragon Ball search.   So Chiaotzu’s “bride” was a doll the whole time?   How old is Chiaotzu supposed to be in this movie?  Five?  Anyway, he forgives Tien too, so that takes care of that.

Oh, hey, Bulma and Yamcha survived falling into the ocean.   Good for them.

The only loose end now is Bora’s death.   Goku plans to revive him with the Dragon Balls, except six of them are now out of reach. 

So Goku tosses the seventh ball in with the rest of them, and summons Shenron that way.   Okay, but we’re kind of running short on time, aren’t we?

And, yeah, this movie was so jam packed with content that they had to wish Bora back to life during the end credits.   I can’t really complain, since making wishes on the Dragon Balls has gotten pretty routine by now, so all we really need is a shot of Shenron and a shot of Bora waking up.   Still, it just goes to show that they really loaded this movie up for bear, and sometimes that works against it.  

I’d say this is definitely the best of the original Dragon Ball movies.   They’re all well animated, but Mystical Adventure is an even bigger visual feast, what with all the ancient Chinese architecture and the costumes and so on.   It’s got more action, with a number of fights besides the main battle, and it’s the first movie where Goku actually gets to throw down with the lead villain instead of just having a brief skirmish.   It gets a little convoluted in places, but it’s never dull, and that’s always a positive.

[sherryaptx4869]

Making it through love

It’s GinTae month!

Behold, a very short compilation of GinTae moments from the Gintama manga, anime and movie. Try as I might, I cannot do justice for the pair by words because to borrow a line from Westlife’s Home, “the words are cold and flat, and they deserve more than that.” So I looked for pictures detailing in a nutshell why GinTae (aside from OkiKagu) is my OTP. Since they have a lot like really a lot! of moments (aka they know each other heart by heart), I just chose from my pile of screenshots to accurately depict the prompt given which is kind of hard because the prompts blur and overlap with each other. Take these with a grain of salt, because the context of the episode where I took it from might not exactly be as romantic as I want it to be. Remember, this is fan-made. Fanon is not canon. But I wonder about that in this case because the Easter egg hints came directly from the creator of the series himself haha I’m also proud to say that no fan arts are included here to drive my point home that Gintoki and Tae are as canon as we can get from Sorachi very close to being married officially.

This is just the tip of the GinTae iceberg that will sink other ships. This does not capture the entirety of GinTae moments in the manga, anime, movie, OVA, live-action movie and even the audio CDs. Treat this as a preview of many GinTae moments.

For now, I hope you have fun with this one as much as I did when I was scouring my hoard of Gintama images. This is dedicated to all the GinTae fans. If you don’t like this content, just ignore then scram. Credits go to Sorachi-sensei and to the production of the anime where I took the screenshots from.

First Meeting: Watch out! Your soulmate might just appear from behind you while riding your scooter!

Realization: If love is the answer, could you please rephrase the question (as manifested by Gintoki and Tae time and time again from the start of the series up to this point).

The Reveal: Put a ring on it! It must be great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.

Date: Put your best foot forward!

Reminder: Booze and sweet stuff for both the lady and the gent.

New to the Family: A pretty serious relationship with someone long-term requires an introduction to the family. And whoah! There’s a whole spectrum of shenanigans they get into.

Jealousy: (Play Nick Jonas’s Jealous for the feels haha) It’s not Gin-san’s fault that the ladies hover. But it is Tae’s every right to be hellish because she’s (*whispers*) jealous the wife.

As for Gin-san… he’s making his fist and his dirty tricks do the talking to protect the woman he cared about. (Look at Kagura’s unimpressed face (and Shinpachi’s shrieking) haha, I bet the paragon of adult wisdom she considered to be Gintoki just crumbled to dust.)

Laughter:  Sometimes your silver samurai turns out to be just an idiot perm-haired samurai.

First Kiss: Exactly what it sounds like— but no, there are no kisses in the anime. Paging Hattori Zenzo, please tell us since you saw the whole exchange

Thirdwheeling: Come with us, they said. It would be fun they said. Tag yourself, am I being extra?

Flustered: The sweetness of strawberry parfait oozing out of the Smeggy Samurai’s words and gestures makes him sappy with Pony-chan whose cheeks are tinted with blush yihee *heart*

Rest: Gin-san resting before he gets tired lols. But hey, it’s usually the Kodokan Dojo, the Shimura’s residence where Gintoki lounges about. We also see Tae checking up on the Yorozuya trio regularly as well as to pay her respects to Gintoki’s mom figure- Otose.

