#even tho they SHOULD have been if the whole boat got captured :))))

[icefang111]

Caught up w Dr. Stone and thank GOD it seems like next ep. we're addressing the homura and hyoga situation. I was losing my mind that no one was even talking about their MIA satus the whole arc.

[the-sun-princess]

Emi Plays Revue Starlight: El Dorado Part 14

okay mahiru nana stageplay time aka i screencap all the mahiru praise

starts off similarly to the futaba claudine version

carmencita gets at Least one more line lol

intewesting...instead of immediately opting to take salvatore under his dad's wing, alejandro suggests bein a soldier over a sailor. ends up in the same place tho.

oo zulfikar doesn't surprise them with isobel, they pinpoint him before he attacks

FINALLY the mahiru gushing i've been waiting for this entire time. are u feeling it now, mr krabs

ok rude. i mean it was a first impression but rude.

mahiru is the shiningnest brightnessest

THATS WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING. MAHIRU IS TOP STAR BC SHE THE SUN!!!!!

mahiwu legy

mm nana's alejandro is leadin mahiru's salvatore into certain actions

mahiru literally the Only One of the seisho girls here who that description actually fits

salvatore actually inviting isabel along If he ever gets to sail bc apparently he's Not going with alejandro? he's doomed to be in charge of the household on land (not rlly, obv, but the 'plan')

honestly a way better lead into salvatore pulling isabel into a kiss than the others like it actually felt Fitting

also nana/alejandro reaction shot lol

can my ac shut the fuck up i wanna hear mahiru. lol alejandro finishes off his dad

funny how its the opposite in this one

nana time to praise mahiru

ok tbf hikari + karen did that, not junna, but i guess junna did kick ur ass about ur pity party afterwards

and u lifted me up like a child. literally

doting gf karen-chan

what

claudine n kaoruko what will they talk about

lol

honestly i thought kaoruko was talkin about mahiru n claudine nana akjhkdjhf welp. they are similar like that

amemiya getting flustered at nana calling her shion-chan as if i havent been wondering the whole time Why nana of all ppl was using last name-san

.....she still referred to masai as masai-san tho kjfkjshdfkjh

~interlude for me to shower~

oh carmencita's not dead. yet. maybe

i should Not be surprised mahiru and nana have similar ranges in this bg song- they are also a duet irl with harmoe

i can pick apart who is who in this song just bc im very used to mahiru's voice ksjdhfjh

interesting. alejandro baits zulfikar with miguel, not el dorado this time

i Am curious why they would even Need zulfikar now- is it just for a boat

isabel just hopped along with alejandro no need to stowaway this time

OR NOT KAJHKJHSKJDH

THAT'S EVEN FUNNIER. also for a master assassin zulfikar sure is cheaply bought

oh now theres' the jelly

sjdkfhksj this is extremely funny to me rip alejandro no royal pussy for u

....nevermind lmao jealous the other way around.

dude u need a crew to get there anyway whats another person

rip to everyone mahiru salvatore captures everyone's heart. lol

this salvatore is way more fun skjhdkfjdh "spite"

even tho he has the Option to fulfill his promise with alejandro. once he learned alejandro used him he's like Fuck You which valid. like. his best friend allowed his dad to rape him- i wouldnt forgive that either

yeh u are mahiru

he does tell alejandro if he wants to come he as to follow him he aint just gon take ale with

ah salvatore still gets slashied up by ale. into the ocean he n isabel go

o actual epilogue

alejandro killed himself i guess. rip. miguel hooked up with zulfikar. and isabel and salvatore made it to el dorado

hehe

also goddammit where is hikari

but good yes praise mahiru

after party time cmon hikari. cmon. show up

oh image limit well we got thru the stageplay. after party time

<<part 13 part 15>>

[crystalstar8]

Knights of the Night (ch 11)

Chapter 11

Ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5, ch 6, ch 7, ch 8, ch 9, ch 10, ch 11

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139240/chapters/71536491

pairing: Jungkook x oc

genre: vampire au, college au, twilight, romance

word count: 2,054

warnings: blood (obviously), kidnapping, child kidnapping, needles, France

notes: vampires, vampire au, college, college au, so many twilight references, blood, needles, kidnapping, children, homelessness, dance, ballet, flashbacks, romance, slow burn, probably no smut, idk yet tho, France, French things, attempted genocide, inaccurate French history, bisexual main character, @strawberriewithchocolate-blog @mozy-j  @daechwitad-2​ @zobadak​​

summary: Catalina starts college in a small town all the way across the country. She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t exactly looking for friends. She just wants to focus on dance. But when she meets fellow dance major, Jimin, and adventurous, fellow freshman, Jungkook, Catalina ends up discovering a whole new side to the small college town; one that is dangerous but oh so enticing…

tw: France, attempted murder, death, it’s a vampire story so...

               When Catalina and Jungkook came back to the rooms wrapped in towels, hand in hand, everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and stared.

               “Did you guys fuck in the hot tub?” Jimin asked, breaking the silence.

               “Jungkook! That is irresponsible and inappropriate!” Jin screeched.

               “We didn’t fuck in the hot tub!” Catalina yelled over the chaos, trying and failing to contain her laughter. “Everyone calm down.”

               “We were just about to do some slumber party activities,” said Taehyung. “I got us some popcorn from downstairs and I heard of a game called spin the bottle-“

               “Or we can just talk,” said Jimin. “I want to hear about you guys, since you’re immortal and all.”

               “And we can braid hair,” said Taehyung. Jimin giggled.

               “Well, we’re gonna go change first, then we can do whatever you want,” said Catalina.

               After changing into some warm clothes, everyone gathered into the room with the largest floor space and sat around wherever they could. Catalina was sat on the ground in front of Taehyung, who was braiding her hair. Jungkook sat beside her, close enough for their arms to brush every time they moved.

               “So, what happened out there?” asked Jimin. “Give us the deets. I know I said not to go find him, but it looks like it went well.”

               “It did go well,” said Catalina. “We made up.”

               “And made out,” said Jungkook. Catalina elbowed him, but he just laughed.

               “Yeah, we…” Catalina felt breathless again as she looked over at the boy making her heart flutter. “Yeah.”

               “I mean, I don’t think we need the deets,” said Jin.

               “Yeah, I’m more interested in you guys,” said Jimmy K, pointing to the four vampires. “You guys have been around a while. You must have plenty of stories.”

               “Sure! What do you wanna know?” Hoseok said with a shit eating grin on his face, leaning back on his hands. Namjoon, who was sitting beside him, swatted at him.

               “Oh please,” he said. “You’re practically a baby.”              

               “He’s right,” said Hoseok. “I was born in 1973. Turned in ’95. I’m still not used to the whole ‘no aging’ thing. Definitely not used to living with people who are literally hundreds of years old. That’s a trip.”

               “How did you get turned into a vampire?” Catalina asked him.

Hoseok completely ignored her, turning to Namjoon and saying, “Yeah, tell us your story.”

               “I-she…” Namjoon stuttered, pointing at Catalina. Then he sighed and said, “Well, I was turned when I was twenty-three. The year was 1580. I guess I should give some history. So, during those times, there was a lot happening in Europe to the vampire community, specifically in France. This was called The Great Hunt, but it definitely wasn’t great for a lot of people. The vampires living there at the time were being relentlessly hunted and killed, rounded up and tortured. It was a massacre, and it led to a lot of vampires leaving the country and travelling the world to get away from it. That’s how I met Pierre. He escaped the hunt and fled, ending up all the way in northern Korea. I lived in a seaside village, mostly working on the water. One day, I ended up in a swampy area of the shoreline and my boat got stuck. Then this ghostly man came out of the water and sat on a rock. I had never seen anyone like him in my life; he was unnaturally beautiful and pale. I ditched my boat and swam to him, I couldn’t even control myself. We talked for a while and he told me about where he came from and then he bit me. He was going to drain me if it weren’t for the search party arriving, looking for me. He ran away and my fellow fisherman took me back to the village. I was half dead, but his venom was already doing its work. The transformation was excruciating. It felt like my veins were on fire, my head felt like it was going to explode, my jaw ached like someone was prying my mouth open, and it went on like this for days. Finally, when it stopped and the pain went away, I had this uncontrollable thirst. I could hear people’s hearts beating. I could taste their heat, just by being near them. I ended up killing three people in my village before I was captured. They were going to behead me, but I was stronger and faster now, so I got away easily.

                “I was on the run for so long, but eventually, I made it out of the country. I ended up in Bangladesh-“

               “How?!” Jin interrupted. “That’s…that’s all the way across China!”

               Namjoon shrugged and said, “I was fast and I never got tired. I was able to feed off of people along the way, as long as I kept moving. Anyway, I ended up by the ocean, the Indian ocean, and I met another vampire there. She worked on a ship and offered me a job. She turned out to be a pirate, and the crew was a mix of vampires and humans, all working together. We sailed the sea, taking ships and feeding from their crews. It was dirty, living like that. And it wasn’t how I wanted to live my life, so I left them and lived in India for a few years. Then one day, I took a boat to America and built my house in the mountains, using the riches I had from my pirate years. From there, I spent my days studying and getting degrees, learning as much as I can about everything.”

               “That’s incredible,” said Catalina.

               “So cool. I can’t believe you were a pirate,” said Jungkook. “You just don’t seem like the type.”

               “It was mostly about the community,” said Namjoon. “A lot of vampires were drawn to piracy during those times because they felt safe together. We couldn’t engage in regular society because the French were still hunting us across Europe and even into India for a while. But on the water, no one could touch us. But you’re right, I wasn’t the type. I didn’t like the bloodshed and pillaging and the dirty lifestyle, so I left as soon as I felt it was safe to live in society again, which was right around the time the Renaissance period began.”

               “That’s when I met Adrianna,” Taehyung said quietly behind Catalina. He had finished the braid and was tying a hair tie at the end.

               “Who Adrianna?” asked Jimin.

               “The vampire who changed me,” he said. “Ah, she was incredible. I miss her every day still.”

               “She’s not around anymore?” Jimin asked.

               Taehyung shook his head. “When we moved to the United States, the town we lived in found out we were vampires and they were going to lynch us. I got away, but she didn’t.”

               Jimin crawled over to him and gave him a hug.

               “I’m so sorry,” he said.

               Taehyung pouted and said, “It’s okay. It gets easier over time, especially now that I’m making new friends and doing things again.”

               “How did you meet her?” Catalina asked.

               “She found me in Korea. She was travelling the world, avoiding the hunts in France and Europe, and she ended up there,” Taehyung began. “I was only about sixteen at the time. I was painting and doing calligraphy for the royal family, but most of my time was spent on my grandma’s farm. She raised me so I wanted to help her out as much as I could. Adrianna found our farm and we let her stay with us, since she seemed unwilling to go into the town. She didn’t speak Korean at the time and I didn’t speak French, so we couldn’t talk much. She taught me French, and once I got decent at it, I taught her Korean and we became close friends after that. She stayed with us on the farm for a few years, helping with the chores and everything, and teaching me different art styles. She was an incredible painter. I found out she was a vampire one day when I saw her sneaking out of the house at night, so I followed her. She went into the village and drank from someone, hypnotizing them so they couldn’t remember. I told her I would keep her secret.

               “After my grandma passed away, I sold the farm and Adrianna took me to France. The hunts had ended and people were becoming more interested in art and science. We lived well in France, staying in a big house and studying under great painters. I even got to see the grave of Alexandria the Annihilator.”

               Namjoon, Yoongi and Jimmy K all gasped.

               “No way,” said Namjoon.

