#directors commentary or w/e lol

[cerealmonster15]

Home Is Where My Heart Is [JamiAzu]

Summary: Jamil goes on a two week travel vacation, and Azul looks after his apartment, and his pet parrot, while he's away.

[link to Ao3]

“Oh, are you  sure  you’re warm enough in just that coat?” Azul asked for what was probably the fifth time since they’d left Jamil’s apartment. 

“My answer’s the same as it was when we first got in the car, Azul.”

“I know you say that now, but you’re still a human! You’ve got far less tolerance for the cold compared to a merman like me, and even more so with you since you’re from such a warmer climate,” Azul fussed, as if any of that was new information to Jamil. “Here, take my scarf,” he insisted, removing the white cashmere scarf from his neck and wrapping it around Jamil’s. 

“Azul…”

“And your phone’s all charged?”

“Yes,” Jamil sighed. ”Would you relax? I’ll only be gone for two weeks. It’s not like I’ve never traveled alone before.”

Azul looked over Jamil and his bags, still trying to ensure he hadn't forgotten anything. “Well, excuse  me  for being a little extra worried when the love of my life is going to be out of my sight for fourteen days in a row!” He frowned, taking Jamil’s hands in his. “Promise me you’ll call me as soon as you check into the hotel, alright? Don’t make me worry.”

Jamil rolled his eyes, but a soft smile formed on his lips. “You sound like a fussy old husband, you know.”

That pulled a grin and a wink out of Azul. “Maybe one day, if I keep getting so lucky, I will be.”

“Ugh,” Jamil groaned. “I’m getting on the train now. Come here.” He put his hands on either side of Azul’s face and pulled him in for a kiss. 

Azul wrapped his arms around Jamil’s waist, holding him there as they pulled back. “…You’re not making it easy for me to want to let you go, dear.”

“I’ll be back in two weeks. Try to keep it together,” Jamil smirked, giving Azul one last parting kiss on the cheek. “Love you.”

Azul sighed, raising a hand to wave at Jamil as he got on the train. “I love you, too…”

*

Jamil’s apartment was easy enough to take care of. He kept the place clean and organized, and Azul had spent enough time over there that he had no trouble finding anything. Jamil, out of habit from the days he spent looking after Kalim, had left a detailed list of instructions of what Azul needed to do or where he could find things he might need while he was apartment-sitting.

This list, of course, was not necessary. Jamil’s apartment was essentially a second home to Azul. Information such as knowing what plants needed to be watered by how much and at what time, or where Jamil kept his good spatula - it was all second nature to Azul. Really, aside from Jamil himself, there was no one better than Azul suited to take care of-

“SQUAAAAAWK. SQUAWK SQUEAK CHIRP SQUAAAAAWK!”

Azul sighed and put the watering can down on the table before heading towards the source of the noise.

He leaned in the doorway, making eye contact with a bright green and yellow parrot. Upon seeing Azul, said parrot spread its wings out, flapping them aggressively.

“SCREEEECH, GO HOME, GO HOME!” The parrot shrieked. 

Azul walked over towards the cage to unlock the door. “Yes, yes, nice to see you, too, Pepper.”

Pepper made several attempts to nip at Azul’s fingers, and once the door was open, he promptly leaped over to Azul’s shoulder to nip at his ear and hair, instead.

“Smartass,  click click, smartass, smartass!” Pepper chirped.

“Oh, would you  please,” Azul lightly batted at Pepper in an attempt to get him off his shoulder. “Really, I’ve been dating Jamil for years. Why do you still have such a grudge against me?”

Pepper responded by attempting to remove Azul’s glasses with his beak.

Azul only sighed, pulling out his phone and glancing at the screen.

6:02PM. No word from Jamil, yet. 

Azul pocketed his phone and went to prepare Pepper’s food, while casually fighting for his life against the feathered beast the entire time.

*

A few hours passed into the evening, and Azul found himself glancing at his phone more and more as time dragged on. It was well past 8PM, and Jamil had expected to arrive at his hotel around 7:30 at the latest.

It took all of Azul’s willpower not to obsessively search the internet for any news stories of potential disasters related to Jamil’s travel path. Instead, he chose to get up and take a shower, dodging several airborne lunges from Pepper along the way.

As he was drying off his hair, Azul heard his phone ring from across the apartment. 

Azul, of course, had a special ringtone for when Jamil called him. He’d done so long before they started dating, under the pretense of “separating classmates from business calls,” but that excuse never really fooled anyone. Azul’s heart still fluttered the same way it would back then when he heard the melody ring out from his phone, and now especially as he’d been on edge for hours waiting to hear it. Azul quickly dropped the towel from his hair into the sink, and sprinted out of the bathroom.

He nearly slid off the couch with such force from his lunge to grab the phone. 

“Oof-,” Azul breathed into the phone as he landed on his stomach, barely catching his balance. “Jamil, hello?”

“Hey.”

Azul sighed in relief. The mere sound of Jamil’s voice, unharmed, was already enough to relax the tension throughout his body. So much so that he almost didn’t notice Pepper landing on his head and pulling at his hair again.

“Really, my dear, are you  trying  to send me to an early grave by making me sick with worry?” Azul chided. “I don’t think I would’ve been able to sleep at all tonight had you not finally given me a call!”

Azul could hear Jamil breathe what sounded like a very tiny laugh. “Don’t be so dramatic. It’s not even 9 yet.”

“And you were meant to check into the hotel  and call me  by 7:30! Can you really blame me for being worried?”

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. The train was delayed by the weather, and the signal was bad, so I couldn’t get in touch with you until now.”

Sounds of traffic and people talking could be heard from Jamil’s end of the phone call.

“Where are you now?” Azul asked. “Have you had a chance to check in yet?”

