#i for one am looking forward to seeing where his arc goes. yes hes a terrible person but hes FASCINATING and I wanna learn more abt him

[cottoncandysprite]

The one thing I'm least looking forward to when ofmd comes back is the Izzy discourse, ESPECIALLY since it sounds like we're getting a semi-redemption arc. All I'll say on the matter is that both sides need to touch grass and if I see anyone either woobifying him with zero nuance OR calling anyone who likes him an irredeemable person I'm blocking on sight

[viscountess-nila]

TDP Season 7 SPOILERS

There are a plethora, overflowing cornucopia of reasons why Netflix should greenlight Arc 3, but imo the most important one is the fact that Claudia still loves the people who were once in her life.

Terry says it himself when discussing how to change her mind with Ezran's council,

"Love is what drives her. Love for her family"

Yes she destroyed the world, yes she is almost nearly corrupted beyond reason but she said it herself,

"I'm still nice. I'm still me"

We all know she most definitely is not herself, but in the face of her brother's pain on the Storm Spire

She stops. She tells him she won't kill him. Which is lower than the bare minimum for anyone else, but it is a lot for Claudia.

So what if, in arc three, however long and painful the process is, Claudia feels the remorse she should?

What if she reconsiders her decisions. Viren did it. Why can't she?

And moving forward with this, it's now evident Aaravos sees Claudia as his daughter, his only light in this world. And from this season, we've also seen that the only people who can make Aaravos think back on his morality are people he cares for. In seven seasons the one time we've seen Aaravos actually look regretful is when Terry (someone he cares for, at least during that scene) calls him out on his deception and half truths.

In fact, he feels the regret so acutely he actually goes and reveals all his deception to Claudia (the only other person he cares about). The only reason they go forward with the inversion is because Claudia feels Aaravos's pain and wants to avenge Leola as well. If it weren't for that, Aaravos revealing his deception would have caused all his plans to fail and he was okay with that - because he hurt someone he cared about. Mere months of love smothered his millennia of anger.

And more importantly, the main message in this show is stopping the cycle of violence, emphasising the power of compassion and forgiveness over punishment and destruction, so instead of leaving it with this brutal (temporary) end for Aaravos's life, wouldn't it be better to defeat this cycle of violence and give us an end where Claudia's regret leads to Aaravos stopping and thinking 'is this really worth it'. And ending where their compassion wins over their inner violence, to prove the point young Ezran said so long ago.

This season emphasised their father- daughter relationship so much, that much love and emotion can't be just for them to be a badass evil duo (though they will be).

He is going to come back in seven years and nineteen days. He's been doing this because of the destruction of an innocent life (who he loved) and his plans did fail. So this isn't the end for Aaravos.

Plus the Cosmic Order, whose cruel judgement is what propagated all this, remained unseen this entire season. And they're the violence that started this cycle. To see Aaravos reformed and possibly forgiven by the world (I am delusional I realise) would show them how pointless their cruelty and order is and how ridiculous their reasoning for Leola's death was.

For the show to truly prove its message, it should continue. Show us compassion does win over violence, forgiveness wins over revenge, love over hatred. And shove it in Cosmic Order's face. That this brutal destruction of Aaravos's physical form isn't how this story ends.

Claudia still loves her family. And Aaravos loves Claudia. Show us that love is enough.

And additionally, MORE DANTE BASCO. ANYTHING FOR MORE DANTE BASCO.

[thr0wnawayy]

Just HOW corrupt is Hero Society?. Pt 1.

At this point in MHA's timeline, it's no secret that Hero Society is beyond saving. In my time lurking in these tags, I've seen the occasional post tackling some aspect of this corruption, all of which I found insightful. Today I'd like to share some of my own tidbits and thoughts regarding the sensationalized hellscape that is MHA's Japan.

Hawks' Origins:

Something that always bugged me was the timing, It seemed to good to be true. Hawks' dad gets caught, ENDEAVOR of all people is the one to do it and the Commission just happens to arrive.

Well, no. Let me ask you this, why would they send in the Number 2 hero to deal with a petty thief turned murder. A hard hitter like Endeavor would have been the WORST possible person to send as opposed to like, Eraserhead who would have been able to dissarm Takami quietly.

It's not like Mr. Takami was particularly dangerous either, his feathers at best could make for decent lockpicks or shivs but that doesn't justify Endeavor's appearance nor does it make sense given his arrogance. To him the situation would be small fries.

It just doesn't make sense when you assess the risk, it's not like Endeavor has ever been good at restraint (See: Hero Killer Arc) and the possibility of collateral wasn't exactly zero when you consider Mr. Takami got caught jacking a car (additionally not a major or dangerous crime). So he gets arrested, the seeds of Hero worship are planted in a young Keigo's mind and Hawks + his Mother flee and become homeless. Hawks eventually goes looking for the police and returns with:

Well they aren't police.

So, your telling me that these Commission agents just so happend to be around Hawks, here in some backwater cranny. What interest would the HPSC have in this dregg of a family (How do they even know their names). They shouldn't. Not unless they knew something before hand.

(I find it funny that the scene parallels how Tomura was found, down to their respective "saviors" having their own agendas)

We know Hawks used his quirk as a sort of motion detection system to alert his father of any intruders. Mind you, we don't know how far or accurate he was prior to the HPSC's efforts (minus being able to reach the city). So it's possible the HPSC avoided detection by watching from a distance and avoiding certain areas where Hawks could sense them.

Just how long was the Commission watching, how long did they allow the abuse to continue. How long did they watch the Takami's starve on the streets from afar before acting. So many questions, yet no answers.

"Cool but how does the HPSC tie to Endeavor?" You may be asking.

Well, sometime before the arrest happened Hawks had actually left the house and ventured into the nearby district woth his mother.

And came home with an Endeavor plush. Funny how that works huh?. It's not implausible to assume that the Commission simply requested Endeavor to handle Mr. Takami, possibly adjusting his schedule for their convenience.

I'm not suggesting that Endeavor knew of the Commission's scheme here, nor am I suggesting he (intentionally) helped. (Enji's cruel, yes. But he's also an idiot in anything not hero/celebrity related.).

Something I ask myself is, were there other candidates?. Children stuck in situations like Hawks', what happened to them. Were they abandoned to either die or become villains, killed to eliminate potential threats, or perhaps they were just born "unlucky".

Some final notes:

Hello, I apologize for the amateur nature of the formatting, I'm still getting used to the sites formatting options, as well as trying to figure out my "style" so to speak. Regardless I hope you found something in this post and look forward to your thoughts and opinions regarding the content above.

Yours truly,

Thr0wnaway.

[butterflydm]

pulling out bits from recent cast interviews re: s3

Several sets of interviews came out today! wotseries.com has six (!); looper.com, decider.com, & collider.com all have one each.

(speculation and spoilers for s3 and for the books through TFoH)

In Ceara's wotseries interview, we get this little hint:

WotSeries: How far along in the books are you? Ceara: I wouldn’t want to say because I read up to where we are in the scripts, and I think that would give away too much.

This implies to me that s3 is going to go a bit beyond The Shadow Rising, at least in places, because it's no secret that TSR is going to be the spine of the season.

