#have been having a somewhat comical experience the last few days. sick and out of it. my phone charger died so i couldn't use my phone

[coquelicoq]

lost power for five hours last night WHILE sick AND it was dark and i was soooo bored 😩 tried to nap to no avail. had my candles going and was doing a crossword by flashlight but there's only so long before that becomes annoying. so i dug out one of my old i spy books i haven't looked at since childhood and spent like 45 minutes finding all the objects. it actually turned out to be the ideal way to experience that book, because the flashlight beam forced me to focus my attention on small parts of the image at a time. went back to twiddling my thumbs after that but at least it killed 45 minutes.

[let-them-read-fics]

Die For You

Requested by Anon: “hi :) can I request Jennie scenario based on The Weeknd’s song ‘Die For You’? I also wanted to say I really love your works, they’re really good”

Pairing: Jennie x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3,705

Warnings / Misc. -- Angst, Fluff, Near-Death Experience, Happy Ending

Disclaimer: This writing is a work of fiction, and no disrespect is meant for those mentioned herein.

A/N: Thank you anon! My schedule is getting busy again, so writings may take a bit longer to get posted; I apologize for the delay with this one, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Let me know what you guys think!

PS ~ This is my first time writing a song request, so I kind of just went with it lol. It’s a little messy, but I think it has charm. Happy reading!

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

Jennie Kim has a magnetic pull to her -- one that is relentless and unwavering once it takes control of you. It’s hypnotic in every way; sweet torture in its truest form; and you’re always left to pick up the pieces.

The arrangement that you share with Jennie has been clear from the get-go: friends with benefits, no strings attached. Neither of you have time for anything serious, and this seemed like a win-win: always having someone to come home to when you happened to be in the same area at the same time? Hell yeah. 

You hate that you want me

Hate it when you cry

You're scared to be lonely

'Specially in the night

Gradually, though, things got messy -- lines became blurred as feelings mixed into the equation. You did everything in your power to make them go away, reminding yourself time and time again of the agreement you had. But in moments like these, as you lay in bed with Jennie, her head resting on your chest as your hand runs through her hair, you can’t help how your heart swells. Pale moonlight traces patterns on the floor, wiggling its way into the room to offer a soft glow and ambiance. In here, you’re untouchable: no cameras or prying eyes; it’s just you and Jennie, free to be yourselves. Given this fact, you’ve grown to have a love-hate relationship with these four walls; they’re your haven -- your refuge -- but they serve as a brutal reminder of just how limited your relationship with Jennie is.

Nothing is certain: weeks turn into months -- especially when she’s on tour or otherwise occupied with her busy schedule -- and you’re left to your own devices, waiting on her return. Each day without her brings you closer to believing that you’re strong enough to move onto something better -- something more consistent; but then there she is, knocking on your door again, completely pushing that absurd idea from your mind. One smile from her is enough to reel you back in, and it only makes you feel more conflicted. 

Jennie stirs in her sleep, nuzzling her face closer into you as she brings a hand up to rest against your collarbone. Her body twitches lightly, lips pursing and pouting against your neck, and you wonder what she’s dreaming about. She doesn’t seem to be distressed in any way, so you take the opportunity to get a good look at her. Within the next couple hours the alarm would be blaring that sound that you despise more than anything else in this world, signalling for her to get ready and head off to the airport to leave you all over again. Despite the circumstances, you're comforted by the fact that she always makes sure to set it for the very last second, barely giving herself enough time to catch her flight -- she wants to spend every moment possible with you, and she makes it a point to do just that. Tearful goodbyes in the back of your car would be too involved for your “relationship”, so you always try to seem unaffected (or, at least, as close to that as you can manage). You save your tears for when you arrive back home, where you spend the evening coming to terms with her absence. She would never tell you, of course, but her flights are known to bear witness to plenty of sadness for her as well; with each new mile added to the distance between the two of you, her heart breaks a little more.

~~~~~~~

It’s been 4 months since you last saw Jennie. The time apart had offered you a new perspective, something in the long nights without her affirming what you already knew to be true -- you weren’t capable of continuing on like this much longer. Nothing about your situation was ever simple; the instant you began catching feelings, it all became muddled. The one rule set -- the only principle you were tasked with following -- had been broken, and there was nothing you could do to repair it. 

A knock at your door echoes out across the empty apartment, and you quickly put down the food that you had been preparing. With a swift adjustment of the dial, you set the burner to simmer and make your way to the door. None of your friends had mentioned that they were coming by, so you’re genuinely clueless as to who it could be. 

“Jennie?” Surprise is inadequate in describing the feeling that courses through you upon meeting that familiar gaze. The metal of the knob is cool in your hand as you grip it, knuckles turning white while your emotions run wild. She had failed to let you know that she was coming back to town, neglecting even to text you recently.  

“Miss me?” How are you to answer that? Part of you wants to blurt out your thoughts, effectively ripping the metaphorical band aid right off, but another part of you wants to deny her: the past few months had allowed your feelings to become somewhat dormant as you attempted to see a future beyond this arrangement, one void of her presence. It’s completely normal to feel like that, you tell yourself. It’s strange, but as in love with her as you are, you’re almost as equally indifferent about it all. How many more times could you watch her walk away, only to string you along until she came waltzing right back in? 

The more important question of the matter is apparent: how would you even begin to tell her what you’re feeling? In the past, you’ve tried to make her aware of what you’re going through, only to be met by a change of topic. She always stayed reserved, opting to spend your time together talking about anything other than that.

Deciding that you were taking far too long to respond to her, she steps into the room, closing the door behind her. The time away from you had affected her more than she’s willing to admit, and she’s more than ready to embrace you. Her arms wrap around your shoulders, pulling your body flush up against hers, and she sighs at the feeling. “I’ve missed holding you, Y/N.” The sweet nothing does it’s job, making your heart flutter as the words register in your mind. You’re still tense, though, and she doesn’t fail to notice; before long, soft kisses are being trailed across your face -- her attempt at relaxing you. Sometimes you wonder if she knows your body better than you do: it responds to her, just like she knew it would, and you loosen up. 

After what feels like minutes of just standing there, bodies intertwined, her hands make their way to your hips. She leans forward and ghosts her lips over yours, her gloss smudging a bit in the process. A battle is being fought in your mind: should you allow yourself this indulgence? Or is this the time to be strong and finally put your foot down? The choice is made up for you by the way that she slowly backs you up against the wall, along with how her mouth brushes against yours as her warm hands steady you. Before you can stop yourself, you close the distance. 

Her lips move against yours in perfect time, a delicious rhythm being set in the process. It brings to mind the notion that maybe -- just maybe -- the two of you are meant to be. After all, you fit together like a puzzle, being complete in the presence of one another. 

As her fingers play at the band of your shorts, hands roaming further with each needy kiss she presses to your lips, you debate with yourself. Her actions tempt you to cave in and give yourself up to her, but you decide that you can’t go down that road again. At least not until everything gets sorted. Quickly -- as to not give her anymore time to change your mind -- you step back and run a hand through your hair. Hers is messy, lips red and pupils blown wide. She reaches out for you again, but you simply hold your hand up in response.

“I can’t, Jennie.” The words come out as a reluctant declaration, your tone sounding tired.

Her brows furrow, but you continue.

“I can’t keep doing this.” 

“Elaborate.” Her demand is clear, but you miss the effort that it took for her to come off that way. At your words, panic began to course through her; she can’t lose you. 

“Whatever this is,” you say, motioning between the two of you. “I can’t be someone who waits around for you all the time, just keeping your bed warm.” She wants to laugh at that one; it’s almost comical how far you are from the truth. Jennie knows she’s good at hiding her feelings, but she’s shocked that she managed to make you believe something that ridiculous about yourself. You mean the world to her -- she’s just too afraid to admit it.

“Y/N--”

“No, don’t even try to change the subject; I’m sick of it. Please, just listen to me for once.”

A subtle nod from her serves as your cue to continue.

“I never meant for things to get like this, Jennie, believe me. But I can’t pretend anymore: I like you, a lot. And after having you in the ways that I’ve had you…” you pause, allowing your eyes to trail up and down her body as you clench your jaw, “I can’t bear the thought of someone taking my place when I’m not around. Do you know how hard that is to deal with?”

Happens every time

I'm scared that I'll miss you

I don't want this feelin'

I can't afford love

She seems stunned, to say the least; she blinks a few times before gathering her thoughts and speaking up. “You’re all I think about, no matter what I’m doing.” For a second, you’re hopeful: your heart beats a little faster at her confession, and you finally believe you’re getting somewhere with her. Sadly, she continues: “But I can’t afford that. I don’t have time for a commitment like that, and we have something good right now. I’ve seen plenty of relationships go bad and end in heartbreak; why should we risk it?”

“Aren’t you tired of it? Sometimes I really start to think that you like me back, but then you’re as guarded as ever, pushing me away again. I never know where I stand with you. So unless you tell me how you honestly feel, you’ll have to take me off your list of fuck buddies.”

Your language catches her off guard, seeing as how it’s unexpected and unlike you. How are you so oblivious? You’re so much more than that to her.

“Fine, Y/N! I’m in deeper than I care to admit. I’ve tried to run from it, but I can’t. You’re the one person I can’t seem to forget, and I can’t stand you because of that. And yeah..” she pauses, a bit exasperated, and takes a deep breath before continuing. “I won’t deny that I’ve been with other people when I’m away.” You close your eyes at her admission, that familiar sadness beginning to seep in -- it wasn’t anything you didn’t already know, but that doesn’t make its confirmation any easier to hear. 

“They’re not you, though. They don’t know me like you do… they’re not fun like you. I’ve never felt like this about anyone, and I don’t want to. It terrifies me.”

“That’s kinda part of the deal, Jennie -- it’s a scary thing. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but I’m willing to try with you. What we have right now is wearing me down, and I don’t deserve it; so either listen to your heart and be with me, or you won’t be seeing me again.”

Following your ultimatum, she doesn’t dare speak. Her brows are slightly furrowed again, jaw set, and she’s looking at the ground. Out of habit, your arms cross against your chest -- being vulnerable is never something you particularly enjoy (especially with so much on the line) but you’re sick of beating around the bush with her. One of the first lessons you ever learned from Jennie is that she avoids her feelings at all costs; so, standing there, you wonder what it would take to make her finally open up. Would your absence be enough? Maybe you were foolish for thinking so.

With every second that passes, silence remaining unbroken by the words that you so desperately want to hear from her, your heart sinks more and more. Every insecurity you have is swirling in your mind, further clouding it. Her lack of a response confirms your fears, and you nod quickly, knowing what you have to do. 

“Okay, I get it. I’m gonna take a walk, but you can stay here and take a shower since you just got in. When I come back, though, I want you gone.”

She doesn’t even raise her head to look at you. Inside, her heart is breaking; every fiber of her being is begging to say something -- anything -- but she stays quiet. It’s hard enough for her to keep her feelings for you in check with the arrangement you have now; if you become official, she won’t know what to do with herself. She’s falling hard, but she’s fighting it all the while -- her lifestyle doesn’t have room for love. You deserve someone who can be with you whenever you want them, not someone who’s always a world away. Calls and texts only go so far, and she knows it wouldn’t be enough for either of you. She’s spent your latest stint apart attempting to come to terms with the idea of life without you; it’s the last thing she wants, but she needs you to move on and find someone better. For you, she’s willing to hurt, so long as it means you’re happy. 

After a beat, she accepts your words, confirming that she heard you by giving a simple nod. Any remaining hope you were clinging to fades away completely, and you’re left feeling empty. Now at the coat rack, you pull your jacket over your shoulders and slip your shoes on. “There’s food on the stove, by the way. Don’t let it burn.” You say over your shoulder, too sad to look at her again. Maybe that’s some sort of symbolism: the wonderful thing you had spent so long creating was fizzling out right in front of you, Jennie being the one who could fix it all. She can step up and repair things, but that doesn’t seem very likely to happen. Tears are brimming in your eyes, and her heart breaks at the sound of your sniffles. 

Even though we're going through it

And it makes you feel alone

With a thud, the apartment door closes, and Jennie finally breaks down. It all hits her in an instant, and soon she’s sliding down to the floor, her tears mimicking her actions as they fall onto her cheeks. Why did this have to be so hard? Seeing the pain etched so plainly into your features was definitely the hardest part to all of this; she’s being cruel to be kind… if only you knew that. 

I try to find reason to pull us apart

It ain't workin' 'cause you're perfect

And I know that you're worth it

I can't walk away, oh!

As soon as Jennie had realized her feelings all that time ago, she racked her brain for any and every logical reason to end things. She would pick fights over small things, praying to every higher power that you’d get tired of the stupidity and give up on her. So many other people had in the past, so why wouldn’t you? Knowing that you’re different from all the rest -- perfect for her in every way imaginable -- only scares her more. You lit a fire in her heart the day you met, and it’s only grown stronger ever since. 

~~~~~~~

20 Minutes Later

You have no real destination in mind; you’re content with just allowing your feet to take you wherever they wish to go.

Chatter from across the city makes its way to your ears, oddly offering a sense of comfort in your time of need. The night sky is full of stars, and the city bustles with life and activity. As you pass different businesses and shops, their iridescent lights shine just for you. Distant cars honk as they traverse the streets, and your mind begins to think of all of the different things those people might be doing right now. Surely some are having a great day, maybe on their way home, eager to be greeted by their loved ones. Others might be hurting just like you.

And you won't find no one that's better

'Cause I'm right for you, babe

I think I'm right for you, babe

Jennie fails to realize that all you want is her; you’re not naive -- you know how crazy her schedule is, but you’re more than willing to make sacrifices if it means she’ll be yours. No one makes you feel the way she does, and the thought of spending your life searching for something that can never compare scares you. 

A slight breeze rolls in, ghosting over your skin, and you’re reminded of all the times she would pull you in close to keep you warm. Her sweet perfume would fill your nose as you snuggled into her embrace, sharing the heat that her coat offered. Getting over her would definitely be a bitch.

It's hard for me to communicate the thoughts that I hold

But tonight I'm gon' let you know

Let me tell the truth

Baby, let me tell the truth, yeah

The peace -- if you can call it that -- is broken by a shout. “Y/N, wait!” Confused, you spin around on your heel towards the voice. It’s Jennie; she’s sprinting to you, her brown locks bouncing and flowing in the wind with every step. Conflicted, yet again, your feet appear to be rooted in their spot. What does she want now? It seems that every time you get your hopes up, she’s always letting you down. With this in mind, you slowly turn back around and continue your walk. Eventually she’ll catch up to you, but you need the extra time to gather your now-jumbled thoughts. 

Just know that I would die for you

Baby I would die for you, yeah

It all happened in a blur. As you began crossing the street to put more distance between Jennie and yourself, the high pitched sound of tires squealing against the pavement rang out. The car came out of nowhere, barrelling straight towards you with no signs of stopping; they had run a red light. Your eyes locked with the driver’s, both of you donning an equally terrified expression, and you had no time to react. Just as the bumper was about to come into contact with your body, you were instead forcefully shoved out of the way. Another person -- your savior -- comes tumbling with you just in the nick of time, and the driver swerves around you.  

“Are you okay?!” It’s Jennie; her voice is ripe with worry, her thoughts focused solely on your wellbeing. She doesn’t even notice the cut that she received from the fall. You bring your hand up to her forehead to assess the wound.

“Y-yeah, I’m good. But you,” you say, touching her injury and eliciting a pained hiss from her in the process, “...are not.” The two of you are breathing hard as adrenaline courses through your systems; once it has died down a bit, you stand up and check each other for any more sore spots.

“Thank you, Jennie. I don’t know how to repay you for something like that.” 

“I’d do it again a million times, Y/N. I’m sorry for putting you through all of this. I came to tell you that I love you, and that I’m done running. Seeing you leave really put things into perspective for me.”

“Am I supposed to believe that, or will you change your mind again?” The words are harsh, your voice laced with the bitterness that you still hold onto. You can’t find it in yourself to cushion the blow much; you’re still hurt by what’s happened in the past, and rightfully so. Beyond that, though, you’re trying to be cautious; after hearing her confess like that, you know there’s no going back. 

“Okay, I deserve that one. But I mean what I said. You’re the best thing in my life -- the best I’ve ever had -- and I just want you to be happy. I’ve always been afraid that I can’t give you that if I’m so far away all the time.” 

“Oh, baby,” you start, cupping her cheek and running your thumb across it soothingly. She leans into your touch, and your expression softens. “All I’ve ever wanted is you. You’re everything to me, you know that? We can do this together, so long as you’re willing to try.” 

“I am.” She utters before pulling you in, sealing your new agreement with a kiss. Her lips move against yours gently, taking their time as they attempt to make up for her previous behavior. It’s soft yet urgent, a million different things passing between you without words. 

Suddenly, you pull back, and Jennie panics for a second. 

“Did you turn the burner off?”

“Oh shit!” She exclaims, a look of pure fear gracing her features. 

Just as that cold, prickly feeling of dread begins to spread throughout your body, she grins. 

“Yes, I did.” 

You roll your eyes and huff loudly at her, delivering a rough shove to her shoulder. 

“Don’t do that to me!” 

She responds by pulling you in again, kissing away your frown. “I love you, too, if you didn’t catch that earlier.” You declare, feeling her lips turn up in that beautifully iconic smile of hers. She hums at that, pulling you in closer just as the chilly wind blows again. Huh, maybe the universe had been listening all along.

[missinghan]

broken umbrella ⤖ han jisung

❖ genre : high school au; fluff

❖ word count : 1,6k.

❖ warning : explicit language

❖ summary : a typical day in your life starts with having candies poured over your head and ends with breaking han jisung’s umbrella. 

❖ note : I wanted to write smth dumb okay-

one.

Jisung gives his desk a harsh kick, one that does no good in releasing his inner storm, only to wince in pain later because he’s an idiot. 

Classes have been somewhat less than boring these days, partially because his mind is occupied with thoughts of you half of the time and partially because…well, more thoughts of you. Oh wait, today is a little different than usual considering the fact that you did not give him a proper response. 

To what?

Putting it simply, he woke up early this morning to go over his routine more thoroughly—styling his hair, making sure that his tie isn’t sloppy-looking, and spraying himself with his brother’s cologne. He doesn’t usually care for any one of those things until junior starts and you show up. Call him desperate, or delusional, or childish even but it truly felt like fate when you two first encountered each other. 

“Yeah right, fate,” Hyunjin snickers loudly, swirling a strawberry-flavored lollipop inside his mouth. “You meant when you fell on your ass on the bus the other day and you accidentally grabbed her collar?”

Jisung feels his cheeks heat up thanks to his friend’s less than necessary comment. “Shut the fuck up, you’re just jealous.” It was great. Not only did he fall head over heels for you, but he also left a bad impression. 

Back to the point. All of his hard work this morning is reduced to nothing because of the rain. His hair is messed up, his uniform looks sloppy, and his shoes are covered in mud from skipping through puddles. Not to mention, he showed up timely enough to be there when you opened your locker, having various candies and sweets poured down your head, scattered all over the hallway. 

Yeji should have told him you didn’t like sweet things yesterday, damn it. Because he’s never seen you giving him that look before. The look that makes him believe you will make him experience torment and pain, begging for the mercy that never comes—make his life a living hell basically. 

“How did your plan go, by the way?” His friend asks out of boredom. 

“Fantastic,” he replies under his breath when everything is, in fact, not fantastic. 

Hyunjin tilts his head. “Did she know?”

“Know what? That I’m in love with her? I mean I wasn’t trying to be subtle or anything-“

“No, did she know that it was gonna rain today?”

Shrugging, he closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose in exhaustion; forty-five minutes periods should be illegal. “Why does that matter?”

“Hey, Han!” 

Jisung turns his head to the voice and sees Felix sliding the door to his classroom open, uneven breaths as if he’s been running for his life while holding two umbrellas in his arms. He glances at his friend’s state with a grimace, head cocked to the side in confusion. Luckily, no one really spends recess in class except for loners like himself anyway. “What are you doing?” 

“Y/N didn’t bring an umbrella!” The freckled boy exclaims with excitement, only able to coax an amused hum from Hyunjin. “But you have an umbrella, and it’s still raining! Which means…?”

A comical silence falls upon the three of them. It takes Jisung approximately five taps of Hyunjin’s finger on the table to fully process his friend’s point. Realization lights up in his eyes like a candle but dies down with a pout on his face. “But she can just go with her friends?” he says with expressive hands, though a little disappointed. 

“I’m not gonna half-ass it if I plan on helping you,” Felix gives the two umbrellas, a white one and a pink one, in his hands a slight jerk, looking oddly proud. 

This time, Jisung catches on immediately; his eyes go wide in shock as though his friend has committed the greatest sin. “Yeji and Lia are so gonna kill you.”

two.

“Did you bring an umbrella?” Lia asks while hopeless rummaging through her stuff. “I swear with my own eyes I saw myself putting one in my bag this morning.”

Yeji shakes her head in defeat, tugging at the straps of her backpack. “I was pretty sure I brought one too. I even used it to walk to the bus stop this morning! Someone must have taken it during recess,” she sighs, dreading the pouring rain and grey clouds. 

It’s raining again. It’s only been raining today, the weather forecast did predict that it’s most likely going to last for a whole week too (not that you bothered checking). You don’t mind the rain, though. You like the fact that they make the world appear mistier, hazier like a fever dream. 

