#but also you didnt make choices at the end and were set so it does make sense

[gothamcityneedsme]

I really like how this ending is really taos, i like how shes placed like the protagonist is in the humanity ending of the og game. Happy to see her world but existing outside of it. Its more about her than it is him and im okay with that, esp since i think shes a very effective rep

[cherllyio]

Do you think monkey king/Sun Wukong will die in season 5. Because we don’t see him the last Lego set made for monkie kid so he probably sacrificed himself to become the earth stone since he was that yellow stone all along since it does make sense and does prove that it’s were the show likes to end off his journey and to save the world. Even though wukong will be dead I’m far more worried about MK since we do see him crying in the trailer. That might mean wukong sacrificed himself or he’s suffering or could come back since nüwa could replace herself from the earth stone I could see that happening.

I’m chattering my teeth once I think about it cause I don’t want him to die in the show😭

Wukong will not die

Yes, I said it, and i will die on this hill (though i do think its a cool theory).

And yes, i know there is that whole "mentor die trope", but this wouldnt make sense, for Wukong (atleast for his characther arc, so far).

First proof: He needs to finish the arc with Macaque.

Theese two monkeys have one of the most complicated relationships, I have seen in a while, and they are just starting to realise what went wrong in the past. (when they went back through their memories)

Therefore, ending it now? It would be increbly rushed and would leave it uncompleted. (And also omg, they need to both apologise to eachother)

Second proof: He needs to finish the arc with MK

MK said in the season 4 special: "I am not ready, to not have a mentor".

So we got that-

BUT ALSO

Sun Wukong clearly knows more, than he lets on about MK's past:

And being like- one of the only people acutally having some idea, where MK is even from (and that he has some form of "biological" relation to him), it would be weird for them to end it so suddenly now.

They still have so much to clear out about how they are even connected.

Final Proof: He needs to finish his own arc

Sun Wukong is still growing.

Yes: He is thousands of years old, and has been on the JTTW, but he is still evolving as a person.

He messed up badly with the Samdadhi Fire, and he is truly trying to be better now. But he still has a lot to learn. Which I can only explain through one line:

"We cant change the past, but we can make better choices today."

That was something he taught MK in season 4, but he clearly needs to relearn it too.

After all MK did tell him the very same thing in the season 4 special, and Wukong clearly listend to it.

But we didnt see much of Wukong arc after that, we had Azure's ass to beat after all.

So, i theorise, that we will see more of that in season 5.

Aka Wukong (re)learning, that you can fuck up, again and again, but as long as you try to become better now in the present, you still deserve to live. You still deserve love.

...

Also, I just don't Wukong to die ;-;

[pemguims]

hrpf fic recs!!!!!

hello hello! i have been meaning to do this for so long but i am finally here with my list! i've tried to keep some of the more 'obvious' choices off here (for example top kudos pieces like king and lionheart) but some will slip through bc. i like them <3

i will mention main trope / trigger warnings on each fic but read tags before u read etc etc etc

also i love ABO and generally prefer long fics so srry if that doesnt align w ur interests! i also will read any and every pairing under the sun, so a lot of these are just random pairings :3 also i haven't tagged th writers tumblr accounts bc that ? felt odd to do for some reason ? but if u would like to be tagged lmk !!!!!! <3

sidgeno:

the biblical sense by sevenfists - word count: 57,896 ✷Sid, I’m so—I’m sorry,” Geno said. “My stupid—I’m ruin everything, I—” “Shut up, Geno,” Sidney said, already intensely weary of listening to Geno’s self-recrimination. “You’ve barely even done anything.” Geno’s voice dropped what sounded like an entire octave. “But I want to.”✷ (ABO, canon setting)

th first hrpf fic i read which got me into hockey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

leave the lights on by coricomile - word count: 17,692 ✷"Okay?" Geno asked groggily. Sid snapped out of it. Cold sweat broke out across the back of his neck. He inched away, tucking his hands under his thighs. He wouldn't have- Geno didn't deserve to be hurt. Sid would never- "Your head?" "Yeah," Sid choked out. Geno leaned forward and soothed a big hand over Sid's hair, his lips twisting at the corners. His eyes were painkiller bright, glazed over enough that they looked like marbles. He left his hand on Sid's head as his eyes slid shut. Sid sat still as Geno dozed and counted his breaths.✷ (TW: OCD, mental health issues. canon setting)

anything that touches by saysthemagpie - word count: 48,578 ✷Sid knew how to smile. He knew how to make the muscles work, how to soften his face into something less rigid. Geno liked him happy. If he wanted Sid easy and pleasant, here at the end, Sid could give him that. Geno asked so little of him.✷ (TW: Sexual assault, prostitution, abuse, trauma. canonish-AU)

probably one of my top 10 favourite fics ever ngl. so so good so beautiful so sad i have such a vivid memory of reading this for the first time at like 11pm hunched in bed trying to cry rlly quietly so i didnt wake my bf KSBDBKJ. one of th most harrowing pieces of literature i think i have ever read <3

blood from the stone by saysthemagpie - word count 80,903 ✷It wasn’t the prospect of pain that frightened him. Zhenya was a hockey player: he was used to pain, even to violence. But this wasn’t like a fight on the ice—tempers boiling over, hot rage spilling out everywhere—cathartic, necessary, even if it got him sent down the tunnel. This was different. There was nothing here to push back against, no way to assert his own will. In a little while Crosby would come to him, and Zhenya would open the door and let him in. Crosby would feed from him, taking what he wanted from Zhenya’s body. And then they would be bound.✷ (Vampires, forced bonding. canonish-AU)

another banger another harrowing tale!!!!!!!! sidney crosby u will suffer!!!!!

morning to wake you by oflights - word count: 54,104 ✷I've been calling this The Sexual Misadventures of Sidney Crosby forever, and that gives you an idea, but just in case: in which Sidney wins a gold medal, has sex (a lot), falls in love (twice), and breaks a bunch of rules.✷(canon setting)

swallow the fire by cascara_soda - word count: 6367 ✷“It’ll be okay. It’s my choice,” Sid said, and it was only sort of a lie. Or, the 1989 Super Series Winner’s Room AU.✷ (canon AU setting)

life is wine by coricomile - word count: 9414 ✷"I see you watch him," Geno says, leaned in so he's talking directly into Jamie's ear. Jamie tenses, but Geno doesn't move away. He drops his arm over Jamie's shoulders and it shouldn't feel like a trap, but it does, even if Geno doesn't do anything other than hold on. "Is hard not look, I know." Sometime after Jamie got distracted by Sidney's ass, Hags had left the booth and subsequently left Jaime alone with Geno, abandoned except for the clutter of empties.✷ (canon setting)

ache by pheobus - word count: 4079 ✷Sid wasn’t an omega, but just once he wanted to be selfish. Maybe Geno would realize that this wasn’t how things were meant to be, or that there was simply no way Sid could be anything other than who he was. His thoughts were all twisted up, stuck in overwhelming cycles of what-if. Sid liked who he was, what he was. He didn’t want to be an omega. But dear God, he wanted Geno to mount him like one.✷ (ABO)

more than anything by getoffmyhead - word count: 17,011 ✷Sid and Zhenya had been together—officially together—for three years when it happened. Three years of normal, committed relationship sex. They hooked up plenty before that, too, without ever veering into anything weird. They didn't have a sex dungeon. They didn't own nipple clamps. There was nothing in their history that could have prepared Zhenya for the thing that came out of his mouth the first time he and Sid slept together in Miami.✷(canon setting)

i think abt this fic all the time

mattdrai:

so is the longing by dog juice - word count: 44,669 ✷After being forced to take suppressants for a year, Matthew's body is a mess. He has an excruciatingly painful heat every two weeks, and there's no medication to help him.To make matters worse, he's been traded to the Edmonton Oilers. Now, not only does he have to deal with his collapsing body, he also has to contend with Draisaitl, who has made it pretty clear he hates Matthew's scent. If the universe could give him a fucking break, that'd be great.✷ (ABO)

mattdrai fic of all time. in my opinion.