We get more from Daniel:

WotSeries: How about any movement towards developing the relationship between Lan and Nynaeve in season three? Daniel: Season three, yes, it’s more of a build season for those two. There are some really great scenes, some stuff we’re really happy with. We do get to see some intimate stuff, not sexual stuff necessarily. So, some moments with them. But with Lan and Nynaeve, it’s this working toward what the book readers know it’s going to be. It all depends on how much time we get, how many seasons we get to do this thing. That’s a relationship that I’m really excited about and I love working with Zoë.

So, again, yeah, that really does make me feel like we're going to get one or two episodes at the start of the season where the whole crew is together and bonding. In the books, Lan and Nynaeve basically don't see each other at all between splitting up at the beginning of TSR and then eight million years later in ACoS. I do think that we might also get a reunion of at least some of the characters at the end of s3, though.

In Donal's interview:

Dónal: Well, I have big faith in Mat. I’m pretty confident in him. Regarding chatting to women.

This makes me wonder if we're getting Melindhra introduced next season. Because, uh, Mat has not really had a lot of success so far. I mean, apart from the very first episode.

Dónal: Well, there’s loads that you can look forward to in season 3. I mean, we’ve got much of it. I feel like I’ve filmed a good stretch of it, and I’ve really enjoyed the material and the new arc. This arc that I go on this season. And I think you can just expect things to be… there’s more moments with the characters to kind of learn about them in more quiet, subtle ways, more revealing ways. And I think it’s probably common knowledge that Mat does change his clothes between 2 and 3. You know, like really, we would have to ask questions and get concerned if he didn’t. I feel like I could tell you that. And I’m excited, man. I’m very happy to be wearing what I’m wearing.

Not that this should be shocking to anyone, lol, but Mat will have an arc next season! Dónal does a good job of not saying anything here though, lol. We WOULD have to be concerned if he hadn't changed clothes, yes, lol. I am excited to hear that Mat is getting some good character moments next season.

Ceara also shared this with us in the collider interview:

My script is always annotated with little quotes from the books, which I really love.

That's amazing! I think this is the first time anyone has mentioned it? That's a really neat way of giving the actors context for their lines.

We all knew that Elayne & Nynaeve would get a big story together in s3 but we get that confirmed:

We see Elayne bump into certain characters this season, but obviously, this cast is huge and growing all the time. I'm sure you cannot go into too many spoilers about Season 3, but for Ceara the actor, which characters are you really excited for Elayne to get to have more screen time with? COVENEY: I'm really excited to continue the journey that Zoë and I have started with Nynaeve and Elayne. I'm really excited to see where that goes because they've had such a rough start and were thrown into such extreme situations. So yeah, if the fans lovingly call it the Detective Agency, I'm excited to see if the business is thriving.

Natasha had two interviews that I've seen, one with decider and one with looper.

There's nothing for s3 in the decider interview that I could see, but from looper we get:

But it's not just about the evil deeds; it's also about the politics. When you come into Season 3 — without giving anything away — it opens up the mind to this more vulnerable side of Lanfear and where she's coming from. The relationship with Rand — there are scenes in Series 2 [where] you get little glimpses and nuggets of that, that there is a vulnerability there, or more reasons rather than just being dark and evil. Circling back to a previous comment, you said Lanfear knows what she wants. As Natasha, what do you think Lanfear wants? The goal in the whole realm of the world is, if I put it like … Beyoncé and Jay-Z. She wants to be the king and queen. What she wants is the Dragon and her to be together, have their kingdom, make some good choices. That's her main goal, and to shoo away anybody else that gets in the way of that.

So it sounds like we might be getting Lanfear's Big Offer (we could challenge the Creator) to Rand in s3, which would make sense.

[niirialnox]

Season 3 LET'S GO (aka I'M NOT READY FOR THIS ARC)

Episode 1;

idk how I feel about Eddie's haircut. . .

NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT'S COMING I CAN TELL YOU THAT (no matter how many times I've seen the scene already)

THE HAND PLACEMENT ON BUCK'S WAIST GET YOUR MAN EDDIE

God I love Buck and Chris scenes so much

LMAO KAREN CRYING AND HUGGING BUCK

I agree with everyone who says WHY DID WE NOT GET THE 911 CALL with this damn scene! Cause I wanted to see how everyone (especially Bobby and Eddie) fully reacted to him coughing up the blood

Oooh the Maddie stare is kinda scary. . .

NOT THE WHOLE OLD FOLKS HOME HAVING THE STD LMAAAAAAAAO

The way I understand that Bobby is trying to protect Buck by keeping him on light duty (and we all already know how that goes), but the fact that none of this was put onto Chim who literally had rebar through his head. And yes, I understand that maybe Chim did everything he was told to do, but that could only be a theory since we never get to SEE him until he comes back. Did he have to do everything Buck had to do to come back? Kinds sucks that Buck gets singled out. Buck should have been talked to about everything instead of his choice being taken away

Also the fact that they all kinda brushed him off (ESPECIALLY Eddie) on his trauma from the whole thing makes me angry (which will carry over to the next episode)

God they always gotta give Maddie the rough calls

OH GOD I DIDN'T KNOW THEY START THE TSUNAMI IN THE FIRST EPISODE I HATE IT HERE

The dad grip on Chris's shirt lmao

FUCK NOT READY FOR THE NEXT 2 EPISODES

Episode 2;

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

'Where did all the water go' will haunt me FOREVER

I'm also not ready for what Athena has to do either. . .

I KNOW IT'S A DRAMA BUT DAMN LEAVE MADDIE ALONE

Bobby doing the underwater rescue of the man impaled is something Buck would get in trouble for lmao

I love May so so much and it HURT that she had to go through that with Vicky

It's still weird to me that NO ONE tried to check on Buck cause they just assumed he'd be inland with Christopher

Dad!Buck will always be my favorite Buck

I WILL NEVER GET ON A FERRIS WHEEL AND THIS JUST ADDS AN EXTRA NOPE TO IT

BUCKS SCREAMING FOR CHRIS KILLS ME

Episode 3;

I am NOT OKAY

I WASN'T READY FOR BUCK TO FIND CHRIS'S GLASSES :(

I wanted to skip the Ferris Wheel scene SO BAD cause it made me nauseous cause of my fear of them

ATHENA WAS SO CLOSE TO CHRISTOPHER

THIS ATHENA SCENE I WASN'T READY FOR AT ALL (Though Athena breaking into a house did give me a giggle)

I FEEL LIKE THE MEAT CLEAVER WOULD HAVE BEEN QUICKER

AND THE REST OF THE 118 BEING SO CLOSE TO CHRIS TOO AAAAAAH

Buck calling Maddie and having to tell Eddie is also not a scene I was not ready for no matter how many times I've watched it

Watching Buck fall after seeing Chris safe makes me SOB EVERY TIME

Eddie giving Chris to his husband is honestly one of the best things ever (but does him calling Buck his free babysitter sit wrong for anyone else besides me? I know it was in jest and just trying to lighten the mood but it still kinda bothers me)

Still don't like Eddie's hair cut lmao And I'm not looking forward to the lawsuit UGH

[watchinglikeafangirl]

Last Twilight had the worst ending...