“Not yet; I’m still walking over,” Jamil replied. “But, I knew you’d be stressing yourself silly over there, so I figured I’d just call now, since I have service.”

Azul smiled. “Well… Thank you. It  is  relieving to hear that you’re alright. Still, I’ll be more relaxed once I know you’re alright  and safely in your room for the evening.”

Azul didn’t have to see Jamil to know that he was rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’m almost there, anyway. I’ll stay on the phone with you until I get-”

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by loud squawking and pecking at Azul’s phone.

“Oh,  honestly,” Azul squirmed away from the bird, trying to keep the phone out of reach. “As I’m sure you can hear, Pepper is as lively as ever.”

Jamil laughed. “Good. He’s being a responsible guard bird, then.”

Azul scoffed. “Why on earth does he feel the need to guard against your  beloved partner?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because of how much we’d squabble back when we were students? He probably remembers how much I’d complain about ending up at not only the same university as you, but also the same dorm building.”

“I finally got my wish at sharing a dorm with you,” Azul chuckled. “And at the cost of the ire of a parrot for the rest of my life.”

“Was it worth it?” Jamil asked.

“Of course,” Azul answered without missing a beat. “Every minute I’ve ever spent with you has always been worth-  OW !”

Azul’s sappy monologuing was cut off by Pepper pecking at his cheek.

“Ugh, but  really , we’ve been dating for years, and yet he acts as though nothing has changed towards me since the day you brought him home.”

“Well, do your best to get along,” Jamil said. 

“I assure you that I am; It’s Pepper that simply refuses to put forth any effort!” Azul complained, attempting to once again free his hair from the gnashing beak.

“Yeah, well, he’s a bird. You’ll manage.” 

There were sounds of a door opening and closing on Jamil’s end.

“I need to check in at the front desk, so I’m hanging up on you,” Jamil said. “I’ll text you when I get to my room. Try not to let Pepper bully you too much.”

Azul could hear the smile in Jamil’s voice, and even though it was at his expense, he couldn’t help but smile back. “I’ll do my best. I love you. Thank you for calling me.”

“Mhm, love you, too. Talk later.”

There was a brief second of silence once Azul hung up the phone, and then Pepper resumed his shrieking.

*

The next couple of weeks were like clockwork. Since Azul didn’t have a pet of his own that he needed to worry about, he and Jamil decided that it would be easier for Azul to just stay over at Jamil’s while he was gone. Azul would wake up, water the plants, feed and release Pepper for some morning exercise, escape to the shower while Pepper flew around, and then come back to fight with Pepper so he could put him away and go to work.

In the evenings, he’d return to Jamil’s apartment and check on any other plants that might need watering or rotating. Then, he’d let Pepper fly around the apartment some more, which also meant constantly dodging aerial attacks.

Still, it wasn’t so bad, being in the home of his beloved. Knowing that he was doing all this so that Jamil could have an enjoyable, worry-free trip of sightseeing made every peck from Pepper’s beak seem trivial. 

And, of course, there were the nightly phone calls that Azul looked forward to all day.

“Hey. Pepper eat you, yet?”

“So kind of you to check on my well-being at the start of every call, my dear,” Azul said with a light laugh. “I’ll have you know that Pepper and I are nearing a truce on the horizon.”

“Oh yeah?” Jamil sounded interested. “And what makes you say that ?”

“He only pooped on my head once today.”

Azul could hear Jamil move the phone away from his mouth as he let out a very loud cackle of laughter. It warmed his heart, really, to hear Jamil genuinely sound so lighthearted. 

“I miss you,” he found himself saying.

“You’ve said as much every day,” Jamil responded.

“And it’s no less true today.”

Pepper flew over on top of Azul’s head, letting out a few screeches.

“...Pepper wants me to tell you that he misses you, too.” Azul said, cautiously reaching a hand up to see if Pepper would allow him to stroke his feathers.

He only nipped twice this time before relenting. 

Jamil laughed, softer this time. “Well, I miss you, too.”

“Me, or Pepper?” Azul asked, grinning to himself.

“Both  of you, moron.”

“Alright, I’ll accept that,” Azul said with a chuckle. “I’ll let you get some rest. I can’t wait to see you again.”

“Mhm, you too. Good night, Azul. Tell Pepper I said good night, too.”

Pepper squawked happily.

*

By the time Jamil’s return day arrived, Azul and Pepper had finally formed some sort of truce like Azul had theorized. Apparently, all it took was two weeks of solidarity over missing their favorite human while staying in the same house together. That evening, in fact, not only was Pepper perched peacefully on Azul’s shoulder while Azul prepared a welcome back meal for Jamil, but he was happily chirping softly along to the music that played from Azul’s phone in the kitchen. Perhaps Azul even sung along to the song with Pepper, but that was a secret he just might take to his grave.

“Alright, Pepper,” Azul said as he set the food aside to keep warm when he completed cooking. “It’s time for me to pick up our lovely guest of honor. You know what happens then, don’t you?”

Pepper hopped excitedly. “Sweetheart!” he chirped. “Sweetheart! Sweetheart!”

Azul smiled, pulling out a small black box from his pocket, and setting it down behind the birdcage. “I’ll count on you to keep an eye on it while I’m gone, alright? I can’t risk dropping something so precious while I’m in transit.”

“Pepper’s on guard!” Pepper said.

Azul scrunched his face slightly, remembering back when Pepper picked up that phrase during their days in university. Any time Azul complained about Pepper’s hostility, that was always Jamil’s response. 

“You sure are,” Azul said, opening the cage to put Pepper back inside.

*

After about an hour, Jamil and Azul were back in Jamil’s apartment, and Pepper was back to freely flying around the room, after happily nuzzling Jamil plenty while Azul took the time to sneak the black box back into his pocket.