What isn’t good about the rain is the fact that your parents won’t be too happy to see you come home looking like a wet rat. Or the fact that you’ll probably get a really bad cold, and that won’t be pretty during midterms week. Or the fact that most students are absolute idiots and didn’t bring their own umbrellas either. Everyone is shoving each other for space under the canopy at the main gate so the rain won’t soak their clothes. 

You’re not having it. At all. 

“Yeji, Lia. I’m going home,” you purse your lips together and take a breath. 

Lia frowns at your particular solution. “Already? But you’re gonna get wet.”

“My house is a ten-minute walk away. Shouldn’t be too bad,” you say lowly in faint annoyance, eyes squinted from the discomfort of lack of space; these students have no manners whatsoever, you’re getting claustrophobic. 

With a determined huff, you pull the zipper of your jacket up and throw the hood over your hair. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

Shadow suddenly looms over the top of your head, warmth radiates to your clothed arm. In the corner of your eyes, a familiar face comes into view and forces a heavy exhale from your lips. 

“Hey, do you wanna go with-“ Jisung pauses midway when you take off running, shattering his fantasy of living in a drama into bits without mercy. “Y/N! Wait up!”

three.

“Come here! Or you’ll get sick!”

“Why the hell do you care?”

“Y/N, stop being so stubborn! You’re gonna catch a cold!”

“It’s none of your business.”

After walking down several blocks down the road, past nothing but empty plazas and mostly closed café, you even take an extra U-turn, going through a skeptical alley just so Jisung will get tired and stop following you. Your effort doesn’t not prevail so you give up eventually, deciding to take the proper turn to head home before it’s too late to prepare dinner. 

The poor boy can feel the rain drizzle down his black umbrella before falling onto his windbreaker, soaking through the fabric to stain his senses with a chilling sensation. He has already calmed every racing thought that ceases to ease his erratic heartbeat but no matter how hard he tries, there isn’t one second where he isn’t thinking about your well-being.

“Hey,” he calls out; when you turn around, he’s closing his umbrella and tossing it to the ground, leaving it to graze the tip of your shoes. “Take it and go home. I won’t bother you anymore.”

You roll your eyes before picking it up, mercilessly letting it flop right in front of him. “I don’t need it.”

Jisung clicks his tongue in irritation, not caring that droplets are falling from his head and his skin is crawling from the cold. Somehow, he’s starting to become baffled for no reason. Perhaps it’s because of your nonchalance about the current situation; you shouldn’t be so apathetic when he’s genuinely worried sick for your health.

His eyes are heavy with rain droplets so he blinks them away before glaring at you slightly. “You need it more than I do. Would you please stop acting irrationally, take the umbrella and head home? The rain isn’t stopping anytime soon.” His leg jerks up to kick at the innocent object; still isn’t enough to relish the turmoil hurling his innards.

He brushes past you, shoving your shoulder a little while expecting you to finally accept his offer. To his dismay, you once again grab at the poor, poor umbrella, and throw it at his leg with more force this time. When it drops to the ground with a small thud, his heart pauses awkwardly in disappointment. 

The sun is going down by the second but you can still see the faint outline of his scowl. “Go home, Jisung. It’s getting late,” you remark coldly, stuffing your freezing hands into your pocket. 

With a loud groan, he marches back to where you two were originally standing, a curse word lingers on the tip of his tongue. But he manages to swallow it back down before gently tugging at the sleeve of your jacket. “Take the umbrella at least,” he voices softly, the crack more evident than anything at the end. “Look, I know I’ve been nothing but a nuisance since we first met. I just really like you and I care for you okay? Go home, Y/N.”

“Please.”

You look at him after moments, your once hateful eyes finally glinting with something else other than general distaste and annoyance. It only takes one glance of his tired eyes to pierce through your phlegmatic front, leaving your raw emotions out in the open. Before Jisung can say another word or take notice of the rare warmth creeping in your gaze, you take his hand in yours and pull him toward a nearby apartment complex to not wait out in the downpour any longer. By the time that you’ve released the grip, he’s still staring into the nothingness, eyes slightly wide in shock.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you gonna go home?” he blurts out finally after snapping out of it.

“This is my apartment complex. But I must have dropped my card somewhere. So I can’t go inside.”

A sigh. “Is anyone home right now?”

“My phone is dead.”

Jisung perks up and his hand fishes inside his pocket. “You can use-”

You inhale deeply, looking away. “Enough is enough, Jisung. Go home.”

“You broke my umbrella,” he mentions, blinking rapidly to bat the droplets away from his eyelashes. “I can’t go home like this.”

Few beats of silence later, a middle-aged woman dressed in a beige trench coat walks past the both of you, two high school students pathetically standing under the canopy like wet rats; she swipes her card against the security lock and the glass door pops open without much effort. Sparing you the last look, she’s probably thinking ‘kids these days’ before heading inside with a roll of her eyes. 

Jisung hurriedly skips over to hold the door open for you, motions for you to walk in with his head. To his surprise, you comply but bring your steps to a halt to situate yourself in front of him. His lashes are wet and heavy; that’s when you realize how soaked you both are and how terribly cold the temperature it’s getting. Your hand reaches out to brush the raindrops away softly, shaking his heart to the core. 

The silence is graceful in the wake of the moment, the rain in the background just makes everything that much more cinematic. However, Jisung isn’t in the right mind state to fanboy over the fact that his drama fantasy is one step closer to reality. He wishes to cling to this moment forever because he just can’t get enough. He can never.

“I’ll get you a towel,” you pull away calmly, thinking how cute he sort of looks when his cheeks are three shades redder. “And a new umbrella.” 

His smile has never been brighter, you notice. Even when he’s out in the brutal cold and completely drenched from head to toe. And wait...have his eyes always been so pretty?

[randomdcfangirl]

Jason x Superman's daughter!reader

Request: Hi can i request a jason todd x reader where reader is a daughter of a hero and defends jason infront of the jl by @illzarr

(A/N): You didn't specify if you wanted them to be a couple or not but I made them one, hope that's okay :) Also I made it Superman's daughter.

Tags: @redhoodieone @avengerdragoness @comic-nerd-dc

Keys: (Y/N): Your Name (Y/S/N): Your Superhero Name

Word Count: 1,381

Warning(s): Cursing, arguing, mention of child abuse, talking about Jason's death, league may be a bit rude and ignorant when it comes to Red Hood, also a bit insensitive

**********************************************

Being on The Watchtower wasn't something Jason liked doing, especially since he wasn't Robin anymore. As Robin it was fun and he liked it but after everything it wasn't a fun experience. Red Hood isn't seen as a hero in the hero community like he is down in Crime Alley. Moral codes got in the way of that.

How the hell Jason got (Y/N) Kent or (Y/S/N) he has no idea, no fucking clue. Why did Clark allow it you may ask? He did not, he doesn't know, good thing Jason carries Kryptonite around, he's not dying a second time to Superman.

Jason doesn't even really know why he was called to this mission, it wasn't hard and they wouldn't need backup so he was a bit on guard because of that. He was walking with his Nightwing, his brother of all people, to this meeting that Jason is pretty sure isn't a meeting. Jason's pretty sure he's getting set up but he was going with it for now, well somewhat.

"Wing, you need to tell me right now, am I getting set up?" Jason asked him.

"I'm not going to take you to get arrested, Hood. If I wanted that it would've happened a long time ago." Dick let out a laugh.

"Wow thanks, glad to know you don't want me in prison." Jason joked. "But actually, this isn't a mission is it?"

"To be honest, I wasn't told anything either. So I honestly don't know." Dick replied.

"Okay, now I know it's not a mission. They were prepared for me to ask questions so they didn't tell you anything." Jason sighed. "Guess I'm arguing with somebody today."

Dick shrugged and they continued on their way to the conference room. That conversation didn't give Jason any information at all. They arrived in the conference room a few minutes later and everyone was there, already waiting for them. There was a seat for Jason at the table between Diana and (Y/N), Jason cautiously walked up and sat in the chair while Dick walked around to sit next to Bruce and Clark.

"Now that we're all here we can get started. So, it's not really a mission." Superman said. Jason's suspicions were confirmed.

"I had a feeling, so why am I here?" Jason sighed.

"Think of this as sort of an intervention, Batman has no say in anything we've done and he cannot stop it." Diana said.

"Intervention for what?" Jason asked confused.

"Your actions as the Red Hood." Clark replied.

"If this is about killing I haven't killed anyone in the past year, bats already beat you to that "intervention" a while ago." Jason said with finger quotations.

"Not just the killing, there's a lot of younger heros that look up to you and you're too aggressive out in the field." Diana explained vaguely.

"But yes mostly the killing." Flash said.

"I didn't sign up to be a role model, that's not my fault. All I do is mind my business and do my job, I don't think that's a need for an intervention." Jason replied.

"Okay, let's talk to Jason instead of Red Hood, drop the persona." Superman said. "Clark to Jason."

"Sorry but Jason isn't any different, I think the person you're looking for died in a warehouse 8 years ago." Jason replied, Clark flinched a bit at that remark. "Just spit it the fuck out, why exactly am I here?"

"They don't like the way you act and work down in Gotham like they have any authority down there in the first place." (Y/N) said from her place next to Jason.

"(Y/N)." Clark warned.

"No, all you guys ever do when he's here is criticize like you have authority over him. Well guess fucking what, you don't. He's a grown man who can make his own decisions and you're not his family. Maybe you were considered so at one point but in my opinion you lost that privilege a long time ago!" She exclaimed to all of them.

"(Y/N) you don't hav-." Jason started but she cut him off standing out of her chair.

"No! I do! I'm sick of all of you trying to change who the Red Hood is! Just because he has a different moral code? Also did you know that he's never once killed an innocent person? Did you know Red Hood has only ever killed murderers, rapists, child molesters, because I don't know about you but those people don't deserve to be breathing in my opinion anyway." She said darkly then turned to Jason and talked softly. "They brought you up here because Joker is dead but they wanted to know if you did it or not. They wanted to see if they could make you say it without straight out asking you."

"He's dead? When? Who?" Jason asked quietly in shock.

"We were hoping you knew." Green Lantern said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"If I was never stopped he would've been dead a long time ago. But no I didn't kill him, I wish I did but nope." Jason was keeping himself composed from the shock.

"Okay, he didn't kill him, like I told you many times. But you wanted to know how I knew so you know what I'll tell you. I was with him for the past 2 weeks every single night and day. He's my boyfriend and he's the most kind hearted, hard working, strongest and intelligent man I've ever met. I've never been treated with such respect and love so I'm not going to sit here and let you tear him a part in lectures anymore. He does too much good down in Crime Alley to deserve it." She said strongly to everyone in the room. Bruce sent her a nod because he's glad Jason has her.

"Oh really, what good has he done?" Green Arrow said.

"When was the last time you guys gave out food to street kids or an orphanage? How many of you guys help kids with homework or the kids who have to cover bruises on their arms or legs while at school? When was the last time you gave a sexual assault victim peace of mind knowing their attacker can't hurt them anymore? When was the last time you worked your asses off every single night to bring kidnapped children home from a trafficking ring? Probably never for most of you but Jason does it every single day while dealing with his own demons up in his mind because guess what he's gone through literal hell and back and that shit ain't easy!" She exclaimed more. "C'mon babe, you have no reason to be up here. Let's go home."

She grabbed his hand after they both stood up and they walked out of the room. They left everyone in the room including her father who didn't know what to think.

"That's three bats now somehow involved with my family." Clark sighed.

"It's not fun from my side either, Clark." Bruce replied standing up. "Also don't ever call a meeting to do with any of my children again. Especially not Jason, he deals with enough already and you have no authority over Gotham so your input on my city is not accepted. Leave my family and my city out of League business, this meeting is over."

Batman is scary but Batdad is scarier.

When Jason and (Y/N) got to his apartment they changed out of their gear and into sweats and comfy clothes.

"You didn't have to do that you know." Jason said wrapping his arms around her from behind while in their bedroom looking out the window.

"I did, I know you won't defend yourself with actual facts and would likely turn to anger to protect yourself so as your girlfriend I decided I'd take it upon myself to protect you the way you try to protect me, even though I'm Kryptonian." She replied. Jason huffed a laugh because he does do that even though she doesn't need it.

"I love you." Jason told her kissing the side of her head.

"I love you too." She replied and turned to give him a real kiss.

They'd deal with Superman later.

****************************************

Hi, I haven't wrote is fic in a long time but here this is. I'm still doing the Jason x Bermudian!reader I'm sorry that's taking so long. But I love you guys and hopefully I'll be more active on here :) <3 (Also I couldn't think of a title lol)

[heathered-beinn]

BTS American Hustle Life Ep8

Episode 7 recap:

It started with a basketball game; Tony, Jungkook, Jimin, and J-Hope VS Nate, Suga, V, and Jin. Tony’s team won by a point and the punishment was Nate’s team had to buy ice cream for everyone. The next day BTS were dragged out of their beds and sent away to experience ‘working for a living’. RM and Suga joined housekeeping in a hotel, Jimin and Jungkook went to an airfield where they had to clean workshops and planes, Suga, V, and Jin ended up on a yacht and had to clean, polish, and varnish it ready for an event. At the working day they got ‘paid’ and Tony told them they were going to use the money to buy food for people on Skid Row.

While the end was a really good lesson in ‘giving back’ the rest of the episode was not so good viewing. IMO they really wasted an opportunity by not telling BTS that they were going to work – if they had they probably wouldn’t have treated it like a game. If they had taken it more seriously then it would really have put the “earning money” and “giving back” aspects into proper perspective. But it was what is was.

Anyway on to the final episode!

So BTS are getting dragged out of bed again. Did they get any decent sleep this trip? Poor V – he’s been the hardest to get out of bed each time lol.

So their last challenge is to create the best hip hop performance they can using their learned skills.

As a band they set to work on their lyrics for regulate – I’m pretty sure they don’t normally work on lyrics altogether – too many cooks spoil the broth etc - so this maybe made it harder for them. LMAO at V who wanted to include an audience aspect with, “I say V, you say The Best” and RM saying if they weren’t on camera he would have cussed him. LOL the sass and confidence of JK putting a hand across his hyung’s (Suga’s) mouth.

So Suga and RM are in charge (by rights of earning the most money last ep). Suga gives Jin and J-Hope the task of printing hand-outs, while Jimin, V, and Jungkook (the Maknae Line!) are to hand them out and promote the show.

Lol at Jungkook’s method of handing out flyers

Why do I think these were the worst three to promote anything *crying with laughter emoji*. Haha V ends up being shyer than Jungkook.

In fact, Jungkook does rather well with the promotion!

I like the little bit of behind the scenes where they clap to indicate the cameras are rolling. Jungkook really got into it lol. They clearly did other promotion for the show (and relied on their already established international fans?) because I’m calling it out that that amount of people were not the skills of Jimin, V, and, Jungkook on the street lol.

I wonder how nervous BTS really felt about shows at this point. It’s 2014 and they’ve played in quite a few shows at this point and I think been on TV? They have even been to Japan. So they were new but not that new? No doubt there will always be some nerves ahead of a show, it’s only natural, but there’s a difference between feeling antsy and feeling ill. I wonder who out of all the band had the worst nerves and who had the least nerves and why. Questions questions.

So this is really my first time seeing them perform on stage, concert style. I’ve never been much of a fan of rap but I actually quite enjoyed their music – they have some great choruses that you can’t help singing along to. What else can I say? They are well styled. Their performance is polished. Everyone sings confidently. Suga is really good at rapping. Their dancing is on point. They are a great band and it is clear why they made it.

I’m impressed at Jungkook’s stage presence – he’s confident and one of the lead vocals despite being quite shy behind the scenes. Also, I noted Jimin has some versatility to his voice! I thought he was mainly the “high vocal” of the group but I saw one bit in that concert where he had a strong middle range. I’d be interested to see him rapping.

Regulate: Turned out pretty nicely, guys! The dance challenge: Ah ha ha ha actually it was quite fun to watch. I be the audience were like ????? though lol

RM and Jimin killed their bboying. RM needs extra kudos for his efforts.

LOL, Jin and J-Hope tried with their beatboxing – lovely of Fraahz to join them on stage.

OMG Suga, V, and Jungkook’s ‘Oh Happy Day’ was great! It was polished and Jungkook, what a marvellous tone you have – he made all the notes, just cracking!!! <3

All in all, it’s clear the lads have a lot of fun on stage and it’s lovely to see their confidence shine. “Same love” was, again, polished and full of high energy, and so was “No More Dream”, it’s easy to see why BTS made it so big. They have great stage presence, their music is interesting, their performances are energetic, their personalities are fun and engaging, they all seem to really care about each other and are not afraid to show affection (which is a wonderful Korean charm), they work hard, they are polite and friendly, and they seem to have a lot of fun which means we have a lot of fun. They tick pretty much every box for success – well deserved success.

So it’s the last day and they are all packing up. They say some really nice things to Tony and Nate. It’s clear they all got on well and that the two gentlemen made it easier for the band to enjoy their time. Perhaps RM was the most honest when he said there was a lot of hardwork. I think there probably was – more than the camera showed. There was probably some home sickness in the mix as well - 21 days in a foreign country and not able to speak the language must have been quite hard.

 Overall Series Musings.

 I’m not going to lie, there were some seriously cringy moments in this series and a lot of episodes I wouldn’t care to re-watch because of that. However, there were some absolutely magical moments too and some comedy gold. We got to see more of the lads’ personalities and they are thoroughly delightful; all seven of them are fun, playful, affectionate, decent, energetic, interesting, polite, charming, sassy, talented yet beautifully flawed, awkward and just perfectly human. The list is really endless, and I know I’ve fallen even more in love with them because of it. I can certainly see why they won the world over.

Things I have learned and/or observed about the members thus far: Jin is not a natural dancer but if he’s motivated – like when he didn’t want to let J-Hope down – he will work his butt off and his hard work really shows in the end. He’s quite awkward at times and that spills into some of his craft. We learned he had been working towards a career in acting before BTS and that he has a brother who is into hip hop. As the band is so busy he hasn’t even seen the families’ new house. His role in BTS at this point seems to be a bit of parent figure for the younger members.

Suga is quite nervous of woman – like unexpectedly so – worse than Jungkook! I don’t know why this surprised me so much. Does this nervousness around women mean anything? No. Not on it’s own. I’ve just filed it away in my brain in case there is anything else that might connect to it at a later date. Anyway, what else did we learn about Suga? He’s a hard worker and a kind of ‘just gets on with it’ guy. He has a nice affinity with the younger ones, which was a little absent in previous series. This time he spent a lot of time with V and Jungkook and he was pretty soft and indulgent of them. It was lovely to see. His roles in the band are lead rapper and a song writer.  

J-Hope is a literal ball of sunshine. He is also a seriously talented dancer and I was a little taken aback that the band considered him their strongest dancer – that never came across in Carpool Karaoke. He admitted that as a trainee he had felt quite remote from the band as everyone else was a rapper, although I wonder if this was before Jimin joined? J-Hope is really quite talented all round – doing really well with all the challenges – except basketball. His roles in the band are lead dancer and the positivity/glue guy.

RM was RM. I don’t feel we learned as much about him as we did the others. Don’t get me wrong, he was front and centre but I didn’t feel we got to go too deep with him – either that or we’ve learned a lot about him already and there was little new. What did come across is that he is under a lot of pressure and that he cares what other’s think of him. He also wants to care less about what others think of him. His role is still as leader of the band.

Jimin is simply a lovable little ball of energy and laughter. Supposedly he has a temper but even when he’s ‘supposedly mad’ he is laughing about it. It’s hard to talk that seriously. Even the tutor, Tony, fell a little in love with Chim Chim. What else did we learn about Jimin? Well he was definitely calmer than in previous series – although he was still plenty loud. What really came through is that he is a hard worker and can knuckle down. His role is main dancer, high vocals, and comic relief.

V is… a lot of things. He’s overly affectionate at times, wonderfully weird, very random, a little spacey, not always the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to certain things, surprising shy in some situations, and a bit of a sensitive soul. Quite frankly I have a real soft spot for this goofball. His role is a little less obvious but I’m thinking low vocals, face of the band, and the mystery guy.

Jungkook, the maknae, is growing – both literally (I swear he grew several inches between ep1 and ep8 alone and is constantly hungry) and figuratively (his personality is blossoming). He has come out of his shell somewhat – still shy (and nervous of woman) at times – but also surprisingly brave in other situations and growing quite sassy. I think he is more comfortable behind the camera rather in front of it and I hope he gets the chance to be creative with that in the future. His role is main vocalist.