I know, this is old news and the series ended a week ago BUT I have exams coming up, so this post got delayed. Anyway, here's my opinion about this ending after reading a bunch of MDL reviews, all saying the same: The way Last Twilight ends is insulting.

This series totally missed the point, the ball didn't even look at the goal and went the other way. They messed this up so badly, I'm mad. I can't even laugh about it 'cause it was such a great series. Episode 9 made me weep ... and then came everything else.

We spend time with Mhok and Day, forming a bond though they seemingly have nothing in common. Day is very self-centered and wants to be pampered but Mhok doesn't go all the way. He's his caregiver but he draws lines. There's a problem rising in the background: Mhok is too nice. He never calls Day out for crossing the line, he talks his way around it, he makes sure Day still feels warm in is heart. Mhok is the kind of person who desperatly needs people around him and he keeps them close no matter what, so sometimes, he's misunderstood or overshadowed. I hoped for some kind of conflict about Day taking but rarely giving. There's only one scene where we can see a glimpse of it. It's just one line and 10 seconds and the series goes on as if Mhok didn't say anything, as if it was a joke but it was so much more and I wished for a conflict like this but it never really came.

"Day, I think you can be so inappropriate sometimes."

It's what Mhok says in episode 8 when they wake up at the beach after partying all night. I felt his line, I sat here like "exactly, tell him!" But sadly we won't get to know more about this. Every conflict, every scene and every little action is about Day. It's so much about Day that Mhok doesn't get to say honest feelings like that even if those are negative. Because yes, Day is inconsiderate. We follow his struggles after turning blind. Even after a year, he didn't get used to it and he projects his lack of self esteem on other people, trying to find something others like about him, so he could learn to like himself as well. And Mhok gives it to him because Mhok gladly makes him feel at ease and Mhok is a people pleaser. They both have their own journey and arc but I feel like their relationship is unbalanced. Throughout this entire run, I felt like these two needed to get rid of this inbalance in order to be able to move forward. The conflict is inevitable BUT the thing is, they didn't go through with it.

The inbalance is the reason for their conflict but it's not solved or named. Mhok gets the job offer abroad and declines. It's his decision and I'm very sure he didn't make that decision entirely about Day. Leaving the country is not something one instantly does and I understand why he doesn't want to go. Yes, he doesn't have many people holding him in Thailand but leaving is still hard and not an easy decision. I get that. Plus Mhok and Day are adults, they are in their twenties, they are no children. While Mhok actually behaves like he thinks about many factors before making a decision and is careful about his next step and what it would mean, Day just makes everything about him and his blindness. Yes, Mhok is probably staying because of Day. No, he's not staying because Day is blind. That's why their relationship started, because Mhok didn't see Day in a different light, because Mhok doesn't care if he's blind or not. I am so frustrated thinking about it lmao

Well...I hate their breakup since they are not properly addressing the real issue. Day says he's holding Mhok back and Mhok says he's afraid of losing people which Day chooses to ignore. Mhok's story starts the day his sister dies...Day knows Mhok doesn't have a family, yet it's about Day's blindness??? It's so inconsiderate that it's insulting Mhok's entire personality.

This series refuses to let the characters work on their relationship together because of this stupid "cursed 11th episode" thing. Mhok and Day are insecure when it comes to the other but they could go on the journey together and see the world in a brighter light. But no, Mhok cries on his own while Day had two people hugging him and nobody cares where Mhok went - not even Night. I was so disappoited how this all turned out.

The breakup is not even the worst, it's what comes in episode 12 that really made me angry. What do you mean, three years have passed? Mhok and Day never tried to talk it out? Mhok never reached out? Mhok thanks Day for the break up? Where am I? What is this? I'm crying internally.

Anyway, we see Mhok coming back for the wedding and as soon as he sees Day, he randomly starts hitting on him...? First of all, the way they talk to each other lets me assume they have stayed in contact or reached a mutual understanding, so why have they not talked it out? They seemingly haven't been talking about their conflict at all but why are they so friendly? Shouldn't they be mad at each other or not talk at least? Instead we see an extremely happy Day and an inappropriatly flirty Mhok. Their personalities seem to have been thrown out of the window and we get too many scenes of Day saying he's uncomfortable and Mhok pushing himself into Day's space. It's aweful. The wedding was sadly very uninteresting, I skipped the speaches and I certainly skipped that weird dancing scene. What was all of this for?

And then, they get to talk. Mhok apologizes and Day is finally a grown-up. I understand where both of them are coming from but that little talk didn't go anywhere. Their conflict still hasn't been resolved. After another forever they hug it out and happy end. Well, okay. I guess Mhok realized he put Day before everything which he shouldn't have done and Day was too selfish to see Mhok suffer. It's fine for me, not the best way to show us their growth by inserting a three year time jump. I'm still not sure in what way they have grown or how much they each overcame their issues. It's very lazily written.

But then they hit us with THE worst ten minutes I have ever seen.

Day gets his eyesight back.

I'm sorry, what was the point? Did the writers change? Did they have amnesia? This is not what the series was about, is it? We see Day starting to accept himself though the struggle never really stops. But still, he owns a book store, he went to university, he goes outside and is not too shy to ask for help. He doesn't overthink what people may whisper about him when he walks around or eats outside. He is much more confident and shines from the inside. He's not insecure any more. This series showed us his journey of learning to live with a disability.

And then this disability is healed and his life is shown as much better than before. What a message.

It's so insulting.

And the last scene made it so much worse. They look at the sunset where Day lost his eyesight (and "turned into stone" (I cried so much)) and he has the audacity to make fun of Mhok's "do you still think I pity you." I was so pissed, that line meant so much to them both back then and now it's made fun of? Never make fun of moments when you were at your lowest, Day. I love Mhok's face because he's going through it. He smiles it away but he's a bit awkward lmoa

But seriously, what an ending. It's so bad... The show is just great but the last episode is so low and lazy.

[cilil]

4, 14, and 26 for the writer asks, please & thank you! Hope you have a great week!

Thanks for the ask! I'm not looking forward to this week, I must admit, since I find traveling incredibly stressful and am not very interested in the place I'll be seeing either... ugh, don't ask me why I agreed to it in the first place x) (must have been some weird bout of "it will do you good to go outside!")

Anyway -

4: a story idea you haven’t written yet

Oh dear, I have entire documents filled with those. Let me just pick one, maybe one I haven't talked about too much before...

Alright, this idea might not be popular with certain people, but I don't care so here goes: Exploring Melkor's time in Valinor post-captivity. There are some interesting tidbits to expand on, like how he got interested in certain people, how he learned their languages (because yes, speaking languages and verbally communicating is not the default for Ainur), how his relationship with certain people might be more complicated and nuanced and, most fascinating in my opinion, if he maybe at times enjoyed... maybe not helping others but sharing his knowledge and teaching and creating as he (by design) should have been doing this whole time; also drawing a parallel to the "Annatar in Eregion" arc.

I feel compelled to stress that I have no interest in constructing a "my poor (but clearly evil) blorbo did nothing wrong and it was everyone else's fault" narrative - after all where's the fun in it for me if I don't write about Melkor being delightfully evil, messing with everyone, getting into petty fights and ruining lives? No, I just think that it could be fun to explore this time period with a bit of nuance and some shades of grey, show that there was indeed a genuine path of redemption and make his decision to stick to his evil ways out of sheer pride and pettiness even more devastating.