Shopping: GinTae shopping for clothes together. Two years later, it is also while shopping for clothes that Tae through a series of unfortunate events brought home Gin-san (and Hijikata) wearing undies on his face.

Food: It’s not only love that is shared, also carbs.

Cherry blossom viewing (Hanami): The Sakata family wringing the beauty out of life. They seize the day over bento boxes (courtesy of Mom Tae) and sake-filled glasses (courtesy of Dadtoki). Of course, the day is completed with a showdown with their frienemy the Shinsengumi. And to cap the day off, look at the reverence and fondness the three are giving to Gin-san.

Rainy Day: Rainy days won’t keep our Queen of Kabuki-cho from hanging out with her family. Mom Tae even had a bento prepared. How thoughtful and sweet!

Super Powers: Plagiarize your way to success. In real life, don’t! It’s a crime. Here is Dragon Ball x Bleach x One Piece = DragonBleaPiece. Yeah, only in Gintama!

Holding Hands: When your hand finds the hand it was meant to hold, don’t let go. (I was singing Heart by Heart performed by Demi Lovato on this part so you’ll find a lot of references to the song <3)

Spellbound: We don’t need any spells for GinTae to be together. See here they even act silly together. Also in an AU, Gin the bully is controlled kept in check by class-president Tae. In the Love Potion arc, no amount of love potion can dope Gin-san to forget that the hand he is supposed to hold is Tae’s.

Surprise Gift: Tae is up to something… Surprisingly enough (or maybe not), it is her infamous Dark Matter that makes one hate surprises when they are presented the honor of eating Tae’s magnum opus.

Dispute: 

Yagyuu arc, Gintoki: It’s like Tae doesn’t hear a word I say. Her mind is somewhere far away. Like she doesn’t even care.

Benizakura arc, Tae: I know this whole city thinks it needs you but not as much as I (and Shinpachi and Kagura) do.

Gin-san went out anyways, and Tae let him.

(Btw, collage is not mine. CTTO. I’m sorry I forgot from whom I took the photo from)

Angst: Gintoki (disguising as Takasugi) is in a predicament. He doesn’t want Tae to find out he is back in Edo after two years of wandering about. No, not yet. Certainly not in those clothes (or the lack thereof).

Rescue: It’s not always the damsel that is in distress. Sometimes, gotta rescue the perm-hair and his friend the long-hair.  Oh the things we do for love!

Tragedy: This was when Kagura faked her illness that led to her “dying” (as orchestrated by the Sadist Prince Okita) and after the Liberation war. Meantime, it is best to grab what wonderful moments you find lying around.

Support: Behind a man’s downfall or success is a woman. Tae’s are the only eyes that can see into and through Gintoki and vice versa. They read each other like a book. They support each other in any way that they can. They even got each other’s hearts backs.

Cliche: They’re unaware of how cliché they’re being when it comes to their romantic feelings. Everyone can see that they have this thing going on, only they can’t see it. Talk about dense. Go on, don’t be shy just say it out loud.

Memories: Let’s intrude on our favourite kind of gathering – walking down memory lane with Tae and Gin-san. Pretend they are looking over a photo album to see how far they’ve come. Looking on are Madao Hasegawa-san and Catherine.

The Power of Two: GinTae accomplishing a goal that neither of them would’ve been capable of doing alone. Just look at the picture, I have nothing more to say haha

“I love you”s: Can Gin-san be more roundabout in saying those words to Tae so they can live together as man and wife. Probably go ask the other half of your sadist duo aka Okita Sogo how to propose/ say you love her the unconventional way. (I’m referring to how Okita proposed to Kagura. Oh well, that’s for another post)

Different Ways of Saying “I love you”: I’m stumped. I don’t know what to say. Every one of their interaction is gold. Just show how you feel and make it real. And to Sorachi-sensei, one good way to hide something is in plain sight. People often forget to look at something right in front of them. Kudos!

And I end this lengthy post to that last panel with Tae saying she understands Gin. The way he’s complicated is simple. Isn’t that sweet? Might I add, Gin-san being a sweet-talker and sappy is really cringe worthy haha.  Tae and Gin-san found a way to find each other thanks to Shinpachi boy. From then on, it’s like she’s been in his life forever with the way she understands his heart by heart. Anego and Danna making it through love. The gods have spoken.