“My trip was incredible,” Jamil said as the two sat to eat, “but I can’t deny that it feels nice to be home where I can relax.”

Azul smiled. “And while I’m glad to hear you enjoyed yourself, I’m all the more delighted to have you home,” he said, one hand fiddling with the box.

Pepper chirped from across the room, having landed back by his cage for a rest.

Jamil laughed softly. “I still can’t believe you two finally get along. I guess you’re still surprising me, even after all these years, huh?” he grinned with a teasing glimmer in his eye.

Azul had initially planned on waiting until after they’d finished eating, but the longer the seconds ticked by, the more his heart pounded in his chest. He stood from the table, walking slowly over towards Jamil. 

“Yes, well… I do believe the surprises don’t end there, tonight.” 

Jamil raised an eyebrow, but let Azul keep talking.

“Jamil… You know you’re my everything,” he said, reaching to take Jamil’s hands in his as he spoke. “These past two weeks were utter agony on my heart, having to be apart from you for so long.”

Jamil rolled his eyes, a smile creeping on his lips. “You’re so dramatic, you know.”

“Yes, I do know,” Azul smiled back. “I know that my  theatrics  are only fueled by how much I love you. I knew you were special, back when we were first years at NRC. The road that brought us here was exceedingly bumpy, but it was worth every step along the way…”

Azul sunk down to one knee. Jamil’s eyes widened.

“Jamil… You’re the first and only person I’ve ever dated, and I only ever want to be with you,” Azul continued, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the box. “I love you, Jamil. I will forever be devoted to you, as long as I live.” He opened the box. “Will you marry me?”

“Azul…” Jamil stared at the box. “...There’s nothing in there.”

Azul blinked. “...What?”

“The box,” Jamil pointed. “It’s empty.”

Azul turned the box around, his heart dropping when he did, in fact, see an empty box staring back at him. “ What!?  No, that’s impossible! It was right here, I even checked before I left! I specifically left it by Pepper’s cage, to ensure it stayed safely here while I was out…”

His heart was pounding from anxiety now. Oh, this had been going  so well, and now the most crucial component was missing!? 

“Pepper! What happened?” Azul exclaimed. “I specifically left you on guard!”

Pepper’s head shot up from where he was perched. “Pepper’s on guard!” He bent down again, rummaging in his cage, before taking off to fly across the room.

He landed proudly atop Azul’s head in front of Jamil, holding the ring in his beak.

Jamil stared at the sight before him for a few seconds, taking in Azul’s bewildered stare from where he was still kneeling down on the ground, with a bright and happy bird settling on top of him. Jamil would’ve thought they’d planned this, if Azul didn’t look so genuinely distressed and sweaty.

Jamil started laughing, reaching his hand out to take the ring from Pepper’s beak. “Oh my  god  ,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “This is…  god…”

He was laughing… and crying?

“Jamil…?” Azul asked gently, watching Jamil’s face with anxiety and concern. 

“You two, you’re ridiculous,” Jamil said, sniffling as he looked over to meet Azul’s eyes. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t make a grand show of your proposal at some fancy restaurant.”

“W-well… I certainly could’ve, if that’s what I thought you’d wanted.” Azul said, heart still hammering away in his chest. “But… I figured you might like something a little more… personal.” He fidgeted as he spoke, his brain feeling like complete static. Jamil hadn’t exactly answered his question yet... “Um…  would you have preferred-?”

“No, shut up,” Jamil swatted at Azul’s shoulder, then slid out of his chair to throw his arms around Azul’s shoulders. “This was perfect, obviously. Jeeze, I just…” Jamil sniffled, burying his face into Azul’s shoulder as the two moved to sit on the floor.

Pepper leaned over to nuzzle the top of Jamil’s head.

Azul wrapped his arms around Jamil, rubbing his hands up and down his back as Jamil tried his best not to cry again.

“Azul… I’m not- I can’t monologue my emotions like you can,” Jamil said with a slight laugh, pulling back to look at Azul. “So I’m not going to try. That’s your thing. I love you, Azul. And  yes,” he held up the ring between them, “I  will marry you.”

“Really!?” Azul said, still feeling extremely overwhelmed by such a jarring turn of events.

“Oh my god,” Jamil wrapped his arms around Azul’s shoulders and pulled him in for a kiss. “You’re so…  Yes, really!”

The rest of Azul’s brain finally caught up to him, and he also began to laugh, tears of relief filling his eyes. He reached up to take the ring, holding Jamil’s hand gently so he could slip it onto his finger. “...A perfect fit,” he whispered.

Jamil smiled, warmth billowing in his chest at the sight of the ring on his hand. “I’d expect nothing less, coming from you.”

Azul smiled, pulling Jamil close for another kiss, perfectly content to sit there on the floor the entire night. 

As long as he had Jamil by his side, Azul felt right at home.