14: where do you get your inspiration?

Simply put: Everywhere. Everything can be inspiration. Be it a book I read, a show or movie I watch, a game I play, music I listen to, a picture I find, something I see in real life, something somebody tells me about, an idea somebody shares with me... add the power of shower thoughts and you have yourself a perfect storm. It's as if plot bunnies are waiting to jump me at every corner.

26: are you able to write with other people around?

Yes, but it's not exactly ideal. If I'm, say, in public, for example in a waiting room where nobody is paying attention to me or trying to interact with me, I can write just fine. If I'm in a more private setting where people know me and are at least passively aware of my presence, I might feel more compelled to keep an eye on them instead, also because it's more likely that they'll try to interact with me at some point. Plus I'm not trying to be rude ;)

It also depends on my mood. On some days I can look people who give me angry stares for being on my phone dead in the eye while writing straight up smut, on other days I can barely write a light gen piece if another person is just near me.

[flimflamfranky]

Excited about the story focus going back to Egghead? Do you have any expectations for Franky?

i am trying so so so hard to keep my franky expectations in check

but yes, i am very excited to return to egghead. this has been an arc i've been looking forward since vegapunk was first name dropped, and it's been a blast so far. vegapunk is everything i could've asked for and more, and i desperately want him to spill everything he knows. very excited to see where it goes, especially after that cliff-hanger.

but. i'm not really expecting a franky arc. i really really want one, but i think it's...unlikely. i don't know if any of the arcs going forward will focus on any one character like they have in the past. an arc focus means significant character development, and i just can't see any of the straw hats needing that anymore. the only exception i could see would be maybe usopp, just because his dream is basically character development.

at most, franky would probably get what zoro got - a minor flashback and maybe a little more focus (fingers crossed - i would love to see more about franky with his parents on the grand line, or his time making himself into a cyborg, or even his time at vegapunk's lab on karakuri island - i just want more franky).

he's definitely gonna get something, because of the whole thing with kuma. franky was the one that had that moment with him on the sunny, and the one that told the others, so i feel like there should be some follow-up on that. i do think that kuma will get the spotlight when we return to egghead, it's just with bonney, and vegapunk with his satellites, and cp9, and the seraphim...there's a lot competing for that spotlight, and it's hard to say whose gonna get that focus.

again, i would really really like this to be a franky arc, but i'm also keeping my expectation very tempered. better to be surprised than disappointed.

but there's also a lot i'm looking foward to outside of franky, so it'll be an exciting arc regardless.

[always-andromeda]

Honestly, I’m only taking summer courses cause I have to. I take a reduced course load during the fall/winter semesters because 5 classes is just way too much for me to juggle so I catch up in the summer! It sucks, but it’s all I can do to catch up. But thank you! I’m working hard and hoping it pays off.

Yay! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Songbirds and Snakes. But that reminds me, have you watched Southpaw yet?? I’m still dying to know what you’ll think of it!

Yes! Omg that scene where Josh is on his knees is from Future Man 😅. It’s such an odd show, but it ends up being super addictive once you get into it.

(Thank you for the edits, I’m a total a sucker for Jake w a fluffy beard. Like this pic —> https://pin.it/4yatQrQ <— of him from Pinterest 😩😩)

-🤹

The class schedule is completely understandable!! We all gotta do what we gotta do. I’ve been doing part time for the last year and starting in the fall, I’m finally taking the leap into full time on my classes. Which is super exciting and kind of daunting. So hey, we’ll see how things end up going!!

AND YES YES YES THESE PHOTOS OF JAKE LITERALLY GET ME FROTHING. The beard. The hoodie. His SMILE. He looks. So comfortable and warm and safe in these pictures. God, he’s so gorgeous.

Finally, we have good news!! Two bits of good news, actually. Firstly, my copy of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes just arrived today so look forward to some thoughts on that sometime soon. Second, I just watched Southpaw!! So strap in and prepare yourself for a mini review under the cut because I have THOUGHTS. For everyone else, spoilers for Southpaw ahead!! You have been warned!!

Genuinely…such a heartbreaking movie. And one that’s played so well by both Jake and Rachel?? I love Rachel McAdams in basically everything I see her in but the way she plays Maureen is just…so honest?? I’m a little underwhelmed that she has little character outside of being Billy’s cheerleader, but I definitely think Rachel makes every inch of this role work for her.

Jake brings such a special flavor to Billy too. I’m continually surprised how almost every role he’s been in in the last ten years…he’s an entirely different person. And he bodies it every. single. time. I swear, both Rachel and Jake absolutely killed this.

The most interesting part of this movie post-Maureen’s death is seeing the way that Billy’s relationship with his daughter changes?? Like that scene where Leila says that she wishes that Billy had died instead of Maureen??

I think it’s tragic, actually, just how instrumental Maureen was to both of them functioning. The way that Billy unconsciously still cites her rules (like her not wanting Leila to watch Billy’s fights) to Leila even though she’s no longer around to enforce them?? I think Billy’s arc is way more about him stepping up to actually be Leila’s father more than him building himself back up for that final fight.

I am so surprised that I was able to keep my emotions in until the very end when he wins the fight and has his head against a corner of the ring and is muttering, “I’m ready, baby.” I was full on crying by the time he was hugging Leila and telling her he was ready to go home.

Even though this isn’t my absolute favorite Jake movie, I see why it’s one that’s often credited as one of his great roles?? Like I see Billy Hope as a character that’s up there with David Loki and Lou Bloom as far as complexity and dimension goes for his characters. Overall, pretty solid film and I’m glad I finally watched it!! ☺️👍🏻

[carlos-in-glasses]

hiya! i hope you're still down to answering asks about That Line, sorry if you're not, do feel free to delete this too!

i think my initial reaction to that line was like a sucker punch to the gut with the way it was setup, i.e. the framing, him standing next to TK, and TK looking at him after he'd said that line. i was so pissed and i'm still pissed about it now. in no way is that fair to TK for him to have said that, no matter how angry or hurt he is. i'm not saying right/wrong bc it's never as transparent as that, i'm coming from pov of an audience and having witness both sides of the argument. yes, tk crossed a boundary when he visited iris even though both him and carlos had agreed not to, and i understand why carlos would react the way that it did. i hated it, but i don't really wanna get into it now. which brings me to,

i think, or at least i'd hoped that this might be setting up for carlos' character arc where – you'd previously mentioned that 403 is essentially confronting his past before taking that next step into his future with carlos, and i agree! – we'll be able to see carlos realising that he needs to be able to learn how to let go of the unfounded guilt he had towards this whole mess (i.e. marriage, iris getting kidnapped), and iris would swoop in and be like, 'hey, i'm no longer your legal responsibility now, and i am no longer your responsibility, period. i can take care of myself, and i'm sorry for the way things were but we're still best friends and i still love you. you can let go of this now.' something something about him having to confront and address things rather than chalk things up until he absolutely had to confront it, in order to move forward in his life, bc atp its at a standstill. and it's kind of like a full circle moment for him to realise that he didn't need to, and will never need to take on this weight and responsibility all by himself and pushing away the ones he loves in the meantime (i.e. TK 😭😭💗💗💓), when there's someone so willingly to take on this weight with him (back to my boy TK). i know i'm dreaming big but if i had to cope with shitty writing choices from a professional who does this for a living, i can pretty much read between the lines and interpret it however i want to.

which brings us back to That Line, so if the writers are willing to explore that route with carlos, it would make much more sense in relation to him implying that it was the marriage, and TK having been drowning in his own guilt and misery, misunderstood and took that to mean that carlos had meant with him (imagine the angst we would get from this if it was addressed on screen i'll cry).

i know i'm putting myself through the mental gymnastics and i'm pretty sure i'm 100% wrong in this. atp i'm still pissed at everything and especially carlos (i know its warranted but i'm still pissed and that's ok bc i'll get over it), but this is a headcanon i'd like to believe in until we have more context in 404 IF (and that's a big fat if) it ever gets addressed. if its just a result of a poor writing choice, i'm more than willing to pretend it never existed too.

thank u for reading, sorry it's this long!