sea change by andthreequarts - word count 33,596 ✷“Wait, is that what’s happening here?” Matthew pushes forward, gets close. “Is that why you were being weird?” “Shut up,” Draisaitl growls, backing up. “Oh no,” Matthew laughs. “This is the funniest thing I’ve heard all week. Leon Draisaitl, an alpha’s alpha. Who would have guessed it, you’re into an omega with barely any scent?”✷ (ABO)

misc:

vince dunn / adam larsson (seattle kraken) serenity in those deep waters by angry_geno_is_score - word count: 114,312 ✷In his second season playing for the Seattle Kraken, Vince Dunn becomes sick with drop withdrawal. When it comes out that he's lied on his paperwork and hasn't had a Dom for over a year, he has no choice but to accept being assigned to a Dom on the team or risk giving up hockey.✷ (TW: past abuse. BDSM AU)

love!!! i love bdsm au's so much!!! ive reread this fic multiple times :3

nicklas backstom / alexander ovechkin (washington capitals) you and me, drenched in green by xihale - word count: 17,710 ✷Nicky’s an omega with a heat problem. Ovi volunteers as tribute.✷ (ABO)

jamie drysdale / trevor zegras (anahiem ducks) caught up now by canary -word count: 20,261 ✷“I do want you to bite me,” Trevor corrected. “And I also want you to hit it raw.”✷ (ABO)

morgan barrson/josh morrissey (winnipeg jets) win some and lose some, baby by symphony7inAmajor - word count: 11,223 ✷“Morgan,” Josh says, his voice sharp and firm. There’s a glint in his eyes that Morgan doesn’t recognize. “Sit.” If Morgan thought his face was hot before, that’s nothing compared to the fire that scorches his cheeks now. Sit. Like—Like he’s a—✷ (canon setting)

this author has sm rlly good other fics as well!!

travis konecny/nolan patrick (flyers...i guess!) Someone Else's Solid Ground - Linsky - word count: 21,757 ✷Nolan’s body has never been his friend.✷ (canon setting)

matthew tkachuk / leon draisaitl / connor mcdavid i'll tell you when to stop - dog juice - word count: 39,640 ✷Matthew is too reckless to be responsible for his own heart. Fucking and falling for Leon? Stupid. Fucking and falling for Connor? Idiotic. Doing that one after the other without either Oiler knowing? Yeah. Matthew's fucked.✷ (canon setting)

rewired my brain a little ngl

gen - san jose sharks & washington capitals catch and release by McSpot - word count: 23,805 ✷If a player gets forced onto the opposing team's bench during play, that player officially becomes a member of their team. There's a whole system to catching players, with strategies determining who the prime targets are and the best way to catch them. Nobody expected Mario to be caught.✷ (canon AU setting)

how this fic doesnt have 100000 kudos and 1000000000 spin off fics i have no idea

sidney crosby / claude giroux unless you wanna come along by anonymous - word count: 8677 ✷"We beat you," Sid says, high on the sheer triumph of it. "Yeah, and how much of the game did you spend begging the refs for it?" Claude jeers, quiet and vicious. "Hardly a fucking win, when you've fucking acted like that, whining and bitching and moa—" Sid kisses him, cutting off the stream of venom.✷ (canon setting)

leon draisaitl / Artūrs Šilovs go ahead and try a little crazy on me by lagerlout - word count: 4062 ✷Leon huffs out a laugh before he can help himself. Goddamn, this fucking goalie is cute. He doesn’t know if he’s trying to be cute but he is.✷ (canon setting, winners room)

fic that makes me go YEEAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! also now has a sequel which slaps

jonathan drouin / nathan mackinnon (colorado avalanche) but this is how it is by bruinss - word count: 103,314 ✷The universe gives, and the universe takes, and Jo is left at the end of ten years with a lot less than when he’d started them.✷ (BDSM AU, canon setting)

this author has a lot of really very very very good jo / nate fics i recommend every single one of them !!

sidney crosby / jaromir jagr (pittsburgh penguins) summer to your heart by deastar - word count: 200,575 ✷When it seals, Jaromír feels the old, familiar tug of a soulbond for the first time in years. It feels like having a dislocated joint reduced: a relief, and a sense that something missing has been replaced. But terribly painful at the same time. Sidney is curled up into Jaromír’s side, sinking fast toward sleep. Some impulse Jaromír can’t explain makes him ask his new bondmate, “You feel the bond?” “Mm-hmm.” Sidney’s eyes are closed – his eyelashes look very dark and soft. “How does it feel?” “Good,” Sidney exhales, and just before he drops off, Jaromír catches a psychic whisper of It feels like not being lonely. “Oh, kick me in the balls, why don’t you,” Jaromír says under his breath.✷ (soul / psychic bond, canon AU )

hrpf of all time. i think. in my opinion. there is also a sidgeno fic set in the same kind of AU by this author which is very good but this one...........oaugh....

okay thats it bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kindlespark]

this is gonna be SO long and rambly sorry anyway i saw a post abt how babel does queer characters and it got me thinking abt why the tropes it uses would usually turn me off other stories but didn’t here

MAJOR BABEL SPOILERS //

i feel like i’d be more mad abt how robinramy ended up in babel if it marketed itself as queer lit at all or if its fans were going “WOW AMAZING QUEER REP” abt it. but no one told me any of that, so finding out they were gay was just a fun little bonus surprise to me. i get why ppl are eh abt robinramy not getting together/technically still being subtext (which i dont think is really true btw like the book literally says “robin was falling in love” but idk i guess if you were stupid you might’ve assumed that it was falling in love with oxford given how romantic some of the other language is (WHICH IS ALSO THE POINT bc i think robin’s friendship with ramy blurring into romance is why he romanticised like all his friendships/experiences in oxford BUT IM GETTING OFF-TOPIC)). i just think robin’s repression abt being gay was intrinsically tied to his attitudes on imperialism (wrt refusing to acknowledge anything that complicated his life until it was too late) and i don’t consider it a cop out or queerbait. like i genuinely don’t think robinramy could ever have gotten together without drastic alterations being made in terms of plot and character. plus i think it’s clear that kuang didn’t want to write a story with any kind of focus on romance at all, because it’s not that kind of book. there’s no successful het romance either, so it grates a lot less. the only reason romance is included at all is to show the ways in which white entitlement manifests. so the tragic way robinramy played out just made sense to me.

and i speak as someone who accidentally spoiled myself on You Know What in the middle of reading and i was like ugghh boooo dreading it the whole time expecting to roll my eyes when it happened but then when it did i was like. wow im actually not that mad LMFAO 😭😭😭 actually thematically the book sets it up so well that i believed that this was unfortunately the only way it could’ve gone. babel is about the loss and tragedy and grief that colonised people experience. it’s about the lengths people will go to to uphold empire and the lengths ppl will go to to tear it down like idk 😭 i guess it is bury your gays but it didnt bother me this time because i thought it fit thematically ❤️ i enjoy tragedy as a genre a lot and i would’ve made it gay anyway you know. thanks rf kuang for doing it for me so i didnt have to.

WHICH IS ALL TO SAY that i guess if you’re going into babel for the queer rep without appreciating that the story is fundamentally a tragedy it would feel like it’s just reusing tired tropes….. but i think the choices kuang made were rly deliberate and not in a way that feels like trauma porn or shock value. the book is fundamentally about the struggles of poc so the layer of queerness that was introduced felt like a subtle extension of the experiences of characters of colour in the book, and i enjoyed and related to it as a queer chinese person who kind of realised they had to prioritise their fight for the liberation of poc over queerness mainly because the idea of western queer liberation cannot be dissociated from imperialism and many aspects of homophobia as we know it was an export of christian european empire into our colonised countries in the first place and FUCK THIS IS A WHOLE OTHER TANGENT ABOUT HOW I THINK RAMY AS A CHARACTER IS EMBLEMATIC OF THE TENSION AND STRUGGLE THAT QUEER POC DIASPORA HAVE BETWEEN OUR IDENTITIES GODDAMNIT OK FORGET IT POST CANCELLED i just rly think babel’s handling of queer characters is fine and makes sense and i like it personally and maybe i will make a coherent analysis about it one day but that day is not today byeeeeeee

[lazyveran]

ask about your arranged marriage au you say >:) :evil_hand_rub:

So. to begin with. Why and How is this what happened? is it a postwar diplomatic treaty thing, and Zuko is already too married to Mai to be the one wed? How much Hell did Azula and Katara put whoever suggested it through, and how did it end up happening anyways? What were each of the girls up to prior to the engagement? how do they feel about it? What does the world look like at the time of this AU, both in terms of the big worldwide stuff and the roles and relationships between the Gaang, whatever side characters are around, and their political positions? Be warned: highly likely that I will continue to enquire

you have unleashed the most self indulgent lore dump. thank you so much for asking. my long winded rambles under the cut

the setting of this au has two major changes; aang is never discovered (im so sorry my baby boy) and iroh is a much more active player within the fire nation. essentially, iroh begins consolidating the white lotus almost immediately after azulon's murder. as such, the fire siblings become terribly co-dependant in both ursa and iroh's absence as he's constantly away scheming against ozai. zuko doesnt get burned at 14. he gets burned at 19! and azula kills ozai for it, setting off a domino effect that lands an underprepared iroh on the throne trying to end the 100 years war as per his agreement with the white lotus members (before azula jumped the gun)

the azutara marriage occurs for like 2000 reasons but the main one is that iroh is forced to make several concessions in order to end the war as his ministers are terribly pro-ozai, thanks to ozai's scheming before azula prematurely offed him, and that the northern water tribe refuses to sign and end the war with the FN, unlike the other nations. azula, having been the princess-general ravaging the earth kingdoms in a five-year long campaign, therefore didnt get to show her face in the water tribes, gets chosen as the one to marry into the southern water tribe. as both a savvy diplomatic move to solidify the peace and to work with said wife towards peace with their sister tribe. iroh has no choice but to agree, and azula as a loyal princess with duty to the throne, also has to agree. (she is terribly, extremely unhappy with this due to ursa-parallel related reasons. and its azula.)

katara is chosen both for her position as the daughter of the chief, and for her prowess as a master bender (to match azula's known reputation). katara herself has been working as a sort of renegade freedom fighter away from the south pole, mostly working against the admiral-prince zuko and his three year campaign against the water tribes. sokka and herself work with an elite team, the black tail wolf pack (extremely indulgent name please forgive me) as guerilla fighters against the fire nation essentially. katara is EXTREMELY unhappy about the marriage alliance that her father has signed her off to, but like azula, her duty to her people and to peace overrides her extreme dislike of the situation.

zuko is the admiral-prince, heir to the throne, burned and shamed by the late firelord ozai, and... marrying toph bei fong. NOW PLEASE hear me out on this. stay with me. as part of the peace agreed by iroh, and the fire nation's precarious position now that expansion and pillaging cant fund their economy, an agreement is made with the earth kingdoms to marry into the wealthiest family in the world. its purely an economic marriage, but since the bei fongs are essentially the only homogenous earth territory ''royals'' that aren't strictly attatched to one kingdom but all of them, and have a daughter to spare, well. their relationship is the funniest to me, they're very much a platonic-married-besties situation. zuko himself is conducting a dreadfully obvious affair with mai, and his siege-weapon of a wife does not care in the slighest. in fact she actively encourages it, as being wife to the heir to the fire nation throne gives her freedom away from her family to be herself. there will be rising tensions between the bei fongs and the fire royals, naturally, as well as toph's own character clashing with the 'no fun allowed' fire nation.

azutara's relationship is an EXTREME slow burn, enemies to enemy-wives to friends to lovers. they're both 20 at the time they're married, but both have been child soldiers for years. azula spends a week acting like an arrogant prat and treating her wife like a peasant through politicking power plays before katara just kicks her ass three times over and azula realises theres actually no power imbalance to play off of. she promptly begins acting like mr darcy. katara has to grapple with the very alien culture of the fire nation and stumbles through all the subtlties of both court and royal life, as well as having to deal with her enemy turned wife and the absolute paradox of a woman that azula is. AND negotiating with her hostile sister tribe into trying to broker peace after a generation of war. i think marrying azula is harder than the whole 'world peace' affair really. they're both miserable and angry and cant understand each other but still see each other

sokka will be an intermitten character, as he becomes a diplomat for the southern water tribe as well as a member of the three nations peace council set up in the wake of the war. im trying to add in suki but im unsure on how, perhaps as another representative or something. ursa will have a plotline and azula will NOT be happy about it at all. iroh is frankly wracked with guilt that in order for peace he has to make the last of his family utterly miserable. all their relationships are complicated and messy and everyone's a little awful

i think a really fun aspect of this au is my odd ideas about azula and gender. azula is, in the eyes of the fire nation, both male AND female. female as a princess, a woman who's royal duties involve marriage and so on. but her status as a master fire bender legally classifies her as male. honestly the fire nation cannot afford to disregard azula on gender lines, since she's the most powerful fire bender on the planet at this point. she's a general in the military too, a traditionally male held role, and so azula herself becomes a grey area in terms of legal gender. as such, azula is technically kataras HUSBAND, not wife. and with that comes all the expectations of a husband over a wife in a royal imperial court. very very indulgent of me i fear

i hope this lore dump/word vomit makes some sort of sense. please feel free to ask more abt this au!!!! i have many many worldbuilding hcs for the fire nation and this au <3333

[fand0mswithbunny]

this is so different from the other posts i do but fuck it. descendants 4: rise of red review, spoilers ofc, we still boycott disney's ass, pirate this movie like uma and her crew ate the intro of this movie instead of watching this from disney+

keep reading if youve seen it or dont care about spoilers but tldr: if you havent seen it and see this as a spin off movie instead of a 4th installment, i say go watch it. its basically how i feel about the 2024 mean girls movie, im just here for certain characters, dynamics and songs, and a bit of the actual plot, its fun but definitely not for everyone, i liked parts of the movie/plots tho

okay honestly overall, despite the fucking terrible rushed ass ending, i still honestly enjoyed a lot of aspects of this movie.

songs, generally i liked. yeah its all pop-y but yk, none of them were unbearable, i loop red, whats my name (red vers.) and love aint it what about it

the editing was. a choice at times. like it will cut at the most random moments and when red was being transported and fell from that. pipe. thing in the castle it was so. disney channel editing core LIKE OKAY I KNOWW OFC IT IS but grahhhhhHH

the cg was good, direction was. also a choice at times. idk how to explain it but it felt like every scene was being directed like a music video and not like a MOVIE esp the lighting oh my god idk what it is but its so GLOWY AND WEIRDD

the characters themselves, i love the main cast, red, chloe, ella, bridget, etc. were all cool. IM A FIRM RED/CHLOE SHIPPER THEY ARE GIRLFRIENDS IDC and i also liked the dynamic they have with their past moms it was nice

oh yeah i dont mind how they wrote mal, evie, jay, and ben outta the story, i mean they gotta explain their absence yk. and i loved the carlos tribute, you can tell china was genuinely not acting in that tribute scene.

the vks were. okay. i dont mind that literally every villain/princess/disney protag goes to high school. this whole series basically feature length fanfiction anyway, idc personally about that. its weird URSULAS SISTER was the main antagonist. like i get having a completely new villain aside from the vks parents or something but. ursulas. sister??? besides you could tell me shes ursula and ill believe you.

its nice seeing filipino prince charming thats it thats all i gotta say RAHHH PHILIPPINES BABYYY 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 MY MANS GOT THAT 'PINO RIZZ OKAYYY

the plot was actually fun, but yeah I WISH WE COULDVE SEEN CASTLECOMING WE WERE ROBBED OF THAT i knew when red and chloe got the book there was like 10 minutes left in the film but cmonn we couldve had Morgie, I DONT KNOW somehow freeing the rest of the vks and them STEALING THE POCKETWATCH AND RED AND CHLOE HAVING TO GET IT BACK, GET ANOTHER 30 MINUTES IN THE FILM MAYBE, ANOTHER ACTION SEQUENCE, CASTLECOMING. but its finee im sure theres a fanfiction in the works somewhere that has that exact premise because thats what fanfic is for babyyyy

imagine. during the dance chloe and red are scrambling to find the watch, they see the vks, they find bridget crying because her best friend isnt there, she thinks ella bailed on her, they have to find the watch but, they gotta make her feel better right? red comforts her while chloe chases after them to find the watch, ella comes to the dance late after deciding, fuck my stepmom, get your hands dirty parallels, something something, the four of them all stopping the vks together, THEN they travel back.

i should just write a fix it fic for this movie at this point damnn i impressed myself

but yeah the ending does leave a lot of plot holes, if bridget didnt change from the past WHO DID, if Red even CONSIDERED a VK in this timeline? if not then WHO IS IT?? IS IT CHLOE?? its hella rushed, its ass, but i guess we'll find out in the 5th movie ig

also i thought they were totally setting it up for Ella to be the one that humiliated Bridget in the past, like the "I saw through her" in Love Ain't It we NEVER GOT ANY CLOSURE FROM THAT WHAT HAPPENED?? sighhh its okay its fine

i see this movie as a spin off movie rather than a 4th installment of the universe because it pretty much is, like its basically its OWN universe with the lack of the og cast and new characters. i unofficially coin it as the "Descendants: Redverse" because it just makes more sense

so many questions, mainly WHY, but yeah, still liked it, would rewatch. certain. parts of it. but honestly? a 7/10. leaning towards a 7.5

is this a recommendation? not sure, depending on who you are you could totally love this film or hate it, i say give it a chance and completely ignore the busted ass ending <3

anyways KENDRICKKK FANFIC WRITERSSSSSS- DROP SOME MORE CHARMINGHEARTS FANFICS/D4 FIX IT FICSSS. AND MY LIFE, IS YOURRSSSS

[trashbag-usa]

it feels like a lot of people have given up on fully connecting ISWM/Engie Mark to the wider lore (aka WKM) since IRL Mark straight up told us he wasn't Actor.

but not only am i a stubborn son of a bitch, but yknow what Mark also said?