[gryndboxstudios]

Ghost Ship Review

by Matthew Arce-Phillips

First things first, what the actual fuck?!? The movie didn’t really make a lot of sense, but I think that’s a good thing? Try and hear me out. This movie’s first scene is both amazing a stupid at the same time. I’m gonna spoil this scene because I don’t think director understood how height or angles works. And also because the movie came out in 2002 and if you haven’t seen it yet then you probably aren’t gonna watch it. Unless my words persuade you, then that would be awesome! Anyways, the first scene attempts to give us or first glimpse of how scary this movie is gonna get, spoiler, it doesn’t get much scarier than this. In a nutshell this is what happens.. We see a little girl playing with some toy, bored topside of the boat and then someone who is assumed to be the captain, asks her to dance with everyone else. There’s at least 30 people dancing on what looks like a tiny dance floor on top of the ship “Antonia Graza” and everyone is having a grand ‘ole time. Next we see a mysterious hand pull some kind of lever that then begins to reel in a metal wire that so happens to enclosing the dance floor. The tension of the wire finally breaks and, BAM the wire slices everyone on the dance floor in half! The scene is both fills with gore and suspense. At first all the dancers are shocked and no one reacts, but of course how could they? Then, one by one their bodies begin to spilt in half horizontally and we see the true chaos of the trap. Intestines, limbs, and blood fill every inch of the floor! There’s even people trying to put themselves back together! It’s a truly imaginative sight to see and I give whoever came up with that idea huge props. But then we see the little girl completely unscathed by the incident, but the captain that was dancing with her was somehow cut by the wire directly between his mouth and cheeks and we watch the top portion of his head slide off with ease. Now, I’ve watched this scene 5 times over and over, paused, then play, zoomed in, and got figure out how this little girl survived and the captain lost his head and not his body! I looked at all the other bisected bodies that surrounded them and saw no heads decapitated anywhere! I get it, she needed to be able to walk away for plot or whatever, but how are you gonna tell me that they both were in the middle of the dance floor and didn’t get cut in half?? And then to show the captain being the only one to literally loose his head??? I’m not good at math, but none of that shit adds up. 