               “What was it like?” asked Yoongi.

               “Was her sword really on display there?” asked Jimmy K.

               “How do you even know who she is?” asked Taehyung. Jimmy K just grinned. “Anyway, yes, her sword was there. It was so big! It even looked like there was old blood on the blade. It was in a glass case, resting on a bed of her real fur capes.”

               Namjoon and Yoongi both erupted into a chorus of “so cool”s and “I’m so jealous”s.

               “Okay wait,” Jimin interrupted. “Who is Alexandria the Annihilator?”

               “Yeah, she sounds awesome,” said Jungkook.

               “She was,” said Jimmy K. “I did my history thesis on her. She was a famous vampire who led the resistance in France against the church. She saved hundreds of vampires by hiding them and smuggling them out of the country, but she also killed thousands of humans. She was slain in the early 16th century, ending the resistance and the hunts for good. Her lineage still lives though; she supposedly had a daughter with a human man, but it was in the midst of the resistance, so her daughter was smuggled away, kept in hiding for a long time. No one knows if she was a human, or a vampire, or something in between, but she’s said to still be alive today.”

               “Anyway,” Taehyung continued. “Adrianna and I lived in France during the early 17th century, so almost a hundred years after all that bad stuff. We had a lot of fun together. I had a little dog during those years, Yeontan, and I got to learn all about vampire history and culture. I wanted to be a part of it, and I wanted to be with Adrianna forever, so I kept asking her to turn me. She kept reminding me that immortality becomes a curse if you’re alive too long, and that I should wait to make a decision like that. We studied philosophy together, and I learned about life and death, and what our purpose was on this earth, I learned about critical thinking and how to form arguments. And when I was in my early twenties, I asked her again to turn me. I gave her a proper argument and everything. And she did.

               “And then, during the 1800s, we came to America and she…” Taehyung trailed off, his smile fading. “And then I was alone for a while. But then I travelled west, met Namjoon, and have been living here ever since.”

               “Were you and Adrianna lovers?” asked Catalina. Taehyung shook his head.

               “No. We loved each other dearly, but I was in love with her. I think she might have been gay though,” he said. “She liked to dress as a man when we travelled, she called herself ‘Adrien’ when she did. Or maybe she might have been trans. Well, either way, she wasn’t interested in men.”

               “She sounds like she was a very interesting person,” said Jimin.

               “She was,” Taehyung said with a small smile.

               Catalina then automatically turned her attention to Yoongi, hoping he’d share his story next. Apparently, everyone had the same idea, because when Yoongi looked up, he said, “Why are you all staring at me?”

               “Aren’t you going tell us your story next?” asked Jimmy K.

               “Oh, it’s really not that interesting,” Yoongi said with a wave of his hand. “I don’t even remember it.”

               “Oh, you’re so funny,” Hoseok said with a laugh. “He’s lying.”

               Yoongi let out a deep sigh and sunk into the couch he was on.

               “Where to start?” he asked. 

[f00pyf00p]

Four-Year Anniversary

Fandom: Sanders Sides  Characters: Logan, Virgil, Roman, Mentions of Patton Rating: General Relationships: Romantic Analogical Warnings: None that I’m aware of Word count: 3017 Summary: Roman is determined to make Logan and Virgil will enjoy their anniversary, even if they don't seem to be particularly interested in it themselves. Other Notes: Analogical Week Day 1: Debate/Anniversary @analogicalweek 

Read on AO3!

Virgil was the first one out of the two to awaken. It was an odd but welcome occurrence, and one he celebrated by shifting over and cuddling into his partner, wrapping one arm over Logan’s waist, and kissing the side of his neck.

There was a soft mumble from the other person. Virgil kissed him again.

“I don’t wake you up when I happen to awaken first,” Logan grumbled. “Besides, I require abnormal amounts of strength today.”

Virgil frowned. “Why?”

“Roman.”

Right.

Today was their anniversary. It was their four-year anniversary (that thought alone had Virgil pulling Logan a little closer) and while to them, that meant… not a lot, to Roman it meant much more than it should, especially considering he wasn’t even in the relationship.

“20 bucks says he’s made the kitchen look like a really fancy restaurant.”

Logan's only response was a quiet groan.

“What things do you think we’ll see the moment we open the bedroom door?” Virgil nudged him. “I’ve got rose petals, a basket of chocolates, and a radio playing the sound of Roman singing love songs.”

“Teddy bears,” Logan yawned. He curled closer into the blankets and Virgil suddenly wished to grab his adorable boyfriend and squish him. He settled to push himself up for a kiss on the cheek. “On Valentine’s Day when Thomas went to CVS Roman kept looking from the giant stuffed bears to us. He probably summoned some.”

“He summoned some yesterday during the “First Time Thomas had Mac n’ Cheese” anniversary. Do you really think he’ll do it again?”

“He used those frilly streamers for a full week for “The First TV” anniversary, “The Steven Universe” anniversary, “The First Time Liking Broccoli” anniversary, and “The First Time Hearing the Evan Hansen Musical” anniversary.”

Virgil’s head flopped onto Logan’s shoulder. “Maybe we will have teddy bears then.”

“I’ll burn whatever stupid bear he gets me.”

“What if it's a unicorn bear?”

Logan’s cheeks tinted a very light pink and he opened both eyes to glare at the man hanging above him. Virgil gave a cheeky grin and Logan rolled his eyes before re-closing them and settling back into the pillows.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Virgil nudged playfully.

“Shut up.”

Virgil flopped back down and pressed his face into the back of Logan’s neck. He had barely been there for a second before he was peppering kisses down the back of it, triggering a loud sigh and then a rolling from Logan’s so they were nearly nose to nose.

“You have a lot of energy today,” Logan remarked.

Virgil reached up and kissed his nose.

“We could say in bed forever,” Virgil told him. “Then we get to avoid Roman.”

“That would hurt Roman’s feelings.” Logan’s expression turned more sheepish. “I’m trying not to do that anymore.”

Virgil’s heart bloomed with love for this man in front of him, who could accept the fact that he had made mistakes and who worked so hard to improve them.

“Still,” Virgil pressed. “We can stall.”

Logan shrugged and Virgil took that as permission to lean forward and fully capture his boyfriend’s lips within his own.

__

Roman was positive he had forgotten something. Something important. Something they needed.

He ran down his checklist.

A path of red and white roses petals, leading from Logan’s bedroom (which had pretty much become Logan and Virgil’s bedroom at this point) to the kitchen.

Baskets, filled with chocolates, fruits, flowers, and a coffee maker. Two large teddy bears, one white, one grey.

Then in the kitchen…

Waffles, cooked to perfection by Patton. Hot syrup, berries, whipped cream, and then there was the fact that the entire kitchen had been shifted to look like one of those fancy diners.

He had created an entire ballroom, filled it to the brim with random facets of Thomas’s personality, added music and snacks, and then closed it off for later.

His room was open to go outside and eat at the picnic he had set up, on a blanket completely covered in hearts.

What had he missed?

Crap! There were supposed to be chocolates at the picnic! Roman hurriedly snapped his fingers and felt himself relax.

Wait.

Music.

With another snap of his fingers, radios appeared at every single one of the spots he had set up for Logan and Virgil, all filled with the sound of his voice singing a variety of love songs.

Now, everything was perfect, as it should be for Logan and Virgil’s fourth anniversary.

The bedroom door opened. Roman could tell because the sound of him singing “You Matter to Me” from Waitress slowly started up, followed by Roman’s loud singing.

I could find the whole meaning of life in those sad eyes

They've seen things you never quite say, but I hear…

Logan came into the kitchen first. He blinked at the fancy diner and offered Roman what was probably a smile- Roman wasn’t quite sure, but admittedly, it wasn’t like the logical side smiled much anyway. As Logan gingerly took a seat, Virgil appeared behind him. His hands flinched slightly at the sight but he did smile at Roman before moving for the coffee machine.

“No!”

Virgil blinked. Had Roman turned to look at Logan, he would’ve noticed the side putting his head in his hands, but his gaze was fixated solely on Virgil and the mugs he was reaching for.

“I’ll do that!” Roman stepped forward and shoved Virgil towards the table. “It’s your day!”

“I um…” Virgil licked his lips. “I don’t want-”

“We appreciate it, Roman,” Logan interrupted. He fixed Virgil with a look. “Just breakfast, right?”

Roman nodded eagerly.

Virgil pursed his lips before moving back over to the table Logan was already seated at and taking the spot across from him. The two of them leaned forward, probably to tell each other how pleased they were with Roman’s efforts, while Roman reached for the coffee.

He had been setting up things like this for the past four years, every time their anniversary hit, and he had never seemed to get it quite right. Somewhere along the line, one or the other always disappeared and everything fell to shambles pretty quickly.

It didn’t matter. Roman would make today so enjoyable, they would wish everyday was Anniversary Day.

He placed two coffee mugs in front of them. “What would you like to eat?” He asked.

Logan and Virgil looked at each other, then over to the obvious stack of waffles sitting on the counter.

“Toast,” Virgil deadpanned.

Logan hid his smile with a single hand. He nodded vaguely in the waffles direction and Roman skipped over to the platter and then placed it in the middle of the lovebird’s table.

“Thank you, Roman.” Logan met his eyes and gave a quiet nod before reaching to grab a waffle with his fork.

They ate in relative silence, now and then raising an eyebrow or flickering their eyes in a direction to communicate some sort of message Roman didn’t understand. He waited patiently for the two of them to finish eating before snapping his fingers and clearing the table in an instant.

“Right! Now, I have an outdoorsy activity plan for you including Swan Boats-”

“I can’t!” Virgil interrupted.

Roman paused. “Why not?”

“I’m… allergic to water?”

There was a beat of silence. Logan stared open-mouthed at Virgil but Roman nodded knowingly.

“Okay, then we can skip the Swan Boats and go right to the theater.”

Logan winced at that.

“Don’t worry,” Roman said quickly. “It’s gay.”

“Look, Roman, I’m sure your play is very good… who’s in it?”

“Me!”

Virgil closed his eyes and Logan licked his lips.

“Right. I’m sure it’s… adequate. But I’m not very fond of theater-”

“You’ll like this one,” Roman said. “Come on! I promise it’ll be fun!”

Virgil and Logan shared another one of their looks. Their hands laced together and both of them nodded over at Roman, who was all too happy to lead them out of the kitchen and towards his room.

When Roman glanced behind him, he found Virgil raising his eyebrows at Logan, an expression that Logan seemed to be purposely ignoring. Roman wasn’t quite sure what to make of it but he chose to leave his strange nerds to whatever they were up to and concentrate on the performance he was about to give. It would be a bit difficult to give, as for some reason, none of the other sides that preferred acting had liked the idea of acting for Logan and Virgil.

“Logan hates theater,” Courage had said, “and Virgil is scared of being the only audience member clapping. Besides, you know they don’t do anything for anniversaries anyway.”

Roman did know that, which is why he had set up this show for them. In his opinion, it was important to celebrate the big moments. Especially four years of being together.

His performance began with a song about feeling lost and alone. The moment the song began, Logan began shifting in his seat and Virgil muttered something in his ear.

During intermission, Logan went up to Roman and gave him what could’ve either been a smile or a grimace.

“I have work,” he said simply. “Virgil says he’ll watch the rest of your performance and tell me about it, because I don’t want your efforts to go unwatched, but I do really need to go.”

Roman stared at him. “It’s your anniversary! You should be relaxing!”

Logan just shrugged. “I don’t see an anniversary as an achievement.”