"Engineer Mark isn't Actor Mark, but Actor Mark just might be Engineer Mark."

so hear me out, y'all.

preamble; if you saw this in a yt comment section, no you didn't. (that was also me i didnt steal this i prommy-)

i have this entirely insane theory about iswm that Engineer Mark is actually Damien, but only sometimes.

the most obvious places i can spot him is in the abandoned ship with the candles ("captain needs their sleep" and whatnot), as Old Mark (specifically in the empty diner), and most definitely as the "Mark" we see as part of the finale, the one who realizes he was wrong.

Actor is allergic to admitting fault so I Don't Believe That's Him.

this explains the thematic focus on sleep and rest in these scenes, things told to Damien and told to US by DARK several times.

("Don't remember" anyone?)

speaking of Dark, it explains why he isn't there. we DO however see the suspiciously Darkiplier-esqe Ms. Whitacre, which it isn't controversial to say atp is CLEARLY Celine.

that is, until the universe does its final kablooey and Dark as we know him, Damien attributes and all, comes to take the warp-crystal.

and besides, think about it.

given Actor's whole goal in all this, as laid out in the Damien Project, do you REALLY think he would write a story in which all problems arise from HIS OWN NEGLIGENCE? NO!

that would make him a villain, and all he ever wants is to be portrayed as the hero, literally for eternity!

but you know what i think he would do? set up a farce for the most troublesome of his "co-stars".

you, the viewer, want genuine choices? you want to have some real control over the story? some responsibility? FINE.

everyone looks to you, but under your leadership everything goes wrong, no matter what. you don't know why, but you're actively villinized and the harder you try to go back and fix things, achieve an "ending" on your own, the more people HATE you. the more the thought that maybe there IS something wrong with you specifically will stick in your mind as a possibility.

all these options, but none of them "right", creating MORE suffering instead of fixing it just to find that ever elusive end.

damien wants control of the narrative? he wants his old friend, you, the District Attorney to be released from his eternal story and given back to him? FINE.

here's his role back in earnest, given the possibility to engage and choose instead of intrude and twist like usual.

(yes, i do think Damien/Engineer is genuinely going down his own hopeless path while we find our own. in one of the descriptions leading to the final "Hold On/Let Go" confrontation, it says "you're not the only one making choices. you're not alone, you never were".)

he is allowed to fight for the safety of others, side by side with his closest companion, just as they did when they were alive.

BUT, the twist is Damien becomes a genuine villain. in his quest to do the altruistic thing and help at all cost, he is personally responsible for the death of LITERALLY EVERYONE EVER.

this is a personal hell for someone like Damien, as seen from WKM, all he ever seemed to want was help others and guide them towards peace.

for his actions/leadership to fail so unthinkably catastrophically, seems like the exact hell a bitter Actor would want to subject his "old friend" to for meddling. :/

Actor sets the stage for a theatrical punishment game. Mayor and Attorney, together again, taking an impossibly long stay in a personally crafted hell for the horrendous crime of ever even thinking they'd be worthy of ✨️staring roles✨️.

Actor turns you two against each other, and once Damien is brough down to the depths of despair and you have finally learned that true responsibility can lead to catastrophic, painful results, we're brought back to our proper places.

you go to a proper ending, with the Engineer role now being played by Actor once and for all, and Damien once again becomes part of Darkiplier, pocketing the warp-crystal to plant on the box in Heist.

Engineer isn't Actor, it's a role he plays when it suits him and his goals, to make his enemies suffer. he's willing to be Damien's understudy, if only for this purpose.

but at the end of the journey, Actor becomes Engineer to take in the fruits of his labor. ..and maybe invite you to a Heist while he's at it.

BUT HEY, THAT'S JUST A

very long winded """theory""" that is pretty much only insane fanfiction-

[violenciorp]

What if...? The Super Soldier Serum doesn't work and Steve doesn't become Captain America?

There is a 'What if…?' inspired (?) game ("""immersive story""") on the apple vision now. I have not played it (who the hell would buy an apple vision lmao) but I watched some lets plays (on youtube) and while I don't think the full experience is…. all that great, it does look very nice, seems congruent (canon-compliant?) with everything else from the What if...? show, AND there is a Steve plotline featuring Bucky, Hydra, Red Guardian and kinda Red Skull that has some interesting plot points that I feel are interesting both as character studies or as AU starting points, so I'll summarise and provide some badly screenshoted pictures as evidence 🥲 I'll put this under the read more just in case soemoen here does have 3.5k for useless equipment and wants to experience the 'game' themselves.

Basic set up of the little interactive experience/game; You get recruited by the Watcher to collect all infinity stones for… reasons, and to do that, you get zapped around different multiverses. To collect the power stone (purple), you get put into Siberia, where you learn the following: During the second World War, the allied forces tried to create a supersoldier to put a stop to the Nazis/Hydra -- just as they did in our universe

Unforunately, though, shit goes wrong, the serum doesn't work, and the machines explode, so that Steve doesn't become the hunk of a man we know and love but… well, red skull.

Don't get me wrong, he's still a good guy, but, in his own words: 'The allied forces had an ideal vision of a super soldier -- and that wasn't me.'

They basically didnt use them as propaganda because he's uggo now, lmao. Without touring as a motivational piece doing little shows, though, he also never really becomes Captain America.

And without a force to put their bundled hopes in, the allied forces fall apart, and Hydra wins (!) without a super soldier to stop them.

The timeline gets more fuzzy now, it is not clear to me if some/most/all of the events are meant to be happening at around WW2 time, or much later. 'Siberia 1988' was thrown around, but I'm honestly not sure if it's meant to be the date, or just some reference. However, one character shows up significantly aged at the end of the show, so it actually might be 1988, implying that Hydra did rule most of Europe (?) for 30-40 years. Either way, Hydra does start creating Super Soldiers using the purple Infinity Stone, the Power Stone. Steve, either on a solo-mission or sent by Shield (unclear), goes to Siberia to retrieve the stone, that is guarded by Red Guardian. Red Guardian refuses to give the stone to Steve, as 'the powers of the stone make monsters out of men', using it is "nothing to be proud of" and 'you don't look like scientist. you don't sound like scientist… well, uh… no, you have skull for face' (literal quote, lmao, love it), so they fight.

Steve looses the fight, BUT --- sees Bucky in one of the tanks, before he has to flee the scene, as he is just about to get his ass whooped.

Wanting to save his friend, Steve now helps you to collect all the stones, yadda yadda, intergalactic multiverse bullshit happens, blabla, i dont care. Once you do collect all the other infinity stones with some other marvel characters, there is a bit of a twist, a big showdown, and then you have two choices: Either, you give each hero the stone that they were after, or you "do the right thing" and destroy the stones.

If you go for the good ending and destroy the stone, Steve goes back to his universe. Without the stone being there to create all these Super Soldiers for Hydra Steve and Red Guardian team up to free Winter Soldier Bucky.

and together they form a 'nation-less alliance of superheros' to fight some bad guys which the red guardian calls the… musketeers.

[[It is unclear to me where Steve got a shield, considering that he absolutely didn't have one up to this point. I also wonder if 'nation-less' means that Steve rejects being an American here? Red Guardian not being American makes sense, Bucky not easily being allowed to return also makes sense with all the war crimes he committed, but I do like the idea of Steve doing the right thing here leads him to be a lot less patriotic than in our canon.]]

However: If you do give Steve the infinity stone, he brings it to SHIELD ---- which seems to be represented by the aged What if? model of Howard Stark from the second season of the show, making me believe that it might in fact be playing in 1988 --- which does lead the US to win the war against HYDRA, but also "unleashes the super soldier threat back home" with there being hundreds of supersoldier chambers being shown.