[bright-and-burning]

HELLO MY DARLING 💛✨ i am here to humble request a directors commentary on our beloved curly girl lando - specifically the beginning!! (but tbh i’d love you to talk about anything you want) i loved so much how you just plopped us as readers right into the moment aaaaa

thank you for the humble request <3 (under the cut again bc this will probs get long and probs get a little nsfw)

so the plopping right in the moment is in large part bc i had never written porn before and i was staring at a blank doc going 'just start somewhere. anywhere, eve. doesn't have to be the beginning.' the first words of the fic are literally the first words i wrote!

once i'd written way more i decided i actually really liked that being the beginning. cuz in the first four lines it sets up like, pretty much everything? at least vibes wise. 1st line is abt oscar's hands, 2nd is kind of abt asking permission, or w/e, 3rd is like oh hey it's blowjobs ! and 4th is the infamous hairbrush!

and beyond the first four lines, the next chunk is really doing a lot of heavy lifting in showing off their dynamic, their characterization, that kind of thing. "Oscar can tell she's not really joking" -> he knows her pretty decently! "Oscar’s still a bit lost, to be honest, but it’s not the strangest thing he’s met her halfway on." -> not only does he know her pretty well, he both knows her well enough and likes her enough to be compromising on a lot of stuff and clearly some Weird Stuff.

it's a lot of establishment of how much they're both gagging for it (oscar being like hold on i have a comb please let that work [and the comb being unused lol], lando being smug as hell at making him react but then sucking dick like she'll die without it) but also that while they have been hooking up for a bit ("Spit-slick and urgent like always, how she gets when she’s come and wants to return the favor."), this isn't something that's happened very often (oscar not quite knowing what to do with his hands, where he's allowed to put them, etc)

i think adding some sort of set up (what were they doing before this? how did they end up in the hotel room? how did they get to lando sucking his dick? these were all questions i very much so did not have answers to for much of writing this lol) would've slowed everything way down? and like, yeah it's heavily alluded to that oscar gets lando off Several times right before this which wouldve been fun to write and also was not something i knew happened when i initially wrote the first few lines, but the goal/the way i got the idea for this fic really was like. ok lando's a girl and has long curly hair, let's get into the logistics here bc from experience there is a surprising amount of logistics to get into. no non-hair-related plot necessary. it doesn't matter, exactly, how they ended up in oscar's hotel room the night after a race (in this intro. ch2 is a different story).

WAIT OMG. i just found my original idea notes copied over from my dms to @beechersnope from like. november. lol. shoutout to him for listening to my madness months before it was anything coherent:

basically everything that happened Before the first line was like. vague hand wavey to me and only became more clear as i wrote further. and bc of that it's explained/alluded to over time instead of up front? and i decided it worked better that way, if only bc i didn't feel like my skills were up to the task of writing that set up without it being clunky as all hell

[ananas-pineapple-thing]

asian deh where heidi doesn’t want evan 2 go 2 therapy because she is concerned the therapist will think he is weird and judge her parenting so he never writes the letter and the whole show never happens <3

[kewltie]

AHHH I forgot to do this but after reading the last Chap for social media au I wanted to say how good it was and thank you for writing it :). I was on the edge on my seat and omg when it showed bakugos email (´∀｀)♡ I swore I screamed. But I wanted to say because In your notes you said you felt pressured to make it good and I just want you to know anything you write I love it! Your my fav Bakudeku fanfic writer! Also congratulations on nursing school! Anyways I’m sorry I know this isn’t a question but I just wanted to say thank you ヾ(*´ー`)ノ

hi anon!!!!

awe, thank you very, very much!!!! :]]] i am humble and embarrassed by your kindness lol i cant take praise so easily but im so grateful for them anyway, thanks!!!

and GOD that bakugou email CAN rant something about it???? w/e im going ahead anyway. the thing about this fic that it's narratively told through social media/technology and not through normal dailogue or a narrator; it's basically YOU looking through ppl's personal social medias and having general access to the internet so when i want to make a point or steer the story to a certain way, i have to drop hints VERY VERY OBVIOUS hints in some cases and others very very subtlely that if you blink you'll miss it *cough* like the pasteldeku one. like when i trying to suggest that katsuki did the VERY BIG coming out gesture at literally the biggest night of their life, he was spurred on by greenleaf but how do I CONVEY THAT?? so i made it like she wrote him an email but then how do i make it seem like he read it and well, there you go a look at his email inbox. so yea, a lot of hoops to jump through just to convey the message i want to get across and it's very tricky so i get to be creative and that's honestly the best part lol. when this fic end i would love to do a director/writer's commentary to break down each scene of it. super fun.

and thanks!!!! i just hope i dont fail out of nursing school since everyone keep congratulating me about it lmao.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, December 28

Pete: Since when do you touch my girl? Oz: Hey, Pete. This is kind of a bad time. Pete: Well, I guess you didn't think about that when you put the moves on Debbie! Oz: We talked, yeah, but it was move-free. Oz: About this cage? When that sun sets... Pete: You won't be alive to see it! Oz: I'm serious. Something's gonna happen that you... probably won't believe. Pete screams as his head whips around and he transforms into his alter ego again. Oz: Or you might.

~~Buffy Episode #38: "Beauty and the Beasts"~~

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Bite Your Tongue, Chapter 31 (Buffy/Spike, E) by hostile17

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Heroes, Hexes, and Hijinks, Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, M) by JaneRemmington

Damage Case, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Axell

Buffy's Pack Ch. 12 (Buffy/Xander, E) by redjacobson

You Can't Fight Fate - But You Can Decipher Him Ch. 23 (Dawn, T, Batman xover) by Hermionetobe

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Director's commentary / behind the scenes on the gang modifying the house for Buffy's new needs as a vampire? by herinsectreflection

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Angels Irish accent. by Lizcatherine

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Seth Green left Buffy because Joss Whedon had no interest in letting Oz be a character beyond his relationship with Willow. by sincakes

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[beldaroot]

i can't buy the digital of it chapter 2 because i live outside the US :( but was andy's commentary insightful? i kind of want to know his thoughts on reddie or if he mentioned them at all.

short answer: no, not really? 