Before Roman could even begin to unpack all that, Logan gave him a tiny wave and left Virgil to watch the rest of Roman’s performance alone.

__

Okay, so the theater and the swan boats were a bust. That was fine. Roman had plenty of other things planned for today.

Except, then Virgil wanted to go work, so only he and Logan went to Patton’s cooking class.

And then Logan saw a book he hadn’t read in the library, so Virgil did the escape room by himself (he did manage to complete it though.)

And then both Logan and Virgil were busy, so the picnic was completely ruined.

By 3 o’clock, Roman had all but given up trying to get Logan and Virgil to do fun things and was sitting by the kitchen table, head firmly planted on the tabletop, and letting out quiet moans as if he were a fish that had just been gutted.

There was a creak from the chair beside him. Roman turned his head to the side and blinked rapidly at Logan. The side’s expression was unreadable, but Roman sat up and glared fully at his stupid friend.

“Why don’t you just enjoy the stuff I make you!?” Roman threw his hands up in the air. “You’ve been together for four years! You should celebrate that!”

Logan sighed quietly. “Would it make you feel better if Virgil and I did one of your… date ideas?”

“No!” Roman crossed his arms over his chest. “It would make me feel better if you wanted to celebrate.”

“So we can’t make you feel better then?”

It took Roman a second to figure out what he was insinuating. That the only reason he would do anything Roman planned was for him and not their relationship. “Why don’t you want to celebrate!?” he practically shouted.

Virgil appeared in the doorway. Roman’s eyes flickered between the two of them but it was Logan who answered his question.

“Virgil doesn’t like the over-attention, and I don’t see an anniversary as an achievement.” His voice was casual as if they were discussing how the sky was blue or that water made things wet. “The true achievements in a relationship are when you compromise, help the other through obstacles, show your interest in their interests. It’s not an arbitrary date.”

Roman stared rather blankly at him.

“The achievement,” Logan continued, “is just being in the relationship. It doesn’t matter to me how long I’m with Virgil, so long as I am.”

“You fucking-” Virgil spoke from the doorway, voice a bit more muffled than usual.

Logan glanced behind him, eyebrows knit together, and barely had time to ask “what?” before Virgil had hauled him out of his chair, waved at Roman, and pulled Logan out of the kitchen.

Roman snapped his fingers, and all of the plans he had made for the day- the party, the trivia game, the Disney movie marathon- vanished into thin air.

__

Logan walked into his room later that night and was not at all surprised to find Virgil laying across his bed, computer open to Disney+, and Virgil browsing through it in an attempt to find a movie they could watch together. It was a common sight- although normally, Virgil wore his hoodie instead of the skeleton onesie on at the moment. And normally, there wasn’t a unicorn onesie spread out off to the side of him in a very obvious message as to what Logan was to wear.

He scooped the onesie up.

“Dinner?” Virgil glanced over at him. He smiled widely at the sight of conjured Chinese food and then rolled his eyes. “Utter sap.”

Logan was still trying not to melt from the mere look on Virgil’s face and wasn’t able to find his tongue before Virgil had sat up and given him a soft kiss.

“We’re not eating on the bed,” Logan managed when they broke apart.

“Then you better set up the beanbags.” Virgil stuck his tongue out and then instantly went back to browsing. “Are you against musical Disney movies?”

“I suppose not.” Logan grimaced at the thought of the show Roman had put on. “However, I’d prefer it to not be a romance.”

Virgil’s gaze laughed back at him, as if he too was remembering the oddity of watching Roman play all parts of a romance play- although Logan had managed to escape before watching Roman passionately make out with… nobody.

And while he was sorry he had left Virgil alone for that, he was also incredibly happy he missed it.

Logan set the Chinese food down on his desk and headed over towards the hamper set off to the side of his room. It took him less than a minute to strip from his earlier dress clothes, slip into the onesie Virgil clearly wanted him in, and tie a blue tie around the front of it.

“Moana doesn’t have any romance in it,” Virgil said aloud. Before Logan could respond he muttered, “I’m in the mood for a classic though.”

Logan left him to it (Virgil would figure out what he wanted eventually) and made his way over to the ridiculously large bean bag usually set up in the corner of the room. Virgil had insisted they get it practically the moment he moved in, and Logan had to admit, the thing was quite useful.

At the moment though, it was completely covered in graphic novels Virgil read while listening to his loud emo music.

Logan sorted them onto the shelf as quickly as he could, ignoring the little “hmms” and “I hate that movies” coming from his bed. Once the beanbag was completely cleared off, Logan snatched their favorite blanket- a weighted galaxy one and sent it fluttering over the top.

“Have you picked a movie yet, Virge?”

“No.” Virgil sighed. “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.”

“I think you’ve given me every possible meaning to that question.”

“Fuck you.”

Logan smiled softly at the familiar nonthreatening words. He tapped the back of Virgil’s legs as he walked back over to grab the Chinese food, as a quiet friendly reminder that everything was ready for him.

“Mulan,” Virgil said aloud. He twisted to meet Logan’s eyes. “Mulan? Not the hideous new one, obviously. The old one.”

“Satisfactory.”

Virgil's answering smile is bright and not for the first time in their relationship- or really not for the first time that day, Logan is reminded exactly why he fell in love with him. He said nothing as Virgil jumped up and settled into the beanbag, holding one arm out for Logan to curl into before dropping the weighting blanket over both of them.

Virgil balanced the computer on his knees and Logan used the tension of the blanket as a sort of table Chinese food. He curled into Virgil’s side, letting out a quiet breath.

“I can’t believe Mr. I-Don't-Care-About-Anniversaries got my favorite takeout for our anniversary,” Virgil teased lightly.

Logan ignored the heat rushing into his cheeks. “You still enjoy them, even if you don’t like grand gestures. I’m not above pushing aside my opinion to make you happy.”

“You are annoyingly sweet, Logan.”

Logan smiled and leaned up to kiss his boyfriend’s cheek. Virgil’s answer was to shove fried rice into his face and click the start of the movie.

“Did you know,” Logan said over the music of the opening credits, “that the true story of Mulan is a lot more feminist than what Disney was going for here?”

“Yeah?” Virgil supplied.

“Yeah. In the real folktale, Mulan’s family knew she was leaving and supported her. Plus, when the army found out she was a woman, they didn’t care and just let her stay because she was that strong of a soldier.”

Logan glanced over at Virgil and found that he was facing him, barely even an inch away. Their breath mingled and Logan's eyes darted down to his boyfriend’s lips.

“I expect you to rip this movie apart with me,” Virgil whispered.

“Obviously.”

He wasn’t sure who leaned forward first, but by the time Shan Yu had come on screen, Virgil’s lips were soft against his.

He did know that Virgil was the first to pull back and shovel another chopstick full of fried rice into his mouth.

“This guy sucks,” Virgil said, jabbing a single finger at Shan Yu. “I hope that when he goes to charge his phone, it only works at a certain angle.”

“He’s the villain- I- wait. Virgil, they don’t have phones-”

Virgil stuck a dumpling into his open mouth.

[marinetteplztakeabreak]

Desperada rewatch summary because I need to lighten up

I’ve watched Desperada way too many times and I’ve probably written like 30 pages of angsty analysis so I’m balancing it out by writing a summary of non-angsty things about the episode that are being criminally forgotten

The flirtiest thing Luka does in the beginning is playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on his electric guitar in Marinette’s general direction while smiling at her

Adrien is carrying both his and Kagami’s fencing supplies when they walk into the boat. It is implied that they either made it all the way to fencing practice before meeting up and driving away, in which case the “oh no this is the wrong address” is hillarious, like “we were two feet away but oops oh nOoOoo, I accidentally took a wrong turn and headed back into the car, and then told my driver to come completely out of his way, whoops” or they are regularly carpooling to fencing practice which means they get to actually hang out more, I don’t know which I like more

Kagami asks Marinette if she’s there to watch her boyfriend rehearse, as Marinette and Luka are hugging and joking together. Marinette blushes and does not say no. Adrien, who is awkward and missed a lot of his friends interactions, has no reason to beleive that Luka and Marinette are not currently dating

Kagami is super awkward and physically used Adrien as a shield between her and the other girls, until the second Desperada shows up, at which point she instantly leaps in front of him to protect him.

I’m 90% sure that the first thing Marinette does when she sees Kagami and Adrien appear is rush to get them some orange juice, this is probably where Kagami got the orange juice idea

Marinette apperently plays the flute? This is never mentioned again

The SECOND that an argument starts up outside, every single person in the boat drops what they’re doing and RUNS outside to see what’s about to go down. No one thinks this is odd

the reason that Vivica got into drama with Jagged Stone is because she ate Jagged Stone’s cereal “and drank Fang’s milk.” He is still upset about this at the end of the episode

Jagged is not at all worried for his safety, his only concern is that Desperada “is giving rock and roll a bad name” in her murderous rampage. He also follows after her and tries to stop her, genuinly thinking that this argument will work

“I may not play the guitar but I do play the yoyo!” = actual Ladybug line in the English dub. I’m still uncertain as to what this means but she sounded really smug when she said it

Ladybug pulls Adrien and Luka into the sewers to hide and starts talking very quietly so Desperada doesn’t find them. Luka immeditatly starts to loudly play the guitar for no reason. This is never addressed and Ladybug says nothing about it. Desperada is actively searching for guitar players so she can attack them. This is not a good way to avoid capture.

before the timeloops start, Ladybug just takes down an entire bridge causing Desperada to fall several meters and be covered in heavy cement rubble. She is only mildly inconvenienced by this, and it barely distracts her. However, Luka playing a few notes on the harp at the end of the episode makes her completely unable to focus, because she’s so upset at Luka for playing music in the middle of a battle. Desperada represents my deepest inner emotions

Adrien knows his way around the sewers and immediatly finds a locker room to hide in. Luka does not question this

Adrien, being smart, closes another locker door to make Luka think he’s hiding in there. Also Adrien, being an idiot, is whispering to Luka for this entire scene so Desperada doesn’t find them, as he’s stomping around and slamming doors. No one sees an issue with this

Desperada destroys a flock of pigeons because they’re bad at playing guitar. I am not making this up

Marinette falls off the sewer ladder and almost drops the snake Miraculous into the sewer. The episode would have been very different if she had

Chat Noir, being a genius, takes away Ladybug’s suspicion by pretending to have magical smell that leads him directly to Adrien. He reaches exactly the locker where Adrien should be, then says “oh no he’s not here, lets team up with Luka and split up” and as soon as Ladybug’s out of the room, he shoves Luka back into a locker before he can join the search effort. Points for making an attempt to strategize I guess? I don’t know what he thought he would accomplish tho

If you follow the time frame, Luka stays in the locker for maybe 90 seconds before running out to look for them. What was he doing? He clearly had no intention of following Chat Noir’s order to stay put, which leads me to conclude he spent the entire two minutes just flustered because Chat Noir shoved him in a locker and winked at him

Luka walks in on Adrien and Ladybug talking and asks “did I miss something?” Ladybug laughs as if this is a joke. Luka never gets an explanation. I feel almost bad for him

Viperion’s solution to the problem is to start playing music in the middle of the battle. This works.

Desperada falls off the Eiffel Tower and it’s not enough to break her focus or make her angry at Chat Noir for cataclysming the ground she’s standing on. However, Luka plays maybe 4 notes on his lyre and she shoots off towards him in a blind murderous rage.

I think the literal reason that Adrien kept failing was because he never would’ve just started playing guitar in the middle of a battle like Luka was already doing.