Band relations:      

Some of the musings I made in previous series have been proven right while there are many that I perhaps read too much into. We really started to see the inner friendships more in this series so that has helped put behaviours into better perspective. I think J-Hope and Jin are really tight, they spent a lot of time together and had an ease of two people that had known each other for years. They clearly have a close brotherly bond and it’s just lovely to see. Suga, to my surprise, spent a lot of time with the younger ones in this series and he really indulged them. In fact, he did a great job looking after them and played on their level in a way that made it easy to forget he is their hyung. My new observation for him is that he maybe doesn’t care too much for convention? He is unapologetically him and that’s that, which I take my hat off to. RM and Jimin made a surprisingly great unit – RM is really good with Jimin, even if his (lack) of dancing skills frustrates the younger one at times. RM respects everyone and he gives people time, which I think Jimin needs? Also, I think they get on particularly well because they are quite similar in work ethics and principles. Towards the end we saw Jimin partnered with Jungkook. I can’t put my finger yet on a proper description for their bond. They are certainly comfortable around each other – and get on well and hang out a lot - but they don’t have the same ‘brotherly vibe’ as say RM and Jimin. Jungkook also treats Jimin more like he’s the same age as him. I wouldn’t say he’s disrespectful but there is a lot of teasing and a noticeable lack of honorific behaviour. I also can’t explain why but their bond has not got the same feel as Jungkook’s and V’s relationship, in which Jungkook also treats V as though they are the same age. However, there is a notable warm brotherly vibe between V and Jungkook and certainly more obvious respect from Jungkook’s side. I don’t know... Maybe it’s just the way the programme was edited or maybe I’m talking out my *** I just get frustrated when I can’t explain something. I suppose it didn’t help that Carpool Karaoke didn’t show much of their individual bonds in later life. I guess I’ll find out as we go along whether Jimin and Jungkook have a really close but unique bond or whether they are secret enemies lol.

 ******************************************************************************

The next programme on my list is BTS Go! According to Wiki, this seems to be from 2014 too. However, I recently came across the existence of the BTS Youtube channel where they have hundreds of videos from backstage dating back to 2013! What I think I will do is watch and muse over BTS Go first and then watch all the videos up to the end of 2014 on their Youtube account and then muse over what I see there and what I’ve seen in the tv programmes so far. I expect their personalities and bonds are more candid in the behind the scenes videos so I’m looking forward to seeing those in particular.      

[dracoyoflam]

HDTH Chapter 18: Closer To You

By the time Hermione had finally woke up, the sunlight was pouring threw the tent’s thin cloth onto her face. She opened her eyes and sat up; her hair fell over her shoulders and hid her sweaty face in shadow. Hermione wiped her forehead with her arm and pushed her hair back as Draco came out of the bathroom. His body was glistening as the sunlight hit his wet skin. He wore a pair of dark pants but nothing more. He moved from the bathroom doorway past the small living room and ended up in the bedroom.

Hermione, trying not to stare, glanced over and saw a scar on his shoulder. Curiously she moved off her bed and started toward her bathroom, on her way she glanced back and asked, “The scar on your shoulder… it’s from the other day when you fell right? I mean it’s obviously healed now but that’s how you got it right?” She stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a hair tie out of the cabinet by the door. She brushed her hair back and wrapped the band around the curls. “You did a pretty good job of healing it Hermione. I’m lucky you were with me, I honestly don’t know anything about healing.” Hermione opened her closet and started searching through it for something to wear. “I did that? It’s not bad but it still scarred, sorry about that.” Draco sat on his bed facing Hermione as he pulled on a shirt. “Technically you didn’t or won’t but it’s here, I don’t know how it all works but I kind of like it.. The scar I mean.” He grinned and then continued. “I think it makes me look tough and I’m sure the girls would think it’s kind of sexy. What do you think?” She turned away from the closet and studied him in a some-what comical manner before she finally replied, “Oh, sure. I can see it now. You’re about as tough as Crookshanks and as sexy as…” “As what?” He interrupted her. She laughed as she pulled out some clothing, “Wouldn’t you like to know.” She smoothly walked through the tent, into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Draco was left sitting there with a smirk on his lips; he had missed Hermione so much and was glad that he could start over with her. He enjoyed the playful flirting and so had she. Draco knew then, the love they could share and he could hardly wait to get started. Hermione had decided to take another shower because of all the sweating she did most of the night. She had strange and horrible dreams but all she could remember from them was a green light. She of course had an idea about what it was but she didn’t want to explore it any further than what her subconscious was already doing on its own. This time though, she didn’t look in the mirror at all. She couldn’t stand the horrible scars anymore, she decided to try a few spells to try and hide them when she got out of the shower. She didn’t stay under the hot water for long. She mostly just stood there staring at the wall while the water ran across her skin. Once she finished, she stayed naked while she tried to think up enough spells to cover the scars. She knew a few but even with all of them, the scars were only faded. They were more covered than not and she decided that makeup could probably help hide the ones on her face. Of course she didn’t have makeup so she finally gave up and started covering the bruises with the spells she had just used on the scars, it worked completely this time and the marks were seemingly gone. When she felt like all of the evidence from last nights tumble were hidden, she finally walked out of the steam filled bathroom. Unfortunately, the bruises were hidden but the pain wasn’t. Hermione walked out of the bathroom while rubbing the most painful part of her back and Draco noticed right away. “Is your back hurting?” As soon as it left his mouth, he felt stupid for asking a question with such an obvious answer. She dropped her hands and quickly replied. “No. I’m fine, just slept weird I guess… it’s nothing.” She cleared her throat and went to walk past him but he quickly pulled her back and softly tossed her down on his bed which earned a low squeak from Hermione. When she tried to get up, he quickly pushed her back down and climbed onto her legs. “Hermione, just relax and let me do this.” She sighed in defeat and then had to stifle a groan when his hands started to firmly rub her back with both of his hands. He slowly made his way up her back and gripped her shoulders before dragging his hands down her sides. Hermione’s body relaxed and she closed her eyes. The feel of his hands on her body made her feel strange but good. She couldn’t explain it, even to herself. Draco kept an even pressure on her back and she could feel the heat rising inside of her body. When she thought she was getting used to his touch, he surprised her by lifting her shirt and placing his warm hands on her skin. He didn’t hesitate, he pressed his palms into her back and rubbed upward to her bra where he decided not to cross. He slowly and softly moved his hands back down and started to rub his knuckles into her lower back. She let out a soft moan and felt his hands pause for a moment before continuing the massage. Hermione, feeling her body responding, knew that she couldn’t let things go any further because it they did, she might just flip him over and have her way with him. She tried to push herself up and was surprised that he let her this time. She gently pulled her shirt down to cover her abdomen then took a small step away from him. “I just need a minute.” He looked disappointed and for some reason, she suddenly had the need to reassure him. “Thank you for the massage, it really helped. I need some air though.” His face brightened up a little and he glanced around. “Yeah, this tent starts feeling a little to small after a while.” She smiled at him then went to the opening at the front of the tent and stepped inside. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much she really needed the air. The cool air hit her face and it felt amazing. It was refreshing to be out of the tent and in an open space. She walked toward the forest and eventually found a spot to sit down. She sat on a fallen branch that didn’t seem like it could hold a persons weight but managed to hold her just fine. As she sat down, dizziness overcame her and she felt as if she might be sick. She put her hand to the ground to steady herself and the dizziness disappeared just as quickly as it came. Instead of everything going back to normal though, her sight became blurred and a vision started playing inside of her head. Draco bent over and she leaned up; their lips met for a moment and then they pulled away to check each other’s reaction. Hermione felt again like she was really experiencing what she was now seeing. She felt his lips caress hers and then pull away. She found herself greatly disappointed and could tell that in the vision, they both liked the experience. She didn’t have much time to think about what was happening though because before she knew it, they were kissing again. She could feel his fingers curl around her curls and pull her closer, which was strange since she was actually sitting alone on a makeshift bench. Their tongues started playing over each other as the kiss deepened further and their tongues fought for dominance. They kissed as if they would never kiss again. It was like they had been waiting forever for this moment and now that it was here, Hermione could feel the excitement bubbling up inside of her. When she was starting to get used to the feeling of him kissing her without him actually being there, the vision faded into a mixed one with different images and sounds before somewhat settling on a very confusing one. Draco walked to the door but before he could open it, she stood up and called after him. “Draco, wait, I love you!” Hermione’s face was one of shock as the vision finally subsided as Draco turned around to reply. She was frustrated because she wanted to know if he loved her and the stupid memory didn’t tell her. Honestly, she was also frustrated because of the ending of the first vision but she wouldn’t admit that to anyone. She stood up and reluctantly headed back into the tent. As soon as she entered, she felt claustrophobic but tried to push it away. She had more pressing issues to tend to. “Draco. Could I talk to you?” He looked confused but nodded his head anyway. Hermione sighed and eventually continued. “If I ask you something… will you promise to be completely honest?” If it was possible he looked even more confused. She stepped a little closer and met his eyes. “Will you?” Draco frowned but tried to look nonchalant by adding a sideways grin. “Of course, Hermione. What is this about?” She stepped a little closer and blushed when she immediately thought back on the vision of then kissing. She glanced away to hide it but finally went back to his gaze. “Were we in love?” He cleared his throat and answered quickly to recover from his shock. “What?” “Draco. Were we in love, I mean before I died. I need to know.”

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Fruits Basket 2019 Episode 22: “Because I Was Happy”

In spite of how last week’s episode was kinda meh, this episode ended up being one of the single best episodes of the show thus far. It at least goes to show that this adaptation is incredibly good at drama, even if it’s not so great at comedy.

Anyway the TL;DR of my feelings right now is just a whole pile of those pictures of crying cats. You know the ones.

Thoughts under the cut [and spoilers for the manga as a whole]

To get right to the chase, this episode adapted chapter 51, which is interesting because this makes it the first episode adapting material that straight up hadn’t even been written when the 2001 anime was made, since I think that came out when the manga was at around chapter 43 or so. Even Uo’s backstory arc had already been done in the manga by that point, and they just chose to cut it in the first adaptation. So I can’t exactly fault the 2001 anime for not having adapted this chapter, but man it really goes to show how much of the story the 2001 anime was missing, and how much good stuff we’re in for here.

I think it was a good choice to put the two Hana chapters back to back like this, even though in the manga they were like 20+ chapters apart from each other. It’s by far the most standalone chapter of the manga, and it’s specific placement has always kinda baffled me, since it happens right after we meet the student council characters and Kureno, and shortly before the summer vacation arc, and none of that had to do with Hana. I think it’s just one of those things where Takaya’s nerve disorder probably impacted how she approached the story, and lead to some odd detours into side stories and backstories until the ‘main story’ kicked back into high gear. It flows a lot more naturally here, and the fact that the whole episode is a flashback with no real present-day context or framing isn’t even noticeable when it comes right after the events of the last episode. It felt like a bit more of a harsh narrative shift in the manga.

But it’s still always been one of my favourite individual chapters in the series, in spite of it’s awkward timing. The material itself does everything it needs to make it stand out. And the shifted placement in this adaptation just helps elevate it’s strengths even more.

I’ve been wondering how anime-only people might react to this episode, for lots of reasons, and I’m glad that everyone seems to love it. It really does come as a huge curveball in terms of tone and focus after how self-contained and comedic the last episode was, but it works nicely.

And even more than that, it’s fun watching people react for the first time to the reveal that Hana’s powers are actually 100% real, and the story ends up being dead serious in depicting how they impacted her life. Basically Fruits Basket suddenly turns into Carrie But With A Support Network for an episode, and I doubt any new fans saw that one coming, lmao.

Though tbh I still think it’s [intentionally] ambiguous whether or not she actually had supernatural powers. It never really comes up again, and the handful of cases of her using her powers on people can technically be written off as a mix of coincidences and a sort of placebo effect from people who think she’s seriously gonna curse them. In terms of what Takaya thought when she wrote this, I think Hana probably does have straight up psychic powers, but there’s room for interpretation, and I think this episode is really interesting when viewed through the lens of Hana having some sort of severe mental illness.

I’ve been pretty occupied recently with thinking about the topic of disability in Fruits Basket when it comes to Kyo’s arc [and oh boy do I have stuff to say about that very soon], but I’d kinda forgotten that Hana’s backstory here is another good example of that.

I don’t exactly want to jump to conclusions and start armchair diagnosing her, but the ‘voices’ Hana heard could definitely be symptoms of something like social anxiety or even schizophrenia. Depending on how literally you want to take the idea of her ‘hearing voices’.

In general there’s a sort of blurry line in this series between supernatural stuff, and things that are realistic to the experiences of disabled [or otherwise oppressed/neglected in general] people. But I’ll talk more about that later.

On a somewhat related note, one surprising thing about this episode is that in spite of the overall tone and events of this episode, Hana’s family is completely supportive of her, and never doubt the existence of her powers, or hate her for it. Instead all they care about is her safety and well-being, and they’re willing to move towns if it means removing Hana from a toxic school environment. I think I’ve said it before, but I think it’s good that this series has a whole range of types of parents/families who have their own unique feelings about their childrens’ struggles. You can’t really accuse it of being one-dimensional.

The thing that really struck me about this episode most of all was just how good the artistic direction and overall execution were. In terms of the story it was a pretty 1:1 adaptation of the manga, with nothing changed/added/removed from what I can remember, but it was just executed incredibly well. Pretty much like how things went with the Uo arc.

Specifically I really loved the way that the entire episode had a consistent cool grey tone to it all, and was filled with deep shadows and harsh, artificial-looking lighting, right up until the point where Hana admits that she wants to stay with Tohru and Uo, and suddenly everything is bright and warm and filled with light. It’s not exactly the most complicated thing ever, but it really made the climax of this episode stand out.

But the way it handled the lighting and shading up until that point was genuinely really neat in and of itself, and lead to a really atmospheric and oppressive vibe to everything. Especially scenes like the one where Hana got her arm burned by those bullies, and the whole scene was incredibly dark and shadowy and eerie. I also really liked the cut of her running down the school hallway, and how the harsh bluish lighting from the windows contrasted with her silhouette and the darkness of the hallway itself.

The way they handled the scenes of her hearing voices by having the screen be slowly blotted out by cloudy blackness and overlapping voices was also really neat.

I think it’s really neat that some of the best material we’ve gotten thus far has come from some of the most unlikely characters. Normally with a series like this you’d think that Tohru’s best friends would be disposable comic relief characters [which they kinda were in the 2001 anime, tbh], but they both ended up getting incredibly good backstory arcs that flesh them out immensely and deliver some of the strongest emotions and messages in the series. It really goes to show that this is an ensemble cast type of story that cares about all of it’s characters instead of just the core few. In the manga it wasn’t really apparent until later because of how things were paced out, but this adaptation’s really making it clear already that this series is totally willing to basically ignore it’s main trio for episodes on end in order to focus on the supporting cast, lol.

And on THAT note, to balance out the fact that Kyo in particular has been kinda absent since, like, the lake house episode I think, the next episode is gonna dive straight into what will ultimately be a three-episode story arc focused on him, his backstory, and his relationship with Tohru. I hope it lives up to the expectations of all the new fans who’ve been anxious to see more of him, and I hope they know to keep their hands inside the rollercoaster at all times because we’re about to Go Places [tm] :)

I’d been expecting for a while that the next episode would adapt chapters 30 and 31 and end with Kazuma’s introduction, so that the last two episodes of the season can focus on the meat of the true form arc, and thankfully they just outright used Kazuma’s line from the end of chapter 31 as the title of the next episode so that spells itself out, lol.

I’ve seen some people worry that this means they might be skipping the soup chapter, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think it’d actually be really easy to cover both of those chapters in one episode. You could actually splice the events of them together pretty nicely, so that Tohru getting sick is still the main thread of the whole episode even if it ends with Kazuma showing up.

I think they could at least do some things like making the part in Chapter 31 where Kyo and Kagura go shopping together be related to Kyo cooking for Tohru while she’s sick. But we’ll see.

I know some people think that ep24 will cover the whole true form arc, and that ep25 will be chapters 35 and 36, but I don’t really feel like that’d work well. The true form arc is way too much of an emotional climax all around to not be the season finale. And chapter 35 in general would serve as a nice sort of semi-recap of the true form arc to start season 2 off with.

And in general I don’t think the series has ever adapted three whole chapters into one episode, and I don’t think they’ll start with this arc. I think it’ll be like how they adapted the Uo arc into two episodes when it was also three chapters long. Either way, I think they’d be able to pretty easily flesh it out a bit to cover two episodes, whereas it’d be difficult to condense it into just one episode without it feeling rushed. But who knows. I have faith in them one way or another.

For the time being I’m just gonna emotionally prepare myself, lmao.

[sparkly-angell]

Stuckony Fic Rec because why not

*= series

ATTENTION! LOST ARM (If found please contact:) by Fakesheep-luna Teen, 8k Bucky doesn't understand why everyone is so worked up. He just went out for a few drinks, made some new friends and passed out in a dumpster. No big deal! "No big deal??" Steve squeaks, throwing his hands up in the air "You lost your arm! And you don't even remember how!" "Well, at least it wasn't the good one."

Guys!! This fic is comedy approved! its really good, made me laugh a lot, and the plot? amazing. Go read!

Break In by Tenspencerriedplease 7k Scott Lang, at least, understood why Tony hated this stupid job so damn much. He had a Masters degree in engineering but Tony was working on a PhD. Unfortunately for him even with his previous experience and schooling- good schooling- he was stuck working in a knockoff version of McDonald’s meets Subway. At least he works there until he meets Steve and Bucky.

askfjnsfdjsn aaaaaaaa I love gang AU and this one is Great. Highly recomend!

Brooklyn Boys - Bakey Au* by Quicksylver28 Teen/Mature 27k Tony is a bachelor college professor who walks into Steve and Bucky's Bakery/ Cafe. Awkward Flirting ensues.... and fluff, we wont forget the fluff.

ITS SO SWEET! Pun intended. Gosh, I wish I could eat all those baked goods. Sounds delicious. Anyways, the fic is sweet. Peter is a good friend.

Bruises and Drunken Heart Tattoos by Akira_of_the_twilight Teen, 6k An older man in his thirties was standing over Bucky with a bottle of aspirin in one hand, and the fingers of his other hand still gripping the rim of the cup he’d set down on the nightstand. Amber eyes blinked at Bucky in mild surprise. The man’s lips curved into a teasing smirk. “I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

I wanna hug Tony so hard over the course of this fic. It’s cute the way they fall in love. And it’s also funny. 

Canvas, Ink & Paint* by Ficlicious Teen, 11k Bucky's got one goal: to rescue a captured SHIELD agent and get out before the guards realize he's not one of them. Unfortunately, apparently he's also got soulmates, and when their messages and sketches start appearing on his skin, his mission becomes a complicated mess of trying not to get caught covered in their ink.

!!!!!! I love soulmate aus and this fic is one of my favorites!! Poor Bucky, tho, he was just trying to do his work. Go read!! 

Carrier by Just_another_tinker Explicit, 49k Steve and Bucky gift Tony with their jacket that survived from the 1940's. Turns out that wasn't the only thing that survived.

YALL. SO. MUCH. ANGST. and with a happy ending? someone said Pining? PERFECTION. I love the group dimensions in this fic. 

Comic Books and Kings by Ashes0909 Explicit, 10k Tony Stark read Captain America comics and everyone knew it, but it was only ever about Bucky Barnes.

Freacking great! Tony having a crush on Bucky before his crush on Steve? Godsent. 

Coffee Love* by Syriala Good, 8k Tony thought his best day was when Steve walked into the coffee shop he was working in. That was until Bucky came in a few days later.

The fluff!! The flirting!! Their kind of pining! *heart eyes*

Cried For Love (Can’t Stand It) by Potrix Explicit, 7k Bucky braces his hands on his hips, and tilts his head to the side, expression caught somewhere between anxious, confused, and nervous. “Well, shit.” “Yeah,” Steve agrees, worrying at his bottom lip, and rubbing at the back of his neck. “That can’t be good.”

Steve and Bucky become spirits and Tony blames himself (which he shouldn’t but thats Tony for you). I love this fic a loooot! (and i wanna hug tony a loooot too)

Difficult Conversations by Yumekiumono Mature, 34k HYDRA had brainwashed their Asset into silence, and then muzzled him to boot. It's not that surprising that Bucky no longer considers talking to be one of his strong suits. So why does he keep having to have difficult conversations? Or, the road to loving Tony Stark is never an easy one.

!!! Man! Tony/Bucky is strong in this fic, but also Steve is there and he is cute. Ive read some WinterIron fics with a similar plot, but the fact that this is Stuckony makes it 100% better. 

Don’t Say It by Bibliomaniac Teen, 35k Tony Stark is autistic and nonverbal. Which is fine, obviously, except for it means that Steve and Bucky don't have his words, and it only takes him a few minutes to decide they don't need to know he has theirs. That's also totally and definitely fine, until he goes and falls in love with them.

So. Fuckin. Good! Soulmate au. Its a must read fanfic. For real. The pining and the angst. Gosh, Tony is the best fuckin person. He doesn’t deserve all this pain.

Eagles by Spqr Teen, 6k Natasha presses her hand over her heart, and – Tony has heard rumors, that her skin is blank, or that she killed her other half, but he doesn’t believe them. “They deserve to know, don’t you think?” “They’ve been together for ninety years, Nat,” he says. “They’re practically married. There’s no room for me.”

Gosh!! Another soulmate au. Me addicted in them? yes. This one hurts more. I think i really cried while reading it. But has a happy ending so its worth it! 

From Winter’s Cold by 27dragons Explicit, 64 Thanks to one of Thor's crazy stalkers, Tony finds himself stranded in the past. If he significantly changes the course of history, he might never get home again. The choice, when it appears, turns out to be not nearly as difficult as he might have expected.

I simply love this fic. One of my personal favorites! Tony is taken back to 1945 and he finds no one other than.... Bucky. Go read! 

Liebestraum No.3 in A Flat by Daecyan_Shikoba Teen, 10k I humbly request to the pianist: Liebestraum No.3 in A flat

Im actually just doing this rec because of this fic. sfdjnsdkjfsn i love it SO much. Pianist Tony has a crush on his neighbours and has anonymous requests to play the piano. Its great. This fic is so relaxing to read.  