long answer: under the cut lol 

i feel like he kind of just said things we already knew? the commentary was more of him discussing the technical aspects of the movie and then kind of giving some analyses of the characters. he gave some tidbits/easter eggs like movie stan has ocd or the part where eddie was walking barefoot in the water was an ‘omen to his death’ bc it was a reference to the paul mccartney being barefoot in the cover of the beatles’ abbey road picture (still don’t really get this but i thought it was interesting lol) 

he gives justifications for why they did certain departures from the book - time/budget restraints or trying to give a more streamlined explanation of a complex thing in the book (i.e. the ritual of chud). it seems like he did have more power over the editors, in the sense that he recalled when an editor wanted a certain scene cut, but he overruled it and kept in the movie. like ig the studio has the final word, but it’s obvious he does have the most creative control as the director. 

and as for reddie, he does admit that their love story was implied in the book (that ‘the love they have for each other was more than a friendship’ and that it ‘goes both ways’) and he states that eddie’s final words in the book could be implied as ‘i love you’. but idk the way he phrased the whole thing it just seemed like he was more interested in richie’s reaction to eddie’s death - like he said it was a ‘great emotional payoff for the character of richie’ to realize his love for eddie… and that it was a ‘super bittersweet moment and conclusion of eddie’s life under the light of richie’s love for him.’ ...and while it’s true that when eddie does die he finally recognizes his love for richie, his death is so much more than that! it’s his own sense of clarity and acceptance of himself over anyone else. (idk, if anyone else watches it and thinks something else let me know, but it really felt like he was more concerned about richie’s feelings about eddie than eddie’s own individual thoughts.) (and just in general i don’t like how he characterizes eddie - he constantly commented in the commentary that eddie was a coward and that was the fear he needed to overcome. like no! where in the god damn book is eddie a coward? eddie being scared and anxious does not equate to him being a coward that abandons his friends in times of need!!!! he’s brave and in most cases wants to fight or encourages the other losers to fight, he the most sacrificial bastard ever!!! but w/e i digress). 

idk i’m definitely biased. i don’t like andy. i think he’s mediocre at best. imo the only thing he’s good at is his willingness to be flexible. it was apparent that the script was more a guideline than a bible and the final cut of the movie was heavily influenced by last minute decisions and the cast. the fact that he’s open to interpretation and improvisation is probably what made this movie better than whatever the original script was, but like ...does that really deserve praise? lol

[bunny-banana]

I'd love to hear a director's commentary on La leggenda di Niccolo please :D Have a star as well ⭐

HA! Okay well, I’ll talk about the sections that I actually wrote so here it comes:

Chap 1

Engulfed in the never ending masses of water, he reckoned one should feel intimidated. No ground under his feet, only limited amounts of air to his disposal, and the uncertainty of what lies within the darker corners of the ocean should normally frighten you. And yet, he never felt more at peace than when he was floating so freely in the sea, almost as if gravity and the world outside didn’t exist

the fucking IRONY of me writing this while being deadly afraid of deep water. its honestly like “yeah,,,,, lemme list all the things i personally hate about deep sea…. and lets add ‘well, but theres something good too about that for sure,,,i guess,,,, ”

But what was more important for me was this contrast to what Ermal dreams about, his lowkey fantasy - and where he is irl, the icy south pole. I’m rather fond of opposing things/contrasts. 

The soldier breathed heavily in and out, but there was no time to rest as the next blaze of fire was aimed at him.He countered and evaded but his opponent was more forceful, his flames harsher, faster until the soldier’s back hit the cold railing. He was caught, and when his opponent mercilessly stroke once more, he knew he had to save himself by escaping into the cold water.The man remaining on the top deck smirked. Ah yes, he’d almost assume those new soldiers were just too easy to take on even if only for practice reasons, but it pleased him more to say that he still got it.

i really hope this introduction just tells you everything you need to know about Renga’s character.

How much sooner the war could have been won had it not been for the Poles!

While actually reflecting on the universe, i realised, it must be incredibly difficult for firebenders on the poles. like, I just assume they really, really arent fit for the cold which would make invading incredibly difficult for them. also lol, renga hates it at the poles obviously.

  Shaking so hard that kids ran towards their mothers and the watchtower fell over and when the fog cleared up, Ermal felt his stomach drop. ”No.”

Nothing, absolutely, nothing in that universe is more frightening than seeing the Fire Nation military pull up to your doorstep.  

Also, lmao, love to imagine Rinald quietly going “oh nooo my watchtower D:” 

Ermal pushed himself through the crowd until he was right in front of everyone, until he was the last barrier between the Fire Nation soldiers and the village.

Ermal has Strong Opinions™ about the Fire Nation, with reasons of course, and seeing them here is the absolute nightmare to him.

  “You mean the Avatar that disappeared off the face of the Earth? The one that nobody has ever seen and that was probably never even reborn? That Avatar?”And if his cockiness gave off a certain invitation to smash his face in, then this was perhaps a little bit Ermal’s fault.

to quote the Smiths: Bigmouth Strikes Again!

“B-but he’s- he’s so young? I swear to the Fire Lord, if this is yet another trick then-”

Chap 2

Niccolò had always been in awe of the Fire Nation’s advanced industrial sector. The machinery that originated from the Nation had always had cutting edge quality which no one in the world could quite imitate nor match. This ship however was beyond anything Niccolò had ever seen. This ship was fully steam-driven with the powerful motors roaring under his feet. And those weren’t the only novelties.Steel processed so professionally that it makes impenetrable walls and doors which opened and closed only through quite sophisticated lock mechanisms. It all looked so modern, it all looked so futuristic.

so the idea was, since Nic had missed an entire century, the ship looked super modern to him. while its a canon fact that the FN is quite advanced with machinery, the ship itself is just to an up-to-date standard. But to Niccolo personally it seemed futuristic.  i like the idea of him being amazed at things he has never seen in his life just to find out they’re pretty common in the current timeline. 