If they spent any timeloops together in the sewer for the whole 5 minutes, Luka would’ve shown up before the time even ran out, and probably would’ve immeditaly started playing the guitar given his characterization in this episode

Jagged Stone is still upset about the cereal thing but he does his best to apologize anyway

When Kagami asks “I was wrong about you and Luka, wasn’t I?” she’s literally saying she was wrong about thinking he was her boyfriend because that’s what she thought at the beginning of the episode.

When Kagami kinda tried to pressure Marinette into love triangle mentality, Alya literally just bursts into the conversation and tells Kagami to knock it off in the nicest way possible

Jagged Stone cradles his crocodile in his arms at the end of the episode, not in a “I was worried about you, Fang” way, but in a “yep, this is a normal way to interact with a crocodile” way. Neither Vivica not Anarka bring it up

Jagged Stone is definitely related to Luka based on everything about his characterization in this, he doesn’t even stop playing the piano when Desperada shows up, his main priority is music, he speaks in musical metaphors, and his priorities make no sense. I’m trying to decide if this makes Fang Luka’s brother.

Anarka’s whole issue was that she doesn’t want to be Jagged’s “second choice.” This is clearly a pun. Luka, on the other hand, doesn’t have any capacity to care about anything that isn’t his guitar, so he doesn’t have this kind of rage

The freakinf cereal thing, you guys, Vivica got fired over eating Fang’s cereal, and Jagged only feels the slightest regret at firing her for this. He also may or may not have thrown her into a literal lake when he did this, the dialogue makes it unclear where the metaphors end

Jagged Stone’s music seems to have had both a piano part and a guitar part, so if anyone had been thinking at all, then Adrien could’ve come in as his pianist and Jagged could’ve taken pn the guitar

“You can come back but get your own breakfast, ok?”

[somuchkdrama]

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho

Episodes 3 & 4

Dae Woong the Man-Child

@rocknghorss: Daewoong is such a frustrating man-child!!! I get that Miho is.. screwing up his game with noona but why can't he treat her more nicely?

@dramajib: I think he's being plenty nice as it is actually. Like he could just ditch her entirely, but he's put up with her (until now anyway). Mostly out of fear, but still. It's not just noona she's screwing up for him, basically since he met her he's got no money, can't go home for (misguided) fear of her eating his family, he's discovered that most of his friends were fake friends..

rocknghorss: I know :( I'm just biased...

dramajib: Ahahahaha aren't we all. 

That whole ship thing at the end of episode 3 took me by surprise though, I was like... Dae Woong is a selfish manchild, sure, but he hasn't been MEAN up to this point. And that was really mean

rocknghorss: it was! He'd had a pretty disappointing day, but still, that was downright mean.  I guess from his point of view, everything was Miho's fault. So why not? Especially since as far as he knows, the water can't actually hurt her.

dramajib: It's awful. I hope he gets very contrite and fixes it somehow. Preferably NOT by diving in the water and swimming after the boat and getting pneumonia

rocknghorss: Lol.

The Greatest Love Story: Aunt and Elevator Guy

rocknghorss: Speaking of fixing things, I like how Miho is inadvertently fixing Daewoong's relationship with his Grandpa

dramajib: And helping his aunt and the elevator guy

rocknghorss: Oh yes lol. Although! I was a bit confused about why elevator guy thought that aunt was married?

dramajib: In the previous episode, when she runs away cos she thinks his daughter is his gf, he sees her standing in front of the mannequin at the men's underwear section of the department store, and when the sales woman asks her if she's buying undies for her husband she says yes, cos embarrassed

rocknghorss: Oh. I'm glad you remembered, b/c I was completely lost.  That said, I was quite amused just how EXTRA they both are. The soft lit sunset behind elevator man as he was (I guess) wallowing in despair was ridiculous and I loved it.

dramajib: It's so cheesy I can't stand it but I also simultaneously love it

Dramajib Goes Off On Noona

dramajib: Kristin have you finished episode 3? I haven't watched 4 yet but I have an itch to talk about noona and all her noona issues

rocknghorss: I’m down for discussing noona (and continuing to call everyone by their title rather than their name for the rest of the drama lol) whenever

dramajib: Hahaha sorry I'm just useless with names!

rocknghorss: No worries Ekta :) It’s all good! I can’t be bothered to learn names of characters nowadays... I’m too lazy

rocknghorss: I was wishing the other day that Seunggi’s character had a shorter name lol

@triangularlily: Doesn't Miho just call him Woong a lot of the time?

rocknghorss: Ooh you’re right.  Kristin you’re awesome. My thumbs thank you lol

triangularlily: Hahaha you’re welcome.

<note: at this point some of us hadn’t yet finished watching episode 4…>

dramajib: Since we're all done with three: KRISTIN, I TAKE BACK everything I said about noona. What a cunt!

rocknghorss: LOL

triangularlily: LMAO EKTA.

triangularlily: Like she is horrible but I kind of like her actually? When she is tired of waiting for Woong so she just drives away??

rocknghorss: Man-child Woong and Noona kinda deserve each other right now…

triangularlily: I guess I like that she isn’t like bending over backwards to get the guy like a lot of second leads do she is like super confident and scheming about it instead. But maybe I will take back my words too cause I really don’t remember her character at all

dramajib: I was SO PISSED with noona's dress scheme in episode 3, hence my indignation. Like, fine, I was all on her side at first because it IS ridiculous the way Dae Woong is behaving out of the blue and not giving legit reasons. I did love how she drove away.

But when she pulled the dress thing, when she KNEW she wasn't wearing that dress, and she let him lose his chance at auditioning, she lost me as a fan cos that's just cruel. You know this is the big break he's been working towards, and if you really cared about him you wouldn't sabotage that just to throw shade on your competition

rocknghorss: I both hated and enjoyed her pettiness.  Just like Kristin said, I kinda liked that unlike many “villainous” second female leads, she was unrepentantly nasty to her “competition” and wasn’t shy about it. I hated it of course, because it was just gross and had the consequence of more meanness thrown Miho’s way

<...some time later…>

dramajib: Okay I just finished episode 4, and I'm wavering again about Noona. Like, everything she says to Dae Woong about wanting him to be clear about his feelings is totally valid and fair. But the way she behaves about getting this lead role in the film is horrendous - and I don't quite understand why she calls him when she finds out that Mi Ho is the girl elevator guy had his eyes on

Hip Hop Guy, Guest Starring Ma Wang

dramajib: I am epicly confused by incongruent hip hop ost second male lead's deal. Is he just trying to restore balance? Kill Mi Ho? Steal her bead? Is he falling in love with her? Like what is going on there

rocknghorss: I’m watching 4 now. When you guys watched it did it seem like the monk knew that hip-hop guy was some sort of Demon Hunter/supernatural being?

triangularlily: Hmmm idk like he seemed very matter of fact about it like oh u can put the fox back nice!

rocknghorss: Right? It was kind of weird but I guess if the monk does actually believe in a nine tailed fox, why wouldn’t he believe that some random veterinarian could bring the fox back to the painting? Lol

dramajib: I love that his name is now hip hop guy. We’re so good at naming characters

rocknghorss: Lol. We are

dramajib: But didn’t Mi Ho call him a fake monk?

rocknghorss: Ooh, you’re right! But maybe that was supposed to be an insult, since he’s been keeping her captive in the painting?

dramajib: Yeah, that’s what I thought at first too. Also cos he keeps telling her story potentially incorrectly?

triangularlily: Oh true yeah

dramajib: Maybe hip hop guy gave them the painting in the first place? Cos he also gave them to the temple dog to guard it?

rocknghorss: I don’t know guys. Hip-hop guy’s backstory is the most confusing so far

dramajib: Right?? Cos I’m like.. Who even is this guy? He’s been passing as human since before Mi Ho got trapped in the painting, which means the girl he killed was even before that, so is he like in exile now? Is he good? Bad? On a different moral scale altogether?

triangularlily: I’m really trying to remember but can’t

dramajib: lol not the most memorable villain I guess. If he even counts as a villain.

triangularlily: I think he’s technically the second male lead lol

rocknghorss: Hm. Maybe he’s being punished like in Hwayugi.  The way Iron Fan was?

dramajib: Oh noooo the Iron Fan thing was TRAGIC I don’t want to sit through that again!! Ma Wang being mopey in his little throne room ugh

rocknghorss: Ugh yeah. Everything about Hwayugi was tragic.

dramajib: Well not everything. Ma Wang’s fashion gave me life

triangularlily: Lmao

rocknghorss: Lolol Fashion was good, it’s true. But how is he the second lead if he’s trying to kill/capture Miho is what I want to know

triangularlily: Lmao

dramajib: Well he loved Mi Ho’s lookalike, so I can see him starting to grow fond of Mi Ho. And like, try to keep spiritual beings together instead of letting her fraternize with humans

triangularlily: Yeah I think its something that develops and maybe we should talk more after u finish 4 Marie

triangularlily: Cause there is some development in that area in ep 4

rocknghorss: Ah. Oky doky!

<...some more time later…>

rocknghorss: I finally finished episode 4 you guys! And started episode five!

rocknghorss: And I find it super cute that the way the audience is supposed to know Miho is falling in ~love~ is that she wants to feed/eat with Woong, not just freeload off him

dramajib: I love her interaction with the neighbourhood mean girl ahjumma. And the whole hunting down coupons thing

rocknghorss: Yes! Mean girl ahjumma was hilarious.  Her voice was perfect lol

dramajib: Did finishing episode 4 give you any further insight into hip-hop guy?

rocknghorss: Ehhh. Hip hop guy is pitiful. I’d like to understand why his role appears to be “monster hunter” because that was still not cleared up unless I missed something.  But I can definitely see why he’s billed as the second male lead. He’s got it bad for her, in his own way

dramajib: I assume we get more of his back story? Because as it stands, it seems like the way he's hunting her down is probably the big plot point, and I don't really get it yet either

rocknghorss: I think we do? I can’t really remember.  He seems to lack a lot of urgency in getting her back to the temple tho.  Like if it was that big of a deal why is he slowing around and letting her decide on her to go back?

triangularlily: Yeah I cant remember either I think we do

triangularlily: *get more backstory I mean

dramajib: At first it seemed like he'd been waiting to catch her forever. Then it seemed like he was guarding society and making sure she's safely locked up. Now it's like he's hunting her for his own pleasure. So confused

rocknghorss: That’s exactly why I said hip hop Guy was pitiful btw. I think he likes her or is confusing her with her previous incarnation(??) and is struggling not to confuse his feelings for the other girl with Miho. So he’s got this artificial choice of duty or love, but he doesn’t even know Miho really.

triangularlily: Yeah he also has been by himself for so long. Like the whole can’t make human connection thing

rocknghorss: Yeah!

dramajib: The connection thing - was living with humans his choice, or forced on him? And if it was his choice, he's also chosen to live isolated, soooo… Not that I don't feel bad for him, I'm just being contrary for the sake of it

triangularlily: Yeah I just mean I can see how he became a bit twisted is all

dramajib: That whole scene where he's sitting with her in his house and telling her what her options are was sad. But I also don't trust him so I'm like... Are you just telling her things so that she'll choose to do what you want her to?