Regardless of this confusing as hell scene, the movie the picks up 40 years later and introduces us to the “Arctic Warrior” crew, a sea salvaging team in the middle of hauling some rust bucket of a boat to port. Murphy the capitan, Epps the first mate, Greer the guy who steers the boat, Santos our Hispanic mechanic with a love of low riders, and finally Dodge and Munder the two handy men of the crew pretty much. The movie tries to emphasize how truly great this crew is at doing their job by making the boat they’re pulling start sinking and quickly fix the hole as if it was second nature to them. Alright, cool, we got it. But another weird thing, I couldn’t tell if the captain had a Irish accent or not. His name was Murphy, kinda Irish, but he talked so low in most of the scenes it just sounded like he was trying hard to make the accent but couldn’t really pull it off.  Finally we get some story as to what the movie is gonna be about. Some scrawny looking guy named Jack Ferriman approaches the crew as they’re drinking, enjoying themselves and explains that he found an unknown ship out in the Bering Sea and convinces them to find the boat, bring it back to port, and get rich. Simple enough right? After sometime the crew finds the ship and realize it’s the “Anontia Graza”! The ship from the beginning of the movie, who would’ve expected that! After some exploring around the ship one of the crew members falls through the floor and everyone scrambled to pull him up! The girl that’s barely hanging on to his dumbass sees a little girl in the background and freaks out. From here on out she sees the girl in different areas of the boat and the movie kinda shifts into a thriller of sorts. Like I mentioned before, the movie isn’t really scary. Like, at all. There’s a bit more gore-ish parts here and there, but nothing that screams BOO to your face. As they explore the boat a little more things start getting bad for the crew. They realize the cruise ship needs some repairs before bring it to port and the tug boat they arrived in needs repairs as well. Epps falls into an empty pool, hits her head at the bottom and somehow manages to spill a tiny bit of blood from the 6 foot drop. But does not have a concussion at all... oh ok. The blood is then sucked into some bullet holes and I’m assuming this awakens the spirits? At least that’s way it seems. Because from here the other ghost start acting on the crew. After a few scares Epps and Ferriman find a vault full of golden bricks which they all think this is their ticket to easy street, so they all say fuck it a decide to take the gold home instead of the boat. Semi good choice. We see Santos and Greer making some progress on repairing the boat as the other prepare to move the gold from boat to boat. But, just as Santos has finally fixed the problem, some ghost or what have you opens a gas valve dispensing it in the air. As Greer turns the key the boat fucking explodes destroying the boat, killing Santos, and stranding the remaining crew to the “Antonia Graza”. I’m gonna give a quick rundown of events only because the ending gets bad then good then bad again. So, Murphy who was a recovering alcoholic runs to the captains quarters to snag a drink while the rest of the crew argues on what to do next. Obviously, fix the boat and try to make it home. Greer come with the idea to make a raft with is just fucking stupid. Dodge is mad at Ferriman for showing them the boat, Munder doesn’t seem to care about anything but the money, and Epps is just trying to keep everyone together. In the captains quarters Murphy sees the dead captain and finds some photos showing how the gold got on board of the cruise ship in the first place... along with a picture showing a mysterious man that freaks out Murphy. Greer gets seduced by an Italian singer ghost that tricks him into plunging down an elevator shaft and lands onto some broken rebar. Murphy racing to find the crew starts to hallucinate images of the new crispy Santos and believes Epps is trying to kill him. Ferriman knocks out Murphy and they all put him in some tube thingy waiting for him to sober up.  The rest of the crew then begin to fix up boat, starting with patching a giant hole in the side then pump out the water the has flooded the lower half of the boat. Epps finds Greer then the ghost girl from earlier leads her back to the little girls room and explains what really happened that night. And it’s a bunch of bullshit that’s what happened! Pretty much, some of the crew start poisoning passengers, murdering them with guns in an attempt to steal the gold. It’s a bunch of back stabbing as the crew eventually turn on themselves leaving just the Italian singer who we find out was manipulated by........ JACK FUCKING FERRIMAN!!!!! Get it? Ferriman? Ferry man? I’ll explain in a bit. Anywho, Epps runs to free Murphy who has now drowned in the tube thingy, but somehow he carried that picture with him and it’s reviled the picture is of Ferriman. She scrambled to warn the rest of the crew that Ferriman is some ghost or something but is stopped by him. He doesn’t know she knows just yet. Oh yeah, Munder dies getting sucked up into a gear and gets torn to pieces. Dodge is put in charge of watching Ferriman, Ferriman tried to escape, Dodge shoots him. Epps finds Munder’s corpse by the water pump. Now it’s finally shown that Epps knows Ferriman was on the ship 40 years ago and asks for an explanation. Now here is one of my biggest problems with the movie and why I felt the need to explain everything fucking thing in this movie. Jack explains that he works someone “downstairs” and that he collects souls to make them happy. This is his job because he has lived a life full of sin. Pfft, who hasn’t buddy. Now is where I explain the Ferriman shit. In Greek Mythology Charon is the Ferry man that carries newly dead souls across the Rivers styx. But, In Jacks explanation he makes it seems like he works for Satan himself. Seriously, what the fuck? How are they gonna try to combine two different religions and expect everyone to except that? I just could t believe it when I heard it. That explanation was just terrible... After this, Epps defeats Ferriman, the souls are freed, and she drifts out into open sea only to be picked up by another cruise liner. Back on shore she’s loaded up into an ambulance and she watches the crew of a cruise ship load luggage on board and among the crew members is fucking Jack Ferriman in the flesh. Of course, the circle continues. I know it seems like I’m complaining a lot but I actually did enjoy this movie. It wasn’t super terrible but not super good either. When looking into this movie I read that originally the movie was going to be a physiological thriller called Chimera, but for reasons unknown the script underwent tons of rewrites and became Ghost Ship. I remember hearing about his movie when I was a kid and thinking it was dumb, but of course only because I was too scared to actually watch it. Now that I think back to it I’m glad I never watched it. I probably would shit myself in the first 30 minutes. Oh yeah, I hated scary movies as a kid. It’s definitely a movie that has not aged well at all. The cgi and backdrops are pretty bad looking. But when you see the open waters it’s beautiful, that I don’t mind. Personally I’d probably watch this movie one more time if I ever needed time to kill or was just bored. It held my attention the first time really well, but I’m not sure about a second. I give Ghost Ship 6 bacon and cheese Whataburgers outta 10. I ate one while watching the movie and I also ate while writing this review.