Hello anon! Very happy to discuss, no worries at all. <3

I think 4x03 was a hard pill to swallow after how easily 4x02 went down. We've never seen Carlos shut out TK like this, even in the ice storm (he was mad but he was there. Although I should note I did not see the ice storm arc play out as it aired, so my experience of it is different to those who did watch at the time), but we've seen him be 4x02 Carlos before. The contrast is extreme after last week's squishiness. It's implied he 'doesn't like TK right now' immediately after being madly in love. It's new for us to get to grips with, how he goes from one to the other so quickly. I share your sucker-punch feeling and I still have it now to an extent – even after having talked myself into thinking Carlos was referring to himself and Iris. I guess I wish I didn’t have to *think* that, and rather I could just know. I’m happy for plenty of things to be left up to my interpretation as a viewer, whatever I’m watching, but a lack of clarity around something like this line doesn’t sit well with me. I have a very nervous disposition!

You’re right, the framing and the whole vibe made it seem like a super passive-aggressive reference to his own relationship, yet as I mentioned it’s total whiplash for the man who’d so recently comforted TK on the couch to say such a thing. If he *was* making a reference to being super displeased with TK to the extent of suddenly finding their relationship bad (just writing this reinforces to me how it makes no sense…) then the punishment does not fit the crime. Especially as Carlos is canon-aware that TK and Iris hugged rather than had a falling out.

Essentially, I share your headcanon and would really like to see them address this comment so we and TK aren’t left in the dark. There are actually so many good things that can come out of this arc, even if the writing itself leaves us with neon question marks blinking over our heads. By trying to ignore his past and leave it behind him, Carlos has inadvertently looped it tightly with his present and now he has to unpick it from this point. That’s fascinating! I want to see it. This is contrasted nicely with TK, I think, who in some ways ‘left the past behind’ when Owen brought him to Austin, but has been doing the hard work to face it and overcome it ever since, by going N.A meetings, taking his sobriety seriously, talking to the crew about it and his relapse, and finding an incredible man who opened up his heart again. Carlos is on a similar journey, in his own way, he just has to stop resisting and pretending and lying. I love Carlos so much – and it’s because I love him that I care. That lad needs to apologise to his fiancé. TK needs to understand that Carlos’ reaction was due to 99 problems and TK was maybe 1-ish (due to a transgression that was actually nbd). And they are going to be okay.

[imaginependergast]

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng: The Hot Take

  Here we go. I finished it and my thoughts are under the cut. For the next two weeks if I do any Imagines or answer any Asks that contain spoilers or specific details or characters from the book I’m going to tag it spoilers: tcdl. 

Not a spoiler, but I feel like this experience will be made better by reading Cabinet of Curiosities before this.  Very open to hearing what you all think or have any Imagine requests.

Alternate Title: Pendergast & Fenec fuck everything up 

I liked this overall. I thought it was a tad slow at points, mostly in the first half since there was a lot of set-up on Constance’s part but since this is a multi-book arc I don’t think this is a problem. Overall I was pretty engaged the entire time. 

Sometimes I forget the time frame in the books. When Coldmoon said he only knew Pendergast for three months I did a mental double take. 

I love the friendship between D’Agosta and Pendergast. I thought it was adorable how D’Agosta missed his buddy and I’m happy he’s a major player.

I forgot how much Hayward does not like Pendergast. Maybe because it’s been so long since she’s been a character but I remembered her feelings on Pendergast being a bit warmer than they seem to really be. She does not like him and seems to not even want Vinnie to talk to him. Also I’m slightly worried for D’Agosta’s marriage because I could easy see Hayward being like ‘me or him’. 

Did everyone forget they have kids? Constance literally went into the Pendergast Cinematic Universe (PCU) multiverse without giving one single shit about her son. I guess the charitable or easiest rationale is that she’s satisfied he’s off being a living deity to some monks and that basically means he’s on his own anyway but when Constance was waxing poetic about missing Pendergast I thought it was pretty obvious she didn’t mention her son. I really hate that Constance had a kid as a plot point and I feel like the authors are hoping we just forget about that. I don’t hate Pendergast having kids nearly as much, but you’d think he might semi-consider his living son when he’s doing some crazy time/space traveling. This isn’t exactly like a normal fed case. Maybe that’s a stupid point because being a Special Agent as he is is inherently dangerous but I feel like this should be mentally weightier than what starts as his typical cases. My problem is more with Constance’s child. I will continue to harp on this because it, like everything about Wheel of Darkness and this stupid twist, pisses me off.  

On the note of Constance missing Pendergast- “breath caressing her ear”... does that imply they banged? I know he’s kissed her before, but this seems like an oddly more intimate detail that wouldn't be a thing if they were just talking or spending time together. 

Similarly, Pendergast calling Constance “My Constance”. That could just be ‘my’ meaning from my timeline, but it could also be ‘my’ as in mine. 

Ferenc sucks. Fuck them kids that guy. Happy he died and can’t be more of an asshole.

I liked the Proctor-bits. He seems like such a badass. I want him as my manservant.

D I O G E N E S 

I literally said, outload, ‘yes!’ when I finished the book and he showed up. I  fucking love it. I am so happy that he’s back and everyone is now involved in the weird operation. I’m looking forward to finding out what he’s been up to, if he’s still simping for Constance and how he and Pendergast are going to work together.  I also expect he might double cross everyone at some point because he do that. 

It’s pretty obvious but I’m really interested in where this goes. Personally, I don’t think Constance, if given the choice, will end up staying in the past. I think Pendergast, by the end, will finally say what he needs to say and she’ll go back. Or if she loses young Constance and Joe I think she’ll go back regardless. Personally, I don’t think the kids will make it. From a purely book-writing standpoint I don’t know where the story could go with them alive and living in current day. The series already warehouses all the kids. Frankly, I don’t want them around as regular characters anyway.

I think if the kids do survive, Constance will figure out how to set them up for life with all the money and assets she has and she’ll return to the current day knowing they they are safe, comfortable and free to live their own lives. I kind of wonder if she’ll think about taking them out of their time/universe and how they may feel similarly as out of time and freakish as Constance did. 

I can’t get over Diogenes. 

I really want to get back into writing smut fanfic about these characters.