Ending On A Less Angsty Note

dramajib: But I also love that grandpa loves Mi Ho without even meeting her yet

rocknghorss: Yupo.  He’s just super enamored that someone was able to make his grandson grow up.  Grandpa doesn’t want much lol Also! I like that he doesn’t rib Aunt too much about her crush. Even though she’s wayyy too into it (again apparently lol)

dramajib: Lol aunt and elevator guy are great though. I can't wait for his daughter to find out that Dae Woong is going to be her cousin

triangularlily: Looool I didn't think about that

rocknghorss: Hah

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Review: Strudel It Is

I absolutely adore the Harry Potter universe. If you haven’t guessed by my previous post on the subject of Fate and Transformers, i am  guy that merits lore and world building in my media. It’s why i have such an affinity for the likes of Star Wars or Blade Runner or Adventure time. J.K. Rowling created a world with her Potter series and it’s, for lack of a better term, fantastic. Now, i missed the initial Harry potter boat. I was too old for it to have all of that nostalgia armor that my younger brothers have for it. I’m an 80s baby so Transformers was my thing. However, after, i think the second movie dropped, i was hooked. Chamber of Secrets was ridiculous! The Basilisk, Tom Riddle, all of those petrifications: sh*t was wild, man! I eventually go into the series, started reading the books, and filling up on the lore through the powers of the interwebs! Rowling created a living, breathing, world and i was fascinated by it. Not just the whimsical adventures of her young protagonists, but the detail of her vision. So imagine my surprise when Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them was announced.

I slept on this flick in the theater because i didn’t think it could be anywhere near as good as the potter series. It was literally a movie built around a throw away reference of a textbook Harry used. I didn’t think there was a story to be told there but, boy, was i wrong. With the recent trailer of The Crimes Of Grindlewald being releases, i wanted to properly address it’s predecessor with a reviews. Actually, i just want to gush about how much i love Beasts because it’s f*cking outstanding and a lot better than people say it is!

The Best

Alison Sudol’s Queenie Goldstein is just absolutely adorable. I love her! She’s so sweet and kind but, at the very same time, alarmingly capable. Queenie is legitimately the most cunning and versatile character in Scarmander’s group. Sudol stole every scene she was in and i was left wanting. I’m so glad the ending happened the way it did because, oh my, dat smile, tho!

But dat reunion in Jacob’s bakery, tho!

Seriously, i tear up every time i see it. That’s love right there, man. I know how that feels and it feels like!

The Good

As far as origin stories go, this is a pretty good one. And that’s what this is, the origin story of Newt Scarmander. if you try to read into it any further, you’ll be disappointed, for sure. That bit with Grindlewald at the end sets up bigger things in the future, but this movie was specifically designed for us, as an audience, to endear ourselves to the unique idiosyncrasies of Mr. Scarmander. Speaking of...

Eddie Redmayne crafted a character, didn’t he? I understand why he won that Oscar. Newt is definitely on the spectrum and Redmayne portrays that with a delicate touch. It’s never offensive or overstated but you know that he is just a little bit not okay around people. He opens up as the film progresses but it’s obvious there’s a ton of room to grow there. I’m looking forward to see Newt grow into his heroism and how Eddie portrays that onscreen.

Speaking of heroes, my man Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski is one of the best! my goodness, is her endearing! Rowling has a knack for writing great sidekicks and, like his red haired predecessor, Kowalski doesn’t disappoint. Being a No-Maj gives him an interesting perspective on all of the sights he has beholden and we, as the audience, are just as awestruck as he was. Dude is just so sweet and i loved him so much! Fogler gives a whimsical performance that both captivates and rivets but it’s the burgeoning romance between his Kowalski and Sudol’s Queenie that seals it up for me. They’re just so cute together, it hurts!

This movie is what made me become a fan of Katherine Waterston. She is fantastic as Tina Goldstein. I felt like her character was left a little bare in the development department, but that’s a complaint i have for most of these cats. I think thee was too much focus on spectacle rather than character development, but, being one of the main casts, i think Waterston had enough to work with. And what little she did have, she made her own. I went back and watched a few choice performances and i’m now a legit fan. I literally went and saw Logan Lucky specifically because she was in it! And it’s all because her Tina Goldstein was absolutely brilliant.

This movie is a goddamn beauty to watch. There is spectacle and awe in almost every other scene, to the films detriment overall, i think. That aside, it is a marvel to experience. The new beasts, the new villain, that climax; all of it was feast for the eyes. I just wish character development and plot didn’t suffer because of it.

The score is actually pretty good, too. this thing sounds like a potter film. There are swells and ebbs that match the admittedly erratic pacing. Also, the sound design, overall, was pretty legit. I think they compliment what was onscreen pretty swimmingly. I mean, how do you give voice to an amorphous blob of rage and energy? Somehow this movie made it happen.

The Meh

The direction is a little suspect. David Yates has a hard time kind of getting a handle on Rowling’s manic and expansive style of writing, which is odd because he director the last 4 potter films. I think that might have been easier because Rowling didn’t write those screenplays. Those were written by people who write those for a living. This was Rowling’s first attempt at writing an actual movie and Yates did his best to bring that vision to the screen but, i think, he fell just a wee bit short.

Ezra Miller was kind of underused. He was more a special effect than an actual character. His Credance Barbone was an interesting character who had a ton of potential but, again, and i think this was the weakest aspect of this film, there wasn’t enough time developing him. The spectacle of his Obsurus was more developed than the actual character which sucks. Ezra Miller is a fantastic actor and, hopefully, moving forward, he’ll have more to do. I’ve heard that Credance becomes a very important figure in the Potterverse so here’s hoping Ezra gets something he can really sink his teeth into.

The plot is kind of all over the place. Stuff that feels like it should be in the third act, happened in the second. Stuff that happened in third, feels completely out of place in this movie. Seriously, i can legitimately see two separate films here and they probably would have been the better for it. What we got isn’t bad but the overall story is just too messy for my tastes.

I think it took a little while for this flick to figure out what it wanted to be. I think that listless and meandering plot kind of derailed what Rowling wanted to do, where she wanted this story to go. It feels like she just sat down, started writing, and just let her imagination take her wherever she wanted to go. That works for a book because you can always make your tale as long as necessary. For a movie, not so much. This was her first time writing for a film and it shows. I think she’s gotten better based on the trailer for Grindlewald but we’ll see.

The pacing is kind of all over the place. You have Newt trying to recapture his animals, Tina trying to catch Newt, Queenie being just the most winsome cinnamon roll ever, and Percival being the most obvious red herring ever. There’s a lot going on but none of it focused. Rowling kind of narrowed everything to a point in the 3rd act but it was still mad ridiculous that SO much as going on.

I feel like the plight of No-Majs or, more to the point, their relationship with the American wizard world, was a missed opportunity. here seems to be a ton of strife there, on one side, and it’s never really elaborated on. I feel like Rowling wanted to focus more on spectacle, the beast captures, more than the simmering relations between the seen and unseen worlds. I mean, that was Grindlewald’s whole deal! And we never even got a sniff of that! Maybe in the future...

Bringing in Depp as Grindlewald was a little bit of stunt casting. And his look? Okay, bro. That needs to be toned down, several notches. Besides that, Colin Farrell was far more sinister. When he was cold busted after Credance got his, that little deliberation and then subtle acceptance? that sh*t was wild! I feel like he looked the part better as well. But, in Rowling we trust. She has her fingers all in this pie. Let’s see where this goes.

The Verdict

I love Fantastic Beast and Where To Find Them. It’s so quaint and endearing. Sure, there are issues with it but, for the first in a  new series of films, that are actual films and not based upon books, i think it laid solid groundwork moving forward. I was skeptical at first, but after watching this flick a few times, i can see how awesome it actually is. I can see how awesome this world they created can be. When it came out, i think it got kind of a raw deal because everyone was still pining for more Harry. This ain’t that. Beasts is a far darker, far more adult take on the Wizarding World and it should stand alone on it’s own merit. As time has passed, i think that has become clearer and clearer. I dig this movie. It has amazing performances, it’s beautifully shot, and the characters are crazy enchanting. It embellishes an already opulent world and i can’t wait for it’s inevitable sequels. There’s a reason why Harry Potter is one of the only three successful cinematic universe, after the MCU and, begrudgingly, The Fast franchise. Beasts is a great film, a wonderful addition to the Potter lore, and you should give it a second chance, if you haven’t already.

[brazilian-hot-mess]

💙🇦🇷🇧🇷💚 HAPPY BRARG HEADCANON SUNDAY YALL 💙🇦🇷🇧🇷💚

i organized my mermaid au hcs, finally lol it got big tho~

Luciano is a marine biologist that just graduated from university and is now working on his post grad/masters degree, his study area is marine mammals, their behavioural aspects and such. So, after some years preparing a plea for funds for his research and looking for a team to join him he gets the greenlight from his Uni and he dives into the research head first without second thought.

I think he and the research team must have been stationed on the beach for a while already, enough time for the initial excitement to pass and for people start to take turns to stay on the observation station just like… looking at the sea and setting the automatic cameras to take sporadic photos of what they suppose could be a fin or a tail, you know? boring stuff, as this type of things usually are lol

so one day, after the team finishes the schedule for that day and retrieve the cameras to see if they got anything that could be important they notice one photo of what looked like a group of fins above water that they didn’t recognize as any species they already knew and they get all excited and Luciano is jumping because FUCKING FINALLY some fucking research subject!!! he IS getting his nobel after all!!!!

so they prepare a trap (a “device for capture and release” he says to his colleagues, they are not hunters) to try and get one of the animals and put it in a place next to the sighting site and… wait… and wait… and nothing happens for like days and the research team is already like “yeah i think we should drop it” and luciano is furious at the suggestion because thats his ticket for a nobel for discovering a new species (he is a little delusional, a little “crazy scientist” in this au yk) so he telsl them to go take care of whatever they want, he is in charge of that part of the research from now on.

and he stays in the station day after day, observing the trap tirelessly with no success until suddenly… but it happens in the middle of the night, there is no one with him in the station (everyone thinks it a lost cause but dont have the courage to tell him) and he knows that this is the only chance he has to catch the specimen so he jumps on the station’s precarious boat and sets sail to the trap.

only to find a stupid idiot boy tangled in place of what should be his groundbreaking scientific discovery.

at first he gets angry, then he gets worried (the trap was set too far from land, almost open sea, not a good place to take a swim that boy could have drowned), then he gets confused because the whole situation it's not really making sense??? but anyway, not a good place to take a swim, so he offers to take the boy back to shore on his boat and when he gets close to him to help the boy jumps him and pulls him to the water.

they fight a little underwater, but quickly, the boy is free of the trap and swims away. or luciano supposes he swimmed away, it was dark and he could not see well underwater, but he is alone

he gets back to the station, looks at the camera to see if he at least got a photo of the animal but no. only photos of that boy. photos of him struggling with the trap and ruining the thing. idiot. luciano just starts to delete all of them, but stops himself because of one specific photo in that it seems that the boy’s body lower half looked a lot with the fins that appeared above water in that other photograph and luci is a little confused, blames his lack of sleep delete the photograph and forgets about what happened (not lol)

he continues to stay at that station tho, he is still hoping to find… whatever it is that he is supposed to find he doesn't even know anymore but its too stubborn to let it go. he does get angry that he is losing his time and his resources in alost cause, tho, so one day he decides to go swim to relax a little and after tiring himself he lays on some rocks to feel the sun and what not and that boy shows up out of the blue and he almost has a heart attack. first he scolds him for ruining his trap and delaying his research (martin scolds him back for putting that shit on his way on the first place, luciano does not get what he means with “his way” it was literally in the fucking sea), then he notices that martin is very pretty and feels the urge to be more sympathetic with him after all and asks if he is not interested in taking a walk with him and martin laughs on his face says “nice to meet you, human but i think i have to go now” and dives, splashing luciano with his fin as he does it. and luciano just. stays there. slowly coming to realization that he was splahsed by that boy’s FUCKING FIN.

he freaks out a little, calls for martin during some time, then freaks out again, then remembers all the legends about mermaids he has ever heard in his life (all the niched jokes he heard when he decided to be a marine biologist too), the freaks out once more about the GROUNDBREAKING, SHOWSTOPPING, MARVELOUS discovery that had just landed in his lap and that had just dived into the water and disappeared in front of him, he had to do SOMETHING.

so, as one does, he fakes a report about some uncatalogued dolphin species, gets supplies from the research and practically moves to the station where martín got caught in the trap, and went to the rocks day after day after day, hoping martín would go there too, until one day he did. to tell luciano to get the fuck out of his area, sure, but he did show up. and he knew that luciano was going to the rocks everyday too, so that had to mean he himself was going there everyday.

so luciano proposed a deal: they would go to the rocks everyday to meet and talk because martín had to understand how amazed luciano was by finding out martín was real and how groundbreaking the fact itself was, and luciano just had to know everything he could about martín.

martín thought it would be a great way to pass his time, he was kinda bored, so he said yes.

yooo its sunday again, i dont really have anything in mind but i'm really in the mood to discuss anything, so this is an open in invitation for you to ramble about any au/scenario you wish (if you want to of course)

Honestly I'm here waiting on Maju to spill her mermaid au like

[lunosamentelunitoo]

Gintama 628 translation

TITLE: When you are not able to open the lid of your jam. try to seize it with a gum glover”

RAWS: https://www.spoiler.net/spoiler/gz.1-gintama-chapter-628

Kagura: ...