Movies by Matt is the newest part of GBStudios’ team, looking to provide entertaining and informational reviews on all our favorite movies. You can follow @movies_matt and Gryndbox Studios on Twitter!

[punkwhodrinkstea-blog]

One Semester Down + Christmas Break is here

A lot has happened since my last blog post, which was a long time ago. I have done fairly well in my classes and it seems to be a promising career choice for me. Christmas break is among us so that means a lot of spare time since I don’t have a job. Sadly I did get into a car accident recently which took out nearly all my savings but luckily I just found out that my second semester is half the price that I thought it was so it’s not the end of the world and I still have time to get a job. Besides, my fiancee and I have plans to be together quite a bit during this break and without a job, it’ll be easier to see one another. But I still need a job since at this rate I’ll be super duper low on money by the end of next semester.

I haven’t learned anything too crazy or blog worthy. Though I have learned that my family and sadly most people in the world do not need or even want a rational reason to believe something. Much like people believing that they are a different gender or that it’s on a spectrum. I mean there is no rational reason to believe this and no evidence to support this but here we are at the end of 2018 where all too many people are dumb enough to believe this. My family, it turns out isn’t really any different. It’s not uncommon for me to get into an argument with one of them but the thing is… I don’t argue unless I’m convinced I’m right and I am convinced I’m right through logic, reason or some other rational evidence to support my belief in something. They never seem to actually have a reason to believe anything that they believe. It’s always “this is how I feel”, “I just don’t get it”, “this is what I was told growing up”, etc etc. They don’t actually have any reason to believe in anything that they stand for. There have been at least 3 or 4 times in the past 3 months where this has happened and they are either really unintelligent people or they stand firm on what they believe for the sake of their pride and reputation. After all, much like those gender confused people, they have no reason to believe it, other than to make them feel better about themselves. However, when it comes to the gender thing, I have no idea how people think that’s a good idea.

My fiancee and I were hanging out when she had a spike of curiosity to research exactly how transgender operations or “procedures” work. In a nutshell, if you are a male and want to become a female. They turn your dick inside out and shove it inside you. If you’re a female and want to be a male then they either pump you full of testosterone and try to make your…. Parts push out more to make a little tiny wiener. The other option is they take skin from other parts of your body, but usually from your forearm and make a dick out of it. By the end of any of these operations, you have little to no feeling in your private parts and you can’t really have sex. Also, they need to be manually maintained in ways that are terribly unnatural and it leaves you open to more infections and stuff. Neither operation is at all close to what it’s like to have a real dick or female parts. According to me and my fiancee who do indeed have real private parts. This doesn’t include the fact that guys get breast implants which are also very unhealthy. The silicone causes you to have a foggy brain and can’t think straight along with other issues. On top of that, they pump you full of testosterone or estrogen depending on which gender you are trying to become. The point I am trying to make is…. The whole thing is fucked up! If people knew all this going into it, then no one in their right mind would ever get these operations. It’s insane and horrible. Not to mention that the suicide rate of people who get these operations is at 40%. That’s very high. It’s freak’n ludicrous!

Anyway folks, I have my Christmas holiday ahead of me and I actually made a list of all my favorite things to do during the break. Most of it is nostalgic and relaxing. I have lots of reading I want to do and old-school video games to play. A bunch of movies I want to watch and other strange things like finish a working demo of my board game and making targets for my airsoft guns so I can shoot targets in my bedroom (small targets since I’m not very far away).

I was thinking about going to a college party, which would be my first college party. But it’s starting at 10pm and it’s in a big city that I’m not familiar with, about a 40-minute drive from my house. I only know 2 people who are going and they aren’t really friends. Lastly, I hate parties with a passion. I am a Christian and this is a good chance to show God’s love and show that I can have fun without getting drunk or getting high. But I’m tired and I am sitting this one out to enjoy my night. I feel kind of bad but I’d like to think the next year and a half will be enough to give them a good idea of God’s love and that my future actions will show them that drunkenness and being high is actually bad, or at the very least, not required for fun. Anyway that’s all, The PunkWhoDrinksTea, signing off *static sounds*

[elleberquist6]

Play Upon Me Like This Piano - chapter three

Summary: In many ways, Phil’s life is perfect: he loves his life in London, he has a wonderful brother and parents, and he has a great job as a radio DJ for BBC Radio One. There’s only one thing missing in his life… A rumor reaches an executive at the BBC about a talented local piano player named Daniel. The executive decides that Daniel would be the perfect guest on Phil’s radio show, so she send Phil to speak with the evasive and mysterious piano player.