I really like Murphy. I think he’s a great B character but I also fear he won’t make it. I’m getting the creeping feeling of O'Shaughnessy from Cabinet of Curiosities. 

My general feeling about this book was that it’s set up for the rest. It did the job of making me invested and really wanting to know what happens next  a lot of which is just because of D i o g e n e s.

If I had to guess, I’m going to like this more than the Helen trilogy and Diogenes trilogy. 

I’m also interested in the museum curator murder. There has to be something interesting there with how he was killed. Twoeagle getting shot is one thing, but this murder seems like more. They probably are truly related, but I feel like there’s something about this murder. 

Kinda hoping this entire arc ends with Constance getting some d from at least one of the Pendergast brothers. 

[forcebookish]

finally started andor and i'm enjoying it. i already loved cassian so it wasn't a hard sell, and when the first guard died i literally said, "oh you may as well kill the other guy." jsjdjfdks cassian is my kind of lead 😌 (side-note: i'm watching it with my folks so when i said that my mom was like, "i don't like that you think like a criminal." FIRST OF ALL, MOM, i'm a writer i kind of have to think like that; second of all, i was thinking like a cop because there was absolutely no way that guard wasn't lying and he would right away lie to his superiors about what really happened SO...)

although it is star wars so i am gonna be hypercritical of it djdikfjf yes i am that kind of fan soz ANYWAY i'm only saying that because episode 3 really annoyed me 😅 for starters, the editing is. bad. then, there was no reason for them to detain bix except that she was a Main Character; literally everyone is running scared but the corpo just sensed that SHE was the one they should arrest🙄 i couldn't possibly care about timm, i didn't even hate him enough to be happy when he died i was just like "oh no, that was... inevitable." i think they were going for an Anyone Can Die type of thing, but he was obviously a throwaway character so??? i was literally waiting for him to die. luthen walks all the way to the other side of the warehouse because... they need to be on the other side of the warehouse so they have this big set piece and lose the box lmao. it was just so contrived 😩

and i'm not trying to just rag on it, i DEFINITELY like more stuff than i don't. but these are all symptoms of the same disease, which is that disney sees all of these as products to pump out and it doesn't matter how passionate the writers are, they keep running into these little things that needed rewrites/to be fleshed out (or edited better).

you know, they needed someone to go, WHY do they detain her? she needs to be doing something DIFFERENT than what literally everyone around her is doing. WHY did luthen walk to the other end of the warehouse? maybe there's some graffiti or a part or SOMETHING for him to look at/inspect, not just TO BE DRAMATIC. because right away i was like, oh, the writers need him to be over there so they lose the box. ok. there goes that tension. it's the same with the editing, there's just a lot of stuff where you're like ok why did that happen? where are we? oh it's a flashback? why was there no transition? why is the lighting and coloring pretty much the same despite having a different location, on a different planet?

anyway i promise that i'm liking it, it's definitely the first star wars thing i've liked since rogue one. i like most of the characters, and i'm really looking forward to the villain's arc because that bitch is going lose his job and his god damn mind. i like the mood, i like the culture of the planet, and i like that even when i see stuff coming or the writing is kinda lacking/laggy i'm not bored, which is more than i can say for the sequels and solo! 🙃 i definitely think they left kenari too early, i hope there are more flashbacks because that neverland-esque culture was neat and i liked the sense of foreboding from just noticing that there were only children (i wasn't even annoyed that i figured out all the parents died in a mining accident when i saw the mine skdkfka because it's genuinely a cool idea!). the blow darts took me by surprise too! i also like the trend of alien languages not being translated! you just infer what is being said through body language and context clues! i love that shit! needs more women of course.

ok i've said too much i just wanted to get that off my chest lol i'm not interested in arguing if you found this through the search function and take Issue 😩

[thememerman]

Time for me to scream about Bad Batch again!!

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts saying that Tech shows little to no attachment to Omega, but still didn’t hesitate to raise his blaster on the Pykes (and I’m sure he knew full well how dangerous they are). Which yes, this is true; he’s not openly affectionate with her in usual ways. But Tech in and of himself is not usual!! And he ABSOLUTELY has shown affection her her in his own ways!!

Hunter shows affection mostly by being protective; he’d do anything for her and he already has done everything for her, just like he would the rest of his squad. He makes the hard calls and even when it makes her unhappy he’s constantly being The Dad. He throws himself in front of her at literally every opportunity, he straight up scooped her off her feet and shielded her from Wrecker in an instant when his chip activated. It’s not hard to see how much he loves her. Wrecker of course is obvious in his affection; he carries her around on his shoulders, he takes her out for Mantell Mix after every mission, he stays back on missions and plays checkers with her, they probably have a plethora of inside jokes and generally it’s just very easy to see how much this big tough teddy bear loves her. Echo is less open; he’s not the leader of the squad so he doesn’t have the same burden of making sure everyone is fine at all times that Hunter keeps for himself. He’s an ARC trooper. He’s practical. He’s gotten blown up and survived so he’s a hardened and a tad grumpy. But he’s a softie I mean he really was out here in a bar teaching her how to shoot her bow, pushing her hard so that she can defend herself. You can see how much he cares in how he coaches her and the stern little pep talks. In episode 9, he insists that Hunter needs to tell her the truth about what made her a target to the Kaminoans, because it’s important to him that she knows the threat and isn’t treated like a child, because even though she is a child, the time has passed for her to be able to be one, and he knows this. In episode 14, he wrapped his arms around her and yanked her back onto the ship when she absolutely would have fallen off lurching forward after Hunter fell.

Now Tech.

Tech I think we can safely assume is somewhat of a perfectionist. Maybe not about everything (*looks directly at episode 3 where he insists life support is all they need to fly the ship*) but I get the feeling that he likes things done a certain way and he likes them done his way. Looking at Unfinished Business in The Clone Wars when he’s yelling at Echo to unplug from Admiral Trench’s ship and getting feisty when he doesn’t listen, I’m inclined to think that I’m right. Point being, he doesn’t let just anyone help him with things.

Now we go to episode 7!! He doesn’t even have to tell her what he needs she just gives it to him!! And he gives her a little appreciative look!!

and in episode 8 who does he call to come help him on the bridge?? Not Echo (who is usually his Nerdy Buddy™️ that he trusts to do to things right) but Omega. The one who listens to all his info dumping and asks him questions and is just as curious and tenacious as he is.

Episode 14 she goes skipping off into the woods to find the beacon and who does she give it to immediately?? TECH. And AGAIN with the appreciative glance?? She is his little helper!!! That is not an easy position to get!!

“That is sufficient, I’ll take it from here.”

Oh I could go on about this scene for 8 years and still not be done. Do you KNOW HOW HIGH OF PRAISE THIS IS FOR HER he knows how stressful this is and he knows how easily she could feel like what’s going wrong is her fault and he so gently?? Tells her?? That she DID GOOD AND HE’S GOT IT NOW AND SHE’S OKAY. HE CARES ABOUT HER SO MUCH AND I AM NOT OKAY I WILL NEVER BE OKAY

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: 

In the eagerly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller Defy The Night author Brigid Kemmerer continues her electrifying series with more royal intrigue, more sizzling romance, and shocking twists that will leave readers breathless.

What will they sacrifice to save their kingdom?

Their honor?

Their love?