Long Distance by Notevenclosetostraight Explicit, 44k At the end of a bad day, Tony gets drunk and texts Rhodey all his woes. Except he typed the wrong number, and has been texting someone named Steve– who is blond, 28, teaches art and somehow charmed by Tonys drunk rambles.

Go read!!!!!!!! Its cute, full of sexy times and fluff. 

Hands by ezazahaz Teen, 1k He pushed harder, feeling the suit start to crack under his metal hand, the arc reactor giving way. Just a bit more force, and it might push through the grafted skin and false sternum that had replaced the device that had once been a part of the man. This time, instead of saving the man's heart, it would crush it, and he could never hurt Bucky again, never hurt Steve again. Bucky has a nightmare.

I know this one is smoll. But! it’s full of emotion and hurt/comfort. It’s cute. Mostly Bucky/Tony

Hollowness by amobisan Explicit, 63k It feels like a hollowness, when Tony first realizes. First sees. And the first thought, the first thought his useless, traitorous, genius brain can come up with was "At least this time when he leaves, it wasn't your fault."

So. Many. Feels. Tony is so selfless and sad it’s painful. But there’s also so much fluff!!! And a Lot of sexy times. 

How Good You’ve Got It by Orphan Account Mature, 2k Tony was only trying to work on deciphering Loki's power signature, which admittedly what Steve would call 'poking an angry brown bear with a pointy stick'. But if he could just- Shit. It wasn't supposed to do that.

Goddamn. One of my favorite fics!! I’ve already reread this like, three times. It’s small, I know, but the plot? Incredible.

Me through Him to You* by sahiya Teen/Explicit, 71k “You’re sick, you need someone to look after you. This mission could take a couple of days, and I want you in one piece when I get home.” Tony sighed. “Why do you care?” Steve’s mouth twisted unhappily. “I hope that’s the fever talking.” He stepped closer. “When I get home,” he said, so quietly that Tony didn’t think even the nosiest of their nosy friends could hear it, “we’re going to talk, all right? Until then, please let Bucky look after you. Consider it me looking after you, through him.”

First fic: sick fic, sick fic, sick fic!! Fluff!!! Love! Second fic: all. the. angst. you never knew you needed, with ahappy ending, tho. 

Not Like That At All by Catchclaw Explicit, 8k One last gig. That’s what Steve tells himself this'll be.

Hilarious! I s w e a r it’s so funny. I mean- theres a lot of smut that happens but the end? comical. And sweet. Go read!

One Date Wonder by Arukou Explicit, 20k Every week, the same guy comes into Steve and Bucky's diner and every week, he's got a new date on his arm. Guy just can't seem to catch a break, and after a particularly bad date, Steve and Bucky start taking matters into their own hands to help him out.

Sweet, cute, fluffy! Poor Tony I want to hug him :’( Amazing Diner!Au, a must read.

Pretend You Don’t Know Me!  by Aknightofagoodking Teen, 16k Peter forgets that his class is taking a field trip to Stark Tower. Tomorrow. ["So you want us to pretend we don't know you that well?" Mister Stark asks, looking somewhat unhappy. "Yes! Exactly! Pretend I'm actually just an intern. Can you do that for me, please?"]

Ok, so this focus more on Peter. But Stuckony as Peter’s dad? Isn’t that just the best thing in the world? 

Scientific Heresy by Antigrav_vector Mature, 34k In the process of running the particle accelerator in his basement and fixing the arc reactor, Tony finds himself flung into the past where he has to take on a fight not his own if he wants to get home to stop Vanko. At least he had a chance to replace the old rector that had been killing him with the new one before everything went sideways... But now he has no choice but to face off with family, friends, and old heroes, and none of that sounds remotely appealing. Well, okay, getting to meet them all during their glory days kinda does.

AAAA Ok, I love time travel stories, so i might be biased a little, but this is the best!! There’s a lot of action scenes which are great and engaging. It��s a must read. 

That Damn Flight Suit by Orphan Account Explicit, 2k James and Steve make a very interesting discovery about what really is under the Iron Man suit. Cue awkward boners, oblivious Tony, and slightly possessive super-soldiers who really don't want to share his...assets... with the world.

I mean- It’s smut. 

The Sex Shop Around the Corner by sadieb798 Mature, 16k Tony really hates his job. When he tries to figure out what he wants to do next, Tony decides that instead of making weapons for war, he should make things for pleasure. So he decides he's going to open his own sex shop.

cmon, tell me this isn’t the best au out there. skdjfsdkfsn but for real tho, the fic is full of fluff, some pining and kind of a mis communication? perfect. 

The Shirt by Sailorchibi Explicit, 3k How an impulsive decision that Tony made at sixteen and an equally impulsive decision that Tony made at forty-three combined to have the best outcome ever.

Smut. Again. But its damn good as well.

The Stories We Write by Notevenclosetostraight Mature, 33k A question at an interview leads to Steve and Bucky discovering fan fiction, and after piles of coffeeshop au's and fake dating tropes (and screaming over ABO fics) they find an author that writes some of the best fics they've ever read-- reader inserts starring a dark haired, dark eyed male reader as their shared love interest.

This fic is so freacking amazing!! Steve and Bucky are such nerds. Tony is mostly unaware until--

Thats it!!! Hope you enjoy reading them all :) If you want more, you know where to find me ;)

[paradisobound]

I Want It, I Got It: Chapter 3

Summary: Phil Lester was a worker for the BBC in London. Working in the advertising department, he was content being alongside his friend and fellow coworker PJ during every shift. However, the BBC is temporarily being used as a film set for a new movie staring Hollywood ‘It’ star, Daniel Howell. Being stuck as an extra on the set, Phil finds it’s hard to ignore the famous star. And maybe, just maybe, Dan finds it hard to ignore Phil as well.

Word Count:  1.6k (this chapter)

Warnings: Occasional swearing

Rating: Mature (for right now)

Updates will be every Wednesday at 4pm est and Sunday at 1pm EST

**MASTERLIST | READ ON AO3**

Phil didn’t realize how exhausted he actually would be. 

When he said his goodbyes to PJ and headed for the tube station, he made a quick stop to a Nando’s and picked up some lunch before he caught the tube and headed home.

As soon as he was through the door, he saw Martyn sitting on his couch with Spike sleeping on his lap. He was watching some Netflix nature documentary on Phil’s TV and eating some sort of a half-made sandwich that Phil figured he scrounged together after going through his fridge. 

“How was Spike?” Phil asked, distracting Martyn away from the documentary. 

Martyn picked up the remote and paused the documentary. “Mostly just slept.” 

At the sound of his name, Spike had already perked up and was ready to jump down from Martyn’s lap and run over to Phil. He jumped down on his tiny paws and patted his way over and Phil bent down, petting his gently on his back. 

“How was the set, famous actor?” 

“Shut it, Martyn. I was only there because the BBC required me to be.” Phil said as he sat down beside Martyn on the couch and began to unpack his Nando’s bag. He fished out his chicken wrap began to undo the packaging as Spike sat at his feet and hoped to be fed as well. 

“Do you get to see the famous Daniel Howell?” Martyn asks, reaching into his bag and stealing a chip. 

“Yeah, actually. We shared a quick moment.” Phil answered as he took a bite of his wrap and then broke off a piece of chicken and gave it to Spike. 

“What happened?” Martyn asked, stealing another chip. 

“We met eye to eye and then he smiled at me.” 

“Oh damn. When’s the wedding?” 

“You’re an ass.” Phil swatted at Martyn’s arm. Martyn just laughed. “I know it doesn’t really mean anything but the way he stared at me was just...something else. And that smile he flashed at me was like no other smile I’ve seen.” 

“Phil,” Martyn punctuated. “You’re acting like a love sick teenager. He’s a celebrity. He probably flashes that smile at everyone.” 

“But...” 

“You’re really about to argue this?” Martyn laughed. “Lad has you ready to go to bed and you’ve never even spoke.” 

Phil rolled his eyes and finished his wrap, throwing the container into the bag. He pulled out his chips and groaned when he saw Martyn had ate almost all of them. 

“I don’t know, Martyn. It was different.” 

And Phil still stood by that even into the afternoon as he found himself suddenly wanting to look Daniel up on social media. He started with Twitter first and he went through and saw all of his tweets―or rather lack there of. Daniel didn’t tweet all that much. But when he did it was often kind of comical. He liked talking about memes which was different than what he was expecting. 

From his Twitter, he ended up going on Instagram. Phil had to admit that Daniel’s Instagram photos were near flawless. It was no wondering he had nearly 20 million followers on there and received about 5 million likes a photo. It was kind of amazing compared to Phil’s measly two thousand followers that he’s gotten over the years. 

He went through the photos and he reads through some of the comments on them. Most people talk about how much they love him and some even get replies back from him if they’re lucky. 

He scrolls back up Daniel’s profile to the picture of him and the dog and he looks it over, smiling. There was something about Daniel and Phil thought he was finally understanding the hype behind Daniel. The reason why People Magazine called him one of the sexiest men alive. Because Daniel was attractive. He was actually stunning. 

And just like that, with a defeated sigh, Phil realizes he’s developing a stupid crush on him and there is nothing he can do. He’ll probably never see Daniel again. 

***

Turns out never seeing Daniel again was completely false. He got an email from the BBC two days later asking if he could go to the BBC and help out. Phil didn’t know what they meant by help out but he still reported to the BBC anyway on the day that they asked. 

Arriving at near seven in the morning with a Gregg’s coffee in hand, Phil arrived to the BBC once more with a crowd of people waiting outside. He could hear scenes being shot in the distance somewhere in the building and he really did not know what he was supposed to be doing. 

The same woman from before met up with him, this time introducing herself as Mabel. “So we loved you as a background extra in the scene before so we decide to bring you back for another scene. That is of course if we still have your full consent for it.” 

Phil nodded slowly. “What am I going to be doing?” 

“So it’ll be a scene with Daniel. There will be no words or anything. You’ll be standing in the coffee room with a group of other background actors, Daniel will come in, stand beside you, grab a coffee, and then that’s it.” 

Phil furrowed his brows. “Is that all?” He asked. “Why me specifically for this scene?” 

Mabel smirks at him. “Daniel requested you.” 

Phil sputtered, nearly dropping his coffee cup on the ground. “He doesn’t know me?” 

“Well, he asked for the ‘black haired male from the scene before’ and we kind of figured out he meant you.” She said. 

Phil felt flustered. There was so much he could unpack in that moment but instead, he was being rushed off to the set of the coffee scene. Mabel took his coffee off the side and then instructed him on how the scene was going to go. Phil felt somewhat reassured to know that Mabel wasn’t positive if the scene would be in the final cut but he still was intrigued being a background extra. 

Who knew that the BBC telling him he had to report here worked in his benefit? 

He got into place with all of the other actors and they all got ready for whatever was going to happen. 

Then Daniel walked in and it was like a different dimension again. His smile that he flashed to those he walked by and that perfectly styled hair. Once again, Phil got it. He got why so many people are infatuated with Dan because he’s infatuated too. He’s never been like this with someone before. It’s weird. It’s strange. He doesn’t know how to react...for fucks sake Daniel asked for him to come back just for this scene. Isn’t that a bit unusual? 

“Hey mate.” 

And now Daniel was talking to him? He felt his palms sweat and his heart beat through his chest. 

“Hey.” 

He’s trying so hard to keep his cool but he’s losing it fast. He turns and looks at Dan, all dressed up in that business attire they had him dressed in. Phil’s not even entirely sure what this movie is about but he could care less if it meant he was now being stood in the same scene. 

“I feel like this is probably awkward,” Dan says, bringing his lips into a tight line. “But they were asking me who I wanted in this scene and I don’t know, I just thought you did really well in the scene from a few days ago. You were like natural?” 

Phil blushed, his skin flushing red. “Oh thank you. I did the multimedia and film masters program at the University of York.” 

Dan cocked an eyebrow and nodded. “Could have fooled me.” He said. “Never would have thought you had experience in this field.” 

Phil felt his stomach drop a little bit because he wasn’t entirely sure what Dan meant by that. But this was Dan. This was the biggest celebrity in Hollywood right now. He needs to remember this. 

The director started and he did exactly what Mabel had explained to him. Within just a few moments, the director was yelling cut again and then it was over. The scene was done. The director said that they got their shot and then they were all leaving the set. 

He’s leaving the BBC when he hears someone come up behind him. He half thinks that maybe he left something at the set but he’s quickly mistaken. The person behind him is wearing a baggy black sweatshirt and a pair of skinny jeans. 

Phil can’t figure out who this person is until his eyes focus on the face covered by the hood and he realizes that this is Daniel Howell standing there, coming after him. Daniel Howell...wants to catch up with him? 

“Hey!” Daniel called. “Can I get your name? You seem like a super nice person and not like a totally crazed fan girl.” 

“Oh! Yeah.” Phil stumbles awkwardly. “It’s Phil Lester.” 

“Do you have a Twitter or an Instagram?” Dan asks, pulling out his phone from his pocket. 

“You can find me under the url amazingphil.” 

“Amazingphil?” Dan snickers. “That’s kind of amazing actually. Where did you come up with that?” 

“It was a university thing.” Phil said, blushing. “It just kind of stuck.” 

“I wish I had a cool nickname like that.” Dan muttered to himself. “But sadly, I...”

“Dan! You’re wanted on set in twenty minutes and Kirsten is requesting you in hair and make up.” 

Dan shoots Phil an apologetic glance and then flashes a smile to him again. “I’ll see you around!” 

And then he’s gone. He’s walking back towards the people who called for him. 

And really, Phil is left standing there, completely awestruck. He’s not even sure that what just happened was even real. Was any of this real? He couldn’t tell. 

He pinched his thigh. He definitely felt it. So no, he wasn’t dreaming. 

He actually just had a semi-successful conversation with the Daniel Howell. 

He might actually faint. 

Last Chapter | Next Chapter 

[stripestheboar]

Ooooh my stars can you do more PTA Sans scenes?! I absolutely adore that AU!!

Sorry this took so long. Weeks of sickness is getting to me. Not to mention making up jokes can take hours.

Anyways…. PART 3 OF THE PTA SANS COLLECTION!

ENJOY

~Undertale~

Sans: *comes in* okay, what’s going on? Frisk has been late to five doctor’s appointments because the teachers won’t let them leave until i come get them.

Helen: *motions for him to sit down* I’m afraid we just can’t trust your child to leave the class anymore. He keeps writing fake notes just to get out.

Sans: *blinks and sits down* fake notes? whoa whoa, what? that doesn’t sound like them.

Helen: *nods* Yes, he’s quite the troublemaker. Not being her father, it’s clear you don’t know him as much as you thought. He makes fake doctor’s notes, clearly written by him.

Sans: well, how do you know? I always write their notes since Tori’s teaching.

Helen: Well, for one, it’s all types up lowercase. Probably so we don’t recognize her handwriting (he doesn’t seem too bright).  

Sans:… typed?

Helen: Mmhmm. Typed up on a flimsy piece of paper. All lowercase and with bad spelling and grammar. And in Comic Sans no less! *slowly coming to realization* If he really thinks the teacher and…. I are dumb enough to let… that… pass…. *blinks*

Sans:…..  

Helen:….

Sans: *sighs* y’know, it’s pretty hard being a married working mother when you’re single, unemployed, a skeleton, and most importantly a dude, but damn it, Helen…. Frisk and i donated fifty cans to the food drive. i think we deserve some respect here.

Helen: Well I’m head of the PTA, so there really is no-

Sans: how many cans did you donate, Helen?

Helen: That doesn’t really matter-

Sans: how many, Helen?

Helen:….. *looks down* Four.

Sans: really? wow. i would’ve though you would’ve had the time to donate more with how much time you spend bitching about my kid.

~Underfell~

Sans: *hands Frisk money* here’s twenty g. vending machine is around the corner. don’t go around spending it all in one fuckin’ place. now run along, ya little shithead.

Frisk: *snatches up money and runs off*

Daniel: *walking when Frisk suddenly races past him* Hey, watch where you’re going. *sighs* Little shithead.

Sans: *suddenly next to him* uh, what the fuck did you just call my kid?

Daniel: What? You call them that all the time!

Sans: yeah, it’s okay when i say it because they know i still fucking love them. when you say it, you actually fucking mean it.

Daniel: then maybe you shouldn’t speak to your child that way.

Sans: then maybe you should mind your own fucking business or else!

Daniel: Or else what? It’s your fault you don’t love your child enough!

Sans: *stops* oh… you fucker… *chuckles evilly* i’ll show you love, asshole. *disappears*

The Next Saturday 

Daniel: *helping his young son onto his bike* Alright, Cody, today’s the day you’re going to learn to ride like all of your friends. *hands him his helmet* Now, it may be scary at first, and you may fall down a few times, but remember that I will be here to help you-

Cody: *puts on helmet* It’s okay, dad! I already know how! *rides off on his bike perfectly with a smile*

Daniel: *shocked* What? How did he-? When did he-?!

Sans: *rides by on his tricycle* ha ha asshole! i taught your kid how to ride a bike! you’re never gonna get that back! *rides off into the sunset*

~Underswap~

Sans: *finishes checking off the last name* AND DONE! THAT’S EVERYONE! *grins* GOOD WORK, EVERYBODY! THIS FUNDRAISER WILL MORE THAN HELP THE BAND GET NEW EQUIPMENT! SINCE MARIA’S CHILDREN RAISED THE MOST, THEY GET TOP PRIZES. *walks over and hands Maria a bone* HERE! A TOKEN OF MY ETERNAL GRATITUDE!

Maria: *smiles and takes it, shaking off how weird it is* Aw, thanks, Sans. I really appreciate it. Cindy had fun selling to all her friends.

Sans: WELL CINDY IS DOING AN AMAZING JOB! HERE, A BONE FOR HER AS WELL. *hands her a smaller bone* TELL HER THE PRIZES WILL BE HERE IN A WEEK.

Linda: Bones? Don’t you think that’s kind of weird?

Sans: *tilts head* I’M JUST SHOWING MY GRATITUDE. DO HUMANS NOT LIKE THAT?

Linda: It’s just kinda weird with all the bones. What’s with you monsters and your obsessions with bones? Or is that just a skeleton thing?

Sans: *thinks hard* I’M ACTUALLY NOT SURE, LINDA! I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS WEIRD THAT YOU HUMANS LIKE TO GET MARRIED THREE TIMES AND PULL THEIR CHILD INTO THEIR DIVORCE BATTLES THUS DRASTICALLY AFFECTING THEIR SCHOOL WORK AND MOTIVATION TO DO THE ACTIVITIES THEY LOVE SUCH AS BAND. OR IS THAT JUST A LINDA THING?

~Swapfell~

Sans: AS HEAD BOOSTER MOM-

Gloria: *aside to her friend* As you’ve proclaimed fifty times this meeting.

Sans: - I AM THOROUGHLY SATISFIED BY THE RATE AT WHICH WE WERE ABLE TO HELP FUND ADEQUATE  EQUIPMENT FOR OUR CHILDREN. NOW THAT ALL OF THIS HAS BEEN SETTLED, LET US DISCUSS SETTING UP THE STAGE ON THURSDAY TO GET READY FOR THE SHOW. I ASSUME IT MAY TAKE US A GOOD SIX HOURS TO GET IT READY.

Gloria: Wait- what?

Sans: WE NEED TO SET THE STAGE FOR OUR CHILDREN. WE MUST MAKE IT PERFECT; OUR CHILDREN SHALL ACCEPT NOTHING LESS.

Gloria: Six hours of setting up? Look, I don’t have time for that.

Sans: IT WILL BE IN THE AFTERNOON. YOU CAN’T SPARE YOUR TIME FOR AN HOUR?

Gloria: I still can’t make it. I have a busy schedule. Can’t we use some of the money from the fundraiser to hire a few people to do that.

Sans: THAT MONEY IS FOR THE EQUIPMENT! FINE. I SHALL TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE PERFORMANCE AS WELL.

Gloria: E-excuse me?!  

Sans: IF YOUR SCHEDULE IS SO BUSY TO WHERE YOU CAN’T MAKE IT EVEN FOR AN HOUR, YOU WILL SUEELY BE TOO EXHAUSTED TO TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE PERFORMANCE THE NEXT MORNING. DO NOT DESPAIR. MY MUTT CAN EASILY TRANSPORT YOUR CHILD.

Gloria: You are not touching my son. Look, my schedule is packed tight and there’s nothing I can do about it.  

San: GLORIA, YOU’RE A STAY-AT-HOME MOTHER RAISING ONE CHILD. I COULD GET CANCER AND DIE OF IT IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU SPEND WATCHING “THE REAL HOUSEWIVES” IN A SINGLE DAY. IF YOU CAN’T SPARE A SINGLE HOUR, WHY ARE YOU IN THE PTA AND BOOSTER CLUB TO BEGIN WITH?

~Horrortale~

Sans: *sits down in front of the desk* so what’s the deal, Suzanne?  

Suzanne: *folds her hands* I’m afraid it’s about Aliza.  

Sans: what’d she do this time?

Suzanne: *pulls out a hand-drawn picture of King Asgore getting stabbed by a little kid* The teacher showed me this. Aliza drew it in her spare time; she’s starting to really scare the other children.

Sans: *looks at it and laughs* ha, that’s just Asgore, the former king, being slain by a human who condemned us to rot in the Underground and starve to death.