I'm assuming the implication is that shield = hydra or maybe just super soldiers = bad no matter where they are? Interestingly, there is no more mention of Bucky in this ending, so I guess Steve was too busy acquiring world domination or something to still care about him. Considering that Howard is his old-model here, this does imply that Steve only retrieves the power stone by the late 80's. Not sure what he has been up to for the 40 years until then -- was he also somewhere frozen? Do red-skull-supersoldiers just not age? --- but it does imply that Hydra was (openly!) in control of at least most of Central Europe for this entire time period, before the US finally had a chance to beat them.

They are definitly using the same models/assets as in the TV show, so I do wonder if we will see some of these elements in the next season, too, considering they already announced an episode featuring Bucky and Red Guardian. Overall, while I feel like it doesn't really fulfill the criteria of a good interactive game/experience, I found this plot line quite interesting, and having the serum fail Steve, and he therefore nor being the Golden Boy and rejected by the allied forces, plus the potential 40-year long rule of Hydra are super intriguing to me. Bucky and Red Guardian also not being created by the serum, but by the powers of the infinity stone also seem like an interesting starting point for some musings, AUs and fics. I also wonder what Hydra had been doing with Bucky for those 40 years for Steve not having known/heard about him in the mean time. Ie. if someone writes fanfic based on this, please send it to me haha. Or TL; DR: It's basically a "What if Steve was ugly?" (in the words of @tinaxpow )

[eddiegettingshot]

okay. mourning s1-s4 tim minear anon here. just finished my season 3 rewatch and ohhhhh boy oh boy. honestly I could write so much about that finale alone because s6 and s7 have made me forget what a good finale can be (athough I will say that the s3 finale has me thinking a wholeeee bunch of insane things about the s7 finale like buddie things and how the writing choices are were insane (complementary) that I will not elaborate on here because Im already rambling too much about how good s3 is). but genuinely all the character arcs were SO GOOD this season its insane. athena (hate the copaganda here but the general emotional journey with athena and athena/may): establishing what being a cop means to her -> showing that not even the murder of her fiance could sway her from policing and finally arresting the man that did it -> experiencing something traumatic first hand that makes her question her ability to do the job again. and then may: hating what her mom does, going as far as to write her college essay about it, then insisting on taking the pictures with her mom for prom despite her injuries from policing/not being ashamed of her. and also appreciating it to the point of also wanting to help people but as an acab truther pursuing a different way of doing it (911 operator. also imagine they made may a cop thank god that didnt happen lmao). michaels feeling of loneliness and isolation leading up to his diagnosis, then ending the season by meeting his endgame and knowing he gets to live. buck starting the season being insecure about losing his place with the 118 and being the person left behind again and ending the season confronting the last person who left him + feeling secure in his relationships with the 118. bobby's refusal to let buck do anything at the beginning of the season due to his injury + general recklessness vs doing buck's suggested rescue to save both victims. both the henren IVF/fostering arc AND the hen arc were great and thank god because the henren of it all was seriously lacking before this season. but hitting the girl with the ambulance -> reconnecting with her first rescue -> introducing her issues with Drs and their ability to listen and help patients to their full ability -> pursuing med school SO GOOD. and remember when madney used to get character arcs UGHH soooo good. developing chim + his mom/albert/his dad more. having maddie actually confront what happened with doug via therapy (btw maddie stalker plot good example of how to do an insane storyline well!!). this leading into the love confession and also the conclusion/start to the pregnancy arc they set up in !!! episode 1 !!! them not just dropping the josh arc completely after the heist trauma he suffered and seeing it through to a satisfying conclusion. and like I do have one nitpick in hindsight like the eddie arc was so good up until he got caught in the fighting ring and he cried about the divorce and then it was just never brought up again in favour of doing the mini chris stories in 3x10/3x12/3x15. like you literally had a chance to address and conclude eddie's mourning shannon arc in eddie begins or the episodes surrounding that and just didnt LMAO idk maybe they had plans and it got scrapped for the buck/red/abby arc because connie agreed to come back because really it was the only thing that did not feel concluded relative to literally every other character arc this season. anyways where is this tim. TIM WAKE UP!!! come back and give your characters arcs!!! one thing that is super obvious from rewatching the early seasons is there is still SO MUCH interesting stuff to explore with these characters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am begging please give eddie a story with a satisfactory conclusion please give maddie and chim stories please stop torturing hen and karen via fostering/adoption please conclude a buck plot in satisfactory fashion please have bobby and athena explore his past properly please make ravi a main

ohhhh my god THIS MADE ME MOURN S3 TOO 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 what the fuck COME BACK TIM 😭😭😭😭😭 i want him BACK 😭😭😭😭😭

[zeravmeta]

Thoughts on RvB Restoration Finale

not really that long just my 2 cents

I wanna say I liked the movie because I did enjoy myself watching it, but honestly I'm very much gonna stick to the RvB17 open ended finale

Overall the movie was... ok? It wasn't unwatchably bad the way RvB Zero was but it also just made a lot of choices that I disagree with fundamentally both with the writing and the core themes of the series as a whole. I've had this take ever since RvB14 on the fanbase and the writers but this movie flat out says it:

The writers are fucking unable to let go of PFL and Chorus in a meaningful way.

For a series thats core message is about saying goodbye, they literally dont let that part of the show die. They are functionally unable to let go of the past peaks of the franchise and write something new. And I get it: RvB fundamentally cycles with its storytelling, but what was so refreshing to me about RvB14-17 was that it actually progressed itself Past those peaks of RvB10 and 11-13 (and honestly people REALLY dont appreciate the good in those later seasons). It felt like a natural (if wacky) progression, and it definitely wasnt perfect but it gave the extended cast more opportunities to shine in ways we didnt appreciate before

This movie just doesnt do that? Honestly the fact that they KILLED Sarge and Doc was so... disrespectful to me? Like not in the sense that it was as bad as how RvB Zero (fake) killed Tucker, but more like it felt like the writers killed them off because they were following a book titled "How To Write Story" and saw 'killing off characters is good writing'. Sarge got a dramatic send off that also didnt feel that impactful? And I did see it coming from the start but having Doc be Washs' guilt haunting him just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Its a really self contained story, a whole bunch of characters outside the main 3 reds and Caboose felt ooc, a good chunk of characters dont even show up (dude where was DONUT??? youre telling me he only has 5 seconds in Simmons' mind in a cheerleading costume?), it was composed of like 3-4 sets total, Carolina, Tex and 479er all just kind of Show Up to be badasses in the way The New Person would show up in an MCU movie...

Honestly watching this movie I kind of felt like it would have a twist ending. Like the credits would play and then itd zoom out to show the Reds and Blues post S17 in a movie theater watching this dramatic finale, because thats honestly what it felt like: The whole movie was a cheap facsimile of RvB as a whole. The fact that Trocadero wasn't allowed/signed on to make the music for this finale really does influence this movie, since they used a whole bunch of songs and osts that felt out of place (though I will admit Vale Deah softly playing as Grimmons said goodbye to each other did make me choke up a little)

Despite my negative review, I do still recommend watching it, since there was stuff I did like: Simmons in a leader role, Tex and the fun reveal during her fight with Tucker-Meta, Grif FINALLY getting to retire, Caboose as a whole was really well written, there IS good in this movie! And again it's not unwatchable bad, it just... kind of leaves a somber, sour taste in my mouth. This movie threw a whole bunch of stuff to the wall not to see what would stick but to break it all and leave for the insurance money. Just a "hey since we're sinking might as well make all these callbacks and break a bunch of stuff along the way."

Welp. Goodbye, RvB. At least this way I know that RT dies without riding your coattails any longer. And hey given that RvB technically has 3 endings (RvB17, Zero and RvB19) you can just take your pick on what you like best anyways. Quick edit no jutsu I forgor to mention there is the sequence at the beginning of the movie where it is implied RvB19 COULD also be one of the simulations in and of itself so. yeah you can in fact just take it as you will

[darkdemeter]

Dem Hi! I'm back with a bit of an unhinged ask here:

Im sure this doodle gives you an idea where this is going. I was just making myself some tea, and I was thinking about Lovers In Eden (i was going to listen to a song called Eastward of Eden by Amelia Day,hence the association). And Since I am a film student, a writer and i took script classes as my subject las trimester, i offer you this unhinged recap of my conspiracy theory. So LIE (Lover in Eden) introduces us to the idea that Strife killed Y/N after a bloodlust outburst,right? Well, at first i didnt think too much of it, but then the chapter ends with the four on earth, which felt a little disembodied from the prologue. Which brings me to the hipothesis which is: Strife's lover is on earth,reborn without their memories. My proof for this theory is this: 1) We know that in the darksiders universe there is such thing as a well of souls, we know they go through the kingdom of the dead to repent and then be reborn through the well. 2) you wouldntve put the line "Love slayer" if it wasnt relevant to the plot. (Writing often times includes phrasing things a certain way to hint at other things). 3) Why would you close the chapter where you did? What relevance does the fact that the four are now on earth have? Simple, Strife will find a reborn,survivor Y/N and will fall in love with them (and have a crisis once he realizes its a whole like soulmates finding eachother again situation) 4) and last (which came to me as i wrote this) if you were to center the story only on Strife and the reader without the reader being reborn, you wouldve just started it from the medieval age/wherever strife met the reader and not end with the four on earth. Of course dont gotta tell me if im right,dont want to spoil the whole fic anyways. But I felt the need to share this with you. (I genuienly felt like the pepe silvia meme). And yeah, one offshoot of all this is that maybe the reader isnt a reborn soulmate, and that the prologue could just set up this inherit guilt and fear towards love that Strife has. Until we get the next chapter, i lay in wait...scheming/lhj/hj Have a nice rest of your day and i hope you've enjoyed my unhinged ramble. -Jer. PD: i feel so silly for sending this whole thing but as a fellow writer i know theres nothing we love more than ppl theorizing about our stuff. So here you go. I hope it doest read as overbearing,i just genuienly love your stuff.