Shinpachi: Whatching at this is still so amazing, every one fought together.

“Kabuki cho 4 devas”

Otose: So in short.. the liberation army will probaly come back in a day or two, this town has a little of peace for now.

“Shinsengumi”

Kondo: We got separetad by the bakufu’s army in space and lost every means of communications with them, but this happened with their army too, so rearrenging will be hard even for a big troupe. 

Toshi: The rest of the bakufu’s army went after the ones that escaped and got scattered. But now we don’t know the situation of our army, and we don’t know how to do an offence attack.

Okita: While the situation here, it will be hard to guarantee an attack even against a lone army, maybe if we attack their supplies the enemy will crumble. 

“Onibanwhashu”

Sacchan: We have to jump in? We could proceed making a massacre, but we thought our aim was t ostop all of that and make an armistice.

Zenzou; We still don’t know how many enemies we chased away but.. we still don’t have a confirmation, but it seems that there is still a mercanary army around. 

“Yagyuu clan”

Binbokusai: We didn’t forget that, this victory is been a miracle, and we paid a big price for it, this is both like to wish fo sometihng, that lose something

“Yoshiwara guards Hyakka”

Tsukuyo: We didn’t won this fight. We just stopped this war for a while, would’t the liberation army go to seek for some aid too? 

“Onmyoji clans Ketsuno, Shirino”

Seimei: This is like being captured, while riding a boat on a stream, it will seem easy to escape, but there will be still a change of another tree blocking us. Our job is done, but anyway our visit was not the last chance of victory

Ketsuno ana: Brother! but the war...

Seimei: If we consider it now, we only had useless lost and sacrificies.

Shinsengumi: But the risks are the same, bith if we stop or begin a war! A resolution is needed! We have to fight!

Onmyouji: No, we done.

Gedomaru: .... And what about you Yorozuya? Do you wantto ride this chance and atack the enemy? Or you want to come back to set things up? We need your opinion

“Yorozuya”

Kagura: SOme curry will be ok, thanks

Shinpachi: They weren’t talking about meals, Kagura chan... we don’t get a lot from this difficukt matters but.. If i have to be honest, even if we all fell donw somehow, there is nothing to be scared, but all of this is kinda inspirational... to see so much people fighting together for Edo, for the Earth, for the place they were born.. I’m so..sorry, maybe isn’t that you wanted to hear, I am so sorry. 

Gintoki: It’s not like that, it’s more like all the humanity gathered for the same goal or something, and how we will fall, it’s only a trivial matter. So if you have so much time to spare, we could just decide playong Jaken. You bastards had hear what i said? It’s time to reibult things, the enemy is still around we are still in the middle of all. do you want get in in the EVA?

“All purpose demon model decisive battle weapon: EVANDOROGON”

Gintoki: What’s up guys? I made any sort of preparation to take the sync ration at its max, when will be ready to go?

Shinpachi: What I am looking at? This is far beyong the drama clichè, what the hell is a Eva? What the hell... what are you doing?

Gintoki: Yorozuya san you already gave your opinion.

Shinpachi : You ar part of the yorozuya too..

Gintoki: Eva, is this the right way to ride you? Do you prefer to be on stand by? What do you think? Do you like it?

Shinpachi: Before one knows, he is been elected as the chosen one for the Eva...

Gintoki: Eva what do you think? Oi Eva...

Hedoro: ....

Gintoki: Ehm... Hedoro san?

Hedoro: Eh? Me? I think i can go, but..

Shinpachi: EH??? He don’t know he is been turned into a EVA???

Toshi: Kondo san... what do we do? I think it’s to early tho...

Kondo: Yeah,,, me to

Sacchan: He said to go, butt I think it is still not the time.. isn’t Tsukki?

Tsukuyo: Yeah, same.

Jirocho: Entrust it to the youth my ass...

Otose: You don’t like the EVA?

Dudes: Eva or not.. or well, how did he said? Nova? 

Dudes: He said EVA

Shinpachi: Everyone has no clues!! You kicked in too early!! I thought everyone but me already knew 

Toshi: me too

Gintoki.You didn’t know? I thought you did...

Shinpachi: How we can if you don’t give us explanations??

Gintoki: There is nothing to explain, this is just a EVA, Hedoro was extraordinary enought to destroy the liberation army but he perished 7 times, so he is now becoming a Eva.

Shinpachi: Do we need an epser to understand??? We got nothing!! It is just getting even more complicated!!

Gintoki: The point is... inside Hedoro san there is a devil that wants to destroy the world, and Hedoro san wants to stop it and protect the world. But I that already seen the hell, came to rescue the world, and used this power to save the world from ruin. I will just use the power of Hedoro, and use it against the liberation army. Mankind’s greatest enemy will become its messiah. This is the essence of the  All purpose demon model decisive battle weapon: EVANDOROGON

Shinpachii: Say what you want, but you just created a monster!!

Gintoki: It’s ok! Above all errors, I disocvered how to roperly use the poewrof this angel and demon. I have just manupulate at my will this 2 flowers. So now i will rty to do some tsukkomi, you just be the boke.

Shinpachi: That was so sudden!! And the tsukkomi is me!!

Hedora: What are you doing?’ I will destroy you mankind!

Shinpachi: Hahahahah!!

Gintoki: So this way.. if you move the right level, the demon of destruction Hedora will appear. Te main tsukkomi to do is that he can't even open the lid frm the jam’s jar.

Shinpachi: What kond of use of his power is that?? Are you doing tsukkomi to the mankind? he still didn’t gave up to destroy us! That’s too dangerous!!

Gintoki: While the left level is...

Hedoro: Shinpachi kun didn’t you get injutried? I am so sorry, hedora is so  rude.

Shinpachi: He.. hedoro san

Hedoro: Pay more attention!! there is a poor bug here!!!

Shinpachi: It’s still the same!!

Gintoki: So depending on the situation, you can use both the power of the angel and the one of the devil. and this is the whole plan of how protect mankind.

Hedoro: Thank god he seems to be ok!

Shinpachi: he is still a devil, don’t matter how you look at him, but he seems to got it wrong and took out the perfect plan to protect bugs!

Hedora: What are you doing?’ Mankind I will destroy you!!

Shinpachi: I was tsukkomed by the tsukkomi!!

Gintoki: Tha’ts whyyou got it wrong and said something stupid, you just be a boke. you just don’t said stupid hings, you look like an idiot too, go, let’s tsukkomi!!

Shinpachi: That’s bad!! there is a devil riding a devil!!

Kondo: Wait Yorozuya! That’s too dangerous! That thing is nor a tsukkomi nor a boke. Let mankind be its own tsukkomi. At this rate this tsukkomi will not attack only the liberation army, but you too.

Gintoki: But yet.. yet.. we can’t go on being a tsukkomi. we can't laught to our downfall.. until this stupid heart will be stopped..

Kondo: So I will take the tsukkomi!!

Gintoki: But you are in my way..

Kondo Go!!

Gintoki: Move

Kondo ; Do it!!

Hedoro: You can’t tsukkomi, you are not even human, but just a troglodyte

Kondo; Go.. do it . give me some tsukkomi!!

Hedoro: py some attention!! there is cockroach here!!

All: He fell for the tsukkomi!!

Otae: You not a demon, but maybe you are a god, Ginsan would never go to rest if not for something like that, so go to rest for today, even th gods needs some rest. So don’t worry Hedoro. the one to be sorry should be this idiot that started to play robot with others.

Hedoro: I am so sorry, for me both Sakata san and cockroaches are important friends on this planet.

Gin: Otae chan, so my life have the same value of a cockraoch, this god is not cute at all.

Otae: Well. be strong! You can’t be less than that cockroach, right?

Hedora: What are you doing?’ Mankind I will destroy you!!

Gin: Ho w can i got stronger like that?? Leave those leaves alone!!

Shinpachi: But you really should rest Ginsan.

Gin: You should say that to your sister.

Shinpachi: The was will surely continue from tomorrow, if yu consider it, the only thing you did, since came back to Edo is being fighting. And that goes on since Rakuyou, and Kurosjyoushima.. you just barely fought. I just a sensation,but i feel like we kept running and now i just feel so tired.

Gin: Yes, you always been with me.YOu had be really usefull, and worked for free. You did a great job, This unworthy president, is really a useless adult and you two became so strong.

Otae: They took all the futon, and that was really a rere thing to heard from you.

Gin: There is still a lot to come, both for them and for me.

Okita: Hijikata san, why we are the only one to not rest, we could rest, and tomorrow work on some plan against the liberation army.

Toshi: I hate the idea of sleeping while the world is on the verge of destruction, so let’s enjoy this corrupt world by ourself

Otae: Don’t you know? you can enjoy  this dark times even sleeping, usually birth rate rise when there are blackouts.

Gin: Even with Edo in ruins you want to rise birthrate??

Sacchan:buhaa

Toshi: this is what i was looking for

Okita: eh a girlfriend like that?

Toshi: No!! the man that caused this blackout stopping all the machines! Hiraga Genkai, In order to stop  any comminication between the enemy’s fleets, he created a virus and spreaded it with this cannon, but now we are in the same situation and cant’t communicate with our allies in space!

“I gave you some nourishment while youare asleep, get well: Gedomarou”

Toshi: Genkai have probaly take some measures to fix it

Dude: The old Genkai? I didn’t saw him in a while. If I remember right, the mercenary army wanted to capture him, but I saw him running away , other than that i don’t know.

An other dude: He? Genkai san? I dunno I run away with the others. Prob he had some business to do and got separetad, he will surely be back.

Some other dude: Eh Genkai? Wasn’t he shouthing something like going under cover with paper.. I don’t know who , but I heard some faint voice near that wall, he said something like god* help me, but i was too afraid to get closer.

*God in japanese is kami, that has the same sounds as paper. so the dude heard kami, believing that Genkai were asking help to god, but he were just asking for some (toilet) paper 

Toshi: I am sorry to interrupt you in a moment like this, but I have a request for you.. Genkai?