There was not much time left, Niccolò had to think quickly. Extremely convenient how his nose started tickling right in that moment.The powerful sneeze that followed had two consequences: One, the guard in front of him was catapulted straight into the metal door of the cell, rendering him unconscious.Two, Niccolò and the guard behind him were also forcefully pushed back to the other end of the corridor, crashing into the hard wall.Well, at least the guard did. The young airbender was spared that fate, by that nice pillow the guard turned out to be, so he quickly got onto his feet and ran as fast as he could with his hands tied behind his back.

so yeah ngl, this was just copied from the OG ep

Now that his hands were freed, he opened the first door that presented itself to him, but in front of him, he simply saw the quarters of General Renga who stared at his now roaming prisoner in shock. Okay, time to turn around, it seems.

listen, i just love the thought of overconfident General Renga being so shellshocked to see his prisoner escaping that he just gapes at him. And ofc Nic slamming the door shut immediately jsfkld

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Niccolò cursed as he evaded a burst of fire that was aimed at him before taking the next corner “Where’s the exit?! Where’s the goddamn exi- AH!! A DOOR!!” He pulled it open to reveal a startled guy sitting there just minding his own business. An unexpected sight, with an even more unexpected odor following. “Oh? uhm- Sorry man! Just- just take your time! Also, perhaps light a candle when you’re done. Bye!” The young Avatar swiftly apologised as he closed the door of what was most definitely not an exit.

Fav OC so far!  That simple FN dude was just trying to take a dump in peace but who would have known that all hell would break lose and the goddamn Avatar of all people would walk into him smh.  Also, I really enjoyed the thought of while this is all hectic and dangerous, Nic still being human enough to go like “oh, my bad! sorry dude!” at this random soldier. Who knows, maybe we should bring that one back some time later. And i kinda wanted the whole escape to be funny, since its Nic’s POV, and it just wouldnt suit his carefree spirit to make this super serious (yet). 

“I’ll give you that, hiding for so long was sort of impressive.” Niccolò heard Renga’s voice behind him as the General had caught up with him. 

almost wrote “century” there but then remembered  nah omg he can’t know yet 

A piece of ice may or may not have also hit Renga straight into the face but nobody would complain about that anyway. 

yeah i just love the thought of this super dramatic scene of Nic entering the Avatar State and then theres a chunk of ice knocking Renga unconscious lmao get fucked, dude 

“Nic!” Ermal ran towards the slowly decreasing water pillar to catch the unconscious airbender in the last second, dropping to his knees in the process. That was beyond anything anybody of that age should normally be capable of. That was beyond what any waterbender could ever be capable of. And yet, lying in his arms, Niccolò looked so exhausted, so weak. Just like any other kid. Not a trace from the sheer force that was unleashed moments earlier.

I think this was really the moment Ermal started feeling real responsibility over Niccolo. Just seeing him do all these crazy things and yet being reminded that this huge burden of being the Avatar is literally thrusted upon a simple kid.  Also, this is the first time he called him “Nic”

Various noises and sounds buzzed through the air that afternoon: The loud shoveling of snow from the bow, the quieter crackling emerging from the hands of the firebenders who were melting their frozen compatriots, the fast steps rushing left and right over the ship. All these different sounds were heard, but none of them were chattering. Nobody dared to chat. Not after this disastrous defeat. What a disgrace that had been, General Renga thought grinding his teeth.

Everybody on this goddman ship is just scared shitless that Renga will roast them if they so much like whisper. they know he moody, they know he’ll blame them for the avatar’s escape. so lets all just work and repair shit and keep quite. 

When he found consciousness again, he was left with not only one horrendous purple bruise on his face, but also with a half destroyed ship. 

jdsfksajfklf OK SO YEAH, my first intention was “lmao let a piece of ice hit him” but then i realised “oh wait he’d have a bruise afterwards”  and then “LMAOOOO he’d be like Zuko, how perfect is that”   ok so granted, unlike our dear fire prince, Renga’s bruise is only temporary, but i really hoped someone would pick up the connection to Zuko

Whatever had happened to the Avatar earlier, it left a colossal mark on the ship, and secretly, on Renga personally too. He might have gotten fooled once, but he wouldn’t get fooled again.

basically, he feels personally insulted about being beaten by a kid. what a loser lmao

“Martino!”

“Y-yes, General?” stuttered the lanky assistant with the askew glasses, clenching his hands around his writing board. One would think you’d get used to Renga’s harsh tone over time, but that was simply not the case..

rip martino but renga absolutely needed a poor anxious assistant whom he could terrorise

“We need the best of the best to defeat him. And I just know the right choice for that job…”

heeeeheeee ….. no comment ..for now.  but im curious to what you guys think about that 

Thank you so much! this was a lot of fun to do ! :)

[physiiological]

hello just stopping by! do you have any tricks on how to get better at writing film essays? By the way I also do NCEA but lvl 2 :") film essays had always been the most difficult task for me to write and I always get lower scores on that topic during mocks.

hi lovely, thanks for dropping by!

first of all I can definitely understand you bc from experience I know that film essays are no walk in the park and in fact, I didn’t do as well with those exams last year (got away with 5) but I will try to help you the best that I can! click below to see some handy tips and tricks a seasoned NCEA warrior has learnt in the short time frame of 12 months :~) 

so real talk, the most important thing to do is to actually know your content. Know your film, know your director, know it like the back of your palm/like it’s your best friend. There’s nothing more embarrassing than telling the marker that you will be exploring ‘V for Vendetta’ by ‘some director’. So in the next month or so, try and devote some time to ‘get to know’ your film; understand its themes, main messages, settings, visual features + anything/everything you can think of!! 2016 was such a shock set of questions for me so you never know what NCEA will pull out of their butts this year. (if you’re seriously strapped for time, try to find the director’s commentary for your film - it’s worth it - kudos to @literate--trash for this tip) 