Suzanne: Why would she draw such a thing?!

Sans: the kid’s growin’ up. soon she’ll be old enough to follow the last one’s footsteps and slay the Undyne. i think it’s kinda her dream at this point. little rascal. kids, amaraite?

Suzanne: You-you actually encourage your child this to do this?!

Sans: hey hey, calm down. don’t worry, Tori and i have already sat her down and had the talk with her.

Sans: college comes first.

~Altertale~

Lillian: Oh, hey, Sans. How’s Kate doing in class?

Sans: *smiles* she’s doing very well. however, i have a few… concerns.

Lillian: *sits down* Concerns? What’s wrong? Is she misbehaving?

Sans: well… somewhat. she’s been spreading around very foul language as of late. swear words and the like. do you know where she could be hearing these words?

Lillian: Oh dear! I have no idea where she could have picked this language up. I’ll give her a grounding when she gets home. How bad is it?

Sans: she’s been saying these words every chance she gets. *turns around* Katie? can you come in, dear?

Kate: *pokes her head in and giggles* Fuck!

Lillian: Hey! Watch your fucking mouth!

Sans: *silent*…..

Lillian: What?

Sans: Lillian do you even have ears?

~Underlust~

Karen: Did I hear right? You’re signing up to be the Sexual Education teacher.

Sans: you heard right, babe. i thought that if it should be anyone, it should be someone with tons of experience and a scientific background.

Karen: That’s….. extremely problematic.

Sans: i kinda get where you’re coming from; you don’t want someone like me teaching your children. trust me, they’re in no better hands than mine.

Karen: Says the one with dozens of past sex partners and only one boyfriend.

Sans: says the one with three marriages and four children and yet somehow clearly not getting enough sex in her life.

Karen:……

Sans: and pfft. “dozens?” you underestimate me. smh, boo, smh.  

~Echotale~

Martha: My child just had a cold, is all.

G: no, he has the flu. he needs to stay home. i thought i told you to get him vaccinated.

Martha: Oh what do you know?

G: *hands her his PhD*

Martha: *tears it up*  

G: *pulls out another* i know what i’m talking about, Martha.

Martha: Wha- *tears that up as well*

G: *pulls another PhD out* i’ve won this game before, and i’ll win it again.

Martha: *snatches it up and crumples it* How do you have so many?!

G: i made sure to print, like, fifty before i got here. *pulls out two more*

Martha: *smacks them away* You’re insane!

G: *pulls out four more* you can’t fight the inevitable, Martha.

Martha: *backs away* What are you doing?!

G: *pulls out thirty more* *PhDs are all she can see* i’m gonna vaccinate the fuck out of your kids Martha, and they will live a healthy life.

~Outertale~

Anna: -and that’s why I believe every child should be given gluten-free lunches. This is what we should be spending our funds on, not a play about peace between humans and space monsters. It has good intent, yes, but these lunches are far more important!

Sans: *has been silent this whole ten minute period*

Anna: Sans? Are you even listening to me?

Sans: of course.

Anna: Your thoughts?

Sans: just missing the sounds of the cold vacuum of space. that’s all.

~Reapertale~

Elizabeth: *lying in bed, asleep* *eyes shoot open when she hears a creak*

Sans: *slowly rises from the ground and out of the darkness* greetings human mortal. my faithful messenger, Frisk, has told me of your ways. what is it you desire, human mortal?

Elizabeth: *eyes wide, shaking and sweating in fear* M-more coin f-for the schoolhouse? A-and a new writing slate?

Sans: very well. the contract has been sealed. you have five.

Elizabeth: F-five? Five what?!

Sans: no… make it four. *slowly sinks back into the darkness* *appears next to Frisk* this is probably the best thing i’ve done in centuries. alright, who’s next on the list?

~Dancetale~

Beatrice: *grabbing some brownies from the food table* *turns around and shrieks in surprise and drops her paper plate*

Sans: *breakdancing right in front of her*

Beatrice: *sternly* Sans, for the last time, I’m not changing my mind. We’re not wasting our funds on a dance club when they’ll never use it as a future skill.

Sans: *continues breakdancing*

Beatrice: Sans, you can’t keep doing this every time I refuse-

Sans: *breakdancing harder*

Beatrice: S-Sans, I-

Sans: *breakdancing intensifies*

Beatrice: S-stay away from my family-!

Sans: *just breakdancing* *only breakdancing*

~Aftertale~  

Frisk: *made a science project featuring Geno and Sans, and how their existence proved the theory of multiple timelines*

Geno: *hops off the table once the science fair ends, pulling sticky notes off of himself*

Sans: *doing the same* first place, kiddo. we’re proud of ya.

Frisk: *smiles proudly*

Helen: *approaches and crosses her arms* Well it’s quite and achievement for an idea so absurd.

Geno: *pulls the last sticky note off of him* Excuse me?

Helen: *turns her head* I just believe Frisk is too much of an… overachiever. We already know he’s saved the world. Why should he rub it in everyone’s faces when he clearly has an advantage over everyone else.

Geno:… lady, i stand here as living proof of the existence of both multiple timelines and universes. i spent countless lifetimes within the Void in endless loneliness and agony, only to be released by this special kid right here. they deserve every award they get, especially when second place was an airplane model built by you, not your kid.

Helen: *cheeks turn red* What?! These are just harmful accusations!

Geno: Helen, i’m a firm believer that people truly can change, but we saw you double dip with Maria’s salsa at the meeting. we know you’re that kind of person.

~Machinatale~

Sans: *looks through the plans* Wait… we’re getting rid of the computer lab? Why?

Sharon: *looks over* Hmm? Oh, that’s just a request for now. We need it approved by the administrators. Children need to tear their eyes away from a screen and hold something real.

Sans: How else are they going to get all the information they need? They’re too young to earn smartphones.

Sharon: The library, of course.

Sans: Okay, yeah, but kids are only allowed to check out two books at a time. Why should they spend so much time trying to find a book with the information they need when the world’s database is at their fingertips?  

Sharon: *sighs* They don’t need a screen to figure things out. They spend too much time on the internet.

Sans: They need computers to do the proper research from multiple sources, as well as print out papers. Research could be conducted within minutes, not hours.

Sharon: She can do that at the library. *scoffs* Of course you would be all over technology. You’re a robot. What makes you think you’re smarter than a loving parent?

Sans: Sharon, I have more processing power than modern day’s best calculators, and yet, somehow your bullshit still isn’t adding up.

[hxlding-on-blog]

085 with peter b and eddie brock?

Fluffy Prompts: 085: “It’s 2 am but you’re craving cake and we’re both up anyway so let’s bake in our underwear.”

They’ve spent a good half hour trying to put the report together, grouping pictures side-by-side with words. Since making their own reporting website, they’ve found better work. It was their own little business, every click a bit of ad revenue. And though the truth was hard to find sometimes, they got out of their ways to make sure it was somewhere other people could find it. Once it was uploaded, Peter leaning in his spot of the couch a bit more as Eddie had his arms around him, they shared a lazy celebratory kiss.

Peter glanced at the clock in the corner of his screen, yawned, and allowed his head to lean on the other’s shoulder. Venom slithered from Eddie’s other shoulder, a string of themselves going up from his neck to allow them to comfortably sit on top of Peter’s head. The more and more time Peter spent with Eddie, the more comfortable Venom got with this, essentially feeding off of this love and affection Eddie felt whenever around him. 

“Y’know, little buddy, I’m not sure what you’re doing in there but, whatever it is, it’s making me hungry for some cake.” He pat his womb, where their child was, and pouted a bit. Neither of them expected this to happen, with Peter thinking he was infertile the moment he had his first shot of T, but- accident or not- they were going to raise this child with all they could. “Hey, guys, lets go bake some.”

It’s only been five weeks, with Peter throwing up in the morning every day and his constantly changing cravings, but Eddie and Venom were already taking to the pregnancy pretty well. In fact, teaching Venom about it was one of their pastimes. Neither of them knew enough about it to really teach them about it but, with a quick google search and the experience to back up the claims, the symbiote was starting to learn. 

Whatever the effects of having radioactive spider-power blood and an alien symbiote in your body were to a child, they didn’t have a clue. All they knew was that it was fine, and that they didn’t need to mention anything about it. So long as the baby was going to be fine in the end, they didn’t see any reason to mention the little…supernatural things that might get in the way. 

“Peter, it’s two in the morning. Are you sure?” Eddie’s head leaned a bit on Peter’s, arm moving to rest over his shoulder. He knew a thing or two about helping others in these situations, just a bit more than Peter- though, it’d be better if Peter had his own little experience to help himself- knowing enough that his morning sickness may strike somewhere soon.

“Yup. Come on, Eddie. V, help me get him up.” Peter stood up, stretched his back out, and pulled the other up by the arms. Venom didn’t do much; they simply observed from Eddie’s shoulder. When he was on his own feet, Peter made his way to the kitchen, dragging Eddie along. “If you won’t help, I’ll make it myself. That’s right, little guy, dad’s gonna get this cake done on his own without the help of his other husbands.” 

Again, Peter pat where their child was. He could handle things on his own; the doctor only warned him to avoid certain foods and to do certain things when he felt this or that. Nothing out of the ordinary that would get him to not be able to do the usual, except for putting a pause on the Spiderman business. That, sadly, was something Peter had to sacrifice for a while; once this human being was out of his body and he’s had the time to adjust, he could get back to swinging around New York.

“Oh, fine, fine.” His human husband gave in, pulling out the cake mix from the cupboard and lifting it towards the symbiote riding his shoulder to allow them the chance to observe it. It got Peter to chuckle, reminding him of ratatouille. Eddie opened up the box, placing the plastic bag of the mix on the counter as he unknowingly placed the box into the trash. It took Venom looking back to remind him that they indeed weren’t done with it. “Oh, shit. Right.”

“Hey, not in front of the kid.” Again, he chuckled, giving Eddie a soft slap with the back of his hand to Eddie’s unoccupied shoulder. It was a joke, Eddie knew well, but Venom watched with a look of confusion. They still didn’t understand much about this.

{| THEY CANNOT HEAR YOU. THEY ARE TOO YOUNG AND, TO MY UNDERSTANDING, HAVE NOT DEVELOPED THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’VE SAID |}

He probably shouldn’t have but Peter laughed, Eddie chuckling soon after as he gave a pat to the symbiote’s ‘head’, fishing out the box with the ingredients and the instructions. Thankfully, there was nothing within the trash that would’ve hindered it useless. Eddie tried to fish for something to help, but it wasn’t easy. “Yeah, we know. It’s like a fun little joke, y’know?”

And, hell, maybe their kid could hear them. They’re the product of Spiderman, Venom, and the world’s greatest reporter; Peter wouldn’t be too surprised if they popped out the womb with the full ability to speak. It’s almost expected, really. How far could they keep this up without mentioning it to their doctor?

Eddie got two eggs out, balancing them on the counter and making sure they wouldn’t roll off to the floor. When that was settled, he got out a measuring cup. Peter, on the other hand, prepared a cake tin, a plastic bowl, and a wooden spoon. As Eddie was measuring out a cup and a half of water, Peter got to dumping all of the mix into the bowl. A dust cloud of it got in his nose, Peter coughing out with a laugh.

He coughed into his fist, Eddie noticing and placing the cup to the side so that he could come over to help. But Peter stuck out his free hand, laughing off the little incident. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Get back to filling that cup. Do we need to preheat the oven?”

The other shrugged it off, Venom watching Peter as Eddie gestured over to the box on the counter, making sure that he wasn’t going to get injured. It took a moment for Peter to remember how the oven worked at all- he sat there, kneeled down in front of it for a while- and turned the knobs according to package instructions. 

Everything was going a lot smoother than the last time they baked anything, with nothing burning just yet. Then again, they haven’t gotten anything mixed just yet. Peter cracked the two eggs into the bowl, taking a wooden spoon out of a little cup and stirring as Eddie poured in the water. As he poured the batter into the tin, he hesitated halfway. It felt like they were missing something but, without knowing what it was, he didn’t bother to stop.

“Okay. Last thing is to just put it in, right?” Eddie itched at the back of his head, Peter reading the back of the box again just to be sure. Yup, this was it. All they had to do left was stick it in the oven and wait for a while. So, Eddie took the tin and knelt down, Venom trailing towards his back to observe Peter’s stomach. Or, actually, his womb. Not much to see now, really.

But, with Eddie like this, Peter took this as a chance to let his splayed hand slap Eddie across the ass. He jolted a bit in the surprise but wasn’t at all mad about it, shaking his head and closing the appliance before getting up and giving Peter a few playful slaps to the chest. “Hey, hey! Not in front of the kid!” 

Again, Venom found this odd, but didn’t question it. Instead, they observed where the offspring was supposed to be. It didn’t move, or make a sound, or anything else; it was simply there. They knew it was alive in there but it was really hard to think of a reason as to why they’d ever talk directly to it, or even think it was listening.

But Venom didn’t mind all that much; they were just as excited as the other two were about the child.

“Hey, while we wait, want to think of baby names?” Peter leaned against the counter again, one leg over the other with a hand over his stomach as the other kept his weight up on the marble. The other two agreed that it’d be a nice pastime, listing off the generic names and having fun with it. At this point, with the two of them holding each other in the living room, they weren’t trying all that much.

“Okay, okay. How about…Lee.”

“Wait, just Lee? Like, earlier you said Optimus Prime. And then you said Toaster. Then you said Pumba.”

“Well, duh; imagine his school ID. Brock, Lee.” Peter let out a hearty laugh, Eddie soon joining after as Venom was quietly observing the two of them. It was dumb, yeah, but they seemed happy. The symbiote fed off of that love and care, enjoying it overall.

“You want our kid to get bullied?” It was simply the nature of Spiderman- of Peter Brock-Parker- to be witty and comical. Eddie couldn’t do much, if anything at all, to change this; it somewhat charmed him. “You’re insane, Peter.”

Then, there was the burning smell. It came from the kitchen and the two of them knew instantly what it was; they’d forgotten about the cake. They got off each other, stumbling their way inside to open the oven and Peter quickly got the window open to try and get the little bit of smoke out. “Yeah, I’m a bit insane. But I wasn’t the one who was supposed to remind me of the cake.”

No big deal- they’ve eaten worse. But, to their dismay, the realised a missed step; they didn’t coat the tin in anything to avoid the cake from sticking to it. So, when Eddie pulled it out of the oven and fanned away the fumes, he nervously laughed by Peter’s side. They could eat it straight from the tin, that wouldn’t be an issue, but now it looked unappealing.

“So, are you craving anything else or is it still cake?”

[oc-tipstricksandreviews]

Can you review my OC? Thank you.

Original. It follows a group of agents in Skotos, a village mostly populated with people who have been wronged by humanity. (It has become a haven for those types of people after people discovering it by pure luck + technology).  One day, while Skotos agents were doing their thing (school and house visits, assemblies, online posting, whipping out bells and shouting, etc) and trying (keyword: trying) to educate people about the horrible things they were doing and why they should stop it, they discovered this organization about the Angels. (They were trying to convince everyone to stop what they were doing, but most of them refused to listen and called the agents names. One of the agents found out that the treatment was because of an organization called the Angels through questioning various of the villagers. The Angels apparently originated from the internet and formed an organization about their beliefs over time). The Angels were trying to promote humanity’s sick things by saying that the victims deserved to be mistreated and even insisted that not only that humanity should not show pity for the victims, but they should also even treat the victims more harshly. To counter this, the head elder of Skotos formed a team of Skotos agents to shut down the Angels (AKA kill all of them since none of them could listen to reason and almost everyone had been brainwashed by their propaganda), but the Angels wiped them out. This continued down the line, through generation and generation and the story takes place where “Squad I” is sent out to hopefully stop the Angels. My OC is in Squad I.

Aarav Kumar

Name: Cassius Kumar

Inspiration: Gaius Cassius Longinus, Judas Iscariot, Satan, Adolf Hitler, and Kamui Gakupo.

Age: 22

Birthplace: A village named Angeli. Angeli’s Latin for Angel, which ties into the expectations it has for its citizens. If they sin, said villager must repent. If they do not repent, they get moved to the horse stables and/or banished to die a slow and painful death. Meanwhile, if their family sticks with them, they are executed. The system is pretty twisted but it’s an exaggerated version of the high expectations people have for each other and the consequences that said people face when expectations aren’t met (not to mention the number of violence humans exercise on a daily basis).

Sexuality: Asexual Demiromantic

Crush: N/A

Looks: He has light brown skin, sable hair, and sapphire-blue eyes. He has some acne on his forehead, though some of it is hidden by his bangs. He also has wrinkles on his forehead and his hands. He is 5'11 and weighs 120 lbs (he’s supposed to be underweight). He wears a long-sleeved black shirt with black pants and black leather shoes. His cloak can somewhat be compared to that of a nun’s dress, except that it is halfway cut open in the front, and he, of course, doesn’t wear a veil. (He’s a priest of a made-up religion).

Abilities/Powers: Every human (in this world) has two special abilities (no one in this world has been born with more or less abilities, although there is a drug that can permanently take away your abilities). One of them (the first of which is the same for everyone) is awakened at birth, and the other is awakened (or rather, it just appears when said person turns 21) when they turn 21 (in this case, Cassius has “awakened” the two of them). The 1st power is the ability to hear any language and have it translated into your own when it reaches your ears. This excludes phrases that are meant to be said in the original language, names, and curse words (the last reason is to provide plucky comic relief). The first ability also rewinds the grammatical structure of a sentence that someone says to fit your language, as well as mess with your eyesight so words written in a different language will appear as if they were written in your language. The second power that Cassius possesses of is kind of strange: He reads a passage from the Babonian Scriptures (the Babonian Scriptures are still a work in process for Babo. Right now, there are 1,000 pages, 700 which are filled with him punishing random people) and whoever his gaze is fixated upon will have what he describes happen to him/her (for this to work, the Babonian scriptures must be whole- same book cover, same pages, same text. If a requirement is not met, then it does not work). However, even if this power seems overpowered, it does have its drawbacks: If he messes up on a word, his power won’t work (the thing he’s trying to do to his enemies will instead happen to him); If he can’t speak, his power won’t work; and his power can’t reach those close to him (he knows because he tried to kill a rabbit, but it got away since it always stayed within the 20 feet blind-spot that his power has) because Babo wanted Cassius to develop fighting strategies and to not rely on his power too much (he gave Cassius a blindspot). The quote he reads also is limited to that of the Babonian Scriptures, and it won’t work without his eyes.

Strengths: He is intelligent, calm and wary of others and is a careful judge of character. He (most of the time) knows what people to trust and what people to avoid. He also communicates with people with apparent “ease,” though he is terrified of humans on the inside. However, sometimes this shows through his constant habit of not meeting the eyes of someone he talks with. Another strength of his is that he’s (usually) very determined and hardworking when it comes to achieving something that he wants.

Weaknesses: He is a dirty coward, and would gladly throw you under the bus if it meant saving himself even if you saved his life 2 seconds before. He is also not very physically fit, so it is easy to crush him and outrank him in terms of physical strength, as well as going crazy (an exaggeration) when he’s not in control of the situation presented to him.

Family: Prisha Kumar (mother, alive) and Indranil Kumar (father, alive). They both love him but they cannot communicate because if they communicated with a sinner, they would be executed. Prisha loved Cassius, but her way of showing love was letting him figure out things for himself and spanking him when he got a problem wrong. In his childhood, Cassius saw her as a dictator; however, when he matured, he began to love her when he saw the long-term lasting effects that her discipline had had on him. (There’s tricky wording with the two “had"s right next to each other but I couldn’t find a substitute, partly because English isn’t my first language so my vocabulary needs expanding). When she noticed his lack of emotions (due to his shrunken amygdala, he experiences social emotions [shame, guilt, embarrassment, etc] on a much smaller scale), she shouted for joy knowing that she wouldn’t have to deal with a lot of crying when he entered his teenage years. When she found out that he had gotten raped, she grew infuriated but told Cassius to suck it up (after comforting him for about an hour) since she knew he would be seen as a sinner by the community. Indranil was a strict man, though he was a bit more lenient and caring than Prisha. He took the main part in raising Cassius, teaching him about the world and the behavior that he should act in. He also believed that the conclusion to major problems could not end without bloodshed and taught Cassius to defend himself. Indranil was always the parent to go to whenever Cassius was confused with something or needed an emotional bolster. That being said, though, Indranil still punished Cassius. When Cassius was little, he would take a ruler and smack the back of his legs with it. As he matured, Indranil changed tactic and made Cassius sit on a durian shell for a set period of time, with the time differentiating with the weight of the "crime” committed and Cassius’s age. Cassius fondly looked upon his father, though the times when his father was upset were the worst for him, as he hated the punishments his father would dole out. When Indranil found out that Cassius had little social emotions, he celebrated with Prisha and cried tears of joy. When he found out that Cassius had been raped, he did everything he could to distract Cassius from that incident for a few weeks.

Friends: He has two friends. One is a male witch whose name is Przemysl Slusarski and the other’s a Muslim named Ahang Arjani. He respects Ahang, and they both like to learn more about the other’s religion, create theories about life with each other, talk about their pasts, and brainstorm theories about which areas humanity could improve on. His relationship with Przemysl is filled with lots of bickering and Cassius smacking the other male for being an idiot (he’s the only one who could get under Cassius’s skin), but they are friends nevertheless.