First off, I love your pepe doodle! It’s so perfect. In fact I find it so funny that I made this a little bit ago myself... (As much as I'd love to rant and such about my AUs' lore and headcanons, I made this for shits and gigs)

I absolutely adore hearing theories readers have about my fics. (Sorry this has taken FOR-EV-ER to respond to, I'm terrible with replying at times)

I also fucking LOVE that you're a film student, I think that makes this whole theory situation even better because I do tend to have a very movie-esque thought process when writing. (Blooper reel and BTS footage rent free in my head)

And I think I've got the mind stewing a bit with that recent post, Flowers From My Lover. Without hopefully giving away anything, you do have some valid and interesting points in your theories and has me going, "Oh Jer is good little detective." You get a cookie for your theory skills!

There are indeed certain key details and clues I put in on purpose and it's so interesting to see what readers pick up on. And yes, the well of souls is involved to some extent in this plotline, but not in the way you might think...

I also find your choice of the word "reborn" interesting. Very obviously and right out the gates, I will say that yes, reader is alive in this story. But it's the manner in which reader's alive and again, the reborn theory is interesting and again, possibly not in a way you're expecting. Though it seems rather simple, I will tease that there is... quite a bit more to it than what's at face value.

And I wanna tease this little clue too because it is one of my favourites: It's interesting how the fic's title has a double meaning in plain sight...

[sugar-omi]

What if there was like this ending where we could elope with Baxter because like his entire outfit when we were planning the wedding is purple and just screams "Speak Now" by Taylor Swift. It's been like on my mind for the past few days. I love Cove with all my heart I promise but Baxter just makes my heart beat in a different way than Cove does. Could you like write this maybe?? Or just rant about it, Idm <3

omg i almost rewrote this bc it wasnt at the top of my drafts n i thought i lost it pls i almost lost my mind anyway i wont lie its more proposing less wedding but :,) i hope its ok tysm for the rq anon<333

tags : fluff, (after) step 4, eloping

synopsis : you propose to baxter and elope

I think baxter would be a bit sad to not have a full blown wedding, but I also think he's just happy n surprised to be marrying anyway LOL

I imagine he'd even be the one to propose it first, especially if he knows you don't want a wedding event.

but first I wanna talk abt the proposal...

you've woken up a bit earlier than baxter.

even though he says he's become tolerant of morning for his job, once his days off hit he's back to the same stumbling baxter you first saw.

so while your darling Victorian-emo man is sleeping in, you're up bustling around the kitchen preparing breakfast.

it's an assortment of croissants, fruit, oatmeal, eggs, and waffles.

it's simple in reality, since most of these things are store bought or like how the croissants are a messy craft you and baxter somehow didnt turn into an atomic bomb.

considering you two have the cooking skills of a racoon who cant reach the stove.

you've made bread with your ma before, so it turned out excellent.

only because you did most the work and baxter was your pretty assistant.

but you couldn't tell with how nicely things are plated up and prepared.

putting all the plates on the tray and carefully balancing it so as not to spill the contents, you start walking to your shared bedroom.

you're meet with a sleepy baxter, rubbing his eyes and his hair is sticking up on one side.

he's so cute..

he blinks and smiles, turning his body towards you. "there you are.. oh. what do we have here?" baxter raises an inquisitive brow and steals the mug of coffee once you set down the tray.

you're nervous, he doesn't even see the ringbox yet and you can't decide if it's a miracle or cruelty against your poor heart.

smiling at the sight of baxter and willing your voice to come out strong, you present your gifts.

"here we have a mug of black coffee, just how you like it."

baxter hums into the cup, joking with you. "I suppose it'll do."

you laugh and continue your presentation. "next are some waffles with a side of eggs, sunny side up, only laid by the best chickens. and here is an assortment of the finest fruit, picked by yours truly from the loveliest grocery store."

baxter doesn't even try to stiffle his laughter, snorting at your best snobby waiter voice.

"and what else is there?"

"well here we have an engagement ring, and finally some croissants with your pick of jam, peanut butter, or perhaps you'd like me to make a sandwich out of it, my good sir?"

baxter laughs, his head tossed back and holding tightly onto his coffee so he doesn't spill it on the sheets.

he's still laughing a bit as he comes down and he chooses from his platter. "I'll have the ring-" baxter wipes his tears of laughter.

"wonderful choice, sir." you pop open the ring box.

baxter let's out a small "wait-!" suddenly realizing what you just said.

you laugh, more out of nerves than anything. "baxter... I uh, well I have a lot I could say and I can't really decide what to say even then so.."

you pick up the box and present it to him.

"I love you, and I wanna be with you forever so baxter.. will you marry me?"

suddenly baxter is very awake, and he's staring at the black band with wide eyes. the single diamond in the middle of the silver strip is blinking back at him and before he realizes it he's crying.

baxter, still aware that there's a tray of food between you, moves it to the side and throws his arms around you.

when you decide to elope, wanting to forgo the whole wedding planning, it's still beautiful

you and baxter go shopping and pick out some clothes together.

he definitely insists on matching color schemes, so you end up going for a plum and black palette

baxter in his nice plum purple shirt n a black vest <3333

you have xavier as (one) of your witnesses and they take lot of pictures. all of them aren't great because they're definitely teary eyed and wiping away a few tears watching you get married because you've become such good friends.

please indulge him a bit and have a "reception"

it's really just baxter dressing up your house nicely and having all your friends and family over for a nice dinner

he'd just be bouncing around the house, hanging lights and confetti and there's a nice 2 tiered cake xavier made and its still very lovely and intimate

he's just so happy to be married to you, he loves you so much <3

[maxinethevampirequeen]

LIS DE left me feeling weird? SPOILERS!!!

so i just finished the new life is strange game and wooo its defo the weakest in the series there will be spoilers in this so idk read if you wanna i just need to get this off my chest somewhere (also sorry in advance if stuff does not make sense this is just for me lol)

so the game opened really well i think the first 2 chapters that i got to play like 2 weeks ago because of the early access did get me hooked and i was really interested in who killed safi but that almost instantly lost its spark around the end of chapter 3 i think

safi being revealed to have powers is cool i think but i dont like how it kinda completely drops the murder plot for this weird revenge story for a character i hardly know thats been dead way before the game starts???

like cool i guess i care about safi so i want to help thats fine but how we never really get and answer for why max shot safi the first time idk if i missed it or whatever and how the detective guy was just kinda use as a fake threat to set up max to be scared of touching the other version of herself which instantly dosent matter because they fall and grab each other??? like why did he even have to die then also the fact that your choice to save him or let go does nothing he dies either way

and dont even get me started on how chloe is just teased through out the ENTIRE FUCKING GAME and then just fucking used as sequel bait!!!!! i really really like some parts of the game but i also really really dislike a lot of the parts

its not that i dont think the game is worth playing i think its okay but like ughhh it feels like the game was writen by a person who didnt play any other life is strange games and does not know anything about any of the characters

if this game was just a shitty sequel to life is strange 1 where we do gay shit with chloe i will admit i would have gobbled that shit up no matter how shitty the writing as long as the characters feel like the characters they were in the first game

i know max is older but god she does not seem like max at all its like we are playing a shell of max and the only thing that ties her to the old max is the very rare reminders of chloe and then they have the AUDACITY to have chloe text you at the end of the game!!!