Secondly, understand what in the world the question wants you to do/is asking you. If it asks you how ‘the relationship between characters helped to illustrate one or more important themes. ‘, don’t try and brain dump by completely transforming a memorised symbolism essay to match the question. 10/10 times it does not work so follow step one and make sure you are prepared for anything NCEA may throw at you~~

ok - game time; but before any writing is to be done; plan plan plan. MAKE A PLAN. I know I know; ‘but I know how to plan! I do it in my head / I don’t need to do it’ but believe me the driving force behind all successful essays is a good plan bc if you don’t have one, you end up ‘waffling’ and rambling and your markers will not only be very unhappy, they will most likely shift down criterias as they read your essay; so learn how to plan! ‘unpack’ your question - find out what they want, decide your main points that you want to argue and list down how you will structure that argument - which means brain dumping all important quotes, film techniques, camera shots, sounds, symbols basically ANYTHING that will strengthen your argument!! I know this seems like a big ‘waste of time’ but like they say; a little goes a long way. It only takes about 5-10 minutes, the only regret is I wish it didn’t take me almost 3 years to realise that........ Your plan defines the quality of your writing (like 90% of the time, but hey if I did okay w/o one then so can you - DO NOT RECOMMEND THO) 

a strong intro is key!! so make sure you start off with your film, director, year and ‘seamlessly’ include the three points you will be arguing to answer your question. this will help the marker so much and you as well as all the info is laid out in the intro 

When you’re writing, make sure you have a ‘framework’/’structure’ that you know you will use to make sure you’re enroute to actually finishing the paragraph. Structures like ‘PEDAL’ / ‘TEXAS’ / ‘TAKO’ / ‘SERQUEL’ will definitely ensure you get your analysis and quotes in there properly, which at this level is crucial for those e’s. For those extra brownie points, ALWAYS refer back to: 

the question - okay, you wrote a paragraph about how this relationship affects the theme of identity; so what? make sure your paragraph answers the question and do this by summarising at the end!! make sure to constantly use keywords from the question as to show that you are going back to the question and that you are ‘answering’ it :-) 

the director’s purpose - ok kwl this dialogue was used and lighting was set specifically for this scene, but why? what was the director trying to achieve? What were they trying to show you? Did it link back to the theme? Did they want the audience to feel something? WHAT WERE THEY DOING??????? (this is where your interpretations come in!!) 

society - I’m sure since Level 1 you’ve been hearing about this ‘real world context’ and let me tell you now, if you know how to utilise this strategically, you will get ultimate brownie points (aka the golden 8). So for example, if you were talking about how a relationship showed the theme of identity, you can link it to a discussion on how relationships are important in our teenage years to ‘discovering’ who we really are bc people can bring out different things in us and what not. 'insightful’ comments are highly praised so do try and think outside of the box! markers love ‘originality’ but in saying this do make your conclusions/connections plausible!  if not, go with your gut :-) 

p.s - make this convincing!! if you half-ass your arguments, your markers will know, and they will not hesitate to hand out bad brownie points (trust) consistency is key so make sure you’re doing these in every piece of evidence you’re introducing! 

okay! so you’ve done everything above, you’ve successfully analysed, provided examples, made links to director’s purpose, themes, to the real world/commenting on society (or whatever the question needed you to do), now what? 

Now you get to walk out of that exam room and give it the finger. You never have to write on that stupid piece of paper ever again.......

But that’s after you finish your conclusion, of course ;)

The conclusion is basically the cherry on top and literally the .1% you need to get yourself across the finish line. Make it impactful. Summarise your points that you argued and more importantly; show them what the film taught you/taught society by referring back to the real life links you made in your paragraphs. Show them what the director showed you and how this may apply in your life. No fluff. No extras. Just summarising what you discussed and most importantly; answer your question. How did the relationships illustrate your themes? Base your conclusion around your question. No more new points pls, the marker will be very tired at this point (as will you I’m sure). As it is a conclusion, keep it short, sweet and simple (unlike what I’ve done just now lol sorry). 

Anywho I could ramble on forever but i’d literally be going against my own advice if I did so I hope this helps! Do let me know if you have anymore questions/ want more advice (what film are you studying?) and I will try to help you to the best of my abilities :-) english is always a nightmare and a half but with practice, it’ll come naturally! Let me know how you go in the end too! All the best and good luck for the rest of your exams lovely x 

[kollapsar]

what is this death note bullshit to come home and read about

like.

past the fucking white boy ass protagonist.

past that.

i honest to god don’t even believe that the main components of what made death note so damn great translate to an american version. without the cultural contexts of the japanese society there are scores of subtlety and mind games that literally just won’t happen in a western setting.

part of what made light a realistic and compelling villain-protagonist was the fact that he was a clean, attractive, smart young man, and a valuable citizen to a culture that strongly prioritizes keeping the harmony. that was compelling- his underlying sinister sentiments were highly subtle and artfully concealed. if anything (in the beginning anyway) he sought to crush the criminals undermining the harmony of his society and preserve order in the highest- lawful evil etc etc.

was light wasn’t was a walking counterculture symbol- if you had to translate him to a western context he’d be a kindly, popular prep school kid.

not a messy ass hoodie motherfucker.

like, come on- past the white protagonist shit- the fields were ripe with conceptual translation to try to keep some of the fundamental qualities there and create a startling social commentary that translated into our culture effectively. this just feels like grabbing a single aspect of the concept and literally running away from everything else into michael bay land.

and i know L was supposed to symbolize a subversive yet ingenious counterelement to light’s sinister lawful evil philosophy but being black is not visual shorthand for being alternative

stop that

stop that shit right now. this shit better really fucking come through on the diversity past what i’m seeing or i’m going to flip my shit.