Yato: So the one that putted down the liberation army is this old fart, So genkai, why are you here? But it doesn’t matter anymore.

Genkai: Well, I just finished, at least make me cover my ass.

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

did i tell you about the wanker we had on our team tonight?

like, we’re at 2fort right... and this guy, rising erectile eagle or something to that effect, is a soldier.

the team, red, is pretty much spawncamped by multiple soldiers from the get-go.

no one can leave, no sentries live more than a millisecond. and it’s like ??? it’s 2fort, if you have to spawncamp that hard to get all three captures, you must be terrible players (spawncamping with a no cap treaty is different tho)

this guy spends the ENTIRE game in chat going on about how ‘his entire team are idiots/retards/have a collective ig of 7′ and ‘should just uninstall’... he breaks out fuck and cunt later on...

dude... had like 6 points... in all the games we played... his mediocre ass was levels above mine, and that’s the best he could do... as a soldier, at 2fort... 

but it was toooooooootally the team’s fault.

dude would get out of the spawncamp, and fuck off, telling the other team ‘it’s really me vs all of you my team are useless’

and like, the blus were pretty much in the same boat us us, “alright edgelord chadley, time to calm down now” 

everyone was just laughing at the dude, bc how pathetic can you be, really...

and not one game, but every game... bruh, it ain’t the team... but if you maybe helped for once, then they could get some points too instead of being spawncamped the whole match... ??? 

-

it was just really embarrassing to see him go on, and on, and ON like a tantruming small child... and all you can imagine is some angry tween shouting at his computer screen bc he’s pretty much mediocre at a random video game... but like, the possibility that he could be my age, or older (and there are always super-angry old dudes out there on the servers) is chilling

Don’t make me call supernanny on your ass, chadley erecteagles...

-

the real frustration was that the dude kept trying to votekick anyone he didn’t personally think was performing ‘to his standard’ (the high standard of 6, average, btw)... and it was like, bruh... make like Elsa and Let It Go...

No one got kicked

Not even him... bc it was sort of funny to watch this dude just about crap himself with anger, via misspelled chat text... 

the other team wasn’t buying it either, like i said, they were asking the dude to chill from the get-go, but eventually everyone ignored him

kind of sad, tho, kind of pathetic

just keep thinking about how whacked your life must be to get super fucking pissed about a video game... at 2fort in TF2, in casual and not comp mode...

like... everyone else managed to have fun when they broke out of spawn, my son... and maybe you would have played better if you didn’t pause every three seconds to ALL CAPS TYPE ANGRY BLAME-LADEN BABBLE AT THE OTHER PLAYERS 

-

my bruh, chill

it’s legit just a game... and you kind of suck at it, and that’s #okay

please cease being so damn cringeworthy, perhaps?

-

like, you always get that one dude every few matches that loses it over a loss, but never to this extent, not all damn game, it’s kind of ????

-

now, medics who uber someone only to have them blast off like team fucking rocket (or heal heavies who have a sandvich but let you die anyway), they’re the class with a legitimate grievance 

or engineers on a team of like four pyros, who get backstabbed bc none of them spycheck... legit grievance

or spies that are in the perfect position, all staked out and everything, and then a teammates draws fire on where they’re hiding so it was all for nothing... 100% behind that level of fury

or heavies who have to run the whole map bc the engineers won’t put down a damn tele, hella legit frustration...

or legit anyone standing next to a sniper when they get backstabbed or attacked, and their ‘help’ gets ignored... is usually less frustrating, assuming they die immediately after as karma intends...

or, medic again... when you’re ALMOST at uber, and your healee just fucking RUNS into a group of enemies, who take them out... and then turn on medic... it’s like, ‘dude?’ but they always spam that e key for another chance at uber and you’re like, ‘Amyoyo, my good merc, amyoyo’

-

actually, it’s hilarious to get confused reactions when you tell someone (often someone who’s calling teh medic(s) all sorts of horrific names for not pocketing them exclusively, “Patient (their name), Diagnosis: AMYOYO”

bc then they have to ask what it means, but you’re busy so it bothers them all match until right at the end (as they die again bc no heals for you asshole), you have mercy and tell them... “Alright Motherfucker, You’re On Your Own”

...some dude was legit picking on this like, level 2 baby medic on my team the other week... they were doing their best, alright... they had uber issues (had to be told how to pop it, and how to time pre-match ubers so they didn’t die immediately)... this dude, like, bruh... 

so, ‘what the fuck is wrong with you faggot’ and ‘you’re a fucking terrible cunt, medic’ was all levelled at them... and it was like, “My dude, apologise to them, your mediocre ass has like 12 points...” 

they refused

“Patient (their name), Diagnosis: AMYOYO” 

he was so pissed it was beautiful... but bc it was directed at me, it meant nothing... the babymedic did better, esp bc they learned not to just uber on the command of an asshole... and also, they got some assists

hate wasting uber, tbh

“Medic Medic Medic Medic” spams the players you know want a pocket but can’t do anything with it except get you both killed with no assists. “No No No No” you respond.

Dude, you give the uber to:  a) yourself if it’s life or death b) yourself if you run into a sentry c) the nearest person you can find in a surrounded scenario d) the person you know will do the best work with it e) whoever is convenient and not on your shitlist f) everyone, that is to say, if everyone’s on fire and you have uber... it’s the fastest way to save them all esp. if the pyro’s still alive g) whoever the fuck medic wants to give it to, really

there’s this one dude, BounCe or something zany like that, who spent an entire match spamming E and getting angry when I DARED to (as sole healer on a 12-player team) heal OTHER PLAYERS than HIM... you know, bc he was fresh out of spawn and the others, who had actually been fighting, were near death. If you deployed an uber not on him, the boy lost it... ‘cunt this, cunt that’... bruh... chill

I didn’t know AMYOYO at the time, but I just said, “Good luck with that, motherfucker” and left him to die. He’d stand right next to me most of the match hitting ‘E’... and then run off to angrily die somewhere... 

dude wasn’t a great player, but we had other brilliant players on the team anyway... who deserved uber...

side note: as a medic, you have to work with who you get... if i get a relatively new player who gets ubere d(to get us the fuck out of there or give them a chance to do the thing), and they miss all shots or aren’t quite sure what to do... that’s chill. sometimes you have to say, ‘when I do that, the uber, you’re invulnerable for a certain amount of time... you can shoot down the sentry or enemies and live’, and the next time it’s better. 

but on the other hand, there are dudes who demand it, then do nothing with it, consistently... and are jerks to the rest of the team (esp. supports) for it

...so this guy, bounce, was busy being a dick in all the following matches. but then, the night before last, same dude pops into a game i rando’d in as medic... same shit. he didn’t remember. “Fucking hela me you cunt”  “Why Bounce, that didn’t work the last time, my son, diagnosis: AMYOYO” and he lost it... I was laughing so hard. 

Some dude named scooby doo is also on my shitlist, for attacking the entire team but mostly the medic. like dude... if medic is dying, alone, and has an uber, surrounded by the other team... no one is waiting 15 fucking seconds for your ass to respawn to pop it... rage all you wish...

honestly, the match i mention to start with, the other thing was that the dude did nothing but demand a pocket medic for himself and complained the team was useless bc they didn’t want to provide him with one...  ...i was tempted to medic it up with everyone else, bc i rando’d in as one to start with, but the lag was making it hard to work out where people were. i refused to risk healing the dude, and went engie instead

Eternal AMYOYO for all of you... it’s just a game. it’s great fun and we love it, but it’s just a game and if you’re that serious, go to comp mode... where you can circlejerk to your own importance... 

(honestly, most of the teams recently have been generally newish players who are trying to excitedly learn new maps and gameplay, strategies, etc. don’;t ruin it for them bc there are consequences)

[nancydfan]

I feel like the lies Mia and Chris told Ethan are on completely different levels because they affected Ethan very differently which makes forgiving one person easier than the other. Like with Mia in RE7, as we’ve stated before we don’t know her reasoning for joining and staying with The Connections. But no matter what honestly Mia payed for being in that organization and lying to Ethan. She was in hell for 3. Whole. Years. at the Baker house. Chances are it would’ve been for eternity and tbh Mia seemed to accept that punishment for herself. Like she already suffered for her lies so I mean I think we can forgive her on that. While yes she did play a part in Eveline (idk if it was just escorting her or if she was more directly involved), but it was her companion’s fault (I think his name was Adam?? Idk) for letting Eveline escape. And when Mia confirms this during her flashback and she sounds angry at Adam for doing so. So while yes she played a small part in what happened to the Bakers the blame rests more on Adam since he let her escape. And Ethan’s involvement wasn’t her fault, it was Eveline who brought her there. At the end of the day Mia payed for her involvement and seems sorry for her actions, and for me personally I find it easier to forgive someone when they regret what they’ve done and try to make it right. That’s why I forgive Mia for lying to Ethan the first time. And in RE8 I forgive Mia for lying again because like honestly that must have been hard to realize your husband was infected. And how was she to know that Ethan would have remained fine after she told him?? Like we’ve said Ethan is the first of his kind and Mia probably thought the key to him staying himself was his ignorance. And yes I agree Mia should have told him, but I understand completely why she felt she had to keep it a secret. While yes Ethan probably would have been frustrated that Mia kept something from him again he would have quickly empathized with her and forgiven her. And I forgive her too because dang I am not jealous of being in her shoes when she found out about Ethan.

Chris’ case is completely different. He belittles Ethan the whole game and makes it seem ridiculous that Ethan would want to be involved in getting Rose back even though that’s his family out there?? And they’re literally in this situation because of Chris’ actions at the beginning of the game?? For me Chris felt more egotistic and hubristic because like you said he just doubles down on his actions even though they were clearly wrong. After Chris “killed” Miranda at the beginning he should have given Ethan a quick explanation, even if it was just “that’s not your wife and we need to get rose and you out of here because you’re in danger.” Would Ethan have believed it? Maybe, who knows. But Chris didn’t. He made Ethan think his wife was dead and that Chris and his team were against Ethan when in reality they were all on the same team and should have been working together. The only time Chris is apologetic is when Ethan dies and honestly it should not have taken Ethan’s death to snap Chris out of his mindset that he was right. We don’t even see Chris apologize to Ethan or Mia. And I remember people got mad at Mia for freaking out at Chris when he rescues her and I’m just like?? Imagine being held captive for who knows how long and suddenly the man who promised to keep your family safe is like “hey your husband’s dead and your kid’s gone :(“ like?? Anyone would freak out and be upset? Am I saying that she was right to yell at him no (though I probably would have too lol) but like she’s been through hell again excuse her for having her nerves be a little fried. I also saw someone else say “Chris wasn’t the one who cut Ethan’s daughter up and tried to kill him on multiple accounts throughout the game he was just trying to help!!” And it’s like?? Yes he was trying to help but in the worst way possible?? It’s like saying “no offense” and then saying something hurtful. Just because you said “no offense” doesn’t make it any less offense and just because Chris was trying to help doesn’t excuse his actions. Chris’ lie put Ethan in emotional/mental distress because he thought he just saw his wife brutally murdered AND put him in physical distress since it was his call to escort Ethan and Rose which allowed them to fall into the hands of Miranda.