like they know how much these characters mean to people and it just feels so fucking weird to not have the interact at all! they even have this thing half way through the game where max almost calls chloe! its like they were writing the game and were like

"this shit sucks lets dangle hope of a chloe interaction so they keep playing" because i think it really falls apart around the end i was really just waiting for it to end around half way through chapter 5

i really think the game is pretty and like a step up from the older games (obv its like 10 years newer lol) i really dont wanna sound like just a hater because i did enjoy most of my time with the game and as much as i wish it had been someone else and not max

i'm glad she's back because she is my favorite lis character! sorry for all the ramble i just needed to get this all off my chest i did like most of the game and i'm still interested in seeing where the story goes since "max will return" or whatever it said at the end

i wouldnt say i'm excited for the next game but i'm still interested but i think thats just coming from the fact that i will gobble up anything called life is strange also don't nod's newest game looks cool i'm excited for that too anyways peace out and sorry for the ramble!

also i wanna add i did not care for safi at all in the game i dont know why but she was the only character the game couldn't make me care about

This is all a thread i did on twitter where i just wrote what i felt without really thinking so if it doesn't make sense that's why lol

[lets-jam]

1, 7, 16

im gonna do this for 2077, tho if anyone else does one feel free to specify a fandom

1 - the character everyone gets wrong

hmmm a tie for me between alt and goro takemura. alt ranges from like a generic 'good woman' to the far more common evil manipulative bitch which like. id be more upset about but given we get NOTHINGGGGGGG in terms of content for her about her like i cant get TOOO mad... I GUESS. i just certainly think shas far more multifaceted or SHOULD be far more multifaceted than.... whatever the hell we got. like i think theres something interesting with her setup being like 'sharp netrunner who got hired to make something she probably very well knew was... designed to kill people and could and would be used to kill people, who had her 'curiosity take over' (some fact i heard somewhere) but then also chickened out n tried to stop it last minute, and ultimately was one of the first subjects it was used on killing her body and forever changing her entire being, being forced to survive in a cuthroat alien world of no human basis despite still 'thinking' like a human, being even more forever changed by that and like kinda playing with this idea that yeah it is unfortunate that like traumatic shit not of our choosing can like irreparably change us not for the better, and that we can have dignity/human-ness given back to us by being treated as such even if its alien to her now. course like then its... id prefer her story not being so weirdly tied to johnnys as like a girl he happened to be fucking because... she was there i guess. and thats our only like reference point for her. which is all to say she has the potential you know? and alot of people dont... get that imo. for a cyberpunk setting shes really interesting case of how/what gets treated as a human and what we do when we dont have that treatment/what we do when we're given it back smthn smthn at what point does a self end (with memories? with how we're perceived by others? etc etc) but of course we didnt get to deal with any of that cause the game refuses to even ask these questions about johnny in any real fun exploratory way. and shes only in the game cause johnny fucked her and accidentally killed her... so yeah. and then GORO god this is mostly just me beefing with all the fucking idiots horny for this guy and like he gets fics n posts made about him how he would 'abandon arasaka for youuuuuu 😚😚😚' no he wouldnt! you are literally peon trash to him! he was chosen by a god emperor and elevated in his mind! he straight up believes capitalistic order is fine cause who cares doesnt affect him anymore and its a necesarry thing! which i like! hes completely head over heels for his corporation like a true 'samurai' ie serving a lord above everything else, even 'warrior code' if that ever mattered to him. hes been deepthroating the boot for years n loves the taste! he has never once thought in his life that you were his equal, and he has never once thought of you as a friend he sees you as a true means to an end full stop! hes not some secretly good bushido samurai man! which like more people should run with! if he was given a choice between arasaka and your life he would choose arasaka 10 times over like, hes terrible and i like that, everyone else seems to not.

7 - what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

fandom antics have really made me dislike this one complete side character like this person has like 2 lines but caused such fights in the fandom that im like i guess this is real to you. some gay guy and some woman fought over this side characters sexuality and one like made some weird kin claim to posting edits of him and like!!!! sometimes i have to remember people are unwell. it was fun for a time to watch ppl bitch about that for a while n see all the vague posting that or goro for reasons stated above

16 - you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

lmao sex god johnny silverhand. and related to that johnnys hologram being able to physically interact with v outside their body... ppl took like some 'its there for the cinema' stuff where he shoves v and like grabs their hands and ran with it now we have hard light hologram sex everywhere... even tho ppl shouldve just gotten freaky with it and had them like possession mutually masturbating using vs body like them as a single...being, cause again vs body is the only real thing in this equation and id like abit more realism if im going into some silverv smut, but those are few and far between the hologram sex featuring hologram cum and hologram fingering it just bugs me casue like the draw for me at least is they cant interact like normal separate people, nor can they 'feel' as in feel things like normal separate people, nor ARE they normal separate people like their whole setup is weird, they are literally the same person!!!! and i hate it when people dont get weird n creative in those paramaters with what we're given. esp when johnny flat out says 'masturbation is the only way for us to have sex' too. plus i love the draw of not being able to love or live or interact like you want to... famously i love a 'love' that cant be for whatever reason, despite it being there real girl what were you doing at the devils sacrement self report but it did bug me

[mellowgoop]

bnha 425 spoilers//// ROBO-JACK

two years. two years I waited to see what the heck was going to happen with this. bnha is just so stupidly inconsistent that I didnt know if she would be healed in a flash, or maybe it would regrow, or maybe shed always just have one ear.

its was always my one major hangup about the fight, that it seemed so stupid to lose half her eficiency for her entire life of recon over this. it felt like an unfair reduction of her power, that one blast against AFO was worth more than her whole future as a hero (sonar support is a way way more powerful use of her quirk than sonic damage in my opinion even if its less flashy)

I always figured Horikoshi just wanted to redesign her and liked the visual of this injury as a horror author (i remember seeing people post on Tumblr yeah, homegirl just took the most violating injury in the series fuck you man) but had no idea what the redesign Was. A few times he drew a pretty clearly one-jack design (like the back cover of volume 37 right?) so I resigned to that

but this is... a great recovery. no, im not happy he maimed my blorbo for this. three people see in the hospital after the battle are the main three dudes.. and the other injuries were only, I swear to god, stupid fucking endeavor/hawks... and then goddam jiro and miriko. why would you go THAT FAR down the relevance list to injure them? no hero deaths and yet two random women characters were gored up... its obvious to everyone he just finds women in pain beautiful

setting the meta layer aside... having grown alongside this battle for 2 years, i appreciate it. in a war full of everyheroes, jiro was THE everyhero, the run of the mill somebody.that haunted afo worst. she was willing to stake everything to mess with him, and it worked, and it definitely served as one of the biggest surprises in the series. tokoyami was made for the frontlines with his quirk, and there was no surprise about him aiding hawks. but jiro was a HUGE trick and frankly, in-universe, I do think tokoyami and jiro were portrayed authentically. even if shes best as support, she can make those tough decisions and, as evidenced by the fight, has the nerve to pull it off. shes also among the smallest in 1-A, and had the perfect quirk for hands free aerial combat! they did a great job and were surprise standouts of the stupidly long and side-chara-loaded last arc

so then... "you knew what you were signing up for." "im glad the demon king didnt take more." jiro had to be one of the only people to pay for her heroics. does that fit her? it's not like home girl has a lot going on, her arc is just like.. I care about my friends. but she does have the theme of thriving through amplifying your powers with technology.

its part of why momojiro is so great! any tech they can imagine, they can make. since the very first fights momo has been able to arm her, and she's been utilizing tech like the boot speakers and ultimately those mobile plug-in attack boosers. i quite like that probably her ultimate skill in sonar used nothing but her jacks and listening skills, but you cant deny shes always synergized with tech and equiptment more than most characters.

so.. ending off her story as someone who has hearing loss and relies on an aid is pretty powerful. this robot jack might be even more useful than her flash jack was, who knows. It can probably be modified while still connecting to her body systems! she may even be able to listen at a superhuman level. it's surprising that I never saw it coming after all this time because it fits great, and I think she's going to have a great future using it.

I'm shocked honestly. this was a truly inspired choice and it opens up the floodgates to a whole world of new techniques and opportunities that she can only have as somebody biologically connected to assistive technology, sort of an ultimate form that she arrived at through unfortunate means. I truly hope this resonates with some people in similar situations, even if real life doesn't always provide those silver linings.