(lowkey though, on the other hand there’s a lot of potential for representation in an eccentric genius being portrayed as black and i’m glad the actor gets a role for this and showtime as a hero-antagonist- a very cool role to be in- but i’m leery of a lot of the context surrounding this and knowing hollywoody writing the hero-antagonist/villain-protagonist parallels and nuances will get thrown out the fucking window.)

and if this was directed by the guy who did the new blair witch, lol i can’t say i’m inspired. as much as i liked that movie for some things, i highly doubt the directing style will apply to something as goddamn involved as the mind games that made death note what it was. most if not all of the action movie shit of that manga/anime occurred toward the end, and even then sparingly. and especially because i know the kind of bullshit that happens to creative freedom with directors on bigger-budget projects so even if he did try to innovate his hands would be tied

the point is if you gotta steal something, why not at least be a thorough shit and take the good parts instead of, like, jacking a single beam off the foundation and then running like hell. it’s an insult to our intelligence and to the original product to think that just taking a shallow aspect of the plot and calling it an effective adaptation w/o regard for any thematic translation will ‘make money’.

also please kill me bc the misa/light dynamic was far more restrained than any of the ‘bad cheerleader chick making out with you’ shit. if anything death note was powered by restraint and keeping a quick head to do complex chessmastering on the spot- blowing us away with their minds.

not looking like the kid who’s got no sleep or friends at school fucking making out against walls with cheerleaders and hanging off breaking ferris wheels like could america even do subtle if it tried

[gurguliare]

i haven’t done an ep reaction post in a while so here goes, s3 episode 10, “fire and blood,” i can’t even make fun of the title because i don’t really care and i loved it

actually to briefly touch on things from the last few forest party eps that i liked: ‘two hands’---god that was pretty cheesy and yet i am forever thankful that these things happen to hella varal. i love it. “there’s no outside.” hella’s going to carve her own horrendous outside at the cost of thousands of lives, screw you.

when the sword turns into a window!! bye!

“it’s like violins laughing.” also “the volumetric sound fades out until it’s coming from a single point in space, from her” i HATE austin WALKer

adaire/hella is killing me. “you talk too much to TOO MANY people.” adaire pretending to help move crates because mirrored body language makes friends trust you! right? right??

i don’t know why but it’s really cute how they all like, sleep on cots (??) in the middle of a field (???) with their armor apparently not on them but perhaps heaped in a pile also in the field (?????)

do you ever think about how hadrian and hella each separately go to sleep every night and dream about a god they want to bang giving them the silent treatment. or like, maybe hella and adelaide have fulfilling hate sex and hadrian and samot play scrabble, i don’t know

ok ok so fire and blood. i can’t believe i have to refer to my fav ep of the season so far as “fire and blood.” First off: ... this art reminded me that i... idk i keep frustratedly trying to reconcile the “paladin are former people turned into mindless automata by hem hem devotion” thing from s1 with “paladin are constructed robots” from marielda onwards, i guess, and i also keep going back and forth on how i feel about the ordennan suit-of-armor-full-of-machinery paladin, or w/e, vs the living statue stuff from before... um, so i was thinking, what if what ordenna found in nacre was like... not just ‘plans,’ but---okay so i’m building up to a terracotta soldiers joke. that’s it that’s my idea. what if they found this hollow clay army in tristero’s grave

this obviously apropos of austin talking about the different anchor models and the ones with weirdly individual features... i love the terracotta soldiers so much. anyway i also think this would be fun because: ordennans interpreting the nacre paladin as grave goods when actually they just stopped working after tristero died? lol? ordennans like, ‘oh huh, ceramic images in place of actual human sacrifice’ HA HA HA DO I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU

moving on. of course the ordennan word for “rank” is “sacrifice,” i’m not really coming around on Fantasy Totalitarianism Island but i appreciate every gesture towards just. making it weird. making it a little gross.

hadrian and the anchor in the woods were cute

a moment of connection? or it took one look at hadrian and decided to play dumb?

king squirrel got a touch redwall for me but on the other hand “i’m not a person” is a pretty hot pitch, thorondir

i was going to make a joke about wishing austin had let hella betray the fuckin weaver king to the ordennans but now i can’t make the joke because i’m so happy with hella’s arc in this!! just! “won’t help, won’t help, will pettily stab one of my fucking allies under the guise of ‘helping’ because i don’t want to be here, won’t help, ugh, god, what’s the least helpful help-like action i could take here, i’ll dump the bodies---” and then like. doctor general finds her! and she’s still on her knees thinking tactically, maybe she can lead him off, and thinking that she opens her mouth and WHAT FUCKING COMES OUT

“you know exactly who I am”

Why is she like this. why. just that split second pivot, i love her. and like, moonlit smoky clearing! she stabs his prone body in the head and has to step on his chest to wrench her sword out! thorondir fucking up with his plate, she just picks hers up and reads it---

also the director’s commentary about the destruction here vs the destruction of nacre lmao. l m a o. hella just like, sitting through it, thinking about how she was so happy last time, and this is unpleasant. what conclusions can be drawn? NONE TBH SHE ONLY ACTS IN CASE HER COWORKERS DIE

i think their reasoning behind her rolling a fucking 1 for damage when she’s at the head of the anchor makes sense, blood loss and all that, but i also like to imagine that having instantly identified that she’s won the battle for everyone she just. like. strolls through it. swings her sword lazily + one-handed screw YOU moth QUEEN

of course hadrian is unreservedly proud of hella for saving the day with an army of robots, powered by blood magic

“only one person has to say yes, and they’ll die.” “yes!”

the calhoun callback. this sucks.