When they finally meet, Phil starts to think that he has found the person who will make his life complete. Unfortunately, Dan has a secret that will make getting close to him difficult.

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 1735

Warnings: Smut

—

Siren fact: “O, train me not, sweet mermaid, with thy note, / To drown me in thy sister’s flood of tears.” —William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors

In A Nutshell: Somewhere along the literary and mythological road, mermaids and sirens got confused into one creature: a half-woman, half-fish creature known for her beautiful singing voice. Originally, it was only the mermaid that was a half-human, half-fish creature, and a singing voice wasn’t mentioned in early myths. Sirens were the singers, and they were actually half-woman, half-bird creatures. [https://knowledgenuts.com/2014/02/05/the-difference-between-mermaids-and-sirens/]

~ two months ago ~

“Are you up for another round?” Phil asked his brother, Martyn.

They were sitting on Phil’s sofa, both holding controllers as they stared at the game’s menu screen. Phil bit his lip as he looked at his brother, who hadn’t been playing as well as he usually did and he’d seemed a bit off all day. There was obviously something bothering him, but Phil hadn’t decided how to ask about it yet. He was just hoping that Martyn had had a stressful day and unwinding with Mario Kart was helping.

“Maybe in a minute,” Martyn sighed as he put down the controller. “Philly, could we talk about something?”

As Phil also placed his controller on the coffee table and turned to face his brother, he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“No, not wrong,” Martyn said with a breathy laugh. “There’s something I’m going to give Corn later tonight, and I was hoping to get your opinion on it because I’m kind of nervous.”

“Oh,” Phil said as he exhaled in relief, glad it wasn’t something more serious. “Is it her birthday?”

“No. Actually, it’s…” Martyn grinned and shook his head as he reached into his pocket. “I should just show you what it is.”

When he saw the blue velvet box in his brother’s palm, Phil gasped. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yup. I’m going to ask her tonight.” Martyn pried open the ring box, revealing a simple but elegant diamond set in a silver band. He held it out to Phil. “What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful.” Phil took the ring box and examined it closer. He raised his other hand, but he stopped before removing the ring from where it was nestled in the blue velvet cushion. It seemed perfectly placed where it was, and Phil had a horrifying mental image of Martyn presenting Cornelia with an engagement ring that was crooked in its box because Phil had put it back wrong. That was when it really hit him how big this moment was. Oh my God, his brother was going to get married. He looked up from the ring with wide eyes. “Mar…”

Martyn smiled. “I know. So, you think she’ll like it?”

“She’ll love it. She loves you,” Phil said as he handed him back the ring box. As Martyn closed the box and slipped it into his pocket, Phil bit his lip as he thought about how he wanted to phrase the questions on his mind. Finally, he asked, “Mar, how are you feeling? Are you nervous?”

Martyn snorted with laughter as he nodded. “Yeah, but I’m looking forward to it, too. I think I’m going to be nervous until the moment comes and I know it’s time to show her the ring. Until then, I’m thinking about all the things that could go wrong, despite the fact that I don’t think she’s going to say ‘no’. The thing about Corn is that she makes me feel safe and sure of things, so once I’m with her tonight I know that she’ll make me feel calm enough to do this.”

“When did you make up your mind to propose?”

“A couple weeks ago,” he said with a smile. His eyes got a far-away look. “I was lying in bed beside her. It was just a lazy Saturday morning, so we were sleeping in. I woke up first, rolled over, and saw her. The sun was coming through the curtains, and all I could do was stare at the way her face was glowing in the light. I knew then that her face was the first thing I wanted to see every day for the rest of my life.”

As Phil smiled because he was honestly so happy for his brother, he also felt a familiar empty aching sensation in his chest. Phil said, “I’m so glad you found her. You deserve this.”

“Thanks,” Martyn said. They returned to the game and played for a while, but this time Martyn was the one who sensed that something was off with his little brother. He kept shooting Phil concerned glances, and then Martyn hit ‘pause’ on the game.

“Hey!” Phil protested. “Why did you do that?”

“I can tell something is wrong. Talk to me.”