I kind of put Chris’ and Mia’s behavior as “Capcom wrote them shitty because they wanted to do a whole “Mia’s alive” plot twist and wanted to make the game ✨spicy✨by making it seem Chris was the bad guy”. But whenever I say that people are still like “No Chris did nothing wrong!!” Or “Well you forgive Mia so obviously you’re a hypocrite” and you know I feel like you can’t even compare Mia’s actions to Chris’ because like I said Chris’ actions hurt and put Ethan’s life more in danger than Mia’s did. Yes I can see how Mia’s lie in RE7 put his life in danger but her keeping Ethan’s condition from him in RE8 did not risk his life. And I already said it wasn’t Mia who forced Ethan to come it was Eveline. Plus people forget it was ETHAN’S choice to enter the house. He could have called the police but he didn’t because he loved Mia so much he himself wanted to make sure she was okay. Sorry for getting ranty im just tired of people saying we’re hypocrites when they don’t see they’re doing the same thing themselves.

Thanks for being patient with me! I love getting asks from y’all even tho I’m a little slow sometimes. Aha 😆

I def agree with the differences. Ive been replaying RE7 while I just watched my friend play re8 so the two games are fairly fresh in my mind. Ethan walks into RE7 on his terms and in re8 he’s essentially kidnapped. That’s such a great point and I really hadn’t thought of it. He’s brought into hell differently and I think that is important to recognize.

Mia tried to keep Ethan away from Dulvey and it failed. She didn’t have time to explain and her msg never got through anyway. It wouldn’t have happened if Alan hadn’t messed up with eveline. And Mia absolutely paid severely for it for three years. She killed a person and harmed her husband with scars he’ll always carry. We don’t even know what she suffered with but it was three long years. She’s terrified when Ethan finds her so I’m sure the imagination can cover that further. I’m sure it was hell.

And like you mentioned, it’s Eveline that invites Ethan there, not Mia. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t indirectly have something to do with this. But when shit hits the fan, she owns it which means a lot to me.

I’ve said somewhere months ago I don’t care if Mias motivations were bad when she joined the connections. We’ll probably never know. But we do know Mia’s motivations with Ethan perfectly. The minute her job is gonna impact him (when eveline takes over on the boat) she levelsets. She’s honest w Ethan as much as she can be and then as much as he wants after re7. The whole mold thing just doesn’t count. Y’all really what do we expect her to say lol

As for Chris, watching his scenes again today I’m just so frustrated. I agree Capcom wanted him to be this way to draw out the Miranda Mia reveal and it was a baaaaaad decision on Cspcoms part. Especially when Chris tells him to stay away after Ethan’s taken out a couple bosses already and some minor ones. If they didn’t want the reveal till later, then don’t have Ethan and Chris talk because the first thing Chris tells him was something about being surprised he survived this long shame if you would die. And it’s like no???? This isn’t what we need to be saying rn. Ethan is a rage machine thinking you killed his wife. Maybe just be honest. Chris mentions he saw the evidence of Ethan being there so clearly the man’s doing just fine. And it’s not just my thoughts on this. The game makes it a point to highlight Chris’ mistake. I don’t know why Capcom went this route and I personally don’t like it. But it’s canonically true.

And yeah I don’t think anyone is accusing Chris of actually killing Ethan. We know he didn’t. He just didn’t help. Chris did more in re7. Its like Capcom wanted him in there and didn’t actually know what to do w him. His part was so small I couldn’t believe it was already over. Honestly the last 30 minutes of this game hurts my brain lol

I saw the Mia push Chris thing briefly cause a friend sent it to me and they had some questions about it. But I didn’t spend too long on it cause I guess I just didn’t care what was being said. I figure I didn’t like that Chris slammed his fist at the end in front of Mia when she’s the one who just lost a husband so we’re even.

You’re welcome to rant to me anytime. I hope I captured most of your ask because you made outstanding points and I really agree. Ultimately, it comes down to perspectives here and what people find more severe. One of my best friends doesn’t like Mia and she only saves her cause I’m watching. And I love her w my whole heart. I don’t think it requires defensiveness. We all intake media differently and it’s okay to have flawed characters.

[smokeybrandreviews]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Strudel It Is

I absolutely adore the Harry Potter universe. If you haven’t guessed by my previous post on the subject of Fate and Transformers, i am  guy that merits lore and world building in my media. It’s why i have such an affinity for the likes of Star Wars or Blade Runner or Adventure time. J.K. Rowling created a world with her Potter series and it’s, for lack of a better term, fantastic. Now, i missed the initial Harry potter boat. I was too old for it to have all of that nostalgia armor that my younger brothers have for it. I’m an 80s baby so Transformers was my thing. However, after, i think the second movie dropped, i was hooked. Chamber of Secrets was ridiculous! The Basilisk, Tom Riddle, all of those petrifications: sh*t was wild, man! I eventually go into the series, started reading the books, and filling up on the lore through the powers of the interwebs! Rowling created a living, breathing, world and i was fascinated by it. Not just the whimsical adventures of her young protagonists, but the detail of her vision. So imagine my surprise when Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them was announced.

I slept on this flick in the theater because i didn’t think it could be anywhere near as good as the potter series. It was literally a movie built around a throw away reference of a textbook Harry used. I didn’t think there was a story to be told there but, boy, was i wrong. With the recent trailer of The Crimes Of Grindlewald being releases, i wanted to properly address it’s predecessor with a reviews. Actually, i just want to gush about how much i love Beasts because it’s f*cking outstanding and a lot better than people say it is!

The Best

Alison Sudol’s Queenie Goldstein is just absolutely adorable. I love her! She’s so sweet and kind but, at the very same time, alarmingly capable. Queenie is legitimately the most cunning and versatile character in Scarmander’s group. Sudol stole every scene she was in and i was left wanting. I’m so glad the ending happened the way it did because, oh my, dat smile, tho!

But dat reunion in Jacob’s bakery, tho!

Seriously, i tear up every time i see it. That’s love right there, man. I know how that feels and it feels like!

The Good

As far as origin stories go, this is a pretty good one. And that’s what this is, the origin story of Newt Scarmander. if you try to read into it any further, you’ll be disappointed, for sure. That bit with Grindlewald at the end sets up bigger things in the future, but this movie was specifically designed for us, as an audience, to endear ourselves to the unique idiosyncrasies of Mr. Scarmander. Speaking of...

Eddie Redmayne crafted a character, didn’t he? I understand why he won that Oscar. Newt is definitely on the spectrum and Redmayne portrays that with a delicate touch. It’s never offensive or overstated but you know that he is just a little bit not okay around people. He opens up as the film progresses but it’s obvious there’s a ton of room to grow there. I’m looking forward to see Newt grow into his heroism and how Eddie portrays that onscreen.

Speaking of heroes, my man Dan Fogler’s Jacob Kowalski is one of the best! my goodness, is her endearing! Rowling has a knack for writing great sidekicks and, like his red haired predecessor, Kowalski doesn’t disappoint. Being a No-Maj gives him an interesting perspective on all of the sights he has beholden and we, as the audience, are just as awestruck as he was. Dude is just so sweet and i loved him so much! Fogler gives a whimsical performance that both captivates and rivets but it’s the burgeoning romance between his Kowalski and Sudol’s Queenie that seals it up for me. They’re just so cute together, it hurts!

This movie is what made me become a fan of Katherine Waterston. She is fantastic as Tina Goldstein. I felt like her character was left a little bare in the development department, but that’s a complaint i have for most of these cats. I think thee was too much focus on spectacle rather than character development, but, being one of the main casts, i think Waterston had enough to work with. And what little she did have, she made her own. I went back and watched a few choice performances and i’m now a legit fan. I literally went and saw Logan Lucky specifically because she was in it! And it’s all because her Tina Goldstein was absolutely brilliant.

This movie is a goddamn beauty to watch. There is spectacle and awe in almost every other scene, to the films detriment overall, i think. That aside, it is a marvel to experience. The new beasts, the new villain, that climax; all of it was feast for the eyes. I just wish character development and plot didn’t suffer because of it.

The score is actually pretty good, too. this thing sounds like a potter film. There are swells and ebbs that match the admittedly erratic pacing. Also, the sound design, overall, was pretty legit. I think they compliment what was onscreen pretty swimmingly. I mean, how do you give voice to an amorphous blob of rage and energy? Somehow this movie made it happen.

The Meh

The direction is a little suspect. David Yates has a hard time kind of getting a handle on Rowling’s manic and expansive style of writing, which is odd because he director the last 4 potter films. I think that might have been easier because Rowling didn’t write those screenplays. Those were written by people who write those for a living. This was Rowling’s first attempt at writing an actual movie and Yates did his best to bring that vision to the screen but, i think, he fell just a wee bit short.

Ezra Miller was kind of underused. He was more a special effect than an actual character. His Credance Barbone was an interesting character who had a ton of potential but, again, and i think this was the weakest aspect of this film, there wasn’t enough time developing him. The spectacle of his Obsurus was more developed than the actual character which sucks. Ezra Miller is a fantastic actor and, hopefully, moving forward, he’ll have more to do. I’ve heard that Credance becomes a very important figure in the Potterverse so here’s hoping Ezra gets something he can really sink his teeth into.

The plot is kind of all over the place. Stuff that feels like it should be in the third act, happened in the second. Stuff that happened in third, feels completely out of place in this movie. Seriously, i can legitimately see two separate films here and they probably would have been the better for it. What we got isn’t bad but the overall story is just too messy for my tastes.

I think it took a little while for this flick to figure out what it wanted to be. I think that listless and meandering plot kind of derailed what Rowling wanted to do, where she wanted this story to go. It feels like she just sat down, started writing, and just let her imagination take her wherever she wanted to go. That works for a book because you can always make your tale as long as necessary. For a movie, not so much. This was her first time writing for a film and it shows. I think she’s gotten better based on the trailer for Grindlewald but we’ll see.

The pacing is kind of all over the place. You have Newt trying to recapture his animals, Tina trying to catch Newt, Queenie being just the most winsome cinnamon roll ever, and Percival being the most obvious red herring ever. There’s a lot going on but none of it focused. Rowling kind of narrowed everything to a point in the 3rd act but it was still mad ridiculous that SO much as going on.

I feel like the plight of No-Majs or, more to the point, their relationship with the American wizard world, was a missed opportunity. here seems to be a ton of strife there, on one side, and it’s never really elaborated on. I feel like Rowling wanted to focus more on spectacle, the beast captures, more than the simmering relations between the seen and unseen worlds. I mean, that was Grindlewald’s whole deal! And we never even got a sniff of that! Maybe in the future...

Bringing in Depp as Grindlewald was a little bit of stunt casting. And his look? Okay, bro. That needs to be toned down, several notches. Besides that, Colin Farrell was far more sinister. When he was cold busted after Credance got his, that little deliberation and then subtle acceptance? that sh*t was wild! I feel like he looked the part better as well. But, in Rowling we trust. She has her fingers all in this pie. Let’s see where this goes.

The Verdict

I love Fantastic Beast and Where To Find Them. It’s so quaint and endearing. Sure, there are issues with it but, for the first in a  new series of films, that are actual films and not based upon books, i think it laid solid groundwork moving forward. I was skeptical at first, but after watching this flick a few times, i can see how awesome it actually is. I can see how awesome this world they created can be. When it came out, i think it got kind of a raw deal because everyone was still pining for more Harry. This ain’t that. Beasts is a far darker, far more adult take on the Wizarding World and it should stand alone on it’s own merit. As time has passed, i think that has become clearer and clearer. I dig this movie. It has amazing performances, it’s beautifully shot, and the characters are crazy enchanting. It embellishes an already opulent world and i can’t wait for it’s inevitable sequels. There’s a reason why Harry Potter is one of the only three successful cinematic universe, after the MCU and, begrudgingly, The Fast franchise. Beasts is a great film, a wonderful addition to the Potter lore, and you should give it a second chance, if you haven’t already.