Their lives?

Tessa Cade has gone from masked outlaw to palace advisor, but even with her newfound power, she can't stop the sickness still raging. And the kingdom's supply of Moonflower elixir dwindles all the while. Prince Corrick is trying to find a new way to lead, but it isn't easy to repair the rift between the royals and the people--or the one growing between himself and Tessa.

When an emissary from a neighboring kingdom arrives with an intriguing offer, Tessa and Corrick set out on an uncertain journey to find a new source of the lifesaving elixir. But with tensions brewing on deck and the sea swirling below, Tessa and Corrick must decide who they can trust--including each other. But they're shocked to discover that a craven betrayal may be much closer than they think . . .

Review:

Pirates, romance, betrayals, and more in the sequel to Defy the Night. Picking up where the last book left off Tessa is now part of the council and Corrick and Harriston are still trying to get more Moonflower to save their kingdom, however when a dashing captain of a ship appears and claims to be an old emmisary sent by the previous king Corrick is suspicious while Tessa seems to be falling for him. This new person is named Rain and he has come to make an offer to trade the moonflowers of the kingdom he has been spying on for them in exchange for steel as he is playing both sides. Tessa spends a vast majority of this book going back and forth ( and mostly believing that Corrick is awful, frightening or a monster) and listening to everyone else’s opinion about him while she wavers between her feelings for him and Rain the new spy pirate who taken an interest in her. This book went where I dreaded ( the annoying love triangle) and Tessa constantly going back and forth about Corrick, and honestly she’s the main reason I didn’t enjoy this book so much. I loved their relationship in the first book, I was looking forward to it growing in this one, but a majority of it is spent thinking Corrick is awful and that Rain is so great ( seriously I was pulling my hair out). If i’m being honest, Tessa was the weakest point of this entire book, her whole arc was just being in the middle of two guys and going back and forth which one she wants.... seriously... why? Corrick and Harriston on the other hand were amazing, we get to delve deeper into their characters and their growth. Corrick is struggling to protect his brother, his kingdom, and Tessa. He’s immediately suspicious of Rain ( AS HE RIGHTFULLY SHOULD BE) and is weary of everyone ( HE’S WITHIN HIS RIGHTS HIS PARENTS WERE LITERALLY KILLED IN FRONT OF HIM and this entire time he’s been trying to keep control of the kingdom) and seriously Tessa? No empathy, no understanding, for this dude’s trust issues? You expect him to be friendly and cordial with the one guy who nearly got him killed and had him beat nearly to death?? ( GIRL WHAT?). Lochlan was barely there and when he was it was to start a fight or pick at Tessa and Corrick. I am excited to see where the next book goes because this one for sure left on a gigantic cliffhanger ( but seriously I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HOW THIS ALL WRAPS UP). Yes Tessa and Corrick spent a majority of this book at odds with one another but in the end of it they finally come to an understanding and finally talk and communicate... it only took them 300+ pages to do so. Also Harriston’s storyline with Quint? GIVE ME MORE. I can’t wait to see how Lochlan and Corrick fair in the next book and where Harriston and Quint’s storylines go, especially with the reveals and ending of this book. 

SPOILR BELOW: ( This is just to help me remember when I read the third book haha)!!!!!!!

SPOILER ( Corrick has fallen off the ship and has been captured with Lochlan and has to pretend to be Wes again, Rain turned out to be the King the entire time and was going to ransom Corrick off while also holding Oren Crane’s daughter as prisoner in his ship and poisoning her, Harriston has been pretending to be FOX a masked stranger who has been giving money and food to the people but while Corrick and co were away the counsel has ousted him as king and now he is injured and on the run with Quint, Tessa has to now cope with the idea that everyone but her and one guard are alive on the ship and states that she wants to learn to fight at the end of this book, Tessa and Corrick make up and finally admit to loving each other. Rain reveals that someone has been poisoning the people of the kingdom ( Corrick and Harriston’s and he thought they were doing it but if not them someone else is). 

*Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, Bloomsbury YA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[barrysmanbun]

Just You

A/N: This is my first Pope Heyward x Reader! And it's also severely unedited...

Prompt: Pope + “Don't be too loud, they can hear you.” + “I’ve never seen someone kick a door in before, it's so exciting”

Warnings: Pope x Reader, fluff, Shoupe is sheriff so imagine this is a magical world where the Carla Limbrey arc never happens and this fic takes place in the summer between their last year of high school and college.

~~

It was a lazy day on the cut, the pogues lounging at John B’s house since they don’t have gas for the H.M.S Pogue, enjoying some beers and party games. As soon as the pogues noticed they were running low on party snacks it was a competitively quick game of “not it” to see who was the unlucky guy that would have to run to the store.

Pope was the last to touch his pointer finger to his nose, but you felt bad about him having to go alone so you ended up volunteering to go with him anyways.

The walk there Pope had spent most of the time describing in depth the five stages of decomposition, which he had cut out once they reached the store in favor of discussing what snacks to get. The walk back had started out quiet, a comfortable lull in conversation, until you had been almost 10 minutes from John B’s house. The two of you were just about to walk past Mr. Newman’s house when you saw three police cars parked out front.

You stop to watch, grabbing onto Pope’s sleeve and pulling him back when he goes to walk right by.

“Look,” You point to where the police have congregated near the front door, Sheriff Shoupe poised, about to kick the door down, “I’ve never seen someone kick a door in before, it's so exciting!” You say to him, louder than you meant to and a couple of the policemen turn to look. Pope grabs your arm, tugging you down to crouch behind a bush lining the yard.

“Don’t be too loud, they can hear you.” He whispers. You shift your weight to sit fully on the ground so you can better leverage yourself to look around the bush and watch as Shoupe kicks down the door.

“Police! Oscar Newman, drop any weapons and put your hands above your head!” Can be heard distantly as the policemen charge inside.

Pope grabs your arm, pulling you back. “Stop it, they’ll see you!” He hisses. You’re knocked off balance and falling backward into his lap. He lets out a small huff as his back collides awkwardly with the bush, taking your full weight. On instinct an arm lands on your waist to steady you.

When you settle you realize you are essentially in his lap with his hand on his waist and look panickedly to his face to see if he’s realized the same thing. He seems to have noticed, his eyes locked on where his hand rests on your waist, eyes dilated. When you look at him, he slowly raises his eyes, and once making eye contact with you begins to try and stutter out an excuse.

You cut him off, pressing your lips tightly to his.

He makes a noise of surprise, the hand on your hip flying up to cup the back of your head and then someone is clearing their voice, above you.

You jump apart, whipping around to see an officer standing above you too.

She raises an eyebrow, looking between you and Pope with an annoyed look on her face.

“I suggest you two run along home now.”

Pope jumps into action, taking a hold of your sleeve and yanking you to your feet.

“Yes, right away officer, I am so sorry-”

You two take off running in the direction of John B’s house, not stopping until you reach the beginning of John B’s driveway, when you finally slow to a standstill. You lean forward, hands on your knees as you catch your breath, and turn to look at Pope. He’s in much the same position, the bag of snacks on the ground by his feet.

The two of you make eye contact, and immediately dissolve into fits of giggles.

You smile at him with a one hundred watt smile and say, “That’s one way to get the blood pumping.”