Drive: He wants to kill Julius Green (his rapist) and educate humanity on their mistakes and why they should fix them.

Likes: Horror books, Books with deep meaning, Books in which humanity is wiped out, writing and reading in his “ego journal” (it’s a journal in which he writes his faults in to lower his ego. Unfortunately, it’s a double-edged sword as his self-esteem is not very high because of this) daily, playing chess, thinking about the happy times he spent with his loved ones, thinking about the happy times he’ll spend with them if they’re reunited, thinking about all the ways he can kill his rapist, and reassuring himself that he’ll be out of the treacherous world he lives in once he kills his rapist. He also has chocolate cravings (though he never indulges in them), which can show you his opinions about that particular food. Other additions to his likes are silence, knowledge, and inner peace along with sleep. Dislikes: Noise, deprivation of sleep, bumbling idiots who are good for nothing, overly happy people, intelligent people who he can’t manipulate, Angeli, the Angels, his rapist, and the world he lives in.

Personality: He is very shrewd and calm (most of the time), and oftentimes thinks before he acts/speaks. Because of his past, he enjoys manipulating the situation since it makes him feel like he’s in control. Due to his shrunken amygdala, he doesn’t show much emotion (hence social emotions that include but are not limited to guilt, shame, embarrassment are not present). He also has enormous amount of cowardice and the low self-esteem he has.  However, although he enjoys using the situation to his advantage even if it costs a few lives in the process, please note that he does not take pleasure in anyone’s death (except his rapist). After all, major problems can’t be solved without bloodshed. He also likes to complain about what’s wrong about the world and himself, which was something he picked up after he was banished from Angeli. He doesn’t think it’ll do anything- he just does it to lower his ego. That’s only his exterior though- on the inside, he’s actually a very confused person who is drenched in sorrow every day and whose only driving point is the murder of his rapist. (At the beginning, he plans to suicide after he kills his rapist because he’s tired of the world he lives in and he wants to be reunited with his loved ones if possible).

Health: For his mental health, he is a bit suicidal since he is tired of the world he lives in and only lives for the demise of his rapist. He plans on suiciding after he kills his rapist. (No one except Ahang knows about his intentions since he isn’t open about it. Ahang opposes his thoughts and constantly throughout the book tries to convince him to do otherwise, but she understands where he’s coming from and why he feels that way). For physical health, he is a bit underweight due to starving himself after he arrived at a village called Skotos - if his rapist ever caught him again, he wanted to be unrecognizable, hence him growing out his hair, starving himself, and tanning to such an extreme extent that his health is in danger because of it. (He was originally very muscular so losing weight was the only option he could do to change his body shape). It was very difficult for him to lose weight since neglecting his bodily needs meant that an aching pain was in his stomach. His body eventually adjusted to the lack of food, but it took a long time and he still needs to eat. He did not train during the time, an after he fled Angeli he immediately decided that he wanted to do it. He did have some thoughts about why he had to change and not Julius, but he then realized that Julius would (probably) never change.

Fears: Genophobia- it reminds him of the time he was raped and it only “activates” when he’s in a sexual position/setting. Homophobia (the fear + aversion)- his rapist was homosexual so whenever he meets other homosexuals, he grows a bit wary and like his other phobia, it only “activates” when he’s around homosexuals. When people are discussing about them, he slowly walks out of the room or tries to ignore what they are saying by plugging his ears with ear plugs for as long as they talk about them.

Anthropophobia- this was from his past and the pasts of the people of Skotos, too. Ever since he heard such gruesome pasts, he had been growing afraid of people. This does not apply to villagers in Skotos or his loved ones, but outsiders tend to make him nervous. He only experiences it when he comes in contact with outsiders. Apeirophobia- Since humans in this world, if not killed or infected with disease have the potential to live forever, this phobia is actually valid. This again ties into his anthropophobia- he fears that if he can’t kill himself, no one kills him, and he doesn’t catch a disease, he’ll end up living forever and meet another homosexual rapist that’s interested in him. It affects him on a daily basis. Dementophobia- He’s afraid that if he ends up going insane, he’ll lose all sense and morale and he’ll start to act like the monsters he condemns. Never seeing his loved ones after death (I don’t think there’s a name for this fear)- he’s afraid that when he suicides, he’ll end up going separate places than his loved ones and he’ll never be able to speak to them. It affects him on a daily basis. (The Babonian Scriptures don’t say anything about suicide, but he’s afraid that if he or his loved ones lived lives that were very different, they will not end up in the same place. Said places are: Hell [for those who have lived lives filled with cruelty], Asylum [this is a place where souls who have lived neither explicitly good or bad lives go] and Heaven [self-explanatory at this point …] ).

Hobbies: Reading, writing, gathering information, and planning for his cause. Those aren’t really hobbies but they’re little things that he enjoys doing so …

Weapons: A kitchen knife he bought at the grocery store. Don’t ask.

Backstory: When he was 18, he was a senior at Angeli Academy (which was the main school for the city he and his family resided in, Angeli) and met someone named Julius Green, who he quickly became friends with thanks to Julius’ bubbly personality. Over the months, though, he noticed that Julius seemed obsessive over something, and it turns out that something was him. When Julius confessed to him, he declined politely, and they continued their friendship. Julius would sometimes get a little too touchy with Cassius, but he didn’t mind- after all, they were great friends. However, even though he was hiding it, Julius’s infatuation with Cassius never did go away, and when it resurfaced it was worse than ever after Cassius started a very deep relationship with a person named Junia. As soon as they made it official, it seemed like Cassius forgot all of Julius, only hanging out with her. They did almost everything they could together, and the times that Julius could squeeze in a chat with Cassius were filled with him talking about how great Junia was. Junia practically became his world. Junia helped him with everything, expanded his confidence, and made Cassius a better person overall in addition to giving Cassius little “donations” to help his struggling family. Julius, becoming jealous, started getting all the information he could on Cassius, grilling him on everything, and even stalking him secretly. He also snuck sneak-kisses when Cassius was asleep, putting his hands in places where they were not supposed to be as well as hoarding Cassius’s “junk” and making them his prized possessions. He confessed to him again but was declined, this time with Cassius telling him to “get help and make a life for yourself.” After Cassius said that statement and fled, he felt a sudden burst of guilt, but he didn’t turn back. (That incident later led to Julius pushing Junia off of the roof of a building. He did it in a way that was so discreet that no one could find out the person who did it. It didn’t matter if they found out that he was Junia’s murderer, anyway- he was the son of the mayor of Angeli, which meant that he was protected at all costs. When Cassius heard the news, he was mortified and cried all week. He didn’t come to Junia’s funeral- he didn’t get the invitation). A week later, Julius and Cassius were assigned to work on a group project together, along with some other students. The very next day, Julius came over to Cassius’s house to work on the project, and 2 hours were made up of them researching and planning what the poster would look like. As Julius was about to leave, Cassius joked and said to Julius, “Now, don’t obsess over me too much now. You need a life, and you need to get one quickly.” Julius was infuriated by Cassius’s comment and tried to fend off his emotions, but they got the better of him, thus driving him to sexually assault Cassius. When the process was finished, a naked Cassius was left on the floor, bruises all over his body and half of his hair lying on the floor, mentally scarred. For three weeks he remained silent, wanting to hide his past, but on one day of the third week, he snapped when he saw Julius being praised for his “purity and kindness.” Anguished, he cried out the events of what he called “the Incident” but he was greeted with the unkind responses of “you’re just jealous,” “f*ck off, you dirty homophobe” and “same-sex rape obviously isn’t real, stupid.” The villagers then proceeded to shun him because of his “lies” and no one would even acknowledge his existence, only communicating to him through their torturous and hate-filled letters (his family was separated from him, as per community law, and he was moved to reside in the horse stables). Those letters consisted of reasons why same-sex wasn’t real and called him out on the “lies” he had told. Every single letter sent a knife through his heart. One day, as he was walking in the streets, unnoticed, he saw Julius wandering around, lost in his dreams. At that point, Cassius could no longer contain his anger and slapped Julius, scraping his overgrown nails at his face and drawing blood. The council decided to kick him out of the village to die on his own. A few days after he was kicked out of Angeli, a ghostly figure who would come to be known as Jibaeja Babo (yes, that’s his name- the “babo” part would be there for the laughs) and asked him to become his “Jesus.” (What he wanted was a person to spread the Babonian religion [not to be confused with the Babylonians] and set an example for other future Babonians). It wasn’t that Cassius was special or anything- Jibaeja Babo was just looking for some vengeful souls and he happened to appear in front of Cassius. He promised Cassius food, shelter, and most important of all, vengeance … but only if Cassius became the religious leader of the Babonians. Cassius obviously agreed. After months of training (which basically was teaching Cassius about the ceremonies he had to do, familiarizing himself with the church, and answering questions about what the Babonian religion was about [ten answers wrong meant a bucket of boiling oil as punishment]), Cassius was given the title of High Priest by Jibaeja Babo was set out to teach people about the Babonian religion. (The Babonian religion basically focuses on how people are creatures of the light, which corrupts people into the horrifying beings that they are. The only way to cure themselves would be to accept the darkness within themselves and realize the wrongs of what they did, along with retaliating and punishing other wrongdoers who refused to turn. Of course, the leader of those retaliators would be Jibaeja Babo).

I don’t see anything wrong with your oc, the weight does seem super malnourished though. I understand you were going for that, though the lowest (that would basically be skin and bones) would have to be around 135, not much lower that that though.

Very interesting character and concept though!

[missanthropicprinciple]

Super-long rant-review post about Werewolf of London (1935) with images and spoilers...

I love Werewolf of London, this 83-year-old film. It’s got some problems typical of 1930s Hollywood, but I still find a lot of value in it. 

The setting, the moonlit hills of Tibet. Accuracy? not so much. 

Apparently the “Tibetans” are actually speaking Cantonese...and the white actors are clearly not speaking anything. 30 years before Star Wars and it honestly sounds like they’re speaking Ewok...but it’s just gibberish. I think the only realistic part of this scene is the fact that there actually are bactrian camels in Tibet. At least it’s quite well filmed. 

The sequence where Dr. Glendon (Henry Hull) is attacked by the werewolf is really eerie and holds up well.

The actual bite is so quick but if you screencap that second it’s creepy AF.

Despite the attack, Dr. Glendon gets his coveted “Mariphasa Lupina Lumina” flower (sadly, completely fictitious) and heads back to England.

In his lab, Dr. Glendon lives out his mad-scientist aesthetic surrounded by some high tech equipment. He even gets buzzed by his wife on what is basically an old-timey FaceTime device that lacks audio. Even though we know it’s superimposed footage it’s fairly seamless. 

Next we get a little portrait of a marriage. He’s working on an experiment with flowering and artificial light and his wife Lisa (Valerie Hobson) wants to know what the hell he’s up to. He’s secretive and she’s understandably annoyed. But she calls him “dear old bear” which is quite sweet but ironically hints at the animalistic transformation to follow. He says that after the experiment he will try to be more “human” but we know that ain’t gonna happen. 

Henry Hull’s accent. It needs its own paragraph. It’s not bad for someone from Louisville, Kentucky, and in fact sometimes it’s really amazing, but other moments it crosses your mind that the dialect coach was out sick that day of shooting. He enunciates very strongly. His jaws much have hurt him a bit. He’s fun to listen to though and you gotta give the guy credit because he doesn’t shy away from being über-Brit. 

Enter Lisa’s old childhood sweetheart Paul, played by the adorkable yet suave Lester Matthews. He and Lisa, whom he refers to as “Lee”, reminisce about their joint childhood exploits. 

Cue Dr. Glendon’s jealousy:

Understandably, Dr. Glendon is quietly dying inside because he hates all the socializing that comes with being a world-renowned botanist. Seeing another man making his wife smile does not help his mood.  

Lookit ‘em; holding hands for heaven’s sake. Aunt Ettie also likes to stir up trouble and add to Glendon’s jealously which isn’t very nice of her. 

Side note, Dr. Glendon has some tricked-out plants: 

Now we meet Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland).

Warner Oland, who was often cast as Asian characters because he “looked Asian”, was actually Swedish. (One would think that 80 years later this casting of white actors in non-white roles would have come to an end but we’re still dealing with this crap.) While Oland is a fairly good actor, he’s still NOT Asian and it would have been so much better if they had cast Sessue Hayakawa as Yogami as he was not only gorgeous but a better actor. 

However, Yogami is implied to be Chinese or Tibetan and Hayakawa is Japanese. Still, if the character was stated as Japanese it would have been perfect. Ironically, later on in the film Aunt Ettie keeps calling him Yokohama which is the second largest city in Japan. And I can’t find the surname Yogami anywhere. I can find Yagami and that’s a Japanese surname, not Chinese or Tibetan as far as I can tell. Oh, Old Hollywood and your stomach-churning whitewashing. 

Dr. Yogami says that they met before in Tibet...in the dark. He’s giving him a really big hint that he’s the one who bit him (...either that or he’s implying they met for an evening liaison). Dr. Glendon is trying to piece it together. 

Dr. Yogami says, “The medical term is ‘lycanthrophobia’.” WRONG. The medical term is lycanthropy, if being a werewolf was actually real. (The uncommon thing were people grow all the excess facial hair is hypertrichosis.) Clinical lycanthropy is a rare psychological condition that is linked to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and/or clinical depression. (More on that later.) 

Here’s a cap of Dr. Yogami intimately stroking Dr. Glendon’s injured arm while making hella awkward eye contact. As modern viewers we may or may not have a strong impulse to read this as somewhat sexual, or maybe as an identification of repressed homosexual desire. Lycanthropy in literature and film mythology has occasionally been used or identified as a metaphor for homosexuality. 

In a world where stabbing yourself with a plant gets rid of monthly hair growth. I’m curious to know why it looks like his stabbing it into a dorsal metacarpal vein and not the palmar (inside) side of wrist....medical side of Tumblr help me out here. Maybe they just wanted to feature the hairy hand. 

Dr. Yogami essentially asks Dr. Glendon for a blossom of the glow-in-the-dark flower to save his soul (and his fellow botanist as well), albeit in a cryptic way. He says “But remember this Dr. Glendon, the werewolf instinctively seeks to kill the thing it loves best.” Sadly, Dr. Glendon thinks he’s full of crap and ignores his warnings despite knowing that stabbing himself with this rare flower magically makes his moon-grown hand-hair disappear. Dumb or in denial? 

So of course Dr. Yogami steals not one, but two flowers. For two of the four nights of the full moon. Technically there is only one night of full moon at any given time but I’m going to give this a pass. Maybe during the time that the moon is still almost full, though waning, it still have the power to change man into the “satanic creature.”

Meanwhile, skeptical Dr. Glendon does a little lycanthropic research: 

Lisa drops by and asks him to join her and Paul at a society party but he pegs out or course, and then adds a jibe about not wanting to hear anymore childhood memories. Is the werewolf infection making him bitchy or is he just like that? Hard to tell. 

Lisa is hurt. But he says she should go out and enjoy herself. She tries to show him this brocade he bought her but he flips out when she turns on the lights. Presumably being a werewolf makes you sensitive to light. 

He responds with the “I put some medicine in my eyes” routine and they clearly don’t buy it. 

Seems fake, but ok. 

I feel like this is one of many allusions to depression in this film: sensitive to light, wanting to be alone, disliking small-talk and society parties, general introversion and distrust of others. We get a sense that he’s kind of this way anyway at the core of his personality but the werewolf contamination has made that all worse. 

Dr. Glendon may be a jerk but it’s hard not to feel sympathy for him. He really does love her. She’s still too annoyed to reciprocate. 

Even his cat’s pissed at him.

When animals start rejecting you, ya know you got problems. 

And lo, he thought, “oh shit.” 

The moonlight transformation sequence is quite simple by today’s standards of physical and special effects, but it’s still effective. Using the shadows to break up the footage isn’t fooling anyone, especially nowadays, yet it has a kind of fluidity that makes it oddly very evocative. 

A word about Jack Pierce’s makeup. Believe it or not it was originally going to look like this: 

Oink oink. Thank heavens someone talked Jack into a more minimalist look. Jack Pierce, known for his incredible work on films like Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), and The Wolf Man (1941), to name but a few, appears to have been a tad stubborn depending on the actor he worked with. He had a great relationship with Boris Karloff as far as I’m aware but the harmony working with Hull didn’t last long. There was a rumor going around that Hull was super vain and didn’t want the makeup to obscure his face. The truth of it was there are a couple scenes when Lisa and Paul both recognize him and if the werewolf makeup was applied too heavily, this part of the plot just wouldn’t work. Apparently Hull went over Pierce’s stubborn head straight to Carl Laemmle to fix the problem. The book Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931–1946 by Tom Weaver and John Brunas has more on this. (And in the Svengoolie intro to the film featured on ME TV.) The incident paid off because the final makeup was stellar. 

That awkward moment when someone steals your flowers: 

Suddenly filled with jealous rage...

...but wait lemme just put my hat and coat on first. If he does that when he’s full-on werewolf can you imagine how much time it takes for him to get ready normally? Diva. 

The obligatory party scene...

...with a comic interlude from Aunt Ettie who drunkenly says to “Dr. Yokohama” as she calls him, pointing to a dodgy district visible from her flat, that people there would “knife you for a shilling.” But then they hear the howl of a “lost soul” which is the chilling call of Dr. Glendon and it’s time to go inside. 

Drunk lady trope scene. No point in rescuing her she already made a fool out of herself but off they run: 

There is a ring of sadness to Aunt Ettie’s drunk scene because she says “she gets so nervous.” Hello social anxiety. She is a tad obnoxious as a character but this part makes her seem so much more sympathetic. 

“A-woooooooooooo!” 

Ok, that’s not a dog. 

Dr. Yogami is quaking in his spats at this point. 

Even though you know that this is Dr. Glendon, this remains creepy. Who hasn’t thought of a monster clawing their way into your bedroom late at night? They really milk the suspense in this scene. 

Lisa is offended by Dr. Yogami’s seemingly sexist and controlling behavior but in reality he’s trying to save her life. He knows that Dr. Glendon is on the loose and can probably smell her and will likely kill her. But she goes up to comfort her friend anyway. 

Cue the “you just had a bad dream” scene. For once Ettie isn’t full of hogwash. 

Poor Ettie. Seeing a werewolf will sober you up pretty quick. 

Mr. Hyde? Oh wait, wrong movie. 

Apparently all young women of a lower class looked like Hollywood starlets back then. Pretty stylish. 

This is why I don’t have a Tinder. 

Dr. Yogami executes an A+ facepalm. His wrist-leaning skills are classic. 10/10:

I mean, what did he think was going to happen? You can’t blackmail a guy who’s in denial about being a werewolf, it doesn’t work. But then, if he left one flower there you wouldn’t have a second act. 

Paul says that it might be a werewolf attack. He’s almost joking but he makes the suggestion anyway. His uncle, head of Scotland Yard no less (now that’s convenient) thinks this is ridiculous.

Meanwhile Dr. Glendon reads about how he accidentally murdered a woman last night: 

“You’re being utterly hateful, Wilfred.” She sees that he’s not happy and we all know that he’s past the point of no return. Someone has already died. His bitterness at her relationship with Paul is exacerbated by this revelation. But he doesn’t storm from the room or hurt her. He actually acts like an adult, says he’s sorry, and says that he will go out horseback riding with her after all. A lot of reviewers don’t like his character but I find him continually sympathetic. 

Again, it’s a realistic portrayal of a marriage. Dr. Glendon “forbids” his wife to go out on a midnight horseback ride with her ex. As sexist as his I’m-the-man-putting-my-foot-down-with-the-wife routine is, he has a couple genuine reasons for acting this way. He’s worried about her safety cause he knows the moon is gonna make him crazy and he could unintentionally kill her in a fit of jealous rage. And of course he’s ticked off that Lisa is galavanting around with another man. She in turn is appropriately angry with his controlling remarks without having good reason for his concern...plus she wants to prove a point that he’s not making enough time for her in their marriage. 

Mrs. Moncaster explains how decking her “dearest friend” Mrs. Whack was an appropriate action to take in the sake of business.

Dr. Glendon calls himself “Singularly single, madam. More single than I ever realised it was possible for a human being to be...” Which seems to evoke qualities of his situation and depression. He feels so isolated. 

He prays that this transformation won’t happen again but it does.

“If I ran the zoo I'd let all the animals go”  - Dr. Seuss. This is Glendon’s way of causing a distraction so that he can attack another woman but it’s also symbolic of him releasing his inner animalistic nature. 

Ya gotta appreciate the special effects: 

Dr. Yogmai hails from the University of Carpathia. Here to represent.....an institution that I’m fairly certain doesn’t exist. Unless they mean Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University but that wasn’t established until 1940. Still, he’s a professor of botany so that’s cool. Kind of like Professor Lupin. 

Presumably, Dr. Yogami goes to Paul because he’s well connected and he wants to prevent Dr. Glendon from doing anymore damage. 

A+ usage of the scary uplighting effect. 

Dr. Glendon instructs a servant to lock him in until sunrise. Oh the upper-classes and their odd demands.

Paul still loves her. Duh. She can’t reciprocate because she’s married. 

Those bars are toast.

Henry Hull does a great job of prowling with just the right balance between animal and man.

Now that’s a scream:

Paul to the rescue. 

Paul recognizes Dr. Glendon. (Thanks, Mr. Hull.)