[sjullay]

Why the Film Adaptation of Red White and Royal Blue Missed the Mark

By Sera B

*This is my word vomit response essay to the movie and I didnt go back and edit it so sorry for any typos or grammar issues

** I use the word queer a lot, it is a word I believe is reclaimed and it is one I use to refer to myself 

As an avid lover of Casey McQuiston's work, I was excited when I heard their 2019 novel Red White and Royal Blue was being made into a film. As a queer person, I have loved the author’s contributions to LGBT+ storytelling for both YA and romance readers. Their writing brings light and joy to queer stories while making me as a reader feel seen and understood. 

So I will briefly start with what the movie did well.

All of the important scenes were there… The kiss, the turkey, the lake, the museum, etc. The movie gave us a line drawing of the plot while the book gave us the statue of David. The casting of Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine as Alex and Henry was in my opinion and fantastic choice. These two clearly understood their characters, had fantastic chemistry with one another, and showed amazing emotion throughout their acting. They were so gentle with each other and you could feel the love between Henry and Alex even with the pitfalls of the plot. Secondly, the physical intimacy was fun, and sexy, and fairly accurate. You would not believe the number of times I have yelled at my tv screen because a queer couple in a show is having sex in a position that doesn't make any sense for queer sex. Additionally, there were a few fun details that brought a smile to my face. Most notably the British Prime Minister is portrayed by a black woman, and the choice to bring on gay icon Stephen Fry as the King of England (instead of the Queen of England as written in the book. 

So let's get on with what was wrong with the movie (and sadly it was quite a lot).

The compression of the plot

As I began the film I immediately noticed that the pacing felt jump and off-putting. While I understand the time constraints of a movie over a book, the choices the filmmakers made left little room for the audience to get to know these characters. The scene transitions felt like jump cuts from one important scene to the next with little care for the impact or the arch of the story.

The Romance 

Where were my details?

The biggest heartbreak for me in watching this movie was the complete eradication of details that made these men who they are. I fell in love with Henry and Alex reading about two dorks with big hearts who helped figure each other out through grief, and bravery, and political climates, and family dysfunction. They are thoughtful and funny and talk like I do and the details are what made them interesting and real. 

Star Wars

I know this may have been a licensing issue but still… To me, the Star Wars scene in the Hospital is the first time Alex as well as the readers get to see Henry. We see that he doesn’t know that he is brave and that he really does believe that anyone can be a hero. Later in the emails Star Wars becomes a cute joke between our romantic leads and shows a story that to some level reflects their own. A princess who is being told her role but finds that she is in control and she is powerful falling in love with a rouge bandit just trying to find his way in the world. This reference also shows that Henry’s taste is relatable and not just the pompous posh of the royal family. In the end, the mural of Henry and Alex as Lea and Han is a symbol of hope, rebellion, and queer liberation. 

Texts, Emails, and the first Phone Call

While the movie did well the first texts, building from teasing quips in response to tabloid articles slowly into longer friendship building conversation. But as it progressed they stopped including the body of most of the emails sent between the two. The few they included were included as seemingly phone conversations but were instead filmed as in person conversations. Setting a confusing tone to the scenes from the start. Then the turkey call was short and was not the first time they had called. The main subjects of this call and how it was the first time they really started to know each other were also brushed passed for the comedy of their being a turkey in Alex’s room. Alex slowly falling and not really realizing it is instead replaced by a series of fast surface level texts and calls that simply establish that they don't hate each other anymore.  The feeling you get as a reader of enemies falling into friendship falling into a situationship then falling in love is almost completely lost. 

History Huh?

One detail of the book that may have seemed small to many but made my heart sing was the post scripts on each email. The historically queer quotes gave context to their love story and showed readers how we really have always been here and queer. The movie omitted not only those but all historical context as to why this love story is important. The museum scene is important not just because it's a safe place for Henry but because he gets to come here and learn! Learn that there was a gay king of England who openly expressed his love. And that the art that was gifted out of that queer relationship was one of the few things freely given to the British monarchy, not just in their museums as an unjust product of colonialism and violence. 

Additionally, the museum scene was changed to have Alex offer to dance which to me felt a bit off because that made it so the romance never really came from Henry. (This is a whole other rant but it felt like they just wanted to put Henry in the role of a woman instead of honoring the differing gender dynamics in queer relationships)

Then the song that plays both here and later during the piano scene is not Your Song by the gay icon Elton John. To me, Your Song was perfect here as it gave Henry an outlet to express his true feelings and implied hope for a future where they could tell everybody (this is their song ;)). 

Henry’s Charity Work

Henry in this story also seemed to not do anything. He was the prince, he attended events and meetings, and he knows how to play polo and piano. Thats it. We got nothing about what he thinks, what he likes to do, or who he is when he is just Henry Fox and not Prince of Britain. As said above we don't know he likes Star Wars, or that his fact sheet was written for him to make him sound better to the crown. We don't know he devotes his time to working with Pez to create charities and give as much of his royal family money away as he is allowed. We don't know his love for music, that he shares with Bee. We don’t know his love for art and history and queer stories. While the movie says it is showing us Henry Fox (the boy brave enough to be gay I guess). It really only shows us one dimensional Henry who is scared of what his family and the world will think. 

Why were other characters even included?

With the obvious start to the movie showing us the lack of integral characters such as June and Rapheal Luna I thought well at least we will get the fun, joyful dynamics of Nora, Pex, and Bee with our iconic star crossed political figures. Sadly this was not the case. With the most screen time, Nora became a soundboard for whenever Alex needed to say something out loud to someone who wasn't Henry, Her role otherwise was superficial, silent, and really almost nonexistent. Even more, hidden away was the best friend to his royal heartiness Pez! Pez had one line in the entire movie and immediately became the prop to the already prop character Nora. This was especially shocking to me as it tokenized both of these black characters both of whom get rich interesting personalities and lives within McQuiston's world. Lastly, Bee. In the book, her character serves as a primary companion to Henry and as another example of how the British royal family has failed these young people. In the film, her backstory and dynamic with Henry was completely erased and she served a very similar purpose to Nora, a sounding board for the few times Henry wasn't talking to Alex. She again felt like a beautiful character that became a flat prop waiting to be picked up only when she is deemed useful enough.

Henry’s Mom and Dad

The lack of parental influence on Henry's story may feel appropriate based on how the royal family really has failed him in both the book and the movie the eradication of the story of his parents further robs Henry of his own emotional depth. While the film does acknowledge the death of Henry's dad it is only to explain why he was a prick to Alex one time. In the book, we are able to see the weight Henry carries and how he goes through grieving periods and depression because of the traumatic loss of his father. His father was the person who understood him and helped keep him and Bee out from under the intense judgment of the crown. Additionally not having Henry's father included means his mother isn't as well. Her grief is a mirror of Henry’s and (in the book) we see her getting braver as a reaction to Henry’s strength and bravery. It shows a story of a mother who got lost in herself and was still able to find her way back and fight for her children. She is the carrier of change for the royal standard.

The 2016 and 2020 Elections 

While the Red White and Royal Blue movie still technically included an election, the context for why this election was important was completely omitted. Casey McQuiston's book was written as a direct response to the 2016 election and imagined a kinder world in which instead of Trump we had the first female president of the united states. The speeches in the book direct acknowledge the hate that has been so prevalent in recent years and how all people still deserve a voice at the table. By disregarding this context the urgency and heart of the movie fell flat again. Instead of a corrupt politician working to out Alex to ruin his mother's campaign the film had a petty gay journalist who used Alex to get his five minutes of fame. Not only does this feel homophobic but the catty nature of the articles and interview portrayed makes the entire plot point of Alex and Henry being outed to the world feel flippant. The film completely lost the weight of these two boys being maliciously outed to the entire world without their consent. 

In the End

My biggest question at the end of this movie is why don't we get to see the crowd? If I had not read the book I think I would have been left wondering who the crowd was and why are they important past just being people to simply see Henry and Alex go onto the balcony? In the book, these crowds are reported to be not just all over England but all over the world. They are crowds with signs and shirts and flags and rainbows. They are the diversity of the world showing up for these young men who are like them. The lack of these images also made me further miss many of the missing details I discussed above (Amy’s queer and transness, Han and Leia mural, history huh shirts, etc).

While I really wanted to love this film as much as I love its source material I really felt that the movie completely missed the heart of Alex and Henry’s story. Without the context of their detailed interactions, their relationships with others, and their place within our world the story fell flat. I didn't know what message I was supposed to get besides just the basic being gay isn't shameful. And if the point wasn't a message and was just a love story then I really wanted to feel their love. I am not saying the book was perfect but I personally loved it and wish the movie had carried its same soul. 

I know there is lots more than I put in this post and please feel free to discuss! 

Thanks for letting me word vomit my feelings out :)