“You know, sometimes you act a little too much like JJ.” Pope laughs, shaking his head at you.

“Sure hope JJ doesn’t kiss you like that.” You wink at him and he immediately ducks his head, looking flustered.

“No, definitely not,” he looks at you through his eyelashes. “No, just you.”

You can feel your pride expand just a little at that statement, shoulders straightening and chest puffing out just a little. “Good.”

Having caught your breath the two of you walk the rest of the way up John B’s driveway brushing shoulders and smiling like fools.

JJ looks up from where the three of them sit by the hammocks, raising a hand to wave at you and calling out, “Took you two long enough, did you stop by Paris on your way to the store?”

Pope huffs, smiling as he throws the bag of snacks at JJ who just barely catches them. “Shut up and eat your takis.”

[twh-news]

We spoke to Tom Hiddleston about Loki, PowerPoint presentations and the nature of free will

Despite a decade of playing Loki in several Marvel movies and now a TV show, Tom Hiddleston isn’t tired of the role. “There is always something new to be found,” he says The edge.

This week is the premiere of Loki on Disney Plus, a six-episode series that marks the character’s first lead role. It is a story of time travel and branched timelines as Loki is captured by an organization called the Time Variance Authority (TVA). It combines action, humor and some old-fashioned detective work, while tackling serious topics such as the nature of free will. There are also some new faces on board as Hiddleston is joined by Marvel newcomers Owen Wilson, who plays a TVA agent named Mobius, and director Kate Herron, best known for her work on the first season of Sex education.

Prior to the show’s premiere, I had the chance to talk to Hiddleston about his time as a character, a presentation that made him feel like an “amateur academic giving a thesis on Loki,” working with Wilson and Herron, and whether our lives are predetermined. Typical Marvel stuff.

The following interview has been edited and abbreviated for clarity.

We are now at a decade where you play Loki. How have your feelings about the character changed or grown over that time?

I’m honestly just thankful that I’m still here. I find that I am always surprised and happy that I get another chance in it. Long before I was cast, Loki was just the most fascinating and complex character with such depth and range, and he’s been in Marvel comics in several iterations for 60 years, and he’s been in our thoughts, in stories we tell as humans, for hundreds, if not thousands of years. I find that even though it has been 10 years, every time I come back, there is always more to discover. There is always more to dig because these impostors are kind of mercurial and shape-shifting. So there is always something new to be found.

"“Loki is out of control. He’s a man on the run.”"

Now that you’ve focused this six-episode series on Loki, what were you looking forward to exploring with this? What were you hoping to dive into?

I think he’s really opening up and bringing out his many different identities and facets. In my preparation to play the character, I’ve always seen him have so many different and seemingly contradictory characteristics. You think, “How can all these characteristics exist in one person, in one being?” And yet they do.

Loki has always been a character in all MCU movies that seems to be very controlled. He seems to know what cards he has in his hand and how he is going to play them. And Loki, in the TVA – this organization that rules time – has gotten out of hand. He’s a man on the run. And he is motivated by a desire to understand. Suddenly he discovers that there is all this information that he does not have, and he has to get his hands on it. And that actually gives the series great momentum. Loki is on the back foot, everyone knows more than him, and seeing how he adapts, seeing how he improvises after that – if improvisation is possible in the TVA. That’s a question we’re trying to raise, whether you have free will.

I read about the Loki school you led to prepare the team for the character’s history. How did you prepare for that? Did you actually know it all, or did you have to do a lot of research?

I wish it wouldn’t be 10 hours long. I knew I had to summarize what I found useful to tell the crew. It came about thanks to Kate Herron, our director who has done an extraordinary job on this whole series, and he thought maybe it would be a good idea to get everyone together because there were so many department heads, different crew members – production design, costume design, cinematography, camera, sound, stunts – and wanting to make sure everyone had the same information about Loki, and it might be helpful to listen to my experience. I was trying to explain how we constructed Loki’s arc across the six movies he’s in the MCU and figure out what was useful in that arc and what we could leave behind.

I suddenly felt extremely nervous, as if I were an amateur academic writing a thesis on Loki. You’ll have to ask the others if it was helpful at all. But at least we synchronized the watches and we started from the same place.

"“If I were tall enough to use PowerPoint, I could retire and become a full-time professor.”"

So is there a PowerPoint file out there somewhere that will leak out one day?

If I was highly skilled enough to use PowerPoint, I could retire and become a full-time professor.

I did have a few clips. I thought there were some clips from the movies that could be helpful. It was interesting, even though it was about how the costume had changed over the years and why. And when does Loki wear the horns? Are the horns a casual thing? Are they a ceremonial thing like a crown? Is it an extension of an inner intention? Do the horns come out if he’s particularly evil? Why is her hair different? Sometimes he wears a cape, sometimes not. Sometimes he uses magic, sometimes he uses his own body to fight in combat. All questions that people were curious about.

I know this was meant for the rest of the crew, but was it helpful for you to go through this again as you prepared to jump back into the role?

Oh yes, absolutely, just to refresh myself about certain decisions we had made and why certain things were changed… sometimes you try to bring very elaborate and beautifully illustrated comic book panels into a physical reality on a movie set and figure out how to merge these two worlds. It was interesting. I got some great questions about how he moves the way he does and where certain things showed up in stunts, especially hair, makeup and wardrobe, how the clothes changed and why we made those choices.

It was interesting to refresh myself on the extraordinary input, because I carry the inspiration of great people with me. [Thor director] Kenneth Branagh and Alexandra Byrne, our costume designer; Bo Welch who designed the first Thor movie; Charlie Wood who was production designer on The dark world; the whole crew of Ragnarok; Mayes Rubeo, the costume designer of Ragnarok; and people like Douglas Noe, who has been doing makeup on Loki for a long time. So there was a lot to unpack.

Both Kate Herron and Owen Wilson are newcomers to the Marvel machine. Is it helpful to have such an external perspective?

Absolutely. Both Kate and Owen came in with so many questions because they hadn’t lived in Loki’s head for 10 years. They have a fresh take on it. Kate was so well prepared and so well researched; she even brought in new Marvel Publishing material that I’d never seen before, about Loki’s inner world. Owen came in and asked me a lot of questions about my experience. I remember him saying, “Tom, why should I?” you do you like to play Loki?” And I found myself saying, “Well, he’s just got this whole range. He can play the light keys, but he can also play the heavy keys in the bass clef. And somehow the character has both.” And he loved that way of thinking about it, he said, “I think I could say that on the show.” And so it was really his very intelligent question that took us elsewhere in the story.

Given the themes of the first two episodes, I have to ask: do you believe in free will?

I hope so. Free will is such an interesting, eternal question. I think people have asked to what extent we have the power of self-determination, self-realization, choice about our actions and whether we can control the course of our lives. It goes back to evolutionary or psychological arguments about nature and nurture and why we are who we are. Maybe it’s the journey of a lifetime to find out, to really take the wheel of your own life. Because we are set on a path in childhood, I think, often by accident – the misfortune of birth, where we were born and when – and we are propelled in many ways by the unconscious.

That’s a complicated answer. It’s a complex question. So I hope so. I hope true free will is possible. But for all of us, I think it can be a long journey of self-discovery.