Dr. Yogami’s rooms “smelled like a kennel" when they found the mutilated maid. Yuck. Did he pee all over the room? Not something anyone likes to think about for too long. Especially the head of Scotland Yard. Just look at his face. 

Paul digs through the trash and finds the discarded flowers. 

Maybe Paul should work for Scotland Yard instead of his uncle. 

Hey how was your trip? So, Hawkins (J.M. Kerrigan) doesn’t think it’s odd that Dr. Glendon is hiding from the police? Does he even know why? Did Glendon tell him “hey I’m a werewolf and I accidentally killed people?” or does Hawkins just give him a pass like “it’s his life and none of my business.”? Well, as the scene suggests, Hawkins clearly does not know because he’s confused by how important this damn flower is to Dr. G.

I have to say, I get this excited about my sweet peas every year so I totally identify with his reaction. #humor

How does he even get into the lab?! Dr. Glendon needs better security or just, ya know, locks.

Somehow Glendon doesn’t see Yogami tip-toeing down the steps. How bad does your peripheral vision have to be?!

"You brought this on me that night in Tibet!” (You don’t say.)

The problem with stealing a plant that only blooms as the moon emerges is that the werewolf might kill you mid-transformation. Exhibit A:

They were both doomed anyway. 

Dr. Glendon goes looking for Lisa. 

Lycanthropy makes Dr. Glendon strong. Those chintz curtains and flimsy doors are no match for him.

Paul also lacks clear peripheral vision, apparently. Funny how ya don’t see a werewolf perched above a door you’re about to go into.

With all that jumping off buildings, werewolves must be prime candidates for knee replacement surgery. 

More great uplighting to do justice to some remarkable makeup:

“It’s Lisa!”

Who the hell is Lisa?

Maybe he remembers at this point. Hard to tell. 

A regular bullet does the job. The myth that a werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet most likely dates back to the legend of the Beast of Gévaudan, in which a humungous wolf is killed by a hunter named "Argent" which is Latin for silver, who uses a gun loaded with silver bullets. The filmmakers clearly don’t feel that this is a necessary part of this movie’s mythology. And in a way, this is a good decision because it makes the werewolf more pitiable and certainly less mythological. If a werewolf has most of the same vulnerabilities as a human, most of the same human rules of existence apply because werewolves are not semi-indestructible. It also just makes werewolves more human and more sympathetic. Werewolf!Glendon is basically afflicted with a kind of disease that could hypothetically be explained by medical science; he isn’t some mythological beast.

We can presume his soul is saved. “Thanks...thanks for the bullet. It was the only way. In a few moments now, I shall know why all of this had to be.” 

“Good-bye, Lisa. Lisa – good-bye...I’m sorry...I couldn’t have made you...happier...” 

(This is immediately followed by the sound of my heart breaking.) Seriously, this isn’t a guilt trip like he thinks Lisa is some overly-needy wife. He knows that he’s not always equip to give Lisa what she needs out of a relationship. He genuinely feels bad. It isn’t because of the lycanthropy, he was like this before, as a scientist. Did he have depression anyway? He might have. He really does love her and they have an understanding. This is probably some of the best acting in the film, the way that Hull delivers his lines and the look on Valerie Hobson’s face tells you so much. 

Thankfully, his death means that he is free of lycanthropy. 

The sun comes up. 

A plane is in the air, presumably Paul and Lisa are off to California. 

And then we get a nice transition into the Universal Studios plane. 

What a trip. Hope you enjoyed my rambling. Until next time. 

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 (2 of 6)

Having a bit of extra time today due to a shorter lie-in than normal and not wanting to risk a walk today in light of the forecast suggesting a lot of ice underfoot, I’ve elected to get the next round of reviews for Star Trek TNG season 1 written and posted now.  Here’s hoping they’re better than the first round of episodes… 

Episode 5: The Last Outpost

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise is in pursuit of a Ferengi vessel which has stolen an energy converter from an unmanned Federation outpost. While the Ferengi were known to the Federation, this is the first contact with the species, and the Ferengi are thought to be at a similar technology level as themselves. As the chase passes the planet Delphi Ardu IV, both ships suffer power drains causing them to come to a halt. Each crew initially believe the power drain is caused by the other vessel, but Captain Jean-Luc Picard realizes that the Ferengi are as confused as they are, and orders the crew to investigate the planet. Operations Officer Lt. Commander Data reports that the planet seems to have once been a remote outpost of the "Tkon Empire" that became extinct 600,000 years ago (during the Middle Pleistocene). Picard contacts the Ferengi and gets them to agree to mutually explore the planet below to try to find the source of the energy drain.

On the planet, the away team is momentarily separated due to effects of the planet’s energy field on the transporters. They regroup but are attacked and bound by the Ferengi, who believe the Enterprise crew was planning an ambush of their own. The away team break free, and begin to exchange weapon fire, but the energy expelled is absorbed by nearby crystalline structures. Data investigates the structures and awakens an entity that displays itself as a humanoid and calls itself Portal 63 "a guardian of the Tkon Empire." Portal 63 asks the two groups if they seek to enter the Tkon Empire, and does not comprehend when it is told that the Tkon have long since disappeared.

The Ferengi accuse the Enterprise away team of being a hostile force; Commander William Riker admits that they are hostile to the Ferengi. This prompts Portal 63 to test Riker, and he finds through the commander’s response that the Federation is civilized, allowing the Enterprise to go free. It further offers Riker the opportunity to destroy the Ferengi vessel, but he declines on the grounds that the Ferengi would learn nothing from such an action. Both away teams return to their ships with power restored, and the Ferengi return the stolen energy converter. As a means of ironic thanks, Riker suggests sending the Ferengi a box of Chinese finger traps, a toy that fascinated Data when he became stuck in one earlier in the mission. 

Review:

This episode did a poor job of showcasing the Ferengi, who were a new race in Trek lore at the time, but thankfully later episodes did improve their representation before Deep Space Nine went a bit too far on some of their Ferengi-centric episodes.  This race is a combination of the worst in capitalism and the worst of the misogyny of middle eastern cultures, as it is made clear that not only are the Ferengi profit-mongers of the worst kind, but that they don’t allow the women in their society to wear clothes or work alongside their male counterparts.  As a result, they’re often basic comic relief at the expense of disreputable businessmen and misogynistic cultures in our real-life, modern-day society. 

The error this episode makes is in making the Ferengi also appear a bit like they have some combat ability which doesn’t quite fit into the rest of their cultural archetype.  The episode doesn’t really have much else going for it outside of the introduction of the Ferengi.  The few bits of Sun Tzu teachings spouted at either end of the episode and Riker’s somewhat condescending attitude about the Ferengi ‘learning to be better’ are hardly enough to make this episode one of the issue-exploring episodes that represent Trek at its best, and there’s little to no development of any of the characters.  That said, it’s still better than the last two.  I’d give it about 4 out of 10. 

Episode 6: When No One Has Gone Before

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise rendezvous with the USS Fearless to bring aboard Mr. Kosinski, a Starfleet propulsion expert who plans to run tests on the warp engines to improve their efficiency. Commander Riker is sceptical of Kosinski's seemingly nonsensical specifications, suggesting his apparent success on other ships was merely addressing inherent design flaws on older engines, whereas the Enterprise's engines are brand new. With Kosinski is his assistant, an alien from Tau Alpha C known as the Traveller. As Kosinski and the Traveller explain the tests to the engineering crew, Wesley Crusher quickly grasps what the tests are designed to accomplish and the Traveller expresses admiration for his problem-solving abilities.

The test quickly goes awry when the Enterprise speeds up, surpassing the known capabilities of warp engines. Captain Picard orders the ship stopped, and the crew finds themselves on the far side of the M33 Galaxy (more than 2.7 million light years from the Milky Way, the Enterprise's home galaxy). Although Kosinski is pleased with the results, Picard reprimands him and asks him to simply redo the process to return home. Wesley attempts to warn Riker that during the warp test, the Traveller appeared to "phase", drifting in and out of reality, but Riker dismisses him without listening. However, after Kosinski begins the second test, Wesley and Riker both observe the Traveller again drifting out, appearing more tired. The Enterprise again experiences a burst of speed, and when it stops, the crew cannot determine their position. Picard demands that Kosinski get the crew home. 

While Kosinski, the Traveller, and the engineering crew work on reversing the process, the rest of the crew begins experiencing lifelike visions of their past. After having a vision of his mother, Picard surmises that they have arrived at the theoretical Outer Rim of the universe, and issues a red alert to awaken the crew from their visions. Riker suggests that Kosinski may have had nothing to do with the warp jumps, which were more likely to be a result of the Traveller’s illness. Picard has the alien moved to sick bay, but Dr Crusher cannot evaluate the Traveller’s alien biology, and is unable to treat him. The Traveller explains that he has the ability to channel thought into reality, and brought the crew of the Enterprise to the Outer Rim by accident. This then triggered a similar effect in the crew. The Traveller confides to Picard that he looks for scientific prodigies such as young Wesley, and suggests that Picard nurture him. When he returns to the engineering section, the Traveller asks Wesley to assist him in returning the Enterprise to known space. As they concentrate, beginning to return the ship home, the Traveller again phases and finally disappears completely.

 The Enterprise suddenly stops, and the crew is relieved to find themselves back in Federation space. After the incident, Picard promotes Wesley to acting ensign (following his own unspoken suggestion in "The Naked Now") on the Enterprise for his performance.

 Review:

This episode is another example of TNG not yet firing on all cylinders, because while we ultimately wind up with the Enterprise crew going through an interesting situation where thoughts become reality, that element isn’t really explored.  It just becomes a spur for them to act to resolve their dilemma, and in turn finally gets the supposedly anti-child Picard to warm up to Wesley slightly.  In essence, this show is just one long excuse to finally give Wesley a chance to live up to the intellectual promise he’s actually shown right from the pilot, but which a lot of people tend to dismiss because he’s something of a token kid character at this stage.  Thankfully, the character does improve as he matures, even though he does ultimately leave the show later on.

 It’s a shame the episode is handled as it is, because if they’ve just gone right into the weird thought realm, this could have become a great episode exploring the question of policing one’s own thoughts. Instead, it’s more “disaster of the week, overcome by technobabble solution x, y or z”, or in other words, Trek writing at its laziest.  Only the development of Wesley into an acting ensign and Picard warming to him slightly by making him an acting officer makes this episode worthwhile.  On balance, I’m inclined to give this episode about 6 out of 10.

 Episode 7: Lonely Among Us

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise is en route to the planet "Parliament" with delegates from two warring planets in the Beta Renner system, the reptilian Selay and the canine Antican, when the ship encounters a strange energy cloud. Unseen by the crew, Lt. Worf is hit with a strange energy discharge as the ship passes the cloud, causing him to become violent. Doctor Beverly Crusher sedates Worf and brings him to the sickbay, but is also infused with the energy as she examines his body. Crusher begins to act oddly to those around her and goes to the bridge, asking questions about the ship's navigational functions. When she questions Lt. Commander Data at one of the science stations, the energy sparks between her and the console, leaving her confused as to why she is on the bridge.

 The ship suddenly begins to malfunction and Captain Picard sends Assistant Chief Engineer Singh to investigate the cause. Singh is later found dead near a computer link, and Picard orders a murder investigation, considering the alien delegates to be prime suspects. Data investigates the murder in the manner of fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, and determines that the delegates were not responsible. Meanwhile, Counsellor Deanna Troi uses hypnosis on both Worf and Crusher, finding that both recall being invaded by some entity during their blackouts. The ship suddenly drops again out of warp, and as Picard investigates the readouts at a bridge console, the strange energy transfers into him. The bridge crew becomes suspicious of Picard's actions after noting that all Enterprise systems are back to normal and that Picard has ordered them to return to the cloud. 

The senior officers attempt to plead with Picard to undergo a medical examination and to step down from command, but he refuses. When they return to the cloud, Picard announces that they had picked up an entity previously when they passed the cloud, and now Picard and the entity are one. Under its influence, Picard plans to transport his energy back into the cloud, and he shoots energy at the bridge crew when they try to stop him. The crew are unable to prevent Picard from beaming off the ship. The crew spend hours trying to locate Picard to no avail, so they are forced to accept he is beyond recovery and prepare to leave. However, Troi senses the Captain's essence nearby, and Picard manages to signal the crew through the ship's computers. Data is able to reverse the transport, reconstituting Picard without the entity. After determining that Picard is himself again, lacking the memories since he was taken over by the entity, the Enterprise continues on to Parliament.

 Review:

This episode is rife with problems, including some less-than-brilliant dialogue for many characters, especially because this is one of those horrid ‘actors being weird for weirdness sake’ that all entity possession episodes boil down to.  Thrown in a poor sub-plot with some alien delegates and a crew that seems too slow to act against a blatantly possessed and out-of-character Picard, and the episode becomes almost irredeemable.

 Only two things save the episode.  The first is that we finally understand the purpose of La Forge and Worf at this stage of TNG lore.  The bulk of the main cast at this point has key positions on the crew; Picard is the Captain, Riker is second-in-command, Data is next-in-command after Riker and typically works the Operations, or Ops, console.  We then have Troi as counsellor (captain’s advisor and ship’s psychiatrist), Tasha Yar as chief of security and Beverley as the ship’s doctor, with Wesley acting as the token child’s POV character. However, both Worf and La Forge never seem to have a set task at any point, making them almost seem like tack-on characters.

 The answer to the why of these characters from a ship’s roster point-of-view is that they’re junior officers aboard the enterprise, with both needing to learn more and develop experience before earning the key positions they would come to hold later in the series.  The only reason these two even get to be main cast members is because La Forge is a blind man seeing through a piece of tech and Worf is a Klingon, making them both unique and adding to the relative diversity of the cast even before you factor in La Forge being Afro-Caribbean descent and the actors for both characters being the only two Black actors in the main cast. In fact, that fact makes me wonder if there was some behind-the-scenes racism that played into them being the only main cast members whose characters lacked key posts on the Enterprise.

 The second thing that helps redeem this episode is the brilliant bit of roleplay Data does by emulating Sherlock Holmes. This is a key element of Data’s character development that leads to some brilliant episodes later on the series, and Brent Spiner playing Data playing Holmes works wonderfully as both drama and comic relief.  It’s just a shame this episode didn’t do away with the possession and the alien delegations to just do a Holmes-style mystery in space.  Ah well, guess that’s just something to look forward to in later episodes. For this one, I’d say it averages out at 5 out of 10.

 Episode 8: Justice

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The USS Enterprise arrives to make contact with the paradisiacal, newly discovered planet of Rubicun III. A small advance party from the ship are sent down to meet with the Edo, the native people of the planet to determine if it is suitable for shore leave. Captain Jean-Luc Picard sends Wesley Crusher as part of the away team to evaluate the planet on behalf of the young people on board the Enterprise. Upon their arrival, they are greeted by Rivan and Liator in a very comfortable way, causing Lt. Worf to determine it a "nice planet", while Wesley leaves the adults to socialize with native teenagers. On the Enterprise, Lt. Commander Data reports something unusual orbiting the planet, but nothing appears on the viewscreen. He sends out a communications signal which reveals another vessel in orbit. A small ball of light enters the bridge and communicates with Picard in a booming voice, warning him not to interfere with the Edo, calling them his "children". The intruder then incapacitates Data in an attempt to exchange information.

 On Rubicun III, the Edo explain to Lt. Tasha Yar and Worf that capital punishment is used to enforce their laws. The away team rush to warn Wesley, only to discover he has accidentally broken a greenhouse while playing catch with the Edo youths. An Edo mediator, the Edo’s equivalent of law enforcement, attempts to give Wesley a lethal injection for this infraction of the law, but Yar and Worf draw their phasers. On the ship, the sphere leaves Data's body and departs. Picard, upon hearing of the situation with Wesley, transports to the surface. He meets with representatives of the Edo in a council chamber and explains that Earth no longer practices capital punishment. Some Edo interpret this stance as an attempt by the Federation to push their superiority and suggest that Picard should mount a rescue effort for the boy. He says he cannot, quoting the Prime Directive. 

Picard asks about the mysterious vessel in orbit and discovers that the Edo worship it as a god. He returns to his ship with Rivan and Counsellor Deanna Troi. Rivan sees the strange ship from orbit and confirms it is the Edo's god. She is transported back to the surface when the ship threatens the Enterprise for taking her away from the planet. Data reveals from his communication with the entity that it will protect the Edo as if they were its children. After considering their options, Picard returns to the planet's surface and announces that he is willing to risk the wrath of the entity. He orders the transportation of Wesley to the Enterprise, but the entity disables the transporters and threatens to destroy the rest of the ship once again. Picard has had enough, and pleads with the Edo god that laws must allow for exceptions to ensure justice, and after this statement the transporters go back online and allows the away team to return. Upon leaving the planet, Picard communicates with the entity to inform it that they are leaving and that they will remove recently placed colonists at a nearby star system under the entity's claimed jurisdiction, if the entity wishes them to. However, the entity simply disappears, giving no clear indication of its wishes regarding the colonists. Picard is disappointed by the response and the Enterprise departs. 

Review:

This episode is one that had some great potential that just simply isn’t realised in its execution, if you’ll pardon the pun. Here we have a society that has only found peace through absolute laws punished in all cases by death no matter how minor, but then fails to flag this up in time with half the main cast, resulting in someone who is part of the main cast breaking a law through ignorance.  Unfortunately, we don’t then get any kind of courtroom-style debate to plead against such a harsh regime, no effort to brow-beat the Edo into changing their ways.  Instead, we get side-tracked by some phantom apparition in orbit that didn’t really need to be in the episode.

 We also get some discussion on the Prime Directive, and here again, the episode fumbles the ball.  For one thing, the Edo don’t show any signs of being a warp-capable society, and as I understand it, the Prime Directive doesn’t just forbid the Federation to interfere in the natural development of any non-Federation society.  It also forbids making contact with any society that lacks the ability to get into space and travel at warp, so a race like the Edo with no apparent space presence, much less the ability to travel the galaxy at warp, shouldn’t have even been approached by the Enterprise at all.  As such, when Picard makes his decision to violate Star Fleet’s most crucial rule by just taking Wesley back to the Enterprise, it’s actually his second violation of the rule; making contact in the first place would have been the first violation.

 However, this is all assuming the Prime Directive is as I’ve learned it from later episodes and it’s never been amended before that.  In fairness, the lack of exposition up to now on what the Prime Directive is within TNG itself means I could be wrong, and the condition about avoiding non-warp societies could have been something added in after the Edo incident for all I know. Nevertheless, at least this episode shows TNG finally getting some deeper subject matter into its episodes and trying to become a proper Trek show.  At this stage, however, the execution of that Trek tradition remained as woefully flawed as the Edo’s excessive judicial system.  End score for this episode, 6 out of 10.

 Episode 9: The Battle

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise encounters a Ferengi vessel whose commander, DaiMon Bok, requests a meeting with Captain Picard. Picard is suffering from persistent headaches, the cause of which Dr Beverly Crusher is unable to determine. Meanwhile a second vessel approaches and is identified as a Federation Constellation-class starship.

 Bok transports to the bridge of the Enterprise, and announces that the newly arrived ship is a gift for "the hero of Maxia." Data reminds Picard that nine years earlier at Maxia he was attacked by an unidentified aggressor which he destroyed. Bok reveals that the ship in question was Ferengi. Bok's gift is identified as the Stargazer, Picard's former command, which Bok found as a derelict. Picard explains that at Maxia, the crew was forced to abandon ship, despite winning the battle by an action that would come to be known as the "Picard Manoeuvre", a short warp jump that caused the enemy vessel's light-speed limited sensors to detect the Stargazer in two places at once.

 Picard and an away team board the Stargazer, and he orders a chest of his belongings sent to the Enterprise. Hidden in the chest is an orb, apparently under Bok's control, that subjects Picard to a wave of pain. Dr. Crusher orders him back to the Enterprise. Data finds an entry in the Stargazer's logs stating that the Ferengi were attacked under a flag of truce, but he and La Forge determine that this entry was faked. Wesley detects unusual signals from the Ferengi ship, and the Enterprise computer informs Commander Riker that Picard has returned to the Stargazer.

 Picard finds Bok waiting for him with another orb. Bok explains that his son was in command of the Ferengi vessel at Maxia, and that Bok is taking revenge. He sets the orb down and leaves Picard on the Stargazer bridge. The orb lights up, and Picard suddenly believes he is once again at the Battle of Maxia, and that the Enterprise is the attacker. On the Enterprise, Lieutenant Tasha Yar and Lieutenant Worf discover the orb brought over from the Stargazer in Picard's chest. They take it to Riker as the Stargazer powers up its weapon systems. Riker hails the Ferengi vessel and speaks to First Officer Kazago, who reveals that the orb is a banned device, but claims he wants no part in what might be happening.

 Riker subsequently hails the Stargazer, but Picard continues to believe he is being attacked by the Enterprise. Riker asks Data to devise a countermeasure to the Picard Manoeuvre. When Picard takes the Stargazer to warp, Data uses the Enterprise's tractor beam to seize the Stargazer and limit its field of fire. Riker tells Picard about the orb; Picard seems to understand and destroys it with his phaser. After a few moments, Picard hails the Enterprise and requests a transport. Earlier Kazago hailed Riker to inform him that Bok had been relieved of command "for engaging in this unprofitable venture", and Riker relays this to Picard before the captain returns to the Enterprise.