Phil looked away and shook his head.

“ ‘No’, nothing is wrong? Or ‘no’ you don’t want to talk to me?”

Phil sighed. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want to distract you today. What’s bothering me isn’t important right now. You should focus on getting ready for—”

“Phil,” Martyn said in a stern voice. “Talk to me.”

“It’s stupid,” Phil said before biting his lip. At his brother’s stern look, he opened up. “It’s just… I’ve been thinking lately that there’s something wrong with me. I haven’t found anyone. I’ve tried, but I don’t like anyone in the way you like Cornelia. So, there’s something wrong with me. I’m 31. I should have found my other half by now.”

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” his brother insisted. “It just takes longer for some people to find each other. Besides, you’re only 31. Don’t stress out about it. It will happen.”

Phil shook his head. “Mar, I’ve never even been in love.”

Martyn’s eyes widened. “What? Not with any of the people you’ve dated? None of them?”

“No. And that’s why most of them broke up with me – the recent ones anyway. Whenever things started getting serious and the subject of how much we liked each other came up, I was honest. I’ve never loved anyone I’ve dated. I liked them, but that was it. There’s something wrong with me.”

Martyn was shaking his head. “There’s nothing wrong with you. And are you sure? You’re not just thinking of the way it is in movies, are you? The movies get it wrong.”

“Oh?” Phil said curiously. “How so?”

“They oversimplify it a bit,” he said slowly as he rubbed his chin while he thought, choosing his words carefully. “Especially if you’re talking about the old Disney movie type of love, where you see someone and it’s like you’re struck by lightning. The cartoon character knows instantly that he’s in love just by the sight of someone’s face. I’m not saying that never happens, but that wasn’t my experience.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think that was how it happened. What was it like for you?”

“I’m going to go with the boiling frog analogy,” Martyn said with a laugh. “Don’t tell Corn I said so, but it was like being put in a pot of warm water, and then someone slowly turned up the heat. Then the water was boiling and I woke up one day like, holy shit I’m in love. It takes time.”

Phil nodded. “Anything else the movies get wrong?”

“Yeah. Now I’m thinking of Rom Coms.” He made a face. “I hate cheesy Rom Coms. They’re all unconditional devotion. Total happiness. It’s not like that. You don’t have to be happy all the time with the person you’re in love with. Sometimes the person you love pisses you off and all you can do is glare at them. You hate them and love them at the same time, and that’s okay. Humans can feel two intense emotions at the same time – movies always forget that. And these emotions change how you love. There are different types of love you can feel for the person you’re with. You might be lying in bed beside them at 4:00AM having a deep conversation. Or having breakfast with them before they’ve combed their hair or the coffee has kicked in, and all you can think about is how perfect they are. And you might be planning your week, and your mind keeps coming back to them and all the things you want to do with them this week – and then you realize that you want to do more and more things with them for the rest of your life.”

Phil waited while his brother took a deep breath and organized his thoughts. He was struck in that moment by how absolutely besotted Martyn was with his girlfriend. Love was real. Phil wanted to feel that, too. Until he did, all he could do was be happy for his brother.

Martyn smiled as he continued, “So, that’s what it’s like. Falling in love. The movies act like it’s this one shining moment, one emotion, but that’s not true. It’s a series of events and emotions that build and build until you realize you’re in love. And the amazing thing about it is that if you’re lucky, it doesn’t stop. The longer you’re with this person, the deeper you fall in love. So, that’s why I’m proposing tonight. I realized that I never want to let go of her.”

Phil beamed at his brother. “I really am so happy for you.”

“Thanks,” Martyn said with a smile, but it faltered. “Philly, are you going to be okay? I’m worried about you now.”

“Oh, don’t be. I’m fine. I’m happy. I used to be stressed out about this and the things that I don’t have in my life, but recently… like in the past couple years or so? Um, I’ve just accepted it. I don’t even date that often anymore. I’m happy on my own. I don’t think I’m ever going to fall in love, and I’m just learning to be okay with that.”

Martyn frowned. “Well, okay then. I’m glad you’re happy. I’m not going to tell you you’re incomplete or that you need someone. You’re perfect as you are. Still, I hope you’ll keep your heart open. I’d love it if someone would come into your life the way Cornelia has come into mine, just because you deserve to have someone, too.”

“I’ll keep my heart open,” Phil assured his brother with a smile.