 Review:

Well, the Ferengi are back and getting closer to what they should be going by most later episodes.  However, they’re still poor antagonists, which is probably why episodes like this one are among the worst of what Trek can offer.  The fact that you have to take the Ferengi essentially out of the character of their species to make them an opponent is all the proof you need that they’re no kind of adversary at all.  The psychological plot elements carry no mystery, and as such we’re just stuck watching the crew of the Enterprise move with painful slowness to catch up information the audience could have deduced even without the episode tipping its hand early.

 Because of all these failings, many reviewers apparently feel that the episode is only salvaged through Patrick Stewart’s performance as Picard. Granted, that performance is a good one, but at times it almost feels a little over-acted, as though it was being done more in the style of voice actors working on an animated production than for non-animated television.  Then again, that might just be because the plot itself has all the subtlety and excessive contrivance of a Saturday morning cartoon show.  Ultimately, I’d only give this episode 4 out of 10.

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #160 - Star Trek Into Darkness

(GIF originally posted by @forquicksilver)

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes. #227

Format: Blu-ray

1) The opening scene for this film is a lot of fun. It is a nice isolated adventure which reestablishes the world and the dynamic of the crew while also setting up some character interaction/arcs to come.

2) Hmm, wonder which Star Trek film this is going to take reference from...

Spock: “Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

3) Remember this question:

Kirk [when he has to either save Spock’s life or follow the prime directive]: “If Spock were here and I were there, what would he do?”

Bones: “He’d let you die.”

4) London.

The opening scene with Noel Clarke in London - with his obviously sick daughter, elevated by Michael Giacchino’s subtle and somewhat haunting score - does well to set up the titular darkness the film features. It is somber, slower paced, and much more clawing than what we’ve seen before.

5) Sassy Spock returns!

Captain Pike: “You givin’ me attitude, Spock?”

Spock: “I am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously, to which are you referring?”

6) Kirk’s key conflict throughout this film is how he deals with mortality. Outside of the death of his father, it is not something he is familiar with. And even that was something which occurred literally the day he was born, meaning he has no memory of it. Yet it still guides his actions. Everything he does - letting the indigenous species from the beginning see the Enterprise to save Spock, attempting to save the species in the first place - is striving to prevent what happened to his father. Kirk plays god not out of ego but because he doesn’t wish anyone to feel the emptiness he knows from that kind of conflict. But he has to learn to let it happen. He has to learn to deal with it, otherwise he’ll go on a bad path. Look at what he almost did when Captain Pike died. He almost let himself get played and go against the core beliefs of Starfleet just to make sure no one else got hurt. But death is a part of life. And he will come face to face with death in a way in a similar-yet-unique way as he did in Wrath of Khan.

7) The whole “Kirk loses his command, has to go back to Starfleet academy, only to become a first officer and immediately get his command back” thing feels sort of frivolous. I feel it would have been much more effective to have him just be on probation or something, because this sort of undermines the lesson he was meant to learn. There’s not much of a consequence to it.

8) The bar scene between Kirk and Pike (calling back to how they met in the first film) is something I have mixed feelings about.

Kirk: “How did you find me?”

Pike: “I know you better than you think.”

Kirk [in reference to the bar fight from the first film]: “Yeah, that was a good fight.”

Pike: “A good fight? I think that’s your problem right there.”

For the most part I think it is a nice piece of the film. It gives us one last good look at their relationship, Pike’s mentorship, and the respect Kirk has for Pike before Pike’s death in a little bit. However - for me - it doesn’t feel like it matches up with when Pike was railing on Kirk earlier in the film. At all. There is this dissonance there I just cannot remedy.

9) The key conflict between Kirk and Spock in this film is interesting. We’ve moved past the place of sheer conflict they started out in the 2009 reboot to a place of respect but there’s still this dissonance between them. They’re not the strong pair that we are used to yet. The best friends. That’s what they become in this film, but they’re not there yet.

Kirk: “Do you understand why I went back for you [to save your life]?”

[Spock does not have an answer.]

10) Hey look, Robocop!

11) At the meeting of the captains, Kirk - even though he’s been disgraced - still says his piece. Yes it took some convincing but he notices something no one else could and stood up for it. And so continues the tradition of Kirk standing up for himself.

12) Spock’s mind meld with Pike plays into his own arc of dealing with death (similar to Kirk’s) very well, but more on that later.

13) Alice Eve as Carol “Wallace”.

With one noteworthy exception, I truly enjoy Carol’s presence in this film. Alice Eve has always been a favorite of mine and I think she does well in the part. Carol Marcus was an interesting character in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and it’s fun getting to see this younger side of her. She is probably one of the characters with the most underused potential from the original series of Star Trek feature films and I’m glad that - at least for this film - they decide to explore that potential more. More on that one exception later though...

14) It is good to see that Kirk, Bones, and Scotty - while all loyal to Kirk - care more about making sure he is okay than following him blindly. They all act as voices of reason to their captain and their words do set in, it is just a delayed settling.

15) I think Scotty resigning was a nice surprise. I honestly was not expecting it and it lends itself to a few things:

Kirk realizing just how sketchy some of this stuff is.

Kirk being pushed/pushing himself to places he’s never been before.

An organic & unique way of including Scotty later in the film.

16) Love this.

Kirk [about Spock]: “Sometimes I want to rip the bangs off his head. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me.”

Uhura: “It’s not you.”

Kirk: “It’s not? [Beat.] Wait a minute, are you guys fighting?...Oh my god, what is that even like?”

17) Even Chekov knows what a red shirt in Star Trek means.

Kirk [giving Chekov’s Scotty’s old job]: “Go put on a red shirt.”

Chekov [nervously]: “Aye sir...”

18) So one thing that sort of confused me was the fact that Carol is British in this film while in Wrath of Khan she was American. My theory is that the results of the Kelvin made Admiral Marcus (her father) a much more paranoid man, which we know lead to his wife leaving him. I feel like his wife is British and since Carol takes on her mom’s maiden name I have a feeling she grew up more with her than in the original timeline. Hence her British accent. But that’s besides the point...

19) I like that Uhura knows and uses Klingon in this film. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Nichelle Nichols objected to a scene where Uhura had to hurriedly learn Klingon since she felt her character should already know it. In this film, she does! Yay! Progress!

20) According to IMDb:

When calling down to the shuttle bay, Sulu commands the crew to prepare the transport captured during the "Mudd incident last month", a reference to the same character who appeared in Star Trek: Mudd's Women (1966) and Star Trek: I, Mudd (1967) as a rogue trader. He also appeared in the comic prequel "Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness".

Last I heard, Rainn Wilson (of “The Office”) would be playing Harcourt Mudd in the upcoming Star Trek TV show “Star Trek: Discovery”. Moving on...

21) I feel like I’d be Kirk in this scenario.

Kirk [as Uhura and Spock start arguing on a dangerous mission to the Klingon home world]: “Are you - are you really going to do this now?”

22) This is so important to Spock’s arc throughout the film:

Uhura: “At that volcano, you didn't give a thought to us. What it would do to me if you died, Spock. You didn't feel anything. You didn't care...”

Spock: “Your suggestion that I do not care about dying is incorrect. A sentient being's optimal chance at maximizing their utility is a long and prosperous life.”

Spock [later]: “You misunderstand. It is true I chose not to feel anything upon realizing my own life was ending. As Admiral Pike was dying, I joined with his consciousness and experienced what he felt at the moment of his passing. Anger. Confusion. Loneliness. Fear. I had experiences those feelings before, multiplied exponentially on the day my planet was destroyed. Such a feeling is something I choose never to experience again. Nyota, you mistake my choice not to feel as a reflection of my not caring. Well, I assure you, the truth is precisely the opposite.”

That’s it. Right there. I don’t think there’s any more analysis needed. Spock is dealing with death in a similar way Kirk is, except he is dealing with much more relevant and painful memories he is trying to avoid. Kirk has to learn how to deal with those kinds of experiences as opposed to death as a concept.

23) Remember how I said I love that Uhura can speak Klingon now?

Uhura [convincing Kirk to avoid a fight with Klingons]: “You brought me here because I speak Klingon. Then let me speak Klingon.”

I love that she takes such an active role on Kronos of trying to avoid conflict. I love that she puts herself out there for her crew and her team. I just love it all.

24) Here we have Kirk just beating the shit out of “John Harrison” and “Harrison” not doing anything about it because it doesn’t really effect him. Or the plot. I get that Kirk is dealing with how “Harrison” killed Pike, but can’t we just have him hit him once, see it does nothing, and move on?

Also I will talk about Benedict Cumberbatch as “John Harrison”, just not yet.

25) I love Carol Marcus in this film. I think she’s smart, competent, is able to hold her own with Kirk well, and just works really well. However, I hate - hate hate hate - this moment:

So according to IMDb:

Writer Damon Lindelof apologized on Twitter for the seemingly gratuitous and much criticized scene where Alice Eve strips down to her underwear. J.J. Abrams would counter the criticism later when he appeared on Conan O'Brien's talk show and premiered a deleted scene featuring Benedict Cumberbatch showering. For her part, Eve staunchly defended the scene, and stated that she was very proud to show her her body after working out intensely for the shot. She has maintained that doing the scene was not forced upon her, and that in no way she felt exploited by this.

I like that Eve herself was comfortable with it, that makes me a bit more comfortable with it. However, gratuitous is totally the right word. It literally serves no purpose other than to objectify Marcus when she is so much more than her body. It’s eye candy for Kirk in a film written by guys, directed by a guy, and produced by a guy. And at the end of the day the filmmakers DID cut the scene with Khan, they did not cut this scene. I just...do not like this moment. At all. It feels pointless and makes me sad every time I see it. Again, I like that Eve was comfortable with it. But from a storytelling standpoint it just does not need to exist. At all.

26) I do enjoy the scene immediately following Carol’s strip down, which is where she and Bones take a torpedo to a nearby safe space to try and open it up only to risk blowing it up. It’s a simple, short, yet tense scene which I think is an elegant piece of conflict. It also plays into something which was a regular occurrence in the first film: the idea of if something can go wrong it should go wrong.

27) Alright, Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison.

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

Cumberbatch as Khan is a very mixed bag for me. Like I have a lot of different feelings about it. I like that he is able to play the intellect/physical prowess of the character well, but obviously no one will ever be able to touch Montalban’s performance so there’s not really a point in trying. Since this is an earlier version of Khan, he’s a lot less wrathful than what we’re used to. He’s also less poetic and greener (as is the rest of the crew, in relation to the later of those two). But Cumberbatch is also able to give Khan a brief vulnerability we are not exposed to in Wrath of Khan, specifically in his care for his crew. So in terms of the performance alone, I think Cumberbatch does a nice job. He is a terrific actor so I’m not surprised. But...

I don’t think they should have gone with a white actor, if I’m being honest.

For one thing, Ricardo Montalban is Mexican. And based on what I’ve read about the character’s episode in the original series (I’ve never seen it myself, so I might not be totally right here) he was a ruler of Asia and the Middle East before being deposed and cryogenically frozen (I read on Wikipedia that he’s Sikh, but it still is Wikipedia so there’s a chance that’s not 100% accurate). None of this really screams, “white british guy,” to me. This is a criticism of the casting, not Cumberbatch or his performance.

In an interview with Trekmovie.com, cowriter Bob Orci said:

"Basically, as we went through the casting process and we began honing in on the themes of the movie, it became uncomfortable for me to support demonizing anyone of color, particularly any one of Middle Eastern descent or anyone evoking that. One of the points of the movie is that we must be careful about the villain within US, not some other race"

I do understand the issue there, but Khan is not meant to be representative of all Middle Eastern people or a certain ethnicity. He is a visual representation of himself but he is an individual. It’s not like you are writing him to be the big bad Middle Eastern bad guy. You’re writing Khan, and in the past Khan has been non-White.

Again, this is not a criticism of Cumberbatch himself but of the casting decision. I think Cumberbatch does a fine job in the film, I just think a non-white actor should have been cast. Now that I’m done talking about that...

28) This is Kirk at his most frightened.

He see no way out right now. Admiral Marcus is going to blow his ship out of the sky with his crew, so he pleads with Marcus to just take him and spare his crew. He knows what it feels like to lose a loved one in a situation like this, he knows the hole it leaves in your heart even if it isn’t one he can’t define in the same way as Spock. He wants to spare them so they can go home to their families. Just like he wished his father was spared. And when he can’t do that...

Kirk [to his crew]: “I’m sorry.”

I think Kirk’s emotional conflict in this film is one of its standout elements (possibly its strongest), and whatever other issues this film may have I’m glad it does that well.

29) Fans of voiceover actors will recognize Nolan North as a member of Admiral Marcus’ crew.

North is most famous for his role as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series of video games, but also has voiced Deadpool on a number of occasions and even the Penguin in the Batman: Arkham video game series. He’s one of the most prolific and talented voice over actors there is and I believe JJ Abrams included him because he’s a fan of his work.

30) Similarly, Bill Hader voices the computer on Admiral Marcus’ ship and would collaborate with JJ Abrams again on Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens as a voice consultant for BB-8 with Ben Schwartz.

31) I think it’s nice that the tribble (a fan favorite from the original series) is included, but it’s sort of just awkwardly placed while Kirk is talking with Khan just so it can establish a way to resurrect Kirk later in the film.

32) The dive Kirk and CumberKhan make from the Enterprise to Marcus’ ship is a great set piece in the film. Supported by strong visual and great action, it has the potential to be considered iconic Trek a few years down the road.

33) It makes so much sense that Zachary Quinto Spock would call Spock Prime to ask about Khan.

(GIF originally posted by @tomfooleryprime)

Spock Prime: “Khan Noonien Singh is the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise has ever faced...”

Spock: “Did you defeat him?”

Spock Prime: “At great cost, yes.”

34) I like that Kirk is not stupid enough to actually trust Khan.

Scotty [after Kirk tells him to stun Khan when he’s given the signal]: “I thought he was helping us.”

Kirk: “I’m pretty sure we’re helping him.”

35) Wow, the ego on this guy.

Admiral Marcus: “If I’m not in charge our entire way of life is decimated!”

That does not justify the horrific crimes, attempted murder, or extortion you’ve committed. This guy pisses me off way more in 2017 than he did in 2013.

36) Khan crushing Marcus’ head is very strong for me. It feels like it’s straight out of a horror film and really shows just how dark this character is willing to get in the fulfillment of his wrath (see what I did there?).

37) The preceding mental chess game between Spock and Khan is very nice, though. It shows just how smart each is, how they’re intellectually matched, and see to succeed Spock must use Khan’s ego (a flaw he has always had) to his advantage. Khan underestimates Spock and just how crafty he can get, to his own disadvantage.

38) Remember note #3? Where Kirk was wondering what Spock would have done if the roles were reversed? Well Trek fans know what Spock DID do when the roles were reversed in the past (alternate timeline? I don’t know). We know Spock very willingly sacrificed himself to save the crew, and so does Jim.

Spock [about the trick he pulled on Khan]: “It’s what you would’ve done.”

Kirk: “And this...this is what you would have done.”

Kirk admits that he’s afraid and that has been his conflict all along. He’s afraid of death, or mortality. Not just for him, but for his crew as well. For his loved ones. But his need to keep them safe outweighs his fear for himself. And this is how Kirk learns to face mortality, by sacrificing himself (as opposed to dealing with Spock’s death in Wrath of Khan). As I said before, a similar-yet-unique way of facing that conflict.

39) Of course this had to be somewhere in the film.

40) When the Enterprise crashes into the San Francisco bay it destroys Alcatraz. JJ Abrams had a 2011 TV series on Fox named/surrounding Alcatraz that was cancelled in its first season. Hmmm....

41) I like the final chase between Spock and Khan through San Francisco but I always feel its sort of extra. Fun to watch but maybe a little long. The real climax was Spock/Khan’s mental chess game and then Kirk sacrificing himself, this just does not carry the same amount of conflict with it.

42) So Khaan’s blood can...cure death?

Whatever you can do to keep James T. Kirk alive, I guess.

43)

Kirk: “Dr. Marcus, I’m glad you could be a part of the family.”

Okay, I actually googled why Carol Marcus was left out of Star Trek Beyond and the reason I found I actually REALLY like. This is a quote from Simon Pegg, who cowrote Beyond in a somewhat rushed amount of time.

“With this it felt like we would under-serve her if we included her, she might end up feeling like she hadn’t been given the amount of screen-time she deserves, so rather than bring her in and just have her be a supporting role, like, have her not be in this one, and when the time comes [bring her back], the worst thing to do would be to have her in the film and have that character be killed, and that felt like a cynical thing to do. We thought rather than have Carol Marcus not be used to a reasonable capacity, let’s just not include her, have her be alive, in canon, and ready to come back at any time.”

I’m actually REALLY glad they went that route, because more often than not characters are included out of obligation and killed off because they can’t think of anything better to do with them.

While I do enjoy Star Trek Into Darkness, it is a mixed bag for me. I think the acting is still topnotch and the conflicts each character deals with (ESPECIALLY Kirk and Spock) make for incredible storytelling. Sometime it can feel a bit extra and convoluted however, I’m disappointed in the whitewashing of Khan (even if I do think Cumberbatch did a nice job), and I find the underwear shot of Carol gratuitous. Overall I think it’s a good film just not a great one, and occasionally a problematic one. I do enjoy it. It’s not like I feel like I waste 2 hours of my life whenever I put it in, and this is about the third time I’ve seen it. I just am very aware of its flaws. I hope some of that makes sense. If you want to watch it, watch it. If you are more of a fan of it than I am, fantastic! It’s still a good Trek film (there are much worse Trek films out there), but if it comes down to watching this or any of the rebooted Star Trek films I’d go with any of the other two. Or even better, Wrath of Khan. Maybe I should stop talking now.

[theconstantsearchforparadis-blog]

Vancouver, Canada

Do you ever get sick of your surroundings?

It was winter 2015 and I was frustrated with the repetition in my life. I was frustrated with everyone around me and their invasion of my privacy.

The toxic and polluted air shadowing over the city of London felt like a disease. Something was pushing me away and yelling at me “GET OUT OF THERE!” I guess I had that feeling that the working people of London get around May/June time and the words “I need a fucking holiday!” are spoken.

It was time for me to pack my bags again and after many months of misery and feeling like an ant in the omnipresent and over-populated city of London, I booked some flights.

I wanted that special breathing moment. You know the one that you get when you step off the plane into a complete change of atmosphere. It is a sense of success and joyfulness. There is a smile on your face and you are thinking to yourself: “I made it!” It almost feels like you have waited your whole life to board that plane.

That special breathing moment could take place as you step off the aircraft into your chilly and wintry home town in Scandinavia. Or it could occur as you amble down the air stairs feeling glorious and grateful as you will spend the next two weeks away from your office desk. It could even occur when you step straight back into typical heavy rain which feels refreshing and invigorating as you have been backpacking in a sweltering Southeast Asian country for the last six months!

I strongly enjoyed that special breathing moment as I breathed in Canadian air for the first time.

Vancouver. A wonderful coastal city located in British Columbia; or as the licence plates say, ‘Beautiful British Columbia.’ I was ready to explore and discover, nevertheless I was there on business! My business partner at the time was over there already and we had a lot of work to do as it was our intention to open a club there within the next few years.

I checked into a hostel on Granville Island. Being one of the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life, Vancouver had a lot of potential. So far it was ideal, it was exemplary. The air was clean, the girls were fetching, the homeless were good-natured, even the guy at the airport Immigration desk was pleasant!

At the time, the Canadian Dollar was virtually double the British Pound. Nowadays it is a little less, nonetheless the prices of food and drink were somewhat like America prices.

The two main streets on Granville Island would be Granville Street and Seymour Street. Both wonderfully energetic and vibrant at all times of day. There are plenty of supermarkets, bars, pubs, fast food joints, shops, hotels and hostels on those two streets alone! If you want to stay on the Island, definitely stay close to Granville and Seymour.

Some of the good bars on Granville Street include The Belmont Bar, a fancy lounge bar with a good dance floor; Doolin’s Irish Pub, a decent place to watch sports and drink inexpensive lager; The Roxy, a great Saturday night venue filled with party animals of all ages!

There are great bars and restaurants all over Vancouver. Wherever you are, something will always be nearby!

When I wasn’t out drinking with my hostel family, I took some long walks. Mostly in Stanley Park or Kitsilano. Stanley Park was especially good as it had the famous Vancouver Seawall walk. Each time I walked there I would confront joggers, cyclists, skaters and walkers. The seawall walk had a very family-friendly atmosphere and the views were simply beautiful. Towards the end of my stay, I took a bus to the University of British Columbia. The place was crammed with students yet it was a very special and unique area.

At the hostel, I met some outstanding travellers! While there I met Bland, an amusing American lad who changed the way I feel about Californians; Jasper, a nightclub owner with strong knowledge of Vancouver; Anna, a German beauty queen; Richard, a comical European gentlemen who still lives in Canada now; Joe, a generous English man set on a journey through Canada; Andrew, my adored Australian companion who will be joining me in London soon!

Of course, I was mostly with my business partner Danny. I met Danny in California in 2014 and to this day we are still brothers. The business plans fell through in the end but together we enjoyed our Canadian experience.

Canada. At one point, it was going to be my new home! Even though things went south, I was very fortunate to have stepped foot into British Columbia and experience Canada in all the right ways. Vancouver…